CURT. [Shocked] That old widower!
ALICE. Yes.
CURT. Horrible! And Judith?
ALICE. If she could get the General, who is eighty, she would take him in order to bully the Colonel, who is sixty. To bully, you know, that's the aim of her life. To trample down and bully—there you have the motto of that family.
CURT. Can this be Judith? That maiden fair and proud and splendid?
ALICE. Oh, I know all about that! May I sit here and write a letter?
CURT. [Puts the writing-table in order] With pleasure.
ALICE. [Takes off her gloves and sits down at the writing-table] Now we'll try our hand at the art of war. I failed once when I tried to slay my dragon. But now I have mastered the trade.
CURT. Do you know that it is necessary to load before you fire?
ALICE. Yes, and with ball cartridges at that!