Etext by Dagny
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LOUIS XIV AND THE FLOWER GIRL OF THE ORANGERY (Original title: The Gardner-Girl of the Orangery) A Comedy-Vaudeville in one act By De Villeneuve and Masson 1831, Translated and Adapted by Frank J. Morlock C 2003
++++++++++++++++++++++++
CHARACTERS
LOUIS XIV
THE MARQUISE DE MONTESPAN
THE PRINCE DE MARSILLAC, the confidant of the King
THE DUKE DE SAINT-AIGNAN, Captain of Guards
DESMARETS, Controller General of Finances
GRAIN-D'ORGE, rich cattle merchant
PERETTE, A Gardner attached to the Orangery
GUILLAUME, Master Gardner
MACLOU, Gardner lad
Gentlemen, Gardners, etc.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
The action takes place at Versailles.
The stage represents a section of the Park at Versailles, near the Orangery; in the middle a statue of Louis XIV.
Gardners are working. One is atop a tall double ladder; the others are busy trimming and the others are picking up the trimmings.
CHORUS: Come on, Come on,
Work with care,
Trim, gnaw, cut,
But especially manage
The flowers and the buds.
GUILLAUME: (entering) When duty calls us
It's not like at the court,
For each in his turn
Gets to the top of the ladder!
CHORUS: Come on, come on,
Work with care,
Trim, gnaw, cut,
But especially manage
The flowers and the buds.
GUILLAUME: Well! the rest of you haven't finished yet. Still,
you know
that for some time now His Majesty Louis XIV often comes to
stroll near the Orangery here in Versailles—you cannot be
here when the lords arrive—nobles like that wouldn't like to
find themselves face to face with villains like you.
FIRST GARDNER BOY: Suffice, master Guillaume—there I'm 'bout
done—
all I got left to do is pick up the flowers.
GUILLAUME: In that case, you can leave right away, 'cause
there's
somebody else tasked with that duty. It's my little cousin
Perette who I had sent from Normandy exactly for that.
FIRST GARDNER BOY: All the same she's a comer, your
cousin—she's a
fine slip of a girl—a morsel fit for a king, that—
GUILLAUME: In that case she's none of your business—as for
you, Mr.
Maclou,—exactly, there she is coming this way with her little
ole basket. Do me the pleasure of taking your basket and going
to work further off.
CHORUS: Come on, come on,
Work with care,
Trim, gnaw, cut,
But especially manage
The flowers and the buds.
(They leave.)
(Enter Perette carrying two baskets which she sets down.)
PERETTE: Let's set to work quickly.
My two baskets should have already been filled.
I slept too late, it's a shame.
But I was dreaming of the country:
I thought I saw my village clock,
Heard my dog barking at my flock.
I speak the language of our peasants
And I repeated the village lingo.
Tra, la, la.
I still think of the country,
But every day
My heart tells me
It's better here at court.
Innocent games are customary.
No one really loses, I think
For a wager you have to kiss
The sweetest girl—that's me!
The tambourine, the sound of the bag pipe,
They're already calling us from a distance to the elm.
Every lad invites a young filly
To dance the village dance, I bet.
(dancing)
Tra, la ,la.
I still think of the country,
But every day
My heart tells me
It's better here at court.
GUILLAUME: It's very nice of you to sing to me like that, my
little
Perette—but that doesn't change the fact that for more than
an hour these flowers really need to be picked up.
PERETTE: I was going to tell you, cousin, that just now I again
met a
gentleman who kissed me and who—delayed me.
GUILLAUME: Bah! he kissed you?
PERETTE: Yes—but he's old—you know very well he's the one
called the
Superintendent of His Majesty's Gardens.
GUILLAUME: Mr. LeNotre—oh! him—that's different, seeing that
he
kisses the King when he wants to— They even say that when he
was in Rome he kissed our Holy Father the Pope.
PERETTE:
To no one else would I have permitted it. Really, not even you
cousin,
Guillaume.
GUILLAUME: With me—it's good friendship—but with others, that
could
become dangerous.
PERETTE: Oh! I know that well enough—my father told me that a
week
ago when I left the country. “Down there, be careful,
Perette.” With that, it's to save me from a similar danger that I
was sent to you.
GUILLAUME: Bah! you haven't spoken to me yet about that.
PERETTE: Well yes!—you remember quite well Mr. Grain-d'Orge,
that
rich cattle merchant from the neighboring town,—all the time
he spent at our place. He used to stop at our farm—and he
spent every day there.
GUILLAUME: What! did that Mr. Grain-d'Orge speak to you of
love? A man
who has millions!
PERETTE: No question, he told me I was pretty, that he wanted
to be my
type—he talked of giving me presents—do I know—
Singing)
He spoke to me of his riches;
He boasted of his good humor;
He swore to adore me forever;
He constantly talked of my happiness.
GUILLAUME: (singing)
Yeah, but—now, to make a nice household,
They say all you need is a husband.
PERETTE: Something still was lacking.
GUILLAUME: (singing)
What was that?
PERETTE: Any talk of marriage.
GUILLAUME: I'm no longer surprised, then, that your father sent
you to
be with me. You couldn't hope to be the wife of a man so
opulent—who is a noble now—a baron!
PERETTE: Still it's true—as they say in the country, that it's
a
favor from the court—that cost him a thousand crowns!
