ACT II
Reading edition
The garden of the Convent of the Visitation at Nantes. Long lines of fruit trees which appear to sleep in the sunshine. In the middle of the garden a stone fountain, where rises and falls a little jet of water. To the left the white buildings of the convent; in the background, between the convent and the street, a high garden wall, the tops of trees, and the roof and spire of a church. There is a barred door in the wall. The doors and windows of the convent parlour giving upon the garden are open. It is the summer of 1792.
A nun appears for a moment at the door of the convent, then vanishes, and De Vardes and Yvette enter the garden.
De Vardes
What hast thou learned to-day?
Yvette
In history:
The battles of Rossbach and of Minden!
The Peace of Paris—
De Vardes
Indeed!
Yvette
Philosophy:
Man is born free—but who will break his chains?
68De Vardes
It is a question truly!
Yvette
Theology:
God is the father of us all—and yet
I think I know how feels an orphan child!
De Vardes
Defeat of France, Rousseau, and Modern Doubt!
And hast thou learnt all this in convent walls?
Yvette
No!
De Vardes
They are good to thee, the Sisters all?
Yvette
Monseigneur, yes!
De Vardes
When I did place thee here
After that day thou didst not burn Morbec!
I gave the Reverend Mother straitest charge,—
This convent oweth much to the De Vardes.
They have enriched it oft, and it in turn
Refuge hath given unto noble dames.
Oft did she sit beside the fountain there,
That Duchess Jeanne whose look thou wearest now!
Yvette
Oh!—
De Vardes
How mournfully thou sighest! Yet
69How glorious are thine eyes this lovely day!
Thou’rt well, and thou art happy, art thou not?
Yvette
There is no hunger here, no cold, no care!
I ever wished to learn and here I learn,
Here where the Duchess Jeanne did sit forlorn,—
And then I pray within the chapel there,
And then I count the stars as they are lit,—
And then I think of all the lights of Nantes!
De Vardes
It hath been many days I’ve been away,
To Morbec and to Vannes and to Vitré.
Yvette
I thought that thou wouldst never come again!
De Vardes
Didst think the night had ceased to long for day?
Didst think the tide no more obeyed the moon?
The reed no longer bowed unto the wind?
Yvette
Ah, do not jest!—There’s blood upon thy coat!
De Vardes
‘Tis nothing!—We have had hard words to-day,
My men and I!
[He gazes around at the quiet garden.
O holy peace! O balm!
O green and sunny quietude! Outside
There’s tumult, heat, confusion, enmity!
Here is a haven, here ‘tis blissful sweet!
[They sit upon the marge of the fountain.
70All is dismay and doubt in France to-day.
With troubled eyes men question destiny!
Outside I front the storm as best I may,
But here is anchorage profound and fair—
There fruit trees drifting bloom, this fountain marge!
Yvette
I better love the wild and desolate shore!
De Vardes
What is that ribbon closed within thy hand?
[Yvette opens her hand and shows a ribbon cockade.
The tricolour!
Yvette
Wilt thou not wear it?
De Vardes
No!
Yvette
It was my favour—Fare you well, monsieur!
De Vardes
I might not wear that ribbon, no, not if
It were thy favour truly, Vivien!
Ah, when will cease this discord of our minds?
Wilt thou forever be a Jacobin?
[A distant bugle, followed by a roll of drums and
martial music.
Yvette
Aux armes, Citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons!
71De Vardes
Where learned’st thou the Marseillaise?
Yvette
‘Tis in the air! Oh, on these moonlight nights
I dream of France and how he spoke to me
Of all the wrongs of France we should redress!
De Vardes
Who spoke to thee?
Yvette
Rémond Lalain.
De Vardes
Rémond Lalain was once my closest friend.
He travels now a dark and winding way!
Yvette
Where is she now, that lady bright and fair
Who’s named La Belle Marquise in Morbihan?
De Vardes
She is in Nantes.
Yvette
Ah!—Is she not fair?
De Vardes
Most fair.
Yvette
And nobly born?
De Vardes
And nobly born.
72Yvette
Alas!
Enter Sister Benedicta.
Sister Benedicta
Monsieur le Baron de Morbec,—
A courier, in haste, foam-flecked and spent,
Demands to speak with you.
