The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-11

(Copyright 1907, by Irving King.-All
 rights reservedD
 Alexandre Dumas had for his pur- pose in most of his works the declared intention of "elevating history to the rank of fiction"; but in "The Count of Monte Cristo" he turned aside from his purpose and gave birth to work of unbridled imagination.
 It was his first departure from the line which he had marked out for him. self, and untrammelcd by history, he gave free rein to that feryid fancy which his mingled African and Latin blood made so natural to him
 The popularity which The Count of Monte Cristo" attained immediately upon it's appearance in 1s44 has scarce ly diminished to this day As Dumas tells it, it is a long story of many I details, filled with gorgeous fancies tumbling one over the other. That 1t is a healthy or helpful story-one that speaks of honest men and honest faces may well be doubted. We feel that Monte Cristo needed a tonic and va cation on a farm rather than the hash fish pills he was accustomed to take. The perfumes are heavy In Monte Cristo;" but the air Is trihe mephitic. TT WAS annoying that M. de Vile
 fort, deputy procureur du Roi in A Marseilles de Saint -Meren, should be called from his betrothal feast to attend to the matter of an annonymous accusation against young Edmond Dantes, mate of the Uharaoh. one of M. Morers ships just in; and it was annoying to Dantes, who was about to wed the beautiful Catalan girl. Merce des, that his betrothal feast should be interrupted by the gendarmes, who took him to M de Villefort.
 The two were alone in the office of the official Have you any enemies?" asked Villefort.
 "Oh, no. monsieur" replied Dantes. "Whatr exclaimed Villefort, you are about to become a captain at IS; you are going to marry pretty girl you have enemies" Aa
 Dantes thought of Danglars, the su percargo, who so greatly desired the captaincy, and of Fernand, the fisher lad, who wanted Mercedes-and was si lept
 "Where is the letter you received from the grand marshal whom you put In to Elba and were to take to Paris?"
 T stopped at Elba by order of my captain, given me just before he died" said Dantes "As for the letter, here 1t is."
 Villefort saw the address and started. l his father-Nortier de Villefort, staunch Eonapartst. He read the letter. 1t treated of Napoleon's intended return to France
 ''I hat my father conspires against the throne is dangerous secret" thought Nillefort. He called in an officer of gen darmes and gave him whispered instruc- tions. That night Dantes was lodged Tn a dungeon of the Chateau d'Tf, while Villefort was posting to Paris to warn the king that Elba was a volcano.
 M Morel applied in vain for the re- lease of Dantes. The years passed. The young man was a forgotten prisoner in his dungeon-supposed to be dead In the next cell was another forgotten po- litical prisoner, the Abbe Faria, an Ital- ian priest. heir of the Count of Spada They contrived, unknown to their jailers secret passage between the two dun geons, and the abbe, one of the finest scholars of his day, beguiled his cap tiyity by giving Dantes an education such as few could obtain.
 Just before the abbe had been arrested he had discovered an old document tell ing where, on the island of Monte Cristo the Cardinal Spada had concealed an im- mense treasure. One day, feeling himself dying, he gave this paper to Dantes as his heir, and fell into his final sleep on his rude bed.
 When the jailers came that night to remove the body it was the live Dantes with a knife in his hand fashioned from a clamp of his bedstead, who lay in the coarse sack; while the dead Farla lay on the bed in Dantes cell. where Edmond had reverently placed him. Dantes had calculated on making his escape when they came to the burial ground But the Chateau diff has no burial ground Tho sack was cast from the cliff into the sea Then the knife came Into play the aolr ri fo tba face and was picked up by some snug glers, who asked no questions. This took place Just fourteen years from the day when the two betrothal feasts in Mar seilles had been interrupted by anony- nous accusations against Edmond Dan tes.
 \ Two years later Gaspard Caderousse, keeper of a little inn near Marseilles, much frequented by smugglers. was vis- fted by a grave person calling himself the Abbe Busoni.
 "A penitent of mine' said the Abbe, "one Edmond Dantes, charged me on his death bed to seek out three friends of his in Marseilles Ternand. Catalan fisherman; Danglars, a supercargo, and yourself"
 "Ah. poor Edmond He is at last dead. then?" cried caderousse. "But Fernand and Danglars were curious friends. An, NJ. PAbbe, they informed
 
 way" And then Caderousse garrulous- iy told what he knew of the plot, add ing: They tried to get me into 1t, but I refused. Danglars wrote the ac- cusation and Fernand posted it." h. Well" said the Abbe, since they were, 1t seems, his enemies. this da- mond, which Dantes bade me give into the possession of all three of them, be- longs only to you. It is worth fifty thousand francs" The Abbe depart ed, leaving Caderousse overwhelmed with his good fortune. The next night be and his wife murdered dealer In gems who came to the lonely inn to purchase the gem. desiring in their unsuitable greed to possess not only The purchase money which the dealer had brought with him, but the diamond also. Thus it came about that Cader- ,usse was condemned to the galleys for fife. As it had been his shrew of a wife who struck the fatal blow he es- .aped the executioner.
 It was eight years after the visit of he Abbe to Caderousse that the Count If Monte Cristo appeared and began 10 dazzle Paris by the display of his | AAmingly inexhaustible wealth. The