L. P. Fiddle, faddle, don't tell me of this and that, and ev'ry Thing in the World, but give me Mathemacular Demonstration, answer me directly-But I have not Patience-Oh! The Impiety of it, as I was faying, and the unparallell'd Wickedness! O merciful Father! How could you think to reverse Nature so, to make the Daughter the Means of procuring the Mother?

Mel. The Daughter to procure the Mother!

L. P. Ay, for tho' I am not Cynthia's own Mother, I am her Father's Wife; and that's near enough to make it Inceft.

Mel. Inceft! O my precious Aunt, and the Devil in Conjunction.

[Afide.

L. P. O reflect upon the Horror of that, and then the Guilt of deceiving every Body; marrying the Daughter, only to make a Cuckold of the Father; and then feducing me, debauching my Purity, and perverting me from the Road of Virtue, in which I have trod thus long, and never made one Trip, not one faux pas; O confider it, what would you have to answer for, if you should provoke me to Frailty? Alas! Humanity is feeble, Heav'n knows! very feeble, and unable to support it self.

Mel. Where am I? Is it Day? and am I awake? Madam

L. P. And no Body knows how Circumftances may happen together,To my thinking, now I could refift -Tomy the ftrongest Temptation, But yet I know, 'tis impoffible for me to know whether I could or not, there's no Certainty in the Things of this Life.

Mel. Madam, pray give me leave to ask you one Quef

tion.

L. P. O Lord, ask me the Question, I'll fwear I'll refufe it; I fwear I'll deny it-therefore don't ask me, nay you shan't ask me, I fwear I'll deny it. O Gemini, you have brought all the Blood into my Face; I warrant I am as red as a Turky-Cock; O fy, Coufin Mellefont! Mel. Nay, Madam, hear me; I mean

L.

L. P. Hear you, no, no; I'll deny you firft, and hear you afterwards. For one does not know how one's Mind may change upon hearing.-Hearing is one of the Senfes, and all the Senfes are fallible; I won't trust my Honour, I affure you; my Honour is infallible and uncomatable.

Mel. For Heav'ns fake, Madam,

L. P. O name it no more Blefs me, how can you talk of Heav'n! and have fo much Wickednefs in your Heart? May be you don't think it a Sin,

-They fay
-May be

fome of you Gentlemen don't think it a Sin,it is no Sin to them that don't think it fo; Indeed, if I did not think it a Sin-But still my Honour, if it were no Sin, But then, to marry my Daughter, for the Conveniency of frequent Opportunities, I'll never confent to that; as fure as can be, I'll break the Match. Mel. Death and Amazement,- -Madam, upon my

Knees

-

L. P. Nay, nay, rife up, come you shall see my Goodnature. I know Love is powerful, and no Body can help his Paffion: 'Tis not your Fault; nor I swear it is not mine, How can I help it, if I have Charms? And how can you help it, if you are made a Captive? I fwear it is pity it should be a Fault,- -But my Honour,well, but your Honour too— -but the Sin!-well but the Neceffity- -O Lord, here's fome Body coming, I dare not ftay. Well, you must confider of your Crime; and ftrive as much as can be against it, strive be fure -But don't be melancholick, don't defpair,-But never think that I'll grant you any thing; O Lord, no;- -But be fure you lay afide all Thoughts of the Marriage, for tho' I know you don't love Cynthia, only as a Blind for your Paffion to me; yet it will make me Jealous, Lord, what did I fay? Jealous! no, no, I can't be jealous, for I must not love you, therefore don't hope,But don't despair neither,- -O, they're coming, I must fly.

-0

SCENE

SCENE VI.

Mellefont alone.

Mel. [after a Paufe.] So then,-fpite of my Care and Forefight, I am caught, caught in my Security,Yet this was but a fhallow Artifice, unworthy of my Matchiavilian Aunt: There must be more behind, this is but the firft Flash, the priming of her Engine; Destruction 1ollows hard, if not most presently prevented.

SCENE VII.

[To him] Maskwell.

Mel. Maskwell, welcome, thy Presence is a view of Land, appearing to my shipwrack'd Hopes: The Witch has rais'd the Storm, and her Minifters have done their Work; you fee the Veffels are parted.

