The Count of Monte Cristo

Back Forward Menu

by his voice and manner; "I owe you the proofs and explanations of what
I have said."

"But," said the irritated president, "you called yourself Benedetto,
declared yourself an orphan, and claimed Corsica as your country."

"I said anything I pleased, in order that the solemn declaration I have
just made should not be withheld, which otherwise would certainly have
been the case. I now repeat that I was born at Auteuil on the night of
the 27th of September, 1817, and that I am the son of the procureur, M.
de Villefort. Do you wish for any further details? I will give them. I
was born in No. 28, Rue de la Fontaine, in a room hung with red damask;
my father took me in his arms, telling my mother I was dead, wrapped
me in a napkin marked with an H and an N, and carried me into a garden,
where he buried me alive."

A shudder ran through the assembly when they saw that the confidence of