No More Learning

IPHIGENIA (_veiling herself_): It is enough! Thou wilt again
behold me.


ACT III

IPHIGENIA _and_ ORESTES.

IPHIGENIA: Unhappy man, I only loose thy bonds
In token of a still severer doom.
For the incensed king, should I refuse
Compliance with the rites himself enjoin'd,
Will choose another virgin from my train
As my successor. Then, alas! with nought,
pave ardent wishes, can I succour you.
But tell me now, when Agamemnon fell,
Orestes--did he share his sire's fate?
Say, was he saved? And is he still alive?
And lives Electra, too?

ORESTES: They both survive.
Half of the horror only hast thou heard.
Electra, on the day when fell her sire,
Her brother from impending doom conceal'd;
Him Strophius, his father's relative,
Received with kindest care, and rear'd him up,
With his own son, named Pylades, who soon
Around the stranger twin'd love's fairest bonds.
The longing to revenge the monarch's death
Took them to Mycenae, and by her son
Was Clytemnestra slain.

IPHIGENIA: Immortal powers!
O tell me of the poor unfortunate!
Speak of Orestes!

ORESTES: Him the Furies chase.
They glare around him with their hollow eyes,
Like greedy eagles. In their murky dens
They stir themselves, and from the corners creep
Their comrades, dire remorse and pallid fear;
Before them fumes a mist of Acheron.
I am Orestes! and this guilty head
Is stooping to the tomb and covets death;
It will be welcome now in any shape.

[ORESTES _retires_. IPHIGENIA _prays to the gods, and_
ORESTES _returns_.

ORESTES: Who art thou, that thy voice thus horribly
Can harrow up my bosom's inmost depths?

IPHIGENIA: Thine inmost heart reveals it. I am she--Iphigenia!

ORESTES: Hence, away, begone!
Leave me! Like Heracles, a death of shame,
Unworthy wretch, locked in myself, I'll die!

IPHIGENIA: Thou shalt not perish! Would that I might hear
One quiet word from thee! Dispel my doubts,
Make sure the bliss I have implored so long.
Orestes! O my brother!

ORESTES: There's pity in thy look! oh, gaze not so--
'Twas with such looks that Clytemnestra sought
An entrance to her son Orestes' heart,
And yet his uprais'd arm her bosom pierced.
The weapon raise, spare not, this bosom rend,
And make an outlet for its boiling streams.

[_He sinks exhausted. Enter_ PYLADES.

PYLADES: Dost thou not know me, and this sacred grove,
And this blest light, which shines not on the dead?
Attend! Each moment is of priceless worth,
And our return hangs on a slender thread.
The favouring gale, which swells our parting sail,
Must to Olympus waft our perfect joy.
Quick counsel and resolve the time demands.


ACT IV

IPHIGENIA _alone_.

IPHIGENIA: They hasten to the sea, where in a bay
Their comrades in the vessel lie concealed,
Waiting a signal. Me they have supplied
With artful answers should the monarch send
To urge the sacrifice. Detested falsehood!

[_Enter_ ARKAS.

ARKAS: Priestess, with speed conclude the sacrifice!
Impatiently the king and people wait.

IPHIGENIA: The gods have not decreed that it should be.
The elder of these men of kindred-murder
Bears guilt. The dread Erinnys here within
Have seized upon their prey, polluting thus
The sanctuary. I hasten now to bathe
The goddess' image in the sea, and there
With solemn rites its purity restore.

ARKAS: This hindrance to the monarch I'll announce.

[_Exit_ ARKAS. Enter PYLADES.

PYLADES: Thy brother is restor'd! The fire of youth
With growing glory shines upon his brow.
Let us then hasten; guide me to the fane.
I can unaided on my shoulder bear
The goddess' image; how I long to feel
The precious burden! Hast thou to the king
Announced the prudent message as agreed?

IPHIGENIA: The royal messenger arrived, and I,
According to thy counsel, fram'd my speech.

PYLADES: Danger again doth hover o'er our heads.
Alas! Why hast thou failed to shroud thyself
Within the veil of sacerdotal rights?

IPHIGENIA: I never have employed them as a veil.

PYLADES: Pure soul! Thy scruples will alike destroy
Thyself and us. Come, let us be firm.
Nor with incautious haste betray ourselves.

