and Oinnnla 
 Photogravure From Drawing by J. Allen St. John
 
 Illustrated Sterling edition 
 
 THE DRAMAS 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Edited by 
 J. WALKER McSPADDEN 
 
 With Introductions by 
 
 GEORGE SAINTSBURY 
 
 BOSTON 
 DANA ESTES & COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 COPYRIGHTED IQOI 
 BY 
 
 JOHN D. A VIL 
 
 All Rights Reserved
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART I 
 
 BALZAC AS A DRAMATIST 
 
 INTRODUCTION xi 
 
 VAUTRIN i 
 
 THE RESOURCES OF QUINOLA - - - - 155 
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 325 
 
 PART II 
 
 INTRODUCTION v 
 
 THE STEPMOTHER - I 
 
 MERCADET 169 
 
 Vol. xvii
 
 BALZAC AS A DRAMATIST 
 
 Honore de Balzac is known to the world in general as a 
 novel-writer, a producer of romances, in which begin the 
 reign of realism in French fiction. His Comedie Humaine 
 is a description of French society, as it existed from the 
 time of the Revolution to that of the Restoration. In this 
 series of stories we find the author engaged in analyzing the 
 manners, motives and external life of the French man and 
 woman in all grades of society. When we open these volumes, 
 we enter a gallery of striking and varied pictures, which glow 
 with all the color, chiaroscuro and life-like detail of a Dutch 
 panel. The power of Balzac is unique as a descriptive writer ; 
 his knowledge of the female heart is more profound, and 
 covers a far wider range than anything exhibited by a pro- 
 vincial author, such as Richardson. But he has also the mar- 
 velous faculty of suggesting spiritual facts in the life and 
 consciousness of his characters, by the picturesque touches 
 with which he brings before us their external surroundings 
 the towns, streets and houses in which they dwell; the furni- 
 ture, ornaments and arrangement of their .rooms, and the 
 clothes they wear. He depends upon these details for throw- 
 ing into relief such a portrait as that of Pons or Madame 
 Hulot. He himself was individualized by his knobbed cane 
 abroad, and his Benedictine habit and statuette of Napoleon 
 at home; but every single one of his creations seems to have 
 in some shape or other a cane, a robe or a decorative attribute, 
 which distinguishes each individual, as if by a badge, from 
 every other member of the company in this Comedy of Life. 
 
 (v)
 
 vi BALZAC AS A DRAMATIST 
 
 The art of characterization exhibited by the author fasci- 
 nates us; we gaze and examine as if we were face to face 
 with real personages, whose passions are laid bare, whose life 
 is traced, whose countenance is portrayed with miraculousness, 
 distinctness and verisimilitude. All the phenomena of life in 
 the camp, the court, the boudoir, the low faubourg, or the 
 country chateau are ranged in order, and catalogued. This is 
 done with relentless audacity, often with a touch of grotesque 
 exaggeration, but always with almost wearying minuteness. 
 Sometimes this great writer finds that a description of ac- 
 tuality fails to give the true spiritual key to a situation, and 
 he overflows into allegory, or Swedenborgian mysticism, just 
 as Bastien-Lepage resorts to a coating of actual gilt, in de- 
 picting that radiant light in his Jeanne d'Arc which flat pig- 
 ment could not adequately represent. 
 
 But this very effort of Balzac to attain realistic characteri- 
 zation has resulted in producing what the ordinary reader 
 will look upon as a defect in his stories. When we compared 
 above the stories of this writer to a painting, we had been as 
 near the truth, if we had likened them to a reflection or photo- 
 graph of a scene. For in a painting, the artist at his own 
 will arranges the light and shade and groups, and combines 
 according to his own fancy the figures and objects which he 
 finds in nature. He represents not what is, but what might 
 be, an actual scene. He aims at a specific effect. To this 
 effect everything is sacrificed, for his work is a synthesis, not 
 a mere analysis. Balzac does not aim at an effect, above and 
 independent of his analysis. His sole effort is to emphasize 
 the facts which his analysis brings to light, and when he has 
 succeeded in this, the sole end he aims at is attained. Thus 
 action is less important in his estimation than impression. 
 His stories are therefore often quite unsymmetrical, even
 
 BALZAC AS A DRAMATIST vll 
 
 anecdotic, in construction; some of them are mere episodes, 
 in which the action is irrelevant, and sometimes he boldly 
 ends an elaborate romance without any dramatic denouement 
 at all. We believe that Honore de Balzac was the first of 
 European writers to inaugurate the novel without denoue- 
 ment, and to give to the world examples of the literary torso 
 whose beauty and charm consist not in its completeness, but 
 in the vigor and life-like animation of the lines, features, 
 and contours of a detached trunk. 
 
 It is not surprising, therefore, that when we come to study 
 the dramas of Balzac we find that the very qualities that give 
 effectiveness to a stage representation are wanting in them. 
 For the qualities which make a realistic tale impressive render 
 a play intolerable. Thus Balzac's stage pieces are interesting, 
 exciting and vivid in many passages, but they cannot stand 
 the searching glare of the footlights. Balzac, in the first 
 place, looked upon the drama as a department of literature 
 inferior to that of romance, and somewhat cavalierly con- 
 descended to the stage without reckoning on either its pos- 
 sibilities or its limitations. He did not take to play-writing 
 because he had exhausted his vein of fiction, but because 
 he was in need of money. This was during the last years of 
 his life. In this period he wrote the five plays which are 
 included in the authorized edition of his works. 
 
 Balzac's first play was Vautrin, and Vautrin appears as 
 the name of the most astonishing and most original char- 
 acter which Balzac has created and introduced in the five 
 or six greatest novels of the Comedy. So transcendent, super- 
 human and satanic is Vautrin, Herrera, or Jacques Collin, 
 as he is indifferently called, that a French critic has inter- 
 preted this personage as a mere allegorical embodiment of 
 the seductions of Parisian life, as they exist side by side with
 
 viii BALZAC AS A DRAMATIST 
 
 the potency and resourcefulness of crime in the French me- 
 tropolis. 
 
 Vautrin is described in the Comedie Humaine as the 
 tempter and benefactor of Lucien de Rubempre, whom he 
 loves with an intense devotion, and would exploit as a power 
 and influence in the social, literary and political world. The 
 deep-dyed criminal seems to live a life of pleasure, fashion 
 and social rank in the person of this protege. The abnormal, 
 and in some degree quixotic, nature of this attachment is a 
 purely Balzacian conception, and the contradictions involved 
 in this character, with all the intellectual and physical en- 
 dowments which pertain to it, are sometimes such as to bring 
 the sublime in perilous proximity to the ridiculous. How 
 such a fantastic creation can be so treated as to do less violence 
 to the laws of artistic harmony and reserve may be seen in 
 Hugo's Valjean, which was undoubtedly suggested by Balzac's 
 Vautrin. In the play of Vautrin, the main character, instead 
 of appearing sublime, becomes absurd, and the action is ut- 
 terly destitute of that plausibility and coherence which should 
 make the most improbable incidents of a play hang together 
 with logical sequence. 
 
 Balzac in the Resources of Quinola merely reproduces 
 David Sechard, though he places him in the reign of Philip 
 the Second of Spain. He went far out of his way to make 
 Fontanares the first inventor of the steamboat; the improb- 
 ability of such a supposition quite forfeits the interest of the 
 spectators and, in attempting to effect a love denouement, he 
 disgusts us by uniting the noble discoverer with the vile 
 Faustine. Even the element of humor is wanting in his por- 
 trayal of Quinola who is a combination of the slave in a 
 Latin comedy and the fool, or Touchstone of Shakespeare.
 
 BALZAC AS A DRAMATIST ix 
 
 The play is, however, ingenious, powerful and interesting in 
 many passages. 
 
 Pamela Giraud is fantastic and painful in its plot. Bal- 
 zac's ideal woman, the Pauline of the Peau de Chagrin, is 
 here placed in a situation revolting even to a Parisian audi- 
 ence; but the selfish worldliness of the rich and noble is con- 
 trasted with the pure disinterestedness of a poor working 
 girl in all of Balzac's strongest, most searching style. The 
 denouement is well brought about and satisfactory, but 
 scarcely atones for the outrageous nature of the principal 
 situation. 
 
 Balzac was especially a novelist of his own period, and the 
 life of his romances is the life he saw going on around him. 
 The principal character in The Stepmother is a Napoleonist 
 general typical of many who must have lived in the first half 
 of the nineteenth century. The ruling passion of General 
 de Grandchamp is hatred for those who deserted the cause 
 or forsook the standard of the First Consul. This antipathy 
 is exaggerated by Balzac into murderous hatred, and is the 
 indirect cause of death to the General's daughter, Pauline, 
 and her lover, the son of a soldier of the First Empire, who, by 
 deserting Napoleon, had fallen under the Comte de Grand- 
 champ's ban. The situation is, however, complicated by the 
 guilty passion which Gertrude, the stepmother of Pauline 
 and wife of the General's old age, feels for the lover of 
 Pauline. The main interest of the drama lies in the struggle 
 between these two women, every detail of which is elaborated 
 with true Balzacian gusto and insight. We expect to see 
 virtue triumphant, and Pauline united to the excellent Ferdi- 
 nand. When they both die of poison, and Gertrude becomes 
 repentant, we feel that the denouement is not satisfactory.
 
 x BALZAC AS A DRAMATIST 
 
 The jealousy of the woman and the hatred of the man have 
 
 not blended properly. 
 
 But there can be no doubt at all that if Balzac had lived, 
 he might have turned out a successful playwright. When he 
 began his career as a dramatic writer he was like a musician 
 taking up an unfamiliar instrument, an organist who was 
 trying the violin, or a painter working in an unknown me- 
 dium. His last written play was his best. Fortunately, 
 the plot did not deal with any of those desperate love passions 
 which Balzac in his novels has analyzed and described with 
 such relentless and even brutal frankness. It is filled through- 
 out with a genial humanity, as bright and a.s expressive as 
 that which fills the atmosphere of She Stoops to Conquer or 
 A School for Scandal. The characters are neither demons, 
 like Cousin Betty, nor reckless debauchees, like Gertrude in 
 The Stepmother. The whole motif is comic. Moliere him- 
 self might have lent a touch of his refined and fragrant wit 
 to the composition; and the situation is one which the author 
 could realize from experience, but had only learned to regard 
 from a humorous standpoint in the ripeness of his premature 
 old age. Balzac makes money rule in his stories, as the most 
 potent factor of social life. He describes poverty as the 
 supreme evil, and wealth as the object of universal aspiration. 
 In line with this attitude comes Mercadet with his trials and 
 schemes. Scenes of ridiculous surprises succeed each other 
 till by the return of the absconder with a large fortune, the 
 greedy, usurious creditors are at last paid in full, and poetic 
 justice is satisfied by the marriage of Julie to the poor man 
 of her choice. 
 
 EPIPHANIDS WILSON.
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The greatest fame of Balzac will rest in the future, as in 
 the past, upon his novels and short stories. These comprise 
 the bulk of his work and his most noteworthy effort an effort 
 so pronounced as to hide all side-excursions. For this reason 
 his chief side-excursion into the realms of the drama has 
 been almost entirely overlooked. Indeed, many of his readers 
 are unaware that he ever wrote plays, while others have 
 passed them by with the idea that they were slight, devoid 
 of interest, and to be classified with the Works of Youth. 
 Complete editions so-called of Balzac's works have fostered 
 this belief by omitting the dramas; and it has remained for 
 the present edition to include, for the first time, this valuable 
 material, not alone for its own sake, but also in order to show 
 the many-sided author as he was, in all his efficiencies and 
 occasional deficiencies. 
 
 For those readers who now make the acquaintance of the 
 dramas, we would say briefly that the Balzac Theatre com- 
 prises five plays Vautrin, Les Ressources de Quinola, Pamela 
 Giraud, La Mardtre, and Mercadet. These plays are in prose. 
 They do not belong to the apprenticeship period of the Works 
 of Youth, but were produced in the heyday of his powers, re- 
 vealing the mature man and the subtle analyst of character, 
 not at his best, but at a point far above his worst. True, 
 their production aroused condemnation on the part of many 
 contemporary dramatic critics, and were the source of much 
 annoyance and little financial gain to their creator. But 
 
 (xi)
 
 xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 this is certainly no criterion for their workmanship. Balzac 
 defied many tenets. He even had the hardihood to dispense 
 with the claqueurs at the first night of Les Ressources de 
 Quinola. Naturally the play proceeded coldly without the 
 presence of professional applauders. But Balzac declared 
 himself satisfied with the warm praise of such men as Hugo 
 and Lamartine, who recognized the strength of the lines. 
 
 The five plays were presented at various times, at the best 
 theatres of Paris, and by the most capable companies. One 
 of them, Mercadet, is still revived perennially; and we are 
 of opinion that this play would prove attractive to-day upon 
 an American stage. The action and plots of all these dramas 
 are quite apart from the structure of the Comedie Humaine. 
 Vautrin and his "pals" are the only characters borrowed 
 from that series, but his part in the titular play is new beyond 
 the initial situation. 
 
 The Premiere Edition of the Theatre Complet was pub- 
 lished in a single duodecimo volume from the press of Giraud 
 & Dagneau in 1853. It contained : Vautrin, Les Ressources de 
 Quinola, Pamela Giraud, and La Mardtre. All prefaces were 
 omitted. Mercadet was not given with them in this printing, 
 but appeared in a separate duodecimo, under the title of Le 
 Faiseur, from the press of Cadot, in 1853. The next edition 
 of the Theatre Complet, in 1855, reinstated the prefaces. It 
 was not until 1865 that Mercadet joined the other four in a 
 single volume published by Mme. Houssiaux. 
 
 Vautrin, a drama in five acts, was presented for the first 
 time in the Porte-Saint-Martin theatre, March 14, 1840. The 
 preface, dated May 1, 1840, was not ready in time for the 
 printing of the first edition, which was a small octavo volume 
 published by Delloye & Tresse. It appeared in the second
 
 INTRODUCTION xiii 
 
 edition, two months later. The dedication was to Laurent- 
 Jan. 1 The play was a distinct popular failure, but its con- 
 struction and temper combine to explain this. At the same 
 time it makes interesting reading ; and it will prove especially 
 entertaining to readers of the Comedie Humaine who have 
 dreaded and half-admired the redoubtable law-breaker, who 
 makes his initial entrance in Le Pere Goriot and plays so im- 
 portant a part in Illusions Perdues, and Splendeurs et Mis- 
 eres des Couriisanes. Here we find Vautrin in a favorite 
 situation. He becomes the powerful protector of an unknown 
 young man much as he picked up Lucien de Eubempre 
 in Illusions Perdues, and attempted to aid Eastignac 
 in Le Pere Goriot and devotes all his sinister craft to 
 his protege's material interests. The playwright is careful to 
 preserve some degree of the young man's self-respect. Chance 
 favors the two by providing the unknown hero with worthy 
 parents; and Vautrin's schemes unexpectedly work out for 
 good. As in the story of Pere Goriot again, Vautrin, after 
 furthering matrimonial deals and other quasi-benevolent proj- 
 ects, ends in the clutches of the law. Of Raoul little need be 
 said. He is the foil for his dread protector and he is saved 
 from dishonor by a narrow margin. The scene is laid at 
 Paris, just after the second accession of the House of Bour- 
 bon, in 1816. Titles and families are in some confusion on 
 account of the change of dynasties. It is therefore an oppor- 
 tune time for Vautrin to manufacture scutcheons as occasion 
 may demand. Since this story of Vautrin is not included in 
 the Comedie, it will not be found among the biographical 
 facts recorded in the Repertory. 
 
 Les Ressources de Quinola, a comedy in a prologue and 
 
 1 See "Jan" in Repertory.
 
 Jtiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 five acts, was presented at the Theatre de 1'Odeon, Paris, 
 March 19, 1842. Souverain published it in an octavo volume. 
 Balzac was disposed to complain bitterly of the treatment 
 this play received (note his preface), but of it may be said, 
 as in the case of its predecessor, that it makes better reading 
 than it must have made acting, for the scenes are loosely 
 constructed and often illogical. Our playwright yet betrays 
 the amateur touch. It is regrettable, too, for he chose an ex- 
 cellent theme and setting. The time is near the close of the 
 sixteenth century, under the rule of Philip II. of Spain and 
 the much-dreaded Inquisition. An inventor, a pupil of 
 Galileo, barely escapes the Holy Office because of having dis- 
 covered the secret of the steamboat. Eeferring to the preface 
 again, we find Balzac maintaining, in apparent candor, that 
 he had historic authority for the statement that a boat pro- 
 pelled by steam-machinery had been in existence for a short 
 time in those days. Be that as it may, one can accept the 
 statement for dramatic purposes; and the story of the early 
 inventor's struggles arid his servant's "resources" is promising 
 enough to leave but one regret that the master-romancer did 
 not make a novel instead of a play out of the material. 
 Though this is called a comedy, it contains more than one 
 element of tragedy in it, and the tone is moody and satirical. 
 The climax, with its abortive love episode, is anything but sat- 
 isfactory. 
 
 Pamela Giraud, a drama in five acts, was first presented in 
 the Gaite Theatre, Paris, September 26, 1843. It was pub- 
 lished by Marchand in a single octavo volume, in the same 
 year. The action takes place at Paris in 1815-24, during the 
 Napoleonic conspiracies, under Louis XVIII. The Eestora- 
 tion has brought its strong undertow of subdued loyalty for
 
 INTRODUCTION xv 
 
 the Corsican an undertow of plots, among the old soldiers 
 particularly, which for several years were of concern to more 
 than one throne outside of France. The hero of this play 
 becomes involved in one of the conspiracies, and it is only 
 by the public sacrifice of the young girl Pamela's honor, that 
 he is rescued. Then ensues a clash between policy and duty 
 a theme so congenial to Balzac, and here handled with char- 
 acteristic deftness. We notice, also, a distinct improvement 
 in workmanship. Scenes move more easily; dramatic values 
 become coherent; characters stand out from the "chorus" on 
 the stage. Pamela is a flesh-and-blood girl; Jules is real; 
 Joseph is comically individual; Dupre is almost a strong 
 creation, and nearly every one of the other principals is 
 individual. 
 
 The discussion of the other two plays is reserved for the 
 succeeding volume, in which they appear. We shall there 
 notice still greater evidences of the evolution of the play- 
 wright. 
 
 J. WALKER MCSPADDEN.
 
 VAUTRIN 
 A DRAMA IN FIVE ACTS 
 
 Presented for the First Time at the Porte-Saint-Martin Theatre, 
 Paris, March 14, 184
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 It is difficult for the playwright to put himself, five days 
 after the first presentation of his piece, in the situation in 
 which he felt himself on the morning after the event ; but it is 
 still more difficult to write a preface to Vautrin, to which 
 every one has written his own. The single utterance of the 
 author will infallibly prove inferior to so vast a number of 
 divergent expressions. The report of a cannon is never so 
 effective as a display of fireworks. 
 
 Must the author explain his work? Its only possible com- 
 mentator is M. Frederick Lemaitre. 
 
 Must he complain of the injunction which delayed the pre- 
 sentation of his play ? That would be to betray ignorance of 
 his time and country. Petty tyranny is the besetting sin of 
 constitutional governments; it is thus they are disloyal to 
 themselves, and on the other hand, who are so cruel as the 
 weak? The present government is a spoilt child, and does 
 what it likes, excepting that it fails to secure the public weal 
 or the public vote. 
 
 Must he proceed to prove that Vautrin is as innocent a work 
 as a drama of Berquin's? To inquire into the morality or 
 immorality of the stage would imply servile submission to the 
 stupid Prudhommes who bring the matter in question. 
 
 Shall he attack the newspapers ? He could do no more than 
 declare that they have verified by their conduct all he ever 
 said about them. 
 
 Yet in the midst of the disaster which the energy of gov- 
 
 (3)
 
 4 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 ernment has caused, but which the slightest sagacity, in the 
 world might have prevented, the author has found some com- 
 pensation in the testimony of public sympathy which has been 
 given him. M. Victor Hugo, among others, has shown himself 
 as steadfast in friendship as he is pre-eminent in poetry ; and 
 the present writer has the greater happiness in publishing the 
 good will of M. Hugo, inasmuch as the enemies of that dis- 
 tinguished man have no hesitation in blackening his character. 
 Let me concludp by saying that Vautrin is two months old, 
 and in the rush of Parisian life a novelty of two months has 
 survived a couple of centuries. The real preface to Vautrin 
 will be found in the play, Richard-Cceur-d'Eponge, 1 which 
 the administration permits to be acted in order to save the 
 prolific stage of Porte-Saint-Martin from being overrun by 
 children. 
 
 PARIS, May 1, 1840. 
 
 1 A play never enacted or printed.
 
 PERSONS OF THE PLAY 
 
 JACQUES COLLIN, known as Vautrin. 
 
 THE Due DE MONTSOREL. 
 
 THE MARQUIS ALBERT DE MONTSOREL, son to Montsorel. 
 
 RAOUL DE FRESCAS. 
 
 CHARLES BLONDET, known as the Chevalier de Saint' 
 
 Charles. 
 FRANQOIS CADET, known as the Philosopher. 
 
 FIL-DE-SOIE. 
 
 BUTEUX. 
 
 PHILIPPE BOULARD, known as Lafouraille. 
 A POLICE OFFICER. 
 
 JOSEPH BONNET, footman to the Duchess de MontsoreL 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (LOUISE DE YAUDREY). 
 MADEMOISELLE DE VAUDREY, aunt to the Duchesse de Mont- 
 sorel. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL. 
 INEZ DE CHRISTOVAL, PRINCESSE D'ARJOS. 
 FELICITE, maid to the Duchesse de Montsorel. 
 SERVANTS, GENDARMES, DETECTIVES, AND OTHERS. 
 SCENE: Paris. TIME: 1816, after the second return oj 
 the Bourbons. 
 
 Vautrin. 
 
 (5)
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 (A room in the house of the Due de Montsorel.) 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL AND MADEMOISELLE DB 
 
 VAUDREY. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Ah ! So you have been waiting for me ! How very good 
 of you ! 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 What is the matter, Louise? This is the first time in the 
 twelve years of our mutual mourning, that I have seen you 
 cheerful. Knowing you as I do, it makes me alarmed. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 I cannot help showing my happiness, and you, who have 
 shared all my sorrows, alone can understand my rapture at 
 the faintest gleam of hope. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 Have you come upon any traces of your lost son? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 He is found ! 
 
 (7)
 
 8 VAUTRIN 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 Impossible! When you find out your error it will add to 
 your anguish. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 A child who is dead has but a tomb in the heart of his 
 mother; but the child who has been stolen, is still living in 
 that heart, dear aunt. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 Suppose you were overheard ! 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 I should not care. I am setting out on a new life, and I 
 feel strong enough to resist even the tyranny of De Montsorel. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 After twenty-two years of mourning, what possible occur- 
 rence can give you ground for hope ? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 I have much more than hope ! After the king's reception I 
 went to the Spanish ambassador's, where I was introduced to 
 Madame de Christoval. There I saw a young man who resem- 
 bled me, and had my voice. Do you see what I mean ? If I 
 came home late it was because I remained spellbound in the 
 room, and could not leave until he had gone. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 Yet what slight warrant you had for your elation ! 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Is not a revelation such as that more than sufficient war- 
 rant for the rapture of a mother's heart? At the sight of 
 that young stranger a flame seemed to dart before my eyes;
 
 VAUTRIN 9 
 
 his glance gave me new life; I felt happy once more. If 
 he were not my son, my feelings would be quite unaccountable. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 You must have betrayed yourself ! 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Yes, perhaps I did ! People doubtless noticed us ; but I was 
 carried away by an uncontrollable impulse; I saw no one but 
 him, I wished to hear him talk, and he talked with me, and 
 told me his age. He is twenty-three, the same age as Fer- 
 nand! 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 And was the duke present? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Could I give a thought to my husband ? I listened only to 
 this young man, who was talking with Inez. I believe they are 
 in love with each other. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 Inez, who is engaged to your son, the marquis ? And do you 
 think the warm reception given by her to his son's rival could 
 escape the duke's notice ? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Of course not, and I quite see the dangers to which Fernand 
 is exposed. But I must not detain you longer ; I could talk to 
 you about him till morning. You shall see him. I have told 
 him to come at the hour the duke goes to the king's, and then 
 we will question him about his childhood. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 For goodness' sake, calm yourself ; you will never be able to 
 sleep this night. And send Felicit^ to bed, she is not accus- 
 tomed to these late hours. (She rings the bell.)
 
 10 VAUTRIN 
 
 FELICITE (entering the room) 
 
 His grace the duke has come in with his lordship the mar- 
 quis. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 I have already told you, Felicite, never to inform me of his 
 grace's movements. (Exit Felicite.) 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 I should hate to rob you of an illusion which causes you 
 such happiness; but when I see the height of expectation to 
 which you have soared, I fear a terrible fall for you. The 
 soul, like the body, is bruised by a fall from an excessive 
 height, and you must excuse my saying that I tremble for you. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 While you fear the effect of despair for me, I fear that of 
 overwhelming joy. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY (watching the duchess go out) 
 If she should be deceived, she might lose her senses. 
 
 THE DUCHESS (re-entering the room) 
 Fernand, dear aunt, calls himself Raoul de Frescas. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY (alone) 
 
 She does not see that the recovery of her son would be a 
 miracle. All mothers believe in miracles. We must keep 
 watch over her. A look, a word might ruin her, for if she is 
 right, if God restores her son to her, she is on the brink of a 
 catastrophe more frightful even than the deception she has
 
 VAUTRIN 11 
 
 been practicing. Does she think she can dissemble under the 
 eyes of women? 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY AND FELICITE. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 Already here? 
 
 FELICITE 
 
 Her grace the duchess dismissed me early. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 Has my niece given you no orders for the morning ? 
 
 FELICITE 
 
 None, madame. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 A young man, named M. Eaoul de Frescas, is coming to 
 call upon me towards noon; he may possibly ask for the 
 duchess, but you must instruct Joseph to bring him to my 
 apartment. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 
 FELICITE (alone) 
 
 A young man for her ? Not a bit of it. I always said that 
 there was some motive in my lady's retired way of living ; she 
 is rich, she is handsome, yet the duke does not love her; and 
 now the first time she goes out, a young man comes next day 
 to see her, and her aunt wishes to receive him. They keep me 
 in the dark; I am neither trusted nor tipped. If this is the
 
 12 VAUTRIN 
 
 way chambermaids are to be treated under the new govern- 
 ment, I don't know what will become of us. (A sidedoor 
 opens, two men are seen, and the door is immediately closed 
 again.) At any rate we shall have a look at the young man. 
 (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 JOSEPH AND VAUTRIN. 
 
 (Vautrin wears a tan-colored overcoat, trimmed with fur, 
 
 over the black evening dress of a foreign 
 
 diplomatic minister.) 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 That blasted girl ! We would have been down in our luck 
 if she had seen us. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You mean you would have been down in your luck ; you take 
 pretty good care not to be caught again, don't you? I sup- 
 pose then that you enjoy peace of mind in this house ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 That I do, for honesty I find to be the best policy. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 And do you quite approve of honesty ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Oh, yes, so long as the place and the wages suit me. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I see you are doing well, my boy. You take little and often, 
 you save, you even have the honesty to lend a trifle at interest. 
 That's all right, but you cannot imagine what pleasure it gives 
 me to see one of my old acquaintances filling an honorable
 
 VAUTRIN IS 
 
 position. Yon have succeeded in doing so; your faults are 
 but negative and therefore half virtues. I myself once had 
 vices ; I regret them as things of the past ; I have nothing but 
 dangers and struggles to interest me. Mine is the life of an 
 Indian hemmed in by enemies, and I am fighting in defence 
 of my own scalp. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 And what of mine? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Yours? Ah! you are right to ask that. Well, whatever 
 happens to me, you have the word of Jacques Collin that he 
 will never compromise you. But you must obey me in every- 
 thing ! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 In everything? But 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 There are no buts with me. If there is any dark business 
 to be done I have my "trusties" and old allies. Have you been, 
 long in this place ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 The duchess took me for her footman when she went with 
 the court to Ghent, last year, and I am trusted by both the 
 ladies of the house. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 That's the ticket ! I need a few points with regard to these 
 Montsorels. What do you know about them? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Nothing. 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 He is getting a little too honest. Does he think he knows 
 nothing about them ? Well, you cannot talk for five minutes 
 with a man without drawing something out of him. (Aloud) 
 Whose room is this?
 
 14 VAUTRIN 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 The salon of her grace the duchess, and these are her apart- 
 ments; those of the duke are on the floor above. The suite 
 of the marquis, their only son, is below, and looks on the 
 court. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I asked you for impressions of all the keys of the duke's 
 study. Where are they? 
 
 JOSEPH (hesitatingly) 
 Here they are. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Every time I purpose coming here you will find a cross in 
 chalk on the garden gate ; every night you must examine the 
 place. Virtue reigns here, and the hinges of that gate are very 
 rusty ; but a Louis XVIII. can never be a Louis XV ! Good- 
 bye I'll come back to-morrow night. (Aside) I must rejoin 
 my people at the Christoval house. 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 Since this devil of a fellow has found me out, I have been 
 on tenter-hooks 
 
 VAUTRIN (coming back from the door) 
 The duke then does not live with his wife ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 They quarreled twenty years ago. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 What about? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Not even their own son can say. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 
 
 And why was your predecessor dismissed ?
 
 VAUTRIN 15 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I cannot say. I was not acquainted with him. They did 
 not set up an establishment here until after the king's second 
 return. 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 Such are the advantages of the new social order; masters 
 and servants are bound together by no ties; they feel no 
 mutual attachment, exchange no secrets, and so give no 
 ground for betrayal. (To Joseph) Any spicy stories at 
 meal-times ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Never before the servants. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 What is thought of them in the servants' hall? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 The duchess is considered a saint. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Poor woman ! And the duke ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 He is an egotist. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Yes, a statesman. (Aside) The duke must have secrets, and 
 we must look into that. Every great aristocrat has some palt rv 
 passion by which he can he led; and if I once get control <;f 
 him, his son, necessarily (To Joseph) What is said about 
 the marriage of the Marquis de Montsorel and Inez de Chria- 
 toval ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I haven't heard a word. The duchess seems to take very 
 little interest in it.
 
 16 VAUTRIN 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 And she has only one son ! That seems hardly natural. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Between ourselves, I believe she doesn't love her son. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I am obliged to draw this word from your throat, as if it 
 were the cork in a bottle of Bordeaux. There is, I perceive, 
 some mystery in this house. Here is a mother, a Duchesse de 
 Montsorel, who does not love her son, her only son ! Who is 
 her confessor? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 She keeps her religious observances a profound secret. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Good I shall soon know everything. Secrets are like 
 young girls, the more you conceal them, the sooner they are 
 discovered. I will send two of my rascals to the Church of 
 St. Thomas Aquinas. They won't work out their salvation 
 in that way, but they'll work out something else. Good-bye. 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 
 JOSEPH (alone} 
 
 He is an old friend and that is the worst nuisance in the 
 world. He will make me lose my place. Ah, if I were not 
 afraid of being poisoned like a dog by Jacques Collin, who 
 is quite capable of the act, I would tell all to the duke; but in 
 this vile world, every man for himself, and I am not going to 
 pay another man's debt. Let the duke settle with Jacques; 
 I -ajn going to bed. What noise is that ? The duchess is get- 
 ting up. What does she want ? I must listen. (He goes out, 
 leaving the door slightly ajar.)
 
 VAUTRIN 17 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 THE DUCHESS DE MONTSOREL (alone) 
 
 Where can I hide the certificate of my son's birth? (She 
 
 reads) "Valencia July, 1793." An unlucky town for me ! 
 
 Fernand was actually born seven months after my marriage, 
 by one of those fatalities that give ground for shameful accu- 
 sations ! I shall ask my aunt to carry this certificate in her 
 pocket, until I can deposit it in some place of safety. The 
 duke would ransack my rooms for it, and the whole police are 
 at his service. Government refuses nothing to a man high in 
 favor. If Joseph saw me going to Mile, de Vaudre/s apart- 
 ments at this hour, the whole house would hear of it. Ah 
 T am alone in the world, alone with all against me, a prisoner 
 in my own house! 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 THE DDCHESSE DE. MONTSOREL AND MLLE. DE VAUDEEY. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 I see that you find it as impossible to sleep as I do. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDRET 
 
 Louise, my child, I only rose to rid you of a dream, the 
 awakening from which will be deplorable. I consider it my 
 duty to distract you from your insane fancies. The more I 
 think of what you told me the more is my sympathy aroused. 
 But I am compelled to tell you the truth, cruel as it is ; beyond 
 doubt the duke has placed Fernand in some compromising situ- 
 ation, so as to make it impossible for him to retrieve his posi- 
 tion in the world to which you belong. The young man you 
 saw cannot be your son.
 
 18 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Ah, you never knew Fernand ! but I knew him, and in what- 
 ever place he is, his life has an influence on mine. I have seen 
 him a thousand times 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDEEY 
 
 In your dreams ! 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Fernand has the blood of the Montsorels and the Vaudreys 
 in his veins. The place to which he was born he is able to take ; 
 everything gives way before him wherever he appears. If he 
 became a soldier, he is to-day a colonel. My son is proud, he 
 is handsome, people like him ! I am sure he is beloved. Do 
 not contradict me, dear aunt ; Fernand still lives ; if not, then 
 the duke has broken faith, and I know he values too highly the 
 virtues of his race to disgrace them. 
 
 MLLE. DE YAUDEET 
 
 But are not honor and a husband's vengeance dearer to him 
 than his faith as a gentleman? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Ah! You make me shudder. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 You know very well, Louise, that pride of race is hereditary 
 with the Montsorels, as it is with the Mortemarts. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 I know it too well ! The doubt cast upon his child's legiti- 
 macy has almost crazed him. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 You are wrong there. The duke has a warm heart, and a 
 cool head ; in all matters that concern the sentiments on which
 
 VAUTRIN 19 
 
 they live, men of that temper act promptly in carrying out 
 their ideas. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 But, dear aunt, do you know at what price he has granted 
 me the life of Fernand ? Haven't I paid dearly for the assur- 
 ance that his days were not to be shortened? If I had per- 
 sisted in maintaining my innocence I should have brought 
 certain death upon him; I have sacrificed my good name to 
 save my son. Any mother would have done as much. You 
 were taking care of my property here ; I was alone in a foreign 
 land, and was the prey of ill-health, fever, and with none to 
 counsel me, and I lost my head; for, since that time it has 
 constantly occurred to me that the duke would never have 
 carried out his threats. In making the sacrifice I did, I knew 
 that Fernand would be poor and destitute, without a name, 
 and dwelling in an unknown land ; but I knew also that his 
 life would be safe, and that some day I should recover him, 
 even if I had to search the whole world over ! I felt so cheer- 
 ful as I came in that I forgot to give you the certificate of 
 Fernandas birth, which the Spanish ambassador's wife has at 
 last obtained for me; carry it about with you until you can 
 place it in the hands of your confessor. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDEEY 
 
 The duke must certainly have learnt the measures you 
 have taken in this matter, and woe be to your son! Since 
 his return he has been very busy, and is still busy about 
 something. 
 , THE DUCHESS 
 
 If I shake off the disgrace with which he has tried to cover 
 me, if I give up shedding tears in silence, be assured that 
 nothing can bend me from my purpose. I am no longer in 
 Spain or England, at the mercy of a diplomat crafty as a 
 tiger, who during the whole time of our emigration was read- 
 ing the thoughts of the heart's inmost recesses, and with invisi- 
 ble spies surrounding my life as by a network of steel ; turning
 
 20 VAUTRIN 
 
 my servants into jailers, and keeping me prisoner in the 
 most horrible of prisons, an open house ! I am in France, I 
 have found you once more, I hold my place at court, I can 
 speak my mind there; I shall learn what has hecome of the 
 Vicomte de Langeac, I shall prove that since the Tenth of 
 August 1 we have never met, I shall inform the king of the 
 crime committed by a father against a son who is the heir of 
 two noble houses. I am a woman, I am Duchesse de Mont- 
 sorel, I am a mother ! "We are rich, we have a virtuous priest 
 for an adviser; right is on our side, and if I have demanded 
 the certificate of my son's birth 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, AND THE Duo DE MONTSOREL (who 
 enters as the duchess pronounces the last sentence). 
 
 THE DUKE 
 It is only for the purpose of handing it to me. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Since when have you ventured to enter my apartment with- 
 out previously sending me word and asking my leave? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Since you broke the agreement we made. You swore to 
 take no steps to find this your son. This was the sole condi- 
 tion on which I promised to let him live. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 And is it not much more honorable to violate such an oath, 
 than to remain faithful to all others? 
 
 i A noteworthy date in French history, .A ugust 10, 1792 ; the day of the storming 
 of the Tuileries.-J. W. M.
 
 VAUTRIN 21 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 We are henceforth both of us released from our engage- 
 ments. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Have you, up to the present day, respected yours? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 I have, madame. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Listen to him, aunt, and bear witness to this declaration. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDEEY 
 
 But has it never occurred to you, my dear sir, that Louise 
 is innocent? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Of course you think so, Mile, de Vaudrey. And what would 
 not I give to share your opinion ! The duchess has had twenty 
 years in which to prove to me her innocence. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 For twenty years you have wrung my heart without pity 
 and without intermission. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Madame, unless you hand me this certificate, your Fernand 
 will have serious cause for alarm. As soon as you returned 
 to France you secured the document, and are trying to employ 
 it as a weapon against me. You desire to obtain for your son 
 a fortune and a name which do not belong to him ; to secure 
 his admission into a family, whose race has up to my time 
 been kept pure by wives of stainless reputation, a family 
 which has never formed a single mesalliance 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 And which will be worthily represented by your son Albert.
 
 22 VAUTKIN 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Be careful what you say, for you waken in me terrible 
 memories. And your last word shows me that you will not 
 shrink from causing a scandal that will overwhelm all of us 
 with shame. Shall we air in the public courts past occur- 
 rences which will show that I am not free from reproach, 
 while you are infamous? (He turns to Mile, de Vaudrey) 
 She cannot have told you everything, dear aunt? She was 
 in love with Viscount Langeac ; I knew it, and respected her 
 love ; I was so young ! The viscount came to me ; being with- 
 out hope of inheriting a fortune, and the last representative 
 of his house, he unselfishly offered to give up Louise de 
 Vaudrey. I trusted in their mutual generosity, and accepted 
 her as a pure woman from his hands. Ah! I would have 
 given my life for her, and I have proved it! The wretched 
 man performed prodigies of valor on the Tenth of August, and 
 called down upon himself the rage of the mob; I put him 
 under the protection of some of my people; he was, however, 
 discovered and taken to the Abbaye. As soon as I learned his 
 predicament, I gave into the hands of a certain Boulard all 
 the money I had collected for our flight ! I induced Boulard 
 to join the Septembrists in order to save the viscount from 
 death; I procured his escape! (To the duchess) He paid 
 me back well, did he not ? I was young, madly in love, impetu- 
 ous, yet I never crushed the boy ! You have to-day made me 
 the same requital for my pity, as your lover made for my 
 trust in him. Well things remain just as they were twenty 
 years ago excepting that the time for pity is past. And I will 
 repeat what I said to you then : Forget your son, and he shall 
 live. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 And shall her sufferings during those twenty years count 
 for nothing? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 A great crime calls for a great atonement.
 
 VAUTRIN 23 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Ah if you take my grief for a sign of remorse, I will 
 again protest to you, I am innocent ! No ! Langeac never 
 betrayed your confidence; it was not for his king alone he 
 went to his death, and from the fatal day on which he bade 
 me farewell and surrendered me to you, I have never seen 
 him again. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 You purchased the life of your son by making an exactly 
 contrary declaration. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Can a compact dictated by terror be looked upon as an 
 avowal of guilt? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Do you intend to give that certificate of birth? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 It is no longer in my possession. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 I will no longer answer then for your son's safety. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Have you weighed well the consequences of this threat? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 You ought to know me by this time. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 The trouble is that you do not know me. You will no 
 longer answer for my son's safety? Indeed but you had 
 better look after that of your own son. Albert is a guarantee 
 for the life of Fernand. If you keep watch on my proceed- 
 ings, I shall set a watch on yours ; if you -rely upon the police
 
 24 VATJTRIN 
 
 of the realm, I have resources of my own, and the assistance 
 of God. If you deal a blow at Fernand, beware of what may 
 happen to Albert. A blow for a blow ! That is final. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 You are in your own house, madame. I forgot myself. 
 Pray pardon me. I was wrong. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 You are more a gentleman than your son; when he flies 
 into a rage he begs no one's pardon, not he ! 
 
 THE DUKE (aside) 
 
 Has her resignation up to this time been nothing but a 
 pretence? Has she been waiting for the present opportunity 
 to speak? Women who are guided by the advice of bigots 
 travel underground, like volcanic fires, and only reveal them- 
 selves when they break out. She knows my secret, I have 
 lost sight of her son, and my defeat is imminent. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY AND THE DUCHESS 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 Louise, you love the child you have never seen, and hate 
 him who is before your eyes. Ah! you must tell the reason 
 of your hatred for Albert, if you would retain my esteem and 
 my affection. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Not a word on that subject. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 The calm way in which your husband remarks your aver- 
 sion for your son is astonishing.
 
 VAUTKIN 25 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 He is accustomed to it. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDRET 
 
 Yet you could never show yourself a bad mother, could 
 you? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 A bad mother? No. (She reflects.) I cannot make up 
 my mind to forfeit your affection. (She draws her aunt to 
 her side.) Albert is not my son. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 Can a stranger have usurped the place, the name, the title, 
 the property of the real child? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 No, not a stranger, but his son. After the fatal night on 
 which Fernand was carried off from me, an eternal separation 
 between the duke and myself took place. The wife in me was 
 as cruelly outraged as the mother. But still I purchased 
 from him peace of mind." 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 I do not understand your meaning. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 I allowed the duke to present this Albert, child of a Span- 
 ish courtesan, as if he were mine. The duke desired an heir. 
 Amid the confusion wrought in Spain by the French Revolu- 
 tion the trick escaped notice. Are you surprised that my 
 blood boils at the sight of this strange woman's child occupy- 
 ing the place of the lawful heir ? 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 Now I can deeply sympathize with your hopes; ah! how
 
 26 VAUTRIN 
 
 glad I should be if you were right in your suspicions and this 
 young man were indeed your son. But what is the matter 
 with you ? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 He is, I fear, ruined; for I have brought him under the 
 notice of his father, who will But stay, something must 
 be done ! I must find out where he lives, and warn him not 
 to come here to-morrow morning. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 Leave the house at this hour ! Louise, you are mad ! 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Come, we must save him at any price. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 What do you propose doing? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Neither of us can leave the house to-morrow without being 
 noticed. We must forestall the duke by bribing my chamber- 
 maid. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 Louise, would you resort to such means as this ? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 If Raoul is the son disclaimed by his father, the child over 
 whom I have mourned for the last twenty years, I must show 
 them what a wife, a mother, who has been wrongly accused, 
 can do ! 
 
 Curtain to the First Act.
 
 VAUTRIN 27 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 (Scene the same as in preceding act.) 
 
 THE Due DE MONTSOREL AND JOSEPH. 
 
 JOSEPH (who is just finishing tidying the room, aside) 
 
 So late to bed, so early to rise, and already in madame's 
 apartment. Something is up. Can that devil of a Jacques 
 have been right ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Joseph, I am not at home excepting to one person. If he 
 comes, you will show him up. I refer to Monsieur de Saint- 
 Charles. Find out whether your mistress will see me. (Exit 
 Joseph.) The awakening of a maternal instinct, which I 
 thought had been utterly extinguished in her heart, amazes ine 
 beyond measure. The secret struggle in which she is engaged 
 must at once be put a stop to. So long as Louise was resigned 
 our life was not intolerable ; but disputes like this would ren- 
 der it extremely disagreeable. I was able to control my wife so 
 long as we were abroad, but in this country my onl-y power 
 over her lies in skillful handling, and a display of authority. 
 I shall tell everything to the king. I shall submit myself to 
 his dictation, and Madame de Montsorel must be compelled 
 to submit. I must however bide my time. Tne detective, 
 whom I am to employ, if he is clever, will sooa find out the 
 cause of this revolt ; I shall see whether the duchess is merely 
 deceived by a resemblance, or whether she has seen her son. 
 For myself I must confess to having lost sight of him since 
 my agents reported his disappearance twelve years ago. fr wts
 
 28 VAUTRIN 
 
 very much excited last night. I must be more discreet. If I 
 keep quiet she will be put off her guard and reveal her secrets. 
 
 JOSEPH (re-entering the room) 
 Her grace the duchess has not yet rung for her maid. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Very well. 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 THE PRECEDING AND FELICITE. 
 
 (To explain his presence in his wife's room, the dulce looks 
 
 over articles lying on the table, and discovers 
 
 a letter in a book.) 
 
 THE DUKE (reading) 
 
 "To Mile. Inez de Christoval." (Aside) Why should 
 my wife have concealed a letter of such slight importance? 
 She no doubt wrote it after our quarrel. Is it concerning 
 Raoul ? This letter must not go to the Christoval house. 
 
 FELICITE (looking for the letter in the book) 
 Now, where is that letter of madame's ? Can she have for- 
 gotten it? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Aren't you looking for a letter ? 
 
 FELICITE 
 Yes, your grace. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Isn't this it? 
 
 FELICIA 
 The very one, your grace.
 
 VAUTRIN 29 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 It is astonishing that you should leave the very hour your 
 mistress must need your services ; she is getting up. 
 
 FELICITE 
 
 Her grace the duchess has Therese ; and besides I am going 
 out by her orders. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Very good. I did not wish to interfere with you. 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 
 THE PRECEDING, AND BLONDET, ALIAS THE CHEVALIER DE 
 SAINT-CHARLES. 
 
 (Joseph and Saint-Charles walk together from tke centre 
 door, and eye each other attentively.) 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 The look of that man is very distasteful to me. (To the 
 duke) The Chevalier de Saint-Charles. (The duke signs to 
 Saint-Charles to approach, and examines his appearance.) 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (giving him a letter, aside) 
 Does he know my antecedents, or will he simply recognize 
 me as Saint-Charles? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 My dear sir 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 I am to be merely Saint-Charles. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 You are recommended to me as a man whose ability, if it 
 had fair scope, would be called genius.
 
 30 VAUTRIN 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 If his grace the duke will give me an opportunity, I will 
 prove myself worthy of that nattering opinion. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 You shall have one at once. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 What are your commands ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 You see that maid. She is going to leave the house. I do 
 not wish to hinder her doing so; yet she must not cross the 
 threshold, until she receives a fresh order. (Calls her) 
 Felicite ! 
 
 FELICITE 
 
 What is it, your grace? (The dulce gives her the letter. 
 Exit Felicite.) 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (to Joseph) 
 
 I recognize you, I know all about you : See that this maid 
 remains in the house with the letter, and I will not recognize 
 you, and will know nothing of you, and will let you stay here 
 BO long as you behave yourself. 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 This fellow on one side, and Jacques Collin on the other ! 
 Well, I must try to serve them both honestly. (Exit Joseph, 
 in pursuit of Felicite.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE DUKE AND SAINT-CHARLES. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Your grace's commands are obeyed. Do you wish to know 
 the contents of the letter ?
 
 VAUTRIN 31 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Why, my dear sir, the power you seem to exercise is some- 
 thing terrible and wonderful. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 You gave me absolute authority in the matter, and I used it 
 well. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 And what if you had abused it? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 That would have been impossible, for such a course would 
 ruin me. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 How is it that men endowed with such faculties are found 
 employing them in so lowly a sphere? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Everything is against our rising above it; we protect our 
 protectors, we learn too many honorable secrets, and are kept 
 in ignorance of too many shameful ones to be liked by people, 
 and render such important services to others that they can 
 only shake off the obligation by speaking ill of us. People 
 think that things are only words with us; refinement is thus 
 mere silliness, honor a sham, and acts of treachery mere 
 diplomacy. We are the confidants of many who yet leave us 
 much to guess at. Our programme consists in thinking and 
 acting, finding out the past from the present, ordering and 
 arranging the future in the pettiest details, as I am about to 
 do and, in short, in doing a hundred things that might 
 strike dismay to a man of no mean ability. When once our 
 end is gained, words become things once more, and people 
 begin to suspect that possibly we are infamous scoundrels.
 
 32 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 There may be some justice in all this, but I do not suppose 
 you expect to change the opinion of the world, or even mine ? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 I should be a great fool if I did. I don't care about chang- 
 ing another man's opinion; what I do want to change is my 
 own position. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 According to you that would be very easy, wouldn't it? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Why not, your grace ? Let some one set me to play the spy 
 over cabinets, instead of raking up the secrets of private fami- 
 lies. Instead of dogging the footsteps of shady characters, 
 let them put me in charge of the craftiest diplomats. Instead 
 of pandering to the vilest passions, let me serve the govern- 
 ment. I should be delighted to play a modest part in a great 
 movement. And what a devoted servant your grace would 
 have in me ! 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 I am really sorry to employ such great talents as yours in 
 so petty an affair, my friend, but it will give me an opportunity 
 of testing, and then we'll see. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (aside) 
 Ah We shall see ? That means, all has already been seen. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 I wish to see my son married 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 To Mile. Inez de Christoval, Princesse d'Arjos a good 
 match! Her father made the mistake of entering Joseph 
 Bonaparte's service, and was banished by King Ferdinand. 
 He probably took part in the Mexican revolution.
 
 VAUTRIN 33 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Madame de Christoval and her daughter have made the 
 acquaintance of a certain adventurer, named 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Eaoul de Frescas. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Is there nothing I can tell you that you do not know? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 If your grace desires it, I will know nothing. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 On the contrary, I should like you to speak out, so that I 
 may know what secrets you will permit us to keep. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Let us make one stipulation; whenever my frankness dis- 
 pleases your grace, call me chevalier, and I will sink once more 
 into my humble role of paid detective. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Go on, my friend. (Aside) These people are very amusing. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 M. de Frescas will not be an adventurer so long as he lives 
 in the style of a man who has an income of a hundred thou- 
 sand francs. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Whoever he is you must pierce through the mystery which 
 surrounds him. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Your grace requires a very difficult thing. We are obliged 
 to use circumspection in dealing with foreigners. They are 
 our masters; they have turned Paris upside down.
 
 34 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE DUKE 
 That's the trouble! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Does your grace belong to the opposition? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 I should like to have brought back the king without his fol- 
 lowing that is my position. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 The departure of the king resulted from the disorganiza- 
 tion of the magnificent Asiatic police created by Bonaparte. 
 An effort is being made nowadays to form a police of respect- 
 able people, a procedure which disbands the old police. 
 Henmaed in by the military police of the invasion, we dare not 
 arrest any one, for fear we might lay hands on some prince on 
 his way to keep an assignation, or some margrave who had 
 dined too well. But for your grace a man will attempt the 
 impossible. Has this young man any vices ? Does he play ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Yes, In a social way. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Does he cheat? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Chevalier ! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 This young man must be very rich. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Inquire for yourself. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 I ask pardon of your grace; but people without passions
 
 VAUTRTN 35 
 
 flimot know much. Would you have the goodness to tell me 
 whether this young man is sincerely attached to Mile, de Chris- 
 toval ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 What! that princess! that heiress! You alarm me, my 
 friend. 
 
 SAINT-CHAKLES 
 
 Has not your grace told me that he is a young man ? Now, 
 pretended love is more perfect than genuine love ; that is the 
 reason why so many women are deceived ! Undoubtedly he 
 has thrown over many mistresses, and heart-free, tongue-free, 
 you know 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Take care ! Your mission is peculiar, and you had best not 
 meddle with the women ; an indiscretion on your part may for- 
 feit my good will, for all that relates to M. Frescas must go no 
 further than you and myself. I demand absolute secrecy, both 
 from those you employ, and those who employ you. In fact, 
 you will be a ruined man, if Madame de Montsorel has any 
 suspicion of your designs. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Is Madame de Montsorel then interested in this young man ? 
 I must keep an eye on her, for this girl is her chambermaid. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Chevalier de Saint-Charles, to order you to do this would 
 be unworthy of me, and to ask for such an order is quite un- 
 worthy of you. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Your grace and I perfectly understand each other. But 
 what is to be the main object of my investigations ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 You must find out whether Eaoul de Frescas is the real
 
 36 VAUTRIN 
 
 name of this young man ; find out where he was born, ransack 
 his whole life, and consider all you learn about him a secret 
 of state. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 You must wait until to-morrow for this information, my 
 lord. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 That is a short time. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 But it involves a good deal of money. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Do not suppose that I wish to hear of evil things ; it is the 
 method of you people to pander to depraved passions. Instead 
 of showing them up, you prefer to invent rather than to reveal 
 occurrences. I should be delighted to learn that this young 
 man has a family (The marquis enters, sees his father 
 engaged, and turns to go out; the duke asks him to remain.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 THE PRECEDING AND THE MARQUIS DE MONTSOREL. 
 
 THE DUKE (continuing) 
 
 If M. de Frescas is a gentleman, and the Princesse d'Arjoa 
 decidedly prefers him to my son, the marquis must withdraw 
 his suit. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 But, father, I am in love with Inez. 
 
 THE DUKE (to Saint-Charles) 
 You may go, sir.
 
 VAUTRIN 37 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (aside) 
 
 He takes no interest in the proposed marriage of his son. 
 He is incapable of feeling jealous of his wife. There is some- 
 thing very serious in these circumstances ; I am either a ruined 
 man or my fortune is made. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE DUKE AND THE MARQUIS. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 To marry a woman who does not love you is a mistake which 
 I shall never allow you to commit, Albert. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 But there is nothing that indicates that Inez will reject me ; 
 and, in any case, once she is my wife, it will be my object to 
 win her love, and I believe, without vanity, that I shall suc- 
 ceed. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Allow me to tell you, my son, that your barrack-room ideas 
 are quite out of place here. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 On any other subject your words would be law to me ; but 
 every era has a different art of love I beg of you to hasten 
 my marriage. Inez has all the pliability of .an only daughter, 
 and the readiness with which she accepts the advances of a 
 mere adventurer ought to rouse your anxiety. Eeally, the 
 coldness with which you receive me this morning amazes me. 
 Putting aside my love for Inez, could I do better? I shall 
 be, like you, a Spanish grandee, and, more than that, a prince. 
 Would that annoy you, father ?
 
 38 VAUTR1N 
 
 THE DUKE (aside) 
 
 The blood of his mother shows itself all the time! Oh! 
 Louise has known well my tender spot! (Aloud) Keeollect, 
 sir, that there is no rank higher than the glorious title, Due 
 de Montsorel. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 How have I offended you ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Enough ! You forget that I arranged this marriage after 
 my residence in Spain. You are moreover aware that Inez 
 cannot be married without her father's consent. Mexico has 
 recently declared its independence, and the occurrence of this 
 revolution explains the delay of his answer. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 But, my dear father, your plans are in danger of being 
 defeated. You surely did not see what happened yesterday 
 at the Spanish ambassador's? My mother took particular 
 notice there of this Eaoul de Frescas, and Inez was immensely 
 pleased with him. Do you know that I have long felt, and 
 now at last admit to myself, that my mother hates me ? And 
 that I myself feel, what I would only say to you father, whom 
 I love, that I have little love for her ? 
 
 THE DUKE (aside) 
 
 I am reaping all that I have sown; hate as well as love is 
 instinctively divined. (To the marquis) My son, you should 
 not judge, for yo.u can never understand your mother. She 
 has seen my blind affection for you, and she wishes to correct 
 it by severity. Do not let me hear any more such remarks 
 from you, and let us drop the subject ! You are on duty at 
 the palace to-day ; repair thither at once : I will obtain leave 
 for you this evening, when you can go to the ball and rejoiw 
 the Princesse d'Arjos.
 
 VAUTRIN 39 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 Before leaving, I should like to see my mother, and beg for 
 her kind offices in my favor, with Inez, who calls upon her this 
 morning. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Ask whether she is to be seen, for I am waiting for her 
 myself. (Exit the marquis.) Everything overwhelms me at 
 the same time; yesterday the ambassador inquired of me the 
 place of my son's death; last night, my son's mother thought 
 she had found him again; this morning the son of Juana 
 Mendes harrows my feelings ! The princess recognizes him 
 instinctively. No law can be broken without a nemesis; 
 nature is as pitiless as the world of men. Shall I be strong 
 enough, even with the backing of the king, to overcome this 
 complication of circumstances ? 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 THE DUKE, THE DUCHESS AND THE MARQUIS. 
 
 i 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Excuses ? Nonsense ! Albert, I am only too happy to see 
 you here; it is a pleasant surprise; you are come to kiss your 
 mother before going to the palace that is all. Ah ! if ever 
 a mother found it in her heart to doubt her son, this eager 
 affection, which I have not been accustomed to, would dispel 
 all such fear, and I thank you for it, Albert. At last we 
 understand each other. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 I am glad to hear you say that, mother ; if I have seemed 
 lacking in my duty to you, it is not that I forget, but that I 
 feared to annoy you.
 
 40 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE DUCHESS (seeing the duke) 
 
 What ! your grace here also ! you really seem to share your 
 son's cordiality, my rising this morning is actually a fete. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 And you will find it so every day. 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to the duke) 
 
 Ah! I understand (To the marquis) Good-bye! the 
 Wing is strict about the punctuality of his red-coated guards, 
 and I should be sorry to cause you to be reprimanded. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Why do you send him off ? Inez will soon be here. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 I do not think so, I have just written to her. 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND JOSEPH. 
 
 JOSEPH (announcing a visitor) 
 
 Their graces the Duchesse de Christoval and the Princesse 
 d'Arjos. 
 
 THE DUCHESS (aside) 
 How excessively awkward ! 
 
 THE DUKE (to his son) 
 Do not go ; leave all to me. They are trifling with us.
 
 VAUTRIN 41 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL AND 
 THE PRINCESSE D'ARJOS. 
 
 THE DDCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 Ah ! madame, it is extremely kind of you thus to anticipate 
 my visit to you. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 I come in this way that there may be no formality between 
 us. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (to Inez) 
 Have you read my letter ? 
 
 INEZ 
 One of your maids has just handed it to me. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (aside) 
 It is evident that Eaoul is also coming. 
 
 THE DUKE (to the Duchesse de Christoval, whom he leads to 
 
 a seat) 
 
 I hope we see in this informal visit the beginning of a fam- 
 ily intimacy? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 Pray do not exaggerate the importance of a civility, \rhich 
 I look upon as a pleasure. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 You are seriously afraid, madame, I perceive, of encourag- 
 ing my hopes ? Did I not suffer sufficiently yesterday ? The 
 princess did not notice me, even by a look.
 
 42 VAUTRIN 
 
 INEZ 
 
 I didn't expect the pleasure of meeting you again so soon, 
 sir. I thought you were on duty ; I am glad to have an oppor- 
 tunity of explaining that I never saw you till the moment I 
 left the ball-room, and this lady (pointing to the Duchesse de 
 Montsorel) must be the excuse of my inattention. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 You have two excuses, mademoiselle, and I thank you for 
 mentioning only one my mother. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 His reproaches spring only from his nxodesty. mademoiselle. 
 Albert is under the impression that M. de Frescas can give 
 him ground for anxiety ! At his age passion is a fairy that 
 makes trifles appear vast. But neither yourself nor your 
 mother, mademoiselle, can attach any serious importance to 
 the claims of a young man, whose title is problematical and 
 who is so studiously silent about his family. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (to the Duchesse de 
 
 Christoval) 
 And are you also ignorant of the place where he was born ? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 I am not intimate enough with him to ask for such informa- 
 tion. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 There are three of us here who would be well pleased to 
 have it. You alone, ladies, would be discreet, for discretion is 
 a virtue the possession of which profits only those who require 
 it in others. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 As for me, I do not believe that curiosity is always blame- 
 less.
 
 VAUTRIN 43 
 
 THE MAEQUIS 
 
 Is mine then ill-timed ? And may I not inquire of madame 
 whether the Frescas of Aragon are extinct or not ? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL (to the duke) 
 
 Both of us have known at Madrid the old commander, who 
 was last of his line. ' 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 He died, of course, without issue. 
 
 INEZ 
 But there exists a branch of the family at Naples. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 Surely you are aware, mademoiselle, that your cousins, the 
 house of Medina-Cceli, have succeeded to it? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 You are right ; there are no De Frescas in existence. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 Well ! well ! If this young man has neither title nor fam- 
 ily, he can be no dangerous rival to Albert. I do not know 
 why you should be interested in him. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 But there are a great many ladies interested in him. 
 
 INEZ 
 I begin to see your meaning 
 
 THE MARQUI& 
 Indeed !
 
 44 VAUTRIN 
 
 INEZ 
 
 Yes, this young man is not, perhaps, all he wishes to appear ; 
 but he is intelligent, well educated, his sentiments are noble, 
 he shows us the most chivalric respect, he speaks ill of no 
 one; evidently, he is acting the gentleman, and exaggerates 
 his role. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 I believe he also exaggerates the amount of his fortune; 
 but it is difficult at Paris to maintain that pretension for any 
 length of time. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (to the DucJiesse de Ohris- 
 
 toval) 
 
 I am told that you mean to give a series of brilliant enter- 
 tainments ? 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 Does M. de Frescas speak Spanish? 
 
 INEZ 
 Just as well as we do. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Say no more, Albert ; did you not hear that M. de Frescas 
 is a highly accomplished young man? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 He is really a very agreeable man, but if your doubts were 
 well founded, I confess, my dear duke, I should be very sorry 
 to receive any further visits from him. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (to the Duchesse de Chris- 
 
 toval) 
 
 You look as fresh to-day as you did yesterday; I really 
 admire the way you stand the dissipations of society.
 
 VAUTRIN 45 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHEISTOVAL (aside to Inez) 
 
 My child, do not mention M. de Frescas again. The subject 
 annoys Madame de Montsorel. 
 
 INEZ (also aside) 
 It did not annoy her yesterday. 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, JOSEPH AND KAOUL DE FRESGAS. 
 
 JOSEPH (to the Duchesse de Montsorel) 
 As Mile, de Vaudrey is not in, and M. de Frescas is here, 
 will your grace see him? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 Is Eaoul here? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 So he has already found her out! 
 
 THE MARQUIS (to Ms father) 
 My mother is deceiving us. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (to Joseph) 
 I am not at home. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 If you have asked M. de Frescas to come why do you hegin 
 by treating so great a personage with discourtesy? (To 
 Joseph, despite a gesture of protest from the Duchesse de 
 Montsorel) Show him in! (To the marquis) Try to be 
 calm and sensible. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (aside) 
 In trying to help, I have hurt him, I fear.
 
 46 VAUTRIN 
 
 JOSEPH 
 M. Kaoul de Frescas. 
 
 RAOUL (entering) 
 
 My eagerness to obey your commands will prove to you, 
 Madame la Duchesse, how proud I am of your notice, and how 
 anxious to deserve it. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 I thank you, sir, for your promptitude. (Aside) But it 
 may prove fatal to you. 
 
 RAOUL (bowing to the Duchesse de Christoval and her daugh- 
 ter, aside) 
 
 How is this? Inez here? (Raoul exchanges bows with the 
 duke; but the marquis takes up a newspaper from the table, 
 and pretends not to see Raoul.) 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 I must confess, M. de Frescas, I did not expect to meet you 
 in the apartment of Madame de Montsorel ; hut I am pleased 
 at the interest she takes in you, for it has procured me the 
 pleasure of meeting a young man whose entrance into Parisian 
 society has been attended with such success and brilliancy. 
 You are one of the rivals whom one is proud to conquer, but 
 to whom one submits without displeasure. 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 This exaggerated eulogy, with which I cannot agree, would 
 be ironical unless it had been pronounced by you; but I am 
 compelled to acknowledge the courtesy with which you desire 
 to set me at my ease (looking at the marquis, who turns his 
 back on him), in a house where I might well think myself 
 unwelcome. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 On the contrary, you have come just at the right moment;
 
 VAUTRIN 47 
 
 we "were just speaking of your family and of the aged Com- 
 mander de Frescas whom madame and myself were once well 
 acquainted with. 
 
 KAOUL 
 
 I am highly honored by the interest you take in me; but 
 such an honor is generally enjoyed at the cost of some slight 
 gossip. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 People can only gossip about those whom they know well. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 And we would like to have the right of gossiping about you. 
 
 RAOUL 
 It is my interest to keep myself in your good graces. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 I know one way of doing so. 
 
 RAOUL 
 What is that? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 Remain the same mysterious personage you are at present 
 
 THE MARQUIS (rejoining them, newspaper in hand) 
 Here is a strange thing, ladies; one of those foreigners 
 who claim to be noblemen has been caught cheating at play 
 at the field marshal's house. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 Is that the great piece of news in which you have been 
 absorbed ? 
 
 RAOUL 
 In these times, everyone seems to be a foreigner.
 
 48 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 It was not altogether this piece of news that set me think- 
 ing, but I was struck by the incredible readiness with which 
 people receive at their houses those about whose antecedents 
 they know positively nothing. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (aside) 
 Is he to be insulted in my house? 
 
 KAOUL 
 
 If people distrust those whom they do not know, aren't 
 they sometimes likely, at very short notice, to know rather 
 too much about them? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Albert, how can this news of yours interest us? Do we 
 ever receive any one without first learning what his family is ? 
 
 KAOUL 
 His grace the duke knows my family. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 It is sufficient for me that you are found at Madame de 
 Montsorel's house. We know what we owe to you too well 
 to forget what you owe to us. The name De Frescas com- 
 mands respect, and you represent it worthily. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL (to Raoul) 
 
 Will you immediately announce who you are, if not for your 
 own sake, at least out of consideration for your friends ? 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 I shall be extremely distressed if my presence here should 
 occasion the slightest discussion; but as certain hints are as 
 galling as the most direct charges, I suggest that we end this
 
 VAUTRIN 49 
 
 conversation, which is as unworthy of you, as it is of me. 
 Her grace the duchess did not, I am sure, invite me here 
 to be cross-examined. I recognize in no one the right to ask 
 a reason for the silence which I have decided to maintain. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 And you leave us the right to interpret it? 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 If I claim liberty of action, it is not for the purpose of 
 refusing the same to you. 
 
 THE DUKE (to Raoul) 
 
 You are a noble young man, you show the natural distinc- 
 tion which marks the gentleman; do not be offended at the 
 curiosity of the world ; it is our only safeguard. Your sword 
 cannot impose silence upon all idle talkers, and the world, 
 while it treats becoming modesty with generosity, has no pity 
 for ungrounded pretensions 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 Sir! 
 
 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (whispering anxiously to 
 
 Raoul) 
 
 Not a word about your childhood; leave Paris, and let me 
 alone know where you are hidden ! Your whole future 
 
 depends on this. 
 
 i 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 I really wish to be your friend, in spite of the fact that you 
 are the rival of my son. Give your confidence to a man who 
 has that of his king. How can you be descended from the 
 house of De Frescas, which is extinct?
 
 50 VAUTRIN 
 
 RAOUL (to the duke) 
 
 Your grace is too powerful to fail of proteges, and I am not 
 so weak as to need a protector. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 Sir, I am sure you will understand a mother's feeling that 
 it would be unwise for her to receive many visits from you at 
 the Christoval house. 
 
 INEZ (to Raoul) 
 
 A word would save us, and you keep silence; I perceive 
 that there is something dearer to you than I am. 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 Inez, I could bear anything excepting these reproaches. 
 (Aside) Vautrin! why did you impose absolute silence 
 upon me ? (He bows farewell to the ladies. To the Duchesse 
 de Montsorel) I leave my happiness in your charge. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 Do what I order; I will answer for the rest. 
 
 RAOUL (to the marquis) 
 I am at your service, sir. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 Good-bye, M. Raoul. 
 
 RAOUL 
 De Frescas, if you please. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 De Frescas, then ! (Exit Raoul.)
 
 VAUTRIN il 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, EXCEPT KAOUL. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (to the Duchesse de 
 
 Christoval) 
 You were very severe. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 You may not be aware, madame, that for the last three 
 months this young man has danced attendance on my daugh- 
 ter wherever she went, and that his admission into society was 
 brought about a little incautiously. 
 
 THE DUKE (to the Duchesse de Christoval) 
 He might easily be taken for a prince in disguise. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 Is he not rather a nobody disguised as a prince? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 Your father will tell you that, such disguises are difficult 
 to assume. 
 
 INEZ (to the marquis) 
 
 A nobody sir? We women can be attracted by one who is 
 above us, never by him who is our inferior. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 What are you talking about, Inez? 
 
 INEZ 
 
 It is of no consequence, mother ! Either this young man is 
 crazed or these people are ungenerous. 
 
 MADAME DE CHRISTOVAL (to the Duchesse de Montsorel) 
 I can plainly see, madame, that any explanation is impos-
 
 52 VAUTRIN 
 
 sible, especially in the presence of the duke; but my honor is 
 at stake, and I shall expect you to explain. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOEEL 
 
 To-morrow, then. (Exit the duke with the Duchesse de 
 Christoval and her daughter, followed by the Duchesse de 
 Montsorel.) 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 THE MARQUIS AND THE DUKE. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 The appearance of this adventurer, father, seems to throw 
 both you and my mother into a state of the most violent 
 excitement ; it would almost seem as if not only was the mar- 
 riage of your son jeopardized, but your very existence men- 
 aced. The duchess and her daughter went off in high dudg- 
 eon 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 What could have brought them here in the very midst of 
 our discussion? 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 And you also are interested in this fellow Kaoul ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Are not you? Your fortune, your name, your future and 
 your marriage, all that is more to you than life, is now at 
 stake ! 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 If all these things are dependent upon this young man, I 
 will immediately demand satisfaction from him.
 
 VAUTRIN 53 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 What ! a duel ? If you had the wretched luck to kill him, 
 the success of your suit would be hopeless. 
 
 THE MAEQUIS 
 What then is to be done? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Do like the politicians; wait! 
 
 THE MAEQUIS 
 
 If you are in danger, father, do you think I can remain 
 quiet? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Leave this burden to me; it would crush you. 
 
 THE MAEQUIS 
 Ah ! but you will speak, father, you will tell me 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Nothing ! for we should both of us have too much to blush 
 for. 
 
 'SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PEESONS AND VAUTBIN. 
 
 (Vautrin is dressed all in black; at the beginning of the scene 
 he puts on an air of compunction and humility.) 
 
 VAUTEIN- 
 
 Excuse me, your grace, for having forced my way in, but 
 (whispering so as not to be overheard) we have both of us been
 
 64 VAUTRIN 
 
 victimized by an abuse of confidence allow me to say a word 
 or two to you alone. 
 
 THE DUKE (with a sign to his son to leave them) 
 Say on, sir. 
 
 VAUTEIN 
 
 In these days success is in the power of those alone who 
 exert themselves to obtain office, and this form of ambition 
 pervades all classes. Every man in France desires to be a 
 colonel, and it is difficult to see where the privates are to come 
 from. As a matter of fact society is threatened by disintegra- 
 tion, which will simply result from this universal desire for 
 high positions, accompanied with a general disgust for the 
 low places. Such is the fruit of revolutionary equality. 
 Eeligion is the sole remedy for this corruption. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 What are you driving at ? 
 
 VAUTEIN 
 
 I beg pardon, but it is impossible to refrain from explain- 
 ing to a statesman, with whom I am going to work, the cause 
 of a mistake which annoys me. Has your grace confided any 
 secrets to one of my people who came to you this morning, with 
 the foolish idea of supplanting me, and in the hope of making 
 himself known to you as one who could serve your interests? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 What do you mean? that you are the Chevalier de Saint- 
 Charles ? 
 
 VAUTEIN 
 
 Let me tell your grace, that we are just what we desire to 
 be. Neither he nor I is simple enough to be his real self it 
 would cost us too much.
 
 VAUTKIN 66 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Kemember, that you must furnish proofs. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 If your grace has confided any important secret to him, I 
 *hall have immediately to put him under surveillance. 
 
 THE DUKE (aside) 
 This man seems more honest and reliable than the other. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 We put the secret police on such cases. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 You ought not to have come here, sir, unless you were able 
 to justify your assertions. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I have done my duty. I hope that the ambition of this 
 man, who is capable of selling himself to the highest bidder, 
 may be of service to you. 
 
 THE DUKE (aside) 
 
 How can he have learned so promptly the secret of my 
 morning interview? 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 He hesitates; Joseph is right, some important secret is at 
 stake. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Sir! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Your grace ! 
 
 THE DUKE 
 It is the interest of both of us to defeat this man.
 
 56 VAUTRIN 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 That would be dangerous, if he has your secret; for he is 
 tricky. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Yes, the fellow has wit. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Did you give him a commission ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Nothing of importance; I wish to find out all about a 
 certain M. de Frescas. 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 Merely that ! (Aloud) I can tell your grace all about him. 
 Raoul de Frescas is a young nobleman whose family is mixed 
 up in an affair of high treason, and he does not like to assume 
 his father's name. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 He has a father, then? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 He has a father. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 And where does he come from ? What is his fortune ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 We are changing our roles, and your grace must excuse my 
 not answering until you tell me what special interest your 
 grace has in M. de Frescas. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 You are forgetting yourself, sir!
 
 VAUTRIN 57 
 
 VAUTRIN (with assumed humility) 
 
 Yes, I am forgetting the fact that there is an enormous 
 difference between spies and those who set them. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Joseph ! 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 This duke has set his spies upon us ; I must hurry. ( Vautrin 
 disappears through the side door, by which he entered in the 
 first act.') 
 
 THE DUKE (turning back) 
 
 You shall not leave the house. Heavens! where is he? 
 (He rings and Joseph answers.) Let all the doors of the 
 house be locked, a man has got into the house. Quick! let 
 all look for him, and let him be apprehended. (He goes to 
 the room of the duchess.) 
 
 JOSEPH (looking through the postern) 
 He is far away by this time. 
 
 Curtain to the Second Act.
 
 58 VAUTRIN 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 (A room in the house of Raoul de Frescos.) 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (alone) 
 
 Would my late excellent father, who advised me to frequent 
 none but the best society, have been satisfied with me yester- 
 day? I spent all night with ministers' valets, attendants of 
 the embassy, princes', dukes', peers' coachmen none but these, 
 all reliable men, in good luck ; they steal only from their mas- 
 ters. My master danced with a fine chit of a girl whose hair 
 was powdered with a million's worth of diamonds, and he had 
 no eyes for anything but the bouquet she carried in her hand ; 
 simple young man, we sympathize with you. Old Jacques 
 Collin Botheration! there I trip again, I cannot reconcile 
 myself to this common name I mean M. Vautrin, will 
 arrange all that. In a little time diamonds and dowry will 
 take an airing, and they have need of it ; to think of them as 
 always in the same strong boxes! "Pis against the laws of 
 circulation. What a joker he is ! He sets you up as a young 
 man of means. He is so kind, he talks so finely, the heiress 
 comes in, the trick is done, and we all cry shares ! The money 
 will have been well earned. You see we have been here six 
 months. Haven't we put on the look of idiots ! Everybody in 
 the neighborhood takes us for good simple folk. And who 
 would refuse to do anything for Vautrin ? He said to us : "Be 
 virtuous," and virtuous we became. I fear him as I fear the 
 police, and yet I love him even more than money. 
 
 VAUTRIN (calling from the outside) 
 Laf ouraille !
 
 VAUTRIN 59 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 There he is! I haven't seen his face this morning that 
 means a storm; I prefer it should fall upon some one else, 
 and will get out. (He starts to the door but encounters 
 Vautrin.) 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 
 VAUTRIN AND LAFOURAILLE. 
 
 (Vautrin is dressed in long white duck trousers and a waist- 
 coat of the same material, slippers of red morocco, 
 the morning dress of a business man.) 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Lafouraille. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Sir? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Where are you going? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 To get your letters. 
 
 'VAUTRIN 
 
 I have them. Have you anything else to do? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Yes, your chamber 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 In so many words you want to avoid me. I have always 
 found that restless legs never go with a quiet conscience. Stay 
 where you are. I want to talk with you.
 
 60 VAUTRIN 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 I am at your service. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I hope you are. Come here. You told us, under the fair 
 sky of Provence, a certain story which was little to your 
 credit. A steward beat you at play ; do you recollect ? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 A steward? yes, that fellow Charles Blondet, the only man 
 who ever robbed me ! Can a fellow forget that ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Had you not on one occasion sold your master to him? 
 That's common enough. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 On one occasion ? I sold him three times over. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 That was better. And what business was the steward then 
 engaged in? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 I was going to tell you. I was footman at eighteen with 
 the De Langeacs 
 
 VAUTRI2T 
 
 I thought it was in the Due de Montsorel's house. 
 
 LAPOCRAILLE 
 
 No; the duke, fortunately, has only twice set eyes on me>, 
 and has, I hope, forgotten me. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Did you rob him* 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Well, to some small extent.
 
 VAUTEIN 61 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Why do you want him to forget you? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Because, after seeing him again, yesterday, at the embassy, 
 1 should then feel safe. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 And it is the same man? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 We are both older by twenty-five years, and that is the only 
 difference. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Tell me all about him. I knew I had heard you mention 
 his name. Go on. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 The Vicomte de Langeac, one of my masters, and this Due 
 de Montsorel were like peas in the same pod. When I was 
 forced to choose between the nobles and the people, I did not 
 hesitate ; from a mere footman, I became a citizen, and citizen 
 Philip Boulard was an earnest worker. I had enthusiasm, 
 and acquired influence in the faubourg. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 And so you have been a politician, have you ? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Not for long. I did a pretty thing, and that ruined me. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Aha! my boy, pretty things are like pretty women better 
 fight shy of them; they often bring trouble. What was this 
 pretty thing?
 
 82 VAUTRIN 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 I'll tell you. In the scrimmage of the Tenth of August, the 
 duke confided to my care the Vicomte de Langeac ; I disguised 
 and hid him, I gave him food at the risk of my popularity and 
 my life. The duke had greatly encouraged me by such trifles 
 as a thousand gold pieces, and that Blondet had the infamy to 
 offer me a bigger pile to give up our young master. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Did you give him up? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Immediately. He was jugged in the Abbaye, and I became 
 the happy possessor of sixty good thousands of francs in gold, 
 in real gold. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 And what has this to do with the Due de Montsorel ? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Wait a little. When the days of September came, my con- 
 duct seemed to me slightly reprehensible ; and to quiet my con- 
 science, I determined to propose to the duke, who was leaving 
 the country, that I should rescue his friend. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Did your remorse prove a good investment ? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 That it did ; for it was rare in those days ! The duke prom- 
 ised me. twenty thousand francs if I delivered the viscount 
 from the hands of my comrades, and I succeeded ia doing so- 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Twenty thousand francs for a viscount I
 
 VAUTRIN 63 
 
 LAFOTJRAILLE 
 
 And he was all the more worth it, because he was the last 
 I found that out too late. The steward had disposed of all the 
 other Langeacs, even to a poor old grandmother whom he had 
 sent to the Carmelites. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 That was good ! 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 But then something else happened. That Blondet heard 
 of my devotion, he traced me out and found me in the neigh- 
 borhood of Mortagne, where my master was at the house of 
 one of my uncles waiting for a chance to reach the sea. The 
 noodle offered me as much money as he had already given me. 
 I saw before me an honest life. for the rest of my days ; and I 
 was weak. My friend Blondet caused the viscount to be shot 
 as a spy, and my uncle and myself were imprisoned as his 
 accomplices. We were not released until I had disgorged all 
 my gold. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 That is the way a knowledge of the human heart is acquired. 
 You were dealing with a stronger man than yourself. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 That remains to be seen ; for I am still alive. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Enough of that ! There is nothing of use to me in your tale. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Can I go now? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Come, come. You seem to experience a keen longing to be 
 where I am not. But you went into society yesterday ; did you 
 do anything?
 
 64 VAUTRIN 
 
 LAFOURAILLE. 
 
 The servants said such funny things about their masters, 
 that I could not leave the antechamber. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Yet I saw you nibbling at the sideboard; what did you 
 take? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Nothing but stay I took a wineglass of Madeira. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 What did you do with the dozen of gold spoons that went 
 with the glass of Madeira ? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Gold spoons ! I've searched diligently, but find nothing of 
 that kind in my memory. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Possibly; but you will find them in your mattress. And 
 was Philosopher also absent-minded? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Poor Philosopher ! Since morning he has been a laughing- 
 stock below stairs. He induced a coachman who was very 
 young to strip off his gold lace for him. It was all false on 
 the underside. In these days masters are thieves. You can- 
 not be sure of anything, more's the pity. 
 
 VAUTRIN (whistles) 
 
 This is no joking matter. You will make me lose the 
 house: this must be put a stop to Here, father Buteux, 
 ahoy ! Philosopher ! Come here. Fil-de-Soie ! My dear 
 friends, let us have a clearing up. You are a pack of scoun- 
 drels.
 
 VAUTRIN 66 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, BUTEUX, PHILOSOPHER AND FIL-DE- 
 
 SOIE, 
 
 BUTEUX 
 Present! Is the house on fire? 
 
 FiL-DE-SOlE 
 
 Is it some one burning with curiosity ? 
 
 BUTEUX 
 A fire would be better, for it can be put out. 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 But the other can be choked. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Bah ! he has had enough of this trifling. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 So we are to have more moralizing thank you for that. 
 
 FiL-DE-SOlE 
 
 He cannot want me for I have not been out. 
 
 YAUTRIN (to FU-de-Soie) 
 
 You? The evening when I bade you exchange your scul- 
 lion's cap for a footman's hat poisoner 
 
 FiL-DE-SOlE 
 
 We will drop the extra names. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 And you accompanied me as my footman to the field mar-
 
 66 VAUTRIN 
 
 shal's ; while helping me on with my cloak, you stole the watch 
 of the Cossack prince. 
 
 FlL-DE-SOIB 
 
 One of the enemies o France. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You, Buteux, you old malefactor, carried off the opera- 
 glass of the Princesse d'Arjos, the evening she set down your 
 young master at our gate. 
 
 BUTEDX 
 It dropped on the carriage step. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You should have respectfully handed it back to her; but 
 the gold and the pearls appealed to your tigerish talons. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Now, now, surely people can have a little fun ? Devil take 
 it ! Did not you, Jacques 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 What do you mean? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Did not you, M. Vautrin, require thirty thousand francs, 
 that this young man might live in princely style? We suc- 
 ceeded in satisfying you in the fashion of foreign govern- 
 ments, by borrowing, and getting credit. All those who come 
 to ask for me leave some with us. And you are not satisfied. 
 
 FiL-DE-SOlE 
 
 And if, when I am sent to buy provisions without a sou, 
 I may not be allowed to bring back some cash with me, I 
 might as well send in my resignation.
 
 VAUTRIN 7 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 
 And didn't I sell our custom to four different coach-builders 
 5,000 francs each clip and the man who got the order 
 lost all? One evening M. de Frescas starts off from home 
 with wretched screws, and we bring him back, Lafouraille and 
 I, with a span worth ten thousand francs, which have cost 
 him only twenty glasses of brandy. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 No, it was Kirchenwasser. 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 Yes, and yet you fly into a rage 
 
 FIL-DE-SOIE 
 How are you going to keep house now? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Do you expect to do things of this kind for long? What 
 I have permitted in order to set up our establishment, from 
 this day forth I forbid. You wish, I suppose, to descend 
 from robbery to swindling? If you do not understand what 
 I say I will look out for better servants. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 And where will you find them? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Let him hunt for them! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You forget, I see, that I have pledged myself to save your 
 necks ! Dear, dear, do you think I have sifted you, like seeds 
 in a colander, through three different places of residence, to 
 let you hover round a gibbet, like flies round a candle? I 
 wish you to know that any imprudence that brings you to 
 such a position, is, to men of my stamp, a crime. You ought
 
 68 VAUTRIN 
 
 to appear as supremely innocent as you, Philosopher, ap- 
 peared to him who let you rip off his lace. Never forget the 
 part you are playing ; you are honest fellows, faithful domes- 
 tics, and adore Eaoul de Frescas, your master. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 Do you take this young man for a god? You have har- 
 nessed us to his car; but we know him no better than he 
 knows us. 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 
 Tell me, is he one of our kind? 
 
 FIL-DE-SOIE 
 
 What is he going to bring us to ? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 We obey on condition that the Society of the Ten Thousand 
 be reconstituted, so that never less than ten thousand francs 
 at a time be assigned to us ; at present we have not any funds 
 in common. 
 
 FiL-DE-SOlE 
 
 When are we all to be capitalists ? 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 If the gang knew that for the last six months I have been 
 disguising myself as an old porter, without any object, I 
 should be disgraced. If I am willing to risk my neck, it is 
 that I may give bread to my Adele, whom you have forbidden 
 me to see, and who for six months must have been as dry as 
 a match. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (to the other two) 
 She is in prison. Poor man! let us spare his feelings. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Have you finished ? Come now, you have made merry here
 
 VAUTRIN 69 
 
 for six months, eaten like diplomats, drunk like Poles, and 
 have wanted nothing. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 Yes, we are rusting out ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Thanks to me, the police have forgotten you! You owe 
 your good luck to me alone ! I have erased the brand from 
 your foreheads. I am the head, whose ideas you, the arms, 
 carry out. 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 We are satisfied. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 You must all obey me blindly. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Blindly. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Without a murmur. 
 
 FiL-DE-SOlE 
 
 Without a murmur. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Or else let us break our compact, and be off with you ! If 
 I meet with ingratitude from you, to whom can I venture 
 hereafter to do a service? 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 To no one, my emperor. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 I should rather say, our great teacher! 
 
 BUTEUX 
 I love you more than I love A dele.
 
 70 VAUTRIN 
 
 FiL-DE-SOlE 
 
 We worship you. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 If necessary, I shall even have to beat you. 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 We'll take it without a murmur. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 To spit in your face ; to bowl over your lives like a row of 
 skittles. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 But I bowl over with a knife. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Very well Kill me this instant. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 It is no use being vexed with this man. Do you wish me 
 to restore the opera-glass ? I intended it for Adele ! 
 
 ALL (surrounding him) 
 Would you abandon us, Vautrin? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Vautrin! our friend. 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 Mighty Vautrin! 
 
 FiL-DE-SOlE 
 
 Onr old companion, deal with us as you will. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Yes, and I can deal with you as I will. When I think 
 what trouble you make, in your trinket-stealing, I feel
 
 VAUTRIN 71 
 
 inclined to send you back to the place I took you from. You 
 are either above or below the level of society, dregs or foam ; 
 but I desire to make you enter into society. People used to 
 hoot you as you went by. I wish them to bow to you; you 
 were once the basest of mankind, I wish you to be more than 
 honest men. 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 
 Is there such a class? 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 There are those who are nothing at all. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 There are those who decide upon the honesty of others. 
 You will never be honest burgesses, you must belong either 
 to the wretched or the rich; you must therefore master one- 
 half of the world ! Take a bath of gold, and you will come 
 forth from it virtuous ! 
 
 FlL-DE-SoiE 
 
 To think, that, when I have need of nothing, I shall be a 
 good prince! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Of course. And you, Lafouraille, you can become Count 
 of Saint Helena ; and what would you like to be, Buteux ? 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 I should like to be a philanthropist, for the philanthropist 
 always becomes a millionaire. 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 And I, a banker. 
 
 FlL-DE-SoiE 
 
 He wishes to be a licensed professional. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Show yourselves then, according as occasion demands it,
 
 72 VAUTRIN 
 
 blind and clear-sighted, adroit and clumsy, stupid and clever, 
 like all those who make their fortune. Never judge me, and 
 try to understand my meaning. You ask who Raoul de Fres- 
 cas is? I will explain to you; he will soon have an income 
 of twelve hundred thousand francs. He will he a prince. And 
 I picked him up when he was begging on the high road, and 
 ready to become a drummer-boy; in his twelfth year he had 
 neither name nor family; he came from Sardinia, where he 
 must have got into some trouble, for he was a fugitive from 
 justice. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 Oh, now that we know his antecedents and his social posi- 
 tion 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Be off to your lodge ! 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 Little Nini, daughter of Giroflee is there 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 She may let a spy pass in. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 She ! She is a little cat to whom it is not necessary to point 
 out the stool-pigeons. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You may judge my power from what I am in process of 
 doing for Raoul. Ought he not to be preferred before all? 
 Raoul de Frescas is a young man who has remained pure as 
 an angel in the midst of our mire-pit ; he is our conscience ; 
 moreover, he is my creation; I am at once his father, his 
 mother, and I desire to be his guiding providence. I, who can 
 never know happiness, still delight in making other people 
 happy. I breathe through his lips, I live in his life, his pas- 
 sions are my own; and it is impossible for me to know noble 
 and pure emotions excepting in the heart of this being 
 unsoiled by crime. You have your fancies, here I show you
 
 VAUTRIN 73 
 
 mine. In exchange for the blight which society has brought 
 upon me, I give it a man of honor, and enter upon a struggle 
 with destiny ; do you wish to be of my party ? Obey me. 
 
 ALL 
 In life, and death 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 So my savage beasts are once more brought to submission. 
 (Aloud) Philosopher, try to put on the air, the face, the cos- 
 tume of an employe of the lost goods bureau, and take back 
 to the embassy the plate borrowed by Lafouraille. (To Fil-de- 
 Soie) You, Fil-de-Soie, must prepare a sumptuous dinner, 
 as M. de Frescas is to entertain a few friends. You will after- 
 wards dress yourself as a respectable man, and assume the air 
 of a lawyer. You will go to number six, Eue Oblin, ring 
 seven times at the fourth-story door, and ask for Pere Giroflee. 
 When they ask where you come from, you will answer from 
 a seaport in Bohemia. They will let you in. I want certain 
 letters and papers of the Due de Christoval ; here are the text 
 and patterns. I want an absolute fac-simile, with the 
 briefest possible delay. Lafouraille, you must go and insert a 
 few lines in the newspapers, notifying the arrival of ... 
 (He whispers into his ear.) This forms part of my plan. 
 Now leave me. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Well, are you satisfied? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Yes. 
 
 PHILOSOPHER 
 You want nothing more of us ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Nothing. 
 
 FiL-DE-SOlE 
 
 There will be no more rebellion ; every one will be good.
 
 74 VAUTRIN 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 Let your mind rest easy ; we are going to be not only polite, 
 but honest. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 That is right, boys; a little integrity, a great deal of address, 
 and you will be respected. 
 
 (Exeunt all except Vautrin.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 
 VAUTRIN (alone) 
 
 In order to lead them it is only necessary to let them think 
 they have an honorable future. They have no future, no pros- 
 pects ! Pshaw ! if generals took their soldiers seriously, not a 
 cannon would be fired ! In a few days, following upon years 
 of subterranean labors, I shall have won for Eaoul a com- 
 manding position ; it must be made sure to him. Laf ouraille 
 and Philosopher will be necessary to me in the country where 
 I am to give him a family. Ah, this love ! it has put out of 
 the question the life I had destined him to. I wished to win 
 for him a solitary glory, to see him conquering for me and 
 under my direction, the world which I am forbidden to enter. 
 Eaoul is not only the child of my intellect and of my malice, 
 he is also my instrument of revenge. These fellows of mine 
 cannot understand these sentiments; they are happy; they 
 have never fallen, not they ! they were born criminals. But I 
 have attempted to raise myself. Yet though a man can raise 
 himself in the eyes of God, he can never do so in the eyes of 
 the world. People tell you to repent, and then refuse to 
 pardon. Men possess in their dealings with each other the 
 instincts of savage animals. Once wounded, one is down- 
 trodden by his fellows. Moreover, to ask the protection 
 of a world whose laws you have trampled under foot is like 
 returning to a house which you have burnt and whose roof 
 would fall and crush you. I have well polished and perfected 
 the magnetic instrument of my domination. Eaoul was brave,
 
 VAUTRIN 75 
 
 he would have sacrificed his life, like a fool; I had to make 
 him cold and domineering, and to dispel from his mind, one by 
 one, his exalted ideas of life; to render him suspicious and 
 tricky as an old bill-broker, while all the while he knew not 
 who I was. And at this moment love has broken down the 
 whole scaffolding. He should have been great; now, he can 
 only he happy. I shall therefore retire to live in a corner at 
 the height of his prosperity ; his happiness will have been my 
 work. For two days I have been asking myself whether it 
 would not be better that the Princesse d'Arjos should die of 
 some ailment say brain fever. It's singular how many plans 
 a woman can upset! 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 VAUTRIN AND LAFOURAILLE. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 What is the matter ? Cannot I be alone one moment ? Did 
 I call? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 We are likely to feel the claws of justice scratch our 
 shoulders. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 What new blunder have you committed? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 The fact is little Nini has admitted a well-dressed gentle- 
 man who asks to see you. Buteux is whistling the air, There's 
 No Place Like Home, so it must be a sleuth. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Nothing of the kind, I know who it is; tell him to wait. 
 Everybody in arms ! Vautrin must then vanish ; I will be the 
 Baron de Vieux-Chene. Speak in a German accent, fool him 
 well, until I can play the master stroke. (Exit.)
 
