World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 208
"Yes," he said, "that's the rock I used to sit on! This mark on the wall I made with my shoulder! This pool of blood is where I bumped my head against the wall one day! Oh! These few Numerals... I remember... Written on the wall one day when I was counting my age, the day I was counting how many years to let me out, how old was my father at that time, would he still be alive, How old Mercedes is, will it still be waiting for me... After the calculation, I waited for a while with hope... I did the calculations but I didn't take hunger and change of heart into account!" The count's face With a wry smile, he saw, as if in a dream, his father walking towards the tomb...and Mercedes walking towards the altar where the wedding was to take place!On the other wall, he saw a few words engraved on it. The white handwriting was engraved on the dark green wall, which was very eye-catching. "My God!" Monte Cristo read those words, "should let me preserve my memory!" Then, Monte Cristo said aloud: "Oh, yes! When I was about to die, I prayed with all my heart." That's the same sentence. At that time, I no longer prayed for freedom, but only prayed that I could remember. At that time, I was really afraid that I would go crazy and forget everything. My God! You kept my memory, the past It's all in my mind. Thank you, thank you, my God!"

At this time, the light of the torch reflected on the wall, and it turned out that the gatekeeper had come down again.Monte Cristo then went towards him. "Come with me, please," said the porter.They didn't need to go upstairs, the porter led Monte Cristo from an underground passage directly to the door of another dark cell.

Once there, Monte Cristo was overwhelmed with emotions.As he glanced, he saw first the meridian line that the elder Faria had carved on the wall to measure time, and then he saw the shabby bed on which the poor prisoner lay on his deathbed.Seeing things and thinking about people, but at this moment, what surged up in the earl's heart was not like just now when he was in his cell, he only felt sorrow, anger and depression, but he felt a sweet warmth in his heart, and a wave of With gratitude, the two lines couldn't help but burst into tears.

"The mad elder is locked up here," said the doorman. "Look over there, the young man crawls over there to look for the old man," said the doorman, pointing to the exit of the secret passage, the hole on this side. Not blocked. "A scholar deduced from the color of the stone," continued the gatekeeper, "these two prisoners have been in contact for almost ten years, and they are pitiful enough, and these ten years are enough to tire them. "

Dantès took some louis d'or from his pocket, and held out his hand to the porter, who once again sympathized with the poor man, though he did not know the prisoner.The gatekeeper took it, and he thought it was a few small coins, but when he saw it under the light of the torch, he immediately understood how much the money the tourist gave him was worth. "Sir," said he, "you have taken it by mistake."

"how could be?"

"You gave me gold coins."

"I know."

"What? You know?"

"Yes."

"Did you give me the gold in the first place?"

"Yes."

"Then I can accept it with confidence?"

"Yes."

The porter looked at Monte Cristo in amazement.

"You may take it with dignity," said the count, in a tone that sounded like Hamlet.

"Sir," said the porter, who could hardly believe his good fortune, "sir, I do not understand your generosity."

"But there is nothing difficult to understand, my friend," said the count. "I was a sailor, and I was more moved by your story than anyone else."

"Then, sir," said the porter, "since you are so generous, I should give you something to make me feel better."

"Have you anything to give me, my friend? Shells? Something woven from straw? Thank you."

"No, sir, it's not that kind of thing. I'll give you something related to the story just now."

"Really?" cried the Count eagerly. "And what is it?"

"Listen to me," said the porter, "that's what it is. I thought that if a prisoner spends fifteen years in a cell, there must be something to be found in that cell, so I looked carefully. Find it along the wall."

"Ah!" exclaimed Monte Cristo, who could not help thinking of the two dark holes in which the abbot hid his things, "you have found the right one."

"I kept searching," said the porter, "and finally found two places on the wall that sounded empty. One was the head of the bed, and the other was the hearth of the fireplace."

"Yes," said Monte Cristo, "yes."

"I just peeled away the stones and found..."

"A rope ladder and some tools?" cried the count.

"How do you know?" asked the porter in surprise.

"I don't know, I guess," said the count. "Things like this are usually found in the places where prisoners hide them."

"Yes, sir," said the porter, "a rope-ladder and some tools."

"Have you kept it all?" cried Monte Cristo.

"No, sir, I sold them all to tourists, they found them very curious, but I kept one thing."

