The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-09-09
The Marseillaise.

| The Marseillaise, the French nation
al hymn, which Louis Napoleon has
long prescribed, is once more heard In
every theatre, street and village in
France, stirring the peoples hearts to
brave deeds, and aspirations
for national freedom. 1t was written
In the earlier and purer days of the
fierce revolution, and has ever since
been, as i'm times of excitements, the
spontaneous expression of the national
heart. Lamartine gives an interesting
account of its origin in his Histoire des
GH'ORdistes. Its author was aouget
de PIsle, q young officer warmly at
tached to the cause of liberty. In 1872
he was on duty at StraasbOurg, where
he was on intimate terms with the
Mayor of the city, Baron Dietrish. He
was a poet and composer OF music; the
Baron's wife, a lady of great intelli-
gence, admired his talents and treated
him as brother. 1t was winter, fam
inc was. i'm the city, when-one day
after dinner of munitiOn bread and
some slices of ham--the Baron brought
out his last bottle of wine. He invited
De PIsle to drink with him to liberty
and la pdtrie-our native eland-addiDg:
"De l'Ise must draw from the inspira-
ton of these last drops a hymn that
will fill the people with enthusiasm "
The young ladies present applauded
this suggestion. De l'Isle became
thoughtful, and went away late into
the cold night, with an agitated heart
and excited mind. In his chilly, sOli-
tary room, inspiration gradually reused
his soul. Sometimes words arranged
themselves, hot and glowing, i'm his
mind-sometimes bars of an air flowed
from his fingers as they glided over the
keys of the instrument. The air came
mingled with the words, and the words
with the air i'm such manner that he
could not himself tell which was COM
posed first. Ismertine says: "QuU
ctai impossible 1e sepdra Ia pOcsie dc
Ia n,usiq,,c. ct Ie sentiment dc U erprcs.
sioa;;" "It was impossible to separate
the poetry from the music, or the feel
ing from the expression" He sung all
and wrote nothing He fell asleep at
last, wearied out, his head lying on the
instrument. When he awoke 1t was
daylight. Words and air fingered in
his mind, like dream. ROusing him.
self, he wrote them out and at once ran
with them to the Mayors residence.
The Baron awOke his wife, who had
not yet arisen; he next sent for several
musical friends, and accompanied by q
young lady, Rouget de pIsle, sung
"The song of the Army of the Rhine"
as he had entitled his wonderful COM
position. Lamertine thus describes
the scene: " At the first strophe every
face turned pale-at the second tears
were fiowing-at the third enthusiasm
burst out! Dietrich, his wife and the
young officer cast themselves weeping
into each others arms. The hmm OF
our natire land Tos .fOU,d" The
writer continues: "Alas! it was also
to be the hymn of terror. A few
months afterwards the unfortunate
Dietrich marched to the scaffOId to the
sound of these very notes, notes born at
his own hearth, from the heart of his
friend and the voice of his wife," A
few days afterwards the new song
was publicly sung i'm Straasbourg.
From thence it flew from city to city.
A band of men who were marching
from Marseilles to Paris sung it every
where OH on their route, and thus it
acquired the name LA MARsBILLAIsE,
pronounced marselyais.) De P1sle's
mother was pious and a royalist; she
wrote to her son: "What revolution
ary hymn is this that horde of bri-
gands are singing and with which your
name is connected"' De PIsle him
self, afterwards prescribed and flying
for his life, heard the notes of his song,
which sounded in his ears like threat
of death as he was making his way
through the passes of the Java noun
tains. "What do they cal, that hymn%'
he asked of bis guide. "The Marseil-
laise," answered the countryman, and
so he came to know the name of his
own work. Lamartine concludes by
saying "He was pursued by the en-
thusiasm he had spread behind him.
He narrowly escaped death; the wea-
pom was turned against the very hand
that forged it! In its madness the revo-
luton failed to recognize its own
voiceW