Vhabit que -voilà, the judge's gown

I. 41. triste effet du typhus. This is the second reference (cf. 1. 28) to an epidemic which evidently caused anxiety at the time. It does not seem to have been serious enough to have left any trace in history.

II. 43, 44. Le temple du dieu Plutus, qui sera beau s'il s'achève. The ' Bourse,' or Exchange, was begun by Brongniart in 1808, and continued after the latter's death by Labarre. In 1816 it was nearly completed, but it was not inaugurated until 1826.

1. 46. On n'interdit plus les extravagants. The ' interdit ' was in the middle ages a disciplinary measure depriving a town, province, or kingdom of the use of the sacraments and of religious burial. At the present day it denotes the suspension of a priest by the Pope or by a bishop.

I. 52. deux bisets. The 'biset' was a 'garde national' on duty without a uniform.

1. 55. l'avocat Bêlant. This ' bleating ' advocate was Nicolas François Bellart (1761-1826), who during the Revolution defended the Princesse de Rohan, Generals Menou and Moreau, and other famous personages. Like Séguier he fawned on the Emperor until 1814, but afterwards turned against him with the utmost violence, and was loaded with honours by Louis XVIII. He conducted the case against Marshal Ney with the most unscrupulous animosity, and made himself notorious in 1825 in the prosecution of the Liberal papers Le Courrier Français and Le Constitutionnel, whose editors, however, were acquitted on a charge of irreligious tendencies.

La Cocarde Blanche. (Page 30.)

Dated by Béranger March 30, 18 16.

'Beaucoup de personnes d'un rang élevé à la cour eurent la déplorable idée de célébrer dans un repas d'anniversaire, plusieurs fois renouvelé, l'entrée des troupes alliées à Paris en 1 814. C'est à propos de cette réunion, qu'un mot du roi eût pu empêcher, que Béranger fit cette chanson, où l'ironie est d'autant plus claire, qu'elle avait à exprimer une plus vive indignation.

' Le couplet sur Henri IV est le seul qui ait été attaqué par les tribunaux, comme un outrage à la personne du roi.' (Note by Béranger.)

1. 4. La cocarde blanche. The cockade of the Bourbons. 1. 5. ce jour cher à nos belles. During the ' Hundred Days ' Béranger had already written in L'Opinion de ces Demoiselles :

... . Point d'fille qui ne crie:

Viv' nos amis, Nos amis les enn'mis !

1. 21. qui pouvait répondre. ' Répondre' has here the meaning of se porter garant, ' who could have been sure . . .'

1. 23. Londre. The 'plural s' is frequently omitted in poetry at the end of proper nouns, either, as here, for the sake of the rime, or to avoid an extra syllable in the line. Béranger writes Athene, Jacque, &c, when necessary. (Cf. Couplets sur Waterloo and Jacques.)

1. 24. les trois couleurs. Napoleon on assuming the crown maintained the tricolour flag of the Republic. It again

replaced the white flag of the Bourbons in 1830, and has since remained the national flag.

1. 46. Bwvcns au plus grand des Henris. Henri IV (155 3— 1610) succeeded Henri III in 1589, but was opposed by the Ligue on account of his Protestant faith. The Ligue was supported by the Spaniards, and Henri IV had to conquer a large portion of his kingdom at the point of the sword. After several years of civil war he publicly abjured the Protestant faith, and was joyously accepted by the whole kingdom in 1594. With the help of his minister Sully he did a great deal to improve trade, agriculture, and the lot of the peasantry. His assassination in 16 10 was recognized as a calamity, and the people have cherished his memory as that of the ' best of kings.'

The offensive innuendo contained in this verse could hardly be ignored, and this song was, as Béranger states, one of those incriminated at his trial in 182 1.

Mon Habit. (Page 32. |

First published in the Minerve of 1819.

This is one of the most frequently sung and best remembered of Béranger's songs, and contributed not a little to his popularity.