Rosemary, That's for Remembrance
Louis Parker revised this play in 1924, the only published version available. This synopsis favors the version produced on stage in 1896 and reported by contemporaneous drama critics. Act I: Sir Jasper Makes a Mistake (The High Road, just outside Sir Jasper's estate, evening.) Dorothy and William, eloping in a post-chaise, find themselves spilled out onto the ground when it overturns on a dark country road. The postboy George has also fallen and is unsure of their location. Fortunately, Sir Jasper and his servant Abraham arrive with a lamp. He quickly grasps the couple's situation, and invites them to spend the night at his manor house. No sooner are they settled, when another lost couple appears. Sir Jasper realizes these are the girl's parents, the Cruikshanks. Thinking that a shared misfortune might lead to reconcilement, he invites them also to lodge the night at Ingle Hall. (Quick Curtain) Act II: Sir Jasper Makes Amends (Dining-room at Ingle Hall, morning.) Sir Jasper is contemplating his little surprise for the two couples, when Dorothy surprises him with an armful of flowers from the garden. He is startled at his own awakening interest in the girl, who shows gratitude for his hospitality. The morning brings discord when William and Capt. Cruikshank encounter each other at breakfast. Sir Jasper eventually placates William by getting Capt. Cruikshank to talk about his experiences with Nelson. Jogram perplexes Priscilla with his highbrow manner of speaking, while he is baffled by her West Country solecisms. Having secured the parents' acquiescence to the nuptials, Sir Jasper suggests they all return to London to view the coronation celebrations. (Curtain) Act III: Sir Jasper Forgets (Mrs. Minifie's Coffee House, London.) Both couples, with Sir Jasper and Jogram, have arrived at Mrs. Minifie's Coffee House, where from an upper floor dining room they expect to view the coronation procession. Sir Jasper, aware he cuts a better figure than the callow and jealous William, now starts to imagine a life with Dorothy. However, he is brought up short by Jogram, who recalls him to honorable conduct, and assures that in time he will forget his love for Dorothy. She has given Sir Jasper some rosemary flowers, which he put carefully into his wallet, and some pages from her diary in which she wrote flatteringly of him. These he slips into a crack in the panelling of the dining room, as the company watches the procession below. (Curtain) Act IV: Sir Jasper Remembers (Same as Act III, fifty years later.) Sir Jasper, now aged 90, has returned as he does every year on this anniversary of the Queen's accession. The derelict coffee house has been owned by him for many years. He cherishes it for the memory of Dorothy, who like every other character in the play is long gone. He chuckles to himself over Prof. Jogram wanting to marry his housekeeper Priscilla as he grew childish in old age. Behind a decayed section of panelling he finds the remains of Rosemary's diary pages. Looking at them, he suddenly pulls some dried bits of flowers from his wallet. "Rosemary" he says, "that's for remembrance". (Curtain)