De Vardes
What tidings now?
Ill news like ravens to a cumbered field!
I come, my Sister!
(To Yvette.) I’ll return.
[Exeunt De Vardes and Sister Benedicta.
Yvette
Alas!
She is in Nantes! He sees her every day.
What is this pain that’s tearing at my heart?
[Laughing voices of young girls. Enter from the
convent Sister Fidelis and Sister Simplicia
with a cluster of young girls, pupils of the nuns or
refugees from Royalist families. They seat themselves
upon the wide steps of the fountain. Yvette
leans against the basin and plays in the water with
her hand.
A Young Girl (to Yvette)
We’re telling stories!
Another
Finish thine, Louise!
73Louise
‘Tis told. The beau prince wed the belle princesse,
And they lived happily ever after!
A Young Girl
Whose turn now?
Another
Tell us a story, Yvette!
Yvette (turning from the fountain)
Beneath the halfway tree,
‘Tween Josselin and Pontivy,
Suddenly, out of the dark,
I heard a grey wolf bark!
Hoée! Hoée! Hoée!
The snow was on the ground,
The shadows all around,
Laid a finger on my lip,
As I stood, hand on hip,
Listening the grey wolf bark.
Hoée! Hoée! Hoée!
Beneath the halfway tree,
‘Tween Josselin and Pontivy!
A little child came by.
“Yvette, the wolf is nigh!
Yvette, take thou me up,
I’ve neither bite nor sup!”
Hoée! Hoée! Hoée!
The child came to my arm.
He was so fair and warm!
74The child came to my arm,
I kept him safe from harm!
Hoée! Hoée! Hoée!
A light grew round his head,
I felt all cheered and fed.
“Yvette, have thou no fear!
Who giveth aid, to me is dear!”
Hoée! Hoée! Hoée!
The child no longer pressed,
White snow lay on my breast!
The grey wolf ran away,
Hoée! Hoée! Hoée!
There broke a splendid day,
Beneath the halfway tree,
‘Tween Josselin and Pontivy!
Sister Fidelis
A miracle?
Yvette
I do not know.
A Young Girl
I liked best
The beau prince and the belle princesse.
Another Girl
Oh,
Thou’rt an Aristocrat!
[The young girls return to their embroidery. Yvette
plays in the water of the fountain with her hand.
75Yvette
Gold fish, gold fish,
How are the fish of Quiberon?
A Young Girl
Were I
A fairy prince, then my princess should be
Madame la Marquise de Blanchefôret!
Another
If I
Were a princess, I would have for my prince
Monsieur le Baron de Morbec.
[Yvette turns from the fountain.
A Third Girl
They say
That in all France there’s none more brave than he!
And far and near she’s called La Belle Marquise!
A little while and there’ll a wedding be!
The First
But then, the poor Yvette! He is, you know,
Her prince!
[They laugh.
Yvette
Oh, mockery!
Sister Fidelis
Hush, children, hush!
Monsieur le Baron is her benefactor!
Sister Simplicia
He plucked her from the dreadful world outside!
76Sister Fidelis
He placed her here beneath Our Lady’s care.
Sister Simplicia
In everything he is her truest friend!
Sister Fidelis
But for his condescension, ah, who knows
What in these fearful days might be her lot!
Here in this fold she’s safe.
Yvette (aside)
Alas! alas!
A Young Girl
Oh, she is fairer than the fairy queen!
Clarice de Miramand and Blanchefôret!
Yvette (aside)
Is she so fair? Is she so fair indeed?
I broke her fan—now she will break my heart!
A Young Girl
He is a knight like Lancelot!
Yvette
Oh me!
She is the Queen, she is that Guinevere!
[Distant music. The noise of footsteps and voices in
the street beyond the wall.
A Young Girl
Oh, outside the wall what is there passing?
77Sister Fidelis (severely)
We have nothing to do with outside the wall.
A Young Girl (indicating the door in the wall)
Might we open the door a little way?
Sister Fidelis
The blessed saints forbid!
[From the street are heard the drums and fifes of
passing National troops. The bayonets of the soldiers
are visible above the wall.
Voices (in the street)
Allons, enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé!
A Young Girl
Oh, soldiers!
Another
Were the wall only down!
