013 - The Count of Monte Cristo - The Hundred Days

Episode Transcript

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Chapter thirteen of the Count of MonteCristo by Alexandre Dumain. This LibriVox recording
is in the public domain. Chapterthirteen The hundred Days. Monsieur Noirtier was
a true prophet, and things progressedrapidly as he had predicted. Everyone knows

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the history of the famous return fromElba, a return which was unprecedented in
the past and will probably remain withouta counterpart in the future. Louis eighteenth
made but a faint attempt to parrythis unexpected blow. The monarchy had scarcely
reconstructed, tottered on its precarious foundation, and at a sign from the Emperor,

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the incongruous structure of ancient prejudices andnew ideas fell to the ground.
Villefort therefore gained nothing save the king'sgratitude, which was rather likely to injure
him at the present time, andthe cross of the Legion of Honor,
which she had the prudence to wherealthough Monsieur de Blacas had duly forwarded the

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brevet, Napoleon would doubtless have deprivedVillefort of his office had it not been
for Noirtier, who was all powerfulat court, and thus the gendar of
ninety three, and the Senator ofeighteen oh six protected him, who so
lately had been his protector. AllVillefort's influence barely enabled him to stifle the

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secret Dante had so nearly divulged.The King's procureur alone was deprived of his
office, being suspected of royalism.However, scarcely was the imperial power established.
That is, scarcely had the Emperorre entered the tuillery and begun to
issue orders from the closet into whichwe have introduced our readers he found on

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the table there Louis eighteenth's half filledsnuffbox. Scarcely had this occurred when Marseille
began, in spite of the authorities, to rekindle the flames of civil war
always smoldering in the South, andit required but little to excite the populace
to acts of far greater violence thanthe shouts and insults with which they assailed

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the royalists whenever they ventured abroad.Owing to this change, the worthy ship
owner became at that moment we willnot say all powerful, because Morrel was
prudent and rather timid man, somuch so that many of the most zealous
partisans of Bonaparte accused him of moderation, but sufficiently influential to make a demand

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in favor of Dante. Villefort retainedhis place, but his marriage was put
off until a more favorable opportunity.If the Emperor remained on the throne,
Gerrard required a different alliance to aidhis career. If Louis eighteenth returned,
the influence of Monsieur de Saint Marent, like his own, could be vastly

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increased, and the marriage be stillmore suitable. The deputy Procureur was therefore
the first magistrate of Marseilles. Whenone morning his door opened and Monsieur Morrel
was announced, anyone else would havehastened to receive him, but Villefort was
a man of ability, and heknew this would be a sign of weakness.

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He made Morrel wait in the antechamber, although he had no one
with him, for the simple reasonthat the king's procureur always makes everyone wait,
and after passing a quarter of anhour in reading the papers, he
ordered Monsieur Morrel to be admitted.Morrel expected Villefort would be dejected. He
found him as he had found himsix weeks before. Calm firm and full

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of that glacial politeness, that mostinsurmountable barrier which separates the well bred from
the vulgar man. He had enteredVillefort's office expecting that the magistrate would tremble
at the sight of him. Onthe contrary, he felt cold shudder all
over him when he saw Villefort sittingthere with his elbow on his desk and
his head leaning on his hand.He stopped at the door. Villefort gazed

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at him as if he had somedifficulty in recognizing him. Then, after
a brief interval, during which thehonest shipowner turned his hat in his hands,
Monsieur Morrel, I believe, saidMonsieur Villefort. Yes, sir,
Come nearer, said the magistrate,with a patronizing wave of the hand,
and tell me towards circumstance. Iowe the honor of this visit. Do

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you not, guess, monsieur askedMonsieur Morrel. Not in the least.
But if I can serve you inany way, I shall be delighted.
Everything depends on you. Explain yourself, pray, monsieur, said Morrel,
recovering his assurance as he proceeded.Do you recollect a few days before the

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lending of his majesty the Emperor.I came to intercede for a young man,
the mate of my ship, whowas accused of being concerned in correspondence
with the island of Elbas. Whatwas the other day a crime is today
a title to favor? You thenserved Louis eighteenth, and you did not

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show any favor. It was yourduty today yourself Napoleon, and you are
to protect him. It is equallyyour duty. I come therefore to ask
what has become of him? Villefort, by a strong effort, sought to
control himself. What is his name? Said? He tell me his name?

