General de Verby
     Dupre, a lawyer
     Rousseau, a wealthy merchant
     Jules Rousseau, his son
     Joseph Binet
     Giraud, a porter
     Chief of Special Police
     Antoine, servant to the Rousseaus

     Pamela Giraud
     Madame du Brocard, a widow; aunt of Jules Rousseau
     Madame Rousseau
     Madame Giraud
     Justine, chambermaid to Madame Rousseau

     Sheriff
     Magistrate
     Police Officers
     Gendarmes

                              SCENE FIRST

  (Setting is an attic and workshop of an artificial flower-maker. It is
  poorly lighted by means of a candle placed on the work-table. The
  ceiling slopes abruptly at the back allowing space to conceal a man.
  On the right is a door, on the left a fireplace. Pamela is discovered
  at work, and Joseph Binet is seated near her.)

  Pamela, Joseph Binet and later Jules Rousseau.

  Pamela
  Monsieur Joseph Binet!

  Joseph
  Mademoiselle Pamela Giraud!

  Pamela
  I plainly see that you wish me to hate you.

  Joseph
  The idea! What? And this is the beginning of our love—Hate me!

  Pamela
  Oh, come! Let us talk sensibly.

  Joseph
  You do not wish, then, that I should express how much I love you?

  Pamela
  Ah! I may as well tell you plainly, since you compel me to do so, that
  I do not wish to become the wife of an upholsterer's apprentice.

  Joseph
  Is it necessary to become an emperor, or something like that, in order
  to marry a flower-maker?

  Pamela
  No. But it is necessary to be loved, and I don't love you in any way
  whatever.

  Joseph
  In any way! I thought there was only one way of loving.

  Pamela
  So there is, but there are many ways of not loving. You can be my
  friend, without my loving you.

  Joseph
  Oh!

  Pamela
  I can look upon you with indifference—

  Joseph
  Ah!

  Pamela
  You can be odious to me! And at this moment you weary me, which is
  worse!

  Joseph
  I weary her! I who would cut myself into fine pieces to do all that
  she wishes!

  Pamela
  If you would do what I wish, you would not remain here.

  Joseph
  And if I go away—Will you love me a little?

  Pamela
  Yes, for the only time I like you is when you are away!

  Joseph
  And if I never came back?

  Pamela
  I should be delighted.

  Joseph
  Zounds! Why should I, senior apprentice with M. Morel, instead of
  aiming at setting up business for myself, fall in love with this young
  lady? It is folly! It certainly hinders me in my career; and yet I
  dream of her—I am infatuated with her. Suppose my uncle knew it!—But
  she is not the only woman in Paris, and, after all, Mlle. Pamela
  Giraud, who are you that you should be so high and mighty?

  Pamela
  I am the daughter of a poor ruined tailor, now become a porter. I gain
  my own living—if working night and day can be called living—and it
  is with difficulty that I snatch a little holiday to gather lilacs in
  the Pres-Saint-Gervais; and I certainly recognize that the senior
  apprentice of M. Morel is altogether too good for me. I do not wish to
  enter a family which believes that it would thus form a mesalliance.
  The Binets indeed!

  Joseph
  But what has happened to you in the last eight or ten days, my dear
  little pet of a Pamela? Up to ten days ago I used to come and cut out
  your flowers for you, I used to make the stalks for the roses, and the
  hearts for the violets; we used to talk together, we sometimes used to
  go to the play, and have a good cry there—and I was "good Joseph,"
  "my little Joseph"—a Joseph in fact of the right stuff to make your
  husband. All of a sudden—Pshaw! I became of no account.

  Pamela
  Now you must really go away. Here you are neither in the street, nor
  in your own house.

  Joseph
  Very well, I'll be off, mademoiselle—yes, I'll go away! I'll have a
  talk in the porter's lodge with your mother; she does not ask anything
  better than my entrance into the family, not she; she won't change her
  mind!

  Pamela
  All right! Instead of entering her family, enter her lodge, the
  porter's lodge, M. Joseph! Go and talk with my mother, go on!— (Exit
  Joseph.) Perhaps he'll keep their attention so that M. Adolph can get
  up stairs without being seen. Adolph Durand! What a pretty name! There
  is half a romance in it! And what a handsome young man! For the last
  fifteen days he has absolutely persecuted me. I knew that I was rather
  pretty; but I never believed I was all he called me. He must be an
  artist, or a government official! Whatever he is, I can't help liking
  him; he is so aristocratic! But what if his appearance were deceitful,
  and there were anything wrong about him!—For the letter which he has
  just sent me has an air of mystery about it— (She draws a letter from
  her bosom and reads it) "Expect me this evening. I wish to see you
  alone, and, if possible, to enter unnoticed by any one; my life is in
  danger, and oh! if you only knew what a terrible misfortune threatens
  me! Adolph Durand." He writes in pencil. His life is in danger—Ah!
  How anxious I feel!

