The Count of Monte Cristo

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reputation for talent and unswerving integrity, no one could oppose him;
he is all-powerful even with the king; he would crush you at a word.
Dear Maximilian, believe me when I assure you that if I do not attempt
to resist my father's commands it is more on your account than my own."

"But why, Valentine, do you persist in anticipating the worst,--why
picture so gloomy a future?"

"Because I judge it from the past."

"Still, consider that although I may not be, strictly speaking, what
is termed an illustrious match for you, I am, for many reasons,
not altogether so much beneath your alliance. The days when such
distinctions were so nicely weighed and considered no longer exist in
France, and the first families of the monarchy have intermarried with
those of the empire. The aristocracy of the lance has allied itself with
the nobility of the cannon. Now I belong to this last-named class; and