Frank. This behaviour gives me hopes, madam: pardon the construction-but from the little bustle you made about the lady, may I not hope you was not quite indifferent about the gentleman?

Cla. Have a care of being too sanguine in your hopes; might not a love of power, or the satisfaction of shewing that power, or the dear pleasure of abusing that power; might not these have been foundation enough for more than what I did?

Frank. Charming woman! With most of your sex, I grant, they might, but not with you. Whatever power your beauty gives, your good-nature will allow you no other use of it than to oblige. Cla. This is the height of compliment, Mr Frankly.

Frank. Not in my opinion, I assure you, madam; and I am now going to put it to the trial. Cla. What is he going to say now? Frank. What is it that ails me that I cannot speak? Psha! he here!

Enter RANGer.

Interrupted! impertinent!

[Aside. [Aside.

bow

Ran. There is no sight so ridiculous as a pair of your true lovers. Here are you two, now, ing and cringing, and keeping a passion secret from one another, that is no secret to all the house beside. And if you don't make the matter up immediately, it will be all over the town within these two hours.

Cla. What do you mean?
Frank. Ranger—

Ran. Do you be quiet, cann't ye? [Aside.] But it is over, I suppose, cousin, and you have given him your consent.

Cla. Sir, the liberties you are pleased to take with me

Ran. Oh! in your airs still, are you? Why then, Mr Frankly, there is a certain letter of yours, sir, to this lady.-

Cla. A letter to me!

Ran. Ay! to you, madam.

Frank. Ha! what of that letter?

Ran. It is only fallen into Mr Strictland's hands, that is all; and he has read it.

Frank. Read it!

in town.

Cla. This is all a trick.

mc.

Frank. If this uneasiness but convinces you how much I love you-Interrupted again! Cla. This is downright malice. [Aside.

Enter RANGER, followed by JACINtha, Mr STRICTLAND, BELLAMY, and MEGGOT. Ran. Enter, enter, gentlemen and lady. Now you shall see whether this is a trick or no.

Cla. Mr. Strictland here! What is all this? Jac. Do not be uneasy, my dear! we will explain it to you.

Frank. I cannot bear this trifling, Ranger, when my heart is on the rack.

Ran. Come this way then, and learn.

[JACINTHA, CLARINDA, FRANKLY and RANGER retire.

[Mr STRICTLAND, BELLAMY, and MEGGOT advance.

Str. Why, I know not well what to say. This has a face. This letter may as well agree with Clarinda, as with my wife, as you have told the story; and Lucetta explained it so: but she, for a sixpenny piece, would have construed it the other way.

J. Meg. But, sir, if we produce this Mr Frankly to you, and he owns himself the author of this letter

Bel. And if Clarinda likewise be brought before your face to encourage his addresses, there can be no further room for doubt.

Str. No. Let that appear, and I shall, I think I shell, be satisfied-But yet it cannot beBel. Why not? Hear me, sir. [They talk.

[JACINTHA, CLARINDA, FRANKLY, and RANGER advance.

Jac. In short, Clarinda, unless the affair is made up directly, a separation, with all the obloquy on her side, must be the consequence.

Cla. Poor Mrs. Strictland! I pity her: but for him, he deserves all he feels, were it ten times what it is.

Jac. It is for her sake only that we beg of you both to bear his impertinence.

Clu. With all my heart. You will do what you please with me.

Frank. Generous creature!

Str. Ha! here she is, and with her the very man I saw deliver the letter to Lucetta. I do begin to fear I have made myself a fool. Now for the proof. Here is a letter, sir, which has given me great disturbance, and these gentlemen assure me it was writ by you.

Frank. That letter, sir, upon my honour, I left this morning with Lucetta, for this lady.

Str. For that lady! and Frankly, the name at the bottom, is not feigned, but your real name? Frank. Frankly is my name.

Str. I see, I feel myself ridiculous.
Jac. Now, Mr Strictland, I hope-
J. Meg. Ay, ay; a clear case.

Str. I am satisfied, and will go this instant to
Mrs Strictland.

Ran. Why then the devil fetch me if this would satisfy me!

Str. What's that?

Ran. Nay, nothing; it is no affair of mine. Bel. What do you mean, Ranger? Str. Ay, what do you mean? I will know be.fore I stir.

