WE WILL LEAVE Villefort on the road to Paris, travelling--thanks to trebled fees--with all speed, and passing through two or three apartments, enter at the Tuileries the little room with the arched window, so well known as having been the favorite closet of Napoleon and Louis XVIII., and now of Louis Philippe.

There, seated before a walnut¹ table he had brought with him from Hartwell, and to which, from one of those fancies not uncommon² to great people, he was particularly attached, the king, Louis XVIII., was carelessly listening to a man of fifty or fifty-two years of age, with gray hair, aristocratic bearing, and exceedingly gentlemanly attire³, and meanwhile making a marginal note in a volume of Gryphius's rather inaccurate⁵, but much sought-after, edition of Horace--a work which was much indebted to the sagacious observations of the philosophical⁶ monarch⁷.

"You say, sir"--said the king.

"That I am exceedingly disquieted⁹, sire."

"Really, have you had a vision of the seven fat kine and the seven lean kine?"

"No, sire, for that would only betoken¹⁰ for us seven years of plenty and seven years of scarcity¹¹; and with a king as full of foresight¹² as your majesty¹³, scarcity is not a thing to be feared."

"Then of what other scourge¹⁴ are you afraid, my dear Blacas?"

"Sire, I have every reason to believe that a storm is brewing¹⁵ in the south."

"Well, my dear duke," replied Louis XVIII., "I think you are wrongly informed, and know positively¹⁶ that, on the contrary, it is very fine weather in that direction." Man of ability as he was, Louis XVIII. liked a pleasant jest.

"Sire," continued M. de Blacas, "if it only be to reassure¹⁷ a faithful servant, will your majesty send into Languedoc, Provence, and Dauphiné, trusty men, who will bring you back a faithful report as to the feeling in these three provinces?"

"Caninus surdis," replied the king, continuing the annotations¹⁸ in his Horace.

"Sire," replied the courtier, laughing, in order that he might seem to comprehend the quotation¹⁹, "your majesty may be perfectly²⁰ right in relying on the good feeling of France, but I fear I am not altogether wrong in dreading²¹ some desperate attempt."

"By whom?"

"By Bonaparte, or, at least, by his adherents²²."

"My dear Blacas," said the king, "you with your alarms prevent me from working."

"And you, sire, prevent me from sleeping with your security."

"Wait, my dear sir, wait a moment; for I have such a delightful²³ note on the Pastor²⁴ quum traheret--wait, and I will listen to you afterwards."

There was a brief pause, during which Louis XVIII. wrote, in a hand as small as possible, another note on the margin⁴ of his Horace, and then looking at the duke with the air of a man who thinks he has an idea of his own, while he is only commenting upon the idea of another, said,--

"Go on, my dear duke, go on--I listen."

"Sire," said Blacas, who had for a moment the hope of sacrificing Villefort to his own profit, "I am compelled to tell you that these are not mere²⁵ rumors²⁶ destitute²⁷ of foundation which thus disquiet⁸ me; but a serious-minded man, deserving all my confidence, and charged by me to watch over the south" (the duke hesitated as he pronounced these words), "has arrived by post to tell me that a great peril²⁸ threatens the king, and so I hastened to you, sire."

"Mala ducis avi domum," continued Louis XVIII., still annotating²⁹.

"Does your majesty wish me to drop the subject?"

"By no means, my dear duke; but just stretch out your hand."

"Which?"

"Whichever you please--there to the left."

"Here, sire?"

"l tell you to the left, and you are looking to the right; I mean on my left--yes, there. You will find yesterday's report of the minister of police. But here is M. Dandré himself;" and M. Dandré, announced by the chamberlain-in-waiting, entered.

"Come in," said Louis XVIII., with repressed smile, "come in, Baron³⁰, and tell the duke all you know--the latest news of M. de Bonaparte; do not conceal³¹ anything, however serious,--let us see, the Island of Elba is a volcano, and we may expect to have issuing thence flaming and bristling³² war--bella, horrida bella." M. Dandré leaned very respectfully on the back of a chair with his two hands, and said,--

"Has your majesty perused³⁴ yesterday's report?"

