READ STUDY GUIDE: Act I, scenes i–iii |
|
Act I, Scene i
| The public, arriving by degrees. Troopers, burghers, lackeys, pages, a |
| pickpocket, the doorkeeper, etc., followed by the marquises. Cuigy, |
| Brissaille, the buffet-girl, the violinists, etc. |
| (A confusion of loud voices is heard outside the door. A trooper enters |
| hastily.) |
| THE DOORKEEPER (following him): |
 Hollo! You there! Your money! |
| THE TROOPER: |
| I enter gratis. |
| THE DOORKEEPER: |
| Why? |
| THE TROOPER: |
| Why? I am of the King's Household Cavalry, 'faith! |
| THE DOORKEEPER (to another trooper who enters): |
| And you? |
| SECOND TROOPER: |
| I pay nothing. |
| THE DOORKEEPER: |
| How so? |
| SECOND TROOPER: |
| I am a musketeer. |
| FIRST TROOPER (to the second): |
| The play will not begin till two. The pit is empty. Come, a bout with the |
| foils to pass the time. |
| (They fence with the foils they have brought.) |
| A LACKEY (entering): |
| Pst. . .Flanquin. . .! |
| ANOTHER (already there): |
| Champagne?. . . |
| THE FIRST (showing him cards and dice which he takes from his doublet): |
| See, here be cards and dice. |
| (He seats himself on the floor): |
| Let's play. |
| THE SECOND (doing the same): |
| Good; I am with you, villain! |
| FIRST LACKEY (taking from his pocket a candle-end, which he lights, and sticks |
| on the floor): |
| I made free to provide myself with light at my master's expense! |
| A GUARDSMAN (to a shop-girl who advances): |
| 'Twas prettily done to come before the lights were lit! |
| (He takes her round the waist.) |
| ONE OF THE FENCERS (receiving a thrust): |
| A hit! |
| ONE OF THE CARD-PLAYERS: |
| Clubs! |
| THE GUARDSMAN (following the girl): |
| A kiss! |
| THE SHOP-GIRL (struggling to free herself): |
| They're looking! |
| THE GUARDSMAN (drawing her to a dark corner): |
| No fear! No one can see! |
| A MAN (sitting on the ground with others, who have brought their provisions): |
| By coming early, one can eat in comfort. |
| A BURGHER (conducting his son): |
| Let us sit here, son. |
| A CARD-PLAYER: |
| Triple ace! |
| A MAN (taking a bottle from under his cloak, |
| and also seating himself on the floor): |
| A tippler may well quaff his Burgundy |
| (he drinks): |
| in the Burgundy Hotel! |
| THE BURGHER (to his son): |
| 'Faith! A man might think he had fallen in a bad house here! |
| (He points with his cane to the drunkard): |
| What with topers! |
| (One of the fencers in breaking off, jostles him): |
| brawlers! |
| (He stumbles into the midst of the card-players): |
| gamblers! |
| THE GUARDSMAN (behind him, still teasing the shop-girl): |
| Come, one kiss! |
| THE BURGHER (hurriedly pulling his son away): |
| By all the holies! And this, my boy, is the theater where they played |
| Rotrou erewhile. |
| THE YOUNG MAN: |
| Ay, and Corneille! |
| A TROOP OF PAGES (hand-in-hand, enter dancing the farandole, and singing): |
| Tra' a la, la, la, la, la, la, la, lere. . . |
| THE DOORKEEPER (sternly, to the pages): |
| You pages there, none of your tricks!. . . |
| FIRST PAGE (with an air of wounded dignity): |
| Oh, sir!—such a suspicion!. . . |
| (Briskly, to the second page, the moment the doorkeeper's back is turned): |
| Have you string? |
| THE SECOND: |
| Ay, and a fish-hook with it. |
| FIRST PAGE: |
| We can angle for wigs, then, up there i' th' gallery. |
| A PICKPOCKET (gathering about him some evil-looking youths): |
| Hark ye, young cut-purses, lend an ear, while I give you your first lesson |
| in thieving. |
| SECOND PAGE (calling up to others in the top galleries): |
| You there! Have you peashooters? |
| THIRD PAGE (from above): |
| Ay, have we, and peas withal! |
| (He blows, and peppers them with peas.) |
| THE YOUNG MAN (to his father): |
| What piece do they give us? |
| THE BURGHER: |
| 'Clorise.' |
| THE YOUNG MAN: |
| Who may the author be? |
| THE BURGHER: |
| Master Balthazar Baro. It is a play!. . . |
| (He goes arm-in-arm with his son.) |
| THE PICKPOCKET (to his pupils): |
| Have a care, above all, of the lace knee-ruffles—cut them off! |
| A SPECTATOR (to another, showing him a corner in the gallery): |
| I was up there, the first night of the 'Cid.' |
| THE PICKPOCKET (making with his fingers the gesture of filching): |
| Thus for watches— |
| THE BURGHER (coming down again with his son): |
| Ah! You shall presently see some renowned actors. . . |
| THE PICKPOCKET (making the gestures of one who pulls something stealthily, |
| with little jerks): |
| Thus for handkerchiefs— |
| THE BURGHER: |
| Montfleury. . . |
| SOME ONE (shouting from the upper gallery): |
| Light up, below there! |
| THE BURGHER: |
| . . .Bellerose, L'Epy, La Beaupre, Jodelet! |
| A PAGE (in the pit): |
| Here comes the buffet-girl! |
| THE BUFFET-GIRL (taking her place behind the buffet): |
| Oranges, milk, raspberry-water, cedar bitters! |
| (A hubbub outside the door is heard.) |
| A FALSETTO VOICE: |
| Make place, brutes! |
| A LACKEY (astonished): |
| The Marquises!—in the pit?. . . |
| ANOTHER LACKEY: |
| Oh! only for a minute or two! |
| (Enter a band of young marquises.) |
| A MARQUIS (seeing that the hall is half empty): |
| What now! So we make our entrance like a pack of woolen-drapers! |
| Peaceably, without disturbing the folk, or treading on their toes!—Oh, fie! |
| Fie! |
| (Recognizing some other gentlemen who have entered a little before him): |
| Cuigy! Brissaille! |
| (Greetings and embraces.) |
| CUIGY: |
| True to our word!. . .Troth, we are here before the candles are lit. |
| THE MARQUIS: |
| Ay, indeed! Enough! I am of an ill humor. |
| ANOTHER: |
| Nay, nay, Marquis! see, for your consolation, they are coming to light up! |
| ALL THE AUDIENCE (welcoming the entrance of the lighter): |
| Ah!. . . |
| (They form in groups round the lusters as they are lit. Some people have |
| taken their seats in the galleries. Ligniere, a distinguished-looking roue, |
| with disordered shirt-front arm-in-arm with christian de Neuvillette. |
| Christian, who is dressed elegantly, but rather behind the fashion, seems |
| preoccupied, and keeps looking at the boxes.) |
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