Hector Malot Quotes

“An abandoned child, Remi, is sold by his adoptive parents to a mountebank. Browsing the English and French roads, the child held various jobs before discovering the secret of his origins.”

“A compelling story in which orphaned Remi gets hired out to a traveling street entertainer when his foster parents fall on hard times.”

“As in a great many poor homes, our kitchen was also the bedroom. Near the fireplace were all the things for the meals _the table, the pots and pans, and the sideboard; at the other end was the bedroom.”

“Jerome Barberin lives with his wife in a little French town, Chavanon. He usually works in Paris as a mason. One day he finds a baby boy in Paris.”

“Going from village to village with its act, ‘nobody’s boy’ has numerous adventures until his boss also falls on hard times and perishes, homeless and destitute.”

“That night I dreamed that I had been taken to the Home. When I opened my eyes in the early morning I could scarcely believe that I was still there in my little bed. I felt the bed and pinched my arms to see if it were true.”

“The boy wears very fine clothes, so apparently his parents are rich. Barberin offers to take care of the child, hoping to get a good reward. He gives the boy to his wife, and calls him Rémi.

“Remi’s life includes a number of surprising twists and turns, leading to a climax and a very happy conclusion when he is reunited with his family.”

“My village, or, to be more exact, the village where I was brought up, for I did not have a village of my own, no birthplace, any more than I had a father or mother _the village where I spent my childhood was called Chavanon: it is one of the poorest in France.”

“On the way home I wondered if this was not some trick of his, returning to the house, but his last words drove all my doubts away. As we had to go back to the village next day to see the mayor, it was certain that Barberin had not accepted Vitalis’ terms.”

“What Vitalis called a delightful comedy was really a pantomime; naturally it had to be for the very good reason that two of its principals, Pretty-Heart and Capi, could not speak, and third, myself, was incapable of uttering two words.”