Mutual Presents: Monday Matinee's Les Miserables- Part 1 #6.12

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All right here on the Mutual Audio Network. The following audio drama is rated PG for parental guidance recommended.

Welcome back to Mutual Presents, where we feature the fantastic series of the Mutual Broadcasting System, our spiritual grandfather of the Mutual Audio Network. Well, we've sadly run through all our First Nighter series for Monday Matinee. The great performances don't end there. We begin our seven-part spectacular with Orson Welles' triumphant adaptation of Les Miserables.

from the incredible Victor Hugo. So let's start tonight with part one. So long as these problems are not solved, so long as ignorance and poverty remain on earth... These words cannot be useless. These words set forth the soul and spirit of one of the world's great literary masterpieces, Les Miserables. Out of the depths of his pity for suffering mankind...

Victor Hugo drew a compelling story, one that will live for so long as bewildered humanity shall continue to grope toward the light. Tonight, WOR and the Mutual Network... bring you the first of seven broadcasts based on this great novel. Each episode will depict some vital development in the epic of Jean Valjean. Orson Welles, author, director, and actor, has assembled a notable cast.

and offers an interpretation created specifically for radio presentation. Mr. Wells will play the role of Jean Valjean. And those sections of the book itself, which in running narrative bind together the dramatic episodes... will also be read by him. Les Miserables begins. Part one. The episode which is called The Bishop.

An hour before sundown, on the evening of a day in the beginning of October, 1815, a man traveling on foot was seen entering the little town of D. Nobody knew him. He looked ragged and mean. He must have come far that day, for he looked weary. The traveler went first to the mayor's office with his passport. and then turned his steps toward the inn. Who is it? A man who wants food and a bed. One moment, monsieur. Good evening. Is dinner ready?

Monsieur, I'm sorry. I cannot receive you. Are you afraid I won't pay you? I have money. I'll pay in advance. I have no room. Well, then... Put me in the stable. I'll pay you. I'm sorry. Well, the attic or a corner of the kitchen. I must have lodging. We'll see after dinner. I can't give you dinner. But... I'm hungry. I've been walking since sunrise. Twelve leagues. I'm hungry. Get out. What do you mean? You heard me. Get out. But I... I don't understand.

Monsieur, I suspected something when I saw you go into the mayor's office. So I sent my boy across to find out. Monsieur? Shall I tell you your name? So you know. The traveler looked at the innkeeper, bowed his head... picked up his knapsack and went off down the street. If he had turned, he would have seen the innkeeper in his doorway, pointing him out as he went, to the guests of the inn and to the passers-by.

Night came on. It had begun to rain. He passed the prison. Mr. Turnkey! Mr. Turnkey! Well, what is it? Mr. Turnkey, your pardon. Will you let me stay here tonight? This is a jail, not a tavern. Get yourself arrested. The traveler did not know the streets. He walked at random. He came to the prefecture and then to the seminary. As he passed the cathedral square, he shook his fist at the church.

Then he stopped at a stone bench in the Bishop Street and lay down there, hoping for sleep. Who was this man?

He was a criminal, and he had paid for his crime. He was an ex-convict. He was tried 19 years before, in 1796. My name is Jean Valjean. Prisoner, you are accused of burglary. Have you nothing to say? Yes, Excellency. I was hungry. It was not our concern, prisoner. Proven fact of your guilt is not altered by the circumstance of your stomach. Excellency, I was very hungry. My name is Jean Valjean, Excellency. I come from Brie.

My father and mother are both dead. And my sister's husband is dead, too. So she lives with me at Favarol. She and her little ones. They are hungry, too. Excellency, I'm a pruner at Favarol. And in the pruning season, I earn 18 sous a day. And that's all. It's very hard, Excellency. It's a very hard winter. There's no work and there's no bread. No bread at all. Just no bread, Excellency. None. And I can't find any work. And they're all hungry, Excellency. More hungry than me. Much.

The seven little ones. And no bread in the house. Prisoner, you were apprehended by police officers in the possession of stolen property. This court has reviewed the charge. And here fines proven finally against the prisoner of the crime for which he's on trial. Namely, the burglary of one loaf of bread. Excellency. What does that mean? It means prisoner, you're a thief. The court finds you guilty. I didn't know I was a thief. Jean Valjean, you are sentenced to five years in the galley.

