He arrived there and found distress, and, what is still sadder, no smile; a cold hearth and cold hearts.
When he entered, he was asked: "Whence come you?"
He replied:
"From the street."
When he went away, they asked him:
"Whither are you going?"
He replied: "Into the streets."
His mother said to him:
"What did you come here for?"
This child lived, in this absence of affection, like the pale plants which spring up in cellars.
It did not cause him suffering, and he blamed no one.
He did not know exactly how a father and mother should be.
Nevertheless, his mother loved his sisters.
We have forgotten to mention, that on the Boulevard du Temple this child was called Little Gavroche.
Why was he called Little Gavroche?
Probably because his father's name was Jondrette.
It seems to be the instinct of certain wretched families to break the thread.
The chamber which the Jondrettes inhabited in the Gorbeau hovel was the last at the end of the corridor.
The cell next to it was occupied by a very poor young man who was called M. Marius.
Let us explain who this M. Marius was.