基督山伯爵 英文版 The Count of Monte Cristo
大仲马 Alexandre Dumas père
Chapter 52 Page 1
It was really the Count of Monte Cristo who had just arrivedat Madame de Villefort's for the purpose of returning theprocureur's visit, and at his name, as may be easilyimagined, the whole house was in confusion. Madame deVillefort, who was alone in her drawing-room when the countwas announced, desired that her son might be brought thitherinstantly to renew his thanks to the count; and Edward, whoheard this great personage talked of for two whole days,made all possible haste to come to him, not from obedienceto his mother, or out of any feeling of gratitude to thecount, but from sheer curiosity, and that some chance remarkmight give him the opportunity for making one of theimpertinent speeches which made his mother say, -- "Oh, thatnaughty child! But I can't be severe with him, he is reallyso bright."
After the usual civilities, the count inquired after M. deVillefort. "My husband dines with the chancellor," repliedthe young lady; "he has just gone, and I am sure he'll beexceedingly sorry not to have had the pleasure of seeing youbefore he went." Two visitors who were there when the countarrived, having gazed at him with all their eyes, retiredafter that reasonable delay which politeness admits andcuriosity requires. "What is your sister Valentine doing?"inquired Madame de Villefort of Edward; "tell some one tobid her come here, that I may have the honor of introducingher to the count."
"You have a daughter, then, madame?" inquired the count;"very young, I presume?"
"The daughter of M. de Villefort by his first marriage,"replied the young wife, "a fine well-grown girl."
"But melancholy," interrupted Master Edward, snatching thefeathers out of the tail of a splendid parroquet that wasscreaming on its gilded perch, in order to make a plume forhis hat. Madame de Villefort merely cried, -- "Be still,Edward!" She then added, -- "This young madcap is, however,very nearly right, and merely re-echoes what he has heard mesay with pain a hundred times; for Mademoiselle de Villefortis, in spite of all we can do to rouse her, of a melancholydisposition and taciturn habit, which frequently injure theeffect of her beauty. But what detains her? Go, Edward, andsee."
"Because they are looking for her where she is not to befound."
"And where are they looking for her?"
"With grandpapa Noirtier."
"And do you think she is not there?"
"No, no, no, no, no, she is not there," replied Edward,singing his words.
boy," exclaimed Madame de Villefort,snatching the mutilated.
"And where is she, then? If you know, why don't you tell?"
"She is under the big chestnut-tree," replied the spoiledbrat, as he gave, in spite of his mother's commands, liveflies to the parrot, which seemed keenly to relish suchfare. Madame de Villefort stretched out her hand to ring,intending to direct her waiting-maid to the spot where shewould find Valentine, when the young lady herself enteredthe apartment. She appeared much dejected; and any personwho considered her attentively might have observed thetraces of recent tears in her eyes.
Valentine, whom we have in the rapid march of our narrativepresented to our readers without formally introducing her,was a tall and graceful girl of nineteen, with brightchestnut hair, deep blue eyes, and that reposeful air ofquiet distinction which characterized her mother. Her whiteand slender fingers, her pearly neck, her cheeks tinted withvarying hues reminded one of the lovely Englishwomen whohave been so poetically compared in their manner to thegracefulness of a swan. She entered the apartment, andseeing near her stepmother the stranger of whom she hadalready heard so much, saluted him without any girlishawkwardness, or even lowering her eyes, and with an elegancethat redoubled the count's attention. He rose to return thesalutation. "Mademoiselle de Villefort, my daughter-in-law,"said Madame de Villefort to Monte Cristo, leaning back onher sofa and motioning towards Valentine with her hand. "AndM. de Monte Cristo, King of China, Emperor of Cochin-China,"said the young imp, looking slyly towards his sister.
Madame de Villefort at this really did turn pale, and wasvery nearly angry with this household plague, who answeredto the name of Edward; but the count, on the contrary,smiled, and appeared to look at the boy complacently, whichcaused the maternal heart to bound again with joy andenthusiasm.
"But, madame," replied the count, continuing theconversation, and looking by turns at Madame de Villefortand Valentine, "have I not already had the honor of meetingyourself and mademoiselle before? I could not help thinkingso just now; the idea came over my mind, and as mademoiselleentered the sight of her was an additional ray of lightthrown on a confused remembrance; excuse the remark."
"I do not think it likely, sir; Mademoiselle de Villefort isnot very fond of society, and we very seldom go out," saidthe young lady.
