    The Project Gutenberg EBook of Pamela Giraud, by Honore de Balzac

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    Title: Pamela Giraud

    Author: Honore de Balzac

    Release Date: July 24, 2009 [EBook #8079]

    Language: English

    Character set encoding: ASCII

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    Produced by John Bickers, David Widger and Dagny

# PAMELA GIRAUD

## A PLAY IN FIVE ACTS

## by Honore de Balzac

Presented for the First Time at Paris at the
Theatre de la Gaite, September 26, 1843

## PERSONS OF THE PLAY

         General de Verby
         Dupre, a lawyer
         Rousseau, a wealthy merchant
         Jules Rousseau, his son
         Joseph Binet
         Giraud, a porter
         Chief of Special Police
         Antoine, servant to the Rousseaus

         Pamela Giraud
         Madame du Brocard, a widow; aunt of Jules Rousseau
         Madame Rousseau
         Madame Giraud
         Justine, chambermaid to Madame Rousseau

         Sheriff
         Magistrate
         Police Officers
         Gendarmes

SCENE: Paris

TIME: During the Napoleonic plots under Louis XVIII. (1815-1824)

# PAMELA GIRAUD

## ACT I

                                  SCENE FIRST

      (Setting is an attic and workshop of an artificial flower-maker. It is
      poorly lighted by means of a candle placed on the work-table. The
      ceiling slopes abruptly at the back allowing space to conceal a man.
      On the right is a door, on the left a fireplace. Pamela is discovered
      at work, and Joseph Binet is seated near her.)

      Pamela, Joseph Binet and later Jules Rousseau.

      Pamela
      Monsieur Joseph Binet!

      Joseph
      Mademoiselle Pamela Giraud!

      Pamela
      I plainly see that you wish me to hate you.

      Joseph
      The idea! What? And this is the beginning of our love—Hate me!

      Pamela
      Oh, come! Let us talk sensibly.

      Joseph
      You do not wish, then, that I should express how much I love you?

      Pamela
      Ah! I may as well tell you plainly, since you compel me to do so, that
      I do not wish to become the wife of an upholsterer's apprentice.

      Joseph
      Is it necessary to become an emperor, or something like that, in order
      to marry a flower-maker?

      Pamela
      No. But it is necessary to be loved, and I don't love you in any way
      whatever.

      Joseph
      In any way! I thought there was only one way of loving.

      Pamela
      So there is, but there are many ways of not loving. You can be my
      friend, without my loving you.

      Joseph
      Oh!

      Pamela
      I can look upon you with indifference—

      Joseph
      Ah!

      Pamela
      You can be odious to me! And at this moment you weary me, which is
      worse!

      Joseph
      I weary her! I who would cut myself into fine pieces to do all that
      she wishes!

      Pamela
      If you would do what I wish, you would not remain here.

      Joseph
      And if I go away—Will you love me a little?

      Pamela
      Yes, for the only time I like you is when you are away!

      Joseph
      And if I never came back?

      Pamela
      I should be delighted.

      Joseph
      Zounds! Why should I, senior apprentice with M. Morel, instead of
      aiming at setting up business for myself, fall in love with this young
      lady? It is folly! It certainly hinders me in my career; and yet I
      dream of her—I am infatuated with her. Suppose my uncle knew it!—But
      she is not the only woman in Paris, and, after all, Mlle. Pamela
      Giraud, who are you that you should be so high and mighty?

      Pamela
      I am the daughter of a poor ruined tailor, now become a porter. I gain
      my own living—if working night and day can be called living—and it
      is with difficulty that I snatch a little holiday to gather lilacs in
      the Pres-Saint-Gervais; and I certainly recognize that the senior
      apprentice of M. Morel is altogether too good for me. I do not wish to
      enter a family which believes that it would thus form a mesalliance.
      The Binets indeed!

      Joseph
      But what has happened to you in the last eight or ten days, my dear
      little pet of a Pamela? Up to ten days ago I used to come and cut out
      your flowers for you, I used to make the stalks for the roses, and the
      hearts for the violets; we used to talk together, we sometimes used to
      go to the play, and have a good cry there—and I was "good Joseph,"
      "my little Joseph"—a Joseph in fact of the right stuff to make your
      husband. All of a sudden—Pshaw! I became of no account.

      Pamela
      Now you must really go away. Here you are neither in the street, nor
      in your own house.

      Joseph
      Very well, I'll be off, mademoiselle—yes, I'll go away! I'll have a
      talk in the porter's lodge with your mother; she does not ask anything
      better than my entrance into the family, not she; she won't change her
      mind!

      Pamela
      All right! Instead of entering her family, enter her lodge, the
      porter's lodge, M. Joseph! Go and talk with my mother, go on!— (Exit
      Joseph.) Perhaps he'll keep their attention so that M. Adolph can get
      up stairs without being seen. Adolph Durand! What a pretty name! There
      is half a romance in it! And what a handsome young man! For the last
      fifteen days he has absolutely persecuted me. I knew that I was rather
      pretty; but I never believed I was all he called me. He must be an
      artist, or a government official! Whatever he is, I can't help liking
      him; he is so aristocratic! But what if his appearance were deceitful,
      and there were anything wrong about him!—For the letter which he has
      just sent me has an air of mystery about it— (She draws a letter from
      her bosom and reads it) "Expect me this evening. I wish to see you
      alone, and, if possible, to enter unnoticed by any one; my life is in
      danger, and oh! if you only knew what a terrible misfortune threatens
      me! Adolph Durand." He writes in pencil. His life is in danger—Ah!
      How anxious I feel!

      Joseph (returning)
      Just as I was going down stairs, I said to myself: "Why should Pamela"

      (Jules' head appears at the window.)

      Pamela
      Ah!

      Joseph
      What's the matter?

      (Jules disappears.)

      Pamela
      I thought I saw—I mean—I thought I heard a sound overhead. Just go
      into the garret. Some one perhaps has hidden there. You are not
      afraid, are you?

      Joseph
      No.

      Pamela
      Very well! Go up and search! Otherwise I shall be frightened for the
      whole night.

      Joseph
      I will go at once. I will climb over the roof if you like.

      (He passes through a narrow door that leads to the garret.)

      Pamela (follows him)
      Be quick! (Jules enters.) Ah! sir, what trouble you are giving me!

      Jules
      It is to save my life, and perhaps you will never regret it. You know
      how much I love you!

      (He kisses her hand.)

      Pamela
      I know that you have told me so; but you treat me—

      Jules
      As my deliverer.

      Pamela
      You wrote to me—and your letter has filled me with trouble—I know
      neither who you are—

      Joseph (from the outer room)
      Mademoiselle, I am in the garret. I have looked over the whole roof.

      Jules
      He is coming back—Where can I hide?

      Pamela
      But you must not stay here!

      Jules
      You wish to ruin me, Pamela!

      Pamela
      Look, hide yourself there!

      (She points to the cranny under the sloping roof.)

      Joseph (returning)
      Are you alone, mademoiselle?

      Pamela
      No; for are not you here?

      Joseph
      I heard something like the voice of a man. The voice came from below.

      Pamela
      Nonsense, more likely it came from above—Look down the staircase—

      Joseph
      Oh! But I am sure—

      Pamela
      Nonsense. Leave me, sir; I wish to be alone.

      Joseph
      Alone, with a man's voice?

      Pamela
      I suppose you don't believe me?

      Joseph
      But I heard it plain enough.

      Pamela
      You heard nothing.

      Joseph
      Ah! Pamela!

      Pamela
      If you prefer to believe the sounds which you say reached your ears,
      rather than the words I speak, you would make a very bad husband. That
      is quite sufficient for me.

      Joseph
      That doesn't prove that I did not hear—

      Pamela
      Since I can't convince you, you can believe what you like. Yes! you
      did hear a voice, the voice of a young man, who is in love with me,
      and who does whatever I wish—He disappears when he is asked, and
      comes when he is wanted. And now what are you waiting for? Do you
      think that while he is here, your presence can be anything but
      disagreeable to us? Go and ask my father and mother what his name is.
      He must have told them when he came up stairs—he, and the voice you
      heard.

      Joseph
      Mlle. Pamela, forgive a poor youth who is mad with love. It is not
      only my heart that I have lost, but my head also, when I think of you.
      I know that you are just as good as you are beautiful, I know that you
      have in your soul more treasures of sweetness than you ever show, and
      so I know that you are right, and were I to hear ten voices, were I to
      see ten men here, I would care nothing about it. But one—

      Pamela
      Well, what of it?

      Joseph
      A single one—that is what wounds me. But I must be off; it seems
      funny that I should have said all that to you. I know quite well that
      there is no one here but you. Till we meet again, Mlle. Pamela; I am
      going—I trust you.

      Pamela (aside)
      He evidently does not feel quite sure.

      Joseph (aside)
      There is some one here! I will run down and tell the whole matter to
      her father and mother. (Aloud) Adieu, Mlle. Pamela. (Exit.)

                                   SCENE SECOND

      Pamela and Jules.

      Pamela
      M. Adolph, you see to what you are exposing me. That poor lad is a
      workman, a most kind-hearted fellow; he has an uncle rich enough to
      set him up in business; he wishes to marry me, and in one moment I
      have lost my prospects—and for whom? I do not know you, and from the
      manner in which you imperil the reputation of a young girl who has no
      capital but her good behavior, I conclude that you think you have the
      right to do so. You are rich and you make sport of poor people!

      Jules
      No, my dear Pamela. I know who you are, and I take you at your true
      value. I love you, I am rich, and we will never leave one another. My
      traveling carriage is with a friend, at the gate of St. Denis; we will
      proceed on foot to catch it; I intend embarking for England. You must
      come with me. I cannot explain my intentions now, for the least delay
      may prove fatal to me.

      Pamela
      What do you mean?

      Jules
      You shall see—

      Pamela
      Are you in your right senses, M. Adolph? After having followed me
      about for a month, seen me twice at a dance, written me several
      declarations, such as young men of your sort write to any and every
      woman, you point-blank propose an elopement!

      Jules
      Oh, I beg of you, don't delay an instant! You'll repent of this for
      the rest of your life, and you will see too late what mischief you
      have done.

      Pamela
      But, my dear sir, you can perhaps explain yourself in a couple of
      words.

      Jules
      No,—for the secret is a matter of life and death to several persons.

      Pamela
      If it were only to save your life, whoever you are, I would do a good
      deal; but what assistance could I be to you in your flight! Why do you
      want to take me to England?

      Jules
      What a child you are! No one, of course, would suspect anything of two
      runaway lovers! And, let me tell you, I love you well enough to
      disregard everything else, and even to brave the anger of my parents—
      Once we are married at Gretna Green—

      Pamela
      Oh, mon Dieu! I am quite non-plussed! Here's a handsome young man
      urges you—implores you—and talks of marriage—

      Jules
      They are mounting the staircase—I am lost!—You have betrayed me!—

      Pamela
      M. Adolph, you alarm me! What is going to happen? Wait a moment, I
      will go and see.

      Jules
      In any case, take and keep this twenty thousand francs. It will be
      safer with you than in the hands of the police—I have only half an
      hour longer and all will be over.

      Pamela
      There is nothing to fear—It is only my father and mother.

      Jules
      You have the kindness of an angel. I trust my fate with you. But you
      must know that both of us must leave this house at once; and I swear
      on my honor, that nothing but good shall result to you.

      (He hides again under the roof.)

                                   SCENE THIRD

      Pamela, M. Giraud and Mme. Giraud.

      Pamela (who stands in such a way as to prevent her parents from
      entering fully into the room; aside)
      Evidently here is a man in danger—and a man who loves me—two reasons
      why I should be interested in him.

      Mme. Giraud
      How is this, Pamela—you the solace of all our misfortunes, the prop
      of our old age, our only hope!

      Giraud
      A girl brought up on the strictest principles.

      Mme. Giraud
      Keep quiet, Giraud! You don't know what you are talking about.

      Giraud
      Certainly, Madame Giraud.

      Mme. Giraud
      And besides all this, Pamela, your example was cited in all the
      neighborhood as a girl who'd be useful to your parents in their
      declining years!

      Giraud
      And worthy to receive the prize of virtue!

      Pamela
      Then what is the meaning of all these reproaches?

      Mme. Giraud
      Joseph has just told us that you had a man hidden in your room.

      Giraud
      Yes—he heard the voice.

      Mme. Giraud
      Silence, Giraud!—Pamela—pay no attention to your father—

      Pamela
      And do you, mother, pay no attention to Joseph.

