]
PEHR. [Sits down at table.] At last! [Soft music.] See, now they go
when he commands; but when I beg, it's useless!
BUTLER. It is not my command they obey, Your Grace, but the rules
of etiquette.
PEHR. And they transcend my will?
BUTLER. Laws are the agreements of many, and must of course come
before the individual's will.
PEHR. I declare, he can answer all things! Now I shall enjoy myself
at all events. Wine warms the heart, food warms the body--but
where's the pleasure in loneliness? Mr. Butler, do the rules of
etiquette permit that one has company when one is enjoying oneself?
BUTLER. I almost believe that something in that way is required.
PEHR. Well, then, I want--
[First Friend enters and rushes into Pehr's arms.]
FIRST FRIEND. Friend of my heart! So I see thee again after such a
long separation! And you are like yourself--a little thinner than
when I last saw you; but how's everything now, dear old chap?
PEHR. [Eyeing him.] Oh, thanks, thanks--very well indeed, as--ahem--
you see. Pray take a chair and sit down.
FIRST FRIEND. Why, bless my soul! I've just had dinner, but I'll go
into your ante-room and wait there while you finish yours.
PEHR. No, that is just what you shall not do! I remarked a while
ago that I thought life so empty when one must sit alone at table.
Take a chair and sit down.
FIRST FRIEND. Dear old friend, if you insist I will sit beside you
while you dine; but it actually looks as though I had come here for
a meal.
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