CHARACTERS, (In order of appearance) DOCTOR ROYER-COLLARD — Chief physician of the Charenton asylum MONSIEUR PROUIX — A celebrated architect : the quarters of the MARQUIS, and RENEE PELAGIE — The griefstricken wife of a madman house. ABBE de COULMIER — Administrator at the asylum. THE MARQUIS — The asylum's most notorious inmate MADELEINE LECLERC — The seamstress at Charenton; lay is written, sixteen and quite lovely The play i consciousness of true mel A LUNATIC — A madman heard through a chink in the wall MADAME ROYER-COLLARD — The Doctor's wife, a woman. of considerable appetites A NOTE ABOUT CASTING The same actor may portray MONSIEUR PROUIX and the LUNATIC. Similarly, the same actress may double in the roles of MADELEINE and MADAME ROYER-COLLARD. forces far moreFanaticism in me is the product of the persecutions I have ERG OLLARD. I endured from my tyrants. The longer they continue their DR. ROT ne delicacy Of my vexations, the deeper they root my principles in my heart ‘an I would otherwise ¢ in a Letter to His Wife MONSIEUR PROUIX, DR. ROYERCOLLARD- MONSIEUR PROUIX. constitutions are not so fully to seduction as readily as You DR. ROYER-COLLARD. ©her at the heel, or secure a cow bell ‘round her neck be kept alert of her whereabouts, “© MONSIEUR PROUIX. Many a man has enforced worye DR. ROYER-COLLARD. 1 sures in the name of Fidelity. Monsieur Prowix: it fo DR ROYERCOLLARD. While 1 was delighted to ac Maurice, the Ministry will ¢ cept tion, 1 can hear them now, * in the provinces, she was loathe to leave Paris, Peep abandon all she holds most dear, Her art excheg gardener. And a frisky litle footman named Hercule. a MONSIEUR PROUIX. But she followed you here to Sai Maurice, nonetheless. Perhaps she favors her husband after aid DR ROYERCOLLARD. It was bribery, not steadfastness, ‘uhich enticed her. 1 promised her a chateau to rival Fontainebleau. MONSIEUR PROUIX. Hence, my employ ... i DR ROYERCOLLARD. You must construct a home of such grand design, 90 full of beauty and diversion, that she is never inclined to leave it MONSIEUR PROUIX. 1 spent all morning, sir, in pursuit of that very end. DR ROYERCOLLARD. And —? MONSIEUR PROUIX. I'm afraid your wife is as extravagant as she is charming. When I suggest granite for the foyer, she’s quick to counter ‘with Peruvian marble. The tapestries she’s prescribed for your boudoir are no less than spun gold, and the dining set she fancies ith bone carved from the antler of a rare species of mn only to the Hirmalayas. DR. ROYERCOLLARD. So 's the price she extorts for fealty? MONSIEUR PROUIX. Why, the proposed garden alone could bankrupt 4 man — DR. ROYERCOLLARD. Spend what you must. UR PROUIX. With all due respect, sir, your re- re finite — YER-COLLARD well aware of my own finances — eye ata) Why, even the cost of lumber — D PRCOLLARD. Whatever you require, I'll providel MONSIEUR FROUIX. Pardon a8 Delt I scat i dred madmen to his care, 8pr, ROYER-COLLARD, i o RENEE PELAGIE: lard turn DR. ROYER-COLLARD, — Excuse us a fact 1 am his wife, Monsieur Prouix? MONSIEUR PROUIX, But of course, (He withdraws, Dr EN aaa Collard addresses Renée Pélagie,) Royer pita oe DR. ROYER-COLLARD, I beg you — be succinct, fr Pe have fallen prey to yet another abom. Cavalcade of Woe which Iam doomed to call “my life.” DR. ROYER-COLLARD. And how might I assist you? RENEE PELAGIE. You are new to Charenton, are you now DR. ROYER-COLLARD. I am. RENEE PELAGIE. Perhaps you are not yet familiar with my husband, and his unusual case. DR. ROYER-COLLARD. He is a patient here, I presume? RENEE PELAGIE, Quite. DR. ROYER-COLLARD. name? RENEE PELAGIE. I cannot bring myself to say it, Doct: Its cost has been so dear. (She hands @ calling card to Dr. Royer- Collard. He reacts:) DR. ROYER-COLLARD. With all due respect, Madame, all of France is familiar with your husband. RENEE PELAGIE. No one knows his reputation better than I, Doctor. DR. ROYER-COLLARD. I assume that you've come to plead for clemency on his behalf. RENEE PELAGIE. Oh you do, do you? DR. ROYER-COLLARD. I'm afraid I can offer than sympathy. I have the strictest orders, in Napoleon himself, to contain the man indefini RENEE PELAGIE, It is my dearest hope, Doctor, that he re- main entombed forever, that he be deprived all human con- tact, and that when at last he perishes in the dank bowels of institution, he be left as carrion for the rodents and thepr: ROVER-COLLARD. What specifically compelled pay this vst today? (Renée Pélagie composes herself.) YoU paNAE PELAGIE. 