World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 45
"What happened? He left Marseilles. M. Morrel, not knowing what he was doing, wrote him a letter of recommendation, and went to work as a cashier in a Spanish firm. During the French-Spanish War, he was employed to supply the French army with Part of the munitions made a fortune, and he used the money to do the bond business, and multiplied his capital three or four times. First he married the daughter of the firm owner, and when his wife died, he married a widow, Madame Nargona. The current father-in-law, Mr. Seville, is the current king's attendant and is very favored. Tangra himself has become a millionaire and has been named a baron, so he is now Baron Tangra, and he has a mansion on Montblanc Road , There are 10 horses in the stable, and there are six servants in the waiting hall, and the money in his cash drawer is so much that I don't know how many millions."

"Ah!" said the elder in an uncharacteristic tone, "is he happy?"

"Well, who can say clearly whether you are happy or not? Whether it's bad luck or good luck, don't spread it outside the wall. Although the wall has ears, it doesn't have a tongue. If it is said that being rich means being happy, then Tangra is happy."

"Where's Fernand?"

"Fernan, his experience is different."

"How did a poor fisherman in the village of Catalonia, without money and education, get on? To be honest, I can't imagine."

"No one thought that there must be some very unusual secrets in his life experience, but no one else knew about it."

"But judging from the superficial signs, how did he climb up step by step and finally become a rich man or a tycoon?"

"Both, sir, and he has both now, money and power, power and power."

"You're too amazing, aren't you?"

"The matter itself is very magical. Listen to me and you will understand it slowly. A few days before the emperor came back, Fernand had been called to serve in the army, but the Bourbon royal family still let him be quiet. Staying in the village of Catalonia, when Napoleon came back and issued an urgent conscription order, Fernand had to enlist in the army and leave. I also enlisted and left, but I am older than Fernand and I just married me That poor wife, so I was only sent to the coastal line. Fernand was incorporated into the combat unit, went to the border with his regiment, and participated in the Belgian place name of Liny, where Napoleon was here on June 1815, 6 He fought against the Prussian army, and a few days later became the famous Battle of Waterloo. The battle. On the night just after the battle, he stood guard at the door of a general who had already been secretly in touch with the enemy. On this day At night, the general was about to surrender to the British army. He asked Fernand to escort him, and Fernand agreed, so he left the post and followed the general to join the enemy. If Napoleon was still in power, Fernand would have been sent to a court-martial, but it was still Bonaparte. When the royal family was in power, he was promoted, and when he returned to France, he wore the epaulets of a second lieutenant. The general was very favored and took good care of him. Because of the general's sponsorship, he was promoted to captain during the Franco-Spanish war in 15. At that time, Tangra was in Spain to start his speculative business. Fernan was of Spanish descent, and he was sent to Madrid to scout the public opinion of the Spaniards. When he arrived in Madrid, he met Tangla, and the two hit it off immediately. Fernando He told the general that the royalists in the capital and the provinces of Spain supported them, and the general praised and promised him a lot. Fernand then issued a military order and led a regiment to cross a path known only to him and guard the mountain pass together. The royalist army joined together, and the battle was quickly won. He made great contributions and captured the Spanish place name of Trocadero, which was captured by the French army in 1823. After that, he was promoted to colonel and won a medal of honor Medal, made an earl."

"This is fate!" the elder said softly.

"That's right, listen to me again, this is not over yet. After the end of the Franco-Spanish War, Europe is expected to have a lasting peace, and Fernand's military career seems to be affected. At this time, Greece rose up to rebel against Turkey, which started the Greek war. Independence War, people turned their attention to Athens, and it became fashionable to sympathize with and support Greece. You know the attitude of the French government. On the surface, they refuse to protect the Greeks, but allow some people to help in the war. Fernand wants to go Greece, as a result, got his wish, but he was still in the army. Shortly afterwards, it was heard that Count Mosef—his surname was Mosef, had been in Ali-Pasha, the governor of the Ottoman Empire. He was in Greece after being dismissed by the Turkish Sultan in 1820. He led the resistance movement. Under his command, he became the general of the teaching team. Later Ali Pasha was killed, as you know, but before his death, he left a huge sum of money to Fernand in return for his services. Fernand returned to France with this huge sum of money and was promoted to major general."

"So today he..." asked the elder.

"So today," continued Cuderosse, "he has a magnificent mansion at 27 rue de Erard in Paris."

The elder opened his mouth, but remained silent for a moment as if hesitating. Finally he calmed down and said, "What about Mercedes? I hear she's missing."

