Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-07-25
THE PARIS BASTlLE.
Historical Points Regarding this Cele-
bratcd Prison.

was the nrSt Eugii-u governor NL tIf DIS
! tile. SAYS the London Tcier1ph, the ap-
/ preaching centenary Oh the day on which
| that historical fortress aud prison was de-
stroyed and the French revolution lnai-
/ guratcd bv the Partisan mob viii awaken
interest I'm this country. The first stone "i
/ the ancient edlfce was laid hv lugucs Ar-
! hriot subsequently provost OF larie un-
/ der Charles Nl.-l510, and July II, ltsl. the
| Bastlle was stormcd aud taken hy am lnsrr-
/ rectlonHy Tabblc after "a feeble show
/ of resistance on the part of th" Mar
| Quis de Laun8y hs tmld governor,
/ who was himself bcheaded Ola the
! Place de Grc,e IN the evening Of tine
same dav. 10 celebrate the history of
| prison branded with far greater iniamy
| than IT ever deserved. two volumes have
| recently been published by Captain the
/ Hon. Denis Bingham, which VIII bee read
with attention IN this country by men ~id
women descended from ancestors who cH-
! claimed, on the one baud, with Charles
James Fox i'm 1883: How much Is tins the
! greatest and best event that ever happened
upon earth !n OF who presagcd. on the
/ other, with Burke. that the ~tormng of the
/ Blstile was the herald of anarchy and the
destruction Of law. Among the countless
| works treating of the events which o.
/ CURED IN France between 1889 and 1894
/ Captain Bngham'- is conspicuous for
us not only how superficial and III
accurate CARLYLE Is, but also that
! the contemporary accounts ct the stormng
| OF the Bastlle given los tho Grtb1H1t s.
| Mqgdzli4e and the AunpGi HfqtSI7 tccm with
errors: that Sir james Mcintosh, Fox,
| Gouycrncur Morris. George Washington.
/ and even Lafayette hailed the first great
! crime OF the revolution with enthusiasm
| in 1883. lut changed their minds when
/ l ..,fe Y VI and Afartg Auftfunffn wore exc
! cuted in 1888; that the prisoners confined
! u the Bastile were much better treated
| than their English fellow-Suflerers lu the
! tower of London and Ncwgate that the
! oublletteS or underground cells I'M which
victims were supposed 10 have undergone
/ torture were probably lCe-hou~c-. and
| that the imaginary horrors Of the Bastle
were nothing rs compared with the uu-
doubted cruclnes and atrocities pcrpetra-
/ ted by the Geud5 who stOrmed and destroy
| cd #.
Originally the Bastie was a small fort Of
no political importance. destined to defend
| the Seine where IL enters Paris against the
attacks Of the English. II Was not long,
/ however, before II fell into English hands,
| having been captured by the Duke of Bed
/ ford i'm 1920. when Sir John EalstAh was
made Governor. Sir John was soldier of
IRON courage and remarkable foresight,
who. after the expulsion of the English
| from France IN 1896, built himself a noble
mansion at Castor. near Yarmouth. where
| he lived m great state until ms death IN
| 1859. aged more than eighty years. Bal
zac. in his Catherine de Medicls, W
| saws that lowing tOa caprice of Shak-
| spcare Falstaf Is the type Of cowardli-
ness and udicule, the king of buhoons,
whose very name provokes uncOntrOla-
/ bic laughter" How little like the fat
/ knight Of Shakespeare was to the real knight,
who Was thirty -four wears old when Henry
| Y. assembled the English throne, may he
| Inferred from the fact that Sir John Fal-
/ staff WAS the friend of William of Nayr-
/ hetc and al bus request endowed MAeda-
/ len College. Oxford, with much valuable
property. including the celebrated Boar -
/ Head Tavern, in Southwark, and the ma
nor of Caldecot IN suffolk. He also assist
ed the building of the schools of law and
philosophy al Cambridge with considera-
! bic sums md was man of yalOr, learning,
and singular sobriety. Yet all memory of
| this English worthy has passed away. ana
| in his place Shakspeares rollckng rat
/ Jack - has arisen To- enlarge ma W ash
/ ington lryiug's words, the boundaries
of human enjoyment 10 create vast r.
mons of wit and good humor in which the
po0rest may rcyel, aud 10 bequcath uneYcr-
falling inheritance of jolly laughter to
make mankind merTicr and better to the
latest posterity." Ii is with men Of very
different order that the chronicles OF the
Bastile make us familiar. Among its
French governors were included the Due
de Guise. the Duo de SullH, the Duo De
Iuynes, Marshal Bas,ompl the Due de
Luxembourg. NJ. dc -; Mars, celebrated
i'm connection with the man IN the iron
mask the avaricious NJ. dee BeuavI.le.
and the Marquis dc Launay, who was IN
I charge Of the old fortress prison when
| the mob captured 1t III l7SJ. The list
of notable prisoners confined within MS
walls. although far more interesting than
I that of its governors, IS TOO long Tor
recapitulation. II was first used 10y Louis
NJ. rs % state prison, and IN II cardinal
( Ballue Was confined for eleven years III an
/ iron Gaze. which the prrlate of whom such
IAN amusing picture is drawn i'm Quentin
Durward.n had himself invented Tor the
punishment of the Kings enemies. With
/ ont attempting 10 follow any of the varied
incidents recited by VI. ReyaissOn in his
seventeen volumes of Archives ~ tie
Basule." the account Of the condition m
which the infuuatcd MOB Of lis9 found
the prison when the Marquis Ge Lauuav do-
livered ~ up TO them shows how absurdlv
tlc triumph was ovcrrated. The immediate
result of its capture was the release oi
seven prisoners all that its walls contain
el-fOur of whom were awaiting their trlal
for forgery. and the other three were out OF
their minds. What then did humanity
cain bv the dwelling of the Bastile with
the ground SO that on the site once occu-
pied by il NJ. Bailly, Mayorot PARIS, caused
n placard to be set UP with lei az d0i>e ~
inscribed upon itY The revolution soon
replaced the Bastile with other dungeons
conducted with UNPARALLELED brutality. NJ
Taine tells US that ia 1874 there We're thir-
tv-six vast prisons IN Paris aud nmetv-slN
provisional jais. which were necessarily
llled hy the revolutionary committees and
found insufficient.
II appears TO be q necessity with French
Republicans that false gods should periodi-
cally be set u for thelV worship, Just rs
Saunlcr. the beautiful actress, was selected
bv the sans-culOttes IN 1898 to represent
the Goddess Of Reason III q KIND ~ bni-
lesdue performed AT Notre Dame. IN the
course OF the Orgy which / saw" writes
Gouverneur Morris % Thomas Jefferson.
this immaculate lady. who lately asked
the painter David 70 invent for her dress
more indecent than nudity, stood on the
altar Of NOtre Dame and was adored on
Blended knees by the president of the con-
vention and other notable characters. "
Many other nations, with certain persons
i'm England and the United States
at their head, hailed the storming
Of the Bastile with delight as the
birth of freedom in France. The
kew of the demolished prison was sent by
Lafayette as present TO George Washing
ton, and is still regarded with undying in
terest by visitors who flock TO Mt. Vernon.
now the property of the American nation:
The enthusiasm awakened by the tall 81
/ the Bastile WAS soon extlnguished by the
horrors 10 which il was the prelude. Yet
the l4tb of July has from time to time
been utilized for political purposes by the
rulers of France In 1877 Napoleon, when
| in command of the French army of Italy,
addressed an order Of the day TO his
troops commencing, "Soldiers, to-day IS
the anniversary Of the l4th Of july" and
| ending by threat to march on Paris