The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Resources of Quinola: A Comedy in a Prologue and Five Acts, by Honoré de Balzac

Had the author of the following play written it merely for the purpose of winning for it the universal praise which the journals have lavished upon his romances, and which perhaps transcended their merits, The Resources of Quinola would still have been an excellent literary speculation; but, when he sees himself the object of so much praise and so much condemnation, he has come to the conclusion that it is much more difficult to make successfully a first venture on the stage than in the field of mere literature, and he has armed himself, accordingly, with courage, both for the present and for the future.

The day will come when the piece will be employed by critics as a battering ram to demolish some piece at its first representation, just as they have employed all his novels and even his play entitled Vautrin, to demolish The Resources of Quinola.

However tranquil may be his mood of resignation, the author cannot refrain from making here two suggestive observations.

Not one among fifty feuilleton writers has failed to treat as a fable, invented by the author, the historic fact upon which is founded the present play.

Long before M. Arago mentioned this incident in his history of steam, published in the Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes, the author, to whom the incident was known, had guessed in imagination the great drama that must have led up to that final act of despair, the catastrophe which necessarily ended the career of the unknown inventor, who, in the middle of the sixteenth century, built a ship that moved by steam in the harbor of Barcelona, and then scuttled it with his own hands in the presence of two hundred thousand spectators.

This observation is sufficient answer to the derision which has been flung upon what was supposed to be the author's hypothesis as to the invention of steam locomotion before the time of the Marquis of Worcester, Salomon de Caus and Papin.

The second observation relates to the strange manner in which almost all the critics have mistaken the character of Lavradi, one of the personages in this comedy, which they have stigmatized as a hideous creation. Any one who reads the piece, of which no critic has given an exact analysis, will see that Lavradi, sentenced to be transported for ten years to the presides, comes to ask pardon of the king. Every one knows how freely the severest penalties were in the sixteenth century measured out for the lightest offences, and how warmly valets in a predicament such as Quinola's, were welcomed by the spectators in the antique theatres.

Many volumes might be filled with the laments of feuilletonists, who for nearly twenty years have called for comedies in the Italian, Spanish or English style. An attempt has been made to produce one, and the critics would rather eat their own words than miss the opportunity of choking off the man who has been bold enough to venture upon a pathway of such fertile promise, whose very antiquity lends to it in these days the charm of novelty.

Nor must we forget to mention, to the disgrace of our age, the howl of disapprobation which greeted the title "Duke of Neptunado," selected by Philip II. for the inventor, a howl in which educated readers will refuse to join, but which was so overwhelming at the presentation of the piece that after its first utterance the actors omitted the term during the remainder of the evening. This howl was raised by an audience of spectators who read in the newspapers every morning the title of the Duke of Vittoria, given to Espartero, and who must have heard of the title Prince of Paz, given to the last favorite of the last but one of the kings of Spain. How could such ignorance as this have been anticipated? Who does not know that the majority of Spanish titles, especially in the time of Charles V. and Philip II. refer to circumstances under which they were originally granted?

An admiral took that of Transport-Real, from the fact that the dauphin sailed with him to Italy.

Navarro was given the title La Vittoria after the sea-fight of
Toulon, though the issue of the conflict was indecisive.

These examples, and as many others, are outdone by that of the famous finance minister, a parvenu broker, who chose to be entitled the Marquis Insignificant (l'Ensenada).

In producing a work, constructed with all the dramatic irregularity of the early French and Spanish stage, the author has made an experiment which had been called for by the suffrages of more than one "organ of public opinion," as well as of all the "first-nighters" of Paris. He wished to meet the genuine public and to have his piece represented in a house filled with a paying audience. The unsatisfactory result of this ordeal was so plainly pointed out by the whole press, that the indispensability of claqueurs has been now forever established.

The author had been confronted by the following dilemma, as stated by those experienced in such matters. If he introduced into the theatre twelve hundred "dead heads," the success secured by their applause would undoubtedly be questioned. If twelve hundred paying spectators were present, the success of the piece was almost out of the question. The author chose to run the risk of the latter alternative. Such is the history of this first representation, where so many people appeared to be made so uncomfortable by their elevation to the dignity of independent judges.

The author intends therefore to return to the beaten track, base and ignoble though it be, which prejudice has laid out as the only avenue to dramatic success; but it may not be unprofitable to state here, that the first representation of The Resources of Quinola actually redounded to the advantage of the claqueurs, the only persons who enjoyed any triumph in an evening entertainment from which their presence was debarred!

Some idea of the criticism uttered on this comedy may be gained from the fact that out of the fifty newspapers, all of which for the last twenty years have uttered over the unsuccessful playwright the hackneyed phrase, "the play is the work of a clever man who will some day take his revenge," not one employed it in speaking of The Resources of Quinola, which they were unanimous in consigning to oblivion. This result has settled the ambition of the author.

Certain persons, whose good auguries the author had done nothing to call forth, encouraged from the outset this dramatic venture, and thus showed themselves less critical than unkind; but the author counts such miscalculations as blessings in disguise, for the loss of false friends is the best school of experience. Nor is it less a pleasure than a duty thus publicly to thank the friends, like M. Leon Gozlan, who have remained faithful, towards whom the author has contracted a debt of gratitude; like M. Victor Hugo, who protested, so to speak, against the public verdict at the first representation, by returning to witness the second; like M. de Lamartine and Madame de Girardin, who stuck to their first opinion, in spite of the general public reprobation of the piece. The approval of such persons as these would be consoling in any disaster.

PERSONS OF THE PROLOGUE

Philip II., King of Spain
Cardinal Cienfuegos, Grand Inquisitor
The Captain of the Guards
The Duke of Olmedo
The Duke of Lerma
Alfonso Fontanares
Lavradi, known as Quinola
A halberdier
An alcalde of the palace
A familiar of the Inquisition
The Queen of Spain
The Marchioness of Mondejar

PERSONS OF THE PLAY

Don Fregose, Viceroy of Catalonia
Grand Inquisitor
Count Sarpi, secretary to the Viceroy
Don Ramon, a savant
Avaloros, a banker
Mathieu Magis, a Lombard
Lothundiaz, a burgess
Alfonso Fontanares, an inventor
Lavradi, known as Quinola, servant to Fontanares
Monipodio, a retired bandit
Coppolus, a metal merchant
Carpano, a locksmith
Esteban, workman
Girone, workman
The host of the "Golden Sun"
A bailiff
An alcalde
Faustine Brancadori
Marie Lothundiaz, daughter to Lothundiaz
Dona Lopez, duenna to Marie Lothundiaz
Paquita, maid to Faustine

SCENE: Spain—Valladolid and Barcelona

TIME: 1588-89

THE RESOURCES OF QUINOLA

PROLOGUE

SCENE FIRST

(The scene is laid at Valladolid, in the palace of the King of Spain. The stage represents the gallery which leads to the chapel. The entrance to the chapel is on the spectators' left, that to the royal apartment on the right. The principal entrance is in the centre. On each side of the principal door stand two halberdiers. At the rise of the curtain the Captain of the Guards and two lords are on the stage. An alcalde of the palace stands in the centre of the gallery. Several courtiers are walking up and down in the hall that leads to the gallery.)

The halberdier (barring the way to Quinola)
No one passes this way, unless he has the right to do so. Who are you?

The Captain of the Guards Go and bring the major-domo of the palace, that he may render to this ambassador the honors that are due him. (To the halberdier) Three days' imprisonment.

Quinola (taking him aside)
Are not you the cousin of the Marchioness of Mondejar?

Quinola Although she is high in favor, she is on the brink of an abyss, into which she may fall and lose her head in falling.

The Captain All people of your class trump up these stories!—Listen, you are the twenty-second person, and we have only reached the tenth of the month, who has made an attempt to be introduced to the favorite, for the purpose of squeezing a few pistoles from her. Take yourself off or else—

Quinola My lord, it is better to be misled by twenty-two poor devils, twenty-two times, than once to miss the opportunity of heeding him who is sent by your good angel; and you see, I may also say (he opens his mantle) I am wearing her wings.

The Captain
Let us end this, and tell me what proof of your errand you can give?

Quinola (handing him a letter) This little message you must return to me so that the secret remains in our possession, and hang me if you do not see the marchioness swoon when she reads it. Believe moreover that I profess, in common with an immense majority of Spaniards, a deep-seated aversion for—the gallows.

The Captain And suppose that some ambitious woman has paid for your life, that she give it in exchange for another's?

Quinola Should I be in rags? My life is as good as Caesar's. Look here, my lord. (He unseals the letter, smells it, folds it up again, and gives it to him) Are you satisfied?

The Captain (aside)
I have yet time. (To Quinola) Remain where you are, I am going to her.

SCENE SECOND

Quinola (alone, in the front of the stage, looking at the departing captain) That is all right! O my dear master, if the torture chamber has not broken your bones, you are likely to get out of the cells of the holy —the thrice holy Inquisition—saved by your poor cur Quinola! Poor? —why should I say poor? My master once free, we will end by cashing our hopes. To live at Valladolid for six months without money, and without being nabbed by the alguazils, argues the possession of certain small talents, which, if applied to—other ends, might bring a man to—something different in fact! If we knew where we were going no one would stir a step—I purpose speaking to the king, I, Quinola. God of the rapscallions, give me the eloquence—of—a pretty woman, of the Marchioness of Mondejar—

SCENE THIRD

The Captain (to Quinola) Here are fifty doubloons which the marchioness sends you, that you may be enabled to make your appearance here in decent guise.

Quinola (pouring the gold from one hand into the other) Ah, this burst of sunshine has been long expected! I will return, my lord, radiant as that amorous valet, whose name I have assumed; Quinola at your service, Quinola soon to be lord of wide domains, where I shall administer justice, from the time—(aside) I cease to fear its ministers.

SCENE FOURTH

The Captain (alone at the front of the stage) What secret has this miserable creature discovered? My cousin almost fainted away. She told me that it concerned all my friends. The king must have something to do in the matter. (To a lord) Duke of Lerma, is there anything new in Valladolid?

The Duke of Lerma (whispering) It is said that the Duke of Olmedo was murdered this morning, at three o'clock, just before dawn. It happened a few paces from the Mondejar palace.

The Captain It is quite likely he should be assassinated for prejudicing the king's mind against my cousin; the king, like all great statesmen, esteems as true everything that appears to be probable.

The Duke It is said that enmity between the duke and the marchioness was only a pretence, and that the assassin is not to be prosecuted.

The Captain Duke, this ought not to be repeated unless it can be proved, and even then could not be written excepting with a sword dipped in my blood.

SCENE FIFTH

The Captain Ah! here is my cousin! (To the marchioness) Dear marchioness, you are still very much agitated. In the name of our common salvation, control yourself; you will attract attention.

The Captain Now, how can a man of such base condition as he is throw you into such terror?

The Marchioness He holds my life in his hands; more than my life, indeed; for he holds in his power the life also of another, who, in spite of the most scrupulous precautions, cannot avoid exciting the jealousy—

The Captain Of the king!—Did he cause the assassination of the Duke of Olmedo, as is rumored?

The Marchioness Alas! I do not know what to think.—Here I am alone, helpless—and perhaps soon to be abandoned.

The Captain You may rely upon me—I shall constantly be in the midst of all our enemies like a hunter on the watch.

SCENE SIXTH

Quinola
I have only thirty doubloons left, but I have had the worth of sixty.
—Ah! what a lovely scent! The marchioness can now talk to me without
fear.

The Marchioness Keep watch, my cousin, so that I may be able to talk without being overheard. (To Quinola) Who are you, my friend?

Quinola (aside)
Her friend! As soon as you have a woman's secret, you are her friend.
(Aloud) Madame, I am a man superior to all considerations and all
circumstances.

Quinola Do not mistake farsightedness for impertinence. You must study me, before coming to a decision. I am going to describe my character to you; my real name is Lavradi. At the moment Lavradi ought to be serving a ten years' sentence in Africa, at the presides, owing to an error of the alcaldes of Barcelona. Quinola is the conscience, white as your fair hands, of Lavradi. Quinola does to know Lavradi. Does the soul know the body? You may unite the soul, Quinola, to the body, Lavradi, all the more easily because this morning Quinola was at the postern of your garden, with the friends of the dawn who stopped the Duke of Olmedo—

Quinola Lavradi would take advantage of this moment, which is full of promise, to ask a pardon; but Quinola is a gentleman.

Quinola And not sufficiently with him—that is just. The duke took us for foul assassins; we were simply asking him, at a rather too advantageous hour, to make us a loan, pledged by our rapiers as collateral. The famous Majoral, who was in command of us, being close pressed by the duke, was forced to disable him by a little thrust, of which he knows the secret.

Quinola When we saw that the duke had not a maravedi about him, we left him where he was. As I was the least culpable of all the gang, I was charged to take him home; in adjusting his pockets, which had been turned inside out, I found the letter which he had written to you, and, learning your position at the court, I understood—

The Marchioness Lavradi shall have his pardon. What does Quinola desire? To enter my service?

Quinola Foundling children are of gentle birth; Quinola will deliver your letter to you with asking a maravedi, without obliging you to do anything unworthy of you, and he expects that you will refrain from desiring the services of a poor devil who carries under his wallet the heart of the Cid.

Quinola On account of that word I trust you, madame, and intend to tell you everything. But here—do not laugh—you must promise—I wish—

Quinola I wish—to speak to the king—at the moment when he passes on his way to the chapel; I desire you to lend favor to my request.

Quinola Madame, I am the servant of a philosopher; and if the mark of genius is poverty, we have a great deal too much genius, madame.

