Have you anything to put it in?
TYLTYL
I"ve brought this wallet.
THE MISER
I shall be delighted to fill it for you; but I warn you that gold is very heavy and that you won"t be able to carry it away.
TYLTYL
You must put in just what you think fit.
THE MISER
(_Pouring the gold by handfuls into the wallet_.) Help me, will you?...
We"ll fill it to the brim and see how that does.... We can easily lighten it afterwards, if it"s too heavy....
TYLTYL
Oh, you"re giving me too much, I don"t want all that!... So you"re not a miser, as they told me?
THE MISER
I? Not at all. Why should I be?... I have only a few weeks to live and am not in need of anything.... I hardly eat at all; and I drink nothing but water.
TYLTYL
Why were you lying on your gold when I came in, kissing it and calling it by pet names? You seemed to worship it.
THE MISER
Oh, I don"t know! It amuses me. When a man grows old, he has to amuse himself as best he can.... But it isn"t I who do it. All that is only a sort of dream. I am thinking of something very different.... All men are like that at my age. They are not often where you see them; they are not often doing what they appear to do; and every one lives in one of those dreams which have nothing to do with the truth.... But this is not the moment to explain things to you.... There, your wallet it full. Can you lift it?
TYLTYL
(_Making an effort_.) No, really, it is a bit too heavy.... Let"s take some of it out....
THE MISER
(_Emptying part of the wallet_.) I daresay that"s better.
TYLTYL
Oh, look here, you"re taking it all!... There won"t be enough left.... I must put a little of it back....
THE MISER
I say, are you becoming a miser now?
TYLTYL
No, but I don"t know that I shall have a chance of coming back again....
Just help me lift the wallet on my shoulder....
THE MISER
(_Helping him with the wallet_.) There you are!
TYLTYL
(_Staggering under the load_.) I say, what a weight gold is!
THE MISER
Don"t I know it?... Have you far to go?
TYLTYL
I really can"t tell.
THE MISER
What"s the weather like outside?
TYLTYL
It was bright sunshine.
THE MISER
One wouldn"t think it in here.... Fancy, it"s years since I"ve looked at the sky or the green trees!... But you can"t breathe under the weight of your bag, you poor little man!... Come, kiss me good-bye: there"s no knowing when we shall meet again.... Thanks for the pleasant time you have given me and especially for waking me up.... I shall make the most of my remaining days....
TYLTYL
Which is the way out?
THE MISER
That way, I suppose.
(TYLTYL _steps forward through the arch. The doors at once slide and close behind him and he is left standing alone, in the dark, in front of the great shut door_.)
TYLTYL
It"s dark.... I"m all alone.... Where am I?... Where am I to go?
DESTINY