[Illustration: At Villeneuve.]
The poor shepherd's body was not respected by the revolutionists, though he was a sans-culotte, but he was a sans-culotte who was a constructor and not a destroyer, therefore—to the dogs with him.
There was a saying—
"Avenio ventosa
Cum vento fastidiosa,
Sine vento venenosa."
That may be rendered in French—
"Avignon venteuse
Avec vent ennuyeuse,
Sans vent pernicieuse."
Windy it was when I was there, and when I went out on the broken-down bridge of S. Benezet I was nearly blown off it. This bridge in French nursery rhyme takes much the same place as does London Bridge in English children's jingles. We have:—
"London Bridge is broken down,
Dance over my Lady Lee."
And the French have:—
"Sur le Pont d'Avignon tout le monde danse, danse;
Sur le Pont d'Avignon tout le monde danse en rond."