It is nothing remarkable that the day of the storming of the Bastille should be the commemoration day for the commencement of the French Revolution, for while the popular movement was to commence à trend of developments which was to lay the monarchy in the dust, and establish the foundations of a republican democracy, the destruction of the Bastille was the removal of a hideous nightmare which had brooded over Paris for well over four centuries. The gate of Saint Antoine in King John's time had been flanked by two towers. About 1369 Hugues Aubriot at the command of Charles V changed the structure into a regular fortress, with the addition of six other towers, united by thick connecting walls and surrounded by a ditch some twenty-five feet across, During the four hundred and twenty years which were to follow those gloomy towers acquired all the sinister qualities of an instrument of despotic oppression.
France like most of the rest of Europe was feeling its way towards civilization, and though in the breasts of many thinkers, even in the early days of the fortress of Saint Antoine, there was already kindled ihe desire for liberty, there was a long period to elapse before the full realization of the doctrine reached the masses in general, a process which might have been even slower if the ruling classes had shown that moderation which so often characterizes a benevolent tyranny. The storming of the Bastille as the fortress had by then come io be known was not the revolution, but its premonitory symptom. It was, perhaps, even more than that—the spark which set off a magazine full of rich explosive, But it will always be food for speculation as to what would have happened if, instead of a poor defence, the garrison of the Bastille had been able to beat back the attackers. Would Paris have been disheartened by the vindication of the authority it loathed? Would the rest of France have remained idle to simmer with indignation for a season until another opportunity offered? Who knows; in the face of history only accomplished facts can be dealt with, and the outstanding fact is that the Bastille fell and the news of its fall spread with the rapidity of a fiery cross summoning the people to rebellion.
It is not necessary to dwell upon the time during which the new republic went through all the throes of birth, but. with the disappearance of the towers of the Bastille, a new life came to France. The elegance of the monarchical days soon came back. French. culture re-established itself. The smiling countryside responded to the loving care of the farmer and Paris was ultimately to become the city of light, There are few foreigners, who have had the privilege of knowing the French in their homeland, who do not appreciate all that the French did for themselves in the years since 1789, how they created thriving industries and rose to a place in the world which was rightfully theirs, and in the arts and in the sciences the French marched in the advance guard of civilization, The courage of the people rose above all difficulties; great men led them through many crises, and when suffering had to be borne the people of France endured it encouraged with a fixed faith in the destiny of their nation. The French contribution to the art of living was indeed a gracious one, one which has made itself felt in practically every country of the world, and their ideals of equality, fraternity and liberty found echoes in the hearts of all the universe.
If the flame which inspired France throughout those years appears for the moment to be burning low; those who know the French and the resilience of their character, perfectly understand that it is but a passing phase. They realize that it will never be extinguished. The ghastly towers of a wretched ideology may for the time being cast their shadows over the fair fields of France. But they will pass. The sun will again shine. The cornucopia of plenty shall again be filled and France will continue in its role of one of the leading civilizations of the world. If that were only a question of faith it would be comforting enough. But there is just as much certainty about it as the fact that night follows day. July the fourteenth must still remain an inspiration to the French. It marked the renaissance of a splendid people, and in the years to come will witness them forging along to even greater heights than they have yet attained,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.