In one of the aristocratic mansions built by Puget in theRue du Grand Cours opposite the Medusa fountain, a secondmarriage feast was being celebrated, almost at the same hourwith the nuptial repast given by Dantes. In this case,however, although the occasion of the entertainment wassimilar, the company was strikingly dissimilar. Instead of arude mixture of sailors, soldiers, and those belonging tothe humblest grade of life, the present assembly wascomposed of the very flower of Marseilles society, - magistrates who had resigned their office during theusurper's reign; officers who had deserted from the imperialarmy and joined forces with Conde; and younger members offamilies, brought up to hate and execrate the man whom fiveyears of exile would convert into a martyr, and fifteen ofrestoration elevate to the rank of a god.

The guests were still at table, and the heated and energeticconversation that prevailed betrayed the violent andvindictive passions that then agitated each dweller of theSouth, where unhappily, for five centuries religious strifehad long given increased bitterness to the violence of partyfeeling.

The emperor, now king of the petty Island of Elba, afterhaving held sovereign sway over one-half of the world,counting as his subjects a small population of five or sixthousand souls, - after having been accustomed to hear the"Vive Napoleons" of a hundred and twenty millions of humanbeings, uttered in ten different languages, - was lookedupon here as a ruined man, separated forever from any freshconnection with France or claim to her throne.

The magistrates freely discussed their political views; themilitary part of the company talked unreservedly of Moscowand Leipsic, while the women commented on the divorce ofJosephine. It was not over the downfall of the man, but overthe defeat of the Napoleonic idea, that they rejoiced, andin this they foresaw for themselves the bright and cheeringprospect of a revivified political existence.

An old man, decorated with the cross of Saint Louis, nowrose and proposed the health of King Louis XVIII. It was theMarquis de Saint-Meran. This toast, recalling at once thepatient exile of Hartwell and the peace-loving King ofFrance, excited universal enthusiasm; glasses were elevatedin the air a l'Anglais, and the ladies, snatching theirbouquets from their fair bosoms, strewed the table withtheir floral treasures. In a word, an almost poetical fervorprevailed.

"Ah," said the Marquise de Saint-Meran, a woman with astern, forbidding eye, though still noble and distinguishedin appearance, despite her fifty years - "ah, theserevolutionists, who have driven us from those verypossessions they afterwards purchased for a mere trifleduring the Reign of Terror, would be compelled to own, werethey here, that all true devotion was on our side, since wewere content to follow the fortunes of a falling monarch,while they, on the contrary, made their fortune byworshipping the rising sun; yes, yes, they could not helpadmitting that the king, for whom we sacrificed rank,wealth, and station was truly our `Louis the well-beloved,'while their wretched usurper his been, and ever will be, tothem their evil genius, their `Napoleon the accursed.' Am Inot right, Villefort?"

"I beg your pardon, madame. I really must pray you to excuseme, but - in truth - I was not attending to theconversation."

"Marquise, marquise!" interposed the old nobleman who hadproposed the toast, "let the young people alone; let me tellyou, on one's wedding day there are more agreeable subjectsof conversation than dry politics."

"Never mind, dearest mother," said a young and lovely girl,with a profusion of light brown hair, and eyes that seemedto float in liquid crystal, "'tis all my fault for seizingupon M. de Villefort, so as to prevent his listening to whatyou said. But there - now take him - he is your own for aslong as you like. M. Villefort, I beg to remind you mymother speaks to you."

"If the marquise will deign to repeat the words I butimperfectly caught, I shall be delighted to answer," said M.de Villefort.

"Never mind, Renee," replied the marquise, with a look oftenderness that seemed out of keeping with her harsh dryfeatures; but, however all other feelings may be withered ina woman's nature, there is always one bright smiling spot inthe desert of her heart, and that is the shrine of maternallove. "I forgive you. What I was saying, Villefort, was,that the Bonapartists had not our sincerity, enthusiasm, ordevotion."

"They had, however, what supplied the place of those finequalities," replied the young man, "and that was fanaticism.Napoleon is the Mahomet of the West, and is worshipped byhis commonplace but ambitions followers, not only as aleader and lawgiver, but also as the personification ofequality."

