World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 18 A Hundred Days (1)
Mr. Noirquier is worthy of being a prophet, and the situation has evolved rapidly as he predicted.The well-known comeback of Elba was not only extraordinary, but also miraculous, unprecedented, and presumably unprecedented.

Against this violent blow, Louis XVIII only resisted weakly for a while.He lacks confidence in people and thus in the development of events.The royal power, or rather the dynasty, which he barely rebuilt, was still on a precarious foundation, a edifice of old prejudices and new ideas, and Napoleon had just It overturned with a wave of hand.Villefort, therefore, received from the king only a thank you, which at the present time was not only useless, but even very dangerous.As for the Cross of the Legion of Honor, Villefort was very scheming and did not dare to wear it, but the Duke of Braca seriously issued Villefort a replacement order as ordered by the king.

It was entirely possible that Villefort would be deposed by Napoleon, but Noirquier managed to secure him.At this time, Noirquier was already an important minister of the Hundred Days Dynasty, but he still remembered the danger and help that Villefort had taken.He kept all the promises he made to Villefort at that time, and in this way, the Girondist in 1793 and senator in 1806 protected the man who had protected him not long ago.

The Empire has been revived, but it is not difficult to see that it will be overthrown, so Villefort used all the power in his hands to suppress the secret that was almost revealed by Dantès.The prosecutor suspected that Napoleon was not loyal enough, and he was dismissed alone.But the power of the empire has just been restored, that is to say, the emperor has just moved into the Tuileries Palace not long after Louis XVIII left. In the small study where we invite readers to follow Villefort, Napoleon saw the walnut table On it was Louis XVIII's snuffbox, its lid open and half full.Napoleon had only just issued countless orders of various kinds from this small study, but in Marseilles, regardless of the attitude of the political leaders, the ashes of the civil war that had never been extinguished in the South began to revive.The royalists have retreated into their own homes, but there is only a lot of scolding around the house. Some people venture out, and they will be insulted by everyone.

Of course the venerable shipowner changed his attitude too, but we have already said that he was a follower of the crowd, and it cannot be said that he now became a man of great power.Mr. Morrel was a cautious and a little timid man, a man of the sort who made his fortune slowly by business.However, although he is not as good as the fanatics of the Napoleonic party, he is only a moderate in the eyes of these people. After all, he can shout loudly at this time and deliver justice, and it is not difficult for us to guess that this justice is the same as that of Dantes. related.

Although Villefort's boss fell, he himself stood firm.His marriage has been settled, but it will be put aside for the time being, and it will be discussed later when it will be beneficial.If the emperor keeps the throne, Gérard will need to find another marriage, and his father will also marry him; if the dynasty is restored for the second time and Louis XVIII returns to France, the power of the Marquis of Saint-Méran and Villefort will surely double. This marriage will be more happy.

At this time Villefort was still acting prosecutor, and temporarily acted as the presiding judge of Marseilles.One morning the door of his office was opened, and the people below announced that Mr. Morrel was visiting.If it had been someone else, he would have rushed forward to greet the captain, but such hospitality showed his weakness.Villefort's skills are superior to others, not to mention his experience in the world, at least he has a natural instinct for this aspect.There was no one else in his office, but he told Morrel to wait in the anteroom first, as he had done during the Restoration, for the simple reason that it was customary to wait in the anteroom before seeing the acting prosecutor.Then he spent a quarter of an hour flipping through two or three newspapers of different tendencies before ordering the owner to come in.

M. Morrel, who had expected Villefort to be downcast, saw that Villefort was exactly as he had seen him six weeks before, calm, self-assured, with an air of indifference but with a politeness which was exactly the same. It is the hardest line that separates the cultivated from the ordinary.He entered Villefort's office, fully expecting that the judge would tremble at the sight of him, but on the contrary, seeing the judge waiting for him with his elbows on his desk, he himself trembled and panicked.He stopped at the door.Villefort looked at him, seeming not to recognize him, and for a few seconds the two were looking at each other, neither speaking, while the venerable shipowner turned his hat up and down in his hand, and at last Villefort spoke first: "I suppose you are M. Morrel?"

"Yes, it is I, sir," replied the skipper.

