The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-11
THE MARSEnLAIS

THE MARSEuLAISE onIarx or rnn NATIONAL nxnu o1
 MODERN FRAuO8
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 The '7Garseiliaiss" resounds Ike 4 chant of glory, and at the same tin19 echoes like song of death. lnspdFino as the one 1t strengthens the country and melancholy as the other 1t brinog pallor to the faces of the citissnA Ihas is its origin:
 There was In i7s2 young omceo of artillery in garrison at StrasbourE His name was Rouget de Liels. n4 was born at Lons-le-Saunier, m rn4 Jura, e mountainous country. ever tho home of thought and energy. Ina9 young man loved war as a soldier: th9 Revolution as . thinker. With hie verses and music the dreary days o4 the garrison were made to pass more pleasantly. Sought after on account of his double talent as musician an4 poet. he often visited the house oe Dietrick, an Alsacian patriot, Mayoe of etrasbourg. Al the irrttations e a disturbed body are most apparent es its extremities, the frontiers, above a11 throbbed with the enthuslasm o@ patriotism and the Revolution. m enthusiasm was shared by the wsfe au9 yuong daughters of Dietrick. Tney loved the young ofacer; they insplree his heart, his poetry, his music. fidantes of the stammerings Of m genius, they were the first to execueo his newly-born thoughts.
 It was winter. Poverty reigned v Strasbourg. Dietrick's house Waq poor, his table frugal. but hospitaltt1 always awaited Rouget de Lisle. Inc young ofYicer went there morning an4 evening, like c son or brother of tho family. One day, when there was noths | ing but some brown bread and sliccs c9 smoked ham on the table. Dietrich looked at Dc Lisle with sad serenit1 and said: Abundance Is lacking q our feasts, but what matters this q enthusiasm be not lacking at our civu l festivals, or courage in the hearts o1 our soldiers? I still have one lon1 bottle of wine In my cellar. Have tt brought, he said, to one of his daugh@ ters, land we drink to Liberty and tho Country" Strasbourg Is soon to have a patriotic ceremony. De Lisle must find in these last drops a hymn which will carry to the hearts of the people | the eShilaration of the soul from which 1t hss sprung"
 The young daughters applauded, brought the wine and filled the glasse4 I,RH HA.4, afA nd fAn <x%x hcer till tho wine was exhausted. Tt was midnight. The night was cold. Do Lisle was plunged in thought. Hia sos.l was moved. and, though his brain was fevered, a chill shook his body He staggered into his solitary chams ber--groped for inspiration, now in tho depths of his inspired citizens soul again on the keys of his instrument. Sometimes he composed the air before the words, sometimes the words came before the afr. and both were com- mingled in such manner in his thoughts that he himself could not tell which was born first. notes or verse It was impossible to separate the poetry from the music, the sentiment from the expression. He sung all-s wrote nothing.
 Steeped in this sublime inspiration ha fell asleep with his read resting on hia instrument and did not awake tili morning. The song of the night re. turned with reluctance to his memory as do the impressions of a dream. He wrote down the words and music and ran to Dietrick's house. and found him in the garden digging some winter let- tuce with his own hands The wife and children of the old patriot had not yet risen. Dietridk awakened them and called some friends. all as devotad as himself to music and capable of rem dering the composition of De Lisle. Dietrick's eldest daughter played the accompaniment. Rouget sang. At tha first strophe the faces paled: at the second. the tears flowed: at the last .a delirium of enthusiasm broke forth. Dietrick. his wife and daughters. and the young officer. all in tears threw themselves into each others arms The hymn of the country was found Alas! 1t was also to become the hymn of the Terror. The unfortunate Dietrick. a little less than a month later, marched to the scaffold to the sound of the notes born at his f1reside in the soul of his friend and the voices of his daughters.
 The new hymn. sung some days later In Strasbourg. flew from city to city. being played by all the popular banda. Marseilles adopted it, to be sung at the
 
 of It's clubs. The Marseiilaise spread 1t abroad through France by singing it on their journeys. From this it recefv. ed the name of 'Marseiiiaise." De Lisles old mother. a royaIist, and very religious. frightened at the resoundfng of the voice of her son. wrote to him: What Is this revolutionary hymn sung by a horde of brigands throughouf France and with which your name ia mixed?" De Lisle himself, banished as royalist. trembingly heard 1t echo in his ears as menace of death while fleeing along the footpaths of the Hautes Alps. What is the name of that hymn?" he asked his guide. ma Marseillaise," replied the peasant. and thus 1t was that he learned the name of his own work. He was pursued by ths enthusiasm which he had aroused be- hind him. He barely escaped with his life. The weapon turned against the hand that forged it. The maddened revolution no longer knew its own voice.-Translated from the French of A. de Lamartine for The Pieayune. by c. B. Hodges. Second Lieutenant, 4th infantry IT. q A