of an hour, it began to breathe, and cried feebly. In my turn I
uttered a cry, but a cry of joy. `God has not cursed me then,' I
cried, `since he permits me to save the life of a human creature,
in exchange for the life I have taken away.'"
"And what did you do with the child?" asked Monte Cristo. "It
was an embarrassing load for a man seeking to escape."
"I had not for a moment the idea of keeping it, but I knew that
at Paris there was an asylum where they receive such creatures. As
I passed the city gates I declared that I had found the child on
the road, and I inquired where the asylum was; the box confirmed my
statement, the linen proved that the infant belonged to wealthy
parents, the blood with which I was covered might have proceeded
from the child as well as from any one else. No objection was
raised, but they pointed out the asylum, which was situated at the
upper end of the Rue d'Enfer, and after having taken the precaution
of cutting the linen in two pieces, so that one of the two letters
which marked it was on the piece wrapped around the child, while
the other remained in my possession, I rang the bell, and fled with
all speed. A fortnight after I was at Rogliano, and I said to
Assunta, — `Console thyself, sister; Israel is dead, but he is
avenged.' She demanded what I meant, and when I had told her all, —
`Giovanni,' said she, `you should have brought this child with you;
we would have replaced the parents it has lost, have called it
Benedetto, and then, in consequence of this good action, God would
have blessed us.' In reply I gave her the half of the linen I had
kept in order to reclaim him if we became rich."
"What letters were marked on the linen?" said Monte Cristo.
"An H and an N, surmounted by a baron's coronet."
"By heaven, M. Bertuccio, you make use of heraldic terms; where
did you study heraldry?"
"In your service, excellency, where everything is learned."
"Go on, I am curious to know two things."
"What are they, your excellency ?""Go on, I am curious to know two things."
"What are they, your excellency ?"
"What became of this little boy? for I think you told me it was
a boy, M. Bertuccio."
"No excellency, I do not recollect telling you that."
"I thought you did; I must have been mistaken."
"No, you were not, for it was in reality a little boy. But your
excellency wished to know two things; what was the second?"
"The second was the crime of which you were accused when you
asked for a confessor, and the Abbe Busoni came to visit you at
your request in the prison at Nimes."
"The story will be very long, excellency."
"What matter? you know I take but little sleep, and I do not
suppose you are very much inclined for it either." Bertuccio bowed,
and resumed his story.
"Partly to drown the recollections of the past that haunted me,
partly to supply the wants of the poor widow, I eagerly returned to
my trade of smuggler, which had become more easy since that
relaxation of the laws which always follows a revolution. The
southern districts were ill-watched in particular, in consequence
of the disturbances that were perpetually breaking out in Avignon,
Nimes, or Uzes. We profited by this respite on the part of the
government to make friends everywhere. Since my brother's
assassination in the streets of Nimes, I had never entered the
town; the result was that the inn-keeper with whom we were
connected, seeing that we would no longer come to him, was forced
to come to us, and had established a branch to his inn, on the road
from Bellegarde to Beaucaire, at the sign of the Pont du Gard. We
had thus, at Aigues-Mortes, Martigues, or Bouc, a dozen places
where we left our goods, and where, in case of necessity, we
concealed ourselves from the gendarmes and custom-house officers.
Smuggling is a profitable trade, when a certain degree of vigor and
intelligence is employed; as for myself, brought up in the
mountains, I had a double motive for fearing the gendarmes and
custom-house officers, as my appearance before the judges wouldcustom-house officers, as my appearance before the judges would
cause an inquiry, and an inquiry always looks back into the past.
And in my past life they might find something far more grave than
the selling of smuggled cigars, or barrels of brandy without a
permit. So, preferring death to capture, I accomplished the most
astonishing deeds, and which, more than once, showed me that the
too great care we take of our bodies is the only obstacle to the
success of those projects which require rapid decision, and
vigorous and determined execution. In reality, when you have once
devoted your life to your enterprises, you are no longer the equal
of other men, or, rather, other men are no longer your equals, and
whosoever has taken this resolution, feels his strength and
resources doubled."
"Philosophy, M. Bertuccio," interrupted the Count; "you have
done a little of everything in your life."
"Oh, excellency,"
"No, no; but philosophy at half-past ten at night is somewhat
late; yet I have no other observation to make, for what you say is
correct, which is more than can be said for all philosophy."
"My journeys became more and more extensive and more productive.
Assunta took care of all, and our little fortune increased. One day
as I was setting off on an expedition, `Go,' said she; `at your
return I will give you a surprise.' I questioned her, but in vain;
she would tell me nothing, and I departed. Our expedition lasted
nearly six weeks; we had been to Lucca to take in oil, to Leghorn
for English cottons, and we ran our cargo without opposition, and
returned home full of joy. When I entered the house, the first
thing I beheld in the middle of Assunta's chamber was a cradle that
might be called sumptuous compared with the rest of the furniture,
and in it a baby seven or eight months old. I uttered a cry of joy;
the only moments of sadness I had known since the assassination of
the procureur were caused by the recollection that I had abandoned
this child. For the assassination itself I had never felt any