登陆注册
3553900000018

第18章 BOOK Ⅰ(15)

But the play was done for;not one of these many beauties was heard or understood.It seemed as if,with the entrance of the Cardinal,an invisible and magic thread had suddenly drawn all eyes from the marble table to the platform,from the southern to the western side of the Hall.Nothing could break the spell,all eyes were tenaciously fixed in that direction,and each fresh arrival,his detestable name,his appearance his dress,made a new diversion.Excepting Gisquette and Liènarde,who turned from time to time if Gringoire plucked them by the sleeve,and the big,patient man,not a soul was listening,not one face was turned towards the poor,deserted Morality.Gringoire looked upon an unbroken vista of profiles.

With what bitterness did he watch his fair palace of fame and poetry crumble away bit by bit!And to think that these same people had been on the point of rioting from impatience to hear his piece!And now that they had got it,they cared not a jot for it—the very same performance which had commenced amid such unanimous applause.Eternal flow and ebb of popular favour!And to think they had nearly hanged the sergeants of the Provost!What would he not have given to go back to that honey-sweet moment!

However,at last all the guests had arrived and the usher's brutal monologue perforce came to an end.Gringoire heaved a sigh of relief.The actors spouted away bravely.Then,what must Master Coppenole the hosier do but start up suddenly,and in the midst of undivided attention deliver himself of the following abominable harangue:

'Messires the burghers and squires of Paris,hang me if I know what we're all doing here.To be sure,I do perceive over in that corner on a sort of stage some people who look as if they were going to fight.I do not know if this is what you call a Mystery,but I am quite certain it is not very amusing.They wrestle only with their tongues.For the last quarter of an hour I have been waiting to see the first blow struck,but nothing happens.They are poltroons,and maul one another only with foul words.You should have had some fighters over from London or Rotterdam,then there would have been some pretty fisticuffing if you like—blows that could have been heard out on the Place.But these are sorry folk.They should at least give us a Morris-dance or some such mummery.This is not what I had been given to expect.I had been promised a Feast of Fools and the election of a Pope.We too have our pope of fools at Ghent,in that we are behind nobody.Croix-Dieu!This is how we manage it.We get a crowd together as here;then everybody in turn thrusts his head through a hole and pulls a face at the others.The one who by universal consent makes the ugliest face is chosen Pope.That's our way.It's most diverting.Shall we choose your Pope after the same fashion?It would at any rate be less tedious than listening to these babblers.If they like to take their turn at grimacing they're welcome.What say you,my masters?We have here sufficiently queer samples of both sexes to give us a good Flemish laugh,and enough ugly faces to justify our hopes of a beautiful grimace.'

Gringoire would fain have replied,but stupefaction,wrath,and indignation rendered him speechless.Besides,the proposal of the popular hosier was received with such enthusiasm by these townsfolk,so flattered by being addressed as squires,that further resistance was useless.There was nothing for it but to go with the stream.Gringoire buried his face in his hands,not being fortunate enough to possess a mantle wherewith to veil his countenance like the Agamemnon of Timanthes.

1 A pun on the word gant(glove)and Gand,the French name for the city of Ghent.

2 The arms of the city of Paris show a ship on heaving billows and the motto'Fluctuat nec mergitur.'

Chapter 5-Quasimodo

In a twinkling burghers,students,and Basochians had set to work,and all was ready to carry out Coppenole's suggestion.The little chapel facing the marble table was chosen as the mise en scéne of the grimaces.A pane of glass was broken out of the charming rose-window above the door,leaving an empty ring of stone,through which the competitors were to thrust their heads,while two barrels,procured from goodness knows where,and balanced precariously on the top of one another,enabled them to mount up to it.It was then agreed that,in order that the impression of the grimace might reach the beholder in full unbroken purity,each candidate,whether male or female(for there could be a female pope),was to cover his face and remain concealed in the chapel till the moment of his appearance.

In an instant the chapel was filled with competitors,and the doors closed upon them.

