Show r j p THE POPES POPE'S MULE I on in in Second Year French from the French of Alphonse Daudet the pretty sayings proverbs or adages with which our provencal peasants adorn their discourses I know none more picturesque or more singular lar than this one For fifteen leagues around my mill when they speak of ofa a spiteful and vindictive man they say Distrust that man Hes He's like the Popes Pope's mule that kept a kick for seven years yeats I have sought for a very long time the source from which this proverb t y could come what this papal mule was and what was this kick kept for seven seven- years No Noone one here can inform me on the subject not even my fife player who has nevertheless his provencal legendary lore on the tip of his tongue thinks as I Ido do that there is behind it some old chronicle of the country of A Avignon vignon but he has never heard it spoken of otherwise than by the proverb Y You ou will find it only in the library of the Grasshoppers said the old fifer to me laughing The idea appeared good tome to tome me and as the library of the Grasshoppers is just outside my gate I I. I went to shut myself up there for a week It is a marvellous library admirably furnished open to poets day and night and waited upon by little librarians with cymbals that make music for you all day long I passed some delightful days there and after a week of researches upon researches upon my back back I I finally discovered what I wanted that is the history of my mule and that kick kept for seven years The tale is pretty if a little simple and I shall try to tell it to you as I read it yesterday morning in a sky-blue sky manuscript that smelled good of dried lavender and for bookmarks bookmarks bookmarks book book- marks had large cobwebs Who has not seen Avignon in the time of the Popes has seen nothing if For gaiety life animation bustle of fetes never was a town like it There There- were processions from morning till night pilgrimages streets strewn with flowers high warp tapestries cardinals arriving by the Rhone banners floating floating floating float float- ing in the breeze galleys deck decked d with flags soldiers of the Pope singing in Latin on the squares rattles of mendicant friars then from top to bottom of the houses which were crowded together around mound the great papal palace humming humming humming hum hum- ming like bees around their hive there was still the clicking of the lace frames weaving the gold in the robes mass-robes the little hammers of the vase carvers the music boxes arranged in front of the music stores the songs of the warp warp- ers ers above above all this the noise of the bells and always some drums that could be heard beating yonder in the direction of the bridges For with us when the people are content they must dance they must dance and as at that time the streets were too narrow for the and drummers were stationed on the bridge of A Avignon vignon in the fresh breeze of the Rhone and day and night they lanced danced there they danced there Ah happy time happy city Halberds which did not cut prisons of state where the wine was placed to cool Never any poverty never any war That is how the Popes of the knew how to gov govern rn their people that is why their people have so much regretted them There was one especially a good old man whom they called caned Boniface Boniface- Oh that man What tears they shed in Avignon when he died He Ie was a prince so amiable so polite he smiled pleasantly at you from his mule and when you passed near him whether you were a poor little root madder-root digger digger dig dig- ig- ig ger gel or the great judge of the city he gave you yon his benediction so politely A Atrue Atrue Atrue true pope of Y Yvetot but of a Provencal Y Yvetot with something refined about his smile and a spring of sweet marjoram in his cap The only passion that he was ever known to have this good father was his vineyard a little vine- vine 4 that he had planted himself three yard leagues from Avignon among the- the myrtles of Chateau N euf Every Sunday after coming from vespers the worthy man went there to hold his cou court t and and when he was up there seated in the pleasant sunshine his his- mule near him his cardinals all around him stretched out at the foot of the trees the then he would e empty pty a flagon of made home-made wine wine that that beautiful ruby colored wine that has since been called the Chateau N des Chateau des and and he drank it in little sips gazing gazing- at his vineyard with a tender air Then the the- flagon empty the light fading he returned joyously to the city followed by byall byall byall all his chapter and when he passed over the bridge of Avignon in the midst of the drums and the his mule excited by the music took on a little skipping amble while he himself marked the step of the dance with his his- cap which greatly g scandalized his cardinals but which made all the people say Ah the good prince Ah AliM the worthy Pope After his vineyard of Chateau Neuf euf that which the Pope loved best in inthe inthe inthe the world was his mule The good man doted on his beast Every night before going to bed he went to see whether her stable was well locked if anything anything anything any any- thing was lacking in her manger and never did he lie rise from the table