Page 2194 - les-miserables

ible to revery alone, formed imperceptible little splendors
amid the immensity. Evening was unfolding over the head
of Jean Valjean all the sweetness of the infinite.
It was that exquisite and undecided hour which says nei-
ther yes nor no. Night was already sufficiently advanced
to render it possible to lose oneself at a little distance and
yet there was sufficient daylight to permit of recognition at
close quarters.
For several seconds, Jean Valjean was irresistibly over-
come by that august and caressing serenity; such moments
of oblivion do come to men; suffering refrains from ha-
rassing the unhappy wretch; everything is eclipsed in the
thoughts; peace broods over the dreamer like night; and,
beneath the twilight which beams and in imitation of the
sky which is illuminated, the soul becomes studded with
stars. Jean Valjean could not refrain from contemplating
that vast, clear shadow which rested over him; thoughtfully
he bathed in the sea of ecstasy and prayer in the majestic
silence of the eternal heavens. Then he bent down swiftly
to Marius, as though the sentiment of duty had returned
to him, and, dipping up water in the hollow of his hand, he
gently sprinkled a few drops on the latter’s face. Marius’ eye-
lids did not open; but his half-open mouth still breathed.
Jean Valjean was on the point of dipping his hand in the
river once more, when, all at once, he experienced an inde-
scribable embarrassment, such as a person feels when there
is some one behind him whom he does not see.
We have already alluded to this impression, with which
everyone is familiar.

2194 Les Miserables