The Count of Monte Cristo

Back Forward Menu

part of the locksmith. When this was pressed to effect the opening of
the cupboard, of which the lock was difficult, the person was pricked
by this small point, and died next day. Then there was the ring with the
lion's head, which Caesar wore when he wanted to greet his friends with
a clasp of the hand. The lion bit the hand thus favored, and at the
end of twenty-four hours, the bite was mortal. Caesar proposed to his
father, that they should either ask the cardinals to open the cupboard,
or shake hands with them; but Alexander VI., replied: 'Now as to the
worthy cardinals, Spada and Rospigliosi, let us ask both of them to
dinner, something tells me that we shall get that money back. Besides,
you forget, Caesar, an indigestion declares itself immediately, while
a prick or a bite occasions a delay of a day or two.' Caesar gave
way before such cogent reasoning, and the cardinals were consequently
invited to dinner.

"The table was laid in a vineyard belonging to the pope, near San
Pierdarena, a charming retreat which the cardinals knew very well by