"Yes, yes; but tell the duke himself, who cannot find anything, what the report contains--give him the particulars of what the usurper³⁵ is doing in his islet."

"Monsieur," said the baron to the duke, "all the servants of his majesty must approve of the latest intelligence which we have from the Island of Elba. Bonaparte"--M. Dandré looked at Louis XVIII., who, employed in writing a note, did not even raise his head. "Bonaparte," continued the baron, "is mortally wearied, and passes whole days in watching his miners at work at Porto-Longone."

"And scratches himself for amusement," added the king.

"Scratches himself?" inquired the duke, "what does your majesty mean?"

"Yes, indeed, my dear duke. Did you forget that this great man, this hero, this demigod, is attacked with a malady³⁶ of the skin which worries him to death, prurigo?"

"And, moreover, my dear duke," continued the minister of police, "we are almost assured that, in a very short time, the usurper will be insane."

"Insane?"

"Raving³⁷ mad; his head becomes weaker. Sometimes he weeps bitterly, sometimes laughs boisterously³⁸, at other time he passes hours on the seashore, flinging stones in the water and when the flint makes 'duck-and-drake' five or six times, he appears as delighted as if he had gained another Marengo or Austerlitz. Now, you must agree that these are indubitable symptoms of insanity³⁹."

"Or of wisdom, my dear baron--or of wisdom," said Louis XVIII., laughing; "the greatest captains of antiquity⁴⁰ amused themselves by casting pebbles⁴¹ into the ocean--see Plutarch's life of Scipio Africanus."

M. de Blacas pondered deeply between the confident monarch and the truthful⁴² minister. Villefort, who did not choose to reveal the whole secret, lest another should reap all the benefit of the disclosure, had yet communicated enough to cause him the greatest uneasiness.

"Well, well, Dandré," said Louis XVIII., "Blacas is not yet convinced; let us proceed, therefore, to the usurper's conversion⁴³." The minister of police bowed.

"The usurper's conversion!" murmured the duke, looking at the king and Dandré, who spoke⁴⁴ alternately, like Virgil's shepherds. "The usurper converted!"

"Decidedly, my dear duke."

"In what way converted?"

"To good principles. Tell him all about it, baron."

"Why, this is the way of it," said the minister, with the gravest air in the world: "Napoleon lately had a review, and as two or three of his old veterans expressed a desire to return to France, he gave them their dismissal, and exhorted⁴⁵ them to 'serve the good king.' These were his own words, of that I am certain."

"Well, Blacas, what think you of this?" inquired the king triumphantly⁴⁶, and pausing for a moment from the voluminous scholiast before him.

"I say, sire, that the minister of police is greatly deceived or I am; and as it is impossible it can be the minister of police as he has the guardianship⁴⁷ of the safety and honor of your majesty, it is probable that I am in error. However, sire, if I might advise, your majesty will interrogate⁴⁸ the person of whom I spoke to you, and I will urge your majesty to do him this honor."

"Most willingly, duke; under your auspices⁴⁹ I will receive any person you please, but you must not expect me to be too confiding⁵⁰. Baron, have you any report more recent than this dated the 20th February.--this is the 4th of March?"

"No, sire, but I am hourly expecting one; it may have arrived since I left my office."

"Go thither⁵¹, and if there be none--well, well," continued Louis XVIII., "make one; that is the usual way, is it not?" and the king laughed facetiously⁵².

"Oh, sire," replied the minister, "we have no occasion to invent any; every day our desks are loaded with most circumstantial denunciations, coming from hosts of people who hope for some return for services which they seek to render, but cannot; they trust to fortune, and rely upon some unexpected event in some way to justify⁵³ their predictions."

"Well, sir, go"; said Louis XVIII., "and remember that I am waiting for you."

"I will but go and return, sire; I shall be back in ten minutes."

"And I, sire," said M. de Blacas, "will go and find my messenger."

