SCENE FOURTH
The same persons, excepting Ferdinand, Ramel, the Magistrate and
Baudrillon.
Godard (aside) I shall find out presently whether Pauline loves Ferdinand. This urchin, who wants to know about justice, seems to me pretty cute; I'll make use of him.
(Felix appears.)
Gertrude
The coffee.
(Felix brings in the tray.)
Godard (who has taken Napoleon aside)
Would you like to play a nice trick on somebody?
Napoleon
That I would. Do you know one?
Godard
Come with me, and I'll tell you how you must do it.
(Godard goes on the veranda with Napoleon.)
The General
Pauline, my coffee. (Pauline brings it to him.) It isn't sweet enough.
(Pauline gives him some sugar.) Thank you, dear.
Gertrude
M. de Rimonville?
The General
Godard?
Gertrude
M. de Rimonville?
The General
Godard, my wife wants to know if you would like some coffee?
Godard
Yes, thank you.
(Godard places himself in such a way as to watch Pauline.)
The General
It is pleasant to sit down and take a little coffee in quiet.
Napoleon (running in) Mamma, mamma! My good friend Ferdinand has just fallen down; he has broken his leg and they are carrying him into the house.
Vernon
That's dreadful!
The General
How very unfortunate!
Pauline
Oh!
(Pauline falls back on her chair.)
Gertrude
What is that you said?
Napoleon It is all a joke! I only wished to see if you all loved my good friend.
Gertrude It is very naughty of you to act in that way; how did you come to think of such a trick?
Napoleon (whispering)
It was Godard.
Godard (aside) She loves him! She was nicely caught by my trap, which I have never known to fail.
Gertrude (to Godard, as she offers him some coffee)
Are you aware, sir, that you would make a very indifferent preceptor?
It is very bad of you to teach a child such mischievous tricks.
Godard You will come to the conclusion that I did pretty well, when you learn that I have been enabled by this little stratagem to discover my rival.
(Godard points to Ferdinand who is entering the room.)
Gertrude (letting fall the sugar basin)
He!
Godard (aside)
She is in the same box!
Gertrude (aloud)
You startled me.
The General (who has risen from his seat)
What is the matter with you, my dear child?
Gertrude Nothing; it is Godard's nonsense; he told me that the public prosecutor had come back. Felix, take away this sugar basin, and bring me another one.
Vernon
This is a day of surprises.
Gertrude M. Ferdinand, they are going to bring some sugar for you. (Aside) He is not looking at her. (Aloud) How is it, Pauline, you did not put any sugar in your father's coffee?
Napoleon Why, of course, it was because she was too scared; didn't you hear her say "oh!"?
Pauline Won't you hold your tongue, you little story-teller! You are always teasing me.
(Pauline sits on her father's knee, and puts sugar in his cup.)
Gertrude Can it be true? And to think that I have taken such pains in dressing her! (To Godard) If you are right, your marriage will take place in a fortnight. (Aloud) M. Ferdinand, here is your coffee.
Godard (aside) It seems that I caught two in my mouse-trap! And all the time the General is so calm, so tranquil, and this household is so peaceful! Things are getting mixed up. I shan't go yet; I wish to have a game of whist! Oh! I give up all thoughts of marriage for the present. (Glancing at Ferdinand) There's a lucky fellow! He is loved by two women—two charming, delightful creatures! He is indeed a factotum! But how is it that he is more successful than I am, who have an income of forty thousand?
Gertrude Pauline, my dear, offer the cards to the gentlemen for a game of whist. It is almost nine o'clock. If they are going to have a game, there is no time to be lost. (Pauline puts out the cards.) Come, Napoleon, bid good-night to the gentlemen, let them see you are a good boy, and don't try to stay up as you usually do.
Napoleon
Good-night, papa. What is justice like?
The General
Justice is blind! Good-night, my pet.
Napoleon
Good-night, M. Vernon! What is justice made of?
Vernon It is made up of all our crimes. When you are naughty, they whip you; that is justice.
Napoleon
They never whip me.
Vernon
Then they never do justice to you!
Napoleon
Good-night, my good friend! Good-night, Pauline! Good-night M. Godard.
Godard
De Rimonville.
Napoleon
Have I been good?
(Gertrude kisses Napoleon.)
The General
I have the king.
Vernon
And I, the queen.
Ferdinand (to Godard)
Monsieur, we are partners.
Gertrude (seeing Marguerite) Be sure to say your prayers, and don't provoke Marguerite. Now, go to bed, dear heart.
Napoleon
Yes, dear heart! What is love made of?
(Exit Napoleon.)
SCENE FIFTH
The same persons, except Napoleon.
The General
When that child begins to ask questions, he is an amusing youngster.
Gertrude
It is often very embarrassing to answer him. (To Pauline) Come,
Pauline, let us go and finish our work.
Vernon
It is your lead, General.
The General Mine? You ought to get married, and we could visit at your house, as you visit here, and you would have all the happiness of a family. Don't forget, Godard, that there is no one in the department happier than I am.
Vernon When a man reaches sixty-seven without reaching happiness, it is impossible to catch up. I shall die a bachelor.
(The two women set to work at the same piece of embroidery.)
Gertrude (seated with Pauline at the front of the stage) How is this, my child! Godard tells me that you received his advances very coldly; yet he is a very good match for you.
Pauline
My father, madame, has given me leave to choose a husband for myself.
Gertrude Do you know what Godard will say? He will say that you refused him because you had already made your choice.
Pauline If it were true, you and my father would know it. What reason have I for not giving you my confidence?
Gertrude I cannot say, and I do not blame you. You see in matters of love women keep their secret with heroic constancy, sometimes in the midst of the most cruel torments.
Pauline (aside, picking up the scissors, which she had let drop) Ferdinand was wise in telling me to distrust her—she is so insinuating!
