Pater. I am sure that I shall find no opportunity of getting any merit (after the fashion of Mark Tapley) for being contented in this pleasant spot. What a capital German band!
A GOAT AND TWO KIDS
Mater. I don't believe that you understand anything about music, sir. Why, you even pretend that you like my old songs!
Pater. And so I do. Every day I live I like them better and better. And yet I heard them for the first time thirty years ago!
Mater. When we were married! And so I have survived thirty years!
Pater. Eh? What do you mean by that, madam?
Mater. That I am a living proof that kindness never kills. How happy we have been! But come—dinner's ready.
Pater. Dinner! The usual thing, I suppose—a nice piece of fish and a juicy joint. Now, that's just what I like. So much better than our pretentious London dinners! Not that a London dinner is not very good in its proper place.
Mater. Well, I see that you are determined to make the best of everything, my dear.