 7 VAUTRIN 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 LAFOURAILLE AND SAINT-CHARLES. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (speaking with a German accent) 
 
 M. de Frescas is not at home, sir, and his steward, the 
 Baron de Vieux-Chene, is engaged with an architect, who is to 
 build a grand house for our master. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 I beg your pardon, my dear sir, you said 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 I said Baron de Vieux-Chene. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Baron ! 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Yes! Yes! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 He is a baron? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Baron de Vieux-Chene. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 You are a German. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Not I ! Not I ! I am an Alsatian, a very different thing. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (aside") 
 
 This man has certainly an accent too decidedly German to 
 be a Parisian. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (aside) 
 I know this man well. Here's a go !
 
 VAUTRIN 77 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 If the baron is busy, I will wait. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (aside) 
 
 Ah! Blondet, my beauty, you can disguise your face, but 
 not your voice ; if you get out of our clutches now, you will be 
 a wonder. (Aloud) What shall I tell the baron brings you 
 here? (He makes as if to go out.) 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Stay a moment, my friend ; you speak German, I speak 
 French, we may misunderstand one another. (Puts a purse 
 into his hand.) There can be no mistake with this for an in- 
 terpreter. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 No, sir. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 That is merely on account. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (aside) 
 
 Yes, on account of my eighty thousand francs. (Aloud) 
 And do you wish me to shadow my master ? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 No, my friend, I merely ask for some information, which 
 cannot compromise you. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 In good German we call that spying. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 But no that is not it it is 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 To shadow him. And what shall I say to his lordship th 
 baron ?
 
 78 VAUTRIN 
 
 SAINT-CHAELES 
 Announce the Chevalier de Saint-Charles. 
 
 LAFODRAILLE 
 
 We understand each other. I will induce him to see you. 
 But do not offer money to the steward ; he is more honest than 
 the rest of us. (He gives a sly wink.) 
 
 SAINT-CHAELES 
 That means he will cost more. 
 
 LAFODEAILLE 
 Yes, sir. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (alone) 
 
 A bad beginning! Ten louis thrown away. To shadow 
 him indeed ! It is too stupid not to have a spice of wit in it, 
 this habit of calling things by their right name, at the outset. 
 If the pretended steward, for there is no steward here, if the 
 baron is as clever as his footman, I shall have nothing to base 
 my information on, excepting what they conceal from me. 
 This room is very fine. There is neither portrait of the king, 
 nor emblem of royalty here. Well, it is plain they do not 
 frame their opinions. Is the furniture suggestive of any- 
 thing? No. It is too new to have been even paid for. But 
 for the air which, the porter whistled, doubtless a signal, I 
 should be inclined to believe in the De Frescas people.
 
 VAUTRIN 79 
 
 'SCENE EIGHTH. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES, VAUTRIN AND LAFOTJRAILLE. 
 
 (Vautrin wears a bright maroon coat, of old-fashioned cut, 
 with large heavy buttons; his breeches are black silk, as 
 are his stockings. His shoes have gold buckles, his waist- 
 coat is flowered, he wears two watchchains, his cravat 
 belongs to the time of the Revolution; his wig is white, 
 his face old, keen, withered, dissipated looking. He 
 speaks low, and his voice is cracked.) 
 
 VAUTRIN (to Lafouraille) 
 
 Very good; you may go. (Exit Lafouraille. Aside) Now 
 for the tug of war, M. Blondet. (Aloud) I am at your 
 service, sir. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (aside) 
 
 A worn out fox is still dangerous. (Aloud) Excuse me, 
 baron, for disturbing you, while yet unknown to you. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I can guess what your business is. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (aside) 
 Indeed? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You are an architect, and have a proposal to make to me; 
 but I have already received most excellent offers. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Excuse me, your Dutchman must have mispronounced my 
 name. I am the Chevalier -de Saint-Charles. 
 
 VAUTRIN (raising his spectacles) 
 Let me see we are old acquaintances. You were at the
 
 80 VAUTRIN 
 
 Congress of Vienna, and then bore the name of Count of Gor- 
 cum a fine name ! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (aside) 
 
 Go choke yourself, old man ! ( Aloud) So you were there 
 also? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I should think so ! And I am glad to have come upon you 
 again. You were a deuced clever fellow, you know. How you 
 fooled them all! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (aside) 
 
 We'll stick to Vienna, then. (Aloud) Ah, baron! I 
 recall you perfectly now; you also steered your bark pretty 
 cleverly there. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Of course I did, and what women we had there ! yes, indeed ! 
 And have you still your fair Italian ? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Did you know her ? She was a woman of such tact. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 My dear fellow, wasn't she, though ? She actually wanted to 
 find out who I was. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 And did she find out? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Well, my dear friend, I know you will be glad to hear it, she 
 discovered nothing. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Come, baron, since we are speaking freely to each other 
 to-day, I for my part must confess that your admirable Pole
 
 VAUTRIN . 81 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 You also had the pleasure? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 On my honor, yes! 
 
 VAUTRIN (laughing) 
 Hal Hal Ha! Ha! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (laughing) 
 Ha! Hal Ha! Ha! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 We can safely laugh now, for I suppose you left her there? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Immediately, as you did. I see that we are both come to 
 throw away our money in Paris, and we have done well; but 
 it seems to me, baron, that you have accepted a very secondary 
 position, though one which attracts notice. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Ah! thank you, chevalier. I hope, however, we may still 
 be friends for many a day. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Forever, I hope. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You can be extremely useful to me, I can be of immense 
 service to you, we understand each other! Let me know 
 what your present business is, and I will tell you mine. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (aside) 
 
 I should like to know whether he is being get on me, or I 
 on him.
 
 82 VAUTRIN 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 It is going to be a somewhat slow business. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 I will tell you. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I am attention ! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Baron, between ourselves, I admire you immensely. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 What a compliment from a man like you ! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Not at all ! To create a De Frescas in the face of all Paris 
 shows an inventive genius which transcends by a" thousand 
 points that of our countesses at the Congress. You are 
 angling for the dowry with rare nerve. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I angling for a dowry? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 But, my dear friend, you would be found out, unless T- 
 your friend had been the man chosen to watch you, for I am 
 appointed your shadower by a very high authority. Permit 
 me also to ask how can you dare to interfere with the family 
 of Montsorel in their pursuit of an heiress ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 To think that I innocently believed you came to propose 
 we should work in company, and speculate, both of us, with the 
 money of M. de Frescas, of which I have entire control and 
 here you talk to me of something entirely different ! Frescas, 
 my good friend, is one of the legal titles of this young man,
 
 VAUTRIN 83 
 
 who has seven in all. Stringent reasons prevent him from 
 revealing the name of his family, which I know, for the next 
 twenty-four hours. Their property is vast, I have seen their 
 estate, from which I am just returned. I do not mind 
 being taken by you for a rogue, for there is no disgrace in the 
 vast sums at stake; but to be taken for an imbecile, capable 
 of dancing attendance on a sham nobleman, and so silly as 
 to defy the Montsorels on behalf of a counterfeit Eeally, 
 my friend, it would seem that you have never been to Vienna ! 
 We are not in the same class ! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Do not grow angry, worthy steward ! Let us leave off 
 entangling ourselves in a web of lies more or less agreeable; 
 you cannot expect to make me swallow any more of them. 
 Our cash-box is better furnished than yours, therefore come 
 over to us. Your young man is as much Frescas as I am 
 chevalier and you baron. You picked him up on the frontier 
 of Italy ; he was then a vagabond, to-day he is an adventurer, 
 and that's the whole truth of it. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You are right. We must leave off entangling ourselves in 
 the web of falsehoods more or less agreeable; we must speak 
 the truth. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 I will pay you for it. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I will give it you for nothing. You are an infamous 
 cur, my friend. Your name is Charles Blondet ; you were 
 steward in the household of De Langeac; twice have you 
 bought the betrayal of the viscount, and never have you paid 
 the money it is shameful ! You owe eighty thousand francs 
 to one of my footmen. You caused the viscount to be shot at 
 Mortagne in order that you might appropriate the properly
 
 84 VAUTRIN 
 
 entrusted to you by the family. If the Due de Montsorel, 
 who sent you here, knew who you are, ha ! ha ! he would make 
 you settle some odd accounts ! Take off your moustache, your 
 whiskers, your wig, your sham decorations and your badges 
 of foreign orders. (Re tears off from him his wig, his whiskers 
 and decorations.) Good day, you rascal ! How did you man- 
 age to eat up a fortune so cleverly won ? It was colossal ; how 
 did you lose it? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Through ill-luck. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I understand. . . . What are you going to do now ? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Whoever you are, stop there ; I surrender, I haven't a chance 
 left ! You are either the devil or Jacques Collin ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I am and wish to be nothing but the Baron de Vieux-Chene 
 to you. Listen to my ultimatum. I can cause you to be buried 
 this instant in one of my cellars, and no one will inquire for 
 you. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 I know it. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 It would be prudent to do so. But are you willing to do 
 for me in Montsorel's house, what Montsorel sent you to do 
 here? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 I accept the offer; but what are the profits? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 All you can take. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 From either party?
 
 VAUTPJN &> 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Certainly! You will send me by the person who accom- 
 panies you back all the deeds that relate to the De Langeac 
 family; they must still be in your possession. In case M. de 
 Frescas marries Mile, de Christoval, you cannot be their 
 steward, but you shall receive a hundred thousand francs. 
 You are dealing with exacting masters. Walk straight, and 
 they will not betray you. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 It's a bargain! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I will not ratify it until I have the documents in hand. 
 Until then, be careful ! (He rings; all the household come in.) 
 Attend M. le Chevalier home, with all the respect due his high 
 rank. (To Saint-Charles, pointing out to him Philosopher) 
 This man will accompany you. (To Philosopher) DQ not 
 leave him. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (aside) 
 
 Once I get safe and sound out of their clutches, I will come 
 down heavy on this nest of thieves. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Monsieur le Chevalier, I am yours to command ! 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 VAUTRIN AND LAFOURAILLE. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 M. Vautrin! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Well?
 
 86 VAUTRIN 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Are you letting him go? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Unless he considers himself at liberty, what can we hope 
 to learn from him ? I have given my instructions ; he will be 
 taught not to put ropes in the way of hangmen. When Phil- 
 osopher brings for me the documents which this fellow is to 
 hand him, they will be given to me, wherever I happen to be. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 But afterwards, will you spare his life? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You are always a little premature, my dear. Have you 
 forgotten how seriously the dead interfere with the peace of 
 the living ? Hush ! I hear Kaoul leave us to ourselves. 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 VAUTRIN AND RAOUL DE FRESCAS. 
 
 RAOUL (soliloquizing) 
 
 After a glimpse of heaven, still remain on earth such 
 is my fate! I am a lost man; Vautrin, an infernal yet a 
 kindly genius, a man who knows everything, and seems able 
 to do everything, a man as harsh to others as he is good to 
 me, a man who is inexplicable except by a supposition of 
 witchcraft, a maternal providence if I may so call him. is not 
 after all the providence divine. (Vautrin enters wearing a 
 plain black peruke, a blue coat, gray pantaloons, a black] 
 waistcoat, the costume of a stock-broker.) Oh ! I know what 
 love is; but I did not know what revenge was, until I felt I
 
 VAUTRIN 87 
 
 could not die before I had wreaked my vengeance on these two 
 Montsorels. 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 He is in trouble. (Aloud) Eaoul, my son, what ails you ? 
 
 EAOUL 
 Nothing ails me. Pray leave me. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Do you again repulse me? You abuse the right you have 
 to ill-treat a friend What are you thinking about? 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Nothing. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Nothing? Come, sir, do you think that he who has taught 
 you that English coldness, under the veil of which men of 
 worth would conceal their feelings, was not aware of the 
 transparency which belongs to this cuirass of pride? Try 
 concealment with others, but not with me. Dissimulation 
 is more than a blunder, for in friendship a blunder is a crime. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 To game no more, to come home tipsy no more, to shun 
 the menagerie of the opera, to become serious, to study, to 
 desire a position in life, this you call dissimulation. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You are as yet but a poor diplomatist. You will be a great 
 one, when you can deceive me. Eaoul, you have made the 
 mistake which I have taken most pains to save you from. 
 My son, why did you not take women for what they are, crea- 
 tures of inconsequence, made to enslave without being their 
 slave, like a sentimental shepherd ? But instead, my Lovelace 
 has been conquered by a Clarissa. Ah, young people will strike
 
 88 VAUTRIN 
 
 against these idols a great many times, before they discover 
 them to be hollow! 
 
 EAOUL 
 Is this a sermon? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 What? Do you take me, who have trained your hand to 
 the pistol, who have shown you how to draw the sword, have 
 taught you not to dread the strongest laborer of the fau- 
 bourg, who have done for your brains what I have done for 
 your body, have set you above all men, and anointed you my 
 king, do you take me for a dolt? Come, now, let us have a 
 little more frankness. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Do you wish me to tell you what I was thinking? But 
 no, that would be to accuse my benefactor. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Your benefactor! You insult me. Do you think I have 
 devoted to you my life, my blood, shown myself ready to 
 kill, to assassinate your enemy, in order that I may receive 
 that exorbitant interest called gratitude? Have I become an 
 usurer of this kind? There are some men who would hang 
 the weight of a benefit around your heart, like a cannon-ball 
 
 attached to the feet of , but let that pass! Such men I 
 
 would crush as I would a worm, without thinking that I had 
 committed homicide! No! I have asked you to adopt me 
 as your father, that my heart may be to you what heaven is 
 to the angels, a space where all is happiness and confidence; 
 that you may tell me all your thoughts, even those which are 
 evil. Speak, I shall understand everything, even an act of 
 cowardice. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 God and Satan must have conspired to cast this man of 
 bronze. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 It is quite possible.
 
 VAUTRIN 89 
 
 EAOUL 
 I will tell you all. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Very good, my son; let us sit down. 
 
 EAOUL 
 You have been the cause to me of opprobrium and despair. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Where? When? Blood of a man! Who has wounded 
 you ? Who has proved false to you ? Tell me the place, name 
 the people the wrath of Vautrin shall descend upon them! 
 
 EAOUL 
 You can do nothing. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Child, there are two kinds of men who can do anything. 
 
 EAOUL 
 And who are they ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Kings, who are, or who ought to be, above the law; and 
 this will give you pain criminals, who are below it. 
 
 EAOUL 
 But since you are not king 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Well ! I reign in the region below. 
 
 EAOUL 
 What horrible mockery is this, Vautrin? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Did you not say that God and the devil hobnobbed to cast 
 me?
 
 90 VAUTRIN 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Heavens, sir, you make me shudder! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Return to your seat ! Calm yourself, my son. You must 
 not be astonished at anything, if you wish to escape being an 
 ordinary man. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Am I in the hands of a demon, or of an angel ? You have 
 brought me up without debauching the generous instincts I 
 feel within me; you have enlightened without dazzling me; 
 you have given me the experience of the old, without depriv- 
 ing me of the graces of youth; hut it is not with impunity 
 that you have whetted the edge of my intellect, expanded 
 my view, roused my perspicacity. Tell me, what is the 
 source of your wealth, is it an honorable one ? Why do you 
 forbid me to confess to you the sufferings of my childhood? 
 Why have you given me the name of the village where you 
 found me? Why do you prevent me from searching out my 
 father and mother ? Why do you bow me down under a load 
 of falsehoods? An orphan may rouse the interest of people; 
 an impostor, never. I live in a style which makes me an 
 equal to the son of a duke or a peer; you have educated me 
 well, without expense to the state ; you have launched me into 
 the empyrean of the world, and now they fling into my face 
 the declaration, that there are no longer such people as De 
 Frescas in existence. I have been asked who my family are, 
 and you have forbidden me to answer. I am at once a great 
 nobleman and a pariah. I must swallow insults which would 
 drive me to rend alive marquises and dukes; rage fills my 
 heart; I should like to fight twenty duels, and to die. Do 
 you wish me to suffer any further insults? No more secrets 
 for me! Prometheus of hell, either finish your work ; or 
 shatter it to pieces ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Who could fail to respond with a glow of sympathy to
 
 VAUTRIN 91 
 
 this burst of youthful generosity? What flashes of courage 
 blaze forth! It is inspiring to see sentiment at its full 
 tide ! You must be the son of a noble race. But, Eaoul, let 
 as come down to what I call plain reason. 
 
 EAOUL 
 Ah ! At last ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You ask me for an account of my guardianship. Here 
 it is. 
 
 EAOUL 
 But have I any right to ask this ? Could I live without you ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Silence, you had nothing, I have made you rich. You knew 
 nothing, I have given you a good education. Oh ! I have not 
 yet done all for you. A father all fathers give their life to 
 their children, and as for me, happiness is a debt which I owe 
 you. But is this really the cause of your gloom? There are 
 here in this casket (he points to a casket) a portrait, and 
 certain letters. Often while reading the letters you sigh 
 as if 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Then you know all ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I know all. Are you not touched to the heart? 
 
 EAOUL 
 To the heart. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 fool ! Love lives by treachery, friendship by confidence. 
 And you you must seek happiness in your own way. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 But have I the power? I will become a soldier, and 
 wherever the cannon roars, I will win a glorious name, or die.
 
 92 VAUTRIN 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Indeed ! Why should you ? You talk nonsense. 
 
 KAOUL 
 
 You are too old to possess the power of understanding me, 
 and it is no use trying to explain. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Well, I will explain to you. You are in love with Inez 
 de Christoval, Princesse d'Arjos in her own right, daughter 
 of a duke banished by King Ferdinand an Andalusian who 
 loves you and pleases me, not as a woman, but as a 
 ravishing money-box, whose eyes are the finest in the world, 
 whose dowry is captivating, and who is the most delightful 
 piece of cash, graceful and elegant as some black corvette 
 with white sails which convoys the long-expected galleons of 
 America, and yields all the joys of life, exactly like the For- 
 tune which is painted over the entrance of the lottery agen- 
 cies. I approve of you here. You did wrong to fall in love, 
 love will involve you in a thousand follies but I understand. 
 
 KAOUL 
 Do not score me with such frightful sarcasms. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 See how quickly he feels his ardor damped, and his hat 
 wreathed in crepe ! 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 Yes. For it is impossible for the child flung by accident 
 into the bosom of a fisher family at Alghero to become Prince 
 of Arjos, while to lose Inez is for me to die of grief. 
 
 VAUTRIN" 
 
 An income of twelve hundred thousand francs, the title of 
 prince, grandeur, and amassed wealth, old man, are not 
 things to be contemplated with melancholy.
 
 VAUTRIN 93 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 If you love me, why do you mock me thus in the hour of 
 my despair? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 And what is the cause of your despair? 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 The duke and the marquis have insulted me, in their own 
 house, in her presence, and I have seen then all my hopes 
 extinguished. The door of the Christoval mansion is closed 
 upon me. I do not know why the Duchesse de Montsorel 
 made me come and see her. For the last few days she has 
 manifested an interest in me which I do not understand. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 And what brought you to the house of your rival? 
 
 RAOUL 
 It seems you know all about it. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Yes, and many other things besides. Is it true you desire 
 Inez de Christoval? Then you can get over this present 
 despondency. 
 
 RAOUL 
 You are trifling with me. 
 
 VAPTRIN 
 
 Look here, Raoul! The Christovals have shut their doors 
 upon you. Well to-morrow you shall be the accepted lover 
 of the princess, and the Montsorels shall be turned away, 
 Montsorels though they be. 
 
 RAOUL 
 The sight of my distress has crazed you.
 
 94 VAUTRIN 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 What reason have you ever had for doubting my word? 
 Did I not give you an Arabian horse, to drive mad with envy 
 the foreign and native dandies of the Bois de Boulogne ? Who 
 paid your gambling debts? Who made provision for your 
 excesses? Who gave you boots, you who once went barefoot? 
 
 EAOUL 
 You, my friend, my father, my family ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Many, many thanks. In those words is a recompense for 
 all my sacrifices. But, alas! when once you become rich, a 
 grandee of Spain, a part of the great world, you will forget 
 me; a change of atmosphere brings a change of ideas; you 
 will despise me, and you will be right in doing so. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Do I see before me a genie, a spirit materialized from the 
 Arabian Nights? I question my own existence. But, my 
 friend, my protector, I have no family. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Well, we are making up a family for you at this very mo- 
 ment. The Louvre could not contain the portraits of your 
 ancestors, they would overcrowd the quays. 
 
 EAOUL 
 You rekindle all my hopes. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Do you wish to obtain Inez? 
 
 EAOUL 
 By any means possible.
 
 VAUTRIN 95 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You will shrink from nothing? Magic and hell will not 
 intimidate you? 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Hell is nothing, if it yields me paradise. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 What is hell but the hulks and the convicts decorated by 
 justice and the police with brandings and manacles, and 
 driven on their course by that wretchedness from which they 
 have no escape? Paradise is a fine house, sumptuous car- 
 riages, delightful women, and the prestige of rank. In this 
 world, there exist two worlds. I put you in the fairest of 
 them, I remain myself in the foulest, and if you remember me, 
 it is all I ask of you. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 While you make me shudder with horror, you fill me with 
 the frenzy of delight. 
 
 VAUTRIN (slapping him on the shoulder*) 
 
 You are a child! (Aside) Have I not said too much to 
 him? (He rings.) 
 
 EAOUL (aside) 
 
 There are moments when my inmost nature revolts from 
 the acceptance of his benefits. When he put his hand on my 
 shoulder it was like a red-hot iron ; and yet he has never done 
 anything but good to me ! He conceals from me the means, 
 but the ends are all for me. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 What are you saying there? 
 
 EAOUL 
 I am resolved to accept nothing, unless my honor
 
 96 VAUTRIN 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 We will take care of your honor! Is it not I who have 
 fostered your sense of honor? Have I ever compromised it? 
 
 EAOUL 
 You must explain to me 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I will explain nothing. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Nothing? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Did you not say, "By any possible means" ? When Inez is 
 once yours, does it matter what I have done, or who I am? 
 You will take Inez away; you will travel. The Christoval 
 family will protect the Prince of Arjos. (To Lafouraille) 
 Put some bottles of champagne on ice; your master is to be 
 married, he bids farewell to bachelor life. His friends are 
 invited. Go and seek his mistresses, if there are any left! 
 All shall attend the wedding a general turn-out in full 
 dress. 
 
 EAOUL (aside) 
 
 His confidence terrifies me, but he is always right. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Now for the dinner ! 
 
 ALL 
 Now for the dinner ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Do not take your pleasure gloomily ; laugh for the last time, 
 while liberty is still yours; I will order none but Spanish 
 wines, for they are in fashion to-day. 
 
 Curtain to the Third Act.
 
 VAUTRIN 97 
 
 ACT IV. 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (Drawing-room of the Duchesse de Christoval.) 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL AND INEZ. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 If M. de Frescas is of obscure birth, mother, I will at once 
 give him up ; but you, on your part, must be good enough not 
 to insist upon my marriage with the Marquis de Montsorel. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 If I oppose this unreasonable match, it is certainly not for 
 the purpose of making another with a designing family. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 Unreasonable ? Who knows whether it be so or not ? You 
 believe him to be an adventurer, I believe he is a gentleman, 
 and we have nothing to refute either view. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 We shall not have to wait long for proofs; the Montsorels 
 are too eager to unmask him. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 And he, I believe, loves me too much to delay proving him- 
 self worthy of us. Was not his behavior yesterday noble in 
 the extreme? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Don't you see, silly child, that your happiness is identical
 
 98 VAUTRIN 
 
 with mine ? Let Kaoul satisfy the world, and I shall be ready 
 to fight for you not only against the intrigues of the Mont- 
 sorels, but at the court of Spain, itself. 
 
 INEZ 
 Ah, mother, I perceive that you also love him. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Is he not the man of your choice? 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, A FOOTMAN AND VAUTRIN. 
 
 (The footman brings the duchess a card, wrapped up and 
 
 sealed.) 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to Inez) 
 
 General Crustamente, the secret envoy of his Majesty Don 
 Augustine I., Emperor of Mexico. What can he have to say 
 to me? 
 
 INEZ 
 
 Of Mexico ! He doubtless brings news of my father ! 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to the footman) 
 
 Let him come in. 
 
 (Vautrin enters dressed like a Mexican general, his height 
 increased four inches. His hat has white plumes; his coat 
 blue, with the rich lace of a Mexican general officer; his 
 trousers white, his scarf crimson, his hair long and frizzed 
 like that of Murat; he wears a long sabre, and his com- 
 plexion is copper-hued. He stutters like the Spaniards of 
 Mexico, and his accent resembles Provengal, plus the gut- 
 tural intonation of the Moors.)
 
 VAUTRIN 99 
 
 VAUTEIN 
 
 Is it indeed her grace, the Duchesse de Christoval that I 
 have the honor to address? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 VAUTBIN 
 And mademoiselle? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 My daughter, sir. 
 
 VAUTEIN 
 
 Mademoiselle is then the Senora Inez, in her own right 
 Princesse d'Arjos. When I see you, I understand per- 
 fectly M. de Christoval's idolatry of his daughter. But, 
 ladies, hefore anything further, let me impose upon you the 
 utmost secrecy. My mission is already a difficult one, but, 
 if it is suspected that there is any communication between 
 you and me, we should all be seriously compromised. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 I promise to keep secret both your name and your visit. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 General, if the matter concerns my father, you will allow 
 me to remain here? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 You are nobles, and Spaniards, and I rely upon your word- 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 I shall instruct my servants to keep silence on the subject. 
 
 VAUTEIN 
 
 Don't say a word to them; to demand silence is often to 
 provoke indiscreet talk. I can answer for my own people.
 
 100 VAUTRIN 
 
 I pledged myself to bring you news of M. de Christoval, as 
 soon as I reached Paris, and this is my first visit. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Tell us at once about my husband, general; where is he 
 now? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Mexico has become what was sooner or later inevitable, a 
 state independent of Spain. At the moment I speak there are 
 no more Spaniards, only Mexicans, in Mexico. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 At this moment? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Everything seems to happen in a moment where the causes 
 are not discerned. How could it be otherwise? Mexico felt 
 the need of her independence, she has chosen an emperor! 
 Although nothing could be more natural, it may still sur- 
 prise us : while principles can wait to be recognized men are 
 always in a hurry. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 What has happened to M. de Christoval? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Do not be alarmed, madame ; he is not emperor. His grace 
 the duke has been unsuccessful, in spite of a desperate strug- 
 gle, in keeping the kingdom loyal to Ferdinand VII. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 But, sir, my husband is not a soldier. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Of course he is not; but he is a clever loyalist, and has 
 acquitted himself well. If he does eventually succeed, he
 
 VAUTRIN 101 
 
 will be received back again into royal favor. Ferdinand 
 cannot help appointing him viceroy. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 In what a strange century do we live! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Revolutions succeed without resembling each other. 
 France sets the example to the world. But let me beg of you 
 not to talk politics; it is dangerous ground. 
 
 INEZ 
 Has my father received our letters, general? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 In the confusion of such a conflict letters may go astray, 
 when even crowns are lost. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 And what has become of M. de Christoval? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 The aged Amoagos, who exercises enormous influence in 
 those regions, saved your husband's life at the moment I 
 was going to have him shot 
 
 THE DUCHESS AND HER DAUGHTER. 
 Ah! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 It was thus that he and I became acquainted. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 You, general? 
 
 INEZ 
 And my father?
 
 108 VAUTRIN 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Well, ladies, I should have heen either hanged by him, as 
 a rebel, or hailed by others as the hero of an emancipated 
 nation, and here I am. The sudden arrival of Amoagos, at 
 the head of his miners, decided the question. The safety of 
 his friend, the Due de Christoval, was the reward of his inter- 
 ference. Between ourselves, the Emperor Iturbide, my master, 
 is no more than a figurehead ; the future of Mexico is entirely 
 in the hands of the aged Amoagos. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 And who, pray, is this Amoagos, the arbiter, as you say, of 
 Mexico's destiny? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Is he not known here? Is it possible? I do not know 
 what can possibly be found to weld the old and new worlds 
 together. I suppose it will be steam. What is the use of 
 exploiting gold mines, of being such a man as Don Inigo Juan 
 Varago Cardaval de los Amoagos, las Frescas y Peral and not 
 be heard over here? But of course he uses only one of his 
 names, as we all do ; thus, I call myself simply Crustamente. 
 Although you may be the future president of the Mexican 
 republic, France will ignore you. The aged Amoagos, ladies, 
 received M. de Christoval just as the ancient gentleman of 
 Aragon that he was would receive a Spanish grandee who had 
 been banished for yielding to the spell of Napoleon's name. 
 
 JNEZ 
 Did you not mention Frescas among other names? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Yes, Frescas is the name of the second mine worked by 
 Don Cardaval; but you will learn all that monsieur the 
 duke owes to his host from the letters I have brought you. 
 They are in my pocket-book. (Aside) They are much taken 
 by my aged Amoagos. (Aloud) Allow me to send for one orf
 
 VAUTRIN 103 
 
 my people. (He signs Inez to ring. To the duchess) Permit 
 me to say a few words to him. (To the footman) Tell my 
 negro but no, you won't understand his frightful patois. 
 Make signs to him to come here. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 My child, leave the room for a moment. 
 (Enter LafouraUle, made up as a negro, and carrying a 
 large portmanteau.) 
 
 VAUTBIN TO LAFOURAILLE, 
 Jigi roro flouri. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Joro. 
 
 INEZ (to Vautrin) 
 
 The confidence my father has reposed in you ensures you 
 a warm welcome; but, general, you have won my gratitude 
 by your promptness in allaying our anxieties. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Your gratitude ! Ah, senora, if we are to reckon accounts 
 I should consider myself in debt to your illustrious father, 
 after having the happiness to see you. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Jo. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Caracas, y mouli joro, fistas, ip souri. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Souri, joro. 
 
 VAUTRIN (to the ladies) 
 
 Ladies, here are your letters. (Aside to Lafouraille) Go 
 round from the antechamber to the court, close your lips, 
 open your ears ; hands off, eye on the watch.
 
 104 VAUTRIN 
 
 LAFODRAILLE 
 Ja, mein herr. 
 
 VAUTRIN (angrily) 
 Souri joro, fistas. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 Joro. (Whispering) There are the de Langeac papers. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I am not for the emancipation of the negroes ! when there 
 are no more of them, we shall have to do with whites. 
 
 INEZ (to her mother) 
 
 Mother, allow me to go and read my father's letter. (To 
 Vautrin) General (She bows.) 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 She is charming, may she be happy! (Exit Inez, accom- 
 panied to the door by her mother.) 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 THE DUCHESS AND VAUTRIN. 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 If Mexico saw herself represented in this way, the govern- 
 ment would be capable of condemning me to embassades for 
 life. (Aloud) Pray excuse me, madame. I have so many 
 things to think about. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 If absent-mindedness may be excused in any one, it is in a 
 diplomat. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Yes, to civil diplomats, but I mean to remain a frank sol-
 
 VAUTRIN 105 
 
 dier. The success which I derive must be the result of can- 
 dor. But now that we are alone, let us talk, for I have more 
 than one delicate mission to discharge. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Have you any news which my daughter should not hear? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 It may be so. Let us come to the point; the senora is 
 young and beautiful, she is rich and noble born; she prob- 
 ably has four times as many suitors as any other lady. Her 
 hand is the object of rivalry. Well, her father has charged 
 me to find whether she has singled out any one in particular. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 With a frank man, general, I will be frank. Your ques- 
 tion is so strange that I cannot answer it. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Take care, for we diplomats, in our fear of being deceived, 
 always put the worst interpretation on silence. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Sir, you forget that we are talking of Inez de Christoval! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 She is in love with no one. That is good; she will be able 
 then to carry out the wishes of her father. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 How has M. de Christoval disposed of his daughter's hand ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You see my meaning, and your anxiety tells me that she 
 has made her choice. I tremble to ask further, as much as
 
 106 VAUTRIN 
 
 you do to answer. Ah! if only the young man whom your 
 daughter loves were a foreigner, rich, apparently without 
 family, and b'ent on concealing the name of his native land ! 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 The name, Freseas, which you lately uttered, is that of a 
 young man who seeks the hand of Inez. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Does he call himself also Eaoul ? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Yes, Eaoul de Frescas. 
 
 A young man of refinement, elegance and wit, and twenty- 
 three years of age? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Gifted with manners which are never acquired, but innate. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Eomantic to the point of desiring to be loved for his own 
 sake, in spite of his immense fortune; he wishes that passion 
 should prevail in marriage an absurdity! The young 
 Amoagos, for it is he, madame. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 But the name of Eaoul is not 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Mexican you are right. It was given to him by his 
 mother, a Frenchwoman, an emigree, a De Granville, who 
 came from St. Domingo. Is the reckless fellow favored by 
 her?
 
 VAUTRIN 107 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Preferred to all the rest. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Well, open this letter, and read it, madame; and you will 
 see that I have received full authority from Amoagos and 
 Christoval to conclude this marriage. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Oh, let me call in Inez, sir. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 
 VAUTRIN (alone) 
 
 The major-domo is on my side, the genuine deeds, if he 
 comes upon them, will be handed to me. Eaoul is too proud 
 to return to this house; besides that, he has promised me to 
 wait. I am thus master of the situation ; Eaoul, when once 
 he is a prince, will not lack ancestors; Mexico and I will see 
 to thai 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 VAUTRIN, THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL AND INEZ. 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to her daughter) 
 My child, you have reason to thank the general very warmly. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 To thank you, sir? My father tells me, that among other 
 missions you have received is that of marrying me to a cer- 
 tain Signor Amoagos, without any regard to my inclinations.
 
 108 VAUTRIN 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You need not be alarmed, for his name here is Raoul de 
 Frescas. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 What! he, Raoul de Frescas! why then his persistent 
 silence ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Does it need an old soldier to interpret the heart of a 
 young man ? He wished for love, not obedience ; he wished 
 
 INEZ 
 
 Ah, general, I will punish him well for his modesty and 
 distrust. Yesterday, he showed himself readier to swallow 
 an affront than to reveal the name of his father. 
 
 YAUTRIN 
 
 But, mademoiselle, I am still uncertain as to whether the 
 name of his father is that of a man convicted of high treason, 
 or of a liberator of America. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 Ah ! "mother, do you hear that ? 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 How she loves him ! Poor girl, she does not deserve to be 
 imposed upon. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 My husband's letter does in truth give you the full author- 
 ity, general. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I have the authentic documents, and family deeds. 
 
 A FOOTMAN (as he enters) 
 Will her grace the duchess see M. de Frescas ?
 
 VAUTRIN 109 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 That! Baoul here? 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to the footman) 
 Let him come in. 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 What a mess ! The patient is liable to dose his doctor ! 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Inez, you can see M. de Frescas alone hereafter, since he has 
 been acknowledged by your father. (Inez kisses her mother's 
 hand formally.) 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND EAOUL. 
 (Eaoul salutes the two ladies. Vautrin approaches him.) 
 
 VAUTRIN (to Eaoul) 
 Don Eaoul de Cardaval. 
 
 EAQUL 
 Vautrin ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 No! General Crustamente. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Crustamente ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Certainly; Mexican Envoy. Bear well in mind the name 
 of your father, Amoagos, a gentleman of Aragon, friend of 
 the Due de Christoval. Your mother is dead; I bring the
 
 110 VAUTRIN 
 
 acknowledged titles, and authentic family papers. Inez is 
 yours. 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 And do you think that I will consent to such villainies? 
 Never ! 
 
 VAUTRIN (to the two ladies) 
 
 He is overcome by what I have told him, not anticipating 
 so prompt an explanation. 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 If the truth should kill, your falsehoods would dishonor 
 me, and I prefer to die. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You wished to obtain Inez by any means possible, yet you 
 shrink from practicing a harmless stratagem. 
 
 RAOUL (in exasperation) 
 Ladies! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 He is beside himself with joy. (To Raoul) To speak out 
 would be to lose Inez and deliver me to justice; do as you 
 choose, I am at your disposal. 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 Vautrin I in what an abyss you have plunged me ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 1 have made you a prince; and don't forget that you are 
 at the summit of happiness. (Aside) He will give in. (Exit,)
 
 VAUTRIN 111 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 INEZ (standing at the door through which her mother has 
 passed) ; EAOUL (at the other side of the stage). 
 
 RAOUL (aside) 
 
 Honor bids me to speak out, gratitude to keep silence; 
 well, I accept my role of happy man, until he is out of danger ; 
 but I will write this evening, and Inez shall learn who I am. 
 Vautrin, after such a sacrifice, I may cry quits with you ; all 
 ties between us are severed. I will seek, I care not where, a 
 Boldier's death. 
 
 INEZ (approaching, after gazing at him) 
 
 My father and yours are friends ; they consent to our mar- 
 riage ; we make love to each other as if they were opposed to 
 it, and you seem lost in thought, and almost sad ! 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 You are right, and I have lost my reason. At the very 
 moment you see no obstacle in our way, it is possible that in- 
 surmountable difficulties may arise. 
 
 INEZ 
 Raoul, what a damper you are throwing on our happiness ! 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 Our happiness! (Aside) It is impossible to dissemble. 
 (Aloud) In the name of our common love I implore you to 
 believe in my loyalty. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 Has not my confidence in you been boundless? And the 
 general has quite justified it, even during your silence before 
 the Montsorels. I forgive you all the little annoyances you 
 were forced to cause me.
 
 112 VAUTRIN 
 
 RAOUL (aside) 
 
 Ah! Vautrin! I trust myself to you ! (Aloud) Inez, you 
 do not know how great is the impression your words make 
 upon me; they give me power to bear the overwhelming rap- 
 ture your presence causes Come then, let us be happy ! 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND THE MARQUIS DE MONTSOREL. 
 
 THE FOOTMAN (announcing a visitor) 
 M. le Marquis de Montsorel. 
 
 RAOUL (aside) 
 
 Ah! That name recalls me to myself. (To Inez) What- 
 ever happens, Inez, do not judge my conduct until I have 
 myself given an account of it, and believe at the present mo- 
 ment that I am carried along by an invincible fatality. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 Raoul, I cannot understand you; but I shall trust you 
 always. 
 
 THE MARQUIS (aside) 
 
 Again this little gentleman here! (He salutes Inez.) I 
 thought you were with your mother, mademoiselle, and I never 
 dreamed my visit would be so inopportune. Be good enough 
 to excuse me 
 
 INEZ 
 
 I beg that you will not go; there is no one but ourselves 
 here, for M. Raoul has been accepted by my family. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 Will M. Raoul de Frescas, then, accept my congratulations ?
 
 VAUTRIN 113 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Your congratulations? I accept them (they shake hands) 
 in the same spirit as that in which they are offered. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 We understand each other. 
 
 INEZ (to Raoul) 
 
 Manage that he go away, and do you remain. (To the Mar- 
 quis) My mother requires me for a few moments, and I will 
 return with her. 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 THE MARQUIS AND RAOUL; LATER, VAUTRIN. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 Will you agree to a meeting without seconds a fight to 
 the death? 
 
 RAOUL 
 Without seconds ? 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 Do you realize that both of us cannot exist in the same 
 world? 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 Your family is a powerful one; your proposition exposes 
 me, in case I am victorious, to their vengeance. Allow me to 
 say that I do not want to exchange this house for a prison. 
 (Vautrin appears.) I will fight to the death but not with- 
 out seconds. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 Will those on your side stop the duel ?
 
 114 VAUTRIN 
 
 RAOUL 
 Our mutual hatred is sufficient guarantee against that. 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 Well, now we aiways commit some blunder in the moment 
 of success ! To the ieath ! This child would gamble away his 
 life as if it belonged to him. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 Very well, monsieur; to-morrow at eight o'clock, we meet 
 at the terrace of Saint-Germain, and drive from there to the 
 forest. 
 
 VAUTRIN (coming forward) 
 
 You will not go. (To Raoul) A duel? Are the principals 
 of equal rank? Is this gentleman, like you, the only son of 
 a noble house? Would your father, Don Inigo Juan Varago 
 de los Amoagos de Cardaval las Frescas y Peral, allow you 
 to do it. Raoul ? 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 I have consented to fight with an unknown man, but the 
 greatness of the house to which the gentleman belongs can- 
 not nullify the agreement. 
 
 RAOUL (to the marquis) 
 
 Nevertheless, it seems to me, monsieur, that we can treat 
 each other with courtesy, and act like people who esteem each 
 other too much to take the trouble to hate and to kill. 
 
 THE MARQUIS (looking at Vautrin) 
 May I know the name of your friend ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 By whom have I the honor to be referred to ?
 
 VAUTRIN 115 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 By the Marquis de Montsorel, sir. 
 
 VAUTRIN (eyeing him from head to foot) 
 
 I have the right to refuse you, but I will tell you my name, 
 once for all, in a very short time, and you won't repeat it. 
 I am to be one of the seconds of M. de Frescas. (Aside) And 
 Buteux shall be the other. 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 
 EAOUL, VAUTRIN, THE MARQUIS AND THE DUCHESSE DE 
 
 MONTSOREL; LATER, THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 AND INEZ. 
 
 FOOTMAN (announcing a visitor) 
 Her grace the Duchesse de Montsorel. 
 
 VAUTRIN (to Raoul) 
 
 Let me have no nonsense ; be calm and firm ! I stand face 
 to face with the enemy. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 Ah, mother dear, and are you come to witness my defeat? 
 All is ended. The De Christoval family has trifled with us. 
 This gentleman (he points to Vautrin) represents both 
 families. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 Then Eaoul has a family? (The Duchesse de Christoval 
 and her daughter enter and salute the speaker. To the 
 Duchesse de Christoval) Madame, my son has told me what 
 has occurred to frustrate all our hopes.
 
 116 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 The interest which yesterday you manifested in M. de 
 Frescas has, I see, changed to indifference? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOEEL (scrutinizing Vautrin) 
 
 Is it through this gentleman that all your doubts have been 
 satisfied ? Who is he ? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 He represents the father of M. de Frescas, don Amoagos, 
 and the father of Inez, M. de Christoval. He has brought us 
 the news we expected, and brought letters from my husband. 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 Am I to act this part long? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (to Vautrin) 
 
 Doubtless you have known the family of M. de Frescas for 
 some time ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 My acquaintance is limited to a father and an uncle (to 
 Raoul) You have not even the mournful satisfaction of 
 remembering your mother. (To the Duchess) She died in 
 Mexico, shortly after her marriage. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 | M. de Frescas, then, was born in Mexico? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Of course he was. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (to the Duchesse de 
 Christoval) 
 
 My dear, we are being imposed upon. (To Raoul) Sir, you
 
 VAUTRIN 117 
 
 did not come from Mexico. Your mother is not dead, is she ? 
 And have you not been abandoned since your childhood ? 
 
 EAOUL 
 Would that my mother were alive ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Pardon me, madame, but I am here to satisfy your curiosity, 
 if you wish to learn the secret history which it is not neces- 
 sary you should seek from this gentleman. (To Raoul) Not 
 a word ! 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 It is he ! And this man is making him the tool in some 
 sinister undertaking. (She approaches the marquis) My 
 son 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 You have put them out, mother, and I share your impres- 
 sion of this man (he indicates Vautrin) ; but only a woman 
 has the right to express her thoughts in a way to expose this 
 frightful imposture. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 Frightful indeed ! But pray leave us. 
 
 THE MARQUIS 
 
 Ladies, in spite of my ill-fortune, do not blame me if I 
 still have hopes. (To Vautrin) Often between the cup and 
 the lip there is 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Death ! (Exit the marquis, after exchanging bows with 
 Eaoul.) 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (to Madame de Christoval) 
 
 My dear duchess, I implore you to excuse Inez. We can- 
 not make our explanations before her.
 
 118 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL (to her daughter, making 
 signs to her to leave the room) 
 
 I will rejoin you in a moment. 
 
 RAOUL (Jcissing his hand to Inez) 
 This is perhaps good-bye forever! (Exit Inez.) 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL, THE DUCHESSE DE MONT- 
 SOREL, RAOUL AND VAUTRIN. 
 
 VAUTRIN (to the Duchesse de Christoval) 
 Do you suspect the motive that brings madame here ? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 After what happened yesterday I prefer not to say. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I guessed her love for him immediately. 
 
 RAOUL (to Vautrin) 
 This atmosphere of falsehood stifles me. 
 
 VAUTRIN (to Raoul) 
 One word more, and the affair will be ended. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 Madame, I know well how strange my present conduct must 
 appear to you, and I won't attempt to justify it. There are 
 solemn duties before which the conventions and even the 
 laws of society must give way. What is the character and 
 what the powers of this man ?
 
 VAUTRIN 119 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL (to whom Vautrin 
 makes a signal) 
 
 I am forbidden to answer this question. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 Well, I will tell you; this man is either the accomplice or 
 the dupe in an imposture of which we are the victims. In 
 spite of the letters and documents which he brings to you, I 
 am convinced that all evidence which gives name and family 
 to Eaoul is false. 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 To tell the truth, madame, I do not know what right you 
 have to interfere in personal matters of mine. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 Madame, you were wise to send out of the room my 
 daughter and the marquis. 
 
 VAUTRIN (to Eaoul) 
 
 What right? (To Madame de Montsorel) You need not 
 avow it, for we divine it. I can well understand, madame, 
 the pain you feel at the prospect of this marriage, and am not 
 therefore offended at your suspicions with regard to me, and 
 the authentic documents which I have brought to Madame de 
 Christoval. (Aside) Now for the final stroke. (He takes 
 her aside) Before becoming a Mexican I was a Spaniard, 
 and I know the cause of your hatred for Albert. And as 
 to the motive which brings you here, we will talk about that 
 very soon at the house of your confessor. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOBEL 
 You know? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 All. (Aside) She has some motive. (Aloud) Will you 
 examine the documents?
 
 120 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 Well, my dear ? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 Be quick, and send for Inez. Examine the deeds carefully, 
 I implore you. This is the request of a despairing mother. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 A despairing mother ! 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (to herself, looking at Raoul 
 and Vautrin) 
 
 How is it possible that this man should know my secret and 
 have this hold upon my son? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 Will you come, madame? (Exeunt the two duchesses.) 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 
 KAOUL, VAUTRIN AND LATER LAFOURAILLE. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I thought our star was setting; but it is still in the 
 ascendant. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 Have I not been humbled sufficiently? I had nothing in 
 the world but my honor, and that I gave into your keeping. 
 Your power is infernal, I 'see that plainly. But from this 
 very moment I withdraw from its influence. You are no 
 longer in danger. Farewell. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (coming in while Raoul speaks) 
 No one caught, 'twas lucky, we had time! Ah, sir,
 
 VAUTRIN 121 
 
 Philosopher is below, all is lost ! The house has been entered 
 by the police. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Disgusting ! And no one has been taken ? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 We were too cute for that. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Philosopher is below, as what? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 As a footman. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Good ; let him get up behind my carriage. I want to give 
 you my orders about locking up the Prince d'Arjos, who 
 thinks he is going to fight a duel to-morrow. 
 
 EAOUL 
 
 I see that you are in danger. I will not leave you, arid I 
 desire to know 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Nothing. Do not worry about your own security. I will 
 look out for you, in spite of you. 
 
 RAOUL 
 Oh ! I know what my future will be. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I too know. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Come, things are getting hot. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Nay, the fat is in the fire.
 
 122 VAUTRIN 
 
 LAFOTTRAILLE 
 
 No time for sentiment, or dilly-dallying, they are on our 
 track and are mounted. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Let us be off then. (He takes Lafouraille aside) If the 
 government should do us the honor to billet its gendarmes on 
 us, our duty is to let them alone. All are at liberty to scatter; 
 but let all be at Mother Giroflee's at midnight. Get off post 
 haste, for I do not wish us to meet our Waterloo, and the 
 Prussians are upon us. We must run for it. 
 
 Curtain to the Fourth Act.
 
 VAUTRIN 123 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (The scene is laid at the Montsorel house, in a room on the 
 
 ground floor.) 
 
 JOSEPH (alone) 
 
 The cursed white mark appears this evening on the wicket 
 gate of the garden. Things cannot go on long in this way; 
 the devil only knows how it will end. I prefer seeing him 
 there, however, rather than in the apartments; the garden is 
 at least away from the house, and when the warning comes 3 
 one can walk out to meet him. 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 
 JOSEPH, LAFOUEAILLE AND BUTEUX; LATEB, VAUTEIN. 
 (The humming sound of a voice is heard for a moment.) 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 There it is, our national air, which I never hear without 
 trembling. (Enter Lafouraille) And who are you ? (Lafour- 
 aille makes a sign) A new one coming? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 No, an old one. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Oh, he whose mark is in the garden.
 
 124 VAUTRIN 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Can he be waiting here ? He intended to be here. (Buteux 
 appears.) 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Why, there will be three of you. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (pointing to Joseph) 
 There will be four of us. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 And what do you come to do at this hour ? Do you want to 
 snatch up everything here ? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 He takes us for thieves ! 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 We prove that we can be, when we are down in our luck; 
 but we never say so. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 That is, we make money, like other people. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 But his grace the duke is going 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Your duke cannot return home before two o'clock, and that 
 gives us time enough : do not therefore interlard with anxious 
 thought the professional dish which we have to serve 
 
 BUTEUX 
 And serve hot.
 
 VAUTRIN 125 
 
 VAUTRIN (he wears a brown coat, blue trousers, and a black 
 waistcoat. His hair is short and he is got up as an imita- 
 tion of Napoleon in undress. As he enters he abruptly 
 puts out the candle and draws the slide of his dark\ 
 lantern} 
 
 What ! You have lights here ! You think yourselves still 
 members of respectable society. I can understand that this 
 fool should ignore the first elements of sane conduct but you 
 others ! (To Buteux, as he points out Joseph to him) Put 
 wool in this fellow's ears, and talk with him over there. (To 
 Lafouraille) And what of the youngster? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 He is kept well out of sight. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 In what place ? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 In the other rookery of Giroflee's woman, near here, behind 
 the Invalides. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 And see that he does not escape like that slippery eel of a 
 Saint-Charles, that madman, who came for the purpose of- 
 breaking up our establishment for I but I never threaten. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 Upon the youngster's safety I will stake my head ! Philoso- 
 pher has put buskins on his hands and frills on his feet, he 
 cannot stir hand or foot, and will be given up only to me. As 
 for the other, who could help it ? Poor Giroflee cannot resist 
 strong liquors, and Blondet knew it. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 What did Eaoul say?
 
 126 VAUTRIN 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 
 He made a terrible uproar; and swore he was disgraced. 
 Fortunately Philosopher is insensible to metaphors. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Do you think the boy wishes for a fight to the death? A 
 young man is fearful ; he has the courage to conceal his terror 
 and the folly to allow himself to be killed. I hope they prevent 
 him from writing to any one. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (aside) 
 
 We are in for it ! (Aloud) I can conceal nothing from 
 you ; before he was fastened up the prince sent little Nini with 
 a letter to the Christoval house. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 To Inez? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 To Inez. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 He wrote a lot of rubbish, I'll warrant. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 A pack of lies and absurdities. 
 
 VAUTRIN (to Joseph) 
 Hello there! You the honest man. 
 
 BUTEUX (leading Joseph to Vautrin) 
 You had better explain things to the master, as he desires. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 It seems to me that I am not unreasonable to ask what risk 
 I am to run, and what profit is to accrue to me. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Time is short, speech long, let us employ the former and
 
 VAUTRIN 127 
 
 drop the latter. There are two lives in peril, that of a man 
 I am interested in, and that of a musketeer which I consider 
 useless: we are going to crush him. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 What ! Do you mean monsieur the marquis ? I will have 
 nothing to do with it. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 You have no say in the matter of your consent. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 
 We have captured him. Look you, my friend, when the 
 wine is drawn 
 
 JOSEPH 
 If it is bad, it must not be drunk. 
 
 VAUTRIN- 
 
 And you refuse to pledge me in a glass? He who thinks 
 calculates, and he who calculates betrays. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Your calculations lead to the scaffold. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Enough! You tire me. Your master is to fight a duel 
 to-morrow. In this duel one of the combatants will never 
 leave the ground alive ; imagine that the duel has taken place, 
 and that your master has had no fair chance. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 That is just it. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE 
 The master is as deep as Fate.
 
 128 VAUTKIN 
 
 JOSEPH 
 A fine condition to be in. 
 
 BUTEUX 
 The devil to pay and no pitch hot ! 
 
 VAUTBIN (to Joseph, pointing out Lafouraille and Buteux) 
 You will conceal these two. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Where? 
 
 VAUTBIN 
 
 I tell you, you must conceal them. When all are asleep in 
 the house, excepting us, you must send them up to the mus- 
 keteer's room. (To Buteux and Lafouraille} Try to go there 
 without him ; you must be cautious and adroit ; the window of 
 his room overlooks the court. (Whispers in their ear} Throw 
 him down. It will be a case of despair (turning to Joseph}, 
 and suicide will be a ground for averting suspicion from all. 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 
 VAUTRIN (alone} 
 
 All is saved ! there is only one suspect among us, and I will 
 change that state of affairs. Blondet is the traitor, and in this 
 case bad debts will make good friends, for I will point him out 
 to the duke in a friendly manner as the murderer of Vicomte 
 de Langeac. I must finally discover the motive of the 
 duchess's singular behavior. If what I learn explains the sui- 
 cide of the marquis, what a master stroke it will be !
 
 VAUTRIN 129 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 JOSEPH AND VAUTRIN. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Your men are well concealed, but you doubtless intend to 
 leave the house? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 No, I am going to do some reading in the study of the Due 
 de Montsorel. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 But if he comes home, won't you be afraid? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 If I feared anything, would I be the master of you all? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 But where are yon going? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 You are very curious. 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 JOSEPH (alone) 
 
 There, he is disposed of for the moment, his two fellows 
 likewise ; I hold them, and, as I don't want to have anything 
 to do with the affair, I am going
 
 130 VAUTRIN 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 JOSEPH, A FOOTMAN; AND AFTERWARDS SAINT-CHAELES. 
 
 THE FOOTMAN 
 M. Joseph, some one is asking for you. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 At this hour? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 It is I. 
 
 JOSEPH (to the footman) 
 You may go. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 His grace the duke cannot come home until after the king's 
 retirement for the night. The duchess is on her way home. I 
 wish to speak to her privately and wait for her here. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Here? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Here. 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 my God ! and Jacques 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 If it inconveniences you 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Not in the least. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Tell me the truth, you are expecting some one. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 1 am expecting the duchess.
 
 VAUTEIN 131 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 And not Jacques Collin ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Oh ! don't talk to me about that man, you make me shud- 
 der. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Collin is mixed up with some business that might bring him 
 here. You must have seen him lately. I have no time to pump 
 you, and I have no need to bribe, but you must choose between 
 him and me, and pretty quickly, too. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 What do you require of me ? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 To tell me everything that takes place here. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Well, the latest thing is the duel of the marquis ; he fights 
 to-morrow with M de Freseas. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 What next? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 I see her grace the duchess has just returned. 
 
 'SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (alone) 
 
 What a timid beast he is ! This duel is a capital excuse for 
 speaking with the duchess. The duke did not understand me, 
 he saw in me nothing but a tool, to be taken up and dropped
 
 132 VAUTRTN 
 
 at pleasure. Did he not, by imposing silence upon me towards 
 his wife, betray his suspicion that I was dangerous to him? 
 The patrimony of the strong is the faculty of utilizing the 
 faults of a neighbor,, I have already devoured several patri- 
 monies, and my appetite is still good. 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES, THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL AND MLLE. 
 DE VAUDREY. 
 
 (Saint-Charles disappears till the two ladies have passed, and 
 
 remains at the bade, while they come to 
 
 the front of the stage. ) 
 
 MLLE. DE VADDREY. 
 You are quite worn out. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL (sinking into an armchair) 
 Yes; I am dead! In despair 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (coming forward) 
 Madame the duchess. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Ah ! I had forgotten ! Sir, it is impossible at this moment 
 to grant you the interview you ask. To-morrow or later in 
 the day. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY (to Saint-Charles) 
 
 My niece, sir, is not in a condition to listen to you. 
 
 i 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 To-morrow, ladies, it will be too late ! The life of your son,
 
 VAUTRIN 133 
 
 the Marquis de Montsorel, who fights a duel to-morrow with 
 M. de Frescas, is threatened. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 This duel is indeed a frightful thing. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY (in a low tone to the duchess) 
 You have already forgotten that Eaoul is a stranger to 
 you. 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to Saint-Charles) 
 Sir, my son will know hew to acquit himsel 
 
 SAIXT-CHARLES 
 
 May I venture to inform you of facts which ordinarily 
 would be kept from a mother? Your son will be killed with- 
 out any fighting. His adversary's servants are bravoes, 
 wretches of whom he is the ringleader. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 And what proof have you of this? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 A former steward of M. de Frescas has offered me a vast 
 sum if I would join in this foul conspiracy against the Chris- 
 toval family. In order to make time, I pretended to assent; 
 but just as I was on my way to warn the authorities, I was 
 dashed to the ground by two men who came by at full speed, 
 and I lost consciousness ; they administered to me in this con- 
 dition a powerful narcotic, thrust me into a cab, and when 
 I came to myself, I was in a den of criminals. Recovering 
 my self-possession, I escaped from my confinement, and set 
 out to track these dare-devils. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 
 You sometimes come here to see M. de Montsorel, accord- 
 ing to what Joseph tells us?
 
 134 VAUTRIN 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Yes, madame. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 And who, pray, may you be, sir? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 I am a private detective, whom his grace the duke dis- 
 trusts, and I am hired for clearing up mysterious occur- 
 rences. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAODREY (to the duchess) 
 Louise! 
 
 THE DUCHESS (fixing her eyes on Saint-Charles^ 
 And who has had the impertinence to send you to address 
 me? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 A sense of your danger brings me here. I am paid to be 
 your enemy. You can keep silence as well as I; prove that 
 your protection is more advantageous to me than the hollow 
 promises of the duke, and I can assure you the victory. But 
 time presses, the duke will soon be here, and if he finds us 
 together, the success of our undertaking would be endan- 
 gered. 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to Mile, de Vaudrey} 
 Ah! we may still hope! (To Saint-Charles} And what 
 were you going to do at the house of M. de Frescas? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 That which, at present, I am doing at yours. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Silence, sir. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Your grace has given me no answer ; the duke has my word, 
 and he is very powerful.
 
 VAUTRIN 135 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 And I, sir, am immensely rich; but do not expect to take 
 advantage of me. (She rises) I will never be the dupe of M. 
 de Montsorel, I recognize his trickery in this secret interview, 
 which you had asked for. (With emphasis) Let me complete 
 your information. M. de Frescas is not a wretch; his ser- 
 vants are not assassins ; he belongs to a family as rich as it is 
 noble, and he is about to marry the Princesse d'Arjos. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Yes, madame, a Mexican envoy has produced letters from 
 M. de Christoval, and documents remarkably authentic. You. 
 have sent for a secretary of the Spanish legation, who has 
 endorsed them: seals, stamps, authentications ah! all are 
 flawless. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Yes, sir, the documents are unassailable. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 You ae very much interested, madame, in their being 
 proved forgeries, I presume? 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to Mile, de Vaudrey) 
 Never has such torture as this wrung the heart of a 
 mother ! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (aside) 
 Whoso side shall I take, husband's or wife's? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Sir, any sum you may ask shall be yours, if you can prove 
 to me that M. Eaoul de Frescas 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Is a criminal? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 No, but a child
 
 136 VAUTRIN 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 You mean your child, don't you? 
 
 THE DUCHESS (forgetting 'herself) 
 
 Yes, yes ! Be my deliverer, and I will be your eternal 
 protector. (To Mile, de Vaudrey) Ah me! What have 1 
 said? (To Saint-Charles) Where is Eaoul? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 He has disappeared, and this steward of his, who procured 
 the forged deeds in Eue Obi in, and doubtless played the part 
 of the Mexican envoy, is one of the most astute of criminals. 
 (The duchess starts.) Oh, you need not be alarmed; he is 
 too clever to shed blood; but he is more formidable than 
 those who shed it recklessly ; and such a man is the guardian 
 of Eaoul. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 My whole fortune for his life ! 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 I am for you, madame. (Aside) I know all, and can 
 choose which side I like. 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, THE Due DE MONTSOREL AND A 
 FOOTMAN. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Ah, well, you are getting your own way; there is talk of 
 nothing else but the fortune and coming marriage of M. de 
 Frescas; but of course he can claim a family. (Whispers to 
 Madame de Montsorel) He has a mother. (Perceiving Saint- 
 Charles) What ! you here, chevalier, and with the duchess ?
 
 VAUTRIN 137 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (talcing the duke aside) 
 Your grace will approve of what I have done. (Aloud) 
 You have been at the palace and I thought it necessary to 
 warn the duchess of the danger which threatens her only son, 
 the marquis; he is likely to be murdered. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Murdered ? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 But your grace will listen to my advice 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 Come into my study, my friend, and let us at once take 
 steps to avert this catastrophe. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (exchanging a looTc of intelligence with the 
 
 duchess) 
 
 I have strange things to tell your grace. (Aside) I am 
 certainly going to take the duke's part. 
 
 . SCENE TENTH. 
 THE DUCHESS, MLLE. DE VAUDREY AND VAUTRIN. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 If Raoul is your son, how vile is the company he keeps. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 An angel would purify hell itself. 
 
 VAUTRIN (who half opens with caution a French casement 
 that leads to the garden, where he has been listen- 
 ing to the preceding conversation. (Aside) 
 
 I know all. Two brothers cannot fight a duel. Ah, here is 
 my duchess! (Aloud) Ladies!
 
 138 VAUTRIN 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 A man! Help! Help! 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 It is he ! 
 
 VAUTRIN (to the duchess) 
 
 Silence! Women can do nothing but cry out. (To Mile, 
 de Vaudrey) Mile, de Vaudrey, run to the chamber of the 
 marquis. Two infamous murderers are there; be quick, 
 before they cut his throat. But let the wretches be seized 
 without making a disturbance. (To the duchess) Stay where 
 you are, madame. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Go, dear aunt; have no fear for me. 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 My rascals will be vastly surprised. What will they think ? 
 This is the way I bring down judgment upon them. (A 
 noise is heard.) 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 THE DUCHESS AND VAUTRIN. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 The whole house is in commotion ! What will be said, when 
 it is known that I am here? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Let us hope that the foundling will be saved. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 But you are known here, and the duke is with
 
 VAUTRIN 139 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 The Chevalier de Saint-Charles. I am imperturbed ; you 
 will defend me. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 I? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Yes, you. Or you will never again see your son, Fernand 
 de Montsorel. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Eaoul is undoubtedly my son then ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 He is I hold in my possession complete proofs of your 
 innocence, and your son. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 You! You shall not leave me until 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MLLE. DE VAUDREY on one side of 
 the stage, SAINT- CHARLES on the other, AND DOMESTICS. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 Here he is! (To Vautrin) Begone! At once! 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to Mile, de Vaudrey) 
 You are ruining everything. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (to the servants) 
 
 Behold their ringleader and accomplice ! Whatever he may 
 say, seize him!
 
 140 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to the company} 
 I command you to leave me alone with this man. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 What is it, chevalier ? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 You are a puzzle to me, baron. 
 
 VAUTRIN (whispering to the duchess) 
 You behold in this man the murderer of the viscount whom 
 you loved so well. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 He the murderer? 
 
 VAUTRIN (to the duchess) , 
 
 Let him be closely watched, or he will slip through your 
 fingers like money. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Joseph ! 
 
 VAUTRIN (to Joseph) 
 What happened up stairs? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 His lordship the marquis drew his sword, and being 
 attacked from the rear, defended himself, and was twice 
 slightly wounded. His grace the duke is with him now. 
 
 THE DUCHESS (to her aunt) 
 
 Return to Albert's room, I implore you. ( To Joseph, point- 
 ing out Saint-Charles) I shall hold you responsible for this 
 man's detention. 
 
 VAUTRIN (to Joseph) 
 So shall I.
 
 VAUTRIN 141 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (to Vautrin) 
 I see the situation, you have got ahead of me. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I bear DO malice towards you, my dear fellow. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (to Joseph) 
 Take me before the duke. (Exeunt.) 
 
 SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 VAUTRIN AND THE DUCHESS. 
 
 VAUTRIN (aside) 
 
 He has a father, an ancestral family, a mother. What a 
 climax ! In whom shall I henceforth find an interest ? Whom 
 shall I be able to love? After ten years of paternity, the 
 loss is irreparable. 
 
 THE DUCHESS (approaching Vautrin) 
 What is it? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 What is it ? It is, that I can never give back to you your 
 son, madame; it is, that I do not feel brave enough to sur- 
 vive his separation from me, nor his contempt for me. The 
 loss of such as Kaoul is irretrievable! My life has been 
 bound up in his. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 But could he feel affection for you, you a criminal whom 
 one could at any moment give up 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 To justice do you mean ? I thought you would have been
 
 142 VAUTEIN 
 
 more tender. But you do not, I perceive, see the abyss in 
 which I am dragging you, your son and the duke, and which 
 all descend in company. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Oh ! What have you made of my poor child? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 A man of honor. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 And he loves you ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 He loves me still. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 But has that wretch spoken the truth in revealing what 
 you are and whence you come? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Yes, ma dame. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 And have you taken care of my son? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Your son, our son yes have you not perceived that he is 
 as pure as an angel? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Ah, may you receive a blessing for what you have done! 
 May the world pardon you ! God ! (she kneels) the voice 
 of a mother must reach Thee, forgive, forgive this man. (She 
 looks at Vautrin.) My tears shall bathe his hands! Oh! 
 grant that he may repent! (Turning to Vautrin) You be- 
 long to me ; I will change you ! But people are deceived, you 
 are no criminal, and, whatever you are, all mothers will give 
 you their absolution !
 
 VAUTRIN 143 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Come, it is time to restore her son to her. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Did you still harbor the horrible thought of refusing him 
 to his mother? But I have waited for him for two and 
 twenty years. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 And I, have I not been for ten years his father? Eaoul 
 is my very soul ! Let me endure anguish, let men heap shame 
 upon me; if he is happy and crowned with honor, I shall see 
 it and my life will once more be bright. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 I am overwhelmed. He loves like a mother. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 The only tie that binds me to the world, to life, is this 
 bright link, purer than gold. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 And without stain? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Ah ! People know themselves only in their virtues, and are 
 austere for others alone. But in myself I see but infamy in 
 him the heart of honor. And yet was he found by me on the 
 highroad from Toulon to Marseilles, the route of the convict. 
 He was twelve years old, without bread, and in rags. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Bare-foot, it may be ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Yes. But beautiful, with curly hair
 
 144 VAUTRIN 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 It was thus you saw him ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Poor angel, he was crying. I took him with me. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 And you brought him up? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I stole the means to do so. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 I should, perhaps, myself have done the like. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I did more ! 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 He must have suffered much. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Never! I concealed from him the means I took to make 
 his life happy and easy. I would not let him even suspect 
 them it would have blighted him. You may ennoble him by 
 parchments, I have made him noble in heart. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 And he was my son ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Yes, a son full of nobility, of winning grace, of high in- 
 stincts ; he needed but to have the way made clear to him. 
 
 THE DUCHESS (wringing the hand of Vautrin) 
 You must needs be great indeed, who have so well per- 
 formed a mother's task !
 
 VAUTRIN 145 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 And better than you mothers do! Often you love your 
 babes amiss Ah, you will spoil him for me even now ! He 
 was of reckless courage; he wished to be a soldier, and the 
 Emperor would have accepted him. I showed him the world 
 and mankind under their true light Yet now he is about to 
 renounce me 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 My son ungrateful ? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 No, 'tis mine I speak of. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Oh ! give him back to me this very instant ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 I and those two men upstairs are we not all liable to 
 prosecution? And ought not the duke to give us assurance 
 of silence and release? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Those two men then are your agents ? And you came 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 But for me, of the two, natural and lawful son, there would 
 not, in a few hours, have survived but one child. And they 
 might perchance both have fallen each by the other's hand. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Ah ! you are a providence of horror ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 What would you have had me do ?
 
 146 VAUTRIN 
 
 SCENE FOURTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, THE DUKE, LAFOURAILLE, BUTEUX, 
 SAINT-CHARLES, AND ALL THE DOMESTICS. 
 
 i 
 THE DUKE (pointing to Vautrin) 
 
 Seize him ! (Pointing to Saint-Charles) And obey no one 
 but this gentleman. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 But you owe to him the life of your Albert! It was he 
 who gave the alarm. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 He! 
 
 BUTEUX (to Vautrin) 
 
 Ah ! you have betrayed us ! Why did you bring us here ? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES (to the duke) 
 Does your grace hear them ? 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (to Buteux) 
 Cannot you keep silence ? Have we any right to judge him ? 
 
 BUTEUX 
 And yet he condemns us ! 
 
 VAUTRIN (to the duke) 
 
 I would inform your grace that these two men belong to 
 me, and I claim possession of them. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Why, these are the domestics of M. de Frescas I 
 
 VAUTRIN (to Saint-Charles) 
 Steward of the Langeacs, hold your tongue ! (He points to
 
 VAUTRIN 147 
 
 Lafouraille) This is Philip Boulard. (Lafouraille bows.) 
 Will your grace kindly send every one out of the room ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 What ! Do you dare give your orders in my house? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 Ah ! sir, he is master here. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 What! this wretch? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 If his grace the duke wishes to have an audience present 
 we will proceed to talk of the son of Dona Mendes. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Silence ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Whom you are passing off as the son of 
 
 THE DUKB 
 Once more I say, silence ! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Your grace perceives, evidently, that there are too many 
 people within hearing. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 All of you begone ! 
 
 VAUTRIN (to the duke) 
 
 Set a watch on every outlet from your house, and let no one 
 leave it, excepting these two men. (To Saint-Charles) Do 
 you remain here. (He draws a dagger and cuts the cords by 
 which Lafouraille and Buteux are bound.) Take yourselves 
 off hy the postern; here is the key, and go to the house of
 
 14$ VAUTRIN 
 
 mother Giroflee. (To Lafouraille) You must send Raoul 
 to me. 
 
 LAFOURAILLE (as he leaves the room) 
 Oh ! our veritable emperor. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 You iJiall receive money and passports. 
 
 BUTEUX (as he goes out) 
 After all. I shall have something for Adele ! 
 
 THE DUKE 
 But how di J you learn all these facts ? 
 
 VAUTRIN (handing some documents to the duke) 
 These are what I took from your study. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 These comprise my correspondence, and the letters of the 
 duchess to the Viucount de Langeac. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Who was shot at Mortagne, October, 1792, through the kind 
 efforts of Charles Blondet, otherwise known as the Chevalier 
 de Saint-Charles. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 But your grace very well knows 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 It was he himself who gave me these papers, among which 
 you will notice the death certificate of the viscount, which 
 proves that he and her grace the duchess never met after the 
 Tenth of August, for he had then left the Abbaye for the 
 Vendee, accompanied by Boulard, who seized the moment to 
 betray and murder him.
 
 VAUTRIN 149 
 
 THE DUKE 
 And so Fernand 
 
 VAUTRIX 
 The child sent to Sardinia is undoubtedly your son. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 And her grace the duchess 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 .Is innocent. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 My God ! (He sinks back into an armchair.) What have I 
 done? 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 What a terrible proof his death ! And the assassin stands 
 before us. 
 
 VAUTRIN. 
 
 M. le Due de Montsorel, I have been a father to Fernand, 
 and I have just saved your two sons, each from the sword of 
 the other; you alone are the author of all this complication. 
 
 THE DUCHESS 
 
 Stop! I know him better than you do, and he suffers at 
 this moment all that I have suffered during twenty years. 
 In the name of mercy, where is my son ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 What, Raoul de Frescas? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Fernand de Montsorel is on his way here. (To Saint- 
 Charles) And what do you say about all this? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 You are a hero ; let me be your servant.
 
 150 VAUTRIN 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 You are ambitious. Would you follow me? 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 Anywhere. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 I can well believe it. 
 
 SAINT-CHARLES 
 
 Ah ! what a master mind you obtain in me, and what a loss 
 to the government! 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Go; and wait for me at the bureau of passports. (Exit 
 Saint-Charles.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL, INEZ 
 AND MLLE. DE VAUDREY. 
 
 MLLE. DE VAUDREY 
 Here they are ! 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE CHRISTOVAL 
 
 My daughter, madame, has received a letter from M. Eaoul, 
 in which this noble young man declares that he would rather 
 give up Inez, than deceive us; he has related his whole life's 
 history. He is to fight a duel with your son to-morrow, and 
 as Inez is the involuntary cause of this duel we are come to 
 prevent it ; for it is now entirely without ground or reason. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 There will be no duel, madame.
 
 VAUTRIN 151 
 
 INEZ 
 
 He will live then ! 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 And you shall marry the Marquis de Montsorel, my child. 
 
 SCENE SIXTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, RAOUL AND LAFODEAILLE. (The last- 
 named does not tarry.) 
 
 RAOUL (to Vautrin) 
 
 What! would you imprison me to prevent my fighting a 
 duel? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 With your brother? 
 
 RAOUL 
 My brother? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Yes. 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 
 You are, then, really my child! (She embraces Raoul.) 
 Ladies, this is Fernand de Montsorel, my son, the 
 
 THE DUKE (talcing Raoul by the hand, and interrupting his 
 
 wife) 
 
 The eldest son, who was carried off from us in childhood. 
 Albert is now no more than Comte de Montsorel. 
 
 RAOUL 
 
 For three days I have been in a dream ! You, my mother ! 
 you, sir 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Your father yes!
 
 152 VAUTRIN 
 
 EAOUL 
 Among the very people who asked me to name my family 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Your family has been found. 
 
 RAOUL 
 And are you still to have a place in my life ? 
 
 VAUTRIN (to the Duchesse de Montsorel) 
 What shall I say to you ? (To Raoul) Remember, my lord 
 marquis, that I have, in advance, absolved you from all 
 charge of ingratitude. (To the duchess) The child will for- 
 get me ; will the mother also ? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 Never. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 But what are the misfortunes that plunged you into so dark 
 an abyss? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 Can any one explain misfortune ? 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE MONTSOREL 
 Dear husband, is it not in your power to obtain his pardon ? 
 
 THE DUKE 
 The sentences under which he has served are irreversible. 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 That word reconciles me to you, it is a statesman's word. 
 Your grace should explain that transportation is the last 
 expedient to which you can resort in overcoming us. 
 
 RAOUL 
 Monsieur
 
 Copyright, 1902, byj. D. A. 
 
 Vautrin and RaouL
 
 VAUTRIN 153 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 You are wrong ; I am not even monsieur at present. 
 
 INEZ 
 
 I think I understand that you are an outlaw, that my friend 
 owes you a vast debt, and cannot discharge it. Beyond the sea, 
 I have extensive lands, which require a man's energy for their 
 right administration ; you shall go and exercise there your tal- 
 ents, and become 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Rich, under a new name ? Child, can you not realize that 
 in this world there are pitiless necessities? Yes, I could 
 acquire a fortune, but who will give me the opportunity ? (To 
 the duke) The king could at your grace's intercession grant 
 me a pardon, but who then would take my hand in his ? 
 
 BAOUL 
 I would 1 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 Ah ! It was this I waited for before taking leave. You now 
 have a mother. Farewell! 
 
 SCENE SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS,, A POLICE OFFICER, GUARDS AND SER- 
 VANTS. 
 
 (The window casements are flung open; and an officer enters; 
 at the back of the stage are gendarmes.) 
 
 THE OFFICER (to the duke) 
 
 In the name of the king, of the law, I arrest Jacques Collin, 
 convicted of having broken (All persons present fling them-
 
 154 VAUTRIN 
 
 selves between the armed force and Jacques, in order to give 
 him opportunity for escaping.) 
 
 THE DUKE 
 Gentlemen, I take upon myself 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 In your grace's house the justice of the king must have free 
 course. The matter lies between these gentlemen and me. 
 (To the officer) I will follow you. (To the duchess) It was 
 Joseph who brought the police ; he is one of us ; discharge him. 
 
 EAOUL 
 Are we separated forever? 
 
 VAUTRIN 
 
 You will marry very shortly. Within a year, on a day of 
 christening, scan carefully the faces of the poor at the church 
 door ; one will be there who wishes to be certain of your happi- 
 ness. Till then, adieu. (To the officer) It is time for us to be 
 moving. 
 
 Final Curtain.
 
 THE RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 A COMEDY IN A PROLOGUE AND FIVE ACTS 
 
 First Presented at the Theatre de TOdeon, Parts, 
 March 19, 1842. 
 
 (155)
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 Had the author of the following play written it merely for 
 the purpose of winning for it the universal praise which the 
 journals have lavished upon his romances, and which perhaps 
 transcended their merits, The Resources of Quinola would 
 still have heen an excellent literary speculation; but, when 
 he sees himself the object of so much praise and so much con- 
 demnation, he has come to the conclusion that it is much more 
 difficult to make successfully a first venture on the stage than 
 in the field of mere literature, and he has armed himself, 
 accordingly, with courage, both for the present and for the 
 future. 
 
 The day will come when this piece will be employed by 
 critics as a battering ram to demolish some piece at its first 
 representation, just as they have employed all his novels, 
 and even his play entitled Vautrin, to demolish The Resources 
 of Quinola. 
 
 However tranquil may be his mood of resignation, the 
 author cannot refrain from making here two suggestive 
 observations. 
 
 Not one among fifty feuilleton writers has failed to treat 
 as a fable, invented by the author, the historic fact upon 
 which is founded the present play. 
 
 Long before M. Arago mentioned this incident in his his- 
 tory of steam, published in the Annuaire du Bureau des Lon- 
 gitudes, the author, to whom the incident was known, had 
 guessed in imagination the great drama that must have led 
 
 (157)
 
 158 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 up to that final act of despair, the catastrophe which neces- 
 sarily ended the career of the unknown inventor, who, in the 
 middle of the sixteenth century, built a ship that moved by 
 steam in the harbor of Barcelona, and then scuttled it with 
 his own hands in the presence of two hundred thousand spec- 
 tators. 
 
 This observation is sufficient answer to the derision which 
 has been flung upon what was supposed to be the author's 
 hypothesis as to the invention of steam locomotion before the 
 time of the Marquis of Worcester, Salomon de Caus and 
 Papin. 
 
 The second observation relates to the strange manner in 
 which almost all the critics have mistaken the character of 
 Lavradi, one of the personages in this comedy, which they 
 have stigmatized as a hideous creation. Any one who reads 
 the piece, of which no critic has given an exact analysis, will 
 see that Lavradi, sentenced to be transported for ten years 
 to the presides, comes to ask pardon of the king. Every one 
 knows how freely the severest penalties were in the sixteenth 
 century measured out for the lightest offences, and how warmly 
 valets in a predicament such as Quinola's, were welcomed by 
 the spectators in the antique theatres. 
 
 Many volumes might be filled with the laments of feuille- 
 tonists, who for nearly twenty years have called for comedies 
 in the Italian, Spanish or English style. An attempt has 
 been made to produce one, and the critics would rather eat 
 their own words than miss the opportunity of choking off the 
 man who has been bold enough to venture upon a pathway 
 of such fertile promise, whose very antiquity lends to it in 
 these days the charm of novelty. 
 
 Nor must we forget to mention, to the disgrace of our age, 
 the howl of disapprobation which greeted the title "Duke
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 159 
 
 of Neptunado," selected by Philip II. for the inventor, a 
 howl in which educated readers will refuse to join, but which 
 was so overwhelming at the presentation of the piece that 
 after its first utterance the actors omitted the term during 
 the remainder of the evening. This howl was raised by an 
 audience of spectators who read in the newspapers every morn- 
 ing the title of the Duke of Vittoria, given to Espartero, and 
 who must have heard of the title Prince of Paz, given to the 
 last favorite of the last but one of the kings of Spain. How 
 could such ignorance as this have been anticipated? Who 
 does not know that the majority of Spanish titles, especially 
 in the time of Charles V. and Philip II., refer to circum- 
 stances under which they were originally granted? 
 
 Orendayes assumed the title of La Pes, from having signed 
 the treaty of peace in 1725. 
 
 An admiral took that of Transport-Real, from the fact that 
 the dauphin sailed with him to Italy. 
 
 Navarro was given the title La Vittoria after the sea-fight 
 off Toulon, though the issue of the conflict was indecisive. 
 
 These examples, and as many others, are outdone by that 
 of the famous finance minister, a parvenu broker, who chose 
 to be entitled the Marquis Insignificant (I'Ensenada). 
 
 In producing a work, constructed with all the dramatic 
 irregularity of the early French and Spanish stage, the 
 author has made an experiment which had been called for by 
 the suffrages of more than one "organ of public opinion," 
 as well as of all the "first-nighters" of Paris. He wished to 
 meet the genuine public and to have his piece represented in a 
 house filled with a paying audience. The unsatisfactory 
 result of this ordeal was so plainly pointed out by the whole 
 press, that the indispensability of claqueurs has been now for- 
 ever established.
 
 160 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 The author had been confronted by the following dilemma, 
 as stated by those experienced in such matters. If he intro- 
 duced into the theatre twelve hundred "dead heads," the suc- 
 cess secured by their applause would undoubtedly be ques- 
 tioned. If twelve hundred paying spectators were present, 
 the success of the piece was almost out of the question. The 
 author chose to run the risk of the latter alternative. Such 
 is the history of this first representation, where so many peo- 
 ple appeared to be made so uncomfortable by their elevation 
 to the dignity of independent judges. 
 
 The author intends therefore to return to the beaten track, 
 base and ignoble though it be, which prejudice has laid out as 
 the only avenue to dramatic success; but it may not be un- 
 profitable to state here, that the first representation of The 
 Resources of Quinola actually redounded to the advantage of 
 the claqueurs, the only persons who enjoyed any triumph, in 
 an evening entertainment from which their presence was 
 debarred ! 
 
 Some idea of the criticism uttered on this comedy may be 
 gained from the fact that out of the fifty newspapers, all of 
 which for the last twenty years have uttered over the unsuc- 
 cessful playwright the hackneyed phrase, "the play is the 
 work of a clever man who will some day take his revenge," 
 not one employed it in speaking of The Resources of Quinola, 
 which they were unanimous in consigning to oblivion. This 
 result has settled the ambition of the author. 
 
 Certain persons, whose good auguries the author had done 
 nothing to call forth, encouraged from the outset this dramatic 
 venture, and thus showed themselves less critical than unkind ; 
 but the author counts such miscalculations as blessings in 
 disguise, for the loss of false friends is the best school of
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 181 
 
 experience. Nor is it less a pleasure than a duty thus pub- 
 licly to thank the friends, like M. Leon Gozlan, who have 
 remained faithful, towards whom the author has contracted 
 a debt of gratitude; like M. Victor Hugo, who protested, so 
 to speak, against the public verdict at the first representa- 
 tion, by returning to witness the second; like M. de Lamar- 
 tine and Madame de Girardin, who stuck to their first opin- 
 ion, in spite of the general public reprobation of the piece. 
 The approval of such persons as these would be consoling in 
 any disaster. 
 
 LIGNY, 2 April, 1842.
 
 PERSONS OF THE PROLOGUE 
 
 PHILIP II., King of Spain. 
 
 CARDINAL CIENFUEGOS, Grand Inquisitor. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARDS. 
 
 THE DUKE OF OLMEDO. 
 
 THE DUKE OF LERMA. 
 
 ALFONSO FONTANARES. 
 
 LAVRADI, known as Quinola. 
 
 A HALBERDIER. 
 
 AN ALCALDE OF THE PALACE. 
 
 A FAMILIAR OF THE INQUISITION. 
 
 THE QUEEN OF SPAIN. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS OF MONDEJAR. 
 
 (163)
 
 PERSONS OF THE PLAY 
 
 DON FREGOSE, Viceroy of Catalonia. 
 
 GRAND INQUISITOR. 
 
 COUNT SARPI, Secretary to the Viceroy. 
 
 DON EAMON, a savant. 
 
 AVALOROS, a banker. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS, a Lombard. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ,. a burgess. 
 
 ALFONSO FO*TTANARES, an inventor. 
 
 LAVRADL, known as Quinola, servant to Fontanares. 
 
 MONIPODIO, i retired bandit. 
 
 COPPOLUS, a metal merchant. 
 
 CARPANO, a locksmith. 
 
 ESTEBANJ 
 GlRONE J 
 
 THE HOST OP THE "GOLDEN SUN/' 
 A BAILIFF. 
 AN ALCALDE. 
 
 FAUSTINE BRANCADORI. 
 
 MARIE LOTHUNDIAZ, daughter to Lothundiaz. 
 DONA LOPEZ, duenna to Marie Lothundiaz. 
 PAQUITA, maid to Faustine. 
 
 SCENE : Spain Valladolid and Barcelona. TIME : 1588-89. 
 
 (164)
 
 THE RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 PROLOGUE. 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (The scene is laid at Valladolid, in the palace of the King 
 of Spain. The stage represents the gallery which leads to 
 the chapel. The entrance to the chapel is on the spectators' 
 left, that to the royal apartment on the right. The principal 
 entrance is in the centre. On each side of the principal door 
 stand two halberdiers. At the rise of the curtain the Captain 
 of the Guards and two lords are on the stage. An alcalde of 
 the palace stands in the centre of the gallery. Several cour- 
 tiers are walking up and down in the hall that leads to the 
 gallery. ) 
 
 THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARDS, QUINOLA (wrapped in his 
 mantle) AND A HALBERDIER. 
 
 THE HALBERDIER (barring the way to Quinola) 
 No one passes this way, unless he has the right to do so. 
 Who are you ? 
 
 QUINOLA (lifting up the halberd) 
 An ambassador. (All look at him.) 
 
 HALBERDIER 
 From what state? 
 
 QUINOLA (passing in) 
 From what state? From a state of misery. 
 
 (165)
 
 166 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARDS 
 
 Go and bring the major-domo of the palace, that he may 
 render to this ambassador the honors that are due him. (To 
 the halberdier) Three days' imprisonment. 
 
 QUINOLA (to the captain) 
 
 And so this is the way you respect people's rights ! Listen, 
 my lord, you are very high, and I am very low, but a couple 
 of words will place us on an equal footing. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 You are a very droll rascal. 
 
 QUINOLA (talcing him aside) 
 Are not you the cousin of the Marchioness of Mondejar? 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 What if lam? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Although she is high in favor, she is on the brink of an 
 abyss, into which she may fall and lose her head in falling. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 All people of your class trump up these stories ! Listen, 
 you are the twenty-second person, and we have only reached 
 the tenth of the month, who has made an attempt to be intro- 
 duced to the favorite, for the purpose of squeezing a few 
 pistoles from her. Take yourself off or else 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 My lord, it is better to be misled by twenty-two poor 
 devils, twenty-two times, than once to miss the opportunity 
 of heeding him who is sent by your good angel; and you see, 
 I may also say (he opens his mantle) I am wearing her wings
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 167 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 Let us end this, and tell me what proof of your errand 
 you can give ? 
 
 QUINOLA (handing him a letter) 
 
 This little message you must return to me so that the secret 
 remains in our possession, and hang me if you do not see the 
 marchioness swoon when she reads it. Believe moreover that 
 I profess, in common with an immense majority of Spaniards, 
 a deep-seated aversion for the gallows. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 And suppose that some ambitious woman has paid for your 
 life, that she give it in exchange for another's? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Should I be in rags? My life is as good as Caesar's. Look 
 here, my lord. (He unseals the letter, smells it, folds it up 
 again, and gives it to him} Are you satisfied? 
 
 THE CAPTAIN (aside) 
 
 I have yet time. (To Quinola) Eemain where you are, I 
 am going to her. 
 
 SCENE SECOND, 
 
 QUINOLA (alone, in the front of the stage, looking at the 
 
 departing captain) 
 
 That is all right ! my dear master, if the torture cham- 
 ber has not broken your bones, you are likely to get out of the 
 cells of the holy the thrice holy Inquisition saved by your 
 poor cur Quinola ! Poor ? why should I say poor ? My 
 master once free, we will end by cashing our hopes. To live 
 at Valladolid for six months without money, and without 
 being nabbed by the alguazils, argues the possession of cer-
 
 168 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 tain small talents, which, if applied to other ends, might 
 bring a man to something different in fact! If we knew 
 where we were going no one would stir a step I purpose 
 speaking to the king, I, Quinola. God of the rapscallions, 
 give me the eloquence of a pretty woman, of the Mar- 
 chioness of Monde jar 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 QUINOLA AND THE CAPTAIN. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN (to Quinola} 
 
 Here are fifty doubloons which the marchioness sends you, 
 that you may be enabled to make your appearance here in 
 decent guise. 
 
 QUINOLA (pouring the gold from one hand into the other) 
 Ah, this burst of sunshine has been long expected ! I will 
 return, my lord, radiant as that amorous valet, whose name 
 I have assumed; Quinola at your service, Quinola soon to be 
 lord of wide domains, where I shall administer justice, from 
 the time (aside) I cease to fear its ministers. 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE COURTIERS AND THE CAPTAIN. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN (alone at the front of the stage) 
 What secret has this miserable creature discovered? My 
 cousin almost fainted away. She told me that it concerned 
 all my friends. The king must have something to do in the 
 matter. (To a lord) Duke of Lerma, is there anything new 
 in Valladolid?
 
 RESOUKCES OF QUINOLA 169 
 
 THE DUKE OF LERMA (whispering) 
 
 It is said that the Duke of Olmedo was murdered this 
 morning, at three o'clock, just before dawn. It happened a 
 few paces from the Mondejar palace. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 It is quite likely he should he assassinated for prejudicing 
 the king's mind against my cousin; the king, like all great 
 statesmen, esteems as true everything that appears to be 
 probable. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 
 It is said that enmity between the duke and the marchion- 
 ess was only a pretence, and that the assassin is not to be 
 prosecuted. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 Duke, this ought not to be repeated unless it can be proved, 
 and even then could not be written excepting with a sword 
 dipped in my blood. 
 
 THE DUKE 
 You asked me the news. (The duke retires.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND THE MARCHIONESS OF MONDEJAR. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 Ah! here is my cousin! (To the marchioness) Dear mar- 
 chioness, you are still very much agitated. In the name of 
 our common" salvation, control yourself; you will attract 
 attention. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 
 Has that man come back ?
 
 170 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 Now, how can a man of such base condition as he is throw 
 you into such terror? 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 
 He holds my life in his hands ; more than my life, indeed ; 
 for he holds in his power the life also of another, who, in 
 spite of the most scrupulous precautions, cannot avoid ex- 
 citing the jealousy 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 Of the king ! Did he cause the assassination of the Duke 
 of Olmedo, as is rumored? 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 
 Alas! I do not know what to think. Here I am alone, 
 helpless and perhaps soon to be abandoned. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 You may rely upon me I shall constantly be in the midst 
 of all our enemies, like a hunter on the watch. 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND QUINOLA. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I have only thirty doubloons left, but I have had the worth 
 of sixty. Ah ! what a lovely scent ! The marchioness can now 
 talk to me without fear. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS (pointing out Quinola) 
 Is this our man ?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 171 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 Yes. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 
 Keep watch, my cousin, so that I may be able to talk with- 
 out being overheard. (To Quinola) Who are you, my friend ? 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 
 Her friend ! As soon as you have a woman's secret, you 
 are her friend. (Aloud) Madame, I am a man superior to 
 all considerations and all circumstances. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 You have reached a pretty good height, at that rate. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Is that a threat or a warning? 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 Sir, you are very impertinent. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Do not mistake farsightedness for impertinence. You 
 must study me, before coming to a decision. I am going to 
 describe my character to you; my real name is Lavradi. At 
 this moment Lavradi ought to be serving a ten years* sen- 
 tence in Africa, at the presides, owing to an error of the 
 alcaldes of Barcelona. Quinola is the conscience, white as 
 your fair hands, of Lavradi. Quinola does not know Lavradi. 
 Does the soul know the body? You may unite the soul,, 
 Quinola, to the body, Lavradi, all the more easily because this 
 morning Quinola was at the postern of your garden, with the 
 friends of the dawn who stopped the Duke of Olmedo 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 What has happened to him ?
 
 172 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Lavradi would take advantage of this moment, which is 
 full of promise, to ask a pardon ; but Quinola is a gentleman. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 You are taken up too much with yourself 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 And not sufficiently with him that is just. The duke 
 took us for foul assassins; we were simply asking him. at a 
 rather too advantageous hour, to make us a loan, pledged by 
 our rapiers as collateral. The famous Ma j oral, who was in 
 command of us, being close pressed by the duke, was forced 
 to disable him by a little thrust, of which he knows the secret. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 Oh! My God! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Happiness is cheap at such a cost, madame. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS (aside) 
 Hush ! he knows my secret. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 When we saw that the duke had not a maravedi about him, 
 we left him where he was. As I was the least culpable of all 
 the gang, I was charged to take him home; in adjusting his 
 pockets, which had been turned inside out, I found the letter 
 which he had written to you, and, learning your position at 
 the court, I understood 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 That your fortune was made? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Not at all that my life was in danger.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 173 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 Indeed ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 To whom are you speaking? Quinola or Lavradi? 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 
 Lavradi shall have his pardon. What does Quinola desire ? 
 To enter my service? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Foundling children are of gentle birth; Quinola will de- 
 liver your letter to you without asking a maravedi, without 
 obliging you to do anything unworthy of you, and he ex- 
 pects that you will refrain from desiring the services of a 
 poor devil who carries under his wallet the heart of the Cid. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 How dear you are going to cost me, fellow ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 You said to me just now, "my friend." 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 Were you not my enemy? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 On account of that word I trust you, madame, and intend 
 to tell you everything. But here do not laugh you must 
 promise I wish 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 You wish? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I wish to speak to the king at the moment when he 
 passes on his way to the chapel; I desire you to lend favor 
 to my request.
 