Gertrude Perhaps you have in your heart a love like that. If such a misfortune has befallen you, you may rely on my help—I love you, remember! I can win your father's consent; he has confidence in me, and I can sway both his mind and affections. Therefore, dear child, you may open your heart to me.
Pauline
You can read my heart, madame, for I am concealing nothing from you.
The General
Vernon, what in the name of everything are you doing?
(Faint murmurs are heard among the card players; Pauline casts a look at them.)
Gertrude (aside) The question point-blank does not do with her. (Aloud) How happy you make me! For this provincial joker, Godard, avers that you almost fainted when he prompted Napoleon to declare that Ferdinand had broken his leg. Ferdinand is a pleasant young fellow, our intimate friend for some four years; what is more natural than your attachment for the youth, whose birth and talents are both in his favor?
Pauline
He is my father's clerk.
Gertrude Thank God, you are not in love with him; I was a little anxious for the moment, for, my dear child, he is a married man.
Pauline
What! He is married? Why then does he make a secret of it? (Aside)
Married? That would be outrageous. I will ask him this evening. I will
give him the signal on which we agreed to meet.
Gertrude (aside) Not a line of her face changed! Godard is wrong, or this child is more self-possessed than I am. (Aloud) What is the matter with you, my pet?
Pauline
Oh! nothing.
Gertrude (touching Pauline's neck) Why, you are quite hot! Do you feel so? (Aside) She loves him, that is plain. But the question is, does he love her? I suffer the torments of the damned!
Pauline I have been working too closely at this frame! And what, pray, is the matter with you?
Gertrude
Nothing. But you asked me why Ferdinand kept his marriage secret.
Pauline
Ah! yes!
Gertrude (rising, aside) If she is in love, she has a will of iron. But where can they have met? I never leave her in the daytime, and Champagne sees him all the time at the factory. No! it is absurd. If she does love him, it is without his knowledge, and she is like all other young girls, who begin to love a man in secret. But if they have come to an understanding, I have given her such a start that she will be sure to communicate with him about it, if only through her eyes. I will keep them both well in sight.
Godard
We have had wonderful luck, M. Ferdinand!
(Ferdinand leaves off playing and goes towards Gertrude.)
Pauline (aside)
I did not know that it was possible to suffer so much and yet live on.
Ferdinand (to Gertrude)
Madame, won't you take my place in the game?
Gertrude
Pauline, will you go instead? (Aside) I can't tell him that he loves
Pauline, that would suggest what may be a new idea to him. What shall
I do? (to Ferdinand) She has confessed all.
Ferdinand
Confessed what?
Gertrude
Why, all!
Ferdinand
I don't understand. Do you refer to Mlle. de Grandchamp?
Gertrude
Yes.
Ferdinand
And what has she been doing?
Gertrude
You have not been false to me? You do not want to kill me?
Ferdinand
Kill you? She? I?
Gertrude
Am I the victim of one of Godard's jokes?
Ferdinand
Gertrude, you are beside yourself!
Godard (to Pauline)
Ah! Mademoiselle, that is bad play!
Pauline
You lost a great deal by not taking my stepmother for a partner.
Gertrude (to Ferdinand) Ferdinand, I do not know whether I am rightly or wrongly informed; but this I do know; I prefer death to the loss of our hopes.
Ferdinand Take care! The doctor has been watching us very keenly for the last few days.
Gertrude (aside) She has not once looked back at him! (Aloud) She will marry Godard, for her father will compel her to do so.
Ferdinand
Godard would make an excellent match for any one.
The General
I can't stay here any longer! My daughter plays vilely, and you,
Vernon, have trumped my king!
Vernon
My dear General, it was a finesse.
The General You stupid! Come, it is ten o'clock, and time to go to sleep instead of playing cards. Ferdinand, be good enough to take Godard to his room. As for you, Vernon, you deserve to sleep on the floor as a punishment, for trumping my king.
Godard
It is, after all, merely a matter of five francs, General.
The General It is also a matter of honor. (To Vernon) Come, now, although you have played so badly, let me hand you your hat and cane.
(Pauline takes a flower from the vase and plays with it.)
Gertrude (aside) A signal! I will watch her this night, even though my husband should afterwards kill me for it!
Ferdinand (taking a candlestick from Felix)
M. de Rimonville, I am at your service.
Godard
I wish you good-night, madame. My respects to you, mademoiselle.
General, good-night.
The General
Good-night, Godard.
Godard
De Rimonville—Doctor, I—
Vernon (looking at him and blowing his nose)
Good-bye, my friend.
The General (attending the doctor on his way out)
Good-bye till to-morrow, Vernon, but come early.
SCENE SIXTH
Gertrude, Pauline and the General.
Gertrude
My dear, Pauline refuses Godard.
The General
And what are your reasons, my daughter?
Pauline
I do not like him sufficiently to take him for a husband.
The General Well, never mind! We will look out some one else for you; but it is time for this to end, for you are now twenty-two, and people will begin to talk about you, my wife and me unless you make an early choice.
Pauline
May I not be permitted, if I choose, to remain single?
Gertrude
She has made her choice, but probably wishes to tell you by yourself.
I will leave you, and she will confess it. (To Pauline) Good-night, my
child; talk freely with your father. (Aside) I will listen.
(Gertrude enters her chamber and proceeds to close the door.)
SCENE SEVENTH
The General and Pauline.
The General (aside) Act as my daughter's confessor! I am utterly unfitted for such a task! She might rather act as confessor to me. (Aloud) Pauline, come here. (He takes her on his knee) Now, do you really think, my pet, that an old trooper like me doesn't understand your resolution to remain single? Why, of course, that means, in every language in which it has ever been uttered, that a young person is in a special hurry to be married—to some one that she is in love with.
