Les Misérables, v. 1/5: Fantine

by Victor Hugo

  CHAPTER IV.

  SUFFERINGS IN SLEEP.

  Three A.M. had struck, and he had been walking about in this wayfor five hours without a break, when he fell into his chair. He fellasleep, and had a dream. This dream, like most dreams, was onlyconnected with his situation by something poignant and mournful, but itmade an impression on him. This nightmare struck him so much that hewrote it down at a later date, and we think we are bound to transcribeit verbatim; for whatever the history of this man may be, it would beincomplete if we omitted it. Here it is then; on the envelope we noticethe line,--_The dream I had on that night._

  "I was upon a plain, a large mournful plain, on which no grass grew. It did not seem to me to be day, but it was not night. I was walking with my brother, the brother of my boyish years, of whom I am bound to say I never think, and whom I scarce remember. We were talking, and met travellers. We spoke about a woman, formerly a neighbor of ours, who had always worked with her window open, since she had occupied a front room. While talking, we felt cold on account of this open window. There were no trees on the plain. We saw a man pass close by us; he was a perfectly naked man, of the color of ashes, mounted on a horse of an earthen color. The man had no hair, and I could see his skull, and the veins on his skull. He held in his hand a wand, which was supple as a vine-twig and heavy as lead. This horseman passed and said nothing to us.

  "My brother said to me: 'Let us turn into the hollow way.'

  "It was a hollow way in which not a bramble or even a patch of moss could be seen; all was earth-colored, even the sky. After going a few yards, I received no answer when I spoke, and I noticed that my brother was no longer with me. I entered a village that I saw, and I fancied that it must be Romainville. The first street I entered was deserted; I entered a second street, and behind the angle formed by the two streets a man was standing against the wall. I asked this man, "What is this place? where am I?" but he gave me no answer. I saw the door of a house open, and walked in.

  "The first room was deserted, and I entered a second. Behind the door of this room there was a man leaning against the wall. I asked him, "To whom does this house belong? where am I?" but the man gave me no answer. I went out into the garden of the house, and it was deserted. Behind the first tree I found a man standing; I said to the man, "Whose is this garden? where am I?" but he made me no answer.

  "I wandered about this village and fancied that it was a town. All the streets were deserted, all the doors open. Not a living soul passed along the street, moved in the rooms, or walked in the gardens. But there was behind every corner, every door, and every tree, a man standing silently. I never saw more than one at a time, and these men looked at me as I passed.

  "I left the village and began walking about the fields. At the end of some time I turned back and saw a great crowd coming after me. I recognized all the men whom I had seen in the town, and they had strange heads. They did not appear to be in a hurry, and yet they walked faster than I, and made no noise in walking. In an instant this crowd joined me and surrounded me. The faces of these men were earth-colored. Then the man I had seen first and questioned when I entered the town said to me, "Where are you going? do you not know that you have been dead for a long time?" I opened my mouth to answer, and I perceived that there was no one near me."

  He woke up, chilled to the marrow, for a wind, cold as the morningbreeze, was shaking the open window. The fire had died away, thecandle was nearly burned out, and it was still black night. He roseand went to the window; there were still no stars in the sky. From hiswindow he could see the yard and his street, and a dry sharp sound onthe ground below him induced him to look out. He saw two red starswhose rays lengthened and shortened curiously in the gloom. As hismind was half submerged in the mist of dreams, he thought, "There areno stars in the sky: they are on the earth now." A second sound likethe first completely woke him, and he perceived that those two starswere carriage lamps, and by the light which they projected he coulddistinguish the shape of the vehicle; it was a tilbury, in which asmall white horse was harnessed. The sound he had heard was the pawingof the horse's hoof on the ground.

  "What's the meaning of this conveyance?" he said to himself. "Who canhave come at so early an hour?"

  At this moment there was a gentle tap at his bed-room door; heshuddered from head to foot, and shouted in a terrible voice, "Who'sthere?"

  Some one replied, "I, sir," and he recognized his old servant's voice.

  "Well," he continued, "what is it?"

  "It is getting on for four o'clock, sir."

  "What has that to do with me?"

  "The tilbury has come, sir."

  "What tilbury?"

  "Did you not order one?"

  "No," he said.

  "The ostler says that he has come to fetch M. le Maire."

  "What ostler?"

  "M. Scaufflaire's."

  This name made him start as if a flash of lightning had passed beforehis eyes.

  "Ah, yes," he repeated, "M. Scaufflaire."

  Could the old woman have seen him at this moment, she would have beenhorrified. There was a lengthened silence, during which he stupidlyexamined the candle flame and rolled up some of the wax in his fingers.The old woman, who was waiting, at length mustered up courage to raiseher voice again.

  "M. le Maire, what answer am I to give?"

  "Say it is quite right, and that I shall be down directly."