Théophile Gautier - In the Street

Théophile Gautier

Variations on the Carnival of Venice

“There is an old popular tune
Played by all the violins,
To the barks of angry dogs
By all the nasal organs.

The musical snuff boxes
Have it in their repertoire;
It's a classic for canaries,
And my grandmother learned it as a child.

To this tune, pistons and clarinets,
In balls with dusty cradles,
Make clerks and grisettes jump,
And birds flee from their nests.

The guinguette, under its arbour,
Of hops and honeysuckle,
Celebrates, bawling the refrain,
The happy Sunday and the silver moon.

The blind man on the bassoon whines
The skinner, mistaking his fingers;
The beggar with teeth, his poodle
Near him, growls in a low voice.

And the little guitarists,
Thin under their thin tartans,
Yelp with their sad voices
At the tables of the singing cafés.

Paganini, the fantastic,
One evening, as if with a hook,
Picked up the ancient theme
With the tip of his divine bow,

And, embroidering the faded gauze
That the tinsel still reddens,
He made the scorned phrase
Run with his golden arabesques.”
Théophile Gautier - Émaux et Camées