It was over there in Jauer. Two gentlemen were conversing at the next table.
HOFFMANN
Aha! H-m. I have enemies. And what did they have to say?
LOTH
Nothing of importance. But I heard from them that you had retired for the present to the estate of your parents-in-law.
HOFFMANN
People have a way of finding things out; haven't they? My dear friend, you'd never believe how a man in my position is spied on at every step. That's another one of the evils of wealth … But it is this way, you see: I'm expecting the confinement of my wife in the quiet and the healthy air here.
LOTH
What do you do for a physician? Surely in such cases a good physician is of the highest importance. And here, in this village….