Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-08-29

more IOr liberty tn8n lie, unOr.
ganized and poorly armed, dared to challenge the
tyranny Of king.
The stirring events which eliminated In the
taking Of Frances fortress Of feudalism were in
motion early In July, 1889. and two great char
acters in the history Of France and the United
States were In the French capital at that very
time. The Marquis de Lafayette after consulting.
with Thomas Jefferson, the author Of the Declara-
ton of Independence presented to the national
assembly bill Of rights Had the French acted
ten days sooner, as there were many indications
that it might, common birthday might now be
observed by the sister nations.
The traditions Of the American colonies and
those Of France differed so widely that to sense
the true meaning of the Bastile 1t is necessary to
trace the origin Of that gloomy pile in the Eau
bourg st. Antoine. For centuries the ediice was
the sign Of the divine right Of kings. Before
the storm of the French revolution broke there
were so such prisons in France, for bastille sig.
niles merely fortified building AS the years
went by so infamous became TINT one which stood
on the banks Of the Seine and was usually known
the Castle of Paris that it took unto itself the
all-embracng title Of 'sThe Bastille"
Like the institution Of monarchy of which it
was the symbol, the structure was the develop
ment Of centuries The original edifce consisted
of a pair Of towers, and was a part of the stone
barrier against the medieval Huns. Charles v
about 1869 commissioned Hughes Aubriot, then
provost of Paris to enlarge the old fertilization.
Aubriot, having in mind the extension Of the
teudal power, made 1t both fortress and JAIL
Various additions We're made by the kings OF
Fra1fce. As fort 1t was considered impregnable,
as the main walls at their base were 40 feet
thick, and beneath the battlements 100 feet above
the pavement the light struggled into the cells
through narrow windows piercing nine feet OF
solid masonry Cannon were set in the deep en-
brasures, and there were portfolios from which
archers and crossbowmen once sped the shafts Of
death.
To the peasantry and the common people the
Bastille was all that was formidable and forbid
ding. grim and mysterious stronghold, it
earned year by year Its evil name.
Kings with power of life and death over their
subjects used 1t as the instrument with which to
punish all who opposed them. They spared neither
the high nor the low. In the days Of absOlutism
the monarch could commit prisoners to the Bas-
tile without any other process Of law than war
rant which became known as lettre de cachet
This document bearing the royal seal, was
often in blank Many lettres de cachet were OBJ
tanned by unprincipled persons who either used
them to punish their enemies or sold them to
those who had sinister ends in view. The mon
strous abuses which grew out of this practice
were a blot on European history.
Courtiers charlatans and courtesans found a
way to safe their grudges The life or the liberty
Of man in all the kingdom was, secure. Even
in the eighteenth century notable personages
might be thrown into prison because, some rea-
tives coveted their estates In the reign Of Louis
Nv 10000 lettres de chachet were Issued. His
.