How do you do, cousin?
CYRANO.
Cousin, how do you do?
ROXANE.
I'll come down.
(She disappears into the house. By the rear, enter the Monk.)
CHRISTIAN(perceiving him).
What! he again!
(He follows Roxane.)
CYRANO,CHRISTIAN,ROXANE,THE MONK,RAGUENEAU.
THE MONK.
She must live here—I insist—Magdeleine Robin!
CYRANO.
Why! You saidRo-lin.
MONK.
No!Bin. B, I, N,bin!
ROXANE(appears in the doorway, followed by Ragueneau, carrying a lighted lantern, and by Christian).
What is it?
MONK.
A letter.
CHRISTIAN.
What's this?
MONK(to Roxane).
Oh! it can but be a saintly thing! A worthy gentleman....
ROXANE(to Christian).
Evidently Guiche!
CHRISTIAN.
He would dare?....
ROXANE.
Oh! he cannot long annoy me! I love you, and....
(She opens the letter, and, by the aid of Ragueneau's lantern, she reads to herself, in a low voice:)
"Mademoiselle,
"The drums are beating and my regiment is about to start. All think that I have already gone; but I have remained, thus disobeying you. I am here in the convent. I'll come to you forthwith, but I give you notice of my visit, through an innocent monk who knows not what message he is carrying. Your lips smiled to me just now; I must see them again. Dismiss whoever is near you, and condescend to hear the bold suitor whom you have, I trust, already forgiven, and who remains your most.... et cetera...."
(to the Monk).
Father, listen! Here is what the letter says:
(All come up and listen, as she reads aloud:)
"Mademoiselle,
"You must submit to the will of the Cardinal, however hard it may appear to you. And that is why I send this message by a saintly, most intelligent and discreet capuchin. We desire you to receive his blessing....(turning the page) his nuptial blessing immediately. Christian must be married to you secretly. I send him to you, though I know you like him not. Be resigned, rememberingthat Heaven will bless your zeal. Be assured, Mademoiselle, of my respect, for I have been and shall ever be your most humble and very.... et cetera."
MONK(delighted).
Worthy gentleman! I knew he could suggest but a saintly thing!
ROXANE(aside to Christian).
Do you not think I read letters well?
CHRISTIAN.
It depends....
ROXANE(aloud, in despair).
Ah!.... this is terrible!
MONK(throwing the light of the lantern upon Cyrano).
Are you the groom?
CHRISTIAN.
I am the one!
MONK(turning the light upon Christian and as if he was in doubt on seeing Christian's handsome looks).
But, my son....
ROXANE(eagerly).
There is a Post Scriptum: "Donate to the convent one hundred and twenty pistoles."
MONK.
Worthy, worthy gentleman! (To Roxane) Be resigned!
ROXANE(with a martyr's look).
I am!
(While Ragueneau shows the Monk into the house, on Christian's invitation, Roxane, in low tone, says to Cyrano).
Guiche is coming. Detain him here until....
CYRANO.
I understand.
(to the Monk). To give them your blessing will take you.... how long?
MONK.
A quarter of an hour.
CYRANO(pushing them all into the house).
Go in, go in! Only one must remain here: I!
ROXANE(to Christian).
Come!
(They all go into the house.)
CYRANO.
How can I detain Guiche fifteen minutes? Oh! I have a plan!
(He climbs upon the balcony. The archlutes play a sort of dirge.)
This time it must be a man, most certainly. It is!
(He is on the balcony, with his hat well down over his eyes. Takes off his sword, wraps himself in his cloak, leans over the railing and observes.)
No! Really not too high!
(Straddles the railing, seizes a long branch of one of the trees and makes ready to drop.)
I'll only slightly disturb the atmosphere!
CYRANO,GUICHE.
GUICHE(masked, and hesitating in the dark).
What can this infernal monk be doing?
CYRANO.
By the way—my voice?—He might recognise it!
(He loosens a hand and makes the motion of turning a key.)
Cric! Crac!
(Solemnly) Now, Cyrano, resume the accent of Bergerac!
GUICHE(looking at the house).
Here's the house!
(He is about to enter, but Cyrano springs from the balcony while holding on to the branch; the latter bends and lets him down between Guiche and the door. He affects to fall heavily, as if from a great height, remaining crushed and dazed. Guiche jumps back.)
What is this?
