The sun., 1884-05-04
EnsDsR5CK MIsTRAk
A Frsvessai Psst-Ths Assusestati~a 81 ths
Language ef tse Tr~sbaasars-Pesvss.
eiai Ast~aoMy-Ths Diaieess sf Fraass.

ctoi h0t~0OWy-IoS Dueteets - bWseSss
PARIS. April 2o.-I always fool certain ap-
prehension at tho thought OF becoming 40
| Quaintod with celebrated mon. As Flaubert
used to say. THE gilt OF these idols oomos of
| on your fingers when you touch them" and II
| is painful for IN enthusiast to ind n Hugo.
for instance. sadly lacking In divinity In spite
| ri the height OF his pedestal At last. however.
| l have seen celebrated man who IL not disap-
| pointing. whose gliding is not Brummagem
| work. and who really reHopblrs tho portrait
that you form oi him from reading hls works.
This man IL Frederick Mistral. the Provencal
| poet. the resuscitator OF tho language OF tho
troubadours. tho author OF Mirslile." the only
truly epic poem that France has producod.
| After nn al,sonce OF seventeen years. Mistral
has como to Paris for few weeks TO seo now
poem through tho press and TO be f6tcd by all
| the literary mon uf Paris. One day last week
had the honor OF sitting next Mistral Mt
Alphonso Dauduts hosptuble table. and In tho
course Of n long evenings talk gathered some
| facts aud imDressions which may interest tho
reader. for Mistrars liio work La famous and
his "Mireille" " has had the honors OF trans.
latlon In every European language.
There 10 something biblical In tho grand
simplicity OF Mistrals life and genius. Ho 10
son OF the soil the respecter and represen-
tative Of tho beliefs and customs and traditions
that Of old poetzcd and sanctitled the family
hearth. Tho marriage of his father. which
Mistral has related. reads like q page VI tho
Old Testament
One year on 81. johns Pay. rraneol. M.!rsl wa. In
n %ons Il M % sI @ ,TSD x
cleaners picking up the that wer. ie fn francois
s;s:. r: "a :ss
s.: G": Mayor of
dsss1 q, isa F" s;s Ms SS. .nsf tss
"Mnstsr" she replied. I'VE are numerous family.
We'll as s ~ Know "I Wc %S We Fin for nsry y. re-
and Gas Mhy sHa MAN. "' you must earn
Six months after this meeting, which reminds
Francois Mistrai asked Dtlni'ie PoHlinet in
IT," t. Fra"s"s SSf iva
his hnusnhold and real the l,lble aloud to his
family and servants alike. living honored mud
whol" q. Of tho farmers Ia the south OF France
| around Ninn, and Avignon and Aries. still re-
mains simple and ratrnrchal in the extreme.
Rustic life there is atili majestic. The peasants
work in tho, Ileds with n"be gestures. such as
you SEQ in the pictures OF Leopold lt9bnrt; and
Roman idea of tho family sti holds in PROV
encr and in the old-iashioned inmilie the
| women never think of eating at the table where
| tn" master Of house presides over the repast OF
| his sons and sorvitors.
MIstral wns brought up. apcasant and tho son
OF peasants. iic was sent to school at Avignon
| ana AK, anu even Htuulou law bulIlclbnt 10
take, tne ordinary lesros. Then. his studies
finished. he returned homo
| father; what do you wish to do nowT'
"vSSy. G;Gei. red, my boy Then resume your
| And Mistral resumed his peasAnt's Gnrb.
which he has mover quilted since eScep, during
bo inrmHr like his father anil like his father,
hs yresid2s, ,,, nt "a table % over hs seryorS 1 and
"sHr, the great % pantor % Mss used t" read It tat at
BarLizon 10 his family. grGndiy and sincerely.
r"rnG tho n"ynEs y s"I ro ,nr donIs do 4 Of tho
friend was Anselme Mathen. who has since
s'S his ssor 0s! Was Wno rst con au
ce,vod the idea that tho Provencal dialect
THIS idea riponed. and in 1854 pcind OF young
sontherners enrolled themselves under the
ing ing doctor"a"d sct themselves the " task OF re-.
suming in Provence the long i Interrupted work
Of ths troubadors,, The leaders were, Isou.
"hons "Hs Dsadss sf% HrSne fGx SIX cry. ss:t
Bowdin. AMI others: foreigner. too. Mr..
wss "sped ra1"a by tho Feibriss For
| thirty years tho movement has been going on.
created. The FolibrlGe have their organ in the
| shape OF literary almanac. tho A,lndnd Irou-
I and Fas,ma Tit ~ Of All the peore =" ihe s"@th
They have their floral f6tes and literary tournn-
mcnts. not only in many towns OF the south.
What is this ,Provenca! tongue in the resus-
| citation Of which the Folihrge arc 30 much in
which and his own Tongue Dante hesitated
when he was about to write his immortal poems.
used to. be the language Of ali Frenchm"n
south OF the Loire, and which e various dia-
nns n :" S oy to
tho Gar4nns and from thn Loir" to the Pyre-
neos. and .ycn @ beyond .he Pyrenens in Cnta'o;;
tho differences Of color. OF accent. and pronun-
ea,9n that nature imposes ss on II in different
fs%$ a"$sue dos The F5bKs &sh to
purity to enrich il by their own efforts. and to
take from tho various dialects as they 4re now
IS has .na s
| life's TASK to fix the resuscitated Provepgal
| language In a monumental and defnitivo die
virgil and the Bible and slper rin!endins lis
tsSlS epis n IESf% IE ), WIZ VI, ''H SHrsiI!sa vas
sSo Homer sFs
Aasl the noets s,1 ncwadsys IRE TOO old and too
era yh hs soa o
Whole people, Mistrai himself is too ,srudi,e
%as; 81 HH' Is more aa4 wth an ay AZ II s.s sps a
pie s and d 10 how sarcl what pietsrs. q Prsyenos
"Mireie Mistrnl constantly ramnds you OF
tho grand pastoral picturos Of Millet. with this
melancholy work. while Mlstral's landscape is
MalIIane and Aries and the blue Alpilies.
The Academy awarded the poem a prize.
to Of Mirsile." and the poet achieysd.
| as he thought. tho apogee OF his glory
| In 1854. tho year when Gounods opera
| was represented. He came to Paris. was
| entertained Mt dinner by the literary and
artistic celebrities Of Par Is. and after dinner
| he rose to propose to his skeDticnl and soothing
| audience the toast Of holy poesy" ia sainte
poJsie) and no ono thought even OF smiling at
the simple and sincere toast Of tho simple and
tral returned to his farm and his PEASANTS
garb. and. with tho exception Of one week In
| Paris. eey0nteen years ngo. he has never
| troubled his head about visiting the capital
| In 1866 he published a new poem, "Calondal"
| and in 1876 The Golden Islands "or "Iscio
dor" In n few days, Hachettc will publish
| poem OF four thousand verses. Nerto' Prov
| enca legend. tho scene Of which In laid at Avig-
non at the beginning Of tho fifteenth century.
| Such is MlsLrnl's life. When no wrote
"Mlreile'" his ambition was, to DO talked
cS%ss cS a Manta ss Hs d.si"y has sfs Been n!s sr
more brilliant: In March. 1880. ut AK. Mis,ral
| WIS acclaimed by the enthusiastic crowd. and
| after the performance of Gounods Mreilla"
| Mistral's bust WAS crowned on the stage. His