OSSEP [_much excited_]. What do I hear? Has she spoken the truth? Do you
hear? Why do you not answer me? Why are you silent? [_Still more
excited_.] It is true, then! Yes, yes, I see that it is true! O God, let
lightning strike this unlucky house that we may all die together. I
have just lost an important sum and come home to prevent further
negotiations. And see there!
CHACHO. I am to blame for it. Do not get excited. I will add 1,000
rubles to it, if need be, from the money I have laid by for my burial.
OSSEP. From your burial money? Have I already fallen so low that I must
ask alms? Keep your money for yourself! I do not want it. Drop that
complaint also, for I am still rich, very rich. How can it injure me
that Santurian has failed? I stand here firm and unshakable, and have
inexhaustible money resources. [_Tearing his hair_.] O God! O God!
[_Walks to and fro excitedly_.] Now I will go and wish my son-in-law
joy. Yes, I must go so that I shall not make myself ridiculous to him.
The man is a government official!
[_Exit right, laughing bitterly_.
CHACHO. Gracious heaven, be thou our saviour and deliverer.
CURTAIN.
ACT SECOND
SCENE I
_A richly furnished sales-room in Barssegh's house_.
MICHO. Two, three, four, five, six and this little piece. It does not
measure so much!
BARSSEGH [_standing up and giving Micho a rap on the nose_]. You have
what is lacking there. Measure again. Now you've got what is lacking. I
will tear your soul out of your body if you measure so that in seven
arschin[44] it comes out one werschok short.
[44] Russian measure of length.
MICHO [_measuring again_]. O dear, O dear!
BARSSEGH. Look out, or I will take that "O dear" out of your ear. Be up
and at it now!
MICHO. Oh, Mr. Barssegh! [_Measuring._] One, two, three--
BARSSEGH. Stretch it, you blockhead.
MICHO [_stretching the cotton_]. Three, four. [_Wipes the perspiration
from his brow_.]
BARSSEGH. What is the matter with you? You sweat as though you had a
mule-pack on your back.
MICHO. Five.
BARSSEGH. Pull it out more.
MICHO. Six and this little piece. It lacks three werschok again.
BARSSEGH [_pulling his ears_]. It lacks three werschok? There they are!
MICHO. Oh my, oh my!
BARSSEGH. You calf; will you ever develop into a man?
MICHO. O dear mother!
BARSSEGH [_pulling him again by the ear_]. Doesn't it grow longer?
MICHO [_crying_]. Dear Mr. Barssegh, dear sir, let me go.
BARSSEGH. I want to teach you how to measure.
MICHO. It reaches, I say; it reaches, indeed; it reaches. Let me
measure again.
BARSSEGH. Now take care that you make it seven arschin.
MICHO [_aside_]. Holy Karapet, help me. [_Measuring_.] One, two--
BARSSEGH. O you blockhead!
MICHO. Three.
BARSSEGH Wake up!
MICHO. Four.
BARSSEGH. Haven't you seen how Dartscho measures?
MICHO. Five.
BARSSEGH. Will you ever learn how to do it?
MICHO. Five.
BARSSEGH. If you keep on being so stupid my business will be ruined.
MICHO. Five--five.
BARSSEGH. I give you my word that I will give you the sack.
MICHO. Five--five.
BARSSEGH. Measure further.
MICHO. Five--[_aside_:]; Holy George, help me! [_Aloud_:] Six. I cannot
stretch it any more or I shall tear it.
BARSSEGH. Measure, now.
MICHO. O dear; I believe it is already torn.
BARSSEGH [_looking at the cloth_]. I see nothing. God forbid!
MICHO [_looking at the measure_]. It is short a half werschok of seven
arschin every time.
_The madman, Mosi, comes in at the middle door and stands in the
background_.
SCENE II
_Mosi_.
BARSSEGH [_hitting Micho on the head_]. What are you good for? Can't you
get that half werschok out of it?
MICHO [_howling_.] What am I to do when the cloth is too short?
BARSSEGH [_pulling his hair_]. Are you sure you're not lying?
MICHO [_yelling_.] How can you say that? Measure it yourself and we
shall see whether there are seven arschin here.
BARSSEGH [_angry; taking measure and calico_]. You say there are not
seven here? Wait, I will show you [_measuring._] One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, and a quarter left over for a present to you. What do
you say about it now? You must learn to measure if you burst doing it.
But you think only of your week's pay. Now, hurry up; be lively there!
MICHO. O heaven! How shall I begin? One, two--
BARSSEGH. Be careful and don't tear it.
MICHO [_crying._] What do you want of me? If I pull on the stuff I tear
it; and if I don't stretch it, no seven arschin will come out of it.
MOSI [_coming near_]. Ha! ha! ha! Who is the toper? Who? 'Tis I; the mad
Mosi. Ha! ha! ha!
BARSSEGH [_aside._] How comes this crazy fellow here?
MOSI [_seizing the measure and calico_]. Give it to me, you booby! There
are not only seven arschin here, but twenty-seven [_measuring quickly_].
One, two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, and here are thirteen and
fourteen. Do you want me to make still more out of it? You must shove
the stick back in measuring. Can't you understand that? [_Throws the
stick and calico upon Micho_.] Here, take it and be a man at last. You
the shop-boy of such a great merchant and not find out a little thing
like that. Haven't you learned yet how to steal half a werschok? Ha, ha,
ha!
[_Micho tries to free himself but becomes more
entangled in the cloth_.
BARSSEGH [_to Mosi_], I forbid such impudent talk in my presence! Be
silent, or I'll show you.
MOSI. That's the way with all mankind. They never appreciate good
intentions. [_Pointing to Micho_.] I only wanted to make something of
him. Go, go, my son, be a man! Learn from your master! You surely see
how much money he has scraped together! [_To Barssegh_:] How is it about
eating? It's time for dinner! Have the table set; I have come as a
guest. What have you to-day? Coal-soup, perhaps, or water-soup? Yes,
yes; you will entertain me finely! Ha, ha!
BARSSEGH [_aside_]. This confounded fellow is drunk again! [_To Micho_:]
Get out of the room!
[_Exit Micho middle door._
SCENE III
MOSI. From this stuff you can make a shroud for yourself. To-day or
to-morrow you must die, that's sure.
BARSSEGH. You'd better be still!
[_Enter Khali at left_.
KHALI. Do you know the latest?
BARSSEGH. What has happened?
KHALI. What has happened? Marmarow was betrothed yesterday.
BARSSEGH. No!
KHALI. By heaven!
BARSSEGH. To whom?
KHALI. To the daughter of Ossep Gulabianz.
BARSSEGH. Is that really true?
KHALI. Do you think I am lying? They promised him 10,000 rubles dowry. I
always said you should have saved something. Now you have it! They have
snatched him away from you. And such a man, too! They puff themselves up
entirely too much. Where did they get the money, I would like to know?
[_Micho appears at the middle door_.
BARSSEGH. Run right off down to the Tapitach.[45] You know where Ossep
Gulabianz's store is?
[45] A district of Tiflis.
MICHO. Gulabianz? The one who brought money to-day?
