Monsieur Bergeret was in his study chatting with his pupil, Monsieur
Goubin.
“I found to-day,” he said, “in a friend’s library, a little book which
is extremely rare and perhaps unique. Whether he is ignorant of its
existence, or thinks it of little value, Brunet does not mention it
in his Manual. It is a little duodecimo entitled: _Les charactères et
pourtraictures tracés d’après les modelles anticques_. It was printed
in the year 1538 in the learned Rue Saint-Jacques.”
“Do you know the author?” inquired Monsieur Goubin.
“The author is a certain Master Nicole Langelier, a Parisian,” replied
Monsieur Bergeret. “His style is not so pleasant as that of Amyot, but
it is clear and full of meaning. I enjoyed reading his book, and copied
out a chapter that struck me as very curious. Would you care to hear
it?”
“Very much,” replied Monsieur Goubin.
Monsieur Bergeret took some papers from the table and read the heading:
“Concerning the Trublions which arose in the time of the Republick.”
Monsieur Goubin inquired who these Trublions were. Monsieur Bergeret
replied that he would no doubt discover that from what followed, and
that it was a good plan to read a text before commenting on it. And he
read as follows:
“In those days there appeared in the city folk that uttered
loud cries and were named Trublions, inasmuch as they served
a chief named Trublion, who was of high lineage but small
understanding and full of the arrogance of youth. And the
Trublions also had another chief named Tintinnabule who made
excellent speeches and marvellous songs and had been cast forth
from the republick by the law and usage of ostracism. In truth
the said Tintinnabule was adverse to Trublion; when the one
pulled up stream the other pulled down. But the Trublions cared
nothing for that, being so crazy that they did not know whither
they were steering.
“At that time there lived in the mountains a villager named
Robin Honeyman, who had already a hoary head, like a shock of
hay or straw; a person full of guile and subtlety, and very
expert in the art of feigning, who believed that he could
govern the State by means of these Trublions, and he flattered
them to draw them about him, whistling to them as sweetly
as a flute, after the guise of the fowler piping to little
birds. And the good Tintinnabule fell into great amazement and
affliction by reason of this piping and had a great fear lest
Robin Honeyman should entice his goslings.
“Under Trublion, Tintinnabule and Robin Honeyman there held
command over the Trublion troops:
“Four palmers of exceeding sourness.
“Twenty-one baptized Jews.
“Twenty-five worthy begging friars.
“Eight makers of almanacks.
“Forty demagogues, misoxenes, xenophobes, xenoctones and
xenophages; and six bushels of noblemen professing devotion to
the beauteous lady of Bourdes in Navarre.
“In this fashion did sundry and contrary chiefs govern the
Trublions. They were a right unmannerly race, and even as
the Harpies, as Virgil reports, sat upon trees and shrieked
horribly, and spoiled all that lay beneath them, in like
fashion these froward Trublions climbed upon the cornices and
pinnacles of the churches and houses, thence to do despite to
the courteous citizens, to drop filth upon them and to piss
upon them.
“And they diligently chose an old colonel named Gelgopole, who
was the most inept in war that could be found, an enemy of
justice and a disdainer of the laws, and made of him their idol
and paragon, and went about the city crying, ‘Long life to the
old Colonel!’ And the little school-urchins likewise squealed
at their heels, ‘Long life to the old Colonel!’ Then the
aforesaid Trublions gathered together in many assemblies and
conventicles in which they cried: ‘Health to the old Colonel’
with such loudness of voice that the elements themselves were
astounded and the birds flying above their heads fell to earth
benumbed and dead. In sooth this was a very base madness and a
most horrible frenzy.
“Then the said Trublions proclaimed that he who would
faithfully serve the city and merit the civic crown, which was
fashioned of the leaves of the oak-tree bound with a fillet
of wool and naught besides, and honourable among all crowns,
should utter furious cries and insane discourses, likewise
those that guided the plough, and those that reaped and
gathered the harvest, and led their flocks to the pasture and
grafted their pear-trees in this fair land of vine and corn, of
green meadows and fruitful gardens, did not serve the State.
Neither did their fellows that hewed the stone and builded in
the cities and villages houses with roofs of red tiles and
fine slate, nor the weavers, nor the glass-workers, nor the
stone-cutters that laboured within the bowels of Cybele. Nor
the wise men who laboured in their closed studies and spacious
libraries knowing many wondrous secrets of Nature: nor the
mothers giving milk unto their babes, nor the good old wives
spinning with their distaffs in the chimney-corner, telling
tales to the little children. But, said they, the Trublions
served the State by braying like asses at a fair. And be it
said for justice’ sake that in so doing they thought to do
well, for they had naught but the clouds of their brains and
the breath of their mouths for their own, and they expended
their breath with great force for the public weal and common
profit.
