The castle of Vincennes, within a few miles of Paris, has always been
as terrible a place of detention as was the Bastille. Even in these
days of comparative liberty and justice, Vincennes is made an engine of
oppression; for throughout all political changes, the French government
never scruples to seize and incarcerate _illegally_ any one against
whom it has a grudge.
The prisoners of Vincennes, till of late years, were seldom tried,
and rarely knew what their offence was. The question they had to ask
themselves was not, what is my crime?--but who is my enemy? who wants
my fortune or my place? who covets my wife or my sister? who dreads
my influence? Then the walls were so thick, the dungeons so deep, the
guard so strict, that no cry for justice could reach the world outside.
An unhappy person destined to be the inmate of this castle was
generally seized and brought there in the middle of the night. After
crossing a drawbridge, which spans a moat forty feet deep, he found
himself in the hands of two men, who, by the pale light of a lamp,
directed his trembling steps. Heavy doors of iron, with enormous bolts,
were opened and closed one after another; narrow, steep, winding
stairs, descending and descending; on all sides padlocks, bars, and
gratings; and vaults which the sun never saw! Arrived in his dungeon,
the prisoner, who perhaps an hour before had been dancing and feasting
at a court-ball, and still wore his suit of velvet and gold, was
searched and stripped of everything but the bare clothes that covered
him, and was then left with a miserable pallet, two straw chairs, and
a broken pitcher--the parting injunction of the jailors being, that he
was not to permit himself the slightest noise. 'C'est ici le palais
de la silence!' say they--('This is the palace of silence!') Those
who were fortunate enough to see the light again, and lived to be
restored to the world, were searched in the same way on leaving their
dungeon, and were obliged to take an oath never to reveal what had
passed in this state-prison, under the penalty of incurring the king's
displeasure. As the king's displeasure would have immediately carried
them back to Vincennes, we may believe that the vow was seldom violated.
The tragedy of the Duc d'Enghien, who, on the 21st of March 1804,
by the dim light of a lantern, was shot in the fosse of the castle
of Vincennes, is too well known to be dilated on here: but although
everybody has heard of the lamentable death of this brave man, and
although the universal voice of mankind has pronounced his execution
one of the darkest blots that stain the name of Napoleon Bonaparte,
few people are aware that his arrest, or at least the pretence for
it, originated in a simple police report, which was itself founded
on a misunderstanding. The duke, who had emigrated to Germany, had
there secretly married the Princess Charlotte de Rohan. What family
reasons induced them to make a mystery of the marriage have never been
disclosed; but the precautions he took to conceal his visits first
awakened the suspicions of the police, and ultimately led them to
report him as engaged in a counter-revolutionary intrigue. Another of
the accusations brought against him originated in the mispronunciation
of a name. It was reported that he was on intimate terms with General
Dumourier, a man most obnoxious to the First Consul. It was too late
discovered that the name of his associate was General _Thumery_. The
German pronunciation had rendered these two names identical to the ears
of the French agents of police. It is singular that the sole favour
the duke asked for on arriving at Vincennes was a day's liberty on his
parole, to shoot in the forest. The only tears shed at the sad ceremony
of his execution were by the wife of the commandant, Madame Harel, who,
by a romantic coincidence, happened to be his foster-sister.
One of the most celebrated prisoners of Vincennes in the eighteenth
century was Masères de La Tude, who expiated a folly by twenty years
of cruel captivity, spent partly here and partly in the Bastille.
Ingenious, clever, indefatigable, and patient, the schemes he
contrived to effect an escape, and to communicate with his neighbours
in misfortune, would fill a volume. Nevertheless, although Madame de
Pompadour, the person he had offended, was dead, he would probably
have never recovered his liberty but for a lucky breeze of wind, which
blew a piece of paper, on which he had described his sufferings, into
the lap of an honest woman called Legros, who kept a shop in Paris.
The good soul was so touched by the narrative, that, by dint of
perseverance and money, she obtained the release of her protégé in 1784.
Not far from the chamber inhabited by La Tude was that of the unhappy
Prévôt de Beaumont, who was guilty of the unpardonable rashness of
denouncing the famous _Pacte de Famine_. 'I accused De Sartines,'
says he in his memoir published after the Revolution, 'who was
attorney-general under Louis XV., of occasioning the famines that
desolated France for three years; and to punish me, he inflicted on
me, for fifteen years, sufferings to which the martyrology of the
saints can present no parallel. Torn from my family and friends, buried
alive in a dismal dungeon, chained to the wall, deprived of light and
air, perishing of hunger and cold, nearly naked, I endured horrors so
repugnant to nature, that my surviving to relate them is nothing less
than a miracle!'
