Works of Honore De Balzac, page 1399
Vautrin Who could fail to respond with a glow of sympathy to this burst of youthful generosity? What flashes of courage blaze forth! It is inspiring to see sentiment at its full tide! You must be the son of a noble race. But, Raoul, let us come down to what I call plain reason.
Raoul
Ah! At last!
Vautrin
You ask me for an account of my guardianship. Here it is.
Raoul
But have I any right to ask this? Could I live without you?
Vautrin Silence, you had nothing, I made you rich. You knew nothing, I have given you a good education. Oh! I have not yet done all for you. A father — all fathers give their life to their children, and as for me, happiness is a debt which I owe you. But is this really the cause of your gloom? There are here — in this casket (he points to a casket) a portrait, and certain letters. Often while reading the letters you sign as if —
Raoul
Then you know all — ?
Vautrin
I know all. — Are you not touched to the heart?
Raoul
To the heart.
Vautrin O fool! Love lives by treachery, friendship by confidence. — And you — you must seek happiness in your own way.
Raoul But have I the power? I will become a soldier, and — wherever the cannot oars, I will win a glorious name, or die.
Vautrin
Indeed! Why should you? You talk nonsense.
Raoul You are too old to possess the power of understanding me, and it is no use trying to explain.
Vautrin Well, I will explain to you. You are in love with Inez de Christoval, Princesse d’Arjos in her own right, daughter of a duke banished by King Ferdinand — an Andalusian who loves you and pleases me, not as a woman, but as a ravishing money-box, whose eyes are the finest in the world, whose dowry is captivating, and who is the most delightful piece of cash, graceful and elegant as some black corvette with white sails which convoys the long-expected galleons of America, and yields all the joys of life, exactly like the Fortune which is painted over the entrance of the lottery agencies. I approve of you here. You did wrong to fall in love, love will involve you in a thousand follies — but I understand.
Raoul
Do not score me with such frightful sarcasms.
Vautrin See how quickly he feels his ardor damped, and his hat wreathed in crepe!
Raoul Yes. For it is impossible for the child flung by accident into the bosom of a fisher family at Alghero to become Prince of Arjos, while to lose Inez is for me to die of grief.
Vautrin An income of twelve thousand francs, the title of prince, grandeur, and amassed wealth are not things to be contemplated with melancholy.
Raoul
If you love me, why do you mock me thus in the hour of my despair?
Vautrin
And what is the cause of your despair?
Raoul The duke and the marquis have insulted me, in their own house, in her presence, and I have seen then all my hopes extinguished. The door of the Christoval mansion is closed upon me. I do not know why the Duchesse de Montsorel made me come and see her. For the last few days she has manifested an interest in me which I do not understand.
Vautrin
And what brought you to the house of your rival?
Raoul
It seems you know all about it.
Vautrin
Yes, and many other things besides. Is it true you desire Inez de
Christoval? Then you can get over this present despondency.
Raoul
You are trifling with me.
Vautrin
Look here, Raoul! The Christovals have shut their doors upon you.
Well — to-morrow you shall be the accepted lover of the princess, and
the Montsorels shall be turned away, Montsorels though they be.
Raoul
The sight of my distress has crazed you.
Vautrin What reason have you ever had for doubting my word? Did I not give you an Arabian horse, to drive mad with envy the foreign and native dandies of the Bois de Boulogne? Who paid your gambling debts? Who made provision for your excesses? Who gave you boots, you who once went barefoot?
Raoul
You, my friend, my father, my family!
Vautrin Many, many thanks. In those words is a recompense for all my sacrifices. But, alas! when once you become rich, a grandee of Spain, a part of the great world, you will forget me; a change of atmosphere brings a change of ideas; you will despise me, and — you will be right in doing so.
Raoul
Do I see before me a genie, a spirit materialized from the Arabian
Nights? I question my own existence. But, my friend, my protector, I
have no family.
Vautrin
Well, we are making up a family for you at this very moment. The
Louvre could not contain the portraits of your ancestors, they would
overcrowd the quays.
Raoul
You rekindle all my hopes.
Vautrin
Do you wish to obtain Inez?
Raoul
By any means possible.
Vautrin
You will shrink from nothing? Magic and hell will not intimidate you?
Raoul
Hell is nothing, if it yields me paradise.
Vautrin What is hell but the hulks and the convicts decorated by justice and the police with brandings and manacles, and driven on their course by that wretchedness from which they have no escape? Paradise is a fine house, sumptuous carriages, delightful women, and the prestige of rank. In this world there exist two worlds. I put you in the fairest of them, I remain myself in the foulest, and if you remember me, it is all I ask of you.
Raoul While you make me shudder with horror, you fill me with the frenzy of delight.
Vautrin (slapping him on the shoulder)
You are a child! (Aside) Have I not said too much to him? (He rings.)
Raoul (aside) There are moments when my inmost nature revolts from the acceptance of his benefits. When he put his hand on my shoulder it was like a red-hot iron; and yet he has never done anything but good to me! He conceals from me the means, but the ends are all for me.
