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Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

CHAPTER I—FULL LIGHT

2140 words  |  Chapter 335

The reader has probably understood that Éponine, having recognized through the gate, the inhabitant of that Rue Plumet whither Magnon had sent her, had begun by keeping the ruffians away from the Rue Plumet, and had then conducted Marius thither, and that, after many days spent in ecstasy before that gate, Marius, drawn on by that force which draws the iron to the magnet and a lover towards the stones of which is built the house of her whom he loves, had finally entered Cosette’s garden as Romeo entered the garden of Juliet. This had even proved easier for him than for Romeo; Romeo was obliged to scale a wall, Marius had only to use a little force on one of the bars of the decrepit gate which vacillated in its rusty recess, after the fashion of old people’s teeth. Marius was slender and readily passed through. As there was never any one in the street, and as Marius never entered the garden except at night, he ran no risk of being seen. Beginning with that blessed and holy hour when a kiss betrothed these two souls, Marius was there every evening. If, at that period of her existence, Cosette had fallen in love with a man in the least unscrupulous or debauched, she would have been lost; for there are generous natures which yield themselves, and Cosette was one of them. One of woman’s magnanimities is to yield. Love, at the height where it is absolute, is complicated with some indescribably celestial blindness of modesty. But what dangers you run, O noble souls! Often you give the heart, and we take the body. Your heart remains with you, you gaze upon it in the gloom with a shudder. Love has no middle course; it either ruins or it saves. All human destiny lies in this dilemma. This dilemma, ruin, or safety, is set forth no more inexorably by any fatality than by love. Love is life, if it is not death. Cradle; also coffin. The same sentiment says “yes” and “no” in the human heart. Of all the things that God has made, the human heart is the one which sheds the most light, alas! and the most darkness. God willed that Cosette’s love should encounter one of the loves which save. Throughout the whole of the month of May of that year 1832, there were there, in every night, in that poor, neglected garden, beneath that thicket which grew thicker and more fragrant day by day, two beings composed of all chastity, all innocence, overflowing with all the felicity of heaven, nearer to the archangels than to mankind, pure, honest, intoxicated, radiant, who shone for each other amid the shadows. It seemed to Cosette that Marius had a crown, and to Marius that Cosette had a nimbus. They touched each other, they gazed at each other, they clasped each other’s hands, they pressed close to each other; but there was a distance which they did not pass. Not that they respected it; they did not know of its existence. Marius was conscious of a barrier, Cosette’s innocence; and Cosette of a support, Marius’ loyalty. The first kiss had also been the last. Marius, since that time, had not gone further than to touch Cosette’s hand, or her kerchief, or a lock of her hair, with his lips. For him, Cosette was a perfume and not a woman. He inhaled her. She refused nothing, and he asked nothing. Cosette was happy, and Marius was satisfied. They lived in this ecstatic state which can be described as the dazzling of one soul by another soul. It was the ineffable first embrace of two maiden souls in the ideal. Two swans meeting on the Jungfrau. At that hour of love, an hour when voluptuousness is absolutely mute, beneath the omnipotence of ecstasy, Marius, the pure and seraphic Marius, would rather have gone to a woman of the town than have raised Cosette’s robe to the height of her ankle. Once, in the moonlight, Cosette stooped to pick up something on the ground, her bodice fell apart and permitted a glimpse of the beginning of her throat. Marius turned away his eyes. What took place between these two beings? Nothing. They adored each other. At night, when they were there, that garden seemed a living and a sacred spot. All flowers unfolded around them and sent them incense; and they opened their souls and scattered them over the flowers. The wanton and vigorous vegetation quivered, full of strength and intoxication, around these two innocents, and they uttered words of love which set the trees to trembling. What words were these? Breaths. Nothing more. These breaths sufficed to trouble and to touch all nature round about. Magic power which we should find it difficult to understand were we to read in a book these conversations which are made to be borne away and dispersed like smoke wreaths by the breeze beneath the leaves. Take from those murmurs of two lovers that melody which proceeds from the soul and which accompanies them like a lyre, and what remains is nothing more than a shade; you say: “What! is that all!” eh! yes, childish prattle, repetitions, laughter at nothing, nonsense, everything that is deepest and most sublime in the world! The only things which are worth the trouble of saying and hearing! The man who has never heard, the man who has never uttered these absurdities, these paltry remarks, is an imbecile and a malicious fellow. Cosette said to Marius:— “Dost thou know?