Quinola Senor Alfonso Fontanares has come here from Catalonia to offer the king our master the sceptre of the sea. At Barcelona he was taken for a madman; here he is considered a sorcerer. When it becomes known what he proposes, he is scoffed at in the antechambers. One wishes to protest for the sake of ruining him; another, a philosopher, throws a doubt on the existence of our secret, with the view of filching it; others again make him a business proposition—capitalists who wish to entangle him in their meshes. As things go at present we do not know how they will turn out. No one certainly can deny the forces of mechanics and geometry, but the finest theorems have very little bodily nourishment in them, and the smallest of ragouts is better for the stomach; but, really, science is not to blame for that. During the past winter my master and myself warmed ourselves over our projects, and chewed the end of our illusions. . . . Well, madame, he is now in prison, for he has been accused of being on too friendly terms with the devil; and, unfortunately, the Holy Office is right, this time, for we have constantly seen him at the bottom of our purse. And now, madame, I implore you, inspire the king with curiosity to see a man who will give him a dominion as extended as that which Columbus gave to Spain.

The Marchioness But since Columbus gave a new world to Spain, new worlds are being offered to us once in every fortnight!

Quinola Ah! madame, every man of genius has one of his own to offer. By heavens, it is so rare that a man can make honestly a fortune both for himself and the state that the phenomenon deserves to be favored.

Quinola I must once more beg you not to laugh, madame. His plan is to make ships travel without sail or oar, against the wind, by means of a pot filled with water, which is kept boiling.

The Marchioness What an idea! Where do you come from? What do you mean? Are you dreaming?

Quinola That is just what they all say! Ah, common herd, ye are so constituted that the man of genius, who is right ten years before everybody else, passes for a madman for twenty-five years. I am the only one who believes in this man, and it is on this account I love him; to understand another is to be his equal.

Quinola Madame, you are the only person in the whole of Spain to whom the king will not say, "Be silent."

The Marchioness You do not know the king, and I do. (Aside) I must get back my letter. (Aloud) There is one recent circumstance whose occurrence seems favorable to your master; news comes to the king that the Armada has been lost; wait for him on his way through to chapel and address him. (Exit.)

SCENE SEVENTH

Quinola (in the front of the stage) It is not sufficient to possess genius and to employ it, for there are plenty of people who make a false show to have it and meet excellent success. There is need also of opportunity and favoring circumstances; a picked up letter which puts a favorite in danger, in order to obtain an interceding tongue, and the loss of the mightiest of flotillas, in order to open the ears of a prince. Chance is an infamous wretch! And now, in the duel of Fontanares with his century, the hour has come for his poor second to appear. (Bells are heard; guard is mounted.) Is yon sound an omen of success? (To the Captain of the Guards) How ought the king to be spoken to?

The Captain Step forward, bow your knee, and say: "Sire"—and pray God to guide your tongue aright.

Quinola I shall have no trouble falling upon my knees; they are giving way already; for it is not only the fate of a man, but of a world, that is at stake.

SCENE EIGHTH

The same persons, the King, the Queen, the Marchioness of Mondejar, the Grand Inquisitor and the whole Court.

Philip II. Gentlemen, we are about to pray God and honor Him who had dealt a deadly blow to Spain. England has escaped us, the Armada is lost, and we desire no more to talk of that flotilla. Admiral (he turns to the admiral), you were not sent to give battle to the storms.

Quinola The most insignificant and the most devoted of your subjects; the servant of a man who pines in the prisons of the Holy Office, accused of magic, because he desires to give to your Majesty the power of escaping from similar disasters—

Philip II. If you are really a servant, rise to your feet. Only grandees are wont to kneel here, in presence of the king.

Philip II. Explain yourself in brief; the moments of the king's whole life are not so numerous as are his subjects.

Quinola
You must have, then, but one hour for each of your empires. My master,
Senor Alfonso Fontanares, is in the prison of the Holy Office—

Philip II. (to the Grand Inquisitor) Father (the Grand Inquisitor approaches), what can you tell us of a certain Alfonso Fontanares?

The Grand Inquisitor He is a pupil of Galileo. He professes the heretical doctrine of his master and boasts the power to do wonders while he refuses to explain the means. He is accused of being rather a Moor than a Spaniard.

Quinola (aside) That sallow face is going to spoil all! (To the King) Sire, my master knows no sorcery, excepting so far as he is madly in love, first with the glory of your Majesty, next with a maid of Barcelona, heiress of Lothundiaz, the richest burgess of the town. As he picked up more science than wealth in studying natural science in Italy, the poor youth has failed in his attempt to marry this maid.—And notice, sire, how great men are calumniated; in his despair he made a pilgrimage to the Virgen del Pilar, to beg her assistance, because Marie was the name of the lady he loved. On leaving the church, he sat down wearied under a tree and fell asleep. In his dreams the Virgin appeared to him and communicated to him an invention by which he could navigate ships without sails, without oars, against wind and tide. He approached you, sire; but between the sun and him a cloud intervened, and after a deadly conflict with the cloud, he is now suffering for his confidence in the Virgen del Pilar and in his king. No one but his servant has sufficient courage to come and throw at your feet the news that there exists a means of realizing universal dominion.

The Grand Inquisitor
And mine is to make men respect the privileges of the Sacred Office.

Philip II.
I know them. Obey me and keep silence. I know that I owe you a
hostage. I know it. (He looks round) Tell me, where is the Duke of
Olmedo?

Philip II. Who has given him leave thus boldly to forsake the duties of his office? (Aside) Some one is deceiving me. (To the Captain of the Guards) Tell him, if he comes, that the king has committed him as a prisoner of the Holy Office. (To the Grand Inquisitor) Issue the order.

Philip II. In that case he must be dead. (To the captain) You will take his place in the execution of my orders. (He enters the chapel.)

The Marchioness (to Quinola) Run to the duke's house, tell him to come and comport himself as if he were not wounded to the death. The report will then be considered mere calumny.

Quinola You may reckon upon me, but grant us your protection. (Alone) Great heavens! The king seemed charmed by my little fable of the Virgen del Pilar; I must make a vow to her—but what shall it be?—we will see after we have succeeded.

SCENE NINTH

Fontanares (alone) I understand now why Columbus desired that his fetters should be placed beside him in his coffin. What a lesson for discoverers! A great discovery is a revelation of truth. And truth destroys so many abuses and errors that all those who live by falsehood rise up to slay the truth; they begin by assailing the man. Let inventors then have patience! I myself desire to have it. Unfortunately, my patience proceeds from my love. In the hope of obtaining Marie, I dream of glory and I pursue it. I saw a piece of straw fly up above a boiler. All men have had the same experience since boilers and straw existed. But I saw there a force; in order to estimate its violence, I put a lid on the boiler; the lid flew off but did not kill me. Archimedes and I are of the same mind! He wished for a lever and a fulcrum to move the world; I possess this lever and have been fool enough to say so; since then—misfortunes have overwhelmed me. If I should die, you, man of genius who shall discover the secret, act on it, but keep silence. The light which we discover, men take from us, only to set on fire our funeral pile. Galileo, my master, is in prison for having said that the earth moves, and I am here for attempting to apply the forces of the earth. No! I am here because I rebel against the cupidity of those who desire to steal my secret; were it not for my love for Marie, I would claim my liberty to-night, leaving to them the profit, keeping to myself the fame—Ah! What rage is in my heart! But rage is only fit for children; let me be calm and then I shall be strong. Would that I might have news of the only man who has faith in me! He is at liberty, he, who begged to win me bread. But faith is only found among the poor, who have need of it.

SCENE TENTH

The Grand Inquisitor
Well, my son, how are you? You were speaking of faith, doubtless you
have made some sage reflections recently. Come now, spare the Holy
Office a resort to severity.

The Grand Inquisitor Before setting you at liberty, the Holy Office must be sure that the means you employ are natural—

Fontanares Father, if I had made a compact with the Evil One, would he have let me languish here?

The Grand Inquisitor Your words are impious; the devil has a master whose existence is proved by our burning of heretics.

Fontanares
Have you ever seen a ship on the sea? (The Grand Inquisitor assents.)
By what means is it propelled?

Fontanares He was, perhaps, the founder of some long forgotten power that ruled the sea—at any rate, the means that I employ are not less natural than his. I have seen a certain force in nature, a force controllable by man. For the wind is God's creature, and man is not its master, but the wind propels the ships of man, while my force is in the ship itself.

The Grand Inquisitor (aside) This man may prove a dangerous fellow. (Aloud) And you refuse to tell us what it is?

Fontanares I will tell the king, in presence of the court; for, after that, no one will be able to rob me of my glory and the fortune that it brings.

The Grand Inquisitor You call yourself an inventor, and yet you think of nothing but fortune! You are too ambitious to be a man of genius.

Fontanares Father, I am so profoundly disgusted by the jealousy of the vulgar, by the avarice of the great, by the behavior of sham philosophers, that— but for my love for Marie—I would give back that which chance has bestowed upon me.

Fontanares I am wrong. I would give back to God the thought which God has sent to me.

The Grand Inquisitor God did not send it to you that it might be hidden, and we have the right to force you to divulge it. (To his familiar) Bid them prepare the rack.

SCENE ELEVENTH

The Duke of Olmedo I am charged by the king to take out of your custody this man, and will answer for him to the Holy Inquisition.

Quinola
Ah! you would like to boil him in your cauldrons of oil! Many thanks!
His cauldrons are going to carry us 'round the world—like this. (He
twirls his hat.)

Quinola
Yes (he points to the Inquisitor), for here the walls have ears. Come.
And you (speaking to the duke) take courage. You are pale, and I must
give to you a tinge of color; but I know how to do it.

SCENE TWELFTH

The Duke of Olmedo Who said I was? Would the favorite of the king ruin me? And should I be here, as you see me, if I were dead? (To Quinola) Stand close and hold me up.

Fontanares Who would not envy such a one? Yet how seldom is occasion given to show one's love.

Quinola Spare us, good sir, all this rigmarole about love, in the presence of the king; for the king, hark you—

Quinola (noticing that the Duke of Olmedo is fainting)
How are you? (He puts a flask to his nostrils.)

SCENE THIRTEENTH

The same persons, the King, the Queen, the Captain of the Guards, the
Grand Inquisitor, the Marchioness of Mondejar, the President of the
Council of Castile and the whole court.

The Captain The Duke of Olmedo, whom I met on the palace steps, has at once obeyed the commands of the king.

The Duke of Olmedo (falling on one knee)
Will the king deign to pardon a delay—unpardonable?

Philip II. (raising him by his wounded arm) I was told you were dying—(he glances at the marchioness)—of a wound received in a nocturnal attack.

Fontanares (kneeling) And ready, to the great glory of God, to do wonders which shall add splendor to the reign of the king, my master.

Philip II. Rise up and speak to me; what is this force miraculous which shall give to Spain the empire of the world?

Fontanares It is a force invincible, sire. It is steam; for, when water has become expanded in steam, it demands a much more extensive area than that which it occupies in its natural form; and in order to take that space it would blow up mountains. By my invention this force is confined; the machine is provided with wheels, which beat the sea and propel a vessel as swiftly as the wind, so that tempests cannot resist its course. Voyages can be made in safety and so swiftly that there is no limit to speed excepting in the revolution of the wheels. Human life is lengthened every time a moment is economized. Sire, Christopher Columbus gave to you a world three thousand leagues across the ocean; I will bring one to you at the port of Cadiz, and you shall claim, with the assistance of God, the dominion of the sea.

Philip II.
Astonishment is involuntary flattery, and kings may never flatter. (To
Fontanares) What do you ask of me?

Fontanares That which Columbus asked, a ship and the presence of my king to witness the experiment.

Philip II. You shall have all—the king, the realm of Spain—the whole world. They tell me that you love a maid of Barcelona. I am about to cross the Pyrenees, to visit my possessions, Roussillon and Perpignan; you shall receive your vessel at Barcelona.

Fontanares In granting me this vessel, sire, you have done me justice; in giving it to me at Barcelona, you have bestowed a favor which, from a subject, makes me your slave.

Philip II. Yet be cautious; to lose a vessel of the state will be to risk your life, for so the law provides.

Philip II. Well said, brave man! If you succeed in constructing this sailless, oarless vessel that shall face the wind as swiftly as if the wind were in its favor, I will create you—what is your name?

Philip II.
You shall be Don Alfonso Fontanares, Duke of—Neptunado, Grandee of
Spain.

Philip II.
Silence! Duke of Lerma. It is the duty of the king to exalt the man of
genius above all other men and thus to honor the ray of light which
God has given to him.

The Grand Inquisitor We did not imprison the man on the charge that he had commerce with the devil, nor because of his impiety, nor because he springs from a family suspected of heresy; but for the safety of monarchies. Printing has permitted clever men to communicate their thoughts to others and the result has been—Luther, whose word has flown abroad in every direction. But this man is endeavoring to make out of all the nations of the earth a single people, and, before a multitude like this, the Holy Office trembles for the fate of monarchy.

The Grand Inquisitor Heaven does not command many things which yet it does not hinder men from doing.

Philip II. Our duty consists in bringing good out of evil things and in this work of amelioration gathering all within one circle, whose centre is the throne. Do you not see what is here at stake, even the realization of that universal dominion long-sought for by my glorious father? (To Fontanares) When you have won the rank of duke and Spanish grandee of the first class, I will put upon your breast the Golden Fleece; you shall then be appointed Grand Master of Naval Construction in Spain and the Indies. (To a minister) President, you will issue, this very day, under pain of my displeasure, the order to put at the disposal of this man, in our port of Barcelona, such a vessel as he desires, and —see that no obstacle interferes with his enterprise.

Quinola
While you are here, grant, sire, full pardon to a wretch named
Lavradi, who was sentenced by a deaf magistrate.

Fontanares Pardon! Grant pardon to the only man who has sustained me in my struggle!

Philip II. (to a minister) This man has talked with me, and I gave him my hand to kiss; issue to him letters of my full pardon.

The Queen (to the king) If this man (she points to Fontanares) is one of those great discoverers, raised up by God, Don Philip you have done a good day's work this morning.

Philip II. (to the queen) It is very difficult to distinguish between a man of genius and a madman; but if he is a madman, my promises are only worth the value of his.

Quinola (to the marchioness) Here is your letter, but let me beg you, between ourselves, to write no more.