IPHIGENIA: It is an honest scruple, which forbids
That I should cunningly deceive the king,
And plunder him who was my second father.

PYLADES: Him dost thou fly, who would have slain thy brother.
If we should perish, bitter self-reproach,
Forerunner of despair, will be thy portion;
Necessity commands. The rest thou knowest. [_Exit. _

IPHIGENIA: I must obey him, for I see my friends
Beset with peril. Yet my own sad fate
Doth with increasing anguish move my heart
To steal the image, sacred and rever'd,
Confided to my care, and him deceive
To whom I owe my life and destiny!
Let not abhorrence spring within my heart!


ACT V

THOAS _alone_.

THOAS: Fierce anger rages in my riven breast,
First against her whom I esteem'd so pure;
Then 'gainst myself, whose foolish lenity
Hath fashion'd her for treason. Vain my hope
To bind her to me. Now that I oppose
Her wish, she seeks to gain her ends by fraud.

[_Enter_ IPHIGENIA.

Wherefore delay the sacrifice; inform me!

IPHIGENIA: The goddess for reflection grants thee time.

THOAS: To thee this time seems also opportune.

IPHIGENIA: Are we not bound to render the distress'd
The gracious kindness from the gods received?
Thou know'st we are, and yet wilt thou compel me?

THOAS: Obey thine office, not the king.

IPHIGENIA: Oh, couldst thou see the struggle of my soul,
Courageously toward the first attack
Of an unhappy doom which threatens me;
Must I implore a miracle from heaven?

THOAS: Extravagant thy interest in the fate
Of these two strangers. Tell me who they are.

IPHIGENIA: They are--they seem, at least--I think them Greeks.

THOAS: Thy countrymen; no doubt they have renewed
The pleasing picture of return.

IPHIGENIA (_after a pause_): Attend,
O king, and honour truth in me. A plot
Deceitfully and secretly is laid
Touching the captives thou dost ask in vain.
They have escaped. The eldest is Orestes,
Whom madness seized, my brother; Pylades,
His early friend and confidant, the other.
From Delphi, Phoebus sent them to this shore,
To steal away the image of Diana,
And to him bear back the sister thither.
And for this, deliverance promised he
The Fury-haunted son.

THOAS: The traitors have contrived a cunning web,
And cast it round thee, who, secluded long,
Giv'st willing credence to thine own desire.

IPHIGENIA: No, no! I'd pledge my life these men are true;
And shouldst thou find them otherwise, O king,
Then let them perish both, and cast me forth.

[_Enter_ ORESTES, _armed_.

ORESTES (_addressing his followers_): Redouble your
exertions! Hold them back!
And keep a passage open to the ship!
(_To_ IPHIGENIA) We are betray'd; brief time remains
for flight! [_He perceives the king_.

THOAS: None in my presence with impunity
His naked weapon wears!

IPHIGENIA: Do not profane
Diana's sanctuary with rage and blood.
In him revere the king, my second father!

ORESTES: Will he permit our peaceable return?

IPHIGENIA: Thy gleaming sword forbids me to reply.

[_Enter_ PYLADES, _followed by_ ARKAS,
_with drawn swords_

PYLADES: Do not delay, our friends are putting forth
Their final strength!

ARKAS: They yield; their ship is ours!

THOAS: Let none annoy the foe while we confer.

[ARKAS _retires_.

THOAS: Now, answer me; how dost thou prove thyself
The priestess' brother, Agamemnon's son?

IPHIGENIA: See here, the mark on his right hand impress'd
As of three stars, which on his natal day
Were by the priest declar'd to indicate
Some dreadful deed therewith to be perform'd!

THOAS: E'en though thy words had banish'd every doubt,
Still must our arms decide. I see no peace;
Their purpose, as thou didst thyself confess,
Was to deprive me of Diana's image!

ORESTES: The image shall not be the cause of strife!
We now perceive the error which the god
Threw o'er our minds. His counsel I implor'd;
He answer'd, "Back to Greece the sister bring,
Who in the Tauris sanctuary abides. "
To Phoebus' sister we applied the words,
And she referred to thee.

IPHIGENIA: Oh, let thy heart
Be moved by what an honest tongue has spoken.
Look on us, king; an opportunity
For such a noble deed not oft occurs!

THOAS: Then go!

IPHIGENIA: Not so, my king! I cannot part
Without thy blessing, or in anger from thee.

