The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (best book club books .TXT) π
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Edmond DantΓ¨s is a young man about to be made captain of a cargo vessel and marry his sweetheart. But he is arrested at his pre-wedding feast, having been falsely accused of being a Bonapartist. Thrown into the notorious ChΓ’teau dβIf prison, he eventually meets an ancient inmate who teaches him language, science, and passes hints of a hidden fortune. When Edmond makes his way out of prison, he plots to reward those who stood by him (his old employer, for one), and to seek revenge on the men who betrayed him: one who wrote the letter that denounced him, one that married his fiancΓ©e in his absence, and one who knew DantΓ¨s was innocent but stood idly by and did nothing.
The Count of Monte Cristo is another of Alexandre Dumasβ thrilling adventure stories, possibly more popular even than The Three Musketeers. Originally serialized in a French newspaper over the course of a year-and-a-half, it was enormously popular after its publication in book form, and has never been out of print since. Its timeless story of adventure, historical drama, romance, revenge, and Eastern mystery has been the source of over forty movies and TV series.
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- Author: Alexandre Dumas
Read book online Β«The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (best book club books .TXT) πΒ». Author - Alexandre Dumas
βWell, then, try. The cold gains upon me. I feel the blood flowing towards my brain. These horrible chills, which make my teeth chatter and seem to dislocate my bones, begin to pervade my whole frame; in five minutes the malady will reach its height, and in a quarter of an hour there will be nothing left of me but a corpse.β
βOh!β exclaimed DantΓ¨s, his heart wrung with anguish.
βDo as you did before, only do not wait so long, all the springs of life are now exhausted in me, and death,β he continued, looking at his paralyzed arm and leg, βhas but half its work to do. If, after having made me swallow twelve drops instead of ten, you see that I do not recover, then pour the rest down my throat. Now lift me on my bed, for I can no longer support myself.β
Edmond took the old man in his arms, and laid him on the bed.
βAnd now, my dear friend,β said Faria, βsole consolation of my wretched existenceβ βyou whom Heaven gave me somewhat late, but still gave me, a priceless gift, and for which I am most gratefulβ βat the moment of separating from you forever, I wish you all the happiness and all the prosperity you so well deserve. My son, I bless thee!β
The young man cast himself on his knees, leaning his head against the old manβs bed.
βListen, now, to what I say in this my dying moment. The treasure of the Spadas exists. God grants me the boon of vision unrestricted by time or space. I see it in the depths of the inner cavern. My eyes pierce the inmost recesses of the earth, and are dazzled at the sight of so much riches. If you do escape, remember that the poor abbΓ©, whom all the world called mad, was not so. Hasten to Monte Cristoβ βavail yourself of the fortuneβ βfor you have indeed suffered long enough.β
A violent convulsion attacked the old man. DantΓ¨s raised his head and saw Fariaβs eyes injected with blood. It seemed as if a flow of blood had ascended from the chest to the head.
βAdieu, adieu!β murmured the old man, clasping Edmondβs hand convulsivelyβ ββadieu!β
βOh, noβ βno, not yet,β he cried; βdo not forsake me! Oh, succor him! Helpβ βhelpβ βhelp!β
βHush! hush!β murmured the dying man, βthat they may not separate us if you save me!β
βYou are right. Oh, yes, yes; be assured I shall save you! Besides, although you suffer much, you do not seem to be in such agony as you were before.β
βDo not mistake! I suffer less because there is in me less strength to endure. At your age we have faith in life; it is the privilege of youth to believe and hope, but old men see death more clearly. Oh, βtis hereβ ββtis hereβ ββtis overβ βmy sight is goneβ βmy senses fail! Your hand, DantΓ¨s! Adieu! adieu!β
And raising himself by a final effort, in which he summoned all his faculties, he saidβ ββMonte Cristo, forget not Monte Cristo!β And he fell back on the bed.
The crisis was terrible, and a rigid form with twisted limbs, swollen eyelids, and lips flecked with bloody foam, lay on the bed of torture, in place of the intellectual being who so lately rested there.
Dantès took the lamp, placed it on a projecting stone above the bed, whence its tremulous light fell with strange and fantastic ray on the distorted countenance and motionless, stiffened body. With steady gaze he awaited confidently the moment for administering the restorative.
When he believed that the right moment had arrived, he took the knife, pried open the teeth, which offered less resistance than before, counted one after the other twelve drops, and watched; the phial contained, perhaps, twice as much more. He waited ten minutes, a quarter of an hour, half an hourβ βno change took place. Trembling, his hair erect, his brow bathed with perspiration, he counted the seconds by the beating of his heart. Then he thought it was time to make the last trial, and he put the phial to the purple lips of Faria, and without having occasion to force open his jaws, which had remained extended, he poured the whole of the liquid down his throat.
The draught produced a galvanic effect, a violent trembling pervaded the old manβs limbs, his eyes opened until it was fearful to gaze upon them, he heaved a sigh which resembled a shriek, and then his convulsed body returned gradually to its former immobility, the eyes remaining open.
Half an hour, an hour, an hour and a half elapsed, and during this period of anguish, Edmond leaned over his friend, his hand applied to his heart, and felt the body gradually grow cold, and the heartβs pulsation become more and more deep and dull, until at length it stopped; the last movement of the heart ceased, the face became livid, the eyes remained open, but the eyeballs were glazed.
It was six oβclock in the morning, the dawn was just breaking, and its feeble ray came into the dungeon, and paled the ineffectual light of the lamp. Strange shadows passed over the countenance of the dead man, and at times gave it the appearance of life. While the struggle between day and night lasted, DantΓ¨s still doubted; but as soon as the daylight gained the preeminence, he saw that he was alone with a corpse. Then an invincible and extreme terror seized upon him, and he dared not again press the hand that hung out of bed, he dared no longer to gaze on those fixed and vacant eyes, which he tried many times to close, but in vainβ βthey opened again as soon as shut. He extinguished the lamp, carefully concealed it, and then went away, closing as well as he could the entrance to the secret passage by the large stone as he descended.
It was time, for the jailer was coming. On this occasion he began his rounds at DantΓ¨sβ cell, and on leaving him he went on to Fariaβs dungeon, taking thither breakfast
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