The Count of Monte Cristo

The Englishman at the Mayor’s Office

A man presenting himself as an Englishman arrived at the mayor of Marseilles’ office the day following events on the road between Bellegarde and Beaucaire. Dressed in a bright blue frock coat, nankeen trousers, and white waistcoat, he claimed to be chief clerk of the house of Thomson & French in Rome. He explained that his firm had been connected with Morrel & Son of Marseilles for ten years, with approximately a hundred thousand francs loaned on their securities, and that reports of the firm’s impending ruin had prompted his urgent visit from Rome for information.

Referral to M. de Boville

The mayor acknowledged that misfortune had pursued M. Morrel over the last four or five years through lost vessels and bankruptcies, but stated he could not provide financial information despite being a creditor himself for ten thousand francs. He characterized Morrel as a man of extreme honor who had fulfilled every engagement with punctuality and directed the Englishman to M. de Boville, the inspector of prisons at No. 15, Rue de Nouailles, who had two hundred thousand francs invested with Morrel.

The Inspector of Prisons

When the Englishman arrived at M. de Boville’s private room, De Boville appeared in a state of such despair that his faculties were entirely consumed by his current worries. The Englishman repeated his inquiry about Morrel & Son, prompting De Boville to exclaim that his fears were unfortunately well-founded. He revealed that two hundred thousand francs—the dowry for his daughter’s marriage in a fortnight—were payable in installments, half on the 15th of the current month and half on the 15th of the following month, and that Morrel had just informed him of potential inability to pay should his ship, the Pharaon, not arrive in port.