To see you taken, bound! To see you—there!Only to think it makes me die of horror!Come! I will be a servant unto you.Come! Take me, when I have redeemed myself,Just to have something underneath your feet.The one you called "a wife" in times of trial—
DIDIER.
A wife! [Cannon sounds in the distance.This makes of you a widow, then!
MARION.
Didier!
THE JAILER.
The hour is past.
[Rolling of drums. EnterCouncilor of the Great Chamber, accompanied by penitents bearing torches, and byExecutioner. A crowd of soldiers and people follow.
MARION.
Ah, Christ!
The same.Councilor,Executioner, Populace, Soldiers
COUNCILOR.
I'm ready,Gentlemen!
MARION (toDidier).
I told you that he'd come!
DIDIER (toCouncilor).
We're ready also.
COUNCILOR.
Which is named Gaspard,Marquis de Saverny?[Didierpoints toSaverny, who is asleep.[ToExecutioner.] Awaken him!
[Didierpoints toSaverny, who is asleep.
EXECUTIONER (shaking him).
How well he sleeps, my lord!
SAVERNY (rubbing his eyes).
Ah, how could youBreak in on such a pleasant sleep!
DIDIER.
'Tis onlyInterrupted, friend!
SAVERNY (half awake: seesMarionand salutes her).
Oh, I was dreamingAbout you, my beauty!
COUNCILOR.
Have you madeYour peace with God?
SAVERNY.
I have, sir.
COUNCILOR.
It is well.Please sign this paper!
SAVERNY (takes the parchment, runs over it).
'Tis theprocès-verbal.Good! This is a most curious thing—accountOf my own death, signed with my autograph![Signs, and reads the paper again: toCouncilor.You have made three mistakes in spelling, sir.[Takes the pen and corrects them. ToExecutioner.You have awakened me; put me to sleep!
[Signs, and reads the paper again: toCouncilor.
[Takes the pen and corrects them. ToExecutioner.
COUNCILOR (toDidier).
Didier![Didierapproaches:Councilorgives pen to him.Your name is there.
[Didierapproaches:Councilorgives pen to him.
MARION (hiding her eyes).
The grewsome thing!
DIDIER.
I could sign nothing with intenser joy!
[The Guards form themselves into a line to lead them away.
SAVERNY (to some one in the crowd).
Sir, step aside and let that young child see!
DIDIER (toSaverny).
My brother, 'tis for me you suffer death;Let us embrace each other! [He embracesSaverny.
MARION (running to him).
And for meNo kisses, Didier!
DIDIER (indicatingSaverny).
This is my friend, madame!
MARION (clasping her hands).
How hard you are upon me, a poor thing,Who always on my knees to king or judgeHave begged mercy for you from every one!Pardon of them for you; pardon of you for me!
DIDIER (rushes toMarion, trembling, and bursting into tears).
No, I cannot! The torture's horrible!No, I have loved too much to leave her so!It is too hard to keep a cold, impassive faceWhen underneath the heart is breaking down.Come to my arms, oh, woman, come![Presses her convulsively to his heart.I love you!I'm about to die. Before them all,It is my loftiest joy to tell you this:I love you!
[Presses her convulsively to his heart.
MARION.
Didier!
DIDIER.
[Embraces her again with rapture.
To my heart, oh, come!You who behold this direful tragedy,I wonder if there's one of you who wouldRefuse love unto one who'd given herselfEntirely and unceasingly to him?Oh, I was wrong! Say, would you have me faceEternity without a pardon fromHer lips? No! Stand by me and listen, love:Among all womankind—and those who hearWill prove me right by their own hearts—the oneI love, the one in whom I trust, the oneI venerate is you—is always you!For you were kind, devoted, loving, good.My life is almost ended. When death's nearA clearer light illuminates all things.If you deceived me, 'twas excess of love;And if you fell, have you not cruelly atoned?Perhaps your mother—life's so hard—forgotYou in your cradle, as my mother did;When you were young and helpless, perhaps they soldYour innocence. Ah, lift up your white brow!And listen, all of you. At such an hourThe earth is a mere shadow and the heartSpeaks true. Well, at this moment, from the heightOf the dread scaffold—and there's naught so highWhen guiltless souls ascend it—here,I say to you, Marie, angel of light,Whose luster earth has dimmed, my love, my wife,In God's name, before whom I soon shall stand,I pardon you.