THOAS (_extending his hand_): Fare thee well!


FOOTNOTES:

[B] Goethe's fascinating and noble drama, "Iphigenia in
Tauris," was first written in prose, and recast into verse in 1786.
Inspired partly by his feelings towards Frau von Stein, whom Goethe
"credited with knowing every trait of his being," and partly by the
"Iphigenia in Tauris" of Euripides, the play is totally different from
anything that had as yet come from his pen. Although it lacks some of
the pomp and circumstance of the best Greek tragedy, it is written with
great dignity in the strictest classical form, admirably suggesting
the best in French classical drama. The prominent motive of the piece
is the struggle between truth and falsehood. "It is," one critic has
remarked, "a poetic drama of the soul. " On its production at Weimar,
the German public received it indifferently.




GOGOL[C]




The Inspector-General


_Persons in the Play_

ANTON ANTONOVITCH, _governor of a small town_
ANNA ANDREYEVNA, _his wife_
MARYA, _their daughter_
LUKA, _director of schools_
KHELSTAKOV, _a St. Petersburg official_
OSIP, _his servant-man_
BOBCHINSKI _and_ DOBCHINSKI, _independent gentlemen_
A JUDGE, A CHARITY COMMISSIONER, A POSTMASTER
POLICE SUPERINTENDENT and CONSTABLES
A WAITER AT THE INN


ACT I

SCENE. --_A room in the_ GOVERNOR'S _house. The_ GOVERNOR, _a coarse
and ill-educated official, and several functionaries of the
town_.

GOVERNOR (_addressing the functionaries_): I have bad news. An
inspector-general is coming from St. Petersburg. You must see that
your various departments are set in order. The hospital must be tidied
up and the patients must be provided with nice white night-caps. The
school-teachers must coach up the scholars in their subjects.

[_Enter_ BOBCHINSKI _and_ DOBCHINSKI _breathlessly_.

BOBCHINSKI: What an extraordinary incident!

DOBCHINSKI: A startling announcement!

ALL: What is it? What is it?

BOBCHINSKI: I will tell you correctly. After you had received the
letter from St. Petersburg, I ran out to tell the postmaster what it
had announced. On the way Dobchinski pressed me to go into the inn
for refreshment. Into the restaurant came an elegant young man with a
fashionable aspect. The landlord told us he was an official on his way
from Petersburg to Saratov, and that he is acting strangely, for he has
been here more than a fortnight, and pays for nothing.

GOVERNOR: Good lord! Surely it cannot be he! Been here a fortnight?
May heaven help us. You, sirs, get all your departments in proper trim.
In the meantime I will take a stroll round the town, and satisfy myself
that travellers are treated with due respect.

The governor orders the police to see that the street leading to the
inn is well swept. He threatens to punish severely any of the
townspeople who shall dare to bring complaints of any kind to the
visiting official.


ACT II

SCENE. --_A small room in the inn_. OSIP _lying on his master's bed_.

OSIP: Devil take it! I am famishing. It is two months since we left
St. Petersburg. This master of mine has squandered all his money on the
way, and here we are penniless. The old man sends his son money, but
he goes on the racket with it till all is spent, and then he has to
pawn his clothes almost to the last rag. And now this landlord declares
he will let us have nothing more to eat unless we pay in advance. Ah,
there's the knock.

[_He gets off the bed_. KHELSTAKOV _enters_.

KHELSTAKOV: Go down and ask for something to eat.

OSIP: No. The landlord will not let us have it. He says we are
swindlers, and he threatens to have you put in prison.

KHELSTAKOV: Go to the devil! Call the landlord. (OSIP _goes_. ) How
fearfully hungry I am. And I was cheated at cards and cleaned right out
at Penza by that infantry captain. What a miserable little town this
is. They give no credit at the provision shops.

[_Enter_ WAITER.

WAITER: The landlord asks what you want.

KHELSTAKOV: Please bring my dinner at once. I must be busy directly
I have dined.

The waiter replies that the landlord refuses to supply anything more,
and seems likely to complain to the governor.
But presently dinner is
brought in. To Khlestakov's great consternation Osip announces that
the governor has come and is asking for him.

