The Portland daily press., 1880-03-08
[From the French of Alfred de vigny.l
The Imperial Actor.
ICONCLUDED,l

round ana round MS prey Win Keen SlanceS
and crafty step; he stalked to and fro, erect
and haughtily and rudely striking his feet
on the ground so as to make his spurs ring.
The floor shook; the curtains trembled as
trees do at the approach of thunder.
thought that something great and terrible
was about to happen; my very hair seemed
10 weigh heavily on me, and put my hand
up to it without knowing what l did. |
looked at the Pope. He never moved; he
only frightened his grasp on the eagles head
that formed the arms of his chair.
The spell broke at last.
Comedian! l! All! will give you COM
edies that will make you weep like women
and children. Comedian! All! you are quite
out of your reckoning if you think that inso-
lent cOmpOSure can be passed off on me!
My theatre is the world! The part that
play is that of director and author! My
actors, they are all of you, Kings, Popes,
people; and the wire that / pull to set you
going is fear! Comedian! All! one must
be made of different stuff from you. to dare
either to applaud or to hiss me! Signor
Chiarmonte, do you know that you would
be nothing but poor cure if | chose? you
and your tiara! Why, France would laugh
in your face, if l did not keep grave coun-
tenance in saluting you!
Four years ago only, no one would have
dared to speak out loud of Christ. Who
buCL, IL JOu plCdoCs WOulu nave SpOkcI VI
the Pope? Comedian! Ali gentlemen, you
make yourselves at home with us very
quickly. You are in bad temper because
have not been fool enough to do as Louis
XIV. did, and sign the disapproval of CALI
can liberties. But am not to be played
upon in that way. 1t is l who hold you in my
hand 1t is l who carry you from South to
North like puppets. 1t is who hold you
of some account, because YOU represent an
nj yuhip TxxyicI 10 raxrsx,a ov,1
have not wit enough to perceive that and to
act as if you did not perceive it. No! One
must tell you everything. Things must be
put under your nose for you to see them.
And you think you are needed; and you lift
up your head and you parade yourself in
your women's robes. But, understand that
you in nowise overawe me; and that if you
continue, will treat your robe as Charles
XII. did that of the Grand Vizier. l will
tear it to tatters with my spurp'
He paused did not dare to breathe.
No longer hearing his laundering voice put
my head forward to see if the poor old man
was dead of fright There was the same
calm in his attitude, the same calm on his
face. A second time he lifted his eyes to
heaven, and, after another deep sigh, he
smiled with bitterness and calculated:
"Tragedianp'
Bonaparte at this moment was at the
ObucI cLu VI tuS TOOul leduluS against d mar
BILE mantelpiece as high as himself He
darted off like fash, running toward the
old man. l thought he was going to kill
him. But he stopped short, took from the
table a vase of Sevres china, on which the
Castle of st. Angelo and the Capitol were
painted, and throwing it on the andirons
and the marble, ground it beneath his feet;
then suddenly seated himself and remained
profoundly silent, formidable though motion
less.
I was relieved. / felt that reflection had
come back to him, and that his intelligence
had regained ascendency over his boiling
blood. He appeared sad; his voice was
hollow and melancholy, and from his first
word / realized that this Proteus, mastered
by two words, was showing forth his very
self.
Miserable ifep' he began. Then he fell
into reverie, tore the border of his nat and
remained a minute longer in silence. Then,
as if waking up and speaking to himself:
cit is true! Tragedian or comedian! 1t is
all acting and costuming with me for a long
time past, and henceforward forever! How
wearisome! how trivial! Assuming first
one attitude, then another. Turning ones
full face to this party, ones prefile to that,
according to their views. Appearing what
they like one to be, and divining their i'm
beetle dreams! Balancing them all between
hOpC lcdI udLLlllS Iucu NY IGpOruS
and bulletins, by the prestige of distances
and the prestige of names. Being the mas
ter of them all, and then not knowing what
to do with them. That is the whole of it,
ma fol! And after all to be as bored as I
am, it is too much! For, in TRUTH" con-
tinued he, crossing his legs and leaning
back in his armchair, II am terribly bored.
So soon as repose am ready to die of
ennui. l cannot hunt for three days at Fon-
fainqhlQa1I without r,oricIipu IF oor;p
But must keep moving EDWARDS myself
and make others move on, too. Hang me,
though, if I know whittier! am laying my
self bare before you.
/ have plans sufficient for the lives of
forty emperors. make one every morning,
and one every evening. l have an indefati-
gable imagination; but shall not have time
to carry out couple of them before shall
be worn out, body and soul; for our poor
lamp does not burn long. And frankly, even
If all my plans were carried out, would not
swear that the world would be only the hap
pier for it, though it would be grander, and
majestic unity would dignity it. l am no
philosopher. and only know of one person
who had common sense. and that is your
Florentine Secretary. 1 understand nothing
of certain theories. Life is too short for
standing still. So soon as have thought, 1
execute. When am gone the world will
find enough explanations of my dcings to ex-
alt my lustre, if succeed, and to dwindle it
down if l fail. The paradoxes are there al
ready; they abound in France. 1 silence
them during my lifetime, but afterward you
may look to it. Never mind; my business is
to succeed, and I understand doing that. 1
act out my Iliad, and that every day.
Here he rose gayly and with alacrity. He
was quite natural at that moment; he had
no idea of drawing his own portrait, as he
did afterward in his dialogues at st. Helena.
He had no thought of Transforming himself
into an ideal parsonage so as to fulfill the
finest philosophical conceptions. He showed
himself as he was. He drew near the Holy
Father, who made no movement, and began
walking in front of him. There, working
himself up, he uttered the following words,
half laughingly and half ironically, mixing
the trivial and the grandiose, as was his hab-
it, and speaking with the inconceivable volu-
bility that eXempliied his rapid and facile
genius, divining everything without study
ing gb it. .,.. ;,
come into the world poor and naked are al
ways desperate, and this leads either to ac-
ton or to suicide, according to the differ
ence of character. When, like me, they have
the courage to put their hand to everything,
ma fol! they play the devil. After all, we
must live. We must find our place and make
our nest. For myself, have made mine like
cannon ball. So much the worse for those
who were in front of me! Some are content
with little, others never have enough. What
is man to do? Everyone eats according to-
his appetite. was very hungry. Why, at
Toulouse, Holy Father, had not enough to
buy pair of epaulettes. Instead of these,
had on my shoulders my mother and
know not how many brothers. At present
they are all placed suitably enough, hope.
Josephine married me from pity, and now
we are going to crown her under the nose of
Saguideau, her notary, who said that had
nothing but my cloak and sword. And he
was not wrong, ma fol! Imperial mantle,
crown, what does it all signify? Do they
belong to me? Costume, an actors costume,
which shall put ON for an hour, and of
which shall then have had enough. After
that shall don my uniform and mount my
horse. Always on horseback; never in my
armchair; is that life to envy? l tell you,
Holy Father, there are only two classes of
men in the world, those who possess and
those who earn. The former lie down: the
latter move about. AS took in the mean
ing of this fully, early in life, shall go far;
that is all. There are only two men who
do fi,ar hao; Of 81,