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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The City Bride (1696), by Joseph Harris
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The City Bride (1696)
+       Or The Merry Cuckold
+
+Author: Joseph Harris
+
+Commentator: Vinton A. Dearing
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2007 [EBook #22974]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CITY BRIDE (1696) ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Starner, LN Yaddanapudi and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+The Augustan Reprint Society
+
+JOSEPH HARRIS
+
+_The City Bride_
+
+(1696)
+
+With an Introduction by
+Vinton A. Dearing
+
+Publication Number 36
+
+Los Angeles
+William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
+University of California
+1952
+
+
+GENERAL EDITORS
+
+H. RICHARD ARCHER, _Clark Memorial Library_
+RICHARD C. BOYS, _University of Michigan_
+ROBERT S. KINSMAN, _University of California, Los Angeles_
+JOHN LOFTIS, _University of California, Los Angeles_
+
+
+ASSISTANT EDITOR
+
+W. EARL BRITTON, _University of Michigan_
+
+
+ADVISORY EDITORS
+
+EMMETT L. AVERY, _State College of Washington_
+BENJAMIN BOYCE, _Duke University_
+LOUIS BREDVOLD, _University of Michigan_
+JAMES L. CLIFFORD, _Columbia University_
+ARTHUR FRIEDMAN, _University of Chicago_
+EDWARD NILES HOOKER, _University of California, Los Angeles_
+LOUIS A. LANDA, _Princeton University_
+SAMUEL H. MONK, _University of Minnesota_
+ERNEST MOSSNER, _University of Texas_
+JAMES SUTHERLAND, _University College, London_
+H. T. SWEDENBERG, JR., _University of California, Los Angeles_
+
+
+CORRESPONDING SECRETARY
+
+EDNA C. DAVIS, _Clark Memorial Library_
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+_The City Bride_, by Joseph Harris, is of special interest as the only
+adaptation from the canon of John Webster to have come upon the stage in
+the Restoration. Nahum Tate's _Injur'd Love: or, The Cruel Husband_ is
+an adaptation of _The White Devil_, but it was never acted and was not
+printed until 1707. _The City Bride_ is taken from _A Cure for a
+Cuckold_, in which William Rowley and perhaps Thomas Heywood
+collaborated with Webster. F. L. Lucas, Webster's most recent and most
+scholarly editor, remarks that _A Cure for a Cuckold_ is one of the
+better specimens of Post-Elizabethan romantic comedy. In particular, the
+character of the bride, Annabel (Arabella in Harris's adaptation), has a
+universal appeal. _The City Bride_, a very close copy of its original,
+retains its virtues, and has some additional virtues of its own.
+
+Not much is known of its author, Joseph Harris. Genest first notices him
+as playing Bourcher, the companion of a French pirate, in _A
+Common-Wealth of Women_. Thomas Durfey's alteration of _The Sea Voyage_
+from the Beaumont and Fletcher folio, which was produced about September
+1685. His subsequent roles were of a similar calibre, but if he never
+rose to be a star he seems to have become a valued supporting player,
+for in 1692 he was chosen to join the royal "comedians in ordinary." He
+did not at first side with Thomas Betterton in his quarrel with the
+patentees of the theatre in 1694-5, but he withdrew with him to
+Lincoln's Inn Fields. Genest notices him for the last time as playing
+Sir Richard Vernon in Betterton's adaptation of _1 Henry IV_, which was
+produced about April 1700.
+
+During his career on the stage Harris found time to compose a
+tragi-comedy, _The Mistakes, or, The False Report_ (1691), produced in
+December 1690; _The City Bride_, produced in 1696; and a comedy and a
+masque, _Love's a Lottery, and a Woman the Prize. With a New Masque,
+call'd Love and Riches Reconcil'd_ (1699), produced about March 1698/9.
+_The Mistakes_ is clearly apprentice work, for Harris acknowledges in a
+preface the considerable help of William Mountfort, who took the part of
+the villain, Ricardo. Mountfort, who had already written three plays
+himself, cut one of the scenes intended for the fifth act and inserted
+one of his own composition (probably the last) which not only clarified
+the plot but also elevated the character of the part he was to play. The
+company seems to have done its best by the budding dramatist, for Dryden
+wrote the prologue, a rather unusual one in prose and verse, and Tate
+supplied the epilogue. Harris professed himself satisfied with the
+play's reception, but owned that it was Mountfort's acting which really
+carried it off.
+
+_The City Bride_, on the other hand, shows its author completely
+self-assured, and rightly so. No doubt some of his ease comes from the
+fact that he had nothing to invent, but in large part it must derive
+from his ten-years' experience on the stage. Harris added nothing to the
+plot of _The City Bride_, although he commendably shifted its emphasis,
+as his title makes clear, from infidelity to fidelity; but he rewrote
+the dialogue almost completely, and the new dialogue is remarkable good.
+The reader will notice that it is, except for the last half of the first
+act, printed as prose. The quarto of _A Cure for a Cuckold_, from which
+Harris worked, is also largely printed as prose, but has correct verse
+lineation in the same portion of the first act. It is the more
+remarkable that Harris, following thus closely the apparent form of his
+original, could vary from it so successfully. Most notable, probably,
+are the passages in which he intensified the expression of his source.
+They may indicate no more than the eternal "ham" in our author; but I
+think they probably indicate as well a new style of acting, more
+rhetorical in one way, more natural in another. A good example, in which
+the new rhetoric is not oppressive, is the account of the sea fight at
+the end of Act III. Even when Harris followed his original most closely,
+we seem to hear the actor, speaking in a new tongue, in a more relaxed
+and colloquial rhythm. The reader will find it both amusing and
+instructive to compare the two versions of Act II, scene ii. The new
+cadences do more than merely prove that Harris had no ear for blank
+verse.
+
+_The City Bride_ does not conform to the dominant type of Restoration
+comedy, but it belongs to a thriving tradition. Domestic comedy, in
+adaptations from the Elizabethans, had been staged at intervals for
+twenty years before _The City Bride_ appeared, and the type was of
+course destined to supplant gay comedy in the near future. Harris was
+not, therefore, going against the taste of the town; on the contrary he
+was regularly guided by contemporary taste and practice. His stage is
+less crowded: he amalgamated the four gallants of _A Cure for a Cuckold_
+in the person of Mr. Spruce, at the expense of a dramatic scene (I, ii,
+31-125); and he ended the sub-plot with the fourth act instead of
+bringing its persons into the final scene, with some loss of liveliness
+and a concomitant gain in unity of effect. He modernized his dialogue
+entirely, bringing up to date the usage and allusions of his original,
+and restraining the richness of its metaphor by removing the figures
+altogether or by substituting others more familiar. He omitted a good
+deal of bawdry, especially in Act II, scene ii. All these changes have
+parallels in other Restoration adaptations. Again, the songs and dances,
+which are all of Harris's composition, reflect the demand of the
+Restoration audience for excitement, variety, novelty, in their dramatic
+fare. When in Act III, scene i, Harris meets this demand by making
+Bonvile bare his breast to Friendly's sword, and Friendly a little later
+grovel at Bonvile's feet for pardon, we may condemn the new business as
+bathetic; but when in Act IV, scene i, he substitutes for Webster's
+emaciated jokes the bustle of drawers, the sound of the bar bell, and
+healths all around, we can only applaud the change.
+
+We must also commend Harris for supplying a consistent and relatively
+believable motivation for the main action. In both _A Cure for a
+Cuckold_ and _The City Bride_, Clare (Clara) begins the action by giving
+her suitor, Lessingham (Friendly), a cryptic message: he is to determine
+who his best friend is and kill him. In _A Cure for a Cuckold_, it is
+never made clear whether the victim should have been Bonvile or Clare
+herself (she apparently intended to trick Lessingham into poisoning
+her). This uncertainty has only recently been noticed by students of the
+drama, who have been forced to emend the text at IV, ii, 165 (see
+Lucas's note on the passage). Harris's solution is simpler. He will have
+nothing to do with either murder or suicide. Clara explains to Friendly
+that the best friend of a lover is love itself.
+
+This is not the place to enumerate all the differences between _A Cure
+for a Cuckold_ and _The City Bride_; indeed the reader may prefer making
+the comparisons for himself. Harris's alterations follow the general
+pattern of Restoration adaptations from the earlier drama, it is true.
+On the other hand, a relatively small number of such plays allow us to
+see the professional actor feeling his way through the emotions and
+actions of the scenes. To compare a play like _The City Bride_ with its
+source is like visiting the rehearsals of an acting company of the time.
+Such a play has an immediacy and liveness that strongly appeals to those
+who delight to image forth the past.
+
+_The City Bride_ has never been reprinted. The present edition
+reproduces, with permission, the copy in the Henry E. Huntington
+Library, omitting Harris's signed dedication to Sir John Walter, Bart.,
+on A2^r-A3^r (A1^v in the original is blank). The top line on page 44,
+which is partly cut away, reads: _Cla._ Who (if thou ever lov'dst me ...
+
+Vinton A. Dearing
+University of California
+Los Angeles
+
+
+
+
+THE CITY BRIDE:
+
+OR,
+
+The Merry Cuckold.
+
+A COMEDY,
+
+Acted at the New Theatre, in _Little
+Lincolns Inn-Fields._
+
+BY
+
+His Majesty's Servants.
+
+_First Edition._
+
+_Spero Meliora._
+
+LONDON:
+
+Printed for _A. Roper_ and _E. Wilkinson_ at the _Black-Boy_, and R.
+_Clavel_ at the _Peacock_, in _Fleet-street_. 1696.
+
+
+
+
+PROLOGUE:
+
+_Spoke by Mr._ THURMOND.
+
+
+    _Three Ways there are, and all accounted fair,
+    To gain your Favour: Begging, Borrowing, Prayer.
+    If as a Beggar, I your Alms implore                  }
+    Methinks your Charity shou'd aid the Poor;           }
+    Besides, I never beg'd of you before.                }
+    If I address by Prayer, and loud Complaints
+    I then oblige yee, for I make you Saints;
+    And sure none here can think it Superstition,
+    To pray to Saints that are of no Religion!
+    If Invocation will not do my Work,
+    A Man may borrow of a_ Jew _or_ Turk;
+    _Pray lend me Gentlemen your Applause and Praise,
+    I'll take it for as good as Currant Bays;
+    And if I ne're repay it, 'tis no more,
+    Than many of you Sparks have done before:
+    With this distinction, that you ran indebt
+    For want of Money, we for want of Wit.
+    In vain I plead! a Man as soon may get
+    Mill'd Silver, as one favour from the Pit.
+    ----Hold then----now I think on't,
+    I'll e'en turn Thief, and steal your kind Affection,
+    And when I've got your Hearts, claim your protection:
+    You can't convict me sure for such a crime,
+    Since neither Mare nor Lap-dog, I purloin:
+    While you Rob Ladies Bosoms every day,              }
+    And filch their pretious Maiden-heads away;         }
+    I'll plead good nature for this Brat the Play:      }
+    A Play that plagues no more the thread-bare Theme
+    Of powder'd Beaux, or tricks o'th' Godly Dame,
+    But in your humours let's ye all alone,
+    And not so much as Fools themselves runs down.
+    Our Author try'd his best, and Wisemen tell,
+    'Tis half well doing to endeavour well:
+    What tho' his poor Allay runs not so fine;
+    Yet, let it pass as does our present Coin;
+    For wanting fairer Ore, and riches mould
+    He stamps in Brass, what others print in Gold:
+    Smile on him but this time, the next perhaps,
+    If he guess right he may deserve your Claps._
+
+
+
+
+Dramatis Person�.
+
+
+  |Bonvile, _The Bridegroom_.                         |_Mr._ Boman.    |
+  |Friendly, _His Friend, in Love with_ Clara.        |_Mr._ Thurmond. |
+  |Justice Merryman, _Father to_ Arabella.            |_Mr._ Bright.   |
+  |Summerfield, _A Gentleman, but Younger Brother,    |                |
+  |  necessitated to take the High-Way_.              |_Mr._ Scudemore.|
+  |_Mr._ Ventre, _A Merchant._                        |_Mr._ Arnold.   |
+  |_Mr._ Spruce, _A City Beau._                       |_Mr._ Bayly.    |
+  |Compasse, _A Master of a Vessel._                  |_Mr._ Freeman.  |
+  |A Councellor.                                      |_Mr._ Davis.    |
+  |Pettifog,   }                                      |_Mr._ Trefusis. |
+  |            } _Two Attorneys._                     |                |
+  |Dodge,      }                                      |_Mr._ Eldred.   |
+  |                                                   |                |
+  |_Sailers, Neighbours, Drawers, Servants, Boys,     |                |
+  |  Singers and Dancers._                            |                |
+  |                                                   |                |
+  |Arabella, _The Bride_.                             |_Mrs._ Boman.   |
+  |Clara, _Friendly's Mistriss, but secretly in Love  |                |
+  |  with_ Bonvile.                                   |_Mrs._ Boutell. |
+  |_Mrs._ Ventre, _The Merchant's Wife_.              |_Mrs._ Lacy.    |
+  |Peg, _Compasses Wife_.                             |_Mrs._ Perin.   |
+  |Nurse.                                             |_Mrs._ Lawson.  |
+  |Lucy, Clara's _Maid_.                              |_Miss_ Prince.  |
+  |                                                   |                |
+  |_Women Neighbours._                                |                |
+
+
+SCENE _London_.
+
+
+
+
+THE CITY BRIDE:
+OR, THE
+Merry Cuckold.
+
+
+
+
+ACT I. SCENE the I.
+
+     _The Curtain draws up, and discovers several sitting at a Banquet.
+     An Entertainment of Instrumental Musick, Compos'd by Signior_
+     Finger: _Then a Song, set by Mr._ John Eccles, _and Sung by Young_
+     La Roche.
+
+SONG.
+
+    _Many I've lik'd, and some Enjoy'd,
+      But if I said I Lov'd, I ly'd.
+      Inconstant as the wandring Bee,
+    From once touch'd Sweets I us'd to flee;
+    Nor all the Power of Female Skill,
+    Cou'd curb the freedom of my Will:_
+    Clarinda _only found the Art,
+    To Conquer and so keep my Heart._
+
+[_After this a Dance, and then the Scene shuts._
+
+Enter_ Friendly _and_ Clara.
+
+_Friend._ This is a Day of Mirth and Jollity my _Clara_.
+
+_Clara._ 'Tis so, for such as can be merry, Mr. _Friendly_.
+
+_Friend._ Why not for us my Love, we have a Noble President, and
+methinks shou'd Imitate (thr� Envy) this their happiness.
+
+_Clara._ I am not of your Opinion.
+
+_Friend._ Why not my Fair?
+
+_Clara._ I'll tell you, because I purpose not to Marry.
+
+_Fri._ Prithee be serious, and reform that Thought: Think of my past
+Service, and judge by that my future; weigh all the respect I have paid
+you long, and ever lov'd you beyond my self.
+
+_Cla._ I know your Weakness, and will reward it too.
+
+_Fri._ I am sure you will, you must be kind; And can you think an Answer
+of this killing Nature, a just return for all my faithful Love?
+
+_Cla._ As to that I have already said.
+
+_Fri._ Oh speak, from whence this Coldness doth arise! Be at least so
+kind as to tell me that; Is it some late Disgust you have conceived of
+my Person; or rather your desire, (I fear) of some unworthier, happy
+Creature, base in the Attempt, as you unkind in thinking of a Change; if
+neither.
+
+    _I must impute it to your Woman's Will,
+    Still pleased with what it fancies, Good or Ill._
+
+_Cla._ Be't what it will, thus it is, and with this Answer pray rest
+satisfied; there is but one way ever to win me and draw me unto
+Marriage, which whosoever finds, 'tis like he may have me, if not, I am
+still my own.
+
+_Fri._ Oh name it then! Thou dearest Treasure of my Life! my Soul! my
+All! I am in a maze of Extasie, to think there's any means to gain you,
+and hope you'l be so kind to tell me how I may be happy.
+
+_Cla._ I'll retire a while; and with my self resolve what must be done,
+and in the end send you my Resolution.
+
+[_Exit_ Clara.
+
+_Fri._ I'll here expect it: What more can I desire, than now be
+satisfied and know my Dooom.
+
+    _Suspence is the worst Torment we endure,
+    'Tis Knowledge make the Wound both safe and sure._
+
+_Enter_ Spruce _and_ _Mr._ Venter.
+
+_Spru._ How now _Jack_! What all alone Man?
+
+_Fri._ No, for I have heard some say, Men are ne're less alone, then
+when alone. The reason I suppose is this, because they have Crowds of
+Thoughts, that still perplex the Mind; which wou'd be, like the Soul
+retired and free, thereby to enjoy that sweet repose, which nought but
+that can Grant.
+
+_Spru._ Pshaw! Pox of this Morality and dull Stuff; Prithee let us be
+Merry, and Entertain the Bride and Bridegroom. Ods fish there a parcel
+of rare Creatures within! But of all Mrs. _Clara_ for my Money.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ And truly, I am of your Opinion Mr. _Spruce_; for setting
+aside her present Melancholly and Discontent, I think she is beyond
+Comparison with any other.
+
+_Spr._ Od's nigs, I know the Cause of her Disorder.
+
+_Ven._ What I pray?
+
+_Spr._ Why, I'll tell ye; In all Conditions of Estates, Professions, and
+Degrees, in Arts or Sciences, yee know there's a kind of Envious
+Emulation.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Right.
+
+_Spr._ So in this of _Arabella_'s Marrying; for _Clara_ being Lady of
+much the same Birth and Quality, Grieves I--suppose to see her Rival get
+the start of her.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Troth like enough.
+
+_Fri._ Y'are Pleasant Gentlemen--Or else because she having had so many
+Courtiers----
+
+_Spr._ And you among the rest _Jack_.
+
+_Fri._ She now perhaps does cast a more favourable Eye upon some one
+that does not like her.
+
+_Spr._ Why Faith, and that may be too.
+
+_Enter_ Lucy _with a Letter._
+
+_Lucy._ Sir, my Mistriss presents her humble Service to you, and has
+sent you this Letter; pray Heaven it be to your liking Sir.
+
+_Fri._ I thank the kind _Lucy_: There, there's for the Postage Girle:
+[_Gives her Money._] She has kept her Promise for once I see; I'm
+resolved to read it, th� I were sure my Death was Comprehended in it.
+
+     Reads. _Try all your Friends, and find out the best and nearest to
+     your Heart, That done, be sure to kill him for my sake. This fail
+     not to do, if you respect and Love (as you pretend.)_
+
+     Clara.
+
+'Tis as I fear'd, and what I know she most desires: Mischief, and
+Murder, are all her Sexes Practice, and Delight? Yet such is the
+Extravagancy of my Passion, I must obey the Mandate, th� to my certain
+Ruine: 'Tis strangely difficult, and does require Mature Deliberation.
+
+[_Exit._
+
+_Spr._ What has _Friendly_ left us?
+
+_Mr. Ven._ I believe the Letter was the occasion, it may be it was a
+Challenge.
+
+_Spr._ A Challenge! No, no; Women don't use to bring Challenges, I
+rather believe 'tis an Amour; And that Letter as you call it a _Billet
+Deux_, which is to Conduct him to the place appointed; and in some Sence
+you may take that for a Challenge.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ And she the Civil Embassadress to usher him in.
+
+_Spr._ Yes, yes, but see the Bride and Bridegroom, with the rest of the
+good Company.
+
+_Enter Justice_ Merry-man, Bonvile, Arabella, _Mrs._ Venter _and others,
+as Guests Invited to the Wedding._
+
+_Mer._ Son _Bonvile_, what call ye the Gentleman we met at the Garden
+Door?
+
+_Bon._ _Friendly_ Sir, a most approv'd and worthy Gentleman, and one of
+my chiefest Guests.
+
+_Mer._ Ay, ay, it may be so: But yet me thought he seemed somewhat
+displeased, th� Son, Hah, What think you?
+
+_Bon._ No sure Sir, he cannot be Angry, when his Friend's so happy.
+
+_Mer._ I can't tell Boy, but I believe there's something more than
+ordinary in the matter. Why should he leave the Company else? And Mrs.
+_Clara_ I miss her too. Why Gentlemen, why do you suffer this?
+
+_Ara._ Unknown to any Sir, she withdrew soon as we rise from Table.
+
+_Mer._ Sick of the Maid perhaps; because she sees you Mrs. Bride her
+Quondam Play fellow Married before her; Heh Gentlemen, heh!
+
+_Mr. Ven._ 'Troth like enough Brother _Merry-man_.
+
+_Mer._ Go, go, find her out for shame Gentlemen; and do not stand idle
+thus, Od's bobs, when I was a Young fellow and invited to a Wedding, I
+used to frisk and Jump, and so bestir my self, that I made all the
+_Green-sickness_ Girles in the Room blush like Rubies. Ah, hah! I was a
+brisk Fellow in those Days, I'faith, and used to Cut Capers a Yard high:
+Nor am I yet so Old, but I can take a round or two still--Come, come
+Gentlemen, lets in again and firk it away, shall we not?
+
+_Spr._ With all my Heart Mr. Justice.
+
+_Mer._ Why that's well said Mr. _Spruce_, Ods bobs it was, and I thank
+you heartily.
+
+_Spr._ Come Madam, you must along with us, without you all's nothing.
+
+_Arab._ I'll wait on you Gentlemen; if you will give me leave Sir.
+[_To_ Bonvile.
+
+_Bon._ Oh my best Joy! This Day you may Command.
+
+_Mer._ That's right, that's right I'faith Gentlemen! This Day she
+Commands, and he for ever after. Ods bobs I have done so my self, and
+hope I shall do so still. Sister _Venter_, May I presume to ask if my
+Brother can say as much?
+
+[_Exit_ Bonvile, Arab. Spruce, _and the rest of the Guests._]
+
+_Mrs. Vent._ Yes Brother, I think he may, I freely Give him leave.
+
+_Mer._ Observe that Brother, she freely gives you leave: But who Gives
+leave the Master or the Servant?
+
+_Mr. Ven._ You are Merry Brother, and truly you have reason, having but
+one Daughter and see her Married as you would have her.
+
+_Mer._ Yes, I have one thank Heaven! You wou'd be glad Sister you cou'd
+say so, but your Barrenness does give your Husband leave (if he please)
+to look for Game elsewhere.
+
+_Mrs. Ven._ Well, well Sir, th� you jeer me, and make a scorn of my
+Sterility--
+
+_Mer._ No, no, not I Sister, I scorn not your Sterility, nor your
+Husbands Virility neither.
+
+_Mrs. Ven._ My Husband's Virility! Pray spare my Husband; for he has not
+been so idle as you imagin; He may have an--Offspring abroad for ought
+you know, that you never heard of.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Oh fye Wife, You will not make it publick will you?
+
+_Mrs. Ven._ And yet he keeps himself within compass for all that.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ If you love me _Winny_--
+
+_Mrs. Ven._ Na, I say no more, but thereby hangs a Tale.
+
+_Mer._ Say'st thou so old Girle? What and has he been stragling then?
+Nay; nay I know he is a Ventersome Man; And a--Merchant of small Wares
+sometimes, especially when he can get a good Commodity: I love him the
+better for't I'faith, Ods bobs I do--A notable spark with a Young Wench
+in a corner, Is he not? A true Chip of the old block, his Father I
+warrant him--But Sister, I have something to say to you in private,
+concerning my Daughter.
+
+_Enter Nurse._
+
+_Nurse._ By your leave Good Folks, Is Master _Venter_ the Merchant here
+I pray?
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Oh Nurse! I am glad to see thee, How does my Boy?
+
+_Nurse._ Very well, I thank Heaven Sir! He grows bravely I assure you.
+'Tis a Chopping lad I promise you, and as like your good Worship; As if
+he had been spit out of your Mouth.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Softly, Nurse softly.
+
+_Nurse._ I protest 'tis one of the forward'st Infants in the Universe;
+Lord! how it will Crow, and Chirup like a Sparrow! I am afraid Sir he is
+about Teeth, for he Dribbles extreamly, if so, Your Worship must provide
+him a Silver Corral with a Whistle and Chain.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Well, well, he shall have everything Nurse, my Wife shall
+send them to ye; in the mean time, there, there's a Piece, to buy thee a
+Pair of Gloves, and so leave us, for I am busie at present, therefore
+steal away behind me, and slip out at the back Door.
+
+_Nurse._ Yes Sir, I am gone, Heavens bless your Worship, a Piece! Marry!
+and that's a sufficient Charm to lye up any Nurses Tongue in
+_Christendom_.
+
+[_Ex. Nurse_
+
+_Just. Mer._ Well well, it shall be done: Come Brother we are mist I
+warrant you amongst the Young Fry, let's to 'um and, Dance till our Legs
+ake again, come I'll lead the way.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ We follow you.
+
+[_Exeunt._
+
+_Enter_ Friendly _Reading the Letter._
+
+_Fr._ Heaven in its excess of Goodness, bestow'd no greater Blessing on
+Mankind than that of Friendship--To Murder any one is a Crime
+unpardonable! _But a Friend!--And of all Friends the nearest to my
+Heart_,--'Tis such an Imposition that Hell it self 'till now cou'd never
+parallel; And yet this Devil of a Woman has power over me beyond all
+Virtue. I am distracted in my Thoughts, and know not what to do; yet
+something must be done without delay, or else I lose her quite: And yet
+I fear 'tis most Impossible, for Friendship left the World, when Justice
+fled, and all who now do wear that Name are the worst of Hypocrites,
+
+    _Like Counterfeited Coin on which is seen,
+    The formal Stamp; but sordid Dross within._
+
+_Enter_ Bonivile.
+
+    _Bon._ My Friend alone and Thoughtful?  say for what?
+    That you alone appear with Discontent,
+    When all my Friends Congratulate my Bliss?
+    Is it because (which I durst ne're suspect)
+    Your Love to me was not intirely true?
+    Or else perhaps, this Crown of Happiness
+    You think Misplac'd, and Envy it not yours.
+
+    _Fri._ Forbear such cruel Words--
+    How can you entertain a Thought so Vile
+    Of him whom so long you have call'd your Friend?
+    May all the Blesings Heaven can bestow
+    On us poor Mortals in this World below,
+    Crown all your Days, and may you nothing see
+    But flowing Tides of sweet Felicity;
+    But I, alas!--
+
+    _Bon._ Alas! What means my _Friendly_?
+    Much hidden Grief that wretched Word portends,
+    Which thus disturbs the Quiet of my Friend?
+    But come disclose it to me,
+    And since the Burthen is too much for one,
+    I'll bear a part to ease thy troubled Breast.
+
+    _Fri._ Oh _Bonvile_!
+    Seek not to force this Fatal secret from me--
+
+    _Bon._ I must know it, by my best hopes I must.
+
+    _Fri._ Oh no! I cannot, Nay I dare not--
+
+    _Bon._ How dare not trust a secret to a Friend?
+
+    _Fri._ Oh _Bonville_, _Bonville_! Call me not your Friend,
+    That Name strikes horrour to my very Soul.
+
+    _Bon._ Ha! Art thou then a Stranger to that Name?
+
+    _Fri._ Indeed I am, and must be so for ever now.
+
+    _Bon._ Yet hear me _Friendly_; Deny me if thou can'st,
+    Fixt as a Rock, I vow I'll here remain,
+    Until I have forc'd this Dire secret from thee.
+
+    _Fri._ Pardon me Sir, I hope you soon will hear it,
+    But I----
+
+    [_Offers to go._]
+
+    _Bon._ Yet stay, and since intreaty can't prevail,
+    By all the Friendship which you once profess'd,
+    By all that's Holy, both in Heaven and Earth,
+    I now Conjure thee to impart it to me,
+    Or by this Life----
+
+    _Fri._ Hold, hold, and since I can no longer hide it
+    Know 'tis my Honour then which lyes at Stake.
+
+    _Bon._ Thy Honour! How? Proceed.
+
+    _Fri._ By chance a Quarrel happen'd to arise
+    Betwixt another and my self, The Field,
+    Time, Place, and all appointed,
+    Nay Seconds must assist us in the Deed:
+    I have relied on many seeming Friends,
+    (Such as profess the bare and empty Name)
+    And all refuse to venture in my Cause.
+
+    _Bon._ Is this all?
+
+    _Fri_ All, Is it not enough? To see my Reputation,
+      (the Lifes Blood of my Soul)
+    Nay all that's Dear, in Danger to be lost.
+
+    _Bon._ Not while thy _Bonvile_ lives and wears a Sword:
+    May all things frown that I wou'd have to smile,
+    May I live Poor, and Dye despised by all,
+    If I out live the ruine of thy Honour!
+    Tell me the time my Friend?
+
+    _Fri._ Oh, spare me that, for, if once known the time,
+    You'l Cancel this your promise, and recall
+    Your Friendly proffer.
+
+    _Bon._ Away with these Excuses, come the time.
+
+    _Fri._ At Seven this Evening.
+
+    _Bon._ The place?
+
+    _Fri._ _Barn-Elms_:
+    Oh the fatal place! Where I too well foresee,
+    The certain fall and Ruine of my Honour!
+
+    _Bon._ No, Thou shalt not stay to forfeit thy lov'd Honour,
+    Come I'm ready to assist my Friend; and will along with you.
+
+    _Fri._ Alas. What mean you?
+    Of all my Friends on you I ne're Relied;
+    But sure I Dream, I Rave, by Heav'ns I'm Mad!
+    My _Bonvile_ leave his Wife? And on his Wedding Day?
+    His Bride whom he perhaps may ne're Enjoy?
+    And all for me? O most unhappy Man!
+
+    _Bon._ Pleasure before my Friend I'll ne're prefer,
+    Nor is it lost, th� for a while, delay'd.
+
+    _Fri._ Are you then resolv'd to go?
+
+    _Bon._ I am as fixt in my Resolve as is the _Libertin_ in vice,
+    Which Death alone can part.
+
+    _Fri._ Yet stay, and think what it is you undertake,
+    Recall this Rash and suddain Resolution,
+    Least you repent, alas when it is too late.
+
+    _Bon._ This were enough to shake a weaker Soul,
+    But mine it moves not; like to a Mighty Oake,
+    I'm plac'd above the Storms of Fear or Doubt.
+
+_Enter_ Arabella.
+
+    _Fri._ Sir, no more, the Bride,
+
+    _Ara._ Oh, Heavens defend me!
+
+    _Bon._ What ailes my Dearest Life?
+
+    _Ara._ I've lost the Key of this Chain I wear about my Neck
+    And of these Bracelets, Oh!  Unhappy Omen!
+
+_Bon._ No, no, my Love; I found it as it lay at Random in your Chamber,
+and fearing it might be forgot, or lost, have laid it by; 'Tis safe my
+Love.
+
+_Ara._ Indeed I'me very glad you've found it, but yet----
+
+[sighs.
+
+_Bon._ Yet, What my Dear? from whence proceeds that sigh?
+
+    _Ara._ Alas, I know not!
+    Some busie Genius Whispers to my Soul,
+    The loss of this upon my Wedding Day
+    Portend's a greater e're the Day be past.
+
+    _Bon._ Banish such Fears, let's in and see our Friends.
+
+    _Ara._ Indeed they all expect you; come I'll lead the way.
+
+    _Bon._ I'll go with you. _Barn-Elms_ you say?
+
+    [_Aside to_ Friendly.
+
+    _Fri._ Yes that's the place, at Seven precisely;
+
+    _Bon._ I'll meet you on the _Exchange_, and go together;
+    If you are there before me, Take a turn or two.
+
+    [_Exit_ Bonvile, _and_ Arabella.
+
+    _Fri._ Oh my Dear _Bonvile_! Art thou then the Man?
+    The only, only Man that I can call Friend,
+    And only Friend that I am bound to Kill?
+    A Friend, that for my sake wou'd stake his Life,
+    Leave a Chast Bride and untouch'd Nuptial Bed
+    For me base Man, nay worse than Savage Beast:
+    The generous Lyon, never kills his kind
+    They say, alth� provoked to utmost rage;
+    Yet I vile Monster, more ungrateful Man,
+    Thus unprovoked, must kill my Brother Creature,
+    And which is worse, my Dear and only Friend!
+    All for the pleasure of a Foolish Woman.
+
+      _O cruel Woman thus to Command
+      A Task so hard, Yet what I can't withstand!
+      Oh! thou rare Copy of the Original,
+      By which free Man at first received his fall;
+      For she not only wou'd her self undo,
+      And all her Sex, but Damn all Mankind too._
+
+      [_Exit._
+
+_The End of the First Act._
+
+
+
+
+ACT the Second.
+
+
+SCENE the First.
+
+_The Fields._
+
+
+_Enter_ Summerfield _solus._
+
+_Sum._ A Younger Brother! 'Tis a poor Title, and very hard to bear with:
+The Elder Fool inherits all the Land, whilst we are forc'd to follow
+_Legacies of Wit, and get 'um when we can_. Why shou'd the Law, by which
+we are deprived of equal Portion with the First-begotten, not bind our
+Fathers to cease from Procreation, and so as well deprive us of a
+wretched Being, as of the Thing we cannot be without: No, no, our
+Mothers ne're will consent to that, they love to groan and squall, tho
+at the same time the Gallows eccho's to their Groans, and both together
+labour for us. From the first we travel forth--to'thers our Journey's
+End. _All this I know, yet I must forward_: To beg, my Birth will ne're
+consent to; and _borrowing is quite out of date_--Yet starve I cannot,
+_nor murder I wou'd not_: It must be the Highway then, the old Trade we
+poor honest Rogues are forc'd too--This Place will serve for a Beginner
+well enough--A Beginner did I say? Yes; for this is the very first day I
+open Shop--Fortune, they say, uses to help the Bold, I hope she will be
+kind to me. Ha! who have we here? A Gentlewoman well rigg'd, and only a
+Servant with her, She may be a Prize worth the boarding, and faith I'll
+venture hard but I'll carry her.
+
+[_He retires to a corner of the Stage._
+
+_Enter_ Arabella _in great disorder, looking about her, with_ Symon _her
+Servant._
+
+_Arab._ This way, say'st thou _Symon_, with _Friendly_?
+
+_Sym._ Yes forsooth Mistress, with Mr. _Friendly_.
+
+_Arab._ Alas! I'm tired and cannot travel further; my Heart is full of
+Fear, and yet I know not why, nor can I tell why he should use me
+thus,--It is not common sure for Men to leave their Brides upon the
+Wedding-day: And yet I cannot tell but it may be so! O wretched State of
+Marriage, and of Love, if this be Love! Here will I lie me down, and
+rest a while [_Lies down._] my wearied Limbs, unused to these sad
+Frights and Fears--But prethee do thou run after him, and if it be
+possible o'retake him too: Tell him the strange Disorder thou dost leave
+me in; and let him know my Father's Anger, his Friends Concern, and what
+is more, his _Arabella_'s sad Complaint; tell him, I grieve, I faint, I
+die; tell him any thing that may stay him.
+
+_Sym._ Yes Forsooth.
+
+_Arab._ Intreat him to return; nay, urge him all thou canst to make him
+come again: Nay haste, good _Symon_, fly if thou canst, for I can stir
+no further.
+
+_Sym._ Well, well, Forsooth, I am gone.
+
+[_Exit_ Symon.
+
+_Arab._ Alas, how wretched and forlorn am I!
+
+    _I she whom once so many did admire,
+    Whose Wit and Charms the coldest Hearts cou'd fire!
+    Now wretched Maid, and most unhappy Wife,
+    In Sighs and in Complaints must end my Life.
+    Abandoned by my Husband, e're enjoyed,
+    With thoughts of Pleasure, yet untasted, cloy'd.
+    He leaves me now to my sad Frights a Prey;
+    O, my dear_ Bonvile! _whither dost thou stray?
+    Unheard, alas! I make my amarous Moans;
+    The Winds and Waves refuse to bear my Groans:
+    Eccho her self can't suffer my Complaint,
+    But with repeated Sighs grows tir'd and faint.
+    Where to find him, good Heaven direct me!
+    For losing him, I more than lose my self._
+
+[_Rises, and_ Exit.
+
+_Sum._ I must after her, she's worth my Acquaintance, and has good
+Moveables about her I perceive, what e're the Ready is. The next Turning
+has a most convenient Hollow for the Purpose, and there I'll make her
+sure. Now Luck, or never.
+
+[_Exit after_ Arabella.
+
+_Reenter_ Arabella, _and_ Summerfield _after her._
+
+_Ara._ I'm at a stand already, and know not where I am.
+
+_Sum._ I'll direct you, Madam; Well overtaken.
+
+_Ara._ Bless me, Sir; What are you?
+
+_Sum._ A Man.
+
+_Ara._ An honest Man, I hope?
+
+_Sum._ Yes faith in some Respects, I'm very honest, but not altogether
+so; I were not fit to live in the World if I were too honest, Child.
+
+_Ara._ Alas! then I begin to fear: Pray tell me what you are?
+
+_Sum._ Why, faith, an honest Thief.
+
+_Ara._ How, honest, and yet a Thief? I never heard they were of Kin
+before; Pray, Heaven, I find it now.
+
+_Sum._ Indeed! a very honest Thief.
+
+_Ara._ Well, Sir, since that's your Title, pray use me kindly: Nay, I'm
+sure you will, there's something in your Looks which speaks you mild and
+noble.
+
+_Sum._ Yes, I am a Gentleman, and you shall find me so; for I'll not
+offer you the least shew of Violence, or offer to corrupt your Chastity;
+th� indeed you are tempting Fair, and might inflame a colder Heart than
+mine: Yet Ravishing's no part of my Profession as yet; or if it were,
+you look so charming Innocent, you wou'd disarm my wildest Thoughts.
+
+_Ara._ Blessings on your Goodness!
+
+_Sum._ Are you a Maid, or Wife?
+
+_Ara._ I am both, Sir.
+
+_Sum._ Then this it seems is your Wedding-day, and these the Hours of
+Interim that keep you in that double State?
+
+_Ara._ Indeed you are in the right.
+
+_Sum._ Come then, I'll be brief, and hinder not your desired _Hymen_.
+You have some superfluous Toys I see about you, which you must deliver;
+I mean, that Chain of Gold and Pearl about your Neck, and those pretty
+Bracelets about your Arms, (pray, Heaven, they prove not Emblems of the
+combined Hemp which is to halter mine); come, Madam, pray deliver 'em.
+
+_Ara._ Nay, I intreat you, Sir, to take 'em, for I cannot give 'em, they
+are lock'd you see, and truly I have not the Key about me; it may be you
+are furnish'd with Instruments that may unloose 'em, I pray do.
+
+_Sum._ No faith, Madam, I'm but a Beginner in this same Business, and am
+wholly unprovided of any Pick-lock Tools besides this Sword.
+
+[_Draws his Sword._
+
+_Ara._ O, good Sir, do not shew me that, 'tis too frightful; pray hurt
+me not, for I do yield them freely: Use your Hands, perhaps their
+strength will serve to tear 'em from me without more ado. Some Pain I'll
+quietly endure, provide you do not hurt me much.
+
+_Sum._ Alas, dear Lady, I'll use you as gently as I can upon my Word;
+but 'tis devilish strong.--If I hurt you, pray speak.
+
+[_He endeavours to break the Chain about her Neck._]
+
+_Ara._ Not much, Sir.
+
+_Sum._ I am glad on't,--S'death, I can't do it.
+
+[_She draws his Sword, and stands upon her Guard._
+
+_Ara._ No Sir, nor shall not now: You a Highway-man and guard your self
+no better: Come, Sir, what Money have you? Deliver quickly.
+
+_Sum._ Not a Cross by this foolish Hand of mine!
+
+_Ara._ How, no Money, 'twere pity then to take this from thee; Here,
+take it again, I know you'l use me ne're the worse for what I have done.
+
+[_Gives him his Sword again._]
+
+_Sum._ No, by my Life!
+
+_Ara._ I do believe you; and now pray hear me--Here on my Knees, in
+sight of Heaven, I make this solemn Protestation, That if you'l but
+forbear the Rifling of this Chain and Bracelets, and go but with me
+Home, by all the Vows which I this Day have plighted to my dearest
+Husband, I will deliver you in Money the full Value of these I wear,
+and cannot for my Life get off.
+
+_Sum._ Ha! Ready-money is the Prize I look for; it passes without
+suspicion every where, when Chains and Jewels are often stop'd and
+call'd for before the Magistrate: But----
+
+_Ara._ Nay never doubt! You saw I gave you my Advantage up, and
+questioned not my safety at your hands, pray fear not yours in mine.
+
+_Sum._ I know not what to do.
+
+_Ara._ Pray tell me, Sir, did you ever think a Woman true?
+
+_Sum._ I have heard of some, but very few.
+
+_Ara._ Will you add one more to your belief?
+
+_Sum._ I think I may, for they were fewer than the Articles of my Faith,
+therefore I have room for you, and will believe you--Yet stay, you say
+you'l ransom your jewels with Ready-money when you come Home; so you
+may, and then discover me.
+
+_Ara._ Shall I repeat the Vows I made?
+
+_Sum._ No, for I'll trust you; and if you do betray me, then Mercy upon
+me, and Farewel. I knew a Gentleman that had been a Courtier at
+_Whitehall_ fifteen Years, and he was buried e're he took a Bride: 'Tis
+very strange you'l say; and may be my Case in another way.
+
+_Ara._ Come, Sir, never fear: A Man and afraid; Fie, fie!
+
+_Sum._ Give me your Hand, I'll wait on you; and if you are (as I believe
+you) True and Just, you are the World's Wonder! Come, Madam.
+
+[_Exeunt._
+
+
+SCENE II.
+
+_Enter two Boys, one with a Child in his Arms._ Compass _on the other
+side._
+
+_1 Boy._ _Jack_, Who's this?
+
+_2 Boy._ O _Jeminy_! I'll be hang'd if it ben't Goodman _Compass_, that
+they said was dead three Years ago.
+
+_1 Boy._ Od's Life, and so it is!
+
+_Comp._ O _London_! sweet _London_! Do I live to see thee once again? My
+Eyes are full of Brine for Joy. And if my dear _Peggy_ be but living
+still, I shall cry 'em out.
+
+_1 Boy._ Goodman _Compass_, I am glad to see you; You are welcome home.
+
+_Comp._ Thank you, good Lad: Honest _Jack_ here too? Why, thou art grown
+a little Man since I saw thee last: What, is that thy own, heh?
+
+_2 Boy._ I am fain to keep it, you see, whoever got it; it may be other
+Mens Cases as well as mine.
+
+_Comp._ Thou say'st true _Jack_: But whose pretty Knave is it?
+
+_2 Boy._ My Dame's where I live.
+
+_Comp._ And not thy Master's?
+
+_2 Boy._ Nay, nay, I can't tell that neither: My Master loves it as well
+as if it were his own, and for ought I see better than my Dame.
+
+_Comp._ A very good Lad by my Troth!
+
+_2 Boy._ But, Goodman _Compass_, I can tell you News, Your Wife has a
+brave Boy too of her own, not above a Quarter old, as big as two of
+this.
+
+_Comp._ Ha! say'st thou so, _Jack_? Ha, ha, ha, by my Troth I am
+heartily glad to hear it: I'll give thee a dozen of Ale, and thy News be
+true, Boy.
+
+_1 Boy._ I assure you 'tis very true: All your Neighbours can tell you
+the same.
+
+_Comp._ Ha, ha, ha! But a Quarter old, and so lusty, say you? What
+plaguy thundering Boys are got now-a-days: I Gad, I shall split my Sides
+with Laughing; Ha, ha, ha.--But _Jack_, I have been loth to ask thee all
+this while, for fear of ill News, how does my Wife?
+
+_2 Boy._ O never better, nor ever so lusty and handsome--And truly she
+wears better Clothes than she was wont, especially on Holy-days: she has
+Silk-Gowns, and Lac'd-Petticoats, and fine _Holland_-Smocks too, they
+say, that have seen 'em: And some of our Neighbours say, they were taken
+up in _Cheap_.
+
+_Comp._ Like enough, _Jack_; and there they must be paid for--Well, good
+Lads, go and tell my Wife the joyful Tidings of my Return.
+
+_2 Boy._ That I will with all my Heart, for she heard you were dead long
+ago.
+
+_1 Boy._ Nay, I'll go along with you _Jack_.
+
+_2 Boy._ Come then.
+
+[_Exeunt 2 Boys._
+
+_Comp._ Well, _Peggy_, if I am one of the Livery, I thank thee for it:
+The Cuckolds are the greatest Company in all the City: And we have more
+Aldermen among us, than all the other put them together.
+
+_Enter_ Peg, Compass_'s Wife._
+
+_Peg._ O my dear sweet Honey-suckle! Art thou alive? I am glad to see
+thee with all my Heart and Soul, so I am.
+
+[_Runs and kisses him._]
+
+_Comp._ O, ho! good Spouse, give me leave to shed a few pearly Tears;
+the Fountain of Love will have its Course: And th� I cannot Sing at
+first sight, yet I can Cry you see. I am as it were new come into the
+World; and Children Cry before they Laugh, a long time you know.
+
+_Peg._ Yes; and so thou art new born indeed to me, my _Numpy_; for I was
+told you were dead long since, and never thought to see this dear sweet
+Face of thine again: I heard thou wert div'd to the bottom of the Sea,
+and that you never did intend to see poor _Peggy_ more.
+
+_Comp._ He, he, he, I was going down, as you say _Peg_, but I thought
+better on't, and turn'd back: I heard an ill Report of my Neighbours
+there; the devouring Sharks, and other Sea-Monsters, whose Company, to
+tell you the Truth, I did not like; and therefore resolv'd to come home
+and bide with thee my Girl--Come kiss thy poor Hubby, kiss me I say, for
+Sorrow begins to ebb apace.
+
+_Peg._ A thousand, thousand Welcomes home dear _Numpy_!
+
+_Comp._ An Ocean of Thanks, kind _Peggy_: Well, and how goes all at
+Home? What Lank still, poor _Peg_? Wil't ne're be full Sea at our Wharf?
+
+_Peg._ Alas, Husband, what do you mean?
+
+_Comp._ A Lass, is it, or a Lad, Wench? I shou'd be glad of both; I
+look'd for a pair of Compasses long afore now.
+
+_Peg._ What, and you from home, Love?
+
+_Comp._ I from home? Why th� I was from home, and other of our
+Neighbours from home, does that follow that every body else is from
+home?
+
+_Peg._ I am pleased you are so merry, Husband.
+
+_Comp._ Merry, nay I'll be merrier yet; why shou'd I be sorry? I hope my
+Boy's well, is he not? Od's fish, I look for another by this Time.
+
+_Peg._ Boy, what Boy, Deary?
+
+_Comp._ What Boy! why the Boy I got when I came home in the Cock-boat
+one Night, about a Year ago; You have not forgotten it, I hope, I think
+I left behind me for a Boy, and a Boy I look for.
+
+    _Peg._ I find he knows all--What shall I do? [_Aside._]
+    O dear Husband, pray pardon me.              [_Kneels._]
+
+_Comp._ Pardon thee; why I hope thou hast not made away with my Boy,
+hast thou? Od's death I'll hang thee, if there were never a Whore more
+in _London_, if thou hast.
+
+_Peg._ O no; but your long Absence, and the Rumour of your Death,
+[_Cries._] made me think I might venture.
+
+_Comp._ Venture, quoth a, I can't blame thee, _Peg_; for _Wapping_, if
+it were twice _Wapping_, can't hold out always, no more than _Redriff_,
+_Limehouse_ or _Shadwel_, nay or the strongest Suburbs about _London_;
+and when it comes to that, wo be to the City too, Girl.
+
+_Peg._ Consider, Husband, I'm but a Woman, neither the first or last
+that have done the same, and truly I won't deny but I have a Child.
+
+_Comp._ Have you so? And what by Consequence must I have then, I pray?
+
+_Peg._ If you'l forgive me this Time, it shall be so no more, indeed and
+indeed, now.
+
+_Comp._ Well, well. I will forgive thee, _Peg_, upon this Condition,
+that you tell me who it was that fell foul aboard thee, and sprung this
+Leak in thee.
+
+_Peg._ O dear Husband!
+
+_Comp._ Nay, no Excuses, for I must know.
+
+_Peg._ Why then truly it was Mr. _Venter_ the Merchant.
+
+_Comp._ I am beholding to him, and wou'd requite his Civility, if his
+Wife were but as willing, th� he be one of our Merchants at Sea, he
+shall give me leave to be Owner at home; and where is my Boy? what,
+shan't I see him?
+
+_Peg._ Yes if you please, good Husband: He's nurs'd at _Bednal green_;
+'tis now too late, to Morrow will be better.
+
+_Comp._ Come then we'l home and to bed.
+
+    _Let other Fools repine at Scoffs and Scorns,
+    I'll teach the Cuckold how to hide his Horns._
+
+[Exeunt.
+
+_Enter Justice_ Merryman, _Mr._ Venter, Spruce, _Mrs._ Venter _and_
+Clara.
+
+_Mer._ Was the like ever known, that a Bridegroom shou'd absent himself
+on his Wedding-Day?
+
+Mr. _Ven._ 'Tis somewhat strange indeed.
+
+_Mer._ And the Bride too my Daughter, she's out of the way: Why what
+shou'd be the meaning of all this, Od's bobs I can't tell?
+
+Mrs. _Ven._ Perhaps they'r busy Brother, privately conferring Notes
+together: You can't tell but that the young Man may have a stomach to
+his Supper, and fall too unawares, and we ne're the wiser.
+
+_Spr._ Od's nigs, very true; what wou'd you say then Sir, if they shou'd
+be stol'n away, and a-bed together seriously?
+
+_Mer._ What wou'd I say? marry I wou'd say, Speed 'em well: And if no
+worse News ever comes to me, I'll be hang'd if e're I cry'd for't.
+
+_Enter Nurse._
+
+How now, what's the Business with you?
+
+_Nurse._ Business enough, Forsooth; for I have the strangest Tydings!
+
+_Mer._ Of any One that's lost, Woman?
+
+_Nurse._ No forsooth, of One that's found again, an't please you.
+
+_Mer._ O, he was lost then it seems.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Her Business is with me, I believe Brother; is it not, Woman?
+
+_Nurse._ Yes, Sir.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Come hither then, [_Nurse whispers Mr._ Venter.] How,
+return'd?
+
+_Nurse._ Yes indeed, Sir, and all discovered.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Ah Curse on the Wind that blew him ashore.
+
+_Nurse._ Aye, so say I Sir, and did not sink him when he was going.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Well, well, be sure you do not let him come near the Child.
+
+_Nurse._ I warrant you, Sir, if you charge me to the contrary.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Yes, I do strictly charge you as you tender my Displeasure.
+
+_Nurse._ Well then let me alone--Besides, Sir, he intends to come to
+morrow morning with his Wife and see him.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ I'll meet him there; and if he chance to be there before me,
+be sure to keep the Child safe, and not let him touch it.
+
+_Nurse._ I warrant you, let me alone.
+
+[_Exit Nurse._
+
+_Enter_ Summerfield _and_ Arabella.
+
+_Mer._ So, so, Heaven be praised, they are not both lost I see, here's
+the Bride, my Daughter, come again.
+
+_Ara._ Father, and Gentlemen, I desire ye to treat this Stranger here
+with all Respect and Generosity; He's a loving Kinsman of my _Bonvile_'s
+who kindly came to congratulate our Wedding.
+
+_Mer._ Sir, you are heartily welcome. Od's bobs you are.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Welcome to all of us.
+
+_Spruce._ Seriously, Sir, and so you are.
+
+_Mer._ But where's the Bridegroom, Girl? Od's bobs we're all at a
+Nonplus here, at a stand, quite out; the Musicks ceas'd, and we all look
+as th� there were neither a light Heart or Heel among us; nay, my Cousin
+_Clara_ too as cloudy as on a washing Day.
+
+_Clara._ 'Tis then because you will not dance with me, Sir.
+
+_Ara._ 'Tis I alone have cause to be sad, if this Day's Happiness cou'd
+admit of any; But I've long reason'd with my pressing Thoughts, and from
+them drawn some Symptoms of Relief. Suppose this Day hath long since
+appointed by my dear _Bonvile_, to meet some Foe, and right his injur'd
+Reputation: Nay, say he fights, alas! Why shou'd I fear, when all the
+Powers above, that guard true Love and Innocence, will never see him
+fall.
+
+_Mer._ Prethee peace, good Girl hold thy tongue; Od's bobs thou'lt make
+us all Cowards, to hear a Woman preach up Valour thus.
+
+_Ara._ Well, Sir, I have done: But pray entertain this Gentleman kindly
+for my sake. Indeed I was afraid when I saw him first.
+
+_Sum._ Ha! what does she say? Od's Death she'l tell!
+
+_Ara._ Being in search of my dear _Bonvile_, I had quite lost my Way
+when he most opportunely came unto my Aid, and gave me many marks of his
+Esteem in my distress of Fears; nay more than this, which I'll declare
+at large.
+
+_Sum._ Death and Hell, she'l betray me.
+
+_Ara._ Well, Gentlemen, since the Bridegroom's absent, I must supply his
+Place: Come, when I have waited on you to your Pleasure, I will return
+[_To_ Summerfield.] to you, Sir, we must discourse more of my _Bonvile_
+yet.
+
+[_Exeunt all but_ Summerfield.]
+
+_Manet_ Summerfield _solus._
+
+_Sum._ What a trembling Trade's this, when Conscience, that shou'd be
+our only Guide, flies and leaves us to our accusing Guilt. A Thief! the
+very Name and Thought chills my Blood, and makes me tremble like an
+Ague-fit. A Dog, nay every Bough that moves, puts us in fear of present
+Apprehension. Sure I shall never thrive on this Trade: Perhaps I need
+take no further Care, I may be now near to my Journey's End, or at least
+in a fair way to _Newgate_, and from thence to _Tyburn_, the only Place
+that we poor Rogues can claim for an Inheritance. Trust a Woman, and
+with a Matter of such Importance, what a simple Dog am I? I cou'd find
+in my Heart to run away: And that were base to run from a woman; I can
+lay claim to nothing but her Vows, and those the Women seldom or never
+mind.
