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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4c0051a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50520 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50520) diff --git a/old/50520-8.txt b/old/50520-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9fb731c..0000000 --- a/old/50520-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7549 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The History and Romance of Crime: Early -French Prisons, by Arthur George Frederick Griffiths - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: The History and Romance of Crime: Early French Prisons - Le Grand and Le Petit Châtelets; Vincennes; The Bastile; Loches; The Galleys; Revolutionary Prisons - - -Author: Arthur George Frederick Griffiths - - - -Release Date: November 20, 2015 [eBook #50520] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY AND ROMANCE OF CRIME: -EARLY FRENCH PRISONS*** - - -E-text prepared by Chris Curnow, Paul Clark, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 50520-h.htm or 50520-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50520/50520-h/50520-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50520/50520-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/historyromanceof06grif - - - - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - OE ligatures have been expanded. - - - - - -THE HISTORY AND ROMANCE OF CRIME FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES -TO THE PRESENT DAY - -The Grolier Society -London - - -[Illustration: _An Incident During the Communal Revolts of the Twelfth -Century_ - -A noble being strangled in his castle by one of the men of the -commune (town) in the twelfth century when the villages at the foot -of the castles revolted and wrested charters from their lords, often -peacefully but more frequently by bloodshed and brutal practices.] - - -EARLY FRENCH PRISONS - -Le Grand and Le Petit Châtelets -Vincennes--The Bastile--Loches -The Galleys -Revolutionary Prisons - -by - -MAJOR ARTHUR GRIFFITHS - -Late Inspector of Prisons in Great Britain - -Author of -"The Mysteries of Police and Crime" -"Fifty Years of Public Service," etc. - - - - - - - -The Grolier Society - -Edition Nationale -Limited to one thousand registered and numbered sets. -Number 307 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -The judicial administration of France had its origin in the Feudal -System. The great nobles ruled their estates side by side with, and -not under, the King. With him the great barons exercised "high" -justice, extending to life and limb. The seigneurs and great clerics -dispensed "middle" justice and imposed certain corporal penalties, -while the power of "low" justice, extending only to the _amende_ and -imprisonment, was wielded by smaller jurisdictions. - -The whole history of France is summed up in the persistent effort of -the King to establish an absolute monarchy, and three centuries were -passed in a struggle between nobles, parliaments and the eventually -supreme ruler. Each jurisdiction was supported by various methods of -enforcing its authority: All, however, had their prisons, which served -many purposes. The prison was first of all a place of detention and -durance where people deemed dangerous might be kept out of the way -of doing harm and law-breakers could be called to account for their -misdeeds. Accused persons were in it held safely until they could be -arraigned before the tribunals, and after conviction by legal process -were sentenced to the various penalties in force. - -The prison was _de facto_ the high road to the scaffold on which -the condemned suffered the extreme penalty by one or another of the -forms of capital punishment, and death was dealt out indifferently by -decapitation, the noose, the stake or the wheel. Too often where proof -was weak or wanting, torture was called in to assist in extorting -confession of guilt, and again, the same hideous practice was applied -to the convicted, either to aggravate their pains or to compel the -betrayal of suspected confederates and accomplices. The prison -reflected every phase of passing criminality and was the constant -home of wrong-doers of all categories, heinous and venial. Offenders -against the common law met their just retribution. Many thousands -were committed for sins political and non-criminal, the victims of an -arbitrary monarch and his high-handed, irresponsible ministers. - -The prison was the King's castle, his stronghold for the coercion and -safe-keeping of all who conspired against his person or threatened -his peace. It was a social reformatory in which he disciplined the -dissolute and the wastrel, the loose-livers of both sexes, who were -thus obliged to run straight and kept out of mischief by the stringent -curtailment of their liberty. The prison, last of all, played into the -hands of the rich against the poor, active champion of the commercial -code, taking the side of creditors by holding all debtors fast until -they could satisfy the legal, and at times illegal demands made upon -them. - -Various types of prisons were to be found in France, the simpler kind -being gradually enlarged and extended, and more and more constantly -utilised as time passed and society became more complex. All had -common features and exercised similar discipline. All were of solid -construction, relying upon bolts and bars, high walls and hard-hearted, -ruthless jailers. The prison régime was alike in all; commonly -starvation, squalor, the sickness of hope deferred, close confinement -protracted to the extreme limits of human endurance in dark dungeons, -poisonous to health and inducing mental breakdown. In all prisons, -penalties followed the same grievous lines. Culprits were subjected to -degradation moral and physical, to the exposure of the _carcan_ and -pillory. They made public reparation by the _amende honorable_, were -flogged, mutilated, branded and tortured. - -Prisons were to be met with throughout the length and breadth of -France. The capital had many; every provincial city possessed one or -more. In Paris the principal prisons were the two Châtelets, the gaols -and, as we should say to-day, the police headquarters of the Provost -or chief magistrate of the city. For-l'Évêque was the Bishops' court; -the Conciergerie, the guardroom of the King's palace, kept by the -_concierge_, porter or janitor, really the mayor and custodian of the -royal residence; in the Temple the powerful and arrogant military order -of the Knights Templars had its seat. - -The reigning sovereign relied upon the Bastile, at first merely a -rampart against invasion and rebellion, but presently exalted into the -King's prison-house, the royal gaol and penitentiary. He had also the -donjon of Vincennes, which was first a place of defensive usefulness -and next a place of restraint and coercion for State offenders. Other -prisons came into existence later: the Madelonnettes, St. Pélagie, -Bicêtre, the Salpêtrière and St. Lazare. - -All these have historic interest more or less pronounced and notable. -All in their time were the scenes of strange, often terrible episodes -and events. All serve to illustrate various curious epochs of the -world's history, but mark more especially the rise, progress, -aggrandisement and decadence and final fall of the French monarchy. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - INTRODUCTION 5 - - I. ORIGINS AND EARLY HISTORY 13 - - II. STRUGGLE WITH THE SOVEREIGN 35 - - III. VINCENNES AND THE BASTILE 57 - - IV. THE RISE OF RICHELIEU 90 - - V. THE PEOPLE AND THE BASTILE 121 - - VI. THE MAN WITH THE IRON MASK 148 - - VII. THE POWER OF THE BASTILE 187 - - VIII. THE TERROR OF POISON 210 - - IX. THE HORRORS OF THE GALLEYS 232 - - X. THE DAWN OF REVOLUTION 263 - - XI. LAST DAYS OF THE BASTILE 287 - - - - -List of Illustrations - - - INCIDENT DURING THE COMMUNAL REVOLTS - OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY _Frontispiece_ - - ISLE ST. MARGUERITE _Page_ 54 - - THE CASTLE OF ST. ANDRÉ " 82 - - THE BASTILE " 190 - - CHATEAU D'IF, MARSEILLES " 250 - - - - -EARLY FRENCH PRISONS - - - - -CHAPTER I - -ORIGINS AND EARLY HISTORY - - The Feudal System--Early prisons--Classes of inmates--Alike in - aspect, similar in discipline--Variety of penalties--Chief prisons - of Paris in the Middle Ages--Great and Little Châtelets--History - and inmates--The Conciergerie still standing--For-l'Évêque, - the Bishop's prison--The Temple, prison of the Knights - Templars--Bicêtre--Notable prisoners--Salomon de Caus, steam - inventor--St. Pélagie--St. Lazare. - - -Let us consider the prisons of Old France in the order of their -antiquity, their size and their general importance in French history. - -First of all the two Châtelets, the greater and less, Le Grand and Le -Petit Châtelet, of which the last named was probably the earliest in -date of erection. Antiquarians refer the Petit Châtelet to the Roman -period and state that its original use was to guard the entrance to -Paris when the city was limited to that small island in the Seine -which was the nucleus of the great capital of France. This fortress -and bridge-head was besieged and destroyed by the Normans but was -subsequently rebuilt; and it is mentioned in a deed dated 1222 in which -the king, Philip Augustus, took over the rights of justice, at a price, -from the Bishop of Paris. It stood then on the south bank of the Seine -at the far end of the bridge long afterwards known as the Petit Pont. -Both bridge and castle were swept away in 1296 by an inundation and -half a century elapsed before they were restored on such a firm basis -as to resist any future overflowing of the Seine. At this date its rôle -as a fortress appears to have ceased and it was appropriated by Charles -V of France to serve as a prison and to overawe the students of the -Quartier Latin. Hugues Aubriot, the same Provost of Paris who built -the Bastile, constructed several cells between the pillars supporting -the Petit Châtelet and employed them for the confinement of turbulent -scholars of the university. - -The Grand Châtelet was situated on the opposite, or northern bank of -the river, facing that side of the island of the Cité, or the far -end of the Pont au Change on the same site as the present Place du -Châtelet. Like its smaller namesake it was also thought to have been -a bridge-head or river-gate, although this is based on no authentic -record. The first definite mention of the Grand Châtelet is in the -reign of Philip Augustus after he created the courts of justice and -headquarters of the municipality of Paris. - -The Chapel and Confraternity of Notaries was established here in 1270. -The jurisdiction of the Provost of Paris embraced all the functions of -the police of later days. He was responsible for the good order and -security of the city; he checked disturbances and called the riotous -and disorderly to strict account. He was all powerful; all manner -of offenders were haled before the tribunals over which he presided -with fifty-six associate judges and assistants. The Châtelet owned a -King's Procurator and four King's Counsellors, a chief clerk, many -receivers, bailiffs, ushers, gaolers and sixty sworn special experts, -a surgeon and his assistants, including a mid-wife or accoucheuse, and -220 _sergents à cheval_, or outdoor officers and patrols, over whom -the Procurator's authority was supreme. The Procurator was also the -guardian and champion of the helpless and oppressed, of deserted and -neglected children and ill-used wives; he regulated the markets and -supervised the guilds and corporations of trades and their operations, -exposed frauds in buying and selling and saw that accurate weights and -measures were employed in merchandising. - -The prisons of the two Châtelets were dark, gruesome receptacles. -Contemporary prints preserve the grim features of the Petit Châtelet, -a square, massive building of stone pierced with a few loopholes -in its towers, a drawbridge with a portcullis giving access to the -bridge. The Grand Châtelet was of more imposing architecture, with an -elevated façade capped by a flat roof and having many "pepper pot" -towers at the angles. The cells and chambers within were dark, dirty, -ill-ventilated dens. Air was admitted only from above and in such -insufficient quantity that the prisoners were in constant danger of -suffocation, while the space was far too limited to accommodate the -numbers confined. The titles given to various parts of the interior -of the Grand Châtelet will serve to illustrate the character of the -accommodation. - -There was the _Berceau_ or cradle, so called from its arched roof; the -_Boucherie_, with obvious derivation; the _chaîne_ room, otherwise -_chêne_, from the fetters used or the oak beams built into it; the _Fin -d'Aise_ or "end of ease," akin to the "Little Ease" of old London's -Newgate, a horrible and putrescent pigsty, described as full of filth -and over-run with reptiles and with air so poisonous that a candle -would not remain alight in it. A chamber especially appropriated to -females was styled _La Grieche_, an old French epithet for a shrew -or vixen; other cells are known as _La Gloriette_, _La Barbarie_, -_La Barcane_ or _Barbacane_, lighted by a small grating in the roof. -The Châtelet had its deep-down, underground dungeon, the familiar -_oubliettes_ of every mediæval castle and monastery, called also -_in pace_ because the hapless inmates were thrown into them to be -forgotten and left to perish of hunger and anguish, but "in peace." The -worst of these at the Châtelet must have been _La Fosse_, the bottom -of which was knee deep in water, so that the prisoner was constantly -soaked and it was necessary to stand erect to escape drowning; here -death soon brought relief, for "none survived _La Fosse_ for more than -fifteen days." - -Monstrous as it must appear, rent on a fixed scale was extorted for -residence in these several apartments. These were in the so-called -"honest" prisons. The _Chaîne_ room, mentioned above, _La Beauvoir_, -_La Motte_ and _La Salle_ cost each individual four deniers (the -twelfth part of a sou) for the room and two for a bed. In _La -Boucherie_ and _Grieche_ it was two deniers for the room, but only -one denier for a bed of straw or reeds. Even in _La Fosse_ and the -_oubliettes_ payment was exacted, presumably in advance. Some light -is thrown by the ancient chronicles upon the prison system that -obtained within the Châtelet. The first principle was recognised that -it was a place of detention only and not for the maltreatment of its -involuntary guests. Rules were made by the parliaments, the chief -juridical authorities of Paris, to soften the lot of the prisoners, to -keep order amongst them and protect them from the cupidity of their -gaolers. The governor was permitted to charge gaol fees, but the scale -was strictly regulated and depended upon the status and condition of -the individuals committed. Thus a count or countess paid ten livres -(about fifty francs), a knight banneret was charged twenty sous, a Jew -or Jewess half that amount. Prisoners who lay on the straw paid one -sou. For half a bed the price was three sous and for the privilege of -sleeping alone, five sous. The latest arrivals were obliged to sweep -the floors and keep the prison rooms clean. It was ordered that the -officials should see that the bread issued was of good quality and of -the proper weight, a full pound and a half per head. The officials were -to visit the prisons at least once a week and receive the complaints -made by prisoners out of hearing of their gaolers. The hospitals were -to be regularly visited and attention given to the sick. Various -charities existed to improve the prison diet: the drapers on their -fête day issued bread, meat and wine; the watchmakers gave a dinner on -Easter day when food was seized and forfeited and a portion was issued -to the pauper prisoners. - -In all this the little Châtelet served as an annex to the larger -prison. During their lengthened existence both prisons witnessed many -atrocities and were disgraced by many dark deeds. One of the most -frightful episodes was that following the blood-thirsty feuds between -the Armagnacs and the Bourguignons in the early years of the fifteenth -century. These two political parties fought for supreme authority -in the city of Paris, which was long torn by their dissensions. -The Armagnacs held the Bastile but were dispossessed of it by the -Bourguignons, who were guilty of the most terrible excesses. They -slaughtered five hundred and twenty of their foes and swept the -survivors wholesale into the Châtelet and the "threshold of the prison -became the scaffold of 1,500 unfortunate victims." The Bourguignons -were not satisfied and besieged the place in due form; for the -imprisoned Armagnacs organised a defense and threw up a barricade -upon the north side of the fortress, where they held out stoutly. The -assailants at last made a determined attack with scaling ladders, by -which they surmounted the walls sixty feet high, and a fierce and -prolonged conflict ensued. When the attack was failing the Bourguignons -set fire to the prison and fought their way in, driving the besieged -before them. Many of the Armagnacs sought to escape the flames by -flinging themselves over the walls and were caught upon the pikes of -the Bourguignons "who finished them with axe and sword." Among the -victims were many persons of quality, two cardinals, several bishops, -officers of rank, magistrates and respectable citizens. - -The garrison of the Châtelet in those early days was entrusted to the -archers of the provost's guard, the little Châtelet being the provost's -official residence. The guard was frequently defied by the turbulent -population and especially by the scholars of the University of Paris, -an institution under the ecclesiastical authority and very jealous -of interference by the secular arm. One provost in the fourteenth -century, having caught a scholar in the act of stealing upon the -highway, forthwith hanged him, whereupon the clergy of Paris went in -procession to the Châtelet and denounced the provost. The King sided -with them and the chief magistrate of the city was sacrificed to their -clamor. Another provost, who hanged two scholars for robbery, was -degraded from his office, led to the gallows and compelled to take -down and kiss the corpses of the men he had executed. The provosts -themselves were sometimes unfaithful to their trust. One of them in -the reign of Philip the Long, by name Henri Chaperel, made a bargain -with a wealthy citizen who was in custody under sentence of death. -The condemned man was allowed to escape and a friendless and obscure -prisoner hanged in his place. It is interesting to note, however, -that this Henri Chaperel finished on the gallows as did another -provost, Hugues de Cruzy, who was caught in dishonest traffic with -his prisoners. Here the King himself had his share in the proceeds. A -famous brigand and highwayman of noble birth, Jourdain de Lisle, the -chief of a great band of robbers, bought the protection of the provost, -and the Châtelet refused to take cognizance of his eight crimes--any -one of which deserved an ignominious death. It was necessary to appoint -a new provost before justice could be meted out to Jourdain de Lisle, -who was at last tied to the tail of a horse and dragged through the -streets of Paris to the public gallows. - -In the constant warfare between the provost and the people the latter -did not hesitate to attack the prison fortress of the Châtelet. In -1320 a body of insurgents collected under the leadership of two -apostate priests who promised to meet them across the seas and conquer -the Holy Land. When some of their number were arrested and thrown -into the Châtelet, the rest marched upon the prison, bent on rescue, -and, breaking in, effected a general gaol delivery. This was not -the only occasion in which the Châtelet lost those committed to its -safe-keeping. In the latter end of the sixteenth century the provost -was one Hugues de Bourgueil, a hunch-back with a beautiful wife. Among -his prisoners was a young Italian, named Gonsalvi, who, on the strength -of his nationality, gained the goodwill of Catherine de Medicis, the -Queen Mother. The Queen commended him to the provost, who lodged him in -his own house, and Gonsalvi repaid this kindness by running away with -de Bourgueil's wife. Madame de Bourgueil, on the eve of her elopement, -gained possession of the prison keys and released the whole of the -three hundred prisoners in custody, thus diverting the attention from -her own escapade. The provost, preferring his duty to his wife, turned -out with horse and foot, and pursued and recaptured the fugitive -prisoners, while Madame de Bourgueil and her lover were allowed to go -their own way. After this affair the King moved the provost's residence -from the Châtelet to the Hôtel de Hercule. - -References are found in the earlier records of the various prisoners -confined in the Châtelet. One of the earliest is a list of Jews -imprisoned for reasons not given. But protection was also afforded to -this much wronged race, and once, towards the end of the fourteenth -century, when the populace rose to rob and slaughter the Jews, asylum -was given to the unfortunates by opening to them the gates of the -Châtelet. About the same time a Spanish Jew and an habitual thief, one -Salmon of Barcelona, were taken to the Châtelet and condemned to be -hanged by the heels between two large dogs. Salmon, to save himself, -offered to turn Christian, and was duly baptised, the gaoler's wife -being his godmother. Nevertheless, within a week he was hanged "like a -Christian" (_chrétiennement_), under his baptismal name of Nicholas. - -The Jews themselves resented the apostasy of a co-religionist and it is -recorded that four were detained in the Châtelet for having attacked -and maltreated Salmon for espousing Christianity. For this they were -condemned to be flogged at all the street corners on four successive -Sundays; but when a part of the punishment had been inflicted they were -allowed to buy off the rest by a payment of 18,000 francs in gold. The -money was applied to the rebuilding of the Petit Pont. Prisoners of -war were confined there. Eleven gentlemen accused of assassination were -"long detained" in the Châtelet and in the end executed. It continually -received sorcerers and magicians in the days when many were accused of -commerce with the Devil. Idle vagabonds who would not work were lodged -in it. - -At this period Paris and the provinces were terrorised by bands of -brigands. Some of the chief leaders were captured and carried to -the Châtelet, where they suffered the extreme penalty. The crime of -poisoning, always so much in evidence in French criminal annals, was -early recorded at the Châtelet. In 1390 payment was authorised for -three mounted sergeants of police who escorted from the prison at -Angers and Le Mans to the Châtelet, two priests charged with having -thrown poison into the wells, fountains and rivers of the neighborhood. -One Honoré Paulard, a bourgeois of Paris, was in 1402 thrown into the -_Fin d'Aise_ dungeon of the Châtelet for having poisoned his father, -mother, two sisters and three other persons in order to succeed to -their inheritance. Out of consideration for his family connections -he was not publicly executed but left to the tender mercies of the -_Fin d'Aise_, where he died at the end of a month. The procureur of -parliament was condemned to death with his wife Ysabelete, a prisoner -in the Châtelet, whose former husband, also a procureur, they were -suspected of having poisoned. On no better evidence than suspicion -they were both sentenced to death--the husband to be hanged and the -wife burned alive. Offenders of other categories were brought to the -Châtelet. A superintendent of finances, prototype of Fouquet, arrested -by the Provost Pierre des Fessarts, and convicted of embezzlement, -met his fate in the Châtelet. Strange to say, Des Fessarts himself -was arrested four years later and suffered on the same charge. Great -numbers of robbers taken red-handed were imprisoned--at one time two -hundred thieves, murderers and highwaymen (_épieurs de grand chemin_). -An auditor of the Palace was condemned to make the _amende honorable_ -in effigy; a figure of his body in wax being shown at the door of -the chapel and then dragged to the pillory to be publicly exposed. -Clement Marot, the renowned poet, was committed to the Châtelet at the -instance of the beautiful Diane de Poitiers for continually inditing -fulsome verses in her praise. Weary at last of her contemptuous silence -he penned a bitter satire which Diane resented by accusing him of -Lutheranism and of eating bacon in Lent. Marot's confinement in the -Châtelet inspired his famous poem _L'Enfer_, wherein he compared the -Châtelet to the infernal regions and cursed the whole French penal -system--prisoners, judges, lawyers and the cruelties of the "question." - -Never from the advent of the Reformation did Protestants find much -favor in France. In 1557 four hundred Huguenots assembled for service -in a house of the Rue St. Jacques and were attacked on leaving it by -a number of the neighbors. They fought in self-defense and many made -good their escape, but the remainder--one hundred and twenty persons, -several among them being ladies of the Court--were arrested by the -_lieutenant criminel_ and carried to the Châtelet. They were accused -of infamous conduct and although they complained to the King they were -sent to trial, and within a fortnight nearly all the number were burnt -at the stake. Another story runs that the _lieutenant criminel_ forced -his way into a house in the Marais where a number of Huguenots were at -table. They fled, but the hotel keeper was arrested and charged with -having supplied meat in the daily bill of fare on a Friday. For this -he was conducted to the Châtelet with his wife and children, a larded -capon being carried before them to hold them up to the derision of the -bystanders. The incident ended seriously, for the wretched inn-keeper -was thrown into a dungeon and died there in misery. - -Precedence has been given to the two Châtelets in the list of ancient -prisons in Paris, but no doubt the Conciergerie runs them close in -point of date and was equally formidable. It originally was part of -the Royal Palace of the old Kings of France and still preserves as to -site, and in some respects as to form, in the Palais de Justice one -of the most interesting monuments in modern Paris. "There survives a -sense of suffocation in these buildings," writes Philarète Chasles. -"Here are the oldest dungeons of France. Paris had scarcely begun when -they were first opened." "These towers," says another Frenchman, "the -courtyard and the dim passage along which prisoners are still admitted, -have tears in their very aspect." One of the greatest tragedies in -history was played out in the Conciergerie almost in our own days, thus -bringing down the sad record of bitter sufferings inflicted by man upon -man from the Dark Ages to the day of our much vaunted enlightenment. -The Conciergerie was the last resting place, before execution, of the -hapless Queen Marie Antoinette. - -When Louis IX, commonly called Saint Louis, rebuilt his palace in -the thirteenth century he constructed also his dungeons hard by. The -_concierge_ was trusted by the kings with the safe-keeping of their -enemies and was the governor of the royal prison. In 1348 he took the -title of _bailli_ and the office lasted, with its wide powers often -sadly abused, until the collapse of the monarchical régime. A portion -of the original Conciergerie as built in the garden of Concierge is -still extant. Three of the five old towers, circular in shape and with -pepper pot roofs, are standing. Of the first, that of Queen Blanche -was pulled down in 1853 and that of the Inquisition in 1871. The three -now remaining are Cæsar's Tower, where the reception ward is situated -on the very spot where Damiens, the attempted regicide of Louis XV, -was interrogated while strapped to the floor; the tower of Silver, the -actual residence of "Reine Blanche" and the visiting room where legal -advisers confer with their clients among the accused prisoners; and -lastly the Bon Bec tower, once the torture chamber and now the hospital -and dispensary of the prison. - -The cells and dungeons of the Conciergerie, some of which might be seen -and inspected as late as 1835, were horrible beyond belief. Clement -Marot said of it in his verse that it was impossible to conceive a -place that more nearly approached a hell upon earth. The loathsomeness -of its underground receptacles was inconceivable. It contained some -of the worst specimens of the ill-famed _oubliettes_. An attempt -has been made by some modern writers to deny the existence of these -_oubliettes_, but all doubt was removed by discoveries revealed -when opening the foundations of the Bon Bec tower. Two subterranean -pits were found below the ordinary level of the river Seine and the -remains of sharpened iron points protruded from their walls obviously -intended to catch the bodies and tear the flesh of those flung into -these cavernous depths. Certain of these dungeons were close to the -royal kitchens and were long preserved. They are still remembered by -the quaint name of the mousetraps (or _souricières_) in which the -inmates were caught and kept _au secret_, entirely separate and unable -to communicate with a single soul but their immediate guardians and -gaolers. - -The torture chamber and the whole paraphernalia for inflicting the -"question" were part and parcel of every ancient prison. But the most -complete and perfect methods were to be found in the Conciergerie. As -a rule, therefore, in the most heinous cases, when the most shocking -crimes were under investigation, the accused was relegated to the -Conciergerie to undergo treatment by torture. It was so in the case of -Ravaillac who murdered Henry IV; also the Marchioness of Brinvilliers -and the poisoners; and yet again, of Damiens who attempted the life of -Louis XV, and many more: to whom detailed references will be found in -later pages. - -The For-l'Évêque, the Bishop's prison, was situated in the rue -St. Germain-l'Auxerrois, and is described in similar terms as the -foregoing: "dark, unwholesome and over-crowded." In the court or -principal yard, thirty feet long by eighteen feet wide, some four or -five hundred prisoners were constantly confined. The outer walls were -of such a height as to forbid the circulation of fresh air and there -was not enough to breathe. The cells were more dog-holes than human -habitations. In some only six feet square, five prisoners were often -lodged at one and the same time. Others were too low in the ceiling for -a man to stand upright and few had anything but borrowed light from the -yard. Many cells were below the ground level and that of the river -bed, so that water filtered in through the arches all the year round, -and even in the height of summer the only ventilation was by a slight -slit in the door three inches wide. "To pass by an open cell door one -felt as if smitten by fire from within," says a contemporary writer. -Access to these cells was by dark, narrow galleries. For long years the -whole prison was in such a state of dilapidation that ruin and collapse -were imminent. - -Later For-l'Évêque received insolvent debtors--those against whom -_lettres de cachet_ were issued, and actors who were evil livers. It -was the curious custom to set these last free for a few hours nightly -in order to play their parts at the theatres; but they were still in -the custody of the officer of the watch and were returned to gaol after -the performance. Many minor offenders guilty of small infractions of -the law, found lodging in the For-l'Évêque. Side by side with thieves -and roysterers were dishonest usurers who lent trifling sums. All -jurisdictions, all authorities could commit to the For-l'Évêque, the -judges of inferior tribunals, ministers of state, auditors, grand -seigneurs. The prison régime varied for this various population, but -poor fare and poorer lodgings were the fate of the larger number. Those -who could pay found chambers more comfortable, decently furnished, -and palatable food. Order was not always maintained. More than once -mutinies broke out, generally on account of the villainous ration -of bread issued, and it was often found necessary to fire upon the -prisoners to subdue them. - -When the Knights Templars received permission to settle in Paris in -the twelfth century, they gradually consolidated their power in the -Marais, the marshy ground to the eastward of the Seine, and there -laid the foundations of a great stronghold on which the Temple prison -was a prominent feature. The knights wielded sovereign power with the -rights of high justice and the very kings of France themselves bent -before them. At length the arrogance of the order brought it the bitter -hostility of Philippe le Bel who, in 1307, broke the power of the order -in France. They were pursued and persecuted. Their Grand Master was -tortured and executed while the King administered their estate. The -prison of the Temple with its great towers and wide encircling walls -became a state prison, the forerunner of Vincennes and the Bastile. It -received, as a rule, the most illustrious prisoners only, dukes and -counts and sovereign lords, and in the Revolutionary period it gained -baleful distinction as the condemned cell, so to speak, of Louis XVI -and Marie Antoinette. - -The prison of Bicêtre, originally a bishop's residence and then -successively a house of detention for sturdy beggars and a lunatic -asylum, was first built at the beginning of the thirteenth century. It -was owned by John, Bishop of Winchester in England, and its name was -a corruption of the word Winchester--"Vinchester" and so "Bichestre" -and, eventually, "Bicêtre." It was confiscated to the King in the -fourteenth century and Charles VI dated his letters from that castle. -It fell into a ruinous state in the following years and nothing was -done to it until it was rebuilt by Louis XIII as a hospital for invalid -soldiers and became, with the Salpêtrière, the abode of the paupers -who so largely infested Paris. The hospital branch of the prison was -used for the treatment of certain discreditable disorders, sufferers -from which were regularly flogged at the time of their treatment by the -surgeons. An old writer stigmatised the prison as a terrible ulcer that -no one dared look at and which poisoned the air for four hundred yards -around. Bicêtre was the home for all vagabonds and masterless men, the -sturdy beggars who demanded alms sword in hand, and soldiers who, when -their pay was in arrears, robbed upon the highway. Epileptics and the -supposed mentally diseased, whether they were actually proved so or -not, were committed to Bicêtre and after reception soon degenerated -into imbeciles and raging lunatics. The terrors of underground Bicêtre -have been graphically described by Masers-Latude, who had personal -experience of them. This man, Danry or Latude, has been called a -fictitious character, but the memoirs attributed to him are full of -realism and cannot be entirely neglected. He says of Bicêtre: - -"In wet weather or when it thawed in winter, water streamed from -all parts of our cell. I was crippled with rheumatism and the pains -were such that I was sometimes whole weeks without getting up. The -window-sill guarded by an iron grating gave on to a corridor, the wall -of which was placed exactly opposite at a height of ten feet. A glimmer -of light came through this aperture and was accompanied by snow and -rain. I had neither fire nor artificial light and prison rags were -my only clothing. To quench my thirst I sucked morsels of ice broken -off with the heel of my wooden shoe. If I stopped up the window I was -nearly choked by the effluvium from the cellars. Insects stung me -in the eyes. I had always a bad taste in my mouth and my lungs were -horribly oppressed. I was detained in that cell for thirty-eight months -enduring the pangs of hunger, cold and damp. I was attacked by scurvy -and was presently unable to sit or rise. In ten days my legs and thighs -were swollen to twice their ordinary size. My body turned black. My -teeth loosened in their sockets and I could no longer masticate. I -could not speak and was thought to be dead. Then the surgeon came, and -seeing my state ordered me to be removed to the infirmary." - -An early victim of Bicêtre was the Protestant Frenchman, Salomon de -Caus, who had lived much in England and Germany and had already, at the -age of twenty, gained repute as an architect, painter and engineer. One -of his inventions was an apparatus for forcing up water by a steam -fountain; and that eminent scientist, Arago, declares that De Caus -preceded Watt as an inventor of steam mechanisms. It was De Caus's -misfortune to fall desperately in love with the notorious Marion -Delorme. When his attentions became too demonstrative this fiendish -creature applied for a _lettre de cachet_ from Richelieu. De Caus was -invited to call upon the Cardinal, whom he startled with his marvellous -schemes. Richelieu thought himself in the presence of a madman and -forthwith ordered De Caus to Bicêtre. Two years later Marion Delorme -visited Bicêtre and was recognised by De Caus as she passed his cell. -He called upon her piteously by name, and her companion, the English -Marquis of Worcester, asked if she knew him, but she repudiated the -acquaintance. Lord Worcester was, however, attracted by the man and his -inventions, and afterwards privately visited him, giving his opinion -later that a great genius had run to waste in this mad-house. - -Bicêtre was subsequently associated with the galleys and was starting -point of the chain of convicts directed upon the arsenals of Toulon, -Rochefort, Lorient and Brest. A full account of these modern prisons is -reserved for a later chapter. - -The prison of Sainte Pélagie was founded in the middle of the -seventeenth century by a charitable lady, Marie l'Hermite, in the -faubourg Sainte Marcel, as a refuge for ill-conducted women, those -who came voluntarily and those who were committed by dissatisfied -fathers or husbands. It became, subsequently, a debtors' prison. The -Madelonnettes were established about the same time and for the same -purpose, by a wine merchant, Robert Montri, devoted to good works. The -prison of St. Lazare, to-day the great female prison of Paris, appears -to have been originally a hospital for lepers, and was at that time -governed by the ecclesiastical authority. It was the home of various -communities, till in 1630 the lepers disappeared, and it became a -kind of seminary or place of detention for weak-minded persons and -youthful members of good position whose families desired to subject -them to discipline and restraint. The distinction between St. Lazare -and the Bastile was well described by a writer who said, "If I had -been a prisoner in the Bastile I should on release have taken my -place among _genres de bien_ (persons of good social position) but on -leaving Lazare I should have ranked with the _mauvais sujets_ (ne'er do -weels)." A good deal remains to be said about St. Lazare in its modern -aspects. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -STRUGGLE WITH THE SOVEREIGN - - Provincial prisons--Loches, in Touraine, still standing--Favorite - gaol of Louis XI--The iron cage--Cardinal La Balue, the - Duc d'Alençon, Comines, the Bishops--Ludovico Sforza, - Duke of Milan, and his mournful inscriptions--Diane - de Poitiers and her father--Mont St. Michel--Louis - Napoleon--Count St. Pol--Strongholds of Touraine--Catherine - de Medicis--Massacre of St Bartholomew--Murder of Duc de - Guise--Chambord--Amboise--Angers--Pignerol--Exiles and the Isle St. - Marguerite. - - -The early history of France is made up of the continuous struggle -between the sovereign and the people. The power of the king, though -constantly opposed by the great vassals and feudal lords, steadily grew -and gained strength. The state was meanwhile torn with dissensions and -passed through many succeeding periods of anarchy and great disorders. -The king's power was repeatedly challenged by rivals and pretenders. -It was weakened, and at times eclipsed, but in the long run it always -triumphed. The king always vindicated his right to the supreme -authority and, when he could, ruled arbitrarily and imperiously, backed -and supported by attributes of autocracy which gradually overcame all -opposition and finally established a despotic absolutism. - -The principal prisons of France were royal institutions. Two in -particular, the chief and most celebrated, Vincennes and the Bastile, -were seated in the capital. With these I shall deal presently at -considerable length. Many others, provincial strongholds and castles, -were little less conspicuous and mostly of evil reputation. I shall -deal with those first. - -Loches in the Touraine, some twenty-five miles from Tours, will go down -in history as one of the most famous, or more exactly, infamous castles -in mediæval France. It was long a favored royal palace, a popular -residence with the Plantagenet and other kings, but degenerated at -length under Louis XI into a cruel and hideous gaol. It stands to-day -in elevated isolation dominating a flat, verdant country, just as the -well-known Mont St. Michel rises above the sands on the Normandy coast. -The most prominent object is the colossal white donjon, or central -keep, esteemed the finest of its kind in France, said to have been -erected by Fulk Nerra, the celebrated "Black Count," Count of Anjou -in the eleventh century. It is surrounded by a congeries of massive -buildings of later date. Just below it are the round towers of the -Martelet, dating from Louis XI, who placed within them the terrible -dungeons he invariably kept filled. At the other end of the long -lofty plateau is another tower, that of Agnes Sorel, the personage -whose influence over Charles VII, although wrongly acquired, was -always exercised for good, and whose earnest patriotism inspired him -to strenuous attempts to recover France from its English invaders. -Historians have conceded to her a place far above the many kings' -mistresses who have reigned upon the left hand of the monarchs of -France. Agnes was known as the lady of "Beauté-sur-Marne," "a beauty in -character as well as in aspect," and is said to have been poisoned at -Junièges. She was buried at Loches with the inscription, still legible, -"A sweet and simple dove whiter than swans, redder than the flame." -The face, still distinguishable, preserves the "loveliness of flowers -in spring." After the death of Charles VII, the priests of Saint-Ours -desired to expel this tomb. But Louis XI was now on the throne. He had -not hesitated to insult Agnes Sorel while living, upbraiding her openly -and even, one day at court, striking her in the face with his glove, -but he would only grant their request on condition that they surrender -the many rich gifts bestowed upon them at her hands. - -It is, however, in its character as a royal gaol and horrible prison -house that Loches concerns us. Louis XI, saturnine and vindictive, -found it exactly suited to his purpose for the infliction of those -barbarous and inhuman penalties upon those who had offended him, that -must ever disgrace his name. The great donjon, already mentioned, built -by Fulk Nerra, the "Black Count," had already been used by him as a -prison and the rooms occupied by the Scottish Guard are still to be -seen. The new tower at the northwest angle of the fortress was the work -of Louis and on the ground floor level is the torture chamber, with -an iron bar recalling its ancient usage. Below are four stories, one -beneath the other. These dungeons, entered by a subterranean door give -access to the vaulted semi-dark interior. Above this gloomy portal is -scratched the jesting welcome, "_Entrez Messieurs--ches le Roi nostre -maistre_,"--"Come in, the King is at home." At this gateway the King -stood frequently with his chosen companions, his barber and the common -hangman, to gloat over the sufferings of his prisoners. In a cell on -the second story from the bottom, the iron cage was established, so -fiendishly contrived for the unending pain of its occupant. Comines, -the "Father of modern historians," gives in his memoirs a full account -of this detestable place of durance. - -Comines fell into disgrace with Anne of Beaujeu by fomenting rebellion -against her administration as Regent. He fled and took refuge with -the Duke de Bourbon, whom he persuaded to go to the King, the -infant Charles VIII, to complain of Anne's misgovernment. Comines -was dismissed by the Duke de Bourbon and took service with the Duke -d'Orleans. Their intrigues were secretly favored by the King himself, -who, as he grew older, became impatient of the wise but imperious -control of Anne of Beaujeu. In concert with some other nobles, -Comines plotted to carry off the young King and place him under the -guardianship of the Duke d'Orleans. Although Charles was a party to -the design he punished them when it failed. Comines was arrested at -Amboise and taken to Loches, where he was confined for eight months. -Then by decree of the Paris parliament his property was confiscated and -he was brought to Paris to be imprisoned in the Conciergerie. There -he remained for twenty months, and in March, 1489, was condemned to -banishment to one of his estates for ten years and to give bail for his -good behavior to the amount of 10,000 golden crowns. He was forgiven -long before the end of his term and regained his seat and influence in -the King's Council of State. - -"The King," says Comines, "had ordered several cruel prisons to be -made; some were cages of iron and some of wood, but all were covered -with iron plates both within and without, with terrible locks, about -eight feet wide and seven feet high; the first contriver of them was -the Bishop of Verdun (Guillaume d'Haraucourt) who was immediately put -into the first of them, where he continued fourteen years. Many bitter -curses he has had since his invention, and some from me as I lay in -one of them eight months together during the minority of our present -King. He (Louis XI) also ordered heavy and terrible fetters to be made -in Germany and particularly a certain ring for the feet which was -extremely hard to be opened and fitted like an iron collar, with a -thick weighty chain and a great globe of iron at the end of it, most -unreasonably heavy, which engine was called the King's Nets. However, -I have seen many eminent men, deserving persons in these prisons with -these nets about their legs, who afterwards came out with great joy and -honor and received great rewards from the king." - -Another occupant beside d'Haraucourt, of this intolerable den, so -limited in size that "no person of average proportions could stand up -comfortably or be at full length within," was Cardinal la Balue,--for -some years after 1469. These two great ecclesiastics had been guilty -of treasonable correspondence with the Duke of Burgundy, then at war -with Louis XI. The treachery was the more base in La Balue, who owed -everything to Louis, who had raised him from a tailor's son to the -highest dignities in the Church and endowed him with immense wealth. -Louis had a strong bias towards low-born men and "made his servants, -heralds and his barbers, ministers of state." Louis would have sent -this traitor to the scaffold, but ever bigoted and superstitious, -he was afraid of the Pope, Paul II, who had protested against the -arrest of a prelate and a prince of the Church. He kept d'Haraucourt, -the Bishop of Verdun, in prison for many years, for the most part -at the Bastile while Cardinal La Balue was moved to and fro: he -began at Loches whence, with intervals at Onzain, Montpaysan, and -Plessis-lez-Tours, he was brought periodically to the Bastile in order -that his tormentor might gloat personally over his sufferings. This was -the servant of whom Louis once thought so well that he wrote of him as -"a good sort of devil of a bishop just now, but there is no saying what -he may grow into by and by." He endured the horrors of imprisonment -until within three years of the death of the King, who, after a long -illness and a paralytic seizure, yielded at last to the solicitations -of the then Pope, Sixtus IV, to release him. - -The "Bishops' Prison" is still shown at Loches, a different receptacle -from the cages and dungeons occupied by Cardinal La Balue and the -Bishop of Verdun. These other bishops did their own decorations akin -to Sforza's, but their rude presentment was of an altar and cross -roughly depicted on the wall of their cell. Some confusion exists as to -their identity, but they are said to have been De Pompadour, Bishop of -Peregneux, and De Chaumont, Bishop of Montauban, and their offense was -complicity in the conspiracy for which Comines suffered. If this were -so it must have been after the reign of Louis XI. - -Among the many victims condemned by Louis XI to the tender mercies of -Loches, was the Duc d'Alençon, who had already been sentenced to death -in the previous reign for trafficking with the English, but whose life -had been spared by Charles VII, to be again forfeited to Louis XI, for -conspiracy with the Duke of Burgundy. His sentence was commuted to -imprisonment in Loches. - -A few more words about Loches. Descending more than a hundred steps -we reach the dungeon occupied by Ludovico Sforza, called "Il Moro," -Duke of Milan, who had long been in conflict with France. The epithet -applied to him was derived from the mulberry tree, which from the -seasons of its flowers and its fruit was taken as an emblem of -"prudence." The name was wrongly supposed to be due to his dark Moorish -complexion. After many successes the fortune of war went against Sforza -and he was beaten by Trionlzio, commanding the French army, who cast -him into the prison of Novara. Il Moro was carried into France, his -destination being the underground dungeon at Loches. - -Much pathos surrounds the memory of this illustrious prisoner, who for -nine years languished in a cell so dark that light entered it only -through a slit in fourteen feet of rock. The only spot ever touched by -daylight is still indicated by a small square scratched on the stone -floor. Ludovico Sforza strove to pass the weary hours by decorating his -room with rough attempts at fresco. The red stars rendered in patterns -upon the wall may still be seen, and among them, twice repeated, a -prodigious helmet giving a glimpse through the casque of the stern, -hard looking face inside. A portrait of Il Moro is extant at the -Certosa, near Pavia, and has been described as that of a man "with the -fat face and fine chin of the elderly Napoleon, the beak-like nose of -Wellington, a small, querulous, neat-lipped mouth and immense eyebrows -stretched like the talons of an eagle across the low forehead." - -Ludovico Sforza left his imprint on the walls of this redoubtable gaol -and we may read his daily repinings in the mournful inscriptions he -recorded among the rough red decorations. One runs: "My motto is to -arm myself with patience, to bear the troubles laid upon me." He who -would have faced death eagerly in open fight declares here that he -was "assailed by it and could not die." He found "no pity; gaiety was -banished entirely from his heart." At length, after struggling bravely -for nearly nine years he was removed from the lower dungeons to an -upper floor and was permitted to exercise occasionally in the open air -till death came, with its irresistible order of release. The picture of -his first passage through Paris to his living tomb has been admirably -drawn:--"An old French street surging with an eager mob, through which -there jostles a long line of guards and archers; in their midst a tall -man dressed in black camlet, seated on a mule. In his hands he holds -his biretta and lifts up unshaded his pale, courageous face, showing -in all his bearing a great contempt for death. It is Ludovico, Duke of -Milan, riding to his cage at Loches." It is not to the credit of Louis -XII and his second wife, Anne of Brittany, widow of his predecessor -Charles VIII, that they often occupied Loches as a royal residence -during the incarceration of Ludovico Sforza, and made high festival -upstairs while their wretched prisoner languished below. - -The rebellion of the Constable de Bourbon against Francis I, in 1523, -implicated two more bishops, those of Puy and Autun. Bourbon aspired -to create an independent kingdom in the heart of France and was backed -by the Emperor Charles V. The Sieur de Brézé, Seneschal of Normandy, -the husband of the famous Diane de Poitiers, revealed the conspiracy -to the King, Francis I, unwittingly implicating Jean de Poitiers, his -father-in-law. Bourbon, flying to one of his fortified castles, sent -the Bishop of Autun to plead for him with the King, who only arrested -the messenger. Bourbon, continuing his flight, stopped a night at Puy -in Auvergne, and this dragged in the second bishop. Jean de Poitiers, -Seigneur de St. Vallier, was also thrown into Loches, whence the -prisoner appealed to his daughter and his son-in-law. "Madame," he -wrote to Diane, "here am I arrived at Loches as badly handled as any -prisoner could be. I beg of you to have so much pity as to come and -visit your poor father." Diane strove hard with the pitiless king, who -only pressed on the trial, urging the judges to elicit promptly all -the particulars and the names of the conspirators, if necessary by -torture. St. Vallier's sentence was commuted to imprisonment, "between -four walls of solid masonry with but one small slit of window." -The Constable de Bourbon made St. Vallier's release a condition of -submission, and Diane de Poitiers, ever earnestly begging for mercy, -won pardon at length, which she took in person to her father's gloomy -cell, where his hair had turned white in the continual darkness. - -The wretched inmates of Loches succeeded each other, reign after -reign in an interminable procession. One of the most ill-used was de -Rochechouart, nephew of the Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld, who was mixed -up in a court intrigue in 1633 and detained in Loches with no proof -against him in the hopes of extorting a confession. - -Mont St. Michel as a State prison is of still greater antiquity than -Loches, far older than the stronghold for which it was admirably suited -by its isolated situation on the barren sea shore. It is still girt -round with mediæval walls from which rise tall towers proclaiming its -defensive strength. Its church and Benedictine monastery are of ancient -foundation, dating back to the eighth century. It was taken under the -especial protection of Duke Rollo and contributed shipping for the -invading hosts of William the Conqueror. Later, in the long conflict -with the English, when their hosts over-ran Normandy, Mont St. Michel -was the only fortress which held out for the French king. The origin -of its dungeons and _oubliettes_ is lost in antiquity. It had its cage -like Loches, built of metal bars, but for these solid wooden beams -were afterwards substituted. - -Modern sentiment hangs about the citadel of Ham near Amiens, as the -prison house of Louis Napoleon and his companions, Generals Cavaignac, -Changarnier and Lamoricière, after his raid upon Boulogne, in 1830, -when he prematurely attempted to seize supreme power in France and -ignominiously failed. Ham had been a place of durance for political -purposes from the earliest times. There was a castle before the -thirteenth century and one was erected on the same site in 1470 by the -Count St. Pol, whom Louis XI beheaded. The motto of the family "_Mon -mieux_" (my best) may still be read engraved over the gateway. Another -version is to the effect that St. Pol was committed to the Bastile and -suffered within that fortress-gaol. He appears to have been a restless -malcontent forever concerned in the intrigues of his time, serving -many masters and betraying all in turn. He gave allegiance now to -France, now England, now Burgundy and Lorraine, but aimed secretly to -make himself an independent prince trusting to his great wealth, his -ambitious self-seeking activity and his unfailing perfidies. In the end -the indignant sovereigns turned upon him and agreed to punish him. St. -Pol finding himself in jeopardy fled from France after seeking for a -safe conduct through Burgundy. Charles the Bold replied by seizing his -person and handing him over to Louis XI, who had claimed the prisoner. -"I want a head like his to control a certain business in hand; his body -I can do without and you may keep it," was Louis's request. St. Pol, -according to this account, was executed on the Place de la Grève. It -may be recalled that Ham was also for a time the prison of Joan of Arc; -and many more political prisoners, princes, marshals of France, and -ministers of state were lodged there. - -The smiling verdant valley of the Loire, which flows through the -historic province of Touraine, is rich in ancient strongholds that -preserve the memories of mediæval France. It was the home of those -powerful feudal lords, the turbulent vassals who so long contended for -independence with their titular masters, weak sovereigns too often -unable to keep them in subjection. They raised the round towers and -square impregnable donjons, resisting capture in the days before siege -artillery, all of which have their gruesome history, their painful -records showing the base uses which they served, giving effect to the -wicked will of heartless, unprincipled tyrants. - -Thus, as we descend the river, we come to Blois, with its spacious -castle at once formidable and palatial, stained with many blood-thirsty -deeds when vicious and unscrupulous kings held their court there. -Great personages were there imprisoned and sometimes assassinated. -At first the fief of the Counts of Blois, it later passed into the -possession of the crown and became the particular property of the -dukes of Orleans. It was the favorite residence of that duke who became -King Louis XII of France, and his second queen, Anne of Brittany. His -son, Francis I, enlarged and beautified it, and his son again, Henry -II, married a wife, Catherine de Medicis, who was long associated with -Blois and brought much evil upon it. Catherine is one of the blackest -female figures in French history; "niece of a pope, mother of four -Valois, a Queen of France, widow of an ardent enemy of the Huguenots, -an Italian Catholic, above all a Medicis," hers was a dissolute wicked -life, her hands steeped in blood, her moral character a reproach to -womankind. Her favorite device was "_odiate e aspettate_," "hate and -wait," and when she called anyone "friend" it boded ill for him; she -was already plotting his ruin. She no doubt inspired, and is to be held -responsible for the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and the murder of -the Duc de Guise in this very castle of Blois was largely her doing. -It was one of the worst of the many crimes committed in the shameful -reign of her son Henry III, the contemptible king with his unnatural -affections, his effeminate love of female attire, his little dogs, -his loathsome favorites and his nauseating mockeries of holiness. His -court was a perpetual scene of intrigue, conspiracy, superstition, the -lowest vices, cowardly assassinations and murderous duels. One of the -most infamous of these was a fight between three of his particular -associates and three of the Guises, when four of the combatants were -killed. - -The famous league of the "Sixteen," headed by the Duc de Guise, would -have carried Henry III back to Paris and held him there a prisoner, -but the King was resolved to strike a blow on his own behalf and -determined to kill Guise. The States General was sitting at Blois and -Guise was there taking the leading part. The famous Crillon, one of -his bravest soldiers, was invited to do the deed but refused, saying -he was a soldier and not an executioner. Then one of Henry's personal -attendants offered his services with the forty-five guards, and it was -arranged that the murder should be committed in the King's private -cabinet. Guise was summoned to an early council, but the previous -night he had been cautioned by a letter placed under his napkin. "He -would not dare," Guise wrote underneath the letter and threw it under -the table. Next morning he proceeded to the cabinet undeterred. The -King had issued daggers to his guards, saying, "Guise or I must die," -and went to his prayers. When Guise lifted the curtain admitting him -into the cabinet one of the guards stabbed him in the breast. A fierce -struggle ensued, in which the Duke dragged his murderers round the room -before they could dispatch him. "The beast is dead, so is the poison," -was the King's heartless remark, and he ran to tell his mother that he -was "once more master of France." This cowardly act did not serve the -King, for it stirred up the people of Paris, who vowed vengeance. Henry -at once made overtures to the Huguenots and next year fell a victim to -the knife of a fanatic monk at Saint Clou. - -Blois ceased to be the seat of the Court after Henry III. Louis XIII, -when he came to the throne, imprisoned his mother Marie de Medicis -there. It was a time of great political stress when executions were -frequent, and much sympathy was felt for Marie de Medicis. A plot was -set on foot to release her from Blois. A party of friends arranged the -escape. She descended from her window by a rope ladder, accompanied -by a single waiting-woman. Many accidents supervened: there was no -carriage, the royal jewels had been overlooked, time was lost in -searching for the first and recovering the second, but at length -Marie was free to continue her criminal machinations. Her chief ally -was Gaston d'Orleans, who came eventually to live and die on his -estate at Blois. He was a cowardly, self indulgent prince but had a -remarkable daughter, Marie de Montpensier, commonly called "La Grande -Mademoiselle," who was the heroine of many stirring adventures, some of -which will be told later on. - -Not far from Blois are Chambord, an ancient fortress, first transformed -into a hunting lodge and later into a magnificent palace, a perfect -wilderness of dressed stone; Chaumont, the birth-place of Cardinal -d'Amboise and at one time the property of Catherine de Medicis; -Amboise, the scene of the great Huguenot massacre of which more on a -later page; Chenonceaux, Henri II's gift to Diane de Poitiers, which -Catherine took from her, and in which Mary Queen of Scots spent a part -of her early married life; Langeais, an Angevin fortress of the middle -ages; Azay-le-Rideau, a perfect Renaissance chateau; Fontevrault, where -several Plantagenet kings found burial, and Chinon, a triple castle -now irretrievably ruined, to which Jeanne d'Arc came seeking audience -of the King, when Charles VII formally presented her with a suit of -knight's armor and girt on her the famous sword, said to have been -picked up by Charles Martel on the Field of Tours after that momentous -victory which checked the Moorish invasion, and but for which the -dominion of Islam would probably have embraced western Europe. - -Two other remarkable prison castles must be mentioned here, Amboise -and Angers. The first named is still a conspicuous object in a now -peaceful neighborhood, but it offers few traces of antiquity, although -it is full of bloody traditions. Its most terrible memory is that of -the Amboise conspiracy organised by the Huguenots in 1560, and intended -to remove the young king, Francis II, from the close guardianship of -the Guises. The real leader was the Prince de Condé, known as "the -silent captain." The ostensible chief was a Protestant gentleman of -Perigord, named Renaudie, a resolute, intelligent man, stained with an -evil record, having been once sentenced and imprisoned for the crime of -forgery. He was to appear suddenly at the castle at the head of fifteen -hundred devoted followers, surprise the Guises and seize the person of -the young king. One of their accomplices, a lawyer, or according to -another account, a certain Captain Lignières, was alarmed and betrayed -the conspirators. Preparations were secretly made for defence, Renaudie -was met with an armed force and killed on the spot, and his party made -prisoners by lots, as they appeared. All were forthwith executed, -innocent and guilty, even the peasants on their way to market. They -were hanged, decapitated or drowned. The court of the castle and the -streets of the town ran with blood until the executioners, sated with -the slaughter, took to sewing up the survivors in sacks and throwing -them into the river from the bridge garnished with gibbets, and ghastly -heads impaled on pikes. A balcony to this day known as the "Grille aux -Huguenots" still exists, on which Catherine de Medicis and her three -sons, Francis II, the reigning monarch, Charles, afterwards the ninth -king of that name, and Henry II, witnessed the massacre in full court -dress. Mary, Queen of Scots, the youthful bride of her still younger -husband, was also present. The Prince de Condé had been denounced, but -there was no positive evidence against him and he stoutly denied his -guilt, and in the presence of the whole court challenged any accuser to -single combat. No one took up the glove and he remained free until a -fresh conspiracy, stimulated by detestation of the atrocities committed -by the Guises, seriously compromised the prince. Condé was arrested at -Orleans, found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. He was saved -by the death of Francis. Mary Stuart afterward returned to Scotland to -pass through many stormy adventures and end her life on the scaffold. - -The fiendish butchery just described was the last great tragedy Amboise -witnessed, but it received one or two notable prisoners as time went -on, more particularly Fouquet, the fraudulent superintendent of -finances whom Louis XIV pursued to the bitter end; and Lauzun le Beau, -the handsome courtier who flew too high "with vaulting ambition, but -fell" into the depths of a dungeon. A detailed account of both these -cases will be found in another chapter. - -In quite recent years Amboise was occupied by a very different -prisoner, the intrepid Arab leader Abd-el-Kader, who after his capture -by the Duc d'Aumale in 1847, in the last Algerian war, was interred in -the heart of France in full view of the so-called "Arab camp" where his -Saracen ancestors had gone so near to enslaving Christian Europe. - -Angers, once called Black Angers, from the prevailing hue of its dark -slate buildings, was the capital of Anjou and the seat of its dukes, -so nearly allied with the English Plantagenet dynasty. When Henry II -of England held his court there, Angers was reputed second only to -London in brilliancy and importance. The French king, Louis XI, after -the expulsion of the English, joined the dukedom of Anjou to the -Kingdom of France. The venerable castle, a most striking object with -its alternate bands of white stone let in between black rough slate, is -still considered from its massive proportions and perfect preservation -the finest feudal castle in France. The part overlooking the river, -which was the palace of the counts, is now in ruins, but the high tower -called Du Moulin or Du Diable, and the south tower called La Tour -Dixsept, which contains the old dungeons of the State prisons, is still -standing. The miserable fate of their sad occupants may still be noted, -and the rings to which they were chained still remain embedded in the -rocky walls and the stone floors. - -[Illustration: _The Isle St. Marguerite_ - -One of two rocky, pine-clad islets near the shore at Cannes, and has an -ancient history. Francis I began his captivity here after the Battle of -Pavia. Marshal Bazaine was also imprisoned here. It was at one time the -prison where the mysterious "Man with the Iron Mask" was confined.] - -Three famous prisons in their way were Pignerol, Exiles and the island -fortress of St. Marguerite. Pignerol was a fortified frontier town of -Piedmont, which was for some time French property, half bought and half -stolen from Italy. It stands on the lower slopes of the southern Alps, -twenty miles from Turin, fifty from Nice and ninety east of Grenoble. -It was a stronghold of the princes of Savoy, capable of effective -defence, with a small red-roofed tower and many tall campaniles -gathering round an inner citadel, raised on a commanding height. This -central keep is a mass of rambling buildings with solid buttressed -walls, essentially a place of arms. Pignerol has three principal -gateways. One served for the road coming from the westward and was -called the gate of France; another from the eastward, was that of -Turin; and the third was a "safety" or "secret" gate, avoiding the -town and giving upon the citadel. This last gate was opened rarely -and only to admit a prisoner brought privately by special escort. It -was a French garrison town inhabited largely by Italians. There was a -French governor in supreme command, also a king's lieutenant who was -commandant of the citadel, and the head gaoler, who held the prison -proper; and these three officials constituted a sovereign council of -war. - -Exiles was an unimportant stronghold, a fort shaped like a five pointed -star, surrounding a small château with two tall towers which served -as prisons. St. Marguerite is one of the Iles de Lerins, a couple of -rocky pine clad islets facing the now prosperous southern resort of -Cannes and only fifteen hundred yards from the shore. The two islands -called respectively St. Honorat and St. Marguerite have each an -ancient history. The first was named after a holy man who early in the -fifth century established a monastery of great renown, while upon the -neighboring island he struck a well which yielded a miraculous flow -of sweet water. Francis I of France began his captivity here after his -crushing defeat at the battle of Pavia. The royal fort at the eastern -end of St. Marguerite was for some time the abode of the so-called "Man -with the Iron Mask," and many scenes of the apocryphal stories of that -exploded mystery are laid here. - -The island fortress became to some extent famous in our own day by -being chosen as the place of confinement for Marshal Bazaine, after his -conviction by court martial for the alleged treacherous surrender of -Metz to the Germans. As we know, he did not remain long a prisoner, his -escape having been compassed by an American friend. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -VINCENNES AND THE BASTILE - - Vincennes and the Bastile--Vincennes described--Castle - and woods--Torture--Methods and implements--_Amende - Honorable_--Flagellation and mutilations--Notable inmates--Prince - de Condé--Origin of the Bastile--Earliest records--Hugues - d'Aubriot--Last English garrison--Sir John Falstaff--Frequented by - Louis XI and Anne of Beaujeau--Charles VIII--Francis I--Persecution - of the Huguenots--Henry II, Diane de Poitiers, and Catherine de - Medicis--Her murderous oppressions--Bastile her favorite prison. - - -We come now to the two great metropolitan prisons that played so large -a part in the vexed and stormy annals of France. Vincennes and Bastile -may be said to epitomise Parisian history. They were ever closely -associated with startling episodes and notable personages, the best -and worst Frenchmen in all ages, and were incessantly the centres of -rebellions, dissensions, contentions and strife. They were both State -prisons, differing but little in character and quality. Vincennes was -essentially a place of durance for people of rank and consequence. -The Bastile took the nobility also, but with them the whole crowd of -ordinary criminals great and small. These prisons were the two weapons -forged by autocratic authority and freely used by it alike for the -oppression of the weak and down trodden, and the openly turbulent but -vainly recalcitrant. The royal relatives that dared oppose the king, -the stalwart nobles that conspired or raised the standard of revolt, -the great soldiers who dabbled in civil war, found themselves committed -to Vincennes. The same classes of offenders, but generally of lesser -degree, were thrown into the Bastile. The courtier who forgot his -manners or dared to be independent in thought or action, the bitter -poetaster and too fluent penman of scurrilous pamphlets, were certain -of a lodging at the gloomy citadel of Saint Antoine. - -The castle of Vincennes was used primarily as a royal palace and -has been called the Windsor of the House of Valois. Philip IV, the -first king of that family, kept high festival there in a splendid -and luxurious court. The great edifice was of noble dimensions--both -a pleasure house and a prison, with towers and drawbridges for -defense and suites of stately apartments. It stood in the centre of -a magnificent forest, the famous Bois de Vincennes, the name often -used to describe the residence; and the crowned heads and royal -guests who constantly visited the French sovereigns hunted the deer -in the woods around, or diverted themselves with tilts or tournaments -in the courtyard of the castle. The first to use Vincennes largely -as a prison was that famous gaoler Louis XI. He did not live there -much, preferring as a residence his impregnable fortified palace at -Plessis-lez-Tours. Not satisfied with Loches, he utilised Vincennes and -kept it constantly filled. Some account of his principal victims will -be found in the narrative of succeeding reigns and the extensive use of -the various prisons made by succeeding kings. - -The prison fortress of Vincennes in its palmiest days consisted of nine -great towers; and a tenth, loftier and more solid, was the Donjon, or -central keep, commonly called the Royal Domain. Two drawbridges must be -passed before entrance was gained by a steep ascent. This was barred -by three heavy doors. The last of these communicated directly with the -Donjon, being so ponderous that it could only be moved by the combined -efforts of the warder within and the sergeant of the guard without. A -steep staircase led to the cells above. The four towers had each four -stories and each story a hall forty feet long, with a cell at each -corner having three doors apiece. These doors acted one on the other. -The second barred the first and the third barred the second, and none -could be opened without knowledge of secret machinery. - -The torture chamber, with all its abominable paraphernalia of "boots," -rack, "stools" and other implements for inflicting torture, was on -the first floor. Every French prison of the olden times had its -"question" chamber to carry out the penalties and savage processes -of the French judicial code. The barbarous treatment administered in -it was not peculiar to France alone, but was practised in prisons -throughout the so-called civilised world. Torture was in general use -in French prisons till a late date and really survived till abolished -by the ill-fated Louis XVI in 1780. It may be traced back to the -ancient judicial ordeals when an accused was allowed to prove his -innocence by withstanding combat or personal attack. It was also known -as the "question" because the judge stood by during its infliction -and called upon the prisoner to answer the interrogations put to him, -when his replies, if any, were written down. The process is described -by La Bruyère as a marvellous but futile invention "quite likely to -force the physically weak to confess crimes they never committed -and yet quite as certain to favor the escape of the really guilty, -strong enough to support the application." The "question" was of two -distinct categories: one, the "preparatory" or "ordinary," an unfair -means of obtaining avowals for the still legally innocent; the other, -"preliminary" or "extraordinary," reserved for those actually condemned -to death but believed to know more than had yet been elicited. There -were many terrible varieties of torture exhibiting unlimited cruel -invention. We are familiar enough with the "rack," the "wheel," the -"thumb screw" and the "boot." Other less known forms were the "veglia" -introduced into France by the popes when the Holy See came to Avignon. -The "veglia" consisted of a small wooden stool so constructed that when -the accused sat upon it his whole weight rested on the extremity of -his spine. His sufferings soon became acute. He groaned, he shrieked -and then fainted, whereupon the punishment ceased until he came to -and was again placed on the stool. It was usual to hold a looking -glass before his eyes that his distorted features might frighten him -into confession. The "estrapade," like the "veglia," was borrowed -from Italy. By this the torture was applied with a rope and pulley by -which the patient was suspended over a slow fire and slowly roasted, -being alternately lifted and let down so as to prolong his sufferings. -Elsewhere in France fire was applied to the soles of the feet or a -blade was introduced between the nail and the flesh of finger or toe. -Sometimes sulphur matches or tow was inserted between the fingers and -ignited. - -In the chief French prisons the "question" was generally limited to the -two best known tortures: swallowing great quantities of water and the -insertion of the legs within a casing or "boot" of wood or iron. For -the first, the accused was chained to the floor and filled with water -poured down his throat by means of a funnel. In the "ordinary question" -four "cans"--pints, presumably--of water were administered, and for -the "extraordinary" eight cans. From a report of the proceedings -in the case of a priest accused of sacrilege, who had been already -sentenced to death but whose punishment was accentuated by torture, it -is possible to realise the sufferings endured. After the first can the -victim cried "May God have mercy on me;" at the second he declared, "I -know nothing and I am ready to die;" at the third he was silent, but at -the fourth he declared he could support it no longer and that if they -would release him he would tell the truth. Then he changed his mind -and refused to speak, declaring that he had told all he knew and was -forthwith subjected to the "extraordinary question." At the fifth can -he called upon God twice. At the sixth he said, "I am dying, I can hold -out no longer, I have told all." At the seventh he said nothing. At -the eighth he screamed out that he was dying and lapsed into complete -silence. Now the surgeon interfered, saying that further treatment -would endanger his life, and he was unbound and placed on a mattress -near the fire. He appears to have made no revelations and was in due -course borne off to the place of execution. - -The torture of the "boot" was applied by inserting the legs in an iron -apparatus which fitted closely but was gradually tightened by the -introduction of wedges driven home within the fastenings. The pain was -intense and became intolerable as the wedge was driven farther and -farther down between the knee and the iron casing by repeated blows of -the mallet. The "boot" was better known in France as the _brodequin_ -or _buskin_. In England some modification of it was introduced by one -Skeffington, a keeper in the Tower, and this gave it the nickname of -"Skeffington's gyves" which was corrupted into the words "scavenger's -daughters." - -It was sometimes shown that the torture had been applied to perfectly -innocent people. The operation was performed with a certain amount -of care. One of the master surgeons of the prison was always present -to watch the effect upon the patient and to offer him advice. The -"questioner" was a sworn official who was paid a regular salary, about -one hundred francs a year. - -Of the secondary punishments, those less than death, there was the -_amende honorable_, a public reparation made by degrading exposure with -a rope round the neck, sometimes by standing at the door of a church, -sometimes by being led through the streets seated on a donkey with face -towards the tail. The culprit was often stripped naked to the waist and -flogged on the back as he stood or was borne away. Blasphemy, sacrilege -and heresy were punished by the exaction of the _amende honorable_. An -old King of France was subjected to it by his revolted sons. A reigning -prince, the Count of Toulouse, who was implicated in the assassination -of a papal legate concerned in judging the _religieuses_, was brought -with every mark of ignominy before an assemblage at the door of a -church. Three archers, who had violated a church sanctuary and dragged -forth two fugitive thieves, were sentenced on the demand of the clergy -to make the _amende_ at the church door arrayed in petticoats and -bearing candles in their hands. - -Flagellation was a cruel and humiliating punishment, largely used -under degrading conditions and with various kinds of instruments. -Mutilation was employed in every variety; not a single part of the body -has escaped some penalties. There were many forms of wounding the eyes -and the mouth; tongue, ears, teeth, arms, hands and feet have been -attacked with fire and weapons of every kind. To slice off the nose, -crop the ears, amputate the wrist, draw the teeth, cut off the lower -limbs, were acts constantly decreed. Branding with red hot irons on -the brow, cheeks, lips and shoulders, kept the executioner busy with -such offenses as blasphemy, petty thefts and even duelling. The effects -served to inhibit like offenses, but the punishment was in no sense a -preventive or corrective. - -Prisoners were generally received at Vincennes in the dead of night, -a natural sequel to secret unexplained arrests, too often the result -of jealousy or caprice or savage ill-will. The ceremony on arrival was -much the same as that which still obtains. A close search from head to -foot, the deprivation of all papers, cash and valuables, executed under -the eyes of the governor himself. The new arrival was then conducted -to his lodging, generally a foul den barely furnished with bedstead, -wooden table and a couple of rush-bottomed chairs. The first mandate -issued was that strict silence was the invariable rule. Arbitrary and -irksome rules governed the whole course of procedure and daily conduct. -The smallest privileges depended entirely upon the order of superior -authority. Books or writing materials were issued or forbidden as the -gaoler, the king's minister, or the king himself might decide. Dietary -was fixed by regulation and each prisoner's maintenance paid out of the -king's bounty on a regular scale according to the rank and quality of -the captive. The allowance for princes of the blood was $10 per diem, -for marshals of France $7.50, for judges, priests and captains in the -army or officials of good standing about $2, and for lesser persons -fifty cents. These amounts were ample, but pilfering and peculation -were the general rule. The money was diverted from the use intended, -articles were issued in kind and food and fuel were shamelessly stolen. -Prisoners who were not allowed to supply themselves, were often half -starved and half frozen in their cells. So inferior was the quality of -the prison rations, that those who purloined food could not sell it -in the neighborhood and the peasants said that all that came from the -Donjon was rotten. In sharp contrast was the revelry and rioting in -which prisoners of high station were permitted to indulge. These were -attended by their own servants and constantly visited by their personal -friends of both sexes. An amusing sidelight on the régime of Vincennes -may be read in the account of the arrest of the great Prince de Condé, -during the Fronde, and his two confederate princes, the Prince de -Conti, his brother, and the Duc de Longueville, his brother-in-law. No -preparations had been made for their reception, but Condé, a soldier -and an old campaigner, supped on some new-laid eggs and slept on a -bundle of straw. Next morning he played tennis and shuttle-cock with -the turnkeys, sang songs and began seriously to learn music. A strip -of garden ground, part of the great court, surrounding the prison, -where the prisoners exercised, was given to Condé to cultivate and he -raised pinks which were the admiration of all Paris. He poked fun at -the Governor and when the latter threatened him for breach of rule, -proposed to strangle him. This is clearly the same Condé who nicknamed -Cardinal Mazarin, "Mars," when his eminence aspired to lead an army, -and when he wrote him a letter addressed it to "His Excellency, the -Great Scoundrel." - -Prison discipline must have been slack in Vincennes, nor could -innumerable locks and ponderous chains make up for the careless guard -kept by its gaolers. Many escapes were effected from Vincennes, more -creditable to the ingenuity and determination of the fugitives than to -the vigilance and integrity of those charged with their safe custody. - -Antiquarian researches connect the Bastile in its beginning with the -fortifications hastily thrown up by the Parisians in the middle of the -fourteenth century to defend the outskirts of the city upon the right -bank of the river. The walls built by Philip Augustus one hundred and -fifty years earlier were by this time in a ruinous condition. The -English invasion had prospered, and after the battle of Poitiers the -chief authority in the capital, Étienne Marcel, the provost of the -merchants, felt bound to protect Paris. An important work was added -at the eastern entrance of the city, and the gateway was flanked by a -tower on either side. Marcel was in secret correspondence with the then -King of Navarre, who aspired to the throne of France, and would have -admitted him to Paris through this gateway, but was not permitted to -open it. The infuriated populace attacked him as he stood with the keys -in his hand, and although he sought asylum in one of the towers he was -struck down with an axe and slain. - -This first fortified gate was known as the Bastile of St. Antoine. -The first use of the word "Bastile," which is said to have been of -Roman origin, was applied to the temporary forts raised to cover -siege works and isolate and cut off a beleaguered city from relief or -revictualment. The construction of a second and third fortress was -undertaken some years later, in 1370, when the first stone of the -real Bastile was laid. Another provost, Hugues Aubriot by name, had -authority from Charles V to rebuild and strengthen the defences, and -was supplied by the king with moneys for the purpose. Aubriot appears -to have added two towers to the gateway, and this made the Bastile into -a square fort with a tower at each angle. This provost was high-handed -and ruled Paris with a rod of iron, making many enemies, who turned on -him. He offended the ever turbulent students of the University and was -heavily fined for interfering with their rights. To raise money for the -king, he imposed fresh taxes, and was accused of unlawful commerce with -the Jews, for which he was handed over to the ecclesiastical tribunal -and condemned to be burnt to death. This sentence was, however, -commuted to perpetual imprisonment, and tradition has it that he was -confined in one of the towers he had himself erected. The historian -compares his sad fate with that of other designers of punishment, such -as the Greek who invented the brazen bull and was the first to be burnt -inside it, or Enguerrand de Marigny, who was hung on his own gibbet of -Montfauçon, and the Bishop Haraucourt of Verdun, who was confined in -his own iron cage. - -Hugues Aubriot was presently transferred from the Bastile to -For-l'Évêque prison where he was languishing at the time of the -insurrection of the Maillotins. These men rose against the imposition -of fresh taxes and armed themselves with leaden mallets which they -seized in the arsenal. A leader failing them, they forcibly released -Hugues Aubriot and begged him to be their captain, escorting him in -triumph to his house. But the ex-provost pined for peace and quiet and -slipped away at the first chance. He was a native of Dijon in Burgundy -and he escaped thither to die in obscurity the following year. - -Charles VI enlarged and extended the Bastile by adding four more towers -and giving it the plan of a parallelogram, and it remained with but few -modifications practically the same when captured by the revolutionists -in 1789. The fortress now consisted of eight towers, each a hundred -feet high and with a wall connecting them, nine feet thick. Four of -these towers looked inwards facing the city, four outwards over the -suburb of St. Antoine. A great ditch, twenty-five feet deep and one -hundred and twenty feet wide, was dug to surround it. The road which -had hitherto passed through it was diverted, the gateway blocked up -and a new passage constructed to the left of the fortress. The Bastile -proper ceased to be one of the entrances of Paris and that of the Porte -St. Antoine was substituted. Admission to the fortress was gained at -the end opposite the rue St. Antoine between the two towers named the -Bazinière and Comté overlooking the Seine. On the ground floor of -the former was the reception ward, as we should call it, a detailed -account of which is preserved in the old archives. The first room was -the porter's lodge with a guard bed and other pieces of furniture of -significant purpose; two ponderous iron bars fixed in the wall, with -iron chains affixed ending in fetters for hands and feet, and an iron -collar for the neck; the avowed object of all being to put a man in -"Gehenna," the ancient prison euphemism for hell. A four-wheeled iron -chariot is also mentioned, no doubt for the red hot coals to be used in -inflicting torture, the other implements for which were kept in this -chamber. The tower of the Comté was like the rest, of four stories, and -became chiefly interesting for the escapes effected from it by Latude -and D'Allègre in later years. - -All the towers of the Bastile received distinctive names derived from -the chance associations of some well-known personage or from the -purpose to which they were applied. These names became the official -designation of their occupants, who were entered in the books as "No. -so and so" of "such and such a tower." Personal identity was soon lost -in the Bastile. If we made the circuit of the walls, starting from -the Bazinière Tower first described, we should come to that of La -Bertaudière in the façade above the rue St. Antoine and overlooking -the city, the third floor of which was the last resting place of that -mysterious prisoner, the Man with the Iron Mask. Next came the tower of -Liberty, a name supposed by some to have originated in some saturnine -jest, by others to have been the scene of successful escape, although -attempts were usually made on the other side of the Bastile which -overlooked the open country. The tower of the Well (Du Puits) had an -obvious derivation. - -At the north-east angle was the Corner Tower, so called, no doubt, -because it was situated at the corner of the street and the Boulevard -St. Antoine. Next came the Chapel Tower, from its neighborhood to the -old Chapel of the Bastile. This at one time took rank as the noble -quarter of the fortress and was called the "Donjon"--for in the time -of the English domination the king's chamber and that of the "captain" -were situated in this tower. In later days the Chapel Tower had -accommodation for only three occupants, two on the second and one on -the third floor, the first floor being used as a store house. Next came -the Treasure Tower, a title which referred back to a very early date, -as witness receipts in existence for moneys paid over to the king's -controller-general of finances. In the reign of Henry IV, a prudent -monarch with a thrifty minister, the ever faithful and famous Duke de -Sully, large sums were deposited in this tower as a reserve for the -enterprises he contemplated. The money was soon expended after Henry's -assassination, in wasteful extravagances and civil wars. It is of -record that after payment of all current expenses of State, the surplus -collected by Sully in the Bastile amounted to 41,345,000 livres or -upwards of 120,000,000 francs, or $25,000,000. On reaching the eighth, -or last tower, that of the Comté, we return to the northernmost side of -the great gate already spoken of. - -Speaking generally, all these towers were of four stories, with an -underground basement each containing a number of dens and dungeons of -the most gloomy and horrible character. The stone walls were constantly -dripping water upon the slimy floor which swarmed with vermin, rats, -toads and newts. Scanty light entered through narrow slits in the wall -on the side of the ditch, and a small allowance of air, always foul -with unwholesome exhalations. Iron bedsteads with a thin layer of dirty -straw were the sole resting places of the miserable inmates. The fourth -or topmost floors were even more dark than the basement. These, the -Calottes, or "skull caps," (familiar to us as the head-dress of the -tonsured priests) were cagelike in form with low, vaulted roofs, so -that no one might stand upright within save in the very centre of the -room. They were barely lighted by narrow windows that gave no prospect, -from the thickness of the walls and the plentiful provision of iron -gratings having bars as thick as a man's arms. - -The fortress stood isolated in the centre of its own deep ditch, which -was encircled by a narrow gallery serving as a _chemin-des-rondes_, the -sentinel's and watchman's beat. This was reached by narrow staircases -from the lower level of the interior and there were sentry boxes at -intervals for the guards. North of the Bastile, beyond the main prison -structure, but included in the general line of fortifications, was -the Bastion, used as a terrace and exercising ground for privileged -prisoners. In later years permission was accorded to the governors -to grow vegetables upon this open space and fruit gardens were in -full bearing upon the final demolition of the Bastile. The privilege -conceded to the governor in this garden became a grievance of the -prisoners, for it was let to a contractor who claimed that when the -prisoners frequented it for exercise damage was done to the growing -produce, and by a royal decree all prisoners were forbidden henceforth -to enter this space. - -The Bastile was for the first two centuries of its history essentially -a military stronghold serving, principally, as a defensive work, and -of great value to its possessors for the time being. Whoever held -the Bastile over-awed Paris and was in a sense the master of France. -In the unceasing strife of parties it passed perpetually from hand -to hand and it would be wearisome to follow the many changes in its -ownership. In the long wars between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians, -the latter seized Paris in the reign of the half-witted Charles V, but -the Armagnacs held the Bastile and the person of the king's eldest -son, whose life was eventually saved by this seclusion. This dauphin -came afterwards to the throne through the help of the English king, -Henry V, who married his daughter Catherine and was appointed Regent of -France. Under this régime Paris was occupied for a time by an English -garrison. When at length the rival factions in France made common -cause against the intrusive strangers the French re-entered Paris and -the English were forced to retire into the Bastile, where they were -so closely besieged that they presently offered to capitulate. The -fortress was greatly over-crowded, supplies ran short and there was no -hope of relief. The Constable of France, Richemont, was master of the -situation outside, and at first refused terms, hoping to extort a large -ransom, but the people of Paris, eager to be rid of the foreigners, -advised him to accept their surrender and to allow the English garrison -to march out with colors flying. It was feared that the people of Paris -would massacre them as they passed through the streets and they were -led by a circuitous route to the river where, amidst the hoots and -hisses of a large crowd, they embarked in boats and dropped down the -river to Rouen. - -It is interesting to note here that one of the English governors of the -Bastile was a certain Sir John Falstaff, not Shakespeare's Sir John but -a very different person, a stalwart knight of unblemished character, -great judgment and approved prowess. He was a soldier utterly unlike -the drunken, and disreputable "Jack Falstaff," with his unconquerable -weakness for sack, who only fought men in buckram. The real Sir John -Falstaff was careful to maintain his charge safely, strengthening the -fortress at all points, arming and victualling it and handing it over -in good order to his successor, Lord Willoughby d'Eresby. History has -to record other good things of Sir John Falstaff, who is remembered -as a patron of letters, who paid a price for the translation of -Cicero's "De Senectute," who endowed Magdalen College, Oxford, with -much valuable property and whose name is still commemorated among the -founders of the College in the anniversary speech. He was a Knight of -the Garter, held many superior commands and died full of honors at the -advanced age of eighty. Lord Willoughby was governor at the time of the -surrender. He withdrew in safety and evidently in good heart for he won -a victory over the French at Amiens after his retreat. - -After the exodus of the English and with the accession of Louis XI, the -two State prisons of Paris were very fully and constantly occupied. -The chief episodes in the checkered history of France, conspiracies, -revolts and disturbances, were written in the prison registers and -their records are a running commentary upon the principal events of -French history. The personal qualities of the rulers, their quarrels -with their great subjects, the vindictive policies they followed, their -oppression of, and cruelty to the people, may be read in the annals of -Vincennes and the Bastile. By taking the reigns seriatim and examining -the character of the sovereigns, we shall best realise passing events -and those who acted in them. - -Let us take up the story with Louis XI to whom some reference has -already been made. Some of his victims, the prisoners of Loches and the -Comte de Saint Pol have figured on an earlier page. To these we may add -the story of the two Armagnacs, Jacques and Charles. Charles, although -wholly innocent, was arrested and imprisoned because his brother -Jacques had revolted against the king. Charles d'Armagnac was first -tortured horribly, then thrown into one of the cages of the Bastile, -which he inhabited for fourteen years and when released was found to be -bereft of reason. Jacques, better known as the Duc de Nemours, had been -the boy friend and companion of Louis, who lavished many favors on him -which he repaid by conspiring against the royal authority. When orders -were issued for his arrest he withdrew to his own castle, Carlet, -hitherto deemed impregnable. It succumbed, however, when besieged in -due form, and the Duke was taken prisoner. He had given himself up -on a promise that his life would be spared, but he received no mercy -from his offended king. His first prison was Pierre-Encise, in which -his hair turned grey in a few nights. Thence he was transferred to a -cage in the Bastile. The minute instructions were issued by the King -as to this prisoner's treatment, and in a letter it was directed that -he should never be permitted to leave his cage or to have his fetters -removed or to go to mass. He was only to be taken out to be tortured, -in the cruel desire to extort an avowal that he had intended to kill -the King and set up the Dauphin in his place. The Duke made a piteous -appeal, signing himself "Pauvre Jacques," but he was sent for trial -before the Parliament in a packed court from which the peers were -absent. He was condemned to death and executed, according to Voltaire, -under the most revolting circumstances. It is fair to add that no other -historian reports these atrocities. It is said that the scaffold on -which he suffered was so constructed that his children, the youngest -of whom was only five, were placed beneath clad in white and were -splashed with the blood from his severed head that dropped through the -openings of the planks. After this fearful tragedy these infants were -carried back to the Bastile and imprisoned there in a narrow cell for -five years. Other records, possibly also apocryphal, are preserved of -additional torments inflicted on the Armagnac princes. It is asserted -that they were taken out of their cells twice weekly to be flogged in -the presence of the governor and to have a tooth extracted every three -months. - -The character of Louis XI shows black and forbidding in history. His -tireless duplicity was matched by his distrustfulness and insatiable -curiosity. He braved all dangers to penetrate the secrets of others, -risked his own life, spent gold, wasted strength, used the matchless -cunning of a red Indian, betrayed confidences and lied to all the -world. Yet he was gifted with keen insight into human nature. No one -knew better than he the strength and weakness of his fellow creatures. -Withal, France has had worse rulers. He may be credited with a desire -to raise and help the common people. He saw that in their industry and -contentment the wealth of the kingdom chiefly lay and looked forward -to the day when settled government would be assured. "If I live a -little longer," he told Comines the historian, "there shall be only -one weight, one measure, one law for the kingdom. We will have no more -lawyers cheating and pilfering, lawsuits shall be shortened, and there -shall be good police in the country." These dreams were never realised; -but at least, Louis was not a libertine and the slave of selfish -indulgence, the most vicious in a vicious court, ever showing an evil -example and encouraging dissolute manners and shameless immorality, as -were many of those who came after him. - -Although the Salic law shut the female sex out of the succession to -the throne, supreme power was frequently wielded by women in France. -One of the earliest instances of this was in the steps taken by Louis -XI to provide for the government during the minority of his son, who -succeeded as Charles IX. The King's daughter, Anne de Beaujeu, was -named regent by her father, who had a high opinion of her abilities -and considered her "the least foolish of her sex he had met; not the -wisest, for there are no sensible women." She was in truth possessed -of remarkable talents and great strength of character, having much of -her father's shrewdness and being even less unscrupulous. But she ruled -with a high hand and her young brother submitted himself entirely to -her influence. She felt it her duty to make an example of the evil -counsellors upon whom Louis had so much relied. Oliver le Daim, the -ex-barber who had been created Comte de Meulan, was hanged, and his -estates confiscated; Doyat, chief spy and informer, was flogged and -his tongue pierced with a hot iron; Coictier, the King's doctor, who -had wielded too much authority, was fined heavily and sent into exile. -Anne's brother-in-law, the Duc d'Orleans, afterwards King Louis XII, -had expected the regency and rebelled, but she put him down with a -strong hand, destroyed the insurgent forces that he gathered around -him, and made him a close prisoner in the great tower of Bourges, -where he endured the usual penalties,--confinement in a narrow, -low-roofed cell by day and removal to the conventional iron cage at -night. Better fortune came to him in a few short years, for by the -death of the Dauphin, only son of Charles VIII, Louis became next -heir to the throne, and ascended it on the sudden death of the King -from an accident in striking his head against the low archway of a -dark corridor. He succeeded also to the King's bed, for in due course -he married his widow, Anne of Brittany, another woman of forcible -character, on whom he often relied, sometimes too greatly. - -The reign of Charles VIII and Louis brought military glory and a great -increase of territory to France. The records of generally successful -external war rather than internal dissensions fill the history of the -time and we look in vain for lengthy accounts of prisoners relegated -to the State prisons. With the accession of Francis I another epoch -of conflict arrived and was general throughout Europe, involving all -the great nations. It was the age of chivalry, when knights carried -fortunes on their backs and the most lavish outlay added to the "pomp -and circumstance" of war. "The Field of the Cloth of Gold" remains as -a landmark in history, when kings vied with each other in extravagant -ostentation and proposed to settle their differences by personal -combat. The reign was brilliant with achievement abroad, but at home -the people suffered much misery and Francis kept his prisons filled. -Some great personages fell under his displeasure and were committed to -the Bastile; notably, Montmorency, Constable of France, and Chabot, -Admiral of France. These two, once school companions of the King, -became bitter rivals and the Constable persuaded the King to try the -Admiral on a charge of embezzlement. Francis, jealous of Chabot, -readily accepted the accusation, and sent him to the Bastile, where the -most flagrant violations of justice were used to secure conviction. He -escaped with fines and banishment; and the next year the fickle monarch -forgave him and released him from durance. He had been so sorely tried -by his imprisonment that no doctor could restore him to health. The -Chancellor, Poyet, who had framed the indictment, next found himself -in the Bastile, suspected of being in the possession of important -State secrets. The King himself appeared as the witness against him -and although the charges were vague, he was sentenced to fine and -confiscation of property. - -[Illustration: _Castle St. André, Avignon_ - -Fortress and prison used by the popes when Avignon was the papal -residence, in the fourteenth century. Avignon remained the property -of the popes after their return to Rome, until its annexation by the -French in 1791.] - -The persecution of the Huguenots began in the reign of Francis I, who -from the first declared himself on the side of the Pope. Protestantism -as preached by Martin Luther took another form in France, and the -Geneva doctrines of Calvin, which went much further, were followed. -Calvin, it may be said here, rejected the Episcopate which Luther had -retained. He recognised only two sacraments,--Baptism and the Last -Supper, and desired his disciples to imitate the early Christians in -the austerity of their morals. The French Protestants were styled -Calvinists and more generally Huguenots, a name taken from the German -word, "_Eidgenossen_," or "confederates." Calvinism made slow progress -in France although it numbered amongst its adherents some of the -best heads in the nation, men of letters, savants, great lawyers and -members of the highest aristocracy. They were persecuted pitilessly. In -1559 Berquin, a king's councillor, a man of much learning, was burned -alive in Paris and many shared his fate as martyrs to the new faith -in the great cities such as Lyons, Toulouse, and Marseilles. The most -horrible atrocities were perpetrated against the Vaudois, a simple, -loyal population residing in the towns and villages around Avignon and -on the borders of the Durance. Two fanatical prelates of the Guise -family, the Cardinal de Tournon and the Cardinal de Lorraine, headed -the movement in the course of which 3,000 persons were massacred,--men, -women and children, and any who escaped were condemned to the galleys -for life. Nevertheless the reformed religion gained ground steadily. -The new ideas appealed to the people despite opposition. Neither -persecution, nor the threats fulminated by the Council of Trent, nor -the energies of the new order of Jesuits, could stamp out the new -faith; and religious intolerance, backed by the strong arm of the -Church was destined to deluge France with bloodshed in the coming -centuries. - -Henry II, who followed his father Francis on the throne, redoubled the -persecution which was stained with incessant and abominable cruelties. -The ordinary process of law was set aside in dealing with the Huguenots -who were brought under ecclesiastical jurisdiction. An edict published -in 1555, enjoined all governors and officers of justice to punish -without delay, without examination and without appeal, all heretics -condemned by the judges. The civil judge was no longer anything but the -passive executant of the sentences of the Church. The Parliament of -Paris protested, but the King turned a deaf ear to these remonstrances -and summoned a general meeting of all the Parliaments, which he -attended in person and where he heard some home truths. One of the most -outspoken was a great nobleman, one Anne Du Bourg, who defended the -Protestants, declaring that they were condemned to cruel punishment -while heinous criminals altogether escaped retribution. Du Bourg and -another, Dufaure, were arrested and were conveyed to the Bastile -where they were soon joined by other members of the Parliament. After -many delays Du Bourg was brought to trial, convicted and sentenced -to be burnt to death. "It is the intention of the Court," so ran the -judgment, "that the said Du Bourg shall in no wise feel the fire, and -that before it be lighted and he is cast therein he shall be strangled, -yet if he should wish to dogmatise and indulge in any remarks he shall -be gagged so as to avoid scandal." He was executed on the Place de la -Grève on the top of a high gallows under which a fire was lighted to -receive the dead body when it fell. - -Henry II had been a weak and self-indulgent king. Ostentatious and -extravagant, he wasted large sums in the expenses of his court and -lavished rich gifts on his creatures, a course which emptied the -treasury and entailed burdensome taxation. He was entirely under the -thumb of his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, a cold-blooded, selfish -creature, who ruled him and the country with unquestioned supremacy, -before whom even the lawful queen, Catherine de Medicis, humiliated -herself and paid abject court. The King's ministers, the Constable -Montmorency and the Duc de Guise, were at first rivals in power with -Diane, but soon joined with her in riding roughshod over the country, -and in bestowing all good things, places, governments and profitable -charges on their friends and creatures. Foreign adventure, external -wars, famine and pestilence constantly impoverished France. The people -rose frequently in insurrection and were always suppressed with -sanguinary cruelty. Constable Montmorency, above mentioned, dealt so -severely with Bordeaux, that in a short space of time no fewer than -four hundred persons were beheaded, burned, torn asunder by wild horses -or broken on the wheel. - -A prominent figure of those days was Mary Stuart, better known as Mary, -Queen of Scots, that fascinating woman who was "a politician at ten -years old and at fifteen governed the court." She was the child-wife of -Francis II, who unexpectedly came to the throne on the sudden death by -mischance of Henry II at a tournament held in front of the Bastile. He -had challenged Montgomery, an officer of the Scottish Guard, to break a -lance with him and in the encounter a splinter entered Henry's eye and -penetrated to the brain. - -The tragic death of Francis II was another of those instances in which -the Salic Law was evaded and a woman held supreme power. Catherine -de Medicis has already appeared on the scene in the sanguinary -suppression of the conspiracy of Amboise. This was only one of the -atrocities that stained her long tenure of power as Regent of France -during the minority of her son Charles IX. Her character has been -already indicated. Evil was ever in the ascendant with her and in -her stormy career she exhibited the most profound cunning, a rare -fertility of resource, and the finished diplomacy of one trained in -the Machiavellian school. She was double-faced and deceitful beyond -measure. Now the ally of one political party, now of the other, she -betrayed both. She even affected sympathy at times with the Protestants -and often wept bitter crocodile tears over their sufferings. For a -time liberty of conscience was conceded to the Huguenots but Catherine -desired always to conciliate the Catholics and concerted measures with -Philip of Spain to bring about a new persecution. A fresh conflict -ensued in which successes were gained on both sides, but the Huguenots -showed so firm a front that peace could not be denied them. They were -always prepared to rise, offering a hydra-headed resistance that might -be scotched but could not be killed. To crush them utterly Catherine -planned the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, in which the Admiral Coligny -and 10,000 Protestants were murdered in Paris alone and 30,000 more -in the provinces. This ineffaceable crime to which Charles IX had -weakly consented, seemed to paralyse the Huguenot cause and many of -their principal leaders abjured the new faith. Charles IX, tortured by -remorse, constantly haunted by superstitious terrors, rapidly succumbed -to wasting disease and died penitent, acknowledging his guilt. - -Some time previously Henri d'Anjou had been elected King of Poland -and on his departure, efforts were made to secure the succession for -his younger brother, the Duc d'Alençon, who was to own himself the -protector of the Huguenots. The plot failed and served only to fill the -prisons of Vincennes and Bastile. Montgomery, the Huguenot leader, was -implicated. He had surrendered on a vague promise of safe conduct which -ended in his torture to compel confession of complicity in the plot. He -was on the point of being secretly strangled when Catherine de Medicis, -who had gone to the Bastile to be present at his execution, suddenly -changed her mind and set the surprised prisoner free. - -Another class was committed to the Bastile by Catherine de Medicis. She -waged war constantly against coiners and issuers of false money; their -chief ringleader was sent to the Bastile with special instructions -for his "treatment." He was transferred secretly to Paris from Rouen -and shut up alone in an especially private place where no news could -be had of him. This order was signed by Catherine herself. Next year -(1555) a defaulting finance officer was committed and the lieutenant -of the Bastile was ordered to forbid him to speak to a soul or write -or give any hint where he was. Again, a Gascon gentleman, named Du -Mesnil, was taken in the act of robbing and murdering a courier on his -way to Italy, the bearer of 30,000 crowns worth of pearls. Du Mesnil's -accomplices, two simple soldiers, were hanged at the Halles but he -himself was sent to the Bastile and recommended to its governor for -"good discipline." This prisoner seems to have preferred liberty to -the favor shown him, such as it was, for in November, 1583, he made -a desperate attempt to escape. The account given by L'Estoile in his -memoirs, is that Du Mesnil, weary of his close confinement, burned down -the door of his cell, got out, became possessed of a rope from the well -in the court, climbed to the top of the terrace (the Bastion), fastened -his rope through an artillery wheel and lowered himself into the ditch. -The rope had been lengthened by another made from his sheets and -bedding, but it was still too short to reach the bottom, and letting -himself fall he was caught on a window below and making outcry was -recaptured and re-imprisoned. A more distinguished prisoner was Bernard -Palissy, the famous potter who was committed to gaol as a Protestant -and died in the Bastile in 1590 when eighty years of age. L'Estoile -tells us that Palissy at his death bequeathed him two stones, one of -them, part of a petrified skull which he accounted a philosopher's -stone, the other, a stone he had himself manufactured. "I have them -still," says L'Estoile, "carefully preserved in my cabinet for the sake -of the good old man whom I loved and relieved in his necessity,--not as -much as I could have wished, but to the full extent of my power." - -When Henry III assassinated the Duc de Guise at Blois, Paris took it -greatly to heart and swore vengeance. The "Sixteen" held the Bastile, -and its governor, Bussy-Leclerc, an ex-fencing master, sought to coerce -the Parliament, seizing at once upon all with royalist leanings and -driving them into the Bastile. President Auguste de Thou was arrested -and with him his wife, who is said to have been the first female -occupant of this prison. Now the King, in despair, turned to the -Huguenots and formed an alliance with Henry of Navarre. The two kings -joined forces to recover Paris and the Parisians, alarmed, feeling they -could not make long resistance, accepted the worst. Some said there -would be a second St. Bartholomew, for the "Leaguers" and the Royalists -boasted that so many should be hanged that the wood for gibbets would -run short. But the situation suddenly changed, for Henry III was -unexpectedly assassinated by a fanatical monk, Clément, in the very -heart of the royal apartments. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE RISE OF RICHELIEU - - Early governors of the Bastile--Frequent changes--Day of - Barricades--Conspiracy of Biron--Assassination of Henry - IV--Ravaillac--Barbarous sentence--Marie de Medicis left - Regent--Story of the Concinis--Rise of Richelieu--Gifts and - character--His large employment of the State prisons--Duelling - prohibited--The Day of Dupes--Triumph over his enemies--Fall of - Marie de Medicis--Maréchal Bassompierre--His prolonged imprisonment. - - -We may pause a moment at this stage to give some attention to a few of -the more prominent governors of the Bastile, appointed by each side in -turn during the long conflicts of the opposing parties. Antoine d'Ivyer -was the first after the English, as captain under the supreme command -of Duke Charles of Bourbon. One Cissey, after fifteen years' tenure in -the Bastile, was succeeded by La Rochette, he by De Melun, he by De -Chauvigny, and the last by Phillip Luillier, who enjoyed the confidence -of Louis XI and was personally in charge of the bishops and dukes who -have been mentioned. He was the last of the royal functionaries, the -court officials other than military men who acted as gaolers. Only in -the troublous times of the League and later of the Fronde, when the -possession of the Bastile meant so much to the existing régime, was the -fortress entrusted to the strong hands of soldiers and men of action -equal to any emergency. After Luillier the charge was considered equal -to a provincial government and those entrusted with it were some of -the most considerable persons in the State, constables or ministers -who ruled by lieutenant or deputy and kept only the title and dignity -of the office. It was long deemed hereditary in certain great families -and descended from father to son, as with the Montmorencys. The head -of that house, William, in 1504, was succeeded by his son, Anne, a -Pluralist, at the same time governor of Paris and captain of the castle -of Vincennes. Francis, a marshal of France, son of the last-named, -was a third Montmorency governor. Much later the post was held by -successive members of the family of Admiral Coligny, and some of the -governors were very eminent persons, such as Châteauneuf, the Duc de -Luynes, Maréchal Bassompierre and Sully, the celebrated minister of -Henry IV, whose memoirs have been widely read and were the inspiration -of the English novelist, Stanley Weyman. - -The Bastile often changed hands. When Henry of Guise made himself -master of Paris after the "Battle," or "Day of the Barricades," Laurent -Testu was governor or king's lieutenant of the Bastile; but after -the second day's fighting, when summoned to surrender, he obeyed -and opened the gates. The Duc de Guise then gave the governorship to -one Bussy-Leclerc, a devoted adherent, but of indifferent character, -who had been a procureur of the Parliament and a fencing master. -He had a large following of bullies and cut-throats. The prisoners -in the Bastile were quite at his mercy and he ruled with a rough, -reckless hand, inflicting all manner of cruelties in order to -extort money,--squeezing the rich and torturing the poor. After the -assassination of Henry of Guise at Blois, he planned reprisals against -Henry III and sought to intimidate the Parliament, which would have -made submission to the King, by making its members prisoners in the -Bastile. Leclerc's excesses roused Paris against him, and the Duc de -Mayenne, now the head of the League, threatened the Bastile. Leclerc, -in abject terror, at once surrendered on condition that he might retire -from the capital to Brussels with the plunder he had acquired. Dubourg -l'Espinasse, a brave, honorable soldier, was appointed to the Bastile -by the Duc de Mayenne, in succession to Leclerc and defended it stoutly -against Henry of Navarre, now King Henry IV, after the assassination -of his predecessor. Dubourg declared that he knew no king of France -but the Duc de Mayenne, and on being told that Henry was master of -Paris, said, "Good, but I am master of the Bastile!" He at length -agreed to yield up the fortress to the Duke, who had entrusted him -with the command, and finally marched out with all the honors of war, -gaining great credit from the King for his staunch and loyal conduct -to his superiors. The text of the capitulation has been preserved and -its quaint phraseology may be transcribed. The commandant promised to -hand over to the king, "on Sunday at three in the afternoon the said -Bastile, its artillery and munitions of war. In return for which the -King will permit the garrison to march out with arms, horses, furniture -and all belongings. The troops will issue by one gate with drums -beating, matches lighted and balls" (for loading). - -It is recorded of Henry IV by the historian Maquet, that he was the -king who least abused the Bastile. It is due this sovereign to say -that the prisoners confined in it during his reign were duly tried -and condemned by Parliament and that from his accession the fortress -lost its exceptional character and became an ordinary prison. Sully -was appointed governor and received a letter of appointment in which -the King announced that he relied more than ever upon his loyalty and -had decided to make him captain of the Bastile: "so that if I should -have any birds to put in the cage and hold tight I can rely upon your -foresight, diligence and loyalty." Few prisoners were committed to the -Bastile in this reign, but all imprisoned were notably traitors. Such -was Charles, Maréchal de Biron, the restless and unstable subject who -conspired more than once against the King, by whom at one time he had -been exceedingly favored. Henry IV was greatly attached to Biron. "I -never loved anyone as I loved Biron," he said. "I could have confided -my son and my kingdom to him." For a time Biron served him well, yet -he, too, entered into a dangerous conspiracy with the King of Spain, -the Duke of Savoy and the King's disloyal subjects in France. - -Henry IV forgave him and paid his debts, which were large, for he was -a great gambler and had lost large sums at the tables. Biron was sent -to London as ambassador to the English Queen Elizabeth but resumed -his evil courses on his return to France and was summoned before the -King to answer for them. Henry promised to pardon and forgive him if -he would confess his crimes, but Biron was obstinately silent and was -committed to the Bastile. He was tried openly before the Parliament -and unanimously convicted by one hundred and twenty-seven judges. The -sentence was death and he was to be publicly executed on the Place -de la Grève, but Henry, dreading the sympathy of the mob and not -indisposed to spare his friend the contumely of a public hanging, -allowed the execution to take place within the Bastile. Biron, although -he had acknowledged his guilt, died protesting against the sentence. -He comported himself with little dignity upon the scaffold, resisting -the headman and trying to strangle him. Three times he knelt down at -the block and three times sprang to his feet; and the fourth time was -decapitated with much dexterity by the executioner. - -The Comte d'Auvergne, the natural son of Charles IX and Marie Touchet, -was an ally of Biron's and put on his trial at the same time. Their -common offense had been to invite invasion by the Spaniards and stir -up a revolution throughout France. D'Auvergne was sentenced to death -and with him the Comte d'Entragues, who had married Marie Touchet, but -neither suffered. D'Auvergne remained in the Bastile for twelve years. -He was released in the following reign and made a good appearance at -court as the Duc d'Angoulême. Henry IV had been moved to soften the -rigors of his imprisonment and wrote to the governor (Sully) saying -that as he had heard his nephew d'Auvergne needed change of air, he was -to be placed in "the pavilion at the end of the garden of the arsenal -which looks upon the water, but to be guarded in any way that seemed -necessary for the security of his person." - -Reference must be made to one inmate of the Bastile at this period, -the Vicomte de Tavannes, who was opposed to Henry IV as a partisan -of the League. He was long held a prisoner but was exchanged for the -female relations of the Duc de Longueville; and Tavannes has written -in his "memoirs:" "A poor gentleman was thus exchanged against four -princesses, one a Bourbon, one of the House of Cleves, and two of that -of Orleans." At the fall of the League, Tavannes acknowledged Henry IV -on condition that he should be confirmed in his dignity as a marshal of -France. This promise was not kept and he withdrew from his allegiance, -saying he was the King's subject and not his slave. For this he was -again committed to the Bastile from which he escaped, according to his -own account, with great ease,--"A page brought me some thread and a -file; I twisted the cord, filed through a bar and got away." He was -not pursued but was suffered to remain in peace in his own castle of -Soilly, near Autun. The King could never tolerate Tavannes. He had been -largely concerned in the massacre of St. Bartholomew, of which he is -believed to have been the principal instigator and which he is supposed -to have suggested to Catherine de Medicis. - -Henry's reign was abruptly terminated by his assassination in 1610. -He was murdered by François Ravaillac, a native of Angoulême who was -no doubt a victim of religious dementia. Having been much perturbed -with visions inciting him to exhort the king to take action against -the followers of the pretended reformed religion and convert them to -the Roman Catholic Church, Ravaillac determined to do so. On reaching -Paris he went to the Jesuits' house near the Porte St.-Antoine and -sought advice from one of the priests, Father Daubigny, who told him -to put these disturbed thoughts out of his head, to say his prayers -and tell his beads. He still maintained his intention of speaking -to the King and addressed to him on one occasion as he drove by in -his coach, but "the King put him back with a little stick and would -not hear him." Then Ravaillac changed his mind and set out for home; -but on reaching Estampes, was again impelled to return to Paris--this -time with homicidal intent. The would-be regicide watched for the King -constantly, but thought it better to wait until after the new queen -(Marie de Medicis) was crowned. He hung about the Louvre, burning to do -the deed, and at last found his opportunity on the 14th of May, 1610, -near the churchyard of St. Innocent. The King left the Louvre that -morning in his coach unattended. One of his gentlemen had protested. -"Take me, Sire, I implore you," he said, "to guard your Majesty." "No," -replied the King, "I will have neither you nor the guard. I want no -one." The coach was driven to the Hotel de Longueville and then to -the Croix du Tiroir and so to the churchyard of St. Bartholomew. It -had turned from the rue St. Honore into the rue Feronnière, a very -narrow way made more so by the small shops built against the wall of -the churchyard. The passage was further blocked by the approach of two -carts, one laden with wine and the other with hay, and the coach was -brought to a stop at the corner of the street. - -Ravaillac had followed the coach from the Louvre, had seen it stop -and noted that there was now no one near it and no one to interfere -with him as he came close to the side of the carriage where the King -was seated. Ravaillac had his cloak wrapped round his left arm to -conceal a knife and creeping in between the shops and the coach as if -he desired to pass by, paused there, and resting one foot upon a spoke -of the wheel, the other upon a stone, leaned forward and stabbed the -King. The knife entered a little above the heart between the third and -fourth ribs. The King, who was reading a letter, fell over towards -the Duc d'Épernon on his other side, murmuring, "I am wounded." At -this moment Ravaillac, fearing that the point of his weapon had been -turned aside, quickly struck a second blow at the fainting monarch, -who had raised his arm slightly, thus giving the knife better chance -to reach his heart. This second stroke was instantly fatal. The blood -gushed from his mouth and he expired breathing a deep sigh. His -Majesty's attendants, now running up, would have killed Ravaillac -on the spot, but the Duc d'Épernon called out to them to secure his -person, whereupon one seized the dagger, another his throat, and he was -promptly handed over to the guards. The news spread that the King was -dead and caused a panic. People rushed from the shops into the streets -and a tumult arose which was stayed only by the prompt assurance of -d'Épernon that the King had merely fainted and was being carried to the -Louvre for medical attention. - -The murder created intense excitement in the city, for the King was -beloved and trusted by the people as the one hope of peace after such -constant strife. Sully, his faithful minister, was broken-hearted -but acted with great promptitude and firmness. He brought troops -forthwith into Paris and strengthened the garrison with the Swiss -guards. Despair and consternation prevailed in the Louvre, where were -the widowed Queen, Marie de Medicis, and the infant heir, now Louis -XIII. Bassompierre, in his memoirs, tells us how he found the dead King -laid out in his cabinet, surrounded by afflicted followers and weeping -surgeons. Summoned to the Queen's presence, he found her in dishabille, -overcome with grief, and he with others knelt to kiss her hand and -assure her of his devotion. The Duc de Villeroi reasoned with her, -imploring her to postpone her lamentations until she had made provision -for her own and her son's safety. While the Duc de Guise was directed -to bring together all the principal people to recognise and proclaim -the new sovereign, the marshal proceeded to gather up all the troops -and march through the city to check any signs of tumult and sedition. -Meanwhile, Sully had occupied the Bastile with a force of archers and -had enjoined all good subjects to swear allegiance to the throne and -proclaim their readiness to give their lives to avenge Henry's murder. - -With the nation in such a temper it was little likely that any mercy -would be shown to Ravaillac. His trial was hurried forward in all haste -and he was arraigned before the High Court of the Tournelle. Long and -minute interrogatories were administered to him on the rack to extort -confession of an act fully proved by eye-witnesses and of which he -was duly convicted. The court declared that he was "attainted of high -treason divine and human in the highest degree, for the most wicked, -the most abominable parricide committed on the person of the late Henry -IV, of good and laudable memory," and he was condemned in reparation to -make the _amende honorable_ before the principal gate of the city of -Paris, "whither he shall be carried," so runs the decree, "and drawn on -a tumbril in his shirt, bearing a lighted torch of two pounds weight, -and there he shall make confession of his crime, of which he repents -and begs pardon of God, the king and the laws. From thence he shall -be carried to the Grève and, on a scaffold to be there erected, the -flesh shall be torn from him with red-hot pincers ... and after this -his limbs shall be dragged by four horses, his body burnt to ashes and -dispersed in the air. His goods and chattels are also declared to be -forfeited and confiscated to the king. And it is further ordained that -the house in which he was born shall be pulled down to the ground (the -owner thereof being previously indemnified) and that no other building -shall ever hereafter be erected on the foundation thereof; that within -fifteen days after the publication of this present sentence his father -and mother shall, by sound of trumpet and public proclamation in the -city of Angoulême, be banished out of the kingdom and forbidden ever -to return under the penalty of being hanged and strangled, without any -further process at law. The Court has also forbidden, and doth forbid -his brothers, sisters, uncles and others, from henceforth to bear the -said name of Ravaillac." - -The curious fact is recorded in history that Henry IV had a strong -presentiment of impending fate. "I cannot tell you why, Bassompierre, -but I feel satisfied I shall never go into Germany" (on a projected -campaign). He repeated several times, "I believe I shall die soon." -He shared his forebodings with Sully. "I shall die in this city. This -ceremony of the Queen's coronation (now at hand) disturbs me. I shall -die in this city; I shall never quit Paris again, they mean to kill -me. Accursed coronation! I shall fall during the show." And he did die -the day after it. Yet sometimes he laughed at these fears, remarking, -only two days before his murder, to some of his attendants whom he -overheard discussing the subject, "It is quite foolish to anticipate -evil; for thirty years every astrologer and charlatan in the kingdom -has predicted my death on a particular day, and here I am still alive." -But on this very morning of the 14th of May, the young Duc de Vendôme -brought him a fresh horoscope. The constellation under which Henry -was born threatened him with great danger on this day and he was urged -to pass it in sheltered retirement. The King called the astrologer a -crafty old fox and the duke a young fool, and said, "My fate is in -the hands of God." At the moment Ravaillac was in the vicinity of the -palace, but his gestures were so wild that the guards drove him away to -wait and carry out his fell deed elsewhere. - -Ravaillac was no doubt the tool of others. The King's life had been -threatened by courtiers near his person. Not the least active of his -enemies was Madame de Verneuil, born D'Entragues, who had been at one -time his mistress, but who had joined his enemies, notably the Duc -d'Épernon, in cordial detestation of his policy. Henry was at this -time planning a great coalition against the overweening power of Spain -and favored the concession of religious toleration throughout Europe. -Madame de Verneuil had welcomed Ravaillac to Paris and commended him -to the hospitality of one of her creatures, and it was proved that the -murderer had been once in the service of the Duc d'Épernon. - -When Henry IV fell under the assassin's knife, it was found by his -will that, in the event of a minority, the regency should devolve upon -Marie de Medicis, his second wife. This happened because Louis XIII, -the new King, was no more than nine years of age, and once again France -came under female rule. The Italian Queen Mother soon fell under the -domination of two other Italians, the Concinis, husband and wife. -The first, a mercenary and overbearing creature, best known as the -Marquis d'Ancre, stirred up the bitterest animosity and brought the -Queen into fierce conflict with the princes of the blood who rose in -open rebellion. They were presently supported by the young King and a -murderous plot was carried out for the marquis' assassination. It was -effected in broad daylight at the entrance of the Louvre by the Baron -de Vitry, a captain of the Gardes du Corps. "I have the King's order to -arrest you," said De Vitry. "_À me?_" asked the astonished d'Ancre in -imperfect French. "_À vous_," replied the other, taking out a pistol -and shooting him down, the rest dispatching him with their swords. -Louis XIII, still barely sixteen, is said to have witnessed the murder -from a window of the Louvre, from which he cried, "Great thanks to all; -now at last I am king." - -The Prince de Condé, as leader of the insurgent princes, had been -arrested and imprisoned in the palace but removed to the Bastile. The -mob, greatly incensed, attacked the Louvre, but, unable to find him, -failed to compass Condé's release who was now transferred in the dead -of night, "without torches," to Vincennes. Concini's house was next -sacked, his body dragged from the grave, carried through the streets -and subjected to every indignity, his nose and ears being cut off and -the corpse burned. Hatred of the Queen's foreign favorites was not yet -appeased. Leonora Galigai, the Marquis d'Ancre's widow, was brought to -trial, her conviction being necessary before her property and estates -could be confiscated and divided. She was duly arraigned but it was -impossible to prove her complicity in her husband's misdeeds or to -procure conviction of any crime involving capital punishment. The venue -was therefore changed and she was accused of sorcery and witchcraft. It -was said that she had attracted astrologers and magicians into France -who brought with them spells and incantations, amulets, talismans, and -all the apparatus of wax figures, to produce death by wasting disease. -She was asked in court to confess by what magical arts she had gained -her malign influence over the Queen and she replied contemptuously, -"By the power that strong minds exercise over weak ones." The case -was certain to go against her, but she still hoped to escape with -a sentence of banishment and it was a terrible shock when she was -condemned to death for the crime of _lèse majesté_, human and divine. -Yet she faced her fate with marvellous fortitude. Great crowds turned -out to jeer at her as she was carried in a cart to the Place de Grève, -but she maintained her composure until she saw the flames destined to -consume her decapitated body, then quickly recovering herself, she met -death without bravado and without fear. Her son was imprisoned for -some time in the castle of Nantes and the Concini property was chiefly -divided between the King and the Pope, Clement VII. Leonora Galigai -had originally been the Queen's waiting woman for several years. Of -humble birth, the daughter of a carpenter, she had gained the complete -confidence of her mistress by her soft voice and insinuating ways, -and on coming to France, Marie de Medicis had insisted upon Leonora's -appointment as lady in waiting, although Henry absolutely refused to -appoint her until the Queen gained her point by her importunities. - -By this time a new power was rising above the horizon, that of the -Bishop of Luçon, afterwards, and better known as, Cardinal Richelieu. -The cadet of a noble but not affluent family, he was intended for the -career of arms but turned cleric in order to hold the bishopric of -Luçon, the presentation of which was hereditary in his house. By his -talents he soon made his mark as a churchman. He was assiduous in his -religious profession and an eloquent preacher, but his powerful mind -and ambitious spirit presently turned him towards a political career. -He arrived at Paris in 1614 as the representative of the clergy of -Poitou in the States General and his insinuating manners and personal -charm soon won him wide favor at Court. He was presented to the -Queen Mother, Marie de Medicis, by Barbin, the controller-general of -finances, and by the Concinis, the above mentioned ill-fated Marquis -d'Ancre and his wife, Leonora Galigai. He first became the Queen's -chaplain and next the secretary of State for war, barely escaping the -evil consequences of his intimacy with the Concinis. It is rumored in -history that he knew of the intended assassination of d'Ancre the night -before it occurred but neglected to give warning on the plea that he -did not believe the story and thought the news would wait. When the -King and his mother quarrelled and Marie de Medicis withdrew to Blois, -Richelieu accompanied her and served her without at first compromising -himself with Louis. He was at length ordered to leave her and retired -to his bishopric. He was further exiled to the papal province of -Avignon, but was suddenly recalled and forgiven. He still devoted -himself to the Queen and was her chosen friend and adviser, services -which she requited by securing him the cardinal's hat. - -Richelieu soon showed his quality and rose step by step to the -highest honors, becoming in due course, First Minister of State. His -success was due throughout to his prudent, far-seeing conduct and -his incomparable adroitness in managing affairs. "He was so keen and -watchful," said a contemporary, "that he was never taken unawares. He -slept little, worked hard, thought of everything and knew everything -either by intuition or through his painstaking indefatigable spirit." -He was long viewed with suspicion and dislike by the young King, but -presently won his esteem by his brilliant talents. He dazzled and -compelled the admiration of all, even those opposed to him. His -extraordinary genius was immediately made manifest; it was enough -for him to show himself. His penetrating eye, the magnetism of his -presence, his dexterity in untying knots and in solving promptly the -most difficult problems, enabled him to dominate all tempers and -overcome all resistance. His was a singularly persuasive tongue; he -had the faculty of easily and effectually proving that he was always -in the right. In a word, he exercised a great personal ascendency and -was as universally feared as he was implicitly obeyed by all upon whom -he imposed his authority. When he was nominated First Minister, the -Venetian minister in Paris wrote to his government, "Here, humanly -speaking, is a new power of a solid and permanent kind; one that is -little likely to be shaken or quickly crumbled away." - -Richelieu's steady and consistent aim was to consolidate an absolute -monarchy. Determined to conquer and crush the Huguenots he made his -first attack upon La Rochelle, the great Protestant stronghold, but was -compelled to make terms with the Rochelais temporarily while he devoted -himself to the abasement of the great nobles forever in opposition to -and intriguing against the reigning sovereign. Headed by the princes -of the blood, they continually resisted Marie de Medicis and engaged -in secret conspiracy, making treasonable overtures to Spain or openly -raising the standard of revolt at home. With indomitable courage -and an extraordinary combination of daring and diplomacy, Richelieu -conquered them completely. The secret of his success has been preserved -in his own words, "I undertake nothing that I have not thoroughly -thought out in advance; when I have once made up my mind I stick to -it with unchangeable firmness, sweeping away all obstacles before me -and treading them down under foot till they lie paralysed under my red -robe." - -Richelieu, in thus strenuously fighting for his policy, which he -conceived was in the best interests of France, made unsparing use of -the weapons placed at his disposal for coercing his enemies. Foremost -amongst these were the prisons of state, the Bastile, Vincennes and the -rest, which he filled with prisoners, breaking them with repression, -retribution, or more or less permanent removal from the busy scene. -Year after year the long procession passed in through the gloomy -portals, in numbers far exceeding the movement outward, for few went -out except to make the short journey to the scaffold. The Cardinal's -victims were many. Amongst the earliest offenders upon whom his hand -fell heavily in the very first year of his ministry, were those -implicated in the Ornano-Chalais conspiracy. The object of this was to -remove the King's younger brother, Gaston, Duc d'Orleans, generally -known as "Monsieur," out of the hands of the Court and set him up as -a pretender to the throne in opposition to Louis XIII. Richelieu, in -his memoirs, speaks of this as "the most fearful conspiracy mentioned -in history, both as regards the number concerned and the horror of the -design, which was to raise their master (Monsieur) above his condition -and abase the sacred person of the King." The Cardinal himself was to -have been a victim and was to be murdered at his castle of Fleury, six -miles from Fontainebleau. When the plot was betrayed, the King sent -a body of troops to Fleury and the Queen a number of her attendants. -The conspirators were forestalled and the ringleaders arrested. The -Marshal d'Ornano was taken at Fontainebleau and with him his brother -and some of his closest confidants. The Marquis de Chalais, who was of -the famous house of Talleyrand, was caught in the act at Fleury, to -which he had proceeded for the commission of the deed. He confessed -his crime. There were those who pretended at the time that the plot -was fictitious, invented by Richelieu in order to get rid of some of -his most active enemies. In any case, the Marshal d'Ornano died in -the Bastile within three months of his arrest and it was generally -suspected that he had been poisoned, although Richelieu would not allow -it was other than a natural death. Chalais had been sent to Nantes, -where he was put on trial, convicted, sentenced to death and eventually -executed. The execution was carried out with great barbarity, for the -headsman was clumsy and made thirty-two strokes with his sword before -he could effect decapitation. - -The two Vendômes, Caesar, the eldest, and his brother, the Grand -Prior, were concerned in the Ornano-Chalais conspiracy. Caesar was the -eldest son of Henri IV by Gabrielle d'Estrées, but was legitimised and -created a duke by his father, with precedence immediately after the -princes of the blood. Although Louis' half-brother, he was one of his -earliest opponents. After the detection of the plot he was cast into -the prison of Vincennes, where he remained for four years (1626-30), -but was released on surrendering the government of Brittany and -accepting exile. He was absent for eleven years, but on again returning -to France was accused of an attempt to poison Cardinal Richelieu and -again banished until that minister's death. He could not bring himself -to submit to existing authority, and once more in France became one -of the leaders of the party of the "Importants" and was involved in -the disgrace of the Duc de Beaufort, his son. Having made his peace -with Cardinal Mazarin in 1650, he was advanced to several offices, -among others to those of Governor of Burgundy and Superintendent of -Navigation. He helped to pacify Guienne and took Bordeaux. The Grand -Prior, his brother, became a Knight of Malta and saw service early -at the siege of Candia, where he showed great courage. He made the -campaign of Holland under Louis XIV, after having been involved with -Chalais, and throughout showed himself a good soldier. - -Richelieu's penalties were sometimes inflicted on other grounds than -self-defense and personal animosity. The disturbers of public peace he -treated as enemies of the State. Thus he laid a heavy hand on all who -were concerned in affairs of honor whether death ensued or not. His own -elder brother had been killed in a duel, and he abhorred a practice -which had so long decimated the country. It was calculated that in one -year alone four thousand combatants had perished. King Henry IV had -issued the most severe edicts against it and had created a tribunal of -marshals empowered to examine into and arrange all differences between -gentlemen. One of these edicts of 1602, prohibiting duels, laid down -as a penalty for the offense, the confiscation of property and the -imprisonment of the survivors. A notorious duellist, De Bouteville, -felt the weight of the Cardinal's hand. He must have been a quarrelsome -person for he fought on twenty-one occasions. After the last quarrel -he retired into Flanders and was challenged by a Monsieur de Beuvron. -They returned to Paris where they fought in the Place Royale, and -Bussy d'Amboise, one of Beuvron's seconds, was killed by one of De -Bouteville's. The survivors fled but were pursued and captured, with -the result that De Bouteville was put upon his trial before the regular -courts. He was convicted and condemned to death. All the efforts on -the part of influential friends, royal personages included, to obtain -pardon having proved unavailing, he suffered in the Place de Grève. The -pugnacity of this De Bouteville was attributed by many to homicidal -mania, and one nobleman declared that he would decline a challenge from -him unless it was accompanied by a medical certificate of sanity. He -had killed a number of his opponents and his reputation was such that -when he established a fencing school at his residence in Paris all the -young noblemen flocked there to benefit by his lessons. - -Richelieu used the Bastile for all manner of offenders. One was the -man Farican, of whom he speaks in his "Memoirs" as "a visionary -consumed with vague dreams of a coming republic. All his ends were -bad, all his means wicked and detestable.... His favorite occupation -was the inditing of libellous pamphlets against the government, -rendering the King odious, exciting sedition and aiming at subverting -the tranquillity of the State. Outwardly a priest, he held all good -Catholics in detestation and acted as a secret spy of the Huguenots." -An Englishman found himself in the Bastile for being at cross purposes -with the Cardinal. This was a so-called Chevalier Montagu, son of -the English Lord Montagu and better known as "Wat" Montagu, who was -much employed as a secret political agent between England and France. -Great people importuned the Cardinal to release Montagu. "The Duke -of Lorraine," says Richelieu, "has never ceased to beg this favor. -He began with vain threats and then, with words more suitable to his -position, sent the Prince of Phalsbourg to Paris for the third time -to me to grant this request." The Duke having been gratified with -this favor came in person to Paris to thank the King. An entry in an -English sheet dated April 20th, 1628, runs, "The Earl of Carlisle will -not leave suddenly because Walter Montagu is set free from France and -has arrived at our court. The King says he has done him exceeding -good service." It was Montagu who brought good news from Rochelle to -the Duke of Buckingham on the very day he was assassinated. Later in -October, Montagu had a conference with Richelieu as to the exchange of -prisoners at Rochelle. - -Richelieu's upward progress had not been unimpeded. The Queen Mother -became his bitter enemy. Marie de Medicis was disappointed in him. He -had not proved the humble, docile creature she looked for in one whom -she had raised so high and her jealousy intensified as his power grew. -She was a woman of weak character and strong passions, easily led -astray by designing favorites, as was seen in the case of the Concinis, -and there is little doubt that the Maréchal d'Ancre was her lover. -After his murder she was estranged from Louis XIII, but was reconciled -and joined with Richelieu's enemies in ceaselessly importuning the King -to break with his too powerful minister. She was backed by Anne of -Austria, the wife of Louis XIII; by "Monsieur," the Duc d'Orleans and -a swarm of leading courtiers in her efforts to sacrifice Richelieu. -The conflict ended in the so-called "Day of Dupes," when the minister -turned the tables triumphantly upon his enemies. Louis had retired to -his hunting lodge near Versailles to escape from his perplexities and -Richelieu followed him there, obtained an audience and put his own case -before the King, whom he dazzled by unveiling his great schemes, and -easily regained the mastery. His enemies were beaten and like craven -hounds came to lick his feet; and like hounds, at once felt the whip. - -One of the first to suffer was the Queen Mother. She had no friends. -Every one hated her; her son, her creatures and supporters,--and the -King again sent her into exile, this time to Compiègne, where she was -detained for a time. She presently escaped and left France to wander -through Europe, first to Brussels, then to London and last of all to -Cologne, where she died in a garret in great penury. Marie de Medicis' -had been an unhappy life. Misfortune met her on the moment she came -to France, for the King, her bridegroom, who had divorced his first -wife, Marguerite de Valois, in the hopes of an heir by another wife, -was much disappointed when he saw Marie de Medicis. She was by no means -so good looking as he had been led to believe. She was tall, with a -large coarse figure, and had great round staring eyes. There was -nothing softly feminine and caressing in her ways, she had no gaiety -of manner and was not at all the woman to attract or amuse the King's -roving fancy,--the _vert galant_, the gay deceiver of a thousand errant -loves. Yet he was willing to be good friends and was strongly drawn to -her after the birth of the Dauphin, but was soon repelled again by her -violent temper and generally detestable character. The establishment of -the Jesuits in France was Marie's doing. She was suspected of duplicity -in Henry's assassination, but the foul charge rests on no good grounds. -After becoming Regent, she alienated the nobility by her favoritism and -exasperated the people by her exorbitant tax levies to provide money -for her wasteful extravagance and the prodigal gifts she bestowed. The -one merit she possessed in common with her house was her patronage -of arts and letters. She inspired the series of famous allegorical -pictures, twenty-one in number, painted by Rubens, embodying the life -of Marie de Medicis. - -There was no love lost between the Cardinal and the Maréchal -Bassompierre, who paid the penalty for being on the wrong side in -the famous "Day of Dupes" and found himself committed for a long -imprisonment in the Bastile. The Marshal had offended Richelieu by -penetrating his designs against the nobility. When asked what he -thought of the prospect of taking La Rochelle, he had answered, "It -would be a mad act for us, for we shall enable the Cardinal, when -he has overcome the Calvinists, to turn all his strength against -our order." It was early in 1631 that danger to his person began -to threaten him. He was warned by the Duc d'Épernon that the Queen -Mother, of whose party Bassompierre was, had been arrested and that -others, including himself, were likely to get into trouble. The Marshal -asked the Duc d'Épernon for his advice, who strongly urged him to get -away, offering him at the same time a loan of fifty thousand crowns -as a provision until better days came. The Marshal refused this kind -offer but resolved to present himself before the King and stand his -ground. He would not compromise himself by a flight which would draw -suspicion down on him and call his loyalty in question. He had served -France faithfully for thirty years and was little inclined now that -he was fifty to seek his fortune elsewhere. "I had given my King the -best years of my life and was willing to sacrifice my liberty to him, -feeling sure that it would be restored on better appreciation of my -loyal services." - -Bassompierre prepared for the worst like a man of the world. "I -rose early next day and proceeded to burn more than six thousand -love-letters received from ladies to whom I had paid my addresses. I -was afraid that if arrested my papers would be seized and examined and -some of these letters might compromise my old friends." He entered his -carriage and drove to Senlis where the King was in residence. Here -he met the Duc de Gramont and others who told him he would certainly -be arrested. Bassompierre again protested that he had nothing on his -conscience. The King received him civilly enough and talked to him -at length about the disagreement of the Queen Mother with Cardinal -Richelieu, and then Bassompierre asked point blank whether the King -owed him any grudge. "How can you think such a thing," replied the -treacherous monarch. "You know I am your friend," and left him. That -evening the Marshal supped with the Duc de Longueville and the King -came in afterwards. "Then I saw plainly enough," says Bassompierre, -"that the King had something against me, for he kept his head down, -and touching the strings of his guitar, never looked at me nor spoke a -single word. Next morning I rose at six o'clock and as I was standing -before the fire in my dressing-room, M. de Launay, Lieutenant of the -Body-Guard, entered my room and said, 'Sir, it is with tears in my eyes -and with a bleeding heart that I, who, for twenty years have served -under you, am obliged to tell you that the King has ordered me to -arrest you.' - -"I experienced very little emotion and replied: 'Sir, you will have -no trouble, as I came here on purpose, having been warned. I have all -my life submitted to the wishes of the King, who can dispose of me or -my liberty as he thinks fit.'... Shortly afterwards one of the King's -carriages arrived in front of my lodging with an escort of mounted -musketeers and thirty light horsemen. I entered the carriage alone with -De Launay. Then we drove off, keeping two hundred paces in front of -the escort, as far as the Porte St.-Martin, where we turned off to the -left, and I was taken to the Bastile. I dined with the Governor, M. du -Tremblay, whom I afterwards accompanied to the chamber which had been -occupied by the Prince de Condé, and in this I was shut up with one -servant. - -"On the 26th, M. du Tremblay came to see me on the part of the King, -saying that his Majesty had not caused me to be arrested for any fault -that I had committed, holding me to be a good servant, but for fear I -should be led into mischief, and he assured me that I should not remain -long in prison, which was a great consolation. He also told me that the -King had ordered him to allow me every liberty but that of leaving the -Bastile. He added another chamber to my lodging for the accommodation -of my domestics. I retained only two valets and a cook, and passed two -months without leaving my room, and I should not have gone out at all -had I not been ill.... The King, it seems, had gone on a voyage as far -as Dijon, and on his return to Paris I implored my liberty, but all -in vain. I fell ill in the Bastile of a very dangerous swelling, due -to the want of fresh air and exercise and I began therefore to walk -regularly on the terrace of the Bastion." - -Bassompierre was destined to see a good deal of that terrace, for the -years slowly dragged themselves along with hope constantly deferred -and no fulfilment of the promises of freedom so glibly extended to -him. He was arrested in 1631 and in the following year heard he would -in all probability be released at once; but, as he says, he was told -this merely to redouble his sufferings. Next year he had great hope -of regaining his liberty and Marshal Schomberg sent him word that on -the return of the King to Paris he should leave the Bastile. This -year they deprived him of a portion of his salary and he was greatly -disheartened, feeling "that he was to be eternally detained and from -that time forth he lost all hope except in God." Two years later -(1635) the Governor, Monsieur du Tremblay, congratulated him on his -approaching release and the rumor was so strong that a number of -friends came every day to the Bastile to see if he was still there. -These encouraging stories were repeated from month to month without -any good result, and at length Père Joseph, "his gray eminence," -Richelieu's most confidential friend and brother of Monsieur du -Tremblay, being at the Bastile, promised the Marshal to speak to the -Cardinal on his behalf. "I put no faith in him," writes Bassompierre, -and indeed nothing more was heard for a couple of years, but we find in -the Marshal's journal an entry to the effect that the King had told the -Cardinal it weighed on his conscience for having kept him in prison -so long, seeing that there was nothing against him. "To which," says -Bassompierre, "the Cardinal replied that he had so many things on his -mind he could not remember the reason for the imprisonment or why he -(Richelieu) had advised it, but he would consult his papers and show -them to the King." The poor Marshal's dejection increased, having been -detained so long in the Bastile, "where he had nothing to do but pray -God to speedily put an end to his long misery by liberty or death." - -The imprisonment outlasted the journal which ends in 1640, and it was -not until the death of the Cardinal in 1642 that he at length obtained -his release, just eleven years after his first committal to prison. -He at once presented himself at Court and was graciously received by -the King who asked him his age. "Fifty," replied Bassompierre, "for I -cannot count the years passed in the Bastile as they were not spent in -your Majesty's service." He did not enjoy his freedom long, for he soon -afterwards died from an apoplectic seizure. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE PEOPLE AND THE BASTILE - - Anne of Austria--Her servant Laporte--Clandestine communication - in the Bastile--Birth of Dauphin, afterward Louis XIV--Cinq - Mars--His conspiracy--Richelieu's death--His character and - achievements--Dubois the alchemist--Regency of Anne of - Austria--Mazarin's influence--The "Importants"--Imprisonment - and escape of Duc de Beaufort--Growth of the Fronde--Attacks on - Bastile--De Retz in Vincennes--Made Archbishop of Paris while in - prison--Peace restored--Mazarin's later rule benign. - - -Richelieu throughout his ministry was exposed to the bitter enmity of -the Opposition; his enemies, princes and great nobles, were continually -plotting to take his life. The King's brother, Gaston, Duc d'Orleans, -intrigued incessantly against him, supported by Anne of Austria, queen -of Louis XIII, who was ever in treasonable correspondence with the King -of Spain. Richelieu, whose power waned for a time, strongly urged the -Queen's arrest and trial, but no more was done than to commit her most -confidential servant, Laporte, to the Bastile. The Queen herself was -terrified into submission and made solemn confession of her misdeeds. -She did not tell all, however, and it was hoped more might be extorted -from Laporte by the customary pressure. It was essential to warn -Laporte, but he was in a dungeon far beneath one of the towers and -access to him seemed impossible. The story is preserved,--an almost -incredible one, but vouched for in Laporte's "Memoirs,"--that a letter -was conveyed to Laporte by the assistance of another prisoner, the -Chevalier de Jars. The letter was conveyed to De Jars by one of the -Queen's ladies disguised as a servant, and he managed by boring a hole -in his floor to pass it to the room below. Here the occupants were -friends, and in like manner they dug into the dungeon beneath them, -with the result that Laporte was eventually reached in his subterranean -cell. Fortified now by the fact of the Queen's avowal, Laporte -conducted himself so well that the most searching examination elicited -no further proofs. The process followed was in due course detected and -Richelieu was heard to lament that he did not possess so faithful a -servant as Laporte. - -The Chevalier de Jars, above mentioned, had been long an inmate of the -Bastile, being concerned with the keeper of the seals, Chateauneuf, -in a plot to convey Marie de Medicis and the King's brother, Gaston, -to England. No proof was forthcoming as to Jars's complicity with -Chateauneuf, and he was treated with the utmost cruelty in order to -extort confession. He was imprisoned in a fetid dungeon till his -clothes rotted off his back, his hair and nails grew to a frightful -length and he was nearly starved to death. Père Joseph, the Cardinal's -_alter ego_, the famous "grey eminence," constantly visited him to -make sure that this rigorous treatment was carried out. At length the -Chevalier was taken out for examination, to which he was subjected -eighty times, and threatened first with torture and then with capital -punishment. At last he was warned that he must die and was removed to -the place of execution. Pardon, however, was extended to him just as -the axe was raised. Still the Chevalier refused to make any revelation. -He was taken back to the Bastile, but he was no longer harshly treated. -De Jars seems to have won the favor of Charles I, of England, whose -queen, Henrietta Maria, wrote to Richelieu begging for the prisoner's -release. This came in 1638, apparently a little after the episode of -the clandestine letter described above. - -The birth of a son, afterwards Louis XIV, put an end to the worst of -these court intrigues. Gaston d'Orleans lost his position as heir -presumptive and the King, while still hating Richelieu, trusted him -more and more with the conduct of affairs. Fortune smiled upon the -French arms abroad. Richelieu had made short work of his principal -enemies and he was now practically unassailable. No one could stand -against him and the King was simply his servant. Louis XIII would -gladly have shaken himself free from his imperious minister's tyranny, -but the King's health was failing and he could only listen to whispers -of the fresh plots which he was too weak to discountenance and forbid. -The last of these was the celebrated conspiracy of Cinq Mars, well -known in history, but still better known in romantic literature as the -subject of the famous novel by Alfred de Vigny, named after the central -figure. Richelieu, needing an ally near the King's person, had selected -Henri Cinq Mars, youngest son of the Marquis d'Effiat, a handsome, -vain youth who quickly grew into the King's graces and was much petted -and much spoiled. The young Cinq Mars, no more than nineteen, amused -the King by sharing his silly pleasures, teaching him to snare magpies -and helping him to carve wooden toys. Cinq Mars was appointed master -of the horse and was greatly flattered and made much of at court. His -head was soon turned and filled with ambitious dreams. He aspired to -the hand of the Princess Marie de Gonzague of the house of Nevers and -made a formal proposition of himself to Richelieu. The Cardinal laughed -contemptuously at his absurd pretensions, and earned in return the -bitter hatred of Cinq Mars. The breach was widened by the King's bad -taste in introducing his favorite at a conference of the Privy Council. -Richelieu quietly acquiesced but afterwards gave Cinq Mars a bit of his -mind, gaining thereby redoubled dislike. From that time forth Cinq Mars -was resolved to overthrow the Cardinal. He found ready support from the -Duc d'Orleans and the Duc de Bouillon, while the King himself was not -deaf to the hints of a speedy release from Richelieu's thraldom. Only -the Queen, Anne of Austria, stood aloof and was once more on friendly -terms with the Cardinal. A secret treaty had been entered into with -Philip IV of Spain, who was to further the aims of the conspirators by -sending troops into France. The two countries were then at war and it -was high treason to enter into dealings with Spain. Just when the plot -was ripe for execution an anonymous packet was brought to Richelieu -at Tarascon, whither he had proceeded with the King to be present at -the relief of Perpignan. This packet contained a facsimile of the -traitorous treaty with Philip IV and Cinq Mars's fate was sealed. The -King with great reluctance signed an order for the arrest of Cinq Mars, -who was taken in the act of escaping on horseback. - -De Thou, another of the conspirators, was taken with the Duc de -Bouillon, while the Duc d'Orleans fled into Auvergne and wandered -to and fro, proscribed and in hiding. The only crime that could be -advanced against De Thou was that he was privy to the plot and had -taken no steps to reveal it. Cinq Mars was now abandoned by the King, -who left him to the tender mercies of Richelieu. This resulted in his -being brought to trial at Lyons, but he contrived to send a message -appealing for mercy to the King. It reached the foolish, fickle monarch -when he was in the act of making toffy in a saucepan over the fire. -"No, no, I will give Cinq Mars no audience," said Louis, "his soul is -as black as the bottom of this pan." Cinq Mars suffered on the block -and comported himself with a fortitude that won him sympathy; for it -was remembered that his faults had been fostered by the exaggerated -favoritism shown him. De Thou was also decapitated after his associate, -and, not strangely, was unnerved by the sight which he had witnessed. -The Duc de Bouillon was pardoned at the price of surrendering his -ancestral estate of Sedan to the Crown. - -This was Richelieu's last act of retaliation. He returned to Paris -stricken with mortal disease. He travelled by slow stages in a litter -borne by twelve gentlemen of his entourage, who marched bareheaded. -On reaching Paris, he rapidly grew worse and Louis XIII paid him a -farewell visit on his deathbed. On taking leave of his master he -reminded him of the singular services he had rendered France, saying: -"In taking my leave of your Majesty I behold your kingdom at the -highest pinnacle it has hitherto reached and all your enemies have -been banished or removed." The tradition is preserved that upon this -solemn occasion he strenuously urged the King to appoint Mazarin as his -successor. The Italian cardinal was brought into the Council the day -after Richelieu's death and from the first appears to have exercised -a strong influence over the King. The means and methods of the two -statesmen were in great contrast. Richelieu imposed his will by sheer -force of character and the terror he inspired. Mazarin, soft-mannered -and supple-backed, worked with infinite patience and triumphed by -duplicity and astuteness. - -Richelieu's constant aim was to establish the absolute power of -the monarchy, and to aggrandize France among nations. His internal -government was arbitrary and often extremely cruel and he was -singularly deficient in financial ability. He had no idea of raising -money but by the imposition of onerous taxes and never sought to enrich -France by encouraging industries and developing the natural resources -of the country. A strong, self-reliant, highly intelligent and gifted -man, he was nevertheless a slave to superstition and the credulous dupe -of fraudulent impostures. It will always be remembered against him that -he believed in alchemy and the virtue of the so-called philosopher's -stone; yet more, that he was responsible for the persecution and -conviction of Urban Grandier, a priest condemned as a magician, charged -with bewitching the nuns of Poictou. It was gravely asserted that -these simple creatures were possessed of devils through the malignant -influence of Grandier, and many pious ecclesiastics were employed to -exorcise the evil spirits. - -The story as it comes down to us would be farcical and absurd were -it not so repulsively horrible. The nuns believed to be afflicted -were clearly the victims of emotional hysteria. They exhibited the -strangest and most extravagant grimaces and contortions, were thrown -into convulsions and foamed and slavered at the mouth. The ceremony -of exorcism was carried out with great solemnity, and it is seriously -advanced that the admonition had such surprising effects that the -devils straightway took flight into the air. The whole story was -conveyed to Cardinal Richelieu by his familiar, Père Joseph, who -declared that he had seen the evil spirits at work and had observed -many nuns and lay-sisters when they were possessed. The Cardinal -thereupon gave orders for Grandier's arrest and trial, which was -conducted with great prolixity and unfairness. The evidence adduced -against him was preposterous. Among other statements, it was claimed -that he exhibited a number of the devil's marks upon his body and -that he was so impervious to pain that when a needle was thrust into -him to the depth of an inch, it had no effect and no blood issued. -Grandier's defence was a solemn denial of the charges, but according -to the existing procedure, he was put to the "question," subjected to -most cruel torture, ordinary and extraordinary, to extort confession -of the guilt which he would not acknowledge. He was in due course -formally convicted of the crimes of magic and sorcery and sentenced -to make the _amende honorable_; to be led to the public place of Holy -Cross in Loudun and there bound to a stake on a wooden pile and burned -alive. The records state that he bore his punishment with constancy -accompanied with great self-denial, and declare that a certain -unaffected air of piety which hypocrisy cannot counterfeit was shown -in his aspect. On the other hand one bigoted chronicler of the period -declares that, during the ceremony, a flying insect like a wasp was -observed to buzz about Grandier's head. This gave a monk occasion to -say that it was Beelzebub hovering around him to carry away his soul to -hell,--this for the reason that Beelzebub signifies in Hebrew the god -of flies. - -It is difficult to understand how Richelieu could suffer himself to be -beguiled into accepting the promises made by an unscrupulous adventurer -to turn the baser metals into gold. But for a space he certainly -believed in Noël Pigard Dubois, a man who, after following for some -time his father's profession of surgery, abandoned it in order to go to -the Levant, where he spent four years in the study of occult science. -On returning to Paris he employed his time in the same pursuit, chiefly -associating with dissolute characters. A sudden fit of devotion made -him enter a monastery, but he soon grew tired of the irksome restraints -he there experienced, and, scaling the walls of his retreat, effected -his escape. Three years after this he once more resolved to embrace a -monastic life, took the vows and was ordained a priest. In this new -course he persevered for ten years, at the end of which time he fled to -Germany, became a Lutheran, and devoted himself to the quest of the -philosopher's stone. - -Dissatisfied with this mode of life, he again visited Paris, abjured -the Protestant religion, and married under a fictitious name. As he now -boldly asserted that he had discovered the secret of making gold, he -soon grew into repute and was at last introduced to Richelieu and the -King, both of whom, with singular gullibility, gave full credence to -his pretensions. It was arranged that Dubois should perform the "great -work" in the Louvre, the King, the Queen, the Cardinal, and other -illustrious personages of the court being present. In order to lull all -suspicion, Dubois requested that some one might be appointed to watch -his proceedings. Accordingly Saint-Amour, one of the King's body-guard, -was selected for this purpose. Musket balls, given by a soldier -together with a grain of the "powder for projection," were placed in -a crucible covered with cinders and the furnace fire was soon raised -to a proper heat. When Dubois declared the transmutation accomplished, -he requested the King to blow off the ashes from the crucible. This -Louis did with so much ardor that he nearly blinded the Queen and the -courtiers with the dust he raised. But when his efforts were rewarded -by seeing at the bottom of the crucible the lump of gold which by -wonderful sleight of hand Dubois had contrived to introduce into it, -despite the presence of so many witnesses, the King warmly embraced -the alchemist. Then he ennobled him and appointed him president of the -treasury. - -Dubois repeated the same trick several times with equal success. But -an obstacle which he might from the first have anticipated occurred. -He soon grew unable to satisfy the eager demands of his protectors, -who longed for something more substantial than insignificant lumps of -gold. Some idea of their avidity may be conceived when it is known that -Richelieu alone required him to furnish a weekly sum of about £25,000. -Although Dubois asked for a delay, which he obtained, he was of course -unable to comply with these extravagant demands, and was in consequence -imprisoned in Vincennes, whence he was transferred to the Bastile. The -vindictive minister, unwilling to acknowledge that he had been duped, -instead of punishing Dubois as an impostor, accused him of practising -magic and appointed a commission to try him. As the unhappy alchemist -persisted in asserting his innocence he was put to the torture. His -sufferings induced him in order to gain respite to offer to fulfil -the promises with which he had formerly deceived his patrons. Their -credulity was apparently not yet exhausted, for they allowed him to -make another experiment. Having again failed in this, he confessed -his imposture, was sentenced to death and accordingly perished on the -scaffold. - -A host of warring elements was forced into fresh activity by the death -of Richelieu, soon followed by that of the King. Louis XIII, in his -will, bequeathed the regency to his widowed Queen, Anne of Austria, -and her accession to power stirred up many active malcontents all -eager to dispute it. The feudal system had faded, but the great nobles -still survived and were ready to fight again for independence if the -executive were weakened; while parliaments were ready to claim a voice -in government and curtail the prerogatives not yet wholly conceded to -the sovereign. The long minority of Louis XIV was a period of continual -intrigue. France was torn by party dissension and cursed with civil -war. If we would understand the true state of affairs and realise the -part played by the two great prisons, Vincennes and the Bastile, and -the principal personages incarcerated within their walls, a brief -résumé of events will prove helpful. - -Anne of Austria was not a woman of commanding ability. She was kind -hearted, well-intentioned, of sufficiently noble character to forget -her own likes and dislikes, and really desirous of ruling in the best -interests of the country. Her situation was one of extraordinary -difficulty and, not strangely, she was inclined to lean upon the best -support that seemed to offer itself. Cardinal Mazarin was a possible -successor to Richelieu and well fitted to continue that powerful -minister's policy. The Queen was willing to give Mazarin her full -confidence and was aghast when he talked of withdrawing permanently -to Rome. She now desired him to remain and take charge of the ship -of state, but his elevation gave great umbrage to his many opponents -at court, and the desire to undermine, upset and even to assassinate -Mazarin was the cause of endless intrigues and conspiracies. The -cabal of the "Importants" was the first to overcome. It consisted of -Richelieu's chief victims now returned from banishment, or released -from gaol; princes of the blood and great nobles aiming at recovered -influence, and the Queen's favorites counting upon her unabated -friendship. They gave themselves such airs and their pretensions were -so high that they gained the ironical sobriquet of "the important -people." Mazarin, when they threatened him, made short work of them. -The Duc de Beaufort, second son of the Duc de Vendôme, handsome of -person but an inordinate swaggerer, whose rough manners and coarse -language had gained him the epithet of "King of the Markets," was -arrested and shut up in Vincennes. Intriguing duchesses were once more -exiled and the principal nobles sent to vegetate on their estates. A -new power now arose; that of the victorious young general, the Duc -d'Enghien, the eldest son of the Prince de Condé, afterwards known as -the "great Condé." He became the hero of the hour and so great was his -popularity that had he been less self-confident and more willing to -join forces with the Duc d'Orleans, "Monsieur," the young King's uncle, -he would have become a dangerous competitor to Mazarin. D'Enghien soon -succeeded to the family honors and continued to win battles and to be -an unknown quantity in politics capable at any time of throwing his -weight on either side. - -The next serious conflict was with the Parliament of Paris, ever -eager to vindicate its authority and importance and to claim control -of the financial administration of France. The French treasury was -as ill-managed as ever and the Parliament was resolved to oppose the -proposed taxation. Extreme misery prevailed in the land. The peasants -were ground down into the most wretched poverty, and were said to -have "nothing left to them but their souls; and these also would have -been seized, but that they would fetch nothing at the hammer." The -Parliament backed up the cry for reform, and Mazarin, to check and -intimidate it, decided to arrest two of its most prominent members. The -aged Broussel was sent to the Bastile and Blancmesnil was thrown into -the castle of Vincennes. - -These arbitrary acts drove the Parisian populace into open revolt. -Broussel's immediate release was demanded and obstinately refused until -the disturbances increased and barricades were formed, when the Queen, -at last terrified, surrendered her prisoner. The next day she left -Paris, taking the young King with her, declaring that she would return -with troops to enforce submission. Condé, who had returned from the -army with fresh successes, advised conciliation, being secretly anxious -to support those who would cripple the growing authority of Mazarin. -Peace was restored, at least on the surface, and the Queen once more -returned to Paris. But she was almost a prisoner in her palace and when -she appeared in public her carriage was followed by a hooting mob. -She again planned to disappear from Paris and send the royal army to -blockade it. In the dead of a winter's night the whole court, carrying -the King, fled to St. Germain where no preparations had been made to -receive them. For days they were short of food, fuel and the commonest -necessaries. But a stern message was dispatched to the people of Paris, -intimating the immediate advance of a body of twelve thousand troops. -The capital was abashed but not greatly alarmed, and was prepared for -defence and for the support of Parliament. The question of the moment -was that of leadership, and choice lay between the Prince de Condé, the -great Condé's brother, and the Duc d'Elboeuf, who was appointed with -the certainty that Condé would not submit to him. - -The Duc de Beaufort was also available, for he had succeeded in -escaping from Vincennes. A brief account of his evasion may well find -place here. Chavigny, a former minister, was governor of the prison, -and no friend to Beaufort. But Cardinal Mazarin did not trust to -that, and special gaolers were appointed to ensure the prince's safe -custody. Ravile, an officer of the King's body-guard, and six or seven -troopers kept him constantly under eye, and slept in the prisoner's -room. Beaufort was not permitted to retain his own servants about -him, but his friends managed to secure the employment of a valet, -supposed to be in hiding to escape the consequences of a fatal duel in -which he had killed his man. This mysterious retainer exhibited the -most violent dislike of Beaufort and treated him openly with insolent -rudeness. On the day of Pentecost, when many of the guards were absent -at mass, Beaufort was permitted to exercise on the gallery below the -level of his regular apartment, with a single companion, an officer -of the Garde du Corps. The valet above mentioned had taken his seat -at table with the rest, but suddenly rose, feigning illness, and -leaving the dining room locked the door behind him. Rejoining the Duke -the two threw themselves upon the officer, whom they overpowered and -bound and gagged. A ladder of ropes, already prepared, was produced -and fastened to the bars of the window, and the fugitives went down -into the moat by means of it. Meanwhile, half a dozen confederates had -been stationed below and beyond the moat to assist in the escape, and -were in waiting, watching the descent. Unfortunately the ladder proved -too short by some feet. A long drop was necessary, in which Beaufort, -a stalwart figure, fell heavily and was so seriously hurt that he -fainted. Further progress was arrested until he regained consciousness. -Then a cord was thrown across the moat and the Prince was dragged -over by his attendants, who carried him to a neighboring wood where -he was met by fifty armed men on horseback. He mounted, although in -great bodily pain, and galloped off, forgetting his sufferings in his -delight at freedom regained. Beaufort fled to a distant estate of his -father's, where he remained in safety until the sword was drawn, when -he promptly proceeded to Paris and was received with open arms after -his imprisonment and long absence. His popularity was widespread and -extravagantly manifested. The market women in particular lavished -signs of affection on him and smothered him with kisses. Later, when -it was believed that he had been poisoned by Mazarin and had applied -to the doctors for an antidote, the mob was convulsed with alarm at -his illness. Immense crowds surrounded the Hotel de Vendôme. So great -was the concourse, so deep the anxiety that the people were admitted -to see him lying pale and suffering on his bed; and many of them threw -themselves on their knees by his bedside and wept pitifully, calling -him the saviour of his country. - -The moving spirit of the Fronde was really Gondi, better -known afterwards as Cardinal de Retz, who had been appointed -Coadjutor-Archbishop of Paris. He was a strange character who played -many parts, controlled great affairs, exercised a supreme authority and -dictated terms to the Crown. His youth had been stormy, and although -he was an ordained ecclesiastic, he hated the religious profession. -He led a vicious, irregular life, was a libertine and conspirator, -fought a couple of duels and tried to abduct a cousin. None of these -evil deeds could release him from his vows, and being permanently, -arbitrarily committed to the Church, his ambition led him to seek -distinction in it. Studying theology deeply and inclining to polemics, -he became a noted disputant, argued points of doctrine in public with -a Protestant and won him back to the bosom of the Catholic Church. It -was Louis XIII who, on his death-bed, in reward for this conversion, -named him Coadjutor. Gondi was possessed of great eloquence and -preached constantly in the cathedral to approving congregations. He was -essentially a demagogue on the side of the popular faction. Despite his -often enthusiastic following, his position was generally precarious, -and when the opposing parties made peace he fell into disgrace. In the -midst of his thousand intrigues he was suddenly arrested and carried -to Vincennes as a prisoner. When at length he escaped from Nantes, to -which he had been transferred, his reappearance produced no effect and -he wandered to and fro through Europe, neglected and despised. His only -fame rests on a quality he esteemed the least, that of literary genius, -for his "Memoirs," which he wrote in the quiet years of latter life, -still hold a high place in French literature. - -The wars of the Fronde lasted with varying fortunes for five -distressful years. This conflict owed its name to the boyish Parisian -game of slinging stones. The sling, or _fronde_, was the weapon they -used and the combatants continually gathered to throw stones at each -other, quickly dispersing at the appearance of the watch. The Queen -was implacably resolved to coerce the insurgents. The Parisians, full -of fight, raised men and money in seemingly resolute, but really -half-hearted resistance. Condé commanded the royal army, blockaded -Paris for six weeks and starved the populace into submission. The -earlier successes had been with the city. The Bastile had been attacked -and its governor, Monsieur du Tremblay, the brother of Père Joseph, -"His Grey Eminence," capitulated, hopeless of holding out with his -small garrison of twenty-two men. The conflict never rose above small -skirmishes and trifling battles. The civic forces had no military -value. The streets were filled with light-hearted mobs who watched -their leaders disporting gaily in dances and entertainments at the -Hotel de Ville. Condé, on the other hand, was in real earnest. He -attacked the suburbs and carried serious war into the heart of the -city. The insurgents prepared to treat, and Mazarin, who feared that -the surrender of Paris to Condé would make that prince dictator of -France, consented. He agreed to grant an amnesty, to reduce taxation -and bring the King back to Paris. - -Condé now went into opposition. He posed as the saviour of the Court, -and as the nobles crowded round him he grew more and more overbearing. -Mazarin had now secured the support of Gondi by promising to obtain for -him the Cardinal's hat and he detached the other leaders of the Fronde -by liberal bribes. The final stroke was the sudden arrest of Condé -and with him two other princes, Conti and Longueville. The volatile -Parisians were overjoyed at the sight of the great general being -escorted to Vincennes. Peace might have been permanently established -had not Mazarin played the Coadjutor false by now refusing him the -Cardinal's hat, and Gondi therefore incited his friends to fresh -rebellion. A strong combination insisted upon the dismissal of Mazarin -and the release of the three princes. They had been removed for safe -custody to Havre, where Mazarin went in person to set them free. He -would have made terms with them, but they resisted his advances and -returned to Paris in triumph, where the Parliament during Mazarin's -absence had condemned Mazarin to death in effigy. Mazarin now withdrew -altogether from France to Cologne where he still directed the Queen's -policy. A fresh conflict was imminent. Gondi was gained by a new -promise of a Cardinalate for him and the opposing forces gathered -together for war. - -Condé was now hostile. With him were Gaston, Duc d'Orleans, the Dukes -of Beaufort and Nemours and other great nobles. Gaston's daughter, the -intrepid, "Grande Mademoiselle," above all feminine weakness, took -personal command of a part of the army. Turenne, one of the greatest -soldiers of his time, led the royal troops against her. Condé made -a bold but fruitless attempt to capture the Court. He then marched -on Paris pursued by Turenne's forces. A fight ensued in the suburb -of Saint Antoine, where Condé became entangled and was likely to be -overwhelmed. He was saved by the "Grande Mademoiselle," who helped -him to carry his troops through Paris and covered the movement by -entering the Bastile in person, the guns of which were opened upon the -royal troops. This was the final action in the civil war. The people, -wearied of conflict, clamored loudly for peace. One obstacle was the -doubtful attitude of Cardinal de Retz, who throughout this later phase -had pretended to be on the side of the Court. He, however, was still -bent on rebellion. He garrisoned and fortified his house and laid in -ammunition and it was essential to take sharp measures with him. He was -beguiled for a time with fair appearances, but the Queen was already -planning his removal from the scene. One day Cardinal de Retz came to -pay his homage and, on leaving the King's apartments, was arrested by -the captain of the guard. - -The Cardinal has told his story at length in his extremely interesting -"Memoirs." Some of his friends knew of the fate impending but were -too late to warn him and help him to escape, as they proposed, by -the kitchen entrance of the Louvre. When taken they brought in dinner -and he eat heartily much to the surprise of the attendant courtiers. -After a delay of three hours he entered a royal carriage with several -officers and drove off under a strong escort of gendarmes and light -horse, for the news of his arrest had got out and had caused an immense -sensation in Paris. All passed off smoothly, for those who threatened -rescue were assured that on the first hostile sign, De Retz would -be killed. The prisoner arrived at Vincennes between eight and nine -o'clock in the evening and was shown into a large, bare chamber without -bed, carpet or fire; and in it he shivered at this bitter Christmas -season, for a whole fortnight. The servant they gave him was a ruffian -who stole his clothes, his shoes and his linen, and he was compelled -to stay constantly in bed. He was allowed books but no paper or ink. -He passed his time in the study of Greek and Latin and when permitted -to leave his room he kept doves, pigeons and rabbits. He entered into -a clandestine correspondence with his friends, pondering ever upon -the possibilities of escape, for he had little or no hope of release -otherwise. - -Now fortune played into De Retz's hands. His uncle, the Archbishop of -Paris, died, and the Coadjutor, although a prisoner, was entitled to -succeed. Before the breath was out of the deceased's body, an agent -took possession of the Archbishop's palace in the Coadjutor's name, -forestalling the King's representative by just twenty minutes. De Retz -was a power and had to be counted with. He was close in touch with all -the parish clergy and through them could stir up the people to fresh -revolt which the great ecclesiastics, chafing at the incarceration of -their chief, the Archbishop, would undoubtedly support. Moreover, the -Pope had written from Rome an indignant protest against the arrest of -a prince of the Church. The situation was further embittered by a sad -occurrence. A canon of the Notre Dame had been placed by the chapter -near the Archbishop to take his orders for the administration of the -diocese, and this aged priest, suffering from the confinement, lost his -health and committed suicide. The death was attributed to the severity -of the imprisonment and sympathy for De Retz redoubled, fanned into -flame by incendiary sermons from every pulpit in Paris. - -The Court now wished to temporise and overtures were made to De Retz -to resign the archbishopric. He was offered in exchange the revenues -of seven wealthy abbeys, but stubbornly refused. He was advised by his -friends not to yield as the only means to recover his liberty, but -he finally agreed to accept the proffered exchange and pending the -approval of the Holy See was transferred from Vincennes to the prison -of Nantes at the mouth of the Loire. Here his treatment was softened. -He was permitted to amuse himself, to receive visitors of both sexes -and to see theatrical performances within the castle. He was still -a close prisoner and there was a guard of the gate sentinels on his -rooms; but he bore it all bravely, being buoyed up with the hope of -approaching release. - -A bitter disappointment was in store for him. The Pope refused to -accept his resignation on the grounds that it had been extorted by -force and was dated from the interior of a prison. The attitude of his -gaolers changed towards him as he was suspected of foul play and he -was secretly apprised that he would probably be carried further out -of the world and removed to Brest. He was strongly advised to attempt -escape. One idea was that he should conceal himself in a capacious mule -trunk and be carried out as part of a friend's baggage. The prospect -of suffocation deterred the Cardinal and he turned his thoughts to -another method. This was the summer season and the river was low and -a space was left at the foot of the castle wall. The prisoner was in -the habit of exercising in a garden close at hand, and it was arranged -that four gentlemen devoted to him should take their posts here on a -certain afternoon. There was a gate at the bottom of the garden placed -there to prevent the soldiers from stealing the grapes. Above was a -kind of terrace on which the sentries guarding De Retz were stationed. -The Cardinal managed to pass into this garden unobserved and he came -upon a rope so placed as to assist him in sliding down to the lower -level. Here a horse was awaiting him, which he mounted and galloped -away, closely followed by his friends. Their way led through streets -where they encountered a couple of guards and exchanged shots with -them. All went well until De Retz's horse shied at the glitter of a -ray of sunlight, stumbled and fell. The Cardinal was thrown and broke -his collar bone. Both horse and man were quickly got on their feet -and the fugitive, though suffering horribly, remounted and continued -his flight. The party reached the river in safety, but when embarking -on the ferry-boat De Retz fainted and was taken across unconscious. -There was no hope of his being able to ride further and while some of -them went in search of a vehicle, the others concealed the Cardinal -in a barn, where he remained for seven hours, suffering terribly. At -last, help came, about two o'clock in the morning, and he was carried -on a litter to another farm where he was laid upon the soft hay of a -stack. He remained here until his safety was assured by the arrival of -a couple of hundred gentlemen, adherents of the De Retz family, for -he was now in the De Retz country. This successful escape caused much -alarm in court circles, for it was feared that De Retz would reappear -at once in Paris, but he was too much shaken by the accident to engage -actively in public affairs. He remained in obscurity and at last -withdrew from the country. He afterwards became reconciled to the royal -power, serving Louis XIV loyally at Rome as ambassador to the Papal -Conclave. - -On the removal of the great demagogue from the scene, Mazarin -returned to Paris. The people were well disposed to receive him and -his re-entry was in its way a triumph. The King went many miles out -to meet and welcome him, and the Italian minister, long so detested, -drove into the capital amidst the most enthusiastic acclamations. The -most important personages in the realm vied with each other to do him -honor, many who had long labored for his destruction now protesting the -most ardent attachment to him. Mazarin took his fortune at the flood -and bearing no malice, if he felt any, by no means sought to avenge -himself on those who had so long hated and opposed him. He resumed his -place as chief minister and the remainder of his rule was mild and -beneficent. Disturbances still occurred in France, but they were not -of a serious nature. Conspiracies were formed but easily put down and -were followed by no serious reprisals. The punishments he inflicted -seldom extended to life and limb, for he had a strong abhorrence of -bloodshed and he preferred the milder method of imprisonment. He waged -unceasing war against depredators who infested the capital and parts -of the country. Highway robbery had increased and multiplied during -the long dissensions of the civil war. Mazarin was bitterly opposed to -duelling as was his predecessor, Richelieu, and he wished to keep the -courtiers in good humor. Indeed he directly fostered a vice to which -he was himself addicted, that of the gaming table. He was a persistent -gambler and it has been hinted that he thought it no discredit to take -advantage of his adversary. Never, perhaps, in any age or country was -there a greater addiction to play. Vast sums were won and lost in the -course of an evening. On one occasion Fouquet, the notorious minister -of finance of whom I shall have much more to say, won 60,000 livres -(roughly £5,000) in one deal. Gourville won as much from the Duc de -Richelieu in less than ten minutes. Single stakes ran to thousands of -pounds, and estates, houses, rich lace and jewels of great price were -freely put up at the table. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE MAN WITH THE IRON MASK - - Louis XIV asserts himself--His use of State prisons--Procedure - of reception at the Bastile--Life in the prison--Diet and - privileges--Governing staff--De Besmaus--Saint Mars--Fouquet's - fate foreshadowed--Fête at Vaux--King enraged--Fouquet arrested - at Nantes--Lodged in the Bastile--Sentence changed from - exile to perpetual imprisonment--Removed to Pignerol--Dies - in prison--Man with the Iron Mask--Basis of mystery--Various - suppositions--Identical with Count Mattioli--Origin of stories - about him--Dies in the Bastile. - - -The latter years of Mazarin's government were free from serious -disturbances at home and his foreign policy was distinctly beneficial -to France. He governed firmly, but in the name of the King, who already -evinced the strength of will and vigor of mind which were shortly to -make the royal authority absolute in France. Louis XIV was still in -his teens, but already he would brook no opposition from rebellious -nobles or a litigious Parliament. One day he entered the Chamber, -booted and spurred just as he came from hunting at Vincennes, and -plainly told the members of Parliament assembled there to prepare some -fresh remonstrance, that he would tolerate no more of their meetings. -"I know, gentlemen, the mischief that comes from them, and I will not -permit them in the future." The president protested that it was in the -interests of the State. "I am the State," replied the young despot of -seventeen. The country was entirely with him. All classes were sick of -commotions and hailed the new authority with every demonstration of -joy. Mazarin, no doubt, aided the development of Louis's character. -"There is enough in Louis," he had been heard to say, "to make four -good kings and one honest man," and it was under the Cardinal's -counsels that Louis developed his political education. - -France was now entering upon one of the most brilliant periods of her -history. Mazarin had prosecuted the war with Spain so vigorously that -she was prepared to come to terms. He contracted an alliance with -Protestant Cromwell which resulted in substantial gains to England. -Peace with Spain and the marriage of Louis to a Spanish princess were -the last acts of Mazarin, whose constantly failing health showed that -death was near. Now, when the end was approaching, he had reached -the pinnacle of his fortunes. No longer the hated, proscribed and -persecuted minister, he enjoyed the fullest honors and the most -unbounded popularity. He had grown enormously rich, for avarice was a -ruling vice with him and he had uncontrolled access to the national -purse. At his death he left some fifty million livres in cash, owned -many palaces filled with priceless statues and pictures, and jewels of -inestimable value. His conscience appears to have troubled him as death -approached; he sought to silence it by making over all his possessions -to the King, who speedily silenced Mazarin's scruples by returning them -as a royal gift. - -Not strangely, under such government, the finances of France were at -their very lowest ebb. The financial incompetence of Mazarin, coupled -with his greed, had left the treasury empty, and when Louis asked -Fouquet for money he got for answer, "There is none in the treasury, -but ask His Eminence to lend you some, he has plenty." Fortunately for -France, Mazarin had introduced into the King's service one of the most -eminent financiers who ever lived, Colbert, and it is reported that -when dying he said, "I owe your Majesty everything; but by giving you -my own intendant, Colbert, I shall repay you." Colbert became Louis's -secret adviser, for Fouquet purposely complicated accounts and craftily -contrived to tell the King nothing. One of Colbert's first acts was -to reveal to the King that Cardinal Mazarin, over and above the great -fortune he left openly to his family, had a store of wealth hidden away -in various fortresses. Louis promptly laid hands upon it and was in -consequence the only rich sovereign of his time in Europe. - -In the long period of irresponsible despotism now at hand, the prisons -were destined to play a prominent part. No one was safe from arbitrary -arrest. The right of personal liberty did not exist. Every one, the -highest and the lowest, the most criminal and the most venial offender, -might come within the far reaching hands of the King's gaolers. Both -the "Wood," as Vincennes was commonly called, and the Bastile, the -"castle with the eight towers," were constantly crowded with victims -of arbitrary power. It was an interminable procession as we shall -presently see. - -Let us first describe the procedure in arrest, the reception of -prisoners and their daily régime within the great fortress gaol. It -has been claimed that the system in force was regulated with the most -minute care. As imprisonment might be decreed absolutely and without -question, a great responsibility was supposed to weigh upon officials. -In the first instance the Bastile was under the immediate control of -a minister of state, for a long time a high official. He received -an accurate and exact list of all arrests made, and rendered to the -King an account of all remaining at the end of each year. The order -for arrest was hedged in with all precaution. Each _lettre de cachet_ -bore the King's own signature countersigned by a minister, and the -governor of the Bastile signed a receipt for the body at the end of -the order. In some cases, prisoners of distinction brought their own -warrants of arrest; but the court also signed an order to receive -them, without which admission would be refused. In due course, when -Louis XIV had fully established his police, arrests were made by the -_Lieutenant-Criminel_, whose agent approached and touched his intended -prisoner with a white wand. A party of archers of the guard followed -in support. A carriage was always employed; the first that came to -hand being impressed into the King's service. Into this the prisoner -mounted with the officer making the arrest by his side. The escort -surrounded the carriage and the party marched at a foot's pace through -the silent, over-awed crowd. In many cases to avoid gossip, the agent -took his prisoner to a place he kept for the purpose, a private house -commonly called the _four_ (oven) and the remainder of the journey to -the Bastile was made after dark. - -The party was challenged as it approached the Bastile. The first -sentinel cried, "Who goes there?" The agent replied, "The King's -order;" and the under officer of the guard came out to examine the -_lettre de cachet_ when, if all was correct, he allowed the carriage -to enter and rang the bell to inform all concerned. The soldiers of -the garrison turned out under arms, the King's lieutenant and the -captain of the gateway guard received the prisoner as he alighted from -the carriage. If the governor was in the castle the new prisoner was -conducted immediately into his presence. A short colloquy followed. -It was decided in which part of the castle the new comer should be -lodged. He was then taken into an adjoining apartment to be thoroughly -searched and was deprived of arms, money and papers. No one but the -officials and those specially authorised by the King were permitted to -carry arms in the Bastile. All visitors surrendered their swords at the -gate. - -Now the drawbridge was let down and admission given to the inner court, -whence the prisoner passed on, escorted by turnkeys, to the lodging -assigned to him. If he was a person of distinction, he found a suite -of rooms; if of low degree he was thrown into one of the cells in the -towers. New arrivals were detained for several days in separation until -the interrogatory instituted gave some idea of the fate foreshadowed. -Rooms in the Bastile were not supplied with furniture. The King only -guaranteed food for his guests, and they were obliged to hire what they -needed unless their friends sent in the necessary articles. Later on, -the King provided a special fund for the purpose of buying furniture, -and five or six rooms came to be regularly furnished with a bed, a -table and a couple of chairs. In rare cases servants were admitted -to attend their masters, but the warders generally kept the rooms in -order. If the preliminary inquiry was lengthy or the imprisonment -promised to be prolonged, the prisoner was given a companion of his -own class and quality whose business it was to worm his way into his -confidence and eventually to betray it. These were the _moutons_, or -spies of latter days. Every prison chamber was closed with a double -gate with enormous locks and an approaching visitor was heralded by the -rattling of the keys. The warders came regularly three times a day: -first for breakfast, next for dinner at mid-day and to bring supper in -the evening. - -The dietary in the Bastile is said to have been wholesome and -sufficient. The allowance made to the governor who acted as caterer -was liberal. Some prisoners were so satisfied with it that they -offered to accept simpler fare if the governor would share with them -the difference saved between the outlay and the allowance. There were -three courses at meals: soup, entrée and joint with a dessert and a -couple of bottles of wine per head, while the governor sent in more -wine on fête days. Reduction of diet was a common punishment, but the -offenders were seldom put upon bread and water treatment, which was -thought so rigorous that it was never used except by the express orders -of the Court. The King paid for ordinary rations only. Luxuries such -as tobacco, high-class wine and superior viands prisoners found for -themselves, and these were charged against their private funds, held by -the authorities. Some smoked a good deal, but many complaints against -the practice were made by other prisoners. The keeping of pets was not -forbidden; there were numbers of dogs, cats and birds in cages and even -pigeons which were set free in the morning and returned every evening -after spending the day in town. But these last were looked upon with -suspicion as facilitating correspondence with the outside. The surgeon -of the castle attended to the sick, but in bad cases one of the King's -physicians was called in and nurses appointed. When death approached a -confessor was summoned to administer the rites of the Church, and upon -death a proper entry was made in the mortuary register, but often under -a false name. - -Time passed heavily, no doubt, but the prisoners were not denied -certain relaxations. They might purchase books subject to approval. -When brought in they were scrupulously examined and the binding broken -up in the search for concealed documents. Where prisoners did not care -to read they were permitted to play draughts, chess and even cards. -Writing materials were issued, but with a very niggardly hand. A larger -consideration was extended to those given the so-called "liberty of -the Bastile." The doors were opened early and they were permitted to -enter the courtyard and remain there until nightfall, being allowed to -talk, to play certain games and to receive visits from their friends. -Such relaxations were chiefly limited to non-criminal prisoners, those -detained for family reasons, officers under arrest, and prisoners, -whose cases were disposed of but who were still detained for safe -custody. The well-being of the inmates of the Bastile was supposed -to be ensured by the constant visits of the superior officials, the -King's lieutenant, the governor and his major. Permission to address -petitions to the ministers was not denied and many heart-rending -appeals are still to be read in the archives, emanating from people -whose liberty had been forfeited. Clandestine communications between -prisoners kept strictly apart were frequently successful, as we have -seen; old hands exhibited extraordinary cleverness in their desire to -talk to their neighbors. They climbed the chimneys, crawled along the -outer bars or raised their voices so as to be heard on the floor above -or below. - -Much ingenuity was shown in utilising strange articles as writing -materials; the drumstick of a fowl was turned into a pen, a scrap -of linen or a piece of plaster torn from the wall served as writing -paper and fresh blood was used for ink. Constant attempts were made -to communicate with the outside. The old trick of throwing out of the -window a stone wrapped in paper covered with writing was frequently -tried. If it reached the street and was picked up it generally passed -on to its address. Patroles were employed, day and night, making the -rounds of the exterior to check this practice. The bird fanciers tied -letters to the legs of the pigeons which took wing, and the detection -of this device led to a general gaol delivery from all bird cages. -Friends outside were at great pains to pass in news of the day to -prisoners. Where the prison windows gave upon the street, and when -prisoners were permitted to exercise on the platforms of the towers, -their friends waited on the boulevards below and used conventional -signs by waving a handkerchief or placing a hand in a particular -position to convey some valued piece of intelligence. It is said that -when Laporte, the _valet de chambre_ of Anne of Austria, was arrested, -the Queen herself lingered in the street so that her faithful servant -might see her and know that he was not forgotten. Sometimes the house -opposite the castle was rented with a notice board and a message -inscribed with gigantic letters was hung in the windows to be read by -those inside. - -The governing staff of the Bastile, although ample and generally -efficient, could not entirely check these disorders. The supreme chief -was the Captain-Governor. Associated with him was a lieutenant of -the King, immediately under his orders were a major and aide-major -with functions akin to those of an adjutant and his assistant. There -was a chief engineer and a director of fortifications, a doctor and -a surgeon, a wet-nurse, a chaplain, a confessor and his coadjutor. -The Châtelet delegated a commissary to the department of the Bastile, -whose business it was to make judicial inquiries. An architect, two -keepers of the archives and three or four turnkeys, practically the -body servants and personal attendants of the prisoners, completed the -administrative staff. A military company of sixty men under the direct -command of the governor and his major formed the garrison and answered -for the security of the castle. Reliance must have been placed chiefly -upon the massive walls of the structure, for this company was composed -mainly of old soldiers, infirm invalids, not particularly active or -useful in such emergencies as open insubordination or attempted escape. -The emoluments of the governor were long fixed at 1,200 livres, but -the irregular profits far out-valued the fixed salary. The governor -was, to all intents and purposes, a hotel or boarding house keeper, -who was paid head money for his involuntary guests. The sum of ten -livres per diem was allowed for each, a sum far in excess of the charge -for diet. This allowance was increased when the lodgers exceeded a -certain number. The governor had other perquisites, such as the rent -of the sheds erected in the Bastile ditch. He was permitted to fill -his cellars with wine untaxed, which he generally exchanged with a -dealer for inferior fluid to re-issue to the prisoners. In later years -when the influx of prisoners diminished, the governors appear to have -complained bitterly of the diminution of their income. Petitions -imploring relief may be read in the actions from governors impoverished -by their outgoings in paying for the garrison and turnkey. They could -not "make both ends meet." - -The governor, or captain of the castle, was in supreme charge. The -ministers of state transmitted to him the orders of the King direct. -He corresponded with them and in exceptional cases with the King -himself; but was answerable for the castle and the safe custody of -the inmates. His power was absolute and he wielded it with military -exactitude. We have seen in the list of earlier custodians, that the -most distinguished persons did not feel the position was beneath them; -but as time passed, it was thought safer to employ smaller people, -the creatures of the court whose loyalty and subservience might be -most certainly depended upon. After du Tremblay, who surrendered -his fortress to the Fronde, came Broussel the elder, the member -of Parliament who had defied Anne of Austria, with his son as his -lieutenant. Then came La Louvière, who was commandant of the place -when the "Grande Mademoiselle" seized it in aid of the great Condé. -He was removed by the King's order and when peace was declared one de -Vennes succeeded him and then La Bachelerie. But De Besmaus, who had -been a simple captain in Mazarin's guard, was the first of what we may -call the "gaoler governors." He was appointed by the King in 1658 and -held the post for nearly forty years. Through all the busy period when -Louis XIV personally controlled the morals of his kingdom and used -the castle to enforce his despotic will a great variety of prisoners -came under his charge; political conspirators, religious dissidents, -Jansenists and Protestants, free thinkers and reckless writers with -unbridled libellous pens, publishers who dared to print unauthorised -books which were tried in court and sentenced to committal to gaol -for formal destruction, common criminals, thieves, cutpurses and -highway robbers. De Besmaus has been described as a "coarse, brutal -governor, a dry, disagreeable, hard-hearted ruffian;" but another -report applauds the selection, declaring that his unshaken fidelity -through thirty-nine years of office was associated with much gentleness -and humanity. His honesty is more questioned, for it is stated that -although he entered the service poor, he bequeathed considerable sums -at his death. Monsieur de Saint Mars, who fills so large a place in the -criminal annals of the times, from his connection with certain famous -and mysterious prisoners, succeeded De Besmaus. He was an old man and -had risen from the ranks, having been first a King's musketeer, then -corporal, then Maréchal de Logis, and was then appointed commandant of -the donjon of Pignerol. - -When Cardinal Mazarin died, the probable successor to the vacant -office was freely discussed and choice was supposed to lie between Le -Tellier, secretary of State for war, Lionne, secretary for foreign -affairs, and Fouquet, superintendent of finances. Louis XIV soon -settled the question by announcing his intention of assuming the -reins of government himself. When leading personages came to him, -asking to whom they should speak in future upon affairs of State, -Louis replied, "To me. I shall be my own Prime Minister in future." -He said it with a decision that could not be questioned, and it was -plain that the young monarch of twenty-two proposed to sacrifice his -ease, to subordinate his love of pleasure and amusement to the duties -of his high position--resolutions fulfilled in the main. In truth -he had been chafing greatly at the vicarious authority exercised by -Mazarin and was heard to say that he could not think what would have -happened had the Cardinal lived much longer. People could not believe -in Louis's determination and predicted that he would soon weary of his -burdensome task. Fouquet was the most incredulous of all. He thought -himself firmly fixed in his place and believed that by humoring the -King, by encouraging him in his extravagance and providing funds for -his gratification, he would still retain his power. He sought, too, by -complicating the business and confusing the accounts of his office, to -disgust the King with financial details and blind him to the dishonest -statements put before him. Fouquet thus prepared his own undoing, for -Louis, suspecting foul play, was secretly coached by Colbert, who came -privately by night to the King's cabinet to instruct and pilot him -through the dark and intricate pitfalls that Fouquet prepared for him. -Louis patiently bided his time and suffered Fouquet to go farther and -farther astray, to increase his peculations and lavish enormous sums -of the ill-gotten wealth in ostentatious extravagance. Louis made up -his mind to pull down and destroy his faithless minister. His insidious -plans, laid with a patient subtlety, not to say perfidy, were the -first revelation of the masterly and unscrupulous character of the -young sovereign. He led Fouquet on to convict himself and show to all -the world, by a costly entertainment on unparalleled lines, how deeply -he had dipped his purse into the revenues of the State. - -The fête he gave to the King and court at his newly constructed palace -at Vaux was brilliant beyond measure. The mansion far outshone any -royal residence in beauty and splendor. Three entire villages had -been demolished in its construction so that water might be brought -to the grounds to fill the reservoirs and serve the fountains and -cascades that freshened the lawns and shady alleys and gladdened the -eye with smiling landscapes. The fête he now gave was of oriental -magnificence. Enchantment followed enchantment. Tables laden with -luscious viands came down from the ceiling. Mysterious subterranean -music was heard on every side. The most striking feature was an -ambulant mountain of confectionery which moved amongst the guests with -hidden springs. Molière was there and at the King's suggestion wrote -a play on the spot, "_Les Facheux_," which caricatured some of the -most amusing guests. The King was a prey to jealous amazement. He saw -pictures by the most celebrated painters, grounds laid out by the most -talented landscape gardeners, buildings of the most noble dimensions -erected by the most famous architects. After the theatre there were -fireworks, after the pyrotechnics a ball at which the King danced with -Mademoiselle de la Vallière; after the ball, supper; and after supper, -the King bade Fouquet good night with the words, "I shall never dare -ask you to my house; I could not receive you properly." - -More than once that night the King, sore at heart and humiliated at the -gorgeous show made by a subject and servant of the State, would have -arrested Fouquet then and there. The Queen Mother strongly dissuaded -him from too hasty action and he saw that it would be necessary to -proceed with caution lest he find serious, and possibly successful, -resistance. Fouquet did not waste all his wealth in ostentation. He had -purchased the island of Belle Ile from the Duc de Retz and fortified -it with the idea, it was thought, to withdraw there if he failed to -secure the first place in the kingdom, raise the standard of revolt -against the King and seek aid from England. It was time to pull down so -powerful a subject. - -The measures taken for the arrest of Fouquet may be recounted here -at some length. They well illustrate the young King's powers of -dissimulation and the extreme caution that backed his resolute will. -He first assumed a friendly attitude and led Fouquet to believe that -he meant to bestow on him the valued decoration of Saint d'Esprit. -But he had already given it to another member of the Paris Parliament -and a rule had been made that only one of that body should enjoy the -honor. Fouquet was Procureur General of the Parliament and voluntarily -sold the place so that he might become eligible for the cross, at the -same time paying the price into the Treasury. Louis was by no means -softened and still determined to abase Fouquet. Yet he shrank from -making the arrest in Paris and invented a pretext for visiting the -west coast of France for the purpose of choosing a site for a great -naval depot. He was to be accompanied by his council, Fouquet among -the rest. Although the Superintendent was suffering from fever, he -proceeded to Nantes by the river Loire, where the King, travelling by -the road, soon afterwards arrived. Some delay occurred through the -illness of d'Artagnan, lieutenant of musketeers, who was to be charged -with the arrest. The reader will recognise d'Artagnan, the famous -fourth of the still more famous "Three Musketeers" of Alexandre Dumas. -The instructions issued to d'Artagnan are preserved in the memorandum -written by Le Tellier's clerk and may be summarised as follows:-- - -"It is the King's intention to arrest the Sieur Fouquet on his leaving -the castle (Nantes) when he has passed beyond the last sentinel. Forty -musketeers will be employed, twenty to remain within the court of the -castle, the other twenty to patrol outside. The arrest will be made -when Sieur Fouquet comes down from the King's chamber, and he will be -carried, surrounded by the musketeers, to the Chamberlain's room, -there to await the King's carriage which is to take him further on. -Monsieur d'Artagnan will offer Monsieur Fouquet a basin of soup if he -should care to take it. Meanwhile the musketeers will form a cordon -round the lodging in which the Chamberlain's room is situated. Monsieur -d'Artagnan will not take his eyes off the prisoner for a single -moment nor will he permit him to put his hand into his pocket so as -to remove any papers, telling him that the King demands the delivery -of all documents; and those he gets Monsieur d'Artagnan will at once -pass on to the authority indicated. In entering the royal carriage -Monsieur Fouquet will be accompanied by Monsieur d'Artagnan with five -of his most trustworthy officers and musketeers. The road taken will -be: the first day, to Oudon, the second day, to Ingrandes, and the -third, to the castle of Angers. Extreme care will be observed that -Monsieur Fouquet has no communication by word or writing or in any -other possible way with any one on the road. At Oudon, Monsieur Fouquet -will be summoned to deliver an order in his own hand to the Commandant -of Belle Ile to hand it over to an officer of the King. In order that -every precaution may be taken at Angers, its governor, the Count -d'Harcourt, will receive orders to surrender the place to Monsieur -d'Artagnan and expel the garrison. This letter will be forwarded -express to Angers so that all may be ready on the arrival. At the same -time a public notice shall be issued to the inhabitants of Angers -requiring them to give every assistance in food and lodging to the -King's musketeers. Monsieur Fouquet will be lodged in the most suitable -rooms which will be furnished with goods purchased in the town. The -King will himself nominate the _valet de chambre_ and decide upon the -prisoner's rations and the supply of his table. Monsieur d'Artagnan -will receive 1,000 louis for all expenses." - -The arrest was not limited to the Superintendent himself. His chief -clerk Pellisson, who afterwards became famous in literature, was also -taken to Saint Mandé. Fouquet's house and his papers were seized; -which his brother would have forestalled by burning the house but -was too late. A mass of damaging papers fell into the hands of the -King. One of these was an elaborate manuscript with the project of -a general rising, treasonable in the highest degree. The scheme was -too wild and visionary for accomplishment and Fouquet himself swore -positively that it was a forgery. Fouquet did not remain long at -Angers. He was carried to Amboise and afterwards to Vincennes, always -under the strictest surveillance, being suffered to speak to no one -en route but his guards and denied the use of writing materials. He -left Amboise in December, 1661, for Vincennes, under the escort of -eighty musketeers, and from time to time passed to and fro between -the "Wood" and the Bastile as his interminable trial dragged along. -He was first interrogated at Vincennes by an informal tribunal, the -commission previously constituted to inquire into the malversation of -finances, but he steadily refused to answer except in free and open -court. After much persecution by his enemies with the King himself at -their head, and the violation of all forms of law, he was taken again -to the Bastile and arraigned before the so-called Chamber of Justice at -the Arsenal, a tribunal made up mainly of unjust and prejudiced judges, -some of whom hated the prisoner bitterly. The process was delayed by -Fouquet's dexterity in raising objections and involving others in the -indictment. Louis XIV ardently desired the end. "My reputation is at -stake," he wrote. "The matter is not serious, really, but in foreign -countries it will be thought so if I cannot secure the conviction of a -thief." The King's long standing animosity was undying, as the sequel -showed. Throughout, the public sympathy was with Fouquet. He had troops -of friends; he had been a liberal patron of art and letters and all -the best brains of Paris were on his side. Madame de Sévigné filled -several of her matchless letters with news of the case. La Fontaine -bemoaned his patron's fate in elegant verse. Mademoiselle Scuderi, -the first French novelist, wrote of him eloquently. Henault attacked -Colbert in terms that might well have landed him in the Bastile, and -Pellisson, his former clerk, from the depths of that prison made public -his eloquent and impassioned justifications of his old master. At -last, when hope was almost dead, the relief was great at hearing that -there would be no sentence of death as was greatly feared. By thirteen -votes against nine, a sentence of banishment was decreed and the result -was made public amid general rejoicing. The sentence was deemed light, -although Fouquet had already endured three years' imprisonment and -he must have suffered much in the protracted trial. Louis XIV, still -bearing malice, would not allow Fouquet to escape so easily and changed -banishment abroad into perpetual imprisonment at home. The case is -quoted as one of the rare instances in which a despotic sovereign ruler -over-rode the judgment of a court by ordering a more severe sentence -and personally ensuring its harsh infliction. - -He was forthwith transferred to Pignerol, escorted again by d'Artagnan -and a hundred musketeers. Special instructions for his treatment, -contained in letters from the King in person, were handed over to -Saint Mars. By express royal order he was forbidden to communicate -in speech or writing with anyone but his gaolers. He might not leave -the room he occupied for a single moment or for any reason. He could -not use a slate to note down his thoughts, that common boon extended -to all modern prisoners. These restrictions were imposed with the -most watchful precautions and, as we may well believe, were inspired -with the wish to cut him off absolutely from friends outside. He was -supposed to have some valuable information to communicate and the -King was determined it should not pass through. Fouquet's efforts and -devices were most persistent and ingenious. He utilised all manner -of material; writing on the ribbons that ornamented his clothes and -the linen that lined them. When the ribbons were tabooed and removed -and the linings were all in black he abstracted pieces of his table -cloth and manufactured it into paper. He made pens out of fowl bones -and ink from soot. He wrote on the inside of his books and on his -pocket handkerchiefs. Once he begged to be allowed a telescope and -it was discovered that some of his former attendants had arrived in -Pignerol and were in communication with him by signal. They were -forthwith commanded to leave the neighborhood. He was very attentive -to his religious duties at one time, and constantly asked for the -ministrations of a priest. From this some clandestine work was -suspected and the visits of the confessor were strictly limited to -four a year. A servant was, however, permitted to wait on him but was -presently replaced by two others, who were intended to act as spies on -each other; although on joining Fouquet these were plainly warned that -they would never be allowed to leave Pignerol alive. - -After eight years the severity of his incarceration appreciably -relaxed. The incriminated financiers outside were by this time disposed -of or dead. He was given leave to write a letter to his wife and -receive one in reply, on condition that they were previously read by -the authorities. His personal comfort was improved and he was allowed -tea, at that time a most expensive luxury. He had many more books -to read, the daily gazettes and current news reached him, and when -presently the Comte de Lauzun was brought a prisoner to Pignerol, the -two were permitted to take exercise together upon the ramparts. By -degrees greater favor was shown. Fouquet was permitted to play outdoor -games and the privilege of unlimited correspondence was conceded, both -with relations and friends. Fouquet's wife and children were suffered -to reside in the town of Pignerol and were constant visitors, permitted -to remain with him alone, without witnesses. As the prisoner, who -was failing in health, grew worse and worse, his wife was permitted -to occupy the same room with him and his daughter lodged alongside. -When he died in 1680, all his near relations were present. The fact -has been questioned; and a tradition exists that Fouquet, still no -older than sixty-six, was released and lived on in extreme privacy -for twenty-three years. The point is of interest as illustrating the -veil of secrecy so often thrown over events in that age and so often -impenetrable. - -This seems a fitting opportunity to refer to a prison mystery belonging -to this period, and originating in Pignerol, which has exercised the -whole world for many generations. The fascinating story of the "Man -with the Iron Mask," as presented by writers enamored of romantic -sensation, has attracted universal attention for nearly two centuries. -A fruitful field for investigation and conjecture was opened up by -the strange circumstances of the case. Voltaire with his keen love of -dramatic effect was the first to awaken the widespread interest in an -historic enigma for which there was no plausible solution. Who was this -unknown person held captive for five and twenty unbroken years with his -identity so studiously and strictly hidden that it has never yet been -authoritatively revealed? The mystery deepened with the details (mostly -imaginery) of the exceptional treatment accorded him. Year after year -he wore a mask, really made of black velvet on a whalebone frame, not -a steel machine, with a chin-piece closing with a spring and looking -much like an instrument of mediæval torture. He was said to have been -treated with extreme deference. His gaoler stood, bareheaded, in his -presence. He led a luxurious life; he wore purple and fine linen and -costly lace; his diet was rich and plentiful and served on silver -plate; he was granted the solace of music; every wish was gratified, -save in the one cardinal point of freedom. The plausible theory deduced -from all this was that he was a personage of great consequence,--of -high, possibly royal birth, who was imprisoned and segregated for -important reasons of State. - -Such conditions, quite unsubstantiated by later knowledge, fired the -imagination of inquirers, and a clue to the mystery has been sought in -some exalted victim whom Louis XIV had the strongest reason to keep out -of sight. Many suggested explanations were offered, all more or less -far fetched even to absurdity. The first was put forward by at least -two respectable writers, who affirmed that a twin son was born to Anne -of Austria, some hours later than the birth of the Dauphin, and that -Louis XIII, fearing there might be a disputed succession, was resolved -to conceal the fact. It was held by certain legal authorities in France -that the first born of twins had no positive and exclusive claim to the -inheritance. Accordingly, the second child was conveyed away secretly -and confided first to a nurse and then to the governor of Burgundy who -kept him close. But the lad, growing to manhood, found out who he was -and was forthwith placed in confinement, with a mask to conceal his -features which were exactly like those of his brother, the King. Yet -this view was held by many people of credit in France and it was that -to which the great Napoleon inclined, for he was keenly interested in -the question and when in power had diligent search made in the National -archives, quite without result, which greatly chafed his imperious -mind. A similar theory of the birth of this second child was found -very attractive; the paternity of it was given, not to Louis XIII, but -to various lovers: the Duke of Buckingham, Cardinal Mazarin and a -gentleman of the court whose name never transpired. This is the wildest -and most extravagant of surmises, for which there is not one vestige of -authority. The first suggestion is altogether upset by the formalities -and precautions observed at the birth of "a child of France," and it -would have been absolutely impossible to perpetrate the fraud. - -Other special and fanciful suppositions have gained credence, but their -mere statement is sufficient to upset them. One is the belief that the -"Man with the Iron Mask" was the English Duke of Monmouth, the son of -Charles II and Lucy Waters, who raised the standard of revolt against -James II and suffered death on Tower Hill. It was pretended that a -devoted follower, whose life was also forfeit, took his place upon -the scaffold and was hacked about in Monmouth's place by the clumsy -executioner. The craze for ridiculous conjecture led to the adoption of -Henry Cromwell, the Protector's second son, as the cryptic personage, -but there was never a shadow of evidence to support this story and no -earthly reason why Louis XIV should desire to imprison and conceal a -young Englishman. Nor can we understand why Louis should thus dispose -of his own son by Louise de Vallière, the young Comte de Vermandois, -whose death in camp at an early age was fully authenticated by the sums -allotted to buy masses for the repose of his soul. The disappearance -of the Duc de Beaufort's body after his death on the field of Candia -led to his promotion to the honor of the Black Mask, but his head was -probably sent to the Sultan of Turkey, and in any case, although he -was, as we have already seen, a noisy, vulgar demagogue, he had made -his peace with the court in his later days. There was no mystery about -Fouquet's imprisonment. The story which has just been told to the time -of his death shows conclusively that he could not be the "Man with the -Iron Mask," nor was there any sound reason to think it. The same may be -said of the rather crazy suggestion that he was Avedik, the Armenian -patriarch at Constantinople who, having incurred the deadly animosity -of the Jesuits, had been kidnapped and brought to France. This -conclusion was entirely vitiated by the unalterable logic of dates. The -patriarch was carried off from Constantinople just a year after the -mysterious person died in the Bastile. - -Thus, one by one, we exclude and dispose of the uncertain and -improbable claimants to the honors of identification. But one person -remains whom the cap fits from the first; a man who, we know, offended -Louis mortally and whose imprisonment the King had the best of reasons, -from his own point of view, for desiring: the first, private vengeance, -the second, the public good and the implacable will to carry out his -set purpose. It is curious that this solution which was close at hand -seems never to have appealed to the busy-bodies who approached the -subject with such exaggerated ideas about the impenetrable mystery. A -prisoner had been brought to Pignerol at a date which harmonizes with -the first appearance of the unknown upon the stage. Great precautions -were observed to keep his personality a secret; but it was distinctly -known to more than one, and although guarded with official reticence, -there were those who could have, and must have drawn their own -conclusions. In any case the screen has now been entirely torn aside -and documentary evidence is afforded which proves beyond all doubt that -no real mystery attaches to the "Man with the Iron Mask." - -The exact truth of the story will be best established by a brief -history of the antecedent facts. When Louis XIV was at the zenith of -his power, supreme at home and an accepted arbiter abroad, he was bent -upon consolidating his power in Northern Italy, and eagerly opened -negotiations with the Duke of Mantua to acquire the fortress town of -Casale. The town was a decisive point which secured his predominance in -Montferrat, which gave an easy access at any time into Lombardy. The -terms agreed upon were, first, a payment of 100,000 crowns by Louis -to the Duke of Mantua and, second, a promise that the latter should -command any French army sent into Italy; in exchange, the surrender -of Casale. The transaction had been started by the French ambassador -in Venice and the principal agent was a certain Count Mattioli, who -had been a minister to the Duke of Mantua and was high in his favor. -Mattioli visited Paris and was well received by the King, who sent -him back to Italy to complete the contract. Now, however, unexplained -delays arose and it came out that the great Powers, who were strongly -opposed to the dominating influence of France in Northern Italy, had -been informed of what was pending. The private treaty with France -became public property and there could be no doubt but that Mattioli -had been bought over. He had in fact sold out the French king and the -whole affair fell through. - -Louis XIV, finding himself deceived and betrayed, was furiously angry -and resolved to avenge himself upon the traitor. It was pain and -anguish to him to find that he had been cheated before all Europe, -and in his discomfiture and bitter humiliation he prepared to avenge -himself amply. On the suggestion of the French minister at Turin he -planned that Mattioli should be kidnapped and carried into France and -there subjected to the King's good pleasure. Mattioli was a needy man -and was easily beguiled by the Frenchman's promises of a substantial -sum in French gold, from the French general, Catinat, who was on -the frontier with ample funds for use when Casale should have been -occupied. Mattioli, unsuspecting, met Catinat not far from Pignerol, -where after revealing the place where his papers were concealed he -fell into the hands of the French. Louis had approved of the arrest -and insisted only on secrecy, and that Mattioli should be carried off -without the least suspicion in Casale. "Look to it," he wrote, "that no -one knows what becomes of this man." And at the same time the governor -of Pignerol, Saint Mars, was instructed by Louvois, the minister, to -receive him in great secrecy and was told, "You will guard him in such -a manner that, not only may he have no communication with anyone, but -that he may have cause to repent his conduct, and that no one may know -you have a new prisoner." The secrecy was necessary because Mattioli -was the diplomatic agent of another country and his arrest was a -barefaced violation of the law of nations. - -Brigadier-General (afterwards the famous Marshal) Catinat reports from -Pignerol on May 3rd, 1679:--"I arrested Mattioli yesterday, three miles -from here, upon the King's territories, during the interview which the -Abbe d'Estrades had ingeniously contrived between himself, Mattioli -and me, to facilitate the scheme. For the arrest, I employed only the -Chevaliers de Saint Martin and de Villebois, two officers under M. -de Saint Mars, and four men of his company. It was effected without -the least violence, and no one knows the rogue's name, not even the -officers who assisted." This fixed beyond all doubt the identity, but -there is a corroborative evidence in a pamphlet still in existence, -dated 1682, which states that "the Secretary was surrounded by ten or -twelve horsemen who seized him, disguised him, masked him and conducted -him to Pignerol." This is farther borne out by a traditionary arrest -about that time. - -When, thirty years later, the great sensation was first invented, its -importance was emphasised by Voltaire and others who declared that at -the period of the arrest no disappearance of any important person was -recorded. Certainly Mattioli's disappearance was not much noticed. It -was given out that he was dead, the last news of him being a letter to -his father in Padua begging him to hand over his papers to a French -agent. They were concealed in a hole in the wall in one of the rooms in -his father's house, and when obtained without demur were forwarded to -the King in Paris. There was no longer any doubt of Mattioli's guilt, -and Louis exacted the fullest penalty. He would annihilate him, sweep -him out of existence, condemn him to a living death as effective as -though he were poisoned, strangled or otherwise removed. He did not -mean that the man who had flouted and deceived him should be in a -position to glory over the affront he had put upon the proudest king in -Christendom. - -Exit Mattioli. Enter the "Man with the Iron Mask." Pignerol, the prison -to which he was consigned, has already been described, and also Saint -Mars, his gaoler. The mask was not regularly used at first, but the -name of Mattioli was changed on reception to Lestang. We come at once -upon evidence that this was no distinguished and favored prisoner. The -deference shown him, the silver plate, the fine clothes are fictions -destroyed by a letter written by Louvois within a fortnight of the -arrest. "It is not the King's intention," he writes, "that the Sieur -de Lestang should be well treated, or that, except the necessaries of -life, you should give him anything to soften his captivity.... You must -keep Lestang in the rigorous confinement I enjoined in my previous -letters." - -Saint Mars punctiliously obeyed his orders. He was a man of inflexible -character, with no bowels of compassion for his charges, and Lestang -must have felt the severity of the prison rule. Eight months later the -governor reported that Lestang, likewise a fellow prisoner, a monk, -who shared his chamber, had gone out of his mind. Both were subject to -fits of raving madness. This is the only authentic record of the course -of the imprisonment, which lasted fifteen years in this same prison of -Pignerol. Saint Mars, in 1681, exchanged his governorship for that of -Exiles, another frontier fortress, and was supposed to have carried -his masked prisoner with him. This erroneous belief has been disproved -by a letter of Saint Mars to the Abbe d'Estrades, discovered in the -archives, in which the writer states that he has left Mattioli at -Pignerol. There is no attempt at disguise. The name used is Mattioli, -not Lestang, and it is clear from collateral evidence that this is the -masked man. - -Saint Mars was not pleased with Exiles and solicited another transfer -which came in his appointment to the command of the castle on the -island of Sainte-Marguerite, opposite Cannes and well known to visitors -to the French Riviera. The fortress, by the way, has much later -interest as Marshal Bazaine's place of confinement after his trial by -court martial for surrendering Metz. It will be remembered, too, that -with the connivance of friends Bazaine made his escape from durance, -although it may be doubted whether the French Republic was particularly -anxious to keep him. - -The time at length arrived for Mattioli's removal from Pignerol. A -change had come over the fortunes of France. Louis was no longer the -dictator of Europe. Defeated in the field and thwarted in policy, the -proud King had to eat humble pie; he was forced to give up Casale, -which had come to him after all in spite of Mattioli's betrayal. -Pignerol also went back once more to Italian rule and it must be -cleared of French prisoners. One alone remained of any importance, for -Fouquet was long since dead and Lauzun released. This was Mattioli, -whose illegal seizure and detention it was now more than ever necessary -to keep secret. Extreme precautions were taken when making the -transfer. A strong detachment of soldiers, headed by guides, escorted -the prisoner who was in a litter. The governor of Pignerol (now one -Villebois) by his side was the only person permitted to communicate -with him. The locks and bolts of his quarters at Pignerol were sent -ahead to be used at Sainte-Marguerite and the strictest discipline -was maintained on the journey. Mattioli saw no one. His solitude was -unbroken save by Saint Mars and the two lieutenants who brought him his -food and removed the dishes. - -One other change awaited the prisoner, the last before his final -release. High preferment came to Saint Mars, who was offered and -accepted the governorship of the Bastile. He was to bring his "ancient -prisoner" with him to Paris; to make the long journey across France -weighted with the terrible responsibility of conveying such a man -safely in open arrest. We get a passing glimpse of the cortège in -a letter published by the grandnephew of Saint Mars, M. Polteau, -who describes the halt made for a night at Polteau, a country house -belonging to Saint Mars. - -"The Man in the Mask," he writes, in 1768, "came in a litter which -preceded that of M. de Saint Mars. They were accompanied by several -men on horseback. The peasants waited to greet their lord. M. de Saint -Mars took his meals with his prisoner, who was placed with his back -to the windows of the dining room which overlooked the courtyard. The -peasants whom I questioned could not see whether he wore his mask while -eating, but they took notice of the fact that M. de Saint Mars who -sat opposite to him kept a pair of pistols beside his plate. They were -waited on by one manservant who fetched the dishes from the anteroom -where they were brought to him, taking care to close the door of the -dining room after him. When the prisoner crossed the courtyard, he -always wore the black mask. The peasants noticed that his teeth and -lips showed through, also that he was tall and had white hair. M. de -Saint Mars slept in a bed close to that of the masked man." - -The prisoner arrived at the Bastile on the 18th of September, 1698, -and the authentic record of his reception appears in the journal of -the King's lieutenant of the castle, M. du Junca, still preserved in -the Arsenal Library. "M. de Saint Mars, governor of the Chateau of the -Bastile, presented, for the first time, coming from his government of -the Isle of Sainte-Marguerite, bringing with him a prisoner who was -formerly in his keeping at Pignerol." The entry goes on to say that the -newcomer was taken to the third chamber of the Bertandière tower and -lodged there alone in the charge of a gaoler who had come with him. He -was nameless in the Bastile and was known only as "the prisoner from -Provence" or "the ancient prisoner." - -His isolation and seclusion were strictly maintained for the first -three years of his imprisonment in the Bastile and then came a curious -change. He is no longer kept apart. He is associated with other -prisoners, and not of the best class. One, a rascally domestic servant, -who practised black magic, and a disreputable rake who had once been -an army officer. Nothing is said about the mask, but there can no -longer be much secrecy and the mystery might be divulged at any time. -It is evident that the reasons for concealment have passed away. The -old political intrigue has lost its importance. No one cared to know -about Casale. Louis XIV had slaked his vindictiveness and the sun of -his splendor was on the decline. Nevertheless it was not till after -his death that the prisoner's real name transpired. He died as he had -lived, unknown. Du Junca enters the event in the register:-- - -"The prisoner unknown, masked always ... happening to be unwell -yesterday on coming from mass died this day about 10 o'clock in the -evening without having had any serious illness; indeed it could not -have been slighter ... and this unknown prisoner confined so long a -time was buried on Tuesday at four in the afternoon in the cemetery of -St. Paul, our parish. On the register of burial he was given a name -also unknown." To this is added in the margin, "I have since learnt -that he was named on the register M. de Marchiali." A further entry -can be seen in the parish register. "On the 19th of November, 1703, -Marchioly, of the age of forty-five or thereabouts, died in the Bastile -... and was buried in the presence of the major and the surgeon of -the Bastile." "Marchioly" is curiously like "Mattioli" and it is a -fair assumption that the true identity of the "Man with the Iron Mask" -bursts forth on passing the verge of the silent land. - -Lauzun, a third inmate of Pignerol about this period, calls for mention -here as a prominent courtier whose misguided ambition and boundless -impudence tempted him seriously to affront and offend the King. The -penalties that overtook him were just what a bold, intemperate subject -might expect from an autocratic, unforgiving master. This prisoner, -the Count de Lauzun, was rightly styled by a contemporary "the most -insolent little man that had been seen for a century." He had no -considerable claims to great talents, agreeable manners or personal -beauty, but he was quick to establish himself in the good graces of -Louis XIV. He was one of the first to offer him the grateful incense of -unlimited adulation. He worshipped the sovereign as a superior being, -erected him into a god, lavished the most fulsome flattery on him, -declaring that Louis by his wisdom, wit, greatness and majesty took -rank as a divinity. Yet he sometimes forgot himself and went to the -other extreme, daring to attack and upbraid the King if he disapproved -of his conduct. Once he sided with Madame de Montespan when she was -first favorite and remonstrated with Louis so rudely that the King cast -him at once into the Bastile. But such blunt honesty won the King's -respect and speedy forgiveness. Lauzun was soon released and advanced -from post to post, each of successively greater value, so that the -hypocritical courtier, who had made the most abject submission, seemed -assured of high fortune. As he rose, his ambition grew and he aspired -now to the hand of the King's cousin, Mademoiselle de Montpensier, -who began to look upon him with favor. This was the same "Grande -Mademoiselle," the heroine of the wars of the Fronde, who was now a -wealthy heiress and who at one time came near being the King's wife and -Queen. The match was so unequal as to appear wildly impossible, but De -Lauzun was strongly backed by Madame de Montespan and two nobles of -high rank were induced to make a formal proposal to the King. - -Louis liked De Lauzun and gave his consent without hesitation. The -marriage might have been completed at once but the bold suitor, -successful beyond his deserts and puffed up with conceit, put off the -happy day so as to give more and more éclat to the wedding ceremony. -While he procrastinated his enemies were unceasingly active. The -princes of the blood and jealous fellow courtiers constantly implored -the King to avoid so great a mistake, and Louis, having been weak -enough to give his consent, was now so base as to withdraw it. De -Lauzun retorted by persuading Mademoiselle de Montpensier to marry him -privately. This reckless act, after all, might have been forgiven, -but he was full of bitterness against those who had injured him with -the King and desired to retaliate. He more especially hated Madame de -Montespan, whom he now plotted to ruin by very unworthy means. He thus -filled his cup and procured the full measure of the King's indignation. -He was arrested and consigned to Pignerol, where in company with -Fouquet he languished for ten years. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE POWER OF THE BASTILE - - Louis XIV and the _lettre de cachet_--Society corrupt--Assassination - common--Cheating at cards--Shocking state of Paris--"The Court of - Miracles"--Prisons filled--Prisoners detained indefinitely--Revived - persecution of the Protestants--General exodus of industrious - artisans--Inside the Bastile--Sufferings of the prisoners--The - Comte Pagan--Imprisonment for blasphemy, riotous conduct in - the streets and all loose living--Kidnapping of the Armenian - Patriarch, Avedik--His sudden death--Many heinous crimes disgrace - the epoch--Plot of the Chevalier de Rohan--Its detection--De Rohan - executed. - - -The three notable cases of arrest and imprisonment given in the last -chapter are typical of the régime at last established in France under -the personal rule of a young monarch whom various causes had combined -to render absolute. The willing submission of a people sick of civil -war, the removal or complete subjection of the turbulent vassals, -his own imperious character,--that of a strong willed man with a -set resolve to be sovereign, irresponsible master,--all combined to -consolidate his powers. Louis was the incarnation of selfishness. To -have his own way with everyone and in everything, to gratify every whim -and passion was the keynote of his sensuous and indulgent nature. No -one dared oppose him; no one stood near him. His subjects were his -creatures; the greatest nobles accepted the most menial tasks about his -person. His abject and supple-backed courtiers offered him incense and -dosed him with the most fulsome flattery. He held France in the hollow -of his hand and French society was formed on his model, utterly corrupt -and profligate under a thin veneer of fine manners which influenced all -Europe and set its fashions. - -The worst example set by Louis was in his interference with personal -liberty. The privilege of freedom from arrest had been won by the -Parliament, in the Fronde. They had decreed that any one taken into -custody one day must be produced for trial the next and his detention -justified. This safeguard was shortlived. The law was defied and -ignored by Louis XIV who invented the _lettres de cachet_, or sealed -warrants, which decreed arbitrary arrest without reason given or -the smallest excuse made for the committal. It came to be a common -thing that persons who were not even suspected of crimes, and who had -certainly never been guilty of crimes, were caught up and imprisoned -indefinitely. They might lie for years in the Bastile or Vincennes, -utterly uncared for and forgotten, kept in custody not because anybody -was set upon their remaining but because nobody was interested in their -release. In the absence of any statement of the offense no one could -say whether or not it was purged and no one was concerned as to whether -the necessity for punishment still survived. These _lettres de cachet_ -were abundantly in evidence, for they were signed in blank by the King -himself and countersigned by one of his ministers whenever it was -desired to make use of one. - -It may be well to explain here that it was customary for the King of -France to make his sovereign will known by addressing a communication -to the various State functionaries in the form of a letter which was -open or closed. If the former, it was a "patent," it bore the King's -signature, it was countersigned by a minister and the great Seal of -State was appended. This was the form in which all ordinances or grants -of privileges appeared. These "letters patent" were registered and -endorsed by the Parliament. But there was no check upon the closed -letter or _lettre de cachet_, famous in the history of tyranny, as the -secret method of making known the King's pleasure. This was folded -and sealed with the King's small seal, and although it was a private -communication it had all the weight of the royal authority. It became -the warrant for the arbitrary arrest, at any time and without any -reason given, of any person who, upon the strength of it, was forthwith -committed to a State prison. The chief ministers and the head of the -police had always _lettres de cachet_ in stock, signed in blank, but -all in due form, and they could be completed at any time, by order, -or of their own free will, by inserting the name of the unfortunate -individual whose liberty was to be forfeited. Arrest on a _lettre de -cachet_, as has been said, sometimes meant prolonged imprisonment -purposely or only because the identity of the individual or the cause -of the arrest was forgotten. - -Society was horribly vicious and corrupt in the time of Louis XIV. -Evil practices prevailed throughout the nation. Profligacy was general -among the better classes and the lower ranks committed the most -atrocious crimes. While the courtiers openly followed the example set -by their self-indulgent young monarch, an ardent devotee of pleasure, -the country was over-run with thieves and desperadoes. Assassination -was common, by the open attack of hired bravos or secretly by the -infamous administration of poison. Security was undermined and numbers -in every condition of life were put out of the way. The epoch of the -poisoners presently to be described is one of the darkest pages in -the annals of the Bastile. Cheating at cards and in every form of -gambling was shamelessly prevalent, and defended on the specious excuse -that it was merely correcting fortune. Prominent persons of rank and -fashion such as the Chevalier de Gramont and the Marquis de Saissac -won enormous sums unfairly. The passion for play was so general and -so engrossing that no opportunity of yielding to it was lost; people -gambled wherever they met, in public places, in private houses, in -carriages when travelling on the road. Cheating at play was so common -that a special officer, the Grand Provost, was attached to the Court -to bring delinquents immediately to trial. Many dishonest practices -were called in to assist, false cards were manufactured on purpose and -cardmakers were a part of the great households. Strict laws imposed -heavy penalties upon those caught loading dice or marking packs. Fraud -was conspicuously frequent in the Italian and most popular game of -_hoca_ played with thirty balls on a board, each ball containing a -number on a paper inside. - -[Illustration: _The Bastile_ - -The first stone of this historic fortress was laid in 1370. For the -first two centuries it was a military stronghold, and whoever held the -Bastile overawed Paris. The terrors of the Bastile as a state prison -were greatest during the ministry of Richelieu. From the beginning -of the revolution this prison was a special object of attack by the -populace. On July 14, 1789, it was stormed by the people and forced to -surrender.] - -Later in the reign, the rage for play grew into a perfect madness. -_Hoca_, just mentioned, although it had been indicted by two popes in -Rome, and although, in Paris, the Parliament, the magistrates and the -six guilds of merchants had petitioned for its suppression, held the -lead. Other games of chance little less popular were _lansquenet_, -_hazard_, _portique_ and _trou-madame_. Colossal sums were lost and -won. A hundred thousand crowns changed hands at a sitting. Madame de -Montespan, the notorious favorite, lost, one Christmas Day, 700,000 -crowns and got back 300,000 by a stake upon only three cards. It was -possible at _hoca_ to lose or win fifty or sixty times a stake in one -quarter of an hour. During a campaign, officers played incessantly and -leading generals of the army were among the favorite players with the -King, when invited to the palace. The police fulminated vainly against -the vice, and would have prohibited play among the people, but did not -dare to suggest that the court should set the example. - -Extravagance and ostentation being the aim and fashion of all, every -means was tried to fill the purse. The Crown was assailed on all sides -by the needy, seeking places at court. Fathers sent their sons to Paris -from the provinces to ingratiate themselves with great people and to -pay court in particular to rich widows and dissolute old dowagers -eager to marry again. Heiresses were frequently waylaid and carried -off by force. Abduction was then as much the rule as are _mariages de -convenance_ in Paris nowadays. Friends and relations aided and abetted -the abductor, if the lady's servants made resistance. - -The state of Paris was shocking. Disturbances in the street were -chronic, murders were frequent and robbery was usually accompanied with -violence, especially in the long winter nights. The chief offenders -were soldiers of the garrison and the pages and lackeys of the great -houses, who still carried arms. A police ordinance finally forbade them -to wear swords and it was enforced by exemplary punishment. A duke's -footman and a duchess's page, who attacked and wounded a student on -the Pont Neuf, were arrested, tried and forthwith hanged despite the -protests and petitions of their employers. Further ordinances regulated -the demeanor of servants who could not be employed without producing -their papers, and now in addition to their swords being taken away, -they were deprived of their canes and sticks on account of their -brutal treatment of inoffensive people. They were forbidden to gather -in crowds and they might not enter the gardens of the Tuileries or -Luxembourg. - -It was not enough to repress the insolent valets and check the midnight -excesses of the worst characters. The importunity of the sturdy -vagabond, who lived by begging, called for stern repression. These -ruffians had long been tolerated. They enjoyed certain privileges and -immunities, they were organised in dangerous bands strong enough to -make terms with the police and they possessed a sanctuary in the heart -of Paris, where they defied authority. This "Court of Miracles," as -it was called, had three times withstood a siege by commissaries and -detachments of troops, who were repulsed with showers of stones. Then -the head of the police went at the head of a strong force and cleared -the place out, allowing all to escape; and when it had been thus -emptied, their last receptacle was swept entirely away. Other similar -refuges were suppressed,--the enclosures of the Temple and the Abbey -of St. Germain-des-Près, and the Hotel Soissons, property of the royal -family of Savoy, which had long claimed the right to give shelter to -malefactors. - -The prisons of Paris were in a deplorable and disgraceful state at -this period, as appears from a picture drawn by a magistrate about -the middle of the seventeenth century. They were without light or -air, horribly overcrowded by the dregs of humanity and a prey to -foul diseases which prisoners freely communicated to one another. -For-l'Évêque was worse then than it had ever been; the whole building -was in ruins and must soon fall to the ground. The Greater and Lesser -Châtelets were equally unhealthy and of dimensions too limited for -their population, the walls too high, the dungeons too deep down in -the bowels of the earth. The only prison not absolutely lethal was the -Conciergerie, yet some of its cells and chambers possessed no sort of -drainage. The hopelessness of the future was the greatest infliction; -once committed, no one could count on release: to be thrown into prison -was to be abandoned and forgotten. - -The records kept at the Bastile were in irremediable disorder. Even -the names of the inmates were in most cases unknown, from the custom -of giving new arrivals a false name. By the King's order, his Minister -once applied to M. de Besmaus, the governor, for information as to -the cause of detention of two prisoners, a priest called Gerard, who -had been confined for eight years, and a certain Pierre Rolland, -detained for three years. The inquiry elicited a report that no such -person as Rolland appeared upon the monthly pay lists for rations. -Gerard, the priest, was recognised by his numerous petitions for -release. The Minister called for a full nominal list of all prisoners -and the reasons for their confinement, but the particulars were not -forthcoming. This was on the conclusion of the Peace of Ryswick, -when the King desired to mark the general rejoicings by a great gaol -delivery. - -Many causes contributed to fill the Bastile and other State prisons in -the reign of Louis XIV. Let us take these more in detail. The frauds -committed by dishonest agents dealing with public money, the small fry, -as guilty as Fouquet, but on a lesser scale, consigned many to prison. -Severe penalties were imposed upon defamatory writers and the whole of -the literary crew concerned in the publication of libellous attacks -upon the King,--printers, binders, distributors of this dangerous -literature,--found their way to the Bastile, to the galleys, even to -the scaffold. Presently when Louis, always a bigoted Catholic, became -more and more intolerant under the influence of the priests, the -revived persecution of the Protestants filled the gaols and galleys -with the sufferers for their faith. Colbert had long protected them, -but at the death of this talented minister who, as he wrote Madame de -Maintenon, "thought more of finance than religion," Le Tellier and -Louvois, who succeeded him, raged furiously against the Protestants -and many cruel edicts were published. A fierce fanatical desire to -proselytise, to procure an abjuration of creed by every violent and -oppressive means possessed all classes, high and low. The doors of sick -people were forced to admit the priests who came to administer the -sacraments, without being summoned. - -On one occasion the pot-boy of a wine shop who, with his master, -professed the new faith, was mortally wounded in a street fight. A -priest visited him as he lay dying and besought him to make confession. -A low crowd forthwith collected before the house, to the number of -seven or eight hundred, and rose in stormy riot, attacked the door -with sticks and stones, broke it down, smashed all the windows and -forced their way in, crying, "Give us up the Huguenots or we will set -fire to the house." The police then came upon the scene and restored -quiet, but the man died, to the last refusing to confess. Outrages of -this kind were frequent. Again, the son of a new convert removed his -hat when the procession of the Host passed by, but remained standing -instead of falling on his knees. He was violently attacked and fled to -his home, pursued by the angry crowd who would have burned the house to -the ground. The public feeling was so strong that many called for the -quartering of troops in Paris to assist in the good work of conversion, -a suggestion which bore fruit presently in the infamous _dragonnades_, -when the soldiers pillaged and laid waste the provinces. - -The passion for proselytising was carried to the extent of bribing the -poverty stricken to change their religion. Great pressure was brought -to bear upon Huguenot prisoners who were in the Bastile. A number of -priests came in to use their persuasive eloquence upon the recusants, -and many reports are preserved in the correspondence of M. de Besmaus, -the governor, of their energetic efforts. "I am doing my best," says -one priest, "and have great hopes of success." "I think," writes -another, "I have touched Mademoiselle de Lamon and the Mademoiselles de -la Fontaine. If I may have access to them I shall be able to satisfy -you." The governor was the most zealous of all in seeking to secure the -abjuration of the new religion. - -It may be noted here that this constant persecution, emphasised by the -Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (which had conceded full liberty of -conscience), had the most disastrous consequences upon French industry. -The richest manufacturers and the most skillful and industrious -artisans were to be found among the French Protestants and there was -soon a steady drain outwards of these sources of commercial prosperity. -In this continuous exodus of capital and intelligent labor began the -material decadence of France and transferred the enterprise of these -people elsewhere, notably to England. A contemporary pamphlet paints -the situation in sombre colors;--"Nothing is to be seen but deserted -farms, impecunious landed proprietors, bankrupt traders, creditors in -despair, peasants dying of starvation, their dwellings in ruins." On -every side and in every commodity there was a terrible depreciation of -values,--land nearly worthless, revenues diminished, and besides a new -and protracted war had now to be faced. - -Some idea of the condition of the interior of the Bastile in those -days may be best realised by a few extracts from the original archives -preserved from the sack of the hated castle when Paris rose in -revolution. Some documents are extant, written by a certain Comte de -Pagan, who was thrown into the State prison charged with sorcery. He -had boasted that he could, when he chose, destroy Louis XIV by magic. -His arrest was immediate and his detention indefinitely prolonged. His -letters contain the most piteous appeals for money. - -"Monseigneur and most reverent patron," he writes to Colbert from the -Bastile under date of the 8th of November, 1661, "I supplicate you -most humbly to accord this poor, unfortunate being his liberty. Your -lordship will most undoubtedly be rewarded for so merciful a deed as -the release of a wretched creature who has languished here for nine -years devoid of hope." In a second petition, reiterating his prayer for -clemency, he adds, "It is now impossible for me to leave the room in -which I am lodged as I am almost naked. Do send me a little money so -that I may procure a coat and a few shirts." Again, "May I beseech you -to remember that I have been incarcerated for eleven years and eight -months and have endured the worst hardships ever inflicted on a man -for the want of covering against the bitter cold.... Monseigneur, I am -seventy-eight years of age, a prey to all manner of bodily infirmities; -I do not possess a single friend in the world, and worse still, I am -not worth one sou and am sunk in an abyss of wretchedness. I swear to -you, Monseigneur, that I am compelled to go to bed in the dark because -I cannot buy a farthing candle; I have worn the same shirt without -removing or changing it for seven whole months." - -This appeal is endorsed with a brief minute signed by Colbert. "Let him -have clothes." The year following a new petition is rendered. "Your -Excellency will forgive me if I entreat him to remember that thirteen -months ago he granted me 400 francs to relieve my miseries. But I am -once more in the same or even worse condition and I again beg humbly -for help. I have been quite unable to pay the hire of the furniture -in my chamber and the upholsterer threatens to remove the goods and I -shall soon be compelled to lie on the bare floor. I have neither light -nor fuel and am almost without clothes. You, Monseigneur, are my only -refuge and I beseech your charitable help or I shall be found dead of -cold in my cell. For the love of God, entreat the King to give me my -liberty after the thirteen years spent here." - -This last appeal is dated November 28th, 1665, but there is no record -of his ultimate disposal. It is stated in an earlier document that -Cardinal Mazarin had been willing to grant a pardon to this prisoner -if he would agree to be conveyed to the frontier under escort and sent -across it as a common criminal, but the Count had refused to accept -this dishonoring condition which he pleaded would cast a stigma upon -his family name. He offered, however, to leave France directly he was -released and seek any domicile suggested to him where he might be safe -from further oppression. Cardinal Mazarin seems to have been mercifully -inclined, but died before he could extend clemency to this unhappy -victim of arbitrary power. - -The Bastile was used sometimes as a sanctuary to withdraw an offender -who had outraged the law and could not otherwise be saved from -reprisal. A notable case was that of René de l'Hopital, Marquis de -Choisy, who lived on his estates like a savage tyrant. In 1659 he was -denounced by a curé to the ecclesiastical authorities for his crimes. -The marquis with a couple of attendants waylaid the priest on the high -road and attacked the curé whom he grievously wounded. The priest -commended himself to God and was presently stunned by a murderous blow -on the jaw from the butt end of a musket. Then the Marquis, to make -sure his victim was really dead, rode his horse over the recumbent body -and then stabbed it several times with his sword. But help came and the -curé was rescued still alive, and strange to say, recovered, although -it was said he had received a hundred and twenty wounds. - -The entire religious hierarchy in France espoused the priest's cause. -The Marquis was haled before several provincial courts of justice. -He would undoubtedly have been convicted of murder and sentenced to -death, for Louis XIV would seldom spare the murderer of a priest, but -the l'Hopital family had great influence at Court and won a pardon -for the criminal. The Parliament of Paris or High Court of Justice -boldly resisted the royal decree and the marquis would still have been -executed had he not been consigned for safety to the "King's Castle," -the Bastile. He passed subsequently to the prison of For-l'Évêque, from -which he was released with others on the entry of the King to Paris, at -his marriage. Still the vindictive Parliament pursued him and he would -hardly have escaped the scaffold had he not fled the country. - -In an age when so much respect was exacted for religious forms and -ceremonies, imprisonment in the Bastile was promptly inflicted upon all -guilty of blasphemous conduct or who openly ridiculed sacred things. -The records are full of cases in which prisoners have been committed to -gaol for impiety, profane swearing at their ill luck with the dice or -at _hoca_. A number of the Prince de Condé's officers were sent to the -Bastile for acting a disgraceful parody of the procession of the Host, -in which a besom was made to represent a cross, a bucket was filled at -a neighboring pump and called holy water, and the sham priests chanted -the _De Profundis_ as they went through the streets to administer the -last sacrament to a pretended moribund. - -A very small offense gained the pain of imprisonment. One foolish -person was committed because he was dissatisfied with his name Cardon -(thistle), and changed it to _Cardone_, prefixing the particle "de" -which signifies nobility, claiming that he was a member of the -illustrious family of De Cardone. It appears from the record, however, -that he also spoke evil of M. de Maurepas, a minister of State. - -Still another class found themselves committed to the Bastile. The -parental Louis, as he grew more sober and staid, insisted more and -more on external decorum and dealt sharply with immoral conduct among -his courtiers. The Bastile was used very much as a police station or a -reformatory. Young noblemen were sent there for riotous conduct in the -streets, for an affray with the watch and the maltreatment of peaceful -citizens. The Duc d'Estrées and the Duc de Mortemart were imprisoned as -wastrels who bet and gambled with sharpers. "The police officers cannot -help complaining that the education of these young dukes had been sadly -neglected," reads the report. So the Royal Castle was turned for the -nonce into a school, and a master of mathematics, a drawing master and -a Jesuit professor of history were admitted to instruct the neglected -youths. The same Duc d'Estrées paid a second visit for quarrelling with -the Comte d'Harcourt and protesting against the interference of the -marshals to prevent a duel. - -The King nowadays set his face against all loose living. The Comte de -Montgomery, for leading a debauched and scandalous life on his estates, -was committed to the Bastile, where he presently died. He was a -Protestant and the question of his burial came up before the Ministry, -who wrote the governor that, "His Majesty is very indifferent whether -he (Montgomery) be buried in one place rather than another and still -more in what manner the ceremony is performed." - -The report that the Prince de Léon, being a prince of the blood, a son -of the Duc de Rohan, was about to marry a ballet dancer, Mademoiselle -Florence, entailed committal to the Bastile, not on the Prince but -on the girl. "Florence was arrested this morning while the Prince -was at Versailles," writes the chief of the police. "Her papers were -seized.... She told the officer who arrested her she was not married, -that she long foresaw what would happen, that she would be only too -happy to retire into a convent and that she had a hundred times -implored the Prince to give his consent. I have informed the Prince's -father, the Duc de Rohan, of this." The Prince was furious upon hearing -of the arrest and refused to forgive his relations. The Duc de Rohan -was willing to supply Mademoiselle Florence with all necessaries to -make captivity more tolerable, but great difficulty was found in -getting him to pay the bill. The Duc de Rohan was so great a miser -that he allowed his wife and children to die of hunger. The Bastile -bill included charges for doctor and nurse as Mademoiselle de Florence -was brought to bed of a child in prison. What with the expenses of -capture and gaol fees it amounted to 5,000 francs. The end of this -incident was that the Prince de Léon, while his lady love was in the -Bastile, eloped with a supposed heiress, Mademoiselle de Roquelaure, -who was ugly, hunch-backed and no longer young. The Prince ran off -with her from a convent, moved to do so by his father's promise of an -allowance, which the miserly duke never paid. The bride was recaptured -and sent back to the cloister in which her mother had placed her to -avoid the necessity of giving her any dowry. The married couple, when -at last they came together, had a bad time of it, as neither of the -parents would help them with funds and they lived in great poverty. - -A strange episode, forcibly illustrating the arbitrary character of -Louis XIV and his fine contempt for international rights, was the case -of the Armenian Patriarch, Avedik, who was an inmate of the Bastile -and also of Mont St. Michel. The Armenian Catholics, and especially -the Jesuits, had reason to complain of Avedik's high handed treatment, -and the French ambassador interfered by paying a large price for the -Patriarch's removal from his sacred office. Certain schismatics of the -French party secured his reinstatement by raising the bid; and now the -French ambassador seized the person of Avedik, who was put on board -a French ship and conveyed to Messina, then Spanish territory, where -he was cast into the prison of the Inquisition. This abduction evoked -loud protest in Constantinople, but the French disavowed it, although -it had certainly met with the approval of Louis XIV. Avedik would -have languished and died forgotten in Messina, but without waiting -instructions, the French consul had extracted him from the prison of -the Inquisition and passed him on to Marseilles. - -Great precautions were taken to keep his arrival secret. If the poor, -kidnapped foreigner, who spoke no language but Turkish and Armenian, -should chance to be recognised, the report of his sudden death was -to be announced and no doubt it would soon be justified in fact. -Otherwise he was to be taken quietly across France from Marseilles, -on the Mediterranean, to Mont St. Michel on the Normandy coast, where -his kidnappers were willing to treat him well. The King expressly -ordered that he should have "a room with a fire place, linen and so -forth, as his Majesty had no desire that the prisoner should suffer, -provided economy is observed.... He is not to be subjected to perpetual -abstinence and may have meat when he asks for it." Of course an attempt -was made to convert the Patriarch, already a member of the Greek -Church, to Catholicism as preached in France, although the interchange -of ideas was not easy, and the monk sent to confess him could not do -so for want of a common language. Eventually Avedik was brought to -Paris and lodged in the Bastile, where an interpreter was found for him -in the person of the Abbé Renaudot, a learned Oriental scholar. - -Meanwhile a hue and cry was raised for the missing Patriarch. One -of his servants was traced to Marseilles and was promptly arrested -and hidden away in the hospital of the galley slaves. Louis and his -ministers stoutly denied that Avedik was in France, and he was very -strictly guarded lest the fact of his kidnapping should leak out. No -one saw him but the person who took him his food, and they understood -each other only by signs. Avedik was worked up to make a written -statement that he owed his arrest to English intrigues, and this was -to be held as an explanation should the Porte become too pressing in -its inquiries. It is clear that the French Government would gladly -have seen the last of Avedik and hesitated what course to adopt with -him: whether to keep him by force, win him over, transfer him to the -hands of the Pope, send him to Persia or let him go straight home. -These questions were in a measure answered by a marginal note endorsed -on the paper submitting them. "Would it be a blessing or would it be -a misfortune if he were to die?" asks the Minister Pontchartrain; and -the rather suspicious answer was presently given by his death. But an -official report was drawn up, declaring that he had long enjoyed full -liberty, that he received every attention during his illness, that -his death was perfectly natural and that he died a zealous Catholic. -Pontchartrain went further and, after reiterating that death was -neither violent nor premature, added that it was entirely due to the -immoderate use of brandy and baleful drugs. Avedik had grown very -corpulent during his imprisonment, but there was no proof of the charge -of intemperance. - -The most heinous crimes disgraced the epoch of Louis XIV, and in all, -the Bastile played a prominent part. There was first the gigantic -frauds and peculations of Fouquet as already described; then came the -conspiracy of the Chevalier de Rohan, who was willing to sell French -fortresses to foreign enemies; and on this followed the horrible affair -of the Marchioness de Brinvilliers, the secret poisoner of her own -people. The use of poison was for a time a wholesale practice, and -although the special court established for the trial of those suspected -held its sessions in private, the widespread diffusion of the crime was -presently revealed beyond all question. There were reasons of State why -silence should be preserved; the high rank of many of the criminals -and their enormous number threatened, if too openly divulged, to shake -society to its base. Some two hundred and thirty of the accused were -afterwards convicted and sent to prison and thirty-four more were -condemned to death. - -Conspiracies against the life of the King had been frequent. We may -mention among them that of the Marquis de Bonnesson, of the Protestant -Roux de Marcilly, who would have killed Louis to avenge the wrongs -of his co-religionists, and another Protestant, Comte de Sardan, who -sought to stir up disaffection in four great provinces,--which were to -renounce allegiance to France and pass under the dominion of the Prince -of Orange and the King of Spain. The most dangerous and extensive -plot was that of Louis de Rohan, a dissolute young nobleman, who had -been a playmate of the King and the favorite of ladies of the highest -rank, but who had been ruined by gambling and a loose life until his -fortunes had sunk to the lowest ebb. He found an evil counsellor in a -certain retired military officer, the Sieur de Latréaumont, no less a -pauper than De Rohan, and hungry for money to retrieve his position. -Together they made overtures to the Dutch and Spaniards to open the -way for a descent upon the Normandy coast. Their price was a million -livres. Several disaffected Normandy nobles joined the plot, and as it -was unsafe to trust to the post, an emissary, Van den Ende, an ancient -Dutch professor, was sent in person to the Low Countries to deal with -the Spanish general. He obtained liberal promises of cash and pension, -and returned to Paris, where he was promptly arrested at the barrier. -The police had discovered the conspiracy and De Rohan was already in -custody. De Latréaumont was surprised in bed, had resisted capture, -had been mortally wounded and had died, leaving highly compromising -papers. - -Louis XIV, bitterly incensed against the Chevalier, whom he had -so intimately known, determined to make an example of him and his -confederates. A special tribunal was appointed for their trial, some -sixty persons in all. Abundant evidence was forthcoming, for half -Normandy was eager to confess and escape the traitor's fate. Some -very great names were mentioned as implicated, the son of the Prince -de Condé among the rest. The King now wisely resolved to limit the -proceedings, lest too much importance should be given to a rather -contemptible plot. De Rohan's guilt was fully proved. He was reported -to have said: "If I can only draw my sword against the King in a -serious rebellion I shall die happy." When he saw there was no hope for -him, the Chevalier tried to soften the King by full confession. It did -not serve him, and he was sentenced to be beheaded and his creature, -Van den Ende, to be hanged in front of the Bastile. De Rohan was spared -torture before execution, but Van den Ende and another suffered the -"boot." The King was vainly solicited to grant pardon to De Rohan, but -was inflexible, declaring it was in the best interests of France that -traffic with a foreign enemy should be punished with the extreme rigor -of the law. It cannot be stated positively that there were no other -conspiracies against Louis XIV, but none were made public. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE TERROR OF POISON - - The Marquise de Brinvilliers--Homicidal mania--Mysterious - death of her father, M. D'Aubray--Death of her eldest brother - and her second brother--Sainte Croix's sudden death--Fatal - secret betrayed--Marchioness flies to England--Brought - to Paris--Her trial--Torture and cruel sentence--Others - suspected--Pennautier--Trade in poisoning--The _Chambre - Ardente_--La Voisin--Great people implicated--Wholesale - sentences--The galleys, or forced labor at the oar a common - punishment--War galleys--Manned with difficulty--Illegal - detention--Horrors of the galleys. - - -Paris was convulsed and shaken to its roots in 1674, when the -abominable crimes of the Marchioness of Brinvilliers were laid -bare. They have continued to horrify the whole world. Here was -a beautiful woman of good family, of quiet demeanor, seemingly -soft-hearted and sweet tempered, who nevertheless murdered her nearest -relations,--father, brother, sisters, her husband and her own children -by secret and detestable practices. It could have been nothing less -than homicidal mania in its worst development. The rage to kill, or, -more exactly, to test the value of the lethal weapons she recklessly -wielded, seized her under the guise of a high, religious duty to visit -the hospitals to try the effects of her poisons on the sick poor. -There were those at the time who saw in the discovery of her murderous -processes the direct interposition of Providence. First, there was the -sudden death of her principal accomplice, and the sure indications -found among the papers he left; next, the confirmatory proofs afforded -by a servant who had borne the "question" without opening his lips, and -only confessed at the scaffold; last of all, the guilty woman's arrest -in Liége on the last day that the French king's authority was paramount -in that city; and more, there was the fact that when taken, she was in -possession of papers indispensable to secure her own conviction. - -Marie-Madeleine d'Aubray was beautiful, the daughter of the d'Aubray -who filled the high legal office of Lieutenant-Criminel, and she -married the Marquis de Brinvilliers at the age of twenty-one. -She was possessed of great personal attraction: a small woman of -slight, exquisite figure, her face round and regular, her complexion -extraordinarily fair, her hair abundant and of a dark chestnut color. -Everything promised a happy life for the young people. They were drawn -together by strong liking, they were fairly rich and held their heads -high in the best circle of the court. They lived together happily for -some years, and five children were born to them, but presently they -fell into extravagant ways and wasted their substance. The Marquis -became a roué and a gambler, and left his wife very much alone and -exposed to temptation, and especially to the marked attentions of a -certain Godin de St. Croix, a young, handsome and seductive gallant, -whom the Marquis had himself introduced and welcomed to his house. At -the trial it was urged that this St. Croix had been the real criminal; -he is described as a demon of violent and unbridled passion, who had -led the Marchioness astray, a statement never proved. - -The liaison soon became public property, but the husband was altogether -indifferent to his wife's misconduct, having a disreputable character -of his own. The father and brothers strongly disapproved and reproached -the Marchioness fiercely. The elder d'Aubray, quite unable to check the -scandal, at last obtained a _lettre de cachet_, an order of summary -imprisonment, against St. Croix, and the lover was arrested in the -Marchioness' carriage, seated by her side. He was committed at once -to the Bastile, where he became the cellmate of an Italian generally -called Exili; although his real name is said to have been Egidi, while -his occult profession, according to contemporary writers, was that of -an artist in poisons. From this chance prison acquaintance flowed the -whole of the subsequent crimes. When St. Croix was released from the -Bastile, he obtained the release also of Exili and, taking him into -his service, the two applied themselves to the extensive manufacture -of poisons, assisted by an apothecary named Glaser. St. Croix was -supposed to have reformed. When once more free, he married, became -reserved and grew devout. Secretly he renewed his intimacy with the -Marchioness and persuaded her to get rid of her near relatives in order -to acquire the whole of the d'Aubray property; and he provided her with -the poisons for the purpose. - -M. d'Aubray had forgiven his daughter, and had taken her with -him to his country estate at Offémont in the autumn of 1666. The -Marchioness treated him with the utmost affection and seemed to have -quite abandoned her loose ways. Suddenly, soon after their arrival, -M. d'Aubray was seized with some mysterious malady, accompanied by -constant vomitings and intolerable sufferings. Removed to Paris -next day, he was attended by a strange doctor, who had not seen the -beginning of the attack, and speedily died in convulsions. It was -suggested as the cause of his death, that he had been suffering from -gout driven into the stomach. - -The inheritance was small, and there were four children to share it. -The Marchioness had two brothers and two sisters. One sister was -married and the mother of two children, the other was a Carmelite -nun. The eldest brother, Antoine d'Aubray, succeeded to his father's -office as Lieutenant-Criminel, and within four years he also died -under suspicious circumstances. He lived in Paris, and upon entering -his house one day called for a drink. A new valet, named La Chaussée, -brought him a glass of wine and water. It was horribly bitter to the -taste, and d'Aubray threw the greater part away, expressing his belief -that the rascal, La Chaussée, wanted to poison him. It was like liquid -fire, and others, who tasted it, declared that it contained vitriol. -La Chaussée, apologising, recovered the glass, threw the rest of the -liquid into the fire and excused himself by saying that a fellow -servant had just used the tumbler as a medicine glass. This incident -was presently forgotten, but next spring, at a dinner given by M. -d'Aubray, guests and host were seized with a strange illness after -eating a tart or _vol au vent_, and M. d'Aubray never recovered his -health. He "pined visibly" after his return to Paris, losing appetite -and flesh, and presently died, apparently of extreme weakness, on the -17th of June, 1670. A post mortem was held, but disclosed nothing, and -the death was attributed to "malignant humours," a ridiculously vague -expression showing the medical ignorance of the times. - -The second brother did not survive. He too was attacked with illness, -and died of the same loss of power and vitality. An autopsy resulted -in a certain suspicion of foul play. The doctors reported that the -lungs of the deceased were ulcerated, the liver and heart burned up and -destroyed. Undoubtedly there had been noxious action, but it could not -be definitely referred to poison. No steps, however, were taken by the -police to inquire into the circumstances of this sudden death. - -Meanwhile the Marchioness had been deserted by her husband, and she -gave herself up to reckless dissipation. When St. Croix abandoned her -also, she resolved to commit suicide. "I shall put an end to my life," -she wrote him in a letter afterwards found among his papers, "by using -what you gave me, the preparation of Glaser." Courage failed her, and -now chance or strange fortune intervened with terrible revelations. St. -Croix's sudden death betrayed the secret of the crime. - -He was in the habit of working at a private laboratory in the Place -Maubert, where he distilled his lethal drugs. One day as he bent -over the furnace, his face protected by a glass mask, the glass -burst unexpectedly, and he inhaled a breath of the poisonous fumes, -which stretched him dead upon the spot. Naturally there could be no -destruction of compromising papers, and these at once fell into the -hands of the police. Before they could be examined, the Marchioness, -terrified at the prospect of impending detection, committed herself -hopelessly by her imprudence. She went at once to the person to whom -the papers had been confided and begged for a casket in which were a -number of her letters. She was imprudent enough to offer a bribe of -fifty louis, and was so eager in her appeal, that suspicion arose and -her request was refused. Ruin stared her in the face, she went home, -got what money she could and fled from Paris. - -The casket was now opened, and fully explained her apprehensions. -On top was a paper written by St. Croix which ran: "I humbly entreat -the person into whose hands this casket may come to convey it to the -Marchioness Brinvilliers, rue Neuve St. Paul; its contents belong to -her and solely concern her and no one else in the world. Should she die -before me I beg that everything within the box may be burned without -examination." In addition to the letters from the Marchioness, the -casket contained a number of small parcels and phials full of drugs, -such as antimony, corrosive sublimate, vitriol in various forms. These -were analysed, and some portion of them administered to animals, which -immediately died. - -The law now took action. The first arrest was that of La Chaussée, -whose complicity with St. Croix was undoubted. The man had been in St. -Croix's service, he had lived with Antoine d'Aubray, and at the seizure -of St. Croix's effects, he had rashly protested against the opening -of the casket. He was committed to the Châtelet and put on his trial -with the usual preliminary torture of the "boot." He stoutly refused -to make confession at first, but spoke out when released from the -rack. His conviction followed, on a charge of having murdered the two -Lieutenants-Criminel, the d'Aubrays, father and son. His sentence was, -to be broken alive on the wheel, and he was duly executed. - -This was the first act in the criminal drama. The Marchioness was still -at large. She had sought an asylum in England, and was known to be in -London. Colbert, the French minister, applied in his king's name for -her arrest and removal to France. But no treaty of extradition existed -in those days, and the laws of England were tenacious. Even Charles II, -the paid pensioner of Louis and his very submissive ally, could not -impose his authority upon a free people; and the English, then by no -means friendly with France, would have resented the arbitrary arrest -of even the most dastard criminal for an offence committed beyond the -kingdom. History does not say exactly how it was compassed, but the -Marchioness did leave England, and crossed to the Low Countries, where -she took refuge in a convent in the city of Liége. - -Four years passed, but her retreat became known to the police of Paris. -Desgrez, a skilful officer, famous for his successes as a detective, -was forthwith despatched to inveigle her away. He assumed the disguise -of an abbé, and called at the convent. Being a good looking young man -of engaging manners, he was well received by the fugitive French woman, -sick and weary of conventual restriction. The Marchioness, suspecting -nothing, gladly accepted the offer of a drive in the country with the -astute Desgrez, who promptly brought her under escort to the French -frontier as a prisoner. A note of her reception at the Conciergerie is -among the records, to the effect, that, "La Brinvilliers, who had been -arrested by the King's order in the city of Liége, was brought to the -prison under a warrant of the Court." - -On the journey from Liége she had tried to seduce one of her escort -into passing letters to a friend, whom she earnestly entreated to -recover certain papers she had left at the convent. These, however, -one of them of immense importance, her full confession, had already -been secured by Desgrez, showing that the Abbess had been cognisant of -the intended arrest. The Marchioness yielded to despair when she heard -of the seizure of her papers and would have killed herself, first by -swallowing a long pin and next by eating glass. This confession is -still extant and will be read with horror--the long list of her crimes -and debaucheries set forth with cold-blooded, plain speaking. It was -not produced at her trial, which was mainly a prolonged series of -detailed interrogatories to which she made persistent denials. As the -proceedings drew slowly on, all Paris watched with shuddering anxiety, -and the King himself, who was absent on a campaign, sent peremptory -orders to Colbert that no pains should be spared to bring all proof -against the guilty woman. Conviction was never in doubt. One witness -declared that she had made many attempts to get the casket from St. -Croix; another, that she exulted in her power to rid herself of her -enemies, declaring it was easy to give them "a pistol shot in their -soup;" a third, that she had exhibited a small box, saying, "it is -very small but there is enough inside to secure many successions -(inheritances)." Hence the euphemism _poudre de succession_, so often -employed at that time to signify "deadly poison." - -The accused still remained obstinately dumb, but at last an eloquent -priest, l'Abbé Pirot, worked upon her feelings of contrition, and -obtained a full avowal, not only of her own crimes, but those also -of her accomplices. Sentence was at once pronounced, and execution -quickly followed. Torture, both ordinary and extraordinary, was to -be first inflicted. The ordeal of water, three buckets-full, led her -to ask if they meant to drown her, as assuredly she could not, with -her small body, drink so much. After the torture she was to make -the _amende honorable_ and the acknowledgment, candle in hand, that -vengeance and greed had tempted her to poison her father, brothers and -sisters. Then her right hand was to be amputated as a parricide; but -this penalty was remitted. The execution was carried out under very -brutal conditions. No sooner were the prison doors opened than a mob of -great ladies rushed in to share and gloat over her sufferings, among -them the infamous Comtesse de Soissons, who was proved later to have -been herself a poisoner. An enormous crowd of spectators, at least one -hundred thousand, were assembled in the streets, at the windows and -on the roofs, and she was received with furious shouts. Close by the -tumbril rode Desgrez, the officer who had captured her in Liége. Yet -she showed the greatest fortitude. "She died as she had lived," writes -Madame de Sévigné, "resolutely. Now she is dispersed into the air. Her -poor little body was thrown into a fierce furnace, and her ashes blown -to the four winds of heaven." - -Another person was implicated in this black affair, Reich de -Pennautier, Receiver-General of the clergy. When the St. Croix casket -was opened, a promissory note signed by Pennautier had been found. -He was suspected of having used poison to remove his predecessor in -office. Pennautier was arrested and lodged in the Conciergerie, where -he occupied the old cell of Ravaillac for seven days. Then he was put -on his trial. He found friends, chief of them the reticent Madame -de Brinvilliers, but he had an implacable enemy in the widow of his -supposed victim, Madame de St. Laurent, who continually pursued him -in the courts. He was, however, backed by Colbert, Archbishop of -Paris, and the whole of the French clergy. In the end he was released, -emerging as Madame de Sévigné put it, "rather whiter than snow," and -he retained his offices until he became enormously rich. Although his -character was smirched in this business he faced the world bravely to a -green old age. - -In France uneasiness was general after the execution of the Brinvilliers -and the acquittal of Pennautier. Sinister rumors prevailed that secret -poisoning had become quite a trade, facilitated by the existence of -carefully concealed offices, where the noxious drugs necessary could be -purchased easily by heirs tired of waiting for their succession, and -by husbands and wives eager to get rid of one another. Within a year -suspicion was strengthened by the picking up of an anonymous letter in -the confessional of the Jesuit Church of the rue St. Antoine, stating -that a plot was afoot to poison both the King and the Dauphin. The -police set inquiries on foot, and traced the projected crime to two -persons, Louis Vanens and Robert de la Nurée, the Sieur de Bachimont. - -The first of these dabbled openly in love philtres and other unavowable -medicines; and he was also suspected of having poisoned the Duke of -Savoy some years previously. Bachimont was one of his agents. From -this first clue, the police followed the thread of their discoveries, -and brought home to a number of people the charge of preparing and -selling poisons, two of whom were condemned and executed. A still -more important arrest was that of Catherine Deshayes, the wife of one -Voisin or Monvoisin, a jeweller. From this moment the affair assumed -such serious proportions that it was decided to conduct the trial -with closed doors. The authorities constituted a royal tribunal to -sit in private at the Arsenal, and to be known to the public as the -_Chambre Ardente_ or Court of Poisons. La Reynie and another counsellor -presided, and observed extreme caution, but were quite unable to keep -secret the result of their proceedings. It was soon whispered through -Paris that the crime of poisoning had extensive ramifications, and that -many great people, some nearly related to the throne, were compromised -with la Voisin. The names were openly mentioned: a Bourbon prince, the -Comte de Clermont, the Duchesse de Bouillon, the Princesse de Tingry, -one of the Queen's ladies in waiting, and the Marchionesse d'Alluye, -who had been an intimate friend of Fouquet. The Duc de Luxembourg and -others of the highest rank were consigned to the Bastile. Yet more, the -Comtesse de Soissons, the proudest of Cardinal Mazarin's nieces and one -of the first of the King's favorites, had, by his special grace, been -warned to fly from Paris to escape imprisonment. - -No such favor was shown to others. Louis XIV sternly bade La Reynie -to spare no one else, to let justice take its course strictly and -expose everything; the safety of the public demanded it, and the -hideous evil must be extirpated in its very root. There was to be no -distinction of persons or of sex in vindicating the law. Such severity -was indeed necessary. Although the King wished all the documents in -the case to be carefully destroyed, some have been preserved. They -exhibit the widespread infamy and almost immeasurable guilt of the -criminals. Colbert stigmatised the facts as "things too execrable to -be put on paper; amounting to sacrilege, profanity and abomination." -The very basest aims inspired the criminals to seek the King's favor; -disappointed beauties would have poisoned their rivals and replaced -them in the King's affections. The Comtesse de Soissons's would-be -victim was the beautiful La Vallière, and Madame de Montespan was -suspected of desiring to remove Mdlle. de Fontanges. Madame La Féron -attempted the life of her husband, a president of Parliament. The Duc -de Luxembourg was accused of poisoning his duchess. M. de Feuquières -invited la Voisin to get rid of the uncle and guardian of an heiress -he wished to marry. The end of these protracted proceedings was the -inevitable retribution that waited on their crimes. Two hundred and -forty-six persons had been brought to trial, of whom thirty-six went -to the scaffold, after enduring torture, ordinary and extraordinary. -Of the rest, some were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment, some to -banishment, some to the galleys for life. Among those who suffered the -extreme penalty were la Voisin, La Vigouroux, Madame de Carada, several -priests and Sieur Maillard, who was charged with attempting to poison -Colbert and the King himself. The Bastile, Vincennes and every State -prison were crowded with the poisoners, and for years the registers of -castles and fortresses contained the names of inmates committed by the -_Chambre Ardente_ of the Arsenal. - -The edict which dissolved this special tribunal laid down stringent -laws to protect the public against future poisoning. A clean sweep -was made of the charlatans, the pretended magicians who came from -abroad and imposed upon the credulity of the French people, who united -sacrilege and impious practices with the manufacture and distribution -of noxious drugs. Several clauses in the edict dealt with poisons, -describing their action and effect,--in some cases instantaneous, in -others slow, gradually undermining health and originating mysterious -maladies, that proved fatal in the end. The sale of deleterious -substances was strictly regulated, such as arsenic and corrosive -sublimate, and the use of poisonous vermin, "snakes, vipers and frogs," -in medical prescriptions was forbidden. - -A few words more as to the Comtesse de Soissons, who was suffered -to fly from France, but could find no resting place. Her reputation -preceded her, and she was refused admittance into Antwerp. In Flanders -she ingratiated herself with the Duke of Parma, and lived under his -protection for several years. Finally she appeared in Madrid, and was -received at court. Then the young Queen of Spain died suddenly with -all the symptoms of poisoning, and Madame de Soissons was immediately -suspected, for unexpected and mysterious deaths always followed in her -trail. She was driven from the country, and died a wanderer in great -poverty. - -No account of the means of repression of those days in France would be -complete without including the galleys,--the system of enforced labor -at the oars, practised for many centuries by all the Mediterranean -nations, and dating back to classical times. These ancient warships, -making at best but six miles an hour by human effort under the lash, -are in strong contrast with the modern ironclad impelled by steam. But -the Venetians and the Genoese owned fine fleets of galleys and won -signal naval victories with them. France long desired to rival these -powers, and Henry III, when returning from Poland to mount the French -throne, paused at Venice to visit the arsenal and see the warships in -process of construction. At that time France had thirty galleys afloat, -twenty-six of the highest order and worked by convicts (_galeriens_). -This number was not always maintained, and in 1662 Colbert, bidding for -sea power and striving hard to add to the French navy, ordered six new -ships to be laid down at Marseilles, and sought to buy a number, all -standing, from the Republic of Genoa and the Grand Duke of Tuscany. -These efforts were crowned with success. In 1670 there were twenty -galleys under the French flag, and Colbert wrote the intendant at -Marseilles that his Master, Louis XIV, was eager to possess one royal -ship which would outvie any hitherto launched on the seas. The increase -continued, and in 1677 the fleet numbered thirty, rising to forty-two -by the end of the century. - -It was not enough to build the ships; the difficulty was to man them. -The custom of sending condemned convicts to ply the oar was ancient, -and dated back to the reign of Charles VII. But it was little used -until Francis I desired to strengthen his navy, and he ordered -parliaments and tribunals to consign to the galleys all able-bodied -offenders who deserved death and had been condemned to bodily -penalties, whatsoever crimes they had committed. The supply of this -personnel was precarious, and Colbert wrote to the judges to be more -severe with their sentences, and to inflict the galleys in preference -to death, a commutation likely to be welcome to the culprit. But some -of the parliaments demurred. That of Dijon called it changing the -law, and the President, protesting, asked for new ordinances. Colbert -put the objection aside arbitrarily. He increased the pressure on the -courts and dealt sharply with the keepers of local gaols, who did not -use sufficient promptness in sending on their quotas of convicts to -Marseilles and Toulon. Many escapes from the chain were made by the -way, so carelessly conducted was the transfer. - -This "chain," a disgrace to humanity, was employed in France till quite -within our own day. The wretched convicts made their long pilgrimage -on foot from all parts of the country to the southern coast. They -were chained together in gangs and marched painfully in all weathers, -mile after mile, along their weary road under military escort. No -arrangements were made for them by the way. They were fed on any coarse -food that could be picked up, and were lodged for the night in sheds -and stables if any could be found; if not, under the sky. Death took -its toll of them ere they reached their destination. They were a scarce -commodity and yet no measures were adopted to preserve their health and -strength. The ministers in Paris were continually urging the presidents -of parliaments to augment the supplies of the condemned, and were told -that the system was in fault, that numbers died in their miserable -cells waiting removal, and many made their escape on the journey. - -Still the demands of the galleys were insatiable, and many contrivances -were adopted to reinforce the crews. Colbert desired to send to them -all vagabonds, all sturdy beggars, smugglers and men without visible -means of support, but a change in the law was required and the -authorities for a time shrank from it. Another expedient was to hire -_forcats_ from the Duke of Savoy, who had no warships. Turkish and -Russian slaves were purchased to work the oars, and Negroes from the -Guinea coast. As a measure of retaliation against Spain, prisoners of -war of that nation were treated as galley slaves, a custom abhorrent -to fair usage. It was carried so far as to include the Red Indians, -Iroquois, captured in Canada in the fierce war then in progress. -Numbers were taken by unworthy stratagem and passed over to France, and -the result was an embittered contest, which endured for four years. - -A fresh device was to seek volunteers. These "bonne-voglies," or -"bonivoglios," the Italian form most commonly used, were so called -because they contracted of their own free will to accept service in -the galleys, to live the wretched life of the galley slave, to submit -to all his hardships, meagre fare and cruel usage, to be chained to -the oar, and driven to labor under the ready lash of the overseers. -These free _forcats_ soon claimed greater consideration, and it was -necessary to treat them more leniently and in a way injurious to -discipline in the opinion of the captains and intendants. The convicts -were more submissive and more laborious, and still the authorities -sought to multiply them. A more disgraceful system than any of these -already mentioned was now practised,--that of illegal detention long -after the sentence had expired. By an old ordinance, any captain who -thus detained a convict was liable to instant dismissal. Other laws, -however, fixed a minimum term of ten years' detention, what though the -original sentence was considerable. Under Louis XIII it was ruled that -six years should be the lowest term, on the ground that during the two -first years a galley slave was useless on account of weak physique and -want of skill in rowing. Later a good Bishop of Marseilles pleaded the -cause of convicts who had endured a term of twice or three times their -first sentence. A case was quoted in which _thirty-four_, convicted -between 1652 and 1660, and sentenced to two, three or four years, were -still languishing in chains in 1674. An official document of that -year gives the names of twenty who had served fifteen to twenty years -beyond their sentence. The intendant of the galleys at Marseilles -reports in 1679, that on examining the registers he had found a certain -soldier still in custody who was sentenced by a military court in -1660 to five years, and who had therefore endured fourteen. Again, a -man named Caneau was sentenced in 1605 to two years and was still in -confinement twelve years later. True it was open to the _galerien_ to -buy a substitute, a Turkish or other "bonivoglio," but the price, eight -hundred or one thousand francs, was scarcely within the reach of the -miserable creatures at the _bagnes_. - -It is difficult to exaggerate the horrors of the galleys. No wonder -that many preferred suicide or self-mutilation to enduring it! Afloat -or ashore, the convict's condition was wretched in the extreme. On -board ship each individual was chained to his bench, day and night, -and the short length of the chain, as well as the nearness of his -neighbors, limited his movements. His whole clothing consisted of -a single loose blouse of coarse red canvas, with neither shoes nor -stockings and little underlinen. His diet was of brown beans cooked in -a little oil, black bread and a morsel of bacon. Personal cleanliness -was entirely neglected, and all alike suffered from scurvy and were -infested with vermin. Labor was incessant while at sea, and the -overseers, walking on a raised platform, which ran fore and aft between -the benches of rowers, stimulated effort by using their whips upon the -bending backs below them. At times silence was strictly required,--as -when moving to the attack or creeping away from an enemy and the whole -ship's company was gagged with a wooden ball inserted in the mouth. In -the barracks ashore, when the ships were laid up for the winter, the -convicts' lot was somewhat better, for they were not at the mercy of -the elements, and there was no severe labor; but the other conditions, -such as diet, clothing and general discomfort, were the same. Now and -again if any distinguished visitor arrived at the port, it was the -custom to treat them to a cruise in one of the great galleys. The ship -was dressed with all her colors, the convicts were washed clean, and -wore their best red shirts, and they were trained to salute the great -folk who condescended to come on board, by a strange shout of welcome: -"Hou! Hou! Hou!" a cry thrice repeated, resembling the roar of a wild -beast. - -The merciless treatment accorded by Louis XIV to the Protestants, who -dared to hold their own religious opinions, will be better realised -when it is stated that great numbers of them were consigned to the -galleys, to serve for years side by side with the worst malefactors, -with savage Iroquois and infidel Turks, and to endure the selfsame -barbarities inflicted on the wretched refuse of mankind. No greater -stain rests upon the memory of a ruler, whom the weak-kneed sycophants -of his age misnamed La Grande Monarque, than this monstrous persecution -of honest, honorable people, who were ready to suffer all rather than -sacrifice liberty of conscience. How deep and ineffaceable is the -stain shall be shown in the next chapter. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE HORRORS OF THE GALLEYS - - Huguenots sent to the galleys--Authentic Memoirs of Jean - Marteilhe--Description of galleys--Construction--Method of - rowing--Extreme severity of labor--A sea fight--Marteilhe severely - wounded--His sufferings--Dunkirk acquired by the English--Huguenot - prisoners sent secretly to Havre--Removed to Paris--Included in - the chain gang for Marseilles--Cruelties en route--Detention - at Marseilles--Renewed efforts to proselytise--More about - the galleys--Dress, diet, occupation and discipline--Winter - season--Labor constant--Summer season. - - -No blot upon the reign of Louis XIV is blacker than his treatment of -the Huguenots,--most faithful of his subjects could he have perceived -it, and the flower of his people. They were hardly more devoted to -their faith than they were to France, and it was their faith in God -that inspired their patriotism; and yet because they would not abandon -their right of conscience they were hounded like a subject, savage -people. - -A remarkable record of the sufferings endured by one of these victims -"for the faith" has come down to us in the "Memoirs of a Protestant, -Condemned to the Galleys of France for his Religion." The author is -said to have been one Jean Marteilhe, but the book was published -anonymously at The Hague in the middle of the eighteenth century. It -purports to be "A Comprehensive Account of the Various Distresses he -suffered in a Slavery of Thirteen Years and his Constance in supporting -almost Every Cruelty that Bigoted Zeal could inflict or Human Nature -sustain; also a Description of the Galleys and the Service in which -they are Employed." The writer states that he was at last set free at -the intercession of the Court of Great Britain in the reign of Queen -Anne. - -Jean Marteilhe belonged to a family which had been dispersed in the -Dragonades, and he resolved to fly the country. Passing through Paris -he made for Maestricht in Holland, but was intercepted and detained at -Marienburg, a town in the French dominions, where he and his companions -were imprisoned and charged with being found upon the frontier without -a passport. They were called upon to abjure their faith or to be sent -instantly to the galleys; they were guilty of endeavoring to quit the -kingdom against the King's ordinance. Then began a weary pilgrimage on -foot, handcuffed together, "confined every evening in such loathsome -prisons as shocked even us, although by this time familiarised to -distress." On reaching Tournay they were thrown into a dungeon and -kept there many weeks, "laying continually upon an old pallet quite -rotten and swarming with vermin, placed near a door, through a hole -in which our daily allowance of bread was thrown." They remained -six weeks in this situation, when they were joined in prison by two -friends,--alleged Huguenots but less resolute than Marteilhe in -their belief, for they presently went over and embraced the Catholic -religion. Marteilhe sturdily resisted all attempts at conversion, -although all were continually importuned by the priests; yet -nevertheless entertained hopes of release, which were never realised. -They passed on from gaol to gaol until at last they reached Dunkirk, at -that time a French port and the home port of six war galleys. On their -arrival they were at once separated and each committed to a different -ship. Marteilhe's was the _Heureuse_, where he took his place upon the -bench, which was to be his terrible abode for many years. - -The description given by our author of the system in force at the -galleys and of the galleys themselves may be quoted here at some length: - -"A galley is ordinarily a hundred and fifty feet long and fifty feet -broad. It consists of but one deck, which covers the hold. This hold -is in the middle, seven feet high, but at the sides of the galley -only six feet. By this we may see that the deck rises about a foot -in the centre, and slopes towards the edges to let the water run -off more easily; for when a galley is loaded it seems to swim under -water, at least the sea constantly washes the deck. The sea would then -necessarily enter the hold by the apertures where the masts are placed, -were it not prevented by what is called the _coursier_. This is a -long case of boards fixed on the middle or highest part of the deck -and running from one end of the galley to the other. There is also a -hatchway into the hold as high as the _coursier_. From this superficial -description perhaps it may be imagined that the slaves and the rest of -the crew have their feet always in water. But the case is otherwise; -for to each bench there is a board raised a foot from the deck, which -serves as a footstool to the rowers, under which the water passes. For -the soldiers and mariners there is, running on each side, along the -gunnel of the vessel, what is called the _bande_, which is a bench of -about the same height with the _coursier_, and two feet broad. They -never lie here, but each leans on his own particular bundle of clothes -in a very incommodious posture. The officers themselves are not better -accommodated; for the chambers in the hold are designed only to hold -the provisions and naval stores of the galley. - -"The hold is divided in six apartments. The first of these in -importance is the _gavon_. This is a little chamber in the poop, -which is big enough only to hold the captain's bed. The second is the -_escandolat_, where the captain's provisions are kept and dressed. The -third is the _compagne_. This contains the beer, wine, oil, vinegar and -fresh water of the whole crew, together with their bacon, salt meat, -fish and cheese; they never use butter. The fourth, the _paillot_. Here -are kept the dried provisions, as biscuits, pease, rice, etc. The -fifth is called the _tavern_. This apartment is in the middle of the -galley. It contains the wine, which is retailed by the comite, and of -which he enjoys the profits. This opens into the powder room, of which -the gunner alone keeps the key. In this chamber also the sails and -tents are kept. The sixth and last apartment is called the _steerage_, -where the cordage and the surgeon's chest are kept. It serves also -during a voyage as a hospital for the sick and wounded, who, however, -have no other bed to lie on than ropes. In winter, when the galley is -laid up, the sick are sent to a hospital in the city. - -"A galley has fifty benches for rowers, that is to say, twenty-five -on each side. Each bench is ten feet long. One end is fixed in the -_coursier_, the other in the _bande_. They are each half a foot thick -and are placed four feet from each other. They are covered with -sack-cloth stuffed with flocks, and over this is thrown a cowhide, -which reaching down to the _banquet_, or footstool, gives them the -resemblance of large trunks. To these the slaves are chained, six to -a bench. Along the _bande_ runs a large rim of timber, about a foot -thick, which forms the gunnel of the galley. To this, which is called -the _apostie_, the oars are fixed. These are fifty feet long, and are -balanced upon the aforementioned piece of timber; so that the thirteen -feet of oar which comes into the galley is equal in weight to the -thirty-seven which go into the water. As it would be impossible to -hold them in the hand because of their thickness they have handles by -which they are managed by the slaves." - -The writer passes on to the method of rowing a galley and says: "The -comite, who is the master of the crew of slaves and the tyrant so -much dreaded by the wretches fated to this misery, stands always at -the stern, near the captain, to receive his orders. There are two -lieutenants also, one in the middle, the other near the prow. These, -each with a whip of cords which they exercise without mercy on the -naked bodies of the slaves, are always attentive to the orders of the -comite. When the captain gives the word for rowing the comite gives -the signal with a silver whistle which hangs from his neck. This is -repeated by the lieutenants, upon which the slaves, who have their oars -in readiness, strike all at once and beat time so exactly, that the -hundred and fifty oars seem to give but one blow. Thus they continue, -without requiring further orders, till by another signal of the whistle -they desist in a moment. There is an absolute necessity for all rowing -thus together; for should one of the oars be lifted up or let fall -too soon, those in the next bench forward, leaning back, necessarily -strike the oar behind them with the hinder part of their heads, while -the slaves of this bench do the same by those behind them. It were -well if a few bruises on the head were the only punishment. The comite -exercises the whip on this occasion like a fury, while the muscles, -all in convulsion under the lash, pour streams of blood down the seats; -which how dreadful soever it may seem to the reader, custom teaches the -sufferers to bear without murmuring. - -"The labor of a galley slave has become a proverb; nor is it without -reason that this may be reckoned the greatest fatigue that can be -inflicted on wretchedness. Imagine six men, naked as when born, chained -to their seats, sitting with one foot on a block of timber fixed to the -footstool or stretcher, the other lifted up against the bench before -them, holding in their hands an oar of enormous size. Imagine them -stretching their bodies, their arms outreached to push the oar over -the backs of those before them, who are also themselves in a similar -attitude. Having thus advanced their oar, they raise that end which -they hold in their hands, to plunge the opposite end, or blade, in -the sea, which done, they throw themselves back on their benches for -the stroke. None, in short, but those who have seen them labor, can -conceive how much they endure. None but such could be persuaded that -human strength could sustain the fatigue which they undergo for an hour -without resting. But what cannot necessity and cruelty make men do? -Almost impossibilities. Certain it is that a galley can be navigated -in no other manner but by a crew of slaves, over whom a comite may -exercise the most unbounded authority. No free man could continue at -the oar an hour unwearied; yet a slave must sometimes lengthen out -his toil for ten, twelve, nay, for twenty hours without the smallest -intermission. On these occasions, the comite, or one of the other -mariners, puts into the mouths of those wretches a bit of bread steeped -in wine, to prevent fainting through excess of fatigue or hunger, while -their hands are employed upon the oar. At such times are heard nothing -but horrid blasphemies, loud bursts of despair, or ejaculations to -heaven; all the slaves are streaming with blood, while their unpitying -taskmasters mix oaths and threats and the smacking of whips, to fill -up this dreadful harmony. At this time the captain roars to the comite -to redouble his blows, and when anyone drops from his oar in a swoon, -which not infrequently happens, he is whipped while any remains of life -appear, and then thrown into the sea without further ceremony." - -Marteilhe fell to a galley commanded by a comite, commonly reputed of -cruel character and said to be "merciless as a demon." Yet the young -Protestant, who was of fine muscular physique, found favor with this -severe master, who ordered him to be chained to the bench under his -immediate charge. Quoting still further from his "Memoirs,"--he writes: -"It may not be unnecessary to mention that the comite eats upon a -table raised over one of the seats, by four iron feet. This table also -serves him for a bed, and when he chooses to sleep, it is covered with -a large pavilion made of cotton. The six slaves of that bench sit -under the table, which can easily be taken away when it interferes with -the working of the vessel. These six slaves serve as domestics to the -comite. Each has his particular employ; and whenever the comite eats -or sits here, all the slaves of this bench and the benches next it are -uncovered out of respect. Everyone is ambitious of being either on the -comite's bench or on one of the lieutenants' benches; not only because -they have what is left of the provisions of his table, but also because -they are never whipped while at work. Those are called the 'respectable -benches;' and being placed in one of them is looked upon as being in a -petty office. I was, as already mentioned, placed in this bench, which -however I did not long keep; for still retaining some of the pride of -this world, I could not prevail upon myself to behave with that degree -of abject submission which was necessary to my being in favor. While -the comite was at meals, I generally faced another way, and, with my -cap on, pretended to take no notice of what was passing behind me. The -slaves frequently said that such behavior would be punished, but I -disregarded their admonition, thinking it sufficiently opprobrious to -be the slave of the King, without being also the slave of his meanest -vassal. I had by this means like to have fallen into the displeasure of -the comite, which is one of the greatest misfortunes that can befall -a galley slave. He inquired whether I partook of those provisions he -usually left, and upon being told that I refused to touch a bit, said -'Give him his own way, for the present; a few years' servitude will -divest him of this delicacy.' - -"One evening the comite called me to his pavilion, and accosting -me with more than usual gentleness, unheard by the rest, he let me -understand that he perceived I was born of a rank superior to the rest -of his crew, which rather increased than diminished his esteem; but, -as by indulging my disrespectful behavior the rest might take example, -he found it necessary to transfer me to another bench. However I -might rest assured of never receiving a blow from him or his inferior -officers upon any occasion whatsoever. I testified my gratitude in the -best manner I was able; and from that time he kept his promise, which -was something extraordinary in one who usually seemed divested of every -principle of humanity. Never was man more severe to the slaves in -general than he, yet he preserved a moderation towards the Huguenots of -his galley, which argued a regard for virtue, not usually found among -the lower classes of people." - -Constant labor at the oar was terrible enough, but its horrors were -accentuated when the galley went into action. Marteilhe was engaged in -several sea-fights, one of the fiercest being an engagement with an -English warship convoying a fleet of merchantmen to the Thames. "Of the -two galleys ordered to attack the frigate," says he, "ours alone was -in a position to begin the engagement, as our consort had fallen back -at least a league behind us; either because she did not sail so fast -as we, or else her captain chose to let us have the honor of striking -the first blow. Our commodore, who seemed in no way disturbed at the -approach of the frigate, thought our galley alone would be more than a -match for the Englishman; but the sequel will show that he was somewhat -mistaken in this conjecture. - -"As we both mutually approached each other, we were soon within cannon -shot, and accordingly the galley discharged her broadside. The frigate, -silent as death, approached us without firing a gun, but seemed -steadily resolved to reserve all her terrors for a closer engagement. -Our commodore, nevertheless, mistook English resolution for cowardice. -'What,' cried he, 'is the frigate weary of carrying English colors? And -does she come to surrender without a blow?' The boast was premature. -Still we approached each other and were now within musket shot. The -galley incessantly poured in her broadside and small arm fire, the -frigate, all this while, preserving the most dreadful tranquillity -that imagination can conceive. At last the Englishman seemed all at -once struck with a panic, and began to fly for it. Nothing gives more -spirits than a flying enemy, and nothing was heard but the boasting -among our officers. 'We could at one blast sink a man of war; aye, -that we could and with ease, too!' 