SCENE VII

_The Abode of the Ancestors_

_A large open space, under an Elysian light, which imparts to all things an aspect of ethereal and lasting felicity and unchanging gladness. The back and the two sides of the square are formed of dwelling-places of different periods, some stately, some lowly, but all radiant and a little unreal. In the foreground, on the right, for instance, is the entrance to the cottage of_ TYLTYL'S _grandparents; next comes the gable of a farm-house of older date; then the front of a little eighteenth-century shop; and thus in succession, running from right to left and across the back, a seventeenth-century town-house, a sixteenth-century prison, tavern and hospital, a fifteenth-century mansion; some thirteenth-century hovels, a twelfth-century church, a Gallo-Roman farm and villa, and so on. Intersecting the background at the middle is a street in endless perspective, bordered with the very oldest houses and leading to the huts and caves of primitive mankind. In the foreground are a few stone benches standing under fine trees, laurels, plane-trees or cypresses_.

(TYLTYL, LIGHT, DESTINY _and_ THE SIX GIRLS _come forward, followed at a distance by_ THE WHITE PHANTOM, _who keeps to one side as usual. They have taken but a few steps when_ GAFFER _and_ GRANNY TYL _come hurrying out of their cottage and, with exclamations of delight, throw themselves into_ TYLTYL'S _arms_.)

GRANNY TYL

Tyltyl! Tyltyl!... Gracious, you again!... But this time it's not a surprise. We were expecting you; we were told three days ago.... All the same, though, we're so glad to see you that it's difficult to believe at first.... But how big and strong you've grown, dear! And so good-looking: I should never have known you!... Oh, dear, how nice it is to get a kiss like this now and again!...

GAFFER TYL

Haven't you brought Mytyl this time?...

GRANNY TYL

Of course he hasn't; you know it's not her turn yet.... We know what you're here for, Tyltyl: it's not to see us! You needn't blush!... You young rascal, you scamp!... There, there, you're quite right; and the sooner you set about it the better.... So it's one of these girls they have to choose?

TYLTYL

Yes, Granny, it seems so.

GAFFER TYL

(_Eyeing them like an expert_.) Ho, ho!... And, my word, a very nice lot too! My compliments! I admire your taste.... (_Pointing to_ ROSELLE.) If I were you, I'd choose that one: she's the prettiest and the plumpest.

GRANNY TYL

Hold your tongue; no one's asking your advice: you know you've no say in the matter. We're still too young; we've hardly begun to get cold and haven't had time yet to pick up things.... It takes so long; there's so much to learn!... But the others, especially the oldest, who now are the youngest: it's they who know everything....

TYLTYL

What? The oldest are the youngest in this country?...

GRANNY TYL

Yes, it seems one gets younger as one grows older.... I'm beginning to notice it myself.

TYLTYL

That's odd.... But where on earth are they?... I see nobody....

GAFFER TYL

They'll come very soon.... I wonder they're not here yet.

TYLTYL

Are there many of them?

GRANNY TYL

What do you think! All your ancestors since the world began! There'd be so many that we shouldn't know where to put them!... But we shall only see a few of them. A good many are travelling in other worlds; and, as a fact, some of the oldest are always away. But those who are on the spot choose in the name of all. They always agree; and it seems they very seldom make a mistake.... But here's one coming out of his house. You see the little man shutting up his shop?

(_A spruce_ LITTLE MAN _is seen leaving the eighteenth-century shop_.)

TYLTYL

Who's he?

GRANNY TYL

It's your grandfather's grandfather; he was a grocer at Versailles in the reign of Louis the Fifteenth.

TYLTYL

What funny clothes!

GRANNY TYL

He has put on the things which he wore in his shop.... Here, as a rule, the weather is so mild, the air so warm and balmy, that we've no need to dress ourselves; but you wouldn't be able to see us if we had no clothes; and so, in your honour, we've put on those we used to wear on earth.... It'll be quite amusing: some of them date back ever so far.... Look, there they come, out of the houses they once lived in....

(_Enter from the town-house a_ CITIZEN _of the time of Louis XIV; from the sixteenth-century prison a_ PRISONER _still wearing chains and irons on his feet and hands. His shackles now seem to be light and cause him no inconvenience. He attracts_ TYLTYL'S _attention_.)

TYLTYL

Who is that one? Was he chained up?

GRANNY TYL

Yes, he is one of your ancestors who spent nearly all his life in prison.