+
+_Enter_ Arabella.
+
+_Ara._ So, Sir, now you shall find a Woman as good as her Promise; Here
+are 20 Pieces, the full Value, on my Life, of what they cost.
+
+_Sum._ Pray, Madam, do not thus suspend my doubtful Soul; but if you do
+design to insnare my Life, speak, speak freely: Or if the Constable be
+at the Door, let him shew his Staff of Authority, perhaps I may corrupt
+him with a Bribe.
+
+_Ara._ How! base ungrateful Man, do you suspect my Faith? Nay then,
+Father, Uncle, and Gentlemen, where are you?
+
+_Enter all as before._
+
+_Mer._ How now, how now! What's the matter, Girl?
+
+_Ara._ For shame, will you not entertain your Kinsman here a little
+better: you leave him here alone, as th� you despised his Company.
+
+_Mer._ Is that all? I thought the Bridegroom had been return'd: Sir,
+pray pardon this Rudeness; But indeed I had quite forgot you, quite
+forgot you, as I hope to be sav'd: But what makes you tremble, Sir, are
+you ill dispos'd.
+
+_Ara._ Think you he hath not reason to be ill-disposed at this cold
+[_Aside to Justice_ Merryman.] Entertainment? for my part I blush for
+shame.
+
+_Spr._ Come pray, Sir, shake off this Dulness, and participate of our
+Mirth, Od's nigs do.
+
+_Sum._ I am very well, Sir, I thank you, only the Gentleman is a little
+under a Mistake.
+
+_Mer._ It may be so, Ay, ay, it may be so; I vow I thought you had
+trembled, but I believe it might be my own Hand; you must pardon me, I
+was stiffer once.
+
+_Sum._ Sir, your humble Servant.
+
+_Mer._ But, Gentlemen, what think you of an Adventure?
+
+_Spr._ Adventure whither?
+
+_Mer._ Why, to the _East-Indies_? I have a Vessel, Gentlemen, called the
+_Sea-Horse_, bound thither, and to morrow I do expect her to sail. Now,
+Gentlemen, if you'l venture, ye shall have fair Dealing, that I'll
+promise you. And for the French, you need not fear them, for she is a
+smart new Vessel: Nay, she hath a Letter of Mart too, and twenty brave
+roaring Boys on both Sides her, Starboard and Larboard: And I intend to
+go as far as _Marget_ down with her, 'twill be as good as Physick to me.
+
+_Spr._ A very good Motion, Sir, I begin, there's my ten Pieces.
+
+_Sum._ And, Sir, if a proffer'd Love may be accepted, be pleased to take
+my ten Pieces with you.
+
+_Mer._ Your's above all the rest, Sir.
+
+_Ara._ That's kindly said, Sir, and I thank you: Now pray venture Ten
+more for my sake.
+
+_Sum._ Alas, Madam, it's a younger Brother's Portion.
+
+_Ara._ At my Request, Sir, venture the other Ten; if you want, I'll
+supply you with as many more.
+
+_Sum._ With all my Heart then: Come, Sir, if you please, I'll double
+mine: So now she's got her Gold again, and I am now no Thief, (_aside_)
+Sir, I have a Suit to you,
+
+[_To_ Merryman.
+
+_Mer._ You may command it, for I am always at your Service: But pray
+your Pleasure?
+
+_Sum._ My Request, Sir, is, to have the Honour of keeping you Company to
+Sea, for I have a great desire to see _Marget_.
+
+_Mer._ Sir, I shall be very happy in your good Company.
+
+_Ara._ I hope you will be both better acquainted e're you return; and by
+that time your Kinsman may be here to make you more welcome.
+
+    _And for the Gold at my Request you lent,
+    I'll double it to give you more content._
+
+    Sum. _Why shou'd I fear, since she is prov'd so just?
+    I'll quit my Trade: Now_ Jack Catch _do thy worst._
+
+_Exeunt._
+
+_The End of the Second ACT._
+
+
+
+
+ACT the Third.
+
+_A Wood_
+
+
+_Enter_ Bonvile _and_ Friendly.
+
+_Bon._ Come my brave _Friendly_, I think we are here the first: Your
+Enemy is not yet i'th Field; let's walk a Turn or two, perhaps by that
+time he may arrive.
+
+_Fri._ I'm very confident that he's here already.
+
+_Bon._ Thy Looks, me-thinks, speak Conquest sure thy own; an ardent Rage
+has kindled both thy Cheeks.
+
+_Fri._ Like a red Morning, Friend; which still foretels a stormy Day to
+follow--And now I well observe your Face, me-thinks it waxes pale,
+there's Death in it already.
+
+_Bon._ How, _Friendly_, do you then take me for a Coward? My Face look
+pale, and Death in it already? By Heav'n, shou'd any but my _Friendly_
+dare to tell me what thou hast said, my Sword shou'd ram the base
+Affront down the curst Villain's Throat. But you are my Friend, and I
+must only chide your Error. But prethee tell me who is it you are to
+fight with, for as yet I am ignorant both of the Cause and Person.
+
+_Fri._ Ha, his Name! Did you enquire his Name?
+
+_Bon._ Yes.
+
+_Fri._ I dare not yet reveal it for fear of----
+
+_Bon._ For fear of what?
+
+_Fri._ O Confusion! I know not what to say!
+
+_Bon._ How, afraid to tell his Name? Then I begin to doubt the Justice
+of your Quarrel.
+
+_Fri._ Too well you may, for by yon' setting Sun, that Globe of heavenly
+Light I swear, I come to kill the only Man that strives to save my
+Life--Man did I say? Nay more than common Man, for those the World
+abound with; but such a Man besides, all this vast Land affords not.
+
+_Bon._ By this your large Encomium of your Friend, I'm afraid 'twas Wine
+first made your Quarrel, and thereupon this Challenge did ensue.
+
+_Fri._ O no! I call the Powers above to witness, that in all the Course
+of our unhappy Friendship, I to my knowledg never did receive the least
+Affront or Injury from him.
+
+_Bon._ How came this Challenge then?
+
+_Fri._ O dear Friend, the noblest that Man cou'd ever boast of:
+[_embraces him_] When first my rigid Fate threw on me this Command to
+fight, I had recourse to many whom I always thought my Friends; but when
+the Touchstone of my Danger try'd 'em, I found 'em like the cursed Fruit
+of _Sodom_, fair without, but rotten at the Heart: But then I found out
+_Bonvile_, my only dearest Friend. _Bonvile_ no sooner heard of my
+Engagement, but flew unto my Succour with as much Bravery, as a great
+General hastned by Alarms, marches to meet the Foe: You left your
+Nuptial Bed perhaps to meet your Death. O unheard-of Friendship! My
+Father gave me Life, 'tis true; but you, my Friend, support my Honour.
+All this for me, while I, ungrateful Man, thus seek your Life: For to my
+eternal Horror be it spoke, you are the Man whom I come here to kill.
+
+_Bon._ Ha!
+
+_Fri._ Too true alas! there read the Warrant for your Death.
+
+[_Gives him the Letter._]
+
+_Bon._ 'Tis a Woman's Hand.
+
+_Fri._ Yes, and a bad One too, they all speak fair, write foul, but mean
+worse.
+
+_Bon._ How! kill me? Sure, I dream, and this is all Delusion, or else
+thou dost it only to try thy Friend.
+
+_Fri._ O, from my Soul, I wish it were no more. But read, read on, see
+how I'm fetter'd in a _Circe's_ Charms--I love beyond Imagination, love
+even to Madness, and must as madly do a Deed will damn me to the hottest
+Flames of Hell.
+
+_Bon._ And woo't thou kill thy Friend for such a Woman?
+
+_Fri._ Alas! I must, you see I am commanded, commanded too by Love; Love
+more powerful than all the Sacred Ties of Friendship, therefore draw,
+and guard thy self. [_Draws._
+
+_Bon._ Not I by Heaven! What wou'dst thou have me draw and kill my
+Friend?
+
+_Fri._ There thou stab'st my Soul. O where, where is now my Resolution
+fled? A fatal Blast has struck me; a sudden Horror shot me thr� the
+Heart; a Trembling seiz'd my Knees, that I can hardly stand, and all my
+Vital Powers methinks seem dead; yet Love's the Fire must kindle all
+again, therefore I charge thee draw, or naked as thou art, I will assail
+thee.
+
+_Bon._ I am defended against all that thou canst do, in having Justice
+on my Side, and Friendship too to back it.
+
+    _But since Humanity now bears so sway,
+    To this unguarded Breast come make your way._
+
+Strike home be sure.
+
+[_Opens his Bosom._
+
+_Fri._ That were a barbarous Murder.
+
+_Bon._ How can the Effect prove different from the Cause? Or how can any
+thing but damn'd Barbarity ensue a Woman's much more damn'd Design? Who
+wou'd expect Reason from one that raves, or hope for Mercy in a Tyger's
+Den? Believe me, _Friendly_, all this may sooner be; Mercy may sooner
+dwell among the Savage Wolves and Bears, than in a Woman's Breast.
+
+_Fri._ O, my too rigid Fate, to place me thus on such a dangerous
+Precipice, that wheresoe're I turn my self for help, I see my Ruin still
+before mine Eyes.
+
+[_Seems to weep._
+
+_Bon._ [_Pausing._] Stay--The Command which thy _Medea_ sent thee, was
+to kill thy only dearest Friend, was it not?
+
+_Fri._ Alas! it was.
+
+_Bon._ Then here, all Friendship dies between us; thus hast thou kill'd
+thy Friend, and satisfied that infernal Hag, thy cursed Mistress, who
+thus commanded thee: Away, I say, begon, and never see me more.
+
+_Fri._ Ha!
+
+_Bon._ Yes, base ungrateful Wretch, farewel, (_Offers to go_) --Yet
+stay, and since that Sacred Tie of Friendship's broke, know thou, most
+vile of Men, that _Bonvile_'s now thy Enemy; therefore do thou draw and
+guard thy spotted Life.
+
+_Fri._ How, Friend!
+
+_Bon._ Friend didst thou call me? On forfeit of thy Life that word no
+more; the very Name of Friend from thee, shall be a Quarrel: How can I
+tell but that thou lovest my Wife, and therefore feign'd this damn'd
+Design to draw me from her Arms?
+
+_Fri._ How! wrong thy Wife? O no, I never had a Thought so vile! Yet you
+must forgive me, indeed you must, by all that once was dear to me; and
+what I dare not mention more, by Love and Honour, I implore thy
+Pardon--Still art thou deaf to my Complaints?--Nay, then upon my Knee, I
+will enforce thy Pity. Behold me, _Bonvile_, prostrate at thy Feet,
+crawling for Mercy, swimming in Tears, and almost drown'd with Shame;
+extend thy Arm to help me, as thou'rt a Man, be God-like in thy Nature,
+and raise me from the Grave; turn thy Eyes on me, and sink me not with
+Frowns; O save me, save me, or I fall for ever.
+
+_Bon._ As soon shall Heav'n reverse the Fate of Hell, as I recal what I
+have said, or plant thee in my Breast again.
+
+_Fri._ Nay, then I am lost to thee, and all the World besides.
+
+[_Rises._
+
+_Bon._ Thou are indeed for ever lost to me; see what a miserable Wretch
+thy Folly now has made thee: A Creature so far below my Pity, that I
+despise and scorn thy base Submission, and will never hear thee more,
+more.
+
+_Fri._ Say but thou hast forgiven me, and I will ask no more.
+
+_Bon._ I never will.
+
+_Fri._ O cruel _Bonvile_!
+
+_Bon._ More barbarous _Friendly_: Hold off, or I will use thee like a
+Dog, tread thee to Earth, and spurn thee like a Slave, base as thou art.
+
+_Fri._ Still thou art my Friend----
+
+_Bon._ Thou ly'st, I have abjured the Name.
+
+_Fri._ Let me but go with thee.
+
+_Bon._ Not for the World; I'de rather venture my self with Crocodiles,
+catch the last dying Gasps of some poor Wretch infested with the Plague,
+than trust my self with thee.
+
+    _Farewel, I leave thee with the greatest Curse,
+    Condemn'd to Woman, Hell affords no worse._
+
+[_Exit, breaking from him._
+
+Friendly solus, _rising in a Passion._
+
+_Fri._ Death and Destruction, am I thus despised! Condemned to Woman's
+Lust, and scorn'd by Man. By _Bonvile_ too, after imploring, like a
+School-Boy, at his Feet--My Blood boils high, and scalds my very Heart!
+My inward Grief calls on me for Revenge, and I am all on fire! O that I
+had the proud _Bonvile_ here now at my Feet, I'de use him worse than he
+did me before.
+
+    _But since that open Force yields no Relief,
+    Private Revenge shall ease my swelling Grief.
+    With Thoughts of Jealousy I'll fill his Soul,
+    Which shall its Powers of all their Rest controul.
+    Thus for a Woman I've begun a War,
+    And for her sake must damn my Soul like her._[Exit.
+
+
+SCENE the Second.
+
+_Enter_ Nurse, Compass, _and his Wife._
+
+_Nurse._ Indeed you must pardon me, I can't let ye see the Child; to
+tell you the Truth, I am commanded to the contrary.
+
+_Comp._ Commanded! Prethee who commanded thee?
+
+_Nurse._ The Father.
+
+_Comp._ The Father, Why who am I?
+
+_Nurse._ Not the Father sure, the Civil Law has found it otherwise.
+
+_Comp._ The Civil Law found it otherwise! Why then the Uncivil Law shall
+make it mine again, I'll be as dreadful as a _Shrove-Tuesday_ to thee;
+for I'll besiege thy squalling catterwauling Castle, with my Friends the
+Mob, and gut thy stinking Nursery, but I'll both see and have my Child.
+
+_Nurse._ Harkee, Goodman Swabber, say but half so much again, and I'll
+call the Constable, and lay Burglary to your Charge. You wou'd not be so
+hot if the Enemy were in View, nor if you had to do with any body but a
+poor innocent Woman, so you wou'd'nt.
+
+_Peg._ Good Husband be patient, and let me alone with her: Come, come,
+good Nurse, let him see the Boy.
+
+_Nurse._ Indeed I dare not Goody _Compass_: The Father first you know
+delivered me the Child, and order'd me to let no body see it. He pays me
+well and weekly for my Pains, and therefore I'll do as be bad me, so I
+will.
+
+_Comp._ Why thou white Bastard-breeder; Is not this Woman here the
+Mother?
+
+_Nurse._ Yes, I grant you that.
+
+_Comp._ Do you so? Well, and I grant it too; And is not the Child then
+my own by the Wives Copy-hold?
+
+_Nurse._ The Law must try that.
+
+_Comp._ The Law! What then you think I'll be but its Father-in-Law? I
+tell thee, all the Wit and Law twixt _Cuckolds-Point_ and
+_Westminster-Hall_, shan't keep my own dear Flesh and Blood from me, I
+warrant you that. No an't does, I'll be hanged at the Main-yard: Why,
+who, dost think, uses to get my Children but my self?
+
+_Nurse._ Nay, I can't tell; you must look to that, for my part I ne're
+knew you get any.
+
+_Comp._ Say'st thou so? Why, look you, do but put on a clean Smock, and
+try me, if thou darst, I'll hold thee three to one I get thee with Child
+before I leave thee: Heh! what say'st thou?
+
+[_Offers to lay hold on her._.
+
+_Nurse._ I'll see you hang'd first--Nay, pray be quiet, and don't offer
+to spoil my Milk. Lord, you are as boisterous as my Husband was the
+first Night we were married: Pray, Goody _Compass_, take off your Cur,
+or else he'l bite me.
+
+_Peg._ No never fear him, Nurse, he's not so furious I assure ye.
+
+_Enter Mr._ Venter _and his Wife._
+
+_Nurse._ O! here's my Master, the Child's Father, now talk with him.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Good morrow Neighbour, good morrow to ye both.
+
+_Comp._ Both! Good morrow to you and your Wife too, if you go to that.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ I wou'd speak calmly with you, Friend, if you think fit.
+
+_Comp._ I know what belongs to Calm, and a Storm too; and if you please,
+a cold word or two wi' you.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ With all my Heart.
+
+_Comp._ I understand that you have ty'd your Mare in my Ground.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ My Mare, Friend, nay I assure you, 'twas only my Nag.
+
+_Comp._ Your Nag? Well your Nag then let it be: Harke, Sir, to be short,
+I'll cut off your Nag's Tail, if e're I catch him there again.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Pray hear me, you are too rough to maintain----
+
+_Comp._ I say, Sir, you shall maintain no Child of mine; my Wife does
+not bestow her Labour for that purpose.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ You are too passionate--I will not maintain----
+
+_Comp._ No marry shall you not.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ The Deed I have done to be lawful, I have repented it, and
+given Satisfaction to the Law, my Purse has paid for't; therefore I
+wou'd treat milder with you if you'd be pleased.
+
+_Comp._ Yes, yes, I am very well pleased, and shall be better pleased if
+you can serve me so still: For, look you Sir, one of these Days I shall
+to Sea again, you know where my Wife lives; yet you'l but lose your
+labour, for get as many Children as you can, I assure you, you shall
+keep none of them.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ I think you are mad.
+
+_Comp._ Why, if I am Horn-mad, what's that to you?
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Nay then, since you are so rough, I tell you plainly you
+are--a----
+
+_Comp._ A what? What am I, heh?
+
+Mr. _Ven._ A Coxcomb.
+
+_Comp._ A Coxcomb! a Cuckold you mean, and you a Fool for your pains.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ The Child is mine, I am the Father of it, and will keep it.
+
+_Comp._ Yes if you can, I know you will. But pray tell me, is not my
+Wife the Mother? You may be as far from being the Father as I am, for my
+Wife's acquainted with more Whore-masters besides your self; ay, and as
+crafty Merchants too, let me tell you that.
+
+_Peg._ No indeed Husband, I had to do with no body else, 'twas he begot,
+indeed and indeed now. Yet for all that, the Child's mine, I bred it and
+bore it, and I'll have it and keep it, so I will.
+
+Mrs. _Ven._ Pray hold there Mrs. Jill-flurt, the Child's my Husband's,
+and he shall have it, or I'll tear your Eyes out, ye Whore you.
+
+_Comp._ Good Words, Mistress; d'ye hear, give good Words you'd best, or
+I shall tell you your own.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ I'll have no more to say to ye, the Law shall determine it;
+in the mean time Nurse keep the Child for me, there, there's Money for
+thee.
+
+[_Gives her Money.
+
+_Comp._ There's Money for me too, keep it for me, Nurse; give him both
+thy Duggs at once, I pay thee for the right one, Girl.
+
+_Nurse._ I have two Hands, you see Gentlemen; this does but show ye how
+the Law will hamper ye; even thus you'l be used, Gentlemen, if you go to
+Law.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ It can't be helpt, for I won't lose my Right.
+
+_Comp._ Nor I mine for all you're a Merchant.
+
+Mrs. _Ven._ Nor I mine for all I did not bear it.
+
+_Peg._ Nor I, tho but a poor Sailer's Wife.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Well, fare ye well, we shall meet in another Place--Come
+_Winny_.
+
+[_Exit_ Venter _and his Wife._
+
+_Comp._ Ay, ay, I'll meet you when and where you dare, and do your
+worst, I fear you not: By the Lord _Harry_ the World's come to a fine
+Pass, that we must go to Law for our Children. No wonder the Lawyers are
+all so rich, yet e're the Law shall have a Limb, a Leg, a Joint or Nail
+of this same Boy,
+
+    _'T shall cost me more than a whole Child in getting,
+    Some win by play, and standers by with Betting._
+
+[Exeunt.
+
+
+SCENE the Third.
+
+_Enter_ Spruce, Arabella _with a Letter in her Hand_, Clara, _Mr._
+Venter, _and Mrs._ Venter.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ From whence came that Letter, Niece?
+
+_Ara._ From _Putney_, Sir, and from my Husband.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ And pray be free; Does he tell ye the Cause of his leaving
+you so abruptly on his Wedding-day?
+
+_Ara._ Yes; Sir, yet this had been sufficient to have let me known what
+he is gone about, without the formal Addition of an Epistle.
+
+_Spruce._ That, why what is that I pray Madam?
+
+_Ara._ His Will, Sir, wherein he makes me his sole Executrix.
+
+_Spr._ Will! why what the Devil does he mean, seriously I can't find it
+out?
+
+_Ara._ Why, Sir, he's gone to fight.
+
+_Spr._ How fight, Madam! On my Soul then I believe _Friendly_'s Second.
+
+_Ara._ You're in the right, he is so, and I am lost for ever!
+
+_Cla._ O foolish _Friendly_, this thy Mistake has made me the most
+wretched of Woman-kind! Such variety of Thoughts load my afflicted
+Breast, that I know not what to think: I rave, am mad, not knowing what
+my Folly may produce; I fear for both, for both my Heart does bleed.
+
+_Ara_. Miserable Maid! nay, miserable Wife! but much more miserable
+Widow! O my dear _Bonvile_!
+
+_Spr._ Duce take me, if e're I saw a Company so Phlegmatick in all my
+Life: Mr. _Venter_, prethee let's have a Song, to pass away the Time,
+and put Life into the Bride.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ With all my Heart, Mr. _Spruce_: Here, who waits?--Call in
+the Musick, and desire 'em to oblige the Ladies with a new Song.
+
+[_Servant Enter and Exit._ ]
+
+_Cla._ Your self, Sir, you mean?
+
+_Spr._ Nay all of us I protest.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Ay, ay, all of us.
+
+_Enter Musick and others who sing._
+
+A Dialogue set by _Seignior Baptist_.
+
+  Man. _A Woman's Love_              Woman. _And Man's is such,_
+  Man. _Still too little,_           Wom. _Or else too much._
+  Wom. _Men are Extreams,_           Man. _And Women too,_
+  Wom. _All, all are false,_         Man. _All, All like you._
+  Wom. _You'll swear and lie,_       Man. _If you'l believe,_
+  Wom. _And sigh and die,_           Man. _Yet still deceive._
+  Wom. _Your Vows and Oaths_         Man. _Your Smiles and Tears,_
+  Wom. _Are all but Baits,_          Man. _Are all but Snares._
+  Wom. _To win a Heart,_             Man. _And then destroy,_
+  Wom. _The easy Fool,_              Man. _The promis'd Joy._
+
+Another Strain.
+
+    Wom. _I'le have you offer no more your Pretending,_
+    Man. _Nor will I suffer your modish Dissembling:_
+        Wom. _For Honour commands,_
+        Man. _And Freedom withstands,_
+            Wom. _What you?_
+            Man. _And you._
+    Wom. _I know wou'd have me be, your Slave,_
+    Man. _I know wou'd have me be, your Slave._
+            Wom. _O, no, no, no!_
+            Man. _No, no, no, no!_
+            Wom. _I never will agree,_
+            Man. _I ever will be free._
+
+_After the Song enter Justice_ Merryman, Summerfield, _and three or four
+Sailers._
+
+_Mer._ Daughter, Daughter! Where's my Daughter? I say, Where's my
+Daughter? O Girl, I have the best News to tell you----
+
+_Ara._ What of my Husband, Sir?
+
+_Mer._ No, no, of your Cousin, Girl, of your Cousin.
+
+_Ara._ What of him, Sir?
+
+_Mer._ Such a Cousin, Girl, such a dear Cousin he is, as _Alexander the
+Great_, if he were alive, might be proud and boast of.
+
+_Ara._ You're welcome here again, Sir; You've made but a short Voyage,
+pray what occasion'd your Return so speedily?
+
+_Sum._ Madam, I render you ten thousand Thanks; Your Generosity and
+Goodness has wholly made me yours; I am the humblest of your faithful
+Admirers.
+
+_Ara._ Forbear such lavish Gratitude; You'r too profuse in your
+Acknowledgment of your small Favours. But pray be brief, and let me know
+the happy Occasion of this your sudden Return, I long methinks to hear
+it.
+
+_Sum._ Madam, you may command me--Not to molest the Company with the
+Recital of every vain and needless Circumstance; 'twas briefly thus.
+Scarce had we passed by _Marget_ on our Course, when on a sudden, from
+the Top-mast head, a Sailer cries, All hands Aloft, three Sails ahead:
+With that we rumidg and clear our Deck, our Gun-room arm'd, and all
+things now are ready for a Fight. The Ships before descried, with
+warlike Stems cut the resisting Waves, whilst from their Pendants
+fluttering in the Air, we found they were three _Dunkirk_ Privateers;
+they having made our English Cross advanced, salute us with a
+Broad-side, to make us strike and yield: But we, who ne're knew as yet
+what 'twas so cowardly to yield, and not regarding their unequal Odds,
+fell boldly on, returning Fire for Fire. The Engagement then grew
+desperate, for they on either Side fired in amain, whilst we withstood
+their Force. At length they boldly grappled, and laid us close aboard,
+and we as bravely beat them off again.
+
+_Mer._ But now, Daughter, mark what follows, for that's worth all,
+I'faith it is; therefore go on, dear Cuz, go on.
+
+_Sum._ Sea-room at length we got; when (as Fate wou'd have it) an
+unlucky Shot struck both the Captain and Lieutenant dead. Then we began
+to fear, and all our noble Hearts were trembling with despair.
+
+_Mer._ No, no, not all Daughter--But you shall hear more--Ods bobs you
+shall.
+
+_Sum._ How cou'd it be otherwise, when both our Commanders now were
+lost? therefore to strike was all the Talk----
+
+_Mer._ Ay, ay, now Daughter, now comes the Play, the other was only the
+Prologue.
+
+_Sum._ But Fortune favouring, and the Wind springing a fresh Gale, we
+got clear off and try'd to make a running Fight.
+
+_Mer._ Ay, but Cuz, how did we do all this? by whose Order and
+Direction?
+
+_Sum._ Pardon me, Sir, 'twas of so small Moment, that already it has
+slipt my treacherous Memory.
+
+_Mer._ Oh, ho! has it so! Ha, ha, ha! But it has not mine, I thank you,
+no marry has it not, as you shall hear--Then he, with an undaunted
+Spirit, started up amongst the Sailers, and----
+
+_Sum._ Nay pray Sir----
+
+_Mer._ By the Foot of _Pharaoh_ I'll not be balkt; he, I say, with an
+Heroick Voice cried out, Courage brave boys, Charge and Discharge amain;
+come I'll supply your fall'n Captain's place. At this blest News they
+all fell on again, with ten thousand times more Fury than before:
+Victory, Victory, was all their cry, whilst he my Cousin here, whom I
+shall ne're forget, for by the Lord, methinks, I see him in the Fight
+this very Instant, now running this way, now running that way, now down
+to the Gun-room to encourage those that fought there; now upon the Deck
+again, still crying out, Fear not, brave Boys, the Day will soon be
+our's.
+
+_Sum._ O pray, Sir, let me intreat you to forbear, you make me ashamed,
+I protest, to hear you.
+
+_Mer._ Ashamed, say you? Ha, ha, ha!
+
+_Ara._ Good Sir, go on.
+
+_Mer._ I will, I will--At length the proud French swallowing too many of
+our English Balls, two of 'em very fairly cried, Your Servants
+Gentlemen, farewel, and down they went. The other having lost most of
+her Men, resolved to leave us; but we being too nimble, overtook her,
+clapt some Men aboard, and brought her in a Prize: And this my brave Man
+of War here, was the first that boarded her with Sword in Hand.
+
+_1 Sailer._ Of all this I was an Eye-witness.
+
+_2 Sailer._ And so was I.
+
+_3 Sailer._ And I, and all of us.
+
+_Mer._ Yes, and many more stout Boys besides.
+
+_Spruce._ Sir, we are all indebted to your Valour; such Voyages as
+these, from small Venturers, in time may make us great Merchants.
+
+_Mer._ Well, never was Fight better managed before, that's certain.
+
+_1 Sail._ No, never, never!
+
+_2 Sail._ Better, say you? No nor half so well.
+
+_3 Sail._ If it were in our Power, we'd make him Admiral, so we wou'd.
+
+_Sum._ Gentlemen, 'tis to your Valours all, that I am indebted for the
+Honour I have gain'd: And that I may not seem wholly ungrateful, there,
+there's something in token of my Thankfulness.
+
+[_Gives 'em Money._
+
+_1, 2, 3 Sailers._ Heaven bless your Worship.
+
+_Ara._ Come Cousin, we'l withdraw into the Parlour: And if these honest
+Friends will be pleased to drink what our House affords, they shall be
+welcome.
+
+_1 Sail._ Thank you Mistress with all our Hearts.
+
+[Exeunt _all but Sailers_.
+
+_2 Sail._ Well, this Mr. _Summerfield_ is a brave Fellow, Gadzooks he
+is.
+
+_3 Sail._ Ay _Tom_ so he is; had it not been for him, we had all been
+taken on my Conscience.
+
+_1 Sail._ On my Soul and so we had: O if you had but seen him when he
+boarded the _Monsieur_, 'twou'd have made you laugh 'till you had split
+your Sides. He came up to the Captain o'this fashion with a Slap--ha!
+and gave him such a back-handed wipe, that he cut off his Head as
+genteely, as tho he had served seven Years Apprenticeship to't.
+
+_Enter Servant with a Bowl of Punch._
+
+_Serv._ Gentlemen, Mr. _Summerfield_ desires ye to be merry, and has
+sent you this to drink his Health.
+
+_1 Sail._ O, the Lord bless him, he's a fine Gentleman, and so pray tell
+him, and withal give him our hearty Thanks; Dost hear Boy?
+
+_Serv._ Yes, yes, I will.
+
+[_Exit._
+
+_2 Sail._ What is't Brother?
+
+_3 Sail._ Punch by this Light!
+
+Omnes. _Hoo-ra; Hoo-ra; Viva_ Mr. _Summerfield, Viva, Hoora._
+
+[The first Sailer takes the Bowl of Punch, walks in state round the
+Stage, and sings; the others all follow.]
+
+    _Here's a Health to jolly_ Bacchus,
+    _Here's a Health to jolly_ Bacchus,
+      _Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho._
+    _For he will merry make us,_
+    _For he will merry make us,_
+      _Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho._
+    _Then sit ye down together,_
+    _Then sit ye down together._
+
+[_They all sit down with the Bowl in the middle._
+
+_2 Sail._ Pshaw! Pox o'th' this old Song, prithee let's have a Dance.
+
+_3 Sail._ With all my Heart; strike up Musick.
+
+_The Sailers and their Wives dance._
+
+After the Dance.
+
+    1 Sail. _So, well done my Lads, now let's aboard amain,_
+            _And suck our Faces o're and o're again._
+            _Brandy we've got enough, by this blest Chance,_
+            _We'l nothing drink but Punch, when we get_ France.
+
+_Omn._ Hoora! Hoora! Exeunt omnes.
+
+_The End of the Third ACT._
+
+
+
+
+ACT the Fourth.
+
+_A Tavern._
+
+[2 Tables, three Chairs to each.]
+
+
+_Enter_ Compasse, Peg, _and_ Pettifog.
+
+_A Drawer Meets them._
+
+_Drawer._ Welcome Gentlemen. Please to walk into a Room?
+
+_Compasse:_ Aye Boy. Come Mr. _Pettifog_, please you sit.
+
+_Pettifog:_ With all my Heart; Come Mistress.
+
+_Draw._ What Wine will you be pleased to drink, Gentlemen?
+
+_Pett._ Ask the good Woman: speak Mistress.
+
+_Com._ Canary for her; I know what relishes her Palat best. A Quart of
+brisk Canary, Boy.
+
+_Draw._ Ye shall have the best in _England_.--Coming, Coming, Sir.
+
+[_Exit._.
+
+_Com._ What call you this same Tavern, Mr. Attorney?
+
+_Pett._ The King's Head, Sir.
+
+_Com._ The King's Head: Marry, it has a good Neighbour of _Guild-hall_.
+It takes many a fair Pound upon that 'n Account, I warrant you.
+
+_Draw._ (within) A Quart of Canary in the King's-head, score.
+
+_Enter Drawer, fills a Glass, and gives it_ Compasse.
+
+_Draw._ Sir, Here's a Glass of the richest Canary that ever came over,
+the very Quintessence of the Grape I assure you.
+
+_Com._ Say'st thou so? Why then there's a Tester for thee, and so leave
+us--. Come, Mr. _Pettifog_, [_Exit Drawer_] and 't please you my Service
+to you.
+
+[_Drinks._
+
+_Pett._ I thank you kindly, Sir.--Mrs. my Service to you, your Husband's
+good Health.
+
+[_Drinks._
+
+_Peg._ With all my Heart indeed, Here my dear black ey'd Rogue, thy
+n'own good Health.
+
+[_Drinks._
+
+_Com._ Thank you _Peg_, thank you, so now let's mind our Business.
+
+_Enter Mr._ Ventere, _his Wife, and_ Dodge, _to another Table in the
+same Room._
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Show a Room, Drawer.
+
+_Draw._ Here Sir.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Ne're a private Room?
+
+_Draw._ No Sir, the House is full.
+
+_Com._ Ods fish, whom have we here, my Wife's Merchant, with his Lawyer?
+
+
+_Pett._ Ye know we promised to give him a Meeting here.
+
+_Comp._ 'Tis true we did so,--but come to the Business in hand.
+
+[_Pettifog_ and _Compasse_ talk privately.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Well, bring us a Bottle of your best Red.
+
+_Draw._ You shall have it, Sir.
+
+[_Exit_ Drawer.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ And what do you think of my Cause, Mr. _Dodge_?
+
+_Dodge._ O we shall carry it most certainly: You have Money to go
+through with the Business; and ne're fear but we'll trounce them
+swingingly.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ I warrant you think it very strange, Mr. _Dodge_, that I am
+at this Charge and Expence to bring a farther Charge upon me.
+
+_Dodge._ Not I, I assure you, Sir, for I know you are a wise Man, and
+know very well what you do; besides you have Money, Money enough, Sir.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Why the short and the long of the Business is this; I made a
+Purchase lately, and in that I did estate the Child (about which I'm
+sued) Joint-Purchaser with me in all the Land I bought.
+
+Mrs. _Ven._ Right Husband; and you know 'twas I that advised you to make
+the Purchase, and therefore I'll never give my Consent to have the Child
+brought up by such a stinking Tar-barrel as now sues for him; he'd only
+bring him up to be a Swabber; no, no, he was born a Merchant and a
+Gentleman, and he shall live and die so.
+
+_Dodge._ You are a worthy Gentlewoman upon my word; there are but few of
+such a noble Temper: But what makes the Fool of the Husband then so
+troublesome; does he not know when he's well?
+
+Mrs. _Ven._ So 'tis a sign.
+
+_Dodge._ A Blockhead, to proclaim his own Disgrace, and make himself
+laugh'd at.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ That's not it, he hopes to be the better by what is settled
+on the Boy.
+
+_Dodge._ O, God's so, that's true: But never fear, I'll be hang'd if he
+carry it, for you have Money, as I told you, Sir, before: but see, Sir,
+there they are.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Yes, Yes, I saw them before: but come, where's our Wine?
+(_Within_) [the Bell rings as at the Bar.
+
+_Enter Drawer with a Bottle of Wine._
+
+_Draw._ Here Sir,--Coming, Coming, Sir: _Philip_, speak up in the
+Mermaid, and bid _Jack_ light a Fire.
+
+[_Exit_ Drawer.
+
+_Comp._ Well Mr. _Pettifog_, and what think you of my Suit, Sir?
+
+_Pett._ Why look you Sir, the Defendant you know was arrested first by a
+_Latitat_ in an Action of Trespass.
+
+_Comp._ Yes, and a Lawyer told me, it shou'd have been an Action of the
+Case, did he not, Wife?
+
+_Peg._ I have no Skill in the Law you know Husband, but the Gentleman
+did say so.
+
+_Pett._ Aye, but your Action of the Case in this Point is too ticklish.
+
+_Comp._ Well, but pray tell me, do you think I shall overthrow my
+Adversary?
+
+_Pett._ Without all doubt, the Child he says is none of yours, What of
+that! I marry a Widow, and am by Consequence possess'd of a Ward. Now
+shall not I have the Management of that Ward? Now Sir you lie at a
+stronger Ward, for _Partus sequitur ventrem_, says the Civil Law: So
+that if you were within the Compass of the four Seas, as the Common Law
+goes, the Child must be yours, that's certain.
+
+_Comp._ Say you so, Sir? Why then the Child's my own, for I have been a
+Coaster these five Years and more; and so my Service to you: [Drinks]. O
+your Attorneys in _Guild-hall_ have a rare time on't, by the Lord
+_Harry_.
+
+_Peg._ They are as it were both Judg and Jury themselves.
+
+_Comp._ And O how they will laugh at their Clients when they sit in a
+Tavern, and call them Fools, Blockheads and Coxcombs, and then whip up
+their Causes as nimbly as a Barber trims his Customers on a
+_Christmas-Eve_; a Snip, a Wipe and away.
+
+_Pett._ That's very common, you shall have the like at a _Nisi-prius_.
+
+_Enter Drawer._
+
+_Draw._ Here's a Gentleman, one Mr. Justice _Merryman_, enquires for Mr.
+_Ventere_ the Merchant.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Here Boy, desire them to walk up. [_Exit_ Drawer.] 'Tis my
+Brother, and a Counsellor, to make an End of this same Business.
+
+_Enter Justice_ Merryman _and a Counsellor; both Tables rise and join
+together._
+
+_Merr._ Your Servant, Gentlemen, your Servant: Counsellor _Blunder_ and
+I have been canvasing the Business of this your Difference; and I
+believe, Brother, the Law will determine it as we have done; for it is
+point blank against you.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ If it is, I must be contented: Well Sir, the Child's your
+Wife's, and you shall have it; and to endear you the more to't, I'll
+settle my part of the Estate on you and yours for ever: Give me your
+Hand.
+
+[_They shake Hands._
+
+We now are Friends.
+
+_Merr._ Why that's well said.
+
+_Couns._ We all are Witness to the Agreement.
+
+_Omnes._ All, all.
+
+_Comp._ Nay I scorn to be outdone in Civility; therefore if you please I
+have a Gallon or two of Prize-Wine, and half a Dozen of good sound
+_Bruges_-Capons, which I'll treat you and this good Company with at
+Supper; but no more Mutton, no not a bit.
+
+_Merr._ Well Brother, I'm glad you're Friends: Ods bobs I am. But come,
+let's home now, and see what's become of the Bride and Bridegroom:
+Farewel Friend, farewell: Come we'll pay at the Bar.
+
+[_Exeunt_ Merr. _Mr._ Vent. _and his Wife,_ Couns. _and_ Dodge.
+
+_Comp._ Come _Peg_, Come and kiss me.
+
+[_Compass_ kisses Peg.
+
+I am Friends with thee too now.
+
+_Pett._ Aye, aye, you have Reason, she has earn'd you a good Fortune;
+and need not venture to Sea any more: Yet one thing let me advise you,
+'tis Counsel worth a good Fee, for it cures Cuckoldom.
+
+_Comp._ Sayst thou so, come let's hear it.
+
+_Pett._ This it is, Make a flat Divorce between your selves, be you no
+longer her Husband, nor she your Wife: Two or three Hours after meet
+again, salute, woo and wed afresh, and so the base Name of Cuckold's
+blotted quite. This has been experienc'd and approved by many.
+
+_Comp._ 'Tis excellent i'faith,--There, there's for you; and I thank
+you. _Peg_, I renounce thee,--nay and I renounce my self too from thee;
+thou art now a Widow, _Peg_; I'll go hang my self two or three Hours at
+one o' th' Main Yards, and so long thou shalt go drown thy self. Then
+we'll meet in _White-Chappel-Fields_, as it were by chance, and woo and
+wed again.
+
+_Peg._ With all my Heart, kind Sir, fare you well.
+
+_Comp._ Farewel Widow, remember Time and Place, and d' you hear, Put on
+your Sabbath-day best Clothes.
+
+_Peg._ I will, I will.
+
+[_Exit Peg._
+
+_Comp._ Sir, I am beholding to you for your good Counsel.
+
+_Pett._ No, Sir, you have paid me for 't, but I hope you do not intend
+to follow your own.
+
+_Comp._ What is that?
+
+_Pett._ Why, you said you'd hang your self.
+
+_Camp._ No no, I have thought better on't, for I'll go drink my self
+dead drunk, then wake again, wash my Face, and meet the Bride.
+
+_Pett._ That's well said, and I'll accompany you, and wish you Joy.
+
+_Comp._ Joy, Sir, I have it Sir already, in a good Estate got by a
+Chopping Boy.
+
+[_Exeunt._
+
+
+SCENE II.
+
+_Enter_ Friendly solus.
+
+_Fri._ Was ever Fortune like to this of mine? Who for the Smile of a
+vile simple Woman, have acted thus against my very Soul, all to please a
+Creature, whose next Command perhaps will higher mount, it may be light
+on my self, as now it did on _Bonvile_.
+
+_Enter_ Clara.
+
+_Cla._ Ha! _Friendly_ here alone. Now, now, my Fears begin.
+
+[_Aside_.
+
+So, Sir, you are return'd I see.
+
+[_To him._
+
+_Fri._ Madam, I am, and like those noble Knights in former times, after
+subduing all their Ladies Foes, returning with the joyful News of
+Conquest, receive her trembling to their longing Arms, and claim her as
+their own, so I----.
+
+_Cla._ What mean you, Sir?
+
+_Fri._ Madam, You are obeyed, your hard Commands fulfilled; at your
+Request I've kill'd my Friend, nay and my best of Friends.
+
+_Cla._ How? kill'd your Friend for me.
+
+_Fri._ Indeed 'tis true.
+
+_Cla._ Then thou art truly wretched: But say, say quickly, who's this
+unhappy Man whom thy Mistake hath thus untimely kill'd?
+
+_Fri._ _Bonvile._
+
+_Cla._ _Bonvile_ said you? My Blood with an unusual Course runs backward
+from my Heart! Horror has seiz'd my Soul! A thick-black Mist has
+overcast my Sight, and I am not the same: but speak, O speak again, Was
+it _Bonvile_?
+
+_Fri._ Why shou'd you seek to iterate my Guilt, by a Rehearsal of that
+dreadful Name? Too sure, alas! It was: _Bonvile_'s the Friend I've
+kill'd.
+
+_Cla._ Curs'd be the Tongue that spoke it, but doubly curs'd the Hand
+that did the barbarous Fact.
+
+_Fri._ Why Madam, was it not your Command to kill my Friend; nay more,
+my best of Friends?
+
+_Cla._ Yes, and I thought my self your best of Friends.
+
+_Fri._ I hope you wou'd not have had me murder'd you?
+
+_Cla._ No, Monster, no.
+
+_Fri._ These are Riddles.
+
+_Cla._ Fool, our whole Sex is made of nothing else: Thou mayst sooner
+untie the Gordian Knot, expound the Problems of the monstrous _Sphynx_,
+and read what is decreed in the mysterious Book of Fate, than unfold a
+Woman's sly malitious Meaning.
+
+_Fri._ Very well; she first set me on to do this most accurs'd of Deeds,
+and now upbraids me; nay wou'd hang me for 't: These are the Tricks of
+all her damning Sex. O Woman, Woman, Woman, dear devilish Woman,
+farewel.
+
+[_Offers to go._
+
+_Cla._ Stay _Friendly_, all I have said was only to try your Constancy;
+and whether you'd repent of what you've done. But tell me truly, is
+_Bonvile_ surely dead?
+
+_Fri._ Indeed he is.
+
+_Cla._ 'Tis bravely done, and I adore thee for 't. By Heaven I love thee
+now, even unto Dotage!
+
+_Fri._ Was ever Change like this? The subtlest Labyrinth Wit cou'd ere
+invent, affords not half so many Turnings as a Woman's Mind.
+
+[_Aside._
+
+What mean you, Madam, by this seeming Transport?
+
+_Cla._ O _Friendly_, _Friendly_, I am all o're Extasy! Thou hast done a
+Deed that ravishes my Soul. At once thou hast kill'd my dear and only
+Friend, and slain the fatal'st Enemy I had.
+
+_Fri._ What more Riddles Madam, pray explain your self.
+
+_Cla._ I will; I will declare a Secret which till now I never did
+disclose: I lov'd that _Bonvile_ whom thou now hast slain, not as I
+ought to do, but with a Woman's Love, which he never did know: And
+Yesterday when I beheld the fatal Marriage ended, then like a Merchant
+walking on the _Downes_, sees a rich Vessel of his own engaged, and
+after took, and born away a Prize: So I, after I'd seen my _Bonvile_
+lost, (for so he was to me) resuming all the Malice of a Woman, resolved
+never to entertain one Thought of Love again; but lead a Life as
+_Lapland_ Witches do, only on others Ruines: Then when you approached me
+with the hateful Sound of Love, to dash your Hopes, and put a Period to
+your growing Passion, I bid you kill your best and dearest Friend?
+
+_Fri._ True.
+
+_Cla._ Now the best Friend to one in Love, is Love it self.
+
+_Fri._ O my curs'd Stars, that wrap'd me up in such a black Mistake,
+What have I done?
+
+_Cla._ Done! Why you have done bravely, why do you tremble?
+
+_Fri._ An inward Guilt lies heavy on my Soul, and Horror with all her
+dreadful Forms still haunts my Sight. And did you love this _Bonvile_?
+
+_Cla._ The Queen of Beauty never doted more on her beloved _Adonis_ than
+I on him.
+
+_Fri._ And now as much you hate him: O the unheard-of Inconstancy of
+Women! All that they have is feign'd; their Teeth, their Hair, their
+Blushes, and their Smiles; nay their very Conscience (if any such they
+have) is feign'd; all counterfeit and false: Let them wash, patch and
+daub themselves with all the Helps for Nature that Art cou'd e're
+invent, still they are Women: And let 'em rob all _India_ of its store
+to adorn themselves therewith, still are they not all that thing call'd
+Woman: I know not what to do, for I love and hate this Creature both at
+once.
+
+_Cla._ What ails my _Friendly_?
+
+_Fri._ But _Bonvile_ yet must feel his Enemies Rage; shall he succeed in
+Love, whilst I am cross'd in mine? No, it must not, cannot, nay it shall
+not be.
+
+    _Four Heads I have, to make a Plot not common;
+    Malice, Revenge, the Devil, and a Woman._
+
+[_Offers to go._
+
+_Cla._ What will you leave me then?
+
+_Fri._ Leave thee; yes, forever: Fly thee as I wou'd a Blast from Hell:
+Thou art thy self a Hell; thy base detested hateful Woman's Breath
+infects the purest Air:
+
+    _May my Friend's Blood, which I for thee have spilt,
+    Light on thy Head, and your's be all the Guilt._
+
+[_Exeunt_ severally.
+
+_Enter_ Compasse _new clothed_, Pettifog, _and two or three Men
+Neighbors._
+
+_Comp._ Gentlemen and Neighbours, as you have been Witnesses to our
+Divorce, so shall ye now be Evidences to our next Meeting, which I look
+for every Minute.
+
+1st _Neigh._ I came for that Intent, Neighbour.
+
+_Comp._ I thank you: well, I do not think but you'll all see me come off
+with as smooth a Forehead, and make my Wife as honest a Woman as a Man
+wou'd desire sometimes, I mean of her Rank; and a teeming Woman, as you
+know she has been: Nay, I do not think but the Child too will be found
+to be as lawful a Child as any Couple of unmarried People can beget.
+
+2d _Neigh._ We long to see it Neighbour _Compasse_, that so some of us
+may do the like upon the same occasion.
+
+_Comp._ You're in the right, old Stitch of the World: But soft, see
+where she comes with a whole Bundle of as good sound Maidens as her
+self.
+
+_Enter_ Peg _new cloth'd, with three or four Women Neighbours._
+
+Stand aside a little, and mind me I pray.
+
+_Omnes._ Agreed, agreed.
+
+_Comp._ Good Morrow fair Maid.
+
+_Peg._ In truth Sir you are mistaken in both, for I am neither fair, nor
+yet a Maid.
+
+_Comp._ No, what are you then I pray, a Wife?
+
+_Peg._ That indeed I was, but alas,--I am now a Widow.
+
+_Comp._ A Widow say you? Nay then I must make bold with you; for look
+you, your Case is somewhat like mine, I being a Husband without a Wife.
+
+1st _Neigh._ Aye neighbour, this is something like.
+
+_Pett._ They begin well, let them go on.
+
+_Comp._ How long have you been a Widow, good Woman? Nay pray do not weep
+forsooth.
+
+_Peg._ I can't choose but cry, to think of the great Loss I had.
+
+_Comp._ Why, was he an honest Man?
+
+_Peg._ Honest quoth a', I vow and protest he was as honest a Man as e're
+broke Bread. O I shall never have such another.
+
+[_Cries out._
+
+_Comp._ By my Faith now Mistress you have had a great Loss indeed, for
+an honest Man is not to be found every where, nor in every Street.
+
+_Pett._ The Rogue's witty.
+
+2d _Neigh._ Aye, aye, let 'em go on.
+
+_Comp._ And how long is it since you lost this honest Husband?
+
+_Peg._ O dear, his Memory is too fresh; and the Sight of you doubles my
+Sorrow.
+
+_Comp._ The Sight of me, say you; why, was he so like me?
+
+_Peg._ As one Apple to another; your two Hands are not more alike.
+
+_Comp._ Nay then I cannot blame thee to weep: An honest Man he was I
+warrant him; and you have had a mighty Loss, that's the Truth on't: But
+was he proportioned like me, so well limb'd, and of such a wholesom
+Complexion, heh!
+
+_Peg._ No Twins were ever more alike.
+
+_Comp._ Well I love, his Memory is still better and better: and how many
+Children did he leave behind him?
+
+_Peg._ Only one, Sir.
+
+_Comp._ A Boy or a Girl?
+
+_Peg._ A dainty fine Boy, Sir.
+
+_Comp._ Just my own case still; my Wife (rest her Soul) left me a Boy
+too, a lusty chopping Boy of his Age (as they tell me, for I never saw
+it).
+
+_Peg._ So is mine.
+
+_Comp._ And what Profession was your Husband of?
+
+_Peg._ A Seaman.
+
+_Comp._ Heigh! my own Faculty too! And can you like a Man of that
+Profession again?
+
+_Peg._ Yes surely, for his dear sake, whom I lov'd so tenderly, I shall
+always esteem a Sailer.
+
+_Comp._ Shall you so? why then here's your Man: What say you, Is't a
+Match?
+
+_Peg._ Dear me, I am so ashamed, and yet to speak the Truth, I do like
+you hugely, and wou'd like you better still, if it were not for one
+thing, which a little troubles me.
+
+_Comp._ What's that?
+
+_Peg._ Why, you know sometimes we are forc'd to endure the Absence of
+our Husbands a long while, mehappen many Years, and then if there be any
+Slip in us, (as long Vacations will make Lawyers hungry) the World is
+apt to censure and scandalize us; and brand us with wanton Living and
+Incontinency; when alas! if they wou'd but consider our Condition, and
+the mighty Longings we often naturally have for Flesh and Blood, they
+wou'd not blame us, so they wou'd not.
+
+_Comp._ Come, come, no Matter, canst thou love me, Widow?
+
+_Peg._ Ah, if I durst but speak my Mind, I know what I wou'd say.
+
+_Comp._ Durst, why who do you fear? here's none but an honest Gentleman,
+some few Friends and Neighbours; let them hear a God's Name what you
+wou'd say, and never blush for the Matter.
+
+1st _W. Neigh._ Aye, aye, speak Neighbour, pray speak your Mind, and
+fear not.
+
+_Peg._ I shall be thought too weak to yield at first Sight.
+
+2d _W. Neigh._ Paw! paw! that's only Nicety.
+
+_Peg._ Well then I do love him dearly and dearly, so I do.
+
+[_Runs and kisses him_.
+
+_Comp._ And I thee with all my Heart and Soul.
+
+[Comp. _kisses_ Peg.
+
+Now we'll be merry, and have a Song, shall we not my Neighbours?
+
+3d _Neigh._ Marry will we, Neighbour _Luff_ and Mrs. Bride, will ye give
+us a Song?
+
+_Peg._ With all my Heart, come Neighbour.
+
+    A DIALOGUE.
+
+    Man:
+
+    _Faith and Troth I love thee dearly,
+      Tho I do but bluntly woo,
+    Prithy then resolve me clearly,
+      Whether I am beloved by you.
+    Long I shall not keep a pother,
+      Like a senseless whining Beau;
+    If you won't I'll court another
+      Who will never say me no._
+
+    Woman:
+
+    _Friend, your self, nor Humour neither
+      With my Fancy disagree,
+    Yet I must find clearer Weather
+      Er'e I venture out to Sea.
+    Court another at your Pleasure
+      Win her in the Honey-moon,
+    She may chance repent at leisure,
+      For believing you too soon._
+
+    Man:
+
+    _Leave your damn'd Fantastick Trials,
+      Which procure a Lover's Pain,
+    Pox upon these sham-Denials,
+      'Tis but spending time in vain.
+    With Embraces happy make me,
+      Nature fram'd you to be kind;
+    Kiss me, and the Devil take me
+      If I ever change my Mind._
+
+    Woman:
+
+    _I'll pursue the good old Fashion,
+      Practise still by those are wise,
+    Throughly try my Lover's Passion,
+      E're I let him grasp the Prize.
+    Spite of Oaths you wou'd forsake me,
+      Shou'd I let you once embrace:
+    If I kiss, the Devil take me,
+      Till the Parson has said Grace._
+
+    Chorus.
+
+        _Since then Nation
+        Has made it a Fashion,
+    Let's send for a Black Coat, whilst we're in the Mind.
+        But it is damn'd Slavery,
+        And Priestly Knavery,
+    That Parsons must conjure e're Lovers be kind._
+
+_Com._ So, so, here now shall we be Man and Wife again to Morrow, as
+good as ever. What th� we met as Strangers, we may happen to love ne're
+the worse for all that--Gentlemen and Neighbours, I invite ye all to my
+Wedding.
+
+_Omnes._ We'l not fail you, and wish you Joy.
+
+_Com._ Did I not tell you that I would fetch it cleverly off? Let any
+Man call me Cuckold if he dares now.
