'g Modern Language INTRODUCTION TO MODERN FRENCH LYRICS EDITED, WITH NOTES, BY B. L. BOWEN, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF THE ROMANCE LANGUAGES IN OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BOSTON, U.S.A. D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 1900 Copyright, /So/, BY B. L. BOWEN. ftocfetoell anU Cfjurcfjill BOSTON PREFACE. THE main object of this volume is to furnish students in French with material for an introductory study of lyric poetry. Accordingly no attempt has been made to exhaust the subject, but the purpose has been to group to- gether a limited number of well-known and characteristic poems. The patriotic songs of the Revolution have been made the starting-point. It is thought that heretofore these poems have received less attention from college classes than they deserve. For this reason they are specially emphasized in the present collection. Of the twelve pieces given under this head, the fifth (Declaration des droits, etc.) and the last five are taken from a recueil entitled : Le Chansonnier pa- triote, published at Paris during the first year of the Republic. In the selections from individual poets, prominence has been given to Beranger and Hugo. Lamartine has been less emphasized, not because less deserving, but because it was thought that his poems were perhaps less adaptable to the ordinary class-room than some others. It has also seemed better, in accordance with the limited compass of the book, to exclude selections from living authors. The remarks on versification are intended as an aid to the study of that sub- 2091364 IV PREFACE. % ject in connection with the reading' of the poems. Most of the examples given are taken from the text and numerous references are made to it. The notes, while covering literary and grammatical points, aim at the same time to lead the student to a gradual recognition of the principles underlying the development of the language. It is intended that the book, thus planned, should be the first thing taken up by the student in the study of French poetry. An acquaintance with the versification in general may thus be made, before approaching the classic Alexan- drine couplet. It is thought that a knowledge of shorter verses and of Alexandrines in quatrains or sextains may well precede the study of the line of Horace. Thanks are due to Professor John E. Matzke, of Stanford University, for valuable hints in regard to the notes, and for assistance in reading the proofs of the same ; also to Pro- fessor F. M. Warren, of Adelbert College, for suggestions on several matters of literary import. B. L. BOWEN. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, COLUMBUS, June, 1891. TABLE OF CONTENTS. I. NATIONAL AND REVOLUTIONARY SONGS. PAGE 1. LA MARSEILLAISE i 2. LE CHANT DU DEPART 4 3. CA IRA 7 4. LA CARMAGNOLE 10 5. DECLARATION DES DROITS DE L'HOMME ET DU CITOYEN . . 13 6. HYMNE X LA LIBERTE 15 7. LE BONNET DE LA LIBERT^ 18 8. LES TRAVAUX DU CAMP 19 9. COUPLETS CHANTES DANS UN DINER JACOBIN 21 10. COUPLETS MILITAIRES 22 11. RONDE PATRIOTIQUE 24 12. COURTS ANALYSE D'UN LONG BREF DU PAPK 25 II. GRANGER. 1. LE Roi D'YVETOT 29 2. ADIEUX DE MARIE STUART 31 3. LES OISEAUX 33 4. MON HABIT 35 5. LA SAINTE ALLIANCE DES PEUPLES 36 6. LES EXFANTS DE LA FRANCE 39 7. LES HlROXDELLES 4! 8. LAFAYETTE EN AM^RIQUK 42 9. LES SOUVENIRS DU PEUPLE 44 10. LE 1'OMBEAU DE MANUEL 47 11. LE VlEUX VAGABOND 49 12. LE GRILLON 51 VI CONTENTS. III. LAMART1NE. rAGE 1. LE LAC 54 2. LE SOIR 57 3. LE VALLON 59 4. A UNE FLEUR 62 5. LES SAISONS 63 IV. VICTOR HUGO. 1. ATTENTE 66 2. LES DJINNS 67 3. EXTASE 72 4. Lui : 72 5. LORSQUE I,' ENFANT PARA1T 77 6. LE GRAND HOMME VAINCU -79 7. PUISQU'lCI-KAS TOUTE AMI! 80 8. OCEANO NOX 82 9. LA TOMBE DIT A LA ROSE 84 ro. MATELOTS! MATELOTS ! 85 11. ELLE AVAIT PRIS CE PLI 86 12. ' SAISON DES SF.MAILLES. LE SOIR 87 13. LE DEUIL 88 14. UN HYMNE HARMONIEUX 90 V. ALFRED DE MUSSET. 1. STANCES 91 2. LA NUIT DE D]*CEMBRE 93 3. CHANSON DE BARBERINF. 99 4. CHANSON DK FORTUNIO 100 5. A UNE FLEUR IOI 6. IMPROMPTU KM 7. TRISTESSE 103 8. A M. VICTOR HUGO 104 vi. THE"OPHILE GAUTIER. 1. PAYSAGE 10^ 2. VOYAGE . .106 CONTENTS. vii PAGE 3. LE COIN DU FEU 109 4. TOMBEE DU JOUK I1O 5. COMPENSATION ' .... no 6. LES MATELOTS 112 7. PREMIER SOURIRE DU PRINTEMPS 114 8. L'AVEUGLE 115 9. LA SOURCE 116 10. CE QUE DISENT LES HIRONDELLES Il8 11. L'ART 120 VII. MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 1. LA JEUNE CAPTIVE 124 2. LA FEUILLF. 126 3. SOUVENIR DU PAYS DE FRANCE 127 4. LK CHIEX DU LOUVRE : . 128 5. LA BARQUE 131 6. SOUVENIRS D'UN VIF.UX MILITAIKE 132 7. MA NORMANDIE 134 . 8. LE JOUEUR D'ORGUE 135 9. LA FERMIERE 137 10. LE REPOS DU SOIR 139 REMARKS ON FRENCH VERSIFICATION 143 NOTES ,147 INTRODUCTION MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. I. NATIONAL AND REVOLUTIONARY SONGS. 1. LA MARSEILLAISE. I er COUPLET. ALLONS, enfants de la patrie, Le jour de gloire est arrive" ! Centre nous de la tyrannic 4 L'e"tendard sanglant est leve" ! (fa's) Entendez-vous, dans les campagnes, Mugir ces feroces soldats? Us viennent j usque dans nos bras 8 Egorger nos fils, nos compagnes ! Aux armes, citoyens ! formez vos bataillons ! Marchons ! (/>is) qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons ! 2 e COUPLET. Que veut cette horde d'esclaves, 12 De traitres, de rois conjures? 2 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Pour qui ces ignobles entraves, Ces fers des longtemps prepares? (fa's) Frangais ! pour nous, ah ! quel outrage ! 4 Quels transports il doit exciter ! C'est nous qu'on ose mediter De rendre a 1'antique esclavage ! Aux armes, etc. 3 e CXHTPI.KT. 8 Quoi ! ces cohortes etrangeres Feraient la loi dans nos foyers ! Quoi ! ces phalanges mercenaires Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers ! (fit's} 12 Grand Dieu ! par des mains enchaint^es Nos fronts sous le joug se ploiraient ! De vils despotes deviendraient Les mavtres de nos destinies ! 16 Aux armcs, etc. 4 e COUPLET. Tremblez, tyrans ! et vous, perfides, L'opprobre de tons les partis, Tremblez ! vos projets parricides 20 Vont enfin recevoir leur prix ! (fa's) Tout est soldat pour vous combattre. S'ils tombent, nos jeunes hros, La France en produit de nouveaux, 24 Centre vous tout prets a se battre ! Aux armes, etc. NATIONAL AND REVOLUTIONARY SONGS. 5 e COUPLET. Francais, en guerriers magnanimes, Portez ou retenez vos coups ! Epargnez ces tristes victimes, 4 A regret s'armant centre nous, (fii's) Mais ces despotes sanguinaires, Mais ces complices de Bouille, Tous ces tigres qui, sans pitie*, 8 De"chirent le sein de leur mere ! . . . Aux armes, etc. 6 e COUPLET. Amour sacre* de la patrie, Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs ! 12 Liberte", Liberte" che"rie, Combats avec tes deYenseurs ! (^/V) Sous nos drapeaux, que la victoire Accoure a tes males accents ! 1 6 Que tes ennemis expirants Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire ! Aux armes, etc. 7 e COUPLET, appele la strophe des enfants. Nous entrerons dans la carriere 20 Quaiid nos aines n'y seront plus ; Nous y trouverons leur poussiere Et la trace de leurs vertus. (Ins) 4 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Bien moins jaloux de leur survivre Que de partager leur cercueil, Nous aurons le sublime orgueil 4 De les venger ou de les suivre ! Aux armes, citoyens ! formez vos bataillons ! Marchons ! (bis} qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons ! 'ROUGET DE LlSI.E, 1792. 2. LE CHANT DU DEPART. i. Un depute du pen pie. LA victoire, en chantant, nous ouvre la barriere, 8 La libert^ guide nos pas, Et du nord au midi la trompette guerriere A sonn 1'heure des combats ; Tremble/, ennemis de la France, 12 Rois ivres de sang et d'orgueil, Le peuple souverain s'avance ; Tyrans, descendez au cercueil ! Chceur des guerriers. La Re"publique nous appelle, 1 6 Sachons vaincre ou sachons perir, Un Francais doit vivre pour elle, | ,, . , Pour elle, un Francais doit mourir ! j NATIONAL AND REVOLUTIONARY SONGS. 2. Une mere de famille. De nos yeux maternels ne craignez point les larmes : Loin de nous de laches douleurs ! Nous devons triompher quand vous prenez les armes 4 C'est aux rois a verser des pleurs ! Nous vous avons donne' la vie, Guerriers, elle n'est plus a vous ; Tons vos jours sont a la patrie ; 8 Elle est votre mere avant nous ! Chxur des meres de famille. La Republique nous appelle, etc. 3- Deux vieillards. Que le fer paternel arrne la main des braves ! Songez a nous, aux champs de Mars ; 12 Consacrez dans le sang des rois et des esclaves Le fer bni par vos vieillards ; Et, rapportant sous la chaumiere Des blessures et des vertus, 16 Venez fermer notre paupiere Quand les tyrans ne seront plus ! Chxur des vieillards. La Republique nous appelle, etc. 4- Un enfant. De Barra, de Viala le sort nous fait envie : 20 Us sont morts, mais Us ont vaincu ! 6 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Le lache accable d'ans n'a pas connu la v.ie ! Qui meurt pour le peuple a vecu ! Vous etes vaillants, nous le sommes ; 4 Guidez-nous centre les tyrans ; Les republicans sont des homines, Les esclaves sont des enfants ! Chxur des enfants. La R^publique nous appelle, etc. 5- Une cpouse. 8 Partez, vaillants epoux, les combats sont vos fetes ; Partez, modeles des guerriers ; Nous cueillerons des fleurs pour en ceindre vos tetes, Nos mains tresseront vos lauriers ! 12 Et si le temple de Memoire S'ouvrait a vos manes vainqueurs, Nos voix chanteront votre gloire, Nos flancs porteront vos vengeurs. Chmir des epouses, 1 6 La Republique nous appelle, etc. 6. Une jcune fille. Et nous, sceurs des heros, nous qui de I'hymenee Ignorons les aimables noeuds, Si, pour s'unir un jour a notre destinee, 20 Les citoyens forment des voeux, Qu'ils reviennent dans nos murailles, NATIONAL AND REVOLUTIONARY SONGS. Beaux de gloire et de liberte", Et que leur sang dans les batailles Ait coule pour 1'egalite. Ch&ur des jeunes filles. La Re"publique nous appelle, etc. 7- Trois guerriers. Sur le fer, devant Dieu, nous jurons a nos peres, A nos epouses, a nos sceurs, A nos representants, a nos fils, a nos meres, D'ane"antir les oppresseurs : En tous lieux, dans la nuit profonde, Plongeant 1'infame royaute, Les Francais donneront au monde Et la paix et la liberte" ! Chceur general. La Republique nous appelle, etc. M. J. CH^NIER, 1794. 3. gA IRA. i. AH ! ca ira, ca ira, ca ira ! Le peuple en ce jour sans cesse repete 1 6 Ah ! ga ira, ca ira, ca ira ! Malgre les mutins, tout reussira ! MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Nos ennemis confus en restent la ; Et nous aliens chanter alleluia ! Ah ! deja vieux, toujours chansonne. Petit grillon, n'ayons ici, N'ayons du monde aucun souci. Nos existences sont pareilles : 20 Si 1'enfant s'amuse a ta voix, Artisan, soldat, villageois. A la mienne out charme leurs veilles. 52 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Petit grillon, n'ayons ici, N'ayons du monde aucun souci. Mais sous ta forme heteroclite 4 Un lutin n'est-il pas cach ? Vient-il voir si quelque pech Tient compagnie au vieil ermite? Petit grillon, n'ayons ici, 8 N'ayons du monde aucun souci. N'es-tu pas sylphe et petit page De quelque fee au doux pouvoir, Qui t'adresse a moi pour savoir 1 2 A quoi le cceur sert a mon age ? Petit grillon, n'ayons ici, N'ayons du monde aucun souci. Non ; mais en toi, je le veux croire, 16 Revit un auteur qui, jadis, Mourut de froid dans son taudis En guettant un rayon de gloire. Petit grillon, n'ayons ici, 20 N'ayons du monde aucun souci. Docteur, tribun, homme de secte, On veut briller, 1'auteur surtout. Dieu, servez chacun a son gout : 24 De la gloire a ce pauvre insecte. Petit grillon, n'ayons ici, N'ayons du monde aucun souci. BERANGER. 53 La gloire ! est fou qui la desire : Le sage en dedaigne le soin. Heureux qui recele en un coin 4 Sa foi, ses amours et sa lyre ! Petit grillon, n'ayons ici, N'ayons du monde aucun souci. L'envie est la qui nous menace. 8 Guerre a tout nom qui retentit ! Au fait, plus ce globe est petit, Moins on y doit prendre de place. Petit grillon, n'ayons ici, 12 N'ayons du monde aucun souci. Ah ! si tu fus ce que je pense, Ris du lot qui t'avait tente ; Ce qu'on gagne en celebrite, 16 On le perd en independance. Petit grillon, n'ayons ici, N'ayons du monde aucun souci. Au coin du feu, tous deux a 1'aise, 20 Chantant, 1'un par 1'autre e'gayes, Prions Dieu de vivre oublies, Toi, dans ton trou, moi, sur ma chaise. Petit grillon, n'ayons ici, 24 N'ayons du monde aucun souci. FONTAINEBLEAU, 1836. 54 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. III. LAMARTINE. 1. LE LAC. AINSI, toujours pousses vers de nouveaux rivages, Dans la nuit eternelle emportes sans retour, Ne pourrons-nous jamais sur 1'oc^an des ages 4 Jeter 1'ancre un seul jour ? O lac ! 1'annee a peine a fini sa carriere, Et pres des flots churls qu'elle devait revoir, Regarde ! je viens seul m'asseoir sur cette pierre 8 Oil tu la vis s'asseoir ! Tu mugissais ainsi sous ces roches profondes ; Ainsi tu te brisais sur leurs flancs dechires ; Ainsi le vent jetait I'e'cume de tes ondes 12 Sur ses pieds adore" s. Un soir, t'en souvient-il? nous voguions en silence ; On n'entendait au loin, sur 1'onde et sous les cieux, Que le bruit des rameurs qui frappaient en cadence 16 Tes flots harmonieux. LAMARTINE. 55 Tout a coup des accents inconnus a la terre Du rivage charme frapperent les echos ; Le Hot fut attentif, et la voix qui m'est chere 4 Laissa tomber ces mots : " O temps, suspends ton vol ! et vous, heures propices, Suspendez votre cours ! Laissez-nous savourer les rapides delices 8 Des plus beaux de nos jours ! " Assez de malheureux ici-bas vous implorent : Coulez, coulez pour eux ; Prenez avec leurs jours les soins qui les devorent ; 12 Oubliez les heureux. " Mais je demande en vain quelques moments encore. Le temps m'echappe et fuit ; Je dis a cette nuit : ' Sois plus lente ; ' et 1'aurore 1 6 Va dissiper la nuit. " Aimons done, aimons done ! de 1'heure fugitive, Hatons-nous, jouissons ! L'homme n'a point de port, le temps n'a point de rive ; 20 II coule, et nous passons ! " Temps jaloux, se peut-il queues moments d'ivresse, Ou 1'arnour a longs flots nous verse le bonheur, S'envolent loin de nous de la meme vitesse ?4 Que les jours de malheur? 56 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Eh quoi ! n'en pourrons-nous fixer au moins la trace ? Quoi ! passes pour jamais ? quoi ! tout entiers perdus ? Ce temps qui les donna, ce temps qui les efface, 4 Ne nous les rendra plus? Eternite, nant, pass, sombres abimes, Que faites-vous des jours que vous engloutissez? Parlez : nous rendrez-vous ces extases sublimes 8 Que vous nous ravissez? O lac ! rochers muets ! grottes ! foret obscure ! Vous que le temps e'pargne ou qu'il pent rajeunir, Gardez de cette nuit, gardez, belle nature, 12 Au moins le souvenir ! Qu'il soit dans ton repos, qu'il soil dans tes orages, Beau lac, et- dans 1'aspect de tes riants coteaux, Et dans ces noirs sapins, et dans ces rocs sauvages 16 Qui pendent sur tes eaux ! Qu'il soit dans le ze'phyr qui fremit et qui passe, Dans les bruits de tes bords par tes bords repet^s, Dans 1'astre au front d'argent qui blanchit ta surface 20 De ses molles clarte"s ! Que le vent qui gemit, le roseau qui soupire, Que les parfums legers ,de ton air embaume, Que tout ce qu'on entend, 1'on voit ou Ton respire, 24 Tout disc : " Us ont aim6 ! " PREMIERES MEDITATIONS. LAMARTIXE. 57 2. LE SOIR. LE soir ramene le silence. Assis sur ces rochers deserts, Je suis dans le vague des airs 4 Le char de la nuit qui s'avance. Venus se leve a 1'horizon ; A mes pieds 1'etoile amoureuse De sa lueur mysterieuse Blanchit les tapis de gazon. De ce hetre au feuillage sombre J'entends frissonner les rameaux : On dirait autour des tombeaux 12 Qu'on entend voltiger une ombre. Tout a coup, detache des cieux, Un rayon de 1'astre nocturne, Glissant sur mon front taciturne, 16 Vient mollement toucher mes yeux. Doux reflet d'un globe de flamme, Charmant rayon, que me veux-tu? Viens-tu dans mon sein abattu 20 Porter la lumiere a mon ame? 58 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Descends-tu pour me reveler Des mondes le divin mystere, Ces secrets caches dans la sphere 4 Ou le jour va te rappeler? Une secrete intelligence T'adresse-t-elle aux malheureux? Viens-tu, la nuit, briller sur eux 8 Comme un rayon de Pesperance? Viens-tu devoiler 1'avenir Au co2iir fatigue qui 1'implore? Rayon divin, es-tu 1'aurore 12 Du jour qui ne doit pas finir? Mon coeur a ta clarte s'enflamme, Je sens des transports inconnus, Je songe a ceux qui ne sont plus : 16 Douce lumiere, es-tu leur ame? Peut-etre ces manes heureux Glissent ainsi sur le bocage. Enveloppe de leur image, 20 Je crois me sentir plus pres d'eux ! Ah ! si c'est vous, ombres cheries, Loin de la foule et loin du bruit, Revenez ainsi chaque nuit J4 Vous meler a mes reveries. LAMARTINE. 55 Ramenez la paix et 1'amour Au sein de mon ame epuisee, Comme la nocturne rosee Qui tombe apres les feux du jour. Venez ! . . . Mais des vapeurs funebres Montent des bords de 1'horizon : Elles voilent le doux rayon, Et tout rentre dans les tenebres. PREMIERES MEDITATIONS. 3. LE VALLON. MON coeur, lasse de tout, meme de 1'esperance, N'ira plus de ses voeux importuner le sort ; Pretez-moi seulement, vallon de mon enfance, 12 Un asile d'un jour pour attendre la mort. Voici Petroit sentier de 1'obscure vallee : Du flanc de ces coteaux pendent des bois epais Qui, courbant sur mon front leur ombre entremelee, 1 6 Me couvrent tout entier de silence et de paix. La, deux ruisseaux caches sous des ponts de verdure Tracent en serpentant les contours du vallon ; Us melent un moment leur onde et leur murmure, 20 Et non loin de leur source ils se perdent sans nom. 60 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. La source de mes jours comme eux s'est ecoulee ; Elle a passe sans bruit, sans nom et sans retour : Mais leur onde est limpide, et mon ame trouble 4 N'aura pas reflechi les clartes d'un beau jour. La fraicheur de leurs lits, 1'ombre qui les couronne, M'enchainent tout le jour sur les bords des ruisseaux Comme un enfant berce" par un chant monotone 8 Mon ame s'assoupit an murmure des eaux. Ah ! c'est la qu'entoure d'un rempart de verdure, D'un horizon borne qui suffit a mes yeux, J'aime a fixer mes pas, et, seul dans la nature, 12 A n'entendre que 1'onde, a ne voir que les cieux. J'ai trop vu, trop senti, trop aime" dans ma vie ; Je viens chercher vivant le calme du Le"the. Beaux lieux, soyez pour moi ces bords oil Ton oublie : 16 L'oubli seul desormais est ma fe"licite. Mon coeur est en repos, mon ame est en silence ; Le bruit lointain du monde expire en arrivant, Comme un son e'loigne' qu'affaiblit la distance, 20 A 1'oreille incertaine apporte par le vent. D'ici je vois la vie, a travers un nuage, S'eVanouir pour moi dans 1'ombre du passe' ; L'amour seul est reste", comme une grande image 24 Survit seule au reveil dans un songe effaced LAMARTINE. 6 1 Renose-toi, mon ame, en ce dernier asile, Ainsi qu'un voyageur qui, le coeur plein d'espoir, S'assied, avant d'entrer, aux portes de la ville, i Et respire un moment 1'air embaume du soir. Cornme lui, de nos pieds secouons la poussiere ; L'homme par ce chemin ne repasse jamais : Comme lui, respirons au bout de la carriere 8 Ce calme avant-coureur de 1'e'ternelle paix. Tes jours, sombres et courts comme les jours d'automne, 1 )eclinent comme 1'ombre au penchant des coteaux ; L'amitie' te trahit, la pitie t'abandonne, 12 Et, seule, tu descends le sender des tombeaux. Mais la nature est la qui t'invite et qui t'aime ; Plonge-toi dans son sein qu'elle t'ouvre toujours : Quand tout change pour toi, la nature est la meme, 16 Et le meme soleil se leve sur tes jours. De lumiere et d'ombrage elle t'entoure encore ; Detache ton amour des faux biens que tu perds ; Adore id Pecho qu'adorait Pythagore, 20 Prete avec lui 1'oreille aux celestes concerts. Suis le jour dans le ciel, suis 1'ombre sur la terre ; Dans les plaines de 1'air vole avec 1'aquilon ; Avec le doux rayon de 1'astre du mystere 24 Glisse a travers les bois dans 1'ombre du vallon. 62 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Dieu, pour le concevoir, a fait Pintelligence : Sous la nature enfin ddcouvre son auteur ! Une voix a 1' esprit parle dans son silence : 4 Qui n'a pas entendu cette voix dans son coeur? PREMIERES MEDITATIONS. 4. A UNE FLEUR SKCHfcE DANS UN ALBUM. IL m'en souvient, c't-tait aux plages Ou m'attire un ciel du Midi, Ciel sans souillure et sans orages, 8 Oil j'aspirais sous les feuillages Les parfums d'un air attie"di. Une mer qu'aucun bord n'arrete S'tkendait bleue a 1'horixon ; 12 L'oranger, cet arbre de fete, Neigeait par moments sur ma tete ; Des odeurs montaient du gazon. Tu croissais pres d'une colonne 16 D'un temple ecras< par le temps; Tu lui faisais une couronne, Tu parais son tronc monotone Avec tes chapiteaux' fiottants ; LAMARTINE. 63 Fleur qui decores la ruine Sans un regard pour t'admirer ! Je cueillis ta blanche etamine, Et j'emportai sur ma poitrine Les parfums pour les respirer. Aujourd'hui, ciel, temple, rivage, Tout a dispani sans retour : Ton parfum est dans le nuage, Et je trouve, en tournant la page, La trace morte d'un beau jour ! PREMIERES MEDITATIONS. 1827. LES SAISONS. Au printemps, les lis des champs filent 12 Leur tunique aux chastes couleurs ; Les gouttes que les nuits distillent Le matin se changent en fleurs. La terre est un faisceau de tiges 1 6 Dont 1'odeur donne des vertiges Qui font delirer tous les sens ; Les brises folles, les mains pleines, Portent a Dieu, dans leurs haleines, 20 Tout ce que ce globe a d'encens. En e"te les feuillages sombres, Ou flottent les chants des oiseaux, 04 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Jettent le voile de leurs ombres Entre le soleil et les eaux ; Des sillons les vagues fecondes 4 Font un ocan de leurs ondes, Ou s'entre-choquent les epis ; Le chaume, en or changeant ses herbes, Fait un oreiller de ses gerbes 8 Sous les moissonneurs assoupis. Ainsi qu'une hotesse attentive Apres le pain donne le miel, L'automne a 1'homme, son convive, 12 Sert tour a tour les fruits du ciel : Le raisin pend, la figue pleure, La banane paissit son beurre, La cerise luit sous I'e'mail, 16 La peche de duvet se pluche, Et la grenade, verte niche, Ouvre ses rayons de corail. L'hiver, du lait des neiges neuves 20 Couvrant les nuageux sommets, Gonfle ces mamelles des fleuves D'un sue qui ne tarit jamais. Le bois mort, ce fruit de d^cembre, 24 Tombe du chene que demembre La main qui le fit verdoyer, Et, couve dans le creux de 1'atre, II rallume au souffle du patre 28 Le feu, ce soleil du foyer. LAMARTINE. 