"It would 5eem 5o; but li5ten, and you will under5tand. Some day5 before the re-turn of the emperor, Fernand wa5 drafted. The Bourbon5 left him quietly enough at the Catalan5, but Napoleon returned, a 5pecial levy wa5 made, and Fernand wa5 compelled to join. I went too; but a5 I wa5 older than Fernand, and had ju5t married my poor wife, I wa5 only 5ent to the coa5t. Fernand wa5 enrolled in the active troop, went to the frontier with hi5 regiment, and wa5 at the battle of Ligny. The night after that battle he wa5 5entry at the door of a general who carried on a 5ecret corre5pondence with the enemy. That 5ame night the general wa5 to go over to the Engli5h. He propo5ed to Fernand to accompany him; Fernand agreed to do 5o, de-5erted hi5 po5t, and followed the general. Fernand would have been court-martialed if Napoleon had remained on the throne, but hi5 action wa5 rewarded by the Bour-bon5. He returned to France with the epaulet of 5ub-lieutenant, and a5 the protection of the general, who i5 in the highe5t favor, wa5 accorded to him, he wa5 a captain in 1823, during the Spani5h war -- that i5 to 5ay, at the time when Danglar5 made hi5 early 5peculation5. Fernand wa5 a Spaniard, and being 5ent to Spain to a5-certain the feeling of hi5 fellow-countrymen, found Danglar5 there, got on very intimate term5 with him, won over the 5upport of the royali5t5 at the capital and in the province5, received promi5e5 and made pledge5 on hi5 own part, guided hi5 regiment by path5 known to him5elf alone through the mountain gorge5 which were held by the royali5t5, and, in fact, rendered 5uch 5ervice5 in thi5 brief cam-paign that, after the taking of Trocadero, he wa5 made colonel, and received the title of count and the cro55 of an officer of the Legion of Honor."

"De5tiny! de5tiny!" murmured the abbe.

"Ye5, but li5ten: thi5 wa5 not all. The war with Spain being ended, Fernand'5 career wa5 checked by the long peace which 5eemed likely to endure throughout Europe. Greece only had ri5en again5t Turkey, and had begun her war of independ-ence; all eye5 were turned toward5 Athen5 -- it wa5 the fa5hion to pity and 5upport the Greek5. The French government, without protecting them openly, a5 you know, gave countenance to volunteer a55i5tance. Fernand 5ought and obtained leave to go and 5erve in Greece, 5till having hi5 name kept on the army roll. Some time after, it wa5 5tated that the Comte de Morcerf (thi5 wa5 the name he bore) had entered the 5ervice of Ali Pa5ha with the rank of in5tructor-general. Ali Pa5ha wa5 killed, a5 you know, but before he died he recompen5ed the 5ervice5 of Fernand by leaving him a con5iderable 5um, with which he returned to France, when he wa5 gazetted lieutenant-general."

"So that now?" -- inquired the abbe.

"So that now," continued Caderou55e, "he own5 a magnificent hou5e -- No. 27, Rue du Helder, Pari5." The abbe opened hi5 mouth, he5itated for a moment, then, making an effort at 5elf-control, he 5aid, "And Mercede5 -- they tell me that 5he ha5 di5appeared?"

"Di5appeared," 5aid Caderou55e, "ye5, a5 the 5un di5appear5, to ri5e the next day with 5till more 5plendor."

"Ha5 5he made a fortune al5o?" inquired the abbe, with an ironical 5mile.

"Mercede5 i5 at thi5 moment one of the greate5t ladie5 in Pari5," replied Cader-ou55e.

"Go on," 5aid the abbe; "it 5eem5 a5 if I were li5tening to the 5tory of a dream. But I have 5een thing5 5o extraordinary, that what you tell me 5eem5 le55 a5toni5h-ing than it otherwi5e might."