"He!" cried the marquise: "Napoleon the type of equality!For mercy's sake, then, what would you call Robespierre?Come, come, do not strip the latter of his just rights tobestow them on the Corsican, who, to my mind, has usurpedquite enough."

"Nay, madame; I would place each of these heroes on hisright pedestal - that of Robespierre on his scaffold in thePlace Louis Quinze; that of Napoleon on the column of thePlace Vendome. The only difference consists in the oppositecharacter of the equality advocated by these two men; one isthe equality that elevates, the other is the equality thatdegrades; one brings a king within reach of the guillotine,the other elevates the people to a level with the throne.Observe," said Villefort, smiling, "I do not mean to denythat both these men were revolutionary scoundrels, and thatthe 9th Thermidor and the 4th of April, in the year 1814,were lucky days for France, worthy of being gratefullyremembered by every friend to monarchy and civil order; andthat explains how it comes to pass that, fallen, as I trusthe is forever, Napoleon has still retained a train ofparasitical satellites. Still, marquise, it has been so withother usurpers - Cromwell, for instance, who was not halfso bad as Napoleon, had his partisans and advocates."

"Do you know, Villefort, that you are talking in a mostdreadfully revolutionary strain? But I excuse it, it isimpossible to expect the son of a Girondin to be free from asmall spice of the old leaven." A deep crimson suffused thecountenance of Villefort.

"'Tis true, madame," answered he, "that my father was aGirondin, but he was not among the number of those who votedfor the king's death; he was an equal sufferer with yourselfduring the Reign of Terror, and had well-nigh lost his headon the same scaffold on which your father perished."

"True," replied the marquise, without wincing in theslightest degree at the tragic remembrance thus called up;"but bear in mind, if you please, that our respectiveparents underwent persecution and proscription fromdiametrically opposite principles; in proof of which I mayremark, that while my family remained among the stanchestadherents of the exiled princes, your father lost no time injoining the new government; and that while the CitizenNoirtier was a Girondin, the Count Noirtier became asenator."

"Dear mother," interposed Renee, "you know very well it wasagreed that all these disagreeable reminiscences shouldforever be laid aside."

"Suffer me, also, madame," replied Villefort, "to add myearnest request to Mademoiselle de Saint-Meran's, that youwill kindly allow the veil of oblivion to cover and concealthe past. What avails recrimination over matters wholly pastrecall? For my own part, I have laid aside even the name ofmy father, and altogether disown his political principles.He was - nay, probably may still be - a Bonapartist, andis called Noirtier; I, on the contrary, am a stanchroyalist, and style myself de Villefort. Let what may remainof revolutionary sap exhaust itself and die away with theold trunk, and condescend only to regard the young shootwhich has started up at a distance from the parent tree,without having the power, any more than the wish, toseparate entirely from the stock from which it sprung."

"Bravo, Villefort!" cried the marquis; "excellently wellsaid! Come, now, I have hopes of obtaining what I have beenfor years endeavoring to persuade the marquise to promise;namely, a perfect amnesty and forgetfulness of the past."

"With all my heart," replied the marquise; "let the past beforever forgotten. I promise you it affords me as littlepleasure to revive it as it does you. All I ask is, thatVillefort will be firm and inflexible for the future in hispolitical principles. Remember, also, Villefort, that wehave pledged ourselves to his majesty for your fealty andstrict loyalty, and that at our recommendation the kingconsented to forget the past, as I do" (and here sheextended to him her hand) - "as I now do at your entreaty.But bear in mind, that should there fall in your way any oneguilty of conspiring against the government, you will be somuch the more bound to visit the offence with rigorouspunishment, as it is known you belong to a suspectedfamily."

"Alas, madame," returned Villefort, "my profession, as wellas the times in which we live, compels me to be severe. Ihave already successfully conducted several publicprosecutions, and brought the offenders to meritedpunishment. But we have not done with the thing yet."

"Do you, indeed, think so?" inquired the marquise.

"I am, at least, fearful of it. Napoleon, in the Island ofElba, is too near France, and his proximity keeps up thehopes of his partisans. Marseilles is filled with half-payofficers, who are daily, under one frivolous pretext orother, getting up quarrels with the royalists; from hencearise continual and fatal duels among the higher classes ofpersons, and assassinations in the lower."

