THE SERGEANT. Sainted Nicholas! VARINKA. Hoo hoo! [a stifled splutter of laughter]. EDSTASTON [following the Empress and resuming kindly but judicially]. After all, though your Majesty is of course a great queen, yet when all is said, I am a man; and your Majesty is only a woman. CATHERINE. Only a wo-- [she chokes]. EDSTASTON [continuing]. Believe me, this Russian extravagance will not do. I appreciate as much as any man the warmth of heart that prompts it; but it is overdone: it is hardly in the best taste: it is really I must say it--it is not proper. CATHERINE [ironically, in German]. So! EDSTASTON. Not that I cannot make allowances. Your Majesty has, I know, been unfortunate in your experience as a married woman-- CATHERINE [furious]. Alle Wetter!!! EDSTASTON [sentimentally]. Don't say that. Don't think of him in that way. After all, he was your husband; and whatever his faults may have been, it is not for you to think unkindly of him. CATHERINE [almost bursting]. I shall forget myself. EDSTASTON. Come! I am sure he really loved you; and you truly loved him. CATHERINE [controlling herself with a supreme effort]. No, Catherine. What would Voltaire say? EDSTASTON. Oh, never mind that vile scoffer. Set an example to Europe, Madam, by doing what I am going to do. Marry again. Marry some good man who will be a strength and support to your old age. CATHERINE. My old--[she again becomes speechless]. EDSTASTON. Yes: we must all grow old, even the handsomest of us. CATHERINE [sinking into her chair with a gasp]. Thank you. EDSTASTON. You will thank me more when you see your little ones round your knee, and your man there by the fireside in the winter evenings--by the way, I forgot that you have no fireside here in spite of the coldness of the climate; so shall I say by the stove? CATHERINE. Certainly, if you wish. The stove by all means. EDSTASTON [impulsively]. Ah, Madam, abolish the stove: believe me, there is nothing like the good old open grate. Home! duty! happiness! they all mean the same thing; and they all flourish best on the drawing-room hearthrug. [Turning to Claire.] And now, my love, we must not detain the Queen: she is anxious to inspect the model of her museum, to which I am sure we wish every success. CLAIRE [coldly]. I am not detaining her. EDSTASTON. Well, goodbye [wringing Patiomkin's hand] goo-oo-oodbye, Prince: come and see us if ever you visit England. Spire View, Deepdene, Little Mugford, Devon, will always find me. [To Yarinka, kissing her hand.] Goodbye, Mademoiselle: goodbye, Little Mother, if I may call you that just once. [Varinka puts up her face to be kissed.] Eh? No, no, no, no: you don't mean that, you know. Naughty! [To the Sergeant.] Goodbye, my friend. You will drink our healths with this [tipping him]. THE SERGEANT. The blessed Nicholas will multiply your fruits, Little Father. EDSTASTON. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.