Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-08-14

rRx poNyoN or vTNcENNEs.
sasssh 81 ne Aass>ss pse- 4 Feuve~ sss
. Prison : Victims Of Political csssp'ss.

- FN'- y s"fs"~'
eS<s.
Ever since the l4th Of July was es.
tabliShsd as the national fste, writes a
correspondent Of the San Francisco
CkrcNiele. the French republic has
been celebrating that date mainly in
The Champs Elysces, and at the Troea-
defo, and 10 the Bots de Boulogne.
This year. however. we shall "go Wild
with delight " in the less aristocrsticpark
OF yinccnncs, and in that humble guar
ter Of the city known as the Fsubourg
So. Antoine. A strangcly-deyeloped
and thickly-settled part Of Paris i is,
too, this quarter which city and State
together intend to illuminate for fort
night. The approaches to tho Bois de
vincennes are broad, well-payed ave-
nues which recent improvements have
brought about. but the houses have
none Of that stateliness and splendor
which marks those Of the Champs
Elysees and the avenue Of the
Boise dc Boulogne. For the most
part they are enormous-sized tene-
ments occupied by factory-workmen
Of all kinds, and instead OF
handsome horses, stylish equipages,
and livcried servants, the vehicles are
heavy wagons, drays, and carts, drawn
by stout Normandy stations aud driven
b; men in blue blouses. On tbs road
thither we passed the Roquetto prison,
where six men condemned to death are
now confined. A little further on is an
other large, sinister-looking building, en-
closed by high gray walls and guarded
by soldiers. This is the Mazas peni-
tertiary; 10 its left rises promon-
tory covered with the crosses and fune-
raj monuments that mark the graves
of the cemetery Of Pere Ia Chaise. Long
before we reach the park we see, amidst
forest Of green trees that stretch away
10 the horizon, a colossal square dom
jon towering up TO an immense height.
This is the donjon Of Vincennes, a castle
over which centuries, wars, and revolu-
tons have swept without changing much
of its medieval character. Around it
spreads out on three sides a barren
plain surrounded by curtain Of foliage.
The plain is an artillery battle-ground
and the forest is one Of the fine parks
of Paris, while on the fourth side Of the
castle is the suburban town of Vim
cennes.
French etymologists have wasted
much ink and paper and a great deal OF
their time in discussing the derivation
Of the name Of this town and chateau,
but their discussions have not led to
our knowing anything definite on the
subject. Some derive the name from
two Latin words, rita sdnd--meaning
a healthy life. Others say it was
so called because separated from the
old Gallo-Roman city Of Lutice (nOw Pa
ris) by q distance Of rigenfi sfadia. As far
back as the year SAT il was called vii
lecenn@ in royal patent, and in bull
signed by Pope Benoit VII. in $50.
and also in a royal charter of Henri
H., Of the year 1887, the same name
was given to it. The forest stretches
away from the Notifications of Paris,
and, following the right bank Of the
Seine, covers nearly the whole of the
peninsula formed by the junction of
the rivers Marine and Seine, and ex-
tends along the former river and around |
10 the town after which it is named, |
Torming an almost regular square, out |
pf one side Of which is taken the
pace occupied by the town, castle, and |
background. Commenced by Philip de |
valois and completed by Charles lie
Sage, this castle occupies the site Of a
royal country palace, where Philippe
went for the sake Of hunting
deer and the wild boars which filled the
forest. When completed it was pow
erful citadel, composed Of central or
donjon tower, surrounded by eight
Ranking towers, united by heavy
walls, and encircled with a deep,
wide moat. OF this citadel the donion
tower alone is now standing the rest
have all vanished amid the wars that
have ebbed and flowed around it, and
have been replaced by various other
structures belonging to different and
widely-separated epochs. 1t is still all
q vast fortress, enclosed by strong
walls and a wide moat, defended by
cannon. and comprising within its limits
an arsenal, barracks, hospitals, a can.
non foundry, mandatory Of small
arms, repairing shops, chapel, pri-
sons, and vast stoiehouses, Containing
The complete equipments for an army
Of sixty thousand, to say nothing Of a
garrison Of some ten thousand men.
We enter over the drawbridge thrown
across the most to the gate, and soon
find ourselves in a large COURTYARD.
with the facade in front Of Us, OF what
was once tie royal apartments. These
were built by Louis XIII. and Louis
XIV, while the chapel to our left was
commenced way back yonder in the
fourteenth century, when Charles V.
lived here. 1t was in the old chapel,
pulled down to make room for the pre-
sent one, that the Crown Of Thorns,
brought from the Holy Land, was de-
posted over night on it's arrival. The
next morning King Louis TX. carried it
into the capital, walking barefoot the
whole way. The present chapel
is Gothic structure, with delicate lace
like stone carvings, rose windows, and
ogive trilobes. Alphabetically speak
ing, II is fine piece Of work, but the
interior is devoid Of ornament, and
shows many traces Of having been
sacked frequently. In one Of the side
chapels is n monument which people
look at with sad interest, because Of its
being erected in memory Of the Duke
d'Englises. the last descendant Of the
Condos, and OF whose death in this
fortress l shall have more 10 say fur
Their on. On the same side Of the
courtyard is the armory aud a
small tower, known as the ere
seryoir tower while on the RICH,
Of the courtyard looms up the
frowning donjon tower. 1t is ia fee,
high, and its ten-feet thick walls hav,
stood the wars Of many centuries. II
the open spaces between these build
ings are piles OF cannon.balls and NOR
tAr-shclls, long rows of dismouute,
siege guns aud field-pieces. The long