SCENE FOURTEENTH

Quinola And Master of Naval Construction! We shall have plenty of contractors to patronize. The court is an odd place, I should like to succeed there; how is it to be done? By impudence? I have enough of that to sell! By trickery? Why, the king believes my tale of the Virgen del Pilar. (He laughs) But what is my master thinking about?

Quinola No—for a tavern. If the air of the court gives the citizens a good appetite, it makes me devilish thirsty. After a drink, my glorious master, you will see your Quinola a very busy man; for we must not delude ourselves. Between the word of the king and the attainment of success, we shall meet with as many jealous philosophers, scheming tricksters, malicious cavillers, crooked, rapacious, greedy beasts of prey, thievish parasites as have ever beset you in your attempts to see the king.

ACT I

SCENE FIRST

(The scene is Barcelona. The stage represents a public place. On the left of the spectator appear houses, among which that of Lothundiaz stands at the corner of the street. To the right is the palace of Senora Brancadori. The time is night, but the day begins to dawn.)

Monipodio (wrapped in a mantle, seated under the balcony of the Brancadori palace), Quinola (who glides forth cautiously like a thief, and brushes against Monipodio).

Quinola You seem comfortable enough here. As for me, I have the king's pardon in my pocket, and while I am waiting for my patent of nobility I call myself Quinola.

Monipodio
And have you seen the king? (He sniffs at him.) You smell of poverty—

Quinola That is soon done; if it gives you any income, I would like to embrace your profession.

Monipodio
I have been misunderstood, my friend! Hunted by our political enemies.

Monipodio What nonsense! I am always myself. I have merely come to an understanding with the viceroy. When one of my fellows has reached the end of his tether, I say to him: "Get off," and if he doesn't go, ah! I hale him to justice—you understand!—That is not treachery is it?

Quinola Listen. (Aside) Here is a man, the very one I want, knows everything in Barcelona. (Aloud) After what you have told me we ought to be friends.

Quinola You are as watchful here as if you were jealous. What is it? Come let us moisten our clay and wet our whistle with a bottle in some tavern; it is daybreak—

Monipodio Do you see how this palace is lit up for a feast? Don Fregose is dining and gaming at the house of Senora Faustine Brancadori.

Quinola Quite Venetian, Brancadori. 'Tis a rare name! She must be the widow of some patrician.

Monipodio She is twenty-two, subtle as musk, and governs the governor, and, let me tell you between ourselves, has already wheedled out of him all that he picked up under Charles V. in the wars of Italy. What comes from the flute—

Quinola And yet they speak of first love! I know of nothing so terrible as last love; it strangles a man. I am happy that I have been brought up so far with unsinged wings! I might be a statesman—

Monipodio
The old general is still young enough to employ me as a spy upon the
Brancadori, while she pays me for her liberty; and—you can understand
the joyous life I lead by making no mischief!

Quinola Now you want to know all, Old Curiosity, in order to place your thumb upon the throat of opportunity! (Monipodio nods assent.) Is Lothundiaz still alive?

Monipodio Yonder is his house, and this palace belongs to him; always grasping more and more property.

Quinola I am counting very much upon your co-operation here. Listen, Monipodio; we are going to change the face of the earth. My master has promised the king to make one of his finest vessels move through the water, without sails or oars, in the wind's eyes, more swiftly than the wind itself.

Monipodio (examining Quinola as he walks round him)
Something has changed my friend.

Quinola Monipodio, please to remember that men like us must not be astonished at anything. Leave that to smaller people. The king has given us the ship, but without a doubloon to go and get her. We arrived here, therefore, with those two faithful companions of genius, hunger and thirst. A poor man who discovers a valuable idea has always seemed to me like a crumb of bread in a fish-pond; every fish takes a bite at him. We are likely to reach the goal of glory naked and dying.

Quinola One morning at Valladolid, my master was within an ace of divulging his secret to a philosopher who knew nothing of it. I warrant you, I showed that gentleman the door, with a dose of cudgel given with a good will.

Quinola My master is in love. Now love forces a man to do as many foolish things as wise things. We two have first of all to protect our protector. My master is a philosopher who cannot keep accounts—

Monipodio Oh! my dear fellow, in choosing a master, you ought to have selected one—

Quinola Devotion and address count more with him than money; for money and favor to him are mere snares. I know him well; he will either give us or permit us to take enough to end our days in respectability.

Quinola We must then use all our talents, which have been so far wasted, in carrying out this grand enterprise. We should have had a great deal of misfortune if the devil had not favored us.

Monipodio It will be almost worth while to make a journey to Compostello. I have the smuggler's faith, and I love wine.

Quinola Are you not still in touch with the coiners of false money, and the skeleton key-makers?

Quinola Well, that's the trick! As my master constructs his machine, I shall take possession of the models of each part and we will make a duplicate—

Quinola I know it. Make a discovery, and you will die persecuted as a criminal; make a copy, and you will live happy as a fool! And on the other hand, if Fontanares should die, why should not I save his invention for the good of humanity?

Monipodio
Especially, since we ourselves are humanity, as an old author says.
Let me embrace you.

SCENE SECOND

Quinola (aside) Next to an honest dupe, I know nothing better than the self-deluding rascal.

Paquita (to herself)
Two friends embrace each other! They cannot therefore be spies.

Quinola You are already in the secrets of the viceroy, you have the confidence of the Brancadori lady. That is a good beginning! Work a miracle and give us some clothes first of all, and if we two, taking counsel with a flask of liquor, do not discover some way by which my master and Marie Lothundiaz may meet, I will not answer for the consequences. For the last two days his constant talk has been of her, and I am afraid he may some day entirely lose his head.

Monipodio The maiden is guarded like a condemned convict. This is the reason: Lothundiaz has had two wives; the first was poor and gave him a son, the second had a fortune, and when she died left all to her daughter, and left it in such a way that she could never be deprived of it. The old man is a miser whose only object is his son's success. Sarpi, the secretary of the viceroy, in order to win the rich heiress, has promised to obtain a title for Lothundiaz, and takes vast interest in the son—

Monipodio We must use great prudence. Listen. I am going to give a hint to Mathieu Magis, the most prominent Lombard in the city, and a man entirely under my influence. You will find everything you need at his palace, from diamonds down to low shoes. When you return here you shall see our young lady. (Exeunt.)

SCENE THIRD

Paquita Madame is right; two men are on sentry under her balcony and are going away on seeing the day dawn.

Faustine The old viceroy will end by disgracing me! He suspects me, even at my own house, while I am within sight and hearing of him.

SCENE FOURTH

Faustine Come here, my lord. You tell me, that you have faith in me; but you put Monipodio to watch under my windows. Your behavior is not to be excused like the excessive prudence of a young man, and necessarily exasperates an honest woman. There are two kinds of jealousy: the first makes a man distrust his mistress; the second leads him to lose faith in himself. Confine yourself, if you please, to the second.

Don Fregose Do not end so charming a celebration, senora, by a burst of anger which I do not deserve.

Faustine
Was Monipodio, through whom you learn everything that goes on in
Barcelona, under my windows last night, or was he not? Answer me on
your honor as a gentleman.

Don Fregose He might have been in the neighborhood to prevent our gamesters from being attacked on their way home.

Faustine This is the evasive stratagem of an old general! I must know the truth. If you have deceived me I will never see you again so long as I live!

SCENE FIFTH.

Don Fregose (alone) Oh, why cannot I give up the sight, the voice of this woman! She delights me even in her very anger, and I love to call forth her reproaches, that I may listen to her words.

SCENE SIXTH

Paquita and Monipodio (disguised as a begging friar at the door of the
Brancadori Palace).

Paquita Madame told me to learn why Monipodio stationed himself below, but I saw no one there.

Paquita Ah! If you count upon the alms of our friend the land-owner, you would be richer with my promise. (To Faustine Brancadori, who appears on the balcony) Madame, the men are gone.

SCENE SEVENTH

Monipodio As you conduct the Senorita Marie to the convent of the Dominicans, take a turn round the square; you will meet there an escaped Algerian captive, who will tell you about Lopez.

Monipodio Be careful, first of all, when you approach on that subject; suppose that he were a Mussulman?

SCENE EIGHTH

Quinola
Yes, but where is Monipodio? Has he allowed himself to be beaten off?
(He turns to the friar) Sir Beggar?

Quinola
Sangodemy! What perfection of mendicancy! Titian ought to paint you.
(To Fontanares) She will come. (To Monipodio) How do you find things?

Quinola (to Fontanares) Now, sir, you must above all things be prudent. Let us have no sighing, which might open the eyes of the duenna.

SCENE NINTH

Monipodio (to the duenna, pointing to Quinola)
This is the Christian who escaped from captivity.

Quinola (speaking to the duenna)
Ah! madame, I recognize you from the portrait of your charms which
Senor Lorenzo drew for me.

SCENE TENTH

Fontanares
I have millions of things to say to you; but there is one thing which
I ought to say a million times, to make up for all the weary time of
my absence.

Marie If you speak thus to me, I shall believe you do not know the depth of my attachment; for it is fed less upon flattering words than upon the interest I feel in all that interests you.

Fontanares What I am most interested in now, Marie, is to learn before engaging in so important an undertaking, whether you have the courage to resist your father, who is said to contemplate a marriage for you.

Fontanares With us men, to love is to be forever jealous! You are so rich, I am so poor. When you thought I was ruined, you had no perturbation for the future, but now that success has come we shall have the whole world between us. And you shall be my star! And shall shine upon me though from so great a distance. If I thought that at the end of my long struggle I should not find you at my side, oh! in the midst of all the triumph I should die for grief!

Marie Do you not know me yet? Though I was lonely, almost a recluse while you were absent, the pure feeling which from our childhood united me with you has grown greater with your destiny! When these eyes, which with such rapture look on you again, shall be closed forever; when this heart which only beats for God, for my father and for you shall be reduced to dust, I believe that on earth will survive a soul of mine to love you still! Do you doubt now my constancy?

Fontanares After listening to such words as these, what martyr would not receive new courage at the stake?

SCENE ELEVENTH

Monipodio (aside) Alas, those poor children are ruined! (To Lothundiaz) Alms is a treasure which is laid up in heaven.

Lothundiaz Go to work, and you can lay up treasures here on earth. (He looks round) I do not see my daughter and her duenna in their usual place.

Lothundiaz Oh! get away! I am a Catalonian and suspicious by nature. (He catches sight of his daughter and Fontanares.) What do I see? My daughter with a young senor! (He runs up to them) It is hard enough to pay duennas for guarding children with the heart and eyes of a mother without finding them deceivers. (To his daughter) How is it that you, Marie, heiress of ten thousand sequins a year, should speak to—do my eyes deceive me? It is that blasted machinist who hasn't a maravedi.

Fontanares Senor Lothundiaz, I am quite in a position to aspire to the hand of your daughter.

Fontanares
Will you accept for your son-in-law the Duke of Neptunado, grandee of
Spain, and favorite of the king?

Lothundiaz You, whom I have known since you were two foot high, whose father used to sell cloth—do you take me for a fool?

SCENE TWELFTH

Fontanares As a present upon our wedding, I will procure for you and for my wife a patent of nobility; we will permit you to settle her fortune by entail upon your son—

Lothundiaz To obtain for me a patent of nobility cannot then be a difficult matter.

Quinola And do you really think that a townsman can be changed into a nobleman by letters-patent of the king! Let us make the experiment. Imagine for a moment that I am the Marquis of Lavradi. My dear duke, lend me a hundred ducats?

Lothundiaz A hundred cuts of the rod! A hundred ducats! It is the rent of a piece of property worth two thousand gold doubloons.

Quinola There! I told you so—and that fellow wishes to be ennobled! Let us try again. Count Lothundiaz, will you advance two thousand doubloons in gold to your son-in-law that he may fulfill his promises to the King of Spain?

Fontanares
The King of Spain, learning of my love for your daughter, is coming to
Barcelona to see a ship propelled without oars or sails, by a machine
of my invention, and will himself honor our marriage by his presence.

Lothundiaz (aside) He is laughing at me. (Aloud) You are very likely to propel a ship without sails or oars! I hope you will do it; I'll go to see it. It would amuse me, but I don't wish to have for a son-in-law any man of such lofty dreams. Girls brought up in our families need no prodigies for husbands, but men who are content to mind their business at their own homes, and leave the affairs of the sun and moon alone. All that I want is that my son-in-law should be the good father of his family.

Fontanares Your daughter, senor, when she was but twelve years old, smiled on me as Beatrice smiled on Dante. Child as she was, she saw in me at first naught but a brother; since then, as we felt ourselves separated by fortune, she has watched me as I formed that bold enterprise which should bridge with glory the gulf that stood between us. It was for her sake I went to Italy and studied with Galileo. She was the first to applaud my work, the first to understand it. She had wedded herself to my thought before it had occurred to her that one day she might wed herself to me. It is thus she has become the whole world to me. Do you now understand how I adore her?

Lothundiaz It is just for that reason that I refuse to give her to you. In ten years' time she would be deserted, that you might run after some other discovery.

Marie Is it possible, father, that a lover could prove false to a love which has spurred him on to work such wonders?

Lothundiaz If! If! If! Do you take me for an imbecile? These ifs are the horses that drag to the hospital all these sham world-discoverers.

Fontanares But here are the letters in which the king grants to me the use of a ship.

Quinola Now open your eyes! My master is at once a man of genius and a handsome youth; genius dulls a man and makes him of no use in a home, I grant you; but the handsome youth is there still; what more is needed by a girl for happiness?

Lothundiaz Happiness does to consist in these extremes. A handsome youth and a man of genius,—these, forsooth, are fine reasons for pouring out the treasures of Mexico. My daughter shall be Madame Sarpi.

SCENE THIRTEENTH

Sarpi (aside) Some one uttered my name. What do I see? It is the heiress and her father! What can they be doing in the square at this hour?

Lothundiaz Sarpi has not gone to look for a ship in the harbor of Valladolid, but he gained promotion for my son.

Fontanares Do not, Lothundiaz, merely for the sake of your son's advancement, dispose of your daughter's hand without my consent; she loves me and I love her in return. In a short time I shall be (Sarpi appears) one of the most influential men in Spain, and powerful enough to reap my vengeance—

Quinola (to Lothundiaz)
Sir, if you don't consent, you are in a fair way to be damned.