—” [In all this and athwart this celestial maidenliness, and without either of them being able to say how it had come about, they had begun to call each other _thou_.] “Dost thou know? My name is Euphrasie.” “Euphrasie? Why, no, thy name is Cosette.” “Oh! Cosette is a very ugly name that was given to me when I was a little thing. But my real name is Euphrasie. Dost thou like that name—Euphrasie?” “Yes. But Cosette is not ugly.” “Do you like it better than Euphrasie?” “Why, yes.” “Then I like it better too. Truly, it is pretty, Cosette. Call me Cosette.” And the smile that she added made of this dialogue an idyl worthy of a grove situated in heaven. On another occasion she gazed intently at him and exclaimed:— “Monsieur, you are handsome, you are good-looking, you are witty, you are not at all stupid, you are much more learned than I am, but I bid you defiance with this word: I love you!” And Marius, in the very heavens, thought he heard a strain sung by a star. Or she bestowed on him a gentle tap because he coughed, and she said to him:— “Don’t cough, sir; I will not have people cough on my domain without my permission. It’s very naughty to cough and to disturb me. I want you to be well, because, in the first place, if you were not well, I should be very unhappy. What should I do then?” And this was simply divine. Once Marius said to Cosette:— “Just imagine, I thought at one time that your name was Ursule.” This made both of them laugh the whole evening. In the middle of another conversation, he chanced to exclaim:— “Oh! One day, at the Luxembourg, I had a good mind to finish breaking up a veteran!” But he stopped short, and went no further. He would have been obliged to speak to Cosette of her garter, and that was impossible. This bordered on a strange theme, the flesh, before which that immense and innocent love recoiled with a sort of sacred fright. Marius pictured life with Cosette to himself like this, without anything else; to come every evening to the Rue Plumet, to displace the old and accommodating bar of the chief-justice’s gate, to sit elbow to elbow on that bench, to gaze through the trees at the scintillation of the on-coming night, to fit a fold of the knee of his trousers into the ample fall of Cosette’s gown, to caress her thumb-nail, to call her _thou_, to smell of the same flower, one after the other, forever, indefinitely. During this time, clouds passed above their heads. Every time that the wind blows it bears with it more of the dreams of men than of the clouds of heaven. This chaste, almost shy love was not devoid of gallantry, by any means. To pay compliments to the woman whom a man loves is the first method of bestowing caresses, and he is half audacious who tries it. A compliment is something like a kiss through a veil. Voluptuousness mingles there with its sweet tiny point, while it hides itself. The heart draws back before voluptuousness only to love the more. Marius’ blandishments, all saturated with fancy, were, so to speak, of azure hue. The birds when they fly up yonder, in the direction of the angels, must hear such words. There were mingled with them, nevertheless, life, humanity, all the positiveness of which Marius was capable. It was what is said in the bower, a prelude to what will be said in the chamber; a lyrical effusion, strophe and sonnet intermingled, pleasing hyperboles of cooing, all the refinements of adoration arranged in a bouquet and exhaling a celestial perfume, an ineffable twitter of heart to heart. “Oh!” murmured Marius, “how beautiful you are! I dare not look at you. It is all over with me when I contemplate you. You are a grace. I know not what is the matter with me. The hem of your gown, when the tip of your shoe peeps from beneath, upsets me. And then, what an enchanted gleam when you open your thought even but a little! You talk astonishingly good sense. It seems to me at times that you are a dream. Speak, I listen, I admire. Oh Cosette! how strange it is and how charming! I am really beside myself. You are adorable, Mademoiselle. I study your feet with the microscope and your soul with the telescope.” And Cosette answered:— “I have been loving a little more all the time that has passed since this morning.” Questions and replies took care of themselves in this dialogue, which always turned with mutual consent upon love, as the little pith figures always turn on their peg. Cosette’s whole person was ingenuousness, ingenuity, transparency, whiteness, candor, radiance. It might have been said of Cosette that she was clear. She produced on those who saw her the sensation of April and dawn. There was dew in her eyes. Cosette was a condensation of the auroral light in the form of a woman. It was quite simple that Marius should admire her, since he adored her. But the truth is, that this little school-girl, fresh from the convent, talked with exquisite penetration and uttered, at times, all sorts of true and delicate sayings. Her prattle was conversation. She never made a mistake about anything, and she saw things justly. The woman feels and speaks with the tender instinct of the heart, which is infallible. No one understands so well as a woman, how to say things that are, at once, both sweet and deep. Sweetness and depth, they are the whole of woman; in them lies the whole of heaven. In this full felicity, tears welled up to their eyes every instant. A crushed lady-bug, a feather fallen from a nest, a branch of hawthorn broken, aroused their pity, and their ecstasy, sweetly mingled with melancholy, seemed to ask nothing better than to weep. The most sovereign symptom of love is a tenderness that is, at times, almost unbearable. And, in addition to this,—all these contradictions are the lightning play of love,—they were fond of laughing, they laughed readily and with a delicious freedom, and so familiarly that they sometimes presented the air of two boys. Still, though unknown to hearts intoxicated with purity, nature is always present and will not be forgotten. She is there with her brutal and sublime object; and however great may be the innocence of souls, one feels in the most modest private interview, the adorable and mysterious shade which separates a couple of lovers from a pair of friends. They idolized each other. The permanent and the immutable are persistent. People live, they smile, they laugh, they make little grimaces with the tips of their lips, they interlace their fingers, they call each other _thou_, and that does not prevent eternity. Two lovers hide themselves in the evening, in the twilight, in the invisible, with the birds, with the roses; they fascinate each other in the darkness with their hearts which they throw into their eyes, they murmur, they whisper, and in the meantime, immense librations of the planets fill the infinite universe.
