Page 998 - les-miserables

of Paris, and can always put the name to the face of any one
which he chances to meet. He can tell them off on the tips of
his fingers. He studies their habits, and he has special notes
on each one of them. He reads the souls of the police like
an open book. He will tell you fluently and without flinch-
ing: ‘Such an one is a traitor; such another is very malicious;
such another is great; such another is ridiculous.’ (All these
words: traitor, malicious, great, ridiculous, have a particu-
lar meaning in his mouth.) That one imagines that he owns
the Pont-Neuf, and he prevents people from walking on the
cornice outside the parapet; that other has a mania for pull-
ing person’s ears; etc., etc.

998 Les Miserables