 174 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 But what are you going to ask him ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 The most simple thing in the world an audience for my 
 master. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 
 Explain yourself, for time presses. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Madame, I am the servant of a philosopher; and if the 
 mark of genius is poverty, we have a great deal too much 
 genius, madame. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 To the point. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Senor Alfonso Fontanares has come here from Catalonia 
 to offer the king our master the sceptre of the sea. At Bar- 
 celona he was taken for a madman; here he is considered a 
 sorcerer. When it becomes known what he proposes, he is 
 scoffed at in the antechambers. One wishes to protest for 
 the sake of ruining him; another, a philosopher, throws a 
 doubt on the existence of our secret, with the view of filching 
 it; others again make him a business proposition capi- 
 talists who wish to entangle him in their meshes. As things 
 go at present we do not know how they will turn out. No 
 one certainly can deny the forces of mechanics and geometry, 
 but the finest theorems have very little bodily nourishment 
 in them, and the smallest of ragouts is better for the 
 stomach ; but, really, science is not to blame for that. Dur- 
 ing the past winter my master and myself warmed ourselves 
 over our projects, and chewed the cud of our illusions. . . 
 Well, madame, he is now in prison, for he has been accused 
 of being on too friendly terms with the devil; and, unfor- 
 tunately, the Holy Office is right, this time, for we have con- 
 stantly seen him at the bottom of our purse. And now,
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 175 
 
 madame, I implore you, inspire the king with curiosity to 
 see a man who will give him a dominion as extended as that 
 which Columbus gave to Spain. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 
 But since Columbus gave a new world to Spain, new worlds 
 are being offered to us once in every fortnight ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Ah ! madame, every man of genius has one of his own to 
 offer. By heavens, it is so rare that a man can make honestly 
 a fortune both for himself and the state that the phenomenon 
 deserves to be favored. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 But what is the project about ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I must once more beg you not to laugh, madame. His plan 
 is to make ships travel without sail or oar, against the wind, 
 by means of a pot filled with water, which is kept boiling. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 
 What an idea ! Where do you come from ? What do you 
 mean? Are you dreaming? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 That is just what they all say ! Ah, common heard, ye are 
 so constituted that the man of genius, who is right ten years 
 before everybody else, passes for a madman for twenty-five 
 years. I am the only one who believes in this man, and it is 
 on this account I love him; to understand another is to be 
 bis equal. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 And you want me to repeat this nonsense to the king ?
 
 176 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Madame, you are the only person in the whole of Spain to 
 whom the king will not say, "Be silent." 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 
 You do not know the king, and I do. (Aside) I must get 
 back my letter. (Aloud) There is one recent circumstance 
 whose occurrence seems favorable to your master ; news comes 
 to the king that the Armada has been lost; wait for him on 
 his way through to chapel and address him. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARDS, THE COURTIERS AND QUINOLA. 
 
 QUINOLA (in the front of the stage) 
 
 It is not sufficient to possess genius and to employ it, for 
 there are plenty of people who make a false show to have 
 it and meet with excellent success. There is need also of 
 opportunity and favoring circumstances; a picked up letter, 
 which puts a favorite in danger, in order to obtain an 
 interceding tongue, and the loss of the mightiest of flotillas, 
 in order to open the ears of a prince. Chance is an infamous 
 wretch! And now, in the duel of Fontanares with his cen- 
 tury, the hour has come for his poor second to appear. (Bells 
 are heard; guard is mounted.) Is yon sound an omen of 
 success? (To the Captain of the Guards) How ought the 
 king to be spoken to ? 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 Step forward, bow your knee, and say: "Sire" and pray 
 God to guide your tongue aright (The royal procession 
 appears). 
 
 QUINOLA 
 I shall have no trouble in falling upon my knees; they
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 177 
 
 are giving way already ; for it is not only the fate of a man, 
 but of a world, that is at stake. 
 
 A PAGE. 
 The queen ! 
 
 A PAGE. 
 The king I 
 
 (Tableau.) 
 
 'SCENE EIGHTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, THE KING, THE QUEEN, THE MAR- 
 CHIONESS OF MONDEJAR, THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 AND THE WHOLE COURT. 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 Gentlemen, we are about to pray God and honor Him who 
 has dealt a deadly blow to Spain. England has escaped us, 
 the Armada is lost, and we desire no more to talk of that 
 flotilla. Admiral (he turns to the admiral), you were not 
 sent to give battle to the storms. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Sire! (He falls on one Jcnee.) 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 Who are you ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 The most insignificant and the most devoted of your sub- 
 jects; the servant of a man who pines in the prisons of the 
 Holy Office, accused of magic, because he desires to give to 
 your Majesty the power of escaping from similar disasters 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 If you are merely a servant, rise to your feet. Only 
 grandees are wont to kneel here, in presence of the king.
 
 178 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 My master, then, shall kneel at your feei 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 Explain yourself in brief; the moments of the king's whole 
 life are not so numerous as are his subjects. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 You must have, then, but one hour for each of your empires. 
 My master, Senor Alfonso Fontanares, is in the prisons of 
 the Holy Office 
 
 PHILIP II. (to the Grand Inquisitor) 
 Father (the Grand, Inquisitor approaches), what can you 
 tell us of a certain Alfonso Fontanares ? 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 He is a pupil of Galileo. He professes the heretical doc- 
 trine of his master and boasts the power to do wonders while 
 he refuses to explain the means. He is accused of being rather 
 a Moor than a Spaniard. 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 
 That sallow face is going to spoil all ! (To the King) Sire, 
 my master knows no sorcery, excepting so far as he is madly 
 in love, first with the glory of your Majesty, next with a maid 
 of Barcelona, heiress of Lothundiaz, the richest burgess of the 
 town. As he picked up more science than wealth in studying 
 natural science in Italy, the poor youth has failed in his 
 attempt to marry this maid. And notice, sire, how great men 
 are calumniated ; in his despair he made a pilgrimage to the 
 Yirgen del Pilar, to beg her assistance, because Marie was the 
 name of the lady he loved. On leaving the church, he sat 
 down wearied under a tree and fell asleep. In his dreams the 
 Virgin appeared to him and communicated to him an inven- 
 tion by which he could navigate ships without sails, without
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 179 
 
 oars, against wind and tide. He approached you ; sire; but 
 between the sun and him a cloud intervened, and after a 
 deadly conflict with the cloud, he is now suffering for his con- 
 fidence in the Virgen del Pilar and in his king. No one but 
 his servant has sufficient courage to come and throw at your 
 feet the news that there exists a means of realizing universal 
 dominion. 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 I will see your master when I leave the chapel. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 Surely, the king will not expose himself to such peril? 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 My duty is to inquire. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 And mine is to make men respect the privileges of the 
 Sacred Office. 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 I know them. Obey me and keep silence. I know that I 
 owe you a hostage. I know it (He looks round) Tell me, 
 where is the Duke of Olmedo ? 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 Aha! 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS (aside) 
 We are lost. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARDS 
 Sire, the duke is not yet arrived 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 Who has given him leave thus boldly to forsake the duties 
 of his office? (Aside) Some one is deceiving me. (To the 
 Captain of the Guards) Tell him, if he comes, that the king
 
 180 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 has committed him as a prisoner of the Holy Office. (To the 
 Grand Inquisitor) Issue the order. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 Sire, I will go myself. 
 
 THE QUEEN 
 And what if the duke fails to come? 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 In that case he must be dead. (To the captain) You will 
 take his place in the execution of my orders. (He enters the 
 chapel.) 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS (to Quinola) 
 
 Kun to the duke's house, tell him to come and comport him- 
 self as if he were not wounded to the death. The report will 
 then be considered mere calumny 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 You may reckon upon me, but grant us your protection. 
 (Alone) Great heavens ! The king seemed charmed by my 
 little fable of the Virgen del Pilar ; I must make a vow to her 
 but what shall it be ? we will see after we have succeeded. 
 
 (Scene curtain.) 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 (A cell of the Inquisition.) 
 
 FOXTANARES (alone) 
 
 I understand now why Columbus desired that his fetters 
 should be placed beside him in his coffin. What a lesson for
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 181 
 
 discoverers ! A great discovery is a revelation of truth. 'And 
 truth destroys so many abuses and errors that all those who 
 live by falsehood rise up to slay the truth; they begin by 
 assailing the man. Let inventors then have patience! I 
 myself desire to have it. Unfortunately, my patience pro- 
 ceeds from my love. In the hope of obtaining Marie, I dream 
 of glory and I pursue it. I saw a piece of straw fly up above a 
 boiler. All men have had the same experience since boilers 
 and straw existed. But I saw there a force; in order to esti- 
 mate its violence, I put a lid on the boiler; the lid flew off 
 but did not kill me. Archimedes and I are of the same mind ! 
 He wished for a lever and a fulcrum to move the world; I 
 possess this lever and have been fool enough to say so; since 
 then misfortunes have overwhelmed me. If I should die, 
 you, man of genius who shall discover the secret, act on it, 
 but keep silence. The light which we discover, men take from 
 us, only to set on fire our funeral pile. Galileo, my master, 
 is in prison for having said that the earth moves, and I am 
 here for attempting to apply the forces of the earth. No ! I 
 am here because I rebel against the cupidity of those who 
 desire to steal my secret ; were it not for my love for Marie, I 
 would claim my liberty to-night, leaving to them the profit, 
 keeping to myself the fame. Ah ! What rage is in my heart ! 
 But rage is only fit for children ; let me be calm and then I 
 shall be strong. Would that I might have news of the only 
 man who has faith in me ! He is at liberty, he, who begged 
 to win me bread. But faith is only found among the poor, 
 who have need of it 
 
 'SCENE TENTH. 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR, A FAMILIAR AND FONTANARES. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 Well, my son, how are you? You were speaking of faith,
 
 182 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 doubtless you have made some sage reflections recently. Come 
 now, spare the Holy Office a resort to severity. 
 
 FONTANAKES 
 
 Father, what do you wish me to say? 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 Before setting you at liberty, the Holy Office must be sure 
 that the means you employ are natural 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Father, if I had made a compact with the Evil One, would 
 he have let me languish here ? 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 Your words are impious ; the devil has a master whose exist- 
 ence is proved by our burning of heretics. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Have you ever seen a ship on the sea ? (The Grand Inquisi- 
 tor assents.) By what means is it propelled? 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 The wind fills the sails. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Did the devil reveal this method of navigation to the first 
 sailor? 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 Do you know who he was ? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 He was, perhaps, the founder of some long forgotten power 
 that ruled the sea at any rate, the means that I employ are 
 not less natural than his. I have seen a certain force in nature,
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 183 
 
 a force controllable by man. For the wind is God's creature, 
 and man is not its master, but the wind propels the ships of 
 man, while my force is in the ship itself. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR (aside) 
 
 This man may prove a dangerous fellow. (Aloud) And 
 you refuse to tell us what it is ? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I will tell the king, in presence of his court ; for, after that, 
 no one will be able to rob me of my glory and the fortune that 
 it brings. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 You call yourself an inventor, and yet you think of nothing 
 but fortune ! You are too ambitious to be a man of genius. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Father, I am so profoundly disgusted by the jealousy of 
 the vulgar, by the avarice of the great, by the behavior of 
 sham philosophers, that but for my love for Marie I 
 would give back to chance that which chance has bestowed 
 upon me. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 Chance? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I am wrong. I would give back to God the thought 
 which God has sent to me. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 God did not send it to you that it might be hidden, and 
 we have the right to force you to divulge it (to his Familiar) 
 Bid them prepare the rack. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 I was expecting it.
 
 184 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR, FONTANARES, QUINOLA AND THE 
 DUKE OF OLMEDO. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 It isn't a very healthy thing, this torture. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Quinola ! And in what a livery ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 The livery of success, for you are to be free. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Free? And to pass from hell to heaven in an instant? 
 
 THE DUKE OF OLMEDO 
 As martyrs do. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 Sir, do you dare to say such words in this place ! 
 
 THE DUKE OF OLMEDO 
 
 I am charged by the king to take out of your custody this 
 man, and will answer for him to the Holy Inquisition. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 What a mistake ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Ah ! you would like to boil him in your cauldrons of oil ! 
 Many thanks! His cauldrons are going to carry us 'round 
 the world like this. (He twirls his hat.) 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Embrace me, my friend, and tell me how
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 185 
 
 THE DUKE OP OLMEDO 
 Say not a word here 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Yes (he points to the Inquisitor), for here the walls have 
 ears. Come. And you (speaking to the duke) take courage. 
 You are pale, and I must give to you a tinge of color ; but 
 I know how to do it. 
 
 (Scene curtain.) 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 (Palace gallery as in first scene.) 
 
 THE DUKE OF OLMEDO 
 We have come just in time ! 
 
 THE DUKE OF LEBMA 
 You were not wounded then? 
 
 THE DUKE OF OLMEDO 
 
 Who said I was? Would the favorite of the king mitt me? 
 'And should I be here, as you see me, if I were dead? {To 
 Quinola) Stand close and hold me up 
 
 QUINOLA (to Fontanares) 
 This is a man worthy of your love 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Who would not envy such a one? Yet how seldom is 
 occasion given to show one's love.
 
 186 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Spare us, good sir, all this rigmarole about love, in the 
 presence of the king ; for the king, hark you 
 
 A PAGE 
 The king! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Come on, and let all our thoughts be for Marie ! 
 
 QUINOLA (noticing that the Duke of Olmedo is fainting) 
 How are you ? (He puts a flask to his nostrils.) 
 
 SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, THE KING, THE QUEEN, THE CAPTAIN 
 OF THE GUARDS, THE GRAND INQUISITOR, THE MAR- 
 CHIONESS OF MONDEJAR, THE PRESIDENT OF THE COUN- 
 
 CIL OF CASTILE AND THE WHOLE COURT. 
 
 PHILIP II. (to the Captain of the Guards) 
 Has our man arrived? 
 
 THE CAPTAIN 
 
 The Duke of Olmedo, whom I met on the palace steps, 
 has at once obeyed the commands of the king. 
 
 THE DUKE OF OLMEDO (falling on one Jcnee) 
 Will the king deign to pardon a delay unpardonable. 
 
 PHILIP II. (raising him by his wounded arm) 
 
 I was told you were dying (he glances at the mar- 
 chioness) of a wound received in a nocturnal attack.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 187j 
 
 THE DUKE OF OLMEDO 
 Well, you see me here, sire, a sufficient answer. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS (aside) 
 He is rouged ! 
 
 PHILIP II. (to the duke) 
 Where is your prisoner? 
 
 THE DUKE OF OLMEDO (pointing to Fontanares) 
 Yonder he stands. 
 
 FONTANARES (kneeling} 
 
 'And ready, to the great glory of God, to do wonders 
 which shall add splendor to the reign of the king, my master. 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 Rise up and speak to 'me; what is this force miraculous 
 which shall give to Spain the empire of the world? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 It is a force invincible, sire. It is steam ; for, when water 
 has become expanded in steam, it demands a much more 
 extensive area than that which it occupies in its natural form ; 
 and in order to take that space it would blow up mountains. 
 By my invention this force is confined; the machine is pro- 
 vided with wheels, which beat the sea and propel a vessel as 
 swiftly as the wind, so that tempests cannot resist its course. 
 Voyages can be made in safety and so swiftly that there is 
 no limit to speed, excepting in the revolution of the wheels. 
 Human life is lengthened every time a moment is econ- 
 omized. Sire, Christopher Columbus gave to you a world 
 three thousand leagues across the ocean; I will bring one to 
 you at the port of Cadiz, and you shall claim, with the 
 assistance of God ? the dominion of the sea.
 
 18 8 RESOURCES OF QUINOT 4, 
 
 THE QUEEN 
 You do not seem to be astonished, sire ? 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 Astonishment is involuntary flattery, and kings may never 
 flatter. (To Fontanares) What do you ask of me? 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 That which Columbus asked, a ship and the presence of 
 my king to witness the experiment. 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 You shall have all the king, the realm of Spain the 
 whole world. They tell me that you love a maid of Barcelona. 
 I am about to cross the Pyrenees, to visit my possessions, 
 Eoussillon and Perpignan; you shall receive your vessel at 
 Barcelona. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 In granting me this vessel, sire, you have done me justice ; 
 in giving it to me at Barcelona, you have bestowed a favor 
 which, from a subject, makes me your slave. 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 Yet be cautious; to lose a vessel of the state will be to 
 risk your lif e a for so the law provides. 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 I know it, and accept the risk. 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 Well said, brave man! If you succeed in constructing 
 this sailless, oarless vessel that shall face the wind as swiftly 
 as if the wind were in its favor, I will create you what is your 
 name?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 189 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Alfonso Fontanares. 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 You shall be Don Alfonso Fontanares, Duke of Nep- 
 
 tunado, Grandee of Spain 
 
 THE DUKE OF LERMA 
 Sire the statutes concerning nobility 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 Silence ! Duke of Lerma. It is the duty of a king to exalt 
 the man of genius above all other men and thus to honor 
 the ray of light which God has given to him. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 Sire 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 What would you? 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 We did not imprison this man on the charge that he had 
 commerce with the devil, nor because of his impiety, nor 
 because he springs from a family suspected of heresy; but 
 for the safety of monarchies. Printing has permitted clever 
 men to communicate their thoughts to others and the result 
 has been Luther, whose word has flown abroad in every 
 direction. But this man is endeavoring to make out of all 
 the nations of the earth a single people, and, before a multi- 
 tude like this, the Holy Office trembles for the fate of mon- 
 archy. 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 All progress moves heavenward. 
 
 THB GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 Heaven does not command many things which yet it does 
 not hinder men from doing.
 
 190 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 Our duty consists in bringing good out of evil things and 
 in this work of amelioration gathering all within one circle, 
 whose centre is the throne. Do you not see what is here at 
 stake, even the realization of that universal dominion long- 
 sought for by my glorious father? (To Fontanares) When 
 you have won the rank of duke and Spanish grandee of the 
 first class, I will put upon your breast the Golden Fleece ; you 
 shall then be appointed Grand Master of Naval Construc- 
 tion in Spain and the Indies (to a minister) President, 
 you will issue, this very day, under pain of my displeasure, 
 the order to put at the disposal of this man, in our port of 
 Barcelona, such a vessel as he desires, and see that no 
 obstacle interferes with his enterprise. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Sire 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 What do you desire? 
 
 While you are here, grant, sire, full pardon to a wretcK 
 named Lavradi, who was sentenced by a deaf magistrate. 
 
 PHILIP II. 
 
 Because the judge was deaf, must the king be blind? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 ENo, but indulgent, sire, which is almost the same thing. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Pardon! Grant pardon to the only man who has sus- 
 tained me in my struggle !
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 191 
 
 PHILIP II. (to a minister) 
 
 This man has talked with me, and I gave him my hand to 
 kiss; issue to him letters of my full pardon. 
 
 THE QUEEN (to the king) 
 
 If this man (she points to Fontanares) is one of those 
 great discoverers, raised up of God, Don Philip you have 
 done a good day's work this morning. 
 
 PHILIP II. (to the queen) 
 
 It is very difficult to distinguish between a man of genius 
 and a madman ; but if he is a madman, my promises are only 
 worth the value of his. 
 
 QUINOLA (to the marchioness) 
 
 Here is your letter, but let me beg you, between ourselves, 
 to write no more. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS 
 
 We are saved! The court follows the king into the royal 
 apartment.) 
 
 'SCENE FOURTEENTH. 
 FONTANARES AND QUINOLA. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Surely I am dreaming Duke! Grandee of Spain! The 
 Golden Fleece! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 And Master of Naval Constructions ! We shall have plenty 
 of contractors to patronize. The court is an odd place. I 
 should like to succeed there ; how is it to be done ? By impu- 
 dence ? I have enough of that to sell ! By trickery ? Why, the
 
 192 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 king believes my tale of the Virgen del Filar (he laughs). 
 But what is my master thinking about? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Let us start at once. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 For what place? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 For Barcelona. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 No for a tavern. If the air of the court gives the citizens 
 a good appetite, it makes me devilish thirsty. After a drink, 
 my glorious master, you will see your Quinola a very busy 
 man; for we must not delude ourselves. Between the word 
 of the king and the attainment of success, we shall meet with 
 as many jealous philosophers, scheming tricksters, malicious 
 cavillers, crooked, rapacious, greedy beasts of prey, thievish 
 parasites as have ever beset you in your attempts to see the 
 king. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Yet to obtain my Marie I must succeed. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Yes, and for our own sakes also. 
 
 Curtain to the Prologue.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 193 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (The scene is Barcelona. The stage represents a public 
 place. On the left of the spectator appear houses, among 
 which that of Lothundiaz stands at the corner of the street. 
 To the right is the palace of Senora Brancadori. The time 
 is night, but the day begins to dawn.) 
 
 MONIPODIO (wrapped in a mantle, seated under the balcony of 
 the Brancadori palace). QUINOLA (who glides forth cau- 
 tiously like a thief, and brushes against Monipodio). 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Who is it dares to tread on my shoes? 
 
 QUINOLA (in ragged array) : . 
 A gentleman, who does not wear any. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 That sounds like Lavradi. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Monipodio ! I thought that you had been hanged ! 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 I thought that you had been beaten to death in Africa. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Alas, we have been beaten enough without going to Africa I
 
 194 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 And do you dare to show yourself here? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 You seem comfortable enough here. As for me, I have the 
 king's pardon in my pocket, and while I am waiting for my 
 patent of nobility I call myself Quinola. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 I suppose you stole your pardon? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 !Yes, from the king. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 And have you seen the king? (He sniffs at him.) You 
 smell of poverty 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Like a poet's garret. And what are you doing? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Nothing. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 That is soon done ; if it gives you any income, I would like 
 to embrace your profession. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 I have been misunderstood, my friend! Hunted by our 
 political enemies 
 
 QUINOLA 
 The judges, magistrates and police. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 It is necessary for a man to have a political party.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 195 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I understand you; from being the game you have become 
 
 the hunter. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 What nonsense ! I am always myself. I have merely come 
 to an understanding with the viceroy. When one of my fel- 
 lows has reached the end of his tether, I say to him: "Get 
 off/' and if he doesn't go, ah! I hale him to justice you 
 understand ! That is not treachery is it ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 It is prevision 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 And, by the bye, you have just come from court. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Listen. (Aside) Here is a man, the very one I want, 
 knows everything in Barcelona. (Aloud) After what you 
 have told me we ought to be friends. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 He who has my secret must be my friend 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 You are as watchful here as if you were jealous. What is 
 it ? Come let us moisten our clay and wet our whistle with a 
 bottle in some tavern ; it is daybreak 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Do you see how this palace is lit up for a feast ? Don Fre- 
 gose is dining and gaming at the house of Senora Faustine 
 Brancadori. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Quite Venetian, Brancadori. 'Tis a rare name ! She must 
 be the widow of some patrician.
 
 196 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 She is twenty-two, subtle as musk, and governs the gover- 
 nor, and, let me tell you between ourselves, has already 
 wheedled out of him all that he picked up under Charles V. 
 in the wars of Italy. What comes from the flute 
 
 QUINOLA 
 The air takes. What is the age of our viceroy? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 He owns up to sixty years. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 And yet they speak of first love! I know of nothing so 
 terrible as last love; it strangles a man. I am happy that I 
 have been brought up so far with unsinged wings! I might 
 be a statesman 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 This old general is still young enough to employ me as a 
 spy upon the Brancadori, while she pays me for her liberty; 
 and you can understand the joyous life I lead by making no 
 mischief ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Now you want to know all, Old Curiosity, in order to place 
 your thumb upon the throat of opportunity? (Monipodio nods 
 assent.) Is Lothundiaz still alive? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Yonder is his house, and this palace belongs to him ; always 
 grasping more and more property. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I had hoped to find the heiress her own mistress. My mas- 
 ter is ruined !
 
 EESOUKCES OF QUINOLA 197 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 You bring back a master with you? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 One who will bring me mines of gold. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Could not I enter his service? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I am counting very much upon your co-operation here.- 
 Listen, Monipodio; we are going to change the face of the 
 earth. My master has promised. the king to make one of his 
 finest vessels move through the water, without sails or oars, in 
 the wind's eye, more swiftly than the wind itself. 
 
 MONIPODIO (examining Quinola as he walks round him) 
 Something has changed my friend. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Monipodio, please to remember that men like us must 
 not be astonished at anything. Leave that to smaller people. 
 The king has given us the ship, but without a doubloon to go 
 and get her. We arrived here, therefore, with those two faith- 
 ful companions of genius, hunger and thirst. A poor man 
 who discovers a valuable idea has always seemed to me like a 
 crumb of bread in a fish-pond ; every fish takes a bite at him. 
 We are likely to reach the goal of glory naked and dying. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 You are probably right. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 One morning at Valladolid, my master was within an ace 
 of. divulging his secret to a philosopher who knew nothing of
 
 198 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 it. I warrant you, I showed that gentleman the door, with & 
 dose of cudgel given with a good will. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 But how is it possible for us to gain a fortune honestly ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 My master is in love. Now love forces a man to do as 
 many foolish as wise things. We two have first of all to pro- 
 tect our protector. My master is a philosopher who cannot 
 keep accounts 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Oh! my dear fellow, in choosing a master, you ought to 
 ihave selected one 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Devotion and address count more with him than money; 
 for money and favor to him are mere snares. I know him 
 well ; he will either give us or permit us to take enough to end 
 pur days in respectability. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 !Ah ! that is what I have dreamed of. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 We must then use all our talents, which have been so far 
 wasted, in carrying out this grand enterprise. We should 
 have had a great deal of misfortune if the devil had not 
 favored us. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 It will be almost worth while to make a journey to Compos- 
 tellb. I have the smuggler's faith, and I love wine. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Are yon not still in touch with the coiners of false money,, 
 and the skeleton key-makers?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 199 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Yes but for the good of the country 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Well, that's the trick! As my master constructs his ma- 
 chine, I shall take possession of the models of each part and 
 we will make a duplicate 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Quinola ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 What now? (Paquita shows herself on the balcony.) 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 You are the greatest of men ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I know it. Make a discovery, and you will die persecuted 
 as a criminal ; make a copy, and you will live happy as a fool ! 
 And on the other hand, if Fontanares should die, why should 
 not I save his invention for the good of humanity ? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Especially, since we ourselves are humanity, as an old 
 author says. Let me embrace you 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND PAQUITA. 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 
 Next to an honest dupe, I know nothing better than the 
 Self-deluding rascal.
 
 200 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 PAQUITA (to herself) 
 
 Two friends embrace each other ! they cannot therefore be 
 spies. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 You are already in the secrets of the viceroy, you have ihe 
 confidence of the Brancadori lady. That is a good beginning ! 
 Work a miracle and give us some clothes first of all, and if we 
 two, taking counsel with a flask of liquor, do not discover 
 some way by which my master and Marie Lothundiaz may 
 meet, I will not answer for the consequences. For the last 
 two days his constant talk has been of her, and I am afraid 
 he may some day entirely lose his head. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 The maiden is guarded like a condemned convict. This is 
 the reason : Lothundiaz has had two wives ; the first was poor 
 and gave him a son, the second had a fortune, and when she 
 died left all to her daughter, and left it in such a way that 
 she could never be deprived of it. The old man is a miser 
 whose only object is his son's success. Sarpi, the secretary of 
 the viceroy, in order to win the rich heiress, has promised to 
 obtain a title for Lothundiaz, and takes vast interest in his 
 son 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 There you are an enemy at the very outset. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 We must use great, prudence. Listen. I am going to 
 give a hint to Mathieu Magis, the most prominent Lombard 
 in the city, and a man entirely under my influence. You 
 will find everything you need at his place, from diamonds 
 down to low shoes. When you return here you shall see our 
 young lady. (Exeunt.)
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 201 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 PAQUITA AND FAUSTINE. 
 
 PAQUITA 
 
 Madame is right ; two men are on sentry under her balcony 
 and are going away on seeing the day dawn. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 This old viceroy will end by disgusting me! He suspects 
 me, even at my own house, while I am within sight and hear- 
 ing of him. (Exit Paquita.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 FAUSTINE AND DON FEEGOSE. 
 
 DON FEEGOSE 
 
 Madame, you run the risk of catching cold ; it is too chilly 
 here 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Come here, my lord. You tell me, that you have faith in 
 me; but you put Monipodio to watch under my windows. 
 Your behavior is not to be excused like the excessive pru- 
 dence of a young man, and necessarily exasperates an honest 
 woman. There are two kinds of jealousy: the first makes a 
 man distrust his mistress ; the second leads him to lose faith 
 in himself. Confine yourself, if you please, to the second. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 Do not end so charming a celebration, senora, by a burst 
 of anger which I do not deserve.
 
 202 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Was Monipodio, through whom you learn everything that 
 goes on in Barcelona, under my windows last night, or was 
 he not ? Answer me on your honor as a gentleman. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 He might have heen in the neighborhood to prevent our 
 gamesters from being attacked on their way home. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 This is the evasive stratagem of an old general! I must 
 know the truth. If you have deceived me I will never see 
 you again so long as I live ! (She leaves him.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 DON FREGOSE (alone) 
 
 Oh, why cannot I give up the sight, the voice of this wo- 
 man! She delights me even in her very anger, and I love 
 to call forth her reproaches, that I may listen to her words. 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 
 PAQUITA AND MONIPODIO (disguised as a begging friar at the 
 door of the Brancadori Palace). 
 
 PAQUITA 
 
 Madame told me to learn why Monipodio stationed himself 
 below, but I saw no one there. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Alms, my dear child, is a treasure which is laid up in 
 heaven.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 203 
 
 PAQUITA 
 I have nothing to give. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Never mind, promise me something. 
 
 PAQUITA 
 This is rather a jovial friar. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 She does not recognize me and I believe I can run the 
 risk. {He knocks at the door of Lothundiaz.) 
 
 PAQUITA 
 
 Ah! If you count upon the alms of our friend the land- 
 owner, you would be richer with my promise. (To Faustine 
 Brancadori, who appears on the balcony} Madame, the men 
 are gone. 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 MONIPODIO AND DONA LOPEZ (at the door of the Lothundiaz 
 
 Mansion). 
 
 DONA LOPEZ 
 What is it you desire? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 The brothers of our order have received tidings of your 
 dear Lopez 
 
 DONA LOPEZ 
 That he was living? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 !A.s you conduct the Senorita Marie to the convent of the
 
 204 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 Dominicans, take a turn round the square; you will meet 
 there an escaped Algerian captive, who will tell you about 
 Lopez. 
 
 DONA LOPEZ 
 
 Merciful heavens ! Would that I could ransom him ! 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Be careful, first of all, whom you approach on that subject r 
 suppose that he were a Mussulman ? 
 
 DONA LOPEZ 
 
 Dear Lopez ! I must go and prepare the senorita for her 
 journey. (Re-enters the house.) 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 MONIPODIO, QUINOLA AND FONTANARES. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 At last, Quinola, we stand beneath her windows. 
 
 QDINOLA 
 
 Yes, but where is Monipodio? Has he allowed himself to 
 be beaten off? (He turns to the friar) Sir Beggar? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 All goes well. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Sangodemy ! What perfection of mendicancy ! Titian ought 
 to paint you. (To Fontanares) She will come. (To Moni- 
 podio) How do you find things? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Most favorable.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 205 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 He shall be a grandee of Spain. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Oh! That is nothing There is something still better 
 than that! 
 
 QUINOLA (to Fontanares) 
 
 Now, sir, you must above all things be prudent. Let us 
 have no sighing, which might open the eyes of the duenna. 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, DONA LOPEZ AND MARIE. 
 
 MONIPODIO (to the duenna, pointing at Quinola) 
 This is the Christian who escaped from captivity. 
 
 QUINOLA (speaking to the duenna) 
 
 Ah! madame, I recognize you from the portrait of your 
 charms which Senor Lorenzo drew for me. (He takes her, 
 aside.) 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 MONIPODIO, MARIE AND FONTANARES. 
 
 MARIE 
 Is it really you? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Yes, Marie, and I have so far succeeded; our happiness is 
 assured. 
 
 MARIE 
 Ah ! If you only knew how I have prayed for your success !
 
 206 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I have millions of things to say to you; but there is one 
 thing which I ought to say a million times, to make up for 
 all the weary time of my absence. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 If you speak thus to me, I shall believe you do not know 
 the depth of my attachment ; for it is fed less upon flattering 
 words than upon the interest I feel in all that interests you. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 What I am most interested in now, Marie, is to learn before 
 engaging in so important an undertaking, whether you have 
 the courage to resist your father, who is said to contemplate 
 a marriage for you. 
 
 MARIE 
 Do you think then that I could change? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 With us men, to love is to be forever jealous ! You are so 
 rich, I am so poor. When you thought I was ruined, you had 
 no perturbation for the future, but now that success has come 
 we shall have the whole world between us. And you shall be 
 my star ! and shall shine upon me though from so great a dis- 
 tance. If I thought that at the end of my long struggle I 
 should not find you at my side, oh! in the midst of all the 
 triumph I should die for grief ! 
 
 MARIE 
 
 Do you not know me yet? Though I was lonely, almost a 
 recluse while you were absent, the pure feeling which from 
 our childhood united me with you has grown greater with 
 your destiny! When these eyes, which with such rapture 
 look on you again, shall be closed forever; when this heart 
 which only beats for God, for my father and for you shall be
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 207 
 
 reduced to dust, I believe that on earth will survive a soul of 
 mine to love you still ! Do you doubt now my constancy ? 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 After listening to such words as these, what martyr would 
 not receive new courage at the stake? 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND LOTHUNDIAZ. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 That cursed duenna has left my door open. 
 
 MONIPODIO (aside) 
 
 Alas, those poor children are ruined! (To Lothundiaz) 
 Alms is a treasure which is laid up in heaven. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Go to work, and you can lay up treasures here on earth. 
 '(He looks round) I do not see my daughter and her duenna 
 in their usual place. 
 
 MONIPODIO (to Lothundiaz) 
 The Spaniard is by nature generous. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Oh ! get away ! I am a Catalonian and suspicious by nature. 
 (He catches sight of his daughter and Fontanares.) What do 
 I see? My daughter with a young senor! (He runs up to 
 them.) It is hard enough to pay duennas for guarding chil- 
 dren with the heart and eyes of a mother without finding 
 them deceivers. (To his daughter) How is it that you, Marie,
 
 208 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 heiress of ten thousand sequins a year, should speak to do 
 my eyes deceive me ? It is that blasted machinist who hasn't 
 a maravedi. (Monipodio makes signs to Quinola.) 
 
 MARIE 
 
 Alfonso Fontanares is not without fortune; he has seen 
 the king. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 So much the worse for the king. 
 
 FONTANARES . 
 
 Senor Lothundiaz, I am quite in a position to aspire to 
 the hand of you daughter. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 Ah! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Will you accept for your son-in-law the Duke of Neptunado, 
 grandee of Spain, and favorite of the king? (Lothundiaz 
 pretends to look for the Duke of Neptunado.) 
 
 MARIE 
 But it is he himself, dear father. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 You, whom I have known since you were two feet high, 
 whose father used to sell cloth do you take me for a fool ? 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, QUINOLA AND DONA LOPEZ. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Who said fool?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 209 
 
 FONTANAKES 
 
 As a present upon our wedding, I will procure for you 
 and for my wife a patent of nobility; we will permit you to 
 settle her fortune by entail upon your son 
 
 MARIE 
 How is that, father? 
 
 How is that, sir? 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 Why! this is that brigand of a Lavradi! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 My master has won from the king an acknowledgment of 
 my innocence. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 To obtain for me a patent of nobility cannot then be a 
 difficult matter. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 And do you really think that a townsman can be changed 
 into a nobleman by letters-patent of the king ! Let us make 
 the experiment. Imagine for a moment that I am the Mar- 
 quis of Lavradi. My dear duke, lend me a hundred ducats? 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 A hundred cuts of the rod! a hundred ducats! It is the 
 rent of a piece of property worth two thousand gold doubloons. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 There! I told you so and that fellow wishes to be 
 ennobled! Let us try again. Count Lothundiaz, will you 
 advance two thousand doubloons in gold to your son-in-law 
 that he may fulfill his promises to the King of Spain?
 
 210 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ (to Fontanares) 
 But you must tell me what you have promised. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 The king of Spain, learning of my love for your daughter, 
 is coming to Barcelona to see a ship propelled without oars or 
 sails, by a machine of my invention, and will himself honor 
 our marriage by his presence. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ (aside) 
 
 He is laughing at me. (Aloud) You are very likely to 
 propel a ship without sails or oars ! I hope you will do it; I'll 
 go to see it. It would amuse me, but I don't wish to have for 
 a son-in-law any man of such lofty dreams. Girls brought 
 up in our families need no prodigies for husbands, but men 
 who are content to mind their business at their own homes, 
 and leave the affairs of the sun and moon alone. All that I 
 want is that my son-in-law should be the good father of his 
 family. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Your daughter, senor, when she was but twelve years old, 
 smiled on me as Beatrice smiled on Dante. Child as she was, 
 she saw in me at first naught but a brother; since then, as 
 we felt ourselves separated by fortune, she has watched me as 
 I formed that bold enterprise which should bridge with glory 
 the gulf that stood between us. It was for her sake I went 
 to Italy and studied with Galileo. She was the first to ap- 
 plaud my work, the first to understand it. She had wedded 
 herself to my thought before it had occurred to her that one 
 day she might wed herself to me. It is thus she has become 
 the whole world to me. Do you now understand how I adore 
 her? 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 It is just for that reason that I refuse to give her to you. 
 In ten years' time she would be deserted, that you might run 
 after some other discovery.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 211 
 
 MARIE 
 
 Is it possible, father, that a lover could prove false to a 
 love which has spurred him on to work such wonders ? 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Yes, when he can work them no longer. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 If he should become a duke, grandee of Spain, and 
 wealthy ? 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 If ! If ! If ! Do you take me for an imbecile ? These if s 
 are the horses that drag to the hospital all these sham world- 
 discoverers. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 But here are the letters in which the king grants to me the 
 use of a ship. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Now open your eyes ! My master is at once a man of genius 
 and a handsome youth; genius dulls a man and makes him 
 of no use in a home, I grant you ; but the handsome youth is 
 there still ; what more is needed by a girl for happiness ? 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Happiness does not consist in these extremes. A handsome 
 youth and a man of genius, these, forsooth, are fine reasons 
 for pouring out the treasures of Mexico. My daughter shall 
 be Madame Sarpi. 
 
 SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, AND SARPI (on the balcony). 
 
 SARPI (aside) 
 Some one uttered my name. What do I see? It is the
 
 212 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 heiress and her father ! What can they be doing in the square 
 at this hour ? 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Sarpi has not gone to look for a ship in the harbor of Valla- 
 dolid, but he gained promotion for my son. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Do not, Lothundiaz, merely for the sake of your son's ad- 
 vancement, dispose of your daughter's hand without my con- 
 sent ; she loves me and I love her in return. In a short time 
 I shall be (Sarpi appears) one of the most influential men in 
 Spain, and powerful enough to reap my vengeance 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Tell him then Marie, all that I am doing to deserve you. 
 
 SARPI (aside) 
 What! a rival? 
 
 QUINOLA (to Lothundiaz) 
 Sir, if you don't consent, you are in a fair way to be damned. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 Who told you that? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 And worse than that, you are going to be robbed; this 
 111 swear to. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 To prevent my either being robbed or damned I am keep- 
 ing my daughter for a man who may not have genius, but 
 who has common sense
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 21* 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 At least you will give me time 
 
 SARPI 
 
 Why give him time? 
 
 QUINOLA (to Monipodio) 
 Who can that be? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Sarpi. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 What a bird of prey he looks ! 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 And he is as difficult to kill. He is the real governor of 
 Barcelona. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 My respects to you, honorable secretary! (To Fonta- 
 nares) Farewell, my friend, your arrival is an excellent rea- 
 son why I should hurry on the wedding. (To Marie) Come, 
 my daughter, let us go in. (To the duenna) And you, old 
 hag, you'll have to pay for this. 
 
 SARPI (to Lothundiaz) 
 This hidalgo seems to have pretensions 
 
 FONTANARES (to Sarpi) 
 
 Nay, I have a right! (Exeunt Marie, the duenna and 
 'Lothundiaz.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTEENTH. 
 MONIPODIO, SARPI, FONTANARES AND QUINOLA. 
 
 SARPI 
 A right? Do you know that the nephew of Fra Paolo
 
 214 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 Sarpi, kinsman of the Brancadori, count in the Kingdom of 
 Naples, secretary to the viceroy, of Catalonia, makes preten- 
 sion to the hand of Marie Lothundiaz? When another man 
 claims a right in the -matter he insults both her and me. 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 Do you know that I for five years, I, Alfonso Fontanares, 
 to whom the king our master has promised the title of Duke 
 of Neptunado and Grandee, as well as the Golden Fleece, have 
 loved Marie Lothundiaz, and that your pretensions, made in 
 spite of the oath which she has sworn to me, will be consid- 
 ered, unless you renounce them, an insult both by her and 
 by me? 
 
 SARPI 
 
 I did not know, my lord, that I had so great a personage 
 lor a rival. In any case, future Duke of Neptunado, future 
 Grandee, future Knight of the Golden Fleece, we love the 
 same woman ; and if you have the promise of Marie, I have 
 that of her father; you are expecting honors, while I possess 
 them. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Now, listen; let us remain just where we are; let us not 
 utter another word; do not insult me even by a look. Had I 
 a hundred quarrels, I would fight with no one until I had com- 
 pleted my enterprise and answered successfully the expecta- 
 tion of my king. When that moment comes, I will fight 
 single-handed against all. And, when I have ended the con- 
 flict, you will find me close to the king. 
 
 SARPI 
 Oh ! we are not going to lose sight of each other.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 215 
 
 SCENE FIFTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, FAUSTINE, DON FREGOSE AND PAQJJITA. 
 
 FAUSTINE (on the balcony) 
 
 Tell me what is going on, my lord, between that young 
 man and your secretary ? Let us go down. 
 
 QUINOLA (to Monipodio) 
 
 Don't you think that my master has pre-eminently the gift 
 of drawing down the lightning on his own head ? 
 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 He carries his head so high! 
 
 SARPI (to Don Fregose) 
 
 My lord, there has arrived in Catalonia a man upon whom 
 the king our master has heaped future honors. According to 
 my humble opinion, he should be welcomed by your excellency 
 in accordance with his merits. 
 
 DON FREGOSE (to Fontanares) 
 Of what house are you ? 
 
 FONTANARES (aside) 
 
 How many sneers, such as this, have I not been forced to 
 endure! (Aloud) The king, your excellency, never asked 
 me that question. But here is his letter and that of his min- 
 isters. (He hands him a package.) 
 
 FAUSTINE (to Paquita) 
 That man has the air of a king. 
 
 PAQUITA 
 Of a king who will prove a conqueror.
 
 216 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FAUSTINE (recognizing Monipodio) 
 Monipodio ! Do you know who that man is ? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 He is a man who, according to rumor, is going to turn the 
 world upside down. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Ah ! I see ; it is that famous inventor of whom I have heard 
 so much. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 And here is his servant. 
 
 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 Sarpi, you may file these ministerial documents ; I will keep 
 that of the king. (To Fontanares) Well, my fine fellow, the 
 letter of the king seems to me to be positive. You are under- 
 taking, I see, to achieve the impossible ! However great you 
 may be, perhaps it would be well for you to take the advice, 
 in this affair, of Don Eamon, a philosopher of Catalonia who, 
 on this subject, has written some famous treatises 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 In a matter of this kind, your excellency, the finest disser- 
 tations in the world are not worth so much as a practical 
 achievement. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 That sounds presumptuous. (To Sarpi) Sarpi, you must 
 place at the disposal of this gentleman whatever vessel in the 
 harbor he may choose. 
 
 SARPI (to the viceroy) 
 Are you quite sure that such is the king's wish? 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 We shall see. In Spain it is best to say a paternoster 
 between every two steps we take.
 
 KESOURCES OF QUINOLA 2f 
 
 SAEPI 
 
 Other letters on the same subject have reached us from 
 Valladolid. 
 
 FAUSTINE (to the viceroy) 
 
 What are you talking about ? 
 
 DON FREGOSB 
 Oh, it is nothing but a chimera. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 But don't you know that I am rather fond of chimeras? 
 
 DON FEEQOSE 
 
 This is the chimera of some philosopher which the king 
 has taken seriously on account of the disaster of the Armada. 
 If this gentleman succeeds, we shall have the court at Bar- 
 celona. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 We shall be much indebted to him for that. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 He has staked his life on a commission to propel a vessel, 
 swift as the wind, yet straight in the wind's eye, without the 
 employment of either oars or sails. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Staked his life ? He must be a child to do so. 
 
 SAKPI 
 
 Alfonso Fontanares reckons that the performance of thia 
 miracle will win for him the hand of Marie Lothundiaz. 
 
 FAUSTINI 
 Ah ! He loves her then
 
 218 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 QUINOLA (whispering to Faustine) 
 No, sefiora, he adores her. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 The daughter of Lothundiaz ! 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 You seem suddenly to feel a great interest in him. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 I hope the gentleman may succeed, if it were only for the 
 purpose of bringing the court here. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 Senora, will you not come and take luncheon at the villa 
 of Avaloros? A vessel is at your service in the harbor. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 No, my lord, this night of pleasure has wearied me, and a 
 sail would prove too much. I am not obliged, like you, to 
 be indefatigable; youth loves sleep, give me leave then to 
 retire and take a little rest. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 You never say anything to me but that your words con- 
 tain some innuendo. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 You ought to be grateful that I do not take you seriously ! 
 (Exeunt Faustine, the Viceroy and Paquita.)
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 219 
 
 SCENE SIXTEENTH. 
 AVALOROS, QUINOLA, MONIPODIO, FONTANAEES AND SARPI. 
 
 SARPI (to Avaloros} 
 It is too late for a sail. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 I do not care; I have won ten crowns in gold. (Sarpi and 
 Avaloros talk together.) 
 
 FONTANARES (to Monipodio) 
 Who is this person? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 It is Avaloros, the richest banker of Catalonia; he has 
 brought the whole Mediterranean to be his tributary. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 I feel my heart filled with tenderness towards him. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Every one of us owns him as our master. 
 
 AVALOROS (to Fontanares) 
 
 Young man, I am a banker ; if your business is a good one, 
 next to the protection of God and that of the king, nothing is 
 so good as that of a millionaire. 
 
 SARPI (to the banker) 
 
 Make no engagements at present. You and I together will 
 easily be able to make ourselves masters of this enterprise. 
 
 AVALOROS (to Fontanares) 
 
 Very well, my friend, you must come to see me. (Moni* 
 podio secretly robs him of his purse.)
 
 220 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 SCENE SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 MONIPODIO, FONTANARES AND QUINOLA 
 
 QUINOLA (to Fontenares) 
 Are you making a good beginning here? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Don Fregose is jealous of you. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Sarpi is bent on defeating your enterprise. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 You are posing as a giant before dwarfs who are in power ! 
 Before you put on these airs of pride, succeed ! People who 
 succeed make themselves small, slip into small openings and 
 glide inward to the treasure. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Glory ? But my dear sir, it can only be obtained by theft. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Do you wish me to abase myself ? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Yes, in order that you may gain your point. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Pretty good for a Sarpi ! I shall make an open struggle 
 for it. But what obstacle do you see between success and me ? 
 Am I not on my way to the harbor to choose a fine galleon ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Ah ! I am superstitious on that point. Sir, do not choose 
 the galley!
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 221 
 
 FOXTANABES 
 
 I see no reason why I shouldn't. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 You have had no experience! You have had something 
 else to make discoveries about. Ah, sir, we are moneyless, 
 without credit at any inn, and if I had not met this old 
 friend who loves me, for there are friends who hate you, we 
 should have been without clothes 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 But she loves me ! (Marie waves her handle er chief at the 
 window.) See, see, my star is shining! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Why, sir, it is a handkerchief! Are you sufficiently in 
 your right mind to take a bit of advice ? This is not the sort 
 of madonna for yon; you need a Marchioness of Mondejar 
 one of those slim creatures, clad in steel, who through love are 
 capable of all the expedients which distress makes necessary. 
 Now the Brancadori 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 If you want to see me throw the whole thing up you will 
 go on talking like that ! Bear that in mind ; love gives the 
 only strength I have. It is the celestial light that leads me on. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 There, there, do not excite yourself. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 This man makes me anxious ! He seems to me rather to 
 be possessed by the machinery of love than by the love of 
 machinery.
 
 222 RESOURCES OF QU1NOLA 
 
 SCENE EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND PAQUITA. 
 
 PAQUITA (to Fontanares) 
 
 My mistress bids me tell you, senor, that you must be on 
 your guard. You are the object of implacable hatred to cer- 
 tain persons. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 That is my business. You may go without fear through 
 all the streets of Barcelona ; if any one seeks your life, I shall 
 be the first to know it. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Danger ! Already ? 
 
 PAQUITA 
 You have given me no answer for her. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 No, my pet, people don't think about two machines at the 
 same time; tell your divine mistress that my master kisses 
 her feet. I am a bachelor, sweet angel, and wish to make a 
 happy end. (He kisses her.) 
 
 PAQUITA (slapping him in the face) 
 You fool ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Oh, charming! (Exit Paquita.) 
 
 SCENE NINETEENTH. 
 
 FONTANARES, QUINOLA AND MONIPODIO. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Come to the Golden Sun. I know the host; you will get 
 credit there.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 223 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 The battle is beginning even earlier than I had expected. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Where shall I obtain money? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 We can't borrow it, but we can buy it. How much do you 
 need? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Two thousand doubloons in gold. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I have been trying to make an estimate of the treasury I 
 intended to draw upon ; it is not plump enough for that. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Well, now, I have found a purse. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Forget nothing in your estimate; you will require, sir, 
 iron, copper, steel, wood, all of which the merchants can sup- 
 ply. I have an idea ! I will found the house of Quinola and 
 Company ; if they don't prosper, you shall. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Ah! what would have become of me without you? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 You would have been the prey of Avaloros. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 To work then ! The inventor must prove the salvation of 
 the lover. (Exeunt.} 
 
 Curtain to the First Act.
 
 224 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (A room in the palace of Senora Brancadori.) 
 AVALOROS, SAEPI AND PAQUITA. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 Is the queen of our lives really ill ? 
 
 PAQUITA 
 She is melancholy. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 Is thought, then, a malady ? 
 
 PAQUITA 
 Yes, and you therefore can be sure of good health. 
 
 SARPI 
 
 Say to my dear cousin that Senor Avaloros and I are await- 
 ing her good pleasure. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 Stay; here are two ducats if you will say that I am some- 
 times pensive 
 
 PAQUITA 
 
 I will say that your tastes are expensive. But I must go 
 and induce the senora to dress herself. (Exit.)
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 225 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 AVALOKOS AND SARPI. 
 
 SARPI 
 Poor viceroy ! He is the youngster. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 While your little cousin is making a fool of him, you are 
 displaying all the activity of a statesman and clearing the 
 way for the king's conquest of French Navarre. If I had a 
 daughter I would give her to you. Old Lothundiaz is no fool. 
 
 SARPI 
 
 How fine it would be to be founder of a mighty house ; to 
 win a name in the history of the country; to be a second 
 Cardinal Granville or Duke of Alva! 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 Yes ! It would be a very fine thing. I also think of making 
 a name. The emperor made the Fuggers princes of Baben- 
 hausen; the title cost them a million ducats in gold. For 
 my part, I would like to be a nobleman at a cheaper rate. 
 
 SARPI 
 You ! How could you -accomplish it ? 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 This fellow Fontanares holds the future of commerce in 
 his own hands. 
 
 SARPI 
 
 And is it possible that you who cling so persistently to the 
 actual have any faith in him ?,
 
 226 RESOURCES OF QU1NOLA 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 Since the invention of gunpowder, of printing and the dis- 
 covery of the new world I have become credulous. If any one 
 were to tell me that a man had discovered the means to receive 
 the news from Paris in ten minutes, or that water contained 
 fire, or that there are still new Indies to discover, or that it is 
 possible to travel through the air, I would not contradict it, 
 and I would give 
 
 SAEPI 
 
 Your money? 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 No ; mv attention to the enterprise. 
 
 SARPI 
 
 If the vessel is made to move in the manner proposed, you 
 would like then to be to Fontanares what Amerigo Vespucci 
 was to Christopher Columbus. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 Have I not here in my pocket enough to pay for six men 
 of genius ? 
 
 SARPI 
 
 But how would you manage the matter ? 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 By means of money; money is the great secret. With 
 money to lose, time is gained ; and with time to spend, every- 
 thing is possible ; by this means a good business may be made 
 a bad one, and while those who control it are in despair the 
 whole profit may be carried off by you. Money, that is the 
 true method. Money furnishes the satisfaction of desire, as 
 well as of need. In a man of genius, there is always a child 
 full of unpractical fancies; you deal with the man and you 
 come sooner or later on the child ; the child will become your 
 debtor, and the man of genius will go to prison.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 227 
 
 SARPI 
 And how do you stand with him now ? 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 He does not trust my offers; that is, his servant does not. 
 I shall negotiate with the servant. 
 
 SARPI 
 
 I understand you; I am ordered to send all the ships of 
 Barcelona to the coasts of France ; and, through the prudence 
 of the enemies which Fontanares made at Valladolid, this 
 order is absolute and subsequent to the king's letter. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 What do you want to get out of the deal? 
 
 SARPI 
 
 The functions of the Grand Master of Naval Construc- 
 tion these I wish to be mine. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 But what is your ultimate object ? 
 
 SARPI 
 Glory. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 You rascally trickster ! 
 
 SARPI 
 
 You greedy extortioner! 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 Let us hunt together; it will be time enough to quarrel 
 when we come to the division of the prey. Give me your 
 hand. (Aside) I am the stronger, and I control the viceroj 
 through the Brancadori.
 
 228 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 SARPI (aside) 
 
 We have fattened him sufficiently, let us kill him ; I know 
 how to destroy him. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 We must gain over this Quinola to our interests, and I have 
 sent for him to hold a conference with the Brancadori. 
 
 'SCENE THIRD. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND QUINOLA. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I hang like between two thieves. But these thieves 
 
 are powdered over with virtue and tricked out with fine man- 
 ners. And they would like to hang the rest of us ! 
 
 SARPI 
 
 You rogue, while you are waiting for your master to propel 
 the galleys by new methods, you ought to be rowing in them 
 yourself. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 The king, who justly appreciates my merits, well under- 
 stands that he would lose too much by such an arrangement. 
 
 SARPI 
 You shall be watched ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 That I can well believe, for I keep watch on myself. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 You are rousing his suspicions, for he is an honest lad. 
 (To Quinola) Come, my good fellow, have you any idea of 
 what is meant by wealth ?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 229 
 
 QuiNOLA 
 No, for I have seen it from too great a distance. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 Say, such a sum as two thousand golden doubloons? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 What ? I do not know what you mean ! You dazzle me. 
 Is there such a sum? Two thousand doubloons! That 
 means to be a land-holder, to own a house, a servant, a horse, 
 a wife, an income ; to be protected instead of being chased by 
 the Holy Brotherhood ! What must I do to gain it ? 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 You must assist me in obtaining a contract for the mutual 
 advantage of your master and myself. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I understand ! To tangle him up. my conscience, that 
 is very fine ! But, dear conscience, be silent for a while ; let 
 me forget you for a few days, and we will live comfortably 
 together for the rest of my life. 
 
 AVALOROS (to Sarpi) 
 We have him. 
 
 SARPI (to Avaloros) 
 
 He is fooling us ! If he were in earnest he would not talk 
 thus. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I suppose you won't give me the two thousand doubloons in 
 gold until after the treaty has been signed ? 
 
 SARPI (with eagerness) 
 You can have it before.
 
 230 RESOUKCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 You don't mean it ! (Holding out his hand) Give it me 
 then. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 As soon as you sign notes of hand for the amounts which 
 have already matured. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 The Grand Turk himself never offered the bowstring with 
 greater delicacy. 
 
 SAEPI 
 
 Has your master got his ship? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Valladolid is at some distance from this, I admit; hut we 
 control in that city a pen which has the power of decreeing 
 your disgrace. 
 
 SARPI 
 I will grind you to powder. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 I will make myself so small that you can't do it. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 To talk to you about the gold. 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, FAUSTINE AND PAQUITA. 
 
 PAQUITA 
 Gentlemen, here is the senora. (Exit.)
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 231 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PAQUITA. 
 
 QUINOLA (approaching the Brancadori) 
 
 Sefiora, my master talks of killing himself unless he can 
 obtain the ship which Count Sarpi has refused for thirty days 
 to give him; Sefior Avaloros asks for his life while offering 
 him his purse; do you understand? (Aside) A woman was 
 our salvation at Vallodolid; the women shall be our salvation 
 at Barcelona. (Aloud) He is very despondent. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 The wretched man seems daring enough. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Daring without money is naturally amazing to you. 
 
 SARPI (to Quinola) 
 Will you enter my service ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 I am too set in my ways to take a master. 
 
 FAUSTINE (aside) 
 
 He is despondent! (Aloud) Why is it that men like yon, 
 Sarpi and Avaloros, for whom I have done so much, should 
 persecute, instead of protecting, the poor man of genius who 
 has so lately arrived among us? (Avaloros and Sarpi are 
 confused.) I cry shame upon you ! (To Quinola) You must 
 explain to me exactly their schemes against you master. 
 
 SARPI (to Faustine) 
 My dear cousin, it does need much penetration to divine
 
 232 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 what malady it is under which you have labored since ths 
 arrival of this Fontanares. 
 
 AVALOKOS (to Faustina) 
 
 You owe me, senora, two thousand doubloons, and you will 
 need to draw still further on my purse. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 I ? What have I ever asked of you ? 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 Nothing, but you never refuse anything which I am gen- 
 erous enough to offer you. 
 
 FAUSTINB 
 Your monopoly of the wheat trade is a monstrous abuse. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 Senora, I owe you a thousand doubloons. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Write me at once a receipt for the two thousand doubloons, 
 and a check for the like sum which I do not intend to pay 
 you. (To Sarpi) After having put you in the position in 
 which you now flourish, I warn you that your best policy is to 
 keep my secret. 
 
 SARPI 
 
 My obligations to you are too great to admit of my being 
 ungrateful. 
 
 FAUSTINE (aside) 
 
 He means just the contrary, and he will make the viceroy 
 furious with me. (Exit Sarpi.)
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 233 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SAEPI. 
 
 AVALOEOS 
 
 Here they are, senora. (Handing her the receipt and the 
 check. ) 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Very good. 
 
 AVALOEOS 
 We shall still be friends ? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Your monopoly of the wheat trade is perfectly legal. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 Ah ! senora. 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 That is what is called doing business. 
 
 AVALOEOS 
 Senora, you are a noble creature, and I am 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 A regular swindler. 
 
 FAUSTINE (offering the check to Quinola) 
 Here, Quinola, this is for the expenses of your master's 
 machine. 
 
 AVALOROS (to Faustine) 
 
 Don't give it to him, senora, he may keep it for himself. 
 And for other reasons you should be prudent; you should 
 wait 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 
 I pass from the torrid to the arctic zone; what a gamble is 
 life!
 
 234 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 You are right. (Aside) Better that I should hold in a 
 balance the fortune of Fontanares. (To Avaloros) If you 
 wish to keep your monopoly hold your tongue. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 There is nothing keeps a secret better than capital. (Aside) 
 These women are disinterested until the day they fall in love. 
 I must try to defeat her ; she is beginning to cost me too much. 
 (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 FAUSTINE AND QUINOLA. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Did you not tell me he was despondent ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Everything is against him. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 But he knows how to wrestle with difficulties. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 We have been for two years half drowned in difficulties; 
 sometimes we have gone to the bottom and the gravel was 
 pretty hard. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 But what force of character, what genius he has! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 You see, there, seiiora, the effects of love.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 235 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 And with whom is he in love now? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Still the same Marie Lothundiaz. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 A doll! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Yes, nothing but a doll ! 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Men of talent are all like that. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Colossal creatures with feet of clay! 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 They clothe with their own illusions the creature that 
 entangles them; they love their own creation; they are ego- 
 tists ! 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 
 Just like the women ! (Aloud] Listen, senora, I wish 
 that by some honest means we could bury this doll in the 
 depths of the that is of a convent. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 You seem to me to be a fine fellow. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 I love my master. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Do you think that he has noticed me ?
 
 236 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Not yet. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Speak to him of me. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 But then, he would speak to me by breaking a stick across 
 my back. You see, seiiora, that girl 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 That girl ought to be forever lost to him. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 But he would die, senora. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 He must be very much in love with her. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Ah ! that is not my fault ! All the way here from Valladolid 
 I have a thousand times argued the point, that a man like he 
 ought to adore women, but never to love an individual woman ! 
 Never 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 You are a pretty worthless rascal ! Go and tell Lothundiaz 
 to come and speak with me and to bring his daughter with 
 him. (Aside) She shall be put in a convent. 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 
 She is the enemy. She loves us so much that she can't help 
 doing us a great deal of harm. (Exit Quinola.)
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 237 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 FAUSTINE AND FEEGOSE. 
 
 FEEGOSE. 
 
 While you expect the master, you spend your time in cor- 
 rupting the servant. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Can a woman ever lose her habit of seduction ? 
 
 FREGOSE 
 
 Senora, you are ungenerous ; I should think that a patrician 
 lady of Venice would know how to spare the feelings of an old 
 soldier. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Come, my lord, you presume more upon your white hair 
 than a young man would presume upon his fairest locks, and 
 you find in them a stronger argument than in (She laughs). 
 Let me have no more of this petulance. 
 
 FEEGOSE 
 
 How can I be otherwise than vexed when you compromise 
 yourself thus, you, whom I wish to be my wife ? Is it nothing 
 to have a chance of bearing one of the noblest of names ? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Do you think it is too noble for a Brancadori ? 
 
 FREGOSE 
 Yet, you would prefer stooping to a Fontanares ! 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 But what if he could raise himself as high as to a Branca- 
 dori? That would be a proof of love indeed! Besides, as 
 you know from your own experience, love never reasons.
 
 238 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FREGOSE 
 Ah! You acknowledge that! 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Your friendship to me is so great that you have been the 
 first to learn my secret. 
 
 FREGOSE 
 
 Senora ! Yes, love is madness ! I have surrendered to you 
 more than myself ! Alas, I wish I had the world to offer you. 
 You evidently are not aware that your picture gallery alone 
 cost me almost all my fortune. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Paquita ! 
 
 FREGOSE 
 And that I would surrender to you even my honor. 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND PAQUITA. 
 
 FAUSTINE (to Paquita) 
 
 Tell my steward that the pictures of my gallery must imme- 
 diately be carried to the house of Don Fregose. 
 
 FREGOSE 
 Paquita, do not deliver that order. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 The other day, they tell .me, the Queen Catherine de 
 Medici sent an order to Diana of Poitiers to deliver up what 
 jewels she had received from Henry II. ; Diana sent them 
 back melted into an ingot. Paquita, fetch the jeweler.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 239 
 
 FEEGOSE 
 
 You will do nothing of the kind, but leave the room. (Exit 
 Paquita.) 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PAQUITA. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 As I am not yet the Marchioness of Fregose, how dare you 
 give your orders in my house ? 
 
 FREGOSE 
 
 I am quite aware of the fact that here it is my duty to 
 receive them. But is my whole fortune worth one word from 
 you? Forgive an impulse of despair. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 One ought to be a gentleman, even in despair ; and in your 
 despair you treat Faustine as a courtesan. Ah! you wish to 
 be adored, but the vilest Venetian woman would tell you that 
 this costs dear. 
 
 FREGOSE 
 
 I have deserved this terrible outburst. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 You say you love me. Love me ? Love is self-devotion with- 
 out the hope of recompense. Love is the wish to live in the 
 light of a sun which the lover trembles to approach. Do not 
 deck out your egotism in the lustre of genuine love. A mar- 
 ried woman, Laura de Nova, said to Petrarch, "You are mine, 
 without hope live on without love." But when Italy crowned 
 the poet she crowned also his sublime love, and centuries to 
 come shall echo with admiration to the names of Laura and 
 Petrarch.
 
 240 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FREGOSB 
 
 There are very many poets 'whom I dislike, but the man 
 you mention is the object of my abomination. To the end 
 of the world women will throw him in the face of those lovers 
 whom they wish to keep without taking. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 You are called general, but you are nothing but a soldier. 
 
 FREGOSE 
 Indeed, and bow then shall I imitate this cursed Petrarch ? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 If you say yon love me, you will ward off from a man of 
 genius (Don Fregose starts} yes, there are such the mar- 
 tyrdom which his inferiors a^e preparing for him. Show 
 yourself great, assist him ! I know it will give you pain, but 
 assist him; then I shall believe you love me, and you will be- 
 come more illustrious, in my sight at least, by this act of 
 generosity than by your capture of Mantua. 
 
 FREGOSE 
 
 Here, in your presence, I feel capable of anything, but you 
 cannot dream of the tempest which will fall upon my head, if 
 I obey your word. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Ah ! you shrink from obeying me I 
 
 FREGOSE 
 Protect him, admire him, if you like ; but do not love him ! 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 The ship given him by the king has been held back; you 
 can restore it to him, in a moment.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 241 
 
 FREGOSE- 
 And I will send him to give you the thanks. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Do it ! and learn how much I love you. (Exit Don Fregose.) 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 
 FAUSTINE (alone) 
 And yet so many women wish that they were men. 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 FAUSTINE, PAQUITA, LOTHUNDIAZ AND MARIE. 
 
 PAQUITA 
 
 Senora, here are Senor Lothundiaz and his daughter. (Exit 
 Paquita.) 
 
 SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, EXCEPTING PAQUITA. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 Ah ! senora, you have turned my palace into a kingdom ! 
 
 FAUSTINE (to Marie) 
 
 My child, seat yourself by me. (To Lothundiaz) Be 
 seated. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 You are very kind, senora; but permit me to go and see
 
 242 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 that famous gallery, which is spoken of throughout Catalonia. 
 (Faustine bows assent and Lothundiaz leaves the room.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTEENTH. 
 FAUSTINE AND MARIE. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 My child, I love you and have learned of the position in 
 which you stand. Your father wishes you to marry my cousin 
 Sarpi, while you are in love with Fontanares. 
 
 MARIE 
 And have been for five years, seriora. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 At sixteen one knows not what it is to love. 
 
 MARIE 
 What does that matter, if I love him? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 With us, sweet girl, love is but self-devotion. 
 
 MARIE 
 I will devote myself to him, seriora. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 What! Would you give him up if that were for his in- 
 terest? 
 
 MARIE 
 That would be to die, but yet my life is wholly his.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 243 
 
 FAUSTINE (aside as she rises from her seat) 
 
 What strength in weakness and innocence! (Aloud) You 
 have never left your father's house, you know nothing of the 
 world nor of its hardships, which are terrible ! A man often 
 dies from having met with a woman who loves him too much, 
 or one who loves him not at all; Fontanares may find him- 
 self in this situation. He has powerful enemies; his glory, 
 which is all he lives for, is in their hands; you may disarm 
 them. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 What must I do? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 By marrying Sarpi, you will assure the triumph of your 
 dear Fontanares; but no woman would counsel such a sacri- 
 fice; it must come, it will come from you. At first you must 
 dissemble. Leave Barcelona for a time. Retire to a con- 
 vent. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 And never see him again? Ah! If you knew he passes 
 every day at a certain hour under my windows, and that hour 
 is all the day to me. 
 
 FAUSTINE (aside) 
 
 She stabs me to the heart ! Oh ! She shall be Countess 
 Sarpi. 
 
 SCENE FIFTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND FONTANARES. 
 
 FONTANARES (to Faustine) 
 Senora. (He kisses her hand.) 
 
 MARIE (aside) 
 What a pang I feel !
 
 244 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Shall I live long enough to testify my gratitude to you? 
 If I achieve anything, if I make a name, if I attain to happi- 
 ness, it will be through you. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Why that is nothing! I merely tried to smooth the way 
 for you. I feel such pity for men of talent in misfortune that 
 you may ever count upon my help. Yes, I would go so far as 
 to be the mere stepping-stone over which you might climb to 
 your crown. 
 
 MARIE (drawing Fontanares by his mantle) 
 But I am here, I (he turns around), and you never saw me. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Marie ! I have not spoken to you for ten days ! ( To Faus- 
 tine) Oh ! senora, what an angel you are ! 
 
 MARIE (to Fontanares) 
 
 Rather say a demon. (Aloud) The senora was advising me 
 to retire to a convent. 
 
 She! 
 
 Yes. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Children that you are, that course were best. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I trip up, it seems, on one snare after another, and kindness 
 ever conceals a pitfall. (To Marie) But tell me who brought 
 you here ? 
 
 MARIE 
 My father !
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 245 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 He ! Is he blind. ? You, Marie, in this house ! 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Sir! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 To a convent indeed, that she might dominate her spirit, 
 and torture her soul! 
 
 SCENE SIXTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND LOTHUNDIAZ. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 And it was you who brought this angel of purity to the 
 house of a woman for whom Don Fregose is wasting his for- 
 tune and who accepts from him the most extravagant gifts 
 without marrying him ? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Sir! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 You came here, senora, widow of a cadet of the house of 
 Brancadori, to whom you sacrificed the small fortune your 
 father gave you ; but here you have utterly changed 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 What right have you to judge my actions ? 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Keep silence, sir; the senora is a high born lady, who has 
 doubled the value of my palace.
 
 246 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FONTANAKES 
 
 She ! why she is a 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Silence ! 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 My daughter, this is your man of genius ! extreme in every- 
 thing, but leaning rather to madness than good sense. Senor 
 Mechination, the senora is the cousin and protector of Sarpi. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Well, take your daughter away from the house of the Mar- 
 chioness of Mondejar of Catalonia. (Exeunt Lothund'iaz and 
 Marie.) 
 
 SCENE SEVENTEENTH. 
 FAUSTINE AND FONTANAKES. 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 So, senora, your generosity was merely a trick to serve the 
 interests of Sarpi! We are quits then!- And so farewell. 
 (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE EIGHTEENTH. 
 FAUSTINE AND PAQUITA. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 How handsome he looked in his rage, Paquita !
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 247 
 
 PAQUITA 
 
 Ah ! senora, what will become of you if you love him in this 
 way? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 My child, I feel that I have never loved before, and in an 
 instant I have been transformed as by a stroke of lightning. 
 In one moment I have loved for all lost time ! Perhaps I have 
 set my foot upon the path which leads to an abyss. Send one 
 of my servants to the house of Mathieu Magis, the Lombard. 
 (Exit Paquita.) 
 
 SCENE NINETEENTH. 
 
 FAUSTINE (alone) 
 
 I already love him too much to trust my vengeance to the 
 stiletto of Monipodio, for he has treated me with such con- 
 tempt that I must bring him to believe that the greatest honor 
 he could win would be to have me for his wife ! I wish to see 
 him groveling at my feet, or I will perish in the attempt to 
 bring him there. 
 
 SCENE TWENTIETH. 
 FAUSTINE AND FREGOSE. 
 
 FREQOSE 
 
 What is this ? I thought to find Fontanares here, happy in 
 the possession of the ship you gained for him. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 You have given it to him then, and I suppose hate him no 
 longer. I thought the sacrifice would be above your strength, 
 and wished to know if hate were stronger than obedience.
 
 248 KESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FREGOSE 
 Ah ! senora 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Could you take it back again ? 
 
 FREGOSE 
 
 Whether obedient or disobedient, I cannot please you. Good 
 heavens ! Take back the ship ! Why, it is crowded with arti- 
 sans who are its masters. 
 
 FREGOSE 
 His death? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 No, but his disgrace. 
 
 FREGOSE 
 
 And in that I shall avenge myself for a whole month of 
 anguish. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Take care to keep your hands off what is my prey. And 
 first of all, Don Fregose, take back your pictures from my gal- 
 lery. (Don Fregose shows astonishment.} It is my will. 
 
 FREGOSE 
 
 You refuse then to be marchioness of 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 They shall be burned upon the public square or sold, and 
 the price given to the poor. 
 
 FREGOSE 
 Tell me, what is your reason for this?
 
 RESOUECES OF QUINOLA 249 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 I thirst for honor and you have ruined mine. 
 
 FEEGOSE 
 Accept my name and all will be well. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Leave me, I pray you. 
 
 FREGOSE 
 The more power you have, the more you abuse it. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 FAUSTINE (alone) 
 
 So, so ! I am nothing then but the viceroy's mistress ! He 
 might as well have said as much ! But with the aid of Aval- 
 oros and Sarpi I intend to have a pretty revenge one worthy 
 of old Venice! 
 
 SCENE TWENTY-SECOND. 
 FAUSTINE AND MATHIEU MAGIS. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 I am told the senora has need of my poor services. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Pray tell me, who are you? 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 Mathieu Magis, a poor Lombard of Milan, at your service.
 
 250 RESOURCES OF QU1NOLA 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 You lend money? 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 I lend it on good security diamonds or gold a very poor 
 business. Our losses are overwhelming, senora. And at pres- 
 ent money seems actually to be asleep. The raising of mar- 
 avedis is the hardest of farm-labor. One unfortunate deal 
 carries off the profits of ten lucky strokes, for we risk a thou- 
 sand doubloons in the hands of a prodigal for three hundred 
 doubloons profit. The world is very unjust to us. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Are you a Jew? 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 In what sense do you mean ? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 In religion. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 I am a Lombard and a Catholic, senora. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 You disappoint me. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 Senora would have wished 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 I would have wished that you were in the clutches of the 
 Inquisition. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 Why so? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 That I might be certain of your fidelity.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 251 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 I keep many secrets in my strong box, senora. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 If I had your fortune in my power 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 You would have my soul. 
 
 FAUSTINE (aside) 
 
 The only way to gain this man's adherence is by appealing 
 to his self-interest, that is plain. (Aloud) You lend 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 At twenty per cent. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 You don't understand what I mean. Listen ; you are lend- 
 ing the use of your name to Senor Avaloros. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 I know Senor Avaloros. He is a banker; we do some busi- 
 ness together, but his name in the city stands too high and 
 his credit in the Mediterranean is too sound for him to need 
 the help of poor Mathieu Magis 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 I see, Lombard, you are very cautious. If you wish to lend 
 your name to promote an important business undertaking 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 Is it smuggling? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 What difference does it make ? The question is, what would 
 guarantee your absolute silence?
 
 252 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 High profit. 
 
 FAUSTINE (aside) 
 
 This is a rare hunting dog. (Aloud) Very well, I am 
 going to entrust you with a secret of life and death, for I pur- 
 pose giving up to you a great man to devour. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 My small business feeds on the great passions of life; 
 (aside) where there is a fine woman, there is fine profit. 
 
 Curtain to the Second Act.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 253 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (The stage setting is the interior of a stable. Overhead 
 are piles of hay; along the walls are wheels, tubes, shafts, a 
 long copper chimney,, a huge boiler. To the left of the specta- 
 tor the Madonna is sculptured on a pillar. To the right is a 
 table strewn with paper and mathematical instruments. Above 
 the table hangs on the wall a blackboard covered with figures; 
 by the side of the table is a shelf on which are onions, a water 
 crock and a loaf. To the right of the spectator is a wide door, 
 and to the left, a door opening on the fields. A straw bed lies 
 by the side of the pillar at the feet of the Madonna. It is 
 night-time.) 
 
 FONTANARES AND QtJINOLA. 
 
 (Fontanares, in a black robe girded by a leathern belt, works 
 
 at his table. Quinola is checking off the 
 
 various parts of the machine.) 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Though you wouldn't think it, senor, I also have been in 
 love ! Only when I have once understood the woman, I have 
 always bade her good-b\e. A full pot and bottle, ah ! these 
 never betray, and moreover, you grow fat on them. (He 
 glances at his master.) Pshaw! He doesn't even hear me. 
 There are three more pieces ready for the forge. (He opens 
 the door.) Here is Monipodio!
 
 254 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MONIPODIO. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 The last three pieces have come in. Bring the models and 
 make duplicates of them, as a provision against accident. 
 (Monipodio beckons to him from the passage; two men make 
 their appearance.) 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Carry these away, hoys, and not a sound ! Vanish like spec- 
 tres. This is worse than theft. (To Quinola) He is dead and 
 buried in his work 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 He suspects nothing as yet. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Neither they nor -any one else suspect us. Each piece is 
 wrapped up like a jewel and hidden in a cellar. But we need 
 thirty ducats. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Zounds ! 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Thirty rascals built like those fellows eat as much as sixty 
 ordinary men. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Quinola and Company have failed, and I am a fugitive ! 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 From protests? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Stupid! They want me bodily. Fortunately, I have two 
 or thre suits of old clothes which may serve to deliver Quinola
 
 RESOURCES OF QUIftOLA 255 
 
 from the clutches of the keenest sleuths, until I can make 
 payment. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Payment? That is folly. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Yes, I have kept a little nest-egg against our thirst. Put 
 on that ragbag of the begging friar and go to Lothundiaz and 
 have a talk with the duenna. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Alas ! Lopez has returned from Algeria so often that our 
 dear duenna begins to suspect us. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I merely wish her to carry this letter to Senorita Marie 
 Lothundiaz (handing a letter). It is a masterpiece of elo- 
 quence, inspired by that which inspires all masterpieces. 
 See ! we have been living for ten days on bread and water. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 And what could we look for? To eat ortolans? If our 
 men had expected fine fare they would have struck long ago. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 If love would only cash my note of hand, we might still get 
 but of this hole. (Exit Monipodio.) 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 QUINOLA AND FONTANARES. 
 
 QUINOLA (rubbing an onion into his bread) 
 This is the way we are told the Egyptian pyramid-builders
 
 256 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 were fed, but they must also have had the sauce which gives 
 us an appetite, and that is faith. (Drinks water.) You don't 
 appear to be hungry, senor? Take care that the machine 
 in your head doesn't go wrong ! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I am nearing the final solution 
 
 QUINOLA (whose sleeve splits up as he puts back the crock} 
 And I have found one in the continuity of my sleeve. In 
 this trade my clothes are becoming as uncertain as an un- 
 known quantity in algebra. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 You are a fine fellow ! Always merry, even in the depths 
 of misfortune. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 And why not, gadzooks ! Fortune loves the merry almost 
 as much as the merry love her. 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MATHIEU MAGIS. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Ah ! Here comes our dear Lombard ; he looks at all these 
 pieces of machinery as if they were already his lawful 
 property. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 I am your most humble servant, my dear Senor Fontanaret, 
 
 QUINOLA 
 This is he, polished, dry, cold as marble.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 257 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Good-day, Senor Magis. (Cuts himself a piece of bread.) 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 You are a sublime hero, and as far as I am concerned, I 
 wish you all sorts of good luck. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 And is this the reason why you try to bring upon me all 
 sorts of bad luck ? 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 You snap me up very sharply ; you do wrong, you forget that 
 in me there are two men. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 I have never seen the other. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 I have a heart, away from my business. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 But you are never away from your business. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 I am always filled with admiration at the sight of your 
 struggle. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Admiration is the passion which is the most easily ex- 
 hausted. Moreover, you never make any loans on sentiment. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 There are some sentiments which bring profit, while others 
 cause ruin. You are animated by faith ; that is very fine, but 
 it is ruinous. We made six months ago certain little agree-
 
 258 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 ments; you asked of me three thousand ducats for your 
 experiments 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 On the condition, that you were to receive five thousand 
 in return. 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 Well? 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 The payment was due two months ago. 
 
 FONTANABES 
 
 You demanded it by legal process two months ago, the 
 very next day after it was due. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 I did it without thought of annoying you, merely as a 
 formality. 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 And what do you want now? 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 You are to-day my debtor. 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 Eight months gone already ? It has passed like a dream ! 
 And I was proposing to myself this evening the solution of 
 the problem how to introduce cold water, so as to dissolve 
 the steam ! Magis, my dear friend, assist me in this matter, 
 be my protector, and give me a few days more ? 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 As many as you desire. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Do you mean it ? This is the first appearance of the other
 
 RESOUKCES OF QUINOLA 259 
 
 3ian. (To Fontanares) Senor, I shall make this gentleman 
 my friend. (To Magis) I appeal to the two Magises and ask 
 if they will give us the sight of a few doubloons! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Ah! I begin to breathe freely. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 That can easily be managed. I am to-day not merely your 
 money-lender, I am money-lender and co-proprietor, and I 
 wish to draw out my share in the property. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Double man, and triple dog! 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 Capital has nothing to do with faith 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Or with hope and charity ; crowns are not Catholics. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 When a man comes and asks us to discount a bill, we cannot 
 gay : "Wait a bit ; we have a man of genius at work trying to 
 find a gold mine in a garret or a stable !" No, indeed ! Why 
 in six months I could have doubled those ducats over again. 
 Besides, senor, I have a small family. 
 
 FONTANARES (to Quinola) 
 That creature has a wife ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Yes, and if she brings forth young they will eat up Cata- 
 lonia.
 
 260 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 I have heavy expenses. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 You see how I live. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 Ah! If I were rich, I would lend you (Quinola holds out 
 his hands) the wherewith to live better. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Wait fifteen days longer. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS (aside) 
 
 This cuts me to the heart. If the matter concerned only 
 myself I would perhaps let it go; but I must earn what has 
 been promised me, which is to be my daughter's dowry. 
 (Aloud) Now really, I have a great regard for you, you 
 please me immensely 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 To think that it would be a crime to strangle him ! 
 
 i 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 You are of iron; I shall show myself as hard as steel. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 What do you mean, senor ? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 You shall help me, whether you would or not. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 I will not ! I want my capital ! And would think nothing 
 of seizing and selling all this iron work.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 261 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 You compel me to meet trick with trick. I was proceeding 
 with my work honestly ! Now, if necessary, following your 
 example, I shall leave the straight path. I shall be of course 
 accused, as if perfection could be expected of me. But I do 
 not mind calumny. But to have this cup to drink is too 
 much. You made a senseless contract with me, you now 
 shall sign another, or you will see me dash my work to frag- 
 ments, and keep my secret buried here. (He strikes his hand 
 on his heart.) 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 Ah! senor, you will not do that. That would be theft, a 
 piece of rascality of which a great man is incapable. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 You seize upon my integrity as a weapon by which you 
 would insure the success of monstrous injustice. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 Listen, I wish to have nothing to do with this matter, and 
 if you will come to an understanding with Don Kamon, a 
 most excellent man, I will yield all my rights to him. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Don Eamon? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Yes, the philosopher whom all Barcelona sets up in oppo- 
 sition to you. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 After all, I have solved the last problem, and glory and 
 fortune will attend the future current of my life. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Your words seem to indicate that there is still a part to be 
 supplied in the machinery.
 
 262 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 A trifle a matter of some hundred ducats. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 Such a sum could not be raised from all that you have here, 
 if it were sold by authority of government, counting the costs. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Carrion ! Will you get out ? 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 If you humor Don Ramon, he doubtless will be willing to 
 give you the assistance of his credit. (Turns to Quinola) As 
 for you, gallows-bird, if ever you fall into my hands, I will 
 get even with you. ( To Fontanares) Good-bye, man of genius. 
 (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 FONTANARES AND QUINOLA. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 His words make me shudder. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 And me also ! The good ideas of genius are always caught 
 in the webs of such spiders as he. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Well, if only we can get a hundred ducats more, from that 
 time forth we shall have a golden life filled with the banquets 
 of love. (He takes a drink of water.)
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 263 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I quite believe you, but confess that blooming hope, that 
 heavenly jade, has led us on pretty deep into the mire. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Quinola ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I do not complain for myself, I was born to trouble. The 
 question is, how are we to get the hundred ducats. You are 
 in debt to the workmen, to the master locksmith Carpano, 
 to Coppolus the dealer in iron, steel and copper, and to our 
 landlord, who after taking us in, more from fear of Moni- 
 podio than from compassion, will end by turning us out of 
 doors ; we owe him for nine months' board and lodging. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 But the work is all but finished. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 But what of the hundred ducats ? 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 How is it that you, usually so brave and merry, begin now 
 to speak to me in such a dolorous tone ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 It is because, as a means of remaining at your side, I shall 
 be obliged to disappear. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 And why ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Why? Pray what are we to do about the sheriff? I have 
 incurred, for you and for myself, trade debts to the amount 
 of a hundred doubloons ; and lo ! these debts take, to my mind, 
 the figure, face and feet of tipstaves!
 
 264 RESOURCES OF QU1NOLA 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 How much unhappiness is comprised in the term glory! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Come! Do not be downcast. Did you not tell me that 
 your grandfather went, some fifty years ago, with Cortez, to 
 Mexico ; has he ever been heard of ? 
 
 FONTANARES ' 
 
 Never. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Don't forget you have a grandfather ! You will be enabled 
 to continue your work, until you reach the day of your tri- 
 umph. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Do you wish to ruin me? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Do you wish to see me go to prison and your machine to the 
 devil? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 I do not. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Permit me then to bring about the return of this grand- 
 father ? He will be the first of his company to return from the 
 West Indies. 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MONIPODIO. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 How goes it ? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Your princess has received her letter.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 265 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 What kind of a man is this Don Ramon? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 He is an ass. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Is he envious? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 As three rejected play-writers. He makes himself out to 
 be a wonderful man. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 But does any one believe him ? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 They look upon him as an oracle. He scribbles off his 
 treatises, explaining that the snow is white because it falls 
 from heaven, and he maintains, in contradiction to Galileo, 
 that the earth does not move. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Do you not plainly see, senor, that I must rid you of this 
 philosopher? (To Monipodio) You come with me; you 
 must be my servant. (Exeunt.) 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 FONTANARES (alone) 
 
 What brain, even though it be encased in bronze, could 
 stand the strain of this search after money, while also making 
 an inquiry into the most jealously guarded secrets of nature ? 
 How can the mind, engaged in such quests, have time for dis- 
 trusting men, fighting them, and combining others against 
 them ? It is no easy thing to see at once what course had best 
 be taken, in order to prevent Don Ramon from stealing my
 
 266 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 glory ; and Don Eamons abound on every side. I at last dare 
 to avow that my endurance is exhausted. 
 
 'SCENE EIGHTH. 
 
 FONTANARES, ESTEBAN, GlEONE AND TWO WORKMEN. 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 
 Can any of you tell me where a person named Fontanares is 
 hiding himself? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 He is not hiding himself. I am he ; he is merely meditating 
 in silence. (Aside) Where is Quinola? He would know 
 how to send them away satisfied. (Aloud) What do you 
 want? 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 
 We want our money! We have been working without 
 wages for three weeks ; the laborer lives from day to day. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Alas, my friends, I do not live at all ! 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 
 You are alone; you can pinch your belly. But we have 
 wives and children. At the present moment we have pawned 
 everything. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Have confidence in me. 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 Can we pay the baker with this confidence in you ?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 2G7 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I am a man of honor. 
 
 GIRONE 
 Hark you ! We also are men of honor. 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 
 Take the honor of each of us to the Lombard and you will 
 see how much he will lend you on it. 
 
 GIRONE 
 
 I am not a man of talent, not I, and no one will give me 
 trust. 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 
 I am nothing but a villainous workman, but if my wife 
 needs an iron pot, I pay for it, by heaven ! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I would like to know who it is has set you on me in this 
 way? 
 
 GIRONE 
 Set us on? Are we dogs? 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 
 The magistrates of Barcelona have given judgment in favor 
 of Masters Coppolus and Carpano, and have granted them a 
 lien on your inventions; pray tell us, where is our lien? 
 
 GIRONE 
 shan't go away from this place without my money. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Can you find any money by staying here? However, here 
 you may remain. Good-day. (He takes up his hat and cloak.)
 
 268 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 
 No ! You won't go out without paying us. (The workmen 
 prepare to bar the door.) 
 
 GIRONE 
 
 There is a piece which I forged myself; I am going to 
 keep it. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 What! you wretch! (He draws his sword.) 
 
 THE WORKMEN 
 You will not make us budge. 
 
 FONTANARES (rushing upon them) 
 
 Here is for you! (He stops short and throws away his 
 sword). Perhaps these fellows have been sent by Avaloros 
 and Sarpi to push me to extremes. If they succeeded I might 
 be accused of murder and thrown into prison for years. (He 
 kneels down before the Madonna.) Oh, my God! are genius 
 and crime the same thing in Thy sight? What have I done 
 to suffer such defeats, such insults and such outrages? Must 
 I pay for my triumph in advance ? (To the workmen) Every 
 Spaniard is master in his own house. 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 
 You have no house. This place is the Golden Sun; the 
 landlord has told us so. 
 
 GIRONE 
 You haven't paid for your lodging ; you pay for nothing. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Eemain where you are, my masters, I was wrong; I am in 
 debt.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 269 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, COPPOLDS AND CAEPANO. 
 
 COPPOLUS 
 
 Senor, I come to tell you that the magistrates of Barcelona 
 have granted me a lien on your machine, and I shall take 
 measures that no part of it leaves this place. My confrere, 
 Carpano, your locksmith, shares my claim. 
 
 FONTANABES 
 
 What devil is blinding you ? Without me, this machine is 
 nothing but so much iron, steel, copper and wood; with me, 
 it represents a fortune. 
 
 COPPOLUS 
 
 We are not going to leave you. (The two merchants make 
 a movement as if to hem in Fontanares.) 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 What friend embraces you so closely as a creditor? Well, 
 well, I wish the devil would take back the great thought he- 
 gave me. 
 
 ALL 
 
 The devil! 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 Ah ! I must keep watch upon my tongue or one word will 
 throw me into the clutches of the Inquisition ! No glory can 
 recompense me for such sufferings as these ! 
 
 COPPOLUS (to Carpano) 
 Shall we have it sold? 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 But to be worth anything, the machine must be finished,
 
 270 
 
 and one piece is wanting, of which the model is before you. 
 (Coppolus and Carpano consult together.) Two hundred se- 
 quins more would be required for its completion. 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS. QUINOLA (disguised as a fantastic old 
 
 man) ; MONIPODIO (fancifully dressed} ; THE 
 
 LANDLORD OP THE GOLDEN SUN. 
 
 THE LANDLORD OF THE GOLDEN SUN (pointing to 
 
 Fontanares) 
 Sefior, that is he. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 And so you have lodged the grandson of General Fonta- 
 nares in a stable ! The republic of Venice will set him in a 
 palace ! My dear boy, let me embrace you. (He steps up to 
 Fontanares.) The most noble republic has learned of your 
 promises to the king of Spain, and I have left the arsenal at 
 Venice, over which I preside, in order that (aside) I am 
 Quinola. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Never was an ancestor restored to life more opportunely 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 In what a miserable condition I find you! Is this then 
 the antechamber of glory ! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Misery is the crucible in which God tests our strength. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Who are these people ?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 271 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Creditors and workmen, clamoring for their wages. 
 
 QUINOLA (to the landlord) 
 
 Eascal of a landlord, is this the dwelling-place of my grand- 
 run ? 
 
 THE LANDLORD 
 Certainly, your excellency. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I have some knowledge of the laws of Catalonia, and I shall 
 send for the magistrate to put these rogues in prison. You 
 may call down the bailiffs upon my grandson, but keep to 
 your own houses, you blackguards ! (He fumbles in his 
 pocket.) Stay! Now go and drink my health. (He throws 
 money among them.) Come to me later on and you shall be 
 paid. 
 
 THE WPRKMEN 
 
 Long live his excellency! (Exeunt.) 
 
 QUINOLA (to Fontanares) 
 Our last doubloon ! But it was a good bluff. 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, WITHOUT THE HOST AND THE 
 WORKMEN. 
 
 QUINOLA (to the two tradesmen) 
 
 As for you, my good fellows, you seem to be of better stuff, 
 and by the intervention of a little money we can come to a 
 settlement. 
 
 COPPOLUS 
 Yes, we shall then, your excellency, be at your service.
 
 272 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Do I see here, my son, that famous invention about which 
 Venice is so excited? Where is the plan, the elevation, the 
 section, the working drawings of the machine? 
 
 COPPOLUS (to Carpano) 
 
 He knows all about it, but we must get further information 
 before advancing anything. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 You are an amazing man, my son ! Like Columbus, you 
 will yet have your day. (He kneels.) I thank God for the 
 honor He has done our family. (To the merchants) Two 
 hours from this I will pay you. (Exeunt Coppolus and 
 Carpano.) 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 QUINOLA, FONTANARES AND MONIPODIO. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 What will be the result of this imposture ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 You were tottering on the brink of an abyss, and I rescued 
 you. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 It was well impersonated ! But the Venetians have abun- 
 dance of money, and in order to obtain three months' credit, 
 we must throw dust into the eyes of the creditors, and this is 
 the most expensive kind of dust. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Didn't I tell you that there was a treasure coming ? Well 
 it's here now.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 273 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Coming of its own accord. (Quinola assents with a nod.) 
 
