Page:Mistral - Mirèio. A Provençal poem.djvu/39

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A timely ending thus the minstrel made,
Else the fast-coming tears his tale had stayed;
But for the laborers,—they sat intent,
Mute all, with parted lips, and forward bent
As if enchanted. Even when he was done,
For a brief space they seemed to hearken on.

"And such were aye the songs," said the old man,
"Sung in the good old days when Martha span.⁹
Long-winded, maybe, and the tunes were queer.
But, youngsters, what of that? They suit my ear.
Your new French airs mayhap may finer be;
But no one understands the words, you see!"

Whereon the men, somewhat as in a dream.
From table rose, and to the running stream
They led their patient mules, six yoke in all.
The long vine-branches from a trellised wall
Waved o'er them waiting, and, from time to time,
Humming some fragment of the weaver's rhyme.

Mirèio tarried, but not quite alone.
A social spirit had the little one,
And she and Vincen chatted happily.
'Twas a fair sight, the two young heads to see
Meeting and parting, coming still and going
Like aster-flowers¹⁰ when merry winds are blowing.