The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-16
LA MARSEILLAISE.
The Various National songs that France
Has sung.
A. "

Go, children of your country, go;
The day of glory dawus at last
'Ganst us the tyrants dare to throw
Their bloody ensign to the blast.
i Hear you throughout the country shril
Their savage soldiery g alarms2
| They're coming. even In your arms
Your wives and little cues TO kill
To arms. then, citizensl Your bait order take
March on, march on. and let their blood impure
our burrows elakel
On the fifteenth of February, 1879, the Min.
lister of War, Gen. De GresIey, announced In
the French Chamber Of Deputies that he
would enforce the decree OF 1876, making the
"Marseillaise" the national anthem. SO with
her new standard France has her old song
whereof Michelet has said, "The world, sc
long as there Is world, will sing it," which
In it's effect has dwarfed whatever war songs
are recorded since the time Of Tyrt@us, not
excepting Becker's puissant melody, "They
shall not have tour German Rhine" A
real national air France has always lacked.
The Bourbons had their gallant tune two
centuries old, "Vive Henri Quatre" "Mal-
brouck sen va-t-en guerre," with its bur-
lesque account OF the death and burial of the
great captain of the age of Queen Anne and
it's picture OF the charming tower and the
| little black page, came into favor about half
century alUer his ueaGH anu became Well
nigh national air. This cOmptGinte had its
origin up In the Walloon country, but a
Picard nurse brought it to Paris and sang
the Dauphin to sleep with it, and
speedily it became the fashion. Napo-
leon was much given to humming it
when riding. So long as the English and
| French languages survive the air of "Mai-
brouck" will live, for did not the bacchanalian
English adopt it and set it to the words "For
he's jolly good fellow?' or the other Legit-
mis- a aa nr n
Belle BourDonnaise," or "Oh, Richard, Oh,
| Mon Roi," nome ever became nationaliZed or
even truly popularized. Some OF the best
known Of the revolutionary. d airs as La Car
by the way, was adopted by an English regi-
ment early in the century as its regimental
| air and still serves it in that capacity-smell
too foully of blood ever to be adopted as
national anthem. "Partant pour la Syrie,"
trivial song written to q pretty air by his
mother, Queen Hortense, Napoleon III made
the air of France during the Second Empire,
but 1t never took" After 1880 Casimir Della
air, but the music OF LA Parisienne," long
the official anthem Of France, was weak
plagiarism from "La Marseillaise" Chenier'S
massive patriotic hymn, "Le Chant du De-
part, came near being adopted as national
air; the soldiers sang it during the revo-
luton and under the First Empire and it is
still held in such high account that the
chorus
La republique nous appellee,
SachOns vaincre on sachODS perir;
I'm FraEcais dot viyre pour eIle
Pour ellie un Francois dOit mourir-
has been adopted by the rural priests as
childrens hymn, ia religion" being substi-
tuted for LA Republuue" But none of all
these had the vitality and intoxication OF
Rouget de Fishes splendid inspiration, LA
Marselllaise," which France has sung when
ever the crisis came and men had to be made
drunk for desperate action. 81 have beaten
IA yytith cold iay ny1I
the Marseillaise, wrote one general Napo-
leon prohibited it in time of peace-Proudhon
said later that 1t was war song which should
be unheard in peaceful hours-but Napoleon's
soldiers sang it at every bivouac and on every
battlefield from Marengo to Saint Saint-Jean.
Under the restoration 1t was prohibited
music; so it was under the monarchy
OF July, save for few weeks after the Three
of his own songs, it furnished much of
the powder for every ball shot at the |
throne of Charles X. Louis Philippe, as we
shall see later, was, however, an admirer of
played at all state pageants. After the coup
6etat the "Marseillaise = naturally-was
doomed to silence, yet on several memorable |
occasions 1t was heard, when the Empire |
called the air OF the Revolution to its aid. In |
the Crimea-just as the English infantrymen,
who still wear roses in their caps ON the an |
niversary Of the day their regiment made its |
stand among the rose bushes OF a Mnden
ment with the @Minden YELL" sedulously |
practiced from generation to generation in
spite OF formal prohibition-Bosquet las he
records in his Correspondence gave the |
signal for the attack on the Malakoff by lift
ing his cap and crying to the soldiers and
musicians, Beat the. charge! Forward
Strike up La Marseillaiser 1t is matter
of history how, during the Exhibition of 1867,
an Austrian band sent an electric thrill t
through, astonished Paris by playing the
'Marseillaise" in the Cirque des Champs
Elysees. Three years later, on the eve of the |
FTanco-Prussian war, Napoleon surprised |
vast reception at st. Cloud by ordering one of
the bands of the Imperial Guard to play it, |
and that same night by order-not by per-
mission or request-at every cafe-concert and |
theatre In France, La Marseillaise" was sung
to electrified audiences that roared the cho-
rus and shrieked ga Berlin! Berlinr The |
Commune put the "Marseilaise" out of favor
with orderly Republicans; people learned to
say, as Its author had nearly eighty years be-
tore, Things look bad--they are singing 1t in
snd etree5 dhs 1ed hd to some perplexites
went to Rome to attend Victor Emmanue's
funeral he lost his baggage and had to step
out In multi to be received by distinguished
guard, whose commander suddenly remem-
Dered that La Marseillaise" was revolution
airy, and was utterly unable to think Of an
other air fit for the occasion, SO there was
confusion on both sides. A similar
occurred when Admiral Fou-
VChL W 10 represent
the Marshal President at King Aifonso's
wedding, and twice. when the Project
of the Seine and the Partisan Munich
pal Council visited London, there was
much worry at the Mansion House over the
musical programme. At the time Of the thea
trical riot at Nantes, Gen. Borel, the then
Minister of War, called the 'MarseilIaise''
political and blood-thirsty
chant, not proper to be performed by regi-
OF all these complications was undoubtedly
that which occurred during the Berlin Con-
gress, when at the Geological Gardens the
assembled plenipotentiaries Of Europe,
whereat the bands were to perform the ma
tional airs of all the nations represented
When it came to the turn Of France-it would
Emperor William still full Of Social
list buckshot-the band struck up
" La Gavotte de Louis KILL" very
appropriate for republic. The times
l. g..