Pauline Papa, I would like to tell you something, but I cannot have confidence in you.
The General
And why not, mademoiselle?
Pauline
Because you tell everything to your wife.
The General And you mean to tell me that you have a secret of such a kind that it cannot be revealed to an angel, to the woman who has educated you—to your second mother!
Pauline Oh! If you are going to be vexed, I shall get off to bed. I used to think that a father's heart would be a place of unfailing refuge for a daughter.
The General
You silly child! Come, I am going to be in a good humor.
Pauline How kind you are! But listen! Suppose I were in love with the son of one of those whom you detest?
The General (rising abruptly to his feet and repulsing her)
I should detest you!
Pauline
And this is what you call being good humored?
(Gertrude appears.)
The General My child, there are feelings in my heart that you should never rouse in me; you ought to know this. They are my very life. Do you wish to be the death of your father?
Pauline
Oh!
The General Dear child! I have had my day. My lot, with you and Gertrude at my side, is an enviable one. But, however sweet and charming is my life, I would quit it without regret, if by that means I could render you happy; for happiness is a debt we owe to those who owe to us their existence.
Pauline (noticing the door ajar, aside) Ah! she is listening. (Aloud) Father, I didn't mean what I said, but suppose I felt a love of that kind and it was so violent that I was likely to die of it?
The General It would be best for you to tell me nothing about it, and wait for your happiness until my death. And yet, since there is nothing more sacred, nothing more dear next to God and country, than children to their parents, children in their turn ought to hold sacred their parents' wishes and never to disobey them, even after their death. If you do not remain faithful to this hatred of mine, I think I should come forth from my grave to curse you!
Pauline (kissing her father) Oh! you bad, bad man! At any rate, I shall now find out whether you can keep a secret or not. Swear to me on your honor that you'll not repeat a syllable of what I told you.
The General
I promise you that. But what reason have you for distrusting Gertrude?
Pauline
If I told you, you would not believe it.
The General
Are you trying to torture your father?
Pauline No. But which do you place first,—this hatred for traitors, or your own honor?
The General They are both first with me, for they are based upon a common principle.
Pauline Very well; if you throw away your honor by violating your oath, you may as well throw away your hatred. That is all I wanted to find out.
The General If women are angelic, they have in them also something of the diabolical. Tell me, who has filled the head of such an innocent girl as you are with ideas like these? This is the way they lead us by the—
Pauline (interrupting him)
Good-night, father.
The General
You naughty child!
Pauline Keep my secret, or I will bring you a son-in-law that will drive you wild.
(Pauline enters her own apartment.)
SCENE EIGHTH
The General (alone) There must certainly be some key to this enigma! It must be discovered! Yes, and Gertrude shall discover it!
(Scene curtain.)
SCENE NINTH
(Pauline's chamber; a small plain room with a bed in the centre and a round table at the left; the entrance is at the right, but there is a secret entrance on the left.)
Pauline At last I am alone! At last I can be natural! Married? My Ferdinand married? If this is so, he is the falsest, foulest, vilest of men! And I could kill him! Kill him? But I myself could not survive one hour the knowledge that he was actually married. My stepmother I detest! And if she becomes my enemy, there will be war between us, and war in earnest. It would be terrible, for I should tell my father all I know. (She looks at her watch.) Half-past eleven, and he cannot come before midnight, when the whole household is asleep. Poor Ferdinand! He has to risk his life for a few minutes' chat with her he loves! That is what I call true love! Such perils men will not undergo for every woman! But what would I not undergo for him! If my father surprised us, I would be the one to take the first blow. Oh! To suspect the man you love is to suffer greater torment than to lose him! If he dies, you can follow him in death; but doubt—is the cruelest of separations!—Ah! I hear him.
SCENE TENTH
Ferdinand and Pauline (who locks the door).
Pauline
Are you married?
Ferdinand
What a joke! Wouldn't I have told you?
Pauline
Ah! (She sinks back on a chair, then falls upon her knees.) Holy
Virgin, what vows shall I make to thee? (She kisses Ferdinand's hand.)
And you, a thousand blessings on your head!
Ferdinand
Who could have told you such a foolish thing?
Pauline
My stepmother.
Ferdinand Why, she knows all about me, and if she did not, she would set spies to discover all; for suspicion with such women as that is certitude! Listen, Pauline, moments now are precious. It was Madame de Grandchamp who brought me into this house.
Pauline
And why?
Ferdinand
Because she is in love with me.
Pauline
How horrible! And what of my father?
Ferdinand
She was in love with me before her marriage.
Pauline
She is in love with you; but you, are you in love with her?
Ferdinand
Do you think if I were, I should have remained in this house?
Pauline
And she is still in love with you?
Ferdinand Yes, unhappily she is! I ought to tell you that she was at one time beloved by me; but to-day I hate her from the bottom of my heart, and I sometimes ask myself why. Is it because I am in love with you, and every genuine and pure love is by nature exclusive? Is it because the contrast between an angel of purity, such as you, and a devil like her excites in me just as much hatred towards her as it rouses love towards you, my joy, my bliss, my beauteous treasure? I cannot say. But I hate her, and I love you so much that I should not regret dying if your father killed me; for one talk with you, one hour spent in this chamber by your side, seems, even when it is passed away, a whole lifetime to me.
Pauline Oh, say those dear words again! For they bring back my confidence once more. After hearing you speak thus, I forgive you the wrong you have done me in telling that I am not your first and only love, as you are mine. It is but a lost illusion, that is all! Do not be vexed with me. Young girls are foolish, they have no ambition but in their love, and they would fain rule over the past as they rule over the future of their beloved! But you hate her! And in that word, you give me more proof of love than you have given me for the two years that we have loved. If only you knew with what cruelty this stepmother has put me on the rack, by her questions! But I will be avenged!
