After Quasimodo's Death,
The
bishop of the cathedral of Notre Dame sent word through the streets of Paris
that a new bell ringer was needed. The bishop decided that he would conduct the
interviews personally and went up into the belfry to begin the screening
process.
After
observing several applicants demonstrate their skills, he decided to call it a
day when a lone, armless man approached him and announced that he was there to
apply for the bell ringer's job. The bishop was incredulous. "You have no
arms!"
"No
matter," said the man, "Observe!" He then began striking the
bells with his face, producing a beautiful melody in the carillon.
The
bishop listened in astonishment, convinced that he had finally found a suitable
replacement for Quasimodo. Suddenly, rushing forward to strike a bell, the
armless man tripped, and plunged headlong out of the belfry window to his death
in the street below.
The
stunned bishop rushed to his side. When he reached the street, a crowd had
gathered around the fallen figure, drawn by the beautiful music they had heard
only moments before. As they silently parted to let the bishop through, one of
them asked, "Bishop, who was this man?" "I don't know his
name," the bishop sadly replied, "but his face rings a bell." but
wait, there's more...
The
following day, despite the sadness that weighed heavily on his heart due to the
unfortunate death of the armless campanologist (now there's a trivia question),
the bishop continued his interviews for the bell ringer of Notre Dame. The first
man to approach him said, "Your excellency, I am the brother of the poor,
armless wretch who fell to his death from this very belfry yesterday. I pray
that you honor his life by allowing me to replace him in this duty"
The
bishop agreed to give the man an audition, and as the armless man's brother
stooped to pick up a mallet to strike the first bell, he groaned, clutched at
his head and died on the spot. Two monks, hearing the bishop's cries of grief at
this second tragedy, rushed up the stairs to his side. "What has
happened?” the first breathlessly asked, "Who is this man?"
"I don't know his name," sighed the distraught bishop, "but he's
a dead brother.”
Martin Graville