B A S T I L E. 
mentioned cages of iron for confining prifoners, and inttru- 
ments for putting them to the torture: but no fuchinftru- 
ments were found, nor any traces of them difcovered, when 
the cable was demolittied; though it has been faid, that 
the officers of the Battile, expecting what would happen, 
had previoufly deftroyed them. Yet the four porters or 
turnkeys that belonged to the Baftile when it was taken, 
as w ell as fome of their predecellbfs, who were examined, 
all declared that none were ever feen by them, and that 
they never heard of any prifoner being put to the torture 
there. I.a Porte, however, in relating the methods that 
were taken during his confinement, to make him divulge 
the fecrets of the queen his millrefs, in the reign of 
Lewis XIV. fays, the conynilfary took out of his pocket 
an order which he faid was for putting him to the torture, 
and made him go down to a room where he fliewed him the 
inttruments. Such cages however, though not found in 
the Babile, were to be feen in other places. They are 
faid to have been invented during the reign of Lewis XI. 
by Triban l’Hermite, a friend and fervant worthy of fitch 
a cruel matter. Boulainvilliers lays, that he faw at Cha¬ 
teau Dupleflis, the cachol dc fer, wherein the cardinal de 
la Balue had been confined. Lewis XII. while duke of 
Orleans, being taken prifoner at the battle of St. Aubin, 
was fent to the cable of Bourges, and it is fiid was for 
fome time fhut up during the night in one of thefe cages. 
He referred to what he then flittered when he replied to a 
nobleman who was more refentful than his mailer, that 
“ it did not become the king of France to avenge the in¬ 
juries that had been done to the duke of Orleans.” Asa 
farther proof of thefe cages, the publittier of a Leyden 
Gazette, who had printed a fatire on Lewis XIV. was fe. 
cretly feized in Holland, brought away from thence, and 
flint up in a cage at St. Michel, a conventual prifon in 
Lower Normandy, where lie died after many years con¬ 
finement. What a contrail! Yet the pen of penfioned 
flattery gave this vain man the appellation of Great!. The 
cage Hill remains, and is fhewri as a fymbol of the former 
mode of perfecution in France; a kind of lingering cruel 
death, a thoufand times more abhorrent than the decilive 
broke of the guillotine. This cage is about nine feet long, 
fix broad, and eight high, not of iron, but of ftrong bars 
of wood. It is fixed in the middle of a ftrong room ; and, 
as the prifoner could not poftibly efcape from thence, it 
was evidently intended for cruelty rather than fecurity. 
On the infide of the bars are figures and landscapes, which, 
are faid to have been cut with the nails of the lab unhap¬ 
py man who was barved in it. His death, it is faj.d, ter¬ 
minated this blocking fpecies of cruelty, as we find no in- 
bance of it lince. 
The library of the Babile is faid to have been founded 
about the year 1700, by a prifoner who had been long con¬ 
fined there, and to have been augmented by fome of his 
fuccettbrs. It contained about five hundred volumes, of 
which the prifoners were generally allowed the rife;, but 
thofe who. were not indulged with the liberty of,going thi¬ 
ther, depended on their keepers for the choice of their 
(Indies. Scarcely any of the books were entire, fome pri- 
foners having written in them what was thought improper 
to be feen by others, if they wrote on.the margin, it was. 
cut off, but, as they fometimes wrote between.the lines, 
many volumes were found with whole leaves, torn out of 
them. Yet fome have efca.ped the vigilance of thofe whole 
duty it was to examine them, and are now to be found 
with curious notes in the hand-writing of the prifoners. 
Towards the bottom of the firft court, on.the left, was the 
chapel. One trials was faid there every morning,, and 
three mattes on the holidays and Sundays. There were 
fix covered niches for as many prifoners, where they could 
hear without feeing or being feen. Thofe who went to 
mafs, were feparately conducted to their places and taken 
back to their rooms. If there happened to be many pri¬ 
soners, they performed their public devotions by rotation. 
