150. 13. LORSQUE LE PÉLICAN; this passage is one of the most famous of
French poetry. Compare Ronsard's reference to the pelican, p. 8,
1. 19. With this view of the poet's lot and mission compare that
expressed in _les Montreurs_ of Leconte de Lisle, p. 199, and in
_l'Art_ of Gautier, p. 190. The fable of the pelican giving his blood
to his young is current in the literature of the middle ages.
152. LA NUIT DE DÉCEMBRE. November, 1835. 18. ÉGLANTINE; a wild rose
was one of the prizes given the victors in the poetical contests
called the _Jeux Floraux_ held at Toulouse; it symbolizes distinction
in poetry.
153. 11. UN HAILLON DE OURPRE EN LAMBEAU symbolizes the power of youth
wasted in debauchery. 12. MYRTE; the myrtle was sacred to Venus.
154. 10. PISE, Pisa. 14. BRIGUES, a small town in the Rhone valley in
Switzerland, at the foot of the Simplon pass. 16. GÊNES, Genoa. 17.
VEVAY, a town on Lake Geneva. 19. LIDO, an island between Venice and
the sea, a favorite resort of the inhabitants of the city. Musset
calls it _affreux_, because with it he associated his quarrel with
George Sand.
159. STANCES À LA MALIBRAN. October, 1836. 11. MARIA FELICITÀ,
daughter and pupil of Manuel Garcia, afterwards Madame Malibran, by
which name she is remembered, was a remarkable singer (1808-1836).
24. PARTHÉNON: the Parthenon, completed in 438 B.C., was built under
the direction of Phidias, who was also the sculptor of the colossal
statue of Athena within the temple. The most famous work of Praxiteles
Was the statue of Aphrodite of Cnidus, not extant, but represented in
the Venus of the Capitol and the Venus de Medicis.
160. 26. CORILLA, a character in one of Rossini's operas. 27. ROSINA,
heroine of Rossini's _Il Barbiere di Seviglia_ (1816). 29. LE SAULE,
the song of "The Willow" in Rossini's _Otello_ (1816); cf. Shakspere's
_Othello_, iv, 3.
161. 9. LONDRE, usually spelled _Londres_; the _s_ is omitted here for
the metre. 21. GÊRICAULT, an important French painter (1790-1824); his
most famous picture is _Le Radeau de la Méduse_, now in the Louvre.
CUVIER, a great
French naturalist (1769-1852).
162. 3. ROBERT, Léopold (1794-1835), a French painter of merit.
BELLINI, Vincenzo (1802-1835), an Italian composer of operas; among
his works are _La Somnambula_ (1831), _Norma_ (1831), and _I Puritani_
(1835). 5. CARREL, Armand (1800-1836), a French publicist, fatally
wounded in a duel with Émile de Girardin.
163. 18. LA PASTA; Giuditta Pasta (1798-1865) was one of the famous
sopranos of her day; for her Bellini wrote _La Somnambula_ and
_Norma_.