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CHAPTER II
TREASURE TROVE
Marius had not left the Gorbeau house. He paid no atten-
tion to any one there.
At that epoch, to tell the truth, there were no other in-
habitants in the house, except himself and those Jondrettes
whose rent he had once paid, without, moreover, ever hav-
ing spoken to either father, mother, or daughters. The other
lodgers had moved away or had died, or had been turned
out in default of payment.
One day during that winter, the sun had shown itself a
little in the afternoon, but it was the 2d of February, that
ancient Candlemas day whose treacherous sun, the precur-
sor of a six weeks’ cold spell, inspired Mathieu Laensberg
with these two lines, which have with justice remained
classic:—
Qu’ il luise ou qu’ il luiserne,
L’ours rentre dans en sa caverne.Whether the sun shines brightly or dim, the bear returns to
his cave.