LesMiserables 10190139

L ES MI S E RA B L E S .
( PA R T T W O .
)
CH A PT E R L XIV .
A V E R Y P R O P E R TOM B .
J A VE R T placed Jean Valjean i n the town

gaol The arrest of M Mad eleine produced
M
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an extraordinary co mmotion in but

it is sad to have to say that nearly everybody
abandoned him on hearing that h e was a
ga l ley slave I n less than two hours all the
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good that he had done was forgotten an d he ,
was only a galley slave It is but fair to say

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though that they did not yet know the d e

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tails o f the aff air at A rras The w hole day .
through co n versations like the following

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could be heard i n al l parts of the town

Don t you know he is a liberated convict
’
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— Who is ? The mayor nonsense M Made

—
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—
. .
l eine — Yes R eally

— H i s name is not
.
—
Madelei ne bu t some hideous thing like B e

,
jean B oj ean Boujean — O h my goodness

, , .
He has been arrested and will remain in the ,
to wn gaol till he is removed — R e move d l .
where to — H e will be tried at the assizes for

a highway robbery which he formerly com
mi t t e d — Well do you know I always sus
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, ,
p e ct e d that man for he was too kind too

, ,
perfect too devout H e refused the cross

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an d gave h alf pence to all the little scam p

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s
( 5)
6 V I CT O R H UGO S W ORKS '
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he met I al ways though t that there was

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some black story behind .
The drawing room s greatly improved

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the occasion A n ol d lady who subscribed

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,
to the D r ap eau b l an c made this remark , ,
whose depth i t is almost imp ossible to

fathom .
“
Well I do n ot feel sorry at it for it will
, ,
”
be a lesson to the Bonaparti sts .
It is t hus that the phantom which called

its elf M Madeleine faded away at
. M
only three or four persons i n the whole to wn
remained faith f u l to his memory and hi s old ,
servant was o n e o f them On the eve n ing of .
the same day this worthy old woman was

sitting in h e r lodge still greatly startled an d
,
i ndulging 1 11 sad thoughts The factory h ad .
be en closed all day the gates were bol t ed , ,
and the street was d es erted Th ere was n o .
on e in the house but th e two nuns who were ,

’
watching by F an t i n e s bo d y Toward the .
hour when M Madeleine was wont to come

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in the worthy porteress rose mechanically

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took t h e key of M Madeleine s bed room .
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from a drawer and the candlestick which he

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used at nigh t to go up stairs then she hung

the key on the nail from which he usually
took it an d placed the candlestick by its side
, ,
as i f she expected him Then she sat down .
again an d began t hi nking The poor old .
woman had done all this unconsciously S he .
di d not break off her reverie for two or thr ee

“
hou rs an d then exclaimed
,
O nly th i nk
of that I have hu ng hi s key o n the nail
A t t h is moment the window of the lodge
wa s opened a hand was passed through the
,
LES M I SE R A B LE S .
7
opening which seized th e key and lit th e

,
candle by hers The porteress raised h er

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eyes and stood w i th gaping mouth but she

, ,
repressed the cry which was i n her throat

for she recognized th i s hand this arm this ,
coat s leeve as belonging to M Madeleine

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It was som e minu tes ere she could speak for ,

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she was struck as she said afterwards when
,
describing the adventure .
“
G ood gracious M l s Maire she at len gth
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exclaimed I fancied
,
S he stopped for the end of the sentenc e

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would have been disrespectful to the first

part. Jean Valjean was still Monsieur l e
Maire w ith her He com pleted her.
thought .
“ ”
That I was i n prison ? he said I .
was so b u t I pulled out a bar leaped o u t

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and here I am I am going up to m y room

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go and fetch S ister S implice who doubtless ,

”
is by the si d e of that poor woman .
The old servant hastened to obey he said ,
nothing further to h er for he was quite sure ,
that she would guard hi m better than he

could himself I t was never k nown how h e
.
managed to get into the yard without h av

i ng the gate opened He always carried .
about hi m a m aster key which opened a lit ,
tle s i de door but he must have been searched

,
an d this key taken from him This point .
was n ot cleared up He went up t h e stairs .
that led to his room and 0 11 reaching the ,
landing left the candle on the top stair

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closed his window and shutters and then ,
entered the room with t h e candle This .
preca u tion was u seful for it will be remem ,

s VI C T OR s uc o s W ORKS
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b ered that his window could be noticed from

the street He took a glance around him
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at his table his chair his bed whic h had not

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been slept in for three nights No trace of .
that night s disorder remained for the por

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“
terese had done his room ; but she h ad
picked out of the as hes and la i d neatly on
the table the t wo iron ends of the stick an d
the forty sous piece which was blackened by
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the fi r e He took as h eet of paper o n which

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,
he wrote . This is the two franc piece s tolen -
from L i ttle G ervais to which I alluded in

court and he laid the coin on the paper so
, ,
that it should be the first thing seen o n enter

ing the room He took from a drawer an.
old shirt which he tore up and wrapped the ,
two candlesticks in the rags S till he dis .

,
played no haste or agitation and while wrap ,
ping u pthe candlesticks he ate a piec e of

bl ack bread— probably the prison bread which
he took with hi m on his escape Th 1 s fact .
was prov ed b y the cru mbs found on the boards

when the authorities made an investigation
at a later date T here were t wo gen tle taps
.
at the door .
Come in h e said , .
It was S ister S implice sh e was pale her ,
eyes were red and the candle she held shook

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i n her hand Violent events of destiny have

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this pec uliarity that however perfect or cold

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we may be they d raw human nature out of

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our entrails an d compel it to reappear on the

su rface In the emotions of this day the n u n
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had becom e a woman again ; she had wept

and was trembling Jean Valjean had j ust .
finished writing some lines o n a piece of p a

LES M I SERA B LES .
9
per which he handed to the sister with the

, ,
remark S ister you will del i ver this to the

, ,
”
cur é ?
A s th e pap er was O pen sh e t urned her ,
eyes on it You may read it h e said

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, .
S he read I request the curé to t ake

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c h arge of all I leave here H e will be good .
enough to defray out of it the costs of my

trial an d the interment of the woman who
died this morning T he rest will be for the
.
poor .
The sister attem pted to speak bu t coul d ,
only produce a f e w inarticulate sounds ; at

leng t h she managed to say ,
D o you not wish to see the p oor unhappy

”
gi rl for th e last time sir ?
,
“
N he said I am pursu ed and if I
, ,
were to be arrested in her room it would dis

”
turb her .
He h ad scarce said this ere a great noise ,
broke out on th e staircase ; they heard a tu

m ult of ascending steps and the ol d servant ,
cry i n her loudest and most piercing voice

M
,
y good sir I can take my oath that no

,
one has com e in here all day or al l the even

”
ing and I have not left my lodge once
, .
A man answered ,
Bu t there is a light i n that room .
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They recognized Javer t s voice The room .
was so built that the door o n being thrown ,
open concealed a nook in the right hand

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wall ; Jean Valjean blew out the light an d

crept into th e nook S ister S implice fell o n
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her knees by the table as the door opened ,
and Javert entered The voices of sever al men

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an d the p rotestations of the old p orteress

10 V i e r on
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s co o s
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w on s s .
could be h eard The n u n did not raise her

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eyes ; she was prayi ng Her candle was on .
the chi mney and gave but little light an d on ,
noticing t he n u n Javert halted i n great co n

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fu sion It will b e remembered that the ve r y

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basis of Javert his elemen t the air he , ,
breathed was reverence f or all authority ; he

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wa s all of o n e piece an d allowed n o ob j e c ,
tion or limitation With hi m of co u rse .

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ecclesiastical authority was the highest of all

he was religious superficial and correct on, ,
t hi s point as o n all I n his eyes a priest .

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was a spirit that does n ot deceive a n u n a ,
creature who does n ot s i n Theirs were .
souls walled up against the world with only

on e door which never opened except to let
,
trut h pass out On noticing the sister his

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first movement was to withdraw but he had ,
another duty too which im periously urged ,
him i n an opposite direction His second .
i mpulse was to remain and at le as t venture ,
on e question I t was that S ister S implice

.
who had never told a falsehood i n her life

Javert was aware of this and especiall y r e ,
vered her for it .
“ ”
S ister h e asked ,
are you alone i n the ,
”
room ?
There was a terrible moment du ring wh i ch ,
the old servant felt as if she were going to

faint : the sister raised h e r eyes and sai d
“
Yes .
” “
I n that case Javert continued ,
I beg ,
your pardon for pressing you but i t i s my ,
duty —you have not seen this even i ng a per

,
so n a man who has escaped and we are seek

,
i n g— that fellow of the name of Jean Valj ean .
?”
Have vou seen h i m
The sister answered No , .
S he had told two falsehoods one upon the ,
other without hesitation rap i dly as if devot

, ,
ing herself .
I beg your pardon sa i d Javert ; an d h e

,
withdrew with a d eep bow .
O h holy woman it is many years since

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you were on this earth ; you have rejoined i n

the light your sisters the virgins and your
brothers the angels ; may this falsehood be
placed to your cred it in Paradise !
The sister s assertion was so dec i sive for
’
Javert that he did not notice the singular

,
fact of the candle just blown out and which

was still smo king on the table A n hour .
l ater a man making his way through the fog ,
was hurrying away from M in the d i r ec

tion of Paris This man was Jean Valj ean
.
and it was prove d by the testimony of two or

three carriers who m et him that he was ,
carryi ng a bundle and was dressed in a

blou se Where did he procu re this blouse
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from 9 I t was never known but a few days

b efore an old workman h ad died i n the i n
,
fi r mar y of the sailors only leaving a blouse

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It might have been th at one .
O ne last word about Fantine We have .
all one mother th e earth and Fantine was

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given back to that mother The curé .
thought he was doing his d uty and perhaps ,
did it i n keeping as much m oney as he pos

,
s i b l y could out of what Jean Valjean left him
for the poor A fter all who were the people

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interested — a convict and a street walker ; -
hence he simplified P antine s interment and ’

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reduced it to what is called the p “

ublic
12 Vi c r o a
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H U GO S ’
wonKs .
grave .Fantine was therefore inte r red i n

the gratis corn er of th e ceme te ry which b e ,
longs to everybody and to nobo d y and where ,
the poor are lost Fortunately G od knows .
where to look for a soul Fantine was laid .
in the d arkness among a pile of promiscuou s

bones i n the public grave Her tomb resem .
bled h er grave .
CH A PT ER L XV .
ON T H E N I V E LLE S R OA D .
ON a fi n e May morning last year ( 1 8 61 ) a

wayfarer the person who is telling this story
, ,
was coming from Nivelles and was proceed

i ng toward L a Hu l pe He was on foot and .
following between two rows of trees a wide

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paved road which undulates over a constant

succession of hills that rais e the road and let
,
it fall again and form as it were enormou s

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waves He had passed L illois an d Bois

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S eigneur Isaac and noticed i n the west the

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slate covered steeple of Brain s l A l l e u d

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which looks like an overturned vase He had .
just left behind him a wood upon a hill and ,
at the angle of a cros s road by the side of a -

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sort of worm eate n gallows which bore the

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inscription O ld b arrier No
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a wine , .
shop having o n its front the following n o

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“
t 1 oe z The four winds E ch ab eau private , ,
coffee house -
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A bou t half a mile beyond this pot house -
he reached a small valley i n which there is a

stream that runs through an arch for med i n
the causeway The clum pof trees wide
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LES MI SERA B LES .
13
spre ad but very green which fills t h e valley

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o n one side of the road is scattered on the ,
other over the fields and runs gracefully and

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capriciously toward Braine l A l l eu d On t h e ’

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right and skirting the road were an i nn a

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four wheeled cart i n front of the door a

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large bundle of hop poles a p l ough a pile of

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dr y shrubs n ear a qu i ck set hedge lime smok -

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ing in a square hole an d a ladder lying along

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an old shed with straw partitions A girl .
was hoeing in a field where a large yellow ,
bill — probably of a show at som e K ermesse

was flying i n the wind A t the corner of the .
i n n a badly paved path ran i nto t h e bushes

,
by the side of a pond on which a flotilla of

ducks was navigating The wayfarer t urned .
into this path .
A fter proceeding about one hundred yards ,
along a wall of the 1 5 t h century surmou nted ,
by a coping of crossed bricks h e fou nd him ,
self i n front of a large arched stone gate ,
with a rectangular moulding i n the stern ,
style of L ou is XIV supported by two flat

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m edallions A severe fa c ade was over this

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gate ; a wall perpendicular to the fa c ade al

most joined the gate and flanked it at a
right angle On the grass plot i n front of
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the gate lay three harrows th rough which the ,
May flowers were growing pell mell The gate -

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was closed by m eans of two decrepit folding

doors ornamented by an old rusty hammer
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The s u n was delightful and the branches ,
made that gentle May rustling which seems ,
to come from nests even more than from the

wind A little b i rd probably i n love was
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singi ng with all its might The way farer .

14 V I C T OR H U GO S w o rms ’
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stooped and looked at a rather large circular

excavat i on i n the stone to the right of the
gate which resembled a sphere A t this
, .
moment the gates Opened and a peasant

woman came out S he saw the wayfarer an d .
noticed what h e was looking at .
“
It was a French cannon ball that made -
” “
it she said and then added : What you
, ,
se e hi gher up there o n the gate near a nail , ,
i s the hole of a heavy shell which did not ,

”
penetrate the wood .
“ ”
Wha t is the n ame of this place ? the
wayfarer asked .
H o u gomo n t said the woman , .
The wayfarer drew himself up he walked ,
a few steps an d then looked over the hedge

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.
He could see o n the horizon through the

trees a species of mound and on th i s moun d ,
somet h ing which at a distance resembled a , ,
lion He was on the battle fi el d of Waterloo

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C H A PT ER L XVI .
H OU G O MON T .
H OU GOMON T was a mournful spot the ,

be
ginning of the obstacle the first resistance ,
which that great woodman of E urope calle d ,
Napoleon encountered at Waterloo ; the first

,
knot u nder the axe blade It was a ch a teau -

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,
and is now bu t a farm F or the antiquarian .
H o u gomon t is Hugo mons ; it was buil t by -
H u go S ire de S o mmer i l th e same who eu

, ,
dowed the six chapelry of the abbey of V i l

lers The wayfarer pushed open the door
.
,
elbowed an ol d cal eche under a porch and ,
en t ered a y ard T he first thing that struck

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15
h im i n th i s enclosure was a gate of the 1 6th

century which now resembles an arcade as
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all has fallen arou n d it A m onumental as .
p e ct frequently spr ings u p from ruins Near .
the arcade there is another gateway i n the

wall with keystones i n the style of Henri
,
IV through w h ic h can be seen the trees of

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,
an orchard By the side of th i s gateway a

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dunghill mattocks an d shovels a f ew carts

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an old well wi t h its stone slab and i ron wind

lass a frisking colt a turkey display i ng its
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tail a chapel surmounted by a little

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belfry an d a blossoming pear tree grow

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ing i n esp al i er along the chapel wall

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such is this yard the conquest of whic h was ,
a dream of Napoleon s This noo k of earth ’

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had he been able to tak e i t would probably ,
have gi ven him the world Chicken s are .
scattering the dust there w i th their beaks ,
an d you hear a growl — i t is a large dog , ,
which shows its teet h and fills the place of

the E nglish The E nglish were admirable
.
here ; Cooke s four companies of guards r e

’
sisted at this spot for seven hours the ob st i

nate attack of an army .
H ou go mo n t seen on a mapbuildings and , ,
enclosures included presents an irregular ,
quadrangle of which one angle has been

,
broken o ff I n th i s angle i s the southern

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gate within point blank range of this wall - .
H o u go mon t has two gates the southern one , ,
which belongs to the ch a teau and the north ,
e r n which belongs to the farm Napoleon .
sent against H ou go mon t h i s brother Jerome ;

Gu i l l emi n ot s Foy s and B ach el i e s d i visions
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’
we r e h url ed at i t ; near l y t h e whole of R ei l l e s
16 VI CT OR n uoo s
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w o rm s .
corps w as employe d there and failed ; and

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K ellerman s cannon balls rebounded from this -
heroic wall B au d u i n s brigade was not

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strong enough to force H ou go mo n t o n the

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n orth and S oy e s brigade could only attac k

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it o n t he south W ithout carryi ng it .
The farm buildings border the court—yard

o n the south and a piece o f the northern
, ,
gate broken b y the French hangs from the

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wall It con sists of four p l anks nailed on

.
two cross beams an d the scars of the attack

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may still be di stinguished upon it The .
northern gate which was broken down by

,
the Fren ch an d in which a piece has been

,
l et i n to replace the panel hanging to the

wall stands half open at the extremity of
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the yard ; it is cut square i n a wall which is

ston e at the bottom brick at the top which , ,
closes the yard o n the nort h side It is a .
simple gate such as may be seen i n all farm

,
yar d s with two large folding doors made of

,
rusti c planks ; beyond it are fields The di s .
pute for this entrance was fu rious ; fo r al o n g

ti me all sort s of marks of bloody hands could
be seen o n the side post of the gate and it -
,
was here that Bauduin fell The storm of .
the fight still lurks in th e court yard : horror -
is v i sible there ; the incidents of the fearful

struggle are petrified i n it ; people are living
an d dying i n i t — i t was only yesterday
, The .
wal l s are i n the pangs of death the stones ,
fall the breaches cry out the holes are

, ,
wounds the bent an d quivering trees S t em

,
mak i ng an effort to fly .
This yard was more built upon in 1 8 1 5

than it is now ; bu i ldings which have since
18 w e r e }: s pe c s
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w o rms .
M
en m as sacred eac h other i n the chapel ,
an d the interior which is gro w n quiet again

, ,
is strange Mass has not been said i n it

.
since the carnage but the altar has been left

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— a h altar of coarse wood s u

p po r t e d by a
foundation of rough stone Four white .
washed walls a door opposite the altar t wo

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small arched windows a large wooden crucifix ,
over the door above the crucifix a sq uare air

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hole stopped up with hay ; i n a co r ner on the ,
ground an old window sash with the panes

, ,
all broken— such is the chapel Near the .
altar is a wooden statue of S t A nne be long .

,
i n g to the 1 5 th century ; the head of th e i n

fant S aviour has been carried away b y a shot .
The French masters for a m oment of the

,
chapel an d then dislodged set fire to it The , .
flames fill ed the building an d i t became a ,
furn ace ; the door burnt the flooring burnt , ,
b u t the wooden Christ was not burnt ; the

fire nibbled away the feet of which only the ,
blackened stumps can now be seen an d then ,
stopped It was a m iracle say the country

.
,
people The walls are covered with i n scr i p

tions Near the feet of Christ you read the
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nam e H en q u i n e z ; then these others Conde ,
d e Rio Ma i or Marquis y Marqu isa de Alma

,
gro ( Habana) There are French names

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with marks of adm ission signs of anger , .
The wall was w hitewashed again i n 1 8 4 9 for ,
the nations insulted each other upon it It .
was at the door of this chapel that a bod y

wa s pick ed up holding a ,
n axe i n its hand ; it
was the body of sub lieutenant Legros -

.
On leavi ng the chapel you see a well on

y our left hand A s there are t w o wells i n
.
LES M I SE R A B LES .
19
this yard you ask yourself w h y this one h as

,
no bucket and Windlass ? Because water is

no l onger drawn from i t Why is it n ot .
drawn ? Because it is full of skeletons The .
l ast man who drew water from this well was

a man called Willem van K yl so m he was a
peasant who lived at H ou gomo n t and was ,
gardener there On June 1 8 t h 1 8 1 5 his

.
, ,
family took to flight and concealed them

selves i n the woods The forest round the .
abbey of Villers sheltered for several day s

an d nights the dispersed luckless country
people E ven at the present day certain
.
vestiges such as old burnt tru nk s of trees

, ,
mark the spot of these poor encampments

a mong the t h ickets Willem van K yl s o m r e
.
“
mained at H ou go mo n t to take care of the
ch a ”
teau an d concealed himself i n a cellar
,
.
The E nglish d i scovered him there ; he was

dragged from hi s lurking place and the -
,
frightened man was forced by blows with the

flat of a sabre to wait on the combatants .
They were thirsty and this Willem brought

,
them drink and it was from this well he

,
drew the water Many drank there for the

.
last time an d this well from which so many

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dead me n drank was destined to d i e too

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A fter t h e acti on the corpses were hastily i n

,
t er r ed ; death has a way of its o w n of haras

sing victory and i t causes pestilence to fol
,
low glory Typhus is an annex of triumph

. .
This wel l was deep and was converted into a

tom b Three h undred dead were thrown
.
in t o it perhaps with too much haste Were

, .
they all dead ? the legend says no A nd it .
seems that on the n i ght follow i ng the burial

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20 VIC T OR H U G O S W OR K S
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weak voices were heard calling from t h e well .
This well is isolated i n the centre of the

yard ; three walls half of brick half of stone
, , ,
folded like the leaves of a sc reen an d form ,
ing a square tower surround it o n three

,
sides while the fourth is O pen The back

, .
wall has a sort of shapeless peep hole prob -

,
.
ably made by a shell This tower once h ad a

.
roof of which only the beam s remain an d the ,
iron braces of the right hand wall form a -
cross You bend over an d 100 k down into a

.
deep brick cylinder full of gloom A ll rou nd .
th e well the lower part of the wall is hidden

by nettles This well has not i n front of it
.
the large blue slab usually seen at all Belgian

wells Instead of it there is a frame work
.
,
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supporting five or six shapeless logs of

knotted wood which resemble large bones .
There is no bucket chain or W indlass r e

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maining : but there is still the stone trough ,
at which the horses were watered The rain .
water coll ects i n it an d from time to time a

,
bird comes from the neighboring forest t o

drink from it and t hen fly away .
O ne house i n this ruin the farm h ou se is

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still inhabited and the door of thi s house

,
opens o n the yard By the side of a pretty

.
G othic lock on this gate there is an iron han

dl e . A t the moment when the Hanoverian
.
lieutenant Wilda seized th i s handle i n order

to tak e shelter in the farm a French S apper ,
cut o ff his hand with a blow of his axe The .
old gardener V an K yl som who has long been

,
dead was gr andfather of the famil y whi ch

,
n o w occupies the house A grey headed

.
-
wom an said to m e : I was here I was t h ree .

LE S MI SERA B LES .
21
years old and my sister who was older felt

, , ,
frightened and cried I was carried away to .
the woods i n my mother s arms and people ’

,
put their ears to the ground to listen I .
imitated the cannon and said boom boom , , .
A door on the left hand of the yard as we -

,
said leads into the orchard which i s terr i ble

, , .
It is i n three parts we might almost say i n , ,
three acts The first part is a garden the

.
,
second the orchard the third a wood These ,

.
three parts have one com mon en cei n te near

the entrance the buildings of the ch a ,
teau
and the farm o n the left a hedge on the , ,
right a wall an d at the end a wall The , .
right hand wall i s of brick the bottom o n e

-
,
of stone You enter the garden first ; it

.
slopes is plan ted with gooseberry bushes is

, ,
covered with w i ld vegetation and is closed ,
by a monumental terrace of cut stones with

balustrades It was a seign eur i al garden i n
.
the French sty le that preceded L e Notre : ,
now it is ruins and briars The pilasters are .
surmounted by globes that resemble stone

cannon balls -
Forty three balustrades are
.
-
still erect ; the others are lying i n the grass ,
and nearly all have m arks of musket—balls .
O ne fractured balustrade is lai d upon the

ste m like a broken leg .
It was in this garde n whic h i s lower than ,
t h e orchard that six voltigeurs of the l s t

,
‘
light regim ent having got in and unable to ,
get out and caught like bears i n a trap

, ,
accepted combat with two Hanoverian com

panics one of which was armed with r i fles
, .
The Hanoverians lined the balu strade an d

fired down : the voltigeurs firing u p six i n , ,
22 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORK S ’
.
trep i d me n against two h undred and having ,
n o shelter but the gooseberry bushes to ok a ,
quarter of an hour i n dyi ng You climb up .
a few steps and reach the orc hard properly ,
so called Here o n these few square y ards

.
, ,
fifteen h undred men fell i n less than an hour .
The wall seems ready to recommence t h e fight ,
for the thirty eight loo p-

holes pierced by t h e
-
E nglish at irregular heigh ts may stil l be see n .
I n front of the wal l are two E nglish tombs

made of granite There are o n ly loop
.
holes i n th e sout h wall for the p ri nc i pal

, ,
attack was on that side Th i s wall i s con .
ceal e d on the outside by a quickset hedge .
The French came u p under the impression

that they had only to carry this hedge and ,
found the wall an obstacle an d an am bu s

cade ; the E nglish G uards behind the thi rty ,
eight loop holes firing at once a storm of

-
,
can is ter an d bullets ; an d S oy e s brigade was ’
d ashed to pieces agai n st it Waterloo began .
thus .
The orchard however w as taken ; as the

, ,
Fr ench had no ladders they climbed up ,
with their nails A han d to hand fi ght took

.
- -
place under the trees and all t he gr ass was,
soaked with blood an d a b at al i o n of Nassau

, ,
7 00 st rong was cu t to pieces here On the .
outside the wall against which K el l e r man n s

,
’
two batteri es were pointed is p e ck marked ,

-
with cannon balls This orchard is se nsitive

-
.
l ike an y other to the m onth of May ; it has its

butte rcups and its da i sies the gras s i s tal l i n ,
it the ploug h horses browse i n it hair ropes

,
-
,
on w h ich li nen is h ung t o dry occupy the
S pace b etween the trees a n d make the v i si t or

,
LE S M I S ER AB LES .
23
b ow his head an d as you wal k along your foot

,
sinks i n mole holes I n th e m i ddle of the

.
grass you notice an uproote d outstretched , ,
but st i ll flour i shing tree Major Blackman .
leant against i t to die U nder another large

.
tree close by fell the G erman G eneral Du p l at ,
a French refugee belongi ng to a family that

fled upon the revocation of the edict of
N antes . Close at hand an old sickly apple
tree poulticed with a bandage of straw and
,
clay hangs its he ad

,
Nearly all the apple
.
trees are dying of old age and there i s not ,
o n e without its cannon ball or bullet S kel

-
.
etons of dead trees abound i n th i s orchard ,
ravens fly about in the branches and at the ,
en d is a wood full of violets .
Bau duin k illed ; F oy wounded ; arson ,
massacre carnage a stream composed of

, ,
E nglish French and G erman blood fur i ously

, ,
mingled ; a wel l filled with corpses ; t he

Nassau reg i ment and the Brunsw i ck regiment
destroyed ; Du p l at killed ; Blackman killed ;
the E nglish guards mutilated ; twenty French
’
battalions of the forty composing H eille s corps
decimated ; three thou sand m en in this ch a teau
of H ou go mon t alone sabred gashed butch , , ,
ered shot an d burnt — all this that a peasant

, ,
may say to a traveller at the present day If

you like to give m e three francs sir I will , ,
”
tell y o u al l about the battle of Waterloo .
24 v rc r o a s o s
'
o s w o rms
'
.
CH A PT ER L XVII .
w as 1 8, 1 8 1 5 .
L us go back for that is o n e of the

ET ,
privileges of the narrator and place ourselves

p
,
once aga i n i n the year 1 8 1 5 a little rior to the ,
period when the m atters related i n the first

part of thi s book begin If it had not rained .
o n the night between the 1 7 t h and 1 8 t h June ,
1 8 1 5 the future of E urope would have been

,
changed ; a few drops of rain more or less

made Napoleon oscillate I n order to make .
Waterloo the end of A usterlitz Providence ,
only required a little rain and a cloud ,
crossing the sky at a season when rain was

n ot expected was suffi cient to overthrow an
empire The battle of Waterloo could n ot

.
begin t i ll half past eleven and that gave

-
,
Bl ucher time to come up Why ? becaus e .
the ground was moist and it was n ecessary

for it to become firmer that the artillery ,
might man oeuvre Napoleon was an artillery

.
offi cer and always showed himself o n e ; all

,
his battle plans are m ade for pro j ectiles .
Making artillery converge o n a given point

was his key to victory He treated t h e strategy
.
of the opposing general as a citadel and ,
breached it ; he crushed the weak point

under grape shot and he began and ended
-
,
his battles with artillery Driving in squares .

,
pulverizing regim ents breaking lines de , ,
stroyi ng and dispersing masses all this m ust ,
be done by striking striking striking , , ,
inc essantly an d he confided t h e task to

,
23 VI C T OR av s o '
s W ORK S .
guessed the snare an d could not discern the

,
cru mbling edge of the abyss ? could he not

scent catastrophes ? had t he man who fo r m
erly knew all the ro ad s to vic t ory and po i n ted
to them with a sovereign finger from his ,
flashing car now a mania for leading his

,
t um ultuous team of legi ons to the precipices

was he att acked at the age of forty six by a -
supre me madness was t he Titanic charioteer

of destiny n ow only a Ph a e ton
We do n o t believe it .
His plan of action it i s al lowed by all was

, ,
a m as terpiece G o straight at the centre of

.
the allied line make a hole through the enemy

, ,
cut hi m i n two drive the British hal f over

,
Halle an d the Prussians over T i n gr es carry

, ,
Mont S t Jean seize Bru ss els drive the

.
, ,
G erman into the R h i ne an d the E nglishman

into the sea all this was contained for
—
Napoleon i n this battle afterwards he would

see .
We need har d ly say that we do not prete nd

to te l l the story of Waterloo here ; on e of the
generating scenes of the drama we are r e
counting is attaching to this battle but the ,
story of Waterloo has been already told and ,
magist erially discussed from on e point of ,
vi ew by Napoleon from another by Charras

, .
For ou r part we leave t h e t w o historians to

,
contend ; we are only a distant wi t ness a ,
pass er b y along the plain a seeker ben d ing

-
,
over the earth moulded of human flesh and ,
perhaps taking appearances for realities ; we

possess neither the military p ractice nor the
strategic competency that authorizes a sys i
tem ; i n our opinion a chain o f accidents

,
LES MI SERA B LES .
27
governed both captains at Waterloo ; and

when dest i ny that mysterious a ccused
, ,
enters o n the scene we judge l ike the ,
people .
CH A PT ER L XVIII .
T HOS E wh o wis h to form a distinct i dea of

the battle of Waterloo need only imagine a ,
cap i tal A laid o n the ground The left leg of .
the A is the Nivelles road the right one the ,
G enappe r e ad while the string of the A is

,
the br oken way ru nning from Oh ain e to

Braine l A l l e u d
’
The top of the A is Mont
.
S t Jean where Wellington i s ; the left lower

.
,
p oint is H ou go mon t where R ei l l e is with,
Jerom e Bonaparte ; the right lower p oint is

la Belle A lliance where Napoleon is A little
, .
below the point where the string of the A '
meets and cuts the r i ght leg is L a Haye ,
S ainte ; and i n the centre of this string is the

exact spot where the battle was concluded .
It is here that the lion i s p laced the i n

'
voluntary symbol o f the heroism of the ol d

guard
p
.
The tri angle comprised at the t o of the A

between the two legs an d the string is the ,
plateau of Mont S t Jean ; the dispu te for th i s

.
plateau was the whole battle The wings of .
the two armies exten d to the ri ght and left of

the G enappe and Nivelles roads d E r l on ,
’
fac i ng Picton B eille facing H ill

, Behind .
the point of the A behin d the plateau of S t

, .
Jean is the forest of S oig nies A s for the

, .
plan itself imagi ne a vast undulating ground ;

,
23 v1 c r o a
'
H U GO S’
wo n s s .
each ascent com mands the next ascent and ,
all the undulations ascend to Mont S t J ean .

,
where they form the forest .
Two hostile armies o n a battle fi el d are t wo -
wrestlers — on e tries to throw the other ; t h ey

,
cling to every thing ; a thicket i s a b as i s : for

want of a village to support it a regiment ,
gives way ; a fall in the plain a t ransverse ,
hedge i n a good position a wood a ravine , ,
may arrest the h eel of t hat colum n which is

called an army an d preve n t it slipping ,
.
The one w h o leaves the field is beaten ; and

hence the necessity for the responsible chief
to examine the smallest clump of trees an d ,
investigate the slightest rise i n the ground .
T he two generals had attentively studied the

p l ain of Mont S t Jean which is called at the
.
,
present day the field of Waterloo I n the .
previous year Wellington with prescient

, ,
sagacity had examined it as suitable for a

,
great battle On this ground an d for thi s

.
duel of June 1 8 Wellington had the good ,
side and Napoleon the bad ; for the E ng l i sh

army w as above the French army below ,
.
It i s almost superfluous to sketch here the

appearance of Napoleon mounted and with ,
hi s telesco p e i n his hand as he appeared o n ,
t h e heights of R o s so mme at the da w n of

June 1 8 Before we show him all the world
.
,
has seen him The calm profile under the

.
little hat of the Brienne school the green ,
uniform the white facings concealing the

,
decorations the great coat concealing the

,
epaul ettes the red ribbon under the waist

,
coat the leather breeches the whi te horse

, ,
with its housings of purple velvet havi ng in , ,

LES MI SERA B LES .
29
the corners crowned N s and eagles the rid ’

,
ing boots drawn over silk stockings the silver

-
,
Spurs the sword of Marengo the whole ap

, ,
—
p eara n ce of the last of the C a

esars rises before
every m i nd appla u ded by some and regarded
, ,
sternly by others This figure has for a long

.
time stood out all light ; th i s was owing to a

certain legendary obscuration which most
heroes evolve and which always co nceals the
,
tru th for a longer or shorter period but at ,
the present day we h a ve history and light .
That brilliancy called histo y is pitiless ; it r
has this strange and d i vine thing about it ,
that all light as it is and because i t is light

, , ,
i t often throws shadows over spots before
luminous it makes of t h e same m an t w o dif

,
f er en t phantoms an d one attacks the other

, ,
and the darkness of the despot struggles with

t h e lustre of the captain Hence comes a .
tru er proportion i n t h e definitive ap p r e ci
ation of nation s ; Babylon violated dimin ,
ishes A lexander ; R ome enchained diminishes ,
C aesar ; Jeru salem killed diminishes Titus ,

.
Tyranny follows the tyrant and it is a mis ,
fortune for a man to leave b eh i n d h i m a night

'
which h as his form .
CH A PT ER L XIX .
TH E QU I D O B SC U R U M OF B ATT LE S .
ALL the world k nows the first phase of

this battle ; a troubled uncertain h esitating
, ,
opening dangerous for both armies but more

, ,
so for t h eE nglis h than the French It had .
rai n ed all night ; the g r ound was saturated ;

30 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORKS ’
.
th e rain had coll ected i n hollows of the plain

as i n tubs ; at certain points the ammu ni tion
wagons had sunk i n up to the axle trees and -
the gi rths of the horses ; if t h e wheat and

,
bar ley lai d low by this m ass of m oving

ve hi cles h ad not filled the r ats and made a ,
li tter under the w heels an y movement , ,
especially i n the valleys i n the dir ection of

,
Pap el o t t e would have been impossible

, The .
battle began late for Napoleon as we have

, ,
explained was accustomed to hold all his

,
artillery i n hand like a p istol aimi ng first at ,
one po i nt then at another of the battle and

, ,
b e resolved to wait until the field batteries

could gallop freely and for this pu rpose it
,
was necessary that the sun should appear and

dry the ground B ut the su n did n o t come
.
out ; i t was no longer the rendez vou s of

A usterl i tz When the first cannon shot was
.
-
fired the E nglish G eneral Colville drew out

,
his watch and saw that it was twenty fi ve

,
-
minutes to twelve .
T he action was co mmenced furi ously m ore ,
furiously perh aps than the e mperor desired ,
by the Fr ench left wing o n H ou gomo n t A t .
the same time Napoleon attacked the centre

by hurling Q u i o t s brigade on L a Haye S ainte
’
,
and Ney pushed the French right wing agai nst

the E nglish left which was leaning upon
,
Pap el ot t e
. The attack on H o u go mon t was ,
to a certain extent a feint for the plan was

, ,
to attrac t Well ington there and make h im ,
strengthen his left This plan would have.
succeeded h ad not the four companies of

G uar ds and Per p on ch er s B elgian division
’
firmly held the position and Wellin g ton i h

, ,
LES MIS E RABL E S .
31
stead o f massi ng his t roops foun d it only ,
necessary to send as a reinf orceme nt fou r

more companies of G uards and a battalion of
B ru n s wi ck e r s The attack of the French
.
right on Pap
‘
el o tt e was seriou s ; to destroy
the E nglish left ou t the Bru ssels road bar

, ,
the passage for any possibl e Pruss i ans force ,
Mont S t Jean dri ve back Wellington on

.
,
H o u go mon t then on Braine l A l l eu d an d

’
, ,
t h en o n Halle — nothing was more d istinct

, .
Had not a few incidents supervened this at ,
tack would have succeeded for Pap el o tt e ,
wa s taken a n d L a Haye S ai nte carried .
There is a detail to be noticed here I n .
the E nglish infantry espec i ally in K emp t s ,

’
brigade there were many recruits and these

, ,
young soldiers valiantly withstood our formi

d ab l e foot an d they behaved excellently as
,
sharp shooters
-
The soldier when thrown
.
'
out en t i r az l l eu r being left to some extent

,
to his o wn resources becom es as it were his ,
ow n general ; an d these recrui ts displayed
somethi ng of the French i nvention an d fury .
These nov i ces displayed an impulse an d it ,
displeased Wellington .
After the taking of L a Haye S ainte the ,
battle vac illated There i s an obscure i nter

.
val i h this day between twelve and four ; the

.
middle of this battle is alm ost indistinct and ,
pa rticipates i n the gloom of the mel ée A .
twilight sets in an d we perceive vast fl u ct u

,
at i on s i n this mist a d izzying mirage the , ,
panoply of war at that d ay u nknown i n ou r ,
ti mes flaming col p acks flying sab r et asch es ;

cross belts G renadier bear skins ; Hussar
- -
dolmans ; red boots with a thousand wrinkles ;

. .
heavy shakos en w reathed with gold twist ;

the nearly black Bru nswick infantry mingled
with t h e scarlet infantry of E ngland ; the
E nglish sol d iers wearing clumsy round white
cushions for epaulettes ; the Hanoverian light '
horse with th eir leathern helmets bras s ,
bands and red horse tails ; the Highlanders

,
-
w ith their bare knees and chequered plaids ,
and the lo n g white gaiters of our G renadier s ,
— pictures but not strategic lines ; what a

S alvator R osa but not a Gr i b eau val would
, ,
have revelled in .
A certain amount of tempest is always

mingled with a battle q u i d ob s cu r u m
qui d
, ,
d i vz n mn E very historian traces to som e

' '
extent the lineament that pleases him i n t h e

b urly burly Whatever the combination of
-
.
the generals may be the collision of arm ed ,
mas ses h as i ncalculable ebbs and flows ; i n

action the t wo plans of the lea d ers enter into
each other an d d estroy their shape T h e line .
of battle floats an d winds like a thread t h e ,
streams of blood flow illogically the fronts ,
of arm i es u ndulate the regim ents i n ad van c

,
ing or retiring from capes or gu lfs an d all ,
these rocks are continually shifting their p o
s i t i on : where infantry was artillery arrives ; ,
where ar t illery was caval ry dash i n ; the bat

,
talions are sm oke There was something .
there but when you look for i t it has di sap

,
p ;e a r ed the gloomy masses ad vance and r e
treat ; a species of breath from the to m b i m

pels drives back swells and d isperses these
, ,
tragi c multitudes What is a battle — a h .
osc illation The im mobility of a mat h e mat i

.
cal plan expresses a minute and not a d ay .

34 VI CT OR un c os '
wons s .
h ad just fa l len back on Wellington while ,
Picton was dead A t the very moment w h en

.
the E nglish took from the F rench the flag

of t h e 1 05 t h line re i ment th e French killed
g ,
G eneral Picton with a bullet through his

h ead The battle h ad t w o bas es for Welling
.
ton H ou gomon t an d L a Haye S ainte

, .
H o u go mon t still held o u t though o n fire , ,
w h ile L a Haye S ain t e w as lost O f the G er .
man ba ttalion that defended it fo r ty t wo ,

-
men o nly su rvi ve d ; all the officers but five

were kil led o r taken pr isoners Three thon .
sand combatants had been massacred i n that

foc u s ; a sergeant of the E nglish G uards the ,
first boxer of E ngland an d repu t ed i n v u l ,
n er ab l e by his comrad es h ad been kill ed ,
there by a little French drummer Barny .
wa s d islodged and A lten was sabred : several

,
flags had been lost one belongi n g to A lten s

,
’
division and one to the L u xembourg bat

tal ion which was borne by a prince of the
, .
Deux ponts family T h e S cotch G reys no

-
.
longer existed ; Pon son b y s heavy d ragoons ’
wer e cu t to pieces this brave cavalry had

,
—
gi ven way before the L ancers of R ex an d the

cu i ras siers of Traver O f t wel ve h undred .
sabres only si x hun d red remained ; of three

li eutenant colonels two were kissing the
-
,
grou nd : Hamilton wounded an d Math er ,
killed Ponsonby had fallen pierced by

.
,
seven lance wounds ; G ordon was dead ,
M arch was dead and t w o divisions the fif t h

, ,
an d sixth were destroyed,

H o u go mon t at .
tacked L a Haye S ainte taken ; ther e was

,
only on e knot left th e centre w h i ch still

, ,
hel d ou t Well ington reinforced it ; he called

.
35
in Hill from M er b e Braine and Chas é from

-
’
B r aine l A l l eu d .
T h e centre of the E nglish army which ,
was slightly concave very dense and com ,
pact was strongly si t uated ; it occupied the

,
plateau of Mont S t Jean hav i ng the vi llage

.
,
behind it an d before it the slope which at

, ,
that time was rather steep It was support .
e d by that strong stone house wh ich at that ,
peri od was a domainial property o f Ni velles ,
standing at the cross road an d an edifice ,
dating from the l 6t h century so robust that ,
the canon balls rebou nded without doing i t

an y injury A ll round the plateau the E ng
.
lish h ad cut through t h e he dges at certain

spots fo r med embrasures i n the hawthorns
, ,
t h rust guns between branches an d I oop holed -
the shrubs — their ar t illery was ambuscaded

,
under the brambles This P unic task i n con

.
,
t es t ab l y a u thorized by the rules of war which

permit snares had been so well e ff ected that
,
H ax o who h ad been sent by the emperor at

,
’
eight o clock to reconnoitre the enemy s bat ’
t er i es returned to tell Napoleon that there

,
was no obstacle with exception of the bar r i

,
cades blocking the Ni velles and G enappe

roads It was the season when the wheat is
.
s ti l l standing and along the edge of the

,
plateau a battalion of K empt s brigade the ’

,
9 5 t h was lyi ng in t h e tall corn

, Thu s as .
sured and supported the centre of t h e A nglo,
D utch army was i n a good pos i tion .
The peril of this position was the for est of

S oignies at that time contiguous to the
,
battle fi el d an d i ntersected by the pon d s of

-
G roenendael and B oi tsfo r d A n arm y coul d .

36 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
n ot have fa l len back into it withou t being

d issolved regiments woul d have been broken
,
up at once and the artillery lost i n the marsh

,
es The retreat according to the opinion of

.
,
several professional men contradicted it is , ,
true by others would have been a flight

, ,
.
Wellington added to this centre a brigade of

Chassé s removed from the ri gh t wing o n e
’
,
’ ’
of Wicke s from the left wing an d Clinton s ,
di vi s ion He gave hi s E nglish — H alket t s ’
regimen ts Mitchell s bri gade an d M

.
ai t l an d s
’ ’
, ,
guards— as e p au l men t s an d counterforts t h e ,
Bru n swick infantry the Nassau contingent , ,
K i el man segge s Hanoverians an d Omp

’
t ed as
’
,
G ermans He had thus twenty six battal ions

.
-
“
u nder his hand ; as Charras says the right ,
wing deployed behind the centre A n enor

mous battery was masked by earth bags at ,
the very spot where what is called the

Museum of Waterloo n o w stands and Wel ,
lingtou also had i n a l i ttle hollow S omerset s ’
Dragoon G uard s counting one thousand four ,
hundred sabres They were the other m oiety .
of the so j ustly celebrated E nglish cavalry ;

though Ponsonby was destroyed S omerset ,
rem ained The battery which had it been

.
,
completed would have been alm ost a redoubt

, ,
was arranged behi nd a very l o w w all hastily ,
l ined with sand bags and a wide slope of

e arth This work was not finish ed as there
.
,
was not time to p al l i sad e it .
Wellington restless but impassive w as, ,
m ounte d and rema i ned for the whole day i n

,
the same attitu d e a lit t le i n front of the old ,
mill of Mont S t Jean which still exi sts an d .

, ,
under an elm tree whic h an E nglishman an

-
. ,
37
enthusiastical Vandal , af terwards bought for

t wo hundred francs cut down and carried ,
away Wellington was coldly heroic ; there

.
was a shower of cannon balls and his aid de -

,
-
cam p G ordon was killed by his side L ord .
Hill pointing to a bursting shell said to

,
him , My L ord what are your instructions

, ,
an d what orders do you leave u s i f you are

“
killed Do as I am doing Wellington ,
answered To Clinton he said laconicall y

.
, ,
Hold ou t here to the last man The day .
was evidently turning badly an d Wellington ,
cried to his old comr ades of Vittoria Tala ,

“
vera and S alamanca
,
Boys can you , ,
think of giving way R emember old E ng

land .
A bout four o clock the E nglish line fell

’
,
back all at once ; nothing was visible o n the

crest of the platea u but artillery and sharp
shooters the rest had disappeared The
, .
regiments expelled by the French shell an d

,
cannon balls fell back into the hollo w which

-
, ,
at the present day is intersected by the lane

that runs to the farm of Mont S t Jean A . .
r e t r o gad e m oveme n t began t h e E nglish ,
front withdrew Wellington was recoiling

. .
”
It is th e beginn i ng of the retreat N apo ,
leon cried .
C H A PT ER L XX I .
NA PO LE O N I N G OO D H UM O R .
TH emperor though ill and suff eri ng o n

E ,
h orseback from a local injury h ad never ,
been so good tempered as o n this day F rom

-
.
th e morning his i mpenetrabil i t y h ad been

88 VI CT OR HU GO S W OR K S ’
.
smiling an d on June 1 8 t h 1 8 1 5 this p

,
ro , ,
fou nd soul coated with granite was rad iant

, , .
The man who h ad been sombre at A us terlitz

was gay at Waterloo The greatest p r ed est i n
.
ed men off er these contradictions for our ,
joys are a shado w and the supreme smile b e

longs to G od B i det Caes ar P omp
. e i u s fl eb i t , ,
the legi onar i es of the F u l mi n atr i x legion

used to say On this occasion Pompey was
.
n ot desti ned to weep but it is certain that ,
Cwsar laughed A t one o clock i n the m orn

.
’
i n g a mid t h e rai n an d storm he had ex

, ,
p l o r e d with Bertrand the hills near Rossom
me and was pleased to see the long lines o f

,
E nglish fires illumini ng the hori zon from

Fr i sch emon t to Braine l A l l eu d It seemed ’
.
t o him as if desti ny had made an appoint

ment with hi m o n a fixed day an d was
pu nctual He stopped his horse and r e
.
,
mained for some time m otionless looking at ,
the lightning an d listening to the thu nder .
The fatalist was heard to cast into t h e night

the mysterious words — “
We are agreed ,
”
.
Napo leon was mistaken they we r e n o longer ,
agreed .
He had not slept for a moment all t h e i h

st a n t s of the past night had been marked
with j oy for hi m He rode through the .
entire line of main guards stopping every ,
n ow a n d then to speak to the videttes At .
half past t wo he heard the sound of a march

-
i n g column near H ou go mo n t an d beli eved ,
for a moment i n a retrea t o n the side of

“
We l lin gton He said to Bertr and
. The ,
-
E nglish rear guard i s prepar ing to decamp

-
.
I shall take prisoners the si x thou sand E ng

lish who have j ust landed at Ostend He .
talke d cheerfully an d regained the sp i ri ts

,
he had displayed during the landing of

March 1 st when he showed the grand mar
,
shal the enthusiastic peasant of the J u an

“
G ulf an d said ,
Well Bertrand h ere , ,
is a rei n forcement already On the nig h t .
between J u ne 1 7 and 1 8 he made fun

of Wellington This little E nglishman
r equ i res a lesson said Napoleon
, T he .
ra i n became twice as v i olent and it ,
thundered while the emperor was spea k

i ng
. A t half past th ree A M he lost one
-
. .
ill usion o ffi cers sent to reconnoitre inform

ed hi m that the enemy was making no move
m ent No t hing was stirring not a single
. ,
bivou ac fire was ex t ingu ished an d the E ng ,
lish army was sleeping The silence was .
profound on earth an d there w as only noise

,
i n the heavens . A t four o clock a peasant ’
w as brought to hi m by the scouts : th i s

peasant had serve d as a guide to a brigade of
E nglish cavalry probably Vivian s which
,
’
,
had take n up a position on th e extrem e left

i n the village of C h ain A t five o clock t wo
.
’
Belgian deserters inform ed hi m that they

had j ust left their regiments an d the E n g ,
“ ”
lish army m eant fighting A ll the better
.
,
cried Napoleon , I would sooner crus h t h em

”
than drive them back .
A t daybreak he dismounted on t h e s10pe

which forms the angle of the Plancenoit road ,
had a kitchen table an d a peasant chair

brought from the farm of R osso mme sat ,
down with a truss of stra w for a carpet and ,
laid on the table the mapof the battle fi el d -

,
40 VI CT OR H UGO S W ORK S '
.
sayi ng to S oult It is a pretty chess board

, .
O wing to the night t r ain the commissariat ,
wagons which stuck i n the m uddy roads did

, ,
n o t arri ve by da y break The troops had -

.
not slept were wet through and fasting but

, ,
this did not prevent Napoleon from exclaim

ing cheerfully to S oult We have ninety ,
”
chances out of a hundred in our favor At .
’
eight o clock the emperor s breakfast was ’
brought and he invited several generals to

,
share it with him While breakfasting som e .
body said that Wellin gton had been the last

evening but one at a ball i n Brussels and ,
Soult the rough sol dier with his archbishop s

,
’
”
face remarked
, The ball will be to day
,
-
.
The emperor teased Ney for saying Wel ,
l ingtou will not be so simple as to wait for

”
your maj esty This was his usual manner
. .
“ ”
He w as fond of a joke says Fleury de ,
Chab on l on ; The basis of his character was

a pleasant humor says G ourgaud ; He ,
abounded with jests more pecu l iar than ,

”
witty says Ben j amin Constant This gay
,
.
ety of the giant is wo r th dwelling on : it was

“ ”
he who called his G renadiers G rowlers ;
he pinched their ears and pulled their mus
“
taches . The emperor was al ways playi ng
”
tricks wi th u s was a rem ark made by on e
,
of them D u ring the m y steriou s passage

.
from E lba to France on Febru ary 2 7t h the , ,
F rench brig of war the Z ep

'
hy r m et t h e , ,
I n con s tan t on board whi ch Napoleon was

,
concealed and inquiring after Napoleon the

, ,
emperor who h ad still had i n his hat the

,
white and violet cockade studded with bees

whi c h h e had adop t e d at E lba h i mself laugh ,
42 VICT OR H U GO S W ORKS ’
.
with a sm i le the company of sappers of the

first corps as it passed him which he h ad ,
selected to barricade itsel f i n Mont S t Jean .

,
so soon as the village was carried A l l this .
security was only crossed by one word of

human pity : on seeing at his left at the spot ,
where there is now a large tomb the admi r a ,
ble S cotch G reys m assed with their superb

“
h o r ses he said It is a pity
, Then h e
,
.
mounted his horse rode toward R os s omme , ,
and selected as his observatory a narrow strip

of gras s on the right of the road running from
G enap pe t o Brussels and this was his second ,
station The third station the on e he took

. ,
at seven i n the evening is formidable i t is , ,

-
a rather lofty mound whi ch still exists and ,
behi nd whi ch the gu ard was m assed in

a hollow A round this mound the balls
.
,
ricochette d on the pavement of the road and

reached Napoleon A s at Brienne he h ad .
,
round his head the whistle of bullets and

canister A lmost at the spot where h i s
.
horse s hoofs stood cannon balls old sabre

’
,
-
,
bl ad es an d shapeless rust eaten proj ecti l es

,
-
,
have been picked u p ; a few years ago a live ,
shell was dug up the f u see of which h ad ,
broken off It was at this station that the

.
emperor said to his gu ide Lacoste a hostile , ,
timid pe asant who w as fas tened to a hussar s

,
’
saddle an d tried at each volley of canister

,
“
to hide hi mself behin d Napoleon You .
ass i t is sham eful ; you will be killed i n the

,
”
bac k . The person who is writing t h e se
lines hi mself found while digging up the ,
sand i n the fr iable slope of this mound the ,
remains of a shell rotted by the ox y de of

LES MI SERA B LES .
43
forty six years an d pieces of iron which broke

-
,
like st icks of barley sugar between his fingers

-
.
E verybody i s aware that the undulation s

of the plains on which the encounter between
N apoleon and Wellington took place are no ,
longer as they were o n Jun e 1 8th 1 8 1 5 O n , .
taking from this mourn ful plain the material

to make a monu ment it was deprived of its ,
real relics and history disconcerted no

, , ,
longer recogn i zes itself ; i n order to glorify ,
they disfigured Wellington on seeing

.
,
Waterloo t w o years after exclaim ed “

My , ,
”
battle fi el d has been altered
-
Where the .
h uge pyramid of earth surmou nted by a lion

n o w stands there was a crest which on the side
,
of the Nivelles road h ad a p racticable ascent ,
b u t w h ich o n the sid e of the G enappe road

was almost an escarpment The elevation of .
th is escarpment may still be i magi ned by the

height of the two great tombs which skirt the
road from G enappe to Brussels : the E nglish
tomb on the left the G erman tomb on the
,
r ight
. There is no French tomb — for France ,
the whole plain is a sepulchre Through the .
thousands of cart loads of earth employed in

-
erecti n g the mou nd which is one hundred ,
an d fift y feet high and half a mile in circum

ference the plateau of Mont S t Jean is now
, .
accessible by a gentle i ncl ine but on the day ,
of the battle and especially on the side of

,
L a Haye S ainte it was steep and abrupt

, .
The incline was so sharp that the E nglish

gunners could not see beneath them the farm
s i tuated i n the bottom o f th e valley which ,
w as the centre of the fight On June 1 8 .

,
1 8 1 5 the rain h ad r endered the steep road

,
44 VICT OR uuoo s
'
w o u xs .
more diffi cult and t h e troops not only had to

,
climb up but slipp ed in the m ud A long t h e .
centre of the crest of the plateau r an a sp e
cies of ditch wh i ch i t was impossible for a

,
d i stant observer to guess We will state what .
this ditch was Braine l A l l e u d is a Belgian

.
’
village an d Ch ain is another ; these vill ages ,
both concealed i n hollows are connected by ,
a road about a league and a half i n length ,
which traverses an u ndulating plain an d ,
frequently buries i tself between hills so as ,
to become at certain spots a ravine I n 1 8 1 5 .

,
as to day this road crossed the crest of the

-
,
pla tea u of Mont S t Jean : but at the present

.
day it is level with the ground whil e at that ,
t i me it was a hollow way The two slopes .
have been carr i ed away to form the monu

mental mound This road was an d stil l is
.
, ,
a trench for the greater part of the distance ;

a hollow trench i n some places twelve fee t
,
deep whose scarped sides were washed down

,
here and there by the winter rains A cci .
dents occurred there : the road w as so narrow

where it entered Braine l A l l eu d that a way ’
,
farer was crushed there by a wagon as is ,
proved by a stone cross standing near the

graveyard which gives the nam e of the dead
,
man as Monsieur Bernard Deb r u c trader

“
, ,
”
of Brussels and the date February
, , ,
It was so deep on the plateau of Mont S t .
Jean that a peasant one Mathieu Nicai se

, , ,
was crushed there i n 1 7 8 3 by a fal l of eart h ,
as is proved by another stone cross the top ,
of which disappeared in the excavations but ,
whose overthrown pedestal is still vi sible on

the grass slop e to the left of the road between
Ls s M I SERA B LES .
45
L a Haye S ainte and th e farm of Mont S t .
Jean On the day of the battle this hollow

.
,
way whose existence n othing revealed a

, ,
tren ch o n top of the escarp ment a rut hi d ,
d en i n the earth was inv i s i ble that i s to say

, , ,
te rr i ble .
CH A PT E R L X XII .
TH E EM P ER O R AS K S TH E G U I D E A Q U E ST I ON .
ON the morning of Waterloo t h en N ap o , ,
leon was cheerful and had reason to be so

, ,
for the plan h e had drawn u p was admirable .
O nce the battle had be gun its var i ou s inci ,
dents t h e resistance of H ou g omon t ; the

-
tenacity of L a Haye S a i nt e; Bauduin killed ,
and Foy placed h er s d e combat; the u n ex

p ec t e d wall against which S o y e s brigade was ’
broken ; the fatal rashness of Gu i l l e mi n ot .
who had no petards or powder bags to destroy -
th e farm gates ; The sticking of the artillery

in the mud ; the fifteen guns without escort
captured by U xbridge in a hollow way ; the
slight effect of the shells falling i n the E ng
lish lines which buried themselves i n the

,
moistened ground and only produced a vol

,
cano of mud so that the troops were m erely

,
plastered with m ud ; the inutility of Pi r et s ’
demonstration on Braine l A l l e u d an d the ’

,
w hol e of his calvary fifteen squadrons almost

, ,
annih i lated ; the E nglish right bu t slightly

di squieted an d the left poorly attacked ;
Ney s strange m i stake i n m ass i ng instead of
’
é ch el o n n i n g the fou r d i visions of the first

corps ; a depth of twenty seven ranks and a -
46 vr c r a u u o o s
'
o '
w o r ms .
li n e of two hundred me n given up i n this

w ay to the canister ; the frightful gaps made
by t h e cannon balls i n these m asses ; the at
-
tacking columns disun i ted ; the oblique bat

t er y suddenly u nmasked o n their flank ;
Bourgeo i s Don z e l o t an d Du r u t t e i n danger ;
, ,
Quiot repulsed ; L ieutenant V i ot that H er cu ,
les who came from the pol ytechnic school ,
wounded at the moment when he was beating

in with an axe t h e gates of L a Haye S ainte ,
under the pl unging fire of the E nglish barri

cade on the G enappe road ; M
ar co gn e t s
’
divis i on caught between infantry and caval

r y shot do w n from th e wheat by Best and
,
Pack and sabred by Ponsonby ; its battery of

,
seven guns spiked ; th e Prince of S axe Wei

mer holding and keeping i n defiance of
Co un t d E r l ou Fr i sch e mo n t of S mohain the
’
,
flags of the l o5 t h an d 4 5 th regiments which

he h ad cap t ured ; the Prussian black Hussar
sto pped by the scouts of the flying column of
three hundred chasseu rs who were beatin g ,
the country between Wa vre and Planceno i t ;

the alarming things which this man said ;
G rouchy s delay ; the fi fteen hundred men
’
killed i n less than an hour i n the orchard of

H ou go mo n t ; the eigh teen hundred laid l o w
even in a shorter space of time round L a
Haye S ainte ; all these stormy incidents
-
,
passing like battle clouds before N apoleon

-
,
had scarce disturbed his glance or cast a gloom

over this imperial face Napoleon was ao .
customed to look steadily at war ; h e never

reckoned up the poi gnant details ; h e cared
little for fi g ures provided th at they gave t h e
,
L ES M I S E R AB LES .
47
total — vi ctory If th e commencement went

.
wrong he did n ot alarm him self as he b e

, ,
l i ev e d hi mse l f master and owner of the end ;

he know how to wait an d treate d destiny ,
“
as an equal He seem ed to say to fate You
.
,
”
would not dare !
O ne hal f light one half shade Napoleon
, ,
felt himself pro tected i n good and tolerated

i n evil . There was or h e fancied there was
, ,
for him a connivance we might say almost a , ,
complicity on the part of events equivalent

, ,
to the ancient invulnerability and yet when ,
a man has behind him the B er e si n a L eipzig , ,
an d Fontainebleau i t seems as i f he ,
could defy Waterloo A mysterious frown .
becomes visible on the face of h eaven A t .
the momen t when Wellington retrograde d ,
Napoleon quivered He sud d enly saw the

.
plateau of Mont S t Jean deserted and the .

,
front of the E nglish army disappear The .
emperor half rai sed himself in his stirrups ,
an d the flash of victory passed into his eyes .
If Wellington w ere driven back into the

forest of S oignies and destroyed it would be ,
the definitive overthro w of E ngland by

F rance ; it would be Cressy Poi ct i er s Mal , ,
p l aq u e t and R amilies avenged

, the man of ,
Marengo would erase A gi ncou rt The em

p
.
e r o r whil e meditating on this tremendous

,
result turned his telesco p

, e to all parts of the
battl e fi el d
-
His G uards standing at ease
.
,
behind him gazed at him with a sort of r e

,
l i gi o u s awe He was reflecting he examined

.
,
the slopes noted the inclines scrutinized the

, ,
clum ps of trees the patches of barley and

, ,
the p aths ; he seemed to be counting every

48 V i e ro n RU GO ‘S w o rms
'
.
tu ft of gorse He looked with som e fi xi ty at

.
the E nglish barricades two large mass es of ,
felled trees the one on the G enappe road d e

,
fended by two guns the only ones o f all the,
E nglish artillery which com manded the b at

tle fi el d and the o n e on the Nivelles road
-
, ,
behind which flashed the Du tch bayonets of

Chass é brigade He remarked near this bar
.
ricade the old chapel of S t Nicholas wh i ch .

