From A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père by Frank Wild Reed: This is one of the stories in "Les Mille et un Fantômes." Sometimes printed under one, sometimes under another of the above titles, and yet again being listed as though two distinct stories, it is really one tale prefaced by one of Dumas' always charming introductory chats. Correctly the entire piece is entitled "Un Dîner Chez Rossini," as is also the first chapter; the second and third chapters, which comprise the story proper, are named respectively: "Le Serment" and "Les Deux Etudiants de Bologne."
Wherever Dumas obtained his story, no one will for a moment question that the introductory chapter is entirely his own.
Found in the series stated, this story has expectedly a supernatural trend ; for the rest it deals with Italian brigands, a subject of which Dumas has given us some fine examples.
It first appeared serially in "Le Constitutionnel."
Its appearance in a pirated Belgian edition, Brussels, Méline, Cans et Cie., in 1849, serves to establish its actual date. It may well be that this was taken direct from "Le Constitutionnel," in which case it there followed immediately after the introductory "Une Journée à Fontenay-aux-Roses," which position it occupied in the Belgian edition.
It is now included in the standard Calmann-Lévy edition with "Jacquot Sans Oreilles." (See page 374.)
Le Vasseur (in "Alexandre Dumas Illustré") correctly restores it among the "Mille et un Fantômes," and it is found in Vol. XVII.
References :—
See under "Les Mille et un Fantômes," page 239.
English Translation :—
This story forms the concluding portion of the "Tales of Terror," the third part of Methuen's translation of the complete "Mille et un Fantômes." London, 1909, sewed. It is there entitled "The Two Students."