"Missing," said Caderousse, "is, like the setting of the sun, and rising again the next morning, and more brilliantly."

"Has she made a fortune too?" the elder asked with a sneer on his face.

"Mercedes is one of the most flamboyant ladies in Paris today," said Caderos.

"Go ahead," said the elder, "I feel like I'm listening to someone's dream. Fortunately, I've seen all kinds of strange things. The things you're talking about don't seem too surprising to me."

"It was a shock to Mercedes that her beloved Edmond was taken away, and she was in despair at first. As I have just told you, she went to M. de Villefort to intercede, and for Dantès's Her father also took care of her in every possible way. When she was distraught, Fernan also left and flew away, which made things worse for Mercedes, because she didn't know the bad things Fernan did and always treated him as an older brother. Fernan Once gone, Mercedes was completely helpless, and for three months she was soaked in tears and heard no news from Edmond, nor Fernand, except from an old man who was dying in despair. She had no relatives. One day, as usual, she sat on the corner of the two roads from Marseilles to the village of Catalonia for a whole day. When she came home in the evening, she felt very sad. Neither her lover nor her friend came back. There was no news from either of them. Suddenly she felt as if she heard a familiar footstep. She turned around nervously, and the door opened, and she saw Fernand wearing a second lieutenant's suit. The uniform came to her. Which half of her melancholy came back to her? This was simply a part of her life in the past. Mercedes held Fernand's hands tightly, feeling very excited, and Fernand Nan thought it was a love affair, but in fact she was happy because she saw that she was no longer alone in this world. After a long period of sadness and loneliness, she finally saw a friend again. In addition, this should also be clear, Although Mercedes did not love Fernand, she never hated him. Mercedes had another person in her heart, but this person was not there. Mercédès was always rubbing her hands and weeping in agony, a misfortune which had been told to her before, but she would never believe it, and now it kept coming to her mind. In addition, old Dantès kept saying to her: "Our Edmond is dead, or he will come back to us." I have just told you that the old man is dead. If he lives, Mercedes She would not marry someone else, because the old man would scold her for being unfaithful. Fernan understood the articles here, so he rushed back when he heard the news of the old man's death. This was what he did when he was a lieutenant. His first When he came back once, he didn’t mention a word of love to Mercedes. When he came back for the second time, he repeated the old story and told Mercedes that he had always loved her. Mercedes asked him to wait Six months to wait and mourn for Edmund."

"In short," the elder said with a wry smile, "I have waited for 18 months in total. Even a person who is the most dedicated in love, how can he be picky about it?" Then he recited another English verse: "Frailty , they name is woman! "Yanghuashuixing, your name is woman", quoted from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" play."

"Six months later," continued Caderos, "they were married at the Church of Agule."

"It's the church where she was to be engaged to Edmund," said the priest softly. "It's just a different bridegroom."

"So, Mercedes is married," said Caderos, "but although she seemed calm to everyone, she passed out when she passed the Reserve Hotel. It was 18 months ago at the Here, a wedding was held to celebrate her engagement with another person. If she dared to see through the secrets in her heart, she would know that she still loved that person. Fernan was beaming, but he was not at ease. I had seen him at the time, and he was always afraid of Edmund's return, so as soon as he got married, he took his wife and went away to live in the village of Catalonia, where there were too many dangers and too many disputes. They left just a week after the wedding."

"Have you seen Mercedes since then?" asked the priest.

"I've seen it, the French place name in Perpignan during the Franco-Spanish War. I've seen it. Fernand settled there at that time, and Mercedes taught her son at home alone."

The elder couldn't help shivering, "Teach her son?" he asked.

"Yes," answered Caderousse, "little Albert."

"To be able to teach her son," said the elder, "she must be educated herself. I think I heard Edmond say that she is an ordinary fisherman's girl, who is very beautiful, but has no culture."

"Oh!" said Caderousse, "Edmond is so ignorant of his fiancée. If the queen's crown should only be worn by the fairest and wisest woman, sir, Mercedes could be queen. She As her fortune increased, so did her talents. She studied painting, music, everything. Besides, I always felt—this can only be said between us, and she did it only to distract her mind. , forget the past. She has filled her head with so many things, just to hold back the old things in her heart. Well, all that has to be said, "Caderos went on, "wealth and honor have comforted her .Now she's rich and a countess, but..." Cudeross stopped abruptly.

"But what?" asked the elder.

"But I'm sure she's not happy," said Cudeross.

"Who told you that?"

"Oh! Sometimes I feel that I am too unlucky, and I think those old friends will help me. So I went to Tangra, but he didn't even see me, and then I went to Fernand, who sent a personal assistant Gave me 100 francs."