1 dared hope that my husband's j RENT on would allow him to fade from the country's me cera then find freedom in his obscurity. Ob, to ako again! To be invited on a garden stroll To once agintiees the unfettered glory of walking down the street without in; a Without falling debris. all TR ROYER-COLLARD. I wish it for you, my poor Marq RENEE PELAGIE. But something bie i eee of events. DR ROYERCOLLARD. What, exacly? RENEE PELAGIE. Are you aware, sir, of the charge which precipitated my husband's latest arrest? PeOPOYER-COLLARD. I am. He authored a scandalous PR TA tale 50 pornographic, that it drove men to murder find women to misCarry. RENEE PELAGIE. And are you further aware, that now — RENT thin these fortified chambers — his writing continucs unchecked? DR ROYERCOLLARD. What? RENEE PELAGIE. Charenton provides a havel most agree- without interruption, able to his Muse. Endless hours to write, save for his meals. Stacks of paper at his disposal, and always — always —a ready quill DR, ROYER-COLLARD. I assure your first I have heard of such goingson. RENEE PELAGIE. 1 thought my husband had been placed ere at Charenton, in lieu of prison, so that he could be cured of his corrosive habits. DR. ROYER-COLLARD. I recognize our its cause. RENEE PELAGIE. Yes? ? DR, ROYER-COLLARD. It pains me to admit that our repU- Rtion is one of laxity. A certain Abbe de Coulmier, adminis: trator here, has a constitution more suited to nursing babies than ending the insane. He has removed the wicker dummy, the wire cage, and the stratjacket — tools many consider es- rivers of ink, Madame, this is the failing. I even knowRENEE PELAGIE, Name it, and the figure shall be yo DR ROYERCOLLARD. — Might I suggest, Ma ry, eep our new-found understanding in conti ence, Sa have buried himself alive rad RENEE PELAGIE. Of course. DR. ROYERCOLLARD. Far be it from me to press yy RENEE PELAGIE. You may expect my lawyer later this temoon. [trust that, together, you'll arrive at a comment rate sum. he DR. ROYERCOLLARD. I'm eternally in your debt, 1 RENEE PELAGIE. And T in yours. (She turns to go; she tums tack (0 Dr. Royer Collard:) Doctor? DR. ROYER-COLLARD. Marquise? RENEE PELAGIE. Can I impart to you his cruelest trick? DR. ROYER-COLLARD. Yes. RENEE PELAGIE. Once ... long ago ... in the folly of youth wae he made me ... love him. Madame. ‘my maligned char- RENEE PELAGIE. Tell me truthfully. aeter, stretched so long upon the rack gain its natural shape? DR. ROYER-COLLARD. Take heart! (He hisses Renée Plagie’s hand.) How suddenly such happiness looms! Scene 3 Dr. RoyerCollard, Abbe de Coulmier, The Marquis: informs me that The DR. ROYERCOLLARD. The Mini Marquis falls under your exclusive dominion. COULMIER. My brethren found him too taxing a patient ‘A few of the priests were so dispirited, they left the order. Fae ther Lely now slaughters pigs in Provence. Father Couvrat is ‘a chimney sweep. And the late Father Buffier is rumored (0DR. ROYER-COLLARD. Quite the contrary, 1 5 IY: It yielded alarming contraband. (He gestures to the items om his da razors, a purse filled with salt, a wooden prod, newly ¥ ron vicegrip of indeterminate usage, Tam no less than stunned, Doctor, DR. ROYERCOLLARD. These kn concern, since they pose no threat to the Asylum's gen ation. However, stashed under a floorboard, we recovere (He pplls a sheath of papers from his desk.) A manuseripy, some twelve hundred pages long, ready for printing, COULMIER. Another? So