Chapter 38 The Compact
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THE
FIRST WORDS that Albert uttered to his friend, on the following morning,
contained a request that Franz would accompany him on a visit to the
count; true, the young man had warmly and energetically thanked the count
on the previous evening; but services such as he had rendered could never
be too often acknowledged. Franz, who seemed attracted by some invisible
influence towards the count, in which terror was strangely mingled, felt
an extreme reluctance to permit his friend to be exposed alone to the
singular fascination that this mysterious personage seemed to exercise
over him, and therefore made no objection to Albert's request, but at once
accompanied him to the desired spot, and, after a short delay, the count
joined them in the salon. "My dear count," said Albert,
advancing to meet him, "permit me to repeat the poor thanks I offered
last night, and to assure you that the remembrance of all I owe to you
will never be effaced from my memory; believe me, as long as I live, I
shall never cease to dwell with grateful recollection on the prompt and
important service you rendered me; and also to remember that to you I am
indebted even for my life." "My
very good friend and excellent neighbor," replied the count, with a
smile, "you really exaggerate my trifling exertions. You owe me
nothing but some trifle of 20,000 francs, which you have been saved out of
your travelling expenses, so that there is not much of a score between
us;--but you must really permit me to congratulate you on the ease and
unconcern with which you resigned yourself to your fate, and the perfect
indifference you manifested as to the turn events might take." "Upon
my word," said Albert, "I deserve no credit for what I could not
help, namely, a determination to take everything as I found it, and to let
those bandits see, that although men get into troublesome scrapes all over
the world, there is no nation but the French that can smile even in the
face of grim Death himself. All that, however, has nothing to do with my
obligations to you, and I now come to ask you whether, in my own person,
my family, or connections, I can in any way serve you? My father, the
Comte de Morcerf, although of Spanish origin, possesses considerable
influence, both at the court of France and Madrid, and I unhesitatingly
place the best services of myself, and all to whom my life is dear, at
your disposal." "Monsieur
de Morcerf," replied the count, "your offer, far from surprising
me, is precisely what I expected from you, and I accept it in the same
spirit of hearty sincerity with which it is made;--nay, I will go still
further, and say that I had previously made up my mind to ask a great
favor at your hands." "Oh,
pray name it." "I
am wholly a stranger to Paris--it is a city I have never yet seen." "Is
it possible," exclaimed Albert, "that you have reached your
present age without visiting the finest capital in the world? I can
scarcely credit it." "Nevertheless,
it is quite true; still, I agree with you in thinking that my present
ignorance of the first city in Europe is a reproach to me in every way,
and calls for immediate correction; but, in all probability, I should have
performed so important, so necessary a duty, as that of making myself
acquainted with the wonders and beauties of your justly celebrated
capital, had I known any person who would have introduced me into the
fashionable world, but unfortunately I possessed no acquaintance there,
and, of necessity, was compelled to abandon the idea." "So
distinguished an individual as yourself," cried Albert, "could
scarcely have required an introduction." "You
are most kind; but as regards myself, I can find no merit I possess, save
that, as a millionaire, I might have become a partner in the speculations
of M. Aguado and M. Rothschild; but as my motive in travelling to your
capital would not have been for the pleasure of dabbling in stocks, I
stayed away till some favorable chance should present itself of carrying
my wish into execution. Your offer, however, smooths all difficulties, and
I have only to ask you, my dear M. de Morcerf" (these words were
accompanied by a most peculiar smile), "whether you undertake, upon
my arrival in France, to open to me the doors of that fashionable world of
which I know no more than a Huron or a native of Cochin-China?" "Oh,
that I do, and with infinite pleasure," answered Albert; "and so
much the more readily as a letter received this morning from my father
summons me to Paris, in consequence of a treaty of marriage (my dear
Franz, do not smile, I beg of you) with a family of high standing, and
connected with the very cream of Parisian society." "Connected
by marriage, you mean," said Franz, laughingly. "Well,
never mind how it is," answered Albert, "it comes to the same
thing in the end. Perhaps by the time you return to Paris, I shall be
quite a sober, staid father of a family! A most edifying representative I
shall make of all the domestic virtues--don't you think so? But as regards
your wish to visit our fine city, my dear count, I can only say that you
may command me and mine to any extent you please." "Then
it is settled," said the count, "and I give you my solemn
assurance that I only waited an opportunity like the present to realize
plans that I have long meditated." Franz did not doubt that these
plans were the same concerning which the count had dropped a few words in
the grotto of Monte Cristo, and while the Count was speaking the young man
watched him closely, hoping to read something of his purpose in his face,
but his countenance was inscrutable especially when, as in the present
case, it was veiled in a sphinx-like smile. "But tell me now,
count," exclaimed Albert, delighted at the idea of having to chaperon
so distinguished a person as Monte Cristo; "tell me truly whether you
are in earnest, or if this project of visiting Paris is merely one of the
chimerical and uncertain air castles of which we make so many in the
course of our lives, but which, like a house built on the sand, is liable
to be blown over by the first puff of wind?" "I
pledge you my honor," returned the count, "that I mean to do as
I have said; both inclination and positive necessity compel me to visit
Paris." "When
do you propose going thither?" "Have
you made up your mind when you shall be there yourself?" "Certainly
I have; in a fortnight or three weeks' time, that is to say, as fast as I
can get there!" "Nay,"
said the Count; "I will give you three months ere I join you; you see
I make an ample allowance for all delays and difficulties. "And
in three months' time," said Albert, "you will be at my
house?" "Shall
we make a positive appointment for a particular day and hour?"
