第250章

Then the foolish criminal is taken, imprisoned, interrogated, confronted, confounded, condemned, and cut off by hemp or steel; or if she be a woman of any consideration, they lock her up for life.This is the way in which you Northerns understand chemistry, madame.Desrues was, however, I must confess, more skilful.""What would you have, sir?" said the lady, laughing; "we do what we can.All the world has not the secret of the Medicis or the Borgias.""Now," replied the count, shrugging his shoulders, "shall Itell you the cause of all these stupidities? It is because, at your theatres, by what at least I could judge by reading the pieces they play, they see persons swallow the contents of a phial, or suck the button of a ring, and fall dead instantly.Five minutes afterwards the curtain falls, and the spectators depart.They are ignorant of the consequences of the murder; they see neither the police commissary with his badge of office, nor the corporal with his four men; and so the poor fools believe that the whole thing is as easy as lying.But go a little way from France -- go either to Aleppo or Cairo, or only to Naples or Rome, and you will see people passing by you in the streets -- people erect, smiling, and fresh-colored, of whom Asmodeus, if you were holding on by the skirt of his mantle, would say, `That man was poisoned three weeks ago; he will be a dead man in a month.'""Then," remarked Madame de Villefort, "they have again discovered the secret of the famous aquatofana that they said was lost at Perugia.""Ah, but madame, does mankind ever lose anything? The arts change about and make a tour of the world; things take a different name, and the vulgar do not follow them -- that is all; but there is always the same result.Poisons act particularly on some organ or another -- one on the stomach, another on the brain, another on the intestines.Well, the poison brings on a cough, the cough an inflammation of the lungs, or some other complaint catalogued in the book of science, which, however, by no means precludes it from being decidedly mortal; and if it were not, would be sure to become so, thanks to the remedies applied by foolish doctors, who are generally bad chemists, and which will act in favor of or against the malady, as you please; and then there is a human being killed according to all the rules of art and skill, and of whom justice learns nothing, as was said by a terrible chemist of my acquaintance, the worthy Abbe Adelmonte of Taormina, in Sicily, who has studied these national phenomena very profoundly.""It is quite frightful, but deeply interesting," said the young lady, motionless with attention."I thought, I must confess, that these tales, were inventions of the Middle Ages.""Yes, no doubt, but improved upon by ours.What is the use of time, rewards of merit, medals, crosses, Monthyon prizes, if they do not lead society towards more complete perfection? Yet man will never be perfect until he learns to create and destroy; he does know how to destroy, and that is half the battle.""So," added Madame de Villefort, constantly returning to her object, "the poisons of the Borgias, the Medicis, the Renes, the Ruggieris, and later, probably, that of Baron de Trenck, whose story has been so misused by modern drama and romance"--

"Were objects of art, madame, and nothing more," replied the count."Do you suppose that the real savant addresses himself stupidly to the mere individual? By no means.

Science loves eccentricities, leaps and bounds, trials of strength, fancies, if I may be allowed so to term them.

Thus, for instance, the excellent Abbe Adelmonte, of whom Ispoke just now, made in this way some marvellous experiments.""Really?"