GUILLAUME: Believe me—forget about it.
PERETTE: Oh! I've already forgotten him, I am so comfortable
here—you
are so good to me. You see so many beautiful things.
GUILLAUME: Eh! well yes, child—but the thing is, that you
sometimes
neglect your work. You don't go in every alley of the
Orangery, you're always around here, where there often isn't a
flower to pick—while on the other side, the earth's seeded
with them—and if your service were complained of—it might
get to the ears of the king.
PERETTE: That's true and I don't wish to vex him, 'cause if my
father
possesses a small farm with four acres of land, he owes it to
him.
GUILLAUME: Yes, that day His Majesty was hunting, the King
fired on a
stag and your father got the ball in his leg. That was lucky.
Well, he made his path with that broken leg—now that's what
caused his fortune.
PERETTE: Eh, to say that he doesn't recognize me, this great
King, and
I no longer have the honor of seeing him.
GUILLAUME: Well, right here, there's his statue, look at it
completely
at your ease.
PERETTE: Oh, I recognized it already.
GUILLAUME: Do good work and come rejoin me when you've
finished, bye,
my little Perette.
(Guillaume kisses Perette on her face and leaves.)
PERETTE: Bye, Cousin, Guillaume. (she sets to work picking up
flowers)
Oh, yes—I really know it, that statue. I've already looked at it
enough for that. Heck, it's quite natural, the benefactor of
my family. I spend whole hours in front of it, and then I
scold myself. Well, it's all the same, I always come back
despite myself. Oh, but—I don't want to be caught at it any
more—like yesterday—by that great lord who asked me my name,
my age, for goodness sake! He really promised me that next
Sunday, at Chapel, he'd seat me in such a way as to see His
Majesty, then I could really see the King.
(singing)
At church, I hope
To gawk at him at leisure.
His grandeur, his magnificence,
Ah! how it all dazzles me.
I'd be scared to be in his presence,
But I'd shiver with so much pleasure.
Yes, I'd be scared to be around him,
But I'd shiver with so much pleasure, anyway. (repeat)
I bet he's going to notice me.
My God! Look how I'm blushing already—
He hasn't yet told me I am pretty,
How nice it would be for a king to tell you that!
At church I hope
To gawk at him at leisure.
His grandeur, his magnificence,
Ah! how it all dazzles me!
(stopping before his statue)
I always come to contemplate his image.
Ah! how many tears this fear must cost me,
But, at least I'm sure of remaining a good girl.
(she remains lost in admiration of the statue without noticing that
an orange flower is falling out of her basket)
Well, I spilled all my flowers.
(she picks them up in a hurry)
At church I hope
To gawk at him at leisure.
His grandeur, his magnificence,
Ah! how it all dazzles me!
(speaking) Clumsy that I am, I never do it with others.
If I was seen? Right, see everybody's coming. It's over, next time
I
come here I won't look at the statue any more. Absolutely. If
I can prevent myself.
(Perette continues to pick up her flowers and then disappears
without
being seen by Marsillac and the other gentlemen who enter.)
MARSILLAC: (laughing as he enters) Ah! ah! ah! by Jove!
Gentlemen,
this is going to cause a great scandal at court.
DESMARETS: What's the matter, Prince de Marsillac? I arrived
just as
it was being explained: I don't know the topic under
discussion.
MARSILLAC: My word, Milord Controller General of Finances, the
thing
is that his Majesty just received a deluge—
DESMARETS: The King?—
MARSILLAC: The King! And the funniest thing is that his royalty
was
precisely the cause of the trouble—two gentlemen of the first
rank were arguing over the honor of presenting him a cloak
which he finally received from a valet.
DESMARETS: Well—I don't see anything extraordinary in
that—just that
Louis XIV wanted to avoid getting wet.
MARSILLAC: What, you don't understand that it's a total
reversal in
the King's service? Etiquette.
(sings)
It's on that that depends, I trust,
The safety of the monarchy.
At the court of a great king
Nobility takes place before patriotism.
Let our soldiers starve;
Let them experience a defeat
For us—who cares—for after all,
The people may lack bread
But the Court must protect etiquette.
DESMARETS: But I perceive Madame the Marquise de Montespan is
coming
here with the Duke de Saint Aignan.
(All greet the Marquise as she enters.)
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (after having made a deep bow) Gentlemen,
we are
preceding the King by a few moments—we left him with LeNotre
who is explaining to him his new ideas on the double stairs.
MARSILLAC: His Majesty won't be slow to join us, I am sure of
it—
because the Marquise is already with us.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: You always flatter me, prince; that makes
me
believe what they say at court—that you are not of my
friends.
MARSILLAC: Ah!—Marquise, aren't you the best friend of the
King—
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: That's true; up to now I've known how to
deserve
the kindnesses of Louis—and so long as the heart of the King
belongs to me I can count on the attachment of his court. But
here's Mr. Desmarets. (she bows to him) I am enchanted to see
you. They've assured me that yesterday, Mignard displayed, in
your presence and before all these ladies, this portrait of
the King that he's just finishing—they say it's admirable.
SAINT-AIGNAN: (low to Marquise) I get it—Madame the Marquise
understood that this precious image ought to come to her one
day.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Hush! Much lower in front of them! (aloud)
Well,
what does the Comptroller General think of this new
masterpiece?