 FONTANABES 
 
 His effrontery terrifies me. 
 
 SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, MATHIEU MAGIS AND DON RAMON. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 I have brought Don Eamon to you, for I wish to do nothing 
 without his sanction. 
 
 DON RAMON (to Fontanares) 
 
 Senor, I am delighted at this opportunity of sharing the 
 work of so eminent a man of science. We two will be enabled 
 to bring your invention to the highest perfection. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Senor knows mechanics, balistics, mathematics, dioptrics, 
 catoptrics, statistics? 
 
 DON RAMON 
 Indeed I do. I have produced many valuable treatises. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 In Latin? 
 
 DON RAMON 
 No, in Spanish. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 No true philosopher, senor, writes in anything but Latin. 
 There is a danger that science may be vulgarized. Do you 
 know Latin?
 
 274 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 DON KAMON 
 Yes, senor. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 So much the better for you. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Senor, I respect the name which you have made; but I 
 cannot accept your offer, because of the dangers attendant on 
 my enterprise; I am risking my head in this work and yours 
 is too precious to be exposed. 
 
 DON EAMON 
 
 Do you think, senor, that you can afford to slight Don 
 Kamon, the great scientific authority ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Don Eamon ! the famous Don Kamon, who has expounded 
 the causes of so many natural phenomena, which hitherto had 
 been thought to happen without cause? 
 
 DON EAMON 
 The very man. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I am Fontanaresi, director of the arsenal of the Venetian 
 Eepublic, and grandfather of our inventor. My son, you may 
 have full confidence in Don Eamon; a man of his position can 
 have no designs upon you ; let us tell him everything. 
 
 DON EAMON (aside) 
 Ah! I am going to learn everything about the machine. 
 
 FONTANARES (aside to Quinola) 
 What is all this about ? 
 
 QUINOLA (aside to Fontanares) 
 Let me give him a lesson in mathematics; it will do him
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 275 
 
 no good, and us no harm. (To Don Ramon] Will you come 
 here ? (He points out the parts of the machine) All this is 
 meaningless; for philosophers, the great thing 
 
 DON EAMON 
 ffhe great thing? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Is the problem itself ! You know the reason why clouds 
 mount upwards? 
 
 DON KAMON 
 
 I believe it is because they are lighter than the air. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Not at all ! They are heavy as well as light, for the water 
 that is in them ends by falling as flat as a fool. I don't like 
 water, do you? 
 
 DON EAMON 
 
 I have a great respect for it. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I see that we are made for each other. The clouds rise to 
 such a height, because they are vapor, and are also attracted 
 by the force of the cold upper air. 
 
 DON RAMON 
 That may be true. I will write a treatise on the subject. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 My grandson states this in the formula R plus 0. And as 
 there is much water in the air, we simply say, plus 0, which 
 is a new binomial. 
 
 DON RAMON 
 A new binomial ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Yes, an X, if you like it better.
 
 276 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 DON RAMON 
 X, ah yes, I understand! 
 
 FONTANARES (aside) 
 
 What a donkey ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 The rest is a mere trifle. The tube receives the water which, 
 by some means or other, has been changed to cloud. This 
 cloud is bound to rise and the resulting force is immense. 
 
 DON RAMON 
 Immense, why immense! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Immense in that it is natural, since man pay particular 
 attention to this does not create force 
 
 DON RAMON 
 Very good, then how? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 He borrows it from nature ; to invent, is to borrow. Then 
 by means of certain pistons, for in mechanics you 
 know 
 
 DON RAMON 
 Yes, senor, I know mechanics. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Very good ! The method of applying a force is child's play, 
 a trifle, a matter of detail, as in the turnspit 
 
 r 
 
 DON RAMON 
 Ah ! Ho employs the turnspit then ?
 
 RESOUKCES OF QUINOLA 277 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 There are two here, and the force is such that it raises the 
 mountains, which skip like rams as was predicted by King 
 David. 
 
 DON KAMON 
 
 Senor, you are perfectly right, the clouds, that is, the 
 water 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Water, senor ? Why ! It is the world. Without water, you 
 could not That is plain. Well now ! This is the point on 
 which my grandson's invention is based; water will subdue 
 water. X equals plus 0, that is the complete formula. 
 
 DON RAMON (aside) 
 The terms he employs are incomprehensible. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Do you understand me ? 
 
 DON RAMON 
 Perfectly. 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 
 This man is a driveling dotard. (Aloud) I have spoken 
 to you in the language of genuine philosophy 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS (to Monipodio) 
 Can you tell me who this remarkably learned man is? 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 He is a very great man, to whom I am indebted for my 
 knowledge of balistics; he is the director of the Venetian 
 arsenal, and purposes this evening making us a contribution 
 on behalf of the republic.
 
 278 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 I must go and tell Senora Brancadori, she comes from 
 Venice. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MATHIEI: 
 MAGIS. LOTHUNDIAZ AND MARIE. 
 
 MARIE 
 Am I in time ? 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 
 Hurrah ! Here comes our treasure. (Lothundiaz and Don 
 Ramon exchange greetings and examine the pieces of ma- 
 chinery in the centre of the stage.) 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 What! Is Marie here? 
 
 MARIE 
 
 My father brought me. Ah ! my dear friend, your servant 
 told me of your distress 
 
 FONTANARES (to Quinola) 
 You scoundrel I 
 
 QUINOLA 
 What, grandson! 
 
 MARIE 
 And he brought all my agonies to an end. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Tell me, pray, what was it troubled you ? 
 
 MARIE 
 You cannot imagine the persecutions I have endured since
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 279 
 
 your arrival, and especially since your quarrel with Madame 
 Brancadori. What could I do against the authority of my 
 father ? It is absolute. While I remained at home, I doubted 
 my power to help you; my heart was yours in spite of every- 
 thing, but my bodily presence 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 And so you are another martyr! 
 
 MARIE 
 
 By delaying the day of your triumph, you have made my 
 position intolerable. Alas ! when I see you here, I perceive that 
 you yourself at the same time have been enduring incredible 
 hardships. In order that I might be with you for a moment, 
 I have feigned an intention of vowing myself to God; this 
 evening I enter a convent. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 A convent ? Is that the way they would separate us ? These 
 tortures make one curse the day of his birth. And you, Marie, 
 you, who are the mainspring and the glory of my discovery, the 
 star that protected my destiny, I have forced you to seek ref- 
 uge in heaven ! I cannot stand up against that. (He weeps.) 
 
 MARIE 
 
 But by promising to enter a convent, I obtained my father's 
 permission to come here. I wish in bidding you farewell to 
 bring you hope. Here are the savings of a young girl, of your 
 sister, which I have kept against the day when all would for- 
 sake you. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 And what care I for glory, for fortune, for life itself, with- 
 out you ? 
 
 MARIE 
 
 Accept the gift which is all that the woman who intends 
 to be your wife can and ought to offer. If I feel that you
 
 280 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 are unhappy and in distress, hope will forsake me in. my 
 retirement, and I shall die, uttering a last prayer for you 1 
 
 QUINOLA (to Marie) 
 
 Let him play the proud man, we may save him in spite of 
 himself. Do you know it is for this purpose that I ain pass- 
 ing myself off as his grandfather? (Marie gives her purse to 
 Quinola.) 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ (to Don Ramon) 
 
 So you do not think much of him ? 
 
 DON BAMON 
 
 Oh, no, he is an artisan, who knows nothing and who doubt- 
 less stole his secret in Italy. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 I have always doubted him, and it seems I was right in 
 refusing him my daughter in marriage. 
 
 DON EAMON 
 
 He would bring her to beggary. He has squandered five 
 thousand sequins, and has gone into debt three thousand, 
 in eight months, without attaining any result ! Ah ! He is 
 a contrast with his grandfather. There's a philosopher of the 
 first rank for you ! Fontanares will have to work hard to 
 catch up with him. (He points to Quinola.) 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 His grandfather? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Yes, senor, my name of Fontanares was changed to thai 
 of Fontanaresi. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 And you are Pablo Fontanaresi ?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 281 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Yes, Pablo himself. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 And are you rich ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Opulent. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 That delights me, sefior. I suppose that now you will pay 
 me the two thousand sequins which you borrowed from my 
 father ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Certainly, if you can show me my signature, I am ready to 
 pay the bond. 
 
 MARIE (after a conversation with Fontanares) 
 You will accept this will you not as a means of securing 
 your triumph, for is not our happiness staked on that? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 To think that I am dragging down this pearl into the gulf 
 which is yawning to receive me! (Quinola and Monipodio 
 depart.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND SARPI. 
 
 SARPI (to Lotliundiaz) 
 You here, Senor Lothundiaz ? And your daughter too ? 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 I promised that she should come here to say farewell on 
 condition that she would not refuse to retire to a convent 
 afterwards.
 
 282 RESOURCES OF QU1NOLA 
 
 SARPI 
 
 The assembly here is so numerous that I am not surprised, 
 nor in the least offended, by your complaisance towards her. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Ah ! Here comes the fiercest of my persecutors. How are 
 you, senor ; are you come to put my constancy to a fresh test ? 
 
 j 
 
 SARPI 
 
 I represent the viceroy of Catalonia, senor, and I have a 
 right to your respectful treatment. (To Don Ramon) Are 
 you satisfied with him ? 
 
 DON KAMON. 
 If he takes my advice, we are sure of success. 
 
 SARPI 
 The viceroy has great hopes from your learned co-operation. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Surely I am dreaming ! Is it possible they are raising up 
 a rival to me ? 
 
 SARPI 
 
 No! senor; but a guide who is able to save you from 
 failure. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Who told you I needed one ? 
 
 MARIE 
 
 Alfonso! But suppose that Don Ramon could insure 
 your success ? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Ah ! Even she has lost confidence in me !
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 283 
 
 MARIE 
 They say he is so learned ! 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Presumptuous man ! He thinks that he knows more than 
 ' all the learned in the world. 
 
 SARPI 
 
 I was induced to come here on account of a question which 
 has been raised and has filled the viceroy with anxiety; you 
 have had in your possession for nearly ten months a ship 
 belonging to the state, and you must now render an account 
 of the loan. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 The king fixed no term for the time of my experiments. 
 
 SARPI 
 
 The administration of Catalonia has the right to demand 
 an account, and we have received a decree of the ministers to 
 this effect. (Fontanares appears thunderstruck.) Oh! you 
 can take your time; we do not wish to embarrass a man like 
 you. Nor are we inclined to think that you wish to elude 
 the stipulation with regard to your life by keeping the ship 
 for an indefinite period. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 His life? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Yes, I am staking my life in these experiments. 
 
 MARIE 
 And yet, you refuse my help ? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 In three months, Count Sarpi, I shall have completed, with-
 
 284 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 out the counsel of another, the work I am engaged upon. You 
 will then see one of the grandest spectacles that a man can 
 produce for his age to witness. 
 
 i 
 
 SAEPI 
 
 Here, then, is a bond to that effect ; sign it. (Fontanares 
 signs it.) 
 
 MARIE 
 
 Farewell, my friend ! If you are vanquished in this strug- 
 gle I believe that I shall love you more than ever ! 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Come, my daughter ; the man is mad. 
 
 DON KAMON. 
 Young man ! be sure to read my treatises. 
 
 SABPI 
 
 Farewell, future grandee of Spain. (Exeunt all except 
 Fontanares.) 
 
 SCENE SIXTEENTH. 
 
 FONTANARES (alone in the front of the stage) 
 
 While Marie is in a convent the sunlight cannot warm me. 
 I am bearing up a world, yet fear I am no Titan. No, I shall 
 never succeed; all is against me. And this work which cost 
 me three years of thought and ten months of toil will never 
 cleave the ocean! But now, I am heavy with sleep. (He 
 lies down on the straw.)
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 285 
 
 SCENE SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 FONTANARES (asleep) , QDINOLA AND MONIPODIO (entering 
 by the Postern). 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Diamonds ! Pearls and gold ! We are saved. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 Don't forget. The Brancadori is from Venice. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Then I'd better be getting back there. Send me the land- 
 lord; I wish to re-establish our credit. 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 He is here. 
 
 SCENE EIGHTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND THE LANDLORD OF THE GOLDEN SUN. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 What is this, senor, Landlord of the Golden Sun? You 
 don't seem to have much confidence in the star of my grand- 
 son? 
 
 THE LANDLORD 
 A hostelry, senor, is not a banking house. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 No, but you should not, for charity's sake, have refused 
 him bread. The most noble republic of Venice sent me to 
 bring him to that city, but he is too fond of Spain ! I return, 
 as T arrived, secretly. I have nothing with me that I can 
 dispose of excepting this diamond. A month from this time
 
 286 RESOURCES OF QUTNOLA 
 
 I will remit to you through the bank. Will you arrange with 
 my grandson's servant for the sale of this jewel ? 
 
 THE LANDLORD 
 
 Your people here, senor, shall be treated like princes of 
 wealth. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 You may go. (Exit landlord.) 
 
 SCENE NINETEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, EXCEPTING THE LANDLORD. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 I must go and change my dress. (He looks at Fontanares.) 
 He sleeps; that noble heart has at last succumbed to its emo- 
 tions; it is only we who know how to yield before misfor- 
 tunes; our carelessness he cannot share. Have I not done 
 well, in always obtaining a duplicate of that which he 
 required? (To Monipodio) Here is the plan of the last 
 piece; do you take charge of it. (Exeunt.) 
 
 'SCENE TWENTIETH. 
 FONTANARES (sleeping), FAUSTINE AND MATHIEU MAGIS. 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 There he is ! 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 To what a plight have I reduced him ! From the depth of 
 the wounds which I have thus inflicted upon myself, I realize 
 the depth of my love ! Oh ! how much happiness do 1 owe 
 him in compensation for so much suffering! 
 
 Curtain to the Third Act.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 287 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (The stage setting represents a public square. In the centre 
 stands a sheriff's officer on an auctioneer's block, around the 
 base of which are the various pieces for the machine. A crowd 
 is gathered on each side of the platform. To the left of the 
 spectator are grouped together Coppolus, Carpano, the Land- 
 lord of the Golden Sun, Esteban, Girone, Mathieu Magis, 
 Don Ramon and Loihundiaz. To the right are Fontanares 
 and Monipodio; Quinola conceals himself in a cloak behind 
 Monipodio.) 
 
 FONTANARES, MONIPODIO, QUINOLA, COPPOLUS, THE LAND- 
 LORD OF THE GOLDEN SUN, ESTEBAN, GIRONE, MATHIEU 
 MAGIS, DON EAMON, LOTHUNDIAZ, SHERIFF'S OFFICER, 
 A CROWD OF PEOPLE. 
 
 SHERIFF'S OFFICER 
 
 Gentlemen, show a little more warmth. Here we have a 
 boiler, big enough to cook a dinner for a regiment of the 
 guards. 
 
 THE LANDLORD 
 Four maravedis. 
 
 SHERIFF'S OFFICER 
 Do I hear more ? Come and look at it, examine it ! 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 Six maravedis.
 
 288 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 QUINOLA (to Fontanares) 
 Senor, they will not fetch a hundred ducats. 
 
 FONTANABES 
 
 We must try to be resigned. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Resignation seems to me to be the fourth theological virtue 
 omitted from the list out of consideration for women ! 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 Hold your tongue ! Justice is on your track and you would 
 have been arrested before this if they had not taken you for 
 one of my people. 
 
 SHERIFF'S OFFICER 
 
 This is the last lot, gentlemen. Going, going no further 
 bid? Gone! It is knocked down to Senor Mathieu Magis, 
 for ten ducats, six maravedis. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ (to Don Ramon) 
 
 What do you think of that ? Thus ends the sublime inven- 
 tion of our great man ! He was right, by heaven, when he 
 promised us a rare spectacle ! 
 
 COPPOLUS 
 You can laugh; he does not owe you anything. 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 It is we poor devils who have to pay for his folly. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Did you get nothing, Master Coppolus? And what of my 
 daughter's diamonds, which the great man's servant put into 
 the machine?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA . 289 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 Why, they were seized in my house. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 And are not the thieves in the hand of justice? I would 
 like best of all to see Quinola, that cursed pilferer of jewels, 
 in durance. 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 
 Oh, my young life, what lessons are you receiving! My 
 antecedents have ruined me. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 But if they catch him, his goose will soon be cooked, and I 
 shall have the pleasure of seeing him dangling from the gal- 
 lows, and giving the benediction with his feet 
 
 FONTANARES (to Quinolo) 
 Our calamity stirs this dullard's wit. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 You mean his brutality. 
 
 DON EAMON 
 
 I sincerely regret this disaster. This young artisan had at 
 last listened to my advice, and we were on the point of realiz- 
 ing the promises made by him to the king ; but he blindly for- 
 feited his opportunity ; I mean to ask pardon for him at the 
 court, for I shall tell the king how useful he will be to me. 
 
 COPPOLUS 
 
 Here is an example of generosity extremely rare in the con- 
 duct of one learned man towards another. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 You are an honor to Catalonia !
 
 290 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FONTANARES (coming forward) 
 
 I have endured with tranquillity the agony of seeing a 
 piece of workmanship, which entitles me to eternal glory, 
 sold as so much old junk (murmurs among the people). 
 But this passes all endurance. Don Ramon, if you have, I 
 do not say understood, but even guessed, at the use of all 
 these fragments of machinery, displaced and scattered as they 
 are, you ought to have bought them even at the sacrifice of 
 your whole fortune. 
 
 DON RAMON 
 
 Young man, I respect your misfortunes; but you know 
 that your apparatus could not possibly go, and that my 
 experience had become necessary to you. 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 The most terrible among all the horrors of destitution is 
 that it gives ground for calumny and the triumph of fools ! 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Is it not disgraceful for a man in your position thus to 
 undertake to insult a philosopher whose reputation is estab- 
 lished ? Where would I be if I had given you my daughter ? 
 You would have led me a fine dance down to beggary ; for 
 you have already wasted, for absolutely no purpose, ten thou- 
 sand sequins! Really this grandee of Spain seems particu- 
 larly small in his grandeur to-day. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 You make me pity you. 
 
 That is possible, but you do not make me envy you; your 
 life is at the mercy of the tribunal.
 
 RESOURCES OF QU1NOLA 291 
 
 DON RAMON 
 Let him alone; don't you see that he is crazy? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Not quite crazy enough, senor, to believe that plus is 
 a binomial. 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, DON FREGOSE, FAUSTINE, AVALOROS 
 AND SARPI. 
 
 SARPI. 
 We have come too late; the sale is over 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 The king will regret the confidence he placed in a char- 
 latan. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 A charlatan, my lord? In a few days, you may be able to 
 cut my head off ; kill me, but don't calumniate me ; your posi- 
 tion in the state is too high for you to descend so low. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 Your audacity equals the extent of your downfall. Are 
 you unaware that the magistrates of Barcelona look upon 
 you as an accomplice of the thief who robbed Lothundiaz? 
 The flight of your servant proves the crime, and the freedom 
 you now enjoy is due to the intercessions of this lady. (Points 
 to Faustine.) 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 My servant, your excellency, might have been in early life 
 a criminal, but since he has followed my fortunes he has been 
 an innocent man. I declare, on my honor, that he is guiltless
 
 292 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 of any such act as theft. The jewels which were seized at 
 the moment he was engaged in selling them were the free 
 gift of Marie Lothundiaz, from whom I had refused to accept 
 them. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 What pride he shows, even in adversity ! Nothing can bend 
 him. 
 
 SARPI. 
 
 And how do you explain the resurrection of your grand- 
 father, the pretended director of the Venetian arsenal ? Un- 
 fortunately for you, the senora and myself were acquainted 
 with the actual man. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I caused my servant to put on this disguise in order that 
 he might talk science and mathematics with Don Ramon. 
 Sefior Lothundiaz will tell you that the philosopher of Cata- 
 lonia and Quinola perfectly understood each other. 
 
 MONIPODIO (to Quinola) 
 He has mined himself ! 
 
 DON RAMON 
 On this subject I appeal to my writings. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Do not be perturbed, Don Ramon ; it is so natural for peo- 
 ple of this kind, when they find themselves falling, to drag 
 down other people with them! 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 Such a disposition is detestable. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Before I die I ought to speak the truth, senora, to those 
 who have flung me into the abyss. (To Don Fregose) My
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 293 
 
 lord, the king promised me the protection of his people at 
 Barcelona, and here I have met with nothing but hatred! 
 Oh, you grandees of the land, you rich, and all who have in 
 your hands power and influence, why is it that you thus throw 
 obstacles in the way of advancing thought? Is it the law of 
 God that you should persecute and put to shame that which 
 eventually you will be compelled to adore ? Had I been pliant, 
 abject and a flatterer, I might have succeeded ! In me you 
 have persecuted that which represents all that is noblest in 
 man His consciousness of his own power, the majesty of his 
 labor, the heavenly inspiration which urges him to put his 
 hand to enterprise, and love, that spirit of human trust, 
 which rekindles courage when it is on the point of expiring 
 in the storm of mockery. Ah! If the good that you do is 
 done amiss, you are always successful in the accomplishment 
 of what is bad! But why should I proceed? You are not 
 worthy of my anger. 
 
 FAUSTINE (aside) 
 Oh ! Another word and I must cry out that I adore him ! 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 Sarpi, tell the police officers to advance and carry off the 
 accomplice of Quinola. (Applause and cries of "bravo!") 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MARIE LOTHUNDIAZ. 
 
 (At the moment the police officers seize Fontanares, Marie 
 
 appears, in the habit of a novice, accompanied 
 
 by a monk and two sisters.) 
 
 MARIE LOTHUNDIAZ (to the viceroy) 
 My lord, I have just learned that in my desire to save Fon-
 
 294 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 lanares from the rage of his enemies I have caused his ruin. 
 But now an opportunity is given me to vindicate the truth, 
 and I beg to declare that I myself put into the hands of 
 Qninola the precious stones and the money I had treasured 
 MS my own. (Lothundiaz shows some excitement.) They be- 
 longed to me, father, and God grant that you may not have 
 cause some day to mourn your own blindness. 
 
 QUINOLA (throwing off his cloak) 
 Whew ! I breathe freely at last ! 
 
 FONTANARES (bending his Tcnee before Marie} 
 
 Thanks, radiant and spotless creature, through whose love 
 T still am kept close to that heaven from which I draw my 
 faith and hope ; you have saved my honor. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 And is not your honor also mine? Your glory is yet to 
 come. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Alas ! my work is dismembered and dispersed, held in a 
 hundred avaricious hands, who will not give it back excepting 
 at the price it cost to fabricate. To recover it I should double 
 the amount of my indebtedness and fail to complete the en- 
 terprise in time. All is over ! 
 
 FAUSTINE (to Marie) 
 Only sacrifice yourself for him and he is saved. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 What say you, father? and you, Count Sarpi? (Aside) It 
 will be my death ! (Aloud) Will you consent, on condition 
 I obey you, to give Fontanares all that is necessary for the 
 success of his undertaking? (To Faustine) I shall devote 
 myself to God, senora !
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 295 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 You are sublime, sweet angel ! (Apart) And thus at last 
 deliverance comes to me ! 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 Stay, Marie ! I would choose the struggle and all its perils, 
 I would choose death itself, rather than the loss of you from 
 such a cause. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 Rather than glory? (To the viceroy) My lord, you will 
 cause my gems to he restored to Quinola. I return to my con- 
 vent with a happy mind; either I am his, or I must live to 
 God alone. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 I believe he is a sorcerer. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 This young maiden restores to me my love for womankind. 
 
 FAUSTINE (to Sarpi, the viceroy and Avaloros) 
 Can we not conquer him, in spite of all? 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 I shall try it. 
 
 SARPI (to Faustine) 
 
 All is not lost. (To Lothundiaz) Take your daughter 
 home ; she will soon be obedient to you. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 God grant it! Come, my daughter. (Exeunt.)
 
 296 KESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 
 FAUSTINE, FREGOSE, AVALOROS, FONTANARES, QUINOLA AND 
 MONIPODIO. 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 I have studied you well, young man, and you have a great 
 heart a heart firm as steel. Steel will always be the master 
 of gold. Let us frankly form a copartnership ; I will pay 
 your debts, buy up all that has been sold, give you and 
 Quinola five thousand ducats, and, at my instance, the viceroy 
 will be willing to forget your freedom with him. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 If, in my distress, I have ever failed in respect towards you, 
 senor, I beg you will pardon me. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 That is quite sufficient, senor. Don Fregose does not easily 
 take offence. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 You have done well, my lord. . 
 
 AVALOROS 
 
 Thus you see, young man, that tempest is succeeded by 
 calm, and at present all things smile upon you. The next 
 thing for us to do is to unite, you and I, in fulfilling your 
 promises to the king. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I care not for fortune excepting for one reason; shall I 
 be enabled to wed Marie Lothundiaz ? 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 la she the only woman in the world you love ?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 297 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 The only one. (Faustine and Avaloros talk together.) 
 
 DON FEEGOSE 
 
 You never told me that before. Henceforth, you may count 
 on me, young man; I am your steadfast ally. (Exit.) 
 
 MONIPODIO 
 
 They are coming to terms; we are ruined. I shall take 
 myself off to France with the duplicate machine. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 QUINOLA, FONTANARES, FAUSTINE AND AVALOROS. 
 
 FAUSTINE (to Fontanares) 
 
 Come, now ; I also bear no malice, and you must come to 
 the banquet I am giving. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Senora, your first kindness concealed treachery. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Like all those lofty dreamers, who enrich humanity with 
 their inventions, you know neither women, nor the world. 
 
 FONTANARES (aside) 
 
 I have scarcely eight days left. (To Quinola) I am going 
 to make use of her. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Do so, as you make use of me.
 
 298 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I will come to your house, senora. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 I must thank Quinola for that. (She offers a purse to 
 Quinola) Take this. (To Fontanares) Till we meet again ! 
 (Exeunt Faustine and Avaloros.) 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 FONTANARES AND QUINOLA. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 That woman is treacherous as the sun in winter. Unhappy 
 am I that I sought her, for she has taught me to lose faith. 
 Is it possible that there are virtues which it is for our advan- 
 tage to discard ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 How is it possible, sefior, to distrust a woman who sets in 
 gold her slightest words ! She loves you ; that's the secret. 
 Is your heart so very small that it cannot harbor two affec- 
 tions? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Nonsense ! Marie has given me hope, her words have fired 
 
 my soul. Yes, I shall succeed. 
 i 
 
 QUINOLA (aside) 
 
 Where is Monipodio? (Aloud) A reconciliation, senor, is 
 very easy with a woman who yields so easily as Senora Bran- 
 cadori. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Quinola !
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 299 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Senor, you make me desperate ! Would you oppose the 
 perfidy of a useful love with the loyalty of a love that is blind ? 
 I need the influence of Senora Brancadori in order to get rid 
 of Monipodio, whose intentions cause me anxiety. If only I 
 can obtain this influence I will guarantee you success, and you 
 shall then marry your Marie. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 By what means? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 My dear senor, by mounting on the shoulders of a man who 
 sees a long distance, as you do, any one can see farther still. 
 You are an inventor, very good; but I am inventive. You 
 saved me from I needn't say what ! I, in turn, will deliver 
 you from the talons of envy and from the clutches of cu- 
 pidity. Here is gold for us ; come dress yourself, make your- 
 self fine, take courage; you are on the eve of triumph. But 
 above all things, behave graciously towards Senora Bran- 
 cadori. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 You must at least tell me, how you are going to effect this ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 No, senor. if you knew my secret, all would be ruined ; you 
 are a man of talent, and a man of talent is always simple as a 
 child. (Exeunt.) 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 (The setting represents the drawing-room in Senora Bran- 
 cadori' s palace.} 
 
 FAUSTINE (alone} 
 The hour is come, to which all my efforts for the last four-
 
 300 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 teen months have been looking for fulfillment. In a few 
 moments Fontanares will see that Marie is forever lost to him. 
 Avaloros, Sarpi and I have lulled the genius to forgetfulness, 
 and have brought the man up to the very day when his experi- 
 ment was to have taken place, so that he stands helpless and 
 destitute. Oh ! how totally is he in my power, just as I had 
 wished ! But does a person ever change from contempt to 
 love ? ISTo, never. Little does he know that for a twelvemonth 
 I have been his adversary, and the misfortune is, that when he 
 does know he will hate me ! But hatred is not the opposite 
 of love, it is merely the obverse of the golden coin. I shall 
 tell him everything; I shall make him hate me. 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 
 
 
 PAUSTINE AND PAQUITA. 
 
 PAQUITA 
 
 Senora, your orders have been most exactly carried out by 
 Monipodio. Senorita Lothundiaz has just been informed by 
 her duenna, of the peril which threatens Senor Fontanares 
 this evening. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Sarpi must be here by this time. Tell him I wish to speak 
 to him. (Exit Paquita.) 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 
 FAUSTINE (alone) 
 
 \Ye must baffle the 'plans of Monipodio. Quinola fears he 
 has received the order to get rid of Fontanares; it is too bad 
 that there should be ground for such a fear.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 301 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 FAUSTINE AND DON FREGOSE. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Your arrival is timely, senor, I wish to ask a favor of you. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 Say, rather, that you wish to confer one on me. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Monipodio must disappear from Barcelona yes, and from 
 Catalonia, within two hours ; send him to Africa. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 What has he done to you ? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Nothing. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 Well, what is your reason ? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Simply because You understand? 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 Your wish shall be obeyed. (He writes.) 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND SARPI. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Have you made the necessary preparations, cousin, for your 
 immediate marriage with Marie Lothundiaz ?
 
 302 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 SARPI. 
 
 I have, and her good father has taken care that the con- 
 tract should be ready. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 That is well ! Send word to the convent of the Domini- 
 cans. The rich heiress will freely consent to be wedded to 
 you at midnight; she will accept any condition, when she 
 sees (whispering to Sarpi) Fontanares in the hands of justice. 
 
 SARPI. 
 
 I quite understand, and the only thing now is to have him 
 arrested. My good fortune seems invincible ! And I owe it 
 all to you. (Aside) What instrument is there more power- 
 ful than the hatred of a woman ! 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 Sarpi, see that this order is strictly carried out and with no 
 delay. (Exit Sarpi.) 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS EXCEPTING SARPI. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 And what of your own marriage? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 My lord, I can think of nothing at present except the com 
 ing banquet; you shall have my answer this evening. (Fon- 
 tanares appears.) (Aside) Oh, there he comes! (To Frc- 
 gose) If you love me, leave me a while. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 Alone with him?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 303 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Yes, so I desire. 
 
 DON FEEGOSE 
 
 After all he loves no one but his Marie Lothundiaz. 
 (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 FAUSTINE AND FONTANARES. 
 
 FONTANARES , 
 
 The palace of the king of Spain is not more splendid than 
 yours, senora, and you here display all the pomp of royalty. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Listen to me, dear Fontanares. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Dear ? Ah ! senora, you have taught me to distrust such 
 words as that ! 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 She, whom you have so cruelly insulted, will now reveal her- 
 self to you. A terrible disaster threatens you. Sarpi has per- 
 sistently worked against you and in doing so has carried out 
 the orders of an irresistible power, and this banquet will be for 
 you, unless I intervene, the scene of a Judas' kiss. I have 
 been told, in confidence, that on your departure from this 
 house, perhaps within these very walls, you will be arrested, 
 flung into prison, and your trial will begin never to end. Is 
 it possible that you can put into proper condition in one night 
 the vessel which otherwise will be forfeited to you? As 
 regards your work, you know how impossible it is to begin it 
 over again. I wish to save you, you and your glory, you and 
 vour fortune.
 
 304 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 You save me? And how? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Avaloros has placed at my disposal one of his ships, Moni- 
 podio has given me his best smugglers for a cruise; let us 
 start for Venice. The republic will make you a patrician 
 and will give you ten times as much gold as Spain has prom- 
 ised. (Aside) Why is it they do not arrive? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 And what of Marie? If we are to take her with us, I will 
 believe in you. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Your thoughts are of her at the very moment when the 
 choice between life and death is to be made. If you delay, 
 we may be lost. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 We ? Senora ! 
 
 SCENE FOURTEENTH, 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS. GUARDS KDSH IN AT EVERY DOOR. A 
 MAGISTRATE APPEARS. SARPI. 
 
 SARPI 
 Do your duty! 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE (to Fontanares) 
 In the name of the king, I arrest you. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 The hour of death has come at last ! Yet happily I carry 
 my secret with me to God, and love shall be my winding 
 sheet.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 305 
 
 SCENE FIFTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, MARIE AND LOTHUNDIAZ. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 I was not, then, deceived; you have fallen into the hands 
 of your enemies ! And what is left to me, dearest Alfonso, 
 but to die for you and yet, by what a frightful death ! 
 beloved ! heaven is jealous of a perfect love, and thus would 
 teach us by those cruel disasters, which we call the chances 
 of life, that there is no true happiness save in the presence of 
 God. What ! you here ? 
 
 SARPI. 
 
 Senorita ! 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 My daughter ! 
 
 MARIE 
 
 For one moment you have left me free, for the last time in 
 my life ! I shall keep my promise, you must not be unfaith- 
 ful to yours. . sublime discoverer, you will have to dis- 
 charge the obligations that belong to greatness, and to fight 
 the battle of your lawful ambition ! This struggle will be the 
 great interest of your life; while the Countess Sarpi will 
 die by inches and in obscurity, imprisoned in the four walls 
 of her house. And now let me remind you, father, and you, 
 count, that it was clearly agreed, as the condition of my 
 obedience, that Senor Fontanares should be granted by the 
 viceroy of Catalonia a further extension of time, for the com- 
 pletion of his experiment. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Marie, how can I live without you? 
 
 MARIE 
 How could you live in the hands of your executioner?
 
 306 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 Farewell ! I am ready to die. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 Did you not make a solemn promise to the King of Spain, 
 yes, to all the world? (Speaks low to Fontanares) Oh ! seize 
 your triumph; after that we can die! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 I will accept, if only you refuse to be his. 
 
 MARIE 
 Father, fulfill your promise. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 I have triumphed! 
 
 LOTHDNDIAZ (in a low voice to Fontanares) 
 
 You contemptible seducer! (Aloud) Here I give you ten 
 thousand sequins. (In a low voice) Atrocious wretch! 
 (Aloud) My daughter's income for one year. (In a low 
 voice) May the plague choke you ! (Aloud) Upon the 
 presentation of this check, Senor Avaloros will count out to 
 you ten thousand sequins. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 But does the viceroy consent to this arrangement ? 
 
 SARPI. 
 
 You have publicly accused the viceroy of Catalonia of bely- 
 ing the promises of the king; here is his answer: (he draws 
 forth a document) By this ordinance, he puts a stay on 
 the lawsuits of all your creditors, and grants you a year to 
 complete your experiment.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 307 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I am ready to do so. 
 
 LOTHTJNDIAZ 
 
 He has made up his mind ! Come, my daughter ; they are 
 expecting us at the Dominican convent, and the viceroy has 
 promised to honor us with his presence at the ceremony. 
 
 MARIE 
 
 So soon? (Exeunt the whole party.) 
 
 FAUSTINA (to Paquita) 
 
 Eun, Paquita, and bring me word when the ceremony is 
 ended, and they are man and wife. 
 
 SCENE SIXTEENTH. 
 FAUSTINE AND FONTANARES. 
 
 FAUSTINE (aside) 
 
 There he stands, like a man pausing on the hrink of a 
 precipice to which tigers have pursued him. (Aloud) Why 
 are not you as great as your creative thought? Is there but 
 one woman in the world? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 What ! do you think that a man can pluck from his heart 
 a love like mine, as easily as he draws the sword from its 
 scabbard ? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 I can well conceive that a woman should love you and do 
 you service. But, according to your idea, love is self-abdica- 
 tion. All that the greatest men have ever wished for : glory,
 
 308 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 honor, fortune, and more than that, a triumphant dominion 
 which genius alone can establish this you have gained, con- 
 quering a world as Caesar, Lucullus and Luther conquered 
 before you ! And yet, you have put between yourself and 
 this splendid existence an obstacle, which is none other than 
 a love worthy of some student of Alcala. By birth you are 
 a giant, and of your own will you are dwindling into a dwarf. 
 But a man of genius can always find, among women, one 
 woman especially created for him. And such a woman, while 
 in the eyes of men she is a queen, for him is but a servant, 
 adapting herself with marvelous suppleness to the chances of 
 life, cheerful in suffering and as far-sighted in misfortune as 
 in prosperity; above all, indulgent to his caprices and know- 
 ing well the world and its perilous changes ; in a word, capa- 
 ble of occupying a seat in his triumphal car after having 
 helped it up the steepest grades 
 
 FONTANAEES 
 
 You have drawn her portrait. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Whose ? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Marie's ! 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 What ! Did that child have skill to protect you ? Did she 
 divine the person and presence of her rival? And was she, 
 who had suffered you to be overcome, worthy of possessing 
 you for her own she the child who has permitted herself to 
 be drawn, step by step, to the altar where at this moment she 
 bestows herself upon another? If it had been I, ere this I 
 should have lain dead at your feet! And on whom has she 
 bestowed herself ? On your deadliest enemy, who had accepted 
 the command to secure the shipwreck of your hopes.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 309 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 How could I be false to that inextinguishable love, which 
 has thrice come to my succor, which has eventually saved 
 me, which, having no sacrifice but itself to offer on the altar 
 of misfortune, accomplishes the immolation with one hand, 
 and, with the other, offers to me in this (he shows the letter) 
 the restoration of my honor, the esteem of my king, the 
 admiration of the universe. (Enter Paquita, who makes a 
 sign to Faustine, then goes out.) 
 
 FAUSTINE (aside) 
 
 Ah! Sarpi has now his countess. (To Fontanares) Your 
 life, 3'our glory, your fortune, your honor, are at last in my 
 hands alone! Marie no longer stands between us! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Us ! us ! 
 
 FAUSTINA 
 
 Contradict me not, Alfonso ! I have conquered all that is 
 yours ; do not refuse me your heart ! You will never gain a 
 love more devoted, more submissive, more full of sympathy 
 than mine; for at last you shall become the great man that 
 you deserve to be. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Your audacity astounds me. (He shows the letter.) With 
 a sum of money guaranteed me here I am once more the sole 
 arbiter of my destiny. When the king sees the character and 
 the results of my work, he will cancel that marriage, which has 
 been obtained by violence. And my love for Marie is such 
 that I can wait till then. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Fontanares, if I love you distractedly, it is perhaps be- 
 cause of that delightful simplicity, which is the badge of 
 genius
 
 310 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FONTANARES (aside) 
 
 Her smile freezes me to the heart. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 That gold you speak of is it already in your possession ? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 It is here. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 And would I have let them give that to you, if I thought 
 you would ever receive it? To-morrow you will find all 
 your creditors standing between you and the possession of 
 that sum, which you owe to them. What can you accomplish 
 without gold ? Your struggle will hegin over again ! but your 
 work, great, but simple man, has not been dispersed in 
 fragments; it is all mine; my instrument, Mathieu Magis, 
 has acquired possession of it. I hold it at my feet, in my pal- 
 ace. I am the only one who would not rob you either of your 
 glory, or of your fortune, for what would this be, but to rob 
 myself ? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 It is you, then, cursed Venetian woman ! 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Yes since the moment you insulted me, upon this spot, 
 I have directed everything; it is at my bidding that Magis, 
 and Sarpi, and your creditors, and the landlord of the Golden 
 Sun, and the workmen have acted ! But ah ! How great a 
 love underlay this simulated hatred. Tell me, have you never 
 been roused from your slumber by a falling tear-drop, the 
 pearl of my repentance, while I was gazing at you with ad- 
 miration you the martyr that I worshiped? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 No ! you are not a woman
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 311 
 
 FATJSTINE 
 
 Ah ! There is more than woman, in a woman who loves as 
 I do. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 And, as you are not a woman, I could kill you. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 What of that, provided it were your hand that did it? 
 (Aside) He hates me! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 I am seeking for 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Is it anything I can find for you ? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 A punishment great enough for your crime. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Can there be any punishment which a woman who loves 
 can feel ? Come, try me. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 You love me, Faustine. Am I all of life to you? Do you 
 really make my grief your own? 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 One pang of yours becomes a thousand pangs to me ! 
 
 FOXTANARES 
 
 If then I die, you will die also. 'Tis plain, therefore, al- 
 though your life is not worthy to be set against the love that 
 I have lost, my course is taken. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Ah!
 
 312 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 With crossed arms I will await the day of my arrest. At 
 the same stroke the soul of Marie and my soul shall rise to 
 heaven. 
 
 FAUSTINE (flinging herself at the feet of Fontanares) 
 
 Alfonso ! Here, at your feet, I will remain till you have 
 promised me 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Leave me, shameless courtesan ! (He spurns her.) 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 You have spoken this openly and in public ; but remember, 
 men oftentimes insult that which they are destined eventually 
 to adore. 
 
 SCENE SEVENTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND DON FREGOSE. 
 
 DON FREGOSE. 
 
 Silence ! wretched journeyman ! I refrain from transfixing 
 your heart with my sword, only because I intend you to pay 
 more dearly for this insult. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Don Fregose ! I love this man ; whether he makes of me 
 his slave or his wife, my love shall be the aegis of his life. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Am I to be the victim of fresh persecutions, my lord? I 
 am overwhelmed with joy. Deal me a thousand blows; they 
 will be multiplied a thousand fold, she says, in her heart. I 
 am ready !
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 313 
 
 SCENE EIGHTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND QUINOLA. 
 
 QOINOLA 
 
 Sir! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 And you also have betrayed me ; you ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Off goes Monipodio, wafted towards Africa with recom- 
 mendations on his hands and feet. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 What of that ? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Under the pretext of robbing you, I have concealed in a cel- 
 lar a second machine, for I took care that two should be made, 
 while we only paid for one. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Thus it is that a true friend renders despair impossible. 
 (He embraces Quinola.} (To Frcgose) My lord, write to 
 the king and build, overlooking the harbor, an amphitheatre 
 for two hundred thousand spectators ; in ten days I will fulfill 
 my promise, and Spain shall behold a ship propelled by steam 
 in the face of wind and waves. I will wait until there is a 
 storin that I may show how I can prevail against it. 
 
 FAUSTINE (to Quinola) 
 You have manufactured a machine 
 
 QUINOLA 
 No, I have manufactured two, as a provision against ill-luck.
 
 314 RESOURCES OF QU1NOLA 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 What devils have you called in to assist you? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 The three children of Job: Silence, Patience and Per- 
 severance. (Exeunt Fontanares and Quinola.) 
 
 SCENE NINETEENTH. 
 FAUSTINE AND DON FREGOSE. 
 
 DON FREGOSE (aside) 
 She is hateful, and yet I do not cease to love her. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 I must have my revenge. Will you assist me? 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 Yes, and we will yet succeed in bringing him to ruin. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Ah ! you love me in spite of all, don't you ? 
 
 Curtain to the Fourth Act.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA $15 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (The setting is the terrace of the town-hall of Barcelona, on 
 each side of which are pavilions. The terrace looJcs on the 
 sea and ends in a balcony in the centre of the stage; the open 
 sea and the masts of vessels form the scenery. At the right of 
 the spectator appear a large arm-chair and seats set before a 
 table. The murmur of an immense crowd is heard. Leaning 
 over the balcony Faustine gazes at the steamship. Lothun- 
 diaz stands on the left, in a condition of utter stupefaction; 
 Don Fregose is seated on the right with his secretary, who is 
 drawing up a formal account of the experiment. The Grand 
 Inquisitor is stationed in the middle of the stage.) 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ, THE GRAND INQUISITOR AND DON FREGOSE. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 I am undone, ruined, disgraced ! Even if I were to fall at 
 the feet of the king, I should gain no pity from him. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 At what a price have I purchased my patent of nobility! 
 My son has been killed in an ambuscade in Flanders, and my 
 daughter is dying; her husband, the governor of Koussillon, 
 refused her permission to be present at the triumph of this 
 devil of a Fontanares. How well she spoke when she said that 
 I should repent of my wilful blindness ! 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR (to Don Fregose) 
 The Holy Office has reminded the king of your past ser-
 
 316 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 vices; you will be sent as viceroy to Peru, where you will be 
 able to repair your fortunes ; but first finish your work here ; 
 let us crush this discoverer and check the progress of his dan- 
 gerous innovation. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 But how can we do so? The orders of the king must be 
 obeyed, at least ostensibly. 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 We have taken such measures that obedience may be ren- 
 dered both to the Holy Office and to the king. You have only 
 to do as you are bidden. (To Lothundiaz) Count Lothun- 
 diaz, as the first municipal officer of Barcelona, you must offer 
 to Don Ramon, in the name of the city, a crown of gold in 
 honor of his discovery, whose result will secure to Spain the 
 domination of the sea. 
 
 LOTHDNDIAZ (in astonishment) 
 To Don Ramon ! 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR AND DON FREGOSE 
 To Don Ramon. 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 You must address a eulogy to him. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 But 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 It is the wish of the Holy Office that you do so. 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ (kneeling) 
 Pardon ! 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 What is that the people are calling out? (A cry is heard, 
 "Long live Don Ramon!")
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 317 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 Long live Don Ramon ! Yes indeed, and so much the bet- 
 ter, for I shall be avenged for the wrong which I have done to 
 myself. 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, DON RAMON, MATHIEU MAGIS, THE 
 LANDLORD or THE GOLDEN SUN; COPPOLUS, CARPANO, 
 
 ESTEBAN, GlRONE, AND ALL THE PEOPLE. 
 
 ( All form a semicircle, in the centre of which is Don Ramon.) 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 In the name of the king of Spain, Castile and the Indies, 
 I must express to you, Don Eamon, the congratulations of all 
 upon the success of your _ mighty genius. (He leads him to 
 the arm-chair.) 
 
 DON RAMON 
 
 After all, he is but the hand, I am the head. The original 
 idea is superior to the work of realizing it. (To the crowd) 
 In such a moment as this, modesty would be an insult to the 
 honors which I have attained through midnight vigils, and a 
 
 man should openly show himself proud of his achievement. 
 
 
 
 LOTHUNDIAZ 
 
 In the name of the city of Barcelona, Don Ramon, I have 
 the honor to offer you this crown, due to your perseverance, 
 as the author of an invention which will give you immortality.
 
 318 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND FONTANARES (his garments 
 soiled with the work of his experiment). 
 
 DON EAMON 
 
 I accept these honors, on condition that they be shared by 
 the courageous artisan who has so well assisted me in my 
 enterprise. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 What modesty! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Is this meant for a joke ? 
 
 ALL 
 Long live Don Ramon ! 
 
 COPPOLUS 
 
 In the name of the merchants of Catalonia, Don Ramon, 
 we have come to beg your acceptance of this silver crown, a 
 token of their gratitude for a discovery which is likely to 
 prove a new source of prosperity to them. 
 
 ALL 
 Long live Don Ramon! 
 
 DON HAMON 
 
 It is with the keenest pleasure that I see that commerce 
 recognizes the future developments of steam navigation. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Let my laborers come forth! You, the children of the 
 people, whose hands have completed my work, bear witness for 
 me ! It was from me only that you received the models. Say 
 now, whether it was Don Ramon or I who originated the new 
 power which the sea has felt to-day?
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 319 
 
 ESTEBAN 
 
 By my faith, you would have been in a pretty fix without 
 Don Ramon! 
 
 MATHIEU MAGIS 
 
 It was two years ago, in the course of a conversation with 
 Don Ramon, that he begged me to furnish funds for this 
 experiment. 
 
 FONTANARES (to Fregose) 
 
 My lord, what strange delusion has fallen upon the people 
 and burgesses of Barcelona? I arrive here in the midst of 
 the acclamations with which Don Eamon is being greeted. 
 Yes, I arrive bearing the traces of the vigils and sweat of this 
 great enterprise, and I find you contentedly sanctioning the 
 most shameful act of robbery that can be perpetrated in the 
 face of heaven and earth. (Murmurs.) Alone and unpro- 
 tected I have risked my life on this enterprise. I was the first 
 who pledged its accomplishment to the king, and unaided I 
 have kept my pledge, and yet here in my place I find Don 
 Ramon an ignoramus. (Murmurs.) 
 
 DON FREGOSE 
 
 An old soldier knows very little about scientific matters and 
 must accept plain facts. All Catalonia concedes to Don 
 Ramon the priority in this invention, and everybody here 
 declares that without him you could have accomplished noth- 
 ing. It is my duty to inform his majesty, the king, of these 
 circumstances. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 The priority ! Where are the proofs of this ? 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOR 
 
 They are as follows : In his treatise on the casting of can- 
 nons Don Ramon speaks of a certain invention called Thun- 
 der, made by Leonardo da Vinci, your master, and says that 
 it might be applied to the navigation of a ship.
 
 320 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 DON RAMON 
 
 Ah ! young man, acknowledge that you had read my treat- 
 ises! 
 
 FONTANARES (aside] 
 I would sacrifice all my glory for one hour of vengeance ! 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND QUINOLA. 
 
 QUINOLA (aside to Fontanares) 
 
 Senor, the fruit was too fair, and a worm has heen found 
 in it! 
 
 FONTANARES 
 What do you mean? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Hell has belched back upon us, I know not how Moni- 
 podio, all on fire for revenge; he is on board the ship with a 
 band of devils, and swears to scuttle it, unless you guarantee 
 him ten thousand sequins. 
 
 FONTANARES (kneels) 
 
 Thanks, thanks, for that. ocean, whom I once longed 
 to subdue, thou art the sole protector that is left to me ; thou 
 shalt keep my secret to eternity! (To Quinola) See that 
 Monipodio steers for the open sea and there scuttles the 
 ship. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 What is this ? Do I understand you aright ? Which of us 
 two has lost his head? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 Do as I bid vou.
 
 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA. 32i 
 
 QDINOLA 
 But, my dear master 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 My life and yours are equally at stake. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 Obey, without understanding why? For the first time I'll 
 risk it. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF QUINOLA. 
 
 FONTANARES (to Don Fregose) 
 
 My lord ! putting aside the question of priority, which can 
 easily be decided, may I be permitted to withdraw my name 
 from this debate, begging of you to accept the statement which 
 is here drawn up and contains my justification before the 
 king our master? 
 
 DON RAMON 
 You acknowledge then my claim? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I will acknowledge anything you like, even to the point 
 that plus is a binomial ! 
 
 DON FREGOSE (after consulting with the Grand Inquisitor} 
 Your demand is perfectly legitimate; we will forward a 
 copy of your statement, preserving here the original. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 I have, then, escaped with my life. Let me ask all of you 
 here present, if you look upon Don Ramon as the real inven-
 
 322 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 tor of the vessel which has been propelled by steam before the 
 eyes of two hundred thousand Spaniards? 
 
 ALL. 
 We do. (Quinola makes his appearance.) 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Very good. Don Kamon has accomplished this prodigy. 
 Don Ramon can begin his work again. (A loud explosion is 
 heard.) The prodigy is no longer in existence. The employ- 
 ment of such a force is not without danger, and the dan- 
 ger which Don Ramon had not foreseen, has manifested itself, 
 at the very moment while Don Ramon was receiving your 
 congratulations! (Cries in the distance; everybody rushes 
 to the balcony and gazes seaward.) I am avenged! 
 
 DON FBEGOSE 
 What will the king say? 
 
 THE GRAND INQUISITOK 
 
 France is all ablaze, the low countries in revolt, Calvin 
 is stirring up all Europe ; the king has too much business on 
 his hands to worry himself about the loss of a ship. This new 
 invention and the Reformation would have been too much at 
 one time for the world ! Now for some years the rapacity 
 of maritime peoples has been checked. (Exeunt omnes.) . , 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 QUINOLA, FONTANARES AND FAUSTINE. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Alfonso, I have done you much wrong.
 
 RESOURCES OP QUINOLA 323 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Marie is dead, senora; I do not know the meaning of the 
 words right and wrong, nowadays. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 There is a man for you. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Forgive me, and I will devote myself to your future. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Forgiveness! That word also has been erased from my 
 heart. There are situations in which the heart either breaks 
 or turns to bronze. I am scarcely twenty-five years old, but 
 to-day you have changed me into a man of fifty. You have 
 lost to me one world, now you owe me another 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Let us turn our attention to politics. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 And is not my love, Alfonso, worth a world? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 Yes, for you are a magnificent instrument of ruin and 
 devastation. Yet it will be by means of you that I shall crush 
 all those who have been an obstacle in my pathway; I take 
 you, not for my wife, but for my slave, and you shall serve me. 
 
 FAUSTINA 
 Serve you blindly. 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 But without hope that there will be any return need I 
 say of what? All here (he strikes his hand upon his heart) is 
 of bronze. You have taught me what this world is made of.
 
 324 RESOURCES OF QUINOLA 
 
 world of self-interest, of trickery, of policy and of perfidy, 
 
 1 defy you to the combat ! 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Sen or? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 What is it? 
 
 QUINOLA 
 Am I in it with you ? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 
 You? You are the only one who has still a place in my 
 heart. We three will stand together : we will go 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 Where? 
 
 FONTANARES 
 We will go to France. 
 
 FAUSTINE 
 
 Let us start at once ; I know these Spaniards, and they are 
 sure to plot your death. 
 
 QUINOLA 
 
 The resources of Quinola are at the bottom of the sea. Be 
 kind enough to excuse his faults; he will doubtless do better 
 at Paris. Verily, I believe that hell is paved with good 
 inventions. 
 
 Final Curtain.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 A PLAY IN FIVE ACTS 
 
 Presented for the First Time at Paris at the Theatre de la Gaite, 
 September 26, 1843- 
 
 (325)
 
 PERSONS OF THE PLAY 
 
 GENERAL DE VERBY. 
 
 DUPRE, a lawyer. 
 
 ROUSSEAU, a wealthy merchant. 
 
 JULES ROUSSEAU, his son. 
 
 JOSEPH BINET. 
 
 GIRAUD, a porter. 
 
 CHIEF OF SPECIAL POLICE. 
 
 ANTOINE, servant to the Rousseaus. 
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD. 
 
 MADAME DU BROCARD, a widow ; aunt of Jules Rousseau. 
 
 MADAME ROUSSEAU. 
 
 MADAME GIRAUD. 
 
 JUSTINE, chambermaid to Mme. Rousseau. 
 
 SHERIFF. 
 MAGISTRATE. 
 POLICE OFFICERS. 
 GENDARMES. 
 
 SCENE : Paris. TIME : during the Napoleonic plots under 
 Louis XVIII. (1815-1824). 
 
 (327)
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (Setting is an attic and workshop of an artificial flower- 
 maker. It is poorly lighted by means of a candle placed on 
 the work-table. The ceiling slopes abruptly at the back allow- 
 ing space to conceal a man. On the right is a door, on the 
 left a fireplace. Pamela is discovered at work, and Joseph 
 Binet is seated near her.} 
 
 PAMELA, JOSEPH BINET AND LATER JULES ROUSSEAU. 
 
 PAMELA 
 Monsieur Joseph Binet ! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Mademoiselle Pamela Giraud ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 I plainly see that you wish me to hate you. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 The idea ! What ? And this is the beginning of our love 
 Hate me ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Oh, come ! Let us talk sensibly. 
 
 (329)
 
 330 . PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 You do not wish, then, that I should express how much I 
 love you ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Ah ! I may as well tell you plainly, since you compel me 
 to do so, that I do not wish to become the wife of an uphol- 
 sterer's apprentice. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Is it necessary to become an emperor, or something like that, 
 in order to marry a flower-maker ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 No. But it is necessary to be loved, and I don't love you 
 in any way whatever. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 In any way ! I thought there was only one way of loving. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 So there is, but there are many ways of not loving. You 
 can be my friend, without my loving you. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Oh! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 I can look upon you with indifference 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Ah! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 You can be odious to me ! And at this moment you weary 
 me, which is worse ! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I weary her ! I who would cut myself into fine pieces to 
 do all that she wishes !
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 331 
 
 PAMELA 
 If you would do 'what I wish, you would not remain here. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 And if I go away Will you love me a little ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 Yes, for the only time I like you is when you are away ! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 And if I never came back? 
 
 PAMELA 
 I should be delighted. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Zounds ! Why should I, senior apprentice with M. Morel, 
 instead of aiming at setting up business for myself, fall in 
 love with this young lady ? It is folly ! It certainly hinders 
 me in my career; and yet I dream of her I am infatuated 
 with her. Suppose my uncle knew it ! But she is not the 
 only woman in Paris, and, after all, Mile. Pamela Giraud, 
 who are you that you should be so high and mighty ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 I am the daughter of a poor ruined tailor, now become a 
 porter. I gain my own living if working night and day can 
 be called living and it is with difficulty that I snatch a little 
 holiday to gather lilacs in the Pres-Saint-Gervais ; and I cer- 
 tainly recognize that the senior apprentice of M. Morel is alto- 
 gether too good for me. I do not wish to enter a family 
 which believes that it would thus form a mesalliance. The 
 Binets indeed ! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 But what has happened to you in the last eight or ten days, 
 my dear little pet of a Pamela ? Up to ten days ago I used
 
 332 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 to come and cut out your flowers for yon, I used to make the 
 stalks for the roses, and the hearts for the* violets; we used to 
 talk together, we sometimes used to go to the play, and have 
 a good cry there and I was "good Joseph," "my little 
 Joseph''" a Joseph in fact of the right stuff to make your 
 husband. All of a sudden Pshaw ! I became of no account. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Now you must really go away. Here you are neither in the 
 street, nor in your own house. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Very well, I'll be off, mademoiselle yes, I'll go away ! I'll 
 have a talk in the porter's lodge with your mother; she does 
 not ask anything better than my entrance into the family, not 
 she ; she won't change her mind ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 All right ! Instead of entering her family, enter her lodge, 
 the porter's lodge, M. Joseph ! Go and talk with my mother, 
 go on ! (Exit Joseph.) Perhaps he'll keep their attention so 
 that M. Adolph can get up stairs without being seen. Adolph 
 Durand ! What a pretty name ! There is half a romance in 
 it ! And what a handsome young man ! For the last fifteen 
 days he has absolutely persecuted me. I knew that I was 
 rather pretty ; but I never believed I was all he called me. He 
 must be an artist, or a government official ! Whatever he is, I 
 can't help liking him ; he is so aristocratic ! But what if his 
 appearance were deceitful, and there were anything wrong 
 about him ! For the letter which he has just sent me has an 
 air of mystery about it (She draivs a Utter from her bosom 
 and reads it) "Expect me this evening. I wish to see you 
 alone, and, if possible, to enter unnoticed by any one ; my life 
 is in danger, and oh ! if you only knew what a terrible mis- 
 fortune threatens me ! Adolph Durand." He writes in pencil. 
 His life is in danger Ah ! How anxious I feel !
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 333 
 
 JOSEPH (returning) 
 
 Just as I was going down stairs, I said to myself: "Why 
 should Pamela" (Jules' head appears at the window.) 
 
 PAMELA 
 Ah! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 What's the matter? (Jules disappears.) 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 I thought I saw I mean I thought I heard a sound over- 
 head. Just go into the garret. Some one perhaps has hidden 
 there. You are not afraid, are you? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 No. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Very well ! Go up and search ! Otherwise I shall be fright- 
 ened for the whole night. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I will go at once. I will climb over the roof if you like. 
 (He passes through a narrow door that leads to the garret.) 
 
 PAMELA (follows him) 
 
 Be quick! (Jules enters.) Ah! sir, what trouble you are 
 giving me ! 
 
 JULES 
 
 It is to save my life, and perhaps you will never regret it. 
 You know how much I love you ! (He Tcisses her hand.) 
 
 PAMELA 
 I know that you have told me so; but you. treat me 
 
 JULES 
 As my deliverer.
 
 334 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 You wrote to me and your letter has filled me with trouble 
 I know neither who you are 
 
 JOSEPH (from the outer room) 
 
 Mademoiselle, I am in the garret. I have looked over the 
 whole roof. 
 
 JULES 
 He is coming back Where can I hide? 
 
 JULES 
 You wish to ruin me, Pamela ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Look, hide yourself there! (She points to the cranny 
 under the sloping roof.) 
 
 JOSEPH (returning) 
 Are you alone, mademoiselle? 
 
 PAMELA 
 No; for are not you here? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I heard something like the voice of a man. The voice came 
 from below. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Nonsense, more likely it came from above Look down 
 the staircase 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Oh! But I am sure
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 335 
 
 PAMELA 
 Nonsense, sure. Leave me, sir; I wish to be alone. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Alone, with a man's voice? 
 
 PAMELA 
 I suppose you don't believe me? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 But I heard it plain enough. 
 
 PAMELA 
 You heard nothing. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Ah ! Pamela ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 If you prefer to believe the sounds which you say reached 
 your ears, rather than the words which I speak, you would 
 make a very bad husband. That is quite sufficient for me. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 That doesn't prove that I did not hear 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Since I can't convince you, you can believe what you like. 
 Yes ! you did hear a voice, the voice of a young man, who is 
 in love with me, and who does whatever I wish He disap- 
 pears when he is asked, and comes when he is wanted. And 
 now what are you waiting for ? Do you think that while he is 
 here, your presence can be anything but disagreeable to us? 
 Go and ask my father and mother what his name is. He must 
 have told them when he came up-stairs he, and the voice you 
 heard.
 
 336 
 
 Mile. Pamela, forgive a poor youth who is mad with love. 
 It is not only my heart that I have lost, but my head also, 
 when I think of you. I know that you are just as good as 
 you are beautiful, I know that you have in your soul more 
 treasures of sweetness than you ever show, and so I know that 
 you are right, and were I to hear ten voices, were I to see ten 
 men here, I would care nothing about it. But one 
 
 PAMELA 
 Well, what of it? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 A single one that is what wounds me. But I must be 
 off; it seems funny that I should have said all that to you. 
 I know quite well that there is no one here but you. Till we 
 meet again, Mile. Pamela ; I am going I trust you. 
 
 PAMELA (aside) 
 He evidently does not feel quite sure. 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 There is some one here! I will run down and tell the 
 whole matter to her father and mother. (Aloud) Adieu, 
 Mile. Pamela. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 PAMELA AND JULES. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 M. Adolph, you see to what you are exposing me. That 
 poor lad is a workman, a most kind-hearted fellow; he has 
 an uncle rich enough to set him up in business ; he wishes to
 
 PAMELA GTRAUD 337 
 
 marry me, and in one moment I have lost my prospects 
 and for whom? I do not know you, and from the manner 
 in which you imperil the reputation of a young girl who has 
 no capital but her good behavior, I conclude that you think 
 you have the right to do so. You are rich and you make 
 ? sport of poor people ! 
 
 JULES 
 
 No, my dear Pamela. I know who you are, and I take you 
 at your true value. 'I love you, I am rich, and we will never 
 leave one another. My traveling carriage is with a friend, at 
 the gate of St. Denis; we will proceed on foot to catch it; 
 I intend embarking for England. You must come with me. 
 I cannot explain my intentions now, for the least delay may 
 prove fatal to me. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 What do you mean? 
 
 JULES 
 You shall see 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Are you in your right senses, M. Adolph? After having 
 followed me about for a month, seen me twice at a dance, 
 written me several declarations, such as young men of your 
 sort write to any and every woman, you point-blank propose 
 an elopement! 
 
 JULES 
 
 Oh I beg of you, don't delay an instant ! You'll repent of 
 this for the rest of your life, and you will see too late what 
 ' mischief you have done. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 But, my dear sir, you can perhaps explain yourself in a 
 couple of words. 
 
 JULES 
 
 No, for the secret is a matter of life and death to several 
 persons.
 
 338 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 If it were only to save your life, whoever you are, I would 
 do a good deal ; but what assistance could I be to you in your 
 flight ! Why do you want to take me to England ? 
 
 JULES 
 
 What a child you are! No one, of course, would suspect 
 anything of two runaway lovers ! And, let me tell you, I love 
 you well enough to disregard everything else, and even to 
 brave the anger of my parents Once we are married at 
 Gretna Green 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Oh, mon Dieu! I am quite non-plussed! Here's a hand- 
 some young man urges you implores you and talks of 
 marriage 
 
 JULES 
 
 They are mounting the staircase I am lost! You have 
 betrayed me ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 M. Adolph, you alarm me ! What is going to happen ? 
 Wait a moment, I will go and see. 
 
 JULES 
 
 In any case, take and keep this twenty thousand francs. 
 It will be safer with you than in the hands of the police 
 I have only half an hour longer and all will be over. 
 
 PAMELA 
 There is nothing to fear It is only my father and mother. 
 
 JULES 
 
 You have the kindness of an angel. I trust my fate with 
 you. But you must know that both of us must leave this 
 house at once; and I swear on my honor, that nothing but 
 good shall result to you. (He hides again under the roof.)
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 339 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 PAMELA, M. GIRAUD AND MME. GIRAUD. 
 
 PAMELA (who stands in such way as to prevent her parents 
 from entering fully into the room; aside) 
 
 Evidently here is a man in danger and a man who loves 
 me two reasons why I should be interested in him. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 How is this, Pamela you the solace of all our misfortunes, 
 the prop of our old age, our only hope ! 
 
 GIRAUD 
 A girl brought up on the strictest principles. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 Keep quiet, Giraud ! You don't know what you are talking 
 about. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 Certainly, Madame Giraud. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 And besides all this, Pamela, your example was cited in 
 all the neighborhood as a girl who'd be useful to your parents 
 in their declining years ! 
 
 GIRAUD 
 And worthy to receive the prize of virtue ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 Then what is the meaning of all these reproaches?
 
 340 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 Joseph has just told us that you had a man hidden in your 
 room. 
 
 GIEAUD 
 
 Yes he heard the voice. 
 
 \ 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 Silence, Giraud! Pamela pay no attention to your 
 father 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 And do you, mother, pay no attention to Joseph. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 What did I tell you on the stairs, Madame Giraud ? Pamela 
 knows how we count upon her. She wishes to make a good 
 match as much on our account as on her own; her heart 
 bleeds to see us porters, us, the authors of her life ! She is 
 too sensible to blunder in this matter. Is it not so, my child, 
 you would not deceive your father ? 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 There is nobody here, is there, my love? For a young 
 working-girl to have any one in her room, at ten o'clock at 
 night well she runs a risk of losing 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 But it seems to me that if I had any one you would have 
 seen him on his way up. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 She is right. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 She does not answer straight out. Please open the door of 
 this room. 
 
 PAMELA 
 Mother, stop ! Do not come in here, yon shall not come in
 
 PAMELA GTRAUD 341 
 
 here ! Listen to me ; as I love you, mother, and you, father, 
 I have nothing to reproach myself with ! and I swear to it 
 before God ! Do not in a moment withdraw from your 
 daughter the confidence which you have had in her for so 
 long a time. 
 
 MME. GIRADD 
 
 But why not tell us ? 
 
 PAMELA (aside) 
 
 Impossible ! If they were to see this young man every one 
 would soon know all about it. 
 
 GIRAUD (interrupting her) 
 We are your father and mother, and we must see ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 For the first time in my life, I refuse to obey you! But 
 you force me to it! These lodgings are rented by me from 
 the earnings of my work ! I am of age and mistress of my 
 own actions. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 Ah, Pamela ! Can this be you, on whom we have placed 
 all our hopes ! 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 You will ruin yourself! and I shall remain a porter to 
 the end of my days. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 You needn't be afraid of that! Well I admit that there 
 is some one here; but silence! You must go down-stairs 
 again to your lodge. You must tell Joseph that he does not 
 know what he is talking about, that you have searched every- 
 where, that there is no one in my lodging; you must send 
 him away then you shall see this young man; you shall
 
 342 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 learn what I purpose doing. But you must keep everything 
 the most profound secret. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 Unhappy girl! What do you take us for? (He sees the 
 banknotes on the table.) Ah! what is this? Banknotes! 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 Banknotes! (She recoils from Pamela.) Pamela, where 
 did you get them ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 I will tell you when I write. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 When you write ! She must be going to elope ! 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, AND JOSEPH BINET. 
 
 JOSEPH (entering) 
 
 I was quite sure that there was something wrong about 
 him ! He is a ringleader of theives ! The gendarmes, the 
 magistrate, all the excitement she showed mean something 
 and now the house is surrounded I 
 
 JULES (appearing) 
 I am lost ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 I have done all that I could ! 
 
 GIRAUD 
 And you, sir, who are you?
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 343 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Are you a ? 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 Speak ! 
 
 JULES 
 
 But for this idiot, I could have escaped ! You will now 
 have the ruin of an innocent man on your consciences. 
 
 PAMELA 
 M. Adolph, are you innocent ? 
 
 JULES 
 I am! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 What shall we do? (Pointing to the dormer window.) 
 You can elude their pursuit that way out. (She opens the 
 dormer window and finds the police agents on the roof out- 
 side.) 
 
 JULES 
 
 It is too late. All you can do is to confirm my statement. 
 You must declare that I am your daughter's lover; that I 
 have asked you to give her in marriage to me; that I am of 
 age ; that my name is Adolph Durand, son of a rich business 
 man of Marseilles. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 He offers her lawful love and wealth ! Young man, I will- 
 ingly take you under my protection. 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, A SHERIFF, A POLICE OFFICER AND 
 GENDARMES. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 Sir, what right have you to enter an occupied dwelling the 
 domicile of a peaceable young girl ?
 
 344 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Yes, what right have you ? 
 
 THE SHERIFF 
 
 Young man, don't you worry about our right ! A few mo- 
 ments ago you were very friendly and showed us where the 
 unknown might be found, but now you have suddenly changed 
 your tune. 
 
 PAMELA 
 But what are you looking for ? What do you want ? 
 
 THE SHERIFF 
 
 You seem to be well aware that we are looking for some- 
 body. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 Sir, my daughter has no one with her but her future hus- 
 band, M. 
 
 THE SHERIFF 
 Eousseau. 
 
 PAMELA 
 M. Adolph Durand. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 Eousseau I don't know. The gentleman I refer to is M 
 Adolph Durand. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 Son of a respectable merchant of Marseilles. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Ah ! you have been deceiving me ! Ah ! That is the secret 
 of your coldness, and he is 
 
 THE SHERIFF (to the Officer of Police) 
 This does not seem to be the man?
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 345 
 
 THE OFFICES 
 
 Oh, yes, I am quite sure of it! (To the gendarmes') Carry 
 out my orders. 
 
 JULES 
 
 Monsieur, I am the victim of some mistake; my name is 
 not Jules Rousseau. 
 
 THE OFFICER 
 
 Ah ! but you know his first name, which none of us has as 
 yet mentioned. 
 
 JULES 
 
 But I heard some one say it. Here are my papers, which 
 are perfectly correct. 
 
 THE SHERIFF 
 Let me see them, please. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 Gentlemen, I assure you and declare to you 
 
 THE OFFICER 
 
 If you go on in this way, and wish to make us believe that 
 this gentleman is Adolph Durand, son of a merchant of 
 
 HME. GIRAUD 
 Of Marseilles 
 
 THE OFFICER 
 
 You may all be arrested as his accomplices, locked up in 
 jail this evening, and implicated in an affair from which 
 you will not easily get off. Have you any regard for the 
 safety of your neck? 
 
 GIRAUD 
 A great deal ! 
 
 THE OFFICER 
 Very well ! Hold your tongue, then.
 
 346 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 Do hold your tongue, Giraud ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 Merciful heaven ! Why did I not believe him at once ! 
 
 THE SHERIFF (to his agents) 
 
 Search the gentleman! (The agent takes out Jules' pocket 
 handkerchief. ) 
 
 THE OFFICER 
 
 It is marked with a J and an E. My dear sir, you are not 
 very clever! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 What can he have done ? Have you anything to do with it, 
 mademoiselle ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 You are the sole cause of the trouble. Never speak to me 
 again ! 
 
 THE OFFICER 
 
 Monsieur, here we have the check for your dinner you 
 dined at the Palais Royal. While you were there you wrote a 
 letter in pencil. One of your friends brought the letter here. 
 His name was M. Adolph Durand, and he lent you his pass- 
 port. We are certain of your identity; you are M. Jules 
 Eousseau. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 The son of the rich M. Eousseau, whose house we are fur- 
 nishing ? 
 
 THE SHERIFF 
 Hold your tongue ! 
 
 THE OFFICER 
 You must come with us.
 
 347 
 
 Certainly, monsieur. (To Giraud and his wife) Forgive 
 the annoyance I have caused you and you, Pamela, do not 
 forget me ! If you do not see me again, you may keep what 
 I gave into your hands, and may it bring you happiness! 
 
 GlEAUD 
 
 OLord! 
 
 PAMELA 
 Poor Adolph! 
 
 THE SHERIFF (to his agents) 
 
 Remain here. We are going to search this attic, and ques- 
 tion every one of these people. 
 
 JOSEPH (with a gesture of horror) 
 
 Ah ! she prefers a criminal to me ! (Jules is put in charge 
 of the agents.) 
 
 Curtain to the First Act.
 
 348 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (The setting is a drawing-room in the Rousseau mansion. 
 Antoine is looking through the newspaper.) 
 
 ANTOINE AND JUSTINE. 
 
 JUSTINE 
 Well, Antoine, have you read the papers? 
 
 ANTOINE 
 
 I am reading them. Isn't it a pity that we servants cannot 
 learn, excepting through the papers, what is going on in the 
 trial of M. Jules? 
 
 JUSTINE 
 
 And yet the master and mistress and Mme. du Brocard, 
 their sister, know nothing. M. Jules has been for three 
 months in what do they call it? in close confinement. 
 
 ANTOINE 
 
 The arrest of the young man has evidently attracted great 
 attention 
 
 JUSTINE 
 
 It seems absurd to think that a young man who had noth- 
 ing to do but amuse himself, who would some day inherit his 
 aunt's income of twenty thousand francs, and his father's 
 and mother's fortune, which is quite double that amount, 
 should be mixed up in a conspiracy !
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 349 
 
 ANTOINE 
 
 I admire him for it, for they were plotting to bring back 
 the emperor ! You may cause my throat to be cut if you like. 
 We are aione here you don't belong to the police; long live 
 the emperor ! say I. 
 
 JUSTINE 
 
 For mercy's sake, hold your tongue, you old fool ! If any 
 one heard you, you would get us all arrested. 
 
 ANTOINE 
 
 I am not afraid of that, thank God ! The answers I made 
 to the magistrate were non-committal; I never compromised 
 M. Jules, like the traitors who informed against him. 
 
 JUSTINE 
 
 Mme. du Brocard with all her immense savings ought to 
 be able to buy him off. 
 
 ANTOINE 
 
 Oh, nonsense ! Since the escape of Lavalette such a thing 
 is impossible ! They have become extremely particular at 
 the gates of the prison, and they were never particularly 
 accommodating. M. Jules will have to take his dose you see ; 
 he will be a martyr. I shall go and see him executed. (Some 
 one rings. Exit Antoine.) 
 
 JUSTINE 
 
 We will go and see him! When one has known a con- 
 demned man I don't see how they can have the heart to 
 As for me I shall go to the Court of Assizes. I feel, poor 
 boy, I owe him that!
 
 350 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 DUPBE, ANTOINE AND JUSTINE. 
 
 ANTOINE (aside, as he ushers in Dupre) 
 
 Ah ! The lawyer. (Aloud) Justine, go and tell madame 
 that Monsieur Dupre is waiting. (Aside) The lawyer is a 
 hard nut to crack, I'm thinking. (Aloud) Sir, is there any 
 hope of saving our poor M. Jules? 
 
 DUPRE 
 I perceive that you are very fond of your young master ? 
 
 ANTOINE 
 Naturally enough! 
 
 DUPRE 
 What would you do to save h'im ? 
 
 ANTOINE 
 Anything, sir! 
 
 DUPRE 
 That means nothing. 
 
 ANTOINE 
 Nothing? I will give whatever evidence you like. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 If you are caught in contradicting yourself and convicted 
 of perjury, do you know what you run the risk of ? 
 
 ANTOINE 
 No, sir. 
 
 DUPRE 
 The galleys.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 351 
 
 ANTOINE 
 That is rather severe, sir. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 You would prefer to serve him without compromising 
 yourself. 
 
 ANTOINE 
 Is there any other way? 
 
 DUPRE 
 No. 
 
 ANTOINE 
 Well! I'll run the risk of the galleys. 
 
 DUPRE (aside) 
 What devotion is here ! 
 
 ANTOINE 
 My master would be sure to settle a pension on me. 
 
 JUSTINE 
 Here is madame. 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MADAME EOUSSEAU. 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU (to Dupre) 
 
 Ah! monsieur, we have been impatiently expecting this 
 visit. (To Antoine) Antoine! Quick, inform my husband. 
 (To Dupre) Sir, I trust in your efforts, alone. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 You may be sure, madame, that I shall employ every 
 energy
 
 352 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU 
 
 Oh ! Thank you ! But of course Jules is not guilty. To 
 think of him as a conspirator! Poor child, how could any 
 one suspect him, who trembles before me at the slightest 
 reproach me, his mother! Ah, monsieur, promise that you 
 will restore him to me ! 
 
 EOUSSEAU (entering the room. To Antoine) 
 Yes, carry the letter to General de Verby. I shall wait for 
 him here. (To Dupre) I am glad to see you, my dear M. 
 Dupre 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 The battle will doubtless begin to-morrow ; to-day prepara- 
 tions are being made, and the indictment drawn. 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 Has my poor Jules made any admissions? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 He has denied everything, and has played to perfection the 
 part of an innocent man; but we are not able to oppose any 
 testimony to that which is being brought against him. 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 
 Ah ! monsieur, save my son, and the half of my fortune 
 shall be yours ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 If I had every half of a fortune that has been promised 
 to me, I should be too rich for anything. 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 Do you question the extent of my gratitude? 
 
 DUPRE 
 We will wait till the result of the trial is known, sir.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 35, 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 Take pity on a poor mother 1 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Madame, I swear to you nothing so much excites my curios- 
 ity and my sympathy, as a genuine sentiment. And at Paris 
 sincerity is so rare that I cannot be indifferent to the grief 
 of a family threatened with the loss of an only son. You 
 may therefore rely upon me. 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 Ah! monsieur! 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, GENERAL DE VERBY AND MADAME DU 
 
 BROCARD. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD (showing in De Verby) 
 Come in, my dear general. 
 
 DE VERBY (bowing to Rousseau) 
 Monsieur I simply came to learn 
 
 ROUSSEAU (presenting Dupre to De Verby) 
 General, M. Dupre. (Dupre and De Verby exchange bows.) 
 
 DUPRE (aside. While De Verby talks with Rousseau) 
 He is general of the antechamber, holding the place merely 
 through the influence of his brother, the lord chamberlain; 
 he doesn't seem to me to have come here without some object. 
 
 DE VERBY (to Dupre) 
 
 I understand, sir, that you are engaged for the defence of 
 M. Jules Rousseau in this deplorable affair
 
 354 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Yes, sir, it is a deplorable affair, for the real culprits are 
 not in prison; thus it is that justice rages fiercely against 
 the rank and file, but the chiefs are always passed by. You 
 are General Vicomte de Verby, I presume? 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 Simple General Verby I do not take the title my opin- 
 ions of course. Doubtless you are acquainted with the evi- 
 dence in this case? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I have been in communication with the accused only for the 
 last three days. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 And what do you think of the affair ? 
 
 ALL 
 Yes, tell us. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 According to my experience of the law courts, I believe it 
 possible to obtain important revelations by offering commuta- 
 tion of sentence to the condemned. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 The accused are all men of honor. 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 But 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Characters sometime change at the prospect of the scaffold, 
 especially when there is much at stake. 
 
 DE VERBY (aside) 
 
 A conspiracy ought not to be entered upon excepting with 
 penniless accomplices.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 355 
 
 DUPRE 
 I shall induce my client to tell everything. 
 
 EODSSEAU 
 
 Of course. 
 
 MME. DU BEOCARD 
 Certainly. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 He ought to do so. 
 
 DE VERBY (anxiously) 
 1 presume there is no other way of escape for him ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 None whatever ; it can be proved that he was of the number 
 of those who had begun to put in execution the plot. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 I would rather loose my head than my honor. 
 
 DUPRE 
 I should consider which of the two was worth more. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 You have your views in the matter. 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 Those are mine. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 And they are the opinions of the majority. I have seen 
 many things done by men to escape the scaffold. There are 
 people who push others to the front, who risk nothing, and 
 yet reap all the fruits of success. Have such men anjr honor ? 
 Can one feel any obligation towards them?
 
 356 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 DE VERBY 
 No, they are contemptible wretches. 
 
 DUPRE (aside) 
 
 He has well said it. This is the fellow who has ruined poor 
 Jules ! I must keep my eye on him. 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, ANTOINE AND JULES (the latter led in 
 by police agents). 
 
 ANTOINE 
 
 Sir, a carriage stopped at the door. Several men got out. 
 M. Jules is with them ; they are bringing him in. 
 
 M. AND MME. ROUSSEAU 
 My son ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 My nephew ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Yes, I see what it is doubtless a search-warrant. They 
 wish to look over his papers. 
 
 ANTOINE 
 
 Here he is. (Jules appears in the centre, followed by the 
 police and a magistrate; he rushes up to his mother) 
 
 JULES 
 
 mother! my good mother! (He embraces his mother.) 
 Ah ! I sec you once more ! (To Mme. du Brocard) Dear aunt ! 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 My poor child ! Come ! come close to me ; they will not
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 357 
 
 dare (To the police, who approach her) Leave him, leave 
 him here ! 
 
 KOUSSEAU (rushing towards the police) 
 Be kind enough 
 
 DUPRE (to the magistrate) 
 Monsieur ! 
 
 JULES 
 
 My dear mother, calm yourself ! I shall soon he free ; yes, 
 be quite sure of that, and we will not part again. 
 
 ANTOINE (to Rousseau) 
 Sir, they wish to visit M. Jules's room. 
 
 EOUSSEAU (to the magistrate) 
 
 In a moment, monsieur. I will go with you myself. (To 
 Dupre, pointing to Jules) Do not leave him ! (He goes out 
 conducting the magistrate, who makes a sign to the police to 
 keep guard on Jules.) 
 
 JULES (seizing the hand of De Verby) 
 
 Ah, general ! ( To Dupre) And how good and generous of 
 you, M. Dupre, to come here and comfort my mother. (In a 
 low voice) Ah! conceal from her my danger. (Aloud, look- 
 ing at his mother) Tell her the truth. Tell her that she has 
 nothing to fear. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I will tell her that it is in her power to save you. 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAD 
 In my power ? 
 
 MME. DU BROCAED 
 How can that be ?
 
 358 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 DUPRE (to Mme. Rousseau) 
 
 By imploring him to disclose the names of those "who have 
 led him on. 
 
 DE VERBY (to Dupre) 
 Monsieur ! 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 Yes, and you ought to do it. I, your mother, demand it 
 of you. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 Oh, certainly ! My nephew shall tell everything. He has 
 been led on hy people who now abandon him to his fate, and 
 he in his turn ought 
 
 DE VERBY (in a low voice to Dupre) 
 What, sir! would you advise your client to betray ? 
 
 DUPRE (quickly) 
 Whom? 
 
 DE VERBY (in a troubled voice) 
 
 But can't we find some other method? M. Jules knows 
 what a man of high spirit owes to himself. 
 
 DUPRE (aside) 
 He is the man I felt sure of it ! 
 
 JULES (to his mother and aunt) 
 
 Never, though I should die for it never will I com- 
 promise any one else. (De Verby shows his pleasure at this 
 declaration.) 
 
 MME, EOUSSEAU 
 
 Ah! my God! (Looking at the police.) And there is no 
 chance of our helping him to escape here I
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 359 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 No ! that is out of the question. 
 
 ANTOINE (coming into the room) 
 M. Jules, they are asking for you. 
 
 JULES 
 I am coming ! 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU 
 
 Ah ! I cannot let you go ! . (She turns to the police with a 
 supplicating look.) 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD (to Dupre, who scrutinizes De Verby) 
 M. Dupre, I have thought that it would be a good thing 
 
 DUPRE (interrupting her) 
 
 Later, madame, later. (He leads her to Jules, who goes 
 out with his mother, followed by the agents.) 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 DUPRE AND DE VERBY. 
 
 DE VERBY (aside) 
 
 These people have hit upon a lawyer who is rich, without 
 ambition and eccentric. 
 
 DUPRE (crossing the stage and gazing at De Verby, aside) 
 Now is my time to learn your secret. (Aloud) You are 
 very much interested in my client, monsieur ? 
 
 DE VERBY 
 Verv much indeed.
 
 S60 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 1 have yet to understand what motive could have led him, 
 young, rich and devoted to pleasure as he is, to implicate him- 
 self in a conspiracy 
 
 DE VERBY 
 The passion for glory. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Don't talk in that way to a lawyer who for twenty years has 
 practiced in the courts; who has studied men and affairs well 
 enough to know that the finest motives are only assumed as a 
 disguise for trumpery passions, and has never yet met a man 
 whose heart was free from the calculations of self-interest. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 Do you ever take up a case without charging anything ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 I often do so ; but I never act contrary to my convictions. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 I understand that you are rich? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I have some fortune. Without it, in the world as at present 
 constituted, I should be on the straight road for the poorhouse. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 It is then from conviction, I suppose, that you have under- 
 taken the defence of young Eousseau. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Certainly. I believe him to be the dupe of others in a 
 higher station, and I like those who allow themselves to be 
 duped from generous motives and not from self-interest; for
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 361 
 
 in these times the dupe is often as greedy after gain as the 
 man who exploits him. 
 
 DE VEEBY 
 You belong, I perceive, to the sect of misanthropes. 
 
 DUPBE 
 
 I do not care enough for mankind to hate them, for I have 
 never yet met any one I could love. I am contented with study- 
 ing my fellow-men ; for I see that they are all engaged in play- 
 ing each, with more or less success, his own little comedy. I 
 have no illusion about anything, it is true, but I smile at it 
 all like a spectator who sits in a theatre to be amused. One 
 thing I never do; I hiss nothing; for I have not sufficient 
 feeling about things for that. 
 
 DE VERBY (aside) 
 
 How is it possible to influence such a man? (Aloud) 
 Nevertheless, monsieur, you must sometimes need the services 
 of others? 
 
 DUPEE 
 Never ! 
 
 DE VEBBY 
 But you are sometimes sick? 
 
 DUPBE 
 
 Then I like to be alone. Moreover, at Paris, anything can 
 be bought, even attendance on the sick; believe me I live 
 because it is my duty to do so. I have tested everything 
 charity, friendship, unselfish devotion. Those who have 
 received benefits have disgusted me with the doing of kind- 
 nesses. Certain philanthropists have made me feel a loath- 
 ing for charity. And of all humbugs that of sentiment is the 
 most hateful. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 And what of patriotism, monsieur ?
 
 362 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 That is a very trifling matter, since the cry of humanity 
 has been raised. 
 
 DE VERBY (somewhat discouraged) 
 And so you take Jules Eousseau for a young enthusiast ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 No, sir, nothing of the sort. He presents a problem which 
 I have to solve, and with your assistance I shall reach the solu- 
 tion. (De Verby changes countenance.) Come, let us speak 
 candidly. I believe that you know something about all this. 
 
 DE VERBI 
 What do you mean, sir ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 You can save this young man. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 I? What can I do? 
 
 DUPRE 
 You can give testimony which Antoine will corroborate 
 
 DE VERBY 
 I have reasons for not appearing as a witness. 
 
 DUPRE 
 Just so. You are one of the conspirators ! 
 
 DE VERBY 
 Monsieur ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 It is you who have led on this poor boy.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 363 
 
 DE VERBY 
 Monsieur, this language ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Don't attempt to deceive me, but tell me how you managed 
 to gain this bad influence over him ? He is rich, he is in need 
 of nothing. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 Listen ! If you say another word 
 
 DUPRE 
 Oh! my life is of no consideration with me! 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 Sir, you know very well that Jules will get off ; and that if 
 he does not behave properly, he will lose, through your fault, 
 his chance of marriage with my niece, and thus the succession 
 to the title of my brother, the Lord Chamberlain. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Ah, that's what he was after, then ! He's like all the rest 
 of the schemers. Now consider, sir, what I am going to pro- 
 pose to you. You have powerful friends, and it is your duty 
 
 DE VERBY 
 My duty ! I do not understand you, sir. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 You have been able to effect his ruin, and can you not bring 
 about his release? (Aside) I have him there. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 I shall give my best consideration to the matter.
 
 364 PAMELA GIKAUD 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Don't consider for a moment that you can escape me. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 A general who fears no danger can have no fear of a law- 
 yer 
 
 DUPRE 
 , As you will! (Exit De Verby, who jostles against Joseph.) 
 
 'SCENE SEVENTH. 
 DUPRE AND JOSEPH BINET. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I heard only yesterday, monsieur, that you were engaged 
 for the defence of M. Jules Eousseau; I have been to your 
 place, and have waited for you until I could wait no later. 
 This morning I found that you had left your home, and as I 
 am working for this house, a happy inspiration sent me here. 
 I thought you would be coming here, and I waited for you 
 
 DUPRE 
 What do you want with me ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 I am Joseph Binet. 
 
 DUPRE 
 Well, proceed. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Let me say without offence, sir, that I have fourteen hun- 
 dred francs of my own quite my own ! earned sou by sou. 
 I am a journeyman upholsterer, and my uncle, Du Mouchel, a 
 retired wine merchant, has plenty of the metal.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 365 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Speak out openly ! What is the meaning of this mysterious 
 preamble ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Fourteen hundred francs is of course a mere trifle, and they 
 say that lawyers have to be well paid, and that it is because 
 they are well paid that there are so many of them. I should 
 have done better if I had been a lawyer then she would have 
 married me! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Are you crazy? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Not at all. I have here my fourteen hundred francs ; take 
 them, sir no humbug ! They are yours. 
 
 DUPRE 
 And on what condition? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 You must save M. Jules I mean, of course, from death 
 and you must have him transported. I don't want him to be 
 put to death ; but he must go abroad. He is rich, and he will 
 enjoy himself. But save his life. Procure a sentence of sim- 
 ple transportation, say for fifteen years, and my fourteen hun- 
 dred francs are yours. I will give them to you gladly, and I 
 will moreover make you an office chair below the market price. 
 There now ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 What is your object in speaking to me in this way? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 My object ? I want to marry Pamela. I want to have my 
 little Pamela. 
 
 DUPRE 
 Pamela ?
 
 366 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Pamela Giraud. 
 
 DUPBE 
 What connection has Pamela Giraud with Jules Rousseau? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Well I never ! Why ! I thought that advocates were paid 
 for learning and knowing everything. But you don't seem 
 to know anything, sir. I am not surprised that there are those 
 who say advocates are know-nothings. But I should like to 
 have hack my fourteen hundred francs. Pamela is accused, 
 that is to say, she accuses me of having hetrayed his head to 
 the executioner, and you will understand that if after all he 
 escapes, and is transported, I can marry, can wed Pamela; 
 and as the transported man will not he in France, I need fear 
 no disturbance in my home. Get him fifteen years; that is 
 nothing; fifteen years for traveling and I shall have time to 
 see my children grown up, and my wife old enough you 
 understand 
 
 DUPEE (aside) 
 
 He is candid, at any rate Those who make their calcula- 
 tions aloud and in such evident excitement are not the worst 
 of people. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I say ! Do you know the proverb "A lawyer who talks 
 to himself is like a pastry cook who eats his own wares/' eh, 
 sir? 
 
 DUPEE 
 
 I understand you to say that Pamela is in love with M. 
 Jules? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Ah ! I see, you understand matters. 
 
 DUPBE 
 They used frequently to meet I suppose?
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 367 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Far too frequently ! Oh ! if I had only known it, I would 
 soon have put a stop to it ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 Is she pretty? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Who ? Pamela ? My eye ! My Pamela ! She is as pretty 
 as the Apollo Belvidere ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Keep your fourteen hundred francs, my friend, and if you 
 have courage, you and your Pamela, you will be able to help 
 me in effecting his deliverance; for the question is absolutely 
 whether we must let him go to the scaffold, or save him 
 from it. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I beg you, sir, do not think of saying one word to Pamela ; 
 she is in despair. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Nevertheless you must bring it about that I see her this 
 morning. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 I will send word to her through her parents. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Ah! she has a father and mother living then? (Aside) 
 This will cost a lot of money. (Aloud) Who are they? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 They are respectable porters. 
 
 DUPRE 
 That is good.
 
 368 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Old Giraud is a ruined tailor. 
 
 DUPBE 
 
 Very well, go and inform them of my intended visit, and 
 above all things preserve the utmost secrecy, or M. Jules 
 will be sacrificed. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 I shall be dumb. 
 
 DUPRE 
 And let it be thought that we have never met. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 We have never seen each other. 
 
 DUPEE 
 Now go. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 I am going. (He mistakes the door.) 
 
 DUPRE 
 This is the way. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 This is the way, great advocate but let me give you a bit 
 of advice a slight taste of transportation will not do him 
 any harm; in fact, it will teach him to leave the government 
 in peace. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 
 ROUSSEAU, MADAME ROUSSEAU, MADAME DU BROCARD (at- 
 tended by Justine) AND DUPRE. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 Poor child! What courage he shows!
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 369 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I hope to save him for you, madame ; but it cannot be done 
 without making great sacrifices. 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 Sir, the half of our fortune is at your disposal. 
 
