First Mask.Who is the clown?Second Mask.Don't know.Third Mask.The Cardinal?First Mask.Don't know.Second Mask.The Punchinello?Third Mask.I don't know.Fourth Mask.It's too delicious.Fifth Mask.All incognito.The Punchinello.[To a lady in a domino.]Your ear—The Domino.What for?The Punchinello.Ah, hush! My secret!First Mask.Watteau—The Punchinello.[To anotherDomino.]Your ear—First Mask.Would have delighted in these figures—The Domino.[To thePunchinello.]What for?The Punchinello.Ah, hush! My secret!First Mask.And these ruins.Another Mask.All is uncertain, tremulous, and vague—Our hearts, the music, moonbeams, and the water.Metternich.And so, dear Attaché of the French Embassy,Here I've contrived half-darkness and half-silence,And yonder in the music and the lightThe ball—The Attaché.It's really—Metternich.Rather good, I think.This way—The Attaché.You condescend to be my guide?Metternich.Dear friend, I'm prouder of this little ball,Of having mingled all these courtly perfumesWith the wild odors of the midnight woods,Than ever of the Congress of Verona.That is the vestiary and the way outSo that in leaving you may find at onceYour Polish mantle or your overcoat.Lastly, the theatre which I've contrivedOn yonder bowling-green, near Cupid's fountain,Where, in a set-piece made of natural foliage,Some princely amateurs will play "MichelAnd"—I don't know—some dainty little pieceBy a French author: Eugène—what's-his-name?The Attaché.And—supper?Metternich.Here.The Attaché.What?Metternich.Every box will blossomWith snowy tablecloths and golden dishes.The Attaché.The orange-trees?Metternich.My own idea. They'll bringAll they can find. Under each leafy ballTwo couples will be seated, starved and laughing.The Attaché.Supper in short at separate orange-trees?Splendid.Metternich.Why, yes.—And as for grave affairs—[To aLackey.]Tell them to play no more Slavonic dances—[To theAttaché.]I do not put them off. Not I. I leaveEre supper-time to meet the Hospodars—They are awaiting me—[To aLackey.]Those wreaths are skimpy.My hobby's organizing balls like this;And when the revelry is at its highestBack to the everlasting Eastern Question!I love to rule a people and a ball:The Arbiter of Europe—The Attaché.And its elegance!Gentz.Arbiter Elegantiarum!Metternich.Ah,You're talking Latin; you've been drinking?Gentz.Rum.Metternich.Fanny has kept you very late at table;Oh, thisliaison!you're as good as lost.Gentz.What? I and Fanny? Off.Metternich.What?Gentz.Off.Metternich.[Seeing the Prefect of Police.]Sedlinzky.Sedlinzky.One word.Gentz.[ToMetternich.]It's off.[To aDomino.]'Twas wrong to bring you, Fanny.If they discovered you! What an imprudence!A public dancer!Fanny.Oh, I'll dance discreetly.Gentz.They'll find you out. For heaven's sake be clumsy.Metternich.A plot?Sedlinzky.Yes; for the Duke!—and at this ball!Metternich.[Lightly.]Here! you alarm me!Gentz.Be an angel, Fanny,And tell me why you wished to come.Fanny.Caprice.Metternich.I fear the Duke no more. I've killed his pride.And he's in mourning for it. He'll not come.Sedlinzky.But there's a plot!Metternich.Bah!Sedlinzky.Women—Metternich.Featherbrains.Sedlinzky.No! Noble ladies.Metternich.Really?Sedlinzky.Poles and Greeks:Princess Grazalcowitch.Metternich.Grazalcowitch!That's terrible![To aLackey.]Pray let me have a sandwich.Sedlinzky.You laugh?—Hush!—Here they come. They've fled the lightAnd seek a nook to whisper in.[Enter severalDominos.]One of the Dominos.My dear,How sweet it is to run a risk for his sake.Second Domino.Let us conspire!Third Domino.His hair's such lovely auburn.Fourth Domino.It's like a pretty little halo, dear,Through which a regal crown is dimly seen.Fifth Domino.He has a doubly-fascinating charm:—A fair Napoleon! Hamlet dressed in white!First Domino.Let us conspire!Second Domino.First, I suggest we orderA golden bee from Stieger in Vienna.Another Domino.Vienna! Why? Thatwouldbe idiotic!We'll have it made by Odiot in Paris.Fourth Domino.I move we always wear with every dressA very striking bunch of violets.First Domino.That's it, Princess!Another Domino.And let us risk returningTo Empire fashions.Second Domino.For evening: not for day.Third Domino.Dear, don't forget the horrible short waists.All.And all the puffs!—and ruches!—Dearest!Metternich.Ladies—All.Good heavens!Metternich.Go on with your delicious plotting.Conspire! conspire! Ha-ha![He goes out, laughing heartily.]First Domino.And nowThat thanks to idle chatter we've removedWhatever doubts Sedlinzky had aroused,We'll prove that after female MachiavellisThe Metternichest Metternich's a baby.All.Yes!First Domino.Each remembers what she has to do?All.Yes!First Domino.Mingle with the dances.Several Masks.