The Count of Monte Cristo

First Floor Details

The first floor contains an anteroom and a drawing-room. To the right of the drawing-room are a library and a study; to the left, a bedroom and a dressing-room, the latter housing the famous mahogany secretaire whose key is always kept in it. The dressing-room has two windows placed at an angle, drawn on the plan as a small square projecting from the rectangle of the bedroom. Andrea notes that a dog once guarded the yard at night, but it has been moved to Auteuil; he recalls warning Monte Cristo that the house is unprotected when the Count travels to Auteuil, and Monte Cristo replied that he does not care if he is robbed.

The Diamond Ring

Before leaving, Caderousse warns Andrea that his diamond ring—worth four or five thousand francs—is dangerous and inconsistent with his disguise as a servant. When Caderousse first examines it and pronounces it false, Andrea hands it over, and Caderousse tests it against the window glass, where it cuts cleanly, forcing him to confess his error. Caderousse reflects that the imitation stones of modern jewellers have ruined the profession. Andrea resigns the ring without anger, Caderousse places it on his little finger, and Andrea privately resolves not to sell it for at least two days.

Caderousse’s Scheme

After accepting twenty-five louis (which Caderousse refuses, demanding round silver coins with a monarch’s head to avoid suspicion), Caderousse sees Andrea off and watches him descend the three stories and cross the court. He then locks his door carefully and studies the plan Andrea has left him, comparing himself to a clever architect. He concludes that Andrea will be eager to inherit his five hundred thousand francs, and that whoever hastens the day on which Andrea can touch this fortune “will not be his worst friend”—a clear indication that Caderousse is plotting to rob Monte Cristo and possibly murder him.

KAPITEL 82. The Burglary

Chapter 82, “The Burglary,” follows the Count of Monte Cristo as he travels to Auteuil, receives an anonymous warning of a nighttime break-in at his Paris residence, and chooses to confront the intruder alone rather than involve the police. Returning secretly to his Champs-Élysées house with his mute servant Ali, the count arms himself and waits. An intruder cuts the glass of the dressing-room window and enters, only to be revealed as Caderousse, a former neighbor and convict whom the count recognizes. Disguised as Abbé Busoni, Monte Cristo blocks Caderousse’s escape and interrogates him, learning that Caderousse was released from the galleys with a young Corsican named Benedetto by an Englishman called Lord Wilmore, and that the two escaped Saint-Mandrier by filing off their fetters and swimming away. Chapter 82, titled “The Burglary,” depicts a tense nocturnal encounter in Monte Cristo’s Paris home. Posing as the Abbé Busoni, the Count of Monte Cristo interrogates the burglar Caderousse, compels him to write a warning letter to Baron Danglars exposing Andrea Cavalcanti (Benedetto) as a fugitive convict, and orders him out through the bedroom window. As Caderousse descends the wall, he is ambushed by a waiting assailant who strikes him three times. Mortally wounded, Caderousse cries out for the “abbé” to help him, and Monte Cristo and Ali rush to the scene with lights.

KAPITEL 82. The Burglary

Chapter 82, “The Burglary,” follows the Count of Monte Cristo as he travels to Auteuil, receives an anonymous warning of a nighttime break-in at his Paris residence, and chooses to confront the intruder alone rather than involve the police. Returning secretly to his Champs-Élysées house with his mute servant Ali, the count arms himself and waits. An intruder cuts the glass of the dressing-room window and enters, only to be revealed as Caderousse, a former neighbor and convict whom the count recognizes. Disguised as Abbé Busoni, Monte Cristo blocks Caderousse’s escape and interrogates him, learning that Caderousse was released from the galleys with a young Corsican named Benedetto by an Englishman called Lord Wilmore, and that the two escaped Saint-Mandrier by filing off their fetters and swimming away.