"Wait, sir, wait," said Louis XVIII. "Really, M. de Blacas, I must change your armorial bearings; I will give you an eagle with outstretched wings, holding in its claws a prey⁵⁴ which tries in vain to escape, and bearing this device--Tenax."

"Sire, I listen," said De Blacas, biting his nails with impatience⁵⁵.

"I wish to consult you on this passage, 'Molli fugiens anhelitu," you know it refers to a stag flying from a wolf. Are you not a sportsman and a great wolf-hunter? Well, then, what do you think of the molli anhelitu?"

"Admirable, sire; but my messenger is like the stag you refer to, for he has posted two hundred and twenty leagues in scarcely three days."

"Which is undergoing great fatigue⁵⁶ and anxiety, my dear duke, when we have a telegraph which transmits messages in three or four hours, and that without getting in the least out of breath."

"Ah, sire, you recompense but badly this poor young man, who has come so far, and with so much ardor⁵⁷, to give your majesty useful information. If only for the sake of M. de Salvieux, who recommends him to me, I entreat⁵⁸ your majesty to receive him graciously."

"M. de Salvieux, my brother's chamberlain?"

"Yes, sire."

"He is at Marseilles."

"And writes me thence."

"Does he speak to you of this conspiracy⁵⁹?"

"No; but strongly recommends M. de Villefort, and begs me to present him to your majesty."

"M. de Villefort!" cried the king, "is the messenger's name M. de Villefort?"

"Yes, sire."

"And he comes from Marseilles?"

"In person."

"Why did you not mention his name at once?" replied the king, betraying some uneasiness.

"Sire, I thought his name was unknown to your majesty."

"No, no, Blacas; he is a man of strong and elevated understanding, ambitious, too, and, you know his father's name!"

"His father?"

"Yes, Noirtier."

"Noirtier the Girondin?--Noirtier the senator?"

"He himself."

"And your majesty has employed the son of such a man?"

"Blacas, my friend, you have but limited comprehension. I told you Villefort was ambitions, and to attain⁶⁰ this ambition Villefort would sacrifice everything, even his father."

"Then, sire, may I present him?"

"This instant, duke! Where is he?"

"Waiting below, in my carriage."

"Seek him at once."

"I hasten to do so." The duke left the royal presence with the speed of a young man; his really sincere royalism made him youthful again. Louis XVIII. remained alone, and turning his eyes on his half-opened Horace, muttered, "Justum et tenacem propositi virum."

M. de Blacas returned as speedily as he had departed, but in the ante-chamber he was forced to appeal to the king's authority. Villefort's dusty garb⁶¹, his costume, which was not of courtly cut, excited the susceptibility of M. de Brezé, who was all astonishment⁶² at finding that this young man had the audacity⁶³ to enter before the king in such attire. The duke, however, overcame all difficulties with a word--his majesty's order; and, in spite of the protestations which the master of ceremonies made for the honor of his office and principles, Villefort was introduced.

The king was seated in the same place where the duke had left him. On opening the door, Villefort found himself facing him, and the young magistrate's first impulse was to pause.

"Come in, M. de Villefort," said the king, "come in." Villefort bowed, and advancing a few steps, waited until the king should interrogate him.

"M. de Villefort," said Louis XVIII., "the Duc de Blacas assures me you have some interesting information to communicate.

"Sire, the duke is right, and I believe your majesty will think it equally important."

"In the first place, and before everything else, sir, is the news as bad in your opinion as I am asked to believe?"

"Sire, I believe it to be most urgent, but I hope, by the speed I have used, that it is not irreparable."

"Speak as fully³³ as you please, sir," said the king, who began to give way to the emotion which had showed itself in Blacas's face and affected⁶⁴ Villefort's voice. "Speak, sir, and pray begin at the beginning; I like order in everything."