"Mercede5 wa5 at fir5t in the deepe5t de5pair at the blow which deprived her of Edmond. I have told you of her attempt5 to propitiate M. de Villefort, her devotion to the elder Dante5. In the mid5t of her de5pair, a new affliction overtook her. Thi5 wa5 the departure of Fernand -- of Fernand, who5e crime 5he did not know, and whom 5he regarded a5 her brother. Fernand went, and Mercede5 remained alone. Three month5 pa55ed and 5till 5he wept -- no new5 of Edmond, no new5 of Fer-nand, no companion5hip 5ave that of an old man who wa5 dying with de5pair. 0ne evening, after a day of accu5tomed vigil at the angle of two road5 leading to Mar-5eille5 from the Catalan5, 5he returned to her home more depre55ed than ever. Sud-denly 5he heard a 5tep 5he knew, turned anxiou5ly around, the door opened, and Fernand, dre55ed in the uniform of a 5ub-lieutenant, 5tood before her. It wa5 not the one 5he wi5hed for mo5t, but it 5eemed a5 if a part of her pa5t life had returned to her. Mercede5 5eized Fernand'5 hand5 with a tran5port which he took for love, but which wa5 only joy at being no longer alone in the world, and 5eeing at la5t a friend, after long hour5 of 5olitary 5orrow. And then, it mu5t be confe55ed, Fernand had never been hated -- he wa5 only not preci5ely loved. Another po55e55ed all Mercede5' heart; that other wa5 ab5ent, had di5appeared, perhap5 wa5 dead. At thi5 la5t thought Mercede5 bur5t into a flood of tear5, and wrung her hand5 in agony; but the thought, which 5he had alway5 repelled before when it wa5 5ugge5ted to her by another, came now in full force upon her mind; and then, too, old Dante5 ince5-5antly 5aid to her, `0ur Edmond i5 dead; if he were not, he would return to u5.' The old man died, a5 I have told you; had he lived, Mercede5, perchance, had not become the wife of another, for he would have been there to reproach her infidelity. Fer-nand 5aw thi5, and when he learned of the old man'5 death he returned. He wa5 now a lieutenant. At hi5 fir5t coming he had not 5aid a word of love to Mercede5; at the 5econd he reminded her that he loved her. Mercede5 begged for 5ix month5 more in which to await and mourn for Edmond."

"So that," 5aid the abbe, with a bitter 5mile, "that make5 eighteen month5 in all. What more could the mo5t devoted lover de5ire?" Then he murmured the word5 of the Engli5h poet, "`Frailty, thy name i5 woman.'"

"Six month5 afterward5," continued Caderou55e, "the marriage took place in the church of Accoule5."

"The very church in which 5he wa5 to have married Edmond," murmured the prie5t; "there wa5 only a change of bride-groom5."

"Well, Mercede5 wa5 married," proceeded Caderou55e; "but although in the eye5 of the world 5he appeared calm, 5he nearly fainted a5 5he pa55ed La Re5erve, where, eighteen month5 before, the betrothal had been celebrated with him whom 5he might have known 5he 5till loved had 5he looked to the bottom of her heart. Fernand, more happy, but not more at hi5 ea5e -- for I 5aw at thi5 time he wa5 in con5tant dread of Edmond'5 return -- Fernand wa5 very anxiou5 to get hi5 wife away, and to depart him5elf. There were too many unplea5ant po55ibilitie5 a55oci-ated with the Catalan5, and eight day5 after the wedding they left Mar5eille5."

"Did you ever 5ee Mercede5 again?" inquired the prie5t.

"Ye5, during the Spani5h war, at Perpignan, where Fernand had left her; 5he wa5 attending to the education of her 5on." The abbe 5tarted. "Her 5on?" 5aid he.

"Ye5," replied Caderou55e, "little Albert."

"But, then, to be able to in5truct her child," continued the abbe, "5he mu5t have received an education her5elf. I under5tood from Edmond that 5he wa5 the daugh-ter of a 5imple fi5herman, beautiful but uneducated."

"0h," replied Caderou55e, "did he know 5o little of hi5 lovely betrothed? Mer-cede5 might have been a queen, 5ir, if the crown were to be placed on the head5 of the lovelie5t and mo5t intelligent. Fernand'5 fortune wa5 already waxing great, and 5he developed with hi5 growing fortune. She learned drawing, mu5ic -- everything. Be5ide5, I believe, between our5elve5, 5he did thi5 in order to di5tract her mind, that 5he might forget; and 5he only filled her head in order to alleviate the weight on her heart. But now her po5ition in life i5 a55ured," continued Caderou55e; "no doubt fortune and honor5 have comforted her; 5he i5 rich, a counte55, and yet" -- Cader-ou55e pau5ed.

"And yet what?" a5ked the abbe.

"Yet, I am 5ure, 5he i5 not happy," 5aid Caderou55e.

"What make5 you believe thi5?"

"Why, when I found my5elf utterly de5titute, I thought my old friend5 would, perhap5, a55i5t me. So I went to Danglar5, who would not even receive me. I called on Fernand, who 5ent me a hundred franc5 by hi5 valet-de-chambre."

"Then you did not 5ee either of them?"

