Free Les Miserables by Victor Hugo Page A

bishop’s silver.
    It was a foolish thing to do. The police caught me by dawn. They brought me back to the bishop’s house. He spoke before I could say a word.
    â€œI’m delighted to see you again!” he said. “You forgot to take the silver candlesticks with you when you left. I wanted you to have them as well. They’re worth a good two hundred francs.”
    I was stunned. This godly man was forgiving my crime. And he was also giving me his only valuable possessions—his precious silver. It was too much for me. I couldn’t believe what was happening.
    The police left.
    The bishop looked at me and said, “I have bought your soul for God. Promise me you will use the money from this silver to become an honest man.”
    I was confused when I left the bishop. I wandered the countryside in a daze. I didn’t know where I was going. Nor did I care.
    Memories of my years in prison flooded my mind. Suddenly I was angry. God had given me such a hard life.
    A boy came walking toward me on the footpath. He was flipping a coin. The coin dropped in the dirt just as he passed me. I stamped my foot on it.
    â€œMonsieur, my franc! It’s under your foot,” the boy pleaded.
    I screamed at him to get lost. The look of terror in his eyes was like a wild animal’s. I yelled again and the boy bolted.
    I did all this without thinking. Then suddenly I saw what I had done. I was amonster! I had stolen from a child!
    I broke down and wept. I prayed for forgiveness. I tried to find the boy to make things right. But he was gone.
    Oddly my anger was also gone. The bishop’s love had cast it out. I was a changed man. I was truly free for the first time in my life. I have never committed another crime.

Monsieur Madeleine
    I sold most of the silver to set myself up. But I kept the candlesticks to remind me that I was a new man.
    I moved to Montreuil-sur-mer. I arrived the night of the town hall fire. The police chief’s two children were in the fire. I rescued them. In the excitement, no one asked to see my identity papers.
    I changed my name to Madeleine and began a new life.
    In three short years I was rich. It happened like this.
    The city of Montreuil had a special craft—making black glass beads. The black beads brought Montreuil most of its money. I invented a cheaper glaze to finish the beads. The beads were even more in demand. The town prospered.
    I built a bead factory. There was a workshop for men and one for women. Any person wanting honest work could always get a job at my factory.
    I gave beds to the hospital and built an old people’s home. It was the first one in France. I built a new school.
    At first people didn’t trust me. They thought I was doing these things for my own gain. How could they know I gave so much because so much had been given to me?
    In time I earned everyone’s trust. They even made me their mayor. Only one persondidn’t trust me. That person was Javert, the police inspector. His eyes were like ice whenever we met.
    I lived quietly. I didn’t want Javert to learn the truth about me. I was an ex-convict. But worse, I had stolen from a child.
    Soon I would find out that Javert was like a hawk when it came to the law. His eyes were sharp, and he never let his prey escape.
    One day I was out walking. The ground was soft from rain the day before. I saw a small crowd gathered around a horsecart. They parted when I arrived.
    A horse had broken its hind legs and an old man was trapped under the cart. The man was Père Fauchelevent. He had never liked me. I think he was jealous. Once I had been a day laborer, as he was. Now I owned a factory.
    â€œIs help on the way?” I asked.
    The loaded cart pressed heavily on thepoor man’s chest. If help didn’t arrive soon, he would be crushed.
    â€œYes,” replied the man next to me. “Someone has gone to get a jack from the blacksmith. But it will take a quarter of an