t will earn us four to five per cent, and we should probably have a
surplus over of several thousand roubles, with which we could buy a
summer cottage in Finland--

VOITSKI. Hold on! Repeat what you just said; I don't think I heard you
quite right.

SEREBRAKOFF. I said we would invest the money in bonds and buy a cottage
in Finland with the surplus.

VOITSKI. No, not Finland--you said something else.

SEREBRAKOFF. I propose to sell this place.

VOITSKI. Aha! That was it! So you are going to sell the place? Splendid.
The idea is a rich one. And what do you propose to do with my old mother
and me and with Sonia here?

SEREBRAKOFF. That will be decided in due time. We can't do everything at
once.

VOITSKI. Wait! It is clear that until this moment I have never had a
grain of sense in my head. I have always been stupid enough to think
that the estate belonged to Sonia. My father bought it as a wedding
present for my sister, and I foolishly imagined that as our laws were
made for Russians and not Turks, my sister's estate would come down to
her child.

SEREBRAKOFF. Of course it is Sonia's. Has any one denied it? I don't
want to sell it without Sonia's consent; on the contrary, what I am
doing is for Sonia's good.

VOITSKI. This is absolutely incomprehensible. Either I have gone mad
or--or--

MME. VOITSKAYA. Jean, don't contradict Alexander. Trust to him; he knows
better than we do what is right and what is wrong.

VOITSKI. I shan't. Give me some water. [He drinks] Go ahead! Say
anything you please--anything!

SEREBRAKOFF. I can't imagine why you are so upset. I don't pretend
that my scheme is an ideal one, and if you all object to it I shall not
insist. [A pause.]

TELEGIN. [With embarrassment] I not only nourish feelings of respect
toward learning, your Excellency, but I am also drawn to it by family
ties. My brother Gregory's wife's brother, whom you may know; his name
is Constantine Lakedemonoff, and he used to be a magistrate--

VOITSKI. Stop, Waffles. This is business; wait a bit, we will talk of
that later. [To SEREBRAKOFF] There now, ask him what he thinks; this
estate was bought from his uncle.

SEREBRAKOFF. Ah! Why should I ask questions? What good would it do?

VOITSKI. The price was ninety-five thousand roubles. My father paid
seventy and left a debt of twenty-five. Now listen! This place could
never have been bought had I not renounced my inheritance in favour of
my sister, whom I deeply love