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THE RABBI.
Are you serious?
RAFAEL.
Am I serious? He asks me if I am serious! But that was not Rebecca.
You think Rebecca is----
THE RABBI.
She's as honest as her father!
RAFAEL.
Ah! Two of them, as honest as each other! [_THE RABBI has growing appreciation of the irony._] H'm! But a good housewife? A good needlewoman? Sharp over the counter? My father has not slaved to feed the idleness of another man's daughter!
ESTHER.
I'll answer for that. I thought I could bake cakes, but she's coming to-morrow to teach me how! You never tasted such cakes!
THE RABBI.
Indeed, I believe I have heard them spoken of.
SACHEL.
[_Who has been musing._] Eh--cakes? You cannot expect a girl to know everything. Anyway, she's coming to-morrow; and Esther is going to----
RAFAEL.
Esther is going to learn from her. Excellent!
SACHEL.
Eh? [_He is nudged by ESTHER._] Yes, yes!
RAFAEL.
Good, good! I half suspect that--that you look with favour on Rebecca. We--we had considerable conversation this morning, we talked of money--and love--and----
SACHEL.
They talked of love! Now, what did you say of love?
RAFAEL.
And we talked of money--and of children--and of--money.
[_ESTHER looks at THE RABBI; she also now in dawning suspicion of RAFAEL'S irony._
SACHEL.
Ha, ha! They talked of love and children! Of love and children! We must have some wine, Rafael--this is the house of a friend. Esther, you go and fetch it. Now what----
ESTHER.
They charge two prices at that place around the corner.
SACHEL.
I say we will have some wine! Some good wine! Go!
ESTHER.
Very well; it is a season of denial with us.
THE RABBI.
But the extreme heat! [_Whispers._] Get some from my house.
[_Exit ESTHER._
SACHEL.
H'm! They talked of children and love! And what did you say about children, my boy? Ah, they are beautiful things; though I could not see one, I could fondle it! What about children, my boy?
RAFAEL.
We said that they should each have two cradles; one with a soft pillow of burnt wool and one with a hard pillow of burnt cotton, so that they should learn the difference before they were old enough to tell the sun from a silver coin.
[_An angry gesture from THE RABBI._
SACHEL.
Eh, what--H'm! Yes, yes, but later--later would do as well. And about love, Rafael; what did she say about love?
RAFAEL.
Oh, she is a shrinking creature--as shrinking as wool unmixed with cotton! And, at first, she would not talk of love, but at length she said that when she was married she expected to have a dozen----
SACHEL.
A dozen! That's too large a family in such times as these!
RAFAEL.
A dozen of everything.
