The Rose of Versailles

Episode 33

"A Funeral Bell Tolls in the Twilight"

translated by GinRei

 [] = description of the scenes
 () = alternative translations (feel free to put them or drop them), and
      sometimes my comments or explanations
 {} = translation of what it says on the screen

**********************************************************************
 notes on names:
 Andre should be spelled with "/" accent acute over the "e"
 Francois should be spelled with a cedilla (like "5") under the "c".
**********************************************************************

MUSICIAN
Why has the River Seine become so murky?
Where is Paris, the city of flowers?
Everyone fights over a piece of bread.
People used to sing about flowers and whisper (their) love.
Where is the Seine flowing to?

NARRATION
The winter of 1788...
The political chaos and financial crisis of the royal family repeatedly led
to new taxes; Dissatisfaction and poverty of the French people had already 
reached the limit. But still, Versailles tried to cling to its authority.

[cabinet meeting]

CHAIRMAN
If you'd like to impose a new tax, and borrow 420 million Livres, you'd
have to convene the Estates-General. Not only the clergies and nobles from 
the First and Second Estate, but the commoners from the Third Estate (should 
be added) as well. Representatives from every Estate must be included.
Your Majesty, there isn't any other way to solve the financial crisis of
the royal family, which is bloated by debts.  Only then, are all the nobles, 
clergies, and citizens likely to accept this new tax.  Please make a decision 
as the King!

NOBLES
Wait a minute, are you saying that the commoners must participate in the
politics?! 
You should never allow that, Your Majesty!
The commoners are already conceited and starting to have everything their
own way.
Your authority must not be degraded any further!

CHAIRMAN
You must reconvene the Estates-General for the first time in 200 years!

NARRATION
The prelude to the French Revolution started with a rebellion of some
nobles, contending to rule France in place of the King.

CROWD
The Estates-General!
The Estates-General!
Send Our Delegates to the Estates-General!

[opening title]

{Episode 32: A Funeral Bell Tolls in the Twilight}

BERNARD
The Ancient Regime is about to crumble down!
There will be no discrimination between the First, the Second, and the
Third Estates!

ANDRE
Bernard...

BERNARD
Someday, we'll all be able to live equally!
All men are created equal!

ANDRE
Bernard!
Hey, Bernard!!

BERNARD
Andre! Andre, it's you!

ANDRE
I heard your speech. It was wonderful!

BERNARD
Thanks.
Oh, I want you to see someone.
Come to my house. It's very close.

[Bernard's]

ROSALIE
Oh! Welcome, Andre!!

ANDRE
Rosalie...?!

ROSALIE
It's really been a while.

ANDRE
It's been longer than a while.
What have you been doing? You lost contact with us.
And...so...
Why are you here with Bernard?
I don't get it.
Ah! You two got married!!

BERNARD
Yeah, a little after that Black Knight incident.

ANDRE
I see, I now know.
Congratulations!

ROSALIE
Uh... how is Lady Oscar?

ANDRE
She's fine.
She was transferred from the Royal Guards to the French Guards.
But she's working hard as always!

ANDRE
Don't worry, Rosalie.
Nobody and nothing has changed from that time. None.

CROWD
The Estates-General!
Send our Delegates!

BERNARD
Right. Nobody and nothing has changed yet.
But a change WILL come!

ROSALIE
Andre, please make yourself at home
though I'm leaving now to work.

ANDRE
Yeah, I will. Thank you, Rosalie.

ROSALIE
Please give my regards to Lady Oscar.

ANDRE
Yeah. We should all get together sometime.

BERNARD
Rosalie is now working at Monsieur Robespierre's organization with me.
She just went out to make leaflets and posters for our next gathering (rally).

ANDRE
You both look happy.
Really...

BERNARD
Andre, why don't you join us?
You sure aren't someone who'd be content as a noble's stableman!

ANDRE
A very nice coffee. It tastes humble, but full of love.

BERNARD
Then why were you listening to my speech?!
Why did you attend the rally just now?

ANDRE
I just happened to be off duty.
I had time. That's all.

MAN
Bernard! Bernard!
It has just been decreed! The Estates-General will be convened!

BERNARD
What?! Really?

NARRATION
In January, 1789, Louis XVI decreed that the Estate-General be convened on
the May 1st. To convene the Estate-General meant limiting the king's 
dictatorship.  But Louis XVI had no way of changing the course of history.

The Castle of Meudon was an old castle (in Meudon) where the Queen had moved 
for her sickly son, Crown Prince, Joseph.

[Oscar arrives on horseback, looking really cool!]

OSCAR
I'm Brigadier Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes
I am here at Lady Antoinette's urgent request. Please tell her (that I'm here)!

OSCAR
Lady Antoinette!

ANTOINETTE
Oscar!
Thank you for coming, Oscar.
Joseph desperately wants to see you.

OSCAR
The Crown Prince? (Dauphin?)

ANTOINETTE
He might not live another 6 months.
His backbone is all jagged, even his ribs are awry (warped?).
Terminal symptoms of spinal meningitis are already developing.
He just turned 7...

JOSEPH
Shut up! Go away!

