Page 36 - les-miserables

blew; Flavius Josephus who says, A wind from above was
precipitated upon the earth; and finally, the Chaldaic para-
phrase of Onkelos, which renders it, A wind coming from
God blew upon the face of the waters. In another disserta-
tion, he examines the theological works of Hugo, Bishop of
Ptolemais, great-grand-uncle to the writer of this book, and
establishes the fact, that to this bishop must be attributed
the divers little works published during the last century, un-
der the pseudonym of Barleycourt.
Sometimes, in the midst of his reading, no matter what
the book might be which he had in his hand, he would
suddenly fall into a profound meditation, whence he only
emerged to write a few lines on the pages of the volume it-
self. These lines have often no connection whatever with the
book which contains them. We now have under our eyes
a note written by him on the margin of a quarto entitled
Correspondence of Lord Germain with Generals Clinton,
Cornwallis, and the Admirals on the American station.
Versailles, Poincot, book-seller; and Paris, Pissot, booksell-
er, Quai des Augustins.
Here is the note:—
‘Oh, you who are!
‘Ecclesiastes calls you the All-powerful; the Maccabees
call you the Creator; the Epistle to the Ephesians calls you
liberty; Baruch calls you Immensity; the Psalms call you
Wisdom and Truth; John calls you Light; the Books of
Kings call you Lord; Exodus calls you Providence; Levit-
icus, Sanctity; Esdras, Justice; the creation calls you God;
man calls you Father; but Solomon calls you Compassion,

36 Les Miserables