by Victor Hugo
CHAPTER III.
THEY REMEMBER THE GARDEN IN THE RUE PLUMET.
This was the last occasion, and after this last flare total extinctiontook place. There was no more familiarity, no more good-day with akiss, and never again that so deeply tender word "father:" he hadbeen, at his own request and with his own complicity, expelled fromall those joys in succession, and he underwent this misery,--that,after losing Cosette entirely on one day, he was then obliged to loseher again bit by bit. The eye eventually grows accustomed to cellarlight, and he found it enough to have an apparition of Cosette daily.His whole life was concentrated in that hour; he sat down by her side,looked at her in silence, or else talked to her about former years,her childhood, the convent, and her little friends of those days. Oneafternoon--it was an early day in April, already warm but still fresh,the moment of the sun's great gayety; the gardens that surroundedMarius's and Cosette's windows were rousing from their slumber, thehawthorn was about to bourgeon, a jewelry of wall-flowers was displayedon the old wall, there was on the grass a fairy carpet of daisies andbuttercups, the white butterflies were springing forth, and the wind,that minstrel of the eternal wedding, was trying in the trees the firstnotes of that great auroral symphony which the old poets called therenewal--Marius said to Cosette, "We said that we would go and see ourgarden in the Rue Plumet again. Come, we must not be ungrateful." Andthey flew off like two swallows toward the spring. This garden in theRue Plumet produced on them the effect of a dawn, for they already hadbehind them in life something that resembled the springtime of theirlove. The house in the Rue Plumet, being taken on lease, still belongedto Cosette; they went to this garden and house, found themselvesagain, and forgot themselves there. In the evening Jean Valjean wentto the Rue des Filles du Calvaire at the usual hour. "My lady went outwith the Baron," said Basque, "and has not returned yet." He sat downsilently and waited an hour, but Cosette did not come in; he hung hishead and went away. Cosette was so intoxicated by the walk in "theirgarden," and so pleased at having "lived a whole day in her past," thatshe spoke of nothing else the next day. She did not remark that she hadnot seen Jean Valjean.
"How did you go there?" Jean Valjean asked her.
"On foot."
"And how did you return?"
"On foot too."
For some time Jean Valjean had noticed the close life which the youngcouple led, and was annoyed at it. Marius's economy was severe,and that word had its fall meaning for Jean Valjean; he hazarded aquestion.
"Why do you not keep a carriage? A little coupé would not coat you morethan five hundred francs a month, and you are rich."
"I do not know," Cosette answered.
"It is the same with Toussaint," Jean Valjean continued; "she has left,and you have engaged no one in her place. Why not?"
"Nicolette is sufficient."
"But you must want a lady's maid?"
"Have I not Marius?"
"You ought to have a house of your own, servants of your own, acarriage, and a box at the opera. Nothing is too good for you. Thenwhy not take advantage of the fact of your being rich? Wealth adds tohappiness."
Cosette made no reply. Jean Valjean's visits did not grow shorter, butthe contrary; for when it is the heart that is slipping, a man does notstop on the incline. When Jean Valjean wished to prolong his visit andmake the hour be forgotten, he sung the praises of Marius; he found himhandsome, noble, brave, witty, eloquent, and good. Cosette added to thepraise, and Jean Valjean began again. It was an inexhaustible subject,and there were volumes in the six letters composing Marius's name.In this k way Jean Valjean managed to stop for a long time, for itwas so sweet to see Cosette and forget by her side. It was a dressingfor his wound. It frequently happened that Basque would come and saytwice, "M. Gillenormand has sent me to remind Madame la Baronne thatdinner is waiting." On those days Jean Valjean would return home verythoughtful. Was there any truth in that comparison of the chrysaliswhich had occurred to Marius's mind? Was Jean Valjean really anobstinate chrysalis, constantly paying visits to his butterfly? One dayhe remained longer than usual, and the next noticed there was no firein the grate. "Stay," he though, "no fire?" And he gave himself thisexplanation: "It is very simple; we are in April, and the cold weatherhas passed."