  Joseph (returning)
  Just as I was going down stairs, I said to myself: "Why should Pamela"

  (Jules' head appears at the window.)

  Pamela
  Ah!

  Joseph
  What's the matter?

  (Jules disappears.)

  Pamela
  I thought I saw—I mean—I thought I heard a sound overhead. Just go
  into the garret. Some one perhaps has hidden there. You are not
  afraid, are you?

  Joseph
  No.

  Pamela
  Very well! Go up and search! Otherwise I shall be frightened for the
  whole night.

  Joseph
  I will go at once. I will climb over the roof if you like.

  (He passes through a narrow door that leads to the garret.)

  Pamela (follows him)
  Be quick! (Jules enters.) Ah! sir, what trouble you are giving me!

  Jules
  It is to save my life, and perhaps you will never regret it. You know
  how much I love you!

  (He kisses her hand.)

  Pamela
  I know that you have told me so; but you treat me—

  Jules
  As my deliverer.

  Pamela
  You wrote to me—and your letter has filled me with trouble—I know
  neither who you are—

  Joseph (from the outer room)
  Mademoiselle, I am in the garret. I have looked over the whole roof.

  Jules
  He is coming back—Where can I hide?

  Pamela
  But you must not stay here!

  Jules
  You wish to ruin me, Pamela!

  Pamela
  Look, hide yourself there!

  (She points to the cranny under the sloping roof.)

  Joseph (returning)
  Are you alone, mademoiselle?

  Pamela
  No; for are not you here?

  Joseph
  I heard something like the voice of a man. The voice came from below.

  Pamela
  Nonsense, more likely it came from above—Look down the staircase—

  Joseph
  Oh! But I am sure—

  Pamela
  Nonsense. Leave me, sir; I wish to be alone.

  Joseph
  Alone, with a man's voice?

  Pamela
  I suppose you don't believe me?

  Joseph
  But I heard it plain enough.

  Pamela
  You heard nothing.

  Joseph
  Ah! Pamela!

  Pamela
  If you prefer to believe the sounds which you say reached your ears,
  rather than the words I speak, you would make a very bad husband. That
  is quite sufficient for me.

  Joseph
  That doesn't prove that I did not hear—

  Pamela
  Since I can't convince you, you can believe what you like. Yes! you
  did hear a voice, the voice of a young man, who is in love with me,
  and who does whatever I wish—He disappears when he is asked, and
  comes when he is wanted. And now what are you waiting for? Do you
  think that while he is here, your presence can be anything but
  disagreeable to us? Go and ask my father and mother what his name is.
  He must have told them when he came up stairs—he, and the voice you
  heard.

  Joseph
  Mlle. Pamela, forgive a poor youth who is mad with love. It is not
  only my heart that I have lost, but my head also, when I think of you.
  I know that you are just as good as you are beautiful, I know that you
  have in your soul more treasures of sweetness than you ever show, and
  so I know that you are right, and were I to hear ten voices, were I to
  see ten men here, I would care nothing about it. But one—

  Pamela
  Well, what of it?

  Joseph
  A single one—that is what wounds me. But I must be off; it seems
  funny that I should have said all that to you. I know quite well that
  there is no one here but you. Till we meet again, Mlle. Pamela; I am
  going—I trust you.

  Pamela (aside)
  He evidently does not feel quite sure.

  Joseph (aside)
  There is some one here! I will run down and tell the whole matter to
  her father and mother. (Aloud) Adieu, Mlle. Pamela. (Exit.)

                               SCENE SECOND

  Pamela and Jules.

  Pamela
  M. Adolph, you see to what you are exposing me. That poor lad is a
  workman, a most kind-hearted fellow; he has an uncle rich enough to
  set him up in business; he wishes to marry me, and in one moment I
  have lost my prospects—and for whom? I do not know you, and from the
  manner in which you imperil the reputation of a young girl who has no
  capital but her good behavior, I conclude that you think you have the
  right to do so. You are rich and you make sport of poor people!

  Jules
  No, my dear Pamela. I know who you are, and I take you at your true
  value. I love you, I am rich, and we will never leave one another. My
  traveling carriage is with a friend, at the gate of St. Denis; we will
  proceed on foot to catch it; I intend embarking for England. You must
  come with me. I cannot explain my intentions now, for the least delay
  may prove fatal to me.

  Pamela
  What do you mean?

  Jules
  You shall see—

  Pamela
  Are you in your right senses, M. Adolph? After having followed me
  about for a month, seen me twice at a dance, written me several
  declarations, such as young men of your sort write to any and every
  woman, you point-blank propose an elopement!

  Jules
  Oh, I beg of you, don't delay an instant! You'll repent of this for
  the rest of your life, and you will see too late what mischief you
  have done.

  Pamela
  But, my dear sir, you can perhaps explain yourself in a couple of
  words.

