h enlivened,
beats time, and never fails to come in sharp with the
burden 'Brit Ish Gra-a-anadeers.'
Our national anthem is frequently referred to. In the
description of the public dinner (_S.B.S._ 19)--
'God Save the Queen' is sung by the professional
gentlemen, the unprofessional gentlemen joining in
the chorus, and giving the national anthem an effect
which the newspapers, with great justice, describe as
'perfectly electrical.'
On another occasion we are told the company, sang the national
anthem with national independence, each one singing it according
to his own ideas of time and tune. This is the usual way of
singing it at the present day.
In addition to those above mentioned we find references to
'The Marseillaise' and 'Ca ira,' both of which Dickens says
he heard in Paris. In _Little Dorrit_ Mr. Meagles says:
As to Marseilles, we know what Marseilles is. It sent
the most insurrectionary tune into the world that was
ever composed.
Without disputing the decided opinion expressed by the speaker,
there is no doubt that some would give the palm to 'Ca ira,'
which the novelist refers to in one of his letters. The words
of this song were adapted in 1790 to the tune of 'Carillon
National.' This was a favourite air of Marie Antoinette,
and she frequently played it on the harpsichord. After her
downfall she heard it as a cry of hatred against herself--it
followed her from Versailles to the capital, and she would
hear it from her prison and even when going to her death.
When Martin Chuzzlewit and Mark Tapley were on their way to
America, one of their fellow travellers was
an English gentleman who was strongly suspected of
having run away from a bank, with something in his
possession belonging to its strong-box besides the key
[and who] grew eloquent upon the subject of the rights
of man, and hummed the Marseillaise Hymn constantly.
In an article on this tune in the _Choir_ (Nov., 1911)
it is stated that it was composed in 1792 at Strasburg, but
received its name from the fact that a band of soldiers going
from Marseilles to Paris made the new melody their marching
tune. A casual note about it appears to be the only musical
reference in _A Tale of Two Cities_.
From America we have 'Hail Columbia' and 'Yankee Doodle.' In
_Martin Chuzzlewit_ we meet the musical coach-driver who
played snatches of tunes on the key bugle. A friend of his
wen
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