Page:Mistral - Mirèio. A Provençal poem.djvu/244

218 "'Now day by day our fishermen grow few And fewer.' Saying this, they wept anew And bitterly,—the men of Tarascon. Then mdden Martha said, serene and strong, 'Ready am I, and my heart yearns with pity. Marcellus, haste: we two will save the city!'

"For the last time on earth we did embrace, With hope of meeting in a happy place, And parted. Martial did Limoges choose; Saturnius was wedded to Toulouse; Entropius was first this cause to plead, And sow in stately Orange the good seed.

"And thou, sweet virgin, whither goest thou? With step unfaltering and untroubled brow, Martha her cross and holy-water carried Against the dragon dire, and never tarried. The wild men clomb the pine-trees round about, The fray to witness and the maiden's rout.

"Startled from slumber in his darksome cave, Thou shouldst have seen the leap the monster gave! Yet vainly writhed he 'neath the holy dew, And growled and hissed as Martha near him drew, Bound with a frail moss-halter, and forth led Snorting. Then all the people worshippèd.