Marie Lothundiaz (to the viceroy) My lord, I have just learned that in my desire to save Fontanares from the rage of his enemies I have caused his ruin. But now an opportunity is given me to vindicate the truth, and I beg to declare that I myself put into the hands of Quinola the precious stones and the money I had treasured as my own. (Lothundiaz shows some excitement.) They belonged to me, father, and God grant that you may not have cause some day to mourn your own blindness.
Quinola (throwing off his cloak)
Whew! I breathe freely at last!
Fontanares (bending his knee before Marie) Thanks, radiant and spotless creature, through whose love I still am kept close to that heaven from which I draw my faith and hope; you have saved my honor.
Marie
And is not your honor also mine? Your glory is yet to come.
Fontanares Alas! my work is dismembered and dispersed, held in a hundred avaricious hands, who will not give it back excepting at the price it cost to fabricate. To recover it I should double the amount of my indebtedness and fail to complete the enterprise in time. All is over!
Faustine (to Marie)
Only sacrifice yourself for him and he is saved.
Marie
What say you, father? And you, Count Sarpi? (Aside) It will be my
death! (Aloud) Will you consent, on condition I obey you, to give
Fontanares all that is necessary for the success of his undertaking?
(To Faustine) I shall devote myself to God, senora!
Faustine You are sublime, sweet angel. (Aside) And thus at last deliverance comes to me!
Fontanares Stay, Marie! I would choose the struggle and all its perils, I would choose death itself, rather than the loss of you from such a cause.
Marie Rather than glory? (To the viceroy) My lord, you will cause my gems to be restored to Quinola. I return to my convent with a happy mind; either I am his, or I must live for God alone.
Lothundiaz
I believe he is a sorcerer.
Quinola
This young maiden restores to me my love for womankind.
Faustine (to Sarpi, the viceroy and Avaloros)
Can we not conquer him, in spite of all?
Avaloros
I shall try it.
Sarpi (to Faustine) All is not lost. (To Lothundiaz) Take your daughter home; she will soon be obedient to you.
Lothundiaz
God grant it! Come my daughter. (Exeunt.)
SCENE FOURTH
Faustine, Fregose, Avaloros, Fontanares, Quinola and Monipodio.
Avaloros I have studied you well, young man, and you have a great heart — a heart firm as steel. Steel will always be the master of gold. Let us frankly form a copartnership; I will pay your debts, buy up all that has been sold, give you and Quinola five thousand ducats, and, at my instance, the viceroy will be willing to forget your freedom with him.
Fontanares
If, in my distress, I have ever failed in respect towards you, senor,
I beg you will pardon me.
Don Fregose That is quite sufficient, senor. Don Fregose does not easily take offence.
Faustine
You have done well, my lord.
Avaloros Thus you see, young man, that tempest is succeeded by calm, and at present all things smile upon you. The next thing for us to do is to unite, you and I, in fulfilling your promises to the king.
Fontanares I care not for fortune excepting for one reason; shall I be enabled to wed Marie Lothundiaz?
Don Fregose
Is she the only woman in the world you love?
Fontanares
The only one.
(Faustine and Avaloros talk together.)
Don Fregose You never told me that before. Henceforth, you may count on me, young man; I am your steadfast ally. (Exit.)
Monipodio
They are coming to terms; we are ruined. I shall take myself off to
France with the duplicate machine. (Exit.)
SCENE FIFTH
Quinola, Fontanares, Faustine and Avaloros.
Faustine (to Fontanares) Come, now; I also bear no malice, and you must come to the banquet I am giving.
Fontanares
Senora, your first kindness concealed treachery.
Faustine Like all those lofty dreamers, who enrich humanity with their inventions, you know neither women, nor the world.
Fontanares (aside) I have scarcely eight days left. (To Quinola) I am going to make use of her.
Quinola
Do so, as you make use of me.
Fontanares
I will come to your house, senora.