      Giraud
      What did I tell you on the stairs, Madame Giraud? Pamela knows how we
      count upon her. She wishes to make a good match as much on our account
      as on her own; her heart bleeds to see us porters, us, the authors of
      her life! She is too sensible to blunder in this matter. Is it not so,
      my child, you would not deceive your father?

      Mme. Giraud
      There is nobody here, is there, my love? For a young working-girl to
      have any one in her room, at ten o'clock at night—well—she runs a
      risk of losing—

      Pamela
      But it seems to me that if I had any one you would have seen him on
      his way up.

      Giraud
      She is right.

      Mme. Giraud
      She does not answer straight out. Please open the door of this room.

      Pamela
      Mother, stop! Do not come in here,—you shall not come in here!—
      Listen to me; as I love you, mother, and you, father, I have nothing
      to reproach myself with!—and I swear to it before God!—Do not in a
      moment withdraw from your daughter the confidence which you have had
      in her for so long a time.

      Mme. Giraud
      But why not tell us?

      Pamela (aside)
      Impossible! If they were to see this young man every one would soon
      know all about it.

      Giraud (interrupting her)
      We are your father and mother, and we must see!

      Pamela
      For the first time in my life, I refuse to obey you!—But you force me
      to it!—These lodgings are rented by me from the earnings of my work!
      I am of age and mistress of my own actions.

      Mme. Giraud
      Oh, Pamela! Can this be you, on whom we have placed all our hopes?

      Giraud
      You will ruin yourself!—and I shall remain a porter to the end of my
      days.

      Pamela
      You needn't be afraid of that! Well—I admit that there is some one
      here; but silence! You must go down stairs again to your lodge. You
      must tell Joseph that he does not know what he is talking about, that
      you have searched everywhere, that there is no one in my lodging; you
      must send him away—then you shall see this young man; you shall learn
      what I purpose doing. But you must keep everything the most profound
      secret.

      Giraud
      Unhappy girl! What do you take us for? (He sees the banknotes on the
      table.) Ah! what is this? Banknotes!

      Mme. Giraud
      Banknotes! (She recoils from Pamela.) Pamela, where did you get them?

      Pamela
      I will tell you when I write.

      Giraud
      When you write! She must be going to elope!

                                   SCENE FOURTH

      The same persons, and Joseph Binet.

      Joseph (entering)
      I was quite sure that there was something wrong about him!—He is a
      ringleader of thieves! The gendarmes, the magistrate, all the
      excitement she showed mean something—and now the house is surrounded!

      Jules (appearing)
      I am lost!

      Pamela
      I have done all that I could!

      Giraud
      And you, sir, who are you?

      Joseph
      Are you a—?

      Mme. Giraud
      Speak!

      Jules
      But for this idiot, I would have escaped! You will now have the ruin
      of an innocent man on your consciences.

      Pamela
      M. Adolph, are you innocent?

      Jules
      I am!

      Pamela
      What shall we do? (Pointing to the dormer window.)  You can elude
      their pursuit that way out.

      (She opens the dormer window and finds the police agents on the roof
      outside.)

      Jules
      It is too late. All you can do is to confirm my statement. You must
      declare that I am your daughter's lover; that I have asked you to give
      her in marriage to me; that I am of age; that my name is Adolph
      Durand, son of a rich business man of Marseilles.

      Giraud
      He offers her lawful love and wealth!—Young man, I willingly take you
      under my protection.

                                   SCENE FIFTH

      The same persons, a sheriff, a police officer and gendarmes.

      Giraud
      Sir, what right have you to enter an occupied dwelling—the domicile
      of a peaceable young girl?

      Joseph
      Yes, what right have you—?

      The sheriff
      Young man, don't you worry about our right!—A few moments ago you
      were very friendly and slowed us where the unknown might be found, but
      now you have suddenly changed your tune.

      Pamela
      Bit what are you looking for? What do you want?

      The sheriff
      You seem to be well aware that we are looking for somebody.

      Giraud
      Sir, my daughter has no one with her but her future husband, M.—

      The sheriff
      Rousseau.

      Pamela
      M. Adolph Durand.

      Giraud
      Rousseau I don't know.—The gentleman I refer to is M. Adolph Durand.

      Mme. Giraud
      Son of a respectable merchant of Marseilles.

      Joseph
      Ah! you have been deceiving me! Ah!—That is the secret of your
      coldness, and he is—

      The sheriff (to the officer of the police)
      This does not seem to be the man?

      The officer
      Oh, yes, I am sure of it! (to the gendarmes) Carry out my orders.

      Jules
      Monsieur, I am the victim of some mistake; my name is not Jules
      Rousseau.

      The officer
      Oh! but you know his first name, which none of us has as yet
      mentioned.

      Jules
      But I heard some one say it. Here are my papers, which are perfectly
      correct.

      The sheriff
      Let me see them, please.

      Giraud
      Gentlemen, I assure you and declare to you—

      The officer
      If you go on in this way, and wish to make us believe that this
      gentleman is Adolph Durand, son of a merchant of—

      Mme. Giraud
      Of Marseilles—

      The officer
      You may all be arrested as his accomplices, locked up in jail this
      evening, and implicated in an affair from which you will not easily
      get off. Have you any regard for the safety of your neck?

      Giraud
      A great deal!

      The officer
      Very well! Hold your tongue, then.

      Mme. Giraud
      Do hold your tongue, Giraud!

      Pamela
      Merciful heaven! Why did I not believe him at once!

      The sheriff (to his agents)
      Search the gentleman!

      (The agent takes out Jules' pocket handkerchief.)

      The officer
      It is marked with a J and an R. My dear sir, you are not very clever!

      Joseph
      What can he have done? Have you anything to do with it, mademoiselle?

      Pamela
      You are the sole cause of the trouble. Never speak to me again!

      The officer
      Monsieur, here we have the check for your dinner—you dined at the
      Palais Royal. While you were there you wrote a letter in pencil. One
      of your friends brought the letter here. His name was M. Adolph
      Durand, and he lent you his passport. We are certain of your identity;
      you are M. Jules Rousseau.

      Joseph
      The son of the rich M. Rousseau, whose house we are furnishing?

      The sheriff
      Hold your tongue!

      The officer
      You must come with us.

      Jules
      Certainly, monsieur. (To Giraud and his wife) Forgive the annoyance I
      have caused you—and you, Pamela, do not forget me! If you do not see
      me again, you may keep what I gave into your hands, and may it bring
      you happiness!

      Giraud
      O Lord!

      Pamela
      Poor Adolph!

      The sheriff (to his agents)
      Remain here. We are going to search this attic, and question every one
      of these people.

      Joseph (with a gesture of horror)
      Ah!—she prefers a criminal to me!

      (Jules is put in charge of the agents.)

      Curtain to the First Act.

## ACT II

                                   SCENE FIRST

      (The setting is a drawing-room in the Rousseau mansion. Antoine is
      looking through the newspapers.)

      Antoine and Justine.

      Justine
      Well, Antoine, have you read the papers?

      Antoine
      I am reading them. Isn't it a pity that we servants cannot learn,
      excepting through the papers, what is going on in the trial of M.
      Jules?

      Justine
      And yet the master and mistress and Mme. du Brocard, their sister,
      know nothing. M. Jules has been for three months—in—what do they
      call it?—in close confinement.

      Antoine
      The arrest of the young man has evidently attracted great attention—

      Justine
      It seems absurd to think that a young man who had nothing to do but
      amuse himself, who would some day inherit his aunt's income of twenty
      thousand francs, and his father's and mother's fortune, which is quite
      double that amount, should be mixed up in a conspiracy!

      Antoine
      I admire him for it, for they were plotting to bring back the emperor!
      You may cause my throat to be cut if you like. We are alone here—you
      don't belong to the police; long live the emperor! say I.

      Justine
      For mercy's sake, hold your tongue, you old fool!—If any one heard
      you, you would get us all arrested.

      Antoine
      I am not afraid of that, thank God! The answers I made to the
      magistrate were non-committal; I never compromised M. Jules, like the
      traitors who informed against him.

      Justine
      Mme. du Brocard with all her immense savings ought to be able to buy
      him off.

      Antoine
      Oh, nonsense! Since the escape of Lavalette such a thing is
      impossible! They have become extremely particular at the gates of the
      prison, and they were never particularly accommodating. M. Jules will
      have to take his dose you see; he will be a martyr. I shall go and see
      him executed.

      (Some one rings. Exit Antoine.)

      Justine
      We will go and see him! When one has known a condemned man I don't see
      how they can have the heart to—As for me I shall go to the Court of
      Assizes. I feel, poor boy, I owe him that!

                                   SCENE SECOND

      Dupre, Antoine and Justine.

      Antoine (aside, as he ushers in Dupre)
      Ah! The lawyer. (Aloud) Justine, go and tell madame that Monsieur
      Dupre is waiting. (Aside) The lawyer is a hard nut to crack, I'm
      thinking. (Aloud) Sir, is there any hope of saving our poor M. Jules?

      Dupre
      I perceive that you are very fond of your young master?

      Antoine
      Naturally enough!

      Dupre
      What would you do to save him?

      Antoine
      Anything, sir!

      Dupre
      That means nothing.

      Antoine
      Nothing?—I will give whatever evidence you like.

      Dupre
      If you are caught in contradicting yourself and convicted of perjury,
      do you know what you run the risk of?

      Antoine
      No, sir.

      Dupre
      The galleys.

      Antoine
      That is rather severe, sir.

      Dupre
      You would prefer to serve him without compromising yourself?

      Antoine
      Is there any other way?

      Dupre
      No.

      Antoine
      Well! I'll run the risk of the galleys.

      Dupre (aside)
      What devotion is here!

      Antoine
      My master would be sure to settle a pension on me.

      Justine
      Here is madame.

                                   SCENE THIRD

      The same persons and Madame Rousseau.

      Mme. Rousseau (to Dupre)
      Ah! Monsieur, we have been impatiently expecting this visit. (To
      Antoine) Antoine! Quick, inform my husband. (To Dupre) Sir, I trust in
      your efforts, alone.

      Dupre
      You may be sure, madame, that I shall employ every energy—

      Mme. Rousseau
      Oh! Thank you! But of course Jules is not guilty. To think of him as a
      conspirator! Poor child, how could any one suspect him, who trembles
      before me at the slightest reproach—me, his mother! Ah, monsieur,
      promise that you will restore him to me!

      Rousseau (entering the room)
      (To Antoine) Yes, carry the letter to General de Verby. I shall wait
      for him here. (To Dupre) I am glad to see you, my dear M. Dupre—

      Dupre
      The battle will doubtless begin to-morrow; to-day preparations are
      being made, and the indictment drawn.

      Rousseau
      Has my poor Jules made any admissions?

      Dupre
      He has denied everything, and has played to perfection the part of an
      innocent man; but we are not able to oppose any testimony to that
      which is being brought against him.

      Rousseau
      Ah! Monsieur, save my son, and the half of my fortune shall be yours!

      Dupre
      If I had every half of a fortune that has been promised to me, I
      should be too rich for anything.

      Rousseau
      Do you question the extent of my gratitude?

      Dupre
      We will wait till the result of the trial is known, sir.

      Mme. Rousseau
      Take pity on a poor mother!

      Dupre
      Madame, I swear to you nothing so much excites my curiosity and my
      sympathy, as a genuine sentiment. And at Paris sincerity is so rare
      that I cannot be indifferent to the grief of a family threatened with
      the loss of an only son. You may therefore rely upon me.

      Rousseau
      Ah! Monsieur!

                                   SCENE FOURTH

      The same persons, General de Verby and Madame du Brocard.

      Mme. du Brocard (showing in De Verby)
      Come in, my dear general.

      De Verby (bowing to Rousseau)
      Monsieur—I simply came to learn—

      Rousseau (presenting Dupre to De Verby)
      General, M. Dupre.

      (Dupre and De Verby exchange bows.)

      Dupre (aside, while De Verby talks with Rousseau)
      He is general of the antechamber, holding the place merely through the
      influence of his brother, the lord chamberlain; he doesn't seem to me
      to have come here without some object.

      De Verby (to Dupre)
      I understand, sir, that you are engaged for the defence of M. Jules
      Rousseau in this deplorable affair—

      Dupre
      Yes, sir, it is a deplorable affair, for the real culprits are not in
      prison; thus it is that justice rages fiercely against the rank and
      file, but the chiefs are always passed by. You are General Vicomte de
      Verby, I presume?

      De Verby
      Simple General Verby—I do not take the title—my opinions of course.
      —Doubtless you are acquainted with the evidence in this case?

      Dupre
      I have been in communication with the accused only for the last three
      days.