BARSSEGH. Yes, that one. Go and look for him wherever he is likely to
be. Tell him he must bring the rest of the money at once. Now, run
quickly. What else do I want to say? Oh, yes [_pointing to the calico_];
take that winding-sheet with you.
MOSI. Ha, ha, ha! Listen to him!
BARSSEGH. By heaven! What am I chattering about? I am crazed! [_Angrily,
to Micho_:] What are you gaping at? Do you hear? Take this calico. Go to
the store and tell Dartscho to come here. Lively, now!
[_Exit Micho with goods_.
BARSSEGH [_going on_]. I would like to see how he is going to give
10,000 rubles dowry. I would like to know whose money it is?
KHALI. That stuck-up Salome has gotten my son-in-law away from me.
BARSSEGH. Never mind. I will soon put them into a hole.
MOSI. Oh, don't brag about things you can't perform. What has Ossep done
to you that you want revenge? How can Ossep help it if your daughter is
as dumb as straw and has a mouth three ells long? And what have Micho's
ears to do with it? You should simply have given what the man asked.
BARSSEGH [_rising_]. O you wretch, you!
MOSI. Yes, you should certainly have paid it. Why didn't you? For whom
are you saving? To-morrow or the day after you will have to die and
leave it here.
BARSSEGH. Stop, or--
KHALI [_to Mosi_]. Why do you anger him? Haven't we trouble and anxiety
enough?
MOSI. Well, I will be still. But I swear that this young man may call
himself lucky that he has freed himself from you and closed with Ossep.
Both of you together are not worth Ossep's finger-tips.
BARSSEGH. Leave me in peace or I will shake off all my anger on to you.
MOSI. What can you do to me? You cannot put my store under the hammer.
What a man you are, indeed!
BARSSEGH. A better man than you any day.
MOSI. In what are you better?
BARSSEGH. In the first place, I am master of my five senses, and you are
cracked.
MOSI [_laughs_]. Ha, ha, ha! If you were rational you would not have
said that. Am I crazy because I show up your villanies? You are wise,
you say? Perhaps you are as wise as Solomon!
BARSSEGH. I am wealthy.
MOSI. Take your money and--[_Whispers something in his ear._] You have
stolen it here and there. You have swindled me out of something, too. Me
and this one and that one, and so you became rich! You have provided
yourself with a carriage, and go riding in it and make yourself
important. Yes, that is the way with your money. Did your father Matus
come riding to his store in a carriage, eh? You say you are rich? True,
there is scarcely anyone richer than you; but if we reckon together all
the money you have gained honorably, we shall see which of us two has
most. [_Drawing his purse from his pocket and slapping it_.] See! I have
earned all this by the sweat of my brow. Oh, no, like you I collected it
for the church and put it in my own pocket. Are you going to fail again
soon?
BARSSEGH. Heaven preserve me from it!
MOSI. It would not be the first time. When you are dead they will shake
whole sacks full of money in your grave for you.
BARSSEGH. Will you never stop?
KHALI. Are you not ashamed to make such speeches?
MOSI. Till you die I will not let you rest. As long as you live I will
gnaw at you like a worm, for you deserve it for your villany. What!
Haven't you committed every crime? You robbed your brother of his
inheritance; you cheated your partner; you have repudiated debts, and
held others to false debts. Haven't you set your neighbors' stores on
fire? If people knew everything they would hang you. But the world is
stone-blind, and so you walk God's earth in peace. Good-by! I would like
to go to Ossep and warn him against you; for if he falls into your
clutches he is lost.
SCENE IV
BARSSEGH. Yes, yes; go and never come back.
KHALI. I wish water lay in front of him and a drawn sword behind.
BARSSEGH. This fellow is a veritable curse!
KHALI. Yes, he is, indeed.
BARSSEGH. The devil take him! If he is going to utter such slanders, I
hope he will always do it here, and not do me harm with outsiders.
KHALI. You are to blame for it yourself. Why do you have anything to do
with the good-for-nothing fellow?
BARSSEGH. There you go! Do I have anything to do with him? He is always
at my heels, like my own shadow.
KHALI. Can't you forbid him to enter your doors?
BARSSEGH. So that he will not let me pass by in the streets? Do you
want him to make me the talk of the town?
KHALI. Then don't speak to him any more.
BARSSEGH. As if I took pleasure in it! It is all the same to him whether
one speaks to him or not.
KHALI. What are we to do with him, then?
BARSSEGH [_angrily_]. Why do you fasten yourself on to me like a gadfly?
Have I not trouble enough already? [_Beating his hands together_.] How
could you let him escape? You are good for nothing!
KHALI. What could I do, then, if you were stingy about the money? If you
had promised the 10,000 rubles, you would have seen how easily and
quickly everything would have been arranged.
BARSSEGH. If he insists upon so much he may go to the devil. For 10,000
rubles I will find a better man for my daughter.
KHALI. I know whom you mean. Give me the money and I will arrange the
thing to-day.
BARSSEGH [_derisively_]. Give it! How easily you can say it! Is that a
mulberry-tree, then, that one has only to shake and thousands will fall
from it? Don't hold my rubles so cheaply; for every one of them I have
sold my soul twenty times.
KHALI. If I can only get sight of that insolent Salome, I'll shake a
cart-load of dirt over her head. Only let her meet me!
[_Exit, left_.
SCENE V
BARSSEGH [_alone_]. And you shall see what I will do! Only wait, my dear
Ossep! I am getting a day of joy ready for you and you will shed tears
as thick as my thumb. I have been looking for the chance a long time,
and now fate has delivered you into my hands. You braggart, you shall
see how you will lie at my feet. I am the son of the cobbler Matus.
There are certain simpletons who shake their heads over those who had
nothing and suddenly amount to something. But I tell you that this world
is nothing more than a great honey-cask. He who carries away the best
part for himself, without letting the others come near it, he is the
man to whom praise and honor are due. But a man who stands aside, like
Ossep, and waits till his turn comes is an ass.
_Enter Dartscho_.
BARSSEGH. Ah, Dartscho! How quickly you have come!
DARTSCHO. I met Micho just now, and he told me that you had sent for me.
BARSSEGH. I have something important to speak with you about. [_He sits
down_.] Where were you just now?
DARTSCHO. At George's, the coal man. He owed us some money, and I have
been to see him seven times this week on that account.
BARSSEGH. He is very unpunctual. But how does it stand? Has he paid?
DARTSCHO. Of course! What do you take me for? I stayed in the store as
if nailed there, and when a new customer came in I repeated my demand.
There was nothing left for him to do but to pay me, for shame's sake.
BARSSEGH. That pleases me in you, my son. Go on like that and you will
get on in the world. Look at me! There was a time when they beat me over
the head and called me by my given name. Then they called me Barssegh,
and finally "Mr." Barssegh. When I was as old as you are I was nothing,
and now I am a man who stands for something. If my father, Matus, were
still alive he would be proud of me. I tell you all this so that you
will spare no pains to make yourself a master and make people forget
that you are the son of a driver. A son can raise up the name of his
father; he can also drag it down into the dust.