"Sire," said Villefort, "I will render a faithful report to your majesty, but I must entreat your forgiveness if my anxiety leads to some obscurity in my language." A glance at the king after this discreet⁶⁵ and subtle exordium, assured Villefort of the benignity⁶⁶ of his august auditor⁶⁷, and he went on:--

"Sire, I have come as rapidly to Paris as possible, to inform your majesty that I have discovered, in the exercise of my duties, not a commonplace and insignificant⁶⁸ plot, such as is every day got up in the lower ranks of the people and in the army, but an actual conspiracy--a storm which menaces no less than your majesty's throne. Sire, the usurper is arming three ships, he meditates⁷⁰ some project, which, however mad, is yet, perhaps, terrible. At this moment he will have left Elba, to go whither I know not, but assuredly to attempt a landing either at Naples, or on the coast of Tuscany, or perhaps on the shores of France. Your majesty is well aware that the sovereign of the Island of Elba has maintained his relations with Italy and France?"

"I am, sir," said the king, much agitated⁷¹; "and recently we have had information that the Bonapartist clubs have had meetings in the Rue⁷² Saint-Jacques. But proceed, I beg of you. How did you obtain these details?"

"Sire, they are the results of an examination which I have made of a man of Marseilles, whom I have watched for some time, and arrested on the day of my departure. This person, a sailor, of turbulent character, and whom I suspected of Bonapartism, has been secretly to the Island of Elba. There he saw the grand-marshal, who charged him with an oral message to a Bonapartist in Paris, whose name I could not extract from him; but this mission was to prepare men's minds for a return (it is the man who says this, sire)--a return which will soon occur."

"And where is this man?"

"In prison, sire."

"And the matter seems serious to you?"

"So serious, sire, that when the circumstance surprised me in the midst of a family festival, on the very day of my betrothal⁷³, I left my bride and friends, postponing⁷⁴ everything, that I might hasten to lay at your majesty's feet the fears which impressed me, and the assurance of my devotion."

"True," said Louis XVIII., "was there not a marriage engagement between you and Mademoiselle de Saint-Méran?"

"Daughter of one of your majesty's most faithful servants."

"Yes, yes; but let us talk of this plot, M. de Villefort."

"Sire, I fear it is more than a plot; I fear it is a conspiracy."

"A conspiracy in these times," said Louis XVIII., smiling, "is a thing very easy to meditate⁶⁹, but more difficult to conduct to an end, inasmuch as, re-established so recently on the throne of our ancestors, we have our eyes open at once upon the past, the present, and the future. For the last ten months my ministers have redoubled their vigilance, in order to watch the shore of the Mediterranean⁷⁵. If Bonaparte landed at Naples, the whole coalition⁷⁶ would be on foot before he could even reach Piomoino; if he land in Tuscany, he will be in an unfriendly territory; if he land in France, it must be with a handful of men, and the result of that is easily foretold⁷⁷, execrated⁷⁸ as he is by the population. Take courage, sir; but at the same time rely on our royal gratitude⁷⁹."

"Ah, here is M. Dandré!" cried de Blacas. At this instant the minister of police appeared at the door, pale, trembling, and as if ready to faint. Villefort was about to retire, but M. de Blacas, taking his hand, restrained him.

这里先不说维尔福是如何星夜兼程赶往巴黎，并经过两三座宫殿最后进入了杜伊勒宫的小书房，先说杜伊勒宫这间有拱形窗门的小书房，它是非常闻名的，因为拿破仑和路易十八都喜欢在这儿办公，而当今的路易·菲力浦又成了这里的主人。

在这部书房里，国王路易十八正坐在一张胡桃木制成的桌子上办公，这张桌子是他从哈德维尔带回来的，他特别喜欢它，这原本也没有什么，因为大人物都有些癖好，而这就是他的癖好之一。此刻，他正在漫不经心地听一个约五十多岁，头发灰白，一副贵族仪表，风度极为高雅的人在讲话，他的手边放着一本格里夫斯版的贺拉斯［（公元前６５—８），古罗马人。］他正在上面作注释，国王那种聪慧博学的见解大多是从这本书上得来的。

“你在说什么，先生？”国王问。

“我感到非常不安，陛下。”

