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CHAPTER X
RESULT OF THE SUCCESS
She had been dismissed towards the end of the winter;
the summer passed, but winter came again. Short days, less
work. Winter: no warmth, no light, no noonday, the eve-
ning joining on to the morning, fogs, twilight; the window
is gray; it is impossible to see clearly at it. The sky is but a
vent-hole. The whole day is a cavern. The sun has the air of
a beggar. A frightful season! Winter changes the water of
heaven and the heart of man into a stone. Her creditors har-
rassed her.
Fantine earned too little. Her debts had increased. The
Thenardiers, who were not promptly paid, wrote to her
constantly letters whose contents drove her to despair, and
whose carriage ruined her. One day they wrote to her that
her little Cosette was entirely naked in that cold weather,
that she needed a woollen skirt, and that her mother must
send at least ten francs for this. She received the letter, and
crushed it in her hands all day long. That evening she went
into a barber’s shop at the corner of the street, and pulled
out her comb. Her admirable golden hair fell to her knees.
‘What splendid hair!’ exclaimed the barber.