DESMARETS: My word, Marquise, seeing the image of the King, my
master,
I thought only one thing—it's that the coffers of the
Treasury are empty, that all the services are in need and that
the people—
MARSILLAC: What's that? the people! My dear Comptroller—what
ideas!
When the court demands it of you, first off, you must pay—as
to the rest, create the resources, that's your job.
(sings)
When the people experience a misfortune,
Reassure them with words,
If they cry out, so that they'll shut up,
If taxes are demanded:
In the end, overwhelm them with taxes;
Then gold will abound in the coffers.
Pay them with their own money,
Then all is well with the world,
And the people are always happy.
(speaking) Wait, listen to a plan I've conceived. Make money out of
the nobility.
(Marsillac takes Desmarets by the arm and walks with him to the
back
of the Orangery; the other gentlemen stroll about and appear
to talk confidentially as Madame de Montespan leads the Duke
of Saint-Aignan forward.)
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Now, my dear Duke, we are alone, answer
quickly
the question I was addressing to you as you entered. Shouldn't
you deliver to me that letter that Lavalliere addressed to the
King?
SAINT-AIGNAN: I intercepted it—here it is.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Fine—I will read it. She's renouncing the
world.
The King can do no more for her— I'm doing this so the King will
not be pained.
SAINT-AIGNAN: You are so good! and besides, what could you fear
from
this old passion?
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Perhaps I was wrong to alarm myself—and
yet, why
this coldness by the King for some days? Why did he come twice
to walk mysteriously in this part of the Orangery, solely
accompanied by that flatterer Marsillac, who you know, is the
secret confidant of the King's intrigues? I must suspect it's
again a question of a concealed love intrigue.
MARSILLAC: Gentlemen, here's the King.
SAINT-AIGNAN: Silence! they're coming.
(Everyone forms up at the arrival of the King and his suite.)
CHORUS: Here's the King; on his way
To his grandeur, (repeat) let's render homage.
Here's the King (repeat)
Respect, love, for us that's the law.
THE KING: Very fine, gentlemen, I admire your devotion to my
person.
For a few drops of water, you all left me.
MARSILLAC: His Majesty can suppose that near him, the rain of
Versailles doesn't dampen.
THE KING: No, but it gives you a bad cold—and I noticed it
during
the argument between Mr. de Tresmes and de Larochefoucault. I beg
you gentlemen, that such things never happen again. Etiquette
must be respected. But not to satisfy the pride of some
servants. Henceforth, gentlemen will be excused from
accompanying me in my morning strolls.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Still, the honor of following Your Majesty
each
day excites the ambition of his court—and especially mine.
KING: Yes, Marquise—but as for me—I want to escape from time
to time
from the atmosphere of intrigues that so often surround me. I
am the King of France and not the prisoner of the court. I
intend to be free to go where I like, to receive who I like.
Yesterday, gentlemen, If I'd listened to you, I wouldn't have
admitted Moliere to my table. That will force you, I hope, to
receive him at yours. If you were to have among you a man of
genius, the monarchy, won't be worse off for that—
DESMARETS: (aside) It wouldn't be better off for it.
THE KING: Moreover, my pleasures are dear to me—and besides,
they are
necessary to the renown of my royalty. You will continue to
present yourselves for my trips to Marly, but mornings, only
Marsillac will accompany me this week.
MARSILLAC: Your Majesty overwhelms me with honor
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (low to Saint-Aignan) I told you
so—they're on
guard against us—but we will thwart the intrigue.
DESMARETS: Will I be allowed to ask a moment's audience with
Your
Majesty?
KING: Ah! it's you Controller General. I'm sure of it; yet more
complaints to address to me.
DESMARETS: It's not I, sire, it's the people who are
complaining.
KING: And what are they complaining of?
DESMARETS: The tax of the tenth, that I want Your Majesty to
adopt.
KING: Your plan of imposing a tenth has given birth in me to
religious
scruples— I've submitted it to the Sorbonne, I am awaiting
its response.
DESMARETS: But, sire, next month—
KING: First of all let's think carefully of foregoing it. You
cannot
double the capitation.
DESMARETS: It was tripled last year.
KING: I've created thousands of charges and offices. Don't you
also
have letters of nobility? There's a revenue for the
Chancellery.
DESMARETS: They are now in really great discredit. It's reached
the
point that it's necessary to employ force to have accepted
those that Your Majesty deigns to grant.
KING: And what's it matter—so long as they pay?
DESMARETS: But, they are refusing to pay. Just yesterday I
received a
very uncivil latter from a cattle merchant from Normandy, the
rich Grain-d'Orge.
(sings)
He won't listen to anything on the subject.
All my efforts are useless.
And to the title of Baron I would grant him
At the lowest price— Sire, a hundred thousand crowns!
THE KING: My dear chap, come to an agreement with this man
And name him, if he's very demanding,
Count or Marquis, for his money.
But make sure to get the money.
(speaking) But—don't come to complain endlessly. What the devil,
the
affairs of the people are not my business—they're theirs.
I've really enough to occupy myself with the etiquette of my
court—the works of Versailles, the interests of my family.
MARSILLAC: Indeed, Milord Comptroller, His Majesty has grave
occupations at the moment. (low to the King) Sire, I think I
observed that little one who comes here.
