The Resources of Quinola: A Comedy in a Prologue and Five Acts
Honoré de Balzac
The Resources of Quinola: A Comedy in a Prologue and Five Acts
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
Had the author of the following play written it merely for the purpose of winning for it the universal praise which the journals have lavished upon his romances, and which perhaps transcended their merits, The Resources of Quinola would still have been an excellent literary speculation; but, when he sees himself the object of so much praise and so much condemnation, he has come to the conclusion that it is much more difficult to make successfully a first venture on the stage than in the field of mere literature, and he has armed himself, accordingly, with courage, both for the present and for the future.
The day will come when the piece will be employed by critics as a battering ram to demolish some piece at its first representation, just as they have employed all his novels and even his play entitled Vautrin, to demolish The Resources of Quinola.
However tranquil may be his mood of resignation, the author cannot refrain from making here two suggestive observations.
Not one among fifty feuilleton writers has failed to treat as a fable, invented by the author, the historic fact upon which is founded the present play.
Long before M. Arago mentioned this incident in his history of steam, published in the Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes, the author, to whom the incident was known, had guessed in imagination the great drama that must have led up to that final act of despair, the catastrophe which necessarily ended the career of the unknown inventor, who, in the middle of the sixteenth century, built a ship that moved by steam in the harbor of Barcelona, and then scuttled it with his own hands in the presence of two hundred thousand spectators.
This observation is sufficient answer to the derision which has been flung upon what was supposed to be the author's hypothesis as to the invention of steam locomotion before the time of the Marquis of Worcester, Salomon de Caus and Papin.
The second observation relates to the strange manner in which almost all the critics have mistaken the character of Lavradi, one of the personages in this comedy, which they have stigmatized as a hideous creation. Any one who reads the piece, of which no critic has given an exact analysis, will see that Lavradi, sentenced to be transported for ten years to the presides, comes to ask pardon of the king. Every one knows how freely the severest penalties were in the sixteenth century measured out for the lightest offences, and how warmly valets in a predicament such as Quinola's, were welcomed by the spectators in the antique theatres.
Many volumes might be filled with the laments of feuilletonists, who for nearly twenty years have called for comedies in the Italian, Spanish or English style. An attempt has been made to produce one, and the critics would rather eat their own words than miss the opportunity of choking off the man who has been bold enough to venture upon a pathway of such fertile promise, whose very antiquity lends to it in these days the charm of novelty.
Nor must we forget to mention, to the disgrace of our age, the howl of disapprobation which greeted the title "Duke of Neptunado," selected by Philip II. for the inventor, a howl in which educated readers will refuse to join, but which was so overwhelming at the presentation of the piece that after its first utterance the actors omitted the term during the remainder of the evening. This howl was raised by an audience of spectators who read in the newspapers every morning the title of the Duke of Vittoria, given to Espartero, and who must have heard of the title Prince of Paz, given to the last favorite of the last but one of the kings of Spain. How could such ignorance as this have been anticipated? Who does not know that the majority of Spanish titles, especially in the time of Charles V. and Philip II. refer to circumstances under which they were originally granted?
An admiral took that of Transport-Real, from the fact that the dauphin sailed with him to Italy.
Navarro was given the title La Vittoria after the sea-fight of Toulon, though the issue of the conflict was indecisive.
These examples, and as many others, are outdone by that of the famous finance minister, a parvenu broker, who chose to be entitled the Marquis Insignificant (l'Ensenada).
In producing a work, constructed with all the dramatic irregularity of the early French and Spanish stage, the author has made an experiment which had been called for by the suffrages of more than one "organ of public opinion," as well as of all the "first-nighters" of Paris. He wished to meet the genuine public and to have his piece represented in a house filled with a paying audience. The unsatisfactory result of this ordeal was so plainly pointed out by the whole press, that the indispensability of claqueurs has been now forever established.
The author had been confronted by the following dilemma, as stated by those experienced in such matters. If he introduced into the theatre twelve hundred "dead heads," the success secured by their applause would undoubtedly be questioned. If twelve hundred paying spectators were present, the success of the piece was almost out of the question. The author chose to run the risk of the latter alternative. Such is the history of this first representation, where so many people appeared to be made so uncomfortable by their elevation to the dignity of independent judges.
