The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1886-04-15
THE "MARsElLLAIsE -

lhamnefl MaglZine-
Ofall the airs which deserve to be
termed national that Of the French
''Marseillaisen is, without doubt, the
most lively and exciting The sound
Of it, !" says Carlyle, tW IN make the
blood tlagle IN mems veins, and whole
armies and Rssemblages will sing Il
with eyes Of weeping and I urninR,
with hearts defiant Of death desp0t
and devil" Even In times Of peace
and quietness 1t IL impossible 70 listen
20 it, animating strains without expe-
rienclng certain thrill, and its effect
on an impetuOus people in the trOub-
less times Of the past may be easily
Imagined. Such Was It's power upon
the French that Il was at one time for
hidden 10 be played or sung, and the
prohibition extended until 1873. when
the minister Of war issued q circular
authorizing bands 70 play the tune at
reviews and official ceremonies.
Considering the extraordinary part
which the "Marseillaisen has PLAYED
in the Affairs Of France, we might not
unFeasonably expect that the words
and air had emanated from some gen
ius who had bestowed much labor and
care on their production. And yet,
e the story goes. both words and mu-
sic were written In one night, without
any previous sketching out or after
elaboration. The author and composer
was ROuget de Isle, an officer Of en-
gineers, who had formerly been q
teacher Of music. He was greatly ad.
mired among his acquaintance for
his poetlcal and musical gifts, and Was
especially intimate with Baron Diet
rich, the mayor Of Strasburg. One
evening during the spring Of 1892 De
Lisle was a guest at the table Of this
family. The barOnis resources had
been 80 greatly reduced by the neces-
stiles and calamities Of war that moth
ing better than garrison bread and q
few slices Of ham could be provided
for dinner. Dietrich smiled eddy at
hts friend, ana, lamenting the seanti-
ness Of his fare, declared that be would
bring forth the last remaining bottle
Of Rhine wine in his cellar IL he
thought II would help to inspire De
Lisle In the composition Of q patriotic
song. The ladies signed their appro-
val, and sent for the last bottle Of wine
tbs house could boast Of. After din
Der De Lilse returned 10 his solitary
chamber, and I'm a flt Of enthusiasm
with which the wine must have had
little enough TO dO) composed the
words and music Of the song which
has lmmOrtalized his name. The fol-
lowing morning he FASTENED with il
to his friend Dietrich, In whose house
Il was sung for the first time, exciting
great enthusiasm. A few DAYS after
ward Il was publicly performed In
Strasburg, and on June 18th Il was
sung az q banquet In Marseilles with
% much effect that Il was printed ct
once and distributed among the troops
Just starting for Paris. They entered
the capital singing their new hymn,
which they had called, "Chant des
Ma4seillais,n and soon the tune was
known throughout every part Of
France.
De Lisle's claim to the authorship
was at enc time disputed, but the
truth Of the story which we have given
regarding the origin Of the air has
long since been proved beyond 3
doubt. It should be mentioned that
the French have another national
tune, "Partant pour Ia Syrie," which
Il, however, not very popular and not
very meritOriOus. All that we need 70
say Of II is that Il was composed BY
hortense, the mother Of Napoleon III