NEIGHBOUR. Hm! So!—That means your son-in-law has got to go?
JUDGE. Yes, that good-for-nothing doesn't know how to manage.
NEIGHBOUR. Tell me something else, Judge. Haven't you heard that the state intends to build a military road across this property?
JUDGE. Oh, I have heard some rumours to that effect, but I don't think it's anything but empty talk.
NEIGHBOUR. On the contrary, I have read it in the papers. That would mean condemnation proceedings, and the loser would be the holder of the lease.
JUDGE. I cannot think so, and I would never submit to it. I to leave this spot where I expect to end my days in peace, and where I have prepared a final resting-place to escape lying with all the rest——
NEIGHBOUR. Wait a minute! One never knows what may prove one's final resting-place. My father, who used to own this property, also expected to be laid to rest in his own ground, but it happened otherwise. As far as the leasehold is concerned, I must let it go.
JUDGE. As you please. On my part the proposition was certainly disinterested, as you are a man without luck. For it is no secret that you fail in everything you undertake, and people have their own thoughts about one who remains as solitary and friendless as you. Isn't it a fact that you haven't a single friend?
NEIGHBOUR. Yes, it's true. I have not a single friend, and that doesn't look well. It is something I cannot deny.
JUDGE. But to turn to other matters—is it true, as the legend has it, that this vineyard once was a battle-field, and that this explains why the wine from it is so fiery?