[Masterpiece Les Miserables] Paris Sparks

In early October, [-], a gentleman got off his train in the French town of Montreuil.At that time, Montreuil was an underdeveloped and remote town, and it was almost dusk, and there were not many people rushing to the town at this time, so the driver took a special look at him when he got off the bus. Two eyes.The man was wearing an old-style hat with a wide brim, which fell down to cover half of his face. He was wearing a black suit, which was quite old. The cuffs and elbows were worn white, and the hem of the clothes was splashed with mud.The coachman looked at him and concluded that he was not a rich man, and there was nothing special to note, so he raised his whip and continued on his way, yelling.

The gentleman got out of the car, stood where he was, looked around, and pushed up the brim of his hat a little with his hand, so that his face was more clearly shown.He is not young, with gray sideburns showing from under his hat, and his face is lined with sorrow and debauchery, but his serious and deep eyes turn all traces of life's indulgence into a respectable one. wrinkled.If someone observes carefully, it can be seen that the old face still has traces of youthful handsomeness, and the clothes on his body, although old, are obviously carefully taken care of by women's skillful hands , the cuffs reveal traces of ingenious repairs that are hard to spot without careful inspection.But the gentleman didn't give the onlookers a chance to look at him carefully, and he walked into the small inn in the town.A fire had already been lit in the inn, bread was baking in the stove, the wine barrel was full of wine, and a skewer of meat from an unknown animal was roasting on the iron spit.The owner of the inn, who was bending over to grill several large skewers, straightened up when he heard the footsteps of the guests: "What do the guests want?"

"Two rooms, dinner for two is ready, and a young lady will come later. Here is the deposit." The gentleman put down a five-franc coin on the counter.

"No problem! Just wait a moment, dinner will be ready soon."

"Don't be in a hurry, I'm going out for a while," said the gentleman, "I want to ask you about someone."

"Who?"

"I'm not sure of her name, she used to be called Ramona, maybe Maureen now. She's a young girl of about twenty-five or six years old, with blond hair, brown eyes, and a mole on the corner of her mouth. Is there such a girl?"

"You're looking for Maureen!" said the boss in an indescribably queer tone. "Who are you to her?"

"I was in debt to her," said the gentleman.

"You! Why, you?" said the proprietor, in a tone of suspicion and contempt. "What can she do for you? You must have the wrong man. Yes, we have a Maureen here who can match the look." , but she's a whore, and she's dead."

"died!"

The gentleman staggered back a step as if he had been punched by the words.His hat was askew, revealing his face.The emotion expressed on that face and tone is unquestionable shock and pain, "What! Dead!"

"It was three months ago." The boss said indifferently, "I had a difficult labor and left a child. I don't know who the father of the child is. If you want to find out, the child is still in the orphanage, but I remind you You, Maureen really doesn't have the ability to be kind to others, she is not bad if she survives on her own."

The deathly pallor of the gentleman's face, mixed with the brown of his skin, formed that dismal color so often found in the dirt of graves. "How to get to the orphanage?" He asked in a trembling voice.

The boss showed him the way, and the gentleman strode out the door immediately.He never put down the suitcase in his hand.The boss watched him go out curiously, and muttered, "Weird!"

The Orphanage is a bleak and gloomy building from the outside, and the style of this building is apt to reflect the lives of the children who live in it: bleak, pale and forgotten.This is a small two-story building made of stones. The windows are hung with moth-eaten wooden panes. The outer walls may have been painted with bright colors to cater to the innocence of children, but after years of wind and rain The beating has already lost all the gorgeous parts, leaving only a few gray patches of color left on the wall, which adds an indescribable weird atmosphere to the house.The gentleman rang the bell rope, and a moment later, the small window on the door opened, and a thin middle-aged nun appeared behind the window.The local convent also takes care of these charitable affairs, and there are often nuns and nuns in the orphanage.The middle-aged nanny who answered the door lowered her eyes and asked, "What's the matter, sir?"

"I'm looking for someone, Maureen." The gentleman said as if he still didn't give up.

"Maureen, God bless her, has gone to another world."

"Then I'll look for her daughter."

There was a clink of chains and keys, and Mammy opened the door.The gentleman stepped into the dim little house.In order to save money, no candles were lit, the aisle was very dark, and the crying of a baby came from the distant room from time to time, which made people feel creepy, like walking into the grave of the world.The Mammy led the way, and asked, "Who are you to the poor boy?"

"I knew Maureen when she was little, and her name was Ramona," said the gentleman, his voice strained. "I tried to take care of her after her parents died, but unfortunately I couldn't find her. I've been looking for her since then. It's been 11 years."

"Yes, Ramona, she mentioned that name on her deathbed," said Mammy.

"I've heard," said the gentleman with difficulty, "I've heard she became a whore."

"God bless!" said Mammy sternly, crossing herself with one hand.So the gentleman said no more.

They walked down a long, dark corridor to a room at the end.Mammy ordered the gentleman to wait at the door, where a tall candle was burning in a candlestick.She went in by herself and came out with a child in her arms.The swaddling baby was just a piece of coarse cloth casually wrapped, and the rough cloth rubbed the baby's delicate skin red, but the baby didn't cry or scream, just staring at a pair of big eyes.In the faint candlelight, the child is lovely, like a rose wrapped in rough straw.She has soft golden hair, blue eyes, soft and bright red lips, like her mother, but more beautiful than her mother; she is not half like her grandparents.The gentleman stretched out his hand to her cautiously, but suddenly came to his senses halfway, and put his arm down.

"I heard that the child's father is unknown," he said.

"I don't know."

"Then she is an orphan."

"Yes."

"Can I adopt her?" asked the gentleman.

Mammy looked up at him: "As long as the procedures are legal."

The Gentleman took a passport from his pocket, and the Mammy, holding the child in one arm, held the passport close to the candle with the other.By the dim candlelight, she read the name on it: "Sidney Carton."

Funds for the orphanage are tight, and it can even be said that they are stretched.It is not every day that kind-hearted people come to adopt/adopt/child/children.So everything was done quickly, signed and stamped, and on the official register, the baby's name was changed to Corona Caton.The name Corona was given by her mother, and it was the only bequest left by the young mother except for this golden hair.

When the gentleman carried the child out of the orphanage, the child had already changed into a brand new outfit.He himself wore a battered overcoat, but wrapped the child tightly in muslin trousers and swaddling clothes.It was already dark, the autumn wind blew violently, and the leaves made a sound like a rainstorm.The sky was black and the paving stones were white. The gentleman hugged the child a little tighter to his chest, carrying his small suitcase in one hand, and walked away along the road.His clothes were all black and his face was pale, his footsteps were soft and silent, and a soul holding an orphan girl melted into the night.This scene was indescribably miserable, and Mammy couldn't help crossing her chest again. "God bless!" she whispered.

The author has something to say: Tips before the text:

1. Except for Enjolras, there will not be any other emotional lines, so don't worry about the cute Mary Sue.

2. Do not blacken any original characters.The works involved in this article are all based on the original (novel version), which may be inconsistent with the character of the adapted version such as the movie. (Okay, I know falling in love with Enjolras is very...I will try to restore him!)

3. The author is relatively busy in [-]D, and will update every other day. If there are special circumstances, he will try to ask for leave in advance.

4. The author tries his best not to have major historical background bugs, but the detailed research on the social and historical background of France in the 18th century is indeed too much work to complete, so most of the details of this article may not be very rigorous in research, such as readers who study history Please forgive me.If you find a bug, you can also directly comment and inform, and we will try our best to correct it.