soon? (Dr. Royer-Collard passes the manuscript to Coulmier.) DR. ROYERCOLLARD. I defy you — in the name of God, France, and all that you hold moral and true — to read it, unmoved. (Coulmier begins to read it. Lights rise on the opposite side of the stage, revealing The Marquis, seated in his quarters. His tely coifed, and his ruffles are somewhat worn, He in hand, reciting as he works.) THE MARQUIS. Dear Reader, it now falls upon me, your | chaperone through the dark waters of the to impart a | tale of such mirthless cruelty and moral torpor that I can barely bring my voice above a whisper. So come, perch upon my knee, so you don’t miss a word. (He giggles. Coulmier glances nervously at Dr. Royer-Collard.) DR. ROYER-COLLARD. Gird yourself. That's mere preamble. (Coulmier continues to read.) THE MARQUIS. On a jutting cliff o , there stood a monastery of mos r design. To the gullible eye, its windowless facade suggested a simplicity to modest worship. But the true reason for its aus- mnceal from the world at large the atrocities occurring within, (He spins his tale with all the unfet- tered glee of a mischievous child inventing a lie. He registers delight ‘at each grisly escapade, giddiness at each perversion.) Tt was here ‘0 first sprang into the world, borne of a ‘and a wayward nun, Once the baby was freed ‘ripened womb, its parents were duly skewered for their offenses. Bereft and wailing, the child was le the city of defrocked 16 ai, ihbosom of the a DR. ROYER-COLLARD, Endless pages of p! (Coulmier begins frantically flipping through the pages, THE MARQUIS, | — No God — blah, blah — ¢o, through force — lah — the ine blah, blah, blah — COULMIER. But what of the boy's fate? DR. ROYER-COLLARD. Swept away by the story, are you _| COULMIER, It’s necessary to know his end, to gauge the measure of The Marquis’ depravity. DR. ROYER-COLLARD. — Page seventy-three. I've folded the corner. (Coulmier regards Dr. RoyerCollard for a moment.) THE MARQUIS. Soon Ganymede was adopted by the Due de Blangis, a rank old pedophile with a penchant for gutter trade, “What soft skin you have!” cooed the Duc, when the boy lay exposed before him. “So womanish! So suitable for lech | a4 ONE exy! L will not have it wrinkle or coarsen; rather, I'll preserve | DR. Ri its sheen forever!" With that, the Duc uncorked a vial of lin- seed oil. He dribbled it over the child’s nude body, filling each crevice, each moist valley, till Ganymede shone like an eel, Then he wrapped the boy in freshly harvested donkey hide, “Here you'll stay,” the Due commanded, “until you've absorbed each drop. Only then will we commence with our debauch!"” Accustomed to the mos vile abuses, the boy found such teats ment a happy respite. The hide was warm and soft, an the Duc fed him the most astonishing foods. Marzipan, hot | 72 Oe sugared pastries, cream-filled cakes and glacés. “Mon Dieu,” cr : sighed the boy, “I could live this life forever!” Soon, however, DR ROYER: Ci Ganymede realized the appalling truth. 2 COULMIER. What cruel twist The Marquis in store? to ante ee wrred the Duc. “My hitherto unknown! therein lies rant child. Each THE MARQUIS. The calculating Duc had not cured the i ping hide, and so — as the boy's body, gorged with des pa 2 serts, grew swollen like a great, pink bladder — its casi po 8 rn like a great, pink bla ing be- SOUR gan to shrink, COULMIER. Dear God! might perpetuate th THE MARQUIS. “Please,” beseeched the boy, “Split the hide, painstakingly de so I might breathe free!” The Duc merely laughed, and. sic ; 181 cight, we was we left it the night ing, or some broken crying for the loss of her chas, ihe sets down her glass and. part again!” ‘good tingle, is there, Made Scene 4 slam the book shut, just actwitter, cranky for the 2s me forge on in the priests taught you to read, did in novels? ‘¢ not the only one, mind you. We read nd Louvet de Couvray. “But when we ays Mama, “make it The Marquis!” Do I frighten you now, Madeleine? Frighten me? That's a good one! I tell Id only see him, you wouldn't tremble so wwe thought such a spent body could still THE MARQUL was your fingers branes! MADELEINE. Some day, THE MARQUIS. 