LES MISERABLES - VOL 4 - SAINT-DENIS (Completed)

Chapter 4

In the meantime, Gavroche had had an adventure.

Gavroche, after having conscientiously stoned the lantern in the Rue du Chaume, entered the Rue des Vieilles-Haudriettes, and not seeing "even a cat" there, he thought the opportunity a good one to strike up all the song of which he was capable. His march, far from being retarded by his singing, was accelerated by it. He began to sow along the sleeping or terrified houses these incendiary couplets:—

"L'oiseau médit dans les charmilles,Et prétend qu'hier AtalaAvec un Russe s'en alla.Où vont les belles filles,Lon la."Mon ami Pierrot, tu babilles,Parce que l'autre jour MilaCogna sa vitre et m'appela,Où vont les belles filles,Lon la."Les drôlesses sont fort gentilles,Leur poison qui m'ensorcelaGriserait Monsieur Orfila.Où vont les belles filles,Lon la."J'aime l'amour et les bisbilles,J'aime Agnès, j'aime Paméla,Lise en m'allumant se brûla.Où vont les belles filles,Lon la."Jadis, quand je vis les mantillesDe Suzette et de Zéila,Mon âme à leurs plis se mêla,Où vont les belles filles,Lon la."Amour, quand dans l'ombre où tu brilles,Tu coiffes de roses Lola,Je me damnerais pour cela.Où vont les belles filles,Lon la."Jeanne à ton miroir tu t'habilles!Mon cœur un beau jour s'envola.Je crois que c'est Jeanne qui l'a.Où vont les belles filles,Lon la."Le soir, en sortant des quadrilles,Je montre aux étoiles Stella,Et je leur dis: 'Regardez-la.'Où vont les belles filles,Lon la."

Gavroche, as he sang, was lavish of his pantomime. Gesture is the strong point of the refrain. His face, an inexhaustible repertory of masks, produced grimaces more convulsing and more fantastic than the rents of a cloth torn in a high gale. Unfortunately, as he was alone, and as it was night, this was neither seen nor even visible. Such wastes of riches do occur.

All at once, he stopped short.

"Let us interrupt the romance," said he.

His feline eye had just descried, in the recess of a carriage door, what is called in painting, an ensemble, that is to say, a person and a thing; the thing was a hand-cart, the person was a man from Auvergene who was sleeping therein.

The shafts of the cart rested on the pavement, and the Auvergnat's head was supported against the front of the cart. His body was coiled up on this inclined plane and his feet touched the ground.

Gavroche, with his experience of the things of this world, recognized a drunken man. He was some corner errand-man who had drunk too much and was sleeping too much.

"There now," thought Gavroche, "that's what the summer nights are good for. We'll take the cart for the Republic, and leave the Auvergnat for the Monarchy."

His mind had just been illuminated by this flash of light:—

"How bully that cart would look on our barricade!"

The Auvergnat was snoring.

Gavroche gently tugged at the cart from behind, and at the Auvergnat from the front, that is to say, by the feet, and at the expiration of another minute the imperturbable Auvergnat was reposing flat on the pavement.

The cart was free.

Gavroche, habituated to facing the unexpected in all quarters, had everything about him. He fumbled in one of his pockets, and pulled from it a scrap of paper and a bit of red pencil filched from some carpenter.

He wrote:—

"French Republic.""Received thy cart."And he signed it: "GAVROCHE."

That done, he put the paper in the pocket of the still snoring Auvergnat's velvet vest, seized the cart shafts in both hands, and set off in the direction of the Halles, pushing the cart before him at a hard gallop with a glorious and triumphant uproar.