"You have heard, perhaps," said the Comte de Salvieux, oneof M. de Saint-Meran's oldest friends, and chamberlain tothe Comte d'Artois, "that the Holy Alliance purpose removinghim from thence?"

"Yes; they were talking about it when we left Paris," saidM. de Saint-Meran; "and where is it decided to transferhim?"

"To Saint Helena."

"For heaven's sake, where is that?" asked the marquise.

"An island situated on the other side of the equator, atleast two thousand leagues from here," replied the count.

"So much the better. As Villefort observes, it is a greatact of folly to have left such a man between Corsica, wherehe was born, and Naples, of which his brother-in-law isking, and face to face with Italy, the sovereignty of whichhe coveted for his son."

"Unfortunately," said Villefort, "there are the treaties of1814, and we cannot molest Napoleon without breaking thosecompacts."

"Oh, well, we shall find some way out of it," responded M.de Salvieux. "There wasn't any trouble over treaties when itwas a question of shooting the poor Duc d'Enghien."

"Well," said the marquise, "it seems probable that, by theaid of the Holy Alliance, we shall be rid of Napoleon; andwe must trust to the vigilance of M. de Villefort to purifyMarseilles of his partisans. Tbe king is either a king or noking; if he be acknowledged as sovereign of France, heshould be upheld in peace and tranquillity; and this canbest be effected by employing the most inflexible agents toput down every attempt at conspiracy - 'tis the best andsurest means of preventing mischief."

"Unfortunately, madame," answered Villefort, "the strong armof the law is not called upon to interfere until the evilhas taken place."

"Then all he has got to do is to endeavor to repair it."

"Nay, madame, the law is frequently powerless to effectthis; all it can do is to avenge the wrong done."

"Oh, M. de Villefort," cried a beautiful young creature,daughter to the Comte de Salvieux, and the cherished friendof Mademoiselle de Saint-Meran, "do try and get up somefamous trial while we are at Marseilles. I never was in alaw-court; I am told it is so very amusing!"

"Amusing, certainly," replied the young man, "inasmuch as,instead of shedding tears as at the fictitious tale of woeproduced at a theatre, you behold in a law-court a case ofreal and genuine distress - a drama of life. The prisonerwhom you there see pale, agitated, and alarmed, instead of- as is the case when a curtain falls on a tragedy - goinghome to sup peacefully with his family, and then retiring torest, that he may recommence his mimic woes on the morrow,- is removed from your sight merely to be reconducted tohis prison and delivered up to the executioner. I leave youto judge how far your nerves are calculated to bear youthrough such a scene. Of this, however, be assured, thatshould any favorable opportunity present itself, I will notfail to offer you the choice of being present."

"For shame, M. de Villefort!" said Renee, becoming quitepale; "don't you see how you are frightening us? - and yetyou laugh."

"What would you have? 'Tis like a duel. I have alreadyrecorded sentence of death, five or six times, against themovers of political conspiracies, and who can say how manydaggers may be ready sharpened, and only waiting a favorableopportunity to be buried in my heart?"

"Gracious heavens, M. de Villefort," said Renee, becomingmore and more terrified; "you surely are not in earnest."

"Indeed I am," replied the young magistrate with a smile;"and in the interesting trial that young lady is anxious towitness, the case would only be still more aggravated.Suppose, for instance, the prisoner, as is more thanprobable, to have served under Napoleon - well, can youexpect for an instant, that one accustomed, at the word ofhis commander, to rush fearlessly on the very bayonets ofhis foe, will scruple more to drive a stiletto into theheart of one he knows to be his personal enemy, than toslaughter his fellow-creatures, merely because bidden to doso by one he is bound to obey? Besides, one requires theexcitement of being hateful in the eyes of the accused, inorder to lash one's self into a state of sufficientvehemence and power. I would not choose to see the managainst whom I pleaded smile, as though in mockery of mywords. No; my pride is to see the accused pale, agitated,and as though beaten out of all composure by the fire of myeloquence." Renee uttered a smothered exclamation.

"Bravo!" cried one of the guests; "that is what I calltalking to some purpose."

"Just the person we require at a time like the present,"said a second.