,
i s at the corner of the cross road lead i ng t o

Brai ne l A l l eu d He bent down and spoke
’
.
i n a low voice to the guide Lacoste The .
guide shook his head w ith a probably p er fi
d i ons negative .
The emperor drew himself up and reflected ;

Wellingt o n was retiring and all t hat was ,
needed now was to complete this retreat by an

overthrow Nap ol eon h urr i edly tu rned and
.
sent Off a m essenger at full speed to Pari s to

announce that the battle was gained Na .
p ol e o n was o n e of those geniuses from wh om
th under issu es an d he had j ust found h i s

M
,
thunder stroke he gave i l h au d s cuirass iers

’
-
orders to carry the plateau of Mont S t Jean . .
CH A PT E R L XXI I L
A S U R P RIS E .
T H E Y were three thousand fi ve hundred i n

number an d formed a fr ont a q uarter of a
,
league i n length ; they were gigantic me n

mounted o n colossal horses They formed .
twenty si x squ adrons and had behind them

-
, ,
as a sup p ort L efebvre Des n ou e t t e s d ivision

,
’
,
compos ed of the on e hun dred an d sixty g en

50 VI C T OR uueo s
'
w o ax s .
threatening and imperturbable ; between t h e

,
breaks i n the ar ti l lery and m usketr y fire .
the colossal tramp could be heard As th ey .
formed two divisions they were i n two col ,
u mn s : Wath i e r s division was on the right

’
,
De l or d s o n the left
’
A t a distance i t ap
.
p ee red as if two immense steel lizards were

crawli ng toward the crest of the plateau ; they
t raversed the battlefield like a flash .
Noth i ng like it had bee n seen since the

capture o f the great redoubt of the Moskova
by the heavy cavalry : Murat was missing but ,
N ey was there It seemed as i f this m ass had

.
become a m onster and had but o n e soul ;

,
each squadron undulated an d swelled li ke the ,
r ings of a polype This could b e seen thr ough

.
a vast smoke wh i ch was rent asunder at i h

t er vals ; it was a pell m e l l of helmets shouts
-
, ,
an d sabres a stormy bounding of horses among

,
cannon and a disciplined an d terrible array ;

,
while above it all flashed the cuiras ses like the

scales of the dr agon S uch narratives seemed
.
t o belong to another age ; something l ike this

vision was doubtless traceable i n the old Or
phean epics describing the me n horses the -
,
ancien t h i p p p whose Titans wi th

an t h r o i s ts ,
h uman faces an d equestri an chest whose gallop

escaladed O lympus — horrible sublime i h
, , ,
vulnerable beings gods and brutes It was a

, .
curious nu merical coincidence that twenty six -
battalions were preparing to receive the

charge of these twenty six squadrons Behind -
.
the cr est of the plateau in the shadow of the ,
mas ked batte r y t hi rteen E nglish squares

, ,
eac h of two battalions an d form ed t w o deep ,
wi t h seven men i n the first lines and six in

LES MI S ERA B LE S .
51
the second were waiting calm dumb and

, , , ,
motionless w i th their muskets for what was

, ,
coming They d id not see the cuirassiers

.
,
and the cuirassiers did not see them

they merely heard thi s tide of men
ascending They heard the swelling sound
.
of three thousand horses the alternating and

sym metrical sou nd of the hoof the clang of ,
the cuirasses the clash of the sabres and a

, ,
species of great and formidable breathing .
There was a long an d terr i ble silence and ,
then a long file of raised arms brandishing ,
sabres an d helmets and bugles and standards

, , ,
and three thousand heads with great mu s ~
“ ”
taches shouting L ong live the emperor !
,
appeared above the crest The whole of thi s .
cavalry debouched on the plateau and it was ,
li ke the com mencement of an earthquake .
Al l at once terribl e to relate the h ead of

, ,
the column of cuirassiers facing the E nglish

l eft reared with a fearful clamor On reach .
ing the culminating point of the crest fur i ous ,
and eager to make t heir exterminating dash on

the E nglish squares an d guns the cuirassiers ,
noticed between them and t h e E nglish a

trench a grave It w as the hollow roa d of
, .
C h ain
. It was a frightful m oment — the ,
ravine w as there unexpected yawning almost

, , ,
precipitous beneath the horses feet and with

,
’
,
a depth of twelve feet between its t w o s i des .
The second rank thrust the first into the

abyss ; the horses reared fel l back slipped , ,
with all four feet i n the air crushing and ,
throwing their riders There was no means .
of escaping ; the entire colum n was o n e huge

pro j ect i le The force ac q uired to cru sh the
.
52 VI CT OR u uoo s
'
w on x s .
E nglish cru shed the French an d th e i n e x

, ,
~
or a b l e ravine would not yield till it was filled

up M . en an d horses rolled into it p e l l mel l -
,
cru shing each other an d making one l arge ,
cham el house of the gulf and when t hi s

-
,
grave was fu l l of living men the rest passed

over them Nea rly on e third of D ubois
.
-
’
brigade roll ed into this abyss This com .
men ced the loss of the battle A local tradi .
tion which evi dently exaggerates says t hat

, ,
two thou sand hors es an d fifteen hundred me n

were buried i n the hollow way of Ch ain .
These figures probably comprise the other

co r pses cast into the ravine on the day after
the battle Napoleon before ordering this

.
,
charge h ad surveyed the ground but had

, ,
been unable to see this hollow w ay which ,
did n ot form even a ripple o n the crest of the

plateau Warn ed however by the little white
.
, ,
chapel which marks i ts j uncture with t h e

Nivelles road he had asked L acos te a ques
,
tion probably as to whether there was an y

,
obstacle The gu ide answered no an d we

.
,
might al most say that Napoleon s catastrophe ’
was brought about by a peasant s shake of the ’
head .
O ther fatalities were yet to arise Was it .
po ssible for Napoleon to win the battle We

answer i n the negative Why ? On account .
of Wellingt on o n account of Blucher ? No ; on

,
account of G od Bonaparte victor at Water .

,
loo did n o t harmonize with the law of the

,
1 9 t h cen t ury A nother series of facts was

.
preparing i n which Napoleon had no longer

,
a plac e : the i l l wi l l of events had been d i s

-
played long previousl y I t was time for this .

LES M I S E R A B LE S .
53
vast man to fall ; hi s excessive weight i n

human destiny disturbed the balance Th i s .
individual alone was of more account than

the universal group ; such plethoras of hum an
vitality concentrated i n a single head — the a
’
worl d mounting to one man s brain — would
,
be mortal to civilizat i on if they endured .
The moment had arrived for the incorruptible

supreme equity to reflect and it is probable ,
that the principles and elements o n which the

regular grav itations of the m oral order as of
the material order depend complained , .
S treaming blood over crowded graveyards

,
-
,
mothers i n tears are formidable pleaders

, .
When the earth is su ffering from an execs

sive burden there are mysterious groans from
,
the shadow which the abyss hears Napo

,
.
leon had been denou nced in i n fi n i t u d e an d ,
his fall was decided Waterloo i s not a bat

.
tle ; but a transformation of the un i verse .
CH A PT ER L XX IV .
TH E P L AT E A U OF M O N T sr . J E AN .
TH Ebattery was unmasked simultan eously

with the ravine — sixty guns and the thirteen
,
squares thu ndered at the cuirassiers at point

blank range The i ntrepid G eneral Del o r d
.
gave a military sal ute to the E nglish battery .
The whole of the E nglish field artillery had

entered the squares at a gallop ; the cu r as si e r s
h ad not even a momen t for reflection The .
disaster of the hollow way h ad decimated but

not discou raged them they were of that
,
nature of me n whose heart s grow large when

54 VI CT OR u u oo s
'
W ORKS .
their number is d i minish ed Wath i e r s co l .

’
u mn alo n e su ffered i n the di sa s ter : but De
lord s column which he had ordered to wheel

’
,
to the left as if he suspected th e tr ap ar

, ,
r i ved ent i re The cuirassiers ru shed at the

.
E nglish squares at full gallop wi th hangi ng ,
bridles sabres i n their mouths and p i stols i n

, ,
their hands There are moments i n a battle

.
when the soul hardens a man so that it ,
changes the soldier i nto a statue and all flesh ,
becomes granite The E nglish battalions

.
,
though fiercely assailed did not move Then , .
there was a frightful scene all the faces of ,
the E ngl i sh squares were attacked simultane

ou sl y and a frenzied whirl surroun d ed them
,
.
B ut the cold i nfantry rema i ned imp assive ;

the front rank k neeling received the cuiras
siers on their bayonets while the se cond fired ,
at them ; be h ind the second rank the artil

l er y men loaded their guns the front of the ,
square opened to let an erup tion of caniste r

p ass and then closed again The cu i ras si ers
, .
responded by att empts to crush their foe their

great horses reared leapt over t h e bayonet s
, ,
an d landed i n the centre of the four living

wal l s The cannon balls made gaps i n the
.
cuirassiers an d the cuirassiers m ad e breaches

,
i n the squares Files of men disappeared

.
,
t rampled down by the horses an d bayonets ,
were buried i n the entrails of these centau rs .
Hence arose horrible wounds such as were ,
probably never seen elsewhere The squa r es .

,
where broken by the i mpetuous cavalry con ,
t r ac te d without yi elding an i nch of ground ;

inexhaustible i n canister they produced an
explos i on i n t h e m i dst of the assailan t s The .
LES MI SERA B LE S .
55
aspect of this combat was monstrous : these

squares were no longer battalions but craters ;
these cuirassiers were n o longer cavalry bu t ,
a tempest —each square was a volcano at

,
tacked b y a storm ; the lava combated the

lightning .
The extreme right square the m ost exp osed ,
of all as it was i n the air w as nearly an n i h i

, ,
lated i n the first attack It was formed of .
the 7 5 t h H igh landers ; the pip er i n the centre ,
while his comrades were being exterminated

around him was seated on a d rum with his
, ,
p broch under his ar m and playing mountain

i
a i rs These S cotchmen died thinking of
,
.
,
B en L ot h ian as t he G reeks d i d remember i ng

, ,
A rgos A cu i r as si e 1 s sabre by cutting

.
’
,
through th e pibroch and the arm that held

it stop ped the tune by killing the player
, .
The cu i rassiers relatively few i n number

, ,
and reduced by the catastrophe of th e rav i ne ,
had against th em nearly the whole E nglish

army ; but th ey m ultiplied themselves and ,
each man was wort h ten S om e Hanover i an .
bat talions however gave way : Wellington

, ,
sa w it and thought of his cavalry Had .
Napoleon at this m oment thought of his i h

fan t r y the battle would have been won and ,
this forgetfulness was h i s great and fatal

fault All at once the assailers found them
.
selves assailed ; the E nglish cavalry were on

the i r backs before them the squares behind
, ,
them S omerset with the one thousand four

hundred d ragoon guards S omerset had o n .
his right Dornberg with the G erman ch e vau

legers an d o n his left Tri p with the Belgian
,
carbi neers : the c uirassiers attacked on the .

56 VI CT OR u uo o 's W ORK S .
flank and i n front before and behind by , ,
infantry and cavalry were compelled to make ,
a front on all sides But what did they care ?.
they were a whirlwind their bravery became ,
indescribable .
I n addition they h ad beh i nd them the

,
st i ll thundering battery and i t was only i n ,
suc h a way that these me n could be wounded

i n the back .On e of these cuirasses with a
hole through the left scapula is i n the ,
Waterloo Museum F or such Frenchmen .

,
nothing less than such E nglishmen was r e

quired I t was n o longer a mel é e it was a
.
,
headlong fu ry a h urricane of flas hing swords

, .
In an instant the one tho u sand four hund red

dragoons were only eight hundred ; an d Ful
ler their lieutenant colonel was dead N ey
,
-
, .
dashed up with L efebvre Desn ou e t te s lancers ’
an d chasseurs ; the plateau of Mont S t Jean .
wa s take n an d retaken an d taken agai n , .
The cuirass i ers left the cavalry to attack the

infantry or to speak more correctly all
, , ,
t hese me n collared each other and did n o t

loose their hold The squares still held o u t
.
after twelve assaults Ney had four horses .
killed under him and one half o f the ,

-
cu iras siers remained o n the plateau T his .
struggle lasted t wo hours The E nglish .
army w as profoundly shaken ; an d there is

n o doubt that had not t h e cuirass iers been
,
weakened i n their attack by the disaster of

the hollow way they would have broken ,
through the centre and decided the victory .
This extraordinary cavalry pe t rified Cli nton ,
who had seen Tal avera an d Bad aj oz Well .
i n g to n three parts vanquished adm ired h e

, ,
53 mo m s u n c o s W ORKS '
.
left wing asked for rei n forcements There .
”
are none Wellington replied A lm ost at
, .
the same mome n t by a strange coincidenc e ,
which depicts t he exhaust i on of both arm i es ,
N ey asked Napoleon for i nfantry an d Napo ,

“
leon answered Infan try ? where does he
,
expect me to get them ? Do es he th i n k I

”
ca n make them ?
S till the E nglish army was the worse o f

the two the furious attacks of t h ese great
,
squadrons with their iron cuirasses an d steel

chests had cru shed their i n fantry A fe w .
men round the colors m arked the place of a

regi ment an d some battalio n s were only
,
commanded by a captain o r lieu t enant .
Alten s division already so maltreated at

’
,
L a Haye S ainte was nearly destroyed ; ,
the intrep i d Belgians o f Van K l u z e s ’
brigade lay among the wheat along the

N i velles road ; hardly any were left of
those D utch G renadiers who i n 1 8 1 1 , ,
fought Wellingto n i n S pain o n th e Frenc h ,
side and who i n 1 8 1 5 joined the E nglish

, , ,
and fought Napoleon The loss i n officers .
was considerable ; L ord U xbri dge w h o had ,
his leg interred the next day had af r act u r ed ,
knee . If on the side of the French i n

this contest of the cuirassiers B elord l H er e ,
’
tier Colbert Du o f Travers and Blancard

, , ,
were l i ar s d e combat on the side o f the E ng ,
lish A lten was wounded Barnes was wounde d

, , ,
Delancey k i l l ed Van Meeren killed Omp

,
t ed a ,
killed Wellington s st afi decimated an d

’
, ,
E ngland had the heavi est scale i n this

balance of blood The 2 d regiment O f foot.
guards h ad lost fi ve lieu tenant colonels four -

,
LES MI SE R A B LES .
59
captains an d three ensigns ; the firs t oat

,
talion of the 3oth had lost twenty four of -
fi ce r s an d one hundred and twelve m en ; the

,
7 9th Highlanders had twenty four offi ce r s -
wounde d and eighteen offi cers and fou r

,
h undred and fifty men killed Cu mberland s .

’
Hanoverian Hussars an entire regi m ent , ,
hav i ng t h eir Colonel Hacke at the ir h ead ,

wh o at a later date was tried and cashiered ,
turned bridle during the flig h t and fled into

the forest of S oignies spreading the route as ,
far as Brussels The wagons am mu nition

.
,
trains baggage trains an d ambulance carts

, ,
full of wounded o n seeing the French gave

, ,
ground an d approaching the forests rushed

,
into it ; the Dutch sabred by the Frenc h ,
caval ry broke i n confusion From Vert

, .
!
Coucou to G roenendael a distance of two ,
leagues on the Brussels roads there was ao , ,
cording to the testi mony of living wi tnesses ,
a dense crowd of fugiti ves an d the panic was ,
so great that it assailed the Prince de Cond é

at Mechl i n an d L ou is XVI II at G hent . .
With the exception of the weak reserve

é ch el o n n ed behind the field h ospital estab
l i sh ed at the farm of Mont S t Jean and .
,
Vivian s an d V an d el eu r s brigades wh i ch
’ ’
,
flanked t h e left wing Wellington had no ,
cavalry left and many of the guns lay d i s

,
m ounted These facts are confessed by

.
S i b or n e and Pringle exaggerat i ng the d an

, ,
ger goes so far as to state that the A nglo

,
D utch army was reduced to thirty four -
thousand men The Iron D uk e rem ained

.
fi r m bu t his lips blanched

, The A us t rian .
commissioner Vincent and t h e S panish com ,

80 VI CT OR H UGO S W ORK S ‘ .
missioner A lava wh o were present at the

,
’
battle thought the Duke lost ; at five o clock
,
Wellington looked at his watch an d coul d ,
“ ”
b e heard mu t tering B l i i ch er or night
,
.
It was at this moment that a distant l i ne

o f bayonets glistened o n the heights o n t h e
side of Fr i sc hemo n t Th i s was t h e cl i max

.
o f t h e gigantic drama .
C H A PT ER L XX V .
B U L O W TO TH E R E SC U E .
E V E RY B O D Y kn ows Napoleon s a wful mi s ’
take ; G rouchy expected B l ii c h er coming u p , ,
death instead of l i fe Destiny h as such tu rn

.
ings as this ; men anticipate the throne of

the worl d and perceive S t Helena If t h e
,
. .
little shepherd who se rved as gu ide to 3 6l o w ,
B l ucher s lieutenant had advised him Ru l e

’
,
bouche from t h e forest above F r i sch emdn t ,
instead of below Plancenoi t the form of the ,
nineteenth century would h ave been d i ff erent ,
for Napoleon would have w on the battle of

Waterloo By any other road than that b e
.
l o w Plancenoit t h e Pru ssian army w oul d have

come upon a ravine i mpas sable b y artil lery , ,
an d B ul ow would not have arrived N o w on e

hour s delay— th e Prussian general M
.
’
u fli i n
g
declares i t— and B l ii ch e r would n ot have
found Wellington erect the battle was ,
”
lost. It was high time as we see for B ulow , ,
to arrive and as it was he had been gr eatly

,
delayed He had bivouacked ar D ieu l e

.
-
Mont an d started at d aybreak but the roads ,
we r e i mp r ac ti cable an d his d i vis i on stuck i n

,
LES M I SERA B LES . 61
the mud The ruts came up to the axle tree

.
-
of t h e guns ; m oreover he was compelled to ,
cross the Dyle by the narrow bridge of Wavre :

the street leading to the bridge had been
bu rnt by the F rench and artillery train and
,
limbers which could not pass be t ween t h e

,
two rows of blazing houses were compelled ,
to wait till the fire was ext i nguished By .
midday B ii l ow s vang u ard had scarce reached

’
Chapelle S aint L ambert .
Had the action begun t wo h ours sooner it ,

’
would have been over at four o clock and B l u ,
cher would have fallen upon th e battle gained

by Napoleon A t m idday the emper or had
.
,
been the first to notice through his telescope

on the extreme horizon something which fixed ,
his attention an d he said

, I see over there ,
”
a cloud which appears to m e to be troops .
“
T h e n di e asked the D uke of Dalmatia S oult , ,
wl
“
do you see in the direction of C hapelle
”
S aint L ambert ? The m arshal after looking ,
through his telescope replied F ou r or fi ve

, ,
”
thousand m en Sire , It was evidently
.
G rouchy still they remained mot i onless i n

,
the mist A ll the s tafl exam ined the cloud

.
pointed out by the emperor and some said , ,

“ ”
They are columns halting but the ma ,
j or i t y were of opinion that they were trees .
The truth is that the cloud did not move ,
and the emperor detached Do n cou l s division ’
of light cavalry to reconnoitre i n the direction

of this dark point .
B ii l o w i n fact had not stirred for his

, , ,
vanguard was very weak and could e ffect

n othing . He was obliged to wai t for the
main body of t h e arm y and had orde r s t o ,
62 VI CT O R H U G O S W O R K S ’
.
conc e ntrate his troops before forming line ;

’
but at fi ve o clock B l ii ch er seeing Welling, ,
’
ton s danger ord ered B ii l o w to attack and
, ,
em ployed th e remarkable phrase We must ,

”
l e t the E nglish army breathe A s h ort time .
after L o sth i n s Hiller s H acke s and Rys

,
’
,
’
,
’
,
’
sel s bri gades deployed in front of L ob au s ’
corps t h e cavalry o f Prince William of Pru s

,
sia debouch ed from the Bois d e Pari s Plance ,
n o i t was i n flam es an d the Prussian ca n non

,
b alls bega n pouri ng eve n upon the r an ks of

the guard h eld i n reserve behind Napoleon .
C H A PT ER L XXVI .
TH E G UA R D .
TH rest is known — the irruption o f a

E ,
t hi rd army ; the battle dislocate d ; eighty six -
cannon thu ndering simultaneously ; Pirch I .
coming up with B i i l o w ; Z i et h e n s cavalry led ’
by B l ii ch er i n person ; the F rench d riven

M
back ; ar cogn et swept from the plateau of
O hain ; Du ru t te d islodged from Pap el ot t e
Don z el ot and Q u i e t falling back L obau at

tacked on the flan k a n e w battle rush ing at
night fall on the weakened F rench regiments ;
-
the whole E nglish line resu ming the o ffensive ,
an d pushed forward the gi gantic gap mad e

i n the French ar my by the combined E n g
lish an d Prussian batteries ; the ex termina
tion the disaster i n front the disaster on the
, ,
flank and the guard forming li ne amid this

,
fear ful convulsion A s they felt they were .
“
going to death they shouted , L ong live ,
”
the emperor ! History has nothing m ore
63
stri king than this death rattle break i ng o u t -
i nto acclamations The sky had been covered

.
t h e whole day but at this very moment

, ,
eigh t o clock in the evening t h e clouds

’
,
parte d i n the hori zon an d the s i nister red

,
glow of t h e setti ng sun was visible through

the elms o n the Nivelles road It h ad been .
seen to rise at A usterlitz .
E ach battal ion of the guard for this d e ,
n ou emen t wa s ,commanded by a general

F riant Michel R ogn et Harlot Mallet an d
, , , , ,
Pont de Morvan were there When the tall

, .
bearskins of the G renad iers of the guar d with

the large eagle device appeared symmetr i cal ,
i n line an d cal m i n the twilight of this fight

, ,
the enemy felt a respect for F rance ; they

fancied they saw twenty victori es entering
the battlefield with outstretched wings an d ,
the men who were victors esteeming them ,
selves vanquished fell back but Wellington

,
”
shouted , U p g uards and take steady aim
, , .
The red regimen t of E nglish gu ar d s which ,
had been lying down behind th e hedges ro se ; ,
a storm of canister ren t the tricolor flag w av

ing above the heads of the F rench all rushed
forward and t h e supreme carnage co m
,
me n ced . The imperial guard fel t i n the

d arkness the army giving way arou nd them ,
an d the vast staggering of the rout : they

heard the cry of S au ve qu i p
“
en t !
”
sub eti
“
t u t ed for the Vive l em pereur and with
’
fligh t behind them they continued to advance ‘

,
’
hundreds falli n g at every step they took .
None hesitated or evi nced timidity ; the pri

vates were as heroic as t h e generals and not ,
o n e attempted to escape suici d e .

64 VICT O R H U GO S W ORK S ’
.
Ney wild an d grand i n the consciousness

, ,
o f accepted death o ff ered himself to every

,
blow in this combat He had h i s fifth h o r se .
killed under him h ere Bathed i n p er s p

i ra .
~
tion with a flam e i n his eye an d foam o n

, ,
his lips his u niform u nbu ttoned one of his

, ,
epaulettes h alf cut th rough by the sabre c u t

- -
of a h o r segu ar d and his decoration of the

,
great eagle dinted by a bull et — blee d ing , , ,
m uddy magnificent and holding a broken

, ,
“
sword i n his hand he shouted Come an d
, ,
see h o w a m arshal of Fr ance d i es on the

battle fi el d
-
Bu t it was i n va i n ; he d i d
not die He was haggard an d indignant an d
.
,
“
h urled at Drouet d E r l on the question A re ’
,
”
y o u not going to get yourself killed ? He
yelled amid the roar of all this artillery ,
crus hi ng a handful of men “

O h ! there is ,
nothing for me I should like all these E ng

”
lish cannon balls to enter my chest !
-
You
were rese r ved for F rench bullets u n fortu n ate ,
man .
C HA PT ER L X X V II .
TH E CATASTRO P H E .
TH rout in the rear o f the guard was

E
m ou rnful ; the army suddenly gave way on

all sides simultaneou sly at H o u go mo n t La , ,
Haye S ainte Pap el ot t e an d Plancenoit

, , .
“ ”
The cry of treachery was followed by that
”
of S auve qu i peut ! A n army which dis
bands is like a tha w — all gi ves way cracks , , ,
fl oats rolls falls comes into collision an d

, , , ,
dash es fo r war d N ey bo r r ows a h or se, leaps

.
a
s vrc'r o n s uc o s W OR K S
'
.
air block u p the road an d supply op p ortu n i

M
,
ti es for massacre e n cru sh each other an d

.
trample over t h e dead an d over t h e liv i ng .
A multitude wild wi t h terror fi l l the roads ,
t h e pa t hs the bridges the plains the hills

, , , ,
th e valleys an d the woods which are , ,
thro n ged by this fligh t of forty thou sand

m en .Cries d espera t ion ; knapsacks an d
,
m uskets cast into the wheat ; passages cut

wit h the edge of the sabres no com rad es n o ,
offi cers n o generals recognized — an i n d escr i b

,
able terror Z iethen sabr i ng France at h i s

.
ca se . The lions become kids S u ch was .
this fight .
A t G enappes an e ffort was made to turn an d

,
r ally ; L obau collec t ed t hree h u ndred me n ; the
entrance of th e village was barricaded but at ,
the first round of Prussian caniste r all began

flying again an d L obau was mad e prisoner
, .
This shot may sti l l be seen b u ried i n t h e ,
gable of an old brick h ouse on the ri ght of

the road j us t before you reach G enap p
, es .
The Pr ussians dashed into Genappes doub t ,
less fur i ou s at being such small victors and ,
the pursuit was mons t rous for Bl u cher com ,
m e nded extermination R ogu et had gi ven .
the m ou rnful example of threatening with

death an y F rench G renadier who brough t i n
a Prussian prisoner and Blucher s u rpas sed ,
R o gu e t D u c hes me general of the young

.
,
gua r d wh o was p
, ursu ed into the door way of
an i n n i n G enappes su rren d ered h is sword ,
to an Hussar of d eath w h o took the sword ,
an d killed the pri soner The victory was .
completed by t h e as sassination o f the van

q u i s h ed Let us punis h as we are writing
.
LES MI S ERA B LES .
67
hi story old Bl ucher dishonored himself

,
-
.
This ferocity set the seal o n the disas ter ;

the desperate rout passed thro u gh G enappes ,
passed throu g h Quatre Bras passed through ,
S o mb r efl e passed through F rasnes passed

, ,
through Thu in passed th ro u gh Charleroi , ,
and only stopped at the frontier A las an d .
w h o was it flying i n th i s way ? The grand

army .
D id th is vertigo th is terror this over , ,
throw of the greatest bravery that ever aston

i s h ed h istory take place withou t a cause ?
,
No The shadow of a m ighty righ t hand is

.
cast over Waterloo ; it is the day of d est i ny ,
an d the force which is above man produced

that day Hence the terror hence all those
.
,
great souls laying down th ei r s wor d s T h ose .
who had conquere d E urope fell crushed , ,
having nothing m ore to say or do and feeling ,
a terrible presence in the Sh adow H oe er at .
i n f al l s On that day the persp ecti ve of

'
.
,
the human race was change d an d Waterloo ,
is the hinge o f the 1 9 th century The dis .
appearance o f the great man was n ecessary

for t h e advent of the great age and He who ,
cannot be answered 11 n d e r t o o k the task The .
panic of t h e h eroes admits of explanation in

the battle of Waterloo there is more than a ,
storm there is a m eteor .
A t nightfall Bernard and B ertrand seized

,
by the skirt of hi s coat i n a field near G enap

pes a haggard thoughtful gloomy man
, , , ,
who carried so far b y the cu rrent of the

,
r e n t had j ust d ism ounte d passe d the bridle

, ,
over his arm and was n ow with wanderi ng

, ,
eye returning alone to Wa t erloo It was

, .
ss VI CT OR u u cos W ORKS .
Napoleon t h e immense somnambulist of th e

,
s h atte r ed dream still s t riving to ad vance .
CH A PT ER L XX VIII .
TH E L A ST S Q U A R E .
A FE squares of the guard stand i ng

W ,
motionless in the s was h of the r e n t like ,
rocks in runni n g wate r hel d out till nigh t , .
They awaited the double shad ow of night

and d eath an d let them surround t h em
, .
E ach regimen t isolated from the othe r s and

, ,
no longer connected wi t h t h e arm y wh i ch

was b r oken on all si d es die d w here i t stoo d , .
I n order to perform this last ex p loi t they ,
had t aken up a position some on the height ,
of R o sso mme o t hers o n the plai n of Mon t

,
S t Jean
. The gloomy s q u ares d eserted
.
, ,
conquere d and terrible struggled fo r mi d

, .
ably with dea t h for U lm Wagram Jena , , , ,
an d F riedlan d were dying i n i t When .
twilight set in at nine in the evening one .
square still rem ained at the foot of the pla

teau Of Mont S t Jean In this m ou rnful
. .
valle y at the foot of t h e slope scaled b y the

,
cuirassiers n o w inundated by the E nglis h

,
masses beneath the conve r ging fire of the

,
hostile and v i ctoriou s art illery un d er a fear ,
ful hailstor m of projec t iles this square still ,
resisted I t was com manded by an obscure

.
offi cer of the n ame of Camb r onne A t each .
volley the square diminishe d b u t conti nu ed to ,
reply to the canister with m usketry fire and ,
each mom ent contracted its four walls .
Fu gi tives i n the distance stoppin g at me ,

LES MI SERA B LES . 69
ments to draw breath listened i n t h e dark

-
,
ness to this gloomy dim i nishing thunder .
When this leg i on had bec o me only a hand

ful when their colors were but a rag when
, ,
their amm unition was exhau sted an d ,
muskets were clubbed and when the pile of

,
corpses was greater than t h e liv i ng group ,
the vi ctors felt a species of sacred awe and ,
the E nglish artillery ceased fir i n g It was a .
sort of respi te t h ese combatants had aro u nd

them an army of spectres ou t lines of ,
m ounted men the blac k pro fi le of gu ns and

, ,
t h e whi t e S ky visible throug h the W heels t li e

colossal d eath s head which heroe s ever
’
glimpse i n the smoke of a battle advanced ,
and looked at them They could hear in the

.
twilight gloom that the gu ns were being

loaded the lighted matches resembling the ,
eyes of a tiger i n the night formed a circle

,
round their heads The linstocks of the

.
E nglish batteries approached the g u ns and ,
at t his moment an E nglish general Colville ,
according to some Maitland according to

,
others holding the supreme m oment sus

,
pended over the heads of these men shouted ,

“ ”
to t h em Brave F renchmen surrender !
Mer de
, ,
”
Cambronne answered , .
70 V I CTOR R U G O S W OR K S
'
.
CA M B RO NN E .
the F rench reader desires to be respect

As
ed the most sublime W ord ever uttered by
,
an y French man cannot be r epeated Post .
no sublimity o n history .
A t o u r own ri sk and peri l we will defy t hi s

notice .
A mong t h ese giants t h en there was 3 , ,
T itan C ambronne,
.
To utter this word and then die w h at ,
could be m ore grand To die is to be will

ing to die an d it is not the fa u lt of this man
, ,
if mowed by grape shot h e survi ved

,
-
, .
The man who gained t he battle of Wate r

l oo w as n o t Napoleon with his routed army
it was not Welling t on giving way at four ,
’
o clock and desperate at five it was n o t
,
B l ii ch er f o r he had not fought —the man w h o

, ,
w o n the battle of Waterloo is Cambronne .
To smite with the lightning of such a wor d

th e thunderbolt w h ich k il ls you is to be v i c
t or i ou s .
To make su ch a reply to disaster to say ,
this to destiny to lay such a base for the ,
future lion to hurl this answer to the rai n

,
of the night to the treacherous wal l of ,
H o u go mon t to the hollow road of C h ai n t o

, ,
the delay of G rouchy to the arrival of ,
B l i i ch er to be irony i n the t omb to stand

, ,
erect as it were after one shall have fal len

, , ,
to submerge i n t wo syllables the E uro p e an
coalition to present to kings the latri nes

,
LES M I S ER AB LE S .
71
already known by the C a esars to make the ,
l as t of words t h e first by i mparting to it t h e,
br illiancy of F rance to insultingly clos e ,
Waterloo by S hrove Tuesday repartee to ,
complete L eonidas by R abelais to su m up ,
this victory in on e suprem e word i mpossible ,
to pronounce to lose ground and preserve

,
history after such a carn age to have the

,
laughers on you r si d e — this is i mmense , .
It is to defy the lightning wi th E sch yl ean

grandeur .
T he u tterance of Cambronne h as t h e effect

of a breakage It is th e breaking of th e bosom
.
by disdain it is th e excess of th e agony

,
which makes the ex p losion Who conquered ? .
Wellington N 0 W i tho u t Bl ucher h e had

.
been lost Is i t Bl uch er ? N 0 If Welling

. .
ton had not begun B l ii cher could not have

,
fin i shed This Cambronne this passer b y at

.
,
-
the last ho u r this u nknown sold ier this i h

, ,
finitely little b i t of the war feels that th ere is ,
a l i e be nea t h the cat astroph e doubly b i tter ;

an d at the instan t when h e is bu rsti ng with
rage they o fl er hi m that absur d ity— li fe !
’
H ow co u ld he re frain from breaking out .
There t h ey are al l the kings of E urope

, ,
the lucky generals the thundering Joves ; ,
they have one hundred thousand v ictorious

soldiers ; behi nd them a hundred thousand , ,
a mill ion ; their cannon with matches lighted , ,
are gaping ; they have under their heels the

Imperial guard and the G rand army ; they
h ave crushed Napoleon Cambronne only r e ,
mains — only this earth worm i s left to pro

,
-
test an d he will protest

, .
He looked for a word as he would for a

72 VI C T OR uu o o s
'
W ORK S .
sw ord F oam is on his lips and this foam i s

.
,
the word I n presence of this victo r y p

. ro ,
di gi ou s yet commonplac e of this victo r y ,
wi thout victors the desperate man erects

,
h imself ; he submits to its magnitude but he ,
demonstrates its nothingness ; he does more

than Spit on i t and u nder the cru shing load
,
o f numbers force a n d material h e fi nds for

, ,
his soul one sole term— ex cr emen t .
We repeat it to say this to do t hi s to i h

, , ,
vent this is to be the victo r

, .
A t th i s fated moment the S pi ri t of the

great days entered this unknown man Cam .
bronne found the word of Waterloo as R o u

get de l I sl e found the M
’
ar s ei l l ms e by an i h
spiration from o n high A breath of the .
div i ne hurricane passed over these m en an d ,
they sh uddered ; on e sings the supreme song ,
the other utters the fearful cry This word .

,
fu ll of Titanic scorn was hurled by Cam ,
b ron n e not only at E urope in the name of

the E mpire — that would have b een lit tle
, ,
but at the pas t i n the name of the R evol u

tion .
We hear and see i n Cambronne the old

soul of the giants ; it seems as if Danton were
Speaking or K leber roaring .
To Camb r on n e s exclamation an E nglish

’
,
'”
voice replied Fire The batteries fl as hed
, ,
the hillside trembled from all these throats ,
of brass came a last eruption of gra pe a vast ,
cloud of smoke vaguely whitened by the ris

i ng moon rolled up and when t h e smoke h ad,
been d issipated there was nothing The .
dreaded remnant w as annihilated the guard ,
was dead The four walls of the living r e

.
74 VICTOR u u eo s '
W ORK S .
part ; but i f we tak e Waterloo from Welli ng

ton an d B l ii ch e r does th at deprive E ngland
,
an d G ermany o f any thing ? No Neither .
illustrious E ngland nor august G ermany i s

i n ques t ion i n the problem o f Waterloo for ,
thank heaven nations are great without t h e

,
mournful achievem ents of the sword Ne i .
ther G ermany nor E ngland n or Fr an ce i s

'
held i n a scabbard ; at thi s day when Water

l oo is only a clash of sabres G ermany has ,
G oethe above B l i i ch e r and E nglan d Byron

,
above Wellingto n A m ighty dawn of ideas

.
is peculiar to our age and in this dawn E ng

,
land and G ermany have their own magn i fi

cen t flash They are majestic because they
.
think ; the high level they bring to civiliza ~
tion is i ntrinsic to them ; it comes from

themselves and n ot from an accident A n y .
aggrandizement the 1 9 t h century may have

cannot boast of Waterloo as its founta i n
head ; for only barbarous n ations grow su d
d en l y after a victory i t i s the transient v an
—
ity of torrents swollen by a storm Civil ized .
nat i ons especially at the present day are not

, ,
elevated or debas ed by the good or evil for

tune of a capta i n and their specific weight
,
i n the human family results from something

more than a battle Their honor di gnity
.
, ,
enlightenment an d genius are not nu mbers

, ,
wh i ch those gamblers h eroe s an d conquerors

, ,
can stake i n the lottery of battles Very .
often a battle lost is progress gained an d less ,
of glory more of liberty T h e d rum mer i s .
silent an d reason speaks ; it is the game Of

wh o loses wins L et us then sp
. eak of , ,
Waterl oo col dl y from both sides an d render ,

L ES M I S ERA B LES .
75
to chan ce the things that belong to chance ,
an d to G od what is G od s What is Waterloo

’
.
,
— a vic t ory ? No
; a quine i n the lottery won ,
by E urope and paid by France ; it was hardly

worth while erecting a l i on for i t .
Waterloo by the way is the strangest en

, ,
~
counter recorded i n history; Napoleon and

Wellington are not ene mies but contraries , .
Never did G od who delights in antitheses

, ,
produce a more striking contrast or a more

extraordinary confrontation On o n e side .
precision foresight geometry prudence a

, , , ,
retreat assured reserves prepared an ob st i

, ,
nate coolness an imperturbable method

, ,
strategy profiting by the ground tactics ,
balancing battalions carnage measured by a ,
plum line war regulated watch i n hand noth

-
, ,
i n g left voluntarily to accident old classic ,
courage and absolute correctness On the

“
other Side we ha ve intuition divination mili , ,
tary strangeness superhuman instinct a

, ,
flashing glance ; something that gazes like

the eagle and strikes like lightning all the ,
mysteries of a profou nd m ind association ,
with destiny : the river the plain the forest , ,
an d the hill summoned and to some extent ,
compelled to obey the despot going so far

, ,
as even to tyrannize over the battle fi el d ; -
faith in a star blended with strategic science ,
heightening but troubling it Wellington

, .
w as the B ar e me of war Napoleon was its ,
Michael A ngelo and this tru e genius was

,
conqu ered by calculation On both sides .
som ebody was expected ; and it was t h e ex

act calculator who succeeded
-
Napoleon .
waited for G ro u ch y who did n ot come : Wel

,
76 VICT OR H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
l i n gton waited for B l ii ch er and he came . .
Wellington is the classical war taking i ts

r evenge ; Bonaparte i n his dawn had met it ,
i n Italy and superbly defeated i t — the Ol d ,
o w l fled before the young vulture The Ol d .
tactics had been not only overthrown but ,
scandalized Who was this Cors i can of S i x

.
and twenty years of age ? what m eant th i s

-
splendid ignoramus w h o having everything ,
against him nothing for h im without p

, ro ,
visions ammu nition guns Shoes almost

, , , ,
wi thout an arm y with a h andful o f men,
agai nst m asses dashed at allied E ur ope an d

, ,
absu rdly gained impossible victori es ? Wh o

was th i s n e w com er of war who possessed the
-
?
efi r on t e r y of a planet The academic m il i
tary school excomm u n icated him wh i le bol t ,
ing an d hence arose an implacable rancor of

,
the old Cassar i s m against the new of the old ,
sabre against the flashing s word and of the ,
chess board against genius On June 1 8t h

-
.
‘
,
1 8 1 5 thi s rancor got the best ; and beneath

M
,
L o di Montebello Montenotte Mantua

, , a , ,
rengo and A rcola it wrote — Waterloo It

, , , .
was a triumph of m ediocrity sweet to ma ,
jo r i t i es and destiny consen ted to this irony

, .
I n his decline Napoleon found a young S u

,
varov before him — i h fact it is only n ece s

, ,
sary to blanch We l lington s hair i n order to ’
have aS u var o v Waterloo is a battle of the

first cl as s gained by a ca p
, tain of the second .
What must be admi r ed i n the battle of

Waterl oo is E ngland the E n gl i sh fi rmnes s , ,
the E nglish resolution t h e E ngli s h blood , ,
and what E ngland had really superb i n it is ,
( without Offence ) herself ; it is not her cap

L ES MI SERA B LES .
77
tain but her army Wellington strangely

, .
,
ungratefu l declares i n h i s despatch to Lo rd

,
Bathurst that his army the one which fought

, ,
“ ”
on June 1 8 t h 1 8 1 5 was a
, detestable army
, .
What d oes the gloomy pile of bones buried

i n the trenches of Waterloo th i nk of this ?
E ngland h as been too modest to hersel f i n
her treatment of Well i ngton for mak i ng him ,
so great i s making herself small Welling .
t on i s merely a h er e like any other m an .
The S cotc h G reys the L ife G uar d s Maitland

, ,
and M i tchell s regi ments Pack and K empt s

’
,
’
i nfantry Pon sonby and S omerset s caval r y

,
’
,
the H i ghlanders playi ng the bagp i pes under

the Shower of canister R ylan d s battalions ,
’
,
the fresh recru i ts who could hardly manage

a musket and yet held th eir ground against
,
the old bands of E ssling an d R ivoli all this '

—
i s grand Wellington was tenacious that

.
,
was his m eri t and we do not deny i t to him

, ,
but th e lowest of h i s privates an d his troop

e s was quite as solid as h e and t h e iron ,
soldier is as good as th e iron d uk e For our .
part all our glo r ification is o ff ered to t he

English soldier the E nglish army the E ng
, ,
lish n ation ; an d if there m ust be a trophy ,
it is to E ngland that t h is trop h y is owing .
The Waterloo col um n would be m ore ju st if , ,
instead of the figu r e of a man it raised t o ,
th e clo u ds the statu e of a people .
But this great E ngland W 1l l be i rritated by

what we are writing here ; for she still has
fe udal illusions af t er her 1 68 8 and the
, ,
F rench 1 7 8 9 This peo p

. le believes in i h
heritance and hierarchy an d W hile n o other ,
excels i t i n power and glory estee ms i tself ,

78 VI CT O R B U G O S W ORKS
’
.
as a nat i on and not as a people A s a peopl e .

,
i t readily subordinates itself and takes a lord ,
at i ts head ; the workman lets himself be d e

sp i s ed the soldier puts up with flogging It .
wil l be remembered that at the battle of In ,
ker man n a sergeant who it appears sav ed

, , ,
the British army could not be mentioned by ,
L ord Raglan because the military h i erarchy

,
does n ot allow any hero below the rank o f

officer to be mentioned i n despatches What .
we admire before all i n an encounter li ke ,
Waterloo i s the prodigious skill of chance

, .
The night rain the wall of H o u gomon t t h e

, ,
hollow way of O hai n G rouchy deaf to the ,
cannon Napoleon s guide deceiving him

,
’
,
B il low s guide enlightening him all this

’
-
cataclysm is marvello usly managed .
‘
A ltogether we will as s e r t t h er e i s more o f
, ,
a massacre than of a battle i n Waterloo .
Waterloo of all pitched battles is the on e

, ,
which had the smallest f r on t for such a n um

’
ber of combatants Napoleon s three quar .
,
-
’
ters of a league Wellin gton s half a league, , ,
and seventy two thousand combatants o n

-
eith er side From this density came the car

.
nage The following calculation has been

.
m a d e and proportion established : loss of

men at A u sterlitz French fourteen per
, , ,
cent ; R ussian thirty per cent ; A ustrian

.
,
.
,
forty fou r per cent ; at Wagram French

-
.
, ,
thirteen per cent ; Austrian fourteen p er .

,
cent ; at Moskova French thir ty seven per

.
, ,
-
cent ; R ussian forty four per cent ; at Bant

.
,
-
.
zen French thirteen p er cent R ussian and

, , .
Pr ussian fou rteen per cent ; at Waterloo

, .
,
French fi ft y six p ,er cent ; A l lies thirty o n e

-
.
,
-
LES MI SER AB LES .
per cent — total for Waterloo forty one per

,
-
cent or ou t of o n e hu ndred and forty four

.
,
-
thousand fighting men sixty thousand killed , .
T he field of Waterloo has at the present

day that calmness which belongs to the ea 1 th ,
an d resembles all pla n s but at night a sort , ,
of v i sionary mist rises from it and i f any ,
traveller w alk about i t and listen and dream ,
l i ke Virgil on the mournful plain of Phili pp i ,
the hallucination of the catastrophe seizes

upon hi m T he frightful J u n e 1 8t h l i ves
.
again th e false monume n tal h ill i s levelled

, ,
the wondrous lion is dissipated the battl e ,
fiel d resumes its reality lines of infantry u n ,
d u l at e o n the pla i n furiou s galloping crosses ,
the horizon ; the star tled dreamer sees the

flash of sabres the sparkl e of bayon ets the
, ,
red light of sh ells the monstrou s collision of ,
thunderbolts ; he hears like a death groan ,

-
from the tomb the vague clamor of the ,
phantom battle These shadows are gren a

‘
diers ; these flashes are cu irassiers ; this skel a

t on is Napoleon ; this skeleton is Wellington ;
all this is non existent and yet still combats
-
, ,
and the rav i nes are stained purple and the ,
trees 1 u s t l e and there i s fu y even i n the

,
r
clou d s and m the darkness while all the ste m ,
heights Mont S t Jean H o u gomo n t Fr i sche

,
.
, ,
m ont Pap ,e l ot t e and Plancenoit seem con

, ,
f u s edl y crowned by hosts of spectres exter

mi n at i n g on e another .
80 VI CT OR H U GO S wo rms ’
.
CH A PT ER L XXX .
OU GH I
‘
W AT E R L OO TO B E A PP L A UD E D ?
'
T H E R E exists a highly resp ectable liberal

sc h ool which does n o t detest Waterloo bu t
, ,
we do not belong to it F or us Waterloo is .
only the st u p e fi e d date of liberty ; for such
an eagle to issu e from such a shell is assur

e dl
y unexpected Waterloo. i f we place our ,
sel ves at the culminating point of t h e ques

tion i s intentionally a counte r revolutiona r y
,
-
victory — i t i s E urope against France ; it is

,
Petersburg B erlin an d Vienna against

, ,
Pa r is ; i t is the s fu t u q u o opposed to t h e i n
i t i at i ve ; it is the 1 4 th July 1 7 8 9 attacked , ,
through March 2 oth 1 8 1 5 ; i t i s all the mon ,
archies clearing the decks to conquer the i h

domitable French spirit o f revolt The .
dream was to extinguish this vast people

wh ich h ad been i n a state of eruption for
six and twenty years and for this purpose
- -
, ,
Bru nswick Nassau the R omano ffs H o e n z o l

, , ,
lern and the H ap s b u r er coalesced with the

g
Bou rbon s and Waterloo carries divi ne right
,
on its p i llion It is tr ue that as the E mpire

.
was despotic royalty by the natural reaction

, ,
of things was compelled to be liberal and a

, ,
constitution al order issued from Waterloo,

much to the regret of the conquerors The .
fact is tha t the R evolution can never be

,
really conque r ed and being providential an d

,
absolu te ly fatal it constantly reappears

, ,
before Waterloo i n Napoleo n overthrowing

the old thrones after Waterloo i n Louis ,
XVIII granting and endurin g the charter

.
.
32 VI CTO R H U GO B ’
W ORK S .
Ju ne 1 8 1 8 1 5 ; what encouraged Bl ucher i n

,
cutting d own the routed army ; and what

from t he plateau of Mon t Saint Jean h o v
ered over France like a prey — was the coun ,
ter revolution I t is the counter revolution

-
.
-
“
that muttered the hideous word dismember
”
ment b u t on reaching Paris it had a clos e
,
view of the crater it felt that the ashes ,
burnt i ts feet and it reflected It went back

, .
to the job of stammering a charter .
L et u s only see i n Waterloo what there

really is i n it There is no intentional l i b
.
e r ty for the coun ter revolu tion was i n v ol u n

,
-
tarily liberal i n the sam e way as Napoleon ,
through a correspond i ng phenomenon was ,
involuntarily a R evolu tionist On June 1 8 .

,
1 8 1 5 R obesp i erre o n horseback was thrown

, .
CH A PT E R L XX XI .
R E STO RA TI O N o r D I V I N E R I G HT .
W I T H the fall of the dictatorship an entire ,
E uropean system crumbled away an d the ,
empire vanished i n a shadow which resem

bled that o f the expiring R oman world .
Nations escaped from the abyss as i n the

time of the barbarians but the barbarism of ,
1 8 1 5 which could be called by its fam ili ar

,
nam e the counter revolution had but little

,
-
,
breath soon began to pant and stopped

, , .
The empire we confess was lam ented and

, ,
by heroic eyes and its glory consists i n the

,
swor d made sceptre — the empire was glory

-
,
itself It had spread over the whole eart h

.
all the light that tyranny can gi ve a di m ~
li ght we will say an obscure light for when

, , ,
compared with real day i t is night Thi s ,

.
LES MI SERA B LES .
88
disappearance of the night produced the

effect of an eclipse .
L ouis X VI I I r e entered Paris and the

.
-
,
dances of July 8 effaced the enthusiasm of ,
March 20 The Corsican became the an t i t h

.
esis of the B ear n ais and the flag o n the ,
dome of the Tuileries was white The exile .
wa s enthroned and the deal table of Hart

,
well w as placed before the fi eu r —de—lysed easy

chair of L ouis X IV People talked of Bou .
vines and Fontenoy as if they had occurred

yesterday while A usterlitz was antiquated
, .
The throne and the altar fraternized majes

tically and one of the most indubitable forms
,
of the welfare of society i n the 1 9 t h century

was established in France an d o n the Con
t i n e n t — E urope too k the white cockade .
T r est ail l on was celebrated and the motto n ee ,
p l u r i b u s i mp
’
air reappeared in the stone

beams representing a s u n on the front of the
barracks on the Quai d Or s a
, y Where there ’
.
had been an imperial guard there was a red ,

”
household ; and the arch of the Carrousel if ,
loaded with badly endured victories feeling ,
not at home i n these novelties and perhaps ,
slightly ashamed of Marengo and A rcola got

ou t of the diffi culty by accepti n g th e statue
of the Du e d A n go u l eme T h e cem etery of
’
.
the Madeleine a formidable public g r ave i n

,
9 3 was covered with m arble and jasper b e

’
, ,
cause the bones o f L ouis XVI and Marie .
A ntoinette were mingled with that d u st I n .
the moat of Vincennes a tomb em erged from

the ground as a rem inder that the Du e
,
d e E n gh i e n died there i n the same m onth i n

’
w h ich Napoleon was crowned Pope Pius .

‘
34 VICT O R H U GO S wo n x s .
VII w h o had performed the ceremony ve r y

.
,
close upon that d eath tranquilly blessed the ,
downfall as he had blessed the elevation

, .
There was at S ch onbrunn a shad ow four

years of age whom it was seditious to call
,
the king of R om e A nd these things took .
pl ace and these kings regained their thrones

, ,
and the master of E urope was pu t i n a cage ,
an d the old r egi me became the n e w an d the ,
light and the shadow of the earth changed

places because on the afternoon of a sum
,
mer day a peasant boy said to a Prussia n i n

,
”
a wood G o this way and not that !
,
That 1 8 1 5 was a sort of m elancholy A pril ;

the old u nhealthy and venomous realities as
sumed a new aspect Falsehood espoused .
1 78 9 divine right put o n th e mask of a

,
charter ; fictions became constitutional pre

ju d ices superstitions and after thoughts
, ,
-
,
having article fourteen in their hearts var ,
h ished themselves with liberal ism The

snakes cast their slough M
.
an had b e en at .
once aggrandized and lessened by Napoleon

idealism i n this reign of splen d id material
,
ism recei ved the strange name o f id eology

, .
It was a grave i i n p
r u d e n ce of a great man to
ridicule the f ut ure but the people that food , ,
for powder so amorous of gunners sought

, ,
“
h im . Where is h e 9 What is he doing ?
”
Napoleon is dead said a passer b y to an ,
-
invalid of Marengo and Waterloo He .
” “
dead 1 the soldier exclaimed ; m uch you
”
kno w abou t him ! Imaginations deified
this th row n man E u r ope after Waterloo .
was dark for s ome enormous gap was long

,
left unfilled aft er the disappearance of N ap o

LE S MI SER A B LE S . 85
l eon The kings placed themselves in this

.
gap an d ol d E urope took a d vantage of it to

,
eff ect a reformation There was a holy al

.
l i an ce— Belle A lliance the fatal field of

,
Waterloo had said beforehand In the pres .
ence of the old E urope reconstituted the ,
lineaments of a n ew France were sketched in .
The future derided by the emperor m ade

, ,
its entry and wore on its brow the star

L iberty The ardent eyes of the youthful
.
generation were turn ed toward i t but sin , ,
g ular to say they , simultaneously felt equally

attached to this future liberty and to the
past Napoleon Defeat had m ade t h e con
.
quered m an greater Napoleon fallen seemed

better than Napoleon standing on his feet .
Those who had triu mphed were alarmed .
E ngland had him guarded by H udson L owe

M
,
and France had him watched by o n t ch eme .
His folded arms became t h e an xiety of

thrones and A lexander christened him his
,
nightmare This terror resul ted from the

.
immense amount of revolu tion he had in

h im an d it is this w h 1ch explains and ex
,
cuses B o n ap ar t i s ti c l i beralism This phan .
tom caused the ol d world to tremble and ,
kings sat uneasily o n the i r thrones wi th the ,
rock of S t Helena on the horizon

. .
While Napoleon was d ying at L ongwood ,
the sixty thousand men w ho fell at Waterloo

rotted calmly and som ething of their peace
,
spread over the world The congress of .
Vienna converted it in to t h e treaties of 1 8 1 5 ,
and E urope called that the R estoration .
S uch is Waterloo but what d oes the I n fi

,
n i te care ? al l this tempest all this cloud , .

86 V I CT O R HU GO S W OR K S ’
.
this war an d then th i s peace al l this sh a

,
dow d id n ot for a mom ent disturb the flas h

of that m ighty eye before which a grub ,
leaping from o n e blade of grass to another ,
equals the eagle flying from tower to tower at

Notre Dame .
CH A P T E R L XXXII .
TH E B ATT L E F I EL D B Y
-
N I G HT .
WE must retu rn for it i s a necessi ty

, of t he
s tory to the fa tal battle fi el d o f J une 1 8
,
-
, ,
1 815 .The moon shone brig h tly and this ,
favored B l i i ch e r s ferocious pursuit de

’
,
n o u n ce d the trail of the fugitives surrendered ,
this disastrous crowd to the Prussian cavalry ,
an d ass i sted the massacre S uch tragi cal .
complacency of the night is witnessed at

times i n cat a strophes A fter the last cannon .
wa s fired the plain of Mont S t Jean r e .
mained deserted The E nglish occ upied th e

.
French encamp ment for the usual co n fi r ma ,
tion of victory is to sleep i n the beds of the

conquered They esta b lished their bivouac
.
a little beyond R o sso mme an d while t h e ,
Pr ussian s fol l o we d u p
'
the fugitives Welling ,
to n proceeded to the village of Waterloo to ,
draw u phis report for Lord Bath urst .
Were ever the S i c vos n on vob i s applicable ,
it is most certainly to this village of Water

loo which did nothing and was half al eagu e
, ,
away from the action Mont S t Jean was . .
cannonaded H o u go mon t bu rned Pap

,
el o t t e ,
bu rn ed Plancenoit burned L a Haye S ainte

, ,
carri ed by sto rm and La Belle A ll i ance w i t

,
LES M I SERA B LE S .
87
messed the embrace of the two victors but

these names are scarce known and Waterloo , ,
which did nothing during the battle has all ,
the honor of it .
We are n ot of those who flatter war and ,
when the opportunity offers we tell it the ,
t r uth War has frightful beauties which we

.
h ave n ot concealed but i t has also we must ,
allow some ugly features O ne of the most

, .
surprising is the rapid stripping of the dead

after v i ctory the dawn that follows a battle
always rises o n naked corpses Who does .
this ? Who sullies the triump h i n this way ?

Whose is the hideous furtive hand which slips
into the pocket of victory ? Who are the
vi llains dealing their stroke behind the
glory ? S ome philosophers Voltaire among ,
them assert that they are the very men who

,
h ave made the glory ; they say that those

who keep their feet plunder those lying on,
the ground and the hero of the day is the

,
vampire of the nigh t A fter all a man has .

,
t he right to strip a corpse of which h e is the

author We do not believe it however
.
,
reaping a crop of laurels and stealing the

shoes o f a d ead man do not seem to us pos
sible from the same hand O ne thing is cer .
tain that as a usual rule robbers come after

, , ,
the soldiers but we must leave the private

, ,
especially him of to day out of the question

-
.
E very army h as a tail and it is that which

must be accused Batlike beings half servants , ,
half brigands al l the species of the vesper tilio

,
whic h the twilight called war engenders ,
wearers of un i form who do n o t fight malin ,
ger e r s form idable invalids interloping sut

, ,,
88 VICT OR H UGO S W ORK S ’
.
lers trotting wit h thei r wives i n small carts

, ,
an d stealing things which they sell again ,
beggars o ff ering themsel ves as guides to

officers villains maraud ers — all these armies
, , , ,
marching i n former times ( we are not al l u d

i n g to the present day ) had with them so ,
that i n the special language they were called

, ,
“ ”
the stragglers No army and n o nation
.
were responsible for t hese beings — they ,
s poke Italian an d followed the G ermans ;

,
they spoke F r ench and followe d the E nglish .
It was by one of these scound rels a S panish ,
camp follower who spoke Fre n ch that the

-
,
Marquis de Fervacques decei ved by his ,
Picardy accent and taking him for a French

,
man was killed and robbed o n the battl e fi el d

,
-
during the night that follo w ed the victory of

Cer i so l l e s The detestable m axim L ive on
.
,
the enemy p r o duced this leprosy which

, ,
strict d i si p l i n e could alone cure There are '

.
so me reputations w h i ch d ecei ve and w e do ,
not al ways know why certai n generals in ,
o t her respects great became so popular , .
Turenne was adored by his troops because he ,
tolerated plu nder ; evil permitted is kindness ,
an d Turenne was so kind that he allowed the

Palatinate to be destroyed by sword an d fire .
A la r ger or smaller amount of marauders fol

lowed an army according as the chief w as
,
more or less severe Hoche an d Morceau

.
had no camp foll owers and Wellington we , ,
willingly do him the j usti ce of stating h ad ,
but few .
S till on the night of June 1 8 t h the de ad

, ,
were stri p ped Wellington w as strict ; he

.
ordered tha t every bod y caught i n the act

90 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORK S '
.
n ettles In t hi s cart a woman was seated on

.
,
chests an d bundles and there was probably ,
som e connect i on bet ween this cart and the

prowler There was n ot a cloud i n the sky
.
,
and though the grou nd m ay be blood red the ,
moon rema i ns white that is the indifference ,
of nature I n the field s branches of trees

.
br oken by cannon balls but still holding on -

,
b y the bar k waved softly in t h e night breeze

, .
A b r eath shook the brambles and t h ere w as ,
a qu iver i n the grass that resembled t h e

departu re of souls I n the distance could be .
confusedly heard the march of the E nglish

patrols an d rounds H ou go mo n t and L a .
Haye S ainte continued to burn ma king on e , ,
i n the west the other i n the east t wo large

, ,
bod i es of flames to which were joined the ,
E nglish b i vouac fires stretching along the ,
hi lls on the horizon i n an immense semi ,
c i rcle The scene produces the efl ect of an

.
unfastened ruby necklace wit h a carb u ncle ,
at e i ther end .
We have described the catas trop he o f t h e

Oh a i n road the heart is chill ed by the
,
—
thought of w hat this d eath had been fo r so

many brave men If there be an y th i ng.
frightfu l if there exist a reality which sur

,
pas ses d reaming it is this ; to live to see,

—
,
the sun to be in full possession of manly vi

,
gor ; to have health and joy ; to laugh vali

t l y ; to r u n toward a glory glitteri ng before
you ; to feel in your chest lungs that breath , ,
a h eart that beats an d a will that reasons ; to,
S peak to th i nk to hope to lo ve ; to have

, , ,
a mot her a wife and children ; to have

, ,
l i gl 1 t —an d then suddenly before there is

, ,
time for a cry to be hurled into an abyss
,
t o fall roll crush an d be crushed ; to see

, , ,
co rn stalks flowers leaves and branches an d

-
, , , ,
to be unable to hold on to any thing ; to feel

your sabre useless me n un d er you and horse s ,
over you ; to struggle i n va i n ; to have your

ribs fractured by som e kick i n the gloom ; to
feel a heel on your eyes ; to bite with rage
the horses bits ; to stifle to yell to writhe ;
’
, ,
t o be u nderneath an d say to yoursel f , A ,

”
moment ago I was a living man !
A t the spot where this lamen ta b l e disaster
occurred all was now silence The hollow
, .
way was filled with an inex t ricable pile o f

h orses an d their riders There was no slope .
n ow, for the corpses levelled the road with

th e plain and came u p flush to the top like
, ,
a fairly m easured bushel of barley A pile of .
dead at Opa stream of blood at bottom

-
, ,
such was the road on the night of June 1 8 ,
1 815 . The blood r an as far as the Nivelles

road and extravasated there i n a wi d e pool
, ,
i n front of the barricade at a spot which is ,
s till poi n ted ou t It will be remembered that

.
the destruction of the cuirassiers took place

at the opposite poi n t near the G enappe road , .
T he depth of the corpses was proportionate

to that of the hollow way ; toward the mi ddl e ,
at the spot where De l o r d s division passed ’

,
t he l ayer of dead was thinner .
The nocturnal prowler at whom we have ,
allowed the read er a glance proceeded i n ,
that direction sea r chi n g this immense tomb

, .
He looked aroun d and held a hideous review

of the dead ; he walked with his feet i n the
blood A l l at once he stop p

. ed A few paces .
‘
92 VIC T O R H U GO S W O R K S .
before h i m i n the hollow way at the poin t ,
where the pile of dead ended an open hand , ,
il l umined by the moon emerged from the ,
heap o f men an d horses This hand had on .
o n e finger something that glit tered an d w a s ,
a gold ring The man bent down an d when

.
,
he rose again there was n o l o nger a ring on

th is finger . He did not exactly rise ; b e r e
mained i n a savage and shy attitude turning ,
his back to the pile of dead investigating the ,
horizon supporting himself o n these tw o

,
fo r e fi n ge r s an d his head spy i ng over the

,
edge of the holl ow way The four paws of .
the jackal are suited for certain actions .
Then mak i ng u p his m ind he rose but at

, ,
the same m oment he started for he felt t hat ,
some o n e was holding him behind He .
turned and found that i t was the open hand

which had closed an d seized the skirt of h i s
coat . A n honest man would have bee n
frightened but this o n e began laughing
, .
“ ” “
H i l l o h ! he said i t is only the dead
,
”
man . I prefer a ghost to a gendarme .
The hand however soon relaxed its hold

, , ,
for effor t s are quickly exhausted i n the

tomb .
“
Can this dead man be alive ? ”
the ma
“
rander continued ; let me have a look .
He bent down again removed all t h e ob ,
s tac l e s seized the han d liberated the head

, , ,
pulled o u t the body an d a few minutes l ater

,
dragged an inanima te or at least fainting

man into the s h adow of the hollow way He .
was an offi ce r of cuirassiers of a certain rank ,
for a heavy gold e p aulette peeped out fr om

under his cuiras s Th i s officer had lost hi s
.
93
helmet an d a furious sabre cut crossed his

,
face which was covered with blood He did

, .
n o t appear however to have any bones

, ,
broken and through som e fortunate accident

, ,
i f such a word be possible here the dead had ,
formed an ar ch over him so as to save him

f rom being crushed His eyes were closed . .
He had on his cu irass the silver cross of the

Legi on of Honor and the prowler tore away ,
this cross which disa p

, peared i n one of the
gulfs he had under his b louse A fter this he .
felt the officer s fob found a watch and took

’
,
it ; then he felt in his p ockets and drew from

them a purse W hen he was at this stage of
.
the assistance h e was rend e ring the dying

man the o fficer opened h i s eyes
,
.
”
Thanks he said feebly
, , .
The roughness of the man s m ovements ’

,
the f r e sh es s of the n i ght and the freely i n ,
haled air had aro u sed him from Hi s lethargy

, .
The prowler did not answer but raised his ,
h ead A sound of footsteps coul d be h eard

.
on the p l ain ; it was probably so me patrol
approaching The o fli cer mu rmured for

.
,
there was still th e agony of death i n his

voice ,
“ ? ”
Who won t h e battle
”
The E nglish the maraud er answered, .
The ofli ce r continued ,
Feel in my pock ets you will find a purse ,
and a watch which you can tak e

, .
Though this was alrea d y don e the prowler ,
did what was requested and said , ,

”
There is nothing i n them .
”
I have been robbed the o ffi cer cont i nu ed , ,
I am sorry for it as I meant t h e things for ,

’
y ou f
94 vr cr o n
'
HU GO S wo rms
’
.
T he footsteps of the patr ol became more

an d more distinct .
“
'
S ome on e is coming the m arau der said , ,
preparing to go away .
T he ofli ce r raised his arm with diffi culty ,
stopped hi m .
You have saved my life ; who are you P

The prowler answered rapidly an d i n a low
vo i ce ,
I belong like yourself to the , ,
F rench army but I must leave you ; for if I

,
were caught I should be shot I have saved ,

-
your life so now get out of the scrape as you

,
”
can .
“ ”
What is your rank ?
”
S ergeant .
”
Your n ame ?
”
Th enardier .
”
I shall not forget that name t he offi cer ,
“
sai d ; an d do you remember m ine ; it i s
Po n t mer cy .
CH A PT ER L XXX III .
NO . B E CO ME S N O .
JE A N V A L J E A N was recap tu re d A s ou r .
readers will probably thank us for pass in g rap

idly over p ai n ful details we confine ourselves ,
to the q u otation of two paragraphs p ub
l i sh ed by the newspapers of the day a few ,
months after the occurrence of the surpris

ing events at M These articles are
rather summary but it must be rem embered ,
that n o Gaz et te d es T r i b u n au x ex i sted at

that peri od The fi r st we take from the
.
Dr ap eau B l an e dated Jul y 2 5 1 823

, , .
LES MI SERA B LES .
A bail i wick of the Pas de Calais has j ust

bee n the scene of an u ncom mon event A .
man who was a stranger to the department

an d called M Madeleine had som e years p
. re ,
v i o u s l y revived by a n e w process an old local
tra d e t h e manufactu re of jet an d black beads

, .
He made his o w n fortune and l et u s add , , ,
that of the bailiwick and i n ack n o wl edg ,
ment of h is services he was appointed .
mayor The pol i ce discovered that M Mad

. .
el e i n e was n o oth er than a n ex convict who -

,
h ad broken his ban con d emned i n 1 7 9 6 for

,
robbery of the nam e of Jean Valjean He

, .
has been sent back to the bagne It appears .
that prior to his arrest he succeeded i n with .
drawing from M L afi t t e s a su m of m ore

.
’
than half a m illion wh i ch he had banked ,
there and which it is said t hat he h ad hon

, , ,
es t l y acquired by hi s tra d e S ince his return .
to Toulon futil e e fforts h ave been made to

”
discover where this amou nt i s concealed .
The second article which is rather more ,
detailed is extracted from the J ou r n al d e

,
P ar i s of the sam e date :

A n ex convict of t h e nam e of Jean Val
-
jean has j ust bee n t ried at the Var assizes ,
under circumstances which attract at t ention .
This villain had succeeded i n deceiving the

vigilance of the police and had behaved so ,
cleverly as to be made mayor of one of our

small towns i n the n orth where he estab ,
l i sh e d a rather considerable trade He was .
at length unmaske d an d arrested through ,
the indefatigable zeal of the p ublic au t h or i

ties He had as his eon cu b i n e a girl of the
. , ,
93 VI CT OR H UGO S w o rms ‘
.
town w h o d ied of a fit at the momen t of h i s

,
arrest This scoundrel w h o is endowed with

.
,
Herculean strength m anaged to escape b u t

, ,
thre e or four d ays later the police again cap

t u r e d him i n Paris at the moment when he
,
was entering on e of those small coaches

which r u n from the capital to the village of
Montfermeil ( S e ine e t O i s e ) It is said that .
he took advantage of th ese t h ree or four days

of liberty to withd raw from one of our chief
bank ers an amount estimated at six or seven
hundred thousand fra n cs A ccording to the .
i ndictment b e bu ri ed i t at som e spot only

know n to him self and it has not been found ;
,
but however this may be this Jean Valjean

, ,
has ju st been tried at Var assizes for a high

way robbery com mitted with violence some
,
eight years ago upon one of those honest

lads who as the pa t riarch of Ferney has sa i d
, ,
i n i m mortal verse ;
— De S avo i e arr i v e n t t o u s l e s an s
E t d o n t l a mai n l é ger eme n t e s s u i e

Ce s l o n gs can au x e n go rg és p ar l a s ui e
’
.
T his bandit mad e no defence bu t it was ,
proved by the skil f u l and eloquent organ of

public justice tha t Jean Valjean w as a m ember
o f a band of robbers i n the south Couse .
quen tly Valjean was found guilty and s e n

te h eed to d eath The criminal refused to
.
appeal to the cou r t of cassation but the king ,
i n his exhaustible mercy deigned to com ,
m u te his sentence into penal servitude for

life . Jean Valjean was imm ed iately r e
”
moved to the galleys at Toulon .
It will not be forgotten that Jean Valjean

had displayed religiou s tendencies at M 1
93 VI C T OR n uco s '
wo n x s .
The state itself perce i ved that some o n e

had been crushed som ewhere for less th an ,
fou r years after the sentence of th e cou rt

identifying M Mad eleine and Jean Val j ean
.
t o the profit of the galleys the cost of collect

,
ing the taxes were dou bled i n the bailiwick

of M M de V i l l é l e made a remark to
.
that effect i n the House i n Febr ua r y 1 8 2 7 , .
C H A PT ER L XXX IV .
T W O L IN E S OF A D O U B TF U L O R I G I N .
BE FO R E going further we will enter i n to

some details about a strange fact that cc
curred at about the same period at o n t fer M
meil and which may possibly p oss ess some
,
coincidence with certain police conjectures .
There is at Montfer me i l a ve r y old su p e r st i
tion which is the more curious an d valuable

,
because a popular superstit i on in the neigh

b o r h o o d of Paris is like an aloe tree in S iberia .
We are of those who respect everythi n g which

is in the condition of a rare plant This .
,
then is the Montfermeil superstition : it is

,
believed th at from tim e immemorial the

fiend has selected the forest as the sp ot where
he buries his treasure O ld wom en declare
.
that it is not rare to meet at nightfall and ,
i n remote parts of the forest a black man r e ,
sembling a wagoner or wood cutter dressed -

,
i n wooden shoes and canvas trousers an d

blouse and recognizabl e from the fact that
,
he h as o n his h ead two enormo us horn s i n

place o f cap or hat This man is usually
.
engaged i n d i ggi ng a hole an d there are ,

three m odes of action i n the event of meet

ing him The first i s to go up to the man
.
an d address him ; in that case you perceive

that h e is simply a peasant that he appears ,
black because it i s tw i light that he is n ot ,
di ggi ng a hole but cutting grass for h is kine

, ,
an d that what you had taken for horns i s

noth i ng but a d ung fork he carries on his -
back whose prongs seem to grow out of his

,
head You go home and die within the week

. .
The second plan i s to watch him wait till he ,
has dug his hole and filled it up and gone

away ; then you r u n up to the hole and take
ou t the treasure which the black m a a ba d
necessarily deposited i n it I n th i s case you .
die within the month The last way is not .
to speak to the black man at all not to look ,
at him but run away at full speed and y ou

, ,
die within the year .
Al l three modes have their inconveniences .
but the second which o ff ers at an y rate some

,
advantages among oth ers that of possessing

,
a treasure if only for a m onth i s t h e most

, ,
generally adopted Bol d me n whom chances .
tempt have consequently so it is declared , ,
frequently reopened the hole dug by the

black man and robbed the demon It seems
, .
,
however as i f the profits are small : at any

,
rate if we may believe tradition and partien ,
l ar l y and especially two enigmatical lines i n

dog latin which a wicked Norman monk a
, ,
bit of a sorcerer and of the name of T r yp

, h on ,
left o n the subject This T r y p h o n lies at

.
S t G e 0 1 ge s abbey at B o ch er v i l l e near R ouen

.
’
and frogs are born on his t omb A man .
makes enormous exertions then for th e holes . .

