The Christmas Kalends of Provence E-Book

Thomas A. Janvier

• Herausgeber: Publisher s11838
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

The Christmas Kalends of Provence written by an American story-writer and historian Thomas A. Janvier. This book is one of many works by her .Published in 1902. And now republish in ebook format. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book.

Leseprobe

The Christmas Kalends of Provence

And Some Other Provençal Festivals

By

Thomas A. Janvier

Table of Contents

The Christmas Kalends of Provence

A Feast-Day on the Rhône

The Comédie Française at Orange

FOOTNOTES

"'TO THE HEALTH OF THE COUNT!'"

The Christmas Kalends of Provence

I

Fancy you've journeyed down the Rhône,

Fancy you've passed Vienne, Valence,

Fancy you've skirted Avignon—

And so are come en pleine Provence.

Fancy a mistral cutting keen

Across the sunlit wintry fields,

Fancy brown vines, and olives green,

And blustered, swaying, cypress shields.

Fancy a widely opened door,

Fancy an eager outstretched hand,

Fancy—nor need you ask for more—

A heart-sped welcome to our land.

Fancy the peal of Christmas chimes,

Fancy that some long-buried year

Is born again of ancient times—

And in Provence take Christmas cheer!

In my own case, this journey and this welcome were not fancies but realities. I had come to keep Christmas with my old friend Monsieur de Vièlmur according to the traditional Provençal rites and ceremonies in his own entirely Provençal home: an ancient dwelling which stands high up on the westward slope of the Alpilles, overlooking Arles and Tarascon and within sight of Avignon, near the Rhône margin of Provence.

The Vidame—such is Monsieur de Vièlmur's ancient title: dating from the vigorous days when every proper bishop, himself not averse to taking a breather with sword and battle-axe should fighting matters become serious, had his vice dominus to lead his forces in the field—is an old-school country gentleman who is amiably at odds with modern times. While tolerant of those who have yielded to the new order, he himself is a great stickler for the preservation of antique forms and ceremonies: sometimes, indeed, pushing his fancies to lengths that fairly would lay him open to the charge of whimsicality, were not even the most extravagant of his crotchets touched and mellowed by his natural goodness of heart. In the earlier stages of our acquaintance I was disposed to regard him as an eccentric; but a wider knowledge of Provençal matters has convinced me that he is a type. Under his genial guidance it has been my privilege to see much of the inner life of the Provençaux, and his explanations have enabled me to understand what I have seen: the Vidame being of an antiquarian and bookish temper, and never better pleased than when I set him to rummaging in his memory or his library for the information which I require to make clear to me some curious phase of Provençal manners or ways.