KING: I hope she doesn't know you noticed her trouble, her
agitation,
when she is in front of this statue.
MARSILLAC: Far from it, Sire, yesterday, when questioning her,
I
didn't even let her guess who I was.
KING: (aloud to his suite) Gentlemen, accompany the Marquise
into the
park. Consult LeNotre's plans for the fountain of Latona and
the baths of Apollo. I will go rejoin you. Marquise, I await
your approval.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (making a curtsy) Sire, that's too great a
favor.
(low to Saint-Aignan) we must obey—
KING: (to Marsillac) Accompany her.
CHORUS: Let's leave the king, according to custom,
To leave him (repeat), he directs us
Let's leave the king. (repeat)
Respect, love, that's our law!
(Marsillac affectedly offers his hand to Madame de Montespan, who
affectedly replies. They leave followed by all the others.)
KING: (alone) I see her coming. She's got her basket. Ah! if
she's
only coming to pick flowers from these orange trees, if she
doesn't stop at the statue, the charm will be destroyed. (he
hides behind one of the orange trees) From here I can see her
at my ease.
PERETTE: (entering) Well, but—now what am I doing—I don't
have any
business here. What, here I am again—luckily, my cousin
Guillaume went on an errand in Versailles.
KING: (aside) She is charming.
PERETTE: After this—I can say my work is over. I'm bored at
the
house. I'm coming to sew in the Orangery, better to be here
than not. (looking at the statue) And then, he will keep me
company. (she sits on the bench)
KING: (aside) Surely, my pretty child, and as long as you like
PERETTE: (working and peeking at the stature from time to time)
They
say you look like him—so I'm not astonished if you are
pleasing, you are really sweet, you don't know I'm thinking,
I'm dreaming only of you and that whenever I get a moment I
escape to come see you
KING (aside) Now there, at least, is a disinterested love.
PERETTE Yes, but by peeking at you, I'm not getting on with my
work,
and someone will notice, and my cousin will scold. Let's go,
Mr. His Majesty, don't prevent me from working—without that
I'll never come back.
KING: (aside) Indeed—but for the statue.
PERETTE It's nice to talk with a king, especially when he's not
here
to answer you.
KING: (taking some steps toward her) I'd really like to—
PERETTE God! How frightened I'd be if he answered me.
(The king takes a step back and hides behind the statue)
Why—what's
going through my head—is it possible, since it is of marble?
Come on, now I'm weeping— No, it's over I don't want to
remain at Versailles. Sunday I will see this king—if he looks
like it the way they say, then I'll come one more time to look
at the statue—and then—and then—I will leave.
(Perette picks up her basket and is going to withdraw.)
KING: (showing himself) No, Perette—you shan't leave.
PERETTE: (letting out a scream) Ah! ah! my God! How frightened
I was—
this is the second time I've been startled—I'm not going to
dare to raise my eyes.
KING: Why this fright—isn't it natural that you would want to
see the
king?
PERETTE: (eyes lowered) Sir—I didn't say—
KING: But as for me, I heard everything!
PERETTE: (eyes still lowered) Since you heard everything—it's
not
worth the trouble of hiding it from you. Yes, sir, it's true.
KING: Well—I promise to make you see him, but to do that you
must
first raise your eyes to me.
PERETTE: Look at you—it's just that I don't dare.
KING: Try anyway—only to know if the statue is a good likeness.
PERETTE: (trembling) What are you saying—you would
be—(raising her
eyes to him and then hiding them right away with her hands)
Heavens! (Aside) How he looks like—
KING: Well, Perette—you've seen this king your naive heart
loved
without knowing him. Know that if his image deserved your
tenderness—your charms, you ingenuousness has made an
impression on him that will never be erased.
PERETTE: My God! the king saying that to me—to me!
KING: You want to flee—oh! I won't consent to that
(singing)
Perette, here, tell me “I love you.”
Don't be afraid to pledge your word.
TOGETHER:
PERETTE: I must tell him that I love him.
Truly, it's really an honor for me!
KING: Perette, here tell me “I love you.”
Don't be afraid of pledging your faith!
PERETTE: Ah! read in my heart for yourself.
Isn't there a love for her king to be seen?
KING: If I have your tenderness
Command as a mistress.
Soon riches
Will be your good fortune.
PERETTE: That's not what I want.
If I am moaning low,
It's only for you, Sire.
I only want your heart.
For my happiness
I only want your heart.
ENSEMBLE
THE KING: Here, repeat for me: “I love you.”
Don't be afraid to pledge your faith—
PERETTE: Ah! in my heart read for yourself.
Can't you see love for her king?
KING: But it's not merely as a king I want to be loved. It's
still
more—it's at your knees that I ask it of you.
(The King falls to his knees.)
PERETTE: The king at my knees— God, is it possible? Rather,
it's I
who ought to ask your pardon for having the audacity to love
you without realizing it. (falling to her knees before him,
hands joined) Milord, sire—pardon me, I beg you.
KING: (rising) Yes, I pardon you, charming girl, oh! yes—get
up. Ah!
I've never been happier, but someone's coming this way.
Perette, don't go far way from the Orangery—we will see each
other again today before we separate I intend to give you a
souvenir—take this portrait—it's mine—so never lose it.