 MME. DU BEOCARD 
 And the half of mine. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 It is always the half of some fortune or other. I am going 
 to try to do my duty afterwards, you must do yours; we 
 shall have to make great efforts. You, madame, must rouse 
 yourself, for I have great hopes. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 Ah! sir, what can you mean? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 A little time ago, your son was a ruined man ; at the present 
 moment, I believe he can be saved. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 What must we do ? 
 
 MME. DU BROCAKD 
 What do you ask? 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 You may be sure we will do as you require. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I feel certain you will. This is my plan which will un- 
 doubtedly succeed with the jury. Your son had an intrigue 
 with a certain working-girl, Pamela Giraud, the daughter of 
 a porter.
 
 370 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 MME. DU BEOCARD 
 What low people ! 
 
 DUPEE 
 
 Yet you will have to humble yourselves to them. Your 
 son was always with this young girl, and in this point lies 
 the sole hope of his deliverance. The very evening on which 
 the public prosecutor avers that he attended a meeting of the 
 conspirators, he was possibly visiting her. If this is a fact, 
 if she declares that he remained with her that night, if her 
 father and her mother, if the rival of Jules confirm the testi- 
 mony we shall then have ground for hope. When the 
 choice has to be made between a sentence of guilty and an 
 alibi, the jury prefers the alibi. 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU (aside) 
 Ah ! sir, you bring back life to me. 
 
 . KOUSSEAU 
 Sir, we owe you a debt of eternal gratitude. 
 
 DUPRE (looking at them) 
 
 What sum of money must I offer to the daughter, to the 
 father and to the mother? 
 
 MME. DU BEOCARD 
 Are they poor? 
 
 DUPRE 
 They are, but the matter concerns their honor. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 Oh, she is only a working-girl ! 
 
 DUPEE (ironically) 
 It ought to be done very cheaply.
 
 PAMEIA GIRAUD 371 
 
 KOUSSEAU 
 
 What do you think? 
 
 DUPRE 
 I think that you are bargaining for the life of your son. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 Well, M. Dupre, I suppose you may go as high as 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 As high as 
 
 DUPRE 
 As high as 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 Upon my word, I don't understand why you hesitate and 
 you must offer, sir, whatever sum you consider suitable. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Just so, you leave it to my discretion. But what compen- 
 sation do you offer her if she restores your son to you at the 
 sacrifice of her honor? For possibly he has made love to her. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 He shall marry her. I come from the people myself and 
 I am no marchioness. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 What do you mean by that? You are forgetting Mile, de 
 Verby. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 Sister, my son's life must be saved. 
 
 DUPRE (aside) 
 
 Here we have the beginning of a comedy and the last which 
 I wish to see; but I must keep them to their word. (Aloud)
 
 372 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 Perhaps it would be well if you secretly paid a visit to the 
 young girl. 
 
 MME. KOUSSEAU 
 
 Oh, yes, I should like to go to see her to implore her (she 
 rings.) Justine! Antoine! quick! order the carriage! at 
 once 
 
 ANTOINE 
 Yes, madame. 
 
 MME. KOUSSEAU 
 Sister, will you go with me ? Ah, Jules, my poor son ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 They are bringing him back. 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, JULES (brought in by the police), AND 
 LATER DE VERBY. 
 
 JULES (kissing his mother) 
 
 mother ! I will not say good-bye ; I shall soon be back, 
 very soon. (Rousseau and Mme. du Brocard embrace Jules.) 
 
 DE VERBY (going up to Dupre) 
 
 1 will do, monsieur, what you have asked of me. One of my 
 friends, M. Adolph Durand, who facilitated the flight of our 
 dear Jules, will testify that his friend was altogether taken 
 up with a grisette, whom he loved passionately, and with whom 
 he was taking measures to elope. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 That is enough ; success now depends upon the way we set 
 about things.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 373 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE (to Jules) 
 We must be going, monsieur. 
 
 JULES 
 
 I will follow you. Be of good courage, mother! (He bids 
 farewell to Rousseau and Dupre; De Verby signs to him to 
 be cautious.) 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU (to Jules, as he is being led away) 
 
 Jules ! Jules ! Do not give up hope we are going to save 
 you ! (The police lead Jules away.) 
 
 Curtain to the Second Act.
 
 374 PAMELA G1RAUD 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 (The stage represents the room of Pamela.) 
 
 PAMELA, GIBAUD AND MADAME GIRAUD. 
 
 (Pamela is standing near her mother, who is knitting; Giraud 
 
 is at work at a table on the left.) 
 
 MME. GTRAUD 
 
 The fact of the matter is this, my poor daughter : I do not 
 mean to reproach you, but you are the cause of all our trouble. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 No doubt about it ! We came to Paris because in the coun- 
 try tailoring is no sort of a business, and we had some ambi- 
 tion for you, our Pamela, such a sweet, pretty little thing as 
 you were. We said to each other : "We will go into service ; 
 I will work at my trade ; we will give a good position to our 
 child ; and as she will be good, industrious and pretty, we can 
 take care of our own old age by marrying her well." 
 
 PAMELA 
 father! 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 Half of our plans were already carried out. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 Yes, certainly. We had a good position; you made as
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 375 
 
 fine flowers as any gardener could grow; and Joseph Binet, 
 your neighbor, was to be the husband of our choice. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 Instead of all this, the scandal which has arisen in the 
 house has caused the landlord to dismiss us; the talk of the 
 neighborhood was incessant, for the young man was arrested 
 in your room. 
 
 PAMELA 
 And yet I have been guilty of nothing ! 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 Come, now, we know that well enough ! Do you think if it 
 were otherwise that we would stay near you? And that I 
 would embrace you ? After all, Pamela, there is nothing like 
 a father and a mother ! And when the whole world is against 
 her, if a girl can look into her parents' face without a blush 
 it is enough. 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND JOSEPH BINET. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 Well, well ! Here is Joseph Binet. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 M. Binet, what are you doing here? But for your want of 
 common-sense, M. Jules would not have been found here. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 I am come to tell you about him. 
 
 PAMELA 
 What ! really ? Well, let us hear, Joseph.
 
 376 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Ah ! you won't send me away now, will you ? I have seen 
 his lawyer, and I have offered him all that I possess if he 
 would get him off! 
 
 PAMELA 
 Do you mean it ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Yes. Would you be satisfied if he was merely transported ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Ah ! you are a good fellow, Joseph, and I see that you 
 love me ! Let us be friends ! 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 I have good hopes that we shall be. (A knock at the door 
 is heard.) 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 THE PRECEDING, M. DE VERBY AND MADAME DU BROCARD. 
 
 MME. GTRAUD (opening the door) 
 There are some people here ! 
 
 GIRADD 
 A lady and a gentleman. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 What did you say? (Pamela rises from her seat and takes 
 a step toward M. de Verby, who bows to her.) 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 Is this Mile. Pamela Giraud?
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 377 
 
 PAMELA 
 It is, madame. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 Forgive us, mademoiselle, for presenting ourselves without 
 previous announcement 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 There is no harm done. May I know the object of this 
 visit? 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 And you, good people, are her father and mother? 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 Yes, madame. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 She calls them good people she must be one of the swells. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Will you please be seated? (Mme. Giraud offers them 
 seats.) 
 
 JOSEPH (to Giraud) 
 
 My eye ! The gentleman has on the ribbon of the Legion 
 of Honor ! He belongs to high society. 
 
 GIRAUD (looking at De Verby) 
 By my faith, that's true ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 I am the aunt of M. Jules Eousseau. 
 
 PAMELA 
 You, madame? Then this gentleman must be his father? 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 He is merely a friend of the family. We are come, made-
 
 378 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 moiselle, to ask a favor of you. (Looking at Binet with em- 
 barrassment.) Your brother? 
 
 GIRAUD 
 No, madame, just a neighbor of ours. 
 
 MME. DU BROCAED (to Pamela) 
 Send him away. 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 Send him away, indeed ! I'd like to know what right she 
 has (Pamela makes a sign to Joseph.) 
 
 GIRAUD (to Joseph) 
 
 My friend, you had better leave us. It seems that this is a 
 private matter. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Very well. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS EXCEPTING BINET. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD (to Pamela) 
 
 You are acquainted with my nephew. I do not intend to 
 reproach you. Your parents alone have the right. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 But, thank God, they have no reason. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 It is your tiephew who has caused all this talk abouJ her, 
 but she is blameless!
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 379 
 
 DE VERBY (interrupting him) 
 But suppose that we wish her to be guilty ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 What do you mean, sir ? 
 
 GIRAUD AND MME. GIRAUD 
 To think of it ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD (seizing De Verby's meaning) 
 Yes, suppose, to save the life of a poor young man 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 It were necessary to declare that M. Jules Eousseau spent 
 nearly the whole night of the twenty-fourth of August here 
 with you ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 Ah! sir! 
 
 DE VERBY (to Giraud and his wife) 
 
 Yes, suppose it were necessary to testify against your daugh- 
 ter, by alleging this? 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 I would never say such a thing. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 What ! Insult my child ! Sir, I have had all possible 
 troubles. I was once a tailor, now I am reduced to nothing. 
 I am a porter ! But I have remained a father. My daughter 
 is our sole treasure, the glory of our old age, and you ask us 
 to dishonor her! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 Pray listen to me, sir.
 
 380 PAMELA G1RAUD 
 
 GlRAUD 
 
 No, madame, I will listen to nothing. My daughter is the 
 hope of my gray hairs. 
 
 PAMELA 
 Calm yourself, father, I implore you. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 Keep quiet, Giraud ! Do let this lady and gentleman speak ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 A family in deep affliction implores you to save them. 
 
 PAMELA (aside) 
 Poor Jules! 
 
 DE VERBY (in a low voice to Pamela) 
 His fate is in your hands. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 We are respectable people and know what it is for parents, 
 for a mother, to be in despair. But what you ask is out of the 
 question. (Pamela puts a handkerchief to her eyes.) 
 
 GIRAUD 
 We must stop this ! You see the girl is in tears. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 She has done nothing but weep for several days. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 I know my daughter; she would be capable of going and 
 making the declaration they ask, in spite of us.
 
 PAMELA GiRAUD 381 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 Yes, for you must see, she loves him, she loves your 
 nephew ! And to save his life Well ! well ! I would have 
 done as much in her place. 
 
 MME. DU BROCABD 
 Have compassion on us ! 
 
 DE VERBY 
 Grant this request of ours 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD (to Pamela) 
 If it is true that you love Jules 
 
 MME. GIRAUD (leading Giraud up to Pamela) 
 
 Did you hear that ? Well ! Listen to me. She is in love 
 with this youth. It is quite certain that he also is in love with 
 her. If she should make a sacrifice like that, as a return, he 
 ought to marry her. 
 
 PAMELA (with vehemence) 
 Never ! ( Aside) These people would not wish it, not they. 
 
 DE VERBY (to Mme. du Brocard) 
 They are consulting about it. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD (in a low voice to De Verby) 
 It will be absolutely necessary for us to make a sacrifice. 
 We must appeal to their interest. It is the only plan ! 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 In venturing to ask of you so great a sacrifice, we are quite 
 aware of the claims that you will have on our gratitude. The 
 family of Jules, who might have blamed you on account of
 
 382 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 your relations with him, are, on the contrary, anxious to dis- 
 charge the obligations which bind them to you. 
 
 MME. GIRADD 
 Ah ! Did I not tell you so ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 Can it be possible that Jules 
 
 DE VERBY 
 I am authorized to make a promise to you. 
 
 PAMELA (with emotion) 
 Oh! 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 Tell me, how much do you ask for the sacrifice required of 
 you? 
 
 PAMELA (in consternation) 
 
 What do you mean ? How much I ask for saving Jules ? 
 What do you take me for ? 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 Ah ! mademoiselle ! 
 
 DE VERBY 
 You misunderstand me. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 No, it is you who misunderstand us ! You are come here, to 
 the house of poor people, and you are quite unaware of what 
 you ask from them. You, madame, ought to know that what- 
 ever be the rank or the education of a woman, her honor is her 
 sole treasure! And that which you in your own families 
 guard with so much care, with so much reverence, } r ou actually 
 believe that people here, living in an attic, would be willing 
 to sell ! And you have said to yourselves : "Let us offer them
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 383 
 
 money ! We need just now the sacrifice of a working-girl's 
 honor I" 
 
 GIRAUD 
 That is excellent ! I recognize my own blood there. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 My dear child, do not be offended ! Money is money, after 
 all. 
 
 DE VERBY (addressing Giraud) 
 
 Undoubtedly ! And six thousand francs for a solid annual 
 income as the price of a 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 As the price of a lie ! For I must out with it. But thank 
 God I haven't yet lost my self-respect ! Good-bye, sir. (She 
 makes a low bow to Mme. du Brocard, then goes into her bed- 
 chamber.) 
 
 DE VERBY 
 What is to be done ? 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 I am quite nonplussed. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 I quite admit that an income of six thousand francs is no 
 trifle, but our daughter has a high spirit, you see; she takes 
 after me 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 And she will never yield.
 
 384 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, JOSEPH BINET, DUPEE AND MME ROUS- 
 SEAU. 
 
 1 JOSEPH 
 
 This way, sir. This way, madame. (Dupre and Mme. 
 
 Rousseau enter.} These are the father and mother of Pamela 
 Giraud ! 
 
 DUPRE (to De Verby] 
 I am very sorry, sir, that you have got here before me ! 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU. 
 
 My sister has doubtless told you, madame, the sacrifice 
 which we expect your daughter to make for us. Only an angel 
 would make it. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 What sacrifice? 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 It is no business of yours. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 We have just had an interview with Mile. Pamela 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 She has refused ! 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 Oh, heavens! 
 
 DUPRE 
 Refused what? 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 An income of six thousand francs.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 385 
 
 DUPRE 
 I could have wagered on it. To think of offering money I 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 But it was the only way 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 To spoil everything. (To Mme. Giraud) Madame, kindly 
 tell your daughter that the counsel of M. Jules Rousseau is 
 here and desires to see her. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 Oh, as for that you will gain nothing. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 Either from her or from us. 
 
 JOSEPH ' 
 But what is it they want ? 
 
 GIRAUD 
 Hold your tongue. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD (to Mme. Giraud) 
 Madame, offer her 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Now, Mme. du Brocard, I must beg you (To Mme. 
 Giraud) It is in the name of the mother of Jules that I ask 
 of you permission to see your daughter. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 It will be of no use, of no use at all, sir ! And to think that 
 they point-blank offered her money when the young man a 
 little time before had spoken of marrying her!
 
 386 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 MME. KOUSSEAU (with excitement) 
 Well, why not? 
 
 MME. GIRAUD (with vehemence) 
 How was that, madame? 
 
 DUPRE (seizing the hand of Mme. Giraud) 
 Come, come ! Bring me your daughter. (Exit Mme. 
 Giraud.) 
 
 DE VERBY AND MME. DU BROCARD. 
 You hare then made up your mind ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 It is not I, but madame who has made up her mind. 
 
 DE VERBY (questioning Mme. du Brocard) 
 What has she promised? 
 
 DUPRE (seeing that Joseph is listening) 
 Be silent, general ; stay for a moment, I heg you, with these 
 ladies. Here she comes. Now leave us alone, if you please. 
 (Pamela is brought in by her mother. She makes a curtsey 
 to Mme. Rousseau, who gazes at her with emotion; then 
 Dupre leads all but Pamela into the other room; Joseph re- 
 mains behind.) 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 I wonder what they mean. They all talk of a sacrifice! 
 And old Giraud won't say a word to me ! Well, I can bide my 
 time. I promised the advocate that I would give him my 
 fourteen hundred francs, but before I do so, I would like to 
 see how he acts with regard to me. 
 
 DUPRE (going up to Joseph) 
 Joseph Binet, you must leave the room.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 387 
 
 JOSEPH 
 And not hear what you say about me? 
 
 DUPRE 
 You must go away. 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 It is evident that they are concealing something from me. 
 (To Dupre) I have prepared her mind; she is much taken 
 with the idea of transportation. Stick to that point. 
 
 DUPRE 
 All right ! But you must leave the room. 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 Leave the room ! Oh, indeed ! not I. (He makes as if he 
 had withdrawn, but, quietly returning, hides himself in a 
 closet.) 
 
 DUPRE (to Pamela) 
 
 You have consented to see me, and I thank you for it. I 
 know exactly what has recently taken place here, and I am not 
 going to address you in the same way as you have been re- 
 cently addressed. 
 
 PAMELA 
 Your very presence assures me of that, sir. 
 
 DUPRE 
 You are in love with this fine young man, this Joseph ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 I am aware, sir, that advocates are like confessors ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 My child, they have to be just as safe confidants. You may 
 tell me everything without reserve.
 
 388 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Well, sir, I did love him; that is to say, I thought I loved 
 him, and I would very willingly have become his wife. I 
 thought that with his energy Joseph would have made a good 
 business, and that we could lead together a life of toil. When 
 prosperity came, we would have taken with us my father and 
 my mother; it was all very clear it would have been a 
 united family ! 
 
 i 
 DTJPRE (aside) 
 
 The appearance of this young girl is in her favor ! Let us 
 see whether she is sincere or not. (Aloud) What are you 
 thinking about ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 I was thinking about those past days, which seemed to me 
 so happy in comparison with the present. A fortnight ago my 
 head was turned by the sight of M. Jules; I fell in love with 
 him, as young girls do fall in love, as I have seen other young 
 girls fall in love with young men with a love which would 
 endure everything for those they loved ! I used to say to my- 
 self : shall I ever be like that? Well, at this moment I do 
 not know anything that I would not endure for M. Jules. A 
 few moments ago they offered me money, they, from whom 
 I expected such nobleness, such greatness; and I was dis- 
 gusted ! Money ! I have plenty of it, sir ! I have twenty 
 thousand francs ! They are here, they are yours ! that is to 
 say, they are his ! I have kept them to use in my efforts to save 
 him, for I have betrayed him, because I doubted him, while 
 he was so confident, so sure of me and I was so distrustful 
 of him ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 And he gave you twenty thousand francs ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 Ah, sir! he entrusted them with me. Here they are. I
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 380 
 
 shall return them to his family, if he dies; but he shall not 
 die ! Tell me ? Is it not so ? You ought to know. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 My dear child, bear in mind that your whole life, perhaps 
 your happiness, depend upon the truthfulness of your answers. 
 Answer me as if you stood in the presence of God. 
 
 PAMELA 
 I will. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 You have never loved any one before ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Never ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 You seem to be afraid ! Come, I am terrifying you. You 
 are not giving me your confidence. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Oh, yes I am, sir ; I swear I am ! Since we have been in 
 Paris, I have never left my mother, and I have thought of 
 nothing but my work and my duty. I was alarmed and 
 thrown into confusion a few moments ago, sir, but you inspire 
 me with confidence, and I can tell you everything. Well, I 
 acknowledge it, I am in love with Jules ; he is the only one 
 I love, and I would follow him to the end of the world ! You 
 told me to speak as in the presence of God. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Well, it is to your heart that I am going to appeal. Do for 
 me what you have refused to do for others. Tell me the 
 truth ! You alone have the power to save him before the face 
 of justice! You love him, Pamela; I understand what it 
 would cost you to
 
 390 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 To avow my love for him ? Would that be sufficient to save 
 him? 
 
 DUPRE 
 I will answer for that ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 Well? 
 
 DUPRE 
 My child! 
 
 PAMELA 
 Well he is saved. 
 
 DUPRE (earnestly) 
 But you will be compromised 
 
 PAMELA 
 But after all it is for him. 
 
 DUPRE (aside) 
 
 I never expected it, but I shall not die without having seen 
 with my own eyes an example of beautiful and noble candor, 
 destitute alike of self-interest and designing reserve. (Aloud) 
 Pamela, you are a good and generous girl. 
 
 PAMELA 
 To act this way consoles me for many little miseries of life 
 
 My child, that is not everything! You are true as steel 
 you are high-spirited. But in order to succeed it is necessary 
 to have assurance determination 
 
 PAMELA 
 Oh, sir! You shall see!
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 391 
 
 DUFRE 
 
 Do not be over-anxious. Dare to confess everything. Be 
 brave ! Imagine that you are before the Court of Assizes, 
 the presiding judge, the public prosecutor, the prisoner at 
 the bar, and me, his advocate; the jury is on one side. The 
 big court-room is filled with people. Do not be alarmed. 
 
 PAMELA 
 You needn't fear for me. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 A court officer brings you in; you have given your name 
 and surname ! Then the presiding judge asks you "How 
 long have you known the prisoner, Bousseau?" What would 
 you answer? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 The truth! I met him about a month before his arrest 
 at the lie d' Amour, Belleville. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Who were with him? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 I noticed no one but him. 
 
 DUPRE 
 Did you hear them talk politics? 
 
 PAMELA (in astonishment) 
 
 Oh, sir ! The judges must be aware that politics are mat- 
 ters of indifference at the He d' Amour. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Very good, my child! But you must tell them all you 
 know about Jules Eousseau.
 
 392 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Of course. I shall still speak the truth, and repeat my 
 testimony before the police justice. I knew nothing of the 
 conspiracy, and was infinitely surprised when he was arrested 
 in my room; the proof of which is that I feared M. Jules 
 was a thief and afterwards apologized for my suspicion. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 You must acknowledge that from the time of your first 
 acquaintance with this young man, he constantly came to see 
 you. You must declare 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 I shall stick to the truth He never left me alone! He 
 came to see me for love, I received him from friendship, and 
 I resisted him from a sense of duty 
 
 DUPRE 
 And at last? 
 
 PAMELA (anxiously) 
 At last? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 You are trembling ! Take care ! Just now you promised 
 me to tell the truth ! 
 
 PAMELA (aside) 
 The truth ! Oh my God ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I also am interested in this young man; but I recoil from 
 a possible imposture. If he is guilty, my duty bids me defend 
 him, if he is innocent, his cause shall be mine. Yes. without 
 doubt, Pamela, I am about to demand from you a great sacri- 
 fice, but he needs it. The visits which Jules made to you 
 were in the evening, and without the knowledge of your 
 parents.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 393 
 
 PAMELA 
 Why no! never! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 How is this? for in that case there would be no hope for 
 him. 
 
 PAMELA (aside) 
 
 No hope for him! Then either he or I must be ruined. 
 (Aloud) Sir, do not be alarmed; I felt a little fear because 
 the real danger was not before my eyes. But when I shall 
 stand before the judges ! when once I shall see him, see 
 Jules and feel that his safety depends upon me 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 That is good, very good. But what is most necessary to be 
 made known is that on the evening of the twenty-fourth, he 
 came here. If that is once understood, I shall be successful 
 in saving him; otherwise, I can answer for nothing. He is 
 lost! 
 
 PAMELA (murmuring, greatly agitated) 
 
 Lost ! Jules lost ! No, no, no ! Better that my own good 
 name be lost ! (Aloud) Yes, he came here on the twenty- 
 fourth. (Aside) God forgive me ! (Aloud) It was my saint's 
 day my name is Louise Pamela and he was kind enough to 
 bring me a bouquet, without the knowledge of my father or 
 my mother ; he came in the evening, late. Ah ! you need have 
 'no fear, sir you see I shall tell all. (Aside) And all is a lie ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 He will be saved! (Rousseau appears.) Ah! sir! (run- 
 ning to the door of the room) Come all of you and thank 
 your deliverer!
 
 394 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 
 KOUSSEAU, DE VERBY, MADAME DU BROCARD, GIRAUD, 
 MADAME GIRAUD, DUPRE, AND LATER JOSEPH BINET. 
 
 ALL 
 Does she consent ? 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 
 You have saved my son. I shall never forget it. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 You have put us under eternal obligations, my child. 
 
 KOUSSEAU 
 My fortune shall be at your disposal. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I will not say anything to you, my child ! We shall meet 
 again ! 
 
 JOSEPH (coming out of the closet) 
 
 One moment! one moment! I have heard everything 
 and do you believe that I am going to put up with that? I 
 was here in concealment all the time. And do you think you 
 are going to let Pamela, whom I have loved and have wished 
 to make my wife, say all that? (To Dupre) This is the way 
 you are going to earn my fourteen hundred francs, eh ! Well, 
 I shall go to court myself and testify that the whole thing 
 is a lie. 
 
 ALL 
 Great heavens! 
 
 DUPRE 
 You miserable wretch ! 
 
 DE VERBT 
 If you say a single word
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 395 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Oh, I ain't afraid ! 
 
 DE VEEBY (to Rousseau and Mme. du Brocard) 
 He shall never go to court ! If necessary, I will have him 
 shadowed, and I will put men on the watch to prevent him 
 from entering. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Fd just like to see you try it ! (Enter a sheriff's officer, who 
 goes up to Dupre.) 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 What do you want ? 
 
 THE SHERIFF'S OFFICER 
 
 I am the court officer of the assizes Mile. Pamela Giraud ! 
 (Pamela comes forward.) In virtue of discretionary authority 
 of the presiding judge, you are summoned to appear before 
 him to-morrow at ten o'clock. 
 
 JOSEPH (to De Verby) 
 I will go also. 
 
 THE OFFICER 
 
 The porter has told me that you have here a gentleman 
 named Joseph Binet. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Here I am! 
 
 THE OFFICER 
 Please take your summons. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I told you that I would go ! (The officer withdraws; every 
 one is alarmed at the threats of Binet. Dupre tries to speak 
 to him and reason with him, but he steals away.) 
 
 Curtain to the Third Act.
 
 396 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (The stage represents Madame du Brocard's salon, from 
 which can be seen the Court of Assizes.) 
 
 MADAME DU BROCARD, MADAME ROUSSEAU, ROUSSEAU, 
 JOSEPH BINET, DUPRE AND JUSTINE. 
 
 (Dupre is seated reading his note-book.) 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU. 
 M. DuprS! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Yes, madame, the court adjourned after the speech of the 
 prosecuting attorney. And I came over to reassure you 
 personally. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 I told you, sister, that some one was sure to come and keep 
 us informed about things. In my house here, which is so close 
 to the court house, we are in a favorable position for learning 
 all that goes on at the trial. Ah, M. Dupre ! How can we 
 thank you enough! You spoke superbly! (To Justine) 
 Justine, bring in something to drink Quick! 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 Sir, your speech (To his wife) He was magnificent. 
 
 Sir,
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 397 
 
 JOSEPH (in tears) 
 Yes, you were magnificent, magnificent ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I am not the person you ought to thank, but that child, 
 that Pamela, who showed such astonishing courage. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 And didn't I do well? 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU. 
 
 And he (pointing to Binet) did he carry out the threat he 
 made to us? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 No, he took your side. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 It was your fault! but for you Ah! Well I reached 
 the court house, having made up my mind to mix up every- 
 thing; but when I saw all the people, the judge, the jury, 
 the crowd, and the terrible silence, I trembled ! Neverthe- 
 less I screwed up my courage. When I was questioned, I was 
 just about to answer, when my glance met the eyes of Mile. 
 Pamela, which were filled with tears I felt as if my tongue 
 was bound. And on the other side I saw M. Jules a hand- 
 some youth, his fine face conspicuous among them all. His 
 expression was as tranquil as if he had been a mere spectator. 
 That knocked me out ! "Don't be afraid," said the judge to 
 me. I was absolutely beside myself ! I was afraid of making 
 some mistake; and then I had sworn to keep to the truth; 
 and then M. Ditpre fixed his eye on me. I can't tell you what 
 that eye seemed to say to me My tongue seemed twisted up. 
 I broke out into a sweat my heart beat hard and I began 
 to cry, like a fool. You were magnificent. And then in a 
 moment it was all over. He made me do exactly what he 
 wanted. This is the way I lied : T said that on the evening 
 of the twenty-fourth I unexpectedly came to Pamela's room
 
 398 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 and foilnd M. Jules there Yes, at Pamela's, the girl whom 
 I was going to marry, whom I still love and our marriage 
 will be the talk of the whole neighborhood. Never mind, he's 
 a great lawyer! Never mind! (To Justine) Give me some- 
 thing to drink, will you? 
 
 BOUSSEAU, MME. ROUSSEAU, MME. DU BROCARD (To Joseph) 
 Dear friend ! You showed yourself a fine fellow ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 The energy shown by Pamela makes me hopeful. I trem- 
 bled for a moment while she was giving evidence; the prose- 
 cuting attorney pressed her very hard and seemed to doubt 
 her veracity; she grew pale and I thought she was going to 
 faint. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 And what must my feelings have been ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Her self-sacrifice was wonderful. You don't realize all that 
 she has undergone for you; I, myself even, was deceived in 
 her; she was her own accuser, yet all the time was innocent. 
 Only one moment did she falter; but darting a rapid glance 
 at Jules, she suddenly rallied, a blush took the place of pallor 
 on her countenance, and we felt that she had saved her lover ; 
 in spite of the risk she was running, she repeated once more 
 before all those people the story of her own disgrace, and 
 then fell weeping into the arms of her mother. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Yes, she is a fine girl. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 But I must leave you; the summing up of the Judge will 
 come this afternoon.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 399 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 We must be going then. 
 
 DUPRE. 
 
 One moment ! Do not forget Pamela ! That young girl 
 has compromised her own honor for you and for him. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 As for me, I don't ask anything, but I haye been led to 
 
 expect 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD, MME. ROUSSEAU. 
 We can never pay our debt of gratitude to you. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Very good ; come, gentlemen, we must be starting. (Exeunt 
 Dupre and Rousseau.) 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 THE SAME PERSONS EXCEPTING DUPRE AND ROSSEAU. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD (stopping Joseph on his way out) 
 Listen to me ! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 What can I do for you ? 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 You see in what a state of anxiety we are ; don't fail to let 
 us know the least turn in our favor which the trial takes. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 Yes, keep us well informed on the whole business.
 
 400 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 You may rest assured of that But look here, I needn't 
 leave the court house to do that, I intend to see everything, 
 and to hear everything. But do you see that window there? 
 My seat is just under it; you watch that window, and if he 
 is declared innocent you will see me wave my handkerchief. 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU 
 Do not forget to do so. ' 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 No danger of that ; I am a poor chap, but I know what a 
 mother's heart is ! I am interested in this case, and for you, 
 and for Pamela, I have said a lot of things ! But when you 
 are fond of people you'll do anything, and then I have been 
 promised something you may count upon me. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 THE SAME PEESONS EXCEPTING DUPRE AND KOUSSEAU. 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU 
 
 Justine, open this window, and wait for the signal which 
 the young man has promised to give Ah ! but suppose my 
 boy were condemned ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 M. Dupr6 has spoken very hopefully about matters. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 But with regard to this good girl, this admirable Pamela 
 what must we do for her ? 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 We ought to do something to make her happy ! I acknowl-
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 401 
 
 edge that this young person is a succor sent from heaven! 
 Only a noble heart could make the sacrifice that she has made ! 
 She deserves a fortune for it ! Thirty thousand francs ! 
 that is what she ought to have. Jules owes his life to her. 
 (Aside) Poor boy, will his life be saved? (She looks toward 
 the window.) 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 Well, Justine, do you see anything? 
 
 JUSTINE 
 Nothing, madame. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 Nothing yet ! Yes you are right, sister, it is only the heart 
 that can prompt such noble actions. I do not know what you 
 and my husband would think about it, but if we considered 
 what was right, and had full regard to the happiness of Jules, 
 apart from the brilliant prospect of an alliance with the fam- 
 ily of De Verby, if my son loved her and she loved my son 
 it seems to me reasonable 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD AND JUSTINE 
 No! No! 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 Oh, sister ! say yes ! Has she not well deserved it ? But 
 there is some one coming. (The two women remain in their 
 seats with clasped hands.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND DE VERBY. 
 
 JUSTINE 
 M. le General de Yerbv!
 
 402 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU AND MME. DU BROCARD. 
 Ah! 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 Everything is going on well ! My presence was no longer 
 necessary, so I return to you. There are great hopes of your 
 son's acquittal. The charge of the presiding judge is decid' 
 edly in his favor. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU (joyfully) 
 Thank God ! 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 Jules had behaved admirably! My brother the Comte de 
 Verby is very much interested in his favor. My niece looks 
 upon him as a hero, and I know courage and honorable con- 
 duct when I see them. When once this affair has been settled, 
 we will hasten the marriage. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 We ought to tell you, sir, that we have made certain prom- 
 ises to this young girl. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 Never mind that, sister. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 Doubtless the young girl deserves some recompense, and I 
 suppose you will give her fifteen or twenty thousand francs, 
 that is due her. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 You see, sister, that M. de Verby is a noble and generous 
 man, and since he has fixed upon this sum, I think it will 
 be sufficient. 
 
 JUSTINE 
 
 M. Rousseau!
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 403 
 
 MME. DU BROCAED 
 
 brother! 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU 
 Dear husband! 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND ROUSSEAU. 
 
 DE VERBY (to Rousseau) 
 Have you good news ? 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 Is he acquitted ? 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 No, but it is rumored that he is going to be; the jury are 
 in consultation; I couldn't stay there any longer; I couldn't 
 stand the suspense; I told Antoine to hurry here as soon as 
 the verdict is given. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 We shall learn what the verdict is from this window; we 
 have agreed upon a signal to be given by that youth, Joseph 
 Binet. 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 Ah! keep a good look out, Justine. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 And how is Jules? What a trying time it must be for 
 him! 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 Not at all! The unfortunate boy astonishes me by his 
 coolness. Such courage as he has is worthy of a better cause 
 than that of conspiracy. To think of his having put us in 
 such a position ! But for this I might have been appointed 
 President of the Chamber of Commerce.
 
 404 
 
 You forget that, after all, his marriage with a member of 
 my family will make some amends for his trouble. 
 
 EOUSSEAD (struck by a sudden thought) 
 
 Ah, general ! When I left the court room, Jules stood sur- 
 rounded by his friends, among whom were M. Dupre and the 
 young girl Pamela. Your niece and Madame de Verby must 
 have noticed it, and I hope that you will try to explain mat- 
 ters to them. (While Rousseau speaks with the general the 
 ladies are watching for the signal.) 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 Eest assured of that! I will take care that Jules appears 
 as white as snow ! It is of very great importance to explain 
 this affair of the working-girl, otherwise the Comtesse de 
 Verby might oppose the marriage. We must explain away 
 this apparent amour, and she must be made to understand 
 that the girl's evidence was a piece of self-sacrifice for which 
 she had been paid. 
 
 KOUSSEAU 
 
 I certainly intend to do my duty towards that young girl. 
 1 shall give her eight or ten thousand francs. It seems to 
 me that that will be liberal, very liberal! 
 
 MME. KOUSSEAU (while Mme. du Brocard tries to 
 restrain her) 
 
 Ah! sir, but what of her honor? 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 
 .KOUSSEAU 
 
 Well, I suppose that some one will marry her.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 405 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND JOSEPH. 
 
 JOSEPH (dashing in) 
 
 Monsieur! Madame! Give me some cologne or some- 
 thing I beg you ! 
 
 ALL 
 Whatever can be the matter? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 M. Antoine, your footman, is bringing Pamela here. 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 Has anything happened ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 When she saw the jury come in to give their verdict she 
 was taken ill ! Her father and mother, who were in the crowd 
 at the other end of the court, couldn't stir. I cried out, and 
 the presiding judge made them put me out of court ! 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU 
 But Jules ! my son ! What did the jury say ! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I know nothing ! I had no eyes except for Pamela As for 
 your son, I suppose he is all right, but first with me comes 
 Pamela 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 But you must have seen how the jury looked I 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Oh, yes! The foreman of the jury looked so gloomy so 
 severe that I am quite persuaded (He shudders.)
 
 406 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 MME. EODSSEAU 
 My poor Jules ! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Here comes Antoine and Mile. Pamela. 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, ANTOINE AND PAMELA. 
 (They lead Pamela to a seat and give her smelling salts.) 
 
 MME. DU BEOCARD 
 My dear child ! 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAD 
 
 My daughter ! 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 Mademoiselle ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 I couldn't stand it any longer, the excitement was toe 
 great and the suspense was so cruel. I tried to brace up my 
 courage by the calmness of M. Jules while the jury was de- 
 liberating; the smile which he wore made me share his pre- 
 sentiment of coming release ! But I was chilled to the heart 
 when I looked at the pale, impassive countenance of M. 
 Dupre ! And then, the sound of the bell that announced the 
 return of the jury, and the murmur of anxiety that ran 
 through the court I was quite overcome ! A cold sweat 
 suffused my cheek and I fainted. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 As for me, I shouted out, and they threw me into the street. ' 
 
 DE VERBY (to Rousseau} 
 If by mischance
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 407 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 Sir! 
 
 DE VERBY (to Rousseau and the women) 
 
 If it should be found necessary to appeal the case (pointing 
 to Pamela), could we count upon her? 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 On her ? To the end ; I am sure of that. 
 
 MME. DU BROCAED 
 Pamela ! 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 Tell me, you who have shown yourself so good, so gen- 
 erous, if we should still have need of your unselfish, aid, 
 would you be ready? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Quite ready, sir! I have but one object, one single 
 thought ! and that is, to save M. Jules ! 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 She loves him, she loves him ! 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 Ah ! all that I have is at your disposal. (A murmur and 
 cries are heard; general alarm.) 
 
 ALL 
 
 What a noise they are making ! (Pamela totters to her feet; 
 Joseph runs to the window, where Justine is watching.) 
 Listen to their shouts ! 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 There's a crowd of people rushing down the steps of the 
 court, they are coming here!
 
 408 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 JUSTINE AND JOSEPH 
 It is M. Jules! 
 
 EOUSSEAU AND MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 My son ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD AND PAMELA 
 Jules ! (They rush forward to Jules.) 
 
 DE VERBY 
 He is acquitted ! 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND JULES (brought in by his mother 
 and his aunt and followed by his friends). 
 
 JULES (He flings himself into the arms of his mother; he 
 does not at first see Pamela, who is seated 
 
 in a corner near Joseph) 
 
 mother! Dear aunt! And my father! Here I am 
 restored to liberty again ! (To General de Verby and the 
 friends who have come with him) Let me thank you, general, 
 and you, my friends, for your kind sympathy. (After general 
 handshaking the friends depart.) 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 
 And so my son has at last come back to me ! It seems too 
 good to be true. 
 
 JOSEPH (to Pamela) 
 
 Well, and what of you ? He hasn't said a word to you, an 
 you are the only one he hasn't seen. 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Silence, Joseph, silence! (She retires to the end of the 
 stage.)
 
 PAMELA GIRAJD 409 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 Not only have you been acquitted, but you have also gained 
 a high place in the esteem of those who are interested in the 
 affair ! You have exhibited both courage and discretion, such 
 as have gratified us all. 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 Everybody has behaved well. Antoine, you have done 
 nobly ; you will end your life in this house. 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU (to Jules) 
 
 Let me express my gratitude to M. Adolph Durand ? (Jules 
 presents his friend.) 
 
 JULES 
 
 Yes, but my real deliverer, my guardian angel is poor 
 Pamela ! How well she understood my situation and her own 
 also ! What self-sacrifice she showed ! Can I ever forget her 
 emotion, her terror ! and then she fainted ! (Mme. Rous- 
 seau, who has been thinking of nothing else but her son, now 
 looks around for Pamela, sees her, and brings her up to 
 Jules.) Ah, Pamela ! Pamela ! My gratitude to you shall be 
 eternal ! 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Ah, M. Jules ! How happy I feel ! 
 
 JULES 
 
 We will never part again ? Will we, mother ? She shall be 
 your daughter! 
 
 DE VERBY (to Rousseau with vehemence) 
 
 My sister and my niece are expecting an answer; you will 
 have to exercise your authority, sir. This young man seems 
 to have a lively and romantic imagination. He is in danger 
 of missing his career through a too scrupulous sense of honor, 
 and a generosity which is tinged with folly !
 
 410 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 KOUSSEAU (in embarrassment) 
 The fact is 
 
 DE VERBY 
 But I have your word. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 Speak out, brother! 
 
 JULES i 
 
 Mother, do you answer them, and show yourself on my 
 side? 
 
 EOUSSEAU (talcing Jules by the hand) 
 Jules! I shall never forget the service which this young 
 girl has done us. I understand the promptings of your grati- 
 tude ; but as you are aware the Comte de Verby has our prom- 
 ise; it is not right that you should lightly sacrifice your 
 future! You are not wanting in energy, you have given 
 sufficient proof of that ! A young conspirator should be quite 
 able to extricate himself from such an affair as this. 
 
 DE VERBY (to Jules') 
 
 Undoubtedly! and our future diplomat will have a splen- 
 did chance. 
 
 KOUSSEAU 
 Moreover my wishes in the matter 
 
 JULES 
 father! 
 
 DUPRE (appearing) 
 Jules, I still have to take up your defence. 
 
 PAMELA AND JOSEPH. 
 M. Dupre"! 
 
 JULES 
 My friend!
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 411 
 
 MME. DU BBOCARD 
 It is the lawyer. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I see! I am no longer "my dear Monsieur Dupre"! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 Oh, you are always that ! But before paying our debt of 
 gratitude to you, we have to think about this young girl. 
 
 DUPRE (coldly) 
 I beg your pardon, madame. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 This man is going to spoil everything. 
 
 DUPRE (to Rousseau) 
 
 I heard all you said. It transcends all I have ever expe- 
 rienced. I could not have believed that ingratitude could 
 follow so soon on the acceptance of a benefit. Rich as you 
 are, rich as your son will be, what fairer task have you to 
 perform than that of satisfying your conscience? In saving 
 Jules, this girl has brought disgrace upon herself ! Can it be 
 possible that the fortune which you have so honorably gained 
 should have killed in your heart every generous sentiment, 
 and that self-interest alone (He sees Mme. du Brocard 
 making signs to her brother.) Ah! that is right, madame! 
 It is you that give the tone in this household ! And I forgot 
 while I was pleading with this gentleman, that you would be 
 at his elbow when I was no longer here. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 We have pledged our word to the Count and Countess of 
 Verby! Mile. Pamela, whose friend I shall be all my life, 
 did not effect the deliverance of my nephew on the under- 
 standing that she should blight his prospects.
 
 412 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 UOUSSEAU 
 
 There ought to be some basis of equality in a union by mar- 
 riage. My son will some day have an income of eighty thou- 
 sand francs. 
 
 JOSEPH (aside) 
 
 That suits me to a T. I shall marry her now. But this 
 fellow here, he talks more like a Jewish money-changer than 
 a father. 
 
 BE VERBY (to Dupre) 
 
 I think, sir, that your talent and character are such as 
 to claim our highest admiration and esteem. The Eousseau 
 family will always preserve your name in grateful memory; 
 but these private discussions must be carried on without wit- 
 nesses from the outside. M. Eousseau has given me his word 
 and I keep him to his promise ! (To Jules) Come, my young 
 friend, come to my brother's house; my niece is expecting 
 you. To-morrow we will sign the marriage contract. (Pamela 
 falls senseless on her chair.) 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Ah, what have you done ! Mile. Pamela ! 
 
 DUPRE AND JULES (darting towards her) 
 Good heavens ! 
 
 DE VERBY (taking Jules by the hand) 
 Come come 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Stop a moment ! I should have been glad to think that I 
 was not the only protector that was left her ! But listen, the 
 matter is not yet ended ! Pamela will certainly be arrested 
 as a false witness ! (Seizes the hand of De Verby.) And you 
 will all be ruined. (He leads off Pamela.) 
 
 JOSEPH (hiding behind a sofa) 
 Don't tell anybody that I am here ! 
 
 Curtain to the Fourth Act.
 
 PAMELA G1RAUD 413 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (The stage setting represents the private study in Dupre's 
 house. On one side is a bookcase,, on the other a desk. On the 
 left is a window hung with heavy, sweeping silk curtains.) 
 
 DUPRK, PAMELA, GIRAUD AND MADAME GIRAUD. 
 (Pamela is seated on a chair reading; her mother is stand- 
 ing in front of her; Giraud is examining the pictures on the 
 wall; Dupre is striding up and down ihe room.) 
 
 DUPRE (stopping, addresses Giraud) 
 
 Did you take your usual precautions in coming here this 
 morning ? 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 You may rest assured of that, sir ; when I come here I walk 
 with my head turned backwards ! I know well enough that 
 the least want of caution quickly results in misfortune. Your 
 heart, my daughter, has led you astray this time; perjury is 
 
 a terrible thing and I am afraid you are in a serious mess. 
 
 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 
 I agree with you. You must be very careful, Giraud, for 
 if any one were to follow you and discover that our poor 
 daughter was here in concealment, through the generosity 
 of M. Dupre 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Come now, enough of that! {He continues to stride has- 
 tily about the room.) What ingratitude! The Eousseau
 
 414 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 family are ignorant of what steps I have taken. They believe 
 that Pamela has been arrested, and none of them trouble 
 their heads about it ! They have sent Jules off to Brussels ; 
 De Verby is in the country ; and Rousseau carries on his busi- 
 ness at the Bourse as if nothing else was worth living for. 
 Money, ambition, are their sole objects. The higher feelings 
 count for nothing ! They all worship the golden calf. Money 
 makes them dance round their idol; the sight of it blinds 
 them. 
 
 PAMELA (who has been watching him, rises and approaches 
 
 him) 
 
 M. Dupre, you are agitated, you seem unwell. I fear it is 
 on my account. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Have you not shared my disgust at the hateful want of 
 feeling manifested by this family, who, as soon as their son 
 is acquitted, throw you aside as a mere tool that has served 
 their purpose? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 But what can we do about it, sir ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 Dear child, does your heart feel no bitterness against them ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 
 
 No, sir ! I am happier than any of them ; for I feel that 
 I have done a good deed. 
 
 MME. GIRAUD (embracing Pamela) 
 My poor dear daughter! 
 
 GIRAUD 
 This is the happiest moment of my life.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 415 
 
 DUPBE (addressing Pamela) 
 
 Mademoiselle, you are a noble girl! No one has better 
 ground for saying it than I, for it was I who came to you 
 imploring you to speak the truth ; and pure and honorable as 
 you are, you have compromised your character for the sake 
 of another. And now they repulse you and treat you with 
 contempt; but I look upon you with hearty admiration you 
 shall yet be happy, for I will make full reparation to you! 
 Pamela, I am forty-eight years old. I have some reputation, 
 and a fortune. I have spent my life as an honest man, and 
 will finish it as such ; will you be my wife ? 
 
 PAMELA (much moved) 
 I, sir? 
 
 GlEAUD 
 
 His wife! Our daughter his wife! What do you say to 
 that, Mme. Giraud? 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 Can it be possible ? 
 
 DUPEE 
 
 Why should you wonder at this? Let us have no idle 
 phrases. Put the question to your own heart and answer 
 yes or no Will you be my wife ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 You are a great man, sir, and I owe everything to you. Do 
 you really wish to add to the debt ? Ah ! my gratitude ! 
 
 DUPEE 
 
 Don't let me hear you use that word, it' spoils everything ! 
 The world is something that I despise ! And I render to it no 
 account of my conduct, my hatred or my love. From the 
 moment I saw your courage and your resignation I loved 
 you. Try to love me in return !
 
 416 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 PAMELA 
 Ah, sir, mdeed I willl 
 
 MME. GIRAUD 
 Could any one help loving you? 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 Sir, I am only a poor .porter. I repeat it, I am nothing but 
 a porter. You love our daughter, you have told her so. For- 
 give me my eyes are full of tears and that checks my utter- 
 ance. (He wipes his eyes.) Well, well, you do right to love 
 her! It proves that you have brains! for Pamela there 
 are a great many landowners' children who are her inferiors. 
 But it is humiliating for her to have parents such as us. 
 
 PAMELA 
 father! 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 You are a leader among men! Well, I and my wife, we 
 will go and hide ourselves somewhere far into the country ! 
 And on Sunday, at the hour of mass, you will say, "They 
 are praying to God for us!" (Pamela Jcisses her parents.) 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 You are good people, and to think that such as you have 
 neither title nor fortune ! And if you are pining for your 
 country home, you shall return there and live there in happi- 
 ness and tranquillity, and I will make provision for you. 
 
 GIRAUD AND MME. GIRADD 
 Oh ! our gratitude 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 That word ^igain I should like to cut it out of the dic- 
 tionary ! Meanwhile I intend to take you both with me into 
 the country, so set about packing up.
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 417 
 
 GiRAUD 
 
 Sir! 
 
 DOPBlS 
 
 Well, what is it? 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 Poor Joseph Binet is also in danger. He does not know 
 that we are all here. But three days ago, he came to see your 
 servant and seemed scared almost to death, and he is hidden 
 here, as in a sanctuary, up in the attic. 
 
 DUPRE 
 Call him down-stairs. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 
 He will not come, sir; he is too much afraid of heing 
 arrested they pass him up food through a hole in the ceil- 
 ing! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 He will soon be at liberty, I hope. I am expecting a letter 
 which will relieve all your minds. 
 
 GIRAUD 
 At once? 
 
 DUPRE 
 I expect the letter this evening. 
 
 GIRAUD (to his wife} 
 
 I am going to make my way cautiously to the house. 
 (Madame Giraud accompanies him, and gives him advice. 
 Pamela rises to follow her.) 
 
 DUPRE (restraining Pamela) 
 You are not in love with this Binet, are you ? 
 
 PAMELA 
 
 Oh, never!
 
 418 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 And the other? 
 
 PAMELA (struggling with her feelings) 
 I shall love none but you ! (She starts to leave the room, 
 noise is heard in the antechamber. Jules appears.) 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 PAMELA, DUPRE AND JULES. 
 
 JULES (to the servants) 
 
 Let me pass in ! I tell you I must speak to him at once ! 
 (Noticing Dupre) Ah, sir! What has become of Pamela? 
 Is she at liberty? Is she safe? 
 
 PAMELA (stopping at the door) 
 Jules! 
 
 JULES 
 Good heavens ! you here ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 And you, sir, I thought you were at Brussels? 
 
 JULES 
 
 Yes, they sent me away against my will, and I yielded to 
 them ! Reared as I have been in obedience, I still tremble 
 before my family ! But I carried away with me the memory 
 of what I had left behind ! It has taken me six months to 
 realize the situation, and I now acknowledge that I risked my 
 life in order to obtain the hand of Mile, de Verby, that I 
 might gratify the ambition of my family, or, if you like, might 
 hnmor my own vanity. I hoped some day to be a man of title, 
 I, the son of a rich stock-broker ! Then I met Pamela, and I
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 419 
 
 fell in love with her ! The rest you know ! What was a mere 
 sentiment has now become a duty, and every hour that has 
 kept me from her I have felt that obedience to my family was 
 rank cowardice ; and while they believe I am far away, I have 
 returned ! You told me she had been arrested and to think 
 that I should run away (to both of them) without coming to 
 see you, who had been my deliverer, and will be hers also. 
 
 DUPRE (looking at them) 
 Good ! very good ! He is an honorable fellow after all. 
 
 PAMELA (aside, drying her tears) 
 Thank God for that ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 What do you expect to do ? What are your plnns ? 
 
 JULES 
 
 What are my plans? To unite my fortune with hers. If 
 necessary, to forfeit everything for her, and under God's pro- 
 tection to say to her, "Pamela, will you be mine ?" 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 The deuce you say ! But there is a slight difficulty in the 
 way for I am going to marry her myself ! 
 
 JULES (in great astonishment) 
 You? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Yes, I ! (Pamela casts down her eyes.) I have no family 
 to oppose my wishes. 
 
 JULES 
 I will win over mine. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 They will send you off to Brussels again.
 
 420 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 JULES 
 
 I must run and find my mother ; my courage has returned ! 
 Were I to forfeit the favor of my father, were my aunt to cut 
 me off with a sou, 1 would stand my ground. If I did other- 
 wise, I should be destitute of self-respect, I should prove my- 
 self a soulless coward. After that, is there any hope for me ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 Do you ask such a question of me ? 
 
 JULES 
 Pamela, answer, I implore you ! 
 
 PAMELA (to Dupre) 
 I have given you my word, sir. 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND A SERVANT. (The latter hands a 
 card to Dupre.) 
 
 DUPRE (looking at the card with great surprise} 
 How is this? (To Jules) Do you know where M. de 
 Verby is ? 
 
 JULES 
 
 He is in Normandy, staying with his brother, Comte de 
 Verby. 
 
 DUPRE (looTcing at the card) 
 Very good. Now you had better go and find your mother. 
 
 JULES 
 But you promise me?
 
 PAMELA G1RAUD 421 
 
 DUPRE 
 I promise nothing. 
 
 JULES 
 
 Good-bye, Pamela! (Aside, as he goes out) I will come 
 back soon. 
 
 DUPRE (turning towards Pamela, after the departure of 
 Jules) 
 
 Must he come back again ? 
 
 PAMELA (with deep emotion, throwing herself into his arms) 
 Ah! sir! (Exit.) 
 
 DUPRE (looking after her and wiping away a tear) 
 
 Gratitude, forsooth ! (Opening a narrow secret door.) Come 
 in, general ; come in ! 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 DUPRE AND DE VERBY. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Strange, sir, to find you here, when every one believes that 
 you are fifty leagues away from Paris. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 I arrived this morning. 
 
 DUPRE 
 Without doubt some powerful motive brought you here? 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 No selfish motive ; but I couldn't remain wholly indifferent 
 to the affairs of others ! You may prove useful to me.
 
 422 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I shall be only too happy to have an opportunity of serving 
 you. 
 
 DE VEEBY 
 
 M. Dupre, the circumstances under which we ha\e become 
 acquainted have put me in a position fully to appreciate your 
 value. You occupy the first place among the men whose talents 
 and character claim my admiration. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Ah ! sir, you compel me to say that you, a veteran of the 
 Empire, have always seemed to me by your loyalty and your 
 independence to be a fitting representative of that glorious 
 epoch. (Aside) I hope I have paid him back in full. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 I suppose I may rely upon you for assistance? 
 
 DUPRE 
 Certainly. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 I would like to ask for some information with regard to 
 young Pamela Giraud. 
 
 DUPRE 
 I felt sure that was your object. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 The Rousseau family have behaved abominably. 
 
 DUPRE 
 Would you have behaved any better? 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 I intend to Espouse her cause ! Since her arrest as a per- 
 jurer, how do things go on ?
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 423 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 That can have very little interest for you. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 That may be true, but 
 
 DUPRE (aside) 
 
 He is trying to make me talk in order to find out whether 
 he is likely to be compromised in the case. (Aloud) General 
 de Verby, there are some men who cannot be seen through, 
 either in their plans or in their thoughts; the actions and 
 events which they give rise to alone reveal and explain such 
 men. These are the strong men. I humbly beg that you will 
 pardon my frankness when I say that I don't look upon you 
 as being one of them. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 Sir ! what language to use to me ! You are a singular man ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 More than that! I believe that I am an original man! 
 Listen to me. You throw out hints to me, and you think that 
 as a future ambassador you can try on me your diplomatic 
 methods ; but you have chosen the wrong man and I am going 
 to tell you something, which you will take no pleasure in 
 learning. You are ambitious, but you are also prudent, and 
 you have taken the lead in a certain conspiracy. The plot 
 failed, and without worrying yourself about those whom you 
 had pushed to the front, and who eagerly strove for success, 
 you have yourself sneaked out of the way. As a political 
 renegade you have proved your independence by burning 
 incense to the new dynasty! And you expect as a reward to 
 be made ambassador to Turin ! In a month's time you will 
 receive your credentials; meanwhile Pamela is arrested, you 
 have been seen at her house, you may possibly be compromised 
 by her trial for perjury! Then you rush to me, trembling 
 with the fear of being unmasked, of losing the promotion
 
 424 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 which has caused you so many efforts to attain! You come 
 to me with an air of obsequiousness, and with the word of 
 flattery, expecting to make me your dupe, and thus to show 
 your sincerity ! Well, you have sufficient reason for alarm 
 Pamela is in the hands of justice, and she has told all. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 What then is to be done ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I have one suggestion to make: Write to Jules that you 
 release him from his engagement, and that Mile, de Verby 
 withdraws her promise to be his wife. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 Is that your advice ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 You find that the Eousseau family have behaved abomin- 
 ably, and you ought to despise them ! 
 
 DE VERBY 
 But you know engagements of this sort 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 111 tell you what I know; I know that your private for- 
 tune is not equal to the position which you aspire to. Mme. 
 du Brocard, whose wealth is equal to her pride, ought to come 
 to your assistance, if this alliance 
 
 DE VERBY 
 Sir ! How dare you to affront my dignity in this way ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Whether what I say be true or false, do what I tell you! 
 If you agree, I will endeavor to save you from being com-
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 425 
 
 promised. But write or get out of the .difficulty the best 
 way you can. But stay, I hear some clients coming. 
 
 DE VERBY 
 
 I don't want to see anybody ! Everybody, even the Eousseau 
 family, believes that I have left the city. 
 
 A SERVANT (announcing a visitor) 
 Madame du Brocard ! 
 
 DE VERBY 
 Oh, heavens ! (Rushes into an office on the right.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 DUPRE AND MADAME DU BROCARD. (She enters, her face 
 idden by a heavy black veil which she cautiously raises.) 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 I have been here several times without being lucky enough 
 to find you in. We are quite alone here? 
 
 DUPRE (smiling) 
 Quite alone! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 And so this harrowing affair has broken out afresh? 
 
 DUPRE 
 It has, unhappily! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 That wretched young man ! If I had not superintended 
 his education, I would disinherit him ! My life at present is
 
 426 PAMELA G1RAUD 
 
 not worth living.- Is it possible that I, whose conduct and 
 principles have won the esteem of all, should be involved in 
 all this trouble ? And yet on this occasion the only thing that 
 gives me any anxiety is my conduct towards the Girauds! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 I can well believe it, for it was you who led astray and 
 who induced Pamela to act as she did ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 I feel, sir, that it is always a mistake to associate with 
 people of a certain class say, with a Bonapartist a man 
 who has neither conscience nor heart. (Verby, who has been 
 listening , shrinks back with a gesture of rage.) 
 
 DUPRE 
 You always seemed to have such a high opinion of him! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 His family was highly thought of ! And the prospect of 
 this brilliant marriage ! I always dreamt of a distinguished 
 future for my nephew. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 But you are forgetting the general's affection for you, his 
 unselfishness. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 His affection ! His unselfishness ! The general does not 
 possess a sou, and I had promised him a hundred thousand 
 francs, when once the marriage contract was signed. 
 
 DUPRE (coughs loudly, as he turns in the direction of 
 
 De Verby) 
 . Oh ! indeed ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 I am come to you secretly, and in confidence, in spite of all
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 427 
 
 that has been said by this M. de Verby, who avers that you are 
 a half-rate lawyer! He has said the most frightful things 
 about you, and I come now to beg that you will extricate me 
 from this difficulty. I will give you whatever money you 
 demand. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 What I wish above all is that you promise to let your nephew 
 marry whom he chooses, and give him the fortune you had 
 designed for him, in case he married Mile, de Verby. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 One moment; you said, whom he pleased? 
 
 DUPRE 
 Give me your answer ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 But I ought to know. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Very well then, you must extricate yourself without my 
 assistance. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 
 You are taking advantage of my situation ! Ah ! some one 
 is coming ! 
 
 DUPRE (looking towards the newcomers) 
 It is some of your own family ! 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD (peering cautiously) 
 It is my brother-in-law Rousseau What is he up to now? 
 He swore to me that he would keep quiet! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 You also took an oath. In fact, there has been a great deal 
 of swearing in your family lately.
 
 428 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 MME. DD BROCARD 
 
 I hope I shall be able to hear what he has to say ! (Rous- 
 seau appears with his wife. Mme. du Brocard conceals her- 
 self behind the curtain.) 
 
 DUPRE (looking at her) 
 
 Very good ! But if these two want to hide themselves, I 
 don't know where I shall put them! 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 DUPRE, ROUSSEAU AND MADAME ROUSSEAU. 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 Sir, we are at our wits' end Madame du Brocard, my sis- 
 ter-in-law, came this morning and told us all sorts of stories. 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 Sir, I am in the most serious alarm. 
 
 DUPRE (offering her a seat) 
 Pray be seated, madame. 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 If all she says be true, my son is still in difficulties. 
 
 DUPRE 
 I pity you ; I do indeed ! 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 It seems as if I should never get free ! This unfortunate 
 affair has lasted for six months, and it seems to have cut ten 
 years off my life. I have been forced to neglect the most
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 429 
 
 magnificent speculations, financial combinations of absolute 
 certitude, and to let them pass into the hands of others. And 
 then came the trial ! But when I thought the affair was all 
 over, I have been compelled once more to leave my business, 
 and to spend my precious time in these interviews and solicita- 
 tions. 
 
 DUPRE 
 I pity you ; I do indeed ! 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAD 
 Meanwhile it is impossible for me 
 
 EOUSSEAD 
 
 It is all your fault, and that of your family. Mme. du Bro- 
 card, who at first used always to call me "my dear Rousseau" 
 ^because I had a few hundred thousand crowns 
 
 DUPRE 
 Such a sum is a fine varnish for a man. 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 From pride and ambition, she threw herself at the head of 
 M. de Verby. (De Verby and Mme. du Brocard listen.) 
 Pretty couple they are ! Two charming characters, one a mili- 
 tary lobbyist, and the other an old hypocritical devotee! 
 (The two withdraw their heads quickly.) 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 Sir, she is my sister! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Really, you are going too far! 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 
 You do not know them ! Sir, T address you once again, 
 there is sure to be a new trial. What has become of that girl ?
 
 430 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 DUPRE . 
 
 That girl is to be my wife, sir. 
 
 EOUSSEAU AND MME. KOUSSEATJ 
 
 Your wife! 
 
 DE VERBY AND MME. DD BROCARD 
 His wife ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Yes, I shall marry her as soon as she regains her liberty 
 that is, provided she doesn't become the wife of your son ! 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 The wife of my son ! 
 
 MME. ROUSSEAU 
 What did he say? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 What is the matter ? Does that astonish you ? You're bound 
 to entertain this proposal and I demand that you do so. 
 
 ROUSSEAU (ironically) 
 
 Ah ! M. Dupre, I don't care a brass button about my son's 
 union with Mile, de Verby the niece of a disreputable man ! 
 It was that fool of a Madame du Brocard who tried to bring 
 about this grand match. But to come down to a daughter of 
 a porter 
 
 DUPRE 
 Her father is no longer that, sir ! 
 
 ROUSSEAU 
 What do you mean? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 He lost his place through your son, and he intends return- 
 ing to the country, to live on the money (Rousseau listens
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 431 
 
 attentively) on the money which you have promised to give 
 him. 
 
 KOUSSEAU 
 Ah ! you are joking ! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 On the contrary, I am quite serious. Your son will marry 
 their daughter and you will provide a pension for the old 
 people. 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 
 Sir 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND JOSEPH (coming in pale and faint). 
 
 JOSEPH 
 M. Dupre, M. Dupre, save me ! 
 
 ALL THREE 
 What has happened? What is the matter? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 Soldiers ! Mounted soldiers are coming to arrest me ! 
 
 DDPRE 
 
 Hold your tongue ! Hold your tongue ! (Everybody seems 
 alarmed. Dupre looks with anxiety towards the room in 
 which is Pamela. To Joseph) To arrest you? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 I saw one of them. Don't you hear him? He is coming 
 up-stairs. Hide me! (He tries to hide himself in the small 
 room, from which De Verby comes out with a cry.) Ah ! (He
 
 432 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 gets behind the curtain and Mme. du Brocard rushes furth 
 with a shriek.) Oh, heavens! 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU 
 My sister ! 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 M. de Verby ! (The door opens.) 
 
 JOSEPH (fatting exhausted over a chair) 
 We are all nabbed ! 
 
 THE SERVANT (entering, to Dupre) 
 A message from the Keeper of the Seals. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 The Keeper of the Seals ! That must be about me ! 
 
 DUPRE (advancing with a serious face and addressing the 
 four others) 
 
 I shall now leave you all four face to face you whose 
 mutual love and esteem is so great. Ponder well all I have 
 said to you; she who sacrificed all for you, has been despised 
 and humiliated, both for you and by you. It is yours to 
 make full reparation to her to make it to-day this very 
 instant in this very room. And then, we can take measures 
 by which all can obtain deliverance, if indeed you are worth 
 the trouble it will cost me. (Exit Dupre.)
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 433 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS (with the exception of Dupre. They 
 stand looking awkwardly at each 
 other for a moment). 
 
 JOSEPH (going up to them) 
 
 We are a nice lot of people! (To De Verby) I should 
 like to know when we are put in prison, whether you are going 
 to look out for me, for my pocket is as light as my heart 
 is heavy. (De Verby turns his back on him. To Rousseau) 
 You know well enough that I was promised something for 
 my services. (Rousseau withdraws from him without answer- 
 ing. To Mme. du Brocard) Tell me now, wasn't something 
 promised to me ? 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 We will see about that later. 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU 
 
 But what do you fear ? What are you doing in this place ? 
 Were you pursued by any one ? 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 Not at all. I have been four days in this house, hidden 
 like so much vermin in the garret. I came here because the 
 old Grraud people were not to be found in their quarters. 
 They have been carried off somewhere. Pamela has also dis- 
 appeared she is doubtless in hiding. I had no particular 
 desire to run any risk ; I admit that I lied to the judge. If I 
 am condemned I will obtain my freedom by making a few 
 startling revelations ; I will tell on everybody ! 
 
 DE VERBY (with energy) 
 It must be done ! (Sits at the table and writes.)
 
 434 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 
 
 MME. DU BROCABD 
 
 Jules, Jules! wretched child, you are the cause of all 
 this ! 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU (to her husband) 
 
 You see, this lawyer has got you all in his power ! You 
 will have to agree to his terms. (De Verby rises from the 
 table. Mme. du Brocard takes his place and begins to write.) 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU (to her husband) 
 My dear, I implore you ! 
 
 EOUSSEAU (with decision) 
 
 By heavens ! I shall promise to this devil of a lawyer all 
 that he asks of me; but Jules is at Brussels. 
 
 ( The door opens, Joseph cries out in alarm, but it is Dupre 
 who enters.) 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND DUPRE. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 How is this ? (Mme. du Brocard hands him the letter she 
 has been writing; De Verby hands him his; and it is passed 
 over to Rousseau who reads it with astonishment; De Verby 
 casts a furious glance at Dupre and the Rousseau family, and 
 dashes out of the room. To Rousseau) And what decision 
 have you made, sir? 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 I shall let my son do exactly what he wants in the matter. 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU 
 Dear husband !
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 435 
 
 DUPEE (aside) 
 He thinks that Jules is out of town. 
 
 KOUSSEAU 
 At present Jules is at Brussels, and he must return at once. 
 
 DUPBE 
 
 That is perfectly fair ! It is quite clear that I can't demand 
 anything at this moment of you, so long as he is away ; to do 
 so would be absurd. 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 Certainly ! We can settle matters later. 
 
 DUPEE 
 
 Yes, as soon as he returns. 
 
 EOUSSEAU 
 
 Oh! as soon as he returns. (Aside) I will take pretty 
 good care that he remains where he is. 
 
 DUPEE (going towards the door on the left) 
 Come in, young man, and thank your family, who have 
 given their full consent to your marriage. 
 
 MME. EOUSSEAU 
 It is Jules ! 
 
 MME. DU BEOCAED 
 It is my nephew ! 
 
 JULES 
 Can it be possible? 
 
 DUPBE (darting towards another room) 
 And you, Pamela, my child, my daughter ! embrace your 
 husband ! (Jnles rushes towards her.)
 
 436 PAMELA GIRAUD 
 
 MME. DU BROCAED (to Rousseau) 
 How has all this come about ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Pamela never was arrested. There is no likelihood of her 
 ever being. I haven't a title of nobility. I am not the brother 
 of a peer of France, but still I have some influence. The self- 
 sacrifice of this poor girl has aroused the sympathy of the gov- 
 ernment the indictment has been quashed. The Keeper of 
 the Seals has sent me word of this by an orderly on horseback, 
 whom this simpleton took for a regiment of soldiers in pursuit 
 of him. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 
 It is very hard to see plainly through a garret window. 
 
 MME. DU BROCARD 
 Sir, you have caught us by surprise ; I take back my promise. 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 But I still have possession of your letter. Do you wish to 
 have a lawsuit about it ? Very well, I will appear against you 
 on the other side. 
 
 GIRAUD AND MME. GIRAUD (entering and approaching Dupre) 
 
 M. Dupr6! 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Are you satisfied with me? (In the meantime Jules and 
 Mme. Rousseau have been imploring Rousseau to yield his 
 consent; he hesitates, but at last Icisses Pamela on the fore- 
 head. Dupre approaches Rousseau and, seeing him kiss 
 Pamela, wrings his hand.} You have done well, sir. (Then 
 turning to Jules} Will you make her happy? 
 
 JULES 
 
 Ah, my friend, you need not ask ! (Pamela Icisses the hand 
 of Dupre.)
 
 PAMELA GIRAUD 437 
 
 JOSEPH (to Dupre) 
 
 What a fool I have been ! Well, he is going to marry her, 
 and I am actually glad for them ! But am I not to get some- 
 thing out of all this ? 
 
 DUPRE 
 
 Certainly, you shall have all the fees that come to me from 
 the lawsuit. 
 
 JOSEPH 
 You may count on my gratitude. 
 
 DUPBE 
 That will be receipt in full I 
 
 Final Curtain.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 
 A DRAMA IN FIVE ACTS 
 
 Presented for the First Time in Paris, at the ThSatre-Historique, 
 May 25, 1848.
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 La Mardtre (The Stepmother) is characterized as an 
 "intimate" drama in five acts and eight tableaux. It was 
 first presented at the Theatre-Historique, Paris, May 25, 
 1848. Its publication, by Michel Levy in the same year, was 
 in brochure form. The time is just a little later than that 
 of Pamela Giraud, and one similar motif is found in the 
 Napoleonic influence still at work for years after Waterloo. 
 Though this influence is apparently far beneath the surface, 
 and does not here manifest itself in open plottings, it is never- 
 theless vital enough to destroy the happiness of a home 
 when mixed in the mortar of a woman's jealousy. The action 
 is confined to a single chateau in Normandy. A considerable 
 psychological element is introduced. The play is a genuine 
 tragedy, built upon tense, striking lines. It is strong and 
 modern enough to be suitable, with some changes, for our 
 present day stage. The day of the playwright's immaturity 
 (noticed in the three preceding plays) is past. With this, 
 as with all of Balzac's work, he improved by slow, laborious 
 plodding, gaining experience from repeated efforts until suc- 
 cess was attained. 
 
 In his dramas he was not to succeed at the first trial, nor 
 the second, nor the third. But here at the fourth he has nearly 
 grasped the secret of a successful play. While at the fifth 
 Mercadet we are quite ready to cry "Bravo !" Who knows, 
 if he had lived longer (these plays were written in the last 
 years of their author's life), to what dramatic heights Balzac 
 might have attained! 
 
 (v)
 
 vi INTRODUCTION 
 
 To Mercadet then we turn for the most striking example 
 of the playwright's powers. This first appeared as Le Faiseur 
 (The Speculator), being originally written in 1838-40. Jus- 
 tice compels us to state, however, that another hand is present 
 in the perfected play. In the original it was a comedy in five 
 acts; but this was revamped and reduced to three acts by 
 M. d'Ennery, before its presentation at the Gymnase Theatre, 
 August 24, 1851. It was then re-christened Mercadet, and 
 took its place as a 12mo brochure in the "Theatrical Library" 
 in the same year. The original five-act version was first 
 published as Mercadet, in Le Pays, August 28, 1851 (prob- 
 ably called forth by the presentation of the play four days 
 earlier), and then appeared in book form, as Le Faiseur, 
 from the press of Cadot, in 1853. It is of interest to note 
 that the play was not presented till over a year subsequent 
 to Balzac's death. The presented version in three acts has 
 generally been regarded as the more acceptable, M. de Loven- 
 joul, the Balzacian commentator, recognizing its superior 
 claims. It is the form now included in current French 
 editions, and the one followed in the present volume. 
 
 Although Mercadet, like the others, excited the ridicule of 
 supercilious critics, it has proven superior to them and to 
 time. As early as the year 1869, the Comedie Franchise 
 the standard French stage added Mercadet to its repertory; 
 and more than one company in other theatres have scored 
 success in its representation. The play contains situations 
 full of bubbling humor and biting satire. Its motif is not 
 sentiment. Instead, it inveighs against that spirit of greed 
 and lust for gain which places a money value even upon 
 affection. But during all the arraignment, Balzac, the born 
 speculator, cannot conceal a sympathy for the wily Mercadet
 
 INTRODUCTION vii 
 
 while the promoter's manoeuvres to escape his creditors must 
 have been a recollection in part of some of Balzac's own 
 pathetic struggles. For, like Dumas pere, Balzac was never 
 able to square the debit side of his books be his income 
 never so great. The author of Cesar Birotteau and Le Maison 
 Nucingen here allows one more view of the seamy side of 
 business. 
 
 Structurally, too, the play is successful. With so great an 
 element of chance in the schemes of the speculator, it would 
 have been easy to transcend the limits of the probable. But 
 the author is careful to maintain his balances. Situation 
 succeeds plot, and catastrophe situation, until the final mo- 
 ment when the absconding partner actually arrives, to the 
 astonishment of Mercadet more than all the rest. And with 
 Mercadet's joyful exclamation, "I am a creditor!" the play 
 has reached its logical final curtain. 
 
 J. WALKER MCSPADDEN.
 
 PERSONS OF THE PLAY 
 
 COMTE DE GRANDCHAMP, a Napoleonic General. 
 EUGENE KAMEL, a State's Attorney. 
 FERDINAND MARCANDAL. 
 DOCTOR VERNON. 
 GODARD. 
 
 AN INVESTIGATING MAGISTRATE. 
 FELIX, servant to General de Grandchamp. 
 CHAMPAGNE, a foreman. 
 BAUDRILLON, a druggist. 
 
 XAPOLEON, son to General de Grandchamp by his second 
 wife. 
 
 GERTRUDE, second wife to General de Grandchamp. 
 PAULINE, daughter to General de Grandchamp by his first 
 wife. 
 
 MARGUERITE, maid to Pauline. 
 
 GENDARMES, SHERIFF'S OFFICER, THE CLERGY. 
 
 SCENE: Chateau of the General de Grandchamp, near 
 Louviers, Normandy. TIME: 1829.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (A richly decorated drawing-room; on the walls are portraits 
 of Napoleon I. and his son. The entry is by a large" 
 double glass door, which opens on a roofed veranda and 
 leads by a short stairway to a park. The door of Paul- 
 ine's apartments are on the right; those of the General 
 and his wife are on the left. On the left side of the 
 central doorway is a table, and on the right is a cabinet. 
 A vase full of flowers stands by the entrance to Pauline's 
 room. A richly carved marble mantel, with a bronze 
 clock and candelabras, faces these apartments. In the 
 front of the stage are two sofas, one on the left, the other 
 on the right. Gertrude enters, carrying the flowers 
 which she has just plucked, and puts them in the vase.) 
 
 GERTRUDE AND THE GENERAL. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 I assure you, my dear, that it would be unwise to defer any 
 longer giving your daughter in marriage. She is now twenty- 
 two. Pauline has been very slow in making her choice : and, 
 in such a case, it is the duty of parents to see that their chil- 
 dren are settled. Moreover, I am very much interested in her. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 In what way? 
 
 (5)
 
 6 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 The position of a stepmother is always open to suspicion; 
 and for some time it has been rumored in Louviers that I am 
 the person who throws obstacles in the way of Pauline's 
 marriage. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 That is merely the idle gossip of little towns. I should 
 like to cut out some of those silly tongues. And to think that 
 they should attack you of all people, Gertrude, who have been 
 a real mother to Pauline whom you have educated most 
 excellently ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 It is the way of the world ! They will never forgive us for 
 living so close to the town, yet never entering it. The society 
 of the place revenges itself upon us for slighting it. Do you 
 think that our happiness can escape envy ? Even our doctor 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Do you mean Vernon ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Yes, Vernon is very envious of you; he is vexed to think 
 that he has never been able to inspire any woman with such 
 affection as I have for you. Moreover, he pretends that I am 
 merely playing a part, as if I could do it for twelve years ! 
 Rather unlikely, I should think. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 No woman could keep up the pretence for twelve years 
 without being found out. The idea is absurd ! and Vernon 
 also is 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Oh, he is only joking! And so, as I told you before, you 
 had better see Godard. I am astonished that he has not yet
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 7 
 
 arrived. He is so rich that it would be folly to refuse him. 
 He is in love with Pauline, and although he has his faults, 
 and is somewhat provincial, he is quite able to make her happy. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I have left Pauline quite free to choose a husband for 
 herself. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 There is no cause for anxiety. A girl so gentle, so well 
 brought up, so well behaved, is sure to do right. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Gentle, did you say ? She is headstrong, like her father. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 She, headstrong? And you, come now, do you not always 
 act as I wish? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 You are an angel, and always wish what pleases me! By 
 the bye, Vernon takes dinner with us after his autopsy. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Was it necessary to tell me that? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I only told you, in order that he might hare his favorite 
 wines. 
 
 FELIX (enters, announcing) 
 Monsieur de Eimonville! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Ask him in.
 
 8 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE (making a sign to Felix to arrange the vase of 
 
 flowers) 
 
 I will go to Pauline's room, while you are talking business. 
 I should like to superintend the arrangement of her toilet. 
 Young people do not always understand what is most becom- 
 ing to them. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 She has no expense spared her ! During the last eighteen 
 months her dress has cost twice as much as it previously did ; 
 after all, poor girl, it is the only amusement she has. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 How can you say it is her only amusement while she has 
 the privilege of living with us ! If it were not my happy lot 
 to be your wife, I should like to be your daughter. I will 
 never leave you, not I ! Did you say for the last eighteen 
 months? That is singular! Well, when I come to think of 
 it, she has begun to care more about laces, jewels, and other 
 pretty things. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 She is quite rich enough to indulge her tastes. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 And she is now of age. (Aside) Her fondness of dress is 
 the smoke. Can there be any fire? (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 
 THE GENERAL (alone) 
 
 What a pearl among women ! Thus I am made happy after 
 twenty-six campaigns, a dozen wounds, and the death of an 
 angel, whose place she has taken in my heart; truly a kind
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 Providence owed me some such recompense as this, if it were 
 only to console me for the death of the Emperor. 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 
 GODAED AND THE GENERAL. 
 
 GODARD (entering) 
 Well, General! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Ah ! good day, Godard ! I hope you are come to spend the 
 day with us? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 I thought perhaps I might spend the week, General, if you 
 should regard favorably the request which I shall venture to 
 make of you. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Go in and win ! I know what request you mean My wife 
 is on your side. Ah, Godard, you have attacked the fortress 
 at its weak point ! 
 
 GODARD 
 
 General, you are an old soldier, and have no taste for mere 
 phrases. In all your undertakings you go straight ahead, as 
 you did when under fire. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Straight and facing the whole battery. 
 
 
 
 GODARD 
 That suits me well, for I am rather timid.
 
 10 
 
 You! I owe you, my dear friend, an apology; I took you 
 for a man who was too well aware of his own worth. 
 
 GODAED 
 
 You took me to be conceited ! But General, as a matter of 
 fact, I intend to marry because I don't know how to pay my 
 court to women. 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 
 What a civilian! (Aloud) How is this? You talk like an 
 old man, and that is not the way to win my daughter. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Do not misunderstand me. I have a warm heart; I wish 
 only to feel sure that I shall be accepted. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 That means that you don't mind attacking unwalled towns. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 That is not it at all, General. You quite alarm me with 
 your banter. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 What do you mean then? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 I understand nothing about the tricks of women. I know 
 no more when their yes means no, than when their no means 
 yes ; and when I am in love, I wish to be loved in return. 
 
 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 With such ideas as those he has precious little chance.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 11 
 
 GODAED 
 
 There are plenty of men like me, men who are supremely 
 bored by this little warfare of manners and whims. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 But there is something also delightful in it, I mean in the 
 feminine show of resistance, which gives one the pleasure of 
 overcoming it. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Thank you, nothing of that sort for me ! When I am hun- 
 gry, I 'do not wish to coquette with my soup. I like to have 
 things decided, and care very little how the decision is arrived 
 at, although I do come from Normandy. In the world, I see 
 coxcombs who creep into the favor of women by saying to 
 them, "Ah ! madame, what a pretty frock you have on. Your 
 taste is perfect. You are the only person who could wear 
 that," and starting from such speeches as that they go on 
 and on and gain their end. They are wonderful fellows, 
 upon my honor ! I don't see how they reach success by such 
 idle talk. I should beat about the bush through all eternity 
 before I could tell a pretty woman the effect she has made 
 on me. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 The men of the Empire were not of that sort. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 It is on account of that, that I put on a bold face ! This 
 boldness when backed by an income of forty thousand francs 
 is accepted without protest, and wins its way to the front. 
 That is why you took me for a good match. So long as there 
 are no mortgages on the rich pasture lands of the Auge Val- 
 ley, so long as one possesses a fine chateau, well furnished for 
 my wife need bring with her nothing but her trousseau, since 
 she will find there even the cashmeres and laces of my late 
 mother when a man has all that, General, he has got all the
 
 12 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 courage he need have. Besides, I am now Monsieur de Rimon- 
 ville. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 No, you're only Godard. 
 
 GODAED 
 Godard de Eimonville. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Godard for short. 
 
 * 
 GODAED 
 
 General, you are trying my patience. 
 
 THE GENEEAL 
 
 As for me, it would try my patience to see a man, even if 
 he were my son-in-law, deny his father; and your father, a 
 right honest man, used himself to drive his beeves from Caen 
 to Poissy, and all along the road was known as Godard 
 Father Godard. 
 
 GODAED 
 He was highly thought of. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 He was, in his own class. But I see what's the matter; as 
 his cattle provided you with an income of forty thousand 
 francs, you are counting upon other animals to give you 
 the name of De Eimonville. 
 
 GODAED 
 
 Now come, General, you had better consult Mile. Paul- 
 ine; she belongs to her own epoch that she does. We are 
 now in the year 1829 and Charles X. is king. She would 
 sooner hear the valet call out, as she left a ballroom, "the 
 carriage of Madame de Rimonville," than, "the carriage of 
 Madame Godard."
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 13 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Well, if such silliness as this pleases my daughter, it makes 
 no difference to me. For, after all, you would be the one they'd 
 poke fun at, my dear Godard. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 De Eimonville. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Godard, you are a good fellow, you are young, you are rich, 
 you say that you won't pay your court to women, but that your 
 wife shall be the queen of your house. Well, if you gain her 
 consent you can have mine; for bear in mind, Pauline will 
 only marry the man she loves, rich or poor. There may be 
 one exception, but that doesn't concern you. I would prefer 
 to attend her funeral rather than take her to the registry office 
 to marry a man who was a son, grandson, brother, nephew, 
 cousin or connection of one of the four or five wretches who 
 betrayed you know what my religion is 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Betrayed the Emperor. Yes, everyone knows your creed, 
 General. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 God, first of all; then France or the Emperor It is all 
 the same to me. Lastly, my wife and children ! Whoever 
 meddles with my gods becomes my enemy; I would kill him 
 like a hare, remorselessly. My catechism is short, but it is 
 good. Do you know why, in the year 1816, after their cursed 
 disbanding of the army of the Loire, I took my little mother- 
 less child and came here, I, colonel of the Young Guard, 
 wounded at Waterloo, and became a cloth manufacturer of 
 Louviers ? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 I suppose you didn't wish to hold office under them.
 
 ( 4 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 No, because I did not wish to die as a murderer on the 
 scaffold. 
 
 GODAED 
 What do you mean ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 If I had met one of those traitors, I should have finished 
 his business for him. Even to-day, after some fifteen years, 
 my blood boils if I read their names in the newspaper or any 
 one mentions them in my presence. And indeed, if I should 
 meet one of them, nothing would prevent me from springing 
 at his throat, tearing him to pieces, strangling him 
 
 GODARD 
 You would do right. (Aside) I must humor him. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Yes, sir, I would strangle him! And if my son-in-law 
 were to ill-treat my dear child, I would do the same to him. 
 
 GODARD 
 Ah! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I shouldn't wish him to be altogether under her thumb. A 
 man ought to be king in his own house, as I am here. 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 Poor man ! How he deceives himself ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Did you speak ? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 I said, General, that your threat had no terrors for me! 
 When one has nothing but a wife to love, he loves her well.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 15 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Quite right, my dear Godard. And now with regard to 
 the marriage settlement? 
 
 GODARD 
 Oh, yes ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 My daughter's portion consists of 
 
 GODARD 
 Consists of 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 It comprises her mother's fortune and the inheritance of 
 her uncle Boncoeur. It will be undivided, for I give up my 
 rights to it. This will amount to three hundred and fifty 
 thousand francs and a year's interest, for Pauline is twenty- 
 two. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 This will make up three hundred and sixty-seven thousand 
 five hundred francs. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 No. 
 
 GODARD 
 Why not? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 r It will be more ! 
 
 GODARD 
 More ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Four hundred thousand francs. (Godard seems aston- 
 ished.} I make up the difference ! But when I die there will 
 be nothing more coming to her. Do you understand ?
 
 16 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GODARD 
 
 I do not understand. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 I am very much attached to little Napoleon. 
 
 GODARD 
 You mean the young Duke of Reichstadt? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 No, my son whom they would enter in the register only 
 under the name of Leon; but I had inscribed here (he places 
 his hand upon his heart) the name of Napoleon ! Do you see 
 I must provide for him and his mother. 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 Especially for his mother; she'll take care of that! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 What are you saying? If you don't agree with me, out 
 with it! 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 
 If I did so, we should find ourselves in the law courts. 
 (Aloud) I agree, and will back you in everything, General. 
 
 GENERAL 
 Good for you ! And I'll tell you why, my dear Godard. 
 
 GODARD 
 De Rimonville. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Godard, I prefer Godard. I'll tell you why. After having 
 commanded the grenadiers of the Young Guard, I, General 
 Comte de Grandchamp, now weave the cloth for their uni- 
 forms.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 17 
 
 GODARD 
 
 That is very commendable! You should keep on storing 
 up, General, so that your widow may not be left without a 
 fortune. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 She is an angel, Godard ! 
 
 GODARD 
 De Rimonville. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Godard, she is an angel, to whom you are indebted for the 
 education of your intended, whom she has moulded after her 
 own image. Pauline is a pearl, a jewel; she has never left 
 this home; she is as pure and innocent as she was in her 
 cradle. 
 
 GODARD 
 General, let me admit that Mile. Pauline is beautiful ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 I am quite sure of that. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 She is very beautiful; but there are numbers of beautiful 
 girls in Normandy, some of them very rich, much richer than 
 she is. Well now, you'll scarcely believe how the mothers 
 and fathers of these heiresses run after me! It is scarcely 
 decent. But it amuses me immensely ; I visit their chateaus ; 
 they overwhelm me with attentions 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 I said he was conceited! 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Oh, I am quite aware that it is not for my sake ! I don't 
 delude myself as to that ; it is for my unmortgaged pastures ;
 
 18 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 for my savings, and for my habit of living within my income. 
 Do you know what it is that makes me seek an alliance with 
 you above all others ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 No. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 There are certain rich would-be fathers-in-law who promise 
 to obtain from his Majesty a decree, by which I shall be 
 created Comte de Kimonville and Peer of France. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 You? 
 
 GODARD 
 Yes, I. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Have you won any battles ? Have you saved your country ? 
 Have you added to its glory ? This is pitiful ! 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Pitiful? (Aside) What shall I say? (Aloud) We differ 
 in our views on this subject, but do you know why I prefer 
 your adorable Pauline ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 I suppose it is because you love her. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 That is a matter of course ; but it is also on account of the 
 harmony, the tranquillity, the happiness which reign here ! 
 It is so delightful to enter a family of high honor, of pure, 
 sincere, patriarchal manners! I am a man of observation. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 That is to say, you are inquisitive.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 19 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Curiosity, General, is the mother of observation. I know 
 the seamy side of the whole department. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Keally ? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Yes, really ! In all the families of which I have spoken to 
 you, I have seen some shabbiness or other. The public sees 
 the decent exterior of irreproachable mothers of family, of 
 charming young persons, of good fathers, of model uncles; 
 they are admitted to the sacrament without confession, they 
 are entrusted with the investments of others. But just learn 
 their inner side, and it is enough to startle a police magis- 
 trate. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Ah ! That is the way you look at the world, is it ? For my 
 part, I try to keep up the illusions in which I have lived. To 
 peer into the inner life of people in that way is the business 
 of priests and magistrates ; I have no love for the black robed 
 gentlemen, and I hope to die without ever having seen them ! 
 But the sentiment which you express with regard to my house 
 is more pleasing to me than all your fortune. Stick to that 
 point, and you will win my esteem, something which I lightly 
 bestow on no one. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Thank you, General. (Aside) I have won over the father- 
 in-law at any rate. 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, PAULINE AND GERTRUDE. 
 
 THE GENERAL (catchiny sight of Pauline) 
 Ah ! Here you are, darling.
 
 20 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Doesn't she look beautiful? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Madame. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Forgive me, sir. I had no eyes excepting for my handi- 
 work. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Mademoiselle is radiant ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 We have some people to dinner to-day, and I am something 
 more than a stepmother to her ; I love to deck her out, for she 
 is to me like my own daughter. 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 They were evidently expecting me ! 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside to Godard) 
 
 I am going to leave you alone with her. Now is the time for 
 your declaration. (To the General) My dear, let us go out 
 on the veranda and see if our friend the doctor is coming. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I am at your service, as usual. (To Pauline) Good-bye, 
 my pet. (To Godard) I shall see you later. (Gertrude and 
 the General go to the veranda, but Gertrude keeps her eye on 
 Godard and Pauline. Ferdinand shows his head at the door 
 of Pauline's chamber, but at a quick sign from her, he hur- 
 riedly withdraws it unobserved.} 
 
 GODARD (at the front of the stage] 
 Let me see, what fine and dainty speech can I make to her ?
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 21 
 
 Ah, I have it ! (To Pauline) It is a very fine day, mademoi- 
 selle. 
 
 PAULINE 
 It certainly is, sir. 
 
 GODABD 
 Mademoiselle 
 
 PAULINE 
 Sir? 
 
 GODAED 
 
 It is in your power to make the day still finer for me. 
 
 PAULINE 
 How can I do that? 
 
 GODAED 
 
 Don't you understand me? Has not Madame de Grand- 
 champ said anything to you about the subject nearest my 
 heart ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 While she was helping me to dress, an instant ago, she said 
 a great many complimentary things about you ! 
 
 GODAED 
 And did you agree with her, even in the slightest way ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Oh, sir, I agreed with all she said ! 
 
 GODABD (seating himself on a cliair, aside) 
 So far so good. (Aloud) Did she commit a pardonable 
 breach of confidence by telling you that I was so much in love 
 with you that I wished to see you the mistress of Rimonville ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 She gave me to understand by her hints that you were com- 
 ing with the intention of paying me a very great compliment.
 
 22 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GODARD (falling on his knees) 
 
 I love you madly, mademoiselle; I prefer you to Mile, de 
 Blondville, to Mile, de Clairville, to Mile, de Verville, to Mile, 
 de Pont-de-Ville to 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Oh, that is sufficient, sir, you throw me into confusion by 
 these proofs of a love which is quite unexpected ! Your vic- 
 tims make up almost a hecatomb. (Godard rises.) Your 
 father was contented with taking the victims to market ! but 
 you immolate them. 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 
 I really believe she is making fun of me. But wait awhile ! 
 wait awhile! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 I think at least that we ought to wait awhile; and I must 
 confess 
 
 GODARD 
 
 You do not wish to marry yet. You are happy with your 
 parents, and you are unwilling to leave your father. 
 
 PAULINE 
 That is it, exactly. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 In that case, there are some mothers who would agree that 
 their daughter was too young, but as your father admits that 
 you are twenty-two I thought that you might possibly have 
 a desire to be settled in life. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Sir! 
 
 GODARD 
 
 You are, I know, quite at liberty to decide both your own 
 destiny and mine; but in accordance with the wishes of your
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 23 
 
 father and of your second mother, who imagine that your 
 heart is free, may I be permitted still to have hope ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Sir, however flattering to me may be your intention in thus 
 seeking me out, that does not give you any right to question 
 me so closely. 
 
 GODAED (aside) 
 
 Is it possible I have a rival? (Aloud) No one, mademoi- 
 selle, gives up the prospect of happiness without a struggle. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Do you still continue in this strain ? I must leave you, sir. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Thank you, mademoiselle. ( Aside) So much for your sar- 
 casm ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Come sir, you are rich, and nature has given you a fine 
 person; you are so well educated and so witty that you will 
 have no difficulty in finding some young person richer and 
 prettier than I am. 
 
 GODARD 
 How can that he when one is in love? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Well sir, that is the very point. 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 
 She is in love with some one; I must find out who it is. 
 (Aloud) Mademoiselle, will you at least permit me to feel 
 that I am not in disgrace and that I may stay here a few 
 days?
 
