Hasty!
OLIVIA. Well, you've only just proposed to me, and you want to marry
me to-morrow.
GEORGE. Now you're talking perfect nonsense, Olivia. You know quite
well that our case is utterly different from--from any other.
OLIVIA. All the same, one has to ask oneself questions. With a young
girl like--well, with a young girl, love may well seem to be all that
matters. But with a woman of my age, it is different. I have to ask
myself if you can afford to support a wife.
GEORGE (coldly). Fortunately that is a question that you can very
easily answer for yourself.
OLIVIA. Well, but I have been hearing rather bad reports lately. What
with taxes always going up, and rents always going down, some of our
landowners are getting into rather straitened circumstances. At least,
so I'm told.
GEORGE. I don't know what you're talking about.
OLIVIA (surprised). Oh, isn't it true? I heard of a case only this
morning--a landowner who always seemed to be very comfortably off, but
who couldn't afford an allowance for his only niece when she wanted to
get married. It made me think that one oughtn't to judge by
appearances.
GEORGE. You know perfectly well that I can afford to support a wife as
my wife _should_ be supported.
Pages:
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160