“And they cried not only ‘Long life to the old Colonel!’ but
they also cried without respite that they loved the State. In
which they grievously offended the other citizens, for thus
they gave men to understand that those folk who shouted not
did not love their mother the State nor the fair land of their
birth, which was a manifest imposture and an injury not to be
suffered, for men drink with their mother’s milk this natural
love and it is sweet to breathe one’s natal air.
“Now there were living at this time in the city and country
many wise and prudent men, who loved their city and republick
with a dearer and purer love than ever the Trublions bare them.
“For the said wise men desired that their city should remain
wise and virtuous as themselves, blooming with graces and
virtues, bearing fitly in her right hand the golden rod of
justice, and that their city should be glad, careful and free,
and not (as the Trublions contrary-wise desired) bearing in
her hands a great club wherewith to belabour the good citizens
and a blessed chaplet to mutter _Aves_, and filthily and
miserably subject to the old Colonel Gelgopole and the said
Tintinnabule. For in sooth these latter wished her subject to
monks, hypocrites, bigots, canting rogues and impostors; lousy,
filthy, frocked and hooded, shaven and barefoot; for devourers
of crucifixes, bleaters of requiems, beggars, defrauders and
cozeners of testaments swarmed in those days and had already by
secret means acquired in houses and woods, fields and meadows
well-nigh one third part of the land of France. And they
diligently laboured (these Trublions) to render the city yet
more rude and uncomely. For they conceived a great aversion
to meditation and philosophy and all arguments deduced from
upright feeling and shrewd reasoning, and all subtle thoughts,
and condemned everything save force, only esteeming this latter
because it was wholly brutish. Thus did the Trublions love
their State and the country of their birth.”
As he read this old French text, Monsieur Bergeret was careful not to
sound all the letters with which it was bristling after the fashion
of the Renaissance. He had a feeling for the beauty of his native
language. He paid no attention to orthography, considering it a
negligible thing: but he had, on the other hand, the greatest respect
for the old pronunciation, so light and fluent, which in our days,
unfortunately, is becoming heavier and more clumsy. Monsieur Bergeret
read his text according to the traditional pronunciation, and in so
doing restored their youth and novelty to the old words. Their meaning
emerged clear and limpid, causing Monsieur Goubin to remark:
“What I like about that passage is the style; it is so naïve.”
“Do you think so?” said Monsieur Bergeret.
And he continued:
“And the Trublions said that they would defend the colonels
and soldiers of the State and republick, which was mockery
and derision, for the colonels and soldiers, who are armed
with guns, muskets, artillery and other very terrible engines,
are employed to defend and not to be defended by the unarmed
citizens, and it did not seem possible that there were in
the city folk fond enough to attack their own defenders, and
the prudent men opposed to the Trublions asked only that
the colonels should be honourably subject to the august and
holy laws of the State and republick. But the said Trublions
continued to shout and would hear nothing for that niggardly
nature had deprived them of understanding.
“And the Trublions nourished a great hatred of foreign nations.
The names alone of the said nations and peoples made their
eyes stand out of their heads like those of cray-fish, very
horrible to behold; they waved their arms like the sails of
windmills, so that there was not among them a notary’s clerk
nor a butcher’s ’prentice but wished to send a challenge to a
king or queen or emperor of some great country, and the least
hatmaker or taverner made as though he were ready at any moment
to go to the wars, but in the end he remained in his chamber.
“And as it is true that fools, who are ever greater in number
than the wise, march to the sound of vain cymbals, so people
of little knowledge and understanding (and there are many such
among rich folk as well as among the poor) joined the company
of the Trublions and were Trublions with them. And there was a
horrible uproar in the State, so that the wise maiden Minerva,
sitting in her temple, that she might not have her ear-drums
broken by such bangers of saucepans and infuriated popinjays,
filled her ears with the wax brought her by her well-beloved
bees, thus giving her faithful ones, wise men, philosophers
and good law-givers of the State, to understand that it were
waste of time to enter into wise dispute and learned argument
with these trublioning and tintinnabulating Trublions. And
some persons in the realm, and not the least important, being
astounded by this hurly-burly, perceived that these crazy
loons were on the point of over-throwing the republick and
over-turning the noble and glorious State, which would have
been a most lamentable happening. But a day came when the
Trublions burst asunder, for they were full of wind.”
His reading finished, Monsieur Bergeret replaced the pamphlet upon the
table.
“These old books,” he said, “amuse and divert our minds, they make us
forget the present day.”
“That is true,” replied Monsieur Goubin.
But he smiled; a thing he seldom did.