DR. VICESSIMUS PRETTYWELL.
JOSEPH (a servant).
MRS. PELICAN.
MRS. MAJOR PELICAN.
FANNY.
SCENE.—Major Pelican’s Villa in St. John’s Wood.
A handsomely furnished apartment. Door at C., doors R. H. and L. H.; a window at back, at R. C.
JOSEPH (discovered lounging in an easy-chair, his legs upon another, a newspaper open in his hand). Now, then, for a quiet squint at the sporting intelligence. See if I can’t pick out a likely one for the Great Cricklewood Handicap. (Bell rings at L. H.) Of course! No indulging in literary pursuits in this house! That’s the young missus’s bell, and she can’t bear being kept waiting. Well, I suppose it’s only natural for young people to be impatient (getting up and going towards L. H.; bell at R. H. is heard to ring). Now the old lady’s at it, and she’s always in a hurry, she is! Well, I suppose old people can’t afford to wait (going towards door R. H.; bell at L. H. rings again, then the bell at R. H.; then both bells are rung violently; JOSEPH running backward and forward).
Enter MAJOR PELICAN at C.
MAJOR. Well, Joseph, don’t you hear the bell?