The Count of Monte Cristo

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he now bestows on me,--a favor which, however estimable, is unequal
to the satisfaction which I have in my own consciousness." Villefort,
astonished at this reply, which he by no means expected, started like a
soldier who feels the blow levelled at him over the armor he wears, and
a curl of his disdainful lip indicated that from that moment he noted in
the tablets of his brain that the Count of Monte Cristo was by no
means a highly bred gentleman. He glanced around, in order to seize
on something on which the conversation might turn, and seemed to fall
easily on a topic. He saw the map which Monte Cristo had been examining
when he entered, and said, "You seem geographically engaged, sir? It is
a rich study for you, who, as I learn, have seen as many lands as are
delineated on this map."

"Yes, sir," replied the count; "I have sought to make of the human
race, taken in the mass, what you practice every day on individuals--a
physiological study. I have believed it was much easier to descend from
the whole to a part than to ascend from a part to the whole. It is