[The circle about the fountain breaks. The young
girls walk up and down beneath the trees. The Sisters
watch them from a garden bench. The music
dies away. Yvette sits upon the stone marge of the
fountain.
Yvette
What is this pain that’s tearing at my heart?
What matters it to me whom he doth love?
And what concern of mine that she is fair?
I would she were not so!—Oh, misery!
She is in Nantes, she is La Belle Marquise!
I would that she were dead!
[The chapel bell rings.
O Seigneur Dieu!
78Her death! I do not wish her death! Not I!
O Our Lady! let not ill thoughts possess me!
I would I were at Morbec this still eve,
Herding the cows amid the golden broom,
Above a sea of glass without a wind,
As stagnant calm as is this prisoned water!
I would gather the musk rose in the lane,
I would tread the wet sand and count the ships,
My brow would not burn, my heart would not ache,
No tears from my eyes would I wipe away!
Why should they not fall like the winter rain?
I am the herd girl here as at Morbec,
And she’s a great lady, loved for herself!
O love! is it love that stifles me so?
O love! is it love that makes me weep?
I thought that love was all splendour and light,
The bow in the sky, the bird at its height,
The glory and state of an angel bright!
What is this pain that burdens all my heart?
[She bows her head upon her knees. The hum of the
street deepens to a continuous and sinister sound.
In the distance a roll of drums. Yvette raises her
head.
I sit by this fountain, he’ll not return!
He cares not for me,—he’s the Sieur de Morbec,
And I a herd girl wandering through his fields!
Mother, my mother, did you sit and wait,
By the wild sea rim on a glowing eve,
Mid the brown seaweed on the shining sands?
Your heart did it beat, and your senses swim?—
But your lover, the fisher, he came, he came!
[The voice of the street deepens.
79I will not have this pain! I’ll tear it out!
[Her hand touches the purple mark on her throat.
Ha! how burns this hateful mark to-day!
[There comes from the church towers of Nantes a
sudden and violent crash of bells.
Sister Fidelis (rising)
The tocsin!
The Young Girls (They flutter forward to the
fountain)
The tocsin! Oh, the tocsin!
Like a hive of bees hums the street without!
Yvette
Oh, all ye iron bells! ring on! ring on!
Enter Mlle. de Château-Gui and Sister Benedicta.
The Young Girls
Here is Mademoiselle de Château-Gui!
She’ll tell us why the bells are ringing!
Mlle. de Château-Gui
O Ciel!
Would you believe it? O blessed saints above!
The country is in danger!
A Young Girl
Oh! we thought
You brought us news!
Mlle. de Château-Gui (joyously)
Do you not hear the bells?
80Oh, such a day outside! It is proclaimed!
La patrie est en danger!
[Distant trumpets.
Well you may wail,
You brazen trumpets of the Revolution!
The Duke of Brunswick he is marching now,
And with him all our nobles back from Coblentz!
O bliss! La patrie est en danger!
Sister Fidelis
Oh, hush!
The very walls have ears!
Mlle. de Château-Gui
My father says
The King shall have his own again, and all
Will go as merry as a wedding bell!
La patrie est en danger!
Enter Count Louis, Melipars de L’Orient, and the
Abbé de Barbasan.
Oh, here are
My father and Monsieur de L’Orient!
De L’Orient
So sweet the flowers here—
Count Louis (to the young girls)
Mesdemoiselles,
One garden of rosebuds time hath not touched!
(To the Sisters.) In your prayers, my Sisters, name Château-Gui!
[The young girls curtesy, then exeunt between the
trees. Yvette remains beside the fountain. Count
Louis looks at her through his glass.
Ha!
81De L’Orient
The herd girl of Morbec!
Count Louis
I have eyes,
De L’Orient!
The Abbé
Hm!—Fair child!
Yvette (coldly)
Citoyen!
Mlle. de Château-Gui
Monsieur de L’Orient, you promised me
My father should not walk abroad to-day!
De L’Orient
What could I do? He is so young and rash!
Count Louis (taking snuff)
‘Tis true that Nantes is dangerous to-day
To all save those wild beasts the sans-culottes!
But that’s no reason I should stay at home.
Where is De Vardes? His man said he was here.
It is his wont, pardieu!