TYLTYL

It's not a thing to boast of; he'd have done better to stay at home.

GRANNY TYL

He did nothing wrong. He used to steal bread or other little things which one could eat, to keep his children from starving. He suffered a great deal; we think a lot of him....

(THE ANCESTORS _continue to leave their houses. An imposing and richly-dressed_ MAN _appears on the threshold of the fifteenth-century mansion_.)

TYLTYL

(_Pointing to him_.) And that one?

GAFFER TYL

That one is the richest.... It appears we were very rich at one time, but that didn't last.... However, it doesn't matter here: the only thing that counts, it seems, is what a man has done or thought.... For instance, you see those beggars over there, coming out of the church?

(_Enter from the twelfth-century church some four or five_ BEGGARS, _clad in rags that are pitiful to look at, but idealized by the fairy atmosphere_.)

TYLTYL

Yes, any number of them.

GAFFER TYL

Well, it seems that several generations of us were beggars.... We succeeded one another, father and son, at the same church and in the same doorway. It was very good for us, they say. It taught us patience, resignation, endurance, temperance and the habit of never catching cold.... But do you see the oldest, the one who looks poorest of all?

TYLTYL

The one with the beautiful white beard?

GAFFER TYL

Precisely.... Well, he's the Great Mendicant, the one whom we respect most, first because he has an iron constitution and next because he appears to have thought a very great deal in his corner under the porch.... They say it's he who did most to develop our brains.

TYLTYL

But I don't see any women among them. Where are their wives? Weren't they married?

GRANNY TYL

Of course they were; but there's nothing for us women to do to-day. The men choose the women and the women the men.... When Mytyl comes, it will be our turn.

TYLTYL

Look, there are three more.

(_A diseased_ MAN _comes out of the hospital; another, carrying a bottle and looking rather tipsy, out of the tavern; and, lastly, out of the prison, a third figure, hairy and savage of aspect, brandishing a blood-stained knife_.)

GAFFER TYL

(_Dismayed_.) I don't like this.... It's very tiresome that they should have been told....

TYLTYL

Why, who are they?

GAFFER TYL

An ugly lot, those three: the sick man, the drunkard and the murderer.... They've done us a deal of harm.

TYLTYL

Then there was a murderer in the family?

GAFFER TYL

Of course, as in every family. Fortunately, none of the three has much influence over us. As you see, they are small and sickly; they shrink from century to century and are nothing like as healthy as the others.... But it won't do for them to meddle in your choice.... If the Great Peasant, the Great Mendicant and the Great Ancestor are there, all will go well: the others won't dare to breathe a word; if not, they will try to force their choice upon you and that will be a bad thing for you and for the future of the entire family.

(_Enter from the old farm-house a tall_ PEASANT, _dressed in the mediaeval style. He closes the door carefully and steps forward whittling a switch_.)

GAFFER TYL

Here comes the Great Peasant! That's good, that's good!

TYLTYL

That long, thin fellow?

GAFFER TYL

He certainly isn't fat; but he has great influence. He is one of the mainstays of the family.

(_Next enter from the villa one or two_ GALLO-ROMANS _and then, from the hack of the street, among other_ MEN _of the Stone Age, an exceedingly tall old_ MAN, _dressed in skins and leaning on a heavy club_.)

TYLTYL

Why, we've got right back to savages now!

GAFFER TYL

That's the one!

TYLTYL

Who?

GAFFER TYL

The Great Ancestor!

TYLTYL

What? The one like an ape, with the big stick?

GAFFER TYL

You _must_ be quiet!... Don't treat him with disrespect!... It's a great favour that he's showing you; he doesn't often go out.... Of all our race he's the most important, the greatest, the most respected.... Everything's shaping well: it'll probably be he, the Great Peasant and the Great Mendicant who will put their heads together and choose your bride for you.

TYLTYL

(_Indignantly_.) But I won't have that!... It doesn't concern them!... What do they know about it?... A peasant, a savage and a beggar: what next?

GAFFER TYL

Hold your tongue, I say!... I tell you, they represent all that is best in you and in the whole family. If you obey them, if you submit to their influence, you will be happy and safe.... Mind now! They're coming....

