he sea."

"A pretty silence truly!" said the old father of the bride-groom, as
he carried to his lips a glass of wine of the hue and brightness of the
topaz, and which had just been placed before Mercedes herself. "Now,
would anybody think that this room contained a happy, merry party, who
desire nothing better than to laugh and dance the hours away?"

"Ah," sighed Caderousse, "a man cannot always feel happy because he is
about to be married."

"The truth is," replied Dantes, "that I am too happy for noisy mirth;
if that is what you meant by your observation, my worthy friend, you
are right; joy takes a strange effect at times, it seems to oppress us
almost the same as sorrow."

Danglars looked towards Fernand, whose excitable nature received and
betrayed each fresh impression.

"Why, what ails you?" asked he of Edmond. "Do you fear any approaching
evil? I should say that you were the happiest man alive at this
instant."

"And that is the very thing that alarms me," returned Dantes. "Man does
not appear to me to be intended to enjoy felicity so unmixed; happiness
is like the enchanted palaces we read of in our childhood, where fierce,
fiery dragons defend the entrance and approach; and monsters of all
shapes and kinds, requiring to be overcome ere victory is ours. I own
that I am lost in wonder to find myself promoted to an honor of which I
feel myself unworthy--that of being the husband of Mercedes."

"Nay, nay!" cried Caderousse, smiling, "you have not attained that honor
yet. Mercedes is not yet your wife. Just assume the tone and manner of
a husband, and see how she will remind you that your hour is not yet
come!"

The bride blushed, while Fernand, restless and uneasy, seemed to start
at every fresh sound, and from time to time wiped away the large drops
of perspiration that gathered on his brow.

"Well, never mind that, neighbor Caderousse; it is not worth while to
contradict me for such a trifle as that. 'Tis true that Mercedes is not
actually my wife; but," added he, drawing out his watch, "in an hour and
a half she will be."

A general exclamation of surprise ran round the table, with the
exception of the elder Dantes, whose laugh displayed the still perfect
beauty of his large white teeth. Mercedes looked pleased and gratified,
while Fernand grasped the handle of his knife with a convulsive clutch.

"In an hour?" inquired Danglars, turning pale. "How is that, my friend?"

"Why, thus it is," repli