DARTSCHO. You see best of all what trouble I take, Mr. Barssegh. When I
open the store in the morning, I never wait until Micho comes, but I
take the broom in my hand and sweep out the store. And how I behave with
the customers, you yourself see.
BARSSEGH. Yes, I see it; I see it, my son, and it is on that account I
am so good to you. Only wait till next year and you shall be my partner.
I will supply the money and you the labor.
DARTSCHO. May God give you a long life for that! I seem to myself like
a tree which you have planted. I hope I will still bear fruit and you
will have your joy in me. Do you know that I have gotten rid of those
damaged goods?
BARSSEGH. Is it possible?
DARTSCHO. It's a fact.
BARSSEGH. To whom have you sold them?
DARTSCHO. To a man from Signach. I laid two good pieces on top so that
he did not notice it. Let him groan now.
BARSSEGH. And how? On credit?
DARTSCHO. Am I then crazy? Have I ever sold damaged goods on credit,
that you make such a supposition? Of course I took something off for it,
but made believe I only did it to please him. He paid me the full sum at
once; and if he is now boasting how cheap he bought the goods, I hope he
will sing my praises also.
BARSSEGH. Do you know, dear Dartscho, you are a fine fellow? Yes, I have
always said that you would amount to something.
DARTSCHO. God grant it! What commands have you, Mr. Barssegh? There is
no one in the store.
BARSSEGH. Oh, right! I had almost forgotten. If Ossep Gulabianz comes to
borrow money, give him nothing.
DARTSCHO. What has happened?
BARSSEGH. I am terribly angry at him.
DARTSCHO. And I have even more reason to be angry at him; he is
altogether too stuck-up. But what has occurred?
BARSSEGH. I will show him now who I am. His whole business is just like
a hayrick; a match is enough to set the whole thing ablaze.
DARTSCHO. I would not be sorry for ten matches! Tell me what I can do
about it? The rest I know already.
BARSSEGH. Think of it! The fellow has snatched away a fine fat morsel
from my very mouth. I had found an excellent husband for my daughter.
For a whole week we carried on negotiations with him and everything was
near final settlement when this Ossep came in and bid over us. On the
very same day he betrothed his daughter to the man.
DARTSCHO. The devil take him for it!
BARSSEGH. And do you know, also, whose money he is going to use? It is
my money he is going to give him.
DARTSCHO. That is just it! That is it!
BARSSEGH. Things look bad for his pocket. Now he is going to marry off
his daughter and put himself in a tight place. Go, therefore, and get
out an execution against him; otherwise nothing can be squeezed out of
him.
DARTSCHO. We shall see. I will go at once and demand our money.
BARSSEGH. I have already sent Micho, but I hardly believe he will give
it up so easily. On that account I sent for you to find out someone who
can help us.
DARTSCHO. I know a lawyer who can manage so that in three hours they
will put an attachment on his store.
BARSSEGH. Go on so forever, dear Dartscho! Yes, I have long known that
you were going to be the right sort of fellow!
DARTSCHO. The apprentice of a right good master always gets on in the
world.
BARSSEGH. Go quickly then; lose no time.
DARTSCHO. I will not waste an hour.
BARSSEGH. Go! May you succeed!
[_Exit Dartscho, middle door_.
BARSSEGH [_alone_]. Yes, yes, friend Ossep, now show what you can do! I
would burn ten candles to have you in my power.
[_Exit, right, taking the account book_.
SCENE VI
_Khali. Salome_.
KHALI [_entering from the left_]. Such a bold creature I never saw
before in my life! [_Calling through the window_:] Come in! come in! I
pray! Do you hear, Salome? I am calling you. Come in here a moment
[_coming back from the window_]. She is coming. Wait, you insolent
thing! I will give you a setting-out such as no one has ever given you
before!
SALOME [_dressed in the latest fashion, with a parasol in her hand;
enters at middle door_]. Why did you call me? Good-morning! How are you?
[_They shake hands_.
KHALI. Thank you. Pray sit down. [_They both sit down_.] So you have
betrothed your daughter?
SALOME. Yes, dear Khali. God grant that we soon hear of your Nino's like
good-fortune! I betrothed her last evening. I found a good husband for
her. He is as handsome as a god. I can scarcely stand for joy!
KHALI. Yes, make yourself important about it!
SALOME [_offended_]. What is this? What does it mean?
KHALI. You owed us a favor, and you have done it for us.
SALOME. What have I done to you?
KHALI. You could not do more, indeed. You have cheated me out of a
son-in-law. Is not that enough?
SALOME. But, my dear Khali, what kind of things are you saying to me?
What do you mean by it?
KHALI. Be still! be still! I know well enough how it was.
SALOME. May I go blind if I know what you are talking about!
KHALI. Didn't you know very well that I wished to give my daughter to
him?
SALOME. I don't understand you! You said no earthly word to me about it.
KHALI. Even if I have not said anything about it, someone has certainly
told you of it.
SALOME. No one has said a word about it.
KHALI. She lies about it, beside! Isn't that shameful?
SALOME. Satan lies. What are you accusing me of?
KHALI. And you really did not know that I wished to give him my
daughter?
SALOME. And if I had known it? When a man wants to marry, they always
speak of ten, and yet he marries only one.
KHALI. So you knew it very well? Why did you lie, then?
SALOME. You are out of your head! How was I to find it out? Did you send
word by anyone that you were going to give your daughter to the man? In
what way am I to blame for it? You knew as much as I did. You treated
with him just as I did and sent marriage brokers to him.
KHALI. I approached him first.
SALOME. O my dear, the flowers in the meadow belong not to those who
see them first, but to those who pluck them.
KHALI. You did not wait. Perhaps I would have plucked them.
SALOME. And why didn't you pluck them?
KHALI. You wouldn't let me. Do you think I do not know that you promised
him more than we did?
SALOME. May I go blind! Khali, how can you say that? How much did you
promise him?
KHALI. How much did we promise him? Ha! ha! as though you did not know
it! Eight thousand rubles.
SALOME. Then you promised more than we did, for we can give him only
7,000.
KHALI. You surely do not think me so stupid as to believe that!
SALOME. As sure as I wish my Nato all good fortune, what I say is true.
KHALI. And you think that I believe you?
SALOME. What? What do you say? Would I swear falsely about my daughter?
KHALI. Of course it is so! Would he let my 8,000 go to take your 7,000?
SALOME. I am not to blame for that. Probably your daughter did not
please him, since he did not want her.
KHALI. What fault have you to find with my daughter? As though yours
were prettier, you insolent woman, you!
SALOME [_standing up_]. You are insolent! Is it for this you called me
in? Can your daughter be compared to my Nato? Is it my fault that your
daughter has a wide mouth?
KHALI. You have a wide mouth yourself; and your forward daughter is not
a bit prettier than mine!
SALOME. What! you say she is forward? Everyone knows her as a modest and
well-behaved girl, while everybody calls yours stupid. Yes, that is
true; and if you want to know the truth, I can tell it to you--it is
just on that account that he would not have her.
