Gen. Sav. O yes; and you can't think how highly delighted Miss Walsingham appeared, when I acquainted her with my resolution on the subject. Capt. Sav. She's all goodness! Gen. Sav. The more I know her, the more I am charmed with her. I must not be explicit with him yet, for fear my secret should get wind and reach the ears of the enemy.-[Aside.]— I propose, Horace, that you should be married immediately. Capt Suv. The sooner the better, sir; I have no will but yours. Gen. Sav. [Shaking hands with him.] By the memory of Marlbro' you are a most excellent boy! But what do you think? Miss Walsingham insists upon naming the day. Capt. Sav. And welcome, sir; I am sure she won't make it a distant one. Gen. Sav. O, she said, that nothing in her power should be wanting to make you happy. Capt. Sav. I am sure of that, sir. Gen. Sav. [A loud knocking.] Zounds, Horace! here's the disgrace and punishment of life: let us avoid her as we would a fever in the camp. my Capt. Sav. Come to the library, and I'll tell you how whimsically she was treated this morning at Belville's. Gen. Sav. Death and the devil! make haste. O, I must laugh at marriage and be curst to me! But I am providing, Horace, against your falling into my error. Capt. Sav. I am eternally indebted to you, sir. [Exeunt. SCENE IV. Enter MRS BELVILLE, and LADY RACHEL. Lady Rach. Nay, Mrs Belville, I have no paience; you act quite unnaturally. Mrs Bel. What! because I am unwilling to be miserable? Lady Rach. This new instance of Mr Belville's infidelity- -This attempt to seduce Miss Walsingham, which your woman overheard, is unpardonable. Mrs Bel. I don't say but that I am strongly wounded by his irregularities. Yet, if Mr Belville is unhappily a rover, I would much ra ther that he should have twenty mistresses, than one. Lady Rach. You astonish me! Mrs Bel. Why, don't you know, my dear madam, that while he is divided amongst a variety of objects, 'tis impossible for him to have a serious attachment? Lady Rach. Lord, Mrs Belville! how can you speak with so much composure? a virtuous woman should be always outrageous upon such an occasion as this. Mrs Bel. What, and weary the innocent sun and moon from the firmament, like a despairing princess in a tragedy-No-no--Lady Rachel!. 'tis bad enough to be indifferent to the man I love, without studying to excite his aversion. Lady Rach. How glad I am, that Miss Walsingham made him so heartily ashamed of himself! Lord, these young men are so full of levity! Give me a husband of Mr Torrington's age, say I! Mrs Bel. And give me a husband of Mr Belville's, say I, with all his follies! However, lady Rachel, I am pretty well satisfied that my conduct at Miss Leeson's will have a proper effect upon Mr Belville's generosity, and put an entire end to his gallantries for the future. Lady Rach. Don't deceive yourself, my dear. The gods in the shilling gallery would sooner give up Roast Beef, or go without an epilogue on the first night of a new piece, Mrs Bel. Why should you think so of such a man as Mr Belville? Lady Rach. Because Mr Belville is a man: However, if you dare run the risque-we will try the sincerity of his reformation. Mrs Bel. If I dare run the risque! I would stake my soul upon his honour! Lady Rach Then, your poor soul would be in a very terrible situation. Mrs Bel. By what test can we prove his sincerity? Lady Rach. By a very simple one. You know I write so like Miss Walsingham, that our hands are scarcely known asunder. Mrs Bel. Well Lady Rach. Why, then, let me write to him as from her. Mrs Bel. If I did not think it would look like a doubt of his honour Lady Rach. Poh! dare you proceed upon my plan? Mrs Bel. Most confidently: Come to my dressing-room, where you'll find every thing ready for writing, and then you may explain your scheme more particularly. Lady Rach. I'll attend you; but I am really sorry, my dear, for the love of propriety, to see you so calm under the perfidy of your husband; you should be quite wretched -indeed, you should. [Exeunt. SCENE V.