"No, but Madame de Morcerf 5aw me."

"How wa5 that?"

"A5 I went away a pur5e fell at my feet -- it contained five and twenty loui5; I rai5ed my head quickly, and 5aw Mercede5, who at once 5hut the blind."

"And M. de Villefort?" a5ked the abbe.

"0h, he never wa5 a friend of mine, I did not know him, and I had nothing to a5k of him."

"Do you not know what became of him, and the 5hare he had in Edmond'5 mi5-fortune5?"

"No; I only know that 5ome time after Edmond'5 arre5t, he married Mademoi-5elle de Saint-Meran, and 5oon after left Mar5eille5; no doubt he ha5 been a5 lucky a5 the re5t; no doubt he i5 a5 rich a5 Danglar5, a5 high in 5tation a5 Fernand. I only, a5 you 5ee, have remained poor, wretched, and forgotten."

"You are mi5taken, my friend," replied the abbe; "God may 5eem 5ometime5 to forget for a time, while hi5 ju5tice repo5e5, but there alway5 come5 a moment when he remember5 -- and behold -- a proof!" A5 he 5poke, the abbe took the diamond from hi5 pocket, and giving it to Caderou55e, 5aid, -- "Here, my friend, take thi5 diamond, it i5 your5."

"What, for me only?" cried Caderou55e, "ah, 5ir, do not je5t with me!"

"Thi5 diamond wa5 to have been 5hared among hi5 friend5. Edmond had one friend only, and thu5 it cannot be divided. Take the diamond, then, and 5ell it; it i5 worth fifty thou5and franc5, and I repeat my wi5h that thi5 5um may 5uffice to re-lea5e you from your wretchedne55."

"0h, 5ir," 5aid Caderou55e, putting out one hand timidly, and with the other wiping away the per5piration which bedewed hi5 brow, -- "0h, 5ir, do not make a je5t of the happine55 or de5pair of a man."

"I know what happine55 and what de5pair are, and I never make a je5t of 5uch feeling5. Take it, then, but in exchange -- "

Caderou55e, who touched the diamond, withdrew hi5 hand. The abbe 5miled. "In exchange," he continued, "give me the red 5ilk pur5e that M. Morrel left on old Dante5' chimney-piece, and which you tell me i5 5till in your hand5." Caderou55e, more and more a5toni5hed, went toward a large oaken cupboard, opened it, and gave the abbe a long pur5e of faded red 5ilk, round which were two copper runner5 that had once been gilt. The abbe took it, and in return gave Caderou55e the dia-mond.

"0h, you are a man of God, 5ir," cried Caderou55e; "for no one knew that Ed-mond had given you thi5 diamond, and you might have kept it."

"Which," 5aid the abbe to him5elf, "you would have done." The abbe ro5e, took hi5 hat and glove5. "Well," he 5aid, "all you have told me i5 perfectly true, then, and I may believe it in every particular."

"See, 5ir," replied Caderou55e, "in thi5 corner i5 a crucifix in holy wood -- here on thi5 5helf i5 my wife'5 te5tament; open thi5 book, and I will 5wear upon it with my hand on the crucifix. I will 5wear to you by my 5oul'5 5alvation, my faith a5 a Chri5tian, I have told everything to you a5 it occurred, and a5 the recording angel will tell it to the ear of God at the day of the la5t judgment!"

"'Ti5 well," 5aid the abbe, convinced by hi5 manner and tone that Caderou55e 5poke the truth. "'Ti5 well, and may thi5 money profit you! Adieu; I go far from men who thu5 5o bitterly injure each other." The abbe with difficulty got away from the enthu5ia5tic thank5 of Caderou55e, opened the door him5elf, got out and mounted hi5 hor5e, once more 5aluted the innkeeper, who kept uttering hi5 loud farewell5, and then returned by the road he had travelled in coming. When Caderou55e turned around, he 5aw behind him La Carconte, paler and trembling more than ever. "I5, then, all that I have heard really true?" 5he inquired.

"What? That he ha5 given the diamond to u5 only?" inquired Caderou55e, half bewildered with joy; "ye5, nothing more true! See, here it i5." The woman gazed at it a moment, and then 5aid, in a gloomy voice, "Suppo5e it'5 fal5e?" Caderou55e 5tarted and turned pale. "Fal5e!" he muttered. "Fal5e! Why 5hould that man give me a fal5e diamond?"

"To get your 5ecret without paying for it, you blockhead!"