MARION (suffocated with tears).
Ah, Christ!
DIDIER.
It is your turn.Speak now, and pardon me![He kneels before her.
[He kneels before her.
MARION.
Didier!
DIDIER.
Your pardon,Love! I was the most at fault, the mostUnkind. God has chastised you much through me.Weep for me when I'm gone, because to haveHurt you is such a burden to take henceInto eternity. Don't leave it on me;Pardon me!
MARION (inaudibly).
Have mercy on me—God!
DIDIER.
Just speak one word; put your sweet hands uponMy forehead. If your heart is full and youCan't speak, please make a sign. I'm dying; youMust comfort me.[Marionplaces her hand on his forehead; he rises, embraces her tenderly, with a smile of celestial joy.Farewell! Come, gentlemen!Let us move on!
[Marionplaces her hand on his forehead; he rises, embraces her tenderly, with a smile of celestial joy.
MARION (throws herself wildly between him and the Soldiers).
Oh, no! Stop! This is madness!If you think you can behead him easily,You have forgotten I am here. Spare us!Oh, men! oh, soldiers, judge, people! Spare us!How do you want me to ask you? UponMy knees? Well, here I am! Now ifIn you there's anything that quivers atA woman's voice, if God has thrown no curseOn you—don't kill him![To the spectators.] Men and women—you!When you go back into your homes to-night,You'll find your mothers and your daughters; theyWill say to you, "It was a wicked crime.You might have saved him, and you did not. Shame!"Didier, they ought to know that I must followYou! They will not kill you if they wantTo keep me living!
DIDIER.
Let me die, Marie.'Tis better, dear one, for my wound is deep;It would have taken too much time to heal.Better for me to go; but if, some time—You see I'm weeping too—another comes,A happier man, more fortunate than I,Think of your old friend sleeping in the tomb.
MARION.
You shall not die! Are these men all inhuman?You must live!
DIDIER.
Don't ask things impossible.No; with your bright eyes, turn, illuminateMy grave for me. Embrace me. You will loveMe better, dead. I'll hold a sacred placeIn your dear memory. But if I lived,Lived near you with my lacerated soul—I, who have loved no one but you—you seeIt would be painful. I would make you weep.I'd have a thousand thoughts I could not speak.I'd seem to doubt you, watch you, worry you.You would be most unhappy. Let me die!
COUNCILOR (toMarion).
The Cardinal will pass by soon, madame!You can ask pardon for him then.
MARION.
Oh, yes!The Cardinal is coming—that is true.You'll see, then, gentlemen, that he will hear!My Didier, you shall hear me talk to him!The Cardinal! Indeed, you must be all insane,To think such an old man—a Christian too,The gracious Cardinal—will not be gladTo pardon you. Have you not pardoned me?
[Nine o'clock strikes.Didiermakes sign to all to hush.Marionlistens with terror. After the nine strokes have sounded,Didiergoes and stands close toSaverny.
DIDIER (to the spectators).
You who have come to see the last of us,If any speak of us, bear witness all,That without faltering we have heard the hourBring us its summons to eternity.
[The cannon sounds at the door of the tower; the black veil which concealed the opening in the wall, falls: the gigantic litter ofThe Cardinalappears, borne by twenty-four foot-guards, surrounded by twenty other guards bearing halberds and torches: the litter is scarlet and ornamented with the arms of the House of Richelieu. It crosses the back of the stage slowly. Great agitation among the crowd.
MARION (dragging herself up to the litter on her knees and wringing her hands).
In your Christ's name! In name of all your race,Mercy for them, my lord!
A VOICE (from the litter).
No mercy!
[Marionfalls to the ground. The litter passes and the procession of the condemned men follows it. The crowd rush madly after them.
MARION (alone, lifts herself half way up, and drags herself along by her hands: looking around.)
Ah!What did he say? Where are they gone? My love!My Didier! No one! Not a sound! Is itA dream—this place? the crowd?—or am I mad?[The people rush back in disorder. The litter reappears in the background on the side where it went off.Marionrises and gives a terrible cry.He's coming back!
[The people rush back in disorder. The litter reappears in the background on the side where it went off.Marionrises and gives a terrible cry.
GUARDS (pushing the people aside).
Make way!
MARION (erect and half-wild, pointing to the litter).
Look, all of you!It is the red man who goes by!
[She falls senseless.