"What?" asked the count hastily.

"Like a book, written on cloth."

"Oh!" cried Monte Cristo, "is this book still with you?"

"I don't know if it's a book," said the porter, "but I still have what I told you about."

"Go and bring it to me, my friend, go," said the count; "if it is as I think it is, but you can bring it at ease."

"I'll run to get it now, sir," said the porter, and went away.

At this time, Monte Cristo knelt on the ground piously, and he saw only the broken bedstead, but in his eyes, death had turned this dilapidated bed into an altar. "Oh! my reborn father!" he said, "you have given me freedom, knowledge, and wealth. You are like another creature, better than us. You can distinguish good from evil. What kind of inspiration is there, if you can still respond to the words of people who are still in the world, if there is still some kind of vitality in the soul that escapes after death, and you can still float back to the place where we were full of love and shared weal and woe, then , you noble and profound heroic spirit, with the fatherly love you gave me back then, with the respect I had for you like a son, I beg you, give me a word, a sign, a kind of What kind of enlightenment, please dispel the last trace of doubt in my heart. If this doubt persists, I will lose confidence, and I will be ashamed." The count put his hands together and lowered his head.

"Look, sir!" cried a voice behind him.

Monte Cristo shuddered, and turned away.The porter gave Monte Cristo the piece of cloth in his hand.At that time, Elder Faria poured all his profound knowledge into this piece of cloth. This manuscript is Elder Faria's masterpiece on Italian kingship.The count hurriedly took it in his hand, saw the inscription at a glance, and read: "God says, you will pull out the teeth of the dragon, and you will trample the lion under foot." After reading, he cried again: "Ah! That's the answer! Thank you, my father, thank you!" He drew from his pocket a wallet containing ten thousand-franc notes. "Here," he said, "take this wallet."

"Is this for me?"

"Yes, but there is a condition. You can only open it to see what is inside after I leave."

After finishing speaking, he pressed the sacred object that he had just obtained, which was more precious than the priceless treasure to his chest, quickly walked out of the underground passage, boarded the yacht and said, "Go back to Marseille!" The yacht sailed away from Yves. Fort, Monte Cristo still stared at the gloomy prison. "It's their fault," he said, "they have thrown me into this dreadful prison, and they have forgotten me behind the bars!" Once again the yacht sailed in front of the village of Catalunya. However, the count turned his back, covered his head with a cloak, and whispered a woman's name.The count completely defeated himself, defeating the doubts in his heart twice.This name, he said it kindly and gently, it can be said that he poured out his heart with love, and the name he called softly was Edai.

As soon as Monte Cristo landed, he went straight to the cemetery, where he had to go to Morrel. He had visited the cemetery religiously 10 years ago, looking for a tomb but couldn't find one.He returned to France with a fortune of millions, but failed to find the tomb of his starving father.Old Morrel had erected a cross in front of the tomb, but later the cross fell down and was set ablaze by the gravediggers.The fallen crosses in the cemetery were all set on fire by gravediggers in this way.The venerable merchant was much more fortunate, and died in the arms of his sons and daughters, who then escorted him to rest next to his wife who had died two years before him.The tombstone is two wide and large marbles, with the names of two people engraved on them, and they are spread side by side on a small cemetery surrounded by iron railings, above which is a green garden composed of four cypress trees. shade.

Maximilian leaned against a cypress tree, staring blankly at the two tombs.He was lingering, traumatized, and almost lost his mind.

"Maximilian," said the count, "you must look not only here, but there." He pointed to the sky.

"The dead are everywhere," said Morrel. "Didn't you tell me that when you took me away from Paris?"

"Maximilian," said the count, "you told me on the way here that you wanted to stay at Marseilles for a few days. Do you still think so?"

"I have nothing to think about, count, but I think it will be a little easier to wait here than elsewhere."

"That's all right, Maximilian, I'm going to part with you for a while, but I remember what you said, it counts, doesn't it?"

"Ah! I shall forget, count," said Morrel, "I shall indeed forget!"

"No! You must not forget your words, because you are a man of honor after all, because you have sworn, and because you will."

"Oh! Count, have pity on me! Count, I am so miserable!"

"I know a man less fortunate than you, Morrel."

"impossible."