'If Mr. English does not strike in -two minutes, down he goes, down to the bottom!' All this time the -frigate was in silence, preparing for the tragedy which was to ensue. -Her flight was but pretended, and done with a view to entice us to -board her astern, which, being the weakest quarter of a man-of-war, -galleys generally choose to attack. Against this quarter they endeavor -to drive their beak, and then generally board the enemy, after having -cleared the decks with their five pieces of cannon. The commodore, -in such a favorable conjuncture as he imagined this to be, ordered -the galley to board and the men at the helm to bury her beak in the -frigate if possible. All the soldiers and sailors stood ready with -their sabres and battle-axes to execute his command. The frigate, who -perceived our intention, dexterously avoided our beak, which was just -ready to be dashed against her stern, so that instead of seeing the -frigate sink in the dreadful encounter as was expected, we had the -mortification of beholding her fairly alongside of us,--an interview -which struck us with terror. Now it was that the English captain's -courage was conspicuous. As he had foreseen what would happen, he was -ready with his grappling irons and fixed us fast by his side. His -artillery began to open, charged with grape-shot. All on board the -galley were as much exposed as if upon a raft. Not a gun was fired -that did not make horrible execution; we were near enough even to be -scorched with the flame. The English masts were filled with sailors, -who threw hand-grenades among us like hail, that scattered wounds and -death wherever they fell. Our crew no longer thought of attacking; they -were even unable to make the least defence. The terror was so great, -as well among the officers as common men, that they seemed incapable -of resistance. Those who were neither killed nor wounded lay flat and -counterfeited death to find safety. The enemy perceiving our fright, -to add to our misfortunes, threw in forty or fifty men, who, sword -in hand, hewed down all that ventured to oppose, sparing however the -slaves who made no resistance. After they had cut away thus for some -time, being constrained by our still surviving numbers, they continued -to pour an infernal fire upon us. - -"The galley which had lain astern was soon up with us, and the other -four who had almost taken possession of the merchantmen, upon seeing -our signal and perceiving our distress, quitted the intended prey to -come to our assistance. Thus the whole fleet of merchant ships saved -themselves in the Thames. The galleys rowed with such swiftness that -in less than half an hour the whole six had encompassed the frigate. -Her men were now no longer able to keep the deck, and she presented a -favorable opportunity for being boarded. Twenty-five grenadiers from -each galley were ordered upon this service. They met with no opposition -in coming on; but scarce were they crowded upon the deck when they -were saluted once again _à l'Anglais_. The officers of the frigate -were entrenched in the forecastle, and fired upon the grenadiers -incessantly. The rest of the crew also did what execution they were -able through the gratings, and at last cleared the ship of the enemy. -Another detachment was ordered to board, but with the same success; -however it was at last thought advisable, with hatchets and other -proper instruments, to lay open her decks and by that means to make -the crew prisoners of war. This was, though with extreme difficulty, -executed; and in spite of their firing, which killed several of the -assailants, the frigate's crew was at last constrained to surrender." - -Marteilhe was seriously wounded in this fight, and he graphically -details his sufferings as he lay there still chained to the bench, the -only survivor of his six companions at the oar. He says: "I had not -been long in this attitude when I perceived somewhat moist and cold -run down my body. I put my hand to the place and found it wet; but as -it was dark I was unable to distinguish what it was. I suspected it, -however, to be blood, flowing from some wound, and following with my -hand the course of the stream, I found my shoulder near the clavicle -was pierced quite through. I now felt another gash in my left leg below -the knee, which also went through; again another, made I suppose by a -splinter, which ripped the integuments of my belly, the wound being a -foot long and four inches wide. I lost a great quantity of blood before -I could have any assistance. All near me were dead, as well those -before and behind me, and those of my own seat. Of eighteen persons on -the three seats, there was left surviving only myself, wounded as I was -in three different places, and all by the explosion of one cannon only. -But if we consider the manner of charging with grape-shot our wonder at -such prodigious slaughter will cease. After the cartouche of powder, a -long tin box filled with musket balls is rammed in. When the piece is -fired the box breaks and scatters its contents most surprisingly. - -"I was now forced to wait till the battle was ended before I could -expect any relief. All on board were in the utmost confusion; the dead, -the dying and the wounded, lying upon each other, made a frightful -scene. Groans from those who desired to be freed from the dead, -blasphemies from the slaves who were wounded unto death, arraigning -heaven for making their end not less unhappy than their lives had been. -The _coursier_ could not be passed for the dead bodies which lay on -it. The seats were filled, not only with slaves, but also with sailors -and officers who were wounded or slain. Such was the carnage that the -living hardly found room to throw the dead into the sea, or succor the -wounded. Add to all this the obscurity of the night, and where could -misery have been found to equal mine! - -"The wounded were thrown indiscriminately into the hold,--petty -officers, sailors, soldiers and slaves; there was no distinction of -places, no bed to lie upon, nor any succor to be had. With respect to -myself, I continued three days in this miserable situation. The blood -coming from my wounds was stopped by a little spirit of wine, but there -was no bandage tied, nor did the surgeon once come to examine whether -I was dead or alive. In this suffocating hole, the wounded, who might -otherwise have survived, died in great numbers. The heat and the stench -were intolerable, so that the slightest sore seemed to mortify; while -those who had lost limbs or received large wounds went off by universal -putrefaction. - -"In this deplorable situation we at last arrived at Dunkirk, where -the wounded were put on shore in order to be carried to the marine -hospital. We were drawn up from the hold by pulleys and carried to -the hospital on men's shoulders. The slaves were consigned to two -large apartments separate from the men who were free, forty beds in -each room. Every slave was chained by the leg to the foot of his bed. -We were visited once every day by the surgeon-major of the hospital, -accompanied by all the army and navy surgeons then in port." - -Better fortune came to Marteilhe when he recovered. He was appointed -clerk to the captain of the galley, being maimed by his wounds and no -longer fit for the oar. - -"Behold me now," he writes, "placed in a more exalted station, not -less than the captain's clerk, forsooth. As I knew my master loved -cleanliness, I purchased a short coat of red stuff (galley-slaves must -wear no other color) tolerably fine. I was permitted to let my hair -grow. I bought a scarlet cap, and in this trim presented myself before -the captain, who was greatly pleased with my appearance. He gave his -_maître d'hôtel_ orders to carry me every day a plate of meat from his -own table and to furnish me with a bottle of wine, luxuries to which -I had long been a stranger. I was never more chained and only wore a -ring about my leg in token of slavery. I lay upon a good bed. I had -nothing fatiguing to do, even at times when all the rest of the crew -were lashed to the most violent exertion. I was loved and respected by -the officers and the rest of the crew, cherished by my master and by -his nephew, the major of the galleys. In short, I wanted nothing but -liberty to increase the happiness I then enjoyed. In this state, if not -of pleasure at least of tranquillity, I continued from the year 1709 to -1712, in which it pleased heaven to afflict me with trials more severe -than even those I had already experienced." - -England acquired Dunkirk by special treaty with France in 1712. Upon -the transfer the English troops entered the city and took possession -of the citadel. The French galleys were to remain in port until the -fortifications were demolished, and it was agreed that no vessel -should leave Dunkirk without permission from Her Britannic Majesty. -The galley-slaves remained on board their ships, but by some strange -oversight it was not stipulated that the Protestant prisoners, -with whose sad condition the English fully sympathised, should be -released. The French government was still determined to retain them, -and planned to carry them off secretly into France before any demand -could be made for their release. In the dead of night they were -embarked to the number of twenty-two on board a fishing boat and -taken by water to Calais, where they were landed to make the long -journey on foot, chained together, to Havre-de-Grace. Here they were -held close prisoners in the Arsenal, but fairly well treated. After -some weeks, orders came for their removal to Rouen, en route for -Paris and eventually to Marseilles. Through the kindness of their -co-religionists, who came charitably to their aid, they were provided -with wagons for the journey in which all were carried to the capital, -where on arrival they were lodged in the ancient castle of Tournelle, -formerly a pleasure house belonging to the royal family, but by now -converted into a prison for galley-slaves. It is thus described by -Marteilhe: "This prison, or rather cavern, is round and of vast extent. -The floor is made uneven by large oak beams, which are placed at three -feet distance from each other. These beams are two feet and a half -thick, and ranged along the floors in such a manner that at first sight -they might be taken for benches, were they not designed for a much more -disagreeable purpose. To these were fastened large iron chains, a -foot and a half long, at intervals of two feet from each other. At the -end of each chain is a large ring of the same metal. When the slave is -first brought into this prison, he is made to lie along the beam till -his head touches it. Then the ring is put round his neck and fastened -by a hammer and anvil kept for the purpose. As the chains are fixed in -the beam at two feet distance from each other, and some of the beams -are forty feet long, sometimes twenty men are thus chained down in a -row and so in proportion to the length of the beams. In this manner are -fastened five hundred wretches in an attitude certainly pitiful enough -to melt the hardest heart. - -[Illustration: _Château D'If_ - -Fortress on a small island two miles southwest of Marseilles: one of -the scenes of Dumas's novel "Count of Monte Cristo," and the place -of captivity of several celebrated persons, among them Mirabeau and -Philippe Égalité.] - -"We remained here (in the Tournelle) but a month, at the expiration of -which time we set out with the rest of the slaves for Marseilles. On -the tenth of December, at nine in the morning, we left our dismal abode -and were conducted into a spacious court of the castle. We were chained -by the neck, two and two together, with a heavy chain three feet long, -in the middle of which was fixed a ring. After being thus paired, we -were placed in ranks, couple before couple, and a long and weighty -chain passed through the rings, by which means we were all fastened -together. This 'chain,' which consisted of more than four hundred -slaves, made a strange appearance. Once more a Protestant friend -interposed and purchased the captain's consent to allow them to -provide wagons on the road for those unable to walk. But the trials -endured by the majority of these wretched wayfarers were terribly -severe. We entered Charenton at six in the evening by moonlight. It -froze excessively hard, but the weight of our chains, according to the -captain's calculation, being a hundred and fifty pounds upon every -man, with the swiftness of our pace, had kept us pretty warm, and we -were all actually in a sweat when we entered Charenton. Here we were -lodged in the stable of an inn, but chained so close to the manger, -that we could neither sit nor lie at our ease. Beside, we had no bed -but the dung and the litter of horses to repose on; for as the captain -conducted the train to Marseilles at his own expense, where he received -twenty crowns for every one that survived the journey, he was as saving -as possible and refused us bedding, nor was any allowed the whole -way. Here, however, we were suffered to repose, if it might be called -repose, till nine at night, when we were to undergo another piece of -cruelty, which almost disgraces humanity. - -"At nine o'clock, while it yet froze excessively hard, our chains -were again unriveted and we were all led from the stable into a court -surrounded by high walls. The whole train, which was ranked at one -end of the court, was commanded to strip off all clothes and lay them -down each before him. The whip was exercised unmercifully on those who -were lazy or presumed to disobey. Every one promiscuously, as well -we as others, was obliged to comply with this unnecessary command. -After we were thus stripped, naked as when born, the whole train was -again commanded to march from the side of the court in which they were -to the side opposite them. Here were we for two hours, stark naked, -exposed to all the inclemency of the weather and a cutting wind that -blew from the north. All this time the archers were rummaging our rags -under pretence of searching for knives, files or other instruments that -might be employed in effecting our escape; but in reality money was -that for which they sought so earnestly. They took away everything that -was worth taking,--handkerchiefs, shirts, snuff-boxes, scissors,--and -never returned anything they laid hands on. When any slave entreated -to have his goods restored, he was only answered by blows and menaces, -which effectually silenced if not satisfied the querist. This rummage -being over, all were ordered to march back to the place from whence we -came, and take again each his respective bundle of clothes. But it was -impossible. We were almost frozen to death, and so stiff with cold that -scarce one in the whole train could move. And though the distance was -but small, yet frozen like statues, every wretch remained where he was -and silently awaited fresh instances of their keeper's cruelty. But -they did not long wait; the whip again was handled and by the merciless -fury of these strangers to pity, the bodies of the poor wretches were -mangled without distinction; but all in vain, for this could not -supply vital warmth where life was no more. Some actually dead, others -dying, were dragged along by the neck and thrown into the stable, -without further ceremony, to take their fate. And thus died that night -or the ensuing morning, eighteen persons. With respect to our little -society, we were neither beaten nor thus dragged along and we may well -attribute the saving of our lives to the hundred crowns which had been -advanced before our setting out." - -Further details of this cruel march may be spared the reader. "In this -manner," says Marteilhe, "we crossed the Isle of France, Burgundy and -the Mâconnais, till we came to Lyons, marching every day three or four -leagues; long stages, considering the weight of our chains, our being -obliged to sleep every night in stables upon dung, our having bad -provisions and not sufficient liquid to dilute them, walking all day -mid-leg in mud, and frequently wet through with rain; swarming with -vermin and ulcerated with the itch, the almost inseparable attendants -on misery." At Lyons the whole train embarked in large flat-bottomed -boats and dropped down the Rhone as far as the bridge St. Esprit; -thence by land to Avignon and from Avignon to Marseilles, which they -reached on the 17th of January, 1713, having spent some six weeks on -the road. - -The treatment accorded to the galley-slaves at Marseilles was -identical with that of Dunkirk. But now the case of the Protestants -engaged the serious attention of the Northern nations, and strong -representations were made to the French king, demanding their release. -But now in the vain hope of retaining them, the most pertinacious -efforts were made to obtain that abjuration of the faith which -had been steadfastly rejected by the sufferers for so many years. -Bigoted priests with special powers of persuasion were called in with -fresh zeal for proselytising, but being entirely unsuccessful they -concentrated their efforts to impede and prolong the negotiations for -release. When at last the order came, due to the vigorous interposition -of the Queen of England, it was limited to a portion only of the -Protestant prisoners. One hundred and thirty-six were released, and -among them Jean Marteilhe; but the balance were retained quite another -year. Marteilhe, after a short stay at Geneva, travelled northwards, -and at length went with some of his comrades to England. They were -granted a special audience with Queen Anne, and were permitted to -kiss her Majesty's hand, and were assured from her own mouth of the -satisfaction afforded by their deliverance. - -A few details may be extracted from Marteilhe's story as to the dress, -diet, occupation and general discipline of one of Louis' galleys. As to -dress he tells us: - -"Each slave receives every year linen shirts, somewhat finer than that -of which sails are made; two pair of knee trousers, which are made -without any division, like a woman's petticoat,--for they must be put -on over the head because of the chain; one pair of stockings made of -coarse red stuff, but no shoes. However, when the slaves are employed -in the business of the galley by land, as frequently happens in winter, -the keeper on that occasion furnishes them with shoes, which he takes -back when the slaves return aboard. They are supplied every second year -with a cassock of coarse red stuff. The tailor shows no great marks of -an artist in making it up; it is only a piece of stuff doubled, one -half for the forepart, the other for the back; at the top a hole to -put the head through. It is sewed up on each side, and has two little -sleeves which descend to the elbow. This cassock has something the -shape of what is called in Holland a 'keil,' which carters generally -wear over the rest of their clothes. The habit of the former is, -however, not so long, for it reaches before only down to the knees, and -behind it falls half a foot lower. Besides all this, they are allowed -every year a red cap, very short, as it must not cover the ears. Lastly -they are given every second year a great coat of coarse cloth made -of wool and hair. This habit is made in the form of a nightgown and -descends to the feet; it is furnished with a hood not unlike the cowl -of a Capuchin friar. This is by far the best part of a slave's scanty -wardrobe; for it serves him for mattress and blankets at night, and -keeps him warm by day." - -As will have been gathered from the preceding description, the galleys -were mainly intended for sea service and occasional combat, but this -was only in the summer months. As winter approached, generally about -the latter end of October, the galleys were laid up in harbor and -disarmed. "The first precaution is to land the gunpowder, for they -never bring their powder into port. The galleys are next brought in and -ranged along the quay according to the order of precedence, with the -stern next the quay. There are then boards laid, called _planches_, to -serve as a passage from the quay to the galley. The masts are taken -down and laid in the _coursier_, and the yards lie all along the seats. -After this they take out the cannon, the warlike stores, provisions, -sails, cordage, anchors, etc. The sailors and coasting pilots are -discharged, and the rest of the crew lodged in places appointed for -them in the city of Dunkirk. Here the principal officers have their -pavilions, though they lodge in them but seldom, the greatest part -spending the winter at Paris or at their own homes. The galley being -at last entirely cleared, the slaves find room enough to fix their -wretched quarters for the winter. The company belonging to each seat -procure pieces of boards, which they lay across the seats and upon -these make their beds. The only bed between them and the boards is a -cast-off greatcoat; their only covering that which they wear during -the day. The first rower of each seat, who has consequently the first -choice, is best lodged; the second shares the next best place; the -four others are lodged, each, on the cross planks already mentioned, -according to his order. - -"When the weather grows extremely cold, there are two tents raised over -the galley, one above the other. The outermost is generally made of -the same stuff of which the slaves' greatcoats are formed, and keeps -the galley sufficiently warm; I mean it seems warm to those who are -accustomed to this hard way of living. For those who have been used -to their own houses and warm fires would never be able to support the -cold without being habituated to it beforehand. A little fire to warm -them and a blanket to cover them would make our slaves extremely happy, -but this is a happiness never allowed them on board. At break of day -the comites, who always sleep on board together with the keepers and -halberdiers, blow their whistles, at the sound of which all must rise. -This is always done precisely at the same hour; for the commodore every -evening gives the signal to the comite by firing a cannon for the -slaves to go to sleep, and repeats the same at break of day for their -getting up. If in the morning any should be lazy and not rise when they -hear the whistle, they may depend on being lashed severely. The crew -being risen, their first care is to fold up their beds, to put the -seats in order, to sweep between them and wash them when necessary. -The sides of the tent are raised up by stanchions provided for that -purpose in order to air the galley; though when the wind blows hard, -that side to the leeward only is raised. When this is done every slave -sits down on his own seat and does something to earn himself a little -money. - -"It is necessary to be known, that no slave must be idle. The comites, -who observe their employments every day, come up to those they see -unemployed and ask why they do not work. If it is answered that they -understand no trade, he gives them cotton yarn, and bids them knit it -into stockings; and if the slave knows not how to knit, the comite -appoints one of his companions of the same seat to instruct him. It -is a trade easily learnt; but as there are some who are either lazy, -stupid or stubborn and will not learn, they are sure to be remarked by -the comites who seldom show them any future favor. If they will not -work at that for their own advantage, the comite generally gives them -some work impossible to perform; and when they have labored in vain to -execute his commands, he whips them for laziness; so that in their own -defence, they are at last obliged to learn to knit. - -"Whenever a slave is missing, there are guns fired one after the other, -which advertise his escape to the peasants round the country; upon -which they all rise, and with hounds trained for the purpose trace -out his footsteps; so that it is almost impossible for him to secure -a retreat. I have seen several instances of this at Marseilles. At -Dunkirk, indeed, the Flemish detest such practices; but the soldiers, -with which the town abounds, will do anything to gain twenty crowns. -At Marseilles the peasants are cruel to the last degree. I have been -informed for certain that a son brought back his own father, who had -been a slave and endeavored to escape. The intendant, as the story -goes, was so shocked at his undutifulness, that though he ordered him -the twenty crowns for his fee, yet sentenced him to the galleys for -life, where he remained chained to the same seat with his unhappy -father. So true is it, that the natives of Provence are in general -perfidious, cruel and inhuman. - -"All along the quay, where the galleys lie, are ranged little stalls, -with three or four slaves in each, exercising their trades to gain a -trifling subsistence. Their trades are nevertheless frequently little -better than gross impositions on the credulity of the vulgar. Some -pretend to tell fortunes and take horoscopes; others profess magic and -undertake to find stolen goods, though cunning often helps them out -when the devil is not so obedient as to come at a call. - -"While some of the slaves are thus employed in the stalls along the -quay, the major part are chained to their seats aboard, some few -excepted who pay a halfpenny a day for being left without a chain. -Those can walk about the galley and traffic or do any other business -which may procure them a wretched means of subsistence. The greatest -part of them are sutlers. They sell tobacco (for in winter the slaves -are permitted to smoke on board), brandy, etc. Others make over their -seats a little shop, where they expose for sale butter, cheese, -vinegar, boiled tripe, all of which are sold to the crew at reasonable -rates. A halfpenny worth of these, with the king's allowance of bread, -make no uncomfortable meal. Except these sutlers, all the rest are -chained to their seats and employed in knitting stockings. Perhaps it -may be asked where the slaves find spun cotton for knitting. I answer -thus: - -"Many of the Turks, especially those who have money, drive a trade in -this commodity with the merchants of Marseilles, who deal largely in -stockings. The merchants give the Turks what cotton they think proper, -unmanufactured, and the Turks pay them in this commodity manufactured -into stockings. These Turks deliver the cotton spun to the slaves, to -be knit. They are indifferent as to the size of the stockings, as the -slave is paid for knitting at so much a pound. So that the slave who -received ten pounds of spun cotton is obliged to return the same weight -of knit stockings, for which he is paid at a fixed price. There must be -great care taken not to filch any of the cotton nor leave the stockings -on a damp place to increase their weight; for if such practices are -detected the slave is sure to undergo the bastinado. - -"At the approach of summer their employments are multiplied every day -by new fatigues. All the ballast, which is composed of little stones -about the size of pigeon's eggs, is taken out and handed up from the -hold in little wicker baskets from one to the other, till they are -heaped upon the quay opposite the galley. Here two men are to pump -water upon them till they become as clean as possible; and when dry -they are again replaced. This, and cleaning the vessel, takes up seven -or eight days' hard labor. Then the galley must be put into proper -order before it puts to sea. First, necessary precautions must be taken -with respect to the cordage that it be strong and supple; and what new -cordage may be necessary is to be supplied by the slaves by passing it -round the galley. This takes up some days to effect. Next the sails are -to be visited, and if new ones are necessary, the comite cuts them out -and the slaves sew them. They must also make new tents, mend the old in -like manner, prepare the officers' beds, and everything else, which it -would be impossible to particularise. This bustle continues till the -beginning of April, when the Court sends orders for putting to sea. - -"Our armament begins by careening the galleys. This is done by turning -one galley upon another so that its keel is quite out of the water. -The whole keel is then rubbed with rendered tallow. This is perhaps -one of the most fatiguing parts of a slave's employments. After this -the galley is fitted up with her masts and rigging and supplied with -artillery and ammunition. All this is performed by the slaves, who are -sometimes so fatigued that the commander is obliged to wait in port a -few days till the crew have time to refresh themselves." - -Galleys as warships fell into disuse about the time that our Protestant -prisoners were released. The improvement in the sailing qualities of -ships and the manifest advantages enjoyed by those skilfully handled, -as were the English, gradually brought about the abandonment of the oar -as a motive power, and the galleys are only remembered now as a glaring -instance of the cruelties practised by rulers upon helpless creatures -subjected to their tender mercies. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE DAWN OF REVOLUTION - - State of France--Bad harvests--Universal famine--Chronic - disturbances--Crime prevalent--Cartouche--His organized gang--His - capture, sentence and execution--Pamphleteers and libelists - in the Bastile--Lenglet-Dufresnoy--Roy--Voltaire--His first - consignment to the Bastile--His release and departure for - London--Cellamare-Alberoni conspiracy--Mlle. De Launay, afterwards - Madame de Staal--Remarkable escapes--Latude and Allégre. - - -Dark clouds hovered over France in the latter years of the reign of -Louis XIV: an empty exchequer drained by the cost of a protracted and -disastrous war; the exodus of many thousands of the most industrious -producers of wealth, flying from religious intolerance; a succession -of bad harvests, causing universal famine and chronic disturbance. -The people rose against the new edicts increasing taxes upon salt, -upon tobacco and on stamped paper, and were repressed with harshness, -shot down, thrown into prison or hanged. The genuine distress in the -country was terrible. Thousands of deaths from starvation occurred. -Hordes of wretched creatures wandered like wild beasts through the -forest of Orleans. A Jesuit priest wrote from Onzain that he preached -to four or five skeletons, who barely existed on raw thistles, snails -and the putrid remains of dead animals. In the Vendomois, the heather -was made into bread with an intermixture of sawdust, and soup was -made with roots and the sap of trees. Touraine, once the very garden -of France, had become a wilderness. The hungry fought for a morsel of -horse flesh, torn from some wretched beast which had died a natural -death. Four-fifths of the inhabitants of the villages had become public -beggars. In one village of four hundred houses, the population had been -reduced to three persons. - -Never in the history of France had robberies been so numerous or so -varied in character as during this period. Paris was filled with the -worst criminals and desperadoes. The provinces were overrun with them. -The whole country was ravaged and terrorised. Prominent among this -dangerous fraternity, whose name was legion, is one name, that of -Cartouche, the most noted evil doer of his or indeed any time. Others -might have excelled him in originality, intelligence and daring. That -which gave him especial distinction was his power of organisation, his -nice choice of associates and the far-reaching extent of his nefarious -plans. The devoted and obedient band he directed was recruited from -all sources, and included numbers of outwardly respectable persons -even drawn from the police and the French guards. He had agents at -his disposal for all branches of his business; he had spies, his -active assistants to deal the blows, his receivers, his locksmiths, -his publicans with ready shelter and asylums of retreat. The forces -controlled by Cartouche were extraordinarily numerous, and the total -was said to exceed a couple of thousand persons of both sexes. - -Paris was dismayed and indignant when the operations grew and -increased, and the police proved less able to check them. In the -last months of 1719 and during 1720, widespread terror prevailed. -The thieves worked their will even in daylight. After dark the city -belonged to them. The richest quarters were parcelled out among the -various gangs, which broke into every house and summoned every wayfarer -to stand and deliver. As a specimen of their proceedings,--a party -visited the mansion, once the Hotel of the Maréchal de France and now -occupied by the Spanish Ambassador, entered the Ambassador's bedroom -at night and rifled it, securing a rich booty--several collars of fine -pearls, a brooch adorned with twenty-seven enormous diamonds, a large -service of silver plate and the whole of the magnificent wardrobe of -the lady of the house. This was only one of hundreds of such outrages, -which were greatly encouraged by the diffusion of luxury among the -upper classes, while the lower, as we have seen, were plunged in misery -and starvation. - -This was the epoch of the speculations of the famous adventurer, -Law, who established the great Bank of Mississippi, and for the time -made the fortunes of all who joined in his schemes and trafficked in -his shares. Money was almost a drug; people made so much and made -it so fast that it was difficult to spend it. Houses were furnished -regardless of expense with gorgeous tapestry, cloth of gold hangings, -beds of costly woods encrusted with jewels and ormolu, Venetian glasses -in ivory frames, candelabra of rock crystal. All this luxury played -into the hands of Cartouche and his followers, who worked on a system, -recognising each other by strict signs and helping each other to -seize and pass away articles of value from hand to hand along a whole -street. Strict order regulated the conduct of the thieves. Many were -forbidden to use unnecessary violence, killing was only permitted in -self defence, the same person was never to be robbed twice, and some -were entrusted with the password of the band as a safe conduct through -a crowd. - -Meanwhile the personality of Cartouche was constantly concealed. Some -went so far as to declare that he was a myth and did not exist in the -flesh. Yet the suspicion grew into certainty that Paris was at the -mercy of a dangerous combination, directed by and centred in one astute -and capable leader. Thieves taken red-handed had revealed upon the rack -the identity of Cartouche and the government was adjured to effect his -capture, but without result. So daring did he become that he openly -showed himself at carnival time with five of his chief lieutenants and -defied arrest. - -Cartouche was a popular hero, for he pretended to succor the poor with -the booty he took from the rich. He was a species of Parisian Fra -Diavolo, and many stories were invented in proof of his generosity, -his sense of humor and his kindliness to those in distress. As a -matter of fact he was a brutal, black-hearted villain, whose most -prominent characteristic was his constant loyalty to his followers, -by which he secured their unswerving attachment and by means of it -worked with such remarkable success. To this day his name survives -as the prototype of a criminal leader, directing the wide operations -of a well organised gang of depredators that swept all before them. -Their exploits were at times marvellous, both in initiative and -execution, and owed everything to Cartouche. One among many stories -told of him may be quoted as illustrating his ingenious methods. It -was a robbery from the chief officer of the watch, from whom he stole -a number of silver forks in broad daylight, and while actually engaged -in conversation with his victim. Cartouche arrived at this official's -house in his carriage, accompanied by two tall flunkeys in gorgeous -livery. He announced himself as an Englishman, and was shown into the -dining-room, where dinner was in progress. Cartouche declined to take a -seat, but contrived to lead the host to a corner of the room where he -regaled him with a fabulous story of how an attack was being organised -by Cartouche on his house. The officer quite failed to recognise his -visitor, and listened with profound attention. It was not until after -Cartouche had left that it was discovered that not a single fork -or spoon remained upon his table, the silver having been adroitly -abstracted by Cartouche, who passed it unseen to his confederates--the -disguised footmen who had accompanied him. Many similar thefts were -committed by Cartouche and his gang, one victim being the Archbishop of -Bourges. - -Cartouche, by his cleverness in disguise, long escaped capture, and -it was not until October 15th, 1721, that he was finally caught and -arrested. His capture naturally created an immense sensation in Paris, -and became the universal topic of conversation. Cartouche had been -traced to a wine shop, where he was found in bed by M. le Blanc, an -employé of the War Ministry, who had with him forty picked soldiers -and a number of policemen. Orders had been issued to take Cartouche, -dead or alive. His capture came about through a patrol soldier who -had recognised Cartouche and acted as a spy on his movements. This -man had been carried to the Châtelet by Pekom, major of the Guards, -and when threatened with the utmost rigor of the law confessed all -he knew about the prince of thieves. The prisoner was taken first -to the residence of M. le Blanc and afterwards to the Châtelet. It -was found necessary to be extremely circumspect with Cartouche on -account of his violence, and his cell was closely guarded by four men. -Cartouche soon made an attempt to escape in company with a fellow -occupant of his cell, who happened to be a mason. Having made a hole -in a sewer passage below, they dropped into the water, waded to the -end of the gallery and finally reached the cellar of a greengrocer -in the neighborhood thence they emerged into the shop, and were on -the verge of escape, but the barking of the greengrocer's dog aroused -the inmates of the house, who gave the alarm, and four policemen, who -happened to be in the neighborhood, came to the rescue. Cartouche was -recognised, captured and again imprisoned, being now securely chained -by his feet and hands. He was later transferred to the Conciergerie -and more closely watched than ever during his trial, which was -concluded on November 26th, 1721, when sentence was passed upon him -and two accomplices. On the day following, Cartouche was subjected to -the torture "extraordinary" by means of the "boot," which he endured -without yielding, and refused to make any confession. The scaffold, -meanwhile was erected in the Place de Grève where the carpenters put -up five wheels and two gibbets. Directly the place of execution became -known in Paris, the streets were filled with large crowds of people -and windows overlooking the Grève were let at high prices. Apparently -the magistrates did not care to gratify the curiosity of the public, -and before the afternoon four of the wheels and one of the gibbets -were removed. Towards four o'clock Charles Sanson, the executioner of -the Court of Justice, went to the Conciergerie, accompanied by his -assistants, and sentence was read to the culprit, who was afterwards -handed over to the secular arm. Cartouche had displayed no emotion -throughout the trial. He no doubt thought himself a hero, and wished -to die amidst the applause of the people who had long feared him. -When, however, the cortège started, Cartouche began to grow uneasy -and finally his stolid indifference completely gave way. On reaching -the Place de Grève he noticed that only one wheel remained, and his -agitation became intense. He repeatedly exclaimed, "_Les frollants!_" -"_Les frollants!_" (the traitors), thinking his accomplices had been -induced to confess, and had betrayed him. Now his stoicism vanished, -and he insisted upon being taken back to the Hôtel de Ville to confess -his sins. On the following morning great crowds again assembled to -witness the execution. The condemned man had lost his bravado, but -still displayed strange firmness. His natural instincts appeared when -he was placed on the _Croix de St. André_, and the dull thud of the -iron bar descending extorted the exclamation "One" from him, as if -it was his business to count the number of blows to be inflicted. -Although it had been stipulated at the passing of sentence that -Cartouche should be strangled after a certain number of strokes, the -excitement of the clerk of the Court caused him to withhold the fact -from the executioner; and so great was the strength of Cartouche that -it required eleven blows to break him on the wheel. - -Other executions speedily followed. Scaffold and gibbet were kept busy -till 1722, and in the succeeding years five females whom Cartouche -had found useful as auxiliaries to his society were put upon their -trial, sentenced and executed. Many receivers of stolen goods were also -brought to account before the long series of crimes that had defied the -police was finally ended. - -In these days the prevailing discontent against the ruling authority -found voice in the manner so often exhibited by a ground-down and -severely repressed people. This was the age of the libellist and the -pamphleteer, and the incessant proceedings against them brought in -fresh harvests to the Bastile. The class was comprehensive, and its -two extremes ranged between a great literary genius such as Voltaire -and the petty penny-a-liner, who frequently found a lodging in the -State prisons. Of the last named category the most prolific was Gatien -Sandras de Courtilz, who produced about a hundred volumes of satirical, -political pamphlets and fictitious histories. Such a man was for ever -within four walls or in hiding beyond the frontier. Leniency was wasted -on him. Upon a petition to the Chancellor Pontchartrain, an inquiry -was instituted into the reasons of his imprisonment with the result -that he was released. Within two years he was found again distributing -libels, and was again thrown into the Bastile, this time to remain -there for ten years. - -A curious specimen of this class distinguished himself in the following -reign,--a certain Abbé Nicolas Lenglet-Dufresnoy, who was for ever in -and out of the Bastile. He is spoken of as a man of wit and learning, -an indefatigable worker, a fearless writer, but of very indifferent -honesty, venial to the last degree, to be bought at any time and ready -for any baseness, even to espionage. Isaac d'Israeli mentions him in -his "Curiosities of Literature" and in terms of praise as a man of much -erudition with a fluent, caustic pen and daring opinions. He earned a -calm contempt for the rubs of evil fortune, and when a fresh arrest was -decreed against him, he accepted it with a light heart. He well knew -his way to the Bastile. At the sight of the officer, who came to escort -him to prison, he would pick up his night-cap and his snuff-box, gather -his papers together and take up his quarter in the old familiar cell -where he had already done so much good work. He suffered seven distinct -imprisonments in the Bastile between 1718 and 1752, and saw also the -inside of the prisons of Vincennes, Strasbourg and For-l'Évêque. At his -last release he signed the following declaration: - -"Being at liberty, I promise, in conformity with the orders of the -King, to say nothing of the prisoners or other things concerning the -Bastile, which may have come to my knowledge. In addition to this I -acknowledge that all my good silver and papers and effects which I -brought to the said castle have been restored to me." - -Lenglet rendered one important service to the State, the discovery of -the Cellamare-Alberoni conspiracy, but he would not proceed in the -affair until he had been assured that no lives should be sacrificed. He -was a painstaking writer, and kept one manuscript by him for fifty-five -years; it was, however, a work on visions and apparitions, and he was a -little afraid of publishing it to the world. His end came by a strange -accident. He fell into the fire as he slept over a "modern book" and -was burned to death. He was then eighty years of age. - -Among the smaller people, scribblers and second rate litterateurs, -who were consigned to the Bastile, was Roy, an impudent rascal, who -lampooned royalty and royal things, and impertinently attacked the -Spanish ambassador. All Paris was moved by his arrest, his papers were -sealed and he was treated as of more importance than he deserved. -After four months' detention he was released, and banished from Paris -to a distance of ninety leagues. He soon returned and published a -defamatory ode on the French generals. General de Moncrieff met Roy in -the streets, boxed his ears and kicked him, but although the poet wore -his sword he did not defend himself. Roy raged furiously against the -Academy which would not elect him a member and wrote a stinging epigram -when the Comte de Clermont of the blood royal was chosen. The Comte -paid a ruffian to give him a thrashing, which was so severe that the -poet, now eighty years of age, succumbed to the punishment. - -Another literary prisoner of more pretensions was the Abbé Prevost, -author of the well known _Manon Lescaut_, the only work which has -survived out of the 170 books he wrote in all. He was a Jesuit, who -joined the order of the Benedictines, but fled from their house in -St.-Germain-des-Prés, and went about Paris freely. He was arrested by -the police and sent back to his monastery. For seven years he remained -quiet, but when at length he proposed to publish new works in order "to -impose silence upon the malignity of his enemies," a _lettre de cachet_ -was issued to commit him to the Bastile. The Prince de Conti came to -his help, and gave him money with which he escaped to Brussels. - -Voltaire's first connection with the Bastile was in 1717, when he -was only twenty-two years of age, a law student in Paris. He had -already attracted attention by his insolent lampoons on the Regent -and the government, and had been banished from Paris for writing -an epigram styled the _Bourbier_, "the mud heap." This new offence -was a scandalous Latin inscription and some scathing verses which, -according to a French writer, would have been punished under Louis -XIV with imprisonment for life. He took his arrest very lightly. The -officer who escorted him to the Bastile reports: "Arouet (Voltaire) -joked a good deal on the road, saying he did not think any business -was done on feast days, that he did not mind going to the Bastile but -hoped he would be allowed to continue taking his milk, and that if -offered immediate release he would beg to remain a fortnight longer." -His detention ran on from week to week into eleven months, which -he employed in writing two of his masterpieces, _La Henriade_ and -_Oedipe_, the latter his first play to have a real success when put -upon the stage. - -Voltaire, when released, was ordered to reside at Chatenay with his -father, who had a country house there, and offered to be responsible -for him. The charge was onerous, and the young man was sent to Holland -to be attached to the French ambassador, but he soon drifted back to -Paris, where he remained in obscurity for seven years. Now he came -to the front as the victim of a personal attack by bravos in the pay -of the Chevalier de Rohan, by whom he was severely caned. The poet -had offended the nobility by his insolent airs. Voltaire appealed for -protection, and orders were issued to arrest De Rohan's hirelings if -they could be found. The poet sought satisfaction against the moving -spirit, and having gone for a time into the country to practise -fencing, returned to Paris and challenged the Chevalier, when he met -him in the dressing-room of the famous actress, Adrienne Lecouvreur. -The duel was arranged, but the De Rohan family interposed and secured -Voltaire's committal to the Bastile, when he wrote to the Minister -Herault: - -"In the deplorable condition in which I find myself I implore your -kindness. I have been sent to the Bastile for having pursued with too -much haste and ardor the established laws of honor. I was set upon -publicly by six persons, and I am punished for the crime of another -because I did not wish to hand him over to justice. I beg you to use -your credit to obtain leave for me to go to England." - -Leave was granted, accompanied with release, and in due course Voltaire -arrived in London, where he remained three years. This period tended -greatly to develop his mental qualities. "He went a discontented poet, -he left England a philosopher, the friend of humanity," says Victor -Cousin. He became a leader among the men who, as Macaulay puts it, -"with all their faults, moral and intellectual, sincerely and earnestly -desired the improvement of the condition of the human race, whose blood -boiled at the sight of cruelty and injustice, who made manful war with -every faculty they possessed on what they considered as abuses, and -who on many signal occasions placed themselves gallantly between the -powerful and the oppressed." - -Voltaire was presently permitted to return to Paris. Minister Maurepas -wrote him: "You may go to Paris when you like and even reside there.... -I am persuaded you will keep a watch upon yourself at Paris, and do -nothing calculated to get you into trouble." The warning was futile. -Within four years he was once more arrested and lodged in the castle -prison of Auxonne, with strict orders that he was never to leave the -interior of the castle. His offences were blasphemy and a bitter -attack upon the Stuarts. He had, moreover, published his "Lettres -Philosophiques," and a new _lettre de cachet_ was to be issued, but he -was given time and opportunity to make his escape into Germany. The -work was, however, burned by the public executioner, and the wretched -publisher sent to the Bastile, after the confiscation of all his stock, -which meant total ruin. Prison history is not further concerned with -Voltaire. His friendship with Frederick the Great, his long retreat in -Switzerland and the fierce criticisms and manifestoes he fulminated -from Ferney must be sought elsewhere. - -Reference has been made in a previous page to the Cellamare-Alberoni -conspiracy first detected by Abbé Lenglet, which had for object the -removal of the Duc d'Orleans from the Regency and the convocation of -the States General, the first organised effort towards more popular -government in France. A secondary aim was a coalition of the powers -to re-establish the Stuart dynasty in England. Nothing came of the -conspiracy, but the arrest of those implicated. Among them were the -Duc and Duchesse de Maine. A certain Mdlle. de Launay, who was a -waiting woman of the Duchess, staunchly refused to betray her mistress -and was imprisoned in the Bastile. Out of this grew a rather romantic -love story. The King's lieutenant of the Bastile, a certain M. de -Maison Rougé, an old cavalry officer, was greatly attracted by Mdlle. -de Launay. "He conceived the greatest attachment that any one ever had -for me," she writes in her amusing memoirs. "He was the only man by -whom I think I was ever really loved." His devotion led him to grant -many privileges to his prisoner, above all in allowing her to open a -correspondence with another inmate of the Bastile, the Chevalier de -Ménil,--also concerned in the Cellamare conspiracy,--with whom she had -a slight acquaintance. M. de Maison Rougé went so far as to allow them -to meet on several occasions, and, much to his chagrin, the pair fell -desperately in love with each other. Mdlle. de Launay expected to marry -the Chevalier after their release, but on getting out of the Bastile -she found herself forgotten. Some fifteen years later she became the -wife of Baron de Staal, an ex-officer of the Swiss Guards under the Duc -de Maine. She must not be confused, of course, with the Madame de Staël -of Napoleon's time. - -While some prisoners like Masers Latude--of whom more directly--followed -their natural bent in making the most daring and desperate attempts -to escape from the Bastile, there were one or two cases in which -men showed a strong reluctance to leave it. One of the victims of -the Cellamare conspiracy was an ex-cavalry officer, the Marquis de -Bonrepas, who had been shut up for four or five years. He found friends -abroad who sought to obtain his release. But he received the offer -of liberty with a very bad grace, declaring his preference for the -prison. He was a veteran soldier, old, poor and without friends, and -he was only persuaded to leave the Bastile on the promise of a home at -the Invalides with a pension. A doctor of the University, François du -Boulay, was sent to the Bastile in 1727 and remained there forty-seven -years. Then, when Louis XVI ascended the throne, search was made -through the registers for meet subjects for the King's pardon, and Du -Boulay was one of those recommended for discharge. He went out and -deeply regretted it. He was quite friendless and could find no trace of -any member of his family. His house had been pulled down and a public -edifice built upon the site. He had been quite happy in the Bastile, -and begged that he might return there. His prayer was refused, however, -and he withdrew altogether from the world and passed the rest of his -days in complete solitude. - -The name of Latude, mentioned above, is classed in prison history with -those of Baron Trenck, Sack, Shepherd, Casanova and "Punch" Howard as -the heroes of the most remarkable prison escapes on record. He is best -known as Latude, but he had many aliases,--Jean Henri, Danry, Dawyer, -Gedor; and his offence was that of seeking to curry favor with Madame -de Pompadour by falsely informing her that her life was in danger. -He warned her carefully to avoid opening a box that would reach her -through the post, which, in fact, was sent by himself. It enclosed a -perfectly harmless white powder. Then having despatched it he went in -person and on foot to Versailles expecting to be handsomely rewarded -for saving the life of the King's favorite. - -Unfortunately for Latude the innocuous nature of the powder was -disbelieved, and the mere possibility of foul play sufficed to raise -suspicion. Both Louis XV and his mistress shivered at the very whisper -of poison. The police promptly laid hands upon the author of this sorry -trick, and he was committed to Vincennes to begin an imprisonment -which lasted, with short intervals of freedom after his escapes, -for thirty-four years. Latude was well treated and was visited by -the King's doctor, as it was thought his mind was deranged. He was, -however, keen witted enough to snatch at the first chance of escape. -When at exercise in the garden, apparently alone, a dog ran against -the door and it fell open. Latude instantly stepped through and got -into the open fields, through which he ran for his life, and made -his way into Paris, to the house of a friend, one Duval. Thence he -wrote a letter to Madame de Pompadour beseeching her forgiveness and -imprudently giving his address. The authorities at once laid hands upon -him, and after being no more than twenty-four hours at large he was -once more imprisoned, this time in the Bastile. - -He now found a prison companion with whom his fortunes were to be -closely allied, one Allégre, who had been accused of the same crime, -that of attempting to poison Madame de Pompadour. Allégre, who in the -end died in a lunatic asylum, was a violent, unmanageable and hardly -responsible prisoner. He always denied the charges brought against -him, as did also Latude. The two joined forces in giving trouble and -breaking the prison rules. They were caught in clandestine conversation -with others, from floor to floor in the Bazinière Tower, and in passing -tobacco to each other. Latude addressed an indignant appeal against -his treatment to the authorities, written upon linen with his blood. -He complained of his food, demanded fish for breakfast, declaring he -could not eat eggs, artichokes or spinach, and would pay out of his -own pocket for different food. He became enraged when these requests -were refused. When fault was found with his misuse of the linen, he -asked for paper and more shirts. He got the former, and began a fresh -petition of interminable length and, when the governor grew weary of -waiting for it, threw it into the fire. - -As the chamber occupied by Latude and Allégre was in the basement -and liable to be flooded by the inundation of the Seine, it became -necessary to remove them to another. This was more favorable to escape, -and to this they now turned their attention with the strange ingenuity -and unwearied patience so often displayed by captives. The reason for -Latude's demand for more shirts was now explained. For eighteen months -they worked unceasingly, unravelling the linen and with the thread -manufacturing a rope ladder three hundred feet in length. The rungs -were of wood made from the fuel supplied for their fire daily. These -articles were carefully concealed under the floor. When all was ready, -Latude took stock of their productions. There was 1,400 feet of linen -rope and 208 rungs of wood, the rungs encased in stuff from the linings -of their dressing gowns, coats and waistcoats to muffle the noise of -the ladder as it swung against the wall of the Tower. - -The actual escape was effected by climbing up the interior of the -chimney of their room, having first dislodged the chimney bars, which -they took with them. On reaching the roof, they lowered the ladder and -went down it into the ditch, which was fourteen feet deep in water. -Notwithstanding this, they attacked the outer wall with their chimney -bars of iron, and after eight hours' incessant labor broke an opening -through its ponderous thickness and despite the fear of interruption -from patrols passing outside with flaming torches. Both fugitives -when at large hastened to leave Paris. Allégre got as far as Brussels, -whence he wrote an abusive letter to Madame de Pompadour, and at the -instance of the French King was taken into custody and lodged in -the prison at Lille, thence escorted to the frontier and so back to -the Bastile. Latude took refuge, but found no safety, in Amsterdam. -His whereabouts was betrayed by letters to his mother which were -intercepted. He, too, was reinstalled in the Bastile--after four brief -months of liberty. - -Latude's leadership in the escapades seems to have been accepted -as proved, and he was now more harshly treated than his associate, -Allégre. He lay in his cell upon straw in the very lowest depths of the -castle, ironed, with no blankets and suffering much from the bitter -cold. For three years and more he endured this, and was only removed -when the Seine once more overflowed and he was all but drowned in his -cell. The severity shown him was to be traced to the trouble his escape -had brought upon his gaolers, who were reprimanded, fined and otherwise -punished. The only alleviation of his misery was the permission to -remove half his irons, those of his hands or feet. - -As the years passed, this harsh treatment was somewhat mitigated, -but the effect on Latude was only to make him more defiant and -irreconcilable. He found many ways of annoying the authorities. He -broke constantly into noisy disturbances. "This prisoner," it is -reported, "has a voice of thunder, which can be heard all through and -outside the Bastile. It is impossible for me to repeat his insults as -I have too much respect for the persons he mentioned." Not strangely, -his temper was irritable. He swore over his dinner because it was -not served with a larded fowl. He was dissatisfied with the clothes -provided for him, and resented complying with the rules in force. -When a tailor was ordered to make him a dressing-gown, a jacket and -breeches, he wished to be measured, whereas, according to the rules of -the Bastile, the tailor cut out new clothes on the pattern of the old. - -The conduct of Allégre (who was no doubt mad) was worse. He was -dangerous and tried to stab his warders. Then he adopted the well known -prison trick of "breaking out," of smashing everything breakable in -his cell, all pottery, glass, tearing up his mattress and throwing -the pieces out of the window, destroying his shirts, "which cost the -King twenty francs apiece," and his pocket handkerchiefs, which were -of cambric. He had nothing on his body but his waistcoat and his -breeches. "If he be not mad he plays the madman very well," writes the -governor, and again: "This prisoner would wear out the patience of -the most virtuous Capuchin." The medical opinion on his state was not -definite, but he was removed to Charenton, the famous lunatic asylum, -and confined there in a new cage. - -Fifteen years had passed since his first arrest. Latude continued to -forward petitions for his release, and always got the same answer, that -the proper moment for it had not yet arrived. But he was once more -transferred to Vincennes and again managed to escape. Taking advantage -of the evident laxity of supervision he slipped away in a fog. He -could not keep quiet but wrote to M. de Sartine, now the Lieutenant of -Police, offering terms. If he were paid 30,000 francs for the plans and -public papers he had drawn up, he was willing to forget and forgive -the cruelties practised upon him. Failing to receive a reply, he went -in person to Fontainebleau to press his case upon the Duc de Choiseul, -who forthwith ordered him back into imprisonment. After three weeks of -freedom he found himself again inside Vincennes. - -As time passed, he also exhibited signs of madness, and was at last -also transferred for a time to Charenton, from which he was finally -released in 1777. He went out on the 5th of June with orders to reside -at Montagnac, and in little more than a month was again in trouble for -writing his memoirs a little too openly. He passed through the Little -Châtelet and thence to Bicêtre, the semi prison-asylum, and stayed -there generally in an underground cell and on the most meagre diet for -seven more years, and was then interned once more at Montagnac. The -latest official account of him was in Paris, living on a pension of -400 francs a year from the treasury; but a public subscription was -got up for him, and after the Revolution, in 1793, the heirs of Madame -de Pompadour were sentenced to allow him an income of 70,000 francs a -year. Only a part of this was paid, but they gave him a small farm on -which he lived comfortably until his death at eighty years of age. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -LAST DAYS OF THE BASTILE - - Closing days of the Bastile--Latest inmates--Lally-Tollendal - suffers death for alleged treason--Damiens attempts life of Louis - XV--Sentence and execution--Dumouriez in the Bastile--Linguet - and his experiences--Marquis de Sade--Cagliostro--The - Revolution--Attack upon the Bastile--Weakly defended--Garrison - massacred--De Launay, the governor, murdered--Demolition of the - Bastile--Last days of Vincennes--The Temple prison survives in - part--The last home of Louis XVI--Prisons in great request through - Revolutionary epoch--Treatment in them more horrible than in old - days--Unlimited atrocities. - - -The days of the Bastile's existence were numbered. It had not long to -stand, but it maintained its reputation to the last. Philosophers, -princes, libellous poets, unfortunate commanders and traitors to the -State rubbed shoulders within. - -De La Chalotais, the Attorney-General of Brittany, was committed -in connection with a rising in his province and disputes with its -Governor, the Duc d'Aiguillon; but chiefly for his hostility to the -Jesuits,--a circumstance which culminated in the expulsion of the -society from France and many of the Catholic countries of Europe. -The Prince of Courland, Charles Ernest, an undeniable swindler and -adventurer, was arrested and sent to the Bastile on a charge of forgery -and detained there for three months. Marmontel, the historian, was -committed, accused of writing a satire against the Duc d'Aumont, and -has preserved an interesting account of his reception in the Castle. - -"The Governor, after reading my letters," writes the historian, -"allowed me to retain my valet.... I was ushered into a vast chamber, -in which were two beds, two baths, a chest of drawers and three straw -chairs. It was cold, but the gaoler made a good fire and brought plenty -of wood. At the same time he gave me pen and ink and paper on condition -of giving an account of how each sheet was employed. I found fault -with my bed; said the mattresses were bad and the blankets unclean. -All was instantly changed.... The Bastile library was placed at my -disposal, but I had brought my own books." The dinner brought him was -excellent. It was a _maigre_ day and the soup was of white beans and -very fresh butter, a dish of salt cod for second service, also very -good. This proved to be the servant's dinner and a second came in for -Marmontel himself, served on china and fine linen with forks and spoons -in silver, and was _gras_, consisting of an excellent soup, a succulent -slice of beef, the fat leg of a boiled capon, a dish of artichokes, -some spinach, a fine pear, some grapes, a bottle of old Burgundy and a -cup of fragrant coffee. After all this he was still offered a chicken -for supper. "On the whole," says Marmontel, "I found that one dined -very well in prison." His stay in the Bastile was for a few days only, -as the libel was the work of another, whom Marmontel would not betray. - -Scant favor was shown to French officers of those days who were -unsuccessful in war. One Dutreil was accused of misconduct in the -defence of Martinique, and after trial by court martial was sentenced -to military disgrace, to have his sword broken, the cross of St. Louis -torn from his breast, and to be imprisoned for life. He came first to -the Bastile with two other officers and passed on thence to the Isle of -Sainte Marguerite to occupy the same prison as the whilom "Man with the -Iron Mask." The harsh measure meted out to French officers who failed -is much commented upon by the French historians. Too often disaster was -directly traceable to neglect to provide means and the lack of proper -support. It was seen already in India, and Dupleix bitterly complained -that the government gave him no assistance, kept him ill supplied with -money and sent out the most indifferent troops. - -A very prominent and very flagrant case was that of Count -Lally-Tollendal, who was denounced as having betrayed the interests of -France, and caused the loss of her Indian possessions. He was of Irish -extraction, a hot-headed, hare-brained Irishman, whose military skill -was unequal to a difficult campaign. His had been an eventful career. -He became a soldier in his tender years, and held a commission in -Dillon's Irish regiment when no more than twelve and was engaged in -the siege of Barcelona. He rose quickly to the command of a regiment, -and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general at the early age -of thirty-seven. At one time he conceived a plan for landing a body -of ten thousand on the English coast to support the rights of the -Pretender, and spent a large portion of his fortune in the carrying out -of the scheme, which, of course, came to nothing. During his career as -commander in India, the Count committed very grievous blunders, and -lacked the tact and diplomacy which had brought success to his great -predecessor, Dupleix. Count Lally began by committing fearful excesses, -and showed his contempt for the native religion by desecrating the -most honored temples and sanctuaries. He triumphed over the English -for a time, and drove them back into the heart of the country, whence -they turned and attacked afresh; and having delayed his retreat he was -defeated with considerable loss. Other disasters speedily followed -until he was eventually surrounded and besieged in Pondichéry, which -he defended and held with desperate bravery, but was forced at last to -surrender. - -Lally became a prisoner of war at the fall of Pondichéry and was sent -to England. He heard there of the storm of abuse that was vented upon -him in Paris, and he asked permission to go over and stand his trial. -He was released on parole for the purpose, and arrived in his native -country, taking with him "his head and his innocence," as he wrote to -the Duc de Choiseul. A man of fierce temper and overbearing demeanor, -he had made numerous enemies and incurred the bitter jealousy of his -colleague, the naval commander in Indian waters, Comte d'Ache. When -brought to trial after a long and wearisome detention for fifteen -months in the Bastile, the long list of charges against him contained -many that were pitiful and contemptible. When at last arraigned, -the trial lingered on for more than a year and a half, when fresh -evidence was found among the papers of Father Lavuar, the superior -of the Jesuits in Pondichéry. The priest had gone to Paris to claim -a pension from the government, but died suddenly, and it was found -that he had left a large amount of gold and a number of documents -compromising Lally-Tollendal's character and accusing him of treason -and malversation. This testimony was accepted and led to his conviction -and sentence to death. - -His demeanor during his trial won him a certain sympathy with the -crowd. The vehemence of his denials of guilt and his violent temper -impressed people with an idea that he was a much wronged man. In -England he had many apologists and supporters. It was said on his -behalf that he went to India a perfect stranger to the country, he made -native allies who proved false to him, his troops mutinied, he had no -horsemen; yet he took ten fortresses, won nine battles and made a good -fight until he was out-numbered, and all through was badly seconded -by his own officers. Voltaire's opinion of him is worth quoting: "I -am persuaded that Lally was no traitor. I believe him to have been an -odious man, a bad man, if you will, who deserved to be killed by any -one except the executioner." Again, "It is very certain that his bad -temper brought him to the scaffold. He is the only man who ever lost -his head for being brutal." - -The sentence of the Parliament was death by decapitation, and Lally -was sent from the Bastile to the Conciergerie to hear his sentence. -Great precautions were taken along the road as it was feared the -populace might make some demonstration in his favor. He resented being -compelled to kneel to hear sentence, and was greatly incensed when told -he must die. "But what have I done?" he vainly protested. The sentence -produced a great effect upon him, but he regained his self-possession -on returning to the Bastile. Many persons interceded on his behalf, but -the King remained unmoved, although public opinion remained the same -and disapproved of his execution. The authorities, however, feared that -the people might be inclined to rescue him, and therefore ordered him -to be gagged while being led to the Place de Grève. The Count strongly -resisted this mode of treatment, but the gag was placed in his mouth, -and he was otherwise held in check. Just before the execution took -place he ordered the headsman, young Sanson, to remove a handsome vest -he (Lally) was wearing, composed of the golden tissue made only in -India, and directed that it should be presented to the executioner's -father, who was also present. The first blow from the younger was not -successful, so the final act was performed by old Sanson, and was -greeted with a cry of horror from the assembled crowds. - -A hundred and fifty years had elapsed since Ravaillac had suffered -for the assassination of Henri Quatre and had brought no diminution -of the savage cruelty of the French criminal law. In 1757 the extreme -penalty was inflicted upon another culprit who had dared to lift his -hand against the cowardly voluptuary who occupied the throne, and in -precisely the same bloodthirsty and abominable fashion. Ravaillac -killed his victim; Damiens did no more than prick his man with the -small blade of a horn handled penknife. Louis XV was so frightened -at this pitiful wound that he "trembled between the sheets," under -the strong belief that the weapon had been poisoned. A confessor was -instantly summoned, and absolution was pronounced after the King had -detailed his sins. This absolution was repeated aloud every minute of -the night. - -What had actually happened? It was an intensely cold night, the 5th -of January, 1757, and the King, clad in his furs, came down-stairs at -Versailles to enter his carriage. A crowd of courtiers, footmen and -an escort surrounded the doorway as the King emerged on the arm of his -grand equerry. Suddenly the King exclaimed, "Some one has struck me and -pricked me with a pin. That man there!" and as he spoke he inserted -his hand beneath his fur coat, to find it smeared with blood when he -withdrew it. "That is certainly the man," added the King, pointing -to Damiens. "Let him be arrested, but do not kill him." In the wild -confusion that now arose, Damiens might easily have slunk away, but he -stood his ground and was seized by the guards. Immediate vengeance was -wreaked by his removal to the nearest guard-house, where he was put to -the torture by the application of red-hot irons to his legs, but he -would say no more than that he had not desired to kill the King, but -only to give him a salutary warning. - -Deep anxiety prevailed when this trifling attempt upon the life of a -worthless, self-indulgent monarch was known through the country. The -story was exaggerated absurdly. "This fearful attempt is of a nature to -cause so just an alarm that I do not lose a moment," writes one of the -ministers, "in diminishing your apprehension and acquainting you with -the facts of this terrible event." After "the terrible accident," the -King was bled twice. "The wound is healthy, there is no fever, and he -is perfectly tranquil, and would be inclined to sleep, were it not that -the wound is on the right side, that on which his Majesty is accustomed -to lie," continued the minister. The provinces were greatly excited. -"I found the whole city of Bordeaux in the greatest consternation," -writes the Lieutenant-Governor of Guienne. At Aix the courier was -expected with breathless impatience, and good news was received with -shouts of joy and clapping of hands. The delight at Marseilles when -good news came was equal to the terror inspired by the first evil -report. - -Damiens was taken straight to the Conciergerie, where the legal -machinery could be best set in motion for his trial and the preliminary -torture. His conviction was a foregone conclusion, and his sentence -in all its hideous particulars was on exactly the same lines as that -of Ravaillac. He was to be subjected to the question, ordinary and -extraordinary, to make the _amende honorable_, to have his right arm -severed, his flesh torn off his body with red-hot pincers, and finally, -while still alive, to be torn asunder limb from limb by teams of -horses in the Place de Grève. The whole of the details are preserved -in contemporary accounts; but having been described in the case of -Ravaillac, they are too brutal and revolting for a second reproduction. - -The motive by which Damiens was led to this attempted crime is -generally attributed to his disapproval of the King's licentious life. -Louis so thought it, and for a time was disposed to mend his ways, to -give up the infamous _Parc aux Cerfs_ where he kept a harem, and to -break with Madame de Pompadour. But the favorite was not dismissed -from the apartments she occupied upon the top floor of the palace at -Versailles, and the King still saw her from day to day. Her anxiety -must have been great while the King's wound was still uncured, for she -feigned illness and was constantly bled; but she soon recovered her -health when she was reinstalled as the King's mistress. The occasion -had been improved by the Jesuits, for the King when sick was very much -in the hands of the priests; but de Pompadour triumphed, and the matter -ended in their serious discomfiture and expulsion from France. - -Although Damiens did not himself see the interior of the Bastile, many -persons suspected of collusion in the crime were committed to it; -some supposed to be accomplices, others as apologists or as authors -of lampoons and satirical verses. Among the prisoners were Damiens's -nearest relations, his wife and daughters, his father, mother, nieces, -several abbés, ladies of mature years and young children. The detention -of some of these was brief enough, but one or two were imprisoned for -twenty odd years. The Dauphin was charged with complicity, but there -was no more proof of it than that he was little at court, and was known -to sympathise with the Jesuits. As a matter of fact no one was shown -to be privy to the attempt. Damiens, in spite of the most horrible -tortures, never betrayed a soul. - -A story told by Jesse in his "Memoirs of George Selwyn" may be related -here to give a ray of relief to this sombre picture. The eccentric -Englishman was much addicted to the practice of attending executions. -He went over to Paris on purpose to see Damiens done to death, and -on the day mixed with the crowd. He was dressed in a plain undress -suit and a plain bob wig, and "a French nobleman observing the deep -interest he took in the scene, and imagining from the plainness of his -attire that he must be a person in the humbler walks of life, resolved -that he must infallibly be a hangman. '_Eh bien, monsieur_,' said he, -'_etes-vous arrive pour voir ce spectacle?_' '_Oui, monsieur._' '_Vous -etes bourreau?_' '_Non, monsieur_,' replied Selwyn, '_je n'ai pas cet -honneur, je ne suis qu'un amateur._'" - -Among the latest records affording a graphic impression of the interior -of the Bastile is that of the French officer Dumouriez, who afterwards -became one of the first, and for a time, most successful of the -Revolutionary generals, who won the battles of Fleurus and Jernappes -and repelled the German invasion of the Argonne in the west of France. -Dumouriez fled to England to save his head, and was the ancestor of one -also famous, but in the peaceful fields of literature and art. George -Du Maurier, whose name is held in high esteem amongst all English -speaking races, traced his family direct to the French _emigré_, who -lived long and died in London. It is a little curious that the eminent -caricaturist who long brightened the pages of "Punch" the author of -"Trilby," should be connected with the French monarchy and the ancient -castle of evil memory. - -The elder Dumouriez was imprisoned as the outcome of his connection -with the devious diplomacy of his time. He had been despatched on a -secret mission to Sweden on behalf of the King, but the French Minister -of Foreign Affairs suspected foul play. The movements of Dumouriez were -watched, and he was followed by spies as far as Hamburg, where he was -arrested and brought back to France straight to the Bastile. He gives a -minute account of his reception. - -First he was deprived of all his possessions, his money, knife and -shoe buckles, lest he should commit suicide by swallowing them. When -he called for a chicken for his supper, he was told it was a fast day, -Friday, but he indignantly replied that the major of the Bastile was -not the keeper of his conscience if of his person, and the chicken was -provided. Then he was ushered into his prison apartment, and found -it barely furnished with a wooden table, a straw bottomed chair, a -jar of water and a dirty bed. He slept well, but was aroused early to -go before the Governor, the Comte de Jumilhac, who gave him a very -courteous and cordial welcome, but, after denying him books and writing -materials, ended by lending him several novels, which he begged him to -hide. The Governor continued to treat him as a friend and companion -rather than a prisoner. "He came and saw me every morning and gossiped -over society's doings. He went so far as to send me lemons and sugar -to make lemonade, a small quantity of coffee, foreign wine and every -day a dish from his own table, when he dined at home," he writes. No -fault could be found with the daily fare in the Bastile. The quality -was usually good and the supply abundant. "There were always five -dishes for dinner and three for supper without counting the dessert." -Besides, Dumouriez had his own servants, and one of them, the _valet de -chambre_, was an excellent cook. - -After a week of solitary confinement, which he had relieved by entering -into communication with a neighbor, the captain of a Piedmontese -regiment, who had been confined in the Bastile for twenty-two years for -writing a song about Madame de Pompadour, which had been hawked all -over Paris, Dumouriez was removed to another chamber which he describes -as "a very fine apartment with a good fireplace." Near the fireplace -was an excellent bed, which had been slept in by many notable inmates -of the prison. The major of the Bastile said it was the finest room -in the castle, but it had not always brought good luck. Most of its -previous inhabitants, the Comte de St. Pol, the Maréchal de Biron, the -Chevalier de Rohan and the Count de Lally-Tollendal, ended their days -upon the scaffold. Significant traces of them were to be found in the -sad inscriptions upon the walls. Labourdonnais had inscribed some -"touching reflections;" Lally had written some remarks in English; and -La Chalotais some paraphrases of the Psalms. Dumouriez's immediate -predecessor had been a young priest, who had been forced into taking -orders and tried to evade his vows, inherit an estate and marry the -girl of his choice. He was committed to the Bastile, but was presently -released on writing an impassioned appeal for liberty. - -Dumouriez was detained only six months in the Bastile and was then -transferred to Caen in Normandy, where he was handsomely lodged, and -had a garden to walk in. The death of Louis XV and the complete change -of government upon the accession of the ill-fated Louis XVI immediately -released him. He came to Court and was told at a public reception that -the new King profoundly regretted the harshness with which he had been -treated, and that the State would make him amends by promotion and -employment. - -With Louis XVI began a milder and more humane régime, too late, -however, to stave off the swiftly gathering storm that was soon to -shake and shatter France. The King desired to retain no more State -prisoners arbitrarily, and sent a minister to visit the prisons of the -Bastile, Vincennes and Bicêtre to inquire personally into the cases of -all, and to liberate any against whom there was no definite charge. He -proposed that there should be no more _lettres de cachet_, and the -Bastile became gradually less and less filled. The committals were -chiefly of offenders against the common law, thieves and swindlers; but -a large contingent of pamphleteers and their publishers were lodged -within its walls, and one ancient prisoner still lingered to die there -after a confinement of twenty-seven years. This was Bertin, Marquis -de Frateau, guilty of writing lampoons on Madame de Pompadour, and -originally confined at the request of his own family. - -A man who made more mark was Linguet, whose "Memoirs," containing a -bitter indictment of the Bastile, from personal experience, were widely -read both in England and France. They were actually written in London, -to which he fled after imprisonment, and are now held to be mendacious -and untrustworthy. Linguet had led a strangely varied life. He had -tried many lines--had been in turn poet, historian, soldier, lawyer, -journalist. He wrote parodies for the Opera Comique and pamphlets in -favor of the Jesuits. Such a man was certain to find himself in the -Bastile. He spent a couple of years there, and the book he subsequently -wrote was full of the most extravagant and easily refuted lies. Yet -there is reason to believe that his statements did much to inflame the -popular mind and increase the fierce hatred of the old prison, which -ere long was to lead to its demolition. - -The Bastile also received that infamous creature, most justly -imprisoned, the Marquis de Sade, whose name has been synonymous with -the grossest immorality and is now best known to medical jurisprudence. -Beyond doubt he was a lunatic, a man of diseased and deranged mind, -who was more properly relegated to Charenton, where he died. He was -at large during the Revolutionary period and survived it, but dared -to offer some of his most loathsome books to Napoleon, who when First -Consul wrote an order with his own hand for the return of the Marquis -to Charenton as a dangerous and incurable madman. - -One of the last celebrities confined in the Bastile was the Cardinal -de Rohan, a grandee of the Church and the holder of many dignities, -who was involved in that famous fraud, dear to dramatists and romance -writers, the affair of the Diamond Necklace. His confederates, some -of whom shared his captivity, were the well known Italian adventurer -and arch impostor, who went by the name of Cagliostro, who played upon -the credulity of the gullible public in many countries as a latter day -magician, and the two women, Madame de La Motte-Valois, who devised the -fraud of impersonating the Queen before de Rohan, and Mdlle. d'Oliva, -who impersonated her. - -We come now to the eventful year 1789, when the waters were closing -over the Bastile, and it was to sink under the flood and turmoil of -popular passion in the first stormy phase of the French Revolution. -Paris was in the throes of agitation and disturbance, the streets -filled with thousands of reckless ruffians, who terrorised the capital, -breaking into and plundering the shops, the convents, even the royal -_Garde-Meuble_, the repository of the Crown jewels; and committing the -most violent excesses. A large force of troops was collected in and -about Paris, more than sufficient to maintain order had the spirit -to do so been present in the leaders or had they been backed up by -authority. But the King and his Government were too weak to act with -decision, and, as the disorders increased, it was seen that no reliance -could be placed upon the French Guards, who were ripe for revolt and -determined to fraternise with the people. The people clamored for arms -and ammunition, and seized upon a large quantity of powder as it was -being removed secretly from Paris. Fifty thousand pikes were turned out -in thirty-six hours. - -Two revolutionary committees directed affairs, and it was mooted at -one of them whether an attack should not be made upon the Bastile. The -more cautious minds demurred. It would be neither useful nor feasible -to gain possession of the ancient fortress which, with its guns mounted -and its impregnable walls, might surely make a vigorous resistance. -At last it was decreed to approach the Governor of the Bastile with -peaceful overtures, asking him to receive a garrison of Parisian -citizen-militia within the place as a measure of public safety. M. de -Launay, the veteran Governor, civilly received the deputations with -this proposal, but although inwardly uneasy would make no concessions. -He awaited orders which never arrived, but was stoutly determined to do -his duty and remain staunch to the King. - -His position was indeed precarious. The garrison consisted of a handful -of troops, chiefly old pensioners. The guns on the ramparts were of -obsolete pattern, mostly mounted on marine carriages, and they could -not be depressed or fired except into the air. Moreover the powder -magazine was full, for the whole stock of powder had been removed from -the Arsenal, where it was exposed to attack and seizure, and it was now -lodged in the cellars of the Bastile. But the Governor had done his -best to strengthen his defence. Windows had been barred, and exposed -loopholes closed. A bastion for flanking fire had been thrown out from -the garden wall. Great quantities of paving stones had been carried up -to the tops of the Towers, and steps taken to pull down the chimney -pots,--the whole for use as missiles to be discharged on the heads of -the besiegers. Nevertheless the place could not hold out long, for it -was almost entirely unprovisioned. - -The attack upon the Bastile appears to have been precipitated by a -cowardly report spread that the guns of the castle were ranged upon the -city and that a bombardment was threatened. A deputation was forthwith -despatched to the Governor, insisting the direction of the guns be -changed and inviting him to surrender. M. de Launay replied that the -guns pointed as they had done from time immemorial, and that he could -not remove them without the King's order, but he would withdraw them -from the embrasure. This deputation retired satisfied, assuring the -Governor that he need expect no attack, and went back to the Hotel de -Ville. But presently an armed mob arrived, shouting that they must have -the Bastile. They were politely requested to return, but some turbulent -spirits insisted that the drawbridges should be lowered, and when the -first was down, advanced across them, although repeatedly warned that -unless they halted, the garrison would open fire. But the people, -warmed with their success, pressed on, and a sharp musketry duet began, -and put the assailants to flight in great disorder, but did not send -them far. Presently they came on again toward the second drawbridge and -prepared to break in by it, when firing was resumed and many casualties -ensued. - -At half past four o'clock in the afternoon three carts laden with -straw were sent forward and used to set fire to the outbuildings, the -guard-house, the Governor's residence and the kitchens. A number of -French grenadiers with three hundred citizens now advanced and made -good their entrance; but the drawbridge was let down behind them and -a cry of treachery arose. Fire was opened on both sides and a sharp -combat ensued. The issue might have been different had the defence -been better organised, but the garrison was small (barely a hundred -men), was short of ammunition, had not taken food for forty-eight -hours, and could make no use of the artillery. At five o'clock -M. de Launay, hopeless of success, desired to blow up the powder -magazine, urging that voluntary death was preferable to massacre by -the infuriated people. The vote of the majority was against this -desperate means and in favor of capitulation. Accordingly a white -flag was hoisted on one of the towers to the sound of the drum, but -it was ignored, and the firing continued amid loud shouts of "Lower -the drawbridge! Nothing will happen to you!" The Governor thereupon -handed over the keys to a subordinate officer. The mob rushed in and -the fate of the garrison was sealed. The sub-officers, who had laid -down their arms and were unable to defend themselves, were killed, and -so also were the grand old Swiss Guards, stalwart veterans, who were -slaughtered with but few exceptions. - -In the midst of the affray, M. de Launay was seized and carried off to -the Hotel de Ville. Frenzied cries of "Hang him! Hang him!" greeted him -on the way, and the unfortunate Governor is reported to have looked -up to Heaven, saying, "Kill me. I prefer death to insults I have not -deserved." They now fell upon him from all sides with bayonet, musket -and pike, and as a dragoon passed, he was called upon to cut off the -victim's head. This man, Denot (whose own account has been followed -in this description), essayed first with a sword, then completed the -decapitation with his knife. The severed head was paraded through -Paris till nightfall on a pike. This was the first of many similar -atrocities. The people, without restraint, became intoxicated with -brutal exultation. The wildest orgies took place, and the wine shops -were crowded with drunken desperadoes, who were the heroes of the hour. -The now defenceless castle was visited by thousands to witness its -final destruction. Numbers of carriages passed before it or halted to -watch the demolition as the stones were thrown down from its towers -amid clouds of dust. Ladies, fashionably dressed, and dandies of the -first water mingled with the half-naked workmen, and were now jeered -at, now applauded. The most prominent personages, great authors and -orators, celebrated painters, popular actors and actresses, nobles, -courtiers and ambassadors assembled to view the scene of old France -expiring and new France in the throes of birth. - -The wreck and ruin of the Bastile were speedily accomplished. The -people were undisputed masters, and they swarmed over the abased -stronghold, filling it from top to bottom. "Some threw the guns from -the battlements into the ditch; others with pickaxes and hammers -labored to undermine and destroy the towers. These smashed in -furniture, tore and dispersed all the books, registers and records; -those laid prompt hands on anything they fancied. Some looted the rooms -and carried off what they pleased. Strict search was made through the -Bastile for prisoners to set free, yet the cells were for the most part -empty. The committals during this last reign had not exceeded 190 for -the whole period, and when it capitulated only seven were in custody. -Gruesome rumors prevailed that several still lingered underground, in -deep subterranean cells; but none were found, nor any skeletons, when -the whole edifice was pulled down." - -This demolition was voted next year, 1790, by the committee of the -Hotel de Ville, which ordered that "the antique fortress too long the -terror of patriotism and liberty" should be utterly razed to its very -foundations. The workmen set to work with so much expedition that in a -little more than three months a portion of the materials was offered -for sale. A sharp competition ensued at the auction, and the stones -were fashioned into mementoes, set in rings, bracelets and brooches, -and fetched high prices. The contractors for demolition made a small -fortune by the sale of these trinkets. - -Napoleon at first intended to erect his great Arc de Triomphe upon -the site of the Bastile, but changed his mind and selected the place -where it now stands. The Place de la Bastile remained for forty years -a wilderness--in summer a desert, in winter a swamp. The revolution of -1830, which placed Louis Philippe upon the throne of France, was not -accomplished without bloodshed, and it was decided to raise a monument -to those who lost their lives on this somewhat unimportant occasion. -The result was the elegant column, which every visitor to Paris may -admire to-day in the Place de la Bastile. - -Vincennes, the second State prison of Paris, survived the Terror and -exists to this day converted into a barracks for artillery. A portion -of the Temple, the especial stronghold of the Knights Templars already -described, still existed in part when the Revolution came. Strange to -say, its demolition had been contemplated by the Government of Louis -XVI, and it had already partly disappeared when the storm broke, -and rude hands were laid upon the luckless sovereign who became a -scapegoat, bearing the accumulated sins of a long line of criminal -and self-indulgent monarchs. When Louis and his family fell into the -power of the stern avengers of many centuries of wrong doing, they -were hurried to the Temple and imprisoned in the last vestige of the -fortress palace. It stood quite isolated and alone. All had been razed -to the ground but the donjon tower, to which was attached a small strip -of garden enclosed between high walls. This became the private exercise -ground of the fallen royalties. The King occupied the first floor of -the prison and his family the second floor. The casements were secured -with massive iron bars, the windows were close shuttered so that -light scarcely entered, and those within were forbidden to look out -upon the world below. The staircase was protected by six wicket gates, -each so low and narrow that it was necessary to stoop and squeeze to -get through. Upon the King's incarceration a seventh wicket was added -with an iron bar fixed at the top of the staircase, always locked and -heavily barred. The door opening directly into the King's chamber was -lined with iron. - -Louis was never left alone. Two guards were constantly with him day -and night, as is the rule to this day with condemned malefactors in -France. They sat with him in the dining-room when at meals and slept -in the immediate neighborhood of his bedroom. His guards were in the -last degree suspicious, and he endured many indignities at their hands. -No whispering was allowed, not even with his wife and children. If he -spoke to his valet, who slept in his room at night, it must be audibly, -and the King was constantly admonished to speak louder. No writing -materials were allowed him at first. He was forbidden to use pens, -ink and paper until he was arraigned before the National Convention. -But he was not denied the solace of books, and read and re-read his -favorite authors. In Latin he preferred Livy, Cæsar, Horace, Virgil. In -French he preferred books of travel. For a time he was supplied with -newspapers, but his gaolers disliked his too great interest in the -progress of the Revolution, and the news of the day was withheld from -him. His reading became the more extensive and it was calculated on the -eve of his death that he had read through 257 volumes during the five -months and seven days of his captivity in the Temple. - -The daily routine of his prison life was monotonously repeated. He -rose early and remained at his prayers till nine o'clock, at which -hour his family joined him in the breakfast room as long as this was -permitted. He ate nothing at that hour but made it a rule to fast till -midday dinner. After breakfast he found pleasant employment in acting -as schoolmaster to his children. He taught the little Dauphin Latin and -geography, while the Queen, Marie Antoinette, instructed their daughter -and worked with her needle. Dinner was at one o'clock. The table was -well supplied, but the King ate sparingly and drank little, the Queen -limiting herself to water with her food. Meat was regularly served, -even on Fridays, for religious observances no more controlled his -keepers, and the King would limit himself to fast diet by dipping his -bread in a little wine and eating nothing else. The rest of the day was -passed in mild recreation, playing games with the children till supper -at nine o'clock, after which the King saw his son to bed in the little -pallet prepared by his own hands. - -The time drew on in sickening suspense, but Louis displayed the -unshaken fortitude of one who could rise above almost intolerable -misfortune. Insult and grievous annoyance were heaped upon his -devoted head. His valet was changed continually so that he might have -no faithful menial by his side. The most humiliating precautions were -taken against his committing suicide--not a scrap of metal, not even a -penknife or any steel instrument was suffered to be taken in to him. -His food was strictly tested and examined; the prison cook tasted -every dish under the eyes of a sentry, to guard against the admixture -of poison. The most horrible outrage of all was when the bloodthirsty -_sans-culottes_ thrust in at his cell window the recently severed and -still bleeding head of one of the favorites of the court, the Princess -de Lamballe. - -We may follow out the dreadful story to its murderous end. Years of -tyrannous misgovernment in France, innumerable deeds of blood and -cruel oppression, such as have been already presented in this volume, -culminated in the sacrifice of the unhappy representative of a system -to which he succeeded and innocently became responsible for. The bitter -wrongs endured for centuries by a downtrodden people, goaded at length -to the most sanguinary reprisals, were avenged in the person of a -blameless ruler. Louis XVI was a martyr beyond question; but he only -expiated the sins of his truculent and ferocious forerunners, who had -no pity, no mercy, no compassion for their weak and helpless subjects. -Louis' trial, under a parody of justice, and his execution amid the -hideous gibes of a maddened, merciless crowd, was the price paid by -the last of the French kings, for years of uncontrolled and arbitrary -authority. - -The day of arraignment, so long and painfully anticipated, came as -a sudden surprise. On Monday, December 10th, 1793, the captive King -when at his prayers was startled by the beating of drums and the -neighing of horses in the courtyard below the Donjon. He could not -fix his attention on the morning lesson to his son, and was playing -with him idly when the visit of the Mayor of Paris roused him and -summoned him by the name of Louis Capet to appear at the bar of the -Convention. He then heard the charges against him, and the day passed -in mock proceedings of the tribunal. The King's demeanor was brave, his -countenance unappalled by the tumultuous outbursts that often came from -the audience in the galleries. As the judges could come to no agreement -on the first day, the proceedings were declared "open," to be continued -without intermission. For three more days the stormy debates lasted and -still the Convention hesitated to pass the death sentence on the King. -In the end it was carried by a majority of five. - -Louis XVI bore himself like a brave man to the last. He addressed a -farewell letter to the Convention in which he said, "I owe it to my -honor and to my family not to subscribe to a sentence which declares me -guilty of a crime of which I cannot accuse myself." When he was taken -to execution from the Temple and first saw the guillotine, he is said -to have shuddered and shrank back, but quickly recovering himself he -stepped out of the carriage with firmness and composure and, calmly -ascending the scaffold, went to his death like a brave man. - -The Bastile was gone, but the need for prisons was far greater under -the reign of liberty, so-called, than when despotic sovereigns ruled -the land. The last of them, Louis XVI, would himself have swept away -the Bastile had he been spared. He had indeed razed For-l'Evèque -and the Petit Châtelet, and imported many salutary changes into the -Conciergerie out of his own private purse. During the Revolutionary -epoch many edifices were appropriated for purposes of detention, the -ordinary prisons being crowded to overflowing. In the Conciergerie -alone, while some two thousand people waited elsewhere for vacancies, -there were from one thousand to twelve hundred lodged within the walls -without distinction of age, sex or social position. Men, women and -children were herded together, as many as fifty in the space of twenty -feet. A few had beds, but the bulk of them slept on damp straw at the -mercy of voracious rats that gnawed at their clothing and would have -devoured their noses and ears had they not protected their faces with -their hands. - -Within six months of 1790, 356 prisoners were confined in the prisons -of Bicêtre, Luxembourg, the Carmelites and Saint Lazare, en route to -the guillotine. St. Pélagie held 360 at one time. "In Paris," says -Carlyle, "are now some twelve prisons, in France some forty-four -thousand." Lamartine's figures for Paris are higher. He gives the -number of prisons as eighteen, into which all the members of the -Parliament, all the receivers-general, all the magistrates, all the -nobility and all the clergy were congregated to be dragged thence to -the scaffold. Four thousand heads fell in a few months. A number of -simple maidens, the eldest only eighteen, who had attended a ball at -Verdun when it was captured by the Prussians, were removed to Paris and -executed. All the nuns of the Convent of Montmartre were guillotined, -and next day the venerable Abbé Fenelon. In September, 1792, there was -an indiscriminate massacre, when five thousand suspected persons were -torn from their homes and either slaughtered on the spot or sent to -impromptu prisons. That of the Abbaye ran with blood, where 150 Swiss -soldier prisoners were murdered at one sweep. The details of these -sanguinary scenes are too terrible to print. Every prison provided its -quota of victims--La Force 80, the great Châtelet 220, and 290 from the -Conciergerie. - -"At Bicêtre," says Thiers, in his history of the Revolution, "the -carnage was the longest, the most sanguinary, the most terrible. This -prison was the sink for every vice, the sewer of Paris. Everyone -detained in it was killed. It would be impossible to fix the number of -victims, but they have been estimated at six thousand. Death was dealt -out through eight consecutive days and nights; pikes, sabres, muskets -did not suffice for the ferocious assassins, who had recourse to guns." -Another authority, Colonel Munro, the English diplomatist, reported to -Lord Grenville that Bicêtre was attacked by a mob with seven cannon, -which were loaded with small stones and discharged promiscuously into -the yards crowded with prisoners. Three days later, he writes: "The -massacre only ended yesterday and the number of the victims may be -gathered from the time it took to murder them." He puts the total at -La Force and Bicêtre at seven thousand, and the victims were mostly -madmen, idiots and the infirm. - -The picture of these awful times is lurid and terrible, and brings -the prevailing horror vividly before us. The prisons of Paris were -thirty-six in number, all of large dimensions, with ninety-six -provisional gaols. In the French provinces the latter were forty -thousand in number, and twelve hundred more were regularly filled with -a couple of hundred inmates. The most cruel barbarities were everywhere -practised. Prisoners were starved and mutilated so that they might -be driven into open revolt and justify their more rapid removal by -the guillotine. Paris sent 2,600 victims to the scaffold in one year. -In the provincial cities the slaughter was wholesale. Lyons executed -1,600, Nantes, 1,971, and a hundred were guillotined or shot daily. -Many were women, some of advanced age and infirm. At Angers, to -disencumber the prisons, 400 men and 360 women were beheaded in a few -days. Wholesale massacres were perpetrated in the fusillades of Toulon -and the drownings of Nantes, which disposed of nearly five thousand -in all. Taine says that in the eleven departments of the west half of -France a million persons perished, and the murderous work was performed -in seventeen months. - -Of a truth the last state of France was worse than the first, and -the sufferings endured by the people at the hands of irresponsible -autocracy were far outdone by the new atrocities of the bloodthirsty -revolutionaries in mad vindication of past wrongs. - - -END OF VOLUME III. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - - Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as - possible, including some inconsistent hyphenation. Some minor - corrections of spelling have been made. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY AND ROMANCE OF CRIME: -EARLY FRENCH PRISONS*** - - -******* This file should be named 50520-8.txt or 50520-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/0/5/2/50520 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: The History and Romance of Crime: Early French Prisons</p> -<p> Le Grand and Le Petit Châtelets; Vincennes; The Bastile; Loches; The Galleys; Revolutionary Prisons</p> -<p>Author: Arthur George Frederick Griffiths</p> -<p>Release Date: November 20, 2015 [eBook #50520]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY AND ROMANCE OF CRIME: EARLY FRENCH PRISONS***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by Chris Curnow, Paul Clark,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/historyromanceof06grif"> - https://archive.org/details/historyromanceof06grif</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<h1>The History and Romance of Crime.<br /> -Early French Prisons</h1> - -<div class="center"> -<img src="images/i_title1.png" width="358" height="600" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="p2 center"> -<img id="img_1" src="images/i_frontis.jpg" width="377" height="600" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> - -<p class="header"><i>An Incident During the Communal Revolts -of the Twelfth Century</i></p> - -<p>A noble being strangled in his castle by one of the men of -the commune (town) in the twelfth century when the villages -at the foot of the castles revolted and wrested charters from -their lords, often peacefully but more frequently by bloodshed -and brutal practices.</p></div> -</div> - -<div class="center"> -<img id="coverpage" src="images/i_title2.jpg" width="355" height="600" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="center">EDITION NATIONALE</p> - -<p class="center">Limited to one thousand registered and numbered sets.</p> - -<p class="center">NUMBER <span class="large u"> 307 </span> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</a></h2> - -<p>The judicial administration of France had its -origin in the Feudal System. The great nobles -ruled their estates side by side with, and not under, -the King. With him the great barons exercised -“high” justice, extending to life and limb. The -seigneurs and great clerics dispensed “middle” -justice and imposed certain corporal penalties, while -the power of “low” justice, extending only to the -<i>amende</i> and imprisonment, was wielded by smaller -jurisdictions.</p> - -<p>The whole history of France is summed up in -the persistent effort of the King to establish an absolute -monarchy, and three centuries were passed in a -struggle between nobles, parliaments and the eventually -supreme ruler. Each jurisdiction was supported -by various methods of enforcing its authority: -All, however, had their prisons, which served -many purposes. The prison was first of all a place -of detention and durance where people deemed dangerous -might be kept out of the way of doing harm -and law-breakers could be called to account for -their misdeeds. Accused persons were in it held -safely until they could be arraigned before the tri<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>bunals, -and after conviction by legal process were -sentenced to the various penalties in force.</p> - -<p>The prison was <i>de facto</i> the high road to the -scaffold on which the condemned suffered the extreme -penalty by one or another of the forms of capital -punishment, and death was dealt out indifferently -by decapitation, the noose, the stake or the wheel. -Too often where proof was weak or wanting, torture -was called in to assist in extorting confession -of guilt, and again, the same hideous practice was -applied to the convicted, either to aggravate their -pains or to compel the betrayal of suspected confederates -and accomplices. The prison reflected every -phase of passing criminality and was the constant -home of wrong-doers of all categories, heinous and -venial. Offenders against the common law met -their just retribution. Many thousands were committed -for sins political and non-criminal, the victims -of an arbitrary monarch and his high-handed, -irresponsible ministers.</p> - -<p>The prison was the King’s castle, his stronghold -for the coercion and safe-keeping of all who conspired -against his person or threatened his peace. -It was a social reformatory in which he disciplined -the dissolute and the wastrel, the loose-livers of -both sexes, who were thus obliged to run straight -and kept out of mischief by the stringent curtailment -of their liberty. The prison, last of all, played -into the hands of the rich against the poor, active -champion of the commercial code, taking the side of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> -creditors by holding all debtors fast until they -could satisfy the legal, and at times illegal demands -made upon them.</p> - -<p>Various types of prisons were to be found in -France, the simpler kind being gradually enlarged -and extended, and more and more constantly utilised -as time passed and society became more complex. -All had common features and exercised similar -discipline. All were of solid construction, relying -upon bolts and bars, high walls and hard-hearted, -ruthless jailers. The prison régime was -alike in all; commonly starvation, squalor, the -sickness of hope deferred, close confinement protracted -to the extreme limits of human endurance -in dark dungeons, poisonous to health and inducing -mental breakdown. In all prisons, penalties followed -the same grievous lines. Culprits were subjected -to degradation moral and physical, to the -exposure of the <i>carcan</i> and pillory. They made -public reparation by the <i>amende honorable</i>, were -flogged, mutilated, branded and tortured.</p> - -<p>Prisons were to be met with throughout the -length and breadth of France. The capital had -many; every provincial city possessed one or more. -In Paris the principal prisons were the two Châtelets, -the gaols and, as we should say to-day, the -police headquarters of the Provost or chief magistrate -of the city. For-l’Évêque was the Bishops’ -court; the Conciergerie, the guardroom of the -King’s palace, kept by the <i>concierge</i>, porter or jani<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>tor, -really the mayor and custodian of the royal residence; -in the Temple the powerful and arrogant -military order of the Knights Templars had its -seat.</p> - -<p>The reigning sovereign relied upon the Bastile, -at first merely a rampart against invasion and rebellion, -but presently exalted into the King’s prison-house, -the royal gaol and penitentiary. He had -also the donjon of Vincennes, which was first a -place of defensive usefulness and next a place of -restraint and coercion for State offenders. Other -prisons came into existence later: the Madelonnettes, -St. Pélagie, Bicêtre, the Salpêtrière and St. -Lazare.</p> - -<p>All these have historic interest more or less pronounced -and notable. All in their time were the -scenes of strange, often terrible episodes and events. -All serve to illustrate various curious epochs of the -world’s history, but mark more especially the rise, -progress, aggrandisement and decadence and final -fall of the French monarchy.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a></h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> -<tr><td class="tdr small">CHAPTER</td> -<td> </td> -<td class="tdr small">PAGE</td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><a href="#INTRODUCTION"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></a></td> -<td class="tdpn">5</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">Origins and Early History</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">13</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">Struggle with the Sovereign</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">35</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">Vincennes and the Bastile</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">57</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">The Rise of Richelieu</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">90</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">The People and the Bastile</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">121</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">The Man with the Iron Mask</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">148</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">The Power of the Bastile</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">187</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">The Terror of Poison</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">210</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">The Horrors of the Galleys</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">232</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">The Dawn of Revolution</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">263</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdchn"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a> </td> -<td class="tdhanging"><span class="smcap">Last Days of the Bastile</span></td> -<td class="tdpn">287</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a><br /><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="List_of_Illustrations" id="List_of_Illustrations">List of Illustrations</a></h2> - -<table summary="Illustrations"> -<tr><td class="tdhanging"><a href="#img_1"><span class="smcap">Incident during the Communal Revolts -of the Twelfth Century</span></a></td> -<td class="tdpn" colspan="2"><i>Frontispiece</i></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdhanging"><a href="#img_2"><span class="smcap">Isle St. Marguerite</span></a></td> -<td class="tddo"><i>Page</i></td> -<td class="tdpn2">54</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdhanging"><a href="#img_3"><span class="smcap">The Castle of St. André</span></a></td> -<td class="tddo">”</td> -<td class="tdpn2"> 82</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdhanging"><a href="#img_4"><span class="smcap">The Bastile</span></a></td> -<td class="tddo">”</td> -<td class="tdpn2">190</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdhanging"><a href="#img_5"><span class="smcap">Chateau D’if, Marseilles</span></a></td> -<td class="tddo">”</td> -<td class="tdpn2">250</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a><br /><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="EARLY" id="EARLY">EARLY -FRENCH PRISONS</a></h2> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">ORIGINS AND EARLY HISTORY</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">The Feudal System—Early prisons—Classes of inmates—Alike -in aspect, similar in discipline—Variety of penalties—Chief -prisons of Paris in the Middle Ages—Great -and Little Châtelets—History and inmates—The Conciergerie -still standing—For-l’Évêque, the Bishop’s prison—The -Temple, prison of the Knights Templars—Bicêtre—Notable -prisoners—Salomon de Caus, steam inventor—St. -Pélagie—St. Lazare.</p> - -<p>Let us consider the prisons of Old France in the -order of their antiquity, their size and their general -importance in French history.</p> - -<p>First of all the two Châtelets, the greater and -less, Le Grand and Le Petit Châtelet, of which the -last named was probably the earliest in date of -erection. Antiquarians refer the Petit Châtelet to -the Roman period and state that its original use -was to guard the entrance to Paris when the city -was limited to that small island in the Seine which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> -was the nucleus of the great capital of France. -This fortress and bridge-head was besieged and destroyed -by the Normans but was subsequently rebuilt; -and it is mentioned in a deed dated 1222 in -which the king, Philip Augustus, took over the -rights of justice, at a price, from the Bishop of -Paris. It stood then on the south bank of the -Seine at the far end of the bridge long afterwards -known as the Petit Pont. Both bridge and castle -were swept away in 1296 by an inundation and half -a century elapsed before they were restored on -such a firm basis as to resist any future overflowing -of the Seine. At this date its rôle as a fortress -appears to have ceased and it was appropriated by -Charles V of France to serve as a prison and to -overawe the students of the Quartier Latin. -Hugues Aubriot, the same Provost of Paris who -built the Bastile, constructed several cells between -the pillars supporting the Petit Châtelet and employed -them for the confinement of turbulent -scholars of the university.</p> - -<p>The Grand Châtelet was situated on the opposite, -or northern bank of the river, facing that side -of the island of the Cité, or the far end of the Pont -au Change on the same site as the present Place -du Châtelet. Like its smaller namesake it was also -thought to have been a bridge-head or river-gate, -although this is based on no authentic record. The -first definite mention of the Grand Châtelet is in -the reign of Philip Augustus after he created the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> -courts of justice and headquarters of the municipality -of Paris.</p> - -<p>The Chapel and Confraternity of Notaries was -established here in 1270. The jurisdiction of the -Provost of Paris embraced all the functions of the -police of later days. He was responsible for the -good order and security of the city; he checked -disturbances and called the riotous and disorderly -to strict account. He was all powerful; all manner -of offenders were haled before the tribunals over -which he presided with fifty-six associate judges -and assistants. The Châtelet owned a King’s -Procurator and four King’s Counsellors, a chief -clerk, many receivers, bailiffs, ushers, gaolers and -sixty sworn special experts, a surgeon and his assistants, -including a mid-wife or accoucheuse, and -220 <i>sergents à cheval</i>, or outdoor officers and patrols, -over whom the Procurator’s authority was -supreme. The Procurator was also the guardian -and champion of the helpless and oppressed, of deserted -and neglected children and ill-used wives; he -regulated the markets and supervised the guilds and -corporations of trades and their operations, exposed -frauds in buying and selling and saw that accurate -weights and measures were employed in merchandising.</p> - -<p>The prisons of the two Châtelets were dark, gruesome -receptacles. Contemporary prints preserve -the grim features of the Petit Châtelet, a square, -massive building of stone pierced with a few loop<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>holes -in its towers, a drawbridge with a portcullis -giving access to the bridge. The Grand Châtelet -was of more imposing architecture, with an elevated -façade capped by a flat roof and having many -“pepper pot” towers at the angles. The cells and -chambers within were dark, dirty, ill-ventilated -dens. Air was admitted only from above and in -such insufficient quantity that the prisoners were in -constant danger of suffocation, while the space was -far too limited to accommodate the numbers confined. -The titles given to various parts of the interior -of the Grand Châtelet will serve to illustrate -the character of the accommodation.</p> - -<p>There was the <i>Berceau</i> or cradle, so called from -its arched roof; the <i>Boucherie</i>, with obvious derivation; -the <i>chaîne</i> room, otherwise <i>chêne</i>, from the -fetters used or the oak beams built into it; the <i>Fin -d’Aise</i> or “end of ease,” akin to the “Little Ease” -of old London’s Newgate, a horrible and putrescent -pigsty, described as full of filth and over-run with -reptiles and with air so poisonous that a candle -would not remain alight in it. A chamber especially -appropriated to females was styled <i>La Grieche</i>, an -old French epithet for a shrew or vixen; other -cells are known as <i>La Gloriette</i>, <i>La Barbarie</i>, <i>La -Barcane</i> or <i>Barbacane</i>, lighted by a small grating -in the roof. The Châtelet had its deep-down, underground -dungeon, the familiar <i>oubliettes</i> of every -mediæval castle and monastery, called also <i>in pace</i> -because the hapless inmates were thrown into them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> -to be forgotten and left to perish of hunger and -anguish, but “in peace.” The worst of these at the -Châtelet must have been <i>La Fosse</i>, the bottom of -which was knee deep in water, so that the prisoner -was constantly soaked and it was necessary to stand -erect to escape drowning; here death soon brought -relief, for “none survived <i>La Fosse</i> for more than -fifteen days.”</p> - -<p>Monstrous as it must appear, rent on a fixed -scale was extorted for residence in these several -apartments. These were in the so-called “honest” -prisons. The <i>Chaîne</i> room, mentioned above, <i>La -Beauvoir</i>, <i>La Motte</i> and <i>La Salle</i> cost each individual -four deniers (the twelfth part of a sou) for -the room and two for a bed. In <i>La Boucherie</i> and -<i>Grieche</i> it was two deniers for the room, but only -one denier for a bed of straw or reeds. Even in -<i>La Fosse</i> and the <i>oubliettes</i> payment was exacted, -presumably in advance. Some light is thrown by -the ancient chronicles upon the prison system that -obtained within the Châtelet. The first principle -was recognised that it was a place of detention only -and not for the maltreatment of its involuntary -guests. Rules were made by the parliaments, the -chief juridical authorities of Paris, to soften the lot -of the prisoners, to keep order amongst them and -protect them from the cupidity of their gaolers. -The governor was permitted to charge gaol fees, -but the scale was strictly regulated and depended -upon the status and condition of the individuals<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> -committed. Thus a count or countess paid ten -livres (about fifty francs), a knight banneret was -charged twenty sous, a Jew or Jewess half that -amount. Prisoners who lay on the straw paid one -sou. For half a bed the price was three sous and -for the privilege of sleeping alone, five sous. The -latest arrivals were obliged to sweep the floors and -keep the prison rooms clean. It was ordered that -the officials should see that the bread issued was -of good quality and of the proper weight, a full -pound and a half per head. The officials were to -visit the prisons at least once a week and receive -the complaints made by prisoners out of hearing of -their gaolers. The hospitals were to be regularly -visited and attention given to the sick. Various -charities existed to improve the prison diet: the -drapers on their fête day issued bread, meat and -wine; the watchmakers gave a dinner on Easter -day when food was seized and forfeited and a portion -was issued to the pauper prisoners.</p> - -<p>In all this the little Châtelet served as an annex -to the larger prison. During their lengthened existence -both prisons witnessed many atrocities and -were disgraced by many dark deeds. One of the -most frightful episodes was that following the -blood-thirsty feuds between the Armagnacs and the -Bourguignons in the early years of the fifteenth -century. These two political parties fought for -supreme authority in the city of Paris, which was -long torn by their dissensions. The Armagnacs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> -held the Bastile but were dispossessed of it by the -Bourguignons, who were guilty of the most terrible -excesses. They slaughtered five hundred and -twenty of their foes and swept the survivors wholesale -into the Châtelet and the “threshold of the -prison became the scaffold of 1,500 unfortunate -victims.” The Bourguignons were not satisfied -and besieged the place in due form; for the imprisoned -Armagnacs organised a defense and threw -up a barricade upon the north side of the fortress, -where they held out stoutly. The assailants at last -made a determined attack with scaling ladders, by -which they surmounted the walls sixty feet high, -and a fierce and prolonged conflict ensued. When -the attack was failing the Bourguignons set fire to -the prison and fought their way in, driving the -besieged before them. Many of the Armagnacs -sought to escape the flames by flinging themselves -over the walls and were caught upon the pikes of -the Bourguignons “who finished them with axe -and sword.” Among the victims were many persons -of quality, two cardinals, several bishops, officers -of rank, magistrates and respectable citizens.</p> - -<p>The garrison of the Châtelet in those early days -was entrusted to the archers of the provost’s guard, -the little Châtelet being the provost’s official residence. -The guard was frequently defied by the -turbulent population and especially by the scholars -of the University of Paris, an institution under the -ecclesiastical authority and very jealous of inter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>ference -by the secular arm. One provost in the -fourteenth century, having caught a scholar in the -act of stealing upon the highway, forthwith hanged -him, whereupon the clergy of Paris went in procession -to the Châtelet and denounced the provost. -The King sided with them and the chief magistrate -of the city was sacrificed to their clamor. Another -provost, who hanged two scholars for robbery, -was degraded from his office, led to the gallows -and compelled to take down and kiss the corpses -of the men he had executed. The provosts themselves -were sometimes unfaithful to their trust. -One of them in the reign of Philip the Long, by -name Henri Chaperel, made a bargain with a -wealthy citizen who was in custody under sentence -of death. The condemned man was allowed to escape -and a friendless and obscure prisoner hanged -in his place. It is interesting to note, however, that -this Henri Chaperel finished on the gallows as did -another provost, Hugues de Cruzy, who was caught -in dishonest traffic with his prisoners. Here the -King himself had his share in the proceeds. A -famous brigand and highwayman of noble birth, -Jourdain de Lisle, the chief of a great band of robbers, -bought the protection of the provost, and the -Châtelet refused to take cognizance of his eight -crimes—any one of which deserved an ignominious -death. It was necessary to appoint a new provost -before justice could be meted out to Jourdain -de Lisle, who was at last tied to the tail of a horse<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> -and dragged through the streets of Paris to the -public gallows.</p> - -<p>In the constant warfare between the provost and -the people the latter did not hesitate to attack the -prison fortress of the Châtelet. In 1320 a body of -insurgents collected under the leadership of two -apostate priests who promised to meet them across -the seas and conquer the Holy Land. When some -of their number were arrested and thrown into the -Châtelet, the rest marched upon the prison, bent on -rescue, and, breaking in, effected a general gaol -delivery. This was not the only occasion in which -the Châtelet lost those committed to its safe-keeping. -In the latter end of the sixteenth century the -provost was one Hugues de Bourgueil, a hunch-back -with a beautiful wife. Among his prisoners -was a young Italian, named Gonsalvi, who, on the -strength of his nationality, gained the goodwill of -Catherine de Medicis, the Queen Mother. The -Queen commended him to the provost, who lodged -him in his own house, and Gonsalvi repaid this -kindness by running away with de Bourgueil’s -wife. Madame de Bourgueil, on the eve of her -elopement, gained possession of the prison keys and -released the whole of the three hundred prisoners -in custody, thus diverting the attention from her -own escapade. The provost, preferring his duty -to his wife, turned out with horse and foot, and -pursued and recaptured the fugitive prisoners, -while Madame de Bourgueil and her lover were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> -allowed to go their own way. After this affair the -King moved the provost’s residence from the Châtelet -to the Hôtel de Hercule.</p> - -<p>References are found in the earlier records of the -various prisoners confined in the Châtelet. One of -the earliest is a list of Jews imprisoned for reasons -not given. But protection was also afforded to -this much wronged race, and once, towards the end -of the fourteenth century, when the populace rose to -rob and slaughter the Jews, asylum was given to the -unfortunates by opening to them the gates of the -Châtelet. About the same time a Spanish Jew and -an habitual thief, one Salmon of Barcelona, were -taken to the Châtelet and condemned to be hanged -by the heels between two large dogs. Salmon, to -save himself, offered to turn Christian, and was duly -baptised, the gaoler’s wife being his godmother. -Nevertheless, within a week he was hanged “like -a Christian” (<i>chrétiennement</i>), under his baptismal -name of Nicholas.</p> - -<p>The Jews themselves resented the apostasy of -a co-religionist and it is recorded that four were -detained in the Châtelet for having attacked and -maltreated Salmon for espousing Christianity. For -this they were condemned to be flogged at all the -street corners on four successive Sundays; but -when a part of the punishment had been inflicted -they were allowed to buy off the rest by a payment -of 18,000 francs in gold. The money was applied -to the rebuilding of the Petit Pont. Prisoners of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> -war were confined there. Eleven gentlemen accused -of assassination were “long detained” in -the Châtelet and in the end executed. It continually -received sorcerers and magicians in the days -when many were accused of commerce with the -Devil. Idle vagabonds who would not work were -lodged in it.</p> - -<p>At this period Paris and the provinces were terrorised -by bands of brigands. Some of the chief -leaders were captured and carried to the Châtelet, -where they suffered the extreme penalty. The -crime of poisoning, always so much in evidence in -French criminal annals, was early recorded at the -Châtelet. In 1390 payment was authorised for -three mounted sergeants of police who escorted from -the prison at Angers and Le Mans to the Châtelet, -two priests charged with having thrown poison into -the wells, fountains and rivers of the neighborhood. -One Honoré Paulard, a bourgeois of Paris, -was in 1402 thrown into the <i>Fin d’Aise</i> dungeon -of the Châtelet for having poisoned his father, -mother, two sisters and three other persons in order -to succeed to their inheritance. Out of consideration -for his family connections he was not publicly -executed but left to the tender mercies of the <i>Fin -d’Aise</i>, where he died at the end of a month. The -procureur of parliament was condemned to death -with his wife Ysabelete, a prisoner in the Châtelet, -whose former husband, also a procureur, they were -suspected of having poisoned. On no better evi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>dence -than suspicion they were both sentenced to -death—the husband to be hanged and the wife -burned alive. Offenders of other categories were -brought to the Châtelet. A superintendent of -finances, prototype of Fouquet, arrested by the -Provost Pierre des Fessarts, and convicted of embezzlement, -met his fate in the Châtelet. Strange -to say, Des Fessarts himself was arrested four -years later and suffered on the same charge. Great -numbers of robbers taken red-handed were imprisoned—at -one time two hundred thieves, murderers -and highwaymen (<i>épieurs de grand chemin</i>). -An auditor of the Palace was condemned to make -the <i>amende honorable</i> in effigy; a figure of his -body in wax being shown at the door of the chapel -and then dragged to the pillory to be publicly exposed. -Clement Marot, the renowned poet, was -committed to the Châtelet at the instance of the -beautiful Diane de Poitiers for continually inditing -fulsome verses in her praise. Weary at last of her -contemptuous silence he penned a bitter satire which -Diane resented by accusing him of Lutheranism -and of eating bacon in Lent. Marot’s confinement -in the Châtelet inspired his famous poem -<i>L’Enfer</i>, wherein he compared the Châtelet to -the infernal regions and cursed the whole French -penal system—prisoners, judges, lawyers and the -cruelties of the “question.”</p> - -<p>Never from the advent of the Reformation did -Protestants find much favor in France. In 1557<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> -four hundred Huguenots assembled for service in -a house of the Rue St. Jacques and were attacked -on leaving it by a number of the neighbors. They -fought in self-defense and many made good their -escape, but the remainder—one hundred and -twenty persons, several among them being ladies -of the Court—were arrested by the <i>lieutenant -criminel</i> and carried to the Châtelet. They were -accused of infamous conduct and although they -complained to the King they were sent to trial, and -within a fortnight nearly all the number were burnt -at the stake. Another story runs that the <i>lieutenant -criminel</i> forced his way into a house in the Marais -where a number of Huguenots were at table. They -fled, but the hotel keeper was arrested and charged -with having supplied meat in the daily bill of fare on -a Friday. For this he was conducted to the Châtelet -with his wife and children, a larded capon being -carried before them to hold them up to the -derision of the bystanders. The incident ended -seriously, for the wretched inn-keeper was thrown -into a dungeon and died there in misery.</p> - -<p>Precedence has been given to the two Châtelets -in the list of ancient prisons in Paris, but no doubt -the Conciergerie runs them close in point of date -and was equally formidable. It originally was part -of the Royal Palace of the old Kings of France and -still preserves as to site, and in some respects as to -form, in the Palais de Justice one of the most interesting -monuments in modern Paris. “There<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> -survives a sense of suffocation in these buildings,” -writes Philarète Chasles. “Here are the oldest -dungeons of France. Paris had scarcely begun -when they were first opened.” “These towers,” -says another Frenchman, “the courtyard and the -dim passage along which prisoners are still admitted, -have tears in their very aspect.” One of the -greatest tragedies in history was played out in the -Conciergerie almost in our own days, thus bringing -down the sad record of bitter sufferings inflicted by -man upon man from the Dark Ages to the day of -our much vaunted enlightenment. The Conciergerie -was the last resting place, before execution, -of the hapless Queen Marie Antoinette.</p> - -<p>When Louis IX, commonly called Saint Louis, -rebuilt his palace in the thirteenth century he constructed -also his dungeons hard by. The <i>concierge</i> -was trusted by the kings with the safe-keeping -of their enemies and was the governor of -the royal prison. In 1348 he took the title of <i>bailli</i> -and the office lasted, with its wide powers often -sadly abused, until the collapse of the monarchical -régime. A portion of the original Conciergerie as -built in the garden of Concierge is still extant. -Three of the five old towers, circular in shape and -with pepper pot roofs, are standing. Of the first, -that of Queen Blanche was pulled down in 1853 and -that of the Inquisition in 1871. The three now -remaining are Cæsar’s Tower, where the reception -ward is situated on the very spot where Damiens,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> -the attempted regicide of Louis XV, was interrogated -while strapped to the floor; the tower of -Silver, the actual residence of “Reine Blanche” -and the visiting room where legal advisers confer -with their clients among the accused prisoners; and -lastly the Bon Bec tower, once the torture chamber -and now the hospital and dispensary of the -prison.</p> - -<p>The cells and dungeons of the Conciergerie, -some of which might be seen and inspected as late -as 1835, were horrible beyond belief. Clement -Marot said of it in his verse that it was impossible -to conceive a place that more nearly approached a -hell upon earth. The loathsomeness of its underground -receptacles was inconceivable. It contained -some of the worst specimens of the ill-famed <i>oubliettes</i>. -An attempt has been made by some modern -writers to deny the existence of these <i>oubliettes</i>, -but all doubt was removed by discoveries revealed -when opening the foundations of the Bon Bec tower. -Two subterranean pits were found below the ordinary -level of the river Seine and the remains of -sharpened iron points protruded from their walls -obviously intended to catch the bodies and tear the -flesh of those flung into these cavernous depths. -Certain of these dungeons were close to the royal -kitchens and were long preserved. They are still -remembered by the quaint name of the mousetraps -(or <i>souricières</i>) in which the inmates were caught -and kept <i>au secret</i>, entirely separate and unable to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> -communicate with a single soul but their immediate -guardians and gaolers.</p> - -<p>The torture chamber and the whole paraphernalia -for inflicting the “question” were part and parcel -of every ancient prison. But the most complete and -perfect methods were to be found in the Conciergerie. -As a rule, therefore, in the most heinous -cases, when the most shocking crimes were under -investigation, the accused was relegated to the Conciergerie -to undergo treatment by torture. It was -so in the case of Ravaillac who murdered Henry -IV; also the Marchioness of Brinvilliers and the -poisoners; and yet again, of Damiens who attempted -the life of Louis XV, and many more: -to whom detailed references will be found in later -pages.</p> - -<p>The For-l’Évêque, the Bishop’s prison, was situated -in the rue St. Germain-l’Auxerrois, and is -described in similar terms as the foregoing: “dark, -unwholesome and over-crowded.” In the court or -principal yard, thirty feet long by eighteen feet -wide, some four or five hundred prisoners were -constantly confined. The outer walls were of such -a height as to forbid the circulation of fresh air -and there was not enough to breathe. The cells -were more dog-holes than human habitations. In -some only six feet square, five prisoners were often -lodged at one and the same time. Others were too -low in the ceiling for a man to stand upright and -few had anything but borrowed light from the yard.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> -Many cells were below the ground level and that -of the river bed, so that water filtered in through -the arches all the year round, and even in the height -of summer the only ventilation was by a slight slit -in the door three inches wide. “To pass by an -open cell door one felt as if smitten by fire from -within,” says a contemporary writer. Access to -these cells was by dark, narrow galleries. For -long years the whole prison was in such a state of -dilapidation that ruin and collapse were imminent.</p> - -<p>Later For-l’Évêque received insolvent debtors—those -against whom <i>lettres de cachet</i> were issued, -and actors who were evil livers. It was the curious -custom to set these last free for a few hours nightly -in order to play their parts at the theatres; but -they were still in the custody of the officer of the -watch and were returned to gaol after the performance. -Many minor offenders guilty of small infractions -of the law, found lodging in the For-l’Évêque. -Side by side with thieves and roysterers were dishonest -usurers who lent trifling sums. All jurisdictions, -all authorities could commit to the For-l’Évêque, -the judges of inferior tribunals, ministers -of state, auditors, grand seigneurs. The prison régime -varied for this various population, but poor -fare and poorer lodgings were the fate of the larger -number. Those who could pay found chambers -more comfortable, decently furnished, and palatable -food. Order was not always maintained. More -than once mutinies broke out, generally on account<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> -of the villainous ration of bread issued, and it was -often found necessary to fire upon the prisoners to -subdue them.</p> - -<p>When the Knights Templars received permission -to settle in Paris in the twelfth century, they gradually -consolidated their power in the Marais, the -marshy ground to the eastward of the Seine, and -there laid the foundations of a great stronghold on -which the Temple prison was a prominent feature. -The knights wielded sovereign power with the -rights of high justice and the very kings of France -themselves bent before them. At length the arrogance -of the order brought it the bitter hostility of -Philippe le Bel who, in 1307, broke the power of -the order in France. They were pursued and persecuted. -Their Grand Master was tortured and -executed while the King administered their estate. -The prison of the Temple with its great towers -and wide encircling walls became a state prison, the -forerunner of Vincennes and the Bastile. It received, -as a rule, the most illustrious prisoners only, -dukes and counts and sovereign lords, and in the -Revolutionary period it gained baleful distinction -as the condemned cell, so to speak, of Louis XVI -and Marie Antoinette.</p> - -<p>The prison of Bicêtre, originally a bishop’s residence -and then successively a house of detention -for sturdy beggars and a lunatic asylum, was first -built at the beginning of the thirteenth century. -It was owned by John, Bishop of Winchester in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> -England, and its name was a corruption of the word -Winchester—“Vinchester” and so “Bichestre” -and, eventually, “Bicêtre.” It was confiscated to -the King in the fourteenth century and Charles VI -dated his letters from that castle. It fell into a -ruinous state in the following years and nothing -was done to it until it was rebuilt by Louis XIII -as a hospital for invalid soldiers and became, with -the Salpêtrière, the abode of the paupers who so -largely infested Paris. The hospital branch of the -prison was used for the treatment of certain discreditable -disorders, sufferers from which were -regularly flogged at the time of their treatment by -the surgeons. An old writer stigmatised the prison -as a terrible ulcer that no one dared look at and -which poisoned the air for four hundred yards -around. Bicêtre was the home for all vagabonds -and masterless men, the sturdy beggars who demanded -alms sword in hand, and soldiers who, when -their pay was in arrears, robbed upon the highway. -Epileptics and the supposed mentally diseased, -whether they were actually proved so or not, were -committed to Bicêtre and after reception soon degenerated -into imbeciles and raging lunatics. The terrors -of underground Bicêtre have been graphically -described by Masers-Latude, who had personal experience -of them. This man, Danry or Latude, -has been called a fictitious character, but the memoirs -attributed to him are full of realism and cannot -be entirely neglected. He says of Bicêtre:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> - -<p>“In wet weather or when it thawed in winter, -water streamed from all parts of our cell. I was -crippled with rheumatism and the pains were such -that I was sometimes whole weeks without getting -up. The window-sill guarded by an iron grating -gave on to a corridor, the wall of which was placed -exactly opposite at a height of ten feet. A glimmer -of light came through this aperture and was accompanied -by snow and rain. I had neither fire nor artificial -light and prison rags were my only clothing. -To quench my thirst I sucked morsels of ice broken -off with the heel of my wooden shoe. If I stopped -up the window I was nearly choked by the effluvium -from the cellars. Insects stung me in the eyes. -I had always a bad taste in my mouth and my -lungs were horribly oppressed. I was detained in -that cell for thirty-eight months enduring the pangs -of hunger, cold and damp. I was attacked by -scurvy and was presently unable to sit or rise. In -ten days my legs and thighs were swollen to twice -their ordinary size. My body turned black. My -teeth loosened in their sockets and I could no longer -masticate. I could not speak and was thought to -be dead. Then the surgeon came, and seeing my -state ordered me to be removed to the infirmary.”</p> - -<p>An early victim of Bicêtre was the Protestant -Frenchman, Salomon de Caus, who had lived much -in England and Germany and had already, at the -age of twenty, gained repute as an architect, painter -and engineer. One of his inventions was an appa<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>ratus -for forcing up water by a steam fountain; -and that eminent scientist, Arago, declares that -De Caus preceded Watt as an inventor of steam -mechanisms. It was De Caus’s misfortune to fall -desperately in love with the notorious Marion -Delorme. When his attentions became too demonstrative -this fiendish creature applied for a <i>lettre de -cachet</i> from Richelieu. De Caus was invited to -call upon the Cardinal, whom he startled with his -marvellous schemes. Richelieu thought himself in -the presence of a madman and forthwith ordered -De Caus to Bicêtre. Two years later Marion Delorme -visited Bicêtre and was recognised by De -Caus as she passed his cell. He called upon her -piteously by name, and her companion, the English -Marquis of Worcester, asked if she knew him, but -she repudiated the acquaintance. Lord Worcester -was, however, attracted by the man and his inventions, -and afterwards privately visited him, giving -his opinion later that a great genius had run to -waste in this mad-house.</p> - -<p>Bicêtre was subsequently associated with the galleys -and was starting point of the chain of convicts -directed upon the arsenals of Toulon, Rochefort, -Lorient and Brest. A full account of these -modern prisons is reserved for a later chapter.</p> - -<p>The prison of Sainte Pélagie was founded in the -middle of the seventeenth century by a charitable -lady, Marie l’Hermite, in the faubourg Sainte Marcel, -as a refuge for ill-conducted women, those who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> -came voluntarily and those who were committed by -dissatisfied fathers or husbands. It became, subsequently, -a debtors’ prison. The Madelonnettes were -established about the same time and for the same -purpose, by a wine merchant, Robert Montri, devoted -to good works. The prison of St. Lazare, -to-day the great female prison of Paris, appears to -have been originally a hospital for lepers, and was -at that time governed by the ecclesiastical authority. -It was the home of various communities, till in -1630 the lepers disappeared, and it became a kind -of seminary or place of detention for weak-minded -persons and youthful members of good position -whose families desired to subject them to discipline -and restraint. The distinction between St. Lazare -and the Bastile was well described by a writer who -said, “If I had been a prisoner in the Bastile I -should on release have taken my place among <i>genres -de bien</i> (persons of good social position) but on -leaving Lazare I should have ranked with the <i>mauvais -sujets</i> (ne’er do weels).” A good deal remains -to be said about St. Lazare in its modern -aspects.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">STRUGGLE WITH THE SOVEREIGN</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">Provincial prisons—Loches, in Touraine, still standing—Favorite -gaol of Louis XI—The iron cage—Cardinal La -Balue, the Duc d’Alençon, Comines, the Bishops—Ludovico -Sforza, Duke of Milan, and his mournful inscriptions—Diane -de Poitiers and her father—Mont St. Michel—Louis -Napoleon—Count St. Pol—Strongholds of Touraine—Catherine -de Medicis—Massacre of St Bartholomew—Murder -of Duc de Guise—Chambord—Amboise—Angers—Pignerol—Exiles -and the Isle St. Marguerite.</p> - -<p>The early history of France is made up of the -continuous struggle between the sovereign and the -people. The power of the king, though constantly -opposed by the great vassals and feudal lords, -steadily grew and gained strength. The state was -meanwhile torn with dissensions and passed -through many succeeding periods of anarchy and -great disorders. The king’s power was repeatedly -challenged by rivals and pretenders. It was weakened, -and at times eclipsed, but in the long run it -always triumphed. The king always vindicated -his right to the supreme authority and, when he -could, ruled arbitrarily and imperiously, backed and -supported by attributes of autocracy which gradually -overcame all opposition and finally established -a despotic absolutism.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> - -<p>The principal prisons of France were royal institutions. -Two in particular, the chief and most -celebrated, Vincennes and the Bastile, were seated -in the capital. With these I shall deal presently at -considerable length. Many others, provincial -strongholds and castles, were little less conspicuous -and mostly of evil reputation. I shall deal with -those first.</p> - -<p>Loches in the Touraine, some twenty-five miles -from Tours, will go down in history as one of the -most famous, or more exactly, infamous castles in -mediæval France. It was long a favored royal -palace, a popular residence with the Plantagenet -and other kings, but degenerated at length under -Louis XI into a cruel and hideous gaol. It stands -to-day in elevated isolation dominating a flat, verdant -country, just as the well-known Mont St. -Michel rises above the sands on the Normandy -coast. The most prominent object is the colossal -white donjon, or central keep, esteemed the finest -of its kind in France, said to have been erected by -Fulk Nerra, the celebrated “Black Count,” Count -of Anjou in the eleventh century. It is surrounded -by a congeries of massive buildings of later date. -Just below it are the round towers of the Martelet, -dating from Louis XI, who placed within them the -terrible dungeons he invariably kept filled. At the -other end of the long lofty plateau is another tower, -that of Agnes Sorel, the personage whose influence -over Charles VII, although wrongly acquired, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> -always exercised for good, and whose earnest -patriotism inspired him to strenuous attempts to -recover France from its English invaders. Historians -have conceded to her a place far above the -many kings’ mistresses who have reigned upon the -left hand of the monarchs of France. Agnes was -known as the lady of “Beauté-sur-Marne,” “a -beauty in character as well as in aspect,” and is -said to have been poisoned at Junièges. She was -buried at Loches with the inscription, still legible, -“A sweet and simple dove whiter than swans, -redder than the flame.” The face, still distinguishable, -preserves the “loveliness of flowers in -spring.” After the death of Charles VII, the -priests of Saint-Ours desired to expel this tomb. -But Louis XI was now on the throne. He had not -hesitated to insult Agnes Sorel while living, upbraiding -her openly and even, one day at court, -striking her in the face with his glove, but he would -only grant their request on condition that they surrender -the many rich gifts bestowed upon them at -her hands.</p> - -<p>It is, however, in its character as a royal gaol and -horrible prison house that Loches concerns us. -Louis XI, saturnine and vindictive, found it exactly -suited to his purpose for the infliction of those -barbarous and inhuman penalties upon those who -had offended him, that must ever disgrace his name. -The great donjon, already mentioned, built by Fulk -Nerra, the “Black Count,” had already been used<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> -by him as a prison and the rooms occupied by the -Scottish Guard are still to be seen. The new tower -at the northwest angle of the fortress was the work -of Louis and on the ground floor level is the torture -chamber, with an iron bar recalling its ancient usage. -Below are four stories, one beneath the other. -These dungeons, entered by a subterranean door -give access to the vaulted semi-dark interior. -Above this gloomy portal is scratched the jesting -welcome, “<i>Entrez Messieurs—ches le Roi nostre -maistre</i>,”—“Come in, the King is at home.” At -this gateway the King stood frequently with his -chosen companions, his barber and the common -hangman, to gloat over the sufferings of his prisoners. -In a cell on the second story from the bottom, -the iron cage was established, so fiendishly contrived -for the unending pain of its occupant. Comines, -the “Father of modern historians,” gives in his -memoirs a full account of this detestable place of -durance.</p> - -<p>Comines fell into disgrace with Anne of Beaujeu -by fomenting rebellion against her administration -as Regent. He fled and took refuge with the Duke -de Bourbon, whom he persuaded to go to the King, -the infant Charles VIII, to complain of Anne’s misgovernment. -Comines was dismissed by the Duke -de Bourbon and took service with the Duke d’Orleans. -Their intrigues were secretly favored by the -King himself, who, as he grew older, became impatient -of the wise but imperious control of Anne<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> -of Beaujeu. In concert with some other nobles, -Comines plotted to carry off the young King and -place him under the guardianship of the Duke d’Orleans. -Although Charles was a party to the design -he punished them when it failed. Comines was arrested -at Amboise and taken to Loches, where he -was confined for eight months. Then by decree of -the Paris parliament his property was confiscated -and he was brought to Paris to be imprisoned in the -Conciergerie. There he remained for twenty -months, and in March, 1489, was condemned to banishment -to one of his estates for ten years and to -give bail for his good behavior to the amount of -10,000 golden crowns. He was forgiven long before -the end of his term and regained his seat and -influence in the King’s Council of State.</p> - -<p>“The King,” says Comines, “had ordered several -cruel prisons to be made; some were cages of iron -and some of wood, but all were covered with iron -plates both within and without, with terrible locks, -about eight feet wide and seven feet high; the first -contriver of them was the Bishop of Verdun -(Guillaume d’Haraucourt) who was immediately -put into the first of them, where he continued fourteen -years. Many bitter curses he has had since -his invention, and some from me as I lay in one of -them eight months together during the minority -of our present King. He (Louis XI) also ordered -heavy and terrible fetters to be made in Germany -and particularly a certain ring for the feet which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> -was extremely hard to be opened and fitted like an -iron collar, with a thick weighty chain and a great -globe of iron at the end of it, most unreasonably -heavy, which engine was called the King’s Nets. -However, I have seen many eminent men, deserving -persons in these prisons with these nets about their -legs, who afterwards came out with great joy and -honor and received great rewards from the king.”</p> - -<p>Another occupant beside d’Haraucourt, of this -intolerable den, so limited in size that “no person -of average proportions could stand up comfortably -or be at full length within,” was Cardinal la -Balue,—for some years after 1469. These two -great ecclesiastics had been guilty of treasonable -correspondence with the Duke of Burgundy, then -at war with Louis XI. The treachery was the more -base in La Balue, who owed everything to Louis, -who had raised him from a tailor’s son to the highest -dignities in the Church and endowed him with -immense wealth. Louis had a strong bias towards -low-born men and “made his servants, heralds and -his barbers, ministers of state.” Louis would have -sent this traitor to the scaffold, but ever bigoted and -superstitious, he was afraid of the Pope, Paul II, -who had protested against the arrest of a prelate -and a prince of the Church. He kept d’Haraucourt, -the Bishop of Verdun, in prison for many years, for -the most part at the Bastile while Cardinal La Balue -was moved to and fro: he began at Loches whence, -with intervals at Onzain, Montpaysan, and Plessis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>-lez-Tours, -he was brought periodically to the Bastile -in order that his tormentor might gloat personally -over his sufferings. This was the servant of whom -Louis once thought so well that he wrote of him -as “a good sort of devil of a bishop just now, but -there is no saying what he may grow into by and -by.” He endured the horrors of imprisonment -until within three years of the death of the King, -who, after a long illness and a paralytic seizure, -yielded at last to the solicitations of the then Pope, -Sixtus IV, to release him.</p> - -<p>The “Bishops’ Prison” is still shown at Loches, -a different receptacle from the cages and dungeons -occupied by Cardinal La Balue and the Bishop of -Verdun. These other bishops did their own decorations -akin to Sforza’s, but their rude presentment -was of an altar and cross roughly depicted on the -wall of their cell. Some confusion exists as to their -identity, but they are said to have been De Pompadour, -Bishop of Peregneux, and De Chaumont, -Bishop of Montauban, and their offense was complicity -in the conspiracy for which Comines suffered. -If this were so it must have been after the -reign of Louis XI.</p> - -<p>Among the many victims condemned by Louis -XI to the tender mercies of Loches, was the Duc -d’Alençon, who had already been sentenced to death -in the previous reign for trafficking with the English, -but whose life had been spared by Charles VII, -to be again forfeited to Louis XI, for conspiracy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> -with the Duke of Burgundy. His sentence was -commuted to imprisonment in Loches.</p> - -<p>A few more words about Loches. Descending -more than a hundred steps we reach the dungeon -occupied by Ludovico Sforza, called “Il Moro,” -Duke of Milan, who had long been in conflict with -France. The epithet applied to him was derived -from the mulberry tree, which from the seasons of -its flowers and its fruit was taken as an emblem of -“prudence.” The name was wrongly supposed to -be due to his dark Moorish complexion. After many -successes the fortune of war went against Sforza -and he was beaten by Trionlzio, commanding the -French army, who cast him into the prison of -Novara. Il Moro was carried into France, his destination -being the underground dungeon at Loches.</p> - -<p>Much pathos surrounds the memory of this -illustrious prisoner, who for nine years languished -in a cell so dark that light entered it only through -a slit in fourteen feet of rock. The only spot -ever touched by daylight is still indicated by a -small square scratched on the stone floor. Ludovico -Sforza strove to pass the weary hours by decorating -his room with rough attempts at fresco. The -red stars rendered in patterns upon the wall may -still be seen, and among them, twice repeated, a -prodigious helmet giving a glimpse through the -casque of the stern, hard looking face inside. A -portrait of Il Moro is extant at the Certosa, near -Pavia, and has been described as that of a man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> -“with the fat face and fine chin of the elderly Napoleon, -the beak-like nose of Wellington, a small, -querulous, neat-lipped mouth and immense eyebrows -stretched like the talons of an eagle across -the low forehead.”</p> - -<p>Ludovico Sforza left his imprint on the walls of -this redoubtable gaol and we may read his daily -repinings in the mournful inscriptions he recorded -among the rough red decorations. One runs: -“My motto is to arm myself with patience, to -bear the troubles laid upon me.” He who would -have faced death eagerly in open fight declares here -that he was “assailed by it and could not die.” He -found “no pity; gaiety was banished entirely from -his heart.” At length, after struggling bravely for -nearly nine years he was removed from the lower -dungeons to an upper floor and was permitted to -exercise occasionally in the open air till death came, -with its irresistible order of release. The picture -of his first passage through Paris to his living tomb -has been admirably drawn:—“An old French -street surging with an eager mob, through which -there jostles a long line of guards and archers; in -their midst a tall man dressed in black camlet, -seated on a mule. In his hands he holds his biretta -and lifts up unshaded his pale, courageous face, -showing in all his bearing a great contempt for -death. It is Ludovico, Duke of Milan, riding to his -cage at Loches.” It is not to the credit of Louis XII -and his second wife, Anne of Brittany, widow of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> -his predecessor Charles VIII, that they often occupied -Loches as a royal residence during the incarceration -of Ludovico Sforza, and made high festival -upstairs while their wretched prisoner languished -below.</p> - -<p>The rebellion of the Constable de Bourbon -against Francis I, in 1523, implicated two more -bishops, those of Puy and Autun. Bourbon aspired -to create an independent kingdom in the heart of -France and was backed by the Emperor Charles V. -The Sieur de Brézé, Seneschal of Normandy, the -husband of the famous Diane de Poitiers, revealed -the conspiracy to the King, Francis I, unwittingly -implicating Jean de Poitiers, his father-in-law. -Bourbon, flying to one of his fortified castles, sent -the Bishop of Autun to plead for him with the King, -who only arrested the messenger. Bourbon, continuing -his flight, stopped a night at Puy in Auvergne, -and this dragged in the second bishop. -Jean de Poitiers, Seigneur de St. Vallier, was also -thrown into Loches, whence the prisoner appealed -to his daughter and his son-in-law. “Madame,” he -wrote to Diane, “here am I arrived at Loches as -badly handled as any prisoner could be. I beg of -you to have so much pity as to come and visit your -poor father.” Diane strove hard with the pitiless -king, who only pressed on the trial, urging the -judges to elicit promptly all the particulars and the -names of the conspirators, if necessary by torture. -St. Vallier’s sentence was commuted to imprison<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>ment, -“between four walls of solid masonry with -but one small slit of window.” The Constable de -Bourbon made St. Vallier’s release a condition of -submission, and Diane de Poitiers, ever earnestly -begging for mercy, won pardon at length, which -she took in person to her father’s gloomy cell, where -his hair had turned white in the continual darkness.</p> - -<p>The wretched inmates of Loches succeeded each -other, reign after reign in an interminable procession. -One of the most ill-used was de Rochechouart, -nephew of the Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld, -who was mixed up in a court intrigue in -1633 and detained in Loches with no proof against -him in the hopes of extorting a confession.</p> - -<p>Mont St. Michel as a State prison is of still -greater antiquity than Loches, far older than the -stronghold for which it was admirably suited by -its isolated situation on the barren sea shore. It is -still girt round with mediæval walls from which rise -tall towers proclaiming its defensive strength. Its -church and Benedictine monastery are of ancient -foundation, dating back to the eighth century. It -was taken under the especial protection of Duke -Rollo and contributed shipping for the invading -hosts of William the Conqueror. Later, in the long -conflict with the English, when their hosts over-ran -Normandy, Mont St. Michel was the only fortress -which held out for the French king. The origin -of its dungeons and <i>oubliettes</i> is lost in antiquity. -It had its cage like Loches, built of metal bars, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> -for these solid wooden beams were afterwards substituted.</p> - -<p>Modern sentiment hangs about the citadel of -Ham near Amiens, as the prison house of Louis -Napoleon and his companions, Generals Cavaignac, -Changarnier and Lamoricière, after his raid upon -Boulogne, in 1830, when he prematurely attempted -to seize supreme power in France and ignominiously -failed. Ham had been a place of durance for political -purposes from the earliest times. There was a -castle before the thirteenth century and one was -erected on the same site in 1470 by the Count St. -Pol, whom Louis XI beheaded. The motto of the -family “<i>Mon mieux</i>” (my best) may still be read -engraved over the gateway. Another version is to -the effect that St. Pol was committed to the Bastile -and suffered within that fortress-gaol. He appears -to have been a restless malcontent forever -concerned in the intrigues of his time, serving many -masters and betraying all in turn. He gave allegiance -now to France, now England, now Burgundy -and Lorraine, but aimed secretly to make -himself an independent prince trusting to his great -wealth, his ambitious self-seeking activity and his -unfailing perfidies. In the end the indignant sovereigns -turned upon him and agreed to punish him. -St. Pol finding himself in jeopardy fled from -France after seeking for a safe conduct through -Burgundy. Charles the Bold replied by seizing his -person and handing him over to Louis XI, who had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> -claimed the prisoner. “I want a head like his to -control a certain business in hand; his body I can -do without and you may keep it,” was Louis’s request. -St. Pol, according to this account, was executed -on the Place de la Grève. It may be recalled -that Ham was also for a time the prison of Joan -of Arc; and many more political prisoners, princes, -marshals of France, and ministers of state were -lodged there.</p> - -<p>The smiling verdant valley of the Loire, which -flows through the historic province of Touraine, is -rich in ancient strongholds that preserve the memories -of mediæval France. It was the home of those -powerful feudal lords, the turbulent vassals who so -long contended for independence with their titular -masters, weak sovereigns too often unable to keep -them in subjection. They raised the round towers -and square impregnable donjons, resisting capture -in the days before siege artillery, all of which have -their gruesome history, their painful records showing -the base uses which they served, giving effect -to the wicked will of heartless, unprincipled tyrants.</p> - -<p>Thus, as we descend the river, we come to Blois, -with its spacious castle at once formidable and palatial, -stained with many blood-thirsty deeds when -vicious and unscrupulous kings held their court -there. Great personages were there imprisoned -and sometimes assassinated. At first the fief of the -Counts of Blois, it later passed into the possession<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> -of the crown and became the particular property -of the dukes of Orleans. It was the favorite residence -of that duke who became King Louis XII of -France, and his second queen, Anne of Brittany. -His son, Francis I, enlarged and beautified it, and -his son again, Henry II, married a wife, Catherine -de Medicis, who was long associated with Blois and -brought much evil upon it. Catherine is one of the -blackest female figures in French history; “niece -of a pope, mother of four Valois, a Queen of -France, widow of an ardent enemy of the Huguenots, -an Italian Catholic, above all a Medicis,” hers -was a dissolute wicked life, her hands steeped in -blood, her moral character a reproach to womankind. -Her favorite device was “<i>odiate e aspettate</i>,” -“hate and wait,” and when she called anyone -“friend” it boded ill for him; she was already plotting -his ruin. She no doubt inspired, and is to be -held responsible for the massacre of St. Bartholomew, -and the murder of the Duc de Guise in this -very castle of Blois was largely her doing. It was -one of the worst of the many crimes committed in -the shameful reign of her son Henry III, the contemptible -king with his unnatural affections, his -effeminate love of female attire, his little dogs, his -loathsome favorites and his nauseating mockeries -of holiness. His court was a perpetual scene of intrigue, -conspiracy, superstition, the lowest vices, -cowardly assassinations and murderous duels. One -of the most infamous of these was a fight between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> -three of his particular associates and three of the -Guises, when four of the combatants were killed.