DRAMATIS PERSONÆ
Populace, Vagrants, Archers, etc.
ESMERALDA
Scene.—The Court of Miracles. It is night. A crowd of vagrants. Noisy dancing. Male and female beggars in different attitudes of their profession. The King of Thune on his cask. Fires, lights, torches. In the shadow a circle of wretched dwellings
Claude Frollo,Clopin Frouillefou, thenEsmeralda, thenQuasimodo.The Vagrants
CHORUS OF VAGRANTS.
Long live Clopin! Long live the King of Thune!Long live the rogues of Paris.Let us strike our blows at dusk—The hour when all the cats are drunk.Let us dance! Defy Pope and bull,And let us laugh in our skins,Whether April wets or June burnsThe feathers in our caps.Let us smell from afarThe shot of the avenging archer,Or the bag of money which passesOn the back of the traveler.In the light of the moon,We will go dance with the spirits.Long live Clopin, King of Thune!Long live the rogues of Paris!
CLAUDE FROLLO (apart behind a pillar in a corner of the stage. He is covered with a long cloak which hides his priestly garb).
In the midst of this infamous bandWhat matters the sigh of a soul?I suffer! Oh, never did fiercer flameBurn in the bowels of a volcano.
[Esmeraldaenters, dancing.
CHORUS.
There she is! There she is! It is she—Esmeralda!
CLAUDE FROLLO (aside).
It is she! oh, yes—'tis she!Wherefore, relentless fate,Made you her so beautiful,Me—so unfortunate?
It is she! oh, yes—'tis she!Wherefore, relentless fate,Made you her so beautiful,Me—so unfortunate?
[She reaches the center of the stage.The Vagrantsform an admiring circle around her.
ESMERALDA.
An orphan am I,Child of woe,To you I turnAnd flowers throw!In my wild joySad sighs abide;I show a smile,The tears I hide.Poor girl—I danceWhere brooklets run,As chirp the birdsMy song flows on:I am the doveWhich, hurt, must fall;Over my cradleHangs death's pall.
An orphan am I,Child of woe,To you I turnAnd flowers throw!In my wild joySad sighs abide;I show a smile,The tears I hide.
Poor girl—I danceWhere brooklets run,As chirp the birdsMy song flows on:I am the doveWhich, hurt, must fall;Over my cradleHangs death's pall.
CHORUS.
Young girl, dance on!More gentle you make us.Take us for family,And play with us,As stoops the nightingaleUnto the sea,Teasing its wavesTo ecstasy.'Tis the young girl—Child of woe,When beams her eyeGrief must go.She's like the beeWhich trembling fliesTo the flower's heart,Its Paradise.Young girl, dance on!More gentle you make us.Take us for family,And play with us!
Young girl, dance on!More gentle you make us.Take us for family,And play with us,As stoops the nightingaleUnto the sea,Teasing its wavesTo ecstasy.
'Tis the young girl—Child of woe,When beams her eyeGrief must go.She's like the beeWhich trembling fliesTo the flower's heart,Its Paradise.
Young girl, dance on!More gentle you make us.Take us for family,And play with us!
CLAUDE FROLLO (aside).
Tremble, young girl—The priest is jealous.
[Claudeattempts to draw near toEsmeralda; she turns away from him with a kind of horror. The procession of the Pope of Fools enters. Torches, lanterns and music. In the middle of the procession, upon a litter surrounded with candles,Quasimodo, decked with cope and miter, is carried.
CHORUS.
Salute him, clerks of Vasoche!Shell-heaps, lubbers, beggars!Salute him, all of you! He comes.Behold the Pope of Fools!
CLAUDE FROLLO (perceivingQuasimodo, and starting toward him with a gesture of anger).
Quasimodo! What a strange part to play!Profanation! Here—Quasimodo!
QUASIMODO.
Great God! what do I hear?
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Come here, I tell you.
QUASIMODO (jumping from the litter).
Here I am!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Be anathematized!
QUASIMODO.
God! it is himself!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Outrageous audacity!
QUASIMODO.
Moment of terror.
CLAUDE FROLLO.
To your knees, traitor!
QUASIMODO.
Pardon me, Master!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
No! I am a priest.
[Claude Frollotears offQuasimodo'spontifical ornaments, and crushes them underfoot.The Vagrantsbegin to murmur; they form menacing groups around him; he looks at them angrily.
THE VAGRANTS.