+
+_Petti._ 'Tis slander in him I assure you who-ever does.
+
+_Com._ Nay it will be _Petti Lacenary_ at least, and without Compass of
+the General Pardon too: And for the Child, let me hear him that dares
+say, I am not the Father.
+
+_Petti._ Sure none will dare dispute it.
+
+_Com._ Or that my Wife that is to be, is not as honest a Woman as some
+other Mens Wives are.
+
+_Petti._ No question of that.
+
+_Com._ O how fine and smooth my Brows are now!
+
+_1 M. Neigh._ Aye but when you're married, they'll come to themselves
+again I warrant ye.
+
+_Com._ My Friends, if you please, you may call me Mr. Bridegroom now,
+for the Guests are all bidden to the Wedding.
+
+_1 M. Neigh._ We know it, Mr. Bridegroom, they are Indeed, and we'll not
+fail you upon our Words.
+
+_Comp._
+
+    _Come then, brisk Widow, e're the next Ebb and Tide,
+    I'le be thy Bridegroom, and thou sha't be my Bride._
+
+_Exeunt omnes._
+
+
+_The End of the Fourth ACT._
+
+
+
+
+ACT the Fifth.
+
+
+_Enter_ Arabella _on one Side_.
+
+Summerfield _meeting her from the other_.
+
+_Ara._ Mr. _Summerfield_, I now am truly happy, my Prayers at last are
+heard; and Heaven has restored my Husband to my Arms.
+
+_Sum._ I just now heard the joyful News, and thought to have been my
+self the welcome Messenger of his Return, but find I'me come too late;
+have you seen him?
+
+_Art._ No; as yet I have not.
+
+_Sum._ 'Tis somewhat strange!
+
+_Ara._ Others perhaps may judg it so, but my uncommon Joy for his
+Return, admits no other Thought, but those of Transport for his Safety.
+
+_Sum._ O happy _Bonvile_! How I admire and wonder at thy Choice!
+
+_Enter_ Friendly.
+
+Madam, a Wife like you, exceeds the greatest Blessing sure on Earth.
+
+_Fr._ The nearest way to a secure Revenge, is private Malice, which,
+like _Aside._ a Spark long lying hid amongst neglected Ashes, by the
+least Blast of Wind becomes it self a Flame--Ha!, who have we here?
+Thrice blest Occasion! which thus have offered me at once the Scope of
+my revengeful Wishes. 'Tis _Arabella_ and her Darling _Summerfield_, one
+who, in the Bridegroom's Absence, is grown thus intimate with his
+beloved Bride. A strong Foundation on which I'll now erect a brave
+Revenge; I'll step aside and observe them.
+
+[_Retires to one side of the Stage._
+
+_Ara._ Sir, I hope he'll soon be here, and return the Kindness you have
+shown me; so I take my leave, with hourly expectation of a much-long'd
+for Husband.
+
+_Sum._ And I, with a Gratitude never to be forgotten, kiss your fair
+Hand, and hope that all things will answer your Expectation. [_Exit_
+Arabella.
+
+_Fri._ Ay, 'tis so, now must I counterfeit a friendly Face to make a
+farther Discovery.
+
+[_Aside._
+
+Sir, your humble Servant: without Offence, may I be so bold as to beg
+the Favour of your Name?
+
+_Sum._ The Question I must confess is somewhat familiar, and in my
+Opinion improper for a Stranger at first sight; but yet I ne're disown'd
+it to a Gentleman--'tis _Summerfield_.
+
+_Fri. Summerfield!_ Sir, I kiss your Hand;, and must congratulate your
+good Success, but more admire your Valour. Had we many such noble
+Commanders on board our Fleet, we need not fear it where e're it sails.
+
+_Sum._ Pray, Sir, stretch not your Love into Flattery, 'twill make me
+then suspect your Kindness. And the Author of this Story was too much my
+Friend I see, since he has given you this so very partial Account, the
+more to augment my Fame.
+
+_Fri._ O! that's your Modesty, Sir: But if I might be so happy as to be
+honour'd with your Acquaintance----
+
+_Sum._ Sir, the Honour (if any) would be wholly on my Side; therefore I
+desire to know your Name.
+
+_Fri._ _Friendly_, Sir.
+
+_Sum._ An Acquaintance; I suppose, of Mr. _Bonvile's_.
+
+_Fri._ One that thinks himself much honour'd in being stiled his Friend.
+
+_Sum._ I have often heard your Name indeed before; but till now Fortune
+never afforded me the sight of you.
+
+_Fri._ You of all Men ought to bless Fortune, who still has been
+indulgent to you on all Occasions; and scatter'd her Favours on you,
+with as prodigal a Hand as th� you were her sole Care and only Minion.
+
+_Sum._ What mean you, Sir? Again you exceed the Bounds of Love and
+Friendship; I never thought any of _Bonvil's_ Friends cou'd be guilty of
+so base and vile a thing as Flattery: But, pray, unfold your meaning.
+
+_Fri._ 'Tis this; I just now saw you part with the Bride, with such
+courteous Actions, as spoke no small Esteem in her kind Favour; and
+therein I think you the happiest of Men.
+
+_Sum._ How!
+
+_Fri._ Mistake me not, I only as a Friend applaud your Happiness, bless
+the Influence of your kinder Stars, and praise your Fortune that hath
+given you this sweet Occasion.
+
+_Sum._ What Occasion, Sir?
+
+_Fri._ Of being serviceable to the fair Virgin Bride in her extreamest
+need, after her being so unkindly left, nay, on her Wedding Day, by an
+ungrateful Husband, in doing her those neglected Duties, her Youth and
+Beauty justly did demand.
+
+_Sum._ On my Life some Plot against the Bride: I'll sound him 'till I
+find the very Bottom--[_Aside._]--Sir, you are merry: But suppose the
+Case your own, wou'd you have miss'd so tempting an Occasion?
+
+_Fri._ No, Sir, they're too precious to be omitted: But I hear you two
+call Cousins, comes your Kindred by the _Merryman's_ or the _Bonvile's_?
+
+_Sum._ Neither! we were wholly Strangers 'till of late, and 'tis a word
+of Courtesy only interchange'd between us for some private Reasons.
+
+_Fri._ This goes as I cou'd wish. [_Aside._]
+
+_Sum._ I desire you not to grow too inward with me, on so short an
+Acquaintance: Not that I'de have you think the Lady of so base a
+Disposition to grant me any thing beyond the Rules of Decency and
+Honour. The only Favour I e're receiv'd from her, was a Present of those
+Bracelets she wears about her Arms, and that Chain of Gold and Pearl she
+has about her Neck; all which either of us may own without a Blush.
+
+_Fri._ How, the Chain and Bracelet, say you! Those were the first Tokens
+of her Husband's Love.
+
+_Sum._ Methinks you look concern'd at what I've said; yet I have said no
+more than what I am obliged in Honour to maintain, and will: therefore I
+hope, as you'r a Gentleman, you'l not turn Informer.
+
+_Fri._ O pray think not so poorly of me.
+
+_Enter a Servant who whispers_ Summerfield.
+
+_Sum._ Tell her I'le wait on her immediately.
+
+[_Exit Servant._
+
+Sir, some Business of Importance calls me hence; therefore some other
+time I hope I shall have the Happiness of enjoying your Company longer.
+
+[_Exit_ Sum.
+
+_Fri._ Sir, your humble Servant.
+Tell her I'll wait on her immediately, said he; this must be _Arabella_
+that he's going to: Better still.
+
+    _The Work's begun, now I am made or lost;
+    He runs the best who holds out to the Post:
+    And all the Comfort in Adversity,
+    Is to see others as miserable as me._
+
+Who have we here? Old _Merryman_! As I live 'tis he!
+
+_Enter Justice_ Merryman.
+
+_Mer._ O Master _Friendly,_ you're happily returned: But where's my
+Son-in-Law?
+
+_Fri._ Alas, Sir, the unhappy _Bonvile_ is----
+
+_Mer._ Is, is, what is he? Heh! speak; is he living, or is he dead; or
+what's become of him?
+
+_Fri._ O! that I had the Marble _Niobes_ Heart! Or that I had suck'd the
+Milk of Wolves and Tigers; so that I might have told, without the least
+remorse of Sorrow, what now I dare not, nay, I cannot speak, for fear at
+once I melt my self in Tears, and break your aged Heart.
+
+[_Seems to weep._
+
+_Mer._ Then I suppose he's killed; say, is he not? Hast thou inticed him
+from his Bride for this, thou inhumane Wretch? Yet speak, and tell me
+truly, for I'm prepared to hear the worst of Ills; Is he then slain?
+
+_Fri._ No, Sir, but dangerously wounded.
+
+_Mer._ Not mortally, I hope; but whereabouts is he so desperately
+wounded? In his Arms, his Legs, or Body?
+
+_Fri._ Neither, Sir, but in as perfect Health as when he left you.
+
+_Mer._ Strange! sure thou art all o're a Mystery, and form'st these
+Riddles to try my Wit.
+
+_Fri._ No, Sir, for all I have said, you in effect will surely find I
+told you he was wounded, did I not?
+
+_Mer._ Yes, you did.
+
+_Fri._ And so he is.
+
+_Mer._ But where, whereabout, I ask you once again?
+
+_Fri._ I see you force the unwilling Secret from me--Why, he's wounded.
+
+_Mer._ He's wounded, he's wounded, but where, where is he wounded?
+
+_Fri._ In his Fame, Honour and Reputation, more mortal than a thousand
+fleshy Wounds.
+
+    _For such slight Baubles, Cures are oft obtain'd;
+    But injur'd Honour ne're can be regain'd._
+
+_Mer._ How! how! how's this? wounded in his Honour, fay'll thou? Tell me
+the Villain that has defam'd him, and this good old Sword shall slit the
+Rascal's Wind-pipe.
+
+_Fri._ O, Sir, your Daughter, your Daughter, Sir----
+
+_Mer._ Ha! what's that? what's that? is she injur'd too?
+
+_Fri._ No, no Sir, my falling Tears quite drown my feeble Voice, I
+cannot utter what I fain would speak--Your Daughter's false, false to
+her _Bonvile_! And by the help of her beloved _Summerfield_, has robb'd
+my Friend of all he cou'd call Dear, I mean his Fame.
+
+[_Seems to weep._
+
+_Mer._ A Pox o' your Crocodile's Tears. Why, Sirrah, Sirrah, do you call
+my Daughter Whore? Hey, Swords and Daggers, Blunderbusses and Pistols,
+shall I bear this? Hark you, you my Friend, and no Friend, what a Kin do
+you take me to be to this Gentlewoman, Heh?
+
+_Fri._ Her Father, Sir.
+
+_Mer._ Audacious Villain, O that I had thee in some private Corner,
+where none you'd either see or hear us, this Sword shou'd justify my
+Daughter's Honour; I'de Whore you with a Pox to you, so I wou'd.
+
+_Fri._ Your Pardon, Sir, I only did inform you as a Friend, that by your
+fatherly Admonitions, you might refrain her from her undecent Course.
+
+_Mer._ Pox o' your friendly Intelligence.
+
+_Fri._ The Jewels which her Husband did present her, as the first Sign
+and Confirmation of the happy Contract, she to my certain Knowledg has
+given to----
+
+_Mer._ To whom, to whom thou wicked Slanderer? tell me, Sarrah, quickly,
+quick, quick.
+
+_Fri._ To _Summerfield_.
+
+_Mer._ Ha, ha, ha, the Fool makes me laugh; Ha, ha, ha, why 'twas but
+just now that I saw e'm on her Neck and Arms.
+
+_Fri._ She was no Woman, had she not the Sense to get them against her
+Husband's coming.
+
+_Mer._ But pray tell me, how is't possible that she cou'd part with 'em,
+when they are lock't on, and the Key with her Husband?
+
+_Fri._ O, Sir, that's no Question to be ask'd in these Times: Women
+_have found a way to make use of other Keys besides their Husbands: And
+no doubt but_ Summerfield _has got a Key will open your Daughter's lock
+as well as_ Bonvile's.
+
+_Mer._ Sirrah you lie, you lie Sirrah; and I'le tell thee thou ly's,
+again and again, so I will. Nay, and I were to pay a 100 Pounds for
+every Lie I give thee, as Men do Twelve-pence for every Oath they swear,
+I wou'd spend all the Thousands I am worth, in giving thee the Lie. 'Tis
+likely indeed, that such a brave Gentleman as _Summerfield_, that fought
+at Sea like a Dragon to save my Life, should shorten my Days on Land in
+ruining my Daughter; therefore once more I tell you you Lie.
+
+_Fri._ 'Tis very well.
+
+_Me._ Do you hear Sir, have you told this Lie to any body else but me?
+
+_Fri._ I am no Informer, Sir.
+
+_Mer._ Why then for fear you shou'd, do ye see, draw, [_Draws_] Draw, I
+say, I am not so old but I can make a shift to cut your Throat still;
+I'le spoil your Carking, I'le warrant ye.
+
+_Enter_ Bonvile _and_ Clara.
+
+A Pox on't, here's my Son-in-Law come to hinder me, Duce take him cou'd
+he not stay a little longer? D'ye hear Sir, begon, leave this Place
+immediately, or I'le--I'le--I'le--Gad I cou'd find in my Heart, so I
+cou'd, but be gone.
+
+_Fri._ _Bonvile_ here with _Clara_ too, excellent. This goes to
+_Arabella_, and may it encrease the Storm.
+
+[_Exit_ Frie.
+
+_Bon._ My Father in Anger.
+
+_Mer._ O Son, Son, Son! dear Boy, welcome home, Od's bobs you are.
+
+_Bon._ I humbly thank you, Sir; but am sorry to see you so disturb'd.
+
+_Mer._ Nothing, nothing, only Mr. _Friendly_ and I have had a Word or
+two, that's all, that's all.
+
+_Bon._ About my going with him, I suppose; but that's past, and I hope,
+Sir, you'l be so kind as at my Request to pardon him.
+
+_Mer._ Indeed Son it was something else; By the Lord _Harry_ I can't
+forbear laughing at the Coxcomb, Ha, ha, ha; He told me, Ha, ha, ha,
+that one _Summerfield_, a very honest Fellow as ever liv'd, is grown
+exceeding familiar with my Daughter, your Wife.
+
+_Bon._ Ha! my Wife.
+
+_Mer._ Yes, your Wife, and that he had received Love-Tokens from her.
+
+_Bon._ How, Love-Token from her!
+
+_Mer._ Aye, aye, Love-Tokens I call'd 'em when I was a young Man: Nay,
+the Rogue was so impudent to tell me, that she had given him those
+Jewels which are lock'd about her Neck; Ha, ha, ha.
+
+_Bon._ The Jewels about her Neck, said you?
+
+_Mer._. Aye, what ails you Man that you change Colour so? 'Tis all a Lie
+Boy I warrant thee: And hadst thou not come just in the Nick of Time, I
+think o' my Conscience I shou'd have cut his Throat.
+
+_Bon._ As I will your Daughters if I find her false: Death, Hell, and
+Furies, am I made a Monster already?
+
+_Cla._ What, Sir, are you return'd for this?
+
+_Mer._ Hark y' son, hark you; suppose that this Mr. _Friendly_ shou'd
+have a secret Inclination to your spouse, d' ye see; and therefore, by
+reason he can't obtain his Desire, possesses you with Jealousy to make a
+Breach 'twixt you and your Wife. Od's bobs, I don't know, I can't tell
+what shou'd be the meaning of his carrying you away on your Wedding-Day,
+else, heh, Son, heh.
+
+_Cla._ Has the Italian Plague then infected you, that you stand thus
+unmov'd?
+
+_Enter_ Summerfield _leading_ Arabella.
+
+But see here's your Bride.
+
+_Bon._ And her beloved Adulterer with her! Death and Damnation, must I
+stand still and see this?
+
+_Mer._ Hey day! what the Matter now?
+
+_Ara._ _Bonvile_ here with _Clara_! Alas too true I find what before I
+scarce dar'd to think was so. Is _Bonvile_ then a Traitor, and false to
+_Arabella_?
+
+[_Aside._
+
+_Cla._ Madam, at last I've found the pretious Jewel that you so long
+have sought in vain.
+
+[To _Arab._
+
+_Ara._ Wear it your self Madam, I lost it, and it must be mine no more.
+
+_Cla._ What means this sudden Alteration?
+
+_Mer._ Ods bodikins, as you say, what does she mean? Are ye both mad,
+heh?
+
+_Sum._ Sir, I'm come to pay my Respects to you, and humbly beg a farther
+Knowledg of----.
+
+_Bon._ Of whom, sweet Sir, my Wife or me?
+
+_Sum._ Ha! your Wife.
+
+_Bon._ Yes Sir, my Wife, I think the word needs no explaining.
+
+_Mer._ Pray, Sir, at my Request bear with him, he's strangely out of
+Order I assure you.
+
+_Bon._ The Jewels are as I left 'em ; but the Jewel of her Heart is lost
+and thrown away.--Madam, I sent you my Will, did you receive it.
+
+_Ara._ Yes, I did.
+
+_Bon._ Let me see it.
+
+_Ara._ You shall.
+
+[_Exit_ Ara.
+
+_Bon._ Sir, I desire a Word or two in private with you,
+
+[_to_ Summer.
+
+_Sum._ With all my Heart, Sir.
+
+_Mer._ What's that, what's that, I'll have no Whispering, Gentlemen.
+
+_Enter_ Arabella _with the Will._
+
+_Ara._ There's your Will, Sir.
+
+[_Throws it down,_ Bonvile _takes it up._
+
+_Bon._ 'Tis well now as you've chang'd your Mind, I'll change this too,
+and find another to supply your Place: There's no harm done, the
+Marriage is not yet consummated, and you are free to enjoy any, so am I.
+
+_Ara._ As you please for that: A Man may make a Garment for the Moon,
+count all the Stars which twinckle in the Skies, or empty the vast
+Ocean, Drop by Drop, sooner than please a Mind so light, so various as
+yours.
+
+_Mer._ Ods bobs, what's this you talk of, altering your Will?
+
+_Bon._ Yes, Sir, I am so resolved, and will see 't perform'd within this
+Hour: My Lawyer lives hard by, and so farewel.
+
+[_Exit. Bon._
+
+_Mer._ Farewel thou peevish Boy, I can alter my Will too so I can, marry
+can I; I had left him 20000 Pound after my Death, and he shall see I can
+find another Executor too. Within this Hour did he say, Gad I'll be with
+one as soon as he, unless he rides Post to the Devil, and that's the
+nearest way to a Lawyer.
+
+_Sum._ I'll follow him, and asswage his Passion.
+
+_Mer._ By no means, Sir.--But now I think on't, I'll go with you, and
+find him out: But did you ever see the like, did you ever see the like?
+Come Sir, come follow me
+
+[_Exit._ Merr. & Summer.
+
+_Cla._ Dear _Arabella_ what can all this mean?
+
+_Ara._ Can you be doubtful of the Effect, who are your self the Cause?
+
+_Cla._ I the Cause, Inform me how?
+
+_Ara._ O _Clara, Clara_, your Syrens Voice has drawn my _Bonvile_ from
+these spotless Virgins Arms, and made me ever wretched!
+
+_Cla._ Who (if thou ever lov'dst me) tax'd me with a Crime so foul, as I
+abhor to hear it only named?
+
+_Ara._ _Friendly._.
+
+_Cla._ O _Arabella_, forgive and pity me, who am indeed the innocent,
+unhappy Cause of all those Griefs which now afflict you both; which I'll
+relate in brief, if you will please to withdraw one Moment with me.
+
+_Ara._ With all my Heart.
+
+_Cla._ Come then:
+
+    _And since your Ruine I did first conspire,
+    I'll all appease, thus Fire's expell'd by Fire._
+
+[_Exeunt._
+
+_Enter Justice_ Merryman _and_ Summerfield.
+
+_Mer._ Sir, do you take me for your Friend?
+
+_Sum._ Why d' you ask me such a Question, Sir? 'twere base Ingratitude
+to entertain any other Thought.
+
+_Mer._ Why then d' ye see, Sir; as you are my Friend, you must not fight
+my Son _Bonvile_.
+
+_Sum._ Not fight him Sir! you amaze me.
+
+_Mer._ Aye, aye, aye; that's all one: I understand your dumb Signs and
+your low Whispers, the French Mode all over, to smile and grin a Man in
+the Face, and at the same time privately cut his Throat. Therefore
+prithe be ruled by me, and don't fight him, for shou'd you kill him, my
+poor Girl wou'd break her Heart, quite break her Heart. [_Sobs and
+cries._] I grant that you are wrong'd, and so I dare swear is my dear
+Child: but he's her Husband, and must be born with, ods bobs he must.
+
+_Sum._ Heaven be my Witness, I ne're entertain'd a Thought like it!
+
+_Mer._ That's well, that's well, I am heartily glad on't, ods bobs I am
+heartily glad.
+
+[Enter _Friendly_.
+
+But here comes one that has made all this Mischief; and him I'll fight
+my self for all I'm a Justice of the Peace. Come, come, Sir, Draw, draw;
+you'll belie my Daughter again wil you? Come, draw, I say, Draw.
+
+[_Draws._
+
+_Fri._ Sir, as I am a Gentleman, I scorn to deny my Words, but there's
+my Author, whether good or ill.
+
+_Mer._ Who, he? He, do ye mean him?
+
+_Fri._ Yes, Sir.
+
+_Sum._ True, Sir, I am; For, at his Return to Town from _Barn-Elms_, it
+was my Chance to meet him; and after a ceremonious Complement or two, I
+found him diving into my private Thoughts concerning the Bride your
+Daughter: I, not to be behind-hand with him, join'd Wit with Wit to
+sound his shallow Soul. I told him then, how her Jewels once were mine;
+but the manner of my obtaining them, I for my own sake did conceal from
+him; and now, if you're disposed, I'll here relate it.
+
+_Enter_ Bonvile _leading_ Arabella, Clara _and_ Spruce, _Mr._ Venter
+_and Mrs._ Venter.
+
+_Mer._ Let it be before all this Company then: What, and my Son and
+Daughter too so loving again? Nay then all's well, ods bobs it is, and
+they shall hear it, ods bobs they shall.
+
+_Bon._ I have heard the Story, Sir, already; and _Friendly_, you I
+pardon too, for Enemies in War take all Occasions to undo each other;
+yet tho I am your Enemy, I'll be generous still, and make you Master of
+your wish'd for Mistress.
+
+[_To_ Clara.]
+
+Come, Madam, receive this worthier Passion of your _Friendly_, whom I
+know you both admire and love.
+
+[_Gives her to_ Friendly.
+
+Next I must obtain your Pardon for my Rashness.
+
+_Sum._ Sir, 'tis what I first ought to have begg'd of you: And that the
+World may'nt tax this innocent Lady of a Crime to her purest Thoughts
+unknown, I'll here begin my Story from my first Acquaintance to this
+happy Hour.
+
+_Mer._ Prithy do.
+
+_Sum._ The first time that I e're beheld her Face, I wou'd have robb'd
+her.
+
+_Mer._ Ah Rogue! What, a Thief, a Thief, what wou'd you have robb'd her
+of?
+
+_Sum._ Not her Honour, I assure you, Sir, but only of those Jewels which
+she wears.
+
+_Mer._ Ods bobs, thou wert an honest Thief, for that I faith he was.
+
+_Sum._ They being fast, I cou'd not get 'em off without some Harm and
+Pain to her: which for the _Indies_ I'd not have done. And she, in
+answer to my Civility, brought me home, and ransom'd them with the full
+Price in Gold, (with which I made my Venture) and the more to hide my
+Shame, she honour'd me with the Title of her Kinsman.
+
+_Mer._ Ay, ay, and so she might well; for she was a little cunning Thief
+too, to steal the Gold she gave you from her Husband; 'twas all his now,
+but that's no matter, proceed.
+
+_Sum._ The rest you know already, Sir.
+
+_Mer._ Ay, so I do, ods bobs I do, thy Valour my brave Boy, thy Valour,
+for which I'll do for thee, that thou shalt never need to rob again I
+warrant thee; ods bobs I will. But come, come, we lose time, for we have
+another Wedding yet to be perform'd, but that shall be done within.
+
+    Sum. _Then farewel all ye treacherous Paths of Vice,
+            Which lead Men blindfold to their End,
+            In time like me repent you that are wise,
+            And by Restraint your vicious Courses end._
+
+    Ara.    _Were I to ask of Heaven its greatest Bliss
+            On Earth, it cou'd bestow not one like this.
+            After a Storm the Sun still shines most bright,
+            And from the Chaos sprung the purer Light._
+
+    Bon.    _A Day like this sure yet has never been,
+            Wherein such various Changes e're were seen.
+            Fortune to Day that work'd my Overthrow,
+            Has made me happy in a Minute now.
+            Bless'd with a vertuous Wife my Days I'll spend,
+            And ne're trust Man, lest I mistake my Friend._
+
+
+
+
+EPILOGUE,
+
+Spoke by the City-Bride.
+
+
+      _You met with good Intention to be witty,
+    And rally the Grave Cuckolds of the City;
+    But disappointed of your Recreation,
+    I in your Looks can read the Play's Damnation.
+    Lord! how ye stare to find an honest Bride,
+    A thing you think a Monster in_ Cheapside.
+    _Whither you boast that you so often come,
+    And leave your footmen to perform at home.
+    Yet 'tis no little Comfort t' us howe're,
+    You oftner bring th' Estate than get the Heir.
+    Unjustly therefore you your Fortune blame,
+    She's kinder to your Blood that to your Name._
+
+      _After all this, I know you think it Pity,
+    That I shou'd break the Custom of the City:
+    I hear a Beau cry, 'tis some damn'd Mistaker;
+    A_ Cheap-side _Vertue, City Cuckold maker.
+    This is a Fault no Gentleman can pardon,
+    It gives_ Cheapside _the Sins of_ Covent-Garden:
+    _We must refine on Vice, and take new Measures,
+    Since dull chain'd Cits invade our darling Pleasures._
+
+      _Take my Advice, employ at home your Backs,
+    Or_ Locket's _Revels may revenge_ Pontack's:
+    _This Cuckolding to you's a losing Trade,
+    That pay for making, and for being made.
+    The Ladies will my Character excuse,
+    And not condemn a Vertue which they use._
+
+    _If any here be guilty of Transgression,
+    'Tis of Necessity, not Inclination:
+    They'd be contented in their proper Houses,
+    Cou'd they reform their unperforming Spouses.
+    Yet if some wanton Appetites there be,
+    How many are there that can fast like me.
+    Those are enow, if I have their Applause,
+    The Poet has his End, and I my Cause.
+
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
+
+
+FIRST YEAR (1946-47)
+
+Numbers 1-4 out of print.
+
+5. Samuel Wesley's _Epistle to a Friend Concerning Poetry_ (1700) and
+_Essay on Heroic Poetry_ (1693).
+
+6. _Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the Stage_ (1704)
+and _Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage_ (1704).
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+SECOND YEAR (1947-1948)
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+7. John Gay's _The Present State of Wit_ (1711); and a section on Wit
+from _The English Theophrastus_ (1702).
+
+8. Rapin's _De Carmine Pastorali_, translated by Creech (1684).
+
+9. T. Hanmer's (?) _Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet_ (1736).
+
+10. Corbyn Morris' _Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit,
+etc._ (1744).
+
+11. Thomas Purney's _Discourse on the Pastoral_ (1717).
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+12. Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood
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+17. Nicholas Rowe's _Some Account of the Life of Mr. William
+Shakespeare_ (1709).
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+18. "Of Genius," in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719); and
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+FOURTH YEAR (1949-1950)
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+19. Susanna Centlivre's _The Busie Body_ (1709).
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+20. Lewis Theobold's _Preface to The Works of Shakespeare_ (1734).
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+22. Samuel Johnson's _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749) and Two
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+23. John Dryden's _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681).
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+24. Pierre Nicole's _An Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in Which from
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+30. Essays on Taste from John Gilbert Cooper's _Letters Concerning
+Taste_, 3rd edition (1757), & John Armstrong's _Miscellanies_ (1770).
+
+
+SIXTH YEAR (1951-1952)
+
+31. Thomas Gray's _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard_ (1751); and
+_The Eton College Manuscript._
+
+32. Prefaces to Fiction; Georges de Scud�ry's Preface to _Ibrahim_
+(1674), etc.
+
+33. Henry Gally's _A Critical Essay_ on Characteristic-Writings (1725).
+
+34. Thomas Tyers' A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson (1785).
+
+
+
+
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+  +--------------------------------------------------------------+
+  | Transcriber's Notes & Errata                                 |
+  |                                                              |
+  | Spellings of names, abbreviations and a number of other      |
+  | words, punctuation including the use of apostrophes, use of  |
+  | accents, hyphenation and italicisation are very inconsistent |
+  | in the text. They have been transcribed as in the text,      |
+  | except for very obvious typographical errors.                |
+  |                                                              |
+  | In the Preface, the underlined words have been represented   |
+  | as italicised words.                                         |
+  |                                                              |
+  | Superscripts in the Preface have been preceded by carat      |
+  | characters.                                                  |
+  |                                                              |
+  | Embedded stage directions in the text have been left in      |
+  | situ, enclosed in square brackets.                           |
+  |                                                              |
+  | End-of-line and centred stage directions in the text have    |
+  | been placed on their own lines.                              |
+  |                                                              |
+  | The following words occur in both hyphenated and             |
+  | unhyphenated forms in the text. The number of instances of   |
+  | each word are given in parentheses.                          |
+  |                                                              |
+  | |Cheap-side (1) |Cheapside (2)  |                            |
+  | |Hoo-ra     (2) |Hoora     (3)  |                            |
+  | |me-thinks  (2) |methinks  (4)  |                            |
+  | |Merry-man  (2) |Merryman  (10) |                            |
+  | |who-ever   (1) |whoever   (1)  |                            |
+  |                                                              |
+  | The following obvious typographical errors have been         |
+  | corrected.                                                   |
+  |                                                              |
+  | |Error                   |Correction |                       |
+  | |is is                   |is         |                       |
+  | |wihin                   |within     |                       |
+  | |the                     |thee       |                       |
+  | |the the                 |the        |                       |
+  | |Names                   |Name       |                       |
+  | |Speaker's name omitted. |Fri.       |                       |
+  | |Salvage                 |Savage     |                       |
+  |                                                              |
+  +--------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The City Bride (1696), by Joseph Harris
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+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of The City Bride, by Joseph Harris.
+    </title>
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The City Bride (1696), by Joseph Harris
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The City Bride (1696)
+       Or The Merry Cuckold
+
+Author: Joseph Harris
+
+Commentator: Vinton A. Dearing
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2007 [EBook #22974]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CITY BRIDE (1696) ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Starner, LN Yaddanapudi and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<p class='b fm'><span style='font-size:180%;'>The Augustan Reprint Society</span><br /><br />
+
+<span style='font-size:130%;'>JOSEPH HARRIS</span><br /><br />
+
+<span class='i' style='font-size:120%;'>The City Bride</span><br />
+
+<span style='font-size:120%;'>(1696)</span></p>
+
+<p class='b fm'>With an Introduction by<br />
+Vinton A. Dearing</p>
+
+<p class='fm'>Publication Number 36</p>
+
+<p class='fm'>Los Angeles<br />
+William Andrews Clark Memorial Library<br />
+University of California<br />
+1952</p>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<p class='fm'>GENERAL EDITORS</p>
+
+<p class='fm'><span class='sc'>H. Richard Archer</span>, <i>Clark Memorial Library</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>Richard C. Boys</span>, <i>University of Michigan</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>Robert S. Kinsman</span>, <i>University of California, Los Angeles</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>John Loftis</span>, <i>University of California, Los Angeles</i></p>
+
+<p class='fm'>ASSISTANT EDITOR</p>
+
+<p class='fm'><span class='sc'>W. Earl Britton</span>, <i>University of Michigan</i></p>
+
+<p class='fm'>ADVISORY EDITORS</p>
+
+<p class='fm'><span class='sc'>Emmett L. Avery</span>, <i>State College of Washington</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>Benjamin Boyce</span>, <i>Duke University</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>Louis Bredvold</span>, <i>University of Michigan</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>James L. Clifford</span>, <i>Columbia University</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>Arthur Friedman</span>, <i>University of Chicago</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>Edward Niles Hooker</span>, <i>University of California, Los Angeles</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>Louis A. Landa</span>, <i>Princeton University</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>Samuel H. Monk</span>, <i>University of Minnesota</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>Ernest Mossner</span>, <i>University of Texas</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>James Sutherland</span>, <i>University College, London</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>H. T. Swedenberg, Jr.</span>, <i>University of California, Los Angeles</i></p>
+
+<p class='fm'>CORRESPONDING SECRETARY</p>
+
+<p class='fm'><span class='sc'>Edna C. Davis</span>, <i>Clark Memorial Library</i></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>Table of Contents</h2>
+
+<ul class='off'>
+<li><a href='#INTRODUCTION'>INTRODUCTION</a><span class='ralign'><a href="#Page_i">i</a></span></li>
+<li><a href="#PROLOGUE">PROLOGUE</a><br /></li>
+<li><a href="#Dramatis_Personae">Dramatis Person&aelig;</a><br /></li>
+<li><a href="#ACT_I">ACT I</a><span class='ralign'><a href="#Page_1">1</a></span><br /></li>
+<li><a href="#ACT_II">ACT the Second</a><span class='ralign'><a href="#Page_9">9</a></span><br /></li>
+<li><a href="#ACT_III">ACT the Third</a><span class='ralign'><a href="#Page_18">18</a></span><br /></li>
+<li><a href="#ACT_IV">ACT the Fourth</a><span class='ralign'><a href="#Page_29">29</a></span><br /></li>
+<li><a href="#ACT_V">ACT the Fifth</a><span class='ralign'><a href="#Page_38">38</a></span><br /></li>
+<li><a href="#EPILOGUE">EPILOGUE</a><span class='ralign'><a href="#Page_46">46</a></span><br /></li>
+</ul>
+
+<hr /><p class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></p>
+
+<h1><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a>INTRODUCTION</h1>
+
+<p><span class='u'>The City Bride</span>, by Joseph Harris, is of special interest as the only
+adaptation from the canon of John Webster to have come upon the stage in the
+Restoration. Nahum Tate&rsquo;s <span class='u'>Injur&rsquo;d Love: or, The Cruel Husband</span> is an adaptation
+of <span class='u'>The White Devil</span>, but it was never acted and was not printed until
+1707. <span class='u'>The City Bride</span> is taken from <span class='u'>A Cure for a Cuckold</span>, in which William
+Rowley and perhaps Thomas Heywood collaborated with Webster. F. L. Lucas,
+Webster&rsquo;s most recent and most scholarly editor, remarks that <span class='u'>A Cure for a
+Cuckold</span> is one of the better specimens of Post-Elizabethan romantic comedy.
+In particular, the character of the bride, Annabel (Arabella in Harris&rsquo;s
+adaptation), has a universal appeal. <span class='u'>The City Bride</span>, a very close copy of
+its original, retains its virtues, and has some additional virtues of its own.</p>
+
+<p>Not much is known of its author, Joseph Harris. Genest first notices
+him as playing Bourcher, the companion of a French pirate, in <span class='u'>A Common-Wealth
+of Women</span>. Thomas Durfey&rsquo;s alteration of <span class='u'>The Sea Voyage</span> from the Beaumont and
+Fletcher folio, which was produced about September 1685. His subsequent
+roles were of a similar calibre, but if he never rose to be a star he seems
+to have become a valued supporting player, for in 1692 he was chosen to join
+the royal &ldquo;comedians in ordinary.&rdquo; He did not at first side with Thomas
+Betterton in his quarrel with the patentees of the theatre in 1694-5, but he
+withdrew with him to Lincoln&rsquo;s Inn Fields. Genest notices him for the last
+time as playing Sir Richard Vernon in Betterton&rsquo;s adaptation of <span class='u'>1 Henry IV</span>,
+which was produced about April 1700.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span>
+During his career on the stage Harris found time to compose a tragi-comedy,
+<span class='u'>The Mistakes, or, The False Report</span> (1691), produced in December 1690;
+<span class='u'>The City Bride</span>, produced in 1696; and a comedy and a masque, <span class='u'>Love&rsquo;s a Lottery,
+and a Woman the Prize. With a New Masque, call&rsquo;d Love and Riches Reconcil&rsquo;d</span>
+(1699), produced about March 1698/9. <span class='u'>The Mistakes</span> is clearly apprentice work,
+for Harris acknowledges in a preface the considerable help of William Mountfort,
+who took the part of the villain, Ricardo. Mountfort, who had already written
+three plays himself, cut one of the scenes intended for the fifth act and
+inserted one of his own composition (probably the last) which not only clarified
+the plot but also elevated the character of the part he was to play.
+The company seems to have done its best by the budding dramatist, for Dryden
+wrote the prologue, a rather unusual one in prose and verse, and Tate supplied
+the epilogue. Harris professed himself satisfied with the play&rsquo;s reception,
+but owned that it was Mountfort&rsquo;s acting which really carried it off.</p>
+
+<p><span class='u'>The City Bride</span>, on the other hand, shows its author completely self-assured,
+and rightly so. No doubt some of his ease comes from the fact that
+he had nothing to invent, but in large part it must derive from his ten-years&rsquo;
+experience on the stage. Harris added nothing to the plot of <span class='u'>The City Bride</span>,
+although he commendably shifted its emphasis, as his title makes clear, from
+infidelity to fidelity; but he rewrote the dialogue almost completely, and
+the new dialogue is remarkable good. The reader will notice that it is,
+except for the last half of the first act, printed as prose. The quarto of
+<span class='u'>A Cure for a Cuckold</span>, from which Harris worked, is also largely printed as
+prose, but has correct verse lineation in the same portion of the first act.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span>
+It is the more remarkable that Harris, following thus closely the apparent
+form of his original, could vary from it so successfully. Most notable,
+probably, are the passages in which he intensified the expression of his
+source. They may indicate no more than the eternal &ldquo;ham&rdquo; in our author;
+but I think they probably indicate as well a new style of acting, more
+rhetorical in one way, more natural in another. A good example, in which
+the new rhetoric is not oppressive, is the account of the sea fight at the
+end of Act III. Even when Harris followed his original most closely, we
+seem to hear the actor, speaking in a new tongue, in a more relaxed and
+colloquial rhythm. The reader will find it both amusing and instructive to
+compare the two versions of Act II, scene ii. The new cadences do more than
+merely prove that Harris had no ear for blank verse.</p>
+
+<p><span class='u'>The City Bride</span> does not conform to the dominant type of Restoration
+comedy, but it belongs to a thriving tradition. Domestic comedy, in adaptations
+from the Elizabethans, had been staged at intervals for twenty years
+before <span class='u'>The City Bride</span> appeared, and the type was of course destined to
+supplant gay comedy in the near future. Harris was not, therefore, going
+against the taste of the town; on the contrary he was regularly guided by
+contemporary taste and practice. His stage is less crowded: he amalgamated
+the four gallants of <span class='u'>A Cure for a Cuckold</span> in the person of Mr. Spruce, at
+the expense of a dramatic scene (I, ii, 31-125); and he ended the sub-plot
+with the fourth act instead of bringing its persons into the final scene,
+with some loss of liveliness and a concomitant gain in unity of effect. He
+modernized his dialogue entirely, bringing up to date the usage and allusions
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span>
+of his original, and restraining the richness of its metaphor by removing
+the figures altogether or by substituting others more familiar. He omitted
+a good deal of bawdry, especially in Act II, scene ii. All these changes
+have parallels in other Restoration adaptations. Again, the songs and dances,
+which are all of Harris&rsquo;s composition, reflect the demand of the Restoration
+audience for excitement, variety, novelty, in their dramatic fare. When in
+Act III, scene i, Harris meets this demand by making Bonvile bare his breast
+to Friendly&rsquo;s sword, and Friendly a little later grovel at Bonvile&rsquo;s feet
+for pardon, we may condemn the new business as bathetic; but when in Act IV,
+scene i, he substitutes for Webster&rsquo;s emaciated jokes the bustle of drawers,
+the sound of the bar bell, and healths all around, we can only applaud the
+change.</p>
+
+<p>We must also commend Harris for supplying a consistent and relatively
+believable motivation for the main action. In both <span class='u'>A Cure for a Cuckold</span> and
+<span class='u'>The City Bride</span>, Clare (Clara) begins the action by giving her suitor,
+Lessingham (Friendly), a cryptic message: he is to determine who his best
+friend is and kill him. In <span class='u'>A Cure for a Cuckold</span>, it is never made clear
+whether the victim should have been Bonvile or Clare herself (she apparently
+intended to trick Lessingham into poisoning her). This uncertainty has only
+recently been noticed by students of the drama, who have been forced to
+emend the text at IV, ii, 165 (see Lucas&rsquo;s note on the passage). Harris&rsquo;s
+solution is simpler. He will have nothing to do with either murder or
+suicide. Clara explains to Friendly that the best friend of a lover is love
+itself.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p>
+<p>This is not the place to enumerate all the differences between
+<span class='u'>A Cure for a Cuckold</span> and <span class='u'>The City Bride</span>; indeed the reader may prefer making
+the comparisons for himself. Harris&rsquo;s alterations follow the general pattern
+of Restoration adaptations from the earlier drama, it is true. On the other
+hand, a relatively small number of such plays allow us to see the professional
+actor feeling his way through the emotions and actions of the scenes. To
+compare a play like <span class='u'>The City Bride</span> with its source is like visiting the
+rehearsals of an acting company of the time. Such a play has an immediacy
+and liveness that strongly appeals to those who delight to image forth the
+past.</p>
+
+<p><span class='u'>The City Bride</span> has never been reprinted. The present edition reproduces,
+with permission, the copy in the Henry E. Huntington Library, omitting Harris&rsquo;s
+signed dedication to Sir John Walter, Bart., on A2<sup>r</sup>-A3<sup>r</sup> (A1<sup>v</sup> in the original is
+blank). The top line on page 44, which is partly cut away, reads: <span class='u'>Cla.</span> Who
+(if thou ever lov&rsquo;dst me ...</p>
+
+<p style='margin-left:70%; text-indent:0;'>Vinton A. Dearing<br />
+University of California<br />
+Los Angeles</p>
+
+<hr />
+<h1><span class='sf50'>THE</span><br />
+CITY BRIDE:<br />
+<span class='sf50'>OR,</span><br />
+The Merry Cuckold.<br />
+<span class='sf50'>A</span><br />
+COMEDY,</h1>
+
+<p class='fm'>Acted at the New Theatre, in <i>Little</i><br />
+<i>Lincolns Inn-Fields.</i><br /><br />
+
+<span class='sf75'>BY</span><br /><br />
+
+His Majesty&rsquo;s Servants.<br />
+
+<span class='sf75'><i>First Edition.</i></span></p>
+
+<p class='fm'><span class='bb bt'><i>Spero Meliora.</i></span></p>
+
+<p class='fm'>LONDON:<br />
+Printed for <i>A. Roper</i> and <i>E. Wilkinson</i> at the <i>Black-Boy</i>, and R.<br />
+<i>Clavel</i> at the <i>Peacock</i>, in <i>Fleet-street</i>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1696.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="PROLOGUE" id="PROLOGUE"></a>PROLOGUE:<br />
+<i>Spoke by Mr.</i> THURMOND.</h2>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Three Ways there are, and all accounted fair,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To gain your Favour: Begging, Borrowing, Prayer.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If as a Beggar, I your Alms implore <span class='n ralign'>}</span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Methinks your Charity shou&rsquo;d aid the Poor; <span class='n ralign'>}</span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Besides, I never beg&rsquo;d of you before. <span class='n ralign'>}</span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If I address by Prayer, and loud Complaints<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I then oblige yee, for I make you Saints;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And sure none here can think it Superstition,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To pray to Saints that are of no Religion!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If Invocation will not do my Work,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A Man may borrow of a <span class='n'>Jew</span> or <span class='n'>Turk</span>;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Pray lend me Gentlemen your Applause and Praise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I&rsquo;ll take it for as good as Currant Bays;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And if I ne&rsquo;re repay it, &rsquo;tis no more,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Than many of you Sparks have done before:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With this distinction, that you ran indebt<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For want of Money, we for want of Wit.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In vain I plead! a Man as soon may get<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Mill&rsquo;d Silver, as one favour from the Pit.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&mdash;&mdash;Hold then&mdash;&mdash;now I think on&rsquo;t,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I&rsquo;ll e&rsquo;en turn Thief, and steal your kind Affection,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And when I&rsquo;ve got your Hearts, claim your protection:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">You can&rsquo;t convict me sure for such a crime,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Since neither Mare nor Lap-dog, I purloin:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While you Rob Ladies Bosoms every day, <span class='n ralign'>}</span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And filch their pretious Maiden-heads away; <span class='n ralign'>}</span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I&rsquo;ll plead good nature for this Brat the Play: <span class='n ralign'>}</span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A Play that plagues no more the thread-bare Theme<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of powder&rsquo;d Beaux, or tricks o&rsquo;th&rsquo; Godly Dame,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But in your humours let&rsquo;s ye all alone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And not so much as Fools themselves runs down.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Our Author try&rsquo;d his best, and Wisemen tell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&rsquo;Tis half well doing to endeavour well:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What tho&rsquo; his poor Allay runs not so fine;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet, let it pass as does our present Coin;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For wanting fairer Ore, and riches mould<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He stamps in Brass, what others print in Gold:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Smile on him but this time, the next perhaps,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If he guess right he may deserve your Claps.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="Dramatis_Personae" id="Dramatis_Personae"></a>Dramatis Person&aelig;.</h2>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'>Bonvile,</td><td align='left'><i>The Bridegroom</i>.</td><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Boman.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Friendly,</td><td align='left'><i>His Friend, in Love with</i> Clara.</td><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Thurmond.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Justice Merryman,</td><td align='left'><i>Father to</i> Arabella.</td><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Bright.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Summerfield,</td><td align='left'><i>A Gentleman, but Younger Brother, necessitated to take the High-Way</i>.</td><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Scudemore.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Ventre,</td><td align='left'><i>A Merchant.</i></td><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Arnold.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Spruce,</td><td align='left'><i>A City Beau.</i></td><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Bayly.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Compasse,</td><td align='left'><i>A Master of a Vessel.</i></td><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Freeman.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>A Councellor.</td><td></td><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Davis.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Pettifog,</td><td align='left' rowspan='2'><i>Two Attorneys.</i></td><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Trefusis.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Dodge,</td><td align='left'><i>Mr.</i> Eldred.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='3'><i>Sailers, Neighbours, Drawers, Servants, Boys, Singers and Dancers.</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Arabella,</td><td align='left'><i>The Bride</i>.</td><td align='left'><i>Mrs.</i> Boman.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Clara,</td><td align='left'><i>Friendly&rsquo;s Mistriss, but secretly in Love with</i> Bonvile.</td><td align='left'><i>Mrs.</i> Boutell.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><i>Mrs.</i> Ventre,</td><td align='left'><i>The Merchant&rsquo;s Wife</i>.</td><td align='left'><i>Mrs.</i> Lacy.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Peg,</td><td align='left'><i>Compasses Wife</i>.</td><td align='left'><i>Mrs.</i> Perin.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Nurse.</td><td></td><td align='left'><i>Mrs.</i> Lawson.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Lucy,</td><td align='left'>Clara&rsquo;s <i>Maid</i>.</td><td align='left'><i>Miss</i> Prince.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='3'><i>Women Neighbours.</i></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p class='noin c'>SCENE <i>London</i>.</p>
+
+<hr /><p class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></p>
+<h1><span class='sf75'>THE</span><br />
+CITY BRIDE:<br />
+<span class='sf75'>OR, THE</span><br />
+Merry Cuckold.</h1>
+
+<h2><a name="ACT_I" id="ACT_I"></a>ACT I. SCENE the I.</h2>
+
+<blockquote><p><i>The Curtain draws up, and discovers several sitting at a Banquet. An Entertainment
+of Instrumental Musick, Compos'd by Signior</i> Finger: <i>Then a Song,
+set by Mr.</i> John Eccles, <i>and Sung by Young</i> La Roche.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class='c'>SONG.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Many I&rsquo;ve lik&rsquo;d, and some Enjoy&rsquo;d,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But if I said I Lov&rsquo;d, I ly&rsquo;d.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Inconstant as the wandring Bee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From once touch&rsquo;d Sweets I us&rsquo;d to flee;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor all the Power of Female Skill,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Cou&rsquo;d curb the freedom of my Will:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0"><span class='n'>Clarinda</span> only found the Art,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To Conquer and so keep my Heart.<br /></span>
+<span class='i ralign'>[After this a Dance, and then the Scene shuts.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class='sd mt2'>Enter <span class='n'>Friendly</span> and <span class='n'>Clara</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Friend.</i> This <ins class='corr' title="Transcriber&rsquo;s Note: The original showed &lsquo;is is&rsquo;.">is</ins> a Day of Mirth and Jollity my <i>Clara</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Clara.</i> &rsquo;Tis so, for such as can be merry, Mr. <i>Friendly</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Friend.</i> Why not for us my Love, we have a Noble President, and
+methinks shou&rsquo;d Imitate (thr&ocirc; Envy) this their happiness.</p>
+
+<p><i>Clara.</i> I am not of your Opinion.</p>
+
+<p><i>Friend.</i> Why not my Fair?</p>
+
+<p><i>Clara.</i> I&rsquo;ll tell you, because I purpose not to Marry.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>
+<i>Fri.</i> Prithee be serious, and reform that Thought: Think of my past Service,
+and judge by that my future; weigh all the respect I have paid you long, and ever
+lov&rsquo;d you beyond my self.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> I know your Weakness, and will reward it too.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> I am sure you will, you must be kind; And can you think an Answer of
+this killing Nature, a just return for all my faithful Love?</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> As to that I have already said.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Oh speak, from whence this Coldness doth arise! Be at least so kind as to
+tell me that; Is it some late Disgust you have conceived of my Person; or rather
+your desire, (I fear) of some unworthier, happy Creature, base in the Attempt,
+as you unkind in thinking of a Change; if neither.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I must impute it to your Woman&rsquo;s Will,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Still pleased with what it fancies, Good or Ill.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Be&rsquo;t what it will, thus it is, and with this Answer pray rest satisfied;
+there is but one way ever to win me and draw me unto Marriage, which whosoever
+finds, &rsquo;tis like he may have me, if not, I am still my own.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Oh name it then! Thou dearest Treasure of my Life! my Soul! my All! I
+am in a maze of Extasie, to think there&rsquo;s any  means to gain you, and hope you&rsquo;l
+be so kind to tell me how I may be happy.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> I&rsquo;ll retire a while; and with my self resolve what must be done, and in the
+end send you my Resolution.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Clara</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> I&rsquo;ll here expect it: What more can I desire, than now be satisfied and know
+my Dooom.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Suspence is the worst Torment we endure,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&rsquo;Tis Knowledge make the Wound both safe and sure.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Spruce</span> and Mr. <span class='n'>Venter</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spru.</i> How now <i>Jack</i>! What all alone Man?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> No, for I have heard some say, Men are ne&rsquo;re less alone, then when alone.
+The reason I suppose is this, because they have Crowds of Thoughts, that still perplex
+the Mind; which wou&rsquo;d be, like the Soul retired and free, thereby to enjoy
+that sweet repose, which nought but that can Grant.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spru.</i> Pshaw! Pox of this Morality and dull Stuff; Prithee let us be Merry, and
+Entertain the Bride and Bridegroom. Ods fish there a parcel of rare Creatures
+<ins class='corr' title="Transcriber&rsquo;s Note: The original showed &lsquo;wihin&rsquo;.">within</ins>! But of all Mrs. <i>Clara</i> for my Money.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> And truly, I am of your Opinion Mr. <i>Spruce</i>; for setting aside her present
+Melancholly and Discontent, I think she is beyond Comparison with any other.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Od&rsquo;s nigs, I know the Cause of her Disorder.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ven.</i> What I pray?</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Why, I&rsquo;ll tell ye; In all Conditions of Estates, Professions, and Degrees, in
+Arts or Sciences, yee know there&rsquo;s a kind of Envious Emulation.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> Right.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>
+<i>Spr.</i> So in this of <i>Arabella</i>&rsquo;s Marrying; for <i>Clara</i> being Lady of much the same
+Birth and Quality, Grieves I&mdash;suppose to see her Rival get the start of her.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> Troth like enough.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Y&rsquo;are Pleasant Gentlemen&mdash;Or else because she having had so many
+Courtiers&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> And you among the rest <i>Jack</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> She now perhaps does cast a more favourable Eye upon some one that does
+not like her.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Why Faith, and that may be too.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Lucy</span> with a Letter.</p>
+
+<p><i>Lucy.</i> Sir, my Mistriss presents her humble Service to you, and has sent you this
+Letter; pray Heaven it be to your liking Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> I thank the kind <i>Lucy</i>: There, there&rsquo;s for the Postage Girle: [<i>Gives her Money.</i>]
+She has kept her Promise for once I see; I&rsquo;m resolved to read it, th&ocirc; I were sure
+my Death was Comprehended in it.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p class='hi'>Reads. <i>Try all your Friends, and find out the best and nearest to your Heart, That
+done, be sure to kill him for my sake. This fail not to do, if you respect and Love
+(as you pretend.)</i><br /><span class='ralign'>Clara.</span><br /></p></blockquote>
+
+<p>&rsquo;Tis as I fear&rsquo;d, and what I know she most desires: Mischief, and Murder, are all
+her Sexes Practice, and Delight? Yet such is the Extravagancy of my Passion, I
+must obey the Mandate, th&ocirc; to my certain Ruine: &rsquo;Tis strangely difficult, and does
+require Mature Deliberation.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> What has <i>Friendly</i> left us?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> I believe the Letter was the occasion, it may be it was a Challenge.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> A Challenge! No, no; Women don&rsquo;t use to bring Challenges, I rather believe
+&rsquo;tis an Amour; And that Letter as you call it a <i>Billet Deux</i>, which is to Conduct
+him to the place appointed; and in some Sence you may take that for a
+Challenge.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> And she the Civil Embassadress to usher him in.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Yes, yes, but see the Bride and Bridegroom, with the rest of the good
+Company.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Justice <span class='n'>Merry-man, Bonvile, Arabella,</span> Mrs. <span class='n'>Venter</span> and others,
+as Guests Invited to the Wedding.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Son <i>Bonvile</i>, what call ye the Gentleman we met at the Garden Door?</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> <i>Friendly</i> Sir, a most approv&rsquo;d and worthy Gentleman, and one of my chiefest
+Guests.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ay, ay, it may be so: But yet me thought he seemed somewhat displeased,
+th&ocirc; Son, Hah, What think you?</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> No sure Sir, he cannot be Angry, when his Friend&rsquo;s so happy.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>
+<i>Mer.</i> I can&rsquo;t tell Boy, but I believe there&rsquo;s something more than ordinary in the
+matter. Why should he leave the Company else? And Mrs. <i>Clara</i> I miss her too.