without having had prepared under his own eyes a great bowl of French wine well spiced and sweetened which he carried out himself in spite of the observations observations- of his cardinals It must be said too that the beast was worth the trouble She was a beautiful mule with a black shining coat spotted red with a sure foot a back large and broad and a little head carried proudly all covered with pompons silver bells bows moreover gentle as an angel artless eyed herlong herlong herlong her her- long ears always shaking giving her a natured good-natured air All A Avignon vignon respected respected respected re re- her and when she went into the streets there was no polite attention that they did not pay her for every everyone one knew that was the surest means of standing well in court and for all her innocent air the Popes Pope's mule had made the fortune of more than one witness one witness Vedene and his prodigious adventure This Vedene was originally a bold scamp whom his father Guy Vedene the sculptor in gold had been obliged to drive from home because because- he would do nothing himself and took the apprentices from their work For six months they saw him drag his jacket through all the gutters of A Avignon vignon but principally by the side of the papal palace for the rogue had had an idea idea- for a long time about the Popes Pope's mule and you will see if it was not something wicked One day when His Holiness was walking all alone beneath the the- ramparts with his beast behold my who accosts him and says to him clasping his his- hands with an air of admiration Ah Heavens great Holy Father what a fine mule you have there Let me look at her a little Ah my Pope the beautiful mule The Emperor of Germany has not such a one And he caressed it and spoke to it as gently as to a young lady Come then my jewel my treasure my fine pearl And the worthy Pope quite touched said to himself What a good little fellow this is How polite he is to my mule And then the next day do you know what happened happened- r 10 Vedene exchanged his old yellow jacket for a beautiful lace robe a camail of violet-colored violet silk shoes with buckles and entered the Popes Pope's singing school where never before had they received any but sons of nobles and nephews of cardinals That is what intrigue is But Ti tet did not stop at that Once in the service of the Pope the rogue continued the game which had succeeded so well Insolent to everybody he was respectful and polite only to the mule and he was always to be seen in the courts of the palace with a handful of oats or a bundle of grass whose rosy seeds he would shake gently while looking up at the Holy I Fathers Father's balcony with an air of saying Ah for whom this So that finally the good Pope who felt himself growing old left to him the care of watching over the stable and of carrying to the mule her bowl of French wine at which besides the cardinals did not laugh N Nor or did the mule laugh any longer either Now at her regular hour for having her wine she always saw coming into her stable five or six little pupils of the singing school who crept into the hay with their camails and their laces After a moment a good warm odor of caramel and spices filled the stable and Vedene appeared carrying with care the bowl of French wine Then the martyrdom of the poor beast commenced This savory wine that she loved oved so so- sowell well that kept her so warm that gave her wings he had the cruelty to bring up tip to her there in her manger to let lether lether lether her sniff at it then when her nostrils were full of it Presto the wine is gone The beautiful liquor with its rosy flame all went down the throats of these rascals And yet if they had only stolen her wine But they were like devils all these little pupils when they had drunk it One pulled her ears another her tail jumped on her back tried his cap on her herand and not one of these rogues thought that with a blow from one or both hoofs the brave beast beast- might have sent them all to the Polar star and even farther l But no One is not the Popes Pope's mule for nothing the mule of benediction i. i and nd indulgences indulgence The Te children worked in vain she did not grow glow angry and it was only against Vedene that she had a grudge As to him you may be sure that when she felt him behind her her hoofs itched to kick him and truly there was good reason for it This knave of a Vedene played her such villainous tricks he had such cruel ideas after drinking Did he not one day bethink himself of making her mount up into the steeple of the singing school with him high very high at the top of the palace And what I tell you is not an idle tale two hundred thousand Pro Pro- saw it You may imagine the terror of this wretched mule when after having turned round and round for an hour in the darkness of the winding winding wind- wind ing stairway and climbed I know not how many steps she found herself suddenly on a platform dazzling with light and when a thousand feet beneath be be- neath her she saw a whole fan fantastic Avignon the shops in the market place no larger than walnuts the soldiers of the Pope before their barracks like red ants and and down yonder over a silver thread a little microscopic bridge where f they danced where they danced Ah poor beast What