"Go ahead, please," said the Judge, with an almost condescending wave, "tell me, please, what is the background of this visit?"

"Can't you guess it yourself, sir?" asked Morrel.

"Yes, I can't guess it at all. But if it is within my competence, I will satisfy you."

"That is entirely up to you, sir," said Morrel.

"Well, please explain."

"Sir," continued the owner of the ship, slowly recovering his self-confidence as he spoke, and more firmly convinced that he was speaking out of justice and aboveboard, "you will remember that a few days before the news of His Majesty's landing, I felt sorry for an unfortunate The young man of yours, a sailor, my ship's first mate, was charged, if you recall, with a connection with the island of Elba, which was a crime at the time, but is a credential for grace today. At that time you were in the service of Louis XVIII, so you did not take care of the young man, sir, that is your duty. Today you are in the service of Napoleon, and you should protect him, which is also your duty. So, I come to you Find out how he is now."

Villefort tried to force himself. "What is this man's name?" he asked. "Please tell me, what is his name?"

"Edmond Dantès."

Villefort, evidently preferring to fight a duel, to be shot at twenty-five paces by his opponent, than to be held at the muzzle, heard his name said, but he did not change his countenance. "So," he thought to himself, "they never charged me with arresting the young man for a purely personal connection."

"Dantes?" he repeated. "You mean his name is Edmond Dantès, don't you?"

"Yes, sir."

Villefort then drew a thick register from a shelf next to it, opened it, hurried to a table, went from there to the files, and then, turning to the captain, said: "You can't be mistaken." Don't you, sir?" He said it with the utmost naturalness.

If M. Morrel had been a more shrewd man, or had a better understanding of such matters, he must have wondered that the deputy prosecutor should not bother to answer these questions which were completely independent of him, and he would have wondered why Villefort did not send He went to the Registrar of Prisoners, the Superintendent of the Prison, or the Prefect.But Morrel, who wanted to know what fear Villefort had, could not see a trace of fear in his eyes, but only condescension, and Villefort was in danger of being bullied.

"No, sir," said Morrel, "I will not be mistaken, and besides I have known the poor fellow for ten years, and he has been on board my ship for four years. Do you remember? For him , six weeks ago I came to ask your mercy, and today I come to ask you to enforce the law. You were not very polite to me, and you spoke harshly. Why, the royalists were cruel to the Napoleonic parties in those days .”

"Monsieur," replied Villefort, who, with the quickness and coolness of his custom, was now able to resist, "I was a royalist at that time, because I considered the House of Bourbon not only the rightful heir to the throne, but And at the head of the country. But, not so long ago we all witnessed this incredible comeback, which proved me wrong in the past. Napoleon the Genius won, and only the Emperor whom the people love is the rightful monarch.”

"Very well said!" exclaimed Morrel honestly. "I am very glad that you say that. It seems that Edmond's fate will be very auspicious."

"Wait a minute," said Villefort, opening another register, "here it is, a sailor, isn't it? He was going to marry a Catalan girl, wasn't he? Oh, yes. , By the way, now that I think about it, this case is very serious."

"how could be?"

"From me, you know, he's taken to the courthouse."

"I know that, but what happened next?"

"Later, I sent a report to Paris, and the documents I found on him were also sent. What do you say? It was my duty... He was deported the second week after his arrest. gone."

"Sent away? What are they going to do with the poor boy?"

"Oh, don't be in a hurry. He may be taken to Finestrelle, Ponnerol, or the St. Marguerite Islands, that is, to use the administration's words, to leave the country. You will be there To see him come back as his captain someday."

"As long as he can come back, any time, the seat is always reserved for him. But why hasn't he come back? In my opinion, the Napoleonic court should first think of releasing all the people imprisoned by the royalist court. .”

"Don't be rash, my dear Monsieur Morrel," replied Villefort, "everything must be done according to the law. The order of imprisonment comes from above, and the order of release must also come from above. Napoleon It has only been two weeks since the resettlement, so the pardon must have only just been issued."

"But," asked Morrel, "now that we are victorious, can't we hurry up the formalities? I have some friends who are somewhat powerful, and I can get a rescission."

"There was no arrest warrant."

"Then take his name off the prison roll."

(End of this chapter)