</p> - -<p>The famous league of the “Sixteen,” headed by -the Duc de Guise, would have carried Henry III -back to Paris and held him there a prisoner, but the -King was resolved to strike a blow on his own behalf -and determined to kill Guise. The States -General was sitting at Blois and Guise was there -taking the leading part. The famous Crillon, one -of his bravest soldiers, was invited to do the deed -but refused, saying he was a soldier and not an -executioner. Then one of Henry’s personal attendants -offered his services with the forty-five -guards, and it was arranged that the murder should -be committed in the King’s private cabinet. Guise -was summoned to an early council, but the previous -night he had been cautioned by a letter placed under -his napkin. “He would not dare,” Guise wrote -underneath the letter and threw it under the table. -Next morning he proceeded to the cabinet undeterred. -The King had issued daggers to his guards, -saying, “Guise or I must die,” and went to his -prayers. When Guise lifted the curtain admitting -him into the cabinet one of the guards stabbed him -in the breast. A fierce struggle ensued, in which -the Duke dragged his murderers round the room -before they could dispatch him. “The beast is -dead, so is the poison,” was the King’s heartless -remark, and he ran to tell his mother that he was -“once more master of France.” This cowardly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> -act did not serve the King, for it stirred up the -people of Paris, who vowed vengeance. Henry at -once made overtures to the Huguenots and next -year fell a victim to the knife of a fanatic monk at -Saint Clou.</p> - -<p>Blois ceased to be the seat of the Court after -Henry III. Louis XIII, when he came to the -throne, imprisoned his mother Marie de Medicis -there. It was a time of great political stress when -executions were frequent, and much sympathy was -felt for Marie de Medicis. A plot was set on foot -to release her from Blois. A party of friends arranged -the escape. She descended from her window -by a rope ladder, accompanied by a single -waiting-woman. Many accidents supervened: there -was no carriage, the royal jewels had been overlooked, -time was lost in searching for the first and -recovering the second, but at length Marie was free -to continue her criminal machinations. Her chief -ally was Gaston d’Orleans, who came eventually to -live and die on his estate at Blois. He was a cowardly, -self indulgent prince but had a remarkable -daughter, Marie de Montpensier, commonly called -“La Grande Mademoiselle,” who was the heroine -of many stirring adventures, some of which will be -told later on.</p> - -<p>Not far from Blois are Chambord, an ancient -fortress, first transformed into a hunting lodge and -later into a magnificent palace, a perfect wilderness -of dressed stone; Chaumont, the birth-place of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> -Cardinal d’Amboise and at one time the property -of Catherine de Medicis; Amboise, the scene of -the great Huguenot massacre of which more on a -later page; Chenonceaux, Henri II’s gift to -Diane de Poitiers, which Catherine took from her, -and in which Mary Queen of Scots spent a part of -her early married life; Langeais, an Angevin -fortress of the middle ages; Azay-le-Rideau, a -perfect Renaissance chateau; Fontevrault, where -several Plantagenet kings found burial, and Chinon, -a triple castle now irretrievably ruined, to which -Jeanne d’Arc came seeking audience of the King, -when Charles VII formally presented her with a -suit of knight’s armor and girt on her the famous -sword, said to have been picked up by Charles Martel -on the Field of Tours after that momentous -victory which checked the Moorish invasion, and -but for which the dominion of Islam would probably -have embraced western Europe.</p> - -<p>Two other remarkable prison castles must be -mentioned here, Amboise and Angers. The first -named is still a conspicuous object in a now peaceful -neighborhood, but it offers few traces of antiquity, -although it is full of bloody traditions. Its -most terrible memory is that of the Amboise conspiracy -organised by the Huguenots in 1560, and -intended to remove the young king, Francis II, -from the close guardianship of the Guises. The -real leader was the Prince de Condé, known as “the -silent captain.” The ostensible chief was a Protes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>tant -gentleman of Perigord, named Renaudie, a -resolute, intelligent man, stained with an evil record, -having been once sentenced and imprisoned for the -crime of forgery. He was to appear suddenly at -the castle at the head of fifteen hundred devoted followers, -surprise the Guises and seize the person of -the young king. One of their accomplices, a lawyer, -or according to another account, a certain Captain -Lignières, was alarmed and betrayed the conspirators. -Preparations were secretly made for defence, -Renaudie was met with an armed force and killed -on the spot, and his party made prisoners by lots, -as they appeared. All were forthwith executed, -innocent and guilty, even the peasants on their way -to market. They were hanged, decapitated or -drowned. The court of the castle and the streets -of the town ran with blood until the executioners, -sated with the slaughter, took to sewing up the -survivors in sacks and throwing them into the river -from the bridge garnished with gibbets, and ghastly -heads impaled on pikes. A balcony to this day -known as the “Grille aux Huguenots” still exists, -on which Catherine de Medicis and her three sons, -Francis II, the reigning monarch, Charles, afterwards -the ninth king of that name, and Henry II, -witnessed the massacre in full court dress. Mary, -Queen of Scots, the youthful bride of her still -younger husband, was also present. The Prince de -Condé had been denounced, but there was no positive -evidence against him and he stoutly denied his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> -guilt, and in the presence of the whole court challenged -any accuser to single combat. No one took -up the glove and he remained free until a fresh -conspiracy, stimulated by detestation of the atrocities -committed by the Guises, seriously compromised -the prince. Condé was arrested at Orleans, found -guilty of treason and sentenced to death. He was -saved by the death of Francis. Mary Stuart afterward -returned to Scotland to pass through many -stormy adventures and end her life on the scaffold.</p> - -<p>The fiendish butchery just described was the last -great tragedy Amboise witnessed, but it received -one or two notable prisoners as time went on, more -particularly Fouquet, the fraudulent superintendent -of finances whom Louis XIV pursued to the bitter -end; and Lauzun le Beau, the handsome courtier -who flew too high “with vaulting ambition, but -fell” into the depths of a dungeon. A detailed -account of both these cases will be found in another -chapter.</p> - -<p>In quite recent years Amboise was occupied by -a very different prisoner, the intrepid Arab leader -Abd-el-Kader, who after his capture by the Duc -d’Aumale in 1847, in the last Algerian war, was -interred in the heart of France in full view of the -so-called “Arab camp” where his Saracen ancestors -had gone so near to enslaving Christian Europe.</p> - -<p>Angers, once called Black Angers, from the prevailing -hue of its dark slate buildings, was the cap<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>ital -of Anjou and the seat of its dukes, so nearly -allied with the English Plantagenet dynasty. When -Henry II of England held his court there, Angers -was reputed second only to London in brilliancy -and importance. The French king, Louis XI, -after the expulsion of the English, joined the dukedom -of Anjou to the Kingdom of France. The -venerable castle, a most striking object with its -alternate bands of white stone let in between black -rough slate, is still considered from its massive proportions -and perfect preservation the finest feudal -castle in France. The part overlooking the river, -which was the palace of the counts, is now in ruins, -but the high tower called Du Moulin or Du Diable, -and the south tower called La Tour Dixsept, which -contains the old dungeons of the State prisons, is -still standing. The miserable fate of their sad -occupants may still be noted, and the rings to which -they were chained still remain embedded in the -rocky walls and the stone floors.</p> - -<div class="center"> -<img id="img_2" src="images/i_054fp.jpg" width="600" height="372" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> - -<p class="header"><i>The Isle St. Marguerite</i></p> - -<p>One of two rocky, pine-clad islets near the shore at Cannes, -and has an ancient history. Francis I began his captivity -here after the Battle of Pavia. Marshal Bazaine was also -imprisoned here. It was at one time the prison where the -mysterious “Man with the Iron Mask” was confined.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Three famous prisons in their way were Pignerol, -Exiles and the island fortress of St. Marguerite. -Pignerol was a fortified frontier town -of Piedmont, which was for some time French -property, half bought and half stolen from Italy. -It stands on the lower slopes of the southern Alps, -twenty miles from Turin, fifty from Nice and -ninety east of Grenoble. It was a stronghold of -the princes of Savoy, capable of effective defence, -with a small red-roofed tower and many tall cam<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>paniles -gathering round an inner citadel, raised on -a commanding height. This central keep is a mass -of rambling buildings with solid buttressed walls, -essentially a place of arms. Pignerol has three -principal gateways. One served for the road coming -from the westward and was called the gate -of France; another from the eastward, was that -of Turin; and the third was a “safety” or “secret” -gate, avoiding the town and giving upon -the citadel. This last gate was opened rarely and -only to admit a prisoner brought privately by special -escort. It was a French garrison town inhabited -largely by Italians. There was a French -governor in supreme command, also a king’s lieutenant -who was commandant of the citadel, and the -head gaoler, who held the prison proper; and these -three officials constituted a sovereign council of -war.</p> - -<p>Exiles was an unimportant stronghold, a fort -shaped like a five pointed star, surrounding a small -château with two tall towers which served as prisons. -St. Marguerite is one of the Iles de Lerins, -a couple of rocky pine clad islets facing the now -prosperous southern resort of Cannes and only fifteen -hundred yards from the shore. The two -islands called respectively St. Honorat and St. -Marguerite have each an ancient history. The first -was named after a holy man who early in the fifth -century established a monastery of great renown, -while upon the neighboring island he struck a well<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> -which yielded a miraculous flow of sweet water. -Francis I of France began his captivity here after -his crushing defeat at the battle of Pavia. The -royal fort at the eastern end of St. Marguerite -was for some time the abode of the so-called “Man -with the Iron Mask,” and many scenes of the -apocryphal stories of that exploded mystery are laid -here.</p> - -<p>The island fortress became to some extent famous -in our own day by being chosen as the place -of confinement for Marshal Bazaine, after his conviction -by court martial for the alleged treacherous -surrender of Metz to the Germans. As we know, -he did not remain long a prisoner, his escape having -been compassed by an American friend.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">VINCENNES AND THE BASTILE</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">Vincennes and the Bastile—Vincennes described—Castle -and woods—Torture—Methods and implements—<i>Amende -Honorable</i>—Flagellation and mutilations—Notable -inmates—Prince de Condé—Origin of the Bastile—Earliest -records—Hugues d’Aubriot—Last English -garrison—Sir John Falstaff—Frequented by Louis XI and -Anne of Beaujeau—Charles VIII—Francis I—Persecution -of the Huguenots—Henry II, Diane de Poitiers, and -Catherine de Medicis—Her murderous oppressions—Bastile -her favorite prison.</p> - -<p>We come now to the two great metropolitan -prisons that played so large a part in the vexed and -stormy annals of France. Vincennes and Bastile -may be said to epitomise Parisian history. They -were ever closely associated with startling episodes -and notable personages, the best and worst Frenchmen -in all ages, and were incessantly the centres -of rebellions, dissensions, contentions and strife. -They were both State prisons, differing but little -in character and quality. Vincennes was essentially -a place of durance for people of rank and consequence. -The Bastile took the nobility also, but with -them the whole crowd of ordinary criminals great -and small. These prisons were the two weapons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> -forged by autocratic authority and freely used by -it alike for the oppression of the weak and down -trodden, and the openly turbulent but vainly recalcitrant. -The royal relatives that dared oppose the -king, the stalwart nobles that conspired or raised -the standard of revolt, the great soldiers who dabbled -in civil war, found themselves committed to -Vincennes. The same classes of offenders, but generally -of lesser degree, were thrown into the Bastile. -The courtier who forgot his manners or dared to -be independent in thought or action, the bitter -poetaster and too fluent penman of scurrilous pamphlets, -were certain of a lodging at the gloomy -citadel of Saint Antoine.</p> - -<p>The castle of Vincennes was used primarily as -a royal palace and has been called the Windsor of -the House of Valois. Philip IV, the first king -of that family, kept high festival there in a splendid -and luxurious court. The great edifice was of -noble dimensions—both a pleasure house and a -prison, with towers and drawbridges for defense -and suites of stately apartments. It stood in the -centre of a magnificent forest, the famous Bois de -Vincennes, the name often used to describe the -residence; and the crowned heads and royal guests -who constantly visited the French sovereigns -hunted the deer in the woods around, or diverted -themselves with tilts or tournaments in the courtyard -of the castle. The first to use Vincennes -largely as a prison was that famous gaoler Louis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> -XI. He did not live there much, preferring as a -residence his impregnable fortified palace at Plessis-lez-Tours. -Not satisfied with Loches, he utilised -Vincennes and kept it constantly filled. Some account -of his principal victims will be found in the -narrative of succeeding reigns and the extensive -use of the various prisons made by succeeding -kings.</p> - -<p>The prison fortress of Vincennes in its palmiest -days consisted of nine great towers; and a tenth, -loftier and more solid, was the Donjon, or central -keep, commonly called the Royal Domain. Two -drawbridges must be passed before entrance was -gained by a steep ascent. This was barred by three -heavy doors. The last of these communicated -directly with the Donjon, being so ponderous that -it could only be moved by the combined efforts of -the warder within and the sergeant of the guard -without. A steep staircase led to the cells above. -The four towers had each four stories and each -story a hall forty feet long, with a cell at each corner -having three doors apiece. These doors acted -one on the other. The second barred the first and -the third barred the second, and none could be -opened without knowledge of secret machinery.</p> - -<p>The torture chamber, with all its abominable -paraphernalia of “boots,” rack, “stools” and other -implements for inflicting torture, was on the first -floor. Every French prison of the olden times had -its “question” chamber to carry out the penalties<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> -and savage processes of the French judicial code. -The barbarous treatment administered in it was -not peculiar to France alone, but was practised in -prisons throughout the so-called civilised world. -Torture was in general use in French prisons till -a late date and really survived till abolished by the -ill-fated Louis XVI in 1780. It may be traced -back to the ancient judicial ordeals when an accused -was allowed to prove his innocence by withstanding -combat or personal attack. It was also known as -the “question” because the judge stood by during -its infliction and called upon the prisoner to answer -the interrogations put to him, when his replies, if -any, were written down. The process is described -by La Bruyère as a marvellous but futile invention -“quite likely to force the physically weak to confess -crimes they never committed and yet quite as -certain to favor the escape of the really guilty, -strong enough to support the application.” The -“question” was of two distinct categories: one, -the “preparatory” or “ordinary,” an unfair means -of obtaining avowals for the still legally innocent; -the other, “preliminary” or “extraordinary,” reserved -for those actually condemned to death but -believed to know more than had yet been elicited. -There were many terrible varieties of torture exhibiting -unlimited cruel invention. We are familiar -enough with the “rack,” the “wheel,” the “thumb -screw” and the “boot.” Other less known forms -were the “veglia” introduced into France by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> -popes when the Holy See came to Avignon. The -“veglia” consisted of a small wooden stool so -constructed that when the accused sat upon it his -whole weight rested on the extremity of his spine. -His sufferings soon became acute. He groaned, -he shrieked and then fainted, whereupon the punishment -ceased until he came to and was again -placed on the stool. It was usual to hold a looking -glass before his eyes that his distorted features -might frighten him into confession. The “estrapade,” -like the “veglia,” was borrowed from Italy. -By this the torture was applied with a rope and -pulley by which the patient was suspended over a -slow fire and slowly roasted, being alternately -lifted and let down so as to prolong his sufferings. -Elsewhere in France fire was applied to the soles -of the feet or a blade was introduced between the -nail and the flesh of finger or toe. Sometimes sulphur -matches or tow was inserted between the fingers -and ignited.</p> - -<p>In the chief French prisons the “question” was -generally limited to the two best known tortures: -swallowing great quantities of water and the insertion -of the legs within a casing or “boot” of wood -or iron. For the first, the accused was chained to -the floor and filled with water poured down his -throat by means of a funnel. In the “ordinary -question” four “cans”—pints, presumably—of -water were administered, and for the “extraordinary” -eight cans. From a report of the proceed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>ings -in the case of a priest accused of sacrilege, who -had been already sentenced to death but whose punishment -was accentuated by torture, it is possible -to realise the sufferings endured. After the first -can the victim cried “May God have mercy on -me;” at the second he declared, “I know nothing -and I am ready to die;” at the third he was silent, -but at the fourth he declared he could support it -no longer and that if they would release him he -would tell the truth. Then he changed his mind -and refused to speak, declaring that he had told -all he knew and was forthwith subjected to the -“extraordinary question.” At the fifth can he -called upon God twice. At the sixth he said, “I -am dying, I can hold out no longer, I have told -all.” At the seventh he said nothing. At the -eighth he screamed out that he was dying and -lapsed into complete silence. Now the surgeon -interfered, saying that further treatment would endanger -his life, and he was unbound and placed on -a mattress near the fire. He appears to have made -no revelations and was in due course borne off to -the place of execution.</p> - -<p>The torture of the “boot” was applied by inserting -the legs in an iron apparatus which fitted closely -but was gradually tightened by the introduction of -wedges driven home within the fastenings. The -pain was intense and became intolerable as the -wedge was driven farther and farther down between -the knee and the iron casing by repeated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> -blows of the mallet. The “boot” was better -known in France as the <i>brodequin</i> or <i>buskin</i>. In -England some modification of it was introduced -by one Skeffington, a keeper in the Tower, and this -gave it the nickname of “Skeffington’s gyves” -which was corrupted into the words “scavenger’s -daughters.”</p> - -<p>It was sometimes shown that the torture had -been applied to perfectly innocent people. The -operation was performed with a certain amount of -care. One of the master surgeons of the prison was -always present to watch the effect upon the patient -and to offer him advice. The “questioner” was a -sworn official who was paid a regular salary, about -one hundred francs a year.</p> - -<p>Of the secondary punishments, those less than -death, there was the <i>amende honorable</i>, a public -reparation made by degrading exposure with a -rope round the neck, sometimes by standing at the -door of a church, sometimes by being led through -the streets seated on a donkey with face towards -the tail. The culprit was often stripped naked to -the waist and flogged on the back as he stood or -was borne away. Blasphemy, sacrilege and heresy -were punished by the exaction of the <i>amende honorable</i>. -An old King of France was subjected to -it by his revolted sons. A reigning prince, the -Count of Toulouse, who was implicated in the assassination -of a papal legate concerned in judging -the <i>religieuses</i>, was brought with every mark of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> -ignominy before an assemblage at the door of a -church. Three archers, who had violated a church -sanctuary and dragged forth two fugitive thieves, -were sentenced on the demand of the clergy to make -the <i>amende</i> at the church door arrayed in petticoats -and bearing candles in their hands.</p> - -<p>Flagellation was a cruel and humiliating punishment, -largely used under degrading conditions and -with various kinds of instruments. Mutilation was -employed in every variety; not a single part of -the body has escaped some penalties. There were -many forms of wounding the eyes and the mouth; -tongue, ears, teeth, arms, hands and feet have been -attacked with fire and weapons of every kind. To -slice off the nose, crop the ears, amputate the wrist, -draw the teeth, cut off the lower limbs, were acts -constantly decreed. Branding with red hot irons -on the brow, cheeks, lips and shoulders, kept the -executioner busy with such offenses as blasphemy, -petty thefts and even duelling. The effects served -to inhibit like offenses, but the punishment was in -no sense a preventive or corrective.</p> - -<p>Prisoners were generally received at Vincennes -in the dead of night, a natural sequel to secret unexplained -arrests, too often the result of jealousy -or caprice or savage ill-will. The ceremony on -arrival was much the same as that which still obtains. -A close search from head to foot, the deprivation -of all papers, cash and valuables, executed -under the eyes of the governor himself. The new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> -arrival was then conducted to his lodging, generally -a foul den barely furnished with bedstead, -wooden table and a couple of rush-bottomed chairs. -The first mandate issued was that strict silence was -the invariable rule. Arbitrary and irksome rules -governed the whole course of procedure and daily -conduct. The smallest privileges depended entirely -upon the order of superior authority. Books or -writing materials were issued or forbidden as the -gaoler, the king’s minister, or the king himself -might decide. Dietary was fixed by regulation and -each prisoner’s maintenance paid out of the king’s -bounty on a regular scale according to the rank -and quality of the captive. The allowance for -princes of the blood was $10 per diem, for marshals -of France $7.50, for judges, priests and captains -in the army or officials of good standing about -$2, and for lesser persons fifty cents. These -amounts were ample, but pilfering and peculation -were the general rule. The money was diverted -from the use intended, articles were issued in kind -and food and fuel were shamelessly stolen. Prisoners -who were not allowed to supply themselves, -were often half starved and half frozen in their -cells. So inferior was the quality of the prison -rations, that those who purloined food could not sell -it in the neighborhood and the peasants said that -all that came from the Donjon was rotten. In -sharp contrast was the revelry and rioting in which -prisoners of high station were permitted to indulge.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> -These were attended by their own servants and -constantly visited by their personal friends of both -sexes. An amusing sidelight on the régime of Vincennes -may be read in the account of the arrest of -the great Prince de Condé, during the Fronde, and -his two confederate princes, the Prince de Conti, -his brother, and the Duc de Longueville, his -brother-in-law. No preparations had been made for -their reception, but Condé, a soldier and an old campaigner, -supped on some new-laid eggs and slept -on a bundle of straw. Next morning he played -tennis and shuttle-cock with the turnkeys, sang -songs and began seriously to learn music. A strip -of garden ground, part of the great court, surrounding -the prison, where the prisoners exercised, was -given to Condé to cultivate and he raised pinks -which were the admiration of all Paris. He poked -fun at the Governor and when the latter threatened -him for breach of rule, proposed to strangle him. -This is clearly the same Condé who nicknamed -Cardinal Mazarin, “Mars,” when his eminence aspired -to lead an army, and when he wrote him a -letter addressed it to “His Excellency, the Great -Scoundrel.”</p> - -<p>Prison discipline must have been slack in Vincennes, -nor could innumerable locks and ponderous -chains make up for the careless guard kept by -its gaolers. Many escapes were effected from Vincennes, -more creditable to the ingenuity and determination -of the fugitives than to the vigilance and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> -integrity of those charged with their safe custody.</p> - -<p>Antiquarian researches connect the Bastile in its -beginning with the fortifications hastily thrown up -by the Parisians in the middle of the fourteenth -century to defend the outskirts of the city upon the -right bank of the river. The walls built by Philip -Augustus one hundred and fifty years earlier were -by this time in a ruinous condition. The English -invasion had prospered, and after the battle of -Poitiers the chief authority in the capital, Étienne -Marcel, the provost of the merchants, felt bound -to protect Paris. An important work was added -at the eastern entrance of the city, and the gateway -was flanked by a tower on either side. Marcel was -in secret correspondence with the then King of -Navarre, who aspired to the throne of France, and -would have admitted him to Paris through this -gateway, but was not permitted to open it. The -infuriated populace attacked him as he stood with -the keys in his hand, and although he sought asylum -in one of the towers he was struck down with -an axe and slain.</p> - -<p>This first fortified gate was known as the Bastile -of St. Antoine. The first use of the word -“Bastile,” which is said to have been of Roman -origin, was applied to the temporary forts raised -to cover siege works and isolate and cut off a beleaguered -city from relief or revictualment. The -construction of a second and third fortress was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> -undertaken some years later, in 1370, when the -first stone of the real Bastile was laid. Another -provost, Hugues Aubriot by name, had authority -from Charles V to rebuild and strengthen the defences, -and was supplied by the king with moneys -for the purpose. Aubriot appears to have added two -towers to the gateway, and this made the Bastile -into a square fort with a tower at each angle. This -provost was high-handed and ruled Paris with a -rod of iron, making many enemies, who turned on -him. He offended the ever turbulent students of -the University and was heavily fined for interfering -with their rights. To raise money for the king, -he imposed fresh taxes, and was accused of unlawful -commerce with the Jews, for which he was -handed over to the ecclesiastical tribunal and condemned -to be burnt to death. This sentence was, -however, commuted to perpetual imprisonment, and -tradition has it that he was confined in one of the -towers he had himself erected. The historian compares -his sad fate with that of other designers of -punishment, such as the Greek who invented the -brazen bull and was the first to be burnt inside it, -or Enguerrand de Marigny, who was hung on his -own gibbet of Montfauçon, and the Bishop Haraucourt -of Verdun, who was confined in his own iron -cage.</p> - -<p>Hugues Aubriot was presently transferred from -the Bastile to For-l’Évêque prison where he was -languishing at the time of the insurrection of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> -Maillotins. These men rose against the imposition -of fresh taxes and armed themselves with leaden -mallets which they seized in the arsenal. A leader -failing them, they forcibly released Hugues Aubriot -and begged him to be their captain, escorting -him in triumph to his house. But the ex-provost -pined for peace and quiet and slipped away at the -first chance. He was a native of Dijon in Burgundy -and he escaped thither to die in obscurity the -following year.</p> - -<p>Charles VI enlarged and extended the Bastile -by adding four more towers and giving it the plan -of a parallelogram, and it remained with but few -modifications practically the same when captured -by the revolutionists in 1789. The fortress now -consisted of eight towers, each a hundred feet high -and with a wall connecting them, nine feet thick. -Four of these towers looked inwards facing the -city, four outwards over the suburb of St. Antoine. -A great ditch, twenty-five feet deep and one hundred -and twenty feet wide, was dug to surround it. -The road which had hitherto passed through it was -diverted, the gateway blocked up and a new passage -constructed to the left of the fortress. The Bastile -proper ceased to be one of the entrances of -Paris and that of the Porte St. Antoine was substituted. -Admission to the fortress was gained at -the end opposite the rue St. Antoine between the -two towers named the Bazinière and Comté overlooking -the Seine. On the ground floor of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> -former was the reception ward, as we should call -it, a detailed account of which is preserved in the -old archives. The first room was the porter’s lodge -with a guard bed and other pieces of furniture of -significant purpose; two ponderous iron bars fixed -in the wall, with iron chains affixed ending in fetters -for hands and feet, and an iron collar for the -neck; the avowed object of all being to put a man -in “Gehenna,” the ancient prison euphemism for -hell. A four-wheeled iron chariot is also mentioned, -no doubt for the red hot coals to be used -in inflicting torture, the other implements for which -were kept in this chamber. The tower of the -Comté was like the rest, of four stories, and became -chiefly interesting for the escapes effected from it -by Latude and D’Allègre in later years.</p> - -<p>All the towers of the Bastile received distinctive -names derived from the chance associations of some -well-known personage or from the purpose to which -they were applied. These names became the official -designation of their occupants, who were entered -in the books as “No. so and so” of “such -and such a tower.” Personal identity was soon lost -in the Bastile. If we made the circuit of the walls, -starting from the Bazinière Tower first described, -we should come to that of La Bertaudière in the -façade above the rue St. Antoine and overlooking -the city, the third floor of which was the last resting -place of that mysterious prisoner, the Man with -the Iron Mask. Next came the tower of Liberty,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> -a name supposed by some to have originated in -some saturnine jest, by others to have been the -scene of successful escape, although attempts were -usually made on the other side of the Bastile which -overlooked the open country. The tower of the -Well (Du Puits) had an obvious derivation.</p> - -<p>At the north-east angle was the Corner Tower, -so called, no doubt, because it was situated at the -corner of the street and the Boulevard St. Antoine. -Next came the Chapel Tower, from its neighborhood -to the old Chapel of the Bastile. This at -one time took rank as the noble quarter of the fortress -and was called the “Donjon”—for in the -time of the English domination the king’s chamber -and that of the “captain” were situated in this -tower. In later days the Chapel Tower had accommodation -for only three occupants, two on the second -and one on the third floor, the first floor being used -as a store house. Next came the Treasure Tower, -a title which referred back to a very early date, as -witness receipts in existence for moneys paid over -to the king’s controller-general of finances. In the -reign of Henry IV, a prudent monarch with a -thrifty minister, the ever faithful and famous Duke -de Sully, large sums were deposited in this tower -as a reserve for the enterprises he contemplated. -The money was soon expended after Henry’s assassination, -in wasteful extravagances and civil wars. -It is of record that after payment of all current -expenses of State, the surplus collected by Sully<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> -in the Bastile amounted to 41,345,000 livres or -upwards of 120,000,000 francs, or $25,000,000. -On reaching the eighth, or last tower, that of the -Comté, we return to the northernmost side of the -great gate already spoken of.</p> - -<p>Speaking generally, all these towers were of four -stories, with an underground basement each containing -a number of dens and dungeons of the most -gloomy and horrible character. The stone walls -were constantly dripping water upon the slimy -floor which swarmed with vermin, rats, toads and -newts. Scanty light entered through narrow slits -in the wall on the side of the ditch, and a small -allowance of air, always foul with unwholesome -exhalations. Iron bedsteads with a thin layer of -dirty straw were the sole resting places of the miserable -inmates. The fourth or topmost floors were -even more dark than the basement. These, the -Calottes, or “skull caps,” (familiar to us as the -head-dress of the tonsured priests) were cagelike -in form with low, vaulted roofs, so that no one -might stand upright within save in the very centre -of the room. They were barely lighted by narrow -windows that gave no prospect, from the thickness -of the walls and the plentiful provision of iron -gratings having bars as thick as a man’s arms.</p> - -<p>The fortress stood isolated in the centre of its -own deep ditch, which was encircled by a narrow -gallery serving as a <i>chemin-des-rondes</i>, the sentinel’s -and watchman’s beat. This was reached by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> -narrow staircases from the lower level of the interior -and there were sentry boxes at intervals for -the guards. North of the Bastile, beyond the main -prison structure, but included in the general line of -fortifications, was the Bastion, used as a terrace -and exercising ground for privileged prisoners. In -later years permission was accorded to the governors -to grow vegetables upon this open space and -fruit gardens were in full bearing upon the final -demolition of the Bastile. The privilege conceded -to the governor in this garden became a grievance -of the prisoners, for it was let to a contractor who -claimed that when the prisoners frequented it for -exercise damage was done to the growing produce, -and by a royal decree all prisoners were forbidden -henceforth to enter this space.</p> - -<p>The Bastile was for the first two centuries of its -history essentially a military stronghold serving, -principally, as a defensive work, and of great value -to its possessors for the time being. Whoever held -the Bastile over-awed Paris and was in a sense the -master of France. In the unceasing strife of parties -it passed perpetually from hand to hand and it -would be wearisome to follow the many changes -in its ownership. In the long wars between the -Armagnacs and the Burgundians, the latter seized -Paris in the reign of the half-witted Charles V, -but the Armagnacs held the Bastile and the person -of the king’s eldest son, whose life was eventually -saved by this seclusion. This dauphin came after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>wards -to the throne through the help of the English -king, Henry V, who married his daughter Catherine -and was appointed Regent of France. Under -this régime Paris was occupied for a time by an -English garrison. When at length the rival factions -in France made common cause against the -intrusive strangers the French re-entered Paris and -the English were forced to retire into the Bastile, -where they were so closely besieged that they presently -offered to capitulate. The fortress was greatly -over-crowded, supplies ran short and there was no -hope of relief. The Constable of France, Richemont, -was master of the situation outside, and at -first refused terms, hoping to extort a large ransom, -but the people of Paris, eager to be rid of the foreigners, -advised him to accept their surrender and -to allow the English garrison to march out with -colors flying. It was feared that the people of -Paris would massacre them as they passed through -the streets and they were led by a circuitous route -to the river where, amidst the hoots and hisses of -a large crowd, they embarked in boats and dropped -down the river to Rouen.</p> - -<p>It is interesting to note here that one of the -English governors of the Bastile was a certain Sir -John Falstaff, not Shakespeare’s Sir John but a -very different person, a stalwart knight of unblemished -character, great judgment and approved prowess. -He was a soldier utterly unlike the drunken, -and disreputable “Jack Falstaff,” with his uncon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>querable -weakness for sack, who only fought men -in buckram. The real Sir John Falstaff was careful -to maintain his charge safely, strengthening the -fortress at all points, arming and victualling it and -handing it over in good order to his successor, Lord -Willoughby d’Eresby. History has to record other -good things of Sir John Falstaff, who is remembered -as a patron of letters, who paid a price for -the translation of Cicero’s “De Senectute,” who -endowed Magdalen College, Oxford, with much -valuable property and whose name is still commemorated -among the founders of the College in the -anniversary speech. He was a Knight of the Garter, -held many superior commands and died full of -honors at the advanced age of eighty. Lord Willoughby -was governor at the time of the surrender. -He withdrew in safety and evidently in good heart -for he won a victory over the French at Amiens -after his retreat.</p> - -<p>After the exodus of the English and with the -accession of Louis XI, the two State prisons of -Paris were very fully and constantly occupied. The -chief episodes in the checkered history of France, -conspiracies, revolts and disturbances, were written -in the prison registers and their records are a running -commentary upon the principal events of -French history. The personal qualities of the rulers, -their quarrels with their great subjects, the -vindictive policies they followed, their oppression -of, and cruelty to the people, may be read in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> -annals of Vincennes and the Bastile. By taking -the reigns seriatim and examining the character -of the sovereigns, we shall best realise passing -events and those who acted in them.</p> - -<p>Let us take up the story with Louis XI to whom -some reference has already been made. Some of -his victims, the prisoners of Loches and the Comte -de Saint Pol have figured on an earlier page. To -these we may add the story of the two Armagnacs, -Jacques and Charles. Charles, although -wholly innocent, was arrested and imprisoned because -his brother Jacques had revolted against the -king. Charles d’Armagnac was first tortured horribly, -then thrown into one of the cages of the Bastile, -which he inhabited for fourteen years and -when released was found to be bereft of reason. -Jacques, better known as the Duc de Nemours, had -been the boy friend and companion of Louis, who -lavished many favors on him which he repaid by -conspiring against the royal authority. When orders -were issued for his arrest he withdrew to his -own castle, Carlet, hitherto deemed impregnable. -It succumbed, however, when besieged in due form, -and the Duke was taken prisoner. He had given -himself up on a promise that his life would be -spared, but he received no mercy from his offended -king. His first prison was Pierre-Encise, in which -his hair turned grey in a few nights. Thence he -was transferred to a cage in the Bastile. The -minute instructions were issued by the King as to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> -this prisoner’s treatment, and in a letter it was directed -that he should never be permitted to leave his -cage or to have his fetters removed or to go to -mass. He was only to be taken out to be tortured, -in the cruel desire to extort an avowal that he had -intended to kill the King and set up the Dauphin -in his place. The Duke made a piteous appeal, signing -himself “Pauvre Jacques,” but he was sent for -trial before the Parliament in a packed court from -which the peers were absent. He was condemned -to death and executed, according to Voltaire, under -the most revolting circumstances. It is fair to add -that no other historian reports these atrocities. It -is said that the scaffold on which he suffered was -so constructed that his children, the youngest of -whom was only five, were placed beneath clad in -white and were splashed with the blood from his -severed head that dropped through the openings of -the planks. After this fearful tragedy these infants -were carried back to the Bastile and imprisoned -there in a narrow cell for five years. Other records, -possibly also apocryphal, are preserved of additional -torments inflicted on the Armagnac princes. It is -asserted that they were taken out of their cells twice -weekly to be flogged in the presence of the governor -and to have a tooth extracted every three -months.</p> - -<p>The character of Louis XI shows black and forbidding -in history. His tireless duplicity was -matched by his distrustfulness and insatiable curi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>osity. -He braved all dangers to penetrate the secrets -of others, risked his own life, spent gold, -wasted strength, used the matchless cunning of a -red Indian, betrayed confidences and lied to all the -world. Yet he was gifted with keen insight into -human nature. No one knew better than he the -strength and weakness of his fellow creatures. -Withal, France has had worse rulers. He may be -credited with a desire to raise and help the common -people. He saw that in their industry and contentment -the wealth of the kingdom chiefly lay and -looked forward to the day when settled government -would be assured. “If I live a little longer,” he -told Comines the historian, “there shall be only -one weight, one measure, one law for the kingdom. -We will have no more lawyers cheating and pilfering, -lawsuits shall be shortened, and there shall be -good police in the country.” These dreams were -never realised; but at least, Louis was not a libertine -and the slave of selfish indulgence, the most -vicious in a vicious court, ever showing an evil example -and encouraging dissolute manners and -shameless immorality, as were many of those who -came after him.</p> - -<p>Although the Salic law shut the female sex out -of the succession to the throne, supreme power was -frequently wielded by women in France. One of -the earliest instances of this was in the steps taken -by Louis XI to provide for the government during -the minority of his son, who succeeded as Charles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> -IX. The King’s daughter, Anne de Beaujeu, was -named regent by her father, who had a high opinion -of her abilities and considered her “the least foolish -of her sex he had met; not the wisest, for there -are no sensible women.” She was in truth possessed -of remarkable talents and great strength of -character, having much of her father’s shrewdness -and being even less unscrupulous. But she ruled -with a high hand and her young brother submitted -himself entirely to her influence. She felt it her -duty to make an example of the evil counsellors -upon whom Louis had so much relied. Oliver le -Daim, the ex-barber who had been created Comte -de Meulan, was hanged, and his estates confiscated; -Doyat, chief spy and informer, was flogged and -his tongue pierced with a hot iron; Coictier, the -King’s doctor, who had wielded too much authority, -was fined heavily and sent into exile. Anne’s -brother-in-law, the Duc d’Orleans, afterwards King -Louis XII, had expected the regency and rebelled, -but she put him down with a strong hand, destroyed -the insurgent forces that he gathered around him, -and made him a close prisoner in the great tower -of Bourges, where he endured the usual penalties,—confinement -in a narrow, low-roofed cell by day -and removal to the conventional iron cage at night. -Better fortune came to him in a few short years, -for by the death of the Dauphin, only son of -Charles VIII, Louis became next heir to the throne, -and ascended it on the sudden death of the King<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> -from an accident in striking his head against the -low archway of a dark corridor. He succeeded also -to the King’s bed, for in due course he married his -widow, Anne of Brittany, another woman of forcible -character, on whom he often relied, sometimes -too greatly.</p> - -<p>The reign of Charles VIII and Louis brought -military glory and a great increase of territory to -France. The records of generally successful external -war rather than internal dissensions fill the -history of the time and we look in vain for lengthy -accounts of prisoners relegated to the State prisons. -With the accession of Francis I another epoch of -conflict arrived and was general throughout Europe, -involving all the great nations. It was the -age of chivalry, when knights carried fortunes on -their backs and the most lavish outlay added to the -“pomp and circumstance” of war. “The Field -of the Cloth of Gold” remains as a landmark in -history, when kings vied with each other in extravagant -ostentation and proposed to settle their -differences by personal combat. The reign was -brilliant with achievement abroad, but at home the -people suffered much misery and Francis kept his -prisons filled. Some great personages fell under -his displeasure and were committed to the Bastile; -notably, Montmorency, Constable of France, and -Chabot, Admiral of France. These two, once -school companions of the King, became bitter rivals -and the Constable persuaded the King to try the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> -Admiral on a charge of embezzlement. Francis, -jealous of Chabot, readily accepted the accusation, -and sent him to the Bastile, where the most flagrant -violations of justice were used to secure conviction. -He escaped with fines and banishment; and -the next year the fickle monarch forgave him and -released him from durance. He had been so sorely -tried by his imprisonment that no doctor could -restore him to health. The Chancellor, Poyet, who -had framed the indictment, next found himself in -the Bastile, suspected of being in the possession of -important State secrets. The King himself appeared -as the witness against him and although the -charges were vague, he was sentenced to fine and -confiscation of property.</p> - -<div class="center"> -<img id="img_3" src="images/i_082fp.jpg" width="600" height="386" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> - -<p class="header"><i>Castle St. André, Avignon</i></p> - -<p>Fortress and prison used by the popes when Avignon was -the papal residence, in the fourteenth century. Avignon remained -the property of the popes after their return to Rome, -until its annexation by the French in 1791.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The persecution of the Huguenots began in the -reign of Francis I, who from the first declared himself -on the side of the Pope. Protestantism as -preached by Martin Luther took another form in -France, and the Geneva doctrines of Calvin, which -went much further, were followed. Calvin, it may -be said here, rejected the Episcopate which Luther -had retained. He recognised only two sacraments,—Baptism -and the Last Supper, and desired his -disciples to imitate the early Christians in the austerity -of their morals. The French Protestants -were styled Calvinists and more generally Huguenots, -a name taken from the German word, “<i>Eidgenossen</i>,” -or “confederates.” Calvinism made slow -progress in France although it numbered amongst<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> -its adherents some of the best heads in the nation, -men of letters, savants, great lawyers and members -of the highest aristocracy. They were persecuted -pitilessly. In 1559 Berquin, a king’s councillor, a -man of much learning, was burned alive in Paris -and many shared his fate as martyrs to the new -faith in the great cities such as Lyons, Toulouse, -and Marseilles. The most horrible atrocities were -perpetrated against the Vaudois, a simple, loyal population -residing in the towns and villages around -Avignon and on the borders of the Durance. Two -fanatical prelates of the Guise family, the Cardinal -de Tournon and the Cardinal de Lorraine, headed -the movement in the course of which 3,000 persons -were massacred,—men, women and children, and -any who escaped were condemned to the galleys for -life. Nevertheless the reformed religion gained -ground steadily. The new ideas appealed to the -people despite opposition. Neither persecution, nor -the threats fulminated by the Council of Trent, nor -the energies of the new order of Jesuits, could -stamp out the new faith; and religious intolerance, -backed by the strong arm of the Church was destined -to deluge France with bloodshed in the coming -centuries.</p> - -<p>Henry II, who followed his father Francis on -the throne, redoubled the persecution which was -stained with incessant and abominable cruelties. -The ordinary process of law was set aside in dealing -with the Huguenots who were brought under ec<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>clesiastical -jurisdiction. An edict published in -1555, enjoined all governors and officers of justice -to punish without delay, without examination and -without appeal, all heretics condemned by the -judges. The civil judge was no longer anything -but the passive executant of the sentences of the -Church. The Parliament of Paris protested, but -the King turned a deaf ear to these remonstrances -and summoned a general meeting of all the Parliaments, -which he attended in person and where -he heard some home truths. One of the most outspoken -was a great nobleman, one Anne Du Bourg, -who defended the Protestants, declaring that they -were condemned to cruel punishment while heinous -criminals altogether escaped retribution. Du Bourg -and another, Dufaure, were arrested and were conveyed -to the Bastile where they were soon joined -by other members of the Parliament. After many -delays Du Bourg was brought to trial, convicted and -sentenced to be burnt to death. “It is the intention -of the Court,” so ran the judgment, “that the said -Du Bourg shall in no wise feel the fire, and that -before it be lighted and he is cast therein he shall -be strangled, yet if he should wish to dogmatise -and indulge in any remarks he shall be gagged so -as to avoid scandal.” He was executed on the -Place de la Grève on the top of a high gallows under -which a fire was lighted to receive the dead body -when it fell.</p> - -<p>Henry II had been a weak and self-indulgent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> -king. Ostentatious and extravagant, he wasted -large sums in the expenses of his court and lavished -rich gifts on his creatures, a course which -emptied the treasury and entailed burdensome taxation. -He was entirely under the thumb of his mistress, -Diane de Poitiers, a cold-blooded, selfish creature, -who ruled him and the country with unquestioned -supremacy, before whom even the lawful -queen, Catherine de Medicis, humiliated herself and -paid abject court. The King’s ministers, the Constable -Montmorency and the Duc de Guise, were at -first rivals in power with Diane, but soon joined -with her in riding roughshod over the country, and -in bestowing all good things, places, governments -and profitable charges on their friends and creatures. -Foreign adventure, external wars, famine -and pestilence constantly impoverished France. -The people rose frequently in insurrection and were -always suppressed with sanguinary cruelty. Constable -Montmorency, above mentioned, dealt so -severely with Bordeaux, that in a short space of -time no fewer than four hundred persons were beheaded, -burned, torn asunder by wild horses or -broken on the wheel.</p> - -<p>A prominent figure of those days was Mary -Stuart, better known as Mary, Queen of Scots, -that fascinating woman who was “a politician at -ten years old and at fifteen governed the court.” -She was the child-wife of Francis II, who unexpectedly -came to the throne on the sudden death<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> -by mischance of Henry II at a tournament held -in front of the Bastile. He had challenged Montgomery, -an officer of the Scottish Guard, to break -a lance with him and in the encounter a splinter -entered Henry’s eye and penetrated to the brain.</p> - -<p>The tragic death of Francis II was another of -those instances in which the Salic Law was evaded -and a woman held supreme power. Catherine de -Medicis has already appeared on the scene in the -sanguinary suppression of the conspiracy of Amboise. -This was only one of the atrocities that -stained her long tenure of power as Regent of -France during the minority of her son Charles IX. -Her character has been already indicated. Evil was -ever in the ascendant with her and in her stormy -career she exhibited the most profound cunning, a -rare fertility of resource, and the finished diplomacy -of one trained in the Machiavellian school. She was -double-faced and deceitful beyond measure. Now -the ally of one political party, now of the other, -she betrayed both. She even affected sympathy -at times with the Protestants and often wept bitter -crocodile tears over their sufferings. For a time -liberty of conscience was conceded to the Huguenots -but Catherine desired always to conciliate the -Catholics and concerted measures with Philip of -Spain to bring about a new persecution. A fresh -conflict ensued in which successes were gained on -both sides, but the Huguenots showed so firm a -front that peace could not be denied them. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> -were always prepared to rise, offering a hydra-headed -resistance that might be scotched but could -not be killed. To crush them utterly Catherine -planned the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, in -which the Admiral Coligny and 10,000 Protestants -were murdered in Paris alone and 30,000 more in -the provinces. This ineffaceable crime to which -Charles IX had weakly consented, seemed to paralyse -the Huguenot cause and many of their principal -leaders abjured the new faith. Charles IX, -tortured by remorse, constantly haunted by superstitious -terrors, rapidly succumbed to wasting disease -and died penitent, acknowledging his guilt.</p> - -<p>Some time previously Henri d’Anjou had been -elected King of Poland and on his departure, efforts -were made to secure the succession for his younger -brother, the Duc d’Alençon, who was to own himself -the protector of the Huguenots. The plot -failed and served only to fill the prisons of Vincennes -and Bastile. Montgomery, the Huguenot -leader, was implicated. He had surrendered on a -vague promise of safe conduct which ended in his -torture to compel confession of complicity in the -plot. He was on the point of being secretly strangled -when Catherine de Medicis, who had gone -to the Bastile to be present at his execution, suddenly -changed her mind and set the surprised prisoner -free.</p> - -<p>Another class was committed to the Bastile by -Catherine de Medicis. She waged war constantly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> -against coiners and issuers of false money; their -chief ringleader was sent to the Bastile with special -instructions for his “treatment.” He was transferred -secretly to Paris from Rouen and shut up -alone in an especially private place where no news -could be had of him. This order was signed by -Catherine herself. Next year (1555) a defaulting -finance officer was committed and the lieutenant -of the Bastile was ordered to forbid him to speak -to a soul or write or give any hint where he was. -Again, a Gascon gentleman, named Du Mesnil, was -taken in the act of robbing and murdering a courier -on his way to Italy, the bearer of 30,000 crowns -worth of pearls. Du Mesnil’s accomplices, two -simple soldiers, were hanged at the Halles but he -himself was sent to the Bastile and recommended -to its governor for “good discipline.” This prisoner -seems to have preferred liberty to the favor -shown him, such as it was, for in November, 1583, -he made a desperate attempt to escape. The account -given by L’Estoile in his memoirs, is that -Du Mesnil, weary of his close confinement, burned -down the door of his cell, got out, became possessed -of a rope from the well in the court, climbed -to the top of the terrace (the Bastion), fastened his -rope through an artillery wheel and lowered himself -into the ditch. The rope had been lengthened -by another made from his sheets and bedding, but -it was still too short to reach the bottom, and letting -himself fall he was caught on a window below<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> -and making outcry was recaptured and re-imprisoned. -A more distinguished prisoner was Bernard -Palissy, the famous potter who was committed to -gaol as a Protestant and died in the Bastile in 1590 -when eighty years of age. L’Estoile tells us that -Palissy at his death bequeathed him two stones, -one of them, part of a petrified skull which he accounted -a philosopher’s stone, the other, a stone he -had himself manufactured. “I have them still,” -says L’Estoile, “carefully preserved in my cabinet -for the sake of the good old man whom I loved -and relieved in his necessity,—not as much as I -could have wished, but to the full extent of my -power.”</p> - -<p>When Henry III assassinated the Duc de Guise -at Blois, Paris took it greatly to heart and swore -vengeance. The “Sixteen” held the Bastile, and -its governor, Bussy-Leclerc, an ex-fencing master, -sought to coerce the Parliament, seizing at once -upon all with royalist leanings and driving them -into the Bastile. President Auguste de Thou was -arrested and with him his wife, who is said to have -been the first female occupant of this prison. Now -the King, in despair, turned to the Huguenots and -formed an alliance with Henry of Navarre. The -two kings joined forces to recover Paris and the -Parisians, alarmed, feeling they could not make -long resistance, accepted the worst. Some said -there would be a second St. Bartholomew, for the -“Leaguers” and the Royalists boasted that so many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> -should be hanged that the wood for gibbets would -run short. But the situation suddenly changed, -for Henry III was unexpectedly assassinated by a -fanatical monk, Clément, in the very heart of the -royal apartments.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">THE RISE OF RICHELIEU</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">Early governors of the Bastile—Frequent changes—Day of -Barricades—Conspiracy of Biron—Assassination of -Henry IV—Ravaillac—Barbarous sentence—Marie de -Medicis left Regent—Story of the Concinis—Rise of -Richelieu—Gifts and character—His large employment -of the State prisons—Duelling prohibited—The Day of -Dupes—Triumph over his enemies—Fall of Marie de -Medicis—Maréchal Bassompierre—His prolonged imprisonment.</p> - -<p>We may pause a moment at this stage to give -some attention to a few of the more prominent governors -of the Bastile, appointed by each side in turn -during the long conflicts of the opposing parties. -Antoine d’Ivyer was the first after the English, as -captain under the supreme command of Duke -Charles of Bourbon. One Cissey, after fifteen -years’ tenure in the Bastile, was succeeded by La -Rochette, he by De Melun, he by De Chauvigny, -and the last by Phillip Luillier, who enjoyed the confidence -of Louis XI and was personally in charge -of the bishops and dukes who have been mentioned. -He was the last of the royal functionaries, the court -officials other than military men who acted as gaolers. -Only in the troublous times of the League and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> -later of the Fronde, when the possession of the Bastile -meant so much to the existing régime, was the -fortress entrusted to the strong hands of soldiers -and men of action equal to any emergency. After -Luillier the charge was considered equal to a provincial -government and those entrusted with it were -some of the most considerable persons in the State, -constables or ministers who ruled by lieutenant or -deputy and kept only the title and dignity of the -office. It was long deemed hereditary in certain -great families and descended from father to son, -as with the Montmorencys. The head of that -house, William, in 1504, was succeeded by his son, -Anne, a Pluralist, at the same time governor of -Paris and captain of the castle of Vincennes. Francis, -a marshal of France, son of the last-named, -was a third Montmorency governor. Much later -the post was held by successive members of the -family of Admiral Coligny, and some of the governors -were very eminent persons, such as Châteauneuf, -the Duc de Luynes, Maréchal Bassompierre -and Sully, the celebrated minister of Henry -IV, whose memoirs have been widely read and were -the inspiration of the English novelist, Stanley -Weyman.</p> - -<p>The Bastile often changed hands. When Henry -of Guise made himself master of Paris after the -“Battle,” or “Day of the Barricades,” Laurent -Testu was governor or king’s lieutenant of the Bastile; -but after the second day’s fighting, when sum<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>moned -to surrender, he obeyed and opened the gates. -The Duc de Guise then gave the governorship to -one Bussy-Leclerc, a devoted adherent, but of indifferent -character, who had been a procureur of the -Parliament and a fencing master. He had a large -following of bullies and cut-throats. The prisoners -in the Bastile were quite at his mercy and he ruled -with a rough, reckless hand, inflicting all manner -of cruelties in order to extort money,—squeezing -the rich and torturing the poor. After the assassination -of Henry of Guise at Blois, he planned -reprisals against Henry III and sought to intimidate -the Parliament, which would have made submission -to the King, by making its members prisoners in -the Bastile. Leclerc’s excesses roused Paris against -him, and the Duc de Mayenne, now the head of the -League, threatened the Bastile. Leclerc, in abject -terror, at once surrendered on condition that he -might retire from the capital to Brussels with the -plunder he had acquired. Dubourg l’Espinasse, a -brave, honorable soldier, was appointed to the Bastile -by the Duc de Mayenne, in succession to Leclerc -and defended it stoutly against Henry of Navarre, -now King Henry IV, after the assassination of his -predecessor. Dubourg declared that he knew no -king of France but the Duc de Mayenne, and on -being told that Henry was master of Paris, said, -“Good, but I am master of the Bastile!” He at -length agreed to yield up the fortress to the Duke, -who had entrusted him with the command, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> -finally marched out with all the honors of war, -gaining great credit from the King for his staunch -and loyal conduct to his superiors. The text of -the capitulation has been preserved and its quaint -phraseology may be transcribed. The commandant -promised to hand over to the king, “on Sunday -at three in the afternoon the said Bastile, its artillery -and munitions of war. In return for which -the King will permit the garrison to march out with -arms, horses, furniture and all belongings. The -troops will issue by one gate with drums beating, -matches lighted and balls” (for loading).</p> - -<p>It is recorded of Henry IV by the historian -Maquet, that he was the king who least abused the -Bastile. It is due this sovereign to say that the -prisoners confined in it during his reign were duly -tried and condemned by Parliament and that from -his accession the fortress lost its exceptional character -and became an ordinary prison. Sully was -appointed governor and received a letter of appointment -in which the King announced that he -relied more than ever upon his loyalty and had -decided to make him captain of the Bastile: “so -that if I should have any birds to put in the cage -and hold tight I can rely upon your foresight, diligence -and loyalty.” Few prisoners were committed -to the Bastile in this reign, but all imprisoned were -notably traitors. Such was Charles, Maréchal de -Biron, the restless and unstable subject who conspired -more than once against the King, by whom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> -at one time he had been exceedingly favored. -Henry IV was greatly attached to Biron. “I -never loved anyone as I loved Biron,” he said. “I -could have confided my son and my kingdom to -him.” For a time Biron served him well, yet he, -too, entered into a dangerous conspiracy with the -King of Spain, the Duke of Savoy and the King’s -disloyal subjects in France.</p> - -<p>Henry IV forgave him and paid his debts, which -were large, for he was a great gambler and had -lost large sums at the tables. Biron was sent to -London as ambassador to the English Queen Elizabeth -but resumed his evil courses on his return to -France and was summoned before the King to answer -for them. Henry promised to pardon and -forgive him if he would confess his crimes, but -Biron was obstinately silent and was committed to -the Bastile. He was tried openly before the Parliament -and unanimously convicted by one hundred -and twenty-seven judges. The sentence was death -and he was to be publicly executed on the Place -de la Grève, but Henry, dreading the sympathy of -the mob and not indisposed to spare his friend the -contumely of a public hanging, allowed the execution -to take place within the Bastile. Biron, although he -had acknowledged his guilt, died protesting against -the sentence. He comported himself with little dignity -upon the scaffold, resisting the headman and -trying to strangle him. Three times he knelt down -at the block and three times sprang to his feet; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> -the fourth time was decapitated with much dexterity -by the executioner.</p> - -<p>The Comte d’Auvergne, the natural son of -Charles IX and Marie Touchet, was an ally of -Biron’s and put on his trial at the same time. -Their common offense had been to invite invasion -by the Spaniards and stir up a revolution throughout -France. D’Auvergne was sentenced to death -and with him the Comte d’Entragues, who had married -Marie Touchet, but neither suffered. D’Auvergne -remained in the Bastile for twelve years. -He was released in the following reign and made -a good appearance at court as the Duc d’Angoulême. -Henry IV had been moved to soften the -rigors of his imprisonment and wrote to the governor -(Sully) saying that as he had heard his -nephew d’Auvergne needed change of air, he was -to be placed in “the pavilion at the end of the garden -of the arsenal which looks upon the water, but -to be guarded in any way that seemed necessary for -the security of his person.”</p> - -<p>Reference must be made to one inmate of the -Bastile at this period, the Vicomte de Tavannes, -who was opposed to Henry IV as a partisan of the -League. He was long held a prisoner but was exchanged -for the female relations of the Duc de -Longueville; and Tavannes has written in his -“memoirs:” “A poor gentleman was thus exchanged -against four princesses, one a Bourbon, -one of the House of Cleves, and two of that of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> -Orleans.” At the fall of the League, Tavannes -acknowledged Henry IV on condition that he -should be confirmed in his dignity as a marshal of -France. This promise was not kept and he withdrew -from his allegiance, saying he was the King’s -subject and not his slave. For this he was again -committed to the Bastile from which he escaped, -according to his own account, with great ease,—“A -page brought me some thread and a file; I -twisted the cord, filed through a bar and got away.” -He was not pursued but was suffered to remain in -peace in his own castle of Soilly, near Autun. The -King could never tolerate Tavannes. He had been -largely concerned in the massacre of St. Bartholomew, -of which he is believed to have been the principal -instigator and which he is supposed to have -suggested to Catherine de Medicis.</p> - -<p>Henry’s reign was abruptly terminated by his -assassination in 1610. He was murdered by François -Ravaillac, a native of Angoulême who was no -doubt a victim of religious dementia. Having been -much perturbed with visions inciting him to exhort -the king to take action against the followers of the -pretended reformed religion and convert them to -the Roman Catholic Church, Ravaillac determined -to do so. On reaching Paris he went to the Jesuits’ -house near the Porte St.-Antoine and sought advice -from one of the priests, Father Daubigny, who told -him to put these disturbed thoughts out of his head, -to say his prayers and tell his beads. He still main<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>tained -his intention of speaking to the King and -addressed to him on one occasion as he drove by in -his coach, but “the King put him back with a little -stick and would not hear him.” Then Ravaillac -changed his mind and set out for home; but on -reaching Estampes, was again impelled to return -to Paris—this time with homicidal intent. The -would-be regicide watched for the King constantly, -but thought it better to wait until after the new -queen (Marie de Medicis) was crowned. He hung -about the Louvre, burning to do the deed, and at -last found his opportunity on the 14th of May, -1610, near the churchyard of St. Innocent. The -King left the Louvre that morning in his coach -unattended. One of his gentlemen had protested. -“Take me, Sire, I implore you,” he said, “to guard -your Majesty.” “No,” replied the King, “I will -have neither you nor the guard. I want no one.” -The coach was driven to the Hotel de Longueville -and then to the Croix du Tiroir and so to the -churchyard of St. Bartholomew. It had turned -from the rue St. Honore into the rue Feronnière, -a very narrow way made more so by the small shops -built against the wall of the churchyard. The passage -was further blocked by the approach of two -carts, one laden with wine and the other with hay, -and the coach was brought to a stop at the corner -of the street.</p> - -<p>Ravaillac had followed the coach from the -Louvre, had seen it stop and noted that there was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> -now no one near it and no one to interfere with -him as he came close to the side of the carriage -where the King was seated. Ravaillac had his -cloak wrapped round his left arm to conceal a knife -and creeping in between the shops and the coach -as if he desired to pass by, paused there, and resting -one foot upon a spoke of the wheel, the other upon -a stone, leaned forward and stabbed the King. The -knife entered a little above the heart between the -third and fourth ribs. The King, who was reading -a letter, fell over towards the Duc d’Épernon on -his other side, murmuring, “I am wounded.” At -this moment Ravaillac, fearing that the point of -his weapon had been turned aside, quickly struck -a second blow at the fainting monarch, who had -raised his arm slightly, thus giving the knife better -chance to reach his heart. This second stroke was -instantly fatal. The blood gushed from his mouth -and he expired breathing a deep sigh. His Majesty’s -attendants, now running up, would have -killed Ravaillac on the spot, but the Duc d’Épernon -called out to them to secure his person, whereupon -one seized the dagger, another his throat, and he -was promptly handed over to the guards. The -news spread that the King was dead and caused a -panic. People rushed from the shops into the -streets and a tumult arose which was stayed only -by the prompt assurance of d’Épernon that the -King had merely fainted and was being carried to -the Louvre for medical attention.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p> - -<p>The murder created intense excitement in the -city, for the King was beloved and trusted by the -people as the one hope of peace after such constant -strife. Sully, his faithful minister, was broken-hearted -but acted with great promptitude and firmness. -He brought troops forthwith into Paris and -strengthened the garrison with the Swiss guards. -Despair and consternation prevailed in the Louvre, -where were the widowed Queen, Marie de Medicis, -and the infant heir, now Louis XIII. Bassompierre, -in his memoirs, tells us how he found the -dead King laid out in his cabinet, surrounded by -afflicted followers and weeping surgeons. Summoned -to the Queen’s presence, he found her in -dishabille, overcome with grief, and he with others -knelt to kiss her hand and assure her of his devotion. -The Duc de Villeroi reasoned with her, imploring -her to postpone her lamentations until she -had made provision for her own and her son’s -safety. While the Duc de Guise was directed to -bring together all the principal people to recognise -and proclaim the new sovereign, the marshal proceeded -to gather up all the troops and march through -the city to check any signs of tumult and sedition. -Meanwhile, Sully had occupied the Bastile with a -force of archers and had enjoined all good subjects -to swear allegiance to the throne and proclaim their -readiness to give their lives to avenge Henry’s -murder.</p> - -<p>With the nation in such a temper it was little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> -likely that any mercy would be shown to Ravaillac. -His trial was hurried forward in all haste and he -was arraigned before the High Court of the Tournelle. -Long and minute interrogatories were administered -to him on the rack to extort confession -of an act fully proved by eye-witnesses and of which -he was duly convicted. The court declared that he -was “attainted of high treason divine and human -in the highest degree, for the most wicked, the most -abominable parricide committed on the person of -the late Henry IV, of good and laudable memory,” -and he was condemned in reparation to make the -<i>amende honorable</i> before the principal gate of the -city of Paris, “whither he shall be carried,” so -runs the decree, “and drawn on a tumbril in his -shirt, bearing a lighted torch of two pounds weight, -and there he shall make confession of his crime, -of which he repents and begs pardon of God, the -king and the laws. From thence he shall be carried -to the Grève and, on a scaffold to be there -erected, the flesh shall be torn from him with red-hot -pincers ... and after this his limbs shall be -dragged by four horses, his body burnt to ashes -and dispersed in the air. His goods and chattels -are also declared to be forfeited and confiscated to -the king. And it is further ordained that the house -in which he was born shall be pulled down to the -ground (the owner thereof being previously indemnified) -and that no other building shall ever -hereafter be erected on the foundation thereof; that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> -within fifteen days after the publication of this -present sentence his father and mother shall, by -sound of trumpet and public proclamation in the -city of Angoulême, be banished out of the kingdom -and forbidden ever to return under the penalty -of being hanged and strangled, without any further -process at law. The Court has also forbidden, and -doth forbid his brothers, sisters, uncles and others, -from henceforth to bear the said name of Ravaillac.”</p> - -<p>The curious fact is recorded in history that -Henry IV had a strong presentiment of impending -fate. “I cannot tell you why, Bassompierre, but I -feel satisfied I shall never go into Germany” (on -a projected campaign). He repeated several times, -“I believe I shall die soon.” He shared his forebodings -with Sully. “I shall die in this city. This -ceremony of the Queen’s coronation (now at hand) -disturbs me. I shall die in this city; I shall never -quit Paris again, they mean to kill me. Accursed -coronation! I shall fall during the show.” And he -did die the day after it. Yet sometimes he laughed -at these fears, remarking, only two days before his -murder, to some of his attendants whom he overheard -discussing the subject, “It is quite foolish -to anticipate evil; for thirty years every astrologer -and charlatan in the kingdom has predicted my -death on a particular day, and here I am still alive.” -But on this very morning of the 14th of May, the -young Duc de Vendôme brought him a fresh horo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>scope. -The constellation under which Henry was -born threatened him with great danger on this day -and he was urged to pass it in sheltered retirement. -The King called the astrologer a crafty old fox and -the duke a young fool, and said, “My fate is in -the hands of God.” At the moment Ravaillac was -in the vicinity of the palace, but his gestures were -so wild that the guards drove him away to wait and -carry out his fell deed elsewhere.</p> - -<p>Ravaillac was no doubt the tool of others. The -King’s life had been threatened by courtiers near -his person. Not the least active of his enemies was -Madame de Verneuil, born D’Entragues, who had -been at one time his mistress, but who had joined -his enemies, notably the Duc d’Épernon, in cordial -detestation of his policy. Henry was at this time -planning a great coalition against the overweening -power of Spain and favored the concession of religious -toleration throughout Europe. Madame de -Verneuil had welcomed Ravaillac to Paris and commended -him to the hospitality of one of her creatures, -and it was proved that the murderer had been -once in the service of the Duc d’Épernon.</p> - -<p>When Henry IV fell under the assassin’s knife, -it was found by his will that, in the event of a -minority, the regency should devolve upon Marie de -Medicis, his second wife. This happened because -Louis XIII, the new King, was no more than nine -years of age, and once again France came under -female rule. The Italian Queen Mother soon fell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> -under the domination of two other Italians, the Concinis, -husband and wife. The first, a mercenary -and overbearing creature, best known as the Marquis -d’Ancre, stirred up the bitterest animosity and -brought the Queen into fierce conflict with the -princes of the blood who rose in open rebellion. -They were presently supported by the young King -and a murderous plot was carried out for the marquis’ -assassination. It was effected in broad daylight -at the entrance of the Louvre by the Baron de -Vitry, a captain of the Gardes du Corps. “I have -the King’s order to arrest you,” said De Vitry. “<i>À -me?</i>” asked the astonished d’Ancre in imperfect -French. “<i>À vous</i>,” replied the other, taking out a -pistol and shooting him down, the rest dispatching -him with their swords. Louis XIII, still barely sixteen, -is said to have witnessed the murder from a -window of the Louvre, from which he cried, “Great -thanks to all; now at last I am king.”</p> - -<p>The Prince de Condé, as leader of the insurgent -princes, had been arrested and imprisoned in the -palace but removed to the Bastile. The mob, -greatly incensed, attacked the Louvre, but, unable -to find him, failed to compass Condé’s release who -was now transferred in the dead of night, “without -torches,” to Vincennes. Concini’s house was next -sacked, his body dragged from the grave, carried -through the streets and subjected to every indignity, -his nose and ears being cut off and the corpse -burned. Hatred of the Queen’s foreign favorites<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> -was not yet appeased. Leonora Galigai, the Marquis -d’Ancre’s widow, was brought to trial, her conviction -being necessary before her property and estates -could be confiscated and divided. She was -duly arraigned but it was impossible to prove her -complicity in her husband’s misdeeds or to procure -conviction of any crime involving capital punishment. -The venue was therefore changed and she -was accused of sorcery and witchcraft. It was said -that she had attracted astrologers and magicians -into France who brought with them spells and incantations, -amulets, talismans, and all the apparatus -of wax figures, to produce death by wasting disease. -She was asked in court to confess by what magical -arts she had gained her malign influence over the -Queen and she replied contemptuously, “By the -power that strong minds exercise over weak ones.” -The case was certain to go against her, but she still -hoped to escape with a sentence of banishment and -it was a terrible shock when she was condemned -to death for the crime of <i>lèse majesté</i>, human -and divine. Yet she faced her fate with marvellous -fortitude. Great crowds turned out to jeer at her -as she was carried in a cart to the Place de Grève, -but she maintained her composure until she saw the -flames destined to consume her decapitated body, -then quickly recovering herself, she met death without -bravado and without fear. Her son was imprisoned -for some time in the castle of Nantes and -the Concini property was chiefly divided between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> -the King and the Pope, Clement VII. Leonora -Galigai had originally been the Queen’s waiting -woman for several years. Of humble birth, the -daughter of a carpenter, she had gained the complete -confidence of her mistress by her soft voice -and insinuating ways, and on coming to France, -Marie de Medicis had insisted upon Leonora’s appointment -as lady in waiting, although Henry absolutely -refused to appoint her until the Queen -gained her point by her importunities.</p> - -<p>By this time a new power was rising above the -horizon, that of the Bishop of Luçon, afterwards, -and better known as, Cardinal Richelieu. The -cadet of a noble but not affluent family, he was intended -for the career of arms but turned cleric in -order to hold the bishopric of Luçon, the presentation -of which was hereditary in his house. By his -talents he soon made his mark as a churchman. -He was assiduous in his religious profession and an -eloquent preacher, but his powerful mind and ambitious -spirit presently turned him towards a political -career. He arrived at Paris in 1614 as the -representative of the clergy of Poitou in the States -General and his insinuating manners and personal -charm soon won him wide favor at Court. He was -presented to the Queen Mother, Marie de Medicis, -by Barbin, the controller-general of finances, and by -the Concinis, the above mentioned ill-fated Marquis -d’Ancre and his wife, Leonora Galigai. He first -became the Queen’s chaplain and next the secretary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> -of State for war, barely escaping the evil consequences -of his intimacy with the Concinis. It is -rumored in history that he knew of the intended assassination -of d’Ancre the night before it occurred -but neglected to give warning on the plea that he -did not believe the story and thought the news -would wait. When the King and his mother quarrelled -and Marie de Medicis withdrew to Blois, -Richelieu accompanied her and served her without -at first compromising himself with Louis. He was -at length ordered to leave her and retired to his -bishopric. He was further exiled to the papal -province of Avignon, but was suddenly recalled and -forgiven. He still devoted himself to the Queen -and was her chosen friend and adviser, services -which she requited by securing him the cardinal’s -hat.</p> - -<p>Richelieu soon showed his quality and rose step -by step to the highest honors, becoming in due -course, First Minister of State. His success was -due throughout to his prudent, far-seeing conduct -and his incomparable adroitness in managing affairs. -“He was so keen and watchful,” said a contemporary, -“that he was never taken unawares. -He slept little, worked hard, thought of everything -and knew everything either by intuition or through -his painstaking indefatigable spirit.” He was long -viewed with suspicion and dislike by the young -King, but presently won his esteem by his brilliant -talents. He dazzled and compelled the admiration<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> -of all, even those opposed to him. His extraordinary -genius was immediately made manifest; it was -enough for him to show himself. His penetrating -eye, the magnetism of his presence, his dexterity in -untying knots and in solving promptly the most -difficult problems, enabled him to dominate all tempers -and overcome all resistance. His was a singularly -persuasive tongue; he had the faculty of easily -and effectually proving that he was always in the -right. In a word, he exercised a great personal -ascendency and was as universally feared as he was -implicitly obeyed by all upon whom he imposed his -authority. When he was nominated First Minister, -the Venetian minister in Paris wrote to his government, -“Here, humanly speaking, is a new -power of a solid and permanent kind; one that -is little likely to be shaken or quickly crumbled -away.”</p> - -<p>Richelieu’s steady and consistent aim was to consolidate -an absolute monarchy. Determined to conquer -and crush the Huguenots he made his first -attack upon La Rochelle, the great Protestant -stronghold, but was compelled to make terms with -the Rochelais temporarily while he devoted himself -to the abasement of the great nobles forever in -opposition to and intriguing against the reigning -sovereign. Headed by the princes of the blood, -they continually resisted Marie de Medicis and engaged -in secret conspiracy, making treasonable -overtures to Spain or openly raising the standard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> -of revolt at home. With indomitable courage and -an extraordinary combination of daring and diplomacy, -Richelieu conquered them completely. The -secret of his success has been preserved in his own -words, “I undertake nothing that I have not thoroughly -thought out in advance; when I have once -made up my mind I stick to it with unchangeable -firmness, sweeping away all obstacles before me -and treading them down under foot till they lie -paralysed under my red robe.”</p> - -<p>Richelieu, in thus strenuously fighting for his -policy, which he conceived was in the best interests -of France, made unsparing use of the weapons -placed at his disposal for coercing his enemies. -Foremost amongst these were the prisons of state, -the Bastile, Vincennes and the rest, which he filled -with prisoners, breaking them with repression, retribution, -or more or less permanent removal from the -busy scene. Year after year the long procession -passed in through the gloomy portals, in numbers -far exceeding the movement outward, for few went -out except to make the short journey to the scaffold. -The Cardinal’s victims were many. Amongst the -earliest offenders upon whom his hand fell heavily -in the very first year of his ministry, were those -implicated in the Ornano-Chalais conspiracy. The -object of this was to remove the King’s younger -brother, Gaston, Duc d’Orleans, generally known as -“Monsieur,” out of the hands of the Court and -set him up as a pretender to the throne in opposi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>tion -to Louis XIII. Richelieu, in his memoirs, -speaks of this as “the most fearful conspiracy mentioned -in history, both as regards the number concerned -and the horror of the design, which was to -raise their master (Monsieur) above his condition -and abase the sacred person of the King.” The -Cardinal himself was to have been a victim and was -to be murdered at his castle of Fleury, six miles -from Fontainebleau. When the plot was betrayed, -the King sent a body of troops to Fleury and the -Queen a number of her attendants. The conspirators -were forestalled and the ringleaders arrested. -The Marshal d’Ornano was taken at Fontainebleau -and with him his brother and some of his closest -confidants. The Marquis de Chalais, who was of -the famous house of Talleyrand, was caught in -the act at Fleury, to which he had proceeded for -the commission of the deed. He confessed his -crime. There were those who pretended at the -time that the plot was fictitious, invented by Richelieu -in order to get rid of some of his most active -enemies. In any case, the Marshal d’Ornano died -in the Bastile within three months of his arrest and -it was generally suspected that he had been poisoned, -although Richelieu would not allow it was -other than a natural death. Chalais had been sent -to Nantes, where he was put on trial, convicted, -sentenced to death and eventually executed. The -execution was carried out with great barbarity, for -the headsman was clumsy and made thirty-two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> -strokes with his sword before he could effect decapitation.</p> - -<p>The two Vendômes, Caesar, the eldest, and his -brother, the Grand Prior, were concerned in the -Ornano-Chalais conspiracy. Caesar was the eldest -son of Henri IV by Gabrielle d’Estrées, but was -legitimised and created a duke by his father, with -precedence immediately after the princes of the -blood. Although Louis’ half-brother, he was one -of his earliest opponents. After the detection of -the plot he was cast into the prison of Vincennes, -where he remained for four years (1626-30), but -was released on surrendering the government of -Brittany and accepting exile. He was absent for -eleven years, but on again returning to France was -accused of an attempt to poison Cardinal Richelieu -and again banished until that minister’s death. He -could not bring himself to submit to existing authority, -and once more in France became one of the -leaders of the party of the “Importants” and was -involved in the disgrace of the Duc de Beaufort, his -son. Having made his peace with Cardinal Mazarin -in 1650, he was advanced to several offices, -among others to those of Governor of Burgundy -and Superintendent of Navigation. He helped to -pacify Guienne and took Bordeaux. The Grand -Prior, his brother, became a Knight of Malta and -saw service early at the siege of Candia, where he -showed great courage. He made the campaign of -Holland under Louis XIV, after having been in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>volved -with Chalais, and throughout showed himself -a good soldier.</p> - -<p>Richelieu’s penalties were sometimes inflicted on -other grounds than self-defense and personal animosity. -The disturbers of public peace he treated -as enemies of the State. Thus he laid a heavy hand -on all who were concerned in affairs of honor -whether death ensued or not. His own elder -brother had been killed in a duel, and he abhorred -a practice which had so long decimated the country. -It was calculated that in one year alone four thousand -combatants had perished. King Henry IV -had issued the most severe edicts against it and had -created a tribunal of marshals empowered to examine -into and arrange all differences between gentlemen. -One of these edicts of 1602, prohibiting -duels, laid down as a penalty for the offense, the -confiscation of property and the imprisonment of -the survivors. A notorious duellist, De Bouteville, -felt the weight of the Cardinal’s hand. He must -have been a quarrelsome person for he fought on -twenty-one occasions. After the last quarrel he -retired into Flanders and was challenged by a Monsieur -de Beuvron. They returned to Paris where -they fought in the Place Royale, and Bussy d’Amboise, -one of Beuvron’s seconds, was killed by one -of De Bouteville’s. The survivors fled but were -pursued and captured, with the result that De Bouteville -was put upon his trial before the regular courts. -He was convicted and condemned to death. All the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> -efforts on the part of influential friends, royal personages -included, to obtain pardon having proved -unavailing, he suffered in the Place de Grève. The -pugnacity of this De Bouteville was attributed by -many to homicidal mania, and one nobleman declared -that he would decline a challenge from him -unless it was accompanied by a medical certificate -of sanity. He had killed a number of his opponents -and his reputation was such that when he established -a fencing school at his residence in Paris all -the young noblemen flocked there to benefit by his -lessons.</p> - -<p>Richelieu used the Bastile for all manner of offenders. -One was the man Farican, of whom he -speaks in his “Memoirs” as “a visionary consumed -with vague dreams of a coming republic. -All his ends were bad, all his means wicked and -detestable.... His favorite occupation was the -inditing of libellous pamphlets against the government, -rendering the King odious, exciting sedition -and aiming at subverting the tranquillity of the -State. Outwardly a priest, he held all good Catholics -in detestation and acted as a secret spy of the -Huguenots.” An Englishman found himself in the -Bastile for being at cross purposes with the Cardinal. -This was a so-called Chevalier Montagu, son -of the English Lord Montagu and better known as -“Wat” Montagu, who was much employed as a -secret political agent between England and France. -Great people importuned the Cardinal to release<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> -Montagu. “The Duke of Lorraine,” says Richelieu, -“has never ceased to beg this favor. He began -with vain threats and then, with words more suitable -to his position, sent the Prince of Phalsbourg -to Paris for the third time to me to grant this request.” -The Duke having been gratified with this -favor came in person to Paris to thank the King. -An entry in an English sheet dated April 20th, -1628, runs, “The Earl of Carlisle will not leave -suddenly because Walter Montagu is set free from -France and has arrived at our court. The King -says he has done him exceeding good service.” It -was Montagu who brought good news from Rochelle -to the Duke of Buckingham on the very day -he was assassinated. Later in October, Montagu -had a conference with Richelieu as to the exchange -of prisoners at Rochelle.</p> - -<p>Richelieu’s upward progress had not been unimpeded. -The Queen Mother became his bitter enemy. -Marie de Medicis was disappointed in him. He had -not proved the humble, docile creature she looked -for in one whom she had raised so high and her -jealousy intensified as his power grew. She was a -woman of weak character and strong passions, -easily led astray by designing favorites, as was seen -in the case of the Concinis, and there is little doubt -that the Maréchal d’Ancre was her lover. After -his murder she was estranged from Louis XIII, but -was reconciled and joined with Richelieu’s enemies -in ceaselessly importuning the King to break with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> -his too powerful minister. She was backed by Anne -of Austria, the wife of Louis XIII; by “Monsieur,” -the Duc d’Orleans and a swarm of leading courtiers -in her efforts to sacrifice Richelieu. The conflict -ended in the so-called “Day of Dupes,” when the -minister turned the tables triumphantly upon his -enemies. Louis had retired to his hunting lodge -near Versailles to escape from his perplexities and -Richelieu followed him there, obtained an audience -and put his own case before the King, whom he -dazzled by unveiling his great schemes, and easily -regained the mastery. His enemies were beaten and -like craven hounds came to lick his feet; and like -hounds, at once felt the whip.</p> - -<p>One of the first to suffer was the Queen Mother. -She had no friends. Every one hated her; her son, -her creatures and supporters,—and the King again -sent her into exile, this time to Compiègne, where -she was detained for a time. She presently escaped -and left France to wander through Europe, first to -Brussels, then to London and last of all to Cologne, -where she died in a garret in great penury. Marie -de Medicis’ had been an unhappy life. Misfortune -met her on the moment she came to France, for the -King, her bridegroom, who had divorced his first -wife, Marguerite de Valois, in the hopes of an -heir by another wife, was much disappointed -when he saw Marie de Medicis. She was by no -means so good looking as he had been led to believe. -She was tall, with a large coarse figure, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> -had great round staring eyes. There was nothing -softly feminine and caressing in her ways, she had -no gaiety of manner and was not at all the woman -to attract or amuse the King’s roving fancy,—the -<i>vert galant</i>, the gay deceiver of a thousand errant -loves. Yet he was willing to be good friends and -was strongly drawn to her after the birth of the -Dauphin, but was soon repelled again by her violent -temper and generally detestable character. The establishment -of the Jesuits in France was Marie’s -doing. She was suspected of duplicity in Henry’s -assassination, but the foul charge rests on no good -grounds. After becoming Regent, she alienated -the nobility by her favoritism and exasperated the -people by her exorbitant tax levies to provide money -for her wasteful extravagance and the prodigal -gifts she bestowed. The one merit she possessed -in common with her house was her patronage of -arts and letters. She inspired the series of famous -allegorical pictures, twenty-one in number, painted -by Rubens, embodying the life of Marie de Medicis.</p> - -<p>There was no love lost between the Cardinal and -the Maréchal Bassompierre, who paid the penalty -for being on the wrong side in the famous “Day of -Dupes” and found himself committed for a long -imprisonment in the Bastile. The Marshal had offended -Richelieu by penetrating his designs against -the nobility. When asked what he thought of the -prospect of taking La Rochelle, he had answered, -“It would be a mad act for us, for we shall enable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> -the Cardinal, when he has overcome the Calvinists, -to turn all his strength against our order.” It was -early in 1631 that danger to his person began to -threaten him. He was warned by the Duc d’Épernon -that the Queen Mother, of whose party Bassompierre -was, had been arrested and that others, -including himself, were likely to get into trouble. -The Marshal asked the Duc d’Épernon for his -advice, who strongly urged him to get away, offering -him at the same time a loan of fifty thousand -crowns as a provision until better days came. The -Marshal refused this kind offer but resolved to -present himself before the King and stand his -ground. He would not compromise himself by a -flight which would draw suspicion down on him -and call his loyalty in question. He had served -France faithfully for thirty years and was little inclined -now that he was fifty to seek his fortune -elsewhere. “I had given my King the best years -of my life and was willing to sacrifice my liberty -to him, feeling sure that it would be restored on -better appreciation of my loyal services.”</p> - -<p>Bassompierre prepared for the worst like a man -of the world. “I rose early next day and proceeded -to burn more than six thousand love-letters -received from ladies to whom I had paid my addresses. -I was afraid that if arrested my papers -would be seized and examined and some of these -letters might compromise my old friends.” He entered -his carriage and drove to Senlis where the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> -King was in residence. Here he met the Duc de -Gramont and others who told him he would certainly -be arrested. Bassompierre again protested -that he had nothing on his conscience. The King -received him civilly enough and talked to him at -length about the disagreement of the Queen Mother -with Cardinal Richelieu, and then Bassompierre -asked point blank whether the King owed him any -grudge. “How can you think such a thing,” replied -the treacherous monarch. “You know I am -your friend,” and left him. That evening the -Marshal supped with the Duc de Longueville and -the King came in afterwards. “Then I saw -plainly enough,” says Bassompierre, “that the -King had something against me, for he kept his -head down, and touching the strings of his guitar, -never looked at me nor spoke a single word. Next -morning I rose at six o’clock and as I was standing -before the fire in my dressing-room, M. de -Launay, Lieutenant of the Body-Guard, entered my -room and said, ‘Sir, it is with tears in my eyes -and with a bleeding heart that I, who, for twenty -years have served under you, am obliged to tell -you that the King has ordered me to arrest you.’</p> - -<p>“I experienced very little emotion and replied: -‘Sir, you will have no trouble, as I came here on -purpose, having been warned. I have all my life -submitted to the wishes of the King, who can dispose -of me or my liberty as he thinks fit.’... -Shortly afterwards one of the King’s carriages ar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>rived -in front of my lodging with an escort of -mounted musketeers and thirty light horsemen. I -entered the carriage alone with De Launay. Then -we drove off, keeping two hundred paces in front -of the escort, as far as the Porte St.-Martin, where -we turned off to the left, and I was taken to the -Bastile. I dined with the Governor, M. du Tremblay, -whom I afterwards accompanied to the chamber -which had been occupied by the Prince de -Condé, and in this I was shut up with one servant.</p> - -<p>“On the 26th, M. du Tremblay came to see me -on the part of the King, saying that his Majesty -had not caused me to be arrested for any fault that -I had committed, holding me to be a good servant, -but for fear I should be led into mischief, and he -assured me that I should not remain long in prison, -which was a great consolation. He also told me -that the King had ordered him to allow me every -liberty but that of leaving the Bastile. He added -another chamber to my lodging for the accommodation -of my domestics. I retained only two valets -and a cook, and passed two months without leaving -my room, and I should not have gone out at all -had I not been ill.... The King, it seems, had -gone on a voyage as far as Dijon, and on his return -to Paris I implored my liberty, but all in vain. I -fell ill in the Bastile of a very dangerous swelling, -due to the want of fresh air and exercise and I -began therefore to walk regularly on the terrace -of the Bastion.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p> - -<p>Bassompierre was destined to see a good deal of -that terrace, for the years slowly dragged themselves -along with hope constantly deferred and no -fulfilment of the promises of freedom so glibly extended -to him. He was arrested in 1631 and in -the following year heard he would in all probability -be released at once; but, as he says, he was told -this merely to redouble his sufferings. Next year -he had great hope of regaining his liberty and Marshal -Schomberg sent him word that on the return -of the King to Paris he should leave the Bastile. -This year they deprived him of a portion of his -salary and he was greatly disheartened, feeling -“that he was to be eternally detained and from -that time forth he lost all hope except in God.” -Two years later (1635) the Governor, Monsieur du -Tremblay, congratulated him on his approaching -release and the rumor was so strong that a number -of friends came every day to the Bastile to see if -he was still there. These encouraging stories were -repeated from month to month without any good -result, and at length Père Joseph, “his gray eminence,” -Richelieu’s most confidential friend and -brother of Monsieur du Tremblay, being at the Bastile, -promised the Marshal to speak to the Cardinal -on his behalf. “I put no faith in him,” writes -Bassompierre, and indeed nothing more was heard -for a couple of years, but we find in the Marshal’s -journal an entry to the effect that the King had -told the Cardinal it weighed on his conscience for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> -having kept him in prison so long, seeing that there -was nothing against him. “To which,” says -Bassompierre, “the Cardinal replied that he had -so many things on his mind he could not remember -the reason for the imprisonment or why he (Richelieu) -had advised it, but he would consult his papers -and show them to the King.” The poor Marshal’s -dejection increased, having been detained so long -in the Bastile, “where he had nothing to do but -pray God to speedily put an end to his long misery -by liberty or death.”</p> - -<p>The imprisonment outlasted the journal which -ends in 1640, and it was not until the death of the -Cardinal in 1642 that he at length obtained his release, -just eleven years after his first committal to -prison. He at once presented himself at Court and -was graciously received by the King who asked him -his age. “Fifty,” replied Bassompierre, “for I -cannot count the years passed in the Bastile as they -were not spent in your Majesty’s service.” He did -not enjoy his freedom long, for he soon afterwards -died from an apoplectic seizure.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">THE PEOPLE AND THE BASTILE</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">Anne of Austria—Her servant Laporte—Clandestine communication -in the Bastile—Birth of Dauphin, afterward -Louis XIV—Cinq Mars—His conspiracy—Richelieu’s -death—His character and achievements—Dubois the -alchemist—Regency of Anne of Austria—Mazarin’s -influence—The “Importants”—Imprisonment and -escape of Duc de Beaufort—Growth of the Fronde—Attacks -on Bastile—De Retz in Vincennes—Made Archbishop -of Paris while in prison—Peace restored—Mazarin’s -later rule benign.</p> - -<p>Richelieu throughout his ministry was exposed -to the bitter enmity of the Opposition; his enemies, -princes and great nobles, were continually plotting -to take his life. The King’s brother, Gaston, Duc -d’Orleans, intrigued incessantly against him, supported -by Anne of Austria, queen of Louis XIII, -who was ever in treasonable correspondence with -the King of Spain. Richelieu, whose power waned -for a time, strongly urged the Queen’s arrest and -trial, but no more was done than to commit her -most confidential servant, Laporte, to the Bastile. -The Queen herself was terrified into submission -and made solemn confession of her misdeeds. She -did not tell all, however, and it was hoped more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> -might be extorted from Laporte by the customary -pressure. It was essential to warn Laporte, but -he was in a dungeon far beneath one of the towers -and access to him seemed impossible. The story -is preserved,—an almost incredible one, but -vouched for in Laporte’s “Memoirs,”—that a -letter was conveyed to Laporte by the assistance -of another prisoner, the Chevalier de Jars. The -letter was conveyed to De Jars by one of the Queen’s -ladies disguised as a servant, and he managed by -boring a hole in his floor to pass it to the room below. -Here the occupants were friends, and in like -manner they dug into the dungeon beneath them, -with the result that Laporte was eventually -reached in his subterranean cell. Fortified now by -the fact of the Queen’s avowal, Laporte conducted -himself so well that the most searching examination -elicited no further proofs. The process followed -was in due course detected and Richelieu was heard -to lament that he did not possess so faithful a servant -as Laporte.</p> - -<p>The Chevalier de Jars, above mentioned, had been -long an inmate of the Bastile, being concerned -with the keeper of the seals, Chateauneuf, in a plot -to convey Marie de Medicis and the King’s brother, -Gaston, to England. No proof was forthcoming as -to Jars’s complicity with Chateauneuf, and he was -treated with the utmost cruelty in order to extort -confession. He was imprisoned in a fetid dungeon -till his clothes rotted off his back, his hair and nails<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> -grew to a frightful length and he was nearly starved -to death. Père Joseph, the Cardinal’s <i>alter ego</i>, the -famous “grey eminence,” constantly visited him to -make sure that this rigorous treatment was carried -out. At length the Chevalier was taken out for -examination, to which he was subjected eighty times, -and threatened first with torture and then with capital -punishment. At last he was warned that he -must die and was removed to the place of execution. -Pardon, however, was extended to him just as the -axe was raised. Still the Chevalier refused to make -any revelation. He was taken back to the Bastile, -but he was no longer harshly treated. De Jars -seems to have won the favor of Charles I, of England, -whose queen, Henrietta Maria, wrote to Richelieu -begging for the prisoner’s release. This came -in 1638, apparently a little after the episode of the -clandestine letter described above.</p> - -<p>The birth of a son, afterwards Louis XIV, put -an end to the worst of these court intrigues. Gaston -d’Orleans lost his position as heir presumptive -and the King, while still hating Richelieu, trusted -him more and more with the conduct of affairs. -Fortune smiled upon the French arms abroad. -Richelieu had made short work of his principal -enemies and he was now practically unassailable. -No one could stand against him and the King was -simply his servant. Louis XIII would gladly have -shaken himself free from his imperious minister’s -tyranny, but the King’s health was failing and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> -could only listen to whispers of the fresh plots -which he was too weak to discountenance and forbid. -The last of these was the celebrated conspiracy -of Cinq Mars, well known in history, but still -better known in romantic literature as the subject -of the famous novel by Alfred de Vigny, named -after the central figure. Richelieu, needing an ally -near the King’s person, had selected Henri Cinq -Mars, youngest son of the Marquis d’Effiat, a handsome, -vain youth who quickly grew into the King’s -graces and was much petted and much spoiled. The -young Cinq Mars, no more than nineteen, amused -the King by sharing his silly pleasures, teaching him -to snare magpies and helping him to carve wooden -toys. Cinq Mars was appointed master of the horse -and was greatly flattered and made much of at -court. His head was soon turned and filled with -ambitious dreams. He aspired to the hand of the -Princess Marie de Gonzague of the house of Nevers -and made a formal proposition of himself to Richelieu. -The Cardinal laughed contemptuously at his -absurd pretensions, and earned in return the bitter -hatred of Cinq Mars. The breach was widened by -the King’s bad taste in introducing his favorite at -a conference of the Privy Council. Richelieu -quietly acquiesced but afterwards gave Cinq Mars -a bit of his mind, gaining thereby redoubled dislike. -From that time forth Cinq Mars was resolved to -overthrow the Cardinal. He found ready support -from the Duc d’Orleans and the Duc de Bouillon,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> -while the King himself was not deaf to the hints of -a speedy release from Richelieu’s thraldom. Only -the Queen, Anne of Austria, stood aloof and was -once more on friendly terms with the Cardinal. A -secret treaty had been entered into with Philip IV -of Spain, who was to further the aims of the conspirators -by sending troops into France. The two -countries were then at war and it was high treason -to enter into dealings with Spain. Just when the -plot was ripe for execution an anonymous packet -was brought to Richelieu at Tarascon, whither he -had proceeded with the King to be present at the relief -of Perpignan. This packet contained a facsimile -of the traitorous treaty with Philip IV and Cinq -Mars’s fate was sealed. The King with great reluctance -signed an order for the arrest of Cinq -Mars, who was taken in the act of escaping on horseback.</p> - -<p>De Thou, another of the conspirators, was taken -with the Duc de Bouillon, while the Duc d’Orleans -fled into Auvergne and wandered to and -fro, proscribed and in hiding. The only crime that -could be advanced against De Thou was that he -was privy to the plot and had taken no steps to -reveal it. Cinq Mars was now abandoned by the -King, who left him to the tender mercies of Richelieu. -This resulted in his being brought to trial -at Lyons, but he contrived to send a message -appealing for mercy to the King. It reached the -foolish, fickle monarch when he was in the act of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> -making toffy in a saucepan over the fire. “No, no, -I will give Cinq Mars no audience,” said Louis, -“his soul is as black as the bottom of this pan.” -Cinq Mars suffered on the block and comported -himself with a fortitude that won him sympathy; -for it was remembered that his faults had been -fostered by the exaggerated favoritism shown him. -De Thou was also decapitated after his associate, -and, not strangely, was unnerved by the sight which -he had witnessed. The Duc de Bouillon was pardoned -at the price of surrendering his ancestral estate -of Sedan to the Crown.</p> - -<p>This was Richelieu’s last act of retaliation. He -returned to Paris stricken with mortal disease. He -travelled by slow stages in a litter borne by twelve -gentlemen of his entourage, who marched bareheaded. -On reaching Paris, he rapidly grew worse -and Louis XIII paid him a farewell visit on his -deathbed. On taking leave of his master he reminded -him of the singular services he had rendered -France, saying: “In taking my leave of your -Majesty I behold your kingdom at the highest pinnacle -it has hitherto reached and all your enemies -have been banished or removed.” The tradition is -preserved that upon this solemn occasion he strenuously -urged the King to appoint Mazarin as his -successor. The Italian cardinal was brought into -the Council the day after Richelieu’s death and from -the first appears to have exercised a strong influence -over the King. The means and methods of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> -the two statesmen were in great contrast. Richelieu -imposed his will by sheer force of character and -the terror he inspired. Mazarin, soft-mannered and -supple-backed, worked with infinite patience and -triumphed by duplicity and astuteness.</p> - -<p>Richelieu’s constant aim was to establish the absolute -power of the monarchy, and to aggrandize -France among nations. His internal government -was arbitrary and often extremely cruel and he was -singularly deficient in financial ability. He had no -idea of raising money but by the imposition of onerous -taxes and never sought to enrich France by encouraging -industries and developing the natural -resources of the country. A strong, self-reliant, -highly intelligent and gifted man, he was nevertheless -a slave to superstition and the credulous dupe -of fraudulent impostures. It will always be remembered -against him that he believed in alchemy and -the virtue of the so-called philosopher’s stone; yet -more, that he was responsible for the persecution -and conviction of Urban Grandier, a priest condemned -as a magician, charged with bewitching the -nuns of Poictou. It was gravely asserted that these -simple creatures were possessed of devils through -the malignant influence of Grandier, and many -pious ecclesiastics were employed to exorcise the -evil spirits.</p> - -<p>The story as it comes down to us would be farcical -and absurd were it not so repulsively horrible. -The nuns believed to be afflicted were clearly the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> -victims of emotional hysteria. They exhibited the -strangest and most extravagant grimaces and contortions, -were thrown into convulsions and foamed -and slavered at the mouth. The ceremony of exorcism -was carried out with great solemnity, and it -is seriously advanced that the admonition had such -surprising effects that the devils straightway took -flight into the air. The whole story was conveyed -to Cardinal Richelieu by his familiar, Père Joseph, -who declared that he had seen the evil spirits at -work and had observed many nuns and lay-sisters -when they were possessed. The Cardinal thereupon -gave orders for Grandier’s arrest and trial, which -was conducted with great prolixity and unfairness. -The evidence adduced against him was preposterous. -Among other statements, it was claimed that he -exhibited a number of the devil’s marks upon his -body and that he was so impervious to pain that -when a needle was thrust into him to the depth of -an inch, it had no effect and no blood issued. Grandier’s -defence was a solemn denial of the charges, -but according to the existing procedure, he was put -to the “question,” subjected to most cruel torture, -ordinary and extraordinary, to extort confession of -the guilt which he would not acknowledge. He was -in due course formally convicted of the crimes of -magic and sorcery and sentenced to make the -<i>amende honorable</i>; to be led to the public place of -Holy Cross in Loudun and there bound to a stake -on a wooden pile and burned alive. The records state<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> -that he bore his punishment with constancy accompanied -with great self-denial, and declare that a certain -unaffected air of piety which hypocrisy cannot -counterfeit was shown in his aspect. On the other -hand one bigoted chronicler of the period declares -that, during the ceremony, a flying insect like a wasp -was observed to buzz about Grandier’s head. This -gave a monk occasion to say that it was Beelzebub -hovering around him to carry away his soul to hell,—this -for the reason that Beelzebub signifies in -Hebrew the god of flies.</p> - -<p>It is difficult to understand how Richelieu could -suffer himself to be beguiled into accepting the -promises made by an unscrupulous adventurer to -turn the baser metals into gold. But for a space -he certainly believed in Noël Pigard Dubois, a man -who, after following for some time his father’s profession -of surgery, abandoned it in order to go to -the Levant, where he spent four years in the study -of occult science. On returning to Paris he employed -his time in the same pursuit, chiefly associating -with dissolute characters. A sudden fit of devotion -made him enter a monastery, but he soon -grew tired of the irksome restraints he there experienced, -and, scaling the walls of his retreat, effected -his escape. Three years after this he once -more resolved to embrace a monastic life, took the -vows and was ordained a priest. In this new course -he persevered for ten years, at the end of which -time he fled to Germany, became a Lutheran, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> -devoted himself to the quest of the philosopher’s -stone.</p> - -<p>Dissatisfied with this mode of life, he again -visited Paris, abjured the Protestant religion, and -married under a fictitious name. As he now boldly -asserted that he had discovered the secret of making -gold, he soon grew into repute and was at last -introduced to Richelieu and the King, both of -whom, with singular gullibility, gave full credence -to his pretensions. It was arranged that Dubois -should perform the “great work” in the Louvre, -the King, the Queen, the Cardinal, and other illustrious -personages of the court being present. In -order to lull all suspicion, Dubois requested that -some one might be appointed to watch his proceedings. -Accordingly Saint-Amour, one of the King’s -body-guard, was selected for this purpose. Musket -balls, given by a soldier together with a grain of -the “powder for projection,” were placed in a crucible -covered with cinders and the furnace fire was -soon raised to a proper heat. When Dubois declared -the transmutation accomplished, he requested -the King to blow off the ashes from the crucible. -This Louis did with so much ardor that he nearly -blinded the Queen and the courtiers with the dust -he raised. But when his efforts were rewarded by -seeing at the bottom of the crucible the lump of -gold which by wonderful sleight of hand Dubois had -contrived to introduce into it, despite the presence -of so many witnesses, the King warmly embraced<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> -the alchemist. Then he ennobled him and appointed -him president of the treasury.</p> - -<p>Dubois repeated the same trick several times with -equal success. But an obstacle which he might from -the first have anticipated occurred. He soon grew -unable to satisfy the eager demands of his protectors, -who longed for something more substantial -than insignificant lumps of gold. Some idea of their -avidity may be conceived when it is known that -Richelieu alone required him to furnish a weekly -sum of about £25,000. Although Dubois asked for -a delay, which he obtained, he was of course unable -to comply with these extravagant demands, and -was in consequence imprisoned in Vincennes, -whence he was transferred to the Bastile. The vindictive -minister, unwilling to acknowledge that he -had been duped, instead of punishing Dubois as an -impostor, accused him of practising magic and appointed -a commission to try him. As the unhappy -alchemist persisted in asserting his innocence he was -put to the torture. His sufferings induced him in -order to gain respite to offer to fulfil the promises -with which he had formerly deceived his patrons. -Their credulity was apparently not yet exhausted, -for they allowed him to make another experiment. -Having again failed in this, he confessed his imposture, -was sentenced to death and accordingly -perished on the scaffold.</p> - -<p>A host of warring elements was forced into fresh -activity by the death of Richelieu, soon followed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> -by that of the King. Louis XIII, in his will, bequeathed -the regency to his widowed Queen, Anne -of Austria, and her accession to power stirred up -many active malcontents all eager to dispute it. The -feudal system had faded, but the great nobles still -survived and were ready to fight again for independence -if the executive were weakened; while -parliaments were ready to claim a voice in government -and curtail the prerogatives not yet wholly -conceded to the sovereign. The long minority of -Louis XIV was a period of continual intrigue. -France was torn by party dissension and cursed with -civil war. If we would understand the true state -of affairs and realise the part played by the two -great prisons, Vincennes and the Bastile, and the -principal personages incarcerated within their walls, -a brief résumé of events will prove helpful.</p> - -<p>Anne of Austria was not a woman of commanding -ability. She was kind hearted, well-intentioned, -of sufficiently noble character to forget her own -likes and dislikes, and really desirous of ruling in -the best interests of the country. Her situation was -one of extraordinary difficulty and, not strangely, -she was inclined to lean upon the best support that -seemed to offer itself. Cardinal Mazarin was a -possible successor to Richelieu and well fitted to -continue that powerful minister’s policy. The -Queen was willing to give Mazarin her full confidence -and was aghast when he talked of withdrawing -permanently to Rome. She now desired him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> -to remain and take charge of the ship of state, but -his elevation gave great umbrage to his many opponents -at court, and the desire to undermine, upset -and even to assassinate Mazarin was the cause of -endless intrigues and conspiracies. The cabal of -the “Importants” was the first to overcome. It -consisted of Richelieu’s chief victims now returned -from banishment, or released from gaol; princes of -the blood and great nobles aiming at recovered influence, -and the Queen’s favorites counting upon -her unabated friendship. They gave themselves -such airs and their pretensions were so high that -they gained the ironical sobriquet of “the important -people.” Mazarin, when they threatened him, made -short work of them. The Duc de Beaufort, second -son of the Duc de Vendôme, handsome of person -but an inordinate swaggerer, whose rough manners -and coarse language had gained him the epithet of -“King of the Markets,” was arrested and shut up -in Vincennes. Intriguing duchesses were once -more exiled and the principal nobles sent to vegetate -on their estates. A new power now arose; that -of the victorious young general, the Duc d’Enghien, -the eldest son of the Prince de Condé, afterwards -known as the “great Condé.” He became the hero -of the hour and so great was his popularity that had -he been less self-confident and more willing to join -forces with the Duc d’Orleans, “Monsieur,” the -young King’s uncle, he would have become a dangerous -competitor to Mazarin. D’Enghien soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> -succeeded to the family honors and continued to -win battles and to be an unknown quantity in politics -capable at any time of throwing his weight on -either side.</p> - -<p>The next serious conflict was with the Parliament -of Paris, ever eager to vindicate its authority -and importance and to claim control of the financial -administration of France. The French treasury -was as ill-managed as ever and the Parliament was -resolved to oppose the proposed taxation. Extreme -misery prevailed in the land. The peasants were -ground down into the most wretched poverty, and -were said to have “nothing left to them but their -souls; and these also would have been seized, but -that they would fetch nothing at the hammer.” -The Parliament backed up the cry for reform, and -Mazarin, to check and intimidate it, decided to arrest -two of its most prominent members. The aged -Broussel was sent to the Bastile and Blancmesnil -was thrown into the castle of Vincennes.</p> - -<p>These arbitrary acts drove the Parisian populace -into open revolt. Broussel’s immediate release was -demanded and obstinately refused until the disturbances -increased and barricades were formed, when -the Queen, at last terrified, surrendered her prisoner. -The next day she left Paris, taking the young -King with her, declaring that she would return -with troops to enforce submission. Condé, who had -returned from the army with fresh successes, advised -conciliation, being secretly anxious to support<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> -those who would cripple the growing authority of -Mazarin. Peace was restored, at least on the surface, -and the Queen once more returned to Paris. -But she was almost a prisoner in her palace and -when she appeared in public her carriage was followed -by a hooting mob. She again planned to disappear -from Paris and send the royal army to -blockade it. In the dead of a winter’s night the -whole court, carrying the King, fled to St. Germain -where no preparations had been made to receive -them. For days they were short of food, fuel and -the commonest necessaries. But a stern message -was dispatched to the people of Paris, intimating -the immediate advance of a body of twelve thousand -troops. The capital was abashed but not greatly -alarmed, and was prepared for defence and for the -support of Parliament. The question of the moment -was that of leadership, and choice lay between -the Prince de Condé, the great Condé’s brother, and -the Duc d’Elboeuf, who was appointed with the -certainty that Condé would not submit to him.</p> - -<p>The Duc de Beaufort was also available, for he -had succeeded in escaping from Vincennes. A brief -account of his evasion may well find place here. -Chavigny, a former minister, was governor of the -prison, and no friend to Beaufort. But Cardinal -Mazarin did not trust to that, and special gaolers -were appointed to ensure the prince’s safe custody. -Ravile, an officer of the King’s body-guard, and -six or seven troopers kept him constantly under eye,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> -and slept in the prisoner’s room. Beaufort was not -permitted to retain his own servants about him, but -his friends managed to secure the employment of a -valet, supposed to be in hiding to escape the consequences -of a fatal duel in which he had killed his -man. This mysterious retainer exhibited the most -violent dislike of Beaufort and treated him openly -with insolent rudeness. On the day of Pentecost, -when many of the guards were absent at mass, -Beaufort was permitted to exercise on the gallery -below the level of his regular apartment, with a -single companion, an officer of the Garde du Corps. -The valet above mentioned had taken his seat at -table with the rest, but suddenly rose, feigning illness, -and leaving the dining room locked the door -behind him. Rejoining the Duke the two threw -themselves upon the officer, whom they overpowered -and bound and gagged. A ladder of ropes, already -prepared, was produced and fastened to the bars -of the window, and the fugitives went down into -the moat by means of it. Meanwhile, half a dozen -confederates had been stationed below and beyond -the moat to assist in the escape, and were in waiting, -watching the descent. Unfortunately the ladder -proved too short by some feet. A long drop was -necessary, in which Beaufort, a stalwart figure, fell -heavily and was so seriously hurt that he fainted. -Further progress was arrested until he regained -consciousness. Then a cord was thrown across the -moat and the Prince was dragged over by his at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>tendants, -who carried him to a neighboring wood -where he was met by fifty armed men on horseback. -He mounted, although in great bodily pain, and -galloped off, forgetting his sufferings in his delight -at freedom regained. Beaufort fled to a distant -estate of his father’s, where he remained in safety -until the sword was drawn, when he promptly proceeded -to Paris and was received with open arms -after his imprisonment and long absence. His popularity -was widespread and extravagantly manifested. -The market women in particular lavished -signs of affection on him and smothered him with -kisses. Later, when it was believed that he had -been poisoned by Mazarin and had applied to the -doctors for an antidote, the mob was convulsed with -alarm at his illness. Immense crowds surrounded -the Hotel de Vendôme. So great was the concourse, -so deep the anxiety that the people were -admitted to see him lying pale and suffering on his -bed; and many of them threw themselves on their -knees by his bedside and wept pitifully, calling him -the saviour of his country.</p> - -<p>The moving spirit of the Fronde was really -Gondi, better known afterwards as Cardinal de -Retz, who had been appointed Coadjutor-Archbishop -of Paris. He was a strange character who -played many parts, controlled great affairs, exercised -a supreme authority and dictated terms to the -Crown. His youth had been stormy, and although -he was an ordained ecclesiastic, he hated the re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>ligious -profession. He led a vicious, irregular life, -was a libertine and conspirator, fought a couple of -duels and tried to abduct a cousin. None of these -evil deeds could release him from his vows, and -being permanently, arbitrarily committed to the -Church, his ambition led him to seek distinction in -it. Studying theology deeply and inclining to -polemics, he became a noted disputant, argued -points of doctrine in public with a Protestant and -won him back to the bosom of the Catholic Church. -It was Louis XIII who, on his death-bed, in reward -for this conversion, named him Coadjutor. Gondi -was possessed of great eloquence and preached -constantly in the cathedral to approving congregations. -He was essentially a demagogue on the side -of the popular faction. Despite his often enthusiastic -following, his position was generally precarious, -and when the opposing parties made peace he fell -into disgrace. In the midst of his thousand intrigues -he was suddenly arrested and carried to -Vincennes as a prisoner. When at length he escaped -from Nantes, to which he had been transferred, -his reappearance produced no effect and he -wandered to and fro through Europe, neglected and -despised. His only fame rests on a quality he esteemed -the least, that of literary genius, for his -“Memoirs,” which he wrote in the quiet years of -latter life, still hold a high place in French literature.</p> - -<p>The wars of the Fronde lasted with varying for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>tunes -for five distressful years. This conflict owed -its name to the boyish Parisian game of slinging -stones. The sling, or <i>fronde</i>, was the weapon they -used and the combatants continually gathered to -throw stones at each other, quickly dispersing at -the appearance of the watch. The Queen was implacably -resolved to coerce the insurgents. The -Parisians, full of fight, raised men and money in -seemingly resolute, but really half-hearted resistance. -Condé commanded the royal army, blockaded -Paris for six weeks and starved the populace -into submission. The earlier successes had been -with the city. The Bastile had been attacked and -its governor, Monsieur du Tremblay, the brother -of Père Joseph, “His Grey Eminence,” capitulated, -hopeless of holding out with his small garrison of -twenty-two men. The conflict never rose above -small skirmishes and trifling battles. The civic -forces had no military value. The streets were -filled with light-hearted mobs who watched their -leaders disporting gaily in dances and entertainments -at the Hotel de Ville. Condé, on the other -hand, was in real earnest. He attacked the suburbs -and carried serious war into the heart of the city. -The insurgents prepared to treat, and Mazarin, -who feared that the surrender of Paris to Condé -would make that prince dictator of France, consented. -He agreed to grant an amnesty, to reduce -taxation and bring the King back to Paris.</p> - -<p>Condé now went into opposition. He posed as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> -the saviour of the Court, and as the nobles crowded -round him he grew more and more overbearing. -Mazarin had now secured the support of Gondi by -promising to obtain for him the Cardinal’s hat and -he detached the other leaders of the Fronde by -liberal bribes. The final stroke was the sudden -arrest of Condé and with him two other princes, -Conti and Longueville. The volatile Parisians were -overjoyed at the sight of the great general being -escorted to Vincennes. Peace might have been -permanently established had not Mazarin played -the Coadjutor false by now refusing him the Cardinal’s -hat, and Gondi therefore incited his friends -to fresh rebellion. A strong combination insisted -upon the dismissal of Mazarin and the release of -the three princes. They had been removed for safe -custody to Havre, where Mazarin went in person to -set them free. He would have made terms with -them, but they resisted his advances and returned to -Paris in triumph, where the Parliament during -Mazarin’s absence had condemned Mazarin to death -in effigy. Mazarin now withdrew altogether from -France to Cologne where he still directed the -Queen’s policy. A fresh conflict was imminent. -Gondi was gained by a new promise of a Cardinalate -for him and the opposing forces gathered together -for war.</p> - -<p>Condé was now hostile. With him were Gaston, -Duc d’Orleans, the Dukes of Beaufort and Nemours -and other great nobles. Gaston’s daughter, the in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>trepid, -“Grande Mademoiselle,” above all feminine -weakness, took personal command of a part of the -army. Turenne, one of the greatest soldiers of his -time, led the royal troops against her. Condé made -a bold but fruitless attempt to capture the Court. -He then marched on Paris pursued by Turenne’s -forces. A fight ensued in the suburb of Saint Antoine, -where Condé became entangled and was likely -to be overwhelmed. He was saved by the “Grande -Mademoiselle,” who helped him to carry his troops -through Paris and covered the movement by entering -the Bastile in person, the guns of which were -opened upon the royal troops. This was the final -action in the civil war. The people, wearied of conflict, -clamored loudly for peace. One obstacle was -the doubtful attitude of Cardinal de Retz, who -throughout this later phase had pretended to be on -the side of the Court. He, however, was still bent -on rebellion. He garrisoned and fortified his house -and laid in ammunition and it was essential to take -sharp measures with him. He was beguiled for a -time with fair appearances, but the Queen was already -planning his removal from the scene. One -day Cardinal de Retz came to pay his homage and, -on leaving the King’s apartments, was arrested by -the captain of the guard.</p> - -<p>The Cardinal has told his story at length in his -extremely interesting “Memoirs.” Some of his -friends knew of the fate impending but were too -late to warn him and help him to escape, as they pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>posed, -by the kitchen entrance of the Louvre. When -taken they brought in dinner and he eat heartily -much to the surprise of the attendant courtiers. -After a delay of three hours he entered a royal carriage -with several officers and drove off under a -strong escort of gendarmes and light horse, for the -news of his arrest had got out and had caused an -immense sensation in Paris. All passed off -smoothly, for those who threatened rescue were -assured that on the first hostile sign, De Retz would -be killed. The prisoner arrived at Vincennes between -eight and nine o’clock in the evening and was -shown into a large, bare chamber without bed, carpet -or fire; and in it he shivered at this bitter Christmas -season, for a whole fortnight. The servant -they gave him was a ruffian who stole his clothes, -his shoes and his linen, and he was compelled to stay -constantly in bed. He was allowed books but no -paper or ink. He passed his time in the study of -Greek and Latin and when permitted to leave his -room he kept doves, pigeons and rabbits. He entered -into a clandestine correspondence with his -friends, pondering ever upon the possibilities of escape, -for he had little or no hope of release otherwise.</p> - -<p>Now fortune played into De Retz’s hands. His -uncle, the Archbishop of Paris, died, and the Coadjutor, -although a prisoner, was entitled to succeed. -Before the breath was out of the deceased’s body, -an agent took possession of the Archbishop’s palace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> -in the Coadjutor’s name, forestalling the King’s -representative by just twenty minutes. De Retz -was a power and had to be counted with. He was -close in touch with all the parish clergy and through -them could stir up the people to fresh revolt which -the great ecclesiastics, chafing at the incarceration -of their chief, the Archbishop, would undoubtedly -support. Moreover, the Pope had written from -Rome an indignant protest against the arrest of a -prince of the Church. The situation was further -embittered by a sad occurrence. A canon of the -Notre Dame had been placed by the chapter near -the Archbishop to take his orders for the administration -of the diocese, and this aged priest, suffering -from the confinement, lost his health and committed -suicide. The death was attributed to the severity -of the imprisonment and sympathy for De Retz redoubled, -fanned into flame by incendiary sermons -from every pulpit in Paris.</p> - -<p>The Court now wished to temporise and overtures -were made to De Retz to resign the archbishopric. -He was offered in exchange the revenues -of seven wealthy abbeys, but stubbornly refused. -He was advised by his friends not to yield -as the only means to recover his liberty, but he -finally agreed to accept the proffered exchange and -pending the approval of the Holy See was transferred -from Vincennes to the prison of Nantes at -the mouth of the Loire. Here his treatment was -softened. He was permitted to amuse himself, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> -receive visitors of both sexes and to see theatrical -performances within the castle. He was still a close -prisoner and there was a guard of the gate sentinels -on his rooms; but he bore it all bravely, being -buoyed up with the hope of approaching release.</p> - -<p>A bitter disappointment was in store for him. -The Pope refused to accept his resignation on the -grounds that it had been extorted by force and was -dated from the interior of a prison. The attitude -of his gaolers changed towards him as he was suspected -of foul play and he was secretly apprised -that he would probably be carried further out of -the world and removed to Brest. He was strongly -advised to attempt escape. One idea was that he -should conceal himself in a capacious mule trunk -and be carried out as part of a friend’s baggage. -The prospect of suffocation deterred the Cardinal -and he turned his thoughts to another method. -This was the summer season and the river was low -and a space was left at the foot of the castle wall. -The prisoner was in the habit of exercising in a -garden close at hand, and it was arranged that four -gentlemen devoted to him should take their posts -here on a certain afternoon. There was a gate at -the bottom of the garden placed there to prevent -the soldiers from stealing the grapes. Above was -a kind of terrace on which the sentries guarding -De Retz were stationed. The Cardinal managed to -pass into this garden unobserved and he came upon -a rope so placed as to assist him in sliding down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> -to the lower level. Here a horse was awaiting him, -which he mounted and galloped away, closely followed -by his friends. Their way led through -streets where they encountered a couple of guards -and exchanged shots with them. All went well until -De Retz’s horse shied at the glitter of a ray of -sunlight, stumbled and fell. The Cardinal was -thrown and broke his collar bone. Both horse and -man were quickly got on their feet and the fugitive, -though suffering horribly, remounted and continued -his flight. The party reached the river in safety, -but when embarking on the ferry-boat De Retz -fainted and was taken across unconscious. There -was no hope of his being able to ride further and -while some of them went in search of a vehicle, the -others concealed the Cardinal in a barn, where he -remained for seven hours, suffering terribly. At -last, help came, about two o’clock in the morning, -and he was carried on a litter to another farm -where he was laid upon the soft hay of a stack. He -remained here until his safety was assured by the -arrival of a couple of hundred gentlemen, adherents -of the De Retz family, for he was now in the -De Retz country. This successful escape caused -much alarm in court circles, for it was feared that -De Retz would reappear at once in Paris, but he was -too much shaken by the accident to engage actively -in public affairs. He remained in obscurity and at -last withdrew from the country. He afterwards -became reconciled to the royal power, serving<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> -Louis XIV loyally at Rome as ambassador to the -Papal Conclave.</p> - -<p>On the removal of the great demagogue from -the scene, Mazarin returned to Paris. The people -were well disposed to receive him and his re-entry -was in its way a triumph. The King went many -miles out to meet and welcome him, and the Italian -minister, long so detested, drove into the capital -amidst the most enthusiastic acclamations. The -most important personages in the realm vied with -each other to do him honor, many who had long -labored for his destruction now protesting the most -ardent attachment to him. Mazarin took his fortune -at the flood and bearing no malice, if he felt -any, by no means sought to avenge himself on those -who had so long hated and opposed him. He resumed -his place as chief minister and the remainder -of his rule was mild and beneficent. Disturbances -still occurred in France, but they were not of a -serious nature. Conspiracies were formed but easily -put down and were followed by no serious reprisals. -The punishments he inflicted seldom extended to -life and limb, for he had a strong abhorrence of -bloodshed and he preferred the milder method of -imprisonment. He waged unceasing war against -depredators who infested the capital and parts of -the country. Highway robbery had increased and -multiplied during the long dissensions of the civil -war. Mazarin was bitterly opposed to duelling as -was his predecessor, Richelieu, and he wished to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> -keep the courtiers in good humor. Indeed he directly -fostered a vice to which he was himself addicted, -that of the gaming table. He was a persistent -gambler and it has been hinted that he thought -it no discredit to take advantage of his adversary. -Never, perhaps, in any age or country was there -a greater addiction to play. Vast sums were won -and lost in the course of an evening. On one occasion -Fouquet, the notorious minister of finance -of whom I shall have much more to say, won -60,000 livres (roughly £5,000) in one deal. Gourville -won as much from the Duc de Richelieu in less -than ten minutes. Single stakes ran to thousands -of pounds, and estates, houses, rich lace and jewels -of great price were freely put up at the table.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">THE MAN WITH THE IRON MASK</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">Louis XIV asserts himself—His use of State prisons—Procedure -of reception at the Bastile—Life in the prison—Diet -and privileges—Governing staff—De Besmaus—Saint -Mars—Fouquet’s fate foreshadowed—Fête at -Vaux—King enraged—Fouquet arrested at Nantes—Lodged -in the Bastile—Sentence changed from exile to -perpetual imprisonment—Removed to Pignerol—Dies in -prison—Man with the Iron Mask—Basis of mystery—Various -suppositions—Identical with Count Mattioli—Origin -of stories about him—Dies in the Bastile.</p> - -<p>The latter years of Mazarin’s government were -free from serious disturbances at home and his foreign -policy was distinctly beneficial to France. He -governed firmly, but in the name of the King, who -already evinced the strength of will and vigor of -mind which were shortly to make the royal authority -absolute in France. Louis XIV was still in -his teens, but already he would brook no opposition -from rebellious nobles or a litigious Parliament. -One day he entered the Chamber, booted -and spurred just as he came from hunting at Vincennes, -and plainly told the members of Parliament -assembled there to prepare some fresh remonstrance, -that he would tolerate no more of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> -meetings. “I know, gentlemen, the mischief that -comes from them, and I will not permit them in -the future.” The president protested that it was -in the interests of the State. “I am the State,” -replied the young despot of seventeen. The country -was entirely with him. All classes were sick of -commotions and hailed the new authority with -every demonstration of joy. Mazarin, no doubt, -aided the development of Louis’s character. -“There is enough in Louis,” he had been heard -to say, “to make four good kings and one honest -man,” and it was under the Cardinal’s counsels -that Louis developed his political education.</p> - -<p>France was now entering upon one of the most -brilliant periods of her history. Mazarin had prosecuted -the war with Spain so vigorously that she -was prepared to come to terms. He contracted an -alliance with Protestant Cromwell which resulted -in substantial gains to England. Peace with Spain -and the marriage of Louis to a Spanish princess -were the last acts of Mazarin, whose constantly failing -health showed that death was near. Now, -when the end was approaching, he had reached the -pinnacle of his fortunes. No longer the hated, proscribed -and persecuted minister, he enjoyed the -fullest honors and the most unbounded popularity. -He had grown enormously rich, for avarice was a -ruling vice with him and he had uncontrolled access -to the national purse. At his death he left some -fifty million livres in cash, owned many palaces<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> -filled with priceless statues and pictures, and jewels -of inestimable value. His conscience appears -to have troubled him as death approached; he -sought to silence it by making over all his possessions -to the King, who speedily silenced Mazarin’s -scruples by returning them as a royal gift.</p> - -<p>Not strangely, under such government, the -finances of France were at their very lowest ebb. -The financial incompetence of Mazarin, coupled -with his greed, had left the treasury empty, and -when Louis asked Fouquet for money he got for -answer, “There is none in the treasury, but ask -His Eminence to lend you some, he has plenty.” -Fortunately for France, Mazarin had introduced -into the King’s service one of the most eminent -financiers who ever lived, Colbert, and it is reported -that when dying he said, “I owe your Majesty -everything; but by giving you my own intendant, -Colbert, I shall repay you.” Colbert became Louis’s -secret adviser, for Fouquet purposely complicated -accounts and craftily contrived to tell the King -nothing. One of Colbert’s first acts was to reveal -to the King that Cardinal Mazarin, over and above -the great fortune he left openly to his family, had -a store of wealth hidden away in various fortresses. -Louis promptly laid hands upon it and was in consequence -the only rich sovereign of his time in -Europe.</p> - -<p>In the long period of irresponsible despotism -now at hand, the prisons were destined to play<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> -a prominent part. No one was safe from arbitrary -arrest. The right of personal liberty did not exist. -Every one, the highest and the lowest, the most -criminal and the most venial offender, might come -within the far reaching hands of the King’s gaolers. -Both the “Wood,” as Vincennes was commonly -called, and the Bastile, the “castle with the -eight towers,” were constantly crowded with victims -of arbitrary power. It was an interminable -procession as we shall presently see.</p> - -<p>Let us first describe the procedure in arrest, the -reception of prisoners and their daily régime within -the great fortress gaol. It has been claimed that -the system in force was regulated with the most -minute care. As imprisonment might be decreed -absolutely and without question, a great responsibility -was supposed to weigh upon officials. In -the first instance the Bastile was under the immediate -control of a minister of state, for a long time -a high official. He received an accurate and exact -list of all arrests made, and rendered to the King -an account of all remaining at the end of each year. -The order for arrest was hedged in with all precaution. -Each <i>lettre de cachet</i> bore the King’s own -signature countersigned by a minister, and the governor -of the Bastile signed a receipt for the body -at the end of the order. In some cases, prisoners -of distinction brought their own warrants of arrest; -but the court also signed an order to receive -them, without which admission would be refused.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> -In due course, when Louis XIV had fully established -his police, arrests were made by the <i>Lieutenant-Criminel</i>, -whose agent approached and -touched his intended prisoner with a white wand. -A party of archers of the guard followed in support. -A carriage was always employed; the first -that came to hand being impressed into the King’s -service. Into this the prisoner mounted with the -officer making the arrest by his side. The escort -surrounded the carriage and the party marched at -a foot’s pace through the silent, over-awed crowd. -In many cases to avoid gossip, the agent took his -prisoner to a place he kept for the purpose, a private -house commonly called the <i>four</i> (oven) -and the remainder of the journey to the Bastile was -made after dark.</p> - -<p>The party was challenged as it approached the -Bastile. The first sentinel cried, “Who goes -there?” The agent replied, “The King’s order;” -and the under officer of the guard came out to -examine the <i>lettre de cachet</i> when, if all was correct, -he allowed the carriage to enter and rang the -bell to inform all concerned. The soldiers of the -garrison turned out under arms, the King’s lieutenant -and the captain of the gateway guard received -the prisoner as he alighted from the carriage. -If the governor was in the castle the new -prisoner was conducted immediately into his presence. -A short colloquy followed. It was decided -in which part of the castle the new comer should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> -be lodged. He was then taken into an adjoining -apartment to be thoroughly searched and was deprived -of arms, money and papers. No one but -the officials and those specially authorised by the -King were permitted to carry arms in the Bastile. -All visitors surrendered their swords at the gate.</p> - -<p>Now the drawbridge was let down and admission -given to the inner court, whence the prisoner passed -on, escorted by turnkeys, to the lodging assigned -to him. If he was a person of distinction, he found -a suite of rooms; if of low degree he was thrown -into one of the cells in the towers. New arrivals -were detained for several days in separation until -the interrogatory instituted gave some idea of the -fate foreshadowed. Rooms in the Bastile were not -supplied with furniture. The King only guaranteed -food for his guests, and they were obliged to -hire what they needed unless their friends sent in -the necessary articles. Later on, the King provided -a special fund for the purpose of buying furniture, -and five or six rooms came to be regularly furnished -with a bed, a table and a couple of chairs. In rare -cases servants were admitted to attend their masters, -but the warders generally kept the rooms in -order. If the preliminary inquiry was lengthy or -the imprisonment promised to be prolonged, the -prisoner was given a companion of his own class -and quality whose business it was to worm his way -into his confidence and eventually to betray it. -These were the <i>moutons</i>, or spies of latter days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> -Every prison chamber was closed with a double -gate with enormous locks and an approaching visitor -was heralded by the rattling of the keys. The -warders came regularly three times a day: first -for breakfast, next for dinner at mid-day and to -bring supper in the evening.</p> - -<p>The dietary in the Bastile is said to have been -wholesome and sufficient. The allowance made -to the governor who acted as caterer was liberal. -Some prisoners were so satisfied with it that they -offered to accept simpler fare if the governor would -share with them the difference saved between the -outlay and the allowance. There were three -courses at meals: soup, entrée and joint with a -dessert and a couple of bottles of wine per head, -while the governor sent in more wine on fête days. -Reduction of diet was a common punishment, but -the offenders were seldom put upon bread and water -treatment, which was thought so rigorous that it -was never used except by the express orders of the -Court. The King paid for ordinary rations only. -Luxuries such as tobacco, high-class wine and superior -viands prisoners found for themselves, and -these were charged against their private funds, held -by the authorities. Some smoked a good deal, but -many complaints against the practice were made -by other prisoners. The keeping of pets was not -forbidden; there were numbers of dogs, cats and -birds in cages and even pigeons which were set -free in the morning and returned every evening<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> -after spending the day in town. But these last were -looked upon with suspicion as facilitating correspondence -with the outside. The surgeon of the -castle attended to the sick, but in bad cases one of -the King’s physicians was called in and nurses appointed. -When death approached a confessor was -summoned to administer the rites of the Church, -and upon death a proper entry was made in the -mortuary register, but often under a false name.</p> - -<p>Time passed heavily, no doubt, but the prisoners -were not denied certain relaxations. They might -purchase books subject to approval. When brought -in they were scrupulously examined and the binding -broken up in the search for concealed documents. -Where prisoners did not care to read they were -permitted to play draughts, chess and even cards. -Writing materials were issued, but with a very niggardly -hand. A larger consideration was extended -to those given the so-called “liberty of the Bastile.” -The doors were opened early and they were -permitted to enter the courtyard and remain there -until nightfall, being allowed to talk, to play certain -games and to receive visits from their friends. -Such relaxations were chiefly limited to non-criminal -prisoners, those detained for family reasons, -officers under arrest, and prisoners, whose cases -were disposed of but who were still detained for -safe custody. The well-being of the inmates of the -Bastile was supposed to be ensured by the constant -visits of the superior officials, the King’s lieutenant,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> -the governor and his major. Permission to address -petitions to the ministers was not denied and many -heart-rending appeals are still to be read in the -archives, emanating from people whose liberty had -been forfeited. Clandestine communications between -prisoners kept strictly apart were frequently -successful, as we have seen; old hands exhibited -extraordinary cleverness in their desire to talk to -their neighbors. They climbed the chimneys, -crawled along the outer bars or raised their voices -so as to be heard on the floor above or below.</p> - -<p>Much ingenuity was shown in utilising strange -articles as writing materials; the drumstick of a -fowl was turned into a pen, a scrap of linen or a -piece of plaster torn from the wall served as writing -paper and fresh blood was used for ink. Constant -attempts were made to communicate with the outside. -The old trick of throwing out of the window -a stone wrapped in paper covered with writing was -frequently tried. If it reached the street and was -picked up it generally passed on to its address. -Patroles were employed, day and night, making the -rounds of the exterior to check this practice. The -bird fanciers tied letters to the legs of the pigeons -which took wing, and the detection of this device -led to a general gaol delivery from all bird cages. -Friends outside were at great pains to pass in news -of the day to prisoners. Where the prison windows -gave upon the street, and when prisoners were permitted -to exercise on the platforms of the towers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> -their friends waited on the boulevards below and -used conventional signs by waving a handkerchief -or placing a hand in a particular position to convey -some valued piece of intelligence. It is said that -when Laporte, the <i>valet de chambre</i> of Anne of -Austria, was arrested, the Queen herself lingered in -the street so that her faithful servant might see her -and know that he was not forgotten. Sometimes -the house opposite the castle was rented with a -notice board and a message inscribed with gigantic<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">letters was hung in the windows to be read by those</span><br /> -inside.</p> - -<p>The governing staff of the Bastile, although -ample and generally efficient, could not entirely -check these disorders. The supreme chief was the -Captain-Governor. Associated with him was a -lieutenant of the King, immediately under his orders -were a major and aide-major with functions akin -to those of an adjutant and his assistant. There -was a chief engineer and a director of fortifications, -a doctor and a surgeon, a wet-nurse, a chaplain, a -confessor and his coadjutor. The Châtelet delegated -a commissary to the department of the Bastile, -whose business it was to make judicial inquiries. -An architect, two keepers of the archives and three -or four turnkeys, practically the body servants and -personal attendants of the prisoners, completed the -administrative staff. A military company of sixty -men under the direct command of the governor and -his major formed the garrison and answered for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> -the security of the castle. Reliance must have been -placed chiefly upon the massive walls of the structure, -for this company was composed mainly of old -soldiers, infirm invalids, not particularly active or -useful in such emergencies as open insubordination -or attempted escape. The emoluments of the -governor were long fixed at 1,200 livres, but the -irregular profits far out-valued the fixed salary. -The governor was, to all intents and purposes, a -hotel or boarding house keeper, who was paid head -money for his involuntary guests. The sum of ten -livres per diem was allowed for each, a sum far in -excess of the charge for diet. This allowance was -increased when the lodgers exceeded a certain number. -The governor had other perquisites, such as -the rent of the sheds erected in the Bastile ditch. -He was permitted to fill his cellars with wine untaxed, -which he generally exchanged with a dealer -for inferior fluid to re-issue to the prisoners. In -later years when the influx of prisoners diminished, -the governors appear to have complained bitterly of -the diminution of their income. Petitions imploring -relief may be read in the actions from governors -impoverished by their outgoings in paying for the -garrison and turnkey. They could not “make both -ends meet.”</p> - -<p>The governor, or captain of the castle, was in -supreme charge. The ministers of state transmitted -to him the orders of the King direct. He corresponded -with them and in exceptional cases with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> -the King himself; but was answerable for the castle -and the safe custody of the inmates. His power was -absolute and he wielded it with military exactitude. -We have seen in the list of earlier custodians, that -the most distinguished persons did not feel the position -was beneath them; but as time passed, it was -thought safer to employ smaller people, the creatures -of the court whose loyalty and subservience -might be most certainly depended upon. After -du Tremblay, who surrendered his fortress to the -Fronde, came Broussel the elder, the member of -Parliament who had defied Anne of Austria, with -his son as his lieutenant. Then came La Louvière, -who was commandant of the place when the -“Grande Mademoiselle” seized it in aid of the -great Condé. He was removed by the King’s order -and when peace was declared one de Vennes succeeded -him and then La Bachelerie. But De Besmaus, -who had been a simple captain in Mazarin’s -guard, was the first of what we may call the “gaoler -governors.” He was appointed by the King in 1658 -and held the post for nearly forty years. Through -all the busy period when Louis XIV personally -controlled the morals of his kingdom and used the -castle to enforce his despotic will a great variety of -prisoners came under his charge; political conspirators, -religious dissidents, Jansenists and Protestants, -free thinkers and reckless writers with unbridled -libellous pens, publishers who dared to print -unauthorised books which were tried in court and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> -sentenced to committal to gaol for formal destruction, -common criminals, thieves, cutpurses and -highway robbers. De Besmaus has been described -as a “coarse, brutal governor, a dry, disagreeable, -hard-hearted ruffian;” but another report applauds -the selection, declaring that his unshaken fidelity -through thirty-nine years of office was associated -with much gentleness and humanity. His honesty -is more questioned, for it is stated that although he -entered the service poor, he bequeathed considerable -sums at his death. Monsieur de Saint Mars, who -fills so large a place in the criminal annals of the -times, from his connection with certain famous and -mysterious prisoners, succeeded De Besmaus. He -was an old man and had risen from the ranks, having -been first a King’s musketeer, then corporal, -then Maréchal de Logis, and was then appointed -commandant of the donjon of Pignerol.</p> - -<p>When Cardinal Mazarin died, the probable successor -to the vacant office was freely discussed and -choice was supposed to lie between Le Tellier, secretary -of State for war, Lionne, secretary for -foreign affairs, and Fouquet, superintendent of -finances. Louis XIV soon settled the question by -announcing his intention of assuming the reins of -government himself. When leading personages -came to him, asking to whom they should speak in -future upon affairs of State, Louis replied, “To -me. I shall be my own Prime Minister in future.” -He said it with a decision that could not be ques<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>tioned, -and it was plain that the young monarch of -twenty-two proposed to sacrifice his ease, to subordinate -his love of pleasure and amusement to the -duties of his high position—resolutions fulfilled in -the main. In truth he had been chafing greatly at -the vicarious authority exercised by Mazarin and -was heard to say that he could not think what would -have happened had the Cardinal lived much longer. -People could not believe in Louis’s determination -and predicted that he would soon weary of his -burdensome task. Fouquet was the most incredulous -of all. He thought himself firmly fixed in his -place and believed that by humoring the King, by -encouraging him in his extravagance and providing -funds for his gratification, he would still retain his -power. He sought, too, by complicating the business -and confusing the accounts of his office, to disgust -the King with financial details and blind him -to the dishonest statements put before him. Fouquet -thus prepared his own undoing, for Louis, suspecting -foul play, was secretly coached by Colbert, -who came privately by night to the King’s cabinet -to instruct and pilot him through the dark and intricate -pitfalls that Fouquet prepared for him. -Louis patiently bided his time and suffered Fouquet -to go farther and farther astray, to increase his -peculations and lavish enormous sums of the ill-gotten -wealth in ostentatious extravagance. Louis -made up his mind to pull down and destroy his -faithless minister. His insidious plans, laid with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> -patient subtlety, not to say perfidy, were the first -revelation of the masterly and unscrupulous character -of the young sovereign. He led Fouquet on -to convict himself and show to all the world, by a -costly entertainment on unparalleled lines, how -deeply he had dipped his purse into the revenues of -the State.