      De Verby
      And what do you think of the affair?

      All
      Yes, tell us.

      Dupre
      According to my experience of the law courts, I believe it possible to
      obtain important revelations by offering commutation of sentence to
      the condemned.

      De Verby
      The accused are all men of honor.

      Rousseau
      But—

      Dupre
      Characters sometime change at the prospect of the scaffold, especially
      when there is much at stake.

      De Verby (aside)
      A conspiracy ought not to be entered upon excepting with penniless
      accomplices.

      Dupre
      I shall induce my client to tell everything.

      Rousseau
      Of course.

      Mme. du Brocard
      Certainly.

      Mme. Rousseau
      He ought to do so.

      De Verby (anxiously)
      I presume there is no other way of escape for him?

      Dupre
      None whatever; it can be proved that he was of the number of those who
      had begun to put in execution the plot.

      De Verby
      I would rather lose my head than my honor.

      Dupre
      I should consider which of the two was worth more.

      De Verby
      You have your views in the matter.

      Rousseau
      Those are mine.

      Dupre
      And they are the opinions of the majority. I have seen many things
      done by men to escape the scaffold. There are people who push others
      to the front, who risk nothing, and yet reap all the fruits of
      success. Have such men any honor? Can one feel any obligation towards
      them?

      De Verby
      No, they are contemptible wretches.

      Dupre (aside)
      He has well said it. This is the fellow who has ruined poor Jules! I
      must keep my eye on him.

                                   SCENE FIFTH

      The same persons, Antoine and Jules (the latter led in by police
      agents.)

      Antoine
      Sir, a carriage stopped at the door. Several men got out. M. Jules is
      with them; they are bringing him in.

      M. and Mme. Rousseau
      My son!

      Mme. du Brocard
      My nephew!

      Dupre
      Yes, I see what it is—doubtless a search-warrant. They wish to look
      over his papers.

      Antoine
      Here he is.

      (Jules appears in the centre, followed by the police and a magistrate;
      he rushes up to his mother.)

      Jules
      O mother! My good mother! (He embraces his mother.) Ah! I see you once
      more! (To Mme. du Brocard) Dear aunt!

      Mme. Rousseau
      My poor child! Come! Come—close to me; they will not dare— (To the
      police, who approach her) Leave him, leave him here!

      Rousseau (rushing towards the police)
      Be kind enough—

      Dupre (to the magistrate)
      Monsieur!

      Jules
      My dear mother, calm yourself! I shall soon be free; yes, be quite
      sure of that, and we will not part again.

      Antoine (to Rousseau)
      Sir, they wish to visit M. Jules's room.

      Rousseau (to the magistrate)
      In a moment, monsieur. I will go with you myself. (To Dupre, pointing
      to Jules) Do not leave him!

      (He goes out conducting the magistrate, who makes a sign to the police
      to keep guard on Jules.)

      Jules (seizing the hand of De Verby)
      Ah, general! (To Dupre) And how good and generous of you, M. Dupre, to
      come here and comfort my mother. (In a low voice) Ah! conceal from her
      my danger. (Aloud, looking at his mother) Tell her the truth. Tell her
      that she has nothing to fear.

      Dupre
      I will tell her that it is in her power to save you.

      Mme. Rousseau
      In my power?

      Mme. du Brocard
      How can that be?

      Dupre (to Mme. Rousseau)
      By imploring him to disclose the names of those who have led him on.

      De Verby (to Dupre)
      Monsieur!

      Mme. Rousseau
      Yes, and you ought to do it. I, your mother, demand it of you.

      Mme. du Brocard
      Oh, certainly! My nephew shall tell everything. He has been led on by
      people who now abandon him to his fate, and he in his turn ought—

      De Verby (in a low voice to Dupre)
      What, sir! Would you advise your client to betray—?

      Dupre (quickly)
      Whom?

      De Verby (in a troubled voice)
      But—can't we find some other method? M. Jules knows what a man of
      high spirit owes to himself.

      Dupre (aside)
      He is the man—I felt sure of it!

      Jules (to his mother and aunt)
      Never, though I should die for it—never will I compromise any one
      else.

      (De Verby shows his pleasure at this declaration.)

      Mme. Rousseau
      Ah! my God! (Looking at the police.) And there is no chance of our
      helping him to escape here!

      Mme. du Brocard
      No! that is out of the question.

      Antoine (coming into the room)
      M. Jules, they are asking for you.

      Jules
      I am coming!

      Mme. Rousseau
      Ah! I cannot let you go.

      (She turns to the police with a supplicating look.)

      Mme. du Brocard (to Dupre, who scrutinizes De Verby)
      M. Dupre, I have thought that it would be a good thing—

      Dupre (interrupting her)
      Later, madame, later.

      (He leads her to Jules, who goes out with his mother, followed by the
      agents.)

                                   SCENE SIXTH

      Dupre and De Verby.

      De Verby (aside)
      These people have hit upon a lawyer who is rich, without ambition—and
      eccentric.

      Dupre (crossing the stage and gazing at De Verby, aside)
      Now is my time to learn your secret. (Aloud) You are very much
      interested in my client, monsieur?

      De Verby
      Very much indeed.

      Dupre
      I have yet to understand what motive could have led him, young, rich
      and devoted to pleasure as he is, to implicate himself in a
      conspiracy—

      De Verby
      The passion for glory.

      Dupre
      Don't talk in that way to a lawyer who for twenty years has practiced
      in the courts; who has studied men and affairs well enough to know
      that the finest motives are only assumed as a disguise for trumpery
      passions, and has never yet met a man whose heart was free from the
      calculations of self-interest.

      De Verby
      Do you ever take up a case without charging anything?

      Dupre
      I often do so; but I never act contrary to my convictions.

      De Verby
      I understand that you are rich?

      Dupre
      I have some fortune. Without it, in the world as at present
      constituted, I should be on the straight road for the poor-house.

      De Verby
      It is then from conviction, I suppose, that you have undertaken the
      defence of young Rousseau?

      Dupre
      Certainly. I believe him to be the dupe of others in a higher station,
      and I like those who allow themselves to be duped from generous
      motives and not from self-interest; for in these times the dupe is
      often as greedy after gain as the man who exploits him.

      De Verby
      You belong, I perceive, to the sect of misanthropes.

      Dupre
      I do not care enough for mankind to hate them, for I have never yet
      met any one I could love. I am contented with studying my fellow-men;
      for I see that they are all engaged in playing each, with more or less
      success, his own little comedy. I have no illusion about anything, it
      is true, but I smile at it all like a spectator who sits in a theatre
      to be amused. One thing I never do; I hiss at nothing; for I have not
      sufficient feeling about things for that.

      De Verby (aside)
      How is it possible to influence such a man? (Aloud) Nevertheless,
      monsieur, you must sometimes need the services of others?

      Dupre
      Never!

      De Verby
      But you are sometimes sick?

      Dupre
      Then I like to be alone. Moreover, at Paris, anything can be bought,
      even attendance on the sick; believe me I live because it is my duty
      to do so. I have tested everything—charity, friendship, unselfish
      devotion. Those who have received benefits have disgusted me with the
      doing of kindnesses. Certain philanthropists have made me feel a
      loathing for charity. And of all humbugs that of sentiment is the most
      hateful.

      De Verby
      And what of patriotism, monsieur?

      Dupre
      That is a very trifling matter, since the cry of humanity has been
      raised.

      De Verby (somewhat discouraged)
      And so you take Jules Rousseau for a young enthusiast?

      Dupre
      No, sir, nothing of the sort. He presents a problem which I have to
      solve, and with your assistance I shall reach the solution. (De Verby
      changes countenance.) Come, let us speak candidly. I believe that you
      know something about all this.

      De Verby
      What do you mean, sir?

      Dupre
      You can save the young man.

      De Verby
      I? What can I do?

      Dupre
      You can give testimony which Antoine will corroborate—

      De Verby
      I have reasons for not appearing as a witness.

      Dupre
      Just so. You are one of the conspirators!

      De Verby
      Monsieur!

      Dupre
      It is you who have led on this poor boy.

      De Verby
      Monsieur, this language—!

      Dupre
      Don't attempt to deceive me, but tell me how you managed to gain this
      bad influence over him? He is rich, he is in need of nothing.

      De Verby
      Listen!—If you say another word—

      Dupre
      Oh! my life is of no consideration with me!

      De Verby
      Sir, you know very well that Jules will get off; and that if he does
      not behave properly, he will lose, through your fault, the chance of
      marriage with my niece, and thus the succession to the title of my
      brother, the Lord Chamberlain.

      Dupre
      Ah, that's what he was after, then! He's like all the rest of the
      schemers. Now consider, sir, what I am going to propose to you. You
      have powerful friends, and it is your duty—

      De Verby
      My duty! I do not understand you, sir.

      Dupre
      You have been able to effect his ruin, and can you not bring about his
      release? (Aside) I have him there.

      De Verby
      I shall give my best consideration to the matter.

      Dupre
      Don't consider for a moment that you can escape me.

      De Verby
      A general who fears no danger can have no fear of a lawyer—

      Dupre
      As you will!

      (Exit De Verby, who jostles against Joseph.)

                                  SCENE SEVENTH

      Dupre and Joseph Binet.

      Joseph
      I heard only yesterday, monsieur, that you were engaged for the
      defence of M. Jules Rousseau; I have been to your place, and have
      waited for you until I could wait no later. This morning I found that
      you had left your home, and as I am working for this house, a happy
      inspiration sent me here. I thought you would be coming here, and I
      waited for you—

      Dupre
      What do you want with me?

      Joseph
      I am Joseph Binet.

      Dupre
      Well, proceed.

      Joseph
      Let me say without offence, sir, that I have fourteen hundred francs
      of my own—quite my own!—earned sou by sou. I am a journeyman
      upholsterer, and my uncle, Du Mouchel, a retired wine merchant, has
      plenty of the metal.

      Dupre
      Speak out openly! What is the meaning of this mysterious preamble?

      Joseph
      Fourteen hundred francs is of course a mere trifle, and they say that
      lawyers have to be well paid, and that it is because they are well
      paid that there are so many of them. I should have done better if I
      had been a lawyer—then she would have married me!

      Dupre
      Are you crazy?

      Joseph
      Not at all. I have here my fourteen hundred francs; take them, sir—no
      humbug! They are yours.

      Dupre
      And on what condition?

      Joseph
      You must save M. Jules—I mean, of course, from death—and you must
      have him transported. I don't want him to be put to death; but he must
      go abroad. He is rich, and he will enjoy himself. But save his life.
      Procure a sentence of simple transportation, say for fifteen years,
      and my fourteen hundred francs are yours. I will give them to you
      gladly, and I will moreover make you an office chair below the market
      price. There now!

      Dupre
      What is your object in speaking to me in this way?

      Joseph
      My object? I want to marry Pamela. I want to have my little Pamela.

      Dupre
      Pamela?

      Joseph
      Pamela Giraud.

      Dupre
      What connection has Pamela Giraud with Jules Rousseau?

      Joseph
      Well I never! Why! I thought that advocates were paid for learning and
      knowing everything. But you don't seem to know anything, sir. I am not
      surprised that there are those who say advocates are know-nothings.
      But I should like to have back my fourteen hundred francs. Pamela is
      accused, that is to say, she accuses me of having betrayed his head to
      the executioner, and you will understand that if after all he escapes,
      and is transported, I can marry, can wed Pamela; and as the
      transported man will not be in France, I need fear no disturbance in
      my home. Get him fifteen years; that is nothing; fifteen years for
      traveling and I shall have time to see my children grow up, and my
      wife old enough—you understand—

      Dupre (aside)
      He is candid, at any rate—Those who make their calculations aloud and
      in such evident excitement are not the worst of people.

      Joseph
      I say! Do you know the proverb—"A lawyer who talks to himself is like
      a pastry cook who eats his own wares,"—eh, sir?

      Dupre
      I understand you to say that Pamela is in love with M. Jules?

      Joseph
      Ah! I see, you understand matters.

      Dupre
      They used frequently to meet I suppose?

      Joseph
      Far too frequently! Oh! if I had only known it, I would have put a
      stop to it!

      Dupre
      Is she pretty?

      Joseph
      Who?—Pamela?—My eye! My Pamela! She is as pretty as the Apollo
      Belvidere!

      Dupre
      Keep your fourteen hundred francs, my friend, and if you have courage,
      you and your Pamela, you will be able to help me in effecting his
      deliverance; for the question is absolutely whether we must let him go
      to the scaffold, or save him from it.