[Pursuing another.]He's so funny!A Mask.It must be Sandor!Another.No! it's Fürstenberg!Another.And who's the bear, dancing to Schubert's waltz?A Mask.What's sad Elvira's dress? A star?Gentz.A night-light.A Mask.Thecla, the hypocrite—?Gentz.Disguised as Truth.Tiburtius.[Entering withTheresa.]Not gone to Parma, sister?Theresa.No. To-morrow.The Duchess put it off to see this ball.[Pointing to a Domino who passes at the backaccompanied by a Mask.]She's yonder with Bombelles: the greenish cape.Tiburtius.I'm glad you're going, forNoblesse oblige;I couldn't stand much more of those asidesBetween the little Bonaparte and you.Theresa.What?Tiburtius.'Tis our glory that our ancestorsHave not been over-prudish with our kings;It is no fall to pick up handkerchiefsWhen on the handkerchief a lily's broidered.But honor never will accept a ragWhich bears the Bonapartist weed and hornet,Woe to the Ogre's brat—!Theresa.What!Tiburtius.If he touched you!Theresa.You use expressions, brother—Tiburtius.They are warnings.A Bear.[Passing with a Chinese woman.]How do you know I am a diplomat?The Chinese Woman.Why, by the skilful way you hide your claws.The Attaché.[PursuingFanny.]Is there no way of knowing who you are?Now, are you English?Fanny.Ja.The Attaché.Or German?Fanny.Oui.Prokesch.[Entering with theDuke.]My Lord, is not the ball beyond compare?The Punchinello.[To aDomino.]Your ear—!The Domino.What for?The Punchinello.My secret! Hush![To anotherDomino.]Your ear!Prokesch.This corner's charming, given up to shadows—The Chinese Woman.[To theBear.]What are you carrying on your arm?The Bear.My nose-ring.Prokesch.Charming, those scattered blocks, the broken god,The ivied urn, and, in its frame of stone,Yonder the water. It is like—The Duke.A mirror!Prokesch.What had Prince Metternich to say last night?[Seeing theDukeunmask.]You take your mask off?The Duke.And, alas, that's allA stone.Prokesch.What for?The Duke.To cast into the pond—All's vanished. Only circles on the water.Prokesch.You are depressed, and yet to-night the plotMust come to a head if I may trust the symptoms.These lines were slipped into my hand this morning:[He takes a note out of his pocket.]"Ask him to be there early, and to wearHis uniform beneath a violet cloak."The Duke.Oh, 'twere too criminal—Prokesch.The note—The Duke.The noteIs from a woman anxious not to miss me.I've taken her advice, for I am hereOnly for love's adventure.Prokesch.No!The Duke.That's all.Prokesch.But then—the plot?The Duke.Oh, 'twere too criminal,Dear country, made of sunshine and of laughter,To raise upon the high seat of thy gloryA child of night, misfortune, and the Escurial!What if, when I were seated there, the past,Plunging its yellow hands into my soul,With hideous claws unearthed some ancestor:Some Rudolph or some Philip? Ah! I dreadLest at the humming of Imperial beesThe monster sleeping in me should awake.Prokesch.[Laughing.]Prince, this is madness!The Duke.[With a shudder and a look which makesProkeschstart back with horror.]Madness! Do you think so?Prokesch.Good heavens!The Duke.Buried in their fastnesses,Cowering in Bohemia or Castile,Each had his madness. What is mine to be?Come! We'll decide! You see I am resigned.'Tis time to choose—and I have choice enough:My thoughtful forebears left a catalogue!Shall I be melomaniac or astrologer?Catch birds, bend o'er alembics, mumble prayers?Prokesch.Too well I see what Metternich has done!The Duke.Grandfather, shall I carry on your greatHerbarium, where the hellebore is missing?Or shall I, living, play at being dead?Which ancestor will godfather my madness?The living-dead, the alchemist, or bigot?You see, they took their madness rather sadly,But mingled perfumes make a novel scent;My brain, mixed of these gloomy brains, may startSome pretty little madness of its own.Come! What shall my peculiar madness be?By heavens! My instincts, conquered till to-day,Make it quite simple: I'll be mad with love!I'll love and love, and crush, with bitter hate,This Austrian lip under a passionate kiss!Prokesch.Prince!The Duke.As Don Juan I am all my race!Snarer of hearts, astrologer of eyes;I'll have herbaria full of blighted names,And the philosopher's stone I seek is love!Prokesch.My Lord!The Duke.Why, if you think of it, dear friend,Napoleon's son, Don Juan, is strict logic.The soul's the same: ever dissatisfied;The same unceasing lust of victory.Oh splendid blood another has corrupted,Who, striving to be Cæsar, was not able;Thy energy is not all dead within me.A misbegotten Cæsar is Don Juan!Yes, 'tis another way of conquering;Thus I shall know that fever of the heartWhich Byron tells us kills whom it devours;And 'tis a way of being still my father.Napoleon or Don Juan!