Not only did the dire injustice of arbitrary will in those days
tyrannise thus cruelly over men's bodies, but it did not scruple to
destroy their minds. When a prisoner of state was considered dangerous
from his courage, his patience, or his power of endurance, it was no
uncommon thing to put him in a strait waistcoat, and carry him to
Bicêtre. Here he was shut up in a cage, and bled, under pretext of
curing him, till he died, or went really as mad as they said he was.
Few survived and withstood this treatment; but amongst those who did
was the Prévôt de Beaumont. He was found at Bicêtre by Mirabeau and his
colleagues when they visited the hospital for the purpose of releasing
those who had been unjustly confined there; on which occasion the
infamies discovered are said to have been terrific. Many of the prisons
in France are distinguished by the names of saints, which arises from
the circumstance of their having been formerly religious houses. St
Pelagie is the place to which persons were latterly sent for political
offences: editors of newspapers, caricaturists, and people who would
not be satisfied with things as they are, formed a considerable
portion of its population.
At the period of the First Revolution, the keeper of this prison
was a man named Bouchotte, who, uninfected by the rage of cruelty
that seemed to have seized on the population of Paris, distinguished
himself by his courageous humanity. When the massacres of September
were being perpetrated, and the furious mob were attacking all the
jails, and slaughtering the prisoners, the jailors, far from making any
resistance, generally threw wide their gates with a hearty welcome; but
when the assassins reached St Pelagie, they found the house apparently
abandoned; the gates were closed, all was silent within, and none
answered to their summons. At length, having obtained implements, and
forced an entrance, they found Bouchotte and his wife fast bound with
cords. 'You are too late, citizens!' said Bouchotte; 'the prisoners,
hearing of your approach, became desperate, and revolted. After serving
us as you see, they have all made their escape!' Fortunately the mob
was deceived; nor was it known till long afterwards that the whole
scene was a scheme of this worthy man's to save the lives of the
intended victims.
An American gentleman of the name of Swan resided for twenty years in
this prison; for we can scarcely say he was confined there, since he
might have been restored to liberty had he desired it. After a long
suit with a Frenchman, in which the American was cast, he preferred
going to jail to paying a demand he considered unjust. Every year his
creditor paid him a visit, in hopes of finding him less obstinate; and
the _employés_ of the prison, as well as his fellow-captives, by all
of whom he was exceedingly beloved, would intreat him to give way; but
he only smiled, and bowing to his disappointed visitor, bade him adieu
till that time next year. The love the prisoners bore him was well
earned by innumerable acts of kindness and beneficence. He not only
gave bread to the poorer debtors, but he restored many to liberty by
satisfying the demands of their creditors. Mr Swan died at St Pelagie
in 1830.
Clichy is also a prison for debtors, where a cell is shown which was
for two years inhabited by a man of forty years of age, who had been
sent there for a very singular sort of debt--namely, the money he
owed for the wet nurse's milk which he had imbibed while an infant,
the amount of the debt at the period of his incarceration having
accumulated to twelve thousand francs!
A law formerly prevailed in France, that if a debtor escaped, the
keeper became responsible for his debt. Of course this arrangement
rendered evasion extremely difficult; nevertheless, to revenge some
real or fancied injustice, a singular trick was played by a debtor,
which greatly amused the Parisians. A certain Monsieur L---- having
contrived to escape, presented himself one evening at the house of his
astonished creditor.
'You see,' said he, 'I am free. You may seize me, certainly, and send
me back to jail, but I can never pay you; whereas, if you will give me
money enough to escape out of the country, you can claim your debt of
the keeper who can.'
The creditor, who does not seem to have been very scrupulous, consented
to this arrangement, on condition that he himself saw Monsieur L----
off by the diligence; which having done, and feeling himself safe, he
on the following morning knocked at the gate of Clichy, and asked the
keeper if he remembered him.
'Certainly,' said the functionary; 'you are the creditor of Monsieur
L----.'
'Exactly,' answered the creditor; 'and you are doubtless aware
that Monsieur L---- has effected his escape, and that you are now
responsible to me for the six thousand francs he owes me?'
