this begins with a second car horn prelude, which announces a scene change to the household of the court astronomer, astradamors, and his sadistic wife, mescalina. "one! two! three! five!" exclaims mescalina, beating her husband with a whip to the rhythm of shifting, chromatic chords. astramadors, dressed in drag, unenthusiastically begs for more. she forces him to lift his skirt, and strikes him with a spit. convinced she has killed him, she begins to mourn, then wonders if he's really dead. she summons a spider, apparently her pet, accompanied by a duo for harpsichord and organ – regal stops. astradamors rises, protesting that "spiders always give [him] nausea." as punishment for attempting to fake death, she forces him to take part in an apparent household ritual, a rhythmic dance termed "the gallopade." this ends with the astronomer kissing her behind, singing "sweetest sunday" in falsetto.