      Joseph
      I beg you, sir, do not think of saying one word to Pamela; she is in
      despair.

      Dupre
      Nevertheless you must bring it about that I see her this morning.

      Joseph
      I will send word to her through her parents.

      Dupre
      Ah! she has a father and mother living then? (Aside) This will cost a
      lot of money. (Aloud) Who are they?

      Joseph
      They are respectable porters.

      Dupre
      That is good.

      Joseph
      Old Giraud is a ruined tailor.

      Dupre
      Very well, go and inform them of my intended visit, and above all
      things preserve the utmost secrecy, or M. Jules will be sacrificed.

      Joseph
      I shall be dumb.

      Dupre
      And let it be thought that we have never met.

      Joseph
      We have never seen each other.

      Dupre
      Now go.

      Joseph
      I am going.

      (He mistakes the door.)

      Dupre
      This is the way.

      Joseph
      This is the way, great advocate—but let me give you a bit of advice—
      a slight taste of transportation will not do him any harm; in fact, it
      will teach him to leave the government in peace. (Exit.)

                                   SCENE EIGHTH

      Rousseau, Madame Rousseau, Madame du Brocard (attended by Justine) and
      Dupre.

      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.)

                                   SCENE THIRD

      The preceding, M. de Verby and Madame du Brocard.

      Mme. Giraud (opening the door)
      There are some people here!

      Giraud
      A lady and a gentleman.

      Joseph
      What did you say?

      (Pamela rises from her seat and takes a step toward M. de Verby, who
      bows to her.)

      Mme. du Brocard
      Is this Mlle. Pamela Giraud?

      Pamela
      It is, madame.

      De Verby
      Forgive us, mademoiselle, for presenting ourselves without previous
      announcement—

      Pamela
      There is no harm done. May I know the object of this visit?

      Mme. du Brocard
      And you, good people, are her father and mother?

      Mme. Giraud
      Yes, madame.

      Joseph
      She calls them good people—she must be one of the swells.

      Pamela
      Will you please be seated.

      (Mme. Giraud offers them seats.)

      Joseph (to Giraud)
      My eye! The gentleman has on the ribbon of the Legion of Honor! He
      belongs to high society.

      Giraud (looking at De Verby)
      By my faith, that's true!

      Mme. du Brocard
      I am the aunt of M. Jules Rousseau.

      Pamela
      You, madame? Then this gentleman must be his father?

      Mme. du Brocard
      He is merely a friend of the family. We are come, mademoiselle, to ask
      a favor of you. (Looking at Binet with embarrassment.) Your brother?

      Giraud
      No, madame, just a neighbor of ours.

      Mme. du Brocard (to Pamela)
      Send him away.

      Joseph (aside)
      Send him away, indeed. I'd like to know what right she has—

      (Pamela makes a sign to Joseph.)

      Giraud (to Joseph)
      My friend, you had better leave us. It seems this is a private matter.

      Joseph
      Very well. (Exit.)

                                   SCENE FOURTH

      The same persons excepting Binet.

      Mme. du Brocard (to Pamela)
      You are acquainted with my nephew. I do not intend to reproach you.
      Your parents alone have the right.

      Mme. Giraud
      But, thank God, they have no reason.

      Giraud
      It is your nephew who has caused all this talk about her, but she is
      blameless!

      De Verby (interrupting him)
      But suppose that we wish her to be guilty?

      Pamela
      What do you mean, sir?

      Giraud and Mme. Giraud
      To think of it!

      Mme. du Brocard (seizing De Verby's meaning)
      Yes, suppose, to save the life of a poor young man—

      De Verby
      It were necessary to declare that M. Jules Rousseau spent nearly the
      whole night of the twenty-fourth of August here with you?

      Pamela
      Ah! sir!

      De Verby (to Giraud and his wife)
      Yes, suppose it were necessary to testify against your daughter, by
      alleging this?

      Mme. Giraud
      I would never say such a thing.

      Giraud
      What! Insult my child! Sir, I have had all possible troubles. I was
      once a tailor, now I am reduced to nothing. I am a porter! But I have
      remained a father. My daughter is our sole treasure, the glory of our
      old age, and you ask us to dishonor her?

      Mme. du Brocard
      Pray listen to me, sir.

      Giraud
      No, madame, I will listen to nothing. My daughter is the hope of my
      gray hairs.

      Pamela
      Calm yourself, father, I implore you.

      Mme. Giraud
      Keep quite, Giraud! Do let this lady and gentleman speak!

      Mme. du Brocard
      A family in deep affliction implores you to save them.

      Pamela (aside)
      Poor Jules!

      De Verby (in a low voice to Pamela)
      His fate is in your hands.

      Mme. Giraud
      We are respectable people and know what it is for parents, for a
      mother, to be in despair. But what you ask is out of the question.

      (Pamela puts a handkerchief to her eyes.)

      Giraud
      We must stop this! You see the girl is in tears.

      Mme. Giraud
      She has done nothing but weep for several days.

      Giraud
      I know my daughter; she would be capable of going and making the
      declaration they ask, in spite of us.

      Mme. Giraud
      Yes,—for you must see, she loves him, she loves your nephew! And to
      save his life—Well! Well! I would have done as much in her place.

      Mme. du Brocard
      Have compassion on us!

      De Verby
      Grant this request of ours—

      Mme. du Brocard (to Pamela)
      If it is true that you love Jules—

      Mme. Giraud (leading Giraud up to Pamela)
      Did you hear that? Well! Listen to me. She is in love with this youth.
      It is quite certain that he also is in love with her. If she should
      make a sacrifice like that, as a return, he ought to marry her.

      Pamela (with vehemence)
      Never! (Aside) These people would not wish it, not they.

      De Verby (to Mme. du Brocard)
      They are consulting about it.

      Mme. du Brocard (in a low voice to De Verby)
      It will be absolutely necessary for us to make a sacrifice. We must
      appeal to their interest. It is the only plan!

      De Verby
      In venturing to ask of you so great a sacrifice, we are quite aware of
      the claims that you will have on our gratitude. The family of Jules,
      who might have blamed you on account of your relations with him, are,
      on the contrary, anxious to discharge the obligations which bind them
      to you.

      Mme. Giraud
      Ah! Did I not tell you so?

      Pamela
      Can it be possible that Jules—

      De Verby
      I am authorized to make a promise to you.

      Pamela (with emotion)
      Oh!

      De Verby
      Tell me, how much do you ask for the sacrifice required of you?

      Pamela (in consternation)
      What do you mean? How much—I ask—for saving Jules? What do you take
      me for?

      Mme. du Brocard
      Ah! Mademoiselle!

      De Verby
      You misunderstand me.

      Pamela
      No, it is you who misunderstand us! You are come here, to the house of
      poor people, and you are quite unaware of what you ask from them. You,
      madame, ought to know that whatever be the rank or the education of a
      woman, her honor is her sole treasure! And that which you in your own
      families guard with so much care, with so much reverence, you actually
      believe that people here, living in an attic, would be willing to
      sell! And you have said to yourselves: "Let us offer them money! We
      need just now the sacrifice of a working-girl's honor!"

      Giraud
      That is excellent! I recognize my own blood there.

      Mme. du Brocard
      My dear child, do not be offended! Money is money, after all.

      De Verby (addressing Giraud)
      Undoubtedly! And six thousand francs for a solid annual income as a
      price of—a—

      Pamela
      As the price of a lie! For I must out with it. But thank God I haven't
      yet lost my self-respect! Good-bye, sir.

      (Pamela makes a low bow to Mme. du Brocard, then goes into her bed-
      chamber.)

      De Verby
      What is to be done?

      Mme. du Brocard
      I am quite nonplussed.

      Giraud
      I quite admit that an income of six thousand francs is no trifle, but
      our daughter has a high spirit, you see; she takes after me—

      Mme. Giraud
      And she will never yield.

                                   SCENE FIFTH

      The same persons, Joseph Binet, Dupre and Mme. Rousseau.

      Joseph
      This way, sir. This way, madame. (Dupre and Mme. Rousseau enter.)
      These are the father and mother of Pamela Giraud!

      Dupre (to De Verby)
      I am very sorry, sir, that you have got here before me!

      Mme. Rousseau
      My sister has doubtless told you, madame, the sacrifice which we
      expect your daughter to make for us. Only an angel would make it.

      Joseph
      What sacrifice?

      Mme. Giraud
      It is no business of yours.

      De Verby
      We have just had an interview with Mlle. Pamela—

      Mme. du Brocard
      She has refused!

      Mme. Rousseau
      Oh, heavens!

      Dupre
      Refused what?

      Mme. du Brocard
      An income of six thousand francs.

      Dupre
      I could have wagered on it. To think of offering money!

      Mme. du Brocard
      But it was the only way—

      Dupre
      To spoil everything. (To Mme. Giraud) Madame, kindly tell your
      daughter that the counsel of M. Jules Rousseau is here and desires to
      see her.

      Mme. Giraud
      Oh, as for that you will gain nothing.

      Giraud
      Either from her or from us.

      Joseph
      But what is it they want?

      Giraud
      Hold your tongue.

      Mme. du Brocard (to Mme. Giraud)
      Madame, offer her—

      Dupre
      Now, Mme. du Brocard, I must beg you— (To Mme. Giraud) It is in the
      name of the mother of Jules that I ask of you permission to see your
      daughter.

      Mme. Giraud
      It will be of no use at all, sir! And to think that they point-blank
      offered her money when the young man a little time before had spoken
      of marrying her!

      Mme. Rousseau (with excitement)
      Well, why not?

      Mme. Giraud (with vehemence)
      How was that, madame?

      Dupre (seizing the hand of Mme. Giraud)
      Come, come! Bring me your daughter.

      (Exit Mme. Giraud.)

      De Verby and Mme. du Brocard
      You have then made up your mind?

      Dupre
      It is not I, but madame who has made up her mind.

      De Verby (questioning Mme. du Brocard)
      What has she promised?

      Dupre (seeing that Joseph is listening)
      Be silent, general; stay for a moment, I beg you, with these ladies.
      Here she comes. Now leave us alone, if you please.

      (Pamela is brought in by her mother. She makes a curtsey to Mme.
      Rousseau, who gazes at her with emotion; then Dupre leads all but
      Pamela into the other room; Joseph remains behind.)

      Joseph (aside)
      I wonder what they mean. They all talk of a sacrifice! And old Giraud
      won't say a word to me! Well, I can bide my time. I promised the
      advocate that I would give him my fourteen hundred francs, but before
      I do so, I would like to see how he acts with regard to me.

      Dupre (going up to Joseph)
      Joseph Binet, you must leave the room.

      Joseph
      And not hear what you say about me?

      Dupre
      You must go away.

      Joseph (aside)
      It is evident that they are concealing something from me. (To Dupre) I
      have prepared her mind; she is much taken with the idea of
      transportation. Stick to that point.

      Dupre
      All right! But you must leave the room.

      Joseph (aside)
      Leave the room! Oh, indeed! Not I.

      (Joseph makes as if he had withdrawn, but, quietly returning, hides
      himself in a closet.)

      Dupre (to Pamela)
      You have consented to see me, and I thank you for it. I know exactly
      what has recently taken place here, and I am not going to address you
      in the same way as you have been recently addressed.

      Pamela
      Your very presence assures me of that, sir.

      Dupre
      You are in love with this fine young man, this Joseph?

      Pamela
      I am aware, sir, that advocates are like confessors!

      Dupre
      My child, they have to be just as safe confidants. You may tell me
      everything without reserve.

      Pamela
      Well, sir, I did love him; that is to say, I thought I loved him, and
      I would very willingly have become his wife. I thought that with his
      energy Joseph would have made a good business, and that we could lead
      together a life of toil. When prosperity came, we would have taken
      with us my father and my mother; it was all very clear—it would have
      been a united family!

      Dupre (aside)
      The appearance of this young girl is in her favor! Let us see whether
      she is sincere or not. (Aloud) What are you thinking about?

      Pamela
      I was thinking about these past days, which seemed to me so happy in
      comparison with the present. A fortnight ago my head was turned by the
      sight of M. Jules; I fell in love with him, as young girls do fall in
      love, as I have seen other young girls fall in love with young men—
      with a love which would endure everything for those they loved! I used
      to say to myself: shall I ever be like that? Well, at this moment I do
      not know anything that I would not endure for M. Jules. A few moments
      ago they offered me money,—they, from whom I expected such nobleness,
      such greatness; and I was disgusted! Money! I have plenty of it, sir!
      I have twenty thousand francs! They are here, they are yours! That is
      to say, they are his! I have kept them to use in my efforts to save
      him, for I have betrayed him, because I doubted him, while he was so
      confident, so sure of me—and I was so distrustful of him!

