MRS。BARTHWICK。MydearJohn，whatareyoutalkingabout？Howcouldtherebeanyalternative？Thinkoftheeffectontheotherservants！
　　BARTHWICK。Ofcourseinprinciple——Iwasn’tthinkingofthat。
　　JACK。[Maliciously。]Crackers，please，Dad。
　　[BARTHWICKiscompelledtopassthecrackers。]
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。LadyHolyroodtoldme:"Ihadherup，"shesaid;"I
　　saidtoher，’You’llleavemyhouseatonce;Ithinkyourconductdisgraceful。Ican’ttell，Idon’tknow，andIdon’twishtoknow，whatyouweredoing。Isendyouawayonprinciple;youneednotcometomeforacharacter。’Andthegirlsaid:’Ifyoudon’tgivememynotice，mylady，Iwantamonth’swages。I’mperfectlyrespectable。I’vedonenothing。’"’——Donenothing！
　　BARTHWICK。H’m！
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Servantshavetoomuchlicense。Theyhangtogethersoterriblyyounevercantellwhatthey’rereallythinking;it’sasiftheywereallinaconspiracytokeepyouinthedark。EvenwithMarlow，youfeelthatheneverletsyouknowwhat’sreallyinhismind。Ihatethatsecretiveness;itdestroysallconfidence。I
　　feelsometimesIshouldliketoshakehim。
　　JACK。Marlow’samostdecentchap。It’ssimplybeastlyeveryoneknowingyouraffairs。
　　BARTHWICK。Thelessyousayaboutthatthebetter！
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Itgoesallthroughthelowerclasses。Youcannottellwhentheyarespeakingthetruth。To—daywhenIwasshoppingafterleavingtheHolyroods，oneoftheseunemployedcameupandspoketome。IsupposeIonlyhadtwentyyardsorsotowalktothecarnage，butheseemedtospringupinthestreet。
　　BARTHWICK。Ah！Youmustbeverycarefulwhomyouspeaktointhesedays。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Ididn’tanswerhim，ofcourse。ButIcouldseeatoncethathewasn’ttellingthetruth。
　　BARTHWICK。[Crackinganut。]There’soneverygoodrule——lookattheireyes。
　　JACK。Crackers，please，Dad。
　　BARTHWICK。[Passingthecrackers。]Iftheireyesarestraight—
　　forwardIsometimesgivethemsixpence。It’sagainstmyprinciples，butit’smostdifficulttorefuse。Ifyouseethatthey’redesperate，anddull，andshifty—looking，assomanyofthemare，it’scertaintomeandrink，orcrime，orsomethingunsatisfactory。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Thismanhaddreadfuleyes。Helookedasifhecouldcommitamurder。"I’ve’adnothingtoeatto—day，"hesaid。
　　Justlikethat。
　　BARTHWICK。WhatwasWilliamabout？Heoughttohavebeenwaiting。
　　JACK。[Raisinghiswine—glasstohisnose。]Isthisthe’63，Dad？
　　[BARTHWICK，holdinghiswine—glasstohiseye，lowersitandpassesitbeforehisnose。]
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Ihatepeoplethatcan’tspeakthetruth。[Fatherandsonexchangealookbehindtheirport。]It’sjustaseasytospeakthetruthasnot。I’vealwaysfounditeasyenough。Itmakesitimpossibletotellwhatisgenuine;onefeelsasifonewerecontinuallybeingtakenin。
　　BARTHWICK。[Sententiously。]Thelowerclassesaretheirownenemies。Iftheywouldonlytrustus，theywouldgetonsomuchbetter。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Buteventhenit’ssooftentheirownfault。LookatthatMrs。Jonesthismorning。
　　BARTHWICK。Ionlywanttodowhat’srightinthatmatter。IhadoccasiontoseeRoperthisafternoon。Imentionedittohim。He’scominginthisevening。Italldependsonwhatthedetectivesays。