Ferdinand You must be very careful! She is a very dangerous woman! She rules your father. She is a woman who will fight to the death!
Pauline
To the death! That is as I wish it!
Ferdinand Be prudent, dear Pauline! We are going to act in harmony, are we not? Well, my love, the prosecuting attorney is of opinion that if we would triumph over the difficulties that prevent our union, we must have fortitude enough to part for some time.
Pauline
Oh! Give me two days and I will win over my father!
Ferdinand But you do not know Madame de Grandchamp. She has gone too far to leave off without ruining you, and to do that she will go to any lengths. But I will not go away without giving you what may prove most effective weapons against her.
Pauline
Oh, give them, give them to me!
Ferdinand Not yet. And you must promise me not to make use of them, unless your life is in danger; for what I am doing is certainly a breach of confidence. But it is for your sake I do it.
Pauline
Tell me what it is?
Ferdinand To-morrow I shall put into your hands the letters which she wrote to me, some of them before, some of them after her marriage. Pauline, do not read them! Swear this to me, in the name of our love, in the name of our happiness! It will be sufficient, should it ever become absolutely necessary, that she knows that they are in your possession; at that moment you will see her trembling and groveling at your feet, for all her machinations then are foiled. But do not use them excepting as a last resort, and keep them well concealed.
Pauline
What a terrible duel it will be!
Ferdinand Terrible! But, Pauline be courageous, as you have so far been, in keeping the secret of our love; do not acknowledge it, until you find it no longer possible to deny it.
Pauline Oh, why did your father betray the Emperor? If fathers knew how their children would be punished for the sins of their parents, there would be none but good men!
Ferdinand Perhaps this sad interview will prove the last moment of happiness we shall have!
Pauline (aside) I will rejoin him, if he leaves me—(Aloud) See, I no longer weep, I am full of courage! But tell me, will your friend know the place where you are hiding?
Ferdinand
Eugene will be our confidential friend.
Pauline
And the letters?
Ferdinand
To-morrow! To-morrow! But where will you conceal them?
Pauline
I shall keep them about me.
Ferdinand
Good! Farewell!
Pauline
Oh no, not yet!
Ferdinand
A moment more may ruin us.
Pauline Or unite us for life. Come, let me show you out, I shall not rest until I see you in the garden. Come!
Ferdinand Let me take one more glance at this maiden chamber, in which you will think of me—where all things speak of you.
(Scene curtain.)
SCENE ELEVENTH
(The drawing-room before described.)
Pauline on the veranda; Gertrude at the door of the room.
Gertrude
She is seeing him out! He has been deceiving me! So has she! (Taking
Pauline by the hand, she leads her to the front of the stage.) Will
you dare tell me, now, mademoiselle, that you do not love him?
Pauline
Madame, I am deceiving no one.
Gertrude
You are deceiving your father.
Pauline
And you, madame?
Gertrude
So both of you are against me—Oh, I shall—
Pauline
You shall do nothing, either against me or against him.
Gertrude Do not compel me to show my power! You must be obedient to your father, and—he is obedient to me.
Pauline
We shall see!
Gertrude (aside) Her coolness makes my blood boil. My brain reels! (Aloud) Do you know that I would rather die than live without him?
Pauline And so would I, madame. But I am free. I have not sworn as you have to be faithful to a husband—And your husband is my father!
Gertrude (kneeling before Pauline) What have I done to you? I have loved you, I have educated you, I have been a good mother to you.
Pauline
Be a faithful wife, and I will say no more.
Gertrude
Nay! Speak! Say all you like—Ah! the struggle has begun.
SCENE TWELFTH
The same persons and the General.
The General
How is this? What is going on here?
Gertrude (to Pauline) You must feign sickness. Come lie down. (She makes her lie down.) I happened, my dear, to hear moans. Our dear child was calling for help; she was almost suffocated by the flowers in her bedroom.
Pauline Yes, papa, Marguerite had forgotten to take away the vase of flowers, and I almost died.
Gertrude
Come, my daughter, come into the open air.
(Gertrude and Pauline go towards the door.)
The General
Stay a moment. What have you done with the flowers.
Pauline
I do not know where Madame has put them.
Gertrude
I threw them into the garden.
(The General abruptly rushes out, after setting his candle on the card table.)
SCENE THIRTEENTH
Pauline and Gertrude; later, the General.
Gertrude
Go back to your room, lock yourself in! I'll take all the blame.
(Pauline goes to her room.) I will wait for him here.
(Gertrude goes back into her room.)
The General (coming in from the garden) I can find the vase of flowers nowhere. There is some mystery in all these things. Gertrude?—There is no one here! Ah! Madame de Grandchamp, you will have to tell me!—It is a nice thing that I should be deceived by both wife and daughter!
Curtain to the Second Act.
ACT III
SCENE FIRST
(Same stage-setting. Morning.)
Gertrude; then Champagne.
Gertrude (brings a flower vase from the garden and puts it down on the table) What trouble I had to allay his suspicions! One or two more scenes like that and I shall lose control of him. But I have gained a moment of liberty now—provided Pauline does not come to trouble me! She must be asleep—she went to bed so late!—would it be possible to lock her in her room? (She goes to the door of Pauline's chamber, but cannot find the key.) I am afraid not.
Champagne (coming in)
M. Ferdinand is coming, madame.
Gertrude
Thank you, Champagne. He went to bed very late, did he not?
Champagne M. Ferdinand makes his rounds, as you know, every night, and he came in at half-past one o'clock. I sleep over him, and I heard him.
Gertrude
Does he ever go to bed later than that?
Champagne Sometimes he does, but that is according to the time he makes his rounds.