MAID
You should not, Crown Prince! Crown Prince!

JOSEPH
I'm going out! I want to go out!!
Let me go!  Leave me alone!

ANTOINETTE
Joseph...

OSCAR
Crown Prince.

JOSEPH
Oscar...

OSCAR
(It's nice to see you.)
Please forgive me for not visiting you for a long time.

JOSEPH
Oscar...

OSCAR
Yes, Highness...

JOSEPH
Please, take me... take me outside!
Please let me ride your horse!

OSCAR
Your Highness...

JOSEPH
I want to ride a horse with Oscar!

ANTOINETTE
It's all right, Oscar.
Please... please make his dream come true.

Oscar
Yes, Your Majesty.

[horseride]

JOSEPH
Gallop! Gallop! Gallop!

OSCAR
You shouldn't push the horse so hard.

JOSEPH
Gallop! Gallop! Gallop! Gallop!

JOSEPH
I wish we could go on riding like this for forever and ever...

OSCAR
Crown Prince?

[spring]

OSCAR
Are you all right, Your Highness?
It might be better to go back soon.

JOSEPH
I heard the Estates-General will be convened.

OSCAR
Yes.

JOSEPH
I'll come back to Versailles Palace by then.
Since the day will probably remain in the history of France.
France...which I'll rule someday.

OSCAR
That's right.
Your Highness will become Louis XVII...

[Joseph gives Oscar a kiss]

JOSEPH
I love you!
When I get reborn, I won't be sick, I'll grow up healthy,
...and become a fine man.
So, wait for me till then!

ANTOINETTE
Lord, please let Louis-Joseph live another month...no, even another week or
day longer!
Please, please, my Lord...

LOUIS
Excuse me, please.

ANTOINETTE
Your Majesty...

LOUIS
Let us pray together.

ANTOINETTE
Yes.

[barracks]

COMPANY MEN
Hey, it's Alain!
Squad Leader!

ALAIN
Haven't seen you all for long.
I'll be counting on you guys again.

COMPANYMEN
We've heard about Diane. It must have been hard for you.
I'm so sorry for her.
Your mother died soon after?
What have you been doing for half a year?
We thought you weren't coming back.

ALAIN
Yeah, I wasn't thinking about coming back.
I was going to live in the country side with an ocean view, guarding
(keeping) the graves of my mother and Diane.
But it's May after this rain.
I'm ought to come back if the Estates-General is to be convened.
I want to watch closely how the commoners' delegates will question the nobles.
Right, Andre? I'll see what your blind eye can't see.

ANDRE
Oscar, Count Fersen has returned to Sweden.
A message from the Army says: he sends you his best regards.
Oscar...?

OSCAR
Andre, a special training will start tomorrow for the security guarding of
the Estates-General.
Tell the others (about it.)

ANDRE
OK.

NARRATION
On May 4th, 1789, a day before the opening ceremony of the Estates-General,
a solemn Mass was held at St. Louis Cathedral in Versailles and all the
delegates attended. The parade of the delegates heading to the Cathedral was 
guarded by the 1st French Regiment, which was the French Guards, and by the 
Swiss Royal Guards.

OSCAR
His Highness must be watching from one of the windows of the Versailles Palace.
He's come back for this day.

JOSEPH
Where would Oscar be?
The hats of the French Guards are shining.

(I'm sure there's a term for those hats, but I couldn't find it.
Sort of reminds me of those movies about the French Foreign Legion.)

[flashback]

JOSEPH
I love you!
I'll become a fine man.
So, wait for me till then!

ANDRE
All in position! We're waiting for orders!

OSCAR
Andre, I almost became a Queen.

ANDRE
Huh?

CHAMBERLAIN
The parade is about to start. Please be ready.

ANTOINETTE
I'll be going, Joseph.

CHARLES
I'm going, too (, Brother).
I'll be parading on the same carriage with Mother!

JOSEPH
Louis-Charles, go and see things closely.
You do it for me.
It's possible that you may become the next Crown Prince.

OSCAR
Present Arms!

[parade]

NARRATION
Through the crowds which lined the roadside, the delegation of the 
Estates-General headed toward St. Louis Cathedral. The 621 delegates of the 
Third Estate headed the parade, all dressed in black, followed by the 
delegates of the nobles. Their gaudiness only appeared pathetic to the eyes 
of the people.

Maximillian Robespierre, representing Artois (Province), was 31. (He was)
the future ruler of France. Commoners' delegates numbered 621. But nobles
who were supported by commoners were elected as their delegates. The
prestige of being a noble no longer had any meaning, let alone the military
for the royal family.

[Joseph becomes unconscious]

MAID
Prince Louis Joseph!
Crown Prince!
Call the doctor!
Crown Prince!
Take him to Meudon (castle)!
Prepare the carriage! (Get a carriage (ready)?)
Crown Prince!

NARRATION
The next day, on May 5th, 1789, the opening ceremony of the Estates-General
took place in the Hall of l'Hotel des Menus Plaisirs.

ANTOINETTE
Is there a messenger from Meudon?
How is Joseph (, the Crown Prince)?

