944 Les Miserables
He had divined, from a dull noise, that they were crossing
the bridge of Austerlitz. At the first halt, he had understood
that they were entering the cemetery; at the second halt, he
said to himself:—
‘Here is the grave.’
Suddenly, he felt hands seize the coffin, then a harsh
grating against the planks; he explained it to himself as the
rope which was being fastened round the casket in order to
lower it into the cavity.
Then he experienced a giddiness.
The undertaker’s man and the grave-digger had probably
allowed the coffin to lose its balance, and had lowered the
head before the foot. He recovered himself fully when he
felt himself horizontal and motionless. He had just touched
the bottom.
He had a certain sensation of cold.
A voice rose above him, glacial and solemn. He heard
Latin words, which he did not understand, pass over him,
so slowly that he was able to catch them one by one:—
‘Qui dormiunt in terrae pulvere, evigilabunt; alii in vi-
tam aeternam, et alii in approbrium, ut videant semper.’
A child’s voice said:—
‘De profundis.’
The grave voice began again:—
‘Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine.’
The child’s voice responded:—
‘Et lux perpetua luceat ei.’
He heard something like the gentle patter of several
drops of rain on the plank which covered him. It was prob-