The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (books to read to improve english txt) đ
- Author: Alexandre Dumas
- Performer: 0140449264
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Danglars had, however, protested against showing himself in a ministerial box, declaring that his political principles, and his parliamentary position as member of the opposition party would not permit him so to commit himself; the baroness had, therefore, despatched a note to Lucien Debray, bidding him call for them, it being wholly impossible for her to go alone with Eugénie to the opera.
There is no gainsaying the fact that a very unfavorable construction would have been put upon the circumstance if the two women had gone without escort, while the addition of a third, in the person of her motherâs admitted lover, enabled Mademoiselle Danglars to defy malice and ill-nature. One must take the world as one finds it.
The curtain rose, as usual, to an almost empty house, it being one of the absurdities of Parisian fashion never to appear at the opera until after the beginning of the performance, so that the first act is generally played without the slightest attention being paid to it, that part of the audience already assembled being too much occupied in observing the fresh arrivals, while nothing is heard but the noise of opening and shutting doors, and the buzz of conversation.
âSurely,â said Albert, as the door of a box on the first circle opened, âthat must be the Countess Gââ.â
âAnd who is the Countess Gââ?â inquired ChĂąteau-Renaud.
âWhat a question! Now, do you know, baron, I have a great mind to pick a quarrel with you for asking it; as if all the world did not know who the Countess Gââ was.â
âAh, to be sure,â replied ChĂąteau-Renaud; âthe lovely Venetian, is it not?â
âHerself.â At this moment the countess perceived Albert, and returned his salutation with a smile.
âYou know her, it seems?â said ChĂąteau-Renaud.
âFranz introduced me to her at Rome,â replied Albert.
âWell, then, will you do as much for me in Paris as Franz did for you in Rome?â
âWith pleasure.â
There was a cry of âShut up!â from the audience. This manifestation on the part of the spectators of their wish to be allowed to hear the music, produced not the slightest effect on the two young men, who continued their conversation.
âThe countess was present at the races in the Champ-de-Mars,â said ChĂąteau-Renaud.
âToday?â
âYes.â
âBless me, I quite forgot the races. Did you bet?â
âOh, merely a paltry fifty louis.â
âAnd who was the winner?â
âNautilus. I staked on him.â
âBut there were three races, were there not?â
âYes; there was the prize given by the Jockey Clubâa gold cup, you knowâand a very singular circumstance occurred about that race.â
âWhat was it?â
âOh, shut up!â again interposed some of the audience.
âWhy, it was won by a horse and rider utterly unknown on the course.â
âIs that possible?â
âTrue as day. The fact was, nobody had observed a horse entered by the name of Vampa, or that of a jockey styled Job, when, at the last moment, a splendid roan, mounted by a jockey about as big as your fist, presented themselves at the starting-post. They were obliged to stuff at least twenty pounds weight of shot in the small riderâs pockets, to make him weight; but with all that he outstripped Ariel and Barbare, against whom he ran, by at least three whole lengths.â
âAnd was it not found out at last to whom the horse and jockey belonged?â
âNo.â
âYou say that the horse was entered under the name of Vampa?â
âExactly; that was the title.â
âThen,â answered Albert, âI am better informed than you are, and know who the owner of that horse was.â
âShut up, there!â cried the pit in chorus. And this time the tone and manner in which the command was given, betokened such growing hostility that the two young men perceived, for the first time, that the mandate was addressed to them. Leisurely turning round, they calmly scrutinized the various countenances around them, as though demanding some one person who would take upon himself the responsibility of what they deemed excessive impertinence; but as no one responded to the challenge, the friends turned again to the front of the theatre, and affected to busy themselves with the stage. At this moment the door of the ministerâs box opened, and Madame Danglars, accompanied by her daughter, entered, escorted by Lucien Debray, who assiduously conducted them to their seats.
âHa, ha,â said ChĂąteau-Renaud, âhere come some friends of yours, viscount! What are you looking at there? donât you see they are trying to catch your eye?â
Albert turned round, just in time to receive a gracious wave of the fan from the baroness; as for Mademoiselle Eugénie, she scarcely vouchsafed to waste the glances of her large black eyes even upon the business of the stage.
