Page:The life and writings of Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) (IA lifewritingsofal00spurrich).pdf/101

 father bore him. The two were obliged to meet by stealth, for the young man was not allowed in the house. As the actress "Mademoiselle Ferrier" forced Dumas to give her parts to which her talents were not equal; as a mistress she was furiously jealous of every other woman, and played practical jokes of doubtful taste on the master. Dumas bore patiently with her extravagance, her constant interruption of his work, and the daily quarrel which seemed necessary to her existence; but soon after the pair were married the connection came to its inevitable end.

Whilst Dumas was staying at the Villa Palmieri at Florence, early in 1842, old Jerome Bonaparte suggested that the author should take the young Prince Napoleon, who was just returning from Wurtemburg, for a cruise, with the object of "teaching him France." The nephew of the great Emperor naturally desired to visit both Elba and Corsica; and it was during this trip that the travellers espied from the mainland of Elba, the insignificant islet of Monte Cristo. Curiosity prompted them to visit it, and Dumas was so much struck by the appearance of the picturesque little spot that he resolved to use its name as the title of his forthcoming romance.

It was one of Dumas's laughing complaints that Scribe was considered a "moral" writer, whilst he