(The King leaves by the rear.)
PERETTE: (trembling) Your Majesty's portrait. Ah, never,
sire—here's
my cousin. My God! what is it I've done there? Heck, it looks
like him a lot, too.
(Perette quickly sits down and pretends to sew. Guillaume
enters with
Grain-d'Orge.)
GRAIN-D'ORGE: I tell you, we will find her here. And,
wait—there she
is. Announce me, and especially, don't frighten her.
GUILLAUME: Heavens—you are here again, Perette.
PERETTE: (still trembling, not raising her eyes) Well, what!
Cousin
Guillaume—who's there?
GUILLAUME: I'm bringing someone who wants to see you that I met
in
Versailles—a baron.
PERETTE: A baron!
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Yes, Grain-d'Orge—the cattle merchant.
PERETTE: You here—has something happened to you—a misfortune
perhaps?
GRAIN-D'ORGE: One—it's nothing. Actually two, and they both
happened
to me today.
(sings)
See how much bad luck I have, Miz,
Learning of your departure from the town.
Likewise at court I received the news
That I've just been named baron by the king.
If happiness for us is to be rich,
I am sure that near you wealth won't be lacking.
But when I have ten quarters of nobility,
Damn it, my cattle will be a bit thinner
GUILLAUME: It's true that when I met him he was in a stew! But
I told
him you were living with me, that you were a gardner at the
Orangery, that you could see him and talk to him. Oh, then he
jumped on my neck and I thought he was going to choke me.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Damn! It's quite natural—when a wretch believes
he's
drowning and he finds a rescue plank—he grabs it.
GUILLAUME: That's it—and you wanted to strangle me—thanks for
the
preference.
PERETTE: What—you are coming for me?
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Yes, Miz, without knowing if I would find you.
Down
there dark ideas sometimes came to me—most often they didn't
come at all. To the degree that in the midst of my stables—I
seemed almost as stupid as my merchandise—getting
fatter—getting—
but— As for me! Oh! God! you must find me very changed,
Perette?
PERETTE: No indeed you are still the same.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Is she sweet! When I saw that I was taking all
this pain
to hear, I said to myself Grain-d'Orge you are going to have
some unpleasantness you will come to nothing, my lad. Leave
for Versailles, you will return to the king what he wants to
give you and get back what he wants to take from you. What I
came to give back is this bunch of papers, what I want to take
back is you, Perette. That's the subject of my trip.
PERETTE: Take me back?
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Yes, Miz.
(sings)
As I am sure of having your heart
I said to myself: let it cost what it costs;
Let's rush to make her happy.
Suddenly, I set out.
At a gallop, I set out.
GUILLAUME: You must be really satisfied, I think.
What! baroness! a girl from our town!
PERETTE It's true, it's really an honor for me,
But since this morning, I can't say why, but
I'm no longer thinking of marriage.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: That's all the same so long as you return, and
from
tomorrow, if it pleases you, my millions, my animals and
myself—we are at your service.
GUILLAUME: Tomorrow, that's going to fast—see, when you are
attached
to the service of the king, you must, at least, have his
permission to leave it.
PERETTE: Certainly, I can't go far from here.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: It's that, without you, Perette, no nobility,
they must
give it back to me hand to hand. If not, I will tell them off—
I will tell the king himself, I'll say it to everybody.
PERETTE: What, Mr. Grain-d'Orge, you who are so good, you could
have
evil intentions towards His Majesty?
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Oh! evil intentions—no! But in the end, I'm not
a man
in service—I have the right to speak at the court—I am a
cattle merchant.
GUILLAUME: Ah! my God! now there's His Majesty coming this
way—if he
heard you—
PERETTE: (aside) Heavens, the King!
GUILLAUME: Quick, Perette, lower your eyes.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Ah! it's the king. Really this is funny. I didn't
think
I was brave—!
(The King enters with Marsillac, Saint-Aignan, Desmarets and Madame
de
Montespan.)
KING: (to Montespan, giving her his arm) What, you want to go
back by
way of the Orangery? Truly, Marquise, I can't conceive why
this sudden taste has come to you for strolling in this part
of the park.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Sire, I don't know—sympathy, perhaps.
KING: (low to Marsillac) Could she have suspicions?
MARSILLAC: I think so and the little one is still there—
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (noticing Perette) What do I see! oh! the
pretty
child. I've never seen her at the Orangery.
KING: Prince de Marsillac, make those people withdraw.
(Marsillac takes a step.)
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Stop, mercy—your subjects are so happy
when they
can find themselves on the heels of Your Majesty.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: (coming forward) Yes, Sire, which is what decided
me to
speak to you frankly.
KING: Who is this man?
MARSILLAC: The King asks who you are.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: By Jove, I heard him, I am not deaf.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (meaningfully) Perhaps he's the husband or
the
suitor of this adorable child.
KING: (abruptly) Look, speak, answer. What are you doing there?
GRAIN-D'ORGE: I was coming to speak to you, Sire; Your Majesty
doesn't
receive me well, but it's all the same. Here's what it is—I
am coming from the country, you made me Baron, right? I had
accepted at first, because I didn't know how to refuse and
because that wouldn't hurt my trade in cattle.
DESMARETS: (approaching) Eh, it's Mr. Grain-d'Orge!