65 O Providence ! 6 vaste aumone Dont tout etre est le mendiant ! Voeux et grace autour de son trone Montent sans cesse en suppliant. Quels pleurs ou quels parfums repandre? . . . Helas ! nous n'avons a te rendre Rien, que les dons que tu nous fais. Recois de toute creature Ce Te Denm de la nature, Ses miseres et tes bienfaits ! HARMONIES POETIQUES ET RELIGIEUSES. 66 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. IV. VICTOR HUGO. 1. ATTENTE. Esperaba, desperada. MONTE, e"cureuil, monte au grand chene, Sur la branche des cieux prochaine, Qui plie et tremble comme un jonc. 4 Cigogne, aux vieilles tours fidele, Oh ! vole et monte a tire-d'aile De 1'eglise a la citadelle, Du haut clocher au grand donjon. 8 Vieux aigle, monte de ton aire A la montagne centenaire Que blanchit 1'hiver (kernel. Et toi qu'en ta couche inquiete 52 Jamais 1'aube ne vit muette, Monte, monte, vive alouette, Vive alouette, monte au ciel ! Et maintenant, du haut de 1'arbre, 16 Des fleches de la tour de marbre, VICTOR HUGO. 67 Du grand mont, du ciel enflamme, A 1'horizon, parmi la brume, Voyez-vous flotter une plume, Et courir un cheval qui fume, Et revenir mon bien-aime? LES ORIENTALES. i er juin 1828. 2. LES DJINNS. E come i gru van cantando lor lai, Facendo in aer di se lunga riga, Cosi vid' io venir traendo guai Ombre portate dalla detta briga. DANTE. Et conime les griies qui font dans 1'air de longues files vont chantant leur plainte, ainsi je vis venir trainant des gemissements les ombres ernportees par cette tempete. MURS, ville, Et port, 8 Asile De mort, Mer grise Ou brise 12 La brise, Tout dort. Dans la plaine Nait un bniit. 16 C'est 1'haleine De la nuit. 68 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Elle brame Comme une ame Qu'une flamme 4 Toujours suit. La voix plus haute Semble un grelot. D'un nain qui saute 8 C'est le galop. II fuit, s'elance, Puis en cadence Sur un pied danse 12 Au bout d'un flot. La rumeur approche, L'^cho la redit. C'est comme la cloche 1 6 D'un convent maud it, Comme un bruit de foule Qui tonne et qui roule, Kt tantot s'e'croule 20 Et tantot grandit. Dieu ! la voix sepulcrale Des Djinns ! . . . Quel bruit ils font ! Fuyons sous la spirale 24 De 1'escalier profond ! Deja s'eteint ma lampe, Et 1'ombre de la rampe, Qui le long du mur rampe, 28 Monte jusqu'au plafond. VICTOR HUGO. 69 C'est 1'essaim des Djinns qui passe, Et tourbillonne en sifflant. Les ifs, que leur vol fracasse, 4 Craquent comme un pin brulant. Leur troupeau lourd et rapide, Volant dans 1'espace vide, Semble un nuage livide 8 Qui porte un eclair au flanc. Us sont tout pres ! Tenons fermee Cette salle ou nous les narguons. Quel bruit dehors ! Hideuse armee 12 De vampires et de dragons ! La poutre du toit descellee Ploie ainsi qu'une herbe mouillee, Et la vieille porte rouillee 1 6 Tremble a deraciner ses gonds. Cris de 1'enfer ! voix qui hurle et qui pleure ! L' horrible essaim, pousse par 1'aquilon, Sans doute, 6 ciel ! s'abat sur ma demeure. 20 Le mur flechit sous le noir bataillon. La maison crie et chanceile penchee, Et Ton dirait que, du sol arrachee, Ainsi qu'il chasse une feuille sechee, 24 Le vent la roule avec leur tourbillon ! Prophete ! si ta main me sauve De ces impurs demons des soirs, J'irai prosterner mon front chauve 28 Devant tes sacres encensoirs ! /O MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Fais que sur ces portes fideles, Meure leur souffle d'etincelles, Et qu'en vain 1'ongle de leurs ailes 4 Grince et crie a ces vitraux noirs ! Us sont passes ! Leur cohortc S'envole et fuit, et leurs pieds Cessent de battre ma porte 8 De leurs coups multiplies. L'air est plein d'un bruit de chaines, Et dans les forets prochaines Frissonnent tons les grands chenes, 12 Sous leur vol de feu plies ! De leurs ailes lointaines Le battement decroit, Si confus dans les plaines, 1 6 Si faible, que Ton croit Ouir la sauterelle Crier d'une voix grele, Ou petiller la grele 20 Sur le plomb d'un vieux toil. D'etranges syllabes Nous viennent encor : Ainsi, des Arabes 24 Quand sonne le cor, Un chant sur la greve Par instants s'eleve, Et 1'enfant qui reve 28 Fait des reves d'or. VICTOR HUGO. 71 Les Djinns funebres, Fils du trpas, Dans les t^nebres 4 Pressent leurs pas ; Leur essaim gronde : Ainsi, profonde, Murmure une onde 8 Qu'on ne voit pas. Ce bruit vague Qui s'endort, C'est la vague 1 2 Sur le bord ; C'est la plainte Presque eteinte D'une sainte 16 Pour un mort. On doute La nuit . . . J'ecoute : 20 Tout fuit, Tout passe ; L'espace Efface 24 Le bruit. LES ORIENTALES. 28 aout 1828. 72 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. 3. EXTASE. Et j'entendis tine grande voix. Apocalypse. J'ETAIS seul pres des flots, par une nuit d'e'toiles. Pas un nuage aux cieux, sur la mer pas de voiles. Mes yeux plongeaient plus loin que le monde reel. 4 Et les bois, et les monts, et toute la nature, Semblaient interroger dans un confus mtirmure Les flots des mers, les feux du ciel. Et les etoiles d'or, legions infinies, 8 A voix haute, a voix basse, avec mille harmonics, Disaient, en inclinant leurs couronnes de feu ; Et les flots bleus, que rien ne gouverne et n'arrete, Disaient, en recourbant 1'ecume de leur crete : 12 C'est le Seigneur, le Seigneur Dieu ! LES ORIENTALES. 25 novcmbre 182 4. LUI. J'e'tais geant alors, et haul de cent coudees. BONAPARTE. I. TOUJOURS lui ! Lui partout ! Ou brulante ou glacee, Son image sans cesse ebranle ma pens^e. II verse a mon esprit le souffle createur. ]e tremble, et dans ma bouche abondent les paroles VICTOR HUGO. 73 Quand son nom gigantesque, entoure d'aureoles, Se dresse dans men vers de toute sa hauteur. La, je le vois, guidant 1'obus aux bonds rapides, 4 La, massacrant le peuple au nom des regicides, La, soldat, aux tribuns arrachant leurs pouvoirs, La, consul jeune et fier, amaigri par des veilles Que des reves d'empire emplissaient de merveilles, 8 Pale sous ses longs cheveux noirs. Puis, empereur puissant, dont la tete s'incline, Gouvernant un combat du haut de la colline, Promettant une etoile a ses soldats joyeux, 12 Faisant signe aux canons qui vomissent des flammes, De son ame a la guerre armant six cent mille ames, Grave et serein, avec un Eclair dans les yeux. Puis, pauvre prisonnier, qu'on raille et qu'on tourmente, 1 6 Croisant ses bras oisifs sur son sein qui fermente, En proie aux geoliers vils comme un vil criminel, Vaincu, chauve, courbant son front noir de nuages, Promenant sur un roc oil passent les orages 20 Sa pensee. orage e"ternel. Qu'il est grand, ia surtout ! quand, puissance brisee, Des porte-clefs anglais miserable ris6e, Au sacre du malheur il retrempe ses droits, 24 Tient au bruit de ses pas deux mondes en haleine, Et, rnourant de 1'exil, gene dans Sainte-Helene, Manque d'air dans la cage oil 1'exposent les rois ! 74 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Qu'il est grand a cette heure ou, prel a voir Dieu meme. Son ceil qui s'eteint roule une larme supreme ! II e"voque a sa mort sa vieille arme en deuil, 4 Se plaint a ses guerriers d'expirer solitaire, Et, prenant pour linceul son manteau militaire, Du lit de camp passe au cercueil ! II. A Rome, ou du senat herite le conclave, 8 A 1'Elbe, aux monts blanchis de neige ou noirs de lave, Au menacant Kremlin, a 1'Alhambra riant, II est partout ! Au Nil je le retrouve encore. L'Egypte resplendit des feux de son aurore ; 12 Son astre imperial se leve a l'orient. Vainqueur, enthousiaste, e"clatant de prestiges, Prodige, il etonna la terre des prodiges. Les vieux scheiks ve"ne"raient 1'emir jeune et prudent ; 16 Le peuple redoutait ses armes inouies ; Sublime, il apparut aux tribus e"blouies Comme un Mahomet d'Occident. Leur faerie a deja reclame son histoire. 20 La tente de 1'Arabe est pleine de sa gloire. Tout Bedouin libre etait son hardi compagnon ; Les petits enfants, 1'oeil tourne vers nos rivages, Sur un tambour francais reglent leurs pas sauvages, 24 Et les ardents chevaux hennissent a son nom. VICTOR HUGO. 75 Parfois il vient, porte sur 1'ouragan numide, Prenant pour piedestal la grande pyramide, Contempler les deserts, sablonneux oceans. 4 La, son ombre, eveillant le sepulcre sonore, Comme pour la bataille y ressuscite encore Les quarante siecles geants. II dit : Debout ! Soudain chaque siecle se leve, 8 Ceux-ci portant le sceptre et ceux-la ceints du glaive, Satrapes, pharaons, mages, peuple glace ; Immobiles, poudreux, muets, sa voix les compte ; Tons semblent, adorant son front qui les surmonte, 12 Faire a ce roi des temps une cour du passed Ainsi tout, sous les pas de 1'homme ineffacable, Tout devient monument ; il passe sur le sable, Mais qu'importe qu'Assur de ses flots soil couvert, 1 6 Que 1'aquilon sans cesse y fatigue son aile ! Son pied colossal laisse une trace e'ternelle Sur le front mouvant du desert. III. Histoire, poesie, il joint du pied vos cimes. 20 Eperdu, je ne puis dans ces mondes sublimes Remuer rien de grand sans toucher a son nom ; Oui, quand tu m'apparais, pour le culte ou le blame, Les chants volent presses sur mes levres de flamme, 24 Napoleon ! soleil dont je suis le Memnon ! 76 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Tu domines notre age ; ange ou demon, qu'importe? Ton aigle dans son vol, haletants, nous emporte. L'ceil meme qui te fuit te retrouve partout. 4 Toujours dans nos tableaux tu jettes ta grande ombre ; Toujours Napoleon, blouissant et sombre, Sur le seuil du siecle est debout. Ainsi, quand, du Vesuve explorant le domaine, 8 De Naple a Portici 1'etranger se promene, Lorsqu'il trouble, reveur, de ses pas importuns Ischia, de ses fleurs embaumant 1'onde heureuse Dont le bruit, comme un chant de sultane amoureuse, 12 Semble une voix qui vole au milieu des parfums ; Qu'il hante de Psestum 1'auguste colonnade, Qu'il ecoute a Pouzzol la vive serenade Chantant la tarentelle au pied d'un mur toscan ; 16 Qu'il eveille en passant cette cite momie, Pompei, corps gisant d'une ville endormie, Saisie un jour par le volcan ; Qu'il erre au Pausilippe avec la. barque agile 20 D'ou le brun marinier chante Tasse a Virgile ; Toujours, sous 1'arbre vert, sur les lits de gazon, Toujours il voit, du sein des mers et des prairies, Du haut des caps, du bord des presqu'iles fleuries, 24 Toujours le noir giant qui fume a 1'horizon ! LES ORIENTALES. Decembre 1828 VICTOR HUGO. 77 5. LORSQUE L'ENFANT -PARAIT. Le toit s'egaye et rit. ANDR CHNIER. LORSQUE 1'enfant parait, le cercle de famille Applaudit a grands cris. Son doux regard qui brille Fait briller tons les yeux, 4 Et les plus tristes fronts, les plus souille"s peut-etre, Se derident soudain a voir 1'enfant paraitre, Innocent et joyeux. Soit que juin ait verdi mon seuil, ou que novembre 8 Fasse autour d'un grand feu vacillant dans la chambre Les chaises se toucher, Quand 1'enfant vient, la joie arrive et nous e"claire. On rit, on se re'crie, on 1'appelle, et sa mere 12 Tremble a le voir marcher. Quelquefois nous parlons, en remuant la flamme, De patrie et de Dieu, des poetes, de 1'ame Qui s'^leve en priant ; 16 L'enfant parait, adieu le ciel et la patrie B^t les poetes saints ! la grave causerie S'arrete en souriant. La nuit, quand 1'homme dort, quand 1'esprit reve, a 1'heure 20 Ou Ton entend gemir, comme une voix qui pleure, L'onde entre les roseaux, 78 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Si 1'aube tout a coup la-bas luit comme un phare, Sa clarte dans les champs eveille une fanfare De cloches et d'oiseaux. 4 Enfant, vous etes 1'aube et mon ame est la plainc Qui des plus douces fleurs embaume son haleine Quand vous la respirez ; Mon ame est la foret dont les sombres ramures 8 S'emplissent pour vous seul de suaves murmures Et de rayons dores. Car vos beaux yeux sont pleins de douceurs infinies, Car vos petites mains, joyeuses et benies, 12 N'ont point mal fait encor ; Jamais vos jeunes pas n'ont louche notre fange, Tete sacree ! enfant aux cheveux blonds ! bel ange A 1'aureole d'or ! 1 6 Vous etes parmi nous la colombe de 1'arche. Vos pieds tendres et purs n'ont point 1'age ou Ton marche, Vos ailes sont d'azur. Sans le comprendre encor vous regardez le monde. 20 Double virginit^ ! corps ou rien n'est immonde, Ame ou rien n'est impur ! II est si beau, 1'enfant, avec son doux sourire, Sa douce bonne foi, sa voix qui veut tout dire, 24 Ses pleurs vite apaises, Laissant errer sa vue etonnee et ravie, Offrant de toutes parts sa jeune ame a la vie Et sa bouche aux baisers ! VICTOR HUGO. 79 Seigneur ! preservez-moi, pre"servez ceux que j'aime, Freres, parents, amis, et mes ennemis meme Dans le mal triomphants, De jamais voir, Seigneur, l'et sans fleurs vermeilles, La cage sans oiseaux, la ruche sans abeilles, La maison sans enfants ! LES FEUILLES D'AUTOMNE. 18 mai 1830. 6. LE GRAND HOMME VAINCU. LE grand homme vaincu petit perdre en un instant 8 Sa gloire, son empire, et son trone eclatant, Et sa couronne qu'on renie, Tout, jusqu'a ce prestige a sa grandeur mele" Qui faisait voir son front dans un ciel etoile ; 12 11 garde toujours son gnie ! Ainsi, quand la bataille enveloppe tin drapeau, Tout ce qui n'est qu'azur, carlate, oripeau, Frange d'or, tuniqtie de soie, 16 Tombe sous la mitraille en un moment hache", Et, lambeau par lambeau, s'en va comme arrache 1 Par le bee d'un oiseau de proie ; Et qu'importe ? A travers les cris, les pas, les voix, 20 Et la mel^e en feu qui stir tous a la fois Fait tourner son horrible meule, 80- MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Au plus haul de la hampe, orgueil des bataillons, Ou pendait cette pourpre envolee en haillons, L'aigle de bronze reste seule ! LES CHANTS DU CR^PUSCULE. 21 fevrier 1835. PUISQU'ICI-BAS TOUTE AME. 4 PUISQU'ICI-BAS toute ame Donne a quelqu'un Sa musique, sa flamme, Ou son parfum ; 8 Puisqu'ici toute chose Donne toujours Son epine ou sa rose A ses amours ; 12 Puisqu'avril donne aux chenes Un bruit charmant ; Que la nuit donne aux peines L'oubli dormant ; 1 6 Puisque Pair a la branche Donne Foiseau ; Que Faube a la pervenche Donne un pen d'eau ; 20 Puisque, lorsqu'elle arrive S'y repose r, L'onde amere a la rive Donne un baiser ; VICTOR HUGO. 8 I Je te donne, a cette heure, Penche sur toi, La chose la meilleure 4 Que j'aie en moi ! Recois done ma pensee, Triste d'ailleurs, Qui, comme une rose, 8 T'arrive en pleurs ! Recois mes voeux sans nombre, O mes amours ! Recois la flamme ou Fombre 12 De tous mes jours ! Mes transports pleins d'ivresses } Purs de soupcons, Et toutes les caresses 1 6 De mes chansons ! Mon esprit qui sans voile - Vogue au hasard, Et qui n'a pour etoile 20 Que ton regard ! Ma muse, que les heures Bercent revant, Qui, pleurant quand tu pleures, 24 Pleure souvent ! 6 82 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Recois, mon bien celeste, O ma beaut6, Mon coeur, dont rien ne reste, L'amour ote ! LES Voix INT^RIEURES. 19 mai 1836 OCEANO NOX. Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. OH ! combien de marins, combicn de capitaines Qui sont partis joyeux pour des courses lointaines, Dans ce morne horizon se sont evanouis ! 8 Combien ont disparu, dure et triste fortune ! Dans une mer sans fond, par une nuit sans lune, Sous 1'aveugle ocean a jamais enfouis ! Combien de patrons morts avec leurs equipages ! 1 2 L'ouragan de leur vie a pris toutes les pages, Et d'un souffle il a tout disperse stir les flots ! Nul ne saura leur fin dans 1'abime plongee. Chaque vague en passant d'un butin s'est charged ; 16 L'une a saisi 1'esquif, 1'autre les matelots ! Nul ne sait votre sort, pauvres tetes perdues ! Vous roulez a travers les sombres e"tendues, Heurtant de vos fronts morts des ecueils inconnus. 20 Oh ! que de vieux parents, qui n'avaient plus qu'un reve, VICTOR HUGO. 83 Sont morts en attendant tons les jours sur la greve Ceux qui ne sont pas revenus ! On s'entretient de vous parfois dans les veille"es. 4 Maint joyeux cercle, assis sur des ancres rouillees, Mele encor quelque temps vos noms d'ombre converts Aux rires, aux refrains, aux rcits d'aventures, Aux baisers qu'on derobe a vos belles futures, 8 Tandis que vous dormez dans les goemons verts ! On demande : Ou sont-ils? sont-ils rois dans quelque ile? Nous ont-ils delaisse"s pour un bord plus fertile? Puis votre souvenir meme est enseveli. 1 2 Le corps se perd dans 1'eau, le nom dans la me'moire. Le temps, qui sur toute ombre en verse une plus noire, Sur le sombre ocean jette le sombre oubli. Bientot des yeux de tous votre ombre est disparue. 1 6 L'un n'a-t-il pas sa barque et 1'autre sa charrue? Seules, durant ces nuits ou 1'orage est vainqueur, Vos veuves aux fronts blancs, lasses de vous attendre, Parlent encor de vous en remuant la cendre 20 De leur foyer et de leur coeur ! Et quand la tombe enfin a ferm leur paupiere, Rien ne sait plus vos noms, pas meme une humble pierre Dans Petroit cimetiere ou 1'eV.ho nous re" pond, 24 Pas meme un saule vert qui s'effeuille a rautomne, Pas meme la chanson naive et monotone Que chante un mendiant a Tangle d'un vieux pont ! 84 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Ou sont-ils, les marins sombres dans les nuits noires? O flots, que vous savez de lugubres histoires ! Flots profonds, redoutes des meres a genoux ! 4 Vous vous les racontez en montant les marees, Et c'est ce qui vous fait ces voix desesperees Que vous avez le soir quand vous venez vers nous ! LES RAYONS ET LKS OMBRES. Juillet 1836. 9. LA TOMBE BIT A LA ROSE. LA tombe dit a la rose : 8 Des pleurs dont 1'aube t'arrose Que fais-tu, fleur des amours? La rose dit a la tombe : Que fais-tu de ce qui tombe 12 Dans ton gouffre ouvert toujours? La rose dit : Tombeau sombre, De ces pleurs je fais dans 1'ombre Un parfum d'ambre et de miel. 16 La tombe dit : Fleur plaintive, De chaque ame qui m'arrive Je fais un ange du ciel. LES VOIX INTERIEURES. 3 jllill 1837. VICTOR HUGO. 8 10. MATELOTS ! MATELOTS ! MATELOTS ! matelots ! vous d^ploierez les voiles ; Vous voguerez, joyeux parfois, monies souvent ; Et vous regarderez aux lueurs des toiles 4 La rive, ecueil ou port, selon le coup de vent. Envieux, vous mordrez la base des statues. Oiseaux, vous chanterez ; vous verdirez, rameaux. Fortes, vous croulerez de lierre revetues. 8 Cloches, vous ferez vivre et rever les hameaux. Teignant votre nature aux moeurs de tous les hommes, Voyageurs, vous irez comme d'errants flambeaux ; Vous marcherez pensifs sur la terre oil nous sommes, 12 En vous ressouvenant quelquefois des tombeaux. Chenes, vous grandirez au fond des solitudes. Dans les lointains brumeux, a la clarte des soirs, Vieux saules, vous prendrez de tristes attitudes, 16 Et vous vous mirerez vaguement aux lavoirs. Nids, vous tressaillerez sentant croitre des ailes ; Sillons, vous fre'inirez sentant sourdre le ble. Torches, vous jetterez de rouges e'tincelles 20 Qui tourbillonneront comme un esprit trouble". Foudres, vous nommerez le Dieu que la mer nomme. Ruisseaux, vous nourrirez la fleur qu'avril dora ; 86 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Vos flots refleteront 1'ombre austere de 1'homme, Et vos flots couleront, et 1'homme passera. Chaque chose et chacun, ame, etre, objet ou nombre, 4 Suivra son cours, sa loi, son but, sa passion, Portant sa pierre a 1'ceuvre indefinie et sombre Qu'avec le genre humain fait la creation. Moi, je contemplerai le Dieu pere du monde, 8 Qui livre a notre soif, dans 1'ombre ou la clarte, Le ciel, cette grande urne, adorable et profonde, Ou Ton puise le calme et la serenit6 1 LES RAYONS ET LES OMBRES. 5 mai 1839 11. ELLE AVAIT PRIS CE PLI. ELLE avail pris ce pli dans son age enfantin 12 De venir dans ma chambre un peu chaque matin. Je 1'attendais ainsi qu'un rayon qu'on espere ; Elle entrait, et disait : Bonjour, mon petit pere ! Prenait ma plume, ouvrait mes livres', s'asseyait 16 Sur mon lit, de"rangeait mes papiers, et riait, Puis soudain s'en allait comme un oiseau qui passe. Alors, je reprenais, la tete un peu moins lasse, Mon oeuvre interrompue, et, tout en ecrivant, 20 Parmi mes manuscrits je rencontrais souvent Quelque arabesque folle et qu'elle avait trace, Et mainte page blanche entre ses mains froissee, VICTOR HUGO. 87 Oil, je ne sais comment, venaient mes plus doux vers Elle aimait Dieu, les fleurs, !es astres, les pres verts, Et c'etait un esprit avant d'etre une femme. 4 Son regard refle'tait la clarte de son ame. Elle me consultait sur tout a tous moments. Oh ! que de soirs d'hiver radieux et charmants, Passes a raisonner langue, histoire et grammaire, 8 Mes quatre enfants groupes sur mes genoux, leur mere Tout pres, quelques amis causant au coin du feu ! J'appelais cette vie etre content de peu ! Et dire qu'elle est morte ! Helas ! que Dieu m'assiste ! 1 2 Je n'etais jamais gai quand je la sentais triste ; J'etais morne au milieu du bal le plus joyeux Si j'avais, en partant, vu quelque ombre en ses yeux. LES CONTEMPLATIONS. Novembre 1846, jour des moits 12. SAISON DES SEMAILLES. LE SOIR. C'EST le moment cre"pusculaire. 1 6 J 'admire, assis sous un portail, Ce reste de jour dont s'eclaire La derniere heure du travail. Dans les terres, de nuit baignees, io Je contemple, 6mu, les haillons D'un vieillard qui jette a poign^es La moisson future aux sillons. MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Sa haute silhouette noire Domine les profonds labours. On sent a quel point il doit croire 4 A la fuite utile des jours. II marche dans la plaine immense, Va, vient, lance la graine au loin, Rouvre sa main, et recommence. 8 Et je m6dite, obscur te"moin, Pendant que, deployant ses voiles, L'ombre, oil se mele une rumeur, Semble elargir jusqu'aux e"toiles 12 Le geste auguste du semeur. LES CHANSONS DES RUES ET DES BOIS 13. LE DEUIL. CHARLE ! Charle ! 6 mon fils ! quoi done ! tu m'asquitte. Ah ! tout fuit ! rien ne dure ! Tu t'es eVanoui dans la grande clarte" 1 6 Qui pour nous est obscure. Charles, mon couchant voit pe'rir ton orient. Comme nous nous aimames ! L'homme, hlas ! cree, et reve, et lie en souriant 20 Son ame a d'autres ames ; VICTOR HUGO. 89 II dit : C'est e"ternel ! et poursuit son chemin ; II se met a descendre, Vit, souffre, et tout a coup dans le creux de sa main 4 N'a plus que de la cendre. Hier j'etais proscrit. Vingt ans, des mers captif, J'errai, 1'ame meurtrie ; Le sort nous frappe, et seul il connait le motif. 