POEM Academy in 1786. His Œuvres choisies are published in trente quatre ans," says a critic, "Grétry a composé plus de cinquante opéras, et il a eu cinquante succès." VII. CHARLES SIMON FAVART (1710-1792), one of the best writers of comic operas. The Soirée des Boulevards, from which this vaudeville is taken, may be considered as an excellent delineation of the Paris middle classes during the latter half of the last century.-Line 5. Que des belles. -Line 6. Les imitant.-Line 11. Regiment of Royal Orleans.-Line 12. Coronel, vulgar for Colonel.-Line 40. J' sons, vulgar forje suis. VIII. MARIE ANDRÉ DE CHÉNIER, born in 1762, at Constantinople, was educated in Paris; and after residing for some time in London as attaché to the embassy of his country, he returned to France. A Liberal in politics, he was, nevertheless, disgusted by the horrors of the Revolution, which he attacked in the boldest manner. He was guillotined in 1794, the day before the fall of Robespierre. He was a writer of considerable genius, and a devoted admirer of classical literature. The three short poems we quote may be said to have been almost extemporized under the fatal knife. IX. CASIMIR DELAVIGNE (1803-1843) combined in his writings all the purity of the classical school with the boldness and the vigour of M. Victor Hugo's followers. His principal recueil of lyrics, Les Messéniennes, contains some of the most perfect models of French poetry; amongst his dramas we shall name Les Vêpres Siciliennes, La Paria, Les Enfants d'Édouard, Louis XI. M. Casimir Delavigne was a member of the Académie Française. Line 48. Vaucouleurs, Joan of Arc's native place. -Line 63. AGNÈS SOREL (1410-1450). Some historians maintain that Charles VII., far from forgetting the interests of France aux pieds d'une maîtresse, was really roused to energy by Agnès Sorel. x. See above, Book I. poem xix. XI. Nothing need be said here about the history of the famous Republican song La Marseillaise. ROUGET DE L'ISLE, who wrote both the poetry and the music (see an article on this controverted subject in the Notes and Queries for Jan. 26, 1866), born in 1760, was an officer of engineers. He died in 1836. He has left several works, but of very inferior merit compared with La Marseillaise. -Line 44. FRANÇOIS CLAUDE AMOUR, MARQUIS DE BOUILLÉ (1739-1800), one of the best generals of his time. Was selected by Lonis XVI. to carry out and protect the plan of escape which terminated so fatally at Varennes. POEM XII. MARIE JOSEPH DE CHÉNIER (1764-1811) had less genius than his brother, but deserves to be mentioned as an elegant writer. The Chant du Départ is, next to Rouget de l'Isle's inspired poem, the finest patriotic song that France can boast of. Composed in 1794, for the anniversary of July 14th (the taking of the Bastille), it was set to music by Méhul.-Line 32. BARRA and VIALA were two common soldiers, who distinguished themselves during the Revolutionary wars. The style in which the Chant du Départ is written reminds us of the following: Τρίων χορῶν κατὰ τὰς τρεῖς ἡλικίας συνισταμένων ἐν ταῖς ἑορταῖς, ὁ μὲν τῶν γερόντων ἀρχόμενος, δεν, Αμμες ποτ' ήμες ἄλκιμοι νεανίαι. Ὁ δὲ τῶν ἀκμαζόντων ἀμειβόμενος ἔλεγεν, Αμμες δὲ γ' εἰ μὲν, αἱ δὲ λῇς, πεῖραν λαβέ. Οδὲ τρίτος, ὁ τῶν παίδων, "Αμμες δέ γ' ἐσσόμεσθα πολλῶν κάῤῥονες. PLUTARCH in Vit. Lycurgi, quoted by Julius Pollux, XIII. PONCE DENIS ÉCOUCHARD Le Brun (1729-1807), who POEM terrible attempt against Bonaparte's life, here commemorated, took place on the 24th December, 1800 (Nivôse 3rd, year ix of the Republic). XV. The Réveil du Peuple, set to music by Gaveaux, and sung at the opera, may be called the Marseillaise of the Thermidor reaction. It was directed against the Jacobins, whom it stung to the quick, and who thoroughly understood the allusions it contains. SOURIGUÈRE DE SAINT-MARC, author of the words (1770?-1825?), composed several plays, which were unfavourably received, and his tragedy "Octavie," brought out at the Théâtre Français in 1806, could not even get through the first performance. Lebrun-Pindare turned into ridicule the author of the Réveil du Peuple in the following epigram : À tes tristes écrits, On ne leur sourit guère. Line 45. The peace with Holland was signed on the 27th Floréal, year iii. (May 16th, 1795). XVI. The Jacobins answered to the Réveil du Peuple by the Vrai Réveil, which is more remarkable as an historical document than for its poetical merits. -Line 11. Allusion to the collision between the Jeunesse dorée and the Jacobins.-Line 17. Merveilleux, epithet given to the dandies of the time.-Line 18. Cadenettes. This name was given to the hair which was allowed to grow very long on both sides of the head, so as nearly to cover the cheeks. It used then to be plaited, and sometimes tied under the chin. Honoré d'Albert, Marshal of France, lord of Cadenet, and brother of the famous Constable de Luynes, favourite of Louis XIII., set that fashion of wearing the hair hence the substantive Cadenettes. Notice the bad rhyme retroussées-trépassés.