The Count of Monte Cristo

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Villefort held a high position in the magistracy, and maintained
his eminence like a Harlay or a Mole. His drawing-room, under the
regenerating influence of a young wife and a daughter by his first
marriage, scarcely eighteen, was still one of the well-regulated Paris
salons where the worship of traditional customs and the observance of
rigid etiquette were carefully maintained. A freezing politeness,
a strict fidelity to government principles, a profound contempt for
theories and theorists, a deep-seated hatred of ideality,--these were
the elements of private and public life displayed by M. de Villefort.

He was not only a magistrate, he was almost a diplomatist. His relations
with the former court, of which he always spoke with dignity and
respect, made him respected by the new one, and he knew so many
things, that not only was he always carefully considered, but sometimes
consulted. Perhaps this would not have been so had it been possible to
get rid of M. de Villefort; but, like the feudal barons who rebelled
against their sovereign, he dwelt in an impregnable fortress. This