5 Dieu m'ota la patrie. Aujourd'hui je n'ai plus de tout ce que j'avais Qu'un fils et qu'une fille ; Me voila presque seul dans cette ombre oil je vais ; iz Dieu m'ote la famille. Oh ! demeurez, vous deux qui me restez ! nos nids Tombent, mais votre mere Vous bnit dans la mort sombre, et je vous bnis, 16 Moi, dans la vie amere. Oui, pour modele ayant le martyr de Sion, J'acheverai ma lutte, ( Et je continuerai la rude ascension 20 Qui ressemble a la chute. Suivre la verite' me suffit ; sans rien voir Que le grand but sublime, Je marche, en deuil, mais fier ; derriere le devoir 24 Je vais droit a 1'abime. TERRIBLE. Mars 1871 QO MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. 14. UN HYMNE HARMONIEUX. UN hymne harmonieux sort des feuilles du tremble : Les voyageurs craintifs, qui vont la nuit ensemble, Haussent la voix dans 1'ombre ou 1'on doit se hater. 4 Laissez tout ce qui tremble Chanter. Les marins fatigues sommeillent sur le gouffre. La mer bleue ou Vestive pand ses flots de soufre 8 Se tail des qu'il s'dteint, et cesse de gemir. Laissez tout ce qui souffre Dormir. Quand la vie est mauvaise on la reve meilleure. 12 Les yeux en pleurs au ciel se levent a toute heure ; L'espoir vers Dieu se tourne et Dieu 1'entend crier. Laissez tout ce qui pleure Prier. 16 C'est pour renaitre ailleurs qu'ici-bas on succombe. Tout ce qui tourbillonne appartient a la tombe. II faut dans le grand tout tot ou tard s'absorber. Laissez tout ce qui tombe 20 Tomber ! LES QUATRE VF.NTS DE L'ESPRIT, L LlVRE LYRIQUE ALFRED DE MUSSET. 91 V. ALFRED DE MUSSET. 1. STANCES. QUE j'aime a voir, dans la vallee Desolee, Se lever comme un mausole'e 4 Les quatre ailes d'un noir moutier ! Que j'aime a voir, pres de 1'austere Monastere, Au seuil du baron feudataire, 8 La croix blanche et le be"nitier ! Vous, des antiques Pyrenees Les aine'es, Vieilles eglises decharnees, 12 Maigres et tristes monuments, Vous que le temps n'a pu dissoudre, Ni la foudre, De quelques grands monts mis en poudre 16 N'etes-vous pas les ossements? Q2 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. J'aime vos tours a tete grise, Ou se brise L'clair qui passe avec la brise ; 4 J'aime vos profonds escaliers Qui, tournoyant dans les entrailles Des murailles, A 1'hymne eclatant des ouailles 8 Font repondre tous les piliers. Oh ! lorsque 1'ouragan qui gagne La campagne, Prend par les cheveux la montagne ; 12 Que le temps d'automne jaunit, Que j'aime, dans le bois qui crie Et se plie, Les vieux clochers de 1'abbaye, 1 6 Comme deux arbres de granit ! Que j'aime a voir, dans les vespre'es Empourpre'es, Jaillir en veines diapre"es 20 Les rosaces d'or des couvents ! Oh ! que j'aime aux voutes gothiques Des portiques, Les vieux saints de pierre athle"tiques *4 Priant tout bas pour les vivants ! 1828. ALFRED DE MUSSET. 93 2. LA NUIT DE DECEMBRE. LE POETE. Du temps que j'e'tais colier, Je restais un soir a veiller Dans notre salle solitaire. 4 Devant ma table vint s'asseoir Un pauvre enfant vetu de noir, Qui me ressemblait comme un frere. Son visage tkait triste et beau : 5 A la lueur de mon flambeau, Dans mon livre ouvert il vint lire. 11 pencha son front sur ma main, Et resta jusqu'au lendemain, 12 Pensif, avec un doux sourire. Comme j'allais avoir quinze ans, Je marchais un jour, a pas lents, Dans un bois, sur une bruyere. 1 6 Au pied d'un arbre vint s'asseoir Un jeune homme vetu de noir, Qui me ressemblait comme un frere. Je lui demandai mon chemin ; 20 II tenait un luth d'une main, De 1'autre un bouquet d'glantine. II me fit un salut d'ami, 94 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Et, se detournant a demi, Me montra du doigt la colline. A 1'age ou Ton croit a 1'amour, 4 J'etais seul dans ma chambre un jour, Pleurant ma premiere misere. Au coin de mon feu vint s'asseoir Un etranger vetu de noir, 5 Qui me ressemblait comme un frere. II etait morne et soucieux ; D'une main il montrait les cieux, Et de 1'autre il tenait un glaive. 12 De ma peine il semblait souffrir, Mais il ne poussa qu'un soupir, Et s'evanouit comme un reve. A 1'age ou Ton est libertin, 1 6 Pour boire un toast en un festin, Un jour je soulevai mon verre. En face de moi vint s'asseoir Un convive vetu de noir, 20 Qui me ressemblait comme un frere. II secouait sous son manteau Un haillon de pourpre en lambeau. Sur sa tete un myrte sterile, 24 Son bras maigre cherchait le mien, Et mon verre, en touchant le sien, Se brisa dans ma main dcbile. ALFRED DE MUSSET. 95 Un an apres, il tait nuit, J'e'tais a genoux pres du lit Ou venait de mourir mon pere. 4 Au chevet du lit vint s'asseoir Un orphelin vetu de noir, Qui me ressemblait comme un frere. Ses yeux etaient noyes de pleurs ; 8 Comme les anges de douleurs, II tait couronne d'e"pine ; Son luth a terre e"tait gisant, Sa pourpre de couleur de sang, 12 Et son glaive dans sa poitrine. Je m'en suis si bien souvenu, Que je 1'ai toujours reconnu A tons les instants de ma vie. 16 C'est une etrange vision ; Et cependant, ange ou d^mon, J'ai vu partout cette ombre amie. Lorsque plus tard, las de soufFrir, 20 Pour renaitre ou pour en finir, J'ai voulu m'exiler de France ; Lorsqu' impatient de marcher, J'ai voulu partir, et chercher 24 Les vestiges d'une esperance ; A Pise, au pied de 1'Apennin ; A Cologne, en face du Rhin ; 96 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. A Nice, au penchant des vallees ; A Florence, au fond des palais ; A Brigues, dans les vieux chalets ; 4 Au sein des Alpes de"sole"es ; A Genes, sous les citronniers ; A Vevay, sous les verts pommiers ; Au Havre, devant 1'Atlantique ; 8 A Venise, a 1'affreux Lido, Ou vient sur 1'herbe d'un tombeau Mourir la pale Adriatique ; Partout oil, sous ces vastes cieux, 12 J'ai lasse mon coeur et mes yeux, Saignant d'une eternelle plaie ; Partout ou le bpiteux Ennui, Trainant ma fatigue apres lui, 1 6 M'a promene" sur une claie ; Partout ou, sans cesse alt4 Viens a moi sans inquietude, ALFRED DE MUSSET. 99 Je te suivrai sur le chemin ; Mais je ne puis toucher ta main ; Ami, je suis la Solitude. Novembre 1835. 3. CHANSON DE BARBERINE. 4 BEAU chevalier qui partez pour la guerre, Qu'allez-vous faire Si loin d'ici ? Voyez-vous pas que la nuit est profonde, 8 Et que le monde N'est que souci? Vous qui croyez qu'une amour delaissee De la pensee 12 S'enfuit ainsi, Helas ! helas ! chercheurs de renommee, Votre fumee S'envole aussi. 1 6 Beau chevalier qui partez pour la guerre, Qu'allez-vous faire Si loin de nous? J'en vais pleurer, moi qui me laissais dire 20 Que mon sourire Etait si doux. 1836 IOO MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. 4. CHANSON DE FORTUNIO. Si vous croyez que je vais dire Qui j'ose aimer, Je ne saurais, pour un empire, 4 Vous la nommer. Nous allons chanter a la ronde, Si vous voulez, Que je 1'adore et qu'elle est blonde 8 Comme les bles. Je fais ce que sa fantaisie Veut m'ordonner, Et je puis, s'il lui faut ma vie, 12 La lui donner. Du mal qu'une amour ignoree Nous fait souffrir, J'en porte I'ame dechiree 16 Jusqu'a motirir. Mais j'aime trop pour que je die Qui j'ose aimer, Et je veux mourir pour ma mie 20 Sans la nommer. 1836- ALFRED DE MUSSET. 1OI 5. A UNE FLEUR. QUE me veux-tu, chere fleurette, Aimable et charmant souvenir? Demi-morte et demi-coquette, 4 Jusqu'a moi qui te fait venir? Sous ce cachet enveloppee, Tu viens de faire un long chemin. Qu'as-tu vu? que t'a dit la main 8 Qui sur le buisson t'a coupe" e ? N'es-tu qu'un'e herbe dessechee Qui vient achever de mourir? Ou ton sein, pret a refleurir, 12 Renferme-t-il une pensee? Ta fleur, helas ! a la blancheur De la desolante innocence ; Mais de la craintive esperance 1 6 Ta feuille porte la couleur. As-tu pour moi quelque message? Tu peux parler, je suis discret. Ta verdure est-elle un secret? 20 Ton parfum est-il un langage ? 102 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. S'il en est ainsi, parle has, Mysterieuse messagere ; S'il n'en est rien, ne reponds pas ; 4 Dors sur mon cceur fraiche et legere. Je connais trop bien cette main, Pleine de grace et de caprice, Qui d'un brin de fil souple et fin 8 A nou ton pale calice. Cette main-la, petite fleur, Ni Phidias ni Praxitele N'en auraient pu trouver la soeur 12 Qu'en prenant Venus pour modele. Elle est blanche, elle est douce et belle, Franche, dit-on, et plus encor ; A qui saurait s'emparer d'elle 1 6 Elle peut ouvrir un trsor. Mais elle est sage, elle est severe ; Quelque mal pourrait m'arriver. Fleurette, craignons sa colere. 20 Ne dis rien, laisse-moi rever. 1838. ALFRED DE MUSSET. 103 6. IMPROMPTU. EN REPONSE A CETTE QUESTION QU'EST-CE QUE LA POESIE ? CHASSER tout souvenir et fixer la pensee ; Sur un bel axe d'or la tenir balancee, " Incertaine, inquiete, immobile pourtant ; 4 Eterniser peut-etre un reve d'un instant ; Aimer le vrai, le beau, chercher leur harmonic ; Ecouter dans son coeur 1'echo de son genie ; Chanter, rire, pleurer, seul, sans but, au hasard ; 8 D'un sourire, d'un mot, d'un soupir, d'un regard Faire un travail exquis, plein de crainte et de charme, Faire une perle d'une larme : Du poete ici-bas voila la passion, 12 Voila son bien, sa vie et son ambition. 1839- 7. TRISTESSE. J'AI perdu ma force et ma vie, Et mes amis et ma gaite" ; J'ai perdu jusqu'a la fierte 1 6 Qui faisait croire a mon genie. Quand j'ai connu la Verit6, J'ai cru que c'e"tait une amie ; Quand je 1'ai comprise et sentie, .:o J'en e"tais deja de"goute. IO4 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Et pourtant elle est eternelle, Et ceux qui se sont passes d'elle Ici-bas ont tout ignore. 4 Dieu parle, il faut qu'on lui reponde. Le seul bien qui me reste au monde Est d'avoir quelquefois pleure. BURY, 14 juin 1840. 8. A M. VICTOR HUGO. SONNET. IL faut, dans ce bas monde, aimer beaucoup de choses, 8 Pour savoir, apres tout, ce qu'on aime le mieux : Les bonbons, 1'Ocean, le jeu, 1'azur des cieux, Les femmes, les chevaux, les lauriers et les roses. II faut fouler aux pieds des fleurs a peine ecloses ; 12 II faut beaucoup pleurer, dire beaucoup d'adieux. Puis le coeur s'apercoit qu'il est devenu vieux, Kt 1'effet qui s'en va nous decouvre les causes. De ces biens passagers que Ton goute a demi, 1 6 Le meilleur qui nous reste est un ancien ami. On se brouille, on se fuit. Qu'un hasard nous rassemble, On s'approche, on sourit, la main touche la main, Et nous nous souvenons que nous marchions ensemble, 20 Que I'ame est immortelle, et qu'hier c'est demain. 26 avril 1843. THEOPHILE GAUTIEP. 105 VI. THEOPHILE GAUTIER. 1. PAYSAGE. . . . omnia plenis Rura natant fossis. P. VIRGILIUS MARO. PAS une feuille qui bouge, Pas un seul oiseau chantant, Au bord de 1'horizon rouge 4 Un Eclair intermittent ; D'un cot6 rares broussailles, Sillons a demi noye"s, Pans grisatres de murailles, 8 Saules noueux et ployes ; De 1'autre, un champ que termine Un large fosse plein d'eau, Une vieille qui chemine 12 Avec un pesant fardeau, Et puis la route qui plonge Dans le flanc des coteaux bleus, Et comme un ruban s'allonge 16 En minces plis onduleux. IO6 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. VOYAGE. II me faut du nouveau n'en fi A it-il plus au monde. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE. Jam metis praetrepidans avet vagari, Jam laeti studio pedes vigescunt. CATULLE. Au travers de la vitre blanche Le soleil rit, et stir les murs Tracant de grands angles, epanche 4 Ses rayons splendides et purs : Par un si beau temps, a la ville Rester parmi la foule vile ! Je veux voir des sites nouveaux : 8 Postilions, sellez vos chevaux. Au sein d'un nuage de poudre, Par un galop pre'cipite', Aussi promptement que la foudre 12 Comme il est doux d'etre emporte ! Le sable bruit sous la roue, Le vent autour de vous se joue ; Je veux voir des sites nouveaux : 1 6 Postilions, pressez vos chevaux. Les arbres qui bordent la route Paraissent fuir rapidement, Leur forme obscure dont 1'oeil doute .10 Ne se dessine qu'un moment ; THEOPHILE GAUTIER. IO/ Le ciel, tel qu'une banderole, Par-dessus les bois roule et vole ; Je veux voir des sites nouveaux : 4 Postilions, pressez vos chevaux. Chaumieres, fermes isolees, Vietix chateaux que flanque une tour, Monts arides, fraiches valises, 8 Forets se suivent tour a tour ; Parfois au milieu d'une brume, Un ruisseau dont la chute e"cume ; Je veux voir des sites nouveaux : 12 Postilions, pressez vos chevaux. Puis, une hirondelle qui passe, Rasant la greve au sable d'or, Puis, semes dans un large espace, 16 Les moutons d'un berger qui dort ; De grandes perspectives bleues, Larges et longues de vingt lieues ; Je veux voir des sites nouveaux : 20 Postilions, pressez vos chevaux. Une montagne : Ton enraye, Au bord du rapide penchant D'un mont dont la hauteur effraye : 24 Les chevaux glissent en marchant, L'essieu grince, le pave fume, Et la roue un instant s'allume ; Je veux voir des sites nouveaux : 28 Postilions, pressez vos chevaux. IO8 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. La cote raide est descendue. Recouverte de sable fin, La route, a chaque instant perdue, 4 S'^tend comme un ruban sans fin. Que cette plaine est monotone ! On dirait un matin d'automne ; Je veux voir des sites nouveaux : 8 Postilions, pressez vos chevaux. Une ville d'un aspect sombre, Avec ses tours et ses clochers Qui montent dans les airs, sans nombre, 12 Comme des mats ou des rochers, Ou mille lumieres flamboient Au sein des ombres qui la noient ; Je veux voir des sites nouveaux : 16 Postilions, pressez vos chevaux ! Mais ils sont las, et leurs narines, Rouges de sang, soufflent du feu ; L'^cume inonde leurs poitrines, 20 II faut nous arreter un peu. Halte ! demain, plus vite encore, Aussitot que poindra 1'aurore, Postilions, pressez vos chevaux, 24 Je veux voir des sites nouveaux. THEOPHILE GAUTIER. LOQ 3. LE COIN DU FEU. Blow, blow, winter's wind. SHAKSPEARE. Vente, gelle. gresle, j'ay mon pain cuict. VILLON. Around in sympathetic mirth, Its tricks the kitten tries; The cricket chirrups in the hearth, The crackling faggot flies. GOLDSMITH. Quam juvat immites ventos audire cubantem. TlBULLE. QUE la pluie a deluge au long des toits ruisselle ! Que 1'orme du chemin penche, craque et chancelle Au gre" du tourbillon dont il recoit le choc ! 4 Que du hatit des glaciers 1'avalanche s'e"croule ! Que le torrent aboie au fond du gouffre, et roule Avec ses flots fangeux de lourds quartiers de roc ! Qu'il gele ! et qu'a grand bruit, sans relache, la grele 8 De grains rebondissants fouette la vitre frele ! Que la bise d'hiver se fatigue a gemir ! Qu'importe? n'ai-je pas un feu clair dans mon atre, Sur mes genoux un chat qui se joue et folatre, 12 Un livre pour veiller, un fauteuil pour dormir? I 10 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. 4. TOMBEE DU JOUR. LE jour tombait, une pale nue'e Du haut du ciel laissait nonchalamment, Dans 1'eau du fleuve a peine remuee, 4 Tremper les plis de son blanc vetement. La nuit parut, la nuit morne et sereine, Portant le deuil de son frere le jour, Et chaque ^toile a son trone de reine, 8 En habits d'or s'en vint faire sa cour. On entendait pleurer les tourterelles, Et les enfants rever dans leurs berceaux ; C'e"tait dans 1'air comme un frolement d'ailes, 12 Comme le bruit d'invisibles oiseaux. Le ciel parlait a voix basse a la terre ; Comme au vieux temps Us parlaient en he'breu, Et re"pe"taient un acte de mystere ; 1 6 Je n'y compris qu'un seul mot : c'e"tait Dieu. 1834- 5. COMPENSATION. IL nait sous le soleil de nobles creatures Unissant ici-bas tout ce qu'on pent rever, Corps de fer, creur de flamme, admirables natures. THEOPHILE GAUTIER. Ill Dieu semble les produire afin de se prouver ; II prend, pour les pe'trir, une argile plus douce, Et souvent passe un siecle a les parachever. 4 II met, comme un sculpteur, 1'empreinte de son pouce Sur leurs fronts rayonnant de la gloire des cieux, Et 1'ardente aureole en gerbe d'or y pousse. Ces hommes-la s'en vont, calmes et radieux, 8 Sans quitter un instant leur pose solennelle, Avec 1'ceil immobile et le maintien des dieux. Leur moindre fantaisie est une oeuvre e'ternelle, Tout cede devant eux ; les sables inconstants 12 Gardent leurs pas empreints, comme un airain fidele. Ne leur donnez qu'un jour ou donnez-leur cent ans, L'orage ou le repos, la palette ou le glaive : Us meneront a bout leurs destins eclatants. 16 Leur existence Strange est le rel du reve ; Us exe"cuteront votre plan ideal, Comme un maitre savant le croquis d'un eleve. Vos dsirs inconnus, sous 1'arceau triomphal 20 Dont votre esprit en songe arrondissait la voute, Passent assis en croupe au dos- de leur cheval. D'un pied sur, jusqu'au bout ils ont suivi la route Ou, des les premiers pas, vous vous etes assis, 24 N'osant prendre une branche au carrefour du doute. 112 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. De ceux-la chaque peuple en compte cinq ou six, Cinq ou six tout au plus, dans les siecles prosperes, Types toujours vivants dont on fait des recits. 4 Nature avare, 6 toi, si feconde en viperes, En serpents, en crapauds tout gonfles de venins, Si prompte a repeupler tes immondes repaires, Pour tant d'animaux vils, d'idiots et de nains, 8 Pour tant d'avortements et d'oeuvres imparfaites, Tant de monstres impurs echappes de tes mains, Nature, tu nous dois encor bien des poetes ! 6. LES MATELOTS. SUR 1'eau bleue et profonde 12 Nous allons voyageant, Environnant le monde D'un sillage d'argent, Des iles de la Sonde, 16 De 1'Inde au ciel briile", Jusqu'au pole gele". . . . Les petites e"toiles Montrent de leur doigt d'or 20 De quel cote les voiles Doivent prendre 1'essor ; TIIEOFIIILE GAUTIER. I 13 Sur nos ailes de toiles, Comme de blancs oiseaux, Nous effleurons les eaux. Nous pensons a la terre Que nous fuyons toujours, A notre vieille mere, A nos jeunes amours ; Mais la vague legere AveC son doux refrain Endort notre chagrin. Le laboureur dechire 1 2 Un sol avare- et dure ; L'eperon du navire Ouvre nos champs d'azur, Et la mer sait produire, 1 6 Sans peine ni travail, La perle et le corail. Existence sublime ! Berces par notre nid, Nous vivons sur 1'abime Au sein de 1'infini ; Des flots rasant la cime, Dans le grand desert bleu Nous marchons avec Dieu ! 1841 114 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. 7. PREMIER SOURIRE DU PRINTEMPS. TANDIS qu'a leurs oeuvres perverses Les hommes courent haletants, Mars qui rit, malgre" les averses, 4 Prepare en secret le printemps. Pour les petites paquerettes, Sournoisement lorsque tout dort, II repasse des collerettes 8 Et cisele des boutons d'or. Dans le verger et dans la vigne, II s'en va, furtif perruquier, Avec une houppe de cygne, 12 Poudrer a frimas 1'amandier. La nature au lit se repose ; Lui, descend au jardin desert Et lace les boutons de rose 1 6 Dans leur corset de velours vert. Tout en composant des solfeges, Qu'aux merles 11 siffle a mi-voix, II seme aux pres les perce-neiges 20 Et les violettes aux bois. Sar le cresson de la fontaine Ou le cerf boit, 1'oreille au guet, THEOPHILE GAUTIER. 115 De sa main cachee il egrene Les grelots d'argent du muguet. Sous 1'herbe, pour que tu la cueilles, II met la fraise au teint vermeil, Et te tresse un chapeau de feuilles Pour te garantir du soleil. Puis, lorsque sa besogne est faite, Et que son regne va finir, Au seuil d'avril tournant la tete, II dit : " Printemps, tu peux venir ! " L'AVEUGLE. UN aveugle au coin d'une borne, 12 Hagard comme au jour un hibou, Sur son flageolet, d'un air morne, Tatonne en se trompant de trou, Et joue un ancien vaudeville 16 Qu'il fausse imperturbablement ; Son chien le conduit par la ville, Spectre diurne a 1'ceil dormant. Les jours sur lui passent sans luire ; 20 Sombre, il entend le monde obscur Et la vie invisible bruire Comme un torrent derriere un mur Il6 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Dieu sait quelles chimeres noires Hantent cet opaque cerveau ! Et quels illisibles grimoires 4 L'idee ecrit en ce caveau ! Ainsi dans les puits de Venise, Un prisonnier a demi fou, Pendant sa nuit qui s'^ternise, 8 Grave des mots avec un clou. Mais peut-etre aux heures funebres, Quand la mort souffle le flambeau, L'ame habituee aux tenebres Y verra clair dans le tombeau ! 9. LA SOURCE. TOUT pres du lac filtre une source. Entre deux pierres, dans un coin ; Allegrement 1'eau prend sa course 16 Comme pour s'en aller bien loin. Elle murmure : Oh ! quelle joie ! Sous la terre il faisait si noir ! Maintenant ma rive verdoie, 20 I e ciel se mire a mon miroir. TIIEOPHILE GAUTIER. 117 Les ni)'osotis aux fleurs bleues Me disent : Ne m'oubliez pas ! Les libellules de leurs queues 4 M'e'gratignent dans leurs ebats ; A ma coupe 1'oiseau s'abreuve ; Qui sait ? Apres quelques detours Peut-etre deviendrai-je un fleuve 8 Baignant vallons, rochers et tours. Je broderai de mon e'cume Fonts de pierre, quais de granit, Emportant le steamer qui fume 1 2 A 1'Ocean ou tout finit. Ainsi la jeune source jase, Formant cent projets d'avenir ; Comme 1'eau qui bout dans un vase, 16 Son flot ne peut se contenir ; Mais le berceau touche a la torabe ; Le geant futur meurt petit ; Nee a peine, la source tombe 20 Dans le grand lac qui 1'engloutit ! Il8 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. 10. CE QUE DISENT LES HIRONDELLES. CHANSON D'AUTOMNK. Dj\ plus d'une feuille seche Parseme les gazons jaunis ; Soir et matin, la brise est fraiche, 4 Helas ! les beaux jours sont finis ! On voit s'ouvrir les fleurs que garde Le jardin, pour dernier tresor : Le dahlia met sa cocarde 8 Et le souci sa toque d'or. La pluie au bassin fait des bulles ; Les hirondelles sur le toit Tiennent des conciliabules : 12 Voici 1'hiver, voici le froid ! Elles s'assemblent par centaines, Se concertant pour le depart. L'une dit " Oh ! que dans Athenes 16 II fait bon sur le vieux rempart ! " Tous les ans j'y vais et je niche Aux me'topes du Parthenon. Mon nid bouche dans la corniche 20 Le trou d'un boulet de canon." THEOPHILE GAUTIER. 