The galleys. Five years at the oar of a prison ship. The terms of the code were explicit. Five years in torment. On the 22nd of April... 1797, a great chain was riveted, and Jean Valjean was a part of this chain. He was no longer Jean Valjean. He was 24,601. What had become of the sister? What became of the seven children? Who cared about that? What becomes of the leaves of the young tree when it soared at the trunk?

And all this time, Jean Valjean talked little, and he never laughed. When he left the galleys, he had not shed a tear for 19 years. 19 long years. For near the end of his fourth year in the prison ship, Jean Valjean escaped. On the evening of the second day, he was retaken. Number 24601 for attempted escape. The prisoner's sentence extended three years. Three years, which made eight. For sixth year. 24-599. Here. 24-600. Here. 24-601.

24-601. 24-601. 24-601 is not present. The prisoner has escaped. Fire the alarm, cannon. That night they found him. He resisted the galley guard. Escape and resistance. Under provisions in the special code, the prisoner's sentence extended. Five years. Two with a double chain. Five years. which made 13. The 10th year. Attempted escape. The prisoner's sentence extended. Three years. Three years, which made 16. The 13th year. Attempted escape.

Be taken after an absence for four hours. The prisoner's sentence extended three years. Three years for four hours, which made 19. In October... 1815, Jean Valjean was set free. He had entered in 1796 for having taken a loaf of bread.

The rain fell heavily, and Jean Valjean was cold on the stone bench. Just then, a woman came out of the church and saw him lying there in the dark. My friend, what are you doing? You see what I'm doing. I'm going to sleep. Why don't you go to the inn? I have no money. You can't pass the night in the rain. Have you knocked at every door? Yes. Have you knocked at that one there? No. Knock there. And she pointed to a little low house on the other side of the square. It was the palace...

of the Bishop. This first part of our story is concerned with two people. One of them is Jean Valjean, and the other is Charles François Bienvenue Muriel, called Monseigneur Bienvenue. who was the Bishop of D. We must pause to examine this Bishop of D in order to understand what is to follow. One day, he preached this sermon. in the cathedral. My very dear brethren, there are in France 346,000 cottages with only one opening, the door.

This is because of the tax upon windows. God gives men life, and the law sells it. In the upper and lower out, they make bread once... in six months. In the winter, it is so hard they must cut it with an axe. My brethren, behold how much suffering is around you. The Bishop of D lived very humbly. He had no retinue, and there was with him in his house only two old ladies, his housekeeper and his sister, Mademoiselle Baptisteine.

Here is a letter written by his sister to some girlhood companion. December 16th, 1814. My dear madame. Not a day passes that we do not speak of you. I am happy, but the weather is severe and one must do something for those who lack. My brother is so good. He gives all he has to the poor and sick. He exposes himself to every danger. He goes out in the rain, travels in winter. He has no fear of darkness or of dangerous roads.

or of those he may meet. Last year, he went up all alone into a district infested with robbers. And when he came back, nothing had happened to him. He said, see how they have robbed me. and he opened a trunk in which he had the jewels of the Ambra Cathedral, which the robbers had given him. Upon that occasion, I could not help but scold him.

taking care only to speak when the carriage had made a noise so that no one could hear us. The housekeeper has had difficulty accustoming herself to what she calls his imprudence. But now that the thing is settled, we pray together, we are afraid together, and we go to sleep. Should Satan come to this house, no one would interfere. But after all, what is there to fear in this house? Farewell. With a thousand good wishes, that esteem. It will be seen.

that the bishop was a good man. He had no systems, but many deeds. When he had money, he visited the poor. When he had none, he visited the rich.

So Jean Valjean knocked at his door. The events of that evening, early in October 1815, have often been related by Mademoiselle Battistine. The bishop had been waiting for his supper. He was standing in the dining room by the fire. In the dining room, there was a door opening on the street. His housekeeper, who was setting the table, was just telling his sister...

About Jean Valjean. He has a club to beat you with, a rope to hang you with, and a sack to put you in when you're dead. God save us, did you see this man? I did not see him at all, thank heaven, Mademoiselle Baptiste. Then, madame. How do you know how he looked? Your greatness, he was described to me in the market. Well, madame, do you think we're in very grave danger? Oh, awful, your greatness, with no locks on the doors.

And I say, Monseigneur, and then Zerbetistine here says also that... Me, madame, I say nothing. What my brother does is well done. We say this house isn't safe. We say that a door which opens by a latch on the outside to the first comer, nothing in the world could be more horrible. And your greatness does have the habit, if I do say so, of always saying, come in.

