JEPPE. What is the second subject?
PEER. That is Rhetorica, which in Danish means the Ritual. The third subject must be written wrong, or else it must be in French, because if it were Latin, I could read it easily. I am able, Jeppe Berg, to recite the whole Aurora: ala, that's a wing; ancilla, a girl; barba, a beard; coena, a chamber-pot; cerevisia, ale; campana, a bell; cella, a cellar; lagena, a bottle; lana, a wolf; ancilla, a girl; janua, a door; cerevisia, butter;—
JEPPE. You must have the devil's own memory, Peer!
PEER. Yes, I never thought I should have to stay in a poverty-stricken deacon's-living so long. I could have been something else years ago, if I had been willing to tie myself to a girl. But I prefer to help myself rather than have people say of me that I got a living through my wife.
JEPPE. But, my dear Peer, here is more Latin that I can't understand. Look at this line.
PEER. Die Veneris Hafnia domum profecturus sum. That's rather high-flown, but I understand it perfectly, though any other man might cudgel his brains over it. That means in Danish: There is come profecto a lot of Russes to Copenhagen.
JEPPE. What are the Russians doing here again?
PEER. These aren't Muscovites, Jeppe Berg, but young students, who are called "Russes."
JEPPE. Oh, I see. I suppose there is a great celebration on the days when the boys get their salt and bread and become students.
PEER. When do you expect him home?