119 L'autre : " J'ai ma petite chambre A Smyrne, an plafond d'un cafe. Les Hadjis comptent leurs grains d'ambre 4 Sur le seuil, d'un rayon.chaufte. " J'entre et je sors, accoutumee Aux blondes vapeurs des chibouchs, Et parmi des flots de fum^e, 8 Je rase turbans et tarbouchs." Celle-ci : " J 'habile un triglyphe Au fronton d'un temple, a Balbeck. Je m'y suspends avec ma griffe 12 Sur mes petits au large bee." Celle-la : " Voici mon adresse : Rhodes, palais des chevaliers ; Chaque hiver, ma tente s'y dresse 16 Au chapiteau des noirs piliers." La cinquieme : " Je ferai halte, Car 1'age m'alourdit un peu, Aux blanches terrasses de Malte, 20 Entre 1'eau bleue et le ciel bleu." La sixieme : " Qu'on est a 1'aise Au Caire, au haut des minarets ! J'empate un ornement de glaise, 24 Et mes quartiers d'hiver sont prets." " A la seconde cataracte, Fait la derniere, j'ai mon nid ; I2O MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. J'en ai note la place exacte, Dans le pschent d'un roi de granit." Toutes : " Demain combien de lieues 4 Auront file sous notre essaim, Plaines brunes, pics blancs, mers bleues Brodant d'^cume leur bassin ! " Avec cris et battements d'ailes, 8 Sur la moulure aux bords etroits, Ainsi jasent les hirondelles, Voyant venir la rouille aux bois. Je comprends tout ce qu'elles disent, * Car le poe'te est un oiseau ; Mais, captif, ses lans se brisent Centre un invisible rseau ! Des ailes ! des ailes ! des ailes ! 16 Comme dans le chant de Ruckert, Pour voler, la-bas avec elles Au soleil d'or, au printemps vert ! 11. L'ART. OUT, 1'oeuvre sort plus belle D'une forme au travail Rebelle, Vers, marbre, onyx, e"mail. THEOPHILE GAUTIER. 121 Point de contraintes fausses ! Mais que pour marcher droit Tu chausses, Muse, un cothurne troit. Fi du rhythme commode, Comme un soulier trop grand, Du mode Que tout pied quitte et prend ! Statuaire, repousse L'argile que ptrit Le pouce Quand flotte ailleurs 1'esprit ; Lutte avec le carrare, Avec le paros dur Et rare, 16 Gardiens du contour pur ; Emprunte a. Syracuse Son bronze ou fermement S'accuse 20 Le trait fier et charmant ; D'une main delicate Poursuis dans un filon D 'agate 24 Le profil d'Apollon. 122 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Peintre, fuis 1'aquarelle, Et fixe la couleur Trop frele 4 Au four de 1'e'mailleur. Fais les sirenes bleues, Tordant de cent facons Leurs queues, 8 Les monstres des blasons ; Dans son nimbe trilobe La Vierge et son Jesus, Le globe 12 Avec la croix dessus. Tout passe. L'art robuste Seul a l'e"ternite. Le buste 16 Survit a la cite. Et la me"daille austere Que trouve un laboureur Sous terre 20 ReVele un empereur. Les dieux eux-memes meurent, Mais les vers souverains Demeurent 24 Plus forts que les airains. THEOPHILE GAUTIER. 123 Sculpte, lime, cisele ; Que ton reve flottant Se scelle Dans le bloc resistant ! 124 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. VII. MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 1. LA JEUNE CAPTIVE. Saiut-Lazare. " L'EPI naissant murit de la faux respecte" ; Sans crainte du pressoir, le pampre tout 1'ete Boit les doux presents de 1'aurore ; 4 Et moi, comme lui belle, et jeune comme lui, Quoi que 1'heure presente ait de trouble et d'ennui, Je ne veux point mourir encore. " Qu'un stoique aux yeux sees vole embrasser la mort, 8 Moi je pleure et j'espere ; au noir souffle du nord Je plie et releve ma tete. S'il est des jours amers, il en est de si doux ! Helas ! quel miel jamais n'a laisse" de degoiits? 12 Quelle mer n'a point de tempete? " L'illusion fconde habite dans mon sein. D'une prison sur moi les murs pesent en vain, J'ai les ailes de 1'esperance : 16 Echapp^e aux re"seaux de 1'oiseleur cruel, Plus vive, plus heureuse, aux campagnes du ciel, Philomele chante et s'elance. MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 12 " Est-ce a moi de mourir? Tranquille je m'endors, Et tranquille je veille, et ma veille aux remords Ni mon sommeil ne sont en proie. 4 Ma bienvenue au jour me rit dans tous les yenx ; Sur des fronts abattus, mon aspect dans ces lieux Ranime presque de la joie. " Mon beau voyage encore est si loin de sa fin ! 8 Je pars, et des ormeaux qui bordent le chemin J'ai pass les premiers a peine. Au banquet de la vie a peine commence, I'n instant settlement mes levres ont presse" 12 La coupe en mes mains encor pleine. " Je ne suis qu'au printemps, je veux voir la moisson ; Et comme le soleil, de saison en saison, Je veux achever mon annee. 16 Brillante sur ma tige et 1'honneur du jardin, Je n'ai vu luire encor que les feux du matin, Je veux achever ma journ^e. " O mort ! tu peux attendre ; eloigne, loigne-toi ; 20 Va consoler les cceurs que la honte, 1'effroi, Le pale ddsespoir deVore. Pour moi Pales encore a des asiles verts, Les Amours des baisers, les Muses des concerts ; 24 Je ne veux point mourir encore." Ainsi, triste et captif, ma lyre toutefois S'eVeillait, e'coutant ces plaintes, cette voix, Ces voeux d'une jeune captive ; 126 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Kt secouant le faix de mes jours languissants, Aux donees lois des vers je pliais les accents De sa bouche aimable et na'i've. 4 Ces chants, de ma prison temoins harmonieux, Feront a quelque amant des loisirs studieux Chercher quelle fut cette belle : La grace decorait son front et ses discours, 5 Et, comme elle, craindront de voir finir leurs jours Ceux qui les passeront pres d'elle. ANDR CH^NIER, 1794 2. LA FKUILLK. DE ta tige detachee, Pauvre feuille desschee, 12 On vas-tu? Je n'en sais rien. L'orage a bris le chene Qui seul etait mon soutien. De son inconstante haleine 1 6 Le zephyr ou 1'aquilon Depuis ce jour me promene De la foret a la plaine, De la montagne au vallon. 20 Je vais ou le vent me mene, Sans me plaindre ou m'effrayer ; Je vais ou va toute chose, Oil va la feuille de rose 24 Et la feuille cle laurier. ARNAULT. MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. \2' t 3. SOUVENIR DU PAYS DE FRANCE. ROMANCE. COMBIEN j'ai douce souvenance Du joli lieu de ma naissance ! Ma soeur, qu'ils taient beaux les jours 4 De France ! O mon pays, sois mes amours Toujours ! Te souvient-il que notre mere, Au foyer de notre chaumiere, Nous pressait sur son coeur joyeux, Ma chere ? Et nous baisions ses blancs cheveux 12 Tous deux. Ma soeur, te souvient-il encore Du chateau que baignait la Dore? Et de cette tant vieille tour 16 Du Maure, Ou 1'airain sonnait le retour Du jour? Te souvient-il du lac tranquille 20 Qu'effleurait 1'hirondelle agile? Du vent qui courbait le roseau Mobile, Et du soleil couchant sur 1'eau, 24 Si beau? 128 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. O ! qui me rendra mon Helena, Et ma montagne, et le grand chene? Leur souvenir fait tous les jours 4 Ma peine : Mon pays sera mes amours Tou jours ! CHATEAUBRIAND. 4. LE CHIEN DU LOUVRE. BALLADE. Paris PASSANT, que ton front se dcouvre : 8 La, plus d'un brave est endormi. Des fleurs pour le martyr du Louvre ! Un peu de pain pour son ami ! C'e"tait le jour de la.bataille : 12 II s'e"lanca sous la mitraille ; Son chien suivit. Le plomb tous deux vint les atteindre Est-ce le maitre qu'il faut plaindre? 16 Le chien survit. Morne, vers le brave il se penche, L'appelle, et, de sa tete blanche Le caressant, 20 Sur le corps de son frere d'armes Laisse couler ses grosses larmes Avec son sang. MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 129 Des morts voici le char qui roule ; Le chien, respect^ par la foule, A pris son rang, 4 L'oeil abattu, 1'oreille basse, En tete du convoi qui passe, Comme un parent. Au bord de la fosse avec peine, 5 Bless^ de juillet, il se traine Tout en boitant ; Hit la gloire y jette son maitre, Sans le nommer, sans le connaitre ; 12 Us ^talent tant ! Gardien du tertre funeraire, Nul plaisir ne le peut distraire De son ennui ; 1 6 Et fuyant la main qui Pattire, Avec tristesse il semble dire : " Ce n'est pas lui." Quand sur ces touffes d' immortelles 20 Brillent d'humides tkincelles Au point du jour, Son ceil se ranime, il se dresse, Pour que son maitre le caresse -'4 A son retour. Au vent des nuits, quand la couronne Sur la croix du tombeau frissonne, Perdant 1'espoir, 9 130 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. II veut que son maitre 1'entende ; II gronde, il pleure, et lui demande L'adieu du soir. 4 Si la neige, avec violence, De ses flocons couvre en silence Le lit de mort, II pousse un cri lugubre et tend re, 8 Et s'y couche pour le defendre Des vents du nord. Avant de fermer la paupiere, II fait, pour relever la pierre, 12 Un vain effort. Puis il se dit comtne la veille : " II m'appellera s'il s'eVeille." Puis il s'endort. 1 6 La nuit, il reve barricade : Son maitre est sous la fusillade Convert de sang ; II 1'entend qui siffle dans 1'ombre, 20 Se leve et saute apres son ombre En ge"missant. C'est la qu'il attend d'heure en heure, Qu'il aime, qu'il souffre, qu'il pleure, 24 Et qu'il mourra. Quel fut son nom ? C'est un mystere : Jamais la voix qui lui fut chere Ne le dira. MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 131 Passant, que ton front se dcouvre : La, plus d'un brave est endormi. Des fleurs pour le martyr du Louvre ! Un peu de pain pour son ami ! CASCVIIR UELAVIGNE. 5. LA BARQUE. . . . Frale barca, Mi trovo in alto mar senza governo. PETRARCA, s. 88, MON ceil re veil r suit la barque lointaine Qui vient a moi, faible jouet des flots ; J'aime a la voir deposer sur 1'arene 8 D'adroits pecheurs, de joyeux matelots. * Mais a ma voix nulle voix qui r^ponde ! La barque est vide, et je n'ose approcher. Nacelle vagabonde, 12 A la merci de 1'onde, Pourquoi voguer sans rame et sans nocher? La mer paisible et le ciel sans nuage Sont embelUs des feux du jour naissant ; 16 Mais dans la nuit grondait un noir orage ; L'air tait sombre et le flot menacant ! . . . Quand 1'esperance, en promesses feconde, Ouvrit 1'anneau qui t'enchaine an rocher, 132 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Nacelle vagabonde, A la merci de 1'onde, Pourquoi voguer sans rame et sans nocher? 4 Oui, ton retour cache un triste mystere ! D'un poids secret il oppresse mon coeur. Sur cette plage, errante et solitaire, J'ai vu pleurer la femme du pecheur ! 8 Es-tu 1'objet de sa douleur profonde? Ses longs regards allaient-ils te chercher? Nacelle vagabonde, A la merci de 1'onde, 13 Pourquoi voguer sans rame et sans nocher? MADAME TASTIJ. 6. f SOUVENIRS D'UN VIEUX MILITAIR.E. TE souviens-tn, disait un capitaine Au veteran qui mendiait son pain, Te souviens-tu qu'autrefois dans la plaine 16 Tu detournas un sabre de mon sein? Sous les drapeaux d'une mere cherie, Tous deux jadis nous avons combattu ; Je m'en souviens, car je te dois la vie : 20 Mais, toi, soldat, dis-moi, fen souviens-tu ? Te souviens-tu de ces jours trop rapides, Oil le Francais acquit tant de renom? MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 133 Te souviens-tu que sur les Pyramides, Chacun de nous osa graver son nom ? Malgr les vents, malgre la terre et 1'onde, 4 On vit flotter, apres 1'avoir vaincu, Notre etendard sur le berceau du monde : Dis-moi, soldat, dis-moi, fen souviens-tu ? Te souviens-tu que les preux d' Italic 8 Ont vainement combattu centre nous? Te souviens-tu que les preux d'Iberie Devant nos chefs out pile" les genoux ? Te souviens-tu qu'aux champs de 1'Allemagne 12 Nos bataillons, arrivant impromptu, En quatre jours ont fait une campagne : Dis-moi, soldat, dis-moi, fen souviens-tu ? Te souviens-tu de ces plaines glacees 1 6 Ou le Francais, aborclant en vainqueur, Vit sur son front les neiges amassees Glacer son corps sans refroidir son c'ceur? Souvent alors au milieu des alarmes, 20 Nos pleurs coulaient, mais notre ceil abattu Brillait encor lorsqu'on volait aux armes : Dis-moi, soldat, dis-moi, fen souviens-tu ? Te souviens-tu qu'un jour notre patrie 24 Vivante encor descendit au cercueil, Et que Ton vit, dans Lutece fletrie Des etrangers marcher avec orgueil? 134 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Grave en ton cceur ce jour pour le maudire, Et quand Bellone enfin aura paru, Qu'un chef jamais n'ait besoin de te dire : 4 Dis-moi, soldat, dis-moi, fen soiiviens-tu ? Te souviens-tu , . . Mais ici ma voix tremble, Car je n'ai plus de noble souvenir ; Viens-t'en 1'ami, nous pleurerons ensemble 8 En attendant un meilleur avenir. Mais si la mort, planant sur ma chaumiere, Me rappelait au repos qui m'est du, Tu fermeras doucement ma paupiere, 12 En me disant : Soldat, fen souviens-tit ? EMILE DEB'RAUX. 7. MA NORMAN DIE. QUAND tout renait a l'espe"rance, Et que 1'hiver fuit loin de nous ; Sous le beau ciel de notre France, 1 6 Quand le soleil revient plus doux ; Quand la nature est reverdie, Quand Phirondelle est de retour, J'aime a revoir ma Normandie ; 20 C'est le pays qui m'a donne' le jour. J'ai vu les champs de 1'Helvetie, Et ses chalets et ses glaciers ; J'ai vu le ciel de 1'Italie, 24 Et Venise et ses gondoliers. MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 135 En saluant chaque patrie, Je me disais : " Aucun sejour N'est plus beau que ma Normandie ; C'est le pays qui m'a donne 1 le jour." II est un age dans la vie Oil chaque reve doit finir, Un age ou 1'ame recueillie A besoin de se souvenir. Lorsque ma muse refroidie Aura fini ses chants d'amour, J'irai revoir ma Normandie ; C'est le pays qui m'a donn< le jour. FREDERIC BERAT. 8. LE JOUEUR D'ORGUE. A GAVARD. Nous mentions lentement, et pour longtemps encore Les ombres palissaient et pressentaient 1'aurore, Et les astres tombants, humidement verses, 16 Epanchaient le sommeil aux yeux enfin lasses. Tout dormait : je veillais, et, sous 1' humble lumiere, Je voyais cheminer, tout pres de la portiere, Un pauvre joueur d'orgue : il nous avait rejoints ; 20 Xe pas cheminer seul, cela fatigue moins. Courbe sous son fardeau, gagne-pain de misere, Que surmontait encor la balle necessaire, 136 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Un Mton a la main, sans un mot de chanson, II tirait a pas lents, regardant Phorizon. " Vie Strange, pensai-je, et quelle destined ! 4 Sous le ciel, nuit et jour, rouler toute 1'annee ! Jeune, 1'idee est belle et ferait tressaillir ; Mais celui-ci se voute, et m'a 1'air de vieillir. Que peut-il espe"rer? Rien au coeur, pas de joie; 8 Machinal est le son qu'aux passants il envoie." Et je continuais dans mon coin a peser Tous les maux, et, les biens, a les lui refuser. Et par degrtis pourtant blanchissait la lumiere ; 12 Son gris sourcil s'armait d'attention plus fiere ; Sa main habituelle a 1'orgue se porta : Qu'attendait-il? . . . Soudain le soleil e"clata, Et 1'orgue, au meme instant, comme s'il cut pris flatnme, 16 Feta d'un chant 1'aurore, et pria comme une amc. Salut attendrissant, naif et solennel ! Get humble coeur comprend les spectacles du ciel. A I'e'ternel concert, sous la voute infinie, 20 Pour sa part il assiste, et rend une harmonie. Ainsi, Nature aime"e, aux simples plus qu'aux grands, Souvent aux plus che"tifs, souvent aux plus errants, Tu livres sans replis ta splendeur ou ta grace. 24 L'opulent, 1'orgueilleux, a perdu loin ta trace ; Le petit te retrouve : un beau soir, un couchant, Quelque e"cho de refrain sous la June en marchant ; Le taillis matinal que le rayon essuie ; 28 Les champs de ble"s mouvants, rave's d'or et de pluie ; MISCELLANEOUS POE.MS. 137 Un vieux pont, un moulin au tomber d'un flot clair, Bruits et bonheurs sans nom qu'on respire avec 1'air, Souvent on les sent mieux dans sa route indigente, Et, meme sous le faix, 1'ame s'eveille et chante. SAINTE-BEUVE. 1). LA FERMIERE. ROMANCE. liTRENNES A MADAME G***. AMOUR a la fermiere ! elle est Si gentille et si douce ! C'est 1'oiseau des bois qui se plait 8 Loin du bruit dans la mousse. Vieux vagabond qui tends la main, Enfant pauvre et sans mere, Puissiez-vous trouver en chemin 12 La ferme et la fermiere ! De 1'escabeau vide au foyer, La, le pauvre s'empare, Et le grand bahut de noyer 16 Pour lui n'est point avare ; C'est la qu'un jour je vins m'asseoir, Les pieds blancs de poussiere ; Un jour . . . puis en marche ! et bonsoir, 20 La ferme et la fermiere ! 138 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Mon seul beau jour a du finir, Finir des son aurore ; Mais pour moi ce doux souvenir 4 Est du bonheur encore : En fermant les yeux, je revois L'enclos plein de lumiere, La haie en fleur, le petit bois, 8 La ferme et la fermiere ! Si Dieu, comme notre cure" Au prone le re"pete, Paie un bienfait (meme e"gare"), 12 Ah ! qu'il songe a ma dette ! Qu'il prodigue au vallon les fleurs, La joie a la chaumiere, Et garde des vents et des pleurs 16 La ferme et la fermiere ! Chaque hiver, qu'un groupe d'enfantL A son fuseau sourie, Comme les anges aux fils blancs 20 De la Vierge Marie ; Que tons, par la main, pas a pas, Guidant un petit frere, Rejouissent de leurs e"bats 24 La ferme et la fermiere ! ENVOI. Ma chansonnette, prends ton vol ! Tu n'es qu'un faible hommage ; MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 139 Mais qu'en avril le rossignol Chante, et la de"dommage ; Qu'effraye par ses chants d'amour, L'oiseau du cimetiere Longtemps, longtemps, se taise pour La ferme et la fermiere ! HEGESIPPE MOREAU. Janvier 1836. 10. LE REPOS DU SOIR. QUAND le soleil se couche horizontal, 8 De longs rayons noyant la plaine immense, Comme un ble" miir, le ciel occidental De pourpre vive et d'or pur se nuance ; L'ombre est plus grande et la clarte s'eteint 12 Sur le versant des pentes opposees ; Enfin le ciel par degre" se deteint, Le jour s'efface en des brumes rosees. Reposons-nous, 16 Le repos est si doux ! Que la peine sommeille Jusqu'a 1'aube vermeille ! Dans le sillon, la charrue au repos 20 Attend 1'aurore et la terre mouillee ; Bergers, comptez et parquez les troupeaux ; L'oiseau s'endort dans 1'epaisse feuillee. 140 MODERN FRENCH LYRICS. Gaules en main, bergeres aux doux yeux A 1'eau des gues menent leurs betes boire ; Les laboureurs ont delie" les boeufs, 4 Et les chevaux soufflent dans la mangfoirc. Reposons-nous, Le repos est si doux ! Que la peine sommeille 8 Jusqu'a 1'aube vermeille ! Tous les fuseaux s'arretent dans les doigts ; La lampe brille, tine blanche fume Dans 1'air du soir monte de tous les toils ; 12 C'est du repas 1'annonce accoutumee : Les ouvriers, si las quand vient la nuit. Peuvent parti r, enfin la cloche sonne ; Us vont gagner leur modeste reduit, 1 6 Oil sur le feu la marmite bouillonne. Reposons-nous, Le repos est si doux ! Que la peine sommeille 20 Jusqu'a 1'aube vermeille ! La menagere et les enfants sont la, Du chef de 1'atre attendant la presence ; Des qu'il parait, un grand cri : " Le voila ! " 24 S'leve au ciel, comme en rejouissance ; De bons baisers, la soupe, un doigt de vin, Rendent la joie a sa figure bleme ; MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 14! II peut dormir, ses enfants ont du pain, Et n'a-t-il pas une femme qui 1'aime ? Reposons-nous, 4 Le repos est si doux ! Que la peine sommeille Jusqu'a 1'aube vermeille ! Tous les foyers s'eteignent lentement ; 8 Dans le lointain, une usine qui fume Pousse de terre un sourd mugissement ; Les lourds marteaux expirent sur 1'enclume. Ah ! detournons nos ames du vain bruit 12 Kt nos regards du faux eclat des villes ; Kndormons-nous sous 1'aile de la nuit Qui mene en rond ses etoiles tranquilles ! Reposons-nous, 1 6 Le repos est si doux ! Que la peine sommeille jusqu'a 1'aube vermeille ! PIERRE DUPONT. REMARKS ON FRENCH VERSIFICATION I. GENERAL STATEMENT. QUANTITY, as understood in Latin and Greek verse, is not a con- stituent element in French. French verse is built up on the accentual principle, and depends upon a definite number of syllables. Rhythm in French verse means an harmonious succession of accented and unac- cented syllables. The last fully pronounced syllable of each line is accented ; thus every line of poetry possesses at least one rhythmical accent (independent of the written accent or of any idea of quantity). Longer lines are divided by a caesura into two equal or unequal parts, and the syllable just before this caesura receives a rhythmical accent. Besides these two points (at the end of the line and before the caesura) upon which fixed accents fall, lines of greater length may have one or more movable points of accent, distributed through the line in har- mony with the thought. Every syllable thus accented forms, with the unaccented syllables preceding it (or if there are none, by itself alone), a so-called rhythmical element. The rhythmical elements which make up a line may be equal or unequal in extent (that is, in the number of syllables they contain) ; the latter is the rule. Successive lines usually differ in rhythmical structure. II. SYLLABLES. 1. IN a line of French poetry the silent syllables, or those contain- ing mute e, which in prose are usually slighted, have in general their full value. Thus gloire, armes (p. i, 1. 9), notre (p 3, 1. 17) count as two syllables; f&roces (p. i, 1. 6), abreuve (p. i, 1. 10), D6- chirent (p. 3, 1. 8) count as three; and R^publique (p 4, !. 15) counts as four. 144 FRENCH LYRICS. 2. But a final mute e is elided before an initial vowel (or silent h) of a following word ; thus gloire eat (p. I, 1. 2) counts as two syllables. And a mute syllable at the end of a line does not count in the enumeration of syllables; thus et notre gloire (p. 3, 1. 17) forms the last half of an eight-syllabled line. And further, in the body of a line, a final mute e unsupported by a consonant cannot count as a syllable. Thus words like vote, monnaie, are only admitted into the body of a line before an initial vowel or silent h, where the e is elided. Again a mute e unsupported by a consonant and not final, is suppressed entirely; that is, avouerai counts as three syllables, and is also written avotirai: cf. also p 2, 1. 13: ploiraient for ploieraient. Such combinations as voies, journ^es, louent are usually kept out of the body of the line. 3. Terminations in -aient of the imperfect and conditional tenses and the words aient and soient are admitted freely as monosyl- lables. Terms like voient (p. 3, 1. 17) may also be used as mono- syllables. 4. Vowel combinations count in general as two syllables if they represent double vowels of the Latin, as iia-ti-on (Latin nationem), or if they arise by the dropping of an intermediate consonant, as meri- di-er (Latin mendicare}. Vowel combinations count in general as one syllable when they correspond to a single vowel in Latin, as fier (p. 2, 1. n), bien, from Latin fentni, bene. Ay is always dissyllabic, as pays (=pai-is), p. 11, 1. 15. III. RHYME. 1. RHYME is a first essential of French verse. There can be no French verse without rhyme. Blank verse is practically impossible in French. The French rhyme has been called by Sainte-Beuve runiqut harmonic du vers (a statement, however, which is an exaggeration). 