KHALI. Oh, you witch, you! You have caught the poor young man in your
nets and deceived him. I would like to know where you are going to get
the 7,000 rubles.
SALOME. That is our affair. I would rather have broken my leg than to
have come in here.
KHALI. He is up to the ears in debt and is going to give such a dowry!
SALOME [_coming back_]. Even if we are in debt, we have robbed nobody,
as you have.
KHALI [_springing up_]. 'Tis you who steal; you! You are a thief! Look
out for yourself that I do not tear the veil off your head, you wicked
witch, you!
SALOME [_holding her veil toward her_]. Try it once. I would like to see
how you begin it. You have altogether too long a tongue, and are only
the daughter-in-law of the cobbler Matus.
KHALI. And what better are you? You are a gardener's daughter, you
insolent thing!
SALOME. You are insolent, yourself! Do not think so much of
yourself--everyone knows that you have robbed the whole world, and only
in that way have gotten up in the world.
KHALI. Oh, you good-for-nothing!
[_Throws herself on Salome and tears her veil off_.
SALOME. Oh! oh! [_Gets hold of Khali's hair_.
KHALI. Oh! oh!
SALOME. I'll pull all your hair out!
[_Astonished, she holds a lock in her hand_.
_Enter Ossep_.
OSSEP. What do I see?
KHALI [_tearing the lock from Salome's hand_]. May I be blind!
[_Exit embarrassed_.
SALOME [_arranging her veil_]. Oh, you monkey, you!
OSSEP. What is the meaning of this?
SALOME. God only knows how it came to this. I was walking quietly in the
street and she called me in and tore the veil from my head because I, as
she said, took her daughter's suitor away from her.
OSSEP. It serves you right! That comes from your having secrets from me
and promising him 7,000 rubles instead of 6,000.
SALOME. I would rather have broken a leg than come into this horrid
house. I did it only out of politeness. I wish these people might lose
everything they have got [_pinning her veil_]. At any rate, I punished
her for it by pulling off her false hair. If she tells on herself now,
she may also tell about me. She got out of the room quickly, so that no
one would find out that her hair was as false as everything else.
OSSEP. It would be best for us if the earth opened and swallowed us up.
SALOME [_crying_]. Am I, then, so much to blame here?
OSSEP. Really, you look splendid! Go! go! that no one sees you here. It
is not the first time that you have put me in a dilemma. Go! and pray
God to change noon into midnight and make the streets dark, so that no
one sees that you have a torn veil on your head.
SALOME [_wiping away her tears_]. God only knows everything I have to
suffer from you!
OSSEP [_alone_]. Great heaven! how this world is arranged! When one
trouble comes to a man a second comes along, too, and waits at his door.
When I am just about ready to cope with the first, in comes the second
and caps the climax. I don't know which way to turn with all my debts;
and now this women's quarrel will be laid at my door.
SCENE VII
BARSSEGH [_coming in, angry_]. I will show him that I am a man!
OSSEP. Good-morning!
BARSSEGH. I want neither "good-morning" nor any other wish from you. You
have, I suppose, come to help your wife. Give me a blow, too, so the
measure will be full. This is surely the interest on the money you owe
me.
OSSEP. Calm yourself. What, indeed, do you want?
BARSSEGH. Do you, then, believe that I will overlook my wife's hair
being pulled out? That I will not pardon.
OSSEP. What is there to pardon? Your wife tore my wife's veil from her
head.
BARSSEGH. A veil is not hair.
OSSEP. For heaven's sake, stop! Is a women's spat our affair?
BARSSEGH. Say what you wish, but I will do what pleases me.
OSSEP. Calm yourself; calm yourself.
BARSSEGH. Yes, yes; I will calm you, too.
OSSEP. Believe me; it is unworthy of you.
BARSSEGH. She has torn her veil, he says. What is a veil, then? A thing
that one can buy, and at most costs two rubles.
OSSEP. The hair was also not her own. Why do you worry yourself about
it? For a two-ruble veil she tore a two-kopeck band. The band is there,
and she can fasten the hair on again.
BARSSEGH. No, you can't get out of it that way. I will not pardon her
for this insolence.
OSSEP [_aside_]. Great heaven!
BARSSEGH. You'll see! you'll see!
OSSEP. Do what you will! I did not come to you on that account. You sent
for me by Micho?
BARSSEGH. Yes, you are right. Have you brought me my money? Give it to
me, quick!
OSSEP. How you speak to me! Am I your servant, that you speak so
roughly? You surely do not know whom you have before you. Look out, for
if I go for you, you will sing another tune.
BARSSEGH. That has not happened to me yet! He owes me money, and even
here he makes himself important!
OSSEP. Do you think because I owe you money I shall stand your insults?
I speak politely to you, and I demand the same from you.
BARSSEGH. Enough of that! Tell me whether you have brought the money or
not.
OSSEP. Have I ever kept back from you any of your money? Why should I do
it to-day?
BARSSEGH. Then give it to me now.
OSSEP. You said at that time--
BARSSEGH. I know nothing of that time.
OSSEP. What is the matter with you? You speak as if in a dream.
BARSSEGH. Whether I speak as in a dream or not, give me the money, and
have done with it.
OSSEP [_takes a chair and sits down_]. You are mistaken, my dear Mr.
Barssegh; you are mistaken. Sit down, pray.
BARSSEGH [_ironically_]. Thank you very much.
OSSEP. You will surely not take back your word?
BARSSEGH. Hand over the money.
OSSEP. What has happened to you? You speak like a madman.
BARSSEGH. It is all the same to me however I speak.
OSSEP. When I gave you the 5,000 rubles that time, did not you say that
I was to pay the rest in a month?
BARSSEGH [_sitting down_]. And if I did say so, what does it amount to?
I need it now.
OSSEP. You should have said so at the time and I would not have paid out
my money in other ways. How comes it that you demand it so suddenly? I
am no wizard, I am sure, to procure it from the stars for you.
BARSSEGH. You may get it wherever you want to. I need it, and that
settles it.
OSSEP. Just heaven! Why did you give me a month's grace and reckon on an
additional twelve per cent. for it?
BARSSEGH. What kind of grace? Have you anything to show for it?
OSSEP. Isn't your word enough? Why do we need a paper in addition?
BARSSEGH. I didn't give you my word.
OSSEP. What? You did not give it? You admitted it just a few minutes
ago.
BARSSEGH. No, I said nothing about it.
OSSEP [_standing_]. My God! what do I see and hear? You are a merchant
and tread your word under foot. Shame on you! [_Takes him by the arm and
leads him to the mirror_.] Look! look at your face! Why do you turn
pale?
BARSSEGH. Let me go!
OSSEP [_holding him fast by the sleeve_]. How can you be so
unscrupulous? Look! How pale your lips are!
BARSSEGH. Let me go! [_Freeing himself_.] You act exactly as though you
were the creditor.
OSSEP. No, you are the creditor. I would rather be swallowed up alive
by the earth than be such a creditor as you are. What do you think you
will be in my eyes after this?