Sister Fidelis
Monsieur le Comte,
Monsieur the Baron of Morbec did come
To see that all was well with this our charge—
A peasant girl, monsieur, whom he did save
From cold and hunger and ill company.
82But now she prospers and we think that he
Will come no more.
Yvette
Jesu Maria!
Count Louis (with satisfaction)
Ma foi!
He is a soldier is De Vardes! He camps
One day beside the hedgerow in the field!
The next he’s for some royal mount of love,
High as the snow and splendid in the sun!
Since he’s not here I know where else he is!
De L’Orient (sings)
Mignonne, Mignonne!
Kiss me, rose of to-day!
Yvette
O heart! O world! O hedgerow in the field!
Count Louis
Well, well, her mother was as fair as she!
Clarice de Miramand, long-dead Clarice!
Her hair was golden too.—Old times, old times!
And now it is De Vardes and the Marquise!
[Count Louis, Mlle. de Château-Gui, and De
L’Orient walk up and down beneath the trees. De
L’Orient sings.
De L’Orient
Mignonne, Mignonne!
The red rose fades away!
Mignonne, Mignonne!
The white rose will not stay!
83The Abbé
My dear, that is a pretty wrist of thine!
Yvette
Citoyen!
The Abbé
Hast said thy rosary to-day?
Yvette
Citoyen!
The Abbé
A melting eye!
Yvette
Citoyen!
The Abbé
Dame! She is only good to burn châteaux!
[He joins Count Louis, etc. They walk and talk
beneath the trees.
Yvette
The high of heart bide no man’s scorning! I
Will break these bonds! I will be free! I will!
O royal mount of love, snow-high, sun-kissed,
Kissed by the sun which once did shine on me!
If I am of the fields—
[Her hand touches the mark upon her throat. She
laughs.
O hated flower,
Which grew beneath no hedgerow on this earth!
Teach me, thou poison blossom, pride of heart!
Where is that Duchess Jeanne whom I am like?
They say for love her heart did rive in twain,
84But now she smiles beside a shadowy stream
In some far land where none do die of love!
And where is he, Jehan the fisherman,
Who loved Yvonne, who met the sea and died?
They died for love who should have lived for hate!
I’ll live—
Enter De Vardes. Count Louis, etc., come forward.
Oh, here’s the soldier! Now we’ll know
How blow the winds around the camp of love!
Count Louis
What is it, René de Vardes? What is it, man?
De Vardes
The King hath left the Tuileries! The mob
Forced the château and put his life in danger.
The Swiss are murdered, cut down to a man!
The Grenadiers joined with the Marseillaise!
De Maillé writes—the courier’s just arrived—
All is distraction, danger, and despair!
Sister Fidelis
Alas!
Mlle. de Château-Gui
O Ciel!
The Abbé
The soldiers in revolt.
De L’Orient
The Swiss all murdered—the stanch Swiss!
Sister Simplicia
Alas!
85Count Louis
The King hath left the Tuileries!
De Vardes
To-night
I ride to Paris.
Yvette
O God!
The Abbé
To Paris!
As well say that you ride to death, De Vardes!
Count Louis
Ah, were I young again, I’d ride with you!
Sister Fidelis
Alas, they say it is a fearful place!
Sister Simplicia
It is so safe in Nantes!
De Vardes
Ah, my Sister,
Because it is so safe in Nantes I go!
Once I did love this people; once I thought
Beyond this Revolution lay the morn,
The dewy morn of a most noble day!
It may be so; I know not; but I am
A soldier of the King. Needs must I go,
My bugles call; I’m breaking camp. Farewell!
Sister Fidelis
You will return.
86De Vardes
If I’m in life I will!
Yvette
O Our Lady! O Our Lady!
[The noise in the street increases. The tocsin rings.
The sky begins to darken before an approaching
storm.
Count Louis
Ring on!
Ye bells! ring on to the deaf sky! O France,
Of old thou wast a pleasant land and free,
In palace and in field a courteous place!
Now thou art desolate! Come, Austria, come!
Come, D’Artois, come, Brunswick, and come, Provence!
Rend the tricolour from the breast of France
And plant the fleur-de-lis where stood the Jacobins!
Voices (from the street)
Quoi! ces cohortes étrangères
Feraient la loi dans nos foyers!