The author intends therefore to return to the beaten track, base and ignoble though it be, which prejudice has laid out as the only avenue to dramatic success; but it may not be unprofitable to state here, that the first representation of The Resources of Quinola actually redounded to the advantage of the claqueurs, the only persons who enjoyed any triumph in an evening entertainment from which their presence was debarred!
Some idea of the criticism uttered on this comedy may be gained from the fact that out of the fifty newspapers, all of which for the last twenty years have uttered over the unsuccessful playwright the hackneyed phrase, "the play is the work of a clever man who will some day take his revenge," not one employed it in speaking of The Resources of Quinola, which they were unanimous in consigning to oblivion. This result has settled the ambition of the author.
Certain persons, whose good auguries the author had done nothing to call forth, encouraged from the outset this dramatic venture, and thus showed themselves less critical than unkind; but the author counts such miscalculations as blessings in disguise, for the loss of false friends is the best school of experience. Nor is it less a pleasure than a duty thus publicly to thank the friends, like M. Leon Gozlan, who have remained faithful, towards whom the author has contracted a debt of gratitude; like M. Victor Hugo, who protested, so to speak, against the public verdict at the first representation, by returning to witness the second; like M. de Lamartine and Madame de Girardin, who stuck to their first opinion, in spite of the general public reprobation of the piece. The approval of such persons as these would be consoling in any disaster.
LAGNY, 2 April, 1842.
PERSONS OF THE PROLOGUE
Philip II., King of Spain
Cardinal Cienfuegos, Grand Inquisitor
The Captain of the Guards
The Duke of Olmedo
The Duke of Lerma
Alfonso Fontanares
Lavradi, known as Quinola
A halberdier
An alcalde of the palace
A familiar of the Inquisition
The Queen of Spain
The Marchioness of Mondejar
PERSONS OF THE PLAY
Don Fregose, Viceroy of Catalonia
Grand Inquisitor
Count Sarpi, secretary to the Viceroy
Don Ramon, a savant
Avaloros, a banker
Mathieu Magis, a Lombard
Lothundiaz, a burgess
Alfonso Fontanares, an inventor
Lavradi, known as Quinola, servant to Fontanares
Monipodio, a retired bandit
Coppolus, a metal merchant
Carpano, a locksmith
Esteban, workman
Girone, workman
The host of the "Golden Sun"
A bailiff
An alcalde
Faustine Brancadori
Marie Lothundiaz, daughter to Lothundiaz
Dona Lopez, duenna to Marie Lothundiaz
Paquita, maid to Faustine
SCENE: Spain – Valladolid and Barcelona
TIME: 1588-89
PROLOGUE
SCENE FIRST
(The scene is laid at Valladolid, in the palace of the King of Spain. The stage represents the gallery which leads to the chapel. The entrance to the chapel is on the spectators' left, that to the royal apartment on the right. The principal entrance is in the centre. On each side of the principal door stand two halberdiers. At the rise of the curtain the Captain of the Guards and two lords are on the stage. An alcalde of the palace stands in the centre of the gallery. Several courtiers are walking up and down in the hall that leads to the gallery.)
The Captain of the Guards, Quinola (wrapped in his mantle) and a halberdier.
The halberdier (barring the way to Quinola)
No one passes this way, unless he has the right to do so. Who are you?
Quinola (lifting up the halberd)
An ambassador.
(All look at him.)
Halberdier
From what state?
Quinola (passing in)
From what state? From a state of misery.
The Captain of the Guards Go and bring the major-domo of the palace, that he may render to this ambassador the honors that are due him. (To the halberdier) Three days' imprisonment.
Quinola (to the Captain)
You are a very droll rascal.
Quinola (taking him aside)
Are not you the cousin of the Marchioness of Mondejar?
The Captain
What if I am?
Quinola Although she is high in favor, she is on the brink of an abyss, into which she may fall and lose her head in falling.
The Captain All people of your class trump up these stories! – Listen, you are the twenty-second person, and we have only reached the tenth of the month, who has made an attempt to be introduced to the favorite, for the purpose of squeezing a few pistoles from her. Take yourself off or else —
Quinola My lord, it is better to be misled by twenty-two poor devils, twenty-two times, than once to miss the opportunity of heeding him who is sent by your good angel; and you see, I may also say (he opens his mantle) I am wearing her wings.
