Evening star., 1914-04-10
Base of Robespierre.

FIVE years later. almost exactly, RoblS-
pierre's commune. sitting here in defiance
of the convention, was in session when
Barras stormed the building with five
battalions and arrested the insurgents
once all powerful. and now in turn to be
victims of the dread enginery of destruc-
ton devised for tyrants. Robespierre
was here wounded in the jaw. so that
shortly afterward. when he kissed Mme
Guillotin," he did with a ghastly
grin1ace. From an upper window of the
hotel the younger Robespierre in a fran
tic attempt to escape, or perhaps to take
his own life. flung himself upon the heads
Of the troops below, and was mortally
hurt. and in turn gravely injured several
soldiers.
The place de Cireve, as the space be-
fore the Hotel de Vile was long ago
styled-the name meaning Bank of the
Rivers smaller today than in the times
The block and the stake were frequently
erected in this now bustling thoroughfare
Kavaillac, the slayer of Henry ", ex-
plated his crime in the Place de Greve
But he was only one of many of higher
station in life, some of whom were in
nocent of actual offense save that of
differing in thought from those in power
No bloodier spot exists in all the world
than this, so often the scene of atrocious
cruelties, SO often trodden by the feet of
traffic rolls smoothly over the wooden
pavement, raised considerably above the
soil that was for centuries the receptacle
of the life fluid of France.
Hears Song of Gargoyles.
The rain was pouring as crossed the
front of the Hotel de Vile and passed by
the Pont dArcole to the Isle of the City
Beyond the great hospital lay Notre
Dame, so often itself the scene of his
torical happenings. This was to be an
out-of-doors exploration, so resisted the
always strong temptation to enter and
rest within the silent gloom of the ancient
church. Turning to the left, went along
the Rue du Cloiture Notre Dame, keeping
close to the iron fence surrounding the
church in order to hear the song of the
gargoyles. These grotesque creatures were
admirably serving their architectural pur-
pose as water spouts. sending down
streams from various heights which,
side of the fence, added to the general
wetness below and gave forth a noise
like a cascade. The lower gargoyles
emitted a note considerably lower in pitch
than the loftier ones. owing to the greater
solidity of the streams. Passing thus
! within range of the splashes, the griffins
and hobsoblns the monkeys and demons
that form so famous feature of this
great pile acquire certain dignity of
practical utility which is denied to them
| when viewed in dry weather
Morgue Once Mecca.
Behind Notre Dame lies the morgue. for
many years center of the morbid in
terest of Parisians and one of the
sights of the capital. Several years
| ago the government, realizing that the
| throngs of people visiting it were drawn
almost solely by unwholesome curiosity
| and that the public display of dead bodies
served no useful purpose, prohibited ac-
cess to the morgue save in the case of
persons actually seeking to identity un-
| known dead. AS 1 passed the grim SQUAT
| building. which stands on the extreme
upper end of the Isle of the City, where
| the Seine sends off its second branch to
| join the first, thus forming the smaller
Isle st. Louis. / paused to read, as we'll
as / could, the official notice posted upon
the wall proclaiming the closure of the
morgue to public inspection. notice
which upon it's issue was bitterly re-
| scented by Parisians. to whom the privi-
! lege of gazing at the faces of the
| drowned-who average nearly three a day
| was cherished a yeritable right. 1t
| was recently announced that the morsue