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Pamela Giraud: A Play in Five Acts, a play by Honore de Balzac |
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Act 3 - Scene 5 |
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_ ACT III - SCENE FIFTH The same persons, Joseph Binet, Dupre and Mme. Rousseau.
DUPRE. (to De Verby) I am very sorry, sir, that you have got here before me! MME. ROUSSEAU. My sister has doubtless told you, madame, the sacrifice which we expect your daughter to make for us. Only an angel would make it. JOSEPH. What sacrifice? MME. GIRAUD. It is no business of yours. DE VERBY. We have just had an interview with Mlle. Pamela-- MME. DU BROCARD. She has refused! MME. ROUSSEAU. Oh, heavens! DUPRE. Refused what? MME. DU BROCARD. An income of six thousand francs. DUPRE. I could have wagered on it. To think of offering money! MME. DU BROCARD. But it was the only way-- DUPRE. To spoil everything. (To Mme. Giraud) Madame, kindly tell your daughter that the counsel of M. Jules Rousseau is here and desires to see her. MME. GIRAUD. Oh, as for that you will gain nothing. GIRAUD. Either from her or from us. JOSEPH. But what is it they want? GIRAUD. Hold your tongue. MME. DU BROCARD. (to Mme. Giraud) Madame, offer her-- DUPRE. Now, Mme. du Brocard, I must beg you-- (To Mme. Giraud) It is in the name of the mother of Jules that I ask of you permission to see your daughter. MME. GIRAUD. It will be of no use at all, sir! And to think that they point-blank offered her money when the young man a little time before had spoken of marrying her! MME. ROUSSEAU. (with excitement) Well, why not? MME. GIRAUD. (with vehemence) How was that, madame? DUPRE. (seizing the hand of Mme. Giraud) Come, come! Bring me your daughter. (Exit Mme. Giraud.) DE VERBY and Mme. du Brocard You have then made up your mind? DUPRE. It is not I, but madame who has made up her mind. DE VERBY. (questioning Mme. du Brocard) What has she promised? DUPRE. (seeing that Joseph is listening) Be silent, general; stay for a moment, I beg you, with these ladies. Here she comes. Now leave us alone, if you please. (Pamela is brought in by her mother. She makes a curtsey to Mme. Rousseau, who gazes at her with emotion; then Dupre leads all but Pamela into the other room; Joseph remains behind.) JOSEPH. (aside) I wonder what they mean. They all talk of a sacrifice! And old Giraud won't say a word to me! Well, I can bide my time. I promised the advocate that I would give him my fourteen hundred francs, but before I do so, I would like to see how he acts with regard to me. DUPRE. (going up to Joseph) Joseph Binet, you must leave the room. JOSEPH. And not hear what you say about me? DUPRE. You must go away. JOSEPH. (aside) It is evident that they are concealing something from me. (To Dupre) I have prepared her mind; she is much taken with the idea of transportation. Stick to that point. DUPRE. All right! But you must leave the room. JOSEPH. (aside) Leave the room! Oh, indeed! Not I. (Joseph makes as if he had withdrawn, but, quietly returning, hides himself in a closet.) DUPRE. (to Pamela) You have consented to see me, and I thank you for it. I know exactly what has recently taken place here, and I am not going to address you in the same way as you have been recently addressed. PAMELA. Your very presence assures me of that, sir. DUPRE. You are in love with this fine young man, this Joseph? PAMELA. I am aware, sir, that advocates are like confessors! DUPRE. My child, they have to be just as safe confidants. You may tell me everything without reserve. PAMELA. Well, sir, I did love him; that is to say, I thought I loved him, and I would very willingly have become his wife. I thought that with his energy Joseph would have made a good business, and that we could lead together a life of toil. When prosperity came, we would have taken with us my father and my mother; it was all very clear--it would have been a united family! DUPRE. (aside) The appearance of this young girl is in her favor! Let us see whether she is sincere or not. (Aloud) What are you thinking about? PAMELA. I was thinking about these past days, which seemed to me so happy in comparison with the present. A fortnight ago my head was turned by the sight of M. Jules; I fell in love with him, as young girls do fall in love, as I have seen other young girls fall in love with young men-- with a love which would endure everything for those they loved! I used to say to myself: shall I ever be like that? Well, at this moment I do not know anything that I would not endure for M. Jules. A few moments ago they offered me money,--they, from whom I expected such nobleness, such greatness; and I was disgusted! Money! I have plenty of it, sir! I have twenty thousand francs! They are here, they are yours! That is to say, they are his! I have kept them to use in my efforts to save him, for I have betrayed him, because I doubted him, while he was so confident, so sure of me--and I was so distrustful of him! DUPRE. And he gave you twenty thousand francs? PAMELA. Ah, sir! He entrusted them with me. Here they are. I shall return them to his family, if he dies; but he shall not