The Captain
Let us end this, and tell me what proof of your errand you can give?
Quinola (handing him a letter) This little message you must return to me so that the secret remains in our possession, and hang me if you do not see the marchioness swoon when she reads it. Believe moreover that I profess, in common with an immense majority of Spaniards, a deep-seated aversion for – the gallows.
The Captain And suppose that some ambitious woman has paid for your life, that she give it in exchange for another's?
Quinola Should I be in rags? My life is as good as Caesar's. Look here, my lord. (He unseals the letter, smells it, folds it up again, and gives it to him) Are you satisfied?
The Captain (aside)
I have yet time. (To Quinola) Remain where you are, I am going to her.
SCENE SECOND
Quinola (alone, in the front of the stage, looking at the departing captain) That is all right! O my dear master, if the torture chamber has not broken your bones, you are likely to get out of the cells of the holy – the thrice holy Inquisition – saved by your poor cur Quinola! Poor? – why should I say poor? My master once free, we will end by cashing our hopes. To live at Valladolid for six months without money, and without being nabbed by the alguazils, argues the possession of certain small talents, which, if applied to – other ends, might bring a man to – something different in fact! If we knew where we were going no one would stir a step – I purpose speaking to the king, I, Quinola. God of the rapscallions, give me the eloquence – of – a pretty woman, of the Marchioness of Mondejar —
SCENE THIRD
Quinola and the Captain.
The Captain (to Quinola) Here are fifty doubloons which the marchioness sends you, that you may be enabled to make your appearance here in decent guise.
Quinola (pouring the gold from one hand into the other) Ah, this burst of sunshine has been long expected! I will return, my lord, radiant as that amorous valet, whose name I have assumed; Quinola at your service, Quinola soon to be lord of wide domains, where I shall administer justice, from the time – (aside) I cease to fear its ministers.
SCENE FOURTH
The Courtiers and the Captain.
The Captain (alone at the front of the stage) What secret has this miserable creature discovered? My cousin almost fainted away. She told me that it concerned all my friends. The king must have something to do in the matter. (To a lord) Duke of Lerma, is there anything new in Valladolid?
The Duke of Lerma (whispering) It is said that the Duke of Olmedo was murdered this morning, at three o'clock, just before dawn. It happened a few paces from the Mondejar palace.
The Captain It is quite likely he should be assassinated for prejudicing the king's mind against my cousin; the king, like all great statesmen, esteems as true everything that appears to be probable.
The Duke It is said that enmity between the duke and the marchioness was only a pretence, and that the assassin is not to be prosecuted.
The Captain Duke, this ought not to be repeated unless it can be proved, and even then could not be written excepting with a sword dipped in my blood.
The Duke
You asked me the news.
(The duke retires.)
SCENE FIFTH
The same persons, and the Marchioness of Mondejar.
The Captain Ah! here is my cousin! (To the marchioness) Dear marchioness, you are still very much agitated. In the name of our common salvation, control yourself; you will attract attention.
The Marchioness
Has that man come back?
The Captain Now, how can a man of such base condition as he is throw you into such terror?
The Marchioness He holds my life in his hands; more than my life, indeed; for he holds in his power the life also of another, who, in spite of the most scrupulous precautions, cannot avoid exciting the jealousy —
The Captain Of the king! – Did he cause the assassination of the Duke of Olmedo, as is rumored?
The Marchioness Alas! I do not know what to think. – Here I am alone, helpless – and perhaps soon to be abandoned.
The Captain You may rely upon me – I shall constantly be in the midst of all our enemies like a hunter on the watch.
SCENE SIXTH
The same persons and Quinola.
Quinola
I have only thirty doubloons left, but I have had the worth of sixty.
– Ah! what a lovely scent! The marchioness can now talk to me without fear.
The Marchioness (pointing out Quinola)
Is this our man?
The Captain
Yes.
The Marchioness Keep watch, my cousin, so that I may be able to talk without being overheard. (To Quinola) Who are you, my friend?
Quinola (aside)
Her friend! As soon as you have a woman's secret, you are her friend.
(Aloud) Madame, I am a man superior to all considerations and all circumstances.
