masqueraders-And some people of quality there desire to see your lordship and my lady. Lady T. I thought, my lord, your orders had forbid their revelling? Lord T. No, my dear, Manly has desired their admittance to-night, it seems, upon a particular occasion-Say we will wait upon them instantly. [Exit SERVANT. Lady T. I shall be but ill company to them. Lord T. No matter: not to see them, would on a sudden be too particular. Lady Grace will assist you to entertain them. Lady T. With her, my lord, I shall be always easy-Sister, to your unerring virtue I now commit the guidance of my future days— Never the paths of pleasure more to tread, [Exeunt. Lord T. Is it not hard, my dear, that people of sense and probity are sometimes forced to seem fond of such company? [Apart. Lady T. My lord, it will always give me pam to remember their acquaintance, but none to drop it immediately. [Apari. Lady G. But you have given us no account of the men, Madam. Are they good for any thing? Mask. Oh, yes, you must know, I always find out them by their endeavours to find out me. Lady G. Pray, who are they? Mask. Why, for your men of tip-top wit and pleasure, about town, there's by Lord-BiteLord Archwag-Young Brazen-wit-Lord Tim berdown-Lord Joint-life-and-Lord Mortgage. Then for your pretty fellows only-there's dir Beau Frightful-Sir Paul Plaister-crown, anc Powder-Peacock-Lord Lapwing-Billy Magpie the Marquis of Monkey-man. Lady G. Right! and these are the fine gentlemen that never want elbow-room at an assembly. Lord T. An admirable collection! Lady G. Well of all our public diversions. I am amazed how this, that is so very expensive, and has so little to show for it, can draw so much company together. SCENE III-Opening to another Apartment Mask. The rest, I suppose, by their tawdry discovers a great number of people in mas-hired habits, are tradesmen's wives, inns-ofquerade, talking all together, and playing one court beaux, Jews, and kept mistresses. upon another, LADY WRONGHEAD, as a shepherdess; JENNY as a nun; the 'SQUIRE as a running footman; and the COUNT in a domino. After some time LORD and LADY TOWNLY, with LADY GRACE, enter to them unmasked. Lord T. So here's a great deal of company Lady T. A great many people, my lord, but no company-as you'll find-for here's one now that seems to have a mind to entertain us. better sort would not come into it: and because Lord T. Oh, if it were not expensive, the money can purchase a ticket, the common people scorn to be kept out of it. Mask. Right, my lord. Poor Lady Grace! 1 suppose you are under the same astonishment that an opera should draw so much good company. Lady G. Not at all, Madam; it's an easier matter sure to gratify the ear, than the understanding. But have you no notion, Madam, of receiving pleasure and profit at the same time? Mask. Oh, quite none! unless it be sometimes winning a great stake; laying down a vole sans prendre, may come up, to the profitable pleasure you were speaking of Lord T. You seem attentive, my dear! [Apart. Lady T. I am, my lord; and amazed at my own follies, so strongly painted in another wo[Apart. man. Lady G. But see, my lord, we had best ad[Apart.journ our debate, I believe, for here are some masks that seem to have a mind to divert other people as well as themselves. Lady G. I fancy I know you, Madam." Lady G. Because I have heard you talk. sure. Lady G. There is something in your wit and humour, Madam, so very much your own, it is impossible you can be any body but my Lady Trifle. Mask [Unmasking.] Dear Lady Grace! thou art a charming creature. Lady G. Is there nobody else we know here? Mask. Oh dear, yes! I have found out fifty already. Lady G. Pray who are they? Mask. Oh, charming company! there's Lady Ramble-Lady Riot-Lady Kill-care-Lady Squander-Lady Strip-Lady Pawn-and the Dutchess of Single-Guinea. Lord T. The least we can do is to give them a clear stage then. Lord T. Oh, by all means; we'll wait upon you. [The Scene shuts upon the masks to a MANLY re-enters with SIR FRANCIS WRONGHEAD. Sir F. Well, cousin, you have made my very hair stond on end! Waunds! if what you tell me be true, I'll stuff my whole family into a stage-coach, and trundle them into the country again on Monday morning. Man. Stick to that, Sir, and we may yet find a way to redeem all. In the mean time, place yourself behind this screen, and for the truth of what I have told you, take the evidence of your own senses: but be sure you keep close till I give you the signal. Sir F. Sir, I'll warrant you-Ah, my Lady! my Lady Wronghead! What a bitter business have you drawn me into. Man. Hush! to your post; here comes one couple already. [SIR FRANCIS retires behind the screen. Enter MYRTILLA with 'SQUIRE RICHARD. 