This has been often imitated in French.
After the Legion of Honour was instituted in France in 1804, some of the
wits of the time asked the Imperialists: _etes-vous des honores?_]
ANS. So that...
MASC. (_Endeavouring to take the purse_). So that she dotes on you;
and regards you no longer...
ANS. What?
MASC. But as a husband: and fully intends...
ANS. And fully intends...?
MASC. And fully intends, whatever may happen, to steal your purse....
ANS. To steal...?
MASC. (_Taking the purse, and letting it fall to the ground_). To
steal a kiss from your mouth.
[Footnote: There is here again, in the original, a play on the words
_bourse_, purse, and _bouche_, mouth, which cannot be rendered
in English.]
ANS. Ah! I understand you. Come hither! The next time you see her, be
sure to say as many fine things of me as possible.
MASC. Let me alone.
ANS. Farewell.
MASC. May Heaven guide you!
ANS. (_Returning_). Hold! I really should have committed a strange
piece of folly; and you might justly have accused me of neglect. I
engage you to assist me in serving my passion. You bring good tidings,
and I do not give you the smallest present to reward your zeal. Here, be
sure to remember.
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