ave told
you this to-day with a purpose in my mind. (_Moving to_ C.)

OLIVER. A purpose?

DANIEL (L. _of arm-chair_). Yes, I have a few words to say to you
all--words which, though they may sound a little mercenary, are in
reality prompted by very deep feeling.

MRS. DERMOTT. Poor Danny.

DANIEL. Ssh! (_waves her to silence_). It may seem to all of you "banal"
in the extreme to talk of money on an occasion such as this, but believe
me, it's best to get it over. I came over to England this time, as I
have said, with a purpose--one might almost say a double purpose.
Firstly, to comfort my sister, your dear mother, in her hour
of--er--tribulation. (_He pauses._) If you would just say "yes" or
"quite so" whenever I pause, it would help me enormously.

SYLVIA. All right, we will.

DANIEL. Thank you, you are a good girl. Where was I?

BOBBIE. Tribulation.

EVANGELINE. Hour of tribulation (_in his tone._)

DANIEL.SPACELEFT----hour of tribulation. (_He pauses._)

SYLVIA. } Yes.
BOBBIE. } Quite so.

DANIEL. I thank you. And secondly, to feast my eyes, perhaps for the
last time on earth, upon you children--also to talk to you seriously,
for after all, you're my only relatives in the world.

SYLVIA. } Yes, yes.
BOBBIE. } Quite so.

DANIEL. I am as you may have guessed, a wealthy man----

EVERYONE (_eagerly_). Yes, yes! (_Movement from all._)

DANIEL. And out there (_he nods his head descriptively_) we don't get
much chance of spending our money----

BOBBIE. } Quite so.
OLIVER. } No, no!

DANIEL. And now I come to the point. At the end of three years I shall
be no more.

EVANGELINE. Quite so!

OTHERS. Sh!!

(MRS. DERMOTT _sniffs._)

DANIEL. Bear up, Anne; we must all die sometime.

MRS. DERMOTT. Yes, but not of sleeping sickness. It's so horrible.
Anything else--but not sleeping sickness.

DANIEL. I believe it is very comfortable, but that is neither here nor
there. What I was going to say was this, I am a firm believer in the
old-fashioned laws of entail. I have no patience with this modern way of
dividing up legacies between large numbers of people----

SYLVIA (_with interest_). Yes, yes?

BOBBIE (_with equal interest_). Quite so!

DANIEL. When I pass into the great beyond (MRS. DERMOTT _sniffs. He is
obviously rather pleased with that remark, so he repeats it_)--pass into
the great beyond, I intend to leave the whole bulk of my fortune to the
one of you who has ma