"Then it was not in society that I met with mademoiselle oryourself, madame, or this charming little merry boy.Besides, the Parisian world is entirely unknown to me, for,as I believe I told you, I have been in Paris but very fewdays. No, -- but, perhaps, you will permit me to call tomind -- stay!" The Count placed his hand on his brow as ifto collect his thoughts. "No -- it was somewhere -- awayfrom here -- it was -- I do not know -- but it appears thatthis recollection is connected with a lovely sky and somereligious fete; mademoiselle was holding flowers in herhand, the interesting boy was chasing a beautiful peacock ina garden, and you, madame, were under the trellis of somearbor. Pray come to my aid, madame; do not thesecircumstances appeal to your memory?"
"No, indeed," replied Madame de Villefort; "and yet itappears to me, sir, that if I had met you anywhere, therecollection of you must have been imprinted on my memory."
"Perhaps the count saw us in Italy," said Valentine timidly.
"Yes, in Italy; it was in Italy most probably," repliedMonte Cristo; "you have travelled then in Italy,mademoiselle?"
"Yes; madame and I were there two years ago. The doctors,anxious for my lungs, had prescribed the air of Naples. Wewent by Bologna, Perugia, and Rome."
"Ah, yes -- true, mademoiselle," exclaimed Monte Cristo asif this simple explanation was sufficient to revive therecollection he sought. "It was at Perugia on Corpus ChristiDay, in the garden of the Hotel des Postes, when chancebrought us together; you, Madame de Villefort, and her son;I now remember having had the honor of meeting you."
"I perfectly well remember Perugia, sir, and the Hotel desPostes, and the festival of which you speak," said Madame deVillefort, "but in vain do I tax my memory, of whosetreachery I am ashamed, for I really do not recall to mindthat I ever had the pleasure of seeing you before."
"It is strange, but neither do I recollect meeting withyou," observed Valentine, raising her beautiful eyes to thecount.
"But I remember it perfectly," interposed the darlingEdward.
"I will assist your memory, madame," continued the count;"the day had been burning hot; you were waiting for horses,which were delayed in consequence of the festival.Mademoiselle was walking in the shade of the garden, andyour son disappeared in pursuit of the peacock."
"And I caught it, mamma, don't you remember?" interposedEdward, "and I pulled three such beautiful feathers out ofhis tail."
"You, madame, remained under the arbor; do you not remember,that while you were seated on a stone bench, and while, as Itold you, Mademoiselle de Villefort and your young son wereabsent, you conversed for a considerable time withsomebody?"
"Yes, in truth, yes," answered the young lady, turning veryred, "I do remember conversing with a person wrapped in along woollen mantle; he was a medical man, I think."
des Postes, when chancebrought us together; you, Madame de Villefort, and.
"Precisely so, madame; this man was myself; for a fortnightI had been at that hotel, during which period I had cured myvalet de chambre of a fever, and my landlord of thejaundice, so that I really acquired a reputation as askilful physician. We discoursed a long time, madame, ondifferent subjects; of Perugino, of Raffaelle, of manners,customs, of the famous aquatofana, of which they had toldyou, I think you said, that certain individuals in Perugiahad preserved the secret."
"Yes, true," replied Madame de Villefort, somewhat uneasily,"I remember now."
"I do not recollect now all the various subjects of which wediscoursed, madame," continued the count with perfectcalmness; "but I perfectly remember that, falling into theerror which others had entertained respecting me, youconsulted me as to the health of Mademoiselle de Villefort."
"Yes, really, sir, you were in fact a medical man," saidMadame de Villefort, "since you had cured the sick."
"Moliere or Beaumarchais would reply to you, madame, that itwas precisely because I was not, that I had cured mypatients; for myself, I am content to say to you that I havestudied chemistry and the natural sciences somewhat deeply,but still only as an amateur, you understand." -- At thismoment the clock struck six. "It is six o'clock," saidMadame de Villefort, evidently agitated. "Valentine, willyou not go and see if your grandpapa will have his dinner?"Valentine rose, and saluting the count, left the apartmentwithout speaking.
"Oh, madame," said the count, when Valentine had left theroom, "was it on my account that you sent Mademoiselle deVillefort away?"
"By no means," replied the young lady quickly; "but this isthe hour when we usually give M. Noirtier the unwelcome mealthat sustains his pitiful existence. You are aware, sir, ofthe deplorable condition of my husband's father?"
"Yes, madame, M. de Villefort spoke of it to me -- aparalysis, I think."
