World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 8 Acting Prosecutor (1)
Medusa, the Gorgon in Greek mythology on the Great Court Street.Opposite the fountain is an elegant and luxurious mansion, which is an old-fashioned house built by Piget.On the same day and at the same time as the banquet at the Reservoir Hotel, one of the old-fashioned houses also held a banquet for the engagement wine.But the guests here are not sailors, soldiers and other ordinary people. Those who come here are the heads of Marseille society. Dynasty crusade against Napoleon's army.The old soldiers who surrendered also have the younger generation brought up by these families who are still in precarity.They hated this traitor, and each family paid four or five people to serve as soldiers.However, after five years of exile, the rebel became a martyr, and after 15 years of restoration of the imperial government, he was worshiped as a god.

The guests are dining, the conversation is lively and the emotions are high.Passion is created by the times, but 500 years of religious hatred in southern France fueled all kinds of political hatred, and the words at the banquet became more passionate, violent and terrible.

The emperor of the French Empire once ruled a large area of ​​the world, but now he is only the king of Elba Island; he is used to 1.2 million subjects shouting "Long live Napoleon" in ten different languages, and now he only rules five or six thousand people .In the eyes of the hosts and guests of this feast, he had lost France forever, lost the throne of emperor.Politicians were pointing out his political blunders, soldiers were talking about battles like Moscow and Leipzig, women were talking about Napoleon and Josephine's divorce.The Royalists were jubilant and triumphant, not only because a man had been knocked to the ground, but because a doctrine had been annihilated.For them, they have awakened from a painful nightmare to start a new life.

An old man with the Cross of St. Louis on his chest raised his wine glass and proposed to the table full of guests to toast the health of King Louis XVIII.The old man was the Marquis of Saint-Méran.This toast recalls the king who pacified France and his British place at Hartwell, where Louis XVIII went into exile before the Restoration.The banquet was full of buzz, everyone toasted like the British, the ladies took off the bouquets pinned to their bodies, and scattered the flowers on the tablecloth, the banquet was suddenly filled with almost poetic enthusiasm.

"As long as they are still here, they must admit their mistakes," said the Marchioness of Saint-Méran.Her eyes were cold and unfeeling, her lips were flat and thin, and although she was over 50 years old, she still had a dignified and elegant demeanor. "These revolutionaries," she went on, "drove us from our mansions, and then, during the Terror, bought our old houses for as cheap as a loaf of bread, and we had to let them Intrigues at ease in our mansion. They have to admit that the true allegiance is on our side. When the dynasty falters, it is us who are loyal and loyal, but they are the opposite. They must admit that the king is ours, that it is Louis beloved of all peoples, and that the usurper is theirs, and it is always the devil Napoleon. Am I right, Villefort?"

"Marquis, you are talking... Please forgive me, I didn't pay attention to what I just said."

"Oh, don't bother these young people, ma'am," said the old man who had proposed a toast just now. "Young people are getting married soon, and naturally they won't be talking about politics."

"Excuse me, mother," said a young and pretty fair-haired woman, whose sweet, watery eyes were piercing; "I was speaking to M. de Villefort just now, and now you may ask him. M. de Villefort, I Mother is talking to you."

"I did not understand what was asked of me just now, and I will be happy to answer the Marchioness if you repeat it," said M. de Villefort.

"I forgive you, René," said the Marchioness, smiling.It was surprising to see a hint of tenderness and kindness in her stern face.However, women's hearts are like this. When they think of prejudice and etiquette, their hearts are indifferent, but they always leave a fertile ground full of laughter, which is specially created by God for mother's love. "Villefort, I forgive you. I said just now that the Napoleonists do not have our faith, passion, and loyalty."

"Oh, ma'am, they have something else in place of these virtues, and that is fanaticism. Napoleon is the Mohammad of the West, not only the lawgiver and master but a model of vulgar and ambitious incompetents." , which is a model of equality.”

"Equality!" cried the Marchioness, "Napoleon is a model of equality! What do you think of Robespierre, the leader of the Jacobins during the French bourgeois revolution (1758-1794)? It seems that you regard this The two of them came together, but I think one usurpation is enough."

"No, madame," said Villefort, "I have left a monument for each of them. Robespierre's should be in the Place Louis XV where he erected the guillotine, and Napoleon's in the Place Vendôme. However, the equality of these two men is that the one is lowered by the higher, and the higher is raised by the lower. The one puts the king on the guillotine, the other the common people. But," said Villefort, smiling. Adds, "It's not that neither of them was a brazen revolutionary. Nor is it that 9 Thermidor, the day Robespierre was arrested. And 1814 April 4, the day Napoleon was forced to abdicate." Days. These two days are not festive days in France. It is also a day of celebration and commemoration for those who support social hierarchy and support dynasties. However, this also explains why Napoleon still has a group of fanatics. Of course, he has completely fallen , will never be able to make a comeback, I hope so. This is not a matter of your will, Marchioness, Cromwell, the leader of the British bourgeois revolution (4-1599). What he did is only half of what Napoleon did, and even if he There are his foxes and dogs."