Faustine I must thank Quinola for that. (She offers a purse to Quinola.) Take this. (To Fontanares) Till we meet again!
(Exeunt Faustine and Avaloros.)
SCENE SIXTH
Fontanares and Quinola.
Fontanares That woman is treacherous as the sun in winter. Unhappy am I that I sought her, for she has taught me to lose faith. Is it possible that there are virtues which it is for our advantage to discard?
Quinola How is it possible, senor, to distrust a woman who sets in gold her slightest words! She loves you; that’s the secret. Is your heart so very small that it cannot harbor two affections?
Fontanares
Nonsense! Marie has given me hope, her words have fired my soul. Yes,
I shall succeed.
Quinola (aside) Where is Monipodio? (Aloud) A reconciliation, senor, is very easy with a woman who yields so easily as Senora Brancadori.
Fontanares
Quinola!
Quinola Senor, you make me desperate! Would you oppose the perfidy of a useful love with the loyalty of a love that is blind? I need the influence of Senora Brancadori in order to get rid of Monipodio, whose intentions cause me anxiety. If only I can obtain this influence I will guarantee you success, and you shall then marry your Marie.
Fontanares
By what means?
Quinola My dear senor, by mounting on the shoulders of a man who sees a long distance, as you do, any one can see farther still. You are an inventor, very good; but I am inventive. You saved me from — I needn’t say what! I, in turn, will deliver you from the talons of envy and from the clutches of cupidity. Here is gold for us; come dress yourself, make yourself fine, take courage; you are on the eve of triumph. But above all things, behave graciously towards Senora Brancadori.
Fontanares
You must at least tell me, how are you going to effect this?
Quinola No, senor, if you knew my secret, all would be ruined; you are a man of talent, and a man of talent is always simple as a child.
(Exeunt.)
SCENE SEVENTH
(The setting represents the drawing-room in Senora Brancadori’s palace.)
Faustine (alone) The hour is come, to which all my efforts for the last fourteen months have been looking for fulfillment. In a few moments Fontanares will see that Marie is forever lost to him. Avaloros, Sarpi and I have lulled the genius to forgetfulness, and have brought the man up to the very day when his experiment was to have taken place, so that he stands helpless and destitute. Oh! how totally is he in my power, just as I had wished! But does a person ever change from contempt to love? No, never. Little does he know that for a twelvemonth I have been his adversary, and the misfortune is, that when he does know he will hate me! But hatred is not the opposite of love, it is merely the obverse of the golden coin. I shall tell him everything; I shall make him hate me.
SCENE EIGHTH
Faustine and Paquita.
Paquita
Senora, your orders have been most exactly carried out by Monipodio.
Senorita Lothundiaz has just been informed by her duenna, of the peril
which threatens Senor Fontanares this evening.
Faustine
Sarpi must be here by this time. Tell him I wish to speak to him.
(Exit Paquita.)
SCENE NINTH
Faustine (alone) We
must baffle the plans of Monipodio. Quinola fears he has received the order to get rid of Fontanares; it is too bad that there should be ground for such a fear.
SCENE TENTH
Faustine and Don Fregose.
Faustine
Your arrival is timely, senor, I wish to ask a favor of you.
Don Fregose
Say, rather, that you wish to confer one on me.
Faustine Monipodio must disappear from Barcelona — yea, and from Catalonia, within two hours; send him to Africa.
Don Fregose
What has he done to you?
Faustine
Nothing.
Don Fregose
Well, what is your reason.
Faustine
Simply because — You understand?
Don Fregose
Your wish shall be obeyed. (He writes.)
SCENE ELEVENTH
The same persons and Sarpi.
Faustine Have you made the necessary preparations, cousin, for your immediate marriage with Marie Lothundiaz?
Sarpi I have, and her good father has taken care that the contract should be ready.
Faustine That is well! Send word to the convent of the Dominicans. The rich heiress will freely consent to be wedded to you at midnight; she will accept any conditions, when she sees (whispering to Sarpi) Fontanares in the hands of justice.