"Alas, yes; the poor old gentleman is entirely helpless; themind alone is still active in this human machine, and thatis faint and flickering, like the light of a lamp about toexpire. But excuse me, sir, for talking of our domesticmisfortunes; I interrupted you at the moment when you weretelling me that you were a skilful chemist."
"No, madame, I did not say as much as that," replied thecount with a smile; "quite the contrary. I have studiedchemistry because, having determined to live in easternclimates I have been desirous of following the example ofKing Mithridates."
"Mithridates rex Ponticus," said the young scamp, as he toresome beautiful portraits out of a splendid album, "theindividual who took cream in his cup of poison every morningat breakfast."
"Edward, you naughty boy," exclaimed Madame de Villefort,snatching the mutilated book from the urchin's grasp, "youare positively past bearing; you really disturb theconversation; go, leave us, and join your sister Valentinein dear grandpapa Noirtier's room."
"The album," said Edward sulkily.
"What do you mean? -- the album!"
"I want the album."
"How dare you tear out the drawings?"
"Oh, it amuses me."
"Go -- go at once."
"I won't go unless you give me the album," said the boy,seating himself doggedly in an arm-chair, according to hishabit of never giving way.
ofhis tail."peacock ina garden,
"Take it, then, and pray disturb us no longer," said Madamede Villefort, giving the album to Edward, who then wenttowards the door, led by his mother. The count followed herwith his eyes.
"Let us see if she shuts the door after him," he muttered.Madame de Villefort closed the door carefully after thechild, the count appearing not to notice her; then casting ascrutinizing glance around the chamber, the young wifereturned to her chair, in which she seated herself. "Allowme to observe, madame," said the count, with that kind tonehe could assume so well, "you are really very severe withthat dear clever child."
"Oh, sometimes severity is quite necessary," replied Madamede Villefort, with all a mother's real firmness.
"It was his Cornelius Nepos that Master Edward was repeatingwhen he referred to King Mithridates," continued the count,"and you interrupted him in a quotation which proves thathis tutor has by no means neglected him, for your son isreally advanced for his years."
"The fact is, count," answered the mother, agreeablyflattered, "he has great aptitude, and learns all that isset before him. He has but one fault, he is somewhat wilful;but really, on referring for the moment to what he said, doyou truly believe that Mithridates used these precautions,and that these precautions were efficacious?"
"I think so, madame, because I myself have made use of them,that I might not be poisoned at Naples, at Palermo, and atSmyrna -- that is to say, on three several occasions when,but for these precautions, I must have lost my life."
"And your precautions were successful?"
"Completely so."
"Yes, I remember now your mentioning to me at Perugiasomething of this sort."
"Indeed?" said the count with an air of surprise, remarkablywell counterfeited; "I really did not remember."
"I inquired of you if poisons acted equally, and with thesame effect, on men of the North as on men of the South; andyou answered me that the cold and sluggish habits of theNorth did not present the same aptitude as the rich andenergetic temperaments of the natives of the South."
"And that is the case," observed Monte Cristo. "I have seenRussians devour, without being visibly inconvenienced,vegetable substances which would infallibly have killed aNeapolitan or an Arab."
"And you really believe the result would be still more surewith us than in the East, and in the midst of our fogs andrains a man would habituate himself more easily than in awarm latitude to this progressive absorption of poison?"
"Certainly; it being at the same time perfectly understoodthat he should have been duly fortified against the poisonto which he had not been accustomed."
"Yes, I understand that; and how would you habituateyourself, for instance, or rather, how did you habituateyourself to it?"
"Oh, very easily. Suppose you knew beforehand the poisonthat would be made use of against you; suppose the poisonwas, for instance, brucine" --
"Brucine is extracted from the false angostura* is it not?"inquired Madame de Villefort.
"Precisely, madame," replied Monte Cristo; "but I perceive Ihave not much to teach you. Allow me to compliment you onyour knowledge; such learning is very rare among ladies."
* Brucoea ferruginea.
"Oh, I am aware of that," said Madame de Villefort; "but Ihave a passion for the occult sciences, which speak to theimagination like poetry, and are reducible to figures, likean algebraic equation; but go on, I beg of you; what you sayinterests me to the greatest degree."
"Well," replied Monte Cristo "suppose, then, that thispoison was brucine, and you were to take a milligramme thefirst day, two milligrammes the second day, and so on. Well,at the end of ten days you would have taken a centigramme,at the end of twenty days, increasing another milligramme,you would have taken three hundred centigrammes; that is tosay, a dose which you would support without inconvenience,and which would be very dangerous for any other person whohad not taken the same precautions as yourself. Well, then,at the end of a month, when drinking water from the samecarafe, you would kill the person who drank with you,without your perceiving, otherwise than from slightinconvenience, that there was any poisonous substancemingled with this water."
