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THIRD PAGE:

[from above] Oh yes, and peas too!

[He blows peas down at the crowd.]

BURGHER'S SON:

[to his father] What's the name of the play tonight?

BURGHER:

La Clorise.

SON:

Who wrote it?

BURGHER:

Balthazar Baro. It's a play about…

[He takes his SON by the arm and leads him away.]

PICKPOCKET:

[to his students] Look for lace knee-ruffles and cut them off!

A SPECTATOR:

[to another, pointing to a corner of the gallery] I was sitting up there, the first night of the ‘Cid.’

PICKPOCKET:

[making a gesture as of picking a pocket] And with watches…

BURGHER:

[coming down again with his SON] Soon you will see some great actors.

PICKPOCKET:

[making the type of gesture one would use when pulling something in a sneaky way, with little jerks of the hand] And for handkerchiefs…

BURGHER:

Montfleury…

A VOICE FROM THE GALLERY:

Light the lights!

BURGHER:

Bellerose, L'Epy, La Beaupre, Jodelet!

A PAGE:

Here comes the buffet-girl!

BUFFET-GIRL:

[taking her place behind the buffet] Oranges, milk, raspberry-water, cider…

[A hubbub outside the door is heard.]

A FALSETTO VOICE:

Make way, you brutes!

A LACKEY:

[astonished] The Marquises! Down here on the floor with us?

ANOTHER LACKEY:

Oh, only for a moment, I'm sure.

[Enter a band of young MARQUISES.]

A MARQUIS:

[seeing that the hall is half empty] What's this? We've arrived like common tradesmen—without disturbing anyone or stepping on their toes? For shame! [recognizing some other gentlemen who have entered a little before him] Cuigy! Brissaille!

[They greet and embrace one another.]

CUIGY:

True to our word! We're here before the candles are lit.

MARQUIS:

Enough! I'm so annoyed!

ANOTHER MARQUIS:

Don't worry, Marquis, they're coming to light the candles now!

ENTIRE AUDIENCE:

[welcoming the entrance of the candle lighter] Ah!

[They form in groups around the candle-holders as they are lit. Some people have taken their seats in the galleries. LIGNIERE, disheveled but distinguished-looking, with disordered shirt-front is arm-in-arm with CHRISTIAN DE NEUVILLETTE. CHRISTIAN, who is dressed elegantly but a little out of fashion, seems preoccupied, and keeps looking at the boxes.]

• (1600 – 1650), a French playwright and novelist
• a reference to a 1637 play by Pierre Corneille (see note: Corneille above) about El Cid (1043 – 1099), a legendary Spanish military leader during the 11^th century who later became the subject of an epic poem and many plays
• actual French actors from the time in which the play is set
• actual French actors from the time in which the play is set
• a high-pitched male voice

1. Notes
2. Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights
3. Dedication
4. Dramatis Personae
5. Act I
   1. A Performance at the Hotel de Bourgogne
   2. Scene I
   3. Scene II
   4. Scene III
   5. Scene IV
   6. Scene V
   7. Scene VI
   8. Scene VII
6. Act II
   1. The Poet's Eating-House
   2. Scene I
   3. Scene II
   4. Scene III
   5. Scene IV
   6. Scene V
   7. Scene VI
   8. Scene VII
   9. Scene VIII
   10. Scene IX
   11. Scene X
   12. Scene XI
7. Act III
   1. Roxane's Kiss
   2. Scene I
   3. Scene II
   4. Scene III
   5. Scene IV
   6. Scene V
   7. Scene VI
   8. Scene VII
   9. Scene VIII
   10. Scene IX
   11. Scene X
   12. Scene XI
   13. Scene XII
8. Act IV
   1. The Cadets of Gascony
   2. Scene I
   3. Scene II
   4. Scene III
   5. Scene IV
   6. Scene V
   7. Scene VI
   8. Scene VII
   9. Scene VIII
   10. Scene IX
   11. Scene X
9. Act V
   1. Cyrano's Gazette
   2. Scene I
   3. Scene II
   4. Scene III
   5. Scene IV
   6. Scene V
   7. Scene VI
10. Copyright