Gertrude Very good. Thank you, Champagne. (Exit Champagne.) As the reward for a sacrifice which has lasted for twelve years, and whose agonies can only be understood by women,—for what man can guess at such tortures!—what have I asked? Very little! Merely to know that he is here, near to me, without any satisfaction saving, from time to time, a furtive glance at him. I wished only to feel sure that he would wait for me. To feel sure of this is enough for us, us for whom a pure, a heavenly love is something never to be realized. Men never believe that they are loved by us, until they have brought us down into the mire! And this is how he has rewarded me! He makes nocturnal assignations with this stupid girl! Ah! He may as well pronounce my sentence of death; and if he has the courage to do so, I shall have the courage at once to bring about their eternal separation; I can do it! But here he comes! I feel faint! My God! Why hast Thou made me love with such desperate devotion him who no longer loves me!
SCENE SECOND
Ferdinand and Gertrude.
Gertrude Yesterday you deceived me. You came here last night, through this room, entering by means of a false key, to see Pauline, at the risk of being killed by M. de Grandchamp! Oh! you needn't lie about it. I saw you, and I came upon Pauline just as you concluded your nocturnal promenade. You have made a choice upon which I cannot offer you my congratulations. If only you had heard us discussing the matter, on this very spot! If you had seen the boldness of this girl, the effrontery with which she denied everything to me, you would have trembled for your future, that future which belongs to me, and for which I have sold myself, body and soul.
Ferdinand (aside) What an avalanche of reproach! (Aloud) Let us try, Gertrude, both of us, to behave wisely in this matter. Above all things, let us try to avoid base accusations. I shall never forget what you have been to me; I still entertain towards you a friendship which is sincere, unalterable and absolute; but I no longer love you.
Gertrude
That is, since eighteen months ago.
Ferdinand
No. Since three years ago.
Gertrude You must admit then that I have the right to detest and make war upon your love for Pauline; for this love has rendered you a traitor and criminal towards me.
Ferdinand
Madame!
Gertrude Yes, you have deceived me. In standing as you did between us two, you made me assume a character which is not mine. I am violent as you know. Violence is frankness, and I am living a life of outrageous duplicity. Tell me, do you know what it is to have to invent new lies, on the spur of the moment, every day,—to live with a dagger at your heart? Oh! This lying! But for us, it is the Nemesis of happiness. It is disgraceful, when it succeeds; it is death, when it fails. And you, other men envy you because you make women love you. You will be applauded, while I shall be despised. And you do not wish me to defend myself! You have nothing but bitter words for a woman who has hidden from you everything—her remorse—her tears! I have suffered alone and without you the wrath of heaven; alone and without you I have descended into my soul's abyss, an abyss which has been opened by the earthquake of sorrow; and, while repentance was gnawing at my heart, I had for you nothing but looks of tenderness, and smiles of gaiety! Come, Ferdinand, do not despise a slave who lies in such utter subjection to your will!
Ferdinand (aside) I must put an end to this. (Aloud) Listen to me, Gertrude. When first we met it was youth alone united us in love. I then yielded, you may say, to an impulse of that egotism which lies at the bottom of every man's heart, though he knows it not, concealed under the flowers of youthful passion. There is so much turbulence in our sentiments at twenty-two! The infatuation which may seize us then, permits us not to reflect either upon life as it really is, or upon the seriousness of its issues—
Gertrude (aside)
How calmly he reasons upon it all! Ah! It is infamous!
Ferdinand And at that time I loved you freely, with entire devotion; but afterwards—afterwards, life changed its aspect for both of us. If you ask why I remained under a roof which I should never have approached, it is because I chose in Pauline the only women with whom it was possible for me to end my days. Come, Gertrude, do not break yourself to pieces against the barrier raised by heaven. Do not torture two beings who ask you to yield to them happiness, and who will ever love you dearly.
Gertrude
Ah, I see! You are the martyr—and I—I am the executioner! Would not
I have been your wife to-day, if I had not set your happiness above
the satisfaction of my love?
Ferdinand
Very well! Do the same thing to-day, by giving me my liberty.
Gertrude You mean the liberty of loving some one else. That is not the way you spoke twelve years ago. Now it will cost my life.
Ferdinand It is only in romance that people die of love. In real life they seek consolation.
Gertrude Do not you men die for your outraged honor, for a word, for a gesture? Well, there are women who die for their love, that is, when their love is a treasure which has become their all, which is their very life! And I am one of those women. Since you have been under this roof, Ferdinand, I have feared a catastrophe every moment. Yes. And I always carry about me something which will enable me to quit this life, the very moment that misfortune falls on us. See! (She shows him a phial.) Now you know that life that I have lived!
Ferdinand
Ah! you weep!
Gertrude I swore that I would keep back these tears, but they are strangling me! For you—While you speak to me with that cold politeness which is your last insult,—your last insult to a love which you repudiate!—you show not the least sympathy towards me! You would like to see me dead, for then you would be unhampered by me. But, Ferdinand, you do not know me! I am willing to confess everything to the General, whom I would not deceive. This lying fills me with disgust! I shall take my child, I shall come to your house, we will flee together. But no more of Pauline!
Ferdinand
If you did this, I would kill myself.
Gertrude And I, too, would kill myself! Then we should be united in death, and you would never be hers!
Ferdinand (aside)
What an infernal creature!
Gertrude And there is this consideration. What would you do if the barrier which separates you from Pauline were never broken down?
Ferdinand
Pauline will be able to maintain her own independence.
Gertrude
But if her father should marry her to some one else?
Ferdinand
It would be my death.
Gertrude People die of love in romance. In real life they console themselves with some one else, and a man only does his duty by being true to her with whom he has plighted troth.
The General (outside)
Gertrude! Gertrude!
Gertrude I hear the general calling. (The General appears.) You will then finish your business as quickly as you can, M. Ferdinand, and return promptly; I shall wait for you here.
