We’re
back in France. Getting whiplash yet? Just wait… Our narrator describes the way
that Monseigneur, a member of the French aristocracy, has his servants make hot
chocolate for him. Four servants, to be precise.
Monseigneur
remains convinced that the world has been created for his pleasures. Who is
this Monseigneur guy, exactly? Well, he’s sort of a conglomerate of all the
aristocrats. He’s absolutely detestable…and he’s described in such vague terms
that he seems to be standing in for an entire class, not a single person.
In
Monseigneur’s house, everyone dresses exquisitely. Tonight Monseigneur heads to
the opera. While he’s there, a man appears. No one seems to like the man very much.
He’s cold, with a face "like a fine mask." Even Monseigneur seems to
want to ignore him.
The
man leaves the opera and gets into his carriage, where he orders his driver to
speed through the streets. The driver is as ruthless as Monsieur le Marquis
(that’s the guy). They fly through Paris. Suddenly, however, they come to a halt.
The Marquis’ carriage has run over a small child. The father of the child
(Gaspard), wild with grief, charges at the carriage.
Monsieur
le Marquis looks at him in disgust. He can’t figure out what all the trouble is
about. He throws the man a coin to pay for his dead child. One of the men in
the crowd comforts the grieving father by saying that, had the child lived, it
wouldn’t have had a very good life anyway. This "philosopher" is none
other than Defarge, the owner of the wine shop.
As
the Marquis’ carriage drives off, he throws Defarge another coin which Defarge
throws it back. Furious, the Marquis calls the poor people dogs.
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