2. Rhyme is either ' masculine ' or 'feminine.' (i) Masculine rhyme exists between words which end in a fully pronounced syllable ; thus, arrive: Iev6, veugeurs : d^fenseurs. (2) Feminine rhyme ex- ists between words which end in a mute syllable; thus, esclaves ; entraves, trembleiit : rassemblent. These names are given because of the mute e in question, which is commonly the mark of feminine forms. REMARKS ON FRENCH VERSIFICATION. 145 3. Masculine and feminine rhymes must always alternate. This principle allows much variety. The alternation may be line by line (cf. p. i, 1. 1-4), couplet by couplet, one couplet within another (cf. p. i, 1. "j-8), etc. But the rhymes must be so intermingled that two differen. masculine or two different feminine rhymes shall not appear in immediate succession. Before the seventeenth century this rule was not strictly enforced, and exceptions to it are met with in Modern French ; cf. La Carmagnole, p. 10. 4. Rhyme, while appealing to the ear, must also to a certain extent appeal to the eye ; there must be a certain correspondence of written form. Thus such combinations as clou and vous, abri and nid, ai and nez, bleu and peux are not allowed to rhyme. But words ending in the different sibilants, as nceuds : vceux (p. 6, 1. 18, 20), or in dentals, as re~pond : pont, etc., may rhyme together. And words of like form but different meaning rhyme perfectly together, as pas (step) and pas (not), la tombe and il tombe. Cf, the F.nglish, where the same thing is not allowed. 5. 'Sufficient rhyme' {rime sujfisante) exists when different con- sonants precede the rhyming terminations, as soil : canon. ' Rich rhyme' (rime ricke) arises when entire syllables with their initial con- sonants rhyme together, as humain : main. Rhymes which extend back over more than one syllable are called doubles or suraboiidantes. Rimes plates are consecutive rhymes, the first two lines masculine, the next two feminine, and so on. Rimes croisees are alternate rhymes, the first and third masculine, the second and fourth feminine. Rimes melees are mixed or irregular rhymes, observing only the general principle of alternation between masculines and feminines. IV. POETIC FORMS HIATUS. SOME words have special forms which are allowable in verse beside the ordinary one : thus encor beside encore, Charie beside Charles (p. 88, 1. 13, 17), etc. This freedom helps in making up the required number of syllables. The first person singular of a verb may be used in rhyme without its final 3, as in je voi, je vien, je croi. In the present subjunctive of dire the form die (p. 100, 1. 17] may be used for dise. ir 146 FRENCH LYRICS. Modern French poetry proscribes hiatus. By virtue of this rule expressions like the following are excluded from verse: il y a, si elle, tu es, tu as, tu auras, tu aimes. This tends to restrict the use of tu and toi, as compared with than and thee in English poetry. V. VARIETIES OF VERSE. A LINE of French poetry may be made up of any number of syl- lables from one to thirteen, but those of one, nine, eleven and thirteen syllables are little used. The characteristics of varied verse structure may be seen in Victor Hugo's poem : Les Djinns, p. 67. The eight- syllabled line; either by itself or in combination with lines of four or six syllables, is a very common lyric metre. In Modern French it is employed exclusively in lyric poetry In lines of more than eight syllables a caesura or pause is required at a given syllable of the line. The ten-syllabled line with caesura at the fourth syllable (the early epic French line), is well adapted to lyric poetry (often in connection with lines of eight syllables) ; vicl. p. 35 : Mon Habit. The same line with a pause at the fifth syllable is also lyric. The line of twelve syllables, or Alexandrine,* while belonging preeminently to dramatic verse, is also admitted into sonnets and most other forms of lyric poetry, often in quatrains or in combination with shorter lines. * The Alexandrine line has two distinct forms : the classic and the ro- mantic. The former, whose laws were formulated by Boileau (1636-1711), is divided by an obligatory caesura after the sixth syllable into two equal parts, which in turn consist of two rhythmic elements each, so that the whole line is composed of four stress-groups of varying lengths. The sense must not be carried over from one line into the next (enjnmbement), or if it is, it must fill out the entire line. The romantic Alexandrine (so called because the Roman- ticists of the present century advocated its use) arose from a weakening of the accent of the hemistich and a corresponding disregard of the caesura. It com bines the second and third stress-groups into one, and thus consists of but three rhythmic elements, each composed of a varying number of syllables. Enjambcment or overflow is freely indulged in. The name Alexandrine conies from a celebrated poem of the earlier language (twelfth century) on Alexander the Great, which was written in twelve-syllabled verse (though not the first one written in such verse). NOTES. OBSERVATION. The Latin accusative is in general the case which has served as the type for the modern French word. In the following notes that form is commonly given in referring to the etymology of nouns or adjectives. An asterisk prefixed to a word indicates that the form is non-classical Latin. The sign > indicates : whence ; i. e., from which is derived. I. NATIONAL AND REVOLUTIONARY SONGS Page 1. LA MARSEILLAISE. La Marseillaise is distinctively the Chant national, or national anthem of France. It was composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lis'e (1760-1836). The circumstances of its composition are the following: The year 1792 saw the develop- ment of a hostile coalition against France on the part of foreign powers. Austria, Prussia, and Spain were threatening to send armies into France to put down the Revolution and restore Louis XVI. to his former rights. In April of this year war was declared by France against Austria, which was foremost in the coalition. After the news of this declaration had reached Strasbourg (then a part of France), the patriotic mayor of that town, Dietrich, had united around his table (April 24), the volunteers who were preparing for departure. Among the guests was a young officer of engineers named Rouget de Lisle. A wish having been expressed by the mayor that some war-song might be composed without delay, which should serve as a fresh inspiration to the soldiers and replace worn-out refrains, Rouget retired, during the ensuing evening, to his room, took his violin and composed both words and music of the hymn which has immortalized his name. The following day he sang before the mayor his Chanf de guerre. It was immediately published at Strasbourg under the title, 148 FRENCH LYRICS. Chant de guerre de I'arme'e du Rhin, and as early as the following Sunday (April 29) was played at the Place d'armes by the musicians of the national guard. It was first sung at Marseille, on the occasion of a banquet on June 25 of the same year, and was reproduced the next day under the title, Chant de guerre aux armees des fronttircs. Copies of the song were distributed among the volunteers from Marseille who were set- ting out for Paris. It was by these Marseillais that the hymn of Rouget de Lisle was first sung in Paris, on their entrance to that city July 30, 1792 (and again at the attack of the Tuileries on Aug 10). From this time it began to become popular at Paris, and was called Chant des Marseillais, and finally la Marseillaise. As composed by Rouget de Lisle la Marseillaise contained but six stanzas The seventh, called la strophe des en/ants, was added later in the same year, and was due to the poet Louis Dubois. Additional stanzas to the number of twenty were introduced during the Revolu- tion, but disappeared with the circumstances which inspired them. Ronget de Lisle is also the author of other patriotic poems (one is given on p. 15), most of which are much inferior to In Marseillaise. He published in 1799 some collections of Romances, and is the com- poser of fifty different airs (pub. 182;) to words by various authors. In singing la Marseillaise the fourth line of each stan/.a, as also the Marchons of the refrain, is repeated. Line 6: Mugir (Latin mugire), a severe word here which can hardly be rendered literally. Its primary meaning is to bellow, low (of oxen) ; is then used of the human voice when forced in an excessive manner ; here the roar of. Line 8 : Egorger, to butcher, lit. to cut the throat of, a derivative of gorge (cf. the English word). compagnes, means female com- panions, wives. The masc. word is compagnon. The basis of these forms is found in the Latin words cnm and pan is, suggesting the meaning of one who eats bread with another. Line 10 : abreuve, subj. used in an optative or imperative sense : let an impure l>lood drench our furrows. Abrenver means primarily to water (animals), to give to drink. The Latin words ad and bibere (to drink) are the basis of the word. Page 2, 1. 4 : transports, violent passion. NOTES. 149 Line 5 : ose. The verb oser comes from Latin *ausare, a deriv. of ausiim supine of aitdere (to dare). For Latin an > French o, cf. cans.im > chose, an rum > or (gold). Line 6 : esclavage, a deriv. of esclare (p. I, I. li), which is identical with the English word slave. Regarding the initial e, cf. English special and especial, spy and espy. Line 9 : Feraient, used, like the following conditionals, to express irony, surprise. foyers- Foyer means first a fireplace, hearth ; then by extension fireside, house, home, and in the plur., native land. It has also tlie meanings : focus (the Latin word focus serves as a basis for a later form *fvcariitm, which then develops Into foyer), centre, and in theatrical language, lobby. Line 11 : Terrasseraieiit. The verb lerrasscr is formed from the noun terrasse (English terrace). It mza.\\s jeter par lerre, so oi'erthrow, distil ay. Line 18 : partis ; le parti is to be carefully distinguished from la parlic. Page 3, line 6: Bouille (1739-1800), one of the ablest generals of the time, and a devoted royalist. He aided Louis XVI. in his plan of escape from Paris and France (in 1791), which terminated fatally at Varennes, near the northeastern frontier. Line 11 : Conduis, imperative of conduire (to lead, conduct) from Latin condiicere = English conduce ; cf. English conduct. Line 14 drapeaux, an example of words which in the course of their history depart widely from their primitive meaning, or drop one meaning to take on another. Drapeau is strictly a dim. of drap (cloth), and meant originally piece de drap. Page 4 LE CHANT DU DEPART. Marie- Joseph de Chenier, the author of this poem, was born at Constantinople in 1764, and educated at Paris, where he died in 1811. He was a younger brother of the brilliant poet Andre de Chenier, and himself a popular writer. He early became known by a series of tragedies, among which Charles IX. (1789) may be mentioned. Together with some epistles and satires, he composed a number of revolutionary songs, of which le Chant du depart is the most celebrated. It was written in 1794 for the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille (July 14), and was set to music by Me'hul. Its appearance produced an immediate impression, I5O FRENCH LYRICS. it grew at once into popular favor, and was raised forthwith to the rank of a second Marseillaise. It is considered, after Rouget de Lisle's celebrated poem, the best patriotic song of the period. Lines 17, 18 : doit, must, should, is (expected) to. Page 5, 1. 2 . laches. The word lache (from Latin laxum) is the same as English lax, but has often a much severer meaning, that of cowardly, and then mean, dastardly. Line 3 . devons; cf doit above, p. 4, 1. 17. Line 4 : verser, from Latin versare ; the primary idea is to turn (cf. the English derivatives adverse, transverse, etc.), then to turn over, upside down, out, and so to pour out, and here to shed. Line 10 . fer, from Latin fernim (cf. English ferric, etc.) ; means lit. iron, and then in poetic language is synonymous with epee, poigi tard. Other terms belonging to the vocabulary of poetic words are, in the present selections: epoux (for mart), epouse (for femme},flamme (for amour), flanc (for sein), onde (for can), trepas (for inorl). Line 14: chauniiere, is a cottage covered with clianine (thatch), a thatched house, cottage-home. Line 19: Barra (1780-1793), a French boy enlisted in the Re- publican troops at the age of thirteen in Vendee (western pait of France), and noted for his valor. Viala. also a common soldier who distinguished himself during the Revolutionary wars. nous fait envie, we envy, we long after. Envie, which gives English envy, is derived from Latin invidiam (from ///, against, and videre, to see) ; i' 'hen means inclination, desire, longing. Page 6, 1 8 : e"poux. The form epoux (fem. epoitse] comes from Latin sponsum, pp. of the verb spondere (to promise solemnly), and so means lit. the one promised. The earlier (Old French) masc. and fern, forms were espous, espouse, from which we get English spouse, one of the oldest words in the language of French origin. Cf. the English verb espouse, French epouser. Line 15 : flancs ; flanc for sein ; cf. note to 1. 10, p. 5. Line 20: vceux, wishes. Van is derived from Latin rotitm, a promise, vow, then (from the wish implied in the vow) a wish, de- sire ; vceu was in Old French vou, which gave the English word vow. Cf. French and English vote, which is a later word taken over from the Latin. NOTES. 151 Line 21 : Qu'ils, let them. murailles ; cf. murs. Page. 7. ( f 'A IRA. This popular song of the Revolution dates probably from May or June, 1790. It met with unbounded enthusiasm, was taken up all over France and raised to the rank of chant national, along with la Marseillaise and Ic Chant- dn depart. Its authorship is uncertain. Attempts have been made to refer it to a certain Ladre, who was an itinerant singer, and who claimed the honor of having composed the words. Dumersan, who gives the text in his Chansons nationales et popnlaires de France, .ascribes it to Ladre ; but it is very doubtful if he was the author of it, at least in its original form. The words of the Qa ira were adapted to an air called Ic Carillon national, a contredanse composed by Becourt, which was very much in vogue at the time. Each of the five stanzas of the song begins with Ah ! fa ira, fa ira, fti ira ! meaning, it will go, or it will do, that is, it will succeed. There is some reason to believe that the song itself may have taken its origin in the expression fa ira as a popular cry or saying. It is even related that Franklin, during his residence at the French capital, being con- tinually plied with questions regarding the success of the American Revolution, was accustomed to reply with a smile, fa ira, fa ira, and that later the French Revolution took up the saying and made a war- song of it. At all events, some uncertainty hangs over the original and authentic text of the composition. Later on in the Revolution (from 1792) the Qa ira became the echo of public passions, and was reinforced by such lines as, Les aristocrates a lalanterne! (" To the lamp-post with aristocrats ! ") and Les aristo- crates on les pe.ndra ! Page 8, 1. 1 : en restent la ; en rester la means to stay, stop at that point of it, so, to leave off there, to stop short, etc. Line 4: Boileau, Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux, a famous French critic of the seventeenth century (b. 1636, d. 1711), celebrated for his satires (borrowed chiefly from Horace) and other poems, and known especially by his Art poetiqne (1674), a work modelled on the Ars Poetica of Horace, in which he definitely formulated the rules for literary composition in France. Lines 14-15. The Scripture reference is Matt, xxiii. 12. on (formerly om) is derived from the Latin nom. homo, man, and then, 152 FRENCH LYRICS. one, any one. Initial k was regularly suppressed. The form Con represents Latin illc homo, as the French definite article comes from the Latin demonstrative pronoun. The ace. hominem gives French homme (formerly omme, until the h was replaced, as graphic sign only) ; so in this word (as in some others) two Latin cases remain in the modern language. Line 23 : Pierrette ; another reading is Pierrot, likewise a dim. jf Pierre, but masc. Margot, a very familiar dim. of Marguerite. guinguette, a popular name given to inferior taverns or drink- Jug houses in the suburbs of Paris and other cities. Page 9, 1. 1 : a quia. To be a quia is to be reduced to a condi- tion where one cannot reply, that is, at naught, nonplussed. Quia is the Latin word meaning because, and fare ct quia represents the situa- tion of one who, being asked why? or wherefore? in a discussion, answers because! without being able to go on. In this line the verb (etaii) is to be understood. jadis, equivalent to atttrcfois. Line 2 : mea culpa, Latin words equivalent to far ma /ante ; dit tnea culpa avoue safaute. Line 6 : Lafayette (1757-1834). The illustrious French states- man and patriot. The services rendered by him to the cause of American liberty can hardly be over-estimated, while in France he was an ardent and consistent supporter of moderate measures. Line 13: d'avec,/ww (as differing from). Line 14 : pour le bien soutiendra, will stand up for the right. Soutenir is no longer used as neuter verb. Line 17 : an nez lui rira, mill laugh in his face. Page 10, 1. 1 : du louche, something ambiguous. Louche means lit. squint-eyed; it comes from Latin luscum (properly, one-eyed). The confusion of these two ideas is frequent in French dialects. Line 3: Lafa3 T ette dit. Another version reads : La liberte dit. LA CARMAGNOLE. La Carmagnole is a fourth song upon which has been conferred the rank of chant national. It was composed in 1792, after the events of the tenth of August, when the people rose in a mob and made an attack upon the palace of the Tuileries, resulting in the imprisonment of the royal family in the Temple. The federate troops from Marseille, who took a very active part in the scenes of that day, wore a kind of long jacket, still in use in the south of France, NOTES. K3 called carmagnole ; to this circumstance is probably due the name of the song. There is in Piedmont a town by the name of Carmagnola, where the garment in question may have been originally worn. This famous song is in a certain way a recital of the insurrection of August 10, and of its immediate consequences. Marie Antoinette is represented under the sobriquet of Madame Veto, and the king under that of Monsieur Veto. Of the thirteen stanzas which compose the song, eleven are here given. In singing, the first and second lines of each stanza are sung twice. The name of the author is unknown. La Carmagnole enjoyed the same popularity as the Qa ira, was sung and danced on all occasions, at theatres and balls, as also around the guillotine, and thus became the ready signal and accompaniment of the bloody scenes of the period, until the time of the Consulate, when Bonaparte suppressed both these songs. La Carmagnole has been severely judged as exhaling an odor of blood and brutality. It was, like the Qa ira, a violent and impulsive song, rather than a patriotic ode. But it remains as a curious monument of popular sentiments and impressions prevailing at Paris in 1792, and is sung by the Parisian populace to-day side by side with la Marseillaise. Victor Hugo, in les Miserables, says, with his customary rhetoric (in speaking of the Parisien) : " II chante, c'est sa joie. Proportionnez sa chanson a sa nature, et vous verrez ! Tant qu'il n'a pour refrain que la Carmagnole, il ne renverse que Louis XVI , faites-lui chanter la Marseillaise, et il delivrera le monde." Line 11 . canonnie", instead of canonniers, on account of the rhyme. In 1. 2, p. 12, the same form occurs (for canonnier). Cf. also 1. 19, below : quartieior quartier. The same thing is occasionally met with in more recent poetry ; thus dine (for diner) to rhyme with sonne. Line 13: Vive. The pres. subj. of vivrt.is used in expressions of good wishes or in vigorous exclamation for English long live! hurrah for ! for ever ! Line 21 : Les Suisses. The Gardes Suisses were bodies of merce- nary Swiss troops. They were employed as body-guards to the kings and for duty about the court. They were organized at Paris as early as 1616, and were very devoted to the interests of the Bourbons. In the present instance (August 10, 1792), they were, in large part, 154 FRENCH LYRICS. massacred by the rabble, while in heroic defence of the palace of the Tuileries. They numbered about 2,000 men. Their heroism has been commemorated in Thorwaldsen's Lion of Lucerne , a colossal sculpture cut in the face of the rock near Lucerne. Since the fifteenth century it has been the custom in many European countries to employ these Swiss guards. The pope's body-guard at the Vatican is composed of Swiss mercenaries. Page 11, 1. 3. In some versions the refrain is varied here by the line : Chantons notrc victoire, etc. Line 4 : la tour, la tour dn Temple, the prison of Louis XVI. and his family. It was the ancient stronghold of the Knights Templars, in Paris. Nothing remains of it to-day. An open square occupies the site. Tour (fern ) is from Latin turrem, ace. of turn's. In the next line tour (masc.) comes from Latin termini (a turner's wheel, a lathe), and so contains the idea of circular motion, revolution, Eng- lish tour (cf. /urn) ; faire demi-tour is a military expression, meaning to turn half-way round, to face in the opposite direction ; demi-tour & droite (command), right about. The play is upon the two words la tour and le tour ; fair' , to avoid an extra syllable in the line. Line 9, allusion to works executed at the' Temple to prevent the escape of the captives. Line 15 : Tous les bonnes gens. French grammar requires tonics here, which would make an extra syllable in the line. Usage prescribes tons les gens, tons les braves gens, but toutes les bonnes gens. Gens is plur. of gent (Latin gcnteni); it is in general treated as masc., but a preceding adjective of two terminations is put in the fern., as also tout before such adjective. Line 21: vous. The indirect object-pronoun is often used in familiar language to indicate that the person speaking or spoken to is somewhat interested in the action. It is the ethical dative of the Latin. Page 12, 1. 