Join Host Bree Carlile as she reads the sixty-seventh chapter of Les Miserables.

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>> Speaker A: Take a look, in the book and let's see

what we can find.

Take it chapter by chapter. One

fight M at a time.

>> Brie Carlisle: So.

>> Speaker A: Many adventures and mountains

we can climb

to give word for word, line by

line, one bite at a time.

>> Brie Carlisle: Welcome.

>> Brie Carlisle: To bite at a time books where we read you your favorite

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>> Brie Carlisle: Today well be continuing les miserable, by

Victor Hugo chapter

two Fantine Happy.

She made no movement of either

surprise or of joy. She was

joy itself, that simple

question. And Cosette was put with so much profound

of faith, with so much certainty,

with, such a complete absence of disquiet and of

doubt that he found not a word of reply.

She continued, I knew that you were

there. I was asleep, but I saw

you. I have seen you for a long,

long time. I have been following you with

my eyes all night long. You were in a

glory, and you had around you all sorts of celestial

forms. He raised his glance to the

crucifix, but she

resumed, tell m me where Cosette is.

Why did you not place her on my bed against the moment of my

waking? He made some

mechanical reply, which he was never afterwards able to

recall. Fortunately, the doctor had been

warned, and he now made his appearance. He

came to the aid of Monsieur Madeleine. Calm

yourself, my child, said the doctor.

Your child is here.

Fantines eyes beamed and filled her whole face

with light. She clasped her hands with an

expression which contained all that is possible to prayer in the way of

violence and tenderness. Oh,

She exclaimed. Bring her to me.

Touching illusion of a mother,

Cosette was for her still, the little

child who was carried. Not yet, said

the doctor. Not just now. You still have

some fever. The sight of your child would

agitate you and do you harm. You must be cured

first. She interrupted him

impetuously. but I am cured. Oh, I

tell you that I am cured. What an ass that, doctor,

is the idea. I want to see my child.

You see, said the doctor, how

excited you become. So long as youre in this

state, I shall oppose you having your child. It

is not enough to see her. It is necessary that you should live

for her. When you are reasonable, I will bring her to

you myself. The poor mother bowed her

head. I beg your pardon, doctor.

I really beg your pardon. Formerly I should never

have spoken as I have just done. So many misfortunes

have happened to me that I sometimes do not know what I am saying.

I understand you. You fear the

emotion. I will wait as long as you like. But I swear

to you that it would not have harmed me to see my daughter.

I, have been seeing her. I have not taken my eyes

from her since yesterday evening. Do you know,

if she were brought to me now, I should talk to her very

gently. That is all. is it not quite natural that I should desire

to see my daughter, who has been brought to me expressly from

Montfermeil? I am not angry. I know well that I

am about to be happy. All night long I have seen white

things and persons who smiled at me. When

Monsieur le Doctor pleases, he shall bring me Cosette.

I have no longer any fever. I am well.

I am perfectly conscious that there is nothing the matter with me

anymore. But I am going to behave as though I were

ill and not stir to please these ladies

here. When it is seen that I am m very calm, they will

say she must have her child.

Monsieur, Madeleine was sitting on a chair beside the bed.

She turned towards him. She was

making a visible effort to be calm and very

good, as she expressed it, in the feebleness of

illness which resembles infancy, in

order that seeing her so peaceable, they might make no

difficulty about bringing Cosette to her.

But while she controlled herself, she could not refrain from questioning

Monsieur Madeleine. Did you have a pleasant trip,

Monsieur le Maire? Oh, how good you were to go. And

get her for me. Only tell me how she is.

Did she stand the journey well? Alas, she will not

recognize me. She must have forgotten me by this time.

Poor darling. Children have no memories.

They are like birds. A child sees one

thing today and another thing tomorrow, and thinks of

nothing any longer. And did she have white linen?