“真得吗，难道你做了一个梦，梦见七只肥牛和七只瘦牛了吗？”［见《圣经旧约·创世纪》。书中讲埃及法老梦见七头肥牛和七头瘦牛在河边吃青草。约瑟解释说，这是预示着七个半年后时有七个荒年。后来果然应效。］“不，陛下，因为那个梦不过是预示着我们将有七个丰年和七个荒年，而象陛下这样明察万里的国王的治理，荒年倒不是一件可怕的事。”

“那么，您还有什么可以担心的，我亲爱的勃拉卡斯？”

“陛下，我有充分担心的理由相信南方正在酝酿着一次大的风暴。”

“唉，亲爱的公爵，我想你是听错了。我所知道的正好相反，我确实知道那个地方风和日丽。”象路易十八这样一个人也喜欢开这样一个愉快的玩笑。

“陛下，就算只是为了让一个忠心的臣仆安心，陛下可否派可靠的人员去视察一下郎格多克，普罗旺斯和陀菲内，把这三省的民情带回来向您报告一下？”

“Ｃｏｎｉｍｕｓｓｕｒｄｉｓ。［拉丁文：我们低声唱］”国王依旧在他的贺拉斯诗集上做注释。

“陛下，”朝臣回答，并笑了笑，做出他懂得这句话意思的样子，“陛下可以完全相信法兰西人民的忠心，但我所担心的某种亡命企图不见得是没有道理的。

“拿破仑或至少是他的党羽。”

“我亲爱的勃拉卡斯，”国王说，“您这样惊慌都使我无法工作了。”

“而您陛下，您这样高枕无忧地叫我不能安眠。”

“等等，我亲爱的先生，请等一会儿，我在Ｐａｓｔｏｒｑｕｕｍｔｒａｈｅｒｅｔ［拉丁文：当牧童跟着走的时候］这一句上找到了一条非常有趣的注释——再等一会，我写好了以后就听您讲。”

谈话暂时中断了一会，路易十八用极小的字体在那本诗集上的空白处写下了一个注释，然后，他带着一种自满的神色抬起头来看着公爵，好象说他已经有了一个独到的见解，而对方只能复述他人的见解似的，他说：“说吧，我亲爱的公爵，请接着说下去，我听着。”

“陛下，”勃拉卡斯说，此时他很想把维尔福的功劳占为己有，“我不得不告诉你，使我如此担忧不安的并不仅仅是谣言。

我派了我手下一个很有头脑的人去南方视察了一下动态。”公爵说这些话的时候有点儿犹豫，“他刚才急匆匆赶来告诉我，说陛下的安全受到了威胁，就急忙赶来了。”

“Ｍａａｄｕｃｉｓａｖｉｄｏｍｕｍ，”路易十八依旧边写注解边说道。

“陛下不想叫我把这件事说下去了吗？”

“没有那个意思，亲爱的公爵，但您且伸手找一找。”

“找什么？”

“随便你找，就在左边。”

“我告诉是在左边，您却在右边找，我说是在左边，——对了，就在那儿，你可以找警长大臣昨天的报告。哟，唐德雷本人来了。”在侍从官进来报告以后，唐德雷先生走了进来。

“进来，”路易十八微微一笑说，“进来，男爵，把你所知道的一切，关于拿破仑他最近的消息都告诉公爵，什么也不要隐瞒，不管它有多么严重。厄尔巴岛是不是个火山，那儿会不会爆发火焰和可怕的战争——Ｂｅｌｌａ！Ｈｏｒｒｉｄａｂｅｌｌａ！”唐德雷把双手背在身后，非常庄重地靠在一张椅子上说：“陛下有没有看过昨天的报告？”

“看过了，看过了，你把内容讲给公爵听吧，他找不到那份报告，尤其是关于逆贼在他的小岛上一切的所做所为，要讲得详细点。”

“阁下，”男爵对公爵说，“陛下所有的臣仆都应该以我们从厄尔巴岛得来的最新消息而感到欣慰，波拿巴，”唐德雷说到这里，望望路易十八，后者正在写一条注释，甚至连头都没有抬起来，——“波拿巴，”男爵继续说，“快要闷死了，他整天在澳特龙哥看矿工们干活。

