Chapter 145 Six in the middle of four planks

Who is in that coffin?everybody knows.Jean Valjean. Jean Valjean contrived to be alive in it, and he could barely breathe. Strange indeed, that peace of mind guarantees peace of all others.The whole sequence that Jean Valjean had conjectured in advance was in perfect harmony, and since the night before, everything had gone smoothly.Like Fauchelevent, he pinned his hopes on Grandpa Mace.He had no doubts about the final outcome.There has never been a more tense situation, and never a more complete settling. Those four coffin planks formed an eerie stillness.In Jean Valjean's composure, it seemed that he really meant to sleep forever.

From the bottom of the coffin, he could feel, and indeed felt, how the drama of his game with death progressed scene by scene. Not long after Fauchelevent nailed the upper panel, Jean Valjean felt that he was moving through space, and then followed the carriage.As the vibration lessened, he felt that he had passed from the cobblestones to the gravel, that is to say, he had left the street and entered the road.In a hollow sound, he guessed that it was crossing the Austerlitz Bridge.At the first stop he knew he was going into the cemetery, and at the second stop he said to himself, "We're at the grave."

He suddenly felt that many hands were holding the coffin, and then there was a rough rubbing sound on the four sides of the wooden planks, and he understood that it was a rope being wrapped around the coffin, ready to be tied and hung into the hole. Then he felt dizzy. It was probably because the undertakers and burial workers shook the coffin a few times and hung it head first.Immediately he was fully recovered again, and he felt himself lying flat and stable.He just hit bottom. He felt a slight chill. A shrill, serious voice came from above him.He heard the Latin words being played slowly, and he could catch every word, but understand none of it:

“Qui dormiunt in terrae pulvere, evigilabunt; alii in vitam aeternam, et alii in opprobrium, ut videant semper.” A child's voice said: "De profundis." The deep voice began again: "Requiem eternam dona ei, domine." The child's voice answered: “Et lux perpetua luceat ei.” He heard the soft tap of a few raindrops on the board that shaded him, perhaps a sprinkling of holy water. He thought: "It's almost over. Be patient a little longer. The priest is going away. Fauchelevent took Metzchen to drink. Everyone left me. Then Fauchelevent came back alone, and I came out. The business must be paid." A good hour."

The low voice said again: "Requiescat in pace." The child's voice said: "Amen." Jean Valjean, with his ears open, heard what seemed to be the sound of many steps going away. "They're gone," he thought to himself, "and I'm all alone." All of a sudden, he heard a thunderous sound above his head. It was a shovel of earth that fell on the coffin. The second spade fell again. One of the holes he used for breathing was plugged. The third shovel fell again. Then came the fourth spade. There are some things that the strongest of men cannot stand.Then Jean lost consciousness.