VERSHININ. Yes, they’ll forget us. It’s our fate, it can’t be helped. A time will come when everything that seems serious, significant, or very important to us will be forgotten, or considered trivial. [Pause] And the curious thing is that we can’t possibly find out what will come to be regarded as great and important, and what will be feeble, or silly. Didn’t the discoveries of Copernicus, or Columbus, say, seem unnecessary and ludicrous at first, while wasn’t it thought that some rubbish written by a fool, held all the truth? And it may so happen that our present existence, with which we are so satisfied, will in time appear strange, inconvenient, stupid, unclean, perhaps even sinful.... TUZENBACH. Who knows? But on the other hand, they may call our life noble and honour its memory. We’ve abolished torture and capital punishment, we live in security, but how much suffering there is still! SOLENI. [In a feeble voice] There, there.... The Baron will go without his dinner if you only let him talk philosophy. TUZENBACH. Vassili Vassilevitch, kindly leave me alone. [Changes his chair] You’re very dull, you know. SOLENI. [Feebly] There, there, there. TUZENBACH. [To VERSHININ] The sufferings we see to-day--there are so many of them!--still indicate a certain moral improvement in society. VERSHININ. Yes, yes, of course. CHEBUTIKIN. You said just now, Baron, that they may call our life noble; but we are very petty.... [Stands up] See how little I am. [Violin played behind.] MASHA. That’s Andrey playing--our brother. IRINA. He’s the learned member of the family. I expect he will be a professor some day. Father was a soldier, but his son chose an academic career for himself. MASHA. That was father’s wish. OLGA. We ragged him to-day. We think he’s a little in love. IRINA. To a local lady. She will probably come here to-day. MASHA. You should see the way she dresses! Quite prettily, quite fashionably too, but so badly! Some queer bright yellow skirt with a wretched little fringe and a red bodice. And such a complexion! Andrey isn’t in love. After all he has taste, he’s simply making fun of us. I heard yesterday that she was going to marry Protopopov, the chairman of the Local Council. That would do her nicely.... [At the side door] Andrey, come here! Just for a minute, dear! [Enter ANDREY.] OLGA. My brother, Andrey Sergeyevitch. VERSHININ. My name is Vershinin. ANDREY. Mine is Prosorov. [Wipes his perspiring hands] You’ve come to take charge of the battery? OLGA. Just think, Alexander Ignateyevitch comes from Moscow. ANDREY. That’s all right. Now my little sisters won’t give you any rest. VERSHININ. I’ve already managed to bore your sisters. IRINA. Just look what a nice little photograph frame Andrey gave me to-day. [Shows it] He made it himself. VERSHININ. [Looks at the frame and does not know what to say] Yes.... It’s a thing that...