Rochebaron: What is the man like?
Brichanteau: Ask Saverny that.
The Town Crier (arriving with a crowd):
"Ordinance. Louis, by the grace of God,
King of France and Navarre, unto all men,
To whom these presents come, greeting! We will,
Ordain, and rule, henceforward, that all men,
Nobles or commoners, who break the law
By duelling, whether one survive or two,
Shall be hanged by the neck till they are dead.
Such is our good pleasure."
Gasse: Hang us like thieves.
[Two officers of the town fix the edict to the wall, and the Crier and the crowd depart. Saverny enters. The street grows dark.
Saverny: Fair Marion de Lorme has left her house.
I cannot find her.
Gasse: What was the man like?
Saverny: I do not know. On entering the house
I recognised sweet Marion, and began
To speak to her. Before I could turn round
And thank the man to whom I owed my life,
He knocked the candle over. I withdrew,
Seeing I was not wanted. All I know
Is that his name is Didier.
Rochebaron: It smacks
Of vulgar origin. To think a man
With such a name should carry Marion off—
Marion, the queen of beauty and of love!