Lothundiaz To prevent my either being robbed or damned I am keeping my daughter for a man who may not have genius, but who has common sense—

Lothundiaz My respects to you, honorable secretary! (To Fontanares) Farewell, my friend, your arrival is an excellent reason why I should hurry on the wedding. (To Marie) Come, my daughter, let us go in. (To the duenna) And you, old hag, you'll have to pay for this.

SCENE FOURTEENTH

Sarpi A right? Do you know that the nephew of Fra Paolo Sarpi, kinsman of the Brancadori, count in the Kingdom of Naples, secretary to the viceroy of Catalonia, makes pretension to the hand of Marie Lothundiaz? When another man claims a right in the matter he insults both her and me.

Fontanares Do you know that I for five years, I, Alfonso Fontanares, to whom the king our master has promised the title of Duke of Neptunado and Grandee, as well as the Golden Fleece, have loved Marie Lothundiaz, and that your pretensions, made in spite of the oath which she has sworn to me, will be considered, unless you renounce them, an insult both by her and by me?

Sarpi I did not know, my lord, that I had so great a personage for a rival. In any case, future Duke of Neptunado, future Grandee, future Knight of the Golden Fleece, we love the same woman; and if you have the promise of Marie, I have that of her father; you are expecting honors, while I possess them.

Fontanares Now, listen; let us remain just where we are; let us not utter another word; do not insult me even by a look. Had I a hundred quarrels, I would fight with no one until I had completed my enterprise and answered successfully the expectation of my king. When that moment comes, I will fight singled-handed against all. And, when I have ended the conflict, you will find me—close to the king.

SCENE FIFTEENTH

Faustine (on the balcony) Tell me what is going on, my lord, between that young man and your secretary? Let us go down.

Quinola (to Monipodio) Don't you think that my master has pre-eminently the gift of drawing down the lightning on his own head?

Sarpi (to Don Fregose) My lord, there has arrived in Catalonia a man upon whom the king our master has heaped future honors. According to my humble opinion, he should be welcomed by your excellency in accordance with his merits.

Fontanares (aside) How many sneers, such as this, have I not been forced to endure! (Aloud) The king, your excellency, never asked me that question. But here is his letter and that of his ministers. (He hands him a package.)

Monipodio He is a man who, according to rumor, is going to turn the world upside down.

Don Fregose Sarpi, you may file these ministerial documents; I will keep that of the king. (To Fontanares) Well, my fine fellow, the letter of the king seems to me to be positive. You are undertaking, I see, to achieve the impossible! However great you may be, perhaps it would be well for you to take the advice, in this affair, of Don Ramon, a philosopher of Catalonia who, on this subject, has written some famous treatises—

Fontanares In a matter of this kind, your excellency, the finest dissertations in the world are not worth so much as a practical achievement.

Don Fregose That sounds presumptuous. (To Sarpi) Sarpi, you must place at the disposal of this gentleman whatever vessel in the harbor he may choose.

Don Fregose We shall see. In Spain it is best to say a paternoster between every two steps we take.

Don Fregose This is the chimera of some philosopher which the king has taken seriously on account of the disaster of the Armada. If this gentleman succeeds, we shall have the court at Barcelona.

Don Fregose He has staked his life on a commission to propel a vessel, swift as the wind, yet straight in the wind's eye, without the employment of either oars or sails.

Sarpi Alfonso Fontanares reckons that the performance of this miracle will win for him the hand of Marie Lothundiaz.

Faustine I hope the gentleman may succeed, if it were only for the purpose of bringing the court here.

Don Fregose
Senora, will you not come and take luncheon at the villa of Avaloros?
A vessel is at your service in the harbor.

Faustine No, my lord, the night of pleasure has wearied me, and a sail would prove too much. I am not obliged, like you, to be indefatigable; youth loves sleep, give me leave then to retire and take a little rest.

Don Fregose You never say anything to me but that your words contain some innuendo.

SCENE SIXTEENTH

Monipodio It is Avaloros, the richest banker of Catalonia; he has bought the whole Mediterranean to be his tributary.

Avaloros (to Fontanares) Young man, I am a banker; if your business is a good one, next to the protection of God and that of the king, nothing is as good as that of a millionaire.

Sarpi (to the banker) Make no engagements at present. You and I together will easily be able to make ourselves masters of this enterprise.

SCENE SEVENTEENTH

Monipodio You are posing as a giant before dwarfs who are in power! Before you put on these airs of pride, succeed! People who succeed make themselves small, slip into small openings and glide inward to the treasure.

Fontanares Pretty good for a Sarpi! I shall make an open struggle for it. But what obstacle do you see between success and me? Am I not on my way to the harbor to choose a fine galleon?

Quinola You have had no experience! You have had something else to make discoveries about. Ah, sir, we are moneyless, without credit at any inn, and if I had not met this old friend who loves me, for there are friends who hate you, we should have been without clothes—

Fontanares But she loves me! (Marie waves her handkerchief at the window.) See, see, my star is shining!

Quinola Why, sir, it is a handkerchief! Are you sufficiently in your right mind to take a bit of advice? This is not the sort of madonna for you; you need a Marchioness of Mondejar—one of those slim creatures, clad in steel, who through love are capable of all the expedients which distress makes necessary. Now the Brancadori—

Fontanares If you want me to throw the whole thing up you will go on talking like that! Bear that in mind; love gives the only strength I have. It is the celestial light that leads me on.

Monipodio This man makes me anxious! He seems to me rather to be possessed by the machinery of love than by the love of machinery.

SCENE EIGHTEENTH

Paquita (to Fontanares)
My mistress bids me tell you, senor, that you must be on your guard.
You are the object of implacable hatred to certain persons.

Monipodio That is my business. You may go without fear through all the streets of Barcelona; if any one seeks your life, I shall be the first to know it.

Quinola No, my pet, people don't think about two machines at the same time; tell your divine mistress that my master kisses her feet. I am a bachelor, sweet angel, and wish to make a happy end.

SCENE NINETEENTH

Quinola I have been trying to make an estimate of the treasury I intended to draw upon; it is not plump enough for that.

Quinola Forget nothing in your estimate; you will require, sir, iron, copper, steel, wood, all of which the merchants can supply. I have an idea! I will found the house of Quinola and Company; if they don't prosper you shall.

ACT II

SCENE FIRST

Sarpi Say to my dear cousin that Senor Avaloros and I are awaiting her good pleasure.

Avaloros Stay; here are two ducats if you will say that I am sometimes pensive—

Paquita I will say that your tastes are expensive. But I must go and induce the senora to dress herself. (Exit.)

SCENE SECOND

Avaloros While your little cousin is making a fool of him, you are displaying all the activity of a statesman and clearing the way for the king's conquest of French Navarre. If I had a daughter I would give her to you. Old Lothundiaz is no fool.

Sarpi How fine it would be to be founder of a mighty house; to win a name in the history of the country; to be a second Cardinal Granville or Duke of Alva!

Avaloros Yes! It would be a very fine thing. I also think of making a name. The emperor made the Fuggers princes of Babenhausen; the title cost them a million ducats in gold. For my part, I would like to be a nobleman at a cheaper rate.

Sarpi And is it possible that you who cling so persistently to the actual have any faith in him?

Avaloros Since the invention of gunpowder, of printing and the discovery of the new world I have become credulous. If any one were to tell me that a man had discovered the means to receive the news from Paris in ten minutes, or that water contained fire, or that there are still new Indies to discover, or that it is possible to travel through the air, I would not contradict it, and I would give—

Sarpi
If the vessel is made to move in the manner proposed, you would like
then to be to Fontanares what Amerigo Vespucci was to Christopher
Columbus.

Avaloros By means of money; money is the great secret. With money to lose, time is gained; and with time to spend, everything is possible; by this means a good business may be made a bad one, and while those who control it are in despair the whole profit may be carried off by you. Money,—that is the true method. Money furnishes the satisfaction of desire, as well as of need. In a man of genius, there is always a child full of unpractical fancies; you deal with the man and you come sooner or later on the child; the child will become your debtor, and the man of genius will go to prison.

Avaloros He does not trust my offers; that is, his servant does not. I shall negotiate with the servant.

Sarpi I understand you; I am ordered to send all the ships of Barcelona to the coasts of France; and, through the prudence of the enemies which Fontanares made at Valladolid, this order is absolute and subsequent to the king's letter.

Sarpi The functions of the Grand Master of Naval Construction—these I wish to be mine.

Avaloros Let us hunt together; it will be time enough to quarrel when we come to the division of the prey. Give me your hand. (Aside) I am the stronger, and I control the viceroy through the Brancadori.

Sarpi (aside) We have fattened him sufficiently, let us kill him; I know how to destroy him.

Avaloros We must gain over this Quinola to our interests, and I have sent for him to hold a conference with the Brancadori.

SCENE THIRD

Quinola I hang between two thieves. But these thieves are powdered over with virtue and tricked out with fine manners. And they would like to hang the rest of us!

Sarpi You rogue, while you are waiting for your master to propel the galleys by new methods, you ought to be rowing in them yourself.

Quinola The king, who justly appreciates my merits, well understands that he would lose too much by such an arrangement.

Avaloros (to Sarpi)
You are rousing his suspicions, for he is an honest lad. (To Quinola)
Come my good fellow, have you any idea of what is meant by wealth?

Quinola What? I do not know what you mean! You dazzle me. Is there such a sum? Two thousand doubloons! That means to be a land-holder, to own a house, a servant, a horse, a wife, an income; to be protected instead of being chased by the Holy Brotherhood!—What must I do to gain it?

Avaloros You must assist me in obtaining a contract for the mutual advantage of your master and myself.

Quinola I understand! To tangle him up. O my conscience, that is very fine! But, dear conscience, be silent for a while; let me forget you for a few days, and we will live comfortably together for the rest of my life.

Sarpi (to Avaloros)
He is fooling us! If he were in earnest he would not talk thus.

Quinola I suppose you won't give me the two thousand doubloons in gold until after the treaty has been signed.

Avaloros As soon as you sign notes of hand for the amounts which have already matured.

Quinola The Grand Turk himself never offered the bowstring with greater delicacy.

Quinola Valladolid is at some distance from this, I admit; but we control in that city a pen which has the power of decreeing your disgrace.

SCENE FOURTH

SCENE FIFTH

Quinola (approaching the Brancadori) Senora, my master talks of killing himself unless he can obtain the ship which Count Sarpi has refused for thirty days to give him; Senor Avaloros asks for his life while offering him his purse; do you understand? (Aside) A woman was our salvation at Valladolid; the women shall be our salvation at Barcelona. (Aloud) He is very despondent.

Faustine (aside)
He is despondent! (Aloud) Why is it that men like you, Sarpi and
Avaloros, for whom I have done so much, should persecute, instead of
protecting, the poor man of genius who has so lately arrived among us?
(Avaloros and Sarpi are confused.) I cry shame upon you! (To Quinola)
You must explain to me exactly their schemes against your master.

Sarpi (to Faustine)
My dear cousin, it does to need much penetration to divine what malady
it is under which you have labored since the arrival of this
Fontanares.

Avaloros (to Faustine) You owe me, senora, two thousand doubloons, and you will need to draw still further on my purse.

Avaloros Nothing, but you never refuse anything which I am generous enough to offer you.

Faustine Write me at once a receipt for the two thousand doubloons, and a check for the like sum which I do not intend to pay you. (To Sarpi) After having put you in the position in which you now flourish, I warn you that your best policy is to keep my secret.

Faustine (aside) He means just the contrary, and he will make the viceroy furious with me.

SCENE SIXTH

Faustine (offering the check to Quinola)
Here, Quinola, this is for the expenses of your master's machine.

Avaloros (to Faustine) Don't give it to him, senora, he may keep it for himself, and for other reasons you should be prudent; you should wait—

Quinola (aside)
I pass from the torrid to the arctic zone; what a gamble is life!

Faustine You are right. (Aside) Better that I should hold in a balance the fortune of Fontanares. (To Avaloros) If you wish to keep your monopoly hold your tongue.

Avaloros There is nothing keeps a secret better than capital. (Aside) These women are disinterested until the day they fall in love. I must try to defeat her; she is beginning to cost me too much. (Exit.)

SCENE SEVENTH

Quinola We have been for two years half drowned in difficulties; sometimes we have gone to the bottom and the gravel was pretty hard.

Faustine They clothe with their own illusions the creature that entangles them; they love their own creation; they are egotists!

Quinola (aside) Just like the women! (Aloud) Listen, senora, I wish that by some honest means we could bury this doll in the depths of the—that is—of a convent.

Quinola But then, he would speak to me by breaking a stick across my back. You see, senora, that girl—

Quinola Ah! that is not my fault! All the way here from Valladolid I have a thousand times argued the point, that a man like he ought to adore women, but never to love an individual woman! Never—

Faustine You are a pretty worthless rascal! Go and tell Lothundiaz to come and speak with me and to bring his daughter with him. (Aside) She shall be put in a convent.

Quinola (aside) She is the enemy. She loves me so much that she can't help doing us a great deal of harm. (Exit.)

SCENE EIGHTH

Fregose While you expect the master, you spend your time in corrupting the servant.

Fregose
Senora, you are ungenerous; I should think that a patrician lady of
Venice would know how to spare the feelings of an old soldier.

Faustine Come, my lord, you presume more upon your white hair than a young man would presume upon his fairest locks, and you find in them a stronger argument than in—(She laughs). Let me have no more of this petulance.

Fregose How can I be otherwise than vexed when you compromise yourself thus, you, whom I wish to be my wife? Is it nothing to have a chance of bearing one of the noblest of names?

Faustine But what if he could raise himself as high as to a Brancadori? That would be a proof of love indeed! Besides, as you know from your own experience, love never reasons.

Faustine Your friendship to me is so great that you have been the first to learn my secret.