terror At the cry she uttered all the windows of the palace shook cc What is the matter What are they doing to her cried out the good Pope rushing out on th the balcony Vedene was in the already court yard pretending to weep and tear his hair Ah Great Holy Father what is going to become of us See your mule she has climbed up there into the steeple All alone i Yes Yes Great Holy Father all alone Now alone Now look at her up there Do you see the tips of her ears sticking up Two swallows one might say c Mercy I said the poor Pope raising his eyes She She has gone mad then She will kill herself Do you want to come down much very poor thing She would have asked nothing better she than to descend but by what means The staircase was not to be thought of these may be mounted indeed these things but in descending there would be a hundred chances of breaking ones one's legs And the poor mule was was overcome overcome with b grief arief and while wandering around the platform with her great eyes full of dizziness dizziness dizziness ness she thought of V Vedene edene Ah Ah bandit If I escape from this what this what a kick tomorrow morning This idea of the kick gave her a little strength in her legs without it she could not have contained herself Finally they succeeded in drawing her down but what an undertaking it was It was necessary to let her down with a pulley ropes and a hand hand- hand bar bar bar- row And think what humiliation for the mule of a Pope to see herself suspended suspended suspended sus sus- at this height waving her hoofs in the empty air like a June bug at atthe atthe atthe the end of a string And all A Avignon vignon looking on The wretched beast did not sleep that night She seemed to be always turning on that accursed platform with the laughter of the town beneath h her Then she thought of that infamous Vedene and of the fine kick They would see the smoke of it in Well vV Well ell while this beautiful reception was being prepared for him at the stable do you know what Vedene was doing He was sailing down the Rhone singing in a papal galley and he was going to the Court of Naples with the troop of young nobles whom the city sent every year to be near the Queen Jeanne to be trained in diplomacy and fine manners was not noble but the Pope decided to reward him for the care that he had given his beast and principally for the activity that he had just displayed during the day of rescue It was the mule that was disappointed on the morrow Ah the bandit he has suspected something she thought shaking her bells with rage But it is all the same go on wretch You will find it on your return your kick I will keep it for you And she kept it for him After departure the mule of the Pope took up again her tranquil course of life and her former pleasures No more no more in the stable The beautiful days of the French wine had come again and with them good humor long naps and the little like gavotte-like step when she Y I i i 1 passed over the bridge of Avignon However since her adventure there was noticed a slight coldness towards her in the town There were whisperings on the road the old men wagged their heads the children laughed pointing up at the steeple The good Pope himself had no o longer so much confidence in his friend and when he permitted himself to take a little nap on her back of a Sunday on returning from the vineyard he had always this under- under thought If If I should wake up up there on the platform The mule saw this and she suffered from it without t saying anything only when the they uttered the name of Vedene before her her long ears shook and nd with witha a little smile she sharpened the iron of her hoofs on the pavement Seven years passed thus then at the end of these years Vedene came back from the court of Naples His time was not yet finished there but he had heard that the first mustard-maker mustard of the Pope had just died su suddenly denly in Avignon and as the place seemed a good one to him he had come in great haste to put himself in the ranks When this intriguing Vedene entered the palace hall the Holy Father scarcely recognized him l-im he had grown so tall and large It must be said also that the Pope was growing old on his side and he could no longer see well without spectacles was not intimidated f How Great Holy Father you no longer know me It is I Tiste V Vedene edene f I J Jf f V Vedene edene Why yes you know well well- he who carried the French wine to your jour your mule y Ah yes yes I recall it it- it A good little fellow that Vedene c And now what does he wish of us t Oh a little thing Great Holy Father I came to ask of you you you- By Bythe Bythe the way have you your mule still And is she getting on well Ah so much the better better better- I came to ask of you the position of first mustard- mustard maker who has just died 4 First mustard-maker mustard you you you- But you are too young How old are I you then Twenty years and two months illustrious Pontiff just five years older than your mule mule mule- Ah the worthy beast If you knew how I loved that mule mule mule- how I have pined for her in Italy Will you not let me see her hel Of course my child you shall see her said the good Pope quite quite- touched And since you love her so much this worthy bea beast t I no longer wish you to live far |