he Vicomte de Langeac, I should prove
that since the Tenth of August[*] we have never met, I shall inform
the king of the crime committed by a father against a son who is the
heir of two noble houses. I am a woman, I am Duchesse de Montsorel, I
am a mother! We are rich, we have a virtuous priest for an adviser;
right is on our side, and if I have demanded the certificate of my
son's birth--

[*] A noteworthy date in French history, August 10, 1792; the day of
the storming of the Tuileries.--J. W. M.

SCENE NINTH.
The same persons, and the Duc de Montsorel (who enters as the duchess
pronounces the last sentence).

The Duke
It is only for the purpose of handing it to me.

The Duchess
Since when have you ventured to enter my apartment without previously
sending me word and asking my leave?

The Duke
Since you broke the agreement we made. You swore to take no steps to
find this--your son. This was the sole condition on which I promised
to let him live.

The Duchess
And is it not much more honorable to violate such an oath, than to
remain faithful to all others?

The Duke
We are henceforth both of us released from our engagements.

The Duchess
Have you, up to the present day, respected yours?

The Duke
I have, madame.

The Duchess
Listen to him, aunt, and bear witness to this declaration.

Mademoiselle de Vaudrey
But has it never occurred to you, my dear sir, that Louise is
innocent?

The Duke
Of course you think so, Mademoiselle de Vaudrey. And what would not I
give to share your opinion! The duchess has had twenty years in which
to prove to me her innocence.

The Duchess
For twenty years you have wrung my heart without pity and without
intermission.

The Duke
Madame, unless you hand me this certificate, your Fernand will have
serious cause for alarm. As soon as you returned to France you secured
the document, and are trying to employ it as a weapon against me. You
desire to obtain for your son a fortune and a name which do not belong
to him; to secure his admission into a family, whose race has up to my
time been kept pure by wives of stainless reputation, a family which
has never formed a single mesalliance--

The Duchess
And which will be worthily represented by your son Albert.

The Duke
Be careful what you say, for you waken in me terrible memories. And
your last word shows me that you will not shrink from causing a
scandal that will overwhelm all of us with shame. Shall we air i