Marius had not lived long in the town before the name Mistral was heard in conversation, and drinking ale with some senior patrons of his favourite inn one evening, he wanted to learn more.
“Tell me about the Mistral,” he said to one old man.
“Where you come from, Magistrate, you may well have been spared it.”
“Spared?”
“Ay, but it’s insistent, never seems to stop once it’s started. It gives folk headaches, makes them anxious and prone to hand-wringing. Children behave badly — or, at least, more badly than usual, believe me.”
“What he says is true,” another man chipped in. “We’re protected by the town walls, but take a look at the old cottages outside. What do you notice? Their front doors face south, you see, so it can’t blow into them. Another thing, why do you suppose so many of th