　　I’vehadmydoubts。I’vebeenthinkingitover。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Thewomanimpressedmemostunfavourably。Sheseemedtohavenoshame。Thataffairshewastalkingabout——sheandthemanwhentheywereyoung，soimmoral！AndbeforeyouandJack！
　　Icouldhaveputheroutoftheroom！
　　BARTHWICK。Oh！Idon’twanttoexcusethem，butinlookingatthesemattersonemustconsider。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Perhapsyou’llsaytheman’semployerwaswrongindismissinghim？
　　BARTHWICK。Ofcoursenot。It’snottherethatIfeeldoubt。WhatIaskmyselfis。
　　JACK。Port，please，Dad。
　　BARTHWICK。[Circulatingthedecanterinreligiousimitationoftherisingandsettingofthesun。]Iaskmyselfwhetherwearesufficientlycarefulinmakinginquiriesaboutpeoplebeforeweengagethem，especiallyasregardsmoralconduct。
　　JACK。Passthe—port，please，Mother！
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Passingit。]Mydearboy，aren’tyoudrinkingtoomuch？
　　[JACKfillshisglass。]
　　MARLOW。[Entering。]DetectiveSnowtoseeyou，Sir。
　　BARTHWICK。[Uneasily。]Ah！sayI’llbewithhiminaminute。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Withoutturning。]Lethimcomeinhere，Marlow。
　　[SNOWentersinanovercoat，hisbowlerhatinhand。]
　　BARTHWICK。[Half—rising。]Oh！Goodevening！
　　SNOW。Goodevening，sir;goodevening，ma’am。I’vecalledroundtoreportwhatI’vedone，ratherlate，I’mafraid——anothercasetookmeaway。[Hetakesthesilverboxoutofhispocket，causingasensationintheBARTHWICKfamily。]Thisistheidenticalarticle，Ibelieve。
　　BARTHWICK。Certainly，certainly。
　　SNOW。Havin’yourcrestandcypher，asyoudescribedtome，sir，I
　　’dnohesitationinthematter。
　　BARTHWICK。Excellent。Willyouhaveaglassof[heglancesatthewaningport]——er——sherry—[poursoutsherry]。Jack，justgiveMr。
　　Snowthis。
　　[JACKrisesandgivestheglasstoSNOW;then，lollinginhischair，regardshimindolently。]
　　SNOW。[Drinkingoffwineandputtingdowntheglass。]AfterseeingyouIwentroundtothiswoman’slodgings，sir。It’salowneighborhood，andIthoughtitaswelltoplaceaconstablebelow——
　　andnotwithout’ewaswanted，asthingsturnedout。
　　BARTHWICK。Indeed！
　　SNOW。Yes，Sir，I’adsometrouble。Iaskedhertoaccountforthepresenceofthearticle。Shecouldgivemenoanswer，excepttodenythetheft;soItookherintocustody;thenherhusbandcameforme，soIwasobligedtotakehim，too，forassault。Hewasveryviolentonthewaytothestation——veryviolent——threatenedyouandyourson，andaltogetherhewasahandful，Icantillyou。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Whataruffianhemustbe！
　　SNOW。Yes，ma’am，aroughcustomer。
　　JACK。[Sippinghismine，bemused。]Punchthebeggar’shead。
　　SNOW。Giventodrink，asIunderstand，sir。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。It’stobehopedhewillgetaseverepunishment。
　　SNOW。Theoddthingis，sir，thathepersistsinsayin’hetooktheboxhimself。
　　BARTHWICK。Tooktheboxhimself！[Hesmiles。]Whatdoeshethinktogainbythat？
　　SNOW。Hesaystheyounggentlemanwasintoxicatedlastnight[JACKstopsthecrackingofanut，andlooksatSNOW。]
　　[BARTHWICK，losinghissmile，hasputhiswine—glassdown;
　　thereisasilence——SNOW，lookingfromfacetoface，remarks]
　　——tookhimintothehouseandgavehimwhisky;andundertheinfluenceofanemptystomachthemansayshetookthebox。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Theimpudentwretch！
