 The Cavalcade of America, starring Madeline Carroll in The Queen's Handmaid, presented by the DuPont Company, makers of better things for better living through chemistry. The Queen's Handmaid, starring Madeline Carroll on the DuPont Cavalcade of America. It is a time of terror in France this year of 1793. And the smile and upheaval. The crested carriages of the nobility no longer pass through the streets. Now there's the endless procession of carts carrying their titled prisoners to the guillotine. And in Paris, the conciergerie is now the prison of a queen, Queen Marie Antoinette of France. And on this autumn afternoon, a young man has bribed his way into the prison, stands before the dank cell where she waits alone. Who is it? Oh, Your Majesty. Robert, you are still faithful. We, madame. You have brought me flowers. From my son? Your Majesty, these are not from the Dauphin. They contain a message, instructions for your escape. I cannot escape now. There have been plots before. They have all failed. Oh, my queen, listen to me. This one will not fail. You have friends in the new world who are working constantly to help you. They have even established a French colony in Pennsylvania that they call it Asylum. Yes, I have heard rumors of it. Your former chief of secret police, Antoine-Homère Talon, has gone there to be its governor, Your Majesty. And there is the Capitaine de Roizier. And others? Oh, tell me of them. I am so hungry for news. As many of your court would escape the terror, even your handmaid, Marie-Thérèse Haussier, waits for you there. Marie-Thérèse. But could your plan succeed? I am guarded so closely. Listen, Your Majesty. An American sea capitaine is on his way to France even now. When he reaches the coast, I will send you a message in a bouquet. Exactly like this one. Be ready. We here in Paris will see to it that you are safely taken aboard. Oh, how can I ever leave France, even prison, to go to a wilderness? I do not wish to seem ungrateful, but... Your Majesty, they are building you a palace in that wilderness. They are acquiring land. Do you not see? When you have arrived in the colony of Asylum, a new era in French history will begin. And far across the water, in the Pennsylvania colony called Asylum, a great log mansion is rising out of the wilderness. Stone masons and carpenters are hard at work on the huge building. And beside them, in homespun and wooden shoes, wielding a saw like an expert, is a handsome young woman. Well, well, Marie-Thérèse. Oui. Ah, good morning, Capitaine de la Vierre. You are a carpenter now working for Monsieur L'Arbre. I am so afraid Her Majesty will arrive and find her house not yet complete. And what does your husband Jean think of your spending so much time away from the farm? I am afraid he does not approve. Ah, but the Queen will, I assure you. Have you heard news while you are in Wilkes Barrie, Capitaine? Is she coming soon? Oh, you forget we are living in a barbaric wilderness, madame. There has been no post from Philadelphia in several weeks. Ah, Monsieur L'Arbre should take. Ah, Monsieur L'Arbre should take. Good morning, Captain. I'd like to talk to you a minute, ma'am, if you don't mind. Do I take up the precious time of your best carpenter? So sorry. Well, I must go in and see Monsieur Ditalon anyway. He will be waiting for me anxiously if I am not mistaken. Good day. Good day, Capitaine. What was it you wished, Monsieur? Well, if you don't mind, the name's Johnson. I wish you and the rest would start calling me that. Well, I never hear around this place as Monsieur this and be called that. I am so sorry, Mr. Johnson. And you've done so much to help us. Oh, that's all right. You've been a help to me. You know, most women would just be in the way. But you? Well, you've got brains as well as strength. Thank you, Monsieur. But you know, I... Well, I never did find out your real name. Of course, you know my name. Madame Jean-Hosier, I was baptized Marie Thérèse. Marie Thérèse. You're sure that's your name? Certainly. Why should not I be sure? Well, a few of the farmers and people living around this neck of the woods have an idea that it's really Marie Antoinette. Monsieur Johnson. Well, everybody says you look like... Monsieur. Mr. Johnson, there may be a likeness in the features. But the queen is of royal blood. And I am not. I was a handmaid at court, but between us there cannot ever be a true likeness. Perhaps over here you do not understand this difference. Well, in this country everyone's got royal blood, so there isn't any difference. Everyone? Oh, you Americans are very droll. Royal blood. Why, I was her maid, nothing more. And I suppose that farmer, your husband, used to be the king's valet. Yes, that is what he was before we came here. Now he wishes to become an American, like you, Mr. Johnson, and the other settlers in Pennsylvania. Well, then explain to me why Talon hired me to build this big palace in the middle of the forest. And what are all these, these moth-eaten dukes and duchesses strutting around here for? I am sorry. Monsieur de Talon would not wish me to discuss it. The whole thing's only a way he's