Goodness, come in even at midnight. The Lord knows there's no need to ask leave to come in at this house when even the beggars... Come in? It is he. Come in, monsieur. Listen to me. Listen to me before you say anything. Listen. I'm a convict. You hear that? I've been 19 years in the gallows. Four days ago, they let me out, and I've walked all this way from too long. I went to the inn, but they sent me away. The jailer wouldn't let me into the prison. No one will have me.

I'm a convict. I tried to sleep out under the stars. But there were no stars. It rained. And there was no good guard to stop the drops. A woman showed me your house and said to me, not there. So I'm not. Look, I have money, 109 francs and 15 sous, which I earned in the galleys. I'll pay you. I'll pay you anything. I walked 12 leagues today, and I'm so hungry. Please, have your stable. Come in, monsieur, and shut the door. Wait! Did you hear what I said?

I said I was a convict. Brother, this is the man. Do you want to see my passport? Here it is. My yellow passport. Read it. Very well, monsieur. The bearer is a liberated convict. Having been 19 years in the galleys. Original sentence, five years. Additional servitude, 14 years. The holder of this passport...

is a very dangerous man. Oh, your greatness, what shall we do? Set another place at the table. But your greatness, I... Madame, do as my brother says. Put on another plate. Yes, mademoiselle. Do you mean I can stay? Me? A convict? I thought you'd send me away. So I told you right off who I am. Bernstein, put some sheets on the bed and the alcove. Yes, brother. A bed? You mean, I'll have a bed like other people. With sheets and mattress. It's 19 years since I've slept on a bed.

Thank you, monsieur innkeeper. I'll pay you all you say. You're a good man. You are an innkeeper, aren't you? No, monsieur. I am a priest who lives here. Of course, your cap. You're the cure.

The cure of the big church. Then... Then you don't want me to pay. No, monsieur. Come near the fire. Oh, this lamp is poor. I light the candles. I don't understand. I don't understand. You let me, a galley slave, enter your house. You even light your silver candlesticks for me without so much as asking my name. Monsieur, my name is Jean Valjean. This is not my house, Jean Valjean. It is the house of Christ. Besides, why should I ask your name? Before you told me, I knew it.

You... You know it. Monsieur, your name is my brother. Your greatness, the table is set. Ah, good. But, Madame McGrath... Yes, your greatness? Something is lacking. Is it not the custom to place all six of our silver plates on the table? Yes, Your Greatness, but... I count only three. I'll fetch them. Ah, it's better. Ah, better steam.

Is that a bottle of wine I see there? Indeed, yes. The fine old mold for the special occasions. Madame Maguire put it out. Here are the plates, your greatness. Oh, thank you, Madame Maguire. I have misjudged you. Come, then, to supper. Monsieur Valjean, you sit there by my sister. Oh, this is too good for me. Oh, monsieur. If you knew what this means...

After 19 years in the chains. Jean, you have left all that suffering. Remember this. If you leave it with hate and anger, you are worthy of compassion. But if you leave it with goodwill and peace, you are better than any of us. Heavenly Father, we ask thy blessing on this food as we partake of it. May it strengthen us to everlasting life. Amen. Mademoiselle Battistine described the progress of this supper in a letter written to a friend. All I can say is that...

My brother took supper with this Jean Valjean with the same manner he would have used with the provost or the curé of this parish. After we had eaten, my brother turned to him and said, You must be very tired. I'll show you to your room. He then did so, lighting the way with one of his candlesticks. Madame Magloire and I said our prayers in the parlor and retired to our chambers without saying a word.

Charles Valjar lay in his bed that night and thought of the bishop's silver. Those six silver plates. He had seen the old housekeeper putting them away in the cupboard. He had marked that cupboard well, solid silver. They would bring at least 200 francs, double his pay for 19 years' labor. What had been the life of this soul? Society should look into these things. They are its own works. In weariness, in agony, under the whip, under the chain, in the cell, on the convict's bed of plank.

Under the burning sun of the galleys, Jean Valjean turned to his conscience and reflected to those who saw him. He seemed looking continually upon something terrible. For human society had done him nothing but injury. No man had ever touched him but to bruise him. Never since childhood had he been greeted with a friendly word. He had no weapon but his hate.