(When Guiche recovers from his astonishment the branch has sprung up again, so that Cyrano appears to have fallen from the sky.)
From where did this man drop?
CYRANO(speaking with a Gascon's accent).
From the moon!
GUICHE.
The moon!....
CYRANO(as if dazed).
What time is it? What country is this? What month? What day?
GUICHE.
But, my dear Sir....
CYRANO.
I feel quite dizzy.—Like a bombshell, I have just dropped from the moon!
GUICHE(out of patience).
Look here, Sir!....
CYRANO(rising, and in thundering tone).
I say that I dropped!
GUICHE(falling back).
So be it, then! You dropped!.... (aside) He is no doubt insane!
CYRANO(walking toward him).
And my drop is not metaphorical!.... One hundred years, or one minute ago—I cannot tell how long I was on the way—I was up in that saffron-coloured ball!
GUICHE(shrugging his shoulders).
Quite so! But allow me to pass!
CYRANO(stopping him).
Be frank now! Where am I? Where have I fallen like a meteorite?
GUICHE.
Zounds, Sir!....
CYRANO.
During my fall, I could make no selection as to my point of arrival. Is it upon a moon or an earth that my dead weight has just landed?
GUICHE.
But I repeat to you, Sir!....
CYRANO(with a cry of horror that causes Guiche to fall back).
Good Heavens!.... In this country are people's faces black? Am I in Algiers, and are you a native?
GUICHE(touching his mask).
No doubt, this mask....
CYRANO(seemingly less frightened).
Oh! then, it's Venice.... or Genoa!
GUICHE(trying to pass).
A lady is waiting for me!...
CYRANO(completely reassured).
Then I must be in Paris!
GUICHE(reluctantly smiling).
The rascal is amusing!
CYRANO.
You are laughing.
GUICHE.
Yes,—but I must pass.
CYRANO(apparently overjoyed).
So I have dropped in Paris!....
(Quite at his ease, laughing, dusting himself, and bowing.)
I have just arrived—pardon me—by the last cyclone, and I must brush off the ether that is still on me. I've travelled! My eyes are still full of astral dust, and my spurs have caught planet hairs.
(picking something off his sleeve).
Here, on my doublet, is one from a comet!....
(He blows, as if to cast off the hair.)
GUICHE(enraged).
Now, look here, Sir!....
(As Guiche is going to pass, Cyrano stretches out his leg as if to show something that is on it.)
CYRANO.
In the calf of this leg, Sir, I have a tooth of the Great Bear,—and, as nearing the Trident, I managed to avoid its three lances, I fell in a lump upon the Balance—where my weight up there is still registered!
(preventing Guiche from passing and holding him by one of his buttons).
If you were to press my nose, Sir, you would cause a flow of milk!....
GUICHE.
Milk, indeed!
CYRANO.
Yes, Sir.... from the Milky Way!
GUICHE.
Oh! by Satan!....
CYRANO.
No! I dropped from heaven! (crossing his arms). Would you believe it? I noticed it as I was going by there: Sirius, at night actually wears a turban! (confidentially) The other Bear, the little one, is still too small to bite! (laughing) As I was passing through the Lyre, I broke one of its strings! (proudly) But I intend to write a book on the subject; and the golden stars that I gathered into my scorched cloak, regardless of peril, shall be used by my printer for asterisks!
GUICHE.
Once more, I must insist....
CYRANO.
Oh! Sir, I know what you desire!
GUICHE.
You do?....
CYRANO.
Yes. You desire to hear from me how the moon is made, and if any one inhabits the rotundity of this cucurbit![22]
GUICHE(very loud).
No! No! I desire....
CYRANO.
To learn how I got up there? Easily. Through an invention of mine.
GUICHE(discouraged).
A madman, certainly!
CYRANO(disdainfully).
I copied not the stupid eagle of Regiomontanus, or the timid pigeon of Archytas!....
GUICHE.
A madman—but a learned one.
CYRANO.
No, Sir. I imitated nothing ever done.
(Guiche, having managed to pass, is nearing Roxane's door, but Cyrano follows, ready to seize him.)
I invented six different ways of assaulting the virgin blue!
GUICHE(turning).
Six?
CYRANO(with increased fluency).
I could, with body as bare as a taper, have comparisoned it with crystal phials o'erflowing with tears from the morning skies, and my person, then, if exposed in the sun, would have been aspirated by the luminary along with the dew!