Ran. With all my heart, sir. Cannot you see that all this may be a concerted matter between them?

Frank. Ranger, you know I can resent. Str. Go on; I will defend you, let who will resent it.

Ran. Why then, sir, I declare myself your friend and were I as you, nothing but their immediate marriage should convince me.

Str. Sir, you're right, and are my friend indeed. Give me your hand.

Ran. Nay, were I to hear her say, I, Clarinda, take thee, Charles, I would not believe them, 'till I saw them a-bed together. Now resent it as you will.

Str. Ay, sir, as you will: but nothing less shall convince me; and so, my fine lady, if you are in

Cla. And so am I, now it is once over. Run. And so am I, my dainty cousin; and I wish you joy of a man your whole sex would go to cuffs for, if they knew him but half so well as I do-Ha! she's here; this is more than I bargained for. [Aside.

JACINTHA leads in Mrs STRICTLAND. Str. [Embracing Mrs STRICTLAND.] Madam, reproach me not with my folly, and you shall never hear of it again.

Mrs Str. Reproach you! no! if ever you hear the least reflection pass my lips, forsake me in that instant; or, what would yet be worse, suspect again.

Str. It is enough. I am ashamed to talk to thee. This letter, which I wrote to your brother, thus I tear in pieces, and with it part for ever with my jealousy.

Mrs Str. This is a joy indeed! as great as unexpected. Yet there is one thing wanting to make it lasting.

Ran. What the devil is coming now? [Aside. Mrs Str. Be assured, every other suspicion of me was as unjust as your last; though, perhaps, you had more foundations for your fears.

Ran. She won't tell, sure, for her own sake. [Aside. Mrs Str. All must be clear'd before my heart will be at ease.

Ran. It looks plaguy like it, though! [Aside. Str. What mean you? I am all attention,

chamber last night.

Str. Ha! take care, I shall relapse.

[Aside.

Mrs Str. That gentleman was heRan. Here is a devil for you! Mrs Str. Let him explain the rest. Ran. A frolic! a mere frolic, on my life. Str. A frolic! Zounds! [They interpose. Ran. Nay, don't let us quarrel the very moment you declared yourself my friend. There was no harm done, I promise you. Nay, never frown. After I have told my story, any satisfaction you are pleased to ask, I shall be ready to give.

Str. Be quick, then, and ease me of my pain. Ran. Why then, as I was strolling about last night, upon the look-out I must confess, chance, and chance only, convey'd me to your house, where I espied a ladder of ropes most invitingly fasten'd to the window

Jac. Which ladder I had fastened for my escape. Str. Proceed.

Ran. Up mounted I, and up I should have gone, if it had been in the garret ; it's all one to Ranger. I open'd one door, then another, and, to my great surprise, the whole house was silent; at last, I stole into a room where this lady was undressing.

Str. 'Sdeath and the devil! you did not dare,

sure

Ran. I don't know whether I had dared, or no, if I had not heard the maid say something of her master's being jealous. Oh, damn me, thought I, then the work is half done to my hands.

Jac. Do you mind that, Mr Strictland?
Str. I do I do most feelingly.

Ran. The maid grew saucy, and most conveniently to my wishes, was turn'd out of the room; and if you had not had the best wife in the worldStr. 'Ounds, sir, but what right have youRan. What right, sir? if you will be jealous of your wife without a cause; if you will be out at that time of night, when you might have been so much better employ'd at home; we young fellows think we have a right

Str. No joking, I beseech you; you know not what I feel.

Ran. Then, seriously, I was mad, or drunk enough, call it which you will, to be very rude to this lady, for which I ask both her pardon and yours. I am an odd sort of a fellow, perhaps; but I am above telling you or any man a lie, damn me if I am not.

Str. I must, I cannot but believe you; and for the future, madam, you shall find a heart ready to love and trust you. No tears, I beg; I cannot

bear them.

Mrs Str. I cannot speak, and yet there is a favour, sir

Str. I understand you; and, as proof of the sincerity with which I speak, I beg it as a favour, of this lady in particular, [To CLARINDA.] and of all the company in general, to return to my house immediately, where every thing, Mr Bellamy, shall be settled to your entire satisfaction. No thanks, I have not deserved them.

