The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-05
THE CONCIERGERIE.

Ine OiueSt Prison OF france. w Ihln
whose Walls Were Confined Phi
Iippe de Confines, Safnt-VaIier,
Madame Roland. and Marie AntOl-
nette, and which Saw Many of the
Horrors of the Revolution.
Paris Letter in New York Post.
The French capital bears on its arms
a ship with the motto, "Fuctuat nee
mergitur." The city was built at first
on an island which separates two arms
of the Seine. 1t is extending every
year, every day, in all directions; its
progress Will sooner or later break the
line of Notifications built against in
vasion in the days of Louis Philippe;
and it has recently been decided that
that part of the fortifications which
separates Western Paris from the Bots
de Boulogne shall be demolished, as the
protection of Mont Nalerien is deemed
sufficient in that direction. The island
of Lutetia, however, still remains the
center and heart of Paris; and nothing
can vie. in our admiration, with the
congeries of monuments to be seen
from the bridges of the Seine, from
Notre Dame to the Louvre, the Sainte-
Cndpelle, the HdldlS, the COLlClei SeilC'
the ChatelCt.
There is a whole literature of this
ancient Paris; there is also valu-
able collection of all its aspects. Some
collectors devote themselves entirely to
Paris, and are the devOtees of the cap
ital. l have just noticed an interest
ing volume on the "ConCiergerie du
Palais de Paris. which traces the his
tory of this striking monument from
the year 1881 to the year 1901. The
author of the volume, NJ. Eugene Pot
tet, writes:
For twenty years. and several
times a day, we have passed this old
monument. with its pointed and black
towers which forms a part of the Pa
lais de Justice, and is still commonly
called the Conciergerie. All Paris
knows at least the outside of this an
tique prison, whose gloomy appearance
strikes the passerby who goes along
the Pont-Neuf, the Pont au Change,
or who follows the quays opposite the
Chatelet. 1t is chiefly thus, on clear
night and from the Quay de la Megis-
serie, that the old edifice shows it's
majestic outline and its terrible
beauty"
The Conoiergerie is the oldest prison
in Paris, and is an annex of the PalaiS
de Justice, which shows in its irregu-
lar buildings every order of architec
ture. What is still called the Palace
began to be occupied by the Capetian
Kings. 1t was rebuilt by King Robert
H., and enlarged by Saint Louis, to
whom are attributed the vaulted rooms
under the large hall of the Palace,
called Sale des pas perdus, where you
may every day see lawyers and judges
in their gowns walking with their
clients. One of these rooms is still call
ed Sale Saint-Louis; another goes I'M
der the name of the Kitchen of Saint
Louis. The Sainte-Chapelle was con-
structed by Louis TX; it is a jewel of
Gothic art, and has been compared to
a reliquarY. All visitors to Paris adj
mire it. The Square Tower which
makes the corner of the Quay de THOR
loge bears on one of its walls very
remarkable immense clock. which has
been often repaired. Its latest decora-
ton is very rich, and one can see in it
the iniials of Henri IL, of Diane de
Poitiers, and of Henri III. 1t was in
allusion to Henri III. that the poet
Passerat wrote this inscription:
"Qui dedit ante duas, triplicem dabit
lille coronam.
The two statues on each side of the
clock are by the celebrated German
Pilon, and represent Force and Jus
tice.
The Palais, constructed and rebuilt,
at various periods, is wanting in har-
mony, but its complexity is easily ex-
planned by the numerous objects for
which it was destined. Justice was adj
ministered in some parts; in others
there were places of recreation for the
people, theaters in which the Mysteries
OF the Middle Ages were played The
Fronde made 1t the center of it's agita-
tons. The Parlements met in it, and
afterwards the Revolutionary Tribunal
sat in it. The solemn opening of the
Parchment took place. after a two
months vacation, on the day following
ST Martins Day At an altar, which
was placed in the Grande Sale. was
celebrated mass which was called the
Mass of the Holy Spirit-or the Red
Mass, because the president and the
ccunsellors wore red gowns. To this
day the Red Mass is celebrated at the
opening of the courts, but in the
Sainte-Chapelle
What is most striking in the general
aspect of the Conciergerie on the quay
is its towers. One, called Caesars.
is where Ravaillac and Lacenaire
were shut up. Queen Blanche is said
to have inhabited another, called the
silver over inasmuch as it once con-
V.
heavier than the others, has been
called the Tower of Bon-Boc and also
the BaVarde. 1t was used for torture.
as RaVaillac and Damiens expert
ehced. Some other towers were de-
mollshed; one of them disappeared in
1871, in the fires lighted by the Com
mune
We cannot go. as NJ. Pottet does
INTO an elaborate description of the
endless passages, the prisons, the cab
inets of the inner Conciergerie. Visit
ors are sometimes allowed, by special
permission, to view a part of them;
others are the exclusive domain of
the judicial world. M. Pottet gives US
the names of all the prisoners of i'm
portance who have entered the Con-
ciergerie, many of them now COM
pletely unknown. We will mention
only, in old times. the celebrated his
torian, Philippe de Confines, who was
first in the service of Charles the
Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and who then
attached himself to Louis XII, Charles
enemy Confines, whose memoirs are
still read. did not, however die in
prison. Victor Hugo introduces in the
"Roi s'amuse" Saint-Vanier, who left
the Conciergerie for the scaffold. and
received his pardon on the road: his
daughter, Diane of remarkable beau
~, having obtained it from Fran
co.'s /. The poets sang the courage of
Sambiancay, superintendent of finan-
ces, who left the Conciergerie for
Montfaucon, where he was hanged
Nj. Pottet gives us the text of RAJ
Vaillac's ''ordre de'ecrou," still pre-
served in the archives of the Prefec-