KHELSTAKOV: What? The landlord has reported me! I'll put on an
aristocratic air, and ask him how he dares----

Governor, entering in trepidation and saluting humbly, astonishes him
by profuse offers of hospitality and entertainment, though when at
first mention is made of taking him to other quarters, the guest in
horror ejaculates that he supposes the gaol is meant, and he asks what
right the governor has to hint at such a thing.

KHELSTAKOV (_indignantly_): How dare you? I--I--I am a government
official at St. Petersburg. I--I--I----

GOVERNOR (_aside_): Good heavens, what a rage he is in! He knows
everything. Those confounded merchants have told him all.

Banging the table, Khlestakov declares he will _not_ go to the
gaol, but will complain to the Minister of the Interior; and the
governor, trembling and terrified, pleads that he has a wife and
little children, and begs that he may not be ruined. The ridiculous
misunderstanding on both sides grows more confused every minute. The
governor pours forth the most abject apologies; declares that if the
people accuse him of oppression and extortion, and even of flogging
women, they are a slandering mob.

KHELSTAKOV: What have I to do with your enemies or the women you have
flogged? Don't attempt to flog me. Now, look here, I will pay this
landlord's account, but just now I have not the money. That is why I am
staying here.

GOVERNOR (_aside_): Sly rogue, trying to mystify me! (_Aloud_) If you
really are short of money, I am ready to serve you at once.

The visitor says that he will in that case borrow 200 roubles, and the
money is readily handed over; in fact, the governor quietly slips in
200 extra roubles. The governor, convinced that the inspector-general
is simply determined to keep up his _incognito_, resolves to act
accordingly, and to tell falsehoods appropriate for mutual deception.
He invites the guest to visit Various institutions, and a round is
made.


ACT III

SCENE. --_A room in the_ GOVERNOR'S _house_. GOVERNOR, KHELSTAKOV, _and
other functionaries_.

KHELSTAKOV: Fine establishments! In other towns they showed me
nothing.

GOVERNOR: In other towns I venture to say that the officials
think most about their own profit; here we only aim at winning the
approbation of the government.

KHELSTAKOV: That lunch was very good! The fish was delicious! Where
was it that we lunched? Was it not at the hospital? I saw the beds,
but there were not many patients. Have the sick recovered?

GOVERNOR: Yes. Since I became governor they all get well like flies,
not so much by doctoring as by honesty and regularity. Thank God,
everything goes satisfactorily here! Another governor would undoubtedly
look after his own advantage; but, believe me, when I lie down to
sleep, my prayer is, "O Thou my Lord, may the government perceive my
zeal and be satisfied. " So I have an easy conscience.

KHELSTAKOV: Are there any clubs here where a game at cards could be
had?

GOVERNOR: God forbid! Here such a thing as a card-club is never heard
of. I am disgusted at the sight of a card, and never dealt one in my
life. Once to amuse the children I built a house of cards, and had
accursed dreams all night.

LUKA (_aside_): But the villain cheated me yesterday out of a hundred
roubles!

Introduced to the governor's wife and daughter, Khlestakov addresses
them in the manner of a gallant from the metropolis, and chatters
boastfully of his influence, his position, and his connections.
His house is the first in St. Petersburg. Meantime, the various
functionaries meet in the house of the governor to concert measures
for propitiating this great courtier. They resolve to present him with
a substantial token of regard. With great trepidation they wait on him.

JUDGE (_entering very nervously_): I have the honour to present
myself. I have been judge here since 1816, and have been decorated
with the Vladimir of the Fourth Class.

KHELSTAKOV: What have you there in your hand?

JUDGE (_in bewilderment drops banknotes on the floor_): Nothing.

KHELSTAKOV: How nothing? I see some money has been dropped.

JUDGE (_trembling and aside_): O heaven, I am already before the
tribunal, and they have brought the cart to take me into exile.

Khlestakov picks up the notes, and asks that the money may be lent
him, as he has spent all his cash on the journey. He promises to
return it as soon as he reaches home, but the judge protests that the
honour of lending it is enough, and he begs that there shall be no
injunction against him.

Next to present himself is the postmaster, in full uniform, sword in
hand. After a little conversation with this functionary, Khlestakov
thinks he may just as well borrow of him also, and he forthwith
mentions that a singular thing has happened to him, for he has lost
all his money on the way, and would be glad to be obliged with the
loan of three hundred roubles. It is instantly counted out with
alacrity, and the postmaster hastily retires. Also, in a very nervous
state, Luka, the School Director, the Charity Commissioner, Bobchinski
and Dobchinski, come to pay their homage, and Khlestakov borrows
easily from each in turn.

