a quartette of ruffians, claquesous, gueulemer, babet, and montparnasse governed the third lower floor of paris, from 1830 to 1835.
gueulemer was a hercules of no defined position. for his lair he had the sewer of the arche-marion. he was six feet high, his pectoral muscles were of marble, his biceps of brass, his breath was that of a cavern, his torso that of a colossus, his head that of a bird. one thought one beheld the farnese hercules clad in duck trousers and a cotton velvet waistcoat. gueulemer, built after this sculptural fashion, might have subdued monsters; he had found it more expeditious to be one. a low brow, large temples, less than forty years of age, but with crow's-feet, harsh, short hair, cheeks like a brush, a beard like that of a wild boar; the reader can see the man before him. h=" " cellspacing="0" width="600">
?盙譺es. his occupation consisted in selling, in the open air, plaster busts and portraits of "the head of the state." in addition to this, he extracted teeth. he had exhibited phenomena at fairs, and he had owned a booth with a trumpet and this poster: "babet, dental artist, member of the academies, makes physical experiments on metals and metalloids, extracts teeth, undertakes stumps abandoned by his brother practitioners. price: one tooth, one franc, fifty centimes; two teeth, two francs; three teeth,
two francs, fifty. take advantage of this opportunity." this take advantage of this opportunity meant: have as many teeth extracted as possible. he had been married and had had children. he did not know what had become of his wife and children. he had lost them as one loses his handkerchief. babet read the papers, a striking exception in the world to which he belonged. one day, at the period when he had his family with him in his booth on wheels, he had read in the messager, that a woman had just given birth to a child, who was doing well, and had a calf's muzzle, and he exclaimed: "there's a fortune! my wife has not the wit to present me with a child like that!"
later on he had abandoned everything, in order to "undertake paris." this was his expression.
who was claquesous? he was night. he waited until the sky was daubed with black, before he showed himself. at nightfall he emerged from the hole whither he returned before daylight. where was this hole? no one knew. he only addressed his accomplices in the most absolute darkness, and with his back turned to them. was his name claquesous? certainly not. if a candle was brought, he put on a mask. he was a ventriloquist. babet said: "claquesous is a nocturne
for two voices." claquesous was vague, terrible, and a roamer. no one was sure whether he had a name, claquesous being a sobriquet; none was sure that he had a voice, as his stomach spoke more frequently than his voice; no one was sure that he had a face, as he was never seen without his mask. he disappeared as though he had vanished into thin air; when he appeared, it was as though he sprang from the earth.
a lugubrious being was montparnasse. montparnasse was a child; less than twenty years of age, with a handsome face, lips like cherries, charming black hair, the brilliant light of springtime in his eyes; he had all vices and aspired to all crimes.
the digestion of evil aroused in him an appetite for worse. it was the street boy turned pickpocket, and a pickpocket turned garroter. he was genteel, effeminate, graceful, robust, sluggish, ferocious. the rim of his hat was curled up on the left side, in order to make room for a tuft of hair, after the style of 1829. he lived by robbery with violence. his coat was of the best cut, but threadbare. montparnasse was a fashion-plate in misery and given to the commission of murders. the cause of all this youth's crimes was the desire to be well-dressed. the first grisette who had said to him: "you are handsome!" had cast the stain of darkness into his heart, and had made a cain of this abel. finding that he was handsome, he desired to be elegant: now, the height of elegance is idleness; idleness in a poor man means crime. few prowlers were so dreaded as montparnasse. at eighteen, he had already numerous corpses in his past. more than one passer-by lay with outstretched arms in the presence of this wretch, with his face in a pool of blood. curled, pomaded, with laced waist, the hips of a woman, the bust of a prussian officer, the murmur of admiration from the boulevard wenches surrounding him, his cravat knowingly tied, a bludgeon in his pocket, a flower in his buttonhole; such was this dandy of the sepulchre.