  Jules
  No,—for the secret is a matter of life and death to several persons.

  Pamela
  If it were only to save your life, whoever you are, I would do a good
  deal; but what assistance could I be to you in your flight! Why do you
  want to take me to England?

  Jules
  What a child you are! No one, of course, would suspect anything of two
  runaway lovers! And, let me tell you, I love you well enough to
  disregard everything else, and even to brave the anger of my parents—
  Once we are married at Gretna Green—

  Pamela
  Oh, mon Dieu! I am quite non-plussed! Here's a handsome young man
  urges you—implores you—and talks of marriage—

  Jules
  They are mounting the staircase—I am lost!—You have betrayed me!—

  Pamela
  M. Adolph, you alarm me! What is going to happen? Wait a moment, I
  will go and see.

  Jules
  In any case, take and keep this twenty thousand francs. It will be
  safer with you than in the hands of the police—I have only half an
  hour longer and all will be over.

  Pamela
  There is nothing to fear—It is only my father and mother.

  Jules
  You have the kindness of an angel. I trust my fate with you. But you
  must know that both of us must leave this house at once; and I swear
  on my honor, that nothing but good shall result to you.

  (He hides again under the roof.)

                               SCENE THIRD

  Pamela, M. Giraud and Mme. Giraud.

  Pamela (who stands in such a way as to prevent her parents from
  entering fully into the room; aside)
  Evidently here is a man in danger—and a man who loves me—two reasons
  why I should be interested in him.

  Mme. Giraud
  How is this, Pamela—you the solace of all our misfortunes, the prop
  of our old age, our only hope!

  Giraud
  A girl brought up on the strictest principles.

  Mme. Giraud
  Keep quiet, Giraud! You don't know what you are talking about.

  Giraud
  Certainly, Madame Giraud.

  Mme. Giraud
  And besides all this, Pamela, your example was cited in all the
  neighborhood as a girl who'd be useful to your parents in their
  declining years!

  Giraud
  And worthy to receive the prize of virtue!

  Pamela
  Then what is the meaning of all these reproaches?

  Mme. Giraud
  Joseph has just told us that you had a man hidden in your room.

  Giraud
  Yes—he heard the voice.

  Mme. Giraud
  Silence, Giraud!—Pamela—pay no attention to your father—

  Pamela
  And do you, mother, pay no attention to Joseph.

  Giraud
  What did I tell you on the stairs, Madame Giraud? Pamela knows how we
  count upon her. She wishes to make a good match as much on our account
  as on her own; her heart bleeds to see us porters, us, the authors of
  her life! She is too sensible to blunder in this matter. Is it not so,
  my child, you would not deceive your father?

  Mme. Giraud
  There is nobody here, is there, my love? For a young working-girl to
  have any one in her room, at ten o'clock at night—well—she runs a
  risk of losing—

  Pamela
  But it seems to me that if I had any one you would have seen him on
  his way up.

  Giraud
  She is right.

  Mme. Giraud
  She does not answer straight out. Please open the door of this room.

  Pamela
  Mother, stop! Do not come in here,—you shall not come in here!—
  Listen to me; as I love you, mother, and you, father, I have nothing
  to reproach myself with!—and I swear to it before God!—Do not in a
  moment withdraw from your daughter the confidence which you have had
  in her for so long a time.

  Mme. Giraud
  But why not tell us?

  Pamela (aside)
  Impossible! If they were to see this young man every one would soon
  know all about it.

  Giraud (interrupting her)
  We are your father and mother, and we must see!

  Pamela
  For the first time in my life, I refuse to obey you!—But you force me
  to it!—These lodgings are rented by me from the earnings of my work!
  I am of age and mistress of my own actions.

  Mme. Giraud
  Oh, Pamela! Can this be you, on whom we have placed all our hopes?

  Giraud
  You will ruin yourself!—and I shall remain a porter to the end of my
  days.

  Pamela
  You needn't be afraid of that! Well—I admit that there is some one
  here; but silence! You must go down stairs again to your lodge. You
  must tell Joseph that he does not know what he is talking about, that
  you have searched everywhere, that there is no one in my lodging; you
  must send him away—then you shall see this young man; you shall learn
  what I purpose doing. But you must keep everything the most profound
  secret.

  Giraud
  Unhappy girl! What do you take us for? (He sees the banknotes on the
  table.) Ah! what is this? Banknotes!

  Mme. Giraud
  Banknotes! (She recoils from Pamela.) Pamela, where did you get them?

  Pamela
  I will tell you when I write.

  Giraud
  When you write! She must be going to elope!

                               SCENE FOURTH

  The same persons, and Joseph Binet.

  Joseph (entering)
  I was quite sure that there was something wrong about him!—He is a
  ringleader of thieves! The gendarmes, the magistrate, all the
  excitement she showed mean something—and now the house is surrounded!

