'Tis she—Marion de Lorme! [Aside.] I have him now!
[ToSaverny.] She must have a companion 'mongst these men.
SAVERNY.
It's likely. Such fair ladies are not prudes,And seldom travel round the world alone.
LAFFEMAS (aside).
I'll guard this door. It will go hard, indeed,If I can't capture that false actor here.He's taken now—no doubt of that! [Goes out.
SAVERNY (watches the exit ofLaffemas: aside).
I thinkI've done a foolish thing.[TakingGracieuxaside, who all this time has stood in a corner gesticulating and running over his lines: in a whisper.Who is that ladySitting within the shadow there?[Indicating the door of the barn.
[TakingGracieuxaside, who all this time has stood in a corner gesticulating and running over his lines: in a whisper.
[Indicating the door of the barn.
GRACIEUX.
Chimène?[Solemnly.] My lord, I do not know her name. Ask him,This lord, her noble friend.
[Exits on the side of the park.
Didier, Saverny
SAVERNY (turning towardDidier).
This gentleman?Tell me— 'Tis strange how hard he looks at me!Upon my soul, 'tis he! My man! [Loud toDidier.] If youWere not in prison, I should say that youResemble a—
DIDIER.
And if you were not dead, I'd sayThat you had the exact appearance of—His blood be on his head!—a man whom twoShort words of mine put in a tomb.
SAVERNY.
Hush! YouAre Didier!
DIDIER.
Marquis Gaspard, you!
SAVERNY.
'Twas youWho were somewhere, a certain night! 'Tis youTo whom I owe my life!
[He opens his arms.Didierdraws back.
DIDIER.
Excuse surprise!I felt so sure I took it back.
SAVERNY.
Not so!You saved me—did not kill me! Let me knowWhat I can do for you. Do you desireA second—brother—a lieutenant? Speak!What will you have—my blood, my wealth, my soul?
DIDIER.
Not any of those things. That portrait there![Savernygives him the portrait; he looks at it, speaking with bitterness.Yes, there's her brow, her black eyes, her white neck;Above all, there's her candid glance! How like!
[Savernygives him the portrait; he looks at it, speaking with bitterness.
SAVERNY.
You think so?
DIDIER.
This was made for you, you say?
SAVERNY (bowing, and making an affirmative sign).
It was! But now 'tis you whom she prefers,You whom she loves and chooses 'mongst us all.You are a happy man.
DIDIER (with loud and mocking laugh).
Yes! Am I not?
SAVERNY.
Accept my compliments; she's a good girl,And loves no one but men of family.Of such a mistress one can well be proud!It's honorable, and it gives one style.'Tis in good taste. If men ask who you areThey say, "Beloved of Marion de Lorme."[Didiergives him back the portrait; he refuses it.No, keep the portrait; since the lady's yours,It should belong to you. Keep it, I pray.
[Didiergives him back the portrait; he refuses it.
DIDIER.
I thank you! [Puts it in his breast.
SAVERNY.
She is charming in that dress.So you are my successor! One might say,As King Louis succeeded Pharamond.The Brissacs, both of them, supplanted me.[Laughing.] Then, yes, the Cardinal himself came next,Then little D'Effiat, then the three Sainte-Mesmes,The four Argenteans! In her heart you'll findThe best society. [Laughing.] A little numerous.
DIDIER (aside).
My God!
SAVERNY.
Tell me about it some time. Now,To be quite frank with you, I pass for dead,And in the morning shall be buried. YouMust have escaped police and seneschals.Your Marion can manage everything!You joined a strolling company by chance;What a delightful history!
DIDIER.
Yes, trueIt is a history!
SAVERNY.
To get you outShe probably made love to all the jailers.
DIDIER (in a voice of thunder).
Do you think that?
SAVERNY.
You are not jealous—what?Oh, joke incredible!—of Marion!A man jealous of Marion! The poor child!Don't go and scold her!
DIDIER.
Have no fear. [Aside.] The angel—It was a demon! Oh, my God!
[EnterLaffemasandGracieux.Didiergoes out;Savernyfollows him.
Laffemas, Gracieux
GRACIEUX (toLaffemas).