</p> - -<p>The fête he gave to the King and court at his -newly constructed palace at Vaux was brilliant beyond -measure. The mansion far outshone any -royal residence in beauty and splendor. Three entire -villages had been demolished in its construction -so that water might be brought to the grounds -to fill the reservoirs and serve the fountains and cascades -that freshened the lawns and shady alleys -and gladdened the eye with smiling landscapes. -The fête he now gave was of oriental magnificence. -Enchantment followed enchantment. Tables laden -with luscious viands came down from the ceiling. -Mysterious subterranean music was heard on every -side. The most striking feature was an ambulant -mountain of confectionery which moved amongst -the guests with hidden springs. Molière was there -and at the King’s suggestion wrote a play on the -spot, “<i>Les Facheux</i>,” which caricatured some of -the most amusing guests. The King was a prey to -jealous amazement. He saw pictures by the most -celebrated painters, grounds laid out by the most -talented landscape gardeners, buildings of the most -noble dimensions erected by the most famous archi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>tects. -After the theatre there were fireworks, after -the pyrotechnics a ball at which the King danced -with Mademoiselle de la Vallière; after the ball, -supper; and after supper, the King bade Fouquet -good night with the words, “I shall never dare ask -you to my house; I could not receive you properly.”</p> - -<p>More than once that night the King, sore at heart -and humiliated at the gorgeous show made by a subject -and servant of the State, would have arrested -Fouquet then and there. The Queen Mother -strongly dissuaded him from too hasty action and -he saw that it would be necessary to proceed with -caution lest he find serious, and possibly successful, -resistance. Fouquet did not waste all his wealth -in ostentation. He had purchased the island of -Belle Ile from the Duc de Retz and fortified it with -the idea, it was thought, to withdraw there if he -failed to secure the first place in the kingdom, raise -the standard of revolt against the King and seek -aid from England. It was time to pull down so -powerful a subject.</p> - -<p>The measures taken for the arrest of Fouquet may -be recounted here at some length. They well illustrate -the young King’s powers of dissimulation and -the extreme caution that backed his resolute will. -He first assumed a friendly attitude and led Fouquet -to believe that he meant to bestow on him the -valued decoration of Saint d’Esprit. But he had -already given it to another member of the Paris -Parliament and a rule had been made that only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> -one of that body should enjoy the honor. Fouquet -was Procureur General of the Parliament and voluntarily -sold the place so that he might become -eligible for the cross, at the same time paying the -price into the Treasury. Louis was by no means -softened and still determined to abase Fouquet. Yet -he shrank from making the arrest in Paris and invented -a pretext for visiting the west coast of France -for the purpose of choosing a site for a great naval -depot. He was to be accompanied by his council, -Fouquet among the rest. Although the Superintendent -was suffering from fever, he proceeded to -Nantes by the river Loire, where the King, travelling -by the road, soon afterwards arrived. Some -delay occurred through the illness of d’Artagnan, -lieutenant of musketeers, who was to be charged -with the arrest. The reader will recognise d’Artagnan, -the famous fourth of the still more famous -“Three Musketeers” of Alexandre Dumas. The -instructions issued to d’Artagnan are preserved in -the memorandum written by Le Tellier’s clerk and -may be summarised as follows:—</p> - -<p>“It is the King’s intention to arrest the Sieur -Fouquet on his leaving the castle (Nantes) when he -has passed beyond the last sentinel. Forty musketeers -will be employed, twenty to remain within -the court of the castle, the other twenty to patrol -outside. The arrest will be made when Sieur Fouquet -comes down from the King’s chamber, and he -will be carried, surrounded by the musketeers, to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> -Chamberlain’s room, there to await the King’s carriage -which is to take him further on. Monsieur -d’Artagnan will offer Monsieur Fouquet a basin -of soup if he should care to take it. Meanwhile -the musketeers will form a cordon round the lodging -in which the Chamberlain’s room is situated. -Monsieur d’Artagnan will not take his eyes off the -prisoner for a single moment nor will he permit -him to put his hand into his pocket so as to remove -any papers, telling him that the King demands the -delivery of all documents; and those he gets Monsieur -d’Artagnan will at once pass on to the authority -indicated. In entering the royal carriage Monsieur -Fouquet will be accompanied by Monsieur -d’Artagnan with five of his most trustworthy officers -and musketeers. The road taken will be: the -first day, to Oudon, the second day, to Ingrandes, -and the third, to the castle of Angers. Extreme -care will be observed that Monsieur Fouquet has -no communication by word or writing or in any -other possible way with any one on the road. At -Oudon, Monsieur Fouquet will be summoned to -deliver an order in his own hand to the Commandant -of Belle Ile to hand it over to an officer of the -King. In order that every precaution may be taken -at Angers, its governor, the Count d’Harcourt, will -receive orders to surrender the place to Monsieur -d’Artagnan and expel the garrison. This letter will -be forwarded express to Angers so that all may be -ready on the arrival. At the same time a public<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> -notice shall be issued to the inhabitants of Angers -requiring them to give every assistance in food and -lodging to the King’s musketeers. Monsieur Fouquet -will be lodged in the most suitable rooms which -will be furnished with goods purchased in the town. -The King will himself nominate the <i>valet de -chambre</i> and decide upon the prisoner’s rations and -the supply of his table. Monsieur d’Artagnan will -receive 1,000 louis for all expenses.”</p> - -<p>The arrest was not limited to the Superintendent -himself. His chief clerk Pellisson, who afterwards -became famous in literature, was also taken to Saint -Mandé. Fouquet’s house and his papers were -seized; which his brother would have forestalled -by burning the house but was too late. A mass of -damaging papers fell into the hands of the King. -One of these was an elaborate manuscript with the -project of a general rising, treasonable in the highest -degree. The scheme was too wild and visionary -for accomplishment and Fouquet himself swore -positively that it was a forgery. Fouquet did not -remain long at Angers. He was carried to Amboise -and afterwards to Vincennes, always under the -strictest surveillance, being suffered to speak to no -one en route but his guards and denied the use of -writing materials. He left Amboise in December, -1661, for Vincennes, under the escort of eighty -musketeers, and from time to time passed to and -fro between the “Wood” and the Bastile as his -interminable trial dragged along. He was first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> -interrogated at Vincennes by an informal tribunal, -the commission previously constituted to inquire -into the malversation of finances, but he steadily -refused to answer except in free and open court. -After much persecution by his enemies with the -King himself at their head, and the violation of all -forms of law, he was taken again to the Bastile and -arraigned before the so-called Chamber of Justice -at the Arsenal, a tribunal made up mainly of unjust -and prejudiced judges, some of whom hated the -prisoner bitterly. The process was delayed by Fouquet’s -dexterity in raising objections and involving -others in the indictment. Louis XIV ardently desired -the end. “My reputation is at stake,” he -wrote. “The matter is not serious, really, but in -foreign countries it will be thought so if I cannot -secure the conviction of a thief.” The King’s long -standing animosity was undying, as the sequel -showed. Throughout, the public sympathy was -with Fouquet. He had troops of friends; he had -been a liberal patron of art and letters and all the -best brains of Paris were on his side. Madame de -Sévigné filled several of her matchless letters with -news of the case. La Fontaine bemoaned his patron’s -fate in elegant verse. Mademoiselle Scuderi, -the first French novelist, wrote of him eloquently. -Henault attacked Colbert in terms that might well -have landed him in the Bastile, and Pellisson, his -former clerk, from the depths of that prison made -public his eloquent and impassioned justifications<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> -of his old master. At last, when hope was almost -dead, the relief was great at hearing that there -would be no sentence of death as was greatly -feared. By thirteen votes against nine, a sentence -of banishment was decreed and the result was made -public amid general rejoicing. The sentence was -deemed light, although Fouquet had already endured -three years’ imprisonment and he must have -suffered much in the protracted trial. Louis XIV, -still bearing malice, would not allow Fouquet to -escape so easily and changed banishment abroad -into perpetual imprisonment at home. The case is -quoted as one of the rare instances in which a despotic -sovereign ruler over-rode the judgment of a -court by ordering a more severe sentence and personally -ensuring its harsh infliction.</p> - -<p>He was forthwith transferred to Pignerol, escorted -again by d’Artagnan and a hundred musketeers. -Special instructions for his treatment, contained -in letters from the King in person, were -handed over to Saint Mars. By express royal order -he was forbidden to communicate in speech or writing -with anyone but his gaolers. He might not -leave the room he occupied for a single moment or -for any reason. He could not use a slate to note -down his thoughts, that common boon extended to -all modern prisoners. These restrictions were imposed -with the most watchful precautions and, as -we may well believe, were inspired with the wish -to cut him off absolutely from friends outside. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> -was supposed to have some valuable information to -communicate and the King was determined it -should not pass through. Fouquet’s efforts and devices -were most persistent and ingenious. He utilised -all manner of material; writing on the ribbons -that ornamented his clothes and the linen that lined -them. When the ribbons were tabooed and removed -and the linings were all in black he abstracted -pieces of his table cloth and manufactured -it into paper. He made pens out of fowl bones and -ink from soot. He wrote on the inside of his books -and on his pocket handkerchiefs. Once he begged -to be allowed a telescope and it was discovered that -some of his former attendants had arrived in Pignerol -and were in communication with him by -signal. They were forthwith commanded to leave -the neighborhood. He was very attentive to his -religious duties at one time, and constantly asked -for the ministrations of a priest. From this some -clandestine work was suspected and the visits of the -confessor were strictly limited to four a year. A -servant was, however, permitted to wait on him but -was presently replaced by two others, who were intended -to act as spies on each other; although on -joining Fouquet these were plainly warned that -they would never be allowed to leave Pignerol alive.</p> - -<p>After eight years the severity of his incarceration -appreciably relaxed. The incriminated financiers -outside were by this time disposed of or dead. He -was given leave to write a letter to his wife and re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>ceive -one in reply, on condition that they were previously -read by the authorities. His personal comfort -was improved and he was allowed tea, at that -time a most expensive luxury. He had many more -books to read, the daily gazettes and current news -reached him, and when presently the Comte de -Lauzun was brought a prisoner to Pignerol, the -two were permitted to take exercise together upon -the ramparts. By degrees greater favor was shown. -Fouquet was permitted to play outdoor games and -the privilege of unlimited correspondence was conceded, -both with relations and friends. Fouquet’s -wife and children were suffered to reside in the -town of Pignerol and were constant visitors, permitted -to remain with him alone, without witnesses. -As the prisoner, who was failing in health, grew -worse and worse, his wife was permitted to occupy -the same room with him and his daughter lodged -alongside. When he died in 1680, all his near relations -were present. The fact has been questioned; -and a tradition exists that Fouquet, still no older -than sixty-six, was released and lived on in extreme -privacy for twenty-three years. The point is of -interest as illustrating the veil of secrecy so often -thrown over events in that age and so often impenetrable.</p> - -<p>This seems a fitting opportunity to refer to a -prison mystery belonging to this period, and originating -in Pignerol, which has exercised the whole -world for many generations. The fascinating<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> -story of the “Man with the Iron Mask,” as presented -by writers enamored of romantic sensation, -has attracted universal attention for nearly two -centuries. A fruitful field for investigation and -conjecture was opened up by the strange circumstances -of the case. Voltaire with his keen love of -dramatic effect was the first to awaken the widespread -interest in an historic enigma for which there -was no plausible solution. Who was this unknown -person held captive for five and twenty unbroken -years with his identity so studiously and strictly -hidden that it has never yet been authoritatively -revealed? The mystery deepened with the details -(mostly imaginery) of the exceptional treatment -accorded him. Year after year he wore a mask, -really made of black velvet on a whalebone frame, -not a steel machine, with a chin-piece closing with a -spring and looking much like an instrument of -mediæval torture. He was said to have been -treated with extreme deference. His gaoler stood, -bareheaded, in his presence. He led a luxurious -life; he wore purple and fine linen and costly lace; -his diet was rich and plentiful and served on silver -plate; he was granted the solace of music; every -wish was gratified, save in the one cardinal point -of freedom. The plausible theory deduced from all -this was that he was a personage of great consequence,—of -high, possibly royal birth, who was -imprisoned and segregated for important reasons -of State.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p> - -<p>Such conditions, quite unsubstantiated by later -knowledge, fired the imagination of inquirers, and -a clue to the mystery has been sought in some exalted -victim whom Louis XIV had the strongest -reason to keep out of sight. Many suggested explanations -were offered, all more or less far fetched -even to absurdity. The first was put forward by at -least two respectable writers, who affirmed that a -twin son was born to Anne of Austria, some hours -later than the birth of the Dauphin, and that -Louis XIII, fearing there might be a disputed succession, -was resolved to conceal the fact. It was -held by certain legal authorities in France that the -first born of twins had no positive and exclusive -claim to the inheritance. Accordingly, the second -child was conveyed away secretly and confided first -to a nurse and then to the governor of Burgundy -who kept him close. But the lad, growing to manhood, -found out who he was and was forthwith -placed in confinement, with a mask to conceal his -features which were exactly like those of his brother, -the King. Yet this view was held by many people -of credit in France and it was that to which the -great Napoleon inclined, for he was keenly interested -in the question and when in power had diligent -search made in the National archives, quite -without result, which greatly chafed his imperious -mind. A similar theory of the birth of this second -child was found very attractive; the paternity of -it was given, not to Louis XIII, but to various<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> -lovers: the Duke of Buckingham, Cardinal Mazarin -and a gentleman of the court whose name never -transpired. This is the wildest and most extravagant -of surmises, for which there is not one vestige -of authority. The first suggestion is altogether upset -by the formalities and precautions observed at -the birth of “a child of France,” and it would -have been absolutely impossible to perpetrate the -fraud.</p> - -<p>Other special and fanciful suppositions have -gained credence, but their mere statement is sufficient -to upset them. One is the belief that the -“Man with the Iron Mask” was the English Duke -of Monmouth, the son of Charles II and Lucy -Waters, who raised the standard of revolt against -James II and suffered death on Tower Hill. It was -pretended that a devoted follower, whose life was -also forfeit, took his place upon the scaffold and was -hacked about in Monmouth’s place by the clumsy -executioner. The craze for ridiculous conjecture -led to the adoption of Henry Cromwell, the Protector’s -second son, as the cryptic personage, but -there was never a shadow of evidence to support -this story and no earthly reason why Louis XIV -should desire to imprison and conceal a young Englishman. -Nor can we understand why Louis should -thus dispose of his own son by Louise de Vallière, -the young Comte de Vermandois, whose death in -camp at an early age was fully authenticated by the -sums allotted to buy masses for the repose of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> -soul. The disappearance of the Duc de Beaufort’s -body after his death on the field of Candia led to -his promotion to the honor of the Black Mask, but -his head was probably sent to the Sultan of Turkey, -and in any case, although he was, as we have already -seen, a noisy, vulgar demagogue, he had made -his peace with the court in his later days. There -was no mystery about Fouquet’s imprisonment. -The story which has just been told to the time of -his death shows conclusively that he could not be -the “Man with the Iron Mask,” nor was there any -sound reason to think it. The same may be said of -the rather crazy suggestion that he was Avedik, the -Armenian patriarch at Constantinople who, having -incurred the deadly animosity of the Jesuits, had -been kidnapped and brought to France. This conclusion -was entirely vitiated by the unalterable logic -of dates. The patriarch was carried off from Constantinople -just a year after the mysterious person -died in the Bastile.</p> - -<p>Thus, one by one, we exclude and dispose of the -uncertain and improbable claimants to the honors -of identification. But one person remains whom -the cap fits from the first; a man who, we know, -offended Louis mortally and whose imprisonment -the King had the best of reasons, from his own -point of view, for desiring: the first, private vengeance, -the second, the public good and the implacable -will to carry out his set purpose. It is curious -that this solution which was close at hand seems<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> -never to have appealed to the busy-bodies who approached -the subject with such exaggerated ideas -about the impenetrable mystery. A prisoner had -been brought to Pignerol at a date which harmonizes -with the first appearance of the unknown upon -the stage. Great precautions were observed to keep -his personality a secret; but it was distinctly known -to more than one, and although guarded with official -reticence, there were those who could have, -and must have drawn their own conclusions. In -any case the screen has now been entirely torn aside -and documentary evidence is afforded which proves -beyond all doubt that no real mystery attaches to -the “Man with the Iron Mask.”</p> - -<p>The exact truth of the story will be best established -by a brief history of the antecedent facts. -When Louis XIV was at the zenith of his power, -supreme at home and an accepted arbiter abroad, -he was bent upon consolidating his power in -Northern Italy, and eagerly opened negotiations -with the Duke of Mantua to acquire the fortress -town of Casale. The town was a decisive point -which secured his predominance in Montferrat, -which gave an easy access at any time into Lombardy. -The terms agreed upon were, first, a payment -of 100,000 crowns by Louis to the Duke of -Mantua and, second, a promise that the latter -should command any French army sent into Italy; -in exchange, the surrender of Casale. The transaction -had been started by the French ambassador<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> -in Venice and the principal agent was a certain -Count Mattioli, who had been a minister to the -Duke of Mantua and was high in his favor. Mattioli -visited Paris and was well received by the -King, who sent him back to Italy to complete the -contract. Now, however, unexplained delays arose -and it came out that the great Powers, who were -strongly opposed to the dominating influence of -France in Northern Italy, had been informed of -what was pending. The private treaty with France -became public property and there could be no doubt -but that Mattioli had been bought over. He had -in fact sold out the French king and the whole -affair fell through.</p> - -<p>Louis XIV, finding himself deceived and betrayed, -was furiously angry and resolved to avenge -himself upon the traitor. It was pain and anguish -to him to find that he had been cheated before all -Europe, and in his discomfiture and bitter humiliation -he prepared to avenge himself amply. On the -suggestion of the French minister at Turin he -planned that Mattioli should be kidnapped and carried -into France and there subjected to the King’s -good pleasure. Mattioli was a needy man and was -easily beguiled by the Frenchman’s promises of a -substantial sum in French gold, from the French -general, Catinat, who was on the frontier with -ample funds for use when Casale should have been -occupied. Mattioli, unsuspecting, met Catinat not -far from Pignerol, where after revealing the place<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> -where his papers were concealed he fell into the -hands of the French. Louis had approved of the -arrest and insisted only on secrecy, and that Mattioli -should be carried off without the least suspicion in -Casale. “Look to it,” he wrote, “that no one -knows what becomes of this man.” And at the -same time the governor of Pignerol, Saint Mars, -was instructed by Louvois, the minister, to receive -him in great secrecy and was told, “You will guard -him in such a manner that, not only may he have -no communication with anyone, but that he may -have cause to repent his conduct, and that no one -may know you have a new prisoner.” The secrecy -was necessary because Mattioli was the diplomatic -agent of another country and his arrest was a barefaced -violation of the law of nations.</p> - -<p>Brigadier-General (afterwards the famous Marshal) -Catinat reports from Pignerol on May 3rd, -1679:—“I arrested Mattioli yesterday, three miles -from here, upon the King’s territories, during the -interview which the Abbe d’Estrades had ingeniously -contrived between himself, Mattioli and me, -to facilitate the scheme. For the arrest, I employed -only the Chevaliers de Saint Martin and de Villebois, -two officers under M. de Saint Mars, and four -men of his company. It was effected without the -least violence, and no one knows the rogue’s name, -not even the officers who assisted.” This fixed beyond -all doubt the identity, but there is a corroborative -evidence in a pamphlet still in existence, dated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> -1682, which states that “the Secretary was surrounded -by ten or twelve horsemen who seized him, -disguised him, masked him and conducted him to -Pignerol.” This is farther borne out by a traditionary -arrest about that time.</p> - -<p>When, thirty years later, the great sensation was -first invented, its importance was emphasised by -Voltaire and others who declared that at the period -of the arrest no disappearance of any important -person was recorded. Certainly Mattioli’s disappearance -was not much noticed. It was given out -that he was dead, the last news of him being a -letter to his father in Padua begging him to hand -over his papers to a French agent. They were concealed -in a hole in the wall in one of the rooms in -his father’s house, and when obtained without demur -were forwarded to the King in Paris. There -was no longer any doubt of Mattioli’s guilt, and -Louis exacted the fullest penalty. He would annihilate -him, sweep him out of existence, condemn -him to a living death as effective as though he were -poisoned, strangled or otherwise removed. He did -not mean that the man who had flouted and deceived -him should be in a position to glory over the -affront he had put upon the proudest king in Christendom.</p> - -<p>Exit Mattioli. Enter the “Man with the Iron -Mask.” Pignerol, the prison to which he was consigned, -has already been described, and also Saint -Mars, his gaoler. The mask was not regularly used<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> -at first, but the name of Mattioli was changed on -reception to Lestang. We come at once upon evidence -that this was no distinguished and favored -prisoner. The deference shown him, the silver -plate, the fine clothes are fictions destroyed by a -letter written by Louvois within a fortnight of the -arrest. “It is not the King’s intention,” he writes, -“that the Sieur de Lestang should be well treated, -or that, except the necessaries of life, you should -give him anything to soften his captivity.... You -must keep Lestang in the rigorous confinement I -enjoined in my previous letters.”</p> - -<p>Saint Mars punctiliously obeyed his orders. He -was a man of inflexible character, with no bowels -of compassion for his charges, and Lestang must -have felt the severity of the prison rule. Eight -months later the governor reported that Lestang, -likewise a fellow prisoner, a monk, who shared his -chamber, had gone out of his mind. Both were -subject to fits of raving madness. This is the only -authentic record of the course of the imprisonment, -which lasted fifteen years in this same prison of -Pignerol. Saint Mars, in 1681, exchanged his governorship -for that of Exiles, another frontier fortress, -and was supposed to have carried his masked -prisoner with him. This erroneous belief has been -disproved by a letter of Saint Mars to the Abbe -d’Estrades, discovered in the archives, in which the -writer states that he has left Mattioli at Pignerol. -There is no attempt at disguise. The name used is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> -Mattioli, not Lestang, and it is clear from collateral -evidence that this is the masked man.</p> - -<p>Saint Mars was not pleased with Exiles and -solicited another transfer which came in his appointment -to the command of the castle on the -island of Sainte-Marguerite, opposite Cannes and -well known to visitors to the French Riviera. The -fortress, by the way, has much later interest as -Marshal Bazaine’s place of confinement after his -trial by court martial for surrendering Metz. It -will be remembered, too, that with the connivance -of friends Bazaine made his escape from durance, -although it may be doubted whether the French -Republic was particularly anxious to keep him.</p> - -<p>The time at length arrived for Mattioli’s removal -from Pignerol. A change had come over the fortunes -of France. Louis was no longer the dictator -of Europe. Defeated in the field and thwarted in -policy, the proud King had to eat humble pie; he -was forced to give up Casale, which had come to -him after all in spite of Mattioli’s betrayal. Pignerol -also went back once more to Italian rule and -it must be cleared of French prisoners. One alone -remained of any importance, for Fouquet was long -since dead and Lauzun released. This was Mattioli, -whose illegal seizure and detention it was now -more than ever necessary to keep secret. Extreme -precautions were taken when making the transfer. -A strong detachment of soldiers, headed by guides, -escorted the prisoner who was in a litter. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> -governor of Pignerol (now one Villebois) by his -side was the only person permitted to communicate -with him. The locks and bolts of his quarters at Pignerol -were sent ahead to be used at Sainte-Marguerite -and the strictest discipline was maintained -on the journey. Mattioli saw no one. His solitude -was unbroken save by Saint Mars and the two lieutenants -who brought him his food and removed the -dishes.</p> - -<p>One other change awaited the prisoner, the last -before his final release. High preferment came to -Saint Mars, who was offered and accepted the governorship -of the Bastile. He was to bring his “ancient -prisoner” with him to Paris; to make the -long journey across France weighted with the terrible -responsibility of conveying such a man safely -in open arrest. We get a passing glimpse of the -cortège in a letter published by the grandnephew -of Saint Mars, M. Polteau, who describes the halt -made for a night at Polteau, a country house belonging -to Saint Mars.</p> - -<p>“The Man in the Mask,” he writes, in 1768, -“came in a litter which preceded that of M. de -Saint Mars. They were accompanied by several -men on horseback. The peasants waited to greet -their lord. M. de Saint Mars took his meals with -his prisoner, who was placed with his back to the -windows of the dining room which overlooked the -courtyard. The peasants whom I questioned could -not see whether he wore his mask while eating, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> -they took notice of the fact that M. de Saint Mars -who sat opposite to him kept a pair of pistols beside -his plate. They were waited on by one manservant -who fetched the dishes from the anteroom where -they were brought to him, taking care to close the -door of the dining room after him. When the -prisoner crossed the courtyard, he always wore the -black mask. The peasants noticed that his teeth and -lips showed through, also that he was tall and had -white hair. M. de Saint Mars slept in a bed close -to that of the masked man.”</p> - -<p>The prisoner arrived at the Bastile on the 18th -of September, 1698, and the authentic record of his -reception appears in the journal of the King’s lieutenant -of the castle, M. du Junca, still preserved in -the Arsenal Library. “M. de Saint Mars, governor -of the Chateau of the Bastile, presented, for the -first time, coming from his government of the Isle -of Sainte-Marguerite, bringing with him a prisoner -who was formerly in his keeping at Pignerol.” -The entry goes on to say that the newcomer was -taken to the third chamber of the Bertandière tower -and lodged there alone in the charge of a gaoler -who had come with him. He was nameless in the -Bastile and was known only as “the prisoner from -Provence” or “the ancient prisoner.”</p> - -<p>His isolation and seclusion were strictly maintained -for the first three years of his imprisonment -in the Bastile and then came a curious change. He -is no longer kept apart. He is associated with other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> -prisoners, and not of the best class. One, a rascally -domestic servant, who practised black magic, and a -disreputable rake who had once been an army officer. -Nothing is said about the mask, but there -can no longer be much secrecy and the mystery -might be divulged at any time. It is evident that -the reasons for concealment have passed away. -The old political intrigue has lost its importance. -No one cared to know about Casale. Louis XIV -had slaked his vindictiveness and the sun of his -splendor was on the decline. Nevertheless it was -not till after his death that the prisoner’s real name -transpired. He died as he had lived, unknown. Du -Junca enters the event in the register:—</p> - -<p>“The prisoner unknown, masked always ... -happening to be unwell yesterday on coming from -mass died this day about 10 o’clock in the evening -without having had any serious illness; indeed it -could not have been slighter ... and this unknown -prisoner confined so long a time was buried -on Tuesday at four in the afternoon in the cemetery -of St. Paul, our parish. On the register of burial -he was given a name also unknown.” To this is -added in the margin, “I have since learnt that he -was named on the register M. de Marchiali.” A -further entry can be seen in the parish register. -“On the 19th of November, 1703, Marchioly, of -the age of forty-five or thereabouts, died in the Bastile -... and was buried in the presence of the -major and the surgeon of the Bastile.” “Marchi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>oly” -is curiously like “Mattioli” and it is a fair -assumption that the true identity of the “Man with -the Iron Mask” bursts forth on passing the verge -of the silent land.</p> - -<p>Lauzun, a third inmate of Pignerol about this -period, calls for mention here as a prominent courtier -whose misguided ambition and boundless impudence -tempted him seriously to affront and offend -the King. The penalties that overtook him -were just what a bold, intemperate subject might -expect from an autocratic, unforgiving master. -This prisoner, the Count de Lauzun, was rightly -styled by a contemporary “the most insolent little -man that had been seen for a century.” He had -no considerable claims to great talents, agreeable -manners or personal beauty, but he was quick to -establish himself in the good graces of Louis XIV. -He was one of the first to offer him the grateful -incense of unlimited adulation. He worshipped the -sovereign as a superior being, erected him into a -god, lavished the most fulsome flattery on him, declaring -that Louis by his wisdom, wit, greatness and -majesty took rank as a divinity. Yet he sometimes -forgot himself and went to the other extreme, daring -to attack and upbraid the King if he disapproved -of his conduct. Once he sided with Madame de -Montespan when she was first favorite and remonstrated -with Louis so rudely that the King cast him -at once into the Bastile. But such blunt honesty -won the King’s respect and speedy forgiveness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> -Lauzun was soon released and advanced from post -to post, each of successively greater value, so that -the hypocritical courtier, who had made the most -abject submission, seemed assured of high fortune. -As he rose, his ambition grew and he aspired now -to the hand of the King’s cousin, Mademoiselle de -Montpensier, who began to look upon him with -favor. This was the same “Grande Mademoiselle,” -the heroine of the wars of the Fronde, who was now -a wealthy heiress and who at one time came near -being the King’s wife and Queen. The match was -so unequal as to appear wildly impossible, but De -Lauzun was strongly backed by Madame de Montespan -and two nobles of high rank were induced -to make a formal proposal to the King.</p> - -<p>Louis liked De Lauzun and gave his consent without -hesitation. The marriage might have been completed -at once but the bold suitor, successful beyond -his deserts and puffed up with conceit, put off the -happy day so as to give more and more éclat to -the wedding ceremony. While he procrastinated -his enemies were unceasingly active. The princes -of the blood and jealous fellow courtiers constantly -implored the King to avoid so great a mistake, and -Louis, having been weak enough to give his consent, -was now so base as to withdraw it. De Lauzun -retorted by persuading Mademoiselle de Montpensier -to marry him privately. This reckless act, -after all, might have been forgiven, but he was full -of bitterness against those who had injured him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> -with the King and desired to retaliate. He more -especially hated Madame de Montespan, whom he -now plotted to ruin by very unworthy means. He -thus filled his cup and procured the full measure of -the King’s indignation. He was arrested and consigned -to Pignerol, where in company with Fouquet -he languished for ten years.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">THE POWER OF THE BASTILE</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">Louis XIV and the <i>lettre de cachet</i>—Society corrupt—Assassination -common—Cheating at cards—Shocking -state of Paris—“The Court of Miracles”—Prisons filled—Prisoners -detained indefinitely—Revived persecution -of the Protestants—General exodus of industrious artisans—Inside -the Bastile—Sufferings of the prisoners—The -Comte Pagan—Imprisonment for blasphemy, riotous -conduct in the streets and all loose living—Kidnapping -of the Armenian Patriarch, Avedik—His sudden death—Many -heinous crimes disgrace the epoch—Plot of the -Chevalier de Rohan—Its detection—De Rohan executed.</p> - -<p>The three notable cases of arrest and imprisonment -given in the last chapter are typical of the -régime at last established in France under the personal -rule of a young monarch whom various causes -had combined to render absolute. The willing submission -of a people sick of civil war, the removal or -complete subjection of the turbulent vassals, his own -imperious character,—that of a strong willed man -with a set resolve to be sovereign, irresponsible -master,—all combined to consolidate his powers. -Louis was the incarnation of selfishness. To have -his own way with everyone and in everything, to -gratify every whim and passion was the keynote<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> -of his sensuous and indulgent nature. No one -dared oppose him; no one stood near him. His -subjects were his creatures; the greatest nobles -accepted the most menial tasks about his person. -His abject and supple-backed courtiers offered him -incense and dosed him with the most fulsome flattery. -He held France in the hollow of his hand -and French society was formed on his model, utterly -corrupt and profligate under a thin veneer of fine -manners which influenced all Europe and set its -fashions.</p> - -<p>The worst example set by Louis was in his interference -with personal liberty. The privilege of -freedom from arrest had been won by the Parliament, -in the Fronde. They had decreed that any -one taken into custody one day must be produced -for trial the next and his detention justified. This -safeguard was shortlived. The law was defied and -ignored by Louis XIV who invented the <i>lettres de -cachet</i>, or sealed warrants, which decreed arbitrary -arrest without reason given or the smallest -excuse made for the committal. It came to be a -common thing that persons who were not even suspected -of crimes, and who had certainly never been -guilty of crimes, were caught up and imprisoned -indefinitely. They might lie for years in the Bastile -or Vincennes, utterly uncared for and forgotten, -kept in custody not because anybody was set upon -their remaining but because nobody was interested -in their release. In the absence of any statement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> -of the offense no one could say whether or not it -was purged and no one was concerned as to whether -the necessity for punishment still survived. These -<i>lettres de cachet</i> were abundantly in evidence, for -they were signed in blank by the King himself and -countersigned by one of his ministers whenever it -was desired to make use of one.</p> - -<p>It may be well to explain here that it was customary -for the King of France to make his sovereign -will known by addressing a communication -to the various State functionaries in the form of a -letter which was open or closed. If the former, it -was a “patent,” it bore the King’s signature, it -was countersigned by a minister and the great Seal -of State was appended. This was the form in -which all ordinances or grants of privileges appeared. -These “letters patent” were registered -and endorsed by the Parliament. But there was no -check upon the closed letter or <i>lettre de cachet</i>, -famous in the history of tyranny, as the secret -method of making known the King’s pleasure. -This was folded and sealed with the King’s small -seal, and although it was a private communication it -had all the weight of the royal authority. It became -the warrant for the arbitrary arrest, at any -time and without any reason given, of any person -who, upon the strength of it, was forthwith committed -to a State prison. The chief ministers and -the head of the police had always <i>lettres de cachet</i> -in stock, signed in blank, but all in due form, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> -they could be completed at any time, by order, or -of their own free will, by inserting the name of -the unfortunate individual whose liberty was to be -forfeited. Arrest on a <i>lettre de cachet</i>, as has been -said, sometimes meant prolonged imprisonment -purposely or only because the identity of the individual -or the cause of the arrest was forgotten.</p> - -<p>Society was horribly vicious and corrupt in the -time of Louis XIV. Evil practices prevailed -throughout the nation. Profligacy was general -among the better classes and the lower ranks committed -the most atrocious crimes. While the courtiers -openly followed the example set by their self-indulgent -young monarch, an ardent devotee of -pleasure, the country was over-run with thieves -and desperadoes. Assassination was common, by -the open attack of hired bravos or secretly by the -infamous administration of poison. Security was -undermined and numbers in every condition of life -were put out of the way. The epoch of the poisoners -presently to be described is one of the darkest -pages in the annals of the Bastile. Cheating at -cards and in every form of gambling was shamelessly -prevalent, and defended on the specious excuse -that it was merely correcting fortune. Prominent -persons of rank and fashion such as the Chevalier -de Gramont and the Marquis de Saissac won enormous -sums unfairly. The passion for play was so -general and so engrossing that no opportunity of -yielding to it was lost; people gambled wherever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> -they met, in public places, in private houses, in carriages -when travelling on the road. Cheating at -play was so common that a special officer, the Grand -Provost, was attached to the Court to bring delinquents -immediately to trial. Many dishonest practices -were called in to assist, false cards were manufactured -on purpose and cardmakers were a part of -the great households. Strict laws imposed heavy -penalties upon those caught loading dice or marking -packs. Fraud was conspicuously frequent in the -Italian and most popular game of <i>hoca</i> played with -thirty balls on a board, each ball containing a number -on a paper inside.</p> - -<div class="center"> -<img id="img_4" src="images/i_190fp.png" width="600" height="390" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> - -<p class="header"><i>The Bastile</i></p> - -<p>The first stone of this historic fortress was laid in 1370. -For the first two centuries it was a military stronghold, and -whoever held the Bastile overawed Paris. The terrors of the -Bastile as a state prison were greatest during the ministry of -Richelieu. From the beginning of the revolution this prison -was a special object of attack by the populace. On July 14, -1789, it was stormed by the people and forced to surrender.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Later in the reign, the rage for play grew into -a perfect madness. <i>Hoca</i>, just mentioned, although -it had been indicted by two popes in Rome, and although, -in Paris, the Parliament, the magistrates -and the six guilds of merchants had petitioned for -its suppression, held the lead. Other games of -chance little less popular were <i>lansquenet</i>, <i>hazard</i>, -<i>portique</i> and <i>trou-madame</i>. Colossal sums were -lost and won. A hundred thousand crowns -changed hands at a sitting. Madame de Montespan, -the notorious favorite, lost, one Christmas Day, -700,000 crowns and got back 300,000 by a stake -upon only three cards. It was possible at <i>hoca</i> to -lose or win fifty or sixty times a stake in one quarter -of an hour. During a campaign, officers played incessantly -and leading generals of the army were -among the favorite players with the King, when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> -invited to the palace. The police fulminated vainly -against the vice, and would have prohibited play -among the people, but did not dare to suggest that -the court should set the example.</p> - -<p>Extravagance and ostentation being the aim and -fashion of all, every means was tried to fill the -purse. The Crown was assailed on all sides by the -needy, seeking places at court. Fathers sent their -sons to Paris from the provinces to ingratiate themselves -with great people and to pay court in particular -to rich widows and dissolute old dowagers eager -to marry again. Heiresses were frequently waylaid -and carried off by force. Abduction was then -as much the rule as are <i>mariages de convenance</i> in -Paris nowadays. Friends and relations aided and -abetted the abductor, if the lady’s servants made -resistance.</p> - -<p>The state of Paris was shocking. Disturbances -in the street were chronic, murders were frequent -and robbery was usually accompanied with violence, -especially in the long winter nights. The chief -offenders were soldiers of the garrison and the -pages and lackeys of the great houses, who still -carried arms. A police ordinance finally forbade -them to wear swords and it was enforced by exemplary -punishment. A duke’s footman and a -duchess’s page, who attacked and wounded a student -on the Pont Neuf, were arrested, tried and forthwith -hanged despite the protests and petitions of -their employers. Further ordinances regulated the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> -demeanor of servants who could not be employed -without producing their papers, and now in addition -to their swords being taken away, they were -deprived of their canes and sticks on account of -their brutal treatment of inoffensive people. They -were forbidden to gather in crowds and they might -not enter the gardens of the Tuileries or Luxembourg.</p> - -<p>It was not enough to repress the insolent valets -and check the midnight excesses of the worst characters. -The importunity of the sturdy vagabond, -who lived by begging, called for stern repression. -These ruffians had long been tolerated. They enjoyed -certain privileges and immunities, they were -organised in dangerous bands strong enough to -make terms with the police and they possessed a -sanctuary in the heart of Paris, where they defied -authority. This “Court of Miracles,” as it was -called, had three times withstood a siege by commissaries -and detachments of troops, who were repulsed -with showers of stones. Then the head of -the police went at the head of a strong force and -cleared the place out, allowing all to escape; and -when it had been thus emptied, their last receptacle -was swept entirely away. Other similar refuges -were suppressed,—the enclosures of the Temple -and the Abbey of St. Germain-des-Près, and the -Hotel Soissons, property of the royal family of -Savoy, which had long claimed the right to give -shelter to malefactors.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p> - -<p>The prisons of Paris were in a deplorable and -disgraceful state at this period, as appears from a -picture drawn by a magistrate about the middle of -the seventeenth century. They were without light -or air, horribly overcrowded by the dregs of humanity -and a prey to foul diseases which prisoners -freely communicated to one another. For-l’Évêque -was worse then than it had ever been; the whole -building was in ruins and must soon fall to the -ground. The Greater and Lesser Châtelets were -equally unhealthy and of dimensions too limited for -their population, the walls too high, the dungeons -too deep down in the bowels of the earth. The only -prison not absolutely lethal was the Conciergerie, -yet some of its cells and chambers possessed no sort -of drainage. The hopelessness of the future was -the greatest infliction; once committed, no one -could count on release: to be thrown into prison -was to be abandoned and forgotten.</p> - -<p>The records kept at the Bastile were in irremediable -disorder. Even the names of the inmates were -in most cases unknown, from the custom of giving -new arrivals a false name. By the King’s order, -his Minister once applied to M. de Besmaus, the -governor, for information as to the cause of detention -of two prisoners, a priest called Gerard, who -had been confined for eight years, and a certain -Pierre Rolland, detained for three years. The inquiry -elicited a report that no such person as Rolland -appeared upon the monthly pay lists for ra<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>tions. -Gerard, the priest, was recognised by his -numerous petitions for release. The Minister called -for a full nominal list of all prisoners and the reasons -for their confinement, but the particulars were -not forthcoming. This was on the conclusion of -the Peace of Ryswick, when the King desired to -mark the general rejoicings by a great gaol delivery.</p> - -<p>Many causes contributed to fill the Bastile and -other State prisons in the reign of Louis XIV. -Let us take these more in detail. The frauds committed -by dishonest agents dealing with public -money, the small fry, as guilty as Fouquet, but on -a lesser scale, consigned many to prison. Severe -penalties were imposed upon defamatory writers -and the whole of the literary crew concerned in the -publication of libellous attacks upon the King,—printers, -binders, distributors of this dangerous -literature,—found their way to the Bastile, to the -galleys, even to the scaffold. Presently when Louis, -always a bigoted Catholic, became more and more -intolerant under the influence of the priests, the -revived persecution of the Protestants filled the -gaols and galleys with the sufferers for their faith. -Colbert had long protected them, but at the death -of this talented minister who, as he wrote Madame -de Maintenon, “thought more of finance than religion,” -Le Tellier and Louvois, who succeeded him, -raged furiously against the Protestants and many -cruel edicts were published. A fierce fanatical desire -to proselytise, to procure an abjuration of creed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> -by every violent and oppressive means possessed all -classes, high and low. The doors of sick people -were forced to admit the priests who came to administer -the sacraments, without being summoned.</p> - -<p>On one occasion the pot-boy of a wine shop who, -with his master, professed the new faith, was mortally -wounded in a street fight. A priest visited -him as he lay dying and besought him to make confession. -A low crowd forthwith collected before -the house, to the number of seven or eight hundred, -and rose in stormy riot, attacked the door with sticks -and stones, broke it down, smashed all the windows -and forced their way in, crying, “Give us up the -Huguenots or we will set fire to the house.” The -police then came upon the scene and restored quiet, -but the man died, to the last refusing to confess. -Outrages of this kind were frequent. Again, the -son of a new convert removed his hat when the -procession of the Host passed by, but remained -standing instead of falling on his knees. He was -violently attacked and fled to his home, pursued by -the angry crowd who would have burned the house -to the ground. The public feeling was so strong -that many called for the quartering of troops in -Paris to assist in the good work of conversion, a -suggestion which bore fruit presently in the infamous -<i>dragonnades</i>, when the soldiers pillaged and -laid waste the provinces.</p> - -<p>The passion for proselytising was carried to the -extent of bribing the poverty stricken to change<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> -their religion. Great pressure was brought to bear -upon Huguenot prisoners who were in the Bastile. -A number of priests came in to use their persuasive -eloquence upon the recusants, and many reports are -preserved in the correspondence of M. de Besmaus, -the governor, of their energetic efforts. “I am doing -my best,” says one priest, “and have great hopes -of success.” “I think,” writes another, “I have -touched Mademoiselle de Lamon and the Mademoiselles -de la Fontaine. If I may have access to them -I shall be able to satisfy you.” The governor was -the most zealous of all in seeking to secure the -abjuration of the new religion.</p> - -<p>It may be noted here that this constant persecution, -emphasised by the Revocation of the Edict -of Nantes (which had conceded full liberty of conscience), -had the most disastrous consequences upon -French industry. The richest manufacturers and -the most skillful and industrious artisans were to be -found among the French Protestants and there was -soon a steady drain outwards of these sources of -commercial prosperity. In this continuous exodus -of capital and intelligent labor began the material -decadence of France and transferred the enterprise -of these people elsewhere, notably to England. A -contemporary pamphlet paints the situation in -sombre colors;—“Nothing is to be seen but deserted -farms, impecunious landed proprietors, bankrupt -traders, creditors in despair, peasants dying of -starvation, their dwellings in ruins.” On every side<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> -and in every commodity there was a terrible depreciation -of values,—land nearly worthless, revenues -diminished, and besides a new and protracted war -had now to be faced.</p> - -<p>Some idea of the condition of the interior of the -Bastile in those days may be best realised by a few -extracts from the original archives preserved from -the sack of the hated castle when Paris rose in revolution. -Some documents are extant, written by a -certain Comte de Pagan, who was thrown into the -State prison charged with sorcery. He had boasted -that he could, when he chose, destroy Louis XIV -by magic. His arrest was immediate and his detention -indefinitely prolonged. His letters contain the -most piteous appeals for money.</p> - -<p>“Monseigneur and most reverent patron,” he -writes to Colbert from the Bastile under date of the -8th of November, 1661, “I supplicate you most -humbly to accord this poor, unfortunate being his -liberty. Your lordship will most undoubtedly be -rewarded for so merciful a deed as the release of -a wretched creature who has languished here for -nine years devoid of hope.” In a second petition, -reiterating his prayer for clemency, he adds, “It -is now impossible for me to leave the room in which -I am lodged as I am almost naked. Do send me a -little money so that I may procure a coat and a few -shirts.” Again, “May I beseech you to remember -that I have been incarcerated for eleven years and -eight months and have endured the worst hardships<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> -ever inflicted on a man for the want of covering -against the bitter cold.... Monseigneur, I am -seventy-eight years of age, a prey to all manner of -bodily infirmities; I do not possess a single friend -in the world, and worse still, I am not worth one -sou and am sunk in an abyss of wretchedness. I -swear to you, Monseigneur, that I am compelled to -go to bed in the dark because I cannot buy a farthing -candle; I have worn the same shirt without removing -or changing it for seven whole months.”</p> - -<p>This appeal is endorsed with a brief minute -signed by Colbert. “Let him have clothes.” The -year following a new petition is rendered. “Your -Excellency will forgive me if I entreat him to remember -that thirteen months ago he granted me -400 francs to relieve my miseries. But I am once -more in the same or even worse condition and I -again beg humbly for help. I have been quite unable -to pay the hire of the furniture in my chamber -and the upholsterer threatens to remove the goods -and I shall soon be compelled to lie on the bare -floor. I have neither light nor fuel and am almost -without clothes. You, Monseigneur, are my only -refuge and I beseech your charitable help or I shall -be found dead of cold in my cell. For the love of -God, entreat the King to give me my liberty after -the thirteen years spent here.”</p> - -<p>This last appeal is dated November 28th, 1665, -but there is no record of his ultimate disposal. It -is stated in an earlier document that Cardinal Maza<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>rin -had been willing to grant a pardon to this prisoner -if he would agree to be conveyed to the frontier -under escort and sent across it as a common criminal, -but the Count had refused to accept this dishonoring -condition which he pleaded would cast a -stigma upon his family name. He offered, however, -to leave France directly he was released and seek -any domicile suggested to him where he might be -safe from further oppression. Cardinal Mazarin -seems to have been mercifully inclined, but died -before he could extend clemency to this unhappy -victim of arbitrary power.</p> - -<p>The Bastile was used sometimes as a sanctuary -to withdraw an offender who had outraged the law -and could not otherwise be saved from reprisal. A -notable case was that of René de l’Hopital, Marquis -de Choisy, who lived on his estates like a savage -tyrant. In 1659 he was denounced by a curé to the -ecclesiastical authorities for his crimes. The marquis -with a couple of attendants waylaid the priest -on the high road and attacked the curé whom he -grievously wounded. The priest commended himself -to God and was presently stunned by a murderous -blow on the jaw from the butt end of a musket. -Then the Marquis, to make sure his victim was -really dead, rode his horse over the recumbent body -and then stabbed it several times with his sword. -But help came and the curé was rescued still alive, -and strange to say, recovered, although it was said -he had received a hundred and twenty wounds.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> - -<p>The entire religious hierarchy in France espoused -the priest’s cause. The Marquis was haled before -several provincial courts of justice. He would undoubtedly -have been convicted of murder and sentenced -to death, for Louis XIV would seldom spare -the murderer of a priest, but the l’Hopital family -had great influence at Court and won a pardon for -the criminal. The Parliament of Paris or High -Court of Justice boldly resisted the royal decree and -the marquis would still have been executed had he -not been consigned for safety to the “King’s Castle,” -the Bastile. He passed subsequently to the -prison of For-l’Évêque, from which he was released -with others on the entry of the King to Paris, -at his marriage. Still the vindictive Parliament pursued -him and he would hardly have escaped the -scaffold had he not fled the country.</p> - -<p>In an age when so much respect was exacted for -religious forms and ceremonies, imprisonment in the -Bastile was promptly inflicted upon all guilty of -blasphemous conduct or who openly ridiculed sacred -things. The records are full of cases in which prisoners -have been committed to gaol for impiety, profane -swearing at their ill luck with the dice or at -<i>hoca</i>. A number of the Prince de Condé’s officers -were sent to the Bastile for acting a disgraceful -parody of the procession of the Host, in which a -besom was made to represent a cross, a bucket was -filled at a neighboring pump and called holy water, -and the sham priests chanted the <i>De Profundis</i> as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> -they went through the streets to administer the last -sacrament to a pretended moribund.</p> - -<p>A very small offense gained the pain of imprisonment. -One foolish person was committed because -he was dissatisfied with his name Cardon (thistle), -and changed it to <i>Cardone</i>, prefixing the particle -“de” which signifies nobility, claiming that he was -a member of the illustrious family of De Cardone. -It appears from the record, however, that -he also spoke evil of M. de Maurepas, a minister of -State.</p> - -<p>Still another class found themselves committed to -the Bastile. The parental Louis, as he grew more -sober and staid, insisted more and more on external -decorum and dealt sharply with immoral conduct -among his courtiers. The Bastile was used very -much as a police station or a reformatory. Young -noblemen were sent there for riotous conduct in the -streets, for an affray with the watch and the maltreatment -of peaceful citizens. The Duc d’Estrées -and the Duc de Mortemart were imprisoned as -wastrels who bet and gambled with sharpers. “The -police officers cannot help complaining that the education -of these young dukes had been sadly neglected,” -reads the report. So the Royal Castle was -turned for the nonce into a school, and a master of -mathematics, a drawing master and a Jesuit professor -of history were admitted to instruct the neglected -youths. The same Duc d’Estrées paid a second -visit for quarrelling with the Comte d’Harcourt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> -and protesting against the interference of the marshals -to prevent a duel.</p> - -<p>The King nowadays set his face against all loose -living. The Comte de Montgomery, for leading a -debauched and scandalous life on his estates, was -committed to the Bastile, where he presently died. -He was a Protestant and the question of his burial -came up before the Ministry, who wrote the governor -that, “His Majesty is very indifferent whether -he (Montgomery) be buried in one place rather -than another and still more in what manner the -ceremony is performed.”</p> - -<p>The report that the Prince de Léon, being a prince -of the blood, a son of the Duc de Rohan, was about -to marry a ballet dancer, Mademoiselle Florence, -entailed committal to the Bastile, not on the Prince -but on the girl. “Florence was arrested this morning -while the Prince was at Versailles,” writes the -chief of the police. “Her papers were seized.... -She told the officer who arrested her she was not -married, that she long foresaw what would happen, -that she would be only too happy to retire into a -convent and that she had a hundred times implored -the Prince to give his consent. I have informed the -Prince’s father, the Duc de Rohan, of this.” The -Prince was furious upon hearing of the arrest and -refused to forgive his relations. The Duc de Rohan -was willing to supply Mademoiselle Florence with -all necessaries to make captivity more tolerable, but -great difficulty was found in getting him to pay the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> -bill. The Duc de Rohan was so great a miser that -he allowed his wife and children to die of hunger. -The Bastile bill included charges for doctor and -nurse as Mademoiselle de Florence was brought to -bed of a child in prison. What with the expenses -of capture and gaol fees it amounted to 5,000 francs. -The end of this incident was that the Prince de -Léon, while his lady love was in the Bastile, eloped -with a supposed heiress, Mademoiselle de Roquelaure, -who was ugly, hunch-backed and no longer -young. The Prince ran off with her from a convent, -moved to do so by his father’s promise of an -allowance, which the miserly duke never paid. The -bride was recaptured and sent back to the cloister -in which her mother had placed her to avoid the -necessity of giving her any dowry. The married -couple, when at last they came together, had a bad -time of it, as neither of the parents would help them -with funds and they lived in great poverty.</p> - -<p>A strange episode, forcibly illustrating the arbitrary -character of Louis XIV and his fine contempt -for international rights, was the case of the Armenian -Patriarch, Avedik, who was an inmate of the -Bastile and also of Mont St. Michel. The Armenian -Catholics, and especially the Jesuits, had reason -to complain of Avedik’s high handed treatment, and -the French ambassador interfered by paying a large -price for the Patriarch’s removal from his sacred -office. Certain schismatics of the French party secured -his reinstatement by raising the bid; and now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> -the French ambassador seized the person of Avedik, -who was put on board a French ship and conveyed -to Messina, then Spanish territory, where he -was cast into the prison of the Inquisition. This -abduction evoked loud protest in Constantinople, but -the French disavowed it, although it had certainly -met with the approval of Louis XIV. Avedik -would have languished and died forgotten in Messina, -but without waiting instructions, the French -consul had extracted him from the prison of the -Inquisition and passed him on to Marseilles.</p> - -<p>Great precautions were taken to keep his arrival -secret. If the poor, kidnapped foreigner, who spoke -no language but Turkish and Armenian, should -chance to be recognised, the report of his sudden -death was to be announced and no doubt it would -soon be justified in fact. Otherwise he was to be -taken quietly across France from Marseilles, on the -Mediterranean, to Mont St. Michel on the Normandy -coast, where his kidnappers were willing to -treat him well. The King expressly ordered that he -should have “a room with a fire place, linen and so -forth, as his Majesty had no desire that the prisoner -should suffer, provided economy is observed.... -He is not to be subjected to perpetual abstinence and -may have meat when he asks for it.” Of course an -attempt was made to convert the Patriarch, already -a member of the Greek Church, to Catholicism as -preached in France, although the interchange of -ideas was not easy, and the monk sent to confess<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> -him could not do so for want of a common language. -Eventually Avedik was brought to Paris -and lodged in the Bastile, where an interpreter was -found for him in the person of the Abbé Renaudot, -a learned Oriental scholar.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile a hue and cry was raised for the missing -Patriarch. One of his servants was traced to -Marseilles and was promptly arrested and hidden -away in the hospital of the galley slaves. Louis and -his ministers stoutly denied that Avedik was in -France, and he was very strictly guarded lest the -fact of his kidnapping should leak out. No one saw -him but the person who took him his food, and they -understood each other only by signs. Avedik was -worked up to make a written statement that he owed -his arrest to English intrigues, and this was to be -held as an explanation should the Porte become too -pressing in its inquiries. It is clear that the French -Government would gladly have seen the last of Avedik -and hesitated what course to adopt with him: -whether to keep him by force, win him over, transfer -him to the hands of the Pope, send him to Persia -or let him go straight home. These questions -were in a measure answered by a marginal note endorsed -on the paper submitting them. “Would it -be a blessing or would it be a misfortune if he were -to die?” asks the Minister Pontchartrain; and the -rather suspicious answer was presently given by his -death. But an official report was drawn up, declaring -that he had long enjoyed full liberty, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> -he received every attention during his illness, that -his death was perfectly natural and that he died a -zealous Catholic. Pontchartrain went further and, -after reiterating that death was neither violent nor -premature, added that it was entirely due to the immoderate -use of brandy and baleful drugs. Avedik -had grown very corpulent during his imprisonment, -but there was no proof of the charge of intemperance.</p> - -<p>The most heinous crimes disgraced the epoch of -Louis XIV, and in all, the Bastile played a prominent -part. There was first the gigantic frauds and -peculations of Fouquet as already described; then -came the conspiracy of the Chevalier de Rohan, who -was willing to sell French fortresses to foreign -enemies; and on this followed the horrible affair -of the Marchioness de Brinvilliers, the secret poisoner -of her own people. The use of poison was -for a time a wholesale practice, and although the -special court established for the trial of those suspected -held its sessions in private, the widespread -diffusion of the crime was presently revealed beyond -all question. There were reasons of State why -silence should be preserved; the high rank of many -of the criminals and their enormous number threatened, -if too openly divulged, to shake society to its -base. Some two hundred and thirty of the accused -were afterwards convicted and sent to prison and -thirty-four more were condemned to death.</p> - -<p>Conspiracies against the life of the King had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> -frequent. We may mention among them that of the -Marquis de Bonnesson, of the Protestant Roux de -Marcilly, who would have killed Louis to avenge the -wrongs of his co-religionists, and another Protestant, -Comte de Sardan, who sought to stir up disaffection -in four great provinces,—which were to -renounce allegiance to France and pass under the -dominion of the Prince of Orange and the King of -Spain. The most dangerous and extensive plot was -that of Louis de Rohan, a dissolute young nobleman, -who had been a playmate of the King and the -favorite of ladies of the highest rank, but who had -been ruined by gambling and a loose life until his -fortunes had sunk to the lowest ebb. He found an -evil counsellor in a certain retired military officer, -the Sieur de Latréaumont, no less a pauper than -De Rohan, and hungry for money to retrieve his -position. Together they made overtures to the -Dutch and Spaniards to open the way for a descent -upon the Normandy coast. Their price was a -million livres. Several disaffected Normandy -nobles joined the plot, and as it was unsafe to trust -to the post, an emissary, Van den Ende, an ancient -Dutch professor, was sent in person to the Low -Countries to deal with the Spanish general. He obtained -liberal promises of cash and pension, and returned -to Paris, where he was promptly arrested at -the barrier. The police had discovered the conspiracy -and De Rohan was already in custody. De -Latréaumont was surprised in bed, had resisted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> -capture, had been mortally wounded and had died, -leaving highly compromising papers.</p> - -<p>Louis XIV, bitterly incensed against the Chevalier, -whom he had so intimately known, determined -to make an example of him and his confederates. -A special tribunal was appointed for their -trial, some sixty persons in all. Abundant evidence -was forthcoming, for half Normandy was eager to -confess and escape the traitor’s fate. Some very -great names were mentioned as implicated, the son -of the Prince de Condé among the rest. The King -now wisely resolved to limit the proceedings, lest -too much importance should be given to a rather -contemptible plot. De Rohan’s guilt was fully -proved. He was reported to have said: “If I can -only draw my sword against the King in a serious -rebellion I shall die happy.” When he saw there -was no hope for him, the Chevalier tried to soften -the King by full confession. It did not serve him, -and he was sentenced to be beheaded and his creature, -Van den Ende, to be hanged in front of the -Bastile. De Rohan was spared torture before execution, -but Van den Ende and another suffered -the “boot.” The King was vainly solicited to grant -pardon to De Rohan, but was inflexible, declaring -it was in the best interests of France that traffic -with a foreign enemy should be punished with the -extreme rigor of the law. It cannot be stated positively -that there were no other conspiracies against -Louis XIV, but none were made public.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">THE TERROR OF POISON</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">The Marquise de Brinvilliers—Homicidal mania—Mysterious -death of her father, M. D’Aubray—Death of her eldest -brother and her second brother—Sainte Croix’s sudden -death—Fatal secret betrayed—Marchioness flies to -England—Brought to Paris—Her trial—Torture and -cruel sentence—Others suspected—Pennautier—Trade -in poisoning—The <i>Chambre Ardente</i>—La Voisin—Great -people implicated—Wholesale sentences—The galleys, or -forced labor at the oar a common punishment—War galleys—Manned -with difficulty—Illegal detention—Horrors -of the galleys.</p> - -<p>Paris was convulsed and shaken to its roots in -1674, when the abominable crimes of the Marchioness -of Brinvilliers were laid bare. They have -continued to horrify the whole world. Here was -a beautiful woman of good family, of quiet demeanor, -seemingly soft-hearted and sweet tempered, -who nevertheless murdered her nearest relations,—father, -brother, sisters, her husband and -her own children by secret and detestable practices. -It could have been nothing less than homicidal -mania in its worst development. The rage to kill, -or, more exactly, to test the value of the lethal -weapons she recklessly wielded, seized her under the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> -guise of a high, religious duty to visit the hospitals -to try the effects of her poisons on the sick poor. -There were those at the time who saw in the discovery -of her murderous processes the direct interposition -of Providence. First, there was the sudden -death of her principal accomplice, and the sure -indications found among the papers he left; next, -the confirmatory proofs afforded by a servant who -had borne the “question” without opening his lips, -and only confessed at the scaffold; last of all, the -guilty woman’s arrest in Liége on the last day that -the French king’s authority was paramount in that -city; and more, there was the fact that when taken, -she was in possession of papers indispensable to -secure her own conviction.</p> - -<p>Marie-Madeleine d’Aubray was beautiful, the -daughter of the d’Aubray who filled the high legal -office of Lieutenant-Criminel, and she married the -Marquis de Brinvilliers at the age of twenty-one. -She was possessed of great personal attraction: a -small woman of slight, exquisite figure, her face -round and regular, her complexion extraordinarily -fair, her hair abundant and of a dark chestnut -color. Everything promised a happy life for the -young people. They were drawn together by strong -liking, they were fairly rich and held their heads -high in the best circle of the court. They lived -together happily for some years, and five children -were born to them, but presently they fell into extravagant -ways and wasted their substance. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> -Marquis became a roué and a gambler, and left his -wife very much alone and exposed to temptation, -and especially to the marked attentions of a certain -Godin de St. Croix, a young, handsome and seductive -gallant, whom the Marquis had himself introduced -and welcomed to his house. At the trial it -was urged that this St. Croix had been the real -criminal; he is described as a demon of violent and -unbridled passion, who had led the Marchioness -astray, a statement never proved.</p> - -<p>The liaison soon became public property, but the -husband was altogether indifferent to his wife’s -misconduct, having a disreputable character of his -own. The father and brothers strongly disapproved -and reproached the Marchioness fiercely. The elder -d’Aubray, quite unable to check the scandal, at last -obtained a <i>lettre de cachet</i>, an order of summary -imprisonment, against St. Croix, and the lover was -arrested in the Marchioness’ carriage, seated by her -side. He was committed at once to the Bastile, -where he became the cellmate of an Italian generally -called Exili; although his real name is said to have -been Egidi, while his occult profession, according -to contemporary writers, was that of an artist in -poisons. From this chance prison acquaintance -flowed the whole of the subsequent crimes. When -St. Croix was released from the Bastile, he obtained -the release also of Exili and, taking him into his -service, the two applied themselves to the extensive -manufacture of poisons, assisted by an apothecary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> -named Glaser. St. Croix was supposed to have reformed. -When once more free, he married, became -reserved and grew devout. Secretly he renewed -his intimacy with the Marchioness and persuaded -her to get rid of her near relatives in order -to acquire the whole of the d’Aubray property; and -he provided her with the poisons for the purpose.</p> - -<p>M. d’Aubray had forgiven his daughter, and had -taken her with him to his country estate at Offémont -in the autumn of 1666. The Marchioness treated -him with the utmost affection and seemed to have -quite abandoned her loose ways. Suddenly, soon -after their arrival, M. d’Aubray was seized with -some mysterious malady, accompanied by constant -vomitings and intolerable sufferings. Removed to -Paris next day, he was attended by a strange doctor, -who had not seen the beginning of the attack, and -speedily died in convulsions. It was suggested as -the cause of his death, that he had been suffering -from gout driven into the stomach.</p> - -<p>The inheritance was small, and there were four -children to share it. The Marchioness had two -brothers and two sisters. One sister was married -and the mother of two children, the other was a -Carmelite nun. The eldest brother, Antoine d’Aubray, -succeeded to his father’s office as Lieutenant-Criminel, -and within four years he also died under -suspicious circumstances. He lived in Paris, and -upon entering his house one day called for a drink. -A new valet, named La Chaussée, brought him a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> -glass of wine and water. It was horribly bitter to -the taste, and d’Aubray threw the greater part away, -expressing his belief that the rascal, La Chaussée, -wanted to poison him. It was like liquid fire, and -others, who tasted it, declared that it contained -vitriol. La Chaussée, apologising, recovered the -glass, threw the rest of the liquid into the fire and -excused himself by saying that a fellow servant had -just used the tumbler as a medicine glass. This -incident was presently forgotten, but next spring, -at a dinner given by M. d’Aubray, guests and host -were seized with a strange illness after eating a tart -or <i>vol au vent</i>, and M. d’Aubray never recovered -his health. He “pined visibly” after his return to -Paris, losing appetite and flesh, and presently died, -apparently of extreme weakness, on the 17th of -June, 1670. A post mortem was held, but disclosed -nothing, and the death was attributed to “malignant -humours,” a ridiculously vague expression showing -the medical ignorance of the times.</p> - -<p>The second brother did not survive. He too was -attacked with illness, and died of the same loss of -power and vitality. An autopsy resulted in a certain -suspicion of foul play. The doctors reported that -the lungs of the deceased were ulcerated, the liver -and heart burned up and destroyed. Undoubtedly -there had been noxious action, but it could not be -definitely referred to poison. No steps, however, -were taken by the police to inquire into the circumstances -of this sudden death.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Marchioness had been deserted by -her husband, and she gave herself up to reckless dissipation. -When St. Croix abandoned her also, she -resolved to commit suicide. “I shall put an end -to my life,” she wrote him in a letter afterwards -found among his papers, “by using what you gave -me, the preparation of Glaser.” Courage failed her, -and now chance or strange fortune intervened with -terrible revelations. St. Croix’s sudden death betrayed -the secret of the crime.</p> - -<p>He was in the habit of working at a private laboratory -in the Place Maubert, where he distilled his -lethal drugs. One day as he bent over the furnace, -his face protected by a glass mask, the glass burst -unexpectedly, and he inhaled a breath of the poisonous -fumes, which stretched him dead upon the spot. -Naturally there could be no destruction of compromising -papers, and these at once fell into the hands -of the police. Before they could be examined, the -Marchioness, terrified at the prospect of impending -detection, committed herself hopelessly by her imprudence. -She went at once to the person to whom -the papers had been confided and begged for a -casket in which were a number of her letters. She -was imprudent enough to offer a bribe of fifty louis, -and was so eager in her appeal, that suspicion arose -and her request was refused. Ruin stared her in the -face, she went home, got what money she could and -fled from Paris.</p> - -<p>The casket was now opened, and fully explained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> -her apprehensions. On top was a paper written by -St. Croix which ran: “I humbly entreat the person -into whose hands this casket may come to convey -it to the Marchioness Brinvilliers, rue Neuve St. -Paul; its contents belong to her and solely concern -her and no one else in the world. Should she die -before me I beg that everything within the box may -be burned without examination.” In addition to the -letters from the Marchioness, the casket contained a -number of small parcels and phials full of drugs, -such as antimony, corrosive sublimate, vitriol in -various forms. These were analysed, and some portion -of them administered to animals, which immediately -died.</p> - -<p>The law now took action. The first arrest was -that of La Chaussée, whose complicity with St. -Croix was undoubted. The man had been in St. -Croix’s service, he had lived with Antoine d’Aubray, -and at the seizure of St. Croix’s effects, he had -rashly protested against the opening of the casket. -He was committed to the Châtelet and put on his -trial with the usual preliminary torture of the -“boot.” He stoutly refused to make confession -at first, but spoke out when released from the rack. -His conviction followed, on a charge of having murdered -the two Lieutenants-Criminel, the d’Aubrays, -father and son. His sentence was, to be broken -alive on the wheel, and he was duly executed.</p> - -<p>This was the first act in the criminal drama. The -Marchioness was still at large. She had sought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> -an asylum in England, and was known to be in -London. Colbert, the French minister, applied in -his king’s name for her arrest and removal to -France. But no treaty of extradition existed in -those days, and the laws of England were tenacious. -Even Charles II, the paid pensioner of Louis and -his very submissive ally, could not impose his authority -upon a free people; and the English, then -by no means friendly with France, would have resented -the arbitrary arrest of even the most dastard -criminal for an offence committed beyond the kingdom. -History does not say exactly how it was compassed, -but the Marchioness did leave England, and -crossed to the Low Countries, where she took refuge -in a convent in the city of Liége.</p> - -<p>Four years passed, but her retreat became known -to the police of Paris. Desgrez, a skilful officer, -famous for his successes as a detective, was forthwith -despatched to inveigle her away. He assumed -the disguise of an abbé, and called at the convent. -Being a good looking young man of engaging manners, -he was well received by the fugitive French -woman, sick and weary of conventual restriction. -The Marchioness, suspecting nothing, gladly accepted -the offer of a drive in the country with the -astute Desgrez, who promptly brought her under -escort to the French frontier as a prisoner. A note -of her reception at the Conciergerie is among the -records, to the effect, that, “La Brinvilliers, who -had been arrested by the King’s order in the city<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> -of Liége, was brought to the prison under a warrant -of the Court.”</p> - -<p>On the journey from Liége she had tried to seduce -one of her escort into passing letters to a -friend, whom she earnestly entreated to recover certain -papers she had left at the convent. These, however, -one of them of immense importance, her full -confession, had already been secured by Desgrez, -showing that the Abbess had been cognisant of the -intended arrest. The Marchioness yielded to despair -when she heard of the seizure of her papers -and would have killed herself, first by swallowing -a long pin and next by eating glass. This confession -is still extant and will be read with horror—the -long list of her crimes and debaucheries set forth -with cold-blooded, plain speaking. It was not produced -at her trial, which was mainly a prolonged -series of detailed interrogatories to which she made -persistent denials. As the proceedings drew slowly -on, all Paris watched with shuddering anxiety, and -the King himself, who was absent on a campaign, -sent peremptory orders to Colbert that no pains -should be spared to bring all proof against the guilty -woman. Conviction was never in doubt. One witness -declared that she had made many attempts to -get the casket from St. Croix; another, that she -exulted in her power to rid herself of her enemies, -declaring it was easy to give them “a pistol shot in -their soup;” a third, that she had exhibited a small -box, saying, “it is very small but there is enough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> -inside to secure many successions (inheritances).” -Hence the euphemism <i>poudre de succession</i>, so -often employed at that time to signify “deadly -poison.”</p> - -<p>The accused still remained obstinately dumb, but -at last an eloquent priest, l’Abbé Pirot, worked upon -her feelings of contrition, and obtained a full -avowal, not only of her own crimes, but those also -of her accomplices. Sentence was at once pronounced, -and execution quickly followed. Torture, -both ordinary and extraordinary, was to be first -inflicted. The ordeal of water, three buckets-full, -led her to ask if they meant to drown her, as assuredly -she could not, with her small body, drink -so much. After the torture she was to make the -<i>amende honorable</i> and the acknowledgment, candle -in hand, that vengeance and greed had tempted her -to poison her father, brothers and sisters. Then her -right hand was to be amputated as a parricide; but -this penalty was remitted. The execution was carried -out under very brutal conditions. No sooner -were the prison doors opened than a mob of great -ladies rushed in to share and gloat over her sufferings, -among them the infamous Comtesse de Soissons, -who was proved later to have been herself a -poisoner. An enormous crowd of spectators, at -least one hundred thousand, were assembled in the -streets, at the windows and on the roofs, and she was -received with furious shouts. Close by the tumbril -rode Desgrez, the officer who had captured her in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> -Liége. Yet she showed the greatest fortitude. -“She died as she had lived,” writes Madame de -Sévigné, “resolutely. Now she is dispersed into -the air. Her poor little body was thrown into a -fierce furnace, and her ashes blown to the four winds -of heaven.”</p> - -<p>Another person was implicated in this black -affair, Reich de Pennautier, Receiver-General of the -clergy. When the St. Croix casket was opened, a -promissory note signed by Pennautier had been -found. He was suspected of having used poison to -remove his predecessor in office. Pennautier was -arrested and lodged in the Conciergerie, where he -occupied the old cell of Ravaillac for seven days. -Then he was put on his trial. He found friends, -chief of them the reticent Madame de Brinvilliers, -but he had an implacable enemy in the widow of his -supposed victim, Madame de St. Laurent, who continually -pursued him in the courts. He was, however, -backed by Colbert, Archbishop of Paris, and -the whole of the French clergy. In the end he was -released, emerging as Madame de Sévigné put it, -“rather whiter than snow,” and he retained his -offices until he became enormously rich. Although -his character was smirched in this business he faced -the world bravely to a green old age.</p> - -<p>In France uneasiness was general after the execution -of the Brinvilliers and the acquittal of -Pennautier. Sinister rumors prevailed that secret -poisoning had become quite a trade, facilitated by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> -the existence of carefully concealed offices, where -the noxious drugs necessary could be purchased -easily by heirs tired of waiting for their succession, -and by husbands and wives eager to get rid of one -another. Within a year suspicion was strengthened -by the picking up of an anonymous letter in the confessional -of the Jesuit Church of the rue St. Antoine, -stating that a plot was afoot to poison both -the King and the Dauphin. The police set inquiries -on foot, and traced the projected crime to two persons, -Louis Vanens and Robert de la Nurée, the -Sieur de Bachimont.</p> - -<p>The first of these dabbled openly in love philtres -and other unavowable medicines; and he was also -suspected of having poisoned the Duke of Savoy -some years previously. Bachimont was one of his -agents. From this first clue, the police followed the -thread of their discoveries, and brought home to a -number of people the charge of preparing and selling -poisons, two of whom were condemned and executed. -A still more important arrest was that of -Catherine Deshayes, the wife of one Voisin or Monvoisin, -a jeweller. From this moment the affair -assumed such serious proportions that it was decided -to conduct the trial with closed doors. The -authorities constituted a royal tribunal to sit in -private at the Arsenal, and to be known to the public -as the <i>Chambre Ardente</i> or Court of Poisons. -La Reynie and another counsellor presided, and -observed extreme caution, but were quite unable to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> -keep secret the result of their proceedings. It was -soon whispered through Paris that the crime of -poisoning had extensive ramifications, and that -many great people, some nearly related to the -throne, were compromised with la Voisin. The -names were openly mentioned: a Bourbon prince, -the Comte de Clermont, the Duchesse de Bouillon, -the Princesse de Tingry, one of the Queen’s ladies in -waiting, and the Marchionesse d’Alluye, who had -been an intimate friend of Fouquet. The Duc de -Luxembourg and others of the highest rank were -consigned to the Bastile. Yet more, the Comtesse -de Soissons, the proudest of Cardinal Mazarin’s -nieces and one of the first of the King’s favorites, -had, by his special grace, been warned to fly from -Paris to escape imprisonment.</p> - -<p>No such favor was shown to others. Louis XIV -sternly bade La Reynie to spare no one else, to let -justice take its course strictly and expose everything; -the safety of the public demanded it, and the -hideous evil must be extirpated in its very root. -There was to be no distinction of persons or of -sex in vindicating the law. Such severity was indeed -necessary. Although the King wished all the -documents in the case to be carefully destroyed, -some have been preserved. They exhibit the widespread -infamy and almost immeasurable guilt of the -criminals. Colbert stigmatised the facts as “things -too execrable to be put on paper; amounting to -sacrilege, profanity and abomination.” The very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> -basest aims inspired the criminals to seek the King’s -favor; disappointed beauties would have poisoned -their rivals and replaced them in the King’s affections. -The Comtesse de Soissons’s would-be victim -was the beautiful La Vallière, and Madame de -Montespan was suspected of desiring to remove -Mdlle. de Fontanges. Madame La Féron attempted -the life of her husband, a president of Parliament. -The Duc de Luxembourg was accused of poisoning -his duchess. M. de Feuquières invited la Voisin -to get rid of the uncle and guardian of an heiress -he wished to marry. The end of these protracted -proceedings was the inevitable retribution that -waited on their crimes. Two hundred and forty-six -persons had been brought to trial, of whom thirty-six -went to the scaffold, after enduring torture, ordinary -and extraordinary. Of the rest, some were -sentenced to perpetual imprisonment, some to banishment, -some to the galleys for life. Among those -who suffered the extreme penalty were la Voisin, -La Vigouroux, Madame de Carada, several priests -and Sieur Maillard, who was charged with attempting -to poison Colbert and the King himself. The -Bastile, Vincennes and every State prison were -crowded with the poisoners, and for years the registers -of castles and fortresses contained the names -of inmates committed by the <i>Chambre Ardente</i> of -the Arsenal.</p> - -<p>The edict which dissolved this special tribunal -laid down stringent laws to protect the public<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> -against future poisoning. A clean sweep was made -of the charlatans, the pretended magicians who -came from abroad and imposed upon the credulity -of the French people, who united sacrilege and impious -practices with the manufacture and distribution -of noxious drugs. Several clauses in the edict -dealt with poisons, describing their action and effect,—in -some cases instantaneous, in others slow, -gradually undermining health and originating mysterious -maladies, that proved fatal in the end. The -sale of deleterious substances was strictly regulated, -such as arsenic and corrosive sublimate, and the use -of poisonous vermin, “snakes, vipers and frogs,” -in medical prescriptions was forbidden.</p> - -<p>A few words more as to the Comtesse de Soissons, -who was suffered to fly from France, but could -find no resting place. Her reputation preceded her, -and she was refused admittance into Antwerp. In -Flanders she ingratiated herself with the Duke of -Parma, and lived under his protection for several -years. Finally she appeared in Madrid, and was -received at court. Then the young Queen of Spain -died suddenly with all the symptoms of poisoning, -and Madame de Soissons was immediately suspected, -for unexpected and mysterious deaths always followed -in her trail. She was driven from the country, -and died a wanderer in great poverty.</p> - -<p>No account of the means of repression of those -days in France would be complete without including -the galleys,—the system of enforced labor at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> -oars, practised for many centuries by all the Mediterranean -nations, and dating back to classical times. -These ancient warships, making at best but six miles -an hour by human effort under the lash, are in -strong contrast with the modern ironclad impelled -by steam. But the Venetians and the Genoese owned -fine fleets of galleys and won signal naval victories -with them. France long desired to rival these -powers, and Henry III, when returning from Poland -to mount the French throne, paused at Venice -to visit the arsenal and see the warships in process of -construction. At that time France had thirty galleys -afloat, twenty-six of the highest order and -worked by convicts (<i>galeriens</i>). This number was -not always maintained, and in 1662 Colbert, bidding -for sea power and striving hard to add to the -French navy, ordered six new ships to be laid down -at Marseilles, and sought to buy a number, all -standing, from the Republic of Genoa and the Grand -Duke of Tuscany. These efforts were crowned with -success. In 1670 there were twenty galleys under -the French flag, and Colbert wrote the intendant -at Marseilles that his Master, Louis XIV, was eager -to possess one royal ship which would outvie any -hitherto launched on the seas. The increase continued, -and in 1677 the fleet numbered thirty, rising -to forty-two by the end of the century.</p> - -<p>It was not enough to build the ships; the difficulty -was to man them. The custom of sending -condemned convicts to ply the oar was ancient, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> -dated back to the reign of Charles VII. But it was -little used until Francis I desired to strengthen his -navy, and he ordered parliaments and tribunals to -consign to the galleys all able-bodied offenders who -deserved death and had been condemned to bodily -penalties, whatsoever crimes they had committed. -The supply of this personnel was precarious, and -Colbert wrote to the judges to be more severe with -their sentences, and to inflict the galleys in preference -to death, a commutation likely to be welcome to -the culprit. But some of the parliaments demurred. -That of Dijon called it changing the law, and the -President, protesting, asked for new ordinances. -Colbert put the objection aside arbitrarily. He increased -the pressure on the courts and dealt sharply -with the keepers of local gaols, who did not use sufficient -promptness in sending on their quotas of -convicts to Marseilles and Toulon. Many escapes -from the chain were made by the way, so carelessly -conducted was the transfer.</p> - -<p>This “chain,” a disgrace to humanity, was employed -in France till quite within our own day. The -wretched convicts made their long pilgrimage on -foot from all parts of the country to the southern -coast. They were chained together in gangs and -marched painfully in all weathers, mile after mile, -along their weary road under military escort. No -arrangements were made for them by the way. -They were fed on any coarse food that could be -picked up, and were lodged for the night in sheds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> -and stables if any could be found; if not, under the -sky. Death took its toll of them ere they reached -their destination. They were a scarce commodity -and yet no measures were adopted to preserve their -health and strength. The ministers in Paris were -continually urging the presidents of parliaments to -augment the supplies of the condemned, and were -told that the system was in fault, that numbers died -in their miserable cells waiting removal, and many -made their escape on the journey.</p> - -<p>Still the demands of the galleys were insatiable, -and many contrivances were adopted to reinforce -the crews. Colbert desired to send to them all vagabonds, -all sturdy beggars, smugglers and men without -visible means of support, but a change in the -law was required and the authorities for a time -shrank from it. Another expedient was to hire -<i>forcats</i> from the Duke of Savoy, who had no warships. -Turkish and Russian slaves were purchased -to work the oars, and Negroes from the Guinea -coast. As a measure of retaliation against Spain, -prisoners of war of that nation were treated as -galley slaves, a custom abhorrent to fair usage. It -was carried so far as to include the Red Indians, -Iroquois, captured in Canada in the fierce war then -in progress. Numbers were taken by unworthy -stratagem and passed over to France, and the result -was an embittered contest, which endured for four -years.</p> - -<p>A fresh device was to seek volunteers. These<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> -“bonne-voglies,” or “bonivoglios,” the Italian -form most commonly used, were so called because -they contracted of their own free will to accept service -in the galleys, to live the wretched life of the -galley slave, to submit to all his hardships, meagre -fare and cruel usage, to be chained to the oar, and -driven to labor under the ready lash of the overseers. -These free <i>forcats</i> soon claimed greater consideration, -and it was necessary to treat them more -leniently and in a way injurious to discipline in the -opinion of the captains and intendants. The convicts -were more submissive and more laborious, and -still the authorities sought to multiply them. A -more disgraceful system than any of these already -mentioned was now practised,—that of illegal detention -long after the sentence had expired. By an -old ordinance, any captain who thus detained a convict -was liable to instant dismissal. Other laws, -however, fixed a minimum term of ten years’ detention, -what though the original sentence was considerable. -Under Louis XIII it was ruled that six -years should be the lowest term, on the ground that -during the two first years a galley slave was useless -on account of weak physique and want of skill in -rowing. Later a good Bishop of Marseilles pleaded -the cause of convicts who had endured a term of -twice or three times their first sentence. A case was -quoted in which <i>thirty-four</i>, convicted between 1652 -and 1660, and sentenced to two, three or four years, -were still languishing in chains in 1674. An official<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> -document of that year gives the names of twenty -who had served fifteen to twenty years beyond their -sentence. The intendant of the galleys at Marseilles -reports in 1679, that on examining the registers he -had found a certain soldier still in custody who was -sentenced by a military court in 1660 to five years, -and who had therefore endured fourteen. Again, -a man named Caneau was sentenced in 1605 to two -years and was still in confinement twelve years later. -True it was open to the <i>galerien</i> to buy a substitute, -a Turkish or other “bonivoglio,” but the price, eight -hundred or one thousand francs, was scarcely within -the reach of the miserable creatures at the <i>bagnes</i>.</p> - -<p>It is difficult to exaggerate the horrors of the -galleys. No wonder that many preferred suicide -or self-mutilation to enduring it! Afloat or ashore, -the convict’s condition was wretched in the extreme. -On board ship each individual was chained to his -bench, day and night, and the short length of the -chain, as well as the nearness of his neighbors, limited -his movements. His whole clothing consisted -of a single loose blouse of coarse red canvas, with -neither shoes nor stockings and little underlinen. -His diet was of brown beans cooked in a little oil, -black bread and a morsel of bacon. Personal cleanliness -was entirely neglected, and all alike suffered -from scurvy and were infested with vermin. -Labor was incessant while at sea, and the overseers, -walking on a raised platform, which ran fore and -aft between the benches of rowers, stimulated effort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> -by using their whips upon the bending backs below -them. At times silence was strictly required,—as -when moving to the attack or creeping away from -an enemy and the whole ship’s company was gagged -with a wooden ball inserted in the mouth. In the -barracks ashore, when the ships were laid up for the -winter, the convicts’ lot was somewhat better, for -they were not at the mercy of the elements, and -there was no severe labor; but the other conditions, -such as diet, clothing and general discomfort, were -the same. Now and again if any distinguished -visitor arrived at the port, it was the custom to treat -them to a cruise in one of the great galleys. The -ship was dressed with all her colors, the convicts -were washed clean, and wore their best red shirts, -and they were trained to salute the great folk who -condescended to come on board, by a strange shout -of welcome: “Hou! Hou! Hou!” a cry thrice -repeated, resembling the roar of a wild beast.</p> - -<p>The merciless treatment accorded by Louis XIV -to the Protestants, who dared to hold their own religious -opinions, will be better realised when it is -stated that great numbers of them were consigned -to the galleys, to serve for years side by side with -the worst malefactors, with savage Iroquois and infidel -Turks, and to endure the selfsame barbarities -inflicted on the wretched refuse of mankind. No -greater stain rests upon the memory of a ruler, -whom the weak-kneed sycophants of his age misnamed -La Grande Monarque, than this monstrous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> -persecution of honest, honorable people, who were -ready to suffer all rather than sacrifice liberty of -conscience. How deep and ineffaceable is the stain -shall be shown in the next chapter.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">THE HORRORS OF THE GALLEYS</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">Huguenots sent to the galleys—Authentic Memoirs of Jean -Marteilhe—Description of galleys—Construction—Method -of rowing—Extreme severity of labor—A sea -fight—Marteilhe severely wounded—His sufferings—Dunkirk -acquired by the English—Huguenot prisoners sent -secretly to Havre—Removed to Paris—Included in the -chain gang for Marseilles—Cruelties en route—Detention -at Marseilles—Renewed efforts to proselytise—More -about the galleys—Dress, diet, occupation and discipline—Winter -season—Labor constant—Summer season.</p> - -<p>No blot upon the reign of Louis XIV is blacker -than his treatment of the Huguenots,—most faithful -of his subjects could he have perceived it, and -the flower of his people. They were hardly more -devoted to their faith than they were to France, and -it was their faith in God that inspired their patriotism; -and yet because they would not abandon their -right of conscience they were hounded like a subject, -savage people.</p> - -<p>A remarkable record of the sufferings endured -by one of these victims “for the faith” has come -down to us in the “Memoirs of a Protestant, Condemned -to the Galleys of France for his Religion.” -The author is said to have been one Jean Marteilhe,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> -but the book was published anonymously at The -Hague in the middle of the eighteenth century. It -purports to be “A Comprehensive Account of the -Various Distresses he suffered in a Slavery of -Thirteen Years and his Constance in supporting almost -Every Cruelty that Bigoted Zeal could inflict -or Human Nature sustain; also a Description of -the Galleys and the Service in which they are Employed.” -The writer states that he was at last set -free at the intercession of the Court of Great Britain -in the reign of Queen Anne.</p> - -<p>Jean Marteilhe belonged to a family which had -been dispersed in the Dragonades, and he resolved -to fly the country. Passing through Paris he made -for Maestricht in Holland, but was intercepted and -detained at Marienburg, a town in the French dominions, -where he and his companions were imprisoned -and charged with being found upon the -frontier without a passport. They were called upon -to abjure their faith or to be sent instantly to the -galleys; they were guilty of endeavoring to quit -the kingdom against the King’s ordinance. Then -began a weary pilgrimage on foot, handcuffed together, -“confined every evening in such loathsome -prisons as shocked even us, although by this time -familiarised to distress.” On reaching Tournay -they were thrown into a dungeon and kept there -many weeks, “laying continually upon an old pallet -quite rotten and swarming with vermin, placed near -a door, through a hole in which our daily allowance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> -of bread was thrown.” They remained six weeks -in this situation, when they were joined in prison by -two friends,—alleged Huguenots but less resolute -than Marteilhe in their belief, for they presently -went over and embraced the Catholic religion. -Marteilhe sturdily resisted all attempts at conversion, -although all were continually importuned by -the priests; yet nevertheless entertained hopes of -release, which were never realised. They passed on -from gaol to gaol until at last they reached Dunkirk, -at that time a French port and the home port of six -war galleys. On their arrival they were at once -separated and each committed to a different ship. -Marteilhe’s was the <i>Heureuse</i>, where he took his -place upon the bench, which was to be his terrible -abode for many years.</p> - -<p>The description given by our author of the system -in force at the galleys and of the galleys themselves -may be quoted here at some length:</p> - -<p>“A galley is ordinarily a hundred and fifty feet -long and fifty feet broad. It consists of but one -deck, which covers the hold. This hold is in the -middle, seven feet high, but at the sides of the -galley only six feet. By this we may see that the -deck rises about a foot in the centre, and slopes -towards the edges to let the water run off more -easily; for when a galley is loaded it seems to swim -under water, at least the sea constantly washes the -deck. The sea would then necessarily enter the hold -by the apertures where the masts are placed, were it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> -not prevented by what is called the <i>coursier</i>. This -is a long case of boards fixed on the middle or highest -part of the deck and running from one end of the -galley to the other. There is also a hatchway into -the hold as high as the <i>coursier</i>. From this superficial -description perhaps it may be imagined that -the slaves and the rest of the crew have their feet -always in water. But the case is otherwise; for -to each bench there is a board raised a foot from the -deck, which serves as a footstool to the rowers, -under which the water passes. For the soldiers and -mariners there is, running on each side, along the -gunnel of the vessel, what is called the <i>bande</i>, which -is a bench of about the same height with the <i>coursier</i>, -and two feet broad. They never lie here, but each -leans on his own particular bundle of clothes in a -very incommodious posture. The officers themselves -are not better accommodated; for the -chambers in the hold are designed only to hold -the provisions and naval stores of the galley.</p> - -<p>“The hold is divided in six apartments. The -first of these in importance is the <i>gavon</i>. This is a -little chamber in the poop, which is big enough only -to hold the captain’s bed. The second is the <i>escandolat</i>, -where the captain’s provisions are kept and -dressed. The third is the <i>compagne</i>. This contains -the beer, wine, oil, vinegar and fresh water of the -whole crew, together with their bacon, salt meat, -fish and cheese; they never use butter. The fourth, -the <i>paillot</i>. Here are kept the dried provisions, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> -biscuits, pease, rice, etc. The fifth is called the -<i>tavern</i>. This apartment is in the middle of the -galley. It contains the wine, which is retailed by -the comite, and of which he enjoys the profits. This -opens into the powder room, of which the gunner -alone keeps the key. In this chamber also the sails -and tents are kept. The sixth and last apartment -is called the <i>steerage</i>, where the cordage and the -surgeon’s chest are kept. It serves also during a -voyage as a hospital for the sick and wounded, who, -however, have no other bed to lie on than ropes. -In winter, when the galley is laid up, the sick are -sent to a hospital in the city.</p> - -<p>“A galley has fifty benches for rowers, that is to -say, twenty-five on each side. Each bench is ten -feet long. One end is fixed in the <i>coursier</i>, the other -in the <i>bande</i>. They are each half a foot thick and -are placed four feet from each other. They are -covered with sack-cloth stuffed with flocks, and -over this is thrown a cowhide, which reaching down -to the <i>banquet</i>, or footstool, gives them the resemblance -of large trunks. To these the slaves are -chained, six to a bench. Along the <i>bande</i> runs a -large rim of timber, about a foot thick, which forms -the gunnel of the galley. To this, which is called -the <i>apostie</i>, the oars are fixed. These are fifty feet -long, and are balanced upon the aforementioned -piece of timber; so that the thirteen feet of oar -which comes into the galley is equal in weight to -the thirty-seven which go into the water. As it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> -would be impossible to hold them in the hand because -of their thickness they have handles by which -they are managed by the slaves.”</p> - -<p>The writer passes on to the method of rowing a -galley and says: “The comite, who is the master -of the crew of slaves and the tyrant so much dreaded -by the wretches fated to this misery, stands always -at the stern, near the captain, to receive his orders. -There are two lieutenants also, one in the middle, -the other near the prow. These, each with a whip -of cords which they exercise without mercy on the -naked bodies of the slaves, are always attentive to -the orders of the comite. When the captain gives -the word for rowing the comite gives the signal -with a silver whistle which hangs from his neck. -This is repeated by the lieutenants, upon which the -slaves, who have their oars in readiness, strike all -at once and beat time so exactly, that the hundred -and fifty oars seem to give but one blow. Thus they -continue, without requiring further orders, till by -another signal of the whistle they desist in a moment. -There is an absolute necessity for all rowing -thus together; for should one of the oars be lifted -up or let fall too soon, those in the next bench forward, -leaning back, necessarily strike the oar behind -them with the hinder part of their heads, while the -slaves of this bench do the same by those behind -them. It were well if a few bruises on the head -were the only punishment. The comite exercises -the whip on this occasion like a fury, while the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> -muscles, all in convulsion under the lash, pour -streams of blood down the seats; which how dreadful -soever it may seem to the reader, custom teaches -the sufferers to bear without murmuring.</p> - -<p>“The labor of a galley slave has become a proverb; -nor is it without reason that this may be reckoned -the greatest fatigue that can be inflicted on -wretchedness. Imagine six men, naked as when -born, chained to their seats, sitting with one foot -on a block of timber fixed to the footstool or -stretcher, the other lifted up against the bench -before them, holding in their hands an oar of enormous -size. Imagine them stretching their bodies, -their arms outreached to push the oar over the -backs of those before them, who are also themselves -in a similar attitude. Having thus advanced their -oar, they raise that end which they hold in their -hands, to plunge the opposite end, or blade, in the -sea, which done, they throw themselves back on -their benches for the stroke. None, in short, but -those who have seen them labor, can conceive how -much they endure. None but such could be persuaded -that human strength could sustain the -fatigue which they undergo for an hour without -resting. But what cannot necessity and cruelty -make men do? Almost impossibilities. Certain it -is that a galley can be navigated in no other manner -but by a crew of slaves, over whom a comite may -exercise the most unbounded authority. No free -man could continue at the oar an hour unwearied;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> -yet a slave must sometimes lengthen out his toil for -ten, twelve, nay, for twenty hours without the smallest -intermission. On these occasions, the comite, or -one of the other mariners, puts into the mouths of -those wretches a bit of bread steeped in wine, to -prevent fainting through excess of fatigue or -hunger, while their hands are employed upon the -oar. At such times are heard nothing but horrid -blasphemies, loud bursts of despair, or ejaculations -to heaven; all the slaves are streaming with blood, -while their unpitying taskmasters mix oaths and -threats and the smacking of whips, to fill up this -dreadful harmony. At this time the captain roars -to the comite to redouble his blows, and when anyone -drops from his oar in a swoon, which not infrequently -happens, he is whipped while any remains -of life appear, and then thrown into the sea without -further ceremony.”</p> - -<p>Marteilhe fell to a galley commanded by a comite, -commonly reputed of cruel character and said to be -“merciless as a demon.” Yet the young Protestant, -who was of fine muscular physique, found favor -with this severe master, who ordered him to be -chained to the bench under his immediate charge. -Quoting still further from his “Memoirs,”—he -writes: “It may not be unnecessary to mention that -the comite eats upon a table raised over one of the -seats, by four iron feet. This table also serves him -for a bed, and when he chooses to sleep, it is covered -with a large pavilion made of cotton. The six slaves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> -of that bench sit under the table, which can easily be -taken away when it interferes with the working of -the vessel. These six slaves serve as domestics to -the comite. Each has his particular employ; and -whenever the comite eats or sits here, all the slaves -of this bench and the benches next it are uncovered -out of respect. Everyone is ambitious of being -either on the comite’s bench or on one of the lieutenants’ -benches; not only because they have what -is left of the provisions of his table, but also because -they are never whipped while at work. Those are -called the ‘respectable benches;’ and being placed -in one of them is looked upon as being in a petty -office. I was, as already mentioned, placed in this -bench, which however I did not long keep; for still -retaining some of the pride of this world, I could -not prevail upon myself to behave with that degree -of abject submission which was necessary to my -being in favor. While the comite was at meals, I -generally faced another way, and, with my cap on, -pretended to take no notice of what was passing -behind me. The slaves frequently said that such -behavior would be punished, but I disregarded their -admonition, thinking it sufficiently opprobrious to -be the slave of the King, without being also the -slave of his meanest vassal. I had by this means -like to have fallen into the displeasure of the comite, -which is one of the greatest misfortunes that can -befall a galley slave. He inquired whether I partook -of those provisions he usually left, and upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> -being told that I refused to touch a bit, said ‘Give -him his own way, for the present; a few years’ -servitude will divest him of this delicacy.’</p> - -<p>“One evening the comite called me to his pavilion, -and accosting me with more than usual gentleness, -unheard by the rest, he let me understand that he -perceived I was born of a rank superior to the rest -of his crew, which rather increased than diminished -his esteem; but, as by indulging my disrespectful -behavior the rest might take example, he found it -necessary to transfer me to another bench. However -I might rest assured of never receiving a -blow from him or his inferior officers upon any -occasion whatsoever. I testified my gratitude in -the best manner I was able; and from that time he -kept his promise, which was something extraordinary -in one who usually seemed divested of every -principle of humanity. Never was man more severe -to the slaves in general than he, yet he preserved -a moderation towards the Huguenots of his galley, -which argued a regard for virtue, not usually found -among the lower classes of people.”</p> - -<p>Constant labor at the oar was terrible enough, but -its horrors were accentuated when the galley went -into action. Marteilhe was engaged in several sea-fights, -one of the fiercest being an engagement with -an English warship convoying a fleet of merchantmen -to the Thames. “Of the two galleys ordered -to attack the frigate,” says he, “ours alone was in -a position to begin the engagement, as our consort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> -had fallen back at least a league behind us; either -because she did not sail so fast as we, or else her -captain chose to let us have the honor of striking -the first blow. Our commodore, who seemed in no -way disturbed at the approach of the frigate, -thought our galley alone would be more than a -match for the Englishman; but the sequel will show -that he was somewhat mistaken in this conjecture.</p> - -<p>“As we both mutually approached each other, we -were soon within cannon shot, and accordingly the -galley discharged her broadside. The frigate, -silent as death, approached us without firing a gun, -but seemed steadily resolved to reserve all her terrors -for a closer engagement. Our commodore, -nevertheless, mistook English resolution for cowardice. -‘What,’ cried he, ‘is the frigate weary of -carrying English colors? And does she come to -surrender without a blow?’ The boast was premature. -Still we approached each other and were -now within musket shot. The galley incessantly -poured in her broadside and small arm fire, the -frigate, all this while, preserving the most dreadful -tranquillity that imagination can conceive. At last -the Englishman seemed all at once struck with a -panic, and began to fly for it. Nothing gives more -spirits than a flying enemy, and nothing was heard -but the boasting among our officers. ‘We could at -one blast sink a man of war; aye, that we could and -with ease, too!’ ‘If Mr. English does not strike in -two minutes, down he goes, down to the bottom!’<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> -All this time the frigate was in silence, preparing -for the tragedy which was to ensue. Her flight was -but pretended, and done with a view to entice us to -board her astern, which, being the weakest quarter -of a man-of-war, galleys generally choose to attack. -Against this quarter they endeavor to drive their -beak, and then generally board the enemy, after -having cleared the decks with their five pieces of -cannon. The commodore, in such a favorable conjuncture -as he imagined this to be, ordered the -galley to board and the men at the helm to bury her -beak in the frigate if possible. All the soldiers and -sailors stood ready with their sabres and battle-axes -to execute his command. The frigate, who -perceived our intention, dexterously avoided our -beak, which was just ready to be dashed against her -stern, so that instead of seeing the frigate sink in the -dreadful encounter as was expected, we had the -mortification of beholding her fairly alongside of -us,—an interview which struck us with terror. -Now it was that the English captain’s courage was -conspicuous. As he had foreseen what would happen, -he was ready with his grappling irons and fixed -us fast by his side. His artillery began to open, -charged with grape-shot. All on board the galley -were as much exposed as if upon a raft. Not a gun -was fired that did not make horrible execution; we -were near enough even to be scorched with the -flame. The English masts were filled with sailors, -who threw hand-grenades among us like hail, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> -scattered wounds and death wherever they fell. -Our crew no longer thought of attacking; they -were even unable to make the least defence. The -terror was so great, as well among the officers as -common men, that they seemed incapable of resistance. -Those who were neither killed nor -wounded lay flat and counterfeited death to find -safety. The enemy perceiving our fright, to add to -our misfortunes, threw in forty or fifty men, who, -sword in hand, hewed down all that ventured to -oppose, sparing however the slaves who made no -resistance. After they had cut away thus for some -time, being constrained by our still surviving numbers, -they continued to pour an infernal fire upon -us.</p> - -<p>“The galley which had lain astern was soon up -with us, and the other four who had almost taken -possession of the merchantmen, upon seeing our -signal and perceiving our distress, quitted the intended -prey to come to our assistance. Thus the -whole fleet of merchant ships saved themselves in -the Thames. The galleys rowed with such swiftness -that in less than half an hour the whole six -had encompassed the frigate. Her men were now -no longer able to keep the deck, and she presented -a favorable opportunity for being boarded. Twenty-five -grenadiers from each galley were ordered upon -this service. They met with no opposition in coming -on; but scarce were they crowded upon the -deck when they were saluted once again <i>à l’Anglais</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> -The officers of the frigate were entrenched in the -forecastle, and fired upon the grenadiers incessantly. -The rest of the crew also did what execution they -were able through the gratings, and at last cleared -the ship of the enemy. Another detachment was -ordered to board, but with the same success; however -it was at last thought advisable, with hatchets -and other proper instruments, to lay open her decks -and by that means to make the crew prisoners of -war. This was, though with extreme difficulty, -executed; and in spite of their firing, which killed -several of the assailants, the frigate’s crew was at -last constrained to surrender.”</p> - -<p>Marteilhe was seriously wounded in this fight, -and he graphically details his sufferings as he lay -there still chained to the bench, the only survivor -of his six companions at the oar. He says: “I had -not been long in this attitude when I perceived -somewhat moist and cold run down my body. I -put my hand to the place and found it wet; but as -it was dark I was unable to distinguish what it was. -I suspected it, however, to be blood, flowing from -some wound, and following with my hand the course -of the stream, I found my shoulder near the clavicle -was pierced quite through. I now felt another gash -in my left leg below the knee, which also went -through; again another, made I suppose by a -splinter, which ripped the integuments of my belly, -the wound being a foot long and four inches wide. -I lost a great quantity of blood before I could have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> -any assistance. All near me were dead, as well -those before and behind me, and those of my own -seat. Of eighteen persons on the three seats, there -was left surviving only myself, wounded as I was in -three different places, and all by the explosion of -one cannon only. But if we consider the manner of -charging with grape-shot our wonder at such prodigious -slaughter will cease. After the cartouche -of powder, a long tin box filled with musket balls -is rammed in. When the piece is fired the box -breaks and scatters its contents most surprisingly.</p> - -<p>“I was now forced to wait till the battle was -ended before I could expect any relief. All on -board were in the utmost confusion; the dead, the -dying and the wounded, lying upon each other, -made a frightful scene. Groans from those who -desired to be freed from the dead, blasphemies from -the slaves who were wounded unto death, arraigning -heaven for making their end not less unhappy -than their lives had been. The <i>coursier</i> could not -be passed for the dead bodies which lay on it. -The seats were filled, not only with slaves, but also -with sailors and officers who were wounded or slain. -Such was the carnage that the living hardly found -room to throw the dead into the sea, or succor the -wounded. Add to all this the obscurity of the -night, and where could misery have been found to -equal mine!</p> - -<p>“The wounded were thrown indiscriminately -into the hold,—petty officers, sailors, soldiers and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> -slaves; there was no distinction of places, no bed -to lie upon, nor any succor to be had. With respect -to myself, I continued three days in this miserable -situation. The blood coming from my wounds was -stopped by a little spirit of wine, but there was no -bandage tied, nor did the surgeon once come to -examine whether I was dead or alive. In this -suffocating hole, the wounded, who might otherwise -have survived, died in great numbers. The -heat and the stench were intolerable, so that the -slightest sore seemed to mortify; while those who -had lost limbs or received large wounds went off by -universal putrefaction.</p> - -<p>“In this deplorable situation we at last arrived at -Dunkirk, where the wounded were put on shore in -order to be carried to the marine hospital. We were -drawn up from the hold by pulleys and carried to -the hospital on men’s shoulders. The slaves were -consigned to two large apartments separate from -the men who were free, forty beds in each room. -Every slave was chained by the leg to the foot of his -bed. We were visited once every day by the surgeon-major -of the hospital, accompanied by all the -army and navy surgeons then in port.”</p> - -<p>Better fortune came to Marteilhe when he recovered. -He was appointed clerk to the captain of the -galley, being maimed by his wounds and no longer -fit for the oar.</p> - -<p>“Behold me now,” he writes, “placed in a more -exalted station, not less than the captain’s clerk,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> -forsooth. As I knew my master loved cleanliness, -I purchased a short coat of red stuff (galley-slaves -must wear no other color) tolerably fine. I was -permitted to let my hair grow. I bought a scarlet -cap, and in this trim presented myself before the -captain, who was greatly pleased with my appearance. -He gave his <i>maître d’hôtel</i> orders to carry -me every day a plate of meat from his own table -and to furnish me with a bottle of wine, luxuries to -which I had long been a stranger. I was never -more chained and only wore a ring about my leg -in token of slavery. I lay upon a good bed. I had -nothing fatiguing to do, even at times when all the -rest of the crew were lashed to the most violent -exertion. I was loved and respected by the officers -and the rest of the crew, cherished by my master -and by his nephew, the major of the galleys. In -short, I wanted nothing but liberty to increase the -happiness I then enjoyed. In this state, if not of -pleasure at least of tranquillity, I continued from -the year 1709 to 1712, in which it pleased heaven to -afflict me with trials more severe than even those I -had already experienced.”</p> - -<p>England acquired Dunkirk by special treaty with -France in 1712. Upon the transfer the English -troops entered the city and took possession of the -citadel. The French galleys were to remain in port -until the fortifications were demolished, and it was -agreed that no vessel should leave Dunkirk without -permission from Her Britannic Majesty. The gal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>ley-slaves -remained on board their ships, but by -some strange oversight it was not stipulated that the -Protestant prisoners, with whose sad condition the -English fully sympathised, should be released. The -French government was still determined to retain -them, and planned to carry them off secretly into -France before any demand could be made for their -release. In the dead of night they were embarked -to the number of twenty-two on board a fishing -boat and taken by water to Calais, where they were -landed to make the long journey on foot, chained -together, to Havre-de-Grace. Here they were held -close prisoners in the Arsenal, but fairly well -treated. After some weeks, orders came for their -removal to Rouen, en route for Paris and eventually -to Marseilles. Through the kindness of their -co-religionists, who came charitably to their aid, -they were provided with wagons for the journey in -which all were carried to the capital, where on arrival -they were lodged in the ancient castle of Tournelle, -formerly a pleasure house belonging to the -royal family, but by now converted into a prison -for galley-slaves. It is thus described by Marteilhe: -“This prison, or rather cavern, is round and of vast -extent. The floor is made uneven by large oak -beams, which are placed at three feet distance from -each other. These beams are two feet and a half -thick, and ranged along the floors in such a manner -that at first sight they might be taken for benches, -were they not designed for a much more disagree<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>able -purpose. To these were fastened large iron -chains, a foot and a half long, at intervals of two -feet from each other. At the end of each chain is -a large ring of the same metal. When the slave -is first brought into this prison, he is made to lie -along the beam till his head touches it. Then the -ring is put round his neck and fastened by a hammer -and anvil kept for the purpose. As the chains are -fixed in the beam at two feet distance from each -other, and some of the beams are forty feet long, -sometimes twenty men are thus chained down in -a row and so in proportion to the length of the -beams. In this manner are fastened five hundred -wretches in an attitude certainly pitiful enough to -melt the hardest heart.</p> - -<div class="center"> -<img id="img_5" src="images/i_250fp.jpg" width="600" height="371" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> - -<p class="header"><i>Château D’If</i></p> - -<p>Fortress on a small island two miles southwest of Marseilles: -one of the scenes of Dumas’s novel “Count of Monte -Cristo,” and the place of captivity of several celebrated persons, -among them Mirabeau and Philippe Égalité.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>“We remained here (in the Tournelle) but a -month, at the expiration of which time we set out -with the rest of the slaves for Marseilles. On the -tenth of December, at nine in the morning, we left -our dismal abode and were conducted into a spacious -court of the castle. We were chained by the neck, -two and two together, with a heavy chain three -feet long, in the middle of which was fixed a ring. -After being thus paired, we were placed in ranks, -couple before couple, and a long and weighty chain -passed through the rings, by which means we were -all fastened together. This ‘chain,’ which consisted -of more than four hundred slaves, made a strange -appearance. Once more a Protestant friend interposed -and purchased the captain’s consent to allow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> -them to provide wagons on the road for those unable -to walk. But the trials endured by the majority -of these wretched wayfarers were terribly severe. -We entered Charenton at six in the evening by -moonlight. It froze excessively hard, but the weight -of our chains, according to the captain’s calculation, -being a hundred and fifty pounds upon every man, -with the swiftness of our pace, had kept us pretty -warm, and we were all actually in a sweat when -we entered Charenton. Here we were lodged in -the stable of an inn, but chained so close to the -manger, that we could neither sit nor lie at our ease. -Beside, we had no bed but the dung and the litter -of horses to repose on; for as the captain conducted -the train to Marseilles at his own expense, -where he received twenty crowns for every one that -survived the journey, he was as saving as possible -and refused us bedding, nor was any allowed the -whole way. Here, however, we were suffered to -repose, if it might be called repose, till nine at night, -when we were to undergo another piece of cruelty, -which almost disgraces humanity.</p> - -<p>“At nine o’clock, while it yet froze excessively -hard, our chains were again unriveted and we were -all led from the stable into a court surrounded by -high walls. The whole train, which was ranked at -one end of the court, was commanded to strip off all -clothes and lay them down each before him. The -whip was exercised unmercifully on those who were -lazy or presumed to disobey. Every one promiscu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>ously, -as well we as others, was obliged to comply -with this unnecessary command. After we were -thus stripped, naked as when born, the whole train -was again commanded to march from the side of the -court in which they were to the side opposite them. -Here were we for two hours, stark naked, exposed -to all the inclemency of the weather and a cutting -wind that blew from the north. All this time the -archers were rummaging our rags under pretence -of searching for knives, files or other instruments -that might be employed in effecting our escape; but -in reality money was that for which they sought so -earnestly. They took away everything that was -worth taking,—handkerchiefs, shirts, snuff-boxes, -scissors,—and never returned anything they laid -hands on. When any slave entreated to have his -goods restored, he was only answered by blows and -menaces, which effectually silenced if not satisfied -the querist. This rummage being over, all were -ordered to march back to the place from whence we -came, and take again each his respective bundle of -clothes. But it was impossible. We were almost -frozen to death, and so stiff with cold that scarce -one in the whole train could move. And though the -distance was but small, yet frozen like statues, every -wretch remained where he was and silently awaited -fresh instances of their keeper’s cruelty. But they -did not long wait; the whip again was handled and -by the merciless fury of these strangers to pity, the -bodies of the poor wretches were mangled without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> -distinction; but all in vain, for this could not supply -vital warmth where life was no more. Some actually -dead, others dying, were dragged along by the -neck and thrown into the stable, without further -ceremony, to take their fate. And thus died that -night or the ensuing morning, eighteen persons. -With respect to our little society, we were neither -beaten nor thus dragged along and we may well -attribute the saving of our lives to the hundred -crowns which had been advanced before our setting -out.”</p> - -<p>Further details of this cruel march may be spared -the reader. “In this manner,” says Marteilhe, -“we crossed the Isle of France, Burgundy and the -Mâconnais, till we came to Lyons, marching every -day three or four leagues; long stages, considering -the weight of our chains, our being obliged to sleep -every night in stables upon dung, our having bad -provisions and not sufficient liquid to dilute them, -walking all day mid-leg in mud, and frequently wet -through with rain; swarming with vermin and -ulcerated with the itch, the almost inseparable attendants -on misery.” At Lyons the whole train -embarked in large flat-bottomed boats and dropped -down the Rhone as far as the bridge St. Esprit; -thence by land to Avignon and from Avignon to -Marseilles, which they reached on the 17th of January, -1713, having spent some six weeks on the -road.</p> - -<p>The treatment accorded to the galley-slaves at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> -Marseilles was identical with that of Dunkirk. But -now the case of the Protestants engaged the serious -attention of the Northern nations, and strong representations -were made to the French king, demanding -their release. But now in the vain hope -of retaining them, the most pertinacious efforts were -made to obtain that abjuration of the faith which -had been steadfastly rejected by the sufferers for so -many years. Bigoted priests with special powers -of persuasion were called in with fresh zeal for -proselytising, but being entirely unsuccessful they -concentrated their efforts to impede and prolong the -negotiations for release. When at last the order -came, due to the vigorous interposition of the -Queen of England, it was limited to a portion only -of the Protestant prisoners. One hundred and -thirty-six were released, and among them Jean -Marteilhe; but the balance were retained quite another -year. Marteilhe, after a short stay at Geneva, -travelled northwards, and at length went with some -of his comrades to England. They were granted a -special audience with Queen Anne, and were permitted -to kiss her Majesty’s hand, and were assured -from her own mouth of the satisfaction afforded by -their deliverance.</p> - -<p>A few details may be extracted from Marteilhe’s -story as to the dress, diet, occupation and general -discipline of one of Louis’ galleys. As to dress he -tells us:</p> - -<p>“Each slave receives every year linen shirts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> -somewhat finer than that of which sails are made; -two pair of knee trousers, which are made without -any division, like a woman’s petticoat,—for -they must be put on over the head because of the -chain; one pair of stockings made of coarse red -stuff, but no shoes. However, when the slaves are -employed in the business of the galley by land, as -frequently happens in winter, the keeper on that -occasion furnishes them with shoes, which he takes -back when the slaves return aboard. They are supplied -every second year with a cassock of coarse -red stuff. The tailor shows no great marks of an -artist in making it up; it is only a piece of stuff -doubled, one half for the forepart, the other for the -back; at the top a hole to put the head through. -It is sewed up on each side, and has two little sleeves -which descend to the elbow. This cassock has -something the shape of what is called in Holland a -‘keil,’ which carters generally wear over the rest of -their clothes. The habit of the former is, however, -not so long, for it reaches before only down to the -knees, and behind it falls half a foot lower. Besides -all this, they are allowed every year a red cap, very -short, as it must not cover the ears. Lastly they -are given every second year a great coat of coarse -cloth made of wool and hair. This habit is made -in the form of a nightgown and descends to the -feet; it is furnished with a hood not unlike the -cowl of a Capuchin friar. This is by far the best -part of a slave’s scanty wardrobe; for it serves him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> -for mattress and blankets at night, and keeps him -warm by day.”</p> - -<p>As will have been gathered from the preceding -description, the galleys were mainly intended for -sea service and occasional combat, but this was only -in the summer months. As winter approached, -generally about the latter end of October, the galleys -were laid up in harbor and disarmed. “The first -precaution is to land the gunpowder, for they never -bring their powder into port. The galleys are next -brought in and ranged along the quay according -to the order of precedence, with the stern next the -quay. There are then boards laid, called <i>planches</i>, -to serve as a passage from the quay to the galley. -The masts are taken down and laid in the <i>coursier</i>, -and the yards lie all along the seats. After this they -take out the cannon, the warlike stores, provisions, -sails, cordage, anchors, etc. The sailors and coasting -pilots are discharged, and the rest of the crew -lodged in places appointed for them in the city of -Dunkirk. Here the principal officers have their -pavilions, though they lodge in them but seldom, -the greatest part spending the winter at Paris or at -their own homes. The galley being at last entirely -cleared, the slaves find room enough to fix their -wretched quarters for the winter. The company belonging -to each seat procure pieces of boards, which -they lay across the seats and upon these make their -beds. The only bed between them and the boards is -a cast-off greatcoat; their only covering that which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> -they wear during the day. The first rower of each -seat, who has consequently the first choice, is best -lodged; the second shares the next best place; the -four others are lodged, each, on the cross planks -already mentioned, according to his order.</p> - -<p>“When the weather grows extremely cold, there -are two tents raised over the galley, one above the -other. The outermost is generally made of the -same stuff of which the slaves’ greatcoats are -formed, and keeps the galley sufficiently warm; I -mean it seems warm to those who are accustomed -to this hard way of living. For those who have -been used to their own houses and warm fires would -never be able to support the cold without being -habituated to it beforehand. A little fire to warm -them and a blanket to cover them would make our -slaves extremely happy, but this is a happiness never -allowed them on board. At break of day the -comites, who always sleep on board together with -the keepers and halberdiers, blow their whistles, at -the sound of which all must rise. This is always -done precisely at the same hour; for the commodore -every evening gives the signal to the comite -by firing a cannon for the slaves to go to sleep, and -repeats the same at break of day for their getting -up. If in the morning any should be lazy and not -rise when they hear the whistle, they may depend -on being lashed severely. The crew being risen, -their first care is to fold up their beds, to put the -seats in order, to sweep between them and wash them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> -when necessary. The sides of the tent are raised -up by stanchions provided for that purpose in order -to air the galley; though when the wind blows -hard, that side to the leeward only is raised. When -this is done every slave sits down on his own seat -and does something to earn himself a little money.</p> - -<p>“It is necessary to be known, that no slave must -be idle. The comites, who observe their employments -every day, come up to those they see unemployed -and ask why they do not work. If it is answered -that they understand no trade, he gives them -cotton yarn, and bids them knit it into stockings; -and if the slave knows not how to knit, the comite -appoints one of his companions of the same seat to -instruct him. It is a trade easily learnt; but as -there are some who are either lazy, stupid or stubborn -and will not learn, they are sure to be remarked -by the comites who seldom show them any -future favor. If they will not work at that for -their own advantage, the comite generally gives -them some work impossible to perform; and when -they have labored in vain to execute his commands, -he whips them for laziness; so that in their own -defence, they are at last obliged to learn to knit.</p> - -<p>“Whenever a slave is missing, there are guns -fired one after the other, which advertise his escape -to the peasants round the country; upon which they -all rise, and with hounds trained for the purpose -trace out his footsteps; so that it is almost impossible -for him to secure a retreat. I have seen several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> -instances of this at Marseilles. At Dunkirk, indeed, -the Flemish detest such practices; but the soldiers, -with which the town abounds, will do anything to -gain twenty crowns. At Marseilles the peasants -are cruel to the last degree. I have been informed -for certain that a son brought back his own father, -who had been a slave and endeavored to escape. -The intendant, as the story goes, was so shocked at -his undutifulness, that though he ordered him the -twenty crowns for his fee, yet sentenced him to the -galleys for life, where he remained chained to the -same seat with his unhappy father. So true is it, -that the natives of Provence are in general perfidious, -cruel and inhuman.</p> - -<p>“All along the quay, where the galleys lie, are -ranged little stalls, with three or four slaves in each, -exercising their trades to gain a trifling subsistence. -Their trades are nevertheless frequently little -better than gross impositions on the credulity of the -vulgar. Some pretend to tell fortunes and take -horoscopes; others profess magic and undertake -to find stolen goods, though cunning often helps -them out when the devil is not so obedient as to -come at a call.</p> - -<p>“While some of the slaves are thus employed in -the stalls along the quay, the major part are chained -to their seats aboard, some few excepted who pay -a halfpenny a day for being left without a chain. -Those can walk about the galley and traffic or do -any other business which may procure them a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> -wretched means of subsistence. The greatest part -of them are sutlers. They sell tobacco (for in -winter the slaves are permitted to smoke on board), -brandy, etc. Others make over their seats a little -shop, where they expose for sale butter, cheese, -vinegar, boiled tripe, all of which are sold to the -crew at reasonable rates. A halfpenny worth of -these, with the king’s allowance of bread, make -no uncomfortable meal. Except these sutlers, all -the rest are chained to their seats and employed in -knitting stockings. Perhaps it may be asked where -the slaves find spun cotton for knitting. I answer -thus:</p> - -<p>“Many of the Turks, especially those who have -money, drive a trade in this commodity with the -merchants of Marseilles, who deal largely in stockings. -The merchants give the Turks what cotton -they think proper, unmanufactured, and the Turks -pay them in this commodity manufactured into -stockings. These Turks deliver the cotton spun to -the slaves, to be knit. They are indifferent as to -the size of the stockings, as the slave is paid for -knitting at so much a pound. So that the slave -who received ten pounds of spun cotton is obliged -to return the same weight of knit stockings, for -which he is paid at a fixed price. There must be -great care taken not to filch any of the cotton nor -leave the stockings on a damp place to increase their -weight; for if such practices are detected the slave -is sure to undergo the bastinado.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p> - -<p>“At the approach of summer their employments -are multiplied every day by new fatigues. All the -ballast, which is composed of little stones about the -size of pigeon’s eggs, is taken out and handed up -from the hold in little wicker baskets from one to -the other, till they are heaped upon the quay opposite -the galley. Here two men are to pump water -upon them till they become as clean as possible; and -when dry they are again replaced. This, and cleaning -the vessel, takes up seven or eight days’ hard -labor. Then the galley must be put into proper -order before it puts to sea. First, necessary precautions -must be taken with respect to the cordage -that it be strong and supple; and what new cordage -may be necessary is to be supplied by the slaves by -passing it round the galley. This takes up some -days to effect. Next the sails are to be visited, and -if new ones are necessary, the comite cuts them out -and the slaves sew them. They must also make new -tents, mend the old in like manner, prepare the -officers’ beds, and everything else, which it would -be impossible to particularise. This bustle continues -till the beginning of April, when the Court sends -orders for putting to sea.</p> - -<p>“Our armament begins by careening the galleys. -This is done by turning one galley upon another so -that its keel is quite out of the water. The whole -keel is then rubbed with rendered tallow. This is -perhaps one of the most fatiguing parts of a slave’s -employments. After this the galley is fitted up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> -with her masts and rigging and supplied with artillery -and ammunition. All this is performed by -the slaves, who are sometimes so fatigued that the -commander is obliged to wait in port a few days -till the crew have time to refresh themselves.”</p> - -<p>Galleys as warships fell into disuse about the -time that our Protestant prisoners were released. -The improvement in the sailing qualities of ships -and the manifest advantages enjoyed by those skilfully -handled, as were the English, gradually -brought about the abandonment of the oar as a -motive power, and the galleys are only remembered -now as a glaring instance of the cruelties practised -by rulers upon helpless creatures subjected to their -tender mercies.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">THE DAWN OF REVOLUTION</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">State of France—Bad harvests—Universal famine—Chronic -disturbances—Crime prevalent—Cartouche—His -organized gang—His capture, sentence and execution—Pamphleteers -and libelists in the Bastile—Lenglet-Dufresnoy—Roy—Voltaire—His -first consignment to the -Bastile—His release and departure for London—Cellamare-Alberoni -conspiracy—Mlle. De Launay, afterwards -Madame de Staal—Remarkable escapes—Latude and -Allégre.</p> - -<p>Dark clouds hovered over France in the latter -years of the reign of Louis XIV: an empty exchequer -drained by the cost of a protracted and -disastrous war; the exodus of many thousands -of the most industrious producers of wealth, flying -from religious intolerance; a succession of bad -harvests, causing universal famine and chronic disturbance. -The people rose against the new edicts -increasing taxes upon salt, upon tobacco and on -stamped paper, and were repressed with harshness, -shot down, thrown into prison or hanged. The -genuine distress in the country was terrible. Thousands -of deaths from starvation occurred. Hordes -of wretched creatures wandered like wild beasts -through the forest of Orleans. A Jesuit priest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> -wrote from Onzain that he preached to four or five -skeletons, who barely existed on raw thistles, snails -and the putrid remains of dead animals. In the -Vendomois, the heather was made into bread with -an intermixture of sawdust, and soup was made -with roots and the sap of trees. Touraine, once -the very garden of France, had become a wilderness. -The hungry fought for a morsel of horse -flesh, torn from some wretched beast which had died -a natural death. Four-fifths of the inhabitants of -the villages had become public beggars. In one -village of four hundred houses, the population had -been reduced to three persons.</p> - -<p>Never in the history of France had robberies been -so numerous or so varied in character as during this -period. Paris was filled with the worst criminals -and desperadoes. The provinces were overrun with -them. The whole country was ravaged and terrorised. -Prominent among this dangerous fraternity, -whose name was legion, is one name, that of Cartouche, -the most noted evil doer of his or indeed -any time. Others might have excelled him in -originality, intelligence and daring. That which -gave him especial distinction was his power of organisation, -his nice choice of associates and the far-reaching -extent of his nefarious plans. The devoted -and obedient band he directed was recruited from -all sources, and included numbers of outwardly -respectable persons even drawn from the police and -the French guards. He had agents at his disposal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> -for all branches of his business; he had spies, his -active assistants to deal the blows, his receivers, his -locksmiths, his publicans with ready shelter and -asylums of retreat. The forces controlled by Cartouche -were extraordinarily numerous, and the -total was said to exceed a couple of thousand persons -of both sexes.</p> - -<p>Paris was dismayed and indignant when the -operations grew and increased, and the police -proved less able to check them. In the last months -of 1719 and during 1720, widespread terror prevailed. -The thieves worked their will even in daylight. -After dark the city belonged to them. The -richest quarters were parcelled out among the various -gangs, which broke into every house and summoned -every wayfarer to stand and deliver. As a -specimen of their proceedings,—a party visited the -mansion, once the Hotel of the Maréchal de France -and now occupied by the Spanish Ambassador, entered -the Ambassador’s bedroom at night and rifled -it, securing a rich booty—several collars of fine -pearls, a brooch adorned with twenty-seven enormous -diamonds, a large service of silver plate and -the whole of the magnificent wardrobe of the lady -of the house. This was only one of hundreds of -such outrages, which were greatly encouraged by -the diffusion of luxury among the upper classes, -while the lower, as we have seen, were plunged in -misery and starvation.</p> - -<p>This was the epoch of the speculations of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> -famous adventurer, Law, who established the great -Bank of Mississippi, and for the time made the fortunes -of all who joined in his schemes and trafficked -in his shares. Money was almost a drug; people -made so much and made it so fast that it was difficult -to spend it. Houses were furnished regardless -of expense with gorgeous tapestry, cloth of gold -hangings, beds of costly woods encrusted with -jewels and ormolu, Venetian glasses in ivory -frames, candelabra of rock crystal. All this luxury -played into the hands of Cartouche and his followers, -who worked on a system, recognising each -other by strict signs and helping each other -to seize and pass away articles of value from hand -to hand along a whole street. Strict order regulated -the conduct of the thieves. Many were forbidden -to use unnecessary violence, killing was only -permitted in self defence, the same person was never -to be robbed twice, and some were entrusted with -the password of the band as a safe conduct through -a crowd.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the personality of Cartouche was -constantly concealed. Some went so far as to declare -that he was a myth and did not exist in the -flesh. Yet the suspicion grew into certainty that -Paris was at the mercy of a dangerous combination, -directed by and centred in one astute and capable -leader. Thieves taken red-handed had revealed -upon the rack the identity of Cartouche and the -government was adjured to effect his capture, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> -without result. So daring did he become that he -openly showed himself at carnival time with five of -his chief lieutenants and defied arrest.</p> - -<p>Cartouche was a popular hero, for he pretended -to succor the poor with the booty he took from the -rich. He was a species of Parisian Fra Diavolo, -and many stories were invented in proof of his generosity, -his sense of humor and his kindliness to -those in distress. As a matter of fact he was a -brutal, black-hearted villain, whose most prominent -characteristic was his constant loyalty to his followers, -by which he secured their unswerving attachment -and by means of it worked with such -remarkable success. To this day his name survives -as the prototype of a criminal leader, directing the -wide operations of a well organised gang of depredators -that swept all before them. Their exploits -were at times marvellous, both in initiative and execution, -and owed everything to Cartouche. One -among many stories told of him may be quoted as -illustrating his ingenious methods. It was a robbery -from the chief officer of the watch, from whom -he stole a number of silver forks in broad daylight, -and while actually engaged in conversation with -his victim. Cartouche arrived at this official’s house -in his carriage, accompanied by two tall flunkeys -in gorgeous livery. He announced himself as an -Englishman, and was shown into the dining-room, -where dinner was in progress. Cartouche declined -to take a seat, but contrived to lead the host to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> -corner of the room where he regaled him with a -fabulous story of how an attack was being organised -by Cartouche on his house. The officer -quite failed to recognise his visitor, and listened -with profound attention. It was not until after -Cartouche had left that it was discovered that not -a single fork or spoon remained upon his table, the -silver having been adroitly abstracted by Cartouche, -who passed it unseen to his confederates—the disguised -footmen who had accompanied him. Many -similar thefts were committed by Cartouche and his -gang, one victim being the Archbishop of Bourges.</p> - -<p>Cartouche, by his cleverness in disguise, long -escaped capture, and it was not until October 15th, -1721, that he was finally caught and arrested. His -capture naturally created an immense sensation in -Paris, and became the universal topic of conversation. -Cartouche had been traced to a wine shop, -where he was found in bed by M. le Blanc, an -employé of the War Ministry, who had with him -forty picked soldiers and a number of policemen. -Orders had been issued to take Cartouche, dead or -alive. His capture came about through a patrol -soldier who had recognised Cartouche and acted as -a spy on his movements. This man had been carried -to the Châtelet by Pekom, major of the Guards, -and when threatened with the utmost rigor of the -law confessed all he knew about the prince of -thieves. The prisoner was taken first to the residence -of M. le Blanc and afterwards to the Châtelet.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> -It was found necessary to be extremely circumspect -with Cartouche on account of his violence, and his -cell was closely guarded by four men. Cartouche -soon made an attempt to escape in company with a -fellow occupant of his cell, who happened to be a -mason. Having made a hole in a sewer passage -below, they dropped into the water, waded to the -end of the gallery and finally reached the cellar -of a greengrocer in the neighborhood thence they -emerged into the shop, and were on the verge of -escape, but the barking of the greengrocer’s dog -aroused the inmates of the house, who gave the -alarm, and four policemen, who happened to be in -the neighborhood, came to the rescue. Cartouche -was recognised, captured and again imprisoned, -being now securely chained by his feet and hands. -He was later transferred to the Conciergerie and -more closely watched than ever during his trial, -which was concluded on November 26th, 1721, -when sentence was passed upon him and two accomplices. -On the day following, Cartouche was -subjected to the torture “extraordinary” by means -of the “boot,” which he endured without yielding, -and refused to make any confession. The scaffold, -meanwhile was erected in the Place de Grève where -the carpenters put up five wheels and two gibbets. -Directly the place of execution became known in -Paris, the streets were filled with large crowds of -people and windows overlooking the Grève were -let at high prices. Apparently the magistrates<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> -did not care to gratify the curiosity of the -public, and before the afternoon four of the -wheels and one of the gibbets were removed. -Towards four o’clock Charles Sanson, the executioner -of the Court of Justice, went to the Conciergerie, -accompanied by his assistants, and sentence -was read to the culprit, who was afterwards handed -over to the secular arm. Cartouche had displayed -no emotion throughout the trial. He no doubt -thought himself a hero, and wished to die amidst -the applause of the people who had long feared him. -When, however, the cortège started, Cartouche began -to grow uneasy and finally his stolid indifference -completely gave way. On reaching the Place -de Grève he noticed that only one wheel remained, -and his agitation became intense. He repeatedly -exclaimed, “<i>Les frollants!</i>” “<i>Les frollants!</i>” (the -traitors), thinking his accomplices had been induced -to confess, and had betrayed him. Now his stoicism -vanished, and he insisted upon being taken back to -the Hôtel de Ville to confess his sins. On the following -morning great crowds again assembled to -witness the execution. The condemned man had -lost his bravado, but still displayed strange firmness. -His natural instincts appeared when he was placed -on the <i>Croix de St. André</i>, and the dull thud of the -iron bar descending extorted the exclamation -“One” from him, as if it was his business to count -the number of blows to be inflicted. Although it -had been stipulated at the passing of sentence that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> -Cartouche should be strangled after a certain number -of strokes, the excitement of the clerk of the -Court caused him to withhold the fact from the executioner; -and so great was the strength of Cartouche -that it required eleven blows to break him -on the wheel.</p> - -<p>Other executions speedily followed. Scaffold -and gibbet were kept busy till 1722, and in the succeeding -years five females whom Cartouche had -found useful as auxiliaries to his society were put -upon their trial, sentenced and executed. Many -receivers of stolen goods were also brought to account -before the long series of crimes that had -defied the police was finally ended.</p> - -<p>In these days the prevailing discontent against -the ruling authority found voice in the manner so -often exhibited by a ground-down and severely -repressed people. This was the age of the libellist -and the pamphleteer, and the incessant proceedings -against them brought in fresh harvests to the Bastile. -The class was comprehensive, and its two -extremes ranged between a great literary genius -such as Voltaire and the petty penny-a-liner, who -frequently found a lodging in the State prisons. -Of the last named category the most prolific was -Gatien Sandras de Courtilz, who produced about -a hundred volumes of satirical, political pamphlets -and fictitious histories. Such a man was for ever -within four walls or in hiding beyond the frontier. -Leniency was wasted on him. Upon a petition to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> -the Chancellor Pontchartrain, an inquiry was instituted -into the reasons of his imprisonment with -the result that he was released. Within two years -he was found again distributing libels, and was -again thrown into the Bastile, this time to remain -there for ten years.</p> - -<p>A curious specimen of this class distinguished -himself in the following reign,—a certain Abbé -Nicolas Lenglet-Dufresnoy, who was for ever in -and out of the Bastile. He is spoken of as a man of -wit and learning, an indefatigable worker, a fearless -writer, but of very indifferent honesty, venial to -the last degree, to be bought at any time and ready -for any baseness, even to espionage. Isaac d’Israeli -mentions him in his “Curiosities of Literature” -and in terms of praise as a man of much erudition -with a fluent, caustic pen and daring opinions. He -earned a calm contempt for the rubs of evil fortune, -and when a fresh arrest was decreed against him, he -accepted it with a light heart. He well knew his -way to the Bastile. At the sight of the officer, -who came to escort him to prison, he would pick -up his night-cap and his snuff-box, gather his papers -together and take up his quarter in the old familiar -cell where he had already done so much good work. -He suffered seven distinct imprisonments in the -Bastile between 1718 and 1752, and saw also the inside -of the prisons of Vincennes, Strasbourg and -For-l’Évêque. At his last release he signed the -following declaration:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Being at liberty, I promise, in conformity with -the orders of the King, to say nothing of the prisoners -or other things concerning the Bastile, which -may have come to my knowledge. In addition to -this I acknowledge that all my good silver and -papers and effects which I brought to the said castle -have been restored to me.”</p> - -<p>Lenglet rendered one important service to the -State, the discovery of the Cellamare-Alberoni conspiracy, -but he would not proceed in the affair until -he had been assured that no lives should be sacrificed. -He was a painstaking writer, and kept one -manuscript by him for fifty-five years; it was, however, -a work on visions and apparitions, and he was -a little afraid of publishing it to the world. His -end came by a strange accident. He fell into the -fire as he slept over a “modern book” and was -burned to death. He was then eighty years of age.</p> - -<p>Among the smaller people, scribblers and second -rate litterateurs, who were consigned to the Bastile, -was Roy, an impudent rascal, who lampooned royalty -and royal things, and impertinently attacked -the Spanish ambassador. All Paris was moved by -his arrest, his papers were sealed and he was treated -as of more importance than he deserved. After -four months’ detention he was released, and banished -from Paris to a distance of ninety leagues. -He soon returned and published a defamatory ode -on the French generals. General de Moncrieff met -Roy in the streets, boxed his ears and kicked him,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> -but although the poet wore his sword he did not -defend himself. Roy raged furiously against the -Academy which would not elect him a member and -wrote a stinging epigram when the Comte de Clermont -of the blood royal was chosen. The Comte -paid a ruffian to give him a thrashing, which was -so severe that the poet, now eighty years of age, -succumbed to the punishment.