got of hiding a queen, isn't it? Mr. Johnson, you say yourself that in this country everyone has royal blood, no? If this is so, then you must excuse me. Her majesty has much work to do before nightfall. Well, Capitaine, I trust you've heard well in Wilkes-Barre. I did, and I did not, Monsieur de Talon. And what does that mean? You know we are desperate for money. Did you get it? No, but I did hear several interesting rumors. I am not concerned with rumors. Perhaps you will be. When I tell you that in Wilkes-Barre they do not believe we are awaiting the queen. They are claiming that Mary and Poignette came from France with the rest of us. This guy is the best man. That is ridiculous. And that she even works with a hammer and a saw to further help in the disguise. Marie Therese. True, she does bear a certain resemblance to her majesty. But this whole thing is too fantastic. Already, there have been meetings of porters. And Mr. Durkin, he's the important one to us. He likes to hear a title before a name. Does he protest also? No, Monsieur Talon. Our friend Mr. Durkin is so interested in the rumors of the queen being here that he insists on coming to Asylum to see for himself. Tomorrow night. What? But we have no queen to show him. You say yourself that we need money, desperately. I believe Mr. Durkin can be persuaded to underwrite your plans for acquiring the choicest land in this section. And if we can persuade him to agree, we shall have money. Our kingdom in the new world will thrive. Who knows? When the queen arrives, you may even become a prime minister. But she has not arrived. And when Mr. Durkin comes tomorrow and finds she's not here after all... Wait, wait. Look through the window. At the woman who stands talking to the architect. Marie Therese resembles Marie Antoinette. Does she not? It is rumor that she is the queen. Is it not? Well, tomorrow evening we shall give a grand reception and Mr. Durkin will meet the queen. Wish to see me, Monsieur de Talon. Yes, come inside. Sit down. Thank you, Monsieur. You are a very good and a very loyal servant, Marie Therese. Now tell me, what were you and the American architect speaking of a little while ago? He accuses me of being the queen of France disguised as a peasant. And how did you answer him? I told him it was absurd. Marie Therese, there is something I wish you to do for Her Majesty. But of course, Monsieur, what is it? Tomorrow night an American gentleman and Mr. Durkin of Wilkes Barrie will visit Asylum. We shall entertain him with the reception here at the Grand Maison. And you would like me to serve the refreshment? Marie Therese, you will wear a velvet gown in the latest fashion, and your hair will be in the high-croiffure, powdered white. I? But why must I appear in this costume, Monsieur? I wish Mr. Durkin to believe that you actually are Her Majesty Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France. Oh, no. Oh, yes. You have served her since you were a little girl, Marie Therese. You can do it. I have heard you even used to imitate her respectfully, of course, below stairs in the Palace Kitchen at Versailles. Yes, as you say with respect, but why now? Because plans for her escape are being carried through. We believe her to be on her way here now. Oh, is it true? It is. And you can help her arrive safely by pretending to be Queen tomorrow night. Our friend Mr. Durkin will spread the word that he has actually seen Her Majesty, and the real Queen can enter the country without attracting notice. Do you see? I... I would like to believe you, but... You are still her lawyer's subject, are you not? Oh, me, we, Monsieur, but to impersonate her, it is a crime. Not to save her life when you could do so. Wouldn't that be a worse crime? Think, Marie Therese. Think. I... I am thinking. Then you will do as I say. Well? Monsieur Talon, give me a little time, please. I will tell you my decision tomorrow morning. Is that you, Marie Therese? Yes, Jean. Oh, I am tired. Then rest yourself quickly. There are many things to be done on this farm which we have neglected. I am sorry. I will try to make up for the time lost. Here, give me the pan. I will feed the chicken. Come, little one. Marie Therese. Will you continue working in the town every day like this when the Queen arrives? Oh, Jean, what else can I do? She will expect me to be there. Marie Therese, I am trying to start a grist meal for the wine flower for the colony. I cannot do this without help. I know. I know. When we came here to this place, it was a deep woods and everything that grew was wild. At first, we thought of it only as a refuge from violence. Now it has become a challenge to think for ourselves to make a new life. I know, Jean. Then why do you cling to all the trappings of our old life? They are tattered and ragged, Marie Therese, as we were when we escaped from Paris. I was born to serve my Queen. I cannot change the instinct which is bred in me. Then you should have stayed with her in prison. Why did you come with me? You are my husband. I wish to be with you. Marie, Marie, there is no good in entering a new world if one lives as if he was still in the