7 . Nous les ferons sauter ; faire sauter, to blow up (with powder). Line 9: sans-culotte. Before 1789, the customary lower gar- ment for Frenchmen was the knee-breeches or culottes. The repub- licans of the Revolution rejected these as belonging to the monarch- ical regime, and assumed the pantaloon as their distinctive garb. NOTES. 155 Line 11 : Marseillois. Such terminations were afterward written ai. The earlier orthography is used here on account of the rhyme. Line 12 : Les Bretons, ' autres federes' Line 17 : lurons. A luron is a jolly fellow, a ban vivant. Page 13. DECLARATION DES DROITS DE L'HOMME ET DU ci- TOYEN. The Declaration of Rights, first presented in the National Assembly by Lafayette, and modelled somewhat on the American Declaration of Independence, was adopted, after prolonged discus- sion and modification, on Aug. 26, 1789, under the form of seven- teen heads or articles. It formulated those general truths from which all institutions should proceed, and was intended as a pre- amble to the constitution. Thomas Rousseau, the author of the song, was a litterateur and ardent revolutionist, who died at Paris in 1800. He was known during the Revolution as one of the first members of the society of the Jacobins, and as the author of revolutionary pamphlets and songs. He published, among other works, Us Chants du patriotisme (1792). Line 4: areopage, assembly ; from the Greek. The Areopagus was a sovereign tribunal at Athens, so called from having been held on a hill sacred to Ares, or Mars. Line 9 : lois. Loi is derived from Latin lejem ; long accented e of the Latin becomes regularly oi in Modern French; cf. regent > rot, habere > avoir. Droit (1. n), when meaning law, is more general and inclusive than loi ; droit municipal, municipal \z.\\,faire son droit (of students), to study law; droit is from Latin direct tun. Line 10: sftre. S&r, contracted from former seur, is derived from Latin securum, whence English sure, through the French; cf. English secure, which has been taken over directly from the Latin. Line 12: Qu'il. // refers to r/iomme (1. 7). The thought here is based upon Art 2 of the Declaration of Rights, which reads: "Le but de toute association politique est la conservation des droits natu- rels et imprescriptibles de I'homme, la surete et la resistance a l-'oppression." Line 19 : Faraguais, commonly spelled Paraguay, now one of the South American republics, to the south of Brazil and Bolivia. Page 14, 1. 3-4. These lines are a paraphrase of the first part of Art. I of the Declaration of Rights. The Article reads : " Les I$6 FRENCH LYRICS. hommes naissent et demeurent libres et egaux en droits. Les dis- tinctions sociales ne peuvent etre fondees que sur 1'utilite commune." Lines 19-26. This strophe is based upon Art. 4 of the Declara- tion of Rights, which is as follows: "La liberte consiste a pouvoir faire tout ce qui ne nuit pas a autrui. Ainsi 1'exercice des droits naturels de chaque homme n'a de bornes que celles qui assurent aux autres membres de la societe la jouissance de ces memes droits. Ces bornes ne peuvent etre determinees que par la loi." Page 15, 1. 1-8. The reference in this stanza is to Art. 10 of the Declaration of Rights, which reads: "Nul ne doit etre inquiete pour ses opinions, meme religieuses, pourvu que leur manifestation ne trouble pas 1'ordre public etabli par la loi." Notice, however, that the Declaration recognizes strictly only liberty of religious opinions, and not expressly liberty of worship. The insufficiency of this Article had been seen and combated against by Mirabeau. Line 23 : que, let, introducing subj. in next line. Page 16, 1 3 r Gouter, from Latin gustare ; cf. English gust (obs.), dis-gust, gusto, etc. As intransitive gouter means to take a luncheon, to lunch, though the verb luncher has now made its way into the vocabulary. Line 19 : gothiques, that which pertains to the Goths ; then, by extension, that which belongs to the Middle Ages, and so, rude, barbarous, Line 25: Du Rhiu, to which the eastern boundary of France then extended. Page 17, 1. 2. Mont-Blanc (the 'white mountain'), whose sum- mit for a distance of 7,000 feet down is covered with perpetual snow, is the highest peak of the Alps, and with one exception the highest mountain in Europe. It is in the department of Haute-Savoie, France. Its height is 15,781 feet. The definite article is used be- fore the name of a single mountain : so le Vesuve, Vesuvius. Line 3 : Plus de barrieres, no more barriers ; plus has negative meaning without ne, the verb being omitted. Line 8 : aux abois, at bay ; lire aux abois, to stand at bay, and then figuratively, to be hard up. Aboi is the bark of the dog (aboyer, to bark), then, in the plur., denotes the moment when the stag, closely pursued by the barking dogs, is reduced to the last extremity. NOTES. 157 Line 9 -. conspire. The conspiracy alluded to was the hostile coalition of foreign powers against France, referred to above in introductory remarks to la Marseillaise (vid. p. 147). Lines 15-22. In the fall of 1792, the French met with consider- able success against the Austrians and Prussians. The campaign, which had opened with the invasion of Lorraine and Champagne, ended, in December, with the annexation of Nice and Savoy to France, and with the occupation of a portion of the Rhenish provinces and all Belgium, Later, however, reverses were numerous. Line 23 . helvetiques, Swiss. Line 25 provinces belgiques. An insurrection broke out in Belgium against Austrian rule in Dec. 1789 (it had been subject to Austria without interruption since 1748), and on Jan. n, 1790, the Belgian provinces, with the exception of Luxembourg, proclaimed their independence under the name of 'United Belgium'; but in Nov. 1790, the rule of the Austrians was reestablished. At the battle of Jemmapes, Nov. 1792, the forces (raw levies) of the first French Republic, under Dumouriez, gained a decisive victory over the Austrian army, and occupied the Belgian territory, proclaiming there, as elsewhere, the sovereignty of the people and the abolition of existing authorities. Page 18. LE BONNET nii LA IJUERTE. This was the cap adopted as the emblem of liberty by the French Revolutionists ; and it has remained since as a symbol of the revoutionary spirit. It was known also as the Bonnet rouge and Bonnet phrygien. It was a long red woolen cap, usually falling over on the side of the head, similar to that worn by the ancient Phrygians. It attained lasting popularity during the crises of 1792 and 1793. ^ figured everywhere as emblem, at the head of letters, on stamps and seals, on panels of carriages, as shirt-studs, etc The adoption of such a cap by the Revolution is probably not to be referred to the red head-gear of galley-slaves, from whom it has been claimed that the idea was borrowed, but rather to the fact that in ancient times the enfranchisement of slaves (who usually went bare-headed) was accompanied by their assumption of some similar head covering, and to the fact that, before the Revolu- tion, a cap of this shape and color was already worn by the poorer class in several provinces. Observe that bonnet never means a lady's bonnet, which is ihapeau (fltffmme). 158 FRENCH LYRICS. Line 4 : Que, how many ; in 1. 6 : how or what ; and in 1. II : let. Line 14 : bourrelet, a sort of stuffed wrapping or pad put round rhildren's heads to protect them when they fall. Line 21: cervelet, strictly the cerebellum ; it is a dim. of cerveau (the brain, the cerebrum) through the older form cervel, which is it- self derived from the Latin dim. cerebellum. Note that in case of many French words developing from diminutive forms, all trace of diminutive signification has disappeared; so abeille (bee), agneaii, (lamb), from Latin apiculam, agnellnm. Page 20, 1. 7: Manier, handle, wield; derived from a verb-form drawn from Latin manus, hand, French main. Cf. English handle and German handhaben in their formation. Line 17: a bas, dcnun (overturned); in exclamations is used to express disapproval, down with, as a bas /es minis/res ! Page 21. COUPLETS CHANTES DANS UN DINER JACOBIN. Ja- cobin was a name given to a political club established at Paris in 1789, so called because its members held their meetings in the convent of the Jacobins, or Dominican monks, from the chapel of St. James (Latin Jacobus), near which they settled in the thirteenth century. The Jacobins were the ultra-revolutionists of the Revolution, and the name has been applied since to denote in general partisans of ultra-democratic ideas. Line 1 : Feuillants, was the name given to the members of a political club of the Revolution, from the fact that their reunions took place in the ancient convent of the order of monks of that name. They were of the moderate party, and opposed to the Jacobins. La- fayette was a prominent member. endormeurs, a noun formed upon the stem of endormir, to put to sleep, from Latin in and dormire. This name was given during the Revolution to those who favored legal means and lenient measures. Line 14 : courroux, anger, a synonym of colere, but belonging to poetry and elevated style. Page 22, 1. 4: biribi, name given to a game of chance or mode of gambling much in vogue at that time. Line 6 : assignats, the paper money issued during the Revolu- tion, based upon the security of the lands of the state. Line 9 ; allusion to war against Austria declared in 1792; cf note p. 147. NOTES. 159 Line 10 : volons ; roler, to fly, comes from Latin volare ; voler, to steal, is comparatively modern, but is doubtless the same word, by an easy change of meaning. Line 20: arracherons. The verb arracher is followed by both de and a Arracher de points rather to resistance on the part of that which is torn or snatched away (cf. p. 48, 1. 25). Arracher & indicates resistance on the part of that from which something is torn or snatched away. Cf. arracher nn homme d'rm lieu, arracher un enfant chevre (goat), navem > ncf. Note also the change of initial c (before a) to ch in French. In its pri- mary meaning of head (of men and animals), the/has been replaced by tete, from Latin testam, an earthen jug, a shell, and then a skull. Page 26, 1. 4 : la chre"tiente, Christendom, not Christianity, which is in French le christianisme ; chretiente (Latin christianitatem) is strictly the same word as Christianity, but with a different shade of meaning. Prose : commander a. Compare commander and commander a. : the former indicates a positive fact, a more definite and visible rela- tion (commander des armees), while the latter suggests an authority more undetermined and without precise limits, or announces a general right (commander a^^x nations). tu es petra, etc. The reference is Matt. xvi. 18. Line 12 : Porter sur, to rest^upon Page 27, 1. 5 : C'en est done fait ; compare with p. 23, 1. 7 ; done adds emphasis. NOTES. l6l Line 6: calice, cup used at mass for the consecration of the wine, chalice. Line 8 : caveau, dim. of cave (cf. English cave], cellar, from Latin cavitm, hollow ; a small cellar made in an ordinary cellar, and in churches a subterranean construction for burial. Prose : battant la campague ; battre la campagne means figura- tively, to beat about the bush, to wander from the point. quod ligabis, etc. The reference is Matt. xvi. 19. rien, anything. Rien, though in itself properly affirmative (from Latin rem, thing), is generally used in negative phrases and with negative value. Ex- ceptions are most frequent in clauses like the present one, which contain a negative implication. In Latin rem > French rien, note the change of e to ie. This is the law for accented short e ; so bene > bien, pedem > pied. delier, to loose, to unbind, from Latin dis and ligare (to bind) ; cf. the expression sans bourse delier, without paying anything, without spending a cent, as faire une affaire sans bourse delier. se laisser faire, to offer no resistance, to let people do as they like with them. Line 11 : bulle, here = bref. II. BERANGER. Page 29. Pierre-Jean de Beranger (1780-1857) was born in Paris of a family belonging to 'the middle class. He is ranked among the foremost of song writers. He published his first collection of Chan- sons in 1815, which was soon followed by others. His themes were varied.. After the Restoration of Louis XVIII., he attacked the gov- ernment with political and satirical songs, which caused him more than once to be fined and imprisoned ; but each sentence only added to his favor with the people. His songs in praise of the Empire of Napoleon contributed much to the popular notions of its glory. He sang of liberty and the misfortunes of his country, as also of love and wine ; in the latter he has been open to criticism. Beranger stands as the representative of French song. He was preeminently the poet, of the people (" Le peuple c'est ma muse ! " he says in his preface), and perhaps the most popular of all the modern French II 162 FRENCH LYRICS. poets. He has been called the Robert Burns of France, and was like him in suiting the masses of his countrymen LE Roi D'YVETOT. Yvetot is a town of Normandy, on the railroad from Havre to Paris. According to an ancient tradition, there was, under the Merovingian race, a lord of Yvetot who succeeded in hav- ing his little domain elevated to a kingdom ; and later his descend- ants claimed and exercised some such right. This famous song was an evident satire upon the insatiable ambition and warlike propensi- ties of Napoleon, by the ironical picture (just at that time, in 1813, after the retreat from Moscow) of the "Good Little King of Yvetot," who cared not for glory, and whose only crown was a cotton night-cap. Sainte-Beuve ( Causer ies dn lundi] says of this poem : " Le Roi d 1 Yvetot, par oil il de'buta en mai 1813, me semble parfait ; pas un mot qui ne vienne a point, qui ne rentre dans le rhythme et dans !e ton; c'est poetique, c'est naturel et gai ; la rime si hcureuse ne fait, en badinant, que tomber d'accord avec la raison." Line 1 ; II etait // y avail, which is not allowed in verse. Cf. Remarks 011 Versification, IV. Page 30, 1. 5 : supp6t, from Latin supposituin (sub and fonere), placed under, so a subordinate, a member (of a body), an agent, instru- ment, an inferior (who serves blindly). Line 6: muid, hogshead ; from Latin medium, measure. Line 15 : ban (Latin *bannum, proclamation; of German origin, cf. English ban), is the calling together of the vassals of the king for military service ; lever un ban is to make such a convocation. Lilies 16-17 : tirer . . . Au blanc, to shoot at the bull's eye. Page 31, 1. 10 : Devant, before (it). ADIEUX DE MARIE STUART. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (born 1542, executed 1587), was the daughter of James V., king of Scotland, and Marie de Lorraine, daughter of the French duke of Guise. At the age of six years she was sent by her mother to France, where she passed most of her youth, and became fondly attached to the country. In 1558 she was married to the dauphin, who ascended the throne of France as Francis II., in the following year, and died in 1560. The present poem is supposed to express her feelings of grief upon leav- ing France in 1561, to assume the crown of Scotland. Note that NOTES. 163 Mary Stuart is a character much celebrated in literature ; cf. tragedies by Alfieri and Schiller. Line 14: pays, compare whhjpafrie (1. 18). Page 32, 1. 8 : les lis, that is, the crown of France, the lily being the emblem of French royalty. Line 21 : Dans 1'inculte Cale"donie, ' In Scotland's rugged clime.' In the next line le cours is subject. Page 33, 1. 8 : regards, looks, eyes Cf. meanings of English re- gard, also French egard. Cf. the English word reward ( = regard). Several Germanic words which came through the Old French into the English have there retained an original u<, which was in French changed tog(orgu); and the form in ^was likewise in some cases transferred later into English. The origin of the present word is Old High German ivarta. Cf. English warrant = French garant (Old French ivara/it). Line 10 : vogue, is sailing. Voguer is of German origin, and contains the idea of movement ; cf. Modern German ivogen and English /'// rogue. LES OISEAUX. Antoine- Vincent Arnault (1766-1834, poet and fabulist), to whom les Oiseaux was addressed, was exiled in 1816 by the Bourbons (and recalled in 1819). Beranger, in Ma Bio- graphic, says of the circumstances: "En 1816, au mois de Janvier, Arnault, banni, quitta la France, et nous le conduisimes jusqu'au Bourget, qui etait pour ainsi dire alors la limite du royaume, le reste etant, de ce cote-la, place sous Inoccupation etrangere. Le soir, dans une chambre d'auberge, a table avec un jeune officier de gendarmerie charge de veiller sur cette frontiere, et qui deplorait les malheurs de la patric, je chantai au pauvre proscrit la chanson des Oiseaiix. tristes adieux, suivis d'adieux plus tristes encore." Page 34, 1. 13 : Oiseaux, etc., alluding to the French retained in France by duty or other motive. Line 23 : vieux cheue, here a type of France. Page 35, 1. 4: eut, subjunctive, with force of conditional. Socrates is said to have worn the same garment winter and summer Line 5 : mince, worn, threadbare. Line 17 : reprise, patch, darn, a participial subst. from reprendre { Latin reprendere. 1 64 FRENCH LYRICS. Line 23: Lisette, dim. form of Lise above (1. 19). a mis, spent, took. Page 36, 1. 2 : en se miraiit, ' before his glass ' ; mirer, from Latin mirari, to wonder at, to admire : cf iniroir, English mirror. Line 5: Pour des rubaiis, etc , alluding to the system of hon- orary decorations established by Bonaparte in 1802, as a means of recompensing civil and military services. The name given to the order was the Legion of Honor. Beranger would never accept any such distinction ; in place of a ribbon he put a flower in his button- hole. Line 14 : Mettre . . . habit bas, /. e., mourir LA SAINTE ALLIANCE DES PEUPLES. Liancourt, to the north of Paris, between that city and Amiens. Le Due dc la Rochefoucauld (1747-1827), a liberal French peer and philanthropist. L 1 evacua- tion du territoire franfais, by the allied armies, which had held posses- sion of the principal fortresses of France during the three years follow- ing the Restoration of Louis XVIII. in 1815 Page 37, 1. 3-4 : " Actions, unite to form one holy band And join ye hand in hand.'' 1 YOUNG. Page 38, 1. 5 : conjurez, avert. Line 11 : accords, sound, strains. Line 14 : hymen, union. Line 20: L'automne en fleurs, the flowering autumn. " Dans le dernier couplet, 1'auteur n'omit point de parler de la beaute extra- ordinaire de 1'automne de 1818. Onvit dans beaucoup d'endroits des arbres fruitiers refleurir comme an printemps." (A r o.'e de Beranger.} Page 39. LF.S KNFANTS DE LA FRANCE. "On a souvent accuse Beranger de se laisser dominer parl'esprit de parti. Jamais reproche ne fut moins fonde. ' Le bonheur de la France avant tout,' tel etait le fond de sa politique. Au commencement de 1819, une esperance d'amelioration parut saisir tons les homines amis du pays. Le poe'te se laissa aller a cette douce esperance, et cette chanson en porte 1'empreinte. Mais Beranger ne dut point oublier les outrages que 1'Angleterre fit subir a sa patrie : aussi, a propos d'une riche ex- position de peinture, rappelle-t-il la spoliation du Musee." (Note de Stranger. ) Line 9 : te faire absoudre (de), to resign. NOTES. 165 Line 21. The reference is to the following : At the downfall of Napoleon the allies insisted upon the restoration to their former owners of the choice pictures and statues which had been stolen in Italy and carried to Paris to enrich the palace of the Louvre. Be- ranger calls this restoration a vol. Page 41. LES HIRONDELLES. This song represents a French soldier, ' bowed beneath a Moorish chain,' interrogating the swallows to learn from them what is taking place in France and at his home. Hirondelle is strictly a dim. term ; its basis is the old form hironde, (Latin hirundinem, swallow). Line 15 : chaumine, is a peasant's hut, a poorer structure than chaumilre (cf. p. 5, 1. 14), though both derive their name from being covered with chaninc (thatch). Page 42, 1. 3 : aux noces convie'e, ' bidden to the nuptials.'' LAFAYETTE EN AMERIQUE. In 1824 Lafayette revisited the United States, where he was welcomed with enthusiasm and grateful recognition of his services in the cause of the American Revolution. Page 43, 1. 15 : Olmutz, town in Austria where Lafayette was imprisoned in 1794. Line 18 : Par un heros, that is, Washington. Line 21 : que, when. Page 44, 1. 1 : L'arbre sacre", the sainted tree ; cf. 1. 20, p. 43. LES SOUVENIRS DU PEUPLE. This song, one of the most popular of the author's political chansons, celebrates the praises of the Em- peror Napoleon. Lines 13-14 These lines have been translated by Young as follows : " A}, many a day the straw-thatched cot Shall echo with his glory ! " Line 18 : vieille, old dame. Line 20 : veille, evening. In the next line bien que means although. Page 45,1. 1 : grand'me"re. In this expression, as in a few other similar ones (grand' chose, grand' messe, grand' feine, grand'route, etc.), there is no historical ground for writing the apostrophe after grand. Without it the word would be the normal development of a Latin adjective of one (masc. and fem.) termination (grandem). Formerly 166 FRENCH LYRICS. grand was both masc. and fern. In the course of time a fern, grande was formed from analogy with adjectives of two terminations. But in a few cases which had become fixed expressions the original form has remained, .and the apostrophe is wrongly written, as if a mute e had been elided. Line 5 : c.a, familiar contraction for cela. The line means : That was a long while ago. Line 6. -Entrer en menage means to begin house-keeping. Line 11 : me troublai, became confused. Line 16 : pauvre femme, poor soul. Line 19: Notre-Dame, the cathedral, begun in the twelfth century. Line 25. Napoleon married in 1810 the Princess Maria Louisa of Austria. By her he had a son (b. 1811) who received the title of " King of Rome." The prince died in 1832. Page 46, 1. 1 : Champagne, one of the former provinces of France, to the east of Paris ; forms to-day several departments ; was called Champagne on account of its extensive plains. The name of the wine is masc , vin being understood. Champagne and campagne (1. 