Mask. I know it; I met Sir Paul towing away Cynthia: Come, trouble not your Head, I'll join you together ere to Morrow Morning, or drown between you in the Attempt.

Mel. There's Comfort in a Hand stretch'd out, to one that's finking; tho' ne'er fo far off.

Mask. No finking, nor no Danger,-Come, cheer ap; why you don't know, that while I plead for you, your Aunt has given me a retaining Fee;Nay, I am your greatest Enemy, and she does but Journey-Work under me.

Mel. Ha! How's this?

Masks

Mask. What d'ye think of my being employ'd in the Execution of all her Plots? Ha, ha, ha, by Heav'n it's true; I have undertaken to break the Match, I have undertaken to make your Uncle difinherit you, to get you turn'd out of Doors; and to-Ha, ha, ha, I can't tell you for Laughing, Oh fhe has open'd her Heart to

me,

-I am to turn youja grazing, and to Ha, ha, ha, marry Cynthia my felf; there's a Plot for you. Mel. Ha! O fee, I see my rifing Sun! Light breaks thro' Clouds upon me, and I fhall live in Day-O my Maskwell! How fhall I thank or praise thee; Thou haft outwitted Woman.- -But tell me, how could't thou thus get into her Confidence? -Ha! How? But was it her Contrivance to perfuade my Lady Plyant to this extravagant Belief?

Mask. It was, and to tell you the Truth I encourag'd it for your Diverfion: Tho' it made you a little uneafy for the prefent, yet the Reflexion of it must needs be entertaining,- -I warrant she was very violent at first.

Mel. Ha, ha, ha, ay, a very Fury; but I was most afraid of her Violence at last,- -If you had not come as you did, I don't know what the might have attempted.

Mask. Ha, ha, ha, I know her Temper.-Well, you muft know then, that all my Contrivances were but Bubbles; 'till at last I pretended to have been long fecretly in love with Cynthia; that did my Bufinefs; that convinced your Aunt, I might be trusted; fince it was as much my Interest as hers to break the Match: Then, fhe thought my Jealoufy might qualify me to affift her in her Revenge. And, in short, in that Belief, told me the Secrets of her Heart. At length we made this Agreement, if I accomplish her Designs (as I told you before) she has engag'd to put Cynthia with all her Fortune into my Power. Mel. She is moft gracious in her Favour,-Well, and dear Jack, how haft thou contrived?

Mask. I would not have you stay to hear it now; for I don't know, but she may come this Way; I am to

meet

meet her anon; after that, I'll tell

you

the whole Matter;

be here in this Gallery an Hour hence, by that time I

imagine our Confultation may be over.

Mel. I will; 'till then Success attend thee.

'Till then, Succefs will attend me; for when I meet you, I meet the only Obftacle to my Fortune. Cynthia, let thy Beauty gild my Crimes; and whatsoever I commit of Treachery or Deceit, fhall be imputed to me as a Merit-Treachery, what Treachery? Love cancels all the Bonds of Friendship, and fets Men right upon their first Foundations.

Duty to Kings, Piety to Parents, Gratitude to Benefactors, and Fidelity to Friends, are different and particular Ties: But the Name of Rival cuts 'em all afunder, and is a general Acquittance Rival is equal, and Love like Death an univerfal Leveller of Mankind. Ha! But is there not fuch a Thing as Honefty? Yes, and whofoever has it about him, bears an Enemy in his Breaft: For your honest Man, as I take it, is that nice, fcrupulous, conscientious Perfon, who will cheat no Body but himself; fuch another Coxcomb, as your wife Man, who is too hard for all the World, and will be made a Fool of by no Body, but himself: Ha, ha, ha: Well for Wisdom and Honesty, give me Cunning and Hypocrify; oh, 'tis fuch a Pleasure, to angle for fair-fac'd Fools! Then that hungry Gudgeon Credulity will bite at any thing-Why, let me fee, I have the fame Face, the fame Words and Accents, when I speak what I do think; and when I speak what I do not thinkthe very fame- -and dear Diffimulation is the only Art, not to be known from Nature.

Why