absolutely free; that here you exercise unlimited sway, and are at
liberty to lay aside or continue the costume of your country, as it may
suit your inclination. Within this mansion you are absolute mistress of
your actions, and may go abroad or remain in your apartments as may seem
most agreeable to you. A carriage waits your orders, and Ali and Myrtho
will accompany you whithersoever you desire to go. There is but one
favor I would entreat of you."
"Speak."
"Guard carefully the secret of your birth. Make no allusion to the
past; nor upon any occasion be induced to pronounce the names of your
illustrious father or ill-fated mother."
"I have already told you, my lord, that I shall see no one."
"It is possible, Haidee, that so perfect a seclusion, though conformable
with the habits and customs of the East, may not be practicable in
Paris. Endeavor, then, to accustom yourself to our manner of living in
these northern climes as you did to those of Rome, Florence, Milan, and
Madrid; it may be useful to you one of these days, whether you remain
here or return to the East." The young girl raised her tearful eyes
towards Monte Cristo as she said with touching earnestness, "Whether we
return to the East, you mean to say, my lord, do you not?"
"My child," returned Monte Cristo "you know full well that whenever we
part, it will be no fault or wish of mine; the tree forsakes not the
flower--the flower falls from the tree."
"My lord," replied Haidee, "I never will leave you, for I am sure I
could not exist without you."
"My poor girl, in ten years I shall be old, and you will be still
young."
"My father had a long white beard, but I loved him; he was sixty years
old, but to me he was handsomer than all the fine youths I saw."
"Then tell me, Haidee, do you believe you shall be able to accustom
yourself to our present mode of life?"
"Shall I see you?"
"Every day."
"Then what do you fear, my lord?"
"You might find it dull."
"No, my lord. In the morning, I shall rejoice in the prospect of your
coming, and in the evening dwell with delight on the happiness I have
enjoyed in your presence; then too, when alone, I can call forth mighty
pictures of the past, see vast horizons bounded only by the towering
mountains of Pindus and Olympus. Oh, believe me, that when three great
passions, such as sorrow, love, and gratitude fill the heart, ennui can
find no place."
"You are a worthy daughter of Epirus, Haidee, and your charming and
poetical ideas prove well your descent from that race of goddesses who
claim your country as their birthplace. Depend on my care to see
that your youth is not blighted, or suffered to pass away in ungenial
solitude; and of this be well assured, that if you love me as a father,
I love you as a child."
"You are wrong, my lord. The love I have for you is very different from
the love I had for my father. My father died, but I did not die. If
you were to die, I should die too." The Count, with a smile of profound
tenderness, extended his hand, and she carried it to her lips. Monte
Cristo, thus attuned to the interview he proposed to hold with Morrel
and his family, departed, murmuring as he went these lines of Pindar,
"Youth is a flower of which love is the fruit; happy is he who, after
having watched its silent growth, is permitted to gather and call it
his own." The carriage was prepared according to orders, and stepping
lightly into it, the count drove off at his usual rapid pace.
Chapter 50. The Morrel Family.
In a very few minutes the count reached No. 7 in the Rue Meslay. The
house was of white stone, and in a small court before it were two small
beds full of beautiful flowers. In the concierge that opened the gate
the count recognized Cocles; but as he had but one eye, and that eye
had become somewhat dim in the course of nine years, Cocles did not
recognize the count. The carriages that drove up to the door were
compelled to turn, to avoid a fountain that played in a basin of
rockwork,--an ornament that had excited the jealousy of the whole
quarter, and had gained for the place the appellation of "The Little
Versailles." It is needless to add that there were gold and silver fish
in the basin. The house, with kitchens and cellars below, had above
the ground-floor, two stories and attics. The whole of the property,
consisting of an immense workshop, two pavilions at the bottom of the
garden, and the garden itself, had been purchased by Emmanuel, who had
seen at a glance that he could make of it a profitable speculation. He
had reserved the house and half the garden, and building a wall between
the garden and the workshops, had let them upon lease with the pavilions
at the bottom of the garden. So that for a trifling sum he was as well
lodged, and as perfectly shut out from observation, as the inhabitants
of the finest mansion in the Faubourg St. Germain. The breakfast-room
was finished in oak; the salon in mahogany, and the furnishings were of
blue velvet; the bedroom was in citronwood and green damask. There was
a study for Emmanuel, who never studied, and a music-room for Julie,
who never played. The whole of the second story was set apart for
Maximilian; it was precisely similar to his sister's apartments, except
that for the breakfast-parlor he had a billiard-room, where he received
his friends. He was superintending the grooming of his horse, and
smoking his cigar at the entrance of the garden, when the count's
carriage stopped at the gate.