1 00 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORK S
’
.
are generally very deep : h e perspi res works ,
t h e whole night through ( for the operation

must be carried out at n i ght ) gets a wet ,
shirt burns out his candle breaks his pick

, , ,
and when he at last reaches th e bottom of

the h ole an d lays his hand on the treasu re ,
?
what does he find what is the fi en d s treas ’
ure ? a s on at times a crown piece a stone

,
-
, ,
a skeleton a bleeding corpse or a spectre

, ,
fold ed u p like a sheet of paper i n a pocket

book and so metimes nothing at all i This
,
appears to be revealed to the searchers by

T r yp h on s l ines
’
.
Fo di t e t i n fossath e s au r o s co n d i t opaca ,
A s n ummo s l ap
, , i d es cad ave r s i mu l ac r a n i h i l q
, , ue , .
It seems that i n our d ays there are also found

sometimes a gu npowder fl ask an d balls or an ,
ol d pack of greasy d i rty cards which h ave

,
eviden t ly bee n u sed by t he fiends T r y p ho n .
does n o t record these t w o facts because he ,
lived i n the 1 2 th cen t u r y and it d o es n o t ap

,
pear that the fiend had the sense to invent

gunpowder before R oger Bacon or playing ,
cards before Charles VI If you play with .
the cards y o u are safe to lose all you possess ,
while the gunpowder displays th e peculiarity

of making your gu n burs t in vour face .
A very short time after the period when it

occurred to the police that Jean Valj ean d u r
ing his fou r days of liberty had been prowling
round Montfermeil it was notice d i n the,
same vil l a g e t h a t a certain old roa d mender

-
“
o f the name of B ou l atr u e l l e w a s u p to hi s
”
tri cks i n the forest I t was belie ved gene.
rally that th i s B ou l at r u el l e had been to the

galleys : he was to some extent under p olice
1 02 VICT O R HU GO S W O R KS ’
.
S ome persons h oweyer remained cu rious

, , ,
thinking that there was probably i n the affair ,
n o t the fabulous treasure o f the legend but ,
something more palpable an d tangible than

the fi en d s bank notes and t h at the road
’
-
,
mender h ad doubtless found out half the

secret The most p uzzled were the school
.
master an d Th enard ier the publican who , ,
wa
’
s everybody s frien d and had not dis ,
dained an intimacy with B o u l at r u el l e .
”
H e has been to the galleys Th enardie r ,
would sa y .Well good gracious we d o n ot

, ,
”
know w h o is there or wh o may go there , .
O ne evening the schoolmaster declared that

i n other times the autho r ities would have i n
qu i red w h at B ou l at r u el l e was a b out i n the
wood an d t h at he would h ave been obliged
,
t o speak ; t h ey would have e mployed torture

i f necessary an d B ou l at r ue l l e would not have
,
r es i sted the ordeal o f water for instance , .
“ ”
L et us gi ve hi m the ord eal of wine said ,
Th enardier They set to work an d Boula

.
,
truelle drank enormously but held his tongue , .
H e com bined with ad mirable tact an d i n

,
magisterial proportions the thirst of a sponge ,
with the discretion of a judge S till by r e .

,
turning to the charge and by putting to ,
get h er the fe w obscure words that escaped

him this is what Th enardier an d the school
,
master fancied that they could make out .
B o u l atr u el l e o n going to w ork at d aybreak

,
on e m orn i n g w a s surprised at seeing under

,
a bush a spade an d a pick which looked as ,
i f they were hidden ; still h e thought t h at

they belonged t o Father S i ofou r s the water ,
carri er an d did not th ink an y more of the

,
1 03
matt er On the evening of t h e same day

.
,
however he saw without being hi mself seen

, , ,
as he was hidden behind a tree an i ndividual ,
who di d not belong to these parts and whom ,

”
he B ou l at r u el l e knew proceeding toward
, , ,
th e most retired part of the wood This .
“
T h enardier translated as a comrade at the
galleys but B ou l at r u el l e obst i nately refused
,
t o m entio n h is name T his i ndividual was .
carryi ng a bu ndle something square like a

, ,
box or small chest B ou l at r u el l e was sur .
prised but it was not un t il so me t en m inutes

,
“
later that the i d ea of fol lowing the indi
” '
vidual occurred to him But it was too .
late the individu al was already among the

,
trees night had fallen and B o u l at r u el l e was

, ,
unable to catch h i m up T hen he resolved .
t o watch the skirt of the wood and the m oon ,
was shining B ou l at r u el l e some t wo or three

.
,
hours after saw his individual coming ou t

,
of t h e woo d not carryi ng the box however

, , ,
but a spade and pick B o u l at r u e l l e allowed .
h i m to pass an d did not address h im for he

, ,
said to himse l f that the other man was thrice

as strong as he an d being armed with a pick
,
would probably smash h i m on recognizing

him an d findi ng h imself recognized ; a touch
ing effusion o n the part of two old comrad es
w h o s u ddenly meet But t h e s pade an d pick
.
were a ray of light for B ou l at r u el l e ; he hu r

ried to the bush at day break and n o longer -
,
found them there From this he concluded .
that his individual on entering t h e wood , ,
had dug a hole with his pick bu ried his box ,
i n i t an d then covered i t up w i t h his spade

, .
Now as the box was too small to contain a

,
‘
1 04 VICT OR HU GO S won x s .
corpse it m ust con tain money an d hence h i s

, ,
rese a r ches B ou l atr u el l e explored the forest

.
i n all direct i ons an d especially at spots whe r e

,
the ground seemed to have been recently

turne d up but i t was all of no u s e he dis
, ,
covered nothing Nobody i n Montfermeil

.
thought an y more of the matter except so me ,
worthy gossips who said You may be sure

,
that the road mender d i d n o t take all that

-
t rouble for noth ing ; it is certai n that th e

”
fiend has been here .
CH A PT ER L XX XV .
ON BOARD T H E ORI ON .
T O W A R D the close of O ct i n the same year .

, ,
1 823 the inhabitants of Toulon saw a vessel

,
enter their port whic h had susta i ned so me

damage i n a hea vy sto rm It was the Or i o n .
,
which at a later date was employed at Brest

as a training school but now formed part of
,
the Mediterranean fleet This vessel b at .

,
t er e d as it was for t h e sea had ill treated it

,
-
produced an effect on entering the roads .
It di splayed some flag which Obtained it th e

regulation salute of eleven guns to which i t ,
replied round for round a total of two an d —
twenty rounds It has been calculated that

’
i n salvos royal an d m ilitary politeness ex

, ,
changes of courtesy signals and formali t ies ,
of roads and cit adels sunrise and sunset sa ,
lute d every day by all the fortresses an d

v essels of war opening and closing gates etc
, ,
.
,
the civilized world fired every twenty four -
h ours and i n all parts of the globe on e h u n

, ,
1 06 VICT OR H UGO S W ORK S ’
.
color waved i n a foreign cou n t r y b y an heroi c

hand ful of Fr enc h men as t h e w h ite flag had ,
been at Coblenz th i rty years p r ev i ou sly ; mo n ks

mingled with the F rench troopers ; t h e s pi rit
o f li b erty and novelty set r i g h t by bayon e ts ;
principles ch eckmate d by ar ti l ler y ; F ran ce

u ndoing by h er arm s w h at sh e h ad d on e b y
her m ind ; the enemy s leaders s old ; t h e sol
’
diers hesitating ; towns b esei ge d by m i ll i ons ;

no military p er i ls an d yet possible e xp,
lo
sions as i n every m i ne which is surprised
,
and invaded ; disgrac e for a fe w pe r sons an d ,
glory for none — such was th is war brought

, ,
about by princes who descended from Lo u is

XVI and conducted by generals who issu ed
.
,
from Napoleon It had the sad fate of r e

.
calling neither the great war n or the great

policy .
S ome engagements were serions ; t h e pas .
sage of the Trocadero for instance was a , ,
brilliant m ilitary achievem ent but on the ,
whole we repeat the trumpets of that war

.
,
have a cracked sou nd the whole a ff air was ,
suspicious an d h i story agrees with France i n

,
the difficulty of accepting this false triumph .
It seemed certain that certai n S panish officers

ordered to resist yield ed too easily and the
, ,
idea of corruption was involved from the vi c

tory : it seemed as if generals rather than
battles had been gained and the victorious ,
soldier returned h ome humiliated It was .

,
i n truth a diminishing war and the words

, , ,
”
Bank of France could be read i n the folds
of the flag The soldiers of the war of 1 808
.
o n w h om the ruins of S aragossa fel l so f o r
mi d ab l y frow n ed i n 1 8 23 at t he easy op en i ng
,
of citadel gates and began regretting Pala ,
fox It is the h umor o f France to prefer a

.
R ostop chi n before her rather than a Balles
te r os . From a more serious point of view

on wh i ch it is righ t to dwell here this war , ,
w hich o ff ended the mi l itary spirit i n France ,
humiliated the d emocr ati c spirit It was n u .
d er tak e n on behalf of serfdom i n this cam

p a i g n the ob j ect of the Fre n ch soldier w h o ,
was the son of democracy was to bow o thers ,
under th e yoke This was a hideous mistake

.
,
for France has t h e mission of arousing the soul

of nations and not stifling it S ince 1 7 92 al l the
, .
revolutions of E u rope have been the French

Revolution and liber ty radia tes from France
,
.
He m us t be a blind man who d oes n ot recog

n ize this ; and it was Bonaparte w h o said so .
T h e war of 1 8 2 3 an attempt upon the gen

,
e r o u s S panish nation was therefore at the ,
same time an attack o n the French R evol u

tion It was France who com mitted this mon
.
strous act of violence ; for w ith t h e exception

of wars of liberation all that armies do they ,
“
do b y force as the wor d s passive o b e d i
,
”
ence indicate A n army is a strange mas.
te r p i e ce of combination in which s t rength ,

‘
re sults from an enormous am ount of impo
tence I n this way we can explain war car

.
ried on by h umanity against humanity in ,
spite of humanity The war of 1 8 2 3 was .
fa tal to the Bourbons ; they regar d ed it as a

tri u mph for they did not see what danger
,
there is in killing an idea by a countersign In .
their simplicity they committed the mistake

of introd ucing into this estab l ishment the
1 08 VI C T OR H UGO S W ORKS ’
.
immense weakness of a crim e as an ele

ment of strength ; the spirit of ambuscad i ng
entered i nto their policy and 1 8 30 germ i ,
h ated i n 1 8 23 The S panish campaign h e

.
cam e in their councils an argument of op

pression and the governm ent by right d i
vine . Fr ance having r e established al r ay
,
-
n el o i n France could establish the absol u t e

,
k i ng at hom e They fell into the fo r mi d a

. r
ble error of tak i ng the obedience of the sol

dier for t h e consent of the nation an d suc h ,
‘
a confidence is the destruction of thrones

M
.
e n m ust neither go to sleep in the shadow
of a man c hi n eal tree n o r in that of an army

, .
L et us now return to Or i on D uring the .
operations of the army commande d by t h e

prince generalissimo a squadron cruised i n
,
the Mediterranean to which as we said the

, , ,
Or i on belonged an d wa s driven into Toulon

,
roads to repair damages Th e presence of a .
man —o f war i n a port has something about it

-
which attracts and occupies the mob It is .
grand and the m ultitude love anyt h i ng that

,
is grand A vessel of the line is one of the

.
most magnificent encounters which the gen

iu s of man has with the might of nature ; it
is composed simultaneously of what is the
heaviest and lightest of things because it ,
h as to deal with three forms of substance at

once the solid the liquid an d the fluid and
, .
, ,
m ust contend against all three It has cloven .
i r on claws to seize the granite of the sea bed ,
an d more w i ngs an d antenn a than the two

wi nged i n sect to hold the wind Its breath .
i ss ues from its one hundred and twenty gu n s

as through enormous bugles an d hau g htil y ,
I IO VI CT O R H U GO S W ORK S
’
.
contain i ng three thousand square yards and ,
a boiler of two thousand fi ve hundred ho r se

power Without alluding to these n e w mar
.
vels the old vessel o f Ch risto pher Columbus

,
and de R uy ter is o n e o f the great m aste r

piec es of man it is inexhausti ble i n strength
as infini ty is i n wi dth it garners the wind i n
its sails it is exact i n th e immense diff usion
,
o f the waves it floa ts an d it reigns

, .
A n d yet the hour arrives when a gust b r e aks

like a st r aw th i s yard fifty feet in length ; when
,
the wind bends like areed this mas t four h u n ,
dred feet i n h eight ; w h en this anchor weigh ,
ing thousan d s of pounds twists i n the throa t

,
of the waves like a fi s h er man s hook i n t h e ’
m outh of a pike when these m onstrous can

non utte r plaintive and useless groans which ,
t h e wind carries away into emptiness and nigh t ,
an d when all this po w er and maj esty are s w al

lowed u pby a superior power an d maj esty .
Whenever an immense force is displayed i n

attacking immense weakness it cau s es me n to
reflect H ence at seaports cu rious persons
.
throng around these marvellous machines of

war an d navigation without exactly ex p
,
laining
the reason to them selves E very day then .
, ,
from morning till night the quay s and piers of

Toulon were covered w ith n um bers of idlers ,
whose business it was to look at the Or i o n This .
vessel h ad long been i n a sickly state During .
pre vious voyages barnacles had collected o n

her b ull to such an extent that she lost half
h er speed she had been taken into dry dock
the year previous to scrape off these barn acles ,
an d then put to sea again But this scrap

.
L Es M I SERA B LES .
1 11
i n g had i njured the bolts and when off the B a ,
l e ar i c I sl es s h e sprang a leak an d took in water

, , ,
as ve sse l s were not coppered i n th ose days A .
violent equinoctial gale supervened which i n ,
jured her larboard bows and destroyed the fore

ch ains I n consequence of this d amage the
.
,
Or i on p u t into Toulon and anch ored near the ,
arsenal for repairs The hull was uninjured .

,
but a fe w planks had been unnailed h ere and

there to let air in as is u sually the case , .
O ne morning the crowd witnessed an acc i

dent The crew were engaged i n bending the
.
sa ils and th e top man who h ad hold of the u p

,
-
,
per corner of the main top sail lost his balance - -

,
.
H e was seen to totter the crowd on the arsen al ,
quay uttered a cry his head dragged him d own ,
ward and he turned rou n d the yard with his

,
ha n ds stretc h ed down to the water but he ,
caught h old of the foot rope as he passed it first -

,
with on e h an d t h e n with the other an d r e

, , ,
mained hanging from it The sea was below . .
him at a dizzy depth and the shock of h i s ,
fall had given the foot rope a violent swing -
ing movement T he man swung at the end

.
of the rope like a stone in a sling To go to .
h i s assistance wou l d be runni n g a frightful

risk and n o t one of the sailors all coast fi sh e r
, ,
me n lately called i n for duty d ared to ve n ,
ture it S till th e unhappy top man was

.
-
gro wi ng tired : his agony could n o t be seen i n

his face but h i s exhaustion could be distin
,
u i s h e d i n all his limbs an d his arms were

g ,
aw fully dragged A ny e ff ort he made to rai se

.
h i mself only cause d the foot rope to oscillate -

1 12 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORK S ’
.
the more an d he did n ot cry out for fear of

, ,
exhausting his streng th The m inute was .
close at hand when he must leave go t h e

rope an d every now an d then all heads were
,
turned away n ot to see it happen There .
are moments i n wh ich a r cp e a pole t he , ,
branch of a tree is life itself an d it is a fear

, ,
f u l thing to see a livi ng being leave go of it

an d fall like ripe fru it A ll at once a man .
could be seen climbing up the shrouds with

the agi lity of a tiger eat A s he was dressed
-
.
i n red this man was a convict ; as he wore a

green cap he was a convict for life On reach .
i n g the top a pu ff of wind blew away his

cap and displayed a white head ; hence h e
was not a young man .
A con vi c t employed o n board with the

,
gang had i n fact at once r u n up to the Offi cer

,
of the watch an d i n the m idst of the trou ble

,
and confusion while all the sailors trembled

,
an d recoiled asked perm ission to risk his

,
l i fe in saving the t o pman A t a nod of assent

-
.
fr om the officer he broke wi th one blow of a

hammer the chain riveted to his ankle took ,
up a rope and darted up the shrouds No

,
.
on e noticed at the mom ent with what eas e
the chain was broken ; an d the fact w as not

remembered till afterwards In a second he .
was upon the yard where he stood for a ,
little while as if looking round him These .
se con d s during which the wind swu ng the

,
top m an at the e n d of a thread seemed

-
,
ages to the persons who where looking at

hi m A t lengt h the convict raised his eyes
.
to Heaven and advanced a step The crowd .
b r eathed again as they saw him r u n along

1 14 VICT OR H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
followed h im an d at one moment t h e sp ec

,
tat or s felt afraid for they fancied th ey could

,
see him h esi t ate an d totter eit h er through ,
fat i gue o r d i z ziness all at once the crowd

u ttered a terr i ble cry — the con vict h a d fal ,
l en into t h e sea T he fall was a dangerou s

.
on e , for the A l gé s i m s frigate was anchored

near the Or i on an d t h e p oor galley slave h ad
,
-
fallen betwee n the tw o ships and might b e ,
sucked under on e of them Four men has .
t i l y got into a boat and the crowd e n co u r ag

,
ed them for all felt anxious again The

, .
man did n ot come t o the surfa c e again a nd ,
disappeared i n the sea wit h out maki ng a

ripple j ust as if he had fallen into a barrel of
,
oi l
. They dragged for him but i n vain ,
they continued the searc h ti l l nightfal l but

hi s body was n ot even found The next day .
th e Toulon paper printed t h e following lines

Nov 1 7 1 8 2 3 — Y est erday a convict on e
.
, .
,
of a gang o n board the Or i on fell into the ,
sea an d was drown ed as he w as retu rning ,
fr om assi stn a sailor His body has n ot .
be en found and is supposed to be entangled

,
among the piles at arsenal point The man .
wa s imprisoned under the No 9 430 a n d his .

,
n ame was Jean Valjean .
CH A PT ER L XXXVI .
TH E W ATE R Q U E STIO N AT M O N TF E RM E I L .
M O NT FE RM E I L is situated between L ivry

and Chelles on the southern slope of the
,
lofty plateau w hi ch separates the Ou r q ue
fr om the Marne A t the present day it is a

.
rather large place adorned w i t h stucco ,

LES M I SERA B LE S .
1 15
villas all the year round and with holiday ,
mak i ng cities o n S unday I n 1 8 2 3 there .
were neither so m any white h ouses nor so

many happy cits as there are n ow an d it was ,
merely a village i n the woods A visitor .
certainly came across here and there a few

country houses of the last centu ry recog ,
n i z abl e by their air of pretension their bal ,
conies of twisted iron and the tall windo w s

, ,
i n which the little squares produce all sorts

o f green hues on the white o f the closed
shutters But Montfermeil was not the less
.
a vil lage retired cloth dealers and persons -
fo n d of country life had not yet discovered

i t It was a quiet pleasant spot which was
.
,
n o t o n a road to anywhere
. Persons lived .
there cheaply that peasant l i fe whic h is so

tranqu i l and abundant The only thing was
.
t hat water was scarce owing to the elevation

,
of the plateau and it had to be fetched from

,
some d i stance That end of the village

.
which was on the G agny s i de obtained i ts

water from the splendid ponds i n the forest
there ; but t h e other end which surrounds ,
the ch u rch an d is on the Chelles s i de coul d ,
only Obtain drinking water from a little

s p ring abou t a quarter o f a hour s walk ’
n
fro m Montfermeil n ear the road to Chelles

,
layi ng i n water was therefore a hard task for

every family The large houses an d the
.
aristoc r acy among which T h é n ar d i er s pot

,
’
house may b e reckone d pa i d al i ar d ab u ck et

,
to a man whos e trade it was an d who earned ,
by it about ei g ht sou s a day But this man .
only worked till seven P M i n summer an d . .

,
til l five i n w i nter and once nig ht had set i n

1 16 VIC T OR H UGO S W ORKS ’
.
and the ground floor shu tters were closed ,
any person who had no water to drin k must

either fetch it or go without .
This was the terror of the poor creature

w h om t h e re ader will not have forgotten ,
l i ttle Cosette It will be remembered that

.
Cosette was useful to the T hé n ar di er s i n

two ways they made the mother pay an d
,
—
the child act as servant Hence when the .
m other ceased payment for the reason which,
we know the T h é n ar di er s kept Cosette who

, ,
took the place of a servant I n this quality .
she had to fetch water when it was wanted ,
and the chil d terrified at the idea of going

,
to the spring at n i ght was very careful that

,
the house should never be without water .
Christmas of 1 8 2 3 was peculiarly brilliant

at Montferm eil the begi nning of the winter
was m i ld and there h ad been neither snow
,
n or frost S ome mountebanks who came

.
,
from Paris had obtained l eave from the

,
mayor to erect their booth i n the village

high street and a party of trave l ling
,
hawkers had p ut their stalls i n t h e

church square and even i n the lane i n
which T h é n ar d i er s pot house was situate d
’
-
.
This filled the inns an d p o t houses an d pro -

,
d u ce d a noisy joyous life i n this quiet lit t le

,
place A S a faithful historian we ar e bound

.
to add that among the curiosities displ ayed

in the market place was a menagerie i n ,
w h l ch so me ragged fellows showed the p ea
sants of Montfermeil one of those terrific

B r azil v ultures of which the Paris Museum
did not possess a specimen till 1 8 4 5 an d ,
which have a tricolor cockade for an ey e .

VICT OR H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
Or else a miller exclaimed ,
A re we responsible for what there is i n

t h e sack ? we find a lot of small seeds which ,
’
we can t waste time i n sifting and which ,
must pass under the m ill stones ; such as -
tares lucern cockles vetches amaranths

, , , , ,
hemp seed and a n umber of other weeds

-
, ,
without counting the pebbles which are so

frequent i n some sorts of wheat espec ially ,
’
B reto n wheat I d on t like grinding Bre ton
.
wheat an y more than sawyers li ke sawing

,
beams i n which there are nails You can .
fancy the bad dust al l this makes i n the hop

per and then people complai n unfairly of
,
”
the flour for it is no faul t of ours
. .
B etween two windows a m ower seated at a

table with a farmer who was making a bargain
,
to have a field m owed i n spring said , ,
There i s no har m i n the grass being damp ,
for it cu ts better But your grass is tender

.
,
an d hard to cut sir for i t i s so young and

, , ,
”
bends before the scy the etc etc , .
, .
Cosette was seated at her usual place the ,
cross bar of the table near the chimney ; she ,
was i n rags her bare feet were thrust into wood

,
en sh oes and S h e was knittin g by the fi r el i gh t

, ,
-
,
stockings intended for the young Th énar

diers Two merry chil d re n could be heard
.
l aughing an d prattling in an adjoining room

they were E ponine and A zelma A cat o .
-
’
n ine ta i ls hung from a nail by t h e side of the
ch i mney A t times t h e cry of a baby some

.
,
where i h the house was a u dible through the

n oi se of the tap room ; it was a li ttle boy
-
LE S M I SERAB LE S .
1 19
Madame Th enardier had given birth to on e

“ ”
winter , without knowing how she used ,
“
to say ,i t was the e ff ect of the cold and ,
who was a little over three years of age The .
mother suckled him but did not love him ; ,
when his cries became too troublesome .
“
Th enardier would say There s you r brat,
’
”
squalling go and see what he wants .
“ ’
S tu ff the m other would answer
, he s a ,
nuisance ; and the poor deserted little wre tc h

would continue to cry i n the darkness .
CH A PT ER LXXXVII .
Tw o F UL L—L E N GT H P O R T R AI TS .
UP to the present onl y a side view of the

,
-
T h é n ar d i e r s has been o ff ered the reader of th i s

book but the moment has now arrived t o walk
,
around the couple and regard them all sides

, .
T h é n ar d i e r had passed his fif tieth y ear Ma ,
d ame Th enar d ier was just on h e r fo r t i e t h w h i ch ,
is fifty i n a woman and i n this way th ere w as

a balance of age between husband and wife O ur .
readers may probabl y have retained fro m the

fi r st m eeting som e recollection of this tall ,
light haired red fat square enormous and

-
, , , , ,
active woman ; she belonge d as we sai d to the , ,
race of gian tess e s who Show themselves at fairs

, ,
with pavi ng s tones hanging from their hair

-
.
S h e did everything i n the house ; made the

beds cleaned the rooms was cook and laun
, ,
dress produced rain an d fi n e weather and

, ,
played the devil Her only assistant was

.
C o sette a mouse i n the servi ce of an ele

,
1 20 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORK S '
.
phant A ll trem bled at the sound of h e r voice

.
,
wi ndows furni t ure and people and h e r large

, ,
face dotted with freckles looked like a skim

, ,
mer S he had a beard an d was the i d eal of

.
,
a Billingsgate porter dressed in female attire .
S he swore splen d idly and boasted of being able

,
to crack a wal nut with a blow of her fi s t Had .
it n ot been for the romances she h ad read and ,
which at times made the fi n n i ki n woman ap

pear under the ogress no one would ever have ,
dreamed of thinking that she was feminine .
S he seemed to be the product of a cross b e

tween a young damsel and a fi sh fag When .
people heard her speak they said Tis a , ,

’
gendarme when they saw her drink they ,

”’
sai d Tis a carter ; and wh en they saw her
’
treatment o f Cosette they said Tis the , ,
h angman when she was quiet a tooth pro ,
j ect ed from her mouth .
Th enardier was a short t hin sallow angu , , ,
l ar bony weak man w h o looked ill and was

, , , ,
pe rfectly well h i s cunning began with this

—
.
He smiled habitually through cau tion and was ,
poli te to nearly everybody even to t h e beggar ,
whom he refused a half penny He h ad the eye -

.
of a ferret and the face of a man of letters and ,
greatly resembl ed the portraits of A bb é Delille .
His c oquetry consis ted in d rinking with car

rie ns and no on e h ad ever been able to i n t oxi
,
cate him He wore a blouse and un d er it an Ol d

.
black coat and h ad pretensions to lite r ature

,
an d material i sm There were some names b e

.
frequently utte red in or d er to suppo r t an argu

ment such as Voltaire R aynal Farny and
, , , , ,
1 22 VI CT OR n ueo s '
w o rms .
an d watches gold rings an d si l ver crosses

, ,
,
collec ted i n d itches filled with corpses did ,
not make a heavy total an d did n o t carry ,
ve r y far this sutler turned innkeeper .
T h é n ar d i e r h ad som ething rectangular i n

'
his movements which w h e n jo i n e d to an

, ,
oath recalls the barrack — to the sign of the

, ,
cross the semina r y He was a clever speaker

, .
,
and liked to be thought educa ted but the ,
schoolmas ter noticed that h e made mistakes

’
He drew up a traveller s bill i n a masterly way ,
but pra ctise d eyes so metimes fo u nd orthograph

ical errors i n i t T h é n ar d i e r was cunning
.
,
greedy indolent and skilful he did not de

, ,
spise his servant girls and for that reason his ,
wife no longer kep t an y This giantess was j e al .
ous and fancied that this l it tle yello w man

,
must be an object of universal covetousness .
Th enardier above all as a crafty and well bal ,

-
an ce d man was a villain o f the temperate

,
gen u s an d this breed is the worst as hypocrisy

, ,
is mixed u p i n them It was not tha t Th énar .
dier was not at times capable of passion at ,
least quite as m uch as his wife but it was very ,
rare and at such moments as h e owed a

,
—
grudge to t h e whole human race as he had ,
withi n him a profound furnace of hatred as he ,
was one of those persons who avenge themselves

perpetually who accuse every body who passe s
,
before them for what falls upon them and ,
who are ever ready to cast o n the fi r st com er -

,
as a legitimate charge the wh ole of the a h ,
noyances bankruptcies and d ecept i ons of

, ,
their life — when all this leaven was working

,
i n him an d boil i ng i n his mout h an d eyes he ,

1 23
was fearful Woe to the person who came

.
und er his fury at such times .
In addition to his other qualities T h é n ar di er ,
was attentive and penetrating silent or chatter ,
i n g acco r di n g to o ccas i on an d always with great

, ,
in telligence He h ad the glance of sailors who

.
are accustomed to wink wh en looking throug h

a telescope T h é n ar d i e r was a statesman Any
. .
newcomer on entering the poth ouse said upon

, ,
se eing the woman That is the master of the ,
house ; but it was an error— she was not even

the mistress for her husband was both master
,
an d mistress S he d i d and h e created he di

.
,
r e ct e d everything by a species of invisible and
continuous magnetic action ; a word sometimes ,
a sign from h i m was suffi cient and th e mas

, ,
todon obeyed The h usband was to his wife ,
though she did not know it a species of p e cu l ,
iar and sovereign being However much she .
might dissent from

an inadmissib l e hypothesis —she would have
,
never proved him publicly i n the wrong for

an y consi d eration S he would never have com
.
“
mi t ted i n t h e presence of strangers that
fault which wives so often commit and wh ich ,
is called in parliamen tary language expos ,

”
ing the crown A lthough their agreement
.
only resulted i n evil there was co n templation

,
i n Madame T h é n ar d i e r s submissio n to her

’
husband This mountai n of noise and flesh

.
moved u nder the lit tle finger of this frail

despot ; seen from its d war fi sh and grotesque
aspec t it was the great universal thing
,
adoration of matter by the mind There was .

124 V I CT OR H UGO S W ORKS ’
.
something strange in Th enardier and hence ,
came the absolute dominion of this man over

this woman A t certain m omen ts she saw
.
hi m as a lighted candle at othe r s she felt ,
h i m as a claw This woman was a formidable

.
cr eature who only loved h er children an d

, ,
only feared her husband S he was a mother .
because sh e was mam miferous ; her maternity

ceas ed however with her girls and as we
, , , ,
shall see d id not exten d to boys

, .
Th enardier himself had only on e thought

, ,
— to enrich himself but he did not succeed , ,
for a suitable stage was wanting for th i s

great talent T h enardier ruined himself at
.
Montferm eil if ruin is possible at zero ; in

,
S witzerland or the Pyrenees he would have

becom e ami l l i on air e But where fate fastens .
a landlord h e m ust browse I n this year 1 8 2 3 .

,
Th enardier was i n debt to the amount of

1 5 00 francs which rendered him an xiou s
, .
Whatever might be the obstinate i n j ustice

of destiny against him Th enardier was o n e ,
of those me n who thoroughly understand ,
and in th e most m odern fash ion the theory ,
which is a virtu e i n barbarous nations an d ,
an article of sale am ong civilized nations

hospitality He was al so an a d mi rable poach
.
er and renowned for the correctness of his

,
a i m and h e had a certain cold and peaceful

, , ,
laugh which was peculiarly dangerous

, .
His landlord theories burst forth from him

at times in flashes and he had professional ,
’
aphorisms which he drove into his wife s
“
mind . The duty of a landlord h e sai d .
“
one day savagely an d i n a low voice is to ,
sell to the fi r st com er ragouts rest light fi r e

-
, , , , ,
1 26 VI C T OR n ue o s '
W ORK S .
by this gloomy household and it was some ,
thing li ke a fly serving spiders The poor .
child was passively silent What takes plac e

.
i n these souls which have just left the pres

,
ence of G od when they find them selves thus

, ,
i n their dawn all little an d naked am ong

,
human beings
C H A P T ER L XXXV II I .
ME N W A NT W I N E A ND HORS E S W AT E R .
FOU R n ewtravellers arrived Cosette was .
sorrowfully reflecting for though only eight

years of a
,
g she had already suffered so much

e
that she thought with the mournful air of an

o l d woman Her eyelid was blackened by a
.
blow which the woman had given her which ,
made madam e say now and then How ugly ,

”
she is with her black eye ! Cosette was
think i ng then that it was late very late ; that ,
she had been suddenly obliged to fill the j ugs

and bottles i n the rooms of the travellers
who had just arrived and that there w as no
,
water i n the cistern What re assu red her

.
most was the fact t h an but littl e water w as

“ ”
drunk at the S ergeant of Waterloo There .
was no l ack of th irsty souls but it was that ,
sort of thirst which applies m ore readi ly to

the wine j ar than to the water bottle A ny .
‘
o n e who asked for a glass of water am ong
the glasses of wine would have appeared a

savage to all these men A t o n e moment .
,
however the child trembled ; her mis tress

,
rai sed the cover of a stew pan bubbling on a -

,
stove then took a glass and hurr i ed to the

,
1 27
cistern The ch i ld h ad turned an d was

.
,
watching all the m ovements A thin stream .
of water r an from the tap and filled the

“ ” “
glass . H i l l oh she said there is n o , ,
water ; then she was silent for a moment ,
during which the child did n ot breath e .
“ ”
Well Madam e Th enard i er continued
, ,
“
as she examined th e hal f filled gl ass t hi s ,
will be enough .
Cosette retu rned to h er work bu t for m ore ,
than a q uarter of an hour she felt her heart

beating i n her chest S he counted the min .
utes that passed thu s and wished that it ,
were next morning From tim e to time one .
of the topers looked out into the street and

“ ” “
sai d, It s as black as pitch or A man
’
,
would have to be a cat to go into the street

”
at this hour without a lantern and Cosette ,
shivered A ll at once one of the p edlers

.
,
lo dging at the i n n cam e in and said in a harsh

voice ,
M y h orse has had no water .
”
O h yes i t has sai d Madame Thé nar , ,
I tell you i t has not mother the pedler , ,
went on .
Cosette had crept out from u nder the

table
“
O h yes sir she said your horse dran k
, , ,
a bucketful and I gave it the water and

.
talked to i t .
This was not true .
’
There s a girl no bigger than one s fist ’
who tells a lie as big as a house the dealer ,
exclaimed I tell you it has not had any

.
water y ou l ittle devil ; it has a w ay of

,
1 23 VI CT OR n ue o s
'
w os xs .
breath i ng which I know well when it h as n ot

”
drunk .
Cosette persisted and added i n a voice ,
rendered hoarse by agony and which was ,
scarce audible ,
O h indeed the horse drank a lot

, , .
”
E nough of this the d ealer said sav ,
agel y ,give my horse water .
C o sette went back under the table .
”
Well that is but fair said madame if
, , ,
the brute has not dr u nk it ought to d rink .
Then she looked around her Why where .

,
”
is the little devi l ?
S he stooped down an d discovered Cosette ,
hidd en at the o t her en d of the table almost ,
under the feet of the top ers .
Come out of that her m istress shouted , .
Cosette came out of the hole in which she

had hidden herself an d the landlady con ,
tinned ,
“
Miss what s your nam e give the h orse
’
,
”
water .
There is n o water madame Cosette , ,
said faintly
, .
Her mistress threw the street door wid e

open .
“
Well go and fetch some
,
.
Cosette h ung her head and fetch ed an ,
empty bucket standing in a corner near the

chimne y ; it was larger than herself and she ,
could hav e sat down i n it comfortably Ma .
dam e Th enardier returned t o her stove an d

tasted the contents of a stew p an with a -
wooden spoon while growling , ,
“
There s plenty at the spring I beli eve
’
.
”
i t would have been better to s i ft the onions .
1 30 v uc r o n u u OO s
'
W ORKS .
this marvel been d ispla y ed to the amazemen t ,
of all passers—b y under t en years of age but ,
not a mother i n Montfermeil had been rich

enough o r extravagant enough to give it to
her child E ponine and A zelma had spent
.
hours i n contemplating it an d even Cosette ,
has ventured to take a fu rt i ve look at it .
A t the moment when Coset te went out ,
bucket in hand though she felt so sad an d ,
desolate she cou l d n ot refrain from ra i sing

,
“
her eyes to the p rodigious doll the lady , ,
as S h e called it The poor child stopped .
petrified for she had not seen this doll so

,
close before The whole stall seemed to her

.
a palace an d this doll was not a doll but a

, ,
vision Joy splendor wealth an d happi ness

.
, , ,
appeared i n a sort of chimerical radiance to

the unhappy little creature who was deeply
buried i n mourn ful and col d wretchedness .
Coset te measured with the sim ple and sad

sagacity of childhood the abyss which sepa
rated her from this doll S he said to herself .
t hat a person must be a queen or a princess

“ ”
to have a thin g li ke that S he looked at .
the fine dress th e long smooth hair and , ,

“ ”
thought H ow hap py that d oll m ust be 3
,
S he could not take her eyes off this fan tastic

shop an d the more she looked the more
,
dazzled she became and she fancied she saw ,
Par adise Ther e were other d olls behind t he

.
large on e which appeared to her fairies and

,
genii The tradesman who walked about at

.
,
the back of the shop seemed to her so m e ,
thing more than m ortal In th is adoration .
she forgot everything even the task on which ,
she was sent bu t su d denl y the rou g h voice

,
LES
'
M I SERA B LES .
1 31
of her mistress recalled her to th e real i ty .
What you little devil you have not gone

, ,
”
just wait till I come to you you little toad , .
Madame Th enardier h ad taken a look ou t

i nto the street and noticed Cosette in ecstasy
,
.
The child ran off with her bucket making ,
enormous strides .
A s T h é n ar di e r s i n n was in that part of

’
the village near the church Cosette had to ,
fetch the water fro m the spring in the forest

on the Chelles side S he did not look at an
.
other stall ; so long as she was i n the lane

and the vicini ty of th e chu rch the i l l u mi ,
na t ed booths lit up the road but the last gleam ,
of the last stall soon di sappeared and the .

,
p oo r child found herself in darkne ss S h e .
went f u rther into it but as she felt some ,
emotion while walking she Shook the handle ,
Of her bucket as much as she could which ,
produced a noise that gave her company .
The further she went the mo r e dense the ,
gloom became ; there was no one i n the

streets except a woman who turned on seeing ,
her pas s an d muttered between her teeth

, ,
“
Wherever can the child be going ? can she
be a goblin Then she recognize d Cosette .
” ”
Why she sai d it is the L ark
, , Cosette .
,
i n this way went through the labyrinth of

winding d eserted streets which end the vil
lage of Montfermeil on the side of Chelles ;
and so long as she had houses or eve n walls ,
o n both sides of the way she walked rather ,
boldly From tim e to time she saw a candle

.
glimmering through the crack of a shutter ; i t

was light and life people were there an d , ,
this reassured her S till in proportion as

.
,
1 32 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
she advanced her step became slo w er as if

, ,
mechanically an d when she had passed the

,
corner of the las t house Cosette s topped , .
‘
G oing beyond the last stall h ad been d i fli cu l t ,
bu t going further than the las t hou se became

an impossibility S he put her bucket on the
.
ground plunged h er hand into her hai r

, ,
an d began scrat ching her head slowly— a

gesture peculiar to terrified and undecided
children I t was no longer Montferm eil but
.
,
the fields and black d e serted sp ace was b e

,
fore her S he looked despairingly at this

.
space i n which th ere was nobody but where ,
there were beasts and there m ight be ghosts , .
S h e looked out an d heard the beasts walk ,
i n g i n the g r ass an d distinctly saw the ghosts

,
moving am ong the trees Then she took h er .
bucket aga i n and fear gave her boldness

, .
”
Well she said
, I will tell her that there ,
”
was no water ; an d sh e boldly r e e ntered -
Montfermeil S he had scar ce gone on e h u n

.
d red yards when sh e stopped and began ,
scratching her head again Now it was her .
mistress who appeared to her her hideous —
mistress with her hya en a m outh and her ,
eyes fl ashing with p assion The child took a .
lamentable glance before and beh i n d her .
What should she do what would become of

her ? where should she go ? It was from her
mistress she recoiled ; she turned back i n
the direction of the spring and began run ,
ning S he left the village running S h e e n

.
,
.
t e r e d the wood running loo k ing at nothing , ,
h earing nothi ng S he did not stop ti l l .
breath failed h er bu t she still went on ,
ahead w i ldly While ru nning s h e felt i n

, .
1 34 V I C TOR HU G O S W O RK S ’
.
but the effect of filling the buck et had been

so gr eat that she found it impossible to move
,
a step S he fell on the grass and lay there

.
,
utterly exhausted S he sh ut her eyes th en .

,
Opened them aga i n not knowing why bu t , ,
unabl e to do otherwise By her side the

. .
water stirring in the buck et made c i rcles that

resembled snakes of white fire O ver her .
head the S k y was covered w i t h large black

clouds which seem ed like smoke ; the tragi c
,
mask of the gloom seemed to bend vaguely

over this ch i ld Jupiter was setting i n the
.
profundity ; the child gazed w i th a wonder

ing eye at this large star which she did not ,
know and which terrified her The planet

, .
was at this m oment very near the horizon ,
an d was p assing through a dense fog which ,
gave i t a horribl e redness The fog wh i ch .

,
was of a gloomy purple hue enlarged the ,
planet and it looked like a luminous wound

, .
A cold wind blew from the plain ; t h e wood

was dark b u t there was n o rustling of leaves
, ,
an d none of t h e vagu e and fresh gleam s Of

summer Large branches stood out fright
.
fully and shapeless stunted bushes soughed

, ,
in the glades The tall grass twined under

.
the breeze like eels and the brambles writhed ,
like long arm s provided with claws seeking

to clutch their prey A fe w withered patches .
Of fern i mpelled by the breeze passed rapid

, ,
l y an d seemed to be flying before something

,
that was coming u p .
Dark ness produces a dizziness Man r e .
qu i res light and any on e who enters the

,
oppos i te of light feels his heart con t racted

, .
When the ey e sees darkness the soul sees ,

trouble : in an
eclipse in night in sooty , ,
opaqu eness t here i s anxiety even for the

,
strongest me n No one walks alone at nig h t

.
i n a forest w i thout a tremor for shadows and ,
trees are formidable densities A ch i merical .
reality appears i n the indistinct profundity ;

the i nconceivable is visible a few paces from
y o u with spectral clearness You see floating .
i n space or in yo u r o w n brai n something

, ,
vague and intangibl e like th e dreams of ,
sleep i ng flowers There are stern attitudes

o n the hori zon an d you breathe the effl u vi a
,
of the great black vacuum You feel fright .
ened and inclined to look behind y ou T he .
cavities of night the silent outlines which

,
disperse as you advance the irritated tufts , ,
the lurid pools the lugubriou s reflected in the

,
mournful the sep ulchral i mmensity of silence

, ,
the possible strange beings the bending of ,
mysterious branches the fr i ghtful torsos of,
trees the long waves of quivering grass — you

,
are defenceless against this There is no man .

,
however b o l d wh o does not sh udder and feel

,
this proximity of agony ; something hideous

is experienced as if the soul were amalga
,
mated with the shades This penetration of .
darkness is indescribably sinister i n a child .
F orests are apocalypses and the beating of ,
the w i ngs of a little soul produces a sound of

deat h beneath their m onstrous dome .
Without understan ding w h at she exp er i
en ce d Cosette fel t herself affected by this

,
black enorm i ty of natu r e : i t was no longer

terror alone that over owered h er but som e
thing even more terrible than terror S he
p ,
shuddered and words fail us to d escribe the

,
.
st r ange nature of this Shudder which chilled

her to the heart Her eye had become stern .
,
and she felt as if she could not prevent

herself from returning to the sam e spot on
the morrow Then by a species of ins t inct
.
, ,
and i n order to emerge from this singular

state which she did not understand but which ,
te rrified her she began counting aloud one

, , ,
t wo three four u p to ten an d when she

, , , ,
finished she began again

, This restored to .
her a true perception of th e things that sur

rounded her : she felt the coldness of her
b an d s which she had wetted in drawing the
water S he rose for fear had seized upon her
.
,
again a natural and insurm ountable fear

, .
S he had only on e thought left to fly fly at full , ,
speed through the wood an d across the fiel d s , ,
as far as the houses the windows an d the , ,
lighted candles Her eye fell on the bucket .
before her ; and such was the terror with whi ch

her mistress inspired her that sh e did not dare
fly w i thout the bucket S he seized the .
handle w i th both hands and found it diffi cult

to lift S he proceeded thu s for about a dozen
.
yards b ut the bucket was full an d heavy

, ,
an d she was compelled to set it on the

ground S he breathed for a m oment and
.
,
then lifted the bu cket and started again th is ,
time going a little further But she w as .
still obliged to stop once m ore and after a ,
few moments rest set out again S he walked

’
, .
with body bent for ward and d rooping head ,
like an Ol d woman ; and the weight of th e

bucket sti ffened her thin arms The iron -
.
h andle swelled and fr oze her small whi te

h ands F rom t i me to t i me she was forced to
.
1 38 VI CT O R HU GO S W ORK S ‘
.
an d saw
a tall black form walking by her
side ; it was a man who had come up behind
her an d whom she had not heard T his man
, . ,
without saying a word had seized the handle ,
of the bucket which she was carrying There .
is an instinct i n every meeting of thi s l i fe and ,
the ch il d felt n o fear .
C H A PT ER XC .
B OU L A TR U E L L E MAY HA V E B EE N R I G HT .
ON the af ternoon Of this same Ch ristmas d ay ,
1 8 23 a man walked for a long time about the

,
m ost desolate part Of th e Boulevard de l H O ’
pital at Paris He seemed to be look i ng for

,
.
a lo dging an d to s top for choice at t he most

,
shabby h ouses i n this skirt of the Faubourg

S t Marceau A s we shall see presently th i s
. .
,
man had reall y hired a bed room i n this isola ted -
dis t rict Both in dress an d person he realized

. ,
t h e type of what might be called the respectable

mendicant Of extreme misery com bined with
,
extreme cleanliness This is a very rare blend

p
.
ing which ins ires i n telligent minds with the

,
twofold respect which is fel t for t h e very poor

and t h e very worthy man He wore a very Ol d .
and carefully brushed round hat a th readbare

-
,
coat of coa r se yellow ochre colored cloth a color -

,
which was not absolutely o dd at that day a long ,
waistcoa t with enormous pockets black breeches ,
which had tu r ned g ray at th e knees black ,
worsted stockings and stout shoes with brass ,
buckles He look ed like th e ex tu tor of a

.
-
good fa mily returned from emigration From .

1 39
his whi te hair wrinkled forehead l i vi d lips

, , ,
and his face i n which every thing revealed

weariness of life he might have been supposed
,
much beyond sixty years of age but his firm ,
though slow step an d the singular vigor i m ,
printed On all his movements made h i m look ,
scarce fifty The wrinkles 0 11 his forehead were

.
well placed and would have favorably disposed

,
an y one who observed him closely ; his lip was

contracted by a strange curve which see med ,
stern b u t was h umble and there was a l u gu ,
b r i o u s serenity i n his look He carried in h i s .
lef t hand a small parcel tied up i n a h an dk e r

chief an d i n his right he h ad a stick ou t from
,
a hedge This stick had been carved with some

.
care and was n o t too bad looking advantage

,
had been taken of t h e knots and a coral knob ,
had been made with red seali n g wax — i t was -

,
a cudgel and seemed a cane .
Fe w people pass alo n g this B oulevard espe ,
ci al l y i n winter ; this man however seemed to , ,
avoid rather tha n see k them though witho u t ,
afl e ctat i on A t this period L ouis XVIII went

.
, .
almost daily to Choisy l e R oi which was one of ,
’
his favorite drives A t two o clock the roya l car
.
r ia ge and escort could almost invaria b ly be seen

passing at full gallop along t h e B oulevard de
l H Op
’
i tal This did as well as a clock or watc h
.
“
for t h e poor women of the d i s tr i ct w h o said It , ,
’
is two O clock for h e is returning to the Tuiler
,
ies A nd some r an up and others d rew up for ,
a king wh o passes always produces a tum u lt .
Moreover the appearance and disappearance

,
Of L ouis XVIII produced a certain effect i n

.
1 40 VICT OR H UGO S W ORKS ’
.
the streets of Paris for it was rapid b u t ma ,
j es t i c
. This impotent king had a taste for
galloping ; unable to walk he wished to run ; ,
an d this cripple would have liked to be drawn

by lightning He p as sed peaceful and stern
.
, ,
amid drawn sabres ; h i s heavy gil d ed berline ,
with large branches of lilies painted on the

panels rolled noisily along
, There was .
s ca r ce time to take a glance at him you saw

i n the right hand corner a broad firm red
-
, ,
face a healthy forehead powdered d Z oi s eau

,
’
r oy al a prou d harsh artful eye

, , an i n t el l i , ,
gent smile two heavy epaulettes with h ang

,
ing fr i nge upon a civilian coat ; the golden

fl eece the cross of S t L ouis the cross of the
,
.
,
Legi on Of Honor the silver plate of the Holy

,
G host a large stomach an d a wide blue rib

,
b on —i t was the k i ng
,
When out of Paris .
he carried hi s white feathered hat on hi s

knees up to which came tall E nglish gai ters ;
,
when h e returned t o the city he p ut h i s hat

o n hi s head and bowed rarely,
He looked at .
the people coldly an d they returned the com

,
p l i m en t ; when he appeared for the first time

i n the Faubourg S t Marceau hi s entire suc .
,
cess consist e d i n a remark made by a work

man to his chum That fat man is the gov
,
er n men t .
”
The infall ible passage of the king at the

same hour was hence the daily event of the
Boulevard de l H Op i t al T h e promenader i n
’
.
.
the yellow coat plain l y did n ot belong to that

quarter an d probably not to Paris for he w as
, ,
’
ignorant of the fact When at two O clock .
the royal carriage surrounded by L ife G uards ,
wi t h their silver aig uillettes turn ed i nto the ,

1 42 VI C T OR HU GO S W O R K S ‘
.
O nly one by my side o n the box the , , ,
driver said .
“
I w i ll tak e i t .
”
G et up the driver said , .
Before starting however he took a glance , ,

’
at the passenger s poor dress and the small ,
ness of his bundle an d asked for the fare , .
A re you going all t h e way to Lagny b e
Yes the man answered

,
.
The traveller paid his fare to Lagny and

the coach started A fter pas sing the city .
gate the driver tried to get up a conversation

, ,
bu t the traveller only answered i n mono

syllables so the driver began whistling and
,
swearing at his horses A s the nigh t was cold .
he wrapped himself in his cloak bu t the p as ,
senger did not seem to notice it A t about .
six O clock they reached Chelles where the

’
,
d river stopped for a m om ent to let his horses

breathe at an i n n opened i n the old buildings
,
of the R oyal A bbey .
I shall get down here the man said , .
He took his bundle and stick and j umped

o ff the coach A momen t af ter he had d i s
.
appeare d b u t h e did not enter the inn

,
.
When the coachman starte d ag ain a few m o

ments after he did not meet him in the high
,
street of Lagny and he turned round to his ,
inside passengers
”
That man he said d oes not belong to
, ,
these parts for I d o not kn ow h i m He looks

, .
’
as if he had n o t a penny and yet h e don t care ,
for money as he paid his fare to L agny and

,
only cam e as far as Chelles It is night all .

