ir of a mason's scaffolding on the march.
Gringoire, who liked noble and classical comparisons, compared him in
thought to the living tripod of Vulcan.

This living tripod saluted him as he passed, but stopping his hat on a
level with Gringoire's chin, like a shaving dish, while he shouted in
the latter's ears: "_Senor cabellero, para comprar un pedaso de pan_!"*

* Give me the means to buy a bit of bread, sir.

"It appears," said Gringoire, "that this one can also talk; but 'tis a
rude language, and he is more fortunate than I if he understands it."
Then, smiting his brow, in a sudden transition of ideas: "By the way,
what the deuce did they mean this morning with their Esmeralda?"

He was minded to augment his pace, but for the third time something
barred his way. This something or, rather, some one was a blind man, a
little blind fellow with a bearded, Jewish face, who, rowing away in the
space about him with a stick, and towed by a large dog, droned through
his nose with a Hungarian accent: "_Facitote caritatem_!"

"Well, now," said Gringoire, "here's one at last who speaks a Christian
tongue. I must have a very charitable aspect, since they ask alms of
me in the present lean condition of my purse. My friend," and he turned
towards the blind man, "I sold my last shirt last week; that is to say,
since you understand only the language of Cicero: _Vendidi hebdomade
nuper transita meam ultimam chemisan_."

That said, he turned his back upon the blind man, and pursued his way.
But the blind man began to increase his stride at the same time; and,
behold! the cripple and the legless man, in his bowl, came up on their
side in great haste, and with great clamor of bowl and crutches, upon
the pavement. Then all three, jostling each other at poor Gringoire's
heels, began to sing their song to him,--

"_Caritatem_!" chanted the blind man.

"_La buona mancia_!" chanted the cripple in the bowl.

And the lame man took up the musical phrase by repeating: "_Un pedaso de
pan_!"

Gringoire stopped up his ears. "Oh, tower of Babel!" he exclaimed.

He set out to run. The blind man ran! The lame man ran! The cripple in
the bowl ran!

And then, in proportion as he plunged deeper into the street, cripples
in bowls, blind men and lame men, swarmed about him, and men with one
arm, and with one eye, and the leprous with their sores, some emerging
from little streets adjacent, some from the air-holes of cellars,
howling