“The Bee” (The Literary Chronicle and Weekly Review)

A literary magazine reports that Pradel, on trial for publishing a politically controversial brochure of poems, insisted on delivering an improvised poem as part of his defence.

Performer Name:
Pradel
Performance Venue:
Paris
Performance Date:
 
Author:
 
Date Written:
1822
Language:
English
Publication Title:
The Literary Chronicle and Weekly Review
Article Title:
The Bee
Page Numbers:
160:367
Additional Info:
8 June 1822 issue
Publisher:
 
Place of Publication:
London
Date Published:
1822

Text:

The French papers give an account of the trial in Paris of Eugene de Pradel, a man of letters, who had served in the army, and who was the author of a small brochure, entitled Les Etincelles, containing five songs, which were prosecuted as libellous, and affecting the king’s authority, the succession to the throne, and offensive to religion and good manners. After the pleadings had been gone through, and before the Tribunal of Correctional Police retired to deliberate on their verdict, M. de Pradel begged to add a few words to the defence made for him by his counsel, B. Berville, when he delivered the following verses, which possess much elegance and shew his facility of composition:—

          Ma muse vivait inconnue:
Armer contre ses chants votre sévérité, 
C'est donner à son nom une célébrité
          Qu'elle n'aurait point obtenue. 
Sous les verroux, où l'on a peu d'amis,
     Un soulagement à ses peines
     Sera-t-il vainement promis?
     Devra-t-elle accuser Thémis
     D'avoir voulu river ses chaînes?
     Soldat, j'ai suivi nos héros;
     Prisonnier, j'ai chanté la France:
En la chantant, j'oubliais tous mes maux; 
     Ses lauriers cachaient mes barreaux; 
     Sa gloire charmait ma souffrance. 
     Si je suis coupable d'erreur,
     Mes torts sont bien involontaires:
     Toutes les vertus me sont chères;
     Elles se plaisent dans mon coeur; 
     Je vois tous les hommes en frères;
     Opprimé, je plains l'oppresseur; 
Pauvre et captif, je chante mon malheur,
     Et les méchans ne chantent guères.

Respect for the court did not prevent his being loudly cheered by the auditors, who could with difficulty be prevented from expressing their admiration of the poetical delinquent thus pleading his cause. The judges could not, however, be moved, and condemned M. de Pradel to be imprisoned six months, and to pay a fine of 1000 francs.

Notes:

Collected by:
EW