Cocles opened the gate, and Baptistin, springing from the box, inquired
whether Monsieur and Madame Herbault and Monsieur Maximilian Morrel
would see his excellency the Count of Monte Cristo. "The Count of Monte
Cristo?" cried Morrel, throwing away his cigar and hastening to the
carriage; "I should think we would see him. Ah, a thousand thanks,
count, for not having forgotten your promise." And the young officer
shook the count's hand so warmly, that Monte Cristo could not be
mistaken as to the sincerity of his joy, and he saw that he had been
expected with impatience, and was received with pleasure. "Come, come,"
said Maximilian, "I will serve as your guide; such a man as you are
ought not to be introduced by a servant. My sister is in the garden
plucking the dead roses; my brother is reading his two papers, the
Presse and the Debats, within six steps of her; for wherever you see
Madame Herbault, you have only to look within a circle of four yards
and you will find M. Emmanuel, and 'reciprocally,' as they say at the
Polytechnic School." At the sound of their steps a young woman of twenty
to five and twenty, dressed in a silk morning gown, and busily engaged
in plucking the dead leaves off a noisette rose-tree, raised her head.
This was Julie, who had become, as the clerk of the house of Thomson
& French had predicted, Madame Emmanuel Herbault. She uttered a cry
of surprise at the sight of a stranger, and Maximilian began to laugh.
"Don't disturb yourself, Julie," said he. "The count has only been two
or three days in Paris, but he already knows what a fashionable woman of
the Marais is, and if he does not, you will show him."
"Ah, monsieur," returned Julie, "it is treason in my brother to bring
you thus, but he never has any regard for his poor sister. Penelon,
Penelon!" An old man, who was digging busily at one of the beds, stuck
his spade in the earth, and approached, cap in hand, striving to conceal
a quid of tobacco he had just thrust into his cheek. A few locks of
gray mingled with his hair, which was still thick and matted, while his
bronzed features and determined glance well suited an old sailor who had
braved the heat of the equator and the storms of the tropics. "I think
you hailed me, Mademoiselle Julie?" said he. Penelon had still preserved
the habit of calling his master's daughter "Mademoiselle Julie," and
had never been able to change the name to Madame Herbault. "Penelon,"
replied Julie, "go and inform M. Emmanuel of this gentleman's visit,
and Maximilian will conduct him to the salon." Then, turning to Monte
Cristo,--"I hope you will permit me to leave you for a few minutes,"
continued she; and without awaiting any reply, disappeared behind a
clump of trees, and escaped to the house by a lateral alley.
"I am sorry to see," observed Monte Cristo to Morrel, "that I cause no
small disturbance in your house."
"Look there," said Maximilian, laughing; "there is her husband changing
his jacket for a coat. I assure you, you are well known in the Rue
Meslay."
"Your family appears to be a very happy one," said the count, as if
speaking to himself.
"Oh, yes, I assure you, count, they want nothing that can render them
happy; they are young and cheerful, they are tenderly attached to each
other, and with twenty-five thousand francs a year they fancy themselves
as rich as Rothschild."
