National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1870-09-02
The story of the Marseiliai,e.

of millions OF money had been proclaim
ed few days before. All hearts in
France were beating with hope or anger
as they are beating now, and the talk at
this eventful banquet was all of the war
and its prospects, as 1t may be now
. Where it was asked, is "A IyrtHus
who Will give words to the enthusiasm
OF the people 2 Their Iyrteus was
among them IA young officer of engi-
neers, thirty-two years Of age, called .
Rouget de Lisle, musician and poet, as
soldier. At the close of the evening he /
went home agitated and unable to sleep. /
Taking his violin, he improyised the |
first verse and the air Of the nobiest
national war song that has ever been
written. lie worked at 1t the whole .
night long, and III the morning he took
IT, finished, to his friends. The Mayor
niece, Mile. Dietrich, to whom he first
showed It, instantly sent for all the
guests of the preceding day, and played
II to them. 1t was welcomed with de-
light Copies were made and circulated
among the military bands Of Strasburg,
and the ragged and half-starved troops
marched to the frontier to this music OF
the new hymn. 1t was called the chant
de f1rmee du Rbi1
Published i'll little Strasbnrg paper
of which Dietrich was proprietor, by
degrees 1t got more widely known. But
1t had no real popularity till 1t was adopt
ed among the troops OF Marsellles, and
shouted all the way from that city to
Paris, 10y that grim and terocious band
of slX hundred, who knew how to die,
and were led by Barbaroux. The aston
ished ears of the Parlsians heard them
Tor the first time, from the hOarse throats
of their fierce visitors, the terrible words,
'Allons en1ans de la patrie They
called it first the 'Hymne dcs Marsell-
Laise, and subsequently the Marsell-
lalse.
1t was noteworthy that the author
WAS put INTO prison and deprived of hls
military rank for refusing his adhesion
to the changes brought about 10y the
10th OF August. when those men who
knew how to die did die, shot down by
the Swiss. and shouting his own words.
He had supplied the torch to fuel, which,
when kindled, came near upon consum-
ing himself as well rs the banded kings
across the frontier. But Bobesplerre
fell, aud the poet got out of jail, singing
another hymn. composed III his cell. 1t
Is hardly given. however, to any man to
touch more than once the deepest heart
of a nation, and the latter songs of
Rouget de Llslc are now forgotten. lie
rclOmed the army. was wounded at
Qmberon in l195, and obliged to retire
from military service. At Paris he lived
for slX-aud-torty years longer, calm
and blamelcss existence, unmarried,
fecund III poetry. music and memoirs,
with no troubles except to make both
ends meet II calm. unambltlous man.
who had no desire To obuude himself,
From the successive governments he got
but scant recognition, receiving httle
till Louis Philippe, in 1880, gave him a
pension of three thousand five hundred
francs, with the Cross of the Legion of
Honor And when he died, i'll 1886, he
did not leave enough behind hlm to
detray the expenses of his own funeral.
His own works are pretty-well forgotten,
but the Marseillais remains the one
expression, III words and music, of the
indignation and fury with which France
went to war in 1892 of the wild hopes
and wilder dreams of the Great Revolu-
ton; and of the noble frenzy with
which a great people rose to assert them
selves, and to hasten the Reign OF
Universal Brotherhood and Equality,
the advent of which is yet looked for by
thousands.
The old associations of the song,
then, are OF dreams and ideas for which
men might well die. But IN giving it
back to the people, the Emperor strips
it of its surroundings OF barbados and
general overthrow. 1t will be no more
what it has been. Already the Parisians,
who IA fortnight ago were singing 1t all
day and all night, are weary OF It, Their
grndiathers never wearicd OF IT, 1t may
once more lead the troops to victory on
the Rhine but it will never more bear
its old power to stir the blood of French
men. Blown about in the trumpets
it may be the herald of great tl1umphs,
but It's former influence will be gone :
and with new associations and new
memories, II will no more serve for the
shouts of rcd-capped republicans, and
the war battle OF maddoncd students
firing from the barricades of Paris.
The very words of our date. What
do these lines mean now Que vcut
cctte horde d'esclaves, DE traitres, de
:, Rois conjurcs? ? There is only one king
, now against France, there are no more
9 slaves and no trators--as yet In the
. revival Of song we see ITS death, for
!, though music will not die the power will
b be gone ont of it, and it will henceforth
rest on another bases than its old one OF
Liberty, Equality and Fnteruity. For
the soldiers of the new army of the Rhine
to sing this song is rs if an old litany OF
I, IA suppressed and glorious worship were
, revived TO he sung before "A new idol
/ The Marscillaisc can never be the song
of lmperialism The Iyrtwus of that
O party is yet to seek.