SGANARELLE: Yes; let me manage it. I have remedies for everything, and our apothecary is the man for this cure. (_He calls the apothecary, and speaks to him_.) You see that the passion she has for this Léandre is quite against the wishes of her father, and that it is necessary to find a prompt remedy for the evil, which will only become worse by delay. For my part, I see but one remedy, a dose of purgative flight suitably mixed with two drachms of matrimony in pills. Go and take a little turn in the garden with her to prepare the humours, while I talk here with her father; but, above all, lose no time. Apply the remedy at once--apply the specific remedy. [_Exeunt_ LÉANDRE _and_ LUCINDE. _Enter_ LUCAS _and_ MARTINE. LUCAS: Your daughter has run away with Léandre. He was the apothecary, and this is the doctor who has performed the operation. GÉRONTE: Quick, fetch the police, and prevent him from going off! Oh, traitor, I will have you punished by law. LUCAS: You shall hang for this, doctor! Don't stir a step from here! [_Re-enter_ LÉANDRE _and_ LUCINDE. LÉANDRE: Monsieur, I appear before you as Léandre, and to restore Lucinde to your authority. We intended to go off and to get married, but this undertaking has given place to a more honourable proceeding. It is only from your hands that I will receive Lucinde. I have to tell you, monsieur, that I have just received letters from which I learn that my uncle is dead, and that I am the heir to all his property. GÉRONTE: Monsieur, your virtue merits every consideration, and I give you my daughter with the greatest pleasure in the world. SGANARELLE: Physic has had a narrow escape. MARTINE: Since you are not going to be hanged, you may thank me for making you a doctor. It was I who gained you that honour. SGANARELLE: I forgive you the beating because of the dignity to which you have raised me, but be prepared henceforth to show great respect towards a man of my consequence; and remember that a doctor's anger is more to be feared than folk imagine. (MOLIÈRE: _Continued in Vol. XVIII_) _Printed in the United States of America_ FOOTNOTES: