Unaware Morcerf Enters the Peers Assembly
Morcerf alone remains ignorant of the news. Not subscribing to the paper carrying the defamatory article, he has spent the morning writing letters and trying a horse. He arrives at the Chamber at his usual hour with a proud look and insolent demeanor, passing through the corridors and entering the house without noticing the hesitation of the door-keepers or the coolness of his colleagues.
Committee Votes to Investigate Morcerf
After the article is read during a painful hush, an honorable peer—Morcerf’s acknowledged enemy—rises in the tribune, speaking with solemnity. He calls for an investigation that might dispose of the calumnious report before it spreads and restore Morcerf to his position. The president puts it to a vote, and the assembly decides the investigation should take place immediately. A committee of twelve members is formed, with proceedings to begin at eight o’clock that evening in the committee-room.
Morcerf Gives His Initial Defence
Morcerf delivers a calm, eloquent, and skillful defense, producing documents proving that Ali Pasha had honored him with complete confidence, entrusting him with a vital life-and-death negotiation with the emperor. He displays the Vizier’s ring—a token of authority allowing access even to the harem—and explains the negotiation failed and Ali Pasha was dead upon his return. He further asserts that on his deathbed, Ali Pasha confided his favorite mistress Vasiliki and her daughter to his care, though they later disappeared. With no surviving witnesses against him, his defense rests on Ali’s letters, the ring, and his unblemished military record—arguments that begin to win the committee over.
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