第13章 BOOK Ⅰ(10)

There was therefore neither dislike of the Cardinal nor contemptuous indifference to his presence in the unpleasing impression made on Gringoire.Quite the contrary；for our poet had too much common sense and too threadbare a doublet not to attach particular value to the fact that many an allusion in his prologue，and more especially the glorification of the dolphin，son of the Lion of France，would fall upon the ear of an Eminentissime.But self-interest is not the predominating quality in the noble nature of the poet.Supposing the entity of the poet to be expressed by the number ten，it is certain that a chemist in analyzing and'pharmacopoeizing'it，as Rabelais terms it，would find it to be composed of one part self-interest to nine parts of self-esteem.

Now，at the moment when the door opened for the Cardinal's entry，Gringoire's nine parts of self-esteem，swollen and inflated by the breath of popular admiration，were in a state of prodigious enlargement，obliterating that almost imperceptible molecule of self-interest which we just now pointed out as a component part of the poet's constitution—a priceless ingredient，be it said，the ballast of common sense and humanity，without which they would forever wander in the clouds.Gringoire was revelling in the delights of seeing，of，so to speak，touching，an entire assemblage（common folk，it is true，but what of that？）stunned，petrified，suffocated almost by the inexhaustible flow of words which poured down upon them from every point of his epithalamium.I affirm that he shared in the general beatitude，and that，unlike La Fontaine，who，at the performance of his comedy Florentin，inquired，'What bungler wrote this balderdash？'Gringoire would gladly have asked his neighbours，'Who is the author of this master-piece？'Judge，therefore，of the effect produced on him by the abrupt and ill-timed arrival of the Cardinal.

And his worst fears were but too fully realized.The entry of his Eminence set the whole audience in commotion.Every head was turned towards the gallery.You could not hear yourself speak.'The Cardinal！The Cardinal！'resounded from every mouth.For the second time the unfortunate prologue came to an abrupt stop.

The Cardinal halted for a moment on the threshold of the platform，and while he cast a glance of indifference over the crowd the uproar increased.Each one wanted a good view，and strained to raise his head above his neighbour's.

And in truth he was a very exalted personage，the sight of whom was worth any amount of Mysteries.Charles，Cardinal de Bourbon，Archbishop and Count of Lyons，Primate of all Gaul，was related to Louis XI through his brother，Pierre，Lord of Beaujeu，who had married the King's eldest daughter，and to Charles the Bold through his mother，Agnes of Burgundy.The dominant trait，the prevailing and most striking feature in the character of the Primate of Gaul，was his courtier spirit and unswerving devotion to the powers that be.One may imagine the innumerable perplexities in which these two relationships involved him，and through what temporal shoals he had to steer his spiritual bark in order to avoid being wrecked either on Louis or on Charles，that Scylla and Charybdis which had swallowed up both the Duke of Nemours and the Constable of Saint-Pol.Heaven be praised，however，he had managed the voyage well，and had come safely to anchor in Rome without mishap.Yet，although he was in port，and precisely because he was in port，he never recalled without a qualm of uneasiness the many changes and chances of his long and stormy political voyage，and he often said that the year 1476 had been for him both black and white；meaning that in that year he had lost his mother，the Duchess of Bourbonnais，and his cousin，the Duke of Burgundy，and that the one death had consoled him for the other.

For the rest，he was a proper gentleman；led the pleasant life befitting a cardinal，was ever willing to make merry on the royal vintage of Chaillot，had no objection to Richarde de la Garmoise and Thomasse la Saillarde，would rather give alms to a pretty girl than an old woman，for all of which reasons he was high in favour with the populace of Paris.He was always surrounded by a little court of bishops and abbots of high degree，gay and sociable gentlemen，never averse to a thorough good dinner；and many a time had the pious gossips of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre been scandalized in passing at night under the lighted windows of the Htel de Bourbon，to hear the selfsame voices which erstwhile had chanted vespers for them now trolling out，to the jingle of glasses，the bacchanalian verses of Benedict XII（the Pope who added the third crown to the tiara）beginning'Bibamus papaliter'（Let us drink like Popes）.

Without doubt it was this well-earned popularity which saved him from any demonstration of ill-will on the part of the crowd，so dissatisfied but a moment before，and but little disposed to evince respect towards a Cardinal on the very day they were going to elect a Pope of their own.But the Parisians bear very little malice；besides，having forced the performance to commence of their own authority，they had worsted the Cardinal，and their victory sufficed them.Moreover，Monseigneur was a handsome man，and he wore his handsome red robe excellently well；which is equivalent to saying that he had all the women，and consequently the greater part of the audience，on his side.Decidedly it would have shown great want both of justice and of good taste to hoot a Cardinal for coming late to the play，when he is a handsome man and wears his red robe with so handsome an air.