The Count of Monte Cristo

Conspirators Depart Separately

Conspirators Depart Separately A noise—likely visiting travellers with torches—alerts the cloaked man, who notes that the guides are spies who might recognize his companion. The Transteverine pledges absolute obedience in exchange for Peppino’s rescue, and the stranger hints that he may someday call on this devotion. The Transteverine disappears down the staircase, and the cloaked figure passes close by Franz and descends to the arena.

Franz Reunites with Albert and Departs

Franz Reunites with Albert and Departs After ensuring the conspirators are far enough away, Franz answers Albert’s echoing calls. Ten minutes later, he is on the road to the Piazza di Spagna, feigning polite interest while Albert delivers a learned lecture, in the manner of Pliny and Calpurnius, on the iron-pointed nets used to protect spectators from wild beasts.

第三十四章 The Colosseum

In this chapter, Franz reflects on the mysterious encounter he witnessed in the Colosseum, becoming increasingly convinced that one of the cloaked figures is none other than his former host, “Sinbad the Sailor,” whose deep, sonorous voice he recognizes from their earlier meeting in the grotto of Monte Cristo, and he passes a sleepless night wrestling with the connection between the two identities. The following day, Albert busies himself with social arrangements in Rome, securing a box at the Teatro Argentina and collecting numerous invitations, though he confides in Franz his growing frustration at having attracted no romantic adventures in Italy despite his fashionable attire and considerable personal charms. That evening at the opera, where Donizetti’s Parisina is being performed by Coselli, Moriani, and La Specchia, Franz and Albert are presented to the Venetian Countess G——, with whom Franz shares a taste for moonlit visits to ancient ruins, and Franz soon becomes entranced by a strikingly beautiful woman in Greek dress seated in an opposite box, accompanied by a shadowed male figure who shows no reaction even to the loudest passages of the ballet Poliska that follows.