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_ ACT III - FIRST SCENE. THE CREMERIE
(In the Cremerie. The gas is lit. MME. CATHERINE is seated at the counter, ADOLPHE at a table.)
MME. CATHERINE.
Such is life, Monseiur Adolphe. But you young ones are always demanding too much, and then you come here and blubber over it afterward.
ADOLPHE.
No, it isn't that. I reproach nobody, and I am as fond as ever of both of them. But there is one thing that makes me sick at heart. You see, I thought more of Maurice than of anybody else; so much that I wouldn't have grudged him anything that could give him pleasure--but now I have lost him, and it hurts me worse than the loss of her. I have lost both of them, and so my loneliness is made doubly painful. And then there is still something else which I have not yet been able to clear up.
MME. CATHERINE.
Don't brood so much. Work and divert yourself. Now, for instance, do you ever go to church?
ADOLPHE.
What should I do there?
MME. CATHERINE.
Oh, there's so much to look at, and then there is the music. There is nothing commonplace about it, at least.
ADOLPHE.
Perhaps not. But I don't belong to that fold, I guess, for it never stirs me to any devotion. And then, Madame Catherine, faith is a gift, they tell me, and I haven't got it yet.
MME. CATHERINE.
Well, wait till you get it--But what is this I heard a while ago? Is it true that you have sold a picture in London for a high price, and that you have got a medal?
ADOLPHE.
Yes, it's true.
MME. CATHERINE.
Merciful heavens!--and not a word do you say about it?
ADOLPHE.
I am afraid of fortune, and besides it seems almost worthless to me at this moment. I am afraid of it as of a spectre: it brings disaster to speak of having seen it.
MME. CATHERINE.
You're a queer fellow, and that's what you have always been.
ADOLPHE.
Not queer at all, but I have seen so much misfortune come in the wake of fortune, and I have seen how adversity brings out true friends, while none but false ones appear in the hour of success--You asked me if I ever went to church, and I answered evasively. This morning I stepped into the Church of St. Germain without really knowing why I did so. It seemed as if I were looking for somebody in there--somebody to whom I could silently offer my gratitude. But I found nobody. Then I dropped a gold coin in the poor-box. It was all I could get out of my church-going, and that was rather commonplace, I should say.
MME. CATHERINE.
It was always something; and then it was fine to think of the poor after having heard good news.
ADOLPHE.
It was neither fine nor anything else: it was something I did because I couldn't help myself. But something more occurred while I was in the church. I saw Maurice's girl friend, Jeanne, and her child. Struck down, crushed by his triumphal chariot, they seemed aware of the full extent of their misfortune.
MME. CATHERINE.
Well, children, I don't know in what kind of shape you keep your consciences. But how a decent fellow, a careful and considerate man like Monsieur Maurice, can all of a sudden desert a woman and her child, that is something I cannot explain.
ADOLPHE.
Nor can I explain it, and he doesn't seem to understand it himself. I met them this morning, and everything appeared quite natural to them, quite proper, as if they couldn't imagine anything else. It was as if they had been enjoying the satisfaction of a good deed or the fulfilment of a sacred duty. There are things, Madame Catherine, that we cannot explain, and for this reason it is not for us to judge. And besides, you saw how it happened. Maurice felt the danger in the air. I foresaw it and tried to prevent their meeting. Maurice wanted to run away from it, but nothing helped. Why, it was as if a plot had been laid by some invisible power, and as if they had been driven by guile into each other's arms. Of course, I am disqualified in this case, but I wouldn't hesitate to pronounce a verdict of "not guilty."
MME. CATHERINE.
Well, now, to be able to forgive as you do, that's what I call religion,
ADOLPHE.
Heavens, could it be that I am religious without knowing it.
MME. CATHERINE.
But then, to LET oneself be driven or tempted into evil, as Monsieur Maurice has done, means weakness or bad character. And if you feel your strength failing you, then you ask for help, and then you get it. But he was too conceited to do that--Who is this coming? The Abbe, I think.
ADOLPHE.
What does he want here?
ABBE.
[Enters]
Good evening, madame. Good evening, Monsieur.
MME. CATHERINE.
Can I be of any service?
ABBE.
Has Monsieur Maurice, the author, been here to-day?
MME. CATHERINE.
Not to-day. His play has just been put on, and that is probably keeping him busy.
ABBE.
I have--sad news to bring him. Sad in several respects.
MME. CATHERINE.
May I ask of what kind?
ABBE.
Yes, it's no secret. The daughter he had with that girl, Jeanne, is dead.
MME. CATHERINE.
Dead!
ADOLPHE.
Marion dead!
ABBE.
Yes, she died suddenly this morning without any previous illness.
MME. CATHERINE.
O Lord, who can tell Thy ways!
ABBE.