Vautrin
What are you saying there?
Raoul
I am resolved to accept nothing, unless my honor —
Vautrin We will cake care of your honor! Is it not I who have fostered your sense of honor? Have I ever compromised it?
Raoul
You must explain to me —
Vautrin
I will explain nothing.
Raoul
Nothing?
Vautrin Did you not say, “By any possible means”? When Inez is once yours, does it matter what I have done, or who I am? You will take Inez away; you will travel. The Christoval family will protect the Prince of Arjos. (To Lafouraille) Put some bottles of champagne on ice; your master is to be married, he bids farewell to bachelor life. His friends are invited. Go and seek his mistresses, if there are any left! All shall attend the wedding — a general turn-out in full dress.
Raoul (aside)
His confidence terrifies me, but he is always right.
Vautrin
Now for the dinner!
All
Now for the dinner!
Vautrin Do not take your pleasure gloomily; laugh for the last time, while liberty is still yours; I will order none but Spanish wines, for they are in fashion to-day.
Curtain to the Third Act.
ACT IV.
SCENE FIRST.
(Drawing-room of the Duchesse de Christoval.) The Duchesse de Christoval and Inez.
Inez If Monsieur de Frescas is of obscure birth, mother, I will at once give him up; but you, on your part, must be good enough not to insist upon my marriage with the Marquis de Montsorel.
The Duchess If I oppose this unreasonable match, it is certainly not for the purpose of making another with a designing family.
Inez Unreasonable? Who knows whether it be so or not? You believe him to be an adventurer, I believe he is a gentleman, and we have nothing to refute either view.
The Duchess We shall not have to wait long for proofs; the Montsorels are too eager to unmask him.
Inez And he, I believe, loves me too much to delay proving himself worthy of us. Was not his behavior yesterday noble in the extreme?
The Duchess Don’t you see, silly child, that your happiness is identical with mine? Let Raoul satisfy the world, and I shall be ready to fight for you not only against the intrigues of the Montsorels, but in the court of Spain, itself.
Inez
Ah, mother, I perceive that you also love him.
The Duchess
Is he not the man of your choice?
SCENE SECOND.
The same persons, a footman and Vautrin.
(The footman brings the duchess a card, wrapped up and sealed.)
The Duchess (to Inez)
General Crustamente, the secret envoy of his Majesty Don Augustine I,
Emperor of Mexico. What can he have to say to me?
Inez
Of Mexico! He doubtless brings news of my father!
The Duchess (to the footman)
Let him come in.
(Vautrin enters dressed like a Mexican general, his height increased four inches. His hat has white plumes; his coat blue, with the rich lace of a Mexican general officer; his trousers white, his scarf crimson, his hair long and frizzed like that of Murat; he wears a long sabre, and his complexion is copper-hued. He stutters like the Spaniards of Mexico, and his accent resembles Provencal, plus the guttural intonation of the Moors.)
Vautrin Is it indeed her grace, the Duchesse de Christoval that I have the honor to address?
The Duchess
Yes, sir.
Vautrin
And mademoiselle?
The Duchess
My daughter, sir.
Vautrin Mademoiselle is then the Senorita Inez, in her own right Princesse d’Arjos. When I see you, I understand perfectly Monsieur de Christoval’s idolatry of his daughter. But, ladies, before anything further, let me impose upon you the utmost secrecy. My mission is already a difficult one, but, if it is suspected that there is any communication between you and me, we should all be seriously compromised.
The Duchess
I promise to keep secret both your name and your visit.
Inez General, if the matter concerns my father, you will allow me to remain here?
Vautrin
You are nobles, and Spaniards, and I rely upon your word.
The Duchess
I shall instruct my servants to keep silence on the subject.
Vautrin Don’t say a word to them; to demand silence is often to provoke indiscreet talk. I can answer for my own people. I pledged myself to bring you news of Monsieur de Christoval, as soon as I reached Paris, and this is my first visit.
The Duchess
Tell us at once about my husband, general; where is he now?
Vautrin
Mexico has become what was sooner or later inevitable, a state
independent of Spain. At the moment I speak there are no more
Spaniards, only Mexicans, in Mexico.
The Duchess
At this moment?
Vautrin Everything seems to happen in a moment where the causes are not discerned. How could it be otherwise? Mexico felt the need of her independence, she has chosen an emperor! Although nothing could be more natural, it may still surprise us: while principles can wait to be recognized men are always in a hurry.
The Duchess
What has happened to Monsieur de Christoval?
Vautrin Do not be alarmed, madame; he is not emperor. His grace the duke has been unsuccessful, in spite of a desperate struggle, in keeping the kingdom loyal to Ferdinand VII.
The Duchess
But, sir, my husband is not a soldier.
Vautrin Of course he is not; but he is a clever loyalist, and he acquitted himself well. If he does eventually succeed, he will be received back again into royal favor. Ferdinand cannot help appointing him viceroy.
The Duchess
In what a strange century do we live!
Vautrin Revolutions succeed without resembling each other. France sets the example to the world. But let me beg of you not to talk politics; it is dangerous ground.
