heartily and openly, I wish it were in my power to break the match; by Heavens I would.

Spark. Poor Frank!

Alith. Would you be so unkind to me?

Harc. No, no, 'tis not because I would be unkind

to you.

Spark. Poor Frank; no, egad, 'tis only his kind

ness to me.

Alith. Great kindness to you, indeed!-Insensible! Let a man make love to his mistress to his face!

[Aside.

Spark. Come, dear Frank, for all my wife there, that shall be, thou shalt enjoy me sometimes, dear rogue: by my honour, we men of wit condole for our deceased brother in marriage, as much as for one dead in earnest: I think that was prettily said of me, ha, Harcourt?-But come, Frank, he not melancholy for me.

Harc. No, I assure you, I am not melancholy for you.

Spark. Pr'ythee, Frank, dost think my wife, that shall be, there, a fine person?

Harc. I could gaze upon her, till I became as blind as you are.

Spark. How, as I am? how?

Harc. Because you are a lover, and true lovers are blind.

Spark. True, true; but, by the world, she has wit too, as well as beauty; go, go with her into a corner, and try if she has wit; talk to her any thing, she's bashful before me.

[HARCOURT Courts ALITHEA aside.

Enter MOODY.

Moody. How, sir, if you are not concerned for the honour of a wife, I am for that of a sister;-be a pander to your own wife, bring men to her, let them make love before your face, thrust them into a corner toge

ther, then leave them in private! is this your town

wit and conduct?

Spark. Ha, ha, ha! a silly wise rogue would make one laugh more than a stark fool: ha, ha, ha! I shall burst. Nay, you shall not disturb them; I'll vex thee, by the world. What have you done with Bel

ville?

[Struggles with MOODY, to keep him from HARCOURT and ALITHEA.

Moody. Shown him the way out of my house, as you should to that gentleman.

Spark. Nay, but pr'ythee-let me reason with thee. [Talks aside with MOODY. Alith. The writings are drawn, sir, settlements made; 'tis too late, sir, and past all revocation,

Harc. Then so is my death.

Alith. I would not be unjust to him.

Harc. Then why to me so?

Alith. I have no obligations to you.
Harc. My love.

Alith. I had his before.

Harc. You never had it; he wants, you see, jealousy, the only infallible sign of it.

Alith. Love proceeds from esteem; he cannot distrust my virtue; besides, he loves me, or he would not marry me.

is

Harc. Marrying you is no more a sign of his love, than bribing your woman that he may marry you, a sign of his generosity. But if you take marriage for a sign of love, take it from me immediately.

Alith. No, now you have put a scruple in my head: but, in short, sir, to end our dispute, I must marry him! my reputation would suffer in the world. else.

Harc. No; if you do marry him, with your pardon, madam, your reputation, suffers in the world. Alith. Nay, now you are rude, sir-Mr. Sparkish,

pray come hither; your friend here is very troub

some, and very loving.

Harc. Hold, hold!

[Aside to ALITHEA. Moody. D'ye hear that, senseless puppy?

Spark. Why, d'ye think I'll seem jealous, like a country bumpkin?

Moody. No, rather be dishonoured, like a credulous driveller.

Harc. Madam, you would not have been so little generous as to have told him!

Alith. Yes, since you could be so little generous as to wrong him.

Harc. Wrong him! no man can do't; he's beneath an injury; a bubble, a coward, a senseless idiot, a wretch so contemptible to all the world but you, that

Alith. Hold, do not rail at him; for since he is like to be my husband, I am resolved to like him; nay, I think, I am obliged to tell him, you are not his friend Mr. Sparkish! Mr. Sparkish!

--

Spark. What, what: now, dear rogue, has not she wit?

had.

Harc. Not so much as I thought, and hoped she [Surlily. Alith. Mr. Sparkish, do you bring people to rail at you?

Harc. Madam!

Spark. How! no; but if he does rail at me, 'tis but in jest, I warrant: what we wits do for one another, and never take any notice of it.

Alith. He spoke so scurrilously of you, I had no patience to hear him.

Moody. And he was in the right on't.

Alith. Besides, he has been making love to me.

Moody. And I told the fool so.

Harc. True, damned tell-tale woman.

[Aside.

Spark. Pshaw, to show his parts-We wits rail and

ake love often, but to show our parts; as we have no affections, so we have no malice; we~~~ Moody. Did you ever hear such an ass!

Alith. He said, you were a wretch below an in

jury.
Spark. Pshaw!

Alith. A common bubble.

Spark. Pshaw!

Alith. A coward.

Spark. Pshaw, pshaw !

Alith. A senseless drivelling idiot.
Moody. True, true, true; all true.

Spark. How did he disparage my parts? nay, then my honour's concerned. I can't put up that, sir, by the world, brother, help me to kill him.

Alith. Hold! hold!

[Offers to draw.

Moody. If Harcourt would but kill Sparkish, and run away with my sister, I should be rid of three plagues at once.

Alith. Indeed, to tell the truth, the gentleman said, after all, that what he spoke was but out of friendship to you. Spark. How!

say I am a fool, that is, no wit, out of friendship to me?

Alith. Yes, to try whether I was concerned enough for you; and made love to me only to be satisfied of my virtue for your sake.

Harc. Kind, however!

[Aside.

Spark. Nay, if it were so, my dear rogue, I ask thee pardon;-but why would you not tell me so, 'faith?

Harc. Because I did not think on't, 'faith!

Spark. Come, Belville is gone away; Harcourt, let's be gone to the new play-Come, madam.

Alith. I will not go, if you intend to leave me alone in the box, and run all about the house, as you use to do.

Spark. Pshaw, I'll leave Harcourt with you in the box, to entertain you, and that's as good; if I sat in the box, I should be thought no critic-I must run about, my dear, and abuse the author-Come, away, Harcourt, lead her down. B'ye, brother.

[Exeunt SPARKISH, ALITHEA, and HARCOURT. Moody. B'ye, driveller. Well, go thy ways, for the flower of the true town fops, such as spend their estates before they come to them, and are cuckolds before they're married. But let me go look to my freehold.

Enter a COUNTRYMAN.

Countr. Master, your worship's servant-here is the Jawyer, counsellor gentleman, with a green bag full of papers, come again, and would be glad to speak with you.

Moody. Now here's some otherdamned impediment, which the law has thrown in our way—I shall never marry the girl, nor get clear of the smoke and wickedness of this cursed town. Where is he?

Countr. He's below in a coach, with three other lawyer, counsellor gentlemen.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.

A Chamber.

Enter Miss PEGGY and Lucy.

Lucy. What ails you, Miss Peggy? You are grown quite melancholy.

Peg. Would it not make any one melancholy, to see your mistress, Alithea, go every day fluttering about abroad to plays and assemblies, and I know not what, whilst I must stay at home, like a poor, lonely, sullen bird in a cage?