BARSSEGH. I tell you, hand out my money or I will lay your note before
the court immediately! I would only like to know where you are going to
get the dowry for your daughter. You will pay over my money to your
son-in-law, will you, and give me the go-by?
OSSEP. Give yourself no trouble! Even if you should beg me now, I would
not keep your money. To-morrow at this time you shall have it, and then
may the faces turn black of those who still look at you.
BARSSEGH. I want it at once.
OSSEP. Then come with me. You shall have it. The sooner a man is rid of
a bad thing, the better it is. Give me the note! No, don't give it to
me, for you don't trust me. You are not worthy of trusting me. Take it
yourself and come with me. We will go at once to the bazaar, sell it,
then you can have your money. I may lose something by it. It makes no
difference. It is easier to bear this misfortune than to talk to you. Do
you hear? Shall we go?
BARSSEGH. What do you mean?
OSSEP. Get the note, I tell you! Don't you hear?
BARSSEGH. What kind of a note?
OSSEP. Rostom's note.
BARSSEGH. Rostom's' note? What is this note to you?
OSSEP. What is it to me? It is no word, indeed, that you can deny. It is
a document.
BARSSEGH. What is it to you that I have this document in my hands? That
is mine and Rostom's business.
OSSEP. Yours and Rostom's business! [_Pauses_.] It is, I see, not yet
enough that you lie. You are a thief and a robber beside. What people
say of you is really true; namely, that you have robbed everybody, and
by this means have acquired your wealth. Yes, it is true that you have
ruined twenty-five families; that you have put out their candle and
lighted yours by it. Now I see, for the first time, that everything that
people say about you is true. Now I believe, indeed, that these chairs,
this sofa, this mirror, your coat, your cane--in a word, every article
that you call yours--represents some person you have robbed. Take my
bones and add to them. Make the measure full. You have made your
conscience a stone and will hear nothing; but I tell you, one day it
will awake, and every object that lies or stands here will begin to
speak and hold up to you your villanies. Then you can go and justify
yourself before your Maker. Shame upon him who still calls you a human
being! [_Exit by the middle door_.
BARSSEGH. Ha! ha! ha! [_Exit at the right_.
CURTAIN.
ACT THIRD
SCENE I--OSSEP'S HOUSE
NATO [_stands before the mirror elegantly dressed, and, while she
prinks, hums a European melody. Then she draws out of her pocket a
little photograph and speaks to herself while looking in the mirror_]. O
my treasure! my treasure! [_Presses the photo to her breast and kisses
it._] _Mon chèr!_ Come; we will dance. [_Dances around the table_.]
Tra-la-la, Tra-la-la. [_Sits down at the right_.] Alexander; my
Alexander; dear Alexander! Yes, you are really an angel. Why are you so
handsome? You have black eyes and I also have black. Then arched
eyebrows just like me. [_Touches her eyebrows_.] A pretty little
mustache, which I lack. Which of us is more beautiful, I or you? You are
handsomest; no, I am handsomest [_springing up_]. We will see at once.
[_Looks at herself in the mirror and then at the photograph. Enter
Alexander at the middle door_.
NATO [_without noticing Alexander_]. No, you are the more beautiful!
[_Kisses the photograph_.
[_Alexander approaches softly and kisses Nato_.
NATO [_frightened_]. Oh!
ALEXANDER. No, you are the more beautiful, Natalie, dear. _Ma chère
Nathalie!_
NATO. _O mon chèr Alexandre!_ How you frightened me!
ALEXANDER [_putting his arm around her_]. Let me kiss you again, and
your fright will pass away. [_Kisses her_.] Give me a kiss just once!
NATO [_kissing him_]. There, you have one.
ALEXANDER. Well, I ought to allow you to kiss me. Am I not worth more
than that piece of paper?
[_Takes her by the hand; they sit down on sofa at the
right_.
NATO. They have come to congratulate us.
ALEXANDER. Yes, your grandmother, your aunts, and your cousins. Nato,
shall you give evening parties like this?
NATO [_smiling_]. Ha! ha! ha! No such _soirées_ as this, my dear
Alexander. Two evenings every month we will give little dances, either
on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Which is better? Do you not think, Alexander,
that Thursday will be best?
ALEXANDER [_with a grimace_]. As you wish, _chère Nathalie_. If you
like, you can give a _soirée_ every week.
NATO. No, twice a month is better. Sophie, who is now Madame Jarinskaja,
gives only two _soirées_ in a month.
ALEXANDER. Very well, Nato dear.
NATO. That is agreed, then. And every Thursday we will dance at the
Casino. [_Alexander makes another grimace_.] Mind, now! every Thursday.
ALEXANDER. Do you like to visit the Casino?
NATO [_laying her hand on his shoulder_]. Who doesn't like to visit it?
Is there another place where one can amuse one's self better? The
beautiful long _salon_! the _boudoir_! the beautiful music and the rich
costumes! How beautiful they all are! [_Embracing Alexander_.] We will
dance together, and when we are tired, we will go into the mirror-room
and rest ourselves and talk and laugh.
ALEXANDER. And then we will dance again and rest ourselves, and talk and
laugh again.
NATO. It will be splendid! [_Kisses him_.] I will dress beautifully _à
la mode_, so that everyone will say, "Look! look! what a charming woman
Madame Marmarow is!" And then, dear Alexander, we will subscribe for a
box at the theatre for Fridays.
ALEXANDER [_making another grimace aside_]. She's piling it on.
NATO. And do you know where? In the upper tier at the left, near the
foyer.
ALEXANDER. Wouldn't it be better to subscribe for two evenings a week?
NATO. Wouldn't it cost too much?
ALEXANDER. What has that to do with it? Do you think I could deny you
any pleasure? No! no! you shall have everything.
NATO [_embracing him_]. _Chèr Alexandre_! do you really love me so
much?
ALEXANDER. I cannot tell you at all how much I love you. Right at our
first meeting I fell in love with you!
NATO. I don't believe it! I don't believe it! All young men talk so!
ALEXANDER. Ha! ha! ha! Do you think I am like them? With them the
tongues have nothing to do with the heart; but my tongue speaks what is
here!
[_Strikes himself on the breast_.
NATO [_ironically_]. I know! I know! If I had no dowry you would not
marry me.
ALEXANDER. Nato dear, you wrong me! _ma chère_! As if the dowry made any
difference! _Fi donc_!
NATO. Then you really love me so much?
ALEXANDER. Very, very much, Nato dear. You can put me to the test if you
will.
NATO. Do you know, my piano is not fit to use!
ALEXANDER [_smoothing his hair_--_aside_]. Something new again.
NATO. Buy me a new piano. To-day I saw one at a store; it cost 500
rubles.
ALEXANDER. Five hundred rubles! You cannot buy a decent piano for that!
NATO. Dear Alexander!
ALEXANDER. Be patient awhile, Nato dear. One of my friends brought a
piano from abroad that cost 1,000; yes, even 1,500 rubles.
NATO. My sweetheart; my dear sweetheart! [_Kissing him_.] I will come
right back. [_Rises_.] I must go and prepare for our reception or mamma
will be angry. Tra-la-la.
[_Exit at left_.