+Why Gentlemen, why do you suffer this?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Unknown to any Sir, she withdrew soon as we rise from Table.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Sick of the Maid perhaps; because she sees you Mrs. Bride her Quondam
+Play fellow Married before her; Heh Gentlemen, heh!</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> &rsquo;Troth like enough Brother <i>Merry-man</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Go, go, find her out for shame Gentlemen; and do not stand idle thus,
+Od&rsquo;s bobs, when I was a Young fellow and invited to a Wedding, I used to frisk
+and Jump, and so bestir my self, that I made all the <i>Green-sickness</i> Girles in the Room
+blush like Rubies. Ah, hah! I was a brisk Fellow in those Days, I&rsquo;faith, and used to
+Cut Capers a Yard high: Nor am I yet so Old, but I can take a round or two still&mdash;Come,
+come Gentlemen, lets in again and firk it away, shall we not?</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> With all my Heart Mr. Justice.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Why that&rsquo;s well said Mr. <i>Spruce</i>, Ods bobs it was, and I thank you heartily.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Come Madam, you must along with us, without you all&rsquo;s nothing.</p>
+
+<p><i>Arab.</i> I&rsquo;ll wait on you Gentlemen; if you will give me leave Sir.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[To <span class='n'>Bonvile</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Oh my best Joy! This Day you may Command.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> That&rsquo;s right, that&rsquo;s right I&rsquo;faith Gentlemen! This Day she Commands, and
+he for ever after. Ods bobs I have done so my self, and hope I shall do so still.
+Sister <i>Venter</i>, May I presume to ask if my Brother can say as much?<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Bonvile, Arab. Spruce,</span> and the rest of the Guests.]</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Vent.</i> Yes Brother, I think he may, I freely Give him leave.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Observe that Brother, she freely gives you leave: But who Gives leave the
+Master or the Servant?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> You are Merry Brother, and truly you have reason, having but one
+Daughter and see her Married as you would have her.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Yes, I have one thank Heaven! You wou&rsquo;d be glad Sister you cou&rsquo;d say so,
+but your Barrenness does give your Husband leave (if he please) to look for Game
+elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Ven.</i> Well, well Sir, th&ocirc; you jeer me, and make a scorn of my Sterility&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> No, no, not I Sister, I scorn not your Sterility, nor your Husbands Virility
+neither.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Ven.</i> My Husband&rsquo;s Virility! Pray spare my Husband; for he has not been
+so idle as you imagin; He may have an&mdash;Offspring abroad for ought you know,
+that you never heard of.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> Oh fye Wife, You will not make it publick will you?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Ven.</i> And yet he keeps himself within compass for all that.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> If you love me <i>Winny</i>&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Ven.</i> Na, I say no more, but thereby hangs a Tale.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Say&rsquo;st thou so old Girle? What and has he been stragling then? Nay; nay
+I know he is a Ventersome Man; And a&mdash;Merchant of small Wares sometimes,
+especially when he can get a good Commodity: I love him the better for&rsquo;t I&rsquo;faith,
+Ods bobs I do&mdash;A notable spark with a Young Wench in a corner, Is he not?
+A true Chip of the old block, his Father I warrant him&mdash;But Sister, I have
+something to say to you in private, concerning my Daughter.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'><i>Enter Nurse.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> By your leave Good Folks, Is Master <i>Venter</i> the Merchant here I pray?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> Oh Nurse! I am glad to see thee, How does my Boy?</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Very well, I thank Heaven Sir! He grows bravely I assure you. &rsquo;Tis a
+Chopping lad I promise you, and as like your good Worship; As if he had been
+spit out of your Mouth.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> Softly, Nurse softly.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> I protest &rsquo;tis one of the forward&rsquo;st Infants in the Universe; Lord! how it
+will Crow, and Chirup like a Sparrow! I am afraid Sir he is about Teeth, for he
+Dribbles extreamly, if so, Your Worship must provide him a Silver Corral with a
+Whistle and Chain.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> Well, well, he shall have everything Nurse, my Wife shall send them
+to ye; in the mean time, there, there&rsquo;s a Piece, to buy <ins class='corr' title="Transcriber&rsquo;s Note: The original showed &lsquo;the&rsquo;.">thee</ins> a Pair of Gloves, and
+so leave us, for I am busie at present, therefore steal away behind me, and slip out
+at the back Door.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Yes Sir, I am gone, Heavens bless your Worship, a Piece! Marry! and
+that&rsquo;s a sufficient Charm to lye up any Nurses Tongue in <i>Christendom</i>.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Ex. Nurse</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Just. Mer.</i> Well well, it shall be done: Come Brother we are mist I warrant you
+amongst the Young Fry, let&rsquo;s to &rsquo;um and, Dance till our Legs ake again, come I&rsquo;ll
+lead the way.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mr. Ven.</i> We follow you.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Exeunt.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Friendly</span> Reading <ins class='corr' title="Transcriber&rsquo;s Note: The original showed &lsquo;the the&rsquo;.">the</ins> Letter.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fr.</i> Heaven in its excess of Goodness, bestow&rsquo;d no greater Blessing on Mankind
+than that of Friendship&mdash;To Murder any one is a Crime unpardonable! <i>But a
+Friend!&mdash;And of all Friends the nearest to my Heart</i>,&mdash;&rsquo;Tis such an Imposition
+that Hell it self &rsquo;till now cou&rsquo;d never parallel; And yet this Devil of a Woman has
+power over me beyond all Virtue. I am distracted in my Thoughts, and know
+not what to do; yet something must be done without delay, or else I lose her quite:
+And yet I fear &rsquo;tis most Impossible, for Friendship left the World, when Justice fled,
+and all who now do wear that Name are the worst of Hypocrites,</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Like Counterfeited Coin on which is seen,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The formal Stamp; but sordid Dross within.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Bonivile</span>.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> My Friend alone and Thoughtful? say for what?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That you alone appear with Discontent,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When all my Friends Congratulate my Bliss?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Is it because (which I durst ne&rsquo;re suspect)<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Your Love to me was not intirely true?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or else perhaps, this Crown of Happiness<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">You think Misplac&rsquo;d, and Envy it not yours.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span><i>Fri.</i> Forbear such cruel Words&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How can you entertain a Thought so Vile<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of him whom so long you have call&rsquo;d your Friend?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">May all the Blesings Heaven can bestow<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">On us poor Mortals in this World below,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Crown all your Days, and may you nothing see<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But flowing Tides of sweet Felicity;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But I, alas!&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> Alas! What means my <i>Friendly</i>?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Much hidden Grief that wretched Word portends,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which thus disturbs the Quiet of my Friend?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But come disclose it to me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And since the Burthen is too much for one,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I&rsquo;ll bear a part to ease thy troubled Breast.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Oh <i>Bonvile</i>!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Seek not to force this Fatal secret from me&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> I must know it, by my best hopes I must.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Oh no! I cannot, Nay I dare not&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> How dare not trust a secret to a Friend?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Oh <i>Bonville</i>, <i>Bonville</i>! Call me not your Friend,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That <ins class='corr' title="Transcriber&rsquo;s Note: The original showed &lsquo;Names&rsquo;.">Name</ins> strikes horrour to my very Soul.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> Ha! Art thou then a Stranger to that Name?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Indeed I am, and must be so for ever now.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> Yet hear me <i>Friendly</i>; Deny me if thou can'st,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fixt as a Rock, I vow I&rsquo;ll here remain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Until I have forc&rsquo;d this Dire secret from thee.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Pardon me Sir, I hope you soon will hear it,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But I&mdash;&mdash; <span class='i ralign'>[Offers to go.]</span><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> Yet stay, and since intreaty can&rsquo;t prevail,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By all the Friendship which you once profess&rsquo;d,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By all that&rsquo;s Holy, both in Heaven and Earth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I now Conjure thee to impart it to me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or by this Life&mdash;&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><ins class='corr' title="Transcriber&rsquo;s Note: The original did not show the speaker&rsquo;s name."><i>Fri.</i></ins> Hold, hold, and since I can no longer hide it<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Know &rsquo;tis my Honour then which lyes at Stake.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> Thy Honour! How? Proceed.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> By chance a Quarrel happen&rsquo;d to arise<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Betwixt another and my self, The Field,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Time, Place, and all appointed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nay Seconds must assist us in the Deed:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I have relied on many seeming Friends,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">(Such as profess the bare and empty Name)<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And all refuse to venture in my Cause.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> Is this all?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri</i> All, Is it not enough? To see my Reputation, (the Lifes Blood of my Soul)<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nay all that&rsquo;s Dear, in Danger to be lost.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span><i>Bon.</i> Not while thy <i>Bonvile</i> lives and wears a Sword:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">May all things frown that I wou&rsquo;d have to smile,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">May I live Poor, and Dye despised by all,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If I out live the ruine of thy Honour!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tell me the time my Friend?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Oh, spare me that, for, if once known the time,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">You&rsquo;l Cancel this your promise, and recall<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Your Friendly proffer.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> Away with these Excuses, come the time.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> At Seven this Evening.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> The place?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> <i>Barn-Elms</i>:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh the fatal place! Where I too well foresee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The certain fall and Ruine of my Honour!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> No, Thou shalt not stay to forfeit thy lov'd Honour,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Come I&rsquo;m ready to assist my Friend; and will along with you.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Alas. What mean you?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of all my Friends on you I ne&rsquo;re Relied;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But sure I Dream, I Rave, by Heav&rsquo;ns I&rsquo;m Mad!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My <i>Bonvile</i> leave his Wife? And on his Wedding Day?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His Bride whom he perhaps may ne&rsquo;re Enjoy?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And all for me? O most unhappy Man!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> Pleasure before my Friend I&rsquo;ll ne&rsquo;re prefer,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor is it lost, th&ocirc; for a while, delay&rsquo;d.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Are you then resolv&rsquo;d to go?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> I am as fixt in my Resolve as is the <i>Libertin</i> in vice,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which Death alone can part.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Yet stay, and think what it is you undertake,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Recall this Rash and suddain Resolution,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Least you repent, alas when it is too late.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> This were enough to shake a weaker Soul,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But mine it moves not; like to a Mighty Oake,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I&rsquo;m plac&rsquo;d above the Storms of Fear or Doubt.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Arabella</span>.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Sir, no more, the Bride,<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Ara.</i> Oh, Heavens defend me!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> What ailes my Dearest Life?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Ara.</i> I&rsquo;ve lost the Key of this Chain I wear about my Neck<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And of these Bracelets, Oh!  Unhappy Omen!<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> No, no, my Love; I found it as it lay at Random in your Chamber, and
+fearing it might be forgot, or lost, have laid it by; &rsquo;Tis safe my Love.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Indeed I&rsquo;me very glad you&rsquo;ve found it, but yet&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[sighs.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Yet, What my Dear? from whence proceeds that sigh?</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Ara.</i> Alas, I know not!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Some busie Genius Whispers to my Soul,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>The loss of this upon my Wedding Day<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Portend&rsquo;s a greater e&rsquo;re the Day be past.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> Banish such Fears, let&rsquo;s in and see our Friends.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Ara.</i> Indeed they all expect you; come I&rsquo;ll lead the way.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> I&rsquo;ll go with you. <i>Barn-Elms</i> you say?<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Aside to <span class='n'>Friendly</span>.</span><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Yes that&rsquo;s the place, at Seven precisely;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Bon.</i> I&rsquo;ll meet you on the <i>Exchange</i>, and go together;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If you are there before me, Take a turn or two.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Bonvile</span>, and <span class='n'>Arabella</span>.</span><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Fri.</i> Oh my Dear <i>Bonvile</i>! Art thou then the Man?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The only, only Man that I can call Friend,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And only Friend that I am bound to Kill?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A Friend, that for my sake wou&rsquo;d stake his Life,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Leave a Chast Bride and untouch&rsquo;d Nuptial Bed<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For me base Man, nay worse than Savage Beast:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The generous Lyon, never kills his kind<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They say, alth&ocirc; provoked to utmost rage;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet I vile Monster, more ungrateful Man,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thus unprovoked, must kill my Brother Creature,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And which is worse, my Dear and only Friend!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All for the pleasure of a Foolish Woman.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="i stanza">
+<span class="i4">O cruel Woman thus to Command<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">A Task so hard, Yet what I can't withstand!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Oh! thou rare Copy of the Original,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">By which free Man at first received his fall;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">For she not only wou&rsquo;d her self undo,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And all her Sex, but Damn all Mankind too. <span class='ralign n'>[Exit.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class='sd'>The End of the First Act.</p>
+
+<hr /><p class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="ACT_II" id="ACT_II"></a>ACT the Second.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class='sc'>Scene</span> <span style='font-weight:normal;'>the First.</span><br />
+<i>The Fields.</i></h3>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Summerfield</span> solus.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> A Younger Brother! &rsquo;Tis a poor Title, and very hard to bear with: The
+Elder Fool inherits all the Land, whilst we are forc&rsquo;d to follow <i>Legacies
+of Wit, and get &rsquo;um when we can</i>. Why shou&rsquo;d the Law, by which we are deprived
+of equal Portion with the First-begotten, not bind our Fathers to cease from Procreation,
+and so as well deprive us of a wretched Being, as of the Thing we cannot
+be without: No, no, our Mothers ne&rsquo;re will consent to that, they love to groan and
+squall, tho at the same time the Gallows eccho&rsquo;s to their Groans, and both together
+labour for us. From the first we travel forth&mdash;to&rsquo;thers our Journey&rsquo;s End. <i>All this
+I know, yet I must forward</i>: To beg, my Birth will ne&rsquo;re consent to; and <i>borrowing is
+quite out of date</i>&mdash;Yet starve I cannot, <i>nor murder I wou&rsquo;d not</i>: It must be the Highway
+then, the old Trade we poor honest Rogues are forc&rsquo;d too&mdash;This Place will
+serve for a Beginner well enough&mdash;A Beginner did I say? Yes; for this is the very
+first day I open Shop&mdash;Fortune, they say, uses to help the Bold, I hope she will be kind
+to me. Ha! who have we here? A Gentlewoman well rigg&rsquo;d, and only a Servant
+with her, She may be a Prize worth the boarding, and faith I&rsquo;ll venture hard but I&rsquo;ll
+carry her.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[He retires to a corner of the Stage.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Arabella</span> in great disorder, looking about her, with <span class='n'>Symon</span> her Servant.</p>
+
+<p><i>Arab.</i> This way, say&rsquo;st thou <i>Symon</i>, with <i>Friendly</i>?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sym.</i> Yes forsooth Mistress, with Mr. <i>Friendly</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Arab.</i> Alas! I&rsquo;m tired and cannot travel further; my Heart is full of Fear, and
+yet I know not why, nor can I tell why he should use me thus,&mdash;It is not common
+sure for Men to leave their Brides upon the Wedding-day: And yet I cannot tell
+but it may be so! O wretched State of Marriage, and of Love, if this be Love! Here
+will I lie me down, and rest a while [<i>Lies down.</i>] my wearied Limbs, unused
+to these sad Frights and Fears&mdash;But prethee do thou run after him, and if it be
+possible o&rsquo;retake him too: Tell him the strange Disorder thou dost leave me in; and
+let him know my Father&rsquo;s Anger, his Friends Concern, and what is more, his <i>Arabella</i>&rsquo;s
+sad Complaint; tell him, I grieve, I faint, I die; tell him any thing that may
+stay him.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sym.</i> Yes Forsooth.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
+<i>Arab.</i> Intreat him to return; nay, urge him all thou canst to make him come again:
+Nay haste, good <i>Symon</i>, fly if thou canst, for I can stir no further.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sym.</i> Well, well, Forsooth, I am gone.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Symon</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Arab.</i> Alas, how wretched and forlorn am I!</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I she whom once so many did admire,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Whose Wit and Charms the coldest Hearts cou&rsquo;d fire!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now wretched Maid, and most unhappy Wife,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In Sighs and in Complaints must end my Life.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Abandoned by my Husband, e&rsquo;re enjoyed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With thoughts of Pleasure, yet untasted, cloy&rsquo;d.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He leaves me now to my sad Frights a Prey;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O, my dear <span class='n'>Bonvile</span>! whither dost thou stray?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Unheard, alas! I make my amarous Moans;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Winds and Waves refuse to bear my Groans:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Eccho her self can&rsquo;t suffer my Complaint,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But with repeated Sighs grows tir&rsquo;d and faint.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where to find him, good Heaven direct me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For losing him, I more than lose my self.<br /><span class='ralign'>[Rises, and <span class='n'>Exit</span>.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> I must after her, she&rsquo;s worth my Acquaintance, and has good Moveables about
+her I perceive, what e&rsquo;re the Ready is. The next Turning has a most convenient
+Hollow for the Purpose, and there I&rsquo;ll make her sure. Now Luck, or never.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Exit after <span class='n'>Arabella</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Reenter <span class='n'>Arabella</span>, and <span class='n'>Summerfield</span> after her.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> I&rsquo;m at a stand already, and know not where I am.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> I&rsquo;ll direct you, Madam; Well overtaken.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Bless me, Sir; What are you?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> A Man.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> An honest Man, I hope?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Yes faith in some Respects, I&rsquo;m very honest, but not altogether so; I were
+not fit to live in the World if I were too honest, Child.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Alas! then I begin to fear: Pray tell me what you are?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Why, faith, an honest Thief.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> How, honest, and yet a Thief? I never heard they were of Kin before;
+Pray, Heaven, I find it now.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Indeed! a very honest Thief.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Well, Sir, since that&rsquo;s your Title, pray use me kindly: Nay, I&rsquo;m sure you will,
+there&rsquo;s something in your Looks which speaks you mild and noble.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Yes, I am a Gentleman, and you shall find me so; for I&rsquo;ll not offer you the
+least shew of Violence, or offer to corrupt your Chastity; th&ocirc; indeed you are tempting
+Fair, and might inflame a colder Heart than mine: Yet Ravishing&rsquo;s no part of my
+Profession as yet; or if it were, you look so charming Innocent, you wou&rsquo;d disarm
+my wildest Thoughts.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Blessings on your Goodness!</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+<i>Sum.</i> Are you a Maid, or Wife?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> I am both, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Then this it seems is your Wedding-day, and these the Hours of Interim that
+keep you in that double State?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Indeed you are in the right.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Come then, I&rsquo;ll be brief, and hinder not your desired <i>Hymen</i>. You have some
+superfluous Toys I see about you, which you must deliver; I mean, that Chain of
+Gold and Pearl about your Neck, and those pretty Bracelets about your Arms, (pray,
+Heaven, they prove not Emblems of the combined Hemp which is to halter mine);
+come, Madam, pray deliver &rsquo;em.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Nay, I intreat you, Sir, to take &rsquo;em, for I cannot give &rsquo;em, they are lock&rsquo;d
+you see, and truly I have not the Key about me; it may be you are furnish&rsquo;d with Instruments
+that may unloose &rsquo;em, I pray do.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> No faith, Madam, I&rsquo;m but a Beginner in this same Business, and am wholly
+unprovided of any Pick-lock Tools besides this Sword.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Draws his Sword.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> O, good Sir, do not shew me that, &rsquo;tis too frightful; pray hurt me not, for
+I do yield them freely: Use your Hands, perhaps their strength will serve to tear
+&rsquo;em from me without more ado. Some Pain I&rsquo;ll quietly endure, provide you do not
+hurt me much.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Alas, dear Lady, I&rsquo;ll use you as gently as I can
+upon my Word; but &rsquo;tis devilish strong.&mdash;If I hurt you, pray speak.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[He endeavours to break the Chain about her Neck.]</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Not much, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> I am glad on&rsquo;t,&mdash;S&rsquo;death, I can&rsquo;t do it.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[She draws his Sword, and stands upon her Guard.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> No Sir, nor shall not now: You a Highway-man and guard your self no better:
+Come, Sir, what Money have you? Deliver quickly.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Not a Cross by this foolish Hand of mine!</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> How, no Money, &rsquo;twere pity then to take this from thee;
+Here, take it again, I know you&rsquo;l use me ne&rsquo;re the worse for what
+I have done.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Gives him his Sword again.]</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> No, by my Life!</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> I do believe you; and now pray hear me&mdash;Here on my Knees, in sight of
+Heaven, I make this solemn Protestation, That if you&rsquo;l but forbear the Rifling of this
+Chain and Bracelets, and go but with me Home, by all the Vows which I this Day
+have plighted to my dearest Husband, I will deliver you in Money the full Value of
+these I wear, and cannot for my Life get off.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Ha! Ready-money is the Prize I look for; it passes without suspicion every
+where, when Chains and Jewels are often stop&rsquo;d and call&rsquo;d for before the Magistrate:
+But&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Nay never doubt! You saw I gave you my Advantage up, and questioned not
+my safety at your hands, pray fear not yours in mine.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> I know not what to do.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Pray tell me, Sir, did you ever think a Woman true?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> I have heard of some, but very few.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Will you add one more to your belief?</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
+<i>Sum.</i> I think I may, for they were fewer than the Articles of my Faith, therefore
+I have room for you, and will believe you&mdash;Yet stay, you say you&rsquo;l ransom your
+jewels with Ready-money when you come Home; so you may, and then discover
+me.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Shall I repeat the Vows I made?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> No, for I&rsquo;ll trust you; and if you do betray me, then Mercy upon me, and
+Farewel. I knew a Gentleman that had been a Courtier at <i>Whitehall</i> fifteen Years,
+and he was buried e&rsquo;re he took a Bride: &rsquo;Tis very strange you&rsquo;l say; and may be my
+Case in another way.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Come, Sir, never fear: A Man and afraid; Fie, fie!</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Give me your Hand, I&rsquo;ll wait on you; and if you are (as I believe you) True
+and Just, you are the World&rsquo;s Wonder! Come, Madam.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Exeunt.</span><br /></p>
+
+<h3>SCENE II.</h3>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter two Boys, one with a Child in his Arms. <span class='n'>Compass</span> on the other side.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 Boy.</i> <i>Jack</i>, Who&rsquo;s this?</p>
+
+<p><i>2 Boy.</i> O <i>Jeminy</i>! I&rsquo;ll be hang&rsquo;d if it ben&rsquo;t Goodman <i>Compass</i>, that they said was
+dead three Years ago.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 Boy.</i> Od&rsquo;s Life, and so it is!</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> O <i>London</i>! sweet <i>London</i>! Do I live to see thee once again? My Eyes are
+full of Brine for Joy. And if my dear <i>Peggy</i> be but living still, I shall cry &rsquo;em out.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 Boy.</i> Goodman <i>Compass</i>, I am glad to see you; You are welcome home.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Thank you, good Lad: Honest <i>Jack</i> here too? Why, thou art grown a
+little Man since I saw thee last: What, is that thy own, heh?</p>
+
+<p><i>2 Boy.</i> I am fain to keep it, you see, whoever got it; it may be other Mens Cases
+as well as mine.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Thou say&rsquo;st true <i>Jack</i>: But whose pretty Knave is it?</p>
+
+<p><i>2 Boy.</i> My Dame&rsquo;s where I live.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> And not thy Master&rsquo;s?</p>
+
+<p><i>2 Boy.</i> Nay, nay, I can&rsquo;t tell that neither: My Master loves it as well as if it were
+his own, and for ought I see better than my Dame.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> A very good Lad by my Troth!</p>
+
+<p><i>2 Boy.</i> But, Goodman <i>Compass</i>, I can tell you News, Your Wife has a brave Boy too
+of her own, not above a Quarter old, as big as two of this.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Ha! say&rsquo;st thou so, <i>Jack</i>? Ha, ha, ha, by my Troth I am heartily glad to
+hear it: I&rsquo;ll give thee a dozen of Ale, and thy News be true, Boy.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 Boy.</i> I assure you &rsquo;tis very true: All your Neighbours can tell you the same.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Ha, ha, ha! But a Quarter old, and so lusty, say you? What plaguy thundering
+Boys are got now-a-days: I Gad, I shall split my Sides with Laughing; Ha,
+ha, ha.&mdash;But <i>Jack</i>, I have been loth to ask thee all this while, for fear of ill News,
+how does my Wife?</p>
+
+<p><i>2 Boy.</i> O never better, nor ever so lusty and handsome&mdash;And truly she wears better
+Clothes than she was wont, especially on Holy-days: she has Silk-Gowns, and Lac&rsquo;d-Petticoats,
+and fine <i>Holland</i>-Smocks too, they say, that have seen &rsquo;em: And some of
+our Neighbours say, they were taken up in <i>Cheap</i>.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
+<i>Comp.</i> Like enough, <i>Jack</i>; and there they must be paid for&mdash;Well, good Lads,
+go and tell my Wife the joyful Tidings of my Return.</p>
+
+<p><i>2 Boy.</i> That I will with all my Heart, for she heard you were dead long ago.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 Boy.</i> Nay, I&rsquo;ll go along with you <i>Jack</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>2 Boy.</i> Come then.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exeunt 2 Boys.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Well, <i>Peggy</i>, if I am one of the Livery, I thank thee for it: The Cuckolds
+are the greatest Company in all the City: And we have more Aldermen among us,
+than all the other put them together.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Peg, Compass</span>&rsquo;s Wife.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> O my dear sweet Honey-suckle! Art thou alive? I am glad to see
+thee with all my Heart and Soul, so I am.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Runs and kisses him.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> O, ho! good Spouse, give me leave to shed a few pearly Tears; the Fountain
+of Love will have its Course: And th&ocirc; I cannot Sing at first sight, yet I can Cry
+you see. I am as it were new come into the World; and Children Cry before they
+Laugh, a long time you know.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Yes; and so thou art new born indeed to me, my <i>Numpy</i>; for I was told you
+were dead long since, and never thought to see this dear sweet Face of thine again:
+I heard thou wert div&rsquo;d to the bottom of the Sea, and that you never did intend to see
+poor <i>Peggy</i> more.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> He, he, he, I was going down, as you say <i>Peg</i>, but I thought better on&rsquo;t, and
+turn&rsquo;d back: I heard an ill Report of my Neighbours there; the devouring Sharks,
+and other Sea-Monsters, whose Company, to tell you the Truth, I did not like;
+and therefore resolv&rsquo;d to come home and bide with thee my Girl&mdash;Come kiss thy
+poor Hubby, kiss me I say, for Sorrow begins to ebb apace.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> A thousand, thousand Welcomes home dear <i>Numpy</i>!</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> An Ocean of Thanks, kind <i>Peggy</i>: Well, and how goes all at Home? What
+Lank still, poor <i>Peg</i>? Wil&rsquo;t ne&rsquo;re be full Sea at our Wharf?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Alas, Husband, what do you mean?</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> A Lass, is it, or a Lad, Wench? I shou&rsquo;d be glad of both; I look&rsquo;d for a
+pair of Compasses long afore now.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> What, and you from home, Love?</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> I from home? Why th&ocirc; I was from home, and other of our Neighbours
+from home, does that follow that every body else is from home?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> I am pleased you are so merry, Husband.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Merry, nay I&rsquo;ll be merrier yet; why shou&rsquo;d I be sorry? I hope my Boy&rsquo;s
+well, is he not? Od&rsquo;s fish, I look for another by this Time.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Boy, what Boy, Deary?</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> What Boy! why the Boy I got when I came home in the Cock-boat one
+Night, about a Year ago; You have not forgotten it, I hope, I think I left behind
+me for a Boy, and a Boy I look for.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> I find he knows all&mdash;What shall I do? <span class='i ralign'>[Aside.]</span><br />
+O dear Husband, pray pardon me. <span class='i ralign'>[Kneels.]</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Pardon thee; why I hope thou hast not made away with my Boy, hast
+thou? Od&rsquo;s death I&rsquo;ll hang thee, if there were never a Whore more in <i>London</i>, if thou
+hast.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+<i>Peg.</i> O no; but your long Absence, and the Rumour of your Death, [<i>Cries.</i>]
+made me think I might venture.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Venture, quoth a, I can&rsquo;t blame thee, <i>Peg</i>; for <i>Wapping</i>, if it were twice
+<i>Wapping</i>, can&rsquo;t hold out always, no more than <i>Redriff</i>, <i>Limehouse</i> or <i>Shadwel</i>, nay or
+the strongest Suburbs about <i>London</i>; and when it comes to that, wo be to the City
+too, Girl.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Consider, Husband, I&rsquo;m but a Woman, neither the first or last that have done
+the same, and truly I won&rsquo;t deny but I have a Child.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Have you so? And what by Consequence must I have then, I pray?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> If you&rsquo;l forgive me this Time, it shall be so no more, indeed and indeed, now.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Well, well. I will forgive thee, <i>Peg</i>, upon this Condition, that you tell me
+who it was that fell foul aboard thee, and sprung this Leak in thee.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> O dear Husband!</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Nay, no Excuses, for I must know.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Why then truly it was Mr. <i>Venter</i> the Merchant.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> I am beholding to him, and wou&rsquo;d requite his Civility, if his Wife were but
+as willing, th&ocirc; he be one of our Merchants at Sea, he shall give me leave to be Owner
+at home; and where is my Boy? what, shan&rsquo;t I see him?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Yes if you please, good Husband: He&rsquo;s nurs&rsquo;d at <i>Bednal green</i>; &rsquo;tis now too
+late, to Morrow will be better.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Come then we&rsquo;l home and to bed.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let other Fools repine at Scoffs and Scorns,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I&rsquo;ll teach the Cuckold how to hide his Horns.<br /><span class='ralign n'>[Exeunt.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Justice <span class='n'>Merryman</span>, Mr. <span class='n'>Venter, Spruce,</span> Mrs. <span class='n'>Venter</span> and <span class='n'>Clara</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Was the like ever known, that a Bridegroom shou&rsquo;d absent himself on his
+Wedding-Day?</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> &rsquo;Tis somewhat strange indeed.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> And the Bride too my Daughter, she&rsquo;s out of the way: Why what shou&rsquo;d
+be the meaning of all this, Od&rsquo;s bobs I can&rsquo;t tell?</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. <i>Ven.</i> Perhaps they&rsquo;r busy Brother, privately conferring Notes together: You
+can&rsquo;t tell but that the young Man may have a stomach to his Supper, and fall too
+unawares, and we ne&rsquo;re the wiser.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Od&rsquo;s nigs, very true; what wou&rsquo;d you say then Sir, if they shou&rsquo;d be stol&rsquo;n away,
+and a-bed together seriously?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> What wou&rsquo;d I say? marry I wou&rsquo;d say, Speed &rsquo;em well: And if no worse
+News ever comes to me, I&rsquo;ll be hang&rsquo;d if e&rsquo;re I cry&rsquo;d for&rsquo;t.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Nurse.</p>
+
+<p>How now, what&rsquo;s the Business with you?</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Business enough, Forsooth; for I have the strangest Tydings!</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Of any One that&rsquo;s lost, Woman?</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> No forsooth, of One that&rsquo;s found again, an&rsquo;t please you.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> O, he was lost then it seems.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
+Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Her Business is with me, I believe Brother; is it not, Woman?</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Yes, Sir.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Come hither then, <span class='i ralign'>[Nurse whispers Mr. <span class='n'>Venter</span>.]</span><br />
+How, return&rsquo;d?</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Yes indeed, Sir, and all discovered.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Ah Curse on the Wind that blew him ashore.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Aye, so say I Sir, and did not sink him when he was going.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Well, well, be sure you do not let him come near the Child.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> I warrant you, Sir, if you charge me to the contrary.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Yes, I do strictly charge you as you tender my Displeasure.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Well then let me alone&mdash;Besides, Sir, he intends to come to morrow
+morning with his Wife and see him.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> I&rsquo;ll meet him there; and if he chance to be there before me, be sure to
+keep the Child safe, and not let him touch it.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> I warrant you, let me alone. <span class='i ralign'>[Exit Nurse.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Summerfield</span> and <span class='n'>Arabella</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> So, so, Heaven be praised, they are not both lost I see, here&rsquo;s the Bride, my
+Daughter, come again.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Father, and Gentlemen, I desire ye to treat this Stranger here with all Respect
+and Generosity; He&rsquo;s a loving Kinsman of my <i>Bonvile</i>&rsquo;s who kindly came to
+congratulate our Wedding.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Sir, you are heartily welcome. Od&rsquo;s bobs you are.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Welcome to all of us.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spruce.</i> Seriously, Sir, and so you are.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> But where&rsquo;s the Bridegroom, Girl? Od&rsquo;s bobs we&rsquo;re all at a Nonplus here,
+at a stand, quite out; the Musicks ceas&rsquo;d, and we all look as th&ocirc; there were neither a
+light Heart or Heel among us; nay, my Cousin <i>Clara</i> too as cloudy as on a washing Day.</p>
+
+<p><i>Clara.</i> &rsquo;Tis then because you will not dance with me, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> &rsquo;Tis I alone have cause to be sad, if this Day&rsquo;s Happiness cou&rsquo;d admit of any;
+But I&rsquo;ve long reason&rsquo;d with my pressing Thoughts, and from them drawn some
+Symptoms of Relief. Suppose this Day hath long since appointed by my dear
+<i>Bonvile</i>, to meet some Foe, and right his injur&rsquo;d Reputation: Nay, say he fights, alas!
+Why shou&rsquo;d I fear, when all the Powers above, that guard true Love and Innocence,
+will never see him fall.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Prethee peace, good Girl hold thy tongue; Od&rsquo;s bobs thou&rsquo;lt make us all
+Cowards, to hear a Woman preach up Valour thus.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Well, Sir, I have done: But pray entertain this Gentleman kindly for my
+sake. Indeed I was afraid when I saw him first.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Ha! what does she say? Od&rsquo;s Death she&rsquo;l tell!</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Being in search of my dear <i>Bonvile</i>, I had quite lost my Way when he most
+opportunely came unto my Aid, and gave me many marks of his Esteem in my distress
+of Fears; nay more than this, which I&rsquo;ll declare at large.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Death and Hell, she&rsquo;l betray me.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+<i>Ara.</i> Well, Gentlemen, since the Bridegroom&rsquo;s absent, I must supply his Place:
+Come, when I have waited on you to your Pleasure, I will return [<i>To</i> Summerfield.]
+to you, Sir, we must discourse more of my <i>Bonvile</i> yet.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Exeunt all but <span class='n'>Summerfield</span>.]</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Manet <span class='n'>Summerfield</span> solus.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> What a trembling Trade&rsquo;s this, when Conscience, that shou&rsquo;d be our only
+Guide, flies and leaves us to our accusing Guilt. A Thief! the very Name and
+Thought chills my Blood, and makes me tremble like an Ague-fit. A Dog, nay every
+Bough that moves, puts us in fear of present Apprehension. Sure I shall never thrive
+on this Trade: Perhaps I need take no further Care, I may be now near to my
+Journey&rsquo;s End, or at least in a fair way to <i>Newgate</i>, and from thence to <i>Tyburn</i>, the
+only Place that we poor Rogues can claim for an Inheritance. Trust a Woman, and
+with a Matter of such Importance, what a simple Dog am I? I cou&rsquo;d find in my Heart
+to run away: And that were base to run from a woman; I can lay claim to nothing
+but her Vows, and those the Women seldom or never mind.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Arabella</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> So, Sir, now you shall find a Woman as good as her Promise;  Here are 20
+Pieces, the full Value, on my Life, of what they cost.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Pray, Madam, do not thus suspend my doubtful Soul; but if you do design
+to insnare my Life, speak, speak freely: Or if the Constable be at the Door, let him
+shew his Staff of Authority, perhaps I may corrupt him with a Bribe.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> How! base ungrateful Man, do you suspect my Faith? Nay then, Father,
+Uncle, and Gentlemen, where are you?</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter all as before.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> How now, how now! What&rsquo;s the matter, Girl?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> For shame, will you not entertain your Kinsman here a little better: you
+leave him here alone, as th&ocirc; you despised his Company.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Is that all? I thought the Bridegroom had been return&rsquo;d: Sir, pray pardon
+this Rudeness; But indeed I had quite forgot you, quite forgot you, as I hope to be
+sav&rsquo;d: But what makes you tremble, Sir, are you ill dispos&rsquo;d.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Think you he hath not reason to be ill-disposed at this cold <span class='i ralign'>[Aside to Justice <span class='n'>Merryman</span>.]</span><br />
+Entertainment? for my part I blush for shame.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Come pray, Sir, shake off this Dulness, and participate of our
+Mirth, Od&rsquo;s nigs do.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> I am very well, Sir, I thank you, only the Gentleman is a little under a Mistake.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> It may be so, Ay, ay, it may be so; I vow I thought you had trembled, but I
+believe it might be my own Hand; you must pardon me, I was stiffer once.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Sir, your humble Servant.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> But, Gentlemen, what think you of an Adventure?</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Adventure whither?</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
+<i>Mer.</i> Why, to the <i>East-Indies</i>? I have a Vessel, Gentlemen, called the <i>Sea-Horse</i>,
+bound thither, and to morrow I do expect her to sail. Now, Gentlemen, if you&rsquo;l
+venture, ye shall have fair Dealing, that I&rsquo;ll promise you. And for the French, you
+need not fear them, for she is a smart new Vessel: Nay, she hath a Letter of Mart
+too, and twenty brave roaring Boys on both Sides her, Starboard and Larboard:
+And I intend to go as far as <i>Marget</i> down with her, &rsquo;twill be as good as Physick
+to me.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> A very good Motion, Sir, I begin, there&rsquo;s my ten Pieces.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> And, Sir, if a proffer&rsquo;d Love may be accepted, be pleased to take my ten
+Pieces with you.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Your&rsquo;s above all the rest, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> That&rsquo;s kindly said, Sir, and I thank you: Now pray venture Ten more for
+my sake.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Alas, Madam, it&rsquo;s a younger Brother&rsquo;s Portion.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> At my Request, Sir, venture the other Ten; if you want, I&rsquo;ll supply you with
+as many more.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> With all my Heart then: Come, Sir, if you please, I&rsquo;ll double mine: So now
+she&rsquo;s got her Gold again, and I am now no Thief, (<i>aside</i>) Sir, I have a Suit to you,<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[To <span class='n'>Merryman</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> You may command it, for I am always at your Service: But pray your
+Pleasure?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> My Request, Sir, is, to have the Honour of keeping you Company to Sea, for
+I have a great desire to see <i>Marget</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Sir, I shall be very happy in your good Company.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> I hope you will be both better acquainted e&rsquo;re you return; and by that time
+your Kinsman may be here to make you more welcome.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And for the Gold at my Request you lent,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I&rsquo;ll double it to give you more content.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class='n'>Sum.</span> Why shou&rsquo;d I fear, since she is prov&rsquo;d so just?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I&rsquo;ll quit my Trade: Now <span class='n'>Jack Catch</span> do thy worst.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class='i ralign'>Exeunt.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'>The End of the Second ACT.</p>
+
+<hr /><p class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="ACT_III" id="ACT_III"></a>ACT the Third.<br />
+<i>A Wood</i></h2>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Bonvile</span> and <span class='n'>Friendly</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Come my brave <i>Friendly</i>, I think we are here the first: Your Enemy is not
+yet i&rsquo;th Field; let&rsquo;s walk a Turn or two, perhaps by that time he may arrive.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> I&rsquo;m very confident that he&rsquo;s here already.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Thy Looks, me-thinks, speak Conquest sure thy own; an ardent Rage has
+kindled both thy Cheeks.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Like a red Morning, Friend; which still foretels a stormy Day to follow&mdash;And
+now I well observe your Face, me-thinks it waxes pale, there&rsquo;s Death in it already.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> How, <i>Friendly</i>, do you then take me for a Coward? My Face look pale, and
+Death in it already? By Heav&rsquo;n, shou&rsquo;d any but my <i>Friendly</i> dare to tell me what
+thou hast said, my Sword shou&rsquo;d ram the base Affront down the curst Villain&rsquo;s Throat.
+But you are my Friend, and I must only chide your Error. But prethee tell me who
+is it you are to fight with, for as yet I am ignorant both of the Cause and Person.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Ha, his Name! Did you enquire his Name?</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Yes.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> I dare not yet reveal it for fear of&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> For fear of what?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O Confusion! I know not what to say!</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> How, afraid to tell his Name? Then I begin to doubt the Justice of your
+Quarrel.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Too well you may, for by yon&rsquo; setting Sun, that Globe of heavenly Light
+I swear, I come to kill the only Man that strives to save my Life&mdash;Man did I say?
+Nay more than common Man, for those the World abound with; but such a Man besides,
+all this vast Land affords not.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> By this your large Encomium of your Friend, I&rsquo;m afraid &rsquo;twas Wine first
+made your Quarrel, and thereupon this Challenge did ensue.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O no! I call the Powers above to witness, that in all the Course of our unhappy
+Friendship, I to my knowledg never did receive the least Affront or Injury
+from him.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> How came this Challenge then?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O dear Friend, the noblest that Man cou&rsquo;d ever boast of: [<i>embraces him</i>]
+When first my rigid Fate threw on me this Command to fight, I had recourse to many
+whom I always thought my Friends; but when the Touchstone of my Danger
+try&rsquo;d &rsquo;em, I found &rsquo;em like the cursed Fruit of <i>Sodom</i>, fair without, but rotten at
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>
+the Heart: But then I found out <i>Bonvile</i>, my only dearest Friend. <i>Bonvile</i> no sooner
+heard of my Engagement, but flew unto my Succour with as much Bravery, as a great
+General hastned by Alarms, marches to meet the Foe: You left your Nuptial Bed
+perhaps to meet your Death. O unheard-of Friendship! My Father gave me Life,
+&rsquo;tis true; but you, my Friend, support my Honour. All this for me, while I, ungrateful
+Man, thus seek your Life: For to my eternal Horror be it spoke, you are
+the Man whom I come here to kill.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Ha!</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Too true alas! there read the Warrant for your Death.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Gives him the Letter.]</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> &rsquo;Tis a Woman&rsquo;s Hand.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Yes, and a bad One too, they all speak fair, write foul, but mean worse.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> How! kill me? Sure, I dream, and this is all Delusion, or else thou dost it
+only to try thy Friend.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O, from my Soul, I wish it were no more. But read, read on, see how I&rsquo;m fetter&rsquo;d
+in a <i>Circe&rsquo;s</i> Charms&mdash;I love beyond Imagination, love even to Madness, and
+must as madly do a Deed will damn me to the hottest Flames of Hell.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> And woo&rsquo;t thou kill thy Friend for such a Woman?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Alas! I must, you see I am commanded, commanded too by Love; Love
+more powerful than all the Sacred Ties of Friendship, therefore draw, and guard thy
+self.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Draws.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Not I by Heaven! What wou&rsquo;dst thou have me draw and kill my Friend?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> There thou stab&rsquo;st my Soul. O where, where is now my Resolution fled? A
+fatal Blast has struck me; a sudden Horror shot me thr&ocirc; the Heart; a Trembling
+seiz&rsquo;d my Knees, that I can hardly stand, and all my Vital Powers methinks seem
+dead; yet Love&rsquo;s the Fire must kindle all again, therefore I charge thee draw, or
+naked as thou art, I will assail thee.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> I am defended against all that thou canst do, in having Justice on my Side, and
+Friendship too to back it.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">But since Humanity now bears so sway,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To this unguarded Breast come make your way.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Strike home be sure. <span class='i ralign'>[Opens his Bosom.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> That were a barbarous Murder.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> How can the Effect prove different from the Cause? Or how can any thing
+but damn&rsquo;d Barbarity ensue a Woman&rsquo;s much more damn&rsquo;d Design? Who wou&rsquo;d expect
+Reason from one that raves, or hope for Mercy in a Tyger&rsquo;s Den? Believe me,
+<i>Friendly</i>, all this may sooner be; Mercy may sooner dwell among the <ins class='corr' title="Transcriber&rsquo;s Note: The original showed &lsquo;Salvage&rsquo;.">Savage</ins> Wolves
+and Bears, than in a Woman&rsquo;s Breast.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O, my too rigid Fate, to place me thus on such a dangerous Precipice, that
+wheresoe&rsquo;re I turn my self for help, I see my Ruin still before mine Eyes.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Seems to weep.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> [<i>Pausing.</i>] Stay&mdash;The Command which thy <i>Medea</i> sent thee,
+was to kill thy only dearest Friend, was it not?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Alas! it was.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Then here, all Friendship dies between us; thus hast thou kill&rsquo;d thy Friend,
+and satisfied that infernal Hag, thy cursed Mistress, who thus commanded thee:
+Away, I say, begon, and never see me more.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Ha!</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
+<i>Bon.</i> Yes, base ungrateful Wretch, farewel, (<i>Offers to go</i>) &mdash;Yet stay, and
+since that Sacred Tie of Friendship&rsquo;s broke, know thou, most vile of Men, that <i>Bonvile</i>&rsquo;s
+now thy Enemy; therefore do thou draw and guard thy spotted Life.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> How, Friend!</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Friend didst thou call me? On forfeit of thy Life that word no more; the
+very Name of Friend from thee, shall be a Quarrel: How can I tell but that thou
+lovest my Wife, and therefore feign&rsquo;d this damn&rsquo;d Design to draw me from her Arms?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> How! wrong thy Wife? O no, I never had a Thought so vile! Yet you must
+forgive me, indeed you must, by all that once was dear to me; and what I dare not mention
+more, by Love and Honour, I implore thy Pardon&mdash;Still art thou deaf to my
+Complaints?&mdash;Nay, then upon my Knee, I will enforce thy Pity. Behold me, <i>Bonvile</i>,
+prostrate at thy Feet, crawling for Mercy, swimming in Tears, and almost
+drown&rsquo;d with Shame; extend thy Arm to help me, as thou&rsquo;rt a Man, be God-like in
+thy Nature, and raise me from the Grave; turn thy Eyes on me, and sink me not with
+Frowns; O save me, save me, or I fall for ever.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> As soon shall Heav&rsquo;n reverse the Fate of Hell, as I recal what I have said, or
+plant thee in my Breast again.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Nay, then I am lost to thee, and all the World besides.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Rises.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Thou are indeed for ever lost to me; see what a miserable Wretch thy Folly
+now has made thee: A Creature so far below my Pity, that I despise and scorn thy
+base Submission, and will never hear thee more, more.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Say but thou hast forgiven me, and I will ask no more.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> I never will.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O cruel <i>Bonvile</i>!</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> More barbarous <i>Friendly</i>: Hold off, or I will use thee like a Dog, tread thee
+to Earth, and spurn thee like a Slave, base as thou art.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Still thou art my Friend&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Thou ly&rsquo;st, I have abjured the Name.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Let me but go with thee.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Not for the World; I&rsquo;de rather venture my self with Crocodiles, catch the
+last dying Gasps of some poor Wretch infested with the Plague, than trust my self
+with thee.</p>
+
+<div class=" poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Farewel, I leave thee with the greatest Curse,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Condemn&rsquo;d to Woman, Hell affords no worse.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class='i ralign'>[Exit, breaking from him.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'><span class='n'>Friendly solus</span>, rising in a Passion.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Death and Destruction, am I thus despised! Condemned to Woman&rsquo;s Lust,
+and scorn&rsquo;d by Man. By <i>Bonvile</i> too, after imploring, like a School-Boy, at his Feet&mdash;My
+Blood boils high, and scalds my very Heart! My inward Grief calls on
+me for Revenge, and I am all on fire! O that I had the proud <i>Bonvile</i> here now at my
+Feet, I&rsquo;de use him worse than he did me before.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">But since that open Force yields no Relief,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Private Revenge shall ease my swelling Grief.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>With Thoughts of Jealousy I&rsquo;ll fill his Soul,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which shall its Powers of all their Rest controul.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thus for a Woman I&rsquo;ve begun a War,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And for her sake must damn my Soul like her.<br /><span class='ralign n'>[Exit.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<h3>SCENE the Second.</h3>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Nurse, Compass,</span> and his Wife.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Indeed you must pardon me, I can&rsquo;t let ye see the Child; to tell you the
+Truth, I am commanded to the contrary.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Commanded! Prethee who commanded thee?</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> The Father.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> The Father, Why who am I?</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Not the Father sure, the Civil Law has found it otherwise.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> The Civil Law found it otherwise! Why then the Uncivil Law shall make it
+mine again, I&rsquo;ll be as dreadful as a <i>Shrove-Tuesday</i> to thee; for I&rsquo;ll besiege thy squalling
+catterwauling Castle, with my Friends the Mob, and gut thy stinking Nursery,
+but I&rsquo;ll both see and have my Child.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Harkee, Goodman Swabber, say but half so much again, and I&rsquo;ll call the
+Constable, and lay Burglary to your Charge. You wou&rsquo;d not be so hot if the Enemy
+were in View, nor if you had to do with any body but a poor innocent Woman,
+so you wou&rsquo;d&rsquo;nt.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Good Husband be patient, and let me alone with her: Come, come, good
+Nurse, let him see the Boy.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Indeed I dare not Goody <i>Compass</i>: The Father first you know delivered me
+the Child, and order&rsquo;d me to let no body see it. He pays me well and weekly for
+my Pains, and therefore I&rsquo;ll do as be bad me, so I will.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Why thou white Bastard-breeder; Is not this Woman here the Mother?</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Yes, I grant you that.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Do you so? Well, and I grant it too; And is not the Child then my own by
+the Wives Copy-hold?</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> The Law must try that.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> The Law! What then you think I&rsquo;ll be but its Father-in-Law? I tell thee,
+all the Wit and Law twixt <i>Cuckolds-Point</i> and <i>Westminster-Hall</i>, shan&rsquo;t keep my own
+dear Flesh and Blood from me, I warrant you that. No an&rsquo;t does, I&rsquo;ll be hanged at
+the Main-yard: Why, who, dost think, uses to get my Children but my self?</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> Nay, I can&rsquo;t tell; you must look to that, for my part I ne&rsquo;re knew you get
+any.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Say&rsquo;st thou so? Why, look you, do but put on a clean Smock, and try me,
+if thou darst, I&rsquo;ll hold thee three to one I get thee with Child before I leave thee:
+Heh! what say&rsquo;st thou?<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Offers to lay hold on her.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> I&rsquo;ll see you hang&rsquo;d first&mdash;Nay, pray be quiet, and don&rsquo;t offer to spoil my
+Milk. Lord, you are as boisterous as my Husband was the first Night we were married:
+Pray, Goody <i>Compass</i>, take off your Cur, or else he&rsquo;l bite me.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> No never fear him, Nurse, he&rsquo;s not so furious I assure ye.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Mr. <span class='n'>Venter</span> and his Wife.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> O! here&rsquo;s my Master, the Child&rsquo;s Father, now talk with him.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Good morrow Neighbour, good morrow to ye both.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Both! Good morrow to you and your Wife too, if you go to that.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> I wou&rsquo;d speak calmly with you, Friend, if you think fit.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> I know what belongs to Calm, and a Storm too; and if you please, a cold
+word or two wi&rsquo; you.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> With all my Heart.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> I understand that you have ty&rsquo;d your Mare in my Ground.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> My Mare, Friend, nay I assure you, &rsquo;twas only my Nag.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Your Nag? Well your Nag then let it be: Harke, Sir, to be short, I&rsquo;ll cut
+off your Nag&rsquo;s Tail, if e&rsquo;re I catch him there again.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Pray hear me, you are too rough to maintain&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> I say, Sir, you shall maintain no Child of mine; my Wife does not bestow
+her Labour for that purpose.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> You are too passionate&mdash;I will not maintain&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> No marry shall you not.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> The Deed I have done to be lawful, I have repented it, and given Satisfaction
+to the Law, my Purse has paid for&rsquo;t; therefore I wou&rsquo;d treat milder with you
+if you&rsquo;d be pleased.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Yes, yes, I am very well pleased, and shall be better pleased if you can serve
+me so still: For, look you Sir, one of these Days I shall to Sea again, you know where
+my Wife lives; yet you&rsquo;l but lose your labour, for get as many Children as you can, I
+assure you, you shall keep none of them.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> I think you are mad.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Why, if I am Horn-mad, what&rsquo;s that to you?</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Nay then, since you are so rough, I tell you plainly you are&mdash;a&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> A what? What am I, heh?</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> A Coxcomb.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> A Coxcomb! a Cuckold you mean, and you a Fool for your pains.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> The Child is mine, I am the Father of it, and will keep it.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Yes if you can, I know you will. But pray tell me, is not my Wife the
+Mother? You may be as far from being the Father as I am, for my Wife&rsquo;s acquainted
+with more Whore-masters besides your self; ay, and as crafty Merchants too, let
+me tell you that.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> No indeed Husband, I had to do with no body else, &rsquo;twas he begot, indeed
+and indeed now. Yet for all that, the Child&rsquo;s mine, I bred it and bore it, and I&rsquo;ll
+have it and keep it, so I will.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. <i>Ven.</i> Pray hold there Mrs. Jill-flurt, the Child&rsquo;s my Husband&rsquo;s, and he shall
+have it, or I&rsquo;ll tear your Eyes out, ye Whore you.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Good Words, Mistress; d&rsquo;ye hear, give good Words you&rsquo;d best, or I shall
+tell you your own.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> I&rsquo;ll have no more to say to ye, the Law shall determine it; in the mean
+time Nurse keep the Child for me, there, there&rsquo;s Money for thee.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Gives her Money.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
+<i>Comp.</i> There&rsquo;s Money for me too, keep it for me, Nurse; give him both thy Duggs
+at once, I pay thee for the right one, Girl.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nurse.</i> I have two Hands, you see Gentlemen; this does but show ye how the Law
+will hamper ye; even thus you&rsquo;l be used, Gentlemen, if you go to Law.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> It can&rsquo;t be helpt, for I won&rsquo;t lose my Right.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Nor I mine for all you&rsquo;re a Merchant.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. <i>Ven.</i> Nor I mine for all I did not bear it.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Nor I, tho but a poor Sailer&rsquo;s Wife.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Well, fare ye well, we shall meet in another Place&mdash;Come <i>Winny</i>.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Venter</span> and his Wife.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Ay, ay, I&rsquo;ll meet you when and where you dare, and do your worst, I fear
+you not: By the Lord <i>Harry</i> the World&rsquo;s come to a fine Pass, that we must go to
+Law for our Children. No wonder the Lawyers are all so rich, yet e&rsquo;re the Law
+shall have a Limb, a Leg, a Joint or Nail of this same Boy,</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&rsquo;T shall cost me more than a whole Child in getting,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Some win by play, and standers by with Betting.<br /><span class='ralign n'>[Exeunt.</span></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<h3>SCENE the Third.</h3>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Spruce, Arabella</span> with a Letter in her Hand, <span class='n'>Clara</span>,
+Mr. <span class='n'>Venter</span>, and Mrs. <span class='n'>Venter</span>.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> From whence came that Letter, Niece?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> From <i>Putney</i>, Sir, and from my Husband.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> And pray be free; Does he tell ye the Cause of his leaving you so abruptly
+on his Wedding-day?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Yes; Sir, yet this had been sufficient to have let me known what he is gone
+about, without the formal Addition of an Epistle.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spruce.</i> That, why what is that I pray Madam?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> His Will, Sir, wherein he makes me his sole Executrix.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Will! why what the Devil does he mean, seriously I can&rsquo;t find it out?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Why, Sir, he&rsquo;s gone to fight.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> How fight, Madam! On my Soul then I believe <i>Friendly</i>&rsquo;s Second.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> You&rsquo;re in the right, he is so, and I am lost for ever!</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> O foolish <i>Friendly</i>, this thy Mistake has made me the most wretched of Woman-kind!