 24 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 PAULINE 
 My father will answer you on that score. 
 
 GERTRUDE (coming forward to Godard) 
 Well, how are things going? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 A blunt refusal, without even a hope of her relenting; her 
 heart is evidently already occupied. 
 
 GERTRUDE (to Godard) 
 
 Her heart occupied? This child has been brought up by 
 me, and I know to the contrary; and besides that, no one 
 ever comes here. (Aside) This youth has roused in roe sus- 
 picions which pierce my heart like a dagger. (To Godard) 
 Why don't you ask her if such is the case ? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 How could I ask her anything? At my first word of jeal- 
 ous suspicion, she resented my curiosity. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Well, I shall have no hesitation in questioning her. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Ah, here comes the doctor ! We shall now learn the truth 
 concerning the death of Champagne's wife. 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND DR. VERNON. 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Well, how are you?
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 25 
 
 VERNON 
 
 I was quite sure of it. Ladies (he bows to them), as a 
 general rule when a man beats his wife, he takes care not to 
 poison her ; he would lose too much by that. He doesn't want 
 to be without a victim. 
 
 THE GENERAL (to Godard) 
 He is a charming fellow 1 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Charming ! 
 
 THE GENERAL (to the doctor, presenting Godard to him) 
 M. Godard. 
 
 GODAED 
 
 De Eimonville. 
 
 VERNON (looking at Godard) 
 
 If he kills her, it is by mistake from having hit her a little 
 too hard ; and he is overwhelmed with grief ; while Champagne 
 is innocently delighted to have been made a widower by 
 natural causes. As a matter of fact, his wife died of cholera. 
 It was a very rare case, but he who has once seen Asiatic 
 cholera cannot forget it, and I am glad that I had that oppor- 
 tunity; for, since the campaign in Egypt, I have never met 
 with a case. If I had been called in in time I could have 
 saved her. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 How fortunate we are, for if a crime had been committed 
 in this establishment, which for twelve years has been so free 
 from disturbance, I should have been horrified. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Here you see the effect of all this tittle-tattle. But are 
 you quite certain, Vernon?
 
 26 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Am I certain? That's a fine question to put to a retired 
 surgeon-in-chief who has attended twelve French armies, 
 from 1793 to 1815, and has practiced in Germany, in Spain, 
 in Italy, in Kussia, in Poland, and in Egypt! 
 
 THE GENERAL (poking Mm in the ribs) 
 Away, you charlatan ! I reckon you have killed more peo- 
 ple than I have in those countries. 
 
 GODARD 
 What is this talk that you are alluding to? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 This poor Champagne, our foreman, was supposed to have 
 poisoned his wife. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Unhappily, the night before she died, they had had an 
 altercation which ended in blows. Ah ! they don't take exam- 
 ple from their masters. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Such happiness as reigns here ought to be contagious, but 
 the virtues which are exemplified in the countess are very 
 rare. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Is there any merit in loving an excellent husband and a 
 daughter such as these? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Come, Gertrude, say no more ! such words ought not to be 
 epoken in public. 
 
 VERNON (aside) 
 
 Such things are always said in this way, when it is neces- 
 sary to make people believe them.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 27 
 
 THE GENERAL (to Vernon) 
 What are you muttering about? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 I was saying that I was sixty-seven years old, and that I 
 \vas younger than you are, and that I should wish to be loved 
 like that. (Aside) If only I could be sure that it was love. 
 
 THE GENERAL (to the doctor) 
 
 I see you are dubious! (To his wife) My dear child, there 
 is no need for me to bless the power of God on your behalf, 
 but I think He must have lent it me, in order that I might 
 love you sufficiently. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 You forget that I am a doctor, my dear friend. What 
 you are saying to Madame is only good for the burden of a 
 ballad. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 The burdens of some ballads, doctor, are exceedingly true. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Doctor, if you continue teasing my wife, we shall quarrel; 
 to doubt on such a subject as that is an insult. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 I have no doubt about it. (To the General) I would merely 
 say, that you have loved so many women with the power of 
 God, that I am in an ecstasy as a doctor to see you still so 
 good a Christian at seventy ! ( Gertrude glides softly towards 
 Hie sofa, where the doctor is seated.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Pshaw! The last passions, my friend, are always the 
 
 strongest.
 
 28 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 VERNON 
 
 You are right. In youth, we love with all our strength 
 which grows weaker with age, while in age we love with all 
 our weakness which is ever on the increase. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Oh, vile philosophy! 
 
 GERTRUDE (to Vernon) 
 
 Doctor, how is it that you, who are so good, try to infuse 
 doubts into the heart of Grandchamp? You know that he 
 is so jealous that he would kill a man on suspicion. I have 
 such respect for his feelings that I have concluded upon 
 seeing no one, but you, the mayor and the cure. Do you want 
 me also to forego your society which is so pleasant, so agree- 
 able to us ? Ah ! Here is Napoleon. 
 
 VERNON (aside) 
 
 I take this for a declaration of war. She has sent away 
 every one else, she intends to dismiss me. 
 
 GODARD (to Vernon) 
 
 Doctor, you are an intimate friend of the house, tell me, 
 pray, what do you think of Mile. Pauline? (The doctor rises 
 from his seat, looks at the speaker, blows his nose, and goes 
 to the middle of the stage. The dinner bell sounds.) 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, NAPOLEON AND FELIX. 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 Papa, papa, didn't .you say I could ride Coco ?
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 29 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Certainly. 
 
 NAPOLEON (to Felix) 
 Do you hear that ? 
 
 GERTRUDE (wiping her son's forehead) 
 He is quite warm! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 But only on condition that some one goes with you. 
 
 FELIX 
 
 You see I was right, Master Napoleon. General, the little 
 rascal wished to go on his pony alone into the country. 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 
 He was frightened for me ! Do you think I am afraid of 
 anything? (Exit Felix. Dinner bell rings.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Come and let me kiss you for that word. He is a little 
 soldier and belongs to the Young Guard. 
 
 VERNON (with a glance at Gertrude) 
 He takes after his father! 
 
 GERTRUDE (quicTcly) 
 
 As regards courage, he is his father's counterpart; but as 
 to physique, he resembles me. 
 
 FELIX 
 Dinner is served. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Very well ! But do you know where Ferdinand is ? He 
 is generally so punctual. Here, Napoleon, go to the entrance
 
 30 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 of the factory and see if he is coming. Tell him to hurry; 
 the bell has rung. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 We need not wait for Ferdinand. Godard, give your arm 
 to Pauline. (Vernon offers his arm to .Gertrude.) Excuse 
 me, Vernon, you ought to be aware that I never permit any- 
 body but myself to take my wife's arm. 
 
 VERNON (aside)^ 
 Decidedly, he is incurable. 
 
 NAPOLEON (running back) 
 I saw Ferdinand down in the main avenue. 
 
 VERNON 
 Give me your hand, you little tyrant 1 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 
 Tyrant yourself ! I'll bet I could tire you out. (He turns 
 Vernon round and round. All leave, chatting gaily.) 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 FERDINAND (cautiously stealing from Pauline's room) 
 The youngster saved me, but I do not know how he hap- 
 pened to see me in the avenue ! One more piece of careless- 
 ness like this may ruin us ! I must extricate myself from this 
 situation at any price. Here is Pauline refusing Godard's 
 proposal. The General, and especially Gertrude, will try to 
 find out the motives of her refusal ! But I must hasten to 
 reach the veranda, so that I may have the appearance of 
 having come from the main avenue, as Leon said. I hope no 
 one will catch sight of me from the dining-room. (He meets 
 Eamel.) What, Eugene Eamel!
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 31 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 FERDINAND AND EAMEL, 
 
 EAMEL 
 You here, Marcandal ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Hush ! Don't pronounce that name in this place ! If the 
 General heard that my name was Mercandal, he would kill 
 me at once as if I were a mad dog. 
 
 EAMEL 
 And why? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Because I am the son of General Marcandal. 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 A general to whom the Bourbons are in part indebted for 
 their second innings. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 In the eyes of General Grandchamp, to leave Napoleon for 
 service under the Bourbons was treason against France. Alas ! 
 this was also my father's opinion, for he died of grief. You 
 must therefore remember to call me by the name of Ferdi- 
 nand Charny, my mother's maiden name. 
 
 EAMEL 
 And what are you doing here? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 I am the manager, the cashier, the factotum of Grand- 
 champ's factory. 
 
 EAMEL 
 How is this? Do you do it from necessity?
 
 32 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 From dire necessity ! My father spent everything, even 
 the fortune of my poor mother, who lived during her latter 
 years in Brittany on the pension she received as widow of a 
 lieutenant-general. 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 How is it that your father, who had command of the Royal 
 Guard, a most brilliant position, died without leaving you 
 anything, not even a patron? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Had he never betrayed his friends, and changed sides, 
 without any reason 
 
 EAMEL 
 Come, come, we won't talk any more about that. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 My father was a gambler that was the reason why he was 
 so indulgent to me. But may I ask what has brought you 
 here? 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 A fortnight ago I was appointed king's attorney at 
 Louviers. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 I heard something about it. But the appointment was pub- 
 lished under another name. 
 
 EAMEL 
 De la Grandiere, I suppose. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 That is it. 
 
 EAMEL 
 In order that I might marry Mile, de Boudeville, I obtained
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 33 
 
 permission to assume my mother's name as you have done. 
 The Boudeville family have given me their protection, and in 
 a year's time I shall doubtless be attorney-general at Eouen 
 a stepping-stone towards a position at Paris. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 And what brings you to our quiet factory? 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 I came to investigate a criminal case, a poisoning affair, a 
 fine introduction into my office. (Felix enters.) 
 
 FELIX 
 Monsieur, Madame is worrying about you 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Please ask her to excuse me for a few moments. (Exit 
 Felix.) My dear Eugene, in case the General who like all 
 retired troopers is very inquisitive should inquire how we 
 happen to meet here, don't forget to say that we came up 
 the main avenue. It is important for me that you should 
 say so. But go on with your story. It is on account of the 
 wife of Champagne, our foreman, that you have come here; 
 but he is innocent as a new-born babe ! 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 You believe so, do you? Well, the officers of justice are 
 paid for being incredulous. I see that you still remain, as I 
 left you, the noblest, the most enthusiastic fellow in the world ; 
 in short, a poet ! A poet who puts the poetry into his life 
 instead of writing it, and believes in the good and the beauti- 
 ful ! And that reminds me that angel of your dreams, that 
 Gertrude of yours, whatever has become of her? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Hush ! Not only has the minister of justice sent you here,
 
 34 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 but some celestial influence has sent to me at Louviers the 
 friend whose help I need in my terrible perplexity. Eugene, 
 come here and listen to me awhile. I am going to appeal to 
 you as my college friend, as the confidant of my youth; you 
 won't put on the airs of the prosecuting attorney to me, will 
 you? You will see from the nature of my admissions that 
 I impose upon you the secrecy of the confessional. 
 
 EAMEL 
 Is it anything criminal? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Oh, nonsense! My faults are such as the judges them- 
 selves would be willing to commit. 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 Perhaps I had better not listen to you ; or, if I do listen to 
 you 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Well! 
 
 RAMEL 
 I could demand a change of position. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 You are always my best and kindest friend. Listen then! 
 For over three years I have been in love with Mile. Pauline 
 de Grandchamp, and she 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 You needn't go on; I understand. You have been reviv- 
 ing Romeo and Juliet in the heart of Normandy. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 With this difference, that the hereditary hatred which 
 stood between the two lovers of the play was a mere trifle in
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 35 
 
 comparison with the loathing with which the Comte de Grand- 
 champ contemplates the son of the traitor Marcandal! 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 Let me see ! Mile. Pauline de Grandchamp will be free 
 in three years; she is rich in her own right I know this 
 from the Boudevilles. You can easily take her to Switzerland 
 and keep her there until the General's wrath has had time to 
 cool; and then you can make him the respectful apologies 
 required under the circumstances. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Do you think I would have asked your advice if the only 
 difficulty lay in the attainment of this trite and easy solution 
 of the problem ? 
 
 KAMEL 
 
 Ah! I see, my dear friend. You have already married 
 your Gertrude your angel who has become to you like all 
 other angels, after their metamorphoses into a lawful wives. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 "Pis a hundred times worse than that ! Gertrude, my dear 
 sir, is now Madame de Grandchamp. 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Oh, dear! how is it you've thrust yourself into such a 
 hornets' nest? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 In the same way that people always thrust themselves into 
 hornets' nests; that is, with the hope of finding honey there. 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Oh, oh! This is a very serious matter! Now, really, you. 
 must conceal nothing from me.
 
 36 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Mile. Gertrude de Meilhac, educated at St. Denis, without 
 doubt loved me first of all through ambition ; she was glad to 
 know that I was rich, and did all she could to gain my attacn- 
 ment with a view to marriage. 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Such is the game of all these intriguing orphan girls, 
 
 f 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 But how came it about that Gertrude has ende<? by Jovtng 
 me so sincerely ? For her passion may be judged by its effects. 
 I call it a passion, but with her it is first iove^ sole and 
 undivided love, which dominates her whole life, and seems to 
 consume her. When she found that I was a ruined man, to- 
 wards the close of the j'ear 1816, and knowing that I was like 
 you, a p<3et, fond of luxury and art, of a soft and happy life, 
 in short, a mere spoilt child, she formed a plan at once base 
 and sublime, such a plan as disappointed passion suggests to 
 women who, for the sake of their love, do all that despots do 
 for the sake of their power; ioi- them, the supreme law is 
 that of their love 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 The facts, my dear fellow, give me the facts! You are 
 making your defence, recollect, and I am prosecuting attorney. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 While I was settling my mother in Brittany, Gertrude met 
 General de Grandchamp, who was seeking a governess for his 
 daughter. She saw nothing in this battered warrior, then 
 fifty-eight years old, but a money-box. She expected that she 
 would soon be left a widow, wealthy and in circumstances to 
 claim her lover and her slave. She said to herself that her 
 marriage would be merely a bad dream, followed quickly by a 
 happy awakening. You see the dream has lasted twelve 
 years ! But you know how women reason.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 37 
 
 RAMEL 
 They have a special jurisprudence of their own. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Gertrude is a woman of the fiercest jealousy. She wishes 
 for fidelity in her lover to recompense her for her infidelity 
 to her husband, and as she has suffered martyrdom, she 
 says, she wishes 
 
 RAIIEL 
 
 To have you in the same house with her, that she may keep 
 watch over 3 r ou herself. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 She has been successful in getting me here. For the last 
 three years I have been living in a small house near the fac- 
 tory. I should have left the first week after my arrival, but 
 that two days' acquaintance with Pauline convinced me that 
 I could not live without her. 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Your love for Pauline, it seems to me as a magistrate, 
 makes your position here somewhat less distasteful . 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 My position? I assure you, it is intolerable, among the 
 three characters with whom I am cast. Pauline is daring, 
 like all young persons who are innocent, to whom love is a 
 wholly ideal thing, and who see no evil in anything, so long 
 as it concerns a man whom they intend to marry. The pene- 
 tration of Gertrude is very acute, but we manage to elude it 
 through Pauline's terror lest my name should be divulged; 
 the sense of this danger gives her strength to dissemble ! But 
 now Pauline has just refused Godard, and I do not know 
 what may be the consequences. 
 
 RAMEL 
 I know Godard; under a somewhat dull exterior he con-
 
 38 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 ceals great sagacity, and he is the most inquisitive man in the 
 department. Is he here now ? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 He dines here to-day. 
 
 EAMEL 
 Do not trust him. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Good ! If two women, between whom there is no love lost, 
 make the discovery that they are rivals, one of them, I can't 
 say which, would be capable of killing the other; for one is 
 strong in innocence and lawful love ; the other, furious to see 
 the fruit of so much dissimulation, so many sacrifices, even 
 crimes, lost to her forever. (Enter Napoleon.) 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 You alarm me me, the prosecuting attorney! Upon my 
 word and honor, women often cost more than they are worth. 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 
 Dear friend ! Papa and mamma are impatient about you ; 
 they send word that you must leave your business, and 
 Vernon says that your stomach requires it. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 You little rogue ! You are come eavesdropping ! 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 
 Mamma whispered in my ear: "Go and see what your 
 friend is doing." 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Hun away, you little scamp! Be off! I am coming. (To 
 Ramel) You see she makes this innocent child a spy over me. 
 (Exit Napoleon.)
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 39 
 
 RAMEL 
 Is this the General's child? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Yes. 
 
 RAMEL 
 He is twelve years old ? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 About. 
 
 RAMEL 
 Have you anything more to tell me ? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Really, I think I have told you enough. 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Very well ! Go and get your dinner. Say nothing of my 
 arrival, nor of my purpose here. Let them finish their dinner 
 in peace. Now go at once. (Exit Ferdinand.) 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 
 RAMEL (alone) 
 
 Poor fellow! If all young people had studied the annals 
 of the court, as I have done in seven years of a magistrate's 
 work, they would come to the conclusion that marriage must 
 be accepted as the sole romance which is possible in life. But 
 if passion could control itself, it would be virtue. 
 
 Curtain to First Act.
 
 40 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (Stage setting remains as in Act I.) 
 EAMEL AND MARGUERITE; LATER, FELIX. 
 
 (Ramel is buried in his reflections, reclining on the sofa in 
 such a way as to be almost out of sight. Marguerite brings 
 in lights and cards. Night is approaching.) 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 Four card tables that will be enough, even though the 
 cure, the mayor and his assistant come. (Felix lights the 
 candles.) I'll wager anything that my poor Pauline will not 
 be married this time. Dear child ! If her late mother were 
 to see that she was not the queen of the house, she would weep 
 in her coffin ! I only remain here in order to comfort and 
 to wait upon her. 
 
 FELIX (aside) 
 
 What is this old woman grumbling about? (Aloud) Whom 
 art. you complaining of now, Marguerite? I'll bet it is the 
 mistress. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 No, it is not ; I am blaming the master. 
 
 FELIX 
 
 The General? You had better mind your own business. 
 He is a saint, is that man. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Yes, a stone saint, for he is blind.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 41 
 
 FELIX 
 You had better say that he has been blinded. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 You hit the nail on the head there. 
 
 FELIX 
 The General has but one fault he is jealous. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Yes, and obstinate,, too. 
 
 FELIX 
 
 Yes, obstinate ; it is the same thing. When once he suspects 
 anything he comes down like a hammer. That was the way he 
 laid two men lifeless at a blow. Between ourselves, there is 
 only one way to treat a trooper of that sort: you must stuff 
 him with flattery. And the mistress certainly does stuff him. 
 Besides, she is clever enough to put blinkers on him, such as 
 they put on shying horses; he can see neither to the right 
 nor to the left, and she says to him, "My dear, look straight 
 ahead !" So she does ! 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 Ah ! You think with me that a woman of thirty-two does 
 not love a man of seventy without some object. She is schem- 
 ing something. 
 
 EAMEL (aside) 
 Oh, these servants ! whom we pay to spy over us ! 
 
 FELIX 
 
 What can be her scheme ? She never leaves the house, she 
 never sees any one. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 She would skin a flint ! She has taken away the keys from
 
 42 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 me from me who always had the confidence of the former 
 mistress; do you know why she did so? 
 
 FELIX 
 I suppose she is saving up her pile. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 Yes, out of the fortune of Mile. Pauline, and the profits 
 of the factory. That is the reason why she puts off the mar- 
 riage of the dear child as long as she can, for she has to give 
 up her fortune when she marries her. 
 
 FELIX 
 
 Yes, that's the law. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 I would forgive her everything, if only she made Made- 
 mioselle happy; hnt I sometimes catch my pet in tears, and 
 I ask her what is the matter, and she says nothing but "Good 
 Marguerite!" (Exit Felix.) Let me see, have I done every- 
 thing? Yes, here are the card tables the candles the cards 
 Ah! the sofa. (She catches sight of Ramel) Good Lord! a 
 stranger ! 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Don't be startled, Marguerite. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 You must have heard all we said. 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Don't be alarmed. My business is to keep secrets. I am the 
 state's attorney. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Oh!
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 43 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, PAULINE, GODARD, VERNON, NAPOLEON, 
 
 FERDINAND, THE GENERAL, MADAME 
 
 DE GRANDCHAMP. 
 
 (Gertrude rushes to Marguerite and snatches the cushions 
 from her hands.) 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Marguerite, you know very well what pain you give me, by 
 not allowing me to do everything for your master; besides, I 
 am the only one who knows how to arrange the cushions to his 
 liking. 
 
 MARGUERITE (to Pauline) 
 What a to-do about nothing ! 
 
 GODARD 
 Why, look ! Here is the state's attorney ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 The state's attorney at my house ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 I am surprised ! 
 
 THE GENERAL (to Ramel) 
 Sir, what brings you here ? 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 I asked my friend, M. Ferdinand Mar (Ferdinand checks 
 him by a gesture. Gertrude and Pauline look at him in 
 alarm). 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 It is his friend, Eugene Ramel.
 
 44 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 My friend, Ferdinand de Charny, to whom I have told the 
 object of my visit, to say nothing about it until you had 
 finished your dinner. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Ferdinand then is your friend? 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 I have known him from childhood ; and here we met in your 
 avenue. On meeting, after nine years of separation, we had 
 go many things to talk about, that I caused him to be late. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 But, sir, to what circumstance am I to attribute your pres- 
 ence here ? 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 I come in the matter of Jean Nicot, known as Champagne, 
 your foreman, who is charged with a crime. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 But, sir, our friend, Doctor Vernon, has declared that 
 Champagne's wife died a natural death. 
 
 VERNON 
 Yes, sir, cholera. 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Justice, sir, believes in nothing but investigations and con- 
 victions of its own. You did wrong to proceed before my 
 arrival. 
 
 FELIX 
 Madame, shall I bring in the coffee ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Wait awhile! (Aside) How changed this man is, this 
 attorney. I shouldn't have recognized him. He terrifies me.
 
 THE 'STEPMOTHER 45 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 But how could you be brought here by the crime of Cham- 
 pagne, an old soldier for whom I would stand security? 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 You will learn that, on the arrival of the investigating 
 magistrate. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Will you be pleased to take a seat? 
 
 FERDINAND (to Ramel, pointing out Pauline) 
 That is she! 
 
 EAMEL 
 A man might lay down his life for such a lovely girL 
 
 GERTRUDE (to Ramel) 
 
 We do not know each other ! You have never seen me, have 
 you ? You must have pity on us ! 
 
 EAMEL 
 You may depend upon me for that. 
 
 THE GENERAL (who sees Ramel and Gertrude talking 
 
 together) 
 Is my wife to be called to this investigation ? 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 Certainly, General. I came here myself because the countess 
 had not been notified that we required her presence. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 My wife mixed up in such an affair ? It is an outrage ! 
 
 VERNON 
 Keep cool, my friend.
 
 46 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 FELIX (announcing) 
 Monsieur, the investigating magistrate! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Let him come in. 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, THE INVESTIGATING MAGISTRATE, 
 
 CHAMPAGNE, BAUDRILLON AND A GENDARME WHO 
 
 is GUARDING CHAMPAGNE. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE (bowing to the company) 
 Monsieur the state's attorney, this is M. Baudrillon, the 
 druggist. 
 
 EAMEL 
 Has M. Baudrillon seen the accused? 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 No, monsieur, the accused came in charge of a gendarme. 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 We shall soon learn the truth in this case ! Let M. Baudril- 
 lon and the accused approach. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 Come forward, M. Baudrillon; (to Champagne) and you 
 also. 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 M. Baudrillon, do you identify this man as the person who 
 bought arsenic from you two days ago ? 
 
 BADDRILLON 
 
 Yes, that is the very man.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 47 
 
 CHAMPAGNE 
 
 Didn't I tell you, M. Baudrillon, that it was for the mice 
 that were eating up everything, even in the house, and that I 
 wanted it for Madame? 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 Do you hear him, madame ? This is his plea ; he pretends 
 that you yourself sent him to get this stuff, and that he handed 
 the package to you just as he took it from M. Baudrillon. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 It is true, sir. 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 Did you make any use of the arsenic, madame ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 No, sir. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 You can then show us the package sent by M. Baudrillon ; it 
 should have his label, and if he acknowledges that it is entire 
 and unbroken, the serious charges made against your fore- 
 man will in part be disproved. We shall then have nothing 
 more to do than to receive the report of the physician who 
 held the autopsy. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 The package, sir, has never been taken from the desk in my 
 bedroom. (Exit.) 
 
 CHAMPAGNE 
 
 Ah ! General, I am saved ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Poor old Champagne ! 
 
 EAMEL 
 General, we shall be very happy if we have to announce the
 
 48 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 innocence of your foreman ; unlike you soldiers, we are always 
 delighted to be beaten. 
 
 GERTRUDE (returning) 
 
 Here it is, gentlemen. (The magistrate, Baudrillon and 
 Ramel examine the package.) 
 
 BAUDRILLON (putting on his glasses) 
 
 It is intact, gentlemen, perfectly intact. Here is my seal 
 on it unbroken. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 Lock that up carefully, madame, for the assizes for some 
 time have had to deal with nothing but poisoning cases. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 You see, sir, I have kept it in my desk, to which none but 
 the General and myself have access. (She returns to her bed- 
 room.) 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 General, we will not wait for the report of the autopsy. 
 The principal charge, which you will agree with me was very 
 serious, for all the town was talking of it, has been disproved ; 
 and as we have full confidence in the skill and integrity of 
 Doctor Vernon, (Gertrude returns) Champagne, you are 
 at liberty. (General expression of satisfaction.) But you 
 see, my friend, to what painful suspicions a man exposes 
 himself when his home has a bad name. 
 
 CHAMPAGNE 
 
 Ask the General, your Honor, if I am not mild as a lamb ; 
 but my wife, God forgive her, was the worst that was ever 
 made. An angel could not have stood her. If I have some- 
 times tried to bring her to reason, the anxious moments you 
 have made me pass here, have been punishment enough ! To
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 49 
 
 be taken up for a prisoner, and to know yourself innocent, 
 while you are in the hands of justice! (Weeps.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Well! well! You are acquitted now! 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 Papa, what is justice? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Gentlemen, justice ought not to commit errors of this kind 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 There seems to be always something fatal in this justice! 
 And this poor man will always bear a bad name from your 
 arrival here.. 
 
 KAMEL 
 
 Madame, for the innocent there is nothing fatal in criminal 
 justice. You see that Champagne has been promptly dis- 
 charged. (Fixing his eyes on Gertrude.) Those who live 
 without reproach, who indulge no passions, save the noble 
 and the lawful, have nothing to fear from justice. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Sir, you do not know the people of this country. Ten years 
 from this time they will say that Champagne poisoned his 
 wife, that the officers of justice came to investigate and, but 
 for our protection 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Say no more, Gertrude. These gentlemen have done only 
 their duty. (Felix prepares the coffee.) Gentlemen, can I 
 offer you a cup of coffee? 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 Thank you, General; the urgency of this affair called me
 
 50 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 away from home rather suddenly, and my wife is waiting din- 
 ner for me at Louviers. (He goes on the veranda to talk with 
 the doctor.) 
 
 THE GENERAL (to Ramel) 
 You are a friend of Ferdinand's, I believe? 
 
 BAMEL 
 
 Yes, General, and you have in him the noblest heart, the 
 most spotless integrity, the most charming character that I 
 have ever met. 
 
 PAULINE 
 This state's attorney seems to be a very kind man ! 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 
 And why does she say that? Is it because he praised M. 
 Ferdinand ? Ah ! there's something there ! 
 
 GERTRUDE (to Ramel) 
 
 Whenever you have any moments to spare, you must come 
 to see M. de Charny. (To the General) Would not that be 
 nice, dear? 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE (coming in from the veranda) 
 M. de la Grandiere, our physician, agrees with Doctor Ver- 
 non that this death resulted from Asiatic cholera. We beg, 
 therefore, that you, countess, and you, count, will excuse us 
 for having disturbed, even for a moment, the tranquillity 
 of your charming household. 
 
 EAMEL (to Gertrude in the front of the stage) 
 Take care! God never protects undertakings so rash as 
 yours. I have discovered all. Give up Ferdinand, leave his 
 life free, and be satisfied with the happiness of a wife. The 
 path which you are following leads to crime.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 51 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 I'll die before I give him up! 
 
 KAMEL (aside) 
 
 I must get Ferdinand away from this place. (Beckons 
 to Ferdinand, takes his arm, and goes out with him after 
 exchange of formal bows.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 At last we are rid of them! (To Gertrude) Let the coffee 
 be handed round. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Pauline, kindly ring for the coffee. (Pauline rings.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, EXCEPTING FERDINAND, KAMEL, THE 
 MAGISTRATE AND BAUDRILLON. 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 
 I shall find out presently whether Pauline loves Ferdinand. 
 This urchin, who wants to know about justice, seems to me 
 pretty cute; I'll make use of him. (Felix appears.) 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 The coffee. (Felix brings in the tray.} 
 
 GODARD (who has taken Napoleon aside} 
 Would you like to play a nice trick on somebody? 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 That I would. Do you know one?
 
 52 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Come with me, and I'll tell you how you must do it. 
 (Godard goes on veranda with Napoleon.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Pauline, my coffee. (Pauline brings it to him.) It isn't 
 sweet enough. (Pauline gives him some sugar.) Thank you, 
 dear. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 M. de Rimonville? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Godard? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 M. de Rimonville? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Godard, my wife wants to know if you would like some 
 coffee ? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Yes, thank you. (He places himself in such way as to 
 watch Pauline.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 It is pleasant to sit down and take a little coffee in quiet ! 
 
 NAPOLEON (running in) 
 
 Mamma, mamma ! My good friend Ferdinand has just 
 fallen down; he has broken his leg and they are carrying 
 him into the house. 
 
 VERNON 
 That's dreadful! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 How very unfortunate 1
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 53 
 
 PAULINE 
 Oh! (Falls back on her chair.) 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 What is that you said? 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 
 It is all a joke ! I only wished to see if you all loved my 
 good friend. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 It is very naughty of you to act in that way; how did you 
 come to think of such a trick? 
 
 NAPOLEON (whispering) 
 It was Godard. 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 
 She loves him ! She was nicely caught by my trap, which I 
 have never known to fail. 
 
 GERTRUDE (to Godard, as she offers him some coffee) 
 Are you aware, sir, that you would make a very indifferent 
 preceptor? It is very had of you to teach a child such mis- 
 chievous tricks. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 You will come to the conclusion that I did pretty well, 
 when you learn that I have been enabled by this little strata- 
 gem to discover my rival. (He points to Ferdinand who is 
 entering the room.) 
 
 GERTRUDE (letting fall the sugar basin) 
 He! 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 She is in the same box!
 
 54 
 
 You startled me. 
 
 THE GENERAL (who has risen from his seat) 
 What is the matter with you, my dear child ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Nothing ; it is Godard's nonsense ; he told me that the pub- 
 lic prosecutor had come back. Felix, take away this sugar 
 basin, and bring me another one. 
 
 VEBNON 
 This is a day of surprises. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 M. Ferdinand, they are going to bring some sugar for you. 
 (Aside) He is not looking at her. (Aloud) How is it, 
 Pauline, you did not put any sugar in your father's coffee ? 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 
 Why, of course, it was because she was too scared; didn't 
 you hear her say "oh!"? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Won't you hold your tongue, you little story-teller! You 
 are always teasing me. (She sits on her father's knee, and 
 puts sugar in his cup.) 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Can it be true? And to think that I have taken such pains 
 in dressing her! (To Godard) If you are right, your mar- 
 riage will take place in a fortnight. (Aloud) M. Ferdinand, 
 here is your coffee. 
 
 GODARD (aside) 
 It seems that I caught two in my mouse-trap! And all
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 55 
 
 the time the General is so calm, so tranquil, and this house- 
 hold is so peaceful ! Things are getting mixed up. I shan't 
 go yet ; I wish to have a game of whist ! Oh ! I give up all 
 thoughts of marriage for the present. (Glancing at Ferdi- 
 nand) There's a lucky fellow ! He is loved by two women- 
 two charming, delightful creatures ! He is indeed a factotum ! 
 But how is it that he is more successful than I am, who have 
 an income of forty thousand ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Pauline, my dear, offer the cards to the gentlemen for a 
 game of whist. It is almost nine o'clock. If they are going 
 to have a game, there is no time to be lost. (Pauline puts out 
 the cards.) Come, Napoleon, bid good-night to the gentle- 
 men, let them see you are a good boy, and don't try to stay 
 up as you usually do. 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 Good-night, papa. What is justice like? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Justice is blind ! Good-night, my pet. 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 Good-night, M. Vernon! What is justice made of? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 It is made up of all our crimes. When you are naughty, 
 they whip you ; that is justice. 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 They never whip me. 
 
 VERNON 
 Then they never do justice to you !
 
 56 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 
 Good-night, my good friend ! Good-night, Pauline ! Good- 
 night, M. Godard 
 
 GODARD 
 De Rimonville. 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 Have I been good? (Gertrude kisses him.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 I have the king. 
 
 VERNON 
 And I, the queen. 
 
 FERDINAND (to Godard) 
 Monsieur, we are partners. 
 
 GERTRUDE (seeing Marguerite) 
 
 Be sure to say your prayers, and don't provoke Marguerite 
 Now, go to bed, dear heart. 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 Yes, dear heart ! What is love made of ? (Exit Napoleon.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, EXCEPT NAPOLEON. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 When that child begins to ask questions, he is an amusing 
 youngster. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 It is often very embarrassing to answer him. (To Pauline) 
 Come, Pauline, let us go and finish our work.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 67 
 
 VERNON. 
 It is your lead, General. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Mine? You ought to get married, and we could visit at 
 your house, as you visit here, and you would have all the hap- 
 piness of a family. Don't forget, Godard, that there is no 
 one in the department happier than I am. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 When a man reaches sixty-seven without reaching happi- 
 ness, it is impossible to catch up. I shall die a bachelor. 
 (Tli e two women set to work at the same piece of embroidery.) 
 
 GERTRUDE (seated with Pauline at the front of the stage) 
 
 How is this my child ! Godard tells me that you received 
 his advances very coldly ; yet he is a very good match for you. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 My father, madame, has given me leave to choose a hus- 
 band for myself. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Do you know what Godard will say ? He will say that you 
 refused him because you had already made your choice. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 If it were true, you and my father would know it. What 
 reason have I for not giving you my confidence ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 I cannot say, and I do not blame you. You see in matters 
 of love women keep their secret with heroic constancy, some- 
 times in the midst of the most cruel torments.
 
 68 THE STEPMOTHEK 
 
 PAULINE (aside, picking up the scissors, which, 
 
 she had let drop) 
 
 Ferdinand was wise in telling me to distrust her she is so 
 insinuating ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Perhaps you have in your heart a love like that. If such a 
 misfortune has befallen you, you may rely on my help I 
 love you, remember ! I can win your father's consent ; he has 
 confidence in me, and I can sway both his mind and affections. 
 Therefore, dear child, you may open your heart to me. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 You can read my heart, madame, for I am concealing 
 nothing from you. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Vernon, what in the name of everything are you doing? 
 (Faint murmurs are heard among the card players; Pauline 
 casts a look at them.) 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 The question point-blank does not do with her. (Aloud) 
 How happy you make me ! For this provincial joker, Godard, 
 avers that you almost fainted when he prompted Napoleon 
 to declare that Ferdinand had broken his leg. Ferdinand is 
 a pleasant young fellow, our intimate friend for some four 
 years; what is more natural than your . attachment for the 
 youth, whose birth and talents are both in his favor? 
 
 PAULINE 
 He is my father's clerk. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Thank God, you are not in love with him; I was a "little 
 anxious for the moment, for, my dear child, he is a married 
 man.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 59 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 What ! he is married ? Why then does he make a secret of 
 it? (Aside) Married? That would be outrageous. I will 
 ask him this evening. I will give him the signal on which 
 we agreed to meet. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 Not a line of her face changed ! Godard is wrong, or this 
 child is more self-possessed than I am. (Aloud) What is the 
 matter with you, my pet ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Oh ! nothing. 
 
 GERTRUDE (touching Pauline's neck) 
 Why, you are quite hot! Do you feel so? (Aside) She 
 loves him, that is plain. But the question is, does he love her? 
 I suffer the torments of the damned ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 I have been working too closely at this framed And what, 
 pray, is the matter with you? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Nothing. But you asked me why Ferdinand kept his mar* 
 riage secret. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Ah ! yes ! 
 
 GERTRUDE (rising, aside) 
 
 If she is in love, she has a will of iron. But where can they 
 have met ? I never leave her in the daytime, and Champagne 
 sees him all the time at the factory. No ! it is absurd If she 
 does love him, it is without his knowledge, and she is like 
 all other young girls, who begin to love a man in secret. But 
 if they have come to an understanding, I have given her
 
 60 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 such a start that she will be sure to communicate with him 
 about it, if only through her eyes. I will keep them both 
 well in sight. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 We have had wonderful luck, M. Ferdinand ! (Ferdinand 
 leaves off playing and goes towards Gertrude.) 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 
 I did not know that it was possible to suffer so much and yet 
 live on. 
 
 FERDINAND (to Gertrude] 
 Madame, won't you take my place in the game? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Pauline, will you go instead. (Aside) I can't tell him 
 that he loves Pauline, that would suggest what may be a new 
 idea to him. What shall I do? (To Ferdinand) She has 
 confessed all. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Confessed what? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Why, all ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 I don't understand Do you refer to Mile, de Grandchamp ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Yes. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 And what has she been doing? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 You have not been false to me? You do not want to kill 
 me?
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 61 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Kill you? She? IP- 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Am I the victim of one of Godard's jokes ? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Gertrude, you are beside yourself ! 
 
 GODARD (to Pauline) 
 Ah! Mademoiselle, that is bad play! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 You lost a great deal by not taking my stepmother for a 
 partner 
 
 GERTRUDE (to Ferdinand) 
 
 Ferdinand, I do not know whether I am rightly or wrongly 
 informed; but this I do know; I prefer death to the loss of 
 our hopes. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Take care ! The doctor has been watching us very keenly 
 for the last few days. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 She has not once looked back at him ! (Aloud) She will 
 marry Godard, for her father will compel her to do so. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Godard would make an excellent match for any one. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I can't stay here any longer ! My daughter plays vilely, and 
 you, Vernon, have trumped my king! 
 
 VERNON 
 My dear General, it was a finesse.
 
 62 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 You stupid! Come, it is ten o'clock, and time to go to 
 sleep instead of playing cards. Ferdinand, be good enough 
 to take Godard to his room. As for you, Vernon, you deserve 
 to sleep on the floor as a punishment, for trumping my king. 
 
 GODARD 
 It is, after all, merely a matter of five francs, General. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 It is also a matter of honor. (To Vernon) Come, now, 
 although you have played so badly, let me hand you your hat 
 and cane. (Pauline takes a flower from the vase and plays 
 with it.) 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 A signal ! I will watch her this night, even though my 
 husband should afterwards kill me for it ! 
 
 FERDINAND (taking a candlestick from Felix) 
 M. de Kimonville, I am at your service. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 I wish you good-night, madame. My respects to you, 
 mademoiselle. General, good-night. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Good-night, Godard. 
 
 GODARD 
 De Kimonville Doctor, I 
 
 VERNON (looking at him and blowing his nose) 
 Good-bye, my friend. 
 
 THE GENERAL (attending the doctor on his way out) 
 Good-bye till to-morrow, Vernon, but come early.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 63 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 GERTRUDE, PAULINE AND THE GENERAL. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 My dear, Pauline refuses Godard. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 And what are your reasons, my daughter? 
 
 PAULINE 
 I do not like him sufficiently to take him for a husband. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Well, never mind ! We will look out some one else for you ; 
 but it is time for this to end, for you are now twenty-two, and 
 people will begin to talk about you, my wife and me unless 
 you make an early choice. 
 
 PAULINE 
 May I not be permitted, if I choose, to remain single ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 She has made her choice, but probably wishes to tell you 
 by yourself. I will leave you, and she will confess it. (To 
 Pauline) Good-night, my child; talk freely with your father. 
 (Aside) I will listen. (She enters her chamber and proceeds 
 to close the door.) 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 THE GENERAL AND PAULINE. 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 Act as my daughter's confessor ! I am utterly unfitted for
 
 64 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 such a task! She might rather act as confessor to me. 
 (Aloud] Pauline, come here. (He takes her on his knee) 
 Now, do you really think, my pet, that an old trooper like me 
 doesn't understand your resolution to remain single? Why, 
 of course, that means, in every language in which it has ever 
 heen uttered, that a 3 r oung person is in a special hurry to be 
 married to some one that she is in love with. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Papa, I would like to tell you something, but I cannot have 
 confidence in you. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 And why not, mademoiselle ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Because you tell everything to your wife. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 And you mean to tell me that you have a secret of such a 
 kind that it cannot be revealed to an angel, to the woman who 
 has educated you to your second mother! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Oh! If you are going to be vexed, I shall get off to bed. 
 I used to think that a father's heart would be a place of 
 unfailing refuge for a daughter. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 You silly child ! Come, I am going to be in a good humor. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 How kind you are! But listen! Suppose I were in love 
 with the son of one of those whom you detest? 
 
 THE GENERAL (rising abruptly to his feet and repulsing her) 
 I should detest you !
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 65 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 And 'this is what you call being good humored? (Gertrude 
 appears.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 My child, there are feelings in my heart which you should 
 never rouse in me; you ought to know this. They are my 
 very life. Do you wish to be the death of your father ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Oh! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Dear child ! I have had my day. My lot, with you and Ger- 
 trude at my side, is an enviable one. But, however sweet and 
 charming is my life, I would quit it without regret, if by that 
 means I could render you happy; for happiness is a debt we 
 owe to those who owe to us their existence. 
 
 PAULINE (noticing the door ajar, aside) 
 Ah ! she is listening. (Aloud) Father, I didn't mean what 
 I paid, but suppose I felt a love of that kind and it was so 
 violent that I was likely to die of it ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 It would be best for you to toll me nothing about it, and 
 wait for your happiness until my death. And yet, since there 
 is nothing more sacred, nothing more dear next to God and 
 country, than children to their parents, children in their turn 
 ought to hold sacred their parents' wishes and never to dis- 
 obey them, even after their death. If you do not remain 
 faithful to this hatred of mine, I think I should come forth 
 from my grave to curse you ! 
 
 PAULINE (kissing her father) 
 
 Oh ! you had, bad man ! At any rate, I shall now find out 
 whether you can keep a secret or not. Swear to me on your 
 honor that you'll not repeat a syllable of what I told you.
 
 66 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I promise you that. But what reason have you for dis- 
 trusting Gertrude? 
 
 PAULINE 
 If I told you, you would not believe it. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Are you trying to torture your father ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 No. But which do you place first, this hatred for traitors, 
 or your own honor ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 They are both first with me, for they are based upon a 
 common principle. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Very well ; if you throw away your honor by violating your 
 oath, you may as well throw away your hatred. That is all I 
 wanted to find out. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 If women are angelic, they have in them also something of 
 the diabolical. Tell me, who has filled the head of such an 
 innocent girl as you are with ideas like these? This is the 
 way they lead us by the 
 
 PAULINE (interrupting him) 
 Good-night, father. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 You naughty child ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Keep my secret, or I will bring you a son-in-law that will 
 drive you wild. (Enters her own apartment.)
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 67 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 
 THE GENERAL (alone} 
 
 There must certainly be some key to this enigma ! It must 
 be discovered ! Yes, and Gertrude shall discover it ! 
 
 (Scene curtain.) 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 
 
 
 (Pauline's chamber; a small plain room with a bed in the 
 centre and a round table at the left; the entrance is at the 
 right, but there is a secret entrance on the left.) 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 At last I am alone! At last I can be natural! Married? 
 My Ferdinand married? If this is so, he is the falsest, 
 foulest, vilest of men ! And I could kill him ! Kill him ? But 
 I myself could not survive one hour the knowledge that he 
 was actually married. My stepmother I detest! and if she 
 becomes my enemy, there will be war between us, and war in 
 earnest. It would be terrible, for I should tell my father all 
 I know. (She looks at her watch.) Half-past eleven, and he 
 cannot come before midnight, when the whole household is 
 asleep. Poor Ferdinand! He has to risk his life for a few 
 minutes' chat with her he loves ! That is what I call true love ! 
 Such perils men will not undergo for every woman ! But what 
 would not I undergo for him ! If my father surprised us, I 
 would be the one to take the first blow. Oh ! To suspect the 
 man you love is to suffer greater torment than to lose him 5 
 If he dies, you can follow him in death ; but doubt is the 
 cruelest of separations ! Ah ! I hear him.
 
 68 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 
 FERDINAND AND PAULINE (who locks the door) 
 Are you married ? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 What a joke ! Wouldn't I have told you ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Ah ! (She sinks back on a chair, then falls upon her knees.) 
 Holy Virgin, what vows shall I make to thee? (She kisses 
 Ferdinand's hand.) And you, a thousand blessings on your 
 head ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Who could have told you such a foolish thing ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 My stepmother. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Why, she knows all about me, and if she did not, she would 
 set spies to discover all; for suspicion with such women as 
 that is certitude ! Listen, Pauline, moments now are precious. 
 It was Madame de Grandchamp who brought me into this 
 house. 
 
 PAULINE 
 And why? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Because she is in love with me. 
 
 PAULINE 
 How horrible ! And what of my father ? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 She was in love with me before her marriage.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 69 
 
 PAULINE 
 She is in love with you; but you, are you in love with her? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Do you think if I were, I should have remained in this 
 house ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 And she is still in love with you? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Yes, unhappily she is ! I ought to tell you that she was at 
 one time beloved by me; but to-day I hate her from the bot- 
 tom of my heart, and I sometimes ask myself why. Is it 
 because I am in love with you, and every genuine and pure 
 love is by nature exclusive ? Is it because the contrast between 
 an angel of purity, such as you, and a devil like her excites 
 in me just as much hatred towards her as it rouses love 
 towards you, my joy, my bliss, my beauteous treasure? I 
 cannot say. But I hate her, and I love you so much that I 
 should not regret dying if your father killed me ; for one talk 
 with you, one hour spent in this chamber by your side, seems, 
 even when it is passed away, a whole lifetime to me. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Oh, say those dear words again ! For they bring back my 
 confidence once more. After hearing you speak thus, I for- 
 give you the wrong you have done me in telling that I am 
 not your first and only love, as you are mine. It is but a 
 lost illusion, that is all ! Do not be vexed with me. Young 
 girls are foolish, they have no ambition but in their love, and 
 they would fain rule over the past as they rule over the future 
 of their beloved ! But you hate her ! And in that word, you 
 give to me more proof of love than you have given me for the 
 two years that we have loved. If only you knew with what 
 cruelty this stepmother has put me on the rack, by her ques- 
 tions ! But I will be avenged !
 
 70 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 You must be very careful ! She is a very dangerous woman ! 
 She rules your father. She is a woman who will fight to the 
 death ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 To the death ! That is as I wish it ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Be prudent, dear Pauline! We are going to act in har- 
 mony, are we not? Well, my love, the prosecuting attorney 
 is of opinion that if we would triumph over the difficulties 
 that prevent our union, we must have fortitude enough to 
 part for some time. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Oh ! Give me two days and I will win over my father ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 But you do not know Madame de Grandchamp. She has 
 gone too far to leave off without ruining you, and to do that 
 she will go to any lengths. But I will not go away without 
 giving you what may prove most effective weapons against 
 her. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Oh, give them, give them to me ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Not yet. And you must promise me not to make use of 
 them, unless your life is in danger; for what I am doing is 
 certainly a breach of confidence. But it is for your sake I 
 do it. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Tell me what it is? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 To-morrow I shall put into your hands the letters which
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 71 
 
 she wrote to me, some of them before, some of them after her 
 marriage. Pauline, do not read them ! Swear this to me, in 
 the name of our love, in the name of our happiness ! It will 
 be sufficient, should it ever become absolutely necessary, that 
 she knows that they are in your possession; at that moment 
 you will see her trembling and groveling at your feet, for 
 all her machinations then are foiled. But do not use them 
 excepting as a last resort, and keep them well concealed. 
 
 PAULINE 
 What a terrible duel it will be ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Terrible ! But, Pauline, be courageous, as you have so far 
 been, in keeping the secret of our love; do not acknowledge 
 it, until you find it no longer possible to deny it. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Oh, why did your father betray the Emperor? If fathers 
 knew how their children would be punished for the sins of 
 thqir parents, there would be none but good men ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Perhaps this sad interview will prove the last moment of 
 happiness we shall have ! 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 
 I will rejoin him, if he leaves me (Aloud) See, I no longer 
 weep, I am full of courage! But tell me, will your friend 
 know the place where you are hiding? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Eugene will be our confidential friend. 
 
 PAULINE 
 And the letters?
 
 72 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 To-morrow! To-morrow! But where will you conceal 
 them? 
 
 PAULINE 
 I shall keep them about me. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Good ! Farewell ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 Oh no, not yet ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 'A moment more may ruin us. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Or unite us for life. Come, let me show you out, I shall 
 not rest until I see you in the garden. Come ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Let me take one more glance at this maiden chamber, in 
 which you will think of me where all things speak of you. 
 
 (Scene curtain.) 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 
 (The drawing-room before described.) 
 
 PAULINE on the veranda; GERTRUDE at the door of the room. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 She is seeing him out ! He has been deceiving me ! So has 
 she ! (Taking Pauline by the hand, she leads her to the front 
 of the stage.) Will you dare tell me, now, mademoiselle, 
 that you do not love him?
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 73 
 
 PAULINE 
 Madame, I am deceiving no one. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You are deceiving your father. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 And you, madame? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 So both of you are against me Oh, I shall 
 
 PAULINE 
 You shall do nothing, either against me or against him. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Do not compel me to show my power ! You must be obedient 
 to your father, and he is obedient to me. 
 
 PAULINE 
 We shall see ! 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 Her coolness makes my blood boil. My brain reels! 
 (Aloud) Do you know that I would rather die than live with- 
 out him? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 And so would I, madame. But I am free. I have not 
 sworn as you have to be faithful to a husband And your hus- 
 band is my father ! 
 
 GERTRUDE (kneeling before Pauline) 
 What have I done to you? I have loved you, I have edu- 
 cated you, I have been a good mother to you. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Be a faithful wife, and I will say no more.
 
 74 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Nay ! Speak ! Say all you like Ah ' the struggle has 
 begun. 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND THE GENERAL. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 How is this? What is going on here? 
 
 GERTRUDE (to Pauline) 
 
 You must feign sickness. Come lie down. (She makes 
 her lie down.) I happened, my dear, to hear moans. Our 
 dear child was calling for help ; she was almost suffocated by 
 the flowers in her bedroom. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Yes, papa, Marguerite had forgotten to take away the vase 
 of flowers, and I almost died. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Come, my daughter, come into the open air. (They go to- 
 wards the door.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Stay a moment. What have you done with the flowers ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 I do not know where Madame has put them. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 I threw them into the garden. (The General abruptly 
 rushes out, after setting his candle on the card table.)
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 75 
 
 SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 PAULINE AND GERTRUDE ; LATER, THE GENERAL. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Go back to your room, lock yourself in ! I'll take all the 
 blame. (Pauline goes to her room.) I will wait for him here. 
 (She goes back into her room.) 
 
 THE GENERAL (coming in from the garden) 
 
 I can find the vase of flowers nowhere. There is some mys- 
 tery in all these things. Gertrude? There is no one here! 
 Ah ! Madame de Grandchamp, you will have to tell me ! It 
 is a nice thing that I should be deceived by both wife and 
 daughter! (He takes up his candlestick and goes into Ger- 
 trude's room.) 
 
 Curtain to the Second Act.
 
 76 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 (Same stage-setting. Morning.) 
 GEBTEUDE; THEN CHAMPAGNE. 
 
 GEETRUDE (brings a flower vase from the garden and puts 
 it down on the table) 
 
 What trouble I had to allay his suspicions! One or two 
 more scenes like that and I shall lose control of him. But I 
 have gained a moment of liberty now provided Pauline does 
 not come to trouble me ! She must be asleep she went to bed 
 so late ! would it be possible to lock her in her room? (She 
 goes to the door of Pauline's chamber, but cannot find the 
 key.) I am afraid not. 
 
 CHAMPAGNE (coming in) 
 M. Ferdinand is coming, madame. 
 
 GERTBUDE 
 
 Thank yon, Champagne. He went to bed very late, did 
 he not? 
 
 CHAMPAGNE 
 
 M. Ferdinand makes his rounds, as you know, every night, 
 and he came in at half-past one o'clock. I sleep over him, 
 and I heard him. 
 
 GEETEUDE 
 Does he ever go to bed later than that ?
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 77 
 
 CHAMPAGNE 
 
 Sometimes he does, but that is according to the time he 
 makes his rounds. 
 
 GEETRUDE 
 
 Very good. Thank you, Champagne. (Exit Champagne.) 
 As the reward for a sacrifice which has lasted for twelve 
 years, and whose agonies can only be understood by women, 
 for what man can guess at such tortures! what have I 
 asked ? Very little ! Merely to know that he is here, near 
 to me, without any satisfaction saving, from time to time, 
 a furtive glance at him. I wished only to feel sure that he 
 would wait for me. To feel sure of this is enough for us, 
 us for whom a pure, a heavenly love is something never to 
 be realized. Men never believe that they are loved by us, 
 until they have brought us down into the mire! And this 
 is how he has rewarded me ! He makes nocturnal assigna- 
 tions with this stupid girl ! Ah ! He may as well pronounce 
 my sentence of death; and if he has the courage to do so, I 
 shall have the courage at once to bring about their eternal 
 separation ; I can do it ! But here he comes ! I feel faint ! 
 My God ! Why hast Thou made me love with such desperate 
 devotion him who no longer loves me ! 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 FERDINAND AND GERTRUDE. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Yesterday you deceived me. You came here last night, 
 through this room, entering by means of a false key, to see 
 Pauline, at the risk of being killed by M. de Grandchamp ! 
 Oh ! you needn't lie about it. I saw you, and I came upon 
 Pauline just as you had concluded your nocturnal promenade
 
 78 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 You have made a choice upon which I cannot offer you my 
 congratulations. If only you had heard us discussing the 
 matter, on this very spot! If you had seen the boldness of 
 this girl, the effrontery with which she denied everything 
 to me, you would have trembled for your future, that future 
 which belongs to me, and for which I have sold myself, body 
 and soul. 
 
 FERDINAND (aside) 
 
 What an avalanche of reproach ! (Aloud) Let us try, 
 Gertrude, both of us, to behave wisely in this matter. Above 
 all things, let us try to avoid base accusations. I shall never 
 forget what you have been to me; I still entertain towards 
 you a friendship which, is sincere, unalterable and absolute ; 
 but I no longer love you. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 That is, since eighteen months ago. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 No. Since three years ago. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 You must admit then that I have the right to detest and 
 make war upon your love for Pauline; for this love has ren- 
 dered you a traitor and criminal towards me. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Madame ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Yes, you have deceived me. In standing as you did 
 between us two, you made me assume a character which is 
 not mine. I am violent as you know. Violence is frankness, 
 and I am living" a life of outrageous duplicity. Tell me, do 
 you know what it is to have to invent new lies, on the spur 
 of the moment, every day,--to live with a dagger at your
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 79 
 
 heart ? Oh ! This lying ! But for us, it is the Nemesis of 
 happiness. It is disgraceful, when it succeeds; it is death, 
 when it fails. And you, other men envy you because you 
 make women love you. You will be applauded, while I shall 
 be despised. And you do not wish me to defend myself ! You 
 have nothing but bitter words for a woman who has hidden 
 from you everything her remorse her tears! I have suf- 
 fered alone and without you the wrath of heaven; alone and 
 without you I have descended into my soul's abyss, an abyss 
 which has been opened by the earthquake of sorrow; and, 
 while repentance was gnawing at my heart, I had for you 
 nothing but looks of tenderness, and smiles of gaiety ! Come, 
 Ferdinand, do not despise a slave who lies in such utter sub- 
 jection to your will ! 
 
 FERDINAND (aside) 
 
 I must put an end to this. (Aloud) Listen to' me, Ger- 
 trude. When first we met it was youth alone united us in 
 love. I then yielded, you may say, to an impulse of that 
 egotism which lies at the bottom of every man's heart, though 
 he knows it not, concealed under the flowers of youthful pas- 
 sion. There is so much turbulence in our sentiments at 
 twenty-two! The infatuation which may seize us then, per- 
 mits us not to reflect either upon life as it really is, or upon 
 the seriousness of its issues 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 How calmly he reasons upon it all ! Ah ! It is infamous ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 And at that time I loved you freely, with entire devotion ; 
 but afterwards afterwards, life changed its aspect for both 
 of us. If you ask why I remained under a roof which I should 
 never have approached, it is because I chose in Pauline the 
 only woman with whom it was possible for me to end my 
 days. Come, Gertrude, do not break yourself to pieces against
 
 80 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 the barrier raised by heaven. Do not torture two beings who 
 ask you to yield them happiness, and who will ever love you 
 dearly. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Ah, I see! You are the martyr and I I am the execu- 
 tioner! Would not I have been your wife to-day, if I had 
 not set your happiness above the satisfaction of my love ? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Very well! Do the same thing to-day, by giving me my 
 liberty. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 You mean the liberty of loving some one else. That is not 
 the way you spoke twelve years ago. Now it will cost my 
 life. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 It is only in romance that people die of love. In real life 
 they seek consolation. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Do not you men die for your outraged honor, for a word, 
 for a gesture? Well, there are women who die for their love, 
 that is, when their love is a treasure which has become their 
 all, which is their very life ! And I am one of these women. 
 Since you have been under this roof, Ferdinand, I have feared 
 a catastrophe every moment. Yes. And I always carry 
 about me something which will enable me to quit this life, the 
 very moment that misfortune falls on us. See ! (She shows 
 Mm a phial.) Now you know the life that I have lived ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Ah ! you weep ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 I swore that I would keep back these tears, but they are
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 81 
 
 strangling me ! For you While you speak to me with that 
 cold politeness which is your last insult, your last insult to 
 a love which you repudiate ! you show not the least sympathy 
 towards me! You would like to see me dead, for then you 
 would be unhampered by me. But, Ferdinand, you do not 
 know me ! I am willing to confess everything to the General, 
 whom I would not deceive. This lying fills me with disgust ! 
 I shall take my child, I shall come to your house, we will flee 
 together. But no more of Pauline ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 If you did this, I would kill myself. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 And I, too, would kill myself ! Then we should be united 
 in death, and you would never be hers ! 
 
 FERDINAND (aside) 
 What an infernal creature! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 And there is this consideration. What would you do if the 
 barrier which separates you from Pauline were never broken 
 down? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Pauline will be able to maintain her own independence. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 But if her father should marry her to some one else? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 It would be my death. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 People die of love in romance. In real life they console
 
 82 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 themselves with some one else, and a man only does his duty 
 by being true to her with whom he has plighted troth. 
 
 THE GENERAL (outside) 
 Gertrude ! Gertrude ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 I hear the General calling. (The General appears } You 
 will then finish your business as quickly as you can, M. Fer- 
 dinand, and return promptly; I shall wait for you here. 
 (Exit Ferdinand.) 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 THE GENERAL, GERTRUDE, THEN PAULINE. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 This is rather early in the morning for you to be holding 
 a conference with Ferdinand ! What were you discussing ? 
 The factory ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 What were we discussing? I will tell you; for you are 
 exactly like your son; when once you begin to ask questions, 
 you must have a direct answer. I had an impression that 
 Ferdinand had something to do with Pauline's refusal to 
 marry Godard. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 When I come to think of it, you were perhaps right. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 I got M. Ferdinand to come here for the purpose of clear- 
 ing up my suspicions, and you interrupted us at the very 
 moment when I seemed likely to gain some information. 
 '(Pauline pushes the door ajar unseen.)
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 83 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 But if my daughter is in love with M. Ferdinand 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 I must listen. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I do not see why, when I questioned her yesterday in a 
 paternal manner and with absolute kindness, she should have 
 concealed it from me, for I left her perfectly free, and her 
 feeling for him would be absolutely natural. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 She probably misunderstood you or you questioned her 
 before she had made up her mind. The heart of a young 
 girl, as you ought to know, is full of contradictions. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 And why should there not be something between them? 
 This young man toils with the courage of a lion, he is the 
 soul of honor, he is probably of good family. 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 I understand the situation now. (She withdraws.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 He will give us information on this point. He is above 
 all things trustworthy ; but you ought to know his family, for 
 it was you who discovered this treasure for us. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 I proposed him to you on the recommendation of old 
 Madame Morin. 
 
 THE GENERAE 
 But she is dead!
 
 84 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 It is very lucky that I quoted her then! (Aloud) She 
 told me that his mother was Madame de Charny to whom he 
 is devoted ; she lives in Brittany and belongs to the Charnys, 
 an old family of that country. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 The Charnys. Then if he is in love with Pauline, and 
 Pauline with him, I, for my part, would prefer him to 
 Godard in spite of Godard's fortune. Ferdinand understands 
 the business of the factory, he could buy the whole establish- 
 ment with the dowry of Pauline. That would be understood. 
 All he has to do is to tell us where he comes from, who he 
 is, and who his father was. But we will see his mother. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Madame Charny? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Yes, Madame Charny. Doesn't she live near Saint-Melo? 
 That is by no means at the other end of the world. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Just use a little tact, some of the manoeuvres of an old 
 soldier, and be very gentle, and you will soon learn whether 
 this child 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Why should I worry about it? Here comes Pauline her- 
 self. 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, MARGUERITE, THEN PAULINE. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Ah ! It is you, Marguerite. You came near causing the
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 85 
 
 death of my daughter last night by your carelessness. You 
 forgot 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 I, General, cause the death of my child ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 You forgot to take away the vase containing flowers of a 
 strong scent, and she was almost suffocated. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 Impossible! I took away the vase before the arrival of 
 M. Godard, and Madame must have seen that it was not 
 there while we were dressing Mademoiselle 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You are mistaken. It was there. 
 
 MARGUERITE (aside) 
 
 She's a hard one. (Aloud) Does not Madame remember 
 that she wished to put some natural flowers in Mademoiselle's 
 hair, and that she remarked about the vase being gone ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You are inventing a story. But where did you carry it? 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 To the foot of the veranda. 
 
 GERTRUDE (to the General) 
 Did you find it there last night ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 No. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 I took it from the chamber myself last night, and put it
 
 86 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 where it now stands. (Points to the vase of flowers on the 
 veranda.) 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Sir, I swear to you by my eternal salvation 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Do not swear. (Catting.) Pauline! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Pauline! (She appears.) 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Was the vase of flowers in your room last night ? 
 
 PAULINE. 
 
 Yes. Marguerite, my dear old friend, you must have for- 
 gotten it. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 Why don't you say, Mademoiselle, that some one put it 
 there on purpose to make you ill ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Whom do you mean by some one ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 You old fool, if your memory failed you, it is unnecessary 
 for you, at any rate, to accuse anybody else. 
 
 PAULINE (aside to Marguerite) 
 
 Keep silence! (Aloud) Marguerite, it was there! You 
 forgot it. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 It is true, sir, I was thinking of the day before yesterday.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 87 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 
 She has been in my service for twenty years. Strange that 
 she should be so persistent! (Takes Marguerite aside.) 
 Come ! What did you say about the flowers for my daughter's 
 hair? 
 
 MARGUERITE (while Pauline makes signs to her) 
 
 I said that, sir, I am so old that my memory is treach- 
 erous. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 But even then, why did you suppose that any one in the 
 house had an evil thought towards 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Say no more, father! She has so much affection for me, 
 dear Marguerite, that she is sometimes distracted by it. 
 
 MARGUERITE (aside) 
 I am quite sure I took away the flowers. 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 
 Why should my wife and my daughter deceive me? An old 
 trooper like me doesn't permit himself to be caught between 
 two fires, and there is something decidedly crooked 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Marguerite, we will take tea in this room when M. Godard 
 comes down. Tell Felix to bring in all the newspapers. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Very good, madame.
 
 88 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 GERTRUDE, THE GENERAL AND PAULINE. 
 
 THE GENERAL (kissing his daughter) 
 You've not even said good-morning to me, you unnatural 
 child. 
 
 PAULINE (kissing him) 
 
 But, you began by scolding about nothing. I declare, 
 father, I am going to undertake your education. It is quite 
 time for you, at your age, to control yourself a little, a 
 young man would not be so quick as you are ! You have ter- 
 rified Marguerite, and when women are in fear, they tell little 
 falsehoods, and you can get nothing out of them. 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 
 I'm in for it now ! (Aloud) Your conduct, young lady, 
 does not do much towards promoting my self-control. I wish 
 you to marry, and I propose a man who is young 
 
 PAULINE 
 Handsome and well educated ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Please keep silence, when your father addresses you, made- 
 moiselle. A man who possesses a magnificent fortune, at 
 least six times as much as yours, and you refuse him. You are 
 well able to do so, because I leave you free in the matter; but 
 if you do not care for Godard, tell me who it is you choose, 
 if I do not already know. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Ah, father, you are much more clear-sighted than I am. 
 Tell me who he is ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 He is a man from thirty to thirty-five years old, who
 
 THE STEPMOTHER St 
 
 pleases me much more than Godard does, although he is 
 without fortune. He is already a member of our family. 
 
 PAULINE 
 I don't see any of our relations here. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I wonder what you can have against this poor Ferdinand, 
 that you should be unwilling 
 
 PAULINE. ' 
 
 Ah ! Who has been telling you *iiis story ? Ill warrant 
 that it is Madame de Grandchamp. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 A story ? I suppose, you will deny the truth of it ! Have 
 /ou never thought of this fine young fellow? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Never! 
 
 GERTRUDE (to the General) 
 She is lying ! Just look at her. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Madame de Grandchamp has doubtless her reasons for 
 supposing that I have an attachment for my father's clerk. 
 Oh ! I see how it is, she wishes you to say : "If your heart, 
 my daughter, has no preference for any one, marry Godard." 
 (In a low voice to Gertrude) This, madame, is an atrocious 
 move ! To make me abjure my love in my father's presence ! 
 But I will have my revenge. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside to Pauline) 
 As you choose about that ; but marry Godard you shall !
 
 90 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 
 Can it be possible that these two are at variance ? I must 
 question Ferdinand. (Aloud) What were you saying to 
 each other ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Your daughter, my dear, did not like my idea that she 
 was taken with a subordinate ; ' she is deeply humiliated at 
 the thought. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Am I to understand, then, my daughter, that you are not 
 in love with him? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Father, I I do not ask you to marry me to any one! I 
 am perfectly happy! The only thing which God has given 
 us women, as our very own, is our heart. I do not under- 
 stand why Madame de Granclchamp, who is not my mother, 
 should interfere with my feelings. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 My child, I desire nothing but your happiness. I am 
 merely your stepmother, I know, but if you had been in love 
 with Ferdinand, I should have 
 
 THE GENERAL (kissing Gertrude's hand) 
 How good you are ! 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 
 I feel as if T were strangled ! Ah ! If I could only undo 
 her! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Yes, I should have thrown myself at your father's feet, 
 to win his consent, if he had refused it. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Here comes Ferdinand. (Aside) I shall question him at
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 91 
 
 my discretion; and then perhaps the mystery will be cleared 
 up. 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND FERDINAND. 
 
 THE GENERAL (to Ferdinand) 
 
 Come here, my friend. You have been with us over three 
 years now, and I am indebted to you for the power of sleep- 
 ing soundly amid all the cares of an extensive business. You 
 are almost as much as I am the master of my factory. You 
 have been satisfied with a salary, pretty large it is true, but 
 scarcely proportionate perhaps to the services rendered by 
 you. I think at last I understand the motive of your disin- 
 terestedness. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 It is my duty, General. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Granted; but does not the heart count for a good deal ifl 
 this? Come now, Ferdinand, you know my way of consid- 
 ering the different ranks of society, and the distinctions per- 
 taining to them. We are all the sons of our own works. I 
 have been a soldier. You may therefore have full confidence 
 in me. They have told me all ; how you love a certain young 
 person, here present. If you desire it, she shall be yours. My 
 wife has pleaded your cause, and I must acknowledge that 
 she has gained it before the tribunal of my heart. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 General, can this be true? Madame de Grandchamp has 
 pleaded my cause? Ah, madame! (He falls on his Tcnees 
 before her.) I acknowledge in this your greatness of heart! 
 You are sublime, you are an angel ! (Rising and rushing 
 forward to Pauline.) Pauline, my Pauline!
 
 92 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE (to the General) 
 I guessed aright; he is in love with Pauline. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Sir, have I ever given you the right, by a single look, or by 
 a single word, to utter my name in this way ? No one could 
 be more astonished than I am to find that I have inspired 
 you with sentiments which might flatter others, but which I 
 can never reciprocate; I have a higher ambition. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Pauline, my child, you are more than severe. Come, tell 
 me, is there not some misunderstanding here? Ferdinand, 
 come here, come close to me. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 How is it, mademoiselle, when your stepmother, and your 
 father agree ? 
 
 PAULINE (in a low voice to Ferdinand) 
 We are lost ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Now I am going to act the tyrant. Tell me, Ferdinand, of 
 course your family is an honorable one ? 
 
 PAULINE (to Ferdinand) 
 You hear that ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Your father must certainly have been a man of as honor- 
 able a profession as mine was; my father was sergeant of 
 the watch. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 They are now separated forever.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 93 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Ah! (To Gertrude] I understand your move. (To the 
 General) General, I do not deny that once in a dream, long 
 ago, in a sweet dream, in which it was delicious for a man 
 poor and without family to indulge in dreams we are told 
 are all the fortune that ever comes to the unfortunate I do 
 not deny that I once regarded it as a piece of overwhelming 
 happiness to become a member of your family ; but the recep- 
 tion which mademoiselle accords to those natural hopes of 
 mine, and which you have been cruel enough to make me 
 reveal, is such that at the present moment they have left my 
 heart, never again to return ! I have been rudely awakened 
 from that dream, General. The poor man has his pride, which 
 it is as ungenerous in the rich man to wound, as it would 
 be for any one to insult mark what I say your attachment 
 to Napoleon. (In a low voice to Gertrude) You are playing 
 a terrible part ! 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside to Ferdinand) 
 She shall marry Godard. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Poor young man! (To Pauline) He is everything that 
 is good! He inspires me with affection. (He takes Ferdi- 
 nand aside.} If I were in your place, and at your age, I 
 would have No, no, what the devil am I saying? After all 
 she is my daughter ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 General, I make an appeal to your honor; swear that you 
 will keep, as the most profound secret, what I am going 
 to confide to you; and this secrecy must extend so far even 
 as to Madame de Grandchamp. 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 
 What is this? He also, like my daughter, seems to dis- 
 trust my wife. But, by heaven, I will learn what it means !
 
 &4 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 (Aloud) I consent; you have the word of a man who has 
 never once broken a promise given. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 After having forced me to reveal that which I had buried 
 in the recesses of my heart, and after I have been thunder- 
 struck, for that is the only word in which to express it, by 
 the disdain of Mademoiselle Pauline, it is impossible for me 
 /to remain here any longer. I shall therefore put my accounts 
 in order; this evening I shall quit this place, and to-morrow 
 will leave France for America, if I can find a ship sailing 
 from Havre. 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 
 It is as well that he should leave, for he will be sure to 
 return. (To Ferdinand) May I tell this to my daughter? 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Yes, but to no one else. 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside to Pauline) 
 
 Pauline ! my daughter, you have so cruelly humiliated this 
 poor youth, that the factory is on the point of losing its 
 manager; Ferdinand is to leave this evening for America. 
 
 PAULINE (to the General) 
 
 He is right, father. He is doing of his own accord, what 
 you doubtless would have advised him to do. 
 
 GERTRUDE (to Ferdinand) 
 She shall many Godard. 
 
 FERDINAND (to Gertrude) 
 
 If I do not punish you for your atrocious conduct, God 
 Himself will !
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 95 
 
 THE GENERAL (to Pauline) 
 America is a long way off and the climate is deadly. 
 
 PAULINE (to the General) 
 Many a fortune is made there. 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 
 She does not love him. (To Ferdinand) Ferdinand, you 
 must not leave before I have put in your hands sufficient to 
 start you on the road to fortune. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 I thank you, General ; but what is due me will be sufficient. 
 Moreover, I shall not be missed in your factor) 7 , for I have 
 trained Champagne so thoroughly as a foreman, that he is 
 skillful enough to become my successor; and if you will go 
 with me to the factory, you will see 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I will gladly accompany you. (Aside) Everything is in 
 such a muddle here, that I must go and look for Vernon. 
 The advice and clear-sightedness of my old friend, the doctor, 
 will be of service in ferreting out what it is that disturbs this 
 household, for there is something or other. Ferdinand, I 
 will follow you. Ladies, we will soon be back again. (Aside) 
 There is something or other! (The General follows Ferdi- 
 nand out.) 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 GERTRUDE AND PAULINE. 
 
 PAULINE (locking the door) 
 
 Madame, do you consider that a pure love, a love which 
 comprises and enhances all human happiness, which makes
 
 96 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 us understand that happiness which is divine, do you con- 
 sider such a love to be dearer and more precious to us than 
 life? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 You have been reading the Nouvelle Heloise, my dear. 
 What you say is rather stilted in diction, but it is nevertheless 
 true. 
 
 PAULINE 
 .Well, madame, you have just caused me to commit suicide. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 The very act you would have been happy to see me commit ; 
 and if you had succeeded in forcing me to it, you would have 
 felt in your heart the joy which fills mine at present. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 'According to my father, war between civilized nations has 
 its laws; but the war which you wage against me, madame, 
 is that of savages. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 You may do as I do, if you can but you can do nothing ! 
 You shall marry Godard. He is a very good match for you ; 
 you will be very happy, I assure you, for he has fine qualities. 
 
 PAULINE 
 And you think that I will quietly let you marry Ferdinand ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 After the few words which we have exchanged this eve- 
 ning, why should we now indulge in the language of hypocrisy ? 
 I was in love with Ferdinand, my dear Pauline, when you 
 were but eight years old. 
 
 PAULINE 
 But now you are more than thirty and I am still young.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 97 
 
 Moreover, he hates you, he abhors you ! He has told me so, 
 and he wishes to have nothing to do with a woman capable 
 of the black treachery with which you have acted towards 
 my father. 
 
 GEETKDDE 
 
 In the eyes of Ferdinand, my love will serve as my vindi- 
 cation. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 He shares the feelings which I have for you; he despises 
 you, madame. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Do you really believe it? Well, if it so, my dear, I have 
 one more reason for the position I take, for if he refuses to 
 become my husband, to gratify his love, Pauline, you will 
 force me to marry him for the sake of satisfying my revenge. 
 When he came to this house, was he not aware that I was 
 here? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 You probably caught him by some such snare as you have 
 just set for us. and into which both of us have fallen. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Now, my child, a single word more will put an end to every- 
 thing between us. Have you not said a hundred times, a 
 thousand times, in moments when you were all feeling, all 
 soul, that you would make the greatest sacrifices for Ferdi- 
 nand? 
 
 PAULINE. 
 Yes, madame. 
 
 GERTRUDE. 
 
 You said you would leave your father, would flee from 
 France ; you would give your life, your honor, your salvation 
 for Ferdinand?
 
 Yes, and if there is anything else that I can offer besides 
 myself this world and heaven ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Let me tell you, then, that all that you have wished to do, 
 I have done ! It is enough therefore to assure you that noth- 
 ing, not even death itself, can arrest my course. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 In saying this, you give me the right to defend myself 
 before my father (Aside) Ferdinand! Our love, 
 (Gertrude takes a seat on the sofa during the soliloquy of 
 Pauline) as she has said, is greater than life. (To Ger- 
 trude) Madame, you must repair all the evil that you have 
 done to me; the sole difficulties which lie in the way of my 
 marriage with Ferdinand, you must overcome. Yes, you, 
 who have complete control over my father, you must make 
 him forego his hatred of the son of General Marcandal. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 And do you really mean that ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Yes, madame. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 And what means do you possess formidable enough to com- 
 pel me to do so ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Are we not carrying on a warfare of savages? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Say rather, of women, which is even more terrible ! Sav- 
 ages torment the body alone; while we direct our arrows
 
 TEE STEPMOTHER 99 
 
 against the heart, the self-love, the pride, the soul of those 
 whom we attack in the very midst of their happiness. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 That is truly said. It is the whole woman-nature that I 
 attack. Therefore, my dear and truly honored stepmother, 
 you must eliminate by to-morrow, and not later, all the 
 obstacles that stand between me and Ferdinand; or you may 
 be sure my father shall learn from me the whole course of 
 your conduct, both before and after your marriage. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Ah ! That is the way you are going to do it ! Poor child ! 
 He will never believe you. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Oh, I know the domination you exercise over my father; 
 but I have proofs. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Proofs ! Proofs ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 I went to Ferdinand's house I am very inquisitive and 
 I found there your letters, madame ; I took from among them 
 those which would convince even the blindness of my father, 
 for they will prove to him 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 What will they prove? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Everything ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 But, this will be, unhappy child, both theft and murder! 
 For think of his age.
 
 100 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 And have not you accomplished the murder of my happi- 
 ness? Have you not forced me to deny, both to my father 
 and to Ferdinand, my love, my glory, my life ? 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 This is a mere trick; she knows nothing. (Aloud) This is 
 a clever stratagem, but I never wrote a single line. What 
 you say is not true. It is impossible. Where are the letters ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 They are in my possession. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 In your room ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 They are where you can never reach them. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 Madness with its wildest dreams spins through my brain ! 
 My fingers itch for murder. It is in such moments as this 
 that men kill each other ! How gladly would I kill her ! My 
 God ! do not forsake me ! Leave me my reason ! (Aloud) 
 Wait a moment. 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 
 My thanks to you, Ferdinand ! I see how much you love 
 me; I have been able to pay back to her all the wrongs she 
 did us a short time ago and she shall save us from all we 
 feared ! 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 She must have them about her, but how can I be sure of 
 that? Ah! (Aloud) Pauline! If you have had these letters 
 for long, you must have known that I was in love with Fer- 
 dinand. You can only lately have received them.
 
 Copyright, /yo2, by J. D. A. 
 
 
 Gertrude and Pauline.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 101 
 
 PAULINE 
 They came into my hands this morning. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You have not read them all? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Enough to find out that they would ruin you. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Pauline, life is just beginning for you. (A knock is heard.) 
 Ferdinand is the first man, young, well educated and dis- 
 tinguished, for he is distinguished, by whom you have been 
 attracted ; but there are many others in the world such as he 
 is. Ferdinand has been in a certain sense under the same 
 roof with you, and you have seen him every day ; the first im- 
 pulses of your heart have therefore directed you to him. I 
 understand this, and it is quite natural. Had I been in your 
 place I should doubtless have experienced the same feelings. 
 But, my dear, you know not the ways either of the world or of 
 society. And if, like so many other women, you have been 
 deceiving yourself for we women, ah, how often are we thus 
 deceived ! you still can make another choice. But for me 
 the deed has been done, I have no other choice to make. Fer- 
 dinand is all I have, for I have passed my thirtieth year, and 
 I have sacrificed to him what I should have kept unsullied 
 the honor of an aged man. The field is clear for you, you may 
 yet love some other man more ardently than you can love to- 
 day this is my experience. Pauline, child, give him up, and 
 you will learn what a devoted slave you will have in me ! You 
 will have more than a mother, more than a friend, you will 
 have the unstinted help of a soul that is lost ! Oh ! listen to 
 me ! (She Tcneels, and raises her hands to Pauline's corsage.) 
 Behold me at your feet, acknowledging you my rival ! Is this 
 sufficient humiliation for me? Oh, if you only knew what 
 this costs a woman to undergo ! Relent ! Relent, and save me.
 
 102 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 (A loud knocking is heard, she takes advantage of Pauline's 
 confusion to feel for the letters.) Give back my life to me! 
 (Aside) She has them! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Oh, leave me, madame ! Will you force me to call for 
 some one? (She pushes Gertrude away, and proceeds to open 
 the door.) 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 I was not deceived, she has them about her ; but I must not 
 leave them with her one single hour. 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, THE GENERAL AND VERNON. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 You two, locked in together! Why did you call out, 
 Pauline ? 
 
 VERNON 
 How pale you are, my child ! Let me feel your pulse. 
 
 THE GENERAL (to Gertrude) 
 And you also seem to be very much excited, 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 There was a joke between us and we were indulging in a 
 laugh ; weren't we, Pauline ? You were laughing, my pet ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Yes, papa. Dear mamma and I were in a gale of laughter. 
 
 VERNON (in a low voice to Pauline) 
 That's a pretty big lie !
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 103 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Didn't you hear us knocking? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 We heard quite plainly, papa; but we didn't know it was 
 you. 
 
 THE GENERAL (in a low voice to Vernon) 
 
 They seem to be leagued against me. (Aloud) But what 
 was it all about? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Dear husband, you always want to know everything! We 
 were speaking for the moment about the tenants, about some 
 acquaintances of ours. But let me go and ring for tea. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 But tell me all about it? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Why this is sheer tyranny! To tell the truth, we locked 
 ourselves in so that no one should disturb us. Is that plain 
 enough ? 
 
 VERNON 
 I should think it quite plain. 
 
 GERTRUDE (whispering to the General) 
 I wished to worm her secrets out of your daughter, for it 
 is evident that she has some secrets! And you come inter- 
 rupting us, while I am working in your service for Pauline 
 is not my daughter ; you arrive, as if you were charging a hos- 
 tile squadron, and interrupt us, at the very moment I was 
 going to learn something. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Madame the Countess of Grandchamp, ever since the arrival 
 of Godard
 
 104 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Ah ! yes, Godard. Well ! he is here still. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Do not ridicule my words! Ever since yesterday nothing 
 has gone as usual ! By God ! I'd like to know 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Sir, this oath is the first I have ever heard from you. 
 Felix, bring in the tea. (To the General} You are tired, it 
 seems, of twelve years of happiness ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I am not, and never will he a tyrant. A little time ago I 
 came unexpectedly upon you and Ferdinand engaged in con- 
 versation, and I felt I was in the way. Again, I come here 
 and you are locked in with my daughter, and my appearance 
 seemed to put you out. And to cap all, last night 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Come, General, you can quarrel with Madame as much as 
 you like, hut not before other people. (Godard is heard ap- 
 proaching.} I hear Godard. (Whispers to the General} Is 
 this keeping your promise to me ? In treating with women I 
 am bound as a doctor to admit it you must leave them to be- 
 tray themselves ; while at the same time you watch them care- 
 fully; otherwise your violence draws forth their tears, and 
 when once the hydraulic machinery begins to play, they 
 drown a man as if they had the strength of a triple Hercules ! 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND GODARD. 
 
 GODARD 
 Ladies, I came once before to present my compliments and
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 105 
 
 respects to you, but I found the door closed. General, I wish 
 you good-day. ( The General takes up a newspaper and waves 
 his hand in greeting.) Ah! Here is my adversary of yester- 
 day's game. Have you come to take your revenge, doctor ? 
 
 VERNON 
 No, I came to take some tea. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Ah! I see you keep up here the custom of the English, 
 Eussians and Chinese. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Would you prefer some coffee ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Marguerite, bring in some coffee. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 No, no ; allow me to have some tea ; I will, for once, deviate 
 from my every-day custom. Moreover, you have your luncheon 
 at noon, I see, and a cup of coffee with cream would take 
 away my appetite for that meal. And then the English, the 
 Eussians and the Chinese are not entirely incorrect in taste. 
 
 , VERNON 
 Tea, sir, is an excellent thing. 
 
 GODARD 
 Yes, when it is good. 
 
 PAULINE 
 This is caravan tea. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Doctor, have you seen the papers? (To Pauline) Go and 
 talk to M. de Eimonville, my daughter; I, myself, will make 
 tea.
 
 106 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Perhaps Mile, de Grandchamp likes my conversation no 
 better than my person ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 You are mistaken, sir. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Godard 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Should you do me the favor of no longer seeking me in 
 marriage, you would still possess in my eyes qualities of suffi- 
 cient brilliancy to captivate the young ladies Boudeville, Clin- 
 ville, Derville, etc. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 That is enough, mademoiselle. Ah ! How you do ridicule 
 an unfortunate lover, in spite of his income of forty thousand 
 francs ! The longer I stay here, the more I regret it. What 
 a lucky fellow M. Ferdinand de Charny is ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Lucky ? Why is he lucky ? P.oor fellow ! Does his good for- 
 tune consist in the fact that he is my father's clerk? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 M. de Eimonville 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Godard 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 M. de Eimonville 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Godard, my wife is speaking to you. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Do you like much or little sugar ?
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 107 
 
 GODAED 
 A moderate quantity. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Not much cream, I suppose ? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 On the contrary, plenty of cream, countess. (To Pauline} 
 Ah ! M. Ferdinand is not then, after all, the man who whom 
 you have distinguished by your favor? I can at least assure 
 you that he is very much to the taste of your stepmother. 
 
 PAULINE (aside} 
 How annoying these inquisitive provincials are ! 
 
 GODARD (aside} 
 
 It is fair that I should amuse myself a little at her expense 
 before I take leave. I must get something out of this visit. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 M. de Rimonville, if you desire anything solid, there are 
 sandwiches here. 
 
 GODARD 
 Thank you, madame. 
 
 GERTRUDE (whispering to Godard) 
 Your cause is not wholly lost. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 madame ! I have thought a great deal over my rejection 
 by Mile, de Grandchamp. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Ah ! (To the doctor) Doctor, you will take yours as usual, 
 I suppose ?
 
 108 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 VEBNON 
 If you please, madame. 
 
 GODARD (to Pauline) 
 
 Did you say, "poor fellow," mademoiselle? for M. Ferdi- 
 nand is not so poor as you think him. He is richer than I am ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 How do you know that ? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 I am certain of it, and I will tell you why. This M. Ferdi- 
 nand, whom you think you know, is an exceedingly crafty 
 fellow 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 Can he possibly know his real name ? 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 A few drops of opium in her tea will put her to sleep, and 
 I shall be saved. 
 
 GODARD (to Pauline) 
 
 You cannot deny the authority of him who has put me on 
 the track. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Oh, sir ! Kindly tell 
 
 GODARD 
 
 It was the prosecuting attorney. I remembered that at the 
 house of the Boudevilles it was said that your clerk 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 He is putting me on the rack. 
 
 GERTRUDE (offering a cup to Pauline) 
 Here, Pauline.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 109 
 
 VERNON (aside) 
 
 Am I dreaming? I thought I saw her put something into 
 Pauline's cup. 
 
 PAULINE (to Oodard) 
 And what did they say ? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Ah ! Ah ! How attentive you are ! I should have been ex- 
 ceedingly flattered to think that you put on that air when any 
 one was talking about me, as I am now talking about M. 
 Ferdinand de Charny. 
 
 PAULINE 
 What a strange taste this tea has ! You find yours good ? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 You talk about the tea in order to distract my attention 
 from the interest you take in wha't I am telling you. I see 
 through it all ! Well, come now, I am going to astonish you. 
 You must know that M. Ferdinand is 
 
 PAULINE 
 Is? 
 
 GODARD 
 A millionaire. 
 
 PAULINE 
 You are joking, M. Godard. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 On my word of honor, mademoiselle, he possesses a treasure. 
 (Aside) She is madly in love with him. 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 
 How this fool startled me. (She rises from her seat and 
 Wernon takes the teacup from her hand.)
 
 110 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 VERNON 
 Let me take it, my child. 
 
 THE GENERAL (to his wife) 
 What ails you, dearest? you seem 
 
 YERNON (who has retained Pauline's cup and returned his 
 
 own in its place to Gertrude. Aside) 
 It is laudanum ; fortunately the dose is light ; but it is very 
 certain that something is about to happen. (To Godard) 
 M. Godard, you are a crafty fox. ( Godard takes out his hand- 
 Tcer chief as if to blow his nose.) Ah! 
 
 GODARD 
 Doctor, I bear no ill-will. 
 
 YERNON 
 
 Listen ! Do you think that you could carry off the General 
 to the factory and keep him there for an hour? 
 
 GODARD 
 I would like to have that youngster to help me. 
 
 YERNON 
 He is at school until dinner-time. 
 
 GODARD 
 Why do you wish me to do this ? 
 
 YERNON 
 
 Now I beg of you, for you are a good fellow, to do as I bid 
 yon ; it is necessary. Do you love Pauline ? 
 
 GODARD 
 I did love her yesterday, but this morning (Aside) I
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 111 
 
 must find out what he is concealing from me. (To Vernon) 
 It shall be done ! I will go on to the veranda and come back 
 again with a message that Ferdinand sends for the General. 
 You may rely upon me. Ah ! Here is Ferdinand himself, that 
 is all right! (Goes on the veranda.) 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 "Pis peculiar, how drowsy I feel. (She lies down on the 
 divan; Ferdinand appears and talks with Godard.) 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND FERDINAND. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 General, it will he necessary for you to come to the office 
 and the factory in order to verify my accounts. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 That is only just to you. 
 
 PAULINE (drowsily)' 
 Ferdinand ! 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Ah, General, I'll take advantage of this occasion to visit 
 your establishment with you, for I have never seen it. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Very good, come along Godard. 
 
 GODARD 
 De Rimonville. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 If they go away, fortune will favor nie indeed.
 
 112 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 VEENON (who has overheard her; aside) 
 Fortune, in this case, is represented by me 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 GERTRUDE, VERNON, PAULINE, AND LATER MARGUERITE. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Doctor, would you like another cup of tea? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Thank you, but I am so deep in the election returns that I 
 have not yet finished my first cup. 
 
 GERTRUDE (pointing to Pauline^ 
 Poor child, you see she is sleeping? 
 
 VERNON 
 How is this? She is sleeping? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 It is no wonder. Imagine, doctor, she did not go to sleep 
 until three o'clock this morning. We were greatly disturbed 
 last night. 
 
 VERNON 
 Let me assist you to carry her to her room. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 It is not necessary. Marguerite, help me put this poor child; 
 to bed. She. will be more comfortable there. 
 
 (Marguerite comes forward and assists Gertrude to carry 
 Pauline away.)
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 113 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 VERNON, AND FELIX (who enters at this juncture) 
 
 VEENON 
 Felix! 
 
 FELIX 
 Is there anything I can do for you, sir? 
 
 VEENON 
 
 Is there a closet anywhere here in which I can lock up 
 something? 
 
 FELIX (pointing to the closet) 
 Here is a place, sir. 
 
 VEENON 
 
 Good! Felix, don't say a word of this to a single soul. 
 (Aside) He will be sure to remember it. (Aloud) I am play- 
 ing a trick on the General, and the trick will fail if you say 
 anything. 
 
 FELIX 
 
 I will be as dumb as a fish. (The doctor takes from him 
 the key of the closet.) 
 
 VEENON 
 
 And now leave me alone with your mistress, who is coming 
 back here, and be on the watch that no one interrupts us for 
 a moment. 
 
 FELIX (going out) 
 
 Marguerite was right; there is something in the wind, that's 
 certain. 
 
 MARGUEEITE (returning) 
 
 There is nothing the matter. Mademoiselle is sleeping 
 quietly. (Exit.)
 
 114 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 
 VERNON (alone) 
 
 What can have set by the ears two women who have hith- 
 erto lived in peace ? All doctors, little though they be philoso- 
 phers, can tell. The poor General, who all his life has had 
 no other idea excepting that of escaping the common lot ! 'Yet 
 I see no one here likely to cause him jealousy, but myself and 
 Ferdinand. It is not probable that I am the man; but Fer- 
 dinand Yet I have so far noticed nothing I hear her com- 
 ing ! Now for the tug-of-war ! 
 
 SCENE FOURTEENTH. 
 VERNON AND GERTRUDE. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 I have them ! I am going to burn them in my chamber. 
 (She meets Vernon.) Ah! 
 
 VERNON 
 Madame, I have sent everybody away. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 May I ask you why? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 In order that we may have our explanation without wit- 
 nesses. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Explanation! By what right do you you, the parasite 
 of the house, pretend to have an explanation with the Cow 
 tesse de Grandchamp?
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 115 
 
 VERNON 
 
 I, a parasite ? Madame ! I have an income of ten thousand 
 francs, besides my pension; I have the rank of general, and 
 my fortune will be bequeathed to the children of my old 
 friend ! A parasite indeed ! You forget that I am not only 
 here as a friend but as a doctor, and you poured certain drops 
 of laudanum into Pauline's tea. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 I? 
 
 VERNON 
 I saw you do it, and I have the cup. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You have the cup ? Why, I washed it myself ! 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Yes, you washed mine, which I gave you in exchange for 
 that of Pauline! I was not reading the newspaper, I was 
 watching you. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Oh! sir, how unworthy of you! 
 
 VERNON 
 
 You must confess that what I did then is of great service 
 to you, for if you had by the effect of that draught brought 
 Pauline to the brink of the grave, you would have been very 
 glad of my services. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 The brink of the grave why, doctor, I put in only a very 
 few drops. 
 
 VERNON 
 You admit, then, that you put opium in her tea.
 
 11C THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Doctor this is outrageous! 
 
