Works of Honore De Balzac

by Honoré de Balzac

  Mme. Mercadet They take rather too much! To owe and to pay is well enough — but to borrow without any prospect of returning —

  Mercadet You feel a great deal of compassion for my creditors, but our indebtedness to them springs from —

  Mme. Mercadet

  Their confidence in us, sir.

  Mercadet No, but from their greed of gain! The speculator and the broker are one and the same — each of them aims at sudden wealth. I have done a favor to all my creditors, and they all expect to get something out of me! I should be most unhappy but for the secret consciousness I have that they are selfish and avaricious — so that you will see in a few moments how I will make each of them play out his little comedy. (He sits down.)

  Mme. Mercadet

  You have actually ordered them to be admitted?

  Mercadet That I may meet them as I ought to! — (taking her hand.) I am at the end of my resources; the time has come for a master-stroke, and Julie must come to our assistance.

  Mme. Mercadet

  What, my daughter!

  Mercadet My creditors are pressing me, and harassing me. I must manage to make a brilliant match for Julie. This will dazzle them; they will give me more time. But in order that this brilliant marriage may take place, these gentlemen must give me more money.

  Mme. Mercadet

  They give you more money!

  Mercadet Isn’t there need of it for the dresses which they are sending to you, and for the trousseau which I am giving? And a suitable trousseau to go with the dowry of two hundred thousand francs, will cost fifteen thousand.

  Mme. Mercadet

  But you are utterly unable to give such a dowry.

  Mercadet (rising) All the more reason why I should give the trousseau. Now this is what we stand in need of: twelve or fifteen thousand francs for the trousseau, and a thousand crowns to pay the tradesmen and to prevent any appearance of straitened circumstances in our house, when M. de la Brive arrives.

  Mme. Mercadet

  How can you count on your creditors for that?

  Mercadet Don’t they now belong to the family? Can you find any relation who is as anxious as they are to see me wealthy and rich? Relations are always a little envious of the happiness of the wealth which comes to us; the creditor’s joy alone is sincere. If I were to die, I should have at my funeral more creditors than relations, and while the latter carried their mourning in their hearts or on their heads, the former would carry it in their ledgers and purses. It is here that my departure would leave a genuine void! The heart forgets, and crape disappears at the end of a year, but the account which is unpaid is ineffaceable, and the void remains eternally unfilled.

  Mme. Mercadet My dear, I know the people to whom you are indebted, and I am quite certain that you will obtain nothing from them.

  Mercadet I shall obtain both time and money from them, rest assured of that. (Mme. Mercadet is perturbed.) Don’t you see, my dear, that creditors when once they have opened their purses are like gamblers who continue to stake their money in order to recover their first losses? (Growing excited.) Yes! they are inexhaustible gold mines! If a man has no father to leave him a fortune, he finds his creditors are so many indefatigable uncles.

  Justin (entering)

  M. Goulard wishes to know if it is true that you desire to see him?

  Mercadet (to his wife) My message astounded him. (To Justin) Beg him to come in. (Justin goes out.) Goulard! The most intractable of them all! — who has three bailiffs in his employ. But fortunately he is a greedy though timid speculator who engages in the most risky affairs and trembles all the time they are being conducted.

  Justin (announcing)

  M. Goulard!

  (Exit Justin.)

  SCENE SIXTH

  The same persons and Goulard.

  Goulard (in anger)

  Ah! you can be found, sir, when you want to be!

  Mme. Mercadet (aside to her husband)

  My dear, how angry he seems!

  Mercadet (making a sign that she should be calm)

  This is one of my creditors, my dear.

  Goulard

  Yes, and I sha’n’t leave this house until you pay me.

  Mercadet (aside) You sha’n’t leave this house until you give me some money — (Aloud) Ah! you have persecuted me most unkindly — me, a man with whom you have had such extensive dealings!

  Goulard

  Dealings which have not always been to my advantage.