-The Temple. Enter LEESON. Lee. The hell-hounds are after me; and if I am arrested at this time, my honour will not only be blown upon by Belville, but I shall, perhaps, lose Emily into the bargain. Enter LEECH, CROW, and WOLF, dressed in fur habits. Leech. Yonder, my lads, he darts through the SCENE VI.-Changes to another part of the Enter LEESON on one side, and CONNOLLY on Lee. Fly! open the chambers this moment— the bailiffs are after me. Con. Faith, and that I will Con. Why hark'e, sir-Don't you think that you and I could beat these three thieves, to their heart's content?—I have nothing but my carcase to venture for you, honey; but that you are as welcome to as the flowers in May. Lee. O, by no means, Connolly; we must not fly in the face of the laws. Con. That's the reason that you are going to fight a duel! Lee. Hark'e, officer-I have some very material business to execute in the course of this evening. Here are five guineas for a little indulgence; and I assure you, upon the honour of a gentleman, that if I have life, I'll attend your own appointment to-morrow morning. Leech. I can't do it, fmaster-Five guineas to be sure is a genteel thing-but I have ten for the taking of you, do you see-and so, if you please to step to my house in Southampton-Build-but it willings, you may send for some friend to bail you, or settle the affair as well as you can with the plaintiff. be of no use to fly a step neither, if I have not the key. Lee. Zounds! did'nt you lock the door? Con. Yes; but I believe I left the key on the inside- -however, your own key will do the business as well. Lee. True; and I forgot it in my confusion. Do you stay here, and throw every impediment in the way of these rascals. Con. Faith, and that I will! Enter CROW and WOLF. [Exit. Con. I'll go bail for him this minute, if you don't want some body to be bail for myself. Lee. Let me reflect a moment. Crow. [To CoN.] Can you swear yourself worth one hundred and seventy pounds, when your debts are paid? Con. In troth, I cannot, nor one hundred and seventy pence-unless I have a mind to perjure inyself. But one man's body is as good as another's; and, since he has no bail to give you but his Crow. Pray, sir, did you see a gentleman run flesh, the fattest of us two is the best security. this way, drest in green and gold. Con. In troth I did. Wolf. And which way did he run ? Con. That I can tell you too. Wolf. We shall be much obliged to you. Con. Indeed, and you will not, Mr Catchpole, for the devil an information shall you get from Connolly. I see plainly enough what you are, you black-guards, though there's no guessing at you in these fur-coats. Crow. Keep your information to yourself and be damned! Here the cull comes, a prisoner in the custody of Master Leech. Enter LEESON and LEECH. Lee. Well, but treat me like a gentlemanDon't expose me unnecessarily. Leech. Expose you, master! we never expose any body, 'till gentlemen thus expose themselves, Wolf. No, if we can't get better bail than you, we shall lock up his body in prison according to law. Con. Faith, and a very wise law it must be, which cuts off every method of getting money, by way of making us pay our debts. Leech. Well, Master Leeson, what do you determine upon? Lee. A moment's patience-Yonder 1 see Mr Torrington-a thought occurs-yet it carries the appearance of fraud-however, as it will be really innocent, nay laughable in the end, and as my ruin or salvation depends upon my present decision, it must be hazarded. Crow. Come, master, fix upon something, and don't keep us waiting for you. Con. By my soul, honey, he don't want you to wait for him: he'll be very much obliged to you if you go away, and leave him to follow his own business, Lee. Well, gentlemen-here comes Mr Torrington: you know him, I suppose, and will be satisfied with his security. Leech. O we'll take his bail for ten thousand pounds, my master-every body knows him to be a man of fortune. Lee. Give me leave to speak to him then, and I shall not be ungrateful for the civility. Leech. Well, we will-But hark'e, lads, look to the passes, that no tricks may be played upon travellers. Enter TORRINGTON. Lee. Mr Torrington, your most obedient. Lee. I have many apoligies to make, Mr Torrington, for presuming to stop a gentleman to whom I have not the honour of being known; yet, when I explain the nature of my business, sir, I shall by no means despair of an excuse. Tor. To the business, I beg, sir. them, let them follow me to my chambers, and I'll satisfy them directly. Lee. You are extremely kind, sir, and they shall attend you.