has made their national spirit all the
stronger. There have been revolts and bloody wars, caused by Polish
uprisings, time and time again, and the Poles will never be satisfied
until their unhappy country is once more united.

To the northeast of the Poles live the Lithuanians, whose country had
been annexed to the Polish kingdom when their duke, who had married
the daughter of the king of Poland, followed his father-in-law on the
Polish throne. Lithuania fell to Russia's share in the division, so
that its people only changed masters. They are a distinct nation,
however, possessing a language and literature of their own, and having
no desire to be ruled by either Poles or Russians. If they were to
receive justice, they would form a country by themselves, lying
between Poland and Russia proper.

The Downfall of the French Monarchy

[Illustration: Courtier of time of Louis XIV]

In the meantime, a great change had come about in France. There, for
hundreds of years, the power of the king had been growing greater,
until by the eighteenth century, there was no one in the country who
could oppose him. He had great fortresses and prisons where he sent
those who had offended him, shutting them up without a trial and not
even letting their families know where they had been taken. The
peasants and working classes had been ground down under taxes which
grew heavier and heavier. The king spent millions of dollars on his
palaces, on his armies, on his courts. Money was stolen by court
officials. Paris was the gayest capital in the world, the home of
fashion, art, and frivolity and the poor peasants paid the bills.

[Illustration: The Taking of The Bastille]

For years, there had been mutterings. The people were ripe for a
revolt, but they had no weapons, and there was no one to lead them. At
last, came a time when there was no money in the royal treasury. After
all the waste and corruption, nothing was left to pay the army and
keep up the expenses of the government. One minister of finance after
another tried to devise some scheme whereby the country might meet its
debts, but without success. The costly wars and wasteful extravagances
of the past hundred years were at last to bring a reckoning. In
desperation, the king summoned a meeting of representative men from
all over the kingdom. There were three classes represented, the
nobles, the clergy, and what was called "the third estate," which
meant merchants, shopkeepers, an