ORIGIN OP THE "MARSEILLAISE.' 



181 



his thirtieth year. His figure was | 

 tall and slight, and his constitution ' 

 consumptive. He was subject to 

 violent spasmodic pains, which 

 would sometimes force him to lie on 

 the ground till they were over ; but 

 he had always a kind word to give 

 to those about him, when his pangs 

 allowed him to speak. In this or- 

 ganization, as well as in some other 

 respects, he resembled the German 

 poet Schiller. Though well turn- 

 ed, his shoulders were bent a little, 

 owing to premature thought and 

 trouble. The same causes had 

 touched his hair with gray ; and 

 though his habits of temperance 

 and exercise gave him a remark- 

 able degree of strength, it is not 

 supposed he could have lived many 

 years." 



ORIGIN OF THE "MARSEILLAISE." 



M. de Lamartine, in his Histoire 

 des Girondim, published in Paris, 

 gives the following account of the 

 origin of the French national* air, 

 the Marseillaise. 



"In the garrison of Strasburg 

 was quartered a young artillery 

 officer, named Rouget de Lisle, a 

 native of Louis de Salnier, in the 

 Jura. He had a great taste for mu- 

 sic and poetry, and often entertain- 

 ed his comrades during their long 

 and tedious hours in the garrison. 

 Sought after for his musical and 

 poetical talent, he was a frequent 

 and familiar guest at the house of 

 one Dietrich, an Alsatian patriot, 

 mayor of Stnisburg. 



"The winter of 1792 was a pe- 

 riod of great scarcity at Strasburg. 

 The house of Dietrich was poor, his 

 table was frugal, but a seat was 

 always open to Rouget de Lisle. 



" One day there was nothing but 

 bread and some slices of smoked 

 ham on the table. Dietrich, re- 

 garding the young officer, said to 

 him, with sad serenity, 'Abund- 

 ance fails at our boards ; but what 

 matters that, if enthusiasm fails not 



at our civic/tfe?, nor courage in the 

 hearts of our soldiers 1 I have still 

 a last bottle of wine in my cellar. 

 Bring it,' said he to one of his 

 daughters, 'and let us drink France 

 and Liberty ! Strasburg should 

 have its patriotic solemnity. De 

 Lisle must draw from these last 

 drops one of those hymns which 

 raise the soul of the people.' 



" The wine was brought and 

 drank, after which the officer de- 

 parted. The night was cold. De 

 Lisle was thoughtful. His heart 

 was moved, his head heated. He 

 returned staggering to his solitary 

 room, and slowly sought inspir- 

 ation sometimes in the fervour of 

 his citizen soul, and anon on the 

 keys of his instrument, composing 

 now the air before the words, and 

 then the words before the air. He 

 sung all, and wrote nothing, and at 

 last, exhausted, fell asleep with his 

 head resting on his instrument, and 

 awoke not till daybreak. 



" The music of the night returned 

 to his mind like the impression of 

 a dream. He wrote it, and ra.n to 

 Dietrich, whom he found in the 

 garden digging winter lettuces. The 

 wife and daughters of the old man 

 were not up. Dietrich awoke them, 

 and called in some friends, all as 

 passionate as himself for music, and 

 able to execute the composition of 

 De Lisle. At the first stanza cheeks 

 grew pale ; at the second, tears 

 flowed ; and at last the delirium of 

 enthusiasm burst forth. The wife 

 of Dietrich, his daughters, himself, 

 and the young officer, threw them- 

 selves, crying, into each other's 

 arms. 



" The hymn of the country was 

 found. Executed some days after- 

 wards in Strasburg, the new song 

 flew from city to city, and was play- 

 ed by all the popular orchestras. 

 Marseilles adopted it to be sung at 

 the commencement of the sitting's 

 of the clubs, and the Marseillaise 

 spread it through France, singing 