—They're decision,The magic will, and the seductive grace.When to retake a great unfaithful land,Calm and alone, sure of himself and her,The adventurer landed in the Gulf of Juan,He felt Don Juan's thrill; and when Don JuanPricked a new conquest in his list of loves,Did he not feel the pride of Bonaparte?And, after all, who knows whether 'tis greaterTo conquer worlds, or be a moment loved?So be it? 'Tis well the legend closes thus,And thatthisconqueror is the other's son.I'm the fair shadow of the dusky hero,And, as he conquered nations, one by one,So will I conquer women, one by one.Moonbeams shall be my sun of Austerlitz!Prokesch.Ah, silence! for your irony's too bitter.The Duke.Oh, yes; I know. I hear the spectres crying—Blue-coated spectres torn along the whirlwind—"Well? What about the Imperial tale of triumph?Our toil? our wounds? our glory?—What aboutThe snow, the blood, the history, the deadWe left on all the fields of victory?What will you do with these?"—I'll charm the ladies!It's fine, among the people in the Prater,To ride a horse that cost three thousand florins,Which one can christen Jena. AusterlitzIs a sure bait to catch a fair coquette.Prokesch.You'll never have the heart to use it thus.The Duke.Why, yes; why, yes, my friend. And in my scarf—For 'tis a thing looks well upon a lover—I'll wear a dainty eaglet for a pin.There's music!—Now, O Cæsar's son, you're butMozart's Don Juan! Nay, not even Mozart's!Strauss's! I'll waltz; for now I must becomeCharming and useless: Austrian fancy-goods!My aunt?—Why—!Prokesch.Oh, not that!The Duke.I want to see—[Prokeschgoes out.]The Duke.How deep the linden's perfume is to-night.The Archduchess.Notice my salver. I'm so proud of it.The Duke.You represent?The Archduchess.The "Chocolate-girl," the famousPicture in Dresden.The Duke.[Affectedly.] Cha'ming. But your chocolateMust be a nuisance.The Archduchess.No.The Duke.Do put it down.The Archduchess.Well, Franz? A little bit in love with life?The Duke.Glad to be nephew of a pretty aunt.The Archduchess.And I am glad to have so big a nephew.The Duke.Too pretty.The Archduchess.And too big.The Duke.For such a game.The Archduchess.What game?The Duke.The game of tender intimacy.The Archduchess.I fear your eyes to-night—!The Duke.But I love yours!The Archduchess.Ah, now I see! As all the court is masked,Even friendship wears the domino of love.The Duke.Oh friendship—auntie with a cousin's eyes—Friendship and love are always much too near'Twixt aunts and nephews, god-sons and god-mothers—Oh! do but smell the fragrance of the lindens!—'Twixt pretty chocolate-girls and officers,And frontier incidents are bound to happen.The Archduchess.Our friendship's lost its bloom.The Duke.I dearly loveThis sentiment one cannot understand,Where all's confused and mingled—The Archduchess.No, let be.[She moves away.]The Duke.Oh, if you put on airs of an Archduchess—!The Archduchess.Farewell; you've pained me deeply, Franz.[She goes.]The Duke.Ah, bah!Into our friendship I let fall a drop,And friendship turns to troubled love. I'll wait.[He seesTheresa.]Why! What is this? How comes it you are here?So you're not hastening toward the skies of Parma?And all this grass? What are you?Theresa."Little Brooklet."The Duke.Ah, yes, I know. An exile on his rock,My father had a brooklet for his friendTo drown the gaoler's voice, and that is whyAt Schönbrunn, which is my Saint Helena,My soul must not be left deprived of comfort.Having the gaoler I've the brooklet too.Theresa.But you will never stoop to look at me.The Duke.Because I dreamed of flying from my rock;But that's all over.Theresa.How?The Duke.All hope is gone.I wake from dreams.Theresa.You suffer?The Duke.Little BrookletMust give her murmuring freshness.Theresa.Here it is.The Duke.What if I trouble its waters?Theresa.Trouble them.The Duke.Come to the little house among the trees—My hunting lodge—to-night!Theresa.I am to come—!The Duke.Say neither yes nor no.—I'll wait—Theresa.Alas!The Duke.Think how unhappy I shall henceforth be!I've lost all hope of playing a great part;I can but weep; I need a heart to weep on.Away!A Mask.