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The Stepmother, A Drama in Five Acts. Honore de Balzac
Читать онлайн.Название The Stepmother, A Drama in Five Acts
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Автор произведения Honore de Balzac
Жанр Зарубежная классика
Издательство Public Domain
The General
The men of the Empire were not of that sort.
Godard It is on account of that, that I put on a bold face! This boldness when backed by an income of forty thousand francs is accepted without protest, and wins its way to the front. That is why you took me for a good match. So long as there are no mortgages on the rich pasture lands of the Auge Valley, so long as one possesses a fine chateau, well furnished – for my wife need bring with her nothing but her trousseau, since she will find there even the cashmeres and laces of my late mother – when a man has all that, General, he has got all the courage he need have. Besides, I am now Monsieur de Rimonville.
The General
No, you're only Godard.
Godard
Godard de Rimonville.
The General
Godard for short.
Godard
General, you are trying my patience.
The General As for me, it would try my patience to see a man, even if he were my son-in-law, deny his father; and your father, a right honest man, used himself to drive his beeves from Caen to Poissy, and all along the road was known as Godard – Father Godard.
Godard
He was highly thought of.
The General He was, in his own class. But I see what's the matter; as his cattle provided you with an income of forty thousand francs, you are counting upon other animals to give you the name of De Rimonville.
Godard Now come, General, you had better consult Mlle. Pauline; she belongs to her own epoch – that she does. We are now in the year 1829 and Charles X. is king. She would sooner hear the valet call out, as she left a ballroom, "the carriage of Madame de Rimonville," than, "the carriage of Madame Godard."
The General Well, if such silliness as this pleases my daughter, it makes no difference to me. For, after all, you would be the one they'd poke fun at, my dear Godard.
Godard
De Rimonville.
The General Godard, you are a good fellow, you are young, you are rich, you say that you won't pay your court to women, but that your wife shall be the queen of your house. Well, if you gain her consent you can have mine; for bear in mind, Pauline will only marry the man she loves, rich or poor. There may be one exception, but that doesn't concern you. I would prefer to attend her funeral rather than take her to the registry office to marry a man who was a son, grandson, brother, nephew, cousin or connection of one of the four or five wretches who betrayed – you know what my religion is —
Godard
Betrayed the Emperor. Yes, everyone knows your creed, General.
The General God, first of all; then France or the Emperor – It is all the same to me. Lastly, my wife and children! Whoever meddles with my gods becomes my enemy; I would kill him like a hare, remorselessly. My catechism is short, but it is good. Do you know why, in the year 1816, after their cursed disbanding of the army of the Loire, I took my little motherless child and came here, I, colonel of the Young Guard, wounded at Waterloo, and became a cloth manufacturer of Louviers?
Godard
I suppose you didn't wish to hold office under them.
The General
No, because I did not wish to die as a murderer on the scaffold.
Godard
What do you mean?
The General If I had met one of those traitors, I should have finished his business for him. Even to-day, after some fifteen years, my blood boils if I read their names in the newspaper or anyone mentions them in my presence. And indeed, if I should meet one of them, nothing would prevent me from springing at his throat, tearing him to pieces, strangling him —
Godard
You would do right. (Aside) I must humor him.
The General Yes, sir, I would strangle him! And if my son-in-law were to ill-treat my dear child, I would do the same to him.
Godard
Ah!
The General I shouldn't wish him to be altogether under her thumb. A man ought to be king in his own house, as I am here.
Godard (aside)
Poor man! How he deceives himself!
The General
Did you speak?
Godard I said, General, that your threat had no terrors for me! When one has nothing but a wife to love, he loves her well.
The General Quite right, my dear Godard. And now with regard to the marriage settlement?
Godard
Oh, yes!
The General
My daughter's portion consists of —
Godard
Consists of —
The General It comprises her mother's fortune and the inheritance of her uncle Boncoeur. It will be undivided, for I give up my rights to it. This will amount to three hundred and fifty thousand francs and a year's interest, for Pauline is twenty-two.
Godard This will make up three hundred and sixty-seven thousand five hundred francs.
The General
No.
Godard
Why not?
The General
It will be more!
Godard
More?
The General
Four hundred thousand francs. (Godard seems astonished.) I make up the difference! But when I die there will be nothing more coming to her.
Do you understand?
Godard
I do not understand.
The General
I am very much attached to little Napoleon.
Godard
You mean the young Duke of Reichstadt?
The General No, my son whom they would enter in the register only under the name of Leon; but I had inscribed here (he places his hand upon his heart) the name of Napoleon! Do you see I must provide for him and his mother?
Godard (aside)
Especially for his mother; she'll take care of that!
The General
What are you saying? If you don't agree with me, out with it!
Godard (aside) If I did so, we should find ourselves in the law courts. (Aloud) I agree, and will back you in everything, General.
The General
Good for you! And I'll tell you why, my dear Godard.
Godard
De Rimonville.
The General Godard, I prefer Godard. I'll tell you why. After having commanded the grenadiers of the Young Guard, I, General Comte de Grandchamp, now weave the cloth for their uniforms.
Godard This is very commendable! You should keep on storing up, General, so that your widow may not be left without a fortune.
The General
She is an angel, Godard!
Godard
De Rimonville.
The General Godard, she is an angel, to whom you are indebted for the education of your intended, whom she has moulded after