(Exit Ferdinand.)
SCENE THIRD
The General, Gertrude, then Pauline.
The General This is rather early in the morning for you to be holding a conference with Ferdinand! What were you discussing? The factory?
Gertrude What were we discussing? I will tell you; for you are exactly like your son; when once you begin to ask questions, you must have a direct answer. I had an impression that Ferdinand had something to do with Pauline's refusal to marry Godard.
The General
When I come to think of it, you were perhaps right.
Gertrude I got M. Ferdinand to come here for the purpose of clearing up my suspicions, and you interrupted us at the very moment when I seemed likely to gain some information.
(Pauline pushes the door ajar unseen.)
The General
But if my daughter is in love with M. Ferdinand—
Pauline (aside)
I must listen.
The General I do not see why, when I questioned her yesterday in a paternal manner and with absolute kindness, she should have concealed it from me, for I left her perfectly free, and her feeling for him would be absolutely natural.
Gertrude She probably misunderstood you or you questioned her before she had made up her mind. The heart of a young girl, as you ought to know, is full of contradictions.
The General And why should there not be something between them? This young man toils with the courage of a lion, he is the soul of honor, he is probably of good family.
Pauline (aside)
I understand the situation now.
(Pauline withdraws.)
The General He will give us information on this point. He is above all things trustworthy; but you ought to know his family, for it was you who discovered this treasure for us.
Gertrude
I proposed him to you on the recommendation of old Madame Morin.
The General
But she is dead!
Gertrude (aside)
It is very lucky that I quoted her then! (Aloud) She told me that his
mother was Madame de Charny to whom he is devoted; she lives in
Brittany and belongs to the Charnys, an old family of that country.
The General The Charnys. Then if he is in love with Pauline, and Pauline with him, I, for my part, would prefer him to Godard in spite of Godard's fortune. Ferdinand understands the business of the factory, he could buy the whole establishment with the dowry of Pauline. That would be understood. All he has to do is to tell us where he comes from, who he is, and who his father was. But we will see his mother.
Gertrude
Madame Charny?
The General Yes, Madame Charny. Doesn't she live near Saint-Melo? That is by no means at the other end of the world.
Gertrude Just use a little tact, some of the manoeuvres of an old soldier, and be very gentle, and you will soon learn whether this child—
The General
Why should I worry about it? Here comes Pauline herself.
SCENE FOURTH
The same persons, Marguerite, then Pauline.
The General Ah! It is you, Marguerite. You came near causing the death of my daughter last night by your carelessness. You forgot—
Marguerite
I, General, cause the death of my child!
The General You forgot to take away the vase containing flowers of a strong scent, and she was almost suffocated.
Marguerite
Impossible! I took away the vase before the arrival of M. Godard, and
Madame must have seen that it was not there while we were dressing
Mademoiselle—
Gertrude
You are mistaken. It was there.
Marguerite (aside) She's a hard one. (Aloud) Does not Madame remember that she wished to put some natural flowers in Mademoiselle's hair, and that she remarked about the vase being gone?
Gertrude
You are inventing a story. But where did you carry it?
Marguerite
To the foot of the veranda.
Gertrude (to the General)
Did you find it there last night?
The General
No.
Gertrude I took it from the chamber myself last night, and put it where it now stands. (Points to the vase of flowers on the veranda.)
Marguerite
Sir, I swear to you by my eternal salvation—
Gertrude
Do not swear. (Calling.) Pauline!
The General
Pauline!
(Pauline appears.)
Gertrude
Was the vase of flowers in your room last night?
Pauline
Yes. Marguerite, my dear old friend, you must have forgotten it.
Marguerite Why don't you say, Mademoiselle, that some one put it there on purpose to make you ill!
Gertrude
Whom do you mean by some one?
The General You old fool, if your memory failed you, it is unnecessary for you, at any rate, to accuse anybody else.
Pauline (aside to Marguerite)
Keep silence! (Aloud) Marguerite, it was there! You forgot it.
Marguerite
It is true, sir, I was thinking of the day before yesterday.
The General (aside) She has been in my service for twenty years. Strange that she should be so persistent! (Takes Marguerite aside.) Come! What did you say about the flowers for my daughter's hair?
Marguerite (while Pauline makes signs to her)
I said that, sir—I am so old that my memory is treacherous.
The General But even then, why did you suppose that any one in the house had an evil thought towards—
Pauline
Say no more, father! She has so much affection for me, dear
Marguerite, that she is sometimes distracted by it.
Marguerite (aside)
I am quite sure I took away the flowers.
The General (aside) Why should my wife and my daughter deceive me? An old trooper like me doesn't permit himself to be caught between two fires, and there is something decidedly crooked—
Gertrude
Marguerite, we will take tea in this room when M. Godard comes down.
Tell Felix to bring in all the newspapers.
Marguerite
Very good, madame.
SCENE FIFTH
Gertrude, the General and Pauline.
The General (kissing his daughter)
You've not even said good-morning to me, you unnatural child.
Pauline (kissing him) But, you began by scolding about nothing. I declare, father, I am going to undertake your education. It is quite time for you, at your age, to control yourself a little,—a young man would not be so quick as you are! You have terrified Marguerite, and when women are in fear, they tell little falsehoods, and you can get nothing out of them.
The General (aside) I'm in for it now! (Aloud) Your conduct, young lady, does not do much towards promoting my self-control. I wish you to marry, and I propose a man who is young—
Pauline
Handsome and well educated!
The General Please keep silence, when your father addresses you, mademoiselle. A man who possesses a magnificent fortune, at least six times as much as yours, and you refuse him. You are well able to do so, because I leave you free in the matter; but if you do not care for Godard, tell me who it is you choose, if I do not already know.
