The Count of Monte Cristo

第三十四章 The Colosseum

Franz and Albert accept Count Monte Cristo’s invitation to visit him, with Franz drawn especially by the promise of viewing the executions from the windows of the Palazzo Rospoli, since the details of the condemned recall the conversation he overheard the night before in the Colosseum. The following morning Franz questions his landlord, Signor Pastrini, about the day’s executions, learning from a tavoletta that Andrea Rondolo will be mazzolato and Peppino, an accomplice of the bandit Luigi Vampa, will be decapitato, confirming Franz’s suspicion that the cloaked stranger from the Colosseum and the figure from the Teatro Argentina is none other than their mysterious host. After being shown into the Count’s richly appointed rooms, where they marvel at the luxurious furnishings and briefly hear the sound of a guzla, the two friends finally meet the Count in person, and Franz instantly recognizes him as the man from both prior encounters.

Albert and Franz Accept the Count’s Invitation

Albert whispers to Franz that there is little to criticize about the Count of Monte Cristo’s arrangements, and Franz instructs the servant to tell the count that they will do themselves the pleasure of calling on him. Albert praises the count as a man of first-rate breeding and knowledge of the world, and both young men agree to accept the invitation, with Franz conceding that the windows at the Palazzo Rospoli settled his decision. The mention of those windows, however, stirs a deeper consideration in Franz’s mind.

Franz Recalls His Colosseum Overheard Conversation

The reference to two places at the Palazzo Rospoli triggers Franz’s memory of the conversation he overheard the previous evening in the ruins of the Colosseum, where a mysterious cloaked stranger promised to obtain the freedom of a condemned criminal from a Transteverin. Franz suspects that the muffled figure may be the same person he glimpsed at the Teatro Argentina, and believes that visiting the count will allow him to confirm this identity and continue his investigations with greater ease.