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Chapters

1. Chapter 1 2. CHAPTER XIV—WHAT HE THOUGHT 3. CHAPTER XIII—LITTLE GERVAIS 4. CHAPTER IX—A MERRY END TO MIRTH 5. CHAPTER III—THE LARK 6. CHAPTER XIII—THE SOLUTION OF SOME QUESTIONS CONNECTED WITH THE 7. CHAPTER II—HOW JEAN MAY BECOME CHAMP 8. CHAPTER VII—THE TRAVELLER ON HIS ARRIVAL TAKES PRECAUTIONS FOR 9. CHAPTER XI—CHAMPMATHIEU MORE AND MORE ASTONISHED 10. CHAPTER V—A SUITABLE TOMB 11. CHAPTER XIX—THE BATTLE-FIELD AT NIGHT 12. CHAPTER II—IN WHICH THE READER WILL PERUSE TWO VERSES, WHICH ARE OF 13. CHAPTER III—THE ANKLE-CHAIN MUST HAVE UNDERGONE A CERTAIN PREPARATORY 14. CHAPTER VIII—THE UNPLEASANTNESS OF RECEIVING INTO ONE’S HOUSE A POOR 15. CHAPTER X—HE WHO SEEKS TO BETTER HIMSELF MAY RENDER HIS SITUATION 16. CHAPTER XI—NUMBER 9,430 REAPPEARS, AND COSETTE WINS IT IN THE LOTTERY 17. CHAPTER V—A FIVE-FRANC PIECE FALLS ON THE GROUND AND PRODUCES A TUMULT 18. CHAPTER X—WHICH EXPLAINS HOW JAVERT GOT ON THE SCENT 19. CHAPTER XI—END OF THE PETIT-PICPUS 20. CHAPTER VIII—FAITH, LAW 21. CHAPTER IV—IN WHICH JEAN VALJEAN HAS QUITE THE AIR OF HAVING READ 22. CHAPTER VII—IN WHICH WILL BE FOUND THE ORIGIN OF THE SAYING: DON’T 23. CHAPTER IX—CLOISTERED 24. CHAPTER VII—THE GAMIN SHOULD HAVE HIS PLACE IN THE CLASSIFICATIONS OF 25. CHAPTER VIII—IN WHICH THE READER WILL FIND A CHARMING SAYING OF THE 26. CHAPTER XIII—LITTLE GAVROCHE 27. CHAPTER VIII—TWO DO NOT MAKE A PAIR 28. CHAPTER V—THE UTILITY OF GOING TO MASS, IN ORDER TO BECOME A 29. CHAPTER VIII—MARBLE AGAINST GRANITE 30. CHAPTER VI—RES ANGUSTA 31. CHAPTER VI—THE SUBSTITUTE 32. CHAPTER IX—ECLIPSE 33. CHAPTER IV—COMPOSITION OF THE TROUPE 34. CHAPTER I—MARIUS, WHILE SEEKING A GIRL IN A BONNET, ENCOUNTERS A MAN 35. CHAPTER XIII—SOLUS CUM SOLO, IN LOCO REMOTO, NON COGITABUNTUR ORARE 36. CHAPTER XVI—IN WHICH WILL BE FOUND THE WORDS TO AN ENGLISH AIR WHICH 37. CHAPTER XXII—THE LITTLE ONE WHO WAS CRYING IN VOLUME TWO 38. CHAPTER VI—ENJOLRAS AND HIS LIEUTENANTS 39. CHAPTER IV—AN APPARITION TO MARIUS 40. CHAPTER VIII—THE CHAIN-GANG 41. CHAPTER II—MOTHER PLUTARQUE FINDS NO DIFFICULTY IN EXPLAINING A 42. CHAPTER VI—OLD PEOPLE ARE MADE TO GO OUT OPPORTUNELY 43. CHAPTER II—IN WHICH LITTLE GAVROCHE EXTRACTS PROFIT FROM NAPOLEON THE 44. CHAPTER III—THE VICISSITUDES OF FLIGHT 45. CHAPTER IV—THE TWO DUTIES: TO WATCH AND TO HOPE 46. CHAPTER VI—MARIUS BECOMES PRACTICAL ONCE MORE TO THE EXTENT OF GIVING 47. CHAPTER VII—THE OLD HEART AND THE YOUNG HEART IN THE PRESENCE OF EACH 48. CHAPTER III—M. MABEUF 49. CHAPTER V—ORIGINALITY OF PARIS 50. CHAPTER I—SOME EXPLANATIONS WITH REGARD TO THE ORIGIN OF GAVROCHE’S 51. CHAPTER VI—RECRUITS 52. CHAPTER VIII—MANY INTERROGATION POINTS WITH REGARD TO A CERTAIN LE 53. CHAPTER III—THE EXTREME EDGE 54. CHAPTER III—GAVROCHE WOULD HAVE DONE BETTER TO ACCEPT ENJOLRAS’ 55. CHAPTER VII—GAVROCHE AS A PROFOUND CALCULATOR OF DISTANCES 56. CHAPTER IV—GAVROCHE’S EXCESS OF ZEAL 57. CHAPTER IX—EMPLOYMENT OF THE OLD TALENTS OF A POACHER AND THAT 58. CHAPTER XX—THE DEAD ARE IN THE RIGHT AND THE LIVING ARE NOT IN THE 59. CHAPTER XXIV—PRISONER 60. CHAPTER VI—FUTURE PROGRESS 61. CHAPTER V—IN THE CASE OF SAND AS IN THAT OF WOMAN, THERE IS A FINENESS 62. CHAPTER VII—ONE SOMETIMES RUNS AGROUND WHEN ONE FANCIES THAT ONE IS 63. CHAPTER IX—MARIUS PRODUCES ON SOME ONE WHO IS A JUDGE OF THE MATTER, 64. CHAPTER XII—THE GRANDFATHER 65. CHAPTER I 66. CHAPTER II—MARIUS, EMERGING FROM CIVIL WAR, MAKES READY FOR DOMESTIC 67. CHAPTER IV—MADEMOISELLE GILLENORMAND ENDS BY NO LONGER THINKING IT A 68. CHAPTER VI—THE TWO OLD MEN DO EVERYTHING, EACH ONE AFTER HIS OWN 69. CHAPTER VIII—TWO MEN IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND 70. CHAPTER IV—THE IMMORTAL LIVER 71. CHAPTER II—THE OBSCURITIES WHICH A REVELATION CAN CONTAIN 72. CHAPTER IV—ATTRACTION AND EXTINCTION 73. CHAPTER III—A PEN IS HEAVY TO THE MAN WHO LIFTED THE FAUCHELEVENT’S 74. CHAPTER VI—THE GRASS COVERS AND THE RAIN EFFACES 75. CHAPTER I—M. MYRIEL 76. CHAPTER II—M. MYRIEL BECOMES M. WELCOME 77. 