-Line 58. The French crossed the Wahal on the ice (25th Dec. 1794) and invaded Holland. XVII. This song owes its origin to the attempt made by the French republicans to introduce in Paris the public dinners of the old Spartans. But if open-air banquets were quite possible, and even pleasant, under the clear blue sky of Greece, they could scarcely be deemed compatible with the muddy streets of the Quartier Latin. The most enthusiastic admirer of liberty, equality, fraternity, must have shrunk at the idea of eating fraternal sausages and drinking sympathetic eau-de-vie under an umbrella. JEAN ÉTIENNE DESPRÉAUX, author of this song, and known as one of our best chansonniers, was born in 1748, and died in 1820.-Line 5. Gamelle, a large pot or pan, out of which several soldiers eat together.-Line 46. Capons, cowards, chicken-hearted. POEM XVIII. HORTENSE EUGÉNIE DE BEAUHARNAIS (1783-1837), one of the most distinguished ornaments of the Imperial Court, composed both the music and the words of this well-known romance. She was the daughter of the Empress Josephine, and mother of the present Emperor of the French. XIX. PAUL ÉMILE DEBRAUX (1798-1831) was for some time librarian at the Paris Medical School. His patriotic songs, the two best of which are introduced here, are second only to those of Béranger, who has said of him : Le pauvre Émile a passé comme une ombre, Ombre joyeuse et chère aux bons vivants; Ses gais refrains vous égalent en nombre, Fleurs d'acacia qu'éparpillent les vents. Line 23. Allusion to the campaign of Prussia in 1806. xx. Fanfan la Tulipe, a thoroughly French song, composed without much regard to metre, and set to an old tune, has always been extremely popular. The numerous signs of apostrophe introduced, for instance, in the sixth line for M'dit ces mots qui m'mir'nt tout sans d'ssus d'ssous, Me dit ces mots qui me mirent tout sans dessus dessous, are meant to give a little appearance of regularity to the poetry. Many instances of this system of contraction will be found in this volume.-Line 8. Qui gnia for qu'il n'y a.-Line 26. I don't care a straw for it.Line 60. P't'et for Peut-être.-Line 88. Qui touche mouille. He who attacks me must take the consequences. XXI. The original Chanson de Roland, composed in the fifth century by THEROUD or THEROULDE, is too antiquated for general readers. M. Duval's modern romance, full of spirit and elegantly written, replaces it advantageously. ALEXANDRE DUVAL PINEU (1767-1842) is more particularly known for his dramatic works, the best of which, La Fille d'Honneur, a comedy in five acts, was brought out in 1819. XXII. This song is taken from Les Deux Reines, a comic opera, set to music by the late HIPPOLYTE MONPOU. Of the two collaborateurs of the libretto FRÉDÉRIC SOULIÉ alone has left any literary reputation. He composed a number of novels, written in a very questionable spirit, and several tragedies, amongst which we would name a clever imitation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." XXIII. Line 7. Allusion to the siege of Toulon, where Bonaparte made his début as an artillery officer, in 1793.Line 8. Insurrection of Vendemiaire 13 (October 5th, 1795).-Line 9. Coup d'état of Brumaire 18 (November 9, 1800).-Line 14. The star of the Legion of Honour. POEM BOOK III His I. THIBAULT VI., COMTE DE CHAMPAGNE (1201-1253). II. JEHAN FROISSART (1335-1410), better known as the chronicler of medieval society.-Line 5. Fors (Latin Foris). Old for hors. "Tout est perdu, fors l'honneur." IV. Vaux-de-vire. Songs or ballads composed in the valley (ral, vau) of the river Vire in Normandy.-OLIVIER BASSELIN (1418?). An edition of his pretty songs was published by M. Lacroix (1859). V. CHARLES D'ORLÉANS, COMTE D'ANGOULÊME, was eldest son of Louis of France, Duke of Orleans, and of Valentine of Milan. He was born in 1391, and died in 1465. Twenty-five years of his life were spent in captivity in England, and it was during that time that he wrote most of his poetry. His works were published for the first time in 1803. VII. LOUISE CHARLY LABÉ, surnamed la belle Cordière, celebrated alike for her beauty, her courage, and her talents, was born at Lyons in 1526. In her husband, Perrin, she found a congenial spirit. A rich fabricant of Lyons, he was a highly accomplished man, well versed in the Greek, Latin, Italian, and Spanish languages. Louise Labé excelled in horsemanship and in the science of war. At the age of sixteen she served in the French army before Perpignan, under the name of " Captain Loys." Some satirical publications accused her of doing so with the view of attracting the notice of the young Dauphin, who commanded. Notwithstanding this and other equally unjustifiable accusations, her husband, at his death, bequeathed to her all his fortune. She died within the same year (1566). Her published poems are brief and few, though striking. The allegory "Le débat de Folie et d'Amour" is supposed to have suggested to La Fontaine the fable which Voltaire has pronounced his best. VIII. PIERRE DE RONSARD, born at Vendôme, in 1524, began by being page to the Duke of Orléans, and then to James V. King of Scotland, but in after life became a priest, and died in a monastery near Tours, in 1585. Ronsard once enjoyed a very great reputation as a poet, and received the highest encomiums from Charles IX. and from Mary, Queen of Scots. His popularity, how |