第17章 BOOK Ⅰ(14)

'Monsieur，'said he，addressing a man near him，a stout，worthy person with a long-suffering countenance，'now，how would it be if they were to begin it again？'

'What？'asked the man.

'Why，the Mystery，'said Gringoire.

'Just as you please，'returned the other.

This half consent was enough for Gringoire，and taking the business into his own hands，he began calling out，making himself as much one of the crowd as possible：'Begin the Mystery again！Begin again！'

'What the devil's all the hubbub about down there？'said Joannes de Molendino（for Gringoire was making noise enough for half a dozen）.'What，comrades，is the Mystery not finished and done with？They are going to begin again；that's not fair！'

'No！no！'shouted the scholars in chorus.'Down with the Mystery—down with it！'

But Gringoire only multiplied himself and shouted the louder，'Begin again！begin again！'

These conflicting shouts at last attracted the attention of the Cardinal.

'Monsieur the Provost of the Palais，'said he to a tall man in black standing a few paces from him，'have these folk gone demented that they are making such an infernal noise？'

The Provost of the Palais was a sort of amphibious magistrate；the bat，as it were，of the judicial order，partaking at once of the nature of the rat and the bird，the judge and the soldier.

He approached his Eminence，and with no slight fear of his displeasure，explained in faltering accents the unseemly behaviour of the populace：how，the hour of noon having arrived before his Eminence，the players had been forced into commencing without waiting for his Eminence.

The Cardinal burst out laughing.

'By my faith，Monsieur the Rector of the University might well have done likewise.What say you M re Guillaume Rym？'

'Monseigneur，'replied Rym，'let us be content with having missed half the play.That is so much gained at any rate.'

'Have the fellows permission to proceed with their mummeries？'inquired the Provost.

'Oh，proceed，proceed，'returned the Cardinal；''tis all one to me.Meanwhile I can be reading my breviary.'

The Provost advanced to the front of the platform，and after obtaining silence by a motion of the hand，called out：

'Burghers，country and townsfolk，to satisfy those who desire the play should begin again and those who desire it should finish，his Eminence orders that it should continue.'

Thus both parties had to be content.Nevertheless，both author and audience long bore the Cardinal a grudge in consequence.

The persons on the stage accordingly resumed the thread of their discourse，and Gringoire hoped that at least the remainder of his great work would get a hearing.But this hope was doomed to speedy destruction like his other illusions.Silence had indeed been established to a certain extent，but Gringoire had not observed that when the Cardinal gave the order for the Mystery to proceed，the platform was far from being filled，and that the Flemish ambassadors were followed by other persons belonging to the rest of the cortég，whose names and titles，hurled intermittently by the usher into the midst of his dialogue，caused considerable havoc therein.Imagine the effect in a drama of to-day of the doorkeeper bawling between the lines，or even between the first two halves of an alexandrine，such parentheses as these：

'Mre Jacques Charmolue，Procurator of the King in the Ecclesiastical Court！'

'Jehan de Harlay，Esquire，Officer of the Mounted Night Watch of the City of Paris！'

'Messire Galiot de Genoilhac，Knight，Lord of Brussac，Chief of the King's Artillery！'

'M re Dreux-Raguier，Inspector of Waters and Forests of our Lord the King，throughout the lands of France，Champagne，and Brie！'

'Messire Louis de Graville，Knight，Councillor and Chamberlain to the King，Admiral of France，Ranger of the Forest of Vincennes！'

'Mre Denis le Mercier，Custodian to the House for the Blind in Paris！'etc.，etc.，etc.

It was insufferable.

This peculiar accompaniment，which made it so difficult to follow the piece，was the more exasperating to Gringoire as he was well aware that the interest increased rapidly as the work advanced，and that it only wanted hearing to be a complete success.It would indeed be difficult to imagine a plot more ingeniously and dramatically constructed.The four characters of the Prologue were still engaged in bewailing their hopeless dilemma when Venus herself，vera incessu patuit dea，appeared before them，wearing a splendid robe emblazoned with the ship of the city of Paris.2 She had come to claim for herself the dolphin promised to the Most Fair.She had the support of Jupiter，whose thunder was heard rumbling in the dressing-room，and the goddess was about to bear away her prize—in other words，to espouse Monsieur the Dauphin—when a little girl，clad in white damask，and holding a daisy in her hand（transparent personification of Marguerite of Flanders），arrived on the scene to contest it with Venus.Coup de thèatre and quick change.After a brisk dispute，Marguerite，Venus，and the side characters agreed to refer the matter to the good judgment of the Blessed Virgin.There was another fine part，that of Don Pedro，King of Mesopotamia；but it was difficult amid so many interruptions to make out exactly what was his share in the transaction.And all this had scrambled up the ladder.