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Read Ebook: Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: The New York Idea by Mitchell Langdon Elwyn Moses Montrose Jonas Editor
Font size: Background color: Text color: Add to tbrJar First Page Next Page Prev PageEbook has 1154 lines and 28284 words, and 24 pagesSUDLEY. Who is "Cynthia?" GRACE. Mrs. Karslake--She's staying here, Cousin William. She'll be down in a minute. SUDLEY. You don't mean to tell me--?--! MISS HENEAGE. Yes, William, Cynthia is Mrs. Karslake--Mrs. Karslake has no New York house. I disliked the publicity of a hotel in the circumstances, and, accordingly, when she became engaged to Philip, I invited her here. MISS HENEAGE. She was a Deane. SUDLEY. Oh, oh--well, the Deanes are extremely nice people. Was her father J. William Deane? MISS HENEAGE. Yes. SUDLEY. The family is an old one. J. William Deane's daughter? Surely he left a very considerable-- MISS HENEAGE. Oh, fifteen or twenty millions. SUDLEY. If I remember rightly she was brought up abroad. MISS HENEAGE. In France and England--and I fancy brought up with a very gay set in very gay places. In fact she is what is called a "sporty" woman. SUDLEY. We might put up with that. But you don't mean to tell me Philip has the--the--assurance to marry a woman who has been divorced by-- MISS HENEAGE. Not at all. Cynthia Karslake divorced her husband. SUDLEY. She divorced him! Ah! no hostages to Fortune! Ahem! SUDLEY. Ah! What sort of a young woman is she? GRACE. Men admire her. MISS HENEAGE. She's not conventional. MRS. PHILLIMORE. I am bound to say she has behaved discreetly ever since she arrived in this house. MISS HENEAGE. Yes, Mary--but I sometimes suspect that she exercises a degree of self-control-- SUDLEY. She claps on the lid, eh? And you think that perhaps some day she'll boil over? Well, of course fifteen or twenty millions--but who's Karslake? GRACE. He owns Cynthia K. She's the famous mare. MISS HENEAGE. He's Henry Karslake's son. SUDLEY. Oh!--Henry!--Very respectable family. Although I remember his father served a term in the Senate. And so the wedding is to be to-morrow? MRS. PHILLIMORE. To-morrow. SUDLEY. To-morrow. Well, my dear Sarah, a respectable family with some means. We must accept her. But on the whole, I think it will be best for me not to see the young woman. My disapprobation would make itself apparent. GRACE. Cynthia's coming. The uncouth modern young woman, eight feet high, with a skin like a rhinoceros and manners like a cave-dweller--an habitu? of the race-track and the divorce court-- GRACE. Cousin William! SUDLEY. Eh, oh! CYNTHIA. "Belmont favourite--six to one--Rockaway--Rosebud, and Flying Cloud. Slow track--raw wind--h'm, h'm, h'm--At the half, Rockaway forged ahead, when Rosebud under the lash made a bold bid for victory--neck by neck--for a quarter--when Flying Cloud slipped by the pair and won on the post by a nose in one forty nine!" Oh, I wish I'd seen the dear thing do it. Oh, it's Mr. Sudley! You must think me very rude. How do you do, Mr. Sudley? Mrs. Karslake. You must permit me, Mrs. Karslake-- CYNTHIA. Oh, please don't welcome me to the family. All that formal part is over, if you don't mind. I'm one of the tribe now! You're coming to our wedding to-morrow? SUDLEY. My dear Mrs. Karslake, I think it might be wiser-- CYNTHIA. Oh, but you must come! I mean to be a perfect wife to Philip and all his relations! That sounds rather miscellaneous, but you know what I mean. SUDLEY. I am afraid-- CYNTHIA. If you don't come, it'll look as if you were not standing by Philip when he's in trouble! You'll come, won't you--but of course you will. SUDLEY. I will come, Mrs. Karslake. Good-afternoon. Good-bye, Mary. Good-afternoon, Sarah. Grace, dear. At what hour did you say the alimony commences? MISS HENEAGE. The ceremony is at three P. M., William. I am going to my room to rest awhile. Oh, William, one moment--I entirely forgot! I've a most important social question to ask you! in regard to the announcements of the wedding--who they shall be sent to and who not. For instance--the Dudleys-- So that's Cousin William? GRACE. Don't you like him? CYNTHIA. Like him? I love him. He's so generous. He couldn't have received me with more warmth if I'd been a mulatto. GRACE. Really you know-- Philip! PHILIP. Ah, Grace! Well, my dear, I thought I should never extricate myself from the court-room. You look very debonnair! CYNTHIA. The tea's making. You'll have your glass of sherry? PHILIP. Thanks! Ah! CYNTHIA. I can see it's been a tiring day with you. CYNTHIA. It's here, Philip. Ah! This hour with you--is--is really the--the-- the one vivid moment of the day. H'm--shocking attack by the President on vested interests. H'm--too bad--but it's to be expected. The people insisted on electing a desperado to the presidential office--they must take the hold-up that follows. H'm! His English is lacking in idiom, his spelling in conservatism, his mind in balance, and his character in repose. CYNTHIA. You seem more fatigued than usual. Another glass of sherry, Philip? Add to tbrJar First Page Next Page Prev Page |
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