GUICHE(astonished, goes toward Cyrano).
True! That is one way!
CYRANO(backing, so as to draw him further away).
Again, I could have created a powerful gust of wind, to lift me, if I had rarefied the air in a cedar box, by means of heated mirrors forming an icosahedron!
GUICHE(following Cyrano).
Two ways!
CYRANO(still backing).
Or else, being both a machinist and an artificer, have straddled a steel-legged grasshopper, and caused myself, through successive explosions of saltpetre, to be projected into the azure fields where the stars are wont to graze!
GUICHE(still following him, and counting on his fingers).
That is three!
CYRANO.
Since smoke persists in rising, I might have blown into a globe enough of it to carry me up!
GUICHE(more and more astonished).
Four!
CYRANO.
Since Phœbe, when her bow is the thinnest, loves to draw, O beeves! your marrow,.... anoint myself with the same!
GUICHE(stupefied).
Five!
CYRANO(who has managed, while talking, to press Guiche over to the other side of the square, near a bench).
Last: I could have placed myself upon an iron plate, taken a magnet and thrown it up into the air! This is a capital way. As soon as the magnet starts, the iron rushes in pursuit of it. The magnet is thrown up again; the iron plate follows—and, Cadedis! there is nothing to prevent the ascension from lasting indefinitely.
GUICHE.
Six!—All excellent systems. And, tell me, Sir, which one of the six did you adopt?
CYRANO.
A seventh one!
GUICHE.
Astonishing! And what was it, please?
CYRANO.
You would never dream of it!....
GUICHE(aside).
The fellow is really interesting!
CYRANO(very mysterious and imitating the sound of waves on a beach).
Houüh! Houüh!
GUICHE.
What's that?
CYRANO.
You cannot imagine?
GUICHE.
No!
CYRANO.
The tide!.... As it was running out, in obedience to the attraction of the moon, I lay on the sands—head foremost, so that my hair—hair, you know, does not dry fast—so that my hair was kept bathed in the receding waves. And, thus I was, by the moon's attraction, drawn up, up, erect, like an angel. And up I went, gently, without an effort, until suddenly, I felt a shock!.... Then!....
GUICHE(interested, takes a seat on the bench).
Then?....
CYRANO.
Then.... (resuming his natural tone). The fifteen minutes have elapsed, Sir, and now I grant you your freedom. The marriage is accomplished!
GUICHE(jumping up).
Am I intoxicated?.... That voice!
(The door of Roxane's house opens; lackeys come out with lighted candelabra. Cyrano takes off his hat that he had kept well down over his face.)
And that nose!.... Cyrano!
CYRANO(bowing).
In person.... Cyrano! They have just exchanged their marriage rings.
GUICHE.
They!.... Who?
(He turns. Tableau. Behind the lackeys, Roxane and Christian holding each other by the hand. The Monk, smiling, follows them. Ragueneau is behind, also holding a light. And last is the Duenna, bewildered, half dressed, as if she had been hurried out of bed.)
Merciful heavens!
The same.ROXANE,CHRISTIAN,THE MONK,RAGUENEAU,LACKEYS,THE DUENNA.
GUICHE(to Roxane).
You, Roxane!
(Astounded on recognising Christian) and he?
(Bowing admiringly to Roxane.)
You are admirably shrewd!
(To Cyrano) My compliments to you, Sir, as an inventor. Your narrative would have stopped a saint at the gate of heaven! Do not forget to write that book!
CYRANO(bowing).
I promise, Sir, to follow your advice.
THE MONK(with an air of satisfaction calling Guiche's attention to the two lovers).
A beautiful couple, my son, and good work of yours!
GUICHE(very coldly).
Yes.
(to Roxane) Be good enough to bid farewell, Madam, to your husband.
ROXANE.
How so?
GUICHE(to Christian).
Your regiment is about to march. Join it immediately!
ROXANE.
Is it going to the war?
GUICHE.
Of course it is.
ROXANE.
But you said, Sir, that the Cadets were not going!
GUICHE.
They shall go!
(Drawing from his pocket the paper he had put into it.)
Here is the order.
(to Christian) Bear it yourself, Baron.
ROXANE(throwing herself into the arms of Christian).
Oh! dear Christian!
GUICHE(chuckling, to Cyrano).
A still very distant honeymoon!
CYRANO(aside).
