Benjamin, a young man, asks his servant Crasmagne to leave with him, not as a servant but as a mentor and a friend. Crasmagne is unsure at first, but as he is promised a great sum of money, he accepts. Benjamin tells him to meet him at midnight in a park. In the park, a strongbox is hidden inside a detached house; it is filled with jewels that used to belong to Benjamin’s mother. Benjamin orders Crasmagne to fetch the strongbox. Faced with his master’s threats, the servant has no choice but to oblige. However, once in possession of the strongbox, Crasmagne hides it somewhere else and pretends not to have found it. Furious, Benjamin enters the detached house to retrieve it. Meanwhile, Crasmagne, who is standing outside, sees Monsieur Lésimond, Benjamin’s father. Remorseful, he tells him the whole truth. Shortly after, Benjamin comes out of the house with the strongbox in one hand and a gun in the other. His father curses him and leaves. Crasmagne and Benjamin go to the “Coq Plumé” (Plucked Rooster) hotel. Once there, they meet the hostess and Javotte, her servant. Benjamin leaves Casmagne without a meal, and goes to have fun. However, their vacation soon turns to chaos: after gambling, they are thrown out of the hotel almost naked and penniless. Famished and exhausted, they encounter a peasant who offers them a job: Crasmagne becomes a valet and Benjamin a pig-keeper. Crasmagne dines with the peasant, leaving Benjamin alone with his thoughts: an angel appears and suggests for him to go back to his father. Shortly after, Crasmagne comes back with some soup and learns of Benjamin’s decision to go back home. Once home, Benjamin is forgiven by his father.

String marionette

All audiences

France

Printed

Servant

Relationship between father and son

Thief

Inheritance

Jewel

Curse

Journey

Game of chance

Bankruptcy

Misery

Return

Forgiveness

Comical

Edifying

French

Father

Young man

Domestic servant

Peasant (man)

Valet

Knight

Host

Young woman

Fiancée

Aside

Sung scenes

Off-stage noise

Situation comedy

Song

Off-stage voice

Apparition of an angel

Change of social status

L'Enfant prodigue

The Prodigal Child

M. Prudhomme goes to the casino with the intention of winning back the dowry of his daughter Vénuska from a hundred sous note that dates back to Louis Philippe’s time. He pretends to have come up with his own foolproof system. When he arrives, he encounters the comedian Lesueur (literally, The-Sweat), a regular of the casino, who says that he adopted all sorts of superstitions to have luck on his side. However, he admits that the day before, luck turned its back on him after he forgot to put a bean in his pocket as a lucky-charm. Later, Lesueur comes back victorious: he finally won! M. Prudhomme advises him to stop here, but Lesueur decides to trade his bean for the leaf of an artichoke, hoping to extend his winning streak. We learn that M. Prudhomme also has some “assets”: he came with Madame Benoiton who is known to always play the number 22 and to win every time. However, she is absent at this very moment. Shortly after, Lesueur comes back disappointed: the artichoke leaf did not bring him luck and he lost everything. Discouraged, he decides to find comfort in a glass of absinthe. M. Prudhomme finally tests his system and comes back victorious after having won twenty thousand francs for his daughter’s dowry. When questioned about the secret of his system, he maliciously addresses the audience and says that they will have to come back in a year to find out.

Glove-puppet

Not specified

Lemercier de Neuville Louis

Principality of Monaco

Casino

Luck

Money

Bourgeoisie

Satirical

Lemercier de Neuville, illustration for Le Système de M. Prudhomme, 1868.