-Gentlemen, will you be so good as to follow Mr Torrington to his chambers, and he'll satisfy you intirely. Wolf. Mind that. Con. Musha! the blessing of St Patrick upon that ould head of yours! Tor. What they speak English, do they? Lee. Very tolerably, sir.-Bred up general traders, they have a knowledge of several languages; and it would be highly for the good of the kingdom, if we could get more of them to settle among us. Tor. Right, young gentleman! the number of the people forms the true riches of a state; however, now-a-days, London itself is not only gone out of town, but England itself, by an unaccountable fatality, seems inclined to take up her residence in America. Lee. You must know, sir, that the three gen- Lee. True, sir! and to cultivate the barbarous tlemen behind me, are three traders from Dant-borders of the Ohio, we are hourly deserting the zick, men of considerable property, who, in the beautiful banks of the Thames. present distracted state of Poland, wish to settle with their families in this country. Tor. [Shaking him by the hand.] You must come and see me at my chambers, young gentleTor. Dantzick traders.Ay, I see they are man; we must be better known to one another. foreigners by their dress. Con. Do you mind that, you thieves?— Lee. 'Twill be equally my pride and my hap Leech. Ay, now he is opening the affair. Lee. They want therefore to be naturalized-piness to merit that honour, sir. and have been recommended to me for legal ad vice. Tor. You are at the bar, sir? Lee. I have eat my way to professional honour some time, sir. Tor. Ay, the cooks of the four societies take care that the students shall perform every thing which depends upon, teeth, young gentleman. -The eating exercises are the only ones never dispensed with. Lee. I am, however, a very young barrister, Mr Torrington; and as the affair is of great importance to them, I am desirous, that some gentleman of eminence in the law should revise my poor opinion, before they make it a ground of any serious determination. Tor. You are too modest, young gentleman, to entertain any doubts upon this occasion, as nothing is clearer than the laws respecting the naturalization of foreigners. Con. Faith, the old gentleman smiles very good naturedly. Leech. I fancy he'll stand it, Crow, and advance the crop for the younker. Lee. To be sure, the laws are very clear to gentlemen of your superior abilities.-But I have candidly acknowledged the weakness of my own judgment to my clients, and advised them so warmly to solicit your opinion, that they will not be satisfied unless you kindly consent to oblige them. Tor. O, if nothing but my opinion will satisfy Tor. Let your friends follow me, sir!-and pray, do you call upon me soon; you shall see a little plan, which I have drawn up to keep this poor country, if possible, from undergoing a general sentence of transportation.-Be pleased to come along with me, gentlemen-I'll satisfy you. [Erit. Leech. Well, master! I wish you joy. You can't say but we behaved to you like gemmen! [Exeunt bailiffs. Lee. And if you were all three in the cart, I don't know which of you I would wish to have respited from execution. I have played Mr Torrington a little trick, Connolly; but the moment I come back I shall recover my reputation, if I even put myself voluntarily into the hands of those worthy gentlemen.[Exit. Con. Musha! long life to you, old Shillaley! I don't wonder at your being afraid of a prison; for 'tis to be sure a blessed place to live in!-And now, let my thick skull consider, if there's any way of preventing this inferual duel.Suppose I have him bound over to the peace!-No, that will never do: it would be a shameful thing for a gentleman to keep the peace! besides, I must appear in the business, and people may then think, from my connection with him, that he has'n't honour enough to throw away his life!Suppose I go another way to work, and send an anonymous letter about the affair to Mrs Belville; they say, though she is a woman of quality, that no creature upon earth can be fonder of her hus band!