Mme. Rousseau
Poor child! What courage he shows!
Dupre
I hope to save him for you, madame; but it cannot be done without
making great sacrifices.
Rousseau
Sir, the half of our fortune is at your disposal.
Mme. du Brocard
And the half of mine.
Dupre
It is always the half of some fortune or other. I am going to try to
do my duty—afterwards, you must do yours; we shall have to make great
efforts. You, madame, must rouse yourself, for I have great hopes.
Mme. Rousseau
Ah! sir, what can you mean?
Dupre
A little time ago, your son was a ruined man; at the present moment, I
believe he can be saved.
Mme. Rousseau
What must we do?
Mme. du Brocard
What do you ask?
Rousseau
You may be sure we will do as you require.
Dupre
I feel certain you will. This is my plan which will undoubtedly
succeed with the jury. Your son had an intrigue with a certain
working-girl, Pamela Giraud, the daughter of a porter.
Mme. du Brocard
What low people!
Dupre
Yet you will have to humble yourselves to them. Your son was always
with this young girl, and in this point lies the sole hope of his
deliverance. The very evening on which the public prosecutor avers
that he attended a meeting of the conspirators, he was possibly
visiting her. If this is a fact, if she declares that he remained with
her that night, if her father and her mother, if the rival of Jules
confirm the testimony—we shall then have ground for hope. When the
choice has to be made between a sentence of guilty and an alibi, the
jury prefers the alibi.
Mme. Rousseau (aside)
Ah! sir, you bring back life to me.
Rousseau
Sir, we owe you a debt of eternal gratitude.
Dupre (looking at them)
What sum of money must I offer to the daughter, to the father and to
the mother?
Mme. du Brocard
Are they poor?
Dupre
They are, but the matter concerns their honor.
Mme. du Brocard
Oh, she is only a working-girl!
Dupre (ironically)
It ought to be done very cheaply.
Rousseau
What do you think?
Dupre
I think that you are bargaining for the life of your son.
Mme. du Brocard
Well, M. Dupre, I suppose you may go as high as—
Mme. Rousseau
As high as—
Dupre
As high as—
Rousseau
Upon my word, I don't understand why you hesitate—and you must offer,
sir, whatever sum you consider suitable.
Dupre
Just so, you leave it to my discretion. But what compensation do you
offer her if she restores your son to you at the sacrifice of her
honor? For possibly he has made love to her.
Mme. Rousseau
He shall marry her. I come from the people myself, and I am no
marchioness.
Mme. du Brocard
What do you mean by that? You are forgetting Mlle. de Verby.
Mme. Rousseau
Sister, my son's life must be saved.
Dupre (aside)
Here we have the beginning of a comedy and the last which I wish to
see; but I must keep them to their word. (Aloud) Perhaps it would be
well if you secretly paid a visit to the young girl.
Mme. Rousseau
Oh, yes, I should like to go to see her—to implore her— (she rings)
Justine! Antoine! Quick! Order the carriage! At once—
Antoine
Yes, madame.
Mme. Rousseau
Sister, will you go with me? Ah, Jules my poor son!
Mme. du Brocard
They are bringing him back.
SCENE NINTH
The same persons, Jules (brought in by the police), and later De
Verby.
Jules (kissing his mother)
O mother!—I will not say good-bye; I shall be back very soon.
(Rousseau and Mme. du Brocard embrace Jules.)
De Verby (going up to Dupre)
I will do, monsieur, what you have asked of me. One of my friends, M.
Adolph Durand, who facilitated the flight of our dear Jules, will
testify that his friend was altogether taken up with a grisette, whom
he loved passionately, and with whom he was taking measures to elope.
Dupre
That is enough; success now depends upon the way we set about things.
The magistrate (to Jules)
We must be going, monsieur.
Jules
I will follow you. Be of good courage, mother!
(He bids farewell to Rousseau and Dupre; De Verby signs to him to be
cautious.)
Mme. Rousseau (to Jules, as he is being led away)
Jules! Jules! Do not give up hope—we are going to save you!
(The police lead Jules away.)
Curtain to the Second Act.
ACT III
SCENE FIRST
(The stage represents the room of Pamela.)
Pamela, Giraud and Madame Giraud.
(Pamela is standing near her mother, who is knitting; Giraud is at
work at a table on the left.)
Mme. Giraud
The fact of the matter is this, my poor daughter; I do not mean to
reproach you, but you are the cause of all our trouble.
Giraud
No doubt about it! We came to Paris because in the country tailoring
is no sort of a business, and we had some ambition for you, our
Pamela, such a sweet, pretty little thing as you were. We said to each
other: "We will go into service; I will work at my trade; we will give
a good position to our child; and as she will be good, industrious and
pretty, we can take care of our old age by marrying her well."
Pamela
O father!
Mme. Giraud
Half of our plans were already carried out.
Giraud
Yes, certainly. We had a good position; you made as fine flowers as
any gardener could grow; and Joseph Binet, your neighbor, was to be
the husband of our choice.
Mme. Giraud
Instead of all this, the scandal which has arisen in the house has
caused the landlord to dismiss us; the talk of the neighborhood was
incessant, for the young man was arrested in your room.
Pamela
And yet I have been guilty of nothing!
Giraud
Come, now, we know that well enough! Do you think if it were otherwise
that we would stay near you? And that I would embrace you? After all,
Pamela, there is nothing like a father and a mother! And when the
whole world is against you, if a girl can look into her parents' face
without a blush it is enough.
SCENE SECOND
The same persons and Joseph Binet.
Mme. Giraud
Well, well! Here is Joseph Binet.
Pamela
M. Binet, what are you doing here? But for your want of common-sense,
M. Jules would not have been found here.
Joseph
I am come to tell you about him.
Pamela
What! Really? Well, let us hear, Joseph.
Joseph
Ah! you won't send me away now, will you? I have seen his lawyer, and
I have offered him all that I possess if he would get him off!
Pamela
Do you mean it?
Joseph
Yes. Would you be satisfied if he was merely transported?
Pamela
Ah! you are a good fellow, Joseph, and I see that you love me! Let us
be friends.
Joseph (aside)
I have good hopes that we shall be.
(A knock at the door is heard.)