Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1918-09-05

sani2ed and poorly armed. dared to challenge the
tyranny Of n king.
The stirring events which eliminated In the
taking Of Frances fortress Of feudallsm 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 Declare
ton of Independence. presented to the national
assembly a bill Of rights. Had the French acted
ten days sooner, as there were many indications
that it might, a 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 Bastille 1t Is necessary to
trace the origin of that gloomy pile In the Eau
hours st. Antoine. For centuries the edifce 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
mites merely a fortified building. As the years
went by so infamous became that one which stood
on the banks Of the Seine and was usually known
as the Castle of Paris that 1t took unto itself the
%a!lembracing title Of THE Bastille."
Like the institution Of monarchy, or when II
was the symbol, the structure was the develop
ment of centuries. The original edifice consisted
of a pair Of towers. and was II part OF the stone
barrier against the medieval Huns. Charles '
about 1861 commissioned liuGues AuUtlol' '"S"
provost Of Paris, to enlarge the old fortincation.
Aubriot. having In mind the extension OF the
ieudal power, made 1t both fortress and jail.
Various additions were made by the kings OF
France. As a fort 1t was considered impregnable.
as the main walls at their base were ~ 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-
hrasures, and there were portfolios from which
srchers and c%rossbow.nen once sped the shafts OF
death. .tN'' r"
TO the peasantry and the common people the
Bastillc was all that was formidable and fOrnio-
ding. A grim and mysterious stronghold, 1t
earned year by year It's evil name.
Kings with power Of life and 0eath over their
subjects used 1t IN the instrument with which 10
!unish NIL who opposed them. They spared neither
The high nor the low. In the days OF absolutlsm
'hc monarch could commit prisoners to the bas'
lille without any other process Of Inv thnn q war
rant which became known as u lettre de cachet'
This document. bearing the royal sea'' was
often in blank. Many lettres de cachet were Cd
tnincd BY unprinciplcd persons who either used
them to. punish their enemies or sold them e
= those who had sinister ends in view. The mon
strOus abuses which grew out Of this practice
were a blot on European history.
C~ourtiers, charlatans and courtesans fonnd q
way to safe their ~grudgcs. The life or the liberty
OF no man In all the kingdom was secure. Ever
IN the eighteenth century Notable personage'
might be thrown into prison because some rem
dves coveted their estates. In the reign OF Loui'
Nv 10000 lsttres de chachet we're Issued. III