CHAMBERLAIN
Your Majesty, the ceremony is about to begin.
It is the duty of the Queen of France to attend the opening ceremony (of
the Estates-General).

PAGE
Presenting His Majesty!

CHEERS
Long live the King!
Long live the King!

PAGE
Presenting Her Majesty!

[silence]

NARRATION
There was no applause for Antoinette. Not only from the Third-Estate, but
neither from the nobility. The Queen realized in the cold silence that French 
people attacked and hated not the King nor the Royal Family but only the 
Queen -- Marie Antoinette.

ANTOINETTE in her mind
A battle is about to begin.
I will no longer run away or hide,
because I AM the Queen of France!

ANDRE
A month without a break has passed since the opening (of the Estates-General).
It seems like things are rough (inside).

ALAIN
I was informed that the commoners' delegates are challenging tough debate
against (the delegates of) the clergy and nobility.
I wanna join them, (if I can)!
Here she comes.

ALAIN
Commander, how's it going inside?

OSCAR
As disorderly as it has been.
When this is over, you'll all get a vacation. So hang on till then. 
[finds a empty bottle]
Hey, this is unsafe.
The delegates might get hurt when they leave.
I told you before to dispose of things like this.

ANDRE
I'm sorry, I didn't notice it.

OSCAR
Throw it way.

ANDRE
Aye, Ma'am.

[Andre's vision blurs and he misses the tossed bottle]

ALAIN
Hey, you're no good, Andre.
It's all right, I'll put it away.

OSCAR
Andre, is your right eye...?

ANDRE
Uh...what, Ma'am?

ALAIN
Anybody will slacken after standing day after day.
Isn't that so, Andre?

ANDRE
Yeah, that's right.
Maybe I'm a bit tired. Or perhaps dazzled by the sun.

OSCAR
OK. If that's the case...

[carriage]

OSCAR
That's Lady Antoinette's carriage.

[at Jarjeyes']

ANDRE
A rain again...
Rain again.  Or, More rain...
The condition of the Crown Prince seems to be worsening.
To the point where the Estates-General was suspended, and the Royal Couple
rushed to Meudon.

OSCAR
He'll be OK. Things like this have happened many times before.
I'm sure he'll rally again this time.

ANDRE
I hope so.

OSCAR
I'm more worried about one other thing.

ANDRE
Oh, what is it?

OSCAR
Andre...

[holds a knife up to Andre's eye]

ANDRE
Why, are you checking my eye?

OSCAR
Can you see it all right?

ANDRE
Of course I can. It's a knife.
Made in 1612, handed down through generations of the Jarjeyes family and
your favorite.

OSCAR
So your eye is really all right?

ANDRE
Cut it out. It's such a bad joke.

OSCAR
I'm sorry.

ANDRE
What's wrong, Oscar?

OSCAR
Can you hear it?

OSCAR
It's the bells of Notre Dame.
The Crown Prince is in a critical condition.

NARRATION
On June 2nd, at 10 o'clock, the bells of Notre Dame tolled solemnly.
A 40-hour-long prayer had begun for the Crown Prince who was in critical
condition.

ANTOINETTE
Joseph!

LOUIS
Joseph...

JOSEPH
Father, Mother...

ANTOINETTE
Joseph!!

JOSEPH
(I know) you're busy.
I'm sorry...

ANTOINETTE
Joseph...

JOSEPH
Is the Estates-General still stormy?
Why can't the delegates talk in a more cordial manner?

ANTOINETTE
Ah, Joseph...
You don't have to worry about such things.
Joseph, my Joseph!!

JOSEPH
I want...I want to go back to Versailles!

ANTOINETTE
Of course, you will.

LOUIS
That's right, you will, Joseph.
You'll get better and the three of us will ride on the same carriage, back
to Versailles.
Ah! I'll ask Oscar Francois, your favorite, to be in charge of the guards
for our carriage.
You'll like that!

JOSEPH
Ah, a lady on a white horse...!
Her blond hair in the wind...

[dies]

ANTOINETTE
JOSEPH!!  JOSEPH!
Don't leave your mother behind!
Oh, Lord-!!

OSCAR
He was only 7 years and 8 months old...

NARRATION
On June 4th, at 1AM, the tragic life of the Crown Prince, Louis Joseph,
came to an end.
But one fortunate thing for him (at least) was that he died without knowing
the suffering the Royal Family must face....

OSCAR
I'm going to offer my condolences at the Meudon Castle.

NARRATION
[this is a continuation from the previous narrative.]
....the road France, which will be violently shaken by the (opening of the)
Estates-General, must take. [eek, it's so confusing!]
And the road the survivors and those who try to (survive) in the new era,
must choose.

[ending title]

NEXT EPISODE:
Oscar applauded for the Estates-General, drawing high expectations from the
People. But the nobles and the royal family, afraid of the power of the
Third-Estate, ordered Oscar to close the assembly hall (of the
Estates-General). Oscar's agony deepens.
Next time on Rose of Versailles: 
"Now 'The Tennis Court Oath'". 

END

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 Bruce Carlson     carlsn1@ix.netcom.com     Phoenix, AZ


