Too Dear!

Too Dear!

Too Dear! is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy first published in 1897. It is a humorous account of the troubles of dealing with a criminal in the kingdom of Monaco.

ynopsis

All is well in the kingdom of Monaco until a man commits a murder. The king had never had to deal with a murderer before, and after the judicial process had run its course and the man had been sentenced to death, he runs into considerable trouble trying to carry out the sentence. Monaco had no guillotine and no executioner, so they sent word to the government of France to see if they could borrow them. France replied that they would lend the guillotine and executioner to Monaco, but at the price of 16,000 francs. This would require many more taxes to be levied by the king of Monaco, and he refused the offer so as to not offend his people by the price. The king next requested help from the king of Italy, but the cost would only be somewhat lower at 12,000 francs. The decision was made to simply keep the murderer imprisoned for life.

Life imprisonment, however, presented its own set of problems. There needed to be a guard at all times, and the man needed to fed. The yearly costs of the imprisonment were figured to be 600 francs, which would still demand an increase of taxes. It was decided that the guard should be dismissed, even at the risk of losing the prisoner.

The prisoner, however, did not try to escape, but he still treated himself to the food provided by the government. The Minister of Justice decided that the criminal was not worth the trouble he was putting the government through, and asked the criminal why he didn't run. The criminal responded that he had nowhere to go in Monaco, and that his reputation was ruined. The criminal was finally taken care of when he was given an annual salary by the government to remain in exile just outside of the country.

ee also

*Bibliography of Leo Tolstoy

References

*"The Works of Tolstoi." Black's Readers Service Company: Roslyn, New York. 1928.


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