The Hunchback of Notre Dame Book 2 Chapter I - From Charybdis to Scylla

In which a disconsolate poet, wounded by the ignominy of his first failure, wanders through the early January nights of Paris, seeking refuge amid the dark and narrow streets that hum faintly with festival clamour and flickering torchlight. Amidst the gentle contrast of humble lives and grand pageantry, he contemplates the cruel contrast of his plight and the indifferent city's indifferent festivity, resigning himself to the cold and obscurity that surround him.