Fregose Senora! Yes, love is madness! I have surrendered to you more than myself! Alas, I wish I had the world to offer you. You evidently are not aware that your picture gallery alone cost me almost all my fortune.

SCENE NINTH

Faustine (to Paquita) Tell my steward that the pictures of my gallery must immediately be carried to the house of Don Fregose.

Faustine The other day, they tell me, the Queen Catherine de Medici sent an order to Diana of Poitiers to deliver up what jewels she had received from Henry II.; Diana sent them back melted into an ingot. Paquita, fetch the jeweler.

SCENE TENTH

Faustine As I am not yet the Marchioness of Fregose, how dare you give your orders in my house?

Fregose
I am quite aware of the fact that here it is my duty to receive them.
But is my whole fortune worth one word from you? Forgive an impulse of
despair.

Faustine One ought to be a gentleman, even in despair; and in your despair you treat Faustine as a courtesan. Ah! you wish to be adored, but the vilest Venetian woman would tell you that this costs dear.

Faustine You say you love me. Love me? Love is self-devotion without the hope of recompense. Love is the wish to live in the light of a sun which the lover trembles to approach. Do not deck out your egotism in the lustre of genuine love. A married woman, Laura de Nova, said to Petrarch, "You are mine, without hope—live on without love." But when Italy crowned the poet she crowned also his sublime love, and centuries to come shall echo with admiration to the names of Laura and Petrarch.

Fregose There are very many poets whom I dislike, but the man you mention is the object of my abomination. To the end of the world women will throw him in the face of those lovers whom they wish to keep without taking.

Faustine If you say you love me, you will ward off from a man of genius—(Don Fregose starts)—yes, there are such—the martyrdom which his inferiors are preparing for him. Show yourself great, assist him! I know it will give you pain, but assist him; then I shall believe you love me, and you will become more illustrious, in my sight at least, by this act of generosity than by your capture of Mantua.

Fregose Here, in your presence, I feel capable of anything, but you cannot dream of the tempest which will fall upon my head, if I obey your word.

Faustine The ship given him by the king has been held back; you can restore it to him, in a moment.

SCENE ELEVENTH

SCENE TWELFTH

SCENE THIRTEENTH

Lothundiaz You are very kind, senora; but permit me to go and see that famous gallery, which is spoken of throughout Catalonia.

SCENE FOURTEENTH

Faustine My child, I love you and have learned of the position in which you stand. Your father wishes you to marry my cousin Sarpi, while you are in love with Fontanares.

Faustine (aside as she rises from her seat) What strength in weakness and innocence! (Aloud) You have never left your father's house, you know nothing of the world nor of its hardships, which are terrible! A man often dies from having met with a woman who loves him too much, or one who loves him not at all; Fontanares may find himself in this situation. He has powerful enemies; his glory, which is all he lives for, is in their hands; you may disarm them.

Faustine By marrying Sarpi, you will assure the triumph of your dear Fontanares; but no woman would counsel such a sacrifice; it must come, it will come from you. At first you must dissemble. Leave Barcelona for a time. Retire to a convent.

Marie And never see him again? Ah! If you knew—he passes every day at a certain hour under my windows, and that hour is all the day to me.

SCENE FIFTEENTH

Fontanares Shall I live long enough to testify my gratitude to you? If I achieve anything, if I make a name, if I attain to happiness, it will be through you.

Faustine Why that is nothing! I merely tried to smooth the way for you. I feel such pity for men of talent in misfortune that you may ever count upon my help. Yes, I would go so far as to be the mere stepping-stone over which you might climb to your crown.

Marie (drawing Fontanares by his mantle)
But I am here, I (he turns around), and you never saw me.

Fontanares Marie! I have not spoken to you for ten days! (To Faustine) Oh! senora, what an angel you are!

Marie (to Fontanares) Rather say a demon. (Aloud) The senora was advising me to retire to a convent.

Fontanares I trip up, it seems, on one snare after another, and kindness ever conceals a pitfall. (To Marie) But tell me who brought you here?

Fontanares To a convent indeed, that she might dominate her spirit, and torture her soul!

SCENE SIXTEENTH

Fontanares And it was you who brought this angel of purity to the house of a woman for whom Don Fregose is wasting his fortune and who accepts from him the most extravagant gifts without marrying him?

Fontanares You came here, senora, widow of a cadet of the house of Brancadori, to whom you sacrificed the small fortune your father gave you; but here you have utterly changed—

Lothundiaz Keep silence, sir; the senora is a high born lady, who has doubled the value of my palace.

Lothundiaz My daughter, this is your man of genius! Extreme in everything, but leaning rather to madness than good sense. Senor Mechination, the senora is the cousin and protector of Sarpi.

Fontanares
Well, take your daughter away from the house of the Marchioness of
Mondejar of Catalonia.

SCENE SEVENTEENTH

Fontanares So, senora, your generosity was merely a trick to serve the interests of Sarpi! We are quits then! And so farewell. (Exit.)

SCENE EIGHTEENTH

Faustine My child, I feel that I have never loved before, and in an instant I have been transformed as by a stroke of lightning. In one moment I have loved for all lost time! Perhaps I have set my foot upon the path which leads to an abyss. Send one of my servants to the house of Mathieu Magis, the Lombard.

SCENE NINETEENTH

Faustine (alone) I already love him too much to trust my vengeance to the stiletto of Monipodio, for he has treated me with such contempt that I must bring him to believe that the greatest honor he could win would be to have me for his wife! I wish to see him groveling at my feet, or I will perish in the attempt to bring him there.

SCENE TWENTIETH

Fregose What is this? I thought to find Fontanares here, happy in the possession of the ship you gained for him.

Faustine You have given it to him then, and I suppose hate him no longer. I thought the sacrifice would be above your strength, and wished to know if hate were stronger than obedience.

Fregose
Whether obedient or disobedient, I cannot displease you. Good heavens!
Take back the ship! Why, it is crowded with artisans who are its
masters.

Faustine
Take care to keep your hands off what is my prey. And first of all,
Don Fregose, take back your pictures from my gallery. (Don Fregose
shows astonishment). It is my will.

Faustine They shall be burned upon the public square or sold, and the price given to the poor.

SCENE TWENTY-FIRST

Faustine (alone) So, so! I am nothing then but the viceroy's mistress! He might as well have said as much! But with the aid of Avaloros and Sarpi I intend to have a pretty revenge—one worthy of old Venice.

SCENE TWENTY-SECOND

Mathieu Magis I lend it on good security—diamonds or gold—a very poor business. Our losses are overwhelming, senora. And at present money seems actually to be asleep. The raising of maravedis is the hardest of farm-labor. One unfortunate deal carries off the profits of ten lucky strokes, for we risk a thousand doubloons in the hands of a prodigal for three hundred doubloons profit. The world is very unjust to us.

Faustine (aside) The only way to gain this man's adherence is by appealing to his self-interest, that is plain. (Aloud) You lend—

Faustine You don't understand what I mean. Listen; you are lending the use of your name to Senor Avaloros.

Mathieu Magis
I know Senor Avaloros. He is a banker; we do some business together,
but his name in the city stands too high and his credit in the
Mediterranean is too sound for him to need the help of poor Mathieu
Magis—

Faustine I see, Lombard, you are very cautious. If you wish to lend your name to promote an important business undertaking—

Faustine What difference does it make? The question is, what would guarantee your absolute silence?

Faustine (aside) This is a rare hunting dog. (Aloud) Very well, I am going to entrust you with a secret of life and death, for I purpose giving up to you a great man to devour.

Mathieu Magis My small business feeds on the great passions of life; (aside) where there is a fine woman, there is a fine profit.

ACT III

SCENE FIRST

(The stage setting is the interior of a stable. Overhead are piles of hay; along the walls are wheels, tubes, shafts, a long copper chimney, a huge boiler. To the left of the spectator the Madonna is sculptured on a pillar. To the right is a table strewn with paper and mathematical instruments. Above the table hangs on the wall a blackboard covered with figures; by the side of the table is a shelf on which are onions, a water crock and a loaf. To the right of the spectator is a wide door, and to the left, a door opening on the fields. A straw bed lies by the side of the pillar at the feet of the Madonna. It is night-time.)

(Fontanares, in a black robe girded by a leathern belt, works at his table. Quinola is checking the various parts of the machine.)

Quinola Though you wouldn't think it, senor, I also have been in love! Only when I have once understood the woman, I have always bade her good-bye. A full pot and bottle, ah! these never betray, and moreover, you grow fat on them. (He glances at his master.) Pshaw! He doesn't even hear me. There are three more pieces ready for the forge. (He opens the door.) Here is Monipodio!

SCENE SECOND

Quinola The last three pieces have come in. Bring the models and make duplicates of them, as a provision against accident.

Monipodio Carry these away, boys, and not a sound! Vanish like spectres. This is worse than theft. (To Quinola) He is dead and buried in his work.

Monipodio Neither they nor any one else suspect us. Each piece is wrapped up like a jewel and hidden in a cellar. But we need thirty ducats.

Monipodio Thirty rascals built like those fellows eat as much as sixty ordinary men.

Quinola Stupid! They want me bodily. Fortunately, I have two or three suits of old clothes which may serve to deliver Quinola from the clutches of the keenest sleuths, until I can make payment.

Quinola Yes, I have kept a little nest-egg against our thirst. Put on that ragbag of the begging friar and go to Lothundiaz and have a talk with the duenna.

Monipodio Alas! Lopez has returned from Algeria so often that our dear duenna begins to suspect us.

Quinola I merely wish her to carry this letter to Senorita Marie Lothundiaz (handing a letter). It is a masterpiece of eloquence, inspired by that which inspires all masterpieces. See! We have been living for ten days on bread and water.

Monipodio And what could we look for? To eat ortolans? If our men had expected fine fare they would have struck long ago.

Quinola If love would only cash my note of hand, we might still get out of this hole.

SCENE THIRD

Quinola (rubbing an onion into his bread) This is the way we are told the Egyptian pyramid-builders were fed, but they must also have had the sauce which gives us an appetite, and that is faith. (Drinks water.) You don't appear to be hungry, senor? Take care that the machine in your head doesn't go wrong!

Quinola (whose sleeve splits up as he puts back the crock) And I have found one in the continuity of my sleeve. In this trade my clothes are becoming as uncertain as an unknown quantity in algebra.

Fontanares
You are a fine fellow! Always merry, even in the depths of misfortune.

Quinola And why not, gadzooks! Fortune loves the merry almost as much as the merry love her.

SCENE FOURTH

Quinola Ah! Here comes our dear Lombard; he looks at all these pieces of machinery as if they were already his lawful property.

Mathieu Magis You are a sublime hero, and as far as I am concerned, I wish you all sorts of good luck.

Fontanares And is this the reason why you try to bring upon me all sorts of bad luck?

Mathieu Magis You snap me up very sharply; you do wrong, you forget that in me there are two men.

Fontanares
Admiration is the passion which is the most easily exhausted.
Moreover, you never make any loans on sentiment.

Mathieu Magis There are sentiments which bring profit, while others cause ruin. You are animated by faith; that is very fine, but it is ruinous. We made six months ago certain little agreements; you asked of me three thousand ducats for your experiments—

Fontanares You demanded it by legal process two months ago, the very next day after it was due.

Fontanares Eight months gone already? It has passed like a dream! And I was proposing to myself this evening the solution of the problem how to introduce cold water, so as to dissolve the steam! Magis, my dear friend, assist me in this matter, be my protector, and give me a few days more?

Quinola Do you mean it? This is the first appearance of the other man. (To Fontanares) Senor, I shall make the gentleman my friend. (To Magis) I appeal to the two Magises and ask if they will give us the sight of a few doubloons!

Mathieu Magis
That can easily be managed. I am to-day not merely your money-lender,
I am money-lender and co-proprietor, and I wish to draw out my share
in the property.

Mathieu Magis When a man comes and asks us to discount a bill, we cannot say: "Wait a bit; we have a man of genius at work trying to find a gold mine in a garret or a stable!" No, indeed! Why in six months I could have doubled those ducats over again. Besides, senor, I have a small family.

Mathieu Magis Ah! If I were rich, I would lend you (Quinola holds out his hands) the wherewith to live better.

Mathieu Magis (aside) This cuts me to the heart. If the matter concerned only myself I would perhaps let it go, but I must earn what has been promised me, which is to be my daughter's dowry. (Aloud) Now really, I have a great regard for you, you please me immensely—

Mathieu Magis I will not! I want my capital! And would think nothing of seizing and selling all this iron work.

Fontanares You compel me to meet trick with trick. I was proceeding with my work honestly! Now, if necessary, following your example, I shall leave the straight path. I shall be of course accused, as if perfection could be expected of me. But I do not mind calumny. But to have this cup to drink is too much. You made a senseless contract with me, you now shall sign another, or you will see me dash my work to fragments, and keep my secret buried here. (He strikes his hand on his heart.)

Mathieu Magis Ah! senor, you will not do that. That would be theft, a piece of rascality of which a great man is incapable.

Fontanares You seize upon my integrity as a weapon by which you would insure the success of monstrous injustice.

Mathieu Magis Listen, I wish to have nothing to do with this matter, and if you will come to an understanding with Don Ramon, a most excellent man, I will yield all my rights to him.

Fontanares After all, I have solved the last problem, and glory and fortune will attend the future current of my life.

Quinola Your words seem to indicate that there is still a part to be supplied in the machinery.

Mathieu Magis Such a sum could not be raised from all that you have here, if it were sold by authority of government, counting the costs.

Mathieu Magis If you humor Don Ramon, he doubtless will be willing to give you the assistance of his credit. (Turns to Quinola) As for you, gallows-bird, if ever you fall into my hands, I will get even with you. (To Fontanares) Good-bye, man of genius. (Exit.)

SCENE FIFTH

Quinola And me also! The good ideas of a genius are always caught in the webs of such spiders as he.

Fontanares Well, if only we can get a hundred ducats more, from that time forth we shall have a golden life filled with the banquets of love. (He takes a drink of water.)

Quinola I quite believe you, but confess that blooming hope, that heavenly jade, has led us on pretty deep into the mire.

