Les Miserables, Wilbour Translation

J AVERT put Jean Valjean in the city prison. The arrest of Monsieur Madeleine produced a sensation, of rather an extraordinary commotion, at M sur M . We are sorry not to be able to disguise the fact that, on this single sentence, he was a galley slave, almost everybody abandoned him. In less than two hours, all the good he had done was forgotten, and he was " nothing but a galley slave." It is just to say that the details of the scene at Arras were not yet known. All day long, conversations like this were heard in every part of the town: "Don't you know, he was a discharged convict! " "He! Who?" "The mayor." " Bah! Monsieur Madeleine." "Yes." "Indeed!" " His name was not Madeleine; he has a horrid name, Be" jean, Bojean, Bonjean! " " Oh! bless me! " "He has been arrested." " Arrested! " " In prison, in the city prison to await his removal." " His removal! where will he be taken? " " To the Court of Assizes for a highway robbery that he once committed." " Well! I always did suspect him. The man was too good, too perfect, too sweet. He refused fees, and gave sous to every little blackguard he met. I always thought that there must be something bad at the bottom of all this."

-"The drawing-rooms/' above all, were entirely of this opinion.