Wedded:
A Social Comedy
Lawrence Langner
CHARACTERS
Mrs. Ransome.
Janet Ransome: Her daughter.
Rev. Mr. Tanner: A Clergyman.
SCENE
(The “best” parlor of the Ransomes’ house, in a cheap district of Brooklyn. There is a profusion of pictures, ornaments, and miscellaneous furniture. A gilded radiator stands in front of the fireplace. Table, center, on which are some boxes and silver-plated articles arranged for display. Over the door hangs a horseshoe. White flowers and festoons indicate that the room has been prepared for a wedding. To the left is a sofa, upon which lies the body of a dead man, his face covered with a handkerchief. There is a small packing-case at his side, upon which stand two lighted candles, a medicine bottle, and a tumbler. The blinds are drawn.)
AT RISE
(Janet, dressed in a white semi-bridal costume, is on her knees at the side of the couch, quietly weeping. After a few moments the door opens, admitting a pale flood of sunshine. The murmur of conversation in the passage without is heard. Mrs. Ransome enters. She is an intelligent, comfortable-looking middle-aged woman. She wears an elaborate dress of light gray, of a fashion of some years previous, evidently kept for special occasions. She is somewhat hysterical in manner and punctuates her conversation with sniffles.)
Mrs. Ransome. My dear child, now do stop cryin’. Won’t you stop cryin’? Your Aunt Maud’s just come, and wants to know if she can see you.