Page 936 - les-miserables

difficulty, and there had been no hitch.
Let us remark in passing, that the burial of Mother Cru-
cifixion under the altar of the convent is a perfectly venial
offence in our sight. It is one of the faults which resemble
a duty. The nuns had committed it, not only without diffi-
culty, but even with the applause of their own consciences.
In the cloister, what is called the ‘government’ is only an in-
termeddling with authority, an interference which is always
questionable. In the first place, the rule; as for the code, we
shall see. Make as many laws as you please, men; but keep
them for yourselves. The tribute to Caesar is never anything
but the remnants of the tribute to God. A prince is nothing
in the presence of a principle.
Fauchelevent limped along behind the hearse in a very
contented frame of mind. His twin plots, the one with the
nuns, the one for the convent, the other against it, the oth-
er with M. Madeleine, had succeeded, to all appearance.
Jean Valjean’s composure was one of those powerful tran-
quillities which are contagious. Fauchelevent no longer felt
doubtful as to his success.
What remained to be done was a mere nothing. Within
the last two years, he had made good Father Mestienne, a
chubby-cheeked person, drunk at least ten times. He played
with Father Mestienne. He did what he liked with him. He
made him dance according to his whim. Mestienne’s head
adjusted itself to the cap of Fauchelevent’s will. Fauchelev-
ent’s confidence was perfect.
At the moment when the convoy entered the avenue lead-
ing to the cemetery, Fauchelevent glanced cheerfully at the

936 Les Miserables