KHELSTAKOV _(alone):_ There are many officials here; it seems to me,
however, that they take me for a government functionary. What fools! I
must write about it all to Tryapitchkin at Petersburg; he will write
sketches of it in the papers. Here, Osip, bring me paper and ink! I
will just see how much money I have got. Oh, more than a thousand!

While he is writing a letter Osip interrupts him with earnest
assurances that it will be prudent to depart speedily from the town;
for people have been mistaking him for somebody else, and awkward
complications may ensue. It is really time to go. There are splendid
horses here, and these can be secured for the journey. Khlestakov
consents, tells Osip to take the letter to the post, and to obtain
good posthorses. Suddenly some merchants present themselves with
petitions, bringing with them gifts of sugar-loaves and wine. They
pour forth bitter complaints against the governor. They accuse him
of constant and outrageous extortion. They beg Khlestakov to secure
his deposition from office. When they offer the sugar-loaves and the
wine, Khlestakov protests that he cannot accept bribes, but if they
would offer him a loan of three hundred roubles that would be another
matter. They do so and go out.

[_Enter_ MARYA _nervously_.

MARYA: Ach!

KHELSTAKOV: Why are you so frightened?

MARYA: No; I am not frightened. I thought mamma might be here. I am
disturbing you in your important business.

KHELSTAKOV: But your eyes are more attractive than important
business.

MARYA: You are talking in St. Petersburg style.

KHELSTAKOV: May I venture to be so happy as to offer you a chair?
But no; you should be offered a throne, not a chair! I offer you my
love, which ever since your first glance----

MARYA: Love! I do not understand love!

He kisses her on the shoulder, and, when she rises angrily to go,
falls on his knees. At that moment her mother enters. With a show of
indignation she orders Marya away.

KHELSTAKOV (_kneeling at her feet_): Madame, you see I burn with
love.

ANNA ANDREYEVNA: But permit me, I do not quite comprehend you. If I
am not mistaken, you were making a proposal to my daughter?

KHELSTAKOV: No; I am in love with you.

ANNA ANDREYEVNA: But I am married!

KHELSTAKOV: That is nothing. Let us flee under the canopy of heaven.
I crave your hand!

Marya enters, and seeing Khlestakov on his knees, shrieks. The mother
scolds her for her bad manners, and declares that he was, after
all, asking for the daughter's hand. Then enters the governor. He
breathlessly begins to bewail the base, lying conduct of the merchants
who have been slandering him, and swears he is innocent of oppressing
anybody.

To his profound amazement, Anna informs her husband that the great man
has honoured them by asking for their daughter's hand. On recovering
from his amazement, he sees the couple kissing, and gives them his
blessing. Osip enters at this juncture to say the horses are ready,
and Khlestakov informs the governor that he is only off to visit for a
day a rich uncle. He will quickly return. He presently rides off after
affectionate farewell expressions on both sides.


ACT IV

SCENE. --_As before. The_ GOVERNOR, ANNA ANDREYEVNA, _and_ MARYA. _A
police-officer enters_.

GOVERNOR (_addressing the policeman_): Ivan Karpovitch, summon the
merchants here, brother. Complaining of me, indeed! Cursed lot of Jews!
Little turtle doves! Ascertain who brought petitions; and take care to
let them know how heaven has honoured the governor. His daughter is
going to marry a man without an equal in the world; who can achieve
everything, everything, everything. Let everybody know! Shout it out to
everybody! Ring the bells! Devil take it; now that at length I triumph,
triumph I will!

The police-officer retires. The governor and Anna indulge in roseate
prospects of their coming prosperity. Of course they will not stay
in these mean surroundings, but will remove to St. Petersburg.
Suddenly the merchants enter. The governor receives them with the
utmost indignation, assails them with a shower of vituperation. They
abjectly entreat pardon. They promise to make amends by sending very
handsome presents, and they are enjoined not to forget to do so. The
wedding gifts are to be worthy of the occasion. The merchants retire
crestfallen, and callers stream in with profuse congratulations. Anna,
with studied haughtiness, makes them fully understand that the family
will now be far above them all. All the people secretly express to
each other their hatred and contempt for the governor and his family.