　　BARTHWICK。D’youmeanthathe——er——intendstoputthisforwardto—morrow？
　　SNOW。That’llbehisline，sir;butwhetherhe’sendeavouringtoshieldhiswife，orwhether[helooksatJACK]there’ssomethinginit，willbeforthemagistratetosay。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Haughtily。]Somethinginwhat？Idon’tunderstandyou。Asifmysonwouldbringamanlikethatintothehouse！
　　BARTHWICK。[Fromthefireplace，withanefforttobecalm。]Mysoncanspeakforhimself，nodoubt。Well，Jack，whatdoyousay？
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Sharply。]Whatdoeshesay？Why，ofcourse，hesaysthewholestory’sstuff！
　　JACK。[Embarrassed。]Well，ofcourse，I——ofcourse，Idon’tknowanythingaboutit。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Ishouldthinknot，indeed！[ToSnow。]Themanisanaudaciousruffian！
　　BARTHWICK。[Suppressingjumps。]Butinviewofmyson’ssayingthere’snothinginthis——thisfable——willitbenecessarytoproceedagainstthemanunderthecircumstances？
　　SNOW。Weshallhavetochargehimwiththeassault，sir。ItwouldbeaswellforyoursontocomedowntotheCourt。There’llbearemand，nodoubt。Thequeerthingistherewasquiteasumofmoneyfoundonhim，andacrimsonsilkpurse。
　　[BARTHWICKstarts;JACKrisesandsitsdozenagain。]
　　Isupposetheladyhasn’tmissedherpurse？
　　BARTHWICK。[Hastily。]Oh，no！Oh！No！
　　JACK。No！
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Dreamily。]No！[ToSNOW。]I’vebeeninquiringoftheservants。Thismandoeshangaboutthehouse。Ishallfeelmuchsaferifhegetsagoodlongsentence;Idothinkweoughttobeprotectedagainstsuchruffians。
　　BARTHWICK。Yes，yes，ofcourse，onprinciplebutinthiscasewehaveanumberofthingstothinkof。[ToSNOW。]Isuppose，asyousay，themanmustbecharged，eh？
　　SNOW。Noquestionaboutthat，sir。
　　BARTHWICK。[StaringgloomilyatJACK。]Thisprosecutiongoesverymuchagainstthegrainwithme。Ihavegreatsympathywiththepoor。InmypositionI’mboundtorecognisethedistressthereisamongstthem。Theconditionofthepeopleleavesmuchtobedesired。D’youfollowme？IwishIcouldseemywaytodropit。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Sharply。]John！it’ssimplynotfairtootherpeople。It’sputtingpropertyatthemercyofanyonewholikestotakeit。
　　BARTHWICK。[Tryingtomakesignstoheraside。]I’mnotdefendinghim，notatall。I’mtryingtolookatthematterbroadly。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Nonsense，John，there’satimeforeverything。
　　SNOW。[Rathersardonically。]Imightpointout，sir，thattowithdrawthechargeofstealingwouldnotmakemuchdifference，becausethefactsmustcomeout[helookssignificantlyatJACK]inreferencetotheassault;andasIsaidthatchargewillhavetogoforward。
　　BARTHWICK。[Hastily。]Yes，oh！exactly！It’sentirelyonthewoman’saccount——entirelyamatterofmyownprivatefeelings。
　　SNOW。IfIwereyou，sir，Ishouldletthingstaketheircourse。
　　It’snotlikelythere’llbemuchdifficulty。Thesethingsareveryquicksettled。
　　BARTHWICK。[Doubtfully。]Youthinkso——youthinkso？
　　JACK。[Rousinghimself。]Isay，whatshallIhavetoswearto？
　　SNOW。That’sbestknowntoyourself，sir。[Retreatingtothedoor。]Betteremployasolicitor，sir，incaseanythingshouldarise。Weshallhavethebutlertoprovethelossofthearticle。