My lord,I do not understand you![Aside.] Humph! A costumeOf Alcaid and a figure of police;Small eyes, adorned with big eyebrows! I thinkHe plays the part of Alguazil in thisLocality.
LAFFEMAS (pulling out his purse).
My friend!
GRACIEUX (drawing near, low toLaffemas).
My lord—I see!Chimène has interested you. You wishTo know—
LAFFEMAS (low, smiling).
Who is her Roderick?
GRACIEUX.
You meanHer lover?
LAFFEMAS.
Yes!
GRACIEUX.
Who groans beneath her spell?
LAFFEMAS (impatiently).
There's one?
GRACIEUX.
Of course!
LAFFEMAS (approaching him eagerly).
Then show him to me, quick!
GRACIEUX (with profound obeisance).
It's I, my lord. I'm mad about her!
LAFFEMAS.
You![Laffemas, disappointed, turns away with annoyance; then he comes back and shakes his purse inGracieux'seyes and ears.Know you the sound of ducats?
[Laffemas, disappointed, turns away with annoyance; then he comes back and shakes his purse inGracieux'seyes and ears.
GRACIEUX.
Heavenly tones!
LAFFEMAS (aside).
I've got my Didier![ToGracieux.] Do you see this purse?
GRACIEUX.
How much!
LAFFEMAS.
Gold ducats—twenty!
GRACIEUX.
Humph!
LAFFEMAS (jingling the gold in his face).
Will you?
GRACIEUX (grabbing the purse from him).
Most certainly![With theatrical tone toLaffemas, who listens anxiously.My lord, if your back boreJust in the center a great hump, as bigAs is your belly, and if those two bagsWere filled with louis, sequins, and doubloons,In that case—
[With theatrical tone toLaffemas, who listens anxiously.
LAFFEMAS (eagerly).
Well, what would you do?
GRACIEUX (putting the purse into his pocket).
I'd takeThe whole of it, and I would say—[With profound obeisance.I thank you;You are a gentleman!
[With profound obeisance.
LAFFEMAS (aside, furious).
Plague on the monkey!
GRACIEUX (aside, laughing).
The devil take the cat!
LAFFEMAS (aside).
They have agreedOn what to do, if any one suspects.'Tis a conspiracy. They'll all be dumb;Accursed gypsy devils![ToGracieuxwho is going away.Give me backMy purse!
[ToGracieuxwho is going away.
GRACIEUX (turning around, with tragic tone).
What do you take me for, my lord?What will the world think of us, pray, if youPropose and I agree to anythingSo infamous as sell for gold a life,My soul? [Turns to go.
LAFFEMAS.
That's as you please; but give me backMy money!
GRACIEUX.
No, I keep my honor, sir,And we have no accounts to settle.
[He salutes him and re-enters barn.
LAFFEMAS (alone).
Humph!The wretched juggler! Pride in such base souls!If you some day should fall into my handsUnoccupied with better sort of game—But this will not find Didier! Now, I can'tTake all this crowd and put them to the torture.This is worse work than hunting needles inA haystack. Faith! a chemist's crucibleBewitched I ought to have, which, eating upThe lead and copper, would reveal at lastThe golden ingot hid by much alloy.Go to the Cardinal without my prize?[Striking his brow.That's it! The clever thought! Oh, joy! He's mine![Calling through the barn door.Ho, gentlemen, comedians! one word, please.
[Striking his brow.
[Calling through the barn door.
[The actors crowd out of the barn.
The same. Comedians, among themMarionandDidier; afterwardSaverny, afterwardMarquis de Nangis
SCARAMOUCHE (toLaffemas).
What do you want with us?
LAFFEMAS.
Without preamble:My lord the Cardinal commissioned meTo find good actors, if there may be suchWithin the provinces, to act the playsWhich he constructs in hours of leisure whenAllowed by State affairs. In spite of careAnd earnest thought, his theater declines,And is no credit to a cardinal-duke.
[All the actors press eagerly forward.Savernyenters, and watches the scene with curiosity.
GRACIEUX (aside, counting his money).
Twelve only! He said twenty. The old scamp!He's robbed me!