Quinola I do not complain for myself, I was born to trouble. The question is, how are we to get the hundred ducats. You are in debt to the workmen, to the master locksmith Carpano, to Coppolus the dealer in iron, steel and copper, and to our landlord, who after taking us in, more from fear of Monipodio than from compassion, will end by turning us out of doors; we owe him for nine months' board and lodging.

Fontanares How is it that you, usually so brave and merry, begin now to speak to me in such a dolorous tone?

Quinola It is because, as a means of remaining at your side, I shall be obliged to disappear.

Quinola Why? Pray what are we to do about the sheriff? I have incurred, for you and for myself, trade debts to the amount of a hundred doubloons; and lo! these debts take, to my mind, the figure, face and feet of tipstaves!

Quinola Come! Do not be downcast. Did you not tell me that your grandfather went, some fifty years ago, with Cortez, to Mexico; has he ever been heard of?

Quinola Don't forget you have a grandfather! You will be enabled to continue your work, until you reach the day of your triumph.

Quinola Permit me then to bring about the return of this grandfather? He will be the first of his company to return from the West Indies.

SCENE SIXTH

Monipodio As three rejected play-writers. He makes himself out to be a wonderful man.

Monipodio They look upon him as an oracle. He scribbles off his treatises, explaining that the snow is white because it falls from heaven, and he maintains, in contradiction to Galileo, that the earth does not move.

Quinola
Do you not plainly see, senor, that I must rid you of this
philosopher? (To Monipodio) You come with me; you must be my servant.
(Exeunt.)

SCENE SEVENTH

Fontanares (alone) What brain, even though it be encased in bronze, could stand the strain of this search after money, while also making an inquiry into the most jealously guarded secrets of nature? How can the mind, engaged in such quests, have time for distrusting men, fighting them, and combining others against them? It is no easy thing to see at once what course had best be taken, in order to prevent Don Ramon from stealing my glory, and Don Ramons abound on every side. I at last dare to avow that my endurance is exhausted.

SCENE EIGHTH

Esteban Can any of you tell me where a person named Fontanares is hiding himself?

Fontanares
He is not hiding himself. I am he; he is merely meditating in silence.
(Aside) Where is Quinola? He would know how to send them away
satisfied. (Aloud) What do you want?

Esteban We want our money! We have been working without wages for three weeks; the laborer lives from day to day.

Esteban You are alone; you can pinch your belly. But we have wives and children. At the present moment we have pawned everything.

Esteban Take the honor of each of us to the Lombard and you will see how much he will lend you on it.

Esteban I am nothing but a villainous workman, but if my wife needs an iron pot, I pay for it, by heaven!

Esteban
The magistrates of Barcelona have given judgment in favor of Masters
Coppolus and Carpano, and have granted them a lien on your inventions;
pray tell us, where is our lien?

Fontanares
Can you find any money by staying here? However, here you may remain.
Good-day. (He takes up his hat and cloak.)

Fontanares (rushing upon them) Here is for you! (He stops short and throws away his sword.) Perhaps these fellows have been sent by Avaloros and Sarpi to push me to extremes. If they succeeded I might be accused of murder and thrown into prison for years. (He kneels down before the Madonna.) Oh, my God! Are genius and crime the same thing in Thy sight? What have I done to suffer such defeats, such insults and such outrages? Must I pay for my triumph in advance? (To the workmen) Every Spaniard is master in his own house.

Esteban You have no house. This place is the Golden Sun; the landlord has told us so.

SCENE NINTH

Coppolus Senor, I come to tell you that the magistrates of Barcelona have granted me a lien on your machine, and I shall take measures that no part of it leaves this place. My confrere, Carpano, your locksmith, shares my claim.

Fontanares What devil is blinding you? Without me, this machine is nothing but so much iron, steel, copper and wood; with me, it represents a fortune.

Fontanares What friend embraces you so closely as a creditor? Well, well, I wish the devil would take back the great thought he gave me.

Fontanares Ah! I must keep watch upon my tongue or one word will throw me into the clutches of the Inquisition! No glory can recompense me for such sufferings as these!

Fontanares But to be worth anything, the machine must be finished, and one piece of it is wanting, of which the model is before you. (Coppolus and Carpano consult together.) Two hundred sequins more would be required for its completion.

SCENE TENTH

The same persons, Quinola (disguised as a fantastic old man),
Monipodio (fancifully dressed), the landlord of the Golden Sun.

Quinola And so you have lodged the grandson of General Fontanares in a stable! The republic of Venice will set him in a palace! My dear boy, let me embrace you. (He steps up to Fontanares.) The most noble republic has learned of your promises to the king of Spain, and I have left the arsenal at Venice, over which I preside, in order that—(aside to Fontanares) I am Quinola.

Quinola In what a miserable condition I find you!—Is this then the antechamber of glory!

Quinola (to the landlord)
Rascal of a landlord, is this the dwelling-place of my grandson?

Quinola I have some knowledge of the laws of Catalonia, and I shall send for the magistrate to put these rogues in prison. You may call down the bailiffs upon my grandson, but keep to your own houses, you blackguards! (He fumbles in his pocket.) Stay! Now go and drink my health. (He throws money among them.) Come to me later on and you shall be paid.

SCENE ELEVENTH

Quinola (to the two tradesmen) As for you, my good fellows, you seem to be made of better stuff, and by the intervention of a little money we can come to a settlement.

Quinola Do I see here, my son, that famous invention about which Venice is so excited? Where is the plan, the elevation, the section, the working drawings of the machine?

Coppolus (to Carpano) He knows all about it, but we must get further information before advancing anything.

Quinola
You are an amazing man, my son! Like Columbus, you will yet have your
day. (He kneels.) I thank God for the honor He had done our family.
(To the merchants) Two hours from this I will pay you.

SCENE TWELFTH

Monipodio It was well impersonated! But the Venetians have abundance of money, and in order to obtain three months' credit, we must throw dust into the eyes of the creditors, and this is the most expensive kind of dust.

SCENE THIRTEENTH

Mathieu Magis I have brought Don Ramon to you, for I wish to do nothing without his sanction.

Don Ramon (to Fontanares) Senor, I am delighted at this opportunity of sharing the work of so eminent a man of science. We two will be enabled to bring your invention to the highest perfection.

Quinola Senor knows mechanics, ballistics, mathematics, dioptrics, catoptrics, statistics?

Quinola No true philosopher, senor, writes in anything but Latin. There is a danger that science may be vulgarized. Do you know Latin?

Fontanares Senor, I respect the name which you have made; but I cannot accept your offer, because of the dangers attendant on my enterprise; I am risking my head in this work and yours is too precious to be exposed.

Don Ramon Do you think, senor, that you can afford to slight Don Ramon, the great scientific authority?

Quinola Don Ramon! The famous Don Ramon, who has expounded the causes of so many natural phenomena, which hitherto had been thought to happen without cause?

Quinola I am Fontanaresi, director of the arsenal of the Venetian Republic, and grandfather of our inventor. My son, you may have full confidence in Don Ramon; a man of his position can have no designs upon you; let us tell him everything.

Quinola (aside to Fontanares) Let me give him a lesson in mathematics; it will do him no good, and us no harm. (To Don Ramon) Will you come here? (He points out the parts of the machine) All this is meaningless; for philosophers, the great thing—

Quinola Not at all! They are heavy as well as light, for the water that is in them ends by falling as flat as a fool. I don't like water, do you?

Quinola I see that we are made for each other. The clouds rise to such a height, because they are vapor, and are also attracted by the force of the cold upper air.

Quinola My grandson states this in the formula R plus O. And as there is much water in the air, we simply say O plus O, which is a new binomial.

Quinola The rest is a mere trifle. The tube receives the water which by some means or other, has been changed to cloud. This cloud is bound to rise and the resulting force is immense.

Quinola Immense—in that it is natural, since man—pay particular attention to this—does not create force—

Quinola He borrows it from nature; to invent, is to borrow. Then—by means of certain pistons—for in mechanics—you know—

Quinola Very good! The method of applying a force is child's play, a trifle, a matter of detail, as in the turnspit—

Quinola There are two here, and the force is such that it raises the mountains, which skip like rams—as was predicted by King David.

Quinola Water, senor? Why! It is the world. Without water, you could not—That is plain. Well now! This is the point on which my grandson's invention is based; water will subdue water. X equals O plus O, that is the complete formula.

Quinola (aside) This man is a driveling dotard. (Aloud) I have spoken to you in the language of genuine philosophy—

Mathieu Magis (to Monipodio)
Can you tell me who this remarkably learned man is?

Monipodio He is a very great man, to whom I am indebted for my knowledge of ballistics; he is the director of the Venetian arsenal, and purposes this evening to make us a contribution on behalf of the republic.

Mathieu Magis
I must go and tell Senora Brancadori, she comes from Venice. (Exit.)

SCENE FOURTEENTH

(Lothundiaz and Don Ramon exchange greetings and examine the pieces of machinery in the centre of the stage.)

Marie My father brought me. Ah! my dear friend, your servant told me of your distress—

Marie You cannot imagine the persecutions I have endured since your arrival, and especially since your quarrel with Madame Brancadori. What could I do against the authority of my father? It is absolute. While I remained at home, I doubted my power to help you; my heart was yours in spite of everything, but my bodily presence—

Marie By delaying the day of your triumph, you have made my position intolerable. Alas! when I see you here, I perceive that you yourself at the same time have been enduring incredible hardships. In order that I might be with you for a moment, I have feigned an intention of vowing myself to God; this evening I enter a convent.

Fontanares A convent? Is that the way they would separate us? These tortures make one curse the day of his birth. And you, Marie, you, who are the mainspring and the glory of my discovery, the star that protected my destiny, I have forced you to seek refuge in heaven! I cannot stand up against that. (He weeps.)

Marie But by promising to enter a convent, I obtained my father's permission to come here. I wish in bidding you farewell to bring you hope. Here are the savings of a young girl, of your sister, which I have kept against the day when all would forsake you.

Fontanares
And what care I for glory, for fortune, for life itself, without you?

Marie Accept the gift which is all that the woman who intends to be your wife can and ought to offer. If I feel that you are unhappy and in distress, hope will forsake me in my retirement, and I shall die, uttering a last prayer for you!

Quinola (to Marie) Let him play the proud man, we may save him in spite of himself. Do you know it is for this purpose that I am passing myself off as his grandfather?

Don Ramon Oh, no, he is an artisan, who knows nothing and who doubtless stole his secret in Italy.

Lothundiaz I have always doubted him, and it seems I was right in refusing him my daughter in marriage.

Don Ramon He would bring her to beggary. He has squandered five thousand sequins, and has gone into debt three thousand in eight months, without attaining any result! Ah! He is a contrast with his grandfather. There's a philosopher of the first rank for you! Fontanares will have to work hard to catch up with him. (He points to Quinola.)

Lothundiaz That delights me, senor. I suppose that now you will pay me the two thousand sequins which you borrowed from my father?

Marie (after a conversation with Fontanares) You will accept this—will you not—as a means of securing your triumph, for is not our happiness staked on that?

Fontanares To think that I am dragging down this pearl into the gulf which is yawning to receive me.

SCENE FIFTEENTH

Lothundiaz I promised that she should come her to say farewell on condition that she would not refuse to retire to a convent afterwards.

Sarpi The assembly here is so numerous that I am not surprised, nor in the least offended, by your complaisance towards her.

Fontanares Ah! Here comes the fiercest of my persecutors. How are you, senor; are you come to put my constancy to a fresh test?

Sarpi I represent the viceroy of Catalonia, senor, and I have a right to your respectful treatment. (To Don Ramon) Are you satisfied with him?

Fontanares Surely I am dreaming! Is it possible they are raising up a rival to me?

Lothundiaz Presumptuous man! He thinks that he knows more than all the learned in the world.

Sarpi I was induced to come here on account of a question which has been raised and has filled the viceroy with anxiety; you have had in your possession for nearly ten months a ship belonging to the state, and you must now render an account of the loan.

Sarpi The administration of Catalonia has the right to demand an account, and we have received a decree of the ministers to this effect. (Fontanares appears thunderstruck.) Oh! you can take your time; we do not wish to embarrass a man like you. Nor are we inclined to think that you wish to elude the stipulation with regard to your life by keeping the ship for an indefinite period.

Fontanares In three months, Count Sarpi, I shall have completed, without the counsel of another, the work I am engaged upon. You will then see one of the greatest spectacles that a man can produce for his age to witness.

Marie Farewell, my friend! If you are vanquished in this struggle I believe that I shall love you more than ever!

SCENE SIXTEENTH

Fontanares (alone in the front of the stage) While Marie is in a convent the sunlight cannot warm me. I am bearing up a world, yet fear I am no Titian. No, I shall never succeed; all is against me. And this work which cost me three years of thought and ten months of toil will never cleave the ocean! But now, I am heavy with sleep. (He lies down on the straw.)

SCENE SEVENTEENTH

Quinola Then I'd better be getting back there. Send me the landlord; I wish to re-establish our credit.

SCENE EIGHTEENTH

Quinola What is this, senor, Landlord of the Golden Sun? You don't seem to have much confidence in the star of my grandson?

Quinola No, but you should not, for charity's sake, have refused him bread. The most noble republic of Venice sent me to bring him to that city, but he is too fond of Spain! I return, as I arrived, secretly. I have nothing with me that I can dispose of excepting this diamond. A month from this time I will remit to you through the bank. Will you arrange with my grandson's servant for the sale of this jewel?

SCENE NINETEENTH

Quinola I must go and change my dress. (He looks at Fontanares) He sleeps; that noble heart has at last succumbed to its emotions; it is only we who know how to yield before misfortunes; our carelessness he cannot share. Have I not done well, in always obtaining a duplicate of that which he required? (To Monipodio) Here is the plan of the last piece; do you take charge of it.

SCENE TWENTIETH

Faustine To what a plight have I reduced him! From the depth of the wounds which I have thus inflicted upon myself, I realize the depth of my love! Oh! how much happiness do I owe him in compensation for so much suffering!

