The Fourth Man

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

Amusing and thoughtful little comedy. Four old schoolfellows agree to meet after 20 years and dine at an hotel. Three of them turn up, a canon, a schoolmaster and a solicitor. All three are prosperous, but while the first two are self-satisfied and cold-hearted, the solicitor is human and kindly. The fourth man has come down in the world and they don't know where he is. But eventually he turns up in the person of the porter at the hotel. There is a discussion about helping him, bringing out the characters of the others, but then it comes out that thanks to tips he is doing better than any of them. The canon's name is Shephers and by a coincidence the description of his appearance is not unlike that of the actual Canon Shephard - put a little unkindly. So I suppose another name had better be substituted. [Written in hand] Shepherd becomes Tim Lamb [...]