Evening star., 1915-05-23

Il think I've got it," said Rouget de
Lisle. Listen And he began:
Come: sons Of native land and Liberty!
The day Of glory is nigh.
See. against Us how dark Tyranny
Its red standard waves on high.
Do YOU hear In country sides
Roar those ferocous bordes:
Come to our very arms
To stao our sons. our wives.
To arms. citizens. Line up your battaIlons.
March march on:
May impure biood water our burrows!
An electric shiver ran through the as
sembiy Guests from the banquet
crowded into the drawing rooms Cries
of enthusiasm burst out. Others stop
ped them. silence Silence" Die
trichs daughters took the music from
the young mans hands. and the elder.
at little harpsichord, accompanied
the second stanZa twhose lines and fig
ures | render textually. while regret
ting the roughness of the RESULT:
What wish these slavish handg
or perjnred kings ronjured:
For whom their igDot'le bonds
Their irons long time prepared.
"Frenchmen for US" An, what out
rage And the listeners felt their
hearts grow tense as he continued the
now famous stanzas. line after line,
then heard for the first time
What. shall these foreign tcrdcs
Make the law Of our hfarths:
idly or received with more immediate
enthusiasm To cries of No! No"
Never" Yes, Yes" the terrific chorus
was taken up from room TO room:
To arms citizens, line up your battalions!
March on march on:
May an impure hlo,d water furrows
Others called out suggestions. Its
too short"'-"A verse for children"'-
And a verse for Mothers Others
asked rs there no pardon for the mis-
led and deceived"
Rouget de Lisle his his face in his
hands. Wait" he murmured: you
will see that my heart does not merit
that reproach," Then. rising, throwing
back his head. the noble youth intoned
the holy strophe in which. according to
Dumas. is found the entire soul of
France:
Frenchmen. as warriors great OF heart
Hold back strike your blow:
Spare the sad victims whose part
FAlsehond armed to their woe.
Yes. yes" came from all sides.
mercy. pardon for misled brothers. for
brother slaves pushed against us by
bayonets."
Yes" took up Rouget de Lisle:
But those de~pot, sanguinary
Against tigers without pity.
To arms. citizens Line up your battalions!
And the chorus again thundered:
March on marrh on.
May impure blood water our furrows.
Silence.
Now. exclaimed the poet-captain.
ITO your knees. all of you. no matter
who you are,
They knelt
Rouget de Lisle alone remaining up
right. rested one foot on the rung Of
chair. AS on the first step of the Tenn
pie OF Liberty" and. lifting his two
arms. sang the last couplet. the invo-
cation
Oh, sacred love OF home and native land,
Conduct. sustain our venginx end:
Liberty, dear Liberty.
Combat beside those who defend.
Thirty eight years afterward' wrote
Alexander Dumas. in recounting to me
that great night. 10 me. young man
who had just then. for the first time,
in the revolution of 1880. heard the sa
cred hymn sung by the powerful voice
of the peopie-thirty- eight years after,
the forehead of Rouget de Lisle shone
with the splendid aureole of 1892 And
il was only justice. Whence comes il
that myself in writing the last stro-
phes. am altogether moved? Whence
comes II that. as my right hand. un-
certain, traces the invocation to lib