[Masterpiece Les Miserables] Paris Sparks

Chapter 17

Corona began to inquire about M. Madeleine's factory.

"What do they do?" "Who works in it?" "So many people! Will M. Madeleine take care of himself? How can he manage it?" "What about the men and women?"

If she was asked, she would say that she was a tourist from other places and had never seen such a factory before, so she looked at it as a novelty.Mr. Madeleine is widely respected in the local area, and the local people are very familiar with the factory here, and they are proud of it.By the time it got dark, Coronne had changed several places, and she roughly understood the matter: Mr. Madeleine was in charge of the male workers, while the female workers were completely entrusted to the care of an honest old girl. Did not know the female workers in his factory.The last one was told to Coronne as a joke by some women workers on vacation. They laughed and said that they met M. Madeleine on the street one day and greeted him. I have worked in the factory for more than three years.

When the matter was cleared up, Coronne felt wronged both for M. Madeleine and for the young mother whose name was not known.If she had dared to ask M. Madeleine, things might have been different.However, fortunately, with the money she carried with her, the mother's urgent need has been temporarily relieved.When her father took her with him to Monsieur Madeleine, to give him Jean Valjean's amnesty, she would have a chance to bring up the matter again. --However, it depends on when the father intends to see Mr. Madeleine, after all, the young mother seems to be ill.

Thinking this way, she walked back along the road.It gets dark early in winter, and although the light has dimmed, it's not too late, not even dinner time.Coronne was walking along the street when she suddenly heard a respectful greeting from ahead: "Monsieur Madeleine!"

It can't be such a coincidence, can it?Corona looked in that direction, and saw a gray-haired gentleman in a long tweed coat coming down the street.

That's not a coincidence.Caton has not met the mayor of Madeleine in the past two days. Montreuil is a small town, and the mayor has always been approachable. In order to avoid it, it is inevitable that he cannot go to some places.On this day, Corona acted alone, going to a place she hadn't been to two days ago, and naturally bumped into Mr. Mayor.

Her golden hair was very conspicuous, and when she saw the mayor, the mayor saw her.He came to her and asked her kindly: "Where are your parents?"

"My father is at the White Sails Inn, and I'm going back to find him."

"Do you know your way? Do you want someone to escort you?"

"I recognize it, thank you."

M. Madeleine still told her the route from here to the hotel, and told her that if she lost her way, she could ask someone for directions at any time.Corona couldn't help asking: "Sir, how do you know that I may not know the way? Do you know all the children in this city?"

"More or less," replied M. Madeleine, modestly and kindly.

"I met a young mother in the afternoon who said her child had scarlet fever and couldn't raise money to save her life. Do you know that child too?"

"There isn't a single child with scarlet fever in the hospital here," asked M. Madeleine, somewhat surprised. "Who was the mother you met?"

"I don't know her name. She was dressed in rags, had a gray bonnet, and had almost no hair. When I met her, she was trying to sell her teeth to the dentist in the square because she couldn't come up with the money." doctor."

M. Madeleine listened to her with the utmost attention, and did not despise her in the slightest because she was a little girl.His originally amiable expression gradually turned serious. "Do you remember where she lived, or where you met her?" He bent down and asked her, "Can you take me there?"

"Are you going to punish her?" Corona asked.

"No! Anyone who is suffering in this city is my responsibility and I will do my best to help her."

Corona then took him to the roads he had been on. Although he had only walked these roads once, she had already remembered them clearly and would never make a mistake.When she was about to walk downstairs to the small apartment building, she turned around and asked, "You promise me, are you really going to help her?"

"I swear to God it's my duty to help a suffering mother in this city."

"Whatever she is?"

"Whatever she is."

"Even if you ever drove her out of your factory?" Corona asked.

She watched M. Madeleine closely, and saw genuine shock in his eyes. "If this is the case, it will be my fault even more. Both she and her child will become my responsibility." He solemnly promised.

Ke Luona has few experience in the world, and she doesn't think of people as bad. Seeing him reassure her repeatedly, she feels relieved.She took M. Madeleine into the small building, and it happened that a woman from an unknown house was going out with a bucket.M. Madeleine asked her: "Do you know that there is a young mother with a bald head in this building?"

"Ah, you're looking for Fantine!" replied the woman, with a touch of schadenfreude. "She lives on the third floor to the left. She's a loose girl, everyone knows it. We've said that someday she'll There's bound to be some trouble!"

M. Madeleine just shook his head, while Coronne, who was beside him, almost trembled.Fantine!The mother she met in the afternoon was Fantine!She had been looking for this name in Paris for several months, but unexpectedly came across it here.She was trembling with excitement, but she spoke very calmly, with a little naive curiosity: "Why do you say that about her? What bad things did she do?"

"Oh! This kind of scandal is not something you, a little girl, can listen to." The woman said.She leaned over to M. Madeleine, and lowered her voice mysteriously, but it was still enough for Corona to hear, "She is not married, but secretly raised a child in another place!"

Corona had been educated enough to understand that it was immoral to have children out of wedlock, but she didn't understand why this was enough to make people indifferent to, or even gloat about, such tragic suffering.In the final analysis, it was she who had met Fantine first, and had first developed a feeling of intimacy with her, so she found the face of this gleeful woman disgusting.Mr. Madeleine politely stopped what the woman was about to say, sent her away, and turned to Corona again: "It's too late now, if you don't worry, I can send you back to the hotel first, so that you Father is at ease. Or if you like, you can go upstairs with me to see that Madame Fantine."