4) are properly the same word, the latter belonging primarily to the dialect of Picardy, in the north of France (cf. champ and camp). The Latin original was Campania, a province in Italy, later used as com- mon noun meaning a plain. The references in this stanza and the following one are to incidents in the year 1814, when the empire was invaded on all sides by the allied powers of Europe. Champagne was occupied, and was the scene of contests between Napoleon and the invaders. In April he was hastening to Paris when he learned of its capitulation. Line 4 : tenir la campagne, to keep the field. Line 9 : s'assoit ; the more usual form is s'assied. Line 15 : pain bis, brown bread ; pain, from Latin pattern ; Latin a before a nasal changes to ai in French ; cf. matiitm > main,famem > faim. Line 19: Bonne espe"rance ! ' Cheer up!' Line 21 : Sous Paris, / e., before Paris, ' 'neath Parts 1 walls? Line 27 : Le, /. e ., son verre. Page 47, 1. 1-2. The act of crowning was not literally performed NOTES, 167 by the pope. ' The ceremonies took place (on Dec. 2, 1804) in the cathedral of Notre-Dame, where Pius VII., having made the'journey to Paris, appeared in order to crown Napoleon ; but Napoleon took the crown from the pope's hands and placed it himself upon his own head. He died at Saint-Helena May 5, 1821, at the age of fifty-two. His remains were brought to France in 1840, and entombed at Paris under the dome of the Hotel des Invalidcs. Lii TOMBEAU DE MANUEL. Jacques-Aiitoine Manuel (1775-1827), a French orator and republican noted for his upright character, was a friend of Be'ranger, to whom the latter was deeply attached. Their intimacy dated from 1^15. Be'ranger was buried, according to his wish, in the same grave as Manuel. On the tomb in the cemetery of Pere-Lachaise at Paris, beneath the inscription, Berangcr Pocte national, ne a Paris le 10 aout 1780, mart le 16 juillet 1S57, one reads, Je desire etre inhume dans le tombeau de man ami Manuel. Dernieres paroles de Be'ranger. In Ma Biographic, in speaking of the death of Manuel, Be'ranger says : " On parla d' elever un tombeau ; mais . . . presque toutes les grosses bourses refuserent de s'ouvrir, et 1'on cut bien de la peine a recueillir neuf oudixmille francs par souscription." Line 15 : confidence ; compare with confiancc. Line 17 : vous 1'allez oublier. This order was prescribed gen- erally in Old French, the finite form of the verb being treated as a kind of auxiliary, and taking before it the pronoun logically belonging to the infinitive. In Modern French several verbs (faire, entendre, envoys r, laisser, sentir, voir} still conform to the rule of the earlier language, asje I'ai entendu dire,je le fais sortir. \\itl\v0iil0ir, pouvoir. devoir, aller the same is sometimes the case, but more usual is vous allez V oublier. Page 48, 1. 1 : tombeau. Tombeau and tombe (p. 47, 1. 18) when meaning tomb, tomb-stone, differ in that the former is commonly a more elaborate work of art. sied, is fitting. Seoir, from Latin sjdere (to sit) is defective as a simple verb; in the sense of fit, become (of clothes and the like), the third persons of some of the tenses are used. The compound form used reflexively, s'asseoir, is the more im- portant, and is conjugated in full. Line 9 : Arcole, a village in Northern Italy, where the French commanded by Bonaparte gained a victory over the Austrians in 1 68 FRENCH LYRICS. November, 1796. Manuel, who had enlisted as volunteer in 1793, served in the Italian campaign and became captain. After the peace of Campo Formio (1797) he withdrew by reason of wounds, gave up the military career and devoted himself to the study of law. Line 10 : luth, here figuratively, inspiration. Line 24 : glaive ; cf. epee. Line 25 . De la tribune on 1'arrache. Manuel was expelled from the Chamber of Deputies in 1823, after a speech in reply to Chateaubriand. Cf. note to 1. 20, p. 22. Page 49, 1. 3 : esquif, from the Old High German skif, Modern German schiff, English j-Xv^and ship. a sec, high and dry. Line 7 : quatre ans, i. e., from 1823 to 1827. Line 17 : ' Here in this ditch I'll breathe my last' Page 50,1.5: hospice, from Latin hospitiitm (hospitality, or a place where hospitality is given), here asylum ; cf. hofital, 1. 4. Line 16 : maudis ; maudire from Latin maledicere (cf. English malediction}. Medial / is often vocalized, becoming , in French words like con (neck) from Latin collum, paume (palm) from Latin palmam, etc. Line 18: mieux vaut tendre la main, "(mere better I should begginggo.' The omission of the pronoun in such expressions is frequent. Line 22 : de par le roi, i.e., de la part du rot, in the king's name ; this formula was placed at the head of official acts, summonses, etc. Par in this case is not the preposition (Latin per] ; but de par was formerly de part from Latin de parte. In the twelfth century de part le roi, de part nostre Seigneur, etc., was a regular construction in imi- tation of the Latin genitive. Cf. Hdtel-Dieu (for Hotel de Dieu, the principal hospital of a town), a further remnant of the older language. Page 51, 1. 6 : que, why, after which ne is used alone. LE GRILLON. In the present poem we have, in the words of a recent commentator, " la reunion de ces deux chansonniers, Beranger et le grillon, au coin du meme foyer." Line 13 : 'Beside the hearth the embers stirring; ' tisonner is to stir or poke listlessly the tisons (fire-brands). Line 16 : chansonne. Chansonner, formed from chanson (Latin cantionem, song), means faire des chansons centre quclqtSun, as Be- NOTES. 169 ranger did against the Bourbons. Chanter (1. 15), from Latin can- tare, means to celebrate in verse, as Beranger did Napoleon and the Republic. Page 52, 1. 3 : heteroclite, odd, bizarre. Line 15 : je le veux croire ; cf. note to 1 17, p. 47. III. LAMARTINE. Page 54. Alphonse Marie-Louis de Lamartine (1790-1869) was born at Macon and died at Paris. He is commonly ranked, with Victor Hugo and Alfred de Musset, as one of the three great poets of the century in France. He forms the transition between the classical models of the previous epoch and the new ideas of the Romantic school. His poetry expresses the new spirit while adhering to the old forms. He was essentially a religious poet, and shows a great admiration for nature. His first volume of verse, les Meditations poctiqiies (now known under the title, Premieres Meditations} appeared in 1820. He published les Noitvellcs Meditations in 1823, les Har- monies poetiques et religienses in 1829, and les Recueillements poetiqnes in 1839. The first three of these volumes contain his best lyric work. In epic style were Jocelyn (1836), his best long poem, and la Chute d'un ange (1838). In prose Lamartine wrote le Voyage en Orient (1835) and r Histoire des Girondins (1847), among much more that is comparatively unimportant. He was also eminent as an orator. He was admitted to the French Academy in 1830. The merits of Lamar- tine's poetry are purity, harmony, tenderness. He is deficient in vigor, tends to vagueness, and shows a spirit of melancholy which is more or less conventional. LE LAC. The reference is to Lake Bourget in Savoy. The poem is usually ranked as the masterpiece of les Premieres Medita tions, and is perhaps the most finished elegy in French literature. It was probably composed in 1817. Line 6 : flots, waters. elle, refers here to a young lady with whom Lamartine was very much in love, and whom he celebrated under the name of Julie or Elvire. They had met at this place the year before. She died in 1818. Line 10 : d^chires, jagged ; dechirer, to tear, a word of German origin. I/O FRENCH LYRICS. Line 13: t'en souvieiit-il. The common prose form is fen souviens-tu. The impersonal use of the verb (// me souvicnt) corre- sponds to Latin subvenlt mihi, and was common until the sixteenth century. At that time the people began to sayje me souvicns, and the literary language gradually followed them. .Line 14 : cmde, here, as oftQn in poetry, equivalent to eau ; de- rived from Latin undain. Onde and flat, in the sense of wave, differ in that the latter is the stronger and more violent. Page 55, 1. 11 : leurs jours, their lives. Jour comes from Latin dhinnim, properly an adjective meaning daily, then later the length of time called a day. The Latin substantive dies is preserved in the compound midi (of. English midday}. Line 17 : de 1'heure fugitive, depends upon jouissons in the next line ; jouir (de), to enjoy, from Latin gaudcre ; the change in initial sound the same as in jambe (leg) from gambam. Page 56, 1. 8 : nous ravissez, rob us of. Line 13 : il, refers to souvenir. Line 19 : 1'astre au front d'argent, the star with a silver brow, i. e., the moon. Line 24 : dise, optative subjunctive, to be connected with the preceding yin^s. Page 57, 1. 2. The scene of the poem is in a rocky grove near the chateau of Lamartine's uncle in Burgundy. Line 5 : Ve"nus. The s is pronounced, as in other similar words, e. g., Gil Bias, Arras, Reims. The pronunciation of proper names is somewhat irregular, but in general a final consonant is apt to be sounded. Line 14: 1'astre nocturne, the moon. Astre (Latin astrum) is also applied to the sun, fastre du jour. Cf. etoile (1. 6), from Latin stcllam. Both these words designate the celestial bodies in general, but astre suggests an idea of greater grandeur and magnitude. Page 59, 1. 4: feux, heat ; feu is derived from Latin fScitm. Latin short o (in accented syllable), before a consonant not nasal, usually becomes eu in French ; cf. probam > freuve, novum > nenj (new), nih-em > tieu/ (nine). Latin o before a nasal usually remains, as homo > on, donum > don. LE VALLON. The author says in his commentary to this poem: NOTES. 171 "Ce vallon est situe dans les montagnes du Dauplrine " (an old province in the southeastern part of France). The valley was near a chateau belonging to one of the poet's friends. The time is 1818 or 1819. Line 13: valise. Vallee and vallon (1. II, 18, etc.) are strictly distinguished as follows : The former denotes a larger, more ex- tended space, the latter is more restricted ; vallee is the espace entre deux ou plusieitrs montagnes, vallon the espace entre deux coteaux. In the present poem, however, they are used indiscriminately. Vallee is the same word as English valley ; vallon is a dim. of val (English vale). Latin vallis is the basis of both words. Line 15 : entremele'e, interwoven ; cf. mSlee (fight, affray), bor- rowed by the English; cf. also English medley, Page 60, 1 11 fixer = arreter. Line 14 : Le'the', in mythology one of the rivers of the lower world, whose waters gave to those drinking them complete oblivion of the past. Page 61, 1. 17 : ombrage, shade ; cf. English umbrage. Cf. also ombre used several times in this poem. Latin umbra is the basis of both words. Line 19 : Pythagore, Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher who flourished about 540-510 B. C., and gave much attention to mathe- matics and music. His doctrine of the harmony of the spheres con- sidered the universe as one harmonious whole, revolving about a common centre. The intervals between the heavenly bodies were supposed to be determined according to the laws and relations of musical harmony. These bodies in their motion must occasion a sound or note depending upon their distances and velocities, and the whole forms a regular musical scale or harmony. The sound of this music passes unnoticed by us because we are accustomed to it, and have had no opportunity to contrast it with absolute quiet, or else it is so powerful as to exceed our capacities for hearing. Page 62. A UNE FLEUR. After the appearance of the original edition of les Premieres Meditations in 1820, poems of different periods were added. This is one of them. Line 8: les feuillages. Feuillage (English foliage) means I 'en- semble des feuilles, just as plumage means I 'ensemble des plumes, and 1/2 FRENCH LYRICS. courage, f ensemble des sentiments du cceur. The suffix -age enters into the formation of a large number of collective nouns. Line 13 : Neigeait, referring to the orange blossoms. Line 15 : croissais ; croitre from Latin crescere (cf. English in- crease) ; for introduction of t (between s and ;-) cf. etre from *essere (essf). Note use of imperfect in description here, as above, and cf. force of preterit in next stanza. Page 63, 1. 18 : f olles, sportive. mains, tendrils. Page 64, 1.11: automne (m is silent, cf. the English word), from Latin aittumnum or auctumnum from augere, to increase, so the season of abundance. Line 16 : de duvet se pluche, is covered with a -velvety down ; pluche or peluche is the same as English plush. Line 21 : mamelles, sources. IV. VICTOR HUGO. Page 66. Victor-Marie Hugo, the greatest French poet of the nineteenth century, was born at Besai^on, Feb. 26, 1802. His father had been devoted to the Republic, and became a general under the Empire. His mother belonged to a royalist family. This diversity of political opinions is reflected later in the poet's life and writings. While still very young, he accompanied his father and mother on military campaigns to Italy and Spain. This early influence also made itself felt in his later works. He commenced his poetical career at the age of fifteen by competing for a prize offered by the French Academy. He married, in 1822, Mile. Adele Foucher, the companion of his childhood. He was elected a member of the Academy in 1841. In 1851, after the coup d'etat of December 2, he was exiled, and lived mostly on the island of Guernsey, until 1870, when, after the battle of Sedan, he reentered France. He died at Paris, May 22, 1885. At the age of twenty, Victor Hugo published his first volume of lyric poems, entitled Odes et ballades, followed later by a fresh collec- tion. The lyric work of his earlier life centers in five volumes, which are all of the highest order. These are les Orientales (1829), les Feitil- les d'automne (1831), les Chants dit crepuscule (1835), les Voix in- ttrieures (1837), and les Rayons et les ombres (1840). Of these les NOTES. 1/3 Orientates picture Eastern scenes and excel in brilliancy and color. In ies Feuilles d'automne domestic scenes are an important feature. After these volumes there was an interval of silence. Les Contem- plations (1856) are mainly meditative. Other collections are Ies Chansons des rues et des bois (1865), FAnnee terrible (1872), and Ies Quntre vents de f esprit (1881), the last of which contains some fine lyric work with much other. Les Chatiments (1853) was a satire of marvellous vigor against the Second Empire, and la Legende des sihles (1859-83) was an epic of humanity, which in majesty and depth is Hugo's best work. In the drama must be mentioned Cromwell (1827), celebrated be- cause of its preface, Hernani (1830), his representative drama, and Ruy Bias {1838), perhaps his most powerful one. As a novelist, Victor Hugo's typical work in Romantic fiction is A T otre Dame de Paris (1831). Les Miserables (1862) is on the whole his best work. It and Ies Travaillcurs de la mer (1866) were written during his exile in Guernsey. Victor Hugo was the leader of the Romantic school, which revolted against rules and routine in literary composition. The manifesto of the school is the preface to Cromwell. Taking as thesis le liberalisme en literature, he violates the rules of the classic French stage, aban- dons periphrases, makes over the Alexandrine, introduces the gro- tesque element, admits frequent and daring enjambement, and does these things often to excess. A recent critic says of him : " II n'y a pas de poete au monde dont il soit plus legitime de dire beaucoup de mal et beaucoup de bien." Among the excellencies of his work are his wonderful faculty of word painting, the sweep and rush of his style, never failing poetical suggestion, brilliant coloring, mastery of versification, powerful portrayal of pity, terror, admiration. Defects are : subjection of thought to form, lack of proportion, tendency to carry the sublime into the ridiculous, extravagance of rhetoric. Other characteristics of the poet are love of antitheses, skill in the use of proper names, rich rhyme. Victor Hugo changed completely his political views in the course of his life, passing over from pure roy- alism to radical republicanism. He had a tender admiration for children. He abhorred capital punishment (la peine de mart], and labored unceasingly against it. 174 FRENCH LYRICS. ATTENTE. The motto of the poem is Spanish, and means: 7 awaited, despairing. Line 7 : clocher, belfry, steeple, the place containing the clocke(s) (cf. English clock and German Glocke}. donjon (same word as English dungeon], the massive tower of a castle, often used as prison. Line 8 : aire, aerie, nest. Page 67. LES DJINNS. This is a name applied to genii or super natural beings believed in by the Mohammedans. " They are created out of fire, and are both good and evil." The motto is from the In- ferno V., 46, and refers to the Second Circle of Hell, where carnal sinners are punished. This poem is much celebrated as a piece of ' lyrical craftmanship.' The arrangement of stanzas is made to indi- cate the approach and departure of a swarm of Djinns (pron. djin, n not nasal). Page 68, 1. 1 : brame, moans. Line 6 : grelot, is properly a bell formed by a small hollow ball of metal pierced with holes, and enclosing a movable piece of metal which causes the ringing. Cf. cloche, \. 15. Line 24 : escalier ; cf. rampe, 1. 26. Page 69, 1. 8 : au flanc, within it. Line 14 : Ploie, bends ; cf. plier, to fold (but also to bend, to bow, vid. 1. 12, p. 70). The two words are identical, being different devel- opments from Latin plicare. Line 25 : Prophete, /. e., Mahomet, to whom the Djinns were subject. Page 70, 1. 2: leur souffle d'etincelles, their fiery breath. Line 4 : vitraux. This word is commonly used of church win- dows, les vitraux d^nne tglise, vitraux peints, etc. The sing, vitrail is not admitted by the French Academy. The word is a derivative of vitre (Latin vitrum}, pane of glass. Cf.fenefre and croiste. Line 17 : Oulr. This verb is derived from Latin atidire, to hear. Formerly it was in regular usage. Then it gave way to entendre, from Latin intendere (lit., to stretch toward). Line 20: plomb, alluding to the custom of covering roofs with sheet-lead ; Latin plumbum, English plumb. Line 25 : sur la greve, on the strand. Grere is also the name formerly given to a public square in Paris, by the bank of the Seine, NOTES. 175 where executions took place. Then unemployed laborers were ac- customed to assemble on the Place de Greve while waiting for work: so the word comes to'mean a strike ; faire greve, se mettre en greve, to strike. Greve is from the same root as English gravel (Old French gravele, probably of Celtic origin). The square in Paris was formerly covered wfth gravel. Page 71, 1. 11 : vague ; cf. onde, 1. 7. " Les vagues sont propre- ment les otides de la nier qui viennent battre les rochers oil elles se brisent en s'elevant a une plus ou moins grancle hauteur." Page 72. EXTASE. The motto is from Rev. i. 10. Lur. This poem is in praise of Napoleon. Page 73, 1. 3. This line probably refers to the siege of Toulon in '793> where Bonaparte distinguished himself as artillery officer. In the next line the allusion is to the insurrection of the Royalists against the government, in Oct. 1795, which was suppressed by Bonaparte. Lines 5-6. The allusion is to the coup d'etat of Nov. 9, 1799, when Bonaparte overthrew the Directory, and then established the Consulate. He became First Consul of a body of three, but practi- cally ruled France. Line 9 : empereur. He was proclaimed Emperor of the French in May, 1804, under the name of Napoleon I. Line 11 : 6toile, the decoration of the Legion of Honor instituted by Bonaparte ; cf. note to 1. 5, p. 36. Line 22 : Des porte-clefs ; sing, porte-clefs, that is, cclni qui porte les clefs ; cf. the English compound turn-key. Page 74, 1. 5-6. His cloak, worn in many campaigns, was laid over his dead body. Napoleon's bed at St. Helena had been the iron camp bedstead used on some of his battle-fields. Line 7 -. le conclave, ;'. e., of cardinals, legislating as did formerly the Senate. Conclave means primarily a room that may be locked up (con and claris, key), then the private room in which the cardinals meet to elect the pope, and so the assembly of cardinals. Line B. The island of Elba is volcanic in structure. Victor Hugo had seen it when a child, and says of it in the Odes et ballades : Je visitai cette ile, en noirs debris feconde, Plus tard, premier degre d'une chute profoude. 1/6 FRENCH LYRICS. The next line refers to Russia and Spain : Kremlin, name applied to the imperial palace and other buildings at Moscow; Alhambra, palace of the Moorish kings at Granada. Line 15 : 1'^mir, referring to Napoleon. Page 75, 1. 5-6. The address of Bonaparte to his army at the battle of the Pyramids (July, 1798), began : " Soldats, du haul de ces pyramides quarante siecles vous regardant." Line 7 : Debout. This word means lit. upright, on end. Bout (end), but (aim, mark ; cf. English butt}, and butte (knoll, rising ground), are all the same word, the third being the fem. form of the second. Line 9: Satrapes. Satrap was the title of governor of a prov- ince among the ancient Persians. Line 15 : Assur, a town of Nubia, on the Nile. Line 21 : sans toucher a, without coming upon. Toucher h. also means to approach, to meddle with. Toucher indicates more definite contact. Line 24 : Memuon, a celebrated Egyptian statue, said to have sung at sunrise. This line is accounted strong language on the part of Hugo. Page 76, 1. 6: est debout. The French has no single veib corresponding to English stand, but must say ctre del/out, rester dcbout, or se tenir debout. Line 8: Naple, for A T aples, to. save a syllable in the line. Portici, town near Naples on the site of Herculaneum. Line 10 : Ischia, island near Naples, off Cape Miseno. Line 13 : Faestum. Victor Hugo says of this line : " II eut fallu dire la route de Paestum ; car de Paestum meme on ne voit pas Vesuve." Line 14 : Pouzzol, Italian Pozzuoli, a town on the bay of Naples, to the north of the city, famous, like others here mentioned, for its ruins. It is the Puteoli of Acts xxviii. 