Sarpi I quite understand, and the only thing now is to have him arrested. My good fortune seems invincible! And — I owe it all to you. (Aside) What instrument is there more powerful than the hatred of a woman!
Don Fregose
Sarpi, see that this order is strictly carried out and with no delay.
(Exit Sarpi.)
SCENE TWELFTH
The same persons excepting Sarpi.
Don Fregose
And what of your own marriage?
Faustine
My lord, I can think of nothing at present except the coming banquet;
you shall have my answer this evening. (Fontanares appears.) (Aside)
Oh, there he comes! (To Fregose) If you love me, leave me a while.
Don Fregose
Alone with him?
Faustine
Yes, so I desire.
Don Fregose
After all he loves no one but his Marie Lothundiaz. (Exit.)
SCENE THIRTEENTH
Faustine and Fontanares.
Fontanares The palace of the king of Spain is not more splendid than yours, senora, and you here display all the pomp of royalty.
Faustine
Listen to me, dear Fontanares.
Fontanares
Dear! Ah! senora, you have taught me to distrust such words as that!
Faustine She, whom you have so cruelly insulted, will now reveal herself to you. A terrible disaster threatens you. Sarpi has persistently worked against you and in doing so has carried out the orders of an irresistible power, and this banquet will be for you, unless I intervene, the scene of a Judas’ kiss. I have been told, in confidence, that on your departure from this house, perhaps without these very walls, you will be arrested, flung into prison, and your trial will begin — never to end. Is it possible that you can put into proper condition in one night the vessel which otherwise will be forfeited to you? As regards your work, you know how impossible it is to begin it over again. I wish to save you, you and your glory, you and your fortune.
Fontanares
You save me? And how?
Faustine Avalores has placed at my disposal one of his ships, Monipodio has given me his best smugglers for a cruise; let us start for Venice. The republic will make you a patrician and will give you ten times as much gold as Spain has promised. (Aside) Why is it they do not arrive?
Fontanares And what of Marie? If we are to take her with us, I will believe in you.
Faustine Your thoughts are of her at the very moment when the choice between life and death is to be made. If you delay, we may be lost.
Fontanares
We? Senora?
SCENE FOURTEENTH
The same persons. Guards rush in at every door. A magistrate appears.
Sarpi.
Sarpi
Do your duty!
The Magistrate (to Fontanares)
In the name of the king, I arrest you.
Fontanares The hour of death has come at last! Yet happily I carry my secret with me to God, and love shall be my winding sheet.
SCENE FIFTEENTH
The same persons, Marie and Lothundiaz.
Marie I was not, then, deceived; you have fallen into the hands of your enemies! And what is left to me, dearest Alfonso, but to die for you — and yet, by what a frightful death! O beloved! Heaven is jealous of a perfect love, and thus would teach us by those cruel disasters, which we call the chances of life, that there is no true happiness save in the presence of God. What! You here?
Sarpi
Senorita!
Lothundiaz
My daughter!
Marie For one moment you have left me free, for the last time in my life! I shall keep my promise, you must not be unfaithful to yours. O sublime discoverer, you will have to discharge the obligations that belong to greatness, and to fight the battle of your lawful ambition! This struggle will be the great interest of your life; while the Countess Sarpi will die by inches and in obscurity, imprisoned in the four walls of her house. And now let me remind you, father, and you, count, that it was clearly agreed, as the condition of my obedience, that Senor Fontanares should be granted by the viceroy of Catalonia a further extension of time, for the completion of his experiment.
Fontanares
Marie, how can I live without you?
Marie
How could you live in the hands of your executioner?
Fontanares
Farewell! I am ready to die.
Marie Did you not make a solemn promise to the King of Spain, yes, to all the world? (Speaks low to Fontanares) Oh! seize your triumph; after that we can die!
Fontanares
I will accept, if only you refuse to be his.
Marie
Father, fulfill your promise.
