Welcome back, everyone to 1001 Stories for the Road,

and this is Chapter 41 in its entirety of the Count of Monte Cristo,

the presentation.

And now, our story.

When Albert found himself alone with Monte Cristo,

my dear Count, said he,

allow me to commence my services as Ciceroon

by showing you a specimen of a bachelor's apartment.

You, who are accustomed to the palaces of Italy,

can amuse yourself by calculating in how many square feet a young man who is not the worst lodged in Paris can live. As we pass from

one room to another, I will open the windows to let you breathe. Monty Cristo had already seen

the breakfast room and the salon on the ground floor.

Albert led him first to his atelier, which was, as we have said, his favorite apartment.

Monty Cristo quickly appreciated all that Albert had collected here.

Old cabinets, Japanese porcelain, oriental stuffs, Venetian glass, arms from all parts of the world.

Everything was familiar to him, and at the first glance he recognized their date, their country, and their origin.

Morserf had expected he should be the guide. On the contrary, it was he who, under the Count's

guidance, followed a course of archaeology, mineralogy, and natural history. They descended

to the first floor. Albert led his guest into the salon. The salon was filled with the works

of modern artists. There were landscapes by Dupre, with their long reeds and tall trees, their lowing oxen

and marvelous skies.

Delacroix's Arabian Cavaliers, with their long white burnooses, their shining belts, their

...