old. Jean. Yes? Monsieur de Talon has asked me a most important favor. What? He is giving a reception tomorrow night to an American visitor and he wishes me to... What? To impersonate the Queen. What? If people think she is already in asylum, she will be able to enter the country and no one will suspect her. I will not permit you to do it. My wife shall not be used to further that man's scheme. It is not his scheme. It is to save the Queen's life. Huh? And you are stupid enough to believe that? I am not stupid enough. Of course I believe it. I beg of you. Please do not go through with it. Why not, Jean? Why not? Because I want you to be free of all that. I want you to be an American with me. I am her handmaid, as I always have been. My dear, as I warn you, if you go there and wish to return, I will not receive you. What are you saying? I am saying that if you appear at Marie Antoinette at the reception tomorrow night, I will no longer consider you my wife. You are listening to the Queen's handmaid starring Madeline Carroll on the Cablecade of America, presented by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Next day, in the little Pennsylvania colony of Asylum, the aristocratic emigres from the French Revolution in their brocades and satins and powdered wigs are preparing for tonight's reception to be given at the Grand Maison, the palace they have built in the wilderness for their Queen Marie Antoinette. But one wing of the Grand Maison is not yet finished. And as the American architect Mr. Johnson stops to inspect the progress of the work... Hello there! Oh, bonjour, Mr. Johnson. Hey, what's wrong? You're not singing today. What is it, Mad? I am doing my work. Oh, just wondered that song. You're usually so... Oh, I don't know. Happy. And so unlike the rest of the people around here. I am not happy today. I have to make a decision that is very difficult for me. Is it to let people know that you're really the Queen? Mr. Johnson, why do you persist in saying this to me? Look here. I like you myself, but I think you ought to know that the settlers around here are getting mighty worried. They have the idea Talon and the Queen of France are going to take over their land, try to start a monarchy. And when people get worried, they sometimes do rash things. What do you mean? They would not harm her. Oh, wouldn't they? Well, the people in this woods have had enough of foreign tyranny for one lifetime. And if it is proven to your friends that she is not yet here, what will they do? The ships from Europe are being watched. But even if she did get through, the people here would see to it that she didn't set foot on this land. They would send her back to France to prison again, perhaps death? I'm afraid so. And what if they find she is already here? I don't know, ma'am. I... Well, I don't like the wild talk that's going around. Mr. Johnson. Hmm? Do you believe that I am Marie Antoinette? I don't know. I... I don't know what to believe. Then it will interest you to know that tonight, at the reception for our visitor from Wilkes-Barre, I will be formally presented as the Queen of France. Now, Madame... Thank you, Capitaine. And thank you for rescuing me from our honored guest. You have found Mr. Durkin, dull? I was afraid he might find me out. Oh, you enact a magnificent Queen Marie Therese. And it will please you to know that Mr. Thelon extracted a handsome sum for Mr. Durkin before he left. Money? Is that why he wished me to impersonate her? You know our colony cannot exist without money. Any of our fine ladies and gentlemen here ever thought of farming? Working for what they need? Working? Yes, when I agreed to impersonate Her Majesty, I understood it was to help her, not Mr. Durkin. Madame, none of us here know a side from a hole. I do not approve of your being used in this way. But I am a realist. We must have money to live. Mr. Durkin! Capitaine, come quickly! What is it? It is Jean. Something is wrong. Come, we shall find out. What is it, Ossiere? Capitaine, there was a messenger from Philadelphia on his way here. I told him I would deliver this letter for him. A letter to me? Yes, here it is. But then, as I came into Asylum, I saw... I heard a mob of woodsmen and farmers in the distance. They have torches, buckets filled with tar. What is all this? How dare you interrupt the dance, Ossiere? We are being attacked by a mob of irate settlers. That is how I dare. Why should they attack us? They are shouting that they will get the Queen. They mean you, Marie Therese. They will cover you with tar and feathers and carry you off on a rail. But we have no Queen here. Merely a serving maid. We look at her in those clothes. Do you think they'll have any doubt who she is when they see you like that? She'll be murdered. Do not be afraid, Jean. I will talk to them. You will not. They will tear you to pieces. Listen, they're surrounding the house. Captain, please, can't you do something to defend her? I am in charge here. I give the orders. I command all of you to barricade the windows from the inside so that we may not be contaminated by contact with this rabble. I had understood they were