JILL (politely). And thank you all for a very pleasant afternoon.
[They are all singing as the boat pushes off. Night comes on with tropical suddenness. The singing dies slowly down.
ACT III.—FATHER CHRISTMAS AND THE HUBBARD FAMILY
SCENE I.—The drawing-room of the HUBBARDS before Fame and Prosperity came to them. It is simply furnished with a deal table and two cane chairs.
MR. and MRS. HUBBARD, in faultless evening dress, are at home, MR. HUBBARD reading a magazine, MRS. HUBBARD with her hands in her lap. She sighs.
MR. HUBBARD (impetuously throwing down his magazine). Dearest, you sighed?
MRS. HUBBARD (quickly). No, no, Henry. In a luxurious and well-appointed home such as this, why should I sigh?
MR. HUBBARD. True, dear. Not only is it artistically furnished, as you say, but it is also blessed with that most precious of all things—(he lifts up the magazine)—a library.
MRS. HUBBARD. Yes, yes, Henry, we have much to be thankful for.
MR. HUBBARD. We have indeed. But I am selfish. Would you care to read? (He tears out a page of the magazine and hands it to her.)