[Seeing a stout lady dressed as a shepherdess.]That shepherdess has eaten her flock!The Bear.If you'll but love me—The Chinese Woman.You will sell your skin?A Domino.[Passing onGentz'sarm.]The Viscount's here as Doge in grand dalmatic.Gentz.Then is the Baroness the Adriatic.The Duke.[Who has scribbled a note; to aLackey.]This for my lackeys. I shall not come in.I'm sleeping at the hunting-lodge. Make haste!Let me have word they've read and understood.The Lackey.Nought else, my Lord?The Duke.To-morrow the bay mare.Fanny Elssler.His uniform beneath a—The Duke.[Turning.]Violet cloak.Prokesch! I said your note was from a woman!Fanny.[Pointing to theAttaché,who has followed her.]Let me get rid of this importunate mask.And I'll come back.The Duke.I'll wait. 'Tis fate. I yield.I'll love, with stormy April in my heart.I'll love—like these—like all!Bombelles.[Who has come in withMaria Louisa.She sits on the stone bench.]Was he in love?Maria Louisa.What! must you still be harping on him?Bombelles.Yes.The Duke.My mother and Bombelles—!Bombelles.Speak!Maria Louisa.I don't know.He was intimidated in my presence.Even on his throne, beneath his golden laurels,He felt his inequality of birth;And then, to keep a countenance, he'd call meHis "Good Louisa." Yes! such shocking taste!For I love sentiment. I am a woman.Bombelles.And queen of all!Maria Louisa.A little thing I saidWhen Saint Aulaire came to my room at BloisWith news of his disasters, made them furious.I was in bed. My naked foot peeped out,And, lying on the polished wood, as ifThomire had carved it, seemed at once to turnThe Medicean bed into an Empire bed.And seeing the Envoy furtively look down,I smiled and said, "You're looking at my foot."And so he was. In spite of all misfortunes,Indeed the man was looking at my foot.Was this coquettish? Well, what of it? Heavens!Where was the crime if I remained a woman?For, after all, amid the crash of France,The beauty of my foot hadsomeimportance!The Duke.Would I could fly! but I am glued to the spot!Bombelles.What's the grey pebble in your bracelet?Maria Louisa.That?Ah, I can never see it without tears.That is a fragment—Bombelles.Of the Pyramids?Maria Louisa.What nonsense! 'Tis a fragment of the tombWhere Juliet sleeps beside her Romeo—I had this souvenir—Bombelles.For pity's sakeDon't mention Neipperg!Maria Louisa.If he irritates you,Why speak about the first?Bombelles.That's different,But did you love him?Maria Louisa.Whom?Bombelles.The—first.Maria Louisa.Again?Bombelles.So great a man! You must—Maria Louisa.Oh, as for that,No man is ever loved because he's great.Let's talk of him no more: let's talk of us.Will you like Parma?Bombelles.Tell me, was he jealous?Maria Louisa.So much so that he drove away Leroy,Because the poor man-milliner cried outWith admiration when he saw my shoulders,While trying on a peplum.Bombelles.Then Napoleon—Maria Louisa.Oh, hush!Bombelles.Would not have liked to hear me sayHow fair they are? Would not have liked—Maria Louisa.Bombelles!Bombelles.To hear me whisper to your Majesty—The Duke.Father, forgive me for the things I hear!Bombelles.That you are like our own Arlesian maidsBut, ah! how much more beautiful!—Maria Louisa.Oh, Charles!Bombelles.Would not have liked to see me bend and press—-The Duke.[Breaking in upon them.]Not that! I will not have it! I forbid you!—Thank God, I'm saved!Maria Louisa.Franz!The Duke.For this cry, this movementWere not my own. Within me still remainsA reverence for my mother and her freedom!'Twas he—'Twas he by whom my soul's possessed,Who sprang upon you with this tragic force!Thank God! I'm saved! The Corsican leapt out!Bombelles.Sir—!The Duke.Nothing, sir![ToMaria Louisa.]My humble duty, Madam!Return to Sala, spend your days in peace.The castle has two wings, as I am told:One is a theatre and one a chapel.Thus dwelling in the middle, you shall feelEvenly balanced 'twixt the world and God.My humble duty!Maria Louisa.Franz!The Duke.Why, truly, Madam,It's your prerogative to be mere woman.Go, be a woman in the Sala palace;But tell yourself, Ah! tell yourself—and thisShall be your sad atonement for his glory,Widow who cast aside her widow's weeds!