when the young girls were left alone, they leaned two by two on the window-sills, chatting, craning out their heads, and talking from one window to the other.
they saw the young men emerge from the cafe bombarda arm in arm. the latter turned round, made signs to them, smiled, and disappeared in that dusty sunday throng which makes a weekly invasion into the champs-elysees.
"don't be long!" cried fantine.
"what are they going to bring us?" said zephine.
"it will certainly be something pretty," said dahlia.
"for my part," said favourite, "i want it to be of gold."
their attention was soon distracted by the movements on the shore of the lake, which they could see through the branches of the large trees, and which diverted them greatly.
it was the hour for the departure of the mail-coaches and diligences. nearly all the stage-coaches for the south and west passed through the champs-elysees. the majority followed the quay and went through the passy barrier. from moment to moment, some huge vehicle, painted yellow and black, heavily loaded, noisily harnessed, rendered shapeless by trunks, tarpaulins, and valises, full of heads which immediately disappeared, rushed through the crowd with all the sparks of a forge, with dust for smoke, and an air of fury, grinding the pavements, changing all the paving-stones into steels. this uproar delighted the young girls. favourite exclaimed:--
"what a row! one would say that it was a pile of chains flying away."
it chanced that one of these vehicles, which they could only see with difficulty through the thick elms, halted for a moment, then set out again at a gallop. this surprised fantine.
"that's odd!" said she. "i thought the diligence never stopped."
favourite shrugged her shoulders.
"this fantine is surprising. i am coming to take a look at her out of curiosity. she is dazzled by the simplest things. suppose a case: i am a traveller; i say to the diligence, `i will go on in advance; you shall pick me up on the quay as you pass.' the diligence passes, sees me, halts, and takes me. that is done every day. you do not know life, my dear."
in this manner a certain time elapsed. all at once favourite made a movement, like a person who is just waking up.
"well," said she, "and the surprise?"
"yes, by the way," joined in dahlia, "the famous surprise?"
"they are a very long time about it!" said fantine.
as fantine concluded this sigh, the waiter who had served them at dinner entered. he held in his hand something which resembled a letter.
"what is that?" demanded favourite.
the waiter replied:--
"it is a paper that those gentlemen left for these ladies."
"why did you not bring it at once?"
"because," said the waiter, "the gentlemen ordered me not to deliver it to the ladies for an hour."
favourite snatched the paper from the waiter's hand. it was, in fact, a letter.
"stop!" said she; "there is no address; but this is what is written on it--"
"this is the surprise."
she tore the letter open hastily, opened it, and read [she knew how to read]:--
"our beloved:--
"you must know that we have parents. parents--you do not know much about such things. they are called fathers and mothers by the civil code, which is puerile and honest. now, these parents groan, these old folks implore us, these good men and these good women call us prodigal sons; they desire our return, and offer to kill calves for us. being virtuous, we obey them. at the hour when you read this, five fiery horses will be bearing us to our papas and mammas. we are pulling up our stakes, as bossuet says. we are going; we are gone. we flee in the arms of lafitte and on the wings of caillard. the toulouse diligence tears us from the abyss, and the abyss is you, o our little beauties! we return to society, to duty, to respectability, at full trot, at the rate of three leagues an hour. it is necessary for the good of the country that we should be, like the rest of the world, prefects, fathers of families, rural police, and councillors of state. venerate us. we are sacrificing ourselves. mourn for us in haste, and replace us with speed. if this letter lacerates you, do the same by it. adieu.
"for the space of nearly two years we have made you happy. we bear you no grudge for that.
"signed:
blachevelle.
famueil.
listolier.
felix tholomyes.
"postscriptum. the dinner is paid for."
the four young women looked at each other.
favourite was the first to break the silence.
"well!" she exclaimed, "it's a very pretty farce, all the same."
"it is very droll," said zephine.
"that must have been blachevelle's idea," resumed favourite. "it makes me in love with him. no sooner is he gone than he is loved. this is an adventure, indeed."
"no," said dahlia; "it was one of tholomyes' ideas. that is evident.
"in that case," retorted favourite, "death to blachevelle, and long live tholomyes!"
"long live tholomyes!" exclaimed dahlia and zephine.
and they burst out laughing.
fantine laughed with the rest.
an hour later, when she had returned to her room, she wept. it was her first love affair, as we have said; she had given herself to this tholomyes as to a husband, and the poor girl had a child.