The eftabliftiment and garrifon of the Babile confifted 
of a governor, the lieutenant du roi, a major,, two adjja- 
. 7*7 
fonts or officers tinder the major, a forge on and his aflift- 
ant, a chaplain, four turnkeys, and a company of inva¬ 
lids, with its ufual number of officers; all of whom lodg¬ 
ed in the cable. A phyfician ; two priefts, v\ I10 were paid 
400 livres a year each, to.affift the chaplain in faying maf- 
fes on Sundays and holidays ; a keeper of the records, and 
a clerk ;.and a fuperintendant of the buildings, and engi¬ 
neer : thefe lodged abroad. As the king allowed the go¬ 
vernor a certain daily I’um for the maintenance of each 
prifoner, the perfons belonging to the kitchens were hired 
and paid by him. The ebablifhed allowances appear to- 
have been, for a prince of the blood fifty livres a day ; for 
a marechal of France thirty-fix livres; a lieutenant-gene¬ 
ral twenty-four livres; a perfon of quality, or member of 
the parliaments, fifteen livres ; an ordinary judge, a priett, 
or perfon in the finances, ten livres; a decent bourgeois 
five livres; and, fer fervants who were arretted or permit¬ 
ted to attend their matters, fifty Ibis. There was likewife- 
an allowance made to the governor for fire, candles, and 
walliing. The governor was immediately under the au¬ 
thority of the minitter of the department of Paris. The 
lieutenant-general of the police, as the delegate of the nu¬ 
mber, correfponded with the governor, the lieutenant du 
roi, and the major. He came occalionally to infpeCt the 
Babile, and fometimes was prefent at the examination of 
prifoners. If a prifoner wanted any thing, he applied to- 
him. If lie had permittion to write to his friends, the let¬ 
ters were fent to the police-office, from whence a nielFen— 
ger came regularly twice a day, at noon and in tire everts 
ing, to receive them; but, oirt of the numbers that were 
written, few were delivered, and it has- been fufpeflcd; 
that this apparent indulgence to prifoners-was ane of the 
many artifices that were employed to difeover.their fecrets, 
and the perfons with whom they were coimebled. The- 
ordinary treatment of the prifoners was committed to the 
major, who neverthelefs, as w,ell as all the other officers,., 
were conbantly fubject to the orders of the governor. The 
following are tranllations of papers regarding the police 
and difcipline of the Babile,. which were-found in it vvheiic 
it was demolilhed: 
“ The officer commanding the guard-mutt not permit- 
any one who enters the cattle to wear his fword, excepting 
his majetty, the dauphin, the princes of the blood, the fe- 
cretaries of (late, tlie niarechals of France, the captains- 
of the body guards, the dukes and peers, and the officers, 
belonging to the place-.- The ferjeanfs and corporals niuifi 
make themfclves acquainted with the-perfons and names- 
of every one belonging to the place, and of all thofe who 
daily come, into and go out of the cattle. They ought; 
likewife to learn, immediately, the names of the towers,., 
to be able to fay. with accuracy in which they mav have 
remarked any thing while: on .duty in the night. The fen- 
tinel at the.gate.is to open and Unit the wicker, but he 
nvutt.not permit any one to go out, or come in, with whom- 
he is unacquainted ; fl.ould any attempt to do lb, he mutt 
arrett him. Tire. fen tine! within the court mult obferve- 
the fame. When there is even doubt, the perfon is to be- 
arretted until the arrival of the officer commanding thet 
guard,.who will give his orders. The ientinel in the court- 
mule (trike the bell every quarter.of an hour, from ten in- 
the evening till fix. in.the morning., Hs-muft ring formal's,, 
and, as.foon as he has done To,, he mutt retire into the 
guard-room, and.fhut the window, until Inch time as he 
may be ordered to returr. ,to thedoor of the chapel, where 
he mutt remain till the mafs is ended. He mutt then re¬ 
turn to the guard-room, as before, until ordered to go back 
to Iris pott. in the court. The Ientinel in the court niulb 
conttantly keep in view the prifoners who may be permit¬ 
ted to walk there: he mutt be attentive to obforve if they 
drop any. paper, letter, note, or any thing efefe • he mutts . 
prevent them,fro 111, writing on the. walls,.and render an ex¬ 
act account of every thing he may have remarked whiltt 
on duty. All.perfons-whatsoever, except the officers ofi 
the ftaft’ and turnkeys, are forbidden ever to fpeak to any 
prifoner, or even to anfwer.him, under.any, pretence what¬ 
ever-. 
