1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Ask a Question

Scene IV

The same, with DE GUICHE.

DE GUICHE:

[to CARBON] Good day! [They examine each other. De Guiche speaks in an aside, with satisfaction.] He's quite green!

CARBON:

[looking at DE GUICHE with the same sort of satisfaction and also speaking in an aside] His cheeks are sunken and his eyes are as big as saucers!

DE GUICHE:

[looking at the CADETS] So! Here are the rebels! I've been hearing from all sides that you country louts scoff at me—your colonel! It seems that you mountain-bred aristocrats harbor a disdain for me, calling me a plotter and a scheming courtier! I hear that it doesn't please your mightiness to see a lace collar on my armor! You're all simply enraged by the fact that a man can be still be a Gascon without looking like a ragged beggar! [There is silence. Everyone continues to smoke and to play.] Shall I command your captain to punish you? No.

CARBON:

Let me remind you that these are my men, and I would refuse to punish them.

DE GUICHE:

Ah!

CARBON:

These men are of my company. I take orders only from headquarters.

DE GUICHE:

Is that so? Fine, then. [addressing himself to the cadets] I am above your taunts, because it's well known how I've shown myself in this war. Just yesterday, at Bapaume, I beat back the Count of Bucquoi. I assembled my men and we charged on him three separate times!

CYRANO:

[without lifting his eyes from his book] Yes, and don't forget the part about your white scarf.

DE GUICHE:

[surprised and gratified] Oh, you've heard that detail? It's true! I'll tell you how it happened. While turning about to recall the troops for the third charge, I was swept up with a band of fugitives. They bore me with them, and we came dangerously close to the enemy. I was in peril of capture or sudden death! I quickly had the idea to loosen the scarf which told my military rank and I let it fall. This way, I was unnoticed and was able to leave the swarm. I went back, rallied my men, and we charged and scattered them! What do you say to that, Sir?

[The CADETS pretend not to be listening, but the cards and the dice-boxes remain suspended in their hands, the smoke of their pipes in their cheeks. They wait.]

CYRANO:

I say that Henry the Fourth would never have stripped himself of his scarf, no matter the danger.

[There is silent delight among the cadets. The cards fall, the dice rattle, the smoke is puffed.]

DE GUICHE:

But it was a good trick! And it worked!

[The CADETS again suspend their movements and wait.]

CYRANO:

Oh, that may be true! But I don't believe in lightly abdicating the honor of being the enemy's target. [Cards and dice fall again, and the cadets smoke with delight.] We have very different ideas of what courage is, Sir. If I had been there when your scarf fell, I would have picked it up and put it on myself.

DE GUICHE:

Oh, that's just Gascon bragging!

CYRANO:

Bragging? Give the scarf to me. I promise that tonight I will lead the assault while wearing it across my chest.

DE GUICHE:

Another Gascon boast! You know very well that my scarf now lies on the river bank in enemy territory. The place is riddled with gunfire! No one can bring it back!

CYRANO:

[drawing the scarf from his pocket, and holding it out to him] Here it is.

[There is silence. The cadets stifle their laughter in their cards and dice-boxes. DE GUICHE turns and looks at them. They instantly become serious and return to their games. One of them whistles indifferently the tune that was just played by the fifer.]

DE GUICHE:

[taking the scarf] I thank you. And now I shall make a signal that I was unable to make until now.

[He goes to the embankment and waves the scarf three times.]

ALL:

What's he doing?

SENTINEL:

[from the top of the embankment] I see a man running away down there!

DE GUICHE:

[descending] He's a false Spanish spy. He's extremely useful to me. I give him false news to carry to the enemy, and such news influences their decisions!

CYRANO:

He's a traitor and a scoundrel!

DE GUICHE:

[carelessly knotting his scarf] But he's extremely helpful to us. Now, what were we talking about? Ah! I have news for you. Last night, the Marshal secretly left for Dourlens in order to bring back food and drink for us. But to ensure that he would be able to return to camp more easily, he took most of the troops with him. If we get attacked now, we'll be in serious trouble. Half of the army is absent from the camp!

CARBON:

Yes, if the Spaniards knew this, it would be terrible for us. But they know nothing?

DE GUICHE:

Oh, they know. And they will attack us.

CARBON:

Ah!

DE GUICHE:

My false spy came to warn me of their attack. He told me, “I can have them attack at whichever point you'd like them to, by telling them that it's the point which is least defended. Where do you want it to happen?” I answered, “Leave the camp and watch for my signal. I will sign to you from the point I have chosen.”

CARBON:

[to the CADETS] Make ready!

[All the CADETS rise. There are sounds of swords being picked up and belts being buckled.]

DE GUICHE:

It will happen in one hour.

FIRST CADET:

Oh, in that case…

[They all sit down again and take up their games.]

DE GUICHE:

[to CARBON] The Marshal will be on his way back, so we must keep the enemy occupied here for as long as we can.

CARBON:

How do you propose we do that?

DE GUICHE:

By letting them continue their attack until every last one of your cadets are killed.

CYRANO:

Ah! So this is your revenge!

DE GUICHE:

I am not saying that if I loved you all, I would have chosen differently. As boastful and courageous as you are, you are my best choice. In this way, I serve both my King and my grudge at the same time.

• a municipality of the town of Arras, France
• a Flemish general during the Thirty Years’ War
• At the battle of Ivry in 1590, King Henry IV of France (1553 – 1610) refused to retreat, even though he was greatly outnumbered by the enemy. He is said to have told his soldiers to follow his white plume; doing so would lead them on the path to honor and glory. In the play, the white scarf is a symbol of honor, bravery, and idealism. While de Guiche throws it aside to aid himself in a maneuver, Cyrano braves the Spanish lines in order to retrieve it.
• giving up; relinquishing

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