Editing Volume 3/Book 8/Chapter 16

Les Mis&eacute;rables, Volume 3: Marius, Book Eighth: The Wicked Poor Man, Chapter 16: In which will be found the Words to an English Air which was in Fashion in 1832<br />
(Tome 3: Marius, Livre huiti&egrave;me:  Le mauvais pauvre, Chapitre 16: O&ugrave; l'on retrouvera la chanson sur un air anglais &agrave; la mode en 1832)

==General notes on this chapter==

==French text==

 
Marius s'assit sur son lit. Il pouvait &ecirc;tre cinq heures et demie. Une
demi-heure seulement le s&eacute;parait de ce qui allait arriver. Il entendait
battre ses art&egrave;res comme on entend le battement d'une montre dans
l'obscurit&eacute;. Il songeait &agrave; cette double marche qui se faisait en ce
moment dans les t&eacute;n&egrave;bres, le crime s'avan&ccedil;ant d'un c&ocirc;t&eacute;, la justice
venant de l'autre. Il n'avait pas peur, mais il ne pouvait penser sans
un certain tressaillement aux choses qui allaient se passer. Comme &agrave;
tous ceux que vient assaillir soudainement une aventure surprenante,
cette journ&eacute;e enti&egrave;re lui faisait l'effet d'un r&ecirc;ve, et, pour ne point
se croire en proie &agrave; un cauchemar, il avait besoin de sentir dans ses
goussets le froid des deux pistolets d'acier.

 
Il ne neigeait plus; la lune, de plus en plus claire, se d&eacute;gageait des
brumes, et sa lueur m&ecirc;l&eacute;e au reflet blanc de la neige tomb&eacute;e donnait &agrave;
la chambre un aspect cr&eacute;pusculaire.

 
Il y avait de la lumi&egrave;re dans le taudis Jondrette. Marius voyait le trou
de la cloison briller d'une clart&eacute; rouge qui lui paraissait sanglante.

 
Il &eacute;tait r&eacute;el que cette clart&eacute; ne pouvait gu&egrave;re &ecirc;tre produite par une
chandelle. Du reste, aucun mouvement chez les Jondrette, personne n'y
bougeait, personne n'y parlait, pas un souffle, le silence y &eacute;tait
glacial et profond, et sans cette lumi&egrave;re on se f&ucirc;t cru &agrave; c&ocirc;t&eacute; d'un
s&eacute;pulcre.

 
Marius &ocirc;ta doucement ses bottes et les poussa sous son lit.

 
Quelques minutes s'&eacute;coul&egrave;rent. Marius entendit la porte d'en bas tourner
sur ses gonds, un pas lourd et rapide monta l'escalier et parcourut le
corridor, le loquet du bouge se souleva avec bruit; c'&eacute;tait Jondrette
qui rentrait.

 
Tout de suite plusieurs voix s'&eacute;lev&egrave;rent. Toute la famille &eacute;tait dans le
galetas. Seulement elle se taisait en l'absence du ma&icirc;tre comme les
louveteaux en l'absence du loup.

 
&mdash;C'est moi, dit-il.

 
&mdash;Bonsoir, p&egrave;remuche! glapirent les filles.

 
&mdash;Eh bien? dit la m&egrave;re.

 
&mdash;Tout va &agrave; la papa, r&eacute;pondit Jondrette, mais j'ai un froid de chien aux
pieds. Bon, c'est cela, tu t'es habill&eacute;e. Il faudra que tu puisses
inspirer de la confiance.

 
&mdash;Toute pr&ecirc;te &agrave; sortir.

 
&mdash;Tu n'oublieras rien de ce que je t'ai dit? Tu feras bien tout?

 
&mdash;Sois tranquille.

 
&mdash;C'est que... dit Jondrette. Et il n'acheva pas sa phrase.

 
Marius l'entendit poser quelque chose de lourd sur la table,
probablement le ciseau qu'il avait achet&eacute;.

 
&mdash;Ah &ccedil;&agrave;, reprit Jondrette, a-t-on mang&eacute; ici?

 
&mdash;Oui, dit la m&egrave;re, j'ai eu trois grosses pommes de terre et du sel.
J'ai profit&eacute; du feu pour les faire cuire.