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Just the same—but after they told me this was
costing
100,000 crowns—my word!
KING: (severely) Mr. de Grain-d'Orge you must be very well
protected
to obtain such a favor.
MARSILLAC: What, you will refuse benefits from the king?
GRAIN-D'ORGE: If I don't know how to pay for them—my money,
you see,
is what I use to buy animals. A baron the more in your court
won't do you any good—while a herd the less in mine, that
would harm me.
(All the courtiers snicker.)
KING: Silence! Gentlemen I intend those I ennoble to be
respected.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: (singing)
As regards your order, would you submit to it?
For, if, like you, I am not very submissive,
It's because since my birth I've had wherewithal to buy.
I likewise have the wherewithal to buy good clothes.
While, I confess, grandeur pleases me well enough,
Still, I am chary of paying you for it,
Perhaps you could pay your nobility better
And as for me, I shall better place my money!
KING: (smiling) Meaning, Mr. de Grain-d'Orge, you don't want to
reach an agreement with the King of France?
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Indeed, Sire, and if you will allow it, I propose
to you
that together we make a rough compromise. I agree to pay you
for your barony, I ask only for permission to take to the
country and marry the one I love right away—Little Perette,
who's here.
KING: (embarrassed) Ah—it's—it's Perette you want to marry!
Why it
seems to me that this request—
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (who all this time has had her eyes fixed
on
those of the king) —is quite natural, Sire; isn't your
greatest privilege that of rendering all your subjects happy?
What will it cost you? A word— Let Your Majesty fulfill the
wishes of Mr. Grain-d'Orge—he interests me.
(Mute signs of communication between Marsillac and the King.)
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Thanks, Madame. (aside) She's a fine woman.
(aloud)
Look, Majesty, what are you going to do? Speak, I wish it! By
Jove, for once you will have granted a wish that wasn't that
of a Duke or a Peer.
KING: Enough, Mr. de Grain-d'Orge, enough; I am not opposed to
this
marriage, but only the will of this child can decide it. Come
closer, Perette, and make your decision known. He seems to
love you. If you love him, also—I consent to everything,
speak.
GUILLAUME: (low to Perette) Well—what are you thinking? Say
quickly
that you consent!
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Say it, say it.
PERETTE: (timidly approaching the king without looking at him)
(singing)
I owe you gratitude.
You wish the happiness of all your subjects,
But allow me, in your presence,
To dare to speak according to my heart.
Are you agreeing to my prayer?
Perette prefers, such is her will,
To remain a garden girl at court,
Near to you, a gardener,
Than to a be a baroness far from Your Majesty. (repeat)
GUILLAUME: (aside) What did she just say?
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Well—she's refusing me.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (to Perette) What are you thinking of my
child!
Not to want to be the spouse of one the King has just honored
with a title, who possesses millions. Sire, try to convince
her yourself.
GRAIN-D'ORGE No, Majesty don't give yourself the trouble over it.
Perette's in love with someone else, that's certain. Women
have such bizarre ideas. But I know who— Yes, Miz, I
understood, I might even say who—
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Well, speak, my friend; the love of
Perette is
doubtless pure. Nothing prevents us from knowing it.
KING: Why should we meddle in such details?
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Yes, I could tell it.
KING: It's useless.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Since you absolutely insist, Sire, I'm going to
say it—
it's Jean Pierre—there's the cowardly word.
KING: (who seems reassured) Must we contradict the choice of
the
lovable child?
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: We must work to occupy ourselves in taking
care
to assure her happiness.
KING: It would truly be vain to make myself pass for a tyrant
because
a cattle merchant wants to marry a gardener. (to Perette) Rest
assured, my child, it's not the King who intends to force you
to renounce the love you feel. (shaking her hand, aside) She
seems to me a thousand times prettier! (aloud) To the Chateau,
gentlemen.
CHORUS: When the great king calls us,
Each one hurries to obey.
One is faithful to his orders
And duty is a pleasure. (repeat)
(The King Leaves, followed by all the persons in his suite except
Saint-Aignan and Marsillac.)
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Ah! that's the way he protects me, the King!
ah—that's
how he treats his nobles! Well, I no longer want his barony—
let him arrange about it with someone else.
MARSILLAC: One moment, Mr. de Grain-d'Orge—the King never
takes back
what he has given.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Ah, you call that giving—you! We'll see about
that! I'm
Normand—I'd rather go to law, or if I lose, then I will speak
for my money, I—I will say whatever I wish I will do what
pleases me, I will go above you, I will stroll everywhere you
do, I will have myself carried in arm chairs, I will purchase
footstools—ah, ah, I am going to give you some of myself.
SAINT-AIGNAN: Certainly, you will have that right, Mr. de
Grain-d'Orge
MARSILLAC: Will Baron de Grain-d'Orge do me the honor of
accepting my
arm?
SAINT-AIGNAN: I want to show you all the marvels of Versailles,
Mr. de
Grain-d'Orge.
MARSILLAC I pretend to the honor to take you to the treasury, Mr.
Baron de Grain-d'Orge.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: (taking their arms impatiently) That's it, escort
me
everywhere; I want to have the approval of the Court, I do. I
want favors I want honors, I must have 'em for a hundred
thousand crowns. (they leave dragging him away) Goodbye,
Gardner-girl!
