Macheath. I have a fixed Confidence, Gentlemen, in you all, as Men of Honour, and as such I value and respect you. Peachum is a Man that is useful to us.
Matt. Is he about to play us any foul Play? I’ll shoot him through the Head.
Macheath. I beg you, Gentlemen, act with Conduct and Discretion. A Pistol is your last Resort.
Matt. He knows nothing of this Meeting.
Macheath. Business cannot go on without him. He is a Man who knows the World, and is a necessary Agent to us. We have had a slight Difference, and ’till it is accommodated I shall be oblig’d to keep out of his way. Any private Dispute of mine shall be of no ill consequence to my Friends. You must continue to act under his Direction, for the moment we break loose from him, our Gang is ruin’d.
Matt. As a Bawd to a Whore, I grant you, he is to us of great Convenience.
Macheath. Make him believe I have quitted the Gang, which I can never do but with Life. At our private Quarters I will continue to meet you. A Week or so will probably reconcile us.
Matt. Your Instructions shall be observ’d. ’Tis now high time for us to repair to our several Duties; so ’till the Evening at our Quarters in Moor-Fields we bid you farewel.
Macheath. I shall wish myself with you. Success attend you.
[Sits down melancholy at the Table.