The Count of Monte Cristo

Journey to Compiègne

Andrea rides the slow but steady horse Le Blanc for three and a half hours, covering the nine leagues between Chapelle-en-Serval and Compiègne, arriving at the town’s coach stop at 4 a.m. He recalls the well-known Bell and Bottle inn in Compiègne from prior trips to the area, and decides to stop there to rest and eat before continuing his escape at daybreak.

The Bell and Bottle

Andrea arrives at the Bell and Bottle inn in Compiègne, gives the stable boy all his small change to care for the rented horse, and knocks on the door. He tells the waiter he lost his way walking from Saint-Jean-aux-Bois after missing the midnight coach, and requests a small room overlooking the courtyard, a cold fowl, and a bottle of Bordeaux. He asks for room 3, which he stayed in on a prior visit, but it is occupied, so he accepts room 7, which is identical in layout. He notes the inn’s pretty courtyard with triple galleries and climbing jessamine and clematis while waiting for his room to be prepared.

Supper and Sleep

Andrea eats a hearty supper of cold fowl and aged Bordeaux wine by the fire in his room, surprising himself with his robust appetite despite his recent crimes. He goes to bed and falls into a deep, untroubled sleep, as his full escape plan is already finalized: he will leave before daybreak, travel to the nearby forest, disguise himself as a woodcutter with dirt-covered hands, darkened hair treated with a leaden comb, and tanned skin, then travel by night through wooded areas to the nearest frontier, where he will sell his stolen diamonds to fund a new life. He leaves his door unlatched and places a sharp, well-tempered knife on the table next to his bed, but leaves the shutters open so he will wake at sunrise.