Faustine
I have triumphed.
Lothundiaz (in a low voice to Fontanares) You contemptible seducer! (Aloud) Here I give you ten thousand sequins. (In a low voice) Atrocious wretch! (Aloud) My daughter’s income for one year. (In a low voice) May the plague choke you! (Aloud) Upon the presentation of this check, Senor Avaloros will count out to you ten thousand sequins.
Fontanares
But does the viceroy consent to this arrangement?
Sarpi You have publicly accused the viceroy of Catalonia of belying the promises of the king; here is his answer: (he draws forth a document) By this ordinance, he puts a stay on the lawsuits of all your creditors, and grants you a year to complete your experiment.
Fontanares
I am ready to do so.
Lothundiaz He has made up his mind! Come, my daughter; they are expecting us at the Dominican convent, and the viceroy has promised to honor us with his presence at the ceremony.
Marie
So soon?
(Exeunt the whole party.)
Faustine (to Paquita) Run, Paquita, and bring me word when the ceremony is ended, and they are man and wife.
SCENE SIXTEENTH
Faustine and Fontanares.
Faustine (aside) There he stands, like a man pausing on the brink of a precipice to which tigers have pursued him. (Aloud) Why are you not as great as your creative thought? Is there but one woman in the world?
Fontanares What! Do you think that a man can pluck from his heart a love like mine, as easily as he draws the sword from his scabbard?
Faustine I can well conceive that a woman should love you and do you service. But, according to your idea, love is self-abdication. All that the greatest men have ever wished for: glory, honor, fortune, and more than that, a triumphant dominion which genius alone can establish — this you have gained, conqu
ering a world as Caesar, Lucullus and Luther conquered before you! And yet, you have put between yourself and this splendid existence an obstacle, which is none other than a love worthy of some student of Alcala. By birth you are a giant, and of your own will you are dwindling into a dwarf. But a man of genius can always find, among women, one woman especially created for him. And such a woman, while in the eyes of men she is a queen, for him is but a servant, adapting herself with marvelous suppleness to the chances of life, cheerful in suffering and as far-sighted in misfortune as in prosperity; above all, indulgent to his caprices and knowing well the world and its perilous changes; in a word, capable of occupying a seat in his triumphal car after having helped it up the steepest grades —
Fontanares
You have drawn her portrait.
Faustine
Whose?
Fontanares
Marie’s!
Faustine What! Did that child have skill to protect you? Did she divine the person and presence of her rival? And was she, who had suffered you to be overcome, worthy of possessing you for her own — she — the child who has permitted herself to be drawn, step by step, to the altar where at this moment she bestows herself upon another? If it had been I, ere this I should have lain dead at your feet! And on whom has she bestowed herself? On your deadliest enemy, who had accepted the command to secure the shipwreck of your hopes.
Fontanares How could I be false to that inextinguishable love, which has thrice come to my succor, which has eventually saved me, which, having no sacrifice but itself to offer on the altar of misfortune, accomplishes the immolation with one hand, and, with the other, offers to me in this (he shows the letter) the restoration of my honor, the esteem of my king, the admiration of the universe.
(Enter Paquita, who makes a sign to Faustine, then goes out.)
Faustine (aside) Ah! Sarpi has now his countess. (To Fontanares) Your life, your glory, your fortune, your honor, are at last in my hands alone! Marie no longer stands between us!
Fontanares
Us! Us!
Faustine Contradict me not, Alfonso! I have conquered all that is yours; do not refuse me your heart! You will never gain a love more devoted, more submissive, more full of sympathy than mine; for at last you shall become the great man that you deserve to be.
Fontanares Your audacity astounds me. (He shows the letter.) With a sum of money guaranteed me here I am once more the sole arbiter of my destiny. When the king sees the character and the results of my work, he will cancel that marriage, which has been obtained by violence. And my love for Marie is such that I can wait till then.
Works of Honore De Balzac Page 1411
