MARTHA. [Sinks into an arm-chair] Oh! Oh! Oh! [She bursts into tears.] Enter ZINAIDA crying. ZINAIDA. Some one has just arrived; it must be one of the ushers. It is time for the ceremony to begin. SASHA. [Imploringly] Mother! LEBEDIEFF. Well, now you are all bawling. What a quartette! Come, come, don't let us have any more of this dampness! Matthew! Martha! If you go on like this, I--I--shall cry too. [Bursts into tears] Heavens! ZINAIDA. If you don't need your mother any more, if you are determined not to obey her, I shall have to do as you want, and you have my blessing. Enter IVANOFF, dressed in a long coat, with gloves on. LEBEDIEFF This is the finishing touch! What do you want? SHABELSKI. Why are you here? IVANOFF. I beg your pardon, you must allow me to speak to Sasha alone. LEBEDIEFF. The bridegroom must not come to see the bride before the wedding. It is time for you to go to the church. IVANOFF. Paul, I implore you. LEBEDIEFF shrugs his shoulders. LEBEDIEFF, ZINAIDA, SHABELSKI, and MARTHA go out. SASHA. [Sternly] What do you want? IVANOFF. I am choking with anger; I cannot speak calmly. Listen to me; as I was dressing just now for the wedding, I looked in the glass and saw how grey my temples were. Sasha, this must not be! Let us end this senseless comedy before it is too late. You are young and pure; you have all your life before you, but I---- SASHA. The same old story; I have heard it a thousand times and I am tired of it. Go quickly to the church and don't keep everybody waiting! IVANOFF. I shall go straight home, and you must explain to your family somehow that there is to be no wedding. Explain it as you please. It is time we came to our senses. I have been playing the part of Hamlet and you have been playing the part of a noble and devoted girl. We have kept up the farce long enough. SASHA. [Losing her temper] How can you speak to me like this? I won't have it. IVANOFF. But I am speaking, and will continue to speak. SASHA. What do you mean by coming to me like this? Your melancholy has become absolutely ridiculous!