The mother's grief makes it necessary that Monsieur Maurice look after her, so we must try to find him. But first a question in confidence: do you know whether Monsieur Maurice was fond of the child, or was indifferent to it?
MME. CATHERINE.
If he was fond of Marion? Why, all of us know how he loved her.
ADOLPHE.
There's no doubt about that.
ABBE.
I am glad to hear it, and it settles the matter so far as I am concerned.
MME. CATHERINE.
Has there been any doubt about it?
ABBE.
Yes, unfortunately. It has even been rumoured in the neighbourhood that he had abandoned the child and its mother in order to go away with a strange woman. In a few hours this rumour has grown into definite accusations, and at the same time the feeling against him has risen to such a point that his life is threatened and he is being called a murderer.
MME. CATHERINE.
Good God, what is THIS? What does it mean?
ABBE.
Now I'll tell you my opinion--I am convinced that the man is innocent on this score, and the mother feels as certain about it as I do. But appearances are against Monsieur Maurice, and I think he will find it rather hard to clear himself when the police come to question him.
ADOLPHE.
Have the police got hold of the matter?
ABBE.
Yea, the police have had to step in to protect him against all those ugly rumours and the rage of the people. Probably the Commissaire will be here soon.
MME. CATHERINE.
[To ADOLPHE]
There you see what happens when a man cannot tell the difference between good and evil, and when he trifles with vice. God will punish!
ADOLPHE.
Then he is more merciless than man.
ABBE.
What do you know about that?
ADOLPHE.
Not very much, but I keep an eye on what happens--
ABBE.
And you understand it also?
ADOLPHE.
Not yet perhaps.
ABBE.
Let us look more closely at the matter--Oh, here comes the Commissaire.
COMMISSAIRE.
[Enters]
Gentlemen--Madame Catherine--I have to trouble you for a moment with a few questions concerning Monsieur Maurice. As you have probably heard, he has become the object of a hideous rumour, which, by the by, I don't believe in.
MME. CATHERINE.
None of us believes in it either.
COMMISSAIRE.
That strengthens my own opinion, but for his own sake I must give him a chance to defend himself.
ABBE.
That's right, and I guess he will find justice, although it may come hard.
COMMISSAIRE.
Appearances are very much against him, but I have seen guiltless people reach the scaffold before their innocence was discovered. Let me tell you what there is against him. The little girl, Marion, being left alone by her mother, was secretly visited by the father, who seems to have made sure of the time when the child was to be found alone. Fifteen minutes after his visit the mother returned home and found the child dead. All this makes the position of the accused man very unpleasant--The post- mortem examination brought out no signs of violence or of poison, but the physicians admit the existence of new poisons that leave no traces behind them. To me all this is mere coincidence of the kind I frequently come across. But here's something that looks worse. Last night Monsieur Maurice was seen at the Auberge des Adrets in company with a strange lady. According to the waiter, they were talking about crimes. The Place de Roquette and the scaffold were both mentioned. A queer topic of conversation for a pair of lovers of good breeding and good social position! But even this may be passed over, as we know by experience that people who have been drinking and losing a lot of sleep seem inclined to dig up all the worst that lies at the bottom of their souls. Far more serious is the evidence given by the head waiter as to their champagne breakfast in the Bois de Boulogne this morning. He says that he heard them wish the life out of a child. The man is said to have remarked that, "It would be better if it had never existed." To which the woman replied: "Indeed! But now it does exist." And as they went on talking, these words occurred: "This will kill this!" And the answer was: "Kill! What kind of word is that?" And also: "The five-spot of diamonds, the scaffold, the Place de Roquette." All this, you see, will be hard to get out of, and so will the foreign journey planned for this evening. These are serious matters.
ADOLPHE.
He is lost!
MME. CATHERINE.
That's a dreadful story. One doesn't know what to believe.
ABBE.
This is not the work of man. God have mercy on him!
ADOLPHE.
He is in the net, and he will never get out of it.
MME. CATHERINE.
He had no business to get in.
ADOLPHE.
Do you begin to suspect him also, Madame Catherine?
MME. CATHERINE.
Yes and no. I have got beyond having an opinion in this matter. Have you not seen angels turn into devils just as you turn your hand, and then become angels again?
COMMISSAIRE.
It certainly does look queer. However, we'll have to wait and hear what explanations he can give. No one will be judged unheard. Good evening, gentlemen. Good evening, Madame Catherine. [Goes out.]
ABBE.
This is not the work of man.
ADOLPHE.
No, it looks as if demons had been at work for the undoing of man.
ABBE.
It is either a punishment for secret misdeeds, or it is a terrible test.
JEANNE.
[Enters, dressed in mourning]
Good evening. Pardon me for asking, but have you seen Monsieur Maurice?
MME. CATHERINE.
No, madame, but I think he may be here any minute. You haven't met him then since--
JEANNE.
Not since this morning.
MME. CATHERINE.
Let me tell you that I share in your great sorrow.
JEANNE.
Thank you, madame.
[To the ABBE]
So you are here, Father.
ABBE.
Yes, my child. I thought I might be of some use to you. And it was fortunate, as it gave me a chance to speak to the Commissaire.
JEANNE.
The Commissaire! He doesn't suspect Maurice also, does he?
ABBE.
No, he doesn't, and none of us here do. But appearances are against him in a most appalling manner.
JEANNE.
You mean on account of the talk the waiters overheard--it means nothing to me, who has heard such things before when Maurice had had a few drinks. Then it is his custom to speculate on crimes and their punishment. Besides it seems to have been the woman in his company who dropped the most dangerous remarks. I should like to have a look into that woman's eyes.
ADOLPHE.
My dear Jeanne, no matter how much harm that woman may have done you, she did nothing with evil intention--in fact, she had no intention whatever, but just followed the promptings of her nature. I know her to be a good soul and one who can very well bear being looked straight in the eye.
JEANNE.
Your judgment in this matter, Adolphe, has great value to me, and I believe what you say. It means that I cannot hold anybody but myself responsible for what has happened. It is my carelessness that is now being punished. [She begins to cry.]
ABBE.
Don't accuse yourself unjustly! I know you, and the serious spirit in which you have regarded your motherhood. That your assumption of this responsibility had not been sanctioned by religion and the civil law was not your fault. No, we are here facing something quite different.
ADOLPHE.
What then?
ABBE.
Who can tell?
(HENRIETTE enters, dressed in travelling suit.)
ADOLPHE. [Rises with an air of determination and goes to meet HENRIETTE] You here?
HENRIETTE.
Yes, where is Maurice?
ADOLPHE.
Do you know--or don't you?
HENRIETTE.
I know everything. Excuse me, Madame Catherine, but I was ready to start and absolutely had to step in here a moment.
[To ADOLPHE]
Who is that woman?--Oh!
(HENRIETTE and JEANNE stare at each other.)
(EMILE appears in the kitchen door.)
HENRIETTE.
[To JEANNE]
I ought to say something, but it matters very little, for anything I can say must sound like an insult or a mockery. But if I ask you simply to believe that I share your deep sorrow as much as anybody standing closer to you, then you must not turn away from me. You mustn't, for I deserve your pity if not your forbearance.
[Holds out her hand.]
JEANNE.
[Looks hard at her]
I believe you now--and in the next moment I don't. [Takes HENRIETTE'S hand.]
HENRIETTE.
[Kisses JEANNE'S hand]
Thank you!
JEANNE.
[Drawing back her hand]
Oh, don't! I don't deserve it! I don't deserve it!
ABBE.
Pardon me, but while we are gathered here and peace seems to prevail temporarily at least, won't you, Mademoiselle Henriette, shed some light into all the uncertainty and darkness surrounding the main point of accusation? I ask you, as a friend among friends, to tell us what you meant with all that talk about killing, and crime, and the Place de Roquette. That your words had no connection with the death of the child, we have reason to believe, but it would give us added assurance to hear what you were really talking about. Won't you tell us?
HENRIETTE.
[After a pause]
That I cannot tell! No, I cannot!
ADOLPHE.
Henriette, do tell! Give us the word that will relieve us all.
HENRIETTE.
I cannot! Don't ask me!
ABBE.
This is not the work of man!
HENRIETTE.
Oh, that this moment had to come! And in this manner!
[To JEANNE]
Madame, I swear that I am not guilty of your child's death. Is that enough?
JEANNE.
Enough for us, but not for Justice.
HENRIETTE.
Justice! If you knew how true your words are!
ABBE.
[To HENRIETTE]
And if you knew what you were saying just now!
HENRIETTE.
Do you know that better than I?
ABBE. Yes, I do.
(HENRIETTE looks fixedly at the ABBE.)
ABBE.
Have no fear, for even if I guess your secret, it will not be exposed. Besides, I have nothing to do with human justice, but a great deal with divine mercy.
MAURICE.
[Enters hastily, dressed for travelling. He doesn't look at the others, who are standing in the background, but goes straight up to the counter, where MME. CATHERINE is sitting.]
You are not angry at me, Madame Catherine, because I didn't show up. I have come now to apologise to you before I start for the South at eight o'clock this evening.
(MME. CATHERINE is too startled to say a word.)
MAURICE.
Then you are angry at me?
[Looks around]
What does all this mean? Is it a dream, or what is it? Of course, I can see that it is all real, but it looks like a wax cabinet--There is Jeanne, looking like a statue and dressed in black--And Henriette looking like a corpse--What does it mean?
(All remain silent.)