"Do you know any other counter-poisons?"
"I do not."
"I have often read, and read again, the history ofMithridates," said Madame de Villefort in a tone ofreflection, "and had always considered it a fable."
"No, madame, contrary to most history, it is true; but whatyou tell me, madame, what you inquire of me, is not theresult of a chance query, for two years ago you asked me thesame questions, and said then, that for a very long timethis history of Mithridates had occupied your mind."
"True, sir. The two favorite studies of my youth were botanyand mineralogy, and subsequently, when I learned that theuse of simples frequently explained the whole history of apeople, and the entire life of individuals in the East, asflowers betoken and symbolize a love affair, I haveregretted that I was not a man, that I might have been aFlamel, a Fontana, or a Cabanis."
"And the more, madame," said Monte Cristo, "as the Orientalsdo not confine themselves, as did Mithridates, to make acuirass of his poisons, but they also made them a dagger.Science becomes, in their hands, not only a defensiveweapon, but still more frequently an offensive one; the oneserves against all their physical sufferings, the otheragainst all their enemies. With opium, belladonna, brucaea,snake-wood, and the cherry-laurel, they put to sleep all whostand in their way. There is not one of those women,Egyptian, Turkish, or Greek, whom here you call `goodwomen,' who do not know how, by means of chemistry, tostupefy a doctor, and in psychology to amaze a confessor."
"Really," said Madame de Villefort, whose eyes sparkled withstrange fire at this conversation.
"Oh, yes, indeed, madame," continued Monte Cristo, "thesecret dramas of the East begin with a love philtre and endwith a death potion -- begin with paradise and end with --hell. There are as many elixirs of every kind as there arecaprices and peculiarities in the physical and moral natureof humanity; and I will say further -- the art of thesechemists is capable with the utmost precision to accommodateand proportion the remedy and the bane to yearnings for loveor desires for vengeance."
"But, sir," remarked the young woman, "these Easternsocieties, in the midst of which you have passed a portionof your existence, are as fantastic as the tales that comefrom their strange land. A man can easily be put out of theway there, then; it is, indeed, the Bagdad and Bassora ofthe `Thousand and One Nights.' The sultans and viziers whorule over society there, and who constitute what in Francewe call the government, are really Haroun-al-Raschids andGiaffars, who not only pardon a poisoner, but even make hima prime minister, if his crime has been an ingenious one,and who, under such circumstances, have the whole storywritten in letters of gold, to divert their hours ofidleness and ennui."
"By no means, madame; the fanciful exists no longer in theEast. There, disguised under other names, and concealedunder other costumes, are police agents, magistrates,attorneys-general, and bailiffs. They hang, behead, andimpale their criminals in the most agreeable possiblemanner; but some of these, like clever rogues, havecontrived to escape human justice, and succeed in theirfraudulent enterprises by cunning stratagems. Amongst us asimpleton, possessed by the demon of hate or cupidity, whohas an enemy to destroy, or some near relation to disposeof, goes straight to the grocer's or druggist's, gives afalse name, which leads more easily to his detection thanhis real one, and under the pretext that the rats preventhim from sleeping, purchases five or six grammes of arsenic-- if he is really a cunning fellow, he goes to five or sixdifferent druggists or grocers, and thereby becomes onlyfive or six times more easily traced; -- then, when he hasacquired his specific, he administers duly to his enemy, ornear kinsman, a dose of arsenic which would make a mammothor mastodon burst, and which, without rhyme or reason, makeshis victim utter groans which alarm the entire neighborhood.Then arrive a crowd of policemen and constables. They fetcha doctor, who opens the dead body, and collects from theentrails and stomach a quantity of arsenic in a spoon. Nextday a hundred newspapers relate the fact, with the names ofthe victim and the murderer. The same evening the grocer orgrocers, druggist or druggists, come and say, `It was I whosold the arsenic to the gentleman;' and rather than notrecognize the guilty purchaser, they will recognize twenty.Then the foolish criminal is taken, imprisoned,interrogated, confronted, confounded, condemned, and cut offby hemp or steel; or if she be a woman of any consideration,they lock her up for life. This is the way in which youNortherns understand chemistry, madame. Desrues was,however, I must confess, more skilful."