Page 1278 - les-miserables

his countenance.
‘Wife!’ he exclaimed, ‘you hear. Here is the philanthro-
pist. Extinguish the fire.’
The stupefied mother did not stir.
The father, with the agility of an acrobat, seized a bro-
ken-nosed jug which stood on the chimney, and flung the
water on the brands.
Then, addressing his eldest daughter:—
‘Here you! Pull the straw off that chair!’
His daughter did not understand.
He seized the chair, and with one kick he rendered it
seatless. His leg passed through it.
As he withdrew his leg, he asked his daughter:—
‘Is it cold?’
‘Very cold. It is snowing.’
The father turned towards the younger girl who sat on
the bed near the window, and shouted to her in a thundering
voice:—
‘Quick! get off that bed, you lazy thing! will you never do
anything? Break a pane of glass!’
The little girl jumped off the bed with a shiver.
‘Break a pane!’ he repeated.
The child stood still in bewilderment.
‘Do you hear me?’ repeated her father, ‘I tell you to break
a pane!’
The child, with a sort of terrified obedience, rose on tip-
toe, and struck a pane with her fist. The glass broke and fell
with a loud clatter.
‘Good,’ said the father.

1278 Les Miserables