　　You’llexcusemegoing，I’mratherpressedto—night。Thecasemaycomeonanytimeaftereleven。Goodevening，sir;goodevening，ma’am。Ishallhavetoproducetheboxincourtto—morrow，soifyou’llexcuseme，sir，Imayaswelltakeitwithme。
　　[Hetakesthesilverboxandleavesthemwithalittlebow。]
　　[BARTHWICKmakesamovetofollowhim，thendashinghishandsbeneathhiscoattails，speakswithdesperation。]
　　BARTHWICK。Idowishyou’dleavemetomanagethingsmyself。Youwillputyournoseintomattersyouknownothingof。Aprettymessyou’vemadeofthis！
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Coldly。]Idon’tintheleastknowwhatyou’retalkingabout。Ifyoucan’tstandupforyourrights，Ican。I’venopatiencewithyourprinciples，it’ssuchnonsense。
　　BARTHWICK。Principles！GoodHeavens！Whathaveprinciplestodowithitforgoodnesssake？Don’tyouknowthatJackwasdrunklastnight！
　　JACK。Dad！
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Inhorrorrising。]Jack！
　　JACK。Lookhere，Mother——Ihadsupper。Everybodydoes。Imeantosay——youknowwhatImean——it’sabsurdtocallitbeingdrunk。AtOxfordeverybodygetsabit"on"sometimes。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Well，Ithinkit’smostdreadful！IfthatisreallywhatyoudoatOxford？
　　JACK。[Angrily。]Well，whydidyousendmethere？Onemustdoasotherfellowsdo。It’ssuchnonsense，Imean，tocallitbeingdrunk。OfcourseI’mawfullysorry。I’vehadsuchabeastlyheadacheallday。
　　BARTHWICK。Tcha！Ifyou’donlyhadthecommondecencytorememberwhathappenedwhenyoucamein。Thenweshouldknowwhattruththerewasinwhatthisfellowsays——asitis，it’sallthemostconfoundeddarkness。
　　JACK。[Staringasthoughathalf—formedvisions。]Ijustgeta——
　　andthen——it’sgone。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Oh，Jack！doyoumeantosayyouweresotipsyyoucan’tevenremember。
　　JACK。Lookhere，Mother！OfcourseIrememberIcame——Imusthavecome。
　　BARTHWICK。[Unguardedly，andwalkingupanddown。]Tcha！——andthatinfernalpurse！GoodHeavens！It’llgetintothepapers。Whoonearthcouldhaveforeseenathinglikethis？Bettertohavelostadozencigarette—boxes，andsaidnothingaboutit。[Tohiswife。]
　　It’sallyourdoing。Itoldyousofromthefirst。IwishtogoodnessRoperwouldcome！
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Sharply。]Idon’tknowwhatyou’retalkingabout，John。
　　BARTHWICK。[Turningonher。]No，you——you——youdon’tknowanything！[Sharply。]WherethedevilisRoper？Ifhecanseeawayoutofthishe’sabettermanthanItakehimfor。Idefyanyonetoseeawayoutofit。Ican’t。
　　JACK。Lookhere，don’texciteDad——IcansimplysayIwastoobeastlytired，anddon’trememberanythingexceptthatIcameinand[inadyingvoice]wenttobedthesameasusual。
　　BARTHWICK。Wenttobed？Whoknowswhereyouwent——I’velostallconfidence。ForallIknowyousleptonthefloor。
　　JACK。[Indignantly。]Ididn’t，Isleptonthe。
　　BARTHWICK。[Sittingonthesofa。]Whocareswhereyouslept;whatdoesitmatterifhementionsthe——the——aperfectdisgrace？
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。What？[Asilence。]Iinsistonknowing。
　　JACK。Oh！nothing。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Nothing？Whatdoyoumeanbynothing，Jack？
　　There’syourfatherinsuchastateaboutit！
　　JACK。It’sonlymypurse。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Yourpurse！Youknowperfectlywellyouhaven’tgotone。