ALEXANDER [_alone, springing up_]. Ha! ha! ha! _soirées_, balls at the
club, box at the theatre, dresses and ornaments after the latest
fashion! Am I a millionaire? I would have nothing against it if I had
the money to do it. She acts as though she was going to bring 50,000
rubles dowry into the house. No, Natalie, that will all come later. In
ten or twenty years, perhaps, I will set up a carriage; but it is not
even to be thought of now. Indeed, I don't know, where it will lead to
if she makes such demands on me every day. It will lead to quarrels and
unpleasantness, and it will be all up with my economizing. No, indeed,
Natalie, it will be no easy thing to satisfy you. Why did I not think of
this sooner? Let her talk, and demand what she will. I will do what
pleases me.
NATO [_enter right; speaks to someone behind the scenes_]. I will come
at once. I am coming. Come, Alexander, let us go into the garden. Mamma
must go upstairs, and the guests will be all alone in the garden.
ALEXANDER. I am waiting for your father, Nato dear, I have something
important to discuss with him.
NATO. Why, we will soon return, and by that time father will be home. Do
you want to sit here alone?
ALEXANDER. Well, we will go.
NATO. Come! come! I want to introduce you to my coquettish aunt.
[_Mimics her while making a courtesy, and makes
faces. Alexander, shaking his head, goes out with
Nato noisily through middle door_.
SCENE II
_Salome. Chacho_.
CHACHO. No, indeed, Salome. She behaves too boldly. You must give her a
warning. Such self-confidence I have I never before seen in a girl.
SALOME. That is all a matter of fashion! What is to be done?
[_Shuffling the cards_.
CHACHO [_seating herself_]. When one thinks how the times have changed,
one grows dizzy! When I was engaged, my love, I dared not open my mouth;
it was as if they had put a lock on it. Indeed, I dared not look anyone
in the face, even, and kept my eyes always cast down, as if glued fast
to the floor.
SALOME. How could anyone endure all that? The eyes are made to look
with, I hope, and the tongue to speak! I wouldn't have borne it. It is
well that those times are past. I should die of such a life.
CHACHO. Oh, your present times are the true ones! Isn't this shameful,
now, what goes on here? All the money that the husband can make in a
week, the wife loses at play in a single evening. Is that widow, the
stout one, going to play with you? She is surely more than fifty years
old.
SALOME. Of course! we wouldn't play at all without her.
CHACHO. That is the best of all. Why, she has a married daughter as old
as you are!
SALOME. What of that? Whoever has money can always play. But what do you
say to the wife of blind Gigoli? She hasn't enough to eat, but gives
herself airs before us just the same.
CHACHO. Don't talk to me about her! A few weeks ago she pawned a silver
pitcher to one of our neighbors for five rubles without her husband's
knowledge. God punished her for it, for that same evening she lost it
all at cards. I should like to know how she is going to redeem the
pitcher.
SALOME [_arranging her dress before the mirror_]. Yes, yes; no one can
take her measure better than I.
[_Enter Ossep_.
OSSEP [_angrily_]. And what have you gotten ready for again?
SALOME. What was to be done? Look and see how many guests there are in
the garden!
OSSEP. It was very wrong of them to come here. Has no one invited them,
then? They should have asked me first.
SALOME. You are a singular being! We have betrothed our daughter and
they were obliged to come and congratulate us.
OSSEP. Congratulate! As though my joy went to their hearts! On the
contrary, they would enjoy it if I had a misfortune; they could put
their heads together and criticise and laugh at me.
CHACHO. What are you so ill-humored about? For the last two days you
have been intolerable.
OSSEP. If I could unbosom myself to you and show you my heart, you would
comprehend what the cause of it is.
CHACHO. God protect you from all evil!
OSSEP. Am I not right? Tell me yourself! This is not the time for
card-playing. Why have they come, then? If they wished to congratulate
us, they could come separately. How does it happen that they all
thought of us at once? Perhaps each has sent word to the other that
Salome has betrothed her daughter and they have all taken advantage of
the opportunity to come. Of course only for the sake of those damned
cards! This one or that one has probably been invited by her [_pointing
to Salome_]. She sent word to them, "Come to us, I pray! X and Z are
already here." [_To Salome_:] Say, isn't that so?
SALOME. What nonsense he talks! Ought they not to know at your uncle's
house that we have betrothed our daughter? I was obliged to give them
some information about it, was I not?
OSSEP. And to whom beside?
SALOME. Whom else? Your cousins. And I have just sent for your
sister-in-law.
OSSEP [_anxiously_]. For what purpose? She could have come another time
just as well.
SALOME. How useless it is to talk so! You understand nothing at all
about the matter. Your relatives would take offence in every possible
way if I did not invite them. They would not speak to me for a year!
OSSEP. Great heaven! I wish they were struck blind! [_Sits down and
pulls at the end of the table-cloth_.] I would take pleasure in throwing
them all out!
SALOME. I have no time to dispute with you.
[_Exit at left, angry_.
OSSEP. Great heaven! have women been created only to bleed the men?
CHACHO. Don't excite yourself so, dear Ossep. What you say is in every
way pure facts. But you must overlook something now and then. It can't
be helped now; they are all here; you cannot chase them out of the
house. The whole city would be stirred up about it.
OSSEP. And what will people say when to-morrow or the day after my
creditors come and chase me out of my house?
CHACHO. Oh, don't talk about such things!
OSSEP [_sitting down at the card-table_]. That's easily said. But let me
tell you, I feel as though the house was going to fall down on top of
me.
CHACHO. What has happened, Ossep?
OSSEP. They say Barssegh Leproink has brought action against me.
CHACHO. What? Brought action against you?
OSSEP. I owe him money, and on that account he holds the knife at my
throat.
CHACHO. God bless me!
OSSEP. The wicked fellow has my note, and another security beside, and
yet he will not wait.
CHACHO. His match for wickedness cannot be found in the whole world.
OSSEP. No, not another such miserable scoundrel! I expect every moment
to be notified, and have no idea where I can get the money. Everyone I
have asked to help me has refused me. I can borrow no more on my note,
and I cannot sell my goods at half price. That everyone must understand.
They all show their claws as soon as they find out the position I am in.
Salome is to blame for all this; the 7,000 rubles she promised is the
cause of it all. I would like to know who will pay them to him now.
CHACHO. You talk nonsense! You will make your daughter unhappy forever,
Ossep.
OSSEP. I am still more unhappy myself. But let us see what the coming
day brings forth. I still have hope of one. Perhaps he will supply me
with money.
CHACHO. How could you trust the scamp so blindly? Is such want of
thought consistent with reason?
OSSEP. What is the use of reason in this? I have always said I could not
stand the expense that now everybody assumes. If a man conducts his
business honestly, he makes little profit; and as for a dishonest
business, I am not fit for that! So I have suffered one reverse after
another; and where I was most vulnerable I have been hit at last.
CHACHO. Heavens! what do I hear? Why don't I sink into the earth?
