SCENE FIRST.
(Drawing-room of the Duchesse de Christoval.)
The Duchesse de Christoval and Inez.
Inez
If Monsieur 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 himself 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 with
mine? Let Raoul satisfy the world, and I shall be ready to fight for
you not only against the intrigues of the Montsorels, but in 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 complexion is copper-hued. He stutters like the
Spaniards of Mexico, and his accent resembles Provencal, plus the
guttural intonation of the Moors.)
Vautrin
Is it indeed her grace, the Duchesse de Christoval that I have the
honor to address?
The Duchess
Yes, sir.
Vautrin
And mademoiselle?
The Duchess
My daughter, sir.
Vautrin
Mademoiselle is then the Senorita Inez, in her own right Princesse
d'Arjos. When I see you, I understand perfectly Monsieur de
Christoval's idolatry of his daughter. But, ladies, before 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.
Vautrin
Don't say a word to them; to demand silence is often to provoke
indiscreet talk. I can answer for my own people. I pledged myself to
bring you news of Monsieur 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 surprise us: while principles can wait to
be recognized men are always in a hurry.
The Duchess
What has happened to Monsieur de Christoval?
Vautrin
Do not be alarmed, madame; he is not emperor. His grace the duke has
been unsuccessful, in spite of a desperate struggle, 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 he acquitted
himself well. If he does eventually succeed, he 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 Monsieur 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 Inez
Ah!
Vautrin
It was thus that he and I became acquainted.
The Duchess
You, general?
Inez
And my father?
Vautrin
Well, ladies, I should have been 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 Duc de Christoval, was the
reward of his interference. 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 Monsieur 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.
Inez
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 of 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 Lafouraille, made up as a negro, and carrying a large
portmanteau.)
Vautrin (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, senorita, 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.
Lafouraille
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, accompanied to the door by her mother.)
SCENE THIRD.
The Duchess and Vautrin.
Vautrin (aside)
If Mexico saw herself represented in this way, the government 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 soldier. The
success which I derive must be the result of candor. 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 me come to the point; the senorita is young and
beautiful, she is rich and noble born; she probably 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 question 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 Monsieur 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 you do to answer. Ah! if
only the young man whom your daughter loves were a foreigner, rich,
apparently without family, and bent on concealing the name of his
native land!
The Duchess
The name, Frescas, which you lately uttered, is that of a young man
who seeks the hand of Inez.
Vautrin
Does he call himself also Raoul?
The Duchess
Yes, Raoul de Frescas.
Vautrin
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
Romantic 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 Raoul 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?
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. Raoul is too proud to return to this
house; besides that, he has promised me to wait. I am thus master of
the situation; Raoul, when once he is a prince, will not lack
ancestors; Mexico and I will see to that.
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 certain Signor Amoagos,
without any regard to my inclinations.
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.
Vautrin
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 authority,
general.
Vautrin
I have the authentic documents, and family deeds.
A footman (as he enters)
Will her grace the duchess see Monsieur de Frescas?
Vautrin (aside)
What! Raoul 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 Monsieur 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 Raoul.
(Raoul salutes the two ladies. Vautrin approaches him.)
Vautrin (to Raoul)
Don Raoul de Cardaval.
Raoul
Vautrin!
Vautrin
No! General Crustamente.
Raoul
Crustamente!
Vautrin
Certainly; Mexican Envoy. Bear well in mind the name of your father,
--Amoagos, a gentleman of Aragon, friend of the Duc de Christoval. Your
mother is dead; I bring the 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
O Vautrin! In what an abyss you have plunged me!
Vautrin
I have made you a prince; and don't forget that you are at the summit
of happiness. (Aside) He will give in. (Exit.)
SCENE SEVENTH.
Inez (standing at the door through which her mother has passed); Raoul
(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 soldier's death.
Inez (approaching, after gazing at him)
My father and yours are friends; they consent to our marriage; 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 insurmountable
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.
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 rapture your presence causes--Come then, let us
be happy!
SCENE EIGHTH
The same persons and the Marquis de Montsorel.
The footman (announcing a visitor)
Monsieur le Marquis de Montsorel.
Raoul (aside)
Ah! That name recalls me to myself. (To Inez) Whatever happens, Inez,
do not judge my conduct until I have myself given an account of it,
and believe at the present moment 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
Monsieur Raoul has been accepted by my family.
The Marquis
Will Monsieur Raoul de Frescas, then, accept my congratulations?
Raoul
Your congratulations? I accept them (they shake hands) in the same
spirit as that in which they are offered.
Inez (to Raoul)
Manage that he go away, and do you remain. (To the Marquis) 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 without seconds.
The Marquis
Will those on your side stop the duel?
Raoul
Our mutual hatred is sufficient guarantee against that.
Vautrin (aside)
Well, now--we always commit some blunder in the moment of success! To
the death! 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 cannot 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 to honor to be referred to?
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 Monsieur de Frescas. (Aside) And Buteux shall be the
other.
SCENE TENTH.
Raoul, 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 Raoul 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.
The Duchesse de Christoval
The interest which yesterday you manifested in Monsieur de Frescas
has, I see, changed to indifference?
The Duchesse de Montsorel (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 Monsieur de Frescas, don Amoagos, and the
father of Inez, Monsieur 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 Monsieur 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
Monsieur 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 did not come
from Mexico. Your mother is not dead, is she? And have you not been
abandoned since your childhood?
Raoul
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 necessary 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 impression of this man
(he indicated 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 Raoul.)
The Duchesse de Montsorel (to the Duchesse de Christoval)
My dear duchess, I implore you to excuse Inez. We cannot make our
explanations before her.
The Duchesse de Christoval (to her daughter, making signs to her to
leave the room)
I will rejoin you in a moment.
Raoul (kissing his hand to Inez)
This is perhaps good-bye forever!
(Exit Inez.)
SCENE ELEVENTH.
The Duchesse de Christoval, the Duchesse de Montsorel, 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?
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 Raoul 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 Raoul)
What right? (To the Duchesse 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 the Duchesse 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 Montsorel
You know?
Vautrin
All. (Aside) She has some motive. (Aloud) Will you examine the
documents?
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.
Raoul, Vautrin and later Lafouraille.
Vautrin
I thought our star was setting; but it is still in the ascendant.
Raoul
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, 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.
Raoul
I see that you are in danger. I will not leave you, and 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.
Lafouraille
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.