POSTMASTER (_breathlessly entering with an open letter in his hand_):
An astonishing fact, gentlemen! The official which we took for an
inspector-general is not one! I have discovered this from a letter
which he wrote and which I saw was addressed "Post Office Street. "
So, as I said to myself that he had been reporting to the authorities
something he had found wrong in the postal department, I felt a
supernatural impulse constraining me to open the letter.

GOVERNOR: You dared to open the letter of so powerful a personage?

POSTMASTER: That is just the joke; that he is neither powerful nor
a personage. I will read the letter. (_Reads_) "I hasten to inform
you, my dear Tryapitchkin, of my experiences. I was cleared out of
everything on the way by an infantry captain, so that an innkeeper
wanted to put me in prison; when, owing to my Petersburg appearance
and dress, the whole town suddenly took me for the governor-general.
So now I am living with the governor, enjoy myself, and flirt with his
wife and daughter. These people all lend me as much money as ever I
please. The governor is as stupid as a grey gelding. The postmaster is
a tippler. The charity commissioner is a pig in a skull-cap. "

GOVERNOR: I am crushed--crushed--completely crushed. Catch him!

POSTMASTER: How can we catch him? I, as if purposely, specially
ordered for him the very best post-carriage and three horses.

GOVERNOR: What an old fool I am! I have been thirty years in the
service; not a tradesman nor contractor could cheat me; rogues upon
rogues have I outwitted; three governors-general have I deceived!

ANNA ANDREYEVNA: But this cannot be, Antosha. He is engaged to
Mashenka.

GOVERNOR (_enraged_): Engaged! Rubbish! Look, look; all the world,
all Christendom, all of you look how the governor is fooled! Fool,
fool; old driveller that I am! (_Shakes his fist at himself_) Ah, you
fat-nose! Taking a rag for a man of rank! And now he is jingling his
bells along the road. Who first said he was an inspector-general?
Answer!

[_All point to_ BOBCHINSKI _and_ DOBCHINSKI, _who fall to
accusing each other. A gendarme enters_.

GENDARME: The inspector-general sent by imperial command has
arrived, and requires you to attend him immediately. He awaits you at
the inn.

[_Thunderstruck at this announcement, the whole group
remained as if petrified, and the curtain falls_.


FOOTNOTES:

[C] Nicolai Vasilieyitch Gogol is famous not only as the
prince of Russian humorists, but as the real founder of both the
modern drama and the novel in Russian literature. He was born on
March 31, 1809, in the province of Poltava, in South, or "Little,"
Russia, and died at Moscow on March 3, 1852. His life was replete
with romantic episodes. After a short career on the stage, in St.
Petersburg, followed by the tenure of a minor Government office, he
returned to the South, and at once found his true vocation and achieved
a wide popularity by a collection of stories and sketches of Cossack
life, entitled "Evenings at a Farm House," which appeared in 1830.
Other "Cossack Tales" rapidly followed, including the famous "Taras
Bulba"; in recognition of which, and of his project for writing a
history of Russia in the Middle Ages, he was rewarded with a chair of
history at St. Petersburg. This he held but for a short time, however.
Turning his attention to comedy, Gogol now produced the drama "The
Inspector-General" ("Revizor") in 1836, the play achieving a tremendous
success on the stage in the spring of the same year, whilst in 1842 his
novel entitled "Dead Souls" embodied the fruits of the same idea in
fiction. The play is intended to bring a scathing indictment against
the corruptions and abuses of officialism and administration. The
following epitome has been prepared from the original Russian.




OLIVER GOLDSMITH[D]




She Stoops to Conquer


_Persons in the Play_

MR. HARDCASTLE MARLOW

TONY LUMPKIN KATE HARDCASTLE

HASTINGS SIR CHARLES MARLOW

MRS. HARDCASTLE CONSTANCE NEVILLE

SERVANTS


ACT I

SCENE I. --MR. HARDCASTLE'S _house_. MR. _and_ MRS. HARDCASTLE.

MRS. HARDCASTLE: I vow, Mr. Hardcastle, I hate such old-fashioned
trumpery.

HARDCASTLE: And I love it; old friends, old times, old manners, old
books, old wine, and I believe you'll own I've been pretty fond of an
old wife.

MRS. HARDCASTLE: Oh, you're for ever at your old wife.