Paul (sits on sofa). Where! In that charming place to which it pleased you to send me.
Madame P. What can we do, Paul?
Paul. I have come home on foot in this dreadful heat!
Madame P. It is charmingly cool in this room.
Paul. Yes; but what is it like in the winter? All the walls are damp-rotted; the floor is sunk in.
Madame P. Yes, my dear one; our affairs are in a very bad condition.
Paul. Your affairs! What affairs have you? There’s papa only half alive; and you, too, have had your day, and finished it. Look at my position!
Madame P. I know, my dear one. I can understand how hard it is for you!
Paul. Hard! I should think so! Listen to me, Maman. By birth, by education, by the circle in which I move—in fact, by everything—I belong, every inch of me, to the best rank of society.
Madame P. Oh, yes!