âI tell you what, my dear fellow,â said ChĂąteau-Renaud, âI cannot imagine what objection you can possibly have to Mademoiselle Danglarsâthat is, setting aside her want of ancestry and somewhat inferior rank, which by the way I donât think you care very much about. Now, barring all that, I mean to say she is a deuced fine girl!â
âHandsome, certainly,â replied Albert, âbut not to my taste, which I confess, inclines to something softer, gentler, and more feminine.â
âAh, well,â exclaimed ChĂąteau-Renaud, who because he had seen his thirtieth summer fancied himself duly warranted in assuming a sort of paternal air with his more youthful friend, âyou young people are never satisfied; why, what would you have more? your parents have chosen you a bride built on the model of Diana, the huntress, and yet you are not content.â
âNo, for that very resemblance affrights me; I should have liked something more in the manner of the Venus of Milo or Capua; but this chase-loving Diana, continually surrounded by her nymphs, gives me a sort of alarm lest she should some day bring on me the fate of ActĂŠon.â
And, indeed, it required but one glance at Mademoiselle Danglars to comprehend the justness of Morcerfâs remark. She was beautiful, but her beauty was of too marked and decided a character to please a fastidious taste; her hair was raven black, but its natural waves seemed somewhat rebellious; her eyes, of the same color as her hair, were surmounted by well-arched brows, whose great defect, however, consisted in an almost habitual frown, while her whole physiognomy wore that expression of firmness and decision so little in accordance with the gentler attributes of her sexâher nose was precisely what a sculptor would have chosen for a chiselled Juno. Her mouth, which might have been found fault with as too large, displayed teeth of pearly whiteness, rendered still more conspicuous by the brilliant carmine of her lips, contrasting vividly with her naturally pale complexion. But that which completed the almost masculine look Morcerf found so little to his taste, was a dark mole, of much larger dimensions than these freaks of nature generally are, placed just at the corner of her mouth; and the effect tended to increase the expression of self-dependence that characterized her countenance.
The rest of Mademoiselle EugĂ©nieâs person was in perfect keeping with the head just described; she, indeed, reminded one of Diana, as ChĂąteau-Renaud observed, but her bearing was more haughty and resolute.
As regarded her attainments, the only fault to be found with them was the same that a fastidious connoisseur might have found with her beauty, that they were somewhat too erudite and masculine for so young a person. She was a perfect linguist, a first-rate artist, wrote poetry, and composed music; to the study of the latter she professed to be entirely devoted, following it with an indefatigable perseverance, assisted by a schoolfellow,âa young woman without fortune whose talent promised to develop into remarkable powers as a singer. It was rumored that she was an object of almost paternal interest to one of the principal composers of the day, who excited her to spare no pains in the cultivation of her voice, which might hereafter prove a source of wealth and independence. But this counsel effectually decided Mademoiselle Danglars never to commit herself by being seen in public with one destined for a theatrical life; and acting upon this principle, the bankerâs daughter, though perfectly willing to allow Mademoiselle Louise dâArmilly (that was the name of the young virtuosa) to practice with her through the day, took especial care not to be seen in her company. Still, though not actually received at the HĂŽtel Danglars in the light of an acknowledged friend, Louise was treated with far more kindness and consideration than is usually bestowed on a governess.
The curtain fell almost immediately after the entrance of Madame Danglars into her box, the band quitted the orchestra for the accustomed half-hourâs interval allowed between the acts, and the audience were left at liberty to promenade the salon or lobbies, or to pay and receive visits in their respective boxes.
Morcerf and ChĂąteau-Renaud were amongst the first to avail themselves of this permission. For an instant the idea struck Madame Danglars that this eagerness on the part of the young viscount arose from his impatience to join her party, and she whispered her expectations to her daughter, that Albert was hurrying to pay his respects to them. Mademoiselle EugĂ©nie, however, merely returned a dissenting movement of the head, while, with a cold smile, she directed the attention of her mother to an opposite box on the first circle, in which sat the Countess Gââ, and where Morcerf had just made his appearance.
âSo we meet again, my travelling friend, do we?â cried the countess, extending her hand to him with all the warmth and cordiality of an old acquaintance; âit was really very good of you to recognize me so quickly, and still more so to bestow your first visit on me.â
âBe assured,â replied Albert, âthat if I had been aware of your arrival in Paris, and had known your address, I should have paid my respects to you before this. Allow me to introduce my friend, Baron de ChĂąteau-Renaud, one of the few true gentlemen now to be found in France, and from whom I have just learned that you were a spectator of the races in the Champ-de-Mars, yesterday.â
ChĂąteau-Renaud bowed to the countess.
âSo you were at the races, baron?â inquired the countess eagerly.
âYes, madame.â
âWell, then,â pursued Madame Gââ with considerable animation, âyou can probably tell me who won the Jockey Club stakes?â
âI am sorry to say I cannot,â replied the baron; âand I was just asking the same question of Albert.â
âAre you very anxious to know, countess?â asked Albert.
âTo know what?â
âThe name of the owner of the winning horse?â
âExcessively; only imagineâbut do tell me, viscount, whether you really are acquainted with it or no?â
âI beg your pardon, madame, but you were about to relate some story, were you not? You said, âonly imagine,ââand then paused. Pray continue.â
âWell, then, listen. You must know I felt so interested in the splendid roan horse, with his elegant little rider, so tastefully dressed in a pink satin jacket and cap, that I could not help praying for their success with as much earnestness as though the half of my fortune were at stake; and when I saw them outstrip all the others, and come to the winning-post in such gallant style, I actually clapped my hands with joy. Imagine my surprise, when, upon returning home, the first object I met on the staircase was the identical jockey in the pink jacket! I concluded that, by some singular chance, the owner of the winning horse must live in the same hotel as myself; but, as I entered my apartments, I beheld the very gold cup awarded as a prize to the unknown horse and rider. Inside
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