+Such variety of Thoughts load my afflicted Breast, that I know not what
+to think: I rave, am mad, not knowing what my Folly may produce; I fear for
+both, for both my Heart does bleed.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara</i>. Miserable Maid! nay, miserable Wife! but much more miserable Widow!
+O my dear <i>Bonvile</i>!</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Duce take me, if e&rsquo;re I saw a Company so Phlegmatick in all my Life: Mr.
+<i>Venter</i>, prethee let&rsquo;s have a Song, to pass away the Time, and put Life into the
+Bride.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+Mr. <i>Ven.</i> With all my Heart, Mr. <i>Spruce</i>: Here, who waits?&mdash;Call
+in the Musick, and desire &rsquo;em to oblige the Ladies with a new Song.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Servant Enter and Exit.]</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Your self, Sir, you mean?</p>
+
+<p><i>Spr.</i> Nay all of us I protest.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Ay, ay, all of us.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Musick and others who sing.</p>
+
+<p class='noin c mt2'>A Dialogue set by <i>Seignior Baptist</i>.</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'>Man. <i>A Woman&rsquo;s Love</i></td><td align='left'>Woman. <i>And Man&rsquo;s is such,</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Man. <i>Still too little,</i></td><td align='left'>Wom. <i>Or else too much.</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Wom. <i>Men are Extreams,</i></td><td align='left'>Man. <i>And Women too,</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Wom. <i>All, all are false,</i></td><td align='left'>Man. <i>All, All like you.</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Wom. <i>You&rsquo;ll swear and lie,</i></td><td align='left'>Man. <i>If you&rsquo;l believe,</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Wom. <i>And sigh and die,</i></td><td align='left'>Man. <i>Yet still deceive.</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Wom. <i>Your Vows and Oaths</i></td><td align='left'>Man. <i>Your Smiles and Tears,</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Wom. <i>Are all but Baits,</i></td><td align='left'>Man. <i>Are all but Snares.</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Wom. <i>To win a Heart,</i></td><td align='left'>Man. <i>And then destroy,</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Wom. <i>The easy Fool,</i></td><td align='left'>Man. <i>The promis&rsquo;d Joy.</i></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p class='noin c mt2'>Another Strain.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Wom. <i>I&rsquo;le have you offer no more your Pretending,</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Man. <i>Nor will I suffer your modish Dissembling:</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wom. <i>For Honour commands,</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Man. <i>And Freedom withstands,</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Wom. <i>What you?</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Man. <i>And you.</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wom. <i>I know wou&rsquo;d have me be, your Slave,</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Man. <i>I know wou&rsquo;d have me be, your Slave.</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Wom. <i>O, no, no, no!</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Man. <i>No, no, no, no!</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Wom. <i>I never will agree,</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Man. <i>I ever will be free.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class='sd'>After the Song enter Justice <span class='n'>Merryman, Summerfield,</span> and three or four Sailers.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Daughter, Daughter! Where&rsquo;s my Daughter? I say, Where&rsquo;s my Daughter?
+O Girl, I have the best News to tell you&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> What of my Husband, Sir?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> No, no, of your Cousin, Girl, of your Cousin.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span><i>Ara.</i> What of him, Sir?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Such a Cousin, Girl, such a dear Cousin he is, as <i>Alexander the Great</i>, if he
+were alive, might be proud and boast of.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> You&rsquo;re welcome here again, Sir; You&rsquo;ve made but a short Voyage, pray
+what occasion&rsquo;d your Return so speedily?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Madam, I render you ten thousand Thanks; Your Generosity and Goodness
+has wholly made me yours; I am the humblest of your faithful Admirers.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Forbear such lavish Gratitude; You&rsquo;r too profuse in your Acknowledgment
+of your small Favours. But pray be brief, and let me know the happy Occasion of
+this your sudden Return, I long methinks to hear it.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Madam, you may command me&mdash;Not to molest the Company with the
+Recital of every vain and needless Circumstance; &rsquo;twas briefly thus. Scarce had we
+passed by <i>Marget</i> on our Course, when on a sudden, from the Top-mast head, a Sailer
+cries, All hands Aloft, three Sails ahead: With that we rumidg and clear our
+Deck, our Gun-room arm&rsquo;d, and all things now are ready for a Fight. The Ships
+before descried, with warlike Stems cut the resisting Waves, whilst from their Pendants
+fluttering in the Air, we found they were three <i>Dunkirk</i> Privateers; they
+having made our English Cross advanced, salute us with a Broad-side, to make us
+strike and yield: But we, who ne&rsquo;re knew as yet what &rsquo;twas so cowardly to yield,
+and not regarding their unequal Odds, fell boldly on, returning Fire for Fire. The
+Engagement then grew desperate, for they on either Side fired in amain, whilst we
+withstood their Force. At length they boldly grappled, and laid us close aboard,
+and we as bravely beat them off again.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> But now, Daughter, mark what follows, for that&rsquo;s worth all, I&rsquo;faith it is;
+therefore go on, dear Cuz, go on.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Sea-room at length we got; when (as Fate wou&rsquo;d have it) an unlucky
+Shot struck both the Captain and Lieutenant dead. Then we began to fear, and all
+our noble Hearts were trembling with despair.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> No, no, not all Daughter&mdash;But you shall hear more&mdash;Ods bobs you
+shall.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> How cou&rsquo;d it be otherwise, when both our Commanders now were lost?
+therefore to strike was all the Talk&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ay, ay, now Daughter, now comes the Play, the other was only the Prologue.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> But Fortune favouring, and the Wind springing a fresh Gale, we got clear
+off and try&rsquo;d to make a running Fight.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ay, but Cuz, how did we do all this? by whose Order and Direction?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Pardon me, Sir, &rsquo;twas of so small Moment, that already it has slipt my treacherous
+Memory.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Oh, ho! has it so! Ha, ha, ha! But it has not mine, I thank you, no marry
+has it not, as you shall hear&mdash;Then he, with an undaunted Spirit, started up
+amongst the Sailers, and&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Nay pray Sir&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> By the Foot of <i>Pharaoh</i> I&rsquo;ll not be balkt; he, I say, with an Heroick Voice
+cried out, Courage brave boys, Charge and Discharge amain; come I&rsquo;ll supply your
+fall&rsquo;n Captain&rsquo;s place. At this blest News they all fell on again, with ten thousand
+times more Fury than before: Victory, Victory, was all their cry, whilst he my
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+Cousin here, whom I shall ne&rsquo;re forget, for by the Lord, methinks, I see him in the
+Fight this very Instant, now running this way, now running that way, now down to
+the Gun-room to encourage those that fought there; now upon the Deck again,
+still crying out, Fear not, brave Boys, the Day will soon be our&rsquo;s.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> O pray, Sir, let me intreat you to forbear, you make me ashamed, I protest,
+to hear you.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ashamed, say you? Ha, ha, ha!</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Good Sir, go on.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> I will, I will&mdash;At length the proud French swallowing too many of our English
+Balls, two of &rsquo;em very fairly cried, Your Servants Gentlemen, farewel, and down
+they went. The other having lost most of her Men, resolved to leave us; but we
+being too nimble, overtook her, clapt some Men aboard, and brought her in a Prize:
+And this my brave Man of War here, was the first that boarded her with Sword in
+Hand.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 Sailer.</i> Of all this I was an Eye-witness.</p>
+
+<p><i>2 Sailer.</i> And so was I.</p>
+
+<p><i>3 Sailer.</i> And I, and all of us.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Yes, and many more stout Boys besides.</p>
+
+<p><i>Spruce.</i> Sir, we are all indebted to your Valour; such Voyages as these, from
+small Venturers, in time may make us great Merchants.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Well, never was Fight better managed before, that&rsquo;s certain.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 Sail.</i> No, never, never!</p>
+
+<p><i>2 Sail.</i> Better, say you? No nor half so well.</p>
+
+<p><i>3 Sail.</i> If it were in our Power, we&rsquo;d make him Admiral, so we wou&rsquo;d.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Gentlemen, &rsquo;tis to your Valours all, that I am indebted for the Honour I
+have gain&rsquo;d: And that I may not seem wholly ungrateful, there, there&rsquo;s something
+in token of my Thankfulness.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Gives &rsquo;em Money.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>1, 2, 3 Sailers.</i> Heaven bless your Worship.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Come Cousin, we&rsquo;l withdraw into the Parlour: And if these honest Friends
+will be pleased to drink what our House affords, they shall be welcome.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 Sail.</i> Thank you Mistress with all our Hearts.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[<span class='n'>Exeunt</span> all but Sailers.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>2 Sail.</i> Well, this Mr. <i>Summerfield</i> is a brave Fellow, Gadzooks he is.</p>
+
+<p><i>3 Sail.</i> Ay <i>Tom</i> so he is; had it not been for him, we had all been taken on my
+Conscience.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 Sail.</i> On my Soul and so we had: O if you had but seen him when he boarded
+the <i>Monsieur</i>, &rsquo;twou&rsquo;d have made you laugh &rsquo;till you had split your Sides. He came
+up to the Captain o&rsquo;this fashion with a Slap&mdash;ha! and gave him such a back-handed
+wipe, that he cut off his Head as genteely, as tho he had served seven Years Apprenticeship
+to&rsquo;t.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Servant with a Bowl of Punch.</p>
+
+<p><i>Serv.</i> Gentlemen, Mr. <i>Summerfield</i> desires ye to be merry, and has sent you this to
+drink his Health.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 Sail.</i> O, the Lord bless him, he&rsquo;s a fine Gentleman, and so pray tell him, and
+withal give him our hearty Thanks; Dost hear Boy?</p>
+
+<p><i>Serv.</i> Yes, yes, I will.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span><i>2 Sail.</i> What is&rsquo;t Brother?</p>
+
+<p><i>3 Sail.</i> Punch by this Light!</p>
+
+<p>Omnes. <i>Hoo-ra; Hoo-ra; Viva</i> Mr. <i>Summerfield, Viva, Hoora.</i></p>
+
+<p class='sd'><span class='n'>[The first Sailer takes the Bowl of Punch, walks in state round the
+Stage, and sings; the others all follow.]</span></p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Here&rsquo;s a Health to jolly Bacchus,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Here&rsquo;s a Health to jolly Bacchus,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For he will merry make us,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For he will merry make us,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then sit ye down together,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then sit ye down together.<br /><span class='ralign'>[They all sit down with the Bowl in the middle.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><i>2 Sail.</i> Pshaw! Pox o&rsquo;th&rsquo; this old Song, prithee let&rsquo;s have a Dance.</p>
+
+<p><i>3 Sail.</i> With all my Heart; strike up Musick.<br /><span class='i ralign'>The Sailers and their Wives dance.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'><span class='n'>After the Dance.</span></p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class='n'>1 Sail.</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So, well done my Lads, now let&rsquo;s aboard amain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">And suck our Faces o&rsquo;re and o&rsquo;re again.<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Brandy we&rsquo;ve got enough, by this blest Chance,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">We&rsquo;l nothing drink but Punch, when we get <span class='n'>France</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><i>Omn.</i> Hoora! Hoora!<br /><span class='ralign'>Exeunt omnes.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'>The End of the Third ACT.</p>
+
+<hr /><p class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="ACT_IV" id="ACT_IV"></a>ACT the Fourth.<br />
+<i>A Tavern.</i></h2>
+
+<p class='sd'><span class='ralign'>{2 Tables, three Chairs to each.</span><br /><br />
+Enter <span class='n'>Compasse, Peg,</span> and <span class='n'>Pettifog</span>.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>A Drawer Meets them.</p>
+
+<p><i>Drawer.</i> Welcome Gentlemen. Please to walk into a Room?</p>
+
+<p><i>Compasse:</i> Aye Boy. Come Mr. <i>Pettifog</i>, please you sit.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pettifog:</i> With all my Heart; Come Mistress.</p>
+
+<p><i>Draw.</i> What Wine will you be pleased to drink, Gentlemen?</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> Ask the good Woman: speak Mistress.</p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> Canary for her; I know what relishes her Palat best. A Quart of brisk Canary,
+Boy.</p>
+
+<p><i>Draw.</i> Ye shall have the best in <i>England</i>.&mdash;Coming, Coming, Sir.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> What call you this same Tavern, Mr. Attorney?</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> The King&rsquo;s Head, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> The King&rsquo;s Head: Marry, it has a good Neighbour of <i>Guild-hall</i>. It takes
+many a fair Pound upon that &rsquo;n Account, I warrant you.</p>
+
+<p><i>Draw.</i> (within) A Quart of Canary in the King&rsquo;s-head, score.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Drawer, fills a Glass, and gives it <span class='n'>Compasse</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Draw.</i> Sir, Here&rsquo;s a Glass of the richest Canary that ever came over, the very
+Quintessence of the Grape I assure you.</p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> Say&rsquo;st thou so? Why then there&rsquo;s a Tester for thee, and so leave us&mdash;.
+Come, Mr. <i>Pettifog</i>, [<i>Exit Drawer</i>] and &rsquo;t please you my Service to you.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Drinks.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> I thank you kindly, Sir.&mdash;Mrs. my Service to you, your Husband&rsquo;s good
+Health.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Drinks.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> With all my Heart indeed, Here my dear black ey&rsquo;d Rogue, thy n&rsquo;own good
+Health.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Drinks.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> Thank you <i>Peg</i>, thank you, so now let&rsquo;s mind our Business.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Mr. <span class='n'>Ventere</span>, his Wife, and <span class='n'>Dodge</span>, to another Table in the same Room.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Show a Room, Drawer.</p>
+
+<p><i>Draw.</i> Here Sir.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Ne&rsquo;re a private Room?</p>
+
+<p><i>Draw.</i> No Sir, the House is full.</p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> Ods fish, whom have we here, my Wife&rsquo;s Merchant, with his Lawyer?</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span><i>Pett.</i> Ye know we promised to give him a Meeting here.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> &rsquo;Tis true we did so,&mdash;but come to the Business in hand.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Pettifog <span class='n'>and</span> Compasse <span class='n'>talk privately</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Well, bring us a Bottle of your best Red.</p>
+
+<p><i>Draw.</i> You shall have it, Sir.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Drawer</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> And what do you think of my Cause, Mr. <i>Dodge</i>?</p>
+
+<p><i>Dodge.</i> O we shall carry it most certainly: You have Money to go through with the
+Business; and ne&rsquo;re fear but we&rsquo;ll trounce them swingingly.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> I warrant you think it very strange, Mr. <i>Dodge</i>, that I am at this Charge
+and Expence to bring a farther Charge upon me.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dodge.</i> Not I, I assure you, Sir, for I know you are a wise Man, and know very
+well what you do; besides you have Money, Money enough, Sir.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Why the short and the long of the Business is this; I made a Purchase
+lately, and in that I did estate the Child (about which I&rsquo;m sued) Joint-Purchaser
+with me in all the Land I bought.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. <i>Ven.</i> Right Husband; and you know &rsquo;twas I that advised you to make the
+Purchase, and therefore I&rsquo;ll never give my Consent to have the Child brought up by
+such a stinking Tar-barrel as now sues for him; he&rsquo;d only bring him up to be a Swabber;
+no, no, he was born a Merchant and a Gentleman, and he shall live and die so.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dodge.</i> You are a worthy Gentlewoman upon my word; there are but few of such a
+noble Temper: But what makes the Fool of the Husband then so troublesome; does
+he not know when he&rsquo;s well?</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. <i>Ven.</i> So &rsquo;tis a sign.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dodge.</i> A Blockhead, to proclaim his own Disgrace, and make himself laugh&rsquo;d at.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> That&rsquo;s not it, he hopes to be the better by what is settled on the Boy.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dodge.</i> O, God&rsquo;s so, that&rsquo;s true: But never fear, I&rsquo;ll be hang&rsquo;d if he carry it, for
+you have Money, as I told you, Sir, before: but see, Sir, there they are.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Yes, Yes, I saw them before: but come, where&rsquo;s our Wine?<br />
+<span class='ralign'>(<i>Within</i>) [the Bell rings as at the Bar.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Drawer with a Bottle of Wine.</p>
+
+<p><i>Draw.</i> Here Sir,&mdash;Coming, Coming, Sir: <i>Philip</i>, speak up in the Mermaid,
+and bid <i>Jack</i> light a Fire.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Drawer</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Well Mr. <i>Pettifog</i>, and what think you of my Suit, Sir?</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> Why look you Sir, the Defendant you know was arrested first by a <i>Latitat</i>
+in an Action of Trespass.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Yes, and a Lawyer told me, it shou&rsquo;d have been an Action of the Case, did
+he not, Wife?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> I have no Skill in the Law you know Husband, but the Gentleman did say so.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> Aye, but your Action of the Case in this Point is too ticklish.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Well, but pray tell me, do you think I shall overthrow my Adversary?</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> Without all doubt, the Child he says is none of yours, What of that! I marry
+a Widow, and am by Consequence possess&rsquo;d of a Ward. Now shall not I have the
+Management of that Ward? Now Sir you lie at a stronger Ward, for <i>Partus sequitur
+ventrem</i>, says the Civil Law: So that if you were within the Compass of the four Seas,
+as the Common Law goes, the Child must be yours, that&rsquo;s certain.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+<i>Comp.</i> Say you so, Sir? Why then the Child&rsquo;s my own, for I have been a Coaster
+these five Years and more; and so my Service to you: [Drinks]. O your Attorneys
+in <i>Guild-hall</i> have a rare time on&rsquo;t, by the Lord <i>Harry</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> They are as it were both Judg and Jury themselves.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> And O how they will laugh at their Clients when they sit in a Tavern, and
+call them Fools, Blockheads and Coxcombs, and then whip up their Causes as nimbly
+as a Barber trims his Customers on a <i>Christmas-Eve</i>; a Snip, a Wipe and away.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> That&rsquo;s very common, you shall have the like at a <i>Nisi-prius</i>.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Drawer.</p>
+
+<p><i>Draw.</i> Here&rsquo;s a Gentleman, one Mr. Justice <i>Merryman</i>, enquires for Mr. <i>Ventere</i>
+the Merchant.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> Here Boy, desire them to walk up. [<i>Exit</i> Drawer.] &rsquo;Tis my Brother,
+and a Counsellor, to make an End of this same Business.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Justice <span class='n'>Merryman</span> and a Counsellor; both Tables rise and join together.</p>
+
+<p><i>Merr.</i> Your Servant, Gentlemen, your Servant: Counsellor <i>Blunder</i> and I have been
+canvasing the Business of this your Difference; and I believe, Brother, the Law will determine
+it as we have done; for it is point blank against you.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. <i>Ven.</i> If it is, I must be contented: Well Sir, the Child&rsquo;s your Wife&rsquo;s, and you
+shall have it; and to endear you the more to&rsquo;t, I&rsquo;ll settle my part of the Estate on you
+and yours for ever: Give me your Hand.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[They shake Hands.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p>We now are Friends.</p>
+
+<p><i>Merr.</i> Why that&rsquo;s well said.</p>
+
+<p><i>Couns.</i> We all are Witness to the Agreement.</p>
+
+<p><i>Omnes.</i> All, all.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Nay I scorn to be outdone in Civility; therefore if you please I have a Gallon
+or two of Prize-Wine, and half a Dozen of good sound <i>Bruges</i>-Capons, which
+I&rsquo;ll treat you and this good Company with at Supper; but no more Mutton, no not a
+bit.</p>
+
+<p><i>Merr.</i> Well Brother, I&rsquo;m glad you&rsquo;re Friends: Ods bobs I am. But come, let&rsquo;s
+home now, and see what&rsquo;s become of the Bride and Bridegroom: Farewel Friend,
+farewell: Come we&rsquo;ll pay at the Bar.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Exeunt <span class='n'>Merr.</span> Mr. <span class='n'>Vent.</span> and his Wife, <span class='n'>Couns.</span> and <span class='n'>Dodge</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Come <i>Peg</i>, Come and kiss me.<br /><span class='ralign'>[<i>Compass</i> kisses Peg.</span></p>
+
+<p>I am Friends with thee too now.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> Aye, aye, you have Reason, she has earn&rsquo;d you a good Fortune; and need
+not venture to Sea any more: Yet one thing let me advise you, &rsquo;tis Counsel worth a
+good Fee, for it cures Cuckoldom.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Sayst thou so, come let&rsquo;s hear it.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> This it is, Make a flat Divorce between your selves, be you no longer her
+Husband, nor she your Wife: Two or three Hours after meet again, salute, woo and
+wed afresh, and so the base Name of Cuckold&rsquo;s blotted quite. This has been experienc&rsquo;d
+and approved by many.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
+<i>Comp.</i> &rsquo;Tis excellent i&rsquo;faith,&mdash;There, there&rsquo;s for you; and I thank you. <i>Peg</i>, I
+renounce thee,&mdash;nay and I renounce my self too from thee; thou art now a Widow,
+<i>Peg</i>; I&rsquo;ll go hang my self two or three Hours at one o&rsquo; th&rsquo; Main Yards, and so long
+thou shalt go drown thy self. Then we&rsquo;ll meet in <i>White-Chappel-Fields</i>, as it were by
+chance, and woo and wed again.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> With all my Heart, kind Sir, fare you well.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Farewel Widow, remember Time and Place, and d&rsquo; you hear, Put on your
+Sabbath-day best Clothes.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> I will, I will.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit Peg.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Sir, I am beholding to you for your good Counsel.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> No, Sir, you have paid me for &rsquo;t, but I hope you do not intend to follow
+your own.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> What is that?</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> Why, you said you&rsquo;d hang your self.</p>
+
+<p><i>Camp.</i> No no, I have thought better on&rsquo;t, for I&rsquo;ll go drink my self dead drunk, then
+wake again, wash my Face, and meet the Bride.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> That&rsquo;s well said, and I&rsquo;ll accompany you, and wish you Joy.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Joy, Sir, I have it Sir already, in a good Estate got by a Chopping Boy.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Exeunt.</span><br /></p>
+
+<h3>SCENE II.</h3>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Friendly solus</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Was ever Fortune like to this of mine? Who for the Smile of a vile simple Woman,
+have acted thus against my very Soul, all to please a Creature, whose next Command
+perhaps will higher mount, it may be light on my self, as now it did on <i>Bonvile</i>.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Clara</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Ha! <i>Friendly</i> here alone. Now, now, my Fears begin.<span class='i ralign'>[Aside.</span><br />
+So, Sir, you are return&rsquo;d I see.<span class='i ralign'>[To him.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Madam, I am, and like those noble Knights in former times, after subduing
+all their Ladies Foes, returning with the joyful News of Conquest, receive her trembling
+to their longing Arms, and claim her as their own, so I&mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> What mean you, Sir?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Madam, You are obeyed, your hard Commands fulfilled; at your Request
+I&rsquo;ve kill&rsquo;d my Friend, nay and my best of Friends.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> How? kill&rsquo;d your Friend for me.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Indeed &rsquo;tis true.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Then thou art truly wretched: But say, say quickly, who&rsquo;s this unhappy
+Man whom thy Mistake hath thus untimely kill&rsquo;d?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> <i>Bonvile.</i></p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> <i>Bonvile</i> said you? My Blood with an unusual Course runs backward from my
+Heart! Horror has seiz&rsquo;d my Soul! A thick-black Mist has overcast my Sight, and I
+am not the same: but speak, O speak again, Was it <i>Bonvile</i>?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Why shou&rsquo;d you seek to iterate my Guilt, by a Rehearsal of that dreadful
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+Name? Too sure, alas! It was: <i>Bonvile</i>&rsquo;s the Friend I&rsquo;ve kill&rsquo;d.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Curs&rsquo;d be the Tongue that spoke it, but doubly curs&rsquo;d the Hand that did the
+barbarous Fact.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Why Madam, was it not your Command to kill my Friend; nay more, my
+best of Friends?</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Yes, and I thought my self your best of Friends.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> I hope you wou&rsquo;d not have had me murder&rsquo;d you?</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> No, Monster, no.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> These are Riddles.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Fool, our whole Sex is made of nothing else: Thou mayst sooner untie the
+Gordian Knot, expound the Problems of the monstrous <i>Sphynx</i>, and read what is
+decreed in the mysterious Book of Fate, than unfold a Woman&rsquo;s sly malitious Meaning.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Very well; she first set me on to do this most accurs&rsquo;d of Deeds, and now upbraids
+me; nay wou&rsquo;d hang me for &rsquo;t: These are the Tricks of all her damning Sex.
+O Woman, Woman, Woman, dear devilish Woman, farewel.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Offers to go.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Stay <i>Friendly</i>, all I have said was only to try your Constancy; and whether
+you&rsquo;d repent of what you&rsquo;ve done. But tell me truly, is <i>Bonvile</i> surely dead?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Indeed he is.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> &rsquo;Tis bravely done, and I adore thee for &rsquo;t. By Heaven I love thee now, even
+unto Dotage!</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Was ever Change like this? The subtlest Labyrinth Wit cou&rsquo;d ere invent,
+affords not half so many Turnings as a Woman&rsquo;s Mind.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Aside.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p>What mean you, Madam, by this seeming Transport?</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> O <i>Friendly</i>, <i>Friendly</i>, I am all o&rsquo;re Extasy! Thou hast done a Deed that ravishes
+my Soul. At once thou hast kill&rsquo;d my dear and only Friend, and slain the fatal&rsquo;st
+Enemy I had.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> What more Riddles Madam, pray explain your self.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> I will; I will declare a Secret which till now I never did disclose: I lov&rsquo;d that
+<i>Bonvile</i> whom thou now hast slain, not as I ought to do, but with a Woman&rsquo;s Love,
+which he never did know: And Yesterday when I beheld the fatal Marriage ended,
+then like a Merchant walking on the <i>Downes</i>, sees a rich Vessel of his own engaged, and
+after took, and born away a Prize: So I, after I&rsquo;d seen my <i>Bonvile</i> lost, (for so he
+was to me) resuming all the Malice of a Woman, resolved never to entertain one
+Thought of Love again; but lead a Life as <i>Lapland</i> Witches do, only on others Ruines:
+Then when you approached me with the hateful Sound of Love, to dash your Hopes,
+and put a Period to your growing Passion, I bid you kill your best and dearest Friend?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> True.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Now the best Friend to one in Love, is Love it self.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O my curs&rsquo;d Stars, that wrap&rsquo;d me up in such a black Mistake, What have I
+done?</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Done! Why you have done bravely, why do you tremble?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> An inward Guilt lies heavy on my Soul, and Horror with all her dreadful
+Forms still haunts my Sight. And did you love this <i>Bonvile</i>?</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> The Queen of Beauty never doted more on her beloved <i>Adonis</i> than I on
+him.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> And now as much you hate him: O the unheard-of Inconstancy of Women!
+All that they have is feign&rsquo;d; their Teeth, their Hair, their Blushes, and their
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+Smiles; nay their very Conscience (if any such they have) is feign&rsquo;d; all counterfeit
+and false: Let them wash, patch and daub themselves with all the Helps for Nature
+that Art cou&rsquo;d e&rsquo;re invent, still they are Women: And let &rsquo;em rob all <i>India</i> of its store
+to adorn themselves therewith, still are they not all that thing call&rsquo;d Woman: I know
+not what to do, for I love and hate this Creature both at once.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> What ails my <i>Friendly</i>?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> But <i>Bonvile</i> yet must feel his Enemies Rage; shall he succeed in Love, whilst I
+am cross&rsquo;d in mine? No, it must not, cannot, nay it shall not be.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Four Heads I have, to make a Plot not common;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Malice, Revenge, the Devil, and a Woman.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Offers to go.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> What will you leave me then?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Leave thee; yes, forever: Fly thee as I wou&rsquo;d a Blast from Hell: Thou art
+thy self a Hell; thy base detested hateful Woman&rsquo;s Breath infects the purest Air:</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">May my Friend&rsquo;s Blood, which I for thee have spilt,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Light on thy Head, and your&rsquo;s be all the Guilt.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exeunt <span class='n'>severally</span>.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Compasse</span> new clothed, <span class='n'>Pettifog</span>, and two or three Men Neighbors.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Gentlemen and Neighbours, as you have been Witnesses to our Divorce, so
+shall ye now be Evidences to our next Meeting, which I look for every Minute.</p>
+
+<p>1st <i>Neigh.</i> I came for that Intent, Neighbour.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> I thank you: well, I do not think but you&rsquo;ll all see me come off with as smooth
+a Forehead, and make my Wife as honest a Woman as a Man wou&rsquo;d desire sometimes,
+I mean of her Rank; and a teeming Woman, as you know she has been: Nay, I do
+not think but the Child too will be found to be as lawful a Child as any Couple of unmarried
+People can beget.</p>
+
+<p>2d <i>Neigh.</i> We long to see it Neighbour <i>Compasse</i>, that so some of us may do the
+like upon the same occasion.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> You&rsquo;re in the right, old Stitch of the World: But soft, see where she comes
+with a whole Bundle of as good sound Maidens as her self.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Peg</span> new cloth&rsquo;d, with three or four Women Neighbours.</p>
+
+<p>Stand aside a little, and mind me I pray.</p>
+
+<p><i>Omnes.</i> Agreed, agreed.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Good Morrow fair Maid.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> In truth Sir you are mistaken in both, for I am neither fair, nor yet a Maid.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> No, what are you then I pray, a Wife?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> That indeed I was, but alas,&mdash;I am now a Widow.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> A Widow say you? Nay then I must make bold with you; for look you,
+your Case is somewhat like mine, I being a Husband without a Wife.</p>
+
+<p>1st <i>Neigh.</i> Aye neighbour, this is something like.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> They begin well, let them go on.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
+<i>Comp.</i> How long have you been a Widow, good Woman? Nay pray do not weep
+forsooth.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> I can&rsquo;t choose but cry, to think of the great Loss I had.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Why, was he an honest Man?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Honest quoth a&rsquo;, I vow and protest he was as honest a Man as e&rsquo;re broke Bread.
+O I shall never have such another.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Cries out.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> By my Faith now Mistress you have had a great Loss indeed, for an honest
+Man is not to be found every where, nor in every Street.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pett.</i> The Rogue&rsquo;s witty.</p>
+
+<p>2d <i>Neigh.</i> Aye, aye, let &rsquo;em go on.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> And how long is it since you lost this honest Husband?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> O dear, his Memory is too fresh; and the Sight of you doubles my Sorrow.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> The Sight of me, say you; why, was he so like me?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> As one Apple to another; your two Hands are not more alike.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Nay then I cannot blame thee to weep: An honest Man he was I warrant
+him; and you have had a mighty Loss, that&rsquo;s the Truth on&rsquo;t: But was he proportioned
+like me, so well limb&rsquo;d, and of such a wholesom Complexion, heh!</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> No Twins were ever more alike.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Well I love, his Memory is still better and better: and how many Children
+did he leave behind him?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Only one, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> A Boy or a Girl?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> A dainty fine Boy, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Just my own case still; my Wife (rest her Soul) left me a Boy too, a lusty
+chopping Boy of his Age (as they tell me, for I never saw it).</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> So is mine.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> And what Profession was your Husband of?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> A Seaman.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Heigh! my own Faculty too! And can you like a Man of that Profession
+again?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Yes surely, for his dear sake, whom I lov&rsquo;d so tenderly, I shall always esteem
+a Sailer.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Shall you so? why then here&rsquo;s your Man: What say you, Is&rsquo;t a Match?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Dear me, I am so ashamed, and yet to speak the Truth, I do like you hugely,
+and wou&rsquo;d like you better still, if it were not for one thing, which a little troubles me.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> What&rsquo;s that?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Why, you know sometimes we are forc&rsquo;d to endure the Absence of our Husbands
+a long while, mehappen many Years, and then if there be any Slip in us, (as long
+Vacations will make Lawyers hungry) the World is apt to censure and scandalize us;
+and brand us with wanton Living and Incontinency; when alas! if they wou&rsquo;d but
+consider our Condition, and the mighty Longings we often naturally have for Flesh
+and Blood, they wou&rsquo;d not blame us, so they wou&rsquo;d not.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Come, come, no Matter, canst thou love me, Widow?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Ah, if I durst but speak my Mind, I know what I wou&rsquo;d say.</p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> Durst, why who do you fear? here&rsquo;s none but an honest Gentleman, some
+few Friends and Neighbours; let them hear a God&rsquo;s Name what you wou&rsquo;d say, and
+never blush for the Matter.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+1st <i>W. Neigh.</i> Aye, aye, speak Neighbour, pray speak your Mind, and fear not.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> I shall be thought too weak to yield at first Sight.</p>
+
+<p>2d <i>W. Neigh.</i> Paw! paw! that&rsquo;s only Nicety.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> Well then I do love him dearly and dearly, so I do.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Runs and kisses him.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Comp.</i> And I thee with all my Heart and Soul.<br /><span class='ralign'>[Comp. <i>kisses</i> Peg.</span><br />
+Now we&rsquo;ll be merry, and have a Song, shall we not my Neighbours?</p>
+
+<p>3d <i>Neigh.</i> Marry will we, Neighbour <i>Luff</i> and Mrs. Bride, will ye give us a Song?</p>
+
+<p><i>Peg.</i> With all my Heart, come Neighbour.</p>
+
+<p class='noin c'>A DIALOGUE.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class='n'>Man:</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Faith and Troth I love thee dearly,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Tho I do but bluntly woo,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Prithy then resolve me clearly,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Whether I am beloved by you.<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Long I shall not keep a pother,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Like a senseless whining Beau;<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">If you won&rsquo;t I&rsquo;ll court another<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Who will never say me no.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class='n'>Woman:</span> Friend, your self, nor Humour neither<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">With my Fancy disagree,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Yet I must find clearer Weather<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Er&rsquo;e I venture out to Sea.<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Court another at your Pleasure<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Win her in the Honey-moon,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">She may chance repent at leisure,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">For believing you too soon.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class='n'>Man:</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Leave your damn&rsquo;d Fantastick Trials,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Which procure a Lover&rsquo;s Pain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Pox upon these sham-Denials,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">&rsquo;Tis but spending time in vain.<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">With Embraces happy make me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Nature fram&rsquo;d you to be kind;<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Kiss me, and the Devil take me<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">If I ever change my Mind.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class='n'>Woman:</span> I&rsquo;ll pursue the good old Fashion,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Practise still by those are wise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Throughly try my Lover&rsquo;s Passion,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">E&rsquo;re I let him grasp the Prize.<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Spite of Oaths you wou&rsquo;d forsake me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Shou&rsquo;d I let you once embrace:<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">If I kiss, the Devil take me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Till the Parson has said Grace.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<p class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></p>
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class='i8 n'>Chorus<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Since then Nation<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Has made it a Fashion,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Let&rsquo;s send for a Black Coat, whilst we&rsquo;re in the Mind.<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">But it is damn&rsquo;d Slavery,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">And Priestly Knavery,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">That Parsons must conjure e&rsquo;re Lovers be kind.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> So, so, here now shall we be Man and Wife again to Morrow, as good as
+ever. What th&ocirc; we met as Strangers, we may happen to love ne&rsquo;re the worse for
+all that&mdash;Gentlemen and Neighbours, I invite ye all to my Wedding.</p>
+
+<p><i>Omnes.</i> We&rsquo;l not fail you, and wish you Joy.</p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> Did I not tell you that I would fetch it cleverly off?
+Let any Man call me Cuckold if he dares now.</p>
+
+<p><i>Petti.</i> &rsquo;Tis slander in him I assure you who-ever does.</p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> Nay it will be <i>Petti Lacenary</i> at least, and without Compass of the General
+Pardon too: And for the Child, let me hear him that dares say, I am not the Father.</p>
+
+<p><i>Petti.</i> Sure none will dare dispute it.</p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> Or that my Wife that is to be, is not as honest a Woman as some other Mens
+Wives are.</p>
+
+<p><i>Petti.</i> No question of that.</p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> O how fine and smooth my Brows are now!</p>
+
+<p><i>1 M. Neigh.</i> Aye but when you&rsquo;re married, they&rsquo;ll come to themselves again I warrant
+ye.</p>
+
+<p><i>Com.</i> My Friends, if you please, you may call me Mr. Bridegroom now, for the
+Guests are all bidden to the Wedding.</p>
+
+<p><i>1 M. Neigh.</i> We know it, Mr. Bridegroom, they are Indeed, and we&rsquo;ll not fail you
+upon our Words.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Comp.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Come then, brisk Widow, e&rsquo;re the next Ebb and Tide,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I&rsquo;le be thy Bridegroom, and thou sha't be my Bride.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class='i ralign'>Exeunt omnes.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p class='sd'>The End of the Fourth ACT.</p>
+
+<hr /><p class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="ACT_V" id="ACT_V"></a>ACT the Fifth.</h2>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Arabella</span> on one Side.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'><span class='n'>Summerfield</span> meeting her from the other.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Mr. <i>Summerfield</i>, I now am truly happy, my Prayers at last are heard; and
+Heaven has restored my Husband to my Arms.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> I just now heard the joyful News, and thought to have been my self the welcome
+Messenger of his Return, but find I&rsquo;me come too late; have you seen him?</p>
+
+<p><i>Art.</i> No; as yet I have not.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> &rsquo;Tis somewhat strange!</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Others perhaps may judg it so, but my uncommon Joy for his Return, admits
+no other Thought, but those of Transport for his Safety.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> O happy <i>Bonvile</i>! How I admire and wonder at thy Choice!</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Friendly</span>.</p>
+
+<p>Madam, a Wife like you, exceeds the greatest Blessing sure on Earth.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fr.</i> [<i>Aside.</i>] The nearest way to a secure Revenge, is private Malice, which, like
+a Spark long lying hid amongst neglected Ashes, by the least Blast of Wind
+becomes it self a Flame&mdash;Ha!, who have we here? Thrice blest Occasion!