1712. This palace was a genuine seignorial residence. Everything about 78. CHAPTER III—A HARD BISHOPRIC FOR A GOOD BISHOP 79. CHAPTER IV—WORKS CORRESPONDING TO WORDS 80. CHAPTER V—MONSEIGNEUR BIENVENU MADE HIS CASSOCKS LAST TOO LONG 81. CHAPTER VI—WHO GUARDED HIS HOUSE FOR HIM 82. CHAPTER VII—CRAVATTE 83. CHAPTER VIII—PHILOSOPHY AFTER DRINKING 84. CHAPTER IX—THE BROTHER AS DEPICTED BY THE SISTER 85. CHAPTER X—THE BISHOP IN THE PRESENCE OF AN UNKNOWN LIGHT 86. CHAPTER XI—A RESTRICTION 87. CHAPTER XII—THE SOLITUDE OF MONSEIGNEUR WELCOME 88. CHAPTER XIII—WHAT HE BELIEVED 89. CHAPTER XIV—WHAT HE THOUGHT 90. CHAPTER I—THE EVENING OF A DAY OF WALKING 91. CHAPTER II—PRUDENCE COUNSELLED TO WISDOM. 92. CHAPTER III—THE HEROISM OF PASSIVE OBEDIENCE. 93. CHAPTER IV—DETAILS CONCERNING THE CHEESE-DAIRIES OF PONTARLIER. 94. CHAPTER V—TRANQUILLITY 95. CHAPTER VI—JEAN VALJEAN 96. CHAPTER VII—THE INTERIOR OF DESPAIR 97. CHAPTER VIII—BILLOWS AND SHADOWS 98. CHAPTER IX—NEW TROUBLES 99. CHAPTER X—THE MAN AROUSED 100. CHAPTER XI—WHAT HE DOES 101. CHAPTER XII—THE BISHOP WORKS 102. CHAPTER XIII—LITTLE GERVAIS 103. CHAPTER I—THE YEAR 1817 104. CHAPTER II—A DOUBLE QUARTETTE 105. CHAPTER III—FOUR AND FOUR 106. CHAPTER IV—THOLOMYÈS IS SO MERRY THAT HE SINGS A SPANISH DITTY 107. CHAPTER V—AT BOMBARDA’S 108. CHAPTER VI—A CHAPTER IN WHICH THEY ADORE EACH OTHER 109. CHAPTER VII—THE WISDOM OF THOLOMYÈS 110. CHAPTER VIII—THE DEATH OF A HORSE 111. CHAPTER IX—A MERRY END TO MIRTH 112. CHAPTER I—ONE MOTHER MEETS ANOTHER MOTHER 113. CHAPTER II—FIRST SKETCH OF TWO UNPREPOSSESSING FIGURES 114. CHAPTER III—THE LARK 115. CHAPTER I—THE HISTORY OF A PROGRESS IN BLACK GLASS TRINKETS 116. CHAPTER II—MADELEINE 117. CHAPTER III—SUMS DEPOSITED WITH LAFFITTE 118. CHAPTER IV—M. MADELEINE IN MOURNING 119. CHAPTER V—VAGUE FLASHES ON THE HORIZON 120. CHAPTER VI—FATHER FAUCHELEVENT 121. CHAPTER VII—FAUCHELEVENT BECOMES A GARDENER IN PARIS 122. CHAPTER VIII—MADAME VICTURNIEN EXPENDS THIRTY FRANCS ON MORALITY 123. CHAPTER IX—MADAME VICTURNIEN’S SUCCESS 124. CHAPTER X—RESULT OF THE SUCCESS 125. CHAPTER XI—CHRISTUS NOS LIBERAVIT 126. CHAPTER XII—M. BAMATABOIS’S INACTIVITY 127. CHAPTER XIII—THE SOLUTION OF SOME QUESTIONS CONNECTED WITH THE 128. CHAPTER I—THE BEGINNING OF REPOSE 129. CHAPTER II—HOW JEAN MAY BECOME CHAMP 130. CHAPTER I—SISTER SIMPLICE 131. CHAPTER II—THE PERSPICACITY OF MASTER SCAUFFLAIRE 132. CHAPTER III—A TEMPEST IN A SKULL 133. CHAPTER IV—FORMS ASSUMED BY SUFFERING DURING SLEEP 134. CHAPTER V—HINDRANCES 135. CHAPTER VI—SISTER SIMPLICE PUT TO THE PROOF 136. CHAPTER VII—THE TRAVELLER ON HIS ARRIVAL TAKES PRECAUTIONS FOR 137. CHAPTER VIII—AN ENTRANCE BY FAVOR 138. CHAPTER IX—A PLACE WHERE CONVICTIONS ARE IN PROCESS OF FORMATION 139. CHAPTER X—THE SYSTEM OF DENIALS 140. CHAPTER XI—CHAMPMATHIEU MORE AND MORE ASTONISHED 141. CHAPTER I—IN WHAT MIRROR M. MADELEINE CONTEMPLATES HIS HAIR 142. CHAPTER II—FANTINE HAPPY 143. CHAPTER III—JAVERT SATISFIED 144. CHAPTER IV—AUTHORITY REASSERTS ITS RIGHTS 145. CHAPTER V—A SUITABLE TOMB 146. CHAPTER I—WHAT IS MET WITH ON THE WAY FROM NIVELLES 147. CHAPTER II—HOUGOMONT 148. CHAPTER III—THE EIGHTEENTH OF JUNE, 1815 149. CHAPTER IV—A 150. CHAPTER V—THE QUID OBSCURUM OF BATTLES 151. CHAPTER VI—FOUR O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON 152. CHAPTER VII—NAPOLEON IN A GOOD HUMOR 153. CHAPTER VIII—THE EMPEROR PUTS A QUESTION TO THE GUIDE LACOSTE 154. CHAPTER IX—THE UNEXPECTED 155. CHAPTER X—THE PLATEAU OF MONT-SAINT-JEAN 156. CHAPTER XI—A BAD GUIDE TO NAPOLEON; A GOOD GUIDE TO BÜLOW 157. CHAPTER XII—THE GUARD 158. CHAPTER XIII—THE CATASTROPHE 159. CHAPTER XIV—THE LAST SQUARE 160. CHAPTER XV—CAMBRONNE 161. CHAPTER XVI—QUOT LIBRAS IN DUCE? 162. CHAPTER XVII—IS WATERLOO TO BE CONSIDERED GOOD? 163. CHAPTER XVIII—A RECRUDESCENCE OF DIVINE RIGHT 164. CHAPTER XIX—THE BATTLE-FIELD AT NIGHT 165. CHAPTER I—NUMBER 24,601 BECOMES NUMBER 9,430 166. CHAPTER II—IN WHICH THE READER WILL PERUSE TWO VERSES, WHICH ARE OF THE 167. CHAPTER III—THE ANKLE-CHAIN MUST HAVE UNDERGONE A CERTAIN PREPARATORY 168. CHAPTER I—THE WATER QUESTION AT MONTFERMEIL 169. CHAPTER II—TWO COMPLETE PORTRAITS 170. CHAPTER III—MEN MUST HAVE WINE, AND HORSES MUST HAVE WATER 171. CHAPTER IV—ENTRANCE ON THE SCENE OF A DOLL 172. CHAPTER V—THE LITTLE ONE ALL ALONE 173. CHAPTER VI—WHICH POSSIBLY PROVES BOULATRUELLE’S INTELLIGENCE 174. CHAPTER VII—COSETTE SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE STRANGER IN THE DARK 175. CHAPTER VIII—THE UNPLEASANTNESS OF RECEIVING INTO ONE’S HOUSE A POOR 176. CHAPTER IX— THÉNARDIER AND HIS MANŒUVRES 177. CHAPTER X—HE WHO SEEKS TO BETTER HIMSELF MAY RENDER HIS SITUATION WORSE 178. CHAPTER XI—NUMBER 9,430 REAPPEARS, AND COSETTE WINS IT IN THE LOTTERY 179. CHAPTER I—MASTER GORBEAU 180. CHAPTER II—A NEST FOR OWL AND A WARBLER 181. CHAPTER III—TWO MISFORTUNES MAKE ONE PIECE OF GOOD FORTUNE 182. CHAPTER IV—THE REMARKS OF THE PRINCIPAL TENANT 183. CHAPTER V—A FIVE-FRANC PIECE FALLS ON THE GROUND AND PRODUCES A TUMULT 184. CHAPTER I—THE ZIGZAGS OF STRATEGY 185. CHAPTER II—IT IS LUCKY THAT THE PONT D’AUSTERLITZ BEARS CARRIAGES 186. CHAPTER III—TO WIT, THE PLAN OF PARIS IN 1727 187. CHAPTER IV—THE GROPINGS OF FLIGHT 188. CHAPTER V—WHICH WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE WITH GAS LANTERNS 189. CHAPTER VI—THE BEGINNING OF AN ENIGMA 190. CHAPTER VII—CONTINUATION OF THE ENIGMA 191. CHAPTER VIII—THE ENIGMA BECOMES DOUBLY MYSTERIOUS 192. CHAPTER IX—THE MAN WITH THE BELL 193. CHAPTER X—WHICH EXPLAINS HOW JAVERT GOT ON THE SCENT 194. episode of the thousand-franc bill. She had seen it! She had handled 195. CHAPTER I—NUMBER 62 RUE PETIT-PICPUS 196. CHAPTER II—THE OBEDIENCE OF MARTIN VERGA 197. CHAPTER III—AUSTERITIES 198. CHAPTER IV—GAYETIES 199. CHAPTER V—DISTRACTIONS 200. CHAPTER VI—THE LITTLE CONVENT 201. CHAPTER VII—SOME SILHOUETTES OF THIS DARKNESS 202. CHAPTER VIII—POST CORDA LAPIDES 203. CHAPTER IX—A CENTURY UNDER A GUIMPE 204. CHAPTER X—ORIGIN OF THE PERPETUAL ADORATION 205. CHAPTER XI—END OF THE PETIT-PICPUS 206. CHAPTER I—THE CONVENT AS AN ABSTRACT IDEA 207. CHAPTER II—THE CONVENT AS AN HISTORICAL FACT 208. CHAPTER III—ON WHAT CONDITIONS ONE CAN RESPECT THE PAST 209. CHAPTER IV—THE CONVENT FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF PRINCIPLES 210. CHAPTER V—PRAYER 211. CHAPTER VI—THE ABSOLUTE GOODNESS OF PRAYER 212. CHAPTER VII—PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED IN BLAME 213. CHAPTER VIII—FAITH, LAW 214. CHAPTER I—WHICH TREATS OF THE MANNER OF ENTERING A CONVENT 215. CHAPTER II—FAUCHELEVENT IN THE PRESENCE OF A DIFFICULTY 216. CHAPTER III—MOTHER INNOCENTE 217. CHAPTER IV—IN WHICH JEAN VALJEAN HAS QUITE THE AIR OF HAVING READ 218. CHAPTER V—IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO BE DRUNK IN ORDER TO BE IMMORTAL 219. CHAPTER VI—BETWEEN FOUR PLANKS 220. CHAPTER VII—IN WHICH WILL BE FOUND THE ORIGIN OF THE SAYING: DON’T LOSE 221. CHAPTER VIII—A SUCCESSFUL