(THE ANCESTORS _have been gradually collecting at the back of the stage. They bow, accost one another, shake hands, exchange compliments. All show affectionate respect to_ THE GREAT PEASANT, THE GREAT MENDICANT _and especially_ THE GREAT ANCESTOR, _gathering around them and listening deferentially to what they say. On the other hand_, THE SICK MAN, THE DRUNKARD _and_ THE MURDERER _are left standing apart, forming a pitiful rear-guard. The group now moves towards the benches in the foreground, where_ TYLTYL _and his companions are gathered_.)

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

(_Coming forward_.) Good-evening, Tyltyl!

TYLTYL

Good-evening ... sir!

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Kiss me first. Don't be afraid. I look rather savage, but it is only a shape which I had to put on in order to make myself visible to you. I had no other handy.... But I am really quite clean and I don't smell bad.

TYLTYL

I never said you did!

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

No, but to judge by the grimace you made you weren't quite sure!... (_Sitting down on the middle bench_.) I will sit down here; the Great Mendicant will take his seat on my right and the Great Peasant on my left. They don't smell either.... (THE GREAT MENDICANT _and_ THE GREAT PEASANT _take their seats; the other_ ANCESTORS _stand behind him_.) And I will take you on my knees.... I am glad to hold you in my arms for a moment.... We have known each other so long!

TYLTYL

I don't remember ever seeing you before.

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

And yet we have always lived in each other; for you were already living in me when I was on earth; and now I live in you while you are still on that same earth, which we seem to have quitted.... But what do you think of this place of ours?... Let me have the pleasure of showing you over your home.

TYLTYL

My home?

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Certainly.... You are at home here.... And a very nice home it is.... Everything you see--this square, that prison, the church, those houses, we who live in them--all this is really only inside yourself.... People rarely see it, they don't even suspect it; but it's true.

TYLTYL

I should never have thought there was so much room inside myself and that it was so large....

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

It's much larger really; there's a great deal that you don't see.... But that is not what interests us to-day; let us come straight to the point, to the great question that brings you here.... We are going to choose the woman whom you are to love....

TYLTYL

Since you are so kind, there's one thing I should like to ask you....

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Ask me any questions you please.

TYLTYL

How is it that I have not, like other men, the right to choose the woman I love?

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

But you have the right to choose and are here for the sole purpose of making that choice.

TYLTYL

No, they tell me that it's you and the others who will make it.

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

But I and the others are all you.... You are we, we are you; and it's all the same thing.

TYLTYL

Not for me.... They keep on telling me to hold my tongue, that it's not my business, that it's no concern of mine.... Everybody's allowed to get a word in, except me.... I've had enough, I'm sick and tired of it!... Where do I come in? That's what I want to know!

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

You're simply acting as all men act when they think they are doing what they want to do.

TYLTYL

But, after all, dash it, what business is it of yours? I can understand, in a way, that the children I may one day have should claim some right to select their mother; but the rest of you, over here, what difference can it make to you?

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Don't you see that it's all the same? Those who have lived in you live in you just as much as those who are going to. There is no difference, it all connects and it's still the same family.

TYLTYL

As you please, but I can't make it out.... And, if I refuse to obey, if I love just for myself, if I take a different girl from the one they want to force on me, what will they do then? What will happen?

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Merely this, that the choice you will have made for yourself, without our approval, will not be a real choice; in other words, you will not love the woman whom you thought you loved. You will have made a mistake, you will be unhappy and, at the same time, you will make all of us unhappy, those who came before you as well as those who come after.

TYLTYL

Does that often happen?

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Very often, far too often: that is why you see so many unhappy people on earth.

TYLTYL

Well, what am I to do?

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Where are your little friends?... Would you mind coming a little nearer, dear ladies?... (_Gazing with attention at_ THE SIX GIRLS, _who come forward and stand in front of him_.) Well, well, you have set us our task, but you have made it very difficult: how is one to select when all are equally beautiful?

THE GREAT MENDICANT

They are really very handsome.

THE GREAT PEASANT

And they appear to be very healthy, very quiet and very hard-working.

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Do you recognize the one among them for whom we are waiting?

THE GREAT MENDICANT

Not yet.

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

It's strange, neither do I.... (_To_ THE GREAT PEASANT.) And you?

THE GREAT PEASANT

I can't say that I don't and I can't say that I do.

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

It's strange, very strange. And yet we know that the one who will make us happy has arrived and is here among us. We generally recognize her at the first glance.

THE GREAT MENDICANT

I can't understand it.

THE RICH ANCESTOR

(_Standing behind the bench, pointing to_ ROSARELLE.) Isn't it that one?... What's your name, my dear?