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Edmond Dante. Villefort would probably haverather stood opposite the muzzle of a
pistol at five and twenty paces thanhave heard this name spoken. But he
did not. Blanche repeated he EdmondDantes. Yes, Monsieur. Villefort opened
a large register, then went toa table. From the table, turned

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to his registers, and then turningto Morrel. Are you quite sure you
are not mistaken? Monsieur said hein the most natural tone in the world.
Had Morrel been a more quick sightedman or better versed in these matters,
he would have been surprised at theking's procureur answering him on such a
subject instead of referring him to thegovernors of the prison or the prefect of

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the department. But Morrel, disappointedin his expectations of exciting fear, was
conscious only of the other's condescension.Villefort had calculated rightly. No, said
Morrel, I am not mistaken.I have known him for ten years,

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the last four of which you wasin my service. Do not you recollect?
I came about six weeks ago toplead for clemency. As I come
to day to plead for justice.You receive me very coldly. Oh,
the royalists were very severe with theBonapartist in those days. Monsieur returned Villefort.

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I was then a royalist because Ibelieved the Beaubon not only the heirs
to the throne, but the chosenof the nation. The miraculous return of
Napoleon has conquered me. The legitimatemonarch is he who is loved by his
people. That's right, cried Morrel. I like to hear you speak thus,

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and I orger well for Edmond fromit. Wait a moment, said
Villefort, turning over the leaves ofa register. I have it a sailor
who was about to marry a youngCatalan girl. I recollect now. It
was very serious charge. How ohyou know that when he left here he

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was taken to the Palais de Justice. Well, I made my report to
the authorities at Paris, and aweek after he was carried off. Carried
off, said Morrel, What canthey have done with him? Oh,
he has been taken to Fenestrelle,to Penoral, or to the Saint Marguerite

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Island. Some fine morning he willreturn to take command of your vessel.
Come when he will, it shallbe kept for him. But how is
it he is not already returned.It seems to me the first care of
a government should be to set atliberty those who have suffered for their adherence

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to it. Do not be hasty, Monsieur Morrel, replied Villefort. The
order of the imprisonment came from highauthority, and the order for his liberation
must proceed from the same source.And as Napoleon has scarcely been reinstated a
fortnight, the letters have not yetbeen forwarded, But said Morrel, is

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there no way of expediting all theseformalities of releasing him from arrest. There
has been no arrest. How itis sometimes essential to government to cause a
man's disappearance without leaving any traces,so that no written forms or documents may

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defeat their wishes. It might beso under the Bourbons, but at present
it has always been so, MonsieurMorrel, since the reign of Louis fourteenth.
The Emperor is more strict in prisondiscipline than even Louis himself, and

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the number of prisoners whose names arenot under register is incalculable. Had Morrel
even any suspicions, so much kindnesswould have dispelled them. Well, Monsieur
de Villefort, how would you adviseme to act? Asked he petition the
minister? Oh, I know whatthat is. The minister receives the two

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hundred petitions every day and does notread three. That is true. But
he will read a petition countersigned andpresented by me, and will you undertake
to deliver it? Who is thegreatest pleasure? Dante was then guilty,
and now he is innocent, andit is as much my duty to free

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him as it was to condemn him. Villefort thus forestalled any danger of an
inquiry which however improbable it might beif it did take place, would leave
him defenseless. But how shall Iaddress the minister? Sit down there,
said Villefort, giving up his place, Tomorrell, and write what I dictate?

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Will you be so good? Certainly, but lose no time, or
we have lost too much already thatis true. Only think what the poor
fellow may even now be suffering.Villefort shuddered at the suggestion, but he
had gone too far to draw back. Dantes must be crushed. To gratify

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Villefort's ambition, Villefort dictated a petitionin which, from an excellent intention no
doubt, dantes patriotic services were exaggerated, and he was made out one of
the most active agents of Napoleon's return. It was evident that at the sight
of this document the minister would instantlyrelease him. The petition finished, Villefort

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read it aloud. That will do? Said he leave the rest to me?
Will a petition go soon to day? Count sign by you? The
best thing I can do will beto certify the truth of the contents of
your petition, And, sitting down, Villefort wrote the certificate at the bottom.