一个四人黑帮，巴伯、海嘴、铁牙和巴纳斯山，从一八三○到一八三五，统治着巴黎的第三地下层。
海嘴是个超级大力士。他的窝在马利容桥拱的暗沟里。他有六尺高，石胸，钢臂，山洞里风声似的鼻息，巨无霸的腰身，小雀的脑袋。人们见了他，还以为是法尔内斯的《赫拉克勒斯》穿上了棉布裤和棉绒褂子。海嘴有这种塑像似的身体，本可以驱除魔怪，但是他觉得不如自己当个魔怪来得更方便些。额头低，额角阔，不到四十岁两只眼角便有了鹅掌纹，毛发粗而短，板刷腮帮，野猪胡子。从这里我们可以想见其人。他的一身肌肉要求工作，但是他的愚蠢不愿意。这是个大力懒汉，凭懒劲杀人的凶手。有人认为他是个在殖民地生长的白人。他大致和布律纳1元帅有点关系，一八一五年曾在阿维尼翁当过扛夫。在那以后，他便当了土匪。
1布律纳（brune，1763?815），法国元帅，十八世纪末法国资产阶级革命活动家，右翼雅各宾党人，丹东分子，后为拿破仑的拥护者。在王朝复辟的白色恐怖时期，在阿维尼翁被害。
巴伯的清癯和海嘴的肥壮适成对比。巴伯瘦小而多才。他虽是透明的，却又叫别人看他不透。人们可以透过他的骨头看见光，但是透过他的瞳孔却什么也瞧不见。他自称是化学家。他在波白什戏班里当过丑角，在波比诺戏班里当过小花脸。他
在圣米耶尔演过闹剧。这是个装腔作势的人，能言会道，突出他的笑容，重视他的手势。他的行当是在街头叫卖石膏半身像和“政府首脑”的画片。此外，他还拔牙。他也在市集上展览一些畸形的怪物，并且有一个售货棚子，带个喇叭，张贴广告：“巴伯，牙科艺术家，科学院院士，金属和非金属实验家，拔牙专家，经营同行弟兄们抛弃的断牙根。收费：拔一个牙，一法郎五十生丁；两个牙，两法郎；三个牙，两法郎五十生丁。机会难得。”（这“机会难得”的意思是说“请尽量多拔”。）他结过婚，也有过孩子，却不知道妻子和儿女在干什么。他把他们丢了，象丢一块手帕。在他那黑暗的世界里，他是个了不起的突出人物：巴伯常看报纸。一天，那还是在他把妻子和流动货棚随身带上的时候，他在《消息报》上读到一则新闻，说有个妇人刚生下一个还能活的孩子，嘴巴象牛嘴，他大声喊道：“这是一笔好生意！我老婆是不会有本领替我生这么一个孩子的！”从这以后，他放弃了一切，去“经营巴黎”。他的原话如此。
铁牙又是什么东西呢？那是个夜猫子。他要等天上涂上黑色才出门。要到晚上他才从在天亮以前钻进去的那个洞里钻出来。这洞在什么地方？谁也不知道。即使是在伸手不见五指的黑暗中，对他同伙的人，他也只是在把背对着人时才说话。他真叫铁牙吗？不。他说：“我叫啥也不是。”碰到蜡烛突然亮时他便蒙上一个脸罩。他能用肚子说话。巴伯常说：“铁牙是个二声部夜曲。”铁牙是个行踪不定，东游西荡，可怕的人。他是否真有一个名字，这很难说，“铁牙”原是个绰号；他是否真能说话，这也很难说，他肚子说话时比嘴多；他是否真有一张脸，也很难说，人们看见的从来就只是他那脸罩。他能象烟一样忽然无影无踪，他出现时也好象是从地里冒出来的。
还有一个阴森人物，那便是巴纳斯山。巴纳斯山是个小伙子，不到二十岁，一张漂亮的脸，樱桃似的嘴唇，动人的黑头发，满眼春光，他干尽缺德事，任何罪恶他都想犯。干了坏事还想干更坏的事，食量越吃越大。他从野孩子变成流氓，又从流氓变成凶手。他是温和、娇柔、文雅、强健、软绵绵、凶狠毒辣的。他帽子的边照一八二九年的式样，卷起左面，让位给那丛蓬松的头发。他以暴力行劫为生。他的骑马服的剪裁是最好的，但是已经磨旧了。巴纳斯山，那是时装画册中的一张图片，是个谋财害命的穷苦人。这少年犯罪的唯一动机是要穿得考究。最先向他说“你漂亮”的那个轻佻女人已把恶念撒在他的心上，于是他成了那亚伯的该隐1。觉得自己漂亮，他便要求优美，优美的第一步是悠闲，穷人的悠闲便是犯罪。在盗匪中很少有象巴纳斯山那样可怕的。十八岁，他便已丢下好几个尸体。两臂张开、面朝血泊、倒在这无赖汉的黑影中的行人不止一个。烫头发，擦香膏，细腰，女人的胯，普鲁士军官的胸，街头的姑娘在他前后左右喁喁称羡的声音，结得别致的领带，衣袋里藏个阎王锤，饰孔上插朵鲜花，这个使人入墓的花花公子便是如此。
1该隐和亚伯是亚当和夏娃的长子和次子，哥哥杀害了弟弟。（见《圣经·旧约》）