1 kind of story shall it be tonight? 1g to make our blood run cold, and THE MARQUIS. Wot rr cheeks aflame. ‘Just how bad would you like it to be? Past all redemption, please. THE MARQUIS. [ have just the manuscript, inspired by th very surroundings. The unhappy tale of a virginal nurse-mai darling of the lower wards, where they entomb the hope- 1lessly deran, MADELEINS THE MARQUIS. MADELEINE. 1 THE MARQUIS, Is it awful ly viok _ Most Aa s it terribly erotic? Fiendishly so MADELEINE. . Is it bo TH th a THE MARQUIS. But of once? MADELEINE. course! oO THE MARQUIS, Bar out lke manuscript) A kiss for each een fae oe ) r each oii MADE EINE (My a pase He hota, MARQUIS. There are, o ing to be read ... Mee MADELEINE. Mi i ; MADELEINE, “Must I administer the kisses die THE MARQUIS. i Javelin. MADELEINE. Oh, . Ob, you! You talk then hisses The Marquis. He gives eae oo ea Another page. A third ti 6, Ste sesh on ime, a thind " aunts a Page) It's a long story ite THI be [E MARQUIS. And this — the clit comes at a higher cost! re ae by lesser ay thors wai, or ne Tish, fe price, my coquette, is as firm xs ty MADELEINE. What's E. 's that then? ce MARQUIS. | Sit on my i MADELEINE, (Madeleine mutters as she orauls into his lap) Ye ) You der mand a lot from your readers, you do. THE MARQUIS. Ne IS. Needl ‘s cn ARGUES.” Nes le a the story's thrilling con. BAD ca zat ye that be, pray tell? ie Marquis whispers in her ear, his ~ his tone low id hypnotic.) Yo fypot.) Your maidenhead. And then you zie Rim Peppa aa! come back to me, renened ates for time. (Madeleine a Sy she dat kim hard) ‘ome things belong 1 Hened fool who cant lla a an’t tell the difference. (Coulmier af- The Marquis and Madeleine entangled. He clears int. He thoug! (Madeleine thrusts Scene 5 ‘The Marquis: tated Coulmier, which have precipi corks a decanter.) Abbe? i me books WI MIER. _It is those 2 COULM I, Marquis. (The Marquis 0 \Gare for a splash of wine, may visit UIs. THE MARQUIS. 2 tnreation, like certain portions Of the Tomy, aways runs more smoothly when lubricated. GOULMIER. Why. yes thankyou. (The Marquis pours two of wine) uses of #06) 1. rare vintage, from an obscure WIE ‘underfoot, they THE MARQUIS. er than crush the grape es when, Rall and reap its juic in Bordeaux. place the fruit on the belly of a bride, Fre young husband steers his vessel into port. before tasting. Oh, my. wish it gently in the glass Year can smell the perfume in her halt and the beads of sweat pons that nether region called Love's Temple. A full-bodied a teint of wantonness? (Coulmier saps mid- ‘glass down.) ‘esteemed Marquis, table here: T's true, dearheart, you've spoiled me pink. in lieu of a straw mat. An I volumes, as per Your COULMIER. THE MARQUIS. the staff has done its utmost to ren’ THE MARQUIS. COULMIER. ample library, incl ‘A canopied bed, 1g the Iatest medical 28your very own father, pai and Painted ine enough lest we forget .. He in miniatare Fi quills to feather an vou tock Upon ay Pty HE MARQUIS. For hy eh ed suppty of Oy i COULMIER, We (or theses I ¢ PY of pa ; am mort ie We ; vokes your muse, THE MARQUIS can record them COULMIER. SEN fe fe ope emote afflictions its caused her, stays by her job.” 1” SPlle of COS The Marquis? Never! humor DR. ROYER-COLLARD. You're a spirited an eet LARD. If ever there was eet me, SI, ivi mow eposterous sory. So extreme, sn Te winith. One can only laugh. (Lights rise of rion sheets of torn linen, using oh ES vee adventures of Monsieur Hee his scepter without first sub- trail the tears of maligned virgins. he first sent his coachmen in sing damsels. A simple line cere mother is perilously ill : girl, aren Madeleine? You would defend your m, 7 MADELEINE. I would, si” {2 tHe Coree DR. ROYER-COLLARD. And you realize, withhold any pertinent