Pauline Ah, father, you are much more clear-sighted than I am. Tell me who he is?
The General He is a man from thirty to thirty-five years old, who pleases me much more than Godard does, although he is without fortune. He is already a member of our family.
Pauline
I don't see any of our relations here.
The General I wonder what you can have against this poor Ferdinand, that you should be unwilling—
Pauline
Ah! Who has been telling you this story? I'll warrant that it is
Madame de Grandchamp.
The General A story? I suppose, you will deny the truth of it! Have you never thought of this fine young fellow?
Pauline
Never!
Gertrude (to the General)
She is lying! Just look at her.
Pauline Madame de Grandchamp has doubtless her reasons for supposing that I have an attachment for my father's clerk. Oh! I see how it is, she wishes you to say: "If your heart, my daughter, has no preference for any one, marry Godard." (In a low voice to Gertrude) This, madame, is an atrocious move! To make me abjure my love in my father's presence! But I will have my revenge.
Gertrude (aside to Pauline)
As you choose about that; but marry Godard you shall!
The General (aside)
Can it be possible that these two are at variance? I must question
Ferdinand. (Aloud) What were you saying to each other?
Gertrude Your daughter, my dear, did not like my idea that she was taken with a subordinate; she is deeply humiliated at the thought.
The General Am I to understand, then, my daughter, that you are not in love with him?
Pauline Father, I—I do not ask you to marry me to any one! I am perfectly happy! The only thing which God has given us women, as our very own, is our heart. I do not understand why Madame de Grandchamp, who is not my mother, should interfere with my feelings.
Gertrude My child, I desire nothing but your happiness. I am merely your stepmother, I know, but if you had been in love with Ferdinand, I should have—
The General (kissing Gertrude's hand)
How good you are!
Pauline (aside)
I feel as if I were strangled! Ah! If I could only undo her!
Gertrude Yes, I should have thrown myself at your father's feet, to win his consent, if he had refused it.
The General Here comes Ferdinand. (Aside) I shall question him at my discretion; and then perhaps the mystery will be cleared up.
SCENE SIXTH
The same persons and Ferdinand.
The General (to Ferdinand) Come here, my friend. You have been with us over three years now, and I am indebted to you for the power of sleeping soundly amid all the cares of an extensive business. You are almost as much as I am the master of my factory. You have been satisfied with a salary, pretty large it is true, but scarcely proportionate perhaps to the services rendered by you. I think at last I understand the motive of your disinterestedness.
Ferdinand
It is my duty, General.
The General Granted; but does not the heart count for a good deal in this? Come now, Ferdinand, you know my way of considering the different ranks of society, and the distinctions pertaining to them. We are all the sons of our own works. I have been a soldier. You may therefore have full confidence in me. They have told me all; how you love a certain young person, here present. If you desire it, she shall be yours. My wife had pleaded your cause, and I must acknowledge that she has gained it before the tribunal of my heart.
Ferdinand General, can this be true? Madame de Grandchamp has pleaded my cause? Ah, madame! (He falls on his knees before her.) I acknowledge in this your greatness of heart! You are sublime, you are an angel! (Rising and rushing forward to Pauline.) Pauline, my Pauline!
Gertrude (to the General)
I guessed aright; he is in love with Pauline.
Pauline Sir, have I ever given you the right, by a single look, or by a single word, to utter my name in this way? No one could be more astonished than I am to find that I have inspired you with sentiments which might flatter others, but which I can never reciprocate; I have a higher ambition.
The General Pauline, my child, you are more than severe. Come, tell me, is there not some misunderstanding here? Ferdinand, come here, come close to me.
Ferdinand
How is it, mademoiselle, when your stepmother, and your father agree?
Pauline (in a low voice to Ferdinand)
We are lost!
The General Now I am going to act the tyrant. Tell me, Ferdinand, of course your family is an honorable one?
Pauline (to Ferdinand)
You hear that!
The General Your father must certainly have been a man of as honorable a profession as mine was; my father was sergeant of the watch.
Gertrude (aside)
They are now separated forever.
Ferdinand Ah! (To Gertrude) I understand your move. (To the General) General, I do not deny that once in a dream, long ago, in a sweet dream, in which it was delicious for a man poor and without family to indulge in—dreams we are told are all the fortune that ever comes to the unfortunate—I do not deny that I once regarded it as a piece of overwhelming happiness to become a member of your family; but the reception which mademoiselle accords to those natural hopes of mine, and which you have been cruel enough to make me reveal, is such that at the present moment they have left my heart, never again to return! I have been rudely awakened from that dream, General. The poor man has his pride, which it is as ungenerous in the rich man to wound, as it would be for any one to insult—mark what I say—your attachment to Napoleon. (In a low voice to Gertrude) You are playing a terrible part!
Gertrude (aside to Ferdinand)
She shall marry Godard.
The General Poor young man! (To Pauline) He is everything that is good! He inspires me with affection. (He takes Ferdinand aside.) If I were in your place, and at your age, I would have—No, no, what the devil am I saying?—After all she is my daughter!
Ferdinand General, I make an appeal to your honor; swear that you will keep, as the most profound secret, what I am going to confide to you; and this secrecy must extend so far even as to Madame de Grandchamp.
The General (aside)
What is this? He also, like my daughter, seems to distrust my wife.
But, by heaven, I will learn what it means! (Aloud) I consent; you
have the word of a man who has never once broken a promise given.
Ferdinand After having forced me to reveal that which I had buried in the recesses of my heart, and after I have been thunderstruck, for that is the only word in which to express it, by the disdain of Mademoiselle Pauline, it is impossible for me to remain here any longer. I shall therefore put my accounts in order; this evening I shall quit this place, and to-morrow will leave France for America, if I can find a ship sailing from Havre.
