Page 406 - les-miserables

Behind the door of this chamber a man was standing erect
against the wall. I inquired of this man, ‘Whose house is this?
Where am I?’ The man replied not.
‘The house had a garden. I quitted the house and entered
the garden. The garden was deserted. Behind the first tree I
found a man standing upright. I said to this man, ‘What gar-
den is this? Where am I?’ The man did not answer.
‘I strolled into the village, and perceived that it was a
town. All the streets were deserted, all the doors were open.
Not a single living being was passing in the streets, walking
through the chambers or strolling in the gardens. But behind
each angle of the walls, behind each door, behind each tree,
stood a silent man. Only one was to be seen at a time. These
men watched me pass.
‘I left the town and began to ramble about the fields.
‘After the lapse of some time I turned back and saw a great
crowd coming up behind me. I recognized all the men whom
I had seen in that town. They had strange heads. They did not
seem to be in a hurry, yet they walked faster than I did. They
made no noise as they walked. In an instant this crowd had
overtaken and surrounded me. The faces of these men were
earthen in hue.
‘Then the first one whom I had seen and questioned on
entering the town said to me:—
‘‘Whither are you going! Do you not know that you have
been dead this long time?’
‘I opened my mouth to reply, and I perceived that there
was no one near me.’
He woke. He was icy cold. A wind which was chill like the

406 Les Miserables