Picking a successor
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 ringers 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 on 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 onto 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...”
The following day, despite the sadness that weighed heavily on his heart due to the unfortunate death of the armless campanologist, 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 that fell to his death from this very belfry yesterday. I pray that you honour 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 chest 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 ringer for his brother.”
Articles from Royce Shook
View blogIn her weekly blog, “The Marginalian by Maria Popova” talked about growing older and I thought about ...
In a previous statement, I said, "So, I guess those of us who have made it to our seventies can cong ...
One of my cousins sent me this as I was born in Saskatchewan. My first thought was these are the rea ...
Related professionals
You may be interested in these jobs
-
general construction labourer
Found in: Talent CA 2 C2 - 4 days ago
Antex Western Ltd Winnipeg, CanadaDurée de l'emploi: Permanent · Langue de travail: Anglais · Heures de travail: 40 hours per week · Education: · Expérience: · Education · Secondary (high) school graduation certificate · or equivalent experience · Tasks · Load, unload and transport construction materials · Mix, ...
-
Automotive Service Advisor
Found in: Talent CA C2 - 5 days ago
Morrey Auto Group Burnaby, Canada Full timeDescription · y is a member company of the Morrey Automotive Group, a family owned company. · We are offering a position of a Full-time Automotive Service Advisor to join the Service Team at Morrey Nissan Infiniti of Burnaby . In this role you will provide exceptional customer ...
-
Pool Attendant
Found in: beBee S2 CA - 3 weeks ago
Marriott International, Inc Saskatoon, Canada Full timeJob Number · Job Category Golf, Fitness, & Entertainment · Location Delta Hotels Saskatoon Downtown, th Street East, Saskatoon, SASK, Canada VIEW ON MAP · Schedule Part-Time · Located Remotely? N · Relocation? N · Position Type Non-Management · POSITION SUMMARY · Wipe down fitne ...
Comments
Bill Stankiewicz
2 years ago #2
mama Mia!!😀
John Rylance
2 years ago #1
The Bishop was certainly put through the (w)ringer.