Here is a poem I came across by Eugenius Roche, adding to our poetry on Napoleon. (We noted last February that Lord Byron covered both Elba and St. Helena.) Eugenius Roche, although born in Dublin in 1786, was actually raised in France, and moved to London around 1804, where he worked as editor on a magazine that published some of Byron’s early poems. I’m just guessing, but since Mr. Roche was a young man actually living in Paris during the years leading up to Napoleon’s coronation, he probably felt a lot more connected to the events than the English poets. Roche’s father was a language professor who made sure his children spoke several languages, but Roche’s first language was considered to be French and he had composed and published several poems in French before going to England. The comments after the title belong to Mr. Roche.
THE EXILE.
The following sonnet is founded on the accounts of St. Helena, published when that island became the prison of the greatest conqueror of modern times. Thunder-storms were represented as altogether unknown. It appears, however, by the observations of his friends, that serenity is far from being the general character of the climate.
Oh, for a peal of thunder!—smile no more,
Eternal sunshine, thou fatiguest my soul!
In calm and majesty no longer roll
Vast ocean! but in all thy tempests roar,
And lash with mountain-waves my prison shore!
Send forth your voices, angels of the pole,
Hither wild whirlwinds be your constant goal,
And give my spirit wings of storm to soar:
I’ll rush into the past, and as around
The mingling thunders of your conflict peal,
Shall burst upon mine ear the battle sound,
Shall break upon mine eye the ranks of steel,
Till planting o’er the earth my flag unfurled,
I’ll stand, and seem once more the monarch of a world!
The tragedy of the Haitian earthquake has brought out an outpouring of help for the devastated country which is, of course, a good thing. As also often happens, it has also shone a light on the woeful ignorance of many people concerning the history and religion of Haiti. The ‘pact with the devil’ remarks made by televangelist, Pat Robertson set off a firestorm of criticism and disbelief. A White House official said his comments that Haiti has been cursed because of a pact made with the devil to free them from French rule don’t express the spirit of the American people or the president.
Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Roberston’s comments left her speechless. She called Robertson’s statements “a pretty stunning comment to make.” Robertson’s camp tried pretty hard to run damage control after the remarks traveled swiftly around the internet. His comments, according to spokeman, Chris Roslan, were based on Voodoo rituals carried out before a slave rebellion against French colonists in 1791. Roslan said Robertson never stated the earthquake was God’s wrath.
Maybe he didn’t say those words literally, but the implication is there, and by the way, how did Napoleon III get in there? Pat Robertson’s comments could not possibly be based upon the works of ‘countless scholars’ since even the average student of history knows that Napoleon III had nothing to do with the Haitian revolution. It seems pretty clear Pat Robertson doesn’t know what the hell he is talking about. See the video after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Ah, another day … another historical murder, and another poem on the topic. This one is by English clergyman and author, William James Dawson, (1854-1928), who obviously wasn’t at the execution of Mme. Corday for the murder of Jean-Paul Marat in 1793, but Dawson seeks to reproduce the emotions of Adam Lux, who was:
Adam Lux to Charlotte Corday
Red is the garb thou wearest, red is the deed thou hast done,
And red on a land of blood rises the morning sun.
Kings have ridden this road, conquerors mailed in gold,
But none in such red triumph as this that we behold.
Rose, thro’ a rose-red dawn, go to thy valourous fate,
Queen of all roses thou, splendid and passionate.
And lo ! at thy feet I fling, here, in the gallows-cart,
Passionate even as thine, the rose-flower of my heart. Read the rest of this entry »
If you had to pick your FAVORITE Edith Piaf song, would it be hard? For me, it would. I love so many of her songs. But I have a way of deciding which one must be my favorite for any singer — if I put all their songs on a playlist, which one would I put first most of time (allowing, of course, for moodiness). Most of the time, with Piaf, I would undoubtedly begin with L’Accordeoniste. You’ll see why, If you watch the Sparrow’s flawless performance. This video has English subtitles so if you don’t know French, it’s all good.
La fille de joie est belle
Au coin de la rue là-bas
Elle a une clientèle
Qui lui remplit son bas
Quand son boulot s’achève
Elle s’en va à son tour
Chercher un peu de rêve
Dans un bal du faubourg
Son homme est un artiste
C’est un drôle de petit gars
Un accordéoniste
Qui sait jouer la java more
Ah, no wonder that picture looked like Victor Hugo to me – it is Victor Hugo! And actually it’s a photograph that was taken by Vacquerie. There it is on the left.
On the right is (from left to right) Hugo’s son, Francois and Auguste Vacquerie with Hugo (sitting down).
Auguste’s brother, Charles married Victor Hugo’s daughter, Leopoldine. The couple were both tragically killed in a boating accident on September 4, 1843.
Descendants of the Vacquerie family sold its traditional family home and garden in the town of Villequiers to the Seine Maritime department in 1951, and it was opened to the public in 1959. Check that out on this page.
Auguste Vacquerie died about 10 years after Victor Hugo. His death was reported in the New York Times and mentions that he was Hugo’s literary executor and also one of the guardians of Hugo’s grandchildren, Georges and Jeanne.
