But
here is his letter and that of his ministers. (He hands him a
package.)
Faustine (to Paquita)
That man has the air of a king.
Paquita
Of a king who will prove a conqueror.
Faustine (recognizing Monipodio)
Monipodio! Do you know who that man is?
Monipodio
He is a man who, according to rumor, is going to turn the world upside
down.
Faustine
Ah! I see; it is that famous inventor of whom I have heard so much.
Monipodio
And here is his servant.
Don Fregose
Sarpi, you may file these ministerial documents; I will keep that of
the king. (To Fontanares) Well, my fine fellow, the letter of the king
seems to me to be positive. You are undertaking, I see, to achieve the
impossible! However great you may be, perhaps it would be well for you
to take the advice, in this affair, of Don Ramon, a philosopher of
Catalonia who, on this subject, has written some famous treatises--
Fontanares
In a matter of this kind, your excellency, the finest dissertations in
the world are not worth so much as a practical achievement.
Don Fregose
That sounds presumptuous. (To Sarpi) Sarpi, you must place at the
disposal of this gentleman whatever vessel in the harbor he may
choose.
Sarpi (to the viceroy)
Are you quite sure that such is the king's wish?
Don Fregose
We shall see. In Spain it is best to say a _paternoster_ between every
two steps we take.
Sarpi
Other letters on the same subject have reached us from Valladolid.
Faustine (to the viceroy)
What are you talking about?
Don Fregose
Oh, it is nothing but a chimera.
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