“而且以搔痒来消遣。”国王加上一句。

“搔痒？”公爵问，“陛下这句话是什么意思？”

“一点不错，我亲爱的公爵。您忘了这位伟人，这位英雄，这位半仙得了一种使他痒得要命的皮肤病吗？”

“而且，公爵阁下，”警务大臣又说，“我们几乎可以肯定地说，逆贼就会发疯的。”

“发疯？”

“某种程度的发疯，他的神志已经不清了。他时而痛哭，时而狂笑，时而一连几小时在海边上拿石子来打水漂当那石子在水面上连跳五六下的时候，他就高兴得好象又取得了一次马伦戈［在捷克，一八○五年，拿破仑在此打败奥俄联军。］或奥斯特利茨［在意大利，一八○○年，拿破仑在此打败奥军。］之役一样。我想您也得承认，这些无可争辩的事实都是脑力衰弱的象征。”

“或是智慧的象征，男爵阁下，——或许是智慧的象征，”路易十八笑着说。“古代最伟大的船长们也都是在大海上打水漂儿取乐的，不信可看普鲁塔克［（公元４６—１２６），古希腊历史家。］著的《施底奥·阿菲力加弩传》。”

勃拉卡斯公爵对国王和大臣这种盲目的泰然处之的态度深感不解。只可惜维尔福不肯泄露全部秘密，深恐他的功劳被人抢去，但所透露给他那点信息已经够使他感到不安的了。

“喂，唐德雷，”路易十八说，“勃拉卡斯还是不相信，再讲一点逆贼的转变给他听听。”

警务大臣躬身致意。

“逆贼的转变？”公爵喃喃地说，看着眼前象维吉尔诗里的牧童那样一唱一答的国王和唐德雷。“逆贼转变了？”

“一点不错，我亲爱的公爵。”

“转变成什么样了？”

“变得循规蹈矩了。男爵，你说给他听听。”

“哦，是这样的，公爵阁下，”大臣以极其庄重的语气说，“拿破仑最近作了一次侦查，他的两三个旧臣表示想重回法国，他便给他们准了假并告诫他们要‘为他们的好国王效劳’。这些都是他亲口说的，公爵阁下，我确信无疑。”

“喂，勃拉卡斯，你对这事怎么看？”国王得意地问，停了一会儿他的注解工作。

“我说，陛下，如果不是警务大臣部下被人骗了，就是我受骗了，但警务大臣是不可能受骗的，因为他是陛下安全和荣誉的保障，所以大概出错的是我。可是，陛下，假如您能允许我再进一谏言的话，陛下不妨问一下我刚才对您提起过的那个人，而且我请求陛下赐给他这种荣幸。”

“我非常愿意，公爵，只要您赞成，您高兴要我接见谁，我就接见谁，只要他手里不拿枪就行。大臣先生，您有没有比这更新的报告？这是二月二十日的，而我们现在已经是三月三日了。”

“还没有，陛下，但我时刻都在等待着，说不定今天早晨我离开办公室的这段时间里，新的报告又到了。”

“那么去走一趟吧，假如那儿还没有？——哦，哦，”路易十八又说，“就造一份好了，你们不是经常这样做吗？”国王笑着说。

“噢，陛下，”部长回答，“我们根本无需来捏造报告。每天，我们的办公桌上都堆满了最为详尽的告密书，都是那些被革职的人员送来的，虽然他们现在尚未官复原职，但却都很乐意回来为陛下效劳。他们相信命运，希望有朝一日会发生意外的大事以使他们的期望变成现实。”

“好吧，先生，去吧。”路易十八说，“别忘了我在等着你。”

“我只要来去的时间就够了，陛下。我十分钟内就回来。”

“我呢，陛下，”勃拉卡斯公爵说，“我去找一下我的信使。”

