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114 The National Music of America.
die on the morrow. Vergniaud had poison concealed on his person, but a rapid calculation proved that there was not enough for all, and he therefore threw it away. Poet, painter, and historian have celebrated that wonderful night when the greatest minds in France had their final reunion before their execution; there was wit without bravado, courage without braggadocio, serenity among all.
The next day they took up their song of the " Marseillaise " at the guillotine. Swiftly the instrument did its dreadful work; one by one the voices were hushed ; at last there was but one firm voice singing the patriotic air, and in an instant that, too, was stilled, and the tragedy of the Girondins had come to its close.
Barbaroux, himself, who might be called the godfather of the " Marseillaise," was proscribed, but managed to escape. He found refuge in St. Emilion. One day, in 1794, he |
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