"What a splendid business that last case of yours was, mydear Villefort!" remarked a third; "I mean the trial of theman for murdering his father. Upon my word, you killed himere the executioner had laid his hand upon him."

"Oh, as for parricides, and such dreadful people as that,"interposed Renee, "it matters very little what is done tothem; but as regards poor unfortunate creatures whose onlycrime consists in having mixed themselves up in politicalintrigues" -

"Why, that is the very worst offence they could possiblycommit; for, don't you see, Renee, the king is the father ofhis people, and he who shall plot or contrive aught againstthe life and safety of the parent of thirty-two millions ofsouls, is a parricide upon a fearfully great scale?"

"I don't know anything about that," replied Renee; "but, M.de Villefort, you have promised me - have you not? - always to show mercy to those I plead for."

"Make yourself quite easy on that point," answeredVillefort, with one of his sweetest smiles; "you and I willalways consult upon our verdicts."

"My love," said the marquise, "attend to your doves, yourlap-dogs, and embroidery, but do not meddle with what you donot understand. Nowadays the military profession is inabeyance and the magisterial robe is the badge of honor.There is a wise Latin proverb that is very much in point."

"Cedant arma togae," said Villefort with a bow.

"I cannot speak Latin," responded the marquise.

"Well," said Renee, "I cannot help regretting you had notchosen some other profession than your own - a physician,for instance. Do you know I always felt a shudder at theidea of even a destroying angel?"

"Dear, good Renee," whispered Villefort, as he gazed withunutterable tenderness on the lovely speaker.

"Let us hope, my child," cried the marquis, "that M. deVillefort may prove the moral and political physician ofthis province; if so, he will have achieved a noble work."

"And one which will go far to efface the recollection of hisfather's conduct," added the incorrigible marquise.

"Madame," replied Villefort, with a mournful smile, "I havealready had the honor to observe that my father has - atleast, I hope so - abjured his past errors, and that he is,at the present moment, a firm and zealous friend to religionand order - a better royalist, possibly, than his son; forhe has to atone for past dereliction, while I have no otherimpulse than warm, decided preference and conviction."Having made this well-turned speech, Villefort lookedcarefully around to mark the effect of his oratory, much ashe would have done had he been addressing the bench in opencourt.

"Do you know, my dear Villefort," cried the Comte deSalvieux, "that is exactly what I myself said the other dayat the Tuileries, when questioned by his majesty's principalchamberlain touching the singularity of an alliance betweenthe son of a Girondin and the daughter of an officer of theDuc de Conde; and I assure you he seemed fully to comprehendthat this mode of reconciling political differences wasbased upon sound and excellent principles. Then the king,who, without our suspecting it, had overheard ourconversation, interrupted us by saying, `Villefort' - observe that the king did not pronounce the word Noirtier,but, on the contrary, placed considerable emphasis on thatof Villefort - `Villefort,' said his majesty, `is a youngman of great judgment and discretion, who will be sure tomake a figure in his profession; I like him much, and itgave me great pleasure to hear that he was about to becomethe son-in-law of the Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Meran. Ishould myself have recommended the match, had not the noblemarquis anticipated my wishes by requesting my consent toit.'"

"Is it possible the king could have condescended so far asto express himself so favorably of me?" asked the enrapturedVillefort.

"I give you his very words; and if the marquis chooses to becandid, he will confess that they perfectly agree with whathis majesty said to him, when he went six months ago toconsult him upon the subject of your espousing hisdaughter."

"That is true," answered the marquis.

"How much do I owe this gracious prince! What is there Iwould not do to evince my earnest gratitude!"

"That is right," cried the marquise. "I love to see youthus. Now, then, were a conspirator to fall into your hands,he would be most welcome."

"For my part, dear mother." interposed Renee, "I trust yourwishes will not prosper, and that Providence will onlypermit petty offenders, poor debtors, and miserable cheatsto fall into M. de Villefort's hands, - then I shall becontented."

"Just the same as though you prayed that a physician mightonly be called upon to prescribe for headaches, measles, andthe stings of wasps, or any other slight affection of theepidermis. If you wish to see me the king's attorney, youmust desire for me some of those violent and dangerousdiseases from the cure of which so much honor redounds tothe physician."