information regardin cost you both your tenure here? MADELEINE. You'd sack us then? DR. ROYER-COLLARD. Precisely. MADELEINE. Please, sir! Cast me out upon the street, Td survive, But my poor Mother! Without her sight, and ha a tooth in her head, she'd soon be dead. And who's to for burial? At least here we're guaranteed a pit alongside morons. DR. ROYER-COLLARD. Now ... fully appraised of the ‘ion Dolmance, ¥ ging it in @ ! i To ae the precious fide the night to kidnap the uns “Mademoiselle, maids were seques- always mice to her at once!” Once the T must take y ic means xd many exotic 7 ance employed mat) Teles, salt- teed in his dungeon. Dalaman their one “ane. $00, to harvest oe a strafing their beak aH harpoon, then ing their wounes tad. Dolmance dunke: (Lights fade on The the chalice was 6 ‘wailing captives in turn anced each of is.) scril Ie ROVER-COLLARD. ae, P ing them, Mama --. would you care to amend your earlier statement (Madeleine pauses. For an excruciating moment, she weighs her tions. Then, a resolute answer.) MADELEINE. No, Monsieur. DR. ROYERCOLLARD. You are certain, MADELEINE. I am. DR. ROYER-COLLARD. Very well. You and yours are to cate the premises no later than — . bling is no less potent for and I, fearful of its form INE. After readi 33.yank down his tely. And so he learns to virtue for its own re- ‘ot be embarrassed a second 1 will m Scene 8 + Rever DR ROWE a eeteRee Our only motive MADEI ae ARD. “To what end? age our oa ewe P Coulmier, The Marquis. such bad women on ty ‘be such good women i tinue UI EE MARQUIS. You've come t9 om TER. Hardly. From now om, you Wi and matchle You assured me that his whe stripped bare? er at every meal. yy me anything but the ot a young man! ‘And my insomnia — alcoh a COULMIER. Please. That's quite cre A Hoe tAROUIS ONE DRORNIGHID: THAT'S ALL [ 'ASK! SHOW MERCY, PLEASE! COULMIER, Your meat shall De ing you might fashion a5 2 tribes wherei we re COULMIER. I suppose nor a IR. ROYER- ARDS a Merle, plucking hate, see P72 1 harps, should he rene, him an everasi turn the boy bon to it dt Mc sis mb him with philoso ature of good and have noth- deboned. You 35ng habi : Plugctail. My little skin-flute ... Tt was ‘aS Onh UIS. Psst. For whom? cH MARE What now? GOULMIE Gus. In conditions Of adversity the artist thrives. THE Scene 9 S AN Waters of , Dr. Royer-Collard, Coulmier, Madeleine, The Marquis Madeleine cowers in the office of Dr. Royer-Collard. He slaps a switch across the surface of his desk. 0 Ten might a @ Virtuous 1; DR. ROYER-COLLARD. If your mother lacks either the means or intelligence to punish you for your foolishness, then perhaps it’s my duty to parent you in her stead. MADELEINE. No, sir! Please, sir! DR. ROYER-COLLARD. I've no compunction, young lady, about driving my point home with a few, swift strokes of the birch. (Coulmier enters.) EINE, Dear Abbe! You're a man of God, sir, Show mall drop of His infinite mercy ... COULMIER, What's this, child? Shivering like a leaf? Surely you've done no wrong: He means to whip me senseless! COULMIER. _ Is it true, Doctor? DR. ROYER-COLLARD, _ It all depends, Abbe, on her coop- pale, thin skint T bruise quickly, ana st -RINE, I've such © most repellent h Gather your wits, PM see that you no harm. Te’s true what the lunatics say, Abbe. You are y mans MIER, Pray, Doctor, What's happened here? And why js poor gitl undone? DR, ROYER-COLLARD, "This morning, I sent Valcour to theT thought — would be prudent ‘a wardrobe more vulgar : cae in whose ui Ne ‘eur Bouloir was @ man w . COULMIER, , cl a search, re <, Mant eu mnren SOULMIER. What did Vale, MARQUIS. rely be described 38 “pon MADELEIN ft, that’s all a there? 