Lady R. Why, Sir, the beeshop was strivSir P. But, Lady Rodolpha, I wish till asking to convert the Jew; while the Jew, by your ladyship some questions aboot the company at Bath; they say ye had aw the world there.

Sir P. O, vary weel! dinner immediately. Tom. It is ready, Sir. [Exit TOMLINS. Sir P. My lord, we attend your lordship. Lord L. Lady Mac, your ladyship's hand, if Sir P. Why, Sir, my lord is proud of ye for you please. [He leads her out. a son-in-law, and of your little French songs S P. Lady Rodolpha, here is an Arcadian-your stories, and your bon mots, when ye swain, that has a hand at your ladyship's de

Eger. Sir, I shall be proud to profit by your experience.

Sir P. Vary weel. [They both sit down.] And noow, Sir, ye must recall till your thoughts, that your grandfather was a mon, whose penurious income of half-pay was the sum total of his fortune; and, Sir, aw my proveesion fra him was a modicum of Latin, an expartness of areethmetic, and a short system of worldly counsel; the chief ingredients of which were, a persevering industry, a reegid economy, a smooth tongue, a pliabeelety of temper, and a constant attention till make every mon weel pleased wi' himself.

Eger. Very prudent advice, Sir.

Sir P. Therefore, Sir, I lay it before yenow, Sir, wi' these materials, I set oot, a rough raw-boned stripling, fra the north, till try my fortune wi' them here i' the south; and my first step intill the world was a beggarly clerkship in Sawney Gordon's counting-house, here i' the city of London, whach, you'll say, afforded but a barren sort of a prospect.

Eger. It was not a very fertile one, indeed, Sir.

wail, and gnash her teeth constantly, morning and evening, at the tabernacle. And ass soon ass I found she had the siller, aha! gude traith, I plumped me doon upo' my knees close by her, cheek-by-jole, and sung, and sighed, and groaned as vehemently ass she could do for the life of her; ay, and turned up the whites of my eyne, till the strings almost cracked again. I watched her attentively; handed her till her chair; waited on her hame; got most releegiously intimate wi' her in a week; married her in a fortnight; buried her in a month; touched the siller and wi' a deep suit of mourning, a sorrowful veesage, and a joyful heart, I began the warld again: and this, Sir, was the first effectual boow I ever made till the vanity of human nature: noow, Sir, do ye understand this doctrine?

Eger. Perfectly well, Sir.

Sir P. My next boow, Sir, was till your ain mother, whom I ran away wi' fra the boarding-school, by the interest of whose family I got a gude smart place i' th' treasury; and, Sir, my vary next step was intill parlia Sir P. The revearse, the revearse. Well, ment, the whach I entered wi' ass ardent and Sir, seeing mysel in this unprofitable situation, ass determined an ambeetion, ass ever ageetaI reflected deeply, I cast aboot my thoughts, ted the heart o' Cæsar himsel. Sir, I boowed, and concluded that a matrimonial adventure, and watched, and attended, and dangled upo prudently conducted, would be the readiest the then great mon, till I got intill the vary gait I could gang for the bettering of my bowels of his confidence-hah! got my snack condeetion, and accordingly set aboot it of the clothing, the foraging, the contracts, noow, Sir, in this pursuit-beauty-beauty, the lottery tickets, and aw the poleetical ah! beauty often struck mine eyne, and played bonuses; till at length, Sir, I became a much aboot my heart, and fluttered, and beet, and wealthier mon than one half of the golden knocked, and knocked, but the deel an en-calves I had been so long a boowing to. [He trance I ever let it get-for I observed that rises, EGERTON rises too.] And was nae that beauty is generally a prood, vain, saucy, ex-boowing to some purpose, Sir, ha? pensive sort of a commodity.

Eger. Very justly observed, Sir.

Eger. It was, indeed, Sir.

Sir P. But are ye convinced of the gude effects, and of the uteelity of boowing?

Sir P. And therefore, Sir, I left it to prodigals and coxcombs, that could afford till pay Eger. Thoroughly, Sir, thoroughly. for it, and in its stead, Sir,-mark-I luocked Sir P. Sir, it is infallible-but, Charles, oot for an ancient, weel-jointured, superan- ah! while I was thus boowing and raising nuated dowager:-a consumptive, toothless, this princely fortune, ah! I met many heart phthisicky, wealthy widow-or a shreeveled, sores, and disappointments, fra the want of cadayerous, neglacted piece of deformity, i'leeterature, ailoquence, and other popular th' shape of an ezard, or an empersi-and-or in short, any thing, any thing, that had the siller, the siller; for that was the north star of my affection- -do ye take me, Sir? Was nae that right?

abeelities; Sir, gin I could but ha'e spoken i' th' house, I should ha'e done the deed in half the time; but the instant I opened my mouth there, they aw fell a laughing at me: aw which defeeciencies, Sir, I determined at any expense till have supplied by the polished education of a son, who I hoped would yane

highest pinnacle of ministeerial ambeetion; this, Sir, is my plan: I ha'e done my part of it: Nature has done her's: ye are ailoquant, ye are popular; aw parties like ye; and noow, Sir, it only remains for ye to be directed-completion follows.