farmers, our neighbors. Scum, ridiculous scum. Then I suppose you think I, too, am a scum, Monsieur de Talon. Very well. Being like them myself, I should be able to talk to them. No, don't do it, Marie Therese. Either I go out there or they come in here. Which will it be? Yes. Yes, I see what you mean. Very well, Madame. You go and talk to them. Go by all means. Wait. Wait, Marie Therese. Well? I, I can't see you face them without a weapon. And your defense's ear and this letter Jean just brought me. Read. You might as well know it now. It says, no, cannot be true. It is from Robert Paris. He would not write a lie. My queen, my poor queen. If it is true, then I must go and speak to them now. But I have to tell you. Are we sure about this? Therese Ocier, handmade to the Queen of France. It is true that I am dressed as she used to dress, that I may even resemble her a little, but I thought I might help to save her life if I put on this masquerade tonight. Now, my friends, the masquerade is over. Forever. Carry on to a nest. The Queen of France is dead. It's a lie. Oh, it's here in this letter. Yes, but what about the others in there? What proof have we got that you aren't trying to start a kingdom? Miss you. Believe me, there are others like me here, plain people who are willing to work for the future. We should begin to work for that future now, together. My husband, who is your neighbor and settler, told me that this place is no longer just a refuge, but a challenge to think for ourselves, to make a new life. As for myself, the best proof I can offer you is to promise you that my children will be born Americans. Compliments, madame. You managed magnificently. The Queen will be most amused when I tell her of your eloquence. Yes, what she has to think of using that letter, and those settlers believed you. But it is true. Why are you crying? She did not just use the letter, miss you. What she said is true. What's that? The letter OCA brought was from Obey in Paris. On the morning of October 16th of this year, Mary Antoinette went to the guillotine. Why are you lying? She speaks the truth, miss you. But we had understood she was already at sea on her way here. Oh, their rites of the plan to rescue. Obey message sent in a bouquet of flowers. But it seems she was indisposed the morning they tried to reach her. She did not understand that it was her last chance to escape. Madame, madame, Missier, your handling of that mob was perfect this evening, and... Yes, miss you. You must not plan to end it there. After all, you have the people's confidence now. With your help, we can keep them subdued and grow strong. As Zylon can become a capital of a new government, they will believe we are giving them their so-called democracy. But in reality, we will have the power. Do you understand? Yes, I understand perfectly. The rites of the people around us would mean nothing. You, miss you, de Talon would grab more and more and more until the thing they have feared would actually come to pass. Monsieur, my husband believes that we must have a grist mill here to survive, not the rule of a power-hungry man. We need to put down roots into the soil. As my husband says, and as I have come to believe, there is no good in entering a new world if one lives as if you were still in the old. Would you throw away the chance to have power? The power of the Queen? I, of all people, miss you, because here in America, I have found a home. In time, the grist mill of Jean-Cierre became a reality, and where the grand palace in the Pennsylvania wilderness had stood was nothing but strewn timber and tall fern. As it crumbled, the dukes B. Compton Marquis said glib goodbyes to the land they could never understand. Those who remained the Jean-Marie Thérèse-Cierre and their children changed the place called the Xylem, which meant refuge, into a quiet, prosperous community, which meant America. Tonight's cavalcade play, The Queen's Handmaid, was based on the book I, The Wed, by Gilbert W. Gabriel, published by Macmillan, and was adapted for radio by Virginia Radcliffe. The program was directed by Jack Zoller. Music was composed by Arden Cornwell and conducted by Donald Bryant. Featured in the cast were Stefan Schnabel as Tannin, Guy Sorel as Jean, and Chuck Webster as Johnson. Your narrator was Ted Pearson. Ladies and gentlemen, join the fight against infantile paralysis. As you know, the march of dimes through scientific research is pledged to find a cure for this dread disease. Your help is needed. Send your dimes and dollars to your local March of Dimes headquarters as soon as you can. Thank you. Next week, cavalcade will bring you a little-known and delightful story of Benjamin Franklin and his inventive genius, this time in the field of love. In our play, One Last Romance, we'll present two eminent stars of the theater and screen, the distinguished American actor Walter Hampton and the provocative comedian, Yuna O'Connor. Be sure to join us. Cavalcade of America comes to you each week from the stage of the Longacre Theater on Broadway in New York, and is presented by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.