ad been made prisoners in the very act of combat, the
councils of war did not dare to trouble any one. So Marius was left in
peace.

M. Gillenormand first passed through all manner of anguish, and then
through every form of ecstasy. It was found difficult to prevent his
passing every night beside the wounded man; he had his big arm-chair
carried to Marius' bedside; he required his daughter to take the
finest linen in the house for compresses and bandages. Mademoiselle
Gillenormand, like a sage and elderly person, contrived to spare the
fine linen, while allowing the grandfather to think that he was obeyed.
M. Gillenormand would not permit any one to explain to him, that for the
preparation of lint batiste is not nearly so good as coarse linen,
nor new linen as old linen. He was present at all the dressings of the
wounds from which Mademoiselle Gillenormand modestly absented herself.
When the dead flesh was cut away with scissors, he said: "Aie! aie!"
Nothing was more touching than to see him with his gentle, senile palsy,
offer the wounded man a cup of his cooling-draught. He overwhelmed the
doctor with questions. He did not observe that he asked the same ones
over and over again.

On the day when the doctor announced to him that Marius was out of
danger, the good man was in a delirium. He made his porter a present of
three louis. That evening, on his return to his own chamber, he danced
a gavotte, using his thumb and forefinger as castanets, and he sang the
following song:

"Jeanne est nee a Fougere "Amour, tu vis en elle;
Vrai nid d'une bergere; Car c'est dans sa prunelle
J'adore son jupon, Que tu mets ton carquois.
Fripon. Narquois!

"Moi, je la chante, et j'aime,
Plus que Diane meme,
Jeanne et ses durs tetons
Bretons."[61]

"Love, thou dwellest in her; For 'tis in her eyes that thou placest thy
quiver, sly scamp!

"As for me, I sing her, and I love, more than Diana herself, Jeanne and
her firm Breton breasts."

Then he knelt upon a chair, and Basque, who was watching him through the
half-open door, made sure that he was praying.

Up to that time, he had not believed in God.

At each succeeding phase of improvement, which became more and more
pronounced, the grandfather raved. He executed a multitude of mechanical
actions full of joy; he ascended and descend