Bohemia Village Voice

      “Why look here!” said Schaunard, righteously indignant, “‘Azure waters of the silv’ry lake’ – that’s really too romantic: the poet’s a fool; he’s never seen a lake, or any silver either. Besides, his song is stupid. The metre was getting in the way of my music. In future, I’ll compose my own poems. In fact, now, this moment, while I feel in the mood, I’ll rough out some specimen verses as a frame-work for the tune.”

      With his head between his hands, Schaunard adopted the grave attitude of a mortal having intercourse with the Muses. After some minutes of this sublime concubinage, he had produced one of those monstrosities that writers of librettos call ‘dummies’, and readily put together to serve as provisional canvases for the inspiration of the composer.

      Schaunard’s ‘dummy’, however, had some sense in it, since it well enough expressed the disquiet

provoked in his soul by the callous arrival of that day’s date, April the eighth.

Eight and eight, put six,

                Six and carry one.

                I am in a fix.

                Wouldn’t it be fun,

                If some dear old friend lent

                Me eight hundred francs?

                I would pay my rent

                With respectful thanks

Refrain

When the clock-tower chimed a quarter to midday,

   I would straightaway hie,

Like an honest man, all my debts to pay(ter)

   Unto Mr B …

      “The deuce!” said Schaunard, as he re-read his composition. “ ‘Hie’ and ‘Mr B’ – they’re not exactly millionaires among rhymes. But I’ve no time to enrich them now. Let’s see how the melody fits with the syllables.”

To be continued …

[Vie de Bohème by Henry Mürger, a vivid portrait of the ‘Bohemian’ life of the artistic quarter of Paris in the nineteenth century was originally published (by Michel Lévy) in 1851. The extract above is taken from a translation by Norman Cameron, published by Hamish Hamilton. The illustration is by Dodi Masterman.]