ur father, at the moment he raised the pistol to his
head--if any one had told me, when in my prison I pushed back the food I
had not tasted for three days--if anyone had said to either of us
then, 'Live--the day will come when you will be happy, and will bless
life!'--no matter whose voice had spoken, we should have heard him with
the smile of doubt, or the anguish of incredulity,--and yet how many
times has your father blessed life while embracing you--how often have I
myself"--

"Ah," exclaimed Morrel, interrupting the count, "you had only lost
your liberty, my father had only lost his fortune, but I have lost
Valentine."

"Look at me," said Monte Cristo, with that expression which sometimes
made him so eloquent and persuasive--"look at me. There are no tears
in my eyes, nor is there fever in my veins, yet I see you suffer--you,
Maximilian, whom I love as my own son. Well, does not this tell you
that in grief, as in life, there is always something to look forward to
beyond? Now, if I entreat, if I order you to live, Morrel, it is in
the conviction that one day you will thank me for having preserved your
life."

"Oh, heavens," said the young man, "oh, heavens--what are you saying,
count? Take care. But perhaps you have never loved!"

"Child!" replied the count.

"I mean, as I love. You see, I have been a soldier ever since I attained
manhood. I reached the age of twenty-nine without loving, for none of
the feelings I before then experienced merit the appellation of love.
Well, at twenty-nine I saw Valentine; for two years I have loved her,
for two years I have seen written in her heart, as in a book, all the
virtues of a daughter and wife. Count, to possess Valentine would have
been a happiness too infinite, too ecstatic, too complete, too divine
for this world, since it has been denied me; but without Valentine the
earth is desolate."

"I have told you to hope," said the count.

"Then have a care, I repeat, for you seek to persuade me, and if you
succeed I should lose my reason, for I should hope that I could again
behold Valentine." The count smiled. "My friend, my father," said Morrel
with excitement, "have a care, I again repeat, for the power you wield
over me alarms me. Weigh your words before you speak, for my eyes have
already become brighter, and my heart beats strongly; be cautious, or
you will make me believe in supernatural agencies. I must obey you,
though you bade me call forth the dead or walk