st
upon my marriage with the Marquis de Montsorel.

The Duchess
If I oppose this unreasonable match, it is certainly not for the
purpose of making another with a designing family.

Inez
Unreasonable? Who knows whether it be so or not? You believe him to be
an adventurer, I believe he is a gentleman, and we have nothing to
refute either view.

The Duchess
We shall not have to wait long for proofs; the Montsorels are too
eager to unmask him.

Inez
And he, I believe, loves me too much to delay proving himself worthy
of us. Was not his behavior yesterday noble in the extreme?

The Duchess
Don't you see, silly child, that your happiness is identical with
mine? Let Raoul satisfy the world, and I shall be ready to fight for
you not only against the intrigues of the Montsorels, but in the court
of Spain, itself.

Inez
Ah, mother, I perceive that you also love him.

The Duchess
Is he not the man of your choice?

SCENE SECOND.
The same persons, a footman and Vautrin.

(The footman brings the duchess a card, wrapped up and sealed.)

The Duchess (to Inez)
General Crustamente, the secret envoy of his Majesty Don Augustine I,
Emperor of Mexico. What can he have to say to me?

Inez
Of Mexico! He doubtless brings news of my father!

The Duchess (to the footman)
Let him come in.

(Vautrin enters dressed like a Mexican general, his height increased
four inches. His hat has white plumes; his coat blue, with the rich
lace of a Mexican general officer; his trousers white, his scarf
crimson, his hair long and frizzed like that of Murat; he wears a long
sabre, and his complexion is copper-hued. He stutters like the
Spaniards of Mexico, and his accent resembles Provencal, plus the
guttural intonation of the Moors.)

Vautrin
Is it indeed her grace, the Duchesse de Christoval that I have the
honor to address?

The Duchess
Yes, sir.

Vautrin
And mademoiselle?

The Duchess
My daughter, sir.

Vautrin
Mademoiselle is then the Senorita Inez, in her own right Princesse
d'Arjos. When I see you, I understand perfectly Monsieur de
Christoval's idolatry of his daughter. But, ladies, before anything
further, let me impose upon you the utmost secrecy. My mission is
already a difficult one, but, if it is suspected that there is any
communication between you and me, we should all be seriously
compromised.

The Duchess
I promise to keep secret both your name and your visit.

Inez
General, if the matter concerns my