—Tell yourself this: Men only gaze upon youFor the immortal fame he robed you in,And only whisper praises of your beautyBecause of old he conquered all the world!Maria Louisa.I'll hear no more! Bombelles, let us begone!The Duke.Return to Sala. I am saved. Thank God!Maria Louisa.Farewell!The Duke.O hands, cold hands within the tomb,Sad hands because the Imperial ring slipped from you,Hands that have held her brow who years agoShed bitter tears that I was not her son,Hands laid in blessing on my orphaned soul,Weeping I kiss you, hands of Josephine!Maria Louisa.The Creole! Do you think at Malmaison—?The Duke.Silence! If it be true, all the more reason!All the more reason why I should be faithful![Maria LouisaandBombellesgo out.][EnterMetternichandSedlinzky.]Metternich.[ToSedlinzky.]Yes, yes; I humbled that rebellious child![He sees theDuke.]You here? And in this uniform? What means?The Duke.Were we not asked to come here in—disguise?Sedlinzky.The pride your Excellency broke last nightEven in its fragments keeps its insolence.[To theDuke.]What are you dreaming of, far from the ball,My little Colonel?The Duke.Of my Little Corporal!Metternich.[On the point of breaking out.]Oh, I—[Mastering himself.]But I must go to my despatches.'Tis all to do again![He andSedlinzkygo out.][EnterFanny Elssler.]Fanny.Prince!The Duke.No! that woman!I will not—!Fanny.[Unmasking.]Fly?The Duke.[Recognising her.]Fanny!Fanny.The plot!The Duke.What's that?Fanny.I'm in it. Let me tell you—The Duke.Ah!Fanny.Look innocent.Sit down. Pretend you're very much in love.You on the rock. I on the Neptune's head.[Speaking to the stone head.]May I sit down, good Neptune?The Stone Head.If you like.Only I warn you, it's all over ants.Fanny.Lord! Neptune's talking!The Duke.[Understanding and remembering.]Ah! beneath the ivy!Flambeau.The entrance to my cavern through an ant-heap.The Duke.You! Flambeau!Flambeau.In the cave of Rob—Masks.Ho hi!Fanny.Hush! Masks!Masks.Oh, very funny![They pass out.]Flambeau.—inson Crusoe!The Duke.What! Since last night?Flambeau.Oh, yes; I smoke my pipe—The Duke.There in the hole?Flambeau.You copied from the beggarWho first invented bearskins, so they say,And had a funny Mameluke called Friday.The Duke.I cannot find the spot.Flambeau.It's on the right.Here, where I blow a cloud out of my pipe.Fanny.The small Vesuvius!The Duke.You must be—Flambeau.Uncomfortable.But then—I said you'd find me at the ball.Fanny.If they should catch us talking to a smoke!Flambeau.Ouch!The Duke.What's the matter?Flambeau.An attack of ants.Since yesterday we've had the bloodiest battles.Fanny.But—Flambeau.They outnumber me, but I've tobacco,I blow a blast—The Duke.You bring your heavy guns?Flambeau.May I lift up my rock a bit?The Duke.Yes.Flambeau.[SeeingMasksapproaching.]Nuns!The Duke and Fanny.Hush!Flambeau.Now I look as if I took the airOn the tomb's balcony.The Duke.And in the moonBeside the urn, uplifting thus the stone,You're rising to the ghostly night-review.Flambeau.I'm very hungry.Fanny.Hush!The Duke.[To someServantswho enter bearing dishes.]What's that you carry?[TheServantsstop. TheDuketakes a little ofeverything.]Thank you.Fanny.[Stopping them.]One moment.[She takes what is left. TheServantspass out.]The Duke.[GivingFlambeauthe cakes.]Take them.Flambeau.Enough.My strength returns.[ToFanny.]Explain. We've little time.Fanny.[Nervously.]Well, then—the Countess—she is here—the Countess—That's how my nerve goes when I have to dance—She wears beneath a russet cloak your uniform,With which the Eaglet's turned into a sea-mew.She was already like you in the face,But since she's dyed her sable tresses fairYour glass could not distinguish you from her.So, while they play their "Michel and Christine,"You'll change your mantle quickly with your cousin—The Duke.Put on a mask—!Fanny.And disappear like magic!The Duke.My double takes my place—Fanny.And openlyLeaves the assembly—The Duke.Sets me free of spies—Fanny.Goes home to Schönbrunn—The Duke.Locks the door with care—Fanny.Forgets to wake—The Duke.Till I am miles away.Only—Fanny.What "only" is there?The Duke.Quite a big one.Suppose the false Duke's spoken to?Fanny.Impossible.It's all stage-managed like a ballet. LadiesWill flutter round him, keep intruders off,And as a ball from racket flies to racketHell pass from hand to hand until he's safe.Masks.[Running across at the back.]Who is the wolf? Wow! Wow! Who is the bear? There! There!Fanny.You leave the Gardens—The Duke.By the Hietzing gate—Fanny.No.The Duke.Where, then?Fanny.Listeners. I fan myself.Glance at your humble servant's pretty fan.The Duke.What for?Fanny.I've drawn a sketch-map of the park.Observe the road; it's red; it makes a bend;Do you see? The little squares of white are statues;The little dots of apple-green are trees;Thus you elude the evil-minded spies;Turn to the left; pass by the pheasantry—The Duke.What are the scratches?Fanny.Where the hill goes up.Then you go down again; pass by the TritonAnd come out Emperor at this little gate.All clearly understood?