Overview

The story, set in Aylesford, Nova Scotia, in the eighteen-thirties, tells how a poor but conscientious and highly resourceful clergyman, Horatio Dogberry, sets out to marry off his three daughters. With the running of the first stagecoach in Nova Scotia, the Government is offering a subsidy of twenty-five pounds to any householder on the route who will open his home as an inn for the passengers. Horatio accepts the subsidy and spends it on a wonderful gown for his eldest daughter, Angelina, which is to be altered and passed down to the other two girls in turn. He then lies in wait for eligible male passengers. In spite of the opposition of Aunt Lizzie, who doesn't want her comfortable home broken up, and in spite of the reluctance of some of the prospective bridegrooms, Horatio manages to preside at three weddings before the curtain falls. This is a warm and light-hearted costume comedy of love and manners appropriate for all groups.