Page 240 - les-miserables

That master good Clermont-Tonnerre
Might be made pope on Saint Johns’ day fair.
But this good Clermont could not be
Made pope, because no priest was he;
And then their agent, whose wrath burned,
With all their money back returned.’

This was not calculated to calm Tholomyes’ improvi-
sation; he emptied his glass, filled, refilled it, and began
again:—
‘Down with wisdom! Forget all that I have said. Let us be
neither prudes nor prudent men nor prudhommes. I propose
a toast to mirth; be merry. Let us complete our course of law
by folly and eating! Indigestion and the digest. Let Justin-
ian be the male, and Feasting, the female! Joy in the depths!
Live, O creation! The world is a great diamond. I am happy.
The birds are astonishing. What a festival everywhere! The
nightingale is a gratuitous Elleviou. Summer, I salute thee!
O Luxembourg! O Georgics of the Rue Madame, and of the
Allee de l’Observatoire! O pensive infantry soldiers! O all
those charming nurses who, while they guard the children,
amuse themselves! The pampas of America would please
me if I had not the arcades of the Odeon. My soul flits away
into the virgin forests and to the savannas. All is beautiful.
The flies buzz in the sun. The sun has sneezed out the hum-
ming bird. Embrace me, Fantine!’
He made a mistake and embraced Favourite.

240 Les Miserables