7H ght cre ly for a mW -ars. The vigor ‘cemete leceased a dozen ye And from * cies his seniors 6 islodge. Still he bones to dislodg ged caused ess i's accorded any wonman: who; From himsel COULMIER. The Marquis? MADELEINE, He re fri h ine highest comp! " woRTH THE DIG! The Marquis, : L }900000! ME mending fog muLMIER. NOO Outside the door. A souvenir, of sorts, 7 DR. ROYER-COLLARD. And what was the ALU ofthis py, mento? e 10 MADELEINE. “Twas a chapter! Culled from his {atest mate, sail piece! COULMIER. Pen, no paper nothing to fashi DR. ROYER-COLLARD. MADELEINE, Some men aren't mad at all, We o them so, because their geni But that’s not possible. His cell is His Daten. Ny carafe dry. He ta, ‘That's what you think. Goulmier, The Marquis. ce! Flouncing ! h brazen defiance! You! YOU! Sucl COULMIER. bout kel soRie der TE eAvuve come to read my ly thi ae UIS, Don't te ce trails down the in- DR. ROYER-COLLARD. SHOW HIM. NOW, Ca a 11d you! Parading your decadence Madeleine produces a shirt, with broad sleeves and a host Fee) couLMIER. How could you Ws decorated with cursive) fore the helpless and the si e COULMIER. Where in God’s name THE MARQUIS. Fie es so aroused poor Michete, MADELEINE, Nowhere. He pricked SOULMIER. Your stories ees with a carving knife. His latest fancies ad SCBA vie ogy aleve. You tll tae here te HE MARQUIS. Lucky notable in Frenc! COULMIER. Dear God, preserve us. coe eee acess vsraeiaee: PR ROMERCOLLARD. "I decided to confront The Marquis | pay good money wo be ded 1 the PEE Tat aiten T hoisted open the gates of the South Wing COULMIER, What am 110 do wit there he was, strolling about the corridor. His blouse and || forbid, the more you are PI breeches were covered in script. He'd tumed his THE MARQUIS, — My darn robe into text! The idiot Giton we uarier, ve had ample OE the hysteric Michete perused his ‘And I've come to 2 con‘ quis. His clothes are awash with words) ae Be re iarcous be THE MARQUIS. — My newest book begins at my right cuff, 1g though: continues across my back, and completes itself a my left shoe. id he procure ink? the tips of his finger. — they're scripted in we've jer. Here, in my dank Son our litte tussle ind deliriouslyCOULMIER. Vie suckling .. THE MARQUI IS. My i ly trues is with ink and vient Scene 11 ! Your every i rw eae exposed! in sculpture, undraped! Tm ashamed to look! ae \e. Like a Roman scul MUHENES MARQUIS. MADELEINE. No ed ouve MADELEINE, No, sir.’ only eo ne to Th MARQUIS, “Thea e ve devoted mam in your you've had a most painstaking teache er. Y’ @ page to the male fo sides, its undulat undulating prairies, rm. Its rippling hill aes and its cre MADELEINE, Ts your body, then, eee wo at... representae Ten MARQUIS. For a man my age, and victim of MADELEINE, Se MADELEINE, 1 must sy, st, in your novel poe ee expectations. (The Marpuis eosce his nove PEARL You're far crueler than I, my sce war Tsk terrible danger, coming to sec he nanoos tic MADMARQUIS. Your life, and your mother’s bei ides, Te was than guilt which u: an any commandment. How jou mus hte ee? 2° must hate me, | "Beh 42 who betrayed you led bed sheets, and les «+ "And 1 love you ‘How can that be? OUIS,.. L may bea scabs chanere and a Madeleine, but Iam not a hypocrite! Don't you ing against me, you affirm my principles? ‘afraid I don’t understand. You were willing to sac No achieve your own gain -~ LEINE. Hence, my sorrow! THE MARQUIS. _ In the ‘animal kingdom, does the tiger spare Hi sister the doe? Not when he's hungry! That, Madeleine, is natural order! A carefully ‘orchestrated cycle of consumption oo often violate with our false codes of law and mori You rose above such petty constructs, and fed yourself upon my very Carcass MADELEINE. And so Iam endeared (0 you? not in rage, bi fice me on the plock MADE! THE MARQUIS. I stand before you, MADELEINE. You're a queer one all right THE MARQUIS. Gan you smuggle @ PaPot ‘and quill to me? MADELEINE, If only! Mother and I, we're ‘weak with bore- ence. For a while, I smuggled lery, and read their ac barbaric, and pined dom, our evenings spent home old newspapers from the sc counts of the Terror. She found those 100 for your stories instead. gel. I have a plan. THE MARQUIS. Never fear, my a Tee SNES vibe ne, bey asa UAbss Tea penance for my wrongs against you! MAL us i yet note, beloved, of this chink in the 1S. Tate wale to, my neighbor, the lunatic whisper thispet whisper it to his neighbor, Dan part the tale to the retard Franval, and he pvto the noisome Bouchon — NE. Whose cell lies next to the linen cabinet! 