“等一下，先生，等一下，”路易十八说。“真的，勃拉卡斯，我看您这种雄赳赳气昂昂的样子。我让你猜一谜，有一只展开双翅的老鹰，它的脚爪抓住了一只猎物，这个猎物想逃跑，但又逃不了，它的名字就叫做——Ｔｅｎａｘ［拉丁文：固执］。”

“陛下，我知道了。”勃拉卡斯公爵说，不耐烦地咬着他的指甲。

“我想同您商讨一下这句话，‘Ｍｏｌｌｉｆｕｇｉｅｎｓａｎｈｅｌｉｔｕ［拉丁文：气喘吁吁地逃跑的胆小鬼。］，’您知道，这是指一只逃避狼的牡鹿。您不是一个狩猎行家和猎狼人吗？那么，您觉得那只Ｍｏｌｌｉａｎｈｅｌｉｔｕ如何？”

“妙极了，陛下，不过我那个信使正象您所说的那只牡鹿一样，因为他只花三天多一点的时间，就跑了六百六十哩路来到这里。”

“那一定够疲倦，够焦急的罗，我亲爱的公爵，而现在我们已经有了快报，要不了三四个钟头就可送到了，根本用不着大喘气。”

“啊，陛下，恐怕您对这个可怜的青年太不领情了，他从那么远的地方跑来，满怀极大的热情，来给陛下送一份有用的情报，是萨尔维欧先生介绍给我的，看在萨尔欧维先生的面子上，我也求陛下就接见他一次吧。”

“萨尔欧维先生？是我弟弟那个侍从官吗？”

“是的陛下。”

“他在罗赛。”

“是从那儿写信给我的。”

“不，但是他极力向我推荐了维尔福先生，要求我带他来见陛下。”

“维尔福先生！”国王喊道，“那个信使的名子叫维尔福吗？”

“是的，陛下”

“他从马赛赶来的吗？”

“是的他亲自赶来的。”

“您为什么不早提起他的名字呢？”国王问道，“而且还很有野心，真的！您知道他的父亲叫什么名字吗？”

“他的父亲？”

“是的，叫诺瓦蒂埃。”

“是那个吉伦特党徒诺瓦蒂埃吗？是那个做上议员的诺瓦蒂埃。”

“就是他。”

“陛下怎么用了这么一个人的儿子。”

“勃拉卡斯，我的朋友，你知道的真是太少了。我告诉过您，维尔福是很有野心的，只要自己能成功，他什么都可以牺牲掉，甚至于他的父亲。”

“那，陛下，人可以带他进来吗？”

“马上带他进来，公爵。他在那儿？”

“就在下面，在我的马车里。”

“立刻去叫他。”

公爵就象个年青人那样敏捷地走了出去，他尽忠国王的热忱使他年青了许多，房间里只剩下了路易十八。他又把目光投向了那半开的贺拉斯诗集上，嘴里喃喃说到“Ｊｕｓｔｕｍｅｔｔｅｎａｃｅｍｐｒｏｐｏｓｉｔｉｖｉｒｕｍ［拉丁文：一个正直而坚定的人。］”勃拉卡斯公爵以他下楼时的同样速度回来了，但一到了候见厅里，他又不得不停下来等待通告。维尔福穿的不是进见时的服装，再加上那种风尘扑扑的外貌，引起了司仪大臣勃黎齐的怀疑，他对这个青年竟敢穿这样的衣服来谒见国王陛下感到非常惊讶，但公爵终于用“奉国王之命”几个字排除了一切困难，所以不管这位司仪大臣的意见如何，不管他如何尊重他的戒律，维尔福还是被通报了。

国王仍是坐在公爵离开他的那个老地方，门一开，维尔福发现他正面对着国王，那青年法官的第一个动作便是停了脚步。

“进来，维尔福先生，”国王说，维尔福鞠了一躬，向前走了几步，等候国王垂询。

“维尔福先生，”路易十八说，“勃拉卡斯公爵告诉我说你有很重要的消息要报告。”

“陛下，公爵说得不错，我相信陛下一定会意识到它的重要性的。”