+which thus have offered me at once the Scope of my revengeful Wishes. &rsquo;Tis
+<i>Arabella</i> and her Darling <i>Summerfield</i>, one who, in the Bridegroom&rsquo;s Absence,
+is grown thus intimate with his beloved Bride. A strong Foundation on
+which I&rsquo;ll now erect a brave Revenge; I&rsquo;ll step aside and observe them.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[Retires to one side of the Stage.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Sir, I hope he&rsquo;ll soon be here, and return the Kindness you have shown me;
+so I take my leave, with hourly expectation of a much-long&rsquo;d for Husband.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> And I, with a Gratitude never to be forgotten, kiss your fair Hand, and
+hope that all things will answer your Expectation.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Arabella</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Ay, &rsquo;tis so, now must I counterfeit a friendly Face to make a farther Discovery. [<i>Aside.</i>]<br />
+Sir, your humble Servant: without Offence, may I be so bold as to beg the Favour of
+your Name?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> The Question I must confess is somewhat familiar, and in my Opinion improper
+for a Stranger at first sight; but yet I ne&rsquo;re disown&rsquo;d it to a Gentleman&mdash;&rsquo;tis
+<i>Summerfield</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri. Summerfield!</i> Sir, I kiss your Hand;, and must congratulate your good Success,
+but more admire your Valour. Had we many such noble Commanders on board
+our Fleet, we need not fear it where e&rsquo;re it sails.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+<i>Sum.</i> Pray, Sir, stretch not your Love into Flattery, &rsquo;twill make me then suspect
+your Kindness. And the Author of this Story was too much my Friend I see, since
+he has given you this so very partial Account, the more to augment my Fame.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O! that&rsquo;s your Modesty, Sir: But if I might be so happy as to be honour&rsquo;d
+with your Acquaintance&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Sir, the Honour (if any) would be wholly on my Side; therefore I desire
+to know your Name.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> <i>Friendly</i>, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> An Acquaintance; I suppose, of Mr. <i>Bonvile&rsquo;s</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> One that thinks himself much honour&rsquo;d in being stiled his Friend.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> I have often heard your Name indeed before; but till now Fortune never afforded
+me the sight of you.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> You of all Men ought to bless Fortune, who still has been indulgent to you
+on all Occasions; and scatter&rsquo;d her Favours on you, with as prodigal a Hand as th&ocirc;
+you were her sole Care and only Minion.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> What mean you, Sir? Again you exceed the Bounds of Love and Friendship;
+I never thought any of <i>Bonvil&rsquo;s</i> Friends cou&rsquo;d be guilty of so base and vile a
+thing as Flattery: But, pray, unfold your meaning.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> &rsquo;Tis this; I just now saw you part with the Bride, with such  courteous Actions,
+as spoke no small Esteem in her kind Favour; and therein I think you the happiest of
+Men.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> How!</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Mistake me not, I only as a Friend applaud your Happiness, bless the
+Influence of your kinder Stars, and praise your Fortune that hath given you this sweet
+Occasion.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> What Occasion, Sir?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Of being serviceable to the fair Virgin Bride in her extreamest need, after her
+being so unkindly left, nay, on her Wedding Day, by an ungrateful Husband, in doing
+her those neglected Duties, her Youth and Beauty justly did demand.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> On my Life some Plot against the Bride: I&rsquo;ll sound him &rsquo;till I find the very
+Bottom&mdash;[<i>Aside.</i>]&mdash;Sir, you are merry: But suppose the Case your own,
+wou&rsquo;d you have miss&rsquo;d so tempting an Occasion?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> No, Sir, they&rsquo;re too precious to be omitted: But I hear you two call Cousins,
+comes your Kindred by the <i>Merryman&rsquo;s</i> or the <i>Bonvile&rsquo;s</i>?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Neither! we were wholly Strangers &rsquo;till of late, and &rsquo;tis a word of Courtesy
+only interchange&rsquo;d between us for some private Reasons.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> This goes as I cou&rsquo;d wish. <span class='i ralign'>[Aside.]</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> I desire you not to grow too inward with me, on so short an Acquaintance:
+Not that I&rsquo;de have you think the Lady of so base a Disposition to grant me any thing
+beyond the Rules of Decency and Honour. The only Favour I e&rsquo;re receiv&rsquo;d from her,
+was a Present of those Bracelets she wears about her Arms, and that Chain of Gold
+and Pearl she has about her Neck; all which either of us may own without a Blush.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> How, the Chain and Bracelet, say you! Those were the first Tokens of her
+Husband&rsquo;s Love.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Methinks you look concern&rsquo;d at what I&rsquo;ve said; yet I have said no more than
+what I am obliged in Honour to maintain, and will: therefore I hope, as you&rsquo;r a Gentleman,
+you&rsquo;l not turn Informer.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span><i>Fri.</i> O pray think not so poorly of me.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter a Servant who whispers <span class='n'>Summerfield</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Tell her I&rsquo;le wait on her immediately.<span class='i ralign'>[Exit Servant.</span><br />
+Sir, some Business of Importance calls me hence; therefore some other time I hope I
+shall have the Happiness of enjoying your Company longer.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Sum</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Sir, your humble Servant.<br />
+Tell her I&rsquo;ll wait on her immediately, said he; this must be <i>Arabella</i> that he&rsquo;s going
+to: Better still.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The Work&rsquo;s begun, now I am made or lost;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He runs the best who holds out to the Post:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And all the Comfort in Adversity,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Is to see others as miserable as me.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Who have we here? Old <i>Merryman</i>! As I live &rsquo;tis he!</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Justice <span class='n'>Merryman</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> O Master <i>Friendly</i>, you&rsquo;re happily returned: But where&rsquo;s my Son-in-Law?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Alas, Sir, the unhappy <i>Bonvile</i> is&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Is, is, what is he? Heh! speak; is he living, or is he dead; or what&rsquo;s become
+of him?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O! that I had the Marble <i>Niobes</i> Heart! Or that I had suck&rsquo;d the Milk of
+Wolves and Tigers; so that I might have told, without the least remorse of Sorrow,
+what now I dare not, nay, I cannot speak, for fear at once I melt my self in Tears,
+and break your aged Heart.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Seems to weep.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Then I suppose he&rsquo;s killed; say, is he not? Hast thou inticed him from his
+Bride for this, thou inhumane Wretch? Yet speak, and tell me truly, for I&rsquo;m prepared
+to hear the worst of Ills; Is he then slain?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> No, Sir, but dangerously wounded.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Not mortally, I hope; but whereabouts is he so desperately wounded? In his
+Arms, his Legs, or Body?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Neither, Sir, but in as perfect Health as when he left you.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Strange! sure thou art all o&rsquo;re a Mystery, and form&rsquo;st these Riddles to try
+my Wit.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> No, Sir, for all I have said, you in effect will surely find I told you he was
+wounded, did I not?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Yes, you did.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> And so he is.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> But where, whereabout, I ask you once again?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> I see you force the unwilling Secret from me&mdash;Why, he&rsquo;s wounded.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> He&rsquo;s wounded, he&rsquo;s wounded, but where, where is he wounded?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> In his Fame, Honour and Reputation, more mortal than a thousand fleshy
+Wounds.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">For such slight Baubles, Cures are oft obtain&rsquo;d;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But injur&rsquo;d Honour ne&rsquo;re can be regain&rsquo;d.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+<i>Mer.</i> How! how! how&rsquo;s this? wounded in his Honour, fay&rsquo;ll thou? Tell me the
+Villain that has defam&rsquo;d him, and this good old Sword shall slit the Rascal&rsquo;s Wind-pipe.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O, Sir, your Daughter, your Daughter, Sir&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ha! what&rsquo;s that? what&rsquo;s that? is she injur&rsquo;d too?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> No, no Sir, my falling Tears quite drown my feeble Voice, I cannot utter
+what I fain would speak&mdash;Your Daughter&rsquo;s false, false to her <i>Bonvile</i>! And by the
+help of her beloved <i>Summerfield</i>, has robb&rsquo;d my Friend of all he cou&rsquo;d call Dear, I
+mean his Fame.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Seems to weep.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> A Pox o&rsquo; your Crocodile&rsquo;s Tears. Why, Sirrah, Sirrah, do you call my
+Daughter Whore? Hey, Swords and Daggers, Blunderbusses and Pistols, shall I
+bear this? Hark you, you my Friend, and no Friend, what a Kin do you take me
+to be to this Gentlewoman, Heh?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Her Father, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Audacious Villain, O that I had thee in some private Corner, where none
+you&rsquo;d either see or hear us, this Sword shou&rsquo;d justify my Daughter&rsquo;s Honour; I&rsquo;de
+Whore you with a Pox to you, so I wou&rsquo;d.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Your Pardon, Sir, I only did inform you as a Friend, that by your fatherly
+Admonitions, you might refrain her from her undecent Course.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Pox o&rsquo; your friendly Intelligence.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> The Jewels which her Husband did present her, as the first Sign and Confirmation
+of the happy Contract, she to my certain Knowledg has given to&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> To whom, to whom thou wicked Slanderer? tell me, Sarrah, quickly, quick,
+quick.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> To <i>Summerfield</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ha, ha, ha, the Fool makes me laugh; Ha, ha, ha, why &rsquo;twas but just now
+that I saw e&rsquo;m on her Neck and Arms.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> She was no Woman, had she not the Sense to get them against her Husband&rsquo;s
+coming.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> But pray tell me, how is&rsquo;t possible that she cou&rsquo;d part with &rsquo;em, when they
+are lock&rsquo;t on, and the Key with her Husband?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> O, Sir, that&rsquo;s no Question to be ask&rsquo;d in these Times: Women <i>have found a
+way to make use of other Keys besides their Husbands: And no doubt but</i> Summerfield <i>has
+got a Key will open your Daughter&rsquo;s lock as well as</i>  Bonvile&rsquo;s.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Sirrah you lie, you lie Sirrah; and I&rsquo;le tell thee thou ly&rsquo;s, again and again,
+so I will. Nay, and I were to pay a 100 Pounds for every Lie I give thee, as Men do
+Twelve-pence for every Oath they swear, I wou&rsquo;d spend all the Thousands I am
+worth, in giving thee the Lie. &rsquo;Tis likely indeed, that such a brave Gentleman as
+<i>Summerfield</i>, that fought at Sea like a Dragon to save my Life, should shorten my Days
+on Land in ruining my Daughter; therefore once more I tell you you Lie.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> &rsquo;Tis very well.</p>
+
+<p><i>Me.</i> Do you hear Sir, have you told this Lie to any body else but me?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> I am no Informer, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Why then for fear you shou&rsquo;d, do ye see, draw, [<i>Draws</i>] Draw, I say, I
+am not so old but I can make a shift to cut your Throat still; I&rsquo;le spoil your Carking,
+I&rsquo;le warrant ye.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>Enter <span class='n'>Bonvile</span> and <span class='n'>Clara</span>.</p>
+
+<p>A Pox on&rsquo;t, here&rsquo;s my Son-in-Law come to hinder me, Duce take him cou&rsquo;d he not
+stay a little longer? D&rsquo;ye hear Sir, begon, leave this Place immediately, or I&rsquo;le&mdash;I&rsquo;le&mdash;I&rsquo;le&mdash;Gad
+I cou&rsquo;d find in my Heart, so I cou&rsquo;d, but be gone.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> <i>Bonvile</i> here with <i>Clara</i> too, excellent. This goes to <i>Arabella</i>, and may it
+encrease the Storm.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Frie</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> My Father in Anger.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> O Son, Son, Son! dear Boy, welcome home, Od&rsquo;s bobs you are.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> I humbly thank you, Sir; but am sorry to see you so disturb&rsquo;d.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Nothing, nothing, only Mr. <i>Friendly</i> and I have had a Word or two, that&rsquo;s
+all, that&rsquo;s all.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> About my going with him, I suppose; but that&rsquo;s past, and I hope, Sir, you&rsquo;l
+be so kind as at my Request to pardon him.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Indeed Son it was something else; By the Lord <i>Harry</i> I can&rsquo;t forbear laughing
+at the Coxcomb, Ha, ha, ha; He told me, Ha, ha, ha, that one <i>Summerfield</i>, a
+very honest Fellow as ever liv&rsquo;d, is grown exceeding familiar with my Daughter,
+your Wife.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Ha! my Wife.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Yes, your Wife, and that he had received Love-Tokens from her.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> How, Love-Token from her!</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Aye, aye, Love-Tokens I call&rsquo;d &rsquo;em when I was a young Man: Nay, the
+Rogue was so impudent to tell me, that she had given him those Jewels which are
+lock&rsquo;d about her Neck; Ha, ha, ha.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> The Jewels about her Neck, said you?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i>. Aye, what ails you Man that you change Colour so? &rsquo;Tis all a Lie Boy I
+warrant thee: And hadst thou not come just in the Nick of Time, I think o&rsquo; my Conscience
+I shou&rsquo;d have cut his Throat.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> As I will your Daughters if I find her false: Death, Hell, and Furies, am I
+made a Monster already?</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> What, Sir, are you return&rsquo;d for this?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Hark y&rsquo; son, hark you; suppose that this Mr. <i>Friendly</i> shou&rsquo;d have a secret
+Inclination to your spouse, d&rsquo; ye see; and therefore, by reason he can&rsquo;t obtain his Desire,
+possesses you with Jealousy to make a Breach &rsquo;twixt you and your Wife. Od&rsquo;s
+bobs, I don&rsquo;t know, I can&rsquo;t tell what shou&rsquo;d be the meaning of his carrying you away
+on your Wedding-Day, else, heh, Son, heh.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Has the Italian Plague then infected you, that you stand thus unmov&rsquo;d?</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Summerfield</span> leading <span class='n'>Arabella</span>.</p>
+
+<p>But see here&rsquo;s your Bride.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> And her beloved Adulterer with her! Death and Damnation, must I stand
+still and see this?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Hey day! what the Matter now?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> <i>Bonvile</i> here with <i>Clara</i>! Alas too true I find what before I scarce dar&rsquo;d to
+think was so. Is <i>Bonvile</i> then a Traitor,  and false to <i>Arabella</i>?<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Aside.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+<i>Cla.</i> Madam, at last I&rsquo;ve found the pretious Jewel that you so long have sought in
+vain.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[<span class='n'>To</span> Arab.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Wear it your self Madam, I lost it, and it must be mine no more.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> What means this sudden Alteration?</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ods bodikins, as you say, what does she mean? Are ye both mad, heh?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Sir, I&rsquo;m come to pay my Respects to you, and humbly beg a farther Knowledg of&mdash;&mdash;.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Of whom, sweet Sir, my Wife or me?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Ha! your Wife.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Yes Sir, my Wife, I think the word needs no explaining.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Pray, Sir, at my Request bear with him, he&rsquo;s strangely out of Order I assure
+you.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> The Jewels are as I left &rsquo;em ; but the Jewel of her Heart is lost and thrown
+away.&mdash;Madam, I sent you my Will, did you receive it.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Yes, I did.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Let me see it.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> You shall. <span class='i ralign'>[Exit <span class='n'>Ara</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Sir, I desire a Word or two in private with you, <span class='i ralign'>[to <span class='n'>Summer</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> With all my Heart, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> What&rsquo;s that, what&rsquo;s that, I&rsquo;ll have no Whispering, Gentlemen.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter <span class='n'>Arabella</span> with the Will.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> There&rsquo;s your Will, Sir.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Throws it down, <span class='n'>Bonvile</span> takes it up.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> &rsquo;Tis well now as you&rsquo;ve chang&rsquo;d your Mind, I&rsquo;ll change this too, and find
+another to supply your Place: There&rsquo;s no harm done, the Marriage is not yet consummated,
+and you are free to enjoy any, so am I.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> As you please for that: A Man may make a Garment for the Moon, count all
+the Stars which twinckle in the Skies, or empty the vast Ocean, Drop by Drop,
+sooner than please a Mind so light, so various as yours.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ods bobs, what&rsquo;s this you talk of, altering your Will?</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> Yes, Sir, I am so resolved, and will see &rsquo;t perform&rsquo;d within this Hour: My
+Lawyer lives hard by, and so farewel.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit. Bon.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Farewel thou peevish Boy, I can alter my Will too so I can, marry can I;
+I had left him 20000 Pound after my Death, and he shall see I can find another Executor
+too. Within this Hour did he say, Gad I&rsquo;ll be with one as soon as he, unless he
+rides Post to the Devil, and that&rsquo;s the nearest way to a Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> I&rsquo;ll follow him, and asswage his Passion.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> By no means, Sir.&mdash;But now I think on&rsquo;t, I&rsquo;ll go with you, and find him
+out: But did you ever see the like, did you ever see the like? Come Sir, come follow
+me.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Exit. <span class='n'>Merr. &amp; Summer</span>.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Dear <i>Arabella</i> what can all this mean?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> Can you be doubtful of the Effect, who are your self the Cause?</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> I the Cause, Inform me how?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> O <i>Clara, Clara</i>, your Syrens Voice has drawn my <i>Bonvile</i> from these spotless
+Virgins Arms, and made me ever wretched!</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+<i>Cla.</i> Who (if thou ever lov&rsquo;dst me) tax&rsquo;d me with a Crime
+so foul, as I abhor to hear it only named?</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> <i>Friendly.</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> O <i>Arabella</i>, forgive and pity me, who am indeed the innocent, unhappy
+Cause of all those Griefs which now afflict you both; which I&rsquo;ll relate in brief, if you
+will please to withdraw one Moment with me.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ara.</i> With all my Heart.</p>
+
+<p><i>Cla.</i> Come then:</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And since your Ruine I did first conspire,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I&rsquo;ll all appease, thus Fire&rsquo;s expell&rsquo;d by Fire.<br /><span class='ralign'>[<i>Exeunt.</i></span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class='sd'>Enter Justice <span class='n'>Merryman</span> and <span class='n'>Summerfield</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Sir, do you take me for your Friend?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Why d&rsquo; you ask me such a Question, Sir? &rsquo;twere base Ingratitude to entertain
+any other Thought.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Why then d&rsquo; ye see, Sir; as you are my Friend, you must not fight my Son
+<i>Bonvile</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Not fight him Sir! you amaze me.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Aye, aye, aye; that&rsquo;s all one: I understand your dumb Signs and your low
+Whispers, the French Mode all over, to smile and grin a Man in the Face, and at the
+same time privately cut his Throat. Therefore prithe be ruled by me, and don&rsquo;t
+fight him, for shou&rsquo;d you kill him, my poor Girl wou&rsquo;d break her Heart, quite break
+her Heart. [<i>Sobs and cries.</i>] I grant that you are wrong&rsquo;d, and so I dare swear is
+my dear Child: but he&rsquo;s her Husband, and must be born with, ods bobs he
+must.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Heaven be my Witness, I ne&rsquo;re entertain&rsquo;d a Thought like it!</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> That&rsquo;s well, that&rsquo;s well, I am heartily glad on&rsquo;t, ods bobs I am heartily
+glad.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[<span class='n'>Enter</span> Friendly.</span><br />
+But here comes one that has made all this Mischief; and him I&rsquo;ll fight my self for all
+I&rsquo;m a Justice of the Peace. Come, come, Sir, Draw, draw; you&rsquo;ll belie my Daughter
+again wil you? Come, draw, I say, Draw.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Draws.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Sir, as I am a Gentleman, I scorn to deny my Words, but there&rsquo;s my Author,
+whether good or ill.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Who, he? He, do ye mean him?</p>
+
+<p><i>Fri.</i> Yes, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> True, Sir, I am; For, at his Return to Town from <i>Barn-Elms</i>, it was my
+Chance to meet him; and after a ceremonious Complement or two, I found him
+diving into my private Thoughts concerning the Bride your Daughter: I, not to be
+behind-hand with him, join&rsquo;d Wit with Wit to sound his shallow Soul. I told him
+then, how her Jewels once were mine; but the manner of my obtaining them, I for
+my own sake did conceal from him; and now, if you&rsquo;re disposed, I&rsquo;ll here relate
+it.</p>
+
+<p class='sd'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+Enter <span class='n'>Bonvile</span> leading <span class='n'>Arabella, Clara</span> and <span class='n'>Spruce</span>, Mr. <span class='n'>Venter</span> and Mrs. <span class='n'>Venter</span>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Let it be before all this Company then: What, and my Son and Daughter
+too so loving again? Nay then all&rsquo;s well, ods bobs it is, and they shall hear it, ods
+bobs they shall.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bon.</i> I have heard the Story, Sir, already; and <i>Friendly</i>, you I pardon too, for
+Enemies in War take all Occasions to undo each other; yet tho I am your Enemy,
+I&rsquo;ll be generous still, and make you Master of your wish&rsquo;d for Mistress.<br />
+<span class='i ralign'>[To <span class='n'>Clara</span>.]</span><br />Come, Madam, receive this worthier Passion of your <i>Friendly</i>, whom I
+know you both admire and love.<br /><span class='i ralign'>[Gives her to <span class='n'>Friendly</span>.</span><br />
+Next I must obtain your Pardon for my Rashness.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Sir, &rsquo;tis what I first ought to have begg&rsquo;d of you: And that the World
+may&rsquo;nt tax this innocent Lady of a Crime to her purest Thoughts unknown, I&rsquo;ll here
+begin my Story from my first Acquaintance to this happy Hour.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Prithy do.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> The first time that I e&rsquo;re beheld her Face, I wou&rsquo;d have robb&rsquo;d her.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ah Rogue! What, a Thief, a Thief, what wou&rsquo;d you have robb&rsquo;d her of?</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> Not her Honour, I assure you, Sir, but only of those Jewels which she
+wears.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ods bobs, thou wert an honest Thief, for that I faith he was.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> They being fast, I cou&rsquo;d not get &rsquo;em off without some Harm and Pain to her:
+which for the <i>Indies</i> I&rsquo;d not have done. And she, in answer to my Civility, brought
+me home, and ransom&rsquo;d them with the full Price in Gold, (with which I made my
+Venture) and the more to hide my Shame, she honour&rsquo;d me with the Title of her
+Kinsman.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ay, ay, and so she might well; for she was a little cunning Thief too, to
+steal the Gold she gave you from her Husband; &rsquo;twas all his now, but that&rsquo;s no matter, proceed.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sum.</i> The rest you know already, Sir.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mer.</i> Ay, so I do, ods bobs I do, thy Valour my brave Boy, thy Valour, for
+which I&rsquo;ll do for thee, that thou shalt never need to rob again I warrant thee; ods
+bobs I will. But come, come, we lose time, for we have another Wedding yet to
+be perform&rsquo;d, but that shall be done within.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class='n'>Sum.</span> Then farewel all ye treacherous Paths of Vice,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Which lead Men blindfold to their End,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In time like me repent you that are wise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And by Restraint your vicious Courses end.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class='n'>Ara.</span> Were I to ask of Heaven its greatest Bliss<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">On Earth, it cou&rsquo;d bestow not one like this.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">After a Storm the Sun still shines most bright,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And from the Chaos sprung the purer Light.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+<span class="i0"><span class='n'>Bon.</span> A Day like this sure yet has never been,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Wherein such various Changes e&rsquo;re were seen.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Fortune to Day that work&rsquo;d my Overthrow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Has made me happy in a Minute now.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Bless&rsquo;d with a vertuous Wife my Days I&rsquo;ll spend,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And ne&rsquo;re trust Man, lest I mistake my Friend.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="EPILOGUE" id="EPILOGUE"></a>EPILOGUE,</h2>
+
+<p class='noin c'>Spoke by the City-Bride.</p>
+
+<div class="i poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">You met with good Intention to be witty,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And rally the Grave Cuckolds of the City;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But disappointed of your Recreation,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I in your Looks can read the Play&rsquo;s Damnation.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lord! how ye stare to find an honest Bride,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A thing you think a Monster in <span class='n'>Cheapside</span>.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Whither you boast that you so often come,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And leave your footmen to perform at home.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet &rsquo;tis no little Comfort t&rsquo; us howe&rsquo;re,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">You oftner bring th&rsquo; Estate than get the Heir.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Unjustly therefore you your Fortune blame,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She&rsquo;s kinder to your Blood that to your Name.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">After all this, I know you think it Pity,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That I shou&rsquo;d break the Custom of the City:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I hear a Beau cry, &rsquo;tis some damn&rsquo;d Mistaker;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A <span class='n'>Cheap-side</span> Vertue, City Cuckold maker.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">This is a Fault no Gentleman can pardon,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It gives <span class='n'>Cheapside</span> the Sins of <span class='n'>Covent-Garden</span>:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We must refine on Vice, and take new Measures,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Since dull chain&rsquo;d Cits invade our darling Pleasures.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Take my Advice, employ at home your Backs,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or <span class='n'>Locket&rsquo;s</span> Revels may revenge <span class='n'>Pontack&rsquo;s</span>:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">This Cuckolding to you&rsquo;s a losing Trade,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That pay for making, and for being made.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Ladies will my Character excuse,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And not condemn a Vertue which they use.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+<span class="i0">If any here be guilty of Transgression,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&rsquo;Tis of Necessity, not Inclination:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They&rsquo;d be contented in their proper Houses,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Cou&rsquo;d they reform their unperforming Spouses.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet if some wanton Appetites there be,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How many are there that can fast like me.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Those are enow, if I have their Applause,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Poet has his End, and I my Cause.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class='noin c mt2'>FINIS.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY</h2>
+
+<p class='noin'><span class='sc'>First Year</span> (1946-47)</p>
+
+<p>Numbers 1-4 out of print.</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>5. Samuel Wesley&rsquo;s <i>Epistle to a Friend Concerning Poetry</i> (1700) and <i>Essay on
+Heroic Poetry</i> (1693).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>6. <i>Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the Stage</i> (1704) and
+<i>Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage</i> (1704).</p>
+
+<p class='noin'><span class='sc'>Second Year</span> (1947-1948)</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>7. John Gay&rsquo;s <i>The Present State of Wit</i> (1711); and a section on Wit from
+<i>The English Theophrastus</i> (1702).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>8. Rapin&rsquo;s <i>De Carmine Pastorali</i>, translated by Creech (1684).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>9. T. Hanmer&rsquo;s (?) <i>Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet</i> (1736).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>10. Corbyn Morris&rsquo; <i>Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit, etc.</i> (1744).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>11. Thomas Purney&rsquo;s <i>Discourse on the Pastoral</i> (1717).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>12. Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood Krutch.</p>
+
+<p class='noin'><span class='sc'>Third Year</span> (1948-1949)</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>13. Sir John Falstaff (pseud.), <i>The Theatre</i> (1720).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>14. Edward Moore&rsquo;s <i>The Gamester</i> (1753).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>15. John Oldmixon&rsquo;s <i>Reflections on Dr. Swift's Letter to Harley</i> (1712); and
+Arthur Mainwaring&rsquo;s <i>The British Academy</i> ( 1712).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>16. Nevil Payne&rsquo;s <i>Fatal Jealousy</i> (1673).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>17. Nicholas Rowe&rsquo;s <i>Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespeare</i>
+(1709).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>18. &ldquo;Of Genius,&rdquo; in <i>The Occasional Paper</i>, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719); and Aaron
+Hill&rsquo;s Preface to <i>The Creation</i> (1720).</p>
+
+<p class='noin'><span class='sc'>Fourth Year</span> (1949-1950)</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>19. Susanna Centlivre&rsquo;s <i>The Busie Body</i> (1709).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>20. Lewis Theobold&rsquo;s <i>Preface to The Works of Shakespeare</i> (1734).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>21. <i>Critical Remarks on Sir Charles Grandison, Clarissa, and Pamela</i> (1754).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>22. Samuel Johnson&rsquo;s <i>The Vanity of Human Wishes</i> (1749) and Two <i>Rambler</i>
+papers (1750).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>23. John Dryden&rsquo;s <i>His Majesties Declaration Defended</i> (1681).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>24. Pierre Nicole&rsquo;s <i>An Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in Which from Settled
+Principles is Rendered the Grounds for Choosing and Rejecting Epigrams</i>,
+translated by J. V. Cunningham.</p>
+
+<p class='noin'><span class='sc'>Fifth Year</span> (1950-51)</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>25. Thomas Baker&rsquo;s <i>The Fine Lady&rsquo;s Airs</i> (1709).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>26. Charles Macklin&rsquo;s <i>The Man of the World</i> (1792).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>27. Frances Reynolds&rsquo; <i>An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste, and of
+the Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty, etc.</i> (1785).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>28. John Evelyn&rsquo;s <i>An Apologie for the Royal Party</i> (1659); and <i>A Panegyric
+to Charles the Second</i> (1661).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>29. Daniel Defoe&rsquo;s <i>A Vindication of the Press</i> (1718).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>30. Essays on Taste from John Gilbert Cooper&rsquo;s <i>Letters Concerning Taste</i>, 3rd
+edition (1757), &amp; John Armstrong&rsquo;s <i>Miscellanies</i> (1770).</p>
+
+<p class='noin'><span class='sc'>Sixth Year</span> (1951-1952)</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>31. Thomas Gray&rsquo;s <i>An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard</i> (1751); and
+<i>The Eton College Manuscript.</i></p>
+
+<p class='hi'>32. Prefaces to Fiction; Georges de Scud&eacute;ry&rsquo;s Preface to <i>Ibrahim</i> (1674), etc.</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>33. Henry Gally&rsquo;s <i>A Critical Essay</i> on Characteristic-Writings (1725).</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>34. Thomas Tyers&rsquo; A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson (1785).</p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California<br />
+<span class='sc'>The Augustan Reprint Society</span></h2>
+
+<p class='sd'>General Editors</p>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'><span class='sc'>H. Richard Archer</span></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class='sc'>R. C. Boys</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;">William Andrews Clark Memorial Library</span></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;">University of Michigan</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class='sc'>E. N. Hooker</span></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class='sc'>John Loftis</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;">University of California, Los Angeles</span></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;">University of California, Los Angeles</span></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p class='noin'>The Society exists to make available inexpensive reprints (usually facsimile reproductions) of rare
+seventeenth and eighteenth century works. The editorial policy of the Society continues unchanged. As
+in the past, the editors welcome suggestions concerning publications. All income of the Society is devoted
+to defraying cost of publication and mailing.</p>
+
+<p>All correspondence concerning subscriptions in the United States and Canada should be addressed to the
+William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles 18, California. Correspondence
+concerning editorial matters may be addressed to any of the general editors. The membership fee is
+$3.00 a year for subscribers in the United States and Canada and 15/- for subscribers in Great Britain and
+Europe. British and European subscribers should address B.H. Blackwell, Broad Street, Oxford, England.</p>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<p class='noin c'>Publications for the sixth year [1951-1952]<br />
+(At least six items, most of them from the following list, will be reprinted.)</p>
+
+<p class='hi'><span class='sc'>Thomas Gray</span>: <i>An Elegy Writt in a Country Church Yard</i> (1751). Introduction by George Sherburn.</p>
+
+<p class='hi'><span class='sc'>James Boswell</span>, <span class='sc'>Andrew Erskine</span>, and <span class='sc'>George Dempster</span>: <i>Critical Strictures on  the New Tragedy of
+Elvira</i> (1763). Introduction by Frederick A. Pottle.</p>
+
+<p class='hi'><i>An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding</i> (1751). Introduction by James A. Work.</p>
+
+<p class='hi'><span class='sc'>Henry Gally</span>: <i>A Critical Essay on Characteristic Writing</i> (1725). Introduction by Alexander Chorney.</p>
+
+<p class='hi'>[<span class='sc'>John Phillips</span>]: <i>Satyr Against Hypocrits</i> (1655). Introduction by Leon Howard.</p>
+
+<p class='hi'><i>Prefaces to Fiction.</i> Selected and with an Introduction by Benjamin Boyce.</p>
+
+<p class='hi'><span class='sc'>Thomas Tyers</span>: <i>A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson</i> ([1785]). Introduction by Gerald Dennis Meyer.</p>
+
+<p>Publications for the first five years (with the exception of <span class='sc lc'>NOS.</span> 1-4, which are out of print) are available at
+the rate of $3.00 a year. Prices for individual numbers may be obtained by writing to the Society.</p>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<p class='noin c'>THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY<br />
+<i>WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY</i><br />
+<span class='sc'>2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles 18, California</span><br />
+<br />
+Make check or money order payable to <span class='sc'>The Regents of the University of California</span>.</p>
+
+<div class='bbox'>
+<h3>Transcriber&rsquo;s Notes &amp; Errata</h3>
+
+<p>Spellings of names, abbreviations and a number of other words,
+punctuation including the use of apostrophes, use of accents,
+hyphenation and italicisation are very inconsistent in the text. They
+have been transcribed as in the text, except for very obvious
+typographical errors.</p>
+
+<p>Embedded stage directions in the text have been left in situ, enclosed
+in square brackets.</p>
+
+<p>End-of-line stage directions in the text have been placed on their own
+lines.</p>
+
+<p>The following words occur in both hyphenated and unhyphenated forms in
+the text. The number of instances of each word are given in parentheses.</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr class='b'><td align='center' colspan='2'>Hyphenated</td><td align='center' colspan='2'>Unhyphenated</td></tr>
+<tr class='b'><td align='center'>Word</td><td align='center'>Instances</td><td align='center'>Word</td><td align='center'>Instances</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Cheap-side</td><td align='right'>1</td><td align='left'>Cheapside</td><td align='right'>2</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Hoo-ra</td><td align='right'>2</td><td align='left'>Hoora</td><td align='right'>3</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>me-thinks</td><td align='right'>2</td><td align='left'>methinks</td><td align='right'>4</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Merry-man</td><td align='right'>2</td><td align='left'>Merryman</td><td align='right'>10</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>who-ever</td><td align='right'>1</td><td align='left'>whoever</td><td align='right'>1</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p>The following obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr class='b'><td align='center'>Page</td><td align='center'>Error</td><td align='center'>Correction</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>1</td><td align='left'>is is</td><td align='left'>is</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>2</td><td align='left'>wihin</td><td align='left'>within</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>5</td><td align='left'>the</td><td align='left'>thee</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>5</td><td align='left'>the the</td><td align='left'>the</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>6</td><td align='left'>Names</td><td align='left'>Name</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>6</td><td align='left'>Speaker's name omitted.</td><td align='left'>Fri.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>19</td><td align='left'>Salvage</td><td align='left'>Savage</td></tr>
+</table></div></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The City Bride (1696), by Joseph Harris
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+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The City Bride (1696), by Joseph Harris
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The City Bride (1696)
+       Or The Merry Cuckold
+
+Author: Joseph Harris
+
+Commentator: Vinton A. Dearing
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2007 [EBook #22974]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CITY BRIDE (1696) ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Starner, LN Yaddanapudi and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+The Augustan Reprint Society
+
+JOSEPH HARRIS
+
+_The City Bride_
+
+(1696)
+
+With an Introduction by
+Vinton A. Dearing
+
+Publication Number 36
+
+Los Angeles
+William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
+University of California
+1952
+
+
+GENERAL EDITORS
+
+H. RICHARD ARCHER, _Clark Memorial Library_
+RICHARD C. BOYS, _University of Michigan_
+ROBERT S. KINSMAN, _University of California, Los Angeles_
+JOHN LOFTIS, _University of California, Los Angeles_
+
+
+ASSISTANT EDITOR
+
+W. EARL BRITTON, _University of Michigan_
+
+
+ADVISORY EDITORS
+
+EMMETT L. AVERY, _State College of Washington_
+BENJAMIN BOYCE, _Duke University_
+LOUIS BREDVOLD, _University of Michigan_
+JAMES L. CLIFFORD, _Columbia University_
+ARTHUR FRIEDMAN, _University of Chicago_
+EDWARD NILES HOOKER, _University of California, Los Angeles_
+LOUIS A. LANDA, _Princeton University_
+SAMUEL H. MONK, _University of Minnesota_
+ERNEST MOSSNER, _University of Texas_
+JAMES SUTHERLAND, _University College, London_
+H. T. SWEDENBERG, JR., _University of California, Los Angeles_
+
+
+CORRESPONDING SECRETARY
+
+EDNA C. DAVIS, _Clark Memorial Library_
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+_The City Bride_, by Joseph Harris, is of special interest as the only
+adaptation from the canon of John Webster to have come upon the stage in
+the Restoration. Nahum Tate's _Injur'd Love: or, The Cruel Husband_ is
+an adaptation of _The White Devil_, but it was never acted and was not
+printed until 1707. _The City Bride_ is taken from _A Cure for a
+Cuckold_, in which William Rowley and perhaps Thomas Heywood
+collaborated with Webster. F. L. Lucas, Webster's most recent and most
+scholarly editor, remarks that _A Cure for a Cuckold_ is one of the
+better specimens of Post-Elizabethan romantic comedy. In particular, the
+character of the bride, Annabel (Arabella in Harris's adaptation), has a
+universal appeal. _The City Bride_, a very close copy of its original,
+retains its virtues, and has some additional virtues of its own.
+
+Not much is known of its author, Joseph Harris. Genest first notices him
+as playing Bourcher, the companion of a French pirate, in _A
+Common-Wealth of Women_. Thomas Durfey's alteration of _The Sea Voyage_
+from the Beaumont and Fletcher folio, which was produced about September
+1685. His subsequent roles were of a similar calibre, but if he never
+rose to be a star he seems to have become a valued supporting player,
+for in 1692 he was chosen to join the royal "comedians in ordinary." He
+did not at first side with Thomas Betterton in his quarrel with the
+patentees of the theatre in 1694-5, but he withdrew with him to
+Lincoln's Inn Fields. Genest notices him for the last time as playing
+Sir Richard Vernon in Betterton's adaptation of _1 Henry IV_, which was
+produced about April 1700.
+
+During his career on the stage Harris found time to compose a
+tragi-comedy, _The Mistakes, or, The False Report_ (1691), produced in
+December 1690; _The City Bride_, produced in 1696; and a comedy and a
+masque, _Love's a Lottery, and a Woman the Prize. With a New Masque,
+call'd Love and Riches Reconcil'd_ (1699), produced about March 1698/9.
+_The Mistakes_ is clearly apprentice work, for Harris acknowledges in a
+preface the considerable help of William Mountfort, who took the part of
+the villain, Ricardo. Mountfort, who had already written three plays
+himself, cut one of the scenes intended for the fifth act and inserted
+one of his own composition (probably the last) which not only clarified
+the plot but also elevated the character of the part he was to play. The
+company seems to have done its best by the budding dramatist, for Dryden
+wrote the prologue, a rather unusual one in prose and verse, and Tate
+supplied the epilogue. Harris professed himself satisfied with the
+play's reception, but owned that it was Mountfort's acting which really
+carried it off.
+
+_The City Bride_, on the other hand, shows its author completely
+self-assured, and rightly so. No doubt some of his ease comes from the
+fact that he had nothing to invent, but in large part it must derive
+from his ten-years' experience on the stage. Harris added nothing to the
+plot of _The City Bride_, although he commendably shifted its emphasis,
+as his title makes clear, from infidelity to fidelity; but he rewrote
+the dialogue almost completely, and the new dialogue is remarkable good.
+The reader will notice that it is, except for the last half of the first
+act, printed as prose. The quarto of _A Cure for a Cuckold_, from which
+Harris worked, is also largely printed as prose, but has correct verse
+lineation in the same portion of the first act. It is the more
+remarkable that Harris, following thus closely the apparent form of his
+original, could vary from it so successfully. Most notable, probably,
+are the passages in which he intensified the expression of his source.
+They may indicate no more than the eternal "ham" in our author; but I
+think they probably indicate as well a new style of acting, more
+rhetorical in one way, more natural in another. A good example, in which
+the new rhetoric is not oppressive, is the account of the sea fight at
+the end of Act III. Even when Harris followed his original most closely,
+we seem to hear the actor, speaking in a new tongue, in a more relaxed
+and colloquial rhythm. The reader will find it both amusing and
+instructive to compare the two versions of Act II, scene ii. The new
+cadences do more than merely prove that Harris had no ear for blank
+verse.
+
+_The City Bride_ does not conform to the dominant type of Restoration
+comedy, but it belongs to a thriving tradition. Domestic comedy, in
+adaptations from the Elizabethans, had been staged at intervals for
+twenty years before _The City Bride_ appeared, and the type was of
+course destined to supplant gay comedy in the near future. Harris was
+not, therefore, going against the taste of the town; on the contrary he
+was regularly guided by contemporary taste and practice. His stage is
+less crowded: he amalgamated the four gallants of _A Cure for a Cuckold_
+in the person of Mr. Spruce, at the expense of a dramatic scene (I, ii,
+31-125); and he ended the sub-plot with the fourth act instead of
+bringing its persons into the final scene, with some loss of liveliness
+and a concomitant gain in unity of effect. He modernized his dialogue
+entirely, bringing up to date the usage and allusions of his original,
+and restraining the richness of its metaphor by removing the figures
+altogether or by substituting others more familiar. He omitted a good
+deal of bawdry, especially in Act II, scene ii. All these changes have
+parallels in other Restoration adaptations. Again, the songs and dances,
+which are all of Harris's composition, reflect the demand of the
+Restoration audience for excitement, variety, novelty, in their dramatic
+fare. When in Act III, scene i, Harris meets this demand by making
+Bonvile bare his breast to Friendly's sword, and Friendly a little later
+grovel at Bonvile's feet for pardon, we may condemn the new business as
+bathetic; but when in Act IV, scene i, he substitutes for Webster's
+emaciated jokes the bustle of drawers, the sound of the bar bell, and
+healths all around, we can only applaud the change.
+
+We must also commend Harris for supplying a consistent and relatively
+believable motivation for the main action. In both _A Cure for a
+Cuckold_ and _The City Bride_, Clare (Clara) begins the action by giving
+her suitor, Lessingham (Friendly), a cryptic message: he is to determine
+who his best friend is and kill him. In _A Cure for a Cuckold_, it is
+never made clear whether the victim should have been Bonvile or Clare
+herself (she apparently intended to trick Lessingham into poisoning
+her). This uncertainty has only recently been noticed by students of the
+drama, who have been forced to emend the text at IV, ii, 165 (see
+Lucas's note on the passage). Harris's solution is simpler. He will have
+nothing to do with either murder or suicide. Clara explains to Friendly
+that the best friend of a lover is love itself.
+
+This is not the place to enumerate all the differences between _A Cure
+for a Cuckold_ and _The City Bride_; indeed the reader may prefer making
+the comparisons for himself. Harris's alterations follow the general
+pattern of Restoration adaptations from the earlier drama, it is true.
+On the other hand, a relatively small number of such plays allow us to
+see the professional actor feeling his way through the emotions and
+actions of the scenes. To compare a play like _The City Bride_ with its
+source is like visiting the rehearsals of an acting company of the time.
+Such a play has an immediacy and liveness that strongly appeals to those
+who delight to image forth the past.
+
+_The City Bride_ has never been reprinted. The present edition
+reproduces, with permission, the copy in the Henry E. Huntington
+Library, omitting Harris's signed dedication to Sir John Walter, Bart.,
+on A2^r-A3^r (A1^v in the original is blank). The top line on page 44,
+which is partly cut away, reads: _Cla._ Who (if thou ever lov'dst me ...
+
+Vinton A. Dearing
+University of California
+Los Angeles
+
+
+
+
+THE CITY BRIDE:
+
+OR,
+
+The Merry Cuckold.
+
+A COMEDY,
+
+Acted at the New Theatre, in _Little
+Lincolns Inn-Fields._
+
+BY
+
+His Majesty's Servants.
+
+_First Edition._
+
+_Spero Meliora._
+
+LONDON:
+
+Printed for _A. Roper_ and _E. Wilkinson_ at the _Black-Boy_, and R.
+_Clavel_ at the _Peacock_, in _Fleet-street_. 1696.
+
+
+
+
+PROLOGUE:
+
+_Spoke by Mr._ THURMOND.
+
+
+    _Three Ways there are, and all accounted fair,
+    To gain your Favour: Begging, Borrowing, Prayer.
+    If as a Beggar, I your Alms implore                  }
+    Methinks your Charity shou'd aid the Poor;           }
+    Besides, I never beg'd of you before.                }
+    If I address by Prayer, and loud Complaints
+    I then oblige yee, for I make you Saints;
+    And sure none here can think it Superstition,
+    To pray to Saints that are of no Religion!
+    If Invocation will not do my Work,
+    A Man may borrow of a_ Jew _or_ Turk;
+    _Pray lend me Gentlemen your Applause and Praise,
+    I'll take it for as good as Currant Bays;
+    And if I ne're repay it, 'tis no more,
+    Than many of you Sparks have done before:
+    With this distinction, that you ran indebt
+    For want of Money, we for want of Wit.
+    In vain I plead! a Man as soon may get
+    Mill'd Silver, as one favour from the Pit.
+    ----Hold then----now I think on't,
+    I'll e'en turn Thief, and steal your kind Affection,
+    And when I've got your Hearts, claim your protection:
+    You can't convict me sure for such a crime,
+    Since neither Mare nor Lap-dog, I purloin:
+    While you Rob Ladies Bosoms every day,              }
+    And filch their pretious Maiden-heads away;         }
+    I'll plead good nature for this Brat the Play:      }
+    A Play that plagues no more the thread-bare Theme
+    Of powder'd Beaux, or tricks o'th' Godly Dame,
+    But in your humours let's ye all alone,
+    And not so much as Fools themselves runs down.
+    Our Author try'd his best, and Wisemen tell,
+    'Tis half well doing to endeavour well:
+    What tho' his poor Allay runs not so fine;
+    Yet, let it pass as does our present Coin;
+    For wanting fairer Ore, and riches mould
+    He stamps in Brass, what others print in Gold:
+    Smile on him but this time, the next perhaps,
+    If he guess right he may deserve your Claps._
+
+
+
+
+Dramatis Personae.
+
+
+  |Bonvile, _The Bridegroom_.                         |_Mr._ Boman.    |
+  |Friendly, _His Friend, in Love with_ Clara.        |_Mr._ Thurmond. |
+  |Justice Merryman, _Father to_ Arabella.            |_Mr._ Bright.   |
+  |Summerfield, _A Gentleman, but Younger Brother,    |                |
+  |  necessitated to take the High-Way_.              |_Mr._ Scudemore.|
+  |_Mr._ Ventre, _A Merchant._                        |_Mr._ Arnold.   |
+  |_Mr._ Spruce, _A City Beau._                       |_Mr._ Bayly.    |
+  |Compasse, _A Master of a Vessel._                  |_Mr._ Freeman.  |
+  |A Councellor.                                      |_Mr._ Davis.    |
+  |Pettifog,   }                                      |_Mr._ Trefusis. |
+  |            } _Two Attorneys._                     |                |
+  |Dodge,      }                                      |_Mr._ Eldred.   |
+  |                                                   |                |
+  |_Sailers, Neighbours, Drawers, Servants, Boys,     |                |
+  |  Singers and Dancers._                            |                |
+  |                                                   |                |
+  |Arabella, _The Bride_.                             |_Mrs._ Boman.   |
+  |Clara, _Friendly's Mistriss, but secretly in Love  |                |
+  |  with_ Bonvile.                                   |_Mrs._ Boutell. |
+  |_Mrs._ Ventre, _The Merchant's Wife_.              |_Mrs._ Lacy.    |
+  |Peg, _Compasses Wife_.                             |_Mrs._ Perin.   |
+  |Nurse.                                             |_Mrs._ Lawson.  |
+  |Lucy, Clara's _Maid_.                              |_Miss_ Prince.  |
+  |                                                   |                |
+  |_Women Neighbours._                                |                |
+
+
+SCENE _London_.
+
+
+
+
+THE CITY BRIDE:
+OR, THE
+Merry Cuckold.
+
+
+
+
+ACT I. SCENE the I.
+
+     _The Curtain draws up, and discovers several sitting at a Banquet.
+     An Entertainment of Instrumental Musick, Compos'd by Signior_
+     Finger: _Then a Song, set by Mr._ John Eccles, _and Sung by Young_
+     La Roche.
+
+SONG.
+
+    _Many I've lik'd, and some Enjoy'd,
+      But if I said I Lov'd, I ly'd.
+      Inconstant as the wandring Bee,
+    From once touch'd Sweets I us'd to flee;
+    Nor all the Power of Female Skill,
+    Cou'd curb the freedom of my Will:_
+    Clarinda _only found the Art,
+    To Conquer and so keep my Heart._
+
+[_After this a Dance, and then the Scene shuts._
+
+Enter_ Friendly _and_ Clara.
+
+_Friend._ This is a Day of Mirth and Jollity my _Clara_.
+
+_Clara._ 'Tis so, for such as can be merry, Mr. _Friendly_.
+
+_Friend._ Why not for us my Love, we have a Noble President, and
+methinks shou'd Imitate (thro Envy) this their happiness.
+
+_Clara._ I am not of your Opinion.
+
+_Friend._ Why not my Fair?
+
+_Clara._ I'll tell you, because I purpose not to Marry.
+
+_Fri._ Prithee be serious, and reform that Thought: Think of my past
+Service, and judge by that my future; weigh all the respect I have paid
+you long, and ever lov'd you beyond my self.
+
+_Cla._ I know your Weakness, and will reward it too.
+
+_Fri._ I am sure you will, you must be kind; And can you think an Answer
+of this killing Nature, a just return for all my faithful Love?
+
+_Cla._ As to that I have already said.
+
+_Fri._ Oh speak, from whence this Coldness doth arise! Be at least so
+kind as to tell me that; Is it some late Disgust you have conceived of
+my Person; or rather your desire, (I fear) of some unworthier, happy
+Creature, base in the Attempt, as you unkind in thinking of a Change; if
+neither.
+
+    _I must impute it to your Woman's Will,
+    Still pleased with what it fancies, Good or Ill._
+
+_Cla._ Be't what it will, thus it is, and with this Answer pray rest
+satisfied; there is but one way ever to win me and draw me unto
+Marriage, which whosoever finds, 'tis like he may have me, if not, I am
+still my own.
+
+_Fri._ Oh name it then! Thou dearest Treasure of my Life! my Soul! my
+All! I am in a maze of Extasie, to think there's any means to gain you,
+and hope you'l be so kind to tell me how I may be happy.
+
+_Cla._ I'll retire a while; and with my self resolve what must be done,
+and in the end send you my Resolution.
+
+[_Exit_ Clara.
+
+_Fri._ I'll here expect it: What more can I desire, than now be
+satisfied and know my Dooom.
+
+    _Suspence is the worst Torment we endure,
+    'Tis Knowledge make the Wound both safe and sure._
+
+_Enter_ Spruce _and_ _Mr._ Venter.
+
+_Spru._ How now _Jack_! What all alone Man?
+
+_Fri._ No, for I have heard some say, Men are ne're less alone, then
+when alone. The reason I suppose is this, because they have Crowds of
+Thoughts, that still perplex the Mind; which wou'd be, like the Soul
+retired and free, thereby to enjoy that sweet repose, which nought but
+that can Grant.
+
+_Spru._ Pshaw! Pox of this Morality and dull Stuff; Prithee let us be
+Merry, and Entertain the Bride and Bridegroom. Ods fish there a parcel
+of rare Creatures within! But of all Mrs. _Clara_ for my Money.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ And truly, I am of your Opinion Mr. _Spruce_; for setting
+aside her present Melancholly and Discontent, I think she is beyond
+Comparison with any other.
+
+_Spr._ Od's nigs, I know the Cause of her Disorder.
+
+_Ven._ What I pray?
+
+_Spr._ Why, I'll tell ye; In all Conditions of Estates, Professions, and
+Degrees, in Arts or Sciences, yee know there's a kind of Envious
+Emulation.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Right.
+
+_Spr._ So in this of _Arabella_'s Marrying; for _Clara_ being Lady of
+much the same Birth and Quality, Grieves I--suppose to see her Rival get
+the start of her.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Troth like enough.
+
+_Fri._ Y'are Pleasant Gentlemen--Or else because she having had so many
+Courtiers----
+
+_Spr._ And you among the rest _Jack_.
+
+_Fri._ She now perhaps does cast a more favourable Eye upon some one
+that does not like her.
+
+_Spr._ Why Faith, and that may be too.
+
+_Enter_ Lucy _with a Letter._
+
+_Lucy._ Sir, my Mistriss presents her humble Service to you, and has
+sent you this Letter; pray Heaven it be to your liking Sir.
+
+_Fri._ I thank the kind _Lucy_: There, there's for the Postage Girle:
+[_Gives her Money._] She has kept her Promise for once I see; I'm
+resolved to read it, tho I were sure my Death was Comprehended in it.
+
+     Reads. _Try all your Friends, and find out the best and nearest to
+     your Heart, That done, be sure to kill him for my sake. This fail
+     not to do, if you respect and Love (as you pretend.)_
+
+     Clara.
+
+'Tis as I fear'd, and what I know she most desires: Mischief, and
+Murder, are all her Sexes Practice, and Delight? Yet such is the
+Extravagancy of my Passion, I must obey the Mandate, tho to my certain
+Ruine: 'Tis strangely difficult, and does require Mature Deliberation.
+
+[_Exit._
+
+_Spr._ What has _Friendly_ left us?
+
+_Mr. Ven._ I believe the Letter was the occasion, it may be it was a
+Challenge.
+
+_Spr._ A Challenge! No, no; Women don't use to bring Challenges, I
+rather believe 'tis an Amour; And that Letter as you call it a _Billet
+Deux_, which is to Conduct him to the place appointed; and in some Sence
+you may take that for a Challenge.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ And she the Civil Embassadress to usher him in.
+
+_Spr._ Yes, yes, but see the Bride and Bridegroom, with the rest of the
+good Company.
+
+_Enter Justice_ Merry-man, Bonvile, Arabella, _Mrs._ Venter _and others,
+as Guests Invited to the Wedding._
+
+_Mer._ Son _Bonvile_, what call ye the Gentleman we met at the Garden
+Door?
+
+_Bon._ _Friendly_ Sir, a most approv'd and worthy Gentleman, and one of
+my chiefest Guests.
+
+_Mer._ Ay, ay, it may be so: But yet me thought he seemed somewhat
+displeased, tho Son, Hah, What think you?
+
+_Bon._ No sure Sir, he cannot be Angry, when his Friend's so happy.
+
+_Mer._ I can't tell Boy, but I believe there's something more than
+ordinary in the matter. Why should he leave the Company else? And Mrs.
+_Clara_ I miss her too. Why Gentlemen, why do you suffer this?
+
+_Ara._ Unknown to any Sir, she withdrew soon as we rise from Table.
+
+_Mer._ Sick of the Maid perhaps; because she sees you Mrs. Bride her
+Quondam Play fellow Married before her; Heh Gentlemen, heh!
+
+_Mr. Ven._ 'Troth like enough Brother _Merry-man_.
+
+_Mer._ Go, go, find her out for shame Gentlemen; and do not stand idle
+thus, Od's bobs, when I was a Young fellow and invited to a Wedding, I
+used to frisk and Jump, and so bestir my self, that I made all the
+_Green-sickness_ Girles in the Room blush like Rubies. Ah, hah! I was a
+brisk Fellow in those Days, I'faith, and used to Cut Capers a Yard high:
+Nor am I yet so Old, but I can take a round or two still--Come, come
+Gentlemen, lets in again and firk it away, shall we not?
+
+_Spr._ With all my Heart Mr. Justice.
+
+_Mer._ Why that's well said Mr. _Spruce_, Ods bobs it was, and I thank
+you heartily.
+
+_Spr._ Come Madam, you must along with us, without you all's nothing.
+
+_Arab._ I'll wait on you Gentlemen; if you will give me leave Sir.
+[_To_ Bonvile.
+
+_Bon._ Oh my best Joy! This Day you may Command.
+
+_Mer._ That's right, that's right I'faith Gentlemen! This Day she
+Commands, and he for ever after. Ods bobs I have done so my self, and
+hope I shall do so still. Sister _Venter_, May I presume to ask if my
+Brother can say as much?
+
+[_Exit_ Bonvile, Arab. Spruce, _and the rest of the Guests._]
+
+_Mrs. Vent._ Yes Brother, I think he may, I freely Give him leave.
+
+_Mer._ Observe that Brother, she freely gives you leave: But who Gives
+leave the Master or the Servant?
+
+_Mr. Ven._ You are Merry Brother, and truly you have reason, having but
+one Daughter and see her Married as you would have her.
+
+_Mer._ Yes, I have one thank Heaven! You wou'd be glad Sister you cou'd
+say so, but your Barrenness does give your Husband leave (if he please)
+to look for Game elsewhere.
+
+_Mrs. Ven._ Well, well Sir, tho you jeer me, and make a scorn of my
+Sterility--
+
+_Mer._ No, no, not I Sister, I scorn not your Sterility, nor your
+Husbands Virility neither.
+
+_Mrs. Ven._ My Husband's Virility! Pray spare my Husband; for he has not
+been so idle as you imagin; He may have an--Offspring abroad for ought
+you know, that you never heard of.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Oh fye Wife, You will not make it publick will you?
+
+_Mrs. Ven._ And yet he keeps himself within compass for all that.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ If you love me _Winny_--
+
+_Mrs. Ven._ Na, I say no more, but thereby hangs a Tale.
+
+_Mer._ Say'st thou so old Girle? What and has he been stragling then?
+Nay; nay I know he is a Ventersome Man; And a--Merchant of small Wares
+sometimes, especially when he can get a good Commodity: I love him the
+better for't I'faith, Ods bobs I do--A notable spark with a Young Wench
+in a corner, Is he not? A true Chip of the old block, his Father I
+warrant him--But Sister, I have something to say to you in private,
+concerning my Daughter.
+
+_Enter Nurse._
+
+_Nurse._ By your leave Good Folks, Is Master _Venter_ the Merchant here
+I pray?
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Oh Nurse! I am glad to see thee, How does my Boy?
+
+_Nurse._ Very well, I thank Heaven Sir! He grows bravely I assure you.
+'Tis a Chopping lad I promise you, and as like your good Worship; As if
+he had been spit out of your Mouth.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Softly, Nurse softly.
+
+_Nurse._ I protest 'tis one of the forward'st Infants in the Universe;
+Lord! how it will Crow, and Chirup like a Sparrow! I am afraid Sir he is
+about Teeth, for he Dribbles extreamly, if so, Your Worship must provide
+him a Silver Corral with a Whistle and Chain.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ Well, well, he shall have everything Nurse, my Wife shall
+send them to ye; in the mean time, there, there's a Piece, to buy thee a
+Pair of Gloves, and so leave us, for I am busie at present, therefore
+steal away behind me, and slip out at the back Door.
+
+_Nurse._ Yes Sir, I am gone, Heavens bless your Worship, a Piece! Marry!
+and that's a sufficient Charm to lye up any Nurses Tongue in
+_Christendom_.
+
+[_Ex. Nurse_
+
+_Just. Mer._ Well well, it shall be done: Come Brother we are mist I
+warrant you amongst the Young Fry, let's to 'um and, Dance till our Legs
+ake again, come I'll lead the way.
+
+_Mr. Ven._ We follow you.
+
+[_Exeunt._
+
+_Enter_ Friendly _Reading the Letter._
+
+_Fr._ Heaven in its excess of Goodness, bestow'd no greater Blessing on
+Mankind than that of Friendship--To Murder any one is a Crime
+unpardonable! _But a Friend!--And of all Friends the nearest to my
+Heart_,--'Tis such an Imposition that Hell it self 'till now cou'd never
+parallel; And yet this Devil of a Woman has power over me beyond all
+Virtue. I am distracted in my Thoughts, and know not what to do; yet
+something must be done without delay, or else I lose her quite: And yet
+I fear 'tis most Impossible, for Friendship left the World, when Justice
+fled, and all who now do wear that Name are the worst of Hypocrites,
+
+    _Like Counterfeited Coin on which is seen,
+    The formal Stamp; but sordid Dross within._
+
+_Enter_ Bonivile.
+
+    _Bon._ My Friend alone and Thoughtful?  say for what?
+    That you alone appear with Discontent,
+    When all my Friends Congratulate my Bliss?
+    Is it because (which I durst ne're suspect)
+    Your Love to me was not intirely true?
+    Or else perhaps, this Crown of Happiness
+    You think Misplac'd, and Envy it not yours.
+
+    _Fri._ Forbear such cruel Words--
+    How can you entertain a Thought so Vile
+    Of him whom so long you have call'd your Friend?
+    May all the Blesings Heaven can bestow
+    On us poor Mortals in this World below,
+    Crown all your Days, and may you nothing see
+    But flowing Tides of sweet Felicity;
+    But I, alas!--
+
+    _Bon._ Alas! What means my _Friendly_?
+    Much hidden Grief that wretched Word portends,
+    Which thus disturbs the Quiet of my Friend?
+    But come disclose it to me,
+    And since the Burthen is too much for one,
+    I'll bear a part to ease thy troubled Breast.
+
+    _Fri._ Oh _Bonvile_!
+    Seek not to force this Fatal secret from me--
+
+    _Bon._ I must know it, by my best hopes I must.
+
+    _Fri._ Oh no! I cannot, Nay I dare not--
+
+    _Bon._ How dare not trust a secret to a Friend?
+
+    _Fri._ Oh _Bonville_, _Bonville_! Call me not your Friend,
+    That Name strikes horrour to my very Soul.
+
+    _Bon._ Ha! Art thou then a Stranger to that Name?
+
+    _Fri._ Indeed I am, and must be so for ever now.
+
+    _Bon._ Yet hear me _Friendly_; Deny me if thou can'st,
+    Fixt as a Rock, I vow I'll here remain,
+    Until I have forc'd this Dire secret from thee.
+
+    _Fri._ Pardon me Sir, I hope you soon will hear it,
+    But I----
+
+    [_Offers to go._]
+
+    _Bon._ Yet stay, and since intreaty can't prevail,
+    By all the Friendship which you once profess'd,
+    By all that's Holy, both in Heaven and Earth,
+    I now Conjure thee to impart it to me,
+    Or by this Life----
+
+    _Fri._ Hold, hold, and since I can no longer hide it
+    Know 'tis my Honour then which lyes at Stake.
+
+    _Bon._ Thy Honour! How? Proceed.
+
+    _Fri._ By chance a Quarrel happen'd to arise
+    Betwixt another and my self, The Field,
+    Time, Place, and all appointed,
+    Nay Seconds must assist us in the Deed:
+    I have relied on many seeming Friends,
+    (Such as profess the bare and empty Name)
+    And all refuse to venture in my Cause.
+
+    _Bon._ Is this all?
+
+    _Fri_ All, Is it not enough? To see my Reputation,
+      (the Lifes Blood of my Soul)
+    Nay all that's Dear, in Danger to be lost.
+
+    _Bon._ Not while thy _Bonvile_ lives and wears a Sword:
+    May all things frown that I wou'd have to smile,
+    May I live Poor, and Dye despised by all,
+    If I out live the ruine of thy Honour!
+    Tell me the time my Friend?
+
+    _Fri._ Oh, spare me that, for, if once known the time,
+    You'l Cancel this your promise, and recall
+    Your Friendly proffer.
+
+    _Bon._ Away with these Excuses, come the time.
+
+    _Fri._ At Seven this Evening.
+
+    _Bon._ The place?
+
+    _Fri._ _Barn-Elms_:
+    Oh the fatal place! Where I too well foresee,
+    The certain fall and Ruine of my Honour!
+
+    _Bon._ No, Thou shalt not stay to forfeit thy lov'd Honour,
+    Come I'm ready to assist my Friend; and will along with you.
+
+    _Fri._ Alas. What mean you?
+    Of all my Friends on you I ne're Relied;
+    But sure I Dream, I Rave, by Heav'ns I'm Mad!
+    My _Bonvile_ leave his Wife? And on his Wedding Day?
+    His Bride whom he perhaps may ne're Enjoy?
+    And all for me? O most unhappy Man!
+
+    _Bon._ Pleasure before my Friend I'll ne're prefer,
+    Nor is it lost, tho for a while, delay'd.
+
+    _Fri._ Are you then resolv'd to go?
+
+    _Bon._ I am as fixt in my Resolve as is the _Libertin_ in vice,
+    Which Death alone can part.
+
+    _Fri._ Yet stay, and think what it is you undertake,
+    Recall this Rash and suddain Resolution,
+    Least you repent, alas when it is too late.
+
+    _Bon._ This were enough to shake a weaker Soul,
+    But mine it moves not; like to a Mighty Oake,
+    I'm plac'd above the Storms of Fear or Doubt.
+
+_Enter_ Arabella.
+
+    _Fri._ Sir, no more, the Bride,
+
+    _Ara._ Oh, Heavens defend me!
+
+    _Bon._ What ailes my Dearest Life?
+
+    _Ara._ I've lost the Key of this Chain I wear about my Neck
+    And of these Bracelets, Oh!  Unhappy Omen!
+
+_Bon._ No, no, my Love; I found it as it lay at Random in your Chamber,
+and fearing it might be forgot, or lost, have laid it by; 'Tis safe my
+Love.
+
+_Ara._ Indeed I'me very glad you've found it, but yet----
+
+[sighs.
+
+_Bon._ Yet, What my Dear? from whence proceeds that sigh?
+
+    _Ara._ Alas, I know not!
+    Some busie Genius Whispers to my Soul,
+    The loss of this upon my Wedding Day
+    Portend's a greater e're the Day be past.
+
+    _Bon._ Banish such Fears, let's in and see our Friends.
+
+    _Ara._ Indeed they all expect you; come I'll lead the way.
+
+    _Bon._ I'll go with you. _Barn-Elms_ you say?
+
+    [_Aside to_ Friendly.
+
+    _Fri._ Yes that's the place, at Seven precisely;
+
+    _Bon._ I'll meet you on the _Exchange_, and go together;
+    If you are there before me, Take a turn or two.
+
+    [_Exit_ Bonvile, _and_ Arabella.
+
+    _Fri._ Oh my Dear _Bonvile_! Art thou then the Man?
+    The only, only Man that I can call Friend,
+    And only Friend that I am bound to Kill?
+    A Friend, that for my sake wou'd stake his Life,
+    Leave a Chast Bride and untouch'd Nuptial Bed
+    For me base Man, nay worse than Savage Beast:
+    The generous Lyon, never kills his kind
+    They say, altho provoked to utmost rage;
+    Yet I vile Monster, more ungrateful Man,
+    Thus unprovoked, must kill my Brother Creature,
+    And which is worse, my Dear and only Friend!
+    All for the pleasure of a Foolish Woman.
+
+      _O cruel Woman thus to Command
+      A Task so hard, Yet what I can't withstand!
+      Oh! thou rare Copy of the Original,
+      By which free Man at first received his fall;
+      For she not only wou'd her self undo,
+      And all her Sex, but Damn all Mankind too._
+
+      [_Exit._
+
+_The End of the First Act._
+
+
+
+
+ACT the Second.
+
+
+SCENE the First.
+
+_The Fields._
+
+
+_Enter_ Summerfield _solus._
+
+_Sum._ A Younger Brother! 'Tis a poor Title, and very hard to bear with:
+The Elder Fool inherits all the Land, whilst we are forc'd to follow
+_Legacies of Wit, and get 'um when we can_. Why shou'd the Law, by which
+we are deprived of equal Portion with the First-begotten, not bind our
+Fathers to cease from Procreation, and so as well deprive us of a
+wretched Being, as of the Thing we cannot be without: No, no, our
+Mothers ne're will consent to that, they love to groan and squall, tho
+at the same time the Gallows eccho's to their Groans, and both together
+labour for us. From the first we travel forth--to'thers our Journey's
+End. _All this I know, yet I must forward_: To beg, my Birth will ne're
+consent to; and _borrowing is quite out of date_--Yet starve I cannot,
+_nor murder I wou'd not_: It must be the Highway then, the old Trade we
+poor honest Rogues are forc'd too--This Place will serve for a Beginner
+well enough--A Beginner did I say? Yes; for this is the very first day I
+open Shop--Fortune, they say, uses to help the Bold, I hope she will be
+kind to me. Ha! who have we here? A Gentlewoman well rigg'd, and only a
+Servant with her, She may be a Prize worth the boarding, and faith I'll
+venture hard but I'll carry her.
+
+[_He retires to a corner of the Stage._
+
+_Enter_ Arabella _in great disorder, looking about her, with_ Symon _her
+Servant._
+
+_Arab._ This way, say'st thou _Symon_, with _Friendly_?
+
+_Sym._ Yes forsooth Mistress, with Mr. _Friendly_.