A fact not so annoying to me as he thinks!
CHRISTIAN(to Roxane).
Another kiss! Your lips again!
CYRANO.
Come, that is enough! enough!
CHRISTIAN(still kissing Roxane).
It is very hard to leave her.... You do not know....
CYRANO(endeavouring to draw him away).
Oh! yes, I do!
(Drums beating a march, in the distance.)
GUICHE(who has gone up to the rear).
The troops are leaving!
ROXANE(to Cyrano, who is drawing away Christian while she is trying to hold him back).
Oh!.... I entrust him to you! Promise me that nothing shall endanger his life!
CYRANO.
I shall do my best.... but I can hardly promise....
ROXANE(still holding on to Christian).
Promise me that he shall be very prudent!
CYRANO.
I'll try, but as to promising....
ROXANE(still holding on).
That during this terrible siege he shall never be cold!
CYRANO.
If it is at all possible, but....
ROXANE(still holding on).
That he shall remain true to me!
CYRANO.
Yes! of course! But I cannot....
ROXANE(still holding on).
That he shall write to me often!
CYRANO(halting).
Oh! that—I promise you!
CURTAIN.
Photograph of Play.THIRD ACT.
The post occupied by the Company of Carbon of Haughty-Hall at the siege of Arras. In the rear, an embankment running across the stage. Beyond, a plain, extending as far as the horizon, covered with siege works. In the distance, the walls of the City of Arras, with the outline of its roofs against the sky. Tents; arms strewn around; drums, etc.—Day is about to dawn; gold in the east. Sentinels here and there. Camp fires.—Rolled up in their cloaks the Cadets of Gascony are sleeping. Carbon of Haughty-Hall and Le Bret are watching. They are very pale and thin. Christian is asleep, in front, his face lighted by a fire. Silence.
CHRISTIAN,CARBON OF HAUGHTY-HALL,LE BRET,THE CADETS,laterCYRANO.
LE BRET.
It's awful!
CARBON.
Yes, nothing left to eat.
LE BRET.
Mordious!
CARBON(motioning to him to speak lower).
Deaden your oaths! or you'll wake the men.
(to the Cadets).
Sleep on!
(to Le Bret).
He who sleeps eats!
LE BRET.
Yes, but waking starves!
(A few musket reports are heard in the distance.)
CARBON.
Confound the muskets!.... They'll wake up my children.
(to several of the Cadets who lift up their heads).
Sleep!
(More musketry, nearer).
A CADET(tossing).
The Devil! again?
CARBON.
It's nothing! Only Cyrano coming back!
(The lifted heads lie down again.)
A SENTINEL(outside).
Who goes there?
CYRANO(outside).
Bergerac!
A SENTINEL(on the embankment).
Ventrebieu! who goes there?
CYRANO.
Bergerac, you idiot!
(He comes down and is met by Le Bret.)
LE BRET.
What, you! wounded?
CYRANO(raising his hand).
Hush! You know that they miss me regularly every morning.
LE BRET.
What! risk your life thus, every day, just to carry a letter without the camp! That is going too far.
CYRANO(stopping in front of Christian).
I promised that he would write often!
(looking at him).
He sleeps. How pale!If sweet Roxane knew that he is starving! But he has not lost his good looks.
LE BRET.
Go get some sleep!
CYRANO.
Don't growl, Le Bret!.... Remember this: To pass through the Spanish lines, I long ago selected a place where they are invariably drunk.
LE BRET.
Why don't you once bring back some provisions?
CYRANO.
A load would not leave me light enough to pass through. But there is going to be a change. We, the French, shall soon eat.... or die,—if my eyes did not deceive me....
LE BRET.
How soon?
CYRANO.
You'll see!.... I'm not sure enough to speak.
CARBON.
Isn't it shameful that the besiegers should be the ones to starve!
LE BRET.
An extraordinary siege this! We are besieging Arras, and the Spanish are besieging us.
CYRANO.
Somebody should come now to besiege the Spanish.
LE BRET.
Do not joke so.—When I think that a life, precious as yours is, can be risked daily just to carry....
(Cyrano walks toward one of the tents.)
Where are you going?
CYRANO.
I am going to write another letter.
(Enters tent.)
The same, lessCYRANO.
