Ho! here is a bill up
just at the right time.
SCENE IV.--CELIA, ANDRES, MASCARILLE, _disguised as a Swiss_.
AND. Monsieur Swiss, are you the master of the house?
MASC. I am at your service.
[Footnote: In the original, Mascarille speaks a kind of gibberish, which
is only amusing when the play is acted; but it can serve no purpose to
translate "_moi, pour serfir a fous_," "_Oui, moi pour
d'estrancher chappon champre garni, mais che non point locher te gent te
mechant vi_," etc., by "me be at your serfice," "yes. me have de very
goot shambers, ready furnish for stranger, but me no loge de people
scandaluse," etc. A provincial pronunciation, an Irish brogue, or a
Scotch tongue, are no equivalent for this mock Swiss German-French.]
AND. Can we lodge here?
MASC. Yes, I let furnished lodgings to strangers, but only to
respectable people.
AND. I suppose your house has a very good reputation?
MASC. I see by your face you are a stranger in this town.
AND. I am.
MASC. Are you the husband of this lady?
AND. Sir?
MASC. Is she your wife or your sister?
AND. Neither.
MASC. Upon my word, she is very pretty! Do you come on business, or have
you a lawsuit going on before the court? A lawsuit is a very bad thing,
it costs so much money; a solicitor is a thief, and a barrister a rogue.
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