-Surely the good genius of Ireland put this scheme in my head. I'll about it this minute, and if there's but one of them kept from the field, I don't think that the other can be much hurt, when there will be no body to fight with him. [Exit. SCENE VII.-Changes to Captain SAVAGE'S lodgings. Enter CAPTAIN SAVAGE and BELVILLE, Capt. Sav. Why, faith, Belville, your detection, and so speedily too, after all the pretended sanctity of the morning, must have thrown you into a most humiliating situation. Bel. Into the most distressing you can imagine. Had my wife raved at my falsehood, in the customary manner, I could have brazened it out pretty tolerably; but the angel-like sweetness, with which she bore the mortifying discovery, planted daggers in my bosom, and made me, at that time, wish her the veriest vixen in the whole creation. Capt. Sav. Yet, the suffering forbearance of a wife, is a quality, for which she is seldom allowed her merit. We think it her duty to put up with our falsehood, and imagine ourselves exceedingly generous in the main, if we practise no other method of breaking her heart. Bel. Monstrous! monstrous! from this moment, I bid an everlasting adieu to my vices: the generosity of my dear girl Enter a Servant to BELVILLE. Ser. Here's a letter, sir, which Mr Spruce has brought you. Bel. Give me leave, Savage Zounds! what an industrious devil the father of darkness is, when the moment a man determines upon a good action, he sends such a thing as this, to stagger his resolution! Capt. Sav. What have you got there? Bel. You shall know presently. Will you let Spruce come in? Capt. Sav. Where have you acquired all this ceremony? Bel. Bid Spruce come in. Ser. Yes, sir. Capt. Sav. Is that another challenge? Spruce. [Looking significantly at his master.] Is there no answer necessary, sir? Bel. I shall call at home myself, and give the necessary answer, Spruce. [Aside.] What can be the matter with him all on a sudden, that he is so cold upon the scent of wickedness? [Erit. Capt. Sao. And what answer do you propose making to it, Belville? Bel. Read the letter, and then tell me what I should do-You know Miss Walsingham's hand? Capt. Sav. O perfectly!-This is not--yes, it is her hand!—I have too many curst occasions to know it. [Aside, Bel. What are you muttering about?—Read the letter. Capt. Sav. [Reads.] If you are not intirely discouraged by our last conversation, from renewing the subject which then gave offence—' Bel. Which then gave offence-You see, Savage, that it is not offensive any longer. Capt. Sav. 'Sdeath! you put me out. may, at the masquerade, this evening-' Bel. You remember how earnest she was for the masquerade party? : You Capt. Sav. Yes, yes, I remember it well and I remember, also, how hurt she was this morning, about the affair of Miss Leeson. [Aside.] 'Have an opportunity of entertaining me the strumpet! -0, [Aside. Bel. But mind the cunning with which she signs the note, for fear it should, by any accident, fall into improper hands. Capt. Sav. Ay, and you put it into very proper hands. [Aside.] 'I shall be in the blue domino. -The signature is→ 'YOU KNOW WHO? Bel. Yes, you know who. Capt. Sav. May be, however, she has only written this to try you. Bel. To try me! for what purpose? but if you read a certain postscript there, I fancy you'll be of a different opinion. Capt. Sav. If Mr Belville has any house of 'character to retire to, it would be most agreea ble, as there could be no fear of interruption.' Bel. What do you say now?-Can you recommend me to any house of character, where we shall be free from interruption? Capt. Sav. O, curse her house of character! Bel. 