Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Works of Alexandre Dumas, Vol. 1 of 30: The Countess of Monte-Cristp
Only pathways lying between high chalk hills lead to the scattered villages and farmhouses. The horizon is continually obscured by the dense veil formed by the chestnut trees. Sometimes the path winds along a smooth road. Then, the eye Observes here and there meadows, the glistening surface of a pond, and the bluish hills, which disappear in the smoky atmosphere. Under the feet of the wanderer arise in the shape of terraces the almost black verdure of the woods, or the red and brown flowers of the buckwheat. Everywhere the picture of solitude, so dear to the dreamer, shows itself. At the edge of a narrow Sheet of water, which looked more like a gorge than a valley, stands a disordered mass of buildings crowned at the top by three tall chimneys. This gigantic lighthouse casts its dazzling light upon the surrounding heights, like a stake piled up by Titans. The general appearance of the place recalls a castle and a workshop combined. Half ruined towers still show their blackened tops as if they had just undergone a Siege. Round about is an immense pond, which grows narrower toward the north, and is spanned by a stone bridge, which has taken the place of the Old drawbridge, the two small towers of which could still be seen.Nothing could be more fantastic than this scene at twilight. The tall, black towers bathe their feet in a dark-brown, golden halo, and their tops look as if ornamented with a red cluster of feathers. To this is added a terrific noise - the roar of the water, the metallic ring of the falling hammer, and the howling of the wind through the forest. The present ironworks of Noirmont was formerly the Castle of Noirmont, as could still be seen by the crum bled towers and thick walls. But that was long ago! The oldest inhabitants can only remember when it was in ruins. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
