SAINT AUGUSTINE 



SAINT BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY 



south. In the center of the city is the Plaza, 

 a small park beautifully laid out in walks, 

 lawns and flower beds. To the west of the park 

 is the old residence of the Spanish governors, 

 now used for the post office. This is without 

 doubt the oldest public building in the United 

 States. On the north is the Roman Catholic 

 Cathedral, built in 1793. In the belfry is a 

 chime of bells, one of which bears the date 



OLD CITY GATE 



The exact date of construction Is not known, 

 but from the earliest period of Saint Augustine's 

 history some form of gate existed, for the defense 

 of the settlement. The existing gate was repaired 

 and put In substantially Its present condition in 

 1809, the year of the Peninsular campaign of 

 Napoleon In Spain. Soon after that date the gate 

 was closed and was not again opened for miscel- 

 laneous traffic until Florida was transferred by 

 Spain to the United States in 1819. While nomi- 

 nally closed, a wicket in the gate admitted foot 

 passengers, but men on horseback or in carts 

 could not be admitted without permission from 

 the guard. 



1689. Within the Plaza are located the old 

 slave market and the Spanish and Confederate 

 monuments. 



Saint Augustine is a city of palms, shrubs and 

 flower-covered lawns. As a resort it is very 

 attractive, and contains some of the finest ho- 

 tels in America. The largest of these is the 

 Ponce de Leon, noted for its Spanish and 

 Moorish architecture, luxurious furnishings and 

 beautiful grounds. Next to the Ponce de Leon 

 in importance is the Alcazar. The Cordova and 

 tin- Saint George are also well-known hostelries. 

 Other modern structures of interest are the 

 Memorial Presbyterian Church, the Zoryda 

 Club and the lighthouse on Anastasia Island. 

 The tower is 165 feet high and the light can be 

 seen twenty miles at sea. This is a lighthouse 

 of the first order. The island is connected with 

 the mainland by a bridge, and an electric line 

 enables visitors to visit the light and other 

 points of interest, including an alligator farm 

 and a bathing beach. 



Fort Marion, on the water front north of the 

 ity, is the chief object of historic interest. It 



was begun in 1586 and completed in 1756. Dur- 

 ing the early period of its construction the 

 labor was performed by slaves brought from 

 Mexico, and native Indians, whom the Span- 

 iards enslaved for the purpose. The walls are 

 coquina, or shell rock. They are twenty-five 

 feet high, and in the thickest part forty feet 

 thick. The fort is an irregular structure cover- 

 ing five acres. It was patterned after the old 

 castles of the Middle Ages and is the only 

 fortress in America constructed on this plan. 

 The old city gates, completed in 1727, are also 

 of interest. They were the only entrance 

 through the north wall, which witti the moat 

 protected the city from land invasion. S.T.K. 



Consult Powell's Historic Towns of the South- 

 ern States; Brooks' Unwritten History of Old 

 Saint Augustine. 



SAINT BARTHOLOMEW'S, bahrthol'o 

 muzc, DAY, MASSACRE OF, a massacre of French 

 Protestants which began in Paris early in the 

 morning on the feast day of Saint Bartholo- 

 mew, August 24, 1572. The massacre was the 

 result of years of strife between the Roman 

 Catholic and Huguenot (Protestant) parties in 

 France. In 1570, however, a peace treaty was 

 made, according to which Prince Henry of 

 Navarre, a Huguenot leader and sympathizer, 

 was to marry Margaret, the daughter of Catha- 

 rine de' Medici and the sister of King Charles 

 IX. The wedding festivities took place in Paris 

 a few days before Saint Bartholomew's Day, 

 and among the powerful Huguenot leaders who 

 came to the city to attend them was Admiral 

 Coligny. The admiral, who had considerable 

 influence over the weak young king, roused the 

 hatred and fear of the queen mother by at- 

 tempting to draw her son away from her. Ac- 

 cordingly, she tried to have Coligny assassi- 

 nated. 



When this plot fail- <1. Catharine, together 

 with the Guises, uncles of the king and stanch 

 Catholics, persuaded Charles that Coligny was 

 a dangerous enemy and induced him to sign a 

 decree ordering the massacre of the Huguenots. 

 He is reported to have said, "By God's death, 

 since you insist that the admiral must be 

 killed I consent, but with him every Hugue- 

 not in France must perish, that no one mn> 

 main to reproach me with his death, and what 

 you do, see that it be done quickly." A fanati- 

 cal mob joined the executioners in Paris on 

 Sunday, August 24, and the massacre was taken 

 ;n the provinces, but in many districts pub- 

 lic sympathy was so strong that the officers of 

 the law dared not murder their innocent fellow 