"Good gracious! How cold it is here!" Cosette exclaimed as she came in.
"Oh no," said Jean Valjean.
"Then it was you who told Basque not to light a fire?"
"Yes; we shall have May here directly."
"But fires keep on till June; in this cellar there ought to be one allthe year round."
"I thought it was unnecessary."
"That is just like one of your ideas," Cosette remarked.
The next day there was a fire, but the two chairs were placed at theother end of the room, near the door. "What is the meaning of that?"Jean Valjean thought; he fetched the chairs and placed them in theirusual place near the chimney. This rekindled fire, however, encouragedhim, and he made the conversation last even longer than usual. As herose to leave, Cosette remarked to him,--
"My husband said a funny thing to me yesterday."
"What was it?"
"He said to me,'Cosette, we have thirty thousand francs ayear,--twenty-seven of yours, and three that my grandfather allowsme.' I replied, 'That makes thirty;' and he continued, 'Would youhave the courage to live on the three thousand?' I answered, 'Yes, onnothing, provided that it be with you;' and then I asked him, 'Why didyou say that to me?' He replied, 'I merely wished to know.'"
Jean Valjean had not a word to say. Cosette probably expected someexplanation from him, but he listened to her in a sullen silence. Hewent back to the Rue de l'Homme Armé, and was so profoundly abstractedthat, instead of entering his own house, he went into the next one.It was not till he had gone up nearly two flights of stairs that henoticed his mistake, and came down again. His mind was crammed withconjectures: it was evident that Marius entertained doubts as to theorigin of the six hundred thousand francs, that he feared some impuresource; he might even--who knew?--have discovered that this money camefrom him, Jean Valjean; that he hesitated to touch this suspiciousfortune, and was repugnant to use it as his own, preferring thatCosette and he should remain poor rather than be rich with dubiouswealth. Moreover, Jean Valjean was beginning to feel himself shown tothe door. On the following day he had a species of shock on enteringthe basement room; the fauteuils had disappeared, and there was noteven a seat of any sort.
"Dear me, no chairs!" Cosette exclaimed on entering; "where are they?"
"They are no longer here," Jean Valjean replied.
"That is rather too much."
Jean Valjean stammered,--
"I told Basque to remove them."
"For what reason?"
"I shall only remain a few minutes to-day."
"Few or many, that is no reason for standing."
"I believe that Basque required the chairs for the drawing-room."
"Why?"
"You have probably company this evening."
"Not a soul."
Jean Valjean had not another word to say, and Cosette shrugged hershoulders.
"Have the chairs removed! The other day you ordered the fire to be leftoff! How singular you are!"
"Good-by," Jean Valjean murmured.
He did not say "Good-by, Cosette," and he had not the strength to say"Good-by, Madame."
He went away crushed, for this time he had comprehended. The next dayhe did not come, and Cosette did not remark this till the evening.
"Dear me," she said, "Monsieur Jean did not come to-day."
She felt a slight pang at the heart, but she scarce noticed it, as shewas at once distracted by a kiss from Marius. The next day he did notcome either. Cosette paid no attention to this, spent the evening, andslept at night as usual, and only thought of it when she woke; shewas so happy! She very soon sent Nicolette to Monsieur Jean's to seewhether he were ill, and why he had not come to see her on the previousday, and Nicolette brought back Mon
sieur Jean's answer. "He was notill, but was busy, and would come soon,--as soon as he could. But hewas going to make a little journey, and Madame would remember that hewas accustomed to do so every now and then. She need not feel at allalarmed or trouble herself about him." Nicolette, on entering MonsieurJean's room, had repeated to him her mistress's exact words,--"ThatMadame sent to know 'why Monsieur Jean had not called on the previousday?'"
"I have not called for two days," Jean Valjean said quietly; but theobservation escaped Nicolette's notice, and she did not repeat it toCosette.