INTERROGATORY 222. CHAPTER IX—CLOISTERED 223. CHAPTER I—PARVULUS 224. CHAPTER II—SOME OF HIS PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTICS 225. CHAPTER III—HE IS AGREEABLE 226. CHAPTER IV—HE MAY BE OF USE 227. CHAPTER V—HIS FRONTIERS 228. CHAPTER VI—A BIT OF HISTORY 229. CHAPTER VII—THE GAMIN SHOULD HAVE HIS PLACE IN THE CLASSIFICATIONS OF 230. CHAPTER VIII—IN WHICH THE READER WILL FIND A CHARMING SAYING OF THE 231. CHAPTER IX—THE OLD SOUL OF GAUL 232. CHAPTER X—ECCE PARIS, ECCE HOMO 233. CHAPTER XI—TO SCOFF, TO REIGN 234. CHAPTER XII—THE FUTURE LATENT IN THE PEOPLE 235. CHAPTER XIII—LITTLE GAVROCHE 236. CHAPTER I—NINETY YEARS AND THIRTY-TWO TEETH 237. CHAPTER II—LIKE MASTER, LIKE HOUSE 238. CHAPTER III—LUC-ESPRIT 239. CHAPTER IV—A CENTENARIAN ASPIRANT 240. CHAPTER V—BASQUE AND NICOLETTE 241. CHAPTER VI—IN WHICH MAGNON AND HER TWO CHILDREN ARE SEEN 242. CHAPTER VII—RULE: RECEIVE NO ONE EXCEPT IN THE EVENING 243. CHAPTER VIII—TWO DO NOT MAKE A PAIR 244. CHAPTER I—AN ANCIENT SALON 245. CHAPTER II—ONE OF THE RED SPECTRES OF THAT EPOCH 246. 1794. Pontmercy fought at Spire, at Worms, at Neustadt, at Turkheim, at 247. CHAPTER III—REQUIESCANT 248. introduction into history of M. le Marquis de Bonaparte, 249. CHAPTER IV—END OF THE BRIGAND 250. CHAPTER V—THE UTILITY OF GOING TO MASS, IN ORDER TO BECOME A 251. CHAPTER VI—THE CONSEQUENCES OF HAVING MET A WARDEN 252. CHAPTER VII—SOME PETTICOAT 253. CHAPTER VIII—MARBLE AGAINST GRANITE 254. CHAPTER I—A GROUP WHICH BARELY MISSED BECOMING HISTORIC 255. CHAPTER II—BLONDEAU’S FUNERAL ORATION BY BOSSUET 256. CHAPTER III—MARIUS’ ASTONISHMENTS 257. CHAPTER IV—THE BACK ROOM OF THE CAFÉ MUSAIN 258. CHAPTER V—ENLARGEMENT OF HORIZON 259. CHAPTER VI—RES ANGUSTA 260. CHAPTER I—MARIUS INDIGENT 261. CHAPTER II—MARIUS POOR 262. CHAPTER III—MARIUS GROWN UP 263. CHAPTER IV—M. MABEUF 264. CHAPTER V—POVERTY A GOOD NEIGHBOR FOR MISERY 265. CHAPTER VI—THE SUBSTITUTE 266. CHAPTER I—THE SOBRIQUET: MODE OF FORMATION OF FAMILY NAMES 267. CHAPTER II—LUX FACTA EST 268. CHAPTER III—EFFECT OF THE SPRING 269. CHAPTER IV—BEGINNING OF A GREAT MALADY 270. CHAPTER V—DIVERS CLAPS OF THUNDER FALL ON MA’AM BOUGON 271. CHAPTER VI—TAKEN PRISONER 272. CHAPTER VII—ADVENTURES OF THE LETTER U DELIVERED OVER TO CONJECTURES 273. CHAPTER VIII—THE VETERANS THEMSELVES CAN BE HAPPY 274. CHAPTER IX—ECLIPSE 275. CHAPTER I—MINES AND MINERS 276. CHAPTER II—THE LOWEST DEPTHS 277. CHAPTER III—BABET, GUEULEMER, CLAQUESOUS, AND MONTPARNASSE 278. CHAPTER IV—COMPOSITION OF THE TROUPE 279. CHAPTER I—MARIUS, WHILE SEEKING A GIRL IN A BONNET, ENCOUNTERS A MAN IN 280. CHAPTER II—TREASURE TROVE 281. CHAPTER III—QUADRIFRONS 282. CHAPTER IV—A ROSE IN MISERY 283. CHAPTER V—A PROVIDENTIAL PEEP-HOLE 284. CHAPTER VI—THE WILD MAN IN HIS LAIR 285. CHAPTER VII—STRATEGY AND TACTICS 286. CHAPTER VIII—THE RAY OF LIGHT IN THE HOVEL 287. CHAPTER IX—JONDRETTE COMES NEAR WEEPING 288. CHAPTER X—TARIFF OF LICENSED CABS: TWO FRANCS AN HOUR 289. CHAPTER XI—OFFERS OF SERVICE FROM MISERY TO WRETCHEDNESS 290. CHAPTER XII—THE USE MADE OF M. LEBLANC’S FIVE-FRANC PIECE 291. CHAPTER XIII—SOLUS CUM SOLO, IN LOCO REMOTO, NON COGITABUNTUR ORARE 292. CHAPTER XIV—IN WHICH A POLICE AGENT BESTOWS TWO FISTFULS ON A LAWYER 293. CHAPTER XV—JONDRETTE MAKES HIS PURCHASES 294. CHAPTER XVI—IN WHICH WILL BE FOUND THE WORDS TO AN ENGLISH AIR WHICH 295. CHAPTER XVII—THE USE MADE OF MARIUS’ FIVE-FRANC PIECE 296. CHAPTER XVIII—MARIUS’ TWO CHAIRS FORM A VIS-A-VIS 297. CHAPTER XIX—OCCUPYING ONE’S SELF WITH OBSCURE DEPTHS 298. CHAPTER XX—THE TRAP 299. CHAPTER XXI—ONE SHOULD ALWAYS BEGIN BY ARRESTING THE VICTIMS 300. CHAPTER XXII—THE LITTLE ONE WHO WAS