'Squire R. Well, is this the doctor's chamber? Myr. Yes, yes, speak softly. 'Squire R. Well, but where is he? Myr. He'll be ready for us presently, but he says he can't do us the good turn without witnesses: so, when the count and your sister come, you know he and you may be fathers for one another. 'Squire R. Well, well, tit for tat! ay, ay, that will be friendly. Myr. And see, here they come. Count B. Oh, the pretty flutterer! I protest, my dear, you have put mine into the same palpitation! Jenny. Ay, say you so- -but let's see nowOh, lud! I vow it thumps purely-well, well, well, I see it would do, and so where's the parson? Count B. Mrs. Myrtilla, will you be so good as to see if the doctor's ready for us? Myr. He only staid for you, Sir, I'll fetch him immediately. [Exit. Jenny. Pray, Sir, am not I to take place of mamma, when I'm a countess ? Count B. No doubt on't, my dear. Jenny. Oh, lud! how her back will be up then, when she meets me at an assembly, or you and I in our coach-and-six at Hyde-Park together! Count B. Ay, or when she hears the boxkeepers at an opera, call out-The Countess of Basset's servants! Jenny. Well, I say it, that will be delicious! And then, mayhap, to have a fine gentleman, with a star and a what-d'ye-call-um ribbon, lead me to my chair, with his hat under his arm all the way! Hold up, says the chairman; and so, says I, my lord, your humble servant. I suppose, Madam, says he, we shall see you at my Lady Quadrille's? Ay, ay, to be sure, my lord, says I -So in swops me, with my hoop stuffed up to my forehead; and away they trot, swing, swang! with my tassels dangling, and my flambeaux blazing, and—Oh! it's a charming thing to be a woman of quality! Count B. Well! I see that, plainly, my dear, there's ne'er a dutchess of them all will become an equipage like you. Jenny. Well, well, do you find equipage, and I'll find airs, I warrant you. SONG. What though they call me country lass, Oh, could I see the day! With a stand by-clear the way. Oh, could I see the day! I'd dart such glances from these eyes, With a stand by-clear the way. With a stand by-clear the way. 'Squire R. Troth! I think this masquerading's the merriest game that ever I saw in my life! Thof' in my mind, and there were but a little wrestling or cudgel-playing naw, it would help it hugely. But what a rope makes the parson stay so? Count B. Oh, here he comes, I believe. Enter MYRTILLA, with a Constable. [Pointing to the COUNT. Count B. Hey-day! what, in masquerade, doctor. Jenny. Oh, dear me, what's the matter? [Trembling. Count B. Oh, nothing, only a masquerading frolic, my dear. 'Squire R. Oh, ho, is that all? Sir F. No, sirrah! that is not all. [SIR FRANCIS coming softly behind the 'SQUIRE knocks him down with his cane. Enter MANLY. 'Squire R. Oh, lawd! Oh, lawd! he has beaten my brains out. Man. Hold, hold, Sir Francis, have a little mercy upon my poor godson, pray, Sir. Sir F. Wounds, cousin, I ha'n't patience. Count B. Manly! nay then I'm blown to the devil. [Aside. 'Squire R. Oh, my head! my head! Enter LADY WRONGHEAD. Lady W. What 's the matter here, gentlemen! For Heaven's sake! What, are your murdering my children? Const. No, no, Madam! no murder! only a little suspicion of felony, that 's all. Sir F. [To JENNY.] And for you, Mrs. Hotupon't, I could find in my heart to make you wear that habit as long as you live, you jade you. Do you know, hussy, that you were within two minutes of marrying a pick-pocket. Count B. So, so, all's out, I find. [Aside. Jenny. Oh, the mercy! why, pray, papa, is not the count a man of quality, then? Sir F. Oh, yes, one of the unhanged ones, it seems. Lady W. [Aside.] Married! Oh, the confident thing! There was his urgent business then-slighted for her! I ha'n't patience!