CHAPTER VIII--THE VETERANS THEMSELVES CAN BE HAPPY

  Since we have pronounced the word modesty, and since we conceal nothing,we ought to say that once, nevertheless, in spite of his ecstasies, "hisUrsule" caused him very serious grief. It was on one of the days whenshe persuaded M. Leblanc to leave the bench and stroll along the walk.A brisk May breeze was blowing, which swayed the crests of theplaintain-trees. The father and daughter, arm in arm, had just passedMarius' bench. Marius had risen to his feet behind them, and wasfollowing them with his eyes, as was fitting in the desperate situationof his soul.

  All at once, a gust of wind, more merry than the rest, and probablycharged with performing the affairs of Springtime, swept down fromthe nursery, flung itself on the alley, enveloped the young girl ina delicious shiver, worthy of Virgil's nymphs, and the fawns ofTheocritus, and lifted her dress, the robe more sacred than that ofIsis, almost to the height of her garter. A leg of exquisite shapeappeared. Marius saw it. He was exasperated and furious.

  The young girl had hastily thrust down her dress, with a divinelytroubled motion, but he was none the less angry for all that. He wasalone in the alley, it is true. But there might have been some onethere. And what if there had been some one there! Can any one comprehendsuch a thing? What she had just done is horrible!--Alas, the poor childhad done nothing; there had been but one culprit, the wind; but Marius,in whom quivered the Bartholo who exists in Cherubin, was determined tobe vexed, and was jealous of his own shadow. It is thus, in fact, thatthe harsh and capricious jealousy of the flesh awakens in the humanheart, and takes possession of it, even without any right. Moreover,setting aside even that jealousy, the sight of that charming leg hadcontained nothing agreeable for him; the white stocking of the firstwoman he chanced to meet would have afforded him more pleasure.

  When "his Ursule," after having reached the end of the walk, retracedher steps with M. Leblanc, and passed in front of the bench on whichMarius had seated himself once more, Marius darted a sullen andferocious glance at her. The young girl gave way to that slightstraightening up with a backward movement, accompanied by a raising ofthe eyelids, which signifies: "Well, what is the matter?"

  This was "their first quarrel."

  Marius had hardly made this scene at her with his eyes, when some onecrossed the walk. It was a veteran, very much bent, extremely wrinkled,and pale, in a uniform of the Louis XV. pattern, bearing on his breastthe little oval plaque of red cloth, with the crossed swords, thesoldier's cross of Saint-Louis, and adorned, in addition, with acoat-sleeve, which had no arm within it, with a silver chin and a woodenleg. Marius thought he perceived that this man had an extremely wellsatisfied air. It even struck him that the aged cynic, as he hobbledalong past him, addressed to him a very fraternal and very merry wink,as though some chance had created an understanding between them, and asthough they had shared some piece of good luck together. What did thatrelic of Mars mean by being so contented? What had passed betweenthat wooden leg and the other? Marius reached a paroxysm ofjealousy.--"Perhaps he was there!" he said to himself; "perhaps hesaw!"--And he felt a desire to exterminate the veteran.

  With the aid of time, all points grow dull. Marius' wrath against"Ursule," just and legitimate as it was, passed off. He finally pardonedher; but this cost him a great effort; he sulked for three days.

  Nevertheless, in spite of all this, and because of all this, his passionaugmented and grew to madness.