This drawing depicts the separation of two young lovers, as one leaves to fight in the French Revolutionary wars as an army conscript. A new French system of conscription introduced in 1798, making men aged 20 to 25 liable for five years of army service, is seen as the beginning of modern conscription. (1)
Throughout the 1800s and 1900s governments in Europe and elsewhere followed the French example of compulsory military service, not necessarily for self-defence. For example, in the 1960s and 70s Australia sent young conscripted soldiers to fight in the Vietnam War. Conscription is still compulsory in many countries.
British lithographic artist John Brandard (1812-1863) prepared this drawing in 1848 to illustrate a dance music sheet for ‘The Jeannette and Jeannot Quadrille’, written by theatre orchestra violinist and composer, Charles William Glover (1806-1863). Glover’s many productions included sentimental ballads like the well-known ‘Rose of Tralee’, and semi-comedic compositions. (2)
The prolific playwright Edward Stirling (1807-1894) used Glover’s music and lyrics to make ‘Jeannette and Jeannot’, also known as ‘The village pride’. First performed at London’s Olympic Theatre in October 1848, it was promoted as a “musical drama in two acts”. In one early scene using the title song, Jeannette laments the imminent departure of her sweetheart, Jeannot, who has just been conscripted. (3)
An early review makes it clear that Brandard’s drawings were used by Stirling and the actors for inspiration in the musical. “If it had been produced earlier in the season, before the public had been almost cloyed with Glover’s very pretty ballads, we should have anticipated a long run,” wrote The Theatrical Times. “The plot of course, is told in the title, and Miss Rebecca Isaacs, as Jeannette, looked very much like Brandard’s clever lithographs on the music.” (4)
There have been many adaptations of Glover’s ‘Jeannette and Jeannot’. In 1852, for example, the actor and singer William Hawthorne Eburne produced another musical called ‘Jeannette and Jeannot or The Conscript’s Vow’. (5)
By the 1860s, the names ‘Jeannette’ and ‘Jeannot’ were being used by some publications to symbolically represent all young French lovers separated by the country’s conscription system. (6)
The tune of Glover’s ‘Jeannette and Jeannot’ is still played in the 21st Century by violinists, pianists and other musicians. It can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGuhcoVyzqs
‘Jeannette and Jeannot’ (original lyrics):
“You are going far away, far away from poor Jeannette,
There is no one left to love me now, and you, too, may forget
But my heart will be with you, wherever you may go,
Can you look me in the face and say the same, Jeannot?
When you wear the jacket gay, and the beautiful cockade,
Oh, I fear that you’ll forget all the promises you’ve made;
With a gun upon your shoulder, and your bayonet by your side,
You’ll be taking some proud lady and be making her your bride.
Or, when glory leads the way, you’ll be madly rushing on,
Never thinking if they kill you that my happiness is gone;
If you win the day, perhaps a general you’ll be,
Though I’m proud to think of that, what will become of me?
Oh, I if I were Queen of France, or still better, Pope of Rome,
I’d have no fighting men abroad, no weeping maids at home;
All the world should be at peace, or if kings must show their might,
Why, let them who make the quarrels be the only men to fight!“
The original lyrics of Glover’s ‘Jeannette and Jeannot’ have also often been parodied.
This is the wording of one 1849 parody, sung to the same tune:
“You are going far away, far away from all your debts,
There’s one left to pay me now, and you have no assets;
But my Bill it will be with you wherever you may go,
Can you look into my Ledger, and deny me what you owe?
“When you wear the great moustache, and the vest of brilliant blue,
Oh, I fear you will forget all about the I. 0. U.;
With the reins about your fingers, and a danseuse by your side,
You’ll spend your Uncle’s legacy, and all your duns deride.
Oh, if I were Lord John Russell, or still better, Robert Peel,
I would pass a stringent measure that would make you debtors feel;
I would put a stop to swindling, or, at least, should find a way,
That the man who had the goods should be the very man to pay.” (5)
(Lord John Russell and Robert Peel were both former British Prime Ministers)
Sources:
(1) Linch, Kevin: Conscription, in: European History Online (EGO), published by the Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG), Mainz 2012-01-30. URL: http://www.ieg-ego.eu/linchk-2012-en
(2) Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 22, p1
(3) Stirling, Edward (1848). Jeannette and Jeannot or, The village pride: a musical drama, in two acts; C. Jefferys, London
(4) The Theatrical Times, Nov 11, 1848
(5) Monmouthshire Merlin, March 3, 1849, p. 4.
(6) Jeannette and Jeannot; or the conscript’s vow : a musical drama, in two acts, by W. H. Eburne, comedian and vocalist, H. Robinson, Edinburgh (1852).
(7) https://www.nytimes.com/1863/11/01/archives/the-conscription-in-france.html