-and, for ought I know, I have been all this while making a friendship with a highwayman. Man. Mr. Constable, secure there. Sir F. Ah, my lady! my lady! this comes of your journey to London: but now I'll have a frolic of my own, Madam; therefore pack up your trumpery this very night, for the moment my horses are able to crawl, you and your brats shall make a journey into the country again. Lady W. Indeed you are mistaken, Sir Francis-I shall not stir out of town yet, I promise you. Sir F. Not stir! Waunds, MadamMan. Hold, Sir!-if you'll give me leave a little-I fancy I shall prevail with my lady to think better on't. Sir F. Ah, cousin, you are a friend indeed! Man. [Apart to my LADY.] Look you, Madam, as to the favour you designed me, in sending this spurious letter inclosed to my Lady Grace, all the revenge I have taken, is to have saved your son and daughter from ruin-Now if you will take them fairly and quietly into the country again, I will save your ladyship from ruin. Lady W. What do you mean, Sir? Man. Why, Sir Francis-shall never know what is in this letter; look upon it. How it came into my hands you shall know at leisure. Lady W. Ha! my billet-doux to the count! and an appointment in it! I shall sink with confusion! Man. What shall I say to Sir Francis, Madam? Lady W. Dear Sir, I am in such a trem bling! preserve my honour, and I am all ohedience. [Apart to MANLT. Man. Sir Francis-my lady is ready to receive your commands for her journey, whenever you please to appoint it. Sir F. Ah, cousin, I doubt I am obliged to you for it. Man. Come, come, Sir Francis, take it as you find it. Obedience in a wife is a good thing though it were never so wonderful!And now, Sir, we have nothing to do but to dispose of this gentleman. Count B. Mr. Manly; Sir, I hope you wont ruin me. Man. Did not you forge this note for five hundred pounds, Sir. Count B. Sir-I see you know the world, and therefore I shall not pretend to prevaricateBut it has hurt nobody yet, Sir; I beg you will not stigmatize me; since you have spoiled my fortune in one family, I hope you wont be so cruel to a young fellow, as to put it out of his power, Sir, to make it in another, Sir. Man. Look you, Sir, I have not much time to waste with you, but if you expect mercy yourself, you must show it to one you have been cruel to. Count B. Cruel, Sir! Man. Have you not ruined this young wo man! Count B. I, Sir? Man. I know you have therefore you can't blame her, if, in the fact you are charged with. she is a principal witness against you.-However, you have one, and only one chance to get off with. Marry her this instant—and you take off her evidence. Count B. Dear Sir! Man. No words, Sir; a wife or a mittimus. Count B. Lord, Sir! this is the most unmerciful mercy! Man. A private penance, or a public oneConstable! Count B. Hold, Sir, since you are pleased to give me my choice, I will not make so ill a compliment to the lady, as not to give her the preference. Man. It must be done this minute, Sir; the chaplain you expected is still within call. Count B. Well, Sir-since it must be soCome, spouse-I am not the first of the fraternity that has run his head into one noose, to keep it out of another. Myr. Come, Sir, don't repine: marriage is at worst but playing upon the square. Count B. Ay, but the worst of the match too, is the devil. Man. Well, Sir, to let you see it is not so had as you think it; as a reward for her honesty, in detecting your practices, instead of the forged buil you would have put upon her, there's a real one of five hundred pounds to begin a new honeymoon with. [Gives it to MYRTILLA. Count B. Sir, this is so generous an actMan. No compliments, dear Sir-I am not at leisure now to receive them. Mr. Constable, will you be so good as to wait upon this gentleman into the next room, and give this lady in marriage to him? Const. Sir, I'll do it faithfully. Count B. Well five hundred will serve to make a handsome push