The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-08-01

whale oil, he is sent to the. Bastille as a
summary lesson in political economy.
An architects son disobeys his father
and refuses to enter the priesthood, be
is Bastilled to give him time for refec>
tion, and 80 also is the envoy from the
Elector of Brandenburg for mentioning
to his master one of the many love affairs
OF the Grand Monardue.
It was this high.hauded lawlessness of
procedure rather than the internal regu.
lations of the Bsstille that rendered it q
Kissing and byword among the Jacob.
ins. Indeed, the lawlessness and the
secrecy with which that lawlessness was
administered resulted In the invention
Of hideons. tales of cruelty that were
either fabrications of ezaggeratious.
THE CAPTURE OF THE BAsTILLE.
! The Bastille helped to bfing about tt Q
Revolution, and it's destruction was the
first act of the revolutionists. But at
the time of its destruction the RaBtille
had long ceased to be a State prison.
Seven victims only were found, four of
whom were common forgers. Nor, in.
desd, was the capture Of the prison the
act of heroism which it has sometimes
been assumed to be.
On Sunday, July IL, 1879, the signal
for civil war had been given. An insur.
gent mob at Palais Royal echoed back
Camille Desmouling's cry 10 arms. That
night the slums Of the city emptied their
inhabitants tc pltnder churches and
commit all sorts of excuses. Ats q. m.
on the 18th Of July the people seized
upon depot Of arms belonging to the
city. Everything was in tumult. The
bursting of the storm might be appre.
hended at any moment. The night
finished in the midst of chaos, tumult and
| ageneral preparation for slaughter.
At break ofday on the 18th the mob
invaded the 1nvalides in search of arms.
Treason assisted chem, the gates were
thrown open, the muskets were seized.
at 8 O'Clock that afternoon the Bastille
was besieged. The first attack was un-
successful But the Bastille wasD not the
the terrible place it had been in its early
days. It was inauficiently garriaoned
and one.half of that garrison was dis.
affected. The Governor, De Launay,
sought to party with the crowd. Finally
he agreed to capitulate on condition that
he aud his garrison should be spared.
But when the mob had received admit.
tance the Governor and some of this
officers and men we're butchered and their
heads were paradsd through the streets on
spikes.
| :'On the following day the towers OF
the Bastille were razed and its dun
geons illed with the copings of its battle.
ments.
THE BAsTILLE.
But even then nobody dreamed what
Was to bs the outcome of this sudden
outburat Of popular fury. Nine. de
Genlis, wishing that her pupils, the sons
of the Due d. Orleans, should see. all that
was going on, took them to witness the
! pulling down of the Bastille. "It Id
impossible to form an idea of it." she
says; "the dreaded fortress was covered,
even to Its highest roofs and towers,
4 with men, women and children, all
working with unheard Of ardor." That
amazing number of voluntary laborersp
their activity, their enthusiasm, the
pleasure of beholding the destruction of
that frightfnl monument Of despotism
"made Paris frantic with Joy on the eve
of the Reign of Terror"
Little did Nine. de Genlis dream OF
what it portended. Little did she know
that the demolition of that ancient build
ing meant death to the husband of her
i youth death. to the father of the young
princes at her side; exile to them and
herself; horror, agony and death to al
most all her friends. Little did she
dream that an awful social upheayal was
]. at hand. :; that chaos would be restored ;
! that the old order would be swept away.
And even if she had foreshadowed all
this, ahe could not have seen further,
she could not have looked beyond the
temporary interregnum to a new order
wider, better and nobler than the old,
which should spring up out of the chaos
to new France, rejuvenated, .purged of
the errors, the injustice, the crimes of
the past, France in which the rights Of
man would be respected, and liberty,
equality and fraternity bethe watch,word
the France Of to-day.
And since all these results flowed from
the capture of the Bastille, it is we'll that
the France Of to-day should celebrate
i the anniversary of that event, so small
apparently in itself, yet big with the fate
| of the nation.
i n1s.> nouSkloo1 llnr,Io