Quinola (aside)
To think that it would be a crime to strangle him!
Fontanares
You are of iron; I shall show myself as hard as steel.
Mathieu Magis
What do you mean, senor?
Fontanares
You shall help me, whether you would or not.
Mathieu Magis I will not! I want my capital! And would think nothing of seizing and selling all this iron work.
Fontanares You compel me to meet trick with trick. I was proceeding with my work honestly! Now, if necessary, following your example, I shall leave the straight path. I shall be of course accused, as if perfection could be expected of me. But I do not mind calumny. But to have this cup to drink is too much. You made a senseless contract with me, you now shall sign another, or you will see me dash my work to fragments, and keep my secret buried here. (He strikes his hand on his heart.)
Mathieu Magis Ah! senor, you will not do that. That would be theft, a piece of rascality of which a great man is incapable.
Fontanares You seize upon my integrity as a weapon by which you would insure the success of monstrous injustice.
Mathieu Magis Listen, I wish to have nothing to do with this matter, and if you will come to an understanding with Don Ramon, a most excellent man, I will yield all my rights to him.
Fontanares
Don Ramon?
Quinola
Yes, the philosopher whom all Barcelona sets up in opposition to you.
Fontanares After all, I have solved the last problem, and glory and fortune will attend the future current of my life.
Quinola Your words seem to indicate that there is still a part to be supplied in the machinery.
Fontanares
A trifle — a matter of some hundred ducats.
Mathieu Magis Such a sum could not be raised from all that you have here, if it were sold by authority of government, counting the costs.
Quinola
Carrion! Will you get out?
Mathieu Magis If you humor Don Ramon, he doubtless will be willing to give you the assistance of his credit. (Turns to Quinola) As for you, gallows-bird, if ever you fall into my hands, I will get even with you. (To Fontanares) Good-bye, man of genius. (Exit.)
SCENE FIFTH
Fontanares and Quinola.
Fontanares
His words make me shudder.
Quinola And me also! The good ideas of a genius are always caught in the webs of such spiders as he.
Fontanares Well, if only we can get a hundred ducats more, from that time forth we shall have a golden life filled with the banquets of love. (He takes a drink of water.)
Quinola I quite believe you, but confess that blooming hope, that heavenly jade, has led us on pretty deep into the mire.
Fontanares
Quinola!
Quinola I do not complain for myself, I was born to trouble. The question is, how are we to get the hundred ducats. You are in debt to the workmen, to the master locksmith Carpano, to Coppolus the dealer in iron, steel and copper, and to our landlord, who after taking us in, more from fear of Monipodio than from compassion, will end by turning us out of doors; we owe him for nine months’ board and lodging.
Fontanares
But the work is all but finished.
Quinola
But what of the hundred ducats?
Fontanares How is it that you, usually so brave and merry, begin now to speak to me in such a dolorous tone?
Quinola It is because, as a means of remaining at your side, I shall be obliged to disappear.
Fontanares
And why?
Quinola Why? Pray what are we to do about the sheriff? I have incurred, for you and for myself, trade debts to the amount of a hundred doubloons; and lo! these debts take, to my mind, the figure, face and feet of tipstaves!
Fontanares
How much unhappiness is comprised in the term glory!
Quinola Come! Do not be downcast. Did you not tell me that your grandfather went, some fifty years ago, with Cortez, to Mexico; has he ever been heard of?
Fontanares
Never.
Quinola Don’t forget you have a grandfather! You will be enabled to continue your work, until you reach the day of your triumph.
Fontanares
Do you wish to ruin me?
Quinola
Do you wish to see me go to prison and your machine to the devil?
Fontanares
I do not.
Quinola Permit me then to bring about the return of this grandfather? He will be the first of his company to return from the West Indies.
SCENE SIXTH
The same persons and Monipodio.
Quinola
How goes it?
Monipodio
Your princess has received her letter.
Fontanares
What kind of a man is this Don Ramon?
Monipodio
He is an ass.
Quinola
Is he envious?
Monipodio As three rejected play-writers. He makes himself out to be a wonderful man.
Quinola
But does any one believe him?
Monipodio They look upon him as an oracle. He scribbles off his treatises, explaining that the snow is white because it falls from heaven, and he maintains, in contradiction to Galileo, that the earth does not move.
Quinola
Do you not plainly see, senor, that I must rid you of this
philosopher? (To Monipodio) You come with me; you must be my servant.
(Exeunt.)
SCENE SEVENTH
Fontanares (alone) What brain, even though it be encased in bronze, could stand the strain of this search after money, while also making an inquiry into the most jealously guarded secrets of nature? How can the mind, engaged in such quests, have time for distrusting men, fighting them, and combining others against them? It is no easy thing to see at once what course had best be taken, in order to prevent Don Ramon from stealing my glory, and Don Ramons abound on every side. I at last dare to avow that my endurance is exhausted.
SCENE EIGHTH
Fontanares, Esteban, Girone and two workmen.
