Page 2243 - les-miserables

the King first of all, the wounded were covered and pro-
tected by this indignation; and, with the exception of those
who had been made prisoners in the very act of combat, the
councils of war did not dare to trouble any one. So Marius
was left in peace.
M. Gillenormand first passed through all manner of
anguish, and then through every form of ecstasy. It was
found difficult to prevent his passing every night beside the
wounded man; he had his big arm-chair carried to Marius’
bedside; he required his daughter to take the finest linen
in the house for compresses and bandages. Mademoiselle
Gillenormand, like a sage and elderly person, contrived to
spare the fine linen, while allowing the grandfather to think
that he was obeyed. M. Gillenormand would not permit any
one to explain to him, that for the preparation of lint ba-
tiste is not nearly so good as coarse linen, nor new linen as
old linen. He was present at all the dressings of the wounds
from which Mademoiselle Gillenormand modestly absent-
ed herself. When the dead flesh was cut away with scissors,
he said: ‘Aie! aie!’ Nothing was more touching than to see
him with his gentle, senile palsy, offer the wounded man
a cup of his cooling-draught. He overwhelmed the doctor
with questions. He did not observe that he asked the same
ones over and over again.
On the day when the doctor announced to him that
Marius was out of danger, the good man was in a delirium.
He made his porter a present of three louis. That evening,
on his return to his own chamber, he danced a gavotte, us-
ing his thumb and forefinger as castanets, and he sang the

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