arrest Des Grieux and Manon on a charge of cheating at play. Des Grieux attempts resistance, when suddenly his father the Count appears and begs the soldiers to do their duty. He whispers in his son's ear that by his influence he will shortly have him set at lib-erty; Des Grieux pays no heed and tries to go on resisting, but the soldiers drag him away, together with the wretched Manon, and the curtain falls.

Act Five

The scene: a road near Le Havre.

The days pass, and behold: Manon is sentenced to banishment to one of the colonies, while the Chevalier des Grieux is set free thanks to the influence of his father the Count. And here he is, seeking Lescaut's help in a plan to rescue poor Manon with the aid of some hired desperadoes. When the curtain rises, Lescaut informs him that the desperadoes have all fled, and no hope remains but bribery. Des Grieux hands him all the money he carries, and Lescaut succeeds in his errand. No sooner do the soldiers pass with the pris-oners in their charge than he sig-nals to the guard escorting Manon, who walks at the rear; the man comes over to him, and Lescaut hands him a tidy sum of money.

But the Manon whom Des Grieux now welcomes with over-flowing joy is not the Manon of old, gay and carefree. She is sorrowful, and sick unto death; and though she knows her beloved, she does not answer his entreaties

to flee with him. Her thoughts wander little by little, and before long she sinks to the ground.

In her lover's arms she breathes her last by the roadside, repeating that touching

final line of the opera:

"And this is the story of Manon." Des Grieux cannot bear the sight; he falls upon her body, broken-hearted...