CRYING IN VOLUME TWO 301. CHAPTER I—WELL CUT 302. CHAPTER II—BADLY SEWED 303. CHAPTER III—LOUIS PHILIPPE 304. CHAPTER IV—CRACKS BENEATH THE FOUNDATION 305. CHAPTER V—FACTS WHENCE HISTORY SPRINGS AND WHICH HISTORY IGNORES 306. CHAPTER VI—ENJOLRAS AND HIS LIEUTENANTS 307. CHAPTER I—THE LARK’S MEADOW 308. CHAPTER II—EMBRYONIC FORMATION OF CRIMES IN THE INCUBATION OF PRISONS 309. CHAPTER III—APPARITION TO FATHER MABEUF 310. CHAPTER IV—AN APPARITION TO MARIUS 311. CHAPTER I—THE HOUSE WITH A SECRET 312. CHAPTER II—JEAN VALJEAN AS A NATIONAL GUARD 313. 1831. The municipal information collected at that time had even reached 314. CHAPTER III—FOLIIS AC FRONDIBUS 315. CHAPTER IV—CHANGE OF GATE 316. CHAPTER V—THE ROSE PERCEIVES THAT IT IS AN ENGINE OF WAR 317. CHAPTER VI—THE BATTLE BEGUN 318. CHAPTER VII—TO ONE SADNESS OPPOSE A SADNESS AND A HALF 319. CHAPTER VIII—THE CHAIN-GANG 320. CHAPTER I—A WOUND WITHOUT, HEALING WITHIN 321. CHAPTER II—MOTHER PLUTARQUE FINDS NO DIFFICULTY IN EXPLAINING A 322. CHAPTER I—SOLITUDE AND THE BARRACKS COMBINED 323. CHAPTER II—COSETTE’S APPREHENSIONS 324. CHAPTER III—ENRICHED WITH COMMENTARIES BY TOUSSAINT 325. CHAPTER IV—A HEART BENEATH A STONE 326. CHAPTER V—COSETTE AFTER THE LETTER 327. CHAPTER VI—OLD PEOPLE ARE MADE TO GO OUT OPPORTUNELY 328. CHAPTER I—THE MALICIOUS PLAYFULNESS OF THE WIND 329. CHAPTER II—IN WHICH LITTLE GAVROCHE EXTRACTS PROFIT FROM NAPOLEON THE 330. CHAPTER III—THE VICISSITUDES OF FLIGHT 331. CHAPTER I—ORIGIN 332. CHAPTER II—ROOTS 333. CHAPTER III—SLANG WHICH WEEPS AND SLANG WHICH LAUGHS 334. CHAPTER IV—THE TWO DUTIES: TO WATCH AND TO HOPE 335. CHAPTER I—FULL LIGHT 336. CHAPTER II—THE BEWILDERMENT OF PERFECT HAPPINESS 337. CHAPTER III—THE BEGINNING OF SHADOW 338. CHAPTER IV—A CAB RUNS IN ENGLISH AND BARKS IN SLANG 339. CHAPTER V—THINGS OF THE NIGHT 340. CHAPTER VI—MARIUS BECOMES PRACTICAL ONCE MORE TO THE EXTENT OF GIVING 341. CHAPTER VII—THE OLD HEART AND THE YOUNG HEART IN THE PRESENCE OF EACH 342. CHAPTER I—JEAN VALJEAN 343. CHAPTER II—MARIUS 344. CHAPTER III—M. MABEUF 345. CHAPTER I—THE SURFACE OF THE QUESTION 346. CHAPTER II—THE ROOT OF THE MATTER 347. CHAPTER III—A BURIAL; AN OCCASION TO BE BORN AGAIN 348. CHAPTER IV—THE EBULLITIONS OF FORMER DAYS 349. CHAPTER V—ORIGINALITY OF PARIS 350. CHAPTER I—SOME EXPLANATIONS WITH REGARD TO THE ORIGIN OF GAVROCHE’S 351. CHAPTER II—GAVROCHE ON THE MARCH 352. CHAPTER III—JUST INDIGNATION OF A HAIR-DRESSER 353. CHAPTER IV—THE CHILD IS AMAZED AT THE OLD MAN 354. CHAPTER V—THE OLD MAN 355. CHAPTER VI—RECRUITS 356. CHAPTER I—HISTORY OF CORINTHE FROM ITS FOUNDATION 357. CHAPTER II—PRELIMINARY GAYETIES 358. CHAPTER III—NIGHT BEGINS TO DESCEND UPON GRANTAIRE 359. CHAPTER IV—AN ATTEMPT TO CONSOLE THE WIDOW HUCHELOUP 360. CHAPTER V—PREPARATIONS 361. CHAPTER VI—WAITING 362. CHAPTER VII—THE MAN RECRUITED IN THE RUE DES BILLETTES 363. CHAPTER VIII—MANY INTERROGATION POINTS WITH REGARD TO A CERTAIN LE 364. CHAPTER I—FROM THE RUE PLUMET TO THE QUARTIER SAINT-DENIS 365. CHAPTER II—AN OWL’S VIEW OF PARIS 366. CHAPTER III—THE EXTREME EDGE 367. CHAPTER I—THE FLAG: ACT FIRST 368. CHAPTER II—THE FLAG: ACT SECOND 369. CHAPTER III—GAVROCHE WOULD HAVE DONE BETTER TO ACCEPT ENJOLRAS’ CARBINE 370. CHAPTER IV—THE BARREL OF POWDER 371. CHAPTER V—END OF THE VERSES OF JEAN PROUVAIRE 372. CHAPTER VI—THE AGONY OF DEATH AFTER THE AGONY OF LIFE 373. CHAPTER VII—GAVROCHE AS A PROFOUND CALCULATOR OF DISTANCES 374. CHAPTER I—A DRINKER IS A BABBLER 375. CHAPTER II—THE STREET URCHIN AN ENEMY OF LIGHT 376. CHAPTER III—WHILE COSETTE AND TOUSSAINT ARE ASLEEP 377. CHAPTER IV—GAVROCHE’S EXCESS OF ZEAL 378. CHAPTER I—THE CHARYBDIS OF THE FAUBOURG SAINT