Chapter VI: Part 6

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.