Esteban Can any of you tell me where a person named Fontanares is hiding himself?
Fontanares
He is not hiding himself. I am he; he is merely meditating in silence.
(Aside) Where is Quinola? He would know how to send them away
satisfied. (Aloud) What do you want?
Esteban We want our money! We have been working without wages for three weeks; the laborer lives from day to day.
Fontanares
Alas, my friends, I do not live at all!
Esteban You are alone; you can pinch your belly. But we have wives and children. At the present moment we have pawned everything.
Fontanares
Have confidence in me.
Esteban
Can we pay the baker with this confidence in you?
Fontanares
I am a man of honor.
Girone
Hark you! We also are men of honor.
Esteban Take the honor of each of us to the Lombard and you will see how much he will lend you on it.
Girone
I am not a man of talent, not I, and no one will give me trust.
Esteban I am nothing but a villainous workman, but if my wife needs an iron pot, I pay for it, by heaven!
Fontanares
I would like to know who it is has set you on me in this way?
Girone
Set us on? Are we dogs?
Esteban
The magistrates of Barcelona have given judgment in favor of Masters
Coppolus and Carpano, and have granted them a lien on your inventions;
pray tell us, where is our lien?
Girone
I shan’t go away from this place without my money.
Fontanares
Can you find any money by staying here? Howeve
r, here you may remain.
Good-day. (He takes up his hat and cloak.)
Esteban
No! You won’t go out without paying us.
(The workmen prepare to bar the door.)
Girone
There is a piece which I forged myself; I am going to keep it.
Fontanares
What! You wretch! (He draws his sword.)
The Workmen
You will not make us budge.
Fontanares (rushing upon them) Here is for you! (He stops short and throws away his sword.) Perhaps these fellows have been sent by Avaloros and Sarpi to push me to extremes. If they succeeded I might be accused of murder and thrown into prison for years. (He kneels down before the Madonna.) Oh, my God! Are genius and crime the same thing in Thy sight? What have I done to suffer such defeats, such insults and such outrages? Must I pay for my triumph in advance? (To the workmen) Every Spaniard is master in his own house.
Esteban You have no house. This place is the Golden Sun; the landlord has told us so.
Girone
You haven’t paid for your lodging; you pay for nothing.
Fontanares
Remain where you are, my masters, I was wrong; I am in debt.
SCENE NINTH
The same persons, Coppolus and Carpano.
Coppolus Senor, I come to tell you that the magistrates of Barcelona have granted me a lien on your machine, and I shall take measures that no part of it leaves this place. My confrere, Carpano, your locksmith, shares my claim.
Fontanares What devil is blinding you? Without me, this machine is nothing but so much iron, steel, copper and wood; with me, it represents a fortune.
Coppolus
We are not going to leave you.
(The two merchants make a movement as if to hem in Fontanares.)
Fontanares What friend embraces you so closely as a creditor? Well, well, I wish the devil would take back the great thought he gave me.
All
The devil!
Fontanares Ah! I must keep watch upon my tongue or one word will throw me into the clutches of the Inquisition! No glory can recompense me for such sufferings as these!
Coppolus (to Carpano)
Shall we have it sold?
Fontanares But to be worth anything, the machine must be finished, and one piece of it is wanting, of which the model is before you. (Coppolus and Carpano consult together.) Two hundred sequins more would be required for its completion.
SCENE TENTH
The same persons, Quinola (disguised as a fantastic old man),
Monipodio (fancifully dressed), the landlord of the Golden Sun.
The Landlord of the Golden Sun (pointing to Fontanares)
Senor, that is he.
Quinola And so you have lodged the grandson of General Fontanares in a stable! The republic of Venice will set him in a palace! My dear boy, let me embrace you. (He steps up to Fontanares.) The most noble republic has learned of your promises to the king of Spain, and I have left the arsenal at Venice, over which I preside, in order that — (aside to Fontanares) I am Quinola.
Fontanares
Never was an ancestor restored to life more opportunely —
Quinola In what a miserable condition I find you! — Is this then the antechamber of glory!
Fontanares
Misery is the crucible in which God tests our strength.
Quinola
Who are these people?
Fontanares
Creditors and workmen clamoring for their wages.
Quinola (to the landlord)
Rascal of a landlord, is this the dwelling-place of my grandson?
The Landlord
Certainly, your excellency.
Quinola I have some knowledge of the laws of Catalonia, and I shall send for the magistrate to put these rogues in prison. You may call down the bailiffs upon my grandson, but keep to your own houses, you blackguards! (He fumbles in his pocket.) Stay! Now go and drink my health. (He throws money among them.) Come to me later on and you shall be paid.
The Workmen
Long live his excellency! (Exeunt.)
Quinola (to Fontanares)
Our last doubloon! But it was a good bluff.
SCENE ELEVENTH
The same persons, without the host and the workmen.
Quinola (to the two tradesmen) As for you, my good fellows, you seem to be made of better stuff, and by the intervention of a little money we can come to a settlement.