"I'll go with you," Corona said without hesitation.At this point, she refused to just turn around and go home.M. Madeleine led her by the hand up the stairs.The stairs were dark and narrow, not allowing two people to walk side by side, and he had to walk sideways, which was very inconvenient.On the second floor, Corona realized that M. Madeleine was afraid that she would trip on the stairs because she was short.

They reached the third floor and knocked on the door.The door opened, and a trembling old woman came out.She was as thin as a handful of bones. "Does Fantine live here?" M. Madeleine asked her politely.

"Fantine is next door."

The old woman led them into the next room.The door was unlocked, the house was bare, and there was nothing to steal.Fantine sat dumbfounded on the edge of the bed, with the handkerchief neatly placed by her lap.Fantine saw Marguerite come in, still smiling, and when she saw M. Madeleine behind her, she immediately turned into an angry face.

"Ha! Mr. Mayor!" she said.Never before at Montreuil had Coronne heard those words spat out with such malice, as if Fantine wanted to spit the name in M. Madeleine's face.Immediately afterwards, she saw Corona coming out from behind M. Madeleine. It seemed that it was for her that she tried her best not to actually transform this thought into action, and spit on the mayor's face.

"Ah, my dear lady, it's you! I must have misread it, how could you come in with the mayor! Don't be fooled by this man, this ghost mayor, this old rascal mayor is the root of everything. He kicked me out after listening to some nonsense whore in that factory. That's not a bastard! Throw out a poor woman who does a good job! I haven't made enough money since then, And here comes all the troubles. I sew seventeen hours a day for nine sous! I have a child, and I owe the family dozens of francs. Tell me, what shall I do? How do I live, how do my children live?—And you, Mr. Mayor, don’t you think I’ve suffered enough, don’t you think my life is hard enough? Are you going to drive me out of here? ?”

She suddenly coughed hastily, bent over, twisted her hands, coughing out of breath.The old woman who had brought them in stood by, petrified. "How can you speak of Monsieur Mayor like that!" she reproached Fantine, and then turned to the Mayor of Madeleine for mercy: "Monsieur Mayor, don't listen to her, she doesn't mean to offend you! She's just sick and not in good health." Too comfortable, but worried about our children. It is not easy for us to live, Mr. Mayor, if you put her in prison, her children will have no one to support outside, please show mercy!"

Fantine coughed and fell on her knees, and folded her body in two. Corona ran to her side worriedly, and squeezed her hand tightly.After a dry cough, she raised her head again, panting, with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Monsieur Mayor, forget what I just said! I apologize to you for offending you, have pity on me! I have a little daughter to support, and I owe dozens of francs to the upholsterer. With rent, I can only make nine sous a day. If I move away, they will sue me and send me to prison. I can't go to prison, Mr. Mayor, and my little baby is pointing at me! With scarlet fever, if I don't send them forty francs, my children will die of illness. I didn't mean to default, Monsieur Mayor, I can't help it! Please don't send me to prison, I'm not a bad woman, if you've seen me before, you'll know. Have mercy!"

After she finished the call, she stopped, clutching her chest and panting.Right now is the coldest time in winter, and it is also the time when her attacks are most severe.The day was ups and downs, and her long-sick body was overwhelmed.

Corona looked at M. Madeleine with apprehension and entreaty.The mayor patiently listened to her, and said slowly to her like an elder swallowing his voice and tears: "I heard what you said. I didn't know what you said before. I believe it is true, and I also feel that That's true. I didn't even know you left my workshop. Why didn't you come to me? Now: I'll pay the debt on your behalf, I'll bring your child, or you go to her. You Live here, or in Paris, as you please. Your children and you are my responsibility. You don't have to work, if you like. I will give you as much money as you need. You will live happily in the future, Also be honest. And, hear me, I say to you right now, if everything you just said is true (and I have no doubts), your life, too, has been good and chaste before God Oh! Poor woman!"

Fantine was astonished, as if in a dream.M. Madeleine turned again to Corona.

"It's getting late now, I'll find someone and ask him to take you back. If you're worried, or want to see her, just ask the locals where the factory is. If Fantine is willing, I'll put her in the factory treatment room."

"Didn't I hear that this place is very safe?" Corona asked, "I know the way, please rest assured, I can go back by myself."

It is true that Montreuil, under M. Madeleine, never closed its doors at night.Parents don't think it's particularly worrying when local kids go out after dark.M. Madeleine was only worried that she would not know the way in the dark, and after Coronne had clearly recounted to him the way to go, she agreed.Corona ran up to Fantine, and took hers in hers. "Sister, I'll come see you tomorrow!" she said.

"Oh, is this a dream?" Fantine asked in bewilderment, suddenly knowing that she could reunite with Cosette and live with her from now on, such happiness has made her dizzy, "It must be I was in a dream. How could such a good thing happen?"

"It's true!" Corona comforted her softly.Then she said good-bye to the Mayor and Marguerite, and went back to the hotel.

It was completely dark.But Coronne found Fantine suddenly, and she was so excited that she didn't feel the slightest fear.She almost trotted back to the hotel, her cheeks flushed.Carton was anxiously waiting at the door, and when he saw her coming back, he immediately stepped forward to meet her, looked him over, and felt relieved when he saw that she was safe and sound. "Why did you come back so late?" He asked, but there was no trace of blame in his tone.

"Father," Corona asked him impatiently, "who is Fantine?"

The author has something to say: a small part of the text in this chapter comes from the original text of "Les Miserables".