  Mercadet All the more credit to you, for if advantage were the sole results of business, everybody would become a money-lender.

  Goulard I hope you haven’t asked me to come here, in order to show me how clever you are! I know that you are cleverer than I am, for you have got over me in money matters.

  Mercadet Well, money matters have some importance. (To his wife) Yes, yes, you see in this man one who has hunted me as if I were a hare. Come, come, Goulard, admit it, you have behaved badly. Anybody but myself would have taken vengeance on you — for of course I could cause you to lose a considerable sum of money.

  Goulard So you could, if you didn’t pay me; but you shall pay me — your obligations are now in the hands of the law.

  Mme. Mercadet

  Of the law?

  Mercadet Of the law! You are losing your senses, you don’t know what you are doing, you are ruining us both — yourself and me — at the same time.

  Goulard (anxiously)

  How? — You — that of course is possible — but — but — me?

  Mercadet

  Both of us, I tell you! Quick, sit down there — write — write — !

  Goulard (mechanically taking his pen)

  Write — write what?

  Mercadet Write to Delannoy that he must make them stay the proceedings, and give me the thousand crowns which I absolutely need.

  Goulard (throwing down the pen)

  That is very likely, indeed!

  Mercadet

  You hesitate, and, when I am on the eve of marrying my daughter to a

  man immensely wealthy — that is the time you choose to cause my arrest.

  And by that means you are killing both your capital and interest!

  Goulard

  Ah! you are going to marry your daughter —

  Mercadet To the Comte de la Brive; he possesses as many thousand francs as he is years old!

  Goulard Then if he is up in years, there is reason for giving you some delay. But the thousand crowns — the thousand crowns — never. — I am quite decided on that point. I will give you nothing, neither delay nor — I must go now —

  Mercadet (with energy) Very well! You can go if you like, you ungrateful fellow! — But don’t forget that I have done my best to save you.

  Goulard (turning back)

  Me? — To save me — from what?

  Mercadet (aside)

  I have him now. (Aloud) From what? — From the most complete ruin.

  Goulard

  Ruin? It is impossible.

  Mercadet (taking a seat) What is the matter with you? You, a man of intelligence, of ability — a strong man, and yet you cause me all this trouble! You came here and I felt absolutely enraged against you — not because I was your friend, I confess it, but through selfishness. I look upon our interests as identical. I said to myself: I owe him so much that he is sure to give me his assistance when I have such a grand chance — like the one at this moment! And you are going to let out the whole business and to lose everything for the sake of a paltry sum! Everything! You are perhaps right in refusing me the thousand crowns — It is better, perhaps, to bury them in your coffers with the rest. All right! Send me to prison! Then, when all is gone, you’ll have to look somewhere else for a friend!

  Goulard (in a tone of self-reproach)

  Mercadet! — my dear Mercadet! — But is it actually true?

  Mercadet (rising from his seat)

  Is it true? (to his wife) You would not believe he was so stupid. (To

 
Goulard) She has ended by becoming a daring speculator. (To his wife)

  I may tell you, my dear, that Goulard is going to invest a large sum

  in our great enterprise.

  Mme. Mercadet (ashamed)

  Sir!

  Mercadet

  What a misfortune it will be if it does not turn out well.

  Goulard

  Mercadet! — Are you talking about the Basse-Indre mines?

  Mercadet Of course I am. (Aside) Ah! You have some of the Basse-Indre stock, I see.

  Goulard

  But the investment seems to me first-class.

  Mercadet

  First-class — Yes, for those who sold out yesterday.

  Goulard

  Have any stockholders sold out?

  Mercadet

  Yes, privately.

  Goulard

  Good-bye. Thanks, Mercadet; madame, accept my respects.

  Mercadet (stopping him)

  Goulard!

  Goulard

  Eh?

  Mercadet

  What about this note to Delannoy?

  Goulard

  I will speak to him about the postponement —

  Mercadet No; write to him; and in the meantime I will find some one who will buy your stock.