,
t h e houses are cl os ed he h as n ot gone int o ,

1 43
the i nn and yet I can t see him so he must

,
’
have sunk i nto the ground .
The man had not sunk into t h e ground ,
but walked hastily along th e ma in street of

Chelles i n the darkness : then h e turned to his
,
left before reach i ng the ch u r ch into a cross ,
roa d that ru ns to Montfermeil like a man who ,
k nows the country an d had been there before .
He followed this road rapidly and at the spot ,
where it is intersected by th e old road that

runs from L agn y to G agny he heard way ,
farers com i ng He hurriedly concealed him

.
self i n a ditch and waited till they had passed ;

,
the precau tion ho wever was al most s u p

, er fl u
ou s for as we have sai d it was a very dark De

, ,
cemb er night and only t wo or three stars we r e

,
visible i n the sky The man did not return to .
the Montfermeil road but went to his right , ,
across the fields and hurried in the direction

,
of the wood When he was i n i t he slackened

.
,
his pace and began looking carefully at all

,
the trees walking step by step as if seeking

, ,
and following a mysterious road known to

hi mself alone There was a m oment at w h ich
.
he seemed to lose h im self and appeared u n de

cided but at last by repeated groping he
, , ,
reached a glade i n which there was a pile of ‘
large white stones He walked h urriedly to .
ward these stones and attentively examined

them as if passing them i n rev i ew A large
, .
tree covered with th e se excrescences which

,
are the warts of vegetation was a f e w paces ,
from the heap he went up to it and passed

his hand over the back as i f trying to recog
nize and count all the warts O pposite this .
tree which was an ash there was a sickly

, ,
1 44 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORKS
‘
.
chestnu t shedding its bark upon whic h a ,
ring of zinc had been plac ed as a poul t ice he

stood o n tiptoe and fel t this ring then b e ex ,
ami n ed for some time the ground i n the space

contai ned between the tree an d the sto n es as ,
i f assuring hi mself that the ground h ad n o t

been fr eshly turned u p This done he looked .
,
about hi m an d resumed h is wal k through

,
th e W ood .
It was this man who came across Cosette .
While proceedi ng i n the direction of Mont

fer mei l he perceived this little shado w de
,
positing a load on the groun d then taking it ,
u p again and continuing her j ourney He

, .
w ent up and s aw t h at it was a young child

carryi n g an enormou s bucket then he d rew ,
to her side an d s i len tly took the bucket

handle .
C H A PT ER XCI .
COS E TT E I N TH E D A R K W ITH TH E STRAN G E R .
C OS E TT E as we stated was n ot frighten ed

, , .
The man Spoke to her i n a serious al most ,
l o w voice ,
My child what you are carrying is very

,
heavy .
C osette raise d her head and replied Yes , ,
Si r ,
“
G ive it to me t h e man conti nued
,
”
I ,
“
w i ll carry i t .
Cosette let go th e bucket an d the man ,
walked on by her side .
“
I t is really very heavy h e m uttered ,
then ad d ed What is y our age little on e

, ,
VIC T OR H UGO S W ORKS ‘
.
Madame Th enardier .
The man contin ued with an acce n t w hi ch

he strove to render careless bu t in which ,
th ere w as for all t hat a singu lar tremor

, , .
What is this Madame Th enardier

”
S he is m istress the child said , and ,
”
keeps the inn .
“
The i n n remarked the man ; well I ,
am going to lod ge there to n i ght S how me -

.
the way .
We are go i ng t o i t .
Though the man walked rather qu i ckly ,
Cosette had no di fficulty in keeping up with

hi m ; she no longer felt fatigue and from
ti m
,
e to time raised her eyes t o this man with a

sort of indescribable calmness and confidence .
S he had never been taught to turn her eyes

toward Providence and yet she felt within
,
her something that resembled hope and joy ,
an d which rose to Heaven A fter the lapse .
o f a f e w m inutes the man continu ed ,

“
Does Madame Th enardier keep no ser
vant
N o sir
, .
Is there no one but you

”
NO sir
, .
There was another in t erruption and then

.
,
Cosette raised her voice ,
That is to say there are two little g i rls

, .
? ”
What little gi rls
Pon i n e and Z el ma .
The child simplified in this way the roman

tic names dear to Madam e Th enardier .
?”
Who are they
They are Madame T h é n ar di er s yon n g ’
”
ladies as y ou may say her daughters
,
—
, .
LE S M I SERA B LES . 1 47
A nd what do they do .
“
Oh said the child they have h and ,
some d Ol l s and things all covered with gol d

,
.
They play abou t and amuse t h emselves .
A l l day
”
Yes sir , .
A n d you
O h I wor k
, .
”
A ll day 9 .
The child raised her l arge eyes i n wh i c h ,
stood a tear invisible i n the darkness and

, ,
replied softly ,
”
Yes sir ,
A fter a silence sh e continued
. .
S ometimes when I have finish ed my work

,
”
and they allow m e I amu se myself , .
I n what way
A s I can ; they let me be but I have not ,
many toys Pon i n e and Z elma do not like

.
me to play with their dolls and I have only ,
”
a little le aden sword no longer than that , .
The child h eld out her little finger .
”
A nd which does not cut ?
“
O h yes sir said the child it cuts salad
, , ,
and chops flies hea ds off ” ’

.
They reached the village and Cosette ,
guided the stranger through the streets .
When they passed the baker s Cosette did ’

,
not think of the l e af which she was to bring

in. The man had ceased q uestioning her ,
and preserved a gloomy silence but when ,
they had left the church behind them on ,
seeing all the open air shops he asked 00 -

,
sette,
“ ”
Is i t the fai r t i me ?
No sir it is Christmas
, , .
1 48 V I CT OR H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
W hen they approac hed the i n n ,

Cosette
touched his arm ti midly .
Si r ”
.
What is it my child ,
We are close to the house .
We l l
Will you let me carry my bucket n ew 9”
Wh y ?”
Because Madam e will be at m e i f she

”
sees that it has been carried for me .
The man gave her the bucket and a mo ,
ment later they were at the door of the pot

h ouse .
CH A PT E R X CII .
rs H E R I CH O R P OOR ?
C OS E TT E could not refr ain from taki ng a

side glance at the large doll which w as stil l
displayed at the toy shop an d then tapped -
,
at the door ; it opened and Madame Thé n ar ,
dier appeared candle i n hand ,

.
“
O h it s you you little devil : well I l l be
,
’
, ,
’
hanged i f you have n ot taken tim e enough :

”
you ve been playi n g I expect
’
, .
“ ”
Madam e said Cosette with a violent
, ,
”
tremor this gentleman wants a bed room
,
-
.
Madame Th enardier exchanged her coarse

look for an amiable grimace a change p ecu ,
liar to landladies and greedily turned her ,
eyes on the new c omer -

.
Is this the gentleman she said .
”
Yes m adame the man answered touch
, , ,
i n g his hat .
R ich travell ers are not so p olite T his .

carried it to his horse while Co sett e returned ,
to her place under the k i t h en table an d her

knitting The man who had scarce moist
.
,
ened hi s lips w it h the glass of Wine h e poured

out gazed at the child with strange at tentio n
, .
Cose tte was ugly but had she been happy ,
she migh t poss ibly have been pretty We .
have already sketched her little overcloud ed

face : Cosette was thin an d sickly and though , ,
eight years Of age looked hardly six Her ,

.
large eyes buried i n a species of shadow were

,
almost extinguished by constant crying while ,
the corners of her mouth h ad the curve of

habi tual agony which may be observed i n
,
condemned prisoners and i n patients who are

gi ven over Her hands were as her mother
.
,
”
had foretold ruined with chi lblains
,
.
The fire light which shone u po n her at this

,
moment brought out the angles of her bones

,
an d rendered her thinness fright f u lly visible ;

as she constantly shivered she had grow n ,
into the habit of always keeping her knees

pressed against each other Her e n tire cloth .
ing was one rag whic h would have arou sed

,
pity i n su mmer and caused horror i n wi nter

, .
S he had only torn calico upon her person ,
an d not a morsel of woollen s tu ff : her skin

was here and there visible and every where ,
could be distinguished blue or black marks ,
indicating the spots where her m istress had

beaten her Her bare legs were red and
.
rough an d the hollow be tween h er shoulder

,
blades would have moved you to tears The .
whole pe rson of this child h er attitude the l ,
sou nd of her voice the i nterval b etween o n e

,
word an d th e n ext h er look he r s ile n ce her

, , ,
LE S M I SERA B LES .
1 51
slightest movement expressed and translated

,
but one idea— fear Fear was Spread ove r

.
her ; sh e was so t o speak clothed in it ; fear

, ,
dre w u p her elbows against h er hips with ,
d rew her heels under her petticoats made ,
her occupy as little room as possible breathe ,
when only absolutely necessary an d had b e ,
come what mi ght be called the habit of h er

body without any possible variation save that
,
of increasing There was a corner i n h er

.
:
eye i n which terror lurked This fear w as .
so great that Cosette o n re turning wet

t h rough did not dare go to th e fire but ,
silently began h e r work again The expres .
sion Of his child s eye was habitually so

’
gloomy and at times so tragical that it ,
seemed at cert ain mom e nts as if she were on

the point of becoming either an idiot or a
demon Never as we said had she known
.
, ,
what prayer was never had she set foot i n a

,
“
Can I spare the ti me for it ?
”
church .
Madame Th enardier used to say The man .
i n the yellow coat did n o t take his eyes o ff

Cosette A ll at O nce her mistress cried
.
,
“ ’
H i l l oh ! where s the l eaf
Cosette according to her custom whenever
,
Madame Th enardier raised her voice quickly ,
came from under the table S he had com .
p yl et el forgotten the l e af an d had recourse

,
to t h e expedient of terrified children — she ,
told a falsehood .
’
Madame the baker s was shu t up
, .
”
Yo u Ought to have knocked .
I did d o so but he would n ot open

, .
I shall know to m orrow whether that is

“
t h e truth said her mistress
, and if it is ,
.
’
n ot ,look o u t that s all I n the meanwhile
,
.
give m e b ack my fi f t ee n sous piece ”

-
.
Cose tt e pl unged her ha nd in to the pocket

of her apron an d tu rned green : the coin was
n o longer i n it .
” “
Wel l her mistress said
, d i d you not ,
”
h ear m e ?
Cosette turned her pocket o u t bu t there ,
was nothi ng in it ; w hat cou l d have b ecome

?
o f the money The wretched little creature
could not find a w or d to say ; she was petri.
fi ed
?”
Have you l ost i t h er mistress asked ,
”
or are you trying to rob me ?
A t the same time she stretched out her
hand to the cat—O nine tails ; this formidable ’
-
gestu re res tored Cosette the strength to cr y ,
Me r cy madam e ; I w i ll n ever do it again

, .
The man in t h e yello w coat had been feel

i ng i n his waistcoat p ocket though n o o n e ,
noticed it Moreover the oth er gu ests were

.
,
drinking o r card playing and p ad no atten

-
,
ti on t o hi m Cosette had retreated i n agony

.
t o the chimney corner shivering to m ake her

-
self as little as she could and protect her ,
poor half naked limbs Her mistress raised

-
.
h e r arm .
“
I beg your pardon m adame said the , ,
man but just n o w I saw something fall out

,
of the little girl s pocket an d rolling away ’

.
It may be that ”
.
A t th e same time he stooped an d appeared

to be search i ng for a moment .
”
Yes here it is he continu ed as he rose
, , ,
an d held out a coin to the landlady .
”
Yes that s it she said
,
’
, .
1 54 vi c T OR H UGO S W ORK S ’
.
made there was certain q ueenli ness When

, .
they came i n the i r mother said to them i n a

,
scold ing voice which was full of ado r ation

, ,
”
T h ere you are then , .
Then drawi ng t hem on to her knees i n

,
t urn smoothing their hair retying their r i b

, ,
bons and letting them go with that gentle

,
shake which is peculi ar to m others S h e ex ,

”
claim ed How sma r t they are 1 They sat
,
down by the fi r e side w ith a doll which they -

,
turned over o n their knees with all sorts of

joyous prattle A t times Cosette ra i sed h er
.
eyes from her knitting an d mournfully

watched their playi ng E ponine an d A zelma .
did n ot look at Cosette for to them she was ,
l i ke the dog These three little girls did n o t

.
count four an d twenty years between them

- -
,
and alre ad y represented hu man society — on ,
one side envy on the other disdai n The, , .
doll was very old an d broken but it did not ,
appear the less wonderful to Cosette who ,
never i n her lif e possessed a doll a real ,

”
doll to employ an expression which all chil
,
dr en wil l u nderstand A l l at once the land .
lady who was going about the roe m noticed

, ,
that Cosette was idling and watc h i ng the ,
children instead Of working .
A h I have caught you she exclaimed

, ,
’ ?
that s the way you work is it I ll make ,
’
you work with the cat o n i n e tail s -

’
- ~
.
The stranger without leaving h i s c hai r

, ,
tu rned to Madame Th enardier .
”
O h Madam e he said w it h an almost
, ,
“
timi d sm i le let her play
,
.
S uch a wi sh would have been a co mmand

from an y traveller who had ordered a g ood
L ES M I SE R A B L E S .
1 55
s upper and drunk a couple of b o t tl e s of wine ,
an d who did not look like a beggar But the .
landlady did not tolerate a man who had

such a hat having a desire and one who
,
w e r e such a coat daring to have aw i l l of his .
own 1 Hence she answered sharply ,
Sh e must work since she eats ; I do not

,
”
keep her to do nothing .
“ ? ”
What is she doing pray the stranger ,
continued i n that gentle voice which formed

,
such a strange contrast with his beggar

clothes and porter shoulders .
The landlady d eigned to reply ,
S he is knitting stockings if you please , ,
for my little girls who have none so to , ,
speak and are forced to go about bare

,
”
foote d .
The man looked at Cosette s poor red feet ’

,
and said ,
When will S h e have finished that pair of

stock i ngs
“
S he has three or four good days work ’
,
the idle slut .
A n d how much may suc h a pair be worth

?”
when finished
The landlady gave h im a contemptu ous
glance .
“
A t leas t thi r ty sous .
? ”
Will you sell them to m e for five francs
the m an contin ued .
By Job a carrier who was listening ex

“
claimed with a coarse laugh
,
I should ,
”
think se fi ve balls !
—
,
M Th enardier th ought i t h i s duty to

.
speak .
Yes s i r i f such be y our fancy you can

, , ,
1 56 VI CT OR H UGO S W ORKS ’
.
have the pair of stockings for five francs we ,

”
cannot refuse travellers anything .
”
Cash payment the landlady said i n her ,
peremptory voice .
“
I buy th e pair of stockings the man ,
said and ad d ed as h e drew a fi ve franc

, ,
-
piece from his pocket an d laid it on the ta r
“
ble I pay for them
,
.
Then he turned to Cosette ,
Your labor is n e w mine so play my , ,

”
child .
The carrier was so affected by the fi ve ~
franc piece that he left his glass and hurri ed

up
It is real he exclaimed after e xami n
, ,
“ ”
ing it a true hind wheel and no mis take
, , .
Th enardier came up and sil ently put the

coin i n h i s pocket The landlady could .
m ake no answer but S h e bit her lips and

, ,
her face as sum ed an expression of hatred .
Cosette was trembling but still ventured to ,
ask ,
”
Is it tru e m ad am ,
May I play ?
”
Play her mistress said i n a terrible
, ,
vo i ce .
A nd while her lips thanked the landlady ,
all her little soul thanked the traveller Thé .
mardier h ad returned to his glass and his ,
wife whispered in his ear ,
What can this yellow man be

”
I have seen Th enardier replied wi th
, ,
“
a sovereign air millionaires who wore a
,
”
coat like his .
Cosette had lain down her needle but did ,
not dare leave her place for as a rule she , , ,
moved as little as p ossi ble S he took from a .

158 V I CTOR B U GO S W O R K S
’
.
Thi s done sh e laid i t on h er arm and sang

, ,
softly to lull it to Sleep A doll is on e of the .
most i mperious wants an d at the same time ,
o n e o f the m ost delicious instincts of femi ,
nine chi ldhood To clean clothe adorn .

, , ,
dress u ndress d ress again teach scold a

, , , ,
little nu rse lull send to Sleep an d imagi ne

, , , ,
that something is somebody — the whole

future of a woman is contained i n t hi s .
Wh ile dreaming and prattling m aking little ,
trousseaux an d cradles while sewing little ,
frocks and aprons the chil d becomes a girl , ,
the girl becomes a maid en an d the maiden a ,
woman The first child i s a continuation o f

.
the last doll A l i tt l e girl without a doll is

.
nearly as u nhappy an d quite as impossible as

a wi fe without children ; Cosette therefore , ,
made a doll of her sword The landlady .

,
“
i n the meanwhile walked up to the yellow,
” “ ”
man . My h u sband i s right s h e thought , ,
“
it is perhaps M L afitte S ome rich men . .
ar e so w h imsi cal S he lent h er elbow o n .
the table and said S ir ,

“
A t the word S ir the man turn ed roun d ,
for the female Th enardier had up to the

“
present only addressed him as My good
”
man .
“
You see sir she conti nued as su m ing
, , ,
h er gentl e air which was still m ore dreadf ul

,
t o see than her fierce look I am glad to see ,
the child play an d do n ot oppose it an d it

, ,
i s all right for once as you are generous ,

.
”
B u t you s ee sh e h as nothing and mu st work
, , ,
.
“ ”
Then she is n ot a child of yours ? the
,
man as k ed .
O h ! L ord no si r ; she is a poor little

, ,
girl we took in ou t of charity S he i s a sort .
of i mbecile and I think has water on the

,
brain for she has a big head We do all we

, .
can for her bu t we are not rich and though

, ,
we write to her people we have not h ad an ,
answer for S i x months It looks as if the .
”
mother were dead .
“ ”
A h ! said the man an d he fell back into ,
his reveri e .
“
The mother couldn t have been m uch ’
,
“
th e landlady added for she deserted h er ,
”
child.
D uring the whole of the conversation CO

sette as if an instinct warned her that she
,
was being talked about did not take her eyes ,
Off her mistress S he listened an d heard two

.
or three indistinct words here an d there In .
the meanwhile the d rinkers who were three

, ,
parts intoxicated stru ck up their unclean ,
song again with redoubled gayety and ,
Madame Th enardier went to take part i n the

bursts of laughter Cosette under her table .
, ,
looked at the fire wh i ch was reflected in her

fixed eyes ; she had begu n rocking her doll
again and while lulling it to Sleep sang i n a
, ,
l o w voice My mother is dead my mother

, ,
”
is de ad my mother is dead
, On being .
pressed again by the land lady the yellow -

,
”
man the mi l l i o n ar e consented to take
, ,
some supper .
”
Wh at will you have sir ? ,
”
Bread and cheese .
He is certainly a beggar the landlady ,
though t The drunkards were still singing

.
1 60 V I CT O R H U GO S W ORK S '
.
sti ll sang hers A ll at once Cosette broke .
Off : she turned and perceived the doll lyin g

,
o n the ground a few paces from the kitchen
table which the children had thrown do w n

,
on taking up the kitten S he let the .
wrapped u p sword which only half satisfied

-
,
her fall and then slowly look ed around the

, ,
room The landlady was whispering to her

.
husband and reckoning some change E po .
ni ne an d A zelma were playing w i th the k i t

t en the gu ests were eating drink ing Or sing
, , ,
i n g and n o one noticed her

, S he had n ot a .
m oment to lose so she crept o n her hands ,
and knees from u nder the table assured her ,
self once again that she was n ot watched

and seized the doll A moment after she was .
back i n her seat and tu rned so that the dol l ,
whi ch she held i n her arm s should be i n the

shadow The happiness of p l ayi ng w i th this
.
doll was almost too much for her No on e .
had seen her excepting the traveller who was

, ,
slowly eating his poor supper This j oy last .
ed nearly a quarter of an hour b u t i n spite ,
of the caution which Cosette took she did not

notice that one of the doll s feet w as p eeping ’
out and that the fire lit it up very distinctly

,
.
This pink lum i nous foot emerging from the

glow suddenly caught the eye of A zel ma who ,
”
said to E ponine L ook sister ,
.
The two little girls were s t u p e fi e d : Coset te
had dared t o take their dol l ! Eponine rose ,
an d letting the cat go r an to her m other and ,
plucked the skirt of her dress .
”
L et me be said the mother ,
what d o ,
9 ”
you want n o w .
” “ ”
Mother said the gi 1 l
,
j ust loo k ! ,
162 vr CT OR n ue o s WO R K S .
“
well suppose that she did play wi th the
,
doll !
S he has touch ed it with her dirty hands ,
“
th e landlady continued her frightful ,
”
hands .
Here Cos ette redou bled her sobs .
Will you be quiet her m i stress yelled .
The man went straight t o the street door ,
Opened it and walked out : the landlady took

,
advantage Of hi s absence to give Cosette a

kick under the table which made her scream , .
The door Opened again and the man rea p ,
p ea r ed carrying in his hands the fabulous

,
doll to which we h ave all uded and which all ,
the village children had been contemplating

since the morning He placed i t o n its legs
.
before Cosette saying , ,
Here this is for y ou :

,
We m ust suppose that during the hour he ,
had been sitting i n a reverie he had con ,
f u s e d l y noticed the toyman s shop which

’
,
was so brilliantly illumina ted with lamps an d

candle that it could be seen through the
,
tap—room windo w like an aurora borealis .
Cosette raised her eyes : she had looked at

the man coming toward her w i th the doll as
if he were the sun ; she heard the ex t r ao r d i
“
nary words it is for you she looked at
him looked at the d e l l then drew back slow
, ,
l y an d concealed herself e n tir e ly i n a corner

,
under the table S he did n ot cry she did

.
,
not spe ak but looked as if she dared hardly

breathe Th e landlady E ponine an d A zel
.
, ,
ma were so m any statues ; the tope r s t hem

selves had stopped drinking and there was a ,
solemn silence i n the tap room The mother -

.
petrified and du mb began h e r conjectures ,
“
again Who is this man ? is he poor or a
.
millionnaire ? He is perhaps both that is , , ,

” ’
say,
a thief T he husband
. s face o ff ered
that expressive wrinkle which marks the h u
man face each time that the r uling instinct
appears on it with all its bestial power The .
landlord looked in turn at t h e doll and t h e

traveller : he seemed to be sniffing round th e
man as he woul d have d on e round a m oney
,
bag This only lasted for a second ; then he

.
went up to his wife and whispered ,
That machine costs at least thirty francs .
No nonsense crawl i n t h e d ust before t h e

,
”
m an .
Coarse natures have this i n comm on with

simple natures that they have 11 0 tra n sitions
, .
“ ”
Well Cosette the landlady said i n a
, , ,
voice which strove to be gentle an d wh i c h ,
was composed of t h e b itter honey of wicked

“
women why don t you take y our doll
,
’
Cosette ventured to crawl out of her hole .
My little Cosette h e r mistress contin ,
ued fawningly this ge ntleman gives you ,
the doll so take it for it is yours

, , .
Cosette gazed at t h e won d erful doll with a

sort of terror ; h e r face was still bathed in
tears but her eyes were beginning to fill like
, ,
the sky at d awn wit h s trange rays of j oy , .
What she felt at this momen t was som ething

like what s h e would have felt had some one
“
su ddenly said to her L ittle girl you are , ,
Queen of France .
It seemed to her that if she touched this

doll thunder would issue from it an d this ,
was true to a certain point for she sai d t o ,

1 64 VICT OR H U GO S W ORKS ‘
.
h ersel f that her mistress would scold and

be at her S till the attraction gained the
.
,
victory she at length crawled u p to the doll

,
and m urmured timidly as she tu rned to the

landlady ,
”
May I madame ? ,
No expression could render this air which ,
w as at once despairing terrified an d rav , ,
i sh e d .
O f course said her mistress since t his

, ,
”
gentleman gives it to you .
“ ? ” “
Is it true sir Cosette continued
,
is ,
the lady really m ine

T he stranger s eyes were full of tears and
’
,
he seemed to have reached that point of emo

tion when a man does not Speak i n order that
he may not weep He nod ded to Cosette .
,
“
and placed the lady s little han d i n hers ’
.
Cosette quickly drew back her hand as if the

lady s burnt her an d look e d d own at the
’
,
brick floor We are compelled to ad d that

.
at this mome nt she p ut her tongue out to an

enormous length ; all at once she turned and
passionate ly seized the doll .
“
I will call her Catherine she said , .
It was a strange sight wh en Cosette s rags ’
met and held the dolls ribbons and fresh

mu slins .
May I put her in a chair madame she ,
co ntinued .
Y es my child her mistres s answered

, , .
It was now the turn of E ponine and A zel

ma to look en viously at Cosette S he placed .
Catherine i n a chair an d then sat down o n ,
t h e ground before her motionless without , ,

1 66 VICT O R H U GO S W ORKS ‘
.
ri ght for a traveller can do as he likes so

,
long as he pays If this Ol d man is a philan

.
t hr op i s t how does i t concern you

, If he is
an ass it is n o business Of yours
, Why d o .
”
you in terfere so long as he has mone y ?
,
T h i s was the language of a master an d the

reasoning of a landlord neither of which ad ,
mi tt ed a reply .
T h e man was rest i ng h i s elbow o n t h e

table an d had resum ed his thoughtful atti
,
tude ; the other travellers peddlers and car ,
t iers had gone away or left o ff singi ng T h ey .
regarded hi m from a distance with a sort of

respectful fear ; th i s poorly clad individual ,
who drew hind wheels from his pocket w i th -

.
s uch ease and lavi shed gigantic dolls o n rag

,
ged girls was ass u redly a magnificent an d

,
fo r midable man S everal h ours passed m i d

.
,
night mas s was finished the matin bell h ad ,
been rung the drinkers had gone away the

, ,
pot house was closed the fire w as out i n the

-
,
tap room but the stranger still rema i ned at

-
,
the sam e Spot and i n the sam e posture From .
tim e to time he changed the elbow o n which

he was leaning that was all ; but he had n ot
,
uttered a syllable since Cosette went off to

bed . T h e T h é n ar d i er s alone remai ned in
the room through politeness an d cu riosi ty
,
.
”
Is he going to pass the night li ke that ?
t he landlady pouted When it struck two .
,
she declared herself conquered and sa i d to ,
“
her husband I am off to b ed ; you can do
,
”
as you like The husband sat down at a
.
table i n a corner lit a can dle and began , ,
reading the Cou r r i er F r an mi s A good .
hour p assed during w hi ch the worthy host

,
LES M1 S E R A B L E S .
‘
1 67
r ead the paper through t h rice from the

date Of the n umber to t he imprint but the ,
stranger did not sti r Th enardier moved .

,
cou ghed spat and made his chair creak but

, , ,
“
the man made no movement Can he be .
asleep ? Th enardier thought ; the man was

”
not asleep but n o m ove ment aroused him

, .
A t lengt h the landlord d e fi ed his capwalke d ,
up gently and ventured to say

, ,
”
DO you not wish for repose sir ? ,
”
To sl eep would have appeared to him ex
“ ”
ce ss i ve and familiar whi l e repose hinted
'
at luxury an d was respectful

,
S u ch words .
have the mysterious an d admirable quality of

swel ling the bill on the next morning ; a room
i n which you sleep costs twenty sous ; one in
which you repose costs twenty francs .
“ ”
Why yo u are right said the stranger
, , ,
”
where is your stable ?
”
I will sho w you the way s i r Th énar , ,
dier replied with a smile , .
He took the candle the man fetched his stick

'
an d b u n dl e an d T h enar d ier led hi m to a roo m

,
o n the first floor which was most l u xurious

, ,
with its mahogany furniture an d the bed with ,
i ts red cotton cu rtai ns .
? ”
What is this the traveller asked .
”
O ur o wn wedding bed room the land -
,
“
lord replied ; my wife an d I occupy another ,
an d this room is only entered three or four

”
times a year .
“ ”
I should have preferred the stable the ,
man said roughly Th enardier pretended

.
not to hear this d isagreeable reflection but lit ,
two new wax candles standing on th e mantle

piece A rather large fi r e was flashin g i n the
.
1 68 VI CT OR H UGO S W O R K S ‘
.
grate . U pon the mantle piece was also a -
’
woman s head dr ess made of silver tiss ue an d
-
,
orange flowers under a glass shad e , .
“ ”
A nd what is this ? the stranger con
tin ned .
That sir Th enardier sai d i s my wife s

, , ,
’
”
we d ding bonnet .
The traveller l ooked at the Object i n a way

that seemed to say Then there was a mo ,
”
ment when this monster was a virgin .
’
This was a falsehood of T h é n ad i e r s ; when
he hired the hou se to convert it into a public ,
b e found thi s roo m th us furnished and ,
bought the lot thinking that it would cast ,

”
a graceful shadow over his spouse and ,
that his house would derive from it what the

E ngli sh cal l respectability When the trav .
eller turned rou nd T h é n ad i er had d i sap ,
p ear ed without sayi ng good evening

, as he ,
did not wish to treat with disrespectful cor

di al i ty a man whom he intended to flay roy
ally the next morning The landlord went . .
to his room where his w i fe was i n bed but

, ,
n o t asleep S o soon as S h e heard her h u s

.
band s footstep she said to him

’
, ,
“
You k n ew t hat I m ean t to turn Coset te
?”
out to morrow
-
T h é n ad i er col d ly answered ,
H o w you go o n .
They exchanged n o m ore words an d a few ,
minutes aft er the candle was extinguished .
For his part the stranger had pl aced his

,
stick an d bundle i n a corner When the .
lan dlord had withdrawn he sat down in an ,
easy chair and remained pensive for a time ;

then he took off his shoes seized o n e of the ,
1 70 V I CT OR H UGO S W ORK S '
.
in which there is always so little fire whe n

there is a frost and which are so cold to look
,
at I n thi s chimney there was no fi r e n o t

.
,
even ashes ; but what there was in it attracted

the traveller s attention He saw two little
’
.
c hild s shoes of coquettish shape an d unequal

’
size ; an d the travel ler recollected the grace

ful and immemorial c ustom Of children who
place their sh oe i n the chimney o n Christ mas
night i n order to obtain some gli ttering
,
present from their good fa i ry in the dark

ness E ponine an d A zelma had not fai led
.
i n this observance The traveller bent

.
down ; the fairy that is the mother had al

, , ,
ready paid her vi sit and i n each sh oe ah an d

,
some ten sous piece could be seen shining .
Th e man rose an d w as going away when he ,
observed another Object in the darkest co r

n e r o f the hearth ; he looke d at it and r ecog ,
n i z e d a hi deous wooden shoe h alf broken ,
an d covered with ashes and dried mud It .
was Cosette s ; with the touching confid ence

’
Of chi ldren w h o may be disappointed but ,
are never discouraged she had also placed,
her shoe in the chimney Hope i n a ch i ld .
that has never known aught bu t despair is a ,
sublime and affecting thing

“
There was .
nothing i n this shoe ; but t h e str anger fel t i n

h is pocket an d laid a louis d or i n it ; then he ’
crept noiselessly b ack to his bed room -

.
LES M I SER AB LES .
CH A PT ER X CIII .
TH E N AR D I E R AT W O R K .
TH Enext m orn ing ; almost two hours b e

fore dayb r eak Th enardier was seated pen i n
, ,
hand at a table i n the tap room and mak

,
-
,
ing out the bill of the yellow coated traveller -

.
His wife standing behind him was watching

, ,
p
him ; they did not exchange a syllable ; 0 11
one side there was a rofound meditation on ,
the other t hat profound admiratio n with

which people watch a marvel of the h uman
mind expanding A noise could be heard i n
.
the house ; it was t h e Lark sweep ing the

stairs A t the end of a quart er of an hou r
.
an d som e erasures Th enard i er produced this

,
master p i ece ,
“
TH E G E N T IN . NO . 1 .
S upper 3 frcs .
Bed 10
Candles 5
F i re 4
A ttendance 1
Total 23 frcs .
”
T w e n t ygth r ee francs ! the wife exclai med ,
wi th an admirat i on mingled with som e h esi

tati e n .
L ike all great artists Th enardier was not ,
! ”
satisfied and said
, Pooh It was the ac
,
cent o f Castlereagh drawing up the little

1 72 VI CT OR B ‘
UGO S W ORK S .
bill for F r an ce to pay at the Con gress of

V i enna .
Monsi eur Th enardier you are r i ght ; h e ,

”
certainly owes it the wife m utt ered think
, ,
ing of the doll given to Cosette i n the pres

“
en ce of her children : it i s fair bu t it i s ,
”
t oo much ; he will n o t pay it .
Th enardier gave hi s cold laugh an d said , ,

”
He will pay it .
This laugh was the supreme signification

of certainty an d author i ty ; what was said i n
this way must be T h e wife made no o b j ec
.
tion but began arrangi ng the tables wh i le

, ,
her husband walked up and down the r oom ;

a moment after he added ,
W h y I owe fifteen hundred francs

, .
He sat down i n the ingle nook meditating -

,
with hi s feet i n the warm ashes .
“ “
By the by the wife continu ed
, you ,
d on t forget that I m ean to neck Cosette out

’
to d ay ? The monster ! she eats my heart

-
with her doll ; I would sooner m arry Louis

XVIII than keep h e r a day longer i n the
.
house .
Th enardier lit his pipe and said between ,
t wo pu ffs You wil l hand the man the

,
bill .
Then he went ou t an d h ad scarce left the ,
room ere the traveller entered ; Th enardier

at once appeared behind and stood i n the
half open door only visible to h i swife The
-
,
.
yell ow man carried his stick and bundle in

h is hand .
“ ”
U p so soon 9 the landlady said ar e ,
”
you going to leave us alread y s ir ? ,
1 74 V I CT OR n ue o s '
W ORKS .
‘
but we ca n t give it ; our earnings are small
and our ex p enses great The license the .
,
door an d window tax and so on ! Y ou kn ow -

, ,
sir t hat th e governm ent claim s a terrible

,
deal of money A nd then I have my o wn .
daughters an d do not care to support an

,
”
other p erson s child ’
.
The man replied in a voice which h e strove ,
to render careless and i n which there was a ,
tr emor,
“
A nd suppose you were freed of her
O f whom — o f Cosette
’
The landlady s red an d violet face was
i l lumined by a hideous grin .
A h sir my good sir ; take her keep her

, , , ,
car r y her Off sugar her stu ff her with tru ffles
, , ,
eat her dr i nk h er an d may all the saints in

, ,
Paradi se bl ess y ou
”
It i s settled .
You really will take her away at once ?

”
A t once call her '
.
Cosette the landlady shouted

, .
I n the meanwhile
”
the man continued , ,
I will pay my score ; h o w much is it

He took a glance at the bill and could n o t ,
restrain a start of surprise He looked at .
the l an d l ad v and said Twenty three ,

-
francs There was i n his pronunciation of

the two words the accent which separa t es the
point Of exclamation from the p o mt of i n
t er r ogat i o n Madam e Th enard ier had had

.
tim e to prepare for the collision and hence ,
answered w ith assurance ,
Y es sir twenty three francs

, ,
-
.
T he stranger laid five fi ve franc pieces on -
the table .
LES MI SERA B LES .
1 75
G o and fetch the girl h e said , .
A t this moment Th enardier walked into

the middle of the room and said , ,
The gentleman owes twenty six sous -

.
”
Twenty six s ou s l the wife exclaimed
-
.
“ ”
Twenty s o n s for the bed room T h é n -
,
“
ar d i e r continu ed coldly an d six for the
,
supper A s for the girl I mu st talk a little

. ,
with the gentlem an fi rst L eave u s wife .

, .
The landlady h ad one of those bedazzle

ments which u nforseen flashes of talent pro
d u ce d ; she felt that t h e great actor had
come on the stage made n o answer and
, ,
went ou t S o soon as they were alone T h é n

.
,
ar d i e r offered the traveller a chair ; he sat

down Th enardier remained standing and
, ,
his face assu med a Singular e xpression of

kindliness and Sim plicity .
“ ” “
I m ust tell you he said
, sir that I , ,
adore the child .
The Stranger looked at h i m fixedly .
What child
Th enardier continued ,
How strange it is but you gro w attached

,
to them What is the m eaning of all that

.
m oney ? p ut it back i n your pocket ; I adore

”
the child .
“
What child the Stranger as k ed .
Wh y our little Cosette don t you w i sh

,
’
to take h er fro m u s ? Well I speak frankly , ,
and as true as you are an hones t man I can ,
not consent I should m iss the ch i ld for I

.
,
have known her since she was a baby ; I t is

true that she costs us m oney that sh e has ,
h er faults that we are not r i ch and that I

, ,
p a i d mo r e t han u p wards o f fou r hund red

1 76 VI CT OR H UGO S W ORK S ’
.
francs for m edicines alone i n one Of her ill

nesses S he h as neither father nor m other
.
,
an d I brought h er u p an d I have bread

both for her and for me L ook you I am .
,
fond Of the child affection grows on you I

am a good foolish fellow and don t reason ; ,
’
I love the gi rl an d though my wife is quick

, ,
she loves her too S he is like our own child

.
,
”
an d I want to hear her prattle i n the house .
The stranger still l ock e d at him fixedly as ,
he continued E xcu se me sir but a child

, , ,
can t be give n like that to the first passer b v

’
-
.
You w i ll allow that I am right ? I don t say ’
that you are n o t rich an d look like a ve 1 y

worthy m an an d that it may be for her wel
,
fare ? but I am bound to know Y ou n u .
d er st an d ? S upposing that I let her go an d

sacrificed myself I should like to know where
,
she is going and not lose her out of sight I

,
should wish to know where she is an d go ,
an d see her now and then to convince the ,
child that her foster father is watching over -
her In short there are some things wh ich

.
,
are not possible ; I don t even know your ’
name I ough t at least to s ee so me scrap of

.
”
paper a passport and so on
, , .
The stranger wi thou t ceasing to fix on

,
hi m that look which pierces to the bottom of

the conscience said i n a grave firm voice
, ,
Monsieur Th enardier a man does not r e ,
quire a passport to go four leagues from

Paris and i f I take Coset t e away I take ,
h er away that is all You will not know my

, .
name my residence or where she is and it

, , ,
is my i n tention that she shall never see you

again I break the string which s h e has
.
178 VICT O R H U OO’ S W O R KS .
man was interested i n remaining i n the

shadow he felt himself strong ; bu t on hear
,
’
ing the strange r s firm an d distinct answer ,
when he saw that this mysterious person was

simply mysterious he fel t himself weak , .
He had n o t exp ected any thing o f this so rt ,
and it routed his conjectures He rallied his .
ideas an d we i ghed all this i n a second

, .
Th enardier w as one of those men who judge

of a S i tuation at a glance and considered ,
that i t was the moment to advance straight

an d rap i dly He behaved l i ke great captains
.
at that decisive instant which they alone can

recognize and suddenly unmasked his bat
,
t er y .
“
S ir he said I want o n e thousand five
, ,
”
h undred francs .
The stranger drew from his side pocke t an -
Old black leathern portfolio and took from ,
it three bank notes which he laid on the

table ; then he placed his large thumb o n
the notes an d said to the landlord
, ,
”
Bring Cosette here .
While this was taking place what was ,
Cosette about ? On waking sh e r an to her ,
sabot and found the gold coin i n it ; it was

n ot a napoleon but one of those new twen ty
,
franc pieces Of the R estoration o n which t he ,
P ru ssian queue was substituted for the crown

of laurels Cosette w as d azzled and her
.
,
destiny was beginn i n g to intoxicate h er ; she

knew not W hat a gold piece was s h e had ,
never seen one an d sh e h u rriedly hi d it i n

,
her pocket as if she had stolen i t S he felt

, .
it was really hers she gu essed whence the ,
gi ft came but s h e exper i enced a feeling of

,
1 79
j oy full of fear S he was h appy but she was

.
,
more s t u p e fi ed these magnificent things

did not seem to her r eal — the doll frightened ,
her the gold coin frigh tened her an d she

, ,
trembled vaguely at this magnificence The .
Stranger alone did not frighten her ; on the

contrary he reassured her since the previous
,
evening Through her amazement and her

.
Sleep she thought i n her little childish mind

,
of this man who looked so ol d and poor and

, , ,
sad ; and who w as so rich and good E ver .
since she m et him i n the wood all had ,
changed for her as it were Cosette less ,

.
,
happy than the meanest swallow had never ,
yet known what it is to take refuge in the

shadow and beneath the wing of her mother
for fi ve years that is to say so far b ack as
, ,
her thoughts went the poor child had trem ,
bled and Shudder e d S he had ever been ex .
posed i n her nudity to the bleak blast of

misf ortune an d s h e felt as if she were clothed ;
,
formerly her soul was cold n ow it was warm , .
Cosette no longer felt afraid of her mistress ,
for S h e was no longe r alone ; she had some

o n e by her side S he had set ab out her daily
.
work very quickly and the louis which S h e , ,
had in the same pocket from whic h the fi f

teen sou s piece fell o n the previous night
-
,
caused her thoughts to stray S he did n ot .
dare touch it but she looked at it for five

,
minutes at a time While sweeping the

stairs she stood m otionless forgetting her
, ,
broom and the whole world engaged i n ,
watching this star sparkle in her pocket It .
was during one of these contemplations that

her mistress came to her b y her husband s ’
1 30 VI CT OR R ue o s
'
W ORK S .
order sh e had com e to fetch the child and , ,
extraordinary to say did not strike her or , ,
even abuse her .
” “
Cosette she sa i d al most gently c ome
, , ,
”
directly .
A moment after Cosette entered the tap ,
room The stranger took h i s bundle and n u

.
tied i t ; it contained a complete m ou rn ing

dress for a child Of seven years of age .
My dear the man said

”
,
“
take these ,
”
and go and dress yourself quickly .
Day was breaking when those in h ab i t ants

,
of Montfermeil who were beginn i ng to open

their doors saw a poorly clad man an d a girl -
,
holding a large d e l l going along the Paris ,
road to w ard L ivry No one kne w the man

.
,
an d fe w recognized Cosette i n h er n e w dress .
Cosette was going away With whom ? she .
w as ignorant .Where to ? she d id not know .
A l l she u nderstood was that she was leaving

T h é n ar d i e r s pot house behind her ; no one
’
-
-
thought of saying good b y to h er or S h e to -

,
an y o n e . S he lef t the house hated an d hat ,
ing Poor gentle being whose heart up to

.
,
this h our had only been compressed !

Cosette walked gravely Opening her large ,
eyes and looking at the sky ; she had pl aced

her louis i n the pocket of h e r n e w apron and ,
from time to time stooped down an d looked

at it an d then at her companion
, .
182 VI C T OR H U GO S W OR K S ’
.
I am an animal he said O n leaving , .
Montfermeil and reach ing the angle formed

by the L agny road you can see it r u nn i ng for
,
a long dis tance before you are upon the pla

teau On getting to this point he calculated
.
that he should see the man and child and ,
looked as far as he coul d but saw nothing , .
He inqu ired again an d passers b y t ol d h im,

-
that the people he was looking for h ad gone

i n t h e direction of G agny wood He followed .
t h em for though t h ey h ad the start o f h im

, , ,
a child walks slowly He went fast an d .

,
t h en agai n the country was fam i liar to him

, , .
A ll at once he stopped an d smote his fore

head like a m an who has forgotten the es
,
se n ti a l thing and is read y to retrace h is

,
steps .
“ ”
I ought to have broug h t my g u n he ,
sa i d to himself Th enardier was o n e of those

.
double natures that pass at times among us , ,
wi thout ou r k nowledge an d disappear n u ,
known beca u se destiny has only Shown u s one

,
side of them : it is the fate of many men to live

thus half submerged I n an ordinary situat i on .
Th enardier h ad everything necessary to make

him— w e do not say to b e— wha t is co n ven
t i o n all y termed an honest tradesman o r a ,
worthy citizen A t the same time certain .

,
circumstances bei ng given certai n shocks ,
stirring up his nature fro m the bottom he ,
had everything required to make h i m a vil

lain He was a shopkeeper i n whom there
.
was a monster S atan mu st at times crouch

.
i n a corner of the lair i n which Th enardier

lived an d d ream before this hideous master
,
A fter a moment s h es i tation he

’
piece .
though t ,
1 83
Nonsen se they would h ave time to es

,
”
cape .
A n d he continued his walk going rapi d ly ,
ah ead an d almost with an air of certainty ,
disp layi ng the sagacity of a fox that scents a

h are i n its form I n fact when he had passed
.
,
th e ponds and cut across the wide tufted

glade wh i ch covers the old water way of the -
A bbey de Chelles he noticed u nder a shrub a

,
h at on which he built up many conjectures

, .
The shrub was low and Th enardier saw that ,
th e m an and Cosette were sitting und er it .
’
The child could not be seen but the doll s ,
head was visible Th enardi er was not mis

.
taken ; the man had sat d own there to let the

chil d rest a l i ttle and the tavern keeper ,
-
dodged round the shrub and suddenly ap

p ear e d before those who m he w a
”
s seeking
“
.
E xcuse m e si r he said panting

, but
, , ,
h ere are your fif teen hundred francs .
The man raised his eyes .
”
What is the meaning of this ?
Th enardier answered respectfully ,
It m eans sir that I am going to take

, ,
”
C osette back .
The child started and clung to the m an ,

!
the latter answered looking fixedly at Th é ,
mardier and leaving a space bet ween each

,
wor d ,
Y ou — take— Cosette — back
Yes sir I do ; an d I mu st tell you that
, ,
I have reflected The truth is t hat I have

.
,
no right to gi ve her to you L ook you I am .

,
an honest man : the little one does not b e

long to me but to h er m other w h o entrusted
,
h er to me and I can onl y give her back to

,
1 84 VICT OR B U GO S W ORK S '
.
her mother You will say to m e Her

.
,
mother is d ead G ood In that case I can.

’
.
,
only su rrender Cose tte to a person who brings

me a wri tten authority from her m other .
”
That is clear enough .
The man without answering felt i n his

, ,
po cket an d Th enardier saw the portfolio with

,
the bank notes reappear He gave a start of

-
.
JOY
“
G ood he thought
, I h ave h i m ; he is ,
”
going to bribe me .
Before opening the portfolio the traveller

looked around him ; the place was u tterly d e
s e r t ed and there w a
, s not a soul i n the wood
or the valley The man opened his pocket

.
book an d took out n o t the handful of bank ,
notes which Th enardier anticipated but a ,
simple sheet of paper which he opened an d ,

“
handed to the l an dl ord saying — You ar e , ,
ri ght : read .
T h enardier took the paper and read .
M sur M March 2 5 1 8 23 .
, .
Monsi eur Th enardier — You will hand ,
over Cosette to the bearer who w ill p ay up ,

”
al l little matters Yours Fan t ine .
, .
Do you k now the signat u re the man ?”
continued .
’
It was really F an t i n e s an d Th enardier ,
recognized it and had no reply He felt a

, .
double annoyance first at having to renounce ,
the bribery which he expected an d secondly , , ,
that of being beaten The man ad d ed .

,
“ You
can keep that paper a s your d is
”
charge .
Th enardier folded it up neatl y an d growled ,

1 86 VICT O R HU GO S W O R K S
’
.
ar d i er regard ed his broad sh oulders an d enor

m ous fists then his eye fell o n h i s o wn thi n
,
”
arm s . I must have been a fool he sai d , ,
n o t t o bring my gun as I was go i ng t o th e

,
”
chas e .
S till the tavern keeper did not gi ve i n

-
.
I will know where h e goes he sai d and , ,
began following them at a distance T wo .
t h ings r e mai ned i n h i s hands : irony i n the

shape of the scrap of paper signed Fanti ne ,
and a co nsolation i n the 1 5 00 fr ancs T h e .
man l ed Cosette i n t h e direction of Bondy :

he walked slowly w i th drooping head an d in
,
a pensive attitude Win t er had rende r ed

.
the wood transparent an d hence Th enar d i er

,
did n ot lose them out of si ght while keep i ng ,
s ome distance o ff From time to time the

.
man turned round and looked to see whether

he was followed an d suddenly pe rceived
,
Th enardier He d rew Cosette into a clump

.
of tr ees i n which they bot h disappeared

, .
C onfusion said Th enardier as b e d oubled ,
hi s pace . The closeness of the trees co m

p e l l e d him to draw nearer to them and when ,
the man was at the thickest part he tu rned

round an d saw Th enar d ier although the lat ,
ter tried to conceal h im self behind a stem .
The man gave h i m a restless g l ance then ,
tossed h i s head and continued his walk .
Th enardier fol lowed him but after going ,
so me t w o hu ndred yards t h e man tu rned ,
an d looked at him s o menacingly that t h e

“ ”
landlord thoug h t i t useless to go an y fur
ther an d t u rned back
,
.
On the evening of the day on which Jean

Val j ean drew C osette from the claws o f the
1 87
T h é n ar di er she r e e n tered Paris A t night

M
-
.
fall h e passed throug h the Barri ere de om

ceaux w i th the ch i ld an d got i nto a cabriolet
,
w h ich conveyed h i m to the E splanade o f the

O bservatory Here h e got down and the
.
,
pair proceeded i n the darkness toward t h e

Boulevard de l H op i t al
’
The day had been .
strange an d full of emot i ons for Cosette : they

had eaten behind hedges bread and c h eese
bought at isolated wine shops ; they had often -
chan ged vehicles an d gone a distance o n foot

, .
S he d i d n ot complain but she felt tired an d , ,
Jean Val j ean percei ved i t by her hand which ,
dragged more and more He took her on h is .
back an d Cosette without lett i ng loose of

, ,
Cat h eri ne l a i d her h ead o n h i s sh oulder an d

,
fel l asleep .
C H A PT ER XCV .
MASTER G OR B E A U .
F ORTY years ago the solitary walker wh o

ventured in to the lost d stricts of the S alp e i
tri ere an d went up the Boulevard as far as

,
the Barri ere d I t al i e reached a quarter w h ere

’
,
i t might be said th at Paris disappeared It .
was not solitude for there were passe r s b y ; i t

,
-
was not the country for there were houses ,
and streets ; i t was not a town for the stree ts ,
h ad ru ts as large as those i n the high roads ,
an d grass grew i n them ; and it w as not a vil

lage for the houses were too lofty What
, .
was it then P It was an in h abited place where

there was nobody a deserted spot where there
,
was somebod y ; it was ab o u l evar d of the g reat

1 88 VICT OR H U GO S W ORKS ‘
.
city a street of Paris more ferocious at night

, ,
than a forest mo r e gl oomy by day than a ,
cemetery It was the old quarter of t h e

.
Marché aux Cheva ux

-
The rambler i f he
-
.
,
risked himself beyond the tottering walls of

the market if he even consented to pass the
,
Rue d u Petit banquier reached the corner of

-
,
the R ue des Vignes S t Marcel a but little .

,
known latitude after leavi ng o n his right a ,
garden protected by high walls n ext a field ,
i n which stood t an m ills resembling gigantic ,
beaver dams next an enclosure encumbered

,
with planks tree stumps s aw dust an d chip s

'
-
, , ,
on the top o f which a large dog barked ; then
a long low wall all i n ruins with a small d e , , ,
cr epi t back gate co vered w i th moss which , ,
burst into flower i n spr i ng and lastly i n the , ,
most desolate spot a hideous and decrepit ,
buil d i ng on which could be read i n large let

,
ters S TIC K N O B I L L S Here, close to a .
foundry an d between two garden walls could

, ,
be se en at the time of which we write a poor ,
h ouse which at the first glance seemed small

, , ,
as a cottage but was i n reality large as a,
cathedral It turned its gable end to the

.
public thoroughfare an d hence came i ts ap ,
paren t smallness ; nearly the whole house was

concealed and only a door and a window could
,
be perceived .
The house was only o n e story high On .
examining it the first fact that struck you ,
was that the door could never have been other

than that of a low lodging house whil e th e -
,
w i ndow had it been carved in stone instead

,
of made of stucco might have belonged to a ,
mansi on The doo r was nothin g but a col

.
190 VICT OR n uoo s
'
W ORKS .
had b een converted into a house This build .
i n g h ad as i ts intest i nal tube a long passage

, , ,
upon whi c h op ened right an d left compart

, ,
ments of various dimensions hab i table at a ,
p i nc h and more like booths than cells Th ese

, .
rooms looked out o n the d reary lands cape

around ; all was dark weari so me dull melan, , ,
ch o l y and sepulchral a n d traversed,

accord ,
i n g as the cracks were i n the roof or the d oo r ,
by cold sunbeams or sharp d raughts A n i n .
t er est i n g an d picturesque peculi arity of houses

of t h is d escription is the enormous size of the
cobwebs . To the left of the door on the ,
boulevard an d at about six fee t from the

,
ground a b r icked u p
, wi ndo w formed a square
-
hole fi l led by passing lads with stones A .
po rtion of this building h as been recently

demolished but what still remains will allo w
,
an idea to be formed of what it was The .
whole aff air is n ot more than a century old

on e hundred years are the youth of a church ,
an d the old age of a human abode It seems .
as if the house of man shares his brief tenure ,
and the house of G od His eternity The .
postman called t h is house No 5 0 5 2 but it .

-
,
was known i n the quarter by the name of

Mais on Gor b e au L et us state whence thi s
.
ti tle came .
The cdl l e ct o r s of things n o t generally

known w h o make anecdotal herbals and
, ,
prick fugacious dates into their memory with

ap ,i n kn ow t h at there were i n Par is about ,
the year 1 7 70 two advocates at the Ch a

, telet
of the nam es of G e rbeau an d R enard — two
names forseen by Lafontaine The op p or .
t u n i ty was too good to be neglected and e r e ,

Las M I SERA B L E S .
1 91
l ongthe following parody i n rather halting ,
verse was i n every b ody s mouth

,
’
Mai re Corb au
t d e , sur n urp erch é o s si e ,
T ai d a b t e c u n e sa i s i e e x é cu t oi re ;
Mai R ard p
en n s so n
a l od en t a l l é ch é
’
tr e en r ,
t ap en p
,
L ui fi r es c ett e h i s to i re
E h b o n j our & c , . .
Two h onest lawyers wh o were unable to ,
h old their heads up u nder the outbursts of

laughter t hat follo wed them resolved to get ,
rid of their nam es and for that purpose ap ,
pealed to the king The petition was hande d .
t L ouis XV on the very day when t h e Papal

o .
Nuncio kneeling on one sid e and Cardinal ,
de la R oche A y mo n on the other were draw ,
ing the slippers on to the bare feet of Mad

ame D u Bar r y who had j ust left her cou c h , .
The king who was laugh i ng continued to

, ,
laugh gayly passed from the two bishops to

,
the two lawyers and forgave them t h eir ,
names or nearly so By royal authority

, .
Master Go r b e au was allowed to add a tail to

his initial letter and becom e C orbeau but
Master R enard was less fortunate — h e cou ld ,
only obtain leave to place a P before his R ,
and call him self Fr ouard so that the latter ,
name was nearly as significant as the first .

.
Now according to local tradition Master

, ,
C orbeau had been owner of the building

numbered 5 0 5 2 on the Boulevard d e l H o -
,
’
pital and was even author of the grand win

,
dow Opposite the house there stands amid

.
,
the boulevard trees an el m which is nearly ,
three parts d ead a little further on is the

R ue d e la Barri ere des G obelins a street at ,
that time withou t houses unpaved planted , ,

1 92 VI CT OR H UGO S w o r ms ‘
.
with ba d ly growing trees and which ran

-
,
st raight down to the city walls A coppera s .
smell issues i n puffs from the roof af an ad

jacent manufactory The barrier was close
.
by and i n 1 8 23 the city walls were still i n ex

i s t e n ce
. The barrier itself cast a gloom over
the mind for i t was o n the road to Bic etre
, .
U nder the empire an d the R estoration men

condemned to death return ed to Pari s
through it on the day of their execution .
Here was committe d about the year 1 8 29 , ,

“
t hat mysteriou s assassina t ion called the
m urder of the Barri ere de Fontainebleau a ,
frightful problem which has never be en

elucidated a mournful enigma which has
,
never been solved A f e w steps further o n .
you come to the fatal R ue Cr o u l eb ar b e i n ,
which U l b ach stabbed the woman who look

ed after t h e I vry goats to the so u nd of
th under as i n a melodrama A fe w more
, .
steps and you reach the abominable pollard

elms of the Barri ere S ai nt Jacques that ,
p hi l an t hr op
i c expe d ient concealing the s ca f
fold the paltry disgraceful Place de G reve
, ,
of a shop keeping society which h a

-
s recoiled ,
before the penalty of death though not ,
daring to abolish it with grandeur or keep it

up with au thority Thirty seven years ago and
.
-
,
lea vi ng aside this place S t Jacques which .

,
was as it were predestined and h as al ways

, , ,
been horrible the gloomiest point perhaps of

,
all this gloomy boulevard was that where No .
5 0 5 2 stood
-
Trad espeople did not begi n to
.
b r e ed th ere ti l l fi ve an d twenty years later - -

.
The place was morose for you felt you rself ,
be tween La S alp e t r i er e whose dome was j ust ,

1 94 VICT OR av o o '
s wo rms .
darkness ap p ea r e d suspicious and the long , ,
hollow squares not i ced be t ween the trees

seemed graves By day it was ugly in t he
.
,
evening lug u brious an d at n i gh t sin i ste r

, .
In the S ummer t wi light a fe w old women

migh t be seen si t ti n g under the elms u pon
r aw rotten benches ; these worthy old ladies
,
had a partiality for begging E ven at the .
tim e of wh i ch we write however this quart , ,
er which looked more superannuated than

,
ancient was strivi ng to t r ansform itself and

, ,
any o n e w h o wished to see it was obliged to

make haste for e ac h day some detail di sap
,
p e ar e d from the e n s embl e F or the last .
t wenty years the O rlean s rail w ay station has

been by the side of t he old faubourg and ,
has worked i t up ; for wherever a station is

b uilt on the ski r ts of a capital it is the
death of as n b u r b and the bi rth of a town .
Ro und t h ese cen tres o f pop u lar moveme nt ,
at the rolling o f these mighty machines u m ,
der the breath of these m onstrou s horses of

civi lization which devour coal and snort fi re
, .
the ear t h trembles and Opens to swallow up

,
the ol d abodes of men an d bring forth n e w

ones ; the old houses crumble away and new ,
ones rise i n thei r place .
F rom the day when t h e O rleans r ail wav

station invaded the territory of the S al
petri ere the old n arrow streets that b order
,
the Jardin des Plantes have been shaken ,
down traversed as they are three or four

,
times a day by those currents of diligences ,
hackney coaches an d omnib u ses which

, , ,
w i thi n a given time dr ive back the houses

,
o n b o th si d e s : for it is a curious though p

'
er
195
fe ctl y true fact that j ust as i n large capitals

,
t h e su n makes the fronts of houses gro w an d

expand to t h e south the frequent p ,assing of
vehicles w i dens streets The symptoms of a .
n e w life are visi b le i n t h e remotest corners of
this old p rov i ncial d i strict ; pavement is b e

ing lai d down and is beginning to ex t end to
spots where there are as yet no way farers -
.
O ne m emorable morning i n July 1 8 45 the , ,
bitumen cauldrons were sud d enly seen s mo k

i n g there and o n that day it may be said
,
that civilization reached the R ue d e l Ou r ’
sine and that Pari s entered the F aubourg

,
S t Marceau
. .
C H A PT ER X CVI .
TH E N E ST OF A N OWL AND A LI N N E T .
J E A N V A L J E A N stopped before N 0 5 0 5 2 .
-
.
L ike the dull bird he had selected this de,
se r t e d Spot i n whic h t o build his nest He .
felt i n his pocke t too k o u t a latch key open

,
-
ed an d carefully shu t the door again an d ,
went up stairs still car r ying Cosette on his

,
back Whe n he reached the landing he took

.
from his pocket a key with which he opened ,
another d oor The room he entered was a

.
sort of spacious garret furnish ed with a ,
mattress laid o n the groun d a table and a , ,
few chairs There was a burning stove i n

.
the corner and t h e boulevard lamp faintly

,
illumined this poor interior A t the end of .
the room was a closet with a poor bed stead -

,
to which Jean Val j ean carrie d the child an d

laid her on it without awaking her He
, .
struc k a light an d lit a candle — all th i s h ad ,

1 96 VICT OR H UGO S ‘ '
Vi O R K S .
been prepared on the previous day — an d he ,
then began gaz i ng at Cosette with a look full

of e cs tasy i n which the expression of ki n d ness
,
an d te n derness alm ost a t tained delirium .
The little girl wit h that calm confidence ,
which only appertains to extreme strength

and extreme weakness h ad fallen asleep ,
w i thout knowing with whom she w as and ,
continued to sleep withou t knowing where

she was Jean Valjean bent down and kiss
.
’
ed the child s hand Nine m onths previo u s .
’
l y he h ad kissed her m other s hand who had ,
also j ust fallen asleep and the same painful , ,
religi ou s poignant feeling fi l led his heart

, .
He knelt down by the si d e of Cosette s ’
bed .
L ong after d aybreak the child was still

asleep A pale beam of the December s u n
.
fil t ered t h rough the windo w an d mad e large

strips of light and shadow o n the ceiling .
S u d denly a heavily laden wagon passing -

,
along the boulevard shook the house like a ,
blas t of win d and ma d e it trem b le from top

,
to bottom .
Yes madame Cosette cried waking with

, , ,
”
a s t art I am coming directly
, .
A nd sh e jumped out of b ed her eyelids still ,
half closed by the weight o f sleep and ,
stretched ou t her arm s to aco r n e r of t he wall .
O h good ness my broom s h e said .
S he opened h er eyes thoroughly an d saw ,

’
Jean V alj ean s sm il ing face .
”
A h it is t r ue the ch ild said
, , .
”
m orning sir .
Children accept at once an d fam iliarly joy

and happiness fo r t hey are themselves by ,
198 VICT OR ‘
U U OO S W ORK S .
h ad an y
had falle n into an abyss When he .
saw Cosette when he carried her off he fel t

, ,
h i s entrails stirred up : all the passion an d af

fect i on there was i n him was aroused and
rushed toward t his chil d He went up to the .
bed o n which she slept an d he trembled with ,
joy he felt pangs like a mother an d knew ,
n o t what it wa s for the great and strange

,
em oti on of a heart which is preparing to love

is a very obscure an d s w eet thing S till as .
,
he was fi f ty fi ve years of age an d Cosette

-
,
eight all t h e love he might have felt d u ring

,
life was melted into a species of ine ff able glo w .
This was the second white apparition he met ;

the bishop had caused the dawn of virtue to
rise o n his horizon an d Cose t te n o w produce d
,
that of love .
T he first days passed i n this bedazzlement .
On her side Cosette became unconsciously

'
di fferent poor little creature ! S he was so

,
little when her mother left her that she d i d

n o t remember ; an d like all children w h o r e ,
sembles the young vine twigs that cling t o -
everyt hing she tried to love and h ad not s u c

,
c eed ed Al l had repulsed her the Thénar

.
,
diers their child ren and other c h ildren ; she

, ,
had loved the dog which died and after that ,
nothing and nobody would have an y thing to

do with her It is a sad thing to say but at ,
the age of eigh t she had a cold heart it was

not her fault it was n ot that she lacked the
,
facul ty of loving but it was alas the possi

, ,
b i li ty .Hence fro m th e first day all that

, ,
felt an d thought within her began to love the

good man and she experienced what she had
n e ver kno wn before a feeling of expansion ,
.
1 99
The man no lo n ger even produced the e ff ect

upon her of being old or poor : s h e found Jean .
Valjean handsome i n the same way as she ,
found the garret p r etty S u ch are the e ff ects .
of dawn childhood youth and joy The

, , , .
novelty of earth an d life has someth ing to d o

i n it an d nothing is so char ming as the col
,
oring reflection of happiness upon an attic ; i n

this way we have all a blu e garret in our past .
Nature had placed a profound i nterval of ,
fifty years between Jean Valjean and Cosette ;

,
but destiny filled up th i s separation D estiny .
suddenly uni t ed and affi an ced with its irre

,
~
s i s t i b l e power these t wo uprooted existences so

,
d iff erent i n age so sim ilar in sorrow and the

, ,
o n e i n fact was the com p

, , lement of t h e other .
Cosette s insti nct sought a fat her in the same

’
,
way as Jean V alj ean s so u ght a child and to ’

,
meet was to find each other A t the mys t e .
ri c as m oment when their t wo hands clasped

they were wel d ed together and when t heir ,
t wo souls s aw each other they recognized that

each was necessary to t h e other and joined ,
in a close embrace Taking the words i n .
their most comprehensi ve and absolute m ean

ing we may say that separated from every
, ,
thing by the walls o f the tombs Jean Val ,
jean was the wi d o wer as Cosette was the o r

phan and this situation caused Jean Valjean
,
’
to become i n a celestial m anner Cosette s
father A n d i n tru t h the mysterious i m
.
,
pression produced upon Cosette i n the Chelles

wood by Jean V alj e an s hand graspi n g hers ’
i n the darkness was not an illusion bu t a r e

ality .
Jean Val j ean had selected his asylum well

900 VI CT OR n ueo s '
w o rms .
an d i n a secu rity which might appear perfect .
T he room he occupied with Cosette was the

on e whose w i ndow looked out on the boule
vard an d as it was the only o n e of t h e sort
,
in the h ouse he had n o t to fear the cu ri osity

,
of neighbors either i n front or o n his side

, .
The grou nd fl oor 5 0 5 2 a sort of rickety p

-
en -
,
tice was employe d as a tool house by nu rsery

,
-
gardeners and had n o com munication wi t h

the first floor The latter as we have sai d
.
, ,
contained several rooms an d a fe w garrets , ,
o n e of which alone was occupied b the o l d

y
woman who looked after Jean Valjean It
, .
was this old woman who was k n own as the

chief lodger an d who i n reality performed
,
the duties of porter t hat let h im the room o n ,
Christmas d ay He had represented him.
se l f as an annuitant ruined by the S panis h

bonds who m eant to live there wit h his
,
little daughter He paid si x months rent

.
’
in advance and request e d the ol d wom an

,
to fu rnish the room i n the way we have seen ,
an d it was this woman who lit the stove an d

prepared eve r y thing on the evening of their
arrival Weeks passed away and these t wo
. ,
beings led a happy life i n this w retched garret .
Wit h t h e da w n Cosette began laughing chat ,
tering and S i nging for children like the

, , ,
birds have the 1 r matin song A t times it

,
.
happened that Jean Valj ean took her little

red chilblained hand and kissed it ; the poor
chi ld accustom ed to be bea ten did not know
, ,
what this m eant and went away quite ,
ashamed A t on e m oment she became seri

.
ous and looked at her little black froc k

,
.
C osette was no longer dressed in rags but i n ,

202 VI CT OR HU G O ‘S W O RKS .
side of the truth the fate of woman com

,
— ~
prised i n Fantine and public authority per

,
son i fi e d i n Javert ; h e had returned to the
galleys but this tim e for acting j ustly ; he

,
had drunk the n e w cup of bitterness to the

dregs ; disgust and weariness seized u po n
hi m ; the very recollection of t h e bishop was
approachi ng an eclipse an d though it woul d ,
have perhaps reappeared afterwards luminous

an d triu mphant still t hi s holy recollection
,
was begi nning to fade Wh o knows whether .
Jean Valj ean was not on t h e eve of growing

discourage and relapsing ? but he loved an d
became strong again A las ! he was n o less
.
tottering than Cosette he protecte d her an d

she strengthened him ; through him she was ,
able to advance i n her life ; through her he ,
could cont i nue i n the path of virtue O h .
unfathom able an d di vine mystery of t h e equi

lib r iu m of destiny !
CH A PT E R X CVIII .
TH E R EM A R K S or TH E CH I E F L O D G E R .
JE A N V A LJ E A N was so prudent as neve r to

go out by d ay every evening he walked out
,
for an hour or two sometimes alone but gen

, ,
er a l l y with Cosette i n the most retired ,
streets and entering th e churches at night

,
fall When he did n o t take Cosette with

.
him she remained with the o l d woman but

, ,
it was her delight to go out with him S he .
preferred an hour with him to the rav i shi n g

té t e— d tetes w ith Cat herine
- H e walk ed along .
h olding her b y the hand an d talking pleas ,

L ES M I S E RA B LES .
203
an t l y w i th h e r for Cosette s temper turned

,
’
to be extremely gay .
The old wom an cleaned cooked and , ,
b ought food for them ; they lived quietly ,
always having a little fire but as if they were ,
very poor Jean Val j ean had made no

.
change in the furnitu e since the first day r

,
except that he had a wooden door pu t u p in

place of the glass door i n Cosette s sleeping ’
closet He still w e r e his yellow coat black

.
,
breech es an d old hat and i n the streets he

, ,
was taken for a poor man It happened at .
times that chari table women turned and gave

him a s on which Jean Val j ean accep ted with
,
a deep bow It happened at times also that

.
he m et some wretch asking for charity ; i n

such a case he looked behind to see that no
one was watching furtively approached the ,
beggar gave him mon ey n o w and then silver

, , ,
and hurri ed away This entailed i n con ven

i e n ce s for people b egan to know hi m in th e
,
district u nder th e name of the alms giving -
beggar The old chief lo d ger a spiteful

.
,
creature full of envy and uncharitableness

,
toward her neighbors watched him closel y , ,
though h e d id not suspect it S he was .
rather deaf which rendered her prone to

m
,
gossip and there remained to her fro the

,
past t w o teeth one atop an d one at the bot

,
tem which she constan t ly rattled against

,
each other S he questioned Cosette who

.
, ,
knowing n othing could say nothing except

that she cam e from M
,
o n t f er mei l u O ne d ay
this spy saw Jean Valjean go into one of t he
uninhabited rooms i n a way that seemed to
her p eculiar S he followed h i m with the
.
204
'
v1c r o n n uc o s
'
w o rm s .
steal thy step of an old cat and was able to ,
watch him herself unseen through the crack

, , ,
o f the door to which Jean Valjean turned

,
his back doubtless as a greater precaution

, .
S he saw him take out of his pocket a pair of

scissors needle an d thr ead and then begin
, , ,
ripping up the lining of his coat an d pull ,
out a piece of yellow paper which he u m ,
folded . The old woman recognized with

horror that it was a thousand franc note th e -
,
second or third she h ad seen in her life and ,
she fled i n terror A m oment after Jean .
Valjean addressed her and requested her to ,
change the note for him adding that it was ,
hi s half year s dividend which he h ad r e

’
-
,
“ ”
ce i ve d on the previous day When the
?
.
old woman thought ; he did not go out till

six i n the evening and the bank is certainly ,
not open at that hour The old woma n .
went to change the note an d made her co n

j ect u r es ; the amou nt of money being con
s i d er ab l y multiplied aff orded a grand to i s
of conversation for the gossips of the neigh
b or h ood .
A few d ays after it happened that Jean

Valjean in his shirt sleeves was chopping
,
-
,
w ood in t h e passage and t h e old woman was ,
i n his room cleaning up S he was alone for .