J. Meg. I beg your pardon, sir; the fiddles are

ready; Mrs Bellamy has promised me her hand, and I won't part with one of you till midnight; and if you are as well satisfied as you pretend to be, let our friend Rattle here begin the ball with Mrs Strictland; for he seems to be the hero of the day.

Str. As you and the company please.

Ran. Why this is honest; continue but in this humour, and faith, sir, you may trust me to run about your house like a spaniel. I cannot sufficiently admire at the whimsicalness of my good fortune, in being so instrumental to this general

Excellent

THOUGH the young smarts, I see, begin to sneer,
And the old sinners cast a wicked leer,
Be not alarm'd, ye fair-You've nought to fear.
No wanton hint, no loose ambiguous sense,
Shall flatter vicious taste at your expence.
Leaving, for once, these shameless arts in vogue,
We give a fable for the epilogue.

An ass there was, our author bade me say, Who needs must write-Hedid-and wrote a play. The parts were cast to various beasts and fowl; Their stage a barn;- -the manager an owl. The house was cramm'd at six, with friends and

foes;

Rakes, wits, and critics, citizens, and beaux.
These characters appear'd in different shapes
Of tigers, foxes, horses, bulls, and apes;
With others, too, of lower rank and station :
A perfect abstract of the brute creation.
Each, as he felt, mark'd out the author's faults,
And thus the connoiseurs express'd their thoughts.
The critic-curs first snarl'd-the rules are broke,
Time, place, and action, sacrificed to joke.
The goats cried out, 'twas formal, dull, and
chaste-

Nor writ for beasts of gallantry and taste,

The horned cattle were în piteous taking, At fornication, rapes, and cuckold-making. The tigers swore, he wanted fire and passion; The apes condemn'd-because it was the fashion. The generous steeds allow'd him proper merit; | Here mark'd his faults, and there approved his spirit.

While brother bards bray'd forth with usual spleen,
And, as they heard, exploded ev'ry scene.
When Reynard's thoughts were ask'd, the shrug-
ging sage,

Famed for hypocrisy, and worn with age,
Condemn'd the shameless licence of the stage. -
At which the monkey skipp'd from box to box,
And whisper'd round the judgment of the fox;
Abused the moderns, talk'd of Rome and Greece;
Bilk'd every box-keeper; and damn'd the piece.

Now ev'ry fable has a moral to it

Be churchman, statesman, any thing—but poet.
In law, or physic, quack in what you will,
Cant and grimace conceal the want of skill;
Secure in these, his gravity may pass
But here no artifice can hide the ass.

BY

WHEN first the haughty critic's dreadful rage,
With Gothic fury, over-ran the stage,
Then prologues rose, and strove with varied art
To gain the soft accesses to the heart.
Thro' all the tuneful tribe th' infection flew,
And each great genius-his petition drew;
In forma pauperis address'd the pit,
With all the gay antithesis of wit.
Their sacred art poor poets own'd a crime;
They sigh'd in simile, they bow'd in rhime.
For charity they all were forced to beg;
And every "prologue was a wooden leg.'

Next these a hardy, manly race appear'd, Who knew no dulness, and no critics fear'd. From Nature's store each curious tint they drew, Then boldly held the piece to public view: "Lo! here, exact proportion! just design! The bold relief! and the unerring line! Mark in soft union how the colours strike! This, sirs, you will, or this you ought to like."

They bid defiance to the foes of wit,
"Scatter'd like ratsbane up and down the pit."
Such prologues were of yore;-our bard to-
night

Disdains a false compassion to excite :
Nor too secure, your judgment would oppose;
He packs no jury, and he dreads no foes.
To govern here no party can expect;
An audience will preserve its own respect.

To catch the foibles, that misguide the fair,
From trifles spring, and end in lasting care,
Our author aims; nor this alone he tries,
But as fresh objects, and new manners rise,
He bids his canvass glow with various dyes;
Where sense and folly mix in dubious strife,
Alternate rise, and struggle into life.
Judge if with art the mimic strokes he blend;
If amicably light and shade contend;
The mental features if he trace with skill;
See the piece first, then damn it if you will.

SCENE I.-An Apartment in LOVEMORE'S House. WILLIAM and SIDEBOARD discovered at a Game of Cards.

