Justin (finishing dusting the room)
Yes, my dears, he finds it very hard to swim; he is certain to drown,
poor M. Mercadet.

Virginie (her basket on her arm)
Honestly, do you think that?

Justin
He is ruined! And although there is much fat to be stewed from a
master while he is financially embarrassed, you must not forget that
he owes us a year's wages, and we had better get ourselves discharged.

Therese
Some masters are so frightfully stubborn! I spoke to the mistress
disrespectfully two or three times, and she pretended not to hear me.

Virginie
Ah! I have been at service in many middle-class houses; but I have
never seen one like this! I am going to leave my stove, and become an
actress in some theatre.

Justin
All of us here are nothing but actors in a theatre.

Virginie
Yes, indeed, sometimes one has to put on an air of astonishment, as if
just fallen from the moon, when a creditor appears: "Didn't you know
it, sir?"--"No."--"M. Mercadet has gone to Lyons."--"Ah! He is away?"
--"Yes, his prospects are most brilliant; he has discovered some coal-