From his place on the platform Coppenole ordered everything,directed everything,arranged everything.During the hubbub,and pretexting vespers and other affairs of importance,the Cardinal,no less disconcerted than Gringoire,retired with his whole suite,and the crowd,which had evinced so lively an interest in his arrival,was wholly unmoved by his departure.Guillaume Rym alone noticed the rout of his Eminence.

Popular attention,like the sun,pursued its even course.Starting at one end of the Hall,it remained stationary for a time in the middle,and was now at the other end.The marble table,the brocade-covered platform,had had their day;now it was the turn of the Chapel of Louis XI.The field was clear for every sort of folly;the Flemings and the rabble were masters of the situation.

The pulling of faces began.The first to appear in the opening—eye-lids turned inside out,the gaping mouth of a ravening beast,the brow creased and wrinkled like the hussar boots of the Empire period—was greeted with such a roar of inextinguishable laughter that Homer would have taken all these ragamuffins for gods.

同类推荐
  • 阿育王子法益坏目因缘经

    阿育王子法益坏目因缘经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 香严禅师语录

    香严禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • THE DOOR IN THE WALL

    THE DOOR IN THE WALL

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • The New Machiavelli

    The New Machiavelli

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 遯斋闲览

    遯斋闲览

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 成功只在一念之间

    成功只在一念之间

    努力不一定会有回报,但不努力就绝对会有回报!(本书适合初中生,或者在学习的人观看。)
  • 救命书

    救命书

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 夔州卧龙字水禅师语录

    夔州卧龙字水禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 美国电影艺术史

    美国电影艺术史

    《美国电影艺术史》是一部全面阐述美国电影艺术发展脉络的著作,其显著特色在于将权威的美国电影理念与生动的好莱坞电影创作结合在一起,将清晰的美国电影历史与鲜明的电影艺术家个性结合在一起。将主流的商业电影表现与多元的美国社会文化及哲学美学背景结合在一起,打通专业性与大众性之间的壁垒,形成一种深入浅出、雅俗共赏的写作风格,让读者在轻松阅读之中汲取美国电影的文化素养。
  • 红颜非祸水

    红颜非祸水

    五岁,他将她从死人堆里救出,承诺保护她一生。十八岁,他将她逐出师门,却又跟着她跳下悬崖。二十岁,他将剑刺入她的胸膛,然后服下断肠散。二十一岁,他和她被正派围攻,她为他变成魔头。铁链穿透琵琶骨,石牢锁住孱弱身,她被伤到体无完肤。这一次,换他用深情将她追回。
  • 不死玄尊

    不死玄尊

    一个少年,天生绝脉,十年寸功未进。他从岐山走出,凤鸣岐山,搅动天下。一路来,他征战四方,机遇不断,一路来,他睥睨纵横,桃运连连。清新可人的邻家碧玉,娇媚动人的天下神偷,果决高贵的魔教圣女,端庄大方的皇家公主,侠义心肠的宗门侠女……
  • 让学生拓展思维的66个故事

    让学生拓展思维的66个故事

    励志就是勉励自己勤奋向学,集中心思致力于某种事业。志,就是心愿所往,心之所向,是未表露出来的长远的打算。汉代班固《白虎通·谏诤》里“励志忘生,为君不避丧生”的话,讲的就是这个意思。励志是一门学问,这门学问应该从小学起,终生不辍。
  • 神欲轮回

    神欲轮回

    命运,是掌握在自己手里的。虽然蓦然回首,发现自己原来一直没有摆脱命运的枷锁,那就不再以之为枷锁,继续掌握自己的命运吧。
  • 美女私房菜

    美女私房菜

    私房秘技,绝味佳肴,极度挑逗你的味蕾。本书全面系统地介绍了美女私房菜的做法,每道菜都有原料详情与详细的做法,内容丰富,科学实用,制作过程详细,语言通俗易懂,书后附带厨房小常识,如海鲜的保险等等。
  • 欧阳修集

    欧阳修集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。