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What more is to be done?I will do whatever is necessary.
This assurance delighted Morrel, who tookleave of Villefort and hastened to announce to
old Dante that he would soon seehis son. As for Villefort, instead
of sending to Paris, he carefullypreserved the petition that so fearfully compromised the

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Dantes in the hopes of an eventthat seemed not unlikely, that is,
a second restoration. Dantes remained aprisoner and heard not the noise of the
fall of Louis eighteen's throne or thestill more tragic destruction of the empire.
Twice during one hundred days had Morrelrenewed his demand, and twice had Villefort

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soothed him with promises. At lastthere was Waterloo, and Morrel came no
more. He had done all thatwas in his power, and any fresh
attempt would only compromise himself Uselessly,Louis eighteen thremounted the throne Villefort, to
whom Marseilles had become filled with remorsefulmemories, sought and obtained the situation of

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king's procureur at Toulouse, and afortnight afterwards, he married Mademoiselle de Saint
Maran, whose father now stood higherat court than ever, and so Dantes,
after the hundred days and after Waterloo, remained in his dungeon, forgotten
of earth and heaven. Danglars comprehendedthe full extent of the wretched fate that

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overwhelmed Dantes, and when Napoleon returnedto France, he, after the manner
of mediocre mines, termed the coincidencea decree of providence. But when Napoleon
returned to Parry, Danglars heart failedhim, and he lived in constant fear
of Dantes' return on a mission ofvengeance. He therefore informed Monsieur Morrel of

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his wish to quit the sea,and obtained a recommendation from him to a
Spanish merchant, into whose service heentered at the end of March, that
is, ten or twelve days afterNapoleon's return. He then left for Madrid
and was no more heard of.Fernand Understanding nothing except that Dantes was absent

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what had become of him, hecared not to inquire. Only during the
respite the absence of his rival affordedhim. He reflected partly on the means
of deceiving Mercedes as to the causeof his absence, partly on plans of
emigration and abduction, as from timeto time, he sat sad and motionless
on the summit of Cape Pharaoh,at the spot from whence Marseilles and the

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Catalans are visible, watching for theapparition of a young and handsome man who
was for him also the messenger ofvengeance. Fernand's mind was made up he
would shoot Dante and then kill himself. But Fernand was mistaken. A man
of his disposition never kills himself,for he constantly hopes. During this time,

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the Empire made its last conscription,and every man in France capable of
bearing arms rushed to obey the summonsof the Emperor. Fernand departed with the
rest, bearing with him the terriblethought that while he was away, his
rival would perhaps return and marry Mercedes. Had Fernand really meant to kill himself,

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he would have done so. Whenhe parted from Mercedes. His devotion
and the compassion he showed for hermisfortunes produced the effect they always produce on
noble minds. Mercedes had always hada sincere regard for Fernand, and this
was now strengthened by gratitude. Mybrother said she as she placed his knapsack

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on his shoulders. BE careful ofyourself, for if you are killed,
I shall be alone in the world. These words carried a ray of hope
into Faunand's heart. Should Dantes notreturn, Mercedes might one day be his.
Mercedes was left alone, face toface with the vast plain that had

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never seemed so barren and the seathat had never seemed so vast. Bathed
in tears, she wandered about theCatalan village. Sometimes she stood mute and
motionless as a statue, looking towardsMarseilles, at other times gazing on the
sea and debating as to whether itwas not better to cast herself into the

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abyss of the ocean and thus endher woes. It was not want of
courage that prevented her putting this resolutioninto execution, but her religious feelings came
to her aid and saved her.Caderousse was like Fernand enrolled in the army,
but being married and eight years older, he was merely sent to the

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frontier. Old Dantes, who wasonly sustained by hope, lost all hope
at Napoleon's downfall. Five months afterhe had been separated from his son,
and almost at the hour of hisarrest he breathed his last in Mercedes's arms.

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Misse Morrel paid the expenses of hisfuneral and a few small debts the
poor old man had contracted. Therewas more than benevolence in this action.
There was courage. The South wasaflame, and to assist even on his
death bed, the father of sodangerous a buonapartist as Dantes was stigmatized as

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a crime. End of Chapter thirteen.