BARTHWICK. H'm!

[The three BARTHWICKS avoid each other's glances.]


The curtain falls.




ACT II

SCENE I

The JONES's lodgings, Merthyr Street, at half-past two o'clock.

The bare room, with tattered oilcloth and damp, distempered
walls, has an air of tidy wretchedness. On the bed lies JONES,
half-dressed; his coat is thrown across his feet, and muddy
boots are lying on the floor close by. He is asleep. The door
is opened and MRS. JONES comes in, dressed in a pinched black
jacket and old black sailor hat; she carries a parcel wrapped
up in the "Times." She puts her parcel down, unwraps an apron,
half a loaf, two onions, three potatoes, and a tiny piece of
bacon. Taking a teapot from the cupboard, she rinses it,
shakes into it some powdered tea out of a screw of paper, puts
it on the hearth, and sitting in a wooden chair quietly begins
to cry.