那几位姑娘独自留下，两个两个地伏在窗子边上闲谈，伸着头，隔窗对语。
她们看见那些年轻人挽着手走出蓬巴达酒家。他们回转头来，笑嘻嘻对着她们挥了挥手，便消失在爱丽舍广场每周都有的那种星期日的尘嚣中去了。
“不要去得太久了！”芳汀喊着说。
“他们预备带什么玩意儿回来给我们呢？”瑟芬说。
“那一定是些好看的东西。”大丽说。
“我呢，”宠儿说，“我希望带回来的东西是金的。”
她们从那些大树的枝桠间望着水边的活动，觉得也很有趣，不久就忘记那回事了。那正是邮车和公共马车起程的时刻。当时到南部和西部去的客货，几乎全要走过爱丽舍广场，大部分顺着河沿，经过巴喜便门出去。每隔一分钟，就会有一辆刷了黄漆和黑漆的大车，载着沉重的东西，马蹄铁链响成一片，箱、箧、提包堆到不成样子，车子里人头攒动，一眨眼全都走了，碾踏着街心，疯狂地穿过人堆，路面上的石块尽成了燧石，尘灰滚滚，就好象是从炼铁炉里冒出的火星和浓烟。几位姑娘见了那种热闹大为兴奋，宠儿喊着说：
“多么热闹！就象一堆堆铁链在飞着。”
一次，她们仿佛看见有辆车子（由于榆树的枝叶过于浓密，她们看不大清楚）停了一下，随即又飞跑去了。这事惊动了芳汀。
“这真奇怪！”她说。“我还以为公共客车从不停的呢。”
宠儿耸了耸肩。
“这个芳汀真特别，我刚才故意望着她。最简单的事她也要大惊小怪。假如我是个旅客，我关照公共客车说：‘我要到前面去一下，您经过河沿时让我上车。客车来了看见我，停下来，让我上去。’这是每天都有的事。你脱离现实生活了，我亲爱的。”
那样过了一些时候，宠儿忽然一动，仿佛一个初醒的人。
“喂，”她说，“他们要送我们的古怪玩意儿呢？”“是呀，正是这话，”大丽接着说，“那闹了半天的古怪玩意儿呢？”
“他们耽搁得太久了！”芳汀说。
芳汀正叹完这口气，伺候晚餐的那个堂倌走进来了，他手里捏着一件东西，好象是封信。
“这是什么？”宠儿问。
堂倌回答说：
“这是那几位先生留给太太们的一张条子。
“为什么没有马上送来？”
“因为那些先生们吩咐过的，”堂倌接着说，“要过了一个钟头才交给这几位太太。”
宠儿从那堂倌手里把那张纸夺过来。那确是一封信。
“奇怪，”她说，“没有收信人的姓名，但有这几个字写在上面：
这就是古怪玩意儿。
她急忙把信拆开，打开来念（她识字）：
呵，我们的情妇！
你们应当知道，我们是有双亲的人。双亲，这是你们不大知道的。在幼稚而诚实的民法里，那叫做父亲和母亲。那些亲人，长者，慈祥的老公公，慈祥的老婆婆，他们老叫苦，老想看看我们，叫我们做浪子，盼望我们回去，并且要为我们宰牛宰羊。我们现在服从他们。因为我们是有品德的人。你们念这时信时，五匹怒马已把我们送还给我们的爸爸妈妈了。正如博须埃所说，我们拆台了。我们走了，我们已经走了。我们在拉菲特的怀中，在加亚尔1的翅膀上逃了。去图卢兹的公共客车已把我们从陷阱中拔了出来。陷阱，就是你们，呵，我们美丽的小姑娘！我们回到社会、天职、秩序中去了，马蹄得得，每小时要走三法里，祖国需要我们，和旁人一样，去做长官，做家长，做乡吏，做政府顾问。要尊敬我们。我们正在作一种牺牲。快快为我们哭一场。快快为我们找替身吧。假使这封信撕碎了你们的心，你们就照样向它报复，把它撕碎。永别了。
近两年来我们曾使你们幸福，千万不要埋怨我们。
勃拉什维尔 法梅依
李士多里 多罗米埃（签字）
1拉菲特（lafitte）和加亚尔（caillard）均为当时负责客车事务的官员。
附告：餐费已付。
那四位姑娘面面相觑。
宠儿第一个打破沉寂。
“好呀，”她喊着说，“这玩笑确是开得不坏。”
“很有趣。”瑟芬说。
“这一定是勃拉什维尔出的主意，”宠儿又说，“这倒使我爱他了。人不在，心头爱，人总是这样的。”
“不对，”大丽说，“这是多罗米埃的主意。一望便知。”
“既是这样，”宠儿又说，“勃拉什维尔该死，多罗米埃万岁！”
“多罗米埃万岁！”大丽和瑟芬都喊起来。
接着，她们放声大笑。
芳汀也随着大家笑。
一个钟头过后，她回到了自己的屋子里，她哭出来了。我们已经说过，这是她第一次的爱。她早已如同委身于自己的丈夫一样委身于多罗米埃了，并且这可怜的姑娘已生有一个孩子。
