SCENE FIRST
(Stage setting remains as in Act I.)
Ramel 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 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 are 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.
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
blinders 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 scheming something.
Ramel (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
anyone.
Marguerite
She would skin a flint! She has taken away the keys from 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 Mlle. Pauline, and the profits of the
factory. That is the reason why she puts off the marriage 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 Mademoiselle happy;
but 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 everything? 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!
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?
Ramel
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.
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 so many things to talk
about, that I caused him to be late.
The General
But, sir, to what circumstance am I to attribute your presence 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 convictions
of its own. You did wrong to proceed before my arrival.
Felix
Madame, shall I bring in the coffee?
Gertrude
Wait a while! (Aside) How changed this man is, this attorney. I
shouldn't have recognized him. He terrifies me.
The General
But how could you be brought here by the crime of Champagne, an old
soldier for whom I would stand security?
Ramel
You will earn 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!
Ramel
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!
Ramel
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?
Ramel
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.
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.
Ramel
Has M. Baudrillon seen the accused?
The Magistrate
No, monsieur, the accused came in charge of a gendarme.
Ramel
We shall soon learn the truth in this case! Let M. Baudrillon and the
accused approach.
The Magistrate
Come forward, M. Baudrillon; (to Champagne) and you also.
Ramel
M. Baudrillon, do you identify this man as the person who bought
arsenic from you two days ago?
Baudrillon
Yes, that is the very man.
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.
Ramel
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 foreman 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!
Ramel
General, we shall be very happy if we have to announce the 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 sometime have had
to deal with nothing but poisoning cases.
Gertrude
You see, sir, I have kept it in my desk, in which none but the General
and myself have access.
(Gertrude returns to her bedroom.)
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 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 sometimes tried to bring her to reason, the
anxious moments you have made me pass here, have been punishment
enough! To 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.
Ramel
Madame, for the innocent there is nothing fatal in criminal justice.
You see that Champagne has been promptly discharged. (Fixing his eyes
upon 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 away from
home rather suddenly, and my wife is waiting dinner 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?
Ramel
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 Vernon 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.
Ramel (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.
Gertrude
I'll die before I give him up!
Ramel (aside)
I must get Ferdinand away from this place.
(Ramel 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, Ramel, 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?
Godard
Come with me, and I'll tell you how you must do it.
(Godard goes on the 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.
(Godard places himself in such a 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!
Pauline
Oh!
(Pauline 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 bad of you to teach a child such mischievous tricks.
Godard
You will come to the conclusion that I did pretty well, when you learn
that I have been enabled by this little stratagem to discover my
rival.
(Godard points to Ferdinand who is entering the room.)
Gertrude (letting fall the sugar basin)
He!
Godard (aside)
She is in the same box!
Gertrude (aloud)
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 public
prosecutor had come back. Felix, take away this sugar basin, and bring
me another one.
Vernon
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.
(Pauline 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 marriage 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 time the
General is so calm, so tranquil, and this household 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 Ferdinand) 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 gentlemen, 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!
Napoleon
Good-night, my good friend! Good-night, Pauline! Good-night M. Godard.
Godard
De Rimonville.
Napoleon
Have I been good?
(Gertrude kisses Napoleon.)
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.
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 happiness 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 happiness, it is
impossible to catch up. I shall die a bachelor.
(The 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 husband 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, sometimes in the midst of the
most cruel torments.
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.
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 frame! And what, pray, is the
matter with you?
Gertrude
Nothing. But you asked me why Ferdinand kept his marriage 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 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 Mlle. 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?
Ferdinand
Kill you? She? I?
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.
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 Rimonville, 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 Rimonville--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.
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.
(Gertrude 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 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 been uttered, that a young 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!
Pauline
And this is what you call being good humored?
(Gertrude appears.)
The General
My child, there are feelings in my heart that 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 Gertrude 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 said, 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 tell 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 disobey 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 bad, 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.
The General
I promise you that. But what reason have you for distrusting 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.
(Pauline enters her own apartment.)
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 I not 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! If he dies,
you can follow him in death; but doubt--is the cruelest of
separations!--Ah! I hear him.
SCENE TENTH
Ferdinand and Pauline (who locks the door).
Pauline
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.
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 bottom 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 forgive 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 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 questions! But I will be avenged!
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 harmony, 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 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 their 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?
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?
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 without 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 husband is my father!
Gertrude (kneeling before Pauline)
What have I done to you? I have loved you, I have educated you, I have
been a good mother to you.
Pauline
Be a faithful wife, and I will say no more.
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.
(Gertrude and Pauline go towards 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.)
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.
(Gertrude goes back into her room.)
The General (coming in from the garden)
I can find the vase of flowers nowhere. There is some mystery 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!
Curtain to the Second Act.