He threatens us,O comrades!Here in this place,Where we reign.
QUASIMODO.
What means the audacityOf these robbers?They menace him,But we shall see!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Race unclean,You menace me.Robbers—Jews—But we shall see!
[The anger ofThe Vagrantsbursts forth.
THE VAGRANTS.
Stop! stop! stop!Down with the mar-joy!He shall pay for it with his head;In vain he defends himself.
QUASIMODO.
Have respect for his head.Let every one cease,Or I change this festivalTo a bloody battle.
CLAUDE FROLLO.
It is not about his headThat Frollo is troubled.[Puts his hand on his heart.There is the tempest,There is the battle!
[Puts his hand on his heart.
[At the moment whenThe Vagrants' fury has reached its highest pitch,Clopin Frouillefouappears at the back of the stage.
CLOPIN.
Who in this infamous denDares to attack my lord the Archdeacon,And Quasimodo, bell-ringerOf Notre Dame?
THE VAGRANTS (subsiding).
It is Clopin, our King!
CLOPIN.
Clowns! Be off!
THE VAGRANTS.
We must obey!
CLOPIN.
Leave us!
[The Vagrantsretire to their hovels. The Court of Miracles appears deserted.ClopinapproachesClaudecautiously.
Claude Frollo, Quasimodo, Clopin Frouillefou
CLOPIN.
What purpose brings you to this orgy?Has your lordship any orders to give me?You are my master in sorcery;Speak—I will do all.
CLAUDE FROLLO (graspingClopin's arm excitedly, and dragging him to the front of the stage).
I have come to end all.Listen!
CLOPIN.
My lord!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
I love her more than ever.You behold me quivering with love and with anguish.I must have her to-night.
CLOPIN.
You will see her pass by here—in a moment;It is the way to her home.
CLAUDE FROLLO (aside).
Oh! Hell has hold of me![Aloud.] Soon—you say?
CLOPIN.
Upon the instant!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Alone?
CLOPIN.
Alone.
CLAUDE FROLLO.
That is enough.
CLOPIN.
Will you wait?
CLAUDE FROLLO.
I wait—Let me have her, or let me die!
CLOPIN.
Can I help you?
CLAUDE FROLLO.
No!
[He motions toClopinto leave him, after having thrown him his purse. When he finds himself alone withQuasimodo, he draws him to the front of the stage.
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Come! I need you!
QUASIMODO.
It is well!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
For a deed that is impious, frightful, awful!
QUASIMODO.
You are my lord and master!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Chains, death, the law—We brave them all.
QUASIMODO.
Count upon me.
CLAUDE FROLLO (recklessly).
I mean to abduct the gypsy!
QUASIMODO.
Master, take my blood—without telling me why!
[Upon a sign fromClaude Frollohe retires up stage and leaves his master down stage.
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Oh, Heaven! to have given one's mind to the depths,To have tried all the crimes of sorcery,To have fallen lower than hell itself:A priest, at midnight, in the dark to watch for a woman!And to reflect that in this state in which I find my soul God sees me!
Well! what does it matter?Fate drags me on!Its hand is too strong,Its will be done!I begin life over—The priest insaneFeels hope no longer,Knows terror is vain!Demon, who drugs me,Give her to me;And I, who evoked thee,Thy slave will be—Receive the priestWhose bonds are riven!Hell with herWill be my heaven!Come, exquisite woman,Your beauty I claim.You shall own me forever—I swear, in God's name!Since he—since the masterBy whom love was given,Bids me choose—me, a priest,Between passion and heaven!
Well! what does it matter?Fate drags me on!Its hand is too strong,Its will be done!I begin life over—The priest insaneFeels hope no longer,Knows terror is vain!Demon, who drugs me,Give her to me;And I, who evoked thee,Thy slave will be—Receive the priestWhose bonds are riven!Hell with herWill be my heaven!Come, exquisite woman,Your beauty I claim.You shall own me forever—I swear, in God's name!Since he—since the masterBy whom love was given,Bids me choose—me, a priest,Between passion and heaven!
QUASIMODO (returning).
Master, the moment is at hand!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Yes—the solemn hour:It will decide my fate. Be silent! Hush!
CLAUDE FROLLOandQUASIMODO.
The night is dark,Footsteps I hear:In shadow does notSome one draw near?
The night is dark,Footsteps I hear:In shadow does notSome one draw near?