OSSEP. In our line of trade only a few persons carry on their business
with their own money. Most of us have to borrow. When I sell goods to
one, I pay my debt to the other. I sell goods to the third and pay to
the fourth; and so it goes in a circle, like a wheel drawing water,
until one falls in the hands of a man who draws the needle out of the
knitting and everything falls in pieces. Who is in a position to fight
against such conditions? One must pay the store rent and the clerk's
salary, and beside that the interest on the working capital. Then there
are the goods that are spoiled or stolen--and here at home! [_Striking
the cards_.] All this rubbish and more beside! [_Striking the table
again._] And the women are to blame for all this; if my wife had not
promised 7,000 rubles, without my knowledge, the betrothal would not
have taken place, and this bad luck would not have come to me. But where
does one find among our women insight and forethought? For model women
give me some foreign countries. There the women stand by the men in
everything: the wife of a cook is a cook; the wife of a writer, a
writer; the wife of a merchant is in every case a merchant. They earn
jointly and spend jointly. With us the man is here only to make money
for them, so that they [_striking the table_] may kill time with foolish
things like this.
CHACHO. Say, rather, that times are changed; for the men also sit at the
club all day and play cards.
OSSEP. Ho! ho! As though women did not play cards also! Formerly the
cards were solely our diversion; but they have taken them away from us.
Don't worry yourself; with God's help they will be learning to play
billiards. Why do you dwell upon the fact that the men play cards? One
in a thousand plays; while of a thousand women, nine hundred play. Men
are always more moderate. They see that the times are hard, and have
given up most of their earlier pleasures. Where are the banquets that
used to be given, one after another? Where are the drinking-places where
the music played? They have given them up; and the women are just like
they were, only worse. To-day they arrange a picnic, to-morrow a little
party, and so on. The men stand gaping at them, and the children are
left to the servants. If I could take the law into my own hands, I'd
soon set them right.
[_Paces to and fro in anger_.
CHACHO [_rising, aside_]. He is right. All that he says is pure truth.
[_Exit left_
SCENE III
_Ossep. Then Alexander_.
OSSEP. O dear! O dear!
[_Stands near fireplace; rests head on hand and remains motionless_.
ALEXANDER [_enter right_]. You have come, father? [_Silence--comes near
Ossep_.] Father.
OSSEP. Ah! Alexander [_offering his hand_]. Please sit down. Have you
just come?
ALEXANDER. No; I have been here a long time. I was in the garden.
OSSEP. What is the news? [_Both sit down_.
ALEXANDER. Nothing, except that I wish to have a wedding next week.
OSSEP. So soon?
ALEXANDER. Yes; my chief goes soon to Petersburg, and I want him to be
at the wedding.
OSSEP. And can't we wait till he comes back?
ALEXANDER. That would be too long.
OSSEP. Very well. As you wish.
ALEXANDER [_stammering_]. But--my dear father--
OSSEP. I understand; I understand. You want me to pay over the money at
once?
ALEXANDER. Yes, my dear father, if it is possible.
OSSEP. I am sorry to confess that at the present moment I have no money
at hand. You must wait a little. If you wish to marry without money,
that is your affair.
ALEXANDER. You amaze me!
OSSEP. It is better for me to tell you this than to deceive you. You
know the law to some extent. Tell me, if I owe someone money on a note,
can my creditor bring action against me and put an execution on me
without having me called before the court?
ALEXANDER. Is the note attested by a notary?
OSSEP. Yes.
ALEXANDER. He has the right to come to your house and have everything
put under seal.
OSSEP. Without first bringing me into court?
ALEXANDER. Yes, without court proceedings.
OSSEP. But if he has received on account of this debt the note of a
third person?
ALEXANDER. That is another thing. Have you a receipt for it?
OSSEP. No; but I can take my oath on it.
ALEXANDER. According to law you must first pay the money and then
produce proofs that you gave him the other document.
OSSEP [_excited_]. Is that true?
ALEXANDER. Yes, it is so.
OSSEP [_wringing his hands and springing up_]. Then I am ruined. [_A
silence. Nato's voice is heard outside_.] Alexander, they are calling
you.
ALEXANDER [_approaching Ossep_]. What is it? For God's sake tell me the
truth.
OSSEP. There, there. Go out first. They are calling you.
ALEXANDER [_aside, taking his hat_]. So far as I see, I am ruined also.
[_Exit._
OSSEP [_alone_]. What do I not suffer! If they really come here I shall
perish through shame. Where can I find so much money in such a hurry?
One must have time for it, and that fellow may come to-day even--perhaps
this minute. Then I am lost--who will trust me then? My creditors will
tie a rope around my neck and prevent me from saying a word in my own
behalf. "Pay us," they will cry; "pay us!" O Salome, Salome!
_Enter Gewo_.
OSSEP. There he is.
GEWO. Good-evening, Ossep.
OSSEP. You have come, too. You want your money, too? Yes, choke me;
double my debt; say that I owe you, not 2,000 rubles, but 4,000. Speak!
You are my creditor; speak! Have no pity on me. You want your money--why
do you wait, then? Slay me; tear my heart out of my body; hack me in
pieces and sell it piece by piece, so that your money shall not be lost.
[_Gewo wipes his eyes_.] Weep, weep, for your money is lost. I am
bankrupt--bankrupt!
GEWO [_embracing Ossep_]. Dear Ossep, dear Ossep!
OSSEP. You say "dear" to me? Yet you are my creditor.
GEWO. Take courage; be a man!
OSSEP. What kind of a man? I am a good-for-nothing; I have lost my good
name [_weeping_]. My good name is gone. [_Wipes his eyes_.]
GEWO. God is merciful, dear Ossep.
OSSEP. God and heaven have taken their mercy from me. You see now where
the marriage of my daughter has led me? If I could at least pay you
everything I owe you--that I must do at any price.
GEWO. What are you saying, Ossep? If I had the means I would go on your
bond. Why should I be your friend otherwise?
OSSEP. If you had money, dear Gewo, you would not be my friend, nor have
such a good heart. Stay poor as you are, so that I shall not lose your
friendship. Only your sympathy is left me in this world. I would not
like to lose your friendship. In this one day I have suffered
everything. No one has shown interest in me; no one has given proof of
his sympathy--neither my uncle, nor my brother, nor my nephew. When they
saw I was near my last breath, they all forsook me and shut the door in
my face.
GEWO. Come with me; perhaps we will find help somewhere.
OSSEP. There can be no more talk of help.
GEWO. Come, come; there is still a way out.
OSSEP. What way out can there be?
GEWO. Come, come; let us not delay.
OSSEP. But tell me how is it to be managed?
GEWO. Come, come! I will tell you on the way.
OSSEP. What you say sounds very strange; tell me what it is. Speak, what
has occurred? Don't fear! Don't spare me! Whatever happens cannot be
worse than what has happened; they have already sent a bullet into my
heart, and what worse can they do to me, except tear open my breast and
take my heart out? Speak; what is it? Have they put seals on my store?
GEWO. Come and you will see.
OSSEP. They have put seals on it, then?
GEWO. I tell--
OSSEP. You are ruined, Ossep. [_Rushes to the table, seizes the box and
scatters the cards; some fall on the floor_.] Now you may play; now you
may play. [_Exit_.