 
&mdash;Bon, repartit Jondrette. Demain je vous m&egrave;ne d&icirc;ner avec moi. Il y aura
un canard et des accessoires. Vous d&icirc;nerez comme des Charles-Dix. Tout
va bien!

 
Puis il ajouta en baissant la voix.

 
&mdash;La sourici&egrave;re est ouverte. Les chats sont l&agrave;.

 
Il baissa encore la voix et dit:

 
&mdash;Mets &ccedil;a dans le feu.

 
Marius entendit un cliquetis de charbon qu'on heurtait avec une pincette
ou un outil en fer, et Jondrette continua:

 
&mdash;As-tu suif&eacute; les gonds de la porte pour qu'ils ne fassent pas de bruit?

 
&mdash;Oui, r&eacute;pondit la m&egrave;re.

 
&mdash;Quelle heure est-il?

 
&mdash;Six heures bient&ocirc;t. La demie vient de sonner &agrave; Saint-M&eacute;dard.

 
&mdash;Diable! fit Jondrette. Il faut que les petites aillent faire le guet.
Venez, vous autres, &eacute;coutez ici.

 
Il y eut un chuchotement.

 
La voix de Jondrette s'&eacute;leva encore:

 
&mdash;La Burgon est-elle partie?

 
&mdash;Oui, dit la m&egrave;re.

 
&mdash;Es-tu s&ucirc;re qu'il n'y a personne chez le voisin?

 
&mdash;Il n'est pas rentr&eacute; de la journ&eacute;e, et tu sais bien que c'est l'heure
de son d&icirc;ner.

 
&mdash;Tu es s&ucirc;re?

 
&mdash;S&ucirc;re.

 
&mdash;C'est &eacute;gal, reprit Jondrette, il n'y a pas de mal &agrave; aller voir chez
lui s'il y est. Ma fille, prends la chandelle et vas-y.

 
Marius se laissa tomber sur ses mains et ses genoux et rampa
silencieusement sous son lit.

 
&Agrave; peine y &eacute;tait-il blotti qu'il aper&ccedil;ut une lumi&egrave;re &agrave; travers les fentes
de sa porte.

 
&mdash;P'pa, cria une voix, il est sorti.

 
Il reconnut la voix de la fille a&icirc;n&eacute;e.

 
&mdash;Es-tu entr&eacute;e? demanda le p&egrave;re.

 
&mdash;Non, r&eacute;pondit la fille, mais puisque sa clef est &agrave; sa porte, il est
sorti.

 
Le p&egrave;re cria:

 
&mdash;Entre tout de m&ecirc;me.

 
La porte s'ouvrit, et Marius vit entrer la grande Jondrette, une
chandelle &agrave; la main. Elle &eacute;tait comme le matin, seulement plus
effrayante encore &agrave; cette clart&eacute;.

 
Elle marcha droit au lit, Marius eut un inexprimable moment d'anxi&eacute;t&eacute;,
mais il y avait pr&egrave;s du lit un miroir clou&eacute; au mur, c'&eacute;tait l&agrave; qu'elle
allait. Elle se haussa sur la pointe des pieds et s'y regarda. On
entendait un bruit de ferrailles remu&eacute;es dans la pi&egrave;ce voisine.

 
Elle lissa ses cheveux avec la paume de sa main et fit des sourires au
miroir tout en chantonnant de sa voix cass&eacute;e et s&eacute;pulcrale:

 
''Nos amours ont dur&eacute; toute une semaine,''<br> ''Ah! que du bonheur les instants sont courts!''<br> ''S'adorer huit jours, c'&eacute;tait bien la peine!''<br> ''Le temps des amours devrait durer toujours!''<br> ''Devrait durer toujours! devrait durer toujours!''<br>

 
Cependant Marius tremblait. Il lui semblait impossible qu'elle
n'entend&icirc;t pas sa respiration.

 
Elle se dirigea vers la fen&ecirc;tre et regarda dehors en parlant haut avec
cet air &agrave; demi fou qu'elle avait.

 
&mdash;Comme Paris est laid quand il a mis une chemise blanche! dit-elle.

 
Elle revint au miroir et se fit de nouveau des mines, se contemplant
successivement de face et de trois quarts.

 
&mdash;Eh bien! cria le p&egrave;re, qu'est-ce que tu fais donc?