ACT IV

SCENE FIRST

(The stage setting represents a public square. In the centre stands a sheriff's officer on an auctioneer's block, around the base of which are the various pieces for the machine. A crowd is gathered on each side of the platform. To the left of the spectator are grouped together Coppolus, Carpano, the landlord of the Golden Sun, Esteban, Girone, Mathieu Magis, Don Ramon and Lothundiaz. To the right are Fontanares and Monipodio; Quinola conceals himself in a cloak behind Monipodio.)

Fontanares, Monipodio, Quinola, Coppolus, the landlord of the Golden
Sun, Esteban, Girone, Mathieu Magis, Don Ramon, Lothundiaz, Sheriff's
Officer, a crowd of people.

Sheriff's Officer Gentlemen, show a little more warmth. Here we have a boiler, big enough to cook a dinner for a regiment of the guards.

Quinola Resignation seems to me to be the fourth theological virtue omitted from the list out of consideration for women!

Monipodio Hold your tongue! Justice is on your track and you would have been arrested before this if they had not taken you for one of my people.

Sheriff's Officer
This is the last lot, gentlemen. Going, going—no further bid? Gone!
It is knocked down to Senor Mathieu Magis for ten ducats, six
maravedis.

Lothundiaz (to Don Ramon) What do you think of that? Thus ends the sublime invention of our great man! He was right, by heaven, when he promised us a rare spectacle!

Lothundiaz Did you get nothing, Master Coppolus? And what of my daughter's diamonds, which the great man's servant put into the machine?

Lothundiaz And are not the thieves in the hand of justice? I would like best of all to see Quinola, that cursed pilferer of jewels, in durance.

Quinola (aside) Oh, my young life, what lessons are you receiving! My antecedents have ruined me.

Lothundiaz But if they catch him, his goose will soon be cooked, and I shall have the pleasure of seeing him dangling from the gallows, and giving the benediction with his feet.

Don Ramon I sincerely regret this disaster. This young artisan had at last listened to my advice, and we were on the point of realizing the promises made by him to the king; but he blindly forfeited his opportunity; I mean to ask pardon for him at the court, for I shall tell the king how useful he will be to me.

Coppolus Here is an example of generosity extremely rare in the conduct of one learned man towards another.

Fontanares (coming forward) I have endured with tranquillity the agony of seeing a piece of workmanship, which entitles me to eternal glory, sold as so much old junk—(murmurs among the people). But this passes all endurance. Don Ramon, if you have, I do not say understood, but even guessed, at the use of all these fragments of machinery, displaced and scattered as they are, you ought to have bought them even at the sacrifice of your whole fortune.

Don Ramon Young man, I respect your misfortunes; but you know that your apparatus could not possibly go, and that my experience had become necessary to you.

Fontanares The most terrible among all the horrors of destitution is that it gives ground for calumny and the triumph of fools!

Lothundiaz Is it not disgraceful for a man in your position thus to undertake to insult a philosopher whose reputation is established? Where would I be if I had given you my daughter? You would have led me a fine dance down to beggary; for you have already wasted, for absolutely no purpose, ten thousand sequins! Really this grandee of Spain seems particularly small in his grandeur to-day.

Lothundiaz That is possible, but you do not make me envy you; your life is at the mercy of the tribunal.

Fontanares
Not quite crazy enough, senor, to believe that O plus O is a binomial.

SCENE SECOND

Fontanares A charlatan, my lord? In a few days, you may be able to cut my head off; kill me, but don't calumniate me; your position in the state is too high for you to descend so low.

Don Fregose Your audacity equals the extent of your downfall. Are you unaware that the magistrates of Barcelona look upon you as an accomplice of the thief who robbed Lothundiaz? The flight of your servant proves the crime, and the freedom you now enjoy is due to the intercessions of this lady. (Points to Faustine.)

Fontanares My servant, your excellency, might have been in early life a criminal, but since he has followed my fortune he has been an innocent man. I declare, on my honor, that he is guiltless of any such act as theft. The jewels which were seized at the moment he was engaged in selling them were the free gift of Marie Lothundiaz, from whom I had refused to accept them.

Sarpi And how do you explain the resurrection of your grandfather, the pretended director of the Venetian arsenal? Unfortunately for you, the senora and myself were acquainted with the actual man.

Fontanares I caused my servant to put on this disguise in order that he might talk science and mathematics with Don Ramon. Senor Lothundiaz will tell you that the philosopher of Catalonia and Quinola perfectly understood each other.

Faustine Do not be perturbed, Don Ramon; it is so natural for people of this kind, when they find themselves falling, to drag down other people with them!

Fontanares Before I die I ought to speak the truth, senora, to those who have flung me into the abyss. (To Don Fregose) My lord, the king promised me the protection of his people at Barcelona, and here I have met with nothing but hatred! Oh, you grandees of the land, you rich, and all who have in your hands power and influence, why is it that you thus throw obstacles in the way of advancing thought? Is it the law of God that you should persecute and put to shame that which eventually you will be compelled to adore? Had I been pliant, abject and a flatterer, I might have succeeded! In me you have persecuted that which represents all that is noblest in man—His consciousness of his own power, the majesty of his labor, the heavenly inspiration which urges him to put his hand to enterprise, and—love, that spirit of human trust, which rekindles courage when it is on the point of expiring in the storm of mockery. Ah! If the good that you do is done amiss, you are always successful in the accomplishment of what is bad! But why should I proceed?—You are not worthy of my anger.

Don Fregose Sarpi, tell the police officers to advance and carry off the accomplice of Quinola.

SCENE THIRD

(At the moment the police officers seize Fontanares, Marie appears, in the habit of a novice, accompanied by a monk and two sisters.)

Marie Lothundiaz (to the viceroy) My lord, I have just learned that in my desire to save Fontanares from the rage of his enemies I have caused his ruin. But now an opportunity is given me to vindicate the truth, and I beg to declare that I myself put into the hands of Quinola the precious stones and the money I had treasured as my own. (Lothundiaz shows some excitement.) They belonged to me, father, and God grant that you may not have cause some day to mourn your own blindness.

Fontanares (bending his knee before Marie) Thanks, radiant and spotless creature, through whose love I still am kept close to that heaven from which I draw my faith and hope; you have saved my honor.

Fontanares Alas! my work is dismembered and dispersed, held in a hundred avaricious hands, who will not give it back excepting at the price it cost to fabricate. To recover it I should double the amount of my indebtedness and fail to complete the enterprise in time. All is over!

Marie
What say you, father? And you, Count Sarpi? (Aside) It will be my
death! (Aloud) Will you consent, on condition I obey you, to give
Fontanares all that is necessary for the success of his undertaking?
(To Faustine) I shall devote myself to God, senora!

Faustine You are sublime, sweet angel. (Aside) And thus at last deliverance comes to me!

Fontanares Stay, Marie! I would choose the struggle and all its perils, I would choose death itself, rather than the loss of you from such a cause.

Marie Rather than glory? (To the viceroy) My lord, you will cause my gems to be restored to Quinola. I return to my convent with a happy mind; either I am his, or I must live for God alone.

Faustine (to Sarpi, the viceroy and Avaloros)
Can we not conquer him, in spite of all?

Sarpi (to Faustine) All is not lost. (To Lothundiaz) Take your daughter home; she will soon be obedient to you.

SCENE FOURTH

Avaloros I have studied you well, young man, and you have a great heart—a heart firm as steel. Steel will always be the master of gold. Let us frankly form a copartnership; I will pay your debts, buy up all that has been sold, give you and Quinola five thousand ducats, and, at my instance, the viceroy will be willing to forget your freedom with him.

Fontanares
If, in my distress, I have ever failed in respect towards you, senor,
I beg you will pardon me.

Don Fregose That is quite sufficient, senor. Don Fregose does not easily take offence.

Avaloros Thus you see, young man, that tempest is succeeded by calm, and at present all things smile upon you. The next thing for us to do is to unite, you and I, in fulfilling your promises to the king.

Fontanares I care not for fortune excepting for one reason; shall I be enabled to wed Marie Lothundiaz?

Don Fregose You never told me that before. Henceforth, you may count on me, young man; I am your steadfast ally. (Exit.)

Monipodio
They are coming to terms; we are ruined. I shall take myself off to
France with the duplicate machine. (Exit.)

SCENE FIFTH

Faustine (to Fontanares) Come, now; I also bear no malice, and you must come to the banquet I am giving.

Faustine Like all those lofty dreamers, who enrich humanity with their inventions, you know neither women, nor the world.

Fontanares (aside) I have scarcely eight days left. (To Quinola) I am going to make use of her.

Faustine I must thank Quinola for that. (She offers a purse to Quinola.) Take this. (To Fontanares) Till we meet again!

SCENE SIXTH

Fontanares That woman is treacherous as the sun in winter. Unhappy am I that I sought her, for she has taught me to lose faith. Is it possible that there are virtues which it is for our advantage to discard?

Quinola How is it possible, senor, to distrust a woman who sets in gold her slightest words! She loves you; that's the secret. Is your heart so very small that it cannot harbor two affections?

Fontanares
Nonsense! Marie has given me hope, her words have fired my soul. Yes,
I shall succeed.

Quinola (aside) Where is Monipodio? (Aloud) A reconciliation, senor, is very easy with a woman who yields so easily as Senora Brancadori.

Quinola Senor, you make me desperate! Would you oppose the perfidy of a useful love with the loyalty of a love that is blind? I need the influence of Senora Brancadori in order to get rid of Monipodio, whose intentions cause me anxiety. If only I can obtain this influence I will guarantee you success, and you shall then marry your Marie.

Quinola My dear senor, by mounting on the shoulders of a man who sees a long distance, as you do, any one can see farther still. You are an inventor, very good; but I am inventive. You saved me from—I needn't say what! I, in turn, will deliver you from the talons of envy and from the clutches of cupidity. Here is gold for us; come dress yourself, make yourself fine, take courage; you are on the eve of triumph. But above all things, behave graciously towards Senora Brancadori.

Quinola No, senor, if you knew my secret, all would be ruined; you are a man of talent, and a man of talent is always simple as a child.

SCENE SEVENTH

Faustine (alone) The hour is come, to which all my efforts for the last fourteen months have been looking for fulfillment. In a few moments Fontanares will see that Marie is forever lost to him. Avaloros, Sarpi and I have lulled the genius to forgetfulness, and have brought the man up to the very day when his experiment was to have taken place, so that he stands helpless and destitute. Oh! how totally is he in my power, just as I had wished! But does a person ever change from contempt to love? No, never. Little does he know that for a twelvemonth I have been his adversary, and the misfortune is, that when he does know he will hate me! But hatred is not the opposite of love, it is merely the obverse of the golden coin. I shall tell him everything; I shall make him hate me.

SCENE EIGHTH

Paquita
Senora, your orders have been most exactly carried out by Monipodio.
Senorita Lothundiaz has just been informed by her duenna, of the peril
which threatens Senor Fontanares this evening.

SCENE NINTH

Faustine (alone) We must baffle the plans of Monipodio. Quinola fears he has received the order to get rid of Fontanares; it is too bad that there should be ground for such a fear.

SCENE TENTH

Faustine Monipodio must disappear from Barcelona—yea, and from Catalonia, within two hours; send him to Africa.

SCENE ELEVENTH

Faustine Have you made the necessary preparations, cousin, for your immediate marriage with Marie Lothundiaz?

Sarpi I have, and her good father has taken care that the contract should be ready.

Faustine That is well! Send word to the convent of the Dominicans. The rich heiress will freely consent to be wedded to you at midnight; she will accept any conditions, when she sees (whispering to Sarpi) Fontanares in the hands of justice.

Sarpi I quite understand, and the only thing now is to have him arrested. My good fortune seems invincible! And—I owe it all to you. (Aside) What instrument is there more powerful than the hatred of a woman!

Don Fregose
Sarpi, see that this order is strictly carried out and with no delay.

SCENE TWELFTH

Faustine
My lord, I can think of nothing at present except the coming banquet;
you shall have my answer this evening. (Fontanares appears.) (Aside)
Oh, there he comes! (To Fregose) If you love me, leave me a while.

SCENE THIRTEENTH

Fontanares The palace of the king of Spain is not more splendid than yours, senora, and you here display all the pomp of royalty.

Faustine She, whom you have so cruelly insulted, will now reveal herself to you. A terrible disaster threatens you. Sarpi has persistently worked against you and in doing so has carried out the orders of an irresistible power, and this banquet will be for you, unless I intervene, the scene of a Judas' kiss. I have been told, in confidence, that on your departure from this house, perhaps without these very walls, you will be arrested, flung into prison, and your trial will begin—never to end. Is it possible that you can put into proper condition in one night the vessel which otherwise will be forfeited to you? As regards your work, you know how impossible it is to begin it over again. I wish to save you, you and your glory, you and your fortune.

Faustine Avalores has placed at my disposal one of his ships, Monipodio has given me his best smugglers for a cruise; let us start for Venice. The republic will make you a patrician and will give you ten times as much gold as Spain has promised. (Aside) Why is it they do not arrive?

Fontanares And what of Marie? If we are to take her with us, I will believe in you.

Faustine Your thoughts are of her at the very moment when the choice between life and death is to be made. If you delay, we may be lost.

SCENE FOURTEENTH

Fontanares The hour of death has come at last! Yet happily I carry my secret with me to God, and love shall be my winding sheet.

SCENE FIFTEENTH

Marie I was not, then, deceived; you have fallen into the hands of your enemies! And what is left to me, dearest Alfonso, but to die for you —and yet, by what a frightful death! O beloved! Heaven is jealous of a perfect love, and thus would teach us by those cruel disasters, which we call the chances of life, that there is no true happiness save in the presence of God. What! You here?

Marie For one moment you have left me free, for the last time in my life! I shall keep my promise, you must not be unfaithful to yours. O sublime discoverer, you will have to discharge the obligations that belong to greatness, and to fight the battle of your lawful ambition! This struggle will be the great interest of your life; while the Countess Sarpi will die by inches and in obscurity, imprisoned in the four walls of her house. And now let me remind you, father, and you, count, that it was clearly agreed, as the condition of my obedience, that Senor Fontanares should be granted by the viceroy of Catalonia a further extension of time, for the completion of his experiment.