GUILLAUME: (to Perette) Let's go, come with us, now, cousin.
Since you
don't want to be a baroness, return to your work.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (appearing) Stay, Perette. I need to speak
to
you.
PERETTE: To me, madame?
GUILLAUME: That suffices, I'll withdraw all by myself. (aside)
Sonofabitch! what's this all about? If the court descends to
the garden, the garden will rise to the court. I see myself at
least as Vicomte of Orange, so I do. (he leaves)
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Approach, my child.
PERETTE: I await your order, madame.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: My orders! I have only a prayer to address
to
you. Your age, your sweetness, all inspire an interest in you
which one doesn't know how to defend against—I try to deserve
your confidence, your friendship.
PERETTE: You won't talk to me any further about marrying Mr.
Grain-
d'Orge?
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: I only want to speak of him—the one who
loves
you and that you love and if it's possible for me to
contribute to your happiness.
PERETTE: Oh, no, madame, for I no longer have anything to
desire.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (worried) What? What do you mean?
PERETTE: Nothing, except that the one I love has learned of it
without
getting angry. That's all that I could ask.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: And you've dared to form the hope?
PERETTE: Oh, I hope for nothing except to see him from time to
time
and to think of him always.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: But if I had enough power to convince the
King to
give you for a husband—the one you love.
PERETTE: That's impossible, madame, he's married.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Married! poor child and was he able to
make you a
confession of a passion that his duty forbids him to publish
aloud? Doubtless it's one of the gentleman of His Majesty who,
taking their master for a model, ceaselessly offer to one or
another the homage of a love they don't feel.
PERETTE: (excitedly) What! madame—you think that the King—
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (aside) It's him! (aloud) Alas, my child,
he's
always caused nothing but tears to those who had the weakness
of loving him—you don't know all that this love could cost
you in remorse! For your happiness, for mine—it's necessary
to triumph over it.
PERETTE: For your happiness—then you love him, too?
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (meaningfully) Who—the King?
PERETTE: (worried and lowering her eyes, aside) What have I
said?
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Yes, Perette—powerful links attach me to
him!
PERETTE: (aside) What an idea! if she was— (aloud) Ah! madame,
if you
are the Queen, pardon me.
(Perette falls at the feet of Madame de Montespan.)
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (raising her) Stand up! No question, the
king has
made brilliant promises to you. To enrich you is easy, but to
grant you a true, lasting love, that's what he can never do.
PERETTE: (upset) Oh! I don't wish anything, madame!
MADAM DE MONTESPAN: Listen, my child! Can you have heard the
name of
the Duchess de la Valliere spoken of?
PERETTE: They spoke to me of her as the most beautiful lady of
the
court!
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Meaning that she was loved by the king.
Well!
This La Valliere who sacrificed her reputation to Louis XIV
was the butt of the just wrath of an offended queen—after two
years, not of happiness, but of scandalous notoriety—was
forced to enshroud her shame in the depths of a convent,
imploring vainly a souvenir from the one who loved her—as he
would never be capable of loving you—
PERETTE: And he completely forgot her!
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Since that time he's never mentioned her
name,
and when, as today, the duchess addresses him and reproaches for
her abandonment, he doesn't deign even to cast a glance at her
letters—read yourself. This was sent to Versailles yesterday
from the Carmelites!
PERETTE: (taking the letter hesitantly) What, madame—you
want—
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Read it, it's necessary.
PERETTE: (reading) Sire, it's not for me that I implore your
pity, but
for my daughter, for your child who has no one to sustain her
on earth except you. Take care of our poor Louise—if you must
never think of her mother—another has succeeded me in your
heart—to the Marquise de Montespan, another.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Keep going, keep going!
PERETTE: To the Marquise de Montespan, another will succeed
without
doubt. Already the rumor is spreading at the court that you
have given her a rival. How can I, from the depths of this
retreat, make my voice heard to the one who would be
unfortunate enough to love you like me! (with the greatest
emotion) I would tell her to flee you, for the love of a king
leaves only tears after it, only regrets. What you inspire is
a hundred times more cruel than death.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Well, Perette what will you do?
PERETTE: From tomorrow I will leave—I will finish forever
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Believe that my benefits will follow you
everywhere.
PERETTE I told you, madame, I want nothing—nothing except Your
Majesty's pardon.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Heavens! here's the king! Leave—leave
quickly.
PERETTE: (she heads towards the back, stops and says to
herself,
weeping) No, I will never see him again.
KING: (entering without seeing the Marquise and stopping
Perette)
Well, where are you running to this way, my pretty child?
PERETTE: Sire! The Queen! The Queen!
(Perette escapes. The King remains stupefied, the Marquise
looks at
him, smiling ironically.)
KING: What's she mean? The Marquise! (aloud) I was looking for
you,
madame.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (trying to seem calm) Sire, permit me to
congratulate you on the beauty of your new protege—and the
nobility of your tastes.
KING: What—you imagine!
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: So modest. Ah! Your Majesty has made more
difficult conquests.
KING: My royalty often does more than my person.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: At least, Your Majesty doesn't fear to
admit
them—but it is one whose rank—
KING: Are you forgetting that the King of France raises all who
approach him? Titles, honors, isn't it my will that disposes
of them?
