OSWALD. At last he said: "There has been something worm-eaten in you from your birth." He used that very word—vermoulu.
MRS. ALVING. [Breathlessly.] What did he mean by that?
OSWALD. I didn't understand either, and begged him to explain himself more clearly. And then the old cynic said—[Clenching his fist] Oh—!
MRS. ALVING. What did he say?
OSWALD. He said, "The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children."
MRS. ALVING. [Rising slowly.] The sins of the fathers—!
OSWALD. I very nearly struck him in the face—
MRS. ALVING. [Walks away across the room.] The sins of the fathers—
OSWALD. [Smiles sadly.] Yes; what do you think of that? Of course I assured him that such a thing was out of the question. But do you think he gave in? No, he stuck to it; and it was only when I produced your letters and translated the passages relating to father—
MRS. ALVING. But then—?