A Distant Relative – W. W. Jacobs

The one-act play “A Distant Relative” by W. W. Jacobs is a well knitted humorous play. The play opens in the Spriggs’s living room. A middle aged at about fifty years old brick layer Mr. George Spriggs is seen standing up by the fire place.  His middle aged wife Mrs. Spriggs is also seen sewing at the fireside of the living room. Both Mr. and Mrs. Spirggs are hardworking couple whose hands are roughened by their hard work.  Miss. Ethel, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Spriggs, is rather thoughtless young girl and eager to get married.  She is engaged to Mr. Alfred Potter who is hardly older than her age and they are going to be married in a fortnight. Of course, Alfred Potter is appeared a little pompous but stupidly ambitious.  Miss Ethel and Mr. Alfred Potter are spending lot of time in the kitchen to say good-byes to each other. They are enjoying in whispering and scuffling and pushing each other ignoring the presence of Ethel’s elderly parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Spriggs are worrying about the arrival of Augustus Price on parole. His sister Mrs. Spriggs called him lovingly ‘Gussie’.  Mr. Price is just released from the jail on ticket-of-leave (parole) in the morning and took some money from Mr. Spriggs in the afternoon for his rented tail-coat, fancy trousers and a top-hat. Mr. Spriggs warned Mr. Price not to tell about his jail life to Ethel and Potter but introduce himself in a dignified manner.  On the arrival, Augustus Price called his sister Mrs. Spriggs ‘Emma’ in weak and mournful voice and said that he had come home to die. Mrs. Spriggs consoled him and Mr. Price tottered into a chair wiping his tears with one of sleeves of his shirt. Later he assures his sister and his brother-in-law that he is going to introduce himself as if he is coming from Australia without trace of suspicion and he can manage it with his little knowledge about Australia from the books he read in the jail.

So, Uncle Augustus Price passed off himself as a millionaire in Australia. He boasted off  that he had left behind a large wealth in Australia and fleet of cars in his name. He had a chef (butler) with five foot-men to cook for him. It is all possible only for seven years of hard work.  He says that Australia is a land of opportunities and anybody may become rich there with a small investment and with considerable hard work.  He tried to entice the young Ethel and Potter to invest Potter’s money £ 280/- which was inherited from his aunt, in one of his companies and he can make it into ten folds within three years. Both Ethel and Potter, under the spell of Augustus Price, are prepared to handover their money to Price. Mr. Spriggs sensed that Augustus Price is going to threaten the peace of his family by cheating the young by extorting money from them on false promises.  

Mr. Spriggs in desperation pretends to report it to the police and rich uncle Augustus Price has to leave for Australia in a hurry. Thus the play ends happily.

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