The Marchioness
You have reached a pretty good height, at any rate.
Quinola
Is that a threat or a warning?
The Marchioness
Sir, you are very impertinent.
Quinola Do not mistake farsightedness for impertinence. You must study me, before coming to a decision. I am going to describe my character to you; my real name is Lavradi. At the moment Lavradi ought to be serving a ten years' sentence in Africa, at the presides, owing to an error of the alcaldes of Barcelona. Quinola is the conscience, white as your fair hands, of Lavradi. Quinola does to know Lavradi. Does the soul know the body? You may unite the soul, Quinola, to the body, Lavradi, all the more easily because this morning Quinola was at the postern of your garden, with the friends of the dawn who stopped the Duke of Olmedo —
The Marchioness
What has happened to him?
Quinola Lavradi would take advantage of this moment, which is full of promise, to ask a pardon; but Quinola is a gentleman.
The Marchioness
You are taken up too much with yourself —
Quinola And not sufficiently with him – that is just. The duke took us for foul assassins; we were simply asking him, at a rather too advantageous hour, to make us a loan, pledged by our rapiers as collateral. The famous Majoral, who was in command of us, being close pressed by the duke, was forced to disable him by a little thrust, of which he knows the secret.
The Marchioness
O! My God! —
Quinola
Happiness is cheap at such a cost, madame.
The Marchioness (aside)
Hush! He knows my secret.
Quinola When we saw that the duke had not a maravedi about him, we left him where he was. As I was the least culpable of all the gang, I was charged to take him home; in adjusting his pockets, which had been turned inside out, I found the letter which he had written to you, and, learning your position at the court, I understood —
The Marchioness
That your fortune was made?
Quinola
Not at all – that my life was in danger.
The Marchioness
Indeed?
Quinola
To whom are you speaking? Quinola or Lavradi?
The Marchioness Lavradi shall have his pardon. What does Quinola desire? To enter my service?
Quinola Foundling children are of gentle birth; Quinola will deliver your letter to you with asking a maravedi, without obliging you to do anything unworthy of you, and he expects that you will refrain from desiring the services of a poor devil who carries under his wallet the heart of the Cid.
The Marchioness
How dear you are going to cost me, fellow!
Quinola
You said to me just now, "my friend."
The Marchioness
Were you not my enemy?
Quinola On account of that word I trust you, madame, and intend to tell you everything. But here – do not laugh – you must promise – I wish —
The Marchioness
You wish?
Quinola I wish – to speak to the king – at the moment when he passes on his way to the chapel; I desire you to lend favor to my request.
The Marchioness
But what are you going to ask him?
Quinola
The most simple thing in the world – an audience for my master.
The Marchioness
Explain yourself, for time presses.
Quinola Madame, I am the servant of a philosopher; and if the mark of genius is poverty, we have a great deal too much genius, madame.
The Marchioness
To the point.
Quinola Senor Alfonso Fontanares has come here from Catalonia to offer the king our master the sceptre of the sea. At Barcelona he was taken for a madman; here he is considered a sorcerer. When it becomes known what he proposes, he is scoffed at in the antechambers. One wishes to protest for the sake of ruining him; another, a philosopher, throws a doubt on the existence of our secret, with the view of filching it; others again make him a business proposition – capitalists who wish to entangle him in their meshes. As things go at present we do not know how they will turn out. No one certainly can deny the forces of mechanics and geometry, but the finest theorems have very little bodily nourishment in them, and the smallest of ragouts is better for the stomach; but, really, science is not to blame for that. During the past winter my master and myself warmed ourselves over our projects, and chewed the end of our illusions… Well, madame, he is now in prison, for he has been accused of being on too friendly terms with the devil; and, unfortunately, the Holy Office is right, this time, for we have constantly seen him at the bottom of our purse. And now, madame, I implore you, inspire the king with curiosity to see a man who will give him a dominion as extended as that which Columbus gave to Spain.
The Marchioness But since Columbus gave a new world to Spain, new worlds are being offered to us once in every fortnight!
Quinola Ah! madame, every man of genius has one of his own to offer. By heavens, it is so rare that a man can make honestly a fortune both for himself and the state that the phenomenon deserves to be favored.
The Marchioness
But what is the project about?