      Dupre
      And he gave you twenty thousand francs?

      Pamela
      Ah, sir! He entrusted them with me. Here they are. I shall return them
      to his family, if he dies; but he shall not die! Tell me? Is it not
      so? You ought to know.

      Dupre
      My dear child, bear in mind that your whole life, perhaps your
      happiness, depend upon the truthfulness of your answers. Answer me as
      if you stood in the presence of God.

      Pamela
      I will.

      Dupre
      You have never loved any one before?

      Pamela
      Never!

      Dupre
      You seem to be afraid! Come, I am terrifying you. You are not giving
      me your confidence.

      Pamela
      Oh, yes I am, sir; I swear I am! Since we have been in Paris, I have
      never left my mother, and I have thought of nothing but my work and my
      duty. I was alarmed and thrown into confusion a few moments ago, sir,
      but you inspire me with confidence, and I can tell you everything.
      Well, I acknowledge it,—I am in love with Jules; he is the only one I
      love, and I would follow him to the end of the world! You told me to
      speak as in the presence of God.

      Dupre
      Well, it is to your heart that I am going to appeal. Do for me what
      you have refused to do for others. Tell me the truth! You alone have
      the power to save him before the face of justice! You love him,
      Pamela; I understand what it would cost you to—

      Pamela
      To avow my love for him? Would that be sufficient to save him?

      Dupre
      I will answer for that!

      Pamela
      Well?

      Dupre
      My child!

      Pamela
      Well—he is saved.

      Dupre (earnestly)
      But—you will be compromised—

      Pamela
      But after all it is for him.

      Dupre (aside)
      I never expected it, but I shall not die without having seen with my
      own eyes an example of beautiful and noble candor, destitute alike of
      self-interest and designing reserve. (Aloud) Pamela, you are a good
      and generous girl.

      Pamela
      To act this way consoles me for many little miseries of life.

      Dupre
      My child, that is not everything! You are true as steel, you are high-
      spirited. But in order to succeed it is necessary to have assurance—
      determination—

      Pamela
      Oh, sir! You shall see!

      Dupre
      Do not be over-anxious. Dare to confess everything. Be brave! Imagine
      that you are before the Court of Assizes, the presiding judge, the
      public prosecutor, the prisoner at the bar, and me, his advocate; the
      jury is on one side. The big court-room is filled with people. Do not
      be alarmed.

      Pamela
      You needn't fear for me.

      Dupre
      A court officer brings you in; you have given your name and surname!
      Then the presiding judge asks you "How long have you known the
      prisoner, Rousseau?"—What would you answer?

      Pamela
      The truth!—I met him about a month before his arrest at the Ile
      d'Amour, Belleville.

      Dupre
      Who were with him?

      Pamela
      I noticed no one but him.

      Dupre
      Did you hear them talk politics?

      Pamela (in astonishment)
      Oh, sir! The judges must be aware that politics are matters of
      indifference at the Ile d'Amour.

      Dupre
      Very good, my child! But you must tell them all you know about Jules
      Rousseau.

      Pamela
      Of course. I shall still speak the truth, and repeat my testimony
      before the police justice. I knew nothing of the conspiracy, and was
      infinitely surprised when he was arrested in my room; the proof of
      which is that I feared M. Jules was a thief and afterwards apologized
      for my suspicion.

      Dupre
      You must acknowledge that from the time of your first acquaintance
      with this young man, he constantly came to see you. You must declare—

      Pamela
      I shall stick to the truth—He never left me alone! He came to see me
      for love, I received him from friendship, and I resisted him from a
      sense of duty—

      Dupre
      And at last?

      Pamela (anxiously)
      At last?

      Dupre
      You are trembling! Take care! Just now you promised me to tell the
      truth!

      Pamela (aside)
      The truth! Oh my God!

      Dupre
      I also am interested in this young man; but I recoil from a possible
      imposture. If he is guilty, my duty bids me defend him, if he is
      innocent, his cause shall be mine. Yes, without doubt, Pamela, I am
      about to demand from you a great sacrifice, but he needs it. The
      visits which Jules made to you were in the evening, and without the
      knowledge of your parents.

      Pamela
      Why no! never!

      Dupre
      How is this? For in that case there would be no hope for him.

      Pamela (aside)
      No hope for him! Then either he or I must be ruined. (Aloud) Sir, do
      not be alarmed; I felt a little fear because the real danger was not
      before my eyes. But when I shall stand before the judges!—when once I
      shall see him, see Jules—and feel that his safety depends upon me—

      Dupre
      That is good, very good. But what is most necessary to be made known
      is that on the evening of the twenty-fourth, he came here. If that is
      once understood, I shall be successful in saving him; otherwise, I can
      answer for nothing. He is lost!

      Pamela (murmuring, greatly agitated)
      Lost!—Jules lost!—No, no, no!—Better that my own good name be lost!
      (Aloud) Yes, he came here on the twenty-fourth. (Aside) God forgive
      me! (Aloud) It was my saint's day—my name is Louise Pamela—and he
      was kind enough to bring me a bouquet, without the knowledge of my
      father or mother; he came in the evening, late. Ah! you need have no
      fear, sir—you see I shall tell all. (Aside) And all is a lie!

      Dupre
      He will be saved! (Rousseau appears) Ah! sir! (running to the door of
      the room) Come all of you and thank your deliverer!

                                   SCENE SIXTH

      Rousseau, De Verby, Madame du Brocard, Giraud, Madame Giraud, Dupre,
      and later Joseph Binet.

      All
      Does she consent?

      Rousseau
      You have saved my son. I shall never forget it.

      Mme. du Brocard
      You have put us under eternal obligations, my child.

      Rousseau
      My fortune shall be at your disposal.

      Dupre
      I will not say anything to you, my child! We shall meet again!

      Joseph (coming out of the closet)
      One moment! One moment! I have heard everything—and do you believe
      that I am going to put up with that? I was here in concealment all the
      time. And do you think I am going to let Pamela, whom I have loved and
      have wished to make my wife, say all that? (To Dupre) This is the way
      you are going to earn my fourteen hundred francs, eh! Well, I shall go
      to court myself and testify that the whole thing is a lie.

      All
      Great heaven!

      Dupre
      You miserable wretch!

      De Verby
      If you say a single word—

      Joseph
      Oh, I am not afraid!

      De Verby (to Rousseau and Mme. du Brocard)
      He shall never go to court! If necessary, I will have him shadowed,
      and I will put men on the watch to prevent him from entering.

      Joseph
      I'd just like to see you try it!

      (Enter a sheriff's officer, who goes up to Dupre.)

      Dupre
      What do you want?

      The sheriff's officer
      I am the court officer of the Assizes—Mlle. Pamela Giraud! (Pamela
      comes forward.) In virtue of discretionary authority of the presiding
      judge, you are summoned to appear before him to-morrow at ten o'clock.

      Joseph (to De Verby)
      I will go also.

      The officer
      The porter has told me that you have here a gentleman called Joseph
      Binet.

      Joseph
      Here I am!

      The officer
      Please take your summons.

      Joseph
      I told you that I would go!

      (The officer withdraws; every one is alarmed at the threats of Binet.
      Dupre tries to speak to him and reason with him, but he steals away.)

      Curtain to the Third Act.

## ACT IV

                                   SCENE FIRST

      (The stage represents Madame du Brocard's salon, from which can be
      seen the Court of Assizes.)

      Madame du Brocard, Madame Rousseau, Rousseau, Joseph Binet, Dupre and
      Justine.

      (Dupre is seated reading his note-book.)

      Mme. Rousseau
      M. Dupre!

      Dupre
      Yes, madame, the court adjourned after the speech of the prosecuting
      attorney. And I came over to reassure you personally.

      Mme. du Brocard
      I told you, sister, that some one was sure to come and keep us
      informed of things. In my house, here, which is so close to the court
      house, we are in a favorable position for learning all that goes on at
      the trial. Ah, M. Dupre! How can we thank you enough! You spoke
      superbly! (To Justine) Justine, bring in something to drink—Quick!

      Rousseau
      Sir, your speech— (To his wife) He was magnificent.

      Dupre
      Sir,—

      Joseph (in tears)
      Yes, you were magnificent, magnificent!

      Dupre
      I am not the person you ought to thank, but that child, that Pamela,
      who showed such astonishing courage.

      Joseph
      And didn't I do well?

      Mme. Rousseau
      And he (pointing to Binet), did he carry out the threat he made to us?

      Dupre
      No, he took your side.

      Joseph
      It was your fault! But for you—Ah!—Well—I reached the court house,
      having made up my mind to mix up everything; but when I saw all the
      people, the judge, the jury, the crowd, and the terrible silence, I
      trembled! Nevertheless I screwed up my courage. When I was questioned,
      I was just about to answer, when my glance met the eyes of Mlle.
      Pamela, which were filled with tears—I felt as if my tongue was
      bound. And on the other side I saw M. Jules—a handsome youth, his
      fine face conspicuous among them all. His expression was as tranquil
      as if he had been a mere spectator. That knocked me out! "Don't be
      afraid," said the judge to me. I was absolutely beside myself! I was
      afraid of making some mistake; and then I had sworn to keep to the
      truth; and then M. Dupre fixed his eye on me. I can't tell you what
      that eye seemed to say to me—My tongue seemed twisted up. I broke out
      into a sweat—my heart beat hard—and I began to cry, like a fool. You
      were magnificent. And then in a moment it was all over. He made me do
      exactly what he wanted. This is the way I lied: I said that on the
      evening of the twenty-fourth I unexpectedly came to Pamela's room and
      found M. Jules there—Yes, at Pamela's, the girl whom I was going to
      marry, whom I still love—and our marriage will be the talk of the
      whole neighborhood. Never mind, he's a great lawyer! Never mind! (To
      Justine) Give me something to drink, will you?

      Rousseau, Mme. Rousseau, Mme. du Brocard (To Joseph)
      Dear friend! You showed yourself a fine fellow!

      Dupre
      The energy shown by Pamela makes me hopeful. I trembled for a moment
      while she was giving evidence; the prosecuting attorney pressed her
      very hard and seemed to doubt her veracity; she grew pale and I
      thought she was going to faint.

      Joseph
      And what must my feelings have been?

      Dupre
      Her self-sacrifice was wonderful. You don't realize all that she has
      undergone for you; I, myself even, was deceived by her; she was her
      own accuser, yet all the time was innocent. Only one moment did she
      falter; but darting a rapid glance at Jules, she suddenly rallied, a
      blush took the place of pallor on her countenance, and we felt that
      she had saved her lover; in spite of the risk she was running, she
      repeated once more before all those people the story of her own
      disgrace, and then fell weeping into the arms of her mother.

      Joseph
      Yes, she is a fine girl.

      Dupre
      But I must leave you; the summing up of the judge will come this
      afternoon.

      Rousseau
      You must be going then.

      Dupre
      One moment! Do not forget Pamela! That young girl has compromised her
      own honor for you and for him.

      Joseph
      As for me, I don't ask anything, but I have been led to expect—

      Mme. du Brocard, Mme. Rousseau
      We can never pay our debt of gratitude to you.

      Dupre
      Very good; come, gentlemen, we must be starting.

      (Exeunt Dupre and Rousseau.)

                                   SCENE SECOND

      The same persons excepting Dupre and Rousseau.

      Mme. du Brocard (stopping Joseph on his way out)
      Listen to me!

      Joseph
      What can I do for you?

      Mme. du Brocard
      You see in what a state of anxiety we are; don't fail to let us know
      the least turn in our favor which the trial makes.

      Mme. Rousseau
      Yes, keep us well informed on the whole business.

      Joseph
      You may rest assured of that—But look here, I needn't leave the court
      house to do that, I intend to see everything, and to hear everything.
      But do you see that window there? My seat is just under it; you watch
      that window, and it if he is declared innocent you will see me wave my
      handkerchief.

      Mme. Rousseau
      Do not forget to do so.

      Joseph
      No danger of that; I am a poor chap, but I know what a mother's heart
      is! I am interested in this case, and for you, and for Pamela, I have
      said a lot of things! But when you are fond of people you'll do
      anything, and then I have been promised something—you may count upon
      me. (Exit.)

                                   SCENE THIRD

      The same persons excepting Joseph.

      Mme. Rousseau
      Justine, open this window, and wait for the signal which the young man
      has promised to give—Ah! but suppose my boy were condemned!

      Mme. du Brocard
      M. Dupre has spoken very hopefully about matters.