Mlle. de Château-Gui
Hast said farewell to the Marquise?
De Vardes
Not yet,
As far as Vannes I ride beside her coach.
Yvette
Oh!—
Mlle. de Château-Gui
Soon or late, she’ll draw you back to Nantes!
Now will she not?
87De Vardes (smiling)
Perhaps.
Yvette
Jesu Maria!
Sister Fidelis
Monsieur, if you must go, oh, rest you sure
Jealously will we guard and spotless keep
The soul you stooped and drew from the foul mire!—
Yvette, come make your reverence to your lord!
Yvette
I kiss your hand, monseigneur!
The Abbé
There will be
A storm to-night!
Count Louis
Come, come, René de Vardes!
I’d see the courier who brought this news!
De Vardes
I’ll follow you, Monsieur le Comte!
[Exeunt Count Louis, his daughter, De L’Orient,
The Abbé, and the Sisters.
Yvette
Wilt thou go?
De Vardes
I must.
Yvette
Why must thou go?
88To-day the kingdom fell! Oh, in the dust
Of old things let it rest for evermore!
Take up the Revolution!
[Lightning.
Oh, see!
The flaming sword before the gates of Eden!
Thou’rt safe within the garden! Go not forth.
Go not to Paris! Stay in Nantes, ah, stay!
Wear the tricolour—
[Thunder.
Hark! It is the voice,
The menacing voice of the Republic!
It threatens thee, it threatens all who pass
That flaming sword, to lift the thing that was
And is not any more! Oh, let it lie!—
Thou’lt not to Paris?
De Vardes
To-night, Citoyenne!
Ah, thou art skilful at betraying!
Yvette
Quoi!
Enter Sister Benedicta.
Sister Benedicta
Monsieur le Baron de Morbec, the page
Of Madame la Marquise de Blanchefôret
Attends—
Yvette
Name of a name!
The Abbé (appearing in the door behind Sister
Benedicta)
De Vardes, De Vardes!
You gather the furze while the red rose waits!
89De Vardes
At once, my Sister!
(To Yvette.) Ah, not in anger,
Must thou and I part for this little while!
If I’m in life I will return, be sure,
To Nantes and all this garden loveliness,
Those fruit trees and this fountain!—Fare thee well.
The nuns will care for thee; I’ve ordered all.
Too fierce of aspect is the world without!
Here is fair peace, security, and calm;
Here thou art fenced from storm and violence.
Abide thou here until I come again!
[Lightning.
Yvette
The flaming sword!
De Vardes
Hearest thou not, Yvette,
How sings the lark in Paimpont Wood to-day?
Yvette
I hear the dirge of the salt sea!
De Vardes
And there,
Seest thou not through yonder trees the stone,
The Druid Stone where thou didst lie in sleep?
Yvette
I see a broken fan!
De Vardes
Abide thou here
90And dream of Paimpont Wood until I come.
I too will dream, I too will dream, Yvette!
Yvette
Is not Clarice a lovely name?
De Vardes
Why, yes,
A very lovely name.—Farewell, farewell!
I’ll see thy face, be sure, this very night,
Upon the road before me as I ride.
Yvette
Oh, fare you well beneath the silver moon
As slow you ride beside a lady’s coach,
Discoursing of the dazzling, snowy heights!
I kiss your hand, monseigneur! Fare you well!
[The Abbé’s voice is heard from the doorway.
The Abbé
De Vardes! De Vardes!
De Vardes
I come!
The Abbé
The rose awaits!—
Yvette
It is too much!
De Vardes
Farewell, thou spirit of Paimpont!
[Distant music.
91Yvette
Ah, ah! ‘tis worth all else—the Marseillaise!
De Vardes
My Duchess Jeanne—
Yvette
She is dead: cold and dead!
Aux armes, Citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons!
De Vardes
Perverse and strange!
Yvette
I’ll to my beads. Adieu!
Over Ys, the sunken town,
When thou sailest look not down,
Mariner, mariner!
De Vardes
What wine hast thou drunken?
Yvette
An old wine—
For there dwells a fairy there
Will drag thee down by the long hair,
Mariner, mariner!
De Vardes
Oh, thou art too wilful!
The Abbé
De Vardes! De Vardes!
