ially].
After all, though your Majesty is of course a great queen, yet when all
is said, I am a man; and your Majesty is only a woman.

CATHERINE. Only a wo-- [she chokes].

EDSTASTON [continuing]. Believe me, this Russian extravagance will not
do. I appreciate as much as any man the warmth of heart that prompts it;
but it is overdone: it is hardly in the best taste: it is really I must
say it--it is not proper.

CATHERINE [ironically, in German]. So!

EDSTASTON. Not that I cannot make allowances. Your Majesty has, I know,
been unfortunate in your experience as a married woman--

CATHERINE [furious]. Alle Wetter!!!

EDSTASTON [sentimentally]. Don't say that. Don't think of him in that
way. After all, he was your husband; and whatever his faults may have
been, it is not for you to think unkindly of him.

CATHERINE [almost bursting]. I shall forget myself.

EDSTASTON. Come! I am sure he really loved you; and you truly loved him.

CATHERINE [controlling herself with a supreme effort]. No, Catherine.
What would Voltaire say?

EDSTASTON. Oh, never mind that vile scoffer. Set an example to Europe,
Madam, by doing what I am going to do. Marry again. Marry some good man
who will be a strength and support to your old age.

CATHERINE. My old--[she again becomes speechless].

EDSTASTON. Yes: we must all grow old, even the handsomest of us.

CATHERINE [sinking into her chair with a gasp]. Thank you.

EDSTASTON. You will thank me more when you see your little ones round
your knee, and your man there by the fireside in the winter evenings--by
the way, I forgot that you have no fireside here in spite of the
coldness of the climate; so shall I say by the stove?

CATHERINE. Certainly, if you wish. The stove by all means.

EDSTASTON [impulsively]. Ah, Madam, abolish the stove: believe me, there
is nothing like the good old open grate. Home! duty! happiness! they
all mean the same thing; and they all flourish best on the drawing-room
hearthrug. [Turning to Claire.] And now, my love, we must not detain the
Queen: she is anxious to inspect the model of her museum, to which I am
sure we wish every success.

CLAIRE [coldly]. I am not detaining her.

EDSTASTON. Well, goodbye [wringing Patiomkin's hand] goo-oo-oodbye,
Prince: come and see us if ever you visit England. Spire View, Deepdene,
Little Mugford, Devon, will always find me. [To Yarinka, kissing her
hand.] Goodbye, Mademoiselle: goodbye, Little Mother, if I may call