</p> - -<p>Another literary prisoner of more pretensions -was the Abbé Prevost, author of the well known -<i>Manon Lescaut</i>, the only work which has survived -out of the 170 books he wrote in all. He was -a Jesuit, who joined the order of the Benedictines, -but fled from their house in St.-Germain-des-Prés, -and went about Paris freely. He was arrested by -the police and sent back to his monastery. For -seven years he remained quiet, but when at length -he proposed to publish new works in order “to impose -silence upon the malignity of his enemies,” a -<i>lettre de cachet</i> was issued to commit him to the -Bastile. The Prince de Conti came to his help, and -gave him money with which he escaped to Brussels.</p> - -<p>Voltaire’s first connection with the Bastile was -in 1717, when he was only twenty-two years of age, -a law student in Paris. He had already attracted -attention by his insolent lampoons on the Regent -and the government, and had been banished from -Paris for writing an epigram styled the <i>Bourbier</i>, -“the mud heap.” This new offence was a scandalous -Latin inscription and some scathing verses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> -which, according to a French writer, would have -been punished under Louis XIV with imprisonment -for life. He took his arrest very lightly. The officer -who escorted him to the Bastile reports: -“Arouet (Voltaire) joked a good deal on the road, -saying he did not think any business was done on -feast days, that he did not mind going to the Bastile -but hoped he would be allowed to continue taking -his milk, and that if offered immediate release -he would beg to remain a fortnight longer.” His -detention ran on from week to week into eleven -months, which he employed in writing two of his -masterpieces, <i>La Henriade</i> and <i>Œdipe</i>, the latter his -first play to have a real success when put upon the -stage.</p> - -<p>Voltaire, when released, was ordered to reside at -Chatenay with his father, who had a country house -there, and offered to be responsible for him. The -charge was onerous, and the young man was sent to -Holland to be attached to the French ambassador, -but he soon drifted back to Paris, where he remained -in obscurity for seven years. Now he came -to the front as the victim of a personal attack by -bravos in the pay of the Chevalier de Rohan, by -whom he was severely caned. The poet had offended -the nobility by his insolent airs. Voltaire -appealed for protection, and orders were issued to -arrest De Rohan’s hirelings if they could be found. -The poet sought satisfaction against the moving -spirit, and having gone for a time into the country<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> -to practise fencing, returned to Paris and challenged -the Chevalier, when he met him in the dressing-room -of the famous actress, Adrienne Lecouvreur. -The duel was arranged, but the De Rohan family -interposed and secured Voltaire’s committal to the -Bastile, when he wrote to the Minister Herault:</p> - -<p>“In the deplorable condition in which I find myself -I implore your kindness. I have been sent to -the Bastile for having pursued with too much haste -and ardor the established laws of honor. I was set -upon publicly by six persons, and I am punished -for the crime of another because I did not wish to -hand him over to justice. I beg you to use your -credit to obtain leave for me to go to England.”</p> - -<p>Leave was granted, accompanied with release, -and in due course Voltaire arrived in London, -where he remained three years. This period tended -greatly to develop his mental qualities. “He went -a discontented poet, he left England a philosopher, -the friend of humanity,” says Victor Cousin. He -became a leader among the men who, as Macaulay -puts it, “with all their faults, moral and intellectual, -sincerely and earnestly desired the improvement of -the condition of the human race, whose blood boiled -at the sight of cruelty and injustice, who made manful -war with every faculty they possessed on what -they considered as abuses, and who on many signal -occasions placed themselves gallantly between the -powerful and the oppressed.”</p> - -<p>Voltaire was presently permitted to return to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> -Paris. Minister Maurepas wrote him: “You may -go to Paris when you like and even reside there.... -I am persuaded you will keep a watch upon -yourself at Paris, and do nothing calculated to get -you into trouble.” The warning was futile. Within -four years he was once more arrested and lodged in -the castle prison of Auxonne, with strict orders that -he was never to leave the interior of the castle. His -offences were blasphemy and a bitter attack upon -the Stuarts. He had, moreover, published his -“Lettres Philosophiques,” and a new <i>lettre de cachet</i> -was to be issued, but he was given time and opportunity -to make his escape into Germany. The work -was, however, burned by the public executioner, and -the wretched publisher sent to the Bastile, after the -confiscation of all his stock, which meant total ruin. -Prison history is not further concerned with Voltaire. -His friendship with Frederick the Great, his -long retreat in Switzerland and the fierce criticisms -and manifestoes he fulminated from Ferney must -be sought elsewhere.</p> - -<p>Reference has been made in a previous page to -the Cellamare-Alberoni conspiracy first detected by -Abbé Lenglet, which had for object the removal -of the Duc d’Orleans from the Regency and the -convocation of the States General, the first organised -effort towards more popular government in -France. A secondary aim was a coalition of the -powers to re-establish the Stuart dynasty in England. -Nothing came of the conspiracy, but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> -arrest of those implicated. Among them were the -Duc and Duchesse de Maine. A certain Mdlle. de -Launay, who was a waiting woman of the Duchess, -staunchly refused to betray her mistress and was -imprisoned in the Bastile. Out of this grew a rather -romantic love story. The King’s lieutenant of the -Bastile, a certain M. de Maison Rougé, an old cavalry -officer, was greatly attracted by Mdlle. de -Launay. “He conceived the greatest attachment -that any one ever had for me,” she writes in her -amusing memoirs. “He was the only man by -whom I think I was ever really loved.” His devotion -led him to grant many privileges to his prisoner, -above all in allowing her to open a correspondence -with another inmate of the Bastile, the -Chevalier de Ménil,—also concerned in the Cellamare -conspiracy,—with whom she had a slight -acquaintance. M. de Maison Rougé went so far -as to allow them to meet on several occasions, and, -much to his chagrin, the pair fell desperately in love -with each other. Mdlle. de Launay expected to -marry the Chevalier after their release, but on -getting out of the Bastile she found herself forgotten. -Some fifteen years later she became the -wife of Baron de Staal, an ex-officer of the Swiss -Guards under the Duc de Maine. She must not be -confused, of course, with the Madame de Staël of -Napoleon’s time.</p> - -<p>While some prisoners like Masers Latude—of -whom more directly—followed their natural bent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> -in making the most daring and desperate attempts -to escape from the Bastile, there were one or two -cases in which men showed a strong reluctance to -leave it. One of the victims of the Cellamare conspiracy -was an ex-cavalry officer, the Marquis de -Bonrepas, who had been shut up for four or five -years. He found friends abroad who sought to -obtain his release. But he received the offer of liberty -with a very bad grace, declaring his preference -for the prison. He was a veteran soldier, old, poor -and without friends, and he was only persuaded to -leave the Bastile on the promise of a home at the -Invalides with a pension. A doctor of the University, -François du Boulay, was sent to the Bastile in -1727 and remained there forty-seven years. Then, -when Louis XVI ascended the throne, search was -made through the registers for meet subjects for the -King’s pardon, and Du Boulay was one of those -recommended for discharge. He went out and -deeply regretted it. He was quite friendless and -could find no trace of any member of his family. -His house had been pulled down and a public edifice -built upon the site. He had been quite happy in the -Bastile, and begged that he might return there. -His prayer was refused, however, and he withdrew -altogether from the world and passed the rest of -his days in complete solitude.</p> - -<p>The name of Latude, mentioned above, is classed -in prison history with those of Baron Trenck, Sack, -Shepherd, Casanova and “Punch” Howard as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> -heroes of the most remarkable prison escapes on -record. He is best known as Latude, but he had -many aliases,—Jean Henri, Danry, Dawyer, -Gedor; and his offence was that of seeking to curry -favor with Madame de Pompadour by falsely informing -her that her life was in danger. He -warned her carefully to avoid opening a box that -would reach her through the post, which, in fact, -was sent by himself. It enclosed a perfectly harmless -white powder. Then having despatched it he -went in person and on foot to Versailles expecting -to be handsomely rewarded for saving the life of -the King’s favorite.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately for Latude the innocuous nature -of the powder was disbelieved, and the mere possibility -of foul play sufficed to raise suspicion. Both -Louis XV and his mistress shivered at the very -whisper of poison. The police promptly laid hands -upon the author of this sorry trick, and he was committed -to Vincennes to begin an imprisonment -which lasted, with short intervals of freedom after -his escapes, for thirty-four years. Latude was well -treated and was visited by the King’s doctor, as it -was thought his mind was deranged. He was, -however, keen witted enough to snatch at the first -chance of escape. When at exercise in the garden, -apparently alone, a dog ran against the door and it -fell open. Latude instantly stepped through and -got into the open fields, through which he ran for -his life, and made his way into Paris, to the house<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> -of a friend, one Duval. Thence he wrote a letter -to Madame de Pompadour beseeching her forgiveness -and imprudently giving his address. The authorities -at once laid hands upon him, and after being -no more than twenty-four hours at large he was -once more imprisoned, this time in the Bastile.</p> - -<p>He now found a prison companion with whom -his fortunes were to be closely allied, one Allégre, -who had been accused of the same crime, that of -attempting to poison Madame de Pompadour. Allégre, -who in the end died in a lunatic asylum, was -a violent, unmanageable and hardly responsible -prisoner. He always denied the charges brought -against him, as did also Latude. The two joined -forces in giving trouble and breaking the prison -rules. They were caught in clandestine conversation -with others, from floor to floor in the Bazinière -Tower, and in passing tobacco to each other. Latude -addressed an indignant appeal against his treatment -to the authorities, written upon linen with his -blood. He complained of his food, demanded fish -for breakfast, declaring he could not eat eggs, artichokes -or spinach, and would pay out of his own -pocket for different food. He became enraged when -these requests were refused. When fault was found -with his misuse of the linen, he asked for paper and -more shirts. He got the former, and began a fresh -petition of interminable length and, when the governor -grew weary of waiting for it, threw it into the -fire.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span></p> - -<p>As the chamber occupied by Latude and Allégre -was in the basement and liable to be flooded by the -inundation of the Seine, it became necessary to remove -them to another. This was more favorable -to escape, and to this they now turned their attention -with the strange ingenuity and unwearied patience -so often displayed by captives. The reason -for Latude’s demand for more shirts was now explained. -For eighteen months they worked unceasingly, -unravelling the linen and with the thread -manufacturing a rope ladder three hundred feet in -length. The rungs were of wood made from the -fuel supplied for their fire daily. These articles -were carefully concealed under the floor. When all -was ready, Latude took stock of their productions. -There was 1,400 feet of linen rope and 208 rungs -of wood, the rungs encased in stuff from the linings -of their dressing gowns, coats and waistcoats to -muffle the noise of the ladder as it swung against -the wall of the Tower.</p> - -<p>The actual escape was effected by climbing up -the interior of the chimney of their room, having -first dislodged the chimney bars, which they took -with them. On reaching the roof, they lowered the -ladder and went down it into the ditch, which was -fourteen feet deep in water. Notwithstanding this, -they attacked the outer wall with their chimney -bars of iron, and after eight hours’ incessant labor -broke an opening through its ponderous thickness -and despite the fear of interruption from patrols<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> -passing outside with flaming torches. Both fugitives -when at large hastened to leave Paris. Allégre -got as far as Brussels, whence he wrote an abusive -letter to Madame de Pompadour, and at the instance -of the French King was taken into custody and -lodged in the prison at Lille, thence escorted to the -frontier and so back to the Bastile. Latude took -refuge, but found no safety, in Amsterdam. His -whereabouts was betrayed by letters to his mother -which were intercepted. He, too, was reinstalled in -the Bastile—after four brief months of liberty.</p> - -<p>Latude’s leadership in the escapades seems to -have been accepted as proved, and he was now more -harshly treated than his associate, Allégre. He lay -in his cell upon straw in the very lowest depths of -the castle, ironed, with no blankets and suffering -much from the bitter cold. For three years and -more he endured this, and was only removed when -the Seine once more overflowed and he was all but -drowned in his cell. The severity shown him was to -be traced to the trouble his escape had brought upon -his gaolers, who were reprimanded, fined and otherwise -punished. The only alleviation of his misery -was the permission to remove half his irons, those -of his hands or feet.</p> - -<p>As the years passed, this harsh treatment was -somewhat mitigated, but the effect on Latude was -only to make him more defiant and irreconcilable. -He found many ways of annoying the authorities. -He broke constantly into noisy disturbances. “This<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> -prisoner,” it is reported, “has a voice of thunder, -which can be heard all through and outside the Bastile. -It is impossible for me to repeat his insults -as I have too much respect for the persons he mentioned.” -Not strangely, his temper was irritable. -He swore over his dinner because it was not served -with a larded fowl. He was dissatisfied with the -clothes provided for him, and resented complying -with the rules in force. When a tailor was ordered -to make him a dressing-gown, a jacket and breeches, -he wished to be measured, whereas, according to the -rules of the Bastile, the tailor cut out new clothes -on the pattern of the old.</p> - -<p>The conduct of Allégre (who was no doubt mad) -was worse. He was dangerous and tried to stab -his warders. Then he adopted the well known -prison trick of “breaking out,” of smashing everything -breakable in his cell, all pottery, glass, tearing -up his mattress and throwing the pieces out of the -window, destroying his shirts, “which cost the -King twenty francs apiece,” and his pocket handkerchiefs, -which were of cambric. He had nothing -on his body but his waistcoat and his breeches. “If -he be not mad he plays the madman very well,” -writes the governor, and again: “This prisoner -would wear out the patience of the most virtuous -Capuchin.” The medical opinion on his state was -not definite, but he was removed to Charenton, the -famous lunatic asylum, and confined there in a new -cage.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p> - -<p>Fifteen years had passed since his first arrest. -Latude continued to forward petitions for his release, -and always got the same answer, that the -proper moment for it had not yet arrived. But he -was once more transferred to Vincennes and again -managed to escape. Taking advantage of the evident -laxity of supervision he slipped away in a -fog. He could not keep quiet but wrote to M. de -Sartine, now the Lieutenant of Police, offering -terms. If he were paid 30,000 francs for the plans -and public papers he had drawn up, he was willing -to forget and forgive the cruelties practised upon -him. Failing to receive a reply, he went in person -to Fontainebleau to press his case upon the Duc de -Choiseul, who forthwith ordered him back into -imprisonment. After three weeks of freedom he -found himself again inside Vincennes.</p> - -<p>As time passed, he also exhibited signs of madness, -and was at last also transferred for a time to -Charenton, from which he was finally released in -1777. He went out on the 5th of June with orders to -reside at Montagnac, and in little more than a month -was again in trouble for writing his memoirs a little -too openly. He passed through the Little Châtelet -and thence to Bicêtre, the semi prison-asylum, and -stayed there generally in an underground cell and -on the most meagre diet for seven more years, and -was then interned once more at Montagnac. The -latest official account of him was in Paris, living on -a pension of 400 francs a year from the treasury;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> -but a public subscription was got up for him, and -after the Revolution, in 1793, the heirs of Madame -de Pompadour were sentenced to allow him an income -of 70,000 francs a year. Only a part of this -was paid, but they gave him a small farm on which -he lived comfortably until his death at eighty years -of age.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a><br /> -<span class="smaller">LAST DAYS OF THE BASTILE</span></h2> - -<p class="summary">Closing days of the Bastile—Latest inmates—Lally-Tollendal -suffers death for alleged treason—Damiens attempts -life of Louis XV—Sentence and execution—Dumouriez in -the Bastile—Linguet and his experiences—Marquis de -Sade—Cagliostro—The Revolution—Attack upon the -Bastile—Weakly defended—Garrison massacred—De -Launay, the governor, murdered—Demolition of the Bastile—Last -days of Vincennes—The Temple prison survives -in part—The last home of Louis XVI—Prisons in -great request through Revolutionary epoch—Treatment in -them more horrible than in old days—Unlimited atrocities.</p> - -<p>The days of the Bastile’s existence were numbered. -It had not long to stand, but it maintained -its reputation to the last. Philosophers, princes, -libellous poets, unfortunate commanders and traitors -to the State rubbed shoulders within.</p> - -<p>De La Chalotais, the Attorney-General of Brittany, -was committed in connection with a rising in -his province and disputes with its Governor, the Duc -d’Aiguillon; but chiefly for his hostility to the -Jesuits,—a circumstance which culminated in the -expulsion of the society from France and many of -the Catholic countries of Europe. The Prince of -Courland, Charles Ernest, an undeniable swindler<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> -and adventurer, was arrested and sent to the Bastile -on a charge of forgery and detained there for -three months. Marmontel, the historian, was committed, -accused of writing a satire against the Duc -d’Aumont, and has preserved an interesting account -of his reception in the Castle.</p> - -<p>“The Governor, after reading my letters,” writes -the historian, “allowed me to retain my valet.... -I was ushered into a vast chamber, in which were -two beds, two baths, a chest of drawers and three -straw chairs. It was cold, but the gaoler made a good -fire and brought plenty of wood. At the same time -he gave me pen and ink and paper on condition of -giving an account of how each sheet was employed. -I found fault with my bed; said the mattresses were -bad and the blankets unclean. All was instantly -changed.... The Bastile library was placed at my -disposal, but I had brought my own books.” The -dinner brought him was excellent. It was a <i>maigre</i> -day and the soup was of white beans and very fresh -butter, a dish of salt cod for second service, also -very good. This proved to be the servant’s dinner -and a second came in for Marmontel himself, served -on china and fine linen with forks and spoons in -silver, and was <i>gras</i>, consisting of an excellent -soup, a succulent slice of beef, the fat leg of a boiled -capon, a dish of artichokes, some spinach, a fine pear, -some grapes, a bottle of old Burgundy and a cup -of fragrant coffee. After all this he was still offered -a chicken for supper. “On the whole,” says Mar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>montel, -“I found that one dined very well in -prison.” His stay in the Bastile was for a few days -only, as the libel was the work of another, whom -Marmontel would not betray.</p> - -<p>Scant favor was shown to French officers of those -days who were unsuccessful in war. One Dutreil -was accused of misconduct in the defence of Martinique, -and after trial by court martial was sentenced -to military disgrace, to have his sword -broken, the cross of St. Louis torn from his breast, -and to be imprisoned for life. He came first to the -Bastile with two other officers and passed on thence -to the Isle of Sainte Marguerite to occupy the same -prison as the whilom “Man with the Iron Mask.” -The harsh measure meted out to French officers who -failed is much commented upon by the French historians. -Too often disaster was directly traceable -to neglect to provide means and the lack of proper -support. It was seen already in India, and Dupleix -bitterly complained that the government gave him -no assistance, kept him ill supplied with money and -sent out the most indifferent troops.</p> - -<p>A very prominent and very flagrant case was that -of Count Lally-Tollendal, who was denounced as -having betrayed the interests of France, and caused -the loss of her Indian possessions. He was of Irish -extraction, a hot-headed, hare-brained Irishman, -whose military skill was unequal to a difficult campaign. -His had been an eventful career. He became -a soldier in his tender years, and held a com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>mission -in Dillon’s Irish regiment when no more -than twelve and was engaged in the siege of Barcelona. -He rose quickly to the command of a regiment, -and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general -at the early age of thirty-seven. At one -time he conceived a plan for landing a body of ten -thousand on the English coast to support the rights -of the Pretender, and spent a large portion of his -fortune in the carrying out of the scheme, which, -of course, came to nothing. During his career as -commander in India, the Count committed very -grievous blunders, and lacked the tact and diplomacy -which had brought success to his great predecessor, -Dupleix. Count Lally began by committing -fearful excesses, and showed his contempt for the -native religion by desecrating the most honored -temples and sanctuaries. He triumphed over the -English for a time, and drove them back into the -heart of the country, whence they turned and attacked -afresh; and having delayed his retreat he -was defeated with considerable loss. Other disasters -speedily followed until he was eventually surrounded -and besieged in Pondichéry, which he -defended and held with desperate bravery, but was -forced at last to surrender.</p> - -<p>Lally became a prisoner of war at the fall of -Pondichéry and was sent to England. He heard -there of the storm of abuse that was vented upon -him in Paris, and he asked permission to go over -and stand his trial. He was released on parole for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> -the purpose, and arrived in his native country, taking -with him “his head and his innocence,” as he -wrote to the Duc de Choiseul. A man of fierce -temper and overbearing demeanor, he had made -numerous enemies and incurred the bitter jealousy -of his colleague, the naval commander in Indian -waters, Comte d’Ache. When brought to trial after -a long and wearisome detention for fifteen months -in the Bastile, the long list of charges against him -contained many that were pitiful and contemptible. -When at last arraigned, the trial lingered on for -more than a year and a half, when fresh evidence -was found among the papers of Father Lavuar, the -superior of the Jesuits in Pondichéry. The priest -had gone to Paris to claim a pension from the government, -but died suddenly, and it was found that he -had left a large amount of gold and a number of -documents compromising Lally-Tollendal’s character -and accusing him of treason and malversation. -This testimony was accepted and led to his conviction -and sentence to death.</p> - -<p>His demeanor during his trial won him a certain -sympathy with the crowd. The vehemence of his -denials of guilt and his violent temper impressed -people with an idea that he was a much wronged -man. In England he had many apologists and supporters. -It was said on his behalf that he went to -India a perfect stranger to the country, he made -native allies who proved false to him, his troops -mutinied, he had no horsemen; yet he took ten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> -fortresses, won nine battles and made a good fight -until he was out-numbered, and all through was -badly seconded by his own officers. Voltaire’s -opinion of him is worth quoting: “I am persuaded -that Lally was no traitor. I believe him to have -been an odious man, a bad man, if you will, who -deserved to be killed by any one except the executioner.” -Again, “It is very certain that his bad -temper brought him to the scaffold. He is the only -man who ever lost his head for being brutal.”</p> - -<p>The sentence of the Parliament was death by -decapitation, and Lally was sent from the Bastile -to the Conciergerie to hear his sentence. Great precautions -were taken along the road as it was feared -the populace might make some demonstration in his -favor. He resented being compelled to kneel to hear -sentence, and was greatly incensed when told he -must die. “But what have I done?” he vainly protested. -The sentence produced a great effect upon -him, but he regained his self-possession on returning -to the Bastile. Many persons interceded on his -behalf, but the King remained unmoved, although -public opinion remained the same and disapproved -of his execution. The authorities, however, feared -that the people might be inclined to rescue him, and -therefore ordered him to be gagged while being led -to the Place de Grève. The Count strongly resisted -this mode of treatment, but the gag was placed in -his mouth, and he was otherwise held in check. -Just before the execution took place he ordered the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> -headsman, young Sanson, to remove a handsome -vest he (Lally) was wearing, composed of the -golden tissue made only in India, and directed that -it should be presented to the executioner’s father, -who was also present. The first blow from the -younger was not successful, so the final act was -performed by old Sanson, and was greeted with a -cry of horror from the assembled crowds.</p> - -<p>A hundred and fifty years had elapsed since -Ravaillac had suffered for the assassination of -Henri Quatre and had brought no diminution of -the savage cruelty of the French criminal law. In -1757 the extreme penalty was inflicted upon another -culprit who had dared to lift his hand against the -cowardly voluptuary who occupied the throne, and -in precisely the same bloodthirsty and abominable -fashion. Ravaillac killed his victim; Damiens did -no more than prick his man with the small blade -of a horn handled penknife. Louis XV was so -frightened at this pitiful wound that he “trembled -between the sheets,” under the strong belief that -the weapon had been poisoned. A confessor was -instantly summoned, and absolution was pronounced -after the King had detailed his sins. This -absolution was repeated aloud every minute of the -night.</p> - -<p>What had actually happened? It was an intensely -cold night, the 5th of January, 1757, and the -King, clad in his furs, came down-stairs at Versailles -to enter his carriage. A crowd of courtiers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> -footmen and an escort surrounded the doorway as -the King emerged on the arm of his grand equerry. -Suddenly the King exclaimed, “Some one has -struck me and pricked me with a pin. That man -there!” and as he spoke he inserted his hand beneath -his fur coat, to find it smeared with blood -when he withdrew it. “That is certainly the man,” -added the King, pointing to Damiens. “Let him -be arrested, but do not kill him.” In the wild confusion -that now arose, Damiens might easily have -slunk away, but he stood his ground and was seized -by the guards. Immediate vengeance was wreaked -by his removal to the nearest guard-house, where -he was put to the torture by the application of red-hot -irons to his legs, but he would say no more than -that he had not desired to kill the King, but only -to give him a salutary warning.</p> - -<p>Deep anxiety prevailed when this trifling attempt -upon the life of a worthless, self-indulgent -monarch was known through the country. The -story was exaggerated absurdly. “This fearful attempt -is of a nature to cause so just an alarm that -I do not lose a moment,” writes one of the ministers, -“in diminishing your apprehension and acquainting -you with the facts of this terrible event.” -After “the terrible accident,” the King was bled -twice. “The wound is healthy, there is no fever, -and he is perfectly tranquil, and would be inclined -to sleep, were it not that the wound is on the right -side, that on which his Majesty is accustomed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> -lie,” continued the minister. The provinces were -greatly excited. “I found the whole city of Bordeaux -in the greatest consternation,” writes the -Lieutenant-Governor of Guienne. At Aix the -courier was expected with breathless impatience, -and good news was received with shouts of joy -and clapping of hands. The delight at Marseilles -when good news came was equal to the terror inspired -by the first evil report.</p> - -<p>Damiens was taken straight to the Conciergerie, -where the legal machinery could be best set in motion -for his trial and the preliminary torture. His conviction -was a foregone conclusion, and his sentence -in all its hideous particulars was on exactly the same -lines as that of Ravaillac. He was to be subjected -to the question, ordinary and extraordinary, to make -the <i>amende honorable</i>, to have his right arm severed, -his flesh torn off his body with red-hot pincers, -and finally, while still alive, to be torn asunder limb -from limb by teams of horses in the Place de Grève. -The whole of the details are preserved in contemporary -accounts; but having been described in the case -of Ravaillac, they are too brutal and revolting for a -second reproduction.</p> - -<p>The motive by which Damiens was led to this -attempted crime is generally attributed to his disapproval -of the King’s licentious life. Louis so -thought it, and for a time was disposed to mend his -ways, to give up the infamous <i>Parc aux Cerfs</i> where -he kept a harem, and to break with Madame de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> -Pompadour. But the favorite was not dismissed -from the apartments she occupied upon the top floor -of the palace at Versailles, and the King still saw -her from day to day. Her anxiety must have been -great while the King’s wound was still uncured, for -she feigned illness and was constantly bled; but -she soon recovered her health when she was reinstalled -as the King’s mistress. The occasion had -been improved by the Jesuits, for the King when -sick was very much in the hands of the priests; but -de Pompadour triumphed, and the matter ended in -their serious discomfiture and expulsion from -France.</p> - -<p>Although Damiens did not himself see the interior -of the Bastile, many persons suspected of -collusion in the crime were committed to it; some -supposed to be accomplices, others as apologists or -as authors of lampoons and satirical verses. Among -the prisoners were Damiens’s nearest relations, his -wife and daughters, his father, mother, nieces, several -abbés, ladies of mature years and young children. -The detention of some of these was brief -enough, but one or two were imprisoned for twenty -odd years. The Dauphin was charged with complicity, -but there was no more proof of it than that -he was little at court, and was known to sympathise -with the Jesuits. As a matter of fact no one was -shown to be privy to the attempt. Damiens, in spite -of the most horrible tortures, never betrayed a soul.</p> - -<p>A story told by Jesse in his “Memoirs of George<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> -Selwyn” may be related here to give a ray of relief -to this sombre picture. The eccentric Englishman -was much addicted to the practice of attending executions. -He went over to Paris on purpose to see -Damiens done to death, and on the day mixed with -the crowd. He was dressed in a plain undress suit -and a plain bob wig, and “a French nobleman observing -the deep interest he took in the scene, and -imagining from the plainness of his attire that he -must be a person in the humbler walks of life, resolved -that he must infallibly be a hangman. ‘<i>Eh -bien, monsieur</i>,’ said he, ‘<i>etes-vous arrive pour voir -ce spectacle?</i>’ ‘<i>Oui, monsieur.</i>’ ‘<i>Vous etes bourreau?</i>’ -‘<i>Non, monsieur</i>,’ replied Selwyn, ‘<i>je n’ai -pas cet honneur, je ne suis qu’un amateur.</i>’”</p> - -<p>Among the latest records affording a graphic -impression of the interior of the Bastile is that of -the French officer Dumouriez, who afterwards became -one of the first, and for a time, most successful -of the Revolutionary generals, who won the battles -of Fleurus and Jernappes and repelled the German -invasion of the Argonne in the west of France. -Dumouriez fled to England to save his head, and -was the ancestor of one also famous, but in the -peaceful fields of literature and art. George Du -Maurier, whose name is held in high esteem -amongst all English speaking races, traced his -family direct to the French <i>emigré</i>, who lived long -and died in London. It is a little curious that the -eminent caricaturist who long brightened the pages<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> -of “Punch” the author of “Trilby,” should be -connected with the French monarchy and the ancient -castle of evil memory.</p> - -<p>The elder Dumouriez was imprisoned as the outcome -of his connection with the devious diplomacy -of his time. He had been despatched on a secret -mission to Sweden on behalf of the King, but the -French Minister of Foreign Affairs suspected foul -play. The movements of Dumouriez were watched, -and he was followed by spies as far as Hamburg, -where he was arrested and brought back to France -straight to the Bastile. He gives a minute account -of his reception.</p> - -<p>First he was deprived of all his possessions, his -money, knife and shoe buckles, lest he should commit -suicide by swallowing them. When he called -for a chicken for his supper, he was told it was a -fast day, Friday, but he indignantly replied that the -major of the Bastile was not the keeper of his conscience -if of his person, and the chicken was provided. -Then he was ushered into his prison apartment, -and found it barely furnished with a wooden -table, a straw bottomed chair, a jar of water and -a dirty bed. He slept well, but was aroused early -to go before the Governor, the Comte de Jumilhac, -who gave him a very courteous and cordial welcome, -but, after denying him books and writing -materials, ended by lending him several novels, -which he begged him to hide. The Governor continued -to treat him as a friend and companion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> -rather than a prisoner. “He came and saw me -every morning and gossiped over society’s doings. -He went so far as to send me lemons and sugar to -make lemonade, a small quantity of coffee, foreign -wine and every day a dish from his own table, when -he dined at home,” he writes. No fault could be -found with the daily fare in the Bastile. The quality -was usually good and the supply abundant. -“There were always five dishes for dinner and -three for supper without counting the dessert.” -Besides, Dumouriez had his own servants, and one -of them, the <i>valet de chambre</i>, was an excellent -cook.</p> - -<p>After a week of solitary confinement, which he -had relieved by entering into communication with -a neighbor, the captain of a Piedmontese regiment, -who had been confined in the Bastile for twenty-two -years for writing a song about Madame de Pompadour, -which had been hawked all over Paris, -Dumouriez was removed to another chamber which -he describes as “a very fine apartment with a good -fireplace.” Near the fireplace was an excellent bed, -which had been slept in by many notable inmates of -the prison. The major of the Bastile said it was -the finest room in the castle, but it had not always -brought good luck. Most of its previous inhabitants, -the Comte de St. Pol, the Maréchal de Biron, -the Chevalier de Rohan and the Count de Lally-Tollendal, -ended their days upon the scaffold. Significant -traces of them were to be found in the sad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> -inscriptions upon the walls. Labourdonnais had inscribed -some “touching reflections;” Lally had -written some remarks in English; and La Chalotais -some paraphrases of the Psalms. Dumouriez’s immediate -predecessor had been a young priest, who -had been forced into taking orders and tried to -evade his vows, inherit an estate and marry the girl -of his choice. He was committed to the Bastile, but -was presently released on writing an impassioned -appeal for liberty.</p> - -<p>Dumouriez was detained only six months in the -Bastile and was then transferred to Caen in Normandy, -where he was handsomely lodged, and had -a garden to walk in. The death of Louis XV and -the complete change of government upon the accession -of the ill-fated Louis XVI immediately released -him. He came to Court and was told at a public -reception that the new King profoundly regretted -the harshness with which he had been treated, and -that the State would make him amends by promotion -and employment.</p> - -<p>With Louis XVI began a milder and more -humane régime, too late, however, to stave off the -swiftly gathering storm that was soon to shake and -shatter France. The King desired to retain no -more State prisoners arbitrarily, and sent a minister -to visit the prisons of the Bastile, Vincennes and -Bicêtre to inquire personally into the cases of all, -and to liberate any against whom there was no definite -charge. He proposed that there should be no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> -more <i>lettres de cachet</i>, and the Bastile became gradually -less and less filled. The committals were -chiefly of offenders against the common law, thieves -and swindlers; but a large contingent of pamphleteers -and their publishers were lodged within its -walls, and one ancient prisoner still lingered to die -there after a confinement of twenty-seven years. -This was Bertin, Marquis de Frateau, guilty of -writing lampoons on Madame de Pompadour, and -originally confined at the request of his own family.</p> - -<p>A man who made more mark was Linguet, whose -“Memoirs,” containing a bitter indictment of the -Bastile, from personal experience, were widely read -both in England and France. They were actually -written in London, to which he fled after imprisonment, -and are now held to be mendacious and untrustworthy. -Linguet had led a strangely varied -life. He had tried many lines—had been in turn -poet, historian, soldier, lawyer, journalist. He -wrote parodies for the Opera Comique and pamphlets -in favor of the Jesuits. Such a man was certain -to find himself in the Bastile. He spent a couple of -years there, and the book he subsequently wrote was -full of the most extravagant and easily refuted lies. -Yet there is reason to believe that his statements -did much to inflame the popular mind and increase -the fierce hatred of the old prison, which ere long -was to lead to its demolition.</p> - -<p>The Bastile also received that infamous creature, -most justly imprisoned, the Marquis de Sade, whose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> -name has been synonymous with the grossest immorality -and is now best known to medical jurisprudence. -Beyond doubt he was a lunatic, a man -of diseased and deranged mind, who was more properly -relegated to Charenton, where he died. He -was at large during the Revolutionary period and -survived it, but dared to offer some of his most -loathsome books to Napoleon, who when First Consul -wrote an order with his own hand for the return -of the Marquis to Charenton as a dangerous and -incurable madman.</p> - -<p>One of the last celebrities confined in the Bastile -was the Cardinal de Rohan, a grandee of the Church -and the holder of many dignities, who was involved -in that famous fraud, dear to dramatists and romance -writers, the affair of the Diamond Necklace. -His confederates, some of whom shared his captivity, -were the well known Italian adventurer and -arch impostor, who went by the name of Cagliostro, -who played upon the credulity of the gullible public -in many countries as a latter day magician, and the -two women, Madame de La Motte-Valois, who devised -the fraud of impersonating the Queen before -de Rohan, and Mdlle. d’Oliva, who impersonated -her.</p> - -<p>We come now to the eventful year 1789, when -the waters were closing over the Bastile, and it was -to sink under the flood and turmoil of popular passion -in the first stormy phase of the French Revolution. -Paris was in the throes of agitation and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> -disturbance, the streets filled with thousands of reckless -ruffians, who terrorised the capital, breaking -into and plundering the shops, the convents, even -the royal <i>Garde-Meuble</i>, the repository of the -Crown jewels; and committing the most violent excesses. -A large force of troops was collected in -and about Paris, more than sufficient to maintain -order had the spirit to do so been present in the -leaders or had they been backed up by authority. -But the King and his Government were too weak -to act with decision, and, as the disorders increased, -it was seen that no reliance could be placed upon -the French Guards, who were ripe for revolt and -determined to fraternise with the people. The -people clamored for arms and ammunition, and -seized upon a large quantity of powder as it was -being removed secretly from Paris. Fifty thousand -pikes were turned out in thirty-six hours.</p> - -<p>Two revolutionary committees directed affairs, -and it was mooted at one of them whether an attack -should not be made upon the Bastile. The more -cautious minds demurred. It would be neither useful -nor feasible to gain possession of the ancient -fortress which, with its guns mounted and its impregnable -walls, might surely make a vigorous resistance. -At last it was decreed to approach the -Governor of the Bastile with peaceful overtures, -asking him to receive a garrison of Parisian citizen-militia -within the place as a measure of public -safety. M. de Launay, the veteran Governor, civilly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> -received the deputations with this proposal, but although -inwardly uneasy would make no concessions. -He awaited orders which never arrived, but -was stoutly determined to do his duty and remain -staunch to the King.</p> - -<p>His position was indeed precarious. The garrison -consisted of a handful of troops, chiefly old -pensioners. The guns on the ramparts were of obsolete -pattern, mostly mounted on marine carriages, -and they could not be depressed or fired except into -the air. Moreover the powder magazine was full, -for the whole stock of powder had been removed -from the Arsenal, where it was exposed to attack -and seizure, and it was now lodged in the cellars of -the Bastile. But the Governor had done his best -to strengthen his defence. Windows had been -barred, and exposed loopholes closed. A bastion -for flanking fire had been thrown out from the -garden wall. Great quantities of paving stones -had been carried up to the tops of the Towers, and -steps taken to pull down the chimney pots,—the -whole for use as missiles to be discharged on the -heads of the besiegers. Nevertheless the place could -not hold out long, for it was almost entirely unprovisioned.</p> - -<p>The attack upon the Bastile appears to have been -precipitated by a cowardly report spread that the -guns of the castle were ranged upon the city and -that a bombardment was threatened. A deputation -was forthwith despatched to the Governor, insist<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>ing -the direction of the guns be changed and inviting -him to surrender. M. de Launay replied that -the guns pointed as they had done from time immemorial, -and that he could not remove them without -the King’s order, but he would withdraw them -from the embrasure. This deputation retired satisfied, -assuring the Governor that he need expect no -attack, and went back to the Hotel de Ville. But -presently an armed mob arrived, shouting that they -must have the Bastile. They were politely requested -to return, but some turbulent spirits insisted -that the drawbridges should be lowered, and when -the first was down, advanced across them, although -repeatedly warned that unless they halted, the garrison -would open fire. But the people, warmed with -their success, pressed on, and a sharp musketry duet -began, and put the assailants to flight in great disorder, -but did not send them far. Presently they -came on again toward the second drawbridge and -prepared to break in by it, when firing was resumed -and many casualties ensued.</p> - -<p>At half past four o’clock in the afternoon three -carts laden with straw were sent forward and used -to set fire to the outbuildings, the guard-house, the -Governor’s residence and the kitchens. A number -of French grenadiers with three hundred citizens -now advanced and made good their entrance; but -the drawbridge was let down behind them and a cry -of treachery arose. Fire was opened on both sides -and a sharp combat ensued. The issue might have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> -been different had the defence been better organised, -but the garrison was small (barely a hundred men), -was short of ammunition, had not taken food for -forty-eight hours, and could make no use of the -artillery. At five o’clock M. de Launay, hopeless -of success, desired to blow up the powder magazine, -urging that voluntary death was preferable to massacre -by the infuriated people. The vote of the -majority was against this desperate means and in -favor of capitulation. Accordingly a white flag -was hoisted on one of the towers to the sound of -the drum, but it was ignored, and the firing continued -amid loud shouts of “Lower the drawbridge! -Nothing will happen to you!” The Governor -thereupon handed over the keys to a subordinate -officer. The mob rushed in and the fate of the -garrison was sealed. The sub-officers, who had laid -down their arms and were unable to defend themselves, -were killed, and so also were the grand -old Swiss Guards, stalwart veterans, who were -slaughtered with but few exceptions.</p> - -<p>In the midst of the affray, M. de Launay was -seized and carried off to the Hotel de Ville. Frenzied -cries of “Hang him! Hang him!” greeted -him on the way, and the unfortunate Governor is -reported to have looked up to Heaven, saying, -“Kill me. I prefer death to insults I have not deserved.” -They now fell upon him from all sides -with bayonet, musket and pike, and as a dragoon -passed, he was called upon to cut off the victim’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> -head. This man, Denot (whose own account has -been followed in this description), essayed first with -a sword, then completed the decapitation with his -knife. The severed head was paraded through -Paris till nightfall on a pike. This was the first -of many similar atrocities. The people, without -restraint, became intoxicated with brutal exultation. -The wildest orgies took place, and the wine shops -were crowded with drunken desperadoes, who were -the heroes of the hour. The now defenceless castle -was visited by thousands to witness its final -destruction. Numbers of carriages passed before -it or halted to watch the demolition as the stones -were thrown down from its towers amid clouds of -dust. Ladies, fashionably dressed, and dandies of -the first water mingled with the half-naked workmen, -and were now jeered at, now applauded. The -most prominent personages, great authors and -orators, celebrated painters, popular actors and actresses, -nobles, courtiers and ambassadors assembled -to view the scene of old France expiring and new -France in the throes of birth.</p> - -<p>The wreck and ruin of the Bastile were speedily -accomplished. The people were undisputed masters, -and they swarmed over the abased stronghold, -filling it from top to bottom. “Some threw -the guns from the battlements into the ditch; others -with pickaxes and hammers labored to undermine -and destroy the towers. These smashed in furniture, -tore and dispersed all the books, registers and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> -records; those laid prompt hands on anything they -fancied. Some looted the rooms and carried off -what they pleased. Strict search was made through -the Bastile for prisoners to set free, yet the cells -were for the most part empty. The committals during -this last reign had not exceeded 190 for the -whole period, and when it capitulated only seven -were in custody. Gruesome rumors prevailed that -several still lingered underground, in deep subterranean -cells; but none were found, nor any skeletons, -when the whole edifice was pulled down.”</p> - -<p>This demolition was voted next year, 1790, by -the committee of the Hotel de Ville, which ordered -that “the antique fortress too long the terror of -patriotism and liberty” should be utterly razed to -its very foundations. The workmen set to work -with so much expedition that in a little more than -three months a portion of the materials was offered -for sale. A sharp competition ensued at the auction, -and the stones were fashioned into mementoes, set -in rings, bracelets and brooches, and fetched high -prices. The contractors for demolition made a -small fortune by the sale of these trinkets.</p> - -<p>Napoleon at first intended to erect his great Arc -de Triomphe upon the site of the Bastile, but -changed his mind and selected the place where it -now stands. The Place de la Bastile remained for -forty years a wilderness—in summer a desert, in -winter a swamp. The revolution of 1830, which -placed Louis Philippe upon the throne of France,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> -was not accomplished without bloodshed, and it -was decided to raise a monument to those who lost -their lives on this somewhat unimportant occasion. -The result was the elegant column, which every -visitor to Paris may admire to-day in the Place de -la Bastile.</p> - -<p>Vincennes, the second State prison of Paris, survived -the Terror and exists to this day converted -into a barracks for artillery. A portion of the -Temple, the especial stronghold of the Knights -Templars already described, still existed in part -when the Revolution came. Strange to say, its -demolition had been contemplated by the Government -of Louis XVI, and it had already partly disappeared -when the storm broke, and rude hands -were laid upon the luckless sovereign who became -a scapegoat, bearing the accumulated sins of a long -line of criminal and self-indulgent monarchs. -When Louis and his family fell into the power of -the stern avengers of many centuries of wrong doing, -they were hurried to the Temple and imprisoned -in the last vestige of the fortress palace. It -stood quite isolated and alone. All had been razed -to the ground but the donjon tower, to which was -attached a small strip of garden enclosed between -high walls. This became the private exercise -ground of the fallen royalties. The King occupied -the first floor of the prison and his family the second -floor. The casements were secured with massive -iron bars, the windows were close shuttered so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> -that light scarcely entered, and those within were -forbidden to look out upon the world below. The -staircase was protected by six wicket gates, each so -low and narrow that it was necessary to stoop and -squeeze to get through. Upon the King’s incarceration -a seventh wicket was added with an iron -bar fixed at the top of the staircase, always locked -and heavily barred. The door opening directly into -the King’s chamber was lined with iron.</p> - -<p>Louis was never left alone. Two guards were -constantly with him day and night, as is the rule to -this day with condemned malefactors in France. -They sat with him in the dining-room when at meals -and slept in the immediate neighborhood of his bedroom. -His guards were in the last degree suspicious, -and he endured many indignities at their -hands. No whispering was allowed, not even with -his wife and children. If he spoke to his valet, who -slept in his room at night, it must be audibly, and -the King was constantly admonished to speak -louder. No writing materials were allowed him at -first. He was forbidden to use pens, ink and paper -until he was arraigned before the National Convention. -But he was not denied the solace of books, -and read and re-read his favorite authors. In Latin -he preferred Livy, Cæsar, Horace, Virgil. In -French he preferred books of travel. For a time he -was supplied with newspapers, but his gaolers disliked -his too great interest in the progress of the -Revolution, and the news of the day was withheld<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> -from him. His reading became the more extensive -and it was calculated on the eve of his death that he -had read through 257 volumes during the five -months and seven days of his captivity in the -Temple.</p> - -<p>The daily routine of his prison life was monotonously -repeated. He rose early and remained at his -prayers till nine o’clock, at which hour his family -joined him in the breakfast room as long as this -was permitted. He ate nothing at that hour but -made it a rule to fast till midday dinner. After -breakfast he found pleasant employment in acting -as schoolmaster to his children. He taught the -little Dauphin Latin and geography, while the -Queen, Marie Antoinette, instructed their daughter -and worked with her needle. Dinner was at one -o’clock. The table was well supplied, but the King -ate sparingly and drank little, the Queen limiting -herself to water with her food. Meat was regularly -served, even on Fridays, for religious observances -no more controlled his keepers, and the King would -limit himself to fast diet by dipping his bread in a -little wine and eating nothing else. The rest of the -day was passed in mild recreation, playing games -with the children till supper at nine o’clock, after -which the King saw his son to bed in the little pallet -prepared by his own hands.</p> - -<p>The time drew on in sickening suspense, but -Louis displayed the unshaken fortitude of one who -could rise above almost intolerable misfortune. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span>sult -and grievous annoyance were heaped upon his -devoted head. His valet was changed continually -so that he might have no faithful menial by his side. -The most humiliating precautions were taken -against his committing suicide—not a scrap of -metal, not even a penknife or any steel instrument -was suffered to be taken in to him. His food was -strictly tested and examined; the prison cook tasted -every dish under the eyes of a sentry, to guard -against the admixture of poison. The most horrible -outrage of all was when the bloodthirsty <i>sans-culottes</i> -thrust in at his cell window the recently -severed and still bleeding head of one of the favorites -of the court, the Princess de Lamballe.</p> - -<p>We may follow out the dreadful story to its murderous -end. Years of tyrannous misgovernment in -France, innumerable deeds of blood and cruel oppression, -such as have been already presented in this -volume, culminated in the sacrifice of the unhappy -representative of a system to which he succeeded -and innocently became responsible for. The bitter -wrongs endured for centuries by a downtrodden -people, goaded at length to the most sanguinary reprisals, -were avenged in the person of a blameless -ruler. Louis XVI was a martyr beyond question; -but he only expiated the sins of his truculent and -ferocious forerunners, who had no pity, no mercy, -no compassion for their weak and helpless subjects. -Louis’ trial, under a parody of justice, and his execution -amid the hideous gibes of a maddened, mer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>ciless -crowd, was the price paid by the last of the -French kings, for years of uncontrolled and arbitrary -authority.</p> - -<p>The day of arraignment, so long and painfully -anticipated, came as a sudden surprise. On Monday, -December 10th, 1793, the captive King when at -his prayers was startled by the beating of drums -and the neighing of horses in the courtyard below -the Donjon. He could not fix his attention on the -morning lesson to his son, and was playing with -him idly when the visit of the Mayor of Paris -roused him and summoned him by the name of Louis -Capet to appear at the bar of the Convention. He -then heard the charges against him, and the day -passed in mock proceedings of the tribunal. The -King’s demeanor was brave, his countenance unappalled -by the tumultuous outbursts that often -came from the audience in the galleries. As the -judges could come to no agreement on the first day, -the proceedings were declared “open,” to be continued -without intermission. For three more days -the stormy debates lasted and still the Convention -hesitated to pass the death sentence on the King. In -the end it was carried by a majority of five.</p> - -<p>Louis XVI bore himself like a brave man to the -last. He addressed a farewell letter to the Convention -in which he said, “I owe it to my honor and to -my family not to subscribe to a sentence which declares -me guilty of a crime of which I cannot accuse -myself.” When he was taken to execution from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> -Temple and first saw the guillotine, he is said to -have shuddered and shrank back, but quickly recovering -himself he stepped out of the carriage with -firmness and composure and, calmly ascending the -scaffold, went to his death like a brave man.</p> - -<p>The Bastile was gone, but the need for prisons -was far greater under the reign of liberty, so-called, -than when despotic sovereigns ruled the land. The -last of them, Louis XVI, would himself have swept -away the Bastile had he been spared. He had indeed -razed For-l’Evèque and the Petit Châtelet, and -imported many salutary changes into the Conciergerie -out of his own private purse. During the -Revolutionary epoch many edifices were appropriated -for purposes of detention, the ordinary prisons -being crowded to overflowing. In the Conciergerie -alone, while some two thousand people waited elsewhere -for vacancies, there were from one thousand -to twelve hundred lodged within the walls without -distinction of age, sex or social position. Men, -women and children were herded together, as many -as fifty in the space of twenty feet. A few had beds, -but the bulk of them slept on damp straw at the -mercy of voracious rats that gnawed at their clothing -and would have devoured their noses and ears -had they not protected their faces with their hands.</p> - -<p>Within six months of 1790, 356 prisoners were -confined in the prisons of Bicêtre, Luxembourg, the -Carmelites and Saint Lazare, en route to the guillotine. -St. Pélagie held 360 at one time. “In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> -Paris,” says Carlyle, “are now some twelve prisons, -in France some forty-four thousand.” Lamartine’s -figures for Paris are higher. He gives the number -of prisons as eighteen, into which all the members -of the Parliament, all the receivers-general, all the -magistrates, all the nobility and all the clergy were -congregated to be dragged thence to the scaffold. -Four thousand heads fell in a few months. A -number of simple maidens, the eldest only eighteen, -who had attended a ball at Verdun when it was -captured by the Prussians, were removed to Paris -and executed. All the nuns of the Convent of -Montmartre were guillotined, and next day the -venerable Abbé Fenelon. In September, 1792, there -was an indiscriminate massacre, when five thousand -suspected persons were torn from their homes and -either slaughtered on the spot or sent to impromptu -prisons. That of the Abbaye ran with blood, where -150 Swiss soldier prisoners were murdered at one -sweep. The details of these sanguinary scenes are -too terrible to print. Every prison provided its -quota of victims—La Force 80, the great Châtelet -220, and 290 from the Conciergerie.</p> - -<p>“At Bicêtre,” says Thiers, in his history of the -Revolution, “the carnage was the longest, the most -sanguinary, the most terrible. This prison was the -sink for every vice, the sewer of Paris. Everyone -detained in it was killed. It would be impossible to -fix the number of victims, but they have been estimated -at six thousand. Death was dealt out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> -through eight consecutive days and nights; pikes, -sabres, muskets did not suffice for the ferocious -assassins, who had recourse to guns.” Another authority, -Colonel Munro, the English diplomatist, -reported to Lord Grenville that Bicêtre was attacked -by a mob with seven cannon, which were loaded -with small stones and discharged promiscuously -into the yards crowded with prisoners. Three days -later, he writes: “The massacre only ended yesterday -and the number of the victims may be gathered -from the time it took to murder them.” He puts the -total at La Force and Bicêtre at seven thousand, and -the victims were mostly madmen, idiots and the -infirm.</p> - -<p>The picture of these awful times is lurid and -terrible, and brings the prevailing horror vividly -before us. The prisons of Paris were thirty-six in -number, all of large dimensions, with ninety-six -provisional gaols. In the French provinces the latter -were forty thousand in number, and twelve hundred -more were regularly filled with a couple of -hundred inmates. The most cruel barbarities were -everywhere practised. Prisoners were starved and -mutilated so that they might be driven into open -revolt and justify their more rapid removal by the -guillotine. Paris sent 2,600 victims to the scaffold -in one year. In the provincial cities the slaughter -was wholesale. Lyons executed 1,600, Nantes, -1,971, and a hundred were guillotined or shot daily. -Many were women, some of advanced age and in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span>firm. -At Angers, to disencumber the prisons, 400 -men and 360 women were beheaded in a few days. -Wholesale massacres were perpetrated in the fusillades -of Toulon and the drownings of Nantes, -which disposed of nearly five thousand in all. -Taine says that in the eleven departments of the -west half of France a million persons perished, and -the murderous work was performed in seventeen -months.</p> - -<p>Of a truth the last state of France was worse -than the first, and the sufferings endured by the -people at the hands of irresponsible autocracy were -far outdone by the new atrocities of the bloodthirsty -revolutionaries in mad vindication of past wrongs.</p> - -<p class="p4 center">END OF VOLUME III. -</p> -<p> </p> -<hr /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="transnote"><h2>Transcriber's Note:</h2> - -<p>Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as -possible, including some inconsistent hyphenation. Some minor -corrections of spelling have been made.</p></div> - -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY AND ROMANCE OF CRIME: EARLY FRENCH PRISONS***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 50520-h.htm or 50520-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/0/5/2/50520">http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/5/2/50520</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: The History and Romance of Crime: Early French Prisons - Le Grand and Le Petit Châtelets; Vincennes; The Bastile; Loches; The Galleys; Revolutionary Prisons - - -Author: Arthur George Frederick Griffiths - - - -Release Date: November 20, 2015 [eBook #50520] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY AND ROMANCE OF CRIME: -EARLY FRENCH PRISONS*** - - -E-text prepared by Chris Curnow, Paul Clark, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 50520-h.htm or 50520-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50520/50520-h/50520-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50520/50520-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/historyromanceof06grif - - - - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - OE ligatures have been expanded. - - - - - -THE HISTORY AND ROMANCE OF CRIME FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES -TO THE PRESENT DAY - -The Grolier Society -London - - -[Illustration: _An Incident During the Communal Revolts of the Twelfth -Century_ - -A noble being strangled in his castle by one of the men of the -commune (town) in the twelfth century when the villages at the foot -of the castles revolted and wrested charters from their lords, often -peacefully but more frequently by bloodshed and brutal practices.] - - -EARLY FRENCH PRISONS - -Le Grand and Le Petit Chatelets -Vincennes--The Bastile--Loches -The Galleys -Revolutionary Prisons - -by - -MAJOR ARTHUR GRIFFITHS - -Late Inspector of Prisons in Great Britain - -Author of -"The Mysteries of Police and Crime" -"Fifty Years of Public Service," etc. - - - - - - - -The Grolier Society - -Edition Nationale -Limited to one thousand registered and numbered sets. -Number 307 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -The judicial administration of France had its origin in the Feudal -System. The great nobles ruled their estates side by side with, and -not under, the King. With him the great barons exercised "high" -justice, extending to life and limb. The seigneurs and great clerics -dispensed "middle" justice and imposed certain corporal penalties, -while the power of "low" justice, extending only to the _amende_ and -imprisonment, was wielded by smaller jurisdictions. - -The whole history of France is summed up in the persistent effort of -the King to establish an absolute monarchy, and three centuries were -passed in a struggle between nobles, parliaments and the eventually -supreme ruler. Each jurisdiction was supported by various methods of -enforcing its authority: All, however, had their prisons, which served -many purposes. The prison was first of all a place of detention and -durance where people deemed dangerous might be kept out of the way -of doing harm and law-breakers could be called to account for their -misdeeds. Accused persons were in it held safely until they could be -arraigned before the tribunals, and after conviction by legal process -were sentenced to the various penalties in force. - -The prison was _de facto_ the high road to the scaffold on which -the condemned suffered the extreme penalty by one or another of the -forms of capital punishment, and death was dealt out indifferently by -decapitation, the noose, the stake or the wheel. Too often where proof -was weak or wanting, torture was called in to assist in extorting -confession of guilt, and again, the same hideous practice was applied -to the convicted, either to aggravate their pains or to compel the -betrayal of suspected confederates and accomplices. The prison -reflected every phase of passing criminality and was the constant -home of wrong-doers of all categories, heinous and venial. Offenders -against the common law met their just retribution. Many thousands -were committed for sins political and non-criminal, the victims of an -arbitrary monarch and his high-handed, irresponsible ministers. - -The prison was the King's castle, his stronghold for the coercion and -safe-keeping of all who conspired against his person or threatened -his peace. It was a social reformatory in which he disciplined the -dissolute and the wastrel, the loose-livers of both sexes, who were -thus obliged to run straight and kept out of mischief by the stringent -curtailment of their liberty. The prison, last of all, played into the -hands of the rich against the poor, active champion of the commercial -code, taking the side of creditors by holding all debtors fast until -they could satisfy the legal, and at times illegal demands made upon -them. - -Various types of prisons were to be found in France, the simpler kind -being gradually enlarged and extended, and more and more constantly -utilised as time passed and society became more complex. All had -common features and exercised similar discipline. All were of solid -construction, relying upon bolts and bars, high walls and hard-hearted, -ruthless jailers. The prison regime was alike in all; commonly -starvation, squalor, the sickness of hope deferred, close confinement -protracted to the extreme limits of human endurance in dark dungeons, -poisonous to health and inducing mental breakdown. In all prisons, -penalties followed the same grievous lines. Culprits were subjected to -degradation moral and physical, to the exposure of the _carcan_ and -pillory. They made public reparation by the _amende honorable_, were -flogged, mutilated, branded and tortured. - -Prisons were to be met with throughout the length and breadth of -France. The capital had many; every provincial city possessed one or -more. In Paris the principal prisons were the two Chatelets, the gaols -and, as we should say to-day, the police headquarters of the Provost -or chief magistrate of the city. For-l'Eveque was the Bishops' court; -the Conciergerie, the guardroom of the King's palace, kept by the -_concierge_, porter or janitor, really the mayor and custodian of the -royal residence; in the Temple the powerful and arrogant military order -of the Knights Templars had its seat. - -The reigning sovereign relied upon the Bastile, at first merely a -rampart against invasion and rebellion, but presently exalted into the -King's prison-house, the royal gaol and penitentiary. He had also the -donjon of Vincennes, which was first a place of defensive usefulness -and next a place of restraint and coercion for State offenders. Other -prisons came into existence later: the Madelonnettes, St. Pelagie, -Bicetre, the Salpetriere and St. Lazare. - -All these have historic interest more or less pronounced and notable. -All in their time were the scenes of strange, often terrible episodes -and events. All serve to illustrate various curious epochs of the -world's history, but mark more especially the rise, progress, -aggrandisement and decadence and final fall of the French monarchy. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - INTRODUCTION 5 - - I. ORIGINS AND EARLY HISTORY 13 - - II. STRUGGLE WITH THE SOVEREIGN 35 - - III. VINCENNES AND THE BASTILE 57 - - IV. THE RISE OF RICHELIEU 90 - - V. THE PEOPLE AND THE BASTILE 121 - - VI. THE MAN WITH THE IRON MASK 148 - - VII. THE POWER OF THE BASTILE 187 - - VIII. THE TERROR OF POISON 210 - - IX. THE HORRORS OF THE GALLEYS 232 - - X. THE DAWN OF REVOLUTION 263 - - XI. LAST DAYS OF THE BASTILE 287 - - - - -List of Illustrations - - - INCIDENT DURING THE COMMUNAL REVOLTS - OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY _Frontispiece_ - - ISLE ST. MARGUERITE _Page_ 54 - - THE CASTLE OF ST. ANDRE " 82 - - THE BASTILE " 190 - - CHATEAU D'IF, MARSEILLES " 250 - - - - -EARLY FRENCH PRISONS - - - - -CHAPTER I - -ORIGINS AND EARLY HISTORY - - The Feudal System--Early prisons--Classes of inmates--Alike in - aspect, similar in discipline--Variety of penalties--Chief prisons - of Paris in the Middle Ages--Great and Little Chatelets--History - and inmates--The Conciergerie still standing--For-l'Eveque, - the Bishop's prison--The Temple, prison of the Knights - Templars--Bicetre--Notable prisoners--Salomon de Caus, steam - inventor--St. Pelagie--St. Lazare. - - -Let us consider the prisons of Old France in the order of their -antiquity, their size and their general importance in French history. - -First of all the two Chatelets, the greater and less, Le Grand and Le -Petit Chatelet, of which the last named was probably the earliest in -date of erection. Antiquarians refer the Petit Chatelet to the Roman -period and state that its original use was to guard the entrance to -Paris when the city was limited to that small island in the Seine -which was the nucleus of the great capital of France. This fortress -and bridge-head was besieged and destroyed by the Normans but was -subsequently rebuilt; and it is mentioned in a deed dated 1222 in which -the king, Philip Augustus, took over the rights of justice, at a price, -from the Bishop of Paris. It stood then on the south bank of the Seine -at the far end of the bridge long afterwards known as the Petit Pont. -Both bridge and castle were swept away in 1296 by an inundation and -half a century elapsed before they were restored on such a firm basis -as to resist any future overflowing of the Seine. At this date its role -as a fortress appears to have ceased and it was appropriated by Charles -V of France to serve as a prison and to overawe the students of the -Quartier Latin. Hugues Aubriot, the same Provost of Paris who built -the Bastile, constructed several cells between the pillars supporting -the Petit Chatelet and employed them for the confinement of turbulent -scholars of the university. - -The Grand Chatelet was situated on the opposite, or northern bank of -the river, facing that side of the island of the Cite, or the far -end of the Pont au Change on the same site as the present Place du -Chatelet. Like its smaller namesake it was also thought to have been -a bridge-head or river-gate, although this is based on no authentic -record. The first definite mention of the Grand Chatelet is in the -reign of Philip Augustus after he created the courts of justice and -headquarters of the municipality of Paris. - -The Chapel and Confraternity of Notaries was established here in 1270. -The jurisdiction of the Provost of Paris embraced all the functions of -the police of later days. He was responsible for the good order and -security of the city; he checked disturbances and called the riotous -and disorderly to strict account. He was all powerful; all manner -of offenders were haled before the tribunals over which he presided -with fifty-six associate judges and assistants. The Chatelet owned a -King's Procurator and four King's Counsellors, a chief clerk, many -receivers, bailiffs, ushers, gaolers and sixty sworn special experts, -a surgeon and his assistants, including a mid-wife or accoucheuse, and -220 _sergents a cheval_, or outdoor officers and patrols, over whom -the Procurator's authority was supreme. The Procurator was also the -guardian and champion of the helpless and oppressed, of deserted and -neglected children and ill-used wives; he regulated the markets and -supervised the guilds and corporations of trades and their operations, -exposed frauds in buying and selling and saw that accurate weights and -measures were employed in merchandising. - -The prisons of the two Chatelets were dark, gruesome receptacles. -Contemporary prints preserve the grim features of the Petit Chatelet, -a square, massive building of stone pierced with a few loopholes -in its towers, a drawbridge with a portcullis giving access to the -bridge. The Grand Chatelet was of more imposing architecture, with an -elevated facade capped by a flat roof and having many "pepper pot" -towers at the angles. The cells and chambers within were dark, dirty, -ill-ventilated dens. Air was admitted only from above and in such -insufficient quantity that the prisoners were in constant danger of -suffocation, while the space was far too limited to accommodate the -numbers confined. The titles given to various parts of the interior -of the Grand Chatelet will serve to illustrate the character of the -accommodation. - -There was the _Berceau_ or cradle, so called from its arched roof; the -_Boucherie_, with obvious derivation; the _chaine_ room, otherwise -_chene_, from the fetters used or the oak beams built into it; the _Fin -d'Aise_ or "end of ease," akin to the "Little Ease" of old London's -Newgate, a horrible and putrescent pigsty, described as full of filth -and over-run with reptiles and with air so poisonous that a candle -would not remain alight in it. A chamber especially appropriated to -females was styled _La Grieche_, an old French epithet for a shrew -or vixen; other cells are known as _La Gloriette_, _La Barbarie_, -_La Barcane_ or _Barbacane_, lighted by a small grating in the roof. -The Chatelet had its deep-down, underground dungeon, the familiar -_oubliettes_ of every mediaeval castle and monastery, called also -_in pace_ because the hapless inmates were thrown into them to be -forgotten and left to perish of hunger and anguish, but "in peace." The -worst of these at the Chatelet must have been _La Fosse_, the bottom -of which was knee deep in water, so that the prisoner was constantly -soaked and it was necessary to stand erect to escape drowning; here -death soon brought relief, for "none survived _La Fosse_ for more than -fifteen days." - -Monstrous as it must appear, rent on a fixed scale was extorted for -residence in these several apartments. These were in the so-called -"honest" prisons. The _Chaine_ room, mentioned above, _La Beauvoir_, -_La Motte_ and _La Salle_ cost each individual four deniers (the -twelfth part of a sou) for the room and two for a bed. In _La -Boucherie_ and _Grieche_ it was two deniers for the room, but only -one denier for a bed of straw or reeds. Even in _La Fosse_ and the -_oubliettes_ payment was exacted, presumably in advance. Some light -is thrown by the ancient chronicles upon the prison system that -obtained within the Chatelet. The first principle was recognised that -it was a place of detention only and not for the maltreatment of its -involuntary guests. Rules were made by the parliaments, the chief -juridical authorities of Paris, to soften the lot of the prisoners, to -keep order amongst them and protect them from the cupidity of their -gaolers. The governor was permitted to charge gaol fees, but the scale -was strictly regulated and depended upon the status and condition of -the individuals committed. Thus a count or countess paid ten livres -(about fifty francs), a knight banneret was charged twenty sous, a Jew -or Jewess half that amount. Prisoners who lay on the straw paid one -sou. For half a bed the price was three sous and for the privilege of -sleeping alone, five sous. The latest arrivals were obliged to sweep -the floors and keep the prison rooms clean. It was ordered that the -officials should see that the bread issued was of good quality and of -the proper weight, a full pound and a half per head. The officials were -to visit the prisons at least once a week and receive the complaints -made by prisoners out of hearing of their gaolers. The hospitals were -to be regularly visited and attention given to the sick. Various -charities existed to improve the prison diet: the drapers on their -fete day issued bread, meat and wine; the watchmakers gave a dinner on -Easter day when food was seized and forfeited and a portion was issued -to the pauper prisoners. - -In all this the little Chatelet served as an annex to the larger -prison. During their lengthened existence both prisons witnessed many -atrocities and were disgraced by many dark deeds. One of the most -frightful episodes was that following the blood-thirsty feuds between -the Armagnacs and the Bourguignons in the early years of the fifteenth -century. These two political parties fought for supreme authority -in the city of Paris, which was long torn by their dissensions. -The Armagnacs held the Bastile but were dispossessed of it by the -Bourguignons, who were guilty of the most terrible excesses. They -slaughtered five hundred and twenty of their foes and swept the -survivors wholesale into the Chatelet and the "threshold of the prison -became the scaffold of 1,500 unfortunate victims." The Bourguignons -were not satisfied and besieged the place in due form; for the -imprisoned Armagnacs organised a defense and threw up a barricade -upon the north side of the fortress, where they held out stoutly. The -assailants at last made a determined attack with scaling ladders, by -which they surmounted the walls sixty feet high, and a fierce and -prolonged conflict ensued. When the attack was failing the Bourguignons -set fire to the prison and fought their way in, driving the besieged -before them. Many of the Armagnacs sought to escape the flames by -flinging themselves over the walls and were caught upon the pikes of -the Bourguignons "who finished them with axe and sword." Among the -victims were many persons of quality, two cardinals, several bishops, -officers of rank, magistrates and respectable citizens. - -The garrison of the Chatelet in those early days was entrusted to the -archers of the provost's guard, the little Chatelet being the provost's -official residence. The guard was frequently defied by the turbulent -population and especially by the scholars of the University of Paris, -an institution under the ecclesiastical authority and very jealous -of interference by the secular arm. One provost in the fourteenth -century, having caught a scholar in the act of stealing upon the -highway, forthwith hanged him, whereupon the clergy of Paris went in -procession to the Chatelet and denounced the provost. The King sided -with them and the chief magistrate of the city was sacrificed to their -clamor. Another provost, who hanged two scholars for robbery, was -degraded from his office, led to the gallows and compelled to take -down and kiss the corpses of the men he had executed. The provosts -themselves were sometimes unfaithful to their trust. One of them in -the reign of Philip the Long, by name Henri Chaperel, made a bargain -with a wealthy citizen who was in custody under sentence of death. -The condemned man was allowed to escape and a friendless and obscure -prisoner hanged in his place. It is interesting to note, however, -that this Henri Chaperel finished on the gallows as did another -provost, Hugues de Cruzy, who was caught in dishonest traffic with -his prisoners. Here the King himself had his share in the proceeds. A -famous brigand and highwayman of noble birth, Jourdain de Lisle, the -chief of a great band of robbers, bought the protection of the provost, -and the Chatelet refused to take cognizance of his eight crimes--any -one of which deserved an ignominious death. It was necessary to appoint -a new provost before justice could be meted out to Jourdain de Lisle, -who was at last tied to the tail of a horse and dragged through the -streets of Paris to the public gallows. - -In the constant warfare between the provost and the people the latter -did not hesitate to attack the prison fortress of the Chatelet. In -1320 a body of insurgents collected under the leadership of two -apostate priests who promised to meet them across the seas and conquer -the Holy Land. When some of their number were arrested and thrown -into the Chatelet, the rest marched upon the prison, bent on rescue, -and, breaking in, effected a general gaol delivery. This was not -the only occasion in which the Chatelet lost those committed to its -safe-keeping. In the latter end of the sixteenth century the provost -was one Hugues de Bourgueil, a hunch-back with a beautiful wife. Among -his prisoners was a young Italian, named Gonsalvi, who, on the strength -of his nationality, gained the goodwill of Catherine de Medicis, the -Queen Mother. The Queen commended him to the provost, who lodged him in -his own house, and Gonsalvi repaid this kindness by running away with -de Bourgueil's wife. Madame de Bourgueil, on the eve of her elopement, -gained possession of the prison keys and released the whole of the -three hundred prisoners in custody, thus diverting the attention from -her own escapade. The provost, preferring his duty to his wife, turned -out with horse and foot, and pursued and recaptured the fugitive -prisoners, while Madame de Bourgueil and her lover were allowed to go -their own way. After this affair the King moved the provost's residence -from the Chatelet to the Hotel de Hercule. - -References are found in the earlier records of the various prisoners -confined in the Chatelet. One of the earliest is a list of Jews -imprisoned for reasons not given. But protection was also afforded to -this much wronged race, and once, towards the end of the fourteenth -century, when the populace rose to rob and slaughter the Jews, asylum -was given to the unfortunates by opening to them the gates of the -Chatelet. About the same time a Spanish Jew and an habitual thief, one -Salmon of Barcelona, were taken to the Chatelet and condemned to be -hanged by the heels between two large dogs. Salmon, to save himself, -offered to turn Christian, and was duly baptised, the gaoler's wife -being his godmother. Nevertheless, within a week he was hanged "like a -Christian" (_chretiennement_), under his baptismal name of Nicholas. - -The Jews themselves resented the apostasy of a co-religionist and it is -recorded that four were detained in the Chatelet for having attacked -and maltreated Salmon for espousing Christianity. For this they were -condemned to be flogged at all the street corners on four successive -Sundays; but when a part of the punishment had been inflicted they were -allowed to buy off the rest by a payment of 18,000 francs in gold. The -money was applied to the rebuilding of the Petit Pont. Prisoners of -war were confined there. Eleven gentlemen accused of assassination were -"long detained" in the Chatelet and in the end executed. It continually -received sorcerers and magicians in the days when many were accused of -commerce with the Devil. Idle vagabonds who would not work were lodged -in it. - -At this period Paris and the provinces were terrorised by bands of -brigands. Some of the chief leaders were captured and carried to -the Chatelet, where they suffered the extreme penalty. The crime of -poisoning, always so much in evidence in French criminal annals, was -early recorded at the Chatelet. In 1390 payment was authorised for -three mounted sergeants of police who escorted from the prison at -Angers and Le Mans to the Chatelet, two priests charged with having -thrown poison into the wells, fountains and rivers of the neighborhood. -One Honore Paulard, a bourgeois of Paris, was in 1402 thrown into the -_Fin d'Aise_ dungeon of the Chatelet for having poisoned his father, -mother, two sisters and three other persons in order to succeed to -their inheritance. Out of consideration for his family connections -he was not publicly executed but left to the tender mercies of the -_Fin d'Aise_, where he died at the end of a month. The procureur of -parliament was condemned to death with his wife Ysabelete, a prisoner -in the Chatelet, whose former husband, also a procureur, they were -suspected of having poisoned. On no better evidence than suspicion -they were both sentenced to death--the husband to be hanged and the -wife burned alive. Offenders of other categories were brought to the -Chatelet. A superintendent of finances, prototype of Fouquet, arrested -by the Provost Pierre des Fessarts, and convicted of embezzlement, -met his fate in the Chatelet. Strange to say, Des Fessarts himself -was arrested four years later and suffered on the same charge. Great -numbers of robbers taken red-handed were imprisoned--at one time two -hundred thieves, murderers and highwaymen (_epieurs de grand chemin_). -An auditor of the Palace was condemned to make the _amende honorable_ -in effigy; a figure of his body in wax being shown at the door of -the chapel and then dragged to the pillory to be publicly exposed. -Clement Marot, the renowned poet, was committed to the Chatelet at the -instance of the beautiful Diane de Poitiers for continually inditing -fulsome verses in her praise. Weary at last of her contemptuous silence -he penned a bitter satire which Diane resented by accusing him of -Lutheranism and of eating bacon in Lent. Marot's confinement in the -Chatelet inspired his famous poem _L'Enfer_, wherein he compared the -Chatelet to the infernal regions and cursed the whole French penal -system--prisoners, judges, lawyers and the cruelties of the "question." - -Never from the advent of the Reformation did Protestants find much -favor in France. In 1557 four hundred Huguenots assembled for service -in a house of the Rue St. Jacques and were attacked on leaving it by -a number of the neighbors. They fought in self-defense and many made -good their escape, but the remainder--one hundred and twenty persons, -several among them being ladies of the Court--were arrested by the -_lieutenant criminel_ and carried to the Chatelet. They were accused -of infamous conduct and although they complained to the King they were -sent to trial, and within a fortnight nearly all the number were burnt -at the stake. Another story runs that the _lieutenant criminel_ forced -his way into a house in the Marais where a number of Huguenots were at -table. They fled, but the hotel keeper was arrested and charged with -having supplied meat in the daily bill of fare on a Friday. For this -he was conducted to the Chatelet with his wife and children, a larded -capon being carried before them to hold them up to the derision of the -bystanders. The incident ended seriously, for the wretched inn-keeper -was thrown into a dungeon and died there in misery. - -Precedence has been given to the two Chatelets in the list of ancient -prisons in Paris, but no doubt the Conciergerie runs them close in -point of date and was equally formidable. It originally was part of -the Royal Palace of the old Kings of France and still preserves as to -site, and in some respects as to form, in the Palais de Justice one -of the most interesting monuments in modern Paris. "There survives a -sense of suffocation in these buildings," writes Philarete Chasles. -"Here are the oldest dungeons of France. Paris had scarcely begun when -they were first opened." "These towers," says another Frenchman, "the -courtyard and the dim passage along which prisoners are still admitted, -have tears in their very aspect." One of the greatest tragedies in -history was played out in the Conciergerie almost in our own days, thus -bringing down the sad record of bitter sufferings inflicted by man upon -man from the Dark Ages to the day of our much vaunted enlightenment. -The Conciergerie was the last resting place, before execution, of the -hapless Queen Marie Antoinette. - -When Louis IX, commonly called Saint Louis, rebuilt his palace in -the thirteenth century he constructed also his dungeons hard by. The -_concierge_ was trusted by the kings with the safe-keeping of their -enemies and was the governor of the royal prison. In 1348 he took the -title of _bailli_ and the office lasted, with its wide powers often -sadly abused, until the collapse of the monarchical regime. A portion -of the original Conciergerie as built in the garden of Concierge is -still extant. Three of the five old towers, circular in shape and with -pepper pot roofs, are standing. Of the first, that of Queen Blanche -was pulled down in 1853 and that of the Inquisition in 1871. The three -now remaining are Caesar's Tower, where the reception ward is situated -on the very spot where Damiens, the attempted regicide of Louis XV, -was interrogated while strapped to the floor; the tower of Silver, the -actual residence of "Reine Blanche" and the visiting room where legal -advisers confer with their clients among the accused prisoners; and -lastly the Bon Bec tower, once the torture chamber and now the hospital -and dispensary of the prison. - -The cells and dungeons of the Conciergerie, some of which might be seen -and inspected as late as 1835, were horrible beyond belief. Clement -Marot said of it in his verse that it was impossible to conceive a -place that more nearly approached a hell upon earth. The loathsomeness -of its underground receptacles was inconceivable. It contained some -of the worst specimens of the ill-famed _oubliettes_. An attempt -has been made by some modern writers to deny the existence of these -_oubliettes_, but all doubt was removed by discoveries revealed -when opening the foundations of the Bon Bec tower. Two subterranean -pits were found below the ordinary level of the river Seine and the -remains of sharpened iron points protruded from their walls obviously -intended to catch the bodies and tear the flesh of those flung into -these cavernous depths. Certain of these dungeons were close to the -royal kitchens and were long preserved. They are still remembered by -the quaint name of the mousetraps (or _souricieres_) in which the -inmates were caught and kept _au secret_, entirely separate and unable -to communicate with a single soul but their immediate guardians and -gaolers. - -The torture chamber and the whole paraphernalia for inflicting the -"question" were part and parcel of every ancient prison. But the most -complete and perfect methods were to be found in the Conciergerie. As -a rule, therefore, in the most heinous cases, when the most shocking -crimes were under investigation, the accused was relegated to the -Conciergerie to undergo treatment by torture. It was so in the case of -Ravaillac who murdered Henry IV; also the Marchioness of Brinvilliers -and the poisoners; and yet again, of Damiens who attempted the life of -Louis XV, and many more: to whom detailed references will be found in -later pages. - -The For-l'Eveque, the Bishop's prison, was situated in the rue -St. Germain-l'Auxerrois, and is described in similar terms as the -foregoing: "dark, unwholesome and over-crowded." In the court or -principal yard, thirty feet long by eighteen feet wide, some four or -five hundred prisoners were constantly confined. The outer walls were -of such a height as to forbid the circulation of fresh air and there -was not enough to breathe. The cells were more dog-holes than human -habitations. In some only six feet square, five prisoners were often -lodged at one and the same time. Others were too low in the ceiling for -a man to stand upright and few had anything but borrowed light from the -yard. Many cells were below the ground level and that of the river -bed, so that water filtered in through the arches all the year round, -and even in the height of summer the only ventilation was by a slight -slit in the door three inches wide. "To pass by an open cell door one -felt as if smitten by fire from within," says a contemporary writer. -Access to these cells was by dark, narrow galleries. For long years the -whole prison was in such a state of dilapidation that ruin and collapse -were imminent. - -Later For-l'Eveque received insolvent debtors--those against whom -_lettres de cachet_ were issued, and actors who were evil livers. It -was the curious custom to set these last free for a few hours nightly -in order to play their parts at the theatres; but they were still in -the custody of the officer of the watch and were returned to gaol after -the performance. Many minor offenders guilty of small infractions of -the law, found lodging in the For-l'Eveque. Side by side with thieves -and roysterers were dishonest usurers who lent trifling sums. All -jurisdictions, all authorities could commit to the For-l'Eveque, the -judges of inferior tribunals, ministers of state, auditors, grand -seigneurs. The prison regime varied for this various population, but -poor fare and poorer lodgings were the fate of the larger number. Those -who could pay found chambers more comfortable, decently furnished, -and palatable food. Order was not always maintained. More than once -mutinies broke out, generally on account of the villainous ration -of bread issued, and it was often found necessary to fire upon the -prisoners to subdue them. - -When the Knights Templars received permission to settle in Paris in -the twelfth century, they gradually consolidated their power in the -Marais, the marshy ground to the eastward of the Seine, and there -laid the foundations of a great stronghold on which the Temple prison -was a prominent feature. The knights wielded sovereign power with the -rights of high justice and the very kings of France themselves bent -before them. At length the arrogance of the order brought it the bitter -hostility of Philippe le Bel who, in 1307, broke the power of the order -in France. They were pursued and persecuted. Their Grand Master was -tortured and executed while the King administered their estate. The -prison of the Temple with its great towers and wide encircling walls -became a state prison, the forerunner of Vincennes and the Bastile. It -received, as a rule, the most illustrious prisoners only, dukes and -counts and sovereign lords, and in the Revolutionary period it gained -baleful distinction as the condemned cell, so to speak, of Louis XVI -and Marie Antoinette. - -The prison of Bicetre, originally a bishop's residence and then -successively a house of detention for sturdy beggars and a lunatic -asylum, was first built at the beginning of the thirteenth century. It -was owned by John, Bishop of Winchester in England, and its name was -a corruption of the word Winchester--"Vinchester" and so "Bichestre" -and, eventually, "Bicetre." It was confiscated to the King in the -fourteenth century and Charles VI dated his letters from that castle. -It fell into a ruinous state in the following years and nothing was -done to it until it was rebuilt by Louis XIII as a hospital for invalid -soldiers and became, with the Salpetriere, the abode of the paupers -who so largely infested Paris. The hospital branch of the prison was -used for the treatment of certain discreditable disorders, sufferers -from which were regularly flogged at the time of their treatment by the -surgeons. An old writer stigmatised the prison as a terrible ulcer that -no one dared look at and which poisoned the air for four hundred yards -around. Bicetre was the home for all vagabonds and masterless men, the -sturdy beggars who demanded alms sword in hand, and soldiers who, when -their pay was in arrears, robbed upon the highway. Epileptics and the -supposed mentally diseased, whether they were actually proved so or -not, were committed to Bicetre and after reception soon degenerated -into imbeciles and raging lunatics. The terrors of underground Bicetre -have been graphically described by Masers-Latude, who had personal -experience of them. This man, Danry or Latude, has been called a -fictitious character, but the memoirs attributed to him are full of -realism and cannot be entirely neglected. He says of Bicetre: - -"In wet weather or when it thawed in winter, water streamed from -all parts of our cell. I was crippled with rheumatism and the pains -were such that I was sometimes whole weeks without getting up. The -window-sill guarded by an iron grating gave on to a corridor, the wall -of which was placed exactly opposite at a height of ten feet. A glimmer -of light came through this aperture and was accompanied by snow and -rain. I had neither fire nor artificial light and prison rags were -my only clothing. To quench my thirst I sucked morsels of ice broken -off with the heel of my wooden shoe. If I stopped up the window I was -nearly choked by the effluvium from the cellars. Insects stung me -in the eyes. I had always a bad taste in my mouth and my lungs were -horribly oppressed. I was detained in that cell for thirty-eight months -enduring the pangs of hunger, cold and damp. I was attacked by scurvy -and was presently unable to sit or rise. In ten days my legs and thighs -were swollen to twice their ordinary size. My body turned black. My -teeth loosened in their sockets and I could no longer masticate. I -could not speak and was thought to be dead. Then the surgeon came, and -seeing my state ordered me to be removed to the infirmary." - -An early victim of Bicetre was the Protestant Frenchman, Salomon de -Caus, who had lived much in England and Germany and had already, at the -age of twenty, gained repute as an architect, painter and engineer. One -of his inventions was an apparatus for forcing up water by a steam -fountain; and that eminent scientist, Arago, declares that De Caus -preceded Watt as an inventor of steam mechanisms. It was De Caus's -misfortune to fall desperately in love with the notorious Marion -Delorme. When his attentions became too demonstrative this fiendish -creature applied for a _lettre de cachet_ from Richelieu. De Caus was -invited to call upon the Cardinal, whom he startled with his marvellous -schemes. Richelieu thought himself in the presence of a madman and -forthwith ordered De Caus to Bicetre. Two years later Marion Delorme -visited Bicetre and was recognised by De Caus as she passed his cell. -He called upon her piteously by name, and her companion, the English -Marquis of Worcester, asked if she knew him, but she repudiated the -acquaintance. Lord Worcester was, however, attracted by the man and his -inventions, and afterwards privately visited him, giving his opinion -later that a great genius had run to waste in this mad-house. - -Bicetre was subsequently associated with the galleys and was starting -point of the chain of convicts directed upon the arsenals of Toulon, -Rochefort, Lorient and Brest. A full account of these modern prisons is -reserved for a later chapter. - -The prison of Sainte Pelagie was founded in the middle of the -seventeenth century by a charitable lady, Marie l'Hermite, in the -faubourg Sainte Marcel, as a refuge for ill-conducted women, those -who came voluntarily and those who were committed by dissatisfied -fathers or husbands. It became, subsequently, a debtors' prison. The -Madelonnettes were established about the same time and for the same -purpose, by a wine merchant, Robert Montri, devoted to good works. The -prison of St. Lazare, to-day the great female prison of Paris, appears -to have been originally a hospital for lepers, and was at that time -governed by the ecclesiastical authority. It was the home of various -communities, till in 1630 the lepers disappeared, and it became a -kind of seminary or place of detention for weak-minded persons and -youthful members of good position whose families desired to subject -them to discipline and restraint. The distinction between St. Lazare -and the Bastile was well described by a writer who said, "If I had -been a prisoner in the Bastile I should on release have taken my -place among _genres de bien_ (persons of good social position) but on -leaving Lazare I should have ranked with the _mauvais sujets_ (ne'er do -weels)." A good deal remains to be said about St. Lazare in its modern -aspects. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -STRUGGLE WITH THE SOVEREIGN - - Provincial prisons--Loches, in Touraine, still standing--Favorite - gaol of Louis XI--The iron cage--Cardinal La Balue, the - Duc d'Alencon, Comines, the Bishops--Ludovico Sforza, - Duke of Milan, and his mournful inscriptions--Diane - de Poitiers and her father--Mont St. Michel--Louis - Napoleon--Count St. Pol--Strongholds of Touraine--Catherine - de Medicis--Massacre of St Bartholomew--Murder of Duc de - Guise--Chambord--Amboise--Angers--Pignerol--Exiles and the Isle St. - Marguerite. - - -The early history of France is made up of the continuous struggle -between the sovereign and the people. The power of the king, though -constantly opposed by the great vassals and feudal lords, steadily grew -and gained strength. The state was meanwhile torn with dissensions and -passed through many succeeding periods of anarchy and great disorders. -The king's power was repeatedly challenged by rivals and pretenders. -It was weakened, and at times eclipsed, but in the long run it always -triumphed. The king always vindicated his right to the supreme -authority and, when he could, ruled arbitrarily and imperiously, backed -and supported by attributes of autocracy which gradually overcame all -opposition and finally established a despotic absolutism. - -The principal prisons of France were royal institutions. Two in -particular, the chief and most celebrated, Vincennes and the Bastile, -were seated in the capital. With these I shall deal presently at -considerable length. Many others, provincial strongholds and castles, -were little less conspicuous and mostly of evil reputation. I shall -deal with those first. - -Loches in the Touraine, some twenty-five miles from Tours, will go down -in history as one of the most famous, or more exactly, infamous castles -in mediaeval France. It was long a favored royal palace, a popular -residence with the Plantagenet and other kings, but degenerated at -length under Louis XI into a cruel and hideous gaol. It stands to-day -in elevated isolation dominating a flat, verdant country, just as the -well-known Mont St. Michel rises above the sands on the Normandy coast. -The most prominent object is the colossal white donjon, or central -keep, esteemed the finest of its kind in France, said to have been -erected by Fulk Nerra, the celebrated "Black Count," Count of Anjou -in the eleventh century. It is surrounded by a congeries of massive -buildings of later date. Just below it are the round towers of the -Martelet, dating from Louis XI, who placed within them the terrible -dungeons he invariably kept filled. At the other end of the long -lofty plateau is another tower, that of Agnes Sorel, the personage -whose influence over Charles VII, although wrongly acquired, was -always exercised for good, and whose earnest patriotism inspired him -to strenuous attempts to recover France from its English invaders. -Historians have conceded to her a place far above the many kings' -mistresses who have reigned upon the left hand of the monarchs of -France. Agnes was known as the lady of "Beaute-sur-Marne," "a beauty in -character as well as in aspect," and is said to have been poisoned at -Junieges. She was buried at Loches with the inscription, still legible, -"A sweet and simple dove whiter than swans, redder than the flame." -The face, still distinguishable, preserves the "loveliness of flowers -in spring." After the death of Charles VII, the priests of Saint-Ours -desired to expel this tomb. But Louis XI was now on the throne. He had -not hesitated to insult Agnes Sorel while living, upbraiding her openly -and even, one day at court, striking her in the face with his glove, -but he would only grant their request on condition that they surrender -the many rich gifts bestowed upon them at her hands. - -It is, however, in its character as a royal gaol and horrible prison -house that Loches concerns us. Louis XI, saturnine and vindictive, -found it exactly suited to his purpose for the infliction of those -barbarous and inhuman penalties upon those who had offended him, that -must ever disgrace his name. The great donjon, already mentioned, built -by Fulk Nerra, the "Black Count," had already been used by him as a -prison and the rooms occupied by the Scottish Guard are still to be -seen. The new tower at the northwest angle of the fortress was the work -of Louis and on the ground floor level is the torture chamber, with -an iron bar recalling its ancient usage. Below are four stories, one -beneath the other. These dungeons, entered by a subterranean door give -access to the vaulted semi-dark interior. Above this gloomy portal is -scratched the jesting welcome, "_Entrez Messieurs--ches le Roi nostre -maistre_,"--"Come in, the King is at home." At this gateway the King -stood frequently with his chosen companions, his barber and the common -hangman, to gloat over the sufferings of his prisoners. In a cell on -the second story from the bottom, the iron cage was established, so -fiendishly contrived for the unending pain of its occupant. Comines, -the "Father of modern historians," gives in his memoirs a full account -of this detestable place of durance. - -Comines fell into disgrace with Anne of Beaujeu by fomenting rebellion -against her administration as Regent. He fled and took refuge with -the Duke de Bourbon, whom he persuaded to go to the King, the -infant Charles VIII, to complain of Anne's misgovernment. Comines -was dismissed by the Duke de Bourbon and took service with the Duke -d'Orleans. Their intrigues were secretly favored by the King himself, -who, as he grew older, became impatient of the wise but imperious -control of Anne of Beaujeu. In concert with some other nobles, -Comines plotted to carry off the young King and place him under the -guardianship of the Duke d'Orleans. Although Charles was a party to -the design he punished them when it failed. Comines was arrested at -Amboise and taken to Loches, where he was confined for eight months. -Then by decree of the Paris parliament his property was confiscated and -he was brought to Paris to be imprisoned in the Conciergerie. There -he remained for twenty months, and in March, 1489, was condemned to -banishment to one of his estates for ten years and to give bail for his -good behavior to the amount of 10,000 golden crowns. He was forgiven -long before the end of his term and regained his seat and influence in -the King's Council of State. - -"The King," says Comines, "had ordered several cruel prisons to be -made; some were cages of iron and some of wood, but all were covered -with iron plates both within and without, with terrible locks, about -eight feet wide and seven feet high; the first contriver of them was -the Bishop of Verdun (Guillaume d'Haraucourt) who was immediately put -into the first of them, where he continued fourteen years. Many bitter -curses he has had since his invention, and some from me as I lay in -one of them eight months together during the minority of our present -King. He (Louis XI) also ordered heavy and terrible fetters to be made -in Germany and particularly a certain ring for the feet which was -extremely hard to be opened and fitted like an iron collar, with a -thick weighty chain and a great globe of iron at the end of it, most -unreasonably heavy, which engine was called the King's Nets. However, -I have seen many eminent men, deserving persons in these prisons with -these nets about their legs, who afterwards came out with great joy and -honor and received great rewards from the king." - -Another occupant beside d'Haraucourt, of this intolerable den, so -limited in size that "no person of average proportions could stand up -comfortably or be at full length within," was Cardinal la Balue,--for -some years after 1469. These two great ecclesiastics had been guilty -of treasonable correspondence with the Duke of Burgundy, then at war -with Louis XI. The treachery was the more base in La Balue, who owed -everything to Louis, who had raised him from a tailor's son to the -highest dignities in the Church and endowed him with immense wealth. -Louis had a strong bias towards low-born men and "made his servants, -heralds and his barbers, ministers of state." Louis would have sent -this traitor to the scaffold, but ever bigoted and superstitious, -he was afraid of the Pope, Paul II, who had protested against the -arrest of a prelate and a prince of the Church. He kept d'Haraucourt, -the Bishop of Verdun, in prison for many years, for the most part -at the Bastile while Cardinal La Balue was moved to and fro: he -began at Loches whence, with intervals at Onzain, Montpaysan, and -Plessis-lez-Tours, he was brought periodically to the Bastile in order -that his tormentor might gloat personally over his sufferings. This was -the servant of whom Louis once thought so well that he wrote of him as -"a good sort of devil of a bishop just now, but there is no saying what -he may grow into by and by." He endured the horrors of imprisonment -until within three years of the death of the King, who, after a long -illness and a paralytic seizure, yielded at last to the solicitations -of the then Pope, Sixtus IV, to release him. - -The "Bishops' Prison" is still shown at Loches, a different receptacle -from the cages and dungeons occupied by Cardinal La Balue and the -Bishop of Verdun. These other bishops did their own decorations akin -to Sforza's, but their rude presentment was of an altar and cross -roughly depicted on the wall of their cell. Some confusion exists as to -their identity, but they are said to have been De Pompadour, Bishop of -Peregneux, and De Chaumont, Bishop of Montauban, and their offense was -complicity in the conspiracy for which Comines suffered. If this were -so it must have been after the reign of Louis XI. - -Among the many victims condemned by Louis XI to the tender mercies of -Loches, was the Duc d'Alencon, who had already been sentenced to death -in the previous reign for trafficking with the English, but whose life -had been spared by Charles VII, to be again forfeited to Louis XI, for -conspiracy with the Duke of Burgundy. His sentence was commuted to -imprisonment in Loches. - -A few more words about Loches. Descending more than a hundred steps -we reach the dungeon occupied by Ludovico Sforza, called "Il Moro," -Duke of Milan, who had long been in conflict with France. The epithet -applied to him was derived from the mulberry tree, which from the -seasons of its flowers and its fruit was taken as an emblem of -"prudence." The name was wrongly supposed to be due to his dark Moorish -complexion. After many successes the fortune of war went against Sforza -and he was beaten by Trionlzio, commanding the French army, who cast -him into the prison of Novara. Il Moro was carried into France, his -destination being the underground dungeon at Loches. - -Much pathos surrounds the memory of this illustrious prisoner, who for -nine years languished in a cell so dark that light entered it only -through a slit in fourteen feet of rock. The only spot ever touched by -daylight is still indicated by a small square scratched on the stone -floor. Ludovico Sforza strove to pass the weary hours by decorating his -room with rough attempts at fresco. The red stars rendered in patterns -upon the wall may still be seen, and among them, twice repeated, a -prodigious helmet giving a glimpse through the casque of the stern, -hard looking face inside. A portrait of Il Moro is extant at the -Certosa, near Pavia, and has been described as that of a man "with the -fat face and fine chin of the elderly Napoleon, the beak-like nose of -Wellington, a small, querulous, neat-lipped mouth and immense eyebrows -stretched like the talons of an eagle across the low forehead." - -Ludovico Sforza left his imprint on the walls of this redoubtable gaol -and we may read his daily repinings in the mournful inscriptions he -recorded among the rough red decorations. One runs: "My motto is to -arm myself with patience, to bear the troubles laid upon me." He who -would have faced death eagerly in open fight declares here that he -was "assailed by it and could not die." He found "no pity; gaiety was -banished entirely from his heart." At length, after struggling bravely -for nearly nine years he was removed from the lower dungeons to an -upper floor and was permitted to exercise occasionally in the open air -till death came, with its irresistible order of release. The picture of -his first passage through Paris to his living tomb has been admirably -drawn:--"An old French street surging with an eager mob, through which -there jostles a long line of guards and archers; in their midst a tall -man dressed in black camlet, seated on a mule. In his hands he holds -his biretta and lifts up unshaded his pale, courageous face, showing -in all his bearing a great contempt for death. It is Ludovico, Duke of -Milan, riding to his cage at Loches." It is not to the credit of Louis -XII and his second wife, Anne of Brittany, widow of his predecessor -Charles VIII, that they often occupied Loches as a royal residence -during the incarceration of Ludovico Sforza, and made high festival -upstairs while their wretched prisoner languished below. - -The rebellion of the Constable de Bourbon against Francis I, in 1523, -implicated two more bishops, those of Puy and Autun. Bourbon aspired -to create an independent kingdom in the heart of France and was backed -by the Emperor Charles V. The Sieur de Breze, Seneschal of Normandy, -the husband of the famous Diane de Poitiers, revealed the conspiracy -to the King, Francis I, unwittingly implicating Jean de Poitiers, his -father-in-law. Bourbon, flying to one of his fortified castles, sent -the Bishop of Autun to plead for him with the King, who only arrested -the messenger. Bourbon, continuing his flight, stopped a night at Puy -in Auvergne, and this dragged in the second bishop. Jean de Poitiers, -Seigneur de St. Vallier, was also thrown into Loches, whence the -prisoner appealed to his daughter and his son-in-law. "Madame," he -wrote to Diane, "here am I arrived at Loches as badly handled as any -prisoner could be. I beg of you to have so much pity as to come and -visit your poor father." Diane strove hard with the pitiless king, who -only pressed on the trial, urging the judges to elicit promptly all -the particulars and the names of the conspirators, if necessary by -torture. St. Vallier's sentence was commuted to imprisonment, "between -four walls of solid masonry with but one small slit of window." -The Constable de Bourbon made St. Vallier's release a condition of -submission, and Diane de Poitiers, ever earnestly begging for mercy, -won pardon at length, which she took in person to her father's gloomy -cell, where his hair had turned white in the continual darkness. - -The wretched inmates of Loches succeeded each other, reign after -reign in an interminable procession. One of the most ill-used was de -Rochechouart, nephew of the Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld, who was mixed -up in a court intrigue in 1633 and detained in Loches with no proof -against him in the hopes of extorting a confession. - -Mont St. Michel as a State prison is of still greater antiquity than -Loches, far older than the stronghold for which it was admirably suited -by its isolated situation on the barren sea shore. It is still girt -round with mediaeval walls from which rise tall towers proclaiming its -defensive strength. Its church and Benedictine monastery are of ancient -foundation, dating back to the eighth century. It was taken under the -especial protection of Duke Rollo and contributed shipping for the -invading hosts of William the Conqueror. Later, in the long conflict -with the English, when their hosts over-ran Normandy, Mont St. Michel -was the only fortress which held out for the French king. The origin -of its dungeons and _oubliettes_ is lost in antiquity. It had its cage -like Loches, built of metal bars, but for these solid wooden beams -were afterwards substituted. - -Modern sentiment hangs about the citadel of Ham near Amiens, as the -prison house of Louis Napoleon and his companions, Generals Cavaignac, -Changarnier and Lamoriciere, after his raid upon Boulogne, in 1830, -when he prematurely attempted to seize supreme power in France and -ignominiously failed. Ham had been a place of durance for political -purposes from the earliest times. There was a castle before the -thirteenth century and one was erected on the same site in 1470 by the -Count St. Pol, whom Louis XI beheaded. The motto of the family "_Mon -mieux_" (my best) may still be read engraved over the gateway. Another -version is to the effect that St. Pol was committed to the Bastile and -suffered within that fortress-gaol. He appears to have been a restless -malcontent forever concerned in the intrigues of his time, serving -many masters and betraying all in turn. He gave allegiance now to -France, now England, now Burgundy and Lorraine, but aimed secretly to -make himself an independent prince trusting to his great wealth, his -ambitious self-seeking activity and his unfailing perfidies. In the end -the indignant sovereigns turned upon him and agreed to punish him. St. -Pol finding himself in jeopardy fled from France after seeking for a -safe conduct through Burgundy. Charles the Bold replied by seizing his -person and handing him over to Louis XI, who had claimed the prisoner. -"I want a head like his to control a certain business in hand; his body -I can do without and you may keep it," was Louis's request. St. Pol, -according to this account, was executed on the Place de la Greve. It -may be recalled that Ham was also for a time the prison of Joan of Arc; -and many more political prisoners, princes, marshals of France, and -ministers of state were lodged there. - -The smiling verdant valley of the Loire, which flows through the -historic province of Touraine, is rich in ancient strongholds that -preserve the memories of mediaeval France. It was the home of those -powerful feudal lords, the turbulent vassals who so long contended for -independence with their titular masters, weak sovereigns too often -unable to keep them in subjection. They raised the round towers and -square impregnable donjons, resisting capture in the days before siege -artillery, all of which have their gruesome history, their painful -records showing the base uses which they served, giving effect to the -wicked will of heartless, unprincipled tyrants. - -Thus, as we descend the river, we come to Blois, with its spacious -castle at once formidable and palatial, stained with many blood-thirsty -deeds when vicious and unscrupulous kings held their court there. -Great personages were there imprisoned and sometimes assassinated. -At first the fief of the Counts of Blois, it later passed into the -possession of the crown and became the particular property of the -dukes of Orleans. It was the favorite residence of that duke who became -King Louis XII of France, and his second queen, Anne of Brittany. His -son, Francis I, enlarged and beautified it, and his son again, Henry -II, married a wife, Catherine de Medicis, who was long associated with -Blois and brought much evil upon it. Catherine is one of the blackest -female figures in French history; "niece of a pope, mother of four -Valois, a Queen of France, widow of an ardent enemy of the Huguenots, -an Italian Catholic, above all a Medicis," hers was a dissolute wicked -life, her hands steeped in blood, her moral character a reproach to -womankind. Her favorite device was "_odiate e aspettate_," "hate and -wait," and when she called anyone "friend" it boded ill for him; she -was already plotting his ruin. She no doubt inspired, and is to be held -responsible for the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and the murder of -the Duc de Guise in this very castle of Blois was largely her doing. -It was one of the worst of the many crimes committed in the shameful -reign of her son Henry III, the contemptible king with his unnatural -affections, his effeminate love of female attire, his little dogs, -his loathsome favorites and his nauseating mockeries of holiness. His -court was a perpetual scene of intrigue, conspiracy, superstition, the -lowest vices, cowardly assassinations and murderous duels. One of the -most infamous of these was a fight between three of his particular -associates and three of the Guises, when four of the combatants were -killed. - -The famous league of the "Sixteen," headed by the Duc de Guise, would -have carried Henry III back to Paris and held him there a prisoner, -but the King was resolved to strike a blow on his own behalf and -determined to kill Guise. The States General was sitting at Blois and -Guise was there taking the leading part. The famous Crillon, one of -his bravest soldiers, was invited to do the deed but refused, saying -he was a soldier and not an executioner. Then one of Henry's personal -attendants offered his services with the forty-five guards, and it was -arranged that the murder should be committed in the King's private -cabinet. Guise was summoned to an early council, but the previous -night he had been cautioned by a letter placed under his napkin. "He -would not dare," Guise wrote underneath the letter and threw it under -the table. Next morning he proceeded to the cabinet undeterred. The -King had issued daggers to his guards, saying, "Guise or I must die," -and went to his prayers. When Guise lifted the curtain admitting him -into the cabinet one of the guards stabbed him in the breast. A fierce -struggle ensued, in which the Duke dragged his murderers round the room -before they could dispatch him. "The beast is dead, so is the poison," -was the King's heartless remark, and he ran to tell his mother that he -was "once more master of France." This cowardly act did not serve the -King, for it stirred up the people of Paris, who vowed vengeance. Henry -at once made overtures to the Huguenots and next year fell a victim to -the knife of a fanatic monk at Saint Clou. - -Blois ceased to be the seat of the Court after Henry III. Louis XIII, -when he came to the throne, imprisoned his mother Marie de Medicis -there. It was a time of great political stress when executions were -frequent, and much sympathy was felt for Marie de Medicis. A plot was -set on foot to release her from Blois. A party of friends arranged the -escape. She descended from her window by a rope ladder, accompanied -by a single waiting-woman. Many accidents supervened: there was no -carriage, the royal jewels had been overlooked, time was lost in -searching for the first and recovering the second, but at length -Marie was free to continue her criminal machinations. Her chief ally -was Gaston d'Orleans, who came eventually to live and die on his -estate at Blois. He was a cowardly, self indulgent prince but had a -remarkable daughter, Marie de Montpensier, commonly called "La Grande -Mademoiselle," who was the heroine of many stirring adventures, some of -which will be told later on. - -Not far from Blois are Chambord, an ancient fortress, first transformed -into a hunting lodge and later into a magnificent palace, a perfect -wilderness of dressed stone; Chaumont, the birth-place of Cardinal -d'Amboise and at one time the property of Catherine de Medicis; -Amboise, the scene of the great Huguenot massacre of which more on a -later page; Chenonceaux, Henri II's gift to Diane de Poitiers, which -Catherine took from her, and in which Mary Queen of Scots spent a part -of her early married life; Langeais, an Angevin fortress of the middle -ages; Azay-le-Rideau, a perfect Renaissance chateau; Fontevrault, where -several Plantagenet kings found burial, and Chinon, a triple castle -now irretrievably ruined, to which Jeanne d'Arc came seeking audience -of the King, when Charles VII formally presented her with a suit of -knight's armor and girt on her the famous sword, said to have been -picked up by Charles Martel on the Field of Tours after that momentous -victory which checked the Moorish invasion, and but for which the -dominion of Islam would probably have embraced western Europe. - -Two other remarkable prison castles must be mentioned here, Amboise -and Angers. The first named is still a conspicuous object in a now -peaceful neighborhood, but it offers few traces of antiquity, although -it is full of bloody traditions. Its most terrible memory is that of -the Amboise conspiracy organised by the Huguenots in 1560, and intended -to remove the young king, Francis II, from the close guardianship of -the Guises. The real leader was the Prince de Conde, known as "the -silent captain." The ostensible chief was a Protestant gentleman of -Perigord, named Renaudie, a resolute, intelligent man, stained with an -evil record, having been once sentenced and imprisoned for the crime of -forgery. He was to appear suddenly at the castle at the head of fifteen -hundred devoted followers, surprise the Guises and seize the person of -the young king. One of their accomplices, a lawyer, or according to -another account, a certain Captain Lignieres, was alarmed and betrayed -the conspirators. Preparations were secretly made for defence, Renaudie -was met with an armed force and killed on the spot, and his party made -prisoners by lots, as they appeared. All were forthwith executed, -innocent and guilty, even the peasants on their way to market. They -were hanged, decapitated or drowned. The court of the castle and the -streets of the town ran with blood until the executioners, sated with -the slaughter, took to sewing up the survivors in sacks and throwing -them into the river from the bridge garnished with gibbets, and ghastly -heads impaled on pikes. A balcony to this day known as the "Grille aux -Huguenots" still exists, on which Catherine de Medicis and her three -sons, Francis II, the reigning monarch, Charles, afterwards the ninth -king of that name, and Henry II, witnessed the massacre in full court -dress. Mary, Queen of Scots, the youthful bride of her still younger -husband, was also present. The Prince de Conde had been denounced, but -there was no positive evidence against him and he stoutly denied his -guilt, and in the presence of the whole court challenged any accuser to -single combat. No one took up the glove and he remained free until a -fresh conspiracy, stimulated by detestation of the atrocities committed -by the Guises, seriously compromised the prince. Conde was arrested at -Orleans, found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. He was saved -by the death of Francis. Mary Stuart afterward returned to Scotland to -pass through many stormy adventures and end her life on the scaffold. - -The fiendish butchery just described was the last great tragedy Amboise -witnessed, but it received one or two notable prisoners as time went -on, more particularly Fouquet, the fraudulent superintendent of -finances whom Louis XIV pursued to the bitter end; and Lauzun le Beau, -the handsome courtier who flew too high "with vaulting ambition, but -fell" into the depths of a dungeon. A detailed account of both these -cases will be found in another chapter. - -In quite recent years Amboise was occupied by a very different -prisoner, the intrepid Arab leader Abd-el-Kader, who after his capture -by the Duc d'Aumale in 1847, in the last Algerian war, was interred in -the heart of France in full view of the so-called "Arab camp" where his -Saracen ancestors had gone so near to enslaving Christian Europe. - -Angers, once called Black Angers, from the prevailing hue of its dark -slate buildings, was the capital of Anjou and the seat of its dukes, -so nearly allied with the English Plantagenet dynasty. When Henry II -of England held his court there, Angers was reputed second only to -London in brilliancy and importance. The French king, Louis XI, after -the expulsion of the English, joined the dukedom of Anjou to the -Kingdom of France. The venerable castle, a most striking object with -its alternate bands of white stone let in between black rough slate, is -still considered from its massive proportions and perfect preservation -the finest feudal castle in France. The part overlooking the river, -which was the palace of the counts, is now in ruins, but the high tower -called Du Moulin or Du Diable, and the south tower called La Tour -Dixsept, which contains the old dungeons of the State prisons, is still -standing. The miserable fate of their sad occupants may still be noted, -and the rings to which they were chained still remain embedded in the -rocky walls and the stone floors. - -[Illustration: _The Isle St. Marguerite_ - -One of two rocky, pine-clad islets near the shore at Cannes, and has an -ancient history. Francis I began his captivity here after the Battle of -Pavia. Marshal Bazaine was also imprisoned here. It was at one time the -prison where the mysterious "Man with the Iron Mask" was confined.] - -Three famous prisons in their way were Pignerol, Exiles and the island -fortress of St. Marguerite. Pignerol was a fortified frontier town of -Piedmont, which was for some time French property, half bought and half -stolen from Italy. It stands on the lower slopes of the southern Alps, -twenty miles from Turin, fifty from Nice and ninety east of Grenoble. -It was a stronghold of the princes of Savoy, capable of effective -defence, with a small red-roofed tower and many tall campaniles -gathering round an inner citadel, raised on a commanding height. This -central keep is a mass of rambling buildings with solid buttressed -walls, essentially a place of arms. Pignerol has three principal -gateways. One served for the road coming from the westward and was -called the gate of France; another from the eastward, was that of -Turin; and the third was a "safety" or "secret" gate, avoiding the -town and giving upon the citadel. This last gate was opened rarely -and only to admit a prisoner brought privately by special escort. It -was a French garrison town inhabited largely by Italians. There was a -French governor in supreme command, also a king's lieutenant who was -commandant of the citadel, and the head gaoler, who held the prison -proper; and these three officials constituted a sovereign council of -war. - -Exiles was an unimportant stronghold, a fort shaped like a five pointed -star, surrounding a small chateau with two tall towers which served -as prisons. St. Marguerite is one of the Iles de Lerins, a couple of -rocky pine clad islets facing the now prosperous southern resort of -Cannes and only fifteen hundred yards from the shore. The two islands -called respectively St. Honorat and St. Marguerite have each an -ancient history. The first was named after a holy man who early in the -fifth century established a monastery of great renown, while upon the -neighboring island he struck a well which yielded a miraculous flow -of sweet water. Francis I of France began his captivity here after his -crushing defeat at the battle of Pavia. The royal fort at the eastern -end of St. Marguerite was for some time the abode of the so-called "Man -with the Iron Mask," and many scenes of the apocryphal stories of that -exploded mystery are laid here. - -The island fortress became to some extent famous in our own day by -being chosen as the place of confinement for Marshal Bazaine, after his -conviction by court martial for the alleged treacherous surrender of -Metz to the Germans. As we know, he did not remain long a prisoner, his -escape having been compassed by an American friend. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -VINCENNES AND THE BASTILE - - Vincennes and the Bastile--Vincennes described--Castle - and woods--Torture--Methods and implements--_Amende - Honorable_--Flagellation and mutilations--Notable inmates--Prince - de Conde--Origin of the Bastile--Earliest records--Hugues - d'Aubriot--Last English garrison--Sir John Falstaff--Frequented by - Louis XI and Anne of Beaujeau--Charles VIII--Francis I--Persecution - of the Huguenots--Henry II, Diane de Poitiers, and Catherine de - Medicis--Her murderous oppressions--Bastile her favorite prison. - - -We come now to the two great metropolitan prisons that played so large -a part in the vexed and stormy annals of France. Vincennes and Bastile -may be said to epitomise Parisian history. They were ever closely -associated with startling episodes and notable personages, the best -and worst Frenchmen in all ages, and were incessantly the centres of -rebellions, dissensions, contentions and strife. They were both State -prisons, differing but little in character and quality. Vincennes was -essentially a place of durance for people of rank and consequence. -The Bastile took the nobility also, but with them the whole crowd of -ordinary criminals great and small. These prisons were the two weapons -forged by autocratic authority and freely used by it alike for the -oppression of the weak and down trodden, and the openly turbulent but -vainly recalcitrant. The royal relatives that dared oppose the king, -the stalwart nobles that conspired or raised the standard of revolt, -the great soldiers who dabbled in civil war, found themselves committed -to Vincennes. The same classes of offenders, but generally of lesser -degree, were thrown into the Bastile. The courtier who forgot his -manners or dared to be independent in thought or action, the bitter -poetaster and too fluent penman of scurrilous pamphlets, were certain -of a lodging at the gloomy citadel of Saint Antoine. - -The castle of Vincennes was used primarily as a royal palace and -has been called the Windsor of the House of Valois. Philip IV, the -first king of that family, kept high festival there in a splendid -and luxurious court. The great edifice was of noble dimensions--both -a pleasure house and a prison, with towers and drawbridges for -defense and suites of stately apartments. It stood in the centre of -a magnificent forest, the famous Bois de Vincennes, the name often -used to describe the residence; and the crowned heads and royal -guests who constantly visited the French sovereigns hunted the deer -in the woods around, or diverted themselves with tilts or tournaments -in the courtyard of the castle. The first to use Vincennes largely -as a prison was that famous gaoler Louis XI. He did not live there -much, preferring as a residence his impregnable fortified palace at -Plessis-lez-Tours. Not satisfied with Loches, he utilised Vincennes and -kept it constantly filled. Some account of his principal victims will -be found in the narrative of succeeding reigns and the extensive use of -the various prisons made by succeeding kings. - -The prison fortress of Vincennes in its palmiest days consisted of nine -great towers; and a tenth, loftier and more solid, was the Donjon, or -central keep, commonly called the Royal Domain. Two drawbridges must be -passed before entrance was gained by a steep ascent. This was barred -by three heavy doors. The last of these communicated directly with the -Donjon, being so ponderous that it could only be moved by the combined -efforts of the warder within and the sergeant of the guard without. A -steep staircase led to the cells above. The four towers had each four -stories and each story a hall forty feet long, with a cell at each -corner having three doors apiece. These doors acted one on the other. -The second barred the first and the third barred the second, and none -could be opened without knowledge of secret machinery. - -The torture chamber, with all its abominable paraphernalia of "boots," -rack, "stools" and other implements for inflicting torture, was on -the first floor. Every French prison of the olden times had its -"question" chamber to carry out the penalties and savage processes -of the French judicial code. The barbarous treatment administered in -it was not peculiar to France alone, but was practised in prisons -throughout the so-called civilised world. Torture was in general use -in French prisons till a late date and really survived till abolished -by the ill-fated Louis XVI in 1780. It may be traced back to the -ancient judicial ordeals when an accused was allowed to prove his -innocence by withstanding combat or personal attack. It was also known -as the "question" because the judge stood by during its infliction -and called upon the prisoner to answer the interrogations put to him, -when his replies, if any, were written down. The process is described -by La Bruyere as a marvellous but futile invention "quite likely to -force the physically weak to confess crimes they never committed -and yet quite as certain to favor the escape of the really guilty, -strong enough to support the application." The "question" was of two -distinct categories: one, the "preparatory" or "ordinary," an unfair -means of obtaining avowals for the still legally innocent; the other, -"preliminary" or "extraordinary," reserved for those actually condemned -to death but believed to know more than had yet been elicited. There -were many terrible varieties of torture exhibiting unlimited cruel -invention. We are familiar enough with the "rack," the "wheel," the -"thumb screw" and the "boot." Other less known forms were the "veglia" -introduced into France by the popes when the Holy See came to Avignon. -The "veglia" consisted of a small wooden stool so constructed that when -the accused sat upon it his whole weight rested on the extremity of -his spine. His sufferings soon became acute. He groaned, he shrieked -and then fainted, whereupon the punishment ceased until he came to -and was again placed on the stool. It was usual to hold a looking -glass before his eyes that his distorted features might frighten him -into confession. The "estrapade," like the "veglia," was borrowed -from Italy. By this the torture was applied with a rope and pulley by -which the patient was suspended over a slow fire and slowly roasted, -being alternately lifted and let down so as to prolong his sufferings. -Elsewhere in France fire was applied to the soles of the feet or a -blade was introduced between the nail and the flesh of finger or toe. -Sometimes sulphur matches or tow was inserted between the fingers and -ignited. - -In the chief French prisons the "question" was generally limited to the -two best known tortures: swallowing great quantities of water and the -insertion of the legs within a casing or "boot" of wood or iron. For -the first, the accused was chained to the floor and filled with water -poured down his throat by means of a funnel. In the "ordinary question" -four "cans"--pints, presumably--of water were administered, and for -the "extraordinary" eight cans. From a report of the proceedings -in the case of a priest accused of sacrilege, who had been already -sentenced to death but whose punishment was accentuated by torture, it -is possible to realise the sufferings endured. After the first can the -victim cried "May God have mercy on me;" at the second he declared, "I -know nothing and I am ready to die;" at the third he was silent, but at -the fourth he declared he could support it no longer and that if they -would release him he would tell the truth. Then he changed his mind -and refused to speak, declaring that he had told all he knew and was -forthwith subjected to the "extraordinary question." At the fifth can -he called upon God twice. At the sixth he said, "I am dying, I can hold -out no longer, I have told all." At the seventh he said nothing. At -the eighth he screamed out that he was dying and lapsed into complete -silence. Now the surgeon interfered, saying that further treatment -would endanger his life, and he was unbound and placed on a mattress -near the fire. He appears to have made no revelations and was in due -course borne off to the place of execution. - -The torture of the "boot" was applied by inserting the legs in an iron -apparatus which fitted closely but was gradually tightened by the -introduction of wedges driven home within the fastenings. The pain was -intense and became intolerable as the wedge was driven farther and -farther down between the knee and the iron casing by repeated blows of -the mallet. The "boot" was better known in France as the _brodequin_ -or _buskin_. In England some modification of it was introduced by one -Skeffington, a keeper in the Tower, and this gave it the nickname of -"Skeffington's gyves" which was corrupted into the words "scavenger's -daughters." - -It was sometimes shown that the torture had been applied to perfectly -innocent people. The operation was performed with a certain amount -of care. One of the master surgeons of the prison was always present -to watch the effect upon the patient and to offer him advice. The -"questioner" was a sworn official who was paid a regular salary, about -one hundred francs a year. - -Of the secondary punishments, those less than death, there was the -_amende honorable_, a public reparation made by degrading exposure with -a rope round the neck, sometimes by standing at the door of a church, -sometimes by being led through the streets seated on a donkey with face -towards the tail. The culprit was often stripped naked to the waist and -flogged on the back as he stood or was borne away. Blasphemy, sacrilege -and heresy were punished by the exaction of the _amende honorable_. An -old King of France was subjected to it by his revolted sons. A reigning -prince, the Count of Toulouse, who was implicated in the assassination -of a papal legate concerned in judging the _religieuses_, was brought -with every mark of ignominy before an assemblage at the door of a -church. Three archers, who had violated a church sanctuary and dragged -forth two fugitive thieves, were sentenced on the demand of the clergy -to make the _amende_ at the church door arrayed in petticoats and -bearing candles in their hands. - -Flagellation was a cruel and humiliating punishment, largely used -under degrading conditions and with various kinds of instruments. -Mutilation was employed in every variety; not a single part of the body -has escaped some penalties. There were many forms of wounding the eyes -and the mouth; tongue, ears, teeth, arms, hands and feet have been -attacked with fire and weapons of every kind. To slice off the nose, -crop the ears, amputate the wrist, draw the teeth, cut off the lower -limbs, were acts constantly decreed. Branding with red hot irons on -the brow, cheeks, lips and shoulders, kept the executioner busy with -such offenses as blasphemy, petty thefts and even duelling. The effects -served to inhibit like offenses, but the punishment was in no sense a -preventive or corrective. - -Prisoners were generally received at Vincennes in the dead of night, -a natural sequel to secret unexplained arrests, too often the result -of jealousy or caprice or savage ill-will. The ceremony on arrival was -much the same as that which still obtains. A close search from head to -foot, the deprivation of all papers, cash and valuables, executed under -the eyes of the governor himself. The new arrival was then conducted -to his lodging, generally a foul den barely furnished with bedstead, -wooden table and a couple of rush-bottomed chairs. The first mandate -issued was that strict silence was the invariable rule. Arbitrary and -irksome rules governed the whole course of procedure and daily conduct. -The smallest privileges depended entirely upon the order of superior -authority. Books or writing materials were issued or forbidden as the -gaoler, the king's minister, or the king himself might decide. Dietary -was fixed by regulation and each prisoner's maintenance paid out of the -king's bounty on a regular scale according to the rank and quality of -the captive. The allowance for princes of the blood was $10 per diem, -for marshals of France $7.50, for judges, priests and captains in the -army or officials of good standing about $2, and for lesser persons -fifty cents. These amounts were ample, but pilfering and peculation -were the general rule. The money was diverted from the use intended, -articles were issued in kind and food and fuel were shamelessly stolen. -Prisoners who were not allowed to supply themselves, were often half -starved and half frozen in their cells. So inferior was the quality of -the prison rations, that those who purloined food could not sell it -in the neighborhood and the peasants said that all that came from the -Donjon was rotten. In sharp contrast was the revelry and rioting in -which prisoners of high station were permitted to indulge. These were -attended by their own servants and constantly visited by their personal -friends of both sexes. An amusing sidelight on the regime of Vincennes -may be read in the account of the arrest of the great Prince de Conde, -during the Fronde, and his two confederate princes, the Prince de -Conti, his brother, and the Duc de Longueville, his brother-in-law. No -preparations had been made for their reception, but Conde, a soldier -and an old campaigner, supped on some new-laid eggs and slept on a -bundle of straw. Next morning he played tennis and shuttle-cock with -the turnkeys, sang songs and began seriously to learn music. A strip -of garden ground, part of the great court, surrounding the prison, -where the prisoners exercised, was given to Conde to cultivate and he -raised pinks which were the admiration of all Paris. He poked fun at -the Governor and when the latter threatened him for breach of rule, -proposed to strangle him. This is clearly the same Conde who nicknamed -Cardinal Mazarin, "Mars," when his eminence aspired to lead an army, -and when he wrote him a letter addressed it to "His Excellency, the -Great Scoundrel." - -Prison discipline must have been slack in Vincennes, nor could -innumerable locks and ponderous chains make up for the careless guard -kept by its gaolers. Many escapes were effected from Vincennes, more -creditable to the ingenuity and determination of the fugitives than to -the vigilance and integrity of those charged with their safe custody. - -Antiquarian researches connect the Bastile in its beginning with the -fortifications hastily thrown up by the Parisians in the middle of the -fourteenth century to defend the outskirts of the city upon the right -bank of the river. The walls built by Philip Augustus one hundred and -fifty years earlier were by this time in a ruinous condition. The -English invasion had prospered, and after the battle of Poitiers the -chief authority in the capital, Etienne Marcel, the provost of the -merchants, felt bound to protect Paris. An important work was added -at the eastern entrance of the city, and the gateway was flanked by a -tower on either side. Marcel was in secret correspondence with the then -King of Navarre, who aspired to the throne of France, and would have -admitted him to Paris through this gateway, but was not permitted to -open it. The infuriated populace attacked him as he stood with the keys -in his hand, and although he sought asylum in one of the towers he was -struck down with an axe and slain. - -This first fortified gate was known as the Bastile of St. Antoine. -The first use of the word "Bastile," which is said to have been of -Roman origin, was applied to the temporary forts raised to cover -siege works and isolate and cut off a beleaguered city from relief or -revictualment. The construction of a second and third fortress was -undertaken some years later, in 1370, when the first stone of the -real Bastile was laid. Another provost, Hugues Aubriot by name, had -authority from Charles V to rebuild and strengthen the defences, and -was supplied by the king with moneys for the purpose. Aubriot appears -to have added two towers to the gateway, and this made the Bastile into -a square fort with a tower at each angle. This provost was high-handed -and ruled Paris with a rod of iron, making many enemies, who turned on -him. He offended the ever turbulent students of the University and was -heavily fined for interfering with their rights. To raise money for the -king, he imposed fresh taxes, and was accused of unlawful commerce with -the Jews, for which he was handed over to the ecclesiastical tribunal -and condemned to be burnt to death. This sentence was, however, -commuted to perpetual imprisonment, and tradition has it that he was -confined in one of the towers he had himself erected. The historian -compares his sad fate with that of other designers of punishment, such -as the Greek who invented the brazen bull and was the first to be burnt -inside it, or Enguerrand de Marigny, who was hung on his own gibbet of -Montfaucon, and the Bishop Haraucourt of Verdun, who was confined in -his own iron cage. - -Hugues Aubriot was presently transferred from the Bastile to -For-l'Eveque prison where he was languishing at the time of the -insurrection of the Maillotins. These men rose against the imposition -of fresh taxes and armed themselves with leaden mallets which they -seized in the arsenal. A leader failing them, they forcibly released -Hugues Aubriot and begged him to be their captain, escorting him in -triumph to his house. But the ex-provost pined for peace and quiet and -slipped away at the first chance. He was a native of Dijon in Burgundy -and he escaped thither to die in obscurity the following year. - -Charles VI enlarged and extended the Bastile by adding four more towers -and giving it the plan of a parallelogram, and it remained with but few -modifications practically the same when captured by the revolutionists -in 1789. The fortress now consisted of eight towers, each a hundred -feet high and with a wall connecting them, nine feet thick. Four of -these towers looked inwards facing the city, four outwards over the -suburb of St. Antoine. A great ditch, twenty-five feet deep and one -hundred and twenty feet wide, was dug to surround it. The road which -had hitherto passed through it was diverted, the gateway blocked up -and a new passage constructed to the left of the fortress. The Bastile -proper ceased to be one of the entrances of Paris and that of the Porte -St. Antoine was substituted. Admission to the fortress was gained at -the end opposite the rue St. Antoine between the two towers named the -Baziniere and Comte overlooking the Seine. On the ground floor of -the former was the reception ward, as we should call it, a detailed -account of which is preserved in the old archives. The first room was -the porter's lodge with a guard bed and other pieces of furniture of -significant purpose; two ponderous iron bars fixed in the wall, with -iron chains affixed ending in fetters for hands and feet, and an iron -collar for the neck; the avowed object of all being to put a man in -"Gehenna," the ancient prison euphemism for hell. A four-wheeled iron -chariot is also mentioned, no doubt for the red hot coals to be used in -inflicting torture, the other implements for which were kept in this -chamber. The tower of the Comte was like the rest, of four stories, and -became chiefly interesting for the escapes effected from it by Latude -and D'Allegre in later years. - -All the towers of the Bastile received distinctive names derived from -the chance associations of some well-known personage or from the -purpose to which they were applied. These names became the official -designation of their occupants, who were entered in the books as "No. -so and so" of "such and such a tower." Personal identity was soon lost -in the Bastile. If we made the circuit of the walls, starting from -the Baziniere Tower first described, we should come to that of La -Bertaudiere in the facade above the rue St. Antoine and overlooking -the city, the third floor of which was the last resting place of that -mysterious prisoner, the Man with the Iron Mask. Next came the tower of -Liberty, a name supposed by some to have originated in some saturnine -jest, by others to have been the scene of successful escape, although -attempts were usually made on the other side of the Bastile which -overlooked the open country. The tower of the Well (Du Puits) had an -obvious derivation. - -At the north-east angle was the Corner Tower, so called, no doubt, -because it was situated at the corner of the street and the Boulevard -St. Antoine. Next came the Chapel Tower, from its neighborhood to the -old Chapel of the Bastile. This at one time took rank as the noble -quarter of the fortress and was called the "Donjon"--for in the time -of the English domination the king's chamber and that of the "captain" -were situated in this tower. In later days the Chapel Tower had -accommodation for only three occupants, two on the second and one on -the third floor, the first floor being used as a store house. Next came -the Treasure Tower, a title which referred back to a very early date, -as witness receipts in existence for moneys paid over to the king's -controller-general of finances. In the reign of Henry IV, a prudent -monarch with a thrifty minister, the ever faithful and famous Duke de -Sully, large sums were deposited in this tower as a reserve for the -enterprises he contemplated. The money was soon expended after Henry's -assassination, in wasteful extravagances and civil wars. It is of -record that after payment of all current expenses of State, the surplus -collected by Sully in the Bastile amounted to 41,345,000 livres or -upwards of 120,000,000 francs, or $25,000,000. On reaching the eighth, -or last tower, that of the Comte, we return to the northernmost side of -the great gate already spoken of. - -Speaking generally, all these towers were of four stories, with an -underground basement each containing a number of dens and dungeons of -the most gloomy and horrible character. The stone walls were constantly -dripping water upon the slimy floor which swarmed with vermin, rats, -toads and newts. Scanty light entered through narrow slits in the wall -on the side of the ditch, and a small allowance of air, always foul -with unwholesome exhalations. Iron bedsteads with a thin layer of dirty -straw were the sole resting places of the miserable inmates. The fourth -or topmost floors were even more dark than the basement. These, the -Calottes, or "skull caps," (familiar to us as the head-dress of the -tonsured priests) were cagelike in form with low, vaulted roofs, so -that no one might stand upright within save in the very centre of the -room. They were barely lighted by narrow windows that gave no prospect, -from the thickness of the walls and the plentiful provision of iron -gratings having bars as thick as a man's arms. - -The fortress stood isolated in the centre of its own deep ditch, which -was encircled by a narrow gallery serving as a _chemin-des-rondes_, the -sentinel's and watchman's beat. This was reached by narrow staircases -from the lower level of the interior and there were sentry boxes at -intervals for the guards. North of the Bastile, beyond the main prison -structure, but included in the general line of fortifications, was -the Bastion, used as a terrace and exercising ground for privileged -prisoners. In later years permission was accorded to the governors -to grow vegetables upon this open space and fruit gardens were in -full bearing upon the final demolition of the Bastile. The privilege -conceded to the governor in this garden became a grievance of the -prisoners, for it was let to a contractor who claimed that when the -prisoners frequented it for exercise damage was done to the growing -produce, and by a royal decree all prisoners were forbidden henceforth -to enter this space. - -The Bastile was for the first two centuries of its history essentially -a military stronghold serving, principally, as a defensive work, and -of great value to its possessors for the time being. Whoever held -the Bastile over-awed Paris and was in a sense the master of France. -In the unceasing strife of parties it passed perpetually from hand -to hand and it would be wearisome to follow the many changes in its -ownership. In the long wars between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians, -the latter seized Paris in the reign of the half-witted Charles V, but -the Armagnacs held the Bastile and the person of the king's eldest -son, whose life was eventually saved by this seclusion. This dauphin -came afterwards to the throne through the help of the English king, -Henry V, who married his daughter Catherine and was appointed Regent of -France. Under this regime Paris was occupied for a time by an English -garrison. When at length the rival factions in France made common -cause against the intrusive strangers the French re-entered Paris and -the English were forced to retire into the Bastile, where they were -so closely besieged that they presently offered to capitulate. The -fortress was greatly over-crowded, supplies ran short and there was no -hope of relief. The Constable of France, Richemont, was master of the -situation outside, and at first refused terms, hoping to extort a large -ransom, but the people of Paris, eager to be rid of the foreigners, -advised him to accept their surrender and to allow the English garrison -to march out with colors flying. It was feared that the people of Paris -would massacre them as they passed through the streets and they were -led by a circuitous route to the river where, amidst the hoots and -hisses of a large crowd, they embarked in boats and dropped down the -river to Rouen. - -It is interesting to note here that one of the English governors of the -Bastile was a certain Sir John Falstaff, not Shakespeare's Sir John but -a very different person, a stalwart knight of unblemished character, -great judgment and approved prowess. He was a soldier utterly unlike -the drunken, and disreputable "Jack Falstaff," with his unconquerable -weakness for sack, who only fought men in buckram. The real Sir John -Falstaff was careful to maintain his charge safely, strengthening the -fortress at all points, arming and victualling it and handing it over -in good order to his successor, Lord Willoughby d'Eresby. History has -to record other good things of Sir John Falstaff, who is remembered -as a patron of letters, who paid a price for the translation of -Cicero's "De Senectute," who endowed Magdalen College, Oxford, with -much valuable property and whose name is still commemorated among the -founders of the College in the anniversary speech. He was a Knight of -the Garter, held many superior commands and died full of honors at the -advanced age of eighty. Lord Willoughby was governor at the time of the -surrender. He withdrew in safety and evidently in good heart for he won -a victory over the French at Amiens after his retreat. - -After the exodus of the English and with the accession of Louis XI, the -two State prisons of Paris were very fully and constantly occupied. -The chief episodes in the checkered history of France, conspiracies, -revolts and disturbances, were written in the prison registers and -their records are a running commentary upon the principal events of -French history. The personal qualities of the rulers, their quarrels -with their great subjects, the vindictive policies they followed, their -oppression of, and cruelty to the people, may be read in the annals of -Vincennes and the Bastile. By taking the reigns seriatim and examining -the character of the sovereigns, we shall best realise passing events -and those who acted in them. - -Let us take up the story with Louis XI to whom some reference has -already been made. Some of his victims, the prisoners of Loches and the -Comte de Saint Pol have figured on an earlier page. To these we may add -the story of the two Armagnacs, Jacques and Charles. Charles, although -wholly innocent, was arrested and imprisoned because his brother -Jacques had revolted against the king. Charles d'Armagnac was first -tortured horribly, then thrown into one of the cages of the Bastile, -which he inhabited for fourteen years and when released was found to be -bereft of reason. Jacques, better known as the Duc de Nemours, had been -the boy friend and companion of Louis, who lavished many favors on him -which he repaid by conspiring against the royal authority. When orders -were issued for his arrest he withdrew to his own castle, Carlet, -hitherto deemed impregnable. It succumbed, however, when besieged in -due form, and the Duke was taken prisoner. He had given himself up -on a promise that his life would be spared, but he received no mercy -from his offended king. His first prison was Pierre-Encise, in which -his hair turned grey in a few nights. Thence he was transferred to a -cage in the Bastile. The minute instructions were issued by the King -as to this prisoner's treatment, and in a letter it was directed that -he should never be permitted to leave his cage or to have his fetters -removed or to go to mass. He was only to be taken out to be tortured, -in the cruel desire to extort an avowal that he had intended to kill -the King and set up the Dauphin in his place. The Duke made a piteous -appeal, signing himself "Pauvre Jacques," but he was sent for trial -before the Parliament in a packed court from which the peers were -absent. He was condemned to death and executed, according to Voltaire, -under the most revolting circumstances. It is fair to add that no other -historian reports these atrocities. It is said that the scaffold on -which he suffered was so constructed that his children, the youngest -of whom was only five, were placed beneath clad in white and were -splashed with the blood from his severed head that dropped through the -openings of the planks. After this fearful tragedy these infants were -carried back to the Bastile and imprisoned there in a narrow cell for -five years. Other records, possibly also apocryphal, are preserved of -additional torments inflicted on the Armagnac princes. It is asserted -that they were taken out of their cells twice weekly to be flogged in -the presence of the governor and to have a tooth extracted every three -months. - -The character of Louis XI shows black and forbidding in history. His -tireless duplicity was matched by his distrustfulness and insatiable -curiosity. He braved all dangers to penetrate the secrets of others, -risked his own life, spent gold, wasted strength, used the matchless -cunning of a red Indian, betrayed confidences and lied to all the -world. Yet he was gifted with keen insight into human nature. No one -knew better than he the strength and weakness of his fellow creatures. -Withal, France has had worse rulers. He may be credited with a desire -to raise and help the common people. He saw that in their industry and -contentment the wealth of the kingdom chiefly lay and looked forward -to the day when settled government would be assured. "If I live a -little longer," he told Comines the historian, "there shall be only -one weight, one measure, one law for the kingdom. We will have no more -lawyers cheating and pilfering, lawsuits shall be shortened, and there -shall be good police in the country." These dreams were never realised; -but at least, Louis was not a libertine and the slave of selfish -indulgence, the most vicious in a vicious court, ever showing an evil -example and encouraging dissolute manners and shameless immorality, as -were many of those who came after him. - -Although the Salic law shut the female sex out of the succession to -the throne, supreme power was frequently wielded by women in France. -One of the earliest instances of this was in the steps taken by Louis -XI to provide for the government during the minority of his son, who -succeeded as Charles IX. The King's daughter, Anne de Beaujeu, was -named regent by her father, who had a high opinion of her abilities -and considered her "the least foolish of her sex he had met; not the -wisest, for there are no sensible women." She was in truth possessed -of remarkable talents and great strength of character, having much of -her father's shrewdness and being even less unscrupulous. But she ruled -with a high hand and her young brother submitted himself entirely to -her influence. She felt it her duty to make an example of the evil -counsellors upon whom Louis had so much relied. Oliver le Daim, the -ex-barber who had been created Comte de Meulan, was hanged, and his -estates confiscated; Doyat, chief spy and informer, was flogged and -his tongue pierced with a hot iron; Coictier, the King's doctor, who -had wielded too much authority, was fined heavily and sent into exile. -Anne's brother-in-law, the Duc d'Orleans, afterwards King Louis XII, -had expected the regency and rebelled, but she put him down with a -strong hand, destroyed the insurgent forces that he gathered around -him, and made him a close prisoner in the great tower of Bourges, -where he endured the usual penalties,--confinement in a narrow, -low-roofed cell by day and removal to the conventional iron cage at -night. Better fortune came to him in a few short years, for by the -death of the Dauphin, only son of Charles VIII, Louis became next -heir to the throne, and ascended it on the sudden death of the King -from an accident in striking his head against the low archway of a -dark corridor. He succeeded also to the King's bed, for in due course -he married his widow, Anne of Brittany, another woman of forcible -character, on whom he often relied, sometimes too greatly. - -The reign of Charles VIII and Louis brought military glory and a great -increase of territory to France. The records of generally successful -external war rather than internal dissensions fill the history of the -time and we look in vain for lengthy accounts of prisoners relegated -to the State prisons. With the accession of Francis I another epoch -of conflict arrived and was general throughout Europe, involving all -the great nations. It was the age of chivalry, when knights carried -fortunes on their backs and the most lavish outlay added to the "pomp -and circumstance" of war. "The Field of the Cloth of Gold" remains as -a landmark in history, when kings vied with each other in extravagant -ostentation and proposed to settle their differences by personal -combat. The reign was brilliant with achievement abroad, but at home -the people suffered much misery and Francis kept his prisons filled. -Some great personages fell under his displeasure and were committed to -the Bastile; notably, Montmorency, Constable of France, and Chabot, -Admiral of France. These two, once school companions of the King, -became bitter rivals and the Constable persuaded the King to try the -Admiral on a charge of embezzlement. Francis, jealous of Chabot, -readily accepted the accusation, and sent him to the Bastile, where the -most flagrant violations of justice were used to secure conviction. He -escaped with fines and banishment; and the next year the fickle monarch -forgave him and released him from durance. He had been so sorely tried -by his imprisonment that no doctor could restore him to health. The -Chancellor, Poyet, who had framed the indictment, next found himself -in the Bastile, suspected of being in the possession of important -State secrets. The King himself appeared as the witness against him -and although the charges were vague, he was sentenced to fine and -confiscation of property. - -[Illustration: _Castle St. Andre, Avignon_ - -Fortress and prison used by the popes when Avignon was the papal -residence, in the fourteenth century. Avignon remained the property -of the popes after their return to Rome, until its annexation by the -French in 1791.] - -The persecution of the Huguenots began in the reign of Francis I, who -from the first declared himself on the side of the Pope. Protestantism -as preached by Martin Luther took another form in France, and the -Geneva doctrines of Calvin, which went much further, were followed. -Calvin, it may be said here, rejected the Episcopate which Luther had -retained. He recognised only two sacraments,--Baptism and the Last -Supper, and desired his disciples to imitate the early Christians in -the austerity of their morals. The French Protestants were styled -Calvinists and more generally Huguenots, a name taken from the German -word, "_Eidgenossen_," or "confederates." Calvinism made slow progress -in France although it numbered amongst its adherents some of the -best heads in the nation, men of letters, savants, great lawyers and -members of the highest aristocracy. They were persecuted pitilessly. In -1559 Berquin, a king's councillor, a man of much learning, was burned -alive in Paris and many shared his fate as martyrs to the new faith -in the great cities such as Lyons, Toulouse, and Marseilles. The most -horrible atrocities were perpetrated against the Vaudois, a simple, -loyal population residing in the towns and villages around Avignon and -on the borders of the Durance. Two fanatical prelates of the Guise -family, the Cardinal de Tournon and the Cardinal de Lorraine, headed -the movement in the course of which 3,000 persons were massacred,--men, -women and children, and any who escaped were condemned to the galleys -for life. Nevertheless the reformed religion gained ground steadily. -The new ideas appealed to the people despite opposition. Neither -persecution, nor the threats fulminated by the Council of Trent, nor -the energies of the new order of Jesuits, could stamp out the new -faith; and religious intolerance, backed by the strong arm of the -Church was destined to deluge France with bloodshed in the coming -centuries. - -Henry II, who followed his father Francis on the throne, redoubled the -persecution which was stained with incessant and abominable cruelties. -The ordinary process of law was set aside in dealing with the Huguenots -who were brought under ecclesiastical jurisdiction. An edict published -in 1555, enjoined all governors and officers of justice to punish -without delay, without examination and without appeal, all heretics -condemned by the judges. The civil judge was no longer anything but the -passive executant of the sentences of the Church. The Parliament of -Paris protested, but the King turned a deaf ear to these remonstrances -and summoned a general meeting of all the Parliaments, which he -attended in person and where he heard some home truths. One of the most -outspoken was a great nobleman, one Anne Du Bourg, who defended the -Protestants, declaring that they were condemned to cruel punishment -while heinous criminals altogether escaped retribution. Du Bourg and -another, Dufaure, were arrested and were conveyed to the Bastile -where they were soon joined by other members of the Parliament. After -many delays Du Bourg was brought to trial, convicted and sentenced -to be burnt to death. "It is the intention of the Court," so ran the -judgment, "that the said Du Bourg shall in no wise feel the fire, and -that before it be lighted and he is cast therein he shall be strangled, -yet if he should wish to dogmatise and indulge in any remarks he shall -be gagged so as to avoid scandal." He was executed on the Place de la -Greve on the top of a high gallows under which a fire was lighted to -receive the dead body when it fell. - -Henry II had been a weak and self-indulgent king. Ostentatious and -extravagant, he wasted large sums in the expenses of his court and -lavished rich gifts on his creatures, a course which emptied the -treasury and entailed burdensome taxation. He was entirely under the -thumb of his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, a cold-blooded, selfish -creature, who ruled him and the country with unquestioned supremacy, -before whom even the lawful queen, Catherine de Medicis, humiliated -herself and paid abject court. The King's ministers, the Constable -Montmorency and the Duc de Guise, were at first rivals in power with -Diane, but soon joined with her in riding roughshod over the country, -and in bestowing all good things, places, governments and profitable -charges on their friends and creatures. Foreign adventure, external -wars, famine and pestilence constantly impoverished France. The people -rose frequently in insurrection and were always suppressed with -sanguinary cruelty. Constable Montmorency, above mentioned, dealt so -severely with Bordeaux, that in a short space of time no fewer than -four hundred persons were beheaded, burned, torn asunder by wild horses -or broken on the wheel. - -A prominent figure of those days was Mary Stuart, better known as Mary, -Queen of Scots, that fascinating woman who was "a politician at ten -years old and at fifteen governed the court." She was the child-wife of -Francis II, who unexpectedly came to the throne on the sudden death by -mischance of Henry II at a tournament held in front of the Bastile. He -had challenged Montgomery, an officer of the Scottish Guard, to break a -lance with him and in the encounter a splinter entered Henry's eye and -penetrated to the brain. - -The tragic death of Francis II was another of those instances in which -the Salic Law was evaded and a woman held supreme power. Catherine -de Medicis has already appeared on the scene in the sanguinary -suppression of the conspiracy of Amboise. This was only one of the -atrocities that stained her long tenure of power as Regent of France -during the minority of her son Charles IX. Her character has been -already indicated. Evil was ever in the ascendant with her and in -her stormy career she exhibited the most profound cunning, a rare -fertility of resource, and the finished diplomacy of one trained in -the Machiavellian school. She was double-faced and deceitful beyond -measure. Now the ally of one political party, now of the other, she -betrayed both. She even affected sympathy at times with the Protestants -and often wept bitter crocodile tears over their sufferings. For a -time liberty of conscience was conceded to the Huguenots but Catherine -desired always to conciliate the Catholics and concerted measures with -Philip of Spain to bring about a new persecution. A fresh conflict -ensued in which successes were gained on both sides, but the Huguenots -showed so firm a front that peace could not be denied them. They were -always prepared to rise, offering a hydra-headed resistance that might -be scotched but could not be killed. To crush them utterly Catherine -planned the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, in which the Admiral Coligny -and 10,000 Protestants were murdered in Paris alone and 30,000 more -in the provinces. This ineffaceable crime to which Charles IX had -weakly consented, seemed to paralyse the Huguenot cause and many of -their principal leaders abjured the new faith. Charles IX, tortured by -remorse, constantly haunted by superstitious terrors, rapidly succumbed -to wasting disease and died penitent, acknowledging his guilt. - -Some time previously Henri d'Anjou had been elected King of Poland -and on his departure, efforts were made to secure the succession for -his younger brother, the Duc d'Alencon, who was to own himself the -protector of the Huguenots. The plot failed and served only to fill the -prisons of Vincennes and Bastile. Montgomery, the Huguenot leader, was -implicated. He had surrendered on a vague promise of safe conduct which -ended in his torture to compel confession of complicity in the plot. He -was on the point of being secretly strangled when Catherine de Medicis, -who had gone to the Bastile to be present at his execution, suddenly -changed her mind and set the surprised prisoner free. - -Another class was committed to the Bastile by Catherine de Medicis. She -waged war constantly against coiners and issuers of false money; their -chief ringleader was sent to the Bastile with special instructions -for his "treatment." He was transferred secretly to Paris from Rouen -and shut up alone in an especially private place where no news could -be had of him. This order was signed by Catherine herself. Next year -(1555) a defaulting finance officer was committed and the lieutenant -of the Bastile was ordered to forbid him to speak to a soul or write -or give any hint where he was. Again, a Gascon gentleman, named Du -Mesnil, was taken in the act of robbing and murdering a courier on his -way to Italy, the bearer of 30,000 crowns worth of pearls. Du Mesnil's -accomplices, two simple soldiers, were hanged at the Halles but he -himself was sent to the Bastile and recommended to its governor for -"good discipline." This prisoner seems to have preferred liberty to -the favor shown him, such as it was, for in November, 1583, he made -a desperate attempt to escape. The account given by L'Estoile in his -memoirs, is that Du Mesnil, weary of his close confinement, burned down -the door of his cell, got out, became possessed of a rope from the well -in the court, climbed to the top of the terrace (the Bastion), fastened -his rope through an artillery wheel and lowered himself into the ditch. -The rope had been lengthened by another made from his sheets and -bedding, but it was still too short to reach the bottom, and letting -himself fall he was caught on a window below and making outcry was -recaptured and re-imprisoned. A more distinguished prisoner was Bernard -Palissy, the famous potter who was committed to gaol as a Protestant -and died in the Bastile in 1590 when eighty years of age. L'Estoile -tells us that Palissy at his death bequeathed him two stones, one of -them, part of a petrified skull which he accounted a philosopher's -stone, the other, a stone he had himself manufactured. "I have them -still," says L'Estoile, "carefully preserved in my cabinet for the sake -of the good old man whom I loved and relieved in his necessity,--not as -much as I could have wished, but to the full extent of my power." - -When Henry III assassinated the Duc de Guise at Blois, Paris took it -greatly to heart and swore vengeance. The "Sixteen" held the Bastile, -and its governor, Bussy-Leclerc, an ex-fencing master, sought to coerce -the Parliament, seizing at once upon all with royalist leanings and -driving them into the Bastile. President Auguste de Thou was arrested -and with him his wife, who is said to have been the first female -occupant of this prison. Now the King, in despair, turned to the -Huguenots and formed an alliance with Henry of Navarre. The two kings -joined forces to recover Paris and the Parisians, alarmed, feeling they -could not make long resistance, accepted the worst. Some said there -would be a second St. Bartholomew, for the "Leaguers" and the Royalists -boasted that so many should be hanged that the wood for gibbets would -run short. But the situation suddenly changed, for Henry III was -unexpectedly assassinated by a fanatical monk, Clement, in the very -heart of the royal apartments. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE RISE OF RICHELIEU - - Early governors of the Bastile--Frequent changes--Day of - Barricades--Conspiracy of Biron--Assassination of Henry - IV--Ravaillac--Barbarous sentence--Marie de Medicis left - Regent--Story of the Concinis--Rise of Richelieu--Gifts and - character--His large employment of the State prisons--Duelling - prohibited--The Day of Dupes--Triumph over his enemies--Fall of - Marie de Medicis--Marechal Bassompierre--His prolonged imprisonment. - - -We may pause a moment at this stage to give some attention to a few of -the more prominent governors of the Bastile, appointed by each side in -turn during the long conflicts of the opposing parties. Antoine d'Ivyer -was the first after the English, as captain under the supreme command -of Duke Charles of Bourbon. One Cissey, after fifteen years' tenure in -the Bastile, was succeeded by La Rochette, he by De Melun, he by De -Chauvigny, and the last by Phillip Luillier, who enjoyed the confidence -of Louis XI and was personally in charge of the bishops and dukes who -have been mentioned. He was the last of the royal functionaries, the -court officials other than military men who acted as gaolers. Only in -the troublous times of the League and later of the Fronde, when the -possession of the Bastile meant so much to the existing regime, was the -fortress entrusted to the strong hands of soldiers and men of action -equal to any emergency. After Luillier the charge was considered equal -to a provincial government and those entrusted with it were some of -the most considerable persons in the State, constables or ministers -who ruled by lieutenant or deputy and kept only the title and dignity -of the office. It was long deemed hereditary in certain great families -and descended from father to son, as with the Montmorencys. The head -of that house, William, in 1504, was succeeded by his son, Anne, a -Pluralist, at the same time governor of Paris and captain of the castle -of Vincennes. Francis, a marshal of France, son of the last-named, -was a third Montmorency governor. Much later the post was held by -successive members of the family of Admiral Coligny, and some of the -governors were very eminent persons, such as Chateauneuf, the Duc de -Luynes, Marechal Bassompierre and Sully, the celebrated minister of -Henry IV, whose memoirs have been widely read and were the inspiration -of the English novelist, Stanley Weyman. - -The Bastile often changed hands. When Henry of Guise made himself -master of Paris after the "Battle," or "Day of the Barricades," Laurent -Testu was governor or king's lieutenant of the Bastile; but after -the second day's fighting, when summoned to surrender, he obeyed -and opened the gates. The Duc de Guise then gave the governorship to -one Bussy-Leclerc, a devoted adherent, but of indifferent character, -who had been a procureur of the Parliament and a fencing master. -He had a large following of bullies and cut-throats. The prisoners -in the Bastile were quite at his mercy and he ruled with a rough, -reckless hand, inflicting all manner of cruelties in order to -extort money,--squeezing the rich and torturing the poor. After the -assassination of Henry of Guise at Blois, he planned reprisals against -Henry III and sought to intimidate the Parliament, which would have -made submission to the King, by making its members prisoners in the -Bastile. Leclerc's excesses roused Paris against him, and the Duc de -Mayenne, now the head of the League, threatened the Bastile. Leclerc, -in abject terror, at once surrendered on condition that he might retire -from the capital to Brussels with the plunder he had acquired. Dubourg -l'Espinasse, a brave, honorable soldier, was appointed to the Bastile -by the Duc de Mayenne, in succession to Leclerc and defended it stoutly -against Henry of Navarre, now King Henry IV, after the assassination -of his predecessor. Dubourg declared that he knew no king of France -but the Duc de Mayenne, and on being told that Henry was master of -Paris, said, "Good, but I am master of the Bastile!" He at length -agreed to yield up the fortress to the Duke, who had entrusted him -with the command, and finally marched out with all the honors of war, -gaining great credit from the King for his staunch and loyal conduct -to his superiors. The text of the capitulation has been preserved and -its quaint phraseology may be transcribed. The commandant promised to -hand over to the king, "on Sunday at three in the afternoon the said -Bastile, its artillery and munitions of war. In return for which the -King will permit the garrison to march out with arms, horses, furniture -and all belongings. The troops will issue by one gate with drums -beating, matches lighted and balls" (for loading). - -It is recorded of Henry IV by the historian Maquet, that he was the -king who least abused the Bastile. It is due this sovereign to say -that the prisoners confined in it during his reign were duly tried -and condemned by Parliament and that from his accession the fortress -lost its exceptional character and became an ordinary prison. Sully -was appointed governor and received a letter of appointment in which -the King announced that he relied more than ever upon his loyalty and -had decided to make him captain of the Bastile: "so that if I should -have any birds to put in the cage and hold tight I can rely upon your -foresight, diligence and loyalty." Few prisoners were committed to the -Bastile in this reign, but all imprisoned were notably traitors. Such -was Charles, Marechal de Biron, the restless and unstable subject who -conspired more than once against the King, by whom at one time he had -been exceedingly favored. Henry IV was greatly attached to Biron. "I -never loved anyone as I loved Biron," he said. "I could have confided -my son and my kingdom to him." For a time Biron served him well, yet -he, too, entered into a dangerous conspiracy with the King of Spain, -the Duke of Savoy and the King's disloyal subjects in France. - -Henry IV forgave him and paid his debts, which were large, for he was -a great gambler and had lost large sums at the tables. Biron was sent -to London as ambassador to the English Queen Elizabeth but resumed -his evil courses on his return to France and was summoned before the -King to answer for them. Henry promised to pardon and forgive him if -he would confess his crimes, but Biron was obstinately silent and was -committed to the Bastile. He was tried openly before the Parliament -and unanimously convicted by one hundred and twenty-seven judges. The -sentence was death and he was to be publicly executed on the Place -de la Greve, but Henry, dreading the sympathy of the mob and not -indisposed to spare his friend the contumely of a public hanging, -allowed the execution to take place within the Bastile. Biron, although -he had acknowledged his guilt, died protesting against the sentence. -He comported himself with little dignity upon the scaffold, resisting -the headman and trying to strangle him. Three times he knelt down at -the block and three times sprang to his feet; and the fourth time was -decapitated with much dexterity by the executioner. - -The Comte d'Auvergne, the natural son of Charles IX and Marie Touchet, -was an ally of Biron's and put on his trial at the same time. Their -common offense had been to invite invasion by the Spaniards and stir -up a revolution throughout France. D'Auvergne was sentenced to death -and with him the Comte d'Entragues, who had married Marie Touchet, but -neither suffered. D'Auvergne remained in the Bastile for twelve years. -He was released in the following reign and made a good appearance at -court as the Duc d'Angouleme. Henry IV had been moved to soften the -rigors of his imprisonment and wrote to the governor (Sully) saying -that as he had heard his nephew d'Auvergne needed change of air, he was -to be placed in "the pavilion at the end of the garden of the arsenal -which looks upon the water, but to be guarded in any way that seemed -necessary for the security of his person." - -Reference must be made to one inmate of the Bastile at this period, -the Vicomte de Tavannes, who was opposed to Henry IV as a partisan -of the League. He was long held a prisoner but was exchanged for the -female relations of the Duc de Longueville; and Tavannes has written -in his "memoirs:" "A poor gentleman was thus exchanged against four -princesses, one a Bourbon, one of the House of Cleves, and two of that -of Orleans." At the fall of the League, Tavannes acknowledged Henry IV -on condition that he should be confirmed in his dignity as a marshal of -France. This promise was not kept and he withdrew from his allegiance, -saying he was the King's subject and not his slave. For this he was -again committed to the Bastile from which he escaped, according to his -own account, with great ease,--"A page brought me some thread and a -file; I twisted the cord, filed through a bar and got away." He was -not pursued but was suffered to remain in peace in his own castle of -Soilly, near Autun. The King could never tolerate Tavannes. He had been -largely concerned in the massacre of St. Bartholomew, of which he is -believed to have been the principal instigator and which he is supposed -to have suggested to Catherine de Medicis. - -Henry's reign was abruptly terminated by his assassination in 1610. -He was murdered by Francois Ravaillac, a native of Angouleme who was -no doubt a victim of religious dementia. Having been much perturbed -with visions inciting him to exhort the king to take action against -the followers of the pretended reformed religion and convert them to -the Roman Catholic Church, Ravaillac determined to do so. On reaching -Paris he went to the Jesuits' house near the Porte St.-Antoine and -sought advice from one of the priests, Father Daubigny, who told him -to put these disturbed thoughts out of his head, to say his prayers -and tell his beads. He still maintained his intention of speaking -to the King and addressed to him on one occasion as he drove by in -his coach, but "the King put him back with a little stick and would -not hear him." Then Ravaillac changed his mind and set out for home; -but on reaching Estampes, was again impelled to return to Paris--this -time with homicidal intent. The would-be regicide watched for the King -constantly, but thought it better to wait until after the new queen -(Marie de Medicis) was crowned. He hung about the Louvre, burning to do -the deed, and at last found his opportunity on the 14th of May, 1610, -near the churchyard of St. Innocent. The King left the Louvre that -morning in his coach unattended. One of his gentlemen had protested. -"Take me, Sire, I implore you," he said, "to guard your Majesty." "No," -replied the King, "I will have neither you nor the guard. I want no -one." The coach was driven to the Hotel de Longueville and then to -the Croix du Tiroir and so to the churchyard of St. Bartholomew. It -had turned from the rue St. Honore into the rue Feronniere, a very -narrow way made more so by the small shops built against the wall of -the churchyard. The passage was further blocked by the approach of two -carts, one laden with wine and the other with hay, and the coach was -brought to a stop at the corner of the street. - -Ravaillac had followed the coach from the Louvre, had seen it stop -and noted that there was now no one near it and no one to interfere -with him as he came close to the side of the carriage where the King -was seated. Ravaillac had his cloak wrapped round his left arm to -conceal a knife and creeping in between the shops and the coach as if -he desired to pass by, paused there, and resting one foot upon a spoke -of the wheel, the other upon a stone, leaned forward and stabbed the -King. The knife entered a little above the heart between the third and -fourth ribs. The King, who was reading a letter, fell over towards -the Duc d'Epernon on his other side, murmuring, "I am wounded." At -this moment Ravaillac, fearing that the point of his weapon had been -turned aside, quickly struck a second blow at the fainting monarch, -who had raised his arm slightly, thus giving the knife better chance -to reach his heart. This second stroke was instantly fatal. The blood -gushed from his mouth and he expired breathing a deep sigh. His -Majesty's attendants, now running up, would have killed Ravaillac -on the spot, but the Duc d'Epernon called out to them to secure his -person, whereupon one seized the dagger, another his throat, and he was -promptly handed over to the guards. The news spread that the King was -dead and caused a panic. People rushed from the shops into the streets -and a tumult arose which was stayed only by the prompt assurance of -d'Epernon that the King had merely fainted and was being carried to the -Louvre for medical attention. - -The murder created intense excitement in the city, for the King was -beloved and trusted by the people as the one hope of peace after such -constant strife. Sully, his faithful minister, was broken-hearted -but acted with great promptitude and firmness. He brought troops -forthwith into Paris and strengthened the garrison with the Swiss -guards. Despair and consternation prevailed in the Louvre, where were -the widowed Queen, Marie de Medicis, and the infant heir, now Louis -XIII. Bassompierre, in his memoirs, tells us how he found the dead King -laid out in his cabinet, surrounded by afflicted followers and weeping -surgeons. Summoned to the Queen's presence, he found her in dishabille, -overcome with grief, and he with others knelt to kiss her hand and -assure her of his devotion. The Duc de Villeroi reasoned with her, -imploring her to postpone her lamentations until she had made provision -for her own and her son's safety. While the Duc de Guise was directed -to bring together all the principal people to recognise and proclaim -the new sovereign, the marshal proceeded to gather up all the troops -and march through the city to check any signs of tumult and sedition. -Meanwhile, Sully had occupied the Bastile with a force of archers and -had enjoined all good subjects to swear allegiance to the throne and -proclaim their readiness to give their lives to avenge Henry's murder. - -With the nation in such a temper it was little likely that any mercy -would be shown to Ravaillac. His trial was hurried forward in all haste -and he was arraigned before the High Court of the Tournelle. Long and -minute interrogatories were administered to him on the rack to extort -confession of an act fully proved by eye-witnesses and of which he -was duly convicted. The court declared that he was "attainted of high -treason divine and human in the highest degree, for the most wicked, -the most abominable parricide committed on the person of the late Henry -IV, of good and laudable memory," and he was condemned in reparation to -make the _amende honorable_ before the principal gate of the city of -Paris, "whither he shall be carried," so runs the decree, "and drawn on -a tumbril in his shirt, bearing a lighted torch of two pounds weight, -and there he shall make confession of his crime, of which he repents -and begs pardon of God, the king and the laws. From thence he shall -be carried to the Greve and, on a scaffold to be there erected, the -flesh shall be torn from him with red-hot pincers ... and after this -his limbs shall be dragged by four horses, his body burnt to ashes and -dispersed in the air. His goods and chattels are also declared to be -forfeited and confiscated to the king. And it is further ordained that -the house in which he was born shall be pulled down to the ground (the -owner thereof being previously indemnified) and that no other building -shall ever hereafter be erected on the foundation thereof; that within -fifteen days after the publication of this present sentence his father -and mother shall, by sound of trumpet and public proclamation in the -city of Angouleme, be banished out of the kingdom and forbidden ever -to return under the penalty of being hanged and strangled, without any -further process at law. The Court has also forbidden, and doth forbid -his brothers, sisters, uncles and others, from henceforth to bear the -said name of Ravaillac." - -The curious fact is recorded in history that Henry IV had a strong -presentiment of impending fate. "I cannot tell you why, Bassompierre, -but I feel satisfied I shall never go into Germany" (on a projected -campaign). He repeated several times, "I believe I shall die soon." -He shared his forebodings with Sully. "I shall die in this city. This -ceremony of the Queen's coronation (now at hand) disturbs me. I shall -die in this city; I shall never quit Paris again, they mean to kill -me. Accursed coronation! I shall fall during the show." And he did die -the day after it. Yet sometimes he laughed at these fears, remarking, -only two days before his murder, to some of his attendants whom he -overheard discussing the subject, "It is quite foolish to anticipate -evil; for thirty years every astrologer and charlatan in the kingdom -has predicted my death on a particular day, and here I am still alive." -But on this very morning of the 14th of May, the young Duc de Vendome -brought him a fresh horoscope. The constellation under which Henry -was born threatened him with great danger on this day and he was urged -to pass it in sheltered retirement. The King called the astrologer a -crafty old fox and the duke a young fool, and said, "My fate is in -the hands of God." At the moment Ravaillac was in the vicinity of the -palace, but his gestures were so wild that the guards drove him away to -wait and carry out his fell deed elsewhere. - -Ravaillac was no doubt the tool of others. The King's life had been -threatened by courtiers near his person. Not the least active of his -enemies was Madame de Verneuil, born D'Entragues, who had been at one -time his mistress, but who had joined his enemies, notably the Duc -d'Epernon, in cordial detestation of his policy. Henry was at this -time planning a great coalition against the overweening power of Spain -and favored the concession of religious toleration throughout Europe. -Madame de Verneuil had welcomed Ravaillac to Paris and commended him -to the hospitality of one of her creatures, and it was proved that the -murderer had been once in the service of the Duc d'Epernon. - -When Henry IV fell under the assassin's knife, it was found by his -will that, in the event of a minority, the regency should devolve upon -Marie de Medicis, his second wife. This happened because Louis XIII, -the new King, was no more than nine years of age, and once again France -came under female rule. The Italian Queen Mother soon fell under the -domination of two other Italians, the Concinis, husband and wife. -The first, a mercenary and overbearing creature, best known as the -Marquis d'Ancre, stirred up the bitterest animosity and brought the -Queen into fierce conflict with the princes of the blood who rose in -open rebellion. They were presently supported by the young King and a -murderous plot was carried out for the marquis' assassination. It was -effected in broad daylight at the entrance of the Louvre by the Baron -de Vitry, a captain of the Gardes du Corps. "I have the King's order to -arrest you," said De Vitry. "_A me?_" asked the astonished d'Ancre in -imperfect French. "_A vous_," replied the other, taking out a pistol -and shooting him down, the rest dispatching him with their swords. -Louis XIII, still barely sixteen, is said to have witnessed the murder -from a window of the Louvre, from which he cried, "Great thanks to all; -now at last I am king." - -The Prince de Conde, as leader of the insurgent princes, had been -arrested and imprisoned in the palace but removed to the Bastile. The -mob, greatly incensed, attacked the Louvre, but, unable to find him, -failed to compass Conde's release who was now transferred in the dead -of night, "without torches," to Vincennes. Concini's house was next -sacked, his body dragged from the grave, carried through the streets -and subjected to every indignity, his nose and ears being cut off and -the corpse burned. Hatred of the Queen's foreign favorites was not yet -appeased. Leonora Galigai, the Marquis d'Ancre's widow, was brought to -trial, her conviction being necessary before her property and estates -could be confiscated and divided. She was duly arraigned but it was -impossible to prove her complicity in her husband's misdeeds or to -procure conviction of any crime involving capital punishment. The venue -was therefore changed and she was accused of sorcery and witchcraft. It -was said that she had attracted astrologers and magicians into France -who brought with them spells and incantations, amulets, talismans, and -all the apparatus of wax figures, to produce death by wasting disease. -She was asked in court to confess by what magical arts she had gained -her malign influence over the Queen and she replied contemptuously, -"By the power that strong minds exercise over weak ones." The case -was certain to go against her, but she still hoped to escape with -a sentence of banishment and it was a terrible shock when she was -condemned to death for the crime of _lese majeste_, human and divine. -Yet she faced her fate with marvellous fortitude. Great crowds turned -out to jeer at her as she was carried in a cart to the Place de Greve, -but she maintained her composure until she saw the flames destined to -consume her decapitated body, then quickly recovering herself, she met -death without bravado and without fear. Her son was imprisoned for -some time in the castle of Nantes and the Concini property was chiefly -divided between the King and the Pope, Clement VII. Leonora Galigai -had originally been the Queen's waiting woman for several years. Of -humble birth, the daughter of a carpenter, she had gained the complete -confidence of her mistress by her soft voice and insinuating ways, -and on coming to France, Marie de Medicis had insisted upon Leonora's -appointment as lady in waiting, although Henry absolutely refused to -appoint her until the Queen gained her point by her importunities. - -By this time a new power was rising above the horizon, that of the -Bishop of Lucon, afterwards, and better known as, Cardinal Richelieu. -The cadet of a noble but not affluent family, he was intended for the -career of arms but turned cleric in order to hold the bishopric of -Lucon, the presentation of which was hereditary in his house. By his -talents he soon made his mark as a churchman. He was assiduous in his -religious profession and an eloquent preacher, but his powerful mind -and ambitious spirit presently turned him towards a political career. -He arrived at Paris in 1614 as the representative of the clergy of -Poitou in the States General and his insinuating manners and personal -charm soon won him wide favor at Court. He was presented to the -Queen Mother, Marie de Medicis, by Barbin, the controller-general of -finances, and by the Concinis, the above mentioned ill-fated Marquis -d'Ancre and his wife, Leonora Galigai. He first became the Queen's -chaplain and next the secretary of State for war, barely escaping the -evil consequences of his intimacy with the Concinis. It is rumored in -history that he knew of the intended assassination of d'Ancre the night -before it occurred but neglected to give warning on the plea that he -did not believe the story and thought the news would wait. When the -King and his mother quarrelled and Marie de Medicis withdrew to Blois, -Richelieu accompanied her and served her without at first compromising -himself with Louis. He was at length ordered to leave her and retired -to his bishopric. He was further exiled to the papal province of -Avignon, but was suddenly recalled and forgiven. He still devoted -himself to the Queen and was her chosen friend and adviser, services -which she requited by securing him the cardinal's hat. - -Richelieu soon showed his quality and rose step by step to the -highest honors, becoming in due course, First Minister of State. His -success was due throughout to his prudent, far-seeing conduct and -his incomparable adroitness in managing affairs. "He was so keen and -watchful," said a contemporary, "that he was never taken unawares. He -slept little, worked hard, thought of everything and knew everything -either by intuition or through his painstaking indefatigable spirit." -He was long viewed with suspicion and dislike by the young King, but -presently won his esteem by his brilliant talents. He dazzled and -compelled the admiration of all, even those opposed to him. His -extraordinary genius was immediately made manifest; it was enough -for him to show himself. His penetrating eye, the magnetism of his -presence, his dexterity in untying knots and in solving promptly the -most difficult problems, enabled him to dominate all tempers and -overcome all resistance. His was a singularly persuasive tongue; he -had the faculty of easily and effectually proving that he was always -in the right. In a word, he exercised a great personal ascendency and -was as universally feared as he was implicitly obeyed by all upon whom -he imposed his authority. When he was nominated First Minister, the -Venetian minister in Paris wrote to his government, "Here, humanly -speaking, is a new power of a solid and permanent kind; one that is -little likely to be shaken or quickly crumbled away." - -Richelieu's steady and consistent aim was to consolidate an absolute -monarchy. Determined to conquer and crush the Huguenots he made his -first attack upon La Rochelle, the great Protestant stronghold, but was -compelled to make terms with the Rochelais temporarily while he devoted -himself to the abasement of the great nobles forever in opposition to -and intriguing against the reigning sovereign. Headed by the princes -of the blood, they continually resisted Marie de Medicis and engaged -in secret conspiracy, making treasonable overtures to Spain or openly -raising the standard of revolt at home. With indomitable courage -and an extraordinary combination of daring and diplomacy, Richelieu -conquered them completely. The secret of his success has been preserved -in his own words, "I undertake nothing that I have not thoroughly -thought out in advance; when I have once made up my mind I stick to -it with unchangeable firmness, sweeping away all obstacles before me -and treading them down under foot till they lie paralysed under my red -robe." - -Richelieu, in thus strenuously fighting for his policy, which he -conceived was in the best interests of France, made unsparing use of -the weapons placed at his disposal for coercing his enemies. Foremost -amongst these were the prisons of state, the Bastile, Vincennes and the -rest, which he filled with prisoners, breaking them with repression, -retribution, or more or less permanent removal from the busy scene. -Year after year the long procession passed in through the gloomy -portals, in numbers far exceeding the movement outward, for few went -out except to make the short journey to the scaffold. The Cardinal's -victims were many. Amongst the earliest offenders upon whom his hand -fell heavily in the very first year of his ministry, were those -implicated in the Ornano-Chalais conspiracy. The object of this was to -remove the King's younger brother, Gaston, Duc d'Orleans, generally -known as "Monsieur," out of the hands of the Court and set him up as -a pretender to the throne in opposition to Louis XIII. Richelieu, in -his memoirs, speaks of this as "the most fearful conspiracy mentioned -in history, both as regards the number concerned and the horror of the -design, which was to raise their master (Monsieur) above his condition -and abase the sacred person of the King." The Cardinal himself was to -have been a victim and was to be murdered at his castle of Fleury, six -miles from Fontainebleau. When the plot was betrayed, the King sent -a body of troops to Fleury and the Queen a number of her attendants. -The conspirators were forestalled and the ringleaders arrested. The -Marshal d'Ornano was taken at Fontainebleau and with him his brother -and some of his closest confidants. The Marquis de Chalais, who was of -the famous house of Talleyrand, was caught in the act at Fleury, to -which he had proceeded for the commission of the deed. He confessed -his crime. There were those who pretended at the time that the plot -was fictitious, invented by Richelieu in order to get rid of some of -his most active enemies. In any case, the Marshal d'Ornano died in -the Bastile within three months of his arrest and it was generally -suspected that he had been poisoned, although Richelieu would not allow -it was other than a natural death. Chalais had been sent to Nantes, -where he was put on trial, convicted, sentenced to death and eventually -executed. The execution was carried out with great barbarity, for the -headsman was clumsy and made thirty-two strokes with his sword before -he could effect decapitation. - -The two Vendomes, Caesar, the eldest, and his brother, the Grand -Prior, were concerned in the Ornano-Chalais conspiracy. Caesar was the -eldest son of Henri IV by Gabrielle d'Estrees, but was legitimised and -created a duke by his father, with precedence immediately after the -princes of the blood. Although Louis' half-brother, he was one of his -earliest opponents. After the detection of the plot he was cast into -the prison of Vincennes, where he remained for four years (1626-30), -but was released on surrendering the government of Brittany and -accepting exile. He was absent for eleven years, but on again returning -to France was accused of an attempt to poison Cardinal Richelieu and -again banished until that minister's death. He could not bring himself -to submit to existing authority, and once more in France became one -of the leaders of the party of the "Importants" and was involved in -the disgrace of the Duc de Beaufort, his son. Having made his peace -with Cardinal Mazarin in 1650, he was advanced to several offices, -among others to those of Governor of Burgundy and Superintendent of -Navigation. He helped to pacify Guienne and took Bordeaux. The Grand -Prior, his brother, became a Knight of Malta and saw service early -at the siege of Candia, where he showed great courage. He made the -campaign of Holland under Louis XIV, after having been involved with -Chalais, and throughout showed himself a good soldier. - -Richelieu's penalties were sometimes inflicted on other grounds than -self-defense and personal animosity. The disturbers of public peace he -treated as enemies of the State. Thus he laid a heavy hand on all who -were concerned in affairs of honor whether death ensued or not. His own -elder brother had been killed in a duel, and he abhorred a practice -which had so long decimated the country. It was calculated that in one -year alone four thousand combatants had perished. King Henry IV had -issued the most severe edicts against it and had created a tribunal of -marshals empowered to examine into and arrange all differences between -gentlemen. One of these edicts of 1602, prohibiting duels, laid down -as a penalty for the offense, the confiscation of property and the -imprisonment of the survivors. A notorious duellist, De Bouteville, -felt the weight of the Cardinal's hand. He must have been a quarrelsome -person for he fought on twenty-one occasions. After the last quarrel -he retired into Flanders and was challenged by a Monsieur de Beuvron. -They returned to Paris where they fought in the Place Royale, and -Bussy d'Amboise, one of Beuvron's seconds, was killed by one of De -Bouteville's. The survivors fled but were pursued and captured, with -the result that De Bouteville was put upon his trial before the regular -courts. He was convicted and condemned to death. All the efforts on -the part of influential friends, royal personages included, to obtain -pardon having proved unavailing, he suffered in the Place de Greve. The -pugnacity of this De Bouteville was attributed by many to homicidal -mania, and one nobleman declared that he would decline a challenge from -him unless it was accompanied by a medical certificate of sanity. He -had killed a number of his opponents and his reputation was such that -when he established a fencing school at his residence in Paris all the -young noblemen flocked there to benefit by his lessons. - -Richelieu used the Bastile for all manner of offenders. One was the -man Farican, of whom he speaks in his "Memoirs" as "a visionary -consumed with vague dreams of a coming republic. All his ends were -bad, all his means wicked and detestable.... His favorite occupation -was the inditing of libellous pamphlets against the government, -rendering the King odious, exciting sedition and aiming at subverting -the tranquillity of the State. Outwardly a priest, he held all good -Catholics in detestation and acted as a secret spy of the Huguenots." -An Englishman found himself in the Bastile for being at cross purposes -with the Cardinal. This was a so-called Chevalier Montagu, son of -the English Lord Montagu and better known as "Wat" Montagu, who was -much employed as a secret political agent between England and France. -Great people importuned the Cardinal to release Montagu. "The Duke -of Lorraine," says Richelieu, "has never ceased to beg this favor. -He began with vain threats and then, with words more suitable to his -position, sent the Prince of Phalsbourg to Paris for the third time -to me to grant this request." The Duke having been gratified with -this favor came in person to Paris to thank the King. An entry in an -English sheet dated April 20th, 1628, runs, "The Earl of Carlisle will -not leave suddenly because Walter Montagu is set free from France and -has arrived at our court. The King says he has done him exceeding -good service." It was Montagu who brought good news from Rochelle to -the Duke of Buckingham on the very day he was assassinated. Later in -October, Montagu had a conference with Richelieu as to the exchange of -prisoners at Rochelle. - -Richelieu's upward progress had not been unimpeded. The Queen Mother -became his bitter enemy. Marie de Medicis was disappointed in him. He -had not proved the humble, docile creature she looked for in one whom -she had raised so high and her jealousy intensified as his power grew. -She was a woman of weak character and strong passions, easily led -astray by designing favorites, as was seen in the case of the Concinis, -and there is little doubt that the Marechal d'Ancre was her lover. -After his murder she was estranged from Louis XIII, but was reconciled -and joined with Richelieu's enemies in ceaselessly importuning the King -to break with his too powerful minister. She was backed by Anne of -Austria, the wife of Louis XIII; by "Monsieur," the Duc d'Orleans and -a swarm of leading courtiers in her efforts to sacrifice Richelieu. -The conflict ended in the so-called "Day of Dupes," when the minister -turned the tables triumphantly upon his enemies. Louis had retired to -his hunting lodge near Versailles to escape from his perplexities and -Richelieu followed him there, obtained an audience and put his own case -before the King, whom he dazzled by unveiling his great schemes, and -easily regained the mastery. His enemies were beaten and like craven -hounds came to lick his feet; and like hounds, at once felt the whip. - -One of the first to suffer was the Queen Mother. She had no friends. -Every one hated her; her son, her creatures and supporters,--and the -King again sent her into exile, this time to Compiegne, where she was -detained for a time. She presently escaped and left France to wander -through Europe, first to Brussels, then to London and last of all to -Cologne, where she died in a garret in great penury. Marie de Medicis' -had been an unhappy life. Misfortune met her on the moment she came -to France, for the King, her bridegroom, who had divorced his first -wife, Marguerite de Valois, in the hopes of an heir by another wife, -was much disappointed when he saw Marie de Medicis. She was by no means -so good looking as he had been led to believe. She was tall, with a -large coarse figure, and had great round staring eyes. There was -nothing softly feminine and caressing in her ways, she had no gaiety -of manner and was not at all the woman to attract or amuse the King's -roving fancy,--the _vert galant_, the gay deceiver of a thousand errant -loves. Yet he was willing to be good friends and was strongly drawn to -her after the birth of the Dauphin, but was soon repelled again by her -violent temper and generally detestable character. The establishment of -the Jesuits in France was Marie's doing. She was suspected of duplicity -in Henry's assassination, but the foul charge rests on no good grounds. -After becoming Regent, she alienated the nobility by her favoritism and -exasperated the people by her exorbitant tax levies to provide money -for her wasteful extravagance and the prodigal gifts she bestowed. The -one merit she possessed in common with her house was her patronage -of arts and letters. She inspired the series of famous allegorical -pictures, twenty-one in number, painted by Rubens, embodying the life -of Marie de Medicis. - -There was no love lost between the Cardinal and the Marechal -Bassompierre, who paid the penalty for being on the wrong side in -the famous "Day of Dupes" and found himself committed for a long -imprisonment in the Bastile. The Marshal had offended Richelieu by -penetrating his designs against the nobility. When asked what he -thought of the prospect of taking La Rochelle, he had answered, "It -would be a mad act for us, for we shall enable the Cardinal, when -he has overcome the Calvinists, to turn all his strength against -our order." It was early in 1631 that danger to his person began -to threaten him. He was warned by the Duc d'Epernon that the Queen -Mother, of whose party Bassompierre was, had been arrested and that -others, including himself, were likely to get into trouble. The Marshal -asked the Duc d'Epernon for his advice, who strongly urged him to get -away, offering him at the same time a loan of fifty thousand crowns -as a provision until better days came. The Marshal refused this kind -offer but resolved to present himself before the King and stand his -ground. He would not compromise himself by a flight which would draw -suspicion down on him and call his loyalty in question. He had served -France faithfully for thirty years and was little inclined now that -he was fifty to seek his fortune elsewhere. "I had given my King the -best years of my life and was willing to sacrifice my liberty to him, -feeling sure that it would be restored on better appreciation of my -loyal services." - -Bassompierre prepared for the worst like a man of the world. "I -rose early next day and proceeded to burn more than six thousand -love-letters received from ladies to whom I had paid my addresses. I -was afraid that if arrested my papers would be seized and examined and -some of these letters might compromise my old friends." He entered his -carriage and drove to Senlis where the King was in residence. Here -he met the Duc de Gramont and others who told him he would certainly -be arrested. Bassompierre again protested that he had nothing on his -conscience. The King received him civilly enough and talked to him -at length about the disagreement of the Queen Mother with Cardinal -Richelieu, and then Bassompierre asked point blank whether the King -owed him any grudge. "How can you think such a thing," replied the -treacherous monarch. "You know I am your friend," and left him. That -evening the Marshal supped with the Duc de Longueville and the King -came in afterwards. "Then I saw plainly enough," says Bassompierre, -"that the King had something against me, for he kept his head down, -and touching the strings of his guitar, never looked at me nor spoke a -single word. Next morning I rose at six o'clock and as I was standing -before the fire in my dressing-room, M. de Launay, Lieutenant of the -Body-Guard, entered my room and said, 'Sir, it is with tears in my eyes -and with a bleeding heart that I, who, for twenty years have served -under you, am obliged to tell you that the King has ordered me to -arrest you.' - -"I experienced very little emotion and replied: 'Sir, you will have -no trouble, as I came here on purpose, having been warned. I have all -my life submitted to the wishes of the King, who can dispose of me or -my liberty as he thinks fit.'... Shortly afterwards one of the King's -carriages arrived in front of my lodging with an escort of mounted -musketeers and thirty light horsemen. I entered the carriage alone with -De Launay. Then we drove off, keeping two hundred paces in front of -the escort, as far as the Porte St.-Martin, where we turned off to the -left, and I was taken to the Bastile. I dined with the Governor, M. du -Tremblay, whom I afterwards accompanied to the chamber which had been -occupied by the Prince de Conde, and in this I was shut up with one -servant. - -"On the 26th, M. du Tremblay came to see me on the part of the King, -saying that his Majesty had not caused me to be arrested for any fault -that I had committed, holding me to be a good servant, but for fear I -should be led into mischief, and he assured me that I should not remain -long in prison, which was a great consolation. He also told me that the -King had ordered him to allow me every liberty but that of leaving the -Bastile. He added another chamber to my lodging for the accommodation -of my domestics. I retained only two valets and a cook, and passed two -months without leaving my room, and I should not have gone out at all -had I not been ill.... The King, it seems, had gone on a voyage as far -as Dijon, and on his return to Paris I implored my liberty, but all -in vain. I fell ill in the Bastile of a very dangerous swelling, due -to the want of fresh air and exercise and I began therefore to walk -regularly on the terrace of the Bastion." - -Bassompierre was destined to see a good deal of that terrace, for the -years slowly dragged themselves along with hope constantly deferred -and no fulfilment of the promises of freedom so glibly extended to -him. He was arrested in 1631 and in the following year heard he would -in all probability be released at once; but, as he says, he was told -this merely to redouble his sufferings. Next year he had great hope -of regaining his liberty and Marshal Schomberg sent him word that on -the return of the King to Paris he should leave the Bastile. This -year they deprived him of a portion of his salary and he was greatly -disheartened, feeling "that he was to be eternally detained and from -that time forth he lost all hope except in God." Two years later -(1635) the Governor, Monsieur du Tremblay, congratulated him on his -approaching release and the rumor was so strong that a number of -friends came every day to the Bastile to see if he was still there. -These encouraging stories were repeated from month to month without -any good result, and at length Pere Joseph, "his gray eminence," -Richelieu's most confidential friend and brother of Monsieur du -Tremblay, being at the Bastile, promised the Marshal to speak to the -Cardinal on his behalf. "I put no faith in him," writes Bassompierre, -and indeed nothing more was heard for a couple of years, but we find in -the Marshal's journal an entry to the effect that the King had told the -Cardinal it weighed on his conscience for having kept him in prison -so long, seeing that there was nothing against him. "To which," says -Bassompierre, "the Cardinal replied that he had so many things on his -mind he could not remember the reason for the imprisonment or why he -(Richelieu) had advised it, but he would consult his papers and show -them to the King." The poor Marshal's dejection increased, having been -detained so long in the Bastile, "where he had nothing to do but pray -God to speedily put an end to his long misery by liberty or death." - -The imprisonment outlasted the journal which ends in 1640, and it was -not until the death of the Cardinal in 1642 that he at length obtained -his release, just eleven years after his first committal to prison. -He at once presented himself at Court and was graciously received by -the King who asked him his age. "Fifty," replied Bassompierre, "for I -cannot count the years passed in the Bastile as they were not spent in -your Majesty's service." He did not enjoy his freedom long, for he soon -afterwards died from an apoplectic seizure. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE PEOPLE AND THE BASTILE - - Anne of Austria--Her servant Laporte--Clandestine communication - in the Bastile--Birth of Dauphin, afterward Louis XIV--Cinq - Mars--His conspiracy--Richelieu's death--His character and - achievements--Dubois the alchemist--Regency of Anne of - Austria--Mazarin's influence--The "Importants"--Imprisonment - and escape of Duc de Beaufort--Growth of the Fronde--Attacks on - Bastile--De Retz in Vincennes--Made Archbishop of Paris while in - prison--Peace restored--Mazarin's later rule benign. - - -Richelieu throughout his ministry was exposed to the bitter enmity of -the Opposition; his enemies, princes and great nobles, were continually -plotting to take his life. The King's brother, Gaston, Duc d'Orleans, -intrigued incessantly against him, supported by Anne of Austria, queen -of Louis XIII, who was ever in treasonable correspondence with the King -of Spain. Richelieu, whose power waned for a time, strongly urged the -Queen's arrest and trial, but no more was done than to commit her most -confidential servant, Laporte, to the Bastile. The Queen herself was -terrified into submission and made solemn confession of her misdeeds. -She did not tell all, however, and it was hoped more might be extorted -from Laporte by the customary pressure. It was essential to warn -Laporte, but he was in a dungeon far beneath one of the towers and -access to him seemed impossible. The story is preserved,--an almost -incredible one, but vouched for in Laporte's "Memoirs,"--that a letter -was conveyed to Laporte by the assistance of another prisoner, the -Chevalier de Jars. The letter was conveyed to De Jars by one of the -Queen's ladies disguised as a servant, and he managed by boring a hole -in his floor to pass it to the room below. Here the occupants were -friends, and in like manner they dug into the dungeon beneath them, -with the result that Laporte was eventually reached in his subterranean -cell. Fortified now by the fact of the Queen's avowal, Laporte -conducted himself so well that the most searching examination elicited -no further proofs. The process followed was in due course detected and -Richelieu was heard to lament that he did not possess so faithful a -servant as Laporte. - -The Chevalier de Jars, above mentioned, had been long an inmate of the -Bastile, being concerned with the keeper of the seals, Chateauneuf, -in a plot to convey Marie de Medicis and the King's brother, Gaston, -to England. No proof was forthcoming as to Jars's complicity with -Chateauneuf, and he was treated with the utmost cruelty in order to -extort confession. He was imprisoned in a fetid dungeon till his -clothes rotted off his back, his hair and nails grew to a frightful -length and he was nearly starved to death. Pere Joseph, the Cardinal's -_alter ego_, the famous "grey eminence," constantly visited him to -make sure that this rigorous treatment was carried out. At length the -Chevalier was taken out for examination, to which he was subjected -eighty times, and threatened first with torture and then with capital -punishment. At last he was warned that he must die and was removed to -the place of execution. Pardon, however, was extended to him just as -the axe was raised. Still the Chevalier refused to make any revelation. -He was taken back to the Bastile, but he was no longer harshly treated. -De Jars seems to have won the favor of Charles I, of England, whose -queen, Henrietta Maria, wrote to Richelieu begging for the prisoner's -release. This came in 1638, apparently a little after the episode of -the clandestine letter described above. - -The birth of a son, afterwards Louis XIV, put an end to the worst of -these court intrigues. Gaston d'Orleans lost his position as heir -presumptive and the King, while still hating Richelieu, trusted him -more and more with the conduct of affairs. Fortune smiled upon the -French arms abroad. Richelieu had made short work of his principal -enemies and he was now practically unassailable. No one could stand -against him and the King was simply his servant. Louis XIII would -gladly have shaken himself free from his imperious minister's tyranny, -but the King's health was failing and he could only listen to whispers -of the fresh plots which he was too weak to discountenance and forbid. -The last of these was the celebrated conspiracy of Cinq Mars, well -known in history, but still better known in romantic literature as the -subject of the famous novel by Alfred de Vigny, named after the central -figure. Richelieu, needing an ally near the King's person, had selected -Henri Cinq Mars, youngest son of the Marquis d'Effiat, a handsome, -vain youth who quickly grew into the King's graces and was much petted -and much spoiled. The young Cinq Mars, no more than nineteen, amused -the King by sharing his silly pleasures, teaching him to snare magpies -and helping him to carve wooden toys. Cinq Mars was appointed master -of the horse and was greatly flattered and made much of at court. His -head was soon turned and filled with ambitious dreams. He aspired to -the hand of the Princess Marie de Gonzague of the house of Nevers and -made a formal proposition of himself to Richelieu. The Cardinal laughed -contemptuously at his absurd pretensions, and earned in return the -bitter hatred of Cinq Mars. The breach was widened by the King's bad -taste in introducing his favorite at a conference of the Privy Council. -Richelieu quietly acquiesced but afterwards gave Cinq Mars a bit of his -mind, gaining thereby redoubled dislike. From that time forth Cinq Mars -was resolved to overthrow the Cardinal. He found ready support from the -Duc d'Orleans and the Duc de Bouillon, while the King himself was not -deaf to the hints of a speedy release from Richelieu's thraldom. Only -the Queen, Anne of Austria, stood aloof and was once more on friendly -terms with the Cardinal. A secret treaty had been entered into with -Philip IV of Spain, who was to further the aims of the conspirators by -sending troops into France. The two countries were then at war and it -was high treason to enter into dealings with Spain. Just when the plot -was ripe for execution an anonymous packet was brought to Richelieu -at Tarascon, whither he had proceeded with the King to be present at -the relief of Perpignan. This packet contained a facsimile of the -traitorous treaty with Philip IV and Cinq Mars's fate was sealed. The -King with great reluctance signed an order for the arrest of Cinq Mars, -who was taken in the act of escaping on horseback. - -De Thou, another of the conspirators, was taken with the Duc de -Bouillon, while the Duc d'Orleans fled into Auvergne and wandered -to and fro, proscribed and in hiding. The only crime that could be -advanced against De Thou was that he was privy to the plot and had -taken no steps to reveal it. Cinq Mars was now abandoned by the King, -who left him to the tender mercies of Richelieu. This resulted in his -being brought to trial at Lyons, but he contrived to send a message -appealing for mercy to the King. It reached the foolish, fickle monarch -when he was in the act of making toffy in a saucepan over the fire. -"No, no, I will give Cinq Mars no audience," said Louis, "his soul is -as black as the bottom of this pan." Cinq Mars suffered on the block -and comported himself with a fortitude that won him sympathy; for it -was remembered that his faults had been fostered by the exaggerated -favoritism shown him. De Thou was also decapitated after his associate, -and, not strangely, was unnerved by the sight which he had witnessed. -The Duc de Bouillon was pardoned at the price of surrendering his -ancestral estate of Sedan to the Crown. - -This was Richelieu's last act of retaliation. He returned to Paris -stricken with mortal disease. He travelled by slow stages in a litter -borne by twelve gentlemen of his entourage, who marched bareheaded. -On reaching Paris, he rapidly grew worse and Louis XIII paid him a -farewell visit on his deathbed. On taking leave of his master he -reminded him of the singular services he had rendered France, saying: -"In taking my leave of your Majesty I behold your kingdom at the -highest pinnacle it has hitherto reached and all your enemies have -been banished or removed." The tradition is preserved that upon this -solemn occasion he strenuously urged the King to appoint Mazarin as his -successor. The Italian cardinal was brought into the Council the day -after Richelieu's death and from the first appears to have exercised -a strong influence over the King. The means and methods of the two -statesmen were in great contrast. Richelieu imposed his will by sheer -force of character and the terror he inspired. Mazarin, soft-mannered -and supple-backed, worked with infinite patience and triumphed by -duplicity and astuteness. - -Richelieu's constant aim was to establish the absolute power of -the monarchy, and to aggrandize France among nations. His internal -government was arbitrary and often extremely cruel and he was -singularly deficient in financial ability. He had no idea of raising -money but by the imposition of onerous taxes and never sought to enrich -France by encouraging industries and developing the natural resources -of the country. A strong, self-reliant, highly intelligent and gifted -man, he was nevertheless a slave to superstition and the credulous dupe -of fraudulent impostures. It will always be remembered against him that -he believed in alchemy and the virtue of the so-called philosopher's -stone; yet more, that he was responsible for the persecution and -conviction of Urban Grandier, a priest condemned as a magician, charged -with bewitching the nuns of Poictou. It was gravely asserted that -these simple creatures were possessed of devils through the malignant -influence of Grandier, and many pious ecclesiastics were employed to -exorcise the evil spirits. - -The story as it comes down to us would be farcical and absurd were -it not so repulsively horrible. The nuns believed to be afflicted -were clearly the victims of emotional hysteria. They exhibited the -strangest and most extravagant grimaces and contortions, were thrown -into convulsions and foamed and slavered at the mouth. The ceremony -of exorcism was carried out with great solemnity, and it is seriously -advanced that the admonition had such surprising effects that the -devils straightway took flight into the air. The whole story was -conveyed to Cardinal Richelieu by his familiar, Pere Joseph, who -declared that he had seen the evil spirits at work and had observed -many nuns and lay-sisters when they were possessed. The Cardinal -thereupon gave orders for Grandier's arrest and trial, which was -conducted with great prolixity and unfairness. The evidence adduced -against him was preposterous. Among other statements, it was claimed -that he exhibited a number of the devil's marks upon his body and -that he was so impervious to pain that when a needle was thrust into -him to the depth of an inch, it had no effect and no blood issued. -Grandier's defence was a solemn denial of the charges, but according -to the existing procedure, he was put to the "question," subjected to -most cruel torture, ordinary and extraordinary, to extort confession -of the guilt which he would not acknowledge. He was in due course -formally convicted of the crimes of magic and sorcery and sentenced -to make the _amende honorable_; to be led to the public place of Holy -Cross in Loudun and there bound to a stake on a wooden pile and burned -alive. The records state that he bore his punishment with constancy -accompanied with great self-denial, and declare that a certain -unaffected air of piety which hypocrisy cannot counterfeit was shown -in his aspect. On the other hand one bigoted chronicler of the period -declares that, during the ceremony, a flying insect like a wasp was -observed to buzz about Grandier's head. This gave a monk occasion to -say that it was Beelzebub hovering around him to carry away his soul to -hell,--this for the reason that Beelzebub signifies in Hebrew the god -of flies. - -It is difficult to understand how Richelieu could suffer himself to be -beguiled into accepting the promises made by an unscrupulous adventurer -to turn the baser metals into gold. But for a space he certainly -believed in Noel Pigard Dubois, a man who, after following for some -time his father's profession of surgery, abandoned it in order to go to -the Levant, where he spent four years in the study of occult science. -On returning to Paris he employed his time in the same pursuit, chiefly -associating with dissolute characters. A sudden fit of devotion made -him enter a monastery, but he soon grew tired of the irksome restraints -he there experienced, and, scaling the walls of his retreat, effected -his escape. Three years after this he once more resolved to embrace a -monastic life, took the vows and was ordained a priest. In this new -course he persevered for ten years, at the end of which time he fled to -Germany, became a Lutheran, and devoted himself to the quest of the -philosopher's stone. - -Dissatisfied with this mode of life, he again visited Paris, abjured -the Protestant religion, and married under a fictitious name. As he now -boldly asserted that he had discovered the secret of making gold, he -soon grew into repute and was at last introduced to Richelieu and the -King, both of whom, with singular gullibility, gave full credence to -his pretensions. It was arranged that Dubois should perform the "great -work" in the Louvre, the King, the Queen, the Cardinal, and other -illustrious personages of the court being present. In order to lull all -suspicion, Dubois requested that some one might be appointed to watch -his proceedings. Accordingly Saint-Amour, one of the King's body-guard, -was selected for this purpose. Musket balls, given by a soldier -together with a grain of the "powder for projection," were placed in -a crucible covered with cinders and the furnace fire was soon raised -to a proper heat. When Dubois declared the transmutation accomplished, -he requested the King to blow off the ashes from the crucible. This -Louis did with so much ardor that he nearly blinded the Queen and the -courtiers with the dust he raised. But when his efforts were rewarded -by seeing at the bottom of the crucible the lump of gold which by -wonderful sleight of hand Dubois had contrived to introduce into it, -despite the presence of so many witnesses, the King warmly embraced -the alchemist. Then he ennobled him and appointed him president of the -treasury. - -Dubois repeated the same trick several times with equal success. But -an obstacle which he might from the first have anticipated occurred. -He soon grew unable to satisfy the eager demands of his protectors, -who longed for something more substantial than insignificant lumps of -gold. Some idea of their avidity may be conceived when it is known that -Richelieu alone required him to furnish a weekly sum of about L25,000. -Although Dubois asked for a delay, which he obtained, he was of course -unable to comply with these extravagant demands, and was in consequence -imprisoned in Vincennes, whence he was transferred to the Bastile. The -vindictive minister, unwilling to acknowledge that he had been duped, -instead of punishing Dubois as an impostor, accused him of practising -magic and appointed a commission to try him. As the unhappy alchemist -persisted in asserting his innocence he was put to the torture. His -sufferings induced him in order to gain respite to offer to fulfil -the promises with which he had formerly deceived his patrons. Their -credulity was apparently not yet exhausted, for they allowed him to -make another experiment. Having again failed in this, he confessed -his imposture, was sentenced to death and accordingly perished on the -scaffold. - -A host of warring elements was forced into fresh activity by the death -of Richelieu, soon followed by that of the King. Louis XIII, in his -will, bequeathed the regency to his widowed Queen, Anne of Austria, -and her accession to power stirred up many active malcontents all -eager to dispute it. The feudal system had faded, but the great nobles -still survived and were ready to fight again for independence if the -executive were weakened; while parliaments were ready to claim a voice -in government and curtail the prerogatives not yet wholly conceded to -the sovereign. The long minority of Louis XIV was a period of continual -intrigue. France was torn by party dissension and cursed with civil -war. If we would understand the true state of affairs and realise the -part played by the two great prisons, Vincennes and the Bastile, and -the principal personages incarcerated within their walls, a brief -resume of events will prove helpful. - -Anne of Austria was not a woman of commanding ability. She was kind -hearted, well-intentioned, of sufficiently noble character to forget -her own likes and dislikes, and really desirous of ruling in the best -interests of the country. Her situation was one of extraordinary -difficulty and, not strangely, she was inclined to lean upon the best -support that seemed to offer itself. Cardinal Mazarin was a possible -successor to Richelieu and well fitted to continue that powerful -minister's policy. The Queen was willing to give Mazarin her full -confidence and was aghast when he talked of withdrawing permanently -to Rome. She now desired him to remain and take charge of the ship -of state, but his elevation gave great umbrage to his many opponents -at court, and the desire to undermine, upset and even to assassinate -Mazarin was the cause of endless intrigues and conspiracies. The -cabal of the "Importants" was the first to overcome. It consisted of -Richelieu's chief victims now returned from banishment, or released -from gaol; princes of the blood and great nobles aiming at recovered -influence, and the Queen's favorites counting upon her unabated -friendship. They gave themselves such airs and their pretensions were -so high that they gained the ironical sobriquet of "the important -people." Mazarin, when they threatened him, made short work of them. -The Duc de Beaufort, second son of the Duc de Vendome, handsome of -person but an inordinate swaggerer, whose rough manners and coarse -language had gained him the epithet of "King of the Markets," was -arrested and shut up in Vincennes. Intriguing duchesses were once more -exiled and the principal nobles sent to vegetate on their estates. A -new power now arose; that of the victorious young general, the Duc -d'Enghien, the eldest son of the Prince de Conde, afterwards known as -the "great Conde." He became the hero of the hour and so great was his -popularity that had he been less self-confident and more willing to -join forces with the Duc d'Orleans, "Monsieur," the young King's uncle, -he would have become a dangerous competitor to Mazarin. D'Enghien soon -succeeded to the family honors and continued to win battles and to be -an unknown quantity in politics capable at any time of throwing his -weight on either side. - -The next serious conflict was with the Parliament of Paris, ever -eager to vindicate its authority and importance and to claim control -of the financial administration of France. The French treasury was -as ill-managed as ever and the Parliament was resolved to oppose the -proposed taxation. Extreme misery prevailed in the land. The peasants -were ground down into the most wretched poverty, and were said to -have "nothing left to them but their souls; and these also would have -been seized, but that they would fetch nothing at the hammer." The -Parliament backed up the cry for reform, and Mazarin, to check and -intimidate it, decided to arrest two of its most prominent members. The -aged Broussel was sent to the Bastile and Blancmesnil was thrown into -the castle of Vincennes. - -These arbitrary acts drove the Parisian populace into open revolt. -Broussel's immediate release was demanded and obstinately refused until -the disturbances increased and barricades were formed, when the Queen, -at last terrified, surrendered her prisoner. The next day she left -Paris, taking the young King with her, declaring that she would return -with troops to enforce submission. Conde, who had returned from the -army with fresh successes, advised conciliation, being secretly anxious -to support those who would cripple the growing authority of Mazarin. -Peace was restored, at least on the surface, and the Queen once more -returned to Paris. But she was almost a prisoner in her palace and when -she appeared in public her carriage was followed by a hooting mob. -She again planned to disappear from Paris and send the royal army to -blockade it. In the dead of a winter's night the whole court, carrying -the King, fled to St. Germain where no preparations had been made to -receive them. For days they were short of food, fuel and the commonest -necessaries. But a stern message was dispatched to the people of Paris, -intimating the immediate advance of a body of twelve thousand troops. -The capital was abashed but not greatly alarmed, and was prepared for -defence and for the support of Parliament. The question of the moment -was that of leadership, and choice lay between the Prince de Conde, the -great Conde's brother, and the Duc d'Elboeuf, who was appointed with -the certainty that Conde would not submit to him. - -The Duc de Beaufort was also available, for he had succeeded in -escaping from Vincennes. A brief account of his evasion may well find -place here. Chavigny, a former minister, was governor of the prison, -and no friend to Beaufort. But Cardinal Mazarin did not trust to -that, and special gaolers were appointed to ensure the prince's safe -custody. Ravile, an officer of the King's body-guard, and six or seven -troopers kept him constantly under eye, and slept in the prisoner's -room. Beaufort was not permitted to retain his own servants about -him, but his friends managed to secure the employment of a valet, -supposed to be in hiding to escape the consequences of a fatal duel in -which he had killed his man. This mysterious retainer exhibited the -most violent dislike of Beaufort and treated him openly with insolent -rudeness. On the day of Pentecost, when many of the guards were absent -at mass, Beaufort was permitted to exercise on the gallery below the -level of his regular apartment, with a single companion, an officer -of the Garde du Corps. The valet above mentioned had taken his seat -at table with the rest, but suddenly rose, feigning illness, and -leaving the dining room locked the door behind him. Rejoining the Duke -the two threw themselves upon the officer, whom they overpowered and -bound and gagged. A ladder of ropes, already prepared, was produced -and fastened to the bars of the window, and the fugitives went down -into the moat by means of it. Meanwhile, half a dozen confederates had -been stationed below and beyond the moat to assist in the escape, and -were in waiting, watching the descent. Unfortunately the ladder proved -too short by some feet. A long drop was necessary, in which Beaufort, -a stalwart figure, fell heavily and was so seriously hurt that he -fainted. Further progress was arrested until he regained consciousness. -Then a cord was thrown across the moat and the Prince was dragged -over by his attendants, who carried him to a neighboring wood where -he was met by fifty armed men on horseback. He mounted, although in -great bodily pain, and galloped off, forgetting his sufferings in his -delight at freedom regained. Beaufort fled to a distant estate of his -father's, where he remained in safety until the sword was drawn, when -he promptly proceeded to Paris and was received with open arms after -his imprisonment and long absence. His popularity was widespread and -extravagantly manifested. The market women in particular lavished -signs of affection on him and smothered him with kisses. Later, when -it was believed that he had been poisoned by Mazarin and had applied -to the doctors for an antidote, the mob was convulsed with alarm at -his illness. Immense crowds surrounded the Hotel de Vendome. So great -was the concourse, so deep the anxiety that the people were admitted -to see him lying pale and suffering on his bed; and many of them threw -themselves on their knees by his bedside and wept pitifully, calling -him the saviour of his country. - -The moving spirit of the Fronde was really Gondi, better -known afterwards as Cardinal de Retz, who had been appointed -Coadjutor-Archbishop of Paris. He was a strange character who played -many parts, controlled great affairs, exercised a supreme authority and -dictated terms to the Crown. His youth had been stormy, and although -he was an ordained ecclesiastic, he hated the religious profession. -He led a vicious, irregular life, was a libertine and conspirator, -fought a couple of duels and tried to abduct a cousin. None of these -evil deeds could release him from his vows, and being permanently, -arbitrarily committed to the Church, his ambition led him to seek -distinction in it. Studying theology deeply and inclining to polemics, -he became a noted disputant, argued points of doctrine in public with -a Protestant and won him back to the bosom of the Catholic Church. It -was Louis XIII who, on his death-bed, in reward for this conversion, -named him Coadjutor. Gondi was possessed of great eloquence and -preached constantly in the cathedral to approving congregations. He was -essentially a demagogue on the side of the popular faction. Despite his -often enthusiastic following, his position was generally precarious, -and when the opposing parties made peace he fell into disgrace. In the -midst of his thousand intrigues he was suddenly arrested and carried -to Vincennes as a prisoner. When at length he escaped from Nantes, to -which he had been transferred, his reappearance produced no effect and -he wandered to and fro through Europe, neglected and despised. His only -fame rests on a quality he esteemed the least, that of literary genius, -for his "Memoirs," which he wrote in the quiet years of latter life, -still hold a high place in French literature. - -The wars of the Fronde lasted with varying fortunes for five -distressful years. This conflict owed its name to the boyish Parisian -game of slinging stones. The sling, or _fronde_, was the weapon they -used and the combatants continually gathered to throw stones at each -other, quickly dispersing at the appearance of the watch. The Queen -was implacably resolved to coerce the insurgents. The Parisians, full -of fight, raised men and money in seemingly resolute, but really -half-hearted resistance. Conde commanded the royal army, blockaded -Paris for six weeks and starved the populace into submission. The -earlier successes had been with the city. The Bastile had been attacked -and its governor, Monsieur du Tremblay, the brother of Pere Joseph, -"His Grey Eminence," capitulated, hopeless of holding out with his -small garrison of twenty-two men. The conflict never rose above small -skirmishes and trifling battles. The civic forces had no military -value. The streets were filled with light-hearted mobs who watched -their leaders disporting gaily in dances and entertainments at the -Hotel de Ville. Conde, on the other hand, was in real earnest. He -attacked the suburbs and carried serious war into the heart of the -city. The insurgents prepared to treat, and Mazarin, who feared that -the surrender of Paris to Conde would make that prince dictator of -France, consented. He agreed to grant an amnesty, to reduce taxation -and bring the King back to Paris. - -Conde now went into opposition. He posed as the saviour of the Court, -and as the nobles crowded round him he grew more and more overbearing. -Mazarin had now secured the support of Gondi by promising to obtain for -him the Cardinal's hat and he detached the other leaders of the Fronde -by liberal bribes. The final stroke was the sudden arrest of Conde -and with him two other princes, Conti and Longueville. The volatile -Parisians were overjoyed at the sight of the great general being -escorted to Vincennes. Peace might have been permanently established -had not Mazarin played the Coadjutor false by now refusing him the -Cardinal's hat, and Gondi therefore incited his friends to fresh -rebellion. A strong combination insisted upon the dismissal of Mazarin -and the release of the three princes. They had been removed for safe -custody to Havre, where Mazarin went in person to set them free. He -would have made terms with them, but they resisted his advances and -returned to Paris in triumph, where the Parliament during Mazarin's -absence had condemned Mazarin to death in effigy. Mazarin now withdrew -altogether from France to Cologne where he still directed the Queen's -policy. A fresh conflict was imminent. Gondi was gained by a new -promise of a Cardinalate for him and the opposing forces gathered -together for war. - -Conde was now hostile. With him were Gaston, Duc d'Orleans, the Dukes -of Beaufort and Nemours and other great nobles. Gaston's daughter, the -intrepid, "Grande Mademoiselle," above all feminine weakness, took -personal command of a part of the army. Turenne, one of the greatest -soldiers of his time, led the royal troops against her. Conde made -a bold but fruitless attempt to capture the Court. He then marched -on Paris pursued by Turenne's forces. A fight ensued in the suburb -of Saint Antoine, where Conde became entangled and was likely to be -overwhelmed. He was saved by the "Grande Mademoiselle," who helped -him to carry his troops through Paris and covered the movement by -entering the Bastile in person, the guns of which were opened upon the -royal troops. This was the final action in the civil war. The people, -wearied of conflict, clamored loudly for peace. One obstacle was the -doubtful attitude of Cardinal de Retz, who throughout this later phase -had pretended to be on the side of the Court. He, however, was still -bent on rebellion. He garrisoned and fortified his house and laid in -ammunition and it was essential to take sharp measures with him. He was -beguiled for a time with fair appearances, but the Queen was already -planning his removal from the scene. One day Cardinal de Retz came to -pay his homage and, on leaving the King's apartments, was arrested by -the captain of the guard. - -The Cardinal has told his story at length in his extremely interesting -"Memoirs." Some of his friends knew of the fate impending but were -too late to warn him and help him to escape, as they proposed, by -the kitchen entrance of the Louvre. When taken they brought in dinner -and he eat heartily much to the surprise of the attendant courtiers. -After a delay of three hours he entered a royal carriage with several -officers and drove off under a strong escort of gendarmes and light -horse, for the news of his arrest had got out and had caused an immense -sensation in Paris. All passed off smoothly, for those who threatened -rescue were assured that on the first hostile sign, De Retz would -be killed. The prisoner arrived at Vincennes between eight and nine -o'clock in the evening and was shown into a large, bare chamber without -bed, carpet or fire; and in it he shivered at this bitter Christmas -season, for a whole fortnight. The servant they gave him was a ruffian -who stole his clothes, his shoes and his linen, and he was compelled -to stay constantly in bed. He was allowed books but no paper or ink. -He passed his time in the study of Greek and Latin and when permitted -to leave his room he kept doves, pigeons and rabbits. He entered into -a clandestine correspondence with his friends, pondering ever upon -the possibilities of escape, for he had little or no hope of release -otherwise. - -Now fortune played into De Retz's hands. His uncle, the Archbishop of -Paris, died, and the Coadjutor, although a prisoner, was entitled to -succeed. Before the breath was out of the deceased's body, an agent -took possession of the Archbishop's palace in the Coadjutor's name, -forestalling the King's representative by just twenty minutes. De Retz -was a power and had to be counted with. He was close in touch with all -the parish clergy and through them could stir up the people to fresh -revolt which the great ecclesiastics, chafing at the incarceration of -their chief, the Archbishop, would undoubtedly support. Moreover, the -Pope had written from Rome an indignant protest against the arrest of -a prince of the Church. The situation was further embittered by a sad -occurrence. A canon of the Notre Dame had been placed by the chapter -near the Archbishop to take his orders for the administration of the -diocese, and this aged priest, suffering from the confinement, lost his -health and committed suicide. The death was attributed to the severity -of the imprisonment and sympathy for De Retz redoubled, fanned into -flame by incendiary sermons from every pulpit in Paris. - -The Court now wished to temporise and overtures were made to De Retz -to resign the archbishopric. He was offered in exchange the revenues -of seven wealthy abbeys, but stubbornly refused. He was advised by his -friends not to yield as the only means to recover his liberty, but -he finally agreed to accept the proffered exchange and pending the -approval of the Holy See was transferred from Vincennes to the prison -of Nantes at the mouth of the Loire. Here his treatment was softened. -He was permitted to amuse himself, to receive visitors of both sexes -and to see theatrical performances within the castle. He was still -a close prisoner and there was a guard of the gate sentinels on his -rooms; but he bore it all bravely, being buoyed up with the hope of -approaching release. - -A bitter disappointment was in store for him. The Pope refused to -accept his resignation on the grounds that it had been extorted by -force and was dated from the interior of a prison. The attitude of his -gaolers changed towards him as he was suspected of foul play and he -was secretly apprised that he would probably be carried further out -of the world and removed to Brest. He was strongly advised to attempt -escape. One idea was that he should conceal himself in a capacious mule -trunk and be carried out as part of a friend's baggage. The prospect -of suffocation deterred the Cardinal and he turned his thoughts to -another method. This was the summer season and the river was low and -a space was left at the foot of the castle wall. The prisoner was in -the habit of exercising in a garden close at hand, and it was arranged -that four gentlemen devoted to him should take their posts here on a -certain afternoon. There was a gate at the bottom of the garden placed -there to prevent the soldiers from stealing the grapes. Above was a -kind of terrace on which the sentries guarding De Retz were stationed. -The Cardinal managed to pass into this garden unobserved and he came -upon a rope so placed as to assist him in sliding down to the lower -level. Here a horse was awaiting him, which he mounted and galloped -away, closely followed by his friends. Their way led through streets -where they encountered a couple of guards and exchanged shots with -them. All went well until De Retz's horse shied at the glitter of a -ray of sunlight, stumbled and fell. The Cardinal was thrown and broke -his collar bone. Both horse and man were quickly got on their feet -and the fugitive, though suffering horribly, remounted and continued -his flight. The party reached the river in safety, but when embarking -on the ferry-boat De Retz fainted and was taken across unconscious. -There was no hope of his being able to ride further and while some of -them went in search of a vehicle, the others concealed the Cardinal -in a barn, where he remained for seven hours, suffering terribly. At -last, help came, about two o'clock in the morning, and he was carried -on a litter to another farm where he was laid upon the soft hay of a -stack. He remained here until his safety was assured by the arrival of -a couple of hundred gentlemen, adherents of the De Retz family, for -he was now in the De Retz country. This successful escape caused much -alarm in court circles, for it was feared that De Retz would reappear -at once in Paris, but he was too much shaken by the accident to engage -actively in public affairs. He remained in obscurity and at last -withdrew from the country. He afterwards became reconciled to the royal -power, serving Louis XIV loyally at Rome as ambassador to the Papal -Conclave. - -On the removal of the great demagogue from the scene, Mazarin -returned to Paris. The people were well disposed to receive him and -his re-entry was in its way a triumph. The King went many miles out -to meet and welcome him, and the Italian minister, long so detested, -drove into the capital amidst the most enthusiastic acclamations. The -most important personages in the realm vied with each other to do him -honor, many who had long labored for his destruction now protesting the -most ardent attachment to him. Mazarin took his fortune at the flood -and bearing no malice, if he felt any, by no means sought to avenge -himself on those who had so long hated and opposed him. He resumed his -place as chief minister and the remainder of his rule was mild and -beneficent. Disturbances still occurred in France, but they were not -of a serious nature. Conspiracies were formed but easily put down and -were followed by no serious reprisals. The punishments he inflicted -seldom extended to life and limb, for he had a strong abhorrence of -bloodshed and he preferred the milder method of imprisonment. He waged -unceasing war against depredators who infested the capital and parts -of the country. Highway robbery had increased and multiplied during -the long dissensions of the civil war. Mazarin was bitterly opposed to -duelling as was his predecessor, Richelieu, and he wished to keep the -courtiers in good humor. Indeed he directly fostered a vice to which -he was himself addicted, that of the gaming table. He was a persistent -gambler and it has been hinted that he thought it no discredit to take -advantage of his adversary. Never, perhaps, in any age or country was -there a greater addiction to play. Vast sums were won and lost in the -course of an evening. On one occasion Fouquet, the notorious minister -of finance of whom I shall have much more to say, won 60,000 livres -(roughly L5,000) in one deal. Gourville won as much from the Duc de -Richelieu in less than ten minutes. Single stakes ran to thousands of -pounds, and estates, houses, rich lace and jewels of great price were -freely put up at the table. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE MAN WITH THE IRON MASK - - Louis XIV asserts himself--His use of State prisons--Procedure - of reception at the Bastile--Life in the prison--Diet and - privileges--Governing staff--De Besmaus--Saint Mars--Fouquet's - fate foreshadowed--Fete at Vaux--King enraged--Fouquet arrested - at Nantes--Lodged in the Bastile--Sentence changed from - exile to perpetual imprisonment--Removed to Pignerol--Dies - in prison--Man with the Iron Mask--Basis of mystery--Various - suppositions--Identical with Count Mattioli--Origin of stories - about him--Dies in the Bastile. - - -The latter years of Mazarin's government were free from serious -disturbances at home and his foreign policy was distinctly beneficial -to France. He governed firmly, but in the name of the King, who already -evinced the strength of will and vigor of mind which were shortly to -make the royal authority absolute in France. Louis XIV was still in -his teens, but already he would brook no opposition from rebellious -nobles or a litigious Parliament. One day he entered the Chamber, -booted and spurred just as he came from hunting at Vincennes, and -plainly told the members of Parliament assembled there to prepare some -fresh remonstrance, that he would tolerate no more of their meetings. -"I know, gentlemen, the mischief that comes from them, and I will not -permit them in the future." The president protested that it was in the -interests of the State. "I am the State," replied the young despot of -seventeen. The country was entirely with him. All classes were sick of -commotions and hailed the new authority with every demonstration of -joy. Mazarin, no doubt, aided the development of Louis's character. -"There is enough in Louis," he had been heard to say, "to make four -good kings and one honest man," and it was under the Cardinal's -counsels that Louis developed his political education. - -France was now entering upon one of the most brilliant periods of her -history. Mazarin had prosecuted the war with Spain so vigorously that -she was prepared to come to terms. He contracted an alliance with -Protestant Cromwell which resulted in substantial gains to England. -Peace with Spain and the marriage of Louis to a Spanish princess were -the last acts of Mazarin, whose constantly failing health showed that -death was near. Now, when the end was approaching, he had reached -the pinnacle of his fortunes. No longer the hated, proscribed and -persecuted minister, he enjoyed the fullest honors and the most -unbounded popularity. He had grown enormously rich, for avarice was a -ruling vice with him and he had uncontrolled access to the national -purse. At his death he left some fifty million livres in cash, owned -many palaces filled with priceless statues and pictures, and jewels of -inestimable value. His conscience appears to have troubled him as death -approached; he sought to silence it by making over all his possessions -to the King, who speedily silenced Mazarin's scruples by returning them -as a royal gift. - -Not strangely, under such government, the finances of France were at -their very lowest ebb. The financial incompetence of Mazarin, coupled -with his greed, had left the treasury empty, and when Louis asked -Fouquet for money he got for answer, "There is none in the treasury, -but ask His Eminence to lend you some, he has plenty." Fortunately for -France, Mazarin had introduced into the King's service one of the most -eminent financiers who ever lived, Colbert, and it is reported that -when dying he said, "I owe your Majesty everything; but by giving you -my own intendant, Colbert, I shall repay you." Colbert became Louis's -secret adviser, for Fouquet purposely complicated accounts and craftily -contrived to tell the King nothing. One of Colbert's first acts was -to reveal to the King that Cardinal Mazarin, over and above the great -fortune he left openly to his family, had a store of wealth hidden away -in various fortresses. Louis promptly laid hands upon it and was in -consequence the only rich sovereign of his time in Europe. - -In the long period of irresponsible despotism now at hand, the prisons -were destined to play a prominent part. No one was safe from arbitrary -arrest. The right of personal liberty did not exist. Every one, the -highest and the lowest, the most criminal and the most venial offender, -might come within the far reaching hands of the King's gaolers. Both -the "Wood," as Vincennes was commonly called, and the Bastile, the -"castle with the eight towers," were constantly crowded with victims -of arbitrary power. It was an interminable procession as we shall -presently see. - -Let us first describe the procedure in arrest, the reception of -prisoners and their daily regime within the great fortress gaol. It -has been claimed that the system in force was regulated with the most -minute care. As imprisonment might be decreed absolutely and without -question, a great responsibility was supposed to weigh upon officials. -In the first instance the Bastile was under the immediate control of -a minister of state, for a long time a high official. He received -an accurate and exact list of all arrests made, and rendered to the -King an account of all remaining at the end of each year. The order -for arrest was hedged in with all precaution. Each _lettre de cachet_ -bore the King's own signature countersigned by a minister, and the -governor of the Bastile signed a receipt for the body at the end of -the order. In some cases, prisoners of distinction brought their own -warrants of arrest; but the court also signed an order to receive -them, without which admission would be refused. In due course, when -Louis XIV had fully established his police, arrests were made by the -_Lieutenant-Criminel_, whose agent approached and touched his intended -prisoner with a white wand. A party of archers of the guard followed -in support. A carriage was always employed; the first that came to -hand being impressed into the King's service. Into this the prisoner -mounted with the officer making the arrest by his side. The escort -surrounded the carriage and the party marched at a foot's pace through -the silent, over-awed crowd. In many cases to avoid gossip, the agent -took his prisoner to a place he kept for the purpose, a private house -commonly called the _four_ (oven) and the remainder of the journey to -the Bastile was made after dark. - -The party was challenged as it approached the Bastile. The first -sentinel cried, "Who goes there?" The agent replied, "The King's -order;" and the under officer of the guard came out to examine the -_lettre de cachet_ when, if all was correct, he allowed the carriage -to enter and rang the bell to inform all concerned. The soldiers of -the garrison turned out under arms, the King's lieutenant and the -captain of the gateway guard received the prisoner as he alighted from -the carriage. If the governor was in the castle the new prisoner was -conducted immediately into his presence. A short colloquy followed. -It was decided in which part of the castle the new comer should be -lodged. He was then taken into an adjoining apartment to be thoroughly -searched and was deprived of arms, money and papers. No one but the -officials and those specially authorised by the King were permitted to -carry arms in the Bastile. All visitors surrendered their swords at the -gate. - -Now the drawbridge was let down and admission given to the inner court, -whence the prisoner passed on, escorted by turnkeys, to the lodging -assigned to him. If he was a person of distinction, he found a suite -of rooms; if of low degree he was thrown into one of the cells in the -towers. New arrivals were detained for several days in separation until -the interrogatory instituted gave some idea of the fate foreshadowed. -Rooms in the Bastile were not supplied with furniture. The King only -guaranteed food for his guests, and they were obliged to hire what they -needed unless their friends sent in the necessary articles. Later on, -the King provided a special fund for the purpose of buying furniture, -and five or six rooms came to be regularly furnished with a bed, a -table and a couple of chairs. In rare cases servants were admitted -to attend their masters, but the warders generally kept the rooms in -order. If the preliminary inquiry was lengthy or the imprisonment -promised to be prolonged, the prisoner was given a companion of his -own class and quality whose business it was to worm his way into his -confidence and eventually to betray it. These were the _moutons_, or -spies of latter days. Every prison chamber was closed with a double -gate with enormous locks and an approaching visitor was heralded by the -rattling of the keys. The warders came regularly three times a day: -first for breakfast, next for dinner at mid-day and to bring supper in -the evening. - -The dietary in the Bastile is said to have been wholesome and -sufficient. The allowance made to the governor who acted as caterer -was liberal. Some prisoners were so satisfied with it that they -offered to accept simpler fare if the governor would share with them -the difference saved between the outlay and the allowance. There were -three courses at meals: soup, entree and joint with a dessert and a -couple of bottles of wine per head, while the governor sent in more -wine on fete days. Reduction of diet was a common punishment, but the -offenders were seldom put upon bread and water treatment, which was -thought so rigorous that it was never used except by the express orders -of the Court. The King paid for ordinary rations only. Luxuries such -as tobacco, high-class wine and superior viands prisoners found for -themselves, and these were charged against their private funds, held by -the authorities. Some smoked a good deal, but many complaints against -the practice were made by other prisoners. The keeping of pets was not -forbidden; there were numbers of dogs, cats and birds in cages and even -pigeons which were set free in the morning and returned every evening -after spending the day in town. But these last were looked upon with -suspicion as facilitating correspondence with the outside. The surgeon -of the castle attended to the sick, but in bad cases one of the King's -physicians was called in and nurses appointed. When death approached a -confessor was summoned to administer the rites of the Church, and upon -death a proper entry was made in the mortuary register, but often under -a false name. - -Time passed heavily, no doubt, but the prisoners were not denied -certain relaxations. They might purchase books subject to approval. -When brought in they were scrupulously examined and the binding broken -up in the search for concealed documents. Where prisoners did not care -to read they were permitted to play draughts, chess and even cards. -Writing materials were issued, but with a very niggardly hand. A larger -consideration was extended to those given the so-called "liberty of -the Bastile." The doors were opened early and they were permitted to -enter the courtyard and remain there until nightfall, being allowed to -talk, to play certain games and to receive visits from their friends. -Such relaxations were chiefly limited to non-criminal prisoners, those -detained for family reasons, officers under arrest, and prisoners, -whose cases were disposed of but who were still detained for safe -custody. The well-being of the inmates of the Bastile was supposed -to be ensured by the constant visits of the superior officials, the -King's lieutenant, the governor and his major. Permission to address -petitions to the ministers was not denied and many heart-rending -appeals are still to be read in the archives, emanating from people -whose liberty had been forfeited. Clandestine communications between -prisoners kept strictly apart were frequently successful, as we have -seen; old hands exhibited extraordinary cleverness in their desire to -talk to their neighbors. They climbed the chimneys, crawled along the -outer bars or raised their voices so as to be heard on the floor above -or below. - -Much ingenuity was shown in utilising strange articles as writing -materials; the drumstick of a fowl was turned into a pen, a scrap -of linen or a piece of plaster torn from the wall served as writing -paper and fresh blood was used for ink. Constant attempts were made -to communicate with the outside. The old trick of throwing out of the -window a stone wrapped in paper covered with writing was frequently -tried. If it reached the street and was picked up it generally passed -on to its address. Patroles were employed, day and night, making the -rounds of the exterior to check this practice. The bird fanciers tied -letters to the legs of the pigeons which took wing, and the detection -of this device led to a general gaol delivery from all bird cages. -Friends outside were at great pains to pass in news of the day to -prisoners. Where the prison windows gave upon the street, and when -prisoners were permitted to exercise on the platforms of the towers, -their friends waited on the boulevards below and used conventional -signs by waving a handkerchief or placing a hand in a particular -position to convey some valued piece of intelligence. It is said that -when Laporte, the _valet de chambre_ of Anne of Austria, was arrested, -the Queen herself lingered in the street so that her faithful servant -might see her and know that he was not forgotten. Sometimes the house -opposite the castle was rented with a notice board and a message -inscribed with gigantic letters was hung in the windows to be read by -those inside. - -The governing staff of the Bastile, although ample and generally -efficient, could not entirely check these disorders. The supreme chief -was the Captain-Governor. Associated with him was a lieutenant of -the King, immediately under his orders were a major and aide-major -with functions akin to those of an adjutant and his assistant. There -was a chief engineer and a director of fortifications, a doctor and -a surgeon, a wet-nurse, a chaplain, a confessor and his coadjutor. -The Chatelet delegated a commissary to the department of the Bastile, -whose business it was to make judicial inquiries. An architect, two -keepers of the archives and three or four turnkeys, practically the -body servants and personal attendants of the prisoners, completed the -administrative staff. A military company of sixty men under the direct -command of the governor and his major formed the garrison and answered -for the security of the castle. Reliance must have been placed chiefly -upon the massive walls of the structure, for this company was composed -mainly of old soldiers, infirm invalids, not particularly active or -useful in such emergencies as open insubordination or attempted escape. -The emoluments of the governor were long fixed at 1,200 livres, but -the irregular profits far out-valued the fixed salary. The governor -was, to all intents and purposes, a hotel or boarding house keeper, -who was paid head money for his involuntary guests. The sum of ten -livres per diem was allowed for each, a sum far in excess of the charge -for diet. This allowance was increased when the lodgers exceeded a -certain number. The governor had other perquisites, such as the rent -of the sheds erected in the Bastile ditch. He was permitted to fill -his cellars with wine untaxed, which he generally exchanged with a -dealer for inferior fluid to re-issue to the prisoners. In later years -when the influx of prisoners diminished, the governors appear to have -complained bitterly of the diminution of their income. Petitions -imploring relief may be read in the actions from governors impoverished -by their outgoings in paying for the garrison and turnkey. They could -not "make both ends meet." - -The governor, or captain of the castle, was in supreme charge. The -ministers of state transmitted to him the orders of the King direct. -He corresponded with them and in exceptional cases with the King -himself; but was answerable for the castle and the safe custody of -the inmates. His power was absolute and he wielded it with military -exactitude. We have seen in the list of earlier custodians, that the -most distinguished persons did not feel the position was beneath them; -but as time passed, it was thought safer to employ smaller people, -the creatures of the court whose loyalty and subservience might be -most certainly depended upon. After du Tremblay, who surrendered -his fortress to the Fronde, came Broussel the elder, the member -of Parliament who had defied Anne of Austria, with his son as his -lieutenant. Then came La Louviere, who was commandant of the place -when the "Grande Mademoiselle" seized it in aid of the great Conde. -He was removed by the King's order and when peace was declared one de -Vennes succeeded him and then La Bachelerie. But De Besmaus, who had -been a simple captain in Mazarin's guard, was the first of what we may -call the "gaoler governors." He was appointed by the King in 1658 and -held the post for nearly forty years. Through all the busy period when -Louis XIV personally controlled the morals of his kingdom and used -the castle to enforce his despotic will a great variety of prisoners -came under his charge; political conspirators, religious dissidents, -Jansenists and Protestants, free thinkers and reckless writers with -unbridled libellous pens, publishers who dared to print unauthorised -books which were tried in court and sentenced to committal to gaol -for formal destruction, common criminals, thieves, cutpurses and -highway robbers. De Besmaus has been described as a "coarse, brutal -governor, a dry, disagreeable, hard-hearted ruffian;" but another -report applauds the selection, declaring that his unshaken fidelity -through thirty-nine years of office was associated with much gentleness -and humanity. His honesty is more questioned, for it is stated that -although he entered the service poor, he bequeathed considerable sums -at his death. Monsieur de Saint Mars, who fills so large a place in the -criminal annals of the times, from his connection with certain famous -and mysterious prisoners, succeeded De Besmaus. He was an old man and -had risen from the ranks, having been first a King's musketeer, then -corporal, then Marechal de Logis, and was then appointed commandant of -the donjon of Pignerol. - -When Cardinal Mazarin died, the probable successor to the vacant -office was freely discussed and choice was supposed to lie between Le -Tellier, secretary of State for war, Lionne, secretary for foreign -affairs, and Fouquet, superintendent of finances. Louis XIV soon -settled the question by announcing his intention of assuming the -reins of government himself. When leading personages came to him, -asking to whom they should speak in future upon affairs of State, -Louis replied, "To me. I shall be my own Prime Minister in future." -He said it with a decision that could not be questioned, and it was -plain that the young monarch of twenty-two proposed to sacrifice his -ease, to subordinate his love of pleasure and amusement to the duties -of his high position--resolutions fulfilled in the main. In truth -he had been chafing greatly at the vicarious authority exercised by -Mazarin and was heard to say that he could not think what would have -happened had the Cardinal lived much longer. People could not believe -in Louis's determination and predicted that he would soon weary of his -burdensome task. Fouquet was the most incredulous of all. He thought -himself firmly fixed in his place and believed that by humoring the -King, by encouraging him in his extravagance and providing funds for -his gratification, he would still retain his power. He sought, too, by -complicating the business and confusing the accounts of his office, to -disgust the King with financial details and blind him to the dishonest -statements put before him. Fouquet thus prepared his own undoing, for -Louis, suspecting foul play, was secretly coached by Colbert, who came -privately by night to the King's cabinet to instruct and pilot him -through the dark and intricate pitfalls that Fouquet prepared for him. -Louis patiently bided his time and suffered Fouquet to go farther and -farther astray, to increase his peculations and lavish enormous sums -of the ill-gotten wealth in ostentatious extravagance. Louis made up -his mind to pull down and destroy his faithless minister. His insidious -plans, laid with a patient subtlety, not to say perfidy, were the -first revelation of the masterly and unscrupulous character of the -young sovereign. He led Fouquet on to convict himself and show to all -the world, by a costly entertainment on unparalleled lines, how deeply -he had dipped his purse into the revenues of the State. - -The fete he gave to the King and court at his newly constructed palace -at Vaux was brilliant beyond measure. The mansion far outshone any -royal residence in beauty and splendor. Three entire villages had -been demolished in its construction so that water might be brought -to the grounds to fill the reservoirs and serve the fountains and -cascades that freshened the lawns and shady alleys and gladdened the -eye with smiling landscapes. The fete he now gave was of oriental -magnificence. Enchantment followed enchantment. Tables laden with -luscious viands came down from the ceiling. Mysterious subterranean -music was heard on every side. The most striking feature was an -ambulant mountain of confectionery which moved amongst the guests with -hidden springs. Moliere was there and at the King's suggestion wrote -a play on the spot, "_Les Facheux_," which caricatured some of the -most amusing guests. The King was a prey to jealous amazement. He saw -pictures by the most celebrated painters, grounds laid out by the most -talented landscape gardeners, buildings of the most noble dimensions -erected by the most famous architects. After the theatre there were -fireworks, after the pyrotechnics a ball at which the King danced with -Mademoiselle de la Valliere; after the ball, supper; and after supper, -the King bade Fouquet good night with the words, "I shall never dare -ask you to my house; I could not receive you properly." - -More than once that night the King, sore at heart and humiliated at the -gorgeous show made by a subject and servant of the State, would have -arrested Fouquet then and there. The Queen Mother strongly dissuaded -him from too hasty action and he saw that it would be necessary to -proceed with caution lest he find serious, and possibly successful, -resistance. Fouquet did not waste all his wealth in ostentation. He had -purchased the island of Belle Ile from the Duc de Retz and fortified -it with the idea, it was thought, to withdraw there if he failed to -secure the first place in the kingdom, raise the standard of revolt -against the King and seek aid from England. It was time to pull down so -powerful a subject. - -The measures taken for the arrest of Fouquet may be recounted here -at some length. They well illustrate the young King's powers of -dissimulation and the extreme caution that backed his resolute will. -He first assumed a friendly attitude and led Fouquet to believe that -he meant to bestow on him the valued decoration of Saint d'Esprit. -But he had already given it to another member of the Paris Parliament -and a rule had been made that only one of that body should enjoy the -honor. Fouquet was Procureur General of the Parliament and voluntarily -sold the place so that he might become eligible for the cross, at the -same time paying the price into the Treasury. Louis was by no means -softened and still determined to abase Fouquet. Yet he shrank from -making the arrest in Paris and invented a pretext for visiting the -west coast of France for the purpose of choosing a site for a great -naval depot. He was to be accompanied by his council, Fouquet among -the rest. Although the Superintendent was suffering from fever, he -proceeded to Nantes by the river Loire, where the King, travelling by -the road, soon afterwards arrived. Some delay occurred through the -illness of d'Artagnan, lieutenant of musketeers, who was to be charged -with the arrest. The reader will recognise d'Artagnan, the famous -fourth of the still more famous "Three Musketeers" of Alexandre Dumas. -The instructions issued to d'Artagnan are preserved in the memorandum -written by Le Tellier's clerk and may be summarised as follows:-- - -"It is the King's intention to arrest the Sieur Fouquet on his leaving -the castle (Nantes) when he has passed beyond the last sentinel. Forty -musketeers will be employed, twenty to remain within the court of the -castle, the other twenty to patrol outside. The arrest will be made -when Sieur Fouquet comes down from the King's chamber, and he will be -carried, surrounded by the musketeers, to the Chamberlain's room, -there to await the King's carriage which is to take him further on. -Monsieur d'Artagnan will offer Monsieur Fouquet a basin of soup if he -should care to take it. Meanwhile the musketeers will form a cordon -round the lodging in which the Chamberlain's room is situated. Monsieur -d'Artagnan will not take his eyes off the prisoner for a single -moment nor will he permit him to put his hand into his pocket so as -to remove any papers, telling him that the King demands the delivery -of all documents; and those he gets Monsieur d'Artagnan will at once -pass on to the authority indicated. In entering the royal carriage -Monsieur Fouquet will be accompanied by Monsieur d'Artagnan with five -of his most trustworthy officers and musketeers. The road taken will -be: the first day, to Oudon, the second day, to Ingrandes, and the -third, to the castle of Angers. Extreme care will be observed that -Monsieur Fouquet has no communication by word or writing or in any -other possible way with any one on the road. At Oudon, Monsieur Fouquet -will be summoned to deliver an order in his own hand to the Commandant -of Belle Ile to hand it over to an officer of the King. In order that -every precaution may be taken at Angers, its governor, the Count -d'Harcourt, will receive orders to surrender the place to Monsieur -d'Artagnan and expel the garrison. This letter will be forwarded -express to Angers so that all may be ready on the arrival. At the same -time a public notice shall be issued to the inhabitants of Angers -requiring them to give every assistance in food and lodging to the -King's musketeers. Monsieur Fouquet will be lodged in the most suitable -rooms which will be furnished with goods purchased in the town. The -King will himself nominate the _valet de chambre_ and decide upon the -prisoner's rations and the supply of his table. Monsieur d'Artagnan -will receive 1,000 louis for all expenses." - -The arrest was not limited to the Superintendent himself. His chief -clerk Pellisson, who afterwards became famous in literature, was also -taken to Saint Mande. Fouquet's house and his papers were seized; -which his brother would have forestalled by burning the house but -was too late. A mass of damaging papers fell into the hands of the -King. One of these was an elaborate manuscript with the project of -a general rising, treasonable in the highest degree. The scheme was -too wild and visionary for accomplishment and Fouquet himself swore -positively that it was a forgery. Fouquet did not remain long at -Angers. He was carried to Amboise and afterwards to Vincennes, always -under the strictest surveillance, being suffered to speak to no one -en route but his guards and denied the use of writing materials. He -left Amboise in December, 1661, for Vincennes, under the escort of -eighty musketeers, and from time to time passed to and fro between -the "Wood" and the Bastile as his interminable trial dragged along. -He was first interrogated at Vincennes by an informal tribunal, the -commission previously constituted to inquire into the malversation of -finances, but he steadily refused to answer except in free and open -court. After much persecution by his enemies with the King himself at -their head, and the violation of all forms of law, he was taken again -to the Bastile and arraigned before the so-called Chamber of Justice at -the Arsenal, a tribunal made up mainly of unjust and prejudiced judges, -some of whom hated the prisoner bitterly. The process was delayed by -Fouquet's dexterity in raising objections and involving others in the -indictment. Louis XIV ardently desired the end. "My reputation is at -stake," he wrote. "The matter is not serious, really, but in foreign -countries it will be thought so if I cannot secure the conviction of a -thief." The King's long standing animosity was undying, as the sequel -showed. Throughout, the public sympathy was with Fouquet. He had troops -of friends; he had been a liberal patron of art and letters and all -the best brains of Paris were on his side. Madame de Sevigne filled -several of her matchless letters with news of the case. La Fontaine -bemoaned his patron's fate in elegant verse. Mademoiselle Scuderi, -the first French novelist, wrote of him eloquently. Henault attacked -Colbert in terms that might well have landed him in the Bastile, and -Pellisson, his former clerk, from the depths of that prison made public -his eloquent and impassioned justifications of his old master. At -last, when hope was almost dead, the relief was great at hearing that -there would be no sentence of death as was greatly feared. By thirteen -votes against nine, a sentence of banishment was decreed and the result -was made public amid general rejoicing. The sentence was deemed light, -although Fouquet had already endured three years' imprisonment and -he must have suffered much in the protracted trial. Louis XIV, still -bearing malice, would not allow Fouquet to escape so easily and changed -banishment abroad into perpetual imprisonment at home. The case is -quoted as one of the rare instances in which a despotic sovereign ruler -over-rode the judgment of a court by ordering a more severe sentence -and personally ensuring its harsh infliction. - -He was forthwith transferred to Pignerol, escorted again by d'Artagnan -and a hundred musketeers. Special instructions for his treatment, -contained in letters from the King in person, were handed over to -Saint Mars. By express royal order he was forbidden to communicate -in speech or writing with anyone but his gaolers. He might not leave -the room he occupied for a single moment or for any reason. He could -not use a slate to note down his thoughts, that common boon extended -to all modern prisoners. These restrictions were imposed with the -most watchful precautions and, as we may well believe, were inspired -with the wish to cut him off absolutely from friends outside. He was -supposed to have some valuable information to communicate and the -King was determined it should not pass through. Fouquet's efforts and -devices were most persistent and ingenious. He utilised all manner -of material; writing on the ribbons that ornamented his clothes and -the linen that lined them. When the ribbons were tabooed and removed -and the linings were all in black he abstracted pieces of his table -cloth and manufactured it into paper. He made pens out of fowl bones -and ink from soot. He wrote on the inside of his books and on his -pocket handkerchiefs. Once he begged to be allowed a telescope and -it was discovered that some of his former attendants had arrived in -Pignerol and were in communication with him by signal. They were -forthwith commanded to leave the neighborhood. He was very attentive -to his religious duties at one time, and constantly asked for the -ministrations of a priest. From this some clandestine work was -suspected and the visits of the confessor were strictly limited to -four a year. A servant was, however, permitted to wait on him but was -presently replaced by two others, who were intended to act as spies on -each other; although on joining Fouquet these were plainly warned that -they would never be allowed to leave Pignerol alive. - -After eight years the severity of his incarceration appreciably -relaxed. The incriminated financiers outside were by this time disposed -of or dead. He was given leave to write a letter to his wife and -receive one in reply, on condition that they were previously read by -the authorities. His personal comfort was improved and he was allowed -tea, at that time a most expensive luxury. He had many more books -to read, the daily gazettes and current news reached him, and when -presently the Comte de Lauzun was brought a prisoner to Pignerol, the -two were permitted to take exercise together upon the ramparts. By -degrees greater favor was shown. Fouquet was permitted to play outdoor -games and the privilege of unlimited correspondence was conceded, both -with relations and friends. Fouquet's wife and children were suffered -to reside in the town of Pignerol and were constant visitors, permitted -to remain with him alone, without witnesses. As the prisoner, who -was failing in health, grew worse and worse, his wife was permitted -to occupy the same room with him and his daughter lodged alongside. -When he died in 1680, all his near relations were present. The fact -has been questioned; and a tradition exists that Fouquet, still no -older than sixty-six, was released and lived on in extreme privacy -for twenty-three years. The point is of interest as illustrating the -veil of secrecy so often thrown over events in that age and so often -impenetrable. - -This seems a fitting opportunity to refer to a prison mystery belonging -to this period, and originating in Pignerol, which has exercised the -whole world for many generations. The fascinating story of the "Man -with the Iron Mask," as presented by writers enamored of romantic -sensation, has attracted universal attention for nearly two centuries. -A fruitful field for investigation and conjecture was opened up by -the strange circumstances of the case. Voltaire with his keen love of -dramatic effect was the first to awaken the widespread interest in an -historic enigma for which there was no plausible solution. Who was this -unknown person held captive for five and twenty unbroken years with his -identity so studiously and strictly hidden that it has never yet been -authoritatively revealed? The mystery deepened with the details (mostly -imaginery) of the exceptional treatment accorded him. Year after year -he wore a mask, really made of black velvet on a whalebone frame, not -a steel machine, with a chin-piece closing with a spring and looking -much like an instrument of mediaeval torture. He was said to have been -treated with extreme deference. His gaoler stood, bareheaded, in his -presence. He led a luxurious life; he wore purple and fine linen and -costly lace; his diet was rich and plentiful and served on silver -plate; he was granted the solace of music; every wish was gratified, -save in the one cardinal point of freedom. The plausible theory deduced -from all this was that he was a personage of great consequence,--of -high, possibly royal birth, who was imprisoned and segregated for -important reasons of State. - -Such conditions, quite unsubstantiated by later knowledge, fired the -imagination of inquirers, and a clue to the mystery has been sought in -some exalted victim whom Louis XIV had the strongest reason to keep out -of sight. Many suggested explanations were offered, all more or less -far fetched even to absurdity. The first was put forward by at least -two respectable writers, who affirmed that a twin son was born to Anne -of Austria, some hours later than the birth of the Dauphin, and that -Louis XIII, fearing there might be a disputed succession, was resolved -to conceal the fact. It was held by certain legal authorities in France -that the first born of twins had no positive and exclusive claim to the -inheritance. Accordingly, the second child was conveyed away secretly -and confided first to a nurse and then to the governor of Burgundy who -kept him close. But the lad, growing to manhood, found out who he was -and was forthwith placed in confinement, with a mask to conceal his -features which were exactly like those of his brother, the King. Yet -this view was held by many people of credit in France and it was that -to which the great Napoleon inclined, for he was keenly interested in -the question and when in power had diligent search made in the National -archives, quite without result, which greatly chafed his imperious -mind. A similar theory of the birth of this second child was found -very attractive; the paternity of it was given, not to Louis XIII, but -to various lovers: the Duke of Buckingham, Cardinal Mazarin and a -gentleman of the court whose name never transpired. This is the wildest -and most extravagant of surmises, for which there is not one vestige of -authority. The first suggestion is altogether upset by the formalities -and precautions observed at the birth of "a child of France," and it -would have been absolutely impossible to perpetrate the fraud. - -Other special and fanciful suppositions have gained credence, but their -mere statement is sufficient to upset them. One is the belief that the -"Man with the Iron Mask" was the English Duke of Monmouth, the son of -Charles II and Lucy Waters, who raised the standard of revolt against -James II and suffered death on Tower Hill. It was pretended that a -devoted follower, whose life was also forfeit, took his place upon -the scaffold and was hacked about in Monmouth's place by the clumsy -executioner. The craze for ridiculous conjecture led to the adoption of -Henry Cromwell, the Protector's second son, as the cryptic personage, -but there was never a shadow of evidence to support this story and no -earthly reason why Louis XIV should desire to imprison and conceal a -young Englishman. Nor can we understand why Louis should thus dispose -of his own son by Louise de Valliere, the young Comte de Vermandois, -whose death in camp at an early age was fully authenticated by the sums -allotted to buy masses for the repose of his soul. The disappearance -of the Duc de Beaufort's body after his death on the field of Candia -led to his promotion to the honor of the Black Mask, but his head was -probably sent to the Sultan of Turkey, and in any case, although he -was, as we have already seen, a noisy, vulgar demagogue, he had made -his peace with the court in his later days. There was no mystery about -Fouquet's imprisonment. The story which has just been told to the time -of his death shows conclusively that he could not be the "Man with the -Iron Mask," nor was there any sound reason to think it. The same may be -said of the rather crazy suggestion that he was Avedik, the Armenian -patriarch at Constantinople who, having incurred the deadly animosity -of the Jesuits, had been kidnapped and brought to France. This -conclusion was entirely vitiated by the unalterable logic of dates. The -patriarch was carried off from Constantinople just a year after the -mysterious person died in the Bastile. - -Thus, one by one, we exclude and dispose of the uncertain and -improbable claimants to the honors of identification. But one person -remains whom the cap fits from the first; a man who, we know, offended -Louis mortally and whose imprisonment the King had the best of reasons, -from his own point of view, for desiring: the first, private vengeance, -the second, the public good and the implacable will to carry out his -set purpose. It is curious that this solution which was close at hand -seems never to have appealed to the busy-bodies who approached the -subject with such exaggerated ideas about the impenetrable mystery. A -prisoner had been brought to Pignerol at a date which harmonizes with -the first appearance of the unknown upon the stage. Great precautions -were observed to keep his personality a secret; but it was distinctly -known to more than one, and although guarded with official reticence, -there were those who could have, and must have drawn their own -conclusions. In any case the screen has now been entirely torn aside -and documentary evidence is afforded which proves beyond all doubt that -no real mystery attaches to the "Man with the Iron Mask." - -The exact truth of the story will be best established by a brief -history of the antecedent facts. When Louis XIV was at the zenith of -his power, supreme at home and an accepted arbiter abroad, he was bent -upon consolidating his power in Northern Italy, and eagerly opened -negotiations with the Duke of Mantua to acquire the fortress town of -Casale. The town was a decisive point which secured his predominance in -Montferrat, which gave an easy access at any time into Lombardy. The -terms agreed upon were, first, a payment of 100,000 crowns by Louis -to the Duke of Mantua and, second, a promise that the latter should -command any French army sent into Italy; in exchange, the surrender -of Casale. The transaction had been started by the French ambassador -in Venice and the principal agent was a certain Count Mattioli, who -had been a minister to the Duke of Mantua and was high in his favor. -Mattioli visited Paris and was well received by the King, who sent -him back to Italy to complete the contract. Now, however, unexplained -delays arose and it came out that the great Powers, who were strongly -opposed to the dominating influence of France in Northern Italy, had -been informed of what was pending. The private treaty with France -became public property and there could be no doubt but that Mattioli -had been bought over. He had in fact sold out the French king and the -whole affair fell through. - -Louis XIV, finding himself deceived and betrayed, was furiously angry -and resolved to avenge himself upon the traitor. It was pain and -anguish to him to find that he had been cheated before all Europe, -and in his discomfiture and bitter humiliation he prepared to avenge -himself amply. On the suggestion of the French minister at Turin he -planned that Mattioli should be kidnapped and carried into France and -there subjected to the King's good pleasure. Mattioli was a needy man -and was easily beguiled by the Frenchman's promises of a substantial -sum in French gold, from the French general, Catinat, who was on -the frontier with ample funds for use when Casale should have been -occupied. Mattioli, unsuspecting, met Catinat not far from Pignerol, -where after revealing the place where his papers were concealed he -fell into the hands of the French. Louis had approved of the arrest -and insisted only on secrecy, and that Mattioli should be carried off -without the least suspicion in Casale. "Look to it," he wrote, "that no -one knows what becomes of this man." And at the same time the governor -of Pignerol, Saint Mars, was instructed by Louvois, the minister, to -receive him in great secrecy and was told, "You will guard him in such -a manner that, not only may he have no communication with anyone, but -that he may have cause to repent his conduct, and that no one may know -you have a new prisoner." The secrecy was necessary because Mattioli -was the diplomatic agent of another country and his arrest was a -barefaced violation of the law of nations. - -Brigadier-General (afterwards the famous Marshal) Catinat reports from -Pignerol on May 3rd, 1679:--"I arrested Mattioli yesterday, three miles -from here, upon the King's territories, during the interview which the -Abbe d'Estrades had ingeniously contrived between himself, Mattioli -and me, to facilitate the scheme. For the arrest, I employed only the -Chevaliers de Saint Martin and de Villebois, two officers under M. -de Saint Mars, and four men of his company. It was effected without -the least violence, and no one knows the rogue's name, not even the -officers who assisted." This fixed beyond all doubt the identity, but -there is a corroborative evidence in a pamphlet still in existence, -dated 1682, which states that "the Secretary was surrounded by ten or -twelve horsemen who seized him, disguised him, masked him and conducted -him to Pignerol." This is farther borne out by a traditionary arrest -about that time. - -When, thirty years later, the great sensation was first invented, its -importance was emphasised by Voltaire and others who declared that at -the period of the arrest no disappearance of any important person was -recorded. Certainly Mattioli's disappearance was not much noticed. It -was given out that he was dead, the last news of him being a letter to -his father in Padua begging him to hand over his papers to a French -agent. They were concealed in a hole in the wall in one of the rooms in -his father's house, and when obtained without demur were forwarded to -the King in Paris. There was no longer any doubt of Mattioli's guilt, -and Louis exacted the fullest penalty. He would annihilate him, sweep -him out of existence, condemn him to a living death as effective as -though he were poisoned, strangled or otherwise removed. He did not -mean that the man who had flouted and deceived him should be in a -position to glory over the affront he had put upon the proudest king in -Christendom. - -Exit Mattioli. Enter the "Man with the Iron Mask." Pignerol, the prison -to which he was consigned, has already been described, and also Saint -Mars, his gaoler. The mask was not regularly used at first, but the -name of Mattioli was changed on reception to Lestang. We come at once -upon evidence that this was no distinguished and favored prisoner. The -deference shown him, the silver plate, the fine clothes are fictions -destroyed by a letter written by Louvois within a fortnight of the -arrest. "It is not the King's intention," he writes, "that the Sieur -de Lestang should be well treated, or that, except the necessaries of -life, you should give him anything to soften his captivity.... You must -keep Lestang in the rigorous confinement I enjoined in my previous -letters." - -Saint Mars punctiliously obeyed his orders. He was a man of inflexible -character, with no bowels of compassion for his charges, and Lestang -must have felt the severity of the prison rule. Eight months later the -governor reported that Lestang, likewise a fellow prisoner, a monk, -who shared his chamber, had gone out of his mind. Both were subject to -fits of raving madness. This is the only authentic record of the course -of the imprisonment, which lasted fifteen years in this same prison of -Pignerol. Saint Mars, in 1681, exchanged his governorship for that of -Exiles, another frontier fortress, and was supposed to have carried -his masked prisoner with him. This erroneous belief has been disproved -by a letter of Saint Mars to the Abbe d'Estrades, discovered in the -archives, in which the writer states that he has left Mattioli at -Pignerol. There is no attempt at disguise. The name used is Mattioli, -not Lestang, and it is clear from collateral evidence that this is the -masked man. - -Saint Mars was not pleased with Exiles and solicited another transfer -which came in his appointment to the command of the castle on the -island of Sainte-Marguerite, opposite Cannes and well known to visitors -to the French Riviera. The fortress, by the way, has much later -interest as Marshal Bazaine's place of confinement after his trial by -court martial for surrendering Metz. It will be remembered, too, that -with the connivance of friends Bazaine made his escape from durance, -although it may be doubted whether the French Republic was particularly -anxious to keep him. - -The time at length arrived for Mattioli's removal from Pignerol. A -change had come over the fortunes of France. Louis was no longer the -dictator of Europe. Defeated in the field and thwarted in policy, the -proud King had to eat humble pie; he was forced to give up Casale, -which had come to him after all in spite of Mattioli's betrayal. -Pignerol also went back once more to Italian rule and it must be -cleared of French prisoners. One alone remained of any importance, for -Fouquet was long since dead and Lauzun released. This was Mattioli, -whose illegal seizure and detention it was now more than ever necessary -to keep secret. Extreme precautions were taken when making the -transfer. A strong detachment of soldiers, headed by guides, escorted -the prisoner who was in a litter. The governor of Pignerol (now one -Villebois) by his side was the only person permitted to communicate -with him. The locks and bolts of his quarters at Pignerol were sent -ahead to be used at Sainte-Marguerite and the strictest discipline -was maintained on the journey. Mattioli saw no one. His solitude was -unbroken save by Saint Mars and the two lieutenants who brought him his -food and removed the dishes. - -One other change awaited the prisoner, the last before his final -release. High preferment came to Saint Mars, who was offered and -accepted the governorship of the Bastile. He was to bring his "ancient -prisoner" with him to Paris; to make the long journey across France -weighted with the terrible responsibility of conveying such a man -safely in open arrest. We get a passing glimpse of the cortege in -a letter published by the grandnephew of Saint Mars, M. Polteau, -who describes the halt made for a night at Polteau, a country house -belonging to Saint Mars. - -"The Man in the Mask," he writes, in 1768, "came in a litter which -preceded that of M. de Saint Mars. They were accompanied by several -men on horseback. The peasants waited to greet their lord. M. de Saint -Mars took his meals with his prisoner, who was placed with his back -to the windows of the dining room which overlooked the courtyard. The -peasants whom I questioned could not see whether he wore his mask while -eating, but they took notice of the fact that M. de Saint Mars who -sat opposite to him kept a pair of pistols beside his plate. They were -waited on by one manservant who fetched the dishes from the anteroom -where they were brought to him, taking care to close the door of the -dining room after him. When the prisoner crossed the courtyard, he -always wore the black mask. The peasants noticed that his teeth and -lips showed through, also that he was tall and had white hair. M. de -Saint Mars slept in a bed close to that of the masked man." - -The prisoner arrived at the Bastile on the 18th of September, 1698, -and the authentic record of his reception appears in the journal of -the King's lieutenant of the castle, M. du Junca, still preserved in -the Arsenal Library. "M. de Saint Mars, governor of the Chateau of the -Bastile, presented, for the first time, coming from his government of -the Isle of Sainte-Marguerite, bringing with him a prisoner who was -formerly in his keeping at Pignerol." The entry goes on to say that the -newcomer was taken to the third chamber of the Bertandiere tower and -lodged there alone in the charge of a gaoler who had come with him. He -was nameless in the Bastile and was known only as "the prisoner from -Provence" or "the ancient prisoner." - -His isolation and seclusion were strictly maintained for the first -three years of his imprisonment in the Bastile and then came a curious -change. He is no longer kept apart. He is associated with other -prisoners, and not of the best class. One, a rascally domestic servant, -who practised black magic, and a disreputable rake who had once been -an army officer. Nothing is said about the mask, but there can no -longer be much secrecy and the mystery might be divulged at any time. -It is evident that the reasons for concealment have passed away. The -old political intrigue has lost its importance. No one cared to know -about Casale. Louis XIV had slaked his vindictiveness and the sun of -his splendor was on the decline. Nevertheless it was not till after -his death that the prisoner's real name transpired. He died as he had -lived, unknown. Du Junca enters the event in the register:-- - -"The prisoner unknown, masked always ... happening to be unwell -yesterday on coming from mass died this day about 10 o'clock in the -evening without having had any serious illness; indeed it could not -have been slighter ... and this unknown prisoner confined so long a -time was buried on Tuesday at four in the afternoon in the cemetery of -St. Paul, our parish. On the register of burial he was given a name -also unknown." To this is added in the margin, "I have since learnt -that he was named on the register M. de Marchiali." A further entry -can be seen in the parish register. "On the 19th of November, 1703, -Marchioly, of the age of forty-five or thereabouts, died in the Bastile -... and was buried in the presence of the major and the surgeon of -the Bastile." "Marchioly" is curiously like "Mattioli" and it is a -fair assumption that the true identity of the "Man with the Iron Mask" -bursts forth on passing the verge of the silent land. - -Lauzun, a third inmate of Pignerol about this period, calls for mention -here as a prominent courtier whose misguided ambition and boundless -impudence tempted him seriously to affront and offend the King. The -penalties that overtook him were just what a bold, intemperate subject -might expect from an autocratic, unforgiving master. This prisoner, -the Count de Lauzun, was rightly styled by a contemporary "the most -insolent little man that had been seen for a century." He had no -considerable claims to great talents, agreeable manners or personal -beauty, but he was quick to establish himself in the good graces of -Louis XIV. He was one of the first to offer him the grateful incense of -unlimited adulation. He worshipped the sovereign as a superior being, -erected him into a god, lavished the most fulsome flattery on him, -declaring that Louis by his wisdom, wit, greatness and majesty took -rank as a divinity. Yet he sometimes forgot himself and went to the -other extreme, daring to attack and upbraid the King if he disapproved -of his conduct. Once he sided with Madame de Montespan when she was -first favorite and remonstrated with Louis so rudely that the King cast -him at once into the Bastile. But such blunt honesty won the King's -respect and speedy forgiveness. Lauzun was soon released and advanced -from post to post, each of successively greater value, so that the -hypocritical courtier, who had made the most abject submission, seemed -assured of high fortune. As he rose, his ambition grew and he aspired -now to the hand of the King's cousin, Mademoiselle de Montpensier, -who began to look upon him with favor. This was the same "Grande -Mademoiselle," the heroine of the wars of the Fronde, who was now a -wealthy heiress and who at one time came near being the King's wife and -Queen. The match was so unequal as to appear wildly impossible, but De -Lauzun was strongly backed by Madame de Montespan and two nobles of -high rank were induced to make a formal proposal to the King. - -Louis liked De Lauzun and gave his consent without hesitation. The -marriage might have been completed at once but the bold suitor, -successful beyond his deserts and puffed up with conceit, put off the -happy day so as to give more and more eclat to the wedding ceremony. -While he procrastinated his enemies were unceasingly active. The -princes of the blood and jealous fellow courtiers constantly implored -the King to avoid so great a mistake, and Louis, having been weak -enough to give his consent, was now so base as to withdraw it. De -Lauzun retorted by persuading Mademoiselle de Montpensier to marry him -privately. This reckless act, after all, might have been forgiven, -but he was full of bitterness against those who had injured him with -the King and desired to retaliate. He more especially hated Madame de -Montespan, whom he now plotted to ruin by very unworthy means. He thus -filled his cup and procured the full measure of the King's indignation. -He was arrested and consigned to Pignerol, where in company with -Fouquet he languished for ten years. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE POWER OF THE BASTILE - - Louis XIV and the _lettre de cachet_--Society corrupt--Assassination - common--Cheating at cards--Shocking state of Paris--"The Court of - Miracles"--Prisons filled--Prisoners detained indefinitely--Revived - persecution of the Protestants--General exodus of industrious - artisans--Inside the Bastile--Sufferings of the prisoners--The - Comte Pagan--Imprisonment for blasphemy, riotous conduct in - the streets and all loose living--Kidnapping of the Armenian - Patriarch, Avedik--His sudden death--Many heinous crimes disgrace - the epoch--Plot of the Chevalier de Rohan--Its detection--De Rohan - executed. - - -The three notable cases of arrest and imprisonment given in the last -chapter are typical of the regime at last established in France under -the personal rule of a young monarch whom various causes had combined -to render absolute. The willing submission of a people sick of civil -war, the removal or complete subjection of the turbulent vassals, -his own imperious character,--that of a strong willed man with a -set resolve to be sovereign, irresponsible master,--all combined to -consolidate his powers. Louis was the incarnation of selfishness. To -have his own way with everyone and in everything, to gratify every whim -and passion was the keynote of his sensuous and indulgent nature. No -one dared oppose him; no one stood near him. His subjects were his -creatures; the greatest nobles accepted the most menial tasks about his -person. His abject and supple-backed courtiers offered him incense and -dosed him with the most fulsome flattery. He held France in the hollow -of his hand and French society was formed on his model, utterly corrupt -and profligate under a thin veneer of fine manners which influenced all -Europe and set its fashions. - -The worst example set by Louis was in his interference with personal -liberty. The privilege of freedom from arrest had been won by the -Parliament, in the Fronde. They had decreed that any one taken into -custody one day must be produced for trial the next and his detention -justified. This safeguard was shortlived. The law was defied and -ignored by Louis XIV who invented the _lettres de cachet_, or sealed -warrants, which decreed arbitrary arrest without reason given or -the smallest excuse made for the committal. It came to be a common -thing that persons who were not even suspected of crimes, and who had -certainly never been guilty of crimes, were caught up and imprisoned -indefinitely. They might lie for years in the Bastile or Vincennes, -utterly uncared for and forgotten, kept in custody not because anybody -was set upon their remaining but because nobody was interested in their -release. In the absence of any statement of the offense no one could -say whether or not it was purged and no one was concerned as to whether -the necessity for punishment still survived. These _lettres de cachet_ -were abundantly in evidence, for they were signed in blank by the King -himself and countersigned by one of his ministers whenever it was -desired to make use of one. - -It may be well to explain here that it was customary for the King of -France to make his sovereign will known by addressing a communication -to the various State functionaries in the form of a letter which was -open or closed. If the former, it was a "patent," it bore the King's -signature, it was countersigned by a minister and the great Seal of -State was appended. This was the form in which all ordinances or grants -of privileges appeared. These "letters patent" were registered and -endorsed by the Parliament. But there was no check upon the closed -letter or _lettre de cachet_, famous in the history of tyranny, as the -secret method of making known the King's pleasure. This was folded -and sealed with the King's small seal, and although it was a private -communication it had all the weight of the royal authority. It became -the warrant for the arbitrary arrest, at any time and without any -reason given, of any person who, upon the strength of it, was forthwith -committed to a State prison. The chief ministers and the head of the -police had always _lettres de cachet_ in stock, signed in blank, but -all in due form, and they could be completed at any time, by order, -or of their own free will, by inserting the name of the unfortunate -individual whose liberty was to be forfeited. Arrest on a _lettre de -cachet_, as has been said, sometimes meant prolonged imprisonment -purposely or only because the identity of the individual or the cause -of the arrest was forgotten. - -Society was horribly vicious and corrupt in the time of Louis XIV. -Evil practices prevailed throughout the nation. Profligacy was general -among the better classes and the lower ranks committed the most -atrocious crimes. While the courtiers openly followed the example set -by their self-indulgent young monarch, an ardent devotee of pleasure, -the country was over-run with thieves and desperadoes. Assassination -was common, by the open attack of hired bravos or secretly by the -infamous administration of poison. Security was undermined and numbers -in every condition of life were put out of the way. The epoch of the -poisoners presently to be described is one of the darkest pages in -the annals of the Bastile. Cheating at cards and in every form of -gambling was shamelessly prevalent, and defended on the specious excuse -that it was merely correcting fortune. Prominent persons of rank and -fashion such as the Chevalier de Gramont and the Marquis de Saissac -won enormous sums unfairly. The passion for play was so general and -so engrossing that no opportunity of yielding to it was lost; people -gambled wherever they met, in public places, in private houses, in -carriages when travelling on the road. Cheating at play was so common -that a special officer, the Grand Provost, was attached to the Court -to bring delinquents immediately to trial. Many dishonest practices -were called in to assist, false cards were manufactured on purpose and -cardmakers were a part of the great households. Strict laws imposed -heavy penalties upon those caught loading dice or marking packs. Fraud -was conspicuously frequent in the Italian and most popular game of -_hoca_ played with thirty balls on a board, each ball containing a -number on a paper inside. - -[Illustration: _The Bastile_ - -The first stone of this historic fortress was laid in 1370. For the -first two centuries it was a military stronghold, and whoever held the -Bastile overawed Paris. The terrors of the Bastile as a state prison -were greatest during the ministry of Richelieu. From the beginning -of the revolution this prison was a special object of attack by the -populace. On July 14, 1789, it was stormed by the people and forced to -surrender.] - -Later in the reign, the rage for play grew into a perfect madness. -_Hoca_, just mentioned, although it had been indicted by two popes in -Rome, and although, in Paris, the Parliament, the magistrates and the -six guilds of merchants had petitioned for its suppression, held the -lead. Other games of chance little less popular were _lansquenet_, -_hazard_, _portique_ and _trou-madame_. Colossal sums were lost and -won. A hundred thousand crowns changed hands at a sitting. Madame de -Montespan, the notorious favorite, lost, one Christmas Day, 700,000 -crowns and got back 300,000 by a stake upon only three cards. It was -possible at _hoca_ to lose or win fifty or sixty times a stake in one -quarter of an hour. During a campaign, officers played incessantly and -leading generals of the army were among the favorite players with the -King, when invited to the palace. The police fulminated vainly against -the vice, and would have prohibited play among the people, but did not -dare to suggest that the court should set the example. - -Extravagance and ostentation being the aim and fashion of all, every -means was tried to fill the purse. The Crown was assailed on all sides -by the needy, seeking places at court. Fathers sent their sons to Paris -from the provinces to ingratiate themselves with great people and to -pay court in particular to rich widows and dissolute old dowagers -eager to marry again. Heiresses were frequently waylaid and carried -off by force. Abduction was then as much the rule as are _mariages de -convenance_ in Paris nowadays. Friends and relations aided and abetted -the abductor, if the lady's servants made resistance. - -The state of Paris was shocking. Disturbances in the street were -chronic, murders were frequent and robbery was usually accompanied with -violence, especially in the long winter nights. The chief offenders -were soldiers of the garrison and the pages and lackeys of the great -houses, who still carried arms. A police ordinance finally forbade them -to wear swords and it was enforced by exemplary punishment. A duke's -footman and a duchess's page, who attacked and wounded a student on -the Pont Neuf, were arrested, tried and forthwith hanged despite the -protests and petitions of their employers. Further ordinances regulated -the demeanor of servants who could not be employed without producing -their papers, and now in addition to their swords being taken away, -they were deprived of their canes and sticks on account of their -brutal treatment of inoffensive people. They were forbidden to gather -in crowds and they might not enter the gardens of the Tuileries or -Luxembourg. - -It was not enough to repress the insolent valets and check the midnight -excesses of the worst characters. The importunity of the sturdy -vagabond, who lived by begging, called for stern repression. These -ruffians had long been tolerated. They enjoyed certain privileges and -immunities, they were organised in dangerous bands strong enough to -make terms with the police and they possessed a sanctuary in the heart -of Paris, where they defied authority. This "Court of Miracles," as -it was called, had three times withstood a siege by commissaries and -detachments of troops, who were repulsed with showers of stones. Then -the head of the police went at the head of a strong force and cleared -the place out, allowing all to escape; and when it had been thus -emptied, their last receptacle was swept entirely away. Other similar -refuges were suppressed,--the enclosures of the Temple and the Abbey -of St. Germain-des-Pres, and the Hotel Soissons, property of the royal -family of Savoy, which had long claimed the right to give shelter to -malefactors. - -The prisons of Paris were in a deplorable and disgraceful state at -this period, as appears from a picture drawn by a magistrate about -the middle of the seventeenth century. They were without light or -air, horribly overcrowded by the dregs of humanity and a prey to -foul diseases which prisoners freely communicated to one another. -For-l'Eveque was worse then than it had ever been; the whole building -was in ruins and must soon fall to the ground. The Greater and Lesser -Chatelets were equally unhealthy and of dimensions too limited for -their population, the walls too high, the dungeons too deep down in -the bowels of the earth. The only prison not absolutely lethal was the -Conciergerie, yet some of its cells and chambers possessed no sort of -drainage. The hopelessness of the future was the greatest infliction; -once committed, no one could count on release: to be thrown into prison -was to be abandoned and forgotten. - -The records kept at the Bastile were in irremediable disorder. Even -the names of the inmates were in most cases unknown, from the custom -of giving new arrivals a false name. By the King's order, his Minister -once applied to M. de Besmaus, the governor, for information as to -the cause of detention of two prisoners, a priest called Gerard, who -had been confined for eight years, and a certain Pierre Rolland, -detained for three years. The inquiry elicited a report that no such -person as Rolland appeared upon the monthly pay lists for rations. -Gerard, the priest, was recognised by his numerous petitions for -release. The Minister called for a full nominal list of all prisoners -and the reasons for their confinement, but the particulars were not -forthcoming. This was on the conclusion of the Peace of Ryswick, -when the King desired to mark the general rejoicings by a great gaol -delivery. - -Many causes contributed to fill the Bastile and other State prisons in -the reign of Louis XIV. Let us take these more in detail. The frauds -committed by dishonest agents dealing with public money, the small fry, -as guilty as Fouquet, but on a lesser scale, consigned many to prison. -Severe penalties were imposed upon defamatory writers and the whole of -the literary crew concerned in the publication of libellous attacks -upon the King,--printers, binders, distributors of this dangerous -literature,--found their way to the Bastile, to the galleys, even to -the scaffold. Presently when Louis, always a bigoted Catholic, became -more and more intolerant under the influence of the priests, the -revived persecution of the Protestants filled the gaols and galleys -with the sufferers for their faith. Colbert had long protected them, -but at the death of this talented minister who, as he wrote Madame de -Maintenon, "thought more of finance than religion," Le Tellier and -Louvois, who succeeded him, raged furiously against the Protestants -and many cruel edicts were published. A fierce fanatical desire to -proselytise, to procure an abjuration of creed by every violent and -oppressive means possessed all classes, high and low. The doors of sick -people were forced to admit the priests who came to administer the -sacraments, without being summoned. - -On one occasion the pot-boy of a wine shop who, with his master, -professed the new faith, was mortally wounded in a street fight. A -priest visited him as he lay dying and besought him to make confession. -A low crowd forthwith collected before the house, to the number of -seven or eight hundred, and rose in stormy riot, attacked the door -with sticks and stones, broke it down, smashed all the windows and -forced their way in, crying, "Give us up the Huguenots or we will set -fire to the house." The police then came upon the scene and restored -quiet, but the man died, to the last refusing to confess. Outrages of -this kind were frequent. Again, the son of a new convert removed his -hat when the procession of the Host passed by, but remained standing -instead of falling on his knees. He was violently attacked and fled to -his home, pursued by the angry crowd who would have burned the house to -the ground. The public feeling was so strong that many called for the -quartering of troops in Paris to assist in the good work of conversion, -a suggestion which bore fruit presently in the infamous _dragonnades_, -when the soldiers pillaged and laid waste the provinces. - -The passion for proselytising was carried to the extent of bribing the -poverty stricken to change their religion. Great pressure was brought -to bear upon Huguenot prisoners who were in the Bastile. A number of -priests came in to use their persuasive eloquence upon the recusants, -and many reports are preserved in the correspondence of M. de Besmaus, -the governor, of their energetic efforts. "I am doing my best," says -one priest, "and have great hopes of success." "I think," writes -another, "I have touched Mademoiselle de Lamon and the Mademoiselles de -la Fontaine. If I may have access to them I shall be able to satisfy -you." The governor was the most zealous of all in seeking to secure the -abjuration of the new religion. - -It may be noted here that this constant persecution, emphasised by the -Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (which had conceded full liberty of -conscience), had the most disastrous consequences upon French industry. -The richest manufacturers and the most skillful and industrious -artisans were to be found among the French Protestants and there was -soon a steady drain outwards of these sources of commercial prosperity. -In this continuous exodus of capital and intelligent labor began the -material decadence of France and transferred the enterprise of these -people elsewhere, notably to England. A contemporary pamphlet paints -the situation in sombre colors;--"Nothing is to be seen but deserted -farms, impecunious landed proprietors, bankrupt traders, creditors in -despair, peasants dying of starvation, their dwellings in ruins." On -every side and in every commodity there was a terrible depreciation of -values,--land nearly worthless, revenues diminished, and besides a new -and protracted war had now to be faced. - -Some idea of the condition of the interior of the Bastile in those -days may be best realised by a few extracts from the original archives -preserved from the sack of the hated castle when Paris rose in -revolution. Some documents are extant, written by a certain Comte de -Pagan, who was thrown into the State prison charged with sorcery. He -had boasted that he could, when he chose, destroy Louis XIV by magic. -His arrest was immediate and his detention indefinitely prolonged. His -letters contain the most piteous appeals for money. - -"Monseigneur and most reverent patron," he writes to Colbert from the -Bastile under date of the 8th of November, 1661, "I supplicate you -most humbly to accord this poor, unfortunate being his liberty. Your -lordship will most undoubtedly be rewarded for so merciful a deed as -the release of a wretched creature who has languished here for nine -years devoid of hope." In a second petition, reiterating his prayer for -clemency, he adds, "It is now impossible for me to leave the room in -which I am lodged as I am almost naked. Do send me a little money so -that I may procure a coat and a few shirts." Again, "May I beseech you -to remember that I have been incarcerated for eleven years and eight -months and have endured the worst hardships ever inflicted on a man -for the want of covering against the bitter cold.... Monseigneur, I am -seventy-eight years of age, a prey to all manner of bodily infirmities; -I do not possess a single friend in the world, and worse still, I am -not worth one sou and am sunk in an abyss of wretchedness. I swear to -you, Monseigneur, that I am compelled to go to bed in the dark because -I cannot buy a farthing candle; I have worn the same shirt without -removing or changing it for seven whole months." - -This appeal is endorsed with a brief minute signed by Colbert. "Let him -have clothes." The year following a new petition is rendered. "Your -Excellency will forgive me if I entreat him to remember that thirteen -months ago he granted me 400 francs to relieve my miseries. But I am -once more in the same or even worse condition and I again beg humbly -for help. I have been quite unable to pay the hire of the furniture -in my chamber and the upholsterer threatens to remove the goods and I -shall soon be compelled to lie on the bare floor. I have neither light -nor fuel and am almost without clothes. You, Monseigneur, are my only -refuge and I beseech your charitable help or I shall be found dead of -cold in my cell. For the love of God, entreat the King to give me my -liberty after the thirteen years spent here." - -This last appeal is dated November 28th, 1665, but there is no record -of his ultimate disposal. It is stated in an earlier document that -Cardinal Mazarin had been willing to grant a pardon to this prisoner -if he would agree to be conveyed to the frontier under escort and sent -across it as a common criminal, but the Count had refused to accept -this dishonoring condition which he pleaded would cast a stigma upon -his family name. He offered, however, to leave France directly he was -released and seek any domicile suggested to him where he might be safe -from further oppression. Cardinal Mazarin seems to have been mercifully -inclined, but died before he could extend clemency to this unhappy -victim of arbitrary power. - -The Bastile was used sometimes as a sanctuary to withdraw an offender -who had outraged the law and could not otherwise be saved from -reprisal. A notable case was that of Rene de l'Hopital, Marquis de -Choisy, who lived on his estates like a savage tyrant. In 1659 he was -denounced by a cure to the ecclesiastical authorities for his crimes. -The marquis with a couple of attendants waylaid the priest on the high -road and attacked the cure whom he grievously wounded. The priest -commended himself to God and was presently stunned by a murderous blow -on the jaw from the butt end of a musket. Then the Marquis, to make -sure his victim was really dead, rode his horse over the recumbent body -and then stabbed it several times with his sword. But help came and the -cure was rescued still alive, and strange to say, recovered, although -it was said he had received a hundred and twenty wounds. - -The entire religious hierarchy in France espoused the priest's cause. -The Marquis was haled before several provincial courts of justice. -He would undoubtedly have been convicted of murder and sentenced to -death, for Louis XIV would seldom spare the murderer of a priest, but -the l'Hopital family had great influence at Court and won a pardon -for the criminal. The Parliament of Paris or High Court of Justice -boldly resisted the royal decree and the marquis would still have been -executed had he not been consigned for safety to the "King's Castle," -the Bastile. He passed subsequently to the prison of For-l'Eveque, from -which he was released with others on the entry of the King to Paris, at -his marriage. Still the vindictive Parliament pursued him and he would -hardly have escaped the scaffold had he not fled the country. - -In an age when so much respect was exacted for religious forms and -ceremonies, imprisonment in the Bastile was promptly inflicted upon all -guilty of blasphemous conduct or who openly ridiculed sacred things. -The records are full of cases in which prisoners have been committed to -gaol for impiety, profane swearing at their ill luck with the dice or -at _hoca_. A number of the Prince de Conde's officers were sent to the -Bastile for acting a disgraceful parody of the procession of the Host, -in which a besom was made to represent a cross, a bucket was filled at -a neighboring pump and called holy water, and the sham priests chanted -the _De Profundis_ as they went through the streets to administer the -last sacrament to a pretended moribund. - -A very small offense gained the pain of imprisonment. One foolish -person was committed because he was dissatisfied with his name Cardon -(thistle), and changed it to _Cardone_, prefixing the particle "de" -which signifies nobility, claiming that he was a member of the -illustrious family of De Cardone. It appears from the record, however, -that he also spoke evil of M. de Maurepas, a minister of State. - -Still another class found themselves committed to the Bastile. The -parental Louis, as he grew more sober and staid, insisted more and -more on external decorum and dealt sharply with immoral conduct among -his courtiers. The Bastile was used very much as a police station or a -reformatory. Young noblemen were sent there for riotous conduct in the -streets, for an affray with the watch and the maltreatment of peaceful -citizens. The Duc d'Estrees and the Duc de Mortemart were imprisoned as -wastrels who bet and gambled with sharpers. "The police officers cannot -help complaining that the education of these young dukes had been sadly -neglected," reads the report. So the Royal Castle was turned for the -nonce into a school, and a master of mathematics, a drawing master and -a Jesuit professor of history were admitted to instruct the neglected -youths. The same Duc d'Estrees paid a second visit for quarrelling with -the Comte d'Harcourt and protesting against the interference of the -marshals to prevent a duel. - -The King nowadays set his face against all loose living. The Comte de -Montgomery, for leading a debauched and scandalous life on his estates, -was committed to the Bastile, where he presently died. He was a -Protestant and the question of his burial came up before the Ministry, -who wrote the governor that, "His Majesty is very indifferent whether -he (Montgomery) be buried in one place rather than another and still -more in what manner the ceremony is performed." - -The report that the Prince de Leon, being a prince of the blood, a son -of the Duc de Rohan, was about to marry a ballet dancer, Mademoiselle -Florence, entailed committal to the Bastile, not on the Prince but -on the girl. "Florence was arrested this morning while the Prince -was at Versailles," writes the chief of the police. "Her papers were -seized.... She told the officer who arrested her she was not married, -that she long foresaw what would happen, that she would be only too -happy to retire into a convent and that she had a hundred times -implored the Prince to give his consent. I have informed the Prince's -father, the Duc de Rohan, of this." The Prince was furious upon hearing -of the arrest and refused to forgive his relations. The Duc de Rohan -was willing to supply Mademoiselle Florence with all necessaries to -make captivity more tolerable, but great difficulty was found in -getting him to pay the bill. The Duc de Rohan was so great a miser -that he allowed his wife and children to die of hunger. The Bastile -bill included charges for doctor and nurse as Mademoiselle de Florence -was brought to bed of a child in prison. What with the expenses of -capture and gaol fees it amounted to 5,000 francs. The end of this -incident was that the Prince de Leon, while his lady love was in the -Bastile, eloped with a supposed heiress, Mademoiselle de Roquelaure, -who was ugly, hunch-backed and no longer young. The Prince ran off -with her from a convent, moved to do so by his father's promise of an -allowance, which the miserly duke never paid. The bride was recaptured -and sent back to the cloister in which her mother had placed her to -avoid the necessity of giving her any dowry. The married couple, when -at last they came together, had a bad time of it, as neither of the -parents would help them with funds and they lived in great poverty. - -A strange episode, forcibly illustrating the arbitrary character of -Louis XIV and his fine contempt for international rights, was the case -of the Armenian Patriarch, Avedik, who was an inmate of the Bastile -and also of Mont St. Michel. The Armenian Catholics, and especially -the Jesuits, had reason to complain of Avedik's high handed treatment, -and the French ambassador interfered by paying a large price for the -Patriarch's removal from his sacred office. Certain schismatics of the -French party secured his reinstatement by raising the bid; and now the -French ambassador seized the person of Avedik, who was put on board -a French ship and conveyed to Messina, then Spanish territory, where -he was cast into the prison of the Inquisition. This abduction evoked -loud protest in Constantinople, but the French disavowed it, although -it had certainly met with the approval of Louis XIV. Avedik would -have languished and died forgotten in Messina, but without waiting -instructions, the French consul had extracted him from the prison of -the Inquisition and passed him on to Marseilles. - -Great precautions were taken to keep his arrival secret. If the poor, -kidnapped foreigner, who spoke no language but Turkish and Armenian, -should chance to be recognised, the report of his sudden death was -to be announced and no doubt it would soon be justified in fact. -Otherwise he was to be taken quietly across France from Marseilles, -on the Mediterranean, to Mont St. Michel on the Normandy coast, where -his kidnappers were willing to treat him well. The King expressly -ordered that he should have "a room with a fire place, linen and so -forth, as his Majesty had no desire that the prisoner should suffer, -provided economy is observed.... He is not to be subjected to perpetual -abstinence and may have meat when he asks for it." Of course an attempt -was made to convert the Patriarch, already a member of the Greek -Church, to Catholicism as preached in France, although the interchange -of ideas was not easy, and the monk sent to confess him could not do -so for want of a common language. Eventually Avedik was brought to -Paris and lodged in the Bastile, where an interpreter was found for him -in the person of the Abbe Renaudot, a learned Oriental scholar. - -Meanwhile a hue and cry was raised for the missing Patriarch. One -of his servants was traced to Marseilles and was promptly arrested -and hidden away in the hospital of the galley slaves. Louis and his -ministers stoutly denied that Avedik was in France, and he was very -strictly guarded lest the fact of his kidnapping should leak out. No -one saw him but the person who took him his food, and they understood -each other only by signs. Avedik was worked up to make a written -statement that he owed his arrest to English intrigues, and this was -to be held as an explanation should the Porte become too pressing in -its inquiries. It is clear that the French Government would gladly -have seen the last of Avedik and hesitated what course to adopt with -him: whether to keep him by force, win him over, transfer him to the -hands of the Pope, send him to Persia or let him go straight home. -These questions were in a measure answered by a marginal note endorsed -on the paper submitting them. "Would it be a blessing or would it be -a misfortune if he were to die?" asks the Minister Pontchartrain; and -the rather suspicious answer was presently given by his death. But an -official report was drawn up, declaring that he had long enjoyed full -liberty, that he received every attention during his illness, that -his death was perfectly natural and that he died a zealous Catholic. -Pontchartrain went further and, after reiterating that death was -neither violent nor premature, added that it was entirely due to the -immoderate use of brandy and baleful drugs. Avedik had grown very -corpulent during his imprisonment, but there was no proof of the charge -of intemperance. - -The most heinous crimes disgraced the epoch of Louis XIV, and in all, -the Bastile played a prominent part. There was first the gigantic -frauds and peculations of Fouquet as already described; then came the -conspiracy of the Chevalier de Rohan, who was willing to sell French -fortresses to foreign enemies; and on this followed the horrible affair -of the Marchioness de Brinvilliers, the secret poisoner of her own -people. The use of poison was for a time a wholesale practice, and -although the special court established for the trial of those suspected -held its sessions in private, the widespread diffusion of the crime was -presently revealed beyond all question. There were reasons of State why -silence should be preserved; the high rank of many of the criminals -and their enormous number threatened, if too openly divulged, to shake -society to its base. Some two hundred and thirty of the accused were -afterwards convicted and sent to prison and thirty-four more were -condemned to death. - -Conspiracies against the life of the King had been frequent. We may -mention among them that of the Marquis de Bonnesson, of the Protestant -Roux de Marcilly, who would have killed Louis to avenge the wrongs -of his co-religionists, and another Protestant, Comte de Sardan, who -sought to stir up disaffection in four great provinces,--which were to -renounce allegiance to France and pass under the dominion of the Prince -of Orange and the King of Spain. The most dangerous and extensive -plot was that of Louis de Rohan, a dissolute young nobleman, who had -been a playmate of the King and the favorite of ladies of the highest -rank, but who had been ruined by gambling and a loose life until his -fortunes had sunk to the lowest ebb. He found an evil counsellor in a -certain retired military officer, the Sieur de Latreaumont, no less a -pauper than De Rohan, and hungry for money to retrieve his position. -Together they made overtures to the Dutch and Spaniards to open the -way for a descent upon the Normandy coast. Their price was a million -livres. Several disaffected Normandy nobles joined the plot, and as it -was unsafe to trust to the post, an emissary, Van den Ende, an ancient -Dutch professor, was sent in person to the Low Countries to deal with -the Spanish general. He obtained liberal promises of cash and pension, -and returned to Paris, where he was promptly arrested at the barrier. -The police had discovered the conspiracy and De Rohan was already in -custody. De Latreaumont was surprised in bed, had resisted capture, -had been mortally wounded and had died, leaving highly compromising -papers. - -Louis XIV, bitterly incensed against the Chevalier, whom he had -so intimately known, determined to make an example of him and his -confederates. A special tribunal was appointed for their trial, some -sixty persons in all. Abundant evidence was forthcoming, for half -Normandy was eager to confess and escape the traitor's fate. Some -very great names were mentioned as implicated, the son of the Prince -de Conde among the rest. The King now wisely resolved to limit the -proceedings, lest too much importance should be given to a rather -contemptible plot. De Rohan's guilt was fully proved. He was reported -to have said: "If I can only draw my sword against the King in a -serious rebellion I shall die happy." When he saw there was no hope for -him, the Chevalier tried to soften the King by full confession. It did -not serve him, and he was sentenced to be beheaded and his creature, -Van den Ende, to be hanged in front of the Bastile. De Rohan was spared -torture before execution, but Van den Ende and another suffered the -"boot." The King was vainly solicited to grant pardon to De Rohan, but -was inflexible, declaring it was in the best interests of France that -traffic with a foreign enemy should be punished with the extreme rigor -of the law. It cannot be stated positively that there were no other -conspiracies against Louis XIV, but none were made public. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE TERROR OF POISON - - The Marquise de Brinvilliers--Homicidal mania--Mysterious - death of her father, M. D'Aubray--Death of her eldest brother - and her second brother--Sainte Croix's sudden death--Fatal - secret betrayed--Marchioness flies to England--Brought - to Paris--Her trial--Torture and cruel sentence--Others - suspected--Pennautier--Trade in poisoning--The _Chambre - Ardente_--La Voisin--Great people implicated--Wholesale - sentences--The galleys, or forced labor at the oar a common - punishment--War galleys--Manned with difficulty--Illegal - detention--Horrors of the galleys. - - -Paris was convulsed and shaken to its roots in 1674, when the -abominable crimes of the Marchioness of Brinvilliers were laid -bare. They have continued to horrify the whole world. Here was -a beautiful woman of good family, of quiet demeanor, seemingly -soft-hearted and sweet tempered, who nevertheless murdered her nearest -relations,--father, brother, sisters, her husband and her own children -by secret and detestable practices. It could have been nothing less -than homicidal mania in its worst development. The rage to kill, or, -more exactly, to test the value of the lethal weapons she recklessly -wielded, seized her under the guise of a high, religious duty to visit -the hospitals to try the effects of her poisons on the sick poor. -There were those at the time who saw in the discovery of her murderous -processes the direct interposition of Providence. First, there was the -sudden death of her principal accomplice, and the sure indications -found among the papers he left; next, the confirmatory proofs afforded -by a servant who had borne the "question" without opening his lips, and -only confessed at the scaffold; last of all, the guilty woman's arrest -in Liege on the last day that the French king's authority was paramount -in that city; and more, there was the fact that when taken, she was in -possession of papers indispensable to secure her own conviction. - -Marie-Madeleine d'Aubray was beautiful, the daughter of the d'Aubray -who filled the high legal office of Lieutenant-Criminel, and she -married the Marquis de Brinvilliers at the age of twenty-one. -She was possessed of great personal attraction: a small woman of -slight, exquisite figure, her face round and regular, her complexion -extraordinarily fair, her hair abundant and of a dark chestnut color. -Everything promised a happy life for the young people. They were drawn -together by strong liking, they were fairly rich and held their heads -high in the best circle of the court. They lived together happily for -some years, and five children were born to them, but presently they -fell into extravagant ways and wasted their substance. The Marquis -became a roue and a gambler, and left his wife very much alone and -exposed to temptation, and especially to the marked attentions of a -certain Godin de St. Croix, a young, handsome and seductive gallant, -whom the Marquis had himself introduced and welcomed to his house. At -the trial it was urged that this St. Croix had been the real criminal; -he is described as a demon of violent and unbridled passion, who had -led the Marchioness astray, a statement never proved. - -The liaison soon became public property, but the husband was altogether -indifferent to his wife's misconduct, having a disreputable character -of his own. The father and brothers strongly disapproved and reproached -the Marchioness fiercely. The elder d'Aubray, quite unable to check the -scandal, at last obtained a _lettre de cachet_, an order of summary -imprisonment, against St. Croix, and the lover was arrested in the -Marchioness' carriage, seated by her side. He was committed at once -to the Bastile, where he became the cellmate of an Italian generally -called Exili; although his real name is said to have been Egidi, while -his occult profession, according to contemporary writers, was that of -an artist in poisons. From this chance prison acquaintance flowed the -whole of the subsequent crimes. When St. Croix was released from the -Bastile, he obtained the release also of Exili and, taking him into -his service, the two applied themselves to the extensive manufacture -of poisons, assisted by an apothecary named Glaser. St. Croix was -supposed to have reformed. When once more free, he married, became -reserved and grew devout. Secretly he renewed his intimacy with the -Marchioness and persuaded her to get rid of her near relatives in order -to acquire the whole of the d'Aubray property; and he provided her with -the poisons for the purpose. - -M. d'Aubray had forgiven his daughter, and had taken her with -him to his country estate at Offemont in the autumn of 1666. The -Marchioness treated him with the utmost affection and seemed to have -quite abandoned her loose ways. Suddenly, soon after their arrival, -M. d'Aubray was seized with some mysterious malady, accompanied by -constant vomitings and intolerable sufferings. Removed to Paris -next day, he was attended by a strange doctor, who had not seen the -beginning of the attack, and speedily died in convulsions. It was -suggested as the cause of his death, that he had been suffering from -gout driven into the stomach. - -The inheritance was small, and there were four children to share it. -The Marchioness had two brothers and two sisters. One sister was -married and the mother of two children, the other was a Carmelite -nun. The eldest brother, Antoine d'Aubray, succeeded to his father's -office as Lieutenant-Criminel, and within four years he also died -under suspicious circumstances. He lived in Paris, and upon entering -his house one day called for a drink. A new valet, named La Chaussee, -brought him a glass of wine and water. It was horribly bitter to the -taste, and d'Aubray threw the greater part away, expressing his belief -that the rascal, La Chaussee, wanted to poison him. It was like liquid -fire, and others, who tasted it, declared that it contained vitriol. -La Chaussee, apologising, recovered the glass, threw the rest of the -liquid into the fire and excused himself by saying that a fellow -servant had just used the tumbler as a medicine glass. This incident -was presently forgotten, but next spring, at a dinner given by M. -d'Aubray, guests and host were seized with a strange illness after -eating a tart or _vol au vent_, and M. d'Aubray never recovered his -health. He "pined visibly" after his return to Paris, losing appetite -and flesh, and presently died, apparently of extreme weakness, on the -17th of June, 1670. A post mortem was held, but disclosed nothing, and -the death was attributed to "malignant humours," a ridiculously vague -expression showing the medical ignorance of the times. - -The second brother did not survive. He too was attacked with illness, -and died of the same loss of power and vitality. An autopsy resulted -in a certain suspicion of foul play. The doctors reported that the -lungs of the deceased were ulcerated, the liver and heart burned up and -destroyed. Undoubtedly there had been noxious action, but it could not -be definitely referred to poison. No steps, however, were taken by the -police to inquire into the circumstances of this sudden death. - -Meanwhile the Marchioness had been deserted by her husband, and she -gave herself up to reckless dissipation. When St. Croix abandoned her -also, she resolved to commit suicide. "I shall put an end to my life," -she wrote him in a letter afterwards found among his papers, "by using -what you gave me, the preparation of Glaser." Courage failed her, and -now chance or strange fortune intervened with terrible revelations. St. -Croix's sudden death betrayed the secret of the crime. - -He was in the habit of working at a private laboratory in the Place -Maubert, where he distilled his lethal drugs. One day as he bent -over the furnace, his face protected by a glass mask, the glass -burst unexpectedly, and he inhaled a breath of the poisonous fumes, -which stretched him dead upon the spot. Naturally there could be no -destruction of compromising papers, and these at once fell into the -hands of the police. Before they could be examined, the Marchioness, -terrified at the prospect of impending detection, committed herself -hopelessly by her imprudence. She went at once to the person to whom -the papers had been confided and begged for a casket in which were a -number of her letters. She was imprudent enough to offer a bribe of -fifty louis, and was so eager in her appeal, that suspicion arose and -her request was refused. Ruin stared her in the face, she went home, -got what money she could and fled from Paris. - -The casket was now opened, and fully explained her apprehensions. -On top was a paper written by St. Croix which ran: "I humbly entreat -the person into whose hands this casket may come to convey it to the -Marchioness Brinvilliers, rue Neuve St. Paul; its contents belong to -her and solely concern her and no one else in the world. Should she die -before me I beg that everything within the box may be burned without -examination." In addition to the letters from the Marchioness, the -casket contained a number of small parcels and phials full of drugs, -such as antimony, corrosive sublimate, vitriol in various forms. These -were analysed, and some portion of them administered to animals, which -immediately died. - -The law now took action. The first arrest was that of La Chaussee, -whose complicity with St. Croix was undoubted. The man had been in St. -Croix's service, he had lived with Antoine d'Aubray, and at the seizure -of St. Croix's effects, he had rashly protested against the opening -of the casket. He was committed to the Chatelet and put on his trial -with the usual preliminary torture of the "boot." He stoutly refused -to make confession at first, but spoke out when released from the -rack. His conviction followed, on a charge of having murdered the two -Lieutenants-Criminel, the d'Aubrays, father and son. His sentence was, -to be broken alive on the wheel, and he was duly executed. - -This was the first act in the criminal drama. The Marchioness was still -at large. She had sought an asylum in England, and was known to be in -London. Colbert, the French minister, applied in his king's name for -her arrest and removal to France. But no treaty of extradition existed -in those days, and the laws of England were tenacious. Even Charles II, -the paid pensioner of Louis and his very submissive ally, could not -impose his authority upon a free people; and the English, then by no -means friendly with France, would have resented the arbitrary arrest -of even the most dastard criminal for an offence committed beyond the -kingdom. History does not say exactly how it was compassed, but the -Marchioness did leave England, and crossed to the Low Countries, where -she took refuge in a convent in the city of Liege. - -Four years passed, but her retreat became known to the police of Paris. -Desgrez, a skilful officer, famous for his successes as a detective, -was forthwith despatched to inveigle her away. He assumed the disguise -of an abbe, and called at the convent. Being a good looking young man -of engaging manners, he was well received by the fugitive French woman, -sick and weary of conventual restriction. The Marchioness, suspecting -nothing, gladly accepted the offer of a drive in the country with the -astute Desgrez, who promptly brought her under escort to the French -frontier as a prisoner. A note of her reception at the Conciergerie is -among the records, to the effect, that, "La Brinvilliers, who had been -arrested by the King's order in the city of Liege, was brought to the -prison under a warrant of the Court." - -On the journey from Liege she had tried to seduce one of her escort -into passing letters to a friend, whom she earnestly entreated to -recover certain papers she had left at the convent. These, however, -one of them of immense importance, her full confession, had already -been secured by Desgrez, showing that the Abbess had been cognisant of -the intended arrest. The Marchioness yielded to despair when she heard -of the seizure of her papers and would have killed herself, first by -swallowing a long pin and next by eating glass. This confession is -still extant and will be read with horror--the long list of her crimes -and debaucheries set forth with cold-blooded, plain speaking. It was -not produced at her trial, which was mainly a prolonged series of -detailed interrogatories to which she made persistent denials. As the -proceedings drew slowly on, all Paris watched with shuddering anxiety, -and the King himself, who was absent on a campaign, sent peremptory -orders to Colbert that no pains should be spared to bring all proof -against the guilty woman. Conviction was never in doubt. One witness -declared that she had made many attempts to get the casket from St. -Croix; another, that she exulted in her power to rid herself of her -enemies, declaring it was easy to give them "a pistol shot in their -soup;" a third, that she had exhibited a small box, saying, "it is -very small but there is enough inside to secure many successions -(inheritances)." Hence the euphemism _poudre de succession_, so often -employed at that time to signify "deadly poison." - -The accused still remained obstinately dumb, but at last an eloquent -priest, l'Abbe Pirot, worked upon her feelings of contrition, and -obtained a full avowal, not only of her own crimes, but those also -of her accomplices. Sentence was at once pronounced, and execution -quickly followed. Torture, both ordinary and extraordinary, was to -be first inflicted. The ordeal of water, three buckets-full, led her -to ask if they meant to drown her, as assuredly she could not, with -her small body, drink so much. After the torture she was to make -the _amende honorable_ and the acknowledgment, candle in hand, that -vengeance and greed had tempted her to poison her father, brothers and -sisters. Then her right hand was to be amputated as a parricide; but -this penalty was remitted. The execution was carried out under very -brutal conditions. No sooner were the prison doors opened than a mob of -great ladies rushed in to share and gloat over her sufferings, among -them the infamous Comtesse de Soissons, who was proved later to have -been herself a poisoner. An enormous crowd of spectators, at least one -hundred thousand, were assembled in the streets, at the windows and -on the roofs, and she was received with furious shouts. Close by the -tumbril rode Desgrez, the officer who had captured her in Liege. Yet -she showed the greatest fortitude. "She died as she had lived," writes -Madame de Sevigne, "resolutely. Now she is dispersed into the air. Her -poor little body was thrown into a fierce furnace, and her ashes blown -to the four winds of heaven." - -Another person was implicated in this black affair, Reich de -Pennautier, Receiver-General of the clergy. When the St. Croix casket -was opened, a promissory note signed by Pennautier had been found. -He was suspected of having used poison to remove his predecessor in -office. Pennautier was arrested and lodged in the Conciergerie, where -he occupied the old cell of Ravaillac for seven days. Then he was put -on his trial. He found friends, chief of them the reticent Madame -de Brinvilliers, but he had an implacable enemy in the widow of his -supposed victim, Madame de St. Laurent, who continually pursued him -in the courts. He was, however, backed by Colbert, Archbishop of -Paris, and the whole of the French clergy. In the end he was released, -emerging as Madame de Sevigne put it, "rather whiter than snow," and -he retained his offices until he became enormously rich. Although his -character was smirched in this business he faced the world bravely to a -green old age. - -In France uneasiness was general after the execution of the Brinvilliers -and the acquittal of Pennautier. Sinister rumors prevailed that secret -poisoning had become quite a trade, facilitated by the existence of -carefully concealed offices, where the noxious drugs necessary could be -purchased easily by heirs tired of waiting for their succession, and -by husbands and wives eager to get rid of one another. Within a year -suspicion was strengthened by the picking up of an anonymous letter in -the confessional of the Jesuit Church of the rue St. Antoine, stating -that a plot was afoot to poison both the King and the Dauphin. The -police set inquiries on foot, and traced the projected crime to two -persons, Louis Vanens and Robert de la Nuree, the Sieur de Bachimont. - -The first of these dabbled openly in love philtres and other unavowable -medicines; and he was also suspected of having poisoned the Duke of -Savoy some years previously. Bachimont was one of his agents. From -this first clue, the police followed the thread of their discoveries, -and brought home to a number of people the charge of preparing and -selling poisons, two of whom were condemned and executed. A still -more important arrest was that of Catherine Deshayes, the wife of one -Voisin or Monvoisin, a jeweller. From this moment the affair assumed -such serious proportions that it was decided to conduct the trial -with closed doors. The authorities constituted a royal tribunal to -sit in private at the Arsenal, and to be known to the public as the -_Chambre Ardente_ or Court of Poisons. La Reynie and another counsellor -presided, and observed extreme caution, but were quite unable to keep -secret the result of their proceedings. It was soon whispered through -Paris that the crime of poisoning had extensive ramifications, and that -many great people, some nearly related to the throne, were compromised -with la Voisin. The names were openly mentioned: a Bourbon prince, the -Comte de Clermont, the Duchesse de Bouillon, the Princesse de Tingry, -one of the Queen's ladies in waiting, and the Marchionesse d'Alluye, -who had been an intimate friend of Fouquet. The Duc de Luxembourg and -others of the highest rank were consigned to the Bastile. Yet more, the -Comtesse de Soissons, the proudest of Cardinal Mazarin's nieces and one -of the first of the King's favorites, had, by his special grace, been -warned to fly from Paris to escape imprisonment. - -No such favor was shown to others. Louis XIV sternly bade La Reynie -to spare no one else, to let justice take its course strictly and -expose everything; the safety of the public demanded it, and the -hideous evil must be extirpated in its very root. There was to be no -distinction of persons or of sex in vindicating the law. Such severity -was indeed necessary. Although the King wished all the documents in -the case to be carefully destroyed, some have been preserved. They -exhibit the widespread infamy and almost immeasurable guilt of the -criminals. Colbert stigmatised the facts as "things too execrable to -be put on paper; amounting to sacrilege, profanity and abomination." -The very basest aims inspired the criminals to seek the King's favor; -disappointed beauties would have poisoned their rivals and replaced -them in the King's affections. The Comtesse de Soissons's would-be -victim was the beautiful La Valliere, and Madame de Montespan was -suspected of desiring to remove Mdlle. de Fontanges. Madame La Feron -attempted the life of her husband, a president of Parliament. The Duc -de Luxembourg was accused of poisoning his duchess. M. de Feuquieres -invited la Voisin to get rid of the uncle and guardian of an heiress -he wished to marry. The end of these protracted proceedings was the -inevitable retribution that waited on their crimes. Two hundred and -forty-six persons had been brought to trial, of whom thirty-six went -to the scaffold, after enduring torture, ordinary and extraordinary. -Of the rest, some were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment, some to -banishment, some to the galleys for life. Among those who suffered the -extreme penalty were la Voisin, La Vigouroux, Madame de Carada, several -priests and Sieur Maillard, who was charged with attempting to poison -Colbert and the King himself. The Bastile, Vincennes and every State -prison were crowded with the poisoners, and for years the registers of -castles and fortresses contained the names of inmates committed by the -_Chambre Ardente_ of the Arsenal. - -The edict which dissolved this special tribunal laid down stringent -laws to protect the public against future poisoning. A clean sweep -was made of the charlatans, the pretended magicians who came from -abroad and imposed upon the credulity of the French people, who united -sacrilege and impious practices with the manufacture and distribution -of noxious drugs. Several clauses in the edict dealt with poisons, -describing their action and effect,--in some cases instantaneous, in -others slow, gradually undermining health and originating mysterious -maladies, that proved fatal in the end. The sale of deleterious -substances was strictly regulated, such as arsenic and corrosive -sublimate, and the use of poisonous vermin, "snakes, vipers and frogs," -in medical prescriptions was forbidden. - -A few words more as to the Comtesse de Soissons, who was suffered -to fly from France, but could find no resting place. Her reputation -preceded her, and she was refused admittance into Antwerp. In Flanders -she ingratiated herself with the Duke of Parma, and lived under his -protection for several years. Finally she appeared in Madrid, and was -received at court. Then the young Queen of Spain died suddenly with -all the symptoms of poisoning, and Madame de Soissons was immediately -suspected, for unexpected and mysterious deaths always followed in her -trail. She was driven from the country, and died a wanderer in great -poverty. - -No account of the means of repression of those days in France would be -complete without including the galleys,--the system of enforced labor -at the oars, practised for many centuries by all the Mediterranean -nations, and dating back to classical times. These ancient warships, -making at best but six miles an hour by human effort under the lash, -are in strong contrast with the modern ironclad impelled by steam. But -the Venetians and the Genoese owned fine fleets of galleys and won -signal naval victories with them. France long desired to rival these -powers, and Henry III, when returning from Poland to mount the French -throne, paused at Venice to visit the arsenal and see the warships in -process of construction. At that time France had thirty galleys afloat, -twenty-six of the highest order and worked by convicts (_galeriens_). -This number was not always maintained, and in 1662 Colbert, bidding for -sea power and striving hard to add to the French navy, ordered six new -ships to be laid down at Marseilles, and sought to buy a number, all -standing, from the Republic of Genoa and the Grand Duke of Tuscany. -These efforts were crowned with success. In 1670 there were twenty -galleys under the French flag, and Colbert wrote the intendant at -Marseilles that his Master, Louis XIV, was eager to possess one royal -ship which would outvie any hitherto launched on the seas. The increase -continued, and in 1677 the fleet numbered thirty, rising to forty-two -by the end of the century. - -It was not enough to build the ships; the difficulty was to man them. -The custom of sending condemned convicts to ply the oar was ancient, -and dated back to the reign of Charles VII. But it was little used -until Francis I desired to strengthen his navy, and he ordered -parliaments and tribunals to consign to the galleys all able-bodied -offenders who deserved death and had been condemned to bodily -penalties, whatsoever crimes they had committed. The supply of this -personnel was precarious, and Colbert wrote to the judges to be more -severe with their sentences, and to inflict the galleys in preference -to death, a commutation likely to be welcome to the culprit. But some -of the parliaments demurred. That of Dijon called it changing the -law, and the President, protesting, asked for new ordinances. Colbert -put the objection aside arbitrarily. He increased the pressure on the -courts and dealt sharply with the keepers of local gaols, who did not -use sufficient promptness in sending on their quotas of convicts to -Marseilles and Toulon. Many escapes from the chain were made by the -way, so carelessly conducted was the transfer. - -This "chain," a disgrace to humanity, was employed in France till quite -within our own day. The wretched convicts made their long pilgrimage -on foot from all parts of the country to the southern coast. They -were chained together in gangs and marched painfully in all weathers, -mile after mile, along their weary road under military escort. No -arrangements were made for them by the way. They were fed on any coarse -food that could be picked up, and were lodged for the night in sheds -and stables if any could be found; if not, under the sky. Death took -its toll of them ere they reached their destination. They were a scarce -commodity and yet no measures were adopted to preserve their health and -strength. The ministers in Paris were continually urging the presidents -of parliaments to augment the supplies of the condemned, and were told -that the system was in fault, that numbers died in their miserable -cells waiting removal, and many made their escape on the journey. - -Still the demands of the galleys were insatiable, and many contrivances -were adopted to reinforce the crews. Colbert desired to send to them -all vagabonds, all sturdy beggars, smugglers and men without visible -means of support, but a change in the law was required and the -authorities for a time shrank from it. Another expedient was to hire -_forcats_ from the Duke of Savoy, who had no warships. Turkish and -Russian slaves were purchased to work the oars, and Negroes from the -Guinea coast. As a measure of retaliation against Spain, prisoners of -war of that nation were treated as galley slaves, a custom abhorrent -to fair usage. It was carried so far as to include the Red Indians, -Iroquois, captured in Canada in the fierce war then in progress. -Numbers were taken by unworthy stratagem and passed over to France, and -the result was an embittered contest, which endured for four years. - -A fresh device was to seek volunteers. These "bonne-voglies," or -"bonivoglios," the Italian form most commonly used, were so called -because they contracted of their own free will to accept service in -the galleys, to live the wretched life of the galley slave, to submit -to all his hardships, meagre fare and cruel usage, to be chained to -the oar, and driven to labor under the ready lash of the overseers. -These free _forcats_ soon claimed greater consideration, and it was -necessary to treat them more leniently and in a way injurious to -discipline in the opinion of the captains and intendants. The convicts -were more submissive and more laborious, and still the authorities -sought to multiply them. A more disgraceful system than any of these -already mentioned was now practised,--that of illegal detention long -after the sentence had expired. By an old ordinance, any captain who -thus detained a convict was liable to instant dismissal. Other laws, -however, fixed a minimum term of ten years' detention, what though the -original sentence was considerable. Under Louis XIII it was ruled that -six years should be the lowest term, on the ground that during the two -first years a galley slave was useless on account of weak physique and -want of skill in rowing. Later a good Bishop of Marseilles pleaded the -cause of convicts who had endured a term of twice or three times their -first sentence. A case was quoted in which _thirty-four_, convicted -between 1652 and 1660, and sentenced to two, three or four years, were -still languishing in chains in 1674. An official document of that -year gives the names of twenty who had served fifteen to twenty years -beyond their sentence. The intendant of the galleys at Marseilles -reports in 1679, that on examining the registers he had found a certain -soldier still in custody who was sentenced by a military court in -1660 to five years, and who had therefore endured fourteen. Again, a -man named Caneau was sentenced in 1605 to two years and was still in -confinement twelve years later. True it was open to the _galerien_ to -buy a substitute, a Turkish or other "bonivoglio," but the price, eight -hundred or one thousand francs, was scarcely within the reach of the -miserable creatures at the _bagnes_. - -It is difficult to exaggerate the horrors of the galleys. No wonder -that many preferred suicide or self-mutilation to enduring it! Afloat -or ashore, the convict's condition was wretched in the extreme. On -board ship each individual was chained to his bench, day and night, -and the short length of the chain, as well as the nearness of his -neighbors, limited his movements. His whole clothing consisted of -a single loose blouse of coarse red canvas, with neither shoes nor -stockings and little underlinen. His diet was of brown beans cooked in -a little oil, black bread and a morsel of bacon. Personal cleanliness -was entirely neglected, and all alike suffered from scurvy and were -infested with vermin. Labor was incessant while at sea, and the -overseers, walking on a raised platform, which ran fore and aft between -the benches of rowers, stimulated effort by using their whips upon the -bending backs below them. At times silence was strictly required,--as -when moving to the attack or creeping away from an enemy and the whole -ship's company was gagged with a wooden ball inserted in the mouth. In -the barracks ashore, when the ships were laid up for the winter, the -convicts' lot was somewhat better, for they were not at the mercy of -the elements, and there was no severe labor; but the other conditions, -such as diet, clothing and general discomfort, were the same. Now and -again if any distinguished visitor arrived at the port, it was the -custom to treat them to a cruise in one of the great galleys. The ship -was dressed with all her colors, the convicts were washed clean, and -wore their best red shirts, and they were trained to salute the great -folk who condescended to come on board, by a strange shout of welcome: -"Hou! Hou! Hou!" a cry thrice repeated, resembling the roar of a wild -beast. - -The merciless treatment accorded by Louis XIV to the Protestants, who -dared to hold their own religious opinions, will be better realised -when it is stated that great numbers of them were consigned to the -galleys, to serve for years side by side with the worst malefactors, -with savage Iroquois and infidel Turks, and to endure the selfsame -barbarities inflicted on the wretched refuse of mankind. No greater -stain rests upon the memory of a ruler, whom the weak-kneed sycophants -of his age misnamed La Grande Monarque, than this monstrous persecution -of honest, honorable people, who were ready to suffer all rather than -sacrifice liberty of conscience. How deep and ineffaceable is the -stain shall be shown in the next chapter. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE HORRORS OF THE GALLEYS - - Huguenots sent to the galleys--Authentic Memoirs of Jean - Marteilhe--Description of galleys--Construction--Method of - rowing--Extreme severity of labor--A sea fight--Marteilhe severely - wounded--His sufferings--Dunkirk acquired by the English--Huguenot - prisoners sent secretly to Havre--Removed to Paris--Included in - the chain gang for Marseilles--Cruelties en route--Detention - at Marseilles--Renewed efforts to proselytise--More about - the galleys--Dress, diet, occupation and discipline--Winter - season--Labor constant--Summer season. - - -No blot upon the reign of Louis XIV is blacker than his treatment of -the Huguenots,--most faithful of his subjects could he have perceived -it, and the flower of his people. They were hardly more devoted to -their faith than they were to France, and it was their faith in God -that inspired their patriotism; and yet because they would not abandon -their right of conscience they were hounded like a subject, savage -people. - -A remarkable record of the sufferings endured by one of these victims -"for the faith" has come down to us in the "Memoirs of a Protestant, -Condemned to the Galleys of France for his Religion." The author is -said to have been one Jean Marteilhe, but the book was published -anonymously at The Hague in the middle of the eighteenth century. It -purports to be "A Comprehensive Account of the Various Distresses he -suffered in a Slavery of Thirteen Years and his Constance in supporting -almost Every Cruelty that Bigoted Zeal could inflict or Human Nature -sustain; also a Description of the Galleys and the Service in which -they are Employed." The writer states that he was at last set free at -the intercession of the Court of Great Britain in the reign of Queen -Anne. - -Jean Marteilhe belonged to a family which had been dispersed in the -Dragonades, and he resolved to fly the country. Passing through Paris -he made for Maestricht in Holland, but was intercepted and detained at -Marienburg, a town in the French dominions, where he and his companions -were imprisoned and charged with being found upon the frontier without -a passport. They were called upon to abjure their faith or to be sent -instantly to the galleys; they were guilty of endeavoring to quit the -kingdom against the King's ordinance. Then began a weary pilgrimage on -foot, handcuffed together, "confined every evening in such loathsome -prisons as shocked even us, although by this time familiarised to -distress." On reaching Tournay they were thrown into a dungeon and -kept there many weeks, "laying continually upon an old pallet quite -rotten and swarming with vermin, placed near a door, through a hole -in which our daily allowance of bread was thrown." They remained -six weeks in this situation, when they were joined in prison by two -friends,--alleged Huguenots but less resolute than Marteilhe in -their belief, for they presently went over and embraced the Catholic -religion. Marteilhe sturdily resisted all attempts at conversion, -although all were continually importuned by the priests; yet -nevertheless entertained hopes of release, which were never realised. -They passed on from gaol to gaol until at last they reached Dunkirk, at -that time a French port and the home port of six war galleys. On their -arrival they were at once separated and each committed to a different -ship. Marteilhe's was the _Heureuse_, where he took his place upon the -bench, which was to be his terrible abode for many years. - -The description given by our author of the system in force at the -galleys and of the galleys themselves may be quoted here at some length: - -"A galley is ordinarily a hundred and fifty feet long and fifty feet -broad. It consists of but one deck, which covers the hold. This hold -is in the middle, seven feet high, but at the sides of the galley -only six feet. By this we may see that the deck rises about a foot -in the centre, and slopes towards the edges to let the water run -off more easily; for when a galley is loaded it seems to swim under -water, at least the sea constantly washes the deck. The sea would then -necessarily enter the hold by the apertures where the masts are placed, -were it not prevented by what is called the _coursier_. This is a -long case of boards fixed on the middle or highest part of the deck -and running from one end of the galley to the other. There is also a -hatchway into the hold as high as the _coursier_. From this superficial -description perhaps it may be imagined that the slaves and the rest of -the crew have their feet always in water. But the case is otherwise; -for to each bench there is a board raised a foot from the deck, which -serves as a footstool to the rowers, under which the water passes. For -the soldiers and mariners there is, running on each side, along the -gunnel of the vessel, what is called the _bande_, which is a bench of -about the same height with the _coursier_, and two feet broad. They -never lie here, but each leans on his own particular bundle of clothes -in a very incommodious posture. The officers themselves are not better -accommodated; for the chambers in the hold are designed only to hold -the provisions and naval stores of the galley. - -"The hold is divided in six apartments. The first of these in -importance is the _gavon_. This is a little chamber in the poop, -which is big enough only to hold the captain's bed. The second is the -_escandolat_, where the captain's provisions are kept and dressed. The -third is the _compagne_. This contains the beer, wine, oil, vinegar and -fresh water of the whole crew, together with their bacon, salt meat, -fish and cheese; they never use butter. The fourth, the _paillot_. Here -are kept the dried provisions, as biscuits, pease, rice, etc. The -fifth is called the _tavern_. This apartment is in the middle of the -galley. It contains the wine, which is retailed by the comite, and of -which he enjoys the profits. This opens into the powder room, of which -the gunner alone keeps the key. In this chamber also the sails and -tents are kept. The sixth and last apartment is called the _steerage_, -where the cordage and the surgeon's chest are kept. It serves also -during a voyage as a hospital for the sick and wounded, who, however, -have no other bed to lie on than ropes. In winter, when the galley is -laid up, the sick are sent to a hospital in the city. - -"A galley has fifty benches for rowers, that is to say, twenty-five -on each side. Each bench is ten feet long. One end is fixed in the -_coursier_, the other in the _bande_. They are each half a foot thick -and are placed four feet from each other. They are covered with -sack-cloth stuffed with flocks, and over this is thrown a cowhide, -which reaching down to the _banquet_, or footstool, gives them the -resemblance of large trunks. To these the slaves are chained, six to -a bench. Along the _bande_ runs a large rim of timber, about a foot -thick, which forms the gunnel of the galley. To this, which is called -the _apostie_, the oars are fixed. These are fifty feet long, and are -balanced upon the aforementioned piece of timber; so that the thirteen -feet of oar which comes into the galley is equal in weight to the -thirty-seven which go into the water. As it would be impossible to -hold them in the hand because of their thickness they have handles by -which they are managed by the slaves." - -The writer passes on to the method of rowing a galley and says: "The -comite, who is the master of the crew of slaves and the tyrant so -much dreaded by the wretches fated to this misery, stands always at -the stern, near the captain, to receive his orders. There are two -lieutenants also, one in the middle, the other near the prow. These, -each with a whip of cords which they exercise without mercy on the -naked bodies of the slaves, are always attentive to the orders of the -comite. When the captain gives the word for rowing the comite gives -the signal with a silver whistle which hangs from his neck. This is -repeated by the lieutenants, upon which the slaves, who have their oars -in readiness, strike all at once and beat time so exactly, that the -hundred and fifty oars seem to give but one blow. Thus they continue, -without requiring further orders, till by another signal of the whistle -they desist in a moment. There is an absolute necessity for all rowing -thus together; for should one of the oars be lifted up or let fall -too soon, those in the next bench forward, leaning back, necessarily -strike the oar behind them with the hinder part of their heads, while -the slaves of this bench do the same by those behind them. It were -well if a few bruises on the head were the only punishment. The comite -exercises the whip on this occasion like a fury, while the muscles, -all in convulsion under the lash, pour streams of blood down the seats; -which how dreadful soever it may seem to the reader, custom teaches the -sufferers to bear without murmuring. - -"The labor of a galley slave has become a proverb; nor is it without -reason that this may be reckoned the greatest fatigue that can be -inflicted on wretchedness. Imagine six men, naked as when born, chained -to their seats, sitting with one foot on a block of timber fixed to the -footstool or stretcher, the other lifted up against the bench before -them, holding in their hands an oar of enormous size. Imagine them -stretching their bodies, their arms outreached to push the oar over -the backs of those before them, who are also themselves in a similar -attitude. Having thus advanced their oar, they raise that end which -they hold in their hands, to plunge the opposite end, or blade, in -the sea, which done, they throw themselves back on their benches for -the stroke. None, in short, but those who have seen them labor, can -conceive how much they endure. None but such could be persuaded that -human strength could sustain the fatigue which they undergo for an hour -without resting. But what cannot necessity and cruelty make men do? -Almost impossibilities. Certain it is that a galley can be navigated -in no other manner but by a crew of slaves, over whom a comite may -exercise the most unbounded authority. No free man could continue at -the oar an hour unwearied; yet a slave must sometimes lengthen out -his toil for ten, twelve, nay, for twenty hours without the smallest -intermission. On these occasions, the comite, or one of the other -mariners, puts into the mouths of those wretches a bit of bread steeped -in wine, to prevent fainting through excess of fatigue or hunger, while -their hands are employed upon the oar. At such times are heard nothing -but horrid blasphemies, loud bursts of despair, or ejaculations to -heaven; all the slaves are streaming with blood, while their unpitying -taskmasters mix oaths and threats and the smacking of whips, to fill -up this dreadful harmony. At this time the captain roars to the comite -to redouble his blows, and when anyone drops from his oar in a swoon, -which not infrequently happens, he is whipped while any remains of life -appear, and then thrown into the sea without further ceremony." - -Marteilhe fell to a galley commanded by a comite, commonly reputed of -cruel character and said to be "merciless as a demon." Yet the young -Protestant, who was of fine muscular physique, found favor with this -severe master, who ordered him to be chained to the bench under his -immediate charge. Quoting still further from his "Memoirs,"--he writes: -"It may not be unnecessary to mention that the comite eats upon a -table raised over one of the seats, by four iron feet. This table also -serves him for a bed, and when he chooses to sleep, it is covered with -a large pavilion made of cotton. The six slaves of that bench sit -under the table, which can easily be taken away when it interferes with -the working of the vessel. These six slaves serve as domestics to the -comite. Each has his particular employ; and whenever the comite eats -or sits here, all the slaves of this bench and the benches next it are -uncovered out of respect. Everyone is ambitious of being either on the -comite's bench or on one of the lieutenants' benches; not only because -they have what is left of the provisions of his table, but also because -they are never whipped while at work. Those are called the 'respectable -benches;' and being placed in one of them is looked upon as being in a -petty office. I was, as already mentioned, placed in this bench, which -however I did not long keep; for still retaining some of the pride of -this world, I could not prevail upon myself to behave with that degree -of abject submission which was necessary to my being in favor. While -the comite was at meals, I generally faced another way, and, with my -cap on, pretended to take no notice of what was passing behind me. The -slaves frequently said that such behavior would be punished, but I -disregarded their admonition, thinking it sufficiently opprobrious to -be the slave of the King, without being also the slave of his meanest -vassal. I had by this means like to have fallen into the displeasure of -the comite, which is one of the greatest misfortunes that can befall -a galley slave. He inquired whether I partook of those provisions he -usually left, and upon being told that I refused to touch a bit, said -'Give him his own way, for the present; a few years' servitude will -divest him of this delicacy.' - -"One evening the comite called me to his pavilion, and accosting -me with more than usual gentleness, unheard by the rest, he let me -understand that he perceived I was born of a rank superior to the rest -of his crew, which rather increased than diminished his esteem; but, -as by indulging my disrespectful behavior the rest might take example, -he found it necessary to transfer me to another bench. However I -might rest assured of never receiving a blow from him or his inferior -officers upon any occasion whatsoever. I testified my gratitude in the -best manner I was able; and from that time he kept his promise, which -was something extraordinary in one who usually seemed divested of every -principle of humanity. Never was man more severe to the slaves in -general than he, yet he preserved a moderation towards the Huguenots of -his galley, which argued a regard for virtue, not usually found among -the lower classes of people." - -Constant labor at the oar was terrible enough, but its horrors were -accentuated when the galley went into action. Marteilhe was engaged in -several sea-fights, one of the fiercest being an engagement with an -English warship convoying a fleet of merchantmen to the Thames. "Of the -two galleys ordered to attack the frigate," says he, "ours alone was -in a position to begin the engagement, as our consort had fallen back -at least a league behind us; either because she did not sail so fast -as we, or else her captain chose to let us have the honor of striking -the first blow. Our commodore, who seemed in no way disturbed at the -approach of the frigate, thought our galley alone would be more than a -match for the Englishman; but the sequel will show that he was somewhat -mistaken in this conjecture. - -"As we both mutually approached each other, we were soon within cannon -shot, and accordingly the galley discharged her broadside. The frigate, -silent as death, approached us without firing a gun, but seemed -steadily resolved to reserve all her terrors for a closer engagement. -Our commodore, nevertheless, mistook English resolution for cowardice. -'What,' cried he, 'is the frigate weary of carrying English colors? And -does she come to surrender without a blow?' The boast was premature. -Still we approached each other and were now within musket shot. The -galley incessantly poured in her broadside and small arm fire, the -frigate, all this while, preserving the most dreadful tranquillity -that imagination can conceive. At last the Englishman seemed all at -once struck with a panic, and began to fly for it. Nothing gives more -spirits than a flying enemy, and nothing was heard but the boasting -among our officers. 'We could at one blast sink a man of war; aye, -that we could and with ease, too!' 'If Mr. English does not strike in -two minutes, down he goes, down to the bottom!' All this time the -frigate was in silence, preparing for the tragedy which was to ensue. -Her flight was but pretended, and done with a view to entice us to -board her astern, which, being the weakest quarter of a man-of-war, -galleys generally choose to attack. Against this quarter they endeavor -to drive their beak, and then generally board the enemy, after having -cleared the decks with their five pieces of cannon. The commodore, -in such a favorable conjuncture as he imagined this to be, ordered -the galley to board and the men at the helm to bury her beak in the -frigate if possible. All the soldiers and sailors stood ready with -their sabres and battle-axes to execute his command. The frigate, who -perceived our intention, dexterously avoided our beak, which was just -ready to be dashed against her stern, so that instead of seeing the -frigate sink in the dreadful encounter as was expected, we had the -mortification of beholding her fairly alongside of us,--an interview -which struck us with terror. Now it was that the English captain's -courage was conspicuous. As he had foreseen what would happen, he was -ready with his grappling irons and fixed us fast by his side. His -artillery began to open, charged with grape-shot. All on board the -galley were as much exposed as if upon a raft. Not a gun was fired -that did not make horrible execution; we were near enough even to be -scorched with the flame. The English masts were filled with sailors, -who threw hand-grenades among us like hail, that scattered wounds and -death wherever they fell. Our crew no longer thought of attacking; they -were even unable to make the least defence. The terror was so great, -as well among the officers as common men, that they seemed incapable -of resistance. Those who were neither killed nor wounded lay flat and -counterfeited death to find safety. The enemy perceiving our fright, -to add to our misfortunes, threw in forty or fifty men, who, sword -in hand, hewed down all that ventured to oppose, sparing however the -slaves who made no resistance. After they had cut away thus for some -time, being constrained by our still surviving numbers, they continued -to pour an infernal fire upon us. - -"The galley which had lain astern was soon up with us, and the other -four who had almost taken possession of the merchantmen, upon seeing -our signal and perceiving our distress, quitted the intended prey to -come to our assistance. Thus the whole fleet of merchant ships saved -themselves in the Thames. The galleys rowed with such swiftness that -in less than half an hour the whole six had encompassed the frigate. -Her men were now no longer able to keep the deck, and she presented a -favorable opportunity for being boarded. Twenty-five grenadiers from -each galley were ordered upon this service. They met with no opposition -in coming on; but scarce were they crowded upon the deck when they -were saluted once again _a l'Anglais_. The officers of the frigate -were entrenched in the forecastle, and fired upon the grenadiers -incessantly. The rest of the crew also did what execution they were -able through the gratings, and at last cleared the ship of the enemy. -Another detachment was ordered to board, but with the same success; -however it was at last thought advisable, with hatchets and other -proper instruments, to lay open her decks and by that means to make -the crew prisoners of war. This was, though with extreme difficulty, -executed; and in spite of their firing, which killed several of the -assailants, the frigate's crew was at last constrained to surrender." - -Marteilhe was seriously wounded in this fight, and he graphically -details his sufferings as he lay there still chained to the bench, the -only survivor of his six companions at the oar. He says: "I had not -been long in this attitude when I perceived somewhat moist and cold -run down my body. I put my hand to the place and found it wet; but as -it was dark I was unable to distinguish what it was. I suspected it, -however, to be blood, flowing from some wound, and following with my -hand the course of the stream, I found my shoulder near the clavicle -was pierced quite through. I now felt another gash in my left leg below -the knee, which also went through; again another, made I suppose by a -splinter, which ripped the integuments of my belly, the wound being a -foot long and four inches wide. I lost a great quantity of blood before -I could have any assistance. All near me were dead, as well those -before and behind me, and those of my own seat. Of eighteen persons on -the three seats, there was left surviving only myself, wounded as I was -in three different places, and all by the explosion of one cannon only. -But if we consider the manner of charging with grape-shot our wonder at -such prodigious slaughter will cease. After the cartouche of powder, a -long tin box filled with musket balls is rammed in. When the piece is -fired the box breaks and scatters its contents most surprisingly. - -"I was now forced to wait till the battle was ended before I could -expect any relief. All on board were in the utmost confusion; the dead, -the dying and the wounded, lying upon each other, made a frightful -scene. Groans from those who desired to be freed from the dead, -blasphemies from the slaves who were wounded unto death, arraigning -heaven for making their end not less unhappy than their lives had been. -The _coursier_ could not be passed for the dead bodies which lay on -it. The seats were filled, not only with slaves, but also with sailors -and officers who were wounded or slain. Such was the carnage that the -living hardly found room to throw the dead into the sea, or succor the -wounded. Add to all this the obscurity of the night, and where could -misery have been found to equal mine! - -"The wounded were thrown indiscriminately into the hold,--petty -officers, sailors, soldiers and slaves; there was no distinction of -places, no bed to lie upon, nor any succor to be had. With respect to -myself, I continued three days in this miserable situation. The blood -coming from my wounds was stopped by a little spirit of wine, but there -was no bandage tied, nor did the surgeon once come to examine whether -I was dead or alive. In this suffocating hole, the wounded, who might -otherwise have survived, died in great numbers. The heat and the stench -were intolerable, so that the slightest sore seemed to mortify; while -those who had lost limbs or received large wounds went off by universal -putrefaction. - -"In this deplorable situation we at last arrived at Dunkirk, where -the wounded were put on shore in order to be carried to the marine -hospital. We were drawn up from the hold by pulleys and carried to -the hospital on men's shoulders. The slaves were consigned to two -large apartments separate from the men who were free, forty beds in -each room. Every slave was chained by the leg to the foot of his bed. -We were visited once every day by the surgeon-major of the hospital, -accompanied by all the army and navy surgeons then in port." - -Better fortune came to Marteilhe when he recovered. He was appointed -clerk to the captain of the galley, being maimed by his wounds and no -longer fit for the oar. - -"Behold me now," he writes, "placed in a more exalted station, not -less than the captain's clerk, forsooth. As I knew my master loved -cleanliness, I purchased a short coat of red stuff (galley-slaves must -wear no other color) tolerably fine. I was permitted to let my hair -grow. I bought a scarlet cap, and in this trim presented myself before -the captain, who was greatly pleased with my appearance. He gave his -_maitre d'hotel_ orders to carry me every day a plate of meat from his -own table and to furnish me with a bottle of wine, luxuries to which -I had long been a stranger. I was never more chained and only wore a -ring about my leg in token of slavery. I lay upon a good bed. I had -nothing fatiguing to do, even at times when all the rest of the crew -were lashed to the most violent exertion. I was loved and respected by -the officers and the rest of the crew, cherished by my master and by -his nephew, the major of the galleys. In short, I wanted nothing but -liberty to increase the happiness I then enjoyed. In this state, if not -of pleasure at least of tranquillity, I continued from the year 1709 to -1712, in which it pleased heaven to afflict me with trials more severe -than even those I had already experienced." - -England acquired Dunkirk by special treaty with France in 1712. Upon -the transfer the English troops entered the city and took possession -of the citadel. The French galleys were to remain in port until the -fortifications were demolished, and it was agreed that no vessel -should leave Dunkirk without permission from Her Britannic Majesty. -The galley-slaves remained on board their ships, but by some strange -oversight it was not stipulated that the Protestant prisoners, -with whose sad condition the English fully sympathised, should be -released. The French government was still determined to retain them, -and planned to carry them off secretly into France before any demand -could be made for their release. In the dead of night they were -embarked to the number of twenty-two on board a fishing boat and -taken by water to Calais, where they were landed to make the long -journey on foot, chained together, to Havre-de-Grace. Here they were -held close prisoners in the Arsenal, but fairly well treated. After -some weeks, orders came for their removal to Rouen, en route for -Paris and eventually to Marseilles. Through the kindness of their -co-religionists, who came charitably to their aid, they were provided -with wagons for the journey in which all were carried to the capital, -where on arrival they were lodged in the ancient castle of Tournelle, -formerly a pleasure house belonging to the royal family, but by now -converted into a prison for galley-slaves. It is thus described by -Marteilhe: "This prison, or rather cavern, is round and of vast extent. -The floor is made uneven by large oak beams, which are placed at three -feet distance from each other. These beams are two feet and a half -thick, and ranged along the floors in such a manner that at first sight -they might be taken for benches, were they not designed for a much more -disagreeable purpose. To these were fastened large iron chains, a -foot and a half long, at intervals of two feet from each other. At the -end of each chain is a large ring of the same metal. When the slave is -first brought into this prison, he is made to lie along the beam till -his head touches it. Then the ring is put round his neck and fastened -by a hammer and anvil kept for the purpose. As the chains are fixed in -the beam at two feet distance from each other, and some of the beams -are forty feet long, sometimes twenty men are thus chained down in a -row and so in proportion to the length of the beams. In this manner are -fastened five hundred wretches in an attitude certainly pitiful enough -to melt the hardest heart. - -[Illustration: _Chateau D'If_ - -Fortress on a small island two miles southwest of Marseilles: one of -the scenes of Dumas's novel "Count of Monte Cristo," and the place -of captivity of several celebrated persons, among them Mirabeau and -Philippe Egalite.] - -"We remained here (in the Tournelle) but a month, at the expiration of -which time we set out with the rest of the slaves for Marseilles. On -the tenth of December, at nine in the morning, we left our dismal abode -and were conducted into a spacious court of the castle. We were chained -by the neck, two and two together, with a heavy chain three feet long, -in the middle of which was fixed a ring. After being thus paired, we -were placed in ranks, couple before couple, and a long and weighty -chain passed through the rings, by which means we were all fastened -together. This 'chain,' which consisted of more than four hundred -slaves, made a strange appearance. Once more a Protestant friend -interposed and purchased the captain's consent to allow them to -provide wagons on the road for those unable to walk. But the trials -endured by the majority of these wretched wayfarers were terribly -severe. We entered Charenton at six in the evening by moonlight. It -froze excessively hard, but the weight of our chains, according to the -captain's calculation, being a hundred and fifty pounds upon every -man, with the swiftness of our pace, had kept us pretty warm, and we -were all actually in a sweat when we entered Charenton. Here we were -lodged in the stable of an inn, but chained so close to the manger, -that we could neither sit nor lie at our ease. Beside, we had no bed -but the dung and the litter of horses to repose on; for as the captain -conducted the train to Marseilles at his own expense, where he received -twenty crowns for every one that survived the journey, he was as saving -as possible and refused us bedding, nor was any allowed the whole -way. Here, however, we were suffered to repose, if it might be called -repose, till nine at night, when we were to undergo another piece of -cruelty, which almost disgraces humanity. - -"At nine o'clock, while it yet froze excessively hard, our chains -were again unriveted and we were all led from the stable into a court -surrounded by high walls. The whole train, which was ranked at one -end of the court, was commanded to strip off all clothes and lay them -down each before him. The whip was exercised unmercifully on those who -were lazy or presumed to disobey. Every one promiscuously, as well -we as others, was obliged to comply with this unnecessary command. -After we were thus stripped, naked as when born, the whole train was -again commanded to march from the side of the court in which they were -to the side opposite them. Here were we for two hours, stark naked, -exposed to all the inclemency of the weather and a cutting wind that -blew from the north. All this time the archers were rummaging our rags -under pretence of searching for knives, files or other instruments that -might be employed in effecting our escape; but in reality money was -that for which they sought so earnestly. They took away everything that -was worth taking,--handkerchiefs, shirts, snuff-boxes, scissors,--and -never returned anything they laid hands on. When any slave entreated -to have his goods restored, he was only answered by blows and menaces, -which effectually silenced if not satisfied the querist. This rummage -being over, all were ordered to march back to the place from whence we -came, and take again each his respective bundle of clothes. But it was -impossible. We were almost frozen to death, and so stiff with cold that -scarce one in the whole train could move. And though the distance was -but small, yet frozen like statues, every wretch remained where he was -and silently awaited fresh instances of their keeper's cruelty. But -they did not long wait; the whip again was handled and by the merciless -fury of these strangers to pity, the bodies of the poor wretches were -mangled without distinction; but all in vain, for this could not -supply vital warmth where life was no more. Some actually dead, others -dying, were dragged along by the neck and thrown into the stable, -without further ceremony, to take their fate. And thus died that night -or the ensuing morning, eighteen persons. With respect to our little -society, we were neither beaten nor thus dragged along and we may well -attribute the saving of our lives to the hundred crowns which had been -advanced before our setting out." - -Further details of this cruel march may be spared the reader. "In this -manner," says Marteilhe, "we crossed the Isle of France, Burgundy and -the Maconnais, till we came to Lyons, marching every day three or four -leagues; long stages, considering the weight of our chains, our being -obliged to sleep every night in stables upon dung, our having bad -provisions and not sufficient liquid to dilute them, walking all day -mid-leg in mud, and frequently wet through with rain; swarming with -vermin and ulcerated with the itch, the almost inseparable attendants -on misery." At Lyons the whole train embarked in large flat-bottomed -boats and dropped down the Rhone as far as the bridge St. Esprit; -thence by land to Avignon and from Avignon to Marseilles, which they -reached on the 17th of January, 1713, having spent some six weeks on -the road. - -The treatment accorded to the galley-slaves at Marseilles was -identical with that of Dunkirk. But now the case of the Protestants -engaged the serious attention of the Northern nations, and strong -representations were made to the French king, demanding their release. -But now in the vain hope of retaining them, the most pertinacious -efforts were made to obtain that abjuration of the faith which -had been steadfastly rejected by the sufferers for so many years. -Bigoted priests with special powers of persuasion were called in with -fresh zeal for proselytising, but being entirely unsuccessful they -concentrated their efforts to impede and prolong the negotiations for -release. When at last the order came, due to the vigorous interposition -of the Queen of England, it was limited to a portion only of the -Protestant prisoners. One hundred and thirty-six were released, and -among them Jean Marteilhe; but the balance were retained quite another -year. Marteilhe, after a short stay at Geneva, travelled northwards, -and at length went with some of his comrades to England. They were -granted a special audience with Queen Anne, and were permitted to -kiss her Majesty's hand, and were assured from her own mouth of the -satisfaction afforded by their deliverance. - -A few details may be extracted from Marteilhe's story as to the dress, -diet, occupation and general discipline of one of Louis' galleys. As to -dress he tells us: - -"Each slave receives every year linen shirts, somewhat finer than that -of which sails are made; two pair of knee trousers, which are made -without any division, like a woman's petticoat,--for they must be put -on over the head because of the chain; one pair of stockings made of -coarse red stuff, but no shoes. However, when the slaves are employed -in the business of the galley by land, as frequently happens in winter, -the keeper on that occasion furnishes them with shoes, which he takes -back when the slaves return aboard. They are supplied every second year -with a cassock of coarse red stuff. The tailor shows no great marks of -an artist in making it up; it is only a piece of stuff doubled, one -half for the forepart, the other for the back; at the top a hole to -put the head through. It is sewed up on each side, and has two little -sleeves which descend to the elbow. This cassock has something the -shape of what is called in Holland a 'keil,' which carters generally -wear over the rest of their clothes. The habit of the former is, -however, not so long, for it reaches before only down to the knees, and -behind it falls half a foot lower. Besides all this, they are allowed -every year a red cap, very short, as it must not cover the ears. Lastly -they are given every second year a great coat of coarse cloth made -of wool and hair. This habit is made in the form of a nightgown and -descends to the feet; it is furnished with a hood not unlike the cowl -of a Capuchin friar. This is by far the best part of a slave's scanty -wardrobe; for it serves him for mattress and blankets at night, and -keeps him warm by day." - -As will have been gathered from the preceding description, the galleys -were mainly intended for sea service and occasional combat, but this -was only in the summer months. As winter approached, generally about -the latter end of October, the galleys were laid up in harbor and -disarmed. "The first precaution is to land the gunpowder, for they -never bring their powder into port. The galleys are next brought in and -ranged along the quay according to the order of precedence, with the -stern next the quay. There are then boards laid, called _planches_, to -serve as a passage from the quay to the galley. The masts are taken -down and laid in the _coursier_, and the yards lie all along the seats. -After this they take out the cannon, the warlike stores, provisions, -sails, cordage, anchors, etc. The sailors and coasting pilots are -discharged, and the rest of the crew lodged in places appointed for -them in the city of Dunkirk. Here the principal officers have their -pavilions, though they lodge in them but seldom, the greatest part -spending the winter at Paris or at their own homes. The galley being -at last entirely cleared, the slaves find room enough to fix their -wretched quarters for the winter. The company belonging to each seat -procure pieces of boards, which they lay across the seats and upon -these make their beds. The only bed between them and the boards is a -cast-off greatcoat; their only covering that which they wear during -the day. The first rower of each seat, who has consequently the first -choice, is best lodged; the second shares the next best place; the -four others are lodged, each, on the cross planks already mentioned, -according to his order. - -"When the weather grows extremely cold, there are two tents raised over -the galley, one above the other. The outermost is generally made of -the same stuff of which the slaves' greatcoats are formed, and keeps -the galley sufficiently warm; I mean it seems warm to those who are -accustomed to this hard way of living. For those who have been used -to their own houses and warm fires would never be able to support the -cold without being habituated to it beforehand. A little fire to warm -them and a blanket to cover them would make our slaves extremely happy, -but this is a happiness never allowed them on board. At break of day -the comites, who always sleep on board together with the keepers and -halberdiers, blow their whistles, at the sound of which all must rise. -This is always done precisely at the same hour; for the commodore every -evening gives the signal to the comite by firing a cannon for the -slaves to go to sleep, and repeats the same at break of day for their -getting up. If in the morning any should be lazy and not rise when they -hear the whistle, they may depend on being lashed severely. The crew -being risen, their first care is to fold up their beds, to put the -seats in order, to sweep between them and wash them when necessary. -The sides of the tent are raised up by stanchions provided for that -purpose in order to air the galley; though when the wind blows hard, -that side to the leeward only is raised. When this is done every slave -sits down on his own seat and does something to earn himself a little -money. - -"It is necessary to be known, that no slave must be idle. The comites, -who observe their employments every day, come up to those they see -unemployed and ask why they do not work. If it is answered that they -understand no trade, he gives them cotton yarn, and bids them knit it -into stockings; and if the slave knows not how to knit, the comite -appoints one of his companions of the same seat to instruct him. It -is a trade easily learnt; but as there are some who are either lazy, -stupid or stubborn and will not learn, they are sure to be remarked by -the comites who seldom show them any future favor. If they will not -work at that for their own advantage, the comite generally gives them -some work impossible to perform; and when they have labored in vain to -execute his commands, he whips them for laziness; so that in their own -defence, they are at last obliged to learn to knit. - -"Whenever a slave is missing, there are guns fired one after the other, -which advertise his escape to the peasants round the country; upon -which they all rise, and with hounds trained for the purpose trace -out his footsteps; so that it is almost impossible for him to secure -a retreat. I have seen several instances of this at Marseilles. At -Dunkirk, indeed, the Flemish detest such practices; but the soldiers, -with which the town abounds, will do anything to gain twenty crowns. -At Marseilles the peasants are cruel to the last degree. I have been -informed for certain that a son brought back his own father, who had -been a slave and endeavored to escape. The intendant, as the story -goes, was so shocked at his undutifulness, that though he ordered him -the twenty crowns for his fee, yet sentenced him to the galleys for -life, where he remained chained to the same seat with his unhappy -father. So true is it, that the natives of Provence are in general -perfidious, cruel and inhuman. - -"All along the quay, where the galleys lie, are ranged little stalls, -with three or four slaves in each, exercising their trades to gain a -trifling subsistence. Their trades are nevertheless frequently little -better than gross impositions on the credulity of the vulgar. Some -pretend to tell fortunes and take horoscopes; others profess magic and -undertake to find stolen goods, though cunning often helps them out -when the devil is not so obedient as to come at a call. - -"While some of the slaves are thus employed in the stalls along the -quay, the major part are chained to their seats aboard, some few -excepted who pay a halfpenny a day for being left without a chain. -Those can walk about the galley and traffic or do any other business -which may procure them a wretched means of subsistence. The greatest -part of them are sutlers. They sell tobacco (for in winter the slaves -are permitted to smoke on board), brandy, etc. Others make over their -seats a little shop, where they expose for sale butter, cheese, -vinegar, boiled tripe, all of which are sold to the crew at reasonable -rates. A halfpenny worth of these, with the king's allowance of bread, -make no uncomfortable meal. Except these sutlers, all the rest are -chained to their seats and employed in knitting stockings. Perhaps it -may be asked where the slaves find spun cotton for knitting. I answer -thus: - -"Many of the Turks, especially those who have money, drive a trade in -this commodity with the merchants of Marseilles, who deal largely in -stockings. The merchants give the Turks what cotton they think proper, -unmanufactured, and the Turks pay them in this commodity manufactured -into stockings. These Turks deliver the cotton spun to the slaves, to -be knit. They are indifferent as to the size of the stockings, as the -slave is paid for knitting at so much a pound. So that the slave who -received ten pounds of spun cotton is obliged to return the same weight -of knit stockings, for which he is paid at a fixed price. There must be -great care taken not to filch any of the cotton nor leave the stockings -on a damp place to increase their weight; for if such practices are -detected the slave is sure to undergo the bastinado. - -"At the approach of summer their employments are multiplied every day -by new fatigues. All the ballast, which is composed of little stones -about the size of pigeon's eggs, is taken out and handed up from the -hold in little wicker baskets from one to the other, till they are -heaped upon the quay opposite the galley. Here two men are to pump -water upon them till they become as clean as possible; and when dry -they are again replaced. This, and cleaning the vessel, takes up seven -or eight days' hard labor. Then the galley must be put into proper -order before it puts to sea. First, necessary precautions must be taken -with respect to the cordage that it be strong and supple; and what new -cordage may be necessary is to be supplied by the slaves by passing it -round the galley. This takes up some days to effect. Next the sails are -to be visited, and if new ones are necessary, the comite cuts them out -and the slaves sew them. They must also make new tents, mend the old in -like manner, prepare the officers' beds, and everything else, which it -would be impossible to particularise. This bustle continues till the -beginning of April, when the Court sends orders for putting to sea. - -"Our armament begins by careening the galleys. This is done by turning -one galley upon another so that its keel is quite out of the water. -The whole keel is then rubbed with rendered tallow. This is perhaps -one of the most fatiguing parts of a slave's employments. After this -the galley is fitted up with her masts and rigging and supplied with -artillery and ammunition. All this is performed by the slaves, who are -sometimes so fatigued that the commander is obliged to wait in port a -few days till the crew have time to refresh themselves." - -Galleys as warships fell into disuse about the time that our Protestant -prisoners were released. The improvement in the sailing qualities of -ships and the manifest advantages enjoyed by those skilfully handled, -as were the English, gradually brought about the abandonment of the oar -as a motive power, and the galleys are only remembered now as a glaring -instance of the cruelties practised by rulers upon helpless creatures -subjected to their tender mercies. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE DAWN OF REVOLUTION - - State of France--Bad harvests--Universal famine--Chronic - disturbances--Crime prevalent--Cartouche--His organized gang--His - capture, sentence and execution--Pamphleteers and libelists - in the Bastile--Lenglet-Dufresnoy--Roy--Voltaire--His first - consignment to the Bastile--His release and departure for - London--Cellamare-Alberoni conspiracy--Mlle. De Launay, afterwards - Madame de Staal--Remarkable escapes--Latude and Allegre. - - -Dark clouds hovered over France in the latter years of the reign of -Louis XIV: an empty exchequer drained by the cost of a protracted and -disastrous war; the exodus of many thousands of the most industrious -producers of wealth, flying from religious intolerance; a succession -of bad harvests, causing universal famine and chronic disturbance. -The people rose against the new edicts increasing taxes upon salt, -upon tobacco and on stamped paper, and were repressed with harshness, -shot down, thrown into prison or hanged. The genuine distress in the -country was terrible. Thousands of deaths from starvation occurred. -Hordes of wretched creatures wandered like wild beasts through the -forest of Orleans. A Jesuit priest wrote from Onzain that he preached -to four or five skeletons, who barely existed on raw thistles, snails -and the putrid remains of dead animals. In the Vendomois, the heather -was made into bread with an intermixture of sawdust, and soup was -made with roots and the sap of trees. Touraine, once the very garden -of France, had become a wilderness. The hungry fought for a morsel of -horse flesh, torn from some wretched beast which had died a natural -death. Four-fifths of the inhabitants of the villages had become public -beggars. In one village of four hundred houses, the population had been -reduced to three persons. - -Never in the history of France had robberies been so numerous or so -varied in character as during this period. Paris was filled with the -worst criminals and desperadoes. The provinces were overrun with them. -The whole country was ravaged and terrorised. Prominent among this -dangerous fraternity, whose name was legion, is one name, that of -Cartouche, the most noted evil doer of his or indeed any time. Others -might have excelled him in originality, intelligence and daring. That -which gave him especial distinction was his power of organisation, his -nice choice of associates and the far-reaching extent of his nefarious -plans. The devoted and obedient band he directed was recruited from -all sources, and included numbers of outwardly respectable persons -even drawn from the police and the French guards. He had agents at -his disposal for all branches of his business; he had spies, his -active assistants to deal the blows, his receivers, his locksmiths, -his publicans with ready shelter and asylums of retreat. The forces -controlled by Cartouche were extraordinarily numerous, and the total -was said to exceed a couple of thousand persons of both sexes. - -Paris was dismayed and indignant when the operations grew and -increased, and the police proved less able to check them. In the -last months of 1719 and during 1720, widespread terror prevailed. -The thieves worked their will even in daylight. After dark the city -belonged to them. The richest quarters were parcelled out among the -various gangs, which broke into every house and summoned every wayfarer -to stand and deliver. As a specimen of their proceedings,--a party -visited the mansion, once the Hotel of the Marechal de France and now -occupied by the Spanish Ambassador, entered the Ambassador's bedroom -at night and rifled it, securing a rich booty--several collars of fine -pearls, a brooch adorned with twenty-seven enormous diamonds, a large -service of silver plate and the whole of the magnificent wardrobe of -the lady of the house. This was only one of hundreds of such outrages, -which were greatly encouraged by the diffusion of luxury among the -upper classes, while the lower, as we have seen, were plunged in misery -and starvation. - -This was the epoch of the speculations of the famous adventurer, -Law, who established the great Bank of Mississippi, and for the time -made the fortunes of all who joined in his schemes and trafficked in -his shares. Money was almost a drug; people made so much and made -it so fast that it was difficult to spend it. Houses were furnished -regardless of expense with gorgeous tapestry, cloth of gold hangings, -beds of costly woods encrusted with jewels and ormolu, Venetian glasses -in ivory frames, candelabra of rock crystal. All this luxury played -into the hands of Cartouche and his followers, who worked on a system, -recognising each other by strict signs and helping each other to -seize and pass away articles of value from hand to hand along a whole -street. Strict order regulated the conduct of the thieves. Many were -forbidden to use unnecessary violence, killing was only permitted in -self defence, the same person was never to be robbed twice, and some -were entrusted with the password of the band as a safe conduct through -a crowd. - -Meanwhile the personality of Cartouche was constantly concealed. Some -went so far as to declare that he was a myth and did not exist in the -flesh. Yet the suspicion grew into certainty that Paris was at the -mercy of a dangerous combination, directed by and centred in one astute -and capable leader. Thieves taken red-handed had revealed upon the rack -the identity of Cartouche and the government was adjured to effect his -capture, but without result. So daring did he become that he openly -showed himself at carnival time with five of his chief lieutenants and -defied arrest. - -Cartouche was a popular hero, for he pretended to succor the poor with -the booty he took from the rich. He was a species of Parisian Fra -Diavolo, and many stories were invented in proof of his generosity, -his sense of humor and his kindliness to those in distress. As a -matter of fact he was a brutal, black-hearted villain, whose most -prominent characteristic was his constant loyalty to his followers, -by which he secured their unswerving attachment and by means of it -worked with such remarkable success. To this day his name survives -as the prototype of a criminal leader, directing the wide operations -of a well organised gang of depredators that swept all before them. -Their exploits were at times marvellous, both in initiative and -execution, and owed everything to Cartouche. One among many stories -told of him may be quoted as illustrating his ingenious methods. It -was a robbery from the chief officer of the watch, from whom he stole -a number of silver forks in broad daylight, and while actually engaged -in conversation with his victim. Cartouche arrived at this official's -house in his carriage, accompanied by two tall flunkeys in gorgeous -livery. He announced himself as an Englishman, and was shown into the -dining-room, where dinner was in progress. Cartouche declined to take a -seat, but contrived to lead the host to a corner of the room where he -regaled him with a fabulous story of how an attack was being organised -by Cartouche on his house. The officer quite failed to recognise his -visitor, and listened with profound attention. It was not until after -Cartouche had left that it was discovered that not a single fork -or spoon remained upon his table, the silver having been adroitly -abstracted by Cartouche, who passed it unseen to his confederates--the -disguised footmen who had accompanied him. Many similar thefts were -committed by Cartouche and his gang, one victim being the Archbishop of -Bourges. - -Cartouche, by his cleverness in disguise, long escaped capture, and -it was not until October 15th, 1721, that he was finally caught and -arrested. His capture naturally created an immense sensation in Paris, -and became the universal topic of conversation. Cartouche had been -traced to a wine shop, where he was found in bed by M. le Blanc, an -employe of the War Ministry, who had with him forty picked soldiers -and a number of policemen. Orders had been issued to take Cartouche, -dead or alive. His capture came about through a patrol soldier who -had recognised Cartouche and acted as a spy on his movements. This -man had been carried to the Chatelet by Pekom, major of the Guards, -and when threatened with the utmost rigor of the law confessed all -he knew about the prince of thieves. The prisoner was taken first -to the residence of M. le Blanc and afterwards to the Chatelet. It -was found necessary to be extremely circumspect with Cartouche on -account of his violence, and his cell was closely guarded by four men. -Cartouche soon made an attempt to escape in company with a fellow -occupant of his cell, who happened to be a mason. Having made a hole -in a sewer passage below, they dropped into the water, waded to the -end of the gallery and finally reached the cellar of a greengrocer -in the neighborhood thence they emerged into the shop, and were on -the verge of escape, but the barking of the greengrocer's dog aroused -the inmates of the house, who gave the alarm, and four policemen, who -happened to be in the neighborhood, came to the rescue. Cartouche was -recognised, captured and again imprisoned, being now securely chained -by his feet and hands. He was later transferred to the Conciergerie -and more closely watched than ever during his trial, which was -concluded on November 26th, 1721, when sentence was passed upon him -and two accomplices. On the day following, Cartouche was subjected to -the torture "extraordinary" by means of the "boot," which he endured -without yielding, and refused to make any confession. The scaffold, -meanwhile was erected in the Place de Greve where the carpenters put -up five wheels and two gibbets. Directly the place of execution became -known in Paris, the streets were filled with large crowds of people -and windows overlooking the Greve were let at high prices. Apparently -the magistrates did not care to gratify the curiosity of the public, -and before the afternoon four of the wheels and one of the gibbets -were removed. Towards four o'clock Charles Sanson, the executioner of -the Court of Justice, went to the Conciergerie, accompanied by his -assistants, and sentence was read to the culprit, who was afterwards -handed over to the secular arm. Cartouche had displayed no emotion -throughout the trial. He no doubt thought himself a hero, and wished -to die amidst the applause of the people who had long feared him. -When, however, the cortege started, Cartouche began to grow uneasy -and finally his stolid indifference completely gave way. On reaching -the Place de Greve he noticed that only one wheel remained, and his -agitation became intense. He repeatedly exclaimed, "_Les frollants!_" -"_Les frollants!_" (the traitors), thinking his accomplices had been -induced to confess, and had betrayed him. Now his stoicism vanished, -and he insisted upon being taken back to the Hotel de Ville to confess -his sins. On the following morning great crowds again assembled to -witness the execution. The condemned man had lost his bravado, but -still displayed strange firmness. His natural instincts appeared when -he was placed on the _Croix de St. Andre_, and the dull thud of the -iron bar descending extorted the exclamation "One" from him, as if -it was his business to count the number of blows to be inflicted. -Although it had been stipulated at the passing of sentence that -Cartouche should be strangled after a certain number of strokes, the -excitement of the clerk of the Court caused him to withhold the fact -from the executioner; and so great was the strength of Cartouche that -it required eleven blows to break him on the wheel. - -Other executions speedily followed. Scaffold and gibbet were kept busy -till 1722, and in the succeeding years five females whom Cartouche -had found useful as auxiliaries to his society were put upon their -trial, sentenced and executed. Many receivers of stolen goods were also -brought to account before the long series of crimes that had defied the -police was finally ended. - -In these days the prevailing discontent against the ruling authority -found voice in the manner so often exhibited by a ground-down and -severely repressed people. This was the age of the libellist and the -pamphleteer, and the incessant proceedings against them brought in -fresh harvests to the Bastile. The class was comprehensive, and its -two extremes ranged between a great literary genius such as Voltaire -and the petty penny-a-liner, who frequently found a lodging in the -State prisons. Of the last named category the most prolific was Gatien -Sandras de Courtilz, who produced about a hundred volumes of satirical, -political pamphlets and fictitious histories. Such a man was for ever -within four walls or in hiding beyond the frontier. Leniency was wasted -on him. Upon a petition to the Chancellor Pontchartrain, an inquiry -was instituted into the reasons of his imprisonment with the result -that he was released. Within two years he was found again distributing -libels, and was again thrown into the Bastile, this time to remain -there for ten years. - -A curious specimen of this class distinguished himself in the following -reign,--a certain Abbe Nicolas Lenglet-Dufresnoy, who was for ever in -and out of the Bastile. He is spoken of as a man of wit and learning, -an indefatigable worker, a fearless writer, but of very indifferent -honesty, venial to the last degree, to be bought at any time and ready -for any baseness, even to espionage. Isaac d'Israeli mentions him in -his "Curiosities of Literature" and in terms of praise as a man of much -erudition with a fluent, caustic pen and daring opinions. He earned a -calm contempt for the rubs of evil fortune, and when a fresh arrest was -decreed against him, he accepted it with a light heart. He well knew -his way to the Bastile. At the sight of the officer, who came to escort -him to prison, he would pick up his night-cap and his snuff-box, gather -his papers together and take up his quarter in the old familiar cell -where he had already done so much good work. He suffered seven distinct -imprisonments in the Bastile between 1718 and 1752, and saw also the -inside of the prisons of Vincennes, Strasbourg and For-l'Eveque. At his -last release he signed the following declaration: - -"Being at liberty, I promise, in conformity with the orders of the -King, to say nothing of the prisoners or other things concerning the -Bastile, which may have come to my knowledge. In addition to this I -acknowledge that all my good silver and papers and effects which I -brought to the said castle have been restored to me." - -Lenglet rendered one important service to the State, the discovery of -the Cellamare-Alberoni conspiracy, but he would not proceed in the -affair until he had been assured that no lives should be sacrificed. He -was a painstaking writer, and kept one manuscript by him for fifty-five -years; it was, however, a work on visions and apparitions, and he was a -little afraid of publishing it to the world. His end came by a strange -accident. He fell into the fire as he slept over a "modern book" and -was burned to death. He was then eighty years of age. - -Among the smaller people, scribblers and second rate litterateurs, -who were consigned to the Bastile, was Roy, an impudent rascal, who -lampooned royalty and royal things, and impertinently attacked the -Spanish ambassador. All Paris was moved by his arrest, his papers were -sealed and he was treated as of more importance than he deserved. -After four months' detention he was released, and banished from Paris -to a distance of ninety leagues. He soon returned and published a -defamatory ode on the French generals. General de Moncrieff met Roy in -the streets, boxed his ears and kicked him, but although the poet wore -his sword he did not defend himself. Roy raged furiously against the -Academy which would not elect him a member and wrote a stinging epigram -when the Comte de Clermont of the blood royal was chosen. The Comte -paid a ruffian to give him a thrashing, which was so severe that the -poet, now eighty years of age, succumbed to the punishment. - -Another literary prisoner of more pretensions was the Abbe Prevost, -author of the well known _Manon Lescaut_, the only work which has -survived out of the 170 books he wrote in all. He was a Jesuit, who -joined the order of the Benedictines, but fled from their house in -St.-Germain-des-Pres, and went about Paris freely. He was arrested by -the police and sent back to his monastery. For seven years he remained -quiet, but when at length he proposed to publish new works in order "to -impose silence upon the malignity of his enemies," a _lettre de cachet_ -was issued to commit him to the Bastile. The Prince de Conti came to -his help, and gave him money with which he escaped to Brussels. - -Voltaire's first connection with the Bastile was in 1717, when he -was only twenty-two years of age, a law student in Paris. He had -already attracted attention by his insolent lampoons on the Regent -and the government, and had been banished from Paris for writing -an epigram styled the _Bourbier_, "the mud heap." This new offence -was a scandalous Latin inscription and some scathing verses which, -according to a French writer, would have been punished under Louis -XIV with imprisonment for life. He took his arrest very lightly. The -officer who escorted him to the Bastile reports: "Arouet (Voltaire) -joked a good deal on the road, saying he did not think any business -was done on feast days, that he did not mind going to the Bastile but -hoped he would be allowed to continue taking his milk, and that if -offered immediate release he would beg to remain a fortnight longer." -His detention ran on from week to week into eleven months, which -he employed in writing two of his masterpieces, _La Henriade_ and -_Oedipe_, the latter his first play to have a real success when put -upon the stage. - -Voltaire, when released, was ordered to reside at Chatenay with his -father, who had a country house there, and offered to be responsible -for him. The charge was onerous, and the young man was sent to Holland -to be attached to the French ambassador, but he soon drifted back to -Paris, where he remained in obscurity for seven years. Now he came -to the front as the victim of a personal attack by bravos in the pay -of the Chevalier de Rohan, by whom he was severely caned. The poet -had offended the nobility by his insolent airs. Voltaire appealed for -protection, and orders were issued to arrest De Rohan's hirelings if -they could be found. The poet sought satisfaction against the moving -spirit, and having gone for a time into the country to practise -fencing, returned to Paris and challenged the Chevalier, when he met -him in the dressing-room of the famous actress, Adrienne Lecouvreur. -The duel was arranged, but the De Rohan family interposed and secured -Voltaire's committal to the Bastile, when he wrote to the Minister -Herault: - -"In the deplorable condition in which I find myself I implore your -kindness. I have been sent to the Bastile for having pursued with too -much haste and ardor the established laws of honor. I was set upon -publicly by six persons, and I am punished for the crime of another -because I did not wish to hand him over to justice. I beg you to use -your credit to obtain leave for me to go to England." - -Leave was granted, accompanied with release, and in due course Voltaire -arrived in London, where he remained three years. This period tended -greatly to develop his mental qualities. "He went a discontented poet, -he left England a philosopher, the friend of humanity," says Victor -Cousin. He became a leader among the men who, as Macaulay puts it, -"with all their faults, moral and intellectual, sincerely and earnestly -desired the improvement of the condition of the human race, whose blood -boiled at the sight of cruelty and injustice, who made manful war with -every faculty they possessed on what they considered as abuses, and -who on many signal occasions placed themselves gallantly between the -powerful and the oppressed." - -Voltaire was presently permitted to return to Paris. Minister Maurepas -wrote him: "You may go to Paris when you like and even reside there.... -I am persuaded you will keep a watch upon yourself at Paris, and do -nothing calculated to get you into trouble." The warning was futile. -Within four years he was once more arrested and lodged in the castle -prison of Auxonne, with strict orders that he was never to leave the -interior of the castle. His offences were blasphemy and a bitter -attack upon the Stuarts. He had, moreover, published his "Lettres -Philosophiques," and a new _lettre de cachet_ was to be issued, but he -was given time and opportunity to make his escape into Germany. The -work was, however, burned by the public executioner, and the wretched -publisher sent to the Bastile, after the confiscation of all his stock, -which meant total ruin. Prison history is not further concerned with -Voltaire. His friendship with Frederick the Great, his long retreat in -Switzerland and the fierce criticisms and manifestoes he fulminated -from Ferney must be sought elsewhere. - -Reference has been made in a previous page to the Cellamare-Alberoni -conspiracy first detected by Abbe Lenglet, which had for object the -removal of the Duc d'Orleans from the Regency and the convocation of -the States General, the first organised effort towards more popular -government in France. A secondary aim was a coalition of the powers -to re-establish the Stuart dynasty in England. Nothing came of the -conspiracy, but the arrest of those implicated. Among them were the -Duc and Duchesse de Maine. A certain Mdlle. de Launay, who was a -waiting woman of the Duchess, staunchly refused to betray her mistress -and was imprisoned in the Bastile. Out of this grew a rather romantic -love story. The King's lieutenant of the Bastile, a certain M. de -Maison Rouge, an old cavalry officer, was greatly attracted by Mdlle. -de Launay. "He conceived the greatest attachment that any one ever had -for me," she writes in her amusing memoirs. "He was the only man by -whom I think I was ever really loved." His devotion led him to grant -many privileges to his prisoner, above all in allowing her to open a -correspondence with another inmate of the Bastile, the Chevalier de -Menil,--also concerned in the Cellamare conspiracy,--with whom she had -a slight acquaintance. M. de Maison Rouge went so far as to allow them -to meet on several occasions, and, much to his chagrin, the pair fell -desperately in love with each other. Mdlle. de Launay expected to marry -the Chevalier after their release, but on getting out of the Bastile -she found herself forgotten. Some fifteen years later she became the -wife of Baron de Staal, an ex-officer of the Swiss Guards under the Duc -de Maine. She must not be confused, of course, with the Madame de Stael -of Napoleon's time. - -While some prisoners like Masers Latude--of whom more directly--followed -their natural bent in making the most daring and desperate attempts -to escape from the Bastile, there were one or two cases in which -men showed a strong reluctance to leave it. One of the victims of -the Cellamare conspiracy was an ex-cavalry officer, the Marquis de -Bonrepas, who had been shut up for four or five years. He found friends -abroad who sought to obtain his release. But he received the offer -of liberty with a very bad grace, declaring his preference for the -prison. He was a veteran soldier, old, poor and without friends, and -he was only persuaded to leave the Bastile on the promise of a home at -the Invalides with a pension. A doctor of the University, Francois du -Boulay, was sent to the Bastile in 1727 and remained there forty-seven -years. Then, when Louis XVI ascended the throne, search was made -through the registers for meet subjects for the King's pardon, and Du -Boulay was one of those recommended for discharge. He went out and -deeply regretted it. He was quite friendless and could find no trace of -any member of his family. His house had been pulled down and a public -edifice built upon the site. He had been quite happy in the Bastile, -and begged that he might return there. His prayer was refused, however, -and he withdrew altogether from the world and passed the rest of his -days in complete solitude. - -The name of Latude, mentioned above, is classed in prison history with -those of Baron Trenck, Sack, Shepherd, Casanova and "Punch" Howard as -the heroes of the most remarkable prison escapes on record. He is best -known as Latude, but he had many aliases,--Jean Henri, Danry, Dawyer, -Gedor; and his offence was that of seeking to curry favor with Madame -de Pompadour by falsely informing her that her life was in danger. -He warned her carefully to avoid opening a box that would reach her -through the post, which, in fact, was sent by himself. It enclosed a -perfectly harmless white powder. Then having despatched it he went in -person and on foot to Versailles expecting to be handsomely rewarded -for saving the life of the King's favorite. - -Unfortunately for Latude the innocuous nature of the powder was -disbelieved, and the mere possibility of foul play sufficed to raise -suspicion. Both Louis XV and his mistress shivered at the very whisper -of poison. The police promptly laid hands upon the author of this sorry -trick, and he was committed to Vincennes to begin an imprisonment -which lasted, with short intervals of freedom after his escapes, -for thirty-four years. Latude was well treated and was visited by -the King's doctor, as it was thought his mind was deranged. He was, -however, keen witted enough to snatch at the first chance of escape. -When at exercise in the garden, apparently alone, a dog ran against -the door and it fell open. Latude instantly stepped through and got -into the open fields, through which he ran for his life, and made -his way into Paris, to the house of a friend, one Duval. Thence he -wrote a letter to Madame de Pompadour beseeching her forgiveness and -imprudently giving his address. The authorities at once laid hands upon -him, and after being no more than twenty-four hours at large he was -once more imprisoned, this time in the Bastile. - -He now found a prison companion with whom his fortunes were to be -closely allied, one Allegre, who had been accused of the same crime, -that of attempting to poison Madame de Pompadour. Allegre, who in the -end died in a lunatic asylum, was a violent, unmanageable and hardly -responsible prisoner. He always denied the charges brought against -him, as did also Latude. The two joined forces in giving trouble and -breaking the prison rules. They were caught in clandestine conversation -with others, from floor to floor in the Baziniere Tower, and in passing -tobacco to each other. Latude addressed an indignant appeal against -his treatment to the authorities, written upon linen with his blood. -He complained of his food, demanded fish for breakfast, declaring he -could not eat eggs, artichokes or spinach, and would pay out of his -own pocket for different food. He became enraged when these requests -were refused. When fault was found with his misuse of the linen, he -asked for paper and more shirts. He got the former, and began a fresh -petition of interminable length and, when the governor grew weary of -waiting for it, threw it into the fire. - -As the chamber occupied by Latude and Allegre was in the basement -and liable to be flooded by the inundation of the Seine, it became -necessary to remove them to another. This was more favorable to escape, -and to this they now turned their attention with the strange ingenuity -and unwearied patience so often displayed by captives. The reason for -Latude's demand for more shirts was now explained. For eighteen months -they worked unceasingly, unravelling the linen and with the thread -manufacturing a rope ladder three hundred feet in length. The rungs -were of wood made from the fuel supplied for their fire daily. These -articles were carefully concealed under the floor. When all was ready, -Latude took stock of their productions. There was 1,400 feet of linen -rope and 208 rungs of wood, the rungs encased in stuff from the linings -of their dressing gowns, coats and waistcoats to muffle the noise of -the ladder as it swung against the wall of the Tower. - -The actual escape was effected by climbing up the interior of the -chimney of their room, having first dislodged the chimney bars, which -they took with them. On reaching the roof, they lowered the ladder and -went down it into the ditch, which was fourteen feet deep in water. -Notwithstanding this, they attacked the outer wall with their chimney -bars of iron, and after eight hours' incessant labor broke an opening -through its ponderous thickness and despite the fear of interruption -from patrols passing outside with flaming torches. Both fugitives -when at large hastened to leave Paris. Allegre got as far as Brussels, -whence he wrote an abusive letter to Madame de Pompadour, and at the -instance of the French King was taken into custody and lodged in -the prison at Lille, thence escorted to the frontier and so back to -the Bastile. Latude took refuge, but found no safety, in Amsterdam. -His whereabouts was betrayed by letters to his mother which were -intercepted. He, too, was reinstalled in the Bastile--after four brief -months of liberty. - -Latude's leadership in the escapades seems to have been accepted -as proved, and he was now more harshly treated than his associate, -Allegre. He lay in his cell upon straw in the very lowest depths of the -castle, ironed, with no blankets and suffering much from the bitter -cold. For three years and more he endured this, and was only removed -when the Seine once more overflowed and he was all but drowned in his -cell. The severity shown him was to be traced to the trouble his escape -had brought upon his gaolers, who were reprimanded, fined and otherwise -punished. The only alleviation of his misery was the permission to -remove half his irons, those of his hands or feet. - -As the years passed, this harsh treatment was somewhat mitigated, -but the effect on Latude was only to make him more defiant and -irreconcilable. He found many ways of annoying the authorities. He -broke constantly into noisy disturbances. "This prisoner," it is -reported, "has a voice of thunder, which can be heard all through and -outside the Bastile. It is impossible for me to repeat his insults as -I have too much respect for the persons he mentioned." Not strangely, -his temper was irritable. He swore over his dinner because it was -not served with a larded fowl. He was dissatisfied with the clothes -provided for him, and resented complying with the rules in force. -When a tailor was ordered to make him a dressing-gown, a jacket and -breeches, he wished to be measured, whereas, according to the rules of -the Bastile, the tailor cut out new clothes on the pattern of the old. - -The conduct of Allegre (who was no doubt mad) was worse. He was -dangerous and tried to stab his warders. Then he adopted the well known -prison trick of "breaking out," of smashing everything breakable in -his cell, all pottery, glass, tearing up his mattress and throwing -the pieces out of the window, destroying his shirts, "which cost the -King twenty francs apiece," and his pocket handkerchiefs, which were -of cambric. He had nothing on his body but his waistcoat and his -breeches. "If he be not mad he plays the madman very well," writes the -governor, and again: "This prisoner would wear out the patience of -the most virtuous Capuchin." The medical opinion on his state was not -definite, but he was removed to Charenton, the famous lunatic asylum, -and confined there in a new cage. - -Fifteen years had passed since his first arrest. Latude continued to -forward petitions for his release, and always got the same answer, that -the proper moment for it had not yet arrived. But he was once more -transferred to Vincennes and again managed to escape. Taking advantage -of the evident laxity of supervision he slipped away in a fog. He -could not keep quiet but wrote to M. de Sartine, now the Lieutenant of -Police, offering terms. If he were paid 30,000 francs for the plans and -public papers he had drawn up, he was willing to forget and forgive -the cruelties practised upon him. Failing to receive a reply, he went -in person to Fontainebleau to press his case upon the Duc de Choiseul, -who forthwith ordered him back into imprisonment. After three weeks of -freedom he found himself again inside Vincennes. - -As time passed, he also exhibited signs of madness, and was at last -also transferred for a time to Charenton, from which he was finally -released in 1777. He went out on the 5th of June with orders to reside -at Montagnac, and in little more than a month was again in trouble for -writing his memoirs a little too openly. He passed through the Little -Chatelet and thence to Bicetre, the semi prison-asylum, and stayed -there generally in an underground cell and on the most meagre diet for -seven more years, and was then interned once more at Montagnac. The -latest official account of him was in Paris, living on a pension of -400 francs a year from the treasury; but a public subscription was -got up for him, and after the Revolution, in 1793, the heirs of Madame -de Pompadour were sentenced to allow him an income of 70,000 francs a -year. Only a part of this was paid, but they gave him a small farm on -which he lived comfortably until his death at eighty years of age. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -LAST DAYS OF THE BASTILE - - Closing days of the Bastile--Latest inmates--Lally-Tollendal - suffers death for alleged treason--Damiens attempts life of Louis - XV--Sentence and execution--Dumouriez in the Bastile--Linguet - and his experiences--Marquis de Sade--Cagliostro--The - Revolution--Attack upon the Bastile--Weakly defended--Garrison - massacred--De Launay, the governor, murdered--Demolition of the - Bastile--Last days of Vincennes--The Temple prison survives in - part--The last home of Louis XVI--Prisons in great request through - Revolutionary epoch--Treatment in them more horrible than in old - days--Unlimited atrocities. - - -The days of the Bastile's existence were numbered. It had not long to -stand, but it maintained its reputation to the last. Philosophers, -princes, libellous poets, unfortunate commanders and traitors to the -State rubbed shoulders within. - -De La Chalotais, the Attorney-General of Brittany, was committed -in connection with a rising in his province and disputes with its -Governor, the Duc d'Aiguillon; but chiefly for his hostility to the -Jesuits,--a circumstance which culminated in the expulsion of the -society from France and many of the Catholic countries of Europe. -The Prince of Courland, Charles Ernest, an undeniable swindler and -adventurer, was arrested and sent to the Bastile on a charge of forgery -and detained there for three months. Marmontel, the historian, was -committed, accused of writing a satire against the Duc d'Aumont, and -has preserved an interesting account of his reception in the Castle. - -"The Governor, after reading my letters," writes the historian, -"allowed me to retain my valet.... I was ushered into a vast chamber, -in which were two beds, two baths, a chest of drawers and three straw -chairs. It was cold, but the gaoler made a good fire and brought plenty -of wood. At the same time he gave me pen and ink and paper on condition -of giving an account of how each sheet was employed. I found fault -with my bed; said the mattresses were bad and the blankets unclean. -All was instantly changed.... The Bastile library was placed at my -disposal, but I had brought my own books." The dinner brought him was -excellent. It was a _maigre_ day and the soup was of white beans and -very fresh butter, a dish of salt cod for second service, also very -good. This proved to be the servant's dinner and a second came in for -Marmontel himself, served on china and fine linen with forks and spoons -in silver, and was _gras_, consisting of an excellent soup, a succulent -slice of beef, the fat leg of a boiled capon, a dish of artichokes, -some spinach, a fine pear, some grapes, a bottle of old Burgundy and a -cup of fragrant coffee. After all this he was still offered a chicken -for supper. "On the whole," says Marmontel, "I found that one dined -very well in prison." His stay in the Bastile was for a few days only, -as the libel was the work of another, whom Marmontel would not betray. - -Scant favor was shown to French officers of those days who were -unsuccessful in war. One Dutreil was accused of misconduct in the -defence of Martinique, and after trial by court martial was sentenced -to military disgrace, to have his sword broken, the cross of St. Louis -torn from his breast, and to be imprisoned for life. He came first to -the Bastile with two other officers and passed on thence to the Isle of -Sainte Marguerite to occupy the same prison as the whilom "Man with the -Iron Mask." The harsh measure meted out to French officers who failed -is much commented upon by the French historians. Too often disaster was -directly traceable to neglect to provide means and the lack of proper -support. It was seen already in India, and Dupleix bitterly complained -that the government gave him no assistance, kept him ill supplied with -money and sent out the most indifferent troops. - -A very prominent and very flagrant case was that of Count -Lally-Tollendal, who was denounced as having betrayed the interests of -France, and caused the loss of her Indian possessions. He was of Irish -extraction, a hot-headed, hare-brained Irishman, whose military skill -was unequal to a difficult campaign. His had been an eventful career. -He became a soldier in his tender years, and held a commission in -Dillon's Irish regiment when no more than twelve and was engaged in -the siege of Barcelona. He rose quickly to the command of a regiment, -and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general at the early age -of thirty-seven. At one time he conceived a plan for landing a body -of ten thousand on the English coast to support the rights of the -Pretender, and spent a large portion of his fortune in the carrying out -of the scheme, which, of course, came to nothing. During his career as -commander in India, the Count committed very grievous blunders, and -lacked the tact and diplomacy which had brought success to his great -predecessor, Dupleix. Count Lally began by committing fearful excesses, -and showed his contempt for the native religion by desecrating the -most honored temples and sanctuaries. He triumphed over the English -for a time, and drove them back into the heart of the country, whence -they turned and attacked afresh; and having delayed his retreat he was -defeated with considerable loss. Other disasters speedily followed -until he was eventually surrounded and besieged in Pondichery, which -he defended and held with desperate bravery, but was forced at last to -surrender. - -Lally became a prisoner of war at the fall of Pondichery and was sent -to England. He heard there of the storm of abuse that was vented upon -him in Paris, and he asked permission to go over and stand his trial. -He was released on parole for the purpose, and arrived in his native -country, taking with him "his head and his innocence," as he wrote to -the Duc de Choiseul. A man of fierce temper and overbearing demeanor, -he had made numerous enemies and incurred the bitter jealousy of his -colleague, the naval commander in Indian waters, Comte d'Ache. When -brought to trial after a long and wearisome detention for fifteen -months in the Bastile, the long list of charges against him contained -many that were pitiful and contemptible. When at last arraigned, -the trial lingered on for more than a year and a half, when fresh -evidence was found among the papers of Father Lavuar, the superior -of the Jesuits in Pondichery. The priest had gone to Paris to claim -a pension from the government, but died suddenly, and it was found -that he had left a large amount of gold and a number of documents -compromising Lally-Tollendal's character and accusing him of treason -and malversation. This testimony was accepted and led to his conviction -and sentence to death. - -His demeanor during his trial won him a certain sympathy with the -crowd. The vehemence of his denials of guilt and his violent temper -impressed people with an idea that he was a much wronged man. In -England he had many apologists and supporters. It was said on his -behalf that he went to India a perfect stranger to the country, he made -native allies who proved false to him, his troops mutinied, he had no -horsemen; yet he took ten fortresses, won nine battles and made a good -fight until he was out-numbered, and all through was badly seconded -by his own officers. Voltaire's opinion of him is worth quoting: "I -am persuaded that Lally was no traitor. I believe him to have been an -odious man, a bad man, if you will, who deserved to be killed by any -one except the executioner." Again, "It is very certain that his bad -temper brought him to the scaffold. He is the only man who ever lost -his head for being brutal." - -The sentence of the Parliament was death by decapitation, and Lally -was sent from the Bastile to the Conciergerie to hear his sentence. -Great precautions were taken along the road as it was feared the -populace might make some demonstration in his favor. He resented being -compelled to kneel to hear sentence, and was greatly incensed when told -he must die. "But what have I done?" he vainly protested. The sentence -produced a great effect upon him, but he regained his self-possession -on returning to the Bastile. Many persons interceded on his behalf, but -the King remained unmoved, although public opinion remained the same -and disapproved of his execution. The authorities, however, feared that -the people might be inclined to rescue him, and therefore ordered him -to be gagged while being led to the Place de Greve. The Count strongly -resisted this mode of treatment, but the gag was placed in his mouth, -and he was otherwise held in check. Just before the execution took -place he ordered the headsman, young Sanson, to remove a handsome vest -he (Lally) was wearing, composed of the golden tissue made only in -India, and directed that it should be presented to the executioner's -father, who was also present. The first blow from the younger was not -successful, so the final act was performed by old Sanson, and was -greeted with a cry of horror from the assembled crowds. - -A hundred and fifty years had elapsed since Ravaillac had suffered -for the assassination of Henri Quatre and had brought no diminution -of the savage cruelty of the French criminal law. In 1757 the extreme -penalty was inflicted upon another culprit who had dared to lift his -hand against the cowardly voluptuary who occupied the throne, and in -precisely the same bloodthirsty and abominable fashion. Ravaillac -killed his victim; Damiens did no more than prick his man with the -small blade of a horn handled penknife. Louis XV was so frightened -at this pitiful wound that he "trembled between the sheets," under -the strong belief that the weapon had been poisoned. A confessor was -instantly summoned, and absolution was pronounced after the King had -detailed his sins. This absolution was repeated aloud every minute of -the night. - -What had actually happened? It was an intensely cold night, the 5th -of January, 1757, and the King, clad in his furs, came down-stairs at -Versailles to enter his carriage. A crowd of courtiers, footmen and -an escort surrounded the doorway as the King emerged on the arm of his -grand equerry. Suddenly the King exclaimed, "Some one has struck me and -pricked me with a pin. That man there!" and as he spoke he inserted -his hand beneath his fur coat, to find it smeared with blood when he -withdrew it. "That is certainly the man," added the King, pointing -to Damiens. "Let him be arrested, but do not kill him." In the wild -confusion that now arose, Damiens might easily have slunk away, but he -stood his ground and was seized by the guards. Immediate vengeance was -wreaked by his removal to the nearest guard-house, where he was put to -the torture by the application of red-hot irons to his legs, but he -would say no more than that he had not desired to kill the King, but -only to give him a salutary warning. - -Deep anxiety prevailed when this trifling attempt upon the life of a -worthless, self-indulgent monarch was known through the country. The -story was exaggerated absurdly. "This fearful attempt is of a nature to -cause so just an alarm that I do not lose a moment," writes one of the -ministers, "in diminishing your apprehension and acquainting you with -the facts of this terrible event." After "the terrible accident," the -King was bled twice. "The wound is healthy, there is no fever, and he -is perfectly tranquil, and would be inclined to sleep, were it not that -the wound is on the right side, that on which his Majesty is accustomed -to lie," continued the minister. The provinces were greatly excited. -"I found the whole city of Bordeaux in the greatest consternation," -writes the Lieutenant-Governor of Guienne. At Aix the courier was -expected with breathless impatience, and good news was received with -shouts of joy and clapping of hands. The delight at Marseilles when -good news came was equal to the terror inspired by the first evil -report. - -Damiens was taken straight to the Conciergerie, where the legal -machinery could be best set in motion for his trial and the preliminary -torture. His conviction was a foregone conclusion, and his sentence -in all its hideous particulars was on exactly the same lines as that -of Ravaillac. He was to be subjected to the question, ordinary and -extraordinary, to make the _amende honorable_, to have his right arm -severed, his flesh torn off his body with red-hot pincers, and finally, -while still alive, to be torn asunder limb from limb by teams of -horses in the Place de Greve. The whole of the details are preserved -in contemporary accounts; but having been described in the case of -Ravaillac, they are too brutal and revolting for a second reproduction. - -The motive by which Damiens was led to this attempted crime is -generally attributed to his disapproval of the King's licentious life. -Louis so thought it, and for a time was disposed to mend his ways, to -give up the infamous _Parc aux Cerfs_ where he kept a harem, and to -break with Madame de Pompadour. But the favorite was not dismissed -from the apartments she occupied upon the top floor of the palace at -Versailles, and the King still saw her from day to day. Her anxiety -must have been great while the King's wound was still uncured, for she -feigned illness and was constantly bled; but she soon recovered her -health when she was reinstalled as the King's mistress. The occasion -had been improved by the Jesuits, for the King when sick was very much -in the hands of the priests; but de Pompadour triumphed, and the matter -ended in their serious discomfiture and expulsion from France. - -Although Damiens did not himself see the interior of the Bastile, many -persons suspected of collusion in the crime were committed to it; -some supposed to be accomplices, others as apologists or as authors -of lampoons and satirical verses. Among the prisoners were Damiens's -nearest relations, his wife and daughters, his father, mother, nieces, -several abbes, ladies of mature years and young children. The detention -of some of these was brief enough, but one or two were imprisoned for -twenty odd years. The Dauphin was charged with complicity, but there -was no more proof of it than that he was little at court, and was known -to sympathise with the Jesuits. As a matter of fact no one was shown -to be privy to the attempt. Damiens, in spite of the most horrible -tortures, never betrayed a soul. - -A story told by Jesse in his "Memoirs of George Selwyn" may be related -here to give a ray of relief to this sombre picture. The eccentric -Englishman was much addicted to the practice of attending executions. -He went over to Paris on purpose to see Damiens done to death, and -on the day mixed with the crowd. He was dressed in a plain undress -suit and a plain bob wig, and "a French nobleman observing the deep -interest he took in the scene, and imagining from the plainness of his -attire that he must be a person in the humbler walks of life, resolved -that he must infallibly be a hangman. '_Eh bien, monsieur_,' said he, -'_etes-vous arrive pour voir ce spectacle?_' '_Oui, monsieur._' '_Vous -etes bourreau?_' '_Non, monsieur_,' replied Selwyn, '_je n'ai pas cet -honneur, je ne suis qu'un amateur._'" - -Among the latest records affording a graphic impression of the interior -of the Bastile is that of the French officer Dumouriez, who afterwards -became one of the first, and for a time, most successful of the -Revolutionary generals, who won the battles of Fleurus and Jernappes -and repelled the German invasion of the Argonne in the west of France. -Dumouriez fled to England to save his head, and was the ancestor of one -also famous, but in the peaceful fields of literature and art. George -Du Maurier, whose name is held in high esteem amongst all English -speaking races, traced his family direct to the French _emigre_, who -lived long and died in London. It is a little curious that the eminent -caricaturist who long brightened the pages of "Punch" the author of -"Trilby," should be connected with the French monarchy and the ancient -castle of evil memory. - -The elder Dumouriez was imprisoned as the outcome of his connection -with the devious diplomacy of his time. He had been despatched on a -secret mission to Sweden on behalf of the King, but the French Minister -of Foreign Affairs suspected foul play. The movements of Dumouriez were -watched, and he was followed by spies as far as Hamburg, where he was -arrested and brought back to France straight to the Bastile. He gives a -minute account of his reception. - -First he was deprived of all his possessions, his money, knife and -shoe buckles, lest he should commit suicide by swallowing them. When -he called for a chicken for his supper, he was told it was a fast day, -Friday, but he indignantly replied that the major of the Bastile was -not the keeper of his conscience if of his person, and the chicken was -provided. Then he was ushered into his prison apartment, and found -it barely furnished with a wooden table, a straw bottomed chair, a -jar of water and a dirty bed. He slept well, but was aroused early to -go before the Governor, the Comte de Jumilhac, who gave him a very -courteous and cordial welcome, but, after denying him books and writing -materials, ended by lending him several novels, which he begged him to -hide. The Governor continued to treat him as a friend and companion -rather than a prisoner. "He came and saw me every morning and gossiped -over society's doings. He went so far as to send me lemons and sugar -to make lemonade, a small quantity of coffee, foreign wine and every -day a dish from his own table, when he dined at home," he writes. No -fault could be found with the daily fare in the Bastile. The quality -was usually good and the supply abundant. "There were always five -dishes for dinner and three for supper without counting the dessert." -Besides, Dumouriez had his own servants, and one of them, the _valet de -chambre_, was an excellent cook. - -After a week of solitary confinement, which he had relieved by entering -into communication with a neighbor, the captain of a Piedmontese -regiment, who had been confined in the Bastile for twenty-two years for -writing a song about Madame de Pompadour, which had been hawked all -over Paris, Dumouriez was removed to another chamber which he describes -as "a very fine apartment with a good fireplace." Near the fireplace -was an excellent bed, which had been slept in by many notable inmates -of the prison. The major of the Bastile said it was the finest room -in the castle, but it had not always brought good luck. Most of its -previous inhabitants, the Comte de St. Pol, the Marechal de Biron, the -Chevalier de Rohan and the Count de Lally-Tollendal, ended their days -upon the scaffold. Significant traces of them were to be found in the -sad inscriptions upon the walls. Labourdonnais had inscribed some -"touching reflections;" Lally had written some remarks in English; and -La Chalotais some paraphrases of the Psalms. Dumouriez's immediate -predecessor had been a young priest, who had been forced into taking -orders and tried to evade his vows, inherit an estate and marry the -girl of his choice. He was committed to the Bastile, but was presently -released on writing an impassioned appeal for liberty. - -Dumouriez was detained only six months in the Bastile and was then -transferred to Caen in Normandy, where he was handsomely lodged, and -had a garden to walk in. The death of Louis XV and the complete change -of government upon the accession of the ill-fated Louis XVI immediately -released him. He came to Court and was told at a public reception that -the new King profoundly regretted the harshness with which he had been -treated, and that the State would make him amends by promotion and -employment. - -With Louis XVI began a milder and more humane regime, too late, -however, to stave off the swiftly gathering storm that was soon to -shake and shatter France. The King desired to retain no more State -prisoners arbitrarily, and sent a minister to visit the prisons of the -Bastile, Vincennes and Bicetre to inquire personally into the cases of -all, and to liberate any against whom there was no definite charge. He -proposed that there should be no more _lettres de cachet_, and the -Bastile became gradually less and less filled. The committals were -chiefly of offenders against the common law, thieves and swindlers; but -a large contingent of pamphleteers and their publishers were lodged -within its walls, and one ancient prisoner still lingered to die there -after a confinement of twenty-seven years. This was Bertin, Marquis -de Frateau, guilty of writing lampoons on Madame de Pompadour, and -originally confined at the request of his own family. - -A man who made more mark was Linguet, whose "Memoirs," containing a -bitter indictment of the Bastile, from personal experience, were widely -read both in England and France. They were actually written in London, -to which he fled after imprisonment, and are now held to be mendacious -and untrustworthy. Linguet had led a strangely varied life. He had -tried many lines--had been in turn poet, historian, soldier, lawyer, -journalist. He wrote parodies for the Opera Comique and pamphlets in -favor of the Jesuits. Such a man was certain to find himself in the -Bastile. He spent a couple of years there, and the book he subsequently -wrote was full of the most extravagant and easily refuted lies. Yet -there is reason to believe that his statements did much to inflame the -popular mind and increase the fierce hatred of the old prison, which -ere long was to lead to its demolition. - -The Bastile also received that infamous creature, most justly -imprisoned, the Marquis de Sade, whose name has been synonymous with -the grossest immorality and is now best known to medical jurisprudence. -Beyond doubt he was a lunatic, a man of diseased and deranged mind, -who was more properly relegated to Charenton, where he died. He was -at large during the Revolutionary period and survived it, but dared -to offer some of his most loathsome books to Napoleon, who when First -Consul wrote an order with his own hand for the return of the Marquis -to Charenton as a dangerous and incurable madman. - -One of the last celebrities confined in the Bastile was the Cardinal -de Rohan, a grandee of the Church and the holder of many dignities, -who was involved in that famous fraud, dear to dramatists and romance -writers, the affair of the Diamond Necklace. His confederates, some -of whom shared his captivity, were the well known Italian adventurer -and arch impostor, who went by the name of Cagliostro, who played upon -the credulity of the gullible public in many countries as a latter day -magician, and the two women, Madame de La Motte-Valois, who devised the -fraud of impersonating the Queen before de Rohan, and Mdlle. d'Oliva, -who impersonated her. - -We come now to the eventful year 1789, when the waters were closing -over the Bastile, and it was to sink under the flood and turmoil of -popular passion in the first stormy phase of the French Revolution. -Paris was in the throes of agitation and disturbance, the streets -filled with thousands of reckless ruffians, who terrorised the capital, -breaking into and plundering the shops, the convents, even the royal -_Garde-Meuble_, the repository of the Crown jewels; and committing the -most violent excesses. A large force of troops was collected in and -about Paris, more than sufficient to maintain order had the spirit -to do so been present in the leaders or had they been backed up by -authority. But the King and his Government were too weak to act with -decision, and, as the disorders increased, it was seen that no reliance -could be placed upon the French Guards, who were ripe for revolt and -determined to fraternise with the people. The people clamored for arms -and ammunition, and seized upon a large quantity of powder as it was -being removed secretly from Paris. Fifty thousand pikes were turned out -in thirty-six hours. - -Two revolutionary committees directed affairs, and it was mooted at -one of them whether an attack should not be made upon the Bastile. The -more cautious minds demurred. It would be neither useful nor feasible -to gain possession of the ancient fortress which, with its guns mounted -and its impregnable walls, might surely make a vigorous resistance. -At last it was decreed to approach the Governor of the Bastile with -peaceful overtures, asking him to receive a garrison of Parisian -citizen-militia within the place as a measure of public safety. M. de -Launay, the veteran Governor, civilly received the deputations with -this proposal, but although inwardly uneasy would make no concessions. -He awaited orders which never arrived, but was stoutly determined to do -his duty and remain staunch to the King. - -His position was indeed precarious. The garrison consisted of a handful -of troops, chiefly old pensioners. The guns on the ramparts were of -obsolete pattern, mostly mounted on marine carriages, and they could -not be depressed or fired except into the air. Moreover the powder -magazine was full, for the whole stock of powder had been removed from -the Arsenal, where it was exposed to attack and seizure, and it was now -lodged in the cellars of the Bastile. But the Governor had done his -best to strengthen his defence. Windows had been barred, and exposed -loopholes closed. A bastion for flanking fire had been thrown out from -the garden wall. Great quantities of paving stones had been carried up -to the tops of the Towers, and steps taken to pull down the chimney -pots,--the whole for use as missiles to be discharged on the heads of -the besiegers. Nevertheless the place could not hold out long, for it -was almost entirely unprovisioned. - -The attack upon the Bastile appears to have been precipitated by a -cowardly report spread that the guns of the castle were ranged upon the -city and that a bombardment was threatened. A deputation was forthwith -despatched to the Governor, insisting the direction of the guns be -changed and inviting him to surrender. M. de Launay replied that the -guns pointed as they had done from time immemorial, and that he could -not remove them without the King's order, but he would withdraw them -from the embrasure. This deputation retired satisfied, assuring the -Governor that he need expect no attack, and went back to the Hotel de -Ville. But presently an armed mob arrived, shouting that they must have -the Bastile. They were politely requested to return, but some turbulent -spirits insisted that the drawbridges should be lowered, and when the -first was down, advanced across them, although repeatedly warned that -unless they halted, the garrison would open fire. But the people, -warmed with their success, pressed on, and a sharp musketry duet began, -and put the assailants to flight in great disorder, but did not send -them far. Presently they came on again toward the second drawbridge and -prepared to break in by it, when firing was resumed and many casualties -ensued. - -At half past four o'clock in the afternoon three carts laden with -straw were sent forward and used to set fire to the outbuildings, the -guard-house, the Governor's residence and the kitchens. A number of -French grenadiers with three hundred citizens now advanced and made -good their entrance; but the drawbridge was let down behind them and -a cry of treachery arose. Fire was opened on both sides and a sharp -combat ensued. The issue might have been different had the defence -been better organised, but the garrison was small (barely a hundred -men), was short of ammunition, had not taken food for forty-eight -hours, and could make no use of the artillery. At five o'clock -M. de Launay, hopeless of success, desired to blow up the powder -magazine, urging that voluntary death was preferable to massacre by -the infuriated people. The vote of the majority was against this -desperate means and in favor of capitulation. Accordingly a white -flag was hoisted on one of the towers to the sound of the drum, but -it was ignored, and the firing continued amid loud shouts of "Lower -the drawbridge! Nothing will happen to you!" The Governor thereupon -handed over the keys to a subordinate officer. The mob rushed in and -the fate of the garrison was sealed. The sub-officers, who had laid -down their arms and were unable to defend themselves, were killed, and -so also were the grand old Swiss Guards, stalwart veterans, who were -slaughtered with but few exceptions. - -In the midst of the affray, M. de Launay was seized and carried off to -the Hotel de Ville. Frenzied cries of "Hang him! Hang him!" greeted him -on the way, and the unfortunate Governor is reported to have looked -up to Heaven, saying, "Kill me. I prefer death to insults I have not -deserved." They now fell upon him from all sides with bayonet, musket -and pike, and as a dragoon passed, he was called upon to cut off the -victim's head. This man, Denot (whose own account has been followed -in this description), essayed first with a sword, then completed the -decapitation with his knife. The severed head was paraded through -Paris till nightfall on a pike. This was the first of many similar -atrocities. The people, without restraint, became intoxicated with -brutal exultation. The wildest orgies took place, and the wine shops -were crowded with drunken desperadoes, who were the heroes of the hour. -The now defenceless castle was visited by thousands to witness its -final destruction. Numbers of carriages passed before it or halted to -watch the demolition as the stones were thrown down from its towers -amid clouds of dust. Ladies, fashionably dressed, and dandies of the -first water mingled with the half-naked workmen, and were now jeered -at, now applauded. The most prominent personages, great authors and -orators, celebrated painters, popular actors and actresses, nobles, -courtiers and ambassadors assembled to view the scene of old France -expiring and new France in the throes of birth. - -The wreck and ruin of the Bastile were speedily accomplished. The -people were undisputed masters, and they swarmed over the abased -stronghold, filling it from top to bottom. "Some threw the guns from -the battlements into the ditch; others with pickaxes and hammers -labored to undermine and destroy the towers. These smashed in -furniture, tore and dispersed all the books, registers and records; -those laid prompt hands on anything they fancied. Some looted the rooms -and carried off what they pleased. Strict search was made through the -Bastile for prisoners to set free, yet the cells were for the most part -empty. The committals during this last reign had not exceeded 190 for -the whole period, and when it capitulated only seven were in custody. -Gruesome rumors prevailed that several still lingered underground, in -deep subterranean cells; but none were found, nor any skeletons, when -the whole edifice was pulled down." - -This demolition was voted next year, 1790, by the committee of the -Hotel de Ville, which ordered that "the antique fortress too long the -terror of patriotism and liberty" should be utterly razed to its very -foundations. The workmen set to work with so much expedition that in a -little more than three months a portion of the materials was offered -for sale. A sharp competition ensued at the auction, and the stones -were fashioned into mementoes, set in rings, bracelets and brooches, -and fetched high prices. The contractors for demolition made a small -fortune by the sale of these trinkets. - -Napoleon at first intended to erect his great Arc de Triomphe upon -the site of the Bastile, but changed his mind and selected the place -where it now stands. The Place de la Bastile remained for forty years -a wilderness--in summer a desert, in winter a swamp. The revolution of -1830, which placed Louis Philippe upon the throne of France, was not -accomplished without bloodshed, and it was decided to raise a monument -to those who lost their lives on this somewhat unimportant occasion. -The result was the elegant column, which every visitor to Paris may -admire to-day in the Place de la Bastile. - -Vincennes, the second State prison of Paris, survived the Terror and -exists to this day converted into a barracks for artillery. A portion -of the Temple, the especial stronghold of the Knights Templars already -described, still existed in part when the Revolution came. Strange to -say, its demolition had been contemplated by the Government of Louis -XVI, and it had already partly disappeared when the storm broke, -and rude hands were laid upon the luckless sovereign who became a -scapegoat, bearing the accumulated sins of a long line of criminal -and self-indulgent monarchs. When Louis and his family fell into the -power of the stern avengers of many centuries of wrong doing, they -were hurried to the Temple and imprisoned in the last vestige of the -fortress palace. It stood quite isolated and alone. All had been razed -to the ground but the donjon tower, to which was attached a small strip -of garden enclosed between high walls. This became the private exercise -ground of the fallen royalties. The King occupied the first floor of -the prison and his family the second floor. The casements were secured -with massive iron bars, the windows were close shuttered so that -light scarcely entered, and those within were forbidden to look out -upon the world below. The staircase was protected by six wicket gates, -each so low and narrow that it was necessary to stoop and squeeze to -get through. Upon the King's incarceration a seventh wicket was added -with an iron bar fixed at the top of the staircase, always locked and -heavily barred. The door opening directly into the King's chamber was -lined with iron. - -Louis was never left alone. Two guards were constantly with him day -and night, as is the rule to this day with condemned malefactors in -France. They sat with him in the dining-room when at meals and slept -in the immediate neighborhood of his bedroom. His guards were in the -last degree suspicious, and he endured many indignities at their hands. -No whispering was allowed, not even with his wife and children. If he -spoke to his valet, who slept in his room at night, it must be audibly, -and the King was constantly admonished to speak louder. No writing -materials were allowed him at first. He was forbidden to use pens, -ink and paper until he was arraigned before the National Convention. -But he was not denied the solace of books, and read and re-read his -favorite authors. In Latin he preferred Livy, Caesar, Horace, Virgil. In -French he preferred books of travel. For a time he was supplied with -newspapers, but his gaolers disliked his too great interest in the -progress of the Revolution, and the news of the day was withheld from -him. His reading became the more extensive and it was calculated on the -eve of his death that he had read through 257 volumes during the five -months and seven days of his captivity in the Temple. - -The daily routine of his prison life was monotonously repeated. He -rose early and remained at his prayers till nine o'clock, at which -hour his family joined him in the breakfast room as long as this was -permitted. He ate nothing at that hour but made it a rule to fast till -midday dinner. After breakfast he found pleasant employment in acting -as schoolmaster to his children. He taught the little Dauphin Latin and -geography, while the Queen, Marie Antoinette, instructed their daughter -and worked with her needle. Dinner was at one o'clock. The table was -well supplied, but the King ate sparingly and drank little, the Queen -limiting herself to water with her food. Meat was regularly served, -even on Fridays, for religious observances no more controlled his -keepers, and the King would limit himself to fast diet by dipping his -bread in a little wine and eating nothing else. The rest of the day was -passed in mild recreation, playing games with the children till supper -at nine o'clock, after which the King saw his son to bed in the little -pallet prepared by his own hands. - -The time drew on in sickening suspense, but Louis displayed the -unshaken fortitude of one who could rise above almost intolerable -misfortune. Insult and grievous annoyance were heaped upon his -devoted head. His valet was changed continually so that he might have -no faithful menial by his side. The most humiliating precautions were -taken against his committing suicide--not a scrap of metal, not even a -penknife or any steel instrument was suffered to be taken in to him. -His food was strictly tested and examined; the prison cook tasted -every dish under the eyes of a sentry, to guard against the admixture -of poison. The most horrible outrage of all was when the bloodthirsty -_sans-culottes_ thrust in at his cell window the recently severed and -still bleeding head of one of the favorites of the court, the Princess -de Lamballe. - -We may follow out the dreadful story to its murderous end. Years of -tyrannous misgovernment in France, innumerable deeds of blood and -cruel oppression, such as have been already presented in this volume, -culminated in the sacrifice of the unhappy representative of a system -to which he succeeded and innocently became responsible for. The bitter -wrongs endured for centuries by a downtrodden people, goaded at length -to the most sanguinary reprisals, were avenged in the person of a -blameless ruler. Louis XVI was a martyr beyond question; but he only -expiated the sins of his truculent and ferocious forerunners, who had -no pity, no mercy, no compassion for their weak and helpless subjects. -Louis' trial, under a parody of justice, and his execution amid the -hideous gibes of a maddened, merciless crowd, was the price paid by -the last of the French kings, for years of uncontrolled and arbitrary -authority. - -The day of arraignment, so long and painfully anticipated, came as -a sudden surprise. On Monday, December 10th, 1793, the captive King -when at his prayers was startled by the beating of drums and the -neighing of horses in the courtyard below the Donjon. He could not -fix his attention on the morning lesson to his son, and was playing -with him idly when the visit of the Mayor of Paris roused him and -summoned him by the name of Louis Capet to appear at the bar of the -Convention. He then heard the charges against him, and the day passed -in mock proceedings of the tribunal. The King's demeanor was brave, his -countenance unappalled by the tumultuous outbursts that often came from -the audience in the galleries. As the judges could come to no agreement -on the first day, the proceedings were declared "open," to be continued -without intermission. For three more days the stormy debates lasted and -still the Convention hesitated to pass the death sentence on the King. -In the end it was carried by a majority of five. - -Louis XVI bore himself like a brave man to the last. He addressed a -farewell letter to the Convention in which he said, "I owe it to my -honor and to my family not to subscribe to a sentence which declares me -guilty of a crime of which I cannot accuse myself." When he was taken -to execution from the Temple and first saw the guillotine, he is said -to have shuddered and shrank back, but quickly recovering himself he -stepped out of the carriage with firmness and composure and, calmly -ascending the scaffold, went to his death like a brave man. - -The Bastile was gone, but the need for prisons was far greater under -the reign of liberty, so-called, than when despotic sovereigns ruled -the land. The last of them, Louis XVI, would himself have swept away -the Bastile had he been spared. He had indeed razed For-l'Eveque -and the Petit Chatelet, and imported many salutary changes into the -Conciergerie out of his own private purse. During the Revolutionary -epoch many edifices were appropriated for purposes of detention, the -ordinary prisons being crowded to overflowing. In the Conciergerie -alone, while some two thousand people waited elsewhere for vacancies, -there were from one thousand to twelve hundred lodged within the walls -without distinction of age, sex or social position. Men, women and -children were herded together, as many as fifty in the space of twenty -feet. A few had beds, but the bulk of them slept on damp straw at the -mercy of voracious rats that gnawed at their clothing and would have -devoured their noses and ears had they not protected their faces with -their hands. - -Within six months of 1790, 356 prisoners were confined in the prisons -of Bicetre, Luxembourg, the Carmelites and Saint Lazare, en route to -the guillotine. St. Pelagie held 360 at one time. "In Paris," says -Carlyle, "are now some twelve prisons, in France some forty-four -thousand." Lamartine's figures for Paris are higher. He gives the -number of prisons as eighteen, into which all the members of the -Parliament, all the receivers-general, all the magistrates, all the -nobility and all the clergy were congregated to be dragged thence to -the scaffold. Four thousand heads fell in a few months. A number of -simple maidens, the eldest only eighteen, who had attended a ball at -Verdun when it was captured by the Prussians, were removed to Paris and -executed. All the nuns of the Convent of Montmartre were guillotined, -and next day the venerable Abbe Fenelon. In September, 1792, there was -an indiscriminate massacre, when five thousand suspected persons were -torn from their homes and either slaughtered on the spot or sent to -impromptu prisons. That of the Abbaye ran with blood, where 150 Swiss -soldier prisoners were murdered at one sweep. The details of these -sanguinary scenes are too terrible to print. Every prison provided its -quota of victims--La Force 80, the great Chatelet 220, and 290 from the -Conciergerie. - -"At Bicetre," says Thiers, in his history of the Revolution, "the -carnage was the longest, the most sanguinary, the most terrible. This -prison was the sink for every vice, the sewer of Paris. Everyone -detained in it was killed. It would be impossible to fix the number of -victims, but they have been estimated at six thousand. Death was dealt -out through eight consecutive days and nights; pikes, sabres, muskets -did not suffice for the ferocious assassins, who had recourse to guns." -Another authority, Colonel Munro, the English diplomatist, reported to -Lord Grenville that Bicetre was attacked by a mob with seven cannon, -which were loaded with small stones and discharged promiscuously into -the yards crowded with prisoners. Three days later, he writes: "The -massacre only ended yesterday and the number of the victims may be -gathered from the time it took to murder them." He puts the total at -La Force and Bicetre at seven thousand, and the victims were mostly -madmen, idiots and the infirm. - -The picture of these awful times is lurid and terrible, and brings -the prevailing horror vividly before us. The prisons of Paris were -thirty-six in number, all of large dimensions, with ninety-six -provisional gaols. In the French provinces the latter were forty -thousand in number, and twelve hundred more were regularly filled with -a couple of hundred inmates. The most cruel barbarities were everywhere -practised. Prisoners were starved and mutilated so that they might -be driven into open revolt and justify their more rapid removal by -the guillotine. Paris sent 2,600 victims to the scaffold in one year. -In the provincial cities the slaughter was wholesale. Lyons executed -1,600, Nantes, 1,971, and a hundred were guillotined or shot daily. -Many were women, some of advanced age and infirm. At Angers, to -disencumber the prisons, 400 men and 360 women were beheaded in a few -days. Wholesale massacres were perpetrated in the fusillades of Toulon -and the drownings of Nantes, which disposed of nearly five thousand -in all. Taine says that in the eleven departments of the west half of -France a million persons perished, and the murderous work was performed -in seventeen months. - -Of a truth the last state of France was worse than the first, and -the sufferings endured by the people at the hands of irresponsible -autocracy were far outdone by the new atrocities of the bloodthirsty -revolutionaries in mad vindication of past wrongs. - - -END OF VOLUME III. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - - Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as - possible, including some inconsistent hyphenation. 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