—I shut my fan.The Duke.Emperor!Flambeau.That's right. Get out your robes and crown!Don't go so fast!The Duke.What's at the gate?Fanny.A cab.The Duke.A cab?Fanny.With spanking horses; have no fear.The Duke.Where does it take me?Fanny.To the rendezvous.The Duke.Where's that?Fanny.Out of your way, but so the CountessWould have it:—Wagram.The Duke.What a Bonaparte!Fanny.Well? Are you pleased?The Duke.Dear little Tanagra,I'll recompense your zeal—Fanny.Ungrateful monster!The Duke.And Prokesch?Fanny.He'll be waiting for you there.The Duke.The only man whose eye we had to fear—Prince Metternich—has left. All will go well.Flambeau.Metternich gone! You never said a word!The Duke.Well—Flambeau.And you let me catch my death, beneathThis beastly urn—!Fanny.Masks coming!Masks.Sandor! Zichy!It's Thalberg!—Never!—Thalberg is a Turk!It's Cocica!—Not he!—He's fled!—Oh! catch him!Flambeau.Gone?The Duke and Fanny.Gone.Flambeau.[Emerging, dressed as in the previous act.]Then—The Duke and Fanny.Are you mad?Flambeau.We'll shut the trap.The Duke.But if they see you—!Fanny.Vanish! This is frightful!The Duke.What will they say?Flambeau.I'll tell you what they'll say—Masks.[SeeingFlambeau.]And this one! Oh! a veteran of the Empire!Flambeau.[To theDuke.]Well, there you are, you see! That's what they'll say.Masks.Capital! Capital!Flambeau.I take my ease.A Mask.[To another.]Come and admire the veteran!The Other.First rate!Third Mask.Look at his earrings!Fourth Mask.And his bushy eyebrows!Flambeau.But how shall I get out without a cloak?Fanny.Here's Gentz's ticket: such a handsome mantle.A Mask.Hail, Veteran!Flambeau.The honor's mine.[TheUsherenters, followed byServantswhopush on orange-trees, the boxes laid as tables.]The Usher.Make room!The Lackey.[Who took theDuke'snote.]They understand, my Lord. The hunting-lodge.Fanny.What's that?The Duke.I had forgotten. I gave orders—I was to spend the night there. Warn the Countess.Run! Run and say 'tis thither she must go![Fannygoes out quickly.]
The Duke de Reichstadt Francesco Duc de Reichstadt
A Mask.[ToFlambeau.]Well, Sergeant? So you served—Flambeau.The gr-reat—Several Masks.[Laughing.]The gr-reat!Flambeau.They didn't laugh when we were quartered on 'em!Exclamations.A picture by Raffet!—Charlet!—Vernet!Several Masks.How worn his coat is!—And how singed!—And dusty!—Who's your costumier?—Tell us!Flambeau.They are ladies:—The ancient firm of War and Victory Sisters.A Mask.That's good.Flambeau.It's not the firm you patronize.First Mask.I'll swear it's Zichy.Offering his hand.]Count, your hand.Flambeau.[Blowing a puff of smoke in his face.]Get out.First Mask.[Going out, to the others.]He's masked his language as he's masked his face.Flambeau.[Singing.]When we marched to Krasnoï,Cold and hungry, too, were we!A Mask.He's really excellent. In Russia, old 'un,'Twas pretty cold?Flambeau.Yes; till we gave 'em hell.[Sings.]By Jingo, but it keeps you warmMerely to see his uniform!A Mask.His uniform wants patching now, though; what?Flambeau.So did your breeches when he'd kicked you; what?Several.Ha! Very funny!First Mask.Natural.Second Mask.Exact.Third Mask..But doubtful taste.The Usher.The comedy's begun!Fanny.[To theDuke.]I'm back again. The Countess understands.Flambeau.[ToTheresa.]Will you accept a veteran's arm?Theresa.No.Flambeau.Why?Theresa.I'm leaving, sir. Apart from that, I'm French,And see no humor in a parodyOf heroes whom by chance you conquered.Flambeau.You—Ah! I adore you![She runs away. Just as she is disappearing theDukemakes a movement toward her.]The Duke.Ah!—the tryst.Theresa.The tryst—?The Duke.No—nothing.[Theresapasses on.]She must keep it. She must showWhether she would have been sublimely weak,And given herself unthinking—without hope—Only because she saw me sad to-night.Fanny.[ToFlambeau.]Watch where they've got to in the comedy.[Flambeaugoes to the entrance of the theatre.][To theDuke.]The time has come.Flambeau.All eyes are running overWith grief for Stanislas, the mournful Pole.Fanny.Here is the Countess, Duke.The Duke.My very image!I'm coming toward myself as in a glass.