(The King leaves the workroom.)
NOE.
He's lacking in the upper story; I am sorry for him. He must have been some sort of bootcleaner for a gentleman of quality. That moved his brain out of place in his skull.
BATTISTA.
Did you ever see a soldier who would let himself be kicked about so by journeymen tailors?
NOE.
My mother was a country girl; I tell that to anybody who asks me; I don't act as if I had been bed servant to the Holy Father!
MICHELE.
I'll tell you why the lad is so stupid. Each of us has knocked about the world, often with not enough to eat. But if he opens his mouth out comes a stream of curses profane enough to turn one's stomach. Earth is ashamed at having brought forth such a monster; then Heaven is ashamed to have let its light fall upon him; then Hell is ashamed that it has not yet swallowed him! You will see!
(The King returns with four wooden, spoons and a pot of soup, which he sets before the journeymen.)