,
Cosette was admiring the wood chopping -

.
S he saw the coat hanging on t h e nail and ,
investigated i t The lining had been sewn .
up again but the good woman felt it car e

,
fully an d fancied she could notice folds of

.
paper between t h e cloth and t h e lining .
More ban k notes of course ! S he also noticed ,
that there were all sorts of things in t h e

200 Vi c r o a
'
H UGO S '
w o u xs .
self face to face wi th a tiger i n th e darkness .
He recoiled terrified and petri fied not d ar

, ,
ing to breathe remai n or fly star i ng at the, , ,
beggar who had let his h ead fal l and did not
, ,
appear to know that he w as there A t this .
strange moment an instinct perh aps that of , ,
self preservation u rged Valjean not to utter

-
,
a syllable The beggar was of the same

.
height w e r e the same rags and looked as he

, ,
”
di d every day S tu fl said Val j ean .I , ,
”
am m ad dreaming ; it is i mpossible !
, And
he went home sorely troubled i n min d He .
hardly dared confess to hi mself that the face

which he fancied he had seen w as Jav er t s ’
.
A t night on reflecting he regretted that he

, ,
had n o t spoken to the man an d made him ,
raise his head a second tim e The next even .
ing he returned and found the beggar at h i s

seat . G ood day my m an Jean Valjean , ,
said resolutely as h e gave him a so n The ,

.
beggar raised his head an d replied in a com ,
plaining voice Than k you my good gentle , ,

”
man I t was certainly the old beadle Jean
. .
Valjean felt fully reassured an d began laugh ,
ing . H o w o n eart h could I have though t

that it was Javert why am I now to grow ,
wool gathering-
an d he thought n o more
about it .
A few days late r at about eight i n the ,
even i ng he was giving Cosette a spelling

,
lesson when h e heard the house door open

,
and then close again This appeared to hi m .
s i n gular for the old woman who alone lived

, ,
i n the house beside himself always went to ,
bed at nightfall t o save candle Jean Val .
j ean m ade Cosette a Sign t o be silent for he ,

LES MXS E R A B L E S .
207
heard som e one coming u p stairs A fter all -

.
i t might be the old woman who felt unwell , ,
an d had been to the Che m i st s Jean Val ’

.
jean listened ; the footstep was h eavy and

sounded like a man s bu t the old woman ’
,
w e r e t hi ck shoes and nothi ng so closely r e

,
sembles a man s footstep as an old woman s

’ ’
.
For all that t h ough Jean Valjean blew out

, ,
his candle He had sent Cosette to bed say

.
,
“
i n g i n a whi sper Make no noise and while
, ,
he was k issing her forehead the footsteps

stopped Jean Valjean remained silently in
.
his chair wi t h his back turned to the door

, ,
an d holding his breath i n the darkness A fter .
a long interval hearing nothing more he , ,
turned n oiselessly and on looking at his , ,
door saw a light through the keyhole which

, ,
formed a sort of a sinister star in the black

ness of the door and the wall There was .
evidently som e one there holding a candle i n

his hand and listening A few minutes .
passed and then the light went away : still he

,
d i d not hear the sound of footsteps which ,
seemed to indicate that the man who cam e

to listen had tak en off his shoes Jean Val .
jean threw himself full dressed o n his bed -

,
and could not close his ey cs al l night A t

'
daybreak when he was just yielding to

,
fatigue he was aroused by the creaking of a

,
d oor which opened into a room at the end of

the passage and then heard the sam e foot
,
step which h ad ascended the s tairs the pre

v i ou s even i ng drawing nearer He put his .
eye to the keyhole which w as rather large , ,
i n the hope of seeing the man who h ad

l istened at his door over ni g ht It was reall y .
208 VI CT OR H U GO ‘S W ORKS .
a man wh o this tim e passed Jean V alj ean s

,
’
door without stopping The passage was .
still too dark for him to d i sting uish his face ;

but when the man reached the staircase a
ray of light from outside fell upon him an d ,
Jean Valjean saw his back perfectly He .
was a tall man dress ed in a long coat with

, ,
a cu d gel under his arm an d he was very

like Javert Valjean might h ave tr i ed to see
.
him on the boulevard through his window ,
but for that purpose he must have opened it ,
and that he dared n ot do It was pla i n th a t .
this man came in with a k ey an d w as qui te at

?
hom e W ho gave him this key what did
.
it mean ? A t seven o clock when the old ’

,
woman came to cl ean up Jean Valjean gave ,
her a piercing glance but d i d not question ,
her The good woman was as calm as usual

.
,
and while sweeping she said to him

I suppose you heard some one come i n
? ”
last night sir ,
A t that age and on that boulevard eight

, ,
i n the evening is the blackest night .
”
Yes I remember h e said with th e m ost
, ,
natural accent ; w h o was it .
A new l e d ger i n the house .
What is his nam e

I forget : D umont or Daumont som e ,
t h ing like that .
”
A nd what may he be ?
The old wom an looked at h i m with her
little ferret eyes an d answered , ,
H e lives on his property like yourself , .
Perhaps she m eant nothi ng but Jean Val ,
jean fancied that he could detect a mean i ng .
When th e old woman had gone off he mad e

2 10 VICT OR H UGO ‘S W ORK S .
”
such a house If the readers li ke to tak e
.
the trouble they can verify As for him h e .

,
does n ot know new Paris an d writes with ,
old Paris before his eyes i n an illusion which

i s precious to him It is sweet to him to .
fancy that something still remains of w h at

he saw when he was i n his o wn country an d ,
that all has n ot faded away S o long as you .
move about i n you r native land you imagi ne

that these streets are matters of ind i fference
to you that the se roofs an d doors are as
,
nothing th at these walls are strange to you

, ,
that these trees are n o better than the first

tree you com e across that these houses which ,
you do n ot enter are useless to you an d that ,
the pavement o n which you walk i s made of

stones an d nothing more A t a later date .
,
when you are n o longer there you p erce i ve ,
that these streets are dear to you that you ,
miss these roofs windows an d doors that

, , ,
the wal l s are necessary to you that you love ,
the trees that these houses which you did

, ,
n ot enter you entered d aily an d that you

, ,
have left some of your entrails your blood , ,
and your heart on these paving stones A ll

,
-
.
these spots which you n o longer see wh i ch ,
perhap s you may never se e again an d of

which you have retained the image as sum e ,
a melancholy charm return to you wi th the ,
sadness of an ap p arition make the sacred ,
land visible to you and are so to speak the

, , ,
very form of France and you love an d evoke

them such as they are such as they were oh , ,
s t i n at el y refusing to make a n y c h ange i n
them for you cl ing to the face of your coun

,
try as to the countenance of y our mother .

Let u s be permitted then to speak of the , ,
past at present : we will beg our readers to

bear this in mind and will continue our n ar
,
r at i ve .
Jean Valjean at once left th e b oulevar d ’
an d entered the streets m aking as many ,
turnings as he could and at times retracing ,
his steps to make sure that h e w as not fol

lowed Th i s man te u vr e is pecul i ar to t he
.
tracked deer an d on ground wh ere traces are

,
left i t possesses the advantage of deceiv i n g

huntsmen an d dogs i n vener y i t i s cal l ed
“
a false reimbush ment ”
The moon was at .
i ts fu ll an d Jean Valjean was n ot sorry for

,
i t for as the luminary was still close to the

,
hor i zon it formed large patches of light and

shade i n the streets Valjean was able to .
sli p along the houses an d walls on the d ark .
side an d watch the bright side perhaps he

di d not reflect su ffi ciently that the dark side
escaped his notice S till i n all the deserted
.
,
lanes which border the R u e de Pol i veau he

felt certain that no one was following him .
Cosette walked on w i thou t ask ing q uestions

the sufferings of the first six years of her
life h ad introduced something passive into
h er nature Moreover — and this is a rem ark
.
to which we shall have to revert more than

once — sh e was accustom ed to the singularities
of her companion and the strange m utations
,
of fate A nd then she felt i n safety as she

.
w as w ith him Jean Valjean did not know

.
any more than Cosette whither he was going

he trusted to G od as she trusted h i m He
, .
fancied th at he also held some on e greater

than himself b y the hand and felt an i n ,
visible being gu i d ing h i m However he had .
,
n o settled i d ea plan or scheme ; he was not

,
absolutely certain that i t was Javert ; and

then again it migh t be Javert ignorant that
he was Jean Valjean Was he not disgui sed
.
Was he n ot supposed to be dead S t il l dur ,
ing the last f e w d ays several th i ngs had oc

curred which were becom i ng singular and h e ,
wanted nothing more He was resolved not .
to return to No 5 0 — 5 2 an d like the an i mal

.
, ,
dr i ven from i ts lai r he sought a hole i n ,
which to hide h i mself until he could find a

lo d ging Jean Valjean described several
M
.
labyrinths i n the Quartier o u ff et ar d wh i ch ,
w as as fast asleep as i f i t were still under m e

di aeva l discipline and the yok e of the Curfew ,
an d combined several streets into a clever

strategi c sy stem There were lodging houses
.
-
where he n ow was but he d i d not enter,
th em as he did n ot find any thing to sui t

,
him an d he did not suppose fo a moment

,
r
that i f p ersons w ere on his tra 1l th ey had

lost it agai n .
A s t h e clock of S t E tienne d u Mont st r u ck

.
el even he passed the police o fi i ce at No 1 4 .

,
i n the R ue de Pontoise A few m inutes .
after the instinct to which we h ave referred

,
made h i m look round and he distinctly saw , ,
b y the o fli ce l amp which betrayed them ,
th r ee m en who were following him rather

,
closely pass i n turn under this lamp on the

,
dark side of the street O ne of those men .
turned into the ofli ce and another who was , ,
in front appeared to him decidedly sus picious

, .
Come child he said to Cosette and he

, , ,
h astened out of the R ue de Pontoise He .

214 VI CT OR R UGO S W ORK S’
.
U ncertainty ceased for Jean Valjean ; but

fortunately it still lasted with the me n He .
took advantage of their h esitation for it was ,
time lost by them and g ained by hi m He .
left the gateway i n wh i ch h e was concealed ,
an d pushed o n al ong the R ue des Postes

toward the region of the Jardin des Pl antes .
A s Cosette was begi nning to feel tired he ,
took her i n his arm s an d carried her No .
on e was passing and the lamps had n ot b een

,
lit on account o f the m oon He doubled h i s .
pace an d i n a few s t ri des reach ed the G oblet

,
pottery o n the front of wh i ch the moons hi ne

,
mad e the o l d inscriptio n disti nctly vi sible :

Du Go bl e t fi l s c es t i ci l a fabr i q u e
’
V e n e z ch oi s i r d es cr u ch es et d es b ro cs
p
De s o ts afi e u rs d es tuyau x d e l a b r i q u e
, , ,
A to u t v en an t l e Caeu r ven d d es carreau x ”

.
He left beh i n d h i m the R u e de la Clef ,
skirted the Jardin des Plantes an d reached ,
the quay Here h e turned ; the quay was de

.
s er t e d the streets were deserted

, There w as .
n o on e behind him an d he bre a thed again

, .
He reached the A usterlitz bridge w h ere a ,
toll still existed at the time and he handed ,
the tollman a sou .
“
It is t w o sous said the man ; you are
,
car rying a child who can walk so you must ,
pay for two .
He paid though greatly vexed that his

,
pas sing had given rise to any remark A .
heavy wai n w as pas sing the river at the same

time as hi mse lf an d also proceeding t o the
,
right bank This was useful for him as he

.
,
could cross the whole of the brid g e i n its

LES MI SERA B LES .
2 15
shadow On reaching the arches o f t h e

.
bri d ge Cosette whose feet were numbed

, , ,
as ked to be put down : he d id so and took ,
her by the hand again A fter crossing the .
bri dge he saw a little to h i s right building

,
yards towards which he proceeded I n o r

, .
der to reach them he m ust cross an open

brilliantly lighted space but he did not hesi
-
,
tate . His pursuers were evidently thrown

out an d Jean Val j ean believed himself out
,
of danger ; he might be looked for b u t he ,
was not followed A little street the R ue d u

.
,
Chem i n Vert S ain t A ntoine r an between two ,
timber yards ; it was narrow dark and

-
, ,
seemed expressl y mad e for him but before ,
entering it he looked back Fro m the spot .
w h ere he was he could see the w hole length

of the bridge of A usterlitz four shadows had
just come upon it an d were walking toward ,
the right bank Jean Valj ean gave a start

.
like a recaptu red animal ; one hope was left

him ; it was that the four m en had not been
upon the bridge at the mom ent when he
crossed the l arge illumined space with Cc
sette In that case by entering the little
.
,
street before him he might escape if he , ,
could reach the timber yards kitchen gar -

,
-
dens fields and land n ot yet built on He

, , .
fancied that he could tru st to th i s little s i lent

street and entered it
. .
CH A PT E R CI .
OON S U L T TH E P LA N or P A RIS I N 1 72 7 .
A FT E R going three hundred yards he cam e

to a spot where the road formed two forks and ,
Jean Valjean had before him as it were the ,
two branches of a Y Which should he choose ?

.
He did n o t hesitate but took the right one b e

, ,
cause the other r an towards the faubourg t hat ,
is to say inhabited parts while the right

, ,
branch went in the dir ection of the cou ntry o r ,
deserted parts S t i ll they did not walk v ery

.
rapidly for Cosette checked Jean V alj ean s

,
’
pace and hence he began carrying her again

, ,
an d Cosette laid her head on his shoulder

and did n o t say a word A t times he looked .
back while careful to keep on the dark side

,
o f the street The first twice or thrice th at

.
he turned he saw nothing the silence w as ,
profound and he continued his wal k with a

,
little more confidence A ll at once on tu rn .

,
ing suddenly he fancied that he saw som e

,
thing movi ng on the dark part of the street

which he had j ust pass ed He rush ed for .
ward rather than walked hoping to find some ,
side lane by which he could escape and once ,
again break his trail He reached a wall .

,
which however did not render further prog

, ,
ress impossible for it was a wall skirting a

,
cross lane into which the street Jean Val j ean

,
had entered ran Here he m ust make his

.
mind up again whether to turn to the right

or left He looked to the r i gh t ; the lane ran
.
-
VI CT OR H UGO S W ORK S '
.
of the n ew The memo r y of the people floats

.
on the flots am o f the p as t L ittle Pi cp

us .
,
which by the way scarce ex i sted and was

never more than the outlines of a quarter ,
had almost the m onastic look of a S panish

t own. The streets were scarce paved and ,
na r dl y any houses lined th em : excepting t wo
or three streets to which we are about t o

,
refer all was wall an d solitud e

, There was .
n ot a shop or a vehicle scarce a candle ,
lighted i n the windows and every light w as ,

’
put o u t by t e n o clock The quarter co n .
sisted of gardens couvents timber yards an d , ,

-
,
kitch en grounds an d t h e r e were a fe w l o w

-
, ,
houses with walls as lofty as them selves .
S uch was the quarter i n the l ast century ; the

R evolution fiercely assailed it and t h e R e ,
publican board of works demolished an d

made gaps in it ; ru bbish was allowed to be
shot there Thi rty years ago this quarter
.
was disappearing under the erasure of new

buildings and n ow it is entirely obli te rated
, .
L ittle Pi cp us of w hi ch no modern map

,
retains a trac e is very clearly indicated i n the

,
plan of 1 7 2 7 published at Paris by Denis

,
T hi r er y R u e S t Jacques opposite the R ue

, .
,
d u Pl a tre ; an d at Lyon s by Jean G irin R ue

Mer ci é r e Little Pi c p
,
. u s had what we have
j u st called a Y of streets formed by the R ue

d u Chem in Vert S t A ntoine dividing into . .
t w o branches the lef t hand one taking the

,
-
name of the Peti t e R u e Pi cp us and the ,
r i ght hand th at of R ue Pol on ce au The two

-
.
branches o f the Y were joined at the i r

summ it by a sort of cross bar called R ue -
Dr o i t mur
-
A n y one who com ing from t h e
.
,
LES MI SERA B LES .
21 9
S eine reached the end of R ue Pol on ceau had

, ,
on his left R ue Droit mur turning sharply at

-
,
a right angle in f ront of him th e wall of that

,
street an d o n his right a t runcated prolonga

,
tion of the R ue Droit mu r called the Cul de -
sac Gen r ot .
It was here that Jean Valjean was ; as we

said o n perceiving the black shadow standing
, ,
o n watch at the corner of the R ue Droit mu r -
and the Petite R ue Pi cp u s h e fell back for , ,
he was doubtless watched by this phantom .
What was to be done ? h e had no time to

retrograde for what he had seen moving in
,
the shadow a f e w moments previously in hi s

re ar was of course Javert and his squad .
Javert was p robably already at the beginning

of the street at the end of which J ean Valj e an
w as. Javert according to appearances was
, ,
acqu ainted with this labyrinth and had taken ,
his precautions by sending one of his men to

guard the outlet These conjectu res which
.
,
so closely resembled certainty whirled sud ,
d en l y i n Jean Val j ean s troubled brain like a

’
han d ful of d u st raised by an u nexpected p uff

of wind He examined the blind alley that
.
,
was barred ; he examined the R u e Pi cp us a ,
sentry was there and he saw his black shadow

,
distinctly thrown on the white moonlit pave

ment To advance was falling into this man s
.
’
clutch es ; to fall b ack was throwing h imself

’
into Javert s arms Jean Valjean felt himself
.
ca u ght i n a net which was slowly being

hauled in an d looked u pto Heaven in
,
despair .
220 VICT OR H U G O S W ORK S ‘
.
CH A PT ER CII .
' '
A I FE MPT S TO E SCA P E .
I N order to understand the follow i ng the

reader must form an exact id ea of the Droit
m ur lane and in particular of the angle which
,
the visitor left on his left when he turned out

of the Ru e Pol on ceau into this lane The .
lane was alm ost entirely bordered o n the

right by poor l ooking houses on the left by
-
,
single slim looking ed i fices composed of

-
several cor p s d e l og i s wh i ch gr adually rose,
from o n e floor to two as they approached

L ittle R ue Pi c p u s so that this mansion which
, ,
was very lofty on that side w as very low on ,
the side of the R ue Po l o n ce au where at the , ,
corner to which we have alluded it sank so ,
l o w as to be only a wall This wall did not .
r u n parallel with the lane but formed a very ,
deep cant concealed by its corners from any

,
observers in R ue Pol on ceau and R ue Droit

mn r . F rom this cant the wall extended
along R u e Pol o n ceau up to a h o u s e beari ng
th e No 4 9 and i n R u e Dr oi t mu r where it
.
, ,
was much shorter up to the frowning ,
building to which we have referred whose ,
gable it intersecte d thu s forming a new r e ,

~
entering angle i n the street This gable h ad .
a gloomy appearance for only on e window ,
was visible or to speak more correctly t w o

, , ,
shutters covered with sheet zinc and alwa y s

close d The description of the locality which
.
w e are n o w gi ving is strictly correct and w i ll ,
l ou b t l es s arouse a very precise souvenir i n

,
2 22 VICT OR II U GO S
‘
W ORKS .
cram ps : besides al l the wind ows of this

,
silent house were defended b y thick i ron

'
bars even the garrets A nd then the m oon

,
.
shone full o n this front an d the m an watch ,
ing at the end of the street would see Jean

Valjean climb up ; and then what was he to
do with Cosette ? how was h e to hoist her up
a thre e storied house ? He gave u p
- al l ide a
of climbing by the pipe and crawled along ,
the wall to t e—enter R ue Po l on ceau When .
he reached the cant where he had left Cosette

h e noticed that no one could S ee h i m there .
A s we stated he was safe from all eyes no

, ,
matter on what s i de ; moreover he w as i n ,
the shadow and then lastly there were t wo

, , ,
gates which might perhaps be forced The

,
.
wall over which he s aw the linden tree and

the ivy evidently belonged to a garden in
which he could at least conceal himself ,
though there was n o fol i age on the trees an d ,
pass the rest of the nigh t Ti me was slip .

~
ping away and he must set to work at once

, .
He felt the porte coch ere and at once per ,

~
cei v e d that it was faste n ed up inside and out ;
and then went to the other great gate with

more hope It was frightfully decrepit its
.
,
very side rendered it less solid the planks ,
were rotten and the iron bands of which

, ,
there were only three were rusty I t seemed , .
possible to break through this affair O n .
examining this gate however he saw that it , ,
was not a gate ; i t had no hinges l oo k or par , ,

,
tition i n the centre ; the iron bands crossed

it from side to side withou t any solution of
conti n uity Through the cracks of the pla nks
.
he caught a glimpse of coarsely mort ared rag -

223
stone which passers b y might have seen t e n

,
-
yea rs back He was forced to confess to

.
himself with consternation that this fancied

gate was simply a make believe ; it was easy -
t o pull down a plank but he woul d fi n d him

,
self face to face with a wall .
CH A PT ER CIII .
A THIN G I M P OSS I B L E I N G AS L I G HT -
.
AT this m oment a hollow cadenced soun d ,
began to grow audible a short distance Off ,
an d Jean Valjean venture d to take a peep

round the cor n er of the street S even or .
eight soldiers were entering the street ; he

could see their bayonets gleaming and they ,
were coming toward him These soldiers at .

,
’
the head of whom he distinguished Javert s
tall form advanced slowly and cautiously
, ,
an d frequently hal ted ; it was plain that they

were exploring al l the corners and all the
doors and lanes It was — an d here conjee
.
ture could not be wrong— som e patrol which

Javert h a d met and requested to assist him .
Judging from the pace at w h ich they

marched and the halts t h ey made they
, .
would require about a q uarter o f an hour

to reach the spot where Jean Valjean was .
I t w as a frightful thought ; a few mom ents

separated Jean Valjean from the awful preci
pice which yawned before him for the third
time A n d the galleys were now not m erely
.
the galleys but Cosette lost forever that is

, ,
to say a life resembling the interior of a

,
tomb .
.
There was only on e thing possible Jean .
Valjean had on e peculiarity that he might

be said to carry two wallets : in one he h ad
th e thoughts of a saint i n the other the ,
formidable talents of a convict an d he felt ,
i n one or the other as Opportunity o ff ered .
A m ong other resources owing to his numer

,
’
ous escapes from the Toulon galleys he had ,
become a perfect master i n the incredible art

of raising himself without ladder cramping ,
irons and by his m ere muscular stren gth

, ,
and holding o n by his shoulders an d knees ,
i n the right angle of a wall to the sixth floor ,
if necessary ; an art which rendered so ter

rible an d so celebrated that corner of the
yard i n the Paris conciergerie by which the
condemned convi ct B att e mol l e escaped twen
ty years ago Jean Val j ean m easured the
.
height of the wall above which he saw the

linde n tree an d f o u n d t h at it was abou t
'
eighteen feet The lower part of the angle

.
which it m ade with the gabl e end of the

large building w as filled u p wit h a triangu lar
mass of m asonry very com mon i n Parisian
,
corners This mass was about five fe et high

.
,
and the space to be cleared from the top 0 1

it was not m ore than fourteen ; but the
diffi culty was Cossette for she could not
,
climb a wall A bandon her ! Jean Valjean

.
did not think of it but carrying her was i m

,
possible ; a man requires his whole strength

to carry out such an ascent and the slightest ,
burden would d isplace his centre of gravity

an d hurl him d own H e required a rope
.
,
but he had none Where was he to find a

.
r op e at m idnight i n t h e R ue Po l o n ce au ?
226 VI CT OR H U GO S W O R K S ‘
.
“
“
S ilence t h e unhappy man replied
, it ,
is Madame Th enardier .
The child trembled and he ad d ed , ,
Do not say a word but leave m e to act ; ,
i f you cry ou t or sob she will catch you and

tak e you b ack again .
Then without hu rry but wi thou t doing

, ,
any thing twice over with a firm and sharp ,
precision wh i ch was the more remarkable at

,
such a moment when the patrol an d Javert

,
m ight be instantly expec t ed h e undid hi s ,
cravat fas tened it under Cosette s armpits

,
’
,
while careful n o t to hu rt h er fastened the ,
rope to the cravat took the other end i n his ,
teeth took off his shoes and stockings which

,
he threw over the wall an d began raising ,
himsel f in the corner of the wal l with as

mu ch certainty as if he h ad cramping irons
under his hee l s and elbows Half a minute .
had not elapsed ere he was astride the coping .
Cosette looked at him i n stup e f without say ,
ing a word ; for Jean V alj ean s mention of ’
the landlady s name had frozen her A ll at

’
.
once she heard Jean Val j ean say to her i n a ,
very low voice ,
L ean against the wall .
S he obeyed .
You must not say a word or fee l frigh t ,

”
ened he continued
, .
A nd she felt herself lifted from th e ground ,
but before she h ad t i m e to look round sh e

found herself o n the top of the wall Jea n .
Valj ean placed her on his back took h er two ,
little h ands in his left hand and crawled ,
along the wall till he reac hed the cant A s ,
he had suspected there was a building here

, ,
LES MI SERA B LES .
227
whose roof b egan at the top of the bastar d

gate and descended i n a gentle slope nearly
to the ground grazing the linden tree This
, .
was a fortunate circumstance for the wall ,
was much higher o n this side than on that

of the street and Jean Valjean could scarce
,
see the ground so far was it beneath him

,
.
H e had just reached the sloping roof and ,
had not yet loosened his hold of the coping ,
when a violent uproar announced the arrival

’
Of the patrol and he heard Javert s thu nder
,
ing voice ,
S earch the bl i nd alley ; all the streets are

guarded and I will wager that he is in it
, .
!
The soldiers rushed forward Jean Val .
jean slipped down the roof Still supporting ,
Cose t te reached the linden tree an d leapt o n

, ,
the ground E ither through terror or cour

.
age the child had not said a word ; her hands

were only slightly grazed .
CH A PT ER CIV .
TH E B EG I NN I N G O F AN E NI G MA .
JE A N V A L J E A N found himself in a large

garden of most singular appea r ance one of ,
those gloomy gardens tha t appear made to

be looked at i n winter and by night This , .
garden was Of an oblong shape with a walk ,
of tall po pl ars at the e n d tall shrubs i n the ,
corner and an unshado wed space i n the

,
centre o f which an isolated tree could be

distinguished There were also a fe w stunted
.
fruit trees bristling like brambles vegetable

-
,
plots a melon bed whose frames glistened i n

. ,
223 VI CT OR fl u G O’ S W ORKS .
the moonlight an d an old well Here an d

, .
there were stone benches that seemed blac k

with me s s ; the walks were bordered with
small gloomy looking and upright shrubs ;
-
grass covered on e hal f of the walks an d a

-
,
green mould the other half .
Jean Valjean had by his side the building ,
by help of whose roof he had descended a ,
p ile of faggots an d beh i nd the latter

, close ,
to the wall a stone statue whose mutilated

, ,
face was merely a shapel ess mas k appearing ,
in d istinctly in the darknes s The building .
was a Species of ru in contain i ng several d i s

,
mantled rooms o f w hi c h on e was apparently

,
employed as a shed The large edifice of the.
R ue Droit mur had two fac ades looking into

-
this garden at right angles and these fa c ades ,
were even more m elancholy than those ou t

side A l l the windows were barred an d not
.
,
a single light could be seen while at the u p ,
per window there were scuttles as i n prisons .
O ne of these frontages threw its shadow u pon

the other which fell back o n the garden like
,
an immense blac k cloth No other house .
could be noticed and the end of the garden

,
was lost i n mist and nigh t S till walls could .

,
be in d istinctly noticed intersecting each other ,
as if there were other gar d ens beyond and ,
the l ow roofs i n the R uo Pol o n ce au Noth ,
ing more stern an d so l i tary than this garden

co uld well be imagi ned ; there was no one i n
it as was natural at such an hour bu t it did
, ,
not look as I f the spot were made for any on e

t o walk i n even i n bright daylight
, .
Jean V alj ean s first care was to pu t on his

’
sho es an d st ockings again and then enter the ,

2 30 VICT O R H U GO S ‘
WORKS .
what it was they knew n o t where they were

, ,
b u t both man and chil d the penitent an d ,
the innocent felt that they m ust fall o n th ei r

,
knees The voices had this strangeness abo u t

.
them t h at they did not prevent the edifice

,
from appearing deserted ; it seemed l ike a

supernatural chant i n an u ninhabited house .
While the voices sang Jean Valjean thought

of nothing else ; he n o longer saw the night ,
but an azu re sky He fancied that the wings

.
which we all of u s have within us were ex

panding within him The sin ging ceased ; it
.
had probably lasted some time but Jean Val ,
j ean could n ot have said how long for hours ,
of ecstasy never occupy m ore than a minute .
All h ad becom e silent again : there was no

sound i n the garden no sound i n the street ;
,
all that that threatened all that that reas ,
sured had faded away The wind s h o ck on

, .
the coping Of the wall some dry grass which ,
produced a soft an d melancholy sou nd .
The n i ght breez e had risen which proved ,
that it must be bet ween one an d two in the

m o r ning Cosette said nothing and as she
.
,
was leaning her head against him Jean Val ,
jean fancied that she was asleep He bent .
down and looked at her : her eyes were

wide open and she had a pensive look which
,
hurt Jean Val j ean S he was still trembling

.
,
DO you feel inclined to sleep he asked
I am very cold she answer ed ; a mo ment

,
after she continued ,
Is she still there

”
Who ? Jean Valjean asked .
”
Madame Th enardier .
23 1
Jean had forgotten the way he h ad em

ployed to keep Cosette Silent .
“
A h he sai d she is gone an d you have
, , ,
”
nothing to fear .
The child sighed as if a weight had been ,
taken Off her chest .
The ground was damp the shed open on ,
all sides and the wind grew more cutting

,
every m oment He took o ff his coat an d

.
wrapped Cosette up i n it .
“ ”
A re you less cold he sai d
? .
”
O h yes father , .
Well wait for me a m i nu te

, .
He left the ru in an d began walking along ,
the large building i n search of som e bette r

shelter H e cam e to doo r s but they were
.
,
closed and there were bars on all the ground

,
fl o or windows A fter passing the inner angle

.
Of the edifice he noticed that h e had come

to so me arched windows and perceived a ,
faint light He raised himself on tip toe and

.
-
looked throug h one of the windo ws ; they all

belonged to a large hall paved with stones , .
i n which nothing could be d istinguished but

a little light and great shadows The l i ght .
came from a night lamp bu rning i n the cor -
n er
. This h all was deserted an d nothing
was stirr i ng i n it and yet after a long look
, , ,
he fancied that h e could see on t h e ground ,
something that seemed to be covered with a

pall an d resembled a hu man form It was .
stretched out flat with its face against the ,
stones its arms for ming a cross and motion

, ,
less as death From asp ecies of snake which

.
dragged along the pavement i t looked as i f ,
this sinister form had a rope rou nd i t s neck .

232 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORKS ‘
.
T he whole hall was bathed i n that mist of

badly lighted places which intensifies the
-
,
horror .
Jean Valjean often sai d aft erwards that ,
although h e had witnessed many m ou rnf u l

sights i n his l i fe he had never seen on e
,
more chilling or terrifyi ng than this en i g

mat i cal figure performing some strange mys
te r y at this gloomy spot an d thus caught ,
sight of through the d arkness It was .
frig h tful to suppose that it might be dead ,
an d more frightful still to think that it

might possibly be still alive He had the cour .
age to place his face to the pane an d w atch ,
whether the figure would stir ; but though

he remained for a time which appea r ed to ,
h i m very l o n g the outstretched form m ad e

,
n o movement A ll at once he felt h imself

.
assailed by an indescribable horror and he ,
ra n off toward t h e shed without dar i ng to
look back ; he fancied that if he turned h is

h ead he should see the figure walking after
him and waving its arms When he reached .
the ru in he was pant i ng h is knees gave way , ,
and the perspiration was running down his

b ack Where was he ? w h o could have i m
.
agi n e d any thing like this species of s ep ul

?
chre i n th e heart of Paris What was the
strange h ouse A n ed ifice full of nocturnal
mystery calling souls i n the darkness the
, ,
voice of angels and when they arrive sud

, ,
d en l y O ff ering them this frightful Vision

promis ing to open the bright gate of Heaven ,
an d i n stead op en i ng the ho r r i ble gate of

, ,
the tomb ! an d it was really a mansion a ,
h ouse wh i c h had its num b er i n a street It .

234 VI CT OR R U GO S W ORK S
’
.
t h em Just now h e shud de r ed because t h e

.
garden was deserted and now he shuddered ,
because there was some one i n it He fell .
b ack from ch i merical into real terror ; he

sa i d to himself that Javert an d the police h ad
probably not gone away but they h ad in any , ,
case left watchmen in the street ; and that i f

,
this man discovered him he would give an

alarm and hand hi m over t o the pol ice He .
gently raised the still sleeping Cosette i n his

arms and carrie d her behind a mass of old
,
furniture i n the most remote part of the

shed ; Cosette did n ot stir From this spot .
he observed the movem ents of the being

i n the melon ground ; the strange thing
was that the noise of t h e bell followed
th is man s every movement When b e ap
’
.
pre ached the sound approached ; when he

went away the sound went away If he m ade .
a sudden m ovement a little peal followed the

movement an d when he stopped the noise
,
ceased It appeared evident t hat the hel l

.
was fastened to this man but i n that case

?
what could be the meaning Of it Who w as
the man to whom a h el l was fastene d as if he ,
were a ram or an e x While asking h i mself

these questions he touched Cosette s h and s ; ’
they were chilled .
O h Heaven , he said .
A nd he asked i n a whisper Cosette ,
S he did not open her eyes He shook her .
sharply ; but she did n ot awake .
“ ”
Can she be dead ? he said to h i mself ,
and he rose shi veri n g from head to foot .
The most frightful thoughts cross ed his

mind p ell mell There are moments when
-
.
235
hid eous supposit i o n s assail us like a band of

furies and violently force the bolts of our
,
brain When it is a question abou t people

.
wh om we love our prudence invents all sorts

of follies He remembered that sleep in the
.
open air o n a cold night might be mortal .
Cosette was lying stretched out motionless at

'
his feet H e l i st en ed for her breath ; she

.
wa s breathing but so faintly that it seemed

,
as if the respiration woul d cease at any mo

m ent H o w was he to warm her ? how was
.
he to wake her ! A ll that did n ot refer to

this slipped from his mind an d he rushed ,
wildly from the sh ed It was absolutely nec .
es sary that Cosette should be in bed before a

fi r e within a quarter of an hour .
CH A PT ER CV .
TH E MA N W I T H T H E B E LL .
JE A N VA L J E A N walked strai ght up to t h e

man whom he saw in the gar d en and w h ile ,
doing so took from his pocket the rouleau of

silver This man was looking down and did
.
,
not see him coming and i n a few str i des ,
Jean Valjean was by his si de and addres sed ,

”
him with the cry O ne h un d red francs
, .
The man started and raised h i s eyes .
On e hu ndred francs to be gained Jea n ,

“
Valjean continued if you will find me a
,
”
shelter for this night .
The moon f ully lit up Jean V alj ean s ’
alarmed face .
”
Why it i s you
, F ath er Mad ele i ne l
,
t h e man said .
.
T h e name uttered t h us i n th e darkn es s at

this strange spot by this strange m an m ade
, ,
Jean Valjean recoil for he expected every ,
th i ng save that The man who addr essed

.
him w as a st e e p i n g lame Ol d man dresse d

.
, ,
nearly like a peasant and wearing on hi s ,
left leg a leathern knee cap from which hung -

,
a rather large bell It was imposs ible to .
distingu i sh his face w h i ch was i n the shad ,
o w ; still the man had d e fi ed his bonnet and
sai d all i n a tremor ,
O h L ord h o w did you get here Father

, , ,
Madeleine ? which way d i d you come i n ?

Why you must have fallen from Heaven
, .
Well if ever you do fall it will be from

, ,
t h ere A nd then what a state you are i n !

.
,
you have n o cravat n o hat an d no coat do , ,
you know that you would have frightened

anybody who did not know you ? NO coat
Oh my goodness are the saints going mad at
, ,
present ? B ut h ow d i d you get i n here

On e w o r d d i d not wait for the next t h e
'
o l d man spoke with a rustic volubility in

which there was nothing alarming ; and it
was all said with a mixture of stupefaction
and simple kindness .
Who are you ? and w hat i s th is h ouse

Jean Valj ean asked .
“
Oh L ord that is too stron g
, , the Old ,
man excla i med ; why did you not get me

“
,
the situation and in this house too

, What ,
don t you recogn ize m e

’
“ ” “
No said Jean Valjean
, and h ow is it ,
that you know me

You saved my life the man sai d , .
He t u r n ed a moonbeam play ed on his face

, .
.
Oh , L ord they are only women in this ,
h ouse an d lots of gi rls I t seem s that I

, .
sh ould be dangerous to meet an d so the b e ll ,

”
warns them ; when I come they go , .
What is this house

O h nonsense you know
, , .
”
Indeed I do not .
Why you got me the gardener s place

,
’
”
h ere .
“
A nswer m e as i f I knew noth i ng ,
Well it i s the convent of the L ittle Pi cp

, us ,
”
then .
Jean V alj e an s recollect i ons returned to ’
hi m Chance that is to say Provi d ence h ad

.
, , ,
brought him to the very convent i n the

Quartier S t A ntoine where Fau ch e l e ve n t
.
,
after his accident had been engaged on his

reco mmendation t w o years back He r e .
p ea t ed as if speaking to himself
, ,
L ittle Pi cp us !
”
But come tell me F au ch el even t con , ,
tinned how the d euce did you get i n here

, ,
?
Father Madeleine for tho u gh you are a
saint you are a man an d n o me n are ad
, ,
mi t t ed here ”
.
Why you are ,

.
”
Well only I , .
“
A nd yet Jean Valjean contin u ed I , ,
”
must remain .
”
O h L ord ! Fau ch el eve n t exclaim ed
, .
Jean Valjean walked up to the gardener

an d said i n a grave voice ,
Fau ch el e ve n t I saved your life , .
”
I was the firs t to remember it Fauche ,
'
levent answered .
239
Well you can do for m e t o day wha t 1

,
”
d i d for you formerly .
’
Fauch el e ven t took Jean V alj ean s museu
l ar hand s in his old wrinkled and trembling
hand s an d for some seconds seemed as if u n
,
able to S p eak ; at len gth he exclaimed ,

,
O h ! it would be a blessing from Heaven

if I could repay you a slight p or t i o n l S ave
your life ! M Madeleine you can dispose of an
.
”
old m an as you please .
A n admi rable joy h ad t r an s fi gu r ed the

aged gar d ener and his face s eemed radiant
,
.
“
What do you wish m e to do b e con
t i n u ed .
I will explain : have you a room

I have a cottage behind the ruins of the ,
old convent in a corner w h ich no one visits ,

”
with three rooms .
” “
G ood said Jean Valjean ; now I will
,
ask t wo things of you .
What are they M l s Maire ,

.
First that you will tell nobody what

,
you know about m e ; and secondly that you , ,

”
will not try to learn any thing further .
A S you please I k no w that you can do .
nothing but what is h onest and that you ,
have ever been a man after G od s hea r t A nd ’

.
then again it was you who got me this sit u

, ,
”
ation and I am at your service
,
.
E nough ; now come with me an d we will ,

”
go and fetch the chil d .
”
Ah said F au ch el e ven t
,
th ere is a ,
”
child .
He did n ot add a word but followed Jean ,
Valjean as a dog follows its m aster I n less .
than half an hour Cosette who had become . .

240 VI CT OR HU GO S ‘
w o R Ks
rosy again b y t h e heat of a good fire v as ,

r
asleep in the old gardener s bed Jean Val ’

.
jean had put on his cmv at and coat again ; the

‘
hat thrown over the wall had been found and
p i cked u pand Fau ch el ev e n t took o fi his
p
,
knee ca an d bell whi ch now ad o rn ed the

-
,
w all by the sid e o f a door The two men .
were seated near the fire at a table on whic h

Fau ch e l e v en t had pl aced a lump of cheese ,
biscuits a bottle of wine an d two glasses

, , ,
and the old man said to Jean Valjean as he

laid his hand o n his knee ,
Ah Father Madeleine ! you did n ot

,
recognize m e at once ; you save people s lives ’
an d forget them afterwards ! O h that i s

wr ong for they remem ber you ; you are an
,
”
un grateful man .
C H A PT ER CVI .
H OW J A V E R T O N L Y FO UND T H E N E ST .
T H E even ts of which we have just seen the

back so to s p
, eak had occurred under the
,
si mplest conditions When Jean Valjean on.

,
the n ight of the day on which Javert ar

res ted him by Fan t in e s death bed broke out ’
-
,
of M jail the police su pposed that t h e

,
escaped con vict would proceed t o Paris .
Paris is a maelstrom i n which every thing i s

lost an d disappears i n the whirlp oo l of the
streets : no fo r est can conceal a man so well
as that crowd and fugitives of every d es cr i p
,
tion are aware of the fact They go to Paris .
to be swallowed up for that is at times a ,
mode of safety The police are aware of this

.
too and it is at Paris they seek what they

,
have los t e l sewhere They sought there the

.
243 VICT OR '
H U GO S W ORKS .
had been intrusted by her mother to a publi

ca n i n t h e town had been stolen by a,
stranger The child answered to the n ame

.
of Cosette and her mother was a certain

,
Fantine who h ad died i n an hospital it was

, ,
n ot known when or w h ere This report .
passed under Javert s eyes and ren d ered him ’

,
thoughtful The name of Fantine was f am il

.
iar to him ; he remembered that Jea n Val

j ean had m ade hi m laugh by asking h i m for
a respite of t hree days to go an d fetch this
creature s child He remembered that Jean
’
.
Valjean was arrested at Paris at the very

moment when he was getting into the Mon t
f er me i l coach and some facts had led to the
,
supposition at the tim e that he had taken a

trip to the vicinity of the village o n the prev
ious day for he had not been seen i n the v i l
,
lage itself What was his business at Mont

.
f e r mei l ? no one was able to guess ; but Jave r t

now un d erstood i t P anti n e s daughter was
—
’
there and Jean Valjean had gone to fetch

,
her N e w this chil d h ad just been stolen by

.
a stranger who could the stranger h e ? could

it be Jean Valjean 7’—
but he was dead J a .
vert without saying a word to anybody took

, ,
”
the coach at the Pewter Platter an d went ,
o ff to Montferm eil .
H e expected to find here a great clearing

up but only found a great obscurity
,
At .
the beginning the T h é n ar di er s i n their vex

, ,
ation had chattered an d the disappearan ce

, ,
of the L ark produced a sensation in the vi ]

lage There were at once several versions of
.
the story which finally settled down into an

,
abduction an d hence the police report S till

, .
,
243
after he had got over his first outburst of

temper Th enardier w i th his admirabl e i n
, ,
s t i n ct very speedily comp rehended that it is

,
never use ful to set the authorities at work ,
an d that his complaint about the abduction

of Cosette would have the pr i mary result of
fixing the flashing gaze of justice upo n him
self an d many dark matters he w as mixed
,
up i n The thing that owls least like is to

.
have a candle brought to them A nd then .

,
again how would he ge t out of the fifteen

hundred francs which he had received ? He
s topped short put a gag i n his wife s mouth
,
’
,
and aff ected amazement when people spoke

about the stolen child He did not at all
.
understand ; he had certainly complained at

the first moment about his little darling
being taken from him so suddenly ; he should
have liked to keep her for two or three days
longer through affection ; bu t it was her
grandfather who had come to fetch her in the
most natural way i n the world He added .
“ ”
the grandfather which produced a good,
e ff ect and it was on this story that Jave r t

,
fell upon reach i n g Montfermeil : the gr and

father caused Jean Valjean to fade out of
memory Javert however drove a few q ue s
.
, ,
tions like probes into T h é n ar di e r s story ’

.
Who was this grandfa t her and what was ,
his name Th enardier answered simply ,
He is a rich farmer ; I s aw his passport

and I fancy his nam e w as MG uillau me L am
,
'
bert . L ambert is a respectable and most r e

assuring name and so Javert returned to Par
,
“ ”
is
. Jean Valjean is really dead h e said to ,
hi mself an d I am an ass
, .
244 VICT OR H UGO S W ORKS ’
.
He was beginning to forget the whole afi air

again when in the cours e of March 1 8 2 4 he
, , ,
heard talk of a peculiar character who lived

i n the parish of S t Medard and was sur .
,
“ ”
named the beggar who gi ves alms This .
man was said to be an ann uitant whose nam e ,
n o o n e exactly knew and who lived alone with ,
a littl e girl of eig ht years of age who knew ,
noth i ng about herself except that she ca me ,
from Montfermeil Montfermeil that name .
constantly returned an d mad e Javert prick ,
his ear s A n old begging spy an ex bead le

.
,
-
to whom this person was very ch aritable ad ,
ded a few more detai l s He was a very ste r n .
p erson ; he never went out till night ; he

spok e to nobody except to the poor now and
,
then and let no on e approach hi m He wore

,
.
a horrible old yellow coat which was worth ,
sever al millions as i t was lined all through

,
”
with bank notes -
This decidedly piqued
.
Jave r t s c uriosity
’
In order to see this an
.
n u i ta n t closer wit h out startling him he o n e

, ,
’
day borrowed the bead le s rags and the place
where the old spy crouched eve r y evening ,
sn u fi i n g h i s orisons t hroug h his nose a n d spy ,

“
ing between his prayers The suspicious .
”
individu al really came up to Javert thus ,
travestied and gave him alms A t thi s mo

,
.
m ent Javert raised his head an d t h e shock ,
which Jean Val j ean received on fancying

that he recognized Javert Javert received on ,
fancying that h e r ecogn ized Jean Valjean .
S till the darkne ss m ight have deceived him ;

,
and Jean Valj ean s death was official Javert

’
.
felt seri ous doubts and when i n doubt J a , ,
vert ascr u p
,
u l ou s man never coll ared an y ,
246 VIC T O R H U GO S W ORK S ’
.
beforehand and he liked to elaborate h i s

,
m as terpieces i u the darkness and suddenl y

unveil them Javert fol l o w er ed Jean Val
.
jean from tree to tree an d then from stree t,
corner to street corner and had not once t ak ,
h i s eyes o ff him ; even at the moment whe n

Jean Valjean fancied himself th e safes t ,
Jav e r t s eye was upon h i m

’
Why did Javert .
n o t arrest him though ? Because he was still

,
i n doubt It m ust be borne i n min d that at

.
,
th i s period the p olice were n ot exactly at

,
their eas e and the free pre ss annoyed them

, .
A few arbitrary arrests denounced by the ,
newspapers had found an echo i n the Cham

,
bers and rendered the prefecture timid A t

, .
tac kin g individual liberty was a ser i ou s mat

ter ; the agents were afraid of being deceived ,
for th e prefect made them answerable and a ,
mistake was dismissal Just imagine the .
effect whi ch would have been prod uced i n

Paris by the foll owing short paragr aph repro
d uced b y twenty papers Y esterday an old
, ,
w hite haired grand father a respectable fund

-
,
holder who was taking a walk with his gran d

,
daughter eight y ears o f age was arrested an d

, ,
taken to the house of d etention as an es ,
”
caped convi ct L et us repeat als o that
.
Javert had scruples of hi s o wn ; the warnings

o f his con si e n ce were added to those of the
prefect and he really doubted

,
Jean Val .
jean had his b ack tu rned to him and was ,
walking i n the dar k ; sorrow anxiety des , ,
p on d en cy the fresh misfort une of being com

,
p e l l e d t o fly by n ight an d seek a chance ref
uge for Cosette and himse l f i n Paris the n e ,
cess i ty of regul a ting hi s place by t h at of a

LES MI SERA B L ES .
247
child all this had u n co n si ou sl y changed

—
Jean Val j ean s demeanor an d impa r ted to

’
,
him such a senility that the very police i h , ,
ca r na t e d i n Javert might be deceived an d , ,
were deceived The imposs i bi l i ty of ap

.
pr e aching close his attire as an old emigré

,
tutor T h é n ar d i er s statement wh i c h made

,
’
h i m out a grand papa and lastly the belief , , ,
i n his d eat h at the galleys added to the n u ,
certainty that clouded Javert s m ind For a ’

.
moment he had the idea of suddenly asking

for his papers ; but if the man was not ,
Jean Valjean and if he were not a respectable

,
fund holder he was i n all probability some

-
, , ,
fellow deeply enta n gled i n the meshes of Par

isian crime ; some leader of a band who gave
alms to hid e his other talents an d who had ,
“
his pals his accomplices and his lurking
, ,
places where he coul d conceal himself All

, .
the turnings this man made i n the streets

seemed to indicate tha t all was not quite
ri ght with him and arresting h i m too quickly
,
would be killing the goose with the golden

eggs . Where was the har m of waiting ?
Javert felt quite ce r tai n that he could not es
cape He walked along therefore i n great
.
, ,
perplex i ty asking himself a hundred ques

,
tions about this enigmatical personage I t .
was not until some time after that he de

c i d e d l y recognized Jean Valjean i n the R u e
Pontoise by the brilliant light that poured
,
from a wine shop .
There are o nly two beings i n the world

t h at quiver profoundly — the mother who r e ,
covers her child and the tiger that finds its ,
prey again b u t Javert suff ered the same

,
24 3 VI CT OR nt co s
'
'
w o r ms .
quiver S o soon as he had positi vely recog

.
n i z e d Jean Valjean the for midable convic t

, ,
he noticed that he had o n ly t wo companions ,
and asked for support at the police offi ce in

the R ue Pontoise Before catching hold of
.
a thorn bush people put on gloves This de .
lay and the halt at th e R ollin squa r e to ar

range with his agents all but made h i m lose ,
t h e tra i l b u t he qu i ckly guessed that Jean

,
Valjean wished t o place th e r i ver between

hi mself and his h unters He hu ng his head .
and reflected like a blood hound putting i ts

,
nose to the ground t d l i f t the scent and then , ,
with the po werful correctness of his instinct ,
walked to the A usterli t z bridge O ne remark .
’
o f the toll collector s put him o n h i s track .
Have you seen a man wit h a lit t le girl

”
I m ade hi m pay t wo sous the collector ,
answered Javert reached the bridge just i n

.
time t o see Jean Valjean leading Cose t te

along the m oonlit square ; he s aw h i m enter
the R ue d u C hemin Vert S t A ntoine he .
though t of the blind alley arranged there like

a trap and the sole issue from it by t h e l i t t l e
,
R ue Pi cp us an d i n order to stop the earth ,
as sportsmen say he sent off a policeman by

,
a detour to guard the issue A patrol which .

,
was retu rning to the arsenal happening to ,
pass he requested its assistance for i n such

, ,
games as this soldiers are trumps and m ore , ,
over i t is a principle that in forcing a boar

,
from i ts lair the hunter must be scientific

, ,
an d there must be a strong pa ck o f hounds .
These arrangements made Javert feeling , ,
that Jean Valjean was caught between the

b lind alley o n the ri ght his o w n agent o n t h e ,
25 0 V I CT OR H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
Napol eon i n the R u ss i an war by A lexander '

,
i n the Indian war b y Ca esar i n his A f r ican

,
war by Cyrus i n the S cythian war — and by

, ,
Javert i n his campai gn against Jean Valj ean .
He was probably wrong i n hesitating t o recog

n i ze the ex galley slave for a gl an ce oug h t t o
-
,
have been suffi cient for h im He was wrong .
i n n ot appre h ending him purely an d s i mply

at No 5 0 5 2 He was wrong i n not arresting
.
-
.
hi m u pon recognition i n the R ue Pontoise

, , .
He was wrong t o arrange with h is colleagues

i n the bright moonlight although certai nly ,
ad vice is u seful an d it is as well to i nterro

,
gate th es e dogs which d eserve credence B ut .
the h unter cannot take t oo m any precautions

when he is follow i ng restless ani mals li ke the ,
wol f an d the convict an d Javert by display ,
i n g too muc h anxiety i n setting the blood

h ounds o n the track alarmed his game and ,
started it o ff A bove all h e w as wrong o n

.
, , .
finding the trail agai n at the A u sterlitz bri d ge ,
i n playing the d angerous and foolish trick o f

holding such a man by a str i ng He fancied .
himself stronger than he really was and that ,
he could play with the li on as if it were a

m ouse A t the sam e time b e imagined him
.
self too weak wh en he fancied that he m ust

procure h elp i t was a fatal precaution an d ,
the loss of preci ous t i me Javert com mi tted .
all these faults but for all that w as not the

,
less one of the cleverest and most cer t ain spies

that ever existed H e was i n the full ac
.
,
ce p tat i o n o f the term a dog that runs cunning

,
but wh ere is the man who i s perfect P G reat

st r at egi ci an s have thei r eclipses an d great ,
follies ar e ofte n m ade like stout ropes of a . ,

25 1
multitude of fibres Take th e cable th read.
by thread catch h old of all the small deter

,
m ining motives separately and you break ,
them one aft er the other and say to yourself , ,

“ It is only that ” b u t t wist them together
;
and you h ave an enormity It is A ttila hesi .
tating between Marcianus in the east and

V al en t i n i an u s i n the West ; it is Hannibal
delayi ng at Capua ; it i s Danton falling asleep
at A rcis sur A ube
- -
.
However this may be even at t h e m oment ,
when Javert perce i ved that Jean Valjean

had slipped from his clutches he did not lose
his head Certain that the convict coul d n o t
.
be very far off he established watches organ

, ,
i z ed mouse traps and ambuscades and beat up

-
,
the quarter the whole night through The .
fir st thi n g he saw was the cut cord of the

lauthern This was a valuable sign which
.
, ,
however led him as tr ay so far that it made

,
hi m turn all his attention to the Gen r o t blind

alley T h ere are i n this alley l o w walls sur
.
,
rounding gar d ens which skirt open fiel d s and ,
Jean Valjean had evidently fled i n that di

rection The truth is that if he had gone a
.
,
little fu r ther down the blind alley he would i n ,
all probability have done so and been a los t

, ,
man Javert explored the gardens and fields

.
as if looking for a n eedle and at day b reak he ,
left two intelligent men on duty and return ed ,
to the prefecture of police looking as hang ,

!
dog as a spy captured by a robber .

CH A PT ER CVII .
NO . 62, RUE PI C PU S .
H ALF a century ago nothing more rese m

bled any ordinary porte coch ere than that of
No 62 Petite R ue Pi cp
.
, us This door gen .
,
er a l l y half o pen i n the most i nviting manner

-
,
all owed you to see two things wh i ch are not

of a very mournful nature— a courtyard with
walls covered with vines and the face of a ,
lounging porter A bove the bottom wall tall

.
trees could be seen and when a sunbeam , ,
enlivened the yard and a glass of wine had ,
enlivened the porter it was difficul t to pass ,
before No 62 an d not carry away a laughing

.
idea A n d yet you had had a glimp se of a

.
,
very gloomy place The threshold smiled .

,
b u t the house prayed an d wept If you suc .
ceed e d which was not easy i n passing the

, ,
porter as was indeed impossible for nearly

—
, ,
”
all for there was an O pen S esame which
, , ,
i t was necessary to know you entered on the —
right a small hall from whic h ran a staircase

enclosed between two walls and so narrow ,
that only one person could go up at a time ; if

you were not frightened by the canary colored -
plaster and chocolate wainscot of this stair

case and s t i l l boldly ascen d ed you crossed
, ,
two landings and found yourself i n a passage

o n the fi r s t fl oo r where the yellow distemper
-
,
an d chocolate skirting board followed you

with a qu i et pertinacity The staircase an d .
25 4 VI CT OR H UGO S W OR K S
’
.
the mouth of a letter box and a bell wire ,

-
hung by the si d e of th i s hole If you p ulled .
this wire a bell tinkled an d you heard a

, ,
vo i ce close to you which made you start .
Wh o is there the voice aske d

? ”
.
It was a female voice a gentle voice so , ,
gentle that it was melancholy Here again .

, ,
there was a magic word which it was n eces

sary to know ; if you did not know it the ,
voice ceased and the wall becam e silent

,
again as i f the terrifying darkness of the

,
tomb were on the other side If you knew .
the word t h e vo i ce continued

, Tu rn to ,
the right Y ou then noticed facing the

.
,
wi ndow a door the upper part of which was

, ,
of gray pain ted glass Y o u raised the latch

.
,
walked in an d experienced precisely the same

,
expression as when you enter a box at the

theatre before the gi lt grating has been l o w
,
ered an d the ch andel i er l i gh ted You were .
i n fact i n a species o f box scarce lighted by ,
the faint light that came through the glass

door narrow furnished with t w o old chai r s
, ,
an d a ragged sof a— a real box with a black

entablature to re p resent the front This box .
had a grating bu t it was not made of gilt

,
wood as at th e opera but was a monstrous ,
trelliswork of frightfully interlac ed iron

bars fastened to the wall by enormo u s clamps
,
that resembled clenched fists Wh en the fi r s t .
few moments were past and your eye began ,
to grow ac customed to this cellar like gloom -

,
you tried to look through the grating bu t ,
could not see m ore than six inc h es beyond

it ; the re it met a barrier of black shutters ,
connected and strengthened by cross beams -

,
LES MI SERA B LES .
25 5
and painted of a ginger bread yellow These -

.
shutters were j ointed divided into long thin ,
planks an d covered th e whol e width of the

,
grating ; they were always closed A t the .
expiration of a few minutes you heard a ,
voice calling to you from behind the shutters ,
and saying t o you ,
I am here what do you want w i t h m e

,
It was a loved voice sometimes an adored ,
voice but you saw n obody an d could scarce

, ,
hear the sound of breathing It seemed as it .
were an evocation addressing you through

the wall of a tomb If yo u fulfilled certain .
required and very rare conditions the nar ,
r o w plank of one of the shutters opene d e

p
posit s t o you an d the evocation became an
,
apparition Be h ind the grating beh i nd th e

.
,
shutter you perce i ve d as far as the gratin g

, ,
would allow a head of which you only saw

, ,
the mouth and chin f o r the rest was covered ,
by a black veil You caught a glimpse of a

.
black wimple and of a scarce distinct form ,
covered by a black pall This head spoke t o .
you but did n ot l ook at y o u an d never

, ,
smiled The light that came from behind

.
you was so arranged tha t you s aw h er i n

brightness and she s aw you i n darkness ; this
light was a symbol S till you r eyes plunged .
eagerly through the o p ening i n t o this place ,
closed against al l l o o k s a profound vacuu m ,
su r rou nded this f o r m clothed in morning .
Y ou r eyes investigated this vacu um and tried

to d istinguish wha t there was around the ap
p ar i t i o n but i n a very little tim e yo u per
,
ce i v e that
y o u could see nothi n g What you
sa w w as night em p tiness gloom a w i nter
, , ,
256 VI CT OR n ue e s w o ax s .
fog mingled wi th the vapor from a tomb ; a

so r t of terrify ing p eace ; a silence i n whi ch
nothing could be h eard n ot even sighs ; a ,
shadow i n whic h nothing could be disti n

u i s h e d not even phantom s What y o u saw
g ,
.
wa s the interior Of a n unnery the interior Of ,
that gloomy and ste m house which was ,
called the convent Of the Perpetual A doration .
The box in which y ou found yoursel f was

the p ar l o r and the first voice that ad dressed
,
you was that of a lay sist er w h o always sat ,
silent an d motionless on the other sid e Of

,
the wall near the square Opening whi ch was

,
defended b y the iron grating an d t i n plate

with the thousand holes like a double visor .
The Obscurity i n which the grated box was

pl u nged resulted from t h e fact that the par
,
lor which had a window o n the side Of the

,
worl d had none on the side Of the convent ;

,
profane eyes must not see any port i on Of th is

sacred spot S t ill there was som ething h e
.
yond the shadow ; there was a light and life

amid this death A l t hough this convent w as
.
the most strictly im mured Of al l w e will try ,
to enter it an d take the reader i n with u s ,
and describe with d ue regard to d ecorum

, ,
things which novelists have never seen an d .
co n sequently never recorded .
CH A PT ER CVIII .
m s OBED I ENCE or M A RT I N v n ae a .
T H I S convent whic h h ad exi sted for m any

,
years prior to 1 8 24 i n the R ue Pi cp

u s was a ,
comm unity Of B ernardi nes belongi ng to t h e

258 VI C T OR H U GO S W ORKS ’
.
in black with a wimple which by the expre ss , ,
order of S t Benedict comes up to t h e chin ;

.
,
a serge gown with wide sleeves a large wool ,
l en veil the wimple cut square o n t h e chest

, ,
an d th e coif which comes down to their

,
eyes — s uc h is their dress All is black ex

, .
’
ce p t i n g the coif which is white Novices

, .
wear the same garb but all wh i te w hile the , ,
professed nuns also wear a rosary by their

side The Bernardo Benedictines of Martin
.
-
Verga practise the Perpetual A doration i n ,
th e same way as those Benedictines call ed t h e ’
lad i es of the Holy S acrament who at the , ,
beginning of this century had two houses i n ,
Pari s o n e i n the Temple the other i n the

, ,
R ue Neuve S te G enevi eve In o th er r e

. .
Sp ec ts the nu ns of the L ittle Pi cp

, us to
whom we are referring entirely differ from
the lad ies of the Holy S acram ent ; there were
several distinctions i n the rule as well as i n
the d ress The nuns of L ittle Pi cp
. u s w e re a
blac k wimple the former a wh ite o n e and

, ,
had also on their chest a Holy S acram ent ,
about three inches in length Of p l ate or gilt ,
brass The nu ns of the L ittle Pi cp

. u s di d
not wear this decoration T h e Perpetual

A doration while comm on in L ittle Pi cp
, us
and the Temple hous e leaves t h e two orde r s ,
perfectly distinct This practice is the only

.
resemblance betwe en the ladi es of the Holy

S acrament and the Bernardines of Ma r ti n
Verga in the same w ay as t here was a simili
,
tude for the stud y an d glorification of all

,
t h e mysteries attaching to the infancy l ife ,
and death of the S aviour between two o r ders ,
wh i ch were greatl y separated ah d at times

L ES M I SE R A B LES .
25 9
h ostile — th e oratory of I taly established at

,
Florence by Philippe d e Neri and the ,
oratory of F rance established in Paris by ,
Pierre de B erulle The Paris oratory clai m

.
ed p r ec edence because Phil i pe de Ner i was

only a saint while B erulle w as a cardinal
, .
B u t to return to the harsh S panis h rul e of

Martin Verga .
The Bernardo Benedict i nes of th i s obedi

-
d i en ce abstai n from meat the whole year ;

fast all L ent and on many Other days
, ,
special to themsel ves ; get up i n their first

sleep from one to three A M i n order to
, . .
,
read their breviary and chant mat i ns ; sl eep

i n serge sheets at all seasons an d on straw ; ,
never bathe or ligh t fires ; chastise them

every F riday ; observe the rule of silence ;
only speak d uring recreat i on which is very ,
short an d wear coar se flannel chemises for

,
six m onths from S e p

, t 1 4 which is th e E x .
,
al t ati o n of th e Holy Cross u p to E aster , .
These six months are a m oderation — t h e rule ,
says all the year but the flannel chem i se i n

, ,
supportable i n the h eat Of su mmer produced ,
fevers and nervous spasms E ven with t h is .
relief when the nu ns put o n the flannel

,
chemise on S ept 1 4 they su ffer from fever

.
,
for three or fo u r d ays O bedience poverty .

