Page 1938 - les-miserables

touch of stagnant oblivion in that street. Jean Valjean drew
his breath once more there. How could he be found there?
His first care was to place the inseparable beside him.
He slept well. Night brings wisdom; we may add, night
soothes. On the following morning he awoke in a mood
that was almost gay. He thought the dining-room charm-
ing, though it was hideous, furnished with an old round
table, a long sideboard surmounted by a slanting mirror, a
dilapidated arm-chair, and several plain chairs which were
encumbered with Toussaint’s packages. In one of these
packages Jean Valjean’s uniform of a National Guard was
visible through a rent.
As for Cosette, she had had Toussaint take some broth to
her room, and did not make her appearance until evening.
About five o’clock, Toussaint, who was going and com-
ing and busying herself with the tiny establishment, set on
the table a cold chicken, which Cosette, out of deference to
her father, consented to glance at.
That done, Cosette, under the pretext of an obstinate sick
headache, had bade Jean Valjean good night and had shut
herself up in her chamber. Jean Valjean had eaten a wing of
the chicken with a good appetite, and with his elbows on the
table, having gradually recovered his serenity, had regained
possession of his sense of security.
While he was discussing this modest dinner, he had,
twice or thrice, noticed in a confused way, Toussaint’s
stammering words as she said to him: ‘Monsieur, there is
something going on, they are fighting in Paris.’ But ab-
sorbed in a throng of inward calculations, he had paid no

1938 Les Miserables