Quinola I must once more beg you not to laugh, madame. His plan is to make ships travel without sail or oar, against the wind, by means of a pot filled with water, which is kept boiling.
The Marchioness What an idea! Where do you come from? What do you mean? Are you dreaming?
Quinola That is just what they all say! Ah, common herd, ye are so constituted that the man of genius, who is right ten years before everybody else, passes for a madman for twenty-five years. I am the only one who believes in this man, and it is on this account I love him; to understand another is to be his equal.
The Marchioness
And you want me to repeat this nonsense to the king?
Quinola Madame, you are the only person in the whole of Spain to whom the king will not say, "Be silent."
The Marchioness You do not know the king, and I do. (Aside) I must get back my letter. (Aloud) There is one recent circumstance whose occurrence seems favorable to your master; news comes to the king that the Armada has been lost; wait for him on his way through to chapel and address him. (Exit.)
SCENE SEVENTH
The Captain of the Guards, the Courtiers and Quinola.
Quinola (in the front of the stage) It is not sufficient to possess genius and to employ it, for there are plenty of people who make a false show to have it and meet excellent success. There is need also of opportunity and favoring circumstances; a picked up letter which puts a favorite in danger, in order to obtain an interceding tongue, and the loss of the mightiest of flotillas, in order to open the ears of a prince. Chance is an infamous wretch! And now, in the duel of Fontanares with his century, the hour has come for his poor second to appear. (Bells are heard; guard is mounted.) Is yon sound an omen of success? (To the Captain of the Guards) How ought the king to be spoken to?
The Captain Step forward, bow your knee, and say: "Sire" – and pray God to guide your tongue aright.
(The royal procession appears.)
Quinola I shall have no trouble falling upon my knees; they are giving way already; for it is not only the fate of a man, but of a world, that is at stake.
A page
The queen!
A page
The king!
(Tableau.)
SCENE EIGHTH
The same persons, the King, the Queen, the Marchioness of Mondejar, the Grand Inquisitor and the whole Court.
Philip II. Gentlemen, we are about to pray God and honor Him who had dealt a deadly blow to Spain. England has escaped us, the Armada is lost, and we desire no more to talk of that flotilla. Admiral (he turns to the admiral), you were not sent to give battle to the storms.
Quinola
Sire! (He falls on one knee.)
Philip II.
Who are you?
Quinola The most insignificant and the most devoted of your subjects; the servant of a man who pines in the prisons of the Holy Office, accused of magic, because he desires to give to your Majesty the power of escaping from similar disasters —
Philip II. If you are really a servant, rise to your feet. Only grandees are wont to kneel here, in presence of the king.
Quinola
My master, then, shall kneel at your feet.
Philip II. Explain yourself in brief; the moments of the king's whole life are not so numerous as are his subjects.
Quinola
You must have, then, but one hour for each of your empires. My master,
Senor Alfonso Fontanares, is in the prison of the Holy Office —
Philip II. (to the Grand Inquisitor) Father (the Grand Inquisitor approaches), what can you tell us of a certain Alfonso Fontanares?
The Grand Inquisitor He is a pupil of Galileo. He professes the heretical doctrine of his master and boasts the power to do wonders while he refuses to explain the means. He is accused of being rather a Moor than a Spaniard.
Quinola (aside) That sallow face is going to spoil all! (To the King) Sire, my master knows no sorcery, excepting so far as he is madly in love, first with the glory of your Majesty, next with a maid of Barcelona, heiress of Lothundiaz, the richest burgess of the town. As he picked up more science than wealth in studying natural science in Italy, the poor youth has failed in his attempt to marry this maid. – And notice, sire, how great men are calumniated; in his despair he made a pilgrimage to the Virgen del Pilar, to beg her assistance, because Marie was the name of the lady he loved. On leaving the church, he sat down wearied under a tree and fell asleep. In his dreams the Virgin appeared to him and communicated to him an invention by which he could navigate ships without sails, without oars, against wind and tide. He approached you, sire; but between the sun and him a cloud intervened, and after a deadly conflict with the cloud, he is now suffering for his confidence in the Virgen del Pilar and in his king. No one but his servant has sufficient courage to come and throw at your feet the news that there exists a means of realizing universal dominion.