GEWO. Too bad; too bad about him! [_Follows him_.
SCENE IV
_Enter Salome, Martha, Nino, Pepel, and many well-dressed ladies,
followed by two footmen carrying candelabra and lamps, which they put on
the table_.
SALOME. Take seats, please. The cards are already here.
MARTHA. How pretty it is, isn't it? The cards are already dealt.
[_The ladies converse smilingly with one another_.
SALOME [_stepping forward and noticing the cards on the floor_].
What is this? Who can have done it?
MARTHA. Probably the cats ran over the table.
SALOME. I cannot think how it could have happened! Please sit down.
_Enter Nato and her friends_.
SALOME [_collecting the cards_]. Who can have done it? Nato, did you do
it?
NATO. No, mamma, I did not touch them.
SALOME [_to the guests_]. Sit down, I beg.
[_All the guests sit down at the table, Nato and her friends sit on the
other side of the stage. Salome, standing, deals the cards which the
guests hand one to the other. Then they pay in the stakes to Salome,
which she lays on the table in front of her_.
_Enter Alexander_.
NATO [_going to meet Alexander_]. Alexander, why were you so long?
ALEXANDER. I was obliged to be [_leading Nato aside excitedly, and in a
whisper_:] I have something to say to you.
NATO [_in a whisper_]. What makes your hand tremble?
ALEXANDER. They have brought action against your father in the courts.
NATO. What! For what reason?
ALEXANDER. Because of debts.
NATO. Who told you so?
ALEXANDER. Your father himself.
NATO [_laughing aloud_]. Ha! ha! ha! [_Whispering_:] My father has no
debts.
ALEXANDER. Well, he told me so himself.
NATO. He was joking. Don't believe him.
[_Goes over to her friends, laughing_.
ALEXANDER. Well, I can't make it out. I am not so stupid, however. Until
I have the money in my hands I will not cross this threshold again.
SALOME. Let us begin. [_Guests begin to play_.
SCENE V
_Enter Chacho_.
CHACHO [_coming from left_]. Get this stuff out of the way.
SALOME. What is the matter? What has happened?
CHACHO. What was to happen? We are ruined. [_Behind the scenes are heard
threatening voices_:] "Here! Yes! No." [_Then Ossep's voice_:] "Come in,
come in."
CHACHO [_to Salome_]. Do you not hear them?
_Enter Barssegh through middle door_.
BARSSEGH. This is really splendid! I work for my daily bread, and you
illuminate your house on my money.
CHACHO [_to Salome_]. Now you have it.
SALOME [_rising_]. Are you mad? Show him out.
BARSSEGH. I will show you pretty soon who is to be shown out.
SALOME. Alexander, show this man out.
ALEXANDER [_to Barssegh_]. What do you want, sir? How can you indulge in
such insolence?
BARSSEGH. That is not your affair, sir! I demand my money. Demand yours
also if you can. You will be obliged to wait a long while for it.
CHACHO [_to Barssegh_]. Have you no conscience?
BARSSEGH. I want my money, and nothing more.
_Enter Ossep, Gewo, a sheriff and his secretary, Dartscho, and several
others_.
OSSEP [_opening the door with both hands as he enters_]. Come in! come
in! [_The others follow him_.] Play, play and laugh as much as you will
over my misfortunes!
CHACHO [_aside_]. Now it is all over with us!
SALOME. Tell me, for God's sake, the meaning of this.
OSSEP. God will judge you and me also. [_To sheriff and others:_] Come,
make your inventory, put your seals on everything--the house, the
furniture, and on the cards, too.
BARSSEGH. Make an inventory of everything.
[_The sheriff lists furniture in the background
and puts a ticket on each piece. The guests
assemble, frightened, on the left side of the
table_.
SALOME [_beating her head_]. Good heavens!
MARTHA. This is a disgrace for us as well.
CHACHO [_in a low voice to Martha_]. You at least should be silent.
OSSEP [_pointing to Barssegh_]. He has stripped me of my honor. Now you
will honor and esteem him. He will arrange for your parties. Yes, he,
the man who takes the shirt from my back and possesses himself of all my
property.
ALEXANDER [_aside_]. I have my sister to thank for all this, who dragged
me into this house.
OSSEP [_ironically_]. Alexander, look for a dowry elsewhere, for I can
no longer give my daughter one.
ALEXANDER [_angry_]. What, you deride me as well! I don't belong to your
class, sir!
OSSEP. And has it come to this!
ALEXANDER [_taking his hat_]. I have not acquired my present dignity to
lose it through you.
OSSEP. Ha! ha! ha! His dignity!
ALEXANDER [_coming near Nato_]. I have loved you truly, Miss Nato, but I
must give you up. I am not to blame for it. Farewell.
[_Goes to the door_.
[_Barssegh laughs for joy_.
OSSEP [_approaching Salome, who stands dismayed, takes her by the arm
and points to the departing Alexander_]. There goes your official!
NATO [_standing at the left near the sofa_]. Alexander! Alexander!
[_Exit Alexander_.] Dear Alexander.
[_Sitting down on the sofa, begins to cry_.
SALOME [_in a low tone, striking her brow with both hands_].
Why doesn't the earth open and swallow me?
OSSEP [_to Salome_]. Now you are punished, are you not? [_Turning to
Barssegh_:] Take it all, now! Satisfy yourself! [_Takes off his coat_.]
Take this also! [_Throws it to Barssegh_.] Yes, take it! [_Takes his cap
from the table and throws it to Barssegh_.] Make off with this also; I
need it no longer.
[_Runs to and fro as if distracted_.
BARSSEGH [_in a low voice_]. Keep on giving!
[_Turns to sheriff and speaks softly to him_.
OSSEP [_taking up different articles from card table and throwing them
on the floor_]. Take these also! Take these also! [_Taking a lighted
candelabra and smashing it on the floor_] Stick that also down your
throat!
SEVERAL OF THE GUESTS. The poor fellow is losing his wits.
[_Nato crying; her friends comfort her. Salome faints_.
CHACHO. Ossep! My dear Ossep!
GEWO [_embracing Ossep_]. Be calm, dear Ossep. You behave like a madman.
OSSEP [_after a pause_]. Gewo, I was mad when I settled in this city.
This life is too much for me; it was not for me. I am ruined. I am a
beggar. He is to be praised who comes off better than I.
[_Exit._
SALOME [_with her hand on her brow sinks down on the sofa, groaning
loudly_]. Ah!
GEWO. Poor Ossep!
BARSSEGH [_turns from Dartscho, to whom he has been speaking, to the
sheriff_]. What are you gazing around for, sir? Keep on with your
writing.
[_Sheriff looks at Barssegh in disgust, sits down by
card table and writes_.
MARTHA [_to the guests_]. We have nothing more to look for here.
[_Aside:_] A charming set!
[_Goes toward middle door; some ladies follow; others
stand offended_.
CHACHO [_raising her eyes_]. Would that I had died long ago, so that I
had not lived to see this unfortunate day!
CURTAIN.