[TheCountess Camerataenters, dressed exactlylike theDuke,with the exception of hercloak, which is brown.]The Countess.Well met, Napoleon!The Duke.And Napoleone!The Countess.I'm very calm—and you?The Duke.I see the risksYou'll run for my sake.The Countess.Not for your sake.The Duke.Ah?The Countess.No! For the name, the glory, and our blood!The Duke.You bravely clash your arms, fair Amazon!The Countess.The deed were nothing, were it done for love.The Duke.Speaking of love, if, when you've taken my placeIn yonder hunting-lodge, by any chanceA woman came—The Countess.Ah! I felt sure of it!The Duke.Tell her about my flight—and swear to me—Flambeau.[At the entrance to the theatre, describing the play.]The soldier holds his tongue!The Countess.Good.Flambeau.Doesn't murmur.The Duke.Swear you will tell me later if she comes.The Countess.Thinking of hearts, when Empire is at hand!The Duke.It is because I mount a throne to-morrowI lay such value on a heart to-night.O God! to feel respect in every kiss,Snares in avowals, in embraces dread,And in fair eyes, more dazzled than in love,See laurel-wreaths about me as on coins!I was to pluck my last real love to-night!Flambeau.[As before.]He's telling them about his pocket-book.The Duke.I would she kept this white and spotless tryst,She who has not yet studied to dissemble;'Twere well she came, for nevermore, perchance,Whatever later trysts I yet may keep,Shall I be waiting with such eager love,As at the tryst to-night I may not keep.The Countess.I find your Highness very deeply stirred.The Duke.Less than I shall be if you say "She came."Flambeau.[As before.]We must make haste, for with his eyes turned up,He's singing something to his colonel.The Countess.Change!Flambeau.Wait for the signal. Have no fear; I'm watching.Attention! By the magic of my wand!The Countess.Think well! Perhaps you turn him into Cæsar!Flambeau.That's why my wand is fashioned of a ramrod.[Noise of people leaving the theatre.]They're coming! Now![TheDukeand theCountessexchange cloaks.]Masks and Dominos.[Entering.]They've dressed the orange-trees!All.Oh!Fanny.[To theDuke,pointing to theCountess.]There's our swarm of women buzzing round him.Ladies.[Around the falseDuke.]Prince!—Duke—! My Lord—! Your Highness—!Gentz.No one elseHas any chance to-night!Cries.[From the tables.]Sandor! Zichy! Mina!The Domino Called Mina.How did you know me?A Mask.By your opal necklace.Another Mask.We'll gather oranges for our dessert.A Lady.[To the falseDuke.]Duke—Masks.Danube sterlets! Caviar from the Volga![All are seated.]Gentz.[Rising, glass in hand.]Ladies and gentlemen—All.Hear! Hear!The Duke.Now comesThe trying moment.Gentz.I have filled this bumperIn honor—The Duke.She is going—Gentz.Of our friend,Who, having organized the feast, has left usAmid the music, flowers, delicious ices,To toil till dawn dictating his despatches.Fanny.How well she imitates your careless stride!Gentz.To the Prince-chancellor, Counsellor, Chamberlain,Ladies and gentlemen, drain brimming glasses!Metternich, Austrian Prince, Grandee of Spain,Duke of Portella, Lord of Daruvar—Fanny.She's coming forward! Look how calm she is!Gentz.Knight of Saint Ann—Fanny.He helps us with his chatter,And doesn't know it.Gentz.Knight o' the Swedish Seraphs,The Danish Elephant, the Golden Fleece—Flambeau.If Nepomuk has one or two more titles—Gentz.Curator of the Fine Arts, Czechish Magnate—The Duke.She's overdoing it: I move more quickly.Gentz.Bailiff of Malta—The Duke.Ha! She stops!Gentz.Grand CrossOf Charles the Third, the Falcon, Bear, and Lion—Phew—!The Archduchess.[To theladyseated next toGentz.]He's fainting! Fan him quickly, someone!Gentz.Fellow of all the Academies on earth—!All.Hurrah!Flambeau.And while they clash their glasses, Prince,She's starting—she has started—The Archduchess.[To the falseDuke.]Franz! Not going?The Duke.All's lost!Flambeau.Damnation!The Archduchess.[To the falseDuke.]Wait!The Duke.The ArchduchessKnew nothing of the plot—The Archduchess.You grieved me, Franz;Just now you—[She recognises theCountess.]Ah!The Duke.All's lost.The Archduchess.But—[Offering her hand to theCountess.]Well, good-night.The Countess.Ah, Madam—How—?The Archduchess.Why don't you kiss my hand?[TheCountessgoes out.]A Mask.The Duke already gone?Another.He's whimsical.The Duke.[Meaningly, to theArchduchess.]Your hand—as to the Duke?The Archduchess.Yes, gentle mask.Gentz.And now—Several.Again?Gentz.One word—-Voices.Oh, go ahead!Gentz.I wanted to complete my little toast,But while the Duke was here I couldn't nameThe proudest title Metternich can boast of;But now we're rid of him, I have the honor:—Ladies and gentlemen, here's the destroyerOf Bonaparte!All.Hurrah!