Morning journal and courier., 1881-02-16
Price Four Cents.

Seinguerlot, in his interesting work on Strasburg during the revolution, puts an end to controversy on this subject. Seinguerlot is an Alsatian, and 8 native of the town about which he wrote. He was acquainted from infancy with the revolutionary legends and anecdotes which had currency there, and has been able through his local knowledge to trace many of them to their source and to verify them. The old people of the town put him on the trace of family papers which throw flood of light on the revolutionary period M Seinguerlot has discovered that it was not as an officer, but as member of the staff of Ia Feati2Ie de StrGs6uTy, that Rouget (de Lisle) frequented the house of the May or Dietrich, to whom that journal belonged M. Rouget bore name that was and is very common in the east of France. It meant ''the little red man" There were hundreds of Rougets in that part of France. not one of which had right to the nobiliary addi- tion. Some of them were Rougets de la Riviere, others Rougets du Pont, and the family of the author of the Marseillaise were Rougets de PIsle, or of the Island M. Rou- get brought out his poem in the FeuiIIe de StrGs6urg. The Mayors wife, Madame Diet rich a native of Bale, thought it a chef d'oeuvre, and induced the officers to have it set to music and to publish it. The MarseI- laise appeared in this form probably in the spring of 1792. I@ was entitled: "A war song for the Army of the Rhine, dedicated to Marshal Luckner, and sold at Strasburg by P. J. Dannbach, printer of the municipal ity, in one quarto obIong page, or in four pages with the music" M. Seinguerlot thinks it must have come out in the begin ming of April On the 29th of that month, M. de Chastelot, commander of the strong hold of Schlestadt, wrote to the Mayor of Strasburg: II have not yet received the war song of M. de Lisle, which you RJomised me" M. du Chastelet, who was of course, @ man of old and noble family, drops the vulgar Rouget, and turns what only was an adjective into a name expressing nobiliary pretensions.
 The letter of the Mayors wife, Louise Dietrich which is in the hands of distant relation of hers, to whom it came by inheri- tance as the next of kin to the grandson of her brother, the Chancellor Ochs, of Bale, tells all about the birth of the Marseillaise It is as follows
 My Dear Brother-I have been 20 busy for some days past, transcribing and copying music. This occupation smuses me and enables me to shut up my ears to political Wrangles Politics t are now only only of company, and that we always trying to in- vent something new to entertain our guests so as able channels My husband has hit upon the expe- which 0t wifi the feeling o s town captain of engineers, Rouget de Lise, idly done for him the song and the music My hus- band, who Is 2 good tenor, has sung the morceau na n orspay It s n the feeling of Gnok but better than his things, being more lively and alert tion have arranged the scores for the harpst- chord and other instruments. You will understand moreeau n has % been performed at our house to the great satisfaction of those who heard it. send you a copy of the song and music. The little vir- tuosos who surround you will not find the latter difficult. and you win am sure, be charmed with '''' -'''- LOUISE DIETRICH, nee ocHs
 Thus it appears that the Marseillaise written to please the hospitable Mayor of Strasburg and his wife, and not improvised in a moment of feverish excitement. Cap tain Rouget de Lisle was asked to draw his inspiration from passing events and the dom inant sentiment of the town, which was a frontier stronghold, and no doubt tremen- dously excited by the news of what was going on in Paris and by the declaration of war. It would probably have to bear the brunt of the invasion, and in any case would be the center of military operations. Political dis eussions went on to the exclusion of all other topics The fact that the Dietrichs kept the harpsichord going and employed Captain Rouget de Lisle to compose new things for 1t, in order to create diversion from stirring politics, is curious example of the power
 ''that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we may" In trying to silence political wrang lers Madame Dietrich lighted flame which set Francs in blaze It would be interest ing to ascertain in what manner the war song of Captain Rouget got to Marseilles without ,traversing Paris. A regimentaI band may lave taken it to the south. The first time the Parisians heard it was the day the revolutionary deputation of Marseiles; Iol, III Lal had come foct singing the so-7r Sniol Iaa 1,,a besa comp9ses TOT the ewISiob I, tbe Mayor said tras .,ne of the characteristics, melted the i'm Questionable denizens of the Faubourgs to massacre cidevant nobles, who filled the pris- ons. Under the monarchical government the war song of Captain Rouget was, because of it's spirit-stirring force, held to be seditlous. The first time since the revolution that 1t was moi counted by men in authority reasonable was at the opening of the Worlds Fair in 1878.