FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   >>  
human nature, give me a--psychological novelist! MR MARCH. [With dignity] Mary, go and see where Johnny is. MARY. Do you want him here? MR MARCH. Yes. MARY. [Dubiously] Well--if I can. She goes out. A silence, during which the MARCHES look at each other by those turns which characterise exasperated domesticity. MRS MARCH. If she doesn't go, Johnny must. Are you going to turn him out? MR MARCH. Of course not. We must reason with him. MRS MARCH. Reason with young people whose lips were glued together half an hour ago! Why ever did you force me to take this girl? MR MARCH. [Ruefully] One can't always resist a kindly impulse, Joan. What does Mr Bly say to it? MRS MARCH. Mr Bly? "Follow your instincts" and then complains of his daughter for following them. MR MARCH. The man's a philosopher. MRS MARCH. Before we know where we are, we shall be having Johnny married to that girl. MR MARCH. Nonsense! MRS MARCH. Oh, Geof! Whenever you're faced with reality, you say "Nonsense!" You know Johnny's got chivalry on the brain. MARY comes in. MARY. He's at the top of the servants' staircase; outside her room. He's sitting in an armchair, with its back to her door. MR MARCH. Good Lord! Direct action! MARY. He's got his pipe, a pound of chocolate, three volumes of "Monte Cristo," and his old concertina. He says it's better than the trenches. MR MARCH. My hat! Johnny's made a joke. This is serious. MARY. Nobody can get up, and she can't get down. He says he'll stay there till all's blue, and it's no use either of you coming unless mother caves in. MR MARCH. I wonder if Cook could do anything with him? MARY. She's tried. He told her to go to hell. MR MARCH. I Say! And what did Cook--? MARY. She's gone. MR MARCH. Tt! tt! This is very awkward. COOK enters through the door which MARY has left open. MR MARCH. Ah, Cook! You're back, then? What's to be done? MRS MARCH. [With a laugh] We must devise means! COOK. Oh, ma'am, it does remind me so of the tantrums he used to get into, dear little feller! Smiles with recollection. MRS MARCH. [Sharply] You're not to take him up anything to eat, Cook! COOK. Oh! But Master Johnny does get so hungry. It'll drive him wild, ma'am. Just a Snack now and then! MRS MARCH. No, Cook. Mind--that's flat! COOK. Aren't I to feed Faith, ma'am? MR MARCH. Gad! It
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   >>  



Top keywords:

Johnny

 

Nonsense

 

coming

 

mother

 

dignity

 

trenches

 

Cristo

 
concertina
 

Nobody

 

Master


hungry
 

Sharply

 

feller

 

Smiles

 
recollection
 
enters
 

novelist

 

awkward

 

remind

 

nature


tantrums

 

psychological

 

devise

 

chocolate

 
domesticity
 

exasperated

 

impulse

 
resist
 

kindly

 

characterise


Follow

 

daughter

 

complains

 

instincts

 

Ruefully

 

people

 

reason

 

Reason

 
sitting
 

staircase


servants

 

armchair

 

action

 

Direct

 

Dubiously

 

Before

 

philosopher

 

married

 
MARCHES
 

reality