LAFFEMAS.
Let each one repeat some scene,That I may know your talents and may choose.[Aside.] If he gets out of that, this Didier's sharp.[Aloud.] Are you all here?
[Marionstealthily approachesDidierand tries to lead him off.
GRACIEUX (going up to them).
Come with the others—you!
MARION.
Oh, heaven!
[Didierleaves her and joins the actors; she follows him.
GRACIEUX.
You're in luck to be with us.To have new clothes, get every day a feast,To speak the Cardinal's verses every night,A happy lot!
[All the actors take their places beforeLaffemas.MarionandDidieramong them.Didierdoes not look atMarion; his eyes are bent on the ground; his arms are folded underneath his cloak.Marionwatches him anxiously.
GRACIEUX (at head of troupe, aside).
Who would have thought this crowRecruited actors for the Cardinal?
LAFFEMAS (toGracieux).
First you. What do you play?
GRACIEUX (with a low bow and a pirouette which shows off his hump).
I'm called the SylphAmong the troupe. This piece I know the best.
[He sings.
"On the bald heads of magistrates,Enormous wigs are spread.Out of that fleece, in due time, comeChains, gallows, tortures dread.Whenever one called presidentShall shake his bigger head."Let any barber, strolling fool,Wash, powder, and pomadeThe hair which bald heads steal from beards,Let them be combed and frayedIn shape of a right gorgeous wig—Your magistrate is made."The lawyer is a sea of wordsHurled wildly at the bench.A killing kind of mixing upOf Latin and bad French—"
"On the bald heads of magistrates,Enormous wigs are spread.Out of that fleece, in due time, comeChains, gallows, tortures dread.Whenever one called presidentShall shake his bigger head.
"Let any barber, strolling fool,Wash, powder, and pomadeThe hair which bald heads steal from beards,Let them be combed and frayedIn shape of a right gorgeous wig—Your magistrate is made.
"The lawyer is a sea of wordsHurled wildly at the bench.A killing kind of mixing upOf Latin and bad French—"
LAFFEMAS (interrupting him).
You sing so false, you'd make an eagle sick.Be still!
GRACIEUX (laughing).
I may sing false—the song is true!
LAFFEMAS (toScaramouche).
It's your turn now.
SCARAMOUCHE (bowing).
I'm Scaramouche, my lord!"The Lady of Honor," sir, I open thus.[Declaiming."'Naught is so fine,' said once a Queen of Spain,'As bishop at the altar, soldier inThe field, unless it is a girl in bed,Or robber on the gallows—'"
[Declaiming.
[LaffemasinterruptsScaramouchewith a gesture and signs toTaillebrasto speak.Taillebrasmakes a profound obeisance, then draws himself up.
TAILLEBRAS (with emphasis).
As for me,Sir, I am Taillebras. From Thibet, sir,I come; I've punished the great Khan, I've capturedThe Mogul—
LAFFEMAS.
Choose something else—[Low toSaverny, who stands beside him.A beauty,Eh, this Marion!
[Low toSaverny, who stands beside him.
TAILLEBRAS.
It is one of our best.If you prefer, I will be Charlemagne,The Emperor of the West.[Declaiming with emphasis."Strange destiny!O Heaven, I appeal to you! Bear witnessUnto my woe. I must despoil myself,Surrender my beloved one to another.I must endow my rival, fill his heartWith joy, while my poor stomach stings with grief.Thus, birds, you can no more perch in the woods;Thus, flies, you can no more buzz in the fields;Thus, sheep, you can no longer wear your wool;Thus, bulls, you can no longer raze the plains."
[Declaiming with emphasis.
LAFFEMAS.
Good![ToSaverny.] Listen, the fine verses! "Bradamante"By Garnier; what a poet![ToMarion.] 'Tis your turn,My beauty. First, your name.
MARION (trembling).
I am Chimène!
LAFFEMAS.
Indeed! Chimène? Then you must have a lover.He has killed a man in duel—
MARION (terrified).
Oh, heaven!
LAFFEMAS (maliciously).
I've a good memory. If one escapes—
MARION (aside).
Great heaven!
