Certainly nothing less than the direct intervention of Jupiter could have saved the four unhappy sergeants of the provost of the Palais from destruction.Were we so fortunate as to have invented this most veracious history and were therefore liable to be called to task for it by Our Lady of Criticism，not against us could the classical rule be cited，Nec deus intersit.
For the rest，the costume of Seigneur Jupiter was very fine，and had contributed not a little towards soothing the crowd by occupying its whole attention.Jupiter was arrayed in a'brigandine'or shirt of mail of black velvet thickly studded with gilt nails，on his head was a helmet embellished with silver-gilt buttons，and but for the rouge and the great beard which covered respectively the upper and lower half of his face，but for the roll of gilded pasteboard in his hand studded with iron spikes and bristling with jagged strips of tinsel，which experienced eyes at once recognised as the dread thunder-bolt，and were it not for his flesh-coloured feet，sandalled and beribboned á la Grecque，you would have been very apt to mistake him for one of M.de Berry's company of Breton archers.
1 Notre-Dame de Paris was begun July 30，1830.
2 The term Gothic used in its customary sense is quite incorrect，but is hallowed by tradition.We accept it，therefore，and use it like the rest of the world，to characterize the architecture of the latter half of the Middle Ages，of which the pointed arch forms the central idea，and which succeeds the architecture of the first period，of which the round arch is the prevailing feature.—Author's Note.
3 In truth it was a sorry game When in Paris Dame Justice，Having gorged herself with spice，Set all her palace in a flame.
The application of these lines depends，unfortunately，on an untranslatable play on the word èpice，which means both spice and lawyers'fees.
4 Old French money was reckoned according to two standards，that of Paris（parisis）and Tours（tournois）；the livre parisis，the old franc，having twenty-five sols or sous，and the livre tournois twenty sols.—Translator's Note.
5 Cuckold.
6 Horned and hairy.
7 Thibaut，thou gamester.
8 Thibaut towards losses.
9 A pun.Thibaut aux dés；i.e.，Thibaut with the dice.
10 Freely translated：There'll be rotten apples thrown at heads to-day.
11 Behind the rider sits black care.
Chapter 2-Pierre Gringoire
Unfortunately，the admiration and satisfaction so universally excited by his costume died out during his harangue，and when he reached the unlucky concluding words，'As soon as his Reverence the Cardinal arrives，we will begin，'his voice was drowned in a tempest of hooting.
'Begin on the spot！The Mystery，the Mystery at once！'shouted the audience，the shrill voice of Joannes de Molendino sounding above all the rest，and piercing the general uproar like the fife in a charivari at Nmes.
'Begin！'piped the boy.
'Down with Jupiter and the Cardinal de Bourbon！'yelled Robin Poussepain and the other scholars perched on the window-sill.
'The Morality！'roared the crowd.'At once—on the spot.The sack and the rope for the players and the Cardinal！'
Poor Jupiter，quaking，bewildered，pale beneath his rouge，dropped his thunder-bolt and took his helmet in his hand；then bowing and trembling：'His Eminence，'he stammered，'the Ambassadors—Madame Marguerite of Flanders—'he could get no farther.Truth to tell，he was afraid of being hanged by the populace for beginning too late，hanged by the Cardinal for being too soon；on either side he beheld an abyss—that is to say，a gibbet.
Mercifully some one arrived upon the scene to extricate him from the dilemma and assume the responsibility.
An individual standing inside the balustrade in the space left clear round the marble table，and whom up till now no one had noticed，so effectually was his tall and spare figure concealed from view by the thickness of the pillar against which he leaned—this person，thin，sallow，light-haired，young still，though furrowed of brow and cheek，with gleaming eye and smiling mouth，clad in black serge threadbare and shiny with age，now approached the marble table and signed to the wretched victim.But the other was too perturbed to notice.
The newcomer advanced a step nearer.'Jupiter，'said he，'my dear Jupiter.'
The other heard nothing.
At last the tall young man losing patience，shouted almost in his face：'Michel Giborne！'
'Who calls？'said Jupiter，starting as if from a trance.
'It is I，'answered the stranger in black.
'Ah！'said Jupiter.
'Begin at once，'went on the other.'Do you content the people—I will undertake to appease Monsieur the provost，who，in his turn，will appease Monsieur the Cardinal.'
Jupiter breathed again.
'Messeigneurs the bourgeois，'he shouted with all the force of his lungs to the audience，which had not ceased to hoot him，'we are going to begin.'
'Evoe Jupiter！Plaudite cives！'1 yelled the scholars.
'N ！N ！'shouted the people.
There was a deafening clapping of hands，and the Hall still rocked with plaudits after Jupiter had retired behind his curtain.
Meanwhile the unknown personage who had so magically transformed the storm into a calm，had modestly re-entered the penumbra of his pillar，where doubtless he would have remained，unseen，unheard，and motionless as before，had he not been lured out of it by two young women who，seated in the first row of spectators，had witnessed his colloquy with Michel Giborne—Jupiter.
'Maitre，'said one of them，beckoning to him to come nearer.
'Hush，my dear Liènarde，'said her companion，a pretty，rosy-cheeked girl，courageous in the consciousness of her holiday finery，'he doesn't belong to the University—he's a layman.You mustn't say'M re'to him，you must say'Messire.''
'Messire，'resumed Liènarde.
The stranger approached the balustrade.
'What can I do for you，mesdemoiselles？'he asked eagerly.