MAURICE.
Nobody answers. It must mean something dreadful.
[Silence]
But speak, please! Adolphe, you are my friend, what is it?
[Pointing to EMILE]
And there is a detective!
ADOLPHE.
[Comes forward]
You don't know then?
MAURICE.
Nothing at all. But I must know!
ADOLPHE.
Well, then--Marion is dead.
MAURICE.
Marion--dead?
ADOLPHE.
Yes, she died this morning.
MAURICE.
[To JEANNE]
So that's why you are in mourning. Jeanne, Jeanne, who has done this to us?
JEANNE.
He who holds life and death in his hand.
MAURICE.
But I saw her looking well and happy this morning. How did it happen? Who did it? Somebody must have done it?
[His eyes seek HENRIETTE.]
ADOLPHE.
Don't look for the guilty one here, for there is none to he found. Unfortunately the police have turned their suspicion in a direction where none ought to exist.
MAURICE.
What direction is that?
ADOLPHE.
Well--you may as well know that, your reckless talk last night and this morning has placed you in a light that is anything but favourable.
MAURICE.
So they were listening to us. Let me see, what were we saying--I remember!--Then I am lost!
ADOLPHE.
But if you explain your thoughtless words we will believe you.
MAURICE.
I cannot! And I will not! I shall be sent to prison, but it doesn't matter. Marion is dead! Dead! And I have killed her!
(General consternation.)
ADOLPHE.
Think of what you are saying! Weigh your words! Do you realise what you said just now?
MAURICE. What did I say?
ADOLPHE.
You said that you had killed Marion.
MAURICE.
Is there a human being here who could believe me a murderer, and who could hold me capable of taking my own child's life? You who know me, Madame Catherine, tell me: do you believe, can you believe--
MME. CATHERINE.
I don't know any longer what to believe. What the heart thinketh the tongue speaketh. And your tongue has spoken evil words.
MAURICE.
She doesn't believe me!
ADOLPHE.
But explain your words, man! Explain what you meant by saying that "your love would kill everything that stood in its way."
MAURICE.
So they know that too--Are you willing to explain it, Henriette?
HENRIETTE.
No, I cannot do that.
ABBE.
There is something wrong behind all this and you have lost our sympathy, my friend. A while ago I could have sworn that you were innocent, and I wouldn't do that now.
MAURICE.
[To JEANNE]
What you have to say means more to me than anything else.
JEANNE.
[Coldly]
Answer a question first: who was it you cursed during that orgie out there?
MAURICE.
Have I done that too? Maybe. Yes, I am guilty, and yet I am guiltless. Let me go away from here, for I am ashamed of myself, and I have done more wrong than I can forgive myself.
HENRIETTE.
[To ADOLPHE]
Go with him and see that he doesn't do himself any harm.
ADOLPHE.
Shall I--?
HENRIETTE.
Who else?
ADOLPHE.
[Without bitterness]
You are nearest to it--Sh! A carriage is stopping outside.
MME. CATHERINE.
It's the Commissaire. Well, much as I have seen of life, I could never have believed that success and fame were such short-lived things.
MAURICE.
[To HENRIETTE]
From the triumphal chariot to the patrol wagon!
JEANNE.
[Simply]
And the ass--who was that?
ADOLPHE.
Oh, that must have been me.
COMMISSAIRE.
[Enters with a paper in his hand]
A summons to Police Headquarters--to-night, at once--for Monsieur Maurice Gerard--and for Mademoiselle Henrietta Mauclerc--both here?
MAURICE and HENRIETTE.
Yes.
MAURICE.
Is this an arrest?
COMMISSAIRE.
Not yet. Only a summons.
MAURICE.
And then?
COMMISSAIRE.
We don't know yet.
(MAURICE and HENRIETTE go toward the door.)
MAURICE.
Good-bye to all!
(Everybody shows emotion. The COMMISSAIRE, MAURICE, and HENRIETTE go out.)
EMILE.
[Enters and goes up to JEANNE]
Now I'll take you home, sister.
JEANNE.
And what do you think of all this?
EMILE.
The man is innocent.
ABBE.
But as I see it, it is, and must always be, something despicable to break one's promise, and it becomes unpardonable when a woman and her child are involved.
EMILE.
Well, I should rather feel that way, too, now when it concerns my own sister, but unfortunately I am prevented from throwing the first stone because I have done the same thing myself.
ABBE.
Although I am free from blame in that respect, I am not throwing any stones either, but the act condemns itself and is punished by its consequences.
JEANNE.
Pray for him! For both of them!
ABBE.
No, I'll do nothing of the kind, for it is an impertinence to want to change the counsels of the Lord. And what has happened here is, indeed, not the work of man.
(Curtain.) _
Read next: Act 3 - Scene 2. The Auberge Des Adrets
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