Will. A plague go with it! I have turned out my game: Is forty-seven good?

Side. Equal.

Will. Confound the cards! tierce to a queen? Side. Equal.

Will. There again! ruined, stock and block: nothing can save me. I don't believe there is a footman in England plays with worse luck than myself. Four aces are fourteen.

Side. That's hard, cruel by Jupiter! Aces against me every time.

Will. Four aces are fourteen: fifteen. [Plays. Side. There's your equality. Will. Very well: I turned out my point. Sixteen; [Plays.] seventeen. [Plays.]

Enter MUSLIN.

Mus. There's a couple of you, indeed! You are so fond of the vices of your betters, that you are scarce out of your beds, but you must imitate them and their profligate ways. Set you up forsooth!

Will. Pr'ythee be quiet, woman, do. Eighteen. [Plays. Mus. Upon my word!-With your usual ease, Mr Coxcomb.

Will. Manners, Mrs Muslin ; you see Mr Sideboard here; he is just come on a message from Sir Bashful Constant. Have some respect for a stranger. Nineteen, clubs. [Plays. Mus. It would become Mr Sideboard to go back with his answer, and it would become you to send my lady word

Will. Command your tongue, Mrs Muslin you'll put me out. What shall I play?—He will go back with his answer in good time. Let his master wait till it suits our conveniency. Nineteen, clubs: where shall I go now?

Mus. Have done with your folly, Mr Impertinent. My lady desires to know

Will. I tell you, woman, my master and I desire to have nothing to do with you and your lady. Twenty, diamonds. [Plays.

Mus. But I tell you, Mr Brazen, that my lady desires to know at what hour your master came home last night, and how he does this morning? Will. Ridiculous! Don't disturb us with that nonsense How; you see I am not at leisure. I and my master are resolved to be teasca o more by you; and so, Mrs Go-between, you may return as you came. What the devil shall I play? We will have nothing to do with I tell you. you, Mus. You'll have nothing to do with us? But you shall have to do with us, or I'll know the reason why. [She snatches the cards from him, and throws them about.

Will. Death and fury! this meddling woman has destroyed my whole game. A man might as well be married, as be treated in this fashion.

Side. I shall score you for this, Mr William: I was sure of the cards, and that would have made me up.

Will. No, you'll score nothing for this. You win too much off me. I am a very pretty annuity to you.

Side. Annuity, say you? I lose a fortune to you in the course of the year. How could you, Mrs Muslin, behave in this sort to persons of our dignity?

Mus. Decamp with your dignity; take your answer to your master: turn upon your rogue's heel, and rid the house.

Side. I sha'n't dispute with you. I hate wrangling: I leave that to lawyers and married people; they have nothing else to do. Mr William, I shall let Sir Bashful know that Mr Lovemore will be at home for him. When you come to our house, I'll give you your revenge. We can have a snug party there, and I promise you a glass of choice Champaigne: it happens to be a good batch; Sir Bashful gets none of it: I keep it for my own friends. Au revoir. [Exit.

Will. [To MUSLIN.] You see what mischief you have made.

Mus. Truce with your foolery; and now, sir, be so obliging as to send my lady an answer to her questions: How and when your rakehelly master came home last night?

Will. I'll tell you one thing, Mrs Muslin; you and my master will be the death of me at last. In the name of charity, what do you both take me for? Whatever appearances may be, I am but of mortal mould; nothing supernatural about me.

Mus. Upon my word, Mr Powder-Puff!

Will. I have not, indeed; and flesh and blood, let me tell you, cann't hold it always at this rate. I cann't be for eyer a slave to Mr Lovemore's eternal frolics, and to your second-hand airs.

Mus. Second-hand airs!

Will. Yes, second-hand airs! you take them at your ladies' toilets with their cast gowns, and so you descend to us with them.-And then, on the other hand, there's my master!-Because he chooses to live upon the principal of his health, and so run out his whole stock as fast as he can, he must have my company with him in his devil's dance to the other world! Never at home till three, four, five, six in the morning.

Mus. Ay, a vile ungrateful man! always ranging abroad, and no regard for a wife that dotes upon him. And your love for me is all of a piece. I have no patience with you both; a couple of false, perfidious, abandoned profligates!

Will. Hey! where is your tongue running? My master, as the world goes, is a good sort of