92Yvette (to the fish in the fountain)
Gold fish, gold fish, how are the fish of Quiberon?
De Vardes
Thou sullen witch, adieu!
[Exit De Vardes.
Yvette
Monseigneur! ah!
He’s gone! He’s gone to meet the fairy queen!
He’s for the roses and the dazzling peaks!
The seaweed and the furze he’s left behind!
He’s left the storm, he’s left the storm and me!
[The convent bell rings.
Toll, toll! as though thou’d toll my soul away!
Thou canst not toll him back! Oh, woe is me!
[The nuns sing in the chapel.
Voices
O salutaris Hostia!
Quae coeli pandis ostium:
Bella premunt hostilia,
Da robur fer auxilium!
[Above the wall where it is shadowed by a fruit
tree, appear the head and shoulders of Lalain. He
draws himself up to the coping, watches Yvette
for a moment, then swings himself down to the garden.
He has a rose in his hand.
Yvette
Where is the sunshine gone? Where is the gold?
It was a lovely day! ‘Tis cold and dead;
No light, no warmth, no cheer!—Oh, presently
Those two will take the summer road to Vannes!
93Ha! does he think that I will meekly stay
Within this convent close, will kneel and pray,
Day in, day out, for all true lovers’ weal?
What is there now to do?—O Jealousy!
I dream of Paimpont Wood in June! I’ll dream
Of sunlit peaks, of roses named Clarice;
I’ll dream of furze that’s set about with thorns
And clings unto the common earth which bore it!
[A roll of thunder.
On, on! It suits my mood, the crashing sound!—
Jehan the fisherman! rise from the sea,
Lay thy cold hand upon the heart of her
Who’s not thy child, and teach her how to hate!
Yvonne who parted from the earth one night,
Come through the storm that darkens overhead
And teach thy daughter how to hate! Thou too,
Thou other one, thou seigneur high and grand
Whose signet burns upon my aching throat,
Whose nature stirs within me suddenly,
Arise from hell and teach me how to hate!
[Thunder.
Voices from the Chapel
Tantum ergo sacramentum
Veneremur cernui—
Yvette
O Our Lady! O Our Lady! O Our Lady!
[Lalain throws the rose. It falls beside Yvette.
Oh!—
[She raises the flower to her lips. Lalain comes
forward.
Thou! I thought it was—I thought it was.
94Go! No rose of thine would I have kissed,
Rémond Lalain!
[With a wild petulance she throws down the flower
and treads upon it.
Lalain
Now for that deed of thine
I will not spare him when the day is mine!
Yvette
Of whom speakest thou?
Lalain
The Citoyen Vardes.
Yvette
Let him be!
Lalain
The Citoyenne Blanchefôret.
Yvette
Again!
Lalain
‘Tis said the two will shortly wed—
A fitting match!—She’s fair and nobly born.
Thou mightst have seen, thou mightst have seen last night,
Walking by moonlight beside the Loire,
A lady the fairest and a great lord!
Yvette
Say’st thou?
Lalain
Beneath the trees, beside the flood,
Toying and whispering, the sword and fan!
95Yvette
Out and alas! Begone, thou torturer!
Lalain
Oh, those old days when by the shore we walked
While sank the sun beneath the emerald waves,
And wild sea birds flashed all their silver wings,
And long we talked of France and liberty!
How thou art tamed, Yvette, Yvette Charruel!
Thou carest not now for France and liberty!
Yvette
It is not true! Thou knowest that I care!
Lalain
This sultry night I speak to patriot hearts
Of War, Dumouriez, Brunswick, Capet!
All Nantes will throng to hear me where I stand,
In the Church of Saint Jean, who’s now become,
From crypt to spire, one mighty Jacobin!
High in the gilt tribune beneath the roof,
The starry roof where the archangels live!
Faces me Michael with his flaming sword,
And Raphael watches me with widened eyes,
And Gabriel frowns between his splendid wings
Because there’s no more incense! When I speak,
The painted walls all vanish like a mist!
On distant plains the drum begins to beat,
The great dome lifts—above the angel heads
I see the stars—
Yvette
There are no stars to-night!
96Lalain
There are! There are! Eternally they shine
Beyond this din, beyond these sulphurous clouds!
