SCENE I]
MRS. HOLROYD
9
Mrs. Holroyd (she stands a lighted candle on the table) Yes, and you can get your boots off to go to bed.
Jack
- It ’s not seven o’clock yet.
Mrs. Holroyd
- It does n’t matter.
Minnie
- What do they wear paper bonnets for, mam?
Mrs. Holroyd
- Because they ’re brazen hussies.
Jack
- I saw them having a glass of beer.
Mrs. Holroyd
- A nice crew!
Jack
- They say they are old pals of Mrs. Meakins. You could hear her screaming o’ laughin’, an’ my dad says: “He-ah, missis—here—a dog’s-nose for the Dachess—hopin’ it ‘ll smell samthng”—What ’s a dog’s-nose?
Mrs. Holroyd (giving him a piece of bread and butter)
- Don’t ask me, child. How should I know?
Minnie
- Would she eat it, mam?
Mrs. Holroyd
- Eat what?
Minnie
- Her in the pink bonnet—eat the dog’s nose?
Mrs. Holroyd
- No, of course not. How should I know what a dog’s-nose is?