He had resolved to sharpen it in the galleys, and he had taken it with him when he went out. So the passport was right, the yellow passport, which described Jean Valjean.

as a very dangerous man. The next morning at sunrise, the bishop was walking in his garden. Madame Magroa ran up to him quite beside herself. Your greatness is gone. Yes, madame. Monseigneur, it's all gone. And the man with the beard and the yellow passport... Madame. What is gone? Your greatness is silver. It's been stolen. The six lovely plates, your only treasure. Oh, monseigneur, I was right. I should never have put them on the table. He has stolen them. Well, then.

Let us consider. Yes, Monseigneur. Firstly, did the silver belong to us? No. No, Monseigneur. No. It belonged to the poor. Now, secondly, who was that man? He was a poor man. I suppose so, your greatness. But he knew silver when he saw it. Even if he didn't recognize a bishop from a curie. Oh, monseigneur, it is not myself I'm thinking of nor of your sister. I worry on your account. What are you going to eat from?

Have we no tin plates? Tin smells. Well then, iron. But iron has such a bad taste. There are always wooden plates. Yes, Marseille wishes. But what an idea to take back Ben. Brother. Brother, they've caught the man. Oh, thank God. Have they put him in jail? No, they've brought him here with the silver. They're outside the gate now. Brother, the police want you to identify him. Very well. Show them in. Come along now. Let's have none of your talk. Please. Silence! Prisoner.

Take your cap off in the presence of the bishop. Bishop. Good morning, Valjean. You recognize him, Monsignor? That's enough. Here is your silver. Yes. But where are my candlesticks? Here are the stolen plates, Monsignor. Were there candlesticks, too? Oh, yes. Yes, they are of silver, like the rest. Valjean, where are my candlesticks? I didn't take them.

Madame McGuire, be kind enough to go in and get them. What, monseigneur? Go get the candlestick. But I... Very well, monseigneur. Monsieur Valjean, I don't think you understood. I gave you the candlesticks as well. What? What do you mean? Monsignor, the prisoner was running off with your plates. And he told you they were given him by an old priest with whom he had lodged the night.

And you brought him here? Yes, Monsignor. Then is true what he told me? I have given him the silver. Then we can let him go? But of course. Here are your candlesticks, which I must say. Madame Maguire. Give them to Monsieur Valjean. Yes, Your Greatness. Here. But I... Take them, you fool. But they aren't mine. Monsieur, the plates and the candlesticks are yours.

Take them. But never forget that you have promised me to use this silver to become an honest man. I... I have promised you. Jean Valjean, I have purchased your soul. I withdraw it from the spirit of perversity and give it to almighty God.

Jean Valjean ran out of the city as though he were escaping and made haste into the open country. A little gypsy boy passed by and dropped a penny. Jean Valjean put his foot on it and drove the boy away. Then he picked it up and ran after the boy. But he never found him. He found himself. He knew then that he must conquer or be conquered. He saw before him himself as he was, stick in hand, knapsack on his shoulders.

the hideous galley slave, Jean Valjean. He beheld himself face to face and saw at the same time a light like a torch. And he knew that this torch was the bishop. Jean Valjean shrank and vanished. The bishop remained. There came to him... The bishop's own words, Jean Valjean, you have promised me to become an honest man. I have purchased your soul. Then his heart swelled up in him.

And he burst into tears. It was the first time he had wept in 19 years. How long did he weep thus? What did he do after weeping? Where did he go? No one ever knew. Only one thing is certain. On that very night, at three o'clock in the morning, a figure was seen in the attitude of prayer. kneeling upon the pavement in the shadow before the door of the Bishop of D.

and the Mutual Network have presented part one of the Bishop of Victor Hugo's absorbing story, Les Miserables. Orson Welles has played the role of Jean Valjean and read the narrative passages... of this presentation which he has prepared specifically for radio broadcasting. Next Friday evening at 10 o'clock Eastern Daylight Saving Time, we shall present Les Miserables in its second episode, which introduces Javert. This is the Coast to Coast Network of the Mutual Broadcasting System.

And that's this week's Mutual Presents feature. The Mutual Audio Network brings the best of old-time radio and modern audio theater to the world. Be sure to subscribe through the Mutual Audio Network podcast feed. any of our podcast days, or the Mutual YouTube channel, which includes MadCon and many other extra features and shows. See you all next time at Mutual Presents. Good night.

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