we could not find a single Jew who would eat
a partridge in that state of partial decay in which a Frenchman deems it
most palatable!"

"What a strange, uncouth place this is," said M. Morrel, after a brief
silence. "It seems like some city of the far orient. No one, suddenly
transported here, would ever imagine that he was in the heart of Rome."

"It closely resembles the Judengasse at Frankfort-on-the-Main," replied
the Count, "and is quite as ancient though much larger. But the Germans
are more progressive and liberal than the Romans, for the gates that
closed the Judengasse were removed in 1806, while those of the Ghetto
still remain and are, as you have seen, in charge of the police, who
subject every person entering or quitting the place to the closest
scrutiny. Even as far back as the 17th century the gates of the
Judengasse were shut and locked only at nightfall, after which no Jew
could venture into any other part of Frankfort without incurring a heavy
penalty if caught, whereas here at the present time, in this age of
enlightenment and religious toleration, the gates of the Ghetto are kept
closed day and night, and the poor Israelites, victims of bigotry and
unreasoning prejudice, are treated worse than the pariahs in Hindoostan!
Rome is the Eternal City and verily its faults are as eternal as
itself!"

Monte-Cristo had evidently visited the Ghetto before, as he seemed
thoroughly familiar with its crooked lanes and obscure byways, pursuing
his course without hesitation or pause for inquiry. It apparently
contained no new sights or surprises for him. To M. Morrel, on the
contrary, who now was within its walls for the first time, it presented
an unending series of wonders. The buildings particularly impressed him.
They looked as if erected away back in remote antiquity, and were
curiously quaint combinations of wood and stone, exceedingly picturesque
in appearance. Most of them were not more than eight or ten feet wide
and towered to a height of four stories, resembling dwarfed steeples
rather than houses. Not a new or modern edifice was to be seen in any
direction. Many of the buildings were in a ruinous condition and some
seemed actually about to crumble to pieces, while here and there great
piles of shapeless rubbish marked the spots where others had fallen. As
they were passing one of these piles, much larger than the rest,
Maximilian called Monte-Cristo's attention to it. The Count glanced at
it and sai