inquired the count; "only let me warn you that I am proverbial for my
punctilious exactitude in keeping my engagements." "Day
for day, hour for hour," said Albert; "that will suit me to a
dot." "So
be it, then," replied the count, and extending his hand towards a
calendar, suspended near the chimney-piece, he said, "to-day is the
21st of February;" and drawing out his watch, added, "it is
exactly half-past ten o'clock. Now promise me to remember this, and expect
me the 21st of May at the same hour in the forenoon." "Capital,"
exclaimed Albert; "your breakfast shall be waiting." "Where
do you live?" "No.
27, Rue du Helder." "Have
you bachelor's apartments there? I hope my coming will not put you to any
inconvenience." "I
reside in my father's house, but occupy a pavilion at the farther side of
the court-yard, entirely separated from the main building." "Quite
sufficient," replied the count, as, taking out his tablets, he wrote
down "No. 27, Rue du Helder, 21st May, half-past ten in the
morning." "Now
then," said the count, returning his tablets to his pocket,
"make yourself perfectly easy; the hand of your time-piece will not
be more accurate in marking the time than myself." "Shall
I see you again ere my departure?" asked Albert. "That
depends; when do you leave?" "To-morrow
evening, at five o'clock." "In
that case I must say adieu to you, as I am compelled to go to Naples, and
shall not return hither before Saturday evening or Sunday morning. And
you, baron," pursued the count, addressing Franz, "do you also
depart to-morrow?" "Yes."
"For
France?" "No,
for Venice; I shall remain in Italy for another year or two." "Then
we shall not meet in Paris?" "I
fear I shall not have that honor." "Well,
since we must part," said the count, holding out a hand to each of
the young men, "allow me to wish you both a safe and pleasant
journey." It was the first time the hand of Franz had come in contact
with that of the mysterious individual before him, and unconsciously he
shuddered at its touch, for it felt cold and icy as that of a corpse.
"Let us understand each other," said Albert; "it is
agreed--is it not?--that you are to be at No. 27, in the Rue du Helder, on
the 21st of May, at half-past ten in the morning, and your word of honor
passed for your punctuality?" "The
21st of May, at half-past ten in the morning, Rue du Helder, No. 27,"
replied the Count. The young men then rose, and bowing to the count,
quitted the room. "What is the matter?" asked Albert of Franz,
when they had returned to their own apartments; "you seem more than
commonly thoughtful." "I
will confess to you, Albert," replied Franz, "the count is a
very singular person, and the appointment you have made to meet him in
Paris fills me with a thousand apprehensions." "My
dear fellow," exclaimed Albert, "what can there possibly be in
that to excite uneasiness? Why, you must have lost your senses." "Whether
I am in my senses or not," answered Franz, "that is the way I
feel." "Listen
to me, Franz," said Albert; "I am glad that the occasion has
presented itself for saying this to you, for I have noticed how cold you
are in your bearing towards the count, while he, on the other hand, has
always been courtesy itself to us. Have you anything particular against
him?" "Possibly."
"Did
you ever meet him previously to coming hither?" "I
have." "And
where?" "Will
you promise me not to repeat a single word of what I am about to tell
you?" "I
promise." "Upon
your honor?" "Upon
my honor." "Then
listen to me." Franz then related to his friend the history of his
excursion to the Island of Monte Cristo and of his finding a party of
smugglers there, and the two Corsican bandits with them. He dwelt with
considerable force and energy on the almost magical hospitality he had
received from the count, and the magnificence of his entertainment in the
grotto of the Thousand and One Nights. He recounted, with circumstantial
exactitude, all the particulars of the supper, the hashish, the statues,
the dream, and how, at his awakening, there remained no proof or trace of
all these events, save the small yacht, seen in the distant horizon
driving under full sail toward Porto-Vecchio. Then he detailed the
conversation overheard by him at the Colosseum, between the count and
Vampa, in which the count had promised to obtain the release of the bandit
Peppino,--an engagement which, as our readers are aware, he most
faithfully fulfilled. At last he arrived at the adventure of the preceding
night, and the embarrassment in which he found himself placed by not
having sufficient cash by six or seven hundred piastres to make up the sum
required, and finally of his application to the count and the picturesque
and satisfactory result that followed. Albert listened with the most
profound attention. "Well,"
said he, when Franz had concluded, "what do you find to object to in
all you have related? The count is fond of travelling, and, being rich,
possesses a vessel of his own. Go but to Portsmouth or Southampton, and
you will find the harbors crowded with the yachts belonging to such of the
English as can afford the expense, and have the same liking for this
amusement. Now, by way of having a resting-place during his excursions,
avoiding the wretched cookery--which has been trying its best to poison me
during the last four months, while you have manfully resisted its effects
for as many years,--and obtaining a bed on which it is possible to
slumber, Monte Cristo has furnished for himself a temporary abode where
you first found him; but, to prevent the possibility of the Tuscan
government taking a fancy to his enchanted palace, and thereby depriving
him of the advantages naturally expected from so large an outlay of
capital, he has wisely enough purchased the island, and taken its name.
