come and go, under the trampling feet of men, under the undermost of the

human race, lower than the serf, baser than the serving man, lower than

the felon, lower than the slave, at the spot where Chaos becomes a

sewer, in which I was engulfed. It is from thence that I come; it is

from this that I rise; it is from this that I am risen. And here I am

now. Quits!"

He sat down, he rose, clasped his head with his hands, began to pace the

room again, and his tempestuous monologue continued within him.

"Where am I?--on the summit? Where is it that I have just alighted?--on

the highest peak? This pinnacle, this grandeur, this dome of the world,

this great power, is my home. This temple is in air. I am one of the

gods. I live in inaccessible heights. This supremacy, which I looked up

to from below, and from whence emanated such rays of glory that I shut

my eyes; this ineffaceable peerage; this impregnable fortress of the

fortunate, I enter. I am in it. I am of it. Ah, what a decisive turn of

the wheel! I was below, I am on high--on high for ever! Behold me a

lord! I shall have a scarlet robe. I shall have an earl's coronet on my

head. I shall assist at the coronation of kings. They will take the oath

from my hands. I shall judge princes and ministers. I shall exist. From

the depths into which I was thrown, I have rebounded to the zenith. I

have palaces in town and country: houses, gardens, chases, forests,

carriages, millions. I will give fêtes. I will make laws. I shall have

the choice of joys and pleasures. And the vagabond Gwynplaine, who had

not the right to gather a flower in the grass, may pluck the stars from

heaven!"

671

The Man Who Laughs