, a faint cloud, and she was so full of joy that the
cloud did not last long. She had Marius. The young man arrived, the old
man was effaced; such is life.

And then, Cosette had, for long years, been habituated to seeing enigmas
around her; every being who has had a mysterious childhood is always
prepared for certain renunciations.

Nevertheless, she continued to call Jean Valjean: Father.

Cosette, happy as the angels, was enthusiastic over Father Gillenormand.
It is true that he overwhelmed her with gallant compliments and
presents. While Jean Valjean was building up for Cosette a normal
situation in society and an unassailable status, M. Gillenormand was
superintending the basket of wedding gifts. Nothing so amused him as
being magnificent. He had given to Cosette a robe of Binche guipure
which had descended to him from his own grandmother.

"These fashions come up again," said he, "ancient things are the
rage, and the young women of my old age dress like the old women of my
childhood."

He rifled his respectable chests of drawers in Coromandel lacquer, with
swelling fronts, which had not been opened for years.--"Let us hear the
confession of these dowagers," he said, "let us see what they have in
their paunches." He noisily violated the pot-bellied drawers of all
his wives, of all his mistresses and of all his grandmothers. Pekins,
damasks, lampas, painted moires, robes of shot gros de Tours, India
kerchiefs embroidered in gold that could be washed, dauphines without a
right or wrong side, in the piece, Genoa and Alencon point lace,
parures in antique goldsmith's work, ivory bon-bon boxes ornamented
with microscopic battles, gewgaws and ribbons--he lavished everything on
Cosette. Cosette, amazed, desperately in love with Marius, and wild with
gratitude towards M. Gillenormand, dreamed of a happiness without limit
clothed in satin and velvet. Her wedding basket seemed to her to be
upheld by seraphim. Her soul flew out into the azure depths, with wings
of Mechlin lace.

The intoxication of the lovers was only equalled, as we have already
said, by the ecstasy of the grandfather. A sort of flourish of trumpets
went on in the Rue des Filles-du-Calvaire.

Every morning, a fresh offering of bric-a-brac from the grandfather to
Cosette. All possible knickknacks glittered around her.

One day Marius, who was fond of talking gravely in the midst of his
bliss, said, apropos of I know not what incident:

"The men of