The Jewel Merchants | Page 7

length of the bench quite strictly demands._) I? What would I do if I
were a great lord instead of a tradesman! (_Softly._) I think you know
the answer, madonna.
GRACIOSA Oh, you would make me your duchess, of course. That is
quite understood. But I was speaking seriously, Guido.
GUIDO And is it not a serious matter that a pedler of crystals should
have dared to love a nobleman's daughter?
GRACIOSA (_Delighted._) This is the first I have heard of it.
GUIDO But you are perfectly right. It is not a serious matter. That I
worship you is an affair which does not seriously concern any person
save me in any way whatsoever. Yet I think that knowledge of the fact
would put your father to the trouble of sharpening his dagger.
GRACIOSA Ye-es. But not even Father would deny that you were

showing excellent taste.
GUIDO Indeed, I am not certain that I do worship you; for in order to
adore whole-heartedly the idolater must believe his idol to be perfect.
(_Taking her hand._) Now your nails are of an ugly shape, like that of
little fans. Your nose is nothing to boast of. And your mouth is too
large. I do not admire these faults, for faults they are undoubtedly--
GRACIOSA Do they make me very ugly? I know that I have not a
really good mouth, Guido, but do you think it is positively repulsive?
GUIDO No.... Then, too, I know that you are vain and self-seeking, and
look forward contentedly to the time when your father will transfer his
ownership of your physical attractions to that nobleman who offers the
highest price for them.
GRACIOSA But we daughters of the poor Valori are compelled to
marry--suitably. We have only the choice between that and the convent
yonder.
GUIDO That is true, and nobody disputes it. Still, you participate in a
monstrous bargain, and I would prefer to have you exhibit distaste for
it.
_Bending forward, GUIDO draws from his jewel pack the string of
pearls, and this he moodily contemplates, in order to evince his
complete disinterestedness. The pose has its effect. GRACIOSA looks
at him for a moment, rises, draws a deep breath, and speaks with a sort
of humility._
GRACIOSA And to what end, Guido? What good would weeping do?
GUIDO (_Smiling whimsically._) I am afraid that men do not always
love according to the strict laws of logic. (_He drops the pearls, and,
rising, follows her._) I desire your happiness above all things, yet to see
you so abysmally untroubled by anything which troubles me
is--another matter.
GRACIOSA But I am not untroubled, Guido.
GUIDO No?
GRACIOSA No. (_Rather tremulously._) Sometimes I sit here
dreading my life at court. I want never to leave my father's bleak house.
I fear that I may not like the man who offers the highest price for me.
And it seems as if the court were a horrible painted animal, dressed in
bright silks, and shining with jewels, and waiting to devour me.
_Beyond the wall appears a hat of scarlet satin with a divided brim,

which, rising, is revealed to surmount the head of an extraordinarily
swarthy person, to whose dark skin much powder has only loaned the
hue of death: his cheeks, however, are vividly carmined. This is all that
the audience can now see of the young DUKE of FLORENCE, whose
proximity the two in the garden are just now too much engrossed to
notice._
_The DUKE looks from one to the other. His eyes narrow, his teeth are
displayed in a wide grin; he now understands the situation. He lowers
his head as GRACIOSA moves._
GRACIOSA No, I am not untroubled. For I cannot fathom you, and
that troubles me. I am very fond of you--and yet I do not trust you.
GUIDO You know that I love you.
GRACIOSA You tell me so. It pleases me to have you say it--
GUIDO Madonna is candid this morning.
GRACIOSA Yes, I am candid. It does please me. And I know that for
the sake of seeing me you endanger your life, for if my father heard of
our meetings here he would have you killed.
GUIDO Would I incur such risks without caring?
GRACIOSA No,--and yet, somehow, I do not believe it is altogether
for me that you care.
_The DUKE laughs. GUIDO starts, half drawing his dagger.
GRACIOSA turns with an instinctive gesture of seeking protection.
The DUKE'S head and shoulders appear above the wall._
THE DUKE And you will find, my friend, that the most charming
women have just these awkward intuitions.
_The DUKE ascends the wall, while the two stand motionless and
silent. When he is on top of the wall, GUIDO, who now remembers
that omnipotence perches there, makes haste