OCR Text |
Show Bastille Day, July 14 In Fiance the 14th of July, the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille, Bas-tille, is celebrated m much the same manner as the 4th of July is observed in the United States. The fortification, afterwards a prison, known as the Bastille waa originally the gate of Saint An-toine An-toine of the wall surrounding Paris, this gate being flanked by tvj towers, but the structure was enlarged en-larged in 1363 into a massive fortification, for-tification, surrounded by a ditch 25 feet wide. From that time until the French Revolution the Bastille was the scene of numerous spirited battles during several civil wars. At an early date it became a prison for political adversaries of the faction in power. It was at times crowded crowd-ed with both men ana women prisoners, pris-oners, and many tales of cruelty inflicted upon the unfortunate inmates in-mates were current. The outbreak of the French Revolution Rev-olution was marked by the storming storm-ing of the Bastille by the Paris mob, which captured and razed it to the ground on July 14, 1789 Strangely enough there were only seven prisosners found within its walls at the time of its capture. The site is now called the Place de la Bastille, and is marked by a lofty volume of bronze, surmounted surmount-ed by a gilded figure of Mercury spreading his wings as in flight. The historic spot is viewed with interest in-terest by visitors to Paris. Although France was to pass through the Reign of Terror, the regime of Napoleon, and the alternating al-ternating of republic and empire before the establishment of the Third Republic (the present) in 1871, the fall of the Bastille is considered con-sidered the real beginning of French liberty and popular government. govern-ment. Therefore July 14 is celebrared as the great national holiday of France. |