13, where Paul landed. Line 15 : tarentelle, a rapid Italian dance, so named from the tarantula (from the name of the town Taranto), whose bite is supposed to produce a desire to dance. The word here denotes the tune of the dance. Line 17 : gisaut ; s has the hard sound except in the inf. gtsir NOTES. I// (Latin jacere, to lie). The verb is defective, being replaced by etre couche. The pres. ci-git (here lies) is the formula of epitaphs. Line 19 : Pausilippe, the grotto of Posilipo at the edge of Naples on the way to Pozzuoli, and at the entrance of which is shown the supposed tomb of Vergil. From there the singing of the Italian boatmen may be heard. Page 77. LORSQUE L'ENFANT PARAIT. Victor Hugo is never in a more happy vein than when writing about children. Page 78, 1. 1 : phare, light-house, a word of historical origin, from the island of Pharos near Alexandria, which gave its name to a cel- ebrated light-house built upon it. Page 79, 1. 14 : oripeau, tinsel, from Latin aurum (or auri}, gold, and pellem, skin, hide. Page 80, 1. 14 : peines, troubles ; peine from Latin poenam, cf. English pain. The three French words peine, trouble, douleur, usually correspond to English trouble, confusion, pain, respectively. Line 18 : pervenche, the flowering plant periwinkle. Page 81, 1. 4: aie. The subjunctive is commonly used after superlative or exclusive expressions, such as le meillenr, le sen/, le premier, etc. Line 5 : peiise'e ; cf. English /a*rf. Page 82. OCEANO NOX. These words may b.e rendered, Night by the ocean. Siint-Valery-sur-Somme, a town on the left bank of the river Somme very near where it empties into the English channel. Line 7 : morne, dull, gloomy ; of German origin ; cf. English mourn. Line 8: out disparu. Avoir is used with this verb when it ex- presses an action, and lire (cf. p. 83, 1. 15) when it expresses a state resulting from an action. Page 83, 1. 1 : sur la greve ; cf. 1. 25, p. 70, and note. Line 4 : Maint, many a probably from the same root as English ;;/ tny. Line 8 : goemons, sea-wrack. Line 18 : lasses, weary ; las from Latin lassiun ; cf. English lassitude. Fatigue indicates more exclusively the state resulting from excessive exercise. Page 84, 1.1: s ombres ; sombrer, to founder, sink, may be com- pared with the adj. sombre, dark, gloomy. 1 78 FRENCH LYRICS. Line 14: dans 1'ombre, a favorite expression of Victor Hugo's, meaning in the shade, in the dark, in secret, etc. Page 85, 1. 9 : Teignant. Tcindrc, to dye, to color, comes from Latin tinge r e ; cf. English tinge. For the introduction of the letter d between n and r, cf. plaindre (to pity), from Latin plangere. Line 16 : lavoirs, places where washing is done along the brink of a stream. The word is derived from Latin *lavatorhtm ; cf. Eng- lish lavatory. Cf. dortoir,faom Latin dormitorium, English dormitory. Page 86. ELLE AVAIT PRIS CE PLI. Elle, daughter of the poet, born 1824, married in the spring of 1843 to Charles Vacquerie. In September of the same year she was drowned, together with her hus- band, in the Seine near Villequier, by the capsizing of a boat. She is the theme of several poems in les Contemplations. ///, habit, lit. fold, English ply. The jour des marts (date of the poem) is the second of November, celebrated in honor of the faithful dead. Line 13 : atteiidais. Notice the force of this and the following imperfect tenses. Page 87, 1. 7 . raisonner, discoursing upon. Line 8 : Mes quatre enfants, Leopoldine, Adele, Charles, and Frai^ois-Victor. Line 21 : poigne"es, handfuls, formed upon poing (fist), Latin pugnum ; donner une poignee de main a, to shake hands with. Page 88, 1. 2 : labours, means terres labourees, equivalent to sillons above. Line 6 : la graine, the seed. Cf. le grain, which denotes also the grain as fruit or product. Line 10 : rumeur, murmur, confused sound. Line 13: Charle, Charles Hugo, who died in March, 1871. He was the elder of the poet's two sons. Page 89, 1 5. His exile lasted in reality nineteen years. Lines 9-10. The two remaining children were Francois-Victor (died 1873), known by his scholarly version of Shakespeare, and the younger daughter Adele. Victor Hugo was peculiarly unfortunate in his family losses. Page 90, 1. 1 : tremble, aspen-tree, the Latin populus tremula, so called because of the trembling of its leaves. NOTES. 179 V. ALFRED DE MUSSET. Page 91. Alfred de Musset (1810-1857), of Paris, is ranked as the third great poet of the century in France. He began to write poems at the age of eighteen. His first volume of verse was Contes cT Espagne et d' 'Italic (1830). In later collections are Namouna (1832), in imitation of Byron's Don Juan, and Rolla (1833), two of the author's longer poems, which, while powerful in some* respects, deal with the idie and extravagant side of life, and, like much more that the poet has written, cannot well be utilized in general text-books. Among his best efforts are les Nuits (1835-37), a series of meditative poems in the form of dialogues between the poet and his muse on nights in May, August, October, and December. Also of the first rank is the Lfttre a Lamartiiie (1836). Musset was elected to the French Acad- emy in 1852, and produced little of value after that date. In his earlier writings he was an adherent of the Romantic movement inau- gurated by Victor Hugo. Later he departed from it and satirized it. His imitation of Byron has caused him to be sometimes styled the Byron of France. The qualities of his poetry are grace and passion. In prose the comedies of Musset and his Proverbes, or dramatized proverbs, show a remarkably strong dramatic instinct. The latter, such as // ne faut jurcr de rien and On ne ba dine pas avec I 'amour, are among the most charming short plays in the literature. His stories are also well known. Line 4 : moutier, an old word for monasiere (cf. 1. 6). They are strictly the same word, both coming from Latin monasterium, the first being the earlier popular development, and the second a later learned Formation. Moutier (better moutier) is now little used. There is a popular tendency in Modern French to employ learned words (words formed directly upon the Latin) as being in better style and more noble, in preference to words indigenous to the language. With the above forms compare German Miinstcr. Line 11 : decharnees, weatlier-beaten. Decharne means lit., stripped of flesh, from chair, flesh (formerly char and chant, Latin :arnem). Cf. acharne, maddened, intense, and English carnal, carnival. Page 92, 1. 7 : ouailles, flocJe, parishioners. Onaille properly means a sheep, then in Christian symbolism, one of the faithful. I SO FRENCH LYRICS. Line 17 : vespr^es, evenings. Page 93, 1. 2 : veiller, to sit up. Lines 5-6. Cf. last line of poem. Line 21: eglantine. Eglantine was a prize given at the " Jeux Floraux," poetical contests begun by the troubadours and continued to the present day in the south of France. Page 94, 1. 16 : toast, borrowed from the English, and pro- nounced in the same way. Line 22 . haillon, rag, tatter. lambeau, shred. Page 95, 1. 3. His father died in 1832. Line 4 : chevet, dim. of chef. Line 20 : pour en finir, to die. Line 21. This is an allusion to his journey in Italy with George Sand. Line 25 : Pise, Pisa, near western coast of Italy. Page 96, 1. 3 : Brigues, a small village in Switzerland. Line 5 : Genes, Genoa. Line 6 : Vevay, a hamlet of Switzerland, near Geneva. Line 8 : Lido, one of a group of islands in the lagoons of Venice. Line 17: altere. The verb alterer has two meanings: (i) to alter (for the worse), perturb, (2) to excite thirst. It conies from Latin *alterare, derived from alter, other ; cf. English alter. Cf. German andern, formed from ander. Page 97, 1. 11 : &.,from, considering. Line 22 : voie, from Latin vfam (via was already in rustic speech vea). Latin short z (like long e) becomes oi in French; cf. sftim > soif, fidem > foi. Page 99. CHANSON DE BARBERINE. Barberine is the heroine of one of the author's comedies bearing that title. In the play she sings the first two of the stanzas here given. Line 7 : Voyez-vous pas. In familiar style the ne is sometimes omittedj as c'est pas cher ! c'est fas ca ! etc. Line 9: souci, verbal subst. of soitcier (Latin sollicitare}. Cf. soin, which is watchful care. Line 10 : amour, in the sing is fern, in poetry only. Line 14 : fum6e, glory ; a participial subst. oifumer. Line 19 : moi qui me laissais dire, / who allowed myself to be told. NOTES. l8l Page 100. CHANSON DE FORTUNIO. Fortunio is a character in one of the author's comedies entitled Ic Chandelier. In the course of the play he sings this song. Line 5 : a la ronde, /'// turn. Line 19 : ma mie, for inn ainie (then m'amie], representing Latin meant amlcam. Notice, in the word ami(e), that Latin long / is retained in French ; sovttam > vie, fluent > fin, etc. Afiehere is not to be confused with mie (a crumb), from Latin mlcam. Page 101, 1. 1 : fleurette dim of flcur. Fleur is derived from Latin florem. Latin long o usually becomes cu in French; cf. horam > heure, solum > sail, honorem > honneiir. Note the meaning of flair in line 13 below. Line 20: parfum. The Latin type, per and fnmare (to smoke), is seen more clearly in the English word. Latin per becomes par in French. langage ; cf. langnc. Page 102. 1. 10; Phidias, the greatest sculptor of Greece, born at Athens about 500 B. C. Praxitele, Praxiteles, a Greek sculp- tor who flourished about 360 B. C. Line 13 : Bile, refers to main above. Page 103. IMPROMPTU. This word is applied to a short piece of poetry composed off-hand. Line 20 : degoute, here = cnnnyS. Page 10*, 1. 2: se sont passes d'elle. Compare passer, se passer and se passer de. Line 14: causes. Note that cause and chose (1. 7) are identical in origin. The Latin cansa meant first a cause, and later a thing. Line 16 . ancien, old, former. VI. THEOPHILE GAUTIER. Page 105. Theophile Gautier (1811-1872) was born at Tarbes (department of Hautes-Pyrenees) and educated mainly at the College Charlemagne in Paris, his parents having gone there to live when he was very young. His first ambition was to be a painter. This he soon abandoned and devoted himself to the pen ; but his love of form and color never left him, and influenced strongly his choice of language. His youth was coincident with the Romantic movement. He early I 82 FRENCH LYRICS. became an ardent admirer of Victor Hugo, and remained one of his most faithful followers and imitators. His first collection of poems appeared in 1830, republished with additions two years later. Other collections followed, including a series of lyrics entitled Emaux et camees, first published in 1852, and afterwards reissued with new pieces. Gautier's poems as now published comprise three volumes, the Emaux et camees forming the last of the series. The pieces of this third volume are remarkable for their perfect form and their artistic coloring. The last five of the eleven poems here given are taken from this collection. In general Gautier's command of form . and his picturesque language are his prominent characteristics. The variety of literary accomplishment in Theophile Gautier must be emphasized. Besides being a poet, he was a writer of travels, a dramatic and art critic, and a novelist. His descriptions of foreign countries in which he travelled can hardly be equaled for the vivid- ness and picturesqueness of the language, and tax to the utmost the capabilities of the French tongue. He was not elected a member of the Academy, a fact which casts reproach upon that body. PAYSAGE. The reference to Vergil is Gear. I., 371-372. Line 14 : coteaux. Coteau means hill-side and hill. With the latter meaning it denotes a smaller eminence than colline. Page 106. VOYAGE. The line from La Fontaine (1621-1695) is found in one of his comedies entitled Clymene. His fame rests principally upon his Fables. The reference to Catullus (Latin poet, 87-47 B. C.) is Carmina XLVI., 7-8. Line 9: poudre. Poudre (Latin pulverem, English powder] is synonym of poussiere only in elevated style, as in the present in- stance. The latter word is the ordinary one ; e. g., il s'eleve dans les chemins beancoup de poussiere Line 13: bruit, rustics. Bruire is a defective verb, mostly con fined at the present day to poetic language, especially for the confused noise produced by the elements of nature, as le vent bruit; on entend bruire les flats. Bruit (verb) is dissyllabic. Line 20: dessine. With dessiner compare designer; both are derived from the same verb, Latin designare. Page 107, 1. 21 : enraye, put on the brake. Enrayer means, first, to put spokes (rais or rayons, cf. English ray and radius) into NOTES. 183 wheels ; then, to hold back the wheels of a wagon by obstructing the spokes with a chain, pole, etc. Page 108, 1. 1: c6te ; cf. English coast, from Latin costam, a rib, and then side, slope. Page 109. LE COIN DU FEU. The line from Shakespeare which Gautier probably had in mind is As You Like It, II., 7 (song) : " Blow, blow, thou winter wind." The line from Villon (poet, b. 1431 ) means, Let it bl(nv, freeze, hail, I have my bread baked, that is, / have enough to live on. It is taken from a poem entitled, Ballade de Villon et de la grosse Margot in a work called le Grand Testament. The other quotations are : Goldsmith, The Hermit XIV., and Tibullus (Latin poet, first century B. C.), I., I. 45. Line 5: aboie, lit. bark, i. c., roar. Line 11 : chat. Gautier was very fond of cats, and at one time was surrounded with as many as twelve of the handsomest ones he could purchase. He commences the preface (1832) to his early poems by saying: " L'auteur du present livre est un jeune homme frileux et maladifqui use sa vie en famille avec deux ou trois amis et a pen pres autant de chats." He is said to have seldom written anything without a cat or two in his lap. Page 110, 1. 8 . s'eii vint, same meaning as vint. COMPENSATION. The rhyme in this poem (as in some others of Gautier) is the terz.i rim.i (Italian, third or triple rhyme). It was a system of versification employed by the early Italian poets Dante and Petrarch. The poem or canto was divided into stanzas of three lines, the second line of each rhyming with the first and third lines of the following. A line was then added at the end to rhyme with the second of the previous triplet ; so that the order of rhyme was : aba bcb cdc . . . yzy z. Page 111, 1. 10 : fantaisie. Cf. English fancy, which is a cor- ruption of the fuller form fantasy ; Old French fantasie Line 21 : en croupe, behind (them} Line 24: carrefour, cross-ro.ids (where four ways meet), from Latin *quadrifurcum ; literally, something which has four forks. Page 112, 1. 8 : avortements, defective formations. Line 15 : Des lies de la Soiide, the Sunda Islands in the Indian Ocean. 1 84 FRENCH LYRICS. Page 113, 1, 11 laboureur, plowman, husbandman {labourer, to plow) ; English laborer is in French ouvricr. Page 114, 1. 6 : Sournoisement, slyly, in secret. Line 7: repasse, irons (i.e., makes). The verb repasser (transi- tive and intransitive) has other important meanings : ( i ) to look over, to review (of lessons) , as Us vont repasser les lemons qu'on leura donnees ; (2) to come back, to call again, as/ typify the Emperor Napoleon. Page 127. SOUVENIR DU PAYS DE FRANCE. Fran5ois-Rene de Chateaubriand (1768-1848) was the leading literary spirit of his time, which was one of transition from the old or classical models to the new spirit of the Romantic movement. He reflects this transition, and did much to open the way for the new order of things. Among his works, in prose, were At.ila (1801) and le Ghtie chi Christianisme (1802), the latter being a defence of the Christian religion. He wrote several poems, of which the present is one that has become very pop- ular. It was first composed as the words to a mountain air, and was later incorporated into his prose tale le Dernier des Abencerages (1807). It is sometimes given under other titles: Le Montagnard emigre, La Patrie, Stances, etc. 1 88 FRENCH LYRICS. Line 1 : souvenance, a more poetic and less precise form than souvenir (last stanza). Line 14: la Dore, a small stream near the centre of France. Line 17 : airain, lit. brass, here a synonym for cloche (bell). Page 128. LE CHIEN DU LOUVRE. Jean-P>aii9ois-Casimir De- lavigne (1794-1843) is known as a lyric and dramatic poet. He first distinguished himself by his Mcsshiienncs (1818), a series of political poems against the Restoration. Several tragedies and comedies followed. He wrote several Chants populaircs, of which the present ballade is one. Le Chien du Louvre refers to the Revolution of 1830, which resulted in the abdication of Charles X. Numerous barricades were erected in the streets of Paris, and the palace of the Louvre, which was defended by the king's troops, was taken by the insurgents. Line 10 : son ami, /'. e., the dog. Page 129, 1. 1 : qui roule, passing by. Cf phrases like jc V en- tends quivient, I hear him coming. Cf. also 1. 19, next page. Line 4 : 1'oreille basse, -with drooping ear. Line 7 : fosse, grave also pit, large hole. It is derived from Latin fossam (pp. of fade re, to dig), and so means properly a hollow that has been dug out. The dim. fossette means a dimple. Cf. Eng- lish fosse, fossil. Line 8: Bless de juillet. The Revolution of 1830 is also known as la revolution de juillet, because it occurred in the month of July of that year. Line 15 : ennui (from Latin in odio), here in its earlier and stronger meaning of grief. Line 16 : attire, beckons. Line 20 : d'humides 6tincelles, drops of dew. Line 22 : se dresse, straightens up, stands erect. Note that the first meaning of this word (English dress) is to make straight, from Latin *dircctiare (directus], to make direct. Line 26 : frissonne, quivers, trembles. Page 131. LA BARQUE. Madame Amable Tastu (1798-1885) holds a very prominent place among the modern female poets of France. Her verse is noted for its grace, simplicity, and purity. The lines from Petrarch (1304-1374) mean : A frail bark, I find my NOTES. 189 self in the open sea without a rudder. The sense of the original con- text is slightly different. Line 11 : Nacelle. Barque and nacelle are both used of fisher- men's boats. The latter suggests more particularly the idea of frailness. Page 132. SOUVENIRS D'UN VIEUX MILITAIRE. Paul-fimile De- braux (1798-1831) is known as a popular song writer. Many of his pieces had a great success, and compare favorably with those of Beranger. Page 133, 1. 1 . les Pyramides, allusion to the campaign of Bonaparte in Egypt (1798). Line 9 : Ib6rie, Spain. Napoleon's difficulties with Spain began in 1808. Lines 11-13. These lines refer to the campaign of Prussia in 1806. Lines 15-22; allusion to Napoleon's Russian campaign in 1812. Line 24 : desceudit au cercueil, sank into the grare ; allusion to the humiliation of France after the fall of Napoleon. Line 25 : Lutece, Latin Lutetia, a city of Gallia Lugdunensis, now Paris. Page 134, 1. 2 : Hellene, Latin Bellona, goddess of war among the Romans, sister or wife or Mars Line 7 : 1'ami. The definite article is sometimes, in intimate and familiar style, placed before a noun used vocatively ; cf. ' Faites comme mot, fami, e! I'oits devUndm riche comme tnoi.' MA NORMANDIE. Frederic Berat (1800-1855), ^ nown as a P oet and musician, was born at Rouen (in Normandy). He wrote large numbers of songs and set them to music. His native Normandy was his theme. Ma Nonnandie met with great success and became one of the most popular songs of the time. More than 30,000 copies of it were published. Page 135. LE JOUEUR D'ORGUE. Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1804-1869) is celebrated chiefly as a critic. He was a very learned and skilful defender of the Romantic school, and is called the critic of that school. His method was to judge an author in connection with his surroundings. He was also the author of several collections of verse. The present poem is taken from his Pensees d'aout. Line 15 : humidement verse's, bathed in dew. 190 FRENCH LYRICS. Line 18: portiere, coach-door. The word also means ' portfire* and portress. Line 19 : rejoints, caught up with. Line 21: fardeau. Fardeau was in the earlier language fai d< !, from which came the English word (cf. Shak. Hamlet, III. I 76). Faix (last line of poem) is a synonym oi fardeau. Line 22 : balle, pack, bundle. Page 136, 1. 4 : rouler, roam. Line 9: continuais. Compare use of tense with that of pensai-je above (1. 3). Cf. also use of tenses in 1. 12, 13 below. coin, /. e,, of the diligence. Line 15 : eut. Si is sometimes followed by the pluperfect sub- junctive, especially in rhetorical style; cf. ' Si fensse (ior j'ai'ais) eu de rargent,je vous aurais paye' Or may be omitted with inversion ; e.g., ' Fut-il cl cent lieties d'ici, firais le chercher' Line 22 : chetifs, -wretched. Cf. meanings of English caitiff, which is the same word (Latin captivum}. Cf also captif, English captive. Line 23 : sans replis, without stint. Page 137, 1. 1 : tomber, here as subst , at the- fall of a clear stream L\ FKRMIRE. He'ge'sippe Moreau (1810-1838) was a poet of rare ability, but of a brief and unfortunate career. His poverty and misery were reflected in le Myosotis, a collection of elegies published in 1838. His poems of country life take a high rank. The present Romance was sent as a New Year's remembrance (1836) to Mme. Gue'rard (of the farm of Saint-Martin, near Provins, southeast of Paris), who two or three years before had kindly entertained him when recovering from an illness. Etrenne (commonly used in plur.) comes from Latin strenam, a sign, omen, and then a New-year's present. Line 15-. bahut, a kind of old-fashioned cupboard or sideboard. Line 19 : en marche, on again ! Page 138, 1. 19-20 : fils blancs de la Vierge Marie, oryfA de la Vierge, commonly means air-thread, gossamer, so called because these webs were regarded as remnants of the neck-cloth of the Virgin Mary, which she had worn in the grave and dropped to the earth as she ascended to heaven. NOTES. Ipl Page 139. LE REPOS DU SOIR. Pierre Dupont (1821-1870) ranks high among contemporary chansonniers. His songs, while they have not the polish of those of Beranger, are simple and natural, and display much feeling. Page 140, 1 4 : mangeoire, English manger, derivative of manger, to eat, from Latin manditcare. Line 25 : un doigt de vin, /. e., nne tres petite quantite de vin ; doigt, from Latin dfgltum (English digit), cf. note to 1. 22, p. 97. Line 26 : figure, face, countenance. THE END. Ibeatb's flDofcern ^Language Series. FRENCH GRAMMARS AND READERS. Edgren's Compendious French Grammar. 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