"Villefort, do you know that your words are quite revolutionary. But I forgive you, a Girondist political group representing the interests of the industrial and commercial bourgeoisie during the French bourgeois revolution. It was in power in 1792 and opposed the further development of the revolution. In 1793, when the people of Paris revolted, their government was overthrown. How can a man's son not have a trace of his ancestors?"

Villefort blushed instantly. "It is true that my father was a Girondist," said he, "but, Madame, my father did not vote for the execution of the King. You were persecuted in the time of the Terror, and my father was persecuted as well, and was nearly killed on the same scaffold as your lord. "

"Yes," said the Marchioness. The painful memory did not move her in the slightest. "Although the two old men were sent to the guillotine, their doctrines are very different. I have evidence for this. Everyone When the prince was exiled, my family was always loyal to them, but your lordship was eager to submit to the new government, and the citizen Noirquier changed from being a Girondist to the count of Noirquier, and Became a member of the Senate."

"Mother," said René, "you know that it has been agreed that the painful past will not be mentioned again."

"Madame," continued Villefort, "I agree with Mademoiselle de Saint-Méran, and I beg you to forget the past for a moment. The past, God's will has not worked, why should we criticize it? God can change." The future, but history cannot be rewritten. What we mortals can do, if not abandon the past, at least cover it with a thin veil. For my part, gentlemen, I abandon not only my father's ideas, but also his My father was, and probably still is, a Napoleonist, his name is Noirquier, but I am a royalist, and I am Villefort. That remaining revolutionary sap, let it die with the withered trunk. The new shoots from the old tree are impossible, and I would even say that I hardly want to completely separate from the old tree, but, madam, please don't just see this phenomenon."

"Well said, Villefort," said the Marquis, "very good, your answer is very good. I always persuade the Marquise to forget the past, but she never listens. I think your chances are better today than mine. .”

"Yes, I am very much in favor," said the Marchioness. "Let us forget the past, which is exactly what I want. Well, we can make three chapters. But at least Villefort must not shake the future. Please don't forget, Ville." Fu, we have made a guarantee for you to His Majesty, and after listening to our recommendation, His Majesty will allow you to let the past go." She stretched out her hand for the young man to kiss, and then said: "Just like I promised you to forget the past. However, the conspiracy Once the insurgents fall into your hands, please remember that everyone's eyes will be on you, because everyone knows that your government may be involved with these conspirators."

"Oh, Madame," replied Villefort, "my profession, and especially the times we live in, require me to be impartial, and I will do my best to do so. I have already made several cases of political denunciation, and here On the one hand, I have stood the test. Unfortunately, we have not been able to get everything right so far."

"Really?" said the Marchioness.

"I'm worried. Napoleon on Elba is so close to France that he can almost see each other from our shores, so there's hope for his henchmen. Marseilles is full of half-paid officers who spend their days working for trivial matters. Petty provocations and royalist quarrels, so there are duels among the upper classes, and assassinations among the common people."

"Yes," said the Count Salvieux, an old friend of the Marquis de Saint-Méran, brother of Louis XVIII, Count of Artois, and successor of Louis XVIII as King of France (1824-1828).The head of the attendant said, "Yes, but everyone knows that after the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire in 1815, the Holy Alliance was an alliance formed in Paris by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. It is planned to move him away."

"Yes, we were talking about it when we left Paris," said the Marquis de Saint-Méran. "Where are you going to send him?"

"St. Helena (Napoleon was exiled for the second time and died on this island (1815-1821).)."

"St. Helena? Where is that?" asked the Marchioness.

"This is a small island crossing the equator. It is more than 16000 miles away from here. The original book is French Guri, which is about 4 kilometers. The inch and chi in ancient French units of length are roughly equivalent to the city inch and city chi in my country, so France Guli is converted into city in the translation." The count replied.

"Excellent! As Villefort said, it would be foolish to place such a man on the island that is now. Elba is bounded on one side by Corsica, where he was born, and on the other by Naples, where his brother-in-law is still alive today. is king there, and across the island is Italy, where he imagined making his son king."

"Unfortunately," said Villefort, "we are bound by the treaty of 1814, and Napoleon cannot be moved unless we do not fulfill it."

"Well, we can break the contract," said Count Salvieux. "Did he really abide by any treaty when he ordered the execution of the unfortunate Duke of Anyen, a member of the French Bourbon royal family (1772-1804)?"

(End of this chapter)