　　JACK。Well，itwassomebodyelse’s——itwasallajoke——Ididn’twantthebeastlything。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Doyoumeanthatyouhadanotherperson’spurse，andthatthismantookittoo？
　　BARTHWICK。Tcha！Ofcoursehetookittoo！AmanlikethatJoneswillmakethemostofit。It’llgetintothepapers。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Idon’tunderstand。Whatonearthisallthefussabout？[BendingoverJACK，andsoftly。]Jacknow，tellmedear！
　　Don’tbeafraid。Whatisit？Come！
　　JACK。Oh，don’tMother！
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Butdon’twhat，dear？
　　JACK。Itwaspuresport。Idon’tknowhowIgotthething。OfcourseI’dhadabitofarow——Ididn’tknowwhatIwasdoing——I
　　was——IWas——well，youknow——IsupposeImusthavepulledthebagoutofherhand。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Outofherhand？Whosehand？Whatbag——whosebag？
　　JACK。Oh！Idon’tknow——herbag——itbelongedto——[inadesperateandrisingvoice]awoman。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Awoman？Oh！Jack！No！
　　JACK。[Jumpingup。]Youwouldhaveit。Ididn’twanttotellyou。It’snotmyfault。
　　[ThedooropensandMARLOWushersinamanofmiddleage，inclinedtocorpulence，ineveningdress。Hehasaruddy，thinmoustache，anddark，quick—movinglittleeyes。HiseyebrowsayeChinese。]
　　MARLOW。Mr。Roper，Sir。[Heleavestheroom。]
　　ROPER。[Withaquicklookround。]Howdoyoudo？
　　[ButneitherJACKnorMRS。BARTHWICKmakeasign。]
　　BARTHWICK。[Hurrying。]Thankgoodnessyou’vecome，Roper。YourememberwhatItoldyouthisafternoon;we’vejusthadthedetectivehere。
　　ROPER。Gotthebox？
　　BARTHWICK。Yes，yes，butlookhere——itwasn’tthecharwomanatall;herdrunkenloaferofahusbandtookthethings——hesaysthatfellowthere[hewaveshishandatJACK，whowithhisshoulderraised，seemstryingtowardoffablow]lethimintothehouselastnight。Canyouimaginesuchathing。
　　[Roperlaughs。]
　　BARTHWICK。[Withexcitedemphasis。]。It’snolaughingmatter，Roper。ItoldyouaboutthatbusinessofJack’stoo——don’tyouseethebrutetookboththethings——tookthatinfernalpurse。It’llgetintothepapers。
　　ROPER。[Raisinghiseyebrows。]H’m！Thepurse！Depravityinhighlife！Whatdoesyoursonsay？
　　BARTHWICK。Heremembersnothing。D——n！Didyoueverseesuchamess？It’llgetintothepapers。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Withherhandacrossheyeyes。]Oh！it’snotthat。
　　[BARTHWICKandROPERturnandlookather。]
　　BARTHWICK。It’stheideaofthatwoman——she’sjustheard。
　　[ROPERnods。AndMRS。BARTHWICK，settingherlips，givesaslowlookatJACK，andsitsdownatthetable。]
　　Whatonearth’stobedone，Roper？AruffianlikethisJoneswillmakeallthecapitalhecanoutofthatpurse。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Idon’tbelievethatJacktookthatpurse。
　　BARTHWICK。What——whenthewomancamehereforitthismorning？
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Here？Shehadtheimpudence？Whywasn’tItold？
　　[Shelooksroundfromfacetoface——nooneanswershey，thereisapause。]
　　BARTHWICK。[Suddenly。]What’stobedone，Roper？
　　ROPER。[QuietlytoJACK。]Isupposeyoudidn’tleaveyourlatch—
　　keyinthedoor？
　　JACK。[Sullenly。]Yes，Idid。
　　BARTHWICK。Goodheavens！Whatnext？
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。I’mcertainyouneverletthatmanintothehouse，Jack，it’sawildinvention。I’msurethere’snotawordoftruthinit，Mr。Roper。
　　ROPER。[Verysuddenly。]Wheredidyousleeplastnight？