"Five and twenty thousand francs is not a large sum, however,"
replied Monte Cristo, with a tone so sweet and gentle, that it went to
Maximilian's heart like the voice of a father; "but they will not be
content with that. Your brother-in-law is a barrister? a doctor?"
"He was a merchant, monsieur, and had succeeded to the business of my
poor father. M. Morrel, at his death, left 500,000 francs, which were
divided between my sister and myself, for we were his only children. Her
husband, who, when he married her, had no other patrimony than his noble
probity, his first-rate ability, and his spotless reputation, wished to
possess as much as his wife. He labored and toiled until he had amassed
250,000 francs; six years sufficed to achieve this object. Oh, I assure
you, sir, it was a touching spectacle to see these young creatures,
destined by their talents for higher stations, toiling together, and
through their unwillingness to change any of the customs of their
paternal house, taking six years to accomplish what less scrupulous
people would have effected in two or three. Marseilles resounded with
their well-earned praises. At last, one day, Emmanuel came to his wife,
who had just finished making up the accounts. 'Julie,' said he to her,
'Cocles has just given me the last rouleau of a hundred francs; that
completes the 250,000 francs we had fixed as the limits of our gains.
Can you content yourself with the small fortune which we shall possess
for the future? Listen to me. Our house transacts business to the amount
of a million a year, from which we derive an income of 40,000 francs.
We can dispose of the business, if we please, in an hour, for I have
received a letter from M. Delaunay, in which he offers to purchase
the good-will of the house, to unite with his own, for 300,000 francs.
Advise me what I had better do.'--'Emmanuel,' returned my sister, 'the
house of Morrel can only be carried on by a Morrel. Is it not worth
300,000 francs to save our father's name from the chances of evil
fortune and failure?'--'I thought so,' replied Emmanuel; 'but I wished
to have your advice.'--'This is my counsel:--Our accounts are made up
and our bills paid; all we have to do is to stop the issue of any more,
and close our office.' This was done instantly. It was three o'clock; at
a quarter past, a merchant presented himself to insure two ships; it was
a clear profit of 15,000. francs. 'Monsieur,' said Emmanuel, 'have
the goodness to address yourself to M. Delaunay. We have quitted
business.'--'How long?' inquired the astonished merchant. 'A quarter of
an hour,' was the reply. And this is the reason, monsieur," continued
Maximilian, "of my sister and brother-in-law having only 25,000 francs a
year."
Maximilian had scarcely finished his story, during which the count's
heart had swelled within him, when Emmanuel entered wearing a hat and
coat. He saluted the count with the air of a man who is aware of the
rank of his guest; then, after having led Monte Cristo around the little
garden, he returned to the house. A large vase of Japan porcelain,
filled with flowers that loaded the air with their perfume, stood in
the salon. Julie, suitably dressed, and her hair arranged (she had
accomplished this feat in less than ten minutes), received the count on
his entrance. The songs of the birds were heard in an aviary hard by,
and the branches of laburnums and rose acacias formed an exquisite
framework to the blue velvet curtains. Everything in this charming
retreat, from the warble of the birds to the smile of the mistress,
breathed tranquillity and repose. The count had felt the influence of
this happiness from the moment he entered the house, and he remained
silent and pensive, forgetting that he was expected to renew the
conversation, which had ceased after the first salutations had been
exchanged. The silence became almost painful when, by a violent effort,
tearing himself from his pleasing reverie--"Madame," said he at length,
"I pray you to excuse my emotion, which must astonish you who are only
accustomed to the happiness I meet here; but contentment is so new a
sight to me, that I could never be weary of looking at yourself and your
husband."
"We are very happy, monsieur," replied Julie; "but we have also known
unhappiness, and few have ever undergone more bitter sufferings than
ourselves." The Count's features displayed an expression of the most
intense curiosity.
"Oh, all this is a family history, as Chateau-Renaud told you the other
day," observed Maximilian. "This humble picture would have but little
interest for you, accustomed as you are to behold the pleasures and the