 VERNON 
 
 That I have obtained a confession from you ? Every woman 
 under the same circumstances would have said the same thing. 
 I know it by experience. But that is not all. You have sev- 
 eral other things to confide in me. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 He is a spy ! The only thing I can do is to make him my 
 accomplice. (Aloud) Doctor, you are too useful to me to 
 admit of our quarreling. In a moment, if you will wait here, 
 I will return and speak frankly to you. (She goes into her 
 chamber and locks the door.) 
 
 VERNON 
 
 She has turned the key ! I am caught, tricked ! I cannot 
 after all resort to violence. What is she doing ? She is going 
 to hide her flask of opium. A man is always wrong when he 
 undertakes to discharge for a friend the offices which my old 
 friend, this poor General, expects of me. She is going to 
 entangle me Ah ! Here she comes. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 I have burnt them ! There is not a trace left I am saved I 
 [(Aloud) Doctor! 
 
 VERNON 
 Madame ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 My stepdaughter Pauline, whom you believed to be an 
 innocent girl, an angel, had carried off furtively and crimi- 
 nally something whose discovery would have compromised the 
 honor and the life of four persons.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 117 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Four ! (Aside) That is herself, the General Ah ! her son, 
 perhaps and the unknown. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 This secret, concerning which she is forced to keep silence, 
 even though it imperilled her life to do so 
 
 VERNON 
 I don't quite catch your meaning. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 In short, the proofs of this secret are now destroyed ! And 
 3 r ou, doctor, who love us all, you would be as base, as in- 
 famous as she is even more so, because you are a man, and 
 have not the insensate passions of a woman ! You would be 
 a monster if you were to take another step along the path on 
 which you have now started 
 
 VERNON 
 
 You mean that for intimidation? Madame, since civilized 
 society first sprang into being, the seed which you are sow- 
 ing has produced a crop whose name is crime. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 But there are four lives at stake ; remember that. (Aside) 
 He is giving way. (Aloud) In spite of this danger I demand 
 that you will assist me in maintaining peace here, and that 
 you will immediately go and get something by which Pauline 
 may be roused from her slumber. And you will explain, if 
 necessary, her drowsiness to the General. Further, you will 
 give me back the cup, for I am sure you intend to do so, and 
 each step that we take together in this affair shall be fully 
 explained to you, 
 
 VEENON 
 
 Madame !
 
 118 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 We must separate now, for the General will soon be back. 
 
 VERNON (aside) 
 
 I shall still look after you! I have now a weapon that I 
 can use and (Exit) . 
 
 SCENE FIFTEENTH. 
 
 GERTRUDE (alone, leaning against the closet in which the cup 
 is locked up) 
 
 Where can he have hidden that cup ? 
 
 Curtain to the Third Act.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 119 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 (Pauline's chamber.) 
 
 GERTRUDE AND PAULINE (the latter sleeping on a large arm- 
 chair on the left). 
 
 GERTRUDE (cautiously entering) 
 
 She is sleeping, and the doctor said that she would wake up 
 at once. Her slumber alarms me. This then is the girl that he 
 is in love with. I do not find her pretty at all. Oh, yes, after 
 all, she is beautiful ! But how is it that men do not see that 
 beauty is nothing but a promise, and that love is the (some 
 one knocks). How is this; there are people coming. 
 
 VERNON (outside) 
 May I come in, Pauline? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 It is the doctor. 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND VERNON. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You told me that she would soon awake. 
 
 VERNON 
 Don't be alarmed. (Calling aloud) Pauline! Pauline!
 
 120 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 PAULINE (awakening) 
 
 M. Vernon! Where am I? Ah! In my own room. 
 What has happened to me ? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 My child, you fell asleep while you were taking your tea. 
 Madame de Grandchamp feared as I did that this was the 
 beginning of a sickness; but it is no such thing. It is alto- 
 gether, as it seems to me, the consequence of a night without 
 sleep. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 And now, Pauline, how do you feel ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 1 have been sleeping and madame was here while I slept ! 
 (She starts up; puts her hand upon her bosom.} Ah! it is 
 outrageous! (To Vernon) Doctor, can you have been an 
 accomplice ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 An accomplice in what? What were you going to say? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 I ! my child ! Could you suppose that I was the accomplice 
 of an evil action wrought against you, whom I love as if you 
 were my daughter ? Don't speak of such a thing as that ! But 
 come, tell me ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 There is nothing, doctor, nothing to say ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Let me speak a few words to her. 
 
 VERNON (aside) 
 What possible motive can there be for a young child to
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 121 
 
 keep silence, when she is the victim of such an act of treachery 
 as this? 
 
 GERTRUDE (in a low voice to Pauline) 
 
 So you see, Pauline, you didn't long keep in your possession 
 the proofs which you intended taking to your father in your 
 ridiculous accusation of me ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 I understand all; you gave me a narcotic in order to de- 
 prive me of them. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 We are equally inquisitive. I have done to you what you 
 did to me in Ferdinand's apartments. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 You are triumphant now, madame, but it will soon be my 
 turn. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 The war, then, is to continue ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 War, madame? Call it a duel! One or the other of us 
 must go. 
 
 GERTEUDE 
 You are tragic. 
 
 VERNON (aside) 
 
 There appears to be no outbreak between them, nor the 
 least misunderstanding ! But stay, an idea strikes me ; sup- 
 pose I go and look for Ferdinand? (He prepares to go out.) 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Doctor !
 
 122 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 VERNON 
 Madame ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 We must have a talk together. (Whispering) I shall not 
 leave you until you have given me back 
 
 VERNON 
 I stated to you the sole condition 
 
 PAULINE 
 Doctor ! 
 
 VERNON (going to her) 
 My child? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Are you aware that my sleep just now was not a natural 
 one? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Yes, you were put to sleep by your stepmother. I have proof 
 of it. But do you know the reason why ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Oh ! doctor, it is 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Doctor ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 Later on, I will tell you all. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Already from each one of them I have learned something 
 of what lies beneath. Ah ! poor General ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 I am waiting, doctor. (He bows and escorts Gertrude out.)
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 123 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 
 PAULINE (alone; she rings) 
 
 Yes, the only alternative left me is to flee with him ; if we 
 continue this conflict, my stepmother and I, it can but result in 
 my father's dishonor. Would it not be better to disobey him ? 
 Then I will write to him I will be generous, because my 
 triumph over her will be complete I will let my father still 
 believe in her, and will explain my flight by attributing it to 
 the hatred which he bears to the name of Marcandal and to 
 my love for Ferdinand. 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 PAULINE AND MARGUERITE. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Does mademoiselle feel well again ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Yes, I am well enough in body ; but in mind Oh, I am in 
 despair! My poor Marguerite, unfortunate is the girl who 
 has lost her mother 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 And whose father has for his second wife such a woman 
 as Madame de Grandchamp. But tell me, mademoiselle, am 
 I not to you a humble and devoted mother ? My affection for 
 you as a nurse has grown in proportion to the hate with which 
 this stepmother regards you. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Yes, Marguerite, you may believe it, but you delude your- 
 self. Your love can never be as great as her hatred.
 
 124 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Oh ! mademoiselle ! If you would oniy put me to the proof ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 Keally ? Would you leave France for me ? 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 To be with you, I would travel to the Indies. 
 
 PAULINE 
 And would you start at once ? 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 At once ! My baggage is not heavy. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Well, Marguerite, we will start to-night, and secretly. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 But why is this? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 You ask me why? Do you not know that Madame de 
 Grandchamp put me to sleep with opium? 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 I know it. mademoiselle, and Doctor Vernon knows it also, 
 for Felix told me that he put under lock and key your tea- 
 cup. But why did she do it ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Say not a word about it, if you love me ! And if you are 
 as devoted to me as you profess to be, go to your room and 
 gather together all that you possess, so quietly that none shall 
 suspect that you are preparing for a journey. We will start 
 after midnight. You must now take from me here, and carry
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 125 
 
 to your room, my jewels and all that I shall need for a long 
 journey. Use the utmost caution ; for if my stepmother had 
 the least idea of what we are doing, I should be ruined. 
 
 Ruined ! But, mademoiselle, what is come over you ? 
 Think seriously before you leave your home. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Do you wish to see me die? 
 
 MAKGUERITE 
 Die? Oh, mademoiselle, I will at once obey your wishes. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Marguerite, tell M. Ferdinand to bring me my year's allow- 
 ance; bid him come this moment. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 He was under your windows when I came in. 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 
 Under my windows ! doubtless he thought that he would 
 never see me again. Poor Ferdinand! (Exit Marguerite.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 PAULINE (alone) 
 
 When I think of leaving my father's house, it at once 
 comes home to me that my father will seek me many a day, 
 far and wide. With what treasures love ought to repay me, 
 for such sacrifices, for I abandon to follow Ferdinand my 
 country, my father, and my home! But at any rate, this
 
 126 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 shameless woman will lose him without hope of restoration ! 
 Moreover, I shall return ! The doctor and M. Ramel will win 
 for me forgiveness from my father. I think I hear the step of 
 Ferdinand ! Yes, it is actually he ! 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 PAULINE AND FERDINAND. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Oh, my love, my Ferdinand ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 And I thought that I should never see you again ! Marguer- 
 ite, I see, knows all. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 She knows nothing yet; but this night she shall learn of 
 our flight, for we shall be free ; and you shall take your wife 
 with you. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Oh, Pauline, do not deceive me ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 I was making arrangements to rejoin you in your place of 
 exile ; but this odious woman has hurried on my resolution. 
 There is no merit in what I am doing, it is a question of life 
 and death to me. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Of life and death ! Tell me what has she been doing ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 She almost poisoned me ; she drugged me, in order to take
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 127 
 
 the letters I carried about me! By what she has dared to 
 do, in order to keep you for herself, I judge what she yet may 
 do. If therefore we wish to be united, our only hope lies in 
 flight. Therefore let us not say farewell ! This night we 
 must find some refuge or other But where ? That lies with 
 you. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Ah ! These words, how wild with joy they make me ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Ferdinand ! Take every precaution ; hurry to Louviers, go 
 to the house of your friend, the prosecuting attorney; secure 
 our passports, and a carriage with fast horses. I fear that 
 my father, urged on by this stepmother, may try to overtake 
 us ! May he fail to do so ; he would kill us, for I am telling 
 him in this letter the fatal secret of your birth which compels 
 me thus to leave him. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Dismiss your fears. Eugene completed his preparations 
 for my departure yesterday. Here is the sum of money which 
 your father owed me. (He shows her a pocket-book.) Give 
 me your receipt. (He puts down some money on the table.) 
 I have only to give in my balance sheet in order to be free. 
 We shall reach Rouen in three hours, and at Havre we shall 
 take an American ship. Eugene has sent a trusty man to 
 secure me a passage on board. The officers of the vessel will 
 think it only natural that a man should take his wife abroad 
 with him, so we shall meet with no obstacle 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND GERTRUDE. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Excepting me.
 
 128 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 PAULINE 
 We are lost! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 So you are going to start without telling me, Ferdinand? 
 Oh, indeed ! But I have heard it all. 
 
 FERDINAND (to Pauline) 
 
 Mademoiselle, have the goodness to give me your receipt, it 
 is indispensable in completing the account which I must give 
 to your father before leaving. (To Gertrude) Madame, you 
 may be able, perhaps, to prevent mademoiselle from going 
 away ; but I can no longer remain here, and I must absolutely 
 start to-night. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You must stay here, and you shall stay here, sir I 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Against my will ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 What mademoiselle wishes to do, I myself will do, and with- 
 out fear. I will make M. de Grandchamp come into this very 
 room, and you will at once see that he will compel you to leave, 
 but with me and my child. (Felix appears.) Beg M. de 
 Grandchamp to come here. 
 
 FERDINAND (to Pauline) 
 
 I see her object. Detain her here, while I overtake Felix, 
 and prevent him from speaking to the General ! Eugene will 
 tell you how you must act after my departure. When once 
 we have left this place, Gertrude will be powerless to oppose 
 us. (To Gertrude) Farewell, madame. You lately made an 
 attack on Pauline's life, and by this act have broken the last 
 ties that bound me to your friendship.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 129 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 You have nothing but accusations for me ! But you do not 
 know what mademoiselle intended telling her father concern- 
 ing you and me. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 I love her, and will love her all my life ; I shall be able to 
 defend her against you, and I prize her high enough to suffer 
 banishment in order to obtain her. Farewell. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Dear, dear Ferdinand! 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 GERTRUDE AND PAULINE. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Now that we are alone, do you know why I have summoned 
 your father? It is in order to tell him the name and family 
 of Ferdinand. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Madame, what are you going to do ? My father, as soon as 
 he learns that the son of General Marcandal has won the love 
 of his daughter, will get to Havre as quickly as Ferdinand 
 does. He will come up with him, and then 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 I would sooner see Ferdinand dead than united to any one 
 but myself, especially when I feel in my heart as much hatred 
 for that other one as I have love for him. Such is my final 
 word in our mortal duel. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Madame, I am now at your feet, as you but now were at
 
 130 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 mine. Let us slay each other if you like, but let us not murder 
 him ! Let his life be spared, though it be at the cost of mine ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Will you give him up ? 
 
 PAFUNE 
 I will, madame. 
 
 GERTRUDE (she lets her handkerchief fall in the excitement of 
 
 her passionate speech) 
 
 You are deceiving me ! You tell me this, because he loves 
 you, because he has already insulted me by avowing it, and 
 because you believe that he will not love me any longer. Now 
 this will not do, Pauline, you must give me some pledges of 
 your sincerity. 
 
 PAULINE (aside) 
 
 Her handkerchief ! Ah ! I see with it the key of her desk. 
 It is there that the poison is locked up! (Aloud) Did you 
 say pledges of my sincerity ? I will give them to you. What 
 do you demand? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Eeally, I do not care for more than one proof that you mean 
 what you say, and that is, that you should marry the other 
 suitor. 
 
 PAULINE 
 I will marry him. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 And you must, at this very moment, plight your troth with 
 him. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Go to him yourself, madame, and tell him; and then come 
 here with my father, and
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 131 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 And what? 
 
 , PAULINE 
 
 And I will give him my word; even though this be to give 
 away my life. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 In what a tone she uttered that. With what resolution! 
 And without tears I feel sure she is keeping something back ! 
 (Aloud) And so you are quite resigned to this? 
 
 PAULINE 
 I am. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 I hope she is. (To Pauline) If you are sincere 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 You are mendacity itself, and you always see a lie in other's 
 words Oh ! Leave me, madame, you make me shudder. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 Well, she is candid at any rate. (Aloud) I am going to 
 tell Ferdinand of your resolution (Pauline nods in 
 acquiescence.) But he will not believe me. Suppose you 
 write a word to him? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Yes, I will write to him, and tell him not to go away. (Sits 
 down and writes.) Here is the letter, madame. 
 
 GERTRUDE (reads) 
 
 "I am going to marry M. de Eimonville so that you may 
 remain here. Pauline." (Aside) I do not quite understand 
 this I fear that there is some trick in it. I am going to 
 let him leave; he will learn of the marriage when he is far 
 away from this. (Exit.)
 
 132 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 
 PAULINE (alone) 
 
 Ferdinand is utterly lost to me now I have always ex- 
 pected it ; the world is either a paradise or a prison cell ; and 
 I, a young girl, have dreamed only of the paradise. But any- 
 way I have the key of the desk, and I can return it after hav- 
 ing taken out something which may serve to put an end to 
 this terrible situation. Yes, that is what I will do! 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 PAULINE AND MARGUERITE. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 Mademoiselle, my trunks are all packed. I am now going 
 to begin packing here. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Yes. (Aside) It is best to let her do so. (Aloud) Come 
 here, Marguerite, take this gold and conceal it among your 
 things. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 You are sure that your reasons for starting away are very 
 urgent ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 My poor Marguerite, who knows whether I shall be able to 
 get away ! But come, go on with your work. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 
 MARGUERITE (alone) 
 And to think that I believed this fury was unwilling that
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 133 
 
 mademoiselle should marry ! Is it possible that mademoiselle 
 should have concealed from me that her real love was being 
 opposed ? Yet her father is so good to her ! He leaves her 
 free to choose Suppose I were to speak to the General Oh ! 
 no, I would not run the risk of injuring my child. 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 MARGUERITE AND PAULINE. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 No one has seen me. Listen, Marguerite, first of all, take 
 away the money that I gave you, and then let me think about 
 the resolution which I have taken. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 If I were in your place, mademoiselle, I would tell every- 
 thing to the General. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 To my father? Unhappy woman, do not betray me! And 
 let both of us respect the illusions, in the midst of which he 
 lives. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Ah ! Illusions ! That is the very word. 
 
 PAULINE 
 You may leave me now. (Exit Marguerite.}
 
 134 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 PAULINE, THEN VERNON. 
 
 PAULINE (holding in her hand the parcel of poison , which 
 was shown in the first act) 
 
 Here stands death before me ! The doctor told us yester- 
 day, in reference to Champagne's wife, that this terrible sub- 
 stance required some hours, almost a whole night, to produce 
 its deadly effects, and that it was possible, during the first 
 hours, to nullify these effects; if the doctor remains at the 
 house, he will provide this antidote. (Some one knocks.) 
 Who is that? 
 
 VERNON (from without) 
 It is I. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Come in, doctor! (Aside) Curiosity brings him to see me, 
 curiosity will take him away. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 I see, my child, that between you and your stepmother, 
 there are secrets of life and death ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Yes, and, above all, death. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 I was afraid so! And that, of course, I must attend to. 
 But tell me You must have had some terrible quarrel with 
 your stepmother. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Let me hear no more of that creature. She deceives my 
 father.
 
 135 
 
 I know it. 
 
 PAULINE 
 She never loved him. 
 
 VERNON 
 I was quite sure of that ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 She has sworn to ruin me. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 How ? Is it in an affair of your heart that she wishes to do 
 you harm? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Rather say, it is my life she threatens. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 What a horrible suspicion ! Pauline, my child, I love you 
 well, you know I do. Tell me, can nothing save you? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 In order to change my fate, it would be necessary that my 
 father change his ideas. Listen; I am in love with M. Fer- 
 dinand. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 I already know that. But who would hinder you from 
 marrying him? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Can you keep a secret ? Well, he is the son of General Mar- 
 candal ! 
 
 VERNON 
 
 My God ! You may rely on my keeping that secret ! Why, 
 your father would fight with him to the death, if for nothing 
 else, because he has had him under his roof for three years.
 
 136 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 You will then see very plainly that there is no hope for 
 me. (She sinks back overwhelmed with emotion in an arm- 
 chair. ) 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Poor child ! I fear she is going to faint ! (He rings and 
 calls) Marguerite ! Marguerite ! 
 
 SCENE FOURTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, GEKTRUDE, MARGUERITE AND THE GEN- 
 ERAL. 
 
 MARGUERITE (running in) 
 What is it, sir? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Get me a tea-urn of boiling water, into which you must 
 drop some orange leaves. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 What is the matter with you, Pauline? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Bear child, do tell us? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Oh, it is nothing! We can understand her feelings. It is 
 because she sees her lot in life decided 
 
 VERNON (to the General) 
 Her lot decided ? And in what way ? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 She is going to marry Godard ! (Aside)It seems to me as
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 137 
 
 if she were giving up some love affair of which she did not 
 wish to tell me. As far as I can understand from what my 
 wife has told me, the unknown one is ineligible, and Pauline 
 did not discover his unworthiness until yesterday. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 And you believe this ? Do not precipitate matters, General. 
 We will talk it over this evening. (Aside) Before then I am 
 going to have a few words with Madame de Grandchamp. 
 
 PAULINE (to Gertrude) 
 The doctor knows all ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Ah! 
 
 PAULINE (she puts back into the pocket of Gertrude the hand- 
 
 kerchief and the key, while the latter is looking at 
 
 Vernon, who converses with the General) 
 
 Keep him away, for he is capable of telling all he knows to 
 the General. We must at least protect Ferdinand. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 She is right. (Aloud) Doctor, I have just been informed 
 that Francis, one of our best workmen, is sick; he hasn't 
 appeared this morning, and you might go and visit him. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Francis ? Oh ! Vernon, you had better go and see him 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Doesn't he live at Pre-FEveque? (Aside) More than 
 three leagues away. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Are you alarmed about Pauline?
 
 138 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 VERNON 
 It IB simply an attack of nerves. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 I can take your place here, doctor, if that is so, can't I ? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Yes. (To the General) I'll undertake to say that Francis 
 is about as sick as I am ! The fact of it is, I see rather too 
 much and my presence is not desired 
 
 THE GENERAL (in a rage) 
 What are you talking about? To whom do you refer? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Are you going to fly into a passion again ? Do calm your- 
 self, my old friend, or you will cause yourself eternal remorse. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Remorse ? 
 
 VERNON 
 Just keep these people talking, till I return. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 But 
 
 GERTRUDE (to Pauline) 
 Tell me, how do you feel now, my sweet angel? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Just look at them. 
 
 VERNON 
 Ah ! well, women stab each other with a smile and a kiss.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 139 
 
 SCENE FIFTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS (EXCEPT VERNON) AND MARGUERITE. 
 
 GERTRUDE (to the General, who seems as if he were bewildered 
 by the last words of Vernon) 
 
 What is the matter with you ? 
 
 THE GENERAL (passing before Gertrude to the side of 
 Pauline) 
 
 Nothing, nothing! Tell me, my little Pauline, is your 
 engagement with Godard to be quite voluntary ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Quite voluntary. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 Ah! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 He will be here soon. 
 
 PAULINE 
 I am expecting him. 
 
 THE GENERAL (aside) 
 
 There is a tremendous amount of bitterness in her tone. 
 (Marguerite appears with a tea-cup.) 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 It is too soon. Marguerite, the infusion can't yet be strong 
 enough ! (She tastes it.) I must go and prepare it myself. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 I have always been in the habit of waiting upon Mile. 
 Pauline-
 
 140 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 What do you mean by speaking to me in this tone? 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 But madame 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Maguerjte, if you say another word, we shall fall out 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Marguerite, you may just as well let Madame de Grand- 
 champ have her way. (Gertrude goes out with Marguerite.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 And so my little girl has not much confidence in the father 
 who loves her so ? Come now ! Tell me why you so distinctly 
 refused Godard yesterday, and yet, accept him to-day ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 I suppose it is a young girl's whim. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Are you in love with anybody else? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 It is because I am not in love with anybody else that I con- 
 sent to marry your friend M. Godard ! ( Gertrude comes in 
 with Marguerite.) 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Ah! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Take this, my darling, but be careful, for it is a little hot 
 
 PAULINE 
 Thank you, mother!
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 141 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Mother! Truly, this is enough to drive one crazy with 
 perplexity ! 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Marguerite, bring me the sugar basin! (While Marguerite 
 goes out and Gertrude talks with the General, she drops the 
 poison into the cup and lets fall the paper which contained it. ) 
 
 GERTRUDE (to the General) 
 You seem to be indisposed? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 My dear, I cannot understand women; I am like Godard. 
 (Marguerite comes back.) 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You are like all other men. 
 
 PAULINE (hurriedly drinking the poisoned cup) 
 Ah! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 How are you now, my child? 
 
 PAULINE 
 I am better. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 I am going to prepare another cup for you. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Oh, no, madame, this will be quite enough ! I would sooner 
 wait for the doctor. (She sets down the empty cup on the 
 table.)
 
 142 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 SCENE SIXTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND FELIX, THEN GODAED. 
 
 FELIX 
 
 M. Godard asks if you will see him ? (He looks inquiringly 
 at Pauline.) 
 
 PAULINE 
 Certainly. 
 
 GERTRUDE (leaving the room) 
 What do you intend saying to him ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 Wait and see. 
 
 GODARD (entering) 
 
 I am sorry that mademoiselle is indisposed. I did not know 
 it. I will not intrude. (They offer him a chair.) Mademoi- 
 selle, allow me to thank you above all for the kindness you 
 have shown in receiving me in this sanctuary of innocence. 
 Madame de Grandchamp and your father have just informed 
 me of something which would have overwhelmed me with 
 happiness yesterday, but rather astonishes me to-day. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 That is to say, M. Godard 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Do not be hasty, father, M. Godard is right. You do not 
 know all I said to him yesterday. 
 
 GODARD 
 
 You are far too clever, mademoiselle, not to consider as 
 quite natural the curiosity of an honorable young man, who 
 has an income of forty thousand francs, besides his savings,
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 143 
 
 to learn the reason why he should be accepted after a lapse 
 of twenty-four hours from his rejection For, yesterday, 
 it was at this very hour (He pulls out his watch) Half- 
 past five 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 What do you mean by all this ? It looks as if you are not 
 as much in love as you said you were. You have come here 
 to complain of a charming girl at the very moment when she 
 has told you 
 
 GODARD 
 
 I would not complain, if the subject were not marriage. 
 Marriage, General, is at once the cause and the effect of senti- 
 ment. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Pardon me, Godard, I am a little hasty, as you know. 
 
 PAULINE (to Godard) 
 
 Sir (Aside) Oh, how I suffer! Sir, why should poor 
 young girls 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Poor ? No, no, mademoiselle ; you are not poor. You have 
 four hundred thousand francs. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Why should weak young girls 
 
 f GODARD 
 
 Weak? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Well, then, innocent young persons be so very fastidious 
 about the character of the man who. presents himself as their 
 lord and master? If you love me, will you punish yourself 
 will you punish me because your love has been submitted to 
 a test?
 
 144 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GODABD 
 Of course, from that point of view 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Oh ! These women ! These women ! 
 
 i 
 
 GODARD 
 
 You may just as well say, "These daughters.'* 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Yes, for I am quite sure that mine has more brains than I 
 have. 
 
 SCENE SEVENTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, GERTRUDE AND NAPOLEON. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 How has it turned out, M. Godard ? 
 
 GODARD 
 
 Ah, Madame ! General ! My happiness is complete, and my 
 dream fulfilled. For now I am to be admitted into a family 
 like yours. To think that I Ah ! Madame ! General ! 
 (Aside) I'd like to find out the mystery, for she has precious 
 little love for me. 
 
 NAPOLEON (entering) 
 
 Papa, I have won the school medal Good-day, mamma 
 and where is Pauline ? And so you are sick ? Poor little sister !
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 145 
 
 I'll tell you something I have found out where justice comes 
 from. 
 
 GEBTEUDE 
 And who told you ? Ah ! see what a lovely boy he is ! 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 The master told me that justice came from God. 
 
 GODAED 
 It is very plain that your master was not born in Normandy. 
 
 PAULINE (in a low voice to Marguerite) 
 
 Marguerite ! Dear Marguerite ! Do send them all away. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Gentlemen, Mile. Pauline desires to take a little nap. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Just so, Pauline, we will leave you, and you need not get 
 up till dinner time. 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 1 will certainly get up then if I can. Father, kiss me be- 
 fore you go. 
 
 THE GENERAL (kissing her) 
 
 My darling child ! (To Napoleon) Come, my boy. (They 
 all go out, except Pauline, Marguerite and Napoleon.) 
 
 NAPOLEON (to Pauline) 
 And how is it you do not kiss me ? Tell me what ails you ?
 
 146 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 PAULINE 
 Oh! I am dying! 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 Do people die ? Pauline, what is death made of ? 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 Death is made like this (she falls back into Mar- 
 guerite's arms). 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Oh! My God! Help! Help! 
 
 NAPOLEON 
 
 Oh ! Pauline, you frighten me ! (Running away.) Mam- 
 ma ! Mamma ! 
 
 Curtain to the Fourth Act.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 147 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (The chamber of Pauline as before.) 
 PAULINE, FERDINAND AND VEENON. 
 
 (Pauline lies stretched upon her bed. Ferdinand holds her 
 hand in an attitude of profound grief and despair. It is just 
 before dawn and a lamp is burning.) 
 
 VERNON (seated near the table) 
 
 I have seen thousands of dead men on the field of battle 
 and in the ambulances, yet the death of this young girl under 
 her father's roof moves me more profoundly than all those 
 heroic sufferings. Death is perhaps a thing foreseen on the 
 field of battle it is even expected there; while here, it is 
 not only the passing away of a single person, but a whole 
 family is plunged in tears and fond hopes vanish. Here is 
 this child, of whom I was so fond, murdered, poisoned and 
 by whom ? Marguerite has rightly guessed the secret of this 
 struggle between two rivals. It was impossible to refrain 
 from communicating at once with the authorities. In the 
 meantime, God knows I have used every effort to snatch this 
 young life from the grave. (Ferdinand raises his head and 
 listens to the doctor.} I have even brought this poison, which 
 may act as an antidote to the other ; but the princes of medical 
 science should have been present to witness the experiment! 
 No one man ought to venture upon such a throw of the dice. 
 
 FERDINAND (rises and approaches the doctor) 
 Doctor, when the magistrates arrive, will you explain this
 
 148 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 experiment of yours; they will be sure to sanction it; and 
 you may be sure that God, yes God, will hear me. He will 
 work some miracle, He will give her back to me ! 
 
 VERNON 
 
 I should have ventured upon it before the action of the 
 poison had wrought its full effects. If I did so now, I should 
 be looked upon as the poisoner. No (he places a little flask 
 upon the table), it would be useless now, and to give it with 
 the most disinterested motives would be looked upon as a 
 crime. 
 
 FEEDINAND (after holding a mirror before Pauline's lips) 
 Anything, everything is yet possible; she still breathes. 
 
 VERNON 
 She will not live till daylight. 
 
 Ferdinand I 
 
 FERDINAND 
 She has just uttered my name. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 The vitality of a girl of twenty-two is very tenacious! 
 Moreover, she will preserve consciousness, even to her last 
 gasp. She might possibly rise from her bed and talk with us, 
 although the sufferings caused by this terrible poison are 
 inconceivable.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 149 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND THE GENERAL. 
 
 THE GENERAL (outside) 
 Vernon ! 
 
 VERNON (to Ferdinand) 
 
 It is the General. (Ferdinand, overcome with grief, falls 
 back on the arm-chair, where he is concealed by the curtains 
 of the bed.) What do you want? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 I want to see Pauline! 
 
 VERNON 
 
 If you take my advice, you will wait awhile; she is very 
 much worse. 
 
 THE GENERAL (entering) 
 For that reason I shall come in. 
 
 VERNON 
 Do not come in, General. Listen to me ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 No, no ! Ah, how motionless, how cold she is, Vernon ! 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Listen ! General ! (Aside) We must get him away some- 
 how. (Aloud) There is but a faint hope of saving her. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 You told me You must have been deceiving me ! 
 
 VERNON 
 My friend, we have to look this catastrophe in the face, as
 
 150 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 we had to look towards the batteries through a shower of bul- 
 lets! On such occasions, when I hesitated, you always went 
 forward. (Aside) That is a good idea ! (Aloud) You had 
 better bring to her the consolations of religion. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Vernon, I wish to see her, to give her my last kiss. 
 
 VERNON 
 Be careful ! 
 
 THE GENERAL (kissing her) 
 Oh ! How icy cold she is ! 
 
 VERNON 
 
 That is a peculiarity of her sickness, General. Hurry to the 
 priest's house, for in case my remedies fail, it is not right- 
 that your daughter, who has been reared as a Christian, should 
 be forgotten by the Church. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 Ah! yes. I will go. (He moves towards the bed.) 
 
 VERNON (pointing towards the door) 
 This way! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I quite lose my head ; I am distracted Vernon. work a 
 miracle for us! You have saved so many people and here 
 you cannot save the life of my child ! 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Come, come be off. (Aside) I must go with him, for if he 
 meets the magistrates there will be more trouble still. 
 (Exeunt.)
 
 THE STEPMOTHEK 151 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 PAULINE AND FERDINAND. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Ferdinand ! 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Ah ! My God ! Can this be her last sigh ? Pauline, you are 
 my very life ; if Vernon does not save you, I will follow you, 
 and we shall still be united. 
 
 PAULINE 
 I shall expire, then, without a single regret. 
 
 FERDINAND (takes up the flask) 
 
 That which would have saved you, if the doctor had arrived 
 earlier, shall deliver me from life. 
 
 PAULINE 
 No, for you may still be happy. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Never, without you. 
 
 PAULINE 
 Your words revive me. 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND VERNON. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 She speaks; her eyes once more are open.
 
 152 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Poor child ! There she falls asleep again. What shall the 
 waking be ? (Ferdinand sits down again and takes the hand 
 of Pauline.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, KAMEL, THE INVESTIGATING MAGIS- 
 TRATE, A DOCTOR, A CORPORAL OF POLICE 
 AND MARGUERITE. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 M. Vernon, the magistrates are here. M. Ferdinand, you 
 must leave the room ! (Exit Ferdinand.) 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 Take care, corporal, that all the entrances of this house are 
 guarded, and observe our orders ! Doctor, can we remain here 
 a few moments without danger to the sick lady? 
 
 VERNON 
 She is asleep, sir ; and it is her last slumber. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 Here is the cup into which the infusion was poured and 
 which still has traces of arsenic ; I perceived it there as soon 
 as I took hold of it. 
 
 THE DOCTOR (examining the cup and tasting the contents) 
 It is evident that the liquid contains some poisonous sub- 
 stance. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 Please to make an analysis of it. (He sees Marguerite pick-
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 153 
 
 ing up a small piece of paper from the ground.) What paper 
 is that ? 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 Oh, it is nothing. 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 In such cases as these, nothing is insignificant in the eyes 
 of magistrates! Yes, gentlemen, we shall have to examine 
 this paper later. What can have delayed M. de Grandchamp ? 
 
 VERNON 
 He is at the priest's house, but he will not stay there long. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE (to the doctor) 
 
 Have you made your examination yet, sir? (The two physi- 
 cians converse together at the head of the bed.) 
 
 RAMEL (to the magistrate) 
 
 If the General returns, we must deal with him according to 
 the circumstances. (Marguerite is weeping, kneeling at the 
 foot of the bed; the two physicians, the judge and Ramel are 
 grouped in the front of the stage.) 
 
 RAMEL (to the doctor) 
 
 It is therefore your opinion, sir, that the illness of Mile, de 
 Grandchamp, whom we saw two days ago full of health, and 
 even of happiness, is the result of a crime? 
 
 THE DOCTOR 
 The symptoms of poisoning are undeniable. 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 And are the remains of the poison contained in this cup 
 so discernible, and present in such a quantity, as to furnish 
 legal proof?
 
 154 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 THE DOCTOR 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE (to Vernon) 
 
 This woman alleges, sir, that yesterday, at four o'clock, 
 you prescribed for Mile, de Grandchamp an infusion of orange 
 leaves, as a soothing draught for the nervous excitement which 
 followed upon an interview between the stepmother and her 
 stepdaughter; she says, moreover, that Madame de Grand- 
 champ, who had despatched you on an empty errand to a place 
 four leagues away, had insisted upon preparing and giving 
 everything to her daughter herself ; is this true ? 
 
 VERNON 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 
 When I persisted in my purpose of attending myself upon 
 my young mistress, my poor master was incensed to the point 
 of reproaching me. 
 
 EAMEL (to Vernon) 
 Where did Madame de Grandchamp send you? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Everything is ominous in this mysterious affair. Madame 
 de Grandchamp was so anxious to get me out of the way that 
 she sent me three leagues to visit a sick man, who, I found 
 when I reached his home, was drinking in the inn. I blamed 
 Champagne for deceiving Madame de Grandchamp, and 
 Champagne positively told me that the workman had not ap- 
 peared at the factory, but that he himself knew nothing about 
 his alleged sickness. 
 
 FELIX 
 Gentlemen, the clergy are here. 
 
 RAMEL 
 We can continue our proceedings in the drawing-room.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 155 
 
 VERNON 
 This way, gentlemen, this way. 
 
 (Scene curtain.) 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 (The drawing-room.) 
 
 EAMEL, THE MAGISTRATE, THE SHERIFF'S OFFICER AND 
 VERNON. 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 Here, then, is the result so far of our inquiry, in ac- 
 cordance with the evidence of Felix and Marguerite. Madame 
 de Grandchamp, in the first place, administered to her step- 
 daughter a dose of opium, and you, M. Vernon, who were 
 present and saw the criminal attempt, managed to secure and 
 lock up the^cup. 
 
 VERNON 
 It is true, gentlemen, but 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 How is it, M. Vernon, that when you witnessed this crim- 
 inal attempt, you did not check Madame de Grandchamp in 
 the fatal course which she was then pursuing? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Believe me, gentlemen, I did everything which I thought 
 could be done with prudence, and all that my long experience 
 suggested was attempted by me. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 Your conduct, sir, was peculiar, and you will be called upon
 
 156 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 to explain it. You did your duty yesterday in preserving the 
 cup as evidence ; but why did you not go further ? 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Pardon me, M. Cordier, this gentleman is advanced in 
 years; he is an honest and trustworthy man. (He takes Ver- 
 non aside} You have found out, I suppose, the cause of this 
 crime ? 
 
 VERNON 
 
 It springs from a rivalry between two women, who have 
 been urged on to the most violent extremes by their reckless 
 passions. And I was obliged to keep silence on the subject. 
 
 RAMEL 
 I know the whole business. 
 
 VERNON 
 You! sir? 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Yes, and, like you, I have done everything to prevent this 
 catastrophe; for Ferdinand was to leave this very night. I 
 knew Mile. Gertrude de Meilhac in former years, having met 
 her at the house of my friend. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Oh ! sir, show clemency ! Have pity on an old soldier, 
 crippled with wounds, and enslaved by delusions. He is in 
 danger of losing both his daughter and his wife. Heaven 
 grant he may not lose his honor also ! 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 We understand each other. So long as Gertrude does not 
 make such admissions as force us to see the real situation, I 
 shall endeavor to persuade the investigating magistrate who 
 is an extremely sagacious and honest man of ten years' ex-
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 157 
 
 perience I shall try to make him believe that cupidity alone 
 has influenced Madame de Grandchamp. You must assist 
 me. ( The magistrate approaches; Ramel nods to Vernon and 
 puts on an expression of seventy) Why did Madame de 
 Grandchamp wish to drug her stepdaughter? You, who are 
 the friend of the household, ought to know this. 
 
 VERNON 
 
 Pauline was about to confide her secrets to me. Her step- 
 mother thought that I was learning certain things which her 
 interest required should be concealed ; and that, sir, is doubtless 
 the reason why she sent me to treat a workman who was in 
 good health, and not to prevent help from being brought to 
 Pauline, for Louviers is not so far off. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 What forethought she has! She won't be able to escape, 
 if we find the proofs of crime in her desk. She does not ex- 
 pect us here ; she will be thunderstruck. 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, GERTRUDE AND MARGUERITE. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 I hear the strains of church music ! What, is there another 
 trial going on here? What can be happening? (She goes to 
 the door of Pauline's chamber and starts back terrified, on the 
 appearance of Marguerite.) Ah! 
 
 MARGUERITE 
 They are offering prayers over the body of your victim ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Pauline! Pauline! Dead!
 
 158 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 And it is you, madame, who have poisoned her. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 I! I! I! Ah! what is this? Am I asleep or awake ? (To 
 Ramel) Ah ! How extremely fortunate for me is this meet- 
 ing ! For you know the whole affair, don't you ? Do you be- 
 lieve me capable of a crime like this ? What ! Am I actually 
 accused of it ? Do you think that I would have made an attack 
 upon her life? I, the wife of a veteran who is the soul of 
 honor? I, the mother of a child, before whom I would not 
 wish to be disgraced? Justice will vindicate me Marguer- 
 ite, let no one leave the room. Gentlemen, tell me what has 
 taken place since yesterday evening, when I left Pauline 
 slightly indisposed? 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 Madame, collect yourself! You stand before the tribunal 
 of your country. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You chill me with such words 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 The administration of justice in France is the most perfect 
 of criminal procedures. No traps are set, for justice proceeds, 
 acts, and speaks with open face, for she is solely intent upon 
 her mission, which is, the discovery of the truth. At the pres- 
 ent moment, you are merely inculpated, and in me you must 
 see your protector. But tell the truth, whatever it may be; 
 the final result will be decided at a higher tribunal. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Ah! sir, take me into her chamber, and in presence of 
 Pauline I will cry out, what I cry out before you I am guilt- 
 less of her death !
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 159 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 Madame ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Sir, let us have none of those long phrases, with which you 
 blind the eyes of people. I suffer pains unheard of ! I weep 
 for Pauline as though she were my child, and I forgive her 
 everything! What do you want with me? Proceed, and I 
 will answer you. 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 What is it that you will forgive her? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 I mean 
 
 EAMEL (in a low voice) 
 Be cautious in your replies. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You are right, for precipices yawn on every side ! 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE (to the sheriff's officer} 
 Names and titles may be taken later; now write down the 
 notes of the investigation, and the inquiry. (To Gertrude) 
 Did you yesterday forenoon put opium into the tea of Mile, 
 de Grandchamp? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Ah ! doctor this is you. 
 
 RAMEL 
 
 Do not accuse the doctor. He has already too seriously 
 compromised himself for you ! Answer the magistrate ! 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 It is true. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 Madame recognizes the cup and admits that she put opium
 
 160 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 in it. That will be enough for the present, at this stage of the 
 inquiry. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Do you accuse me then of something further ? What is it ? 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 Madame, if you cannot free yourself from blame with regard 
 to a later event, you may be charged with the crime of poison- 
 ing. We must now proceed to seek proofs either of your inno- 
 cence or of your guilt. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Where will you seek them? 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 From you ! Yesterday you gave Mile, de Grandchamp an 
 infusion of orange leaves, in another cup which contained 
 arsenic. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Can it be possible ! 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 The day before yesterday you declared that the key of your 
 desk, in which the arsenic was locked, never left your posses- 
 sion. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 It is in my dress pocket. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 Have you ever made any use of that arsenic? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 No; you will find the parcel still sealed. 
 
 EAMEL 
 Ah ! madame, I sincerely hope so.
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 161 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 I very much doubt it; this is one of those audacious crimi- 
 nals 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 The chamber is in disorder, permit me 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 No, no! All three of us will enter it. 
 
 EAMEL 
 Your innocence is now at stake. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Gentlemen, let us go in together. 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 
 VERNON (alone} 
 
 My poor General ! He kneels by the bed of his daughter ; 
 he weeps, he prays ! Alas ! God alone can give her back to 
 him. 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 
 VERNON, GERTRUDE, EAMEL, THE MAGISTRATE AND THE 
 SHERIFF'S OFFICER. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 I scarce can believe my senses ; I am dreaming I am 
 
 EAMEL 
 You are ruined, madame.
 
 162 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Yes, sir But by whom ? 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE (to the sheriff's officer) 
 
 Write down that Madame de Grandchamp having herself 
 unlocked for us the desk in her bedchamber and having her- 
 self given into our hands the parcel sealed by M. Baudrillon, 
 this parcel which two days ago was intact is found' unsealed 
 and from it has been taken a dose, more than sufficient to 
 produce death. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Death! And I? 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 Madame, it was not without reason that I took from your 
 desk this torn piece of paper. We have also picked up in 
 Mile, de Grandchamp's chamber a piece of paper, which 
 exactly fits to it; and this proves that when you reached your 
 desk, in that confusion which crime always brings upon crimi- 
 nals, you took up this paper to wrap up the dose, which you 
 intended to mix with the infusion. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 You said that you were my protector ! And there, see now 
 
 ' THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 Give me your attention, madame. In face of such suspi- 
 cions, I feel I shall have to change the writ of summons into a 
 writ of bail or imprisonment. (He signs the document.) And 
 now, madame, you must consider yourself under arrest. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Of course, I will do all that you wish ! But you told me 
 that your mission was to search for the truth Oh! Let us 
 search for it here Let us search for it here !
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 163 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 Certainly, madame. 
 
 GERTRUDE (to Ramel; she is weeping) 
 
 M. Eamel ! 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 Have you anything to say in your defence which would lead 
 us to cancel this terrible sentence ? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Gentlemen, I am innocent of the crime of poisoning, and 
 yet all is against me ! I implore you, give me your help instead 
 of torturing me ! And listen to me Some one must have 
 taken my key, can you not understand ? Some one .must 
 have come into my room Ah ! I see it all now (To Ramel) 
 Pauline loved as I loved ; she has poisoned herself ! 
 
 EAMEL 
 
 For the sake of your honor, do not say that, without the 
 most convincing proofs, otherwise 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 Madame, is it true that, yesterday, you, knowing Doctor 
 Vernon was to dine with you, sent him 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Oh ! you, your questions are so many daggers at my heart ! 
 and yet you go on, you still go on. 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 Did you send him away to attend a workman at Pre"- 
 TEveque? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 1 did, sir.
 
 164 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 This workman, madame, was found in a tavern, and in excel- 
 lent health. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Champagne had told me that he was sick 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 
 We have questioned Champagne, and he denies this, averring 
 that he said nothing about sickness. The fact of it was, you 
 wished to preclude the possibility of medical aid. 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 It was Pauline ! It was she who made me send away Ver- 
 non! Pauline! You have dragged me down with your- 
 self into the tomb, to which I sink bearing the name of crim- 
 inal! No I No! No! (To Ramel) Sir, I have but one 
 avenue of escape. (To Vernon) Is Pauline still alive? 
 
 VERNON (pointing to the General) 
 Here is my answer. 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND THE GENERAL. 
 
 THE GENERAL (to Vernon) 
 
 She is dying, my friend ! If I lose her, I shall never sur- 
 vive it. 
 
 VERNON 
 My friend ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 It seems to me that there are a great many people here
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 165 
 
 What must be done ? Oh, try to save her ! I wonder where 
 Gertrude is. (They give him a seat.) 
 
 GERTRUDE (sinking at the feet of the General) 
 My friend! Poor father! I would this instant I might 
 be killed without a trial. (She rises.) No, Pauline has 
 wrapped me in her shroud, I feel her icy hands about my neck. 
 And yet I was resigned. Yes, I would have buried with me the 
 secret of this terrible drama, which every woman should under- 
 stand ! But I am weary of this struggle with a corpse that 
 holds me tight, and communicates to me the coldness and the 
 stiffness of death ! I have made up my mind that my inno- 
 cence of this crime shall come forth victorious at the expense 
 of somebody's honor; for never, never could I become a vile 
 and cowardly poisoner. Yes, I shall tell the whole, dark tale. 
 
 THE GENERAL (rising from his seat and coming forward) 
 Ah ! so you are going to say in the face of justice all that 
 for two days you have concealed by such obstinate silence 
 vile and ungrateful creature, fawning liar! you have killed 
 my daughter. Are you going to kill me also? 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 Ought I to keep silence ? Ought I to speak ? 
 
 EAMEL 
 General, be kind enough to retire. The law commands. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 The law ? You represent the justice of men, I represent the 
 justice of God, and am higher than you all ! I am at once 
 accuser, tribunal, sentence and executioner Come, madanie. 
 tell us what you have to say? 
 
 GERTRUDE (at the General's feet) 
 Forgive me, sir Yes I am
 
 166 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 RAMEL (aside) 
 Oh, poor wretch ! 
 
 GERTRUDE (aside) 
 
 I cannot say it ! Oh ! for his honor's sake, may he never 
 know the truth. (Aloud) I am guilty before all the world, 
 but to you I say, and will repeat it to my last breath, I am 
 innocent ! And some future day the truth shall speak from 
 out two tombs, the cruel truth, which will show to you that 
 you also are not free from reproach, but from the very blind- 
 ness of your hate are culpable in all. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 I ? I ? Am I losing my senses ? Do you dare to accuse me ? 
 (Perceiving Pauline.) Ah! Ah! My God! 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, AND PAULINE (supported by Ferdi- 
 nand). 
 
 PAULINE 
 
 They have told me all ! This woman is innocent of the 
 crime whereof she is accused. Eeligion has at last taught me 
 that pardon cannot be obtained on high except by those who 
 leave it behind them here below. I took from Madame the 
 key of her desk, I myself sought the poison. I myself tore 
 off the paper to wrap it up, for I wished to die. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Pauline! Take my life, take all I love Oh, doctor, 
 save her! 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 Is this the truth, mademoiselle ?
 
 THE STEPMOTHER 167 
 
 PAULINE 
 The truth, yes, for the dying alone speak it 
 
 THE MAGISTRATE 
 We know then actually nothing about this business. 
 
 PAULINE (to Gertrude) 
 
 Do you know why I came to draw you from the abyss which 
 had. engulfed you ? It is because Ferdinand spoke to me a 
 word which brought me back from the tomb. He has so great 
 a horror of being left with you in life that he follows me, and 
 will follow me to the grave, where we shall rest together, 
 wedded in death. 
 
 GERTRUDE 
 
 Ferdinand! Ah, my God! At what a price have I been 
 saved ! 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 But unhappy child, wherefore must you die? Am I not, 
 have I ceased for one moment to be a good father? And yet 
 they say that I am culpable. 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 Yes, General, I alone can give the answer to the riddle, and 
 can explain to you your guilt. 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 You, Ferdinand, you to whom I offered my daughter, you 
 who loved her 
 
 FERDINAND 
 
 My name is Ferdinand Comte de Marcandal, son of General 
 Marcandal. Do you understand? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 
 Ah ! son of a traitor ! What could you bring to my home 
 but death and treachery! Defend yourself!
 
 168 THE STEPMOTHER 
 
 FERDINAND 
 Would you fight, General, with the dead? (He falls.) 
 
 GERTRUDE (rushes to Ferdinand with a cry) 
 Oh! (She recoils before the General, and approaches his 
 daughter, then draws forth a phial, but immediately flings it 
 away.) I will condemn myself to live for this old man ! (The 
 General kneels beside his dying daughter.) Doctor, what will 
 become of him? Is he likely to lose his reason? 
 
 THE GENERAL (stammering like a man who has lost his 
 
 speech) 
 I I I 
 
 VEENON 
 General, what is it? 
 
 THE GENERAL 
 I I am trying to pray for my daughter ! 
 
 Final Curtain
 
 MERCADET 
 
 A COMEDY IN THREE ACTS 
 
 Presented for the First Time in Paris, at the Theatre du Gymnase- 
 Dramatique, August 24, 1851. 
 
 (169)
 
 PERSONS OF THE PLAY 
 
 MERCADET, a speculator. 
 
 MADAME MERCADET, his wife. 
 
 JULIE, their daughter. 
 
 MINARD, clerk of Mercadet. 
 
 VERDELIN, friend of Mercadet. 
 
 GOULARD, "j 
 
 PIERQUIN, > creditors of Mercadet. 
 
 VlOLETTE, J 
 
 MERICOURT, acquaintance of Mercadet. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE, suitor to Julie. 
 
 JUSTIN, valet, ") 
 
 THERESE, lady's-maid, > servants of Mercadet. 
 
 VIRGINIE, cook, J 
 
 VARIOUS CREDITORS OF MERCADET. 
 
 SCENE: Paris, in the house of Mercadet. TIME, about 
 1845.) 
 
 (171)
 
 MERCADET 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (A drawing-room. A door in the centre. Side doors. At 
 the front, to the left, a mantel-piece with a mirror. To the 
 right, a window, and next it a writing table. Armchairs.) 
 
 JUSTIN, VIRGINIE AND THERESE. 
 
 JUSTIN (finishing dusting the room) 
 Yes, my dears, he finds it very hard to swim ; he is certain 
 to drown, poor M. Mercadet. 
 
 VIRGINIE (her "basket on her arm) 
 Honestly, do you think that? 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 He is ruined ! And although there is much fat to be stewed 
 from a master while he is financially embarrassed, you must 
 not forget that he owes us a year's wages, and we had better 
 get ourselves discharged. 
 
 THERESE 
 
 Some masters are so frightfully stubborn ! I spoke to the 
 mistress disrespectfully two or three times, and she pretended 
 not to hear me. 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 
 Ah ! I have been at service in many middle-class houses ; 
 
 (173)
 
 174 MERCADET 
 
 but I have never seen one like this ! I am going to leave my 
 stove, and become an actress in some theatre. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 All of us here are nothing but actors in a theatre. 
 
 VIRGINIA 
 
 Yes, indeed, sometimes one has to put on an air of aston- 
 ishment, as if just fallen from the moon, when a creditor 
 appears: "Didn't you know it, sir?" "No." "M. Mercadet 
 has gone to Lyons." "Ah ! He is away ?" "Yes, his pros- 
 pects are most brilliant ; he has discovered some coal-mines." 
 "Ah! So much the better! When does he return?" "I do 
 not know." Sometimes I put on an expression as if I had 
 lost the dearest friend I had in the world. 
 
 JUSTIN (aside) 
 That would be her money. 
 
 VIRGINIE (pretending to cry) 
 
 "Monsieur and mademoiselle are in the greatest distress. 
 It seems that we are going to lose poor Madame Mercadet. 
 They have taken her away to the waters ! Ah !" 
 
 THERESE 
 
 And then, there are some creditors who are actual brutes ! 
 They speak to you as if you were the masters ! 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 
 There's an end of it. I ask them for their bill and tell 
 them I am going to settle. But now, the tradesmen refuse to 
 give anything without the money ! And you may be sure that 
 I am not going to lend any of mine. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 Let us demand our wages.
 
 MERCADET 175 
 
 VlRGINIE AND THERESE 
 
 Let us demand our wages. 
 
 VlRGINIE 
 
 Who are middle-class people? Middle-class people are 
 those who spend a great deal on their kitchen 
 
 JUSTIN 
 Who are devoted to their servants 
 
 VlRGINIE 
 
 And who leave them a pension. That is how middle-class 
 people ought to behave to their servants. 
 
 THERESE 
 
 The lady of Picardy speaks well. But all the same, I pity 
 mademoiselle and young Minard, her suitor. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 M. Mercadet is not going to give his daughter to a mis- 
 erable bookkeeper who earns no more than eighteen hundred 
 francs a year; he has better views for her than that. 
 
 THERESE AND VIRGINIE. 
 Who is the man he thinks of ? 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 Yesterday two fine young gentlemen came here in a car- 
 riage, and their groom told old Gruneau that one of them 
 was going to marry Mile. Mercadet. 
 
 VlRGINIE 
 
 You don't mean to say so ! Are those gentlemen in yellow 
 gloves, with fine flowered waistcoats, going to marry made- 
 moiselle ?
 
 176 MERCADET 
 
 JUSTIN 
 Not both of them, lady of Picardy. 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 
 The panels of their carriage shone like satin. Their horse 
 had rosettes here. (She points to her ears.) It was held by 
 a boy of eight, fair, with frizzed hair and top boots. He 
 looked as sly as a mouse a very Cupid, though he swore like a 
 trooper. His master is as fine as a picture, with a big diamond 
 in his scarf. It ain't possible that a handsome young man, 
 who owns such a turnout as that is going to be the husband of 
 Mile. Mercadet? I can't believe it! 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 You don't know M. Mercadet! I, who have been in his 
 house for the last six years, and have seen him since his 
 troubles fighting with his creditors, can believe him capable 
 of anything, even of growing rich ; sometimes I say to myself 
 he is utterly ruined! Yellow auction placards flame at his 
 door. He receives reams of stamped creditor's notices, which 
 I sell by the pound for waste paper without being noticed. 
 But presto ! Up he bobs again. He is triumphant. And 
 what devices he has ! There is a new one every day ! First 
 of all, it is a scheme for wooden pavements then it is duke- 
 doms, ponds, mills. I don't know where the leakage is in his 
 cash box; he finds it so hard to fill; for it empties itself as 
 easily as a drained wine-glass ! And always crowds of credi- 
 tors ! How well he turns them away ! Sometimes I have seen 
 them come with the intention of carrying off everything and 
 throwing him into prison. But when he talks to them they 
 end by being the best of friends, and part with cordial hand- 
 shakes ! There are some men who can tame jackals and lions. 
 That's not a circumstance ; M. Mercadet can tame creditors ! 
 
 THERESE 
 
 One of them is not quite so easily managed ; and that is M. 
 Pierquin.
 
 MERCADET 177 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 He is a tiger who feeds on bankrupts. And to think of poor 
 old Violette! 
 
 VlRGINIB 
 
 He is both creditor and beggar I always feel inclined to 
 give him a plate of soup. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 And Goulard! 
 
 THERESE 
 
 A bill discounter who would like very much to to discount 
 me. 
 
 VIRGINIE (amid a general laugh) 
 I hear madame coming. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 Let us keep a civil tongue in our heads, and we shall learn 
 something about the marriage. 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MME. MERCADET. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Justin, have you executed the commissions I gave you? 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 Yes, madame, but they refused to deliver the dresses, the 
 hats, and indeed all the things you ordered until 
 
 VlBGINIB 
 
 And I also have to inform madame that the tradesmen are 
 no longer willing
 
 178 MERCADET 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 I understand. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 The creditors are the cause of the whole trouble. I wish I 
 
 knew how to get even with them. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 The best way to do so would be to pay them. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 They would be mightily surprised. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 It is useless to conceal from you the excessive anxiety which 
 I suffer over the condition of my husband's affairs. We shall 
 doubtless be in need of your discretion for we can depend 
 upon you, can we not? 
 
 ALL 
 You need not mention it, madame. 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 We were just saying, what excellent employers we had. 
 
 THERESE 
 And that we would go through fire and water for you ! 
 
 JUSTIN 
 We were saying (Mercadet appears unnoticed.) 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Thank you all, you are good creatures (Mercadet shrugs 
 his shoulders.) Your master needs only time, he has so many 
 schemes in his head! a rich suitor has offered himself for 
 Mile. Julie, and if
 
 MERCADET 179 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MERCADET. 
 
 MERCADET (interrupting his wife) 
 
 My dearest! (The servants draw back a little. In a low 
 voice to madame) And so this is how you speak to the serv- 
 ants! To-morrow they laugh at us. (To Justin) Justin, 
 go at once to M. Verdelin's house, and ask him to come here, 
 as I want to speak to him about a piece of business that will 
 not admit of delay. Assume an air of mystery, for I must 
 have him come. You, Therese, go to the tradesmen of Mad- 
 ame de Mercadet, and tell them, sharply, that they must send 
 the things that have been ordered. They will be paid for 
 yes and cash, too go at once. (Justin and Therese start.) 
 Ah! (They stop.) If these people come to the house 
 again, ask them to enter. (Mme. Mercadet takes a seat.) 
 
 JUSTIN 
 These these people ? 
 
 THERESE AND VIRGINIE. 
 These people? Eh! 
 
 MERCADET 
 Yes, these people these creditors of mine I 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 How is this, my dear ? 
 
 MERCADET (taking a seat opposite his wife) 
 I am weary of solitude I want their society. (To Justin 
 and Therese) That will do. (They leave the room.)
 
 180 MERCADET 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 MERCADET, MME. MERCADET AND VIRGINIB. 
 
 MERCADET (to Virginie) 
 Has madame given you any orders ? 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 No, sir, and besides the tradespeople 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I hope you will do yourself credit to-day. We are going to 
 have four people to dinner Verdelin and his wife, M. de 
 Mericourt and M. de la Brive so there will be seven of us. 
 Such dinners are the glory of great cooks ! You must have 
 a fine fish after the soup, then two entrees, very delicately 
 cooked 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 But, sir, the trades 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 For the second course ah, the second course ought to be at 
 once rich and brilliant, yet solid. The second course 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 But the tradespeople 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Nonsense ! You annoy me To talk about tradespeople on 
 the day when my daughter and her intended are to meet ! 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 They won't supply anything. 
 
 MERCADET 
 What have we got to do with tradespeople that won't take
 
 MERCADET 181 
 
 our trade ? We must get others. You must go to their com- 
 petitors, you must give them my custom, and they will tip you 
 for it. 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 And how shall I pay those that I am giving up ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 Don't worry yourself about that, it is my business. 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 But if they ask me to pay them 
 
 MERCADET (aside, rising to his feet) 
 This girl has money of her own. (Aloud) Virginie, in 
 these days, credit is the sole wealth of government. My trades- 
 people misunderstand the laws of their country, they will 
 show themselves unconstitutional and utter radicals, unless 
 they leave me alone. Don't you trouble your head about 
 people who raise an insurrection against the vital principles 
 of all rightly constituted states ! What you have got to attend 
 to, is dinner, that is your duty, and I hope that on this 
 occasion you will show yourself to be what you are, a first- 
 class cook ! And if Mme. Mercadet, when she settles with 
 you on the day after my daughter's wedding, finds that she 
 owes you anything, I will hold myself liable for it all. 
 
 VIRGINIE (hesitating) 
 Sir 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Now go about your business. I give you here an opportunity 
 of gaining an interest of ten per cent every six months ! and 
 that is better than the savings banks will do for you. 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 That it is ; they only give four per cent a year !
 
 182 MERCADET 
 
 MEEOADET (whispering to his wife) 
 What did I tell you ! (To Virginie) How can you run the 
 risk of putting your money into the hands of strangers You 
 are quite clever enough to invest it yourself, and here your 
 little nest-egg will remain in ycyur own possession. 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 
 Ten per cent every six months! I suppose that madame 
 will give me the particulars with regard to the second course. 
 I must start to work on it. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 MERCADET AND MME. MERCADET. 
 
 MERCADET (watching Virginie as she goes out) 
 That girl has a thousand crowns of our good money in the 
 savings bank, so that we needn't worry about the kitchen for 
 awhile. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Ah ! sir, how can you stoop to such a thing as this ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Madame, these are mere petty details; don't bother about 
 the means to the end. You, a little time ago, were trving to 
 control your servants by kindness, but it is necessary to com- 
 mand and compel them, and to do it briefly, like Napoleon. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 How can you order them when you don't pay them ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 You must pay them by a bluff.
 
 MERCADET 183 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Sometimes you can obtain by affection whaj; is not attainable 
 by- 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 By affection ! Ah ! Little do you know' the age in which we 
 live To-day, madame, wealth is everything, family is nothing; 
 there are no families, but only individuals ! The future of each 
 one is to be determined by the public funds. A young girl 
 when she needs a dowry no longer appeals to her family, but 
 to a syndicate. The income of the King of England comes 
 from an insurance company. The wife depends for funds, not 
 upon her husband, but upon the savings bank! Debts are 
 paid, not to creditors, but to the country, through an agency, 
 which manages a sort of slave-trade in white people ! All our 
 duties are arranged by coupons The servants which we 
 exchange for them are no longer attached to their masters, 
 but if you hold their money they will be devoted to you. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Oh, sir, you who are so honorable, so upright, sometimes 
 say things to me which 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 And what is said may also be done, that is what you mean, 
 isn't it ? Undoubtedly I would do anything to save myself, for 
 (he pulls out a five-franc piece) this represents modern 
 honor. Do you know why the dramas that have criminals for 
 their heroes are so popular? It is because all the audience 
 flatter themselves and say, "at any rate, I am much better than 
 that fellow!" 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 My dear ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 For my part I have an excuse, for I am bearing the burden 
 of my partner's crime of that fellow Godeau, who absconded,
 
 184 MERCADET 
 
 carrying with him the cash box of our house! And besides 
 that, what disgrace is it to be in debtr What man is there 
 who does not owe his father his existence? He can never 
 repay that debt. The earth is constantly bankrupt to the sun. 
 Life, madame, is a perpetual loan ! Am I not superior to my 
 creditors? I have their money, when they can only expect 
 mine. I do not ask anything of them, and yet they are con- 
 stantly importuning me. A man who does not owe anything 
 is not thought about by any one, while my creditors take a 
 keen interest in me. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 They take rather too much ! To owe and to pay is well 
 enough but to borrow without any prospect of returning 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You feel a great deal of compassion for my creditors, but 
 our indebtedness to them springs from 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Their confidence in us, sir. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 No, but from their greed of gain ! The speculator and the 
 broker are one and the same each of them aims at sudden 
 wealth. I have done a favor to all my creditors, and they all 
 expect to get something out of me ! I should be most unhappy 
 but for the secret consciousness I have that they are selfish and 
 avaricious so that you- will see in a few moments how I will 
 make each of them play out his little comedy. (He sits down.) 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 You have actually ordered them to be admitted? 
 
 MERCADET 
 That I may meet them as I ought to ! (taking her hand.)
 
 MERCADET 185 
 
 I am at the end of my resources ; the time has come for a mas- 
 ter-stroke, and Julie must come to our assistance. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 What, my daughter! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 My creditors are pressing me, and harassing me. I must 
 manage to make a brilliant match for Julie. This will dazzle 
 them; they will give me more time. But in order that this 
 brilliant marriage may take place, these gentlemen must give 
 me more money. 
 
 MME, MERCADET 
 They give you more money! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Isn't there need of it for the dresses which they are sending 
 to you, and for the trousseau which I am giving? And a suit- 
 able trousseau to go with the dowry of two hundred thousand 
 francs, will cost fifteen thousand. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 But you are utterly unable to give such a dowry. 
 
 MERCADET (rising) 
 
 All the more reason why I should give the trousseau. Now 
 this is what we stand in need of: twelve or fifteen thousand 
 francs for the trousseau, and a thousand crowns to pay the 
 tradesmen and to prevent any appearance of straitened cir- 
 cumstances in our house, when M. de la Brive arrives. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 How can you count on your creditors for that? 
 
 MERCADET 
 Don't they now belong to the family? Can you find any
 
 186 MERCADET 
 
 relation who is as anxious as they are to see me wealthy and 
 rich? Eelations are always a little envious of the happiness 
 or the wealth which conies to us; the creditor's joy alone is 
 sincere. If I were to die, I should have at my funeral more 
 creditors than relations, and while the latter carried their 
 mourning in their hearts or on their heads, the former would 
 carry it in their ledgers and purses. I": is here that my depart- 
 ure would leave a genuine void ! The heart forgets, and crape 
 disappears at the er.d of a year, but the account which is un- 
 paid is ineffaceable, and the void remains eternally unfilled. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 My dear, I know the people to whom you are indebted, and 
 I am quite certain that you will obtain nothing from them. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I shall obtain both time and money from them, rest assured 
 of that. (Mme. Mercadet is perturbed.) Don't you see, my 
 dear, that creditors when once they have opened their purses 
 are like gamblers who continue to stake their money in order 
 to recover their first losses ? ( Growing excited. ) Yes ! they 
 are inexhaustible gold mines ! If a man has no father to leave 
 him a fortune, he finds his creditors are so many indefatigable 
 uncles. 
 
 JUSTIN (entering) 
 
 M. Goulard wishes to know if it is true that you desire to 
 see him ? 
 
 MERCADET (to his wife) 
 
 My message astounded him. (To Justin) Beg him to come 
 in. (Justin goes out. ) Goulard ! The most intractable of 
 them all ! who has three bailiffs in his employ. But for- 
 tunately he is a greedy though timid speculator who engages 
 in the most risky affairs and trembles all the time they are 
 being conducted
 
 MERCADET 187 
 
 JUSTIN (announcing) 
 M.Goulard! (Exit Justin.) 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND GOULARD. 
 
 GOULARD (in anger) 
 Ah ! you can be found, sir, when you want to be ! 
 
 MME. MERCADET (aside to her husband) 
 My dear, how angry he seems ! 
 
 MERCADET (making a sign that she should be calm) 
 This is one of my creditors, my dear. 
 
 GOULARD 
 Yes, and I shan't leave this house until you pay me. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 You shan't leave this house until you give me some money 
 (Aloud) Ah ! you have persecuted me most unkindly me, a 
 man with whom you have had such extensive dealings ! 
 
 GOULARD 
 Dealings which have not always been to my advantage. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 All the more credit to you, for if advantages were the sole 
 results of business, everybody would become a money-lender. 
 
 GOULARD 
 I hope you haven't asked me to come here, in order to show
 
 188 MERCADET 
 
 me how clever you are ! I know that you are cleverer than I 
 am, for you have got over me in money matters. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Well, money matters have some importance. (To his wife) 
 Yes, yes, you see in this man one who has hunted me as if I 
 were a hare. Come, come, Goulard, admit it, you have be- 
 haved badly. Anybody but myself would have taken ven- 
 geance on you for of course I could cause you to lose a con- 
 siderable sum of money. 
 
 GOULARD 
 
 So you could, if you didn't pay me ; but you shall pay me 
 your obligations are now in the hands of the law. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Of the law? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Of the law ! You are losing your senses, you don't know 
 what you are doing, you are ruining us both yourself and 
 *ne at the same time. 
 
 GOULARD (anxiously) 
 How ? You that of course is possible but but me ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Both of us, I tell you ! Quick, sit down there write, 
 Write ! 
 
 GOULARD (mechanically taking the pen) 
 Write write what? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Write to Delannoy that he must make them stay the pro- 
 ceedings, and give me the thousand crowns which I absolutely 
 need.
 
 MERCADET 189 
 
 GOULARD (throwing down the pen) 
 That is very likely, indeed ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You hesitate, and, when I am on the eve of marrying 
 my daughter to a man immensely wealthy that is the time 
 you choose to cause my arrest. And by that means you are 
 killing both your capital and interest ! 
 
 GOULARD 
 Ah ! you are going to marry your daughter 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 To the Comte de la Brive; he possesses as many thousand 
 francs as he is years old ! 
 
 GOULARD 
 
 Then if he is up in years, there is reason for giving you 
 some delay. But the thousand crowns the thousand crowns 
 never. I am quite decided on that point. I will give you 
 nothing, neither delay nor I must go now 
 
 MERCADET (with energy) 
 
 Very well ! You can go if you like, you ungrateful fellow ! 
 But don't forget that I have done my best to save you. 
 
 GOULARD (turning back) 
 Me? To save me from what? 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 I have him now. (Aloud) From what? From the most 
 complete ruin. 
 
 GOULARD 
 Ruin ? It is impossible.
 
 190 MERCADET 
 
 MEECADET (taking a seat) 
 
 What is the matter with you ? You, a man of intelligence, 
 of ability a strong man, and yet you cause me all this 
 trouble ! You came here and I felt absolutely enraged against 
 you not because I was your friend, I confess it, but through 
 selfishness. I look upon our interests as identical. I said to 
 myself: I owe him so much that he is sure to give me his 
 assistance when I have such a grand chance like the one at 
 this moment ! And you are going to let out the whole business 
 and to lose everything for the sake of a paltry sum ! Every- 
 thing! You are perhaps right in refusing me the thousand 
 crowns It is better, perhaps, to bury them in your coffers 
 with the rest. All right ! Send me to prison ! Then, when 
 all is gone, you'll have to look somewhere else for a friend ! 
 
 GOULAED (in a tone of self-reproach) 
 Mercadet ! my dear Mercadet ! But is it actually true ? 
 
 MEECADET (rising from Ms seat) 
 
 Is it true? (To his wife) You would not believe he was 
 so stupid. (To Goulard) She has ended by becoming a dar- 
 ing speculator. (To his wife) I may tell you, my dear, that 
 Goulard is going to invest a large sum in our great enterprise. 
 
 MME. MEECADET (ashamed) 
 Sir! 
 
 MEECADET 
 What a misfortune it will be if it does not turn out well. 
 
 GOULARD 
 Mercadet ! Are you talking about the Basse-Indre mines ? 
 
 MEECADET 
 
 Of course I am. (Aside) Ah! You have some of the 
 Basse-Indre stock, I see.
 
 MERCADET 191 
 
 GOULABD 
 
 But the investment seems to me first-class. 
 
 MERCADET 
 First-class Yes, for those who sold out yesterday. 
 
 GOULAED 
 
 Have any stockholders sold out? 
 
 MERCADET 
 Yes, privately. 
 
 GOULARD 
 Good-bye. Thanks, Mercadet ; madame, accept my respects. 
 
 MERCADET (stopping him) 
 Goulard ! 
 
 GOULAED 
 Eh? 
 
 MERCADET 
 What about this note to Delannoy ? 
 
 GOULARD 
 I will speak to him about the postponement 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 No ; write to him ; and in the meantime I will find some one 
 who will buy your stock. 
 
 GOULARD (sitting down) 
 All my Basse-Indre? (He takes up the pen.) 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 Here you see the honest man, ever ready to rob his neighbor. 
 (Aloud) Very well, write ordering a postponement of three 
 months.
 
 192 MERCADET 
 
 GOULARD (writing) 
 Three months ! There you have it. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 The man I allude to, who buys in secret for fear of causing 
 a rise, wants to get three hundred shares; do you happen to 
 have three hundred? 
 
 GOULARD 
 I have three hundred and fifty. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Fifty more ! Never mind ! he'll take them all. (Examining 
 what Goulard has written) Have you mentioned the thousand 
 crowns ? 
 
 GOULARD 
 And what is your friend's name? 
 
 MERCADET 
 His name ? You haven't mentioned ? 
 
 GOULARD 
 His name! 
 
 MERCADET 
 The thousand crowns. 
 
 GOULARD 
 
 What a devil of a man he is ! (He writes.) There, you have 
 it! 
 
 MERCADET 
 His name is Pierquin. 
 
 GOULARD (rising) 
 Pierquin. 
 
 MERCADET 
 He at least is the nominal buyer. Go to your house and I
 
 MERCADET 193 
 
 Brill send him to you ; it is never a good thing to run after a 
 purchaser. 
 
 GOULARD 
 
 Never! You have saved my life. Good-hye, my friend. 
 Madame, accept my prayers for the happiness of your daugh- 
 ter. (Exit.) 
 
 MERCADET 
 One of them captured ! Now watch me get the others ! 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 MME. MERCADET, MERCADET, THEN JULIE. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Is there any truth in what you just now said ? I could not 
 quite, follow you. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 It is to the interest of my friend Verdelin to cause a panic 
 in Basse-Indre stock ; this stock has been for a long time very 
 risky and has suddenly become of first-class value, through 
 the discovery of certain beds of mineral, which are known only 
 to those on the inside. Ah ! If I could but invest a thousand 
 crowns in it my fortune would be made. But, of course, our 
 main object at present is the marriage of Julie. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 . You are well acquainted with M. de la Brive, are you not? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I have dined with him. He has a charming apartment, fine 
 plate, a silver dessert service, bearing his arms, so that it 
 could not have been borrowed. Our daughter is going to make
 
 194 MERCADET 
 
 a fine match, and he when either one of a married couple is 
 happy, it is all right. (Julie enters.) 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Here comes our daughter. Julie, your father and I have 
 something to say to you on a subject which is always agreeable 
 to a young girl. 
 
 JULIE 
 M. Minard has then spoken to you, father? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 M. Minard ! Did you expect, madame, to find a M. Minard 
 reigning in the heart of your daughter ? Is not this M. Min- 
 ard that under clerk of mine ? 
 
 JULIE 
 Yes, papa. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Do you love him? 
 
 JULIE 
 Yes, papa. 
 
 MERCADET 
 But besides loving, it is necessary for a person to be loved. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Does he love you? 
 
 JULIE 
 Yes, mamma! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Yes, papa; yes, mamma; why don't you say mammy and 
 daddy? As soon as daughters have passed their majority they 
 begin to talk as if they were just weaned. Be polite enough 
 to address your mother as madame. 
 
 JULIE 
 Yes, monsieur.
 
 MERCADET 195 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Oh! you may address me as papa. I shan't be annoyed 
 at that. What proof have you that he loves you ? 
 
 JULIE 
 The best proof of all ; he wishes to marry me. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 It is quite true, as has been said, that young girls, like little 
 children, have answers ready enough to knock one silly. Let 
 me tell you, mademoiselle, that a clerk with a salary of eigh- 
 teen hundred francs does not know how to love. He hasn't 
 got the time, he has to work too hard 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 But, unhappy child 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Ah! A lucky thought strikes me! Let me talk to her. 
 Julie, listen to me. I will marry you to Minard. (Julie 
 smiles with delight.) Now, look here, you haven't got a single 
 sou, and you know it ; what is going to become of you a week 
 after your marriage ? Have you thought about that ? 
 
 JULIE 
 Yes, papa 1 
 
 MME. MERCADET (with sympathy, to her husband) 
 The poor child is mad. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Yes, she is in love. (To Julie) Tell me all about it, Julie. 
 I am not now your father, but your confidant ; I am listening. 
 
 JULIE 
 After our marriage we will still love each other.
 
 196 MERCADET 
 
 MEBOADET 
 
 But will Cupid shoot you bank coupons at the end of Ma 
 arrows ? 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Father, we shall lodge in a small apartment, at the extrem- 
 ity of the Faubourg, on the fourth story, if necessary ! And 
 if it can't be helped, I will be his house-maid. Oh! I will 
 take an immense delight in the care of the household, for I 
 shall know that it will all be done for him. I will work for 
 him, while he is working for me. I will spare him every 
 anxiety, and he will never know how straitened we are. Our 
 home will be spotlessly clean, even elegant You shall see ! 
 Elegance depends upon such little things ; it springs from the 
 soul, and happiness is at once the cause and the effect of it. 
 I can earn enough from my painting to cost him nothing and 
 even to contribute to the expenses of our living. Moreover, 
 love will help us to pass through days of hardship. Adolphe 
 has ambition, like all those who are of lofty soul, and these 
 are the successful men 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Success is within reach of the bachelor, but, when a man is 
 married, he exhausts himself in meeting his expenses, and 
 runs after a thousand franc bill as a dog runs after a carriage. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 But, papa, Adolphe, has strength of will, united with such 
 capacity that I feel sure I shall see him some day a Minister, 
 perhaps 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 In these days, who is there that does not indulge more or 
 less the hope of being a Minister? When a man leaves col- 
 lege he thinks himself a great poet, or a great orator! Do 
 you know what your Adolphe will really become? Why, 
 the father of several children, who will utterly disarrange 
 your plans of work and economy, who will end by landing his
 
 MERCADET 197 
 
 excellency in the debtor's prison, and who will plunge you 
 into the most frightful poverty. What you have related to 
 me is the romance and not the reality of life. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Daughter, there can be nothing serious in this love of yours. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 It is a love to which both of us are willing to sacrifice every- 
 thing. 
 
 MERCADET 
 I suppose that your friend Adolphe thinks that we are rich ? 
 
 JULIE 
 He ha* never spoken to me about money. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Just so. I can quite understand it. (To Julie) Julie, write 
 to him at once, telling him to come to me. 
 
 JULIE (kissing him) 
 Dear papa ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 And you must marry M. de la Brive. Instead of living on 
 q, fourth floor in a suburb, you will have a fine house in the 
 Chaussee-d'Antin, and, if you are not the wife of a Minister, 
 you perhaps will be the wife of a peer of France. I am sorry, 
 my daughter, that I have no more to offer you. Remember, 
 you can have no choice in the matter, for M. Minard is going 
 to give you up. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Oh ! he will never do that, papa. He will win your heart 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 My dear, suppose he loves her?
 
 198 MERCADET 
 
 MEECADET 
 He is deceiving her 
 
 JULIE 
 
 I shouldn't mind being always deceived in that way. (A 
 bell is heard without.) 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Some one is ringing, and we have no one to open the door. 
 
 MERCADET 
 That is all right. Let them ring. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 I am all the time thinking that Godeau may return. ' 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 After eight years without any news, you are still expecting 
 Godeau ! You seem to me like those old soldiers who are wait- 
 ing for the return of Napoleon. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 They are ringing again. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Julie, go and see who it is, and tell them that your mother 
 and I have gone out. If any one is shameless enough to dis- 
 believe a young girl it must be a creditor let him come in. 
 [(Exit Julie.) 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 This love she speaks of, and which, at least on her side, is 
 sincere, disturbs me greatly. 
 
 MERCADET 
 You women are all too romantic.
 
 MERCADET 199 
 
 JULIE (returning) 
 It is M. Pierquin, papa. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 A creditor and usurer a vile and violent soul, who humors 
 me because he thinks me a man of resources ; a wild beast only 
 half-tamed yet cowed by my audacity. If I showed fear he 
 would devour me. (Going to the door.) Come in, Pierquin, 
 come in. 
 
 'SCENE EIGHTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND PIERQUIN. 
 
 PlERQUIN- 
 
 My congratulations to you all. I hear that you are making 
 a grand marriage for your daughter. Mademoiselle is to 
 marry a millionaire ; the report has already gone abroad. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 A millionaire? No, he has only nine hundred thousand 
 francs, at the most. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 
 This magnificent prospect will induce a lot of people to give 
 you time. They are becoming devilishly tired otf your talk 
 about Godeau's return. And I myself 
 
 MERCADET 
 Were you thinking about having me arrested? 
 
 JULIE 
 Arrested ! 
 
 MME. MERCADET (to Pierquin} 
 lAhlsir.
 
 200 MERCADET 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Now listen to me, you have had two years, and I never be- 
 fore let a bond go over so long ; but this marriage is a glorious 
 invention and 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 An invention I 
 
 MERCADET 
 Sir, my future son-in-law, M. de la Brive, is a young man 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 
 So that there is a real young man in the case ? How much 
 are you going to pay the young man ? 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Oh! 
 
 MERCADET (checking his wife by a sign) 
 No more of this insolence ! otherwise, my dear sir, I shall 
 be forced to demand a settlement of our accounts and, my 
 dear M. Pierquin, you will lose a good deal of the price at 
 which you sold your money to me. And at the rate of inter- 
 est you charge, I shall cost you more than the value of a 
 farm in Bauce. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 Sir 
 
 MERCADET (haughtily) 
 
 Sir, I shall soon be so rich that I will not endure to be 
 twitted by any one not even by a creditor. 
 
 PIERQUIN, 
 Bnfr- 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Not a word or I will pay you! Come into my private 
 room and we will settle the business about which I asked you 
 to come.
 
 MERCADET 201 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 I am at your service, sir. (Aside) What a devil of a man ! 
 (They bow to the ladies and enter Mercadefs room.) 
 
 MERCADET (following Pierquin; aside to his wife) 
 The wild beast is tamed. I'll get this one, too. 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 MME. MERCADET, JULIE, AND LATER, SERVANTS. 
 
 JULIE 
 mamma! I cannot marry this M. de la Brivel 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 But he is rich, you know. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 But I prefer happiness and poverty, to unhappiness and 
 wealth. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 My child, happiness is impossible in poverty, while there 
 is no misfortune that wealth cannot alleviate. 
 
 JULIE 
 How can you say such sad words to me? 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Children should learn a lesson from the experience of 
 parents. We are at present having a very bitter taste of life's 
 vicissitudes. Take my advice, daughter, and marry wealth. 
 
 JUSTIN (entering, followed ly Therese and Virginie) 
 Madame, we have carried out the master's orders.
 
 202 MERCADET 
 
 VlRGINIE 
 
 My dinner will be ready. 
 
 THERESE 
 And the tradesmen have consented. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 As far as concerns M. Verdelin 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MERCADET (carrying a bundle of 
 
 papers) 
 
 MERCADET 
 What did my friend Verdelin say? 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 He will be here in a moment. He was just on his way here 
 to bring some money to M. Bredif, the owner of this house. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Bredif is a millionaire. Take care that Verdelin speaks to 
 me before going up to him. How did you get on, Therese, 
 with the milliners and dressmakers ? 
 
 THERESE 
 
 Sir, as soon as I gave them a promise of payment, every one 
 greeted me with smiles. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Very good. And shall we have a fine dinner, Virginie? 
 
 VlRGINIE 
 
 You will compliment it, sir, when you eat it.
 
 MERCADET 203 
 
 MERCADET 
 And the tradespeople? 
 
 VlEGINIB 
 
 They will wait your time. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I shall settle with you all to-morrow. You can go now. 
 (They go out.) A man who has his servants with him is like 
 a minister who has the press on his side ! 
 
 MME. MEBOADET 
 And what of Pierquin? 
 
 MERCADET (showing the papers) 
 
 All that I could extort from him is as follows. He will 
 give me time, and this negotiable paper in exchange for stock. 
 Also notes for forty-seven thousand francs, to be collected 
 from a man named Michonnin, a gentleman broker, not con- 
 sidered very solvent, who may be a crook but has a very rich 
 aunt at Bordeaux ; M. de la Brive is from that district and I 
 can learn from him if there is anything to be got out of it. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 But the tradesmen will soon arrive. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I shall be here to receive them. Now leave me, leave me, 
 my dears. (Exeunt the two ladies.) 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 MERCADET, THEN VIOLETTE. 
 
 MERCADET (walking up and down) 
 Yes, they will soon be here ! And everything depends upon
 
 204 MERCADET 
 
 the somewhat slippery friendship of Verdelin a man whose 
 fortune I made ! Ah ! when a man has passed forty he learns 
 that the world is peopled by the ungrateful I do not know 
 where all the benefactors have gone to. Verdelin and I have a 
 high opinion of each other. He owes me gratitude, I owe him 
 money, and neither of us pays the other. And now, in order 
 to arrange the marriage of Julie, my business is to find a thou- 
 sand crowns in a pocket which pretends to be empty to find 
 entrance into a heart in order to find entrance into a cash- 
 box ! What an undertaking ! Only women can do such 
 things, and with men who are in love with them. 
 
 JUSTIN (without) 
 Yes, he is in. 
 
 MEECADET 
 
 It is he. (Violette appears.) Ah! my friend! It is dear 
 old Violette ! 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 This is the eleventh call within a week, my dear M. Mer- 
 cadet, and my actual necessity has driven me to wait for you 
 three hours in the street; I thought the truth was told me 
 when I was assured that you were in the country. But I 
 came to-day 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Ah ! Violette, old fellow, we are both hard up ! 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 Humph ! I don't think so. For my part, Fve pledged 
 everything I could put in the pawn-shop. 
 
 MERCADET 
 So have we. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 I have never reproached you with my ruin, for I believe it 
 is your intention to enrich me, as well as yourself; but still,
 
 MERCADET 205 
 
 fine words butter no parsnips, and I am come to implore you 
 to give me a small sum on account, and by so doing you will 
 save the lives of a wbole family. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 My dear old Violette, you grieve me deeply ! Be reasonable 
 and I will share with you. (In a low voice) We have scarcely 
 a hundred francs in the house, and even that is my daughter's 
 money. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Is it possible ! You, Mercadet, whom I have known eo rich ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 I conceal nothing from you. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Unfortunate people owe it to each other to speak the truth. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Ah! If that were the only thing they owed how prompt 
 would be the payment ! But keep this as a secret, for I am on 
 the point of making a good match for my daughter. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 I have two daughters, sir, and they work without hope of 
 being married ! In your present circumstances I cannot press 
 you, but my wife and my daughters await my return in the 
 deepest anxiety. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Stay a moment. I will give you sixty francs. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 Ah ! my wife and my girls will bless you. (Aside, while 
 Mercadet leaves the room for a moment.} The others who 
 abuse him get nothing out of him, but by appealing to his
 
 206 MERCADET 
 
 pity, little by little I get back my money! (Chuckles and 
 slaps his pocket.) 
 
 MERCADET (on the point of re-entering sees this action) 
 
 The beggarly old miser! Sixty francs on account paid ten 
 times makes six hundred francs. Come now, I have sown 
 enough, it is time to reap the harvest. (Aloud) Take this. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 Sixty francs in gold ! It is a long time since I have seen 
 such a sum. Good-bye, we shan't forget to pray for the speedy 
 marriage of Mile. Mercadet. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Good-bye, dear old Violette. (Holding him ly the hand.) 
 Poor man, when I look at you, I think myself rich your 
 misfortunes touch me deeply. And yesterday I thought I 
 would soon be on the point of paying back to you not only 
 the interest but the principal of what I owe you. 
 
 VIOLETTE (turning back) 
 Paying me back ! In full ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 It was a close shave. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Imagine, my dear fellow, that there exists a most brilliant 
 opportunity, a most magnificent speculation, the most sublime 
 discovery an affair which appeals to the interest of every 
 one, which will draw upon all the exchanges, and for the reali- 
 zation of which a stupid banker has refused me the miserable 
 sum of a thousand crowns when there is more than a million 
 in sight.
 
 MERCADET 207 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 A million ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Yes, a million, from the start. Afterwards no one can calcu- 
 late where the rage for protective pavement will stop. 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 Payment? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Protective pavement. A pavement on which no barricade 
 can be raised. 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 Eeally ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You see, that from henceforth all governments interested 
 in the preservation of order will become our chief sharehold- 
 ers Ministers, princes and kings will be our chief partners. ' 
 Next come the gods of finance, the great bankers, those of 
 independent income in commerce and speculation; even the 
 socialists, seeing that their industry is ruined, will be forced 
 to buy stocks for a living from me ! 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 Yes, it is fine ! It is grand ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 It is sublime and philanthropic ! And to think that I have 
 been refused four thousand francs, wherewith to send out 
 advertisements and launch my prospectus! 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 Four thousand francs ! I thought it was only 
 
 MERCADET 
 Four thousand francs, no more! And I was to give away
 
 208 MERCADET 
 
 for the loan a half interest in the enterprise that is to say a 
 fortune ! Ten fortunes ! 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Listen I will see I will speak to some one 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Speak to no one ! Keep it to yourself ! The idea would at 
 once be snatched up or perhaps they wouldn't understand it 
 so well as you have immediately done. These money dealers 
 are so stupid. Besides, I am expecting Verdelin here 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Verdelin but we might perhaps 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 . 'Twill be lucky for Verdelin, if he has the brains to risk 
 six thousand francs in it. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 But you said four thousand just now. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 It was four thousand that they refused me, but I need six 
 thousand ! Six thousand francs, and Verdelin, whom I have 
 already made a millionaire once, is likely to become so three, 
 four, five times over ! But he will deserve it, for he is a clever 
 fellow, is Verdelin. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Mercadet, I will find you the money. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 No, no, don't think of it. Besides, he will be here in a 
 moment, and if I am to send him away without concluding 
 the business with him, it will be necessary to have it settled
 
 MERCADET 209 
 
 with some one else before Verdelin comes and, as that is 
 impossible good-bye and good luck I shall certainly be 
 able to pay you your thirty thousand francs. 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 But say why couldn't I ? 
 
 MME. MERCADET (entering) 
 M. Verdelin has come, my dear. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 Good, good ! (Aloud) Just detain him a minute. (Mme. 
 Mercadet goes out.) Well, good-bye, dear old Violette 
 
 VIOLETTE (pulling out a greasy pocJeetboolc) 
 Wait a moment here, I have the money with me and will 
 give it you beforehand. 
 
 MERCADET 
 You ! Six thousand francs ! 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 A friend asked me to invest it for him, and 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 And you couldn't find a better opening. We'll sign the 
 contract presently! (He takes the bills.) This closes the 
 deal and so much the worse for Verdelin he has missed a 
 gold mine! 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Well, I'll see you later. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Yes see you later! You can get out through my study. 
 [(He shows him the way out. Mme. Mercadet enters.)
 
 MERCADET 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET (reappearing) 
 
 Ah ! my dear ! I am an unfortunate man ! I ought to blow 
 my brains out! 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Good heavens ! What is the matter ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 The matter is that a moment ago I asked this sham bank- 
 rupt Violette for six thousand francs. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 And he refused to give them to you? 
 
 MERCADET 
 On the contrary, he handed them over. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 What, then, do you mean? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I am an unlucky man, as I told you, because he gave them 
 so quickly that I could have gotten ten thousand if I had only 
 known it. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 What a man you are ! I suppose you know that Yerdelin 
 is waiting for you. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Beg him to come in. At last I have Julie's trousseau ; and 
 we now need only enough money for your dresses and for 
 household expenses until the marriage. Send in Verdelin.
 
 211 
 
 Yes, he is your friend, and of course you will gain your end 
 with him. (She goes out.) 
 
 MEECADET (alone) 
 
 Yes, he is my friend ! And he has all the pride that comes 
 with fortune; but he has never had a Godeau (looking round 
 to see if lie is alone). After all, Godeau! I really believe 
 that Godeau has brought me in more money than he has taken 
 from me. 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 MEBCADET AND VERDELIN. 
 
 YERDELIN 
 
 Good-day, Mercadet. What is doing now ? Tell me quickly 
 for I was stopped here on my way up-stairs to Bredif's apart- 
 ment. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Oh, he can wait! How is it that you are going to see a 
 man like Bredif? 
 
 VERDELIN ( laughing ) 
 
 My dear friend, if people only visited those they esteem 
 they would make no visits at all. 
 
 MERCADET (laughing and taking his hand) 
 A. man wouldn't go even into his own house. 
 
 VERDELIN 
 But tell me what you want with me?
 
 212 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Your question is so sudden that it hasn't left me time to 
 gild the pill! 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 Oh ! my old comrade. I have nothing, and I am frank to 
 say that even if I had I could give you nothing. I have 
 already lent you all that my means permit me to dispose of; 
 I have never asked you for payment, for I am your friend 
 as well as your creditor, and indeed, if my heart did not 
 overflow in gratitude towards you, if I had not been a man 
 different from ordinary men, the creditor would long ago 
 have killed the man. I tell you everything has a limit in 
 this world. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Friendship has a limit, that's certain; but not misfortune. 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 If I were rich enough to save you altogether, to cancel your 
 debt entirely, I would do so with all my heart, for I admire 
 your courage. But you are bound to go under. Your last 
 schemes, although cleverly projected, have collapsed. You 
 have ruined your reputation, you are looked upon as a dan- 
 gerous man. You have not known how to take advantage of 
 the momentary success of your operations. When you are 
 utterly beggared, you will always find bread at my house; 
 but it is the duty of a friend to speak these plain truths. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 What would be the advantage of friendship unless it gave 
 us the pleasure of finding ourselves in the right, and seeing 
 a friend in the wrong of being comfortable ourselves and 
 seeing our friend in difficulties and of paying compliment to 
 ourselves by saying disagreeable things to him? Is it true 
 then that I am little thought of on 'Change?
 
