However that may be，the said Jean Valjean has just been brought before the Assizes of the Department of the Var as accused of highway robbery accompanied with violence，about eight years ago，on the person of one of those honest children who，as the patriarch of Ferney has said，in immortal verse，
'……Arrive from Savoy every year，
And who，with gentle hands，do clear
Those long canals choked up with soot.'
This bandit refused to defend himself.
It was proved by the skilful and eloquent representative of the public prosecutor，that the theft was committed in complicity with others，and that Jean Valjean was a member of a band of robbers in the south.Jean Valjean was pronounced guilty and was condemned to the death penalty in consequence.
This criminal refused to lodge an appeal.The king，in his inexhaustible clemency，has deigned to commute his penalty to that of penal servitude for life.
Jean Valjean was immediately taken to the prison at Toulon.
The reader has not forgotten that Jean Valjean had religious habits at M.sur M.Some papers，among others the Constitutional，presented this commutation as a triumph of the priestly party.
Jean Valjean changed his number in the galleys.
He was called 9，430.
However，and we will mention it at once in order that we may not be obliged to recur to the subject，the prosperity of M.sur M.vanished with M.Madeleine；all that he had foreseen during his night of fever and hesitation was realized；lacking him，there actually was a soul lacking.
After this fall，there took place at M.sur M.that egotistical division of great existences which have fallen，that fatal dismemberment of flourishing things which is accomplished every day，obscurely，in the human community，and which history has noted only once，because it occurred after the death of Alexander.Lieutenants are crowned kings；superintendents improvise manufacturers out of themselves.
Envious rivalries arose.
M.Madeleine's vast workshops were shut；his buildings fell to ruin，his workmen were scattered.
Some of them quitted the country，others abandoned the trade.
Thenceforth，everything was done on a small scale，instead of on a grand scale；for lucre instead of the general good.There was no longer a centre；everywhere there was competition and animosity.
M.Madeleine had reigned over all and directed all.No sooner had he fallen，than each pulled things to himself；the spirit of combat succeeded to the spirit of organization，bitterness to cordiality，hatred of one another to the benevolence of the founder towards all；the threads which M.Madeleine had set were tangled and broken，the methods were adulterated，the products were debased，confidence was killed；the market diminished，for lack of orders；salaries were reduced，the workshops stood still，bankruptcy arrived.
And then there was nothing more for the poor.All had vanished.
The state itself perceived that some one had been crushed somewhere.Less than four years after the judgment of the Court of Assizes establishing the identity of Jean Valjean and M.Madeleine，for the benefit of the galleys，the cost of collecting taxes had doubled in the arrondissement of M.sur M.；and M.de Villele called attention to the fact in the rostrum，in the month of February，1827.
BOOK SECOND.——THE SHIP ORION
Ⅱ IN WHICH THE READER WILL PERUSE TWO VERSES，WHICH ARE OF THE DEVIL'S COMPOSITION，POSSIBLY
Before proceeding further，it will be to the purpose to narrate in some detail，a singular occurrence which took place at about the same epoch，in Montfermeil，and which is not lacking in coincidence with certain conjectures of the indictment.
There exists in the region of Montfermeil a very ancient superstition，which is all the more curious and all the more precious，because a popular superstition in the vicinity of Paris is like an aloe in Siberia.We are among those who respect everything which is in the nature of a rare plant.
Here，then，is the superstition of Montfermeil：it is thought that the devil，from time immemorial，has selected the forest as a hiding-place for his treasures.
Goodwives affirm that it is no rarity to encounter at nightfall，in secluded nooks of the forest，a black man with the air of a carter or a wood-chopper，wearing wooden shoes，clad in trousers and a blouse of linen，and recognizable by the fact，that，instead of a cap or hat，he has two immense horns on his head.
This ought，in fact，to render him recognizable.
This man is habitually engaged in digging a hole.There are three ways of profiting by such an encounter.
The first is to approach the man and speak to him.
Then it is seen that the man is simply a peasant，that he appears black because it is nightfall；that he is not digging any hole whatever，but is cutting grass for his cows，and that what had been taken for horns is nothing but a dung-fork which he is carrying on his back，and whose teeth，thanks to the perspective of evening，seemed to spring from his head.The man returns home and dies within the week.
The second way is to watch him，to wait until he has dug his hole，until he has filled it and has gone away；then to run with great speed to the trench，to open it once more and to seize the'treasure'which the black man has necessarily placed there.
In this case one dies within the month.
Finally，the last method is not to speak to the black man，not to look at him，and to flee at the best speed of one's legs.One then dies within the year.
As all three methods are attended with their special inconveniences，the second，which at all events，presents some advantages，among others that of possessing a treasure，if only for a month，is the one most generally adopted.
So bold men，who are tempted by every chance，have quite frequently，as we are assured，opened the holes excavated by the black man，and tried to rob the devil.The success of the operation appears to be but moderate.