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Mr. Jericho enters at back and comes down stage.
Jericho. This is the spot without a doubt. Three hundred yards in a direct line to the north of the cabstand. And the time — (consults watch) ten minutes past twelve. In five minutes more I shall meet my old sweetheart, Dulcibella. But shall I waste those five precious minutes in delicious idling — in lazy dreams of lover's rapture? Certainly not! How can I employ them better than by spreading broadcast upon the face of the earth these advertisements of the commodity that has made me famous?
He produces a packet of pink cards, and losses two or three about the stage.
Then goes to door of Cottage and knocks. Horace opens it.
Jericho. Will you oblige me with a word or two?
Horace. Certainly.
Jericho takes his arm and leads him to the centre of stage.
Jericho. I don't suppose you've any idea who I am?
Horace. No, I haven't.
Jericho. I thought as much. Allow me to give you my card. (Hands card. )
Horace (taking card and reading). "Mr. Jericho."
Jericho. That's it! I'm Jericho!
Horace. Jericho? Do you mean the celebrated Jericho, the manufacturer of Jericho's world renowned jams?
Jericho. That's it! Jericho's Jams!
Horace. I can scarcely express my feelings at meeting you. Oh, sir, you are indeed a public benefactor! I have an aged father of whose declining years your jams are the solace, and if you could sit day after day as I have sat, watching that broken down old man spreading your preserves upon his bread-and-butter with a happy smile, you would understand the gratitude that fills my heart.
Jericho. It is always pleasant to a jam manufacturer to know that his jams are preferred to anyone else's.
Horace. My occupation calls me away from home during the daytime, and it is a great boon to be able to leave my poor father with something pure and unadulterated.
Jericho. It must be.
Horace. I can leave him with a light heart — alone with Jericho's jams — for I know they are made from fresh fruit with refined sugar only.
Jericho. Of course you do. It is distinctly stated so on the label. Yes, my good fellow, thanks to my jams I am a rich person now. Time was when Jericho's jams were unknown — when their superior quality and their absolute purity were undreamt of by a public surfeited with gross adulterations. But I pushed them with a steady persistence, I spent thousands in advertising them, I kept the name of Jericho continuously before the public, and now it is a household word. Advertisement is the secret of success in life. The man whose chief pleasure lies in the sound of his own name will never die a pauper!
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Page modified 5 August 2019