Day is dawning. Rosy tints in the sky, and golden ones on the distant city. A gun is heard, then drums beat in the distance, to the left. Other drums are heard, successively, nearer, and nearer, until they sound on the stage, the noise then receding gradually, toward the right. Awakening of the Camp. Officers' commands in the distance.
CARBON(sighing).
Reveille!.... Alas!
(the Cadets begin rising.)
Their dream of dinner is finished.... I know what their cry will be now.
A CADET(rising).
I'm hungry!
ANOTHER CADET.
I'm half dead!
OTHER CADETS.
We are dead! quite!
CARBON.
Get up!
SEVERAL CADETS.
Can't!
FIRST CADET(using his breastplate as a looking-glass).
My tongue is yellow. Indigestion!
ANOTHER CADET.
As to me, if my gastric organ gets not wherewith to produce a pint of chyle, I'll retire into my tent—like Achilles.
SEVERAL CADETS.
Bread! Something to eat! Now!
CARBON(going to the tent of Cyrano and speaking low to him).
Cyrano, help! Come with your ready wit, and put some life into them. Give them new courage.
A CADET(to another who is chewing something).
What are you nibbling at?
THE OTHER CADET.
Cannon wad fried in axle grease! There is but little game around Arras.
ANOTHER CADET(entering).
I've been out shooting.
STILL ANOTHER CADET(likewise entering).
And I've been fishing in the Scarpe.
ALL THE CADETS(rushing up to them).
What have you killed? What have you caught?—A pheasant?—A carp?—Quick, quick, show them!
THE FISHERMAN.
A gudgeon!
THE HUNTSMAN.
A sparrow!
ALL THE CADETS(exasperated).
Enough, enough! too much!—let us mutiny!
CARBON.
Help, Cyrano.
(Daylight has come.)
The same,CYRANO.
CYRANO(leaving his tent, perfectly tranquil, a pen over his ear, book in hand).
Hey!....
(Silence. To the first Cadet).
What makes you drag your feet along so?
THE CADET.
Something in my heels that should not be there!....
CYRANO.
What's that?
THE CADET.
My stomach!
CYRANO.
Mine's the same. What of it?
THE CADET.
Isn't it inconvenient?
CYRANO.
No, it heightens me.
SECOND CADET.
My teeth are very long.
CYRANO.
Well, you can bite off a larger piece.
ANOTHER CADET.
My skin sounds empty.
CYRANO.
We'll use it as a drum, for the charge.
ANOTHER CADET.
There is a humming in my ears.
CYRANO.
Not that; an empty stomach has no ears. Impossible!
OTHER CADET.
Oh! for something to eat,—with good oil!
CYRANO(taking off the helmet of the Cadet, in whose hand he places it).
Eat your salad.
ANOTHER CADET.
What could we find to devour?
CYRANO(throwing to him the book he holds in his hand).
The Iliad!
OTHER CADET.
Meanwhile, the Minister in Paris has his four meals a day!
CYRANO.
He ought certainly to send you at least a partridge.
SAME CADET.
Why not? And some wine with it too!
CYRANO.
Richelieu, some Burgundy, if you please!
SAME CADET.
By one of his capuchins!
CYRANO.
The Grey Eminence is so intoxicating!
OTHER CADET.
I'm as hungry as a bear!
CYRANO.
Well, bear it![23]
FIRST CADET(shrugging his shoulders).
Forever words, a point!
CYRANO.
A point and words!'Tis true; and I should like to die—at eve,The sky aglow—as the defender ofA noble cause, a soldier and a poet too,With, on my lips, the thrill of daring words,And in my heart a sword's ennobling point!
ALL.
We're hungry!
CYRANO(crossing his arms).
So—you think of naught but food!Come up here, then, Bertrandou, with your fife.Seek shepherds' notes, and let these gluttons feastUpon some old and ne'er forgotten tuneEach sound of which is like a sister's voice;An air that slowly winds its way aloft,As does the smoke from lowly cottage roofs,A lay of youth, of waiting hearts and home!
(Bertrandou prepares his fife.)
Let fife a while forget the battle note,Remembering that it was born a reed.
(Bertrandou begins playing some Gascony airs.)
Ye Gascons, list! 'Tis war no more, but peace.'Tis hill and dale, 'tis wood and meadow-land,With red-capped lads beside their gentle herds;'Tis smiling riverbank and sunny sea.O Gascons, hark! You are in Gascony!
(All have bowed their heads and are dreaming: many brush away a tear.)