      Mme. Rousseau
      But with regard to this good girl, this admirable Pamela—what must we
      do for her?

      Mme. du Brocard
      We ought to do something to make her happy! I acknowledge that this
      young person is a succor sent from heaven! Only a noble heart could
      make the sacrifice that she has made! She deserves a fortune for it!
      Thirty thousand francs! That is what she ought to have. Jules owes his
      life to her. (Aside) Poor boy, will his life be saved?

      (Mme. du Brocard looks toward the window.)

      Mme. Rousseau
      Well, Justine, do you see anything?

      Justine
      Nothing, madame.

      Mme. Rousseau
      Nothing yet! Yes, you are right, sister, it is only the heart that can
      prompt such noble actions. I do not know what you and my husband would
      think about it, but if we considered what was right, and had full
      regard to the happiness of Jules, apart from the brilliant prospect of
      an alliance with the family of De Verby, if my son loved her and she
      loved my son—it seems to me reasonable—

      Mme. du Brocard and Justine
      No! No!

      Mme. Rousseau
      Oh, sister! Say yes! Has she not well deserved it? But there is some
      one coming.

      (The two women remain in their seats with clasped hands.)

                                   SCENE FOURTH

      The same persons and De Verby.

      Justine
      M. le General de Verby!

      Mme. Rousseau and Mme. du Brocard
      Ah!

      De Verby
      Everything is going on well! My presence was no longer necessary, so I
      return to you. There are great hopes of your son's acquittal. The
      charge of the presiding judge is decidedly in his favor.

      Mme. Rousseau (joyfully)
      Thank God!

      De Verby
      Jules has behaved admirably! My brother the Comte de Verby is very
      much interested in his favor. My niece looks upon him as a hero, and I
      know courage and honorable conduct when I see them. When once this
      affair has been settled, we will hasten the marriage.

      Mme. Rousseau
      We ought to tell you, sir, that we have made certain promises to this
      young girl.

      Mme. du Brocard
      Never mind that, sister.

      De Verby
      Doubtless the young girl deserves some recompense, and I suppose you
      will give her fifteen or twenty thousand francs,—that is due her.

      Mme. du Brocard
      You see, sister, that M. de Verby is a noble and generous man, and
      since he has fixed upon this sum, I think it will be sufficient.

      Justine
      M. Rousseau!

      Mme. du Brocard
      O brother!

      Mme. Rousseau
      Dear husband!

                                   SCENE FIFTH

      The same persons and Rousseau.

      De Verby (to Rousseau)
      Have you good news?

      Mme. Rousseau
      Is he acquitted?

      Rousseau
      No, but it is rumored that he is going to be; the jury are in
      consultation; I couldn't stay there any longer; I couldn't stand the
      suspense; I told Antoine to hurry here as soon as the verdict is
      given.

      Mme. Rousseau
      We shall learn what the verdict is from this window; we have agreed
      upon a signal to be given by that youth, Joseph Binet.

      Rousseau
      Ah! keep a good look out, Justine.

      Mme. Rousseau
      And how is Jules? What a trying time it must be for him!

      Rousseau
      Not at all! The unfortunate boy astonishes me by his coolness. Such
      courage as he has is worthy of a better cause than that of conspiracy.
      To think of his having put us in such a position! But for this I might
      have been appointed President of the Chamber of Commerce.

      De Verby
      You forget that, after all, his marriage with a member of my family
      will make some amends for his trouble.

      Rousseau (struck by a sudden thought)
      Ah, general! When I left the court room, Jules stood surrounded by his
      friends, among whom were M. Dupre and the young girl Pamela. Your
      niece and Madame de Verby must have noticed it, and I hope that you
      will try to explain matters to them.

      (While Rousseau speaks with the general the ladies are watching for
      the signal.)

      De Verby
      Rest assured of that! I will take care that Jules appears as white as
      snow! It is of very great importance to explain this affair of the
      working-girl, otherwise the Comtesse de Verby might oppose the
      marriage. We must explain away this apparent amour, and she must be
      made to understand that the girl's evidence was a piece of self-
      sacrifice for which she had been paid.

      Rousseau
      I certainly intend to do my duty towards that young girl. I shall give
      her eight or ten thousand francs. It seems to me that that will be
      liberal, very liberal!

      Mme. Rousseau (while Mme. du Brocard tries to restrain her)
      Ah, sir, but what of her honor?

      Rousseau
      Well, I suppose that some one will marry her.

                                   SCENE SIXTH

      The same persons and Joseph.

      Joseph (dashing in)
      Monsieur! Madame! Give me some cologne or something, I beg you!

      All
      Whatever can be the matter?

      Joseph
      M. Antoine, your footman, is bringing Pamela here.

      Rousseau
      Has anything happened?

      Joseph
      When she saw the jury come in to give their verdict she was taken ill!
      Her father and mother, who were in the crowd at the other end of the
      court, couldn't stir. I cried out, and the presiding judge made them
      put me out of court!

      Mme. Rousseau
      But Jules! My son! What did the jury say?

      Joseph
      I know nothing! I had no eyes except for Pamela. As for your son, I
      suppose he is all right, but first with me comes Pamela—

      De Verby
      But you must have seen how the jury looked!

      Joseph
      Oh, yes! The foreman of the jury looked so gloomy—so severe—that I
      am quite persuaded— (He shudders.)

      Mme. Rousseau
      My poor Jules!

      Joseph
      Here comes Antoine and Mlle. Pamela.

                                  SCENE SEVENTH

      The same persons, Antoine and Pamela.

      (They lead Pamela to a seat and give her smelling salts.)

      Mme. du Brocard
      My dear child!

      Mme. Rousseau
      My daughter!

      Rousseau
      Mademoiselle!

      Pamela
      I couldn't stand it any longer, the excitement was too great—and the
      suspense was so cruel. I tried to brace up my courage by the calmness
      of M. Jules while the jury was deliberating; the smile which he wore
      made me share his presentiment of coming release! But I was chilled to
      the heart when I looked at the pale, impassive countenance of M.
      Dupre!—And then, the sound of the bell that announced the return of
      the jury, and the murmur of anxiety that ran through the court—I was
      quite overcome!—A cold sweat suffused my cheek and I fainted.

      Joseph
      As for me, I shouted out, and they threw me into the street.

      De Verby (to Rousseau)
      If by mischance—

      Rousseau
      Sir!

      De Verby (to Rousseau and the women)
      If it should be necessary to appeal the case (pointing to Pamela),
      could we count upon her?

      Mme. Rousseau
      On her? To the end; I am sure of that.

      Mme. du Brocard
      Pamela!

      Rousseau
      Tell me, you who have shown yourself so good, so generous,—if we
      should still have need of your unselfish aid, would you be ready?

      Pamela
      Quite ready, sir! I have but one object, one single thought!—and that
      is, to save M. Jules!

      Joseph (aside)
      She loves him, she loves him!

      Rousseau
      Ah! all that I have is at your disposal.

      (A murmur and cries are heard; general alarm.)

      All
      What a noise they are making! Listen to their shouts!

      (Pamela totters to her feet. Joseph runs to the window, where Justine
      is watching.)

      Joseph
      There's a crowd of people rushing down the steps of the court,—they
      are coming here!

      Justine and Joseph
      It is M. Jules!

      Rousseau and Mme. Rousseau
      My son!

      Mme. du Brocard and Pamela
      Jules!

      (They rush forward to Jules.)

      De Verby
      He is acquitted!

                                   SCENE EIGHTH

      The same persons and Jules (brought in by his mother and his aunt and
      followed by his friends).

      (Jules flings himself into the arms of his mother; he does not at
      first see Pamela, who is seated in a corner near Joseph.)

      Jules
      O mother! Dear aunt! And my father! Here I am, restored to liberty
      again! (To General de Verby and the friends who have come with him)
      Let me thank you, general, and you, my friends, for your kind
      sympathy.

      (After general handshaking the friends depart.)

      Mme. Rousseau
      And so my son has at last come back to me! It seems too good to be
      true.

      Joseph (to Pamela)
      Well, and what of you? He hasn't said a word to you, and you are the
      only one he hasn't seen.

      Pamela
      Silence, Joseph, silence!

      (Pamela retires to the end of the stage.)

      De Verby
      Not only have you been acquitted, but you have also gained a high
      place in the esteem of those who are interested in the affair! You
      have exhibited both courage and discretion, such as have gratified us
      all.

      Rousseau
      Everybody has behaved well. Antoine, you have done nobly; you will end
      your life in this house.

      Mme. Rousseau (to Jules)
      Let me express my gratitude to M. Adolph Durand.

      (Jules presents his friend.)

      Jules
      Yes, but my real deliverer, my guardian angel is poor Pamela! How well
      she understood my situation and her own also! What self-sacrifice she
      showed! Can I ever forget her emotion, her terror!—and then she
      fainted! (Mme. Rousseau, who has been thinking of nothing else but her
      son, now looks around for Pamela, sees her, and brings her up to
      Jules.) Ah, Pamela! Pamela! My gratitude to you shall be eternal!

      Pamela
      Ah, M. Jules! How happy I feel.

      Jules
      We will never part again? Will we, mother? She shall be your daughter!

      De Verby (to Rousseau with vehemence)
      My sister and my niece are expecting an answer; you will have to
      exercise your authority, sir. This young man seems to have a lively
      and romantic imagination. He is in danger of missing his career
      through a too scrupulous sense of honor, and a generosity which is
      tinged with folly!

      Rousseau (in embarrassment)
      The fact is—

      De Verby
      But I have your word.

      Mme. du Brocard
      Speak out, brother!

      Jules
      Mother, do you answer them, and show yourself on my side?

      Rousseau (taking Jules by the hand)
      Jules! I shall never forget the service which this young girl has done
      us. I understand the promptings of your gratitude; but as you are
      aware the Comte de Verby has our promise; it is not right that you
      should lightly sacrifice your future! You are not wanting in energy,
      you have given sufficient proof of that! A young conspirator should be
      quite able to extricate himself from such an affair as this.

      De Verby (to Jules)
      Undoubtedly! And our future diplomat will have a splendid chance.

      Rousseau
      Moreover my wishes in the matter—

      Jules
      O father!

      Dupre (appearing)
      Jules, I still have to take up your defence.

      Pamela and Joseph
      M. Dupre!

      Jules
      My friend!

      Mme. du Brocard
      It is the lawyer.

      Dupre
      I see! I am no longer "my dear Monsieur Dupre"!

      Mme. du Brocard
      Oh, you are always that! But before paying our debt of gratitude to
      you, we have to think about this young girl.

      Dupre (coldly)
      I beg your pardon, madame.

      De Verby
      This man is going to spoil everything.

      Dupre (to Rousseau)
      I heard all you said. It transcends all I have ever experienced. I
      could not have believed that ingratitude could follow so soon on the
      acceptance of a benefit. Rich as you are, rich as your son will be,
      what fairer task have you to perform than that of satisfying your
      conscience? In saving Jules, this girl has brought disgrace upon
      herself! Can it be possible that the fortune which you have so
      honorably gained should have killed in your heart every generous
      sentiment, and that self-interest alone— (He sees Mme. du Brocard
      making signs to her brother.) Ah! that is right, madame! It is you
      that give the tone in this household! And I forgot while I was
      pleading to this gentleman, that you would be at his elbow when I was
      no longer here.

      Mme. du Brocard
      We have pledged our word to the Count and Countess of Verby! Mlle.
      Pamela, whose friend I shall be all my life, did not effect the
      deliverance of my nephew on the understanding that she should blight
      his prospects.

      Rousseau
      There ought to be some basis of equality in a union by marriage. My
      son will some day have an income of eighty thousand francs.

      Joseph (aside)
      That suits me to a T. I shall marry her now. But this fellow here, he
      talks more like a Jewish money-changer than a father.

      De Verby (to Dupre)
      I think, sir, that your talent and character are such as to claim our
      highest admiration and esteem. The Rousseau family will always
      preserve your name in grateful memory; but these private discussions
      must be carried on without witnesses from outside. M. Rousseau has
      given me his word and I keep him to his promise! (To Jules) Come, my
      young friend, come to my brother's house; my niece is expecting you.
      To-morrow we will sign the marriage contract.

      (Pamela falls senseless on her chair.)

      Joseph
      Ah, what have you done! Mlle. Pamela!

      Dupre and Jules (darting towards her)
      Good heavens!

      De Verby (taking Jules by the hand)
      Come—come—

      Dupre
      Stop a moment! I should have been glad to think that I was not the
      only protector that was left her! But listen, the matter is not yet
      ended! Pamela will certainly be arrested as a false witness! (Seizes
      the hand of De Verby.) And you will all be ruined.