  Goulard (sitting down)

  All my Basse-Indre? (He takes up a pen.)

  Mercadet (aside)

  Here you see the honest man, ever ready to rob his neighbor. (Aloud)

  Very well, write — ordering a postponement of three months.

  Goulard (writing)

  Three months! There you have it.

  Mercadet The man I allude to, who buys in secret for fear of causing a rise, wants to get three hundred shares; do you happen to have three hundred?

  Goulard

  I have three hundred and fifty.

  Mercadet Fifty more! Never mind! He’ll take them all. (Examining what Goulard has written.) Have you mentioned the thousand crowns?

  Goulard

  And what is your friend’s name?

  Mercadet

  His name? You haven’t mentioned? —

  Goulard

  His name!

  Mercadet

  The thousand crowns.

  Goulard

  What a devil of a man he is! (He writes.) There, you have it!

  Mercadet

  His name is Pierquin.

  Goulard (rising)

  Pierquin.

  Mercadet He at least is the nominal buyer. — Go to your house and I will send him to you; it is never a good thing to run after a purchaser.

  Goulard Never! — You have saved my life. Good-bye, my friend. Madame, accept my prayers for the happiness of your daughter. (Exit.)

  Mercadet

  One of them captured! Now watch me get the others!

  SCENE SEVENTH

  Mme. Mercadet, Mercadet, then Julie.

  Mme. Mercadet Is there any truth in what you just now said? I could not quite follow you.

  Mercadet It is to the interest of my friend Verdelin to cause a panic in Basse- Indre stock; this stock has been for a long time very risky and has suddenly become of first-class value, through the discovery of certain beds of mineral, which are known only to those on the inside. — Ah! If I could but invest a thousand crowns in it my fortune would be made. But, of course, our main object at present is the marriage of Julie.

  Mme. Mercadet

  You are well acquainted with M. de la Brive, are you not?

  Mercadet I have dined with him. He has a charming apartment, fine plate, a silver dessert service, bearing his arms, so that it could not have been borrowed. Our daughter is going to make a fine match, and he — when either one of a married couple is happy, it is all right.

  (Julie enters.)

  Mme. Mercadet Here comes our daughter. Julie, your father and I have something to say to you on a subject which is always agreeable to a young girl.

  Julie

  M. Minard has then spoken to you, father?

  Mercadet M. Minard! Did you expect, madame, to find a M. Minard reigning in the heart of your daughter? Is not this M. Minard that under clerk of mine?

  Julie

  Yes, papa.

  Mercadet

  Do you love him?

  Julie

  Yes, papa.

  Mercadet

  But besides loving, it is necessary for a person to be loved.

  Mme. Mercadet

  Does he love you?

  Julie

  Yes, mamma!

  Mercadet Yes, papa; yes, mamma; why don’t you say mammy and daddy? — As soon as daughters have passed their majority they begin to talk as if they were just weaned. Be polite enough to address your mother as madame.

  Julie

  Yes, monsieur.

  Mercadet Oh! you may address me as papa. I sha’n’t be annoyed at that. What proof have you that he loves you?

  Julie

  The best proof of all; he wishes to marry me.

  Mercadet It is quite true, as has been said, that young girls, like little children, have answers ready enough to knock one silly. Let me tell you, mademoiselle, that a clerk with a salary of eighteen hundred francs does not know how to love. He hasn’t got the time, he has to work too hard —

  Mme. Mercadet

  But, unhappy child —

  Mercadet Ah! A lucky thought strikes me! Let me talk to her. Julie, listen to me. I will marry you to Minard. (Julie smiles with delight.) Now, look here, you haven’t got a single sou, and you know it; what is going to become of you a week after your marriage? Have you thought about that?

  Julie

  Yes, papa —

  Mme. Mercadet (with sympathy, to her husband)

  The poor child is mad.

  Mercadet Yes, she is in love. (To Julie) Tell me all about it, Julie. I am not now your father, but your confidant; I am listening.

