196 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [VOL. II. 



She : And when thou think'st to clasp me round, 

 A withered trunk wilt thou have found, 

 A pensive nun I'll vow my days 

 To blessed cloister of .^t. Blaize. 



He : Oh, Magali, if thou espouse 



The cloister life, with holy vows, 

 Then I'll put on the priestly dress 

 And hear thee all my wrongs confess. 



S/ie : If thou within the convent gate 



Shalt think to share my holy state, 

 Thou'lt see the nuns around me crowd 

 And, weeping, fold me in my shroud. 



He: O Vlagali, if thou defy 



My constant search, and early die, 

 I'll be the earth, and in my breast 

 Will clasp thee in thine ever rest. 



SAe : At length my faith begins to turn, 



Now speak'st thou well, and not in scorn : 

 My crystal ring, sweet youth, then take 

 And wear it for the giver's sake. 



He : O Magali, I'll live for thee 



Since thou dost give such life to me 

 But, since thou hast thy charms unveiled. 

 Oh ! see the stars, how they have paled. 



— Translation of F. Mistral by M. Crichtou (1868). 



Now this is the Mistral who, entering the hall and taking a modest seat 

 on the floor, was noticed, and with general acclaim called to the place of 

 honor. He was asked to explain his views on the subject under discus- 

 sion, and went to the root of it at once. He disallowed the word 

 " patois " as applied to Provencal — he said he could not object to the use 

 of French in the schools, in teaching ordinary subjects, but the use of 

 Provencal in conversation should not be proscribed, Provencal teachers 

 should not be dismissed for conversing with their scholars in Provencal, 

 nor should Provencal lads and lasses be punished for using their mother 

 tongue. A proscribed language would be thought an inferior one, and 

 why should Provencal lads be made to think meanly of their origin and 

 their race, of which the traditions were so noble ? Provence had been 

 the home of civilization when the rest of France was barbarous ; rural 

 Provence was far more civilized yet than the inhabitants of Frenchified 

 and modernized towns. Compare the hospitality, courtesy, ability to 

 converse intelligently and fluently, of the mariners, shepherds, fishermen 



