ove affairs, and his grisettes and his
Cosettes; he has made his rustle, he has had his wings, he has eaten of
the bread of spring; he certainly must remember it.' Ah! you take the
cockchafer by the horns. That's good. I offer you a cutlet and you
answer me: 'By the way, I want to marry.' There's a transition for
you! Ah! you reckoned on a bickering! You do not know that I am an old
coward. What do you say to that? You are vexed? You did not expect to
find your grandfather still more foolish than yourself, you are wasting
the discourse which you meant to bestow upon me, Mr. Lawyer, and that's
vexatious. Well, so much the worse, rage away. I'll do whatever
you wish, and that cuts you short, imbecile! Listen. I have made my
inquiries, I'm cunning too; she is charming, she is discreet, it is not
true about the lancer, she has made heaps of lint, she's a jewel, she
adores you, if you had died, there would have been three of us, her
coffin would have accompanied mine. I have had an idea, ever since you
have been better, of simply planting her at your bedside, but it is only
in romances that young girls are brought to the bedsides of handsome
young wounded men who interest them. It is not done. What would your
aunt have said to it? You were nude three quarters of the time, my good
fellow. Ask Nicolette, who has not left you for a moment, if there was
any possibility of having a woman here. And then, what would the doctor
have said? A pretty girl does not cure a man of fever. In short, it's
all right, let us say no more about it, all's said, all's done, it's all
settled, take her. Such is my ferocity. You see, I perceived that you
did not love me. I said to myself: 'Here now, I have my little Cosette
right under my hand, I'm going to give her to him, he will be obliged
to love me a little then, or he must tell the reason why.' Ah! so you
thought that the old man was going to storm, to put on a big voice,
to shout no, and to lift his cane at all that aurora. Not a bit of it.
Cosette, so be it; love, so be it; I ask nothing better. Pray take the
trouble of getting married, sir. Be happy, my well-beloved child."

That said, the old man burst forth into sobs.

And he seized Marius' head, and pressed it with both arms against his
breast, and both fell to weeping. This is one of the forms of supreme
happiness.

"Father!" cried Marius.

"Ah, so you love me!" said the old man.

An ineffable moment ensued. They were choking and co