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Re-enter MRS. OAKLY.

Mrs. O. I think, Mr. Oakly, you might have had humanity enough, to have come to see how I did. You have taken your leave, I suppose, of all tenderness and affection; but I'll be calm: I'll not throw myself into a passion: you want to drive me out of your house: I see what you aim at, and will be aforehand with you; let me keep my temper. I'll send for a chair, and leave the house this instant. Oak. True, my love: I knew you would not think of dining in your chamber alone, when I bad company below. You shall sit at the head of the table, as you ought, to be sure, as you say, and make my friends welcome.

Mrs. O. Excellent raillery! Lookye, Mr. Oakly, I see the meaning of all this affected coolness and indifference.

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Oak. My dear, consider where you are.
Mrs. 0. You would be glad, I find, to get me out
of your house, and have all your flirts about you.
Oak. Before all this company! Fie!

Mrs. 0. Provoking_insolence! This is not to be endured! Lookye, Mr. Oakly

Oak. And lookye. Mrs. Oakly, I will have my own

way.

Mrs. O. Nay, then, tet me tell you, sir-
Oak. And let me tell you, madam, I will not be
crossed; I won't be made a fool.

Mrs. O. Why, you won't let me speak.
Oak. Because you don't speak as you ought.
Madam, madam! you sha'n't look, nor walk, nor
talk, nor think, but as I please.

Mrs. 0. Was there ever such a monster! I can bear this no longer. (Bursts into tears.) O you vile man! I can see through your design; you cruel, barbarous, inhuman-such usage to your poor wife! you'll be the death of her.

Oak. She sha'n't be the death of me, I am determined.

Mrs. O. That it should ever come to this! To be contradicted, (sobbing) insulted, abused, hated! it is too much, my heart will burst with-oh-oh! (Falls into a fit. Harriot, Charles, &c. run to her asresistance.)

Mrs. O. But I'll disappoint you; for I shall main in it, to support my due authority. As for you, Major Oakly

Maj. O. Heyday! What have I done?

Mrs. O. I think you might find better employment, than to create divisions between married people. And you, sir!

Oak. Nay, but my dear

Mrs. O. Might have more sense, as well as tenderness, than to give ear to such idle stuff.

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I will have my own way, and that I will govern my own family.

Oak. You had betler learn to govern yourself, by half. Your passion makes you ridiculous. Did ever anybody see so much fury and violence?Affronting your best friends, breaking my peace, and disconcerting your own temper! And all for what? For nothing. 'Sdeath, madam! at these years, you ought to know better.

Mrs. O. At these years! very fine! Am I to be talked to in this manner?

Oak. (Interposing.) Let her alone.

Har. Sir, Mrs. Oakly

Charles. For heaven's sake! sir, she will be-
Oak. Let her alone; let her alone.

Har. Pray, my dear sir, let us assist her. She may

Oak. I don't care; let her alone, I say.

Mrs. O. (Rising.) O, you monster! you villain! you base man! would you let me die for want of help? would you

Oak. Bless me! madam, your fit is very violent; take care of yourself.

Mrs. O. Despised, ridiculed-but I'll be revenged, you shall see, sir.

Oak. Tol-de-rol lol-de-rol lol-de-rol-lol. (Singing.) Mrs. O. What, am I made a jest of? Exposed to all the world? If there's law or justice

Oak. Tol-de-rol lol-de-rol lol-de-rol-lol. (Singing.) Mrs. O. I shall burst with anger. Have a care, sir; you may repent this. Scorned and made ridiculous! No power on earth shall hinder my revenge! (Going.)

Har. (Interposing.) Stay, madam.

Mrs. O. Let me go! I cannot bear this place!
Har. Let me beseech you, madam.
Maj. O. Courage, brother; you have done won-
ders! (Apart.)

Oak. Talked to! why not? You have talked to me long enough-almost talked me to death; and I have taken it all, in hopes of making you quiet: but all in vain. Patience, I find, is all thrown away upon you; and henceforward, come what may, II am resolved to be master of my own house.

Mrs. O. So! so! master, indeed! Yes, sir; and you'll take care to have mistresses enough, too, I warrant you.

Oak. Perhaps I may; but they shall be quiet ones, I can assure you.

Mrs. O. Indeed! and do you think I am such a tame fool as to sit quietly and bear all this? You shall know, sir, that I will resent this behaviour; you shall find that I have a spirit

Oak. Of the devil!

Mrs. O. Intolerable! you shall find then that I will exert that spirit. I am sure I have need of it. As soon as the house is once cleared again. I'll shut my doors against all company. You shan't see a single soul for this month.

Oak. 'Sdeath! madam, but I will! I'll keep open house for a year. I'll send cards to the whole town. -Mr. Oakly's rout! All the world will come; and I'll go among the world too: I'll be mewed up no longer.

Oak. I think she'll have no more fits. (Apart.) Har. Stay, madam; pray stay but one moment. have been a painful witness of your uneasiness; and, in great part, the innocent occasion of it. Give me leave then

Mrs. O. I did not expect, indeed, to have found you here again; but, however

Har. I see the agitation of your mind, and it makes me miserable. Suffer me to tell the real truth I can explain every thing to your satisfaction.

Mrs. O. May be so: I cannot argue with you. Charles. Pray, madam, hear her, for my sake, for your own, dear madam!

Mrs. O. Well, well proceed.

Har. I understand, madam, that your first alarm was occasioned by a letter from my father to your nephew.

Rus. I was in a swinging passion, to be sure, madam! The letter was not over civil, I believe; I did not know but the young rogue had ruined my girl. But it's all over now, and so

Mrs. O. You was here yesterday, sir?
Rus. Yes, I came after Harriot. I thought I

should find my young madam with my young sir, | hensions; I am sure Mr. Oakly loves you most af here. fectionately.

Mrs. O. With Charles, did you say, sir? Rus. Ay, with Charles, madam. The young rogue has been fond of her a long time, and she of him, it seems.

Mrs. 9. I fear I have been to blame. (Aside.) Rus. I ask pardon, madam, for the disturbance I made in your house.

Har. And the abrupt manner in which I came into it demands a thousand apologies. But the occasion must be my excuse.

Mrs. O. How have I been mistaken! (Aside.) But did not I overhear you and Mr. Oakly? (To Harriot.)

Har. Dear madam, you had but a partial hearing of our conversation : it related entirely to this gentleman.

Charles. To put it beyond doubt, madam, Mr. Russet and my guardian have consented to our marriage; and we are in hopes that you will not withhold your approbation.

Mrs. I have no further doubt; I see you are innocent, and it was cruel to suspect you. You have taken a load of anguish off my mind; and yet your kind interposition comes too late; Mr. Oakly's love for me is entirely destroyed. (Weeping.)

Oak. I must go to her! (Apart.)
Maj. 0. Not yet! not yet! (Apart.)

Har. Do not disturb yourself with such appre

Oak. I can hold no longer. (Going to her.) My affection for you, madam, is as warm as ever. My constrained behaviour has cut me to the soul; for it was all constrained; and it was with the umost difficulty that I was able to support it.

Mrs. O. O. Mr. Oakly, how have I exposel myself! What low arts has my jealousy induced me to practise! I see my folly, and fear that you can never forgive me.

Oak. Forgive you! This change transportsme! Brother-Mr. Russet-Charles-Harriot-give me joy-I am the happiest man in the world!

Maj. O. Joy, much joy to you both! though, bythe-bye, you are not a little obliged to me forit. Did not I tell you I would cure all the disorders in your family? I beg pardon, sister, for taking the liberty to prescribe for you. My medicines have been somewhat rough, I believe; but they have had an admirable effect, and so don't be angry with your physician.

Mrs. O. I am indeed obliged to you, and I feelOak. Nay, my dear, no more of this. All that's past must be utterly forgotten.

Mrs. O. I have not merited this kindness, but it shall hereafter be my study to deserve it. Away with all idle jealousies! And since my suspicions have hitherto been groundless, I am resolved for the future never to suspect at all.

[Exeunt.

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A COMEDY, IN FIVE ACTS.-BY R. B. SHERIDAN.

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ACT I.

SCENE I.-A Street at Bath.

Coachman crosses the Stage. Enter FAG, looking after him.

Fag. What, Thomas! Sure, 'tis he! What, Thomas! Thomas!

Cach. Eh! ods life! Mr. Fag! give us your hand, my old fellow servant.

Fag. Excuse my glove, Thomas; I'm devilish glad to see you, my lad! Why, my prince of charioteers, you look as hearty-But who the deuce thought of seeing you in Bath?

Coach. Sure, master, Madam Julia, Harry, Mrs. Kate, and the postillion be all come. Fag. Indeed!

Coach. Ay: master thought another fit of the gout was coming to make him a visit, so he'd a mind to gi't the slip; and, whip! we were all off at an hour's warning.

MRS. MALAPROP.

LYDIA LANGUISH.

JULIA.

LUCY.

JENNY.

Fag. Ay, ay; hasty in every thing, or it would not be Sir Anthony Absolute.

Couch. But tell us, Mr Fag, how does young master? Od, Sir Anthony will stare to see the Captain here!

Fag. I do not serve Captain Absolute now.
Coach. Why, sure!

[verley Fag. At present, I am employed by Ensign BeCoach. I doubt, Mr. Fag, you ha'n't changed for the better.

Fag. I have not changed, Thomas.

Coach. No! why, didn't you say you had left young master.

Fag. No. Well, honest Thomas, I must puzzle you no further: briefly, then; Captain Absolute and Ensign Beverley are one and the same person. Coach. The devil they are! do tell us, Mr. Fag, the meaning on't.

Fag. You'll be secret, Thomas.
Coach. As a coach-horse.

Fag. Why, then, the cause of all this is love; love Lucy. No, indeed, ma'am.
Lyd. Nor "The Fatal Connexion?" A

Thomas, who has been a masquerader ever since
the days of Jupiter.

Coach. But, pray, why does your master pass only for ensign? now, if he had shammed general,

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Lyd. Nor "The Mistakes of the Heart?" Lucy. Ma'am, as ill luck would have it, Mr. Buli said, Miss Sukey Saunter had just fetched it away. Lyd. Heigho! Did you inquire for "The Delicate Distress?"

Lucy. Or, "The Memoirs of Lady Woodford ?" Yes, indeed, ma'am, I asked every where for it; and I might have brought it from Mr. Frederick's but Lady Slattern Lounger, who had just sent it home, had so soiled and dog's-eared it, it va'n't fit for a Christian to read.

Lyd Heigho! Yes; I always know when Lady Slattern has been before me: she has a most observing thumb: and, I believe, cherishes her nails for the convenience of making marginal notes. Well, child, what have you brought me?

Lucy. Ol here, ma'am (Taking books from under her cloak, and from her pockets.) This is "The Man of Feeling," and this Peregrine Pickle." Here are "The Tears of Sensibility," and "Humphrey Clinker."

Lyd. Hold, here's some one coming; quick! see who it is. [Exit Lucy. Surely, I heard my cousin Julia's voice!

Enter LUCY.
Lucy, Lud, ma'am! here is Miss Melville.
Lyd. Is it possible?

had a quarrel; and, somehow, I was afraid he would never give me an opportunity; so, last Thursday, I wrote a letter to myself, to inform myself that Beverley was, at that time, paying his addresses to another woman. I signed it, "Your Friend Unknown," shewed it to Beverley, charged him with his falsehood, put myself in a violent passion, and vowed I'd never see him more. Jul. And you let him depart so, and have not seen him since?

Lyd. 'Twas the next day my aunt found the matter out: I intended only to have teased him three days and a half, and now I've lost him for

ever.

Jul. If he is as deserving and sincere as you have represented him to me, he will never give you up so. Yet, consider, Lydia; you tell me he is but an ensign, and you have thirty thousand pounds.

Lyd. But you know I lose most of my fortune, if I marry without my aunt's consent, till of age; and that is what I have determined to do ever since I knew the penalty; nor could I love the man who would wish to wait a day for the alternative.

Jul. Nay, this is caprice!

Lyd. What! does Julia tax me with caprice? I thought her lover, Faulkland, had inured her to it. Jul. I do not love even his faults.

Lyd. But apropos! you have sent to him, I suppose?

Jul. Not yet, upon my word; nor has he the least idea of my being in Bath: Sir Anthony's resolution was so sudden I could not inform him of it.

Lyd. Well, Julia, you are your own mistress, though under the protection of Sir Anthony; yet have you, for this long year, been a slave to the caprice, the whim, the jealousy of this ungrateful Faulkland, who will ever delay assuming the right of a husband, while you suffer him to be equally imperious as a lover.

Jul. Nay, you are wrong, entirely: we were contracted before my father's death: that, and some consequent embarrassments, have delayed what I know to be my Faulkland's most ardent wish. He is too generous to trifle on such a point, and, for his character, you wrong him there too. No, Lydia; he is too proud, too noble, to be jealous: if he is captious, 'tis without dissembling; if fretful, without rudeness. Unused to the fopperies of love, he is negligent of the little duties expected from a lover; but, being unhackneyed in the passion, his affection is ardent and sincere; and as it engrosses his whole soul, he expects every thought and emetion of his mistress to move in unison with his. Yet, though his pride calls for this full return, his humility makes him undervalue those qualities in him, which would entitle him to it; and, not feeling why he should be loved to the degree he wishes, he still suspects that he is not loved enough. This temper, I must own, has cost me many unhappy hours; but I have learned to think myself his debtor for those imperfections which arise from the ardour of his attachment.

Lyd. Well, I cannot blame you for defending him; but, tell me candidly, Julia, had he never saved your life, do you think you should have been attached to him as you are? Believe me, the rude blast that overset your boat, was a prosperous gale of love to him.

Jul. Gratitude may have strengthened my attachment to Mr. Faulkland, but I loved him before he had preserved me; yet, surely, that alone were an obligation sufficient

Lyd. Obligation! why, a water-spaniel would have done as much! Well, I should never think

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of giving my heart to a man because he could swim. What's here? Enter LUCY, in a hurry.

Lucy. O! ma'am, here is Sir Anthony Absolute, just come home with your aunt Lyd. They'll not come here: Lucy, do you watch. Exit Lucy.

I am here, and if we meet, he'll detain me, to shew Jul. Yet I must go; Sir Anthony does not know me the town. I'll take another opportunity of paying my respects to Mrs. Malaprop, when she shall treat me, as long as she chooses, with her select words, so ingeniously misapplied, without being mispronounced. Enter LUCY.

Lucy. O lud! ma'am! they are both coming up

stairs!

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Lyd. Here, my dear Lucy, hide these books. Quick, quick! Fling "Peregrine Pickle" under the toilette; throw "Roderick Random" into the closet; put "The Innocent Adultery" into "The Whole Duty of Man;" thrust "Lord Aimworth" under the sofa! cram "Ovid" behind the bolster; there-put "The Man of Feeling" into your pocket. Now for them. [Exit Lucy.

Enter MRS. MALAPROP and SIR ANTHONY ABSOLUTE.

Mrs. M. There, Sir Anthony! there sits the deliberate simpleton, who wants to disgrace her family, and lavish herself on a fellow not worth a shilling.

Lyd. Madam, I thought you once

Mrs. M. You thought, miss! I don't know any business you have to think at all: thought does not become a young woman. But the point we would request of you is, that you will promise to forget this fellow; to illiterate him, I say, from your memory.

Lyd. Ah! madam, our memories are independent of our wills: it is not so easy to forget.

Mrs. M. But I say it is, miss: there is nothing on earth so easy as to forget, if a person chooses to set about it. I'm sure I have as much forgot your poor, dear uncle, as if he had never existed; and I thought it my duty so to do; and, let me tell you, Lydia, these violent memories don't become a young woman.

Sir Anth. Why, sure, she won't pretend to remember what she's ordered not! Ay, this comes of her reading!

Lyd. What, crime, madam, have I committed, to be treated thus?

Mrs. M. Now, don't attempt to extirpate yourself from the matter; you know I have proof controvertible of it. But, tell me, will you promise to do as you're bid? Will you take a husband of your friends' choosing?

Lyd. Madam, I must tell you plainly, that, had I no preference for any one else, the choice you have made would be my aversion.

Mrs. M. What business have you, miss, with preference and aversion? They don't become a young woman; and you ought to know, that, as both always wear off, 'tis safest in matrimony, to begin with a little aversion. I am sure I hated your poor, dear uncle, before marriage, as if he'd been a blackamoor; and, yet, miss, you are sensible what

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