He looked for Javert，but did not see him；the seat of the witnesses was hidden from him by the clerk's table，and then，as we have just said，the hall was sparely lighted.
At the moment of this entrance，the defendant's lawyer had just finished his plea.
The attention of all was excited to the highest pitch；the affair had lasted for three hours：
for three hours that crowd had been watching a strange man，a miserable specimen of humanity，either profoundly stupid or profoundly subtle，gradually bending beneath the weight of a terrible likeness.
This man，as the reader already knows，was a vagabond who had been found in a field carrying a branch laden with ripe apples，broken in the orchard of a neighbor，called the Pierron orchard.
Who was this man？an examination had been made；witnesses had been heard，and they were unanimous；light had abounded throughout the entire debate；the accusation said：'We have in our grasp not only a marauder，a stealer of fruit；we have here，in our hands，a bandit，an old offender who has broken his ban，an ex-convict，a miscreant of the most dangerous description，a malefactor named Jean Valjean，whom justice has long been in search of，and who，eight years ago，on emerging from the galleys at Toulon，committed a highway robbery，accompanied by violence，on the person of a child，a Savoyard named Little Gervais；a crime provided for by article 383 of the Penal Code，the right to try him for which we reserve hereafter，when his identity shall have been judicially established.
He has just committed a fresh theft；it is a case of a second offence；condemn him for the fresh deed；later on he will be judged for the old crime.'
In the face of this accusation，in the face of the unanimity of the witnesses，the accused appeared to be astonished more than anything else；he made signs and gestures which were meant to convey No，or else he stared at the ceiling：
he spoke with difficulty，replied with embarrassment，but his whole person，from head to foot，was a denial；he was an idiot in the presence of all these minds ranged in order of battle around him，and like a stranger in the midst of this society which was seizing fast upon him；nevertheless，it was a question of the most menacing future for him；the likeness increased every moment，and the entire crowd surveyed，with more anxiety than he did himself，that sentence freighted with calamity，which descended ever closer over his head；there was even a glimpse of a possibility afforded；besides the galleys，a possible death penalty，in case his identity were established，and the affair of Little Gervais were to end thereafter in condemnation.Who was this man？what was the nature of his apathy？was it imbecility or craft？
Did he understand too well，or did he not understand at all？these were questions which divided the crowd，and seemed to divide the jury；there was something both terrible and puzzling in this case：
the drama was not only melancholy；it was also obscure.
The counsel for the defence had spoken tolerably well，in that provincial tongue which has long constituted the eloquence of the bar，and which was formerly employed by all advocates，at Paris as well as at Romorantin or at Montbrison，and which to-day，having become classic，is no longer spoken except by the official orators of magistracy，to whom it is suited on account of its grave sonorousness and its majestic stride；a tongue in which a husband is called a consort，and a woman a spouse；Paris，the centre of art and civilization；the king，the monarch；Monseigneur the Bishop，a sainted pontiff；the district-attorney，the eloquent interpreter of public prosecution；the arguments，the accents which we have just listened to；the age of Louis XIV.，the grand age；a theatre，the temple of Melpomene；the reigning family，the august blood of our kings；a concert，a musical solemnity；the General Commandant of the province，the illustrious warrior，who，etc.；the pupils in the seminary，these tender levities；errors imputed to newspapers，the imposture which distills its venom through the columns of those organs；etc.The lawyer had，accordingly，begun with an explanation as to the theft of the apples，——an awkward matter couched in fine style；but Benigne Bossuet himself was obliged to allude to a chicken in the midst of a funeral oration，and he extricated himself from the situation in stately fashion.
The lawyer established the fact that the theft of the apples had not been circumstantially proved.His client，whom he，in his character of counsel，persisted in calling Champmathieu，had not been seen scaling that wall nor breaking that branch by any one.
He had been taken with that branch（which the lawyer preferred to call a bough）in his possession；but he said that he had found it broken off and lying on the ground，and had picked it up.
Where was there any proof to the contrary？No doubt that branch had been broken off and concealed after the scaling of the wall，then thrown away by the alarmed marauder；there was no doubt that there had been a thief in the case.But what proof was there that that thief had been Champmathieu？One thing only.