+
+_Arab._ Alas! I'm tired and cannot travel further; my Heart is full of
+Fear, and yet I know not why, nor can I tell why he should use me
+thus,--It is not common sure for Men to leave their Brides upon the
+Wedding-day: And yet I cannot tell but it may be so! O wretched State of
+Marriage, and of Love, if this be Love! Here will I lie me down, and
+rest a while [_Lies down._] my wearied Limbs, unused to these sad
+Frights and Fears--But prethee do thou run after him, and if it be
+possible o'retake him too: Tell him the strange Disorder thou dost leave
+me in; and let him know my Father's Anger, his Friends Concern, and what
+is more, his _Arabella_'s sad Complaint; tell him, I grieve, I faint, I
+die; tell him any thing that may stay him.
+
+_Sym._ Yes Forsooth.
+
+_Arab._ Intreat him to return; nay, urge him all thou canst to make him
+come again: Nay haste, good _Symon_, fly if thou canst, for I can stir
+no further.
+
+_Sym._ Well, well, Forsooth, I am gone.
+
+[_Exit_ Symon.
+
+_Arab._ Alas, how wretched and forlorn am I!
+
+    _I she whom once so many did admire,
+    Whose Wit and Charms the coldest Hearts cou'd fire!
+    Now wretched Maid, and most unhappy Wife,
+    In Sighs and in Complaints must end my Life.
+    Abandoned by my Husband, e're enjoyed,
+    With thoughts of Pleasure, yet untasted, cloy'd.
+    He leaves me now to my sad Frights a Prey;
+    O, my dear_ Bonvile! _whither dost thou stray?
+    Unheard, alas! I make my amarous Moans;
+    The Winds and Waves refuse to bear my Groans:
+    Eccho her self can't suffer my Complaint,
+    But with repeated Sighs grows tir'd and faint.
+    Where to find him, good Heaven direct me!
+    For losing him, I more than lose my self._
+
+[_Rises, and_ Exit.
+
+_Sum._ I must after her, she's worth my Acquaintance, and has good
+Moveables about her I perceive, what e're the Ready is. The next Turning
+has a most convenient Hollow for the Purpose, and there I'll make her
+sure. Now Luck, or never.
+
+[_Exit after_ Arabella.
+
+_Reenter_ Arabella, _and_ Summerfield _after her._
+
+_Ara._ I'm at a stand already, and know not where I am.
+
+_Sum._ I'll direct you, Madam; Well overtaken.
+
+_Ara._ Bless me, Sir; What are you?
+
+_Sum._ A Man.
+
+_Ara._ An honest Man, I hope?
+
+_Sum._ Yes faith in some Respects, I'm very honest, but not altogether
+so; I were not fit to live in the World if I were too honest, Child.
+
+_Ara._ Alas! then I begin to fear: Pray tell me what you are?
+
+_Sum._ Why, faith, an honest Thief.
+
+_Ara._ How, honest, and yet a Thief? I never heard they were of Kin
+before; Pray, Heaven, I find it now.
+
+_Sum._ Indeed! a very honest Thief.
+
+_Ara._ Well, Sir, since that's your Title, pray use me kindly: Nay, I'm
+sure you will, there's something in your Looks which speaks you mild and
+noble.
+
+_Sum._ Yes, I am a Gentleman, and you shall find me so; for I'll not
+offer you the least shew of Violence, or offer to corrupt your Chastity;
+tho indeed you are tempting Fair, and might inflame a colder Heart than
+mine: Yet Ravishing's no part of my Profession as yet; or if it were,
+you look so charming Innocent, you wou'd disarm my wildest Thoughts.
+
+_Ara._ Blessings on your Goodness!
+
+_Sum._ Are you a Maid, or Wife?
+
+_Ara._ I am both, Sir.
+
+_Sum._ Then this it seems is your Wedding-day, and these the Hours of
+Interim that keep you in that double State?
+
+_Ara._ Indeed you are in the right.
+
+_Sum._ Come then, I'll be brief, and hinder not your desired _Hymen_.
+You have some superfluous Toys I see about you, which you must deliver;
+I mean, that Chain of Gold and Pearl about your Neck, and those pretty
+Bracelets about your Arms, (pray, Heaven, they prove not Emblems of the
+combined Hemp which is to halter mine); come, Madam, pray deliver 'em.
+
+_Ara._ Nay, I intreat you, Sir, to take 'em, for I cannot give 'em, they
+are lock'd you see, and truly I have not the Key about me; it may be you
+are furnish'd with Instruments that may unloose 'em, I pray do.
+
+_Sum._ No faith, Madam, I'm but a Beginner in this same Business, and am
+wholly unprovided of any Pick-lock Tools besides this Sword.
+
+[_Draws his Sword._
+
+_Ara._ O, good Sir, do not shew me that, 'tis too frightful; pray hurt
+me not, for I do yield them freely: Use your Hands, perhaps their
+strength will serve to tear 'em from me without more ado. Some Pain I'll
+quietly endure, provide you do not hurt me much.
+
+_Sum._ Alas, dear Lady, I'll use you as gently as I can upon my Word;
+but 'tis devilish strong.--If I hurt you, pray speak.
+
+[_He endeavours to break the Chain about her Neck._]
+
+_Ara._ Not much, Sir.
+
+_Sum._ I am glad on't,--S'death, I can't do it.
+
+[_She draws his Sword, and stands upon her Guard._
+
+_Ara._ No Sir, nor shall not now: You a Highway-man and guard your self
+no better: Come, Sir, what Money have you? Deliver quickly.
+
+_Sum._ Not a Cross by this foolish Hand of mine!
+
+_Ara._ How, no Money, 'twere pity then to take this from thee; Here,
+take it again, I know you'l use me ne're the worse for what I have done.
+
+[_Gives him his Sword again._]
+
+_Sum._ No, by my Life!
+
+_Ara._ I do believe you; and now pray hear me--Here on my Knees, in
+sight of Heaven, I make this solemn Protestation, That if you'l but
+forbear the Rifling of this Chain and Bracelets, and go but with me
+Home, by all the Vows which I this Day have plighted to my dearest
+Husband, I will deliver you in Money the full Value of these I wear,
+and cannot for my Life get off.
+
+_Sum._ Ha! Ready-money is the Prize I look for; it passes without
+suspicion every where, when Chains and Jewels are often stop'd and
+call'd for before the Magistrate: But----
+
+_Ara._ Nay never doubt! You saw I gave you my Advantage up, and
+questioned not my safety at your hands, pray fear not yours in mine.
+
+_Sum._ I know not what to do.
+
+_Ara._ Pray tell me, Sir, did you ever think a Woman true?
+
+_Sum._ I have heard of some, but very few.
+
+_Ara._ Will you add one more to your belief?
+
+_Sum._ I think I may, for they were fewer than the Articles of my Faith,
+therefore I have room for you, and will believe you--Yet stay, you say
+you'l ransom your jewels with Ready-money when you come Home; so you
+may, and then discover me.
+
+_Ara._ Shall I repeat the Vows I made?
+
+_Sum._ No, for I'll trust you; and if you do betray me, then Mercy upon
+me, and Farewel. I knew a Gentleman that had been a Courtier at
+_Whitehall_ fifteen Years, and he was buried e're he took a Bride: 'Tis
+very strange you'l say; and may be my Case in another way.
+
+_Ara._ Come, Sir, never fear: A Man and afraid; Fie, fie!
+
+_Sum._ Give me your Hand, I'll wait on you; and if you are (as I believe
+you) True and Just, you are the World's Wonder! Come, Madam.
+
+[_Exeunt._
+
+
+SCENE II.
+
+_Enter two Boys, one with a Child in his Arms._ Compass _on the other
+side._
+
+_1 Boy._ _Jack_, Who's this?
+
+_2 Boy._ O _Jeminy_! I'll be hang'd if it ben't Goodman _Compass_, that
+they said was dead three Years ago.
+
+_1 Boy._ Od's Life, and so it is!
+
+_Comp._ O _London_! sweet _London_! Do I live to see thee once again? My
+Eyes are full of Brine for Joy. And if my dear _Peggy_ be but living
+still, I shall cry 'em out.
+
+_1 Boy._ Goodman _Compass_, I am glad to see you; You are welcome home.
+
+_Comp._ Thank you, good Lad: Honest _Jack_ here too? Why, thou art grown
+a little Man since I saw thee last: What, is that thy own, heh?
+
+_2 Boy._ I am fain to keep it, you see, whoever got it; it may be other
+Mens Cases as well as mine.
+
+_Comp._ Thou say'st true _Jack_: But whose pretty Knave is it?
+
+_2 Boy._ My Dame's where I live.
+
+_Comp._ And not thy Master's?
+
+_2 Boy._ Nay, nay, I can't tell that neither: My Master loves it as well
+as if it were his own, and for ought I see better than my Dame.
+
+_Comp._ A very good Lad by my Troth!
+
+_2 Boy._ But, Goodman _Compass_, I can tell you News, Your Wife has a
+brave Boy too of her own, not above a Quarter old, as big as two of
+this.
+
+_Comp._ Ha! say'st thou so, _Jack_? Ha, ha, ha, by my Troth I am
+heartily glad to hear it: I'll give thee a dozen of Ale, and thy News be
+true, Boy.
+
+_1 Boy._ I assure you 'tis very true: All your Neighbours can tell you
+the same.
+
+_Comp._ Ha, ha, ha! But a Quarter old, and so lusty, say you? What
+plaguy thundering Boys are got now-a-days: I Gad, I shall split my Sides
+with Laughing; Ha, ha, ha.--But _Jack_, I have been loth to ask thee all
+this while, for fear of ill News, how does my Wife?
+
+_2 Boy._ O never better, nor ever so lusty and handsome--And truly she
+wears better Clothes than she was wont, especially on Holy-days: she has
+Silk-Gowns, and Lac'd-Petticoats, and fine _Holland_-Smocks too, they
+say, that have seen 'em: And some of our Neighbours say, they were taken
+up in _Cheap_.
+
+_Comp._ Like enough, _Jack_; and there they must be paid for--Well, good
+Lads, go and tell my Wife the joyful Tidings of my Return.
+
+_2 Boy._ That I will with all my Heart, for she heard you were dead long
+ago.
+
+_1 Boy._ Nay, I'll go along with you _Jack_.
+
+_2 Boy._ Come then.
+
+[_Exeunt 2 Boys._
+
+_Comp._ Well, _Peggy_, if I am one of the Livery, I thank thee for it:
+The Cuckolds are the greatest Company in all the City: And we have more
+Aldermen among us, than all the other put them together.
+
+_Enter_ Peg, Compass_'s Wife._
+
+_Peg._ O my dear sweet Honey-suckle! Art thou alive? I am glad to see
+thee with all my Heart and Soul, so I am.
+
+[_Runs and kisses him._]
+
+_Comp._ O, ho! good Spouse, give me leave to shed a few pearly Tears;
+the Fountain of Love will have its Course: And tho I cannot Sing at
+first sight, yet I can Cry you see. I am as it were new come into the
+World; and Children Cry before they Laugh, a long time you know.
+
+_Peg._ Yes; and so thou art new born indeed to me, my _Numpy_; for I was
+told you were dead long since, and never thought to see this dear sweet
+Face of thine again: I heard thou wert div'd to the bottom of the Sea,
+and that you never did intend to see poor _Peggy_ more.
+
+_Comp._ He, he, he, I was going down, as you say _Peg_, but I thought
+better on't, and turn'd back: I heard an ill Report of my Neighbours
+there; the devouring Sharks, and other Sea-Monsters, whose Company, to
+tell you the Truth, I did not like; and therefore resolv'd to come home
+and bide with thee my Girl--Come kiss thy poor Hubby, kiss me I say, for
+Sorrow begins to ebb apace.
+
+_Peg._ A thousand, thousand Welcomes home dear _Numpy_!
+
+_Comp._ An Ocean of Thanks, kind _Peggy_: Well, and how goes all at
+Home? What Lank still, poor _Peg_? Wil't ne're be full Sea at our Wharf?
+
+_Peg._ Alas, Husband, what do you mean?
+
+_Comp._ A Lass, is it, or a Lad, Wench? I shou'd be glad of both; I
+look'd for a pair of Compasses long afore now.
+
+_Peg._ What, and you from home, Love?
+
+_Comp._ I from home? Why tho I was from home, and other of our
+Neighbours from home, does that follow that every body else is from
+home?
+
+_Peg._ I am pleased you are so merry, Husband.
+
+_Comp._ Merry, nay I'll be merrier yet; why shou'd I be sorry? I hope my
+Boy's well, is he not? Od's fish, I look for another by this Time.
+
+_Peg._ Boy, what Boy, Deary?
+
+_Comp._ What Boy! why the Boy I got when I came home in the Cock-boat
+one Night, about a Year ago; You have not forgotten it, I hope, I think
+I left behind me for a Boy, and a Boy I look for.
+
+    _Peg._ I find he knows all--What shall I do? [_Aside._]
+    O dear Husband, pray pardon me.              [_Kneels._]
+
+_Comp._ Pardon thee; why I hope thou hast not made away with my Boy,
+hast thou? Od's death I'll hang thee, if there were never a Whore more
+in _London_, if thou hast.
+
+_Peg._ O no; but your long Absence, and the Rumour of your Death,
+[_Cries._] made me think I might venture.
+
+_Comp._ Venture, quoth a, I can't blame thee, _Peg_; for _Wapping_, if
+it were twice _Wapping_, can't hold out always, no more than _Redriff_,
+_Limehouse_ or _Shadwel_, nay or the strongest Suburbs about _London_;
+and when it comes to that, wo be to the City too, Girl.
+
+_Peg._ Consider, Husband, I'm but a Woman, neither the first or last
+that have done the same, and truly I won't deny but I have a Child.
+
+_Comp._ Have you so? And what by Consequence must I have then, I pray?
+
+_Peg._ If you'l forgive me this Time, it shall be so no more, indeed and
+indeed, now.
+
+_Comp._ Well, well. I will forgive thee, _Peg_, upon this Condition,
+that you tell me who it was that fell foul aboard thee, and sprung this
+Leak in thee.
+
+_Peg._ O dear Husband!
+
+_Comp._ Nay, no Excuses, for I must know.
+
+_Peg._ Why then truly it was Mr. _Venter_ the Merchant.
+
+_Comp._ I am beholding to him, and wou'd requite his Civility, if his
+Wife were but as willing, tho he be one of our Merchants at Sea, he
+shall give me leave to be Owner at home; and where is my Boy? what,
+shan't I see him?
+
+_Peg._ Yes if you please, good Husband: He's nurs'd at _Bednal green_;
+'tis now too late, to Morrow will be better.
+
+_Comp._ Come then we'l home and to bed.
+
+    _Let other Fools repine at Scoffs and Scorns,
+    I'll teach the Cuckold how to hide his Horns._
+
+[Exeunt.
+
+_Enter Justice_ Merryman, _Mr._ Venter, Spruce, _Mrs._ Venter _and_
+Clara.
+
+_Mer._ Was the like ever known, that a Bridegroom shou'd absent himself
+on his Wedding-Day?
+
+Mr. _Ven._ 'Tis somewhat strange indeed.
+
+_Mer._ And the Bride too my Daughter, she's out of the way: Why what
+shou'd be the meaning of all this, Od's bobs I can't tell?
+
+Mrs. _Ven._ Perhaps they'r busy Brother, privately conferring Notes
+together: You can't tell but that the young Man may have a stomach to
+his Supper, and fall too unawares, and we ne're the wiser.
+
+_Spr._ Od's nigs, very true; what wou'd you say then Sir, if they shou'd
+be stol'n away, and a-bed together seriously?
+
+_Mer._ What wou'd I say? marry I wou'd say, Speed 'em well: And if no
+worse News ever comes to me, I'll be hang'd if e're I cry'd for't.
+
+_Enter Nurse._
+
+How now, what's the Business with you?
+
+_Nurse._ Business enough, Forsooth; for I have the strangest Tydings!
+
+_Mer._ Of any One that's lost, Woman?
+
+_Nurse._ No forsooth, of One that's found again, an't please you.
+
+_Mer._ O, he was lost then it seems.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Her Business is with me, I believe Brother; is it not, Woman?
+
+_Nurse._ Yes, Sir.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Come hither then, [_Nurse whispers Mr._ Venter.] How,
+return'd?
+
+_Nurse._ Yes indeed, Sir, and all discovered.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Ah Curse on the Wind that blew him ashore.
+
+_Nurse._ Aye, so say I Sir, and did not sink him when he was going.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Well, well, be sure you do not let him come near the Child.
+
+_Nurse._ I warrant you, Sir, if you charge me to the contrary.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Yes, I do strictly charge you as you tender my Displeasure.
+
+_Nurse._ Well then let me alone--Besides, Sir, he intends to come to
+morrow morning with his Wife and see him.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ I'll meet him there; and if he chance to be there before me,
+be sure to keep the Child safe, and not let him touch it.
+
+_Nurse._ I warrant you, let me alone.
+
+[_Exit Nurse._
+
+_Enter_ Summerfield _and_ Arabella.
+
+_Mer._ So, so, Heaven be praised, they are not both lost I see, here's
+the Bride, my Daughter, come again.
+
+_Ara._ Father, and Gentlemen, I desire ye to treat this Stranger here
+with all Respect and Generosity; He's a loving Kinsman of my _Bonvile_'s
+who kindly came to congratulate our Wedding.
+
+_Mer._ Sir, you are heartily welcome. Od's bobs you are.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Welcome to all of us.
+
+_Spruce._ Seriously, Sir, and so you are.
+
+_Mer._ But where's the Bridegroom, Girl? Od's bobs we're all at a
+Nonplus here, at a stand, quite out; the Musicks ceas'd, and we all look
+as tho there were neither a light Heart or Heel among us; nay, my Cousin
+_Clara_ too as cloudy as on a washing Day.
+
+_Clara._ 'Tis then because you will not dance with me, Sir.
+
+_Ara._ 'Tis I alone have cause to be sad, if this Day's Happiness cou'd
+admit of any; But I've long reason'd with my pressing Thoughts, and from
+them drawn some Symptoms of Relief. Suppose this Day hath long since
+appointed by my dear _Bonvile_, to meet some Foe, and right his injur'd
+Reputation: Nay, say he fights, alas! Why shou'd I fear, when all the
+Powers above, that guard true Love and Innocence, will never see him
+fall.
+
+_Mer._ Prethee peace, good Girl hold thy tongue; Od's bobs thou'lt make
+us all Cowards, to hear a Woman preach up Valour thus.
+
+_Ara._ Well, Sir, I have done: But pray entertain this Gentleman kindly
+for my sake. Indeed I was afraid when I saw him first.
+
+_Sum._ Ha! what does she say? Od's Death she'l tell!
+
+_Ara._ Being in search of my dear _Bonvile_, I had quite lost my Way
+when he most opportunely came unto my Aid, and gave me many marks of his
+Esteem in my distress of Fears; nay more than this, which I'll declare
+at large.
+
+_Sum._ Death and Hell, she'l betray me.
+
+_Ara._ Well, Gentlemen, since the Bridegroom's absent, I must supply his
+Place: Come, when I have waited on you to your Pleasure, I will return
+[_To_ Summerfield.] to you, Sir, we must discourse more of my _Bonvile_
+yet.
+
+[_Exeunt all but_ Summerfield.]
+
+_Manet_ Summerfield _solus._
+
+_Sum._ What a trembling Trade's this, when Conscience, that shou'd be
+our only Guide, flies and leaves us to our accusing Guilt. A Thief! the
+very Name and Thought chills my Blood, and makes me tremble like an
+Ague-fit. A Dog, nay every Bough that moves, puts us in fear of present
+Apprehension. Sure I shall never thrive on this Trade: Perhaps I need
+take no further Care, I may be now near to my Journey's End, or at least
+in a fair way to _Newgate_, and from thence to _Tyburn_, the only Place
+that we poor Rogues can claim for an Inheritance. Trust a Woman, and
+with a Matter of such Importance, what a simple Dog am I? I cou'd find
+in my Heart to run away: And that were base to run from a woman; I can
+lay claim to nothing but her Vows, and those the Women seldom or never
+mind.
+
+_Enter_ Arabella.
+
+_Ara._ So, Sir, now you shall find a Woman as good as her Promise; Here
+are 20 Pieces, the full Value, on my Life, of what they cost.
+
+_Sum._ Pray, Madam, do not thus suspend my doubtful Soul; but if you do
+design to insnare my Life, speak, speak freely: Or if the Constable be
+at the Door, let him shew his Staff of Authority, perhaps I may corrupt
+him with a Bribe.
+
+_Ara._ How! base ungrateful Man, do you suspect my Faith? Nay then,
+Father, Uncle, and Gentlemen, where are you?
+
+_Enter all as before._
+
+_Mer._ How now, how now! What's the matter, Girl?
+
+_Ara._ For shame, will you not entertain your Kinsman here a little
+better: you leave him here alone, as tho you despised his Company.
+
+_Mer._ Is that all? I thought the Bridegroom had been return'd: Sir,
+pray pardon this Rudeness; But indeed I had quite forgot you, quite
+forgot you, as I hope to be sav'd: But what makes you tremble, Sir, are
+you ill dispos'd.
+
+_Ara._ Think you he hath not reason to be ill-disposed at this cold
+[_Aside to Justice_ Merryman.] Entertainment? for my part I blush for
+shame.
+
+_Spr._ Come pray, Sir, shake off this Dulness, and participate of our
+Mirth, Od's nigs do.
+
+_Sum._ I am very well, Sir, I thank you, only the Gentleman is a little
+under a Mistake.
+
+_Mer._ It may be so, Ay, ay, it may be so; I vow I thought you had
+trembled, but I believe it might be my own Hand; you must pardon me, I
+was stiffer once.
+
+_Sum._ Sir, your humble Servant.
+
+_Mer._ But, Gentlemen, what think you of an Adventure?
+
+_Spr._ Adventure whither?
+
+_Mer._ Why, to the _East-Indies_? I have a Vessel, Gentlemen, called the
+_Sea-Horse_, bound thither, and to morrow I do expect her to sail. Now,
+Gentlemen, if you'l venture, ye shall have fair Dealing, that I'll
+promise you. And for the French, you need not fear them, for she is a
+smart new Vessel: Nay, she hath a Letter of Mart too, and twenty brave
+roaring Boys on both Sides her, Starboard and Larboard: And I intend to
+go as far as _Marget_ down with her, 'twill be as good as Physick to me.
+
+_Spr._ A very good Motion, Sir, I begin, there's my ten Pieces.
+
+_Sum._ And, Sir, if a proffer'd Love may be accepted, be pleased to take
+my ten Pieces with you.
+
+_Mer._ Your's above all the rest, Sir.
+
+_Ara._ That's kindly said, Sir, and I thank you: Now pray venture Ten
+more for my sake.
+
+_Sum._ Alas, Madam, it's a younger Brother's Portion.
+
+_Ara._ At my Request, Sir, venture the other Ten; if you want, I'll
+supply you with as many more.
+
+_Sum._ With all my Heart then: Come, Sir, if you please, I'll double
+mine: So now she's got her Gold again, and I am now no Thief, (_aside_)
+Sir, I have a Suit to you,
+
+[_To_ Merryman.
+
+_Mer._ You may command it, for I am always at your Service: But pray
+your Pleasure?
+
+_Sum._ My Request, Sir, is, to have the Honour of keeping you Company to
+Sea, for I have a great desire to see _Marget_.
+
+_Mer._ Sir, I shall be very happy in your good Company.
+
+_Ara._ I hope you will be both better acquainted e're you return; and by
+that time your Kinsman may be here to make you more welcome.
+
+    _And for the Gold at my Request you lent,
+    I'll double it to give you more content._
+
+    Sum. _Why shou'd I fear, since she is prov'd so just?
+    I'll quit my Trade: Now_ Jack Catch _do thy worst._
+
+_Exeunt._
+
+_The End of the Second ACT._
+
+
+
+
+ACT the Third.
+
+_A Wood_
+
+
+_Enter_ Bonvile _and_ Friendly.
+
+_Bon._ Come my brave _Friendly_, I think we are here the first: Your
+Enemy is not yet i'th Field; let's walk a Turn or two, perhaps by that
+time he may arrive.
+
+_Fri._ I'm very confident that he's here already.
+
+_Bon._ Thy Looks, me-thinks, speak Conquest sure thy own; an ardent Rage
+has kindled both thy Cheeks.
+
+_Fri._ Like a red Morning, Friend; which still foretels a stormy Day to
+follow--And now I well observe your Face, me-thinks it waxes pale,
+there's Death in it already.
+
+_Bon._ How, _Friendly_, do you then take me for a Coward? My Face look
+pale, and Death in it already? By Heav'n, shou'd any but my _Friendly_
+dare to tell me what thou hast said, my Sword shou'd ram the base
+Affront down the curst Villain's Throat. But you are my Friend, and I
+must only chide your Error. But prethee tell me who is it you are to
+fight with, for as yet I am ignorant both of the Cause and Person.
+
+_Fri._ Ha, his Name! Did you enquire his Name?
+
+_Bon._ Yes.
+
+_Fri._ I dare not yet reveal it for fear of----
+
+_Bon._ For fear of what?
+
+_Fri._ O Confusion! I know not what to say!
+
+_Bon._ How, afraid to tell his Name? Then I begin to doubt the Justice
+of your Quarrel.
+
+_Fri._ Too well you may, for by yon' setting Sun, that Globe of heavenly
+Light I swear, I come to kill the only Man that strives to save my
+Life--Man did I say? Nay more than common Man, for those the World
+abound with; but such a Man besides, all this vast Land affords not.
+
+_Bon._ By this your large Encomium of your Friend, I'm afraid 'twas Wine
+first made your Quarrel, and thereupon this Challenge did ensue.
+
+_Fri._ O no! I call the Powers above to witness, that in all the Course
+of our unhappy Friendship, I to my knowledg never did receive the least
+Affront or Injury from him.
+
+_Bon._ How came this Challenge then?
+
+_Fri._ O dear Friend, the noblest that Man cou'd ever boast of:
+[_embraces him_] When first my rigid Fate threw on me this Command to
+fight, I had recourse to many whom I always thought my Friends; but when
+the Touchstone of my Danger try'd 'em, I found 'em like the cursed Fruit
+of _Sodom_, fair without, but rotten at the Heart: But then I found out
+_Bonvile_, my only dearest Friend. _Bonvile_ no sooner heard of my
+Engagement, but flew unto my Succour with as much Bravery, as a great
+General hastned by Alarms, marches to meet the Foe: You left your
+Nuptial Bed perhaps to meet your Death. O unheard-of Friendship! My
+Father gave me Life, 'tis true; but you, my Friend, support my Honour.
+All this for me, while I, ungrateful Man, thus seek your Life: For to my
+eternal Horror be it spoke, you are the Man whom I come here to kill.
+
+_Bon._ Ha!
+
+_Fri._ Too true alas! there read the Warrant for your Death.
+
+[_Gives him the Letter._]
+
+_Bon._ 'Tis a Woman's Hand.
+
+_Fri._ Yes, and a bad One too, they all speak fair, write foul, but mean
+worse.
+
+_Bon._ How! kill me? Sure, I dream, and this is all Delusion, or else
+thou dost it only to try thy Friend.
+
+_Fri._ O, from my Soul, I wish it were no more. But read, read on, see
+how I'm fetter'd in a _Circe's_ Charms--I love beyond Imagination, love
+even to Madness, and must as madly do a Deed will damn me to the hottest
+Flames of Hell.
+
+_Bon._ And woo't thou kill thy Friend for such a Woman?
+
+_Fri._ Alas! I must, you see I am commanded, commanded too by Love; Love
+more powerful than all the Sacred Ties of Friendship, therefore draw,
+and guard thy self. [_Draws._
+
+_Bon._ Not I by Heaven! What wou'dst thou have me draw and kill my
+Friend?
+
+_Fri._ There thou stab'st my Soul. O where, where is now my Resolution
+fled? A fatal Blast has struck me; a sudden Horror shot me thro the
+Heart; a Trembling seiz'd my Knees, that I can hardly stand, and all my
+Vital Powers methinks seem dead; yet Love's the Fire must kindle all
+again, therefore I charge thee draw, or naked as thou art, I will assail
+thee.
+
+_Bon._ I am defended against all that thou canst do, in having Justice
+on my Side, and Friendship too to back it.
+
+    _But since Humanity now bears so sway,
+    To this unguarded Breast come make your way._
+
+Strike home be sure.
+
+[_Opens his Bosom._
+
+_Fri._ That were a barbarous Murder.
+
+_Bon._ How can the Effect prove different from the Cause? Or how can any
+thing but damn'd Barbarity ensue a Woman's much more damn'd Design? Who
+wou'd expect Reason from one that raves, or hope for Mercy in a Tyger's
+Den? Believe me, _Friendly_, all this may sooner be; Mercy may sooner
+dwell among the Savage Wolves and Bears, than in a Woman's Breast.
+
+_Fri._ O, my too rigid Fate, to place me thus on such a dangerous
+Precipice, that wheresoe're I turn my self for help, I see my Ruin still
+before mine Eyes.
+
+[_Seems to weep._
+
+_Bon._ [_Pausing._] Stay--The Command which thy _Medea_ sent thee, was
+to kill thy only dearest Friend, was it not?
+
+_Fri._ Alas! it was.
+
+_Bon._ Then here, all Friendship dies between us; thus hast thou kill'd
+thy Friend, and satisfied that infernal Hag, thy cursed Mistress, who
+thus commanded thee: Away, I say, begon, and never see me more.
+
+_Fri._ Ha!
+
+_Bon._ Yes, base ungrateful Wretch, farewel, (_Offers to go_) --Yet
+stay, and since that Sacred Tie of Friendship's broke, know thou, most
+vile of Men, that _Bonvile_'s now thy Enemy; therefore do thou draw and
+guard thy spotted Life.
+
+_Fri._ How, Friend!
+
+_Bon._ Friend didst thou call me? On forfeit of thy Life that word no
+more; the very Name of Friend from thee, shall be a Quarrel: How can I
+tell but that thou lovest my Wife, and therefore feign'd this damn'd
+Design to draw me from her Arms?
+
+_Fri._ How! wrong thy Wife? O no, I never had a Thought so vile! Yet you
+must forgive me, indeed you must, by all that once was dear to me; and
+what I dare not mention more, by Love and Honour, I implore thy
+Pardon--Still art thou deaf to my Complaints?--Nay, then upon my Knee, I
+will enforce thy Pity. Behold me, _Bonvile_, prostrate at thy Feet,
+crawling for Mercy, swimming in Tears, and almost drown'd with Shame;
+extend thy Arm to help me, as thou'rt a Man, be God-like in thy Nature,
+and raise me from the Grave; turn thy Eyes on me, and sink me not with
+Frowns; O save me, save me, or I fall for ever.
+
+_Bon._ As soon shall Heav'n reverse the Fate of Hell, as I recal what I
+have said, or plant thee in my Breast again.
+
+_Fri._ Nay, then I am lost to thee, and all the World besides.
+
+[_Rises._
+
+_Bon._ Thou are indeed for ever lost to me; see what a miserable Wretch
+thy Folly now has made thee: A Creature so far below my Pity, that I
+despise and scorn thy base Submission, and will never hear thee more,
+more.
+
+_Fri._ Say but thou hast forgiven me, and I will ask no more.
+
+_Bon._ I never will.
+
+_Fri._ O cruel _Bonvile_!
+
+_Bon._ More barbarous _Friendly_: Hold off, or I will use thee like a
+Dog, tread thee to Earth, and spurn thee like a Slave, base as thou art.
+
+_Fri._ Still thou art my Friend----
+
+_Bon._ Thou ly'st, I have abjured the Name.
+
+_Fri._ Let me but go with thee.
+
+_Bon._ Not for the World; I'de rather venture my self with Crocodiles,
+catch the last dying Gasps of some poor Wretch infested with the Plague,
+than trust my self with thee.
+
+    _Farewel, I leave thee with the greatest Curse,
+    Condemn'd to Woman, Hell affords no worse._
+
+[_Exit, breaking from him._
+
+Friendly solus, _rising in a Passion._
+
+_Fri._ Death and Destruction, am I thus despised! Condemned to Woman's
+Lust, and scorn'd by Man. By _Bonvile_ too, after imploring, like a
+School-Boy, at his Feet--My Blood boils high, and scalds my very Heart!
+My inward Grief calls on me for Revenge, and I am all on fire! O that I
+had the proud _Bonvile_ here now at my Feet, I'de use him worse than he
+did me before.
+
+    _But since that open Force yields no Relief,
+    Private Revenge shall ease my swelling Grief.
+    With Thoughts of Jealousy I'll fill his Soul,
+    Which shall its Powers of all their Rest controul.
+    Thus for a Woman I've begun a War,
+    And for her sake must damn my Soul like her._[Exit.
+
+
+SCENE the Second.
+
+_Enter_ Nurse, Compass, _and his Wife._
+
+_Nurse._ Indeed you must pardon me, I can't let ye see the Child; to
+tell you the Truth, I am commanded to the contrary.
+
+_Comp._ Commanded! Prethee who commanded thee?
+
+_Nurse._ The Father.
+
+_Comp._ The Father, Why who am I?
+
+_Nurse._ Not the Father sure, the Civil Law has found it otherwise.
+
+_Comp._ The Civil Law found it otherwise! Why then the Uncivil Law shall
+make it mine again, I'll be as dreadful as a _Shrove-Tuesday_ to thee;
+for I'll besiege thy squalling catterwauling Castle, with my Friends the
+Mob, and gut thy stinking Nursery, but I'll both see and have my Child.
+
+_Nurse._ Harkee, Goodman Swabber, say but half so much again, and I'll
+call the Constable, and lay Burglary to your Charge. You wou'd not be so
+hot if the Enemy were in View, nor if you had to do with any body but a
+poor innocent Woman, so you wou'd'nt.
+
+_Peg._ Good Husband be patient, and let me alone with her: Come, come,
+good Nurse, let him see the Boy.
+
+_Nurse._ Indeed I dare not Goody _Compass_: The Father first you know
+delivered me the Child, and order'd me to let no body see it. He pays me
+well and weekly for my Pains, and therefore I'll do as be bad me, so I
+will.
+
+_Comp._ Why thou white Bastard-breeder; Is not this Woman here the
+Mother?
+
+_Nurse._ Yes, I grant you that.
+
+_Comp._ Do you so? Well, and I grant it too; And is not the Child then
+my own by the Wives Copy-hold?
+
+_Nurse._ The Law must try that.
+
+_Comp._ The Law! What then you think I'll be but its Father-in-Law? I
+tell thee, all the Wit and Law twixt _Cuckolds-Point_ and
+_Westminster-Hall_, shan't keep my own dear Flesh and Blood from me, I
+warrant you that. No an't does, I'll be hanged at the Main-yard: Why,
+who, dost think, uses to get my Children but my self?
+
+_Nurse._ Nay, I can't tell; you must look to that, for my part I ne're
+knew you get any.
+
+_Comp._ Say'st thou so? Why, look you, do but put on a clean Smock, and
+try me, if thou darst, I'll hold thee three to one I get thee with Child
+before I leave thee: Heh! what say'st thou?
+
+[_Offers to lay hold on her._.
+
+_Nurse._ I'll see you hang'd first--Nay, pray be quiet, and don't offer
+to spoil my Milk. Lord, you are as boisterous as my Husband was the
+first Night we were married: Pray, Goody _Compass_, take off your Cur,
+or else he'l bite me.
+
+_Peg._ No never fear him, Nurse, he's not so furious I assure ye.
+
+_Enter Mr._ Venter _and his Wife._
+
+_Nurse._ O! here's my Master, the Child's Father, now talk with him.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Good morrow Neighbour, good morrow to ye both.
+
+_Comp._ Both! Good morrow to you and your Wife too, if you go to that.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ I wou'd speak calmly with you, Friend, if you think fit.
+
+_Comp._ I know what belongs to Calm, and a Storm too; and if you please,
+a cold word or two wi' you.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ With all my Heart.
+
+_Comp._ I understand that you have ty'd your Mare in my Ground.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ My Mare, Friend, nay I assure you, 'twas only my Nag.
+
+_Comp._ Your Nag? Well your Nag then let it be: Harke, Sir, to be short,
+I'll cut off your Nag's Tail, if e're I catch him there again.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Pray hear me, you are too rough to maintain----
+
+_Comp._ I say, Sir, you shall maintain no Child of mine; my Wife does
+not bestow her Labour for that purpose.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ You are too passionate--I will not maintain----
+
+_Comp._ No marry shall you not.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ The Deed I have done to be lawful, I have repented it, and
+given Satisfaction to the Law, my Purse has paid for't; therefore I
+wou'd treat milder with you if you'd be pleased.
+
+_Comp._ Yes, yes, I am very well pleased, and shall be better pleased if
+you can serve me so still: For, look you Sir, one of these Days I shall
+to Sea again, you know where my Wife lives; yet you'l but lose your
+labour, for get as many Children as you can, I assure you, you shall
+keep none of them.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ I think you are mad.
+
+_Comp._ Why, if I am Horn-mad, what's that to you?
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Nay then, since you are so rough, I tell you plainly you
+are--a----
+
+_Comp._ A what? What am I, heh?
+
+Mr. _Ven._ A Coxcomb.
+
+_Comp._ A Coxcomb! a Cuckold you mean, and you a Fool for your pains.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ The Child is mine, I am the Father of it, and will keep it.
+
+_Comp._ Yes if you can, I know you will. But pray tell me, is not my
+Wife the Mother? You may be as far from being the Father as I am, for my
+Wife's acquainted with more Whore-masters besides your self; ay, and as
+crafty Merchants too, let me tell you that.
+
+_Peg._ No indeed Husband, I had to do with no body else, 'twas he begot,
+indeed and indeed now. Yet for all that, the Child's mine, I bred it and
+bore it, and I'll have it and keep it, so I will.
+
+Mrs. _Ven._ Pray hold there Mrs. Jill-flurt, the Child's my Husband's,
+and he shall have it, or I'll tear your Eyes out, ye Whore you.
+
+_Comp._ Good Words, Mistress; d'ye hear, give good Words you'd best, or
+I shall tell you your own.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ I'll have no more to say to ye, the Law shall determine it;
+in the mean time Nurse keep the Child for me, there, there's Money for
+thee.
+
+[_Gives her Money.
+
+_Comp._ There's Money for me too, keep it for me, Nurse; give him both
+thy Duggs at once, I pay thee for the right one, Girl.
+
+_Nurse._ I have two Hands, you see Gentlemen; this does but show ye how
+the Law will hamper ye; even thus you'l be used, Gentlemen, if you go to
+Law.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ It can't be helpt, for I won't lose my Right.
+
+_Comp._ Nor I mine for all you're a Merchant.
+
+Mrs. _Ven._ Nor I mine for all I did not bear it.
+
+_Peg._ Nor I, tho but a poor Sailer's Wife.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Well, fare ye well, we shall meet in another Place--Come
+_Winny_.
+
+[_Exit_ Venter _and his Wife._
+
+_Comp._ Ay, ay, I'll meet you when and where you dare, and do your
+worst, I fear you not: By the Lord _Harry_ the World's come to a fine
+Pass, that we must go to Law for our Children. No wonder the Lawyers are
+all so rich, yet e're the Law shall have a Limb, a Leg, a Joint or Nail
+of this same Boy,
+
+    _'T shall cost me more than a whole Child in getting,
+    Some win by play, and standers by with Betting._
+
+[Exeunt.
+
+
+SCENE the Third.
+
+_Enter_ Spruce, Arabella _with a Letter in her Hand_, Clara, _Mr._
+Venter, _and Mrs._ Venter.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ From whence came that Letter, Niece?
+
+_Ara._ From _Putney_, Sir, and from my Husband.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ And pray be free; Does he tell ye the Cause of his leaving
+you so abruptly on his Wedding-day?
+
+_Ara._ Yes; Sir, yet this had been sufficient to have let me known what
+he is gone about, without the formal Addition of an Epistle.
+
+_Spruce._ That, why what is that I pray Madam?
+
+_Ara._ His Will, Sir, wherein he makes me his sole Executrix.
+
+_Spr._ Will! why what the Devil does he mean, seriously I can't find it
+out?
+
+_Ara._ Why, Sir, he's gone to fight.
+
+_Spr._ How fight, Madam! On my Soul then I believe _Friendly_'s Second.
+
+_Ara._ You're in the right, he is so, and I am lost for ever!
+
+_Cla._ O foolish _Friendly_, this thy Mistake has made me the most
+wretched of Woman-kind! Such variety of Thoughts load my afflicted
+Breast, that I know not what to think: I rave, am mad, not knowing what
+my Folly may produce; I fear for both, for both my Heart does bleed.
+
+_Ara_. Miserable Maid! nay, miserable Wife! but much more miserable
+Widow! O my dear _Bonvile_!
+
+_Spr._ Duce take me, if e're I saw a Company so Phlegmatick in all my
+Life: Mr. _Venter_, prethee let's have a Song, to pass away the Time,
+and put Life into the Bride.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ With all my Heart, Mr. _Spruce_: Here, who waits?--Call in
+the Musick, and desire 'em to oblige the Ladies with a new Song.
+
+[_Servant Enter and Exit._ ]
+
+_Cla._ Your self, Sir, you mean?
+
+_Spr._ Nay all of us I protest.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Ay, ay, all of us.
+
+_Enter Musick and others who sing._
+
+A Dialogue set by _Seignior Baptist_.
+
+  Man. _A Woman's Love_              Woman. _And Man's is such,_
+  Man. _Still too little,_           Wom. _Or else too much._
+  Wom. _Men are Extreams,_           Man. _And Women too,_
+  Wom. _All, all are false,_         Man. _All, All like you._
+  Wom. _You'll swear and lie,_       Man. _If you'l believe,_
+  Wom. _And sigh and die,_           Man. _Yet still deceive._
+  Wom. _Your Vows and Oaths_         Man. _Your Smiles and Tears,_
+  Wom. _Are all but Baits,_          Man. _Are all but Snares._
+  Wom. _To win a Heart,_             Man. _And then destroy,_
+  Wom. _The easy Fool,_              Man. _The promis'd Joy._
+
+Another Strain.
+
+    Wom. _I'le have you offer no more your Pretending,_
+    Man. _Nor will I suffer your modish Dissembling:_
+        Wom. _For Honour commands,_
+        Man. _And Freedom withstands,_
+            Wom. _What you?_
+            Man. _And you._
+    Wom. _I know wou'd have me be, your Slave,_
+    Man. _I know wou'd have me be, your Slave._
+            Wom. _O, no, no, no!_
+            Man. _No, no, no, no!_
+            Wom. _I never will agree,_
+            Man. _I ever will be free._
+
+_After the Song enter Justice_ Merryman, Summerfield, _and three or four
+Sailers._
+
+_Mer._ Daughter, Daughter! Where's my Daughter? I say, Where's my
+Daughter? O Girl, I have the best News to tell you----
+
+_Ara._ What of my Husband, Sir?
+
+_Mer._ No, no, of your Cousin, Girl, of your Cousin.
+
+_Ara._ What of him, Sir?
+
+_Mer._ Such a Cousin, Girl, such a dear Cousin he is, as _Alexander the
+Great_, if he were alive, might be proud and boast of.
+
+_Ara._ You're welcome here again, Sir; You've made but a short Voyage,
+pray what occasion'd your Return so speedily?
+
+_Sum._ Madam, I render you ten thousand Thanks; Your Generosity and
+Goodness has wholly made me yours; I am the humblest of your faithful
+Admirers.
+
+_Ara._ Forbear such lavish Gratitude; You'r too profuse in your
+Acknowledgment of your small Favours. But pray be brief, and let me know
+the happy Occasion of this your sudden Return, I long methinks to hear
+it.
+
+_Sum._ Madam, you may command me--Not to molest the Company with the
+Recital of every vain and needless Circumstance; 'twas briefly thus.
+Scarce had we passed by _Marget_ on our Course, when on a sudden, from
+the Top-mast head, a Sailer cries, All hands Aloft, three Sails ahead:
+With that we rumidg and clear our Deck, our Gun-room arm'd, and all
+things now are ready for a Fight. The Ships before descried, with
+warlike Stems cut the resisting Waves, whilst from their Pendants
+fluttering in the Air, we found they were three _Dunkirk_ Privateers;
+they having made our English Cross advanced, salute us with a
+Broad-side, to make us strike and yield: But we, who ne're knew as yet
+what 'twas so cowardly to yield, and not regarding their unequal Odds,
+fell boldly on, returning Fire for Fire. The Engagement then grew
+desperate, for they on either Side fired in amain, whilst we withstood
+their Force. At length they boldly grappled, and laid us close aboard,
+and we as bravely beat them off again.
+
+_Mer._ But now, Daughter, mark what follows, for that's worth all,
+I'faith it is; therefore go on, dear Cuz, go on.
+
+_Sum._ Sea-room at length we got; when (as Fate wou'd have it) an
+unlucky Shot struck both the Captain and Lieutenant dead. Then we began
+to fear, and all our noble Hearts were trembling with despair.
+
+_Mer._ No, no, not all Daughter--But you shall hear more--Ods bobs you
+shall.
+
+_Sum._ How cou'd it be otherwise, when both our Commanders now were
+lost? therefore to strike was all the Talk----
+
+_Mer._ Ay, ay, now Daughter, now comes the Play, the other was only the
+Prologue.
+
+_Sum._ But Fortune favouring, and the Wind springing a fresh Gale, we
+got clear off and try'd to make a running Fight.
+
+_Mer._ Ay, but Cuz, how did we do all this? by whose Order and
+Direction?
+
+_Sum._ Pardon me, Sir, 'twas of so small Moment, that already it has
+slipt my treacherous Memory.
+
+_Mer._ Oh, ho! has it so! Ha, ha, ha! But it has not mine, I thank you,
+no marry has it not, as you shall hear--Then he, with an undaunted
+Spirit, started up amongst the Sailers, and----
+
+_Sum._ Nay pray Sir----
+
+_Mer._ By the Foot of _Pharaoh_ I'll not be balkt; he, I say, with an
+Heroick Voice cried out, Courage brave boys, Charge and Discharge amain;
+come I'll supply your fall'n Captain's place. At this blest News they
+all fell on again, with ten thousand times more Fury than before:
+Victory, Victory, was all their cry, whilst he my Cousin here, whom I
+shall ne're forget, for by the Lord, methinks, I see him in the Fight
+this very Instant, now running this way, now running that way, now down
+to the Gun-room to encourage those that fought there; now upon the Deck
+again, still crying out, Fear not, brave Boys, the Day will soon be
+our's.
+
+_Sum._ O pray, Sir, let me intreat you to forbear, you make me ashamed,
+I protest, to hear you.
+
+_Mer._ Ashamed, say you? Ha, ha, ha!
+
+_Ara._ Good Sir, go on.
+
+_Mer._ I will, I will--At length the proud French swallowing too many of
+our English Balls, two of 'em very fairly cried, Your Servants
+Gentlemen, farewel, and down they went. The other having lost most of
+her Men, resolved to leave us; but we being too nimble, overtook her,
+clapt some Men aboard, and brought her in a Prize: And this my brave Man
+of War here, was the first that boarded her with Sword in Hand.
+
+_1 Sailer._ Of all this I was an Eye-witness.
+
+_2 Sailer._ And so was I.
+
+_3 Sailer._ And I, and all of us.
+
+_Mer._ Yes, and many more stout Boys besides.
+
+_Spruce._ Sir, we are all indebted to your Valour; such Voyages as
+these, from small Venturers, in time may make us great Merchants.
+
+_Mer._ Well, never was Fight better managed before, that's certain.
+
+_1 Sail._ No, never, never!
+
+_2 Sail._ Better, say you? No nor half so well.
+
+_3 Sail._ If it were in our Power, we'd make him Admiral, so we wou'd.
+
+_Sum._ Gentlemen, 'tis to your Valours all, that I am indebted for the
+Honour I have gain'd: And that I may not seem wholly ungrateful, there,
+there's something in token of my Thankfulness.
+
+[_Gives 'em Money._
+
+_1, 2, 3 Sailers._ Heaven bless your Worship.
+
+_Ara._ Come Cousin, we'l withdraw into the Parlour: And if these honest
+Friends will be pleased to drink what our House affords, they shall be
+welcome.
+
+_1 Sail._ Thank you Mistress with all our Hearts.
+
+[Exeunt _all but Sailers_.
+
+_2 Sail._ Well, this Mr. _Summerfield_ is a brave Fellow, Gadzooks he
+is.
+
+_3 Sail._ Ay _Tom_ so he is; had it not been for him, we had all been
+taken on my Conscience.
+
+_1 Sail._ On my Soul and so we had: O if you had but seen him when he
+boarded the _Monsieur_, 'twou'd have made you laugh 'till you had split
+your Sides. He came up to the Captain o'this fashion with a Slap--ha!
+and gave him such a back-handed wipe, that he cut off his Head as
+genteely, as tho he had served seven Years Apprenticeship to't.
+
+_Enter Servant with a Bowl of Punch._
+
+_Serv._ Gentlemen, Mr. _Summerfield_ desires ye to be merry, and has
+sent you this to drink his Health.
+
+_1 Sail._ O, the Lord bless him, he's a fine Gentleman, and so pray tell
+him, and withal give him our hearty Thanks; Dost hear Boy?
+
+_Serv._ Yes, yes, I will.
+
+[_Exit._
+
+_2 Sail._ What is't Brother?
+
+_3 Sail._ Punch by this Light!
+
+Omnes. _Hoo-ra; Hoo-ra; Viva_ Mr. _Summerfield, Viva, Hoora._
+
+[The first Sailer takes the Bowl of Punch, walks in state round the
+Stage, and sings; the others all follow.]
+
+    _Here's a Health to jolly_ Bacchus,
+    _Here's a Health to jolly_ Bacchus,
+      _Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho._
+    _For he will merry make us,_
+    _For he will merry make us,_
+      _Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho._
+    _Then sit ye down together,_
+    _Then sit ye down together._
+
+[_They all sit down with the Bowl in the middle._
+
+_2 Sail._ Pshaw! Pox o'th' this old Song, prithee let's have a Dance.
+
+_3 Sail._ With all my Heart; strike up Musick.
+
+_The Sailers and their Wives dance._
+
+After the Dance.
+
+    1 Sail. _So, well done my Lads, now let's aboard amain,_
+            _And suck our Faces o're and o're again._
+            _Brandy we've got enough, by this blest Chance,_
+            _We'l nothing drink but Punch, when we get_ France.
+
+_Omn._ Hoora! Hoora! Exeunt omnes.
+
+_The End of the Third ACT._
+
+
+
+
+ACT the Fourth.
+
+_A Tavern._
+
+[2 Tables, three Chairs to each.]
+
+
+_Enter_ Compasse, Peg, _and_ Pettifog.
+
+_A Drawer Meets them._
+
+_Drawer._ Welcome Gentlemen. Please to walk into a Room?
+
+_Compasse:_ Aye Boy. Come Mr. _Pettifog_, please you sit.
+
+_Pettifog:_ With all my Heart; Come Mistress.
+
+_Draw._ What Wine will you be pleased to drink, Gentlemen?
+
+_Pett._ Ask the good Woman: speak Mistress.
+
+_Com._ Canary for her; I know what relishes her Palat best. A Quart of
+brisk Canary, Boy.
+
+_Draw._ Ye shall have the best in _England_.--Coming, Coming, Sir.
+
+[_Exit._.
+
+_Com._ What call you this same Tavern, Mr. Attorney?
+
+_Pett._ The King's Head, Sir.
+
+_Com._ The King's Head: Marry, it has a good Neighbour of _Guild-hall_.
+It takes many a fair Pound upon that 'n Account, I warrant you.
+
+_Draw._ (within) A Quart of Canary in the King's-head, score.
+
+_Enter Drawer, fills a Glass, and gives it_ Compasse.
+
+_Draw._ Sir, Here's a Glass of the richest Canary that ever came over,
+the very Quintessence of the Grape I assure you.
+
+_Com._ Say'st thou so? Why then there's a Tester for thee, and so leave
+us--. Come, Mr. _Pettifog_, [_Exit Drawer_] and 't please you my Service
+to you.
+
+[_Drinks._
+
+_Pett._ I thank you kindly, Sir.--Mrs. my Service to you, your Husband's
+good Health.
+
+[_Drinks._
+
+_Peg._ With all my Heart indeed, Here my dear black ey'd Rogue, thy
+n'own good Health.
+
+[_Drinks._
+
+_Com._ Thank you _Peg_, thank you, so now let's mind our Business.
+
+_Enter Mr._ Ventere, _his Wife, and_ Dodge, _to another Table in the
+same Room._
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Show a Room, Drawer.
+
+_Draw._ Here Sir.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Ne're a private Room?
+
+_Draw._ No Sir, the House is full.
+
+_Com._ Ods fish, whom have we here, my Wife's Merchant, with his Lawyer?
+
+
+_Pett._ Ye know we promised to give him a Meeting here.
+
+_Comp._ 'Tis true we did so,--but come to the Business in hand.
+
+[_Pettifog_ and _Compasse_ talk privately.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Well, bring us a Bottle of your best Red.
+
+_Draw._ You shall have it, Sir.
+
+[_Exit_ Drawer.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ And what do you think of my Cause, Mr. _Dodge_?
+
+_Dodge._ O we shall carry it most certainly: You have Money to go
+through with the Business; and ne're fear but we'll trounce them
+swingingly.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ I warrant you think it very strange, Mr. _Dodge_, that I am
+at this Charge and Expence to bring a farther Charge upon me.
+
+_Dodge._ Not I, I assure you, Sir, for I know you are a wise Man, and
+know very well what you do; besides you have Money, Money enough, Sir.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Why the short and the long of the Business is this; I made a
+Purchase lately, and in that I did estate the Child (about which I'm
+sued) Joint-Purchaser with me in all the Land I bought.
+
+Mrs. _Ven._ Right Husband; and you know 'twas I that advised you to make
+the Purchase, and therefore I'll never give my Consent to have the Child
+brought up by such a stinking Tar-barrel as now sues for him; he'd only
+bring him up to be a Swabber; no, no, he was born a Merchant and a
+Gentleman, and he shall live and die so.