Eger. O doubtless, doubtless, Sir. Sir P. Noow, Sir, where do ye think I gaed to luock for this woman wi' th' siller-day raise the house of Macsycophant till the nae till court-nae till play-houses, or assemblies-ha, Sir, I gaed till the kirk, till the Anabaptists, Independent, Bradleonian, Muggletonian meetings; till the morning and evening service of churches and chapels of ease; and till the midnight, melting, conceeliating love-feasts of the Methodistsand there at last, Sir, I fell upon an old, rich, sour, slighted, antiquated, musty maiden; that luocked-ha! ha! ha! she luocked just like a skeleton in a surgeon's glass-case-noow, Sir, this meeserable object was releegiously angry wi' hersel, and aw the warld; had nae comfort but in a supernatural, releegious, enthusiastic deleerium; ha! ha! ha! Sir, she was mad-mad ass a bedlamite.

Eger. Your liberality, Sir, in my education, and the judicious choice you made of the worthy gentleman, to whose virtues and abilities you entrusted me, are obligations I ever shall remember with the deepest filial gratitude.

Sir P. Vary weel, Sir-vary weel; but, Charles, ha'e ye had any conversation yet wi' Lady Rodolpha, aboot the day of yeer marriage, yeer leeveries, yeer equipage, or yeer establishment?

Eger. Not yet, Sir.

Sir P. Pah! why there again now, there again, ye are wrong; vary wrong.

Eger. Sir, we have not had an opportunity. Sir P. Why, Charles, ye are vary tardy in this business."

Lord L (Singing without.]

What have we with day to do? &c. Sir P. Oh! here comes my lord! Lord L. [Singing without.]

Sons of care, 'twas made for you.

Enter LORD LUMBERCOURT, drinking a dish of fee; TOMLINS waiting, with a salver in his hand.

Sons of care, 'twas made for you.
Very good coffee indeed, Mr. Tomlins.

Sons of care, 'twas made for you.
Here, Mr. Tomlins. [Gives him the cup.
Tom Will your lordship please to have

another dish?

Lord L. No more, Mr. Tomlins. [Exit ToмLINS.] Well, my host of the Scotch pints! we

have had warm work.

Sir P. Ha! ha! ha! ay! that's excellent; this is doing business effectually, my lord.

Lord L. Oh! I will pit them in a moment, Sir Pertinax-that will bring them into the heat of the action at once; and save a deal of awkwardness on both sidesOh, here your Dulcinea comes, Sir!

Enter LADY RODOLPHA.

Lady R. Weel, Sir Pertinax, I attend your commands, and yours, my paternal lord. [She courtesies. Lord L. Why then, my filial lady, we are to inform you, that the commission for your ladyship, and this enamoured cavalier, commanding you jointly and inseparably to serve your country, in the honourable and forlorn hope of matrimony, is to be signed this very evening.

Lady R. This evening, my lord!

Pertinax, let us leave them to settle their Lord L. This evening, my lady: come, Sir liveries, wedding suits, carriages, and all their

Sir P. Yes, you pushed the bottle aboot, my lord, wi' the joy and veegour of a bac-amorous equipage for the nuptial camp.

chanal.

Lord L. That I did, my dear Mac-no loss of time with me--I have but three motions, old boy, charge!toast!-fire!-and off we go-ha! ha! ha! that's my exercise. Sir P. And fine warm exercise it is, my lord, especially with the half-pint glass.

Lord L. It does execution point blank-ay, ay, none of your pimping acorn glasses for me, but your manly, old English, half-pint bumpers, my dear.-Zounds, Sir, they try a felBut where's Egerton? Sir P. Just at hand, my lord; there he stonds, luocking at your lordship's picture. Lord L. My dear Egerton.

low's stamina at once.

Eger. Your lordship's most obedient.

Lord L. I beg your pardon, I did not see you I am sorry you left us so soon after dianer; had you staid, you would have been highly entertained; I have made such examples of the commissioner, the captain, and the

colonel!

Eger. So I understand, my lord.