 
&mdash;Je regarde sous le lit et sous les meubles, r&eacute;pondit-elle en
continuant d'arranger ses cheveux, il n'y a personne.

 
&mdash;Cruche! hurla le p&egrave;re. Ici tout de suite! et ne perdons pas le temps.

 
&mdash;J'y vas! j'y vas! dit-elle. On n'a le temps de rien dans leur baraque!

 
Elle fredonna:

 
''Vous me quittez pour aller &agrave; la gloire,''<br> ''Mon triste c&oelig;ur suivra partout vos pas.''<br>

 
Elle jeta un dernier coup d'&oelig;il au miroir et sortit en refermant la
porte sur elle.

 
Un moment apr&egrave;s, Marius entendit le bruit des pieds nus des deux jeunes
filles dans le corridor et la voix de Jondrette qui leur criait:

 
&mdash;Faites bien attention! l'une du c&ocirc;t&eacute; de la barri&egrave;re, l'autre au coin
de la rue du Petit-Banquier. Ne perdez pas de vue une minute la porte de
la maison, et pour peu que vous voyiez quelque chose, tout de suite
ici! quatre &agrave; quatre! Vous avez une clef pour rentrer.

 
La fille a&icirc;n&eacute;e grommela:

 
&mdash;Faire faction nu-pieds dans la neige!

 
&mdash;Demain vous aurez des bottines de soie couleur scarab&eacute;e! dit le p&egrave;re.

 
Elles descendirent l'escalier, et, quelques secondes apr&egrave;s, le choc de
la porte d'en bas qui se refermait annon&ccedil;a qu'elles &eacute;taient dehors.

 
Il n'y avait plus dans la maison que Marius et les Jondrette; et
probablement aussi les &ecirc;tres myst&eacute;rieux entrevus par Marius dans le
cr&eacute;puscule derri&egrave;re la porte du galetas inhabit&eacute;.

 
==English text==

Marius seated himself on his bed. It might have been half-past five
o'clock. Only half an hour separated him from what was about to happen. He
heard the beating of his arteries as one hears the ticking of a watch in
the dark. He thought of the double march which was going on at that moment
in the dark,&mdash;crime advancing on one side, justice coming up on the
other. He was not afraid, but he could not think without a shudder of what
was about to take place. As is the case with all those who are suddenly
assailed by an unforeseen adventure, the entire day produced upon him the
effect of a dream, and in order to persuade himself that he was not the
prey of a nightmare, he had to feel the cold barrels of the steel pistols
in his trousers pockets.

 
It was no longer snowing; the moon disengaged itself more and more clearly
from the mist, and its light, mingled with the white reflection of the
snow which had fallen, communicated to the chamber a sort of twilight
aspect.

 
There was a light in the Jondrette den. Marius saw the hole in the wall
shining with a reddish glow which seemed bloody to him.

 
It was true that the light could not be produced by a candle. However,
there was not a sound in the Jondrette quarters, not a soul was moving
there, not a soul speaking, not a breath; the silence was glacial and
profound, and had it not been for that light, he might have thought
himself next door to a sepulchre.

 
Marius softly removed his boots and pushed them under his bed.

 
Several minutes elapsed. Marius heard the lower door turn on its hinges; a
heavy step mounted the staircase, and hastened along the corridor; the
latch of the hovel was noisily lifted; it was Jondrette returning.

 
Instantly, several voices arose. The whole family was in the garret. Only,
it had been silent in the master's absence, like wolf whelps in the
absence of the wolf.

 
"It's I," said he.

 
"Good evening, daddy," yelped the girls.

 
"Well?" said the mother.

 
"All's going first-rate," responded Jondrette, "but my feet are beastly
cold. Good! You have dressed up. You have done well! You must inspire
confidence."

 
"All ready to go out."

 
"Don't forget what I told you. You will do everything sure?"

 
"Rest easy."

 
"Because&mdash;" said Jondrette. And he left the phrase unfinished.

 
Marius heard him lay something heavy on the table, probably the chisel
which he had purchased.

 
"By the way," said Jondrette, "have you been eating here?"

 
"Yes," said the mother. "I got three large potatoes and some salt. I took
advantage of the fire to cook them."