But instead of the face of dismay he expected, the officer began to
laugh, and assured him that Monsieur L---- was safe in his room, and
should immediately make his appearance, which, on being summoned, he
did. The prisoner had his joke and his few hours of liberty, and
the creditor his disappointment, which his dishonest intentions well
merited. So many debtors escape, that it was lately proposed to revive
this law, now obsolete; but the suggestion was negatived, under the
apprehension that this trick of Monsieur L----'s might be repeated in
right earnest.
There is a singular story told of a young man called Pierrot Dubourg,
who was for some time a prisoner in the Luxembourg. Pierrot was a young
farmer, who in 1788 resided about twenty miles from Paris. Handsome,
gay, and prosperous in his circumstances, he was one of the happiest of
men; the more so, that he had won the affections of a beautiful young
girl called Geneviève, who had promised to become his wife. When the
period appointed for the wedding approached, Pierrot told her that he
must go to Paris for a short time, promising to bring her on his return
all sorts of pretty things for her _corbeille_. Well, Pierrot went,
but he did not return. Geneviève waited and waited, week after week,
and month after month; till at last, overcome by an anxiety which was
rendered more acute from a spice of jealousy, she determined to seek
him in the great city herself. She knew the address of the house he
lodged at on his arrival, and thither she directed her steps.
'Monsieur Pierrot Dubourg?' said the woman of the house; 'certainly he
lodged here, but that is some months ago: he has been in prison ever
since, and is not likely to get out, I fancy, for he was sent there by
the Comte de Fersen!'
Further inquiry elicited the following particulars:--Pierrot, on his
arrival in Paris, with plenty of money in his pocket, had fallen into
the hands of a set of persons who had very soon relieved him of it,
and indeed of everything he possessed besides. These were the servants
of some of the profligate courtiers of those days, whose morals appear
to have been of the same complexion as their masters'. The person
who had introduced him into this nest of plunderers was the Comte de
Fersen's coachman, and when Pierrot found himself ruined, it was to him
he attributed the mischief. Irritated and miserable at the loss, he
one day relieved his vexation by falling foul of the offender just as
he was mounting his box, full dressed, to drive his master to court.
Of course the comte, who was in the carriage, was indignant, and poor
Pierrot soon found himself in prison.
It might have been supposed that Geneviève would be very much grieved
when she heard this story, but, on the contrary, she was very happy:
her lover was not unfaithful, only unfortunate, and with a determined
will she set about getting him free. But although she succeeded at
last, the success cost her very dear, and strange to say, it cost the
king of France very dear too. After addressing herself to the police
and the judges, and after presenting a petition to the king, which
remained unanswered, and kneeling in the dust as the queen passed to
Versailles, who drove on without attending to her, Geneviève at length
procured an introduction to the Baron de Besenval, the favourite of
the Comte d'Artois, the king's brother, to whom she made many prayers
and many visits; and then one morning Pierrot Dubourg found himself,
he knew not why or wherefore, suddenly at liberty. As he stepped into
the street, an old woman accosted him, and bade him follow her. After
walking some distance, she begged permission to tie a handkerchief over
his eyes, to which--his curiosity being greatly excited--he consented.
When the bandage was removed, Pierrot opened his eyes in a magnificent
apartment, where nothing met his view but satin, velvet, gold, and
glass, and before him stood a lady attired like a princess, but masked.
Alas! it was the old story of Claudio and Angelo. Furious with rage,
Pierrot struck her, and then, ashamed of the unmanly act, he was about
to rush from the room; but she stopped him, and after telling him that
she gave him back his vows, and renounced his love, she handed him a
packet containing her peasant's dress, and all the presents he had made
her in their happy days: and so they parted; and when Pierrot returned
home, and they asked him what had become of Geneviève, he said she was
dead.
