The Count of Monte Cristo

Back Forward Menu

Having obtained the address of the person to whom the house in the
Allees de Meillan belonged, Dantes next proceeded thither, and, under
the name of Lord Wilmore (the name and title inscribed on his passport),
purchased the small dwelling for the sum of twenty-five thousand francs,
at least ten thousand more than it was worth; but had its owner asked
half a million, it would unhesitatingly have been given. The very same
day the occupants of the apartments on the fifth floor of the house, now
become the property of Dantes, were duly informed by the notary who had
arranged the necessary transfer of deeds, etc., that the new landlord
gave them their choice of any of the rooms in the house, without the
least augmentation of rent, upon condition of their giving instant
possession of the two small chambers they at present inhabited.

This strange event aroused great wonder and curiosity in the
neighborhood of the Allees de Meillan, and a multitude of theories
were afloat, none of which was anywhere near the truth. But what raised
public astonishment to a climax, and set all conjecture at defiance, was