Page:Mistral - Mirèio. A Provençal poem.djvu/43

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"Well, then, Mirèio, once at Nismes," he said,
"They had foot-races on the esplanade;
And on a certain day a crowd was there
Collected, thicker than a shock of hair.
Some shoeless, coatlees, hatless, were to run:
The others only came to see the fun.

"When all at once upon the scene appears
One Lagalanto, prince of foot-racers.
In all Provence, and even in Italy,
The fleetest-footed far behind left he.
Yes: Lagalanto, the great Marseillais,—
Thou wilt have heard his name before to-day.

"A leg, a thigh, he had would not look small
By John of Cossa's,¹⁴ the great seneschal;
And in his dresser many a pewter plate,
With all his victories carved thereon in state;
And you 'd have said, to see his scarfs, my lady,
A wainscot all festooned with rainbows had he.

"The other runners, of whate'er condition,
Threw on their clothes at this dread apparition:
The game was up when Lagalanto came.
Only one stout-limbed lad, Lou Cri by name,
Who into Nismes had driven cows that day,
Durst challenge the victorious Marseillais.