LAFFEMAS.
Come! Now let us hear your scene
MARION (half turned towardDidier).
"Since to arrest you in this fatal courseYour life and honor are of no avail,If ever I have loved you, Roderick,Defend yourself to save me from Don Sancho.Fight valiantly against the fearful fateWhich must surrender me to one I hate.Shall I say more? Go; your defense shall beYour right to force my duty, seal my lips!If love for me still in your brave heart lies,Go win this combat, for Chimène is prize."
[Laffemasrises gallantly and kisses her hand.Marionis pale; she looks atDidier, who remains motionless with eyes on the ground.
LAFFEMAS.
No voice but yours could take so firm a holdUpon the secret fibers of our heart.You are adorable.[ToSaverny.] You can't denyCorneille is not worth Garnier, after all.'Tis true, his verses have a finer ringSince he's belonged unto the Cardinal-Duke.[ToMarion.] What a complexion! What fine eyes! Good God!This is no place for you! You're buried here.Sit down!
[He sits and makes sign toMarionto sit beside him; she draws back.
MARION (low toDidier, with anguish).
For God's sake, let me stay with you!
LAFFEMAS (smiling).
Come sit by me, I say!
[DidierrepulsesMarion, who staggers terrified to the bench whereLaffemassits, and falls upon it.
MARION (aside).
'Tis horrible!
LAFFEMAS (smiling at Marion, with an air of reproach).
At last![ToDidier.] Now, sir, your turn. What is your name?
DIDIER (with gravity).
My name is Didier!
MARION, LAFFEMAS, SAVERNY.
Didier!
DIDIER (toLaffemas, who laughs triumphantly).
Yes, you canSend all of them away. You've got your prey.Your prisoner himself takes up his chain.This joy has cost you a great deal of work.
MARION (running to him).
Didier!
DIDIER (with a freezing look).
Don't try to hinder me this time,Madame![She starts back and falls crushed upon the bank: toLaffemas.I've watched you creeping close to me,You demon! In your eyes I've seen that glareOf hell fire which illuminates your soul.I might have 'scaped your trap—a useless thing;But to see cunning wasted thus grieved me.Take me, and get well paid for treachery.
[She starts back and falls crushed upon the bank: toLaffemas.
LAFFEMAS (with concentrated rage, trying to laugh).
You are not a comedian, it would seem!
DIDIER.
It's you who played the comedy.
LAFFEMAS.
Not well.But with the Cardinal I'll write a play.It is a tragedy: you have a part.[Marionscreams with horror.Didierturns from her with contempt.Don't turn your head in such a lordly way.We will admire your acting, never fear!Come, recommend your soul to God, my friend.
[Marionscreams with horror.Didierturns from her with contempt.
MARION.
Ah, God!
[At this momentMarquis de Nangispasses across the back of the stage, in the same attitude, with his escort of Halberdiers.Marion'scry arrests him; pale and silent he turns to the characters.
LAFFEMAS (toMarquis de Nangis).
Marquis, I claim your aid. Good news!Lend me your escort. The murderer escapedOur vigilance, but we've recaptured him.
MARION (throwing herself atLaffemas'sfeet).
Oh, pity for him!
LAFFEMAS (with gallantry).
At my feet, madame!'Tis I should kneel at yours.
MARION (on her knees, clasping her hands).
My lord the judge,Have mercy upon others, if some dayYou hope a jealous judge, more powerfulThan you are, will be merciful to you!
LAFFEMAS (smiling).
You're preaching us a sermon, I believe!Ah, madame, reign at balls and shine at fêtes,But do not preach us sermons. For your sake,I would do anything; but he has killed—It is a murder.
DIDIER (toMarion).
Rise! [Marionrises, trembling.You lie! it was a duel.
LAFFEMAS.
Sir!
DIDIER.
I say, you lie!
LAFFEMAS.
Have done![ToMarion.] Blood callsFor blood; this rigor troubles me— I wish—But he has killed—killed whom? The young marquis,Gaspard de Saverny,[IndicatingMarquis de Nangis.Nephew to him,That worthy old man there. A rare young lord;The greatest loss for France and for the King.Were he not dead, I do not say that I—My heart is not of stone, and if—
[IndicatingMarquis de Nangis.
