"You would have become a cobbler!" interposed Glas.
"Only a very young and a very naive woman can talk like that," spitefully exclaimed Kaczkowska.
"Or one who does not yet know what Cabinski's salary tastes like," added Rosinska.
"Oh, thou art worthy of pity! You have enthusiasm . . . poverty will rob you of it; you have inspiration . . . poverty will rob you of it; you have youth, talent, and beauty . . . poverty will rob you of it all!" declaimed Piesh in the stern tones of an oracle.
"No, all that is nothing! . . . But such a company, such artists, such plays as these will ruin everything. And if you are able to endure such a hell then you will become a great artist!" whispered Stanislawski sourly.
"A master has proclaimed it, so bow your heads, oh multitude, and say that it must be so!" jeered Wawrzecki.
"Fool! . . ." snarled Stanislawski.
"Mummy!" retorted Wawrzecki.
"I'll tell you how I began my career," said Wladek. "I was in the fourth grade at school when I saw Rossi in Hamlet and from that moment the theater claimed me entirely! I pilfered cash from my father to buy tragedies and attended the theater. I spent whole days and nights in learning roles, and dreamed that I would conquer the whole world . . ."
"And you're nothing but a tyro in Cabinski's company," jeered Dobek.