The Count of Monte Cristo

Back Forward Menu

the Palazzo di Venezia to the Piazza del Popolo, and mounting from the
Piazzo del Popolo to the Palazzo di Venezia. It seemed like the fete of
jack-o'-lanterns. It is impossible to form any idea of it without having
seen it. Suppose that all the stars had descended from the sky and
mingled in a wild dance on the face of the earth; the whole accompanied
by cries that were never heard in any other part of the world. The
facchino follows the prince, the Transteverin the citizen, every one
blowing, extinguishing, relighting. Had old AEolus appeared at this
moment, he would have been proclaimed king of the moccoli, and Aquilo
the heir-presumptive to the throne. This battle of folly and flame
continued for two hours; the Corso was light as day; the features of
the spectators on the third and fourth stories were visible. Every five
minutes Albert took out his watch; at length it pointed to seven. The
two friends were in the Via dei Pontefici. Albert sprang out, bearing
his moccoletto in his hand. Two or three masks strove to knock his
moccoletto out of his hand; but Albert, a first-rate pugilist, sent them
rolling in the street, one after the other, and continued his course