[They go to the back of the stage to listen.
THE WATCH (passing behind the houses).
Vigilance and peace!Whoever passes hereMust ope the eye to darkness,To silence strain the ear.
Vigilance and peace!Whoever passes hereMust ope the eye to darkness,To silence strain the ear.
CLAUDE FROLLOandQUASIMODO.
In shadow they come;They make no sound:Still let us beWhile the watch goes round!
In shadow they come;They make no sound:Still let us beWhile the watch goes round!
[The voices of the watch grow fainter.
QUASIMODO.
The watch has passed!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Our terror follows it.
[Claude FrolloandQuasimodolook anxiously at the door through whichEsmeraldamust pass.
QUASIMODO.
Love inspires,Hope renders strong,Him who watchesWhile sleeps the throng.I see her come—Lo! she appears.Maid divine!Have no fears!
Love inspires,Hope renders strong,Him who watchesWhile sleeps the throng.I see her come—Lo! she appears.Maid divine!Have no fears!
CLAUDE FROLLO.
Love inspires,Hope renders strong,Him who watchesWhile sleeps the throng.I see her come,Maid divine!Lo! she appears—She is mine!
Love inspires,Hope renders strong,Him who watchesWhile sleeps the throng.I see her come,Maid divine!Lo! she appears—She is mine!
[Esmeraldaenters: they throw themselves upon her and try to drag her away: she struggles.
ESMERALDA.
Help—help! To me—help!
CLAUDE FROLLOandQUASIMODO.
Hush, young maiden—hush!
Esmeralda,Quasimodo,Phœbus de Chateaupers, the archers of the watch
PHŒBUS (entering at the head of a body of archers).
In the King's name!
[In the struggleClaudeescapes. The archers seizeQuasimodo.
PHŒBUS.
Arrest him! hold him close!Be he lord or valet!At once—we will conduct himTo the prison Chatelet.
[The archers takeQuasimodoup stage and off.Esmeralda, recovered from her fright, approachesPhœbuswith curiosity, mingled with admiration, and draws him gently to the front of the stage.
ESMERALDA (toPhœbus).
Deign to tell meYour name, sir!I beg you to.
PHŒBUS.
Phœbus, my child—Of the familyOf Chateaupers.
ESMERALDA.
Captain?
PHŒBUS.
Yes, my queen!
ESMERALDA.
Queen? oh, no!
PHŒBUS.
Exquisite grace!
ESMERALDA.
Phœbus! I like your name!
PHŒBUS.
Upon my soulI have a bladeWhich has, Madame,Great havoc made.
Upon my soulI have a bladeWhich has, Madame,Great havoc made.
ESMERALDA (toPhœbus).
A beautiful captain,An officer grand,With corselet of steelAnd an air of command!Often, kind sir,Our hearts they break,And only laughAt the tears they make.
A beautiful captain,An officer grand,With corselet of steelAnd an air of command!Often, kind sir,Our hearts they break,And only laughAt the tears they make.
PHŒBUS (aside).
With a beautiful captain,An officer gay,Love hardly succeedsIn living a day.All soldiers desireTo pluck every rose,Joys without troubles,Love without woes.
With a beautiful captain,An officer gay,Love hardly succeedsIn living a day.All soldiers desireTo pluck every rose,Joys without troubles,Love without woes.
PHŒBUS (toEsmeralda).
A radiant spiritSmiles at meThrough thine eyes.
ESMERALDA.
A beautiful captain,An officer grand,With corselet of steelAnd an air of command!Long watches the girlHe carelessly passed;And the dreams he awakenedForever may last!
A beautiful captain,An officer grand,With corselet of steelAnd an air of command!Long watches the girlHe carelessly passed;And the dreams he awakenedForever may last!
PHŒBUS.
With a beautiful captain,An officer gay,Love hardly succeedsIn a living day!It's like lightning which flashes—This eager desireWhich the eyes of sweet maidensKindle to fire!
With a beautiful captain,An officer gay,Love hardly succeedsIn a living day!It's like lightning which flashes—This eager desireWhich the eyes of sweet maidensKindle to fire!
ESMERALDA (standing before theCaptainand admiring him).
My lord Phœbus! Let me see you!Let me admire you a hundred-fold!Oh the beautiful scarf of silk—Oh the fine scarf with fringe of gold!
[Phœbustakes it off and offers it to her.
PHŒBUS.