ROUGET DE LISLE CLAUDE: (1760-1836) French Officer of the French Revolutionary wars. Best known for being the creator of the words and music of the “Chant de Guerre pour l´armée du Rhin” (“War Song for the army of the Rhin”) in 1792, and which would become later the French National anthem La Marseillaise. A good A.L.S., `R. de Lisle´, one page, 8vo, n.p., [Paris], Wednesday 25th November 1823, to Monsieur de Montrol, in French. De Lisle kindly thanks his correspondent for his invitation, but rejects it, stating `Mille remerciements de votre obligeante invitation. Mais nous demeurons si loin l´un de l´autre! Les soirées commencent et se prolongent si tard....´ (“Many thanks for your kind invitation. But we live so far apart! The evenings start and continue so late....”), and further explains in detail the reasons, stating in part `... et puis, je ne me porte pas bien; j´ai du chagrin, et de plus d´une manière. En somme je ne suis plus qu´une vieille patraque qui se détraque pour parler en rimeur, et comme tel, très peu propre à figurer dans vos joyeuses réunions´ (“... and also, I'm not well; I grieve, and in more than one way. In short, I am nothing more than an old clumsy who breaks down to speak in rhyme, and as such, very little suited to appear in your happy meetings”) With address leaf bearing a postmark and a small area of paper loss due to the letter opening. G to VG