, ,
chastity perseverance — such are their vows

, ,
which are greatly aggravated by the rule .
The prioress is elected for three years by

mothers called
,
“
Mé r es Vocales because ,
they have a voice i n the chapte r S he can .
be only r e elected twice which fixes the long

-
,
est possible r eign Of a prioress at nine years .
The y never see the offi ciati n g p riest who is ,

260 VICT O R H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
hidden from them by a green baize curtain -
nine feet high A t the sermon whe n the .

,
preacher is i n the chapel they draw their ,
ve i l over their face they must always speak

low an d walk with their eyes fixed o n the
,
ground O nly one man i s allowed to enter

.
the convent and he is the diocesan arch ,
bishop There is certainly another who is

.
,
the gardener b ut he is always an aged man ,
and in ord er that he may be constantly alone

i n the gard en an d that the nu ns may avoid ,
him a h el l is fastened to his knee The nuns

, .
must display absol ute and passive submission

to the prioress an d it is canonical subjection ,
i n all its self d enial They must obey as if it

-
. ,
were the voice of Christ u t voci Ch r i s t i at a ,
nod at the first signal ad n u tu m ad p mmu m

’
, , ,
s i gn u m ; at once cheerfully perseveringly , ,
an d w i th a certain bland obedience p r omp ts ,
hi l ar i ter , p er s e ver
'
an ter , et ca
sed
q u ad a m
obed i en tt a, like the file in the workman s
‘ ’
hand q u as i l i mam i n man i b u f ab r i

,
and are ,
n ot allowed to read or write an y thing with
ou t express p erm i ssion l eger e vel s or z ber s n on

'
edi s cer it si n e p r es s d pi is l i ce n t z d
'
ex su er or .
E ach of them performs i n turn what they

“
call the reparation This reparation is a
prayer for all the sins faults i rregulari ties , , ,
violations ini q uities and crimes performed

, ,
u pon earth For twelve consecutive hours

.
,
from fou r in the evening till four the next

morning th e sister who performs the repara
,
tion remains on her knees on the stone b e ,
fore the Holy S acrament with her hands ,
clasped an d a rope round her neck When

,
.
th e fatigue becomes insupportable she pro s

262 VI CT O R HUG O ‘S WO R K S .
tim es the y grow attached to some trifling

Object a book of ours a relic or con secrated
, .
, ,
medal but so soon as they perceive that they

,
are begi nn i ng to grow fond Of it they are ob ,
l i ged to give i t away They remember the .
remark o f S aint The r esa to whom a great ,
lady said at the moment o f entering her

,
order ,
A llow m e h oly moth er to send for , ,
”
a Bible to which I am greatly att ached .
A h you are still attached to something i n

,
”
that case do not com e among us No one .
must l ook herself i n under any pretence or ,
h ave a room of her o wn and they live with ,
open doors When they pass each other . .

,
o n e says The most Holy S acrament of the

,
”
A ltar be blessed and adored and the other ,
”
answers Forever ,There is the same cere .
mony when one sister raps at another sister s ’
door ; th e door has scarce been touched ere ,
a gentle voice i s heard saying hurriedly from

”
within Forever ,
L ike all practices this .
,
one becom es mechanical through habit ; and

”
a s ister wil l som etimes say Forever before ,
the other h as had tim e to utter t h e long s en

tence The mos t holy S acrament Of the
,
”
A ltar be blessed and adored 1 A mong the
“
Visitandines the one wh o enters says A ve ,
Maria to which the other replies G rati a

”
,
“
,
”
plena ; this is their greeting which is truly ,
full of grace A t each hou r of the day; three

.
supplem entary strokes are struck on the

chapel bell and at this signal prioress vocal
, , ,
mothers professed nuns lay sisters nov i ces

, , , ,
and postulants break Ofi what they are say ,
ing doing o r thinking and all repeat t o

, , ,
’
gether i f it be five o clock for instance
—
, ,
2 63
A t five o clock an d at every hour may the

’
, ,
most Holy S acrament of the A ltar be blessed

”
and adored and so on accor d ing to the
, ,
hour This cu stom which is intended to

.
,
break off thoughts and ever lead them back

to G od exists i n many com m unities the form
, ,
alone varying T hus at the Infant Jesus

.
, ,
“
they say A t the present hour and at every
, ,
hour may the love of Jesus inflam e my

,
h eart
The Bernardo Benedictines of Martin Ve r
-
g a si n g the offi ces to a grave full chant and , ,
always i n a loud voice during the whole of ,
the serv i ce Whenever there is an aster i sk

.
i n the missal they pause an d say i n a l o w

, ,
voice “ Jesus Mar i e Joseph In the ser

, , ,
vice for the dead they employ such a deep

n ot e
,
that female voices can scar ce descend
to it and there results from it a striking and
,
tragical e ffect The sisters of Little Pi c p

. us
had a vaul t under their high altar for the

burial of their community but the govern ,
ment as th ey call it would not allow co fli n s

, ,
to be placed in this vault an d they therefore ,
left the convent when they were d ead th i s

affl icted an d consternated them l i ke an i n
f r action They had obta i ned the slight con
solation of being buried at a special hour an d
i n a special corner of the Ol d V au gi r ar d cem
eter
y wh ich was established i n a field tha t
,
had once belonged to the com munity On .
Thursday these n uns attend high mass v e s ,
pers and all the services as on S unday and

,
they also scrupulously observe all the l i ttle

fest i vals unknown to people of th e world Of ,
whic h the church was formerl y so prodigal

.
in France and s t i l l remains so i n S pain and

,
Italy Their stat i ons i n the chapels are i n

.
num erable and as for the number and length

,
of their prayers we cannot give a better idea

,
than by quoting the simple remark of one of

them ,The prayers of the postulants are
frightful those of the novices worse and
, ,
”
those of the professed nuns worse still O nce .
a week the chapter meets t h e prioress pre ,
sid i ng an d the vocal mothers assisting .
p
Each sister comes i n her tu rn to kneel o n
the stone and confesses aloud in the r e
, ,
sence Of all th e faults and sins which she

,
has comm itted du ring the week The vocal .
m others consult after each confession and i n

fli ct the p enances aloud In ad d ition to the .
loud c o nfession for which all faults at all,
serious are reserve d they have for venial ,
faults what they call la cou l p

“
e
”
The .
penitent prostrates herself on her face during

service i n front of the prioress who is never ,
addressed otherwise than our mother ; u n !
til the latter warn s the sn fl e r er b y a slight ,
tap on the arm of her st all that she can get ,
up . The n uns perform this penance for

very tri vial things ; breaking a glass tearing ,
a veil an invol untary d el ay of a few seconds

,
i n attending service a false note in chapel , ,
that is enough This penance is q uite v ol u n

.
tary and the culprit ( this word is e ty mol o

,
gi cal l y in its pl ace here ) tries and punishes

herself O n festivals and S undays th ere are
.
four sin ging mothers who chant at the large ,
lectern with fou r desks On e day a sin ging .
mother was striking up a psalm which began ,
Wi t h t h e wor d E 009 an d sa i d in stead quite

, ,
‘
266 VICT OR I I U GO S W O RK S .
dietines of Marti n Verga admit no w i do ws

into their order I n their cells they undergo
.
m any strange macerations of wh i ch they are ,
n ot a llowed to speak On the day when a.
novice p r ofesses she is dressed i n her best

,
clothes wears a wreath of white roses has

, ,
her hair curled an d then prostrates he r self ;

,
a large black veil is spread over her and the ,
service for the dead is performed Then t h e .
nuns div i de into two files one of wh ich passe s ,
her saying i n a plaint i ve voice

, O ur sister ,
”
is dead and the other answers triumphan t ly
, ,
”
L iving i n Jesus Christ .
A t the period when this story i s lai d t he re ,
was a boarding school attached to the con

vent the pupils being young ladies of noble
,
birth and generally rich A m ong them could

,
.
be noticed Mlles de S te A ulaire and de B é .
li ssen an d an E nglish girl bearing the illu s

, ,
t r i ou s Catholic name of Talbot These young .
ladies educated by the nuns between fou r

,
walls grew up with a horror of the world an d

,
of the century ; one of them said to u s o n e

“
day ,
S ee i ng t h e street pavement made m e
”
shudder from head to foot They were .
d ressed in bl ue with a white cap and a plated ,
or gi lt Holy G host on the chest On certain .
h igh festivals especially S aint Ma r tha they

, ,
allowed as a high favor an d supreme happi

,
ness to dress them selves like n u ns an d per

, ,
form the offices and practices of S t Benedict .
for the whole day A t first th e nuns lent

.
t hem their black robes b u t this was deemed ,
a profanity and the prioress forbade it so

, ,
the novices alone were permitted to make

such loans It is remarkable that these rep
.
LES M I SERABLES .
267
r esen t at i on s,
doubtless tolerated i n the con
vent th roug h a secret S pirit of proselyt ism ,
and i n order to gi ve their children some for e

taste of the sacred dress we re a real happi ,
ness an d true recreation for the boarders ;

“
they were amused by them for it was a ,
”
novelty and cha n ged them cand i d reas ons ,
of c h ildren which d o not succeed however

, , ,
i n making us worldly m inded people under -
st and the felicity Of holding a holy water -
brush i n one s hand and standing for h ou rs

’
,
before a lectern an d sing i ng quartettes The .
pupils conformed to all the practices of the

convent though not to all th e austerities
, .
We k n e w a young lady who after returning ,
to the worl d and being married for some

years could not break herself of has tily say
,
i n g each time that there was arap at the

,
“ ”
door Forever 1 like the nu ns The board
, .
ers only saw their parents i n the parlor ,
their m others themselves were not even al

lowed to kiss them T o sho w h o w far this
.
se verity was carried a young lady was visited

,
one day by her mo t h er accompanied by a ,
little sister three years of age The young .
lady cried because she would have liked to

,
kiss her sister but it was i mpossible

, S he .
i mplored at least permission for the child to

pass her hand through the bars so that she ,
might kiss it but it was refused almost as a

, ,
scandal .
For all this though the you n g ladies filled

, ,
this grave house with delightful r emi n i sce n

ces A t certain hours childhood sparkled i n
.
this cloister The bell for recreation was

.
r u ng the gate creaked on i ts hinges an d t h e

, ,
2 68 VI CT OR H U GO S W O R K S ‘
.
birds whispered to e ach other Here are the ,

”
ch i ldren A n irruption of youth inun
.
dated this garden which with its crosswalks ,
rese mbled a pal ]; Radiant faces white fore ,
heads ingenious eyes full of gay light — all

, ,
sorts of dawn spread through the gloom —

.
A fter the psalm sin ging the bell ringing and ,

-
,
the se r vices th e noise of the girls softer than

, ,
the buzzing of bees suddenly burst ou t The , .
hive of joy Op ened and each brought her ,
honey ; they p l ayed t hey cal led each other ,

*
they formed groups and r an about ; pretty ,
little white teeth chattered at corners ; i n the

distance veils watched th e laughter shadows ,
guarded the beams — but what matter ! they ,
were radiant and laughed These four mourn .
ful wal l s had their m oment of bedazzlement

vaguely whitened by the reflection of so much
joy they watched this gentle buzzing of the
,
swarm It w as like a shower of roses falling

.
on this mourn i ng The girls sported beneat h

.
the eye of the nuns for the glance of i mp ec ,
ca b i l i ty does not disturb innocence ; and ,
thanks to these c h ildren there w as a S i mple ,
hour among SO many austere hours The .
l ittle gi rls ju mped abou t and the elder ,
danced an d nothing could be so ravishing

,
an d august as all the fresh innocent ex p an ,
sion of these childish souls .
Homer would have come h ere to dance

w i th Par r a ul t a n d there were i n
, this black
garden youth health noise cries pleasure
, , , , ,
and happiness en o u gh to u nwrinkle the brows

of all the ancestry both of the ep i c poem
,
and the fairy tale of the throne and the cot ,
t ag s from Hecuba down to l a Mer e G rand

,
.
.
forget it by a little Si n ner of seven years of

,
age :
“
My fat h er I accuse myself of havi ng
,
been avaricious .
“
My father I accuse myself of havi ng
,
committed adultery .
“
My father I accuse mysel f of havi ng
,
”
rai sed my eyes to gentlemen .
It was o n one of the benches in the garden

that the following fable was improvised by
rosy lips S i x years of age an d listened to by ,
blue eyes of four and five years

There were three l ittle cocks w h ic h lived ,
i n a place where th ere were m any flowers .
They pick ed the flowers and put them i n

their pockets ; after that they plucked th e
leaves an d put them i n their playthings .
There was a wolf i n those parts and there ,
was a great deal of wood ; an d the wolf was

”
i n the wood an d all the three cocks
, .
It was here too that the following sw eet

, ,
and affecting remark was made by a found

ling child whom the convent brought up
,
through charity S he heard the o thers speak

.
ing of th eir m others an d she m urm ured i n

M
,
“
her corner y
—
mother was not there
”
when I was born There was a fat porteres s .
who could continually b e seen hurrying along

the passage with her bu nch of keys and
, ,
whose name was S ister A gatha The grow n .
up gi r l s t h os e above t e n years of age

~
called her A gathocl es ( A ga t he au x clefs ) .
The refectory a large rectan gular room

, , ,
which onl y received light through an arched

wi ndow looking on the garden was gl oo my
, ,
an d damp an d as children say full of

, , ,
L ES M I SERA B LE S .
271
animals A l l the surroun d ing places fur

.
n i s h e d their contingent of insects ; and each
of the four corners h ad received a private

'
and expensive name in the language of the ,
boarders There were S pider corner Cater

.
,
pillar corner Woodlouse corner and Cricket

, ,
corner the latter was the kitchen and highly ,
esteemed for it was warmer there The

,
names had passed from the refectory to the

school room and served to distinguish f ou r
-
,
nations as i n the old Mazarin College E very

, .
b oar d er belonged to one or oth er of th ese

n at i ons according to t h e corn er of th e r e
,
f e ct o r y i n which they sat at me als O ne day .
the archbishop while paying a pastoral vis i t

, ,
noti ced a charming little r os v faced girl -

,
with glo r ious l ight hair pass and he asked , ,
another boarder a pretty brunette w i th pink

,
cheek s who was near him

, ,
Who is that
S he is a Spider s i r , .
Nonsense and this other

“ ”
IS a cricket .
A nd this one
”
A caterpillar .
Indeed ! and wha t may you be

I am a woodlouse monse i gneur , .
E ach house of this nature has its pecul i

ar i t i es : at the beginning of this centu ry ,
E couen was one of those places i n which the

childhood of children is passed i n an almost
august gloom A t E couen a distinct i on was
.
made between the v i rgins and fl o we r g i rls in -

,
taking rank i n th e procession of the Holy

S acrament There were also the canopies
.
,
“ ”
and the cense rs the former holding the ,
27 2 Vi e r e R
'
H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
cords of th e canopy the latter sw mgi n g t h e ,
cense r s i n front of the H o l y S acrament wh i le ,
fou r virgins walked i n front On t h e morn .
ing of the great day it was n ot rare to have ,

“
people say i n the d orm i tory — Who is a ,
”
v irgi n ? Madame Campan mentions a t e
mark made by a li ttle gi rl of Seven to a
grown u p gi rl of s i xteen w ho walked at the
-
,
head of the p roce ss i on W h i le S h e th e li ttle , ,

“
one remained behind
, Y ou ar e a Vi r gin '
y ou, but I am n o t on e .
C H A PT ER OX .
AM U S E M E N TS .
A B OV E the refectory door w as pai n te d i n

large black letters the follow i ng prayer ,
”
which was called the White Paternoster ,
and which had t h e virtue of lead i ng per sons

straigh t to Parad i se .
Little wh i te Paternost er w h ich G od ,
made w h i ch G od said wh i c h G od placed 1 1]

, ,
Paradise A t night when I went to bed I

.
, ,
f ou n d t h r e e angels at my bed —o n e at the ,
f oot two at the head an d the good Virgi n

, ,
Mary i n the middle — who told m e to go to ,
bed and fear nothing The L ord G od is my .
father the good V i rgi n is my m other t h e

, ,
three apost l es are my brothers the three vi r ,
g i n s are my S i sters My body is wrapped u p

.
i n th e Skirt i n which G od w as b o r n : the

cross of S t Marguerite is written o n my chest
. .
Madame the Vi rgi n weeping for the L o r d ,
went into the fields and met there M S t . .
John ‘ Monsieur S t John where do y ou

. .
,
274 V I CT OR HU GO S W ORKS ’
.
were wh i te the ta b les black ; for these two

,
mourning colors are the sole va r iat i ons i n

convents The meals were poor an d the
.
,
food of even the ch i ldren scanty ; a S i ngl e

plate of meat an d vegetables o r sal t fi sh was -
the height o f l uxu ry Th i s ordina r y r c .

,
served for the boarders alon e was however , , ,
an exception The ch i ldren ate and held

.
the i r ton gues unde r the guardian sh i p of the

m other of the week w h o from time to time
, , ,
i f a fly dared to move o r buzz contrary t o

regulation noisily o p
,
ened an d closed a
wooden book This Silence was seasoned
.
w i th the Li ves of the S a i nts read aloud from ,
a little desk stand in g at the foot of the cru

ci fi x the reader being a grow n u p
,
pupil ap -
,
pointe d for the week A t regular distances .
on the bare table were earthenware bowls i n ,
which the pupils themselves washed their

cups an d forks and Spoons an d sometimes ,
t hrew i n a piece of hard meat or spoi led ,
fish but this was severely p unished A ny

, .
ch i ld who broke the Silence m ade a cross wi th

her tongue Where ,
? On the ground : she
licked the stones D ust that finale of all
.
,
joys was ordered to chastise these poor l i ttle

,
rose leaves that were guilty of prattling .
There was i n the convent a book o f w h ic h

only o n e copy was printed and which no o n e
was allowed to read It is the rule of S t . .
Bened i ct a m ystery which n o profa n e eye

,
must penetrate N emo r egu l a . r s seu con s t i t u
t z on es n os t r as ext er ms commu n i cab i l

‘
The .
boarders suc ceeded on e day i n getting hold

o f this book a n d began perusing it eagerl y .
though frequently i nterrupted by a fear o f

27 5
being surprised which made them close the,
book hurriedly They only derived a Slight.
pleasure from the danger they incurred for

the most interesting portion was a few unin
t el l i gi b l e pages about the sins of lads .
They played i n a garden walk bordered ,
by a fe w stunted fruit trees I n spite of the .
extrem e watch and the severity of the pu nish

ment when the wind shook the trees they
, ,
at times succeeded i n p i cking up furt i vely a

green apple or a spoiled apricot o r a wasp
, ,
in hab i ted pear I w il l here let a l etter spea k

.
whic h I have before m e a letter wr i tten by ,
an ex boarder fi ve an d twenty years age w h o

- - -
,
is n o w t h e D uchesse de and on e of the

most elegant women in Paris I quote ex .
“
act l y
. We hide our pear or our apple as ,
we can W h en we go up to lay ou r veil o n

.
the bed before supper we thrust i t u nder a

pillow and eat i t at night i n b e d and when
, ,
th at is not possible we eat i n the This

was one of their l i veliest pleasures On on e .
o ccasion at a per i od when the archbishop

,
was paying a v i sit at the convent on e of the ,
young ladies Mademoiselle Bouchard who

. ,
was related to the Montmorencys laid a ,
wager that she would ask him for a holiday .

,
an enormity i n such an austere comm unity .
The wager was taken but not o n e of those ,
who took it believed i n it When the mo .
ment arrived for the archb i shop to pass b e

fore the boarders Mlle Bouchard to the i n , .
describable horror of her com p anions step ped ,
out of t h e ranks an d sa i d Monseign eur , ,

”
a holiday Mademoiselle Bouchard was
.
fresh an d tall an d had the prettiest pink

,
2 76 VI CT OR H U G S W ORK S O
’
.
and white face i n the world M d e Q u é l en

-
. .
smiled an d sa i d
, What my dear child a , , ,
day s holiday three if you like I grant

’
, ,
”
three days The prioress could do nothing
.
,
as the archbishop had said it It was a scan .
dal for the convent but a joy for the board ,
ing school Just imagi ne the e ff ect

. .
This harsh conv ent however was not so , ,
well walled i n but that the passions of the

ou te r world the dram as and even the r e
, ,
m an ce o f life entered it To prove this we

, .
,
w ill briefly describe a real and incontestable

fact though it is i n no way connected with
,
the story wh i c h we are narrating We men .
t i on ed the fact i n order to complete the phy

S i ogn omy of the convent i n the reader s mind
’
.
A bout this period then there was i n the con ,
vent a mysteriou s personage who was not a ,
n un but was treated w i th great respect and

, ,
c alled Madame A lbertine Nothing was .
known about h er except that she was dead ,
and that i n the world S h e was supposed to

be dead It was said t h at behin d the story
.
were certain monetary arrangements n eces ,
sary for a grand marriage This woman w h o .

,
was sca rce thirty years of age and a rather

pretty brunette looked vacantly arou nd with
,
?
her large black eyes Did she see it was .
doubted S he glided along rather than

.
walked : S he never spoke an d people were ,
not qu i te sure whether she breathed Her .
nostri ls were pinched u p an d l i vid as if she ,
had dra w n her last sigh : touch i ng her hand

was like touching sno w an d S h e h ad a strange ,
spectral pace Wherever S h e entered she

.
produced a chill : an d o n e day a sister seeing

2 78 V I CT OR H U G O S W ORKS ’
.
familiar way an d was at least a near relat i on

,
o f hi s since S h e knew hi s Ch ristian nam e

, .
T wo very stri ct du chesses Mesdames de ,
C hoiseul an d de S erent fr equently vis i ted ,
the comm u nity doubtless by vi rtue o f their

privilege as M agn ates M
,
n d terr i bly
'
u l z er es a ,
frightened the boarders When the t wo ol d .
ladies passed all the poor gi rls trembled and

,
let their eyes fall M de Re h an was b e . .

,
sides unwi t tin gly t h e object of attention

,
among the boarders He had just been ap .
pointed while waiting for a bis h opri c grand

, ,
vi car o f the archbishop of Par is and it was ,
on e of his habi t s to serve mass i n the chapel
o f the L ittle Pi cp u s convent N ot one of the .
young recl uses could see him on account o f ,
the baize curtain but he h ad a soft and rat h er ,
shr i l l voice whi ch t h ey had managed to r ec

,
ogn i z e a nd distingu i sh He h ad been a .
Mousquetaire an d besides h e was said to be

, , ,
som ewhat of a dandy with fi n e chestnu t hair ,
curled round his head and that he w e r e a ,
w i de scarf of magnificent m oi re and his black ,
cassock was cut i n the most elegant style .
He greatly occup i ed all their youthfu l imagi

nations No external sound penetrated the
.
convent and yet on e year the sound of a flute

,
reached it It was an event an d the board

.
,
ers of that day still remember it It was a .
flute which som e one w as playing i n t h e

neighborhood It was the sam e tune on e.
,
“
n o w very aged Ma Z é t u l b é viens regner
, ,
sur mon a me an d it was heard t wo or three

,
times a day The girls spent hou r s i n listen

.
i n g, the vocal mot h ers were upse t b r ains ,

LES M I SERA B L E S .
279
were at work and punish ments were con,
stant This laste d several mon t hs ; the board

.
ers were more or less enamored o f the n u

known musician an d each fancied herself ,
Z é tu l b é The sound o f t h e flute cam e from

.
the direct i on of the R u e Droit mur They -

.
would have given anything compromised ,
anyt hi ng attempted anything i n or d er to

, ,
se e if only for a moment

,
the yo ung man ,
who played the flute so exquisitely and at t h e ,
same tim e played on all the i r m inds S om e .
of them Slipped o u t through a back d oor and ,
ascended to the third story looking out of

t h e street i n order to try and see hi m through
,
the grating but it was impossible ; one went

,
SO far as to pass h er arms between the bars

and wave her white handkerchief T wo .
others were eve n bolder ; t h ey managed to

clim b on to the roof and at las t succeeded ,
“ ”
i n see i ng the you ng man It was an old .
emi gr e gentleman blind and ruined who , ,
played the fl u te i n hi s garret i n order to kill

time .
C H A P T ER CX I .
TH E LITTL E CO N V E N T .
T H E R E were with i n the walls of L i t tle Pic

pus three perfectly d istinct bu i ldings —the ,
great convent inhabited by th e nuns the ,
school house i n which the boarders were

-
l od ged an d las tly what was called th e little

, , ,
conven t The latter was a h ouse with a gar

.
den i n whic h all S orts of old nuns of various

,
orders th e remains of convents broken up i n

,
280 V I CT OR H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
the Re volution dwel t i n comm on ; a reun i on

,
of all t h e black white and grey gowns of all

, ,
the com mun i ties an d all the varieties pos

,
s i ble ; what m i ght be called were such a con ,
junct i on o f words permissible a conventual ,
pp o
- l ou r r i U nder the empire all these d i s
p e r sed and hom eless women were allo wed t o
shelter themselves under the wings of the

B e rn ardo Benedict i nes ; the government paid
-
them a small pens ion an d the lad i es of L ittle

,
Pi cp us eagerly received them It was a .
strange pell mell i n which each followed her

-
,
rule A t times the boarders were allowed as

.
,
a great recreation to pay them a visit and it

, ,
is from this that these young m inds have r e

tai n ed a recollection of Holy Mother Bazile ,
Holy Mother S cholastica an d Mother Jacob , .
O ne of these refugees was almost at home

here ; S h e was a n u n of S aint A ure the only ,
o n e of her order who su r v i ved The ol d co n .
vent o f the ladies of S ai nt A ure occupied at

the b eginning of the 1 8 t h cen tury the same
house which at a later d ate belonged to the
Bened i cti nes o f Marti n Verga This holy .
'
woman who was too poor to wear t h e mag

,
n i fi cen t dress of h er or d er w h ic h wa s a white

,
robe w i th a scarlet scap ul arl

y h a
d piously ,
dressed up i n it a small doll which S h e was ,
fond of Sho wing and left i t at her death to

,
t h e house I n 1 8 20 only o n e n u n o f this or

.
der remained ; at the present day only a doll is

left I n addition to these worthy m others a
.
,
few old lad ies of the world li ke Madame A l ,
bertine had gained perm i ssion from the

,
pri oress to retire into the l i ttle convent .
A mon g the m were Madam e de Beaufort

282 V ICT OR H U GO S W ORK S'
.
These verses i n sixteenth cen t ury Latin

,
-
,
r a i se the q uestion whether the two thieves of
Calvary were called as i s commonly believed

, ,
Demas a ri d G estas o r Di s mas an d Ges mas

, .
The latter orthography would thwart the

claims m ade i n the las t century by the Vis
comte de G estas t o be descended from the
,
wicked thief However the useful vi r tue

.
,
attached to these verses is an article of fai th

i n the order o f the Hospitaler nuns The .
church so bu i lt as to se p
, arate the great co n
vent from the boarding school was common ,
t o the school and the great and little co n

,
vents The public were even ad mitted by a

.
sort o f quarantine entrance from the street :

but everything was SO arranged that n ot one
of the inhabi t ants of the convent could see a
Single face from the outer world Imagi ne a .
ch u rc h whose choir was seized by a gigantic

hand an d cru shed so as n o longer to form
, ,
as i n ordinary chapels a prolongation behind

,
the altar but a sort of obscure cavern o n the

,
Side of t h e officiating priest ; imagi ne this

hall closed by the green baize curtain to
which we have referred ; pile u p i n the shad ow
o f this curtai n upon wooden seats the n uns ,
on t h e left ,the boarders o n the right an d ,
the lay Sisters an d novices at the e n d an d ,

—
you will have some idea of the L ittle Pi cp us
n uns attending divi ne service This cavern ,
w hic h is call ed the choir comm unicated ,
wi th t h e convent by a covered way an d the ,
church obtai ned its light from the garden .
Wh en the nuns were present at those services

at wh i ch their r ule com mand ed silence the ,
pub l ic were only warned of their presence b y

L ES M I SE R A B L E S .
28 3
th e so und of the seats being noisil y raised

an d dropped .
CH A PT ER CX II .
A FE w P R OFI L E S F R O M TH E SHADO W .
D U RIN G the S i x years between 1 8 1 9 and

.
1 8 2 5 the prioress of L ittle Pi cp u s was Ma

demoiselle de B l é meu r called i n religi on ,
Mother Innocent S he belo n ged to the fam

.
ily o f that Marguerite de E l eme n r who was

authoress of the L ives of the S aints of the
”
O rder o f S t Benedict . S he was a lady of
.
about sixty years Short stout and with a

, , ,
!
voice liked a cracked pot says the letter ,

!
fr om which we have already quoted ; but S h e

was an excellent creature the only merry ,
soul i n the convent an d on that account ,
adored S he followed in the footsteps of her

.
ancestress Marguerite the Daci er of the or ,
der she was lettered learned competent , , ,
versed in t h e curiosit i es of history stu ff ed ,
wit h L atin G reek an d Hebrew an d more a

, , ,
monk than a n u n The sub prioress was an .

-
old S panish nun almost blind Mother Cin

, ,
“
eres The most estimated among the ve
.
”
cals were Mother S te Honorine the trea
, .
,
surer ; Mother S te G ertrude first m istress of

.
,
the novices ; Mother S te A nge second mi s .

,
tress ; Mother A nnunciatio n S acristan ; ,
Mother S te A ugustine h ead of the i n fi r mar y

.
, ,
the only unkind person i n the convent ; then

Mother S te M e ch t i l d e ( Mlle G a
. u vain
) who .
was young and had an admirable voice ;

,
Mother des A u g es ( Mlle Drouet ) who had ,

284 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORKS
.
‘
.
been in the convent of the Filles Dieu and ,
that of the treasury near G isors ; Mother S te .
Joseph ( Mlle de Cogolludo ) ; Mother S te .
A delaide ( Mlle D A u ve r n ey) Mother Mis eri

’
corde ( Mlle de Cifuentes who could not en ,
dure the privations ) ; Mother Compassion

M
( Mlle de La i l ti é r e received at the age of ,
sixty con t r ar y t o the rule but y ery rich ) ;

, ,
Mother Providence ( Mlle de L au d i n i é r e) ;

Mother Presentation ( Mlle de S iguenza) ,
who was prioress in 1 8 4 7 ; an d lastly Mother ,
S te Cel i gn e ( sister of Cer ach hi the sculptor)

.
,
who went mad ; and Mother S te Chan tal .
( Mlle de S uzon ) who also wen

, t m ad A mong .
the prettiest was a charm in g gi rl of thre e

an d twenty i vh o belonged to the Bourbon
-
,
nais an d was descended from the Chevalier

,
R oze who was called i n the world Mlle R oze

, ,
an d i n religion Mother A ssumption

Mother S te M
.
ech t i l d e who had charge of

.
,
the Sin gi ng ar r an gmen t s w as glad to make ,
u se of the boarders for this purpose ; she gen

er a l l y selected a complete musical scale that ,
is to say seven assorted voices from t en to

, ,
Sixteen years inclusive whom S h e drew up i n ,
a line ranging from t h e Shortest to the

tallest I n this way she produced a species
.
of living Panoan pipes composed of angels , .
The l ay Sisters whom the boarders liked

,
m ost were S ister S te E u p

,
h r as i e S ist e r S te
.
, .
Margu erite S ister S te Marthe who was

,
.
,
childish and S ister S te Michel at whose

,
.
,
long nose they laughed A ll these nuns .
were kind to the children an d only stern to ,
themselves ; there were n o fires l i t except i n

the school house and the food was lu xurious
-
,
286 V ICT O R HU GO S W O R K S ’
.
an odious old hunchb ack S O we see that all .
th e men were p i cked .
S uc h was this curious hou se .
CH A PT E R CXIII .
P OST COR D A L A P I D E S .
A FTE R sketchi ng the m oral figu re it may ,
n ot be t i me lost to indicate i n a few words
th e m aterial co n fi gu r at i on of which the rea der ,
alre ady possesses som e idea .
T h e convent of the L ittle Pi cp u s occupied
a large trapeze formed by the fou r streets to

,
which we have so frequently alluded an d ,
which surround ed it lik e a me at The co n .
vent was composed of several buildings an d a

garden The main building regarded in its
.
,
entirety was a juxtaposition of hybrid con

,
s t r u ct i on s which look ed at from a balloo n

, , ,
would very exactly form a gallows laid on the

the ground The long arm of the gallows
.
occupied t he whole of the R ue Droi t mur -

,
comprised between the L ittle R ue Pi cp us ,
an d the R ue Pol o n ceau while the Shorter arm ,
was a tall grey stern grated fac ad e looking

, , ,
p
o n the L ittle R ue l i c u s of which the Porte
’
,
Coch ere No 62 was the extremity Toward

, .
, .
the centre of this fa c ad e dust an d ashes

whitened an old low arched gate where the
,
-
,
Spiders made their webs an d which was only ,
Opened for an hour or two on S undays an d on ,
the rare occasions when the coffi n of a n u n

left the convent ; this was the public entran ce
t o the church The elbow of the gallows was
.
a square room u se d as an office and which

, ,
28 7
'
th e nuns called the buttery I n t h e l on g .
arm were the cells of the mothers sisters and , ,
novices ; i n the short one the kitchens t he ,
refectory along which a cloister ran and the

, ,
church B etween No 62 at the corner o f

. .
A u mar ais lane was the school which could ,
not b e seen from t h e exterior The rest of .
the trap eze formed the garden which was ,
much lower than the level Of the R ue Polon

ceau and th is caused the walls to be much
,
loftier insi d e than out The garden which .

,
was slightly arched had at its centre on the top

,
a mound a fi n e pointed and conical fi r tree

- -
,
from which ran as from the boss of a shiel d

, ,
fou r large walks with eight smaller ones ,
arranged two an d t w o so that had the , ,
enclosure been circular the geometrical plan ,
o f the walks would have resembled a cross
laid upon a wheel The walks which all ran .

,
to the extrem ely irregular walls of the g arden ,
were of unequal length and were bordered by ,
gooseberry bushes A t the end a poplar walk.
r an from the ruins of the Ol d convent which ,
was at the angle of the R ue Droi t mur to t h e -

,
little convent which was at t h e corner of

,
A u mar ai s lane In fron t of the little convent

.
was what was cal led the small garden If we .
add to this en s emb l e a cou rtyard all sorts of ,
varying angles formed by the inside buildings ,
prison walls and the long black line of roofs

-
,
that r an along the other Side of t he R u e

Pol o n ce au as t h e sol e prospect we can form
, ,
an exact idea of what the house of the

Bernardines of L ittle Pi cp u s was fi ve and -
forty years ago This sacred hou se was built

.
o n the site of a famous racket court in t he

288 VICT OR H UGO S W ORKS '
.
“
l 6t h century wh ich was called the Tripo t
,
”
des onze mille diab l es A ll these str eets
.
,
i ndeed where the oldest in Paris ; the names

,
Droit m ur and A u mar ai s are very old but

-
,
the streets that h ear them are far older .
A u mar ai s lane was before called Mangent

l an e ; the R ue Droit mur was called the R ue
-
des E n gl an t i n es for Go d opened the flowers

,
before man ou t building stones -

.
CH A PT ER CXIV .
A C E N TU R Y U N DE R A W IM P L E .
AS we are giving d etails of what was form

erly the L ittle Pi cp u s convent and have ,
ventured to let i n light u pon this discrete

asylum the reader will perhaps perm i t us
,
another Slight digress i on which has nothing ,
to do with the s tory but is characteristic and

,
useful i n so far as it proves that a convent

can have its original people There was in .
the little convent a centenarian who came ,
from the abbey of Fontevraul t and before the ,
R evolution S h e had even been i n the world

S he talked a good deal about M de M
.
i r o mes .
nil keeper of the seals under L ouis XVI

,
.
,
and the wife of a President Du p l at who had ,
been a great friend of hers I t w as her ‘

.
pleasure an d vanity to drag in these two

names on every p ossible occasion Sh e told .
m arvels about the abbey of Fontevrault ,
which was like a town and there were streets

,
i n the convent S he spok e with a Pi card

.
accent which amused the boarders ; ever y year

S h e renewed her vows and at the moment of
,
VI C T O R ‘ WO R K S
290 I I U GO S .
footsteps i n the passage s n e closed the cup

board as hastily as S he could with her aged
hands S o soon as it was alluded to s h e
.
, ,
who was so fond of talking h eld her tongue ; ,
the most curiou s persons were foiled by her

silence an d the most tenacious by her ob
,
st i n acy This was a subject of com ment for

.
all the idlers an d gossips i n the convent .
What could this precious an d hidden thing

’
be which was the centenarian s treasure ? of
course some pious book or unique rosary or ,
well tried relic On the poor woman s death

-
.
’
they r an to the cupboard more quickly per ,
haps than was befitting and opened i t They , .
found the object u n der three folds Of linen ;

it was a Faenza plate representing Cupi ds
flyi ng away and pursued by apothecaries
,
’
apprentices armed w ith enormous squirts .
The pursuit is f u ll of comical grimaces an d

postures ; one of the charming little Cupids
is already i mpaled ; he writhes flutters h i s ,
wings and strives to fly away but the assassin

, ,
laughs a satanic laugh Moral — love c on .
quered by a cholic This p l ate which is very

.
,
curious and perhaps had the h onor of fur

,
n i shi n g Moli ere with an idea still existed in ,
S eptember 1 8 5 4 ; it was for sale at a curi

,
os i t y shop on the Boulevard Beaumarchais .
Thi s good old woman would n o t receive an y

”
visitors because S h e said
, th e parlor is
, ,
”
too melancholy .
CH A PT E R CX V .
TH E E ND OF L I TT L E PI C P U S .
TH I S parlor which we have described i s a ,
t horoughly local fact which 1 8 not rep r o ,
d u ced wi th the same severity i n other con

vents I n the conven t of the R ue d u Tem
.
ple which it is true belo n ged to another

, , ,
order brow n curtains were substituted for

,
the black Shutters and the parlor itself was a

,
boarded room with white m uslin curtains at

the w i ndows while the walls ad mitted al l
,
sorts of pictures — t h e p ortrait of a Benedict

,
ine n u n with uncovered face painted b o ,
q u et s
,
and even a Turk s head It was in ’
.
t he garden of this convent that the chestnut

tree grew which was considered the hand
,
so me s t and largest i n France and which had ,
the reputation among the worthy eighteen th

“
ce n tu r y folk of being the father of al l the
chestnut trees i n the kingdom A s we said .
,
this convent of the temple was occupied by

Benedictines of the Perpetual A doration who ,
greatly differed from those Benedictines who

descended from Citeaux This order of t h e .
Perpetual A doratio n is not the oldest and ,
does not date back beyond two hundred

years I n 1 6 40 the Holy S acrament was
.
twice profaned at an interval of a few days ,
i n two parish churches S t S ulpice and S t , . .
Jean e n G r eve a frightful an d rare sacri lege

,
which stirred up t h e whole city The prior .
grand vicar of S t G erma i n des Pr é s ordered

-
.
- -
a so l e mn procession of all his clergy i n ,

2 92 VI CT OR l l U GO S
‘
W ORKS .
which the Papal Nuncio offi ciated but this ,
expiation was not sufficient for two worthy

ladies Madam e Courti n Marquise de B o n es
, , ,
and the Countess de Ch a teauvieux This c u t .
rage done to the m ost august S acrament of

”
the A ltar though transient would not leave
, ,
their piou s minds and it seem ed to them

,
that i t could alone be repaired by a perpet

”
ual adoration in som e nunnery I n 1 6 62 .
and 1 663 both gave considerable sum s of

money to mother Catherine de Bar called of ,
the Holy S acrament and a Benedictine nun ,
for t h e p urpose of founding for this pious

object a convent of the order of S t Benedict . .
The first permission for this foundation was

given to Mother Catherine de Bar by M de .
Metz abbé of S t G ermain

, o n condition
.
,
that no person Should be received unless she

brought a pension of three h undred livres or ,
”
a capital su m of six thousand l ivres A fter .
this the king gran ted letters patent which -

,
were countersigned i n 1 65 4 by the chamber

of accounts and the parliament .
S uch are the origi n and legal consecration

of the establishment of th e Benedictines of
the Perpetual A d oration of the Holy S ac r a f
ment at Par I s Their first convent was built

.
for them in t h e R ue Cassette with the funds ,
of Mesdam es de B on e s and Ch a teauvieu x .
This or d er as we see m ust not be con

, ,
founded with th e Bened i cti n es of Citeaux .
It was a dependency of the abbé of S t G er .
main d es Prés in the same manner as the

- -
,
ladies of the S acred Heart are subjects of the

Jesui ts and the S isters of Charity of the
,
general of the Lazarists It was also entirely .

294 VI CT OR H uo o s
'
W ORK S .
bent should ers to bear the heavy ru le o f S t .
B ened i ct The bu rden i s implacable an d ,
re mains the same for the few as for the

m any ; it u sed to press but n o w it cru shes , .
H ence they die out A t the time when

.
t h e author of this book still resided i n Pari s ,
t w o died — o n e twenty fi ve the other twenty

,
-
,
thr ee years of age The latter can say like

, .
,
Jul i a A l p i n u l a H i e j aceo Vi x z an n as vi gi n t i
'
.
,
et tr es It is owing to th i s decad ence t h at

.
t h e conve n t h as given up the educat i on of

gi r ls.
We were unable to pass by th i s ext r ae r

di n ar y unknown an d obscure house without
,
enter i ng it an d taking with u s those who ar e

,
r ea d gi n — w e trust with some advant ge

a to
them selves— th e melancholy story of Jean
Valj ean W e have penetrate d into this co m
.
munity so fu l l of these old practices which

seem so novel at the present day We have .
spoken o f this Singular spot i n detail but ,
with respect as far as the two things are com

,
patible Though we may n ot comp re h end

.
it all we have ins ulted nothing

,
.
CH A PT ER CXV .
TH E CO NV E N T As AN A B STRACT I DE A .
T HIS book is a drama i n which the first

personage is the Infinite an is the second . M .
This being the case as a convent i s found .
on our road we have felt it our duty to enter

,
it Why ? Because the convent is an insti

.
tu t i e n of the E ast as well as of the West of ,
antiquity and modern days o f paganism , ,

LES M I S E RA B L E S .
295
B uddh i sm and Mohammedanis m as well as

,
of Christianity is one of Optical instruments

,
directed b y man 011 the Infinite .
This i s not the plac e to develop w i thout ,
qual i fication certain ideas ; nevertheless

, ,
while strictly main taining our reservations ,
restrictions and even indigna tion we are

, ,
bound to say that as often as we find the

Infinite ill or well understood i n man we
, ,
feel the deepest respect In the synagogue

.
,
the mosque the pagoda the W igw am there

, , ,
i s a hideous side which we execrate an d a ,
sublime Side wh i ch we adore What a sub .
jcet of contemplation for the soul but an ,
u nf athomable reverie the reverberat i on of

,
G od on the human wall !

From the point of view of hi story reason , ,
and truth m onachism is condemned

, .
Monasteries when num erous i n a nation

, ,
are tourniquets on the circulation embar ,
rassing establishments centers of idleness

,
where there ought to be centers of l ab o r .
Monastic com munities are to the great social

com munity what the gall nut is to the oak -
.
,
or the wa r t to the body T h eir prosperity .
and their devel opment are the impoverish

ment of the country The monastic rule
.
,
excellent at the start of civilization useful i n ,
subj u gating the corpo re al by the S piritual is ,
injurious to the m anhood of nations More .
over when i t relaxes and enters o n its period

,
of disorder as it continues to be the example

, ,
it is evil for all the reason s wh i ch make it .
salutary i n its period of pu rity .
The claustral sy stem has had its time .

296 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORK S ‘
.
The cloister useful in the early education of

,
modern civilization has been hurtful to i ts ,
growth and injuriou s to its development .
A s an institution and a method Of training

me n the monastery good i n the tenth cen
, ,
tury doubtful i n the fifteenth is detestable

, ,
i n the nineteenth The leprosy of m e nasti .
ci s m has eaten almost to a skeleton two great
nations — I taly and S pain on e the light the

, , ,
other the Splendor of E urope for centuries ;

and at the present time these two illustr i ous
nations are only begi nning to recover thanks ,
to the sound vigorous hygiene of 1 7 8 9

, .
The convent especially the old convent for

,
women such as it still existed o n the thresh

, ,
old of this century i n Italy A ustria and , , ,
S pain is o n e of the most gloomy products of

,
the m iddle ages It is the point where ter.
r or s intersect The Catholic convent prop

.
,
erly so called is filled with the black rad i

,
at i on s of death .
The S panish convent especially is funereal , , .
There i n the obscurity under vaults full of

, ,
misty gloom under domes which the Shad

,
ows render vague rise massive Babel like ,

-
altars high as cathedrals ; there are sus

,
pended by chain s i n t h e darkness immense

w hite cr u ci fi xes ; there huge Christs Of ivory -
are di splayed naked against a background

, .
o f ebony more than bloody bleeding hideous

, , , ,
an d magnificent The elbows display the .
bones the knee s display the integuments the

, .
wounds display the flesh crowne d with thorns ,
o f Silver pierced with nail s of gold

,
wi th ,
blood drops of rubies on the brow and tears

-
,
of di amonds i n the ey es The diamonds an d .

29 8 VICT O R HU GO S W O R K S ’
.
the earth i n the West I n both women .

,
were wr i t hi ng the i r arms ; the wave for these ,
the grave for the others ; here the drowned ,
there the burie d Hideous parall el ! .
T O day defenders of the past as they can

-
,
n ot deny these things have assu med to smile ,
at them There is a strange and convenient

.
fas hi on i n vogue for suppressing the revela

tions o f history for weakening the d edu c ,
tions of ph i losophy and getting rid of all ,
troublesome facts an d disagreeable questions .
Mere declamation say the clever ones , .
”
Declamation repeat the silly Rousseau , .
,
D i derot both declaimers ; Voltai re Speak i ng

, ,
of Calas L a b arre and S irven a mere de

, , ,
clai mer ; some one or other has late ly dis

covered that Tacitus w as a declaimer Nero a ,
v i ct i m and that deci dedly o n e ought to pity

,
“ ”
p oor Holofern es .
Facts however are hard to refu te an d are

, , ,
i nflexible The writer of this has seen wit h

.
h is own eyes within eight leagu es of Brus,
sels where all the world can fin d a p i ece of

,
t h e middle ages at the A bbey of Villers the , ,
hole of the dungeons i n the middle of what

was the yard of the convent and on the banks , ,
of the Thil four stone cells half u nder , ,
ground h a lf u nder water These were the

, .
in p ace E ach of these dungeon cells has

.
the remains of an iron gate a privy and a , ,
grated aperture — o utsid e two feet above the , ,
river ; inside S i x feet below the soil Four

, .
feet depth of wa ter ru ns above the exter i or

of the wa l l The soil is always damp and
.
,
on this damp soi l the I nhabitants of the m
p ace h ad t h e i r beds I n one of the cells is .

LES MI SERA B LES .
299
the fragmen t of a collar fas tene d to the wall

i n another is a kind o f s q uare box made of
four slabs of granite too S hort to l i e in too , ,
low to stand i n A livi ng being was placed .
with i n it wi th a stone covering over all It

,
.
is there you can see it you can touc h it

, ,
.
These i n p ace these cells these iron hinges , , ,
these collars this light hole on a level with ,

-
the river t h is stone box closed w i th a gran i te

,
covering like a to mb with this difference , ,
that here the dead was a living creature th i s ,
soil of mud this hole of sewage t h ese drip

, ,
”
ping walls what declaimers they a i e !
,
Monachism as i t existed i n S pain and as , ,
i t exists I n Thibet is the phth i sis of civiliz a ,
tion It stops l i fe short ; it Simply d ep

. op u
lates Claustration is castration It has been

. .
the curse of E urope A dd to all this violated .
consciences forced vocat i ons feudal i sm rel y

, ,
ing on the cloister primogeniture t urning ,
over to monastic life the overplus of the

family the cru elties j ust mentioned the m
, ,
ce the closed lips the walled u p

p a ,
brains so ,
-
,
many hapless intellects imprisoned i n eternal

vows the assumption Of the h abit the inter
, ,
men t of souls alive A dd individual su ff er .
i ngs to national degradation an d whoever , ,
you may be you will tremble before the frock

,
and the ve i l these t wo Shrouds of human i n

,
v e n t i on .
S till i n certain places in Spite of p

,
h i l oso ,
phy and progress the m onastic sp i rit sur ,
v i ves in the full nineteent h century and a ,
strange ascetic revival astonishes at this mo ,
ment the civilized world

, The persistence .
of anti q uated instit u tions in perpetuatin g

300 VI CT OR n uoos W OR K S .
themselves resembles t h e d eterminati on of

ranc i d perfume to cling to our hair the claim ,
o f spoiled fish to be eaten the struggle of a ,
child s garment to clothe a man and the

’
,
tenderness of corpses return i ng to embrace

t h e living .
Ingrates ! cri es the garment I protected .
you i n bad weather ; w h y are you t i red of me ?

I come from the Open sea says the fish ; I ,
have been the rose says the perfume ; I have ,
loved you says the corpse ; I have c i vilized

,
you says the convent

, .
To this there is only one repl y — O nce upon

a time .
To dream of the indefinite prolongation of

dead things an d the govern ment of man by
,
m ummies to revi ve decayed dogmas regild

, ,
the Shrines repai nt the cloisters revarnish

, ,
the reliquaries repair the superstit i ons r e , ,
n e w the holy water brushes and militarism-

,
reconstitute monachism an d militarism ,
to believe i n the saving of soc i ety by the

m ultiplication of parasites to impose the ,
past on the present seems indeed strange , .
But the theorists who support such theories ,
m en of talent i n other respects have a S i m ,
ple method of procedure ; they give to the

pas t a coating which they call social order ,
di vi ne right m orality family res pect to an

, , ,
c est r y ancient authority holy tradition

, , ,
legi timacy religion an d they r ush about cry

, ,
“
ing ,
Here good people here is the th i ng
, ,
”
for you This l o gical process was known to
' '
the ancients and the aruspices practised it .
They chalked a black heifer and said Sh e .
i s white B os cr etat u s. .
802 V I CT O R H UG O S W O R K S '
.
E gy pt We canno t th i nk without a shudder

.
of those countries where fakers bonzes San , ,
tons caloyers marabouts talapoins and der

, , ,
V i s h es sprout t i ll they are swarms of vermin .
B ut the religi ous question remains Th is .
ques tion has certain sides which are mys ts

r i ou s a n d almost appalling Let us look at it .
steadily
Men write and l i ve i n common i n virtue
.
o f the ri ght o f association .
They Shut themselves u pin virtue of the ,
right w h ich every one has of clos i ng his

door .
T hey do not go out I n V i rtu e of the right ,
o f free movem e n t which implies the right o f
staying at hom e .
Wh at do they do at home
They speak l o w lower their eyes labor re , , ,
nounce the worl d the city j oys of the , ,
senses pleasu res vanities pride i nterest

, , , , .
They are clad i n coarse wool or coarse linen .
Not one of them possesses as property an y

thing whatever ; o n entering the rich b e ,
come poor for what h e h as he gives to all

, , .
He that is called noble or greatly born is t h e ,
equal of hi m that was a peasant The cell is .
the same for all ; all undergo th e sam e tor

tu re wear th e same robe eat the same bl ack
, ,
bread Sleep on t h e sam e straw and die on

, ,
the same ashes The same sackcloth is o n

.
every back the same cord round every waist

, .
If the rule is to go barefoo t all go barefoot , .
There may be a prince t here ; he i s the same

Shado w as the others N 0 more titles ; even .
family names have disappeared ; they only

bear first names an d al l bend beneath the ,
LES M I S E RA B LE S .
303
equ al ity of baptismal names They h ave

abolished t h e carnal family an d constituted
i n the i r com m u nity t h e Spiritual family ;
they hav e n o kindred ex cept all men ; they
succor t he poor nurse the sick elect those
, ,
”
they obey and call each other Brother
,
.
You stop me with the exclamation : W h y

thus i s the ideal convent
That i t is the poss i ble convent i s suffi c i ent
to i nduce m e to examine it .
Hence i t i s that i n the preced i ng book I

h ave spoken of a convent in a respec tful
tone S etting aside the middle ages and
.
As ia reserving the h istorical and political

,
quest i on fro m a fairly ph i losophic point o f

,
view apart from the necessities of aggressive

,
politi cs I Shall al ways on condition th at the

, ,
monastery be voluntary and contain only

willing member s regard monastic comm uni
,
ties with a certai n attentive gravity and in ,
certai n po i nts with respect Where there is .
a com mu nity th ere i s a com mu ne and i n the ,
commune i s the R ight The m onastery i s .
the result of the formulas E quality F rater , ,
nity A h L iber ty is great ; how Splend i d is

.
,
the tr an sfi gu r at i o n ! L iberty can transform

the monas t ery into the R epublic
L et u s continue These me n or women .
behind those fou r walls dress coarsely are ,
equal and cal l each oth er brothers or sisters

, .
It is well Do they do anyth i ng else ? Yes

. .
What ? They gaze i nto the shadows beyond

this world they kneel an d j oin t h ei r hands
, .
What m eans that

Th ey are praying T o whom T o G od
. .
W h at means praying to G od
304 VICT OR H U GO S W ORK S
‘
.
Is there an infinite w i thou t u s ? Is t his

infinite one i mm inent an d permanent n e
, .
ce ss a r i l y s u bstant i al because it is i n fi nite ,
and because if it were devoid of matter i t

would o n that s i de be limited ; n ecessari ly
i ntelligent because it is i nfinite ; an d because
if it were devoid of intelligence it would be
finite on t h at Side D oes this i n fin i te awake
i n us the i d ea of be i ng while we can only ,
attribute to ou rselves t h e idea of existence

In other terms is it n ot th e absolute an d we
,
the relative
,
A t the same tim e that there is an infinite

about us is there not an infini te wi thin us
,
These two i n fi n i ti es ( terrible plural ) are ,
they super imposed one on the other Is not

-
the second infinity so to speak subjacent to , ,
the first Is not the mirror the reflection , ,
the echo thereof an abyss concentric to an

,
other abyss Is this second infinite also i n

t el l i gen t ? Does it think D oes it love ?
Does i t will ? If these t w o i n fi n i tes are i n
t el l i gen t each of them has a principle that
,
wills an d there is an I to the infinite on high

,
as there is an I to the infinite below The I .
belo w is the soul ; the I above is G od .
To bring by means of thought the i n fi

, ,
n i te above i n contact with the infinite below ,
i s prayer .
We take nothing fro m the human soul ,
for all suppression is evil ; it m ust be reformed

and transform ed Certain of our faculties
.
are d i recte d toward the Infinite ; such are

thought reveri e and prayer The Infinite is
,
.
an ocean our conscience i s our compass

,
.
Thought re veri e prayer are great my ste

, , ,
306 VI C T OR H UGO S W O RK S '
.
very powers are n ot quite su r e of being ath e

,
i s t s ; it i s wi t h them me r ely a question of de

pos it i on s an d i n all cases i f th ey do n o t b e
,
li eve i n G od they as they are great men

, , ,
prove the existence of G od .
We salute them as p hi losop h ers but r ej ect ,
th eir philosop h y .
It is cu r i o u s t oo to see w i th what fac i l i ty

, ,
men j uggle with words A nort h ern school .
of metaphysics somewhat impregnated wi t h

,
fog t h inks i t has made a revolution i n the

,
h u man u nderstanding by replac i ng t h e word

” ”
F orce by the word Will .
“ “
To say the plant wills
, i nstead of t h e ,
plant grows would be fertile enough i f i t is

,
“ ”
ad ded the universe wills
, because the i n ,
ference could be drawn the plan t wi l ls there , ,
fore it has an I ; the universe w i l l s therefore ,
t h ere i s a G od .
tp
’
To us who reject nothing a r i or i the will ,
i n a plant accepted by th i s school seem s

, ,
more diffi cult to admit than a w i ll i n t h e u n i

verse w h i ch it denies .
To deny will to the i nfin i te that i s to G od , , ,
i s only possible by denyi ng the infinite T h e .
negation o f the infinite leads straight to

Ni hilism properly se called ; everything is a
,
-
“ ”
concept of the mind With n ihilism no
.
discu ssion is possible for the nihilist logi c i an

,
doubts the existence o f his opponent and is ,
not sure of his ow n It is possible from his .

,
standpoint th at h e is for himself only a

,
“ ”
concept of his mind H e does n ot perceive .
,
however that he admits everything he denies

,
“ ”
when he utters the word mind I n brief .
,
n o pat h for though t i s opened by a p hi l oso

307
phy which makes everything en d in No To .
No there is only on e answer Y es Nihilism —

.
carries no distance There is not nothing.
ness zero does not exist everything is some

, ,
thing nothing is nothing

, Man lives by .
afli r mat i o n m ore than by bread .
To see and Show is not enough philosophy ,
must be an energy and have for aim and re

,
sult the amelioration of man S ocrates m ust .
enter into A dam and p r o d u e Marcus A ure
lies ; that is prod uc e from the man of happi

,
nes s the man of wi dom an d change E den s

,
into the L yceum K nowledge ought to be a

.
tonic . E njoyment — a sad mean paltry am , ,
bitiou — is felt by the brute ; thought is the

tr i ump h of the soul To o ffer thought to the
.
thirst of men to gi ve them all the idea of

,
G od to make science an d conscience frater

,
nize to mak e men ju st by this mysterious

,
j u xtaposition is the function of real p h i l os o

phy Morality is truth i n bloom ; to contem
.
plate leads to action the absolute ought to ,
be prac tical the ideal must be what the soul

,
ca n eat drink and breathe

, The ideal h as .
the right to say This is my flesh this is my

, ,
”
blood and wisdom is a h oly communion
, .
I n this cond ition it ceases to be a sterile love

of science to become the one sovereign m ode
of human restoration and becom es a religion ,
i n place of a philosophy .
Philosophy m ust not be a tower built over

mystery to look d o wn on it with eas e and ,
only convenient for curiosity .
I n adjourning to another occasion the de

vel o p me n t of one thought we confine our ,
selves here to say ing that we cannot unde r

308 VI C T OR H UGO ‘S W ORK S .
stand man as the Starting point nor progre ss -

,
as the goal without these two motive powers

, ,
faith and love .
Progress is the goal ; the ideal the type .
What i s this ideal G od Ideal A bsolute .

, ,
Perfection Infinite synonym ous terms

, , .
H I STO R Y and philosophy h ave eternal duties

which are al so simple duties To combat .
Caiaphas as High Priest Dr aco as Judge , .
T r i mal ci o n a s a law giver Tiberius as em

-
.
p e r or i s
, clear and direct and prese nts n o
diffi culty ; but the right to live apart fr om
the world must be proved and carefully dealt
with Ca . e n o b i t i c life is a human problem .
I n spe aking of cou vents those abodes of ,
error and innocence of lost paths and good ,
intentions of ignorance and piety of torture

, ,
an d martyrdom we must nearly always say

,
yes and no .
A convent is a contradiction th e ai m is ,
salvation the m eans sacrifice suprem e ego

, ,
t i s m res u lting i n supreme self denial -

.
The motto of monachism seems to be

”
A bdicate i n order to rei gn .
In the cloister men su ffer i n order to enj oy ,
draw bil l s of exchange o n death and di s ,
count the light o f heaven i n the night of

earth ; in the cloister hell is accepted as an
advance o n paradise Taking the evil or .
frock is a suicide paged by eternity On .
such a subject mockery is out of place ; every

thing here is Serious whether it be good or ,
evil The just man contracts his brow but

.
,
never smiles a m aliciou s smile We u nder .
stand w rath not malignity , .
A few words more .