This happened in the reign of Louis XVI., and one might wonder how the
humble Pierrot's disappointed love could influence the destiny of the
king of France; and yet it did so. Pierrot had quitted Paris with his
heart full of bitterness against the aristocracy; but more especially
against the king, who had rejected Geneviève's petition; and against
the queen, who had disdained her tears and prayers. After staying a
short time in his formerly happy home, the contrast with the past,
and the cruel recollections constantly suggested, became too bitter
for him, and he wandered away, living an irregular sort of life, and
mingling more and more with the violent republicans, to whom his
only tie was, that they, too, hated the court and the courtiers. The
course of his travels having at length brought him to St Menehould, he
happened to be one day lounging in the streets, when, observing two
carriages approaching, he stopped to see them pass. His surprise may
be conceived when, on the driving-seat of one of them, dressed as a
servant, he recognised the Comte de Fersen! Such a disguise could not
be worn for nothing, and urged by hatred, he drew near the carriage,
and looked in. There sat the queen of France, whilst the king, attired
as a valet, was awkwardly endeavouring to perform the duties of his
supposed office. It was Pierrot Dubourg who whispered to Drouet the
postmaster who the travellers were, and it was he who accompanied
Drouet's son in pursuit of the unhappy fugitives, who were overtaken
at Varennes, and brought back to Paris. Pierrot Dubourg came too, and
after losing sight of him for some time, we find him again filling the
office of assistant executioner, in which situation he witnessed the
beheading of his once-loved Geneviève, who was guillotined on the same
day with Madame Dubarry.
Monsieur Arago, in his éloge of Lavoisier, relates that this great
chemist might possibly have escaped the death inflicted by his ignorant
and ungrateful countrymen, who told him they had no more need of
learned men, had he not been more anxious for the safety of others
than his own. A poor woman in the neighbourhood of the Luxembourg had
received him into her house, where she neglected no precautions for
his safety and concealment; but his alarm for the consequences to his
benefactress should he be discovered, distressed him so much more
than his own danger, that he made repeated attempts to escape from
her friendly roof, which she, by her vigilance, defeated. One night,
however, he succeeded in eluding her watchfulness, and the next day saw
him in the Luxembourg, whence he was removed to the Conciergerie, on
his rapid way to the scaffold.
Condorcet, the great mathematician, is said to have lost his life
by not knowing how many eggs there should be in an omelette. Aware
that he was suspected by Robespierre--for though a republican, he had
dared to pity the royal family--he disfigured his face and hands with
mortar, and fled from Paris in the disguise of a mason. After passing
twenty-four hours in a wood, hunger drove him to a little inn, where he
ordered an omelette.
'Of how many eggs?' asked the servant.
'Twelve,' replied the philosopher at random. A mason ordering an
omelette of twelve eggs awakened suspicion; he was searched, and a
volume of Horace being found in his pocket, he was arrested. Unable to
face the scaffold, Condorcet took poison, and died on the road to Paris.
Everybody knows that the horrors of the French Revolution were redeemed
by many noble actions. We have told the story of Bouchotte at St
Pelagie. Benoit, the keeper of the Luxembourg, also distinguished
himself by many generous and courageous deeds. He saved the life of
the Duchess of Orleans, the mother of Louis-Philippe, by refusing to
give her up when summoned before the Committee of Public Safety. He
declared she was ill--dying--all but dead, and thus averted her fate
till she had an opportunity of obtaining protection.
A lady called Jeanne Faurie also found a powerful friend in a jailor of
the Luxembourg. She was young, and extremely beautiful, and although
Rifaut was looked upon as one of the most inflexible of functionaries,
her bright eyes melted his rigidity. He procured her pens, ink, paper,
and books. 'I know my character and my life are at stake,' said he;
'but speak! command me! Whatever you desire I will do.' When he heard
that she was on the list of persons to be executed, he gave her a
disguise and all the money he had, and set her at liberty. For some
time he concealed the lady's flight; but when it could be no longer
kept secret, he went to Benoit, confessed his fault, and demanded the
punishment. Benoit, however, did not betray him; and Jeanne Faurie's
escape was not known till there was no danger in making it public.
The Luxembourg was called the Reservoir of the Conciergerie, and
Josephine Beauharnois was confined here before being transferred to the
latter prison. It is related that when she afterwards resided in the
Luxembourg as wife of the First Consul, she one day intreated Bonaparte
to accompany her to the cell she had formerly inhabited. When there,
she asked him for his sword, with which she raised one of the flags,
and there, to her great joy, she found a ring given her by her mother,
on which she set the highest value. She told him that when she was
summoned to quit the prison, supposing she was going to the scaffold,
she had contrived to conceal the jewel, which she could not bear to
think should fall into the hands of the public executioner.
Amongst the names inscribed on the keeper's register of the Luxembourg,
are those of the ministers of Charles X. in 1830, and also that of
Louis-Napoleon, the present President of the French Republic, who was
confined here after the unsuccessful affair of Strasburg.