un papier de fête; cf. page 65, note i

3. Marie; cf. page iv, footnote 3. The legend of the three Maries coming from Jérusalem to Provence is the subject of a whole canto in the poem Mirèio by the great Provençal poet Mistral. Bazin, or rather Bonne Perrette, disagrees with Mistral in considering Jesus's mother as one of the three Maries. " The three

Maries are Mary Magdalen, Mary, the mother of James and John, and Mary, the mother of James the Less. After the Crucifixion, they embark with Saint Trophime, and successfully battling with the storms of the sea, they land finally in Provence, and by a séries of miracles convert the people of Arles." Frédcric Mistral by Charles A. Downer, p. 117.

4. Le Mas-des-Pierres, probably a fictitious name. Mas is the Provençal word for "farm-house."

Page 67. — i. Ça n'a pas cours ici. This is a play on the word billet. He speaks of the prayer as if it were a banknote : " it is not current, negotiable hère."

2. tu seras au rapport . . . , y ou -will be report ed ; y ou will be mentioned in my officiai report . . .