Inez
Has my father received our letters, general?
Vautrin In the confusion of such a conflict letters may go astray, when even crowns are lost.
The Duchess
And what has become of Monsieur de Christoval?
Vautrin The aged Amoagos, who exercises enormous influence in those regions, saved your husband’s life at the moment I was going to have him shot —
The Duchess and Inez
Ah!
Vautrin
It was thus that he and I became acquainted.
The Duchess
You, general?
Inez
And my father?
Vautrin Well, ladies, I should have been either hanged by him, as a rebel, or hailed by others as the hero of an emancipated nation, and here I am. The sudden arrival of Amoagos, at the head of his miners, decided the question. The safety of his friend, the Duc de Christoval, was the reward of his interference. Between ourselves, the Emperor Iturbide, my master, is no more than a figurehead; the future of Mexico is entirely in the hands of the aged Amoagos.
The Duchess And who, pray, is this Amoagos, the arbiter, as you say, of Mexico’s destiny?
Vautrin Is he not known here? Is it possible? I do not know what can possibly be found to weld the old and new worlds together. I suppose it will be steam. What is the use of exploiting gold mines, of being such a man as Don Inigo Juan Varago Cardaval de los Amoagos, las Frescas y Peral — and not be heard over here? But of course he uses only one of his names, as we all do; thus, I call myself simply Crustamente. Although you may be the future president of the Mexican republic, France will ignore you. The aged Amoagos, ladies, received Monsieur de Christoval just as the ancient gentleman of Aragon that he was would receive a Spanish grandee who had been banished for yielding to the spell of Napoleon’s name.
Inez
Did you not mention Frescas among other names?
Vautrin Yes, Frescas is the name of the second mine worked by Don Cardaval; but you will learn all that monsieur the duke owes to his host from the letters I have brought you. They are in my pocket-book. (Aside) They are much taken by my aged Amoagos. (Aloud) Allow me to send for one of my people. (He signs Inez to ring. To the duchess) Permit me to say a few words to him. (To the footman) Tell my negro — but no, you won’t understand his frightful patois. Make signs to him to come here.
The Duchess
My child, leave the room for a moment.
(Enter Lafouraille, made up as a negro, and carrying a large portmanteau.)
Vautrin (to Lafouraille)
Jigi roro flouri.
Lafouraille
Joro.
Inez (to Vautrin) The confidence my father has reposed in you ensures you a warm welcome; but, general, you have won my gratitude by your promptness in allaying our anxieties.
Vautrin Your gratitude! Ah, senorita, if we are to reckon accounts I should consider myself in debt to your illustrious father, after having the happiness to see you.
Lafouraille
Jo.
Vautrin
Caracas, y mouli joro, fistas, ip souri.
Lafouraille
Souri, joro.
Vautrin (to the ladies) Ladies, here are your letters. (Aside to Lafouraille) Go round from the antechamber to the court, close your lips, open your ears; hands off, eye on the watch.
Lafouraille
Ja, mein herr.
Vautrin (angrily)
Souri joro, fistas.
Lafouraille
Joro. (whispering) There are the de Langeac papers.
Vautrin I am not for the emancipation of the negroes! When there are no more of them, we shall have to do with whites.
Inez (to her mother)
Mother, allow me to go and read my father’s letter. (To Vautrin)
General — (She bows.)
Vautrin
She is charming, may she be happy!
(Exit Inez, accompanied to the door by her mother.)
SCENE THIRD.
The Duchess and Vautrin.
Vautrin (aside) If Mexico saw herself represented in this way, the government would be capable of condemning me to embassades for life. (Aloud) Pray excuse me, madame. I have so many things to think about.
The Duchess
If absent-mindedness may be excused in any one, it is in a diplomat.
Vautrin Yes, to civil diplomats, but I mean to remain a frank soldier. The success which I derive must be the result of candor. But now that we are alone, let us talk, for I have more than one delicate mission to discharge.
The Duchess
Have you any news which my daughter should not hear?
Vautrin It may be so. Let me come to the point; the senorita is young and beautiful, she is rich and noble born; she probably has four times as many suitors as any other lady. Her hand is the object of rivalry. Well, her father has charged me to find whether she has singled out any one in particular.
The Duchess With a frank man, general, I will be frank. Your question is so strange that I cannot answer it.
Vautrin Take care, for we diplomats, in our fear of being deceived, always put the worst interpretation on silence.
The Duchess
Sir, you forget that we are talking of Inez de Christoval!
Vautrin She is in love with no one. That is good; she will be able then to carry out the wishes of her father.
The Duchess
How has Monsieur de Christoval disposed of his daughter’s hand?
Vautrin You see my meaning, and your anxiety tells me that she has made her choice. I tremble to ask further, as much as you do to answer. Ah! if only the young man whom your daughter loves were a foreigner, rich, apparently without family, and bent on concealing the name of his native land!
The Duchess The name, Frescas, which you lately uttered, is that of a young man who seeks the hand of Inez.
Vautrin
Does he call himself also Raoul?