ROSARELLE

Rosarelle.

THE RICH ANCESTOR

Who are you?

ROSARELLE

The daughter of the Mayor.

THE RICH ANCESTOR

Are you rich?

ROSARELLE

My father has money, I believe.

THE RICH ANCESTOR

You see? There is no doubt about it.

THE SICK ANCESTOR

(_Pointing to_ AIMETTE.) I say it's that one.

THE DRUNKEN ANCESTOR

(_Taking hold of_ ROSELLE.) This is the one I want.

THE MURDERER ANCESTOR

(_Leaping over the bench and taking hold of_ BELLINE.) And I take this one!

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

(_Rising, in an authoritative tone_.) Be silent ... and withdraw!... _(With an imperious gesture_.) Begone!... You know that you have lost the right to raise your voice in my presence!...

(_The four dissentient_ ANCESTORS, _addressed in these terms, move away crestfallen_.)

THE OTHER ANCESTORS

(_Grouped behind the bench, clapping their hands_.) Hear! Hear!... Well done!... It's what they deserve!... They have been wrong too often!... They have done too much harm!... They would be the ruin of the family!...

JALLINE

(_Going to_ THE GREAT MENDICANT _and clasping his knees_.) Perhaps I'm the one.... I love him so!

MILETTE

(_Going to_ THE GREAT PEASANT _and clasping his knees_.) If you want to know how much I love him, look at me and see.

AIMETTE

(_Going to_ THE GREAT ANCESTOR _and clasping his knees_.) Can't you see that I have loved him longer than the others? I have loved him since I first set eyes on him. I never dared say so; but I feel that I shall die if you choose another.

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

My poor children, it is very sad, but my hands are tied. You will perhaps cry for a few hours; but, if we chose one of you, she would spend her whole life crying, for I do not see among you the one for whom we are waiting.... Tyltyl!

TYLTYL

Yes?

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Have you brought us no one else, besides those we see here?

TYLTYL

No, no one else.

THE GREAT MENDICANT

I see a tall white figure over there, against a tree; who is it?

TYLTYL

I really don't know. She follows us all the time, squeezes in wherever we go, nobody knows her; and we can't get rid of her.

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Go and fetch her.

(TYLTYL _fetches_ THE WHITE PHANTOM _and brings her back, holding her by the hand_.)

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Who are you?

TYLTYL

It's no use asking her. She never answers; she can't talk.

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

(_To_ THE PHANTOM.) Come nearer, child, and let me lift the veil that covers your face.... (_He removes the veil. The statue's face appears, absolutely white, featureless and devoid of human expression_.) She has no face.... (_To the other_ ANCESTORS _standing around them_.) Do you know her?

THE GREAT PEASANT

She has no expression.

THE GREAT MENDICANT

She has no features.... She is like an unfinished statue.

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

What are we to do? It must be she. But who is she? She is not dead, or we should know it.... Come, Tyltyl, make an effort, for everything depends on you. You must remember....

TYLTYL

I have tried my utmost.... Do what I will, I can't remember at all.

THE GREAT ANCESTOR

Listen, it is a serious matter. If we do not succeed in recognizing her, all your life, all your happiness on earth will be nothing more than a phantom like herself.... There is one last resource, one last hope, which is that the children who are to be born of you may discover who she is and that she is to be their mother. They see much farther and deeper than we. But there is no time to lose; for this waiting and this living in suspense are very dangerous for her. We must be quick therefore; we must not waste a moment ... go, my little Tyltyl. You have been very good and patient, very obedient and faithful to your race throughout this ordeal. Take this kiss and farewell.... You too, my dears, let me give you the parting kiss. Do not be too sad; another happiness awaits you. There is more than one kind on that poor misguided earth of yours. You have deserved every happiness that it can give.... Good-bye, my dear daughters; good-bye, good-bye, my son. And we will meet again whenever you wish: you know where to find us and we shall be waiting for you....

(_The Scene grows dark and disappears from view; the Curtain of Rocks closes; and_ TYLTYL, THE GIRLS, LIGHT _and_ DESTINY _are once more alone among the boulders_.)

DESTINY

(_Seizing_ TYLTYL'S _hand_.) This way, this way!... Thanks to me, it went off very well!... I said nothing about it; but it was I who foresaw everything and planned everything; and all that has been done was ordained by me....

(_They all go out_.)

CURTAIN