Lord L. But, Egerton, I have slipped from the company, for a few moments, on purpose to have a little chat with you. Rodolpha tells me, she fancies there is a kind of a demur on your side, about your marriage with her.

Sir P. A demur, hoow so, my lord? Lord L. Why, as I was drinking my coffee with the women, just now, I desired they would fix the wedding night, and the etiquette of the ceremony; upon which the girl burst into a loud laugh, telling me she supposed I was joking, for that Mr. Egerton had never yet given her a single glance, or hint upon the subject.

vary

Sir P. My lord, I have been just this instant talking to him aboot his shyness to the lady.

Enter TOMLINS.

Tom. Counsellor Plausible is come, Sir, and Sergeant Eitherside.

Sir P. Why, then, we can settle this business this vary evening, my lord.

Lord L. As well as in seven years--and to make the way as short as possible, pray, Mr. Tomlins, present your master's compliments and mine to lady Rodolpha, and let her ladyship know we wish to speak to her directly. [Erit TOMLINS.] He shall attack her this instant, Sir Pertinax.

Sir P. Ha ha! ha! axcellent! weel, I voow, my lord, ye are a great officer: this is as gude a manoeuvre to bring on a rapid engagement, as the ablest general of them aw could ha'e started.

soon come to a right understanding, I warrant
Lord L. Ay, ay; leave them together, they'll
their sympathy.
you, or the needle and the loadstone have lost

[Exeunt LORD LUMBERCOURT and SIR
PERTINAX.

Eger. What a dilemma am I in!

[Aside.

it has quite damped my spirits, and my beLady R. Why, this is downright tyrannytrothed, yonder, seems planet-struck too, I

think.

Eger. A whimsical situation mine! [Aside. Lady R. Ha! ha! ha! methinks we luock like a couple of cawtious geenerals, that are obliged till take the field, but neither of us seems willing till come to action.

[Aside.

Eger. I protest, I know not how to address her. [Aside.

Lady R. He wull nae advance, I see what am I to do i' this affair? gude traith, I wull even do as I suppose many brave heroes ha'e done before me; clap a gude face upo' the matter, and so conceal an aching heart under a swaggering countenance. [Aside.] Sir, Sir, ass we ha'e, by the commands of our gude fathers-a business of some little consequence till transact, I hope ye wull excuse my taking the leeberty of recommending a chair till ye. [Courtesies very low. Eger. [Greatly embarrassed.] Madam, I beg your pardon. [Hands her a chair, then one for himself. Lady R. Aha! he's resolved not to come too near till me, I think. [Aside.

Eger. A pleasant interview-hem! hem! Aside. Lady R. Hem! hem! [Mimics him.] He wull not open the congress, I see; then I wull. [Aside.] Come, Sir, whan wull ye begin? [Very loud. Eger. [Starts.] Begin! what, Madam. Lady R. To make love till me. Eger. Love, Madam?

Lady R. Ay, love, Sir? why, you ha'e never said a word till me yet upo' the subject; nor cast a single glance on me, nor brought forth one tender sigh, nor even yance secretly squeezed my loof. Now, Sir, thoff oor fathers are so tyrannical ass to dispose of us merely

60

THE MAN OF THE WORLD.

for their ain interests, without a single thought | both as a man of honour and a lover, to act
of oor hearts or affections; yet, Sir, I hope ye
ha'e mair humanity than to think of wedding
me, without first admeenistering some o' the
preleeminaries usual on those occasions.

Eger. Madam, I own your reproach is just;
I shall therefore no longer disguise my senti-
ments, but fairly let you know my heart-
Lady R. Ah! ye are right, ye are right,
cousin. Honourably and affectionately right-
noow that is what I like of aw things in my
swain-ay, ay, cousin, open your heart frankly
till me, ass a true lover should; but sit ye
doown, sit ye doown again, I shall return
your frankness, and your passion, cousin, wi'
a melting tenderness, equal to the amorous
enthusiasm of an ancient heroine.

otherwise with you on so tender a subject. Lady R. And so, ye persast in slighting me? give my hand where I cannot give my heart. Eger. I beg your pardon, but I must be explicit-and at once declare, that I never can

o' speerit ought to bear, and here I make a soLady R. Why, then, Sir, I must tell you, that lemn voow never till pardon it--but on yane your declaration is sic an affront ass nae woman condeetion.

Eger. If that condition be in my power, Madani

Lady R. Sir, it is i' your poower.