　　JACK。[Promptly。]Onthesofa，there——[hesitating]——thatis——I。
　　BARTHWICK。Onthesofa？D’youmeantosayyoudidn’tgotobed？
　　JACK。[Sullenly。]No。
　　BARTHWICK。Ifyoudon’trememberanything，howcanyourememberthat？
　　JACK。BecauseIwokeupthereinthemorning。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Oh，Jack！
　　BARTHWICK。GoodGracious！
　　JACK。AndMrs。Jonessawme。Iwishyouwouldn’tbaitmeso。
　　ROPER。Doyouremembergivinganyoneadrink？
　　JACK。ByJove，Idoseemtorememberafellowwith——afellowwith[HelooksatRoper。]Isay，d’youwantme。？
　　ROPER。[Quickaslightning。]Withadirtyface？
　　JACK。[Withillumination。]Ido——Idistinctlyrememberhis。
　　[BARTHWICKmovesabruptly;MRS。BARTHWICKlooksatROPER
　　angrily，andtouchesherson’sarm。]
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Youdon’tremember，it’sridiculous！Idon’tbelievethemanwaseverhereatall。
　　BARTHWICK。Youmustspeakthetruth，ifitisthetruth。Butifyoudoremembersuchadirtybusiness，Ishallwashmyhandsofyoualtogether。
　　JACK。[Glaringatthem。]Well，whatthedevil。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Jack！
　　JACK。Well，Mother，I——Idon’tknowwhatyoudowant。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Wewantyoutospeakthetruthandsayyouneverletthislowmanintothehouse。
　　BARTHWICK。Ofcourseifyouthinkthatyoureallygavethismanwhiskyinthatdisgracefulway，andlethimseewhatyou’dbeendoing，andwereinsuchadisgustingconditionthatyoudon’trememberawordofit。
　　ROPER。[Quick。]I’venomemorymyself——neverhad。
　　BARTHWICK。[Desperately。]Idon’tknowwhatyou’retosay。
　　ROPER。[ToJACK。]Saynothingatall！Don’tputyourselfinafalseposition。Themanstolethethingsorthewomanstolethethings，youhadnothingtodowithit。Youwereasleeponthesofa。
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Yourleavingthelatch—keyinthedoorwasquitebadenough，there’snoneedtomentionanythingelse。[Touchinghisforeheadsoftly。]Mydear，howhotyourheadis！
　　JACK。ButIwanttoknowwhatI’mtodo。[Passionately。]Iwon’tbebadgeredlikethis。
　　[MRS。BARTHWICKrecoilsfromhim。]
　　ROPER。[Veryquickly。]Youforgetallaboutit。Youwereasleep。
　　JACK。MustIgodowntotheCourtto—morrow？
　　ROPER。[Shakinghishead。]No。
　　BARTHWICK。[Inarelievedvoice。]Isthatso？
　　ROPER。Yes。
　　BARTHWICK。Butyou’llgo，Roper。
　　ROPER。Yes。
　　JACK。[Withwancheerfulness。]Thanks，awfully！SolongasI
　　don’thavetogo。[Puttinghishanduptohishead。]Ithinkifyou’llexcuseme——I’vehadamostbeastlyday。[Helooksfromhisfathertohismother。]
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。[Turningquickly。]Goodnight，myboy。
　　JACK。Good—night，Mother。
　　[Hegoesout。MRS。BARTHWICKheavesasigh。Thereisasilence。]
　　BARTHWICK。Hegetsofftooeasily。Butformymoneythatwomanwouldhaveprosecutedhim。
　　ROPER。Youfindmoneyuseful。
　　BARTHWICK。I’vemydoubtswhetherweoughttohide’thetruth。
　　ROPER。There’llbearemand。
　　BARTHWICK。What！D’youmeanhe’llhavetoappearontheremand。
　　ROPER。Yes。
　　BARTHWICK。H’m，Ithoughtyou’dbeableto。Lookhere，Roper，youmustkeepthatpurseoutofthepapers。
　　[ROPERfixeshislittleeyesonhimandnods。]
　　MRS。BARTHWICK。Mr。Roper，don’tyouthinkthemagistrateoughttobetoldwhatsortofpeopletheseJones’sare;Imeanabouttheirimmoralitybeforetheyweremarried。Idon’tknowifJohntoldyou。
　　ROPER。Afraidit’snotmaterial。