Marie Did you not make a solemn promise to the King of Spain, yes, to all the world? (Speaks low to Fontanares) Oh! seize your triumph; after that we can die!

Lothundiaz (in a low voice to Fontanares) You contemptible seducer! (Aloud) Here I give you ten thousand sequins. (In a low voice) Atrocious wretch! (Aloud) My daughter's income for one year. (In a low voice) May the plague choke you! (Aloud) Upon the presentation of this check, Senor Avaloros will count out to you ten thousand sequins.

Sarpi You have publicly accused the viceroy of Catalonia of belying the promises of the king; here is his answer: (he draws forth a document) By this ordinance, he puts a stay on the lawsuits of all your creditors, and grants you a year to complete your experiment.

Lothundiaz He has made up his mind! Come, my daughter; they are expecting us at the Dominican convent, and the viceroy has promised to honor us with his presence at the ceremony.

Faustine (to Paquita) Run, Paquita, and bring me word when the ceremony is ended, and they are man and wife.

SCENE SIXTEENTH

Faustine (aside) There he stands, like a man pausing on the brink of a precipice to which tigers have pursued him. (Aloud) Why are you not as great as your creative thought? Is there but one woman in the world?

Fontanares What! Do you think that a man can pluck from his heart a love like mine, as easily as he draws the sword from his scabbard?

Faustine I can well conceive that a woman should love you and do you service. But, according to your idea, love is self-abdication. All that the greatest men have ever wished for: glory, honor, fortune, and more than that, a triumphant dominion which genius alone can establish —this you have gained, conquering a world as Caesar, Lucullus and Luther conquered before you! And yet, you have put between yourself and this splendid existence an obstacle, which is none other than a love worthy of some student of Alcala. By birth you are a giant, and of your own will you are dwindling into a dwarf. But a man of genius can always find, among women, one woman especially created for him. And such a woman, while in the eyes of men she is a queen, for him is but a servant, adapting herself with marvelous suppleness to the chances of life, cheerful in suffering and as far-sighted in misfortune as in prosperity; above all, indulgent to his caprices and knowing well the world and its perilous changes; in a word, capable of occupying a seat in his triumphal car after having helped it up the steepest grades—

Faustine What! Did that child have skill to protect you? Did she divine the person and presence of her rival? And was she, who had suffered you to be overcome, worthy of possessing you for her own—she—the child who has permitted herself to be drawn, step by step, to the altar where at this moment she bestows herself upon another? If it had been I, ere this I should have lain dead at your feet! And on whom has she bestowed herself? On your deadliest enemy, who had accepted the command to secure the shipwreck of your hopes.

Fontanares How could I be false to that inextinguishable love, which has thrice come to my succor, which has eventually saved me, which, having no sacrifice but itself to offer on the altar of misfortune, accomplishes the immolation with one hand, and, with the other, offers to me in this (he shows the letter) the restoration of my honor, the esteem of my king, the admiration of the universe.

Faustine (aside) Ah! Sarpi has now his countess. (To Fontanares) Your life, your glory, your fortune, your honor, are at last in my hands alone! Marie no longer stands between us!

Faustine Contradict me not, Alfonso! I have conquered all that is yours; do not refuse me your heart! You will never gain a love more devoted, more submissive, more full of sympathy than mine; for at last you shall become the great man that you deserve to be.

Fontanares Your audacity astounds me. (He shows the letter.) With a sum of money guaranteed me here I am once more the sole arbiter of my destiny. When the king sees the character and the results of my work, he will cancel that marriage, which has been obtained by violence. And my love for Marie is such that I can wait till then.

Faustine Fontanares, if I love you distractedly, it is perhaps because of that delightful simplicity, which is the badge of genius—

Faustine And would I have let them give that to you, if I thought you would ever receive it? To-morrow you will find all your creditors standing between you and the possession of that sum, which you owe to them. What can you accomplish without gold? Your struggle will begin over again! But your work, O great, but simple man, has not been dispersed in fragments; it is all mine; my instrument, Mathieu Magis, has acquired possession of it. I hold it at my feet, in my palace. I am the only one who would not rob you either of your glory, or of your fortune, for what would this be, but to rob myself?

Faustine Yes—since the moment you insulted me, upon this spot, I have directed everything; it is at my bidding that Magis, and Sarpi, and your creditors, and the landlord of the Golden Sun, and the workmen have acted! But ah! How great a love underlay this simulated hatred. Tell me, have you never been roused from your slumber by a falling teardrop, the pearl of my repentance, while I was gazing at you with admiration—you—the martyr that I worshiped?

Faustine What of that, provided it were your hand that did it? (Aside) He hates me!

Faustine Can there be any punishment which a woman who loves can feel? Come, try me.

Fontanares You love me, Faustine. Am I all of life to you? Do you really make my grief your own?

Fontanares If then I die, you will die also. 'Tis plain, therefore, although your life is not worthy to be set against the love that I have lost, my course is taken.

Fontanares With crossed arms I will await the day of my arrest. At the same stroke the soul of Marie and my soul shall rise to heaven.

Faustine (flinging herself at the feet of Fontanares) O Alfonso! Here, at your feet, I will remain till you have promised me—

Faustine You have spoken this openly and in public; but remember, men oftentimes insult that which they are destined eventually to adore.

SCENE SEVENTEENTH

Don Fregose Silence! Wretched journeyman! I refrain from transfixing your heart with my sword, only because I intend you to pay more dearly for this insult.

Faustine Don Fregose! I love this man; whether he makes of me his slave or his wife, my love shall be the aegis of his life.

Fontanares Am I to be the victim of fresh persecutions, my lord? I am overwhelmed with joy. Deal me a thousand blows; they will be multiplied a thousand fold, she says, in her heart. I am ready!

SCENE EIGHTEENTH

Quinola Off goes Monipodio, wafted towards Africa with recommendations on his hands and feet.

Quinola Under the pretext of robbing you, I have concealed in a cellar a second machine, for I took care that two should be made, while we only paid for one.

Fontanares Thus it is that a true friend renders despair impossible. (He embraces Quinola.) (To Fregose) My lord, write to the king and build, overlooking the harbor, an amphitheatre for two hundred thousand spectators; in ten days I will fulfill my promise, and Spain shall behold a ship propelled by steam in the face of wind and waves. I will wait until there is a storm that I may show how I can prevail against it.

SCENE NINETEENTH

ACT V

SCENE FIRST

(The setting is the terrace of the town-hall of Barcelona, on each side of which are pavilions. The terrace looks on the sea and ends in a balcony in the centre of the stage; the open sea and the masts of vessels form the scenery. At the right of the spectator appear a large arm-chair and seats set before a table. The murmur of an immense crowd is heard. Leaning over the balcony Faustine gazes at the steamship. Lothundiaz stands on the left, in a condition of utter stupefaction; Don Fregose is seated on the right with his secretary, who is drawing up a formal account of the experiment. The Grand Inquisitor is stationed in the middle of the stage.)

Don Fregose I am undone, ruined, disgraced! Even if I were to fall at the feet of the king, I should gain no pity from him.

Lothundiaz At what price have I purchased my patent of nobility! My son has been killed in an ambuscade in Flanders, and my daughter is dying; her husband, the governor of Roussillon, refused her permission to be present at the triumph of this devil of a Fontanares. How well she spoke when she said that I should repent of my willful blindness!

The Grand Inquisitor (to Don Fregose) The Holy Office has reminded the king of your past services; you will be sent as viceroy to Peru, where you will be able to repair your fortunes; but first finish your work here; let us crush this discoverer and check the progress of his dangerous innovation.

Don Fregose But how can we do so? The orders of the king must be obeyed, at least ostensibly.

The Grand Inquisitor
We have taken such measures that obedience may be rendered both to the
Holy Office and to the king. You have only to do as you are bidden.
(To Lothundiaz) Count Lothundiaz, as the first municipal officer of
Barcelona, you must offer to Don Ramon, in the name of the city, a
crown of gold in honor of his discovery, whose result will secure to
Spain the domination of the sea.

Lothundiaz Long live Don Ramon! Yes, indeed, and so much the better, for I shall be avenged for the wrong which I have done to myself.

SCENE SECOND

The same persons, Don Ramon, Mathieu Magis, the landlord of the Golden
Sun, Coppolus, Carpano, Esteban, Girone, and all the people.

The Grand Inquisitor In the name of the king of Spain, Castile and the Indies, I must express to you, Don Ramon, the congratulations of all upon the success of your mighty genius. (He leads him to the arm-chair.)

Don Ramon After all, he is but the hand, I am the head. The original idea is superior to the work of realizing it. (To the crowd) In such a moment as this, modesty would be an insult to the honors which I have attained through midnight vigils, and a man should openly show himself proud of his achievement.

Lothundiaz In the name of the city of Barcelona, Don Ramon, I have the honor to offer you this crown, due to your perseverance, as the author of an invention which will give you immortality.

SCENE THIRD

The same persons and Fontanares (his garments soiled with the work of his experiment).

Don Ramon I accept these honors, on condition that they be shared by the courageous artisan who has so well assisted me in my enterprise.

Coppolus In the name of the merchants of Catalonia, Don Ramon, we have come to beg your acceptance of this silver crown, a token of their gratitude for a discovery which is likely to prove a new source of prosperity to them.

Don Ramon It is with the keenest pleasure that I see that commerce recognizes the future developments of steam navigation.

Fontanares Let my laborers come forth! You, the children of the people, whose hands have completed my work, bear witness for me! It was from me only that you received the models. Say now, whether it was Don Ramon or I who originated the new power which the sea has felt to-day?

Mathieu Magis It was two years ago, in the course of a conversation with Don Ramon, that he begged me to furnish funds for this experiment.

Fontanares (to Fregose) My lord, what strange delusion has fallen upon the people and burgesses of Barcelona? I arrive here in the midst of the acclamations with which Don Ramon is being greeted. Yes, I arrive bearing the traces of the vigils and sweat of this great enterprise, and I find you contentedly sanctioning the most shameful act of robbery that can be perpetrated in the face of heaven and earth. (Murmurs from the crowd.) Alone and unprotected I have risked my life on this enterprise. I was the first who pledged its accomplishment to the king, and unaided I have kept my pledge, and yet here in my place I find Don Ramon—an ignoramus.

Don Fregose An old soldier knows very little about scientific matters and must accept plain facts. All Catalonia conceded to Don Ramon the priority in this invention, and everybody here declares that without him you would have accomplished nothing. It is my duty to inform his majesty, the king, of these circumstances.

The Grand Inquisitor They are as follows: In his treatise on the casting of cannons Don Ramon speaks of a certain invention called Thunder, made by Leonardo da Vinci, your master, and says that it might be applied to the navigation of a ship.

SCENE FOURTH

Quinola (aside to Fontanares)
Senor, the fruit was too fair, and a worm has been found in it!

Quinola Hell has belched back upon us, I know not how—Monipodio, all on fire for revenge; he is on board the ship with a band of devils, and swears to scuttle it, unless you guarantee him ten thousand sequins.

Fontanares (kneels) Thanks, thanks for that. O ocean, whom I once longed to subdue, thou art the sole protector that is left to me; thou shalt keep my secret to eternity! (To Quinola) See that Monipodio steers for the open sea and there scuttles the ship.

Quinola What is this? Do I understand you aright? Which of us two has lost his head?

Quinola
Obey, without understanding why? For the first time I'll risk it.
(Exit.)

SCENE FIFTH

Fontanares (to Don Fregose) My lord! Putting aside the question of priority, which can easily be decided, may I be permitted to withdraw my name from this debate, begging of you to accept the statement which is here drawn up and contains the justification before the king our master?

Fontanares I will acknowledge anything you like, even to the point that O plus O is a binomial!

Don Fregose (after consulting with the Grand Inquisitor) Your demand is perfectly legitimate; we will forward a copy of your statement, preserving here the original.

Fontanares I have, then, escaped with my life. Let me ask all of you here present, if you look upon Don Ramon as the real inventor of the vessel which has been propelled by steam before the eyes of two hundred thousand Spaniards?

Fontanares Very good. Don Ramon has accomplished this prodigy. Don Ramon can begin his work again. (A loud explosion is heard.) The prodigy is no longer in existence. The employment of such a force is not without danger, and the danger which Don Ramon had not foreseen, has manifested itself, at the very moment while Don Ramon was receiving your congratulations! (Cries in the distance; everybody rushes to the balcony and gazes seaward.) I am avenged!

The Grand Inquisitor France is all ablaze, the low countries in revolt, Calvin is stirring up all Europe; the king has too much business on his hands to worry himself about the loss of a ship. This new invention and the Reformation would have been too much at one time for the world! Now for some years the rapacity of maritime peoples has been checked.

SCENE SIXTH

Fontanares Marie is dead, senora; I do not know the meaning of the words right and wrong, nowadays.

Fontanares Forgiveness! That word has been erased from my heart. There are situations in which the heart either breaks or turns to bronze. I am scarcely twenty-five years old, but to-day you have changed me into a man of fifty. You have lost to me one world, now you owe me another—

Fontanares Yes, for you are a magnificent instrument of ruin and devastation. Yet it will be by means of you that I shall crush all those who have been an obstacle in my pathway; I take you, not for my wife, but for my slave, and you shall serve me.

Fontanares But without hope that there will be any return—need I say of what? All here (he strikes his hand upon his heart) is of bronze. You have taught me what this world is made of. O world of self-interest, of trickery, of policy and of perfidy, I defy you to the combat!

Fontanares You? You are the only one who has still a place in my heart. We three will stand together; we will go—

Faustine Let us start at once; I know these Spaniards, and they are sure to plot your death.

Quinola The resources of Quinola are at the bottom of the sea. Be kind enough to excuse his faults; he will doubtless do better at Paris. Verily, I believe that hell is paved with good inventions.

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