Monte-Cristos Daughter | Page 5

fell in a swoon. The curtain was at
once rung down, and the director, stating that the prima donna had been
seized with sudden and alarming indisposition, dismissed the audience.
Captain Joliette rushed to Mlle. d' Armilly's dressing-room and the
Count of Monte-Cristo wended his way back to the Palazzo Costi,
utterly bewildered by what had taken place.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A full account of the life of Haydée, will be found in that great
romance "The Wife of Monte-Cristo," published complete and
unabridged by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia.
[2] A full account of his life and of Espérance's remarkable career will
be found in that absorbing novel, "The Son of Monte-Cristo," published

complete and unabridged by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia.
[3] For a full account of the life and career of "Edmond Dantès," one of
the most powerful and thrilling novels ever issued, see "Edmond
Dantès," published complete and unabridged by T. B. Peterson &
Brothers, Philadelphia.
[4] See "The Son of Monte-Cristo," complete and unabridged edition,
published by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia.
[5] For a full account of the life and remarkable career of "The Count
of Monte-Cristo," Alexander Dumas' masterpiece, one of the greatest
romances ever written, see the illustrated and unabridged edition of it,
published by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER II.
A STRANGELY SENT EPISTLE.
Zuleika, Monte-Cristo's daughter, had been for some months in the
convent school conducted by the Sisterhood of the Sacred Heart. She
was not a close student though a rapid learner, and was rather inclined
to romance and adventure than to musty books of history and science.
As has already been stated, she had the early maturity of Greek girls.
Besides, she had attracted the attention of several Roman youths of
high and noble lineage, who had eagerly paid her the homage due to
her beauty and oriental attractiveness. Though but fifteen, she
appreciated and felt flattered by this homage, and naturally was
impatient of the restraint put upon her by the regulations of the convent
school, which rigorously excluded all male visitors save parents or
guardians.
In the first rank of her youthful admirers was the Viscount Giovanni
Massetti. He was more ardent than any of the rest and, indeed, was
desperately in love with the fair and bewitching child of the dead
Haydée. He belonged to a family of great antiquity and boundless
wealth, and was reputed to possess a vast fortune in his own right. The
Viscount was only in his twenty-first year, but was exceedingly manly,

dashing and gallant. He was quite handsome and was said to be the soul
of honor, though his ardent temperament and headlong pursuit of
whatever he most coveted not unfrequently involved him in serious
troubles, from which, thanks to his own tact and the vast influence of
his family, he generally came out unscathed.
On Zuleika's arrival in Rome and before she had been placed in the
convent school, the Viscount Massetti had made her acquaintance in a
way that savored of romance and that made a deep impression upon the
inexperienced young girl. In Monte-Cristo's carriage, attended only by
a timid femme de chambre, she was one day crossing one of the two
bridges leading to the Island of San Bartolomeo, when a trace broke
and the horses took fright. The terrified driver lost control of them, and
the mad animals dashed along at a fearful rate, almost overturning the
carriage. Zuleika had arisen in the vehicle, which was an open barouche,
and was wildly clinging to the back of the front seat, her face white
with fear and her long black hair, which had become loosened,
streaming out behind her. Her wide open eyes had in them a look of
tearful supplication most difficult to resist. The young Viscount, who
was riding over the bridge on horseback at the time of the accident,
could not resist it. He sprang from his horse and, as the carriage passed
him, leaped into it. Seizing Zuleika by the waist, and holding her
tightly to him, he then made another spring, alighting safely with her
upon the roadway of the bridge. The flying horses were ultimately
stopped and the occupants of the badly shattered vehicle rescued from
their dangerous situation. This adventure caused the Count of
Monte-Cristo to throw open the doors of his palazzo to the young
Italian, and he had been a frequent visitor there up to the time of
Zuleika's departure for the convent school.
In the interval both the Viscount and the girl had become much
attached to each other, and then this mutual attachment had rapidly
ripened into mutual love of that ardor and intensity experienced only by
children of the southern or oriental sun. Young Massetti had avowed
his passion to his