MATCHMAKERS
A COMEDY IN ONE ACT
Place: An island off the West coast of Ireland.
Scene: Interior of Donal Corcoran's house. Donal and his wife seated in two comfortable armchairs by the parlour fire. The parlour is well furnished, and Kitty is busy dusting, as visitors are expected. Donal is a man of about fifty-six years, and his wife is a little younger. Donal is reading a copy of the Galway Examiner, and his wife is knitting a stocking.
DONAL (as he stretches the paper in front of him. With a
look of surprise)
Glory be to God!
MRS. CORCORAN (who does not notice his attitude or expression)
Amen!
DONAL (holds the paper with one hand, and brushes the
hair from his forehead with the other)
Is it the way that I'm dreamin', or losin' my senses?
Or is it the way I have no senses to lose?
MRS. CORCORAN (looking up from her knitting) Wisha, what's the matter, at all? Did any one die and leave you a fortune?
DONAL Who the devil would die and leave me anything? when I have no one belongin' to me but poor relations. Bad luck to them, and they only waitin' for myself to die, so that they could have what I worked and slaved for all those long and weary years. But 'tisn't much there will be for any one after Kitty gets her dowry. What's left will be little enough for ourselves, I'm thinkin'.
MRS. CORCORAN
But what have you seen in the newspaper?