5 Precisely!DELEINE, And they © your story THE MARQUIS, MADELEINE, your art survive THE MARQUIS, minds of the insane, MADELEINE, words justice. THE MARQUIS. You can on to my publisher besides! MADELEINE. Only one thing troubles me .., THE MARQUIS. Fear of discovery? MADELEINE, No. Fear of the inmate Bouchon, closest to me THE MARQUIS, MADELEINE, dar the agen Why him, mor He holds a torch ng his stockings, for me. Once, when Iya, he pressed me hard against the wall, nq tused my eyes to run. It was er who saved me, THE MARQUIS. What of it? MADELEINE. "Well, si, given the potency of the fragility of his brain ... it might cause all THE MARQUIS. What are we to do, Patients in their cells? That's not within cept the danger, or withdraw. MADELEINE. I accept. THE MARQUIS, Madeleine...? MADELEINE. Yes, Marquis? MME MARQUIS. “A kiss per page. The price holds, MADELEINE. But how can I? We're forbidd. THE MARQUIS. Which is why this time, must request payment in advance. Your stories, and @ combustion; that's dearest? Shute the our power. Now, ac. len t© meet, TY PUssvillow, 1 44 nl are! a caution, You covered! (They com fore we are discovered! ¢ befor Scene 12 a atic, The Voi the Insane. ‘A Lunatic, The Voices of # : ‘the Marquis A ™ cof thunder. Rain begins (0 pelt the stone walls of thunder. A crack of Charentom- to a crack in the wall ‘Alone, The Marquis whispers Mal 2 (A voice an- Psst... Cleante? Are you there ; MARQUIS. Psst «++ THE TIC. 2 tt quis? Is that you me Se Who else would it Bei ‘THE MA 3 I've the most wonderful bird! A LUNATIC. This morning, 1 awoke @ no longer @ m: NATIC, ‘Tonight, I'll fly chrough the bars 0 my cell to. h Qf Tonights 1 ig ight A LUNATIC. freedom report it posthaste YUIS. Listen to what I says and repor THE MARQUIS. sak for scav= jighbor Dauphin. meee to your neighbor Dauphin ping tat A LUNATIC watt, oot (ie Lana THE MARQUIS. CLEANTEL ALUNATIC. | En THE MARQUIS. a cat. MH UNATIC. A eat, Coun? is morn ews for you too, pigeon. Thi ny) Meow anything but that! ye don’t do what © eee ‘wall, and eat youAt Your service, Count) And so we by the tale.) THE VOICES OF THE INSANE. Tj ickle the loin garian Dwarf ... tickle the loins - the loins . 8 ofa THE MARQUIS. One day Fanchon was visite c uTgeOn, and an ee the cigentmed Libertine. He had been barred ffom much the city’s finer brothels, so lethal were his exploits, THE VOICES OF THE INSANE. So lethal were hit expan 50 lethal... so lethal ... lethal .. THE MARQUIS, Once they were secluded in her bedcham ber, he bade Fanchon strip, and stip she did, with the sped of one unaccustomed to clothing’s confinement. As she soot naked before him, he ran his fingers across her skin pllg art folds of flesh, inspecting f THE VOICES OF THE INSANI folds of flesh ... flesh THE MARQUIS. Uready, Monsieur?” asked Fanchon. “My mouth, my rounded ass oF my Venus mound, my succulent oyster?” THE VOICES OF THE INSANE. My Venus mound, _. succulent oyster «.. oyster. {QUIS. “None!” cried L nga scalpel he had hidden in his breast. “With my brad TH create new orifices, where there were none before! Once hewn, I can thrust my eurgid member into regions sasarce by your previous suitors!” THE VOICES OF THE INSANE, Unslied suitor ors «suitors .. suitors THE MARQUIS. With that, Fanchon exp 18 apart folds of flesh | my sue oyster... fonsicur de Curval, brane suit ed a scream so — burch, a stadeness. The blowing He recognice ful as the zap that ing, moment — rin the laundry 0%, sage. The fa id he collapses on the END OF ACT ONE a7 ss the mattress, and wil he ditance, a sudden sero, oan the coridor. The Mars the howling ie martyred poor Justine the body of ioe ce of The Marguis com ch ‘floor, his body of the wind. The curtain