The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-02-27
The New French COiOrs,

changed, but there is one eagle the less. Here
after the eagles upon the regimental colors
will be replaced by a wreath Of bronze laurels
traversed by golden dart, the letters "R. F."
and the regimental number in bronze adding
to the ornamentation. Ia the middle of the
tricolor are the words "Rspubliqus Francaise-
Honneur ct Patrie," while in each corner i5 the
regiment2l number in the center of golden
wreath. On the other side is inscribed the
name of the regiment and list of the battles in
which it has won distinction; the corners are
decorated with wreaths. How old the eagle is
as military emblem who knows? The eagles
of the Tenth Legion had landed in Albion long
before the embroidered raven tapped its wings
on the Northmen's standard; the eagle SUPER
seded the lark which was the cognizance of the
Gallo levies and outlived all the birds and
beasts of the early Roman militia, as the wood
pecker of the Piceni and the wolf Of the Hrrpi.
nj. The division of the empire gave the eagle
two heads, one for Rome and one for Byzan-
tium, and when the empire fell the impe-
rial cognizance was adopted by Austria
and by Russia which claimed through
the female line the honors of the Pal
@oloai. Prussia and Poland had their eagles,
and il was only natural that Napoleon, who
considered himself the successor of Charlie
magne and the Caesars, should have adopted
the bird of Jove as the emblem of his empire.
Up to mis- time France had known flags a
many. In 49S Clovis took for the standard of
France the cape of St. Martin, the great SOL
dier-saint Under Philip. Augustus the royal
flag was white, strewn with golden lilies;
Charles vi. made it blue with white cross in
the middle Ia the Middle Ages the white
flag was generally recognized as the signal of
truce or surrender, and gradually it was aban-
doned as a battle-fag and claimed as the per-
sopal banner Of the highest officer, then of the
King himself. Louis XIV jealoasly abolished
the Office of Coonel.General and the white flag
ceasing to be prerogative of that superior OF.
fcer, became the national banner. The colon
els, however, had tri-colored flags, whence the
expression "jcining the colors," "serving with
the colors." In 1889 the tricolor replaced the
white banner as the national standard. Camille
Desmoulins, picking up leaf in the garden of
the Palais Royal, adopted it as a cognizance,
and would have had green made the national
color, but the liveries of that most unpopular of
princes, the Count of Artois, were green, and
the Revolution had to make another choice.
The cUlOrs of the city of Paris, the red aud
blue, which had already been conspicuously
borne on many occasions, were therefore Sc
lected. with between them the royal white,
dear to the Natiooal Guard. This tricolor was
adopted with enthusiasm Bailly and Lafayette
presented the red, white and blue c0cksde to
Louis XVI In the great municipal hall of the
Hotel oe Vile after the fall of the Basiille and
many DEGREES of the Constituent and Legisla-
tive Assemblies and the Convention ratified the
selection. Inasmuch, however, as none of the
DEGREES settled the order of the three colors ru-
raj France had large assortment of national
fags-red, white and blue, red, blue and white,
and blue, white and red; some indeed had the
colors disposed horizontally. Finally a law
was passed fixing the position of the blue next
to TIE staff and leaving the red outermost; the
battle-hsgs were also ordered to be inscribed
discipline and Obedienc' to the Law
Napoleon gave the eagles to the French Re-
pubic, of which he b ad just been crowned EN-
peror, December 3, 1904, on the Champ de
Mars, appearing in the dazzling coronation
robes he had worn the day before at Notre
Dame, which were designed by the painter
David and adjusted upon the imperial person
by the actor rslma, and which now repose,
gaudy but somewhat tarnished, 10 glass case
at the Louvre Thus robed, the Emperor,
from throne erected in front of the Military
School he had entered but few years before as
penuiless cadet, delivered to the stand ard bear
ers Of the regiments the eagles. exclaiming:
"Solders, behold your flags! These eagles
will ever be your rallying-point; they will be
found wherever your Emperor deems it neces.
sary to despatch them for the defense of his
people and his throne. Swear that you will
sacrifice your lives to defend them and that you
will always maintain them in the path of hoH-
or and victory" They swore and kept their
oath we'll, for the eagles had flown from Mad
rim to Moscow and from the Mediterranean to
the Baltic ere the imperial donor departing for
ElDa embraced the standard of the Guard.
"Dear eagle y said he, ''may this kiss,
Long thrill in the hearts of the brave!'
Under the Restoration the white lag with
the lilies was reintroduced, but in the spring
of 1916 the violets blOJmed and Napoleon came
back, the regimenta tai eagles and tricolor is
suing from the nnknown hiding places where
they had found shelter, 10 blaze conspicuously
through the Hundred Days; but at dusk of a
sultry evening in June the lamplighter who
was mounting his ladder at the corner of Pail
Mall aud St. James's Square deserted post
chaise and four driving at a break-neck
pace from the direction of Whitehall; from one
Of the windows protruded two trcolored flags
surmounted by golden eagles. 1t was Walling-
toms aid -de.camp, Major Percy, who had posted
from Dover to the Horse guards, and now was
gaopng TO the private mansion in the neigh
borhOod of ST. Jdmes's, where the PriL CO Re-
gent was dining that night, to prescott dis
Highness with the eagles and the dispatches
telling of their capture az Waterloo In France
the white flag of the BOurbons was again
brought back and 1t remained the standard of
France till 1880 But it is worth recountiug,
for very few Frenchmen even know the set,
that when the law of April IS 1876 RESTORES
the flag French officer had raised the tricolor
abroad, General Allard, who was charged with
reorgsn Izing the armv of the King of Lahore.
having chosen the French colors adopted in
1890 AS the battle flag Of ths force, by which it
was borne sill 1880, when the monarchy of July
gave back to Frace the tricoor, surmou nted
by the Gallo cock and oearing the Inscription,
"Librrty-Pubic o der.' Louis y apoleon
brought back tue eagles with the empire, but
the Empire FL at Sedan, and slnce tne
dechednce the French martial colors have
borge no symbol in lieu Of the erased eagle
until now.