Y Eger. Then, Madam, you may command me. Lady R. Why, then, Sir, the condeetion is this; ye must here gi'e me your honour, that nae importunity, command, or menace, o' your father

court, till be your wedded wife.
induce you to take me, Rodolpha Lumber-

never will.
Eger. Madam! I most solemnly promise, I

Eger. Madam, if you will hear meLady R. But remember ye must begin yeer-in fine, that nae consideration whatever shall address wi' fervency, and a most rapturous vehemence; for ye are to conseeder, cousin, that oor match is nae till arise fra the union of hearts, and a long decorum of ceremonious courtship, but is instantly till start at yance out of necessity or mere accident, ha! ha! ha! just like a match in an ancient romance, where ye ken, cousin, the knight and the damsel are mutually smitten, and dying for each other at first sight; or by an amorous sympathy, before they exchange a single glance.

Eger. Dear Madam, you entirely mistake. Lady R. So noow, cousin, wi' the true romantic enthusiasm, ye are till suppose me the lady o' the enchanted castle, and ye-ha! ha! ha! ye are to be the knight o' the sorrowful countenance-ha! ha! ha! and, upon honour, ye luock the character admirably, ha! ha!

Eger. Trifling creature!

Lady R. Nay, nay, nay, cousin, gin ye do na begin at yance, the lady o' the enchanted castle wull vanish in a twankling,

Eger. [Rises.] Lady Rodolpha, I know your talent for raillery well; but at present, in my case, there is a kind of cruelty in it.

Lady R. Raillery! upon my honour, cousin, ye mistake me quite and clean. I am serious; vary serious; and I have cause till be serious ay, and vary sad intill the bargain; [Rises.] nay, I wull submit my case even till yourselcan ony poor lassie be in a mair lamentable condeetion [Whining.] than to be sent four hundred miles, by the commands of a positive grandmother, till marry a man who I find has nae mair affection for me than if I had been his wife these seven years.

Eger. Madam, I am extremely sorry. Lady R. But it is vary weel, cousin-vary weel-I see your aversion plain enough-and, Sir, I must tell ye fairly, ye are the ainly mon that ever slighted my person, or that drew tears fra these eyne; but 'tis vary weel. [Cries.] I wull return till Scotland to-morrow morning, and let my grandmother know how I have been affronted by your slights, your contempts, and your aversions.

Eger. If you are serious, Madam, your distress gives me a deep concern: but affection is not in our power; and when you know that my heart is irrecoverably given to another woman, I think your understanding and good nature will not only pardon my past coldness and neglect of you, but forgive me when I tell you, I never can have that honour which is intended me, by a connexion with your ladyship. Lady R. [Starting up.] How, Sir! are ye serious?

Eger. Madam, I am too deeply interested,

lemnly and sincerely thank ye for your reso-
lution, [Courtesies.] and your agreeable aver-
Lady R. And I, Sir, in my turn, most so-
sion, ha! ha! ha! for ye ha'e made me as happy
of intended execution.
as a poor wretch reprieved in the vary instant

Eger. Pray, Madam, how am I to understand all this?

demand the same behaviour on my side. Therefore, without further disguise or ambiLady R. Sir, your frankness and sincerity guity, know, Sir, that I myself am ass deeply smitten wi' a certain swain, ass I understand ye are wi' yeer Constantia.

levity, and redeeculous behaviour in your preLady R. Oh, Sir, aw my extravagance, vailed on mine to consent till this match, has been a premeditated scheme, to provoke your sence, noow, and ever since your father preand a positive refusal. gravity and gude sense intill a cordial disgust,

your leave, Madam, if I may presume so farEger. Madam, you have contrived and executed your scheme most happily; but, with pray who is your lover?

Sir-he is [Courtesies.] your ain brither. So
ye see, cousin Charles, thoff I could nae mingle
Lady R. In that too I shall surprise you,
affections wi' ye, I ha'e nae gaed oot o' the
family.

placed it on a worthier object; and whatever
Eger. Madam, give me leave to congratulate
is to be our chance in this lottery of our pa-
myself upon your affection-you couldn't have
rents, be assured that my fortune shall be
devoted to your happiness and his.

whit nobler, I assure you, than your brother
Sandy believes of you; and pray credit me,
Lady R. Generous indeed, cousin, but not a
Sir, that we shall both remember it, while the
tude: but now, Sir, let me ask one question-
pray, how is your mother affected in this busi-
heart feels, or memory retains a sense of grati-
ness?

I am sure, be a friend to the common cause.
Eger. She knows of my passion, and will,

our first step must be to take her advice upon
our conduct, so as till keep our fathers in the
Lady R. Ah! that is lucky, vary lucky-
dark, till we can hit off some measure that
wull wind them aboot till our ain purpose,
sions.
and till the common interest of our ain pas-