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Pardon, Sire to have dared before you—
KING: Come, come, marquise—I admit this meeting here must give
you
some umbrage, one would swear that I was coming to a rendez-
vous.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Indeed, but appearances are so deceiving.
KING: Yes, especially when one is like me.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Incapable of betraying sworn
faith—faithful to
his love.
KING: My love! Would you like a proof of it, speak—I'm making
you a
Duchess.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: A new title for me! Ah! that's not
gallant, Sire,
you are treating me like a disgraced minister.
KING: Then what can I do to prove to you—
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Nothing—because I know everything—that
young
girl—you love her.
KING: Who told you that?
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: She herself.
KING: Well! isn't it the duty of a good king to have affection
for all
his subjects?
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: And even the female ones?
KING: (taking the hand of the Marquise) When one has no love
except
for one alone.
(He kisses her hand.)
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Except for one alone. Wait, there yet
remains a
way for you to make me believe in your tenderness.
KING: Speak—I don't want to refuse anything to you—what is
it?
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: It's to offer me, this very day, in the
presence
of your courtiers, what has already distanced itself from me—
the pretty portrait of Your Majesty, painted by Mignard and so
boasted by all the court. Well, you aren't answering?
KING: Wait, marquise, ask of me anything else.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: It's disposed of already— I understand, a
rival
happier than me—
KING: No, madame it's for—it's for the Queen!
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: For the Queen?
KING: Do you still doubt?
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: Doubt? Ah! You Majesty manages so well.
(Enter Guillaume with Perette.)
GUILLAUME: Come on, come this way, I tell you we will find
someone to
speak to. Since you tell me you found this portrait, it must
be returned.
KING: (aside) The little one again! (to the Marquise) Come,
Madame.
GUILLAUME: (with embarrassment) Excuse, Sire, if I dare to
disturb
you—it's, that having seen in the hands of this child, the
portrait of Your Majesty—
KING: (aside) Ah! the clumsy!
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: The portrait of the King?
PERETTE: Pardon me, Sire! if this portrait is found in my hands.
(sings) Just now, near the Orangery,
You left it by error.
I found your cherished image
And I hid it in my heart.
A single instant I dared to pretend
To keep it; it must be agreed.
But now, I must return it,
For it no longer belongs to me.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: (meaningfully, and watching the king) That
portrait was for the Queen?
PERETTE: (presenting it to her ingenuously)
Take it back, then, Madame!
GUILLAUME: (tugging her skirt) Well! what is it you are doing
there?
PERETTE: (low to Guillaume) Then she's not the Queen?
GUILLAUME: (embarrassed) Huh! why, yes—almost. She's Madame De
Montespan.
PERETTE: (aside) How mistaken I was!
(Enter Marsillac, Desmarets, Saint-Aignan, Grain-d'Orge and other
gentlemen, etc.)
GRAIN-D'ORGE: (ridiculously dressed and surrounded by
gentlemen) Let
me be announced, let me be greeted! Beware when I pass. I am
satisfied with you, gentlemen, my colleagues, you are very
likable and your Sherry wine, too.
DESMARETS: Silence before the King! Your Majesty, permit me to
present
to him—
KING: The Baron de Grain-d'Orge.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Better than that, sire! Since I paid cash, they
named me
Count. They made me a good deal!
GUILLAUME: What, cousin, you are going to be a Countess?
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Countess—Will she consent now?
GUILLAUME: Pardon—it's that, before His Majesty, I don't dare
repeat
what Perette just told me.
KING: Speak.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: The king allows it.
GUILLAUME: Ah! then I can tell you that just now I treated this
poor child so roughly because I saw her weep without knowing why.
Cousin, she said to me in her little voice which goes like
this: I was wrong, he's a fine man, Mr. Grain-d'Orge, he would
be incapable of deceiving a poor girl, him! so, if he still
wanted me! well, I will be his wife.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: She said that? What, does she love me? She loves
me,
perhaps?
PERETTE: No, cousin, I don't want them to say—now that Mr.
Grain-
d'Orge is a great lord!
GRAIN-D'ORGE: Oh! yes, if it's only that, don't let it bother
you,
Perette. If my title papers for count offend you I will lock 'em
in a drawer. I won't go wearing my nobility in my buttonhole—not
so stupid.
MADAME DE MONTESPAN: You are going to leave, Perette. Be happy,
that's
the wish of the King, and my wish, too.
KING: (spitefully) Doubtlessly—I'll keep it infinitely. (to
Grain-
d'Orge and casting a glance at Perette) Mr. de Grain-d'Orge, I
permit you to present your wife to the court, I intend to
receive the Countess.
PERETTE: May Your Majesty pardon me, but now I will never leave
the
country.
GRAIN-D'ORGE: (strutting) Oh, don't worry, I will come to see
you all
alone. That will come to same thing.
KING: Gentlemen, the hour of Council is here. (low to Perette)
Perette—au revoir! (offering Madame de Montespan his hand)
You see plainly, Marquise, that you alarmed yourself wrongly.
(Low to Marsillac, slipping the portrait into his hand)
Tomorrow this portrait to the widow Scarron. (aloud) Let's
leave!
CHORUS: (the king leaves with his court during this chorus)
Let's sing the glory of this great king.
He's just fulfilled all our wishes.
One day history will say
Louis has made everybody happy.
CURTAIN