) Per Bacco, little woman, I can't help
admiring you. If I could lie like that, it would save me a great
deal of trouble.
LADY (wringing her hands). Oh, how I wish I really had told you
some lie! You would have believed me then. The truth is the one
thing that nobody will believe.
NAPOLEON (with coarse familiarity, treating her as if she were a
vivandiere). Capital! Capital! (He puts his hands behind him on
the table, and lifts himself on to it, sitting with his arms
akimbo and his legs wide apart.) Come: I am a true Corsican in my
love for stories. But I could tell them better than you if I set
my mind to it. Next time you are asked why a letter compromising
a wife should not be sent to her husband, answer simply that the
husband would not read it. Do you suppose, little innocent, that
a man wants to be compelled by public opinion to make a scene, to
fight a duel, to break up his household, to injure his career by
a scandal, when he can avoid it all by taking care not to know?
LADY (revolted). Suppose that packet contained a letter about
your own wife?
NAPOLEON (offended, coming off the table).
Pages:
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69