“在还没有谈正事以前，你先告诉我，先生，依你看，这件事情真的象他们对我说的那么严重吗？”

“陛下，这个事情的确很严重，我希望由于我来的正是时候，事情不至于无法挽救。”

“你尽量说吧，先生，”国王说，他开始被勃拉卡斯脸上的神色和维尔福激动的语气打动了，“说吧，先生，请从头说起，我喜欢一切都有条有理。”

“陛下，”维尔福说，“我向您保证献上一份可靠的情报，假如由于我很焦急而出现有些地方语无伦次，请陛下恕罪。”讲完了这一段谨慎而又巧妙的开场白之后，维尔福向国王瞥了一眼，看到了他那威严的听者面露慈祥，这才放下心来。于是，继续说：“陛下，我尽可能快点到巴黎来，是向陛下报告一件我在执行任务时发现的事情，这不是象每天在下层阶级或军队里所发生的那种无足轻重的、平凡的暴乱，它的确是一次谋反——是一次威胁到陛下王位的的谋反。陛下，逆贼武装了三条船，并定下了阴谋计划，那计划既狂妄，又可怕，此时此刻，他已经离开了厄尔巴岛，去哪儿我不知道，但是肯定是要在某一个地方登陆，不是在那不勒斯，就是在托斯卡纳海岸，甚至可能到法国海岸，陛下不会不知道，这个厄尔巴岛之主与意大利和法国都保持着联系。”

“我知道，先生，”国王说，并显得十分激动，“最近我还获得情报，知道那拿破仑分子在圣·杰克司街集会妄图死灰获复燃。但请你说下去，你是怎么知道这个消息的？”

“陛下，我是在审问一个马赛人时知道的，我对他已经注意到了好长时间，他是在我离开的那一天被抓起来的。他是一个不安分守己的水手，我一向就怀疑他是一个拿破仑党分子，最近他秘密到爱巴尔岛去了一趟，在那儿见了大元帅，大元帅叫他带一个口信到巴黎，给一个在巴黎的拿破仑分子，只是巴黎的那个拿破仑分子叫什么名字，我没能盘审出来，但口信内容我已经知道了，就是这个人要招集人马——不久就要卷土重来了。”

“这个人现在在那里？”国王问。

“在狱监里。”

“你觉得这事很严重吗？”

“严重极了，陛下，这件事发生的时候我正在家里请客，那天是我订婚的日子，当时我大吃一惊，马上离开了我的未婚妻和朋友们，以便赶快地赶到陛下的脚下，向陛下陈述谋反的事件，以表示我对陛下的忠心。”

“对了，你是和圣·梅朗小姐订婚吗？”路易十八问。

“是的，是陛下一个忠诚的臣仆的女儿。”

“是的，是的。还是让我们接着谈这次阴谋造反的事吧，维尔福先生。”

“陛下，我担心这不仅是一次谋反的阴谋，而是一次真正的谋反。”

“在目前这个时间谋反，”路易十八笑一笑说。“想想到很容易，但成功很难，因为我们祖先刚刚恢复王位，我们对于过去，现在和未来都看得很清楚。过去十个月来，我们的各个大臣都加倍地警惕着地中海，以确保平安无事，如波拿巴在那不勒斯登陆，那么在他到达皮昂比诺以前，是整个联军就会行动起来，如果他在托斯卡纳登陆，就踏上了一块与他为敌的国土，如果他在法国登陆，那他只有带点少数的人马，象他这样被人民深恶痛绝的人，其结果是可以想得到的，放心吧，好了先生，不过，王室仍然很感谢您。”

“啊，唐德雷阁下来了！”勃拉卡卡斯大声喊到。这时，警务大臣在门口出现了，他脸色苍白，全身颤抖，象就要昏死过去的样子，维尔福正想告退，勃拉斯公爵却拉住了他的手，留住了他。

上一篇：基督山伯爵（The Count of Monte Cristo）第九章　订婚之夜 下一篇：基督山伯爵（The Count of Monte Cristo）第十一章　科西嘉岛的