Did those thenardiers keep her clean? How have they

fed her? Oh, if you only knew how I have

suffered, putting such questions as that to myself during all

the time of my wretchedness. Now it is all

past. I am happy. oh, how I should like

to see her. Do you think her pretty, Monsieur le

Maire, is not my daughter beautiful? You must

have been very cold in that diligence. Could she

not be brought for just one little instant? She might

be taken away directly afterwards. Tell me.

you are the master. It could be so if you

chose. He took her hand.

Cosette is beautiful, he said.

Cosette is well. You shall see her soon.

But calm yourself. You are talking with too much

vivacity. And you are throwing your arms out from under the

clothes, and that makes you cough.

In fact, fits of coughing interrupted Fantine at

nearly every word. Fantine did

not murmur. She feared that she had injured

by her too passionate lamentations, the

confidence which she was desirous of inspiring. And

she began to talk of indifferent things.

Montfermeil is quite pretty, is it not?

People go there on pleasure parties in summer.

Are the thnardiers prosperous? There are not many

travelers in their parts. That inn of theirs is a sort

of cook shop.

Monsieur Madeleine was still holding her hand and gazing at her

with anxiety. It was evident that he had

come to tell her things before which his mind now hesitated.

The doctor, having finished his visit, retired

sister simplice remained alone with them.

But in the midst of this pause, Fantine

exclaimed, I hear her. Mon

Dieu, I hear her. She

stretched out her arm to enjoin silence about her,

held her breath, and began to listen with rapture.

There was a child playing in the yard, the

child of the portress, or of some work woman.

It was one of those accidents which are always

occurring and which seem to form a part of the mysterious

stage setting of mournful scenes.

The child, a little girl, was

going and coming, running to warm

herself, laughing, singing at

the top of her voice. Alas, and what are the

plays of children not intermingled? It

was this little girl whom Fantine heard singing.

Oh, she resumed, it

is my cosette. I recognize her

voice. The child retreated as

it had come. The voice died away.

Fantine listened for a while longer.

Then her face clouded over and Monsieur Madeleine heard her say

in a low voice, how wicked that

doctor is not to allow me to see my daughter.

That man has an evil countenance that he has.

But the smiling background of her thoughts came to the front

again. She continued to talk to herself

with her head resting on the pillow. How

happy we are going to be. We shall have a

little garden. The very first thing. Monsieur Madeleine

has promised it to me. My daughter will play in the

garden. She must know her letters by this

time. I will make her spell. She will run

over the grass after butterflies. I will watch

her. Then she will take her first

communion. When will she take her

first communion? She began to reckon on

her fingers. One, two,

three, four. She is seven years

old. In five years she will have a white

veil and open work stockings. She will look like

a little woman. oh, my good sister, you do not know how foolish I

become when I think of my daughters first communion.

She began to laugh. He had

released fantines hand. He listened to

her words as one listens to the sighing of the

breeze with his eyes on the ground,

his mind absorbed in reflection which had no bottom.

All at once she ceased speaking, and this caused him

to raise his head mechanically.

Fantine had become terrible.

She no longer spoke. She no longer

breathed. She had raised herself to a sitting

posture. Her thin shoulder emerged from her

chemise. Her face, which had been

radiant but a moment before, was ghastly,

and she seemed to have fixed her eyes,

rendered large with terror, on something alarming at the

other extremity of the room. Good God.

He exclaimed. What ails you, Fantine?

She made no reply. She did not remove her eyes

from the object which she seemed to see.

She removed one hand from his arm and with the other made him a

sign to look behind him.

He turned and beheld

Javert. Thank you for

joining bite at a time books today while we read a bite

of one of your favorite classics again. My

name is Brie Carlisle and I hope you come back

tomorrow for the next bite of Le

Miserable.

>> Brie Carlisle: Dont forget to sign up for our

newsletter@biteaudatimebooks.com and check

out the shop. You can check out the show notes or

our website, byteaditimebooks.com for the

rest of the links for our show. wed love to hear from you on

social media as well.

>> Speaker A: take it chapter by chapter. One

night at a time.

So many adventures and

mountains we can climb.

Take it word go word line by

line, one bite at a time.