And there’s a stairway, red and white and blue,
By which to climb to some most famous star
Of glory and of love! Yvette! Yvette!
Climb thou with me unto that golden star!
Yvette
Rémond Lalain—
Lalain
Come thou with me, Yvette!
Come thou with me from out this sluggish place!
Come thou with me into the furious storm!
What dost thou here, thou spirit of the wind,
Restless, with deep eyes and with parted lips?
Thou knowest thou hast naught to do with holy things.
Tear off that white headdress! Red is thy colour!
Yvette
Ay, red is my colour!
Lalain
Last night, the while
I spake of War and all the place was still,
A sudden vision blazed above the lights—
I saw thee dance the Carmagnole!
Yvette
Now, now!
What whispers he to her upon the road?
Lalain
To-night—ah, should I raise my eyes to-night
97And see thee smiling there, Yvette, Yvette!
Beside thy sisters in the galleries!
Upon thy twilight hair the bonnet-rouge,
At thy small waist a pistol and a dirk—
Only the Revolution in thy soul
And in thy heart my name, my name, Yvette!
[Thunder.
It thunders now, but ‘twill be clear to-night.
The moon will shine, the roads will all be white.
Yvette
The roads will all be white, the moon will shine,
The poplars quiver and the eglantine,
The broom and honeysuckle will be sweet,
Upon the road to Vannes—
[Lightning and thunder. Lalain walks to the door
in the wall, tries it, then with a stone from the
ground beats back the rusty bolt.
Lalain
An easy door!
Yvette
The moon will shine—
Lalain
I’ll go this way, ma foi!
Not by the wall!
Yvette
The silver poplars sway!
Lalain
René de Vardes, once I did call thee friend
And took a deal of pride in that possession!
How runs the world away! ‘Twas long ago!
98Yvette
Ah, ah, that fearful dream I had last night!
And while I dreamed they walked beside the Loire!
Lalain
This night he rides away. Didst know?
Yvette
I knew!
Lalain
He’s said farewell to thee, but not to her!
Yvette
Wilt thou begone!
Lalain
Ay, through this door, Yvette!
‘Tis easy, as thou seest. And ah, to-night—
The storm o’er past and shining bright the moon
And the cold nuns all telling o’er their beads,
How simple ‘twere—O priceless liberty!
Thou wouldst not be the only one, I trow,
Who may not walk beside the silver Loire!
Yvette
Name of a name!
Lalain
Adieu, adieu! To-night
I’ll see thee sitting in the galleries—
[Exit Lalain.
Yvette
Ah, how the thunder shakes the air!
[She moves to the door in the wall and replaces the
bolt, then returns to the fountain.
99‘Tis so!
He is her lover! Oh, he loves her true!—
What will they say and whisper all the night
Through light and shadow on the road to Vannes?
Despair!—But I’ll not stay within these walls!
[Knocking at the door in the wall. Yvette crosses
the stage to the door.
Who is there?
Séraphine (within)
Yvette! Yvette!
Yvette
Séraphine!
Séraphine (within)
And Nanon too!
Yvette
The deputy’s sister!
Nanon
Let us in!
Yvette
I dare not.
Séraphine
What!
Yvette
Wait: I dare!
[She draws the bolts. The door opens. Enter Séraphine
and Nanon. The former is dressed in complete
carmagnole: short skirt, rolled-up sleeves, sash
of tricolour, and a bonnet-rouge. Pistols at her belt.
100Nanon is more soberly attired but wears the bonnet-rouge.
The door closes behind them.
Séraphine!
Séraphine
Chérie!
Yvette
Nanon!
Nanon
Dear Yvette!
Yvette
How gay you are! What of the Revolution?
Séraphine
It goes.
Nanon
It goes well.
Séraphine
We have a new song!
Faith! ‘Tis a greater song than Ça Ira!
Yvette (sings)
Aux armes, Citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons!
Séraphine
That’s it!
Nanon (looking about her)
So very triste it is in here!
Séraphine
So gay outside! All Nantes is dressed in red!
There’s a procession, and then to-night
101We sit in the galleries to hear Lalain!
[Distant music.
Hark to the fife! Formez vos bataillons!—
And your feet keep not time to the music!
Yvette
But my heart, Séraphine, my heart keeps time.