 MERCADET 213 
 
 VERDELIST 
 
 I do not say so much as that. No; you still pass for an 
 honest man, but necessity is forcing you to adopt expedients 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Which are not justified by the success which luckier men 
 enjoy! Ah, success! How many outrageous things go to 
 make up success. You'll learn that soon enough. Now, for 
 instance, this morning I began to bear the market on the 
 mines of Basse-Indre, in order that you may gain control of 
 that enterprise before the favorable report of the engineers is 
 published. 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 Hush, Mercadet, can this be true? Ah! I see your genius 
 there! (Puts his arm round him.) 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I say this in order that you may understand that I have no 
 need of advice, nor of moralizing, merely of money. Alas! 
 I do not ask any thing of you for myself, my dear friend, but 
 I am about to make a marriage for my daughter, and here 
 we are actually, although secretly, fallen into absolute destitu- 
 tion. You are in a house where poverty reigns under the 
 appearance of luxury. The power of promises, and of credit, 
 all is exhausted! And if I cannot pay in cash for certain 
 necessary expenses, this marriage must be broken off. All I 
 want here is a fortnight of opulence, just as all that you want 
 is twenty-four hours of lying on the Exchange. Verdelin, this 
 request will never be repeated, for I have only one daughter. 
 Must I confess it to you? My wife and daughter are abso- 
 lutely destitute of clothes ! (Aside) He is hesitating. 
 
 VERDELIN" (aside) 
 
 He has played me so many tricks that I really do rot know 
 whether his daughter is going to be married or not. How 
 can she marry?
 
 214 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 This very day I have to give a dinner to my future son-in- 
 law, whom a mutual friend is introducing to us, and I haven't 
 even my plate remaining in the house. It is you know 
 where it is I not only need a thousand crowns, but I also 
 hope that you will lend me your dinner service and come and 
 dine here with your wife. 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 A thousand crowns ! Mercadet ! No one has a thousand 
 crowns to lend. One scarcely has them for himself ; if he were 
 to lend them whenever he was asked, he would never have 
 them. (He retires to the fire-place.) 
 
 MERCADET (following him, aside) 
 
 He will yet come to the scratch. (Aloud) Now look here, 
 .Verdelin, I love my wife and my daughter; these sentiments, 
 my 'friend, are my sole consolation in the midst of my recent 
 disasters ; these women have been so gentle, so patient ! I 
 should like to see them placed beyond the reach of distress. 
 Oh ! It is on this point that my sufferings are most real ! 
 (They walk to the front of the stage arm in arm.) I have 
 recently drunk the cup of bitterness, I have slipped upon my 
 wooden pavement, I organized a monopoly and others drained 
 me of everything! But, believe me, this is nothing in com- 
 parison with the pain of seeing you refuse me help in this 
 extremity ! Nevertheless, I am not going to dwell upon the 
 consequences for I do not wish to owe anything to your pity. 
 
 VERDELIN" (talcing a seat) 
 
 A thousand crowns! But what purpose would you apply 
 them to? 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 I shall get them. (Aloud) My dear fellow, a son-in-law is 
 a bird who is easily frightened away. The absence of one
 
 MERCADET 215 
 
 piece of lace on a dress reveals everything to him. The ladies' 
 costumes are ordered, the merchants are on the point of 
 delivering them yes, I was rash enough to say that I would 
 pay for everything, for I counted on you ! Verdelin, a thou- 
 sand crowns won't kill you, for you have sixty thousand francs 
 a year. And the life of a young girl of whom you are fond is 
 now at stake for you are fond of Julie! She has a sincere 
 attachment for your little girl, they play together like the 
 happiest of creatures. Would you let the companion of your 
 daughter pine away with despair? Misfortune is contagious! 
 It brings evil on all around ! 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 My dear fellow, I have not got a thousand crowns. I can 
 lend you my plate ; but I have not 
 
 MERCADET 
 You can give me your note on the bank. It is soon signed 
 
 VERDELIN (rising) 
 I no 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Ah ! my poor daughter ! It is all over. (Falls 'back over- 
 come in an armchair near the table.) God forgive me, if I put 
 an end to the painful dream of life, and let me awaken in Thy 
 bosom ! 
 
 VERDELIN (after a short silence) 
 Brit Have you really found a son-in-law ? 
 
 MERCADET (rising abruptly to his feet) 
 You ask if I have found a son-in-law ! You actually throw 
 a doubt upon this ! You may refuse me, if you like, the means 
 of effecting the happiness of my daughter, but do not insult 
 me! T am fallen low indeed! Verdelin! I would not 
 for a thousand crowns have had such an idea of you, and you 
 can never win absolution from me excepting by giving them.
 
 216 MERCADET 
 
 VERDELIN (wishing to leave) 
 I must go and see if I can 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 No ! This is only another way of refusing me ! Can I 
 believe it? Will not you whom I have seen spend the same 
 sum upon some such trifle as a passing love affair will you 
 not apply a thousand crowns to the performance of a good 
 action ? 
 
 VERDELIN (laughing) 
 
 At the present time there are very few good actions, or 
 transactions. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Ha ! ha ! ha ! How witty ! You are laughing, I see there 
 is a reaction ! 
 
 VERDELIN 
 Ha ! ha ! ha ! (He drops his hat.) 
 
 MERCADET (picking up the hat and dusting it with his sleeve) 
 Come now, old fellow. Haven't we seen life ! We two be- 
 gan it together. What a lot of things we have said and 
 done ! Don't you recollect the good old time when we swore 
 to be friends always through thick and thin ? 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 Indeed, I do. And don't you recollect our party at Eam- 
 bouillet, where I fought with an officer of the Guard on your 
 account ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I thought it was for the lovely Clarissa ! Ah ! But we 
 were gay ! We were young ! And to-day we have our daugh- 
 ters, daughters old enough to marry ! If Clarissa were alive 
 now, she would blame your hesitation!
 
 MERCADET 117 
 
 VERDELIN 
 If she had lived, I should never have married. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Because you know what love is, that you do! So I may 
 count upon you for dinner, and you give me your word of 
 honor that you will send me 
 
 VERDELIN 
 The plate? 
 
 MERCADET 
 And the thousand crowns 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 Ah! You still harp upon that! I have told you that I 
 cannot do it. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 It is certain that this fellow will never die of heart failure. 
 (Aloud} And so it seems I am to be murdered by my best 
 friend ? Alas ! It is always thus ! You are actually untouched 
 by the memory of Clarissa and by the despair of a father! 
 (He cries out towards the chamber of his wife.) Ah! it is 
 all over ! I am in despair ! I am going to blow my brains 
 out! 
 
 'SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, MME. MERCADET AND JULIE. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 What on earth is the matter with you, my dear? 
 
 JULIE 
 How your voice frightened us, papa !
 
 218 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 They heard us ! See how they come, like two guardian 
 angels! (He takes them by the hand.) Ah! you melt my 
 heart ! (To Verdelin) Verdelin ! do you wish to slay a whole 
 family? This proof of their tenderness gives me courage to 
 fall at your feet. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Oh, sir! (She checks her father.) It is I who will im- 
 plore you for him. Whatever may be his demand, do not 
 refuse my father; he must, indeed, be in the most terrible 
 anguish ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Dear child ! ( Aside) In what accents does she speak ! I 
 couldn't speak so naturally as that. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 M. Verdelin, listen to us 
 
 VERDELIN (to Julie) 
 You don't know what he is asking^ do you? 
 
 JULIE 
 No. 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 He is asking for a thousand crowns, in order to arrange 
 your marriage. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Then, forget, sir, all that I said to you; I do not wish for 
 a marriage which has been purchased by the humiliation of 
 my father. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 She is magnificent ! 
 
 VERDELIN 
 Julie ! I will go at once and get the money for you. (Exit.)
 
 MERCADET 219 
 
 SCENE FOURTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, EXCEPT VERDELIN; THEN THE 
 SERVANTS. 
 
 JULIE 
 Oh, father ! Why did you not tell me ? 
 
 MERCADET (kissing her) 
 
 You have saved us all ! Ah ! when shall I be so rich and 
 powerful that I may make him repent of a favor done so 
 grudgingly ? 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Do not be unjust; Verdelin yielded to your request. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 He yielded to the cry of Julie, not to my request. Ah ! my 
 dear, he has extorted from me more than a thousand crowns' 
 worth of humiliation ! 
 
 JUSTIN (coming in with Therese and Virginie) 
 
 The tradespeople. 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 
 The milliner and the dressmaker 
 
 THERESE 
 And the dry-goods merchants. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 That is all right! I have succeeded in my scheme! My 
 daughter shall be Comtesse de la Brive! (To the servants) 
 Show them in ! I am waiting, and the money is ready. (He 
 goes proudly towards his study, while the servants look at 
 him with surprise.) 
 
 Curtain to the First Act.
 
 220 MERCADET 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (Mercadet's study, containing book-shelves, a safe, a desk, 
 an armchair and a sofa.) 
 
 MlNAED AND JUSTIN, THEN JULIE. 
 MlNARD 
 
 Did you say that M. Mercadet wished to speak with me ? 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 Yes, sir. But mademoiselle has requested that you await 
 her here. 
 
 MINARD (aside) 
 
 Her father asks to see me. She wishes to speak to me 
 before the interview. Something extraordinary must have 
 happened. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 Mademoiselle is here. (Enter Julie.) 
 
 MINARD (going towards her) 
 Mile. Julie ! 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Justin, inform my father that the gentleman has arrived. 
 (Exit Justin.) If you wish, Adolphe, that our love should 
 shine as bright in the sight of all as it does in our hearts, be 
 as courageous as I have already been.
 
 MERCADET 221 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 What has taken place ? 
 
 JULIE 
 
 A rich young suitor has presented himself, and my father 
 is acting without any pity for us. 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 A rival! And you ask me if I have any courage! Tell 
 me his name, Julie, and you will soon know whether I have 
 any courage. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Adolphe! You make me shudder! Is this the way in. 
 which you are going to act with the hope of bending my 
 father ? 
 
 MINARD (seeing Mercadet approach) 
 Here he conies. 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MERCADET. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Sir, are you in love with my daughter? 
 
 MINARD 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 That is, at least, what she believes, and you seem to hare 
 had the talent to persuade her that it is so. 
 
 MINARD 
 
 Your manner of expressing yourself implies a doubt 
 on your part, which in any one else would have been
 
 222 MEKCADET 
 
 offensive to me. Why should I not love mademoiselle ? Aban- 
 doned by my parents, it was from your daughter, sir, that I 
 have learned for the first time the happiness of affection. 
 Mile. Julie is at the same time a sister and a friend 
 to me. She is my whole family. She alone has smiled upon 
 me and has encouraged me; and my love for her is beyond 
 what language can express ! 
 
 JULIE 
 Must I remain here, father? 
 
 MEECADET (to his daughter) 
 
 Swallow it all! (To Minard) Sir, with regard to the love 
 Of young people I have those positive ideas which are con- 
 sidered peculiar to old men. My distrust of such love is all 
 the more permissible because I am not a father blinded by 
 paternal affection. I see Julie exactly as she is ; without being 
 absolutely plain, she has none of that beauty that makes 
 people cry out, "See !" She is quite mediocre. 
 
 MUSTARD 
 
 You are mistaken, sir; I venture to say that you do not 
 know your daughter. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Permit me 
 
 MINARD 
 You do not know her, sir. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 But I know her perfectly well as if in a word, I know 
 her 
 
 MINARD 
 No, sir, you do not. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Do you mean to contradict me again, sir?
 
 MERCADET 223 
 
 MlNAED 
 
 You know the Julie that all the world sees; but love has 
 transfigured her ! Tenderness and devotion lend to her a 
 transporting beauty that I alone have called up in her. 
 
 JULIE 
 Father, I feel ashamed 
 
 MERCADET 
 You mean you feel happy. And if you, sir, repeat these 
 
 things 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 I shall repeat them a hundred times, a thousand times, and 
 even then I couldn't repeat them often enough. There is no 
 crime in repeating them before a father ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You flatter me ! I did believe myself her father ; but you 
 are the father of a Julie whose acquaintance I should very 
 much like to make. 
 
 MINARD 
 You have never been in love, I suppose? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I have been very much in love ! And felt the galling chain 
 of gold like everybody else., 
 
 MINARD 
 That was long ago. In these days we love in a better way. 
 
 MERCADET 
 How do you do that? 
 
 MINARD 
 We cling to the soul, to the ideal !
 
 224 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 What we used to call under the Empire, having our eyes 
 bandaged. 
 
 MINARD 
 
 It is love, pure and holy, which can lend a charm to all the 
 hours of life. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Yes, all! except the dinner hour. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Father, do not ridicule two children who love each other 
 with a passion which is true and pure, because it is founded 
 upon a knowledge of each other's character; on the certitude 
 of their mutual ardor in conquering the difficulties of life ; in 
 a word, of two children who will also cherish sincere affection 
 for you. 
 
 MINARD (to Mercadet) 
 What an angel, sir ! 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 I'll angel you! (Putting an arm around each.) Happy 
 children ! You are absolutely in love ? What a fine romance I 
 (To Minard) You desire her for your wife? 
 
 MINARD 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 MERCADET 
 In spite of all obstacles ? 
 
 MINARD 
 It is mine to overcome them ! 
 
 JULIE 
 Father, ought you not to be grateful to me in that by my
 
 MERCADET 225 
 
 choice I am giving ydu a son full of lofty sentiments, en- 
 dowed with a courageous soul, and 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 Mademoiselle Julie. 
 
 JULIE 
 Let me finish ; I must have my say. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 My daughter, go and see your mother, and let me speak of 
 matters which are a great deal more material than these. 
 
 JULIE 
 I will go, father 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Come back presently with your mother, my child. (He 
 kisses her and leads her to the door.) 
 
 MINARD (aside) 
 I feel my hopes revive. 
 
 MERCADET (returning) 
 Sir, I am a mined man. 
 
 MINABD 
 What does that mean? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Totally ruined. And if you wish to have my Julie, you are 
 welcome to her. She will be much better off at your house, 
 poor as you are, than in her paternal home. Not only is she 
 without dowry, but she is burdened with poor parents par- 
 ents who are more than poor. 
 
 MINARD 
 More than poor ! There is nothing beyond that.
 
 226 
 
 Yes, sir, we are in debt, deeply in debt, and some of these 
 debts clamor for payment. 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 No, no, it is impossible ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Don't you believe it? (Aside) He is getting frightened. 
 (Taking up a pile of papers from his desk. Aloud) Here, 
 my would-be son-in-law, are the family papers which will 
 show you our fortune 
 
 MIKARD 
 Sir 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Or rather our lack of fortune ! Read Here is a writ of 
 attachment on our furniture. 
 
 MINARD 
 Can it be possible ? 
 
 MEROADET 
 
 It is perfectly possible ! Here are judgments by the score ! 
 Here is a writ of arrest. You see in what straits we are! 
 Here you see all my sales, the protests on my notes and the 
 judgments classed in order for, young man, understand well 
 in a disordered condition of things, order is above all things 
 necessary. When disorder is well arranged it can be relieved 
 and controlled What can a debtor say when he sees his debt 
 entered up under his number? I make the government my 
 model. All payments are made in alphabetic order. I have 
 not yet touched the letter A. (He replaces the papers.) 
 
 MINARD 
 You haven't yet paid anything ?
 
 MERCADET 227 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Scarcely anything. You know the condition of my expenses. 
 You know, because you are a book-keeper. See, (picking up 
 the papers again) the total debit is three hundred and eighty 
 thousand. 
 
 MlNAED 
 
 Yes, sir. The balance is entered there. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You can understand then how you must make me shudder 
 when you come before my daughter with your fine protesta- 
 tions ! Since to marry a poor girl with nothing but an income 
 of eighteen hundred francs, is like inviting in wedlock a pro- 
 tested note with a writ of execution. 
 
 MINARD (lost in thought) 
 Euined, ruined ! And without resources ! 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 I thought that would upset him! (Aloud) Come, now, 
 young man, what are you going to do ? 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 First, I thank you, sir, for the frankness of your admis- 
 sions. 
 
 . MERCADET 
 
 That is good ! And what of the ideal, and your love for my 
 daughter ? 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 You have opened my eyes, sir. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 I am glad to hear it.
 
 228 MERCADET 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 I thought that I already loved her with a love that was 
 boundless, and now I love her a hundred times more. 
 
 MERCADET 
 The deuce you do ! 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 Have you not led me to understand that she will have need 
 of all my courage, of all my devotion ! I will render her happy 
 by other means than by my tenderness ; she shall feel grateful 
 for all my efforts, she shall love me for my vigils, and for my 
 toils. 
 
 MERCADET 
 You mean to tell me that you still wish to marry her ? 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 Do I wish ! When I believed that you were rich, I would 
 not ask her of you without trembling, without feeling ashamed 
 of my poverty; but now, sir, it is with assurance and with 
 tranquillity of mind that I ask for her. 
 
 MERCADET (to himself) 
 
 I must admit that this is a love exceedingly true, sincere 
 and noble ! And such as I had believed it impossible to find in 
 the whole world ! (To Minard) Forgive me, young man, for 
 the opinion I had of you forgive me, above all. for the disap- 
 pointment I am about to cause you 
 
 MINARD 
 What do you mean ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 M. Minard Julie cannot be your wife-
 
 MERCADET 229 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 What is this, sir ? Not be my wife ? In spite of our love, 
 in spite of all you have confided to me ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Yes, and just because of all I have confided to you. I have 
 shown you Mercadet the rich man in his true colors. I am 
 going to show you him as the skeptical man of business. I 
 have frankly opened my books to you. I am now going to open 
 my heart to you as frankly. 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 Speak out, sir, but remember how great my devotion to 
 Mile. Julie is. Eemember that my self-sacrifice and unsel- 
 fishness are equal to my love for her. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Let it be granted that by means of night-long vigils and toils 
 you will make a living for Julie ! But who will make a living 
 for us, her father and mother ? 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 Ah ! sir believe in me ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 What ! Are you going to work for four, instead of working 
 for only two ? The task will be too much for you ! And the 
 bread which you give to us, you will have to snatch out of the 
 hands of your children 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 How wildly you talk! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 And I, in spite of your generous efforts, shall fall, crushed 
 under the weight of disgraceful ruin. A brilliant marriage for
 
 230 MERCADET 
 
 my daughter is the only means by which I would be enabled 
 to discharge the enormous sums I owe. It is only thus that 
 in time I could regain confidence and credit. With the aid of 
 a rich son-in-law I can reconquer my position, and recuperate 
 my fortune ! Why, the marriage of my daughter is our last 
 anchor of salvation ! This marriage is our hope, our wealth, 
 the prop of our honor, sir ! And since you love my daughter, 
 it is to this very love that I make my appeal. My friend, do 
 not condemn her to poverty; do not condemn her to a life of 
 regret over the loss and disgrace which she has brought upon 
 her father 1 
 
 MINABD (in great distress) 
 But what do you ask me to do? 
 
 MEECADET (talcing "him by the hand) 
 
 I wish that this noble affection which you have for her, may 
 arm you with more courage than I myself possess. 
 
 MINABD 
 I will show such courage 
 
 MEECADET 
 
 Then listen to me. If I refuse Julie to yon, Julie will 
 refuse the man I destine for her. It will be best, therefore, 
 that I grant your request for her hand, and that you be the 
 one 
 
 MINABD 
 
 I ! She will not believe it, sir 
 
 MEECADET 
 
 She will believe you, if you tell her that you fear poverty 
 for her. 
 
 MINAED 
 
 She will accuse me of being a fortune hunter.
 
 MERCADET 231 
 
 MEECADET 
 
 She will be indebted to you for having secured her happi- 
 ness. 
 
 MINAED (despairingly)* 
 She will despise me, sir! 
 
 MEECADET 
 
 That is probable! But if I have read your heart aright, 
 your love for her is such that you will sacrifice yourself com- 
 pletely to the happiness of her life. But here she comes, sir, 
 and her mother is with her. It is on their account that I 
 make this request to you, sir; can I count on you? 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 You can. 
 
 MEEOABET 
 .Very good I thank you. 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 THE PRECEDING, JULIE AND MME. MEBCADET. 
 
 LIE 
 
 Come, mother, I am sure that Adolphe has triumphed over 
 all obstacles. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 My dear, M. Minard has asked of you the hand of Julie. 
 What answer have you given him ? 
 
 MERCADET (going to the desk) 
 It is for him to say.
 
 232 MERCADET 
 
 MINARD (aside) 
 How can I tell her ? My heart is breaking ! 
 
 JULIE 
 What have you got to say, Adolphe? 
 
 MINAED 
 Mademoiselle 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Mademoiselle! Am I no longer Julie to you? Oh, tell 
 me quickly. You have settled everything with my father, 
 have you not? 
 
 . MINARD 
 
 Your father has shown great confidence in me. He has 
 revealed to me his situation; he has told me 
 
 JULIE 
 Go on, please go on 
 
 MERCADET 
 I have told him that we are ruined 
 
 JULIE 
 
 And this avowal has not changed your plans your love 
 has it, Adolphe ? 
 
 MINARD (ardently) 
 
 My love! (Mercadet, without being noticed, seizes his 
 hand.) I should be deceiving you mademoiselle (speak- 
 ing with great effort) if I were to say that my intentions 
 are unaltered. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Oh ! It is impossible ! Can it be you who speak to me in 
 this strain? 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Julie
 
 MERCADET 233 
 
 MINAED (rousing himself} 
 
 There are some men to whom poverty adds energy; men 
 capable of daily self -sacrifice, of hourly toil; men who think 
 themselves sufficiently recompensed by a smile from a com- 
 panion that they love (checking himself). I, mademoiselle, 
 am not one of these. The thought of poverty dismays me. 
 I I could not endure the sight of your unhappiness. 
 
 JULIE (bursting into tears and flinging herself into the arms 
 of her mother) 
 Oh! mother! mother! mother! 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 My daughter my poor Julie! 
 
 MINARD (in a low voice to Mercadet) 
 Is this sufficient, sir? 
 
 JULIE (without looking at Minard) 
 
 I should have had courage for both of us. I should always 
 have greeted you with a smile, I should have toiled without 
 regret, and happiness would always have reigned in our 
 home. You could never have meant this, Adolphe. You 
 do not mean it! 
 
 MINARD (in a low voice) 
 Let me go let me leave the house, sir! 
 
 MERCADET 
 Come, then. (He retires to the lack of the stage.) 
 
 MINARD 
 
 Good-bye Julie. A love that would have flung you into 
 poverty is a thoughtless love. I have preferred to show the 
 love that sacrifices itself to your happiness
 
 234 MERCADET 
 
 JULIE 
 
 No, I trust you no longer. (In a low voice to her mother) 
 My only happiness would have been to be his. 
 
 JUSTIN (announcing visitors) 
 M. de la Brive! M. de Mericourt! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Take your daughter away, madame. M. Minard, follow 
 me. (To Justin) Ask them to wait here for awhile. (To 
 Minard) I am well satisfied with you. (Mme. Mercadet and 
 Julie, Mercadet and Minard go out in opposite directions, 
 while Justin admits Mericourt and De la Brive.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 DE LA BRIVE AND MERICOURT. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 M. Mercadet begs that the gentlemen will wait for him 
 here. (Exit.) 
 
 MERICOURT 
 
 At last, my dear friend, you are on the ground, and you 
 will be very soon officially recognized as Mile. Mercadet's 
 intended ! Steer your bark well, for the father is a deep one. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 That is what frightens me, for difficulties loom ahead. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 
 I do not believe so; Mercadet is a speculator, rich to-day, 
 to-morrow possibly a beggar. With the little I know of his
 
 MERCADET 235 
 
 affairs from his wife, I am led to believe that he is enchanted 
 with the prospect of depositing a part of his fortune in the 
 name of his daughter, and of obtaining a son-in-law capable 
 of assisting him in carrying out his financial schemes. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 That is a good idea, and suits me exactly; but suppose he 
 wishes to find out too much about me? 
 
 MERICOUET 
 I have given M. Mercadet an excellent account of you. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 I have fallen upon my feet truly. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 
 But you are not going to lose the dandy's self-possession? 
 I quite understand that your position is risky. A man would 
 jiot marry, excepting from utter despair. Marriage is suicide 
 for the man of the world. (In a low voice) Come, tell me 
 can you hold out much longer? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 If I had not two names, one for the bailiffs and one for the 
 fashionable world, I should be banished from the Boulevard. 
 Woman and I, as you know, have wrought each the ruin of 
 the other, and, as fashion now goes, to find a rich English- 
 woman, an amiable dowager, an amorous gold mine, would 
 be as impossible as to find an extinct animal. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 What of the gaming table? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Oh ! Gambling is an unreliable resource excepting for cer-
 
 236 MERCADET 
 
 tain crooks, and I am not such a fool as to ran the risk of 
 disgrace for the sake of winnings which always have their 
 limit. Publicity, my dear friend, has been the abolition of 
 all those shady careers in which fortune once was to be found. 
 So, that for a hundred thousand francs of accepted bills, 
 the "usurer gives me but ten thousand. Pierquin sent me to 
 one of his agents, a sort of sub-Pierquin, a little old man 
 called Violette, who said to my broker that he could not give 
 me money on such paper at any rate ! Meanwhile my tailor 
 has refused to bank upon my prospects. My horse is living 
 on credit; as to my tiger, the little wretch who wears such 
 fine clothes, I do not know how he lives, or where he feeds. 
 I dare not peer into the mystery. Now, as we are not so 
 advanced in civilization as the Jews, who canceled all debts 
 even r half-century, a man must pay by the sacrifice of per- 
 sonal liberty. Horrible things will be said about me. Here 
 is a young man of high esteem in the world of fashion, pretty 
 lucky at cards, of a passable figure, less than twenty-eigKt 
 years old, and he is going to marry the daughter of a rich 
 speculator ! 
 
 MEEICODRT 
 What difference does it make? 
 
 DE LA BEIVE 
 
 It is slightly off color ! But I am tired of a sham life. I 
 have learned at last that the only way to amass wealth is to 
 work. But our misfortune is that we find ourselves quick at 
 everything, but not good at anything ! A man like me, capa- 
 ble of inspiring a passion and of maintaining it, cannot be- 
 come either a clerk or a soldier! Society has provided no 
 employment for us. Accordingly, I am going to set up busi- 
 ness with Mercadet. He is one of the greatest of schemers. 
 You are sure that he won't give less than a hundred and 
 fifty thousand francs to his daughter? 
 
 MERICOURT 
 Judge yourself, my dear friend, from the style which Mme.
 
 MERCADET 237 
 
 Mercadet puts on; you see her at all the first nights, in her 
 own box, at the opera, and her conspicuous elegance 
 
 DE LA BBIVE 
 
 I myself am elegant enough, but 
 
 MERICOURT 
 
 Look round you here everything indicates opulence Oh! 
 they are well off! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Yet, it is a sort of middle-class splendor, something sub- 
 stantial which promises well. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 
 And then the mother is a woman of principle, of irreproach- 
 able behavior. Can you possibly conclude matters to-day? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 I have taken steps to do so. I won at the club yesterday 
 sufficient to go on with; I shall pay something on the wed- 
 ding presents, and let the balance stand. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 
 Without reckoning my account, what is the amount of your 
 debts? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 A mere trifle ! A hundred and fifty thousand francs, which 
 my father-in-law will cut down to fifty thousand. I shall 
 have a hundred thousand francs left to begin life on. I always 
 said that I should never become rich until I hadn't a sou left. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 
 Mercadet is an astute man ; he will question you about your 
 fortune; are you prepared?
 
 288 MERCADET 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Am I not the landed proprietor of La Brive? Three 
 thousand acres in the Landes, which are worth thirty thousand 
 francs, mortgaged for forty-five thousand and capable of being 
 floated by a stock jobbing company for some commercial pur- 
 pose or other, say, as representing a capital of a hundred thou- 
 sand crowns! You cannot imagine how much this property 
 has brought me in. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 
 Your name, your horse, and your lands seem to me to be on 
 their last legs. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Not so loud ! 
 
 ' MERICOURT 
 
 So you have quite made up your mind ? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Yes, and all the more decidedly in that I am going into 
 politics. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 Really but you are too clever for that ! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 As a preparation I shall take to journalism. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 And you have never written two lines in your life ! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 There are journalists who write and journalists who do not 
 write. The former are editors the horses that drag the cart ; 
 the latter, the proprietors, who furnish the funds ; these give 
 oats to their horses and keep the capital for themselves. I 
 shall be a proprietor. You merely have to put on a lofty air
 
 MERCADET 239 
 
 end exclaim : "The Eastern question is a question of great 
 importance and of wide influence, one about which there can- 
 not be two opinions I" You sum up a discussion by declaim- 
 ing : "England, sir, will always get the better of us I" or you 
 make an answer to some one whom you have heard speak for 
 a long time without paying attention to him : "We are advanc- 
 ing towards an abyss, we have not yet passed through all the 
 evolutions of the evolutionary phase!" You say to a repre- 
 sentative of labor: "Sir, I think there is something to be 
 done in this matter." A proprietor of a journal speaks very 
 little, rushes about and makes himself useful by doing for a 
 man in power what the latter cannot do himself. He is sup- 
 posed to inspire the articles, those I mean, which attract any 
 notice ! And then, if it is absolutely necessary, he undertakes 
 to publish a yellow-backed volume on some Utopian topic, so 
 well written, so strong, that no one opens it, although every 
 one declares that he has read it ! Then he is looked upon as an 
 earnest man, and ends by finding himself acknowledged as 
 somebody, instead of something. 
 
 MEEICOURT 
 Alas ! What you say is too true, in these times I 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 And we ourselves are a startling proof of this ! In order to 
 claim a part in political power you must not show what good, 
 but what harm you can do. You must not alone possess 
 talents, you must be able also to inspire fear. Accordingly, 
 the very day after my marriage, I shall assume an air of 
 seriousness, of profundity, of high principles! I can take 
 my choice, for we have in France a list of principles which is 
 as varied as a bill of fare. I elect to be a socialist ! The 
 word pleases me! At every epoch, my dear friend, there 
 are adjectives which form the pass-words of ambition ! 
 fore 1789 a man called himself an economist; in 1815 he was 
 a liberal; the next party will call itself the social party per-
 
 240 MERCADET 
 
 haps because it is so unsocial. For in France you must always 
 take the opposite sense of a word to understand its meaning. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 
 Let me tell you privately, that you are now talking nothing 
 hut the nonsense of masked ball chatter, which passes for 
 wit among those who do not indulge in it. What are you 
 going to do when a certain definite knowledge becomes neces- 
 sary? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 My dear friend! In every profession, whether of art, 
 science or literature, a man needs intellectual capital, special 
 knowledge and capacity. But in politics, my dear fellow, a 
 man wins everything and attains to everything by means of a 
 single phrase 
 
 MERICOURT 
 What is that? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 'The principles of my friends; the party for which I stand, 
 look for" 
 
 MERICOURT 
 Hush! Here comes the father-in-law! 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MERCADET. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Good-day, my dear Mericourt! (To De la Brive) The 
 ladies have kept you waiting, sir. Ah ! They are putting on 
 their finery. For myself, T was just on the point of dismiss- 
 ing whom do you think? an aspirant, to the hand of Mile. 
 Julie. Poor young man ! I was perhaps hard on him, and
 
 MERCADET 241 
 
 yet I felt for him. He worships my daughter; but what could 
 I do ? He has only ten thousand francs' income 
 
 DE LA BBIVB 
 That wouldn't go very far ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 A mere subsistence! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 You're not the man to give a rich and clever girl to the first 
 comer 
 
 MERICOURT 
 Certainly not. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Before the ladies come in, gentlemen, we must talk a little 
 serious business. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (to Mericourt) 
 Now comes the tug of war ! (They all sit down.) 
 
 MERCADET (on the sofa) 
 Are yon seriously in love with my daughter? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 I love her passionately! 
 
 MERCADET 
 Passionately? 
 
 MERICOURT (to his friend) 
 You are over-doing it 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (to Mericourt) 
 Wait a moment. (Aloud) Sir, I am ambitious and I
 
 242 MERCADET 
 
 saw in Mile. Julie a lady at once distinguished, full of intel- 
 lect, possessed of charming manners, who would never be out 
 of place in the position in which my fortune puts me; and 
 such a wife is essential to the success of a politician. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I understand ! It is easy to find a woman, but it is very rare 
 that a man who wishes to be a minister or ambassador finds a 
 wife. You are a man of wit, sir. May I ask your political 
 leaning ? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Sir, I am a socialist. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 That is a new move ! But now let us talk of money mat- 
 ters. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 It eeems to me that the notary might attend to that. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 No ! M. Mercadet is right ; it is best that we should attend 
 to these things ourselves. 
 
 MERCADET 
 True, sir. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Sir, my whole fortune consists in the estate which bears 
 my name; it has been in my family for a hundred and fifty 
 years, and I hope will never pass from us. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 The possession of capital is perhaps more valuable in these 
 days. Capital is in your own hand. If a revolution breaks 
 out, and we have had many revolutions lately, capital follows 
 us everywhere. Landed property, on the contrary, must fur-
 
 MERCADET 243 
 
 nish funds for every one. There it stands stock still like a 
 fool to pay the taxes, while capital dodges out of the way. 
 But this is no real obstacle. What is the amount of your land ? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Three thousand acres, without a break. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Without a break? 
 
 MERICOUKT 
 Did not I tell you as much? 
 
 MERCADET 
 I never doubted it. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 A chateau 
 
 MERCADET 
 Good 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 And salt marshes, which can be worked as soon as the 
 administration gives permission. They would yield enormous 
 returns ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Ah, sir, why have we been so late in becoming acquainted ! 
 Your land, then, must be on the seashore. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Within half a league of it. 
 
 MERCADET 
 And it is situated? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Near Bordeaux.
 
 244 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET 
 You have vineyards, then? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 No ! fortunately not, for the disposal of wines is a trouble- 
 some matter, and, moreover, the cultivation of the vine is 
 exceedingly expensive. My estate was planted with pine trees 
 hy my grandfather, a man of genius, who was wise enough 
 to sacrifice himself to the welfare of his descendants. Be- 
 sides, I have furniture, which you know 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Sir, one moment, a man of business is always careful to dot 
 his i's. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (under his voice) 
 Now we're in for it! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 With regard to your estate and your marshes, I see all 
 that can be got out of these marshes. The best way of util- 
 izing them would be to form a company for the exploitation 
 of the marshes of the Brive ! There is more than a million 
 in it! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 I quite understand that, sir. They need only to be thrown 
 upon the market. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 These words indicate a certain intelligence in this young 
 man. (Aloud) Have you any debts? Is your estate mort- 
 gaged? 
 
 MERICOURT 
 You would not think much of my friend if he had no debts.
 
 MERCADET 245 
 
 DE LA BEIVE 
 
 I will be frank, sir, there is a mortgage of forty-five thou- 
 sand francs on my estate. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 An innocent young man ! he might easily (Rising from 
 his seat. Aloud) You have my consent ; you shall be my son- 
 in-law, and are the very man I would choose for my daugh- 
 ter's husband. You do not realize what a fortune you pos- 
 sess. 
 
 DE LA BEIVE (to Mericourt) 
 This is almost too good to be true. 
 
 MEBICOURT (to De la Brive) 
 He is dazzled by the good speculation which he sees ahead. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 With government protection, which can be purchased, salt 
 pits may be established. I am saved ! (Aloud) Allow me to 
 shake hands with you, after the English fashion. You fulfill 
 all that I expected in a son-in-law. I plainly see you have 
 none of the narrowness of provincial land-holders; we shall 
 understand each other thoroughly. 
 
 DE LA BRIVB 
 You must not take it in bad part, sir, if I, on my part, 
 
 ask you 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 The amount of my daughter's fortune ? I should have dis- 
 trusted you if you hadn't asked! My daughter has inde- 
 pendent means; her mother settles on her her own fortune, 
 consisting of a small property a farm of two hundred acres, 
 but in the very heart of Brie, and provided with good build- 
 ings. Besides this, I shall give her two hundred thousand 
 francs, the interest of which will be for your use, until you
 
 246 MERCADET 
 
 find a suitable investment for it. So you see, young man, we 
 do not wish to deceive you, we wish to keep the money mov- 
 ing ; I like you, you please me, for I see you have ambition. 
 
 DE LA BEIVE 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 MEBCADET 
 You love luxury, extravagance ; you wish to shine at Paris 
 
 DE LA BKIVE 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 MEECADET 
 
 You see that I am already an old man, obliged to lay th'e 
 load of my ambition upon some congenial co-operator, and 
 you shall be the one to play the brilliant part. 
 
 DE LA BEIVE 
 
 Sir, had I been obliged to take my choice of all the fathers- 
 in-law in Paris, I should have given the preference to you. 
 You are a man after my own heart! Allow me to shake 
 hands, after the English fashion ! (They shake hands for the 
 second time.) 
 
 MEECADET (aside) 
 It seems too good to be true. 
 
 DE LA BEIVE (aside) 
 He fell head-first into my salt marshes ! 
 
 MEECADET (aside) 
 
 He accepts an income from me! (He retires towards the 
 door on the left side.) 
 
 MERICOUBT (to De la Brive) 
 Are you satisfied?
 
 MERCADET 847 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (to Mericourt) 
 I don't see the money for my debts. 
 
 MERICOTTRT (to De la Brive) 
 
 Wait a moment. (To Mercadet) My friend does not dare 
 to tell you of it, but he is too honest for concealment. He 
 has a few debts. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Oh, please tell me. I understand perfectly I suppose it 
 is about fifty thousand you owe? 
 
 MERICOURT 
 Very nearly 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Very nearly 
 
 MERCADET 
 'A mere trifle. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (laughing)' 
 Yes, a mere trifle! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 They will serve as a subject of discussion between your wife 
 and you ; yes, let her have the pleasure of But, we will pay 
 them all. (Aside) In shares of the La Brive salt pits. 
 (Aloud) It is so small an amount. (Aside) We will put up 
 the capital of the salt marsh a hundred thousand francs 
 more. (Aloud) That matter is settled, son-in-law. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 We will consider it settled, father-in-law. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 I am saved ! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (aside) 
 I am saved!
 
 248 MERCADET 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, MME. MERCADET AND JULIE. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Here are my wife and daughter. 
 
 MERICOURT 
 
 Madame, allow me to present to you my friend, M de la 
 Brive, who regards your daughter with 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 With passionate admiration. 
 
 MERCADET 
 My daughter is exactly the woman to suit a politician. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (to Mericourt. Gazing at Julie through his 
 
 eyeglass) 
 
 A fine girl. (To Madame Mercadet) Like mother, like 
 daughter. Madame, I place my hopes under your protection. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Anyone introduced by M. Mericourt would be welcome here. 
 
 JULIE (to her father) 
 What a coxcomb! 
 
 MERCADET (to his daughter) 
 
 He is enormously rich. We shall all be millionaires! He 
 is an excessively clever fellow. Now, do try and be amiable, 
 as you ought to be. 
 
 JULIE (answering him) 
 What would you wish me to say to a dandy whom I have
 
 MERCADET 249 
 
 just seen for the first time, and whom you destine for my 
 husband ? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 May I be permitted to hope, mademoiselle, that you will 
 look favorably upon me? 
 
 JULIE 
 My duty is to obey my father. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Young people are not always aware of the feelings which 
 they inspire. For two months I have been longing for the 
 happiness of paying my respects to you. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Who can be more flattered than I am, sir, to find that I 
 have attracted your attention? 
 
 MME. MERCADET (to Mericourt) 
 
 He is a fine fellow. (Aloud) We hope that you and your 
 friend M. de la Brive will do us the pleasure of accepting our 
 invitation to dine without ceremony. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 To take pot-luck with us. (To De la Brive) You must 
 excuse our simplicity. 
 
 JUSTIN (entering, in a low voice to Mercadet) 
 M. Pierquin wishes to speak to you, monsieur. 
 
 MERCADET (low) 
 Pierquin ? 
 
 JUSTIN 
 He says it is concerning an important and urgent matter.
 
 250 MERCADET 
 
 MEKCADET 
 
 What can he want with me? Let him come in. (Justin 
 goes out. Aloud) My dear, these gentlemen must be tired. 
 Won't you take them into the drawing-room ? M. de la Brive, 
 give my daughter your arm. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Mademoiselle (offers Tier his arm.) 
 
 JULIE (aside) 
 He is handsome, he is rich why does he choose me? 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 M. de Mericourt, will you come and see the picture which 
 we are going to raffle off for the benefit of the poor orphans ? 
 
 MERICOURT 
 With pleasure, madame. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Go on. I shall be with you in a moment. 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 MERCADET AND PIERQUIN. 
 
 MERCADET (alone) 
 
 Well, after all, this time I have really secured fortune and 
 the happiness of Julie and the rest of us. For a son-in-law 
 like this is a veritable gold mine ! Three thousand acres ! 
 A chateau! Salt marshes! (He sits down at his desk.) 
 
 PIERQUIN (entering) 
 Good-day, Mercadet. I have come
 
 MERCADET 251 
 
 MERCADET 
 Bather inopportunely. But what do you wish? 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 
 I sha'n't detain you long. The bills of exchange I gave you 
 this morning, signed by a man called Michonnin, are abso- 
 lutely valueless. I told you this beforehand. 
 
 MERCADET 
 I know that. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 I now offer you a thousand crowns for them. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 That is either too much or too little ! Anything for which 
 you will give that sum must be worth infinitely more. Some 
 one is waiting for me in the other room. I will bid you good- 
 evening. 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 I will give you four thousand francs. 
 
 MERCADET 
 No! 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Five six thousand. 
 
 MERCADET. 
 
 If you wish to play cards, keep to the gambling table. Why 
 do you wish to recover this paper ? 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Michonnin has insulted me. I wish to take vengeance on 
 him; to send him to jail. 
 
 MERCADET (rising) 
 
 Six thousand francs worth of vengeance! You are not a 
 man to indulge in luxuries of that kind.
 
 262 MERCADET 
 
 PlEBQUIN 
 
 I assure you 
 
 MERCADET. 
 
 Come now, my friend, consider that for a satisfactory 
 defamation of character the code won't charge you more than 
 five or six hundred francs, and the tax on a blow is only fifty 
 francs 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 I swear to you 
 
 MERCADET. 
 
 Has this Michonnin come into a legacy? And are the 
 forty-seven thousand francs of these vouchers actually worth 
 forty-seven thousand francs? You should post me on this 
 subject and then we'll cry halves! 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Very* well, I agree. The fact of it is, Michonnin is to be 
 married. 
 
 MERCADET 
 What next ! And with whom, pray? 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 With the daughter of some nabob an idiot who is giving 
 her an enormous dowry! 
 
 MERCADET 
 Where does Michonnin live? 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Do you want to issue a writ? He is without a fixed abode 
 in Paris. His furniture is held under the name of a friend; 
 but his legal domicile must be in the neighborhood of Bor- 
 deaux, in the village of Ermont.
 
 MERCADET 263 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Stay a while. I have some one here from that region. I 
 can get exact information in a moment and then we can 
 begin proceedings. 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Send me the paper, and leave the business to me 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I shall be very glad to do so. They shall be put into your 
 hands in return for a signed agreement as to the sharing of 
 the money. I am at present altogether taken up with the 
 marriage of my daughter. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 I hope everything is going on well. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Wonderfully well. My son-in-law is a gentleman and, in 
 spite of that, he is rich. And, although both rich and a gen- 
 tleman, he is clever into the bargain. 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 , I congratulate you. 
 
 MERCADET. 
 
 One word with you before you go. You said, Michonnin, 
 of Ermont, in the neighborhood of Bordeaux ? 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 
 Yes, he has an old aunt somewhere about there ! A good 
 woman called Bourdillac, who scrapes along on some six 
 hundred francs a year, but to whom he gives the title of 
 Marchioness of Bourdillac. He pretends that her health is 
 delicate and that she has a yearly income of forty thousand 
 francs.
 
 254 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET. 
 Thank you. Good-evening 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Good-evening (goes out). 
 
 MERCADET (ringing) 
 Justin ! 
 
 JUSTIN 
 Did you call, sir? 
 
 MERCADET. 
 
 Ask M. de la Brive to speak with me for a moment. (Justin 
 goes out.) 
 
 MERCADET. 
 
 Here is a windfall of twenty-three thousand francs! We 
 shall he able to arrange things famously for Julie's marriage. 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 MERCADET, DE LA BRIVE AND JUSTIN. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (to Justin, handing him a letter) 
 Here, deliver this letter. And this is for yourself. 
 
 JUSTIN (aside) 
 
 A louis ! Mademoiselle will be sure to have a happy home. 
 (Exit.) 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 You wish to speak with me, my dear father-in-law? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Yes. You see I already treat you without ceremony. Please 
 to take a seat.
 
 MERCADET 255 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (sitting on a sofa) 
 I am grateful for your confidence. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I am seeking information with regard to a debtor, who, 
 like you, lives in the neighborhood or Bordeaux. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 I know every one in that district. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I am seeking information with regard to a debtor, who, 
 like you, lives in the neighborhood of Bordeaux. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Eelations! I have none but an old aunt. 
 
 MERCADET (pricking up his ears) 
 An old aunt ? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Whose health 
 
 MERCADET (trembling) 
 Is is delicate ? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 And her income is forty thousand francs 
 
 MERCADET (quite overcome) 
 Good Lord! the very figure! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 The Marchioness, you see, will be a good woman to have 
 on hand. I mean the Marchioness 
 
 MERCADET (vehemently rushing at him) 
 Of Bourdillac, sir;
 
 256 MERCADET 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 How is this ? Do you know her name ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 Yes, and yours too! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 The devil you do ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You are head over ears in debt; your furniture is held 
 in another man's name; your old aunt has a pittance of six 
 hundred francs; Pierquin, who is one of your smallest cred- 
 itors, has forty-seven thousand francs in notes of hand from 
 you. You are Michonnin, and I am the idiotic nabob ! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (stretching himself at full length on the sofa) 
 By heavens ! You know just as much about it as I do ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Well I see that once more the devil has taken a hand in 
 my game. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (aside, rising to his feet) 
 The marriage is over ! I am no longer a socialist ; I shall 
 become a communist. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 And I have been just as easily deceived, as if I had been on 
 the Exchange. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Show yourself worthy of your reputation. 
 
 MERCADET 
 M. Michonnin, your conduct is more than blameworthy ! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 In what particular ? Did I not say that I had debts ?
 
 MERCADET 257 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 We'll let that pass, for any one may have debts; but where 
 is your estate situated? 
 
 DE LA BEIVE 
 In the Landes. 
 
 MERCADET 
 And of what does it consist? 
 
 DE LA BRIVB 
 Of sand wastes, planted with firs. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Good to make toothpicks. 
 
 DE LA BRIVB 
 That's about it. 
 
 MERCADET 
 And it is worth. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Thirty thousand francs. 
 
 MERCADET 
 And mortgaged for 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Forty-five thousand! 
 
 MERCADET 
 And you had the skill to effect that? 
 
 DE LA BRIVB 
 
 Why, yes 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Damnation ! But that was pretty clever ! And your 
 marshes, sir?
 
 258 MERCADET 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 They border on the sea 
 
 MERCADET 
 They are part of the ocean ! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 The people of that country are evil-minded enough to say 
 so. That is what hinders my loans ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 It would be very difficult to issue ocean shares! Sir I 
 may tell you, between ourselves, that your morality seems 
 to me 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Somewhat 
 
 MERCADET 
 Eisky. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (in anger) 
 
 Sir! (calming himself). Let this be merely between 
 ourselves ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You give a friend a bill of sale of your furniture, you sign 
 your notes of hand with the name of Michonnin, and you call 
 yourself merely De la Brive 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Well, sir, what are you going to do about it ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 Do about it ? I am going to lead you a pretty dance 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Sir, I am your guest ! Moreover, I may deny everything 
 What proofs have you?
 
 MERCADET 259 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 What proofs ! I have in my hands forty-seven thousand 
 francs' worth of your notes. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Are they signed to the order of Pierquin? 
 
 MERCADET 
 Precisely so. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 And you have had them since this morning? 
 
 MERCADET 
 Since this morning. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 I see. You have given worthless stock in exchange for 
 valueless notes. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Sir! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 And, in order to seal the bargain, Pierquin, one of the 
 least important of your creditors, has given you a delay of 
 three months. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Who told you that? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Who? Who? Pierquin himself, of course, as soon as he 
 learned I was going to make an arrangement 
 
 MERCADET 
 The devil he did! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Ah ! You were going to give two hundred thousand francs
 
 260 MERCADET 
 
 as a dowry to your daughter, and you had debts to the 
 amount of three hundred and fifty thousand ! Between our- 
 selves it looks like you who had been trying to swindle the 
 son-in-law, sir 
 
 MERCADET (angrily) 
 
 Sir! (calming himself). This is merely between our- 
 selves, sir. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 You took advantage of my inexperience ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Of course I did ! The inexperience of a man who raises 
 a loan on his sand wastes fifty per cent above their value. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Glass can be made out of sand! 
 
 MERCADET 
 That's a good idea ! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Therefore, sir 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Silence! Promise me that this broken marriage-contract 
 shall be kept secret. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 I swear it shall Ah ! excepting to Pierquin. I have just 
 written to him to set his mind at rest. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Is that the letter you sent by Justin? 
 
 DH LA BRIVE 
 The very one.
 
 MERCADET 261 
 
 MERCADET 
 And what have you told him? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 The name of my father-in-law. Confound it! I thought 
 you were rich. 
 
 MERCADET (despairingly) 
 
 And you have written that to Pierquin ? It's all up ! This 
 fresh defeat will be known on the Exchange ! But, any way, 
 I am ruined ! Suppose I write to him Suppose I ask him 
 (He goes to the table to write.) 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, MME. MERCADET, JULIE AND VERDELTN. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 My friend, M. Verdelin. 
 
 JULIE (to Verdelin) 
 Here is my father, sir. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Ah! It is you, is it Verdelin and you are come to din- 
 ner? 
 
 VERDELIN 
 No, I am not come to dinner. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 He knows all. He is furious ! 
 
 VERDELIN 
 And this gentleman is your son-in-law? (Verdelin bows
 
 2G2 . MERCADET 
 
 to De la Brive.) This is a fine marriage you are going to 
 make! 
 
 MERCADET 
 The marriage, my dear sir, is not going to take place. 
 
 JULIE 
 
 How happy I feel! (De la Brive bows to her. She casts 
 down her eyes.) 
 
 MME. MERCADET (seizing her hand) 
 My dear daughter ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 I have been deceived by Mericourt. 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 And you have played on me one of your tricks this morn- 
 ing, for the purpose of getting a thousand crowns; but the 
 whole incident has been made public on the Exchange, and 
 they think it a huge joke ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 They have been informed, I suppose- 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 That your pocket-book is full of the notes of hand signed 
 by your son-in-law. And Pierquin tells me that your credi- 
 tors are exasperated, and are to meet to-night at the house 
 of Goulard to conclude measures for united action against you 
 to-morrow ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 To-night ! To-morrow ! Ah ! I hear the knell of bank- 
 ruptcy sound !
 
 MERCADET 263 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 Yes, to-morrow they are going to send a prison cab for 
 you. 
 
 MME MERCADET AND JULIE. 
 God help us ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I see the carriage, the hearse of the speculator, carrying 
 me to Clichy ! 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 They wish, as far as possible, to rid the Exchange of all 
 sharpers ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 They are fools, for in that case they will turn it into a 
 desert ! And so I am ruined ! Expelled from the Exchange 
 with all the sequela of bankruptcy, shame, beggary ! I can- 
 not believe it, it is impossible ! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Believe me, sir, that I regret having been in some degree 
 
 MERCADET (looking him in the face) 
 
 You ! (In a low voice to him) Listen to me: you have hur- 
 ried on my destruction, but you have it in your power to help 
 me to escape. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 On what conditions? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I will make you a good offer ! (Aloud, as they start toward 
 opposite doors) True, the idea is a bold one! But to-mor- 
 row, the 'Change will recognize in me one of its master spirits. 
 
 VERDELIN 
 What is he talking about?
 
 264 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 To-morrow, all my debts will be paid, and the house of 
 Mercadet will be turning over millions I shall be acknowl- 
 edged as the Napoleon of finance. 
 
 VERDELIN 
 What a man he is ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 And a Napoleon who meets no Waterloo! 
 
 VERDELIN 
 But where are your troops? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 My army is cash in hand ! What answer can be made to 
 a business man who says, "Take your money !" Come let us 
 dine now. 
 
 VERDELIN 
 Certainly. I shall be delighted to dine with you. 
 
 MERCADET (while they all move towards the dining-room, 
 
 aside) 
 
 They are all glad of it! To-morrow I will either com- 
 mand millions, or rest in the damp winding-sheet of the 
 Seine ! 
 
 Curtain to the Second Act.
 
 MERCADET 265 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE FIRST. 
 
 (Another apartment in Mercadet's house, well furnished. 
 At the back and in the centre is a mantel-piece, having instead 
 of a mirror a clear plate of glass; side doors; a large table, 
 surrounded by chairs, in the middle of the stage; sofa and 
 armchairs.} 
 
 JUSTIN, THERESE AND YIRGINIE, THEN MERCADET. 
 
 (Justin enters first and, beckons to Therese. Virginie, car- 
 rying papers, sits insolently on the sofa. Justin looks through 
 the keyhole of the door on the left side and listens.) 
 
 THERESE 
 
 Is it possible that they could pretend to conceal from us 
 the condition of their affairs ? 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 
 Old Gruneau tells me that the master is soon to be arrested ; 
 I hope that what I have spent will be taken account of, for 
 he owes me the money for these bills, besides my wages ! 
 
 THERESE 
 
 Oh ! set your mind at rest. We are likely to lose everything, 
 for the master is bankrupt. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 I can't hear anything. They speak too low! They don't 
 trust us.
 
 266 MERCADET 
 
 VIRGINIE 
 It is frightful ! 
 
 JUSTIN (with his ear to the half -open door) 
 
 Wait, I think I hear something. (The door bursts open and 
 Mercadet appears.) 
 
 MERCADET (to Justin) 
 Don't let me disturb you. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 Sir. I I was just putting 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Really! (To Virginie, who jumps up suddenly from the 
 sofa) Keep your seat, Mile. Virginie, and you, M. Justin. 
 Why didn't you come in? We were talking about my busi- 
 ness 
 
 JUSTIN 
 You amuse me, sir. 
 
 MERCADET 
 I am heartily glad of it. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 You take trouble easy, sir. 
 
 MERCADET (severely) 
 
 That will do, all of you. And remember that from this time 
 forth I see all who call. Treat no one either with insolence 
 or too much humility, for you will meet here no creditors, but 
 such as have been paid. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 Oh, bosh !
 
 MERCADET 267 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Go! (The central door opens. Mme. Mercadet, Julie and 
 Minard appear. The servants leave the room.) 
 
 SCENE SECOND. 
 MERCADET, MME. MERCADET, JULIE AND MINARD. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 I am annoyed to see my wife and daughter here. In my 
 present circumstances, women are likely to spoil everything, 
 for they have nerves. (Aloud) What is it, Mme. Mercadet? 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Sir, you were counting on the marriage of Julie to establish 
 your credit and reassure your creditors, but the event of yes- 
 terday has put you at their mercy 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Do you think so? Well, you are quite mistaken. I beg 
 your pardon, M. Minard, but what brings you here ? 
 
 MINARD 
 
 Sir I 
 
 JULIE 
 Father it is 
 
 MERCADET 
 Are you come to ask again for my daughter ? 
 
 MINARD 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 MERCADET 
 But everybody says that I am going to fail
 
 268 MERCADET 
 
 MlNARD 
 
 I know it, sir. 
 
 MERCADET 
 And would you marry the daughter of a bankrupt ? 
 
 MINARD 
 Yes, for I would work to re-establish him. 
 
 JULIE 
 That's good, Adolphe. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 A fine young fellow. I will give him an interest in the first 
 big business I do. 
 
 MINARD 
 
 I have made known my attachment to the man I look upon 
 as a father. He has informed me that I am the possessor of 
 a small fortune 
 
 . MERCADET 
 
 A fortune ! 
 
 MINARD 
 
 When I was confided to his care, a sum of money was en- 
 trusted to him, which has increased by interest, and I now 
 possess thirty thousand francs. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Thirty thousand francs ! 
 
 MINARD 
 
 On learning of the disaster that had befallen you, I realized 
 this sum, and I bring it to you, sir; for sometimes in these 
 cases an arrangement can be made by paying something on 
 account
 
 MERCADET 269 
 
 MME. MEECADBT 
 He has an excellent heart ! 
 
 JULIE (with pride) 
 Yes, indeed, papa ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Thirty thousand francs. (Aside) They might be tripled 
 by buying some of Verdelin's stock and then doubled with 
 No, no. (To Minard) My boy, you are at the age of self- 
 sacrifice. If I could pay two hundred thousand francs with 
 thirty thousand, the fortune of France, of myself and of most 
 people would be made. No, keep your money ! 
 
 MlNAED 
 
 What! You refuse it? 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 If with this I could keep them quiet for a month, if by some 
 bold stroke I could revive the depression in my property, it 
 might be all right. But the money of these poor children, it 
 cut me to the heart to think of it, for when they are in tears 
 people calculate amiss; it is not well to risk the money of 
 any but fellow-brokers no no (Aloud) Adolphe, you may 
 marry my daughter ! 
 
 MINARD 
 Oh! sir! Julie my own Julie 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 That is, of course, as soon as she has three hundred thousand 
 francs as dowry. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 My dear ! 
 
 JULIE 
 Papa!
 
 270 MERCADET 
 
 MlNAED 
 
 Ah, sir ! How long are you going to put me off? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Put you off? She will have it in a month! Perhaps 
 sooner 
 
 ALL 
 How is that? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Yes, by the use of my brains and a little money. (Minard 
 holds out his pocketbook.) But lock up those bills ! And come 
 take away my wife and daughter. I want to be alone. 
 
 MME. MERCADET (aside) 
 
 Is he going to hatch some plot against his creditors? I 
 must find out. Come, Julie. 
 
 JULIE 
 Papa, how good you are ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 Nonsense ! 
 
 JULIE 
 I love you so much. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Nonsense I 
 
 JULIE 
 
 Adolphe, I do not thank you, I shall have all my life for 
 that. 
 
 MINARD 
 Dearest Julie ! 
 
 MERCADET (leading them out) 
 
 ' Come, now, you had better breathe out your idyls in some 
 more retired spot. (They go out.)
 
 MERCADET 871 
 
 SCENE THIRD. 
 MEBCADET, THEN DE LA BRIVE. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I have resisted it was a good impulse ! But I was wrong to 
 obey it. If I finally yield to the temptation, I can make their 
 little capital worth very much more. I shall manage this for- 
 tune for them. My poor daughter has indeed a good lover. 
 What hearts of gold are theirs ! Dear children ! ( Goes towards 
 the door at the right.) I must make their fortune. De la 
 Brive is here awaiting me. (Looking through the open door) 
 I believe he is asleep. I gave him a little too much wine, so as 
 to handle him more easily. (Shouting) Michonnin! The 
 constable! The constable! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (coming out, rubbing his eyes) 
 Hello! What are you saying? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Don't be frightened; I only wanted to wake you up. (Takes 
 his seat at the table.) 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (sitting at the other side of the table) 
 Sir, an orgie acts on the mind like a storm on the country. 
 It brings refreshment, it clothes with verdure! And ideas 
 spring forth and bloom! In vino varietas! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Yesterday, our conversation on business matters was inter- 
 rupted. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Father-in-law, I recall it distinctly we recognized the fact 
 that our houses could not keep their engagements. We were on 
 the point of bankruptcy, and you are unfortunate enough to be
 
 272 MERCADET 
 
 my creditor, while I am fortunate enough to be your debtor 
 to the amount of forty-seven thousand, two hundred and thir- 
 ty-three francs and some centimes. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Your head is level enough. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 But my pocket and my conscience are a little out. Yet who 
 can reproach me ? By squandering my fortune I have brought 
 profit to every trade in Paris, and even to those who do not 
 know me. We, the useless ones ! We, the idlers ! Upon my 
 soul ! It is we who keep up the circulation of money 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 By means of the money in circulation Ah! you have all 
 your wits about you! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 But I have nothing else. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Our wits are our mint. Is it not so? But, considering 
 your present situation, I shall be brief. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 That is why I take a seat. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Listen to me. I see that you are going down the steep 
 way which leads to that daring cleverness for which fools 
 blame successful operators. You have tested the piquant 
 intoxicating fruits of Parisian pleasure. You have made 
 luxury the inseparable companion of your life. Paris begins 
 at the Place de 1'fitoile, and ends at the Jockey Club. That
 
 MERCADET 273 
 
 is your -Paris, which is the world of women who are talked 
 about too much, or not at all. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 That is true. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You breathe the cynical atmosphere of wits and journalists, 
 the atmosphere of the theatre and of the ministry. It is a 
 vast sea in which thousands are casting their nets! You 
 must either continue this existence, or blow your brains out ! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 No! For it is impossible to think that it can continue 
 without me. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Do you feel that you have the genius to maintain yourself 
 in style at the height to which you aspire? To dominate 
 men of mind by the power of capital and superiority of intel- 
 lect? Do you think that you will always have skill enough 
 to keep afloat between the two capes, which have seen the 
 life of elegance so often founder between the cheap restaurant 
 and the debtors' prison? 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Why! You are breaking into my conscience like a bur- 
 glar you echo my very thought ! What do you want with 
 me? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I wish to rescue you, by launching you into the world of 
 business. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 By what entrance ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 Let me choose the door.
 
 274 MERCADET 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 The devil! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Show yourself a man who will compromise himself for 
 me 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 But men of straw may be burnt. 
 
 MERCADET 
 You must be incombustible. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 What are the terms of our copartnership? 
 
 i 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You try to serve me in the desperate circumstances in 
 which I am at present, and I will make you a present of your 
 forty-seven thousand, two hundred and thirty-three francs, to 
 say nothing of the centimes. Between ourselves, I may say 
 that only address is needed. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 In the use of the pistol or the sword? 
 
 MERCADET 
 No one is to be killed; on the contrary 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 That will suit me. 
 
 MERCADET 
 A man is to be brought to life again. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 That doesn't suit me at all, my dear fellow. The legacy,
 
 MERCADET 275 
 
 the chest of Harpagon, the little mule of Scapin and, indeed, 
 all the farces which have made us laugh on the ancient stage 
 are not well received nowadays in real life. The police 
 have a way of getting mixed up with them, and since the 
 abolition of privileges, no one can administer a drubbing 
 with impunity. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Well, what do you think of five years in debtors' prison? 
 Eh? What a fate! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 As a matter of fact, my decision must depend upon what 
 you want me to do to any one, for my honor so far is intact 
 and is worth 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You must invest it well, for we shall have dire need of all 
 that it is worth. I want you to assist me in sitting at the 
 table which the Exchange always keeps spread, and we will 
 gorge ourselves with the good things there offered us, for 
 you must admit that while those who seek for millions have 
 great difficulty in finding them, they are never found by 
 those who do not seek. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 I think I can co-operate with you in this matter. You will 
 return to me my forty-seven thousand francs 
 
 MERCADET 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 I am not required to be anything but be very clever? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Nimble, but this nimbleness will be exercised, as the Eng 
 lish say, on the right side of the law.
 
 276 MERCADET 
 
 DE LA BRIVB 
 What is it you propose? 
 
 MEECADET (giving Mm a paper) 
 
 Here are your written instructions. You are to represent 
 something like an uncle from America in fact, my partner, 
 who has just come back from the West Indies. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 I understand. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Go to the Champs-Elysees, secure a post-chaise that has 
 been much battered, have horses harnessed to it, and make 
 your arrival here wrapped in a great pelisse, your head envel- 
 oped in a huge cap, while you shiver like a man who finds our 
 summer icy cold. I .will receive you ; I will conduct you in ; 
 you will speak to my creditors ; not one of them knows Godeau; 
 you will make them give me more time. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 How much time? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I need only two days two days, in order that Pierquin 
 may complete certain purchases which we have ordered. Two 
 days in order that the stock which I know how to inflate may 
 have time to rise. You will be my backer, my security. And 
 as no one will recognize you 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 I shall cease to be this personage as soon as I have paid 
 you forty-seven thousand, two hundred and thirty-three francs 
 and some centimes. 
 
 MERCADET 
 That is so. But I hear some one my wife
 
 MERCADET 277 
 
 MME. MERCADET (enters) 
 
 My dear, there are some letters for you, and the bearer re- 
 quires an answer. (She withdraws to the fireplace.) 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I suppose I must go. Good-day, my dear De la Brive. 
 (In a low voice) Not a word to my wife ; she would not under- 
 stand the operation, and would misconstrue it. (Aloud) Go 
 quickly, and forget nothing. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 You need have no fear. (Mer cadet goes out by the left; 
 De la Brive starts to go out by the centre, but Mme. Mer- 
 cadet intercepts him.) 
 
 SCENE FOURTH. 
 MME. MERCADET AND DE LA BRIVE. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Madame ? 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Forgive me, sir! 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Kindly excuse me, madame, I must be going 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 You must not go. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 But you are not aware 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 I know all.
 
 278 MERCADET 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 How is that? 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 You and my husband are bent upon resorting to some very 
 ancient expedients proper to the comic drama, and I have 
 employed one which is more ancient still. And as I told you, 
 I know all 
 
 DE LA BRIVE (aside) 
 She must have been listening. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Sir, the part which you have been induced to undertake is 
 blameworthy and shameful, and you must give it up 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 But after all, madame 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Oh ! I know to whom I am speaking, sir ; it was only a few 
 hours ago that I saw you for the first time, and yet I think 
 I know you. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Eeally ? I am sure I do not know what opinion you have of 
 me. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 One day has given me time to form a correct judgment of 
 you and at the very time that my husband was trying to dis- 
 cover some foible in you he might make use of, or what evil 
 passions he might rouse in you, I looked in your heart and 
 discerned that it still contained good feelings which eventually 
 may prove your salvation. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Prove my salvation ? Excuse me, madame.
 
 MERCADET 279 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Yes, sir, prove your salvation and that of my husband; for 
 both of you are on the way to ruin. For you must understand 
 that debts are no disgrace to any one who admits them and 
 toils for their payment. You have your whole life before 
 you, and you have too much good sense to wish that it should 
 be blighted through engaging in a business which justice is 
 sure to punish. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Justice! Ah! You are right, madame, and I certainly 
 would not lend myself to this dangerous comedy, unless your 
 husband had some notes of hand of mine 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Which he will surrender to you, sir, I'll promise you that. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 But, madame, I cannot pay them 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 We will be satisfied with your word, and you will discharge 
 your obligation as soon as you have honestly made your for- 
 tune. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Honestly ! That will be perhaps a long time to wait. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 We will be patient. And now, sir, go and inform my hus- 
 band that he must give up this attempt because he will not 
 have your co-operation. (She goes towards the door on the 
 left.) 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 I should be rather afraid to face him I should prefer to 
 write to him.
 
 280 MERCADET 
 
 MME. MERCADET (pointing out to him the door by which he 
 
 entered) 
 
 You will find the necessary writing materials in that room. 
 Eemain there until I come for your letter. I will hand it to 
 him myself. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 I will do so, madame. After all I am not so worthless as I 
 thought I was. It is you who have taught me this; you have 
 a right to the whole credit of it. (He respectfully kisses Jin- 
 hand.) Thank you, madame, thank you! (He goes out.) 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 I have succeeded if only I could now persuade Mercadet. 
 
 JUSTIN (entering from the centre) 
 Madame madame here they are all of them. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Who? 
 
 JUSTIN 
 The creditors. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Already ? 
 
 JUSTIN 
 There are a great many of them, madame. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 Let them come in here. I will go and inform my husband. 
 (She goes out by one door. Justin opens the other.)
 
 MERCADET 281 
 
 SCENE FIFTH. 
 
 PIERQUIN, GOULARD, VIOLETTE AND SEVERAL OTHBB 
 CREDITORS. 
 
 GOULARD 
 Gentlemen, we have quite made up our minds, have we not ? 
 
 ALL 
 We have, we have 
 
 PlERQUIN" 
 
 No more deluding promises. 
 
 GOULARD 
 No more prayers and expostulations. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 No more pretended payments on account, thrown out as a 
 bait to get deeper into our pockets. 
 
 SCENE SIXTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MERCADET. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 And do you mean to tell me that you gentlemen are come to 
 force me into bankruptcy ? 
 
 GOULARD 
 
 We shall do so, unless you find means to pay us in full this 
 very day. 
 
 MERCADET 
 To-day !
 
 282 MERCADET 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 This very day. 
 
 MERCADET (standing before the fireplace) 
 Do you think that I possess the plates for striking off Bank 
 of France notes ? 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 You mean that you have no offer to make ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Absolutely none! And you are going to lock me up? I 
 warn him who is going to pay for the cab that he won't be 
 reimbursed from any assets of mine. 
 
 GOULARD 
 
 I shall add that along with all that you owe me to the debit 
 of your account 
 
 MERCADET 
 Thank you. You've all made up your mind, I suppose ? 
 
 THE CREDITORS 
 We have. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I am touched by your unanimity ! (Putting out his watch) 
 Two o'clock. (Aside) De la Brive has had quite time enough 
 he ought to be on his way here. (Aloud) Gentlemen, you 
 compel me to admit that you are men of inspiration and have 
 chosen your time well ! 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 What does he mean ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 For months, for years, you have allowed yourselves to be 
 humbugged by fine promises, and deceived yes, deceived by 
 preposterous stories; and to-day is the day you choose for
 
 MERCADET 283 
 
 showing yourselves inexorable ! Upon my word and honor, it 
 is positively amusing ! By all means let us start for Clichy. 
 
 GOULARD 
 But, sir 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 He is laughing. 
 
 VIOLETTE (rising from his chair) 
 
 There is something in the wind. Gentlemen, there is some- 
 thing in the wind ! 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Please explain to us 
 
 GOULABD 
 
 We desire to know 
 
 VIOLETTE (rising to his feet) 
 M. Mercadet, if there is anything tell us about it. 
 
 MERCADET (coming to the table) 
 
 Nothing! I shall say nothing, not I I wish to be put 
 behind the bars ! I would like to see the figure you all will 
 cut to-morrow or this evening, when you find he has returned. 
 
 GOULARD (rising to his feet) 
 He has returned? 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Returned from where ? 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Who has returned ? 
 
 MERCADET (coming forward) 
 Nobody has returned. Let us start for Clichy, gentlemen.
 
 284 MERCADET 
 
 GOULARD 
 But listen, if you are expecting any assistance 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 If you have any hope that 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Or if even some considerable legacy 
 
 GOULARD 
 Come, now ! 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Answer 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 Tell us 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Now, take care, I beg you. You are giving way, you are 
 giving way, gentlemen, and if I wished to take the trouble, 
 I could win you over again. Come now, act like genuine 
 creditors ! Eidicule the past, forget the brilliant strokes of 
 business I put within the power of each of you before the 
 sudden departure of my faithful Godeau 
 
 GOULARD 
 His faithful Godeau ! 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Ah! If there were only 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Forget all that prosperous past, take no account of what 
 might induce him to return after being waited for so long 
 and let us start for Clichy, gentlemen, let us start for 
 Clichy! 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Mercadet, you are expecting Godeau, aren't you?
 
 286 
 
 MERCADET 
 No! 
 
 VIOLETTE (as with a sudden inspiration) 
 Gentlemen, he is expecting Godeau! 
 
 GOULARD 
 Can it be true? 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 Speak. 
 
 ALL 
 Speak ! Speak ! 
 
 MERCADET (with feeble deprecations) 
 
 Why no, no yet I do not know I Certainly, it is pos- 
 sible that some day or other he may return from the Indies 
 with some considerable fortune . (In a decided tone) But 
 I give you my word of honor that I don't expect Godeau here 
 to-day. 
 
 VIOLETTE (excitedly) 
 
 Then it must be to-morrow ! Gentlemen, he expects him 
 to-morrow ! 
 
 GOULARD (in a low voice to the others) 
 
 Unless this is some fresh trick to gain time and ridicule 
 us 
 
 PIERQUIN (aloud) 
 Do you think it might be ? 
 
 GOULARD 
 It is quite possible. 
 
 VIOLETTE (in a loud tone) 
 Gentlemen, he is fooling us.
 
 286 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 The devil he is ! (Aloud) Come, gentlemen, we had better 
 be starting. 
 
 GOULARD 
 I swear that (The rumbling of carriage wheels is heard.) 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 At last! (Aloud) Oh, heavens! (He lays his hand upon 
 his heart.) 
 
 A POSTILLION (outside) 
 A carriage at the door. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Ah! (Falls back on a chair near the table.) 
 
 GOULARD (looking through the pane of glass above the 
 mantel) 
 A carriage ! 
 
 PIERQUIN (doing the same) 
 A post-chaise ! 
 
 VIOLETTE (doing the same) 
 Gentlemen, a post-chaise is at the door. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 My dear De la Brive could not have arrived at a better 
 moment ! 
 
 GOULARD 
 See how dusty it is ! 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 And battered to the very hood ! It must have come from 
 the heart of the Indies, to be as battered as that.
 
 MERCADET 287 
 
 MEECADET (mildly) 
 
 You don't know what you are talking about, Violette! 
 Why, my good fellow, people don't arrive from the Indies 
 by land. 
 
 GOULARD 
 
 But come and see for yourself, Mercadet ; a man has stepped 
 out 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 Enveloped in a large pelisse do come 
 
 MEECADET 
 No pardon me. The joy the excitement I 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 He carries a chest. Oh ! what a huge chest ! Gentlemen, 
 it is Godeau ! I recognize him by the chest. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Yes I was expecting Godeau. 
 
 GOULARD 
 He has come back from Calcutta. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 With a fortune. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Of incalculable extent! 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 
 What have I been saying? (He goes in silence to Mercadet 
 and grasps his hand. The two others follow his example, and 
 then all the creditors form a ring round Mercadet.) 
 
 MERCADET (with seeming emotion) 
 
 Oh! gentlemen my friends my dear comrades my 
 children !
 
 288 MERCADET 
 
 SCENE SEVENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MME. MERCADET. 
 
 MME. MERCADET (entering from the left) 
 Mercadet! my dear! 
 
 It is my wife. I thought that she had gone out. She is 
 going to ruin everything! 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 My dear ! I see that you don't know what has happened ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 I? No, I don't if I 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 Godeau is returned. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Ah! You say? (Aside) I wonder if she suspects 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 I have seen him I have spoken to him. It was I who 
 saw him first. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 De la Brive has won her over! What a man he is! (To 
 Mme. Mercadet, low) Good, my dear wife, good! You 
 will be our salvation. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 But you don't understand me, it is really he, it is
 
 MERCADET 289 
 
 MERCADET (in a low voice) 
 
 Hush ! (Aloud) I must gentlemen I must go and wel- 
 come him. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 No wait, wait a little, my dear; poor Godeau has over- 
 taxed his strength scarcely had he reached my apartment 
 when fatigue, excitement and a nervous attack overcame 
 him 
 
 MERCADET 
 Eeally ! (Aside) How well she does it! 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Poor Godeau! 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 "Madame," he said to me, "go and see your husband. 
 Bring me back his pardon ; I do not wish to see him face to 
 face, until I have repaired the past/' 
 
 GOULARD 
 That was fine. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 It was sublime. 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 It melts me to tears, gentlemen, it melts me to tears. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 Look at that! Well! There's a woman worth calling a 
 wife! (Talcing her by the hand) My darling Excuse me, 
 gentlemen. (He kisses her on both cheeks. In a low voice) 
 Things are going on finely. 
 
 . MERCADET (in a low voice) 
 How lucky this is, my dear! Better than anything you 
 could have fancied.
 
 290 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I should think so. (Aside) It is very much better. (Aloud) 
 Go and look after him, my dear. And you, gentlemen, be 
 good enough to pass into my office. (He points to the left.) 
 Wait there till we settle our accounts. (Mme. Mercadet goes 
 out.) 
 
 GOULABD 
 
 I am at your service, my friend 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 Oar excellent friend. 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 Friend, we are at your service. 
 
 MERCADET (supporting himself half -dazed against the table) 
 
 What do you think? and people said that I was nothing 
 but a sharper ! 
 
 GOULARD 
 You? You are one of the most capable men in Paris. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 Who is bound to make a million as soon as he has a 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 Dear M. Mercadet, we will give you as much time as you 
 want. 
 
 ALL 
 Certainly. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 That is a little late but gentlemen, I thank you as heartily 
 as if you had said it yesterday morning. Good-day. (In a 
 low voice to Goulard) Within an hour your stock shall be 
 sold
 
 MERCADET 291 
 
 GOULARD 
 Goodf 
 
 MERCADET (in a low voice to Pierquin) 
 Stay where you are. (All the others enter the office.) 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 What can I do for you ? 
 
 SCENE EIGHTH. 
 MERCADET AND PIERQUIN. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 We are now alone. There is no time to lose. The stock of 
 Basse-Indre went down yesterday. Go to the Exchange, buy 
 up two hundred, three hundred, four hundred Goulard will 
 deliver them to you 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 And for what date, and on what collateral? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Collateral ? Nonsense ! This is a cash deal ; bring them to 
 me to-day, and I will pay to-morrow. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 To-morrow ? 
 
 MERCADET 
 To-morrow the stock will have risen. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 
 I suppose, considering your situation, that you are buying 
 for Godeau.
 
 292 MERCADET 
 
 MEKCADET 
 Do you think so ? 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 I presume he gave his orders in the letter which announced 
 his return. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Possibly so. Ah ! Master Pierquin, we are going to take a 
 hand in business again, and I guess that you will gain from 
 this to the end of the year something like a hundred thousand 
 francs in brokerage from us. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 A hundred thousand francs ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Let the stock be depressed below par, and then buy it in, 
 and (handing him a letter) see that this letter appears in 
 the evening paper. This evening, at Tortoni's, you will see 
 an immediate rise in the quotations. Now be quick about this. 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 I will fly. Good-bye. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE NINTH. 
 MERCADET, THEN JUSTIN. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 How well everything is going on, when we consider our 
 recent complications! When Mahomet had three reliable 
 friends (and it was hard to find them) the whole world was 
 his ! I have now won over as my allies all my creditors, thanks 
 to the pretended arrival of Godeau. And I gain eight days,
 
 MERCADET 293 
 
 which means fifteen, with regard to actual payment. I shall 
 buy three hundred thousand francs' worth of Basse-Indre 
 before Verdelin. And when Verdelin asks for some of that 
 stock, he will find it has risen, for a demand will have raised 
 it above the current quotation, and I shall make at one stroke 
 six hundred thousand francs. With three hundred thousand 
 I will pay my creditors and show myself a Napoleon of 
 finance. (He struts up and down.} 
 
 JUSTIN (from the back of the stage) 
 Sir 
 
 MERCADET 
 What is it what do you want, Justin ? 
 
 JUSTIN 
 Sir 
 
 MERCADET 
 Goon! Tell me. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 M. Violette has offered me sixty francs if I will let him 
 speak with M. Godeau. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Sixty francs. (Aside) He fleeced me out of them. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 
 I am sure, sir, that you wouldn't like me to lose such & 
 present. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Let him have his way with you. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 Ah ! sir, but M. Goulard also and the others 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Do as you like I give them over into your hands. Fleece 
 them well !
 
 294 MERCADET 
 
 JUSTIN 
 I'll do my best Thank you, sir. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Let them all see Godeau. ( Aside) De la Brive is well able 
 to look after himself. (Aloud) But, between ourselves, keep 
 Pierquin away. (Aside) He would recognize his dear friend, 
 Michonnin. 
 
 JUSTIN 
 I understand, sir. Ah ! here is M. Minard. (Exit.) 
 
 SCENE TENTH. 
 MERCADET AND MINARD. 
 
 MINARD (coming forward) 
 Ah, sir! 
 
 MERCADET 
 Well, M. Minard, and what brings you here? 
 
 MINARD 
 Despair. 
 
 MERCADET 
 Despair? 
 
 MINARD 
 
 M. Godeau has come back ; and they say that you are nov \ 
 millionaire ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 Is that the cause of your despair ? 
 
 MINARD 
 Yes, sir.
 
 MERCADET 295 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Well, you are a strange fellow ! I disclose to yon the fact 
 of my ruin and you are delighted. You learn that good for- 
 tune has returned to me and you are overwhelmed with des- 
 pair ! And all the while you wish to enter into my family ! 
 Yet you act like my enemy 
 
 MINARD 
 
 It is just my love that makes your good fortune so alarming 
 to me; I fear all the while that you will now refuse me the 
 hand 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Of Julie ? My dear Adolphe, all men of business have not 
 put their heart in their money-bags. Our sentiments are not 
 always to be reckoned by debit and credit. You offered me 
 the thirty thousand francs that you possessed I certainly 
 have no right to reject you on account of certain millions. 
 (Aside) Which I do not possess ! 
 
 MlNAHD 
 
 You bring back life to me. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Well, I suppose that is true, but so much the better, for I 
 am very fond of you. You are simple, honorable. I am 
 touched, I am delighted. I am even charmed. Ah ! Let me 
 once get hold of my six hundred thousand francs and (Sees 
 Pierquin enter) Here they come 
 
 SCENE ELEVENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, PIERQUIN AND YERDELIN. 
 
 MERCADET (leading Pierquin to the front of the stage without 
 
 perceiving Verdelin) 
 Is it all right?
 
 296 MERCADET 
 
 PIERQUIN (in some embarrassment) 
 It is all right. The stock is ours. 
 
 MERCADET (joyfully) 
 Bravo ! 
 
 VERDELIN (approaching Mercadet) 
 Good-day ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 What! Verdelin 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 I find out that you have bought the stock before me, and 
 that now I shall have to pay very much higher than I ex- 
 pected ; but it is all right, it was well managed, and I am com- 
 pelled to cry, "Hail to the King of the Exchange, Hail to the 
 Napoleon of Finance !" (He laughs derisively.) 
 
 MERCADET (somewhat abashed) 
 What does he mean? 
 
 VERDELIN 
 I'm only repeating what you said yesterday 
 
 MERCADET 
 What I said? 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 
 The fact of it is, Verdelin does not believe in the return of 
 Godeau 
 
 MINARD 
 Ah, sir! 
 
 MERCADET 
 Is there any doubt about it? 
 
 VERDELIN (ironically) 
 Doubt about it ! There is more than doubt about it. I at
 
 MERCADET 297 
 
 once concluded that this so-called return was the bold stroke 
 that you spoke of yesterday. 
 
 MERCADET 
 I (Aside) Stupid of me! 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 I concluded that, relying upon the presence of this fictitious 
 Godeau, you made purchases with the idea of paying on the 
 rise, which would follow to-morrow, and that to-day you have 
 actually not a single sou 
 
 MERCADET 
 You had imagined all that ? 
 
 VERDELIN (approaching the fireplace) 
 Yes, but when I saw outside that triumphal post-chaise 
 that model of Indian manufacture, and I realized that it was 
 impossible to find such a vehicle in the Champs-Elysees, all 
 my doubts disappeared and But hand him over the bonds, 
 M. Pierquin! 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 The bonds it happens that 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 I must bluff, or I am lost ! ( Aloud) Certainly, produce 
 the bonds. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 One moment if what this gentleman has said is true 
 
 MERCADET (haughtily) 
 M. Pierquin! 
 
 MINARD 
 
 But, gentlemen M. Godeau is here I have seen him I 
 have talked with him.
 
 298 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET (to Pierquin) 
 He has talked with him, sir 
 
 PIERQUIN (to Verdelin) 
 The fact of it is, I have seen him myself. 
 
 VEEDELIN 
 
 I don't doubt it! By the bye, on what vessel did our 
 friend Godeau say he arrived? 
 
 MERCADET 
 By what vessel? It was by the by the Triton 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 How careless the English newspapers are. They have pub- 
 lished the arrival of no other English mail packet but the 
 Halcyon. 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Eeally! 
 
 MERCADET 
 Let us end this discussion. M. Pierquin those bonds 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 
 Pardon me, but as you have offered no collateral, I would 
 wish I do wish to speak with Godeau. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You shall not speak with him, sir. I cannot permit you 
 to doubt my word. 
 
 VERDELIN 
 This is superb. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 M. Minard, go to Godeau Tell him that I have obtained 
 an option on three hundred thousand francs' worth of stock,
 
 MERCADET 299 
 
 and ask him to send me (with emphasis) thirty thousand 
 francs for use as a margin. A man in his position always 
 has such a sum about him. (In a low voice) Do not fail to 
 bring me the thirty thousand. 
 
 MINARD 
 Yes, sir. (Goes out, through the right.) 
 
 MERCADET (haughtily) 
 Will that satisfy you, M. Pierquin ? 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 Certainly, certainly. (To Verdelin) It will be all right 
 when he comes back. 
 
 VERDELIN (rising from his seat) 
 And you expect that he will bring thirty thousand francs? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I have a perfect right to be offended by your insulting 
 doubt; but I am still your debtor 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 Bosh! You have enough in Godeau's pocket-book where- 
 with to liquidate; besides, to-morrow the Basse-Indre will 
 rise above par. It will go up, up, till you don't know how 
 far it will go. Your letter worked wonders, and we were 
 obliged to publish on the Exchange the results of our ex- 
 plorations by boring. The mines will become as valuable as 
 those of Mons and your fortune is made when I thought 
 I was going to make mine. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 I now understand your rage. (To Pierquin) And this 
 is the origin of all the doubtful rumors.
 
 300 MERCADET 
 
 VERDELIN 
 
 Rumors which can only vanish before the appearance of 
 Godeau's cash 
 
 SCENE TWELFTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS, VIOLETTE AND GOULARD. 
 
 GOULARD 
 Ah! my friend! 
 
 VIOLETTE (following him) 
 My dear Mercadet ! 
 
 GOULARD 
 What a man this Godeau is! 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 Fine! 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 What high sense of honor he has ! 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 That's pretty good! 
 
 GOULARD 
 What magnanimity! 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 Prodigious ! 
 
 VERDELIN 
 Have you seen him ? 
 
 VIOLETTE 
 Of course, I have!
 
 MERCADET 301 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 Have you spoken to him? 
 
 GOULARD 
 Just as I speak to you. And I have been paid. 
 
 ALL 
 Paid! 
 
 MERCADET 
 Paid? How how have you been paid? 
 
 GOULARD 
 In full. Fifty thousand in drafts. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 That I can understand. 
 
 GOULARD 
 And eight thousand francs net, in notes. 
 
 MERCADET 
 In bank-notes? 
 
 GOULABD 
 
 Bank-notes. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 
 It is past my understanding. Ah! Eight thousand! 
 Minard might have given them, so that now he'll bring me 
 only twenty-two thousand. 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 And I I, who would have been willing to make some reduc- 
 tion I have been paid in full ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 All! (In a low voice to him) I suppose in drafts?
 
 302 MERCADET 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 In first-class drafts to the amount of eighteen thousand 
 francs. 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 What a fellow this De la Brive is! 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 And the balance, the other twelve thousand 
 
 VERDELIN 
 Yes the balance? 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 In cash. Here it is. (He shows the bank-notes.) 
 
 MERCADET (aside) 
 Minard won't bring me more than ten. 
 
 GOULARD (taking a seat at the table) 
 
 And this very moment he is paying in the same way all 
 your creditors. 
 
 MERCADET 
 In the same way? 
 
 VIOLETTE (taking a seat at the table) 
 Yes, in drafts, in specie, and in bank-notes. 
 
 MERCADET (forgetting himself) 
 
 Lord, have mercy upon me! (Aside) Minard will bring 
 me nothing at all. 
 
 VERDELIN" 
 What is the matter with you? 
 
 MERCADET 
 Me ? Nothing I
 
 MERCADET 303 
 
 SCENE THIRTEENTH. 
 THE SAME PERSONS AND MINARD, FOLLOWED BY CREDITORS. 
 
 MINARD 
 I have done your errand. 
 
 MERCADET ( trembling ) 
 And you have brought me a few bank-notes? 
 
 MINARD 
 
 A few bank-notes ? Of course. M. Godeau wouldn't let me 
 even mention the thirty thousand francs. (Goulard and 
 Violette rise. Minard stands before the table, surrounded 
 by creditors.) 
 
 MERCADET 
 I can quite understand that. 
 
 MINARD 
 
 "You mean," he said, "a hundred thousand crowns; here 
 are a hundred thousand crowns, with my compliments !" 
 (He pulls out a large roll of bank-notes, which he places on 
 the table.) 
 
 MERCADET (rushing to the table) 
 
 What the devil ! (Looking at the notes) What is all this 
 about ? 
 
 MINARD 
 The three hundred thousand francs. 
 
 PIERQUIN 
 My three hundred thousand francs ! 
 
 VERDELIN 
 The truth for once!
 
 304 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET (astounded) 
 
 Three hundred thousand francs ! I see them ! I touch 
 them ! I grasp them ! Three hundred thousand where did 
 you get them ? 
 
 MINARD 
 I told you he gave them to me. 
 
 MERCADET (with vehemence) 
 He! He ! Who is he? 
 
 MINARD 
 Did not I say, M. Godeau? 
 
 MERCADET 
 What Godeau? Which Godeau? 
 
 MUSTARD 
 Why the Godeau who has come back from the Indies. 
 
 MERCADET 
 From the Indies? 
 
 VlOLETTE 
 
 And who is paying all your debts. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 What is this ? I never expected to strike a Gwteau of this 
 j kind. 
 
 PlERQUIN 
 
 He has gone crazy! (All the other creditors gather ft the 
 back of the stage. Verdelin approaches them, and sp&aks in 
 a low voice.) 
 
 VERDELIN (returning to Mercadet) 
 It's true enough ! All are paid in full !
 
 Copyright, 1QG2, byj. D. A. 
 
 Minard and Mercadet.
 
 MERCADET 306 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Paid? Every one of them? (Goes from one to the other 
 and looks at the bank-notes and the drafts they have.) Yes, 
 all settled with settled in full ! Ah ! I see blue, red, violet ! 
 A rainbow seems to surround me. 
 
 SCENE FOURTEENTH. 
 
 THE SAME PERSONS, MME. MERCADET, JULIE (entering at one 
 side) AND DE LA BRIVE (entering at the other.) 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 My friend, M. Godeau, feels himself strong enough to see 
 you all. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Come, daughter, wife, Adolphe, and my other friends, 
 gather round me, look at me. I know you would not deceive 
 me. 
 
 JULIE 
 What is the matter, father? 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Tell me (seeing De la Brive come in) Michonnin, tell me 
 frankly 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Lucidly for me, sir, I followed the advice of madame -other- 
 wise you would have had two Godeaus at a time, for heaven has 
 brought back to you the genuine man. 
 
 MERCADET 
 You mean to say then that he has really returned ! 
 
 YERDELIN 
 Do you mean to say that you didn't know it after all ?
 
 306 MERCADET 
 
 MERCADET (recovering himself, standing before the table 
 touching the notes) 
 
 I, of course I did. Oh, fortune, all hail to thee, queen of 
 monarchs, archduchess of loans, princess of stocks and mother 
 of credit ! All hail ! Thou long sought for, and now for the 
 thousandth time come home to us from the Indies ! Oh ! I've 
 always said that Godeau had a mind of tireless energy and an 
 honest heart! (Going up to his wife and daughter) Kiss 
 me! 
 
 MME. MERCADET (in tears) 
 Ah ! dear, dear husband ! 
 
 MERCADET (supporting her) 
 And yon, what courage you have shown in adversity ! 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 
 But I am overcome by the happiness of seeing you saved 
 wealthy ! 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 But honest ! And yet I must tell you my wife, my chil- 
 dren I could not have held out much longer I was about 
 to succumb my mind always on the rack always on the 
 defensive a giant might have yielded. There were moments 
 when I longed to flee away Oh ! For some place of repose ! 
 Henceforth let us live in the country. 
 
 MME. MERCADET 
 But you will soon grow weary of it. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 No, for I shall be a witness in their happiness. (Pointing 
 to Minard and Julie.) And after all this financial traffic I 
 shall devote myself to agriculture; the study of agriculture 
 will never prove tedious. (To the creditors) Gentlemen, we 
 will continue to be good friends, but will have no more busi-
 
 MERCADET 307 
 
 nees transactions. (To De la Brive) M. de la Brive, let me 
 pay back 10 you your forty-eight thousand francs. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 Ah! sir 
 
 MERCADET 
 And I will lend you ten thousand more. 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 
 Ten thousand francs? But I don't know when I shall be 
 able 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 You weed have no scruples ; take them for I have a 
 scheme 
 
 DE LA BRIVE 
 I accept them. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Ah! It ie one of my dreams. Gentlemen (to the creditors 
 who are standing in a row) I am a creditor ! 
 
 MMK. MERCADET (pointing to the door) 
 My dear, he is waiting for us. 
 
 MERCADET 
 
 Yes, let us go in. I have so many times drawn your atten- 
 tion to Godeau, that I certainly have the right to see him. 
 Let us go in and see Godeau ! 
 
 Final Curtain.
 
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