o not
let me hear any more such remarks from you, and let us drop the
subject! You are on duty at the palace to-day; repair thither at once:
I will obtain leave for you this evening, when you can go to the ball
and rejoin the Princesse d'Arjos.

The Marquis
Before leaving, I should like to see my mother, and beg for her kind
offices in my favor, with Inez, who calls upon her this morning.

The Duke
Ask whether she is to be seen, for I am waiting for her myself. (Exit
the marquis.) Everything overwhelms me at the same time; yesterday the
ambassador inquired of me the place of my son's death; last night, my
son's mother thought she had found him again; this morning the son of
Juana Mendes harrows my feelings! The princess recognizes him
instinctively. No law can be broken without a nemesis; nature is as
pitiless as the world of men. Shall I be strong enough, even with the
backing of the king, to overcome this complication of circumstances?

SCENE SEVENTH.
The Duke, the Duchess and the Marquis.

The Duchess
Excuses? Nonsense! Albert, I am only too happy to see you here; it is
a pleasant surprise; you are come to kiss your mother before going to
the palace--that is all. Ah! if ever a mother found it in her heart to
doubt her son, this eager affection, which I have not been accustomed
to, would dispel all such fear, and I thank you for it, Albert. At
last we understand each other.

The Marquis
I am glad to hear you say that, mother; if I have seemed lacking in my
duty to you, it is not that I forget, but that I feared to annoy you.

The Duchess (seeing the duke)
What! Your grace here also!--you really seem to share your son's
cordiality,--my rising this morning is actually a fete.

The Duke
And you will find it so every day.

The Duchess (to the duke)
Ah! I understand-- (To the marquis) Good-bye! The king is strict about
the punctuality of his red-coated guards, and I should be sorry to
cause you to be reprimanded.

The Duke
Why do you send him off? Inez will soon be here.

The Duchess
I do not think so, I have just written to her.

SCENE EIGHTH.
The same persons and Joseph.

Joseph (announcing a visitor)
Their graces the Duchesse de Christoval and the Princess d'Arjos.

The Duchess (aside)
How excessively awkward!

The Duke (to his son)
Do not go; leave all to me. They are trifling with us.

SCENE NINTH.
The same persons, the Duchesse de Christoval and the Princesse
d'Arjos.

The Duches