      (Dupre leads off Pamela.)

      Joseph (hiding behind a sofa)
      Don't tell anybody that I am here!

      Curtain to the Fourth Act.

## ACT V

                                   SCENE FIRST

      (The stage setting represents the private study in Dupre's house. On
      one side is a bookcase, on the other a desk. On the left is a window
      hung with heavy, sweeping silk curtains.)

      Dupre, Pamela, Giraud and Madame Giraud.

      (Pamela is seated on a chair reading; her mother is standing in front
      of her; Giraud is examining the pictures on the wall; Dupre is
      striding up and down the room.)

      Dupre (stopping, addresses Giraud)
      Did you take your usual precautions in coming here this morning?

      Giraud
      You may rest assured of that, sir; when I come here I walk with my
      head turned backwards! I know well enough that the least want of
      caution quickly results in misfortune. Your heart, my daughter, has
      led you astray this time; perjury is a terrible thing and I am afraid
      you are in a serious mess.

      Mme. Giraud
      I agree with you. You must be very careful, Giraud, for if any one
      were to follow you and discover that our poor daughter was here in
      concealment, through the generosity of M. Dupre—

      Dupre
      Come now, enough of that! (He continues to stride hastily about the
      room.) What ingratitude! The Rousseau family are ignorant of what
      steps I have taken. They believe that Pamela has been arrested, and
      none of them trouble their heads about it! They have sent Jules off to
      Brussels; De Verby is in the country; and Rousseau carries on his
      business at the Bourse as if nothing else was worth living for. Money,
      ambition, are their sole objects. The higher feelings count for
      nothing! They all worship the golden calf. Money makes them dance
      round their idol; the sight of it blinds them.

      (Pamela has been watching him, she rises and approaches him.)

      Pamela
      M. Dupre, you are agitated, you seem unwell. I fear it is on my
      account.

      Dupre
      Have you not shared my disgust at the hateful want of feeling
      manifested by this family, who, as soon as their son is acquitted,
      throw you aside as a mere tool that has served their purpose?

      Pamela
      But what can we do about it, sir?

      Dupre
      Dear child, does your heart feel no bitterness against them?

      Pamela
      No, sir! I am happier than any of them; for I feel that I have done a
      good deed.

      Mme. Giraud (embracing Pamela)
      My poor dear daughter!

      Giraud
      This is the happiest moment of my life.

      Dupre (addressing Pamela)
      Mademoiselle, you are a noble girl! No one has better ground for
      saying it than I, for it was I who came to you imploring you to speak
      the truth; and pure and honorable as you are, you have compromised
      your character for the sake of another. And now they repulse you and
      treat you with contempt; but I look upon you with hearty admiration—
      you shall yet be happy, for I will make full reparation to you!
      Pamela, I am forty-eight years old. I have some reputation, and a
      fortune. I have spent my life as an honest man, and will finish it as
      such; will you be my wife?

      Pamela (much moved)
      I, sir?

      Giraud
      His wife! Our daughter his wife! What do you say to that, Mme. Giraud?

      Mme. Giraud
      Can it be possible?

      Dupre
      Why should you wonder at this? Let us have no idle phrases. Put the
      question to your own heart—and answer yes or no—Will you be my wife?

      Pamela
      You are a great man, sir, and I owe everything to you. Do you really
      wish to add to the debt? Ah! my gratitude—!

      Dupre
      Don't let me hear you use that word,—it spoils everything! The world
      is something that I despise! And I render to it no account of my
      conduct, my hatred or my love. From the moment I saw your courage and
      your resignation—I loved you. Try to love me in return!

      Pamela
      Ah, sir, indeed I will!

      Mme. Giraud
      Could any one help loving you?

      Giraud
      Sir, I am only a poor porter. I repeat it, I am nothing but a porter.
      You love our daughter, you have told her so. Forgive me—my eyes are
      full of tears—and that checks my utterance. (He wipes his eyes.)
      Well, well, you do right to love her! It proves that you have brains!
      For Pamela—there are a great many landowners' children who are her
      inferiors. But it is humiliating for her to have parents such as us.

      Pamela
      O father!

      Giraud
      You are a leader among men! Well, I and my wife, we will go and hide
      ourselves somewhere far into the country! And on Sunday, at the hour
      of mass, you will say, "They are praying to God for us!"

      (Pamela kisses her parents.)

      Dupre
      You are good people, and to think that such as you have neither title
      nor fortune! And if you are pining for your country home, you shall
      return there and live there in happiness and tranquillity, and I will
      make provision for you.

      Giraud and Mme. Giraud
      Oh! our gratitude—

      Dupre
      That word again—I should like to cut it out of the dictionary!
      Meanwhile I intend to take you both with me into the country, so set
      about packing up.

      Giraud
      Sir!

      Dupre
      Well, what is it?

      Giraud
      Poor Joseph Binet is also in danger. He does not know that we are all
      here. But three days ago, he came to see your servant and seemed
      scared almost to death, and he is hidden here, as in a sanctuary, up
      in the attic.

      Dupre
      Call him down-stairs.

      Giraud
      He will not come, sir; he is too much afraid of being arrested—they
      pass him up food through a hole in the ceiling!

      Dupre
      He will soon be at liberty, I hope. I am expecting a letter which will
      relieve all your minds.

      Giraud
      At once?

      Dupre
      I expect the letter this evening.

      Giraud (to his wife)
      I am going to make my way cautiously to the house.

      (Madame Giraud accompanies him, and gives him advice. Pamela arises to
      follow her.)

      Dupre (restraining Pamela)
      You are not in love with this Binet, are you?

      Pamela
      Oh, never!

      Dupre
      And the other?

      Pamela (struggling with her feelings)
      I shall love none but you!

      (Pamela starts to leave the room. A noise is heard in the antechamber.
      Jules appears.)

                                   SCENE SECOND

      Pamela, Dupre and Jules.

      Jules (to the servants)
      Let me pass! I tell you—I must speak to him at once! (Noticing Dupre)
      Ah, sir! What has become of Pamela? Is she at liberty? Is she safe?

      Pamela (stopping at the door)
      Jules!

      Jules
      Good heavens! You here?

      Dupre
      And you, sir, I thought you were at Brussels?

      Jules
      Yes, they sent me away against my will, and I yielded to them! Reared
      as I have been in obedience, I still tremble before my family! But I
      carried away with me the memory of what I had left behind! It has
      taken me six months to realize the situation, and I now acknowledge
      that I risked my life in order to obtain the hand of Mlle. de Verby,
      that I might gratify the ambition of my family, or, if you like, might
      honor my own vanity. I hoped some day to be a man of title, I, the son
      of a rich stock-broker! Then I met Pamela, and I fell in love with
      her! The rest you know! What was a mere sentiment has now become a
      duty, and every hour that has kept me from her I have felt that
      obedience to my family was rank cowardice; and while they believe I am
      far away, I have returned! You told me she had been arrested—and to
      think that I should run away (to both of them) without coming to see
      you, who had been my deliverer, and will be hers also.

      Dupre (looking at them)
      Good! Very good! He is an honorable fellow after all.

      Pamela (aside, drying her tears)
      Thank God for that!

      Dupre
      What do you expect to do? What are your plans?

      Jules
      What are my plans? To unite my fortune with hers. If necessary, to
      forfeit everything for her, and under God's protection to say to her,
      "Pamela, will you be mine?"

      Dupre
      The deuce you say! But there is a slight difficulty in the way—for I
      am going to marry her myself.

      Jules (in great astonishment)
      You?

      Dupre
      Yes, I! (Pamela casts down her eyes.) I have no family to oppose my
      wishes.

      Jules
      I will win over mine.

      Dupre
      They will send you off to Brussels again.

      Jules
      I must run and find my mother; my courage has returned! Were I to
      forfeit the favor of my father, were my aunt to cut me off with a sou,
      I would stand my ground. If I did otherwise, I should be destitute of
      self-respect, I should prove myself a soulless coward.—After that, is
      there any hope for me?

      Dupre
      Do you ask such a question of me?

      Jules
      Pamela, answer, I implore you!

      Pamela (to Dupre)
      I have given you my word, sir.

                                   SCENE THIRD

      The same persons and a servant.

      (The servant hands a card to Dupre.)

      Dupre (looking at the card with great surprise)
      How is this? (To Jules) Do you know where M. de Verby is?

      Jules
      He is in Normandy, staying with his brother, Comte de Verby.

      Dupre (looking at the card)
      Very good. Now you had better go and find your mother.

      Jules
      But you promise me?

      Dupre
      I promise nothing.

      Jules
      Good-bye, Pamela! (Aside, as he goes out) I will come back soon.

      Dupre (turning towards Pamela, after the departure of Jules)
      Must he come back again?

      Pamela (with great emotion, throwing herself into his arms)
      Ah! sir! (Exit.)

      Dupre (looking after her and wiping away a tear)
      Gratitude, forsooth! (Opening a narrow secret door.) Come in, general;
      come in!

                                   SCENE FOURTH

      Dupre and De Verby.

      Dupre
      Strange, sir, to find you here, when every one believes that you are
      fifty leagues away from Paris.

      De Verby
      I arrived this morning.

      Dupre
      Without doubt some powerful motive brought you here?

      De Verby
      No selfish motive; but I couldn't remain wholly indifferent to the
      affairs of others! You may prove useful to me.

      Dupre
      I shall be only too happy to have an opportunity of serving you.

      Du Verby
      M. Dupre, the circumstances under which we have become acquainted have
      put me in a position fully to appreciate your value. You occupy the
      first place among the men whose talents and character claim my
      attention.

      Dupre
      Ah! sir, you compel me to say that you, a veteran of the Empire, have
      always seemed to me by your loyalty and your independence to be a
      fitting representative of that glorious epoch. (Aside) I hope I have
      paid him back in full.

      De Verby
      I suppose I may rely upon you for assistance?

      Dupre
      Certainly.

      De Verby
      I would like to ask for some information with regard to young Pamela
      Giraud.

      Dupre
      I felt sure that was your object.

      De Verby
      The Rousseau family have behaved abominably.

      Dupre
      Would you have behaved any better?

      De Verby
      I intend to espouse her cause! Since her arrest as a perjurer, how do
      things go on?

      Dupre
      That can have very little interest for you.

      De Verby
      That may be true, but—

      Dupre (aside)
      He is trying to make me talk in order to find out whether he is likely
      to be compromised in the case. (Aloud) General de Verby, there are
      some men who cannot be seen through, either in their plans or in their
      thoughts; the actions and events which they give rise to alone reveal
      and explain such men. These are the strong men. I humbly beg that you
      will pardon my frankness when I say that I don't look upon you as
      being one of them.

      De Verby
      Sir! What language to use to me! You are a singular man!

      Dupre
      More than that! I believe that I am an original man! Listen to me. You
      throw out hints to me, and you think that as a future ambassador you
      can try on me your diplomatic methods; but you have chosen the wrong
      man and I am going to tell you something, which you will take no
      pleasure in learning. You are ambitious, but you are also prudent, and
      you have taken the lead in a certain conspiracy. The plot failed, and
      without worrying yourself about those whom you had pushed to the
      front, and who eagerly strove for success, you have yourself sneaked
      out of the way. As a political renegade you have proved your
      independence by burning incense to the new dynasty! And you expect as
      a reward to be made ambassador to Turin! In a month's time you will
      receive your credentials; meanwhile Pamela is arrested, you have been
      seen at her house, you may possibly be compromised by her trial for
      perjury! Then you rush to me, trembling with the fear of being
      unmasked, of losing the promotion which has caused you so many efforts
      to attain! You come to me with an air of obsequiousness, and with the
      words of flattery, expecting to make me your dupe, and thus to show
      your sincerity! Well, you have sufficient reason for alarm—Pamela is
      in the hands of justice, and she has told all.

      De Verby
      What then is to be done?

      Dupre
      I have one suggestion to make: Write to Jules that you release him
      from his engagement, and the Mlle. de Verby withdraws her promise to
      be his wife.

      De Verby
      Is that your advice?

      Dupre
      You find that the Rousseau family have behaved abominably, and you
      ought to despise them!

      De Verby
      But you know—engagements of this sort—

      Dupre
      I'll tell you what I know; I know that your private fortune is not
      equal to the position which you aspire to. Mme. du Brocard, whose
      wealth is equal to her pride, ought to come to your assistance, if
      this alliance—

      De Verby
      Sir! How dare you to affront my dignity in this way?

