To say nothing of the attacks that would assuredly be made upon me in certain papers and periodicals, which—— MRS. ALVING. Enough, my dear Pastor Manders. That consideration is quite decisive. MANDERS. Then you do not wish the Orphanage to be insured? MRS. ALVING. No. We will let it alone. MANDERS. [_Leaning back in his chair._] But if, now, a disaster were to happen? One can never tell——Should you be able to make good the damage? MRS. ALVING. No; I tell you plainly I should do nothing of the kind. MANDERS. Then I must tell you, Mrs. Alving—we are taking no small responsibility upon ourselves. MRS. ALVING. Do you think we can do otherwise? MANDERS. No, that is just the point; we really cannot do otherwise. We ought not to expose ourselves to misinterpretation; and we have no right whatever to give offence to the weaker brethren. MRS. ALVING. You, as a clergyman, certainly should not. MANDERS. I really think, too, we may trust that such an institution has fortune on its side; in fact, that it stands under a special providence. MRS. ALVING. Let us hope so, Pastor Manders. MANDERS. Then we will let it take its chance? MRS. ALVING. Yes, certainly. MANDERS. Very well. So be it. [_Makes a note._] Then—no insurance. MRS. ALVING. It’s odd that you should just happen to mention the matter to-day—— MANDERS. I have often thought of asking you about it—— MRS. ALVING. ——for we very nearly had a fire down there yesterday. MANDERS. You don’t say so! MRS. ALVING. Oh, it was a trifling matter. A heap of shavings had caught fire in the carpenter’s workshop. MANDERS. Where Engstrand works? MRS. ALVING. Yes. They say he’s often very careless with matches. MANDERS. He has so much on his mind, that man—so many things to fight against. Thank God, he is now striving to lead a decent life, I hear. MRS. ALVING. Indeed! Who says so? MANDERS. He himself assures me of it. And he is certainly a capital workman. MRS. ALVING. Oh, yes; so long as he’s sober—— MANDERS.