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That is good! Be an honest man yourself; remain Monsieur
le Maire; remain honorable and honored; enrich the town;
nourish the indigent; rear the orphan; live happy, virtuous,
and admired; and, during this time, while you are here in
the midst of joy and light, there will be a man who will wear
your red blouse, who will bear your name in ignominy, and
who will drag your chain in the galleys. Yes, it is well ar-
ranged thus. Ah, wretch!’
The perspiration streamed from his brow. He fixed a hag-
gard eye on the candlesticks. But that within him which had
spoken had not finished. The voice continued:—
‘Jean Valjean, there will be around you many voices,
which will make a great noise, which will talk very loud, and
which will bless you, and only one which no one will hear,
and which will curse you in the dark. Well! listen, infamous
man! All those benedictions will fall back before they reach
heaven, and only the malediction will ascend to God.’
This voice, feeble at first, and which had proceeded from
the most obscure depths of his conscience, had gradually
become startling and formidable, and he now heard it in
his very ear. It seemed to him that it had detached itself
from him, and that it was now speaking outside of him. He
thought that he heard the last words so distinctly, that he
glanced around the room in a sort of terror.
‘Is there any one here?’ he demanded aloud, in utter be-
wilderment.
Then he resumed, with a laugh which resembled that of
an idiot:—
‘How stupid I am! There can be no one!’