of Oedipus or the Sphinx to have divined the irony the count
concealed beneath these words, apparently uttered with the greatest
politeness. Morcerf thanked him with a smile, and pushed open the door
above which were his arms, and which, as we have said, opened into the
salon. In the most conspicuous part of the salon was another portrait.
It was that of a man, from five to eight and thirty, in the uniform of
a general officer, wearing the double epaulet of heavy bullion, that
indicates superior rank, the ribbon of the Legion of Honor around his
neck, which showed he was a commander, and on the right breast, the star
of a grand officer of the order of the Saviour, and on the left that
of the grand cross of Charles III., which proved that the person
represented by the picture had served in the wars of Greece and Spain,
or, what was just the same thing as regarded decorations, had fulfilled
some diplomatic mission in the two countries.

Monte Cristo was engaged in examining this portrait with no less care
than he had bestowed upon the other, when another door opened, and he
found himself opposite to the Count of Morcerf in person. He was a man
of forty to forty-five years, but he seemed at least fifty, and his
black mustache and eyebrows contrasted strangely with his almost white
hair, which was cut short, in the military fashion. He was dressed in
plain clothes, and wore at his button-hole the ribbons of the different
orders to which he belonged. He entered with a tolerably dignified step,
and some little haste. Monte Cristo saw him advance towards him without
making a single step. It seemed as if his feet were rooted to the
ground, and his eyes on the Count of Morcerf. "Father," said the young
man, "I have the honor of presenting to you the Count of Monte Cristo,
the generous friend whom I had the good fortune to meet in the critical
situation of which I have told you."

"You are most welcome, monsieur," said the Count of Morcerf, saluting
Monte Cristo with a smile, "and monsieur has rendered our house, in
preserving its only heir, a service which insures him our eternal
gratitude." As he said these words, the count of Morcerf pointed to a
chair, while he seated himself in another opposite the window.

Monte Cristo, in taking the seat Morcerf offered him, placed himself in
such a manner as to remain concealed in the shadow of the large velvet
curtains, and read on the careworn and livid features of the count a
whole