SAVERNY (taking a step forward).
The manYou think is dead is living. I am he!
[General astonishment.
LAFFEMAS (starting).
Gaspard de Saverny! A miracle!There is his coffin.
SAVERNY (tearing off his false mustache, his plaster, and black wig).
But he is not dead!Who recognizes me?
MARQUIS DE NANGIS (as if awakening from a dream, starts, and with a great cry throws himself into his nephew's arms).
Gaspard! My nephew!It is my child! [They remain locked in each other's arms.
MARION (falling upon her knees and lifting her eyes to heaven).
Didier is saved! Praise God!
DIDIER (coldly, toSaverny).
What is the use? I wished to die.
MARION (still on her knees).
Kind God,You have protected him!
DIDIER (continuing, without listening to her).
How otherwiseCould he have caught me in his trap? Think youMy spur could not have crushed the spider's webWhich he had made to catch a gnat? HenceforthI ask no other boon than death. This isNo friendly gift from you, who owe me life!
MARION.
What does he say? You must live—
LAFFEMAS.
All's not over.Is it certain that this is the Marquis?
MARION.
It is.
LAFFEMAS.
We must have proof of it at once.
MARION (indicatingMarquis de Nangis, who is still holdingSavernyin his arms).
Look at that old man, how he smiles and weeps!
LAFFEMAS.
Is that Gaspard de Saverny?
MARION.
What heartCan question such a close embrace?
MARQUIS DE NANGIS (turning around).
You askIf it is he—Gaspard, my son, my soul?[ToMarion.] Did he not ask if it was he, madame?
LAFFEMAS (toMarquis de Nangis).
Then you affirm that this man is your nephew?He is Gaspard de Saverny?
MARQUIS DE NANGIS (with intensity).
I do!
LAFFEMAS.
According to the law I do arrestGaspard de Saverny, in the King's name.Your sword!
[Surprise and consternation among the characters.
MARQUIS DE NANGIS.
My son!
MARION.
Oh, Heaven!
DIDIER.
Another head!Yes, two were needed. 'Tis the least, to bringThis Roman Cæsar one head in each hand.
MARQUIS DE NANGIS.
Speak! By what right—
LAFFEMAS.
Ask my lord cardinal.All who survive a duel fall beneathThe ordinance. Give me your sword.
DIDIER (looking atSaverny).
Rash man!
SAVERNY (drawing his sword and presenting it toLaffemas).
'Tis here!
MARQUIS DE NANGIS (stopping him).
A moment! None is master hereSave me! I mete out justice high and low.Our sire the King would be no more than guest.[ToSaverny.] Give up your sword to none but me.
[Savernyhands him his sword, and clasps him in his arms.
LAFFEMAS.
In truth,That is a feudal right quite out of date.The Cardinal might blame me for it, butI would not willingly annoy you—
DIDIER.
Wretch!
LAFFEMAS (bowing toMarquis de Nangis).
So I consent. You can return the favorBy loaning me your guard and prison, sir.
MARQUIS DE NANGIS (to his Guards).
Not so! Your sires were vassals to my sires.I forbid any one to stir a step.
LAFFEMAS (with voice of thunder).
My masters, hark to me: I am the judgeOf the secret tribunal, Criminal-Lieutenant to the Cardinal. ConductThese men to prison. Four of you mount guardBefore each door. You're all responsible.It would be rash to disobey when I commandYou to go here or there or do a deed.If any hesitate, it is becauseHis head annoys him.
[The Guards, terrified, drag the two prisoners off in silence,Marquis de Nangisturns away indignant and buries his face in his hands.
MARION.
All is lost![ToLaffemas.] Have pity!If in your heart—
LAFFEMAS (low toMarion).
If you will come to-night,I'll tell you something—
MARION (aside).
What is it he wants?His smiles are terrible. He has a gloomy,Treacherous soul.[Turning with desperation toDidier.Didier!
[Turning with desperation toDidier.
DIDIER (coldly).
Farewell, madame!
MARION (shuddering at the tone of his voice).