'Tis, upon my soul! but it came from a [Aside.] But surely, Belville, after your late debeautiful enemy, and dares me to give a meet-termined resolution to reforming to Miss Walsingham. Capt. Sav. How! Bel. Zounds! I forgot that. Capt. Sav. After the unexampled sweetness your wife's behaviour Bel. Don't go on, Savage: there is something here [Putting his hand in his bosom.] which feels already not a little aukwardly Capt. Sav. And can you still persist? Bel. I am afraid to answer your question. Capt. Sav. Where the plague are you flying? Bel. From the justice of your censure, Horace; my own is sufficiently severe; yet I see that I shall be a rascal again, in spite of my | he must rejoice to find his conjectures so forteeth; and good advice is only thrown away upon tunately realized! so incorrigible a libertine. [Exit. Capt. Sav. So, then, this diamond of mine proves a counterfeit after all, and I am really the veriest wretch existing, at the moment in which I conceived myself the peculiar favourite of fortune. O the cursed, cursed sex! I'll see her once more to upbraid her with her falsehood, then acquaint my father with her perfidy, to justify my breaking off the marriage, and tear her from my thoughts for ever. Ser. Ha, let me fly to her assistance—Ö, are you thereabouts? [Exit. SCENE VIII.-Changes to MR BELVILLE'S. Enter MRS BELVILLE, MISS WALSINGHAM, and LADY RACHEL MILDEW, Mrs Bel. But are you indeed recovered, my dear? Miss Wal. Perfectly, my dear-I wasn't in the least hurt, though greatly terrified, when the two fools of coachmen contended for the honour of being first, and drove the carriages together with a violence incredible. Lady Rach. I sincerely rejoice at your escape; and now, Mrs Belville, as you promised to choose a dress for me, if I went in your party to the masquerade this evening, can you spare a quarter of an hour to Tavistock-street? Mrs Bel. I am loth to leave Miss Walsingham alone, lady Rachel, so soon after her fright. Miss Wal. Nay, I insist that you don't stay at home upon my account; and lady Rachel's company to the masquerade is a pleasure I have such an interest in, that I beg you won't delay a moment to oblige her. Mrs Bel. Well, then, I attend your ladyship. Lady Rach. You are very good ; and so is Miss Walsingham. [Exit. Miss Wal. I wonder Captain Savage stays away so long! where can he be all this time? I die with impatience to tell him of my happy interview with the General, Enter a Servant. Ser. Captain Savage, madam. Miss Wal. Shew him in. [Exit Servant.] How Enter CAPTAIN SAVAGE. Capt. Sav. So, madam, you have just escaped a sad accident? Miss Wal. And by that agreeable tone and countenance, one would almost imagine you were very sorry for my escape. Capt. Sav. People, madam, who doubt the kindness of others, are generally conscious of some defect in themselves. Miss Wal. Don't madam me, with this accent of indifference. What has put you out of humour? Capt. Sav. Nothing! Miss Wal. Are you indisposed? Capt. Sav. The crocodile! the crocodile! [Aside. Miss Wal. Do you go to the masquerade tonight? Capt. Sav. No; but you do. Miss Wal. Why not? Come, don't be ill-natured; I'm not your wife yet! Capt. Sav. Nor ever will be, I promise you! Miss Wal. What is the meaning of this very whimsical behaviour? Capt. Suv. The settled composure of her impudence is intolerable. [Aside.] Madam, madam! how have I deserved this usage e? Miss Wal. Nay, sir, sir! how have I deserved it, if you go to that? Capt. Sav. The letter, madam!-the letter! Miss Wal. What letter! Capt. Sav. Your letter; inviting a gallant from the masquerade to a house of character, madam! What! you appear surprised? Miss Wal. Well I may, at so shameless an aspersion! Capt. Sav. Madam, madam, I have seen your letter! Your new lover could not keep your secret a noment. But I have nothing to do with you-and only come to declare my reasons for renouncing you everlastingly! Enter a Servant. Ser. General Savage, madam. Miss Wal. Shew him up. [Exit Ser.] I am glad he is come, sir! inform him of your resolution to break off the match, and let there be an end of every thing between us! Enter GENERAL SAVAGE. Gen. Sav. The news of your accident reached me but this moment, madam !—or I should have posted much sooner to recounoitre your situation. My-aid-de-camp, however, has not been inattentive, I see! and, I dare say, his diligence will not be the least lessened, when he knows his obligations to you. Capt. Sav. Oh, sir, I am perfectly sensible of |