ANTOINE AND THE SCYLLA OF 379. CHAPTER II—WHAT IS TO BE DONE IN THE ABYSS IF ONE DOES NOT CONVERSE 380. CHAPTER III—LIGHT AND SHADOW 381. CHAPTER IV—MINUS FIVE, PLUS ONE 382. CHAPTER V—THE HORIZON WHICH ONE BEHOLDS FROM THE SUMMIT OF A BARRICADE 383. CHAPTER VI—MARIUS HAGGARD, JAVERT LACONIC 384. CHAPTER VII—THE SITUATION BECOMES AGGRAVATED 385. CHAPTER VIII—THE ARTILLERY-MEN COMPEL PEOPLE TO TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY 386. CHAPTER IX—EMPLOYMENT OF THE OLD TALENTS OF A POACHER AND THAT 387. CHAPTER X—DAWN 388. CHAPTER XI—THE SHOT WHICH MISSES NOTHING AND KILLS NO ONE 389. CHAPTER XII—DISORDER A PARTISAN OF ORDER 390. 1832. Captain Fannicot, a bold and impatient bourgeois, a sort of 391. CHAPTER XIII—PASSING GLEAMS 392. CHAPTER XIV—WHEREIN WILL APPEAR THE NAME OF ENJOLRAS’ MISTRESS 393. CHAPTER XV—GAVROCHE OUTSIDE 394. CHAPTER XVI—HOW FROM A BROTHER ONE BECOMES A FATHER 395. CHAPTER XVII—MORTUUS PATER FILIUM MORITURUM EXPECTAT 396. CHAPTER XVIII—THE VULTURE BECOME PREY 397. CHAPTER XIX—JEAN VALJEAN TAKES HIS REVENGE 398. CHAPTER XX—THE DEAD ARE IN THE RIGHT AND THE LIVING ARE NOT IN THE 399. CHAPTER XXI—THE HEROES 400. CHAPTER XXII—FOOT TO FOOT 401. CHAPTER XXIII—ORESTES FASTING AND PYLADES DRUNK 402. CHAPTER XXIV—PRISONER 403. CHAPTER I—THE LAND IMPOVERISHED BY THE SEA 404. CHAPTER II—ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE SEWER 405. CHAPTER III—BRUNESEAU 406. CHAPTER IV 407. CHAPTER V—PRESENT PROGRESS 408. CHAPTER VI—FUTURE PROGRESS 409. 1806. All sorts of obstacles hindered this operation, some peculiar to 410. CHAPTER I—THE SEWER AND ITS SURPRISES 411. CHAPTER II—EXPLANATION 412. CHAPTER III—THE “SPUN” MAN 413. CHAPTER IV—HE ALSO BEARS HIS CROSS 414. CHAPTER V—IN THE CASE OF SAND AS IN THAT OF WOMAN, THERE IS A FINENESS 415. CHAPTER VI—THE FONTIS 416. CHAPTER VII—ONE SOMETIMES RUNS AGROUND WHEN ONE FANCIES THAT ONE IS 417. CHAPTER VIII—THE TORN COAT-TAIL 418. CHAPTER IX—MARIUS PRODUCES ON SOME ONE WHO IS A JUDGE OF THE MATTER, 419. CHAPTER X—RETURN OF THE SON WHO WAS PRODIGAL OF HIS LIFE 420. CHAPTER XI—CONCUSSION IN THE ABSOLUTE 421. CHAPTER XII—THE GRANDFATHER 422. CHAPTER I 423. CHAPTER I—IN WHICH THE TREE WITH THE ZINC PLASTER APPEARS AGAIN 424. CHAPTER II—MARIUS, EMERGING FROM CIVIL WAR, MAKES READY FOR DOMESTIC 425. CHAPTER III—MARIUS ATTACKED 426. 7. Ah! There we have it! Ah! so you want her! Well, you shall have her. 427. CHAPTER IV—MADEMOISELLE GILLENORMAND ENDS BY NO LONGER THINKING IT A 428. CHAPTER V—DEPOSIT YOUR MONEY IN A FOREST RATHER THAN WITH A NOTARY 429. CHAPTER VI—THE TWO OLD MEN DO EVERYTHING, EACH ONE AFTER HIS OWN 430. CHAPTER VII—THE EFFECTS OF DREAMS MINGLED WITH HAPPINESS 431. CHAPTER VIII—TWO MEN IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND 432. CHAPTER I—THE 16TH OF FEBRUARY, 1833 433. CHAPTER II—JEAN VALJEAN STILL WEARS HIS ARM IN A SLING 434. CHAPTER III—THE INSEPARABLE 435. CHAPTER IV—THE IMMORTAL LIVER 68 436. CHAPTER I—THE SEVENTH CIRCLE AND THE EIGHTH HEAVEN 437. CHAPTER II—THE OBSCURITIES WHICH A REVELATION CAN CONTAIN 438. CHAPTER I—THE LOWER CHAMBER 439. CHAPTER II—ANOTHER STEP BACKWARDS 440. CHAPTER III—THEY RECALL THE GARDEN OF THE RUE PLUMET 441. CHAPTER IV—ATTRACTION AND EXTINCTION 442. CHAPTER I—PITY FOR THE UNHAPPY, BUT INDULGENCE FOR THE HAPPY 443. CHAPTER II—LAST FLICKERINGS OF A LAMP WITHOUT OIL 444. CHAPTER III—A PEN IS HEAVY TO THE MAN WHO LIFTED THE FAUCHELEVENT’S 445. CHAPTER IV—A BOTTLE OF INK WHICH ONLY SUCCEEDED IN WHITENING 446. CHAPTER V—A NIGHT BEHIND WHICH THERE IS DAY 447. CHAPTER VI—THE GRASS COVERS AND THE RAIN EFFACES

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