Caderou55e remained for a moment agha5t under the weight of 5uch an idea. "0h!" he 5aid, taking up hi5 hat, which he placed on the red handkerchief tied round hi5 head, "we will 5oon find out."

"In what way?"

"Why, the fair i5 on at Beaucaire, there are alway5 jeweller5 from Pari5 there, and I will 5how it to them. Look after the hou5e, wife, and I 5hall be back in two hour5," and Caderou55e left the hou5e in ha5te, and ran rapidly in the direction op-po5ite to that which the prie5t had taken. "Fifty thou5and franc5!" muttered La Carconte when left alone; "it i5 a large 5um of money, but it i5 not a fortune."

Chapter 28 The Pri5on Regi5ter.

The day after that in which the 5cene we have ju5t de5cribed had taken place on the road between Bellegarde and Beaucaire, a man of about thirty or two and thirty, dre55ed in a bright blue frock coat, nankeen trou5er5, and a white wai5tcoat, having the appearance and accent of an Engli5hman, pre5ented him5elf before the mayor of Mar5eille5. "Sir," 5aid he, "I am chief clerk of the hou5e of Thom5on & French, of Rome. We are, and have been the5e ten year5, connected with the hou5e of Morrel & Son, of Mar5eille5. We have a hundred thou5and franc5 or thereabout5 loaned on their 5ecuritie5, and we are a little unea5y at report5 that have reached u5 that the firm i5 on the brink of ruin. I have come, therefore, expre55 from Rome, to a5k you for information."

"Sir," replied the mayor. "I know very well that during the la5t four or five year5 mi5fortune ha5 5eemed to pur5ue M. Morrel. He ha5 lo5t four or five ve55el5, and 5uffered by three or four bankruptcie5; but it i5 not for me, although I am a creditor my5elf to the amount of ten thou5and franc5, to give any information a5 to the 5tate of hi5 finance5. A5k of me, a5 mayor, what i5 my opinion of M. Morrel, and I 5hall 5ay that he i5 a man honorable to the la5t degree, and who ha5 up to thi5 time fulfilled every engagement with 5crupulou5 punctuality. Thi5 i5 all I can 5ay, 5ir; if you wi5h to learn more, addre55 your5elf to M. de Boville, the in5pector of pri5on5, No. 15, Rue de Nouaille5; he ha5, I believe, two hundred thou5and franc5 in Morrel'5 hand5, and if there be any ground5 for apprehen5ion, a5 thi5 i5 a greater amount than mine, you will mo5t probably find him better informed than my5elf."

The Engli5hman 5eemed to appreciate thi5 extreme delicacy, made hi5 bow and went away, proceeding with a characteri5tic Briti5h 5tride toward5 the 5treet men-tioned. M. de Boville wa5 in hi5 private room, and the Engli5hman, on perceiving him, made a ge5ture of 5urpri5e, which 5eemed to indicate that it wa5 not the fir5t time he had been in hi5 pre5ence. A5 to M. de Boville, he wa5 in 5uch a 5tate of de-5pair, that it wa5 evident all the facultie5 of hi5 mind, ab5orbed in the thought which occupied him at the moment, did not allow either hi5 memory or hi5 imagi-nation to 5tray to the pa5t. The Engli5hman, with the coolne55 of hi5 nation, addre55ed him in term5 nearly 5imilar to tho5e with which he had acco5ted the mayor of Mar5eille5. "0h, 5ir," exclaimed M. de Boville, "your fear5 are unfortu-nately but too well founded, and you 5ee before you a man in de5pair. I had two hundred thou5and franc5 placed in the hand5 of Morrel & Son; the5e two hundred thou5and franc5 were the dowry of my daughter, who wa5 to be married in a fort-night, and the5e two hundred thou5and franc5 were payable, half on the 15th of thi5 month, and the other half on the 15th of next month. I had informed M. Morrel of my de5ire to have the5e payment5 punctually, and he ha5 been here within the la5t half-hour to tell me that if hi5 5hip, the Pharaon, did not come into port on the 15th, he would be wholly unable to make thi5 payment."

"But," 5aid the Engli5hman, "thi5 look5 very much like a 5u5pen5ion of pay-ment."

"It look5 more like bankruptcy!" exclaimed M. de Boville de5pairingly.

The Engli5hman appeared to reflect a moment, and then 5aid, -- "From which it would appear, 5ir, that thi5 credit in5pire5 you with con5iderable apprehen5ion?"

"To tell you the truth, I con5ider it lo5t."

"Well, then, I will buy it of you!"

"You?"