Mercadet | Page 6

three
hundred?
Goulard I have three hundred and fifty.

Mercadet Fifty more! Never mind! He'll take them all. (Examining
what Goulard has written.) Have you mentioned the thousand crowns?
Goulard And what is your friend's name?
Mercadet His name? You haven't mentioned?--
Goulard His name!
Mercadet The thousand crowns.
Goulard What a devil of a man he is! (He writes.) There, you have it!
Mercadet His name is Pierquin.
Goulard (rising) Pierquin.
Mercadet He at least is the nominal buyer.--Go to your house and I will
send him to you; it is never a good thing to run after a purchaser.
Goulard Never!--You have saved my life. Good-bye, my friend.
Madame, accept my prayers for the happiness of your daughter. (Exit.)
Mercadet One of them captured! Now watch me get the others!

SCENE SEVENTH
Mme. Mercadet, Mercadet, then Julie.
Mme. Mercadet Is there any truth in what you just now said? I could
not quite follow you.
Mercadet It is to the interest of my friend Verdelin to cause a panic in
Basse- Indre stock; this stock has been for a long time very risky and
has suddenly become of first-class value, through the discovery of
certain beds of mineral, which are known only to those on the
inside.--Ah! If I could but invest a thousand crowns in it my fortune
would be made. But, of course, our main object at present is the

marriage of Julie.
Mme. Mercadet You are well acquainted with M. de la Brive, are you
not?
Mercadet I have dined with him. He has a charming apartment, fine
plate, a silver dessert service, bearing his arms, so that it could not have
been borrowed. Our daughter is going to make a fine match, and he--
when either one of a married couple is happy, it is all right.
(Julie enters.)
Mme. Mercadet Here comes our daughter. Julie, your father and I have
something to say to you on a subject which is always agreeable to a
young girl.
Julie M. Minard has then spoken to you, father?
Mercadet M. Minard! Did you expect, madame, to find a M. Minard
reigning in the heart of your daughter? Is not this M. Minard that under
clerk of mine?
Julie Yes, papa.
Mercadet Do you love him?
Julie Yes, papa.
Mercadet But besides loving, it is necessary for a person to be loved.
Mme. Mercadet Does he love you?
Julie Yes, mamma!
Mercadet Yes, papa; yes, mamma; why don't you say mammy and
daddy?--As soon as daughters have passed their majority they begin to
talk as if they were just weaned. Be polite enough to address your
mother as madame.

Julie Yes, monsieur.
Mercadet Oh! you may address me as papa. I sha'n't be annoyed at that.
What proof have you that he loves you?
Julie The best proof of all; he wishes to marry me.
Mercadet It is quite true, as has been said, that young girls, like little
children, have answers ready enough to knock one silly. Let me tell you,
mademoiselle, that a clerk with a salary of eighteen hundred francs
does not know how to love. He hasn't got the time, he has to work too
hard--
Mme. Mercadet But, unhappy child--
Mercadet Ah! A lucky thought strikes me! Let me talk to her. Julie,
listen to me. I will marry you to Minard. (Julie smiles with delight.)
Now, look here, you haven't got a single sou, and you know it; what is
going to become of you a week after your marriage? Have you thought
about that?
Julie Yes, papa--
Mme. Mercadet (with sympathy, to her husband) The poor child is
mad.
Mercadet Yes, she is in love. (To Julie) Tell me all about it, Julie. I am
not now your father, but your confidant; I am listening.
Julie After our marriage we will still love each other.
Mercadet But will Cupid shoot you bank coupons at the end of his
arrows?
Julie Father, we shall lodge in a small apartment, at the extremity of the
Faubourg, on the fourth story, if necessary!--And if it can't be helped, I
will be his house-maid. Oh! I will take an immense delight in the care
of the household, for I shall know that it will all be done for him. I will
work for him, while he is working for me. I will spare him every

anxiety, and he will never know how straitened we are. Our home will
be spotlessly clean, even elegant--You shall see! Elegance depends
upon such little things; it springs from the soul, and happiness is at
once the cause and the effect of it. I can earn enough from my painting
to cost him nothing and even to contribute to the expenses of our living.
Moreover, love will help us to pass through