“But you heard him, dear madame. We all
heard him.”
The others made chorus, whilst Scaramouche smiled
at him, and patted his shoulder.
“Up, man, a little courage. Did you not
say that fortune awaits us? And have we not now
the wherewithal to constrain fortune? Burgundy,
then, to... to toast ‘Les Fourberies de Scaramouche.’”
And M. Binet, who was not blind to the force of the
idea, yielded, took courage, and got drunk with the
rest.
CLIMENE
Diligent search among the many scenarios of the improvisers
which have survived their day, has failed to bring
to light the scenario of “Les Fourberies de
Scaramouche,” upon which we are told the fortunes
of the Binet troupe came to be soundly established.
They played it for the first time at Maure in the
following week, with Andre-Louis — who was known
by now as Scaramouche to all the company, and to the
public alike — in the title-role. If he
had acquitted himself well as Figaro-Scaramouche,
he excelled himself in the new piece, the scenario
of which would appear to be very much the better of
the two.
After Maure came Pipriac, where four performances
were given, two of each of the scenarios that now
formed the backbone of the Binet repertoire.
In both Scaramouche, who was beginning to find himself,
materially improved his performances. So smoothly
now did the two pieces run that Scaramouche actually
suggested to Binet that after Fougeray, which they
were to visit in the following week, they should tempt
fortune in a real theatre in the important town of
Redon. The notion terrified Binet at first, but
coming to think of it, and his ambition being fanned
by Andre-Louis, he ended by allowing himself to succumb
to the temptation.
It seemed to Andre-Louis in those days that he had
found his real metier, and not only was he beginning
to like it, but actually to look forward to a career
as actor-author that might indeed lead him in the
end to that Mecca of all comedians, the Comedie Francaise.
And there were other possibilities. From the
writing of skeleton scenarios for improvisers, he
might presently pass to writing plays of dialogue,
plays in the proper sense of the word, after the manner
of Chenier, Eglantine, and Beaumarchais.
The fact that he dreamed such dreams shows us how
very kindly he had taken to the profession into which
Chance and M. Binet between them had conspired to
thrust him. That he had real talent both as
author and as actor I do not doubt, and I am persuaded
that had things fallen out differently he would have
won for himself a lasting place among French dramatists,
and thus fully have realized that dream of his.
Now, dream though it was, he did not neglect the practical
side of it.
“You realize,” he told M. Binet, “that
I have it in my power to make your fortune for you.”
