Works of Honore De Balzac, page 1422
(Pauline rings.)
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.
