The Lady of Lyons Part 11

M. Deschap. Pauline, we never betrayed you!--do you forsake us for him?

Pauline. [going back to her father]. Oh no--but you will forgive him too; we will live together--he shall be your son.

M. Deschap. Never! Cling to him and forsake your parents! His home shall be yours--his fortune yours--his fate yours: the wealth I have acquired by honest industry shall never enrich the dishonest man.

Pauline. And you would have a wife enjoy luxury while a husband toils!

Claude, take me; thou canst not give me wealth, t.i.tles, station--but thou canst give me a true heart I will work for thee, tend thee, bear with thee, and never, never shall these lips reproach thee for the past.

Damas. I'll be hanged if I am not going to blubber!

Mel. This is the heaviest blow of all!--What a heart I have wronged!-- Do not fear me, sir; I am not all hardened--I will not rob her of a holier love than mine. Pauline!--angel of love and mercy!--your memory shall lead me back to virtue!--The husband of a being so beautiful in her n.o.ble and sublime tenderness may be poor--may be low born;--(there is no guilt in the decrees of providence!)--but he should be one who can look thee in the face without a blush,--to whom thy love does not bring remorse,--who can fold thee to his heart, and say,--"Here there is no deceit!" I am not that man!

Damas. [aside to MELNOTTE]. Thou art a n.o.ble fellow, notwithstanding; and wouldst make an excellent soldier. Serve in my regiment. I have had a letter from the Directory--our young general takes the command of the army in Italy,--I am to join him at Ma.r.s.eilles, I will depart this day, if thou wilt go with me.

Mel. It is the favor I would have asked thee, if I dared. Place me wherever a foe is most dreaded,--wherever France most needs a life!

Damas. There shall not be a forlorn hope without thee!

Mel. There is my hand!--mother, your blessing. I shall see you again,--a better man than a prince,--a man who has bought the right to high thoughts by brave deeds. And thou!--thou! so wildly worshipped, so guiltily betrayed, all is not yet lost!--for thy memory, at least, must be mine till death! If I live, the name of him thou hast once loved shall not rest dishonored;--if I fall, amidst the carnage and the roar of battle, my soul will fly back to thee, and love shall share with death my last sigh!--More--more would I speak to thee!--to pray!--to bless! But no; When I am less unworthy I will utter it to Heaven!--I cannot trust myself to [turning to DESCHAPPELLES] Your pardon, sir; they are my last words Farewell! [Exit.

Damas. I will go after him.--France will thank me for this.

Pauline [starting from her father's arms]. Claude!--Claude!--my husband!

M. Deschap. You have a father still!

ACT V.

Two years and a half from the date of Act IV.

SCENE I.

The Streets of Lyons.

Enter First, Second, and Third Officers.

First Officer. Well, here we are at Lyons, with gallant old Damas: it is his native place.

Second Officer. Yes; he has gained a step in the army since he was here last. The Lyonnese ought to be very proud of stout General Damas.

Third Officer. Promotion is quick in the French army. This mysterious Morier,--the hero of Lodi, and the favorite of the commander-in-chief,--has risen to a colonel's rank to two years and a half. Enter DAMAS, as a General.

Damas. Good morrow, gentlemen; I hope you will amuse yourselves during our short stay at Lyons. It is a fine city: improved since I left it.

Ah! it is a pleasure to grow old, when the years that bring decay to ourselves do but ripen the prosperity of our country. You have not met with Morier?

First Officer. No: we were just speaking of him.

Second Officer. Pray, general, can you tell us who this Morier really is?

Damas. Is!--why a colonel in the French army.

Third Officer. True. But what was he at first?

Damas. At first? Why a baby in long clothes, I suppose.

First Officer. Ha, ha! Ever facetious, general.

Second Officer. [to Third]. The general is sore upon this point; you will only chafe him.--Any commands, general?

Damas. None. Good day to you. [Exeunt Second and Third Officers.

Damas. Our comrades are very inquisitive. Poor Morier is the subject of a vast deal of curiosity.

First Officer. Say interest, rather, general. His constant melancholy, the loneliness of his habits,--his daring valor, his brilliant rise in the profession,--your friendship, and the favors of the commander-in-chief,--all tend to make him as much the matter of gossip as of admiration. But where is he, general? I have missed him all the morning.

Damas. Why, captain, I'll let you into a secret. My young friend has come with me to Lyons in hopes of finding a miracle.

First Officer. A miracle!

Damas. Yes, a miracle! in other words,--a constant woman.

First Officer. Oh! an affair of love!

Damas. Exactly so. No sooner did he enter Lyons than he waved his hand to me, threw himself from his horse, and is now, I warrant, asking every one who can know anything about the matter, whether a certain lady is still true to a certain gentleman!

First Officer. Success to him! and of that success there can be no doubt. The gallant Colonel Morier, the hero of Lodi, might make his choice out of the proudest families in France.

Damas. Oh, if pride be a recommendation, the lady and her mother are most handsomely endowed. By the way, captain, if you should chance to meet with Morier, tell him he will find me at the hotel.

First Officer. I will, general. [Exit.

Damas. Now will I go to the Deschappelles, and make a report to my young Colonel. Ha! by Mars, Bacchus, Apollo, Virorum,--here comes Monsieur Beauseant!

Enter BEAUSEANT.

Good morrow, Monsieur Beauseant! How fares it with you?

Beau. [aside.] Damas! that is unfortunate;--if the Italian campaign should have filled his pockets, he may seek to baffle me in the moment of my victory. [Aloud]. Your servant, general,--for such, I think, is your new distinction! Just arrived in Lyons?

Damas. Not an hour ago. Well, how go on the Deschappelles? Have they forgiven you in that affair of young Melnotte? You had some hand in that notable device,--eh?

Beau. Why, less than you think for! The fellow imposed upon me. I have set it all right now. What has become of him? He could not have joined the army, after all. There is no such name in the books.

Damas. I know nothing about Melnotte. As you say, I never heard the name in the Grand Army.