The Stepmother | Page 4

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 her own
image. Pauline is a pearl, a jewel; she has never left this home; she is as
pure and innocent as she was in her cradle.
Godard General, let me admit that Mlle. Pauline is beautiful!
The General I am quite sure of that.
Godard She is very beautiful; but there are numbers of beautiful girls in
Normandy, some of them very rich, much richer than she is. Well now,
you'll scarcely believe how the mothers and fathers of these heiresses
run after me! It is scarcely decent. But it amuses me immensely; I visit
their chateaus; they overwhelm me with attentions--
The General I said he was conceited!
Godard Oh, I am quite aware that it is not for my sake! I don't delude

myself as to that; it is for my unmortgaged pastures; for my savings,
and for my habit of living within my income. Do you know what it is
that makes me seek an alliance with you above all others?
The General No.
Godard There are certain rich would-be fathers-in-law who promise to
obtain from his Majesty a decree, by which I shall be created Comte de
Rimonville and Peer of France.
The General You?
Godard Yes, I.
The General Have you won any battles? Have you saved your country?
Have you added to its glory? This is pitiful!
Godard Pitiful? (Aside) What shall I say? (Aloud) We differ in our
views on this subject, but do you know why I prefer your adorable
Pauline?
The General I suppose it is because you love her.
Godard That is a matter of course; but it is also on account of the
harmony, the tranquillity, the happiness which reign here! It is so
delightful to enter a family of high honor, of pure, sincere, patriarchal
manners! I am a man of observation.
The General That is to say, you are inquisitive.
Godard Curiosity, General, is the mother of observation. I know the
seamy side of the whole department.
The General Really?
Godard Yes, really! In all the families of which I have spoken to you, I
have seen some shabbiness or other. The public sees the decent exterior
of irreproachable mothers of family, of charming young persons, of
good fathers, of model uncles; they are admitted to the sacrament

without confession, they are entrusted with the investments of others.
But just learn their inner side, and it is enough to startle a police
magistrate.
The General Ah! That is the way you look at the world, is it? For my
part, I try to keep up the illusions in which I have lived. To peer into
the inner life of people in that way is the business of priests and
magistrates; I have no love for the black robed gentlemen, and I hope to
die without ever having seen them! But the sentiment which you
express with regard to my house is more pleasing to me than all your
fortune. Stick to that point, and you will win my esteem, something
which I lightly bestow on no one.
Godard Thank you, General. (Aside) I have won over the father-in-law
at any rate.

SCENE FOURTH
The same persons, Pauline and Gertrude.
The General (catching