  Jules (appearing)
  I am lost!

  Pamela
  I have done all that I could!

  Giraud
  And you, sir, who are you?

  Joseph
  Are you a—?

  Mme. Giraud
  Speak!

  Jules
  But for this idiot, I would have escaped! You will now have the ruin
  of an innocent man on your consciences.

  Pamela
  M. Adolph, are you innocent?

  Jules
  I am!

  Pamela
  What shall we do? (Pointing to the dormer window.)  You can elude
  their pursuit that way out.

  (She opens the dormer window and finds the police agents on the roof
  outside.)

  Jules
  It is too late. All you can do is to confirm my statement. You must
  declare that I am your daughter's lover; that I have asked you to give
  her in marriage to me; that I am of age; that my name is Adolph
  Durand, son of a rich business man of Marseilles.

  Giraud
  He offers her lawful love and wealth!—Young man, I willingly take you
  under my protection.

                               SCENE FIFTH

  The same persons, a sheriff, a police officer and gendarmes.

  Giraud
  Sir, what right have you to enter an occupied dwelling—the domicile
  of a peaceable young girl?

  Joseph
  Yes, what right have you—?

  The sheriff
  Young man, don't you worry about our right!—A few moments ago you
  were very friendly and slowed us where the unknown might be found, but
  now you have suddenly changed your tune.

  Pamela
  Bit what are you looking for? What do you want?

  The sheriff
  You seem to be well aware that we are looking for somebody.

  Giraud
  Sir, my daughter has no one with her but her future husband, M.—

  The sheriff
  Rousseau.

  Pamela
  M. Adolph Durand.

  Giraud
  Rousseau I don't know.—The gentleman I refer to is M. Adolph Durand.

  Mme. Giraud
  Son of a respectable merchant of Marseilles.

  Joseph
  Ah! you have been deceiving me! Ah!—That is the secret of your
  coldness, and he is—

  The sheriff (to the officer of the police)
  This does not seem to be the man?

  The officer
  Oh, yes, I am sure of it! (to the gendarmes) Carry out my orders.

  Jules
  Monsieur, I am the victim of some mistake; my name is not Jules
  Rousseau.

  The officer
  Oh! but you know his first name, which none of us has as yet
  mentioned.

  Jules
  But I heard some one say it. Here are my papers, which are perfectly
  correct.

  The sheriff
  Let me see them, please.

  Giraud
  Gentlemen, I assure you and declare to you—

  The officer
  If you go on in this way, and wish to make us believe that this
  gentleman is Adolph Durand, son of a merchant of—

  Mme. Giraud
  Of Marseilles—

  The officer
  You may all be arrested as his accomplices, locked up in jail this
  evening, and implicated in an affair from which you will not easily
  get off. Have you any regard for the safety of your neck?

  Giraud
  A great deal!

  The officer
  Very well! Hold your tongue, then.

  Mme. Giraud
  Do hold your tongue, Giraud!

  Pamela
  Merciful heaven! Why did I not believe him at once!

  The sheriff (to his agents)
  Search the gentleman!

  (The agent takes out Jules' pocket handkerchief.)

  The officer
  It is marked with a J and an R. My dear sir, you are not very clever!

  Joseph
  What can he have done? Have you anything to do with it, mademoiselle?

  Pamela
  You are the sole cause of the trouble. Never speak to me again!

  The officer
  Monsieur, here we have the check for your dinner—you dined at the
  Palais Royal. While you were there you wrote a letter in pencil. One
  of your friends brought the letter here. His name was M. Adolph
  Durand, and he lent you his passport. We are certain of your identity;
  you are M. Jules Rousseau.

  Joseph
  The son of the rich M. Rousseau, whose house we are furnishing?

  The sheriff
  Hold your tongue!

  The officer
  You must come with us.

  Jules
  Certainly, monsieur. (To Giraud and his wife) Forgive the annoyance I
  have caused you—and you, Pamela, do not forget me! If you do not see
  me again, you may keep what I gave into your hands, and may it bring
  you happiness!

  Giraud
  O Lord!

  Pamela
  Poor Adolph!

  The sheriff (to his agents)
  Remain here. We are going to search this attic, and question every one
  of these people.

  Joseph (with a gesture of horror)
  Ah!—she prefers a criminal to me!

  (Jules is put in charge of the agents.)

  Curtain to the First Act.

                               SCENE FIRST

  (The setting is a drawing-room in the Rousseau mansion. Antoine is
  looking through the newspapers.)

  Antoine and Justine.

  Justine
  Well, Antoine, have you read the papers?

  Antoine
  I am reading them. Isn't it a pity that we servants cannot learn,
  excepting through the papers, what is going on in the trial of M.
  Jules?

  Justine
  And yet the master and mistress and Mme. du Brocard, their sister,
  know nothing. M. Jules has been for three months—in—what do they
  call it?—in close confinement.

