Page 1242 - les-miserables

trees, along the road, in order to refresh his head.
He took to living more and more alone, utterly over-
whelmed, wholly given up to his inward anguish, going and
coming in his pain like the wolf in the trap, seeking the ab-
sent one everywhere, stupefied by love.
On another occasion, he had an encounter which pro-
duced on him a singular effect. He met, in the narrow
streets in the vicinity of the Boulevard des Invalides, a man
dressed like a workingman and wearing a cap with a long
visor, which allowed a glimpse of locks of very white hair.
Marius was struck with the beauty of this white hair, and
scrutinized the man, who was walking slowly and as though
absorbed in painful meditation. Strange to say, he thought
that he recognized M. Leblanc. The hair was the same, also
the profile, so far as the cap permitted a view of it, the mien
identical, only more depressed. But why these workingman’s
clothes? What was the meaning of this? What signified that
disguise? Marius was greatly astonished. When he recov-
ered himself, his first impulse was to follow the man; who
knows whether he did not hold at last the clue which he was
seeking? In any case, he must see the man near at hand, and
clear up the mystery. But the idea occurred to him too late,
the man was no longer there. He had turned into some little
side street, and Marius could not find him. This encoun-
ter occupied his mind for three days and then was effaced.
‘After all,’ he said to himself, ‘it was probably only a resem-
blance.’

1242 Les Miserables