At this moment, and as though the utterance of Villefort'swish had sufficed to effect its accomplishment, a servantentered the room, and whispered a few words in his ear.Villefort immediately rose from table and quitted the roomupon the plea of urgent business; he soon, however,returned, his whole face beaming with delight. Reneeregarded him with fond affection; and certainly his handsomefeatures, lit up as they then were with more than usual fireand animation, seemed formed to excite the innocentadmiration with which she gazed on her graceful andintelligent lover.

"You were wishing just now," said Villefort, addressing her,"that I were a doctor instead of a lawyer. Well, I at leastresemble the disciples of Esculapius in one thing - that ofnot being able to call a day my own, not even that of mybetrothal."

"And wherefore were you called away just now?" askedMademoiselle de Saint-Meran, with an air of deep interest.

"For a very serious matter, which bids fair to make work forthe executioner."

"How dreadful!" exclaimed Renee, turning pale.

"Is it possible?" burst simultaneously from all who werenear enough to the magistrate to hear his words.

"Why, if my information prove correct, a sort of Bonaparteconspiracy has just been discovered."

"Can I believe my ears?" cried the marquise.

"I will read you the letter containing the accusation, atleast," said Villefort: -

"`The king's attorney is informed by a friend to the throneand the religions institutions of his country, that onenamed Edmond Dantes, mate of the ship Pharaon, this dayarrived from Smyrna, after having touched at Naples andPorto-Ferrajo, has been the bearer of a letter from Murat tothe usurper, and again taken charge of another letter fromthe usurper to the Bonapartist club in Paris. Amplecorroboration of this statement may be obtained by arrestingthe above-mentioned Edmond Dantes, who either carries theletter for Paris about with him, or has it at his father'sabode. Should it not be found in the possession of father orson, then it will assuredly be discovered in the cabinbelonging to the said Dantes on board the Pharaon.'"

"But," said Renee, "this letter, which, after all, is but ananonymous scrawl, is not even addressed to you, but to theking's attorney."

"True; but that gentleman being absent, his secretary, byhis orders, opened his letters; thinking this one ofimportance, he sent for me, but not finding me, took uponhimself to give the necessary orders for arresting theaccused party."

"Then the guilty person is absolutely in custody?" said themarquise.

"Nay, dear mother, say the accused person. You know wecannot yet pronounce him guilty."

"He is in safe custody," answered Villefort; "and rely uponit, if the letter is found, he will not be likely to betrusted abroad again, unless he goes forth under theespecial protection of the headsman."

"And where is the unfortunate being?" asked Renee.

"He is at my house."

"Come, come, my friend," interrupted the marquise, "do notneglect your duty to linger with us. You are the king'sservant, and must go wherever that service calls you."

"O Villefort!" cried Renee, clasping her hands, and lookingtowards her lover with piteous earnestness, "be merciful onthis the day of our betrothal."

The young man passed round to the side of the table wherethe fair pleader sat, and leaning over her chair saidtenderly, -

"To give you pleasure, my sweet Renee, I promise to show allthe lenity in my power; but if the charges brought againstthis Bonapartist hero prove correct, why, then, you reallymust give me leave to order his head to be cut off." Reneeshuddered.

"Never mind that foolish girl, Villefort," said themarquise. "She will soon get over these things." So saying,Madame de Saint-Meran extended her dry bony hand toVillefort, who, while imprinting a son-in-law's respectfulsalute on it, looked at Renee, as much as to say, "I musttry and fancy 'tis your dear hand I kiss, as it should havebeen."

"These are mournful auspices to accompany a betrothal,"sighed poor Renee.

"Upon my word, child!" exclaimed the angry marquise, "yourfolly exceeds all bounds. I should be glad to know whatconnection there can possibly be between your sicklysentimentality and the affairs of the state!"

"O mother!" murmured Renee.

"Nay, madame, I pray you pardon this little traitor. Ipromise you that to make up for her want of loyalty, I willbe most inflexibly severe;" then casting an expressiveglance at his betrothed, which seemed to say, "Fear not, foryour dear sake my justice shall be tempered with mercy," andreceiving a sweet and approving smile in return, Villefortquitted the room.