  Antoine
  The arrest of the young man has evidently attracted great attention—

  Justine
  It seems absurd to think that a young man who had nothing to do but
  amuse himself, who would some day inherit his aunt's income of twenty
  thousand francs, and his father's and mother's fortune, which is quite
  double that amount, should be mixed up in a conspiracy!

  Antoine
  I admire him for it, for they were plotting to bring back the emperor!
  You may cause my throat to be cut if you like. We are alone here—you
  don't belong to the police; long live the emperor! say I.

  Justine
  For mercy's sake, hold your tongue, you old fool!—If any one heard
  you, you would get us all arrested.

  Antoine
  I am not afraid of that, thank God! The answers I made to the
  magistrate were non-committal; I never compromised M. Jules, like the
  traitors who informed against him.

  Justine
  Mme. du Brocard with all her immense savings ought to be able to buy
  him off.

  Antoine
  Oh, nonsense! Since the escape of Lavalette such a thing is
  impossible! They have become extremely particular at the gates of the
  prison, and they were never particularly accommodating. M. Jules will
  have to take his dose you see; he will be a martyr. I shall go and see
  him executed.

  (Some one rings. Exit Antoine.)

  Justine
  We will go and see him! When one has known a condemned man I don't see
  how they can have the heart to—As for me I shall go to the Court of
  Assizes. I feel, poor boy, I owe him that!

                               SCENE SECOND

  Dupre, Antoine and Justine.

  Antoine (aside, as he ushers in Dupre)
  Ah! The lawyer. (Aloud) Justine, go and tell madame that Monsieur
  Dupre is waiting. (Aside) The lawyer is a hard nut to crack, I'm
  thinking. (Aloud) Sir, is there any hope of saving our poor M. Jules?

  Dupre
  I perceive that you are very fond of your young master?

  Antoine
  Naturally enough!

  Dupre
  What would you do to save him?

  Antoine
  Anything, sir!

  Dupre
  That means nothing.

  Antoine
  Nothing?—I will give whatever evidence you like.

  Dupre
  If you are caught in contradicting yourself and convicted of perjury,
  do you know what you run the risk of?

  Antoine
  No, sir.

  Dupre
  The galleys.

  Antoine
  That is rather severe, sir.

  Dupre
  You would prefer to serve him without compromising yourself?

  Antoine
  Is there any other way?

  Dupre
  No.

  Antoine
  Well! I'll run the risk of the galleys.

  Dupre (aside)
  What devotion is here!

  Antoine
  My master would be sure to settle a pension on me.

  Justine
  Here is madame.

                               SCENE THIRD

  The same persons and Madame Rousseau.

  Mme. Rousseau (to Dupre)
  Ah! Monsieur, we have been impatiently expecting this visit. (To
  Antoine) Antoine! Quick, inform my husband. (To Dupre) Sir, I trust in
  your efforts, alone.

  Dupre
  You may be sure, madame, that I shall employ every energy—

  Mme. Rousseau
  Oh! Thank you! But of course Jules is not guilty. To think of him as a
  conspirator! Poor child, how could any one suspect him, who trembles
  before me at the slightest reproach—me, his mother! Ah, monsieur,
  promise that you will restore him to me!

  Rousseau (entering the room)
  (To Antoine) Yes, carry the letter to General de Verby. I shall wait
  for him here. (To Dupre) I am glad to see you, my dear M. Dupre—

  Dupre
  The battle will doubtless begin to-morrow; to-day preparations are
  being made, and the indictment drawn.

  Rousseau
  Has my poor Jules made any admissions?

  Dupre
  He has denied everything, and has played to perfection the part of an
  innocent man; but we are not able to oppose any testimony to that
  which is being brought against him.

  Rousseau
  Ah! Monsieur, save my son, and the half of my fortune shall be yours!

  Dupre
  If I had every half of a fortune that has been promised to me, I
  should be too rich for anything.

  Rousseau
  Do you question the extent of my gratitude?

  Dupre
  We will wait till the result of the trial is known, sir.

  Mme. Rousseau
  Take pity on a poor mother!

  Dupre
  Madame, I swear to you nothing so much excites my curiosity and my
  sympathy, as a genuine sentiment. And at Paris sincerity is so rare
  that I cannot be indifferent to the grief of a family threatened with
  the loss of an only son. You may therefore rely upon me.

  Rousseau
  Ah! Monsieur!

                               SCENE FOURTH

  The same persons, General de Verby and Madame du Brocard.

  Mme. du Brocard (showing in De Verby)
  Come in, my dear general.

  De Verby (bowing to Rousseau)
  Monsieur—I simply came to learn—

  Rousseau (presenting Dupre to De Verby)
  General, M. Dupre.

  (Dupre and De Verby exchange bows.)