The General (aside)
It is as well that he should leave, for he will be sure to return. (To
Ferdinand) May I tell this to my daughter?
Ferdinand
Yes, but to no one else.
The General (aside to Pauline) Pauline! My daughter, you have so cruelly humiliated this poor youth, that the factory is on the point of losing its manager; Ferdinand is to leave this evening for America.
Pauline (to the General) He is right, father. He is doing of his own accord, what you doubtless would have advised him to do.
Gertrude (to Ferdinand)
She shall marry Godard.
Ferdinand (to Gertrude)
If I do not punish you for your atrocious conduct, God Himself will!
The General (to Pauline)
America is a long way off and the climate is deadly.
Pauline (to the General)
Many a fortune is made there.
The General (aside) She does not love him. (To Ferdinand) Ferdinand, you must not leave before I have put in your hands sufficient to start you on the road to fortune.
Ferdinand I thank you, General; but what is due me will be sufficient. Moreover, I shall not be missed in your factory, for I have trained Champagne so thoroughly as a foreman, that he is skillful enough to become my successor; and if you will go with me to the factory, you will see—
The General I will gladly accompany you. (Aside) Everything is in such a muddle here, that I must go and look for Vernon. The advice and clear-sightedness of my old friend, the doctor, will be of service in ferreting out what it is that disturbs this household, for there is something or other. Ferdinand, I will follow you. Ladies, we will be soon be back again. (Aside) There is something or other!
(The General follows Ferdinand out.)
SCENE SEVENTH
Gertrude and Pauline.
Pauline (locking the door) Madame, do you consider that a pure love, a love which comprises and enhances all human happiness, which makes us understand that happiness which is divine,—do you consider such a love to be dearer and more precious to us than life?
Gertrude You have been reading the Nouvelle Heloise, my dear. What you say is rather stilted in diction, but it is nevertheless true.
Pauline
Well, madame, you have just caused me to commit suicide.
Gertrude The very act you would have been happy to see me commit; and if you had succeeded in forcing me to it, you would have felt in your heart the joy which fills mine at present.
Pauline According to my father, war between civilized nations has its laws; but the war which you wage against me, madame, is that of savages.
Gertrude
You may do as I do, if you can—but you can do nothing! You shall
marry Godard. He is a very good match for you; you will be very happy,
I assure you, for he has fine qualities.
Pauline
And you think that I will quietly let you marry Ferdinand?
Gertrude
After the few words which we have exchanged this evening, why should
we now indulge in the language of hypocrisy? I was in love with
Ferdinand, my dear Pauline, when you were but eight years old.
Pauline But now you are more than thirty—and I am still young. Moreover, he hates you, he abhors you! He has told me so, and he wishes to have nothing to do with a woman capable of the black treachery with which you have acted towards my father.
Gertrude
In the eyes of Ferdinand, my love will serve as my vindication.
Pauline
He shares the feelings which I have for you; he despises you, madame.
Gertrude Do you really believe it? Well, if it is so, my dear, I have one more reason for the position I take, for if he refuses to become my husband, to gratify his love, Pauline, you will force me to marry him for the sake of satisfying my revenge. When he came to this house, was he not aware that I was here?
Pauline You probably caught him by some such snare as you have just set for us, and into which both of us have fallen.
Gertrude Now, my child, a single word more will put an end to everything between us. Have you not said a hundred times, a thousand times, in moments when you were all feeling, all soul, that you would make the greatest sacrifices for Ferdinand?
Pauline
Yes, madame.
Gertrude You said you would leave your father, would flee from France; you would give your life, your honor, your salvation for Ferdinand?
Pauline Yes, and if there is anything else that I can offer besides myself—this world and heaven!
Gertrude Let me tell you, then, that all that you have wished to do, I have done! It is enough therefore to assure you that nothing, not even death itself, can arrest my course.
Pauline In saying this, you give me the right to defend myself before my father. (Aside) O Ferdinand! Our love, (Gertrude takes a seat on the sofa during the soliloquy of Pauline) as she has said, is greater than life. (To Gertrude) Madame, you must repair all the evil that you have done to me; the sole difficulties which lie in the way of my marriage with Ferdinand, you must overcome. Yes, you who have complete control over my father, you must make him forego his hatred of the son of General Marcandal.
Gertrude
And do you really mean that?
Pauline
Yes, madame.
Gertrude
And what means do you possess formidable enough to compel me to do so?
Pauline
Are we not carrying on a warfare of savages?
Gertrude Say rather, of women, which is even more terrible! Savages torment the body alone; while we direct our arrows against the heart, the self-love, the pride, the soul of those whom we attack in the very midst of their happiness.
Pauline That is truly said. It is the whole woman-nature that I attack. Therefore, my dear and truly honored stepmother, you must eliminate by to-morrow, and not later, all the obstacles that stand between me and Ferdinand; or you may be sure my father shall learn from me the whole course of your conduct, both before and after your marriage.
Gertrude Ah! That is the way you are going to do it! Poor child! He will never believe you.
Pauline Oh, I know the domination you exercise over my father; but I have proofs.
Gertrude
Proofs! Proofs!
Pauline I went to Ferdinand's house—I am very inquisitive—and I found there your letters, madame; I took from among them those which would convince even the blindness of my father, for they will prove to him—
Gertrude
What will they prove?
Pauline
Everything!
Gertrude But this will be, unhappy child, both theft and murder! For think of his age.
Pauline And have not you accomplished the murder of my happiness? Have you not forced me to deny, both to my father and to Ferdinand, my love, my glory, my life?
Gertrude (aside)
This is a mere trick; she knows nothing. (Aloud) This is a clever
stratagem, but I never wrote a single line. What you say is not true.
It is impossible. Where are the letters?
Pauline
They are in my possession.
Gertrude
In your room?
Pauline
They are where you can never reach them.