The Count of Monte Cristo

Breakfast Invitation and Meal Conversation

A servant announces that breakfast is ready, and the count invites Albert and Franz to join him, citing his isolation and hoping they may one day return the hospitality in Paris. Bertuccio is ordered to lay covers for three. During the meal, which Franz finds excellent and finely served, the count barely touches the food, seeming to act more as a polite host than an eager diner, which reminds Franz of the Countess G——’s conviction that the count is a vampire. Albert, by contrast, eats heartily, indifferent to the philosophical conversation.

Final Carnival and Execution Viewing Plans

After breakfast, Franz checks his watch and explains that he and Albert must still acquire masks for the Carnival. The count offers to have costumes brought to a private room at the Piazza del Popolo, where they can dress either before or after the execution, since the scaffold itself is part of the festivities. Franz declines the window overlooking the execution, accepting instead the carriage and the Rospoli Palace window, and explains that he wishes to pass through the Corso on foot to observe something. The count agrees, and they arrange for the carriage to meet them via the Via del Babuino. A servant then announces a penitent seeking an audience, and the count excuses himself to another room.

Albert’s Opinion of the Count of Monte Cristo

Left in the salon, Albert helps himself to the excellent cigars and shares his opinion of the count when Franz asks: Albert finds him a delightful host, a well-traveled and well-read man of Stoic philosophy, and—most importantly—one who keeps superb cigars. Franz, knowing that Albert deliberately delays forming judgments, makes no attempt to change his mind, but points out that the count had studied Albert with particular attention. Albert, untroubled, attributes this to his outmoded Parisian attire and asks Franz to disabuse the count of the impression that he is a provincial.