  Dupre (aside, while De Verby talks with Rousseau)
  He is general of the antechamber, holding the place merely through the
  influence of his brother, the lord chamberlain; he doesn't seem to me
  to have come here without some object.

  De Verby (to Dupre)
  I understand, sir, that you are engaged for the defence of M. Jules
  Rousseau in this deplorable affair—

  Dupre
  Yes, sir, it is a deplorable affair, for the real culprits are not in
  prison; thus it is that justice rages fiercely against the rank and
  file, but the chiefs are always passed by. You are General Vicomte de
  Verby, I presume?

  De Verby
  Simple General Verby—I do not take the title—my opinions of course.
  —Doubtless you are acquainted with the evidence in this case?

  Dupre
  I have been in communication with the accused only for the last three
  days.

  De Verby
  And what do you think of the affair?

  All
  Yes, tell us.

  Dupre
  According to my experience of the law courts, I believe it possible to
  obtain important revelations by offering commutation of sentence to
  the condemned.

  De Verby
  The accused are all men of honor.

  Rousseau
  But—

  Dupre
  Characters sometime change at the prospect of the scaffold, especially
  when there is much at stake.

  De Verby (aside)
  A conspiracy ought not to be entered upon excepting with penniless
  accomplices.

  Dupre
  I shall induce my client to tell everything.

  Rousseau
  Of course.

  Mme. du Brocard
  Certainly.

  Mme. Rousseau
  He ought to do so.

  De Verby (anxiously)
  I presume there is no other way of escape for him?

  Dupre
  None whatever; it can be proved that he was of the number of those who
  had begun to put in execution the plot.

  De Verby
  I would rather lose my head than my honor.

  Dupre
  I should consider which of the two was worth more.

  De Verby
  You have your views in the matter.

  Rousseau
  Those are mine.

  Dupre
  And they are the opinions of the majority. I have seen many things
  done by men to escape the scaffold. There are people who push others
  to the front, who risk nothing, and yet reap all the fruits of
  success. Have such men any honor? Can one feel any obligation towards
  them?

  De Verby
  No, they are contemptible wretches.

  Dupre (aside)
  He has well said it. This is the fellow who has ruined poor Jules! I
  must keep my eye on him.

                               SCENE FIFTH

  The same persons, Antoine and Jules (the latter led in by police
  agents.)

  Antoine
  Sir, a carriage stopped at the door. Several men got out. M. Jules is
  with them; they are bringing him in.

  M. and Mme. Rousseau
  My son!

  Mme. du Brocard
  My nephew!

  Dupre
  Yes, I see what it is—doubtless a search-warrant. They wish to look
  over his papers.

  Antoine
  Here he is.

  (Jules appears in the centre, followed by the police and a magistrate;
  he rushes up to his mother.)

  Jules
  O mother! My good mother! (He embraces his mother.) Ah! I see you once
  more! (To Mme. du Brocard) Dear aunt!

  Mme. Rousseau
  My poor child! Come! Come—close to me; they will not dare— (To the
  police, who approach her) Leave him, leave him here!

  Rousseau (rushing towards the police)
  Be kind enough—

  Dupre (to the magistrate)
  Monsieur!

  Jules
  My dear mother, calm yourself! I shall soon be free; yes, be quite
  sure of that, and we will not part again.

  Antoine (to Rousseau)
  Sir, they wish to visit M. Jules's room.

  Rousseau (to the magistrate)
  In a moment, monsieur. I will go with you myself. (To Dupre, pointing
  to Jules) Do not leave him!

  (He goes out conducting the magistrate, who makes a sign to the police
  to keep guard on Jules.)

  Jules (seizing the hand of De Verby)
  Ah, general! (To Dupre) And how good and generous of you, M. Dupre, to
  come here and comfort my mother. (In a low voice) Ah! conceal from her
  my danger. (Aloud, looking at his mother) Tell her the truth. Tell her
  that she has nothing to fear.

  Dupre
  I will tell her that it is in her power to save you.

  Mme. Rousseau
  In my power?

  Mme. du Brocard
  How can that be?

  Dupre (to Mme. Rousseau)
  By imploring him to disclose the names of those who have led him on.

  De Verby (to Dupre)
  Monsieur!

  Mme. Rousseau
  Yes, and you ought to do it. I, your mother, demand it of you.

  Mme. du Brocard
  Oh, certainly! My nephew shall tell everything. He has been led on by
  people who now abandon him to his fate, and he in his turn ought—

  De Verby (in a low voice to Dupre)
  What, sir! Would you advise your client to betray—?

  Dupre (quickly)
  Whom?

  De Verby (in a troubled voice)
  But—can't we find some other method? M. Jules knows what a man of
  high spirit owes to himself.

  Dupre (aside)
  He is the man—I felt sure of it!

  Jules (to his mother and aunt)
  Never, though I should die for it—never will I compromise any one
  else.

