SCENE IV.--TRUFALDIN, CELIA, MASCARILLE, _and_ LELIO _in a
corner_.
TRUF. (_To Celia_). What are you doing out of doors? And what
induces you to go out,--you, whom I have forbidden to speak to any one?
CEL. I was formerly acquainted with this respectable young man; you have
no occasion to be suspicious of him.
MASC. Is this Signor Trufaldin?
CEL. Yes, it is himself.
MASC. Sir, I am wholly yours; it gives me extreme pleasure to have this
opportunity of paying my most humble respects to a gentleman who is
everywhere so highly spoken of.
TRUF. Your most humble servant.
MASC. Perhaps I am troublesome, but I have been acquainted with this
young woman elsewhere; and as I heard about the great skill she has in
predicting the future, I wished to consult her about a certain affair.
TRUF. What! Do you dabble in the black art?
CEL. No, sir, my skill lies entirely in the white.
[Footnote: The white art (_magie blanche_) only dealt with
beneficent spirits, and wished to do good to mankind; the black art
(_magie noire_) invoked evil spirits.]
MASC. The case is this. The master whom I serve languishes for a fair
lady who has captivated him. He would gladly disclose the passion which
burns within him to the beauteous object whom he adores, but a dragon
that guards this rare treasure, in spite of all his attempts, has
hitherto prevented him.
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