die! Tell me? Is it not so? You ought to know. DUPRE. My dear child, bear in mind that your whole life, perhaps your happiness, depend upon the truthfulness of your answers. Answer me as if you stood in the presence of God. PAMELA. I will. DUPRE. You have never loved any one before? PAMELA. Never! DUPRE. You seem to be afraid! Come, I am terrifying you. You are not giving me your confidence. PAMELA. Oh, yes I am, sir; I swear I am! Since we have been in Paris, I have never left my mother, and I have thought of nothing but my work and my duty. I was alarmed and thrown into confusion a few moments ago, sir, but you inspire me with confidence, and I can tell you everything. Well, I acknowledge it,--I am in love with Jules; he is the only one I love, and I would follow him to the end of the world! You told me to speak as in the presence of God. DUPRE. Well, it is to your heart that I am going to appeal. Do for me what you have refused to do for others. Tell me the truth! You alone have the power to save him before the face of justice! You love him, Pamela; I understand what it would cost you to-- PAMELA. To avow my love for him? Would that be sufficient to save him? DUPRE. I will answer for that! PAMELA. Well? DUPRE. My child! PAMELA. Well--he is saved. DUPRE. (earnestly) But--you will be compromised-- PAMELA. But after all it is for him. DUPRE. (aside) I never expected it, but I shall not die without having seen with my own eyes an example of beautiful and noble candor, destitute alike of self-interest and designing reserve. (Aloud) Pamela, you are a good and generous girl. PAMELA. To act this way consoles me for many little miseries of life. DUPRE. My child, that is not everything! You are true as steel, you are high- spirited. But in order to succeed it is necessary to have assurance-- determination-- PAMELA. Oh, sir! You shall see! DUPRE. Do not be over-anxious. Dare to confess everything. Be brave! Imagine that you are before the Court of Assizes, the presiding judge, the public prosecutor, the prisoner at the bar, and me, his advocate; the jury is on one side. The big court-room is filled with people. Do not be alarmed. PAMELA. You needn't fear for me. DUPRE. A court officer brings you in; you have given your name and surname! Then the presiding judge asks you "How long have you known the prisoner, Rousseau?"--What would you answer? PAMELA. The truth!--I met him about a month before his arrest at the Ile d'Amour, Belleville. DUPRE. Who were with him? PAMELA. I noticed no one but him. DUPRE. Did you hear them talk politics? PAMELA. (in astonishment) Oh, sir! The judges must be aware that politics are matters of indifference at the Ile d'Amour. DUPRE. Very good, my child! But you must tell them all you know about Jules Rousseau. PAMELA. Of course. I shall still speak the truth, and repeat my testimony before the police justice. I knew nothing of the conspiracy, and was infinitely surprised when he was arrested in my room; the proof of which is that I feared M. Jules was a thief and afterwards apologized for my suspicion. DUPRE. You must acknowledge that from the time of your first acquaintance with this young man, he constantly came to see you. You must declare-- PAMELA. I shall stick to the truth--He never left me alone! He came to see me for love, I received him from friendship, and I resisted him from a sense of duty-- DUPRE. And at last? PAMELA. (anxiously) At last? DUPRE. You are trembling! Take care! Just now you promised me to tell the truth! PAMELA. (aside) The truth! Oh my God! DUPRE. I also am interested in this young man; but I recoil from a possible imposture. If he is guilty, my duty bids me defend him, if he is innocent, his cause shall be mine. Yes, without doubt, Pamela, I am about to demand from you a great sacrifice, but he needs it. The visits which Jules made to you were in the evening, and without the knowledge of your parents. PAMELA. Why no! never! DUPRE. How is this? For in that case there would be no hope for him. PAMELA. (aside) No hope for him! Then either he or I must be ruined. (Aloud) Sir, do not be alarmed; I felt a little fear because the real danger was not before my eyes. But when I shall stand before the judges!--when once I shall see him, see Jules--and feel that his safety depends upon me-- DUPRE. That is good, very good. But what is most necessary to be made known is that on the evening of the twenty-fourth, he came here. If that is once understood, I shall be successful in saving him; otherwise, I can answer for nothing. He is lost! PAMELA. (murmuring, greatly agitated) Lost!--Jules lost!--No, no, no!--Better that my own good name be lost! (Aloud) Yes, he came here on the twenty-fourth. (Aside) God forgive me! (Aloud) It was my saint's day--my name is Louise Pamela--and he was kind enough to bring me a bouquet, without the knowledge of my father or mother; he came in the evening, late. Ah! you need have no fear, sir--you see I shall tell all. (Aside) And all is a lie! DUPRE. He will be saved! (Rousseau appears) Ah! sir! (running to the door of the room) Come all of you and thank your deliverer! _ |
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