Edmond Dantès | Page 9

in
Cinderella slippers of rose-hued satin, peeped out from beneath ample
Turkish trousers, which were semi-transparent and disclosed the
outlines of her beautifully turned limbs; she wore a close-fitting gilet of
pearly silk, adorned with gilt fringe and cut low, displaying her snowy
neck and magnificent shoulders; her arms were encompassed but not
hidden by flowing sleeves of filmy gauze as fine as the tissue of a
spider's web; about her neck flashed a collar of brilliant diamonds of
enormous value, and on her tapering fingers were rings of emerald,
ruby and sapphire; on her head was a red fez, precisely similar to her
husband's; her countenance, a perfect revelation of angelic beauty, was
wreathed in sunny smiles that betokened thorough happiness and
contentment.

The little girl, Zuleika, the daughter of Monte-Cristo, was her exact
image, a reproduction of her lovely mother in miniature, a promise of
rare delight for the future. The child's costume was also modeled after
Haydée's, but with modifications suited to her tender years. Zuleika
was of a gentle, loving disposition, but a vein of romance and poetry
had already developed itself in her notwithstanding her extreme youth.
She sighed for the unknown delights of the sea, and the wail of the surf
sounded to her like the most delicious of mysterious harmonies. Her
infant imagination peopled the watery realm with spirits of good and
evil always in contention, and the great ships, with their huge white
sails, that she saw in the distance from the sandy beach of the Island of
Salmis, were in her eyes the mighty birds of Arabian story.
The boy, Espérance, the son of Monte-Cristo, resembled his father both
in disposition and appearance; his youthful soul was full of noble
aspirations, while his daring and bravery filled even the hardy
fishermen of the coast with wonder and amazement. He was a very
manly and handsome child; quick, enthusiastic and energetic; his
father's hope and his mother's idol; though Haydée saw, with extreme
uneasiness, that the little lad was wise beyond his years, and was
already devoted to Monte-Cristo's somewhat visionary schemes, which
he appeared to grasp in all their complicated details. His attire was that
of a Greek fisher boy; his trousers, rolled up above his knees, displayed
his naked legs and bare feet; in one hand he held a rough sea cap that
he had removed from his head at the door of the library. Espérance
loved, above all other things, to be with the fishermen on the beach,
and his joy knew no bounds when he was permitted to accompany them
on their fishing expeditions to the waters beyond.
Haydée remained silently gazing at Monte-Cristo for a moment; then,
advancing into the middle of the room, she stood beside him with the
children. Zuleika, dropping her mother's hand, sprang lightly upon her
father's knees, and, clasping him about the neck with her chubby arms,
kissed him rapturously.
The Count started from his deep reverie and returned his daughter's kiss;
then, looking up, he perceived Haydée and Espérance.

"Ah! my loved ones," said he, "so you are all here!"
"Yes, papa," returned Zuleika, in a clear, crystal voice, that sounded
like the tinkle of a fairy bell, "we are all here--mamma, Espérance and
'Leika!"
Monte-Cristo smiled faintly, and patted the little girl tenderly on the
cheek.
"Haydée," said he, "fortune favors us in our children; they are, indeed,
a blessing to us."
"A veritable blessing, my lord," answered the lovely Haydée, "but still I
cannot help feeling some terror at the thought that Espérance may one
day be drawn into those political struggles you have so often foretold,
and in which it is your intention to act a prominent part."
"Papa will lead the people to victory, and I will fight by his side!" cried
Espérance, proudly.
Haydée gazed sadly at the enthusiastic boy, and tears came into her
gazelle-like eyes.
"Oh! my lord," she said to her husband, "teach Espérance the arts of
peace, implant in his boyish bosom, while there is yet time, the love of
home and domestic joys."
The Count glanced admiringly at the little lad, who stood with dilated
nostrils and eyes flashing fire; then, turning to Haydée, he said in an
impressive tone:
"My beloved wife, Espérance is but an infant, and it may be years ere
Europe shall awake from her lethargy and strive to overturn the thrones
of her despots; before that period, the period of revolution and
bloodshed, our son may change his opinions and cease to be the ardent
Republican he is now."
"No, no," protested the enthusiastic boy; "I will be a Republican all my

life!"
Monte-Cristo smiled sadly, and, drawing the lad to his knee, said to
him:
"Espérance, my son, you are yet too young to know the ways of