CARBON(to Cyrano, aside).
But, instead of giving them courage, you make them weep!
CYRANO.
I've made them homesick!.... A noble sort of suffering .... nobler than hunger. It is a comfort to see their pain change organs, and pass from their stomachs to their hearts!
CARBON.
But you will weaken them!
CYRANO(motioning to a drummer to come up).
Never mind! The heroes' blood that is in them will soon arouse them!
(He motions to the drummer, who begins beating his drum.)
ALL THE CADETS(rushing to their arms).
Hey!.... What?.... What is it?....
CYRANO(smiling, to Carbon).
You see that, at the sound of the drum, dreams, longings, thoughts of home, of love,....all fly away. What comes by the fife goes by the drum.[24]
A CADET(from the rear).
Ha! ha! here is Monsieur de Guiche!
ALL THE CADETS(murmuring).
Hou....
CYRANO(smiling).
Quite complimentary!
A CADET.
He is a bore, with his lace collar over his armour. He comes here to exhibit himself!
OTHER CADET.
As if lace were in keeping with iron!
OTHER CADET.
Good if one has a boil on his neck!
OTHER CADET.
Too much of the courtier!
OTHER CADET.
The nephew of his uncle, the Cardinal.
CARBON.
And still he's a Gascon!
FIRST CADET.
Not a true one!....Beware! Because Gascons, you know, must be madcaps. There is nothing more dangerous than a reasonable Gascon.
LE BRET.
How pale he is!
A CADET.
He is hungry.... Just as much as we poor devils. But his breastplate gives a lustre to his cramps!
CYRANO(quickly).
We should not appear to suffer more than he does! Here! all of you, take up your cards, your pipes and your dice....
(They all rapidly begin playing, on benches, drums, or on their cloaks spread out on the ground, meanwhile lighting long pipes.)
.... and I ... will read Descartes.
(He walks up and down, reading a small book that he has taken out of his pocket.—Tableau.—Guiche enters; everybody seems busy and satisfied. He is very pale; goes up to Carbon.)
The same,GUICHE.
GUICHE(to Carbon).
Ha! Good morning!
(Aside, after looking at Carbon, with satisfaction). His face is green!
CARBON(aside).
There is nothing left of him but his eyes.
GUICHE(looking at the Cadets).
So, here are these soreheads!.... Yes, gentlemen, I understand that I am jeered at plentifully here; that cadets, nobility and gentry, barons all, are not over-burdened with respect for their Colonel; that they charge me with intrigue and court-flattery, that my lace collar over my breastplate is an eye-sore to them,—and that it is distressing to them to find that one can be a Gascon and still not out at the elbow!
(Silence. The Cadets continue to play and smoke.)
Shall I have you punished by your Captain? No.
CARBON.
Well, I am free and I punish only....
GUICHE.
Ah!....
CARBON.
I paid for my company, and it belongs to me. I obey only to war commands.
GUICHE.
Ah!.... Well, that is sufficient.
(speaking to the Cadets).
I can afford to scorn your bluster. Everybody knows how I behave under fire. Even yesterday, there were enough witnesses to the spirit with which I routed Count de Bucquoi; leading my people against his men like an avalanche, I charged him three successive times!
CYRANO(without lifting his eyes from his book).
How about your white scarf?
GUICHE(surprised and satisfied).
You know of this trifle?.... True, it happened, while I was circling to gather my people for the third charge, that a party of runaways forced me too close to the enemy; I was in danger of being taken or shot, when, happily, I bethought me to untie and to drop the scarf that told my rank. In this way, and without attracting notice, I managed to get away from the Spaniards, and to turn back upon them with all my men, beating them terribly!—Now, what do you say to this?
(The Cadets affect not to listen, but they have stopped playing, and they hold back the smoke of their pipes. A wait.)
CYRANO.
I say that Henry IV, even surrounded by a host of foes, never would have consented to diminish himself by casting off his plume of snowy white.
(Silent joy. Playing and smoking are resumed.)
GUICHE.
The device was successful, however!
(Playing and smoking again suspended.)
CYRANO.
Possibly! But who would abdicate the honour of being a target?
(Playing and smoking resumed. Growing satisfaction.)
Had I been present when the scarf slipped off,—see how ideas of bravery can vary, Sir,—I should have picked it up and put it on.
GUICHE.
Yes, Gascon boasting again!