  Julie

  After our marriage we will still love each other.

  Mercadet

  But will Cupid shoot you bank coupons at the end of his arrows?

  Julie Father, we shall lodge in a small apartment, at the extremity of the Faubourg, on the fourth story, if necessary! — And if it can’t be helped, I will be his house-maid. Oh! I will take an immense delight in the care of the household, for I shall know that it will all be done for him. I will work for him, while he is working for me. I will spare him every anxiety, and he will never know how straitened we are. Our home will be spotlessly clean, even elegant — You shall see! Elegance depends upon such little things; it springs from the soul, and happiness is at once the cause and the effect of it. I can earn enough from my painting to cost him nothing and even to contribute to the expenses of our living. Moreover, love will help us to pass through the days of hardship. Adolphe has ambition, like all those who are of lofty soul, and these are the successful men —

  Mercadet Success is within reach of the bachelor, but, when a man is married, he exhausts himself in meeting his expenses, and runs after a thousand franc bill as a dog runs after a carriage.

  Julie But, papa, Adolphe has strength of will, united with such capacity that I feel sure I shall see him some day a Minister, perhaps —

  Mercadet In these days, who is there that does not indulge more or less the hope of being a minister? When a man leaves college he thinks himself a great poet, or a great orator! Do you know what your Adolphe will really become? — Why, the father of several children, who will utterly disarrange your plans of work and economy, who will end by landing his excellency in the debtor’s prison, and who will plunge you into the most frightful poverty. What you have related to me is the romance and not the reality of life.

  Mme. Mercadet

  Daughter, there can be nothing serious in this love of yours.

  Julie

  It is a love to which both of us are willing to sacrifice everything.

  Mercadet

  I suppose that your friend Adolphe thinks that we are rich?

 
Julie

  He has never spoken to me about money.

  Mercadet Just so. I can quite understand it. (To Julie) Julie, write to him at once, telling him to come to me.

  Julie (kissing him)

  Dear papa!

  Mercadet And you must marry M. de la Brive. Instead of living on a fourth floor in a suburb, you will have a fine house in the Chaussee-d’Antin, and, if you are not the wife of a Minister, you perhaps will be the wife of a peer of France. I am sorry, my daughter, that I have no more to offer you. Remember, you can have no choice in the matter, for M. Minard is going to give you up.

  Julie

  Oh! he will never do that, papa. He will win your heart —

  Mme. Mercadet

  My dear, suppose he loves her?

  Mercadet

  He is deceiving her —

  Julie

  I shouldn’t mind being always deceived in that way.

  (A bell is heard without.)

  Mme. Mercadet

  Some one is ringing, and we have no one to open the door.

  Mercadet

  That is all right. Let them ring.

  Mme. Mercadet

  I am all the time thinking that Godeau may return.

  Mercadet

  After eight years without any news, you are still expecting Godeau!

  You seem to me like those old soldiers who are waiting for the return

  of Napoleon.

  Mme. Mercadet

  They are ringing again.

  Mercadet Julie, go and see who it is, and tell them that your mother and I have gone out. If any one is shameless enough to disbelieve a young girl — it must be a creditor — let him come in.

  (Exit Julie.)

  Mme. Mercadet This love she speaks of, and which, at least on her side, is sincere, disturbs me greatly.

  Mercadet

  You women are all too romantic.

  Julie (returning)

  It is M. Pierquin, papa.

  Mercadet A creditor and usurer — a vile and violent soul, who humors me because he thinks me a man of resources; a wild beast only half-tamed yet cowed by my audacity. If I showed fear he would devour me. (Going to the door.) Come in, Pierquin, come in.

  SCENE EIGHTH

  The same persons and Pierquin.

  Pierquin My congratulations to you all. I hear that you are making a grand marriage for your daughter. Mademoiselle is to marry a millionaire; the report has already gone abroad.

  Mercadet A millionaire? — No, he has only nine hundred thousand francs, at the most.