with, however. [Exeunt COUNT B. MYR. and CONSTABLE Sir F. And that I may be sure, my family 's | Have gratified her softer inclination, [cation. rid of him for ever-come, my lady, let's even Have tipt her a gallant, and clinch'd the provo take our children along with us, and be all wit-But there our bard stopp'd short; for 'twere un nesses of the ceremony. civil [Exeunt SIR F. LADY W. MISS, and 'SQUIRE. Man. Now, my lord, you may enter. Enter LORD and LADY TOWNLY, and LADY GRACE. Lord T. So, Sir, I give you joy of your negociation. Man. You overheard it all, I presume? Lady G. From first to last, Sir. Lord T. Never were knaves and fools better disposed of. Man. A sort of poetical justice, my lord, not much above the judgment of a modern comedy. Lord T. To heighten that resemblance, I think, sister, there only wants your rewarding the hero of the fable, by naming the day of his happiness. Lady G. This day, to-morrow, every hour, I hope, of life to come, will show I want not inclination to complete it. Man. Whatever I may want, Madam, you will always find endeavours to deserve you. Lord T. Then all are happy. Lady T. Sister, I give you joy consummate as the happiest pair can boast. In you methinks, as in a glass, I see EPILOGUE. METHINKS I hear some powder'd critic say, "Damn it, this wife reform'd has spoil'd the play! The coxcomb should have drawn her more in fashion, To have a modern belle all o'er a devil! From whence, you see, by common sense's rules, Wives might be govern'd, were not husbands fools. Whate'er by nature dames are prone to do, Women take pride where merit is their master under. But modern consorts are such high-bred creatures, They think a husband's power degrades their features: Than that she never was reproached with duty: That nothing more proclaims a reigning beauty, And that the greatest blessing Heaven e'er sent, Is in a spouse, incurious and content. To give such dames a different cast of thought, By calling home the mind, these scenes were wrought. If with a hand too rude the task is done, You, you, then, ladies, whose unquestion'd lives Give you the foremost fame of happy wives, INKLE AND YARICO: AN OPERA, IN THREE ACTS. BY GEORGE COLMAN, Esq. REMARKS. THE great success of this opera in every theatre of the kingdom, since its first representation at the Haymar ket, is justified by its real merit. The dialogue is not a collection of trite common-places, to connect the music, but is replete with taste, judgment, and manly feeling:-the allusions to slavery (now so nobly abolished, correspond with every British, every liberal mind. The mal-a-propos offer of Inkle to sell his Yarico to Sir Christopher, is an admirable incident; and indeed all the characters are so forcibly drawn, that the most trifling Fart is effective. The pathetic story of Inkle and Yarico first attracted sympathy, from the narrative of Mr. Addison, in the Spectator: to that affecting story, Mr Colman was indebted for the cold, calculating Inkle; and the gentle, affec tionate Yarico-the rest of the characters, and the developement of the story, are the offspring of his abundant invention. ACT I SCENE I-An American Forest. Med. [Without.] Hilli ho! ho! Enter MEDIUM and TRUDGE. Med. Pshaw! it's only wasting time and breath. Bawling wont persuade him to budge a bit faster. Things are all altered now; and, whatever weight t may have in some places, bawling, it seems, don't go for argument here. Plague on't! we are now in the wilds of America. Trudge. Hip, hillio-ho-hi!— Med. Hold your tongue, you blockhead, orTrudge. Lord! Sir, if my master makes no more haste, we shall all be put to sword by the knives of the natives. I'm told they take off heads like hats, and hang 'em on pegs in their parlours. Mercy on us! my head aches with the very thoughts of it. Holo! Mr. Inkle! master; holo! Med. Head aches! zounds, so does mine, with your confounded bawling. It's enough to bring all the natives about us: and we shall be stripped and plundered in a minute. Trudge. Ay; stripping is the first thing that would happen to us; for they seem to be wotully off for a wardrobe. I myself saw three, at a dis |