CYRANO.
Boasting?.... Lend it to me. I offer to hang it on my shoulder and, this very night, to scale with it the enemy's fortifications.
GUICHE.
A Gascon's offer! You know full well that the scarf remained on the enemy's ground, near the river Scarpe, a place so well covered by Spanish guns that nobody can venture there to get it!
CYRANO(taking a white scarf from his pocket and handing it to Guiche).
Here it is!
(Silence. The Cadets restrain their laughter and affect to be very busy playing. Guiche turns and looks at them; they assume an air of great gravity; one of them, in an absent-minded way, half whistles one of the airs the fife played a while before.)
GUICHE(taking the scarf).
Thank you! I can use this white fabric to make a signal,—that I hesitated to give.
(He goes to the embankment and waves the scarf several times.)
ALL.
What is this?
THE SENTINEL(on the embankment).
A man, over there, who is running away!....
GUICHE(coming down from the embankment).
One who plays the part of a Spanish spy. He is very useful to us; takes over to the enemy information that I give him, so that we can influence their decision.
CYRANO.
He is a blackguard!
GUICHE(slowly tying on his scarf).
Yes, but a great convenience. What were we saying?.... Ah!.... I was going to apprise you of something. Last night, in a desperate attempt to revictual us, the Marshal left for Dourlens; he took with him so many men that an attack upon us just now would certainly be successful. Half of the army is away from the camp!
CARBON.
But the Spanish do not know of it.
GUICHE.
Yes, they do. They are going to attack us. My false spy came to tell me of it. He added: "I can have the attack made wherever you prefer." I answered: "Good. Leave the camp and watch it. The point to attack will be the one from which I make a signal to you."
CARBON(to the Cadets).
Gentlemen, make ready!
(The Cadets rise and busy themselves preparing for the fight.)
GUICHE.
The attack will take place in an hour from now.
A FEW CADETS.
Oh!.... that is different!
(They sit down and resume playing.)
GUICHE(to Carbon).
You must gain time, pending the Marshal's return.
CARBON.
And, in order to gain time, what shall we do?
GUICHE.
You will have the goodness to get killed, all of you, in defense of the camp.
CYRANO.
Ah! this is his vengeance!
GUICHE.
I will not pretend that, if I loved you, I should have selected you; but, as your bravery has no equal, by using you I am serving my king as well as my ill-will.
CYRANO.
Allow me, Sir, to be thankful for the honour.
GUICHE.
Oh! I know that you love to fight one against a hundred. You certainly cannot complain, then, that I leave you inactive.
(He goes toward the rear with Carbon.)
CYRANO(to the Cadets).
Well, then we will add to the Gascon coat of arms, proud of its six chevrons of azure and gold, gentlemen, another chevron, still lacking, one of blood!
(Guiche speaks, aside, with Carbon in the rear. Orders are given. Preparations against attack. Cyrano goes up to Christian, who has remained motionless with folded arms.)
CYRANO(placing his hand on Christian's shoulder).
Christian!
CHRISTIAN(shaking his head).
Roxane.
CYRANO.
Alas!
CHRISTIAN.
At least, I should like to condense all the loving farewells of my heart into a beautiful letter!....
CYRANO.
I thought it might be for to-day, and....
(He draws a letter from his doublet)
.... I have written your farewell.
CHRISTIAN.
Let me see!....
CYRANO.
You desire to?....
CHRISTIAN(taking the letter).
Yes, certainly!
(He opens the letter, reads, and stops.)
What is this?....
CYRANO.
What?
CHRISTIAN.
This little round spot?....
CYRANO(taking the letter and looking at it with an air of innocence).
A little round spot?....
CHRISTIAN.
Yes, a tear!
CYRANO.
Oh!.... Yes!.... we poets are caught in our own trap, through the swing of our art. You understand.... this letter,—was heart-rending; I drew tears from my own eyes as I was writing it.
CHRISTIAN.
Tears?....
CYRANO.
Yes.... because.... to die is not so terrible .... but ....never to see her again, that is the torture! for the fact is, I shall never....
(Christian looks at him.)
We shall never....
(Quickly).
You shall never....
CHRISTIAN(snatching the letter from him).
Give me the letter!
(A murmur is heard in the rear.)
A SENTINEL.
Ventrebieu! who goes there?
(A few musket shots. Voices. Sound of carriage bells.)
CARBON.