310 V I CT OR H UGO S W ORK S ‘
.
A il the question is the quantity of thought

put into the prayer .
Le ibn i tz praying is great Voltaire wors h i p ,
i n g is beautiful Deo er ex z t Vol tai r e We

’
. .
are for rel i gion against religions We believe .
i n the pity o f or i sons and the sublim i ty of

prayer .
A t this period a period which h appily , , ,
w i ll leave n o impress on the century when so ,
many m en have the forehead low an d t h e ,
soul n ot high among so many living creatures

,
whose moral code is enjoyment and who are ,
busied with brief deformed material th i ngs , , ,
the self e xi l e is vene r able

-
.
The convent is abnegation ; sacrifice wrong ,
it may be is still sacrifice There is gran

, .
deur i n taking a stern error for d uty .
By itself ideally exam i ning t r u t h under

, ,
every possible a spect the convent the n u n , ,
nery es p ecially for i n ou r society i t i s the we

,
man w h o S u fi e rs m ost an d i n th i s self exile ,

-
she makes her protest the nunnery possesses ,
a certain m ajesty .
This cloistered exi stence so auster e an d ,
dark some lineamen ts Of which we have i n

,
d i cat ed is n ot l i fe for it is n o t liberty ; it i s

, ,
not the tomb for i t is completion It is the

, .
strange spot where as it were from so me , ,
mountai n crest is seen o n on e Side of the ,
abyss i n which we are on t h e other the abyss , ,
i n which we shall be ; a narro w mi sty frontier ,
b etw een t wo worl d s illu mined an d obsc ur ed ,
by both at once where the enfeebled r ay of

,
l i fe mingles with the vague ray of death th e ,
pe numbra of t h e tomb .
We wh o d o n o t believe what t h ese women

.
LES MI S E R A B L E S .
81 1
believe but who like them live by faith

, , , ,
have never been able to contemplate w i thout

a h oly and tender terror and a kind of pity ,
fu ll of envy these devoted creatur es , trem

,
bling an d confident their hu mble and august

,
souls which d are live on the very edge of

mystery expectant between t h e world which
,
is closed an d the heaven wh i ch is not open ,
turned to the brightness t h ey see n ot w ith

on ly t h e h app i ness of thinking they kno w
whe r e it i s asp i ring to the gulf and the n u
,
known with eyes fi xed ou m otionless ob scu r i

ty kneeling broken hearted s t u p
,
-
e fi ed shud , ,
deri ng hal f lifted o n hig h at certa i n hours

,
by t h e profound resp i rations of ete r n i ty .
CH A PT E R CX V I .
H OW TO GE T INTO A CONV E NT .
h was i nto t h is house t h at Jean Valjean

h ad fallen fr om heaven as F au ch el eve n t said
, .
He had climbed t h e garden wall which form -
ed the angle of the R ue Pol o n ceau ; the

hym n of angels which he heard i n the m id
dle of t h e nig h t was the nuns chanting ma
tins the h all w h ich h e h ad caught a glimpse
o f i n the dar kness was the chapel ; the
,
phantom he had seen stretched out on the

ground w as th e phantom making reparat i on ;
an d t h e bell whic h had so stran gely surpris
ed h i m was t h e gardener s bell fastened to ’
F au ch el ev en t s knee S o soon as Cosette

’
.
was i n b ed Jean Valjean an d Fau ch el even t

,
supped o n a glass of w i ne and a lump o f

ch eese before a good blazing log ; th en as ,
312 V ICT OR H U GO S W ORKS ’
.
the only bed i n the cottage was occupied

by Cosette each thre w h imself on a truss of
,
straw Before closing his eyes Jea n Val j ean

.
“ ”
sa i d,
— I must stop here henceforth and ,
t hi s remark t r otted about F au ch el even t s ’
head all n i gh t I n fact neither of th em

.
,
slept ; Jean Valjean feeling hi mself dis ,
covered an d J avert o n h i s track u nderstood ,
t h at h e an d Cosette were lost if they entered

Par i s S ince the n ew blast of w ind had
.
blown h im into th is convent Jean Valjean

ha d but o n e thought that of remaining i n it
, .
Now for a wretch i n his position t h is co n

, ,
vent was at once the most dangerous an d the

safest place — the most d angerous b ecause
, ,
as no man was allowed to enter it if he was ,
discovered i t would be a crime and Jean ,
Valjean would only take on e step from the

convent to the prison the safest because if ,
-
,
he succeeded i n remaining i n it who would ,
come to seek him there Inhabiting an i m

poss i ble spot was salvation .
On h i s side Fau ch el even t racked his

,
brai ns He began by declaring to him self

.
that he understood nothing H o w was M . .
Mad eleine i n spite of all the surrounding

,
w alls here — an d convent walls cannot be

,
passe d at a stride H o w was he here with a

.
ch i ld People do not scal e a perpend i cular

wall with a child i n their arms Who w as .
this child ? Where did they both com e

from P S ince Fau ch el eve n t had been i n the
convent he had received no news from M
an d did not kno w what had occurred there .
F ather Mad eleine had that look which dis

courages questioning and moreover Fauche ,
814 Vl cr o a n u e o s w o axs
'
.
ch el even t did n ot recoi l be fore this al mos t

chimerical attempt t h is poor Picard peasant ,
wh o had n o other ladder but his devotion ,
his good w i ll and a small stock of old r u stic

,
craft th is time turn ed t o a generou s pu r

,
pose undertoo k to scale t h e impossibilities of

,
the con vent and t h e rough escar pments o f

,
the ru le of S t Bened i ct . Fau ch el even t was .
an ol d man who had been during l i fe selfish

, ,
an d who at the e n d of his d ays limping i n

, , ,
.
fi r m an d taking no i nterest i n the world

, ,
fou nd i t pleasant to be grateful an d seeing ,
a vi rtuous actio n to b e done flung hims elf ,
u pon i t like a ma n who on the point of ,
death lays h i s hand on a glass of good w i ne

,
which he had never tasted and eagerly drinks ,
it off We may add that the air which he

.
,
had been brea t hing for som e yea r s i n t h i s

convent had d es troyed h i s personality an d
, ,
h ad eventually rendered some good deed a ne

cess i ty for hi m He therefore formed the
.
, ,
resolution of devoting himself for M Made .
le i ne We have just called hi m a poor

.
“
Picard peasant the qualification is corr ect

but i ncomplete A t the present stage of o u r
.
story a little physiologi cal exam inati on of

F ather F au ch el e ven t becomes u seful He .
was a peasant b u t he h ad been a n otary

, ,
which added chicanery to h i s cunni n g an d pen

etr a t i on to his simplicity Having thro u gh .
,
various reasons fai led i n his business b e d e

, ,
scen d ed from a notary to be a carter an d day

laborer but i n spite of the oaths an d lashes
necessar y for horses as it seem s something
, ,
of the notary had clung to h i m He had .
som e natural w i t ; he did not say I are or

3 15
I has he could converse which was a ,
rare thing i n a vi llage and the other peasants ,

“
used to say of him He talks exactly like a
,
gentleman i n a h at Fau ch el even t i n fact

.
belonged to that species which the i mp er t i
nent and light vocabulary of the las t century

“
qual i fied as a bit of a rustic an d a bit of a
”
townsman pepper an d salt
,
F au ch el even t .
,
th ough sorely trie d and m uch worn by fate

, ,
a sort of poor old threadbare soul was still ,
a man to act on the first impulse and spon ,
t an eo u s l y ; a precious quality which prevents

a man from ever being wicked His defects .
and vices for he had s u ch were o n the su r

, ,
face and altoge ther h i s phys i ognomy was

,
o n e of those which please the observer His .
old face h ad none of those ugly wrinkles on

the top of the forehead which sign i fy w i cked
ness or stupidity A t daybreak after think
.
,
i n g enormously Father F au ch el ev en t opened

,
his eyes and s aw M Madeleine sitting on his .
truss of straw and looking at the sleeping

,
Cosette ; Fau chel eve n t sat up too an d ,
said ,
Now that you are h ere h ow will you ,

”
manage to get in P This remark su mmed
up the situation and aroused Jean Valjean
,
from his reverie The two m en h eld coun

.
sel
I n the fir st place said F au ch el even t
, ,
you m ust begin by n o t setting foot outside

this cottage n either you nor th e little on e
, .
”
On e step i n the gar d en and we are done .
”
That is true .
Monsieur Madeleine F au ch el even t con ,
t i nned y ou have arrived at a very luck y

,
316 VI CT OR av e o '
s w on xs .
moment I ought to say a very unhappy one

, , ,
for o n e of our ladies is dangerously ill I n .
consequence of this folk will not look muc h

this way I t seems tha t she is dy ing an d the
.
,
’
forty hours prayers are being sai d The whole .
community is aroused and that occupies them ,

.
The person who is on the poin t of going o ff is a

saint I n fact tho u gh w e are all saints here
.
, ,
the only difference between them an d me is that

‘ ‘
they say our cell and I say my cottage There
,
’
.
’
will be a service for th e dying an d then the ser ,
vice for the dead For to day we sh all be all

.
-
quiet here but I do not answer for to morrow

*
-
.
‘‘
S till Jean V aljean observed this cottage
, ,
i s retired it is hidden by sort of r u in there are

, ,
trees an d it cannot b e seen from the convent

, .
A nd I may add tha t the nuns never ap

proach it .
”
Well ? Jean Val j ean asked .
“
The in t errogation that marked t his well
fancy that we can remain con
cea l ed here an d it was to this interrogation
,
that Fau ch el e ve n t replied .
There are the lit tle ones .
What li ttle ones ? ”

Jea n Valjean as ked .
A s Fau ch e l e van t opened h i s mouth to an

swer a stroke rang o u t from the bell
, .
Th e n u n is d ead he said tha t is the

, ,
”
kne l l .
A nd he made Jean Val j ean a sign to listen .
A s econd stroke rang out .
It is the passing bell Monsieur Made ,
leine The be ll will go o n so minute afte r

.
min u te for twenty four hours till the body-

,
31 8 VI CT OR H UGO S W ORKS '
.
You must n o t be fou nd here lik e that .
Where do you come from for me you fall ,
from Heaven because I know you but the

, ,
n u ns r equ i re that people s h ould com e i n by

”
the front door .
A ll at once a com plicated ring i ng o f

another bell could be heard .
Ah said Fau ch el e ve n t th e vocal ,
mothers are be i ng sum m oned to a chapter ,
y one d i es
— a chapter is always held when an .
S he died at daybreak and they generall y die ,
at daybr eak Bu t can t you go out by t h e

.
’
way you came i n Come I don t want to ,

’
ask you a question — but w h ere did you come ,
in
Jean Valjean turned pale the m ere idea
of goi ng back to that formidable street made
him tremble Come out of a forest fu l l of
.
tigers and once out of i t j u st imagi ne a

,
friend ad vising you to go in again Jean .
Valjean figured to himself the police still

searching i n the quarter the agents watch ,
i n g vedettes everywhere frightful fists

, ,
stretched out toward his collar an d Javert ,
perhaps i n a corner lurking for his prey .
“ ”
I mpossible l he said S uppose Far .
,
ther Fau ch el e ven t that I really fell from ,

”
above .
Why I b el i ev e so F au ch el e v en t cont i n
, ,
u ed , you need n o t tell me so Well there .

,
is another peal ; it is to tell the porter t o go

and warn the municipal authorities that they
should send an d inform the phys i c i an o f the
dead so that he may come and see there is a
,
dead wom an here A l l this is the ceremony.
of d y ing T h e good l adies are n o t very fond

.
LE S MIS E RA B LE S .
319
of such vis i ts for a d octor believes i n not h ing ;

,
he raises the veil and sometimes raises some

,
thin g else What a hurry they have been in

.
to warn the doctor this time 1 What is up I ,
wonder Your little gi rl i s st i ll asleep what

is h er name
”
Cosette .
Is sh e yo u r d augh ter ? I mean are you

her grandfather
“
Yes .
To get her out will be easy I have my .
special door which opens into t he yard ; I

,
knock the porter opens I have my dorser .
on my back with the l ittl e girl i n it an d go

, ,
out Y o u will tell her to b e very quiet and ,
she will be under the hood I will leave her .
for the necessary time with an ol d friend of

mine a fruiteress in the R ue d a C h emin Vert
, ,
who is deaf an d where there is a little bed

, .
I will shout i n her ear that it is my niece and ,
b i d her keep her for m e till to morrow then -
the little o n e will come i n with you for I ,
mean to bring you in again B u t h o w will .
you manage to get o u t

Jean Valjean shook h is head .
The great point i s that no one sees m e ,
Father Fau ch el even t Find m eans to get me

.
”
ou t i n the same way as Cosette .
F au ch el e ven t scratched the tip o f h i s ear

wi t h the m i ddle finger of his lef t hand which ,
was a sig n of serious embarrassment A th i rd .
peal caused a diversion .
That is the doctor going away sai d F au ,

“
ch el e ven t . He has had a look and said ,
S he is dead all right, When the doctor

.
’
h as countersigne d the passport for Paradise ,

320 VICT OR H U G O S W ORK S ’
.
the undertakers send a co ffin I f it is a mo ther .

,
the m others put her i n it i f a sister the 8 18 ,
ters ; and after that I nail it up That is .
par t of my gardening for a gardener is a bit ,
of a gravedigger The co ffi n is placed i n the

.
vestry room which communicates with the

street and which no man is allowed to enter
,
but the doctor for I don t cou nt the under

,
’
takers an d myself as men It is i n this room .
that I nail up the coffin t h e u n d ertakers

fetch it an d then G ee u pd river — that s
,
— -
,
’
the way people go to h eaven A box is .
brought i n which there is no thing an d it is

, , ,
carried off w ith something i n it an d that s ’
‘
what a burial is De P r of u n di s
. .
A horizontal su nbeam i ll u mined the face

of the sleeping Cosette who opened her lips ,
an d looked like an angel imbibing light .
Jean Valjean was gazing at her agai n an d n o ,
longer listened to Fau ch el eve n t Not to be .
h eard is no re ason why a man should hold

his tongue so the worthy old gardener qu i ckly
,
continued his chatter ,
The grave is d u g i n the V au gi r ar d ceme ~
t e r y ; people say that it is going to be shu t

up It is an old cemete ry which h as no uni
.
,
form and is going under half pay ; it is a pity

,
-
,
for it is convenient I have a friend there F a

M
.
,
ther es t i en n e t h e gravedigger The nu ns of .
this h ouse possess the privilege of being car

ried t o that cem etery at nightfall they have
a decree of th e prefecture expressly for them .
But what events since yester d ay Mother

Crucifixion is dea d and Father Madeleine
,
”
Is buri ed Jean Valjean sa i d with a sad
, ,
smile .
322 VI CT O R H uoo s '
w o ax s .
ress who was that charming an d learned

,
Mlle de B l é meu r or mother innocent who , ,
was usually so cheerful The gard ener gave .
a timid b o w an d rema i ned i n the doorway of

,
the cell ; the prioress who was telling her ,
beads raised her eyes an d said

, ,
O h i t is you Father F au van t

, ,
This abbreviation had been adopted i n t h e

convent Fau ch el e ven t began his bows agai n
. .
Father Fau van t I summon ed you .
Here I am reverend m other .
”
I wish to speak with you .
A nd I o n my side sa i d Fau ch el even t

, ,
with a boldness that made hi m tremble i n

wards ,
“
have something to say to t h e most
”
reverend mo t h er .
The prioress looked at h i m .
A h you have a com municat i on to make

”
to me P
A request .
Well speak .
F au ch el e ve n t the ex notary belon ged to

,
-
,
that class of peasants w ho poss ess coolne ss .
A certain skilful ignorance is a strength

people do not suspect it an d you have them , .
D u ring the t wo years F au c hel e ve n t had lived

i n the con vent h e mad e a success in the co m
,
munit y and while alone and attending to his

,
gardening he h ad nothing else to do than be

,
curious R emote as h e was from all these

.
veiled women he saw nothing before him but

an agitation of shadows b u t by constant , ,
att en tio n i n d penetration he had succeeded ,
i n putting flesh o n these phantoms an d ,
these d ead lived for him He was like a d eaf .
man who e sight is improved and a blind ,

LES M I SERAB LES . 323
man whose hearing is sharpened H e had .
turn ed h i s m ind to d iscover the mean ing of

the vari ous peals and had succeeded so that
, ,
this enigmatical and mysteriou s convent had

noth ing hidden from him ; an d this sphynx
whispered all its secrets i n his ear Fau ch el .
e vent w h ile knowing ev e ry thing concealed

, ,
every thing and that was his art ; the whole

,
convent believed him to be stupid and that ,
is a great m erit i n religion The vocal .
mothers set value on Fau ch el ev e n t for h e was ,
a cu riou s du mb m an and inspired confidence .
Moreover he was regular an d only went o u t

, ,
when absolutely co mpelled by the claim s of

his orchard or kitchen gard en and this dis ,
cretion was placed to his credit But for all .

,
that he had made two m en talk — i n the

, ,
convent the porter an d he thus knew all the

, ,
peculiarities of the parlor ; an d at the ceme

t er y the gravedigger and he knew the ,
regularities of the burial ; so that he possessed

a double light about these nuns the light ,
-
of life and the light of death But he made .
no abuse of his knowledge and the congrega ,
tion were attached to him O ld lame seei n g .

, ,
nothing and probably rather deaf ; what

.
qualifications ! It would be difficult to fill up

h i s place The good man with th e assurance
.
,
of a servant who k n ows h i s value began a ,
rustic ad d ress to t h e prioress which was ,
rather di ffuse and very artful He talked a .
good d eal about his age his i n fi r mi ti e s years , ,
henceforward reckoni n g dou ble for him th e

, ,
growing demand s of his work nights to pass , ,
as for instance t h e l ast i n which he w as

, , ,
obliged to d raw ma tting over the melon

324 VI CT OR H UGO ‘S W ORK S .
fram es owing to the m oon ; and he ended with

this that he had a brother ( the priores ss gave
,
a star t) — a brother who was not young (a

second start bu t n o t so alarmed ) that i f leave
,
-
were grante d this bro ther would come and

,
live with him and help him ; that h e was an

excellent gard ener and would be of more use
,
to the com munity than himself was ; and that ,
o n th e other hand if his brother s services

’
,
were not accepted as h e the elder felt worn

, , ,
o u t an d unequal to his work h e would be ,
compelled to his great regret to give up his

, ,
situation ; an d that his brother had a little

gi rl whom he would bring w i th him an d who ,
would be brought up i n the house and ,
might who knew ? become a nun some day

, .
When he had finished s p eaking the prioress ,
brok e off her occupation of letting the beads

of her rosary slip through her fingers an d ,
sa i d,
Could you p rocu re a strong i ron b ar

be tween this and to night -
? ”
What to d o
To act as a lever .
Yes reverend mother Father F au ch el

, ,
event replied .
The prioress without adding a syllable

, ,
rose and walked into the adj o i n g room where

the chapter was assembled F au ch el e ven t .
was left alone .
CH A PT ER CXVIII .
M OTH E R I NN OC E N T .
AB O U T a quarter of an hour p assed ere the

p
rioress came in again an d sat down o n her
V I C T O R H U GO S W ORK S
'
.
There is a ring i n the stone .
I will put the crowbar through it .
A nd the stone works on h inges .
A ll right reverend mother I wi ll open

, ,
”
the vault .
“
A n d the four chanting mothe r s will h elp
An d when th e vault is ope n ? ”
You must shut it again .
Is that all
No .
G ive m e your orders m ost r everend ,
m other .
“
Fau v e n t we place confidence i n you
, .
”
I am here to do every thin g .
A n d to hol d your tongu e about every

”
thing.
“
Yes reverend mother
, .
When the vault is o p ened

”
I w il l sh ut it again .
Bu t first ,
? ”
What reverend m other ,
You must let down something in to
There w as a silence an d the prio r ess after , ,
a pout of the lower l i p which looked like ,
hesitation cont i nued , ,

”
Father Fau v en t l
”
R everend mother ?
You are aware that a m other died this

”
morn i ng .
No .
”
Did you n ot hear the bell ?
Noth i ng can be heard at the en d of the
garden .
R eall y now
LES MI SER A B LES . 32 7
I can hardly distingu i s h my own r i ng .
”
S he died at daybreak .
“
A nd besides this morning t h e wind did
,
”
not blow i n my direction .
It i s Mother Cruc i fixion a blessed ,
saint .
The pr i oress was silent moved h er l i ps for ,
a moment as i f i n mental prayer and went

, ,
on ,
“
Three years ago through merely seeing
p
,
Mother Cruci fi xion ray a J an s en i st Madame , ,

”
de Bethune becam e orthodox
, .
O h yes I hear the passing bell n ow rev

, , ,
e r en d m other .
“
The mothers have carri ed her i nto th e
dead room adjoining the church
-
.
”
I kno w .
No other man than you can or ough t to , ,
enter that room so keep careful watch, It .
would be a fi n e thing to see another man en

”
te r the charnal house .
More often .
Eh
More often .
What do you mean

”
I say more often .
? ”
More often than what
R everen d mother I d i d not say more often
,
”
than what but more often
, .
I do not understand you ; why do you

”
say more often .
To say the same as yourself reverend ,

”
mother .
But I did not say more often .
You did not say i t but I said i t to say ,
the same as y ou .
VICT OR H UGO S W ORK S ’
.
A t this mom ent nine o clock struck ’

.
A t n i n e i n th e morning an d eve r y h ou r
be the m ost Holy S acrem ent o f the altar
blessed an d adored said the prioress , .
A men said Fau ch e l e ve n t

, .
The hour struck opportun ely for it cut ,
short the more oft en It is probable that

.
’
,
without it the prioress an d Fau ch el ev en t

,
would never have got ou t of th i s tangle .
Fau ch el even t wiped his forehead and the ,
prioress gave another inte rnal murm ur an d ,
then raised her voice .
“
I n her lifetime Mother Crucifixion per
formed conversions after her d eath sh e will
,
”
perform miracles .
S he w i ll do them Fau c h el ev en t said , ,
determined not to give grou nd again .
F a ther Fau v en t the com munity was ,
blessed i n Mother Crucifixio n O f course it .
is not granted to every on e to die like Car ,
d i nal de Berulle while reading the holy mass

, ,
an d exhale his soul to G od while uttering the

words H am; i gi t u r ob l at i mz em But though .
she did n ot atta i n such happiness Mother ,
Cruc i fixion had a ve r y blessed death S he r e .
t ai n ed her senses up to the last moment ; she

spoke to u s and then conversed with the a
,
n
gels S he gave us her last com mands ; if you

.
had more faith and if you had been i n her

,
cell she would have cured you r leg by touc h

,
ing it S he smiled an d we all felt that she

.
,
was li ving again i n G od — there was Paradi se ,

”
i n such a death .
Fau ch el ev en t fanc i ed that i t was t h e end of
ap ray er ; Amen he said

”
, .
830 VI CT OR H UGO S W O R K S ’
.
th ere sh ould be engraved o n his tombst one

the sym bol which was placed on the graves of
parricid es i n th e hope that pass ers b y would
,
-
spit on his tomb an d it was done for t h e de ad

, ,
ought to be obeyed .
”
S o be it .
The body of Bern ard Gu i d on i s w h o was ,
born i n Fran ce n ear Roche A beill e w as as

, , ,
h e or d ered an d i n defiance of the k i ng of

,
Cast ille conveyed to the church of th e Do

,
minica ms of L imoges although Bern ard G u i ,
donis was bis h op of T uy i n S pain Can you .
”
sa y th e contrary
?
Certa i nly not reverend mother , .
The fact is at tested by Pl an tavi t de l a

”
F osse.
A f e w bead s were to ld in silence and then ,
the pri oress resumed ,
F ather F au ven t Mother Cruc i fixion wi ll ,
be buri ed i n the cofli n i n which she h as slept

”
for t w enty years .
“
That is but fa ir .
It is a continua ti on of sleep .
T hen I shall h ave to nail her up i n t h at

co ffin
Yes .
A nd we shall n ot employ t h e un der

’
taker s co fi i n
”
E xactly .
I am at the orders of the m ost reverend

com munity .
The four singi ng mothers wi ll h elp
To na i l up the coffin ? I do n ot want

”
them .
No to let it down
, .
LES MI S ERA B LES .
331
Where
Into the vault .
”
What vault ?
U nder the altar .
F au ch el even t started .
”
The vault un der the altar ?
”
Yes .
B ut
You have an i ron bar .
Yes still,
“
B ut you wi ll lift the stone by pas s i ng
”
the bar th rough the r i ng .
“
B ut
We must obey t h e dead It was t h e last .
w i s h of mother Crucifixion to be buried i n

the vault under t he chapel altar not to be ,
placed i n profane soi l an d to r e main when

,
d ead at t h e place where she h ad prayed when

al i ve S he asked th i s of us i n deed ordered
.
,
”
it.
B ut i t i s forb i d den .
F orbidden by man ordered by God , .
”
S uppos e it oozed out ?
We have confidence in you .
Ch 1 I am a stone of your wall?

The chapter i s assembled ; t h e vocal
mothers who m I have j u st consulted once
again and who are d el i berati n g have de
, ,
cided that Mother Crucifixio n s hould be i n

t e r r ed according to her wish
,
under our ,
altar . O nl y think Father F au ven t i f

, ,
miracles were to take place here ! what a

glory i n G od for the com mun i ty ! miracles
i s sue from tombs .
“ B ut m oth er suppos i ng t h e
r everend
, ,
san i tary c o mmi ssi o n e r

V I CT OR H U GO S W ORKS ‘
.
S t Benedict II in a m atter of burial

. .
, ,
”
resisted Constantine Pogon at u s .
S till the inspector

Ch o n ode mair u s one of t h e seven G er
,
man kings wh o entered G aul during the em

pire of Constanti us expressly recognized ,
the ri ght of monks to be buried in religion ,

”
that is to say beneath th e altar
, .
But the inspector of the prefecture

The world is as nothi n g i n presence
of the cross Mart i n eleventh general
.
,
o f the Carthusians gave his order this de

,
vice S tar cr u x d am vol vi t u r or b i s

”
.
,
”
A men ! F au ch el even t sai d who impe r ,
t u r b ab l y got out of the scrape i n that way

whenever he heard L atin .
A n b o dy answers an audience for a person

who has been a long time silent On the day .
when Gy mn ast or as the rhetorician left prison

, ,
with a gr eat m any d ilemmas and syllogisms

i n his i nside he stopped before the first tr ee
,
he came to harangued it and made mighty

, ,
efforts to convi nce it The prioress whose .

,
tong ue was usually stopped by th e d am of

‘
s i lence an d whose reservoir was over full

,
-
,
rose and exclai med wi th the loquacity of a

raised sluice ,
I have on my right hand B enedict an d ,
on my left Bernard Wh o is Bernard ? the

.
first abbot of Clairvau x F ontaines i n Bur .
gundy is a blessed spot for having witnessed

h i s birth . His father s name was T é cel i n ’
,
h is m other s A l et he ; h e began wi th Citeau x

’
to end with Clairvau x ; h e was ord ained ah

bot by William de C hampea u x bishop of ,
Chalons sur S a one ; h e had seven hun d red

not feel very comfortable
F au ch el e ven t d i d
u nder t h is douche but the pr i oress con ,
t i n u ed ,
“
The r i gh t of the monasteries to sep ul
tu re is indubitable and it can only be d e ,
nied b y fanatics and schismatics We live .
i n tim es of terrible confus i on ; people d o n o t

know what they shou ld and know what they
M
,
sh ould not en are crass and i mp i ous a

. nd ,
there are people at the present day who can

n o t disti n guish between the m ost mig h ty S t .
Be r nard and tha t Bernard called of the poor

Catholics a certain worthy ecclesiastic w h o
,
l i ved i n the 1 3 t h centu ry O thers are so .
blasphem ous as to compare the scaff old of

L ouis XVI with the cross of ou r S aviou r
. .
L ouis XVI was only a king The r e are n o

. .
just or un j ust persons left the nam e of Vol ,
taire is known an d that of C a esar d e Bus u n

known but C a , esar d e Bus is blessed while
-
,
Voltaire is condemned The last arc h .

,
bishop Cardi n al de Per i gord d i d n o t even

, ,
kno w that C ha r les de G ondrin succeeded

B e r u l l u s an d Fran c o i s Bourgoi n G ondrin
, ,
and Jean F ran c ois S en au l t Bourgoin and ,
Father de S ainte Mar tha Jean Fran c ois ,
S en au l t T h e n am e of Father Coton is
.
known n o t because he was one of the three

,
wh o u rged the foundation of the oratory but ,
because he supplied the H uguenot K ing

Henri IV with ma t erial for an oath Wha t
. .
makes people of the world like S t Francis .
de S ales is that he cheated at play A nd

, .
,
then religion is attacked an d why because

, ,
there have been bad priests because S agi t ,
tar i u s bish op of G ap was brother of S al

, ,
LES M I SERA B LES . 335
onces bishop of E mbrun an d both followed

Mommol u s O f what consequences is all
, ,
this ? Does it prevent Martin of Tou rs from

be i ng a saint and having gi ven one half of
,
-
his cloak to a poor man ? The saints are

persecu ted and people close their eyes against
,
the truth They are accustomed to the

.
d arkness and th e most ferocious beasts are

,
blind beasts No one thinks of hell for

.
good ; oh ! the wick ed people ‘By the king s .

’
order m eans at th e present d ay by order of

the R evolution People forget what they .
owe either to the living or dead We are

, .
forbidden to die i n hol iness the tomb is a ,
civil offi ce and this is horrible S t L eon II

, . . .
wrote t w o letters expressly — one to Peter ,
N o tar i u s th e other to the king of the Visi

,
goths to combat and re j ect i n questions that

, ,
aff ect the dead the authority of the ex ar chu s

,
and the supremacy of the emperor C antin .

,
bishop of Chalons op p osed O tho duke of , ,
Burgundy in this matter The old magi s

,
.
trates coincided and we formerly had a voice ,
i n the chapter itself upon temporal affairs .
The abbot of C i teaux g eneral of the order , ,
was councillor by right of birth in th e Parli a ‘
ment of Burgundy We do what we like .
w i th our de ad Is not the body of S aint Bene

.
dict h i fn s el f i n France at the abbey of Fleury , ,
called S aint Benedict in the L o n e although , ,
he died at Mon te Cassino i n Italy on S atu r ,
day; March 2 1 5 4 3 A ll this is i n con te st a

,
ble I abhor the p

. sal l an t s I hate the priors , ,
I execrate heretics but I should detest even ,
worse any one who Opposed my views in this

matter It i s onl y necessary to rea d A rnoul
.
333 VI CT OR n ue o s w o ax s .
We on G abriel B u ce l i n u s T r i t h e me Mauro
, , ,
”
leus and Do n L uc d A ch er y
,
’
.
The prioress breathed an d then turned to ,
Fau ch el even t Father Fau ven t i s it set

.
,
t l ed
It is reverend m other .
”
Can we reckon o n you ?
”
I wi ll obey .
”
Very good .
I am entirely devoted to the convent .
You close the coffin and the siste rs wi ll ,
carry it into the chapel The office for the .
dead will be read an d then we shall return

,
to the cloisters Between eleven and twelve

.
you will come with your iron bar and every ,
thing will be performed with the utmos t

secrecy ; there will be no on e in the chapel
but the four singing m others Mother A se en ,
”
tion and you rself
, .
“
A nd the sister at the stake
S he will not tu rn rou nd .
”
But she will hear .
S he w ill not l i sten Moreover what the .

,
co nvent knows the world is ignorant

”
of .
There was another pau se aft er which the ,
pr i o re ss continu ed ,
You will remove you r bell for it is n u ,
necessary for the sister at the stake to notice

your presence .
”
R everend m other 9
What is it Father Fau ve n t

Has the phys i cian of the dead paid his
visit
He w i ll do so at fou r o clock to d ay : the ’
-
bell has been rung to give him notice But .

338 VI C T OR H U GO S w o rms ‘
.
an d be in t h e chapel at eleven o clock pre ’
ci se l y ; the singing mothers an d Mother A s

c en si on wil l be there T wo m en would be .
better bu t n o matter I shall have my c r e w

, ,
bar we will open the vault let down the

, ,
coffi n and close it again A fter that there

, .
will not be a trace and the governm ent will ,
have n o suspicion R everend mother i s all .

,
”
ar r anged thu s ?
No .
What is there still

There is the empty coffi n .
This was a diffi culty ; Fau chel e ven t thought

of and on it an d so did the pri oress, .
Fath er Fau v en t what mus t be done with ,
? ”
the other coffin
It must be buried .
E mpty .
A nother silence Fau c h el e ve n t mad e with

.
his left hand that sort of gesture which dis

misses a d isagreeabl e question .
R everend m other I w i ll nail up the co fli n ,
an d cov e r i t with t h e pall .
Y es but th e bearers while placing it i n

, ,
the hearse and lowering it into the g r ave

, ,
will soon perceive that there is nothing

”
i n it .
Oh the de ,
Fau ch el ev en t exclaimed .
The prioress began a cross an d look ed i n ,
t en t l y at t h e gardener ; the ev i l st u ck i n his

throat and he has tily im provi sed an expedi
,
ent to cau se the oa th to be forgotten .
Reverend mother I will p u t eart h i n the ,
coffi n which will produce the e ff ect of a

,
b o dy
You are ri ght for eart h is the same as a
,
389
h uman being S o you will manage the empty

.
coffin
I take it on myself .
The face of the prioress which had h ither ,
to been troubled an d clouded now grew se ,
rene S he made the sign of a superior dis

.
missing an inferior and Fau ch el even t wal k ed

,
toward s the door A s he was go i ng out the.
prioress gently raised her voice .
Father Fau v en t I am satisfied w i t h you ; ,
to morrow after the interment br i ng m e

-
, ,
your brother and tel l him to br i ng m e his

,
daughter .
CH A PT E R CXIX .
A PLAN OF ESCAPE .
TH Estrides of halt i ng men are like the

glances of squinters they d o not r each their ,
point very rapidly Monsieu r Fau ch el even t .
was perplexed and he spent upwards of a

,
q uarter of an hour in returning to the garden

cottage Cosette was awak e an d Jean Val
.
,
jea n had seated her by the fireside A t the .
moment wh en Fau ch el even t entered Jean

Val j ean was pointing to the gardener s hotte ’
leaning i n a corner an d saying to her , ,

“
L isten to me carefully little Coset te , .
We are obliged to leave this house but shall ,
return to it and be very happy The good

, .
man will carry you out i n t hat thing upon

his back and you will wai t for m e with a
,
lady till I com e to fetch you I f you d o not .
wish Madam e Th enard i er to catch you again ,

”
obey an d say not a wor d .
340 VI CT OR H UGO S W ORK S ‘
.
Cosette n odded her head gravely at the

sound Fau ch el even t made i n Opening the
door Valjean turned round .
? ”
Well
A l l is arranged and nothing i s so
, sa i d ,
Fau ch el eve n t I have leave to bring you i n

.
,
but to bring you i n you must go out T h at .
is the difficulty it is easy enough wit h the

li ttle one .
You will carry her ou t ?

Will she be quiet
”
I answer for that .
? ”
But you Father Madeleine
,
A n d after an anxious silence Fau ch el even t

cried ,
Wh y go out i n the same way as you came

,
Jean Valjean as o n the first occasion con

, ,
fined himself to say i ng Imposs i ble

Fau ch el eve n t speak i ng to himsel f rather
,
than to Jean Valjean growled , ,
There is another thing that troubles m e .
I said that I would put earth i n it but now ,
I com e to think Of it earth instead of a body

,
will not do for it will move about and the

,
men will notice it You understand Father

.
,
Madeleine the govern ment will perceive the

,
trick
Jean Valjean look ed at him and fanc i ed ,
that he must be raving Fau ch el even t con .
tinned ,
How the deuce are you go i ng to get out

for eve r y thing m ust be settled t o morrow as -
,
the prioress expects you then .
‘
Then he explained to Val j ean that it was a
reward fo r a service which he Fau c h el ev en t , ,
342 VI CT OR '
n ue o s W ORK S .
A dead person I haven t such a t hi n g ’

.
”
Well then a livi ng on e
, , .
Who
Myself sai d J can Valjean, .
Fau ch el ev en t wh o was seate d spr ang u p , ,
s if a shell h a
a d explod ed under hi s cha i r .
”
You ?
9 ”
Why n ot
J ean Valjean had one of t h o se r ar e smi les
which resembled a sunbeam i n a wintry s ky .
You know that you said Fau ch el even t , ,
Mother Cruci fi xion is dead and I ad d ed , ,
A n d F ather Madele i ne i s bu ried It wi l l be .
O h you are joking

, , n ot speaking seri
o u sl y .
“
Most seriously . Must I not get out Of
h ere ?”
O f course .
I to ld you to fi n d for m e a hotte an d a

”
tilt too .
9 ”
Well
The h otto w i ll be Of deal an d t h e tilt of ,
”
black cloth .
“
No white cloth Nuns are buri ed i n
, .
”
white .
A ll ri ght then white cloth , , .
You are not like other men Father Ma ,

”
d el e i n e .
T O see such ideas which are nought but ,
the wild an d d aring inventions of the hulks ,
issue from his peacefu l surrounding an d ,

“
mingled with what he called the slow pac e
of the co nvent prod uce d i n Fau ch el even t
,
a st upor comparable to that which a passer

b y would feel on seeing a Wh aler fishing i n
LE S M I SERA B LE S .
343
the gutter of the R ue S t Denis Jean Val . .
jean went on .
“
The point is to get out of here unseen ,
and that is a way But just tell me how .

,
does i t all take place where is the coffi n

9 ”
The empty on e
”
Yes .
“
I n what i s called the dead house It is -
.
upon two trestles and covered with the ,
pall
”
What i s the length of th e coffin ?
Si x feet .
What is this dead h ouse -
A ground fl o or room with a gr ated w i n

-
dow looking on the garden and two doors , ,
one leading to the church the other to the ,

”
convent .
”
What church ?
The street church the one Open to every ,
’
b ody fi
”
Have you the keys Of these doors ?
No I have the key of the one comm uni
,
cating with the convent but the p orter has ,

”
the other ?
”
When does he open it ?
O nly to let the m en pass who come to
fetc h the body When the coffi n has gone
.
”
out the door i s locked again .
Who nails up the coffin

”
I do .
”
Who places the pall over it ?
I do
A re you a
.
”
lone ?
No other man excepting the doctor is , ,
allowed to enter the dead house It is wri t -

.
”
t e n o n the wall .
344 VICT OR H UGO ‘S W ORKS .
Could you h ide m e i n that house t o

”
night when al l are asleep i n the convent ?
,
NO but I can hide you i n a dark hole

,
opening out Of th e dead house i n which I -

,
put the bur i al tools of which I have the ,
key
A t what hour to m orrow will the he m e -
come to fetch the body

A t three i n the afternoon The inter .
ment takes place at the V au gi r ar d ceme tery

a little before nightfall for the ground is not ,
”
very near here .
I will remain concealed i n your t ool house -
during the night and morning H ow about .
”
food for I shall be hungry
?
.
“ ”
I will bring you some .
You can nail me up i n the coffi n at two

”
O clock Fau ch el e ve n t recoiled an d cracked
’
.
his fi n ge r bones -
.
”
O h it i s impossible !
,
Nonsense to take a hammer and drive

nails into a board
What seemed to Fau ch el even t ext r aor di
nary was we repeat quite simple to Jean
, ,
Val j ean for h e h ad gon e through worse

,
straits and an y man who has been a prisoner

,
k nows h o w to reduce himsel f to t h e diamete r

Of the m ode of escape A prisoner is aff ec t e d
.
by flight ju st as a sick man is by the cris i s

,
which s aves or destroys him and an escape .
is a cure What will not a man undergo for

.
the sak e of being car ed ? To be nailed u p

and carried i n a box to live for a long time ,
i n a packing case to fi n d air where there is

-
,
none to economize one s breath for hours to

,
’
,
man age to choke without d y ing was one o f ,

346 VICT OR H U GO S W ORKS ’
.
daring Fau chl e ven t was Of this hesitating

.
nature ; still Jean V alj e an s coolness i n vo l

,
’
u n ta r i l y mastered hi m and h e growled , ,

”
A fter all there i s no other way
, .
Jean Valjean continued ,

“
The only thing I am anx i ous about i s
”
what will take place at the cemete r y .
There is the very thing I am not anxious

“
about said Fau ch e l ev e n t ; i f you feel sure
,
of getting ou t Of the co ffin I feel sure of get

ting you Ou t of the grave The gravedigger .
i s a friend of mine and a d runkard of the

name of Father M
, ,
e s t i en n e ; he puts the dead
i n the grave an d I put the grave di gger i n

,
my pocket I w i ll tell you what w ill occur ;

.
we shall arrive a little before twilight three ,
quarters Of an hour before the cemetery gates

are closed The hearse will drive up to the
.
grave and I shall follo w for that is my bus i

, ,
ness I shall have a hamm er a chisel an d

.
, ,
pincers i n my pocket ; the hearse stops the ,
undertaker knots a cord round your coffin

and lets you down ; the pries t says the p r ay
ers makes t h e sign of the cross sprin kles the
, ,
holy water and bol t s ; I r emain alone with

Father M
,
es t i en n e and he i s a friend of mine

, ,
I tell you O ne Of t w o things is certain ; h e

.
w i ll either be drunk or not be dru nk If he i s .
n o t drunk I shall say to him , come and ,
have a drai n before the B e n Goi ng closes I .

’
take h i m away make him d ru nk wh i ch does

, ,
not take long as he has always m ad e a b e

,
ginning ; I lay him und er the table take his ,
card an d return to the cemetery w i thout

,
him You will have only to deal with m e If

. .
he is dru nk I shall sa y to him B e Off I will ‘

, ,
LES MI SERA B LES . 34 7
”
do your work for you He will go and I .
,
get you out of the hole .
Jean Valjean held out his hand w h ich ,
F ather Fau ch el even t seized with a touching

peasant devotion .
It i s settled Father Fau ch el even t A ll

, .
will go well .
Providing that nothing i s deran ged ,

“
Fau ch el eve n t thought ; suppose the affair
”
was t o h ave a terrible ending !
CH A PT ER CXX .
A D R UN K A R D I S N OT I M M O R TAL .
TH E next day as the su n was setting the

, ,
f e w passers b y o n the Boulevard d a Maine

-
took Off their hats to an Ol d fashioned hearse -

,
’
ornamented with death s head thigh bones ,
-
and tears I n thi s hearse was a coffin covered

.
with white pall on which lay an enormous

,
black cross like a tall dead woman with

,
han ging arms A draped carriage i n which

.
,
could be noticed a priest i n his surplice and ,
a chorister in his red skull cap fol l owed , .
Two m utes i n a gray uniform with black

facings walked o n the right and left of the
hearse while behind them came and old man
,
i n workman s garb who halted The pro

’
.
,
cession procee ded toward the V au gi r ar d

cemetery This cemetery formed an ex cep
.
t i on to the others i n Paris It had its p ecu .
liar u sages just as i t h ad a large gate an d a

,
side gate wh i ch Old people in the quarters

, ,
tenacious to Ol d names called the horseman s ,

’
’
gate an d the footman s gate The Bernardo .
34 8 VI CT OR H UGO S W ORKS ‘
.
Benedictines of the L ittle Pi c p us had

obtai n ed as we have stated permission to be
, ,
buried there i n a separate corner an d by ,
night because the cemetery had formerly

,
belonged to thei r comm unity The grave .
diggers having thus an evening duty i n sum

,
m er an d a night d uty i n winter were subj ect ,
to special rules The gates of Parisian cem e

.
t er i es were closed at that period at sunset ,
and as this was police measu re the V au gi r ar d

cemetery was subjected to it like the r e st .
The t w o gates ad j oined a pavilion bu ilt by ,
the architect Per r o n e t i n which the porter

,
lived an d they were inexorably closed at the

,
moment when the s u n disappeared behind

the dome of the Invalides If any grave .
digger were detained at that moment i n the

cemetery he had o n ly one way to get out
, ,
his card with w h ich the undertaker s de

,
’
p ar t me n t sup plied him There was a species

.
of letter box in the shutter Of the porter s

-
’
window ; the gravedigger threw his card i n

to this box the por t er heard it fall pulled
, ,
the s tring and the small gate opened If

, .
t h e gravedigger had not his card he gave his

nam e ; the porter got up recognized him , ,
an d O p ened the gate with his key ; but i n that

case the gravedigger paid a fine of fifteen
francs .
This cemetery with its o w n regulations

, ,
was a flaw on the administrative sym metry ,
and it was pu t down shortly after 1 8 30 The .
cemetery of Mont Parnasse succeeded it and ,
inherited the famous cabaret attached to the

V au gi r ar d cemetery which was know n by,
th e sig n an bo n 0o w y one sid e Of which

, ,
35 0 V I CT OR H U GO S W OR K S
’
.
Rendering unt o Caesar only comes after r e n

d er i ng unto G od and a prince i s noth i ng by
,
the side of a principle .
Fau ch el e ve n t limped after the h earse with

great satisfaction ; his twin plots the one ,
with the nuns the other with M Madele i ne , .

,
on e for the other against the convent we r e

, , ,
getting o n famously The calmness of Jean .
Valjean was on e Of th ese powerful tranqu i l

l i t i es which are contagi ous and Fau ch e l e ve n t ,
no longer doubted of success What he still .
h ad to do was nothing ; during the las t two

years he had made the gravedigger drunk a
dozen times an d he played with him He , .
could do what he liked with Father Mes

tienne an d his head exactly fitted Fau ch el e v
,
’
ent s cap The gardener s security was com
’
.
pl e te .
A t the m oment when the procession en

t er e d the aven ue leading to the cemetery ,
Fau ch el e ve n t looked at the hearse wi t h de

light an d rubbe d his huge hands as he said
,
”
i n a low ve i ee What a lark ! ,
A ll at once the hearse stopped ; it had

reached the gates an d the permi s sion for ,
burying m ust be shown The u nd er taker .
conversed with the porter and d u ring this ,
colloquy wh i ch o e cu p i e d two or three mi n

,
u te s a stranger stationed himself behind the

,
hearse by Fau ch el e v e n t s side He was a ’

.
so r t of workm an wearing a j acket W i th wide

,
pockets and holding a spade under his ar m

, .
Fau ch el e ve n t looked at the stranger and ,
asked him ,
Who ar e y ou
351
Th e man replied The gravedigger ,

.
If any man coul d survive a cannon ball -
ri ght i n the m i ddle of h i s chest he would ,
ou t such a face as Fau ch el e v e n t did
Why Father M
.
,
e st i e n n e i s the grave
“
H ow ,was .
He is dead .
Fau chel e ven t was prepared for anything ex

cept this that a gravedigger could die ; and
,
yet i t is tru e that gravediggers themselves

die ; while digging hol es for others they pre
pare o n e for themselves Fau ch e l ev en t stood .
with widely opened mo u th and had scarce

-
,
stren gth to stam mer ,
“
Why it is impossible
,
.
It is the case .
But the grave d igger he went o n feebly ’
is Father M
, ,
“ ”
e st i e n n e .
“
A fter Napoleon L ouis XVIII A fter
Mest i en n e Gr i b i e r R ustic my name is
.
,
.
, ,
”
Gr i b i e r
.
F au ch e l even t , who was very pale stared at ,
Gr i b i e r ; he was a tall thin livid thoro u ghly , , ,
funereal man He looked like a broken down

.
-
doctor who h ad turned gravedigger Fauche .
le vant burst into al au gh .
“
A h what funny things do happen
Fath er M
,
e s t i e n n e is dead ; little Father Mes
tienne is dead but long live little Father

,
L enoir DO you know who he is ? a bottle

of S u r é n e mor b i gou real Paris S u r é n e
A n d so Father M
, .
e s t i e n n e is dead ; I feel
sorry for him as he was a jolly fellow But

, .
vou are a j olly fellow too are y ou n o t com , ,

35 2 VICT OR unc os
'
w o ax s .
rad e ? We will drink a glass together ,

?
eh
“
The man answered I have studied an d I , ,
”
never drink .
The hearse had set out again and was now ,
going along the main avenu e Fau ch el e ven t .
had decreased h i s pace and limped more ,
through anxiety than infirm ity The grav e .
digger walked i n front of him and Fauche ,
levent once again surveyed this unkno wn

Gr i b i e r He was one of those men who
.
,
when young look Ol d and who though thin

, , , ,
are very strong .
Comrade Fau ch e l e v en t cried .
The man turned round .
“
I am the convent gravedigger .
”
My colleague the man s aid , .
Fau ch el e v en t uneducated though very

,
sharp understood that he had to deal with a

,
formidable species a fi n e speaker ; he ,
growled
M
,
S O then Father
, , es t i en n e is dead .
The man answered Completely , Le .
b o n Di eu consulted his bill book Father

M M
-
.
e s t i e n n e was d ue and so Father , est i e n n e

”
is dead .
Fau ch el e ven t repeated mechan i cal ly Le ,

”
b o n Dieu .
”
L e b on Dieu th e man said au th o r i tat i
,
vely with phi losophers the E te r nal Father

, ,
”
with J aco b i n s the S upreme Being .
“
A re we not going to form an acq ua in
tance Fau ch e l e ven t stamm ered .
“
It is formed You are a rustic I am a
.
,
Pari sian .
“
People n ever know one another
354 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORKS ‘
.
mu l at e Fau c h el e ve n t d id not u nder

stand the last word .
Let us go to dr i nk he said , .
Here a remark is necessary Fau ch e l even t .
h owever great his agony might b e proposed ,
drink ing but did n o t explain him se lf o n one

,
point Who w as to pay A s a general rule

osed an d Father M
.
Fau ch el eve n t pr e p
,
e s t i en n e
paid A proposal to drink evidently resulted

.
from the n ew situation created by the new

gravedigger and that proposal the gardener
,
must make but he left not und esignedly

, , ,
the proverbial quarter of an hour called

Rabelais i n Obscurity
’
Ho wever a ff ec t ed .
F au ch el even t might be he did not feel ,
anxious to pay .
The gravedigger contin ued with a grand

“
smile A s a man m ust live I accepted
M
.
, ,
Father e st i en n e s i nheritance When a

’
.
man has nearly completed his course Of stud

ies he is a ph i losopher and I have added
, ,
the work of my arms to that Of my hand I .
have my writer s stall at t h e market i n the

’
.
Rue de Sevres— you know the umbrella ,
market ? all the cooks of the Croi x Ro uge ap

ply to me and I compose their declarations
,
to the s oldie r s I n the morning I write bil

.
lets d oux i n th e evening I dig graves ; su ch is

-
,
”
l i fe Ru stic
,
.
The hearse went on and Fau ch el even t ,
look ed al l about hi m with the gr eatest

anxiety : h eavy drops of perspiration fell
from h i s forehead .
“ ”
S till the gr avedigger cont i nued
,
a ,
man cannot serve two mistresses and I must ,
ch oose between the pick and the p en The .
p i ck ru ins m y hand ”
.
LES MI SERA B LES .
35 5
The hearse stopp ed ; th e chorister got out

of the coach and then the priest ; one of the
,
s mall fr ont wheels Of the hearse was slightly

rai sed by a h eap of earth beyond which an ,
Open grave was visible .
Here s another lark ! Fau ch el eve n t said

’
in consternation .
CH A PT ER CXX I .
B E T W EE N FO U R PL A N K s .
W HO was i n the coffin It was as we know , ,
Jean Valjean who h ad so con trived as to be

,
able to live i n it and could almost breathe

,
.
It is a strange thing to what an extent

security of conscien ce produces other security ;
the whole combination p remeditated by Val
jean h ad been going since the previous
even i ng and was still going o n excellentl y
, .
He calculated like F au ch el ev en t upon

M
, ,
Father es t i e n n e an d did not suspect the

,
end . Never was a situation more critical or

a calamity more perfect .
The four planks of a co ffi n exh ale a species

Of terrible peace and it seemed as if some Of
,
the repose of the d ead were blended wi th

V alj e an s tran q uillity
’
From the bottom of
.
this coffin he had been able to follow and did

follow all the phases Of the fo r midable d rama
which he performed wi t h death A short .
w h ile after Fau ch e l e ven t had finished nailing

dow n the coffi n lid Valj ean felt himself ,
rai se d an d then carried along Through the .
ces sation of the j ol ting he felt that they had

passed from the pavement to the stam ed p
356 VI CT OR H U G O S W ORKS ’
.
earth t hat is to say the h earse h ad left the

, ,
str eets an d tu rned into the boulevards

, .
From the hollow sound he guessed that he

w as crossing th e bridge of A usterli tz ; at the
first h alt he understood t hat he was entering
,
the cemetery and at the sound he said to

”
himself Here is the grave
, .
He suddenly felt hands seize the coffi n an d ,
then noticed a rumbling grating on the

planks : he guessed that a rope was bei n g
fastened round the coffin in order to let i t
down into the grave A fter this he felt , ,
dizzy for awhile ; i n all probability the men

had made the coffin oscillate and let the head
down before the feet He perfectly recovered .
when he found himself horizontal and motion

less . He felt a certain am ount of cold as a ,
chill and solemn voice w as raised above hi m ,
and he had heard the L atin word s which he ,
di d not understan d pass away so slowly that ,
he could distinguish e ach in turn .
Qu i d or mi u u t m t r r w p
u l ver e ev i gz l abu n t;
'
r
,
tam wt r n am, et aZi i i n a p

p m
'
al i i i n vi r ob r z u ,
at vi d ean t se p
m er
A boyish voice said — De pr o u n di s

f , .
The grave voice began again ,
Re q u i em ce ter n a/ n d on s ei , Domi n o .
The boyish y o i ce replied ,
E t lux pp
er et u a l ace/r t ei !
He heard something like the gentle plash

of rain upon the coffi n lid ; it was probably , ,
the holy water He thought ; I t is finishe d ;

.
and I only need a little patience T he priest .
will go away and Fau ch el e ven t take Mes

,
tienne off to drink I shall be left h ere till

.
Fa u ch el e ven t returns alone a n d I shall get ,

353 VI C T OR H U G O S ‘
W ORKS .
The gravedigger looked at h i m i n amaz e

ment and replied
, ,
What peasant
“
Fau c hel e ve n t repeated ’
I ll pay for the ,
wi ne
What wine
The A rgenteuil .
W h ere is it
”
A t t h e B o n Coing !
”
GO to t h e deuce said the gravedigger , .
A n d he threw a sp adeful of earth o n the

coffin which produced a hollow sound
, .
Fau ch el eve n t tottered and was himself ready ,
to fall into the grave He cried i n a voice .

,
w i th which a death rattle was begi nning to be-
m i ngl ed,
Come along ma t e before th e B on Co i ng

, ,
”
closes.
The gravedigger filled hi s Spade aga i n an d ,

”
Fau ch el eve n t continued I ll pay ’
, .
A n d he se i zed the grave di gger s arm

’
.
L isten to me mate ; I am the convent

,
gravedigger and have come to help you

,
It .
i s a job wh i ch can be done by n i gh t so let us ,

”
begin by going to have a drain .
A n d while speaking while cl i ngi ng to th i s ,
desperate pressing h e mad e the melanchol y,
“
reflection A nd s uppose h e does drink w i ll
, ,
he get drunk
Provincial sai d the gravedigger si nce
, ,
you are so pressing I conse n t We will drink

,
. .
but after work not before ,

.
A nd he raised his spade but Fau ch el even t ,
rest r ained him .
“
I t i s A rgenteuil wine .
Wh y said the graved igger

”
, y ou mu st ,
LES MI SE R A B LES .
35 9
be a bell ringer ; ding dong ding dong

-
, , , .
Y ou can only say that GO an d have yourself

.
”
pulled .
A n d he threw the second shovelful Fau .
ch el ev e n t h ad reached that m oment when a

man is no longer aware of what he says .
”
But come an d dr i nk he cried since I , ,
”
o ff er to pay .
Wh en we have put t h e child to bed said ,
Gr i b i e r .
He thre w the third spadeful an d then

added as he dug the shovel i nto the ground
, ,
I t wil l be very cold to n i ght ! and the -
d e ad woman would hallo after u s if we were

”
to leave her here wi t hou t a blanket .
A t this moment the gravedigger stooped

t o fi l l his spade an d his jacket pocket gaped .
Fau ch el e v en t s wandering glance fell m e

’
c ha n i cal l y into his pocket and remained there .
The su n was not yet hidden by the horizon ,
and there was still su ffi cient light to distin

guish something white at the bottom Of this
gaping pocket .
All the brig htness Of which a Picard p ea

’
sant s eye is capable glistened i n Fau ch el e .
vent s — and an idea had struck him

’
, Un .
noticed by the gravedigger he thrust his hand ,
into his pocket from behind and dre w out the ,
white thing at the bottom The grave—digger .
threw the fourth shovelful i nto the grave ,
and as he hur r ied to raise a fifth Fau ch el e ,
vent looked at h i m W i th profound calmness ,
an d said ,
By the way my nov i ce h ave you you r

, ,
card
? ”
What card
360 VI CT O R HU GO S W O R K S ’
.
The s u n is just going to se t .
Very good it can put on its n i gh t cap

,
” -
.
The cemetery gates will be sh ut .
Well and what then

,
Have you your card

A h my card
, the grav edigger sai d ;
and he felt i n on e pocket and t h en i n an
other he passed into h i s fobs an d turned them
,
inside out .
“ ”
No he said I have not got my card I
, , ,
”
must have forgotten it .
Fi ft een francs fine said Fau ch el ev e n t , .
The graved i gger turned gr een for the pal ,
lor of livid men is green .
“
O h L ord have m ercy upon me b e ex
, ,
l ”
clai med ; fifteen francs fi n e
Three on e hundred sous p i ece said Fau
- -
,
ch el e ve n t .
The gravedigger let hi s shovel fall an d ,

’
Fau ch el even t s turn had arrived .
Come conscript said t h e old gardener

, , ,
“
no despair you need n ot take advantage of
the grave to commit suicide Fifteen francs .
are fifteen francs and besides you can avoid , ,
paying them I am old and you a n e w comer

.
-
,
and I am up to all the tricks and dodges I .
will gi ve you a piece Of frien d ly advice On e .
thing is clear the s u n is setting it is touch

, ,
ing the dome and the cem etery will shut in

,
”
five mi n utes .
“
That is true .
Five minutes will not be enough for you

to fi l l u p thi s grave which is deuced deep , ,
and reach the gates i n time to get out befo r e

they close .
Perfectl y correct .
36 2 VI CT OR u ue o s ’
W ORKS .
And drawing himself u phe folded h is ,
arms so violently that his clenched fists struck

,
h i s shoulders an d cr i ed ,
That i s the way i n
,
”
which I save h i m .
Then the poor ol d man began sobbing and

si l i l o q
uiz ing for it is a mistake to suppo se
,
that there is no s i l i l o q
u y i n nature Power .
ful agitations Ofte n talk aloud

M
.
’
It is Father es t i e n n e s fault Why did .
that ass die Had he any oc cas i on to go Off

the b oo ks so unexpectedly ? It is he who h as
killed Monsieur Madeleine Father Made .
leine he i s i n his coffi n and it is all ove r ,
w i th him Has such a th i ng as this an y com

.
m on sense ? Oh my goodness he is dead !

Well and what shall I do with his little girl
,
?
What will the greengrocer say ? Is it p os
sible that such a man can die in such a Way

When I think how he got under my car t
Father Madeleine Father Mad ele i ne ! By
Heaven he is suff ocated as I sa i d he would
, ,
be and he would n ot believe me Well thi s

,
.
,
is a pretty trick of my p erformance The .
worthy man i s dead the best man among all ,
G od s good people ; and his little one Well

’
,
I shan t go back to the convent but stop here

’
, .
T O have done s uch a thing as this i t is not

worth while being two old men to be two Old
fools . But how d i d he manage to get i nto
the convent that was the beginning and a ,
man ought n ot to do things like that Father .
Ma d ele i ne Madeleine Monsieur Ma d eleine

, , ,
Monsieur l e Maire He does not hear me .
G et out Of it now as best you can .
A nd he tore his hair A shrill grating .
sound was audible at a distance through the

L ES M I SER A B LES .
363
trees ; it was the closing of the cemetery gate .
Fau ch el ev en t bent over Jean Valjean and ,
all at once bounded back to the further en d

Of the grave — Jean V a l j ean s eyes W
’
ere open
an d staring at h i m .
If seeing a death i s fearful see i ng a resur ,
rection is nearly as frightful Fau ch el even t .
became l ike st one H e was pale haggard .

, ,
confounded by such excessive emotion n o t ,
knowing if he had to do with a de ad man or

a living man and looking at Jean Valj ean
, ,
w h o looked at hi m .
I was falling asleep s id V aljean ,

a
.
A n d he sat u p F au ch el even t fell on his

.
knee s .
”
Holy Virgin ! how you frigh tened me !
Then he rose and cried Thank you , ,
Fath er Madeleine !
Jean Valjean had only fainted an d the ,
fresh air arouse d hi m again Joy i s t h e r e .
flux Of terror an d Fau c h el e ven t had almost

,
as much d iffi culty i n recovering himself as

h ad Jean Valjean .
Th en you are not dead ! Oh what a clever ,
fellow you are ! I called to you so repeate d ly

that you came back When I saw your eyes .
‘
closed I said There he i s su ffocated ! I ’
, , ,
should have gone stark mad fit for a strait ,
wais t coat and they would have pu t m e in

,
B i cé t r e What would you have m e d o if you

.
were dead ? and your little girl ? the green

’
grocer s wife would not have understood it
at all A child is left upon her hands and
.
,
the grandfather is d ead ! What a story ! Oh .
my good saints i n Paradise what a s t ory ! ,

”
Well y ou are alive that s the great thing
, ,
’
.
334 VI CT OR H U GO S W OR K S ’
.
I am cold said Valjean , .
This remark completely recalled Fauche

levent to the reality whi ch was urgent
.
, .
These two m en who had scarce recovered , ,
had a troubled m ind they knew not why , ,
which emanated from the gloomy place

where they were .
“
L et us get out Of th i s at once sai d ,
Fau ch el even t .
He felt i n his pocket an d produced a

flask .
But a dram first he said , .
The flask completed what the fresh air

had begun Val j ean drank a mouthful of
.
spirits and regained perfect possession of

himself He got out of the coffi n and
.
,
helped Fau c hel e ven t to nail on the lid again :

three minutes later they were out of the
g r ave .
Fau ch el ev e n t was calm an d took his time , .
T he cem etery was closed and there was n o ,

”
fear of Gr i b i e r returning That conscript .
was at hom e busily seeking his card and

, ,
prevented from finding it because it was in

Fau ch e l e ve n t s pocket Without it h e could
’
.
n ot return to th e cem eter y Fau ch el eve n t .
took the spade and Val jean the pick and , ,
they together buried the empty co ffi n When .
the grave w as fill ed up F au ch el ev en t said , ,
Com e along : you carry the pick and I

”
will carry the spad e .
Jean Valjean fel t som e diffi cul ty I n mov

i ng and walk i ng for i n the co ffi n he had ,
grown st iff and become to some extent a

,
corp se The rigi dity of death h ad seized

.
upon h im between those four planks and he ,

366 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORK S '
.
was th e water cistern a pal l ias se represen ted

-
.
t h e b ed while the floo r filled the place Of

,
cha i rs an d table In on e corner on an Old .

