Part 9 (1/2)

MR. POUR. Yes.

SBRI. In wedlock?

MR. POUR. How could it be otherwise?

SBRI. Oh! it is another thing, and I beg your pardon.

MR. POUR. What is it you mean?

SBRI. Oh, nothing.

MR. POUR. But, pray!

SBRI. Nothing, I tell you. I spoke rather hastily.

MR. POUR. I beg of you to tell me what it is.

SBRI. No; it is not necessary.

MR. POUR. Pray do.

SBRI. No; I beg you to excuse me.

MR. POUR. What! are you not one of my friends?

SBRI. Yes, certainly; n.o.body more so.

MR. POUR. Then you ought not to hide anything from me.

SBRI. It is a thing in which a neighbour's honour is concerned.

MR. POUR. That I may oblige you to treat me like a friend, here is a small ring I beg of you to keep for my sake.

SBRI. Let me consider a little if I can in conscience do it. (_Goes away a small distance from_ MR. DE POURCEAUGNAC.) He is a man who looks after his own interests, who tries to provide for his daughter as advantageously as possible; and one should injure n.o.body. It is true that these things are no secret; but I shall be telling them to a man who knows nothing about it, and it is forbidden to talk scandal of one's neighbour. All this is true. On the other hand, however, here is a stranger they want to impose upon, who comes in all good faith to marry a girl he knows nothing about, and whom he has never seen. A gentleman all openheartedness, for whom I feel some inclination, who does me the honour of reckoning me his friend, puts his confidence in me, and gives me a ring to keep for his sake. (_To_ MR. DE POURCEAUGNAC) Yes, I think that I can tell you how things are without wounding my conscience. But I must try to tell it all to you in the mildest way possible, and to spare people as much as I can. If I were to tell you that this girl leads a bad life, it would be going too far. I must find some milder term to explain myself. The word coquette does not come up to the mark; that of downright flirt seems to me to answer the purpose pretty well, and I can make use of it to tell you honestly what she is.

MR. POUR. They want to make a fool of me then?

SBRI. But it may not be so bad as people think; and after all, there are men who set themselves above such things, and who do not think that their honour depends upon ...

MR. POUR. I am your servant; I have no wish to adorn my person with such a head-dress, and the Pourceaugnacs are accustomed to walk with their heads free.

SBRI. Here is the father.

MR. POUR. Who? this old man?

SBRI. Yes. Allow me to withdraw.

SCENE V.--ORONTE, MR. DE POURCEAUGNAC.

MR. POUR. Good morning, Sir; good morning.