"Alas!" said Monte Cristo, "our poor human beings are so defiant, each one thinks himself less fortunate than the others, while others weep and groan beside him."

"Someone has lost what he loves the most in this world and what he hopes most. Is there anyone more unfortunate than him?"

"Listen, Morrel, and pay attention to what I have to say to you. I know a man who, like you, put all his hopes of happiness in a woman. Young, he has an old father he respects and loves, and a fiancée he loves. Just when he was about to get married, suddenly, due to a trick of fate——if God hadn’t appeared to him later and explained to him, all this was for God’s sake. An arrangement of infinite harmony, such a teasing of fate will make people doubt whether the mercy of God is still there. Due to the teasing of fate, he lost his freedom, the one he loved, and what he dreamed of in an instant. The bright future that he thought he had already obtained. He was too blind and confident at the time, and what he saw was just a little thing in front of him, and he was pushed into the depths of the dark prison as a result."

"Hey!" said Morrel, "into the dungeon, shut up for a week, a month, a year, and out."

"He has been in for 14 years, Morrel." The count said, putting his hand on Morrel's shoulder.

Morrel shuddered. "14 years!" he murmured.

"Fourteen years," repeated the count, "he, too, had many moments of despair during those fourteen years, and he, like you, Morrel, thought himself the most unfortunate man in the world, and wanted to kill himself. "

"And what happened next?" asked Morrel.

"Later, at that last moment, God appeared to him in a mortal body, because God had no need to perform miracles. It did take a while for the eyes, which were blinded by tears, to fully open in the beginning, and he He did not immediately grasp the infinite mercy of God, but at last he learned to be patient and to wait. One day he miraculously jumped out of the grave, and transformed himself into a rich prince, a man of great powers, almost a god. The first thing he uttered was for his father, but his father is dead!"

"Me too, my father is dead," said Morrel.

"Yes, but your father died in your arms. He was loved, happy, respected, prosperous, and enjoyed a full life. His father, however, was suffering and In desperation, he died with doubts about God. Ten years after the poor old man died, his son went to find his tomb, but his tomb was gone. No one could say to his son:' From here rests the heart that loved you so dearly in the arms of God.'”

"Oh!" cried Morrel.

"So he is a more unfortunate son than you, Morrel, because he doesn't even know where his own father's tomb is."

"But," said Morrel, "at least he can find the girl he loves."

"You are mistaken, Morrel, the girl..."

"Is she dead?" cried Maximilian.

"Worse than death, she had a change of heart, and ended up marrying the man who had persecuted her fiancé. So you see, Morrel, he was a more unfortunate lover than you."

"To this man," asked Morrel, "has God consolation?"

"God at least grant him peace."

"Will he live happily ever after?"

"That's what he wants, Maximilian."

Maximilian's head hung down to his chest. "Remember my promise," he said, after a moment's silence, extending his hand to Monte Cristo, "but remember also..."

"October 10th, Morrel, I will wait for you on the island of Monte Cristo. On the 5th a speedboat will be waiting for you in the port of Bastia. The name of this speedboat is 'Oulus', and you have only to report to the captain. Say your name, and he'll take you to me. That's it, okay, Maximilian?"

"Okay, Earl, I will definitely do as I said, but please remember that on October 10th..."

"My child, you still don't understand what a man's promise means... I have told you 20 times, if you still want to leave by this day, I will grant you, Morrel. Goodbye."

"Are you leaving me now?"

"Yes, I've got something to do in Italy. I'll leave you alone and fight against your doom alone. God will send the great-winged eagle to send God's chosen people to God's feet, and you will deal with the eagle alone. Plus Nimedes, a figure in ancient Greek mythology, was the prince of Troy, and Zeus turned him into a condor and snatched him away, making him serve as a drinker for the gods. The story is not nonsense, but has a profound meaning.”

"When are you leaving?"

"At once, the launch is waiting for me, and I will be very far away from you in an hour. Will you take me to the quay, Morrel?"

"Your orders are to be taken, count."

"Hug me."

Morrel accompanied the count to the port.Wisps of white smoke from the black chimneys swirled in the air like huge plumes, and the launch soon set sail.An hour later, as Monte Cristo had said, the faint plume of white smoke had drifted into the eastern sky, and at the beginning of evening, the faintly discernible white smoke gradually melted into a gray cloud.

(End of this chapter)