,
ragged piece Of carpet were a thin woman ,
an d a heap of child r en The whole of this .
poor interior displayed Signs Of a co nvulsion ,
an d it s eem ed as if an earthquake for one

ha d taken place there The blankets were .
torn away the rags scat t ered a b out the j ug

, ,
was broken the mother had been cryi ng an d

, ,
the chil d ren probably beaten there were —

,
evident signs o f an obstinate an d sav age

search It was plain that the gravedigger
.
had been wildly looking for his card an d ,
m ade everything in the garret res p onsible for

it from his jug to hi s wi fe He looked d es
, .
perate but Fau ch el eve n t was too eager to

,
notice this sad side of his succ ess : he went

i n and said
, I h ave brought you your sp ade
,
”
and pick .
Gr i b i e r look ed at him i n stupefaction .
Is it you p easant ,
A nd to morrow morning you will find

-
”
your card with the porter of the cemetery .
A n d he placed the shovel an d pick o n the

ground .
”
What does this m ean ? Gr i b i er asked .
It means that you let your card fall out

of you r p ocket that I found it on the ,
grou nd when you had left that I have buried ,
the d ead woman filled up the grave done , ,
your work the porter wi l l give you you r

,
card and you w ill n o t pay fifteen fran cs

,
.
.
That s what it is conscript

’
,
”
Thanks villager said Gr i b i er quite
, , ,
d az zled next t i me I will pay for a b ottle

, .
367
CH A PT ER CX X III .
A S U CC E SSF U L E X A M I N ATI O N .
AN h our later two me n and a child pre

sented themselves i n th e d arkness Of night
at 69 L ittle R ue Fi cp
,
us The elder Of the
.
two men raised the k nocker and rapped .
The t wo men had fetched Cosette from t h e

greengrocer s where Fau ch el even t had left
’
her o n the previou s evening Cosette had .
spent the four and twenty hours in u nder

- -
standing noth i ng and silently trembl i ng ; sh e

,
trembled SO greatly that sh e had not cried ,
n or had she eaten or slept The worthy .
greengrocer had asked her a hundred ques

tions but had only Obtained as answer a
,
gloomy look ever the same Cosette did not

, .
breathe a syl l able of what sh e had seen or

heard during the last t w d days fo r she ,
guess ed sh e was passing th rough acr i s i s and ,

”
felt deeply that sh e m ust be good Who .
has not experienced the sovereign power of

”
the words , say noth ing uttered with a ,
certain accent i n the ear of a little startled

being ? Fear i s d um b ; besides no one can ,
keep a secret like a child .
The onl y th i ng was th at when sh e saw

,
Jean Valjean again after these mournful four

and twenty hours she uttered such a cry of
-
,
joy that any though tful person who had

heard it would have divined i n this cry a h es
cape from a gulf .
F au ch el e ve n t belonged to the convent and ,
knew all the pass word s ; hence doors readily

-
op ened t O him and t hu s was solved t h e

,
368 VICT OR H UGO S W ORKS ‘
.
“
double and startling problem h o w to get ,
”
in and how to get out
, The porter w h o .
,
had his instructions opened the little gate ,
which comm unicated between the cou rt yard -
and the garden i n t h e wall of the former

,
fac i ng the gateway which might stil l be seen

,
fr om the street twen ty years ago The p or .
ter showed them all three through this gate ,
and thence they reached the inner private

parlor where Fau ch el eve n t had rece i ved the
o r d ers of the prioress o n the previou s d ay .
The prioress was waiting for them rosary ,
i n hand and a vocal m other with h e r vei l

, ,
down was standing near her

, A discreet .
candle lit up Or to speak more correctly

, , ,
pretended to light up the parlor The prior , .
ess took a thorough look at Jean Valjean ,
for no eye examines like a drooping o n e .
Then she questioned him .
A re you the b rother

Yes reverend m other
, Fau ch el even t ,
answered .
“ ? ”
Wh at is your name
“
Fau ch el ev e n t answered : Ult i me Fau ch el
”
event .
He had really had a brother Of that name ,
who was dead .
?”
Where do you com e from
F au chel eve n t From Picqu i gny near
. ,
”
Amiens .
“
What is you r age
“ ”
F . Fifty .
Wh at is you r trade
”
F . G ardener .
”
A r e y ou a g ood Ch ristian ?
37 0 V i C T OR H UG O S W ORKS ‘
.
once she h ad prognosticated this felt an af ,
fect i on for Cosette an d gave her a place in ,
the boarding school This is very logical

-
.
,
after all for although there may be n o look

,
ing glasses i n a con vent women are con scious

-
,
of their face Now gi rls who feel them selves

.
,
pretty have a d isclination to tak e the veil

and as profession is generall y i n an inverse
ratio to t h e beauty m ore is hoped from ugly
than from pretty girls .
A ll this adventure aggrandized Fau ch el

event for he had a three fold success —with
,
-
,
Jean Valjean whom he saved and sheltered ;

,
with Gr i b i e r who sa i d to himself he saved

, ,
me fifteen francs ; an d with the convent ,
which thanks to him while keeping the co f ,
fin of Mother Crucifixion u nder the altar ,
eluded C a esar an d sanct i fied G od There .
was a coffi n with a body at the L i ttle Pi cp us ,
and a coffi n wi t hout a body i n the V au gi r ar d

c e metery ; public order was doubtless deepl
y
affected by this but did n o t perceive the fact
, .
A s for the convent i ts gratitude to Fe nchel ,
event was great ; he became t h e bes t of ser

vants an d mos t precious Of gar d eners On
,
‘
the arc h b i shop s very next visit the pr i oress

’
told the whole aff air to t h e G randeur partly in ,
confusion an d partly in a boastful spir it The

, .
archbishop on leaving the convent spoke

, ,
about it applaudin gly an d in a w h i sper to

M
, ,
. de L at i l confessor to monse i gneur and

, ,
af terwards archbish op of R heims an d cardi

n a h The admiration felt for Fau ch el e ven t
travelled all th e way to R ome an d we have ,
seen a letter addressed by the t h en reignin g

pope L eo X II to one of his relatives Mon
, .
, ,
37 1
sign ore i n t h e Paris Nunciature and called

, , ,
like him self Della G enga i n which were the

, ,
following lines It a ppears that t here is

,
at a convent i n Par i s an excellent gardene r ,

”
wh o is a holy man of the name of F au van
, .
Nothing of al l this tr i u mph r eached Fauch e

levent i n his hut ; he went on gr afting hoe ,
i ng and covering his m elon beds quite u n ap

, ,
ware of his excellence an d sanct i ty He no .
more suspected h i s glory than does a Durham

or S urrey steer whose portrait i s published in
the I l l u s tr ated L on don N ews w i th the i n ,
scription T h e ox that ga i n ed th e sh ort h orn

,
-
”
prize .
CH A PT E R CX XIV .
I N TH E CO N V E N T .
COS E TT E i n the convent continue d to be

silent S he naturally thought herself Val
.
jean s daughter but as she knew noth i ng

’
, ,
she cou l d say nothing and i n any case would

,
h ave s aid not hin g as we h ave remarked ; for

,
nothing trains child ren to silence like m is

fortune Cosette had su ffered so greatly that
.
she feared every thing even to speak even to, ,
breathe for a word had so often brought

,
down an avalanche upon her ! S he h ad

scarce begun to grow reassured since she h ad
belonged to Jean Valjean but she gr ew very ,
soon accustomed to the convent The only .
thing she regretted was Cather i ne but sh e ,
did not dare say so ; one day however she , ,

“
remarked to Valjean If I had known I, ,
would have bro ugh t h e r wit h m e .

37 2 VICT OR H UGO S W ORK S '
.
Cosette on becoming a boarder at the con

,
vent w as obliged to assum e the garb of the

,
pupils of the house Jea n Valjean begged .

,
and obta i ned the old clothes she lef t off ; the
,
same mou rning clothes he m ade her put on

w h en h e removed her from the T h é n ar di er s ,
an d they were not much worn Jean Val .
j ean placed these clothes and her sh oes and

stockings w i th a quant i ty of camphor an d
,
other odorous d rugs wi th which convents

abound in a small valise which he m an aged
,
t o procure He placed this val ise o n a ch ai r

.
by h i s b edside an d always had th e key about

,
him .
“ “
Father Cosette asked one day What
, ,
is that box which smells so nice

Father Fau ch el even t i n addition to the ,
glory we have descri b ed and of which he was

ignorant was r ewarded for his good deed ; in
,
t he first place he was happy and i n the , , ,
second place he had m u ch less to do owing

, ,
to the divis i on of labor L as tly as he was .

,
very fond of snuff he h ad from M N a de , .
leine s presence the advantage that he took

’
thrice as much as before and i n a far more

voluptuous m
,
anner because M Madeleine , .
paid for it .
The nuns did not ad e p t t h e name of U l

“
time ; they called Jean Valjean the other
”
Fau v en t Had these holy wom en had any
.
of Jave r t s temper about them they m ust

’
,
have no t iced that when any thing had to be

procured from outside for the garden it was
always the elder Fau v en t the cripple who , ,
went out and never t he other ; but either

,
be cause ey es cons tantl y fixed o n G od know

37 4 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORKS ‘
.
daily with him an d as t h e sisters were sad

,
and he was kind the child compared them

,
an d a d ored hi m A t the fixed hou r she r an

.
to the cottage an d when she entered i t filled

,
it w i th paradise Jean Valjean expanded

.
,
and felt his o wn happiness grow with the

happiness which he caused Co sette The .
joy Which we insp i re has this charming thi ng

about it that far from b eing weakened like
, ,
ordinary reflections it retu rns to u s more

,
radiant than be fore I n her hou rs of recrea

.
tion Jean Valj ean watch ed her from a distance ,
playing an d run ning an d distinguished her

,
laugh from that o f the others for Cosette ,
n ow laughe d . Her face h ad also changed to

a cer ta i n extent for laughter is the s u n which
,
d rives winter from the human face When .
Cosette returned to her studies Jean Valj ean

watched the windows of her school room and -
,
at ni ght would rise to gaze at the windows

o f her dormitory .
G od h as His i nscrutable designs an d the ,
convent contributed like Coset t e t o main, ,
tain and complete t h e bishop s work i n Jean ’
Val j ean It is certain that one of the sides

.
of virtue leads to pride and there is a bridge ,
built there by the demon Jean Valjean .
wa s perhaps unconsciously ve r y near this

bridge when Providence threw him into the
convent of the L ittle Pi cp us S o long as he .
had only compared himself with the bishop ,
he h ad foun d himself unworthy and had ,
b ee n humble b ut for some time past he had

,
b een be ginning to compare himself wit h

me n and pride was growing u p Who knows
,
.
whether h e might not have ended by gently
returning to hatred ?
T h e convent c h ecked h im on this slope ; it
was the second place of captivity which he
had seen I n his youth i n what had been
. ,
to h i m the com mencement of life and again ,
very r ecently he had seen another a fright

, ,
fu l spot a terrible spot whose severities had

, ,
ever appeared to him to be the iniquity of

justice and the cri me of the law A t the .
present d ay after the hulks he saw the con

vent an d reflecting that he h ad been a mem
,
be r of the galleys and was n ow so to speak , ,
a spectator of the convent he anxiously con ,
fronted them i n h i s thoughts .
A t times he leant on his spade and fell ,
into a p rofound reverie He recalled his old

.
comrad es ; h o w wretch ed they were ! They

rose at dawn an d worked till night ; they
were scarce granted tim e to sleep ; they lay
down o n camp beds and were only allowed
mattresses t wo i nches t hi ck ; their rooms
were only warmed i n the severe st m onths of
the year ; they were dressed i n h i d eou s red
jackets ; they were allowed as an ind u lgence , ,
can vas trousers i n the great heat and a ,
woolen ban dage on their b ack i n the severe

cold ; they only ate meat an d drank wine
when they worked o n fatigue parties ; they
lived W ith out names solely designated by
,
numbers lowering their eyes lower i n g their

, ,
voice with shorn hair u nder the sti ck and

, , ,
i n disgrace .
Then his though ts turn ed to the beings

whom he had before h im These beings also
lived with cropped hair downca
.
st ey es and
, ,
V l CT O R H U GO S W ORKS ‘
.
a l o w voice not i n disgrace but amid the

, ,
mockery of the world an d i f their backs were ,
n o t bruised by a stick their shoulders were ,
lacerated by the disc i pline Their names .
had vanishe d to o among human beings an d , , ,
they only exi sted u n d er severe appellations .
They never ate m eat n or d rank wine ; they

often remained wi thout food till night ; they
were dr essed not i n a red jacket but i n a, ,
black woollen pall heavy i n su mmer and ,
ligh t i n winter an d were unable to reduce i t,
o r add to it at all and they we r e for si x ,
months in the year serge chemises whic h ,

'
caused them a fever They slept n o t i n .
rooms warmed merely i n the severe col d but ,
i n cells i n which fires were never kindl ed

they slept n o t on mattresses two inches thick
but o n straw ; lastly they were n ot even al ,
lowed to sleep ; every night after a day of ,
labor they were compelled to get up d ress

, ,
themselves and go an d pray i n a freezing

,
dark chapel with the i r knees upo n the ,
stones On certain days moreover each o f

.
, ,
these beings was obliged in turn to rem ain , ,
for twel ve hours p ro strate o n the groun d ,
w i th h er arms extended l i ke a cross .
The former were men ; the latter were

women What h ad the men d one ? They
.
had robbed violated plun d ere d killed as

, , , ,
sa s si n at ed They were bandits forgers

.
, ,
po i soners incendiaries m urderers and par ri

, ,
cides What had these women done ? No

.
t h ing On one side brigan d age and frau d

.
, ,
cozening vi olence lub r icity homic i d e every

, , , ,
sort of sacrilege every variety of crime ; on ,
the other onl y on e thing— innocence per

, ,
.
bling expi at i on for wh at ? A voice an

:
s wer ed i n his conscience ; the most div i ne

proof o f h uman generosity exp i ati on for ,
others .
Here we lay asi d e any and every personal

theory ; we are only the narrator we are ,
standing i n Jean V alj ean s place and tran s ’

,
ferring h i s i mpressions He h ad before his

.
eyes the sublim e su m mit of abnega tion the ,
highest pinnacle of possible virtue that i n ,
nocence whic h forg i ves men th eir faults an d ,
expiates them i n their p l ace ; serv i tude eu

dured torture accepted punishment de
, ,
man d ed by souls which have not sinne d ,
that they may absolve sou ls which have

erred the love of h u manity swallowed up i n
the love of God but remain i ng distinc t and
,
suppliant i n i t ; gentle feeble beings who .
have the wretchedness of those who are p un
i s h ed a n d t h e sm i le of those who are r e
warded .
A n d he remembered tha t he h ad dared

to complain . He often rose i n the mid .
dl e of the night to listen to the grateful

song of these innocent creatures weighed ,
do wn by severity an d his blood r an cold

,
whe n he thought that me n who were j ustly

chastised only raised their voices to Heaven
to blas pheme and that he wretch as he was
, , ,
had threatened G od It was a s trik i ng.
thing which made h i m reflect deeply an d

, ,
im agine it a warning of Providence that all ,
the th ings he had done to escape from the

other plac e of expiation such as climbing ,
walls d i fli c u l t i es dangerous adventures an d

, , ,
risks of d eath he had gone through again i n

, ,
379
enteri ng the prese nt pl ace Was it a symbol .
of his d estiny
This house was a p ri son too an d bore a , ,
mourn ful likeness to the other abode from

wh ich he had fled and yet h e h ad never
,
had suc h an i d ea here He saw agai n the

.
bars bolts an d iron bars to guard w h om ?

, ,
angels The lofty walls whic h h e h ad seen

.
around tigers he saw again around lambs .
It was a place of expiation and n o t of ,
punishment and yet it was even more au s

,
tere gloomy and pitiless than the other

, .
These virgi ns were m ore harshly bowed than

the galley slaves : a rough cold wind the , ,
wind which had chilled his youth blew ,
through the barred an d padlocked cage of

the vultures ; but a sharper an d mor e painf u l
’
wind passed through the cotes of t h es e doves .
Why was this

When h e though t of th ese t h i n gs all ,
wi thin h i m bowed down before this mystery

of sublimity I n these m edi t ations pri d e
.
van i shed ; he felt himself insig n ificant and ,
wept many times : all that had entered his

life during the past six m onths led h i m back ,
’
to the bishop s holy injunct ions— Cose t te by
love the convent by hum i lity
, .
A t times in those h ou rs of the night when

the garden was d eserted he might ha ve been
,
seen kneeling i n front of that window thro u gh

whic h he had gazed on the n igh t of his ar
ri val turned towards the spot where he knew
,
that the sister wh o was making reparation was

prostrated i n prayer He p r ayed thu s knee l
.
ing before t his si ster— i t seemed as if he

dared not kneel d irectl y to G od .
330 VICT OR l l UGu s
‘
w o ax s .
A ll that su rrounded him this peaceful ,
garden these fra grant flowers these children

. ,
uttering merry cries these grave and simple ,
women these silent cloisters slowly pen e

, ,
t r at ed him and gradually his soul was com

,
posed of silence like this clois t er of perfum e ,
like t h ese flowers of peace like this garden

, ,
of simplicity like these wom en an d of joy ,
like these children A nd then he t hought .
how two houses of G od had in turn received

him at the t wo critica l moments of his life ,
the first when all doors Were closed and h u

man society repulsed him the second at the ,
m oment when human society was beginning

to hunt him down again and the hulks were ,
yawning for him and that had i t not been ,
for the former he would have fallen back

,
into crime an d but for the latter into p un

, ,
i s h men t A ll his heart melted into grati

.
tu d e and he loved more and more

, .
S everal years passed thus an d Cosette ,
grew .
CH A PT E R cxx v
.
LUS PA R V U .
PA R I S has a child and the fores t has a bird

the bird is called a sparro w t he child is calle d ,
a gan i i n .Cou p
le these two id eas t h e o n e ,
which is al l furnace the other al l daw n ; ,
bring t h e t wo sparks Paris and child hood , ,
into colli s ion and a little being is produced

, ,
a homuncio as Plautus would say

,
.
This li ttle being i s joyous he does not eat

every da y and he goes to the theatre every
,
332 VICT OR n v o os w o r ms .
an d shouting out s p eec h es m ad e by the au

t h o r i t i es in favor of
the French peo ple He .
has also a cu rrency of his o w n composed of ,
all the little pieces of copper that can b e

picked up i n the streets This cu rious money .
,
which takes the nam e of l ogaes h as an n u ,
va r yi ng an d well established valu e i n th i s

-
childish Bohemia .
Las tly he has a fauna of h i s own which

, ,
he studiously observes i n every hole an d cor

n er — the lady bird the death s head m oth
’
- -
, , ,
”
the daddy long legs and the devil a black
-
, ,
i nsect which t hreatens by writhing its tail ,
an d which is ar med with t wo horns He h as .
h i s fabulous monster which h as scales o n its ,
belly and is not a lizard and spots o n its

, ,
back but is not a frog ; it lives i n hol es in

,
old lime kilns and dried u p

-
wells ; it is black -
,
h airy slimy an d crawls about at one m o

, , ,
ment slowly at another quickly ; it utters no

,
sound but looks so terrible that no on e has

,
“
ever seen it This monster he calls the drag
.
”
on ,
and looking for it under stones is a ple as
ar e of a formidable nature A nother pleasure .
is suddenly to raise a paving stone and look -
at t h e wood lice E very region of Par i s is

-
.
interesting for the celebrat ed finds wh i ch

m ay be made i n them ; thus t here are ear ,
wigs i n the timber yards of the U rsulines -

,
centipedes at the Pantheon and tadpoles i n ,
the ditches of the C hamps de Mars .
As for witticism s this child is as full of ,
them as Talleyrand ; but though no less eyni

cal he is m ore honest H e is g i fted with an
,
’
.
unforeseen joviality an d startles the shop ,
keeper by his mad laugh His range extends .

LES MI SERA B LES .
383
from genteel com edy to farce A fune r al .
passes and among the persons following is a

,
“ ”
physician H i l l oh l shouts a gamin w h en
.
,
did th e doctors be gin to carry hom e the i r

o w n work
A nother is in a crowd A ser i ou s man .

,
adorned with spectacles and watch se als ,
tu rns indignantly : Y ou scoundrel what do ,

’
you mean by t aking my wife s waist I ,
”
sir ? search me !
CH A PT ER CXXVI .
H E I S A G REE A B LE .
A T n ight thanks to a few half pence which

,
-
h e always contrives to procure the homu ncio ,
enters the thea tre On crossing this magical

.
threshol d he becomes t r an s fi gu r e d ; he was a

gamin an d h e becomes the t i t i Theatres
, .
are li ke overturned vessels which have their ,
keel i n t h e air and the titis cong r egate in

,
the hold The titi i s to the ga min as the

.
butterfl y to the C hrys alis — the s ame being , ,
but now flying and hovering It is sufficient .
for h i m to be present with his radi ant hap ,
p i n e ss h i s power of enthusiasm and delight

, ,
and the clapping of his hands which resem ,
bles the flapp i ng of wings and the narrow —

,
fetid obscu re d irty unheal thy hideous

, , , , ,
abomina b le hold is at once called Paradise .
G ive a being what is u seless and deprive ,
him of what is necessary an d you W l l l have ,
the gamin H e p
'
os s e s s es some literary i n
.
tuition and his tastes we confess it w i th all

, ,
proper regret are not classical He is by n a

, .
ture but little of an ac ademician .

384 VI C T OR n o eo s '
W ORKS .
This being bawls sho u ts ridicules an d , , ,
fights ; wears patches like a babe an d rags ,
like a philosopher : fishes i n the gutter spor ts ,
in the sewers extracts gayety from filth gri ns

, ,
and bites wh istles an d sings applauds and

, ,
h isses tempers the Hallelujah chorus wi t h

M
,
at an tu r u r e t t e h n ms every kno wn tune

, ,
finds withou t looking knows what he is i g ,
n or an t of is a S partan in fi l c hi n g wallows on
, ,
the d u ng heap an d emerges covered w i th

,
stars The gami n of Paris is the b oy Ra b e

.
lais .
He i s not satisfied w i t h his trousers if they

have n o watch pockets -
.
He is surprised at li t tle an d frightened by ,
less ; he sings down supers t itions red uces ex ,
agge r at i o n s pu ts out his tongue at gh osts

, ,
d ep oe t i z e s s t il t s an d introduces cari cat u r e

,
into the most se r iou s a ffai r s It is n o t th at .
he i s prosaic far from it but he substitutes a

, ,
farcical phantasmagoria for solemn vision If .
A damastor were to appear to him the gamin ,
I ”
would say H i l l oh old B e guey
,
C H A PT ER CX XVI I .
H E M AY BE U SEFUL .
P A R I S begins wi t h the badaud and ends

wit h the gamin two bei ngs of which n o other
,
city is capa b le ; th e passive acceptance which

is sa t isfied wi t h looking and the inexhaustible ,
initiative Prudhom me an d Fo u i l l on
,
Paris .
alone has that i n i t s natural history al l the

monarchy is i n the bad aud all the anarchy ,
is i n the gamin This pale child of the fan

.
335 VI CT OR n os es w o nx s .
at an amph ibious scene ; it is the end o f t h e

trees an d t h e begi nnin of t h e roofs the e n d g ,
of the grass an d the beginning of the pave
m ent the e n d of the furrows an d the begi n

,
ning of t he shops the e n d of rule an d the

,
begi n ni ng of passions the en d of the d i vi ne ,
mu rmu r and the beginning o f hu man reason ,
an d all this produces an extraordinary in te r

est ; and such is the m otive of the apparently
objectless walks of the dreamer in those n u
attractive parts which the passer b y at once
,
-
brands with t h e title of sad .
The a u thor o f these lines w as for a long

time a prowler abou t the suburbs of Pari s ,
and it is a source o f profound recollect i on for

him The w orn grass the stony path the
.
, ,
chalk the mar] the pl aster the rough m onot

, ,
ony of ploughed and fallow land the young ,
plants i n the k i tchen garden suddenly no -
ticed i n a holl ow th e mix t u re of the wild an d

,
the tame the vast deserted nooks i n which

,
the garrison drummers hold their noisy school ,
these T heb ai ds by day and cu t throat dens

’
by n i ght the totter i ng m ill tu rning i n the

,
w ind the wheels of the quarries the win e

, ,
s h ops at the corners of the cemeteries the ,
m y s te ri ous charm o f the tall dark walls cut

ting at rig h t angles im mense open fields
bathed i n sunshine an d full of b u t te r fli es — all
this attracted him .
Hardly an y o n e k nows those singular spots ,
la G laci ere la Ci me t t e the hideous wall of

, ,
G renelle p e ck marked wit h b ullets the Mont

-
,
Parn asse the F osse aux L oups the Tombe

, ,
Issoire o r the Pierre Plate de Chat i llon

, ,
w h ere there is an old exhausted q uarry wh i ch ,

LE S M I SERA B LE S .
337
is n ow only empl oyed to grow mu s h r oon s ,
an d i s closed by a heap of rotten boards flush

wit h the grou nd The Campagna of R ome
is an idea an d the banlieue of Paris is an
,
other to see i n what an horizon o ffers us

nough t but fields houses or trees is to r e , ,
main on the su rface ; for all the aspects of

things are the thoughts of God The spot .
where a plain forms its j unction w i t h a town

i s al ways imprin ted w i th a species of pene
t r at i n g melancholy ; for nature an d humanity
address you simultaneously an d local peou ,
li ar i t i es make their appearance there .
A n y o n e who has wondered like we have i n

those solitu d es contiguous to our suburbs ,
which migh t be called the L im bos o f Paris ,
has seen here and there at the m ost d eserted ,
spot and at the most unexpected moment he

, ,
hind ascrubby le dge or i n the corner of som e .
melancholy wall children grouped t u mu l t u

,
ou s l y fetid m ud d y dusty u nkempt an d rag

, , , , ,
ged playing togeth er They are the li t tle runa

, .
ga t es of poor fam ilies : this external boulevard

is their breathing me d ium an d the banl i eu e ,
belongs to them an d they etern ally play tru

,
ant i n it They ingenuously sing there their

.
re p ertory of unclean songs They are there .

,
or to speak more correctly th ey dwell there

, , ,
far from any eye in the gen tle warmth of ,
May or June Circling rou nd a hole in the

.
ground and playing at pitch and toss like ,
i r responsible freed an d ha p py beings so soon

, ,
as they percei ve you they remember that

they have a tra d e and m u st gain there l i vl i
hood and t hey o ff er to sell you an old wool
,
stocking full o f May bugs or a spray of lilac -

.
388 V I CT OR H UGO S W ORKS ‘
.
S uch a meeting with c h an ce chil d ren is o n e

o f t h e charm i ng an d yet poignant graces o f , ,
en vironed Pa r i s .
S ometimes there are gi rls among the h eap

of boys — are they the ir sisters ? — almost
,
grown up thin feverish sunbu rnt and

, , , ,
freckled crowned with wheat ears and p

, op -
pies ; gay h aggar d an d barefooted You may

, , .
se e them eatin g cherries among the wheat ,
an d at nigh t hear them laugh These grou ps .

,
wa r mly illum inated by the bri ght light of

m i dday or seen i n the twilight for a long
, ,
tim e occupy the dreamer an d t h ese v i sions ,
are m i ngled with his dream s .
Paris is t h e centre the banlieu e is th e ci r ,
cu mf er en ce that is the whole earth for

—
,
these children They n ever ve n ture beyond

.
it and can no m ore leave the Parisian at

,
mos p h er e than a fish can live out of water .
With them there is not h ing beyond two

leagues from the b ar r i é e ; Ivry G entilly A r , ,
cu e i l ,
Belleville A ubervilliers hi e n i l mon
, ,
tant Choisy l e R oi Bellancou rt Meud on

, , , ,
Issy V au v r e s S evres Puteaux Neuilly Gen

, , , , ,
n ev i l l i e r s Colombes R om ainville Chalon

, , , ,
A sni eres Bougival , Nante r re E nghien , , ,
Noisy l e sec Nogent G ou r n ay Drancy and

- -
, , , ,
G onesse — at these places their universe ends .
CH A PT ER CXXVIII .
A SM ALL B I T OF H I STO R Y .
A T the al most contemporary period w h en

this stor y happene d there was not as at the ,
present day a policeman at every street cor

,
‘
390 VI C T OR HU GO S W O RK S .
families thus broken up should not kn ow

what becom es o f their children and allow ,
their entra i ls t o fall u pon the public way .
Hence these obscure destinies an d this sad

thing has become proverbial and is kno w n ,
”
as being cast on the pavement of Paris .
L et us remark parenthetically that such

desertio n of children w as not discou raged by
the old monarchy A little of the B ohemian
.
and E gyptian element i n the lower cl as se s

suited the higher spheres and the powerf u l ,
ones profited by it Hatred of national edu

.
cation was a dogma ; o f what good were half

lights ? S uch was the sentence an d t he ,
vagabond boy is the corollary of t h e ignorant

boy Besides the mon archy som etimes want
.
,
ed lads an d then it skimmed the streets I n

,
.
the reign of Louis X IV to go no further .

,
back the king wished rightly enough to

, , ,
create a fleet The idea was good but let us

.
,
look at the means No fleet is possible u n

.
,
less you have b y the side of the sailing vessels ,
which are the playthings of the winds vessels , ,
which can be sent wherever may be necessary ,
or be used as tugs i mpelled by oars or st eam ;

,
an d in those days galleys were to the navy

what steam vessels n o w are Hence galleys
-
.
,
were needed but galley s are only moved

,
through the galley slave and hence the latter

-
,
m ust be procured Colbert ord ered the pro

.
vinci al attendants and parliament t o pro ,
du ce as many convicts as they could an d the ,
m agi strates displayed great comp l aisance i n

the matter A man kept o n his hat when a
.
p roce ss ion p as sed ; that was a Hugueno t atti

tude and he was sent to the galleys A boy
, .
LES M I SERAB LES .
39 1
was m et i n the street ; provided that he was

fifteen years of age and h ad n o place to
,
sleep i n he was sent to the galleys It was a

,
.
great re ign — a great age .
I n the reign of L ouis X V ch il dren di sap .
pe e red i n Paris ; the pol i ce carried them o ff

and no o n e knew for what myster i ou s em
.
ployment Monstrous conjectures were w h i s

.
pered as to the k i ngs purple baths It som e .
times happened that when boys ran short ,
the exempts seized such as had parents ; and

the parents i n their despair attacked the ex ,
em pts I n such a case parliament inter

.
f er e d an d hanged— w h om the exemp ts ? no ,
the fathers .
The Parisian gam in almost forms a caste ,
and we might say that a boy does not becom e

so by w i shing T he word gami n was printed
.
for the first time and passed from the p e pu

,
lace into literatu re in 1 8 34 It m ad e its

, .
first appearance i n a work called Claude

G ueux : the scandal was great; but the word
has remained The elem ents that con stitute
.
the consideration of gamins among o n e an

other are very varied We knew and petted
.
one who was greatly respected and adm i red

,
because he had seen a man fall off the towers

of Notre Dame ; another becau se he had ,
managed to enter the backyard in which the

statu es of the dome of the Invalides were
temporarily deposi ted an d steal lead off ,
them ; another because he had seen a d ili

,
g i e n c e upset ; another because he knew a sol

,
dier who had all but put out the eye of a

civilian Th i s explains the exclamation of
.
the Par i sian gamin at which the vul g ar

,
892 VI CT OR H U OO S
‘
W ORK S .
l aughed withou t understanding its depth .
“
D ieu de D i eu ! h o w unlucky I am 1 just think
that I never s aw an y body fal l from a fi fth
”
floor ! A ssuredly it was a n eat rem ark of
the peasants Father S o an d S o your wife ,
has died o f her i ll ness : why did you not send

for a doc tor W hat would y ou have sir ?
”
we poor people d i e of our selves But if all .
the passiveness of the peas ant is contained i n

this remark all the free thinking anarchy of
,
-
the faubourien will be found i n the foll ow

ing : a man condemned to death is listeni ng to
the confessor i n th e cart and the child of ,
Paris protests He is tal king to the skull

,
cap Oh the capon !

.
,
’
A cer tai n boldness i n religious matters

elevates the gamin and it is important for ,
h im to be strong min d ed Being present at -

.
executions is a du ty with him He points at .
the guillotine and laughs at it and calls it by ,
all sorts of pet names end of the soup ; the ,

—
grumbl er ; the sky blue m other ; the last -
m outhfu l etc I n order to lose none of the

, .
sight he cl i mbs up walls escalades balconies

, , ,
mounts trees hangs to gra t ings an d clings

, ,
t o chimney pots A gamin is born to be a

-
.
slater as another is to be a sailor and he is

, ,
no more frightened at a roof than at a m ast .
No holiday is e q ual to the Gr é v e and S am ,
so n and the A b b e Montes are the real pcp u
lar f etes The sufferer is hooted to en co u r

.
age him and i s som etimes admired

,
.
L acen air e wh en a gamin seeing the frightful

, ,
Dau t r em die bravely uttered a remark which ,
contained hi s f u tu re faith I was jealous ,
I n gami n d o m Voltaire is unknown

”
of him .
,
394 VIC TO R n uo o s
'
w o ax s .
into the S eine and all possible infr actions of

th e laws of decency S till the police are on
.
t h e watch an d hence results a highly d r ama

,
e
tic situation which once gave rise to a pater

,
nal an d memorable cry This cry which b e .
came celebrated about 1 8 30 i s a st r aget i c ,
warning from ga mi n to gamin ; it can b e

sc a nned like a verse of Homer with a nota ,
tion almost as indescribable as the E l eu si ac

song of the Panathen a ea i n which the ancient ,
Evoh e may be traced O he T i ti o h é é e

, , , ,
here s the sergeant pack u p

’
,your traps an d ,
be o fi through the sewer .
S omet i mes this gad fly — that is the name -
he gives himself— can read sometimes he can ,
write an d draw after a fashion He does n o t

, .
hesitate to acquire by some mysterious mu

,
tual instruction al l the talents which may

,
be useful to the public cause From 1 8 1 5 to .
1 8 30 he imitated the cry of a t urkey ; fr om

1 8 30 to 1 8 4 8 he drew a pear upon the walls .
O ne su mmer evening L ouis Philippe r e , ,

~
tu rning home on foot saw a very little scamp ,
struggl i ng to raise hi m self high enough to

draw with charcoal a gigantic pear on the pil
lar of the Neuill y gates and the king with that ,
kindness which he inherited from Henr i IV .

,
helped the gamin to finish the pe ar and gave

hi m a louis saying ,
“
The pear is o n that
,
”
too . The gami n likes a commotion an d ,
any violent con di tion pleases him He ex .
cerates the curés On e day a young scamp

.
was seen taking a sight at a gateway of No .
“
6 9 R ue de l U n i v er s i t é Why are you doing
’
, ,
that to that gate ap ? ”

as s er b y asked him ; -
“
the lad answered A cu r é lives there
, The .
LE S M I S ERA B LES .
395
Pa p al Nuncio i n fact resided there S till .

,
however great the gamin s V ol t ai r i an i s m may ’
be if the opportun i ty is o ff ered h i m of being

,
a chorister he may possibly accept and i n

, ,
that cas e serves i n all politely There are .
two things of w h ich he is the Tantalus an d ,
which b e constantly desires withou t ever

being able to attain them — to overthrow th e ,
government and have his trousers reseated .
The gam in i n a perfect state is acq u ainted

, ,
wit h all the police of Paris and when he ,
m eets one can always give a name to his face

,
.
He num bers them o n his fingers stud i es ,
their names an d h as his special notes about

,
each He reads the mi nds of the police like

.
an open book an d will say curiously and ,
without hesitati ng S o and so is a tr ai tor

, ,
s o and so is v er y w i cked so an d so is g r eat , ,
so an d so is r i di cu l ou s ( the Italicized words

have all a peculiar meaning i n his mouth ) .
This on e believes that t h e Pont N e u f belongs

to him and prevents th e w or l d from walking
,
o n the cornice outside the parapet ; another
has a mania for pulling the ears of p er son s ,
etc etc
.
, .
C H A PT ER CXXX .
TH E OLD S OU L or GA U L .
T H I S lad m ay be traced i n Poquelin a son ,
of the Halles an d again i n B eaumarchais

, ,
for gami n i e r i e is a lingo of the G allic temper .
When blended wi th comm on sense it at ,
times adds stren gth i n the same way as alcohol

w h en mixe d with w i ne : at other times it is a
'
396 VI CT OR n uo o s '
W ORKS .
fault Homer it is t r ue repeats hi mse l fy an d

.
, ,
we m i gh t say that Volta i re plays the gamin .
Camille Desmeu l i n s was a faubourien C ham

p
.
i o n n e t who abused
, miracles issued from ,
the pavement of Paris ; when quite a lad he ,

“ ”
inundated the porticoes of S aint Jean de
Beauvais and S ain t E tienne de Mont an d ,
was on s uch fam i liar terms with the shrine of

S ain t G enevi eve as eventually to give his
orders to the vial of S t J an u ar i u s . .
The Parisian gamin is respe c tful ironical , ,
an d insolent He has bad teeth because he

.
is badly fed and his stomach su ff ers and fi n e ,
eyes becau se he h as talent He would hop .
u p the steps of Paradise in the very presence

of Jehovah He is c l ever at the savate an d
.
,
all creeds are possible to h i m He plays i n .
the gutter and draws himself up at the soun d

,
of an emeute ; h i s e fl r o u t er y cannot be sub

'
dued by grapeshot ; he w as a vagabond an d

becomes a hero and like the little Theban
, ,
he shakes t h e lion s skin Barra the dru m

’
.
m er w as a Parisian gamin ; he shoute d For ,
ward and i n an instant became a giant .
This child of the mud is also the child of the

ideal ; to see this we need only m easure the
distance between Moli ere and Barra .
I n a word the gamin is a being who

,
am u ses h i mself because he is unhappy The

,
.
gamin of Paris at the present day like the

'
G ra e culus of R ome i n former time is the ,
youthfu l people with the wrinkle of the old

world on its forehead The gamin is a grace .
for a nation and at th e same time a malady

, ,
a m alad y which must be cured I n what .

v rc r o a n u c o s W ORK S
'
393
'
.
arm wit h G renadier V ad eb on coeu r ; Damas i p

p us the broker would be happy am ong the
d ealers i n b r i e d b r ac ; Vincennes would hold
- -
S ocrates u nder l ook j ust as the A gora would

,
pounce on Dide r ot ; G rimod de la Regniere

discovered roast beef with tallow i n the same
-
,
way as Cu r ti l l u s invented roast hedgehog .
We have seen the trapeze of whic h we read

i n Plau tu s reappear under the balloon of the
A r c de l E t o i l e ; the sword swallower of
’
Paa c i l e met by A pulei us is a swallower of se,
bres o n the Pont N oeu f ; Ram ean s nephew ’
an d Cu r cu l i o n the parasite form a pa i r ; E rga

si t es wo u ld h ave himself introduced to Cam
b ace r es by d A i gr e f u i l l e ; the fou r fops of
’
R ome A l cesi mar ch u s Ph ce d r o mu s Dica

, , ,
bolus an d A r gi r y p
, p u s descend the Co u r t i l l e
i n L ab at u t s postchaise A ulus Gel l i u s

'
stopped before Congr i o n o longer than Char

les N od i er did before Pu nchinello ; M ar t en i s
n ot a tigress but Pa ,
r dal i s ca was n ot a drag
on . Pan t o l ab u s h umbugs N o men t amu s the ,
gourmet at the café A nglais ; H er mogen es i s

,
the Tenor i n the Champs E lys ees and Thra ,
sins the beggar dressed as Bob ech e carri es

,
‘
rou nd the hat for him the troublesome fel

l o w who catches hold of your coat button i n -
the Tuileries m akes you rep eat after t wo

th ousand years the apostrophe of T h e sp er o n ,
— uis
Q ppr o er a n t e m m e p r el i en d i l
p a l l i o ?
T h e wine of S u r esn e is a parody of the wine

o f A lba P ere La Chai se exhales i n the night
showers the sam e gleam s as the E sq u i l i ze ;
’
an d the poor man s grave bought for five
q
years is quite e ual t o t h e hi red coffi n of t he
S lave .
99
S eek for any thing which Pari s has not .
The tub of T r op h o n i u s contains nothing

which is not in Mesmer s trough E r gap ’
h i l as
is resuscitated i n Cagliostro ; the Brahmin
V as ap h an ta is incarcerated in the Count de
S t G ermain ; and the cemetery of S aint Me
.
dard performs quite as good miracles as the

Ou mou mi e Mosque at Damascus Paris has .
an E sop i n Mayeux and a Canidia in Mad e

,
mo i s el l e L e n or man d ; it is startled as Delphi

was by the flaming realities of the vision ; it
makes tables turn as Do d ona did tripods ; it
places a grisette upon a throne as R ome
placed a courtesan : an d after all if L ouis , ,
Quinze is worse than Claudius Madame Du ,
barry is better than Messalina Paris com .
bines i n an extraordinary typ e wh at is d ead

an d what we have elbowed G reek n udity ,
—
,
the Hebrew ulcer and G ascon puns It

, .
mixes u pDiogenes Job an d Paillasse dres

, , ,
s e s a ghost i n old numbers of the Co n s t i t u t i on
n el and makes Ch o d r u cn i t o a Duclos

, .
“
A lthough Pl utarch say s that t h e tyrant
”
never goes to sleep R ome u nder S ylla as
, ,
u n d er Domitian was resigned and liked to

, ,
m ix water with its wine The Tiber was a .
L ethe if we may believe th e somewhat d o c

,
t r i n ai r e eulogi um which Varus V i b i s cu s made

of it ; Con t r a Gr aocl l os T i b er i m i z abemu s .
B i b er e Ti b er i m, i d s ed i ti on e m obl i v z s ci
’
es t .
Pari s drinks a million quarts of water a day .
but that does not prevent it from beating the

tattoo an d ringing the alarm bell when the
opportunity o ffers .
With this exception Paris is good natured ;

,
-
it acce pts every thin g roy all y ; it is n ot dith

V i e ro n n e c o s W ORK S
‘
400
' '
.
cult i n th e matter of its Venus ; its Callipyge

i s a Hotten t ot ; provided that it laughs 1 t ,
forgives ; uglin ess amuses it deformi ty d oes ,
i t good an d vice dist r acts it ; if you ar e d roll

,
you may be a scoundrel ; even hypocris y that ,
supreme cynicism does not revol t it ; it is so,
li terary that it does n ot hold its nose o n

p as sing Basile an d is n o more scandalized by
,
Tart u fe s prayer than Ho r ace was terrifi ed by

’
“ ”
the hiccough of Pri apus No featu re of .
the h uman face is wanting i n the profile of

M
Paris ; the Balle ab i l l e is n ot the Pol yh y mn
i an dance of the Janiculum bu t the brothel ,
keeper has her eyes fixed o n the Loretto

there exactly as the procuress S tap
,
hyl a
watched the Virgin Pl an es i u m The Barriere .
des Combats is n ot a Col i sa eu m but people ,
are as ferocious there as i f Caesar we r e look

ing on The S yrian h ostess h as more grace
.
than Mother S agu et but if Virgil frequented ,
the Roman wine sho p David of A ngers -

, ,
Bal z ac an d Ch ai l et have seated themselves

,
i n Parisian pot houses Paris reigns geniuses

-
.
,
flash i n it and red tails prosper A donai s

,
-
.
passes through it i n his t wel v e w h eel ed car of

thunder and lightning ; and S ilenus makes
h is entrance on his barrel For S ilenus read .
Ram ponneau .
Paris is the syn onym of Cosmos ; Paris is

’
Athens R om e Sybaris Jerusalem and

, , , ,
Pantin A l l civilizations are found there

.
abridged but so are all barbarisms Pari s

, .
would be very sorry not to have a gu illotine ,
a little of the Place de G r eve is useful for ,
what would this eternal fes tival be without

that seasoning ? The laws have wisely pro
G A VR OC H E .
—V l cto r H ugo . V ol VI
. .,
9.
LES MI S ERA B LE S .
401
v i d ed for th at and thank s to t h e m t h e , ,
k n ife drains drops of blood upon this Mardi

G ras .
CH A PT ER CXXXI .
TH E R E I GN or R I D I C U LE .
T H E R E are no limits to Paris and no other ,
city has held this sway which at times de

rides those whom it holds in subjection To .
please you O A thenians , A lexander ex

claimed Paris made more than the law for
.
,
it sets the fashion ; and it makes more than

fashion for it produces routine Paris may
, .
be stupid i f it think p roper ; at times it i n

,
d u l ges i n that luxury and then the u niverse ,
is s tupid with i t ; but Pa r is soon wakes up ,
rubs its eyes says H o w St upid I am an d , , ,
laughs in the face of the human race What .
a m arvel such a city is h ow strange it i s to

find this grandeu r and this b u fl oon er y side
by side to see h o w all this majesty i s not de
,
ranged by this pa r ody and the same mon t h ,
to day blowing the trumpet of the last

-
ju d gm ent and to m orrow a penny wh i stle l

,
-
Paris has a sovereign gayety but the gayety ,
is lightning and its farce holds a sceptre

, .
Its hurricane at times issues from a furnace ;

its explosions its days its m asterpieces its
, , ,
pro d igi es its epics go to the end of the

, ,
world and so do its cock and b ull tales Its

, .
laugh is the crater of a volcano which b e

spatters the world ; an d its jok es are sparkles
of fire It imposes upon nations its carica
.
tures as well as its ideal and the loft i est ,

402 VI CT OR H U G O S W OR K S ’
.
mon um ents of hu ma n civilization accept i ts

iron i es and lend the i r eternity to i ts jokes .
It is s u p u r b ; i t h as a prodigious July 1 4 ,
whic h delivers the globe ; its night of A ugust

4 dissol ves in three hours a thousand years
of feudalism ; it multiplies itself i n every
form o f sublimi ty ; it fi l ls with its lustre
Was hi n gton K os ci u s co Bolivar B ot z ar i s
, , , ,
R iego B em Manin Lopez John Brown an d

, , , , ,
G aribaldi It is found wherever the fu ture

.
burst s i nto a flas h — at Bos t on i n 1 77 9 at the

, ,
Isle of L eon i n 1 820 at Pesth i n 1 8 4 8 at , ,
Palermo i n 1 8 60 ; it wh i spers the powerful

“ ”
watc h word -
L iber ty i n the ear of the
A m erican abol itionists assembled at Harper s ’
Ferry and i n that of the patriots of A ncona

,
assembled i n the darkness before the G oz zi

i n n o n the seas hore ; it creates Canaries it
, ,
creates Quiroga ; it creates Pisacane it rad i ,
ates grandeur upon the earth ; i t was by

going whither its blast impelled him that
Byron died at Missolonghi and Mazet at ,
Barcelona ; i t is a tribun e under the fee t of

Mirabeau and a crater under those of Robes
,
pierre ; its books plays arts science litera

, , , ,
ture and philosophy are the manuals of the

, ,
h uman race ; it h as Pascal R egnier Corneille , , ,
Descartes and Jean Jacques ; Voltaire for

, ,
an y moment Moli ere for all ages ; it makes

,
the universal mouth Speak its language ; it

const ructs i n every m ind t h e idea of progress ;
the liberating dogm as which it fuse s are well
tried friends for generations an d it is with ,
mind of i ts thi n kers and i ts poets that al l

the heroes of all nations have been form ed
since 1 7 8 9 S till this does not p
. revent it
404 VI CT OR H U GO ‘S W ORK S .
ble flash goes from the touch of Prometheu s

t o the short clay pipe of Cambronne .
A s for the Parisi an people even when fu ll ,
grown it is always the gamin De p

, ict ing .
the l ad is depicting the c i ty an d that is the ,
reason why we have stud i ed the eagle i n the

sparrow .
The Parisian ra ce we say again is found

, ,
most truly i n the faubourg ; there it is p ure

.
blooded th ere we fi n d the real physiognomy

, ,
there the p eople wo r k an d su ffer and toil ,
and suffering are the two faces of the man .
There ar e there imm ense numbers of strange

beings among whom may be found t h e wild
,
est typ es fr e m the porter of la R ap

, i e t o the
q uarry man of Montfau c on F re e: u r b t s , ,
Cicero exclaims ; m ob B urk e adds i n d i g , , ,

~
na n t l ; a crowd a multi t ud e a population

y , , ,
these words are quickly u t t ere d ; but no mat

ter what d o I care that they go about bare
foot ? They cannot read ; all the worse .
Will you abandon th em on that account ?

Will you convert their distress into a cu rse
Cannot light penetrate these m asses ? Let
us revert to that cry of light and insist upon
it Li ght light ! who knows whether this
.
,
op aq u e n ess may not become transparent

? for
are not revolutions them selves t r an s fi gu r a
tions ? Come philosophers teach enlighten
, , , ,
ill u mi ne think al oud sp eak loudly ru n joy

, , , ,
fu lly in t o the sunshine fraternize with the ,
pu blic places announce the gl ad tidings

, ,
spre ad alphabets around proclaim the right , ,
sing the Marseillaise sow enthusiasm and

pluck green branches from the oaks M
, ,
ake .
a w h irlwind o f t he i dea This crow d may .

LE s MI SERA B LES .
405
be sublimated so let us learn h ow to make

,
use of that vast con fl agr at i o n of principles

and v i rtues wh i ch crackles and bursts into
,
a flame at certain hours These bare feet .

,
these naked arms these rags this ignorance

, , ,
this abjectn ess this darkness m ay be em

, ,
ployed for the conquest of the ideal L ook .
through the people an d you will perceive the ,
t r ut h ; the vile sand which you trample

under fe e t when cast into the furnace and
,
melted will becom e splendid crystal and b y

, ,
its aid G alileo an d Newton discover planets

, .
CH A PT ER CX XX II .
L I TT LE G A V R OCH E .
E I G HT or nine years after the events

recorded i n the second portion of this story ,
there might b e noticed on th e Boulevard d u

“
Temple and i n the regions of the Ch ateau

d E au a boy of about eleven or twelve years
’
,
of age who would have tolerably well real

,
i z ed the ideal of a gamin as sketched above ,
h ad he not had with the smile of his age on

,
h is lips a heart absol utely gloomy and void

, .
T h is child was dressed in a man s trousers ’

,
b u t he h ad n o t got them from his father and ,
a wom an s j ack et w h i ch did not come from

’
, .
his mother S ome person s had clothed h i m

.
i n rags out of charity Y et h e had a father .
and a mother but his father did not think

,
of him and his mother di d not love him

, .
He was on e of t h ose c h ildr en worthy of pity

before all who have father an d mother and
,
are orphans .
This child was never so comfortable an y

where as i n the street fo r the paving ston es ,
-
were less hard to him than his mother s ’
heart His parents had kicked him out i n to

.
life and he had simply tr i ed h i s w i ngs He

, .
was a noisy pale active sharp imp udent

, , , ,
lad w ith a cunn i ng an d sickly look He

, .
cam e an d went sang play ed at hopscotc h , , ,
searched the gutters p ilfered a little but , ,
gayly like cats and sparrows laughed w h en

, ,
h e was called a scamp an d felt angry when ,
called a th ief He had no bed no bread no

.
, ,
fire no love : but he was happy because he

,
was free When these poor beings are men

.
,
the mill of social order nearly always crushes

them but so long as they are children they
,
escape because they are small The slightes t .
hole saves them .
S till so abandoned as this chil d w as i t

, ,
happened every two or three m onths that h e

’
said ,
Well I ll go an d s ee mamm a Then
, .
he qu i tted the Boulevard the Circus the , ,
Po r te S t Martin wen t along the quay

.
, ,
crossed the bridge reached the S alp et r i é r e , ,
an d arrived — where ? E xactly at that

double No 5 0— 5 2 which the reader knows
.
, ,
the Ma i son G e rbeau A t this period No 5 0 .

, .
—5 2 which w a s habitually deserted and e t er

, ,
nally decorated with a bill of Lodgi ngs to

L et w as strange to say inhabited by several
, , ,
persons who had n o ac quaintance with each

,
other as is always the case i n Paris A ll he

,
‘
.
belonged to that indigent cl ass which begin s ,
with the las t small trades man i n diffi culti es ,

4 08 VICT OR H UGO S W ORKS ‘
.
“ ”
and h e answe r ed From th e street wh en
,
:
? ”
he went away Where are you going
, an d
“ ”
he answered To the street
, His m other .
”
would say to him What d o you want h ere ?
,
The boy lived i n this absence of affection

like the pale grass which grows i n cellars .
He w as not hu rt by it being so and was not ,
angry with any one : he did not know ex

act l y h o w a father a n d m other ought to be .
Moreover his mother loved his sisters

, .
We have forgotten to mention that on the

Boulevard the lad was called L ittle G avroche .
Why was he called G avroche ? probably b e ,

’
becau se his father s name was J on d r et te .
Breaking the thread seems the instinct of

some wretched families The room which.
the J o n d r et t es occupied at the Maison G or

beau was the l ast i n the passage and the ,
cell next to it was occupied by a very poor

young m an of the nam e of Monsieur Marius .
L et us state who this Monsieur Ma r i us was .
CH A PT E R CXXX III .
N I N E T Y Y E A R S A ND T W O A ND T H IRTY TE E TH
- -
.
T H E RE are still a few persons residing in

t h e R u e B o u ch e r at R ue de Normandie and
, ,
R ue de S aintonge who can re member a gen

,
t l e man of t h e name of M G illenormand and .

,
speak kin d ly about him This m an was old .
when they were young and this profile has,
not entirely disappeared with those who look,
sa d ly at the vague co n gregation of shadows

called the past from t h e labyrinth o f streets
,
near the Tem p le which in the reign of L ouis

,
LES MI SER A B LES .
409
X IV received the nam es of all the prov i nces

.
of France exactl y in t h e sam e w ay as i n our

,
time the names of all the capitals of E urope

have been given to the streets i n the n ew
Tivol i quarter ; a prog r ession by the bye i n , ,
which progress i s visi b le .
M G illenormand who was most lively i n

.
,
1 83 1 was one of those me n who have b e

,
com e curious to look on solely becau se they ,
h ave l i ved a long time and are strange b e , ,
cause they once resembled everybody and n o w

no longer resemble anyone He was a p ecu .
liar old man and most certainly the man of

,
another age the complete and rather haughty

,
bourgeois of the eighteenth century who ,
carried his honest old bo u rgeoisie wit h the

same air as marqu ises d i d their marqui sate .
H e h ad passed his ninetieth year walked ,
upright talked loudly saw clearly dran k

, , ,
heartily an d ate slept an d snore d He still

, , .
had h is two and thirty teeth and only w e r e

- -
,
spectacles to read with He was o f an .
amorous temper b u t said that for the last

,
t e n years he had decidedly an d entirely

gi ven u p the sex “
He could not please
.
,
he said ; and h e did n o t add I am too old ,

“
b ut'
I am too poor If I were n o t ruined
.
— h e he he l ” In fact all that was left

, , ,
hi m w as an i ncom e of about fiftee n thou

sand francs His dream was to make a large
.
inhe r itance and have one hun d red thousand

,
francs a year i n order to k eep m istresses

, .
A s we see he did not belong to that weak

,
vari ety of octogenarians who like M de , , .
Voltai re were d ying all their life ; his lon

,
gev i ty was n o t that o f the cracked j ug an d ,

VIC T OR H U GO S W ORKS ‘
.
t hi s jolly old gentleman had constantly e n

joyed good heal th He was su p . erfic ial ,
r apidly a n d easily a n gered an d he would ,
storm at the sligh test thing most usually an ,
absurd trifle When he w as contradicted he

.
,
raised h is cane and th ras h ed h is people as

, ,
folks used t o do i n the great age He had a .
daughter upwards o f fifty years of age and

unmarried whom he gave a hear ty thrashing
,
t o wh en he was i n a passion an d w h om h e ,
would have liked to whip for he fan cied her ,
eight years of age He boxed his servant s

.
’
ears energetically and would say , Ah , ,

“
carrion On e of his oaths was B y the ,
p fl
a n to o u ch e of the
pau t ou flocb ad e !
”
His
t r anqu i llity was curious ; he was shaved every
m o r n i ng by a barber who had been mad and
who d etested him for he was jealous of M
, .
G illenorman d o n account of his wife who ,
was a pretty little coquette M Gi l l en o r . .
mand ad mired hi s o wn disce r nment in every

thing an d declared h i mself extremely saga
,
cions Here is o n e of his remarks

. I have , ,
‘
i n truth some penetration
, I am able to .
say when a flea bites m e from what woman ,
I caugh t it The words h e employed m ost

frequently were “
the sensi t ive man ”
and .
“
nature but he did not give to the latter
,
word the vast acceptation o f o u r age B u t .
there w as a certai n amou nt of homeliness in

”
hi s satirical remarks Nature he would.
,
say “ an xious that civilization may have a

,
little of everything even gives i t specimens

,
of amusing barbarism E urope has speci .
mens of A sia an d A frica i n a redu ced size ; , ,
the cat is a d r a wi ng room tiger the lizard a

-
,
41 2 VI CT OR H U GO S W ORKS
‘
.
one h undred He had had t w o wi ves His

. .
manners were mi d way be t w een th ose of the

cou rtier wh i ch he had never been and of
, ,
the barrister which he mi ght have been He .
was gay an d pleasing w h en he liked ; i n his

youth he h ad been o n e of those me n w h o ar e
al ways deceived by their wives and never by
their mistresses because t h ey are at once the
,
most disagreeable husbands and the most

charm ing lovers i magi nable He was a con .
n o i ss e u r o f pictures an d had i n his bed ,
room a marvellous portrait Of somebody u n

kno wn painted by J o r d ae n s i n a bold s tyle
, ,
an d with an i n fi n i t u d e of d etails M G il . .
l en o r man d s coat was not i n the style of

’
Louis X V o r even L ou is X VI but i t was

. .
,
i n the style of the I n cr e d i b l es o f t h e Di r e c

tory He had believed himsel f qu i te a you th
.
at t hat time and followed t h e fas h ions His

, .
coat was of light clot h wi th large cu ffs he ,
wore a long cod pigtail an d large steel but -

,
tons A dd to these k n eeb r ee ch es an d buckle

.
shoes He always had his hands i n his fobs

.
,
and said authoritati vely The F renc h Revo ,
l u t i on i s a collection of r agamu ffi n s
”
.
C HA PT ER C XXX IV .
C E NT E N A R I A N A S PI R A I I ON S
'
.
A T the age of sixteen when at the Ope r a ,
o n e nigh t h e had the honor of being ex

,
-
ami n ed sim ultaneously by t w o beauties at ,
that time cele b rated and sung by Vol taire l a ,
Camargo and L a S alle ,

Caught between .
41 3
two fires he beat an heroic retreat upon a

,
little danci n g girl of the name o f N ah e u r y

-
,
si xteen years of age like h imself Obsc ure as , ,
a cat of who m he was enamoured He

, .
abounded i n recollections and would ex ,
claim , How pretty that G u i mar d G uimar -
dini Gu i mar d i n e tt e was the last time I saw

-
,
her at L o n gchamps with her hair dressed i n

,
susta i ned feel i ngs her come and see the m

,
’ ’
of turquoises her dress of the color of

,
‘ne wly arrived people and her m uff of ’

,
He had w o r n i n h is youth a ~
jacket of Nain L on d e u r to whic h he was

-
,
“
fond of alluding I was dressed like a
”
Tu rk of the L evantine L evant Madam e .
B o u fll er s seeing h i m accidentally when he

,
was twenty years of age d eclared hi m to be ,

”
a charming madcap He was scandalized .
at all the names he s aw i n poli tics an d po wer ,
an d consi d ered them l o w and bou rgeois He .
read the jou rnals the n ewsp ap

, er s the ga ,
z el tes ,as he called the m an d burst into a ,
“
lau g h . Oh he would say wh o are ,
these people ? Cor b i é r e ! Humann ! C asi

m ir Perrier ! there s a mi nistry for you ! I
’
can imagine this i n a paper M G i l l en o r ,

.
man d m inister ; it would be a farce but they

, ,
are so stupid that i t m igh t easily happen

'
.
He lightly called everything by its proper or

im p roper nam e and was n o t checked by the
presence Of ladies ; and h e u ttered coarse
n ess obsceni t y an d fi lth with a peculiarly
, , ,
cal m and slightly amazed accent i n which ,
was elegance That was the i n di ff erence Of

.
his age for we may dra w a t t en t io n to the

,
fac t that t h e season of paraphrases i n verse

‘
4 14 VICT OR H UGO S W O RK S .
was tha t o f cru dities i n prose His grand .
fat h er had predicted th at he would b e a man

of genius and gave h i m the two sig n ificant
,
Christ i an n am es L uc E sprit , .
He gained pri zes i n his youth at the col lege

of Moulins i n which town he was born an d
, ,
was crowned by the hand of the Du e de Niv

er n ai s w h om he called the D u e de Neve r s
, .
N either the convention the death of L ouis ,
X VI Napoleon n or the return of the Bour

.
, ,
bons h ad efl aced the recollection of this

,
c oronation T h e duc d e Nevers was to hi m

.
the grand figu re of the age What a charm .
” “
ing nobleman he would say
, and how ,
well his blue ribbon becam e hi m ! I n the

eyes of M G illenormand Cather i ne I I r e
.
, .
paired the crime o f the divi s i on of P oland ,
by purchasing of B es t u ch efl for three thou ,
sand rubles the secret of the elixir Of gold

, ,
and on t his point he would gro w animated .
“
The elixir of gold h e would exclaim .
B e s t u c h eff s yellow tincture and the drops

’
of G eneral L amotte were i n the 1 8 th centu ry , ,
at one louis the half ounce bottle the grand

-
,
remedy for love catastrophes the panacea ,
agains t Venus L ouis X V sent two h u n

. .
”
dred bottles o f it to th e Pope He would .
have been greatly exasp er ated had he been

told that the gold elixir i s no thing but per
chloride of iron M G illenormand adored. .
the Bou rbons an d held 1 78 9 i n horror ; he

,
incessantly described i n what way he had es

caped duri ng the reign of terror an d h o w he ,
h ad been obliged to display great gayety an d

wit i n order not to have his head cu t o ff If .
any young man dared i n his presence to

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LesMiserables 10190139

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L ES MI S E RA B L E S .

J A VE R T placed Jean Valjean i n the town

an extraordinary co mmotion in but

good that he had done was forgotten an d he ,

was only a galley slave It is but fair to say

though that they did not yet know the d e

tails o f the aff air at A rras The w hole day .

through co n versations like the following

could be heard i n al l parts of the town

— Who is ? The mayor nonsense M Made

l eine — Yes R eally

Madelei ne bu t some hideous thing like B e

jean B oj ean Boujean — O h my goodness

He has been arrested and will remain in the ,

to wn gaol till he is removed — R e move d l .

where to — H e will be tried at the assizes for

p e ct e d that man for he was too kind too

perfect too devout H e refused the cross

an d gave h alf pence to all the little scam p

he met I al ways though t that there was

some black story behind .

The drawing room s greatly improved

the occasion A n ol d lady who subscribed

to the D r ap eau b l an c made this remark , ,

whose depth i t is almost imp ossible to

It is t hus that the phantom which called

servant was o n e o f them On the eve n ing of .

the same day this worthy old woman was

i ndulging 1 11 sad thoughts The factory h ad .

be en closed all day the gates were bol t ed , ,

and the street was d es erted Th ere was n o .

on e in the house but th e two nuns who were ,

hour when M Madeleine was wont to come

in the worthy porteress rose mechanically

from a drawer and the candlestick which he

used at nigh t to go up stairs then she hung

as i f she expected him Then she sat down .

again an d began t hi nking The poor old .

woman had done all this unconsciously S he .

di d not break off her reverie for two or thr ee

opening which seized th e key and lit th e

candle by hers The porteress raised h er

eyes and stood w i th gaping mouth but she

repressed the cry which was i n her throat

coat s leeve as belonging to M Madeleine

It was som e minu tes ere she could speak for ,

describing the adventure .

S he stopped for the end of the sentenc e

would have been disrespectful to the ﬁrst

was so b u t I pulled out a bar leaped o u t

and here I am I am going up to m y room

go and fetch S ister S implice who doubtless ,

The old servant hastened to obey he said ,

nothing further to h er for he was quite sure ,

that she would guard hi m better than he

managed to get into the yard without h av

about hi m a m aster key which opened a lit ,

tle s i de door but he must have been searched

an d this key taken from him This point .

was n ot cleared up He went up t h e stairs .

that led to his room and 0 11 reaching the ,

landing left the candle on the top stair

closed his window and shutters and then ,