The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-22
THE BASTILE.

ment in the great centers represented
today by England, France, Germany
and Italy. The old feudal wars. which
had distracted and desolated Europe
for centuries had given place to
great national struggles. The Latin
empire of Constantinople had yielded
to the ancient masters of the orient
Q26f. The last crusade had ended in
sorrow and gloom, and the last trace
of the long Latin occupation of Pales-
tine had been wiped out. With the
death of Conradin, the last Of the ill
fated race of Barbarossa Q26S), the
long struggle between Guelph and
Ghibelline for the possession of Italy
ended. and Italy soon found full scope
for the new life which had awakened
in her uncon0uerabl cities, in the full
tide Of renaissance. All Europe, in
short was changing front and prepar-
ing herself for a new era. 1t was in
evitable that Paris, the seat of the gov
eminent of France, the home OF great
university. the scene OF so many con-
flicting interests and the repository of
so much wealth. OF 50 much latent pow
er. should discover her Importance and
seek to exert her influence. During the
first years of the long struggle with
England the tide CT war passed by her
on the north and weSs, yet she could
MOI tSCdyt the I!lSlOIluiltS Ntlt
affecting the nation. Crecy and Pol
tiers had filed her streets with gloom
and her homes with mourning. The
restitution of the country had reused
the "Jacquerie" to revolt and added to
the horrors OF foreign invasion the
deeper horrors of a servile war. The
city leaders with clearer heads saw in
the miseTies of the times and the mis-
fortunes of the nation terrible ar
raignment of the declining feudalism,
and seized the movement 10 wrest from
the distracted government guarantees
of their liberties. The movement was
not patriotic in the larger sense; but
then men had not yet risen TO the sub
lime conception of the nation as
whole The leader of the, popular cause
was Etienne Marcel. the provost Of the
merchants. man Of great courage, but
narrow in his synpathies and as vio-
lent as any leader of the mountain"
in the days of the great revolution, and.
like the men of the mountain" also,
ne wrecked his cause by violence. He
struck down the ministers of the crown
in the very presence of the dauphin,
the regent. and then made common
cause with the "Jacquerie." He added
to his violence treason and proposed to
surrender the city OF Charles the Bad,
the king of Navarro. who claimed the
crown by right OF his mother and had
allied with the English against his
country At the very moment when
Marcel proposed TO open the gates to
the king of Navarro he was slain by
the city militia, who had been willing
to force their demands from the dis
tIacted government, but hesitated u
support the treason of Marcel Marcel
was killed on the night of July ii. 1888.
Charles V. wise statesman and great
administrator. the dauphin whose gar
ha
blood of his own ministers, at last be-
came king in 1864. He bore no grudge
against the people of his capital, yet
the great wild beast within its walls
had barred it's teeth and shown its
claws, and Charles was too wise man
not to take precautions for the future.
Accordingly. under pretense OF erecting
an additional fertilization within the st.
Antoine gate he built the famous Bas-
tile; ostensibly as a protection OF the
city against a foreign foe. but really
in order to bride the inconstant popu-
lace should they again rise against the
government. For 900 years this grim
monument stood over against the st.
Antoine gate until another rising of the
people redeemed the failure of Marcel.
Charles was busy man. He had a
bankrupt treasury to redeem and king
dom to reorganize and restore He had
neither time nor money 10 eNpend upon
his capital Yet he gathered the nu
cleus of the national library and gave
new peace and prosperity TO the city.
The reign of Charles VI was as
stormy as the later years of his father
had been peaceful and prosperous. The
poor king during most of his life was
a driveling lunatic in the hands of his
uncles. who quarreied with each other
and alternately betrayed and abused
the king Charles V had reduced the
taxes of the city and had promised still
further TO tighten the burdens OF the
people But the government now i'm
posed new and grievous exactions, and
when Hugh Aubeiot, the ola provost of
the merchants of Charles V. whose
name is identified with the building of
the Bastile, protested, the government
cast him into prison. The people rose
in wrath. The king for the moment was
intimidated and renowned the hated
taxes But when the next year n3S3)
Charles returned from victorious eN-
petition against the Flemings, he de-
stroyed the gates of the city, and. ac-
companied by his uncle. rode into the
city as if il were place taken in war.
and at once seized and put to death
those who had dared TO assert the
rights of the burghers. A heavy fine