—To the Destroyer!The Duke.[ToFlambeau.]What are you doing?Flambeau.[Who is pouring his wine into his gun-barrel.]Lest it might go off!A Mask.This Bonaparte—Second Mask.Wasn't marble.Third Mask.Stucco.The Duke.What!Flambeau.Have a care! An Empire is at stake!A Mask.Much overpraised—Flambeau.Take care!Tiburtius.A middling soldier,But then he rode a camel while in Egypt;What more do you want?A Mask.Gentz imitates him.Flambeau.Lord!Another Mask.Do it!Flambeau.[To theDuke.]Remember, you're not here at all!Gentz.[Arranging his hair, and striking the conventional attitude.]Curl—eye—hand—There!Flambeau.Old fool!The Duke.He mocks him, yetEven the mockery's great, for it evokes him.Tiburtius.You know he used to tumble off his horse?Flambeau.That's what the Ultras always said about him.A Mask.His talk was poor.Flambeau.Go on!The Duke.Oh, that's the rule.What could these worms and insects talk aboutIf they had not the eagle to abuse?Tiburtius.His name was not Napoleon at all.Flambeau.What!Tiburtius.That was manufactured. It's so simple!You want to make a sounding name—Flambeau.You idiot!Tiburtius.Which shall creep into history by and by:Take three bright, simple vowels: Na—po—le—And add a nasal sound: On—A Mask.Wonderful!Tiburtius.Yes: Na—po—le, the lightning; On, the thunder.Flambeau.That's all!A Mask.What was his name?Tiburtius.What? Don't you know?A Mask.Why, no.Tiburtius.His name was Nicholas.Flambeau.[Bursting out.]Be damned!Several Masks.[Laughing.]Bravo the Veteran!Gentz.[ToFlambeau.]Nicholas!—Have a quail.Flambeau.[Taking the dish.]But Nicholas was good at winning battles.A Mask.And what a funny court he scraped together!Second Mask.If you talked titles, pedigrees, precedence,There wasn't a soul who had a word to say.Flambeau.Wasn't Cambronne at Court to say the word?A Mask.But—in war—Flambeau.Oh—!Second Mask.What did he do?Another Mask.Why, wrote reports.A Mask.And always stood about on distant hills.Flambeau.By God—!The Duke.Hush!Tiburtius.Once a ball was good enoughTo wound him in the foot at Ratisbon:Enough to make a subject for a picture.Flambeau.[To theDuke.]Be calm—!The Duke.Be calm—!Flambeau.Just take away this knife.Tiburtius.In short—The Duke.He'd best be careful what he says.Flambeau.You must put up with it!The Duke.Not for an Empire!Tiburtius.In short this hero was—Flambeau.Take care! Take care!Tiburtius.He was a coward.The Duke.Oh!The French Attaché.No! That's a lie!All.Eh? What?Tiburtius.What's that?All.Who spoke?Gentz.I love a quarrel!Flambeau.Aha! Thank God, there was a man among them!Tiburtius.Who dared—?The Attaché.I dared, sir!Gentz.He's the AttachéOf the French Embassy.Tiburtius.Youchallengeme!You represent the King, sir!Gentz.Quite amusing!The Attaché.The King is not in question, but my country.You are insulting France, when you insultThe man she loved through many glorious years.Tiburtius.Buonaparte—The Attaché.Please say Bonaparte.Tiburtius.Well, Bonaparte—The Attaché.The Emperor!Tiburtius.Your card?Flambeau.[Who has disappeared for a moment, and has come back cloaked.]Come! I've got Gentz's cloak. It's lined with fur.[Tiburtiusand theAttachéhave exchangedcards.Tiburtiussteps forward and nervouslylights a cigar.]Tiburtius.[To aLackey.]A light.The Lackey.You hate the Corsican?Tiburtius.What's that?The Lackey.Your sister loves his son. Would you surprise them?Tiburtius.When?The Lackey.Now.Tiburtius.Where?The Lackey.Where I know—Tiburtius.Wait for me here.Austria shall be relieved.The Duke.[Placing his hand on theAttaché'sshoulder.]I thank you, sir.The Attaché.[Turning.]What for, sir?The Duke.Hush.The Attaché.The Duke!The Duke.A plot.The Attaché.Amazement!The Duke.I've nothing but my secret. Now it's yours.We meet to-night at Wagram.Bethere.The Attaché.I!The Duke.Are you not one of us?The Attaché.I am the King's.The Duke.But you're to fight a duel for my Father.And so we're somewhat brothers. Fare-you-well.The Attaché.You hope to win me?The Duke.I am sure to win you.Did not my Sire win Philippe de Ségur?The Attaché.To-morrow I return to France. I warn you—The Duke.You are a future Marshal of the Empire.The Attaché.I warn you, if my regiment meets yoursI shall not hesitate to fire.The Duke.Of course not.Shake hands before we cut each other's throats.The Attaché.If you have any messages for Paris,I get there on the fourth; I should be happy—The Duke.I hope to be there, sir, ahead of you.The Attaché.Yet, if I reach the—kingdom—ere you come?The Duke.Salute for me the Column of Vendôme!Curtain.