DU. CR. You seem to take it greatly to heart.

LA. GR. No doubt I do; so much so, that I am resolved to be revenged on
them for their impertinence. I know well enough why they despise us.
Affectation has not alone infected Paris, but has also spread into the
country, and our ridiculous damsels have sucked in their share of it. In
a word, they are a strange medley of coquetry and affectation. I plainly
see what kind of persons will be well received by them; if you will take
my advice, we will play them such a trick as shall show them their
folly, and teach them to distinguish a little better the people they
have to deal with.

DU. CR. How can you do this?

LA. GR. I have a certain valet, named Mascarille, who, in the opinion of
many people, passes for a kind of wit; for nothing now-a-days is easier
than to acquire such a reputation. He is an extraordinary fellow, who
has taken it into his head to ape a person of quality. He usually prides
himself on his gallantry and his poetry, and despises so much the other
servants that he calls them brutes.

DU. CR. Well, what do you mean to do with him?

LA. GR. What do I mean to do with him? He must ... but first, let us be
gone.




SCENE II.--GORGIBUS, DU CROISY, LA GRANGE.