  (De Verby shows his pleasure at this declaration.)

  Mme. Rousseau
  Ah! my God! (Looking at the police.) And there is no chance of our
  helping him to escape here!

  Mme. du Brocard
  No! that is out of the question.

  Antoine (coming into the room)
  M. Jules, they are asking for you.

  Jules
  I am coming!

  Mme. Rousseau
  Ah! I cannot let you go.

  (She turns to the police with a supplicating look.)

  Mme. du Brocard (to Dupre, who scrutinizes De Verby)
  M. Dupre, I have thought that it would be a good thing—

  Dupre (interrupting her)
  Later, madame, later.

  (He leads her to Jules, who goes out with his mother, followed by the
  agents.)

                               SCENE SIXTH

  Dupre and De Verby.

  De Verby (aside)
  These people have hit upon a lawyer who is rich, without ambition—and
  eccentric.

  Dupre (crossing the stage and gazing at De Verby, aside)
  Now is my time to learn your secret. (Aloud) You are very much
  interested in my client, monsieur?

  De Verby
  Very much indeed.

  Dupre
  I have yet to understand what motive could have led him, young, rich
  and devoted to pleasure as he is, to implicate himself in a
  conspiracy—

  De Verby
  The passion for glory.

  Dupre
  Don't talk in that way to a lawyer who for twenty years has practiced
  in the courts; who has studied men and affairs well enough to know
  that the finest motives are only assumed as a disguise for trumpery
  passions, and has never yet met a man whose heart was free from the
  calculations of self-interest.

  De Verby
  Do you ever take up a case without charging anything?

  Dupre
  I often do so; but I never act contrary to my convictions.

  De Verby
  I understand that you are rich?

  Dupre
  I have some fortune. Without it, in the world as at present
  constituted, I should be on the straight road for the poor-house.

  De Verby
  It is then from conviction, I suppose, that you have undertaken the
  defence of young Rousseau?

  Dupre
  Certainly. I believe him to be the dupe of others in a higher station,
  and I like those who allow themselves to be duped from generous
  motives and not from self-interest; for in these times the dupe is
  often as greedy after gain as the man who exploits him.

  De Verby
  You belong, I perceive, to the sect of misanthropes.

  Dupre
  I do not care enough for mankind to hate them, for I have never yet
  met any one I could love. I am contented with studying my fellow-men;
  for I see that they are all engaged in playing each, with more or less
  success, his own little comedy. I have no illusion about anything, it
  is true, but I smile at it all like a spectator who sits in a theatre
  to be amused. One thing I never do; I hiss at nothing; for I have not
  sufficient feeling about things for that.

  De Verby (aside)
  How is it possible to influence such a man? (Aloud) Nevertheless,
  monsieur, you must sometimes need the services of others?

  Dupre
  Never!

  De Verby
  But you are sometimes sick?

  Dupre
  Then I like to be alone. Moreover, at Paris, anything can be bought,
  even attendance on the sick; believe me I live because it is my duty
  to do so. I have tested everything—charity, friendship, unselfish
  devotion. Those who have received benefits have disgusted me with the
  doing of kindnesses. Certain philanthropists have made me feel a
  loathing for charity. And of all humbugs that of sentiment is the most
  hateful.

  De Verby
  And what of patriotism, monsieur?

  Dupre
  That is a very trifling matter, since the cry of humanity has been
  raised.

  De Verby (somewhat discouraged)
  And so you take Jules Rousseau for a young enthusiast?

  Dupre
  No, sir, nothing of the sort. He presents a problem which I have to
  solve, and with your assistance I shall reach the solution. (De Verby
  changes countenance.) Come, let us speak candidly. I believe that you
  know something about all this.

  De Verby
  What do you mean, sir?

  Dupre
  You can save the young man.

  De Verby
  I? What can I do?

  Dupre
  You can give testimony which Antoine will corroborate—

  De Verby
  I have reasons for not appearing as a witness.

  Dupre
  Just so. You are one of the conspirators!

  De Verby
  Monsieur!

  Dupre
  It is you who have led on this poor boy.

  De Verby
  Monsieur, this language—!

  Dupre
  Don't attempt to deceive me, but tell me how you managed to gain this
  bad influence over him? He is rich, he is in need of nothing.

  De Verby
  Listen!—If you say another word—

  Dupre
  Oh! my life is of no consideration with me!

  De Verby
  Sir, you know very well that Jules will get off; and that if he does
  not behave properly, he will lose, through your fault, the chance of
  marriage with my niece, and thus the succession to the title of my
  brother, the Lord Chamberlain.

  Dupre
  Ah, that's what he was after, then! He's like all the rest of the
  schemers. Now consider, sir, what I am going to propose to you. You
  have powerful friends, and it is your duty—

  De Verby
  My duty! I do not understand you, sir.

  Dupre
  You have been able to effect his ruin, and can you not bring about his
  release? (Aside) I have him there.