Coppolus
Yes, we shall then, your excellency, be at your service.
Quinola Do I see here, my son, that famous invention about which Venice is so excited? Where is the plan, the elevation, the section, the working drawings of the machine?
Coppolus (to Carpano) He knows all about it, but we must get further information before advancing anything.
Quinola
You are an amazing man, my son! Like Columbus, you will yet have your
day. (He kneels.) I thank God for the honor He had done our family.
(To the merchants) Two hours from this I will pay you.
(Exeunt Coppolus and Carpano.)
SCENE TWELFTH
Quinola, Fontanares and Monipodio.
Fontanares
What will be the result of this imposture?
Quinola
You were tottering on the brink of an abyss, and I rescued you.
Monipodio It was well impersonated! But the Venetians have abundance of money, and in order to obtain three months’ credit, we must throw dust into the eyes of the creditors, and this is the most expensive kind of dust.
Quinola Didn’t I tell you that there was a treasure coming? Well it’s here now.
Monipodio
Coming of its own accord?
(Quinola assents with a nod.)
Fontanares
His effrontery terrifies me.
SCENE THIRTEENTH
The same persons, Mathieu Magis and Don Ramon.
Mathieu Magis I have brought Don Ramon to you, for I wish to do nothing without his sanction.
Don Ramon (to Fontanares) Senor, I am delighted at this opportunity of sharing the work of so eminent a man of science. We two will be enabled to bring your invention to the highest perfection.
Quinola Senor knows mechanics, ballistics, mathematics, dioptrics, catoptrics, statistics?
Don Ramon
Indeed I do. I have purchased many valuable treatises.
Quinola
In Latin?
Don Ramon
No, in Spanish.
Quinola No true philosopher, senor, writes in anything but Latin. There is a danger that science may be vulgarized. Do you know Latin?
Don Ramon
Yes, senor.
Quinola
So much the better for you.
Fontanares Senor, I respect the name which you have made; but I cannot accept your offer, because of the dangers attendant on my enterprise; I am risking my head in this work and yours is too precious to be exposed.
Don Ramon Do you think, senor, that you can afford to slight Don Ramon, the great scientific authority?
Quinola Don Ramon! The famous Don Ramon, who has expounded the causes of so many natural phenomena, which hitherto had been thought to happen without cause?
Don Ramon
The very man.
Quinola I am Fontanaresi, director of the arsenal of the Venetian Republic, and grandfather of our inventor. My son, you may have full confidence in Don Ramon; a man of his position can have no designs upon you; let us tell him everything.
Don Ramon (aside)
Ah! I am going to learn everything about the machine.
Fontanares (aside to Quinola)
What is all this about?
Quinola (aside to Fontanares) Let me give him a lesson in mathematics; it will do him no good, and us no harm. (To Don Ramon) Will you come here? (He points out the parts of the machine) All this is meaningless; for philosophers, the great thing —
<
br /> Don Ramon
The great thing?
Quinola
Is the problem itself! You know the reason why clouds mount upwards?
Don Ramon
I believe it is because they are lighter than the air.
Quinola Not at all! They are heavy as well as light, for the water that is in them ends by falling as flat as a fool. I don’t like water, do you?
Don Ramon
I have a great respect for it.
Quinola I see that we are made for each other. The clouds rise to such a height, because they are vapor, and are also attracted by the force of the cold upper air.
Don Ramon
That may be true. I will write a treatise on the subject.
Quinola My grandson states this in the formula R plus O. And as there is much water in the air, we simply say O plus O, which is a new binomial.
Don Ramon
A new binomial!
Quinola
Yes, an X, if you like it better.
Don Ramon
X, ah yes, I understand!
Fontanares (aside)
What a donkey!
Quinola The rest is a mere trifle. The tube receives the water which by some means or other, has been changed to cloud. This cloud is bound to rise and the resulting force is immense.
Don Ramon
Immense, why immense?
Quinola Immense — in that it is natural, since man — pay particular attention to this — does not create force —
Don Ramon
Very good, then how — ?
Quinola He borrows it from nature; to invent, is to borrow. Then — by means of certain pistons — for in mechanics — you know —
Don Ramon
Yes, senor, I know mechanics.
Quinola Very good! The method of applying a force is child’s play, a trifle, a matter of detail, as in the turnspit —
Don Ramon
Ah! He employs the turnspit then?
Quinola There are two here, and the force is such that it raises the mountains, which skip like rams — as was predicted by King David.
Don Ramon
Senor, you are perfectly right, the clouds, that is, the water —
Quinola Water, senor? Why! It is the world. Without water, you could not — That is plain. Well now! This is the point on which my grandson’s invention is based; water will subdue water. X equals O plus O, that is the complete formula.
Don Ramon (aside)
The terms he employs are incomprehensible.
Quinola
Do you understand me?
Don Ramon
Works of Honore De Balzac Page 1409