Mercadet | Page 3

fish after the soup, then two
entrees, very delicately cooked--
Virginie But, sir, the trades--
Mercadet For the second course--ah, the second course ought to be at
once rich and brilliant, yet solid. The second course--
Virginie But the tradespeople--
Mercadet Nonsense! You annoy me--To talk about tradespeople on the
day when my daughter and her intended are to meet!
Virginie They won't supply anything.
Mercadet What have we got to do with tradespeople that won't take our
trade? We must get others. You must go to their competitors, you must
give them my custom, and they will tip you for it.
Virginie And how shall I pay those that I am giving up?
Mercadet Don't worry yourself about that,--it is my business.
Virginie But if they ask me to pay them--
Mercadet (aside, rising to his feet) That girl has money of her own.
(Aloud) Virginie, in these days, credit is the sole wealth of the
government. My tradespeople misunderstand the laws of their country,
they will show themselves unconstitutional and utter radicals, unless
they leave me alone.-- Don't you trouble your head about people who
raise an insurrection against the vital principles of all rightly constituted
states! What you have got to attend to, is dinner,--that is your duty, and

I hope that on this occasion you will show yourself to be what you are,
a first-class cook! And if Mme. Mercadet, when she settles with you on
the day after my daughter's wedding, finds that she owes you anything,
I will hold myself liable for it all.
Virginie (hesitating) Sir--
Mercadet Now go about your business. I give you here an opportunity
of gaining an interest of ten per cent every six months!--and that is
better than the savings banks will do for you.
Virginie That it is; they only give four per cent a year!
Mercadet (whispering to his wife) What did I tell you!--(To Virginie)
How can you run the risk of putting your money into the hands of
strangers--You are quite clever enough to invest it yourself, and here
your little nest-egg will remain in your own possession.
Virginie Ten per cent every six months!--I suppose that madame will
give me the particulars with regard to the second course. I must start to
work on it. (Exit.)

SCENE FIFTH
Mercadet and Mme. Mercadet
Mercadet (watching Virginie as she goes out) That girl has a thousand
crowns of our good money in the savings bank, so that we needn't
worry about the kitchen for awhile.
Mme. Mercadet Ah! sir, how can you stoop to such a thing as this?
Mercadet Madame, these are mere petty details; don't bother about the
means to an end. You, a little time ago, were trying to control your
servants by kindness, but it is necessary to command and compel them,
and to do it briefly, like Napoleon.

Mme. Mercadet How can you order them when you don't pay them?
Mercadet You must pay them by a bluff.
Mme. Mercadet Sometimes you can obtain by affection what is not
attainable by--
Mercadet By affection! Ah! Little do you know the age in which we
live--To-day, madame, wealth is everything, family is nothing; there
are no families, but only individuals! The future of each one is to be
determined by the public funds. A young girl when she needs a dowry
no longer appeals to her family, but to a syndicate. The income of the
King of England comes from an insurance company. The wife depends
for funds, not upon her husband, but upon the savings bank!--Debts are
paid, not to creditors, but to the country, through an agency, which
manages a sort of slave-trade in white people! All our duties are
arranged by coupons--The servants which we exchange for them are no
longer attached to their masters, but if you hold their money they will
be devoted to you.
Mme. Mercadet Oh, sir, you who are so honorable, so upright,
sometimes say things to me which--
Mercadet And what is said may also be done, that is what you mean,
isn't it? Undoubtedly I would do anything to save myself, for (he pulls
out a five-franc piece) this represents modern honor. Do you know why
the dramas that have criminals for their heroes are so popular? It is
because all the audience flatter themselves and say, "at any rate, I am
much better than that fellow!"
Mme. Mercadet My dear!
Mercadet For my part I have an excuse, for I am bearing the burden of
my partner's crime--of that fellow Godeau, who absconded, carrying
with him the cash box of our house!--And besides that, what disgrace is
it to be in debt? What man is there who does not owe his father his
existence? He can never repay that debt. The