This little group included the
baker, a rather melancholy young man, in high boots and a cloak, with whom
and his companions we had a good deal of conversation.
The Baussenques of to-day struck me as a very mild and agreeable race,
with a good deal of the natural amenity which, on occasions like this one,
the traveler, who is waiting for his horses to be put in or his dinner to
be prepared, observes in the charming people who lend themselves to
conversation in the hilltowns of Tuscany. The spot where our entertainers
at Les Baux congregated was naturally the most inhabited portion of the
town; as I say, there were at least a dozen human figures within sight.
Presently we wandered away from them, scaled the higher places, seated
ourselves among the ruins of the castle, and looked down from the cliff
overhanging that portion of the road which I have mentioned as approaching
Les Baux from behind.
I was unable to trace the configuration of the castle as plainly as the
writers who have described it in the guide-books, and I am ashamed to say
that I did not even perceive the three great figures of stone (the three
Marys, as they are called; the two Marys of Scripture, with Martha), which
constitute one of the curiosities of the place, and of which M.
Pages:
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247