Page 405 - les-miserables

‘I was walking with my brother, the brother of my child-
ish years, the brother of whom, I must say, I never think, and
whom I now hardly remember.
‘We were conversing and we met some passers-by. We
were talking of a neighbor of ours in former days, who had
always worked with her window open from the time when
she came to live on the street. As we talked we felt cold be-
cause of that open window.
‘There were no trees in the plain. We saw a man passing
close to us. He was entirely nude, of the hue of ashes, and
mounted on a horse which was earth color. The man had no
hair; we could see his skull and the veins on it. In his hand
he held a switch which was as supple as a vine-shoot and as
heavy as iron. This horseman passed and said nothing to us.
‘My brother said to me, ‘Let us take to the hollow road.’
‘There existed a hollow way wherein one saw neither a sin-
gle shrub nor a spear of moss. Everything was dirt-colored,
even the sky. After proceeding a few paces, I received no re-
ply when I spoke: I perceived that my brother was no longer
with me.
‘I entered a village which I espied. I reflected that it must
be Romainville. (Why Romainville?)[5]
[5] This parenthesis is due to Jean Valjean.
‘The first street that I entered was deserted. I entered a sec-
ond street. Behind the angle formed by the two streets, a man
was standing erect against the wall. I said to this Man:—
‘‘What country is this? Where am I?’ The man made no
reply. I saw the door of a house open, and I entered.
‘The first chamber was deserted. I entered the second.

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