ARLES, THE ALYSCAMPS
BOY'S HEAD IN MARBLE, MUSÉE LAPIDAIRE, ARLES
Page [313]
Two of the larger rooms have been given up to a kind of wax-work show, the one of a Christmas Eve feast in the kitchen of a Provençal farm, the other of the ceremonies surrounding the birth of a child. The descriptions in the catalogue, probably written by Mistral himself, may be quoted.
"Salle de Noël.—Here is Christmas Eve represented in all the truth of its poetry, very spaciously and completely, in the kitchen of a Provençal 'mas.' A dozen very expressive mannequins in coloured stucco by M. Férigoule represent the inhabitants of the farm.... On the table; three cloths and three candles; the pain calendal is served with the great pike cooked with black olives, and with snails, celery, artichokes, brandied raisins, and the little cask of mulled wine. By the hearth, facing the grandmother, the head of the house sprinkles with wine and blesses the Yule log. Round the table the servants mix with the masters: here family simplicity equalizes all ranks.
"Chambre Conjugale.—Another group, superb in arrangement, expression and poetry. In the room, discreetly lighted, there arrive, wonderfully dressed in Arlésian costume, the relations and friends of the young mother, lying with her new-born child in a bed of the fifteenth century. The visitors are bringing the symbolical and traditional gifts, of bread, salt, a match and an egg. They are expressing the customary wishes: Sage coume la sau;—bon coume lou pan;—plen coume un ion;—dre coume uno brouqueto; which means, May your child be as wholesome as salt, as good as bread, as full as an egg, and as straight as a match. With what jealous care does the grandmother, seated apart, seem to watch that those coming and going shall behave quietly! Bravo, M. Férigoule, for your composition; you have done the work of an artist. The scene, indeed, is religious in its impression."