Page 1138 - les-miserables

discussing a duel. An old fellow of thirty was counselling a
young one of eighteen, and explaining to him what sort of
an adversary he had to deal with.
‘The deuce! Look out for yourself. He is a fine swords-
man. His play is neat. He has the attack, no wasted feints,
wrist, dash, lightning, a just parade, mathematical parries,
bigre! and he is left-handed.’
In the angle opposite Grantaire, Joly and Bahorel were
playing dominoes, and talking of love.
‘You are in luck, that you are,’ Joly was saying. ‘You have
a mistress who is always laughing.’
‘That is a fault of hers,’ returned Bahorel. ‘One’s mistress
does wrong to laugh. That encourages one to deceive her. To
see her gay removes your remorse; if you see her sad, your
conscience pricks you.’
‘Ingrate! a woman who laughs is such a good thing! And
you never quarrel!’
‘That is because of the treaty which we have made. On
forming our little Holy Alliance we assigned ourselves each
our frontier, which we never cross. What is situated on the
side of winter belongs to Vaud, on the side of the wind to
Gex. Hence the peace.’
‘Peace is happiness digesting.’
‘And you, Jolllly, where do you stand in your entangle-
ment with Mamselle— you know whom I mean?’
‘She sulks at me with cruel patience.’
‘Yet you are a lover to soften the heart with gauntness.’
‘Alas!’
‘In your place, I would let her alone.’

1138 Les Miserables