Dorn.  An angel of silence is flying over our heads.

Nina.  I must go.  Good-bye.

Arkadina.  Where to?  Where must you go so early?  We shan’t allow it.

Nina.  My father is waiting for me.

Arkadina.  How cruel he is, really. [They kiss each other] Then I suppose we can’t keep you, but it is very hard indeed to let you go.

Nina.  If you only knew how hard it is for me to leave you all.

Arkadina.  Somebody must see you home, my pet.

Nina. [Startled] No, no!

Sorin. [Imploringly] Don’t go!

Nina.  I must.

Sorin.  Stay just one hour more, and all.  Come now, really, you know.

Nina. [Struggling against her desire to stay; through her tears] No, no,
I can’t. [She shakes hands with him and quickly goes out.]

Arkadina.  An unlucky girl!  They say that her mother left the whole of an immense fortune to her husband, and now the child is penniless because the father has already willed everything away to his second wife.  It is pitiful.

Dorn.  Yes, her papa is a perfect beast, and I don’t mind saying so—­it is what he deserves.

Sorin. [Rubbing his chilled hands] Come, let us go in; the night is damp, and my legs are aching.

Arkadina.  Yes, you act as if they were turned to stone; you can hardly move them.  Come, you unfortunate old man. [She takes his arm.]

Shamraeff. [Offering his arm to his wife] Permit me, madame.

Sorin.  I hear that dog howling again.  Won’t you please have it unchained, Shamraeff?

Shamraeff.  No, I really can’t, sir.  The granary is full of millet, and I am afraid thieves might break in if the dog were not there. [Walking beside Medviedenko] Yes, a whole octave lower:  “Bravo, Silva!” and he wasn’t a singer either, just a simple church cantor.

Medviedenko.  What salary does the church pay its singers? [All go out except Dorn.]

Dorn.  I may have lost my judgment and my wits, but I must confess I liked that play.  There was something in it.  When the girl spoke of her solitude and the Devil’s eyes gleamed across the lake, I felt my hands shaking with excitement.  It was so fresh and naive.  But here he comes; let me say something pleasant to him.

TREPLIEFF comes in.

TREPLIEFF.  All gone already?

Dorn.  I am here.

TREPLIEFF.  Masha has been yelling for me all over the park.  An insufferable creature.

Dorn.  Constantine, your play delighted me.  It was strange, of course, and I did not hear the end, but it made a deep impression on me.  You have a great deal of talent, and must persevere in your work.

TREPLIEFF seizes his hand and squeezes it hard, then kisses him impetuously.