+
+_Dodge._ You are a worthy Gentlewoman upon my word; there are but few of
+such a noble Temper: But what makes the Fool of the Husband then so
+troublesome; does he not know when he's well?
+
+Mrs. _Ven._ So 'tis a sign.
+
+_Dodge._ A Blockhead, to proclaim his own Disgrace, and make himself
+laugh'd at.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ That's not it, he hopes to be the better by what is settled
+on the Boy.
+
+_Dodge._ O, God's so, that's true: But never fear, I'll be hang'd if he
+carry it, for you have Money, as I told you, Sir, before: but see, Sir,
+there they are.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Yes, Yes, I saw them before: but come, where's our Wine?
+(_Within_) [the Bell rings as at the Bar.
+
+_Enter Drawer with a Bottle of Wine._
+
+_Draw._ Here Sir,--Coming, Coming, Sir: _Philip_, speak up in the
+Mermaid, and bid _Jack_ light a Fire.
+
+[_Exit_ Drawer.
+
+_Comp._ Well Mr. _Pettifog_, and what think you of my Suit, Sir?
+
+_Pett._ Why look you Sir, the Defendant you know was arrested first by a
+_Latitat_ in an Action of Trespass.
+
+_Comp._ Yes, and a Lawyer told me, it shou'd have been an Action of the
+Case, did he not, Wife?
+
+_Peg._ I have no Skill in the Law you know Husband, but the Gentleman
+did say so.
+
+_Pett._ Aye, but your Action of the Case in this Point is too ticklish.
+
+_Comp._ Well, but pray tell me, do you think I shall overthrow my
+Adversary?
+
+_Pett._ Without all doubt, the Child he says is none of yours, What of
+that! I marry a Widow, and am by Consequence possess'd of a Ward. Now
+shall not I have the Management of that Ward? Now Sir you lie at a
+stronger Ward, for _Partus sequitur ventrem_, says the Civil Law: So
+that if you were within the Compass of the four Seas, as the Common Law
+goes, the Child must be yours, that's certain.
+
+_Comp._ Say you so, Sir? Why then the Child's my own, for I have been a
+Coaster these five Years and more; and so my Service to you: [Drinks]. O
+your Attorneys in _Guild-hall_ have a rare time on't, by the Lord
+_Harry_.
+
+_Peg._ They are as it were both Judg and Jury themselves.
+
+_Comp._ And O how they will laugh at their Clients when they sit in a
+Tavern, and call them Fools, Blockheads and Coxcombs, and then whip up
+their Causes as nimbly as a Barber trims his Customers on a
+_Christmas-Eve_; a Snip, a Wipe and away.
+
+_Pett._ That's very common, you shall have the like at a _Nisi-prius_.
+
+_Enter Drawer._
+
+_Draw._ Here's a Gentleman, one Mr. Justice _Merryman_, enquires for Mr.
+_Ventere_ the Merchant.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ Here Boy, desire them to walk up. [_Exit_ Drawer.] 'Tis my
+Brother, and a Counsellor, to make an End of this same Business.
+
+_Enter Justice_ Merryman _and a Counsellor; both Tables rise and join
+together._
+
+_Merr._ Your Servant, Gentlemen, your Servant: Counsellor _Blunder_ and
+I have been canvasing the Business of this your Difference; and I
+believe, Brother, the Law will determine it as we have done; for it is
+point blank against you.
+
+Mr. _Ven._ If it is, I must be contented: Well Sir, the Child's your
+Wife's, and you shall have it; and to endear you the more to't, I'll
+settle my part of the Estate on you and yours for ever: Give me your
+Hand.
+
+[_They shake Hands._
+
+We now are Friends.
+
+_Merr._ Why that's well said.
+
+_Couns._ We all are Witness to the Agreement.
+
+_Omnes._ All, all.
+
+_Comp._ Nay I scorn to be outdone in Civility; therefore if you please I
+have a Gallon or two of Prize-Wine, and half a Dozen of good sound
+_Bruges_-Capons, which I'll treat you and this good Company with at
+Supper; but no more Mutton, no not a bit.
+
+_Merr._ Well Brother, I'm glad you're Friends: Ods bobs I am. But come,
+let's home now, and see what's become of the Bride and Bridegroom:
+Farewel Friend, farewell: Come we'll pay at the Bar.
+
+[_Exeunt_ Merr. _Mr._ Vent. _and his Wife,_ Couns. _and_ Dodge.
+
+_Comp._ Come _Peg_, Come and kiss me.
+
+[_Compass_ kisses Peg.
+
+I am Friends with thee too now.
+
+_Pett._ Aye, aye, you have Reason, she has earn'd you a good Fortune;
+and need not venture to Sea any more: Yet one thing let me advise you,
+'tis Counsel worth a good Fee, for it cures Cuckoldom.
+
+_Comp._ Sayst thou so, come let's hear it.
+
+_Pett._ This it is, Make a flat Divorce between your selves, be you no
+longer her Husband, nor she your Wife: Two or three Hours after meet
+again, salute, woo and wed afresh, and so the base Name of Cuckold's
+blotted quite. This has been experienc'd and approved by many.
+
+_Comp._ 'Tis excellent i'faith,--There, there's for you; and I thank
+you. _Peg_, I renounce thee,--nay and I renounce my self too from thee;
+thou art now a Widow, _Peg_; I'll go hang my self two or three Hours at
+one o' th' Main Yards, and so long thou shalt go drown thy self. Then
+we'll meet in _White-Chappel-Fields_, as it were by chance, and woo and
+wed again.
+
+_Peg._ With all my Heart, kind Sir, fare you well.
+
+_Comp._ Farewel Widow, remember Time and Place, and d' you hear, Put on
+your Sabbath-day best Clothes.
+
+_Peg._ I will, I will.
+
+[_Exit Peg._
+
+_Comp._ Sir, I am beholding to you for your good Counsel.
+
+_Pett._ No, Sir, you have paid me for 't, but I hope you do not intend
+to follow your own.
+
+_Comp._ What is that?
+
+_Pett._ Why, you said you'd hang your self.
+
+_Camp._ No no, I have thought better on't, for I'll go drink my self
+dead drunk, then wake again, wash my Face, and meet the Bride.
+
+_Pett._ That's well said, and I'll accompany you, and wish you Joy.
+
+_Comp._ Joy, Sir, I have it Sir already, in a good Estate got by a
+Chopping Boy.
+
+[_Exeunt._
+
+
+SCENE II.
+
+_Enter_ Friendly solus.
+
+_Fri._ Was ever Fortune like to this of mine? Who for the Smile of a
+vile simple Woman, have acted thus against my very Soul, all to please a
+Creature, whose next Command perhaps will higher mount, it may be light
+on my self, as now it did on _Bonvile_.
+
+_Enter_ Clara.
+
+_Cla._ Ha! _Friendly_ here alone. Now, now, my Fears begin.
+
+[_Aside_.
+
+So, Sir, you are return'd I see.
+
+[_To him._
+
+_Fri._ Madam, I am, and like those noble Knights in former times, after
+subduing all their Ladies Foes, returning with the joyful News of
+Conquest, receive her trembling to their longing Arms, and claim her as
+their own, so I----.
+
+_Cla._ What mean you, Sir?
+
+_Fri._ Madam, You are obeyed, your hard Commands fulfilled; at your
+Request I've kill'd my Friend, nay and my best of Friends.
+
+_Cla._ How? kill'd your Friend for me.
+
+_Fri._ Indeed 'tis true.
+
+_Cla._ Then thou art truly wretched: But say, say quickly, who's this
+unhappy Man whom thy Mistake hath thus untimely kill'd?
+
+_Fri._ _Bonvile._
+
+_Cla._ _Bonvile_ said you? My Blood with an unusual Course runs backward
+from my Heart! Horror has seiz'd my Soul! A thick-black Mist has
+overcast my Sight, and I am not the same: but speak, O speak again, Was
+it _Bonvile_?
+
+_Fri._ Why shou'd you seek to iterate my Guilt, by a Rehearsal of that
+dreadful Name? Too sure, alas! It was: _Bonvile_'s the Friend I've
+kill'd.
+
+_Cla._ Curs'd be the Tongue that spoke it, but doubly curs'd the Hand
+that did the barbarous Fact.
+
+_Fri._ Why Madam, was it not your Command to kill my Friend; nay more,
+my best of Friends?
+
+_Cla._ Yes, and I thought my self your best of Friends.
+
+_Fri._ I hope you wou'd not have had me murder'd you?
+
+_Cla._ No, Monster, no.
+
+_Fri._ These are Riddles.
+
+_Cla._ Fool, our whole Sex is made of nothing else: Thou mayst sooner
+untie the Gordian Knot, expound the Problems of the monstrous _Sphynx_,
+and read what is decreed in the mysterious Book of Fate, than unfold a
+Woman's sly malitious Meaning.
+
+_Fri._ Very well; she first set me on to do this most accurs'd of Deeds,
+and now upbraids me; nay wou'd hang me for 't: These are the Tricks of
+all her damning Sex. O Woman, Woman, Woman, dear devilish Woman,
+farewel.
+
+[_Offers to go._
+
+_Cla._ Stay _Friendly_, all I have said was only to try your Constancy;
+and whether you'd repent of what you've done. But tell me truly, is
+_Bonvile_ surely dead?
+
+_Fri._ Indeed he is.
+
+_Cla._ 'Tis bravely done, and I adore thee for 't. By Heaven I love thee
+now, even unto Dotage!
+
+_Fri._ Was ever Change like this? The subtlest Labyrinth Wit cou'd ere
+invent, affords not half so many Turnings as a Woman's Mind.
+
+[_Aside._
+
+What mean you, Madam, by this seeming Transport?
+
+_Cla._ O _Friendly_, _Friendly_, I am all o're Extasy! Thou hast done a
+Deed that ravishes my Soul. At once thou hast kill'd my dear and only
+Friend, and slain the fatal'st Enemy I had.
+
+_Fri._ What more Riddles Madam, pray explain your self.
+
+_Cla._ I will; I will declare a Secret which till now I never did
+disclose: I lov'd that _Bonvile_ whom thou now hast slain, not as I
+ought to do, but with a Woman's Love, which he never did know: And
+Yesterday when I beheld the fatal Marriage ended, then like a Merchant
+walking on the _Downes_, sees a rich Vessel of his own engaged, and
+after took, and born away a Prize: So I, after I'd seen my _Bonvile_
+lost, (for so he was to me) resuming all the Malice of a Woman, resolved
+never to entertain one Thought of Love again; but lead a Life as
+_Lapland_ Witches do, only on others Ruines: Then when you approached me
+with the hateful Sound of Love, to dash your Hopes, and put a Period to
+your growing Passion, I bid you kill your best and dearest Friend?
+
+_Fri._ True.
+
+_Cla._ Now the best Friend to one in Love, is Love it self.
+
+_Fri._ O my curs'd Stars, that wrap'd me up in such a black Mistake,
+What have I done?
+
+_Cla._ Done! Why you have done bravely, why do you tremble?
+
+_Fri._ An inward Guilt lies heavy on my Soul, and Horror with all her
+dreadful Forms still haunts my Sight. And did you love this _Bonvile_?
+
+_Cla._ The Queen of Beauty never doted more on her beloved _Adonis_ than
+I on him.
+
+_Fri._ And now as much you hate him: O the unheard-of Inconstancy of
+Women! All that they have is feign'd; their Teeth, their Hair, their
+Blushes, and their Smiles; nay their very Conscience (if any such they
+have) is feign'd; all counterfeit and false: Let them wash, patch and
+daub themselves with all the Helps for Nature that Art cou'd e're
+invent, still they are Women: And let 'em rob all _India_ of its store
+to adorn themselves therewith, still are they not all that thing call'd
+Woman: I know not what to do, for I love and hate this Creature both at
+once.
+
+_Cla._ What ails my _Friendly_?
+
+_Fri._ But _Bonvile_ yet must feel his Enemies Rage; shall he succeed in
+Love, whilst I am cross'd in mine? No, it must not, cannot, nay it shall
+not be.
+
+    _Four Heads I have, to make a Plot not common;
+    Malice, Revenge, the Devil, and a Woman._
+
+[_Offers to go._
+
+_Cla._ What will you leave me then?
+
+_Fri._ Leave thee; yes, forever: Fly thee as I wou'd a Blast from Hell:
+Thou art thy self a Hell; thy base detested hateful Woman's Breath
+infects the purest Air:
+
+    _May my Friend's Blood, which I for thee have spilt,
+    Light on thy Head, and your's be all the Guilt._
+
+[_Exeunt_ severally.
+
+_Enter_ Compasse _new clothed_, Pettifog, _and two or three Men
+Neighbors._
+
+_Comp._ Gentlemen and Neighbours, as you have been Witnesses to our
+Divorce, so shall ye now be Evidences to our next Meeting, which I look
+for every Minute.
+
+1st _Neigh._ I came for that Intent, Neighbour.
+
+_Comp._ I thank you: well, I do not think but you'll all see me come off
+with as smooth a Forehead, and make my Wife as honest a Woman as a Man
+wou'd desire sometimes, I mean of her Rank; and a teeming Woman, as you
+know she has been: Nay, I do not think but the Child too will be found
+to be as lawful a Child as any Couple of unmarried People can beget.
+
+2d _Neigh._ We long to see it Neighbour _Compasse_, that so some of us
+may do the like upon the same occasion.
+
+_Comp._ You're in the right, old Stitch of the World: But soft, see
+where she comes with a whole Bundle of as good sound Maidens as her
+self.
+
+_Enter_ Peg _new cloth'd, with three or four Women Neighbours._
+
+Stand aside a little, and mind me I pray.
+
+_Omnes._ Agreed, agreed.
+
+_Comp._ Good Morrow fair Maid.
+
+_Peg._ In truth Sir you are mistaken in both, for I am neither fair, nor
+yet a Maid.
+
+_Comp._ No, what are you then I pray, a Wife?
+
+_Peg._ That indeed I was, but alas,--I am now a Widow.
+
+_Comp._ A Widow say you? Nay then I must make bold with you; for look
+you, your Case is somewhat like mine, I being a Husband without a Wife.
+
+1st _Neigh._ Aye neighbour, this is something like.
+
+_Pett._ They begin well, let them go on.
+
+_Comp._ How long have you been a Widow, good Woman? Nay pray do not weep
+forsooth.
+
+_Peg._ I can't choose but cry, to think of the great Loss I had.
+
+_Comp._ Why, was he an honest Man?
+
+_Peg._ Honest quoth a', I vow and protest he was as honest a Man as e're
+broke Bread. O I shall never have such another.
+
+[_Cries out._
+
+_Comp._ By my Faith now Mistress you have had a great Loss indeed, for
+an honest Man is not to be found every where, nor in every Street.
+
+_Pett._ The Rogue's witty.
+
+2d _Neigh._ Aye, aye, let 'em go on.
+
+_Comp._ And how long is it since you lost this honest Husband?
+
+_Peg._ O dear, his Memory is too fresh; and the Sight of you doubles my
+Sorrow.
+
+_Comp._ The Sight of me, say you; why, was he so like me?
+
+_Peg._ As one Apple to another; your two Hands are not more alike.
+
+_Comp._ Nay then I cannot blame thee to weep: An honest Man he was I
+warrant him; and you have had a mighty Loss, that's the Truth on't: But
+was he proportioned like me, so well limb'd, and of such a wholesom
+Complexion, heh!
+
+_Peg._ No Twins were ever more alike.
+
+_Comp._ Well I love, his Memory is still better and better: and how many
+Children did he leave behind him?
+
+_Peg._ Only one, Sir.
+
+_Comp._ A Boy or a Girl?
+
+_Peg._ A dainty fine Boy, Sir.
+
+_Comp._ Just my own case still; my Wife (rest her Soul) left me a Boy
+too, a lusty chopping Boy of his Age (as they tell me, for I never saw
+it).
+
+_Peg._ So is mine.
+
+_Comp._ And what Profession was your Husband of?
+
+_Peg._ A Seaman.
+
+_Comp._ Heigh! my own Faculty too! And can you like a Man of that
+Profession again?
+
+_Peg._ Yes surely, for his dear sake, whom I lov'd so tenderly, I shall
+always esteem a Sailer.
+
+_Comp._ Shall you so? why then here's your Man: What say you, Is't a
+Match?
+
+_Peg._ Dear me, I am so ashamed, and yet to speak the Truth, I do like
+you hugely, and wou'd like you better still, if it were not for one
+thing, which a little troubles me.
+
+_Comp._ What's that?
+
+_Peg._ Why, you know sometimes we are forc'd to endure the Absence of
+our Husbands a long while, mehappen many Years, and then if there be any
+Slip in us, (as long Vacations will make Lawyers hungry) the World is
+apt to censure and scandalize us; and brand us with wanton Living and
+Incontinency; when alas! if they wou'd but consider our Condition, and
+the mighty Longings we often naturally have for Flesh and Blood, they
+wou'd not blame us, so they wou'd not.
+
+_Comp._ Come, come, no Matter, canst thou love me, Widow?
+
+_Peg._ Ah, if I durst but speak my Mind, I know what I wou'd say.
+
+_Comp._ Durst, why who do you fear? here's none but an honest Gentleman,
+some few Friends and Neighbours; let them hear a God's Name what you
+wou'd say, and never blush for the Matter.
+
+1st _W. Neigh._ Aye, aye, speak Neighbour, pray speak your Mind, and
+fear not.
+
+_Peg._ I shall be thought too weak to yield at first Sight.
+
+2d _W. Neigh._ Paw! paw! that's only Nicety.
+
+_Peg._ Well then I do love him dearly and dearly, so I do.
+
+[_Runs and kisses him_.
+
+_Comp._ And I thee with all my Heart and Soul.
+
+[Comp. _kisses_ Peg.
+
+Now we'll be merry, and have a Song, shall we not my Neighbours?
+
+3d _Neigh._ Marry will we, Neighbour _Luff_ and Mrs. Bride, will ye give
+us a Song?
+
+_Peg._ With all my Heart, come Neighbour.
+
+    A DIALOGUE.
+
+    Man:
+
+    _Faith and Troth I love thee dearly,
+      Tho I do but bluntly woo,
+    Prithy then resolve me clearly,
+      Whether I am beloved by you.
+    Long I shall not keep a pother,
+      Like a senseless whining Beau;
+    If you won't I'll court another
+      Who will never say me no._
+
+    Woman:
+
+    _Friend, your self, nor Humour neither
+      With my Fancy disagree,
+    Yet I must find clearer Weather
+      Er'e I venture out to Sea.
+    Court another at your Pleasure
+      Win her in the Honey-moon,
+    She may chance repent at leisure,
+      For believing you too soon._
+
+    Man:
+
+    _Leave your damn'd Fantastick Trials,
+      Which procure a Lover's Pain,
+    Pox upon these sham-Denials,
+      'Tis but spending time in vain.
+    With Embraces happy make me,
+      Nature fram'd you to be kind;
+    Kiss me, and the Devil take me
+      If I ever change my Mind._
+
+    Woman:
+
+    _I'll pursue the good old Fashion,
+      Practise still by those are wise,
+    Throughly try my Lover's Passion,
+      E're I let him grasp the Prize.
+    Spite of Oaths you wou'd forsake me,
+      Shou'd I let you once embrace:
+    If I kiss, the Devil take me,
+      Till the Parson has said Grace._
+
+    Chorus.
+
+        _Since then Nation
+        Has made it a Fashion,
+    Let's send for a Black Coat, whilst we're in the Mind.
+        But it is damn'd Slavery,
+        And Priestly Knavery,
+    That Parsons must conjure e're Lovers be kind._
+
+_Com._ So, so, here now shall we be Man and Wife again to Morrow, as
+good as ever. What tho we met as Strangers, we may happen to love ne're
+the worse for all that--Gentlemen and Neighbours, I invite ye all to my
+Wedding.
+
+_Omnes._ We'l not fail you, and wish you Joy.
+
+_Com._ Did I not tell you that I would fetch it cleverly off? Let any
+Man call me Cuckold if he dares now.
+
+_Petti._ 'Tis slander in him I assure you who-ever does.
+
+_Com._ Nay it will be _Petti Lacenary_ at least, and without Compass of
+the General Pardon too: And for the Child, let me hear him that dares
+say, I am not the Father.
+
+_Petti._ Sure none will dare dispute it.
+
+_Com._ Or that my Wife that is to be, is not as honest a Woman as some
+other Mens Wives are.
+
+_Petti._ No question of that.
+
+_Com._ O how fine and smooth my Brows are now!
+
+_1 M. Neigh._ Aye but when you're married, they'll come to themselves
+again I warrant ye.
+
+_Com._ My Friends, if you please, you may call me Mr. Bridegroom now,
+for the Guests are all bidden to the Wedding.
+
+_1 M. Neigh._ We know it, Mr. Bridegroom, they are Indeed, and we'll not
+fail you upon our Words.
+
+_Comp._
+
+    _Come then, brisk Widow, e're the next Ebb and Tide,
+    I'le be thy Bridegroom, and thou sha't be my Bride._
+
+_Exeunt omnes._
+
+
+_The End of the Fourth ACT._
+
+
+
+
+ACT the Fifth.
+
+
+_Enter_ Arabella _on one Side_.
+
+Summerfield _meeting her from the other_.
+
+_Ara._ Mr. _Summerfield_, I now am truly happy, my Prayers at last are
+heard; and Heaven has restored my Husband to my Arms.
+
+_Sum._ I just now heard the joyful News, and thought to have been my
+self the welcome Messenger of his Return, but find I'me come too late;
+have you seen him?
+
+_Art._ No; as yet I have not.
+
+_Sum._ 'Tis somewhat strange!
+
+_Ara._ Others perhaps may judg it so, but my uncommon Joy for his
+Return, admits no other Thought, but those of Transport for his Safety.
+
+_Sum._ O happy _Bonvile_! How I admire and wonder at thy Choice!
+
+_Enter_ Friendly.
+
+Madam, a Wife like you, exceeds the greatest Blessing sure on Earth.
+
+_Fr._ The nearest way to a secure Revenge, is private Malice, which,
+like _Aside._ a Spark long lying hid amongst neglected Ashes, by the
+least Blast of Wind becomes it self a Flame--Ha!, who have we here?
+Thrice blest Occasion! which thus have offered me at once the Scope of
+my revengeful Wishes. 'Tis _Arabella_ and her Darling _Summerfield_, one
+who, in the Bridegroom's Absence, is grown thus intimate with his
+beloved Bride. A strong Foundation on which I'll now erect a brave
+Revenge; I'll step aside and observe them.
+
+[_Retires to one side of the Stage._
+
+_Ara._ Sir, I hope he'll soon be here, and return the Kindness you have
+shown me; so I take my leave, with hourly expectation of a much-long'd
+for Husband.
+
+_Sum._ And I, with a Gratitude never to be forgotten, kiss your fair
+Hand, and hope that all things will answer your Expectation. [_Exit_
+Arabella.
+
+_Fri._ Ay, 'tis so, now must I counterfeit a friendly Face to make a
+farther Discovery.
+
+[_Aside._
+
+Sir, your humble Servant: without Offence, may I be so bold as to beg
+the Favour of your Name?
+
+_Sum._ The Question I must confess is somewhat familiar, and in my
+Opinion improper for a Stranger at first sight; but yet I ne're disown'd
+it to a Gentleman--'tis _Summerfield_.
+
+_Fri. Summerfield!_ Sir, I kiss your Hand;, and must congratulate your
+good Success, but more admire your Valour. Had we many such noble
+Commanders on board our Fleet, we need not fear it where e're it sails.
+
+_Sum._ Pray, Sir, stretch not your Love into Flattery, 'twill make me
+then suspect your Kindness. And the Author of this Story was too much my
+Friend I see, since he has given you this so very partial Account, the
+more to augment my Fame.
+
+_Fri._ O! that's your Modesty, Sir: But if I might be so happy as to be
+honour'd with your Acquaintance----
+
+_Sum._ Sir, the Honour (if any) would be wholly on my Side; therefore I
+desire to know your Name.
+
+_Fri._ _Friendly_, Sir.
+
+_Sum._ An Acquaintance; I suppose, of Mr. _Bonvile's_.
+
+_Fri._ One that thinks himself much honour'd in being stiled his Friend.
+
+_Sum._ I have often heard your Name indeed before; but till now Fortune
+never afforded me the sight of you.
+
+_Fri._ You of all Men ought to bless Fortune, who still has been
+indulgent to you on all Occasions; and scatter'd her Favours on you,
+with as prodigal a Hand as tho you were her sole Care and only Minion.
+
+_Sum._ What mean you, Sir? Again you exceed the Bounds of Love and
+Friendship; I never thought any of _Bonvil's_ Friends cou'd be guilty of
+so base and vile a thing as Flattery: But, pray, unfold your meaning.
+
+_Fri._ 'Tis this; I just now saw you part with the Bride, with such
+courteous Actions, as spoke no small Esteem in her kind Favour; and
+therein I think you the happiest of Men.
+
+_Sum._ How!
+
+_Fri._ Mistake me not, I only as a Friend applaud your Happiness, bless
+the Influence of your kinder Stars, and praise your Fortune that hath
+given you this sweet Occasion.
+
+_Sum._ What Occasion, Sir?
+
+_Fri._ Of being serviceable to the fair Virgin Bride in her extreamest
+need, after her being so unkindly left, nay, on her Wedding Day, by an
+ungrateful Husband, in doing her those neglected Duties, her Youth and
+Beauty justly did demand.
+
+_Sum._ On my Life some Plot against the Bride: I'll sound him 'till I
+find the very Bottom--[_Aside._]--Sir, you are merry: But suppose the
+Case your own, wou'd you have miss'd so tempting an Occasion?
+
+_Fri._ No, Sir, they're too precious to be omitted: But I hear you two
+call Cousins, comes your Kindred by the _Merryman's_ or the _Bonvile's_?
+
+_Sum._ Neither! we were wholly Strangers 'till of late, and 'tis a word
+of Courtesy only interchange'd between us for some private Reasons.
+
+_Fri._ This goes as I cou'd wish. [_Aside._]
+
+_Sum._ I desire you not to grow too inward with me, on so short an
+Acquaintance: Not that I'de have you think the Lady of so base a
+Disposition to grant me any thing beyond the Rules of Decency and
+Honour. The only Favour I e're receiv'd from her, was a Present of those
+Bracelets she wears about her Arms, and that Chain of Gold and Pearl she
+has about her Neck; all which either of us may own without a Blush.
+
+_Fri._ How, the Chain and Bracelet, say you! Those were the first Tokens
+of her Husband's Love.
+
+_Sum._ Methinks you look concern'd at what I've said; yet I have said no
+more than what I am obliged in Honour to maintain, and will: therefore I
+hope, as you'r a Gentleman, you'l not turn Informer.
+
+_Fri._ O pray think not so poorly of me.
+
+_Enter a Servant who whispers_ Summerfield.
+
+_Sum._ Tell her I'le wait on her immediately.
+
+[_Exit Servant._
+
+Sir, some Business of Importance calls me hence; therefore some other
+time I hope I shall have the Happiness of enjoying your Company longer.
+
+[_Exit_ Sum.
+
+_Fri._ Sir, your humble Servant.
+Tell her I'll wait on her immediately, said he; this must be _Arabella_
+that he's going to: Better still.
+
+    _The Work's begun, now I am made or lost;
+    He runs the best who holds out to the Post:
+    And all the Comfort in Adversity,
+    Is to see others as miserable as me._
+
+Who have we here? Old _Merryman_! As I live 'tis he!
+
+_Enter Justice_ Merryman.
+
+_Mer._ O Master _Friendly,_ you're happily returned: But where's my
+Son-in-Law?
+
+_Fri._ Alas, Sir, the unhappy _Bonvile_ is----
+
+_Mer._ Is, is, what is he? Heh! speak; is he living, or is he dead; or
+what's become of him?
+
+_Fri._ O! that I had the Marble _Niobes_ Heart! Or that I had suck'd the
+Milk of Wolves and Tigers; so that I might have told, without the least
+remorse of Sorrow, what now I dare not, nay, I cannot speak, for fear at
+once I melt my self in Tears, and break your aged Heart.
+
+[_Seems to weep._
+
+_Mer._ Then I suppose he's killed; say, is he not? Hast thou inticed him
+from his Bride for this, thou inhumane Wretch? Yet speak, and tell me
+truly, for I'm prepared to hear the worst of Ills; Is he then slain?
+
+_Fri._ No, Sir, but dangerously wounded.
+
+_Mer._ Not mortally, I hope; but whereabouts is he so desperately
+wounded? In his Arms, his Legs, or Body?
+
+_Fri._ Neither, Sir, but in as perfect Health as when he left you.
+
+_Mer._ Strange! sure thou art all o're a Mystery, and form'st these
+Riddles to try my Wit.
+
+_Fri._ No, Sir, for all I have said, you in effect will surely find I
+told you he was wounded, did I not?
+
+_Mer._ Yes, you did.
+
+_Fri._ And so he is.
+
+_Mer._ But where, whereabout, I ask you once again?
+
+_Fri._ I see you force the unwilling Secret from me--Why, he's wounded.
+
+_Mer._ He's wounded, he's wounded, but where, where is he wounded?
+
+_Fri._ In his Fame, Honour and Reputation, more mortal than a thousand
+fleshy Wounds.
+
+    _For such slight Baubles, Cures are oft obtain'd;
+    But injur'd Honour ne're can be regain'd._
+
+_Mer._ How! how! how's this? wounded in his Honour, fay'll thou? Tell me
+the Villain that has defam'd him, and this good old Sword shall slit the
+Rascal's Wind-pipe.
+
+_Fri._ O, Sir, your Daughter, your Daughter, Sir----
+
+_Mer._ Ha! what's that? what's that? is she injur'd too?
+
+_Fri._ No, no Sir, my falling Tears quite drown my feeble Voice, I
+cannot utter what I fain would speak--Your Daughter's false, false to
+her _Bonvile_! And by the help of her beloved _Summerfield_, has robb'd
+my Friend of all he cou'd call Dear, I mean his Fame.
+
+[_Seems to weep._
+
+_Mer._ A Pox o' your Crocodile's Tears. Why, Sirrah, Sirrah, do you call
+my Daughter Whore? Hey, Swords and Daggers, Blunderbusses and Pistols,
+shall I bear this? Hark you, you my Friend, and no Friend, what a Kin do
+you take me to be to this Gentlewoman, Heh?
+
+_Fri._ Her Father, Sir.
+
+_Mer._ Audacious Villain, O that I had thee in some private Corner,
+where none you'd either see or hear us, this Sword shou'd justify my
+Daughter's Honour; I'de Whore you with a Pox to you, so I wou'd.
+
+_Fri._ Your Pardon, Sir, I only did inform you as a Friend, that by your
+fatherly Admonitions, you might refrain her from her undecent Course.
+
+_Mer._ Pox o' your friendly Intelligence.
+
+_Fri._ The Jewels which her Husband did present her, as the first Sign
+and Confirmation of the happy Contract, she to my certain Knowledg has
+given to----
+
+_Mer._ To whom, to whom thou wicked Slanderer? tell me, Sarrah, quickly,
+quick, quick.
+
+_Fri._ To _Summerfield_.
+
+_Mer._ Ha, ha, ha, the Fool makes me laugh; Ha, ha, ha, why 'twas but
+just now that I saw e'm on her Neck and Arms.
+
+_Fri._ She was no Woman, had she not the Sense to get them against her
+Husband's coming.
+
+_Mer._ But pray tell me, how is't possible that she cou'd part with 'em,
+when they are lock't on, and the Key with her Husband?
+
+_Fri._ O, Sir, that's no Question to be ask'd in these Times: Women
+_have found a way to make use of other Keys besides their Husbands: And
+no doubt but_ Summerfield _has got a Key will open your Daughter's lock
+as well as_ Bonvile's.
+
+_Mer._ Sirrah you lie, you lie Sirrah; and I'le tell thee thou ly's,
+again and again, so I will. Nay, and I were to pay a 100 Pounds for
+every Lie I give thee, as Men do Twelve-pence for every Oath they swear,
+I wou'd spend all the Thousands I am worth, in giving thee the Lie. 'Tis
+likely indeed, that such a brave Gentleman as _Summerfield_, that fought
+at Sea like a Dragon to save my Life, should shorten my Days on Land in
+ruining my Daughter; therefore once more I tell you you Lie.
+
+_Fri._ 'Tis very well.
+
+_Me._ Do you hear Sir, have you told this Lie to any body else but me?
+
+_Fri._ I am no Informer, Sir.
+
+_Mer._ Why then for fear you shou'd, do ye see, draw, [_Draws_] Draw, I
+say, I am not so old but I can make a shift to cut your Throat still;
+I'le spoil your Carking, I'le warrant ye.
+
+_Enter_ Bonvile _and_ Clara.
+
+A Pox on't, here's my Son-in-Law come to hinder me, Duce take him cou'd
+he not stay a little longer? D'ye hear Sir, begon, leave this Place
+immediately, or I'le--I'le--I'le--Gad I cou'd find in my Heart, so I
+cou'd, but be gone.
+
+_Fri._ _Bonvile_ here with _Clara_ too, excellent. This goes to
+_Arabella_, and may it encrease the Storm.
+
+[_Exit_ Frie.
+
+_Bon._ My Father in Anger.
+
+_Mer._ O Son, Son, Son! dear Boy, welcome home, Od's bobs you are.
+
+_Bon._ I humbly thank you, Sir; but am sorry to see you so disturb'd.
+
+_Mer._ Nothing, nothing, only Mr. _Friendly_ and I have had a Word or
+two, that's all, that's all.
+
+_Bon._ About my going with him, I suppose; but that's past, and I hope,
+Sir, you'l be so kind as at my Request to pardon him.
+
+_Mer._ Indeed Son it was something else; By the Lord _Harry_ I can't
+forbear laughing at the Coxcomb, Ha, ha, ha; He told me, Ha, ha, ha,
+that one _Summerfield_, a very honest Fellow as ever liv'd, is grown
+exceeding familiar with my Daughter, your Wife.
+
+_Bon._ Ha! my Wife.
+
+_Mer._ Yes, your Wife, and that he had received Love-Tokens from her.
+
+_Bon._ How, Love-Token from her!
+
+_Mer._ Aye, aye, Love-Tokens I call'd 'em when I was a young Man: Nay,
+the Rogue was so impudent to tell me, that she had given him those
+Jewels which are lock'd about her Neck; Ha, ha, ha.
+
+_Bon._ The Jewels about her Neck, said you?
+
+_Mer._. Aye, what ails you Man that you change Colour so? 'Tis all a Lie
+Boy I warrant thee: And hadst thou not come just in the Nick of Time, I
+think o' my Conscience I shou'd have cut his Throat.
+
+_Bon._ As I will your Daughters if I find her false: Death, Hell, and
+Furies, am I made a Monster already?
+
+_Cla._ What, Sir, are you return'd for this?
+
+_Mer._ Hark y' son, hark you; suppose that this Mr. _Friendly_ shou'd
+have a secret Inclination to your spouse, d' ye see; and therefore, by
+reason he can't obtain his Desire, possesses you with Jealousy to make a
+Breach 'twixt you and your Wife. Od's bobs, I don't know, I can't tell
+what shou'd be the meaning of his carrying you away on your Wedding-Day,
+else, heh, Son, heh.
+
+_Cla._ Has the Italian Plague then infected you, that you stand thus
+unmov'd?
+
+_Enter_ Summerfield _leading_ Arabella.
+
+But see here's your Bride.
+
+_Bon._ And her beloved Adulterer with her! Death and Damnation, must I
+stand still and see this?
+
+_Mer._ Hey day! what the Matter now?
+
+_Ara._ _Bonvile_ here with _Clara_! Alas too true I find what before I
+scarce dar'd to think was so. Is _Bonvile_ then a Traitor, and false to
+_Arabella_?
+
+[_Aside._
+
+_Cla._ Madam, at last I've found the pretious Jewel that you so long
+have sought in vain.
+
+[To _Arab._
+
+_Ara._ Wear it your self Madam, I lost it, and it must be mine no more.
+
+_Cla._ What means this sudden Alteration?
+
+_Mer._ Ods bodikins, as you say, what does she mean? Are ye both mad,
+heh?
+
+_Sum._ Sir, I'm come to pay my Respects to you, and humbly beg a farther
+Knowledg of----.
+
+_Bon._ Of whom, sweet Sir, my Wife or me?
+
+_Sum._ Ha! your Wife.
+
+_Bon._ Yes Sir, my Wife, I think the word needs no explaining.
+
+_Mer._ Pray, Sir, at my Request bear with him, he's strangely out of
+Order I assure you.
+
+_Bon._ The Jewels are as I left 'em ; but the Jewel of her Heart is lost
+and thrown away.--Madam, I sent you my Will, did you receive it.
+
+_Ara._ Yes, I did.
+
+_Bon._ Let me see it.
+
+_Ara._ You shall.
+
+[_Exit_ Ara.
+
+_Bon._ Sir, I desire a Word or two in private with you,
+
+[_to_ Summer.
+
+_Sum._ With all my Heart, Sir.
+
+_Mer._ What's that, what's that, I'll have no Whispering, Gentlemen.
+
+_Enter_ Arabella _with the Will._
+
+_Ara._ There's your Will, Sir.
+
+[_Throws it down,_ Bonvile _takes it up._
+
+_Bon._ 'Tis well now as you've chang'd your Mind, I'll change this too,
+and find another to supply your Place: There's no harm done, the
+Marriage is not yet consummated, and you are free to enjoy any, so am I.
+
+_Ara._ As you please for that: A Man may make a Garment for the Moon,
+count all the Stars which twinckle in the Skies, or empty the vast
+Ocean, Drop by Drop, sooner than please a Mind so light, so various as
+yours.
+
+_Mer._ Ods bobs, what's this you talk of, altering your Will?
+
+_Bon._ Yes, Sir, I am so resolved, and will see 't perform'd within this
+Hour: My Lawyer lives hard by, and so farewel.
+
+[_Exit. Bon._
+
+_Mer._ Farewel thou peevish Boy, I can alter my Will too so I can, marry
+can I; I had left him 20000 Pound after my Death, and he shall see I can
+find another Executor too. Within this Hour did he say, Gad I'll be with
+one as soon as he, unless he rides Post to the Devil, and that's the
+nearest way to a Lawyer.
+
+_Sum._ I'll follow him, and asswage his Passion.
+
+_Mer._ By no means, Sir.--But now I think on't, I'll go with you, and
+find him out: But did you ever see the like, did you ever see the like?
+Come Sir, come follow me
+
+[_Exit._ Merr. & Summer.
+
+_Cla._ Dear _Arabella_ what can all this mean?
+
+_Ara._ Can you be doubtful of the Effect, who are your self the Cause?
+
+_Cla._ I the Cause, Inform me how?
+
+_Ara._ O _Clara, Clara_, your Syrens Voice has drawn my _Bonvile_ from
+these spotless Virgins Arms, and made me ever wretched!
+
+_Cla._ Who (if thou ever lov'dst me) tax'd me with a Crime so foul, as I
+abhor to hear it only named?
+
+_Ara._ _Friendly._.
+
+_Cla._ O _Arabella_, forgive and pity me, who am indeed the innocent,
+unhappy Cause of all those Griefs which now afflict you both; which I'll
+relate in brief, if you will please to withdraw one Moment with me.
+
+_Ara._ With all my Heart.
+
+_Cla._ Come then:
+
+    _And since your Ruine I did first conspire,
+    I'll all appease, thus Fire's expell'd by Fire._
+
+[_Exeunt._
+
+_Enter Justice_ Merryman _and_ Summerfield.
+
+_Mer._ Sir, do you take me for your Friend?
+
+_Sum._ Why d' you ask me such a Question, Sir? 'twere base Ingratitude
+to entertain any other Thought.
+
+_Mer._ Why then d' ye see, Sir; as you are my Friend, you must not fight
+my Son _Bonvile_.
+
+_Sum._ Not fight him Sir! you amaze me.
+
+_Mer._ Aye, aye, aye; that's all one: I understand your dumb Signs and
+your low Whispers, the French Mode all over, to smile and grin a Man in
+the Face, and at the same time privately cut his Throat. Therefore
+prithe be ruled by me, and don't fight him, for shou'd you kill him, my
+poor Girl wou'd break her Heart, quite break her Heart. [_Sobs and
+cries._] I grant that you are wrong'd, and so I dare swear is my dear
+Child: but he's her Husband, and must be born with, ods bobs he must.
+
+_Sum._ Heaven be my Witness, I ne're entertain'd a Thought like it!
+
+_Mer._ That's well, that's well, I am heartily glad on't, ods bobs I am
+heartily glad.
+
+[Enter _Friendly_.
+
+But here comes one that has made all this Mischief; and him I'll fight
+my self for all I'm a Justice of the Peace. Come, come, Sir, Draw, draw;
+you'll belie my Daughter again wil you? Come, draw, I say, Draw.
+
+[_Draws._
+
+_Fri._ Sir, as I am a Gentleman, I scorn to deny my Words, but there's
+my Author, whether good or ill.
+
+_Mer._ Who, he? He, do ye mean him?
+
+_Fri._ Yes, Sir.
+
+_Sum._ True, Sir, I am; For, at his Return to Town from _Barn-Elms_, it
+was my Chance to meet him; and after a ceremonious Complement or two, I
+found him diving into my private Thoughts concerning the Bride your
+Daughter: I, not to be behind-hand with him, join'd Wit with Wit to
+sound his shallow Soul. I told him then, how her Jewels once were mine;
+but the manner of my obtaining them, I for my own sake did conceal from
+him; and now, if you're disposed, I'll here relate it.
+
+_Enter_ Bonvile _leading_ Arabella, Clara _and_ Spruce, _Mr._ Venter
+_and Mrs._ Venter.
+
+_Mer._ Let it be before all this Company then: What, and my Son and
+Daughter too so loving again? Nay then all's well, ods bobs it is, and
+they shall hear it, ods bobs they shall.
+
+_Bon._ I have heard the Story, Sir, already; and _Friendly_, you I
+pardon too, for Enemies in War take all Occasions to undo each other;
+yet tho I am your Enemy, I'll be generous still, and make you Master of
+your wish'd for Mistress.
+
+[_To_ Clara.]
+
+Come, Madam, receive this worthier Passion of your _Friendly_, whom I
+know you both admire and love.
+
+[_Gives her to_ Friendly.
+
+Next I must obtain your Pardon for my Rashness.
+
+_Sum._ Sir, 'tis what I first ought to have begg'd of you: And that the
+World may'nt tax this innocent Lady of a Crime to her purest Thoughts
+unknown, I'll here begin my Story from my first Acquaintance to this
+happy Hour.
+
+_Mer._ Prithy do.
+
+_Sum._ The first time that I e're beheld her Face, I wou'd have robb'd
+her.
+
+_Mer._ Ah Rogue! What, a Thief, a Thief, what wou'd you have robb'd her
+of?
+
+_Sum._ Not her Honour, I assure you, Sir, but only of those Jewels which
+she wears.
+
+_Mer._ Ods bobs, thou wert an honest Thief, for that I faith he was.
+
+_Sum._ They being fast, I cou'd not get 'em off without some Harm and
+Pain to her: which for the _Indies_ I'd not have done. And she, in
+answer to my Civility, brought me home, and ransom'd them with the full
+Price in Gold, (with which I made my Venture) and the more to hide my
+Shame, she honour'd me with the Title of her Kinsman.
+
+_Mer._ Ay, ay, and so she might well; for she was a little cunning Thief
+too, to steal the Gold she gave you from her Husband; 'twas all his now,
+but that's no matter, proceed.
+
+_Sum._ The rest you know already, Sir.
+
+_Mer._ Ay, so I do, ods bobs I do, thy Valour my brave Boy, thy Valour,
+for which I'll do for thee, that thou shalt never need to rob again I
+warrant thee; ods bobs I will. But come, come, we lose time, for we have
+another Wedding yet to be perform'd, but that shall be done within.
+
+    Sum. _Then farewel all ye treacherous Paths of Vice,
+            Which lead Men blindfold to their End,
+            In time like me repent you that are wise,
+            And by Restraint your vicious Courses end._
+
+    Ara.    _Were I to ask of Heaven its greatest Bliss
+            On Earth, it cou'd bestow not one like this.
+            After a Storm the Sun still shines most bright,
+            And from the Chaos sprung the purer Light._
+
+    Bon.    _A Day like this sure yet has never been,
+            Wherein such various Changes e're were seen.
+            Fortune to Day that work'd my Overthrow,
+            Has made me happy in a Minute now.
+            Bless'd with a vertuous Wife my Days I'll spend,
+            And ne're trust Man, lest I mistake my Friend._
+
+
+
+
+EPILOGUE,
+
+Spoke by the City-Bride.
+
+
+      _You met with good Intention to be witty,
+    And rally the Grave Cuckolds of the City;
+    But disappointed of your Recreation,
+    I in your Looks can read the Play's Damnation.
+    Lord! how ye stare to find an honest Bride,
+    A thing you think a Monster in_ Cheapside.
+    _Whither you boast that you so often come,
+    And leave your footmen to perform at home.
+    Yet 'tis no little Comfort t' us howe're,
+    You oftner bring th' Estate than get the Heir.
+    Unjustly therefore you your Fortune blame,
+    She's kinder to your Blood that to your Name._
+
+      _After all this, I know you think it Pity,
+    That I shou'd break the Custom of the City:
+    I hear a Beau cry, 'tis some damn'd Mistaker;
+    A_ Cheap-side _Vertue, City Cuckold maker.
+    This is a Fault no Gentleman can pardon,
+    It gives_ Cheapside _the Sins of_ Covent-Garden:
+    _We must refine on Vice, and take new Measures,
+    Since dull chain'd Cits invade our darling Pleasures._
+
+      _Take my Advice, employ at home your Backs,
+    Or_ Locket's _Revels may revenge_ Pontack's:
+    _This Cuckolding to you's a losing Trade,
+    That pay for making, and for being made.
+    The Ladies will my Character excuse,
+    And not condemn a Vertue which they use._
+
+    _If any here be guilty of Transgression,
+    'Tis of Necessity, not Inclination:
+    They'd be contented in their proper Houses,
+    Cou'd they reform their unperforming Spouses.
+    Yet if some wanton Appetites there be,
+    How many are there that can fast like me.
+    Those are enow, if I have their Applause,
+    The Poet has his End, and I my Cause.
+
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
+
+
+FIRST YEAR (1946-47)
+
+Numbers 1-4 out of print.
+
+5. Samuel Wesley's _Epistle to a Friend Concerning Poetry_ (1700) and
+_Essay on Heroic Poetry_ (1693).
+
+6. _Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the Stage_ (1704)
+and _Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage_ (1704).
+
+
+SECOND YEAR (1947-1948)
+
+7. John Gay's _The Present State of Wit_ (1711); and a section on Wit
+from _The English Theophrastus_ (1702).
+
+8. Rapin's _De Carmine Pastorali_, translated by Creech (1684).
+
+9. T. Hanmer's (?) _Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet_ (1736).
+
+10. Corbyn Morris' _Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit,
+etc._ (1744).
+
+11. Thomas Purney's _Discourse on the Pastoral_ (1717).
+
+12. Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood
+Krutch.
+
+
+THIRD YEAR (1948-1949)
+
+13. Sir John Falstaff (pseud.), _The Theatre_ (1720).
+
+14. Edward Moore's _The Gamester_ (1753).
+
+15. John Oldmixon's _Reflections on Dr. Swift's Letter to Harley_
+(1712); and Arthur Mainwaring's _The British Academy_ ( 1712).
+
+16. Nevil Payne's _Fatal Jealousy_ (1673).
+
+17. Nicholas Rowe's _Some Account of the Life of Mr. William
+Shakespeare_ (1709).
+
+18. "Of Genius," in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719); and
+Aaron Hill's Preface to _The Creation_ (1720).
+
+
+FOURTH YEAR (1949-1950)
+
+19. Susanna Centlivre's _The Busie Body_ (1709).
+
+20. Lewis Theobold's _Preface to The Works of Shakespeare_ (1734).
+
+21. _Critical Remarks on Sir Charles Grandison, Clarissa, and Pamela_
+(1754).
+
+22. Samuel Johnson's _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749) and Two
+_Rambler_ papers (1750).
+
+23. John Dryden's _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681).
+
+24. Pierre Nicole's _An Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in Which from
+Settled Principles is Rendered the Grounds for Choosing and Rejecting
+Epigrams_, translated by J. V. Cunningham.
+
+
+FIFTH YEAR (1950-51)
+
+25. Thomas Baker's _The Fine Lady's Airs_ (1709).
+
+26. Charles Macklin's _The Man of the World_ (1792).
+
+27. Frances Reynolds' _An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste,
+and of the Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty, etc._ (1785).
+
+28. John Evelyn's _An Apologie for the Royal Party_ (1659); and _A
+Panegyric to Charles the Second_ (1661).
+
+29. Daniel Defoe's _A Vindication of the Press_ (1718).
+
+30. Essays on Taste from John Gilbert Cooper's _Letters Concerning
+Taste_, 3rd edition (1757), & John Armstrong's _Miscellanies_ (1770).
+
+
+SIXTH YEAR (1951-1952)
+
+31. Thomas Gray's _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard_ (1751); and
+_The Eton College Manuscript._
+
+32. Prefaces to Fiction; Georges de Scudery's Preface to _Ibrahim_
+(1674), etc.
+
+33. Henry Gally's _A Critical Essay_ on Characteristic-Writings (1725).
+
+34. Thomas Tyers' A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson (1785).
+
+
+
+
+William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California
+
+THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
+
+_General Editors_
+
+H. RICHARD ARCHER   William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
+
+E.N. HOOKER         University of California, Los Angeles
+
+R.C. BOYS           University of Michigan
+
+JOHN LOFTIS         University of California, Los Angeles
+
+The Society exists to make available inexpensive reprints (usually
+facsimile reproductions) of rare seventeenth and eighteenth century
+works. The editorial policy of the Society continues unchanged. As in
+the past, the editors welcome suggestions concerning publications. All
+income of the Society is devoted to defraying cost of publication and
+mailing.
+
+All correspondence concerning subscriptions in the United States and
+Canada should be addressed to the William Andrews Clark Memorial
+Library, 2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles 18, California.
+Correspondence concerning editorial matters may be addressed to any of
+the general editors. The membership fee is $3.00 a year for subscribers
+in the United States and Canada and 15/- for subscribers in Great
+Britain and Europe. British and European subscribers should address
+B. H. Blackwell, Broad Street, Oxford, England.
+
+
+Publications for the sixth year [1951-1952]
+
+(At least six items, most of them from the following list, will be
+reprinted.)
+
+THOMAS GRAY: _An Elegy Writt in a Country Church Yard_ (1751).
+Introduction by George Sherburn.
+
+JAMES BOSWELL, ANDREW ERSKINE, and GEORGE DEMPSTER: _Critical Strictures
+on the New Tragedy of Elvira_ (1763). Introduction by Frederick A.
+Pottle.
+
+_An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding_ (1751).
+Introduction by James A. Work.
+
+HENRY GALLY: _A Critical Essay on Characteristic Writing_ (1725).
+Introduction by Alexander Chorney.
+
+[JOHN PHILLIPS]: _Satyr Against Hypocrits_ (1655). Introduction by Leon
+Howard.
+
+_Prefaces to Fiction._ Selected and with an Introduction by Benjamin
+Boyce.
+
+THOMAS TYERS: _A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson_ ([1785]).
+Introduction by Gerald Dennis Meyer.
+
+Publications for the first five years (with the exception of NOS. 1-4,
+which are out of print) are available at the rate of $3.00 a year.
+Prices for individual numbers may be obtained by writing to the Society.
+
+
+THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
+_WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY_
+2205 WEST ADAMS BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES 18, CALIFORNIA
+
+Make check or money order payable to THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
+CALIFORNIA.
+
+
+  +--------------------------------------------------------------+
+  | Transcriber's Notes & Errata                                 |
+  |                                                              |
+  | Spellings of names, abbreviations and a number of other      |
+  | words, punctuation including the use of apostrophes, use of  |
+  | accents, hyphenation and italicisation are very inconsistent |
+  | in the text. They have been transcribed as in the text,      |
+  | except for very obvious typographical errors.                |
+  |                                                              |
+  | In the Preface, the underlined words have been represented   |
+  | as italicised words.                                         |
+  |                                                              |
+  | Superscripts in the Preface have been preceded by carat      |
+  | characters.                                                  |
+  |                                                              |
+  | Embedded stage directions in the text have been left in      |
+  | situ, enclosed in square brackets.                           |
+  |                                                              |
+  | End-of-line and centred stage directions in the text have    |
+  | been placed on their own lines.                              |
+  |                                                              |
+  | The following words occur in both hyphenated and             |
+  | unhyphenated forms in the text. The number of instances of   |
+  | each word are given in parentheses.                          |
+  |                                                              |
+  | |Cheap-side (1) |Cheapside (2)  |                            |
+  | |Hoo-ra     (2) |Hoora     (3)  |                            |
+  | |me-thinks  (2) |methinks  (4)  |                            |
+  | |Merry-man  (2) |Merryman  (10) |                            |
+  | |who-ever   (1) |whoever   (1)  |                            |
+  |                                                              |
+  | The following obvious typographical errors have been         |
+  | corrected.                                                   |
+  |                                                              |
+  | |Error                   |Correction |                       |
+  | |is is                   |is         |                       |
+  | |wihin                   |within     |                       |
+  | |the                     |thee       |                       |
+  | |the the                 |the        |                       |
+  | |Names                   |Name       |                       |
+  | |Speaker's name omitted. |Fri.       |                       |
+  | |Salvage                 |Savage     |                       |
+  |                                                              |
+  +--------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+
+
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author	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 01:57:34 -0700
committer	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 01:57:34 -0700
commit	7e8d3b709a81e1563a752abf453ecfcf638ba579 (patch)
tree	52a203f5ab054abc9ea5f8c8efc8f161f2f1b128