Séraphine
Ho! Your heart is in barracks, says Céleste.
Yvette
Céleste!
Nanon
And Angélique.
Yvette
Angélique!
Séraphine
Faith!
Angélique is in feather now you’re gone!
Cries Vive la République! here in Nantes.
Rides on the cannon and handles a pike;
Thinks she’s in Paris and plays Théroigne,
And high from the galleries applauds Lalain!
Nanon
He thinks not of her; he thinks of Yvette!
Yvette
I care not of whom he thinks!
Séraphine
On a fête day,
102In a car triumphal see her appear!
Dressed like a goddess just down from the skies,
All crowned with green oak leaves, borne shoulder high—
Yvette
Angélique!
Séraphine (nodding)
Ah, you see you are not there!
But between you and me, red does not become her!
Yvette
I should think not!—little blonde!
Séraphine
Ah, but red
Becomes you!
Yvette
Yes!
Séraphine
Monseigneur’s gone from Nantes.
Yes, faith! I saw him ride away—
Yvette
He’s gone!
Rememb’rest thou that lady fair and proud,
Madame la Marquise de Blanchefôret?
Séraphine
Ho!
(To Nanon.) Rememb’rest thou the Citoyenne Blanchefôret?
103Nanon
The proud piece! We are mire beneath her feet!
Last eve her coach threw mud upon my gown!
Let her beware! One day she’ll walk afoot.
Let her beware! And let him too beware
Who rode last eve beside her golden coach!
Yvette
Ha, ha! ha, ha!
[Music and voices in the street. Impatient knocking
at the door in the wall.
Voices
Holà, Aristocrats!
Nanon! Séraphine!
Nanon
Our friends await us.
Séraphine
We have business with the smith upon the quai,
Where by the old dovecot he fashions pikes!
Voices
Allons, enfants de la patrie!
Nanon
Come, come away! We’ll leave the nun alone
To say her beads for black Aristocrats!
How triste to be for aye in prison here!
Yvette (angrily)
Prison! I am no prisoner, I!
Nanon
Then come with us into the merry streets!
104Séraphine
‘Twill be a heavy storm—all are within.
How easy ‘twere to slip away with us!
Yvette
No, no!
Voices
Citoyennes! Citoyennes!
Nanon
Ma’m’selle!
Yvette
Ma’m’selle!
Nanon
Aristocrat!
Yvette
Aristocrat!
Séraphine
Well—kept by an Aristocrat—
Yvette
You lie.
Séraphine (angrily)
Saint Yves! I lie! Do I? O Seigneur Dieu!
This is Yvette, the herd girl of Morbec!
This is Yvette, the daughter of Yvonne!
This is that same Yvette who swore one day
That rather would she meet the blight of hell
Than take one favour from a seigneur’s hand!
Once you were hungry! Go you hungry now?
105You went in rags. Where is your ragged gown?
Barefoot—what’s that about that throat of thine?
I swear it is a jewel!—and we pine
For bread, we women of the Revolution!
[Yvette unclasps the jewel from her neck and lets
it fall.
I lie, do I? Diable! Just prove I lie!
This night we make a little noise in Nantes
Shall show Aristocrats who is in danger!
Lalain will speak and all the bells will ring,
And Angélique will deck herself in red!
Steal through yon door, be of us evermore!
I lie, do I? Then show me that I lie!
Yvette
In Nantes where do you lodge?
Séraphine
With Angélique
Under the Lanterne, Sign of the Hour Glass.
Voices
Nanon! Nanon! You are missing the sights!
[Distant music.
Other Voices
Allons, enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé!
Nanon
Come, come away!
[Séraphine unbars the door in the wall. It swings
open.
106Séraphine
Faith! One can see the Loire!
‘Tis fine to walk beside it ‘neath the moon!
Yvette
Oh!—
Voices
Tremblez, tyrans! et vous perfides,—
Nanon
Away! Away!
Yvette
I’ll go—I’ll go with you.
Ye fruit trees and thou fountain, fare ye well!
[Exeunt Yvette, Séraphine, Nanon. The door
swings to. Lightning and thunder. Sister Fidelis
appears in the convent door.
Voices (dying away)
Aux armes, Citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons!
CURTAIN
107