Just ask yourself, my good fellow, whether there are not many persons of
our acquaintance who assume the names of lands and properties they never
in their lives were masters of?" "But,"
said Franz, "the Corsican bandits that were among the crew of his
vessel?" "Why,
really the thing seems to me simple enough. Nobody knows better than
yourself that the bandits of Corsica are not rogues or thieves, but purely
and simply fugitives, driven by some sinister motive from their native
town or village, and that their fellowship involves no disgrace or stigma;
for my own part, I protest that, should I ever go to Corsica, my first
visit, ere even I presented myself to the mayor or prefect, should be to
the bandits of Colomba, if I could only manage to find them; for, on my
conscience, they are a race of men I admire greatly." "Still,"
persisted Franz, "I suppose you will allow that such men as Vampa and
his band are regular villains, who have no other motive than plunder when
they seize your person. How do you explain the influence the count
evidently possessed over those ruffians?" "My
good friend, as in all probability I own my present safety to that
influence, it would ill become me to search too closely into its source;
therefore, instead of condemning him for his intimacy with outlaws, you
must give me leave to excuse any little irregularity there may be in such
a connection; not altogether for preserving my life, for my own idea was
that it never was in much danger, but certainly for saving me 4,000
piastres, which, being translated, means neither more nor less than 24,000
livres of our money--a sum at which, most assuredly, I should never have
been estimated in France, proving most indisputably," added Albert
with a laugh, "that no prophet is honored in his own country." "Talking
of countries," replied Franz, "of what country is the count,
what is his native tongue, whence does he derive his immense fortune, and
what were those events of his early life--a life as marvellous as
unknown--that have tinctured his succeeding years with so dark and gloomy
a misanthropy? Certainly these are questions that, in your place, I should
like to have answered." "My
dear Franz," replied Albert, "when, upon receipt of my letter,
you found the necessity of asking the count's assistance, you promptly
went to him, saying, 'My friend Albert de Morcerf is in danger; help me to
deliver him.' Was not that nearly what you said?" "It
was." "Well,
then, did he ask you, 'Who is M. Albert de Morcerf? how does he come by
his name--his fortune? what are his means of existence? what is his
birthplace! of what country is he a native?' Tell me, did he put all these
questions to you?" "I
confess he asked me none." "No;
he merely came and freed me from the hands of Signor Vampa, where, I can
assure you, in spite of all my outward appearance of ease and unconcern, I
did not very particularly care to remain. Now, then, Franz, when, for
services so promptly and unhesitatingly rendered, he but asks me in return
to do for him what is done daily for any Russian prince or Italian
nobleman who may pass through Paris--merely to introduce him into
society--would you have me refuse? My good fellow, you must have lost your
senses to think it possible I could act with such cold-blooded
policy." And this time it must be confessed that, contrary to the
usual state of affairs in discussions between the young men, the effective
arguments were all on Albert's side. "Well,"
said Franz with a sigh, "do as you please my dear viscount, for your
arguments are beyond my powers of refutation. Still, in spite of all, you
must admit that this Count of Monte Cristo is a most singular
personage." "He
is a philanthropist," answered the other; "and no doubt his
motive in visiting Paris is to compete for the Monthyon prize, given, as
you are aware, to whoever shall be proved to have most materially advanced
the interests of virtue and humanity. If my vote and interest can obtain
it for him, I will readily give him the one and promise the other. And
now, my dear Franz, let us talk of something else. Come, shall we take our
luncheon, and then pay a last visit to St. Peter's?" Franz silently
assented; and the following afternoon, at half-past five o'clock, the
young men parted. Albert de Morcerf to return to Paris, and Franz d'Epinay
to pass a fortnight at Venice. But, ere he entered his travelling
carriage, Albert, fearing that his expected guest might forget the
engagement he had entered into, placed in the care of a waiter at the
hotel a card to be delivered to the Count of Monte Cristo, on which,
beneath the name of Vicomte Albert de Morcerf, he had written in pencil: "27,
Rue du Helder, on the 21st May, half-past ten A.M." |
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