Read "The Christmas Kalends of Provence" by Thomas A. Janvier online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
It was with Saboly's "Hou, de l'houstau! " that our singing began. It is one of the series in his history of the Nativity and is the most popular of all his noels: a dialogue between Saint Joseph and the Bethlehem inn-keeper, that opens with a sweet and plaintive long-drawn note of supplication as Saint Joseph timorously calls:
"O-o-oh, there, the house! Master! Mistress! Varlet! Maid! Is _no_ one there?"