      Dupre
      Whether what I say be true or false, do what I tell you! If you agree,
      I will endeavor to save you from being compromised. But write—or get
      out of the difficulty the best way you can. But stay, I hear some
      clients coming.

      De Verby
      I don't want to see anybody! Everybody, even the Rousseau family,
      believes that I have left the city.

      A servant (announcing a visitor)
      Madame du Brocard!

      De Verby
      Oh, heavens!

      (De Verby rushes into an office on the right.)

                                   SCENE FIFTH

      Dupre and Madame du Brocard.

      (Madame du Brocard enters, her face hidden by a heavy black veil which
      she cautiously raises.)

      Mme. du Brocard
      I have been here several times without being lucky enough to find you
      in. We are quite alone here?

      Dupre (smiling)
      Quite alone!

      Mme. du Brocard
      And so this harrowing affair has broken out afresh?

      Dupre
      It has, unhappily!

      Mme. du Brocard
      That wretched young man! If I had not superintended his education, I
      would disinherit him! My life at present is not worth living. Is it
      possible that I, whose conduct and principles have won the esteem of
      all, should be involved in all this trouble? And yet on this occasion
      the only thing that gives me any anxiety is my conduct towards the
      Girauds!

      Dupre
      I can well believe it, for it was you who led astray and who induced
      Pamela to act as she did!

      Mme. du Brocard
      I feel, sir, that it is always a mistake to associate with people of a
      certain class—say, with a Bonapartist—a man who has neither
      conscience nor heart.

      (De Verby, who has been listening, shrinks back with a gesture of
      rage.)

      Dupre
      You always seemed to have such a high opinion of him!

      Mme. du Brocard
      His family was highly thought of! And the prospect of this brilliant
      marriage! I always dreamt of a distinguished future for my nephew.

      Dupre
      But you are forgetting the general's affection for you, his
      unselfishness.

      Mme. du Brocard
      His affection! His unselfishness! The general does not possess a sou,
      and I had promised him a hundred thousand francs, when once the
      marriage contract was signed.

      Dupre (coughs loudly, as he turns in the direction of De Verby)
      Oh! indeed!

      Mme. du Brocard
      I am come to you secretly, and in confidence, in spite of all that has
      been said by this M. de Verby, who avers that you are a half-rate
      lawyer! He has said the most frightful things about you, and I come
      now to beg that you will extricate me from this difficulty. I will
      give you whatever money you demand.

      Dupre
      What I wish above all is that you promise to let your nephew marry
      whom he chooses, and give him the fortune you had designed for him, in
      case he married Mlle. de Verby.

      Mme. du Brocard
      One moment; you said, whom he pleased?

      Dupre
      Give me your answer!

      Mme. du Brocard
      But I ought to know.

      Dupre
      Very well then, you must extricate yourself without my assistance.

      Mme. du Brocard
      You are taking advantage of my situation! Ah! some one is coming.

      Dupre (looking towards the newcomers)
      It is some of your own family!

      Mme. du Brocard (peering cautiously)
      It is my brother-in-law Rousseau—What is he up to now? He swore to me
      that he would keep quiet!

      Dupre
      You also took an oath. In fact, there has been a great deal of
      swearing in your family lately.

      Mme. du Brocard
      I hope I shall be able to hear what he has to say!

      (Rousseau appears with his wife. Mme. du Brocard conceals herself
      behind the curtain.)

      Dupre (looking at her)
      Very good! But if these two want to hide themselves, I don't know
      where I shall put them!

                                   SCENE SIXTH

      Dupre, Rousseau and Madame Rousseau.

      Rousseau
      Sir, we are at our wits' end—Madame du Brocard, my sister-in-law,
      came this morning and told us all sorts of stories.

      Mme. Rousseau
      Sir, I am in the most serious alarm.

      Dupre (offering her a seat)
      Pray be seated, madame.

      Rousseau
      If all she says be true, my son is still in difficulties.

      Dupre
      I pity you; I do indeed!

      Rousseau
      It seems as if I should never get free! This unfortunate affair has
      lasted for six months, and it seems to have cut ten years off my life.
      I have been forced to neglect the most magnificent speculations,
      financial combinations of absolute certitude, and to let them pass
      into the hands of others. And then came the trial! But when I thought
      the affair was all over, I have been compelled once more to leave my
      business, and to spend my precious time in these interviews and
      solicitations.

      Dupre
      I pity you; I do indeed!

      Mme. Rousseau
      Meanwhile it is impossible for me—

      Rousseau
      It is all your fault, and that of your family. Mme. du Brocard, who at
      first used always to call me "my dear Rousseau"—because I had a few
      hundred thousand crowns—

      Dupre
      Such a sum is a fine varnish for a man.

      Rousseau
      From pride and ambition, she threw herself at the head of M. de Verby.
      (De Verby and Mme. du Brocard listen.) Pretty couple they are! Two
      charming characters, one a military lobbyist, and the other an old
      hypocritical devotee!

      (The two withdraw their heads quickly.)

      Mme. Rousseau
      Sir, she is my sister!

      Dupre
      Really, you are going too far!

      Rousseau
      You do not know them! Sir, I address you once again, there is sure to
      be a new trial. What has become of that girl?

      Dupre
      That girl is to be my wife, sir.

      Rousseau and Mme. Rousseau
      Your wife!

      De Verby and Mme. du Brocard
      His wife!

      Dupre
      Yes, I shall marry her as soon as she regains her liberty—that is,
      provided she doesn't become the wife of your son!

      Rousseau
      The wife of my son!—

      Mme. Rousseau
      What did he say?

      Dupre
      What is the matter? Does that astonish you? You're bound to entertain
      this proposal—and I demand that you do so.

      Rousseau (ironically)
      Ah! M. Dupre, I don't care a brass button about my son's union with
      Mlle. de Verby—the niece of a disreputable man! It was that fool of a
      Madame du Brocard who tried to bring about this grand match. But to
      come down to a daughter of a porter—

      Dupre
      Her father is no longer that, sir!

      Rousseau
      What do you mean?

      Dupre
      He lost his place through your son, and he intends returning to the
      country, to live on the money— (Rousseau listens attentively) on the
      money which you have promised to give him.

      Rousseau
      Ah! you are joking!

      Dupre
      On the contrary, I am quite serious. Your son will marry their
      daughter—and you will provide a pension for the old people.

      Rousseau
      Sir—

                                  SCENE SEVENTH

      The same persons and Joseph (coming in pale and faint).

      Joseph
      M. Dupre, M. Dupre, save me!

      All three
      What has happened? What is the matter?

      Joseph
      Soldiers! Mounted soldiers are coming to arrest me!

      Dupre
      Hold your tongue! Hold your tongue! (Everybody seems alarmed. Dupre
      looks with anxiety towards the room where Pamela is. To Joseph) To
      arrest you?

      Joseph
      I saw one of them. Don't you hear him? He is coming up-stairs. Hide
      me!

      (Joseph tries to hide himself in the small room, from which De Verby
      comes out with a cry.)

      De Verby
      Ah!

      (Joseph gets behind the curtain and Mme. du Brocard rushes forth with
      a shriek.)

      Mme. du Brocard
      Oh, heavens!

      Mme. Rousseau
      My sister!

      Rousseau
      M. de Verby!

      (The door opens.)

      Joseph (falling exhausted over a chair)
      We are all nabbed.

      The servant (entering, to Dupre)
      A message from the Keeper of the Seals.

      Joseph
      The Keeper of the Seals! That must be about me!

      Dupre (advancing with a serious face and addressing the four others)
      I shall now leave you all four face to face—you whose mutual love and
      esteem is so great. Ponder well all I have said to you; she who
      sacrificed all for you, has been despised and humiliated, both for you
      and by you. It is yours to make full reparation to her—to make it
      to-day—this very instant—in this very room. And then, we can take
      measures by which all can obtain deliverance, if indeed you are worth
      the trouble it will cost me.

      (Exit Dupre.)

                                   SCENE EIGHTH

      The same persons with the exception of Dupre.

      (They stand looking awkwardly at each other for a moment.)

      Joseph (going up to them)
      We are a nice lot of people. (To De Verby) I should like to know when
      we are put in prison, whether you are going to look out for me, for my
      pocket is as light as my heart is heavy. (De Verby turns his back on
      him. To Rousseau) You know well enough that I was promised something
      for my services. (Rousseau withdraws from him without answering. To
      Mme. du Brocard) Tell me now, wasn't something promised to me?

      Mme. du Brocard
      We will see about that later.

      Mme. Rousseau
      But what do you fear? What are you doing in this place? Were you
      pursued by any one?

      Joseph
      Not at all. I have been four days in this house, hidden like so much
      vermin in the garret. I came here because the old Giraud people were
      not to be found in their quarters. They have been carried off
      somewhere. Pamela has also disappeared—she is doubtless in hiding. I
      had no particular desire to run any risk; I admit that I lied to the
      judge. If I am condemned I will obtain my freedom by making a few
      startling revelations; I will tell on everybody!—

      De Verby (with energy)
      It must be done!

      (De Verby sits at the table and writes.)

      Mme. du Brocard
      O Jules, Jules! Wretched child, you are the cause of all this!

      Mme. Rousseau (to her husband)
      You see, this lawyer has got you all in his power! You will have to
      agree to his terms.

      (De Verby rises from the table. Mme. du Brocard takes his place and
      begins to write.)

      Mme. Rousseau (to her husband)
      My dear, I implore you!

      Rousseau (with decision)
      By heavens! I shall promise to this devil of a lawyer all that he asks
      of me; but Jules is at Brussels.

      (The door opens, Joseph cries out in alarm, but it is Dupre who
      enters.)

                                   SCENE NINTH

      The same persons and Dupre.

      Dupre
      How is this?

      (Mme du Brocard hands him the letter she has been writing; De Verby
      hands him his; and it is passed over to Rousseau who reads it with
      astonishment; De Verby casts a furious glance at Dupre and the
      Rousseau family, and dashes out of the room.)

      Dupre (to Rousseau)
      And what decision have you made, sir?

      Rousseau
      I shall let my son do exactly what he wants in the matter.

      Mme. Rousseau
      Dear husband!

      Dupre (aside)
      He thinks that Jules is out of town.

      Rousseau
      At present Jules is at Brussels, and he must return at once.

      Dupre
      That is perfectly fair! It is quite clear that I can't demand anything
      at the moment of you, so long as he is away; to do so would be absurd.

      Rousseau
      Certainly! We can settle matters later.

      Dupre
      Yes, as soon as he returns.

      Rousseau
      Oh! as soon as he returns. (Aside) I will take pretty good care that
      he remains where he is.

      Dupre (going towards the door on the left)
      Come in, young man, and thank your family, who have given their full
      consent to your marriage.

      Mme. Rousseau
      It is Jules!

      Mme. du Brocard
      It is my nephew!

      Jules
      Can it be possible?

      Dupre (darting towards another room)
      And you, Pamela, my child, my daughter!—embrace your husband.

      (Jules rushes towards her.)

      Mme. du Brocard (to Rousseau)
      How has all this come about?

      Dupre
      Pamela never was arrested. There is no likelihood of her ever being. I
      haven't a title of nobility. I am not the brother of a peer of France,
      but still I have some influence. The self-sacrifice of this poor girl
      has aroused the sympathy of the government—the indictment has been
      quashed. The Keeper of the Seals has sent me word of this by an
      orderly on horseback, whom this simpleton took for a regiment of
      soldiers in pursuit of him.

      Joseph
      It is very hard to see plainly through a garret window.

      Mme. du Brocard
      Sir, you have caught me by surprise; I take back my promise.

      Dupre
      But I still have possession of your latter. Do you wish to have a
      lawsuit about it? Very well, I will appear against you on the other
      side.

      Giraud and Mme. Giraud (entering and approaching Dupre)
      M. Dupre!

      Dupre
      Are you satisfied with me?

      (In the meantime Jules and Mme. Rousseau have been imploring Rousseau
      to yield his consent; he hesitates, but at last kisses Pamela on the
      forehead. Dupre approaches Rousseau and, seeing him kiss Pamela,
      wrings his hand.)

      Dupre
      You have done well, sir. (Then turning to Jules) Will you make her
      happy?

      Jules
      Ah, my friend, you need not ask!

      (Pamela kisses the hand of Dupre.)

      Joseph (to Dupre)
      What a fool I have been! Well, he is going to marry her, and I am
      actually glad for them! But am I not to get something out of all this?

      Dupre
      Certainly, you shall have all the fees that come to me from the
      lawsuit.

      Joseph
      You may count on my gratitude.

      Dupre
      That will be receipt in full!

      Final curtain.

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