  De Verby
  I shall give my best consideration to the matter.

  Dupre
  Don't consider for a moment that you can escape me.

  De Verby
  A general who fears no danger can have no fear of a lawyer—

  Dupre
  As you will!

  (Exit De Verby, who jostles against Joseph.)

                              SCENE SEVENTH

  Dupre and Joseph Binet.

  Joseph
  I heard only yesterday, monsieur, that you were engaged for the
  defence of M. Jules Rousseau; I have been to your place, and have
  waited for you until I could wait no later. This morning I found that
  you had left your home, and as I am working for this house, a happy
  inspiration sent me here. I thought you would be coming here, and I
  waited for you—

  Dupre
  What do you want with me?

  Joseph
  I am Joseph Binet.

  Dupre
  Well, proceed.

  Joseph
  Let me say without offence, sir, that I have fourteen hundred francs
  of my own—quite my own!—earned sou by sou. I am a journeyman
  upholsterer, and my uncle, Du Mouchel, a retired wine merchant, has
  plenty of the metal.

  Dupre
  Speak out openly! What is the meaning of this mysterious preamble?

  Joseph
  Fourteen hundred francs is of course a mere trifle, and they say that
  lawyers have to be well paid, and that it is because they are well
  paid that there are so many of them. I should have done better if I
  had been a lawyer—then she would have married me!

  Dupre
  Are you crazy?

  Joseph
  Not at all. I have here my fourteen hundred francs; take them, sir—no
  humbug! They are yours.

  Dupre
  And on what condition?

  Joseph
  You must save M. Jules—I mean, of course, from death—and you must
  have him transported. I don't want him to be put to death; but he must
  go abroad. He is rich, and he will enjoy himself. But save his life.
  Procure a sentence of simple transportation, say for fifteen years,
  and my fourteen hundred francs are yours. I will give them to you
  gladly, and I will moreover make you an office chair below the market
  price. There now!

  Dupre
  What is your object in speaking to me in this way?

  Joseph
  My object? I want to marry Pamela. I want to have my little Pamela.

  Dupre
  Pamela?

  Joseph
  Pamela Giraud.

  Dupre
  What connection has Pamela Giraud with Jules Rousseau?

  Joseph
  Well I never! Why! I thought that advocates were paid for learning and
  knowing everything. But you don't seem to know anything, sir. I am not
  surprised that there are those who say advocates are know-nothings.
  But I should like to have back my fourteen hundred francs. Pamela is
  accused, that is to say, she accuses me of having betrayed his head to
  the executioner, and you will understand that if after all he escapes,
  and is transported, I can marry, can wed Pamela; and as the
  transported man will not be in France, I need fear no disturbance in
  my home. Get him fifteen years; that is nothing; fifteen years for
  traveling and I shall have time to see my children grow up, and my
  wife old enough—you understand—

  Dupre (aside)
  He is candid, at any rate—Those who make their calculations aloud and
  in such evident excitement are not the worst of people.

  Joseph
  I say! Do you know the proverb—"A lawyer who talks to himself is like
  a pastry cook who eats his own wares,"—eh, sir?

  Dupre
  I understand you to say that Pamela is in love with M. Jules?

  Joseph
  Ah! I see, you understand matters.

  Dupre
  They used frequently to meet I suppose?

  Joseph
  Far too frequently! Oh! if I had only known it, I would have put a
  stop to it!

  Dupre
  Is she pretty?

  Joseph
  Who?—Pamela?—My eye! My Pamela! She is as pretty as the Apollo
  Belvidere!

  Dupre
  Keep your fourteen hundred francs, my friend, and if you have courage,
  you and your Pamela, you will be able to help me in effecting his
  deliverance; for the question is absolutely whether we must let him go
  to the scaffold, or save him from it.

  Joseph
  I beg you, sir, do not think of saying one word to Pamela; she is in
  despair.

  Dupre
  Nevertheless you must bring it about that I see her this morning.

  Joseph
  I will send word to her through her parents.

  Dupre
  Ah! she has a father and mother living then? (Aside) This will cost a
  lot of money. (Aloud) Who are they?

  Joseph
  They are respectable porters.

  Dupre
  That is good.

  Joseph
  Old Giraud is a ruined tailor.

  Dupre
  Very well, go and inform them of my intended visit, and above all
  things preserve the utmost secrecy, or M. Jules will be sacrificed.

  Joseph
  I shall be dumb.

  Dupre
  And let it be thought that we have never met.

  Joseph
  We have never seen each other.

  Dupre
  Now go.

  Joseph
  I am going.

  (He mistakes the door.)

  Dupre
  This is the way.

  Joseph
  This is the way, great advocate—but let me give you a bit of advice—
  a slight taste of transportation will not do him any harm; in fact, it
  will teach him to leave the government in peace. (Exit.)