"So, you haven't seen any of these two people?"

"No, but Mrs. Mercerf saw me."

"Please explain carefully."

"When I came out of their house, I saw a purse with twenty-five louis in it dropped at my feet. I looked up quickly and saw Mercedes, but she closed the shutter again."

"And what of M. de Villefort?" asked the elder.

"Oh, I've never known him well, and I don't know him, so I have nothing to ask of him."

"Do you know what is going on with him now? What has he been up to around the time of Edmond's misfortune?"

"I don't know. I only know that Edmond was arrested by someone he sent. Not long after that he married Mademoiselle de Saint-Meran and left Marseilles not long after. Surely he was as lucky as those others, like Don." As rich as Guerra, as respected as Fernand. But I, you see, are still poor and miserable, and I have long been forgotten by God."

"You are mistaken, my friend," said the elder, "God may not think well sometimes, because God's justice also has a nap, but sooner or later God will remember. You see, here is the proof At this point, the elder took out the diamond from his pocket, handed it to Caderos, and said to him, "Here, my friend, take this diamond, for it belongs to you."

"What! Leave me alone?" cried Cuderosse. "Oh, sir, are you joking?"

"This diamond should have been shared by several of his friends, but Edmond has only one friend, and it would be superfluous to talk about sharing. Take this diamond and you sell it. I will tell you again, this diamond It is worth fifty thousand francs, and may such a sum save you from poverty."

"Oh, sir," said Cudeross, stretching out one hand timidly and wiping the sweat from his brow with the other, "oh, sir, one's happiness or disappointment is not to be judged. Just kidding!"

"I know what happiness and disappointment mean, so I never use emotions to tease people. Please accept it, but there is an exchange..."

Cuderos's hand had already touched the diamond, but he drew back immediately upon hearing this.The elder smiled slightly, and then said: "In exchange, you give me the red silk purse that Mr. Morrel left on the old Dantès fireplace. You told me that the purse is in your hands."

Caderos, feeling more and more astonished, went to a great oak chest, opened the door, and took out the purse, which he gave to the elder.The purse is long and big, the red silk thread on it has lost its luster, and the two copper rings are still hanging, it seems that it was plated with gold at first.The elder took the purse with one hand and gave the diamond to Caderos with the other.

"Oh! you are sent by God, sir!" cried Caderousse. "To be honest, no one knows that Edmond gave you this diamond, and it is quite necessary not to show it."

"Well," said the elder in a low voice to himself, "it seems you may do so." Then he rose, and taking up his hat and gloves, added, "Well, you tell me the truth, Isn't it? I can completely believe it?"

"Look, Monsieur Elder," said Cuderos, "there is a holy wooden crucifix in the corner here, and look at this big cabinet. There is a copy of the Gospels of my wife on it. Please open the book so that I can see it." Pilgrimage book, I swear to you by pointing at the image of Christ, I can swear by the eternal happiness of my soul, by my faith as a Christian, what I say to you is exactly the same as the actual situation, what the human angels said to God at the last judgment exactly the same."

"Very well," said the elder, who could hear the truth from the tone of Caderos's voice, "very well, may this money do you good. Get away from this intriguing mortal being."

The elder managed to break free from the enthusiastic Caderos, pushed the latch by himself, opened the door and walked out, then rode on his horse, saluted the innkeeper loudly to the side for the last time, and started on the road in the direction he had come.Cuderos turned back to the house, only to find that the "Calcomte" was standing behind him, and saw her paler and shivering more and more.

"Is it true what I've heard?" she asked.

"What? That he gave us that diamond only?" said Cudeross, almost dizzy with joy.

"Yes."

"It's true, look, here it is."

The woman stared at the diamond for a while, then said hoarsely, "Maybe it's fake?"

Caderos's face turned completely white, and he wobbled and almost couldn't stand up. "Fake," he murmured, "fake . . . but why would he give me a fake diamond?"

"You can take your secret for nothing, you fool."

Upon hearing this, Caderos froze, as if lost. "Oh," he said after a while, taking up his hat and pushing it over his head, which was already wrapped in a red handkerchief, "we shall find out in a moment."

"how can that be possible?"

"Today Beaucaire is a market. There are jewelers from Paris. I will show them. You look at the house, old lady. I will be back in two hours." After finishing speaking, he hurried out of the house and went to crossed the road, and ran hastily in the opposite direction from the stranger's.

"Fifty thousand francs!" she murmured to herself, "the Calconte" alone. "It's a lot of money, but not a fortune."

(End of this chapter)