 
"Good," returned Jondrette. "To-morrow I will take you out to dine with
me. We will have a duck and fixings. You shall dine like Charles the
Tenth; all is going well!"

 
Then he added:&mdash;

 
"The mouse-trap is open. The cats are there."

 
He lowered his voice still further, and said:&mdash;

 
"Put this in the fire."

 
Marius heard a sound of charcoal being knocked with the tongs or some iron
utensil, and Jondrette continued:&mdash;

 
"Have you greased the hinges of the door so that they will not squeak?"

 
"Yes," replied the mother.

 
"What time is it?"

 
"Nearly six. The half-hour struck from Saint-Medard a while ago."

 
"The devil!" ejaculated Jondrette; "the children must go and watch. Come
you, do you listen here."

 
A whispering ensued.

 
Jondrette's voice became audible again:&mdash;

 
"Has old Bougon left?"

 
"Yes," said the mother.

 
"Are you sure that there is no one in our neighbor's room?"

 
"He has not been in all day, and you know very well that this is his
dinner hour."

 
"You are sure?"

 
"Sure."

 
"All the same," said Jondrette, "there's no harm in going to see whether
he is there. Here, my girl, take the candle and go there."

 
Marius fell on his hands and knees and crawled silently under his bed.

 
Hardly had he concealed himself, when he perceived a light through the
crack of his door.

 
"P'pa," cried a voice, "he is not in here."

 
He recognized the voice of the eldest daughter.

 
"Did you go in?" demanded her father.

 
"No," replied the girl, "but as his key is in the door, he must be out."

 
The father exclaimed:&mdash;

 
"Go in, nevertheless."

 
The door opened, and Marius saw the tall Jondrette come in with a candle
in her hand. She was as she had been in the morning, only still more
repulsive in this light.

 
She walked straight up to the bed. Marius endured an indescribable moment
of anxiety; but near the bed there was a mirror nailed to the wall, and it
was thither that she was directing her steps. She raised herself on tiptoe
and looked at herself in it. In the neighboring room, the sound of iron
articles being moved was audible.

 
She smoothed her hair with the palm of her hand, and smiled into the
mirror, humming with her cracked and sepulchral voice:&mdash;

 
<pre>
         Nos amours ont duré toute une semaine,[[28]]
         Mais que du bonheur les instants sont courts!
         S'adorer huit jours, c'était bien la peine!
         Le temps des amours devrait durer toujours!
         Devrait durer toujours! devrait durer toujours!

</pre>
 
In the meantime, Marius trembled. It seemed impossible to him that she
should not hear his breathing.

 
She stepped to the window and looked out with the half-foolish way she
had.

 
"How ugly Paris is when it has put on a white chemise!" said she.

 
She returned to the mirror and began again to put on airs before it,
scrutinizing herself full-face and three-quarters face in turn.

 
"Well!" cried her father, "what are you about there?"

 
"I am looking under the bed and the furniture," she replied, continuing to
arrange her hair; "there's no one here."

 
"Booby!" yelled her father. "Come here this minute! And don't waste any
time about it!"

 
"Coming! Coming!" said she. "One has no time for anything in this hovel!"

 
She hummed:&mdash;

 
<pre>
         Vous me quittez pour aller à la gloire;[[29]]
         Mon triste c&oelig;ur suivra partout.

</pre>
 
She cast a parting glance in the mirror and went out, shutting the door
behind her.

 
A moment more, and Marius heard the sound of the two young girls' bare
feet in the corridor, and Jondrette's voice shouting to them:&mdash;

 
"Pay strict heed! One on the side of the barrier, the other at the corner
of the Rue du Petit-Banquier. Don't lose sight for a moment of the door of
this house, and the moment you see anything, rush here on the instant! as
hard as you can go! You have a key to get in."

 
The eldest girl grumbled:&mdash;

 
"The idea of standing watch in the snow barefoot!"

 
"To-morrow you shall have some dainty little green silk boots!" said the
father.

 
They ran down stairs, and a few seconds later the shock of the outer door
as it banged to announced that they were outside.

 
There now remained in the house only Marius, the Jondrettes and probably,
also, the mysterious persons of whom Marius had caught a glimpse in the
twilight, behind the door of the unused attic.



==Translation notes==

==Textual notes==

==Citations==
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