Mary Price; or, The Adventures of a Servant Girl — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

SC. Iv.] MARY PRICE. 13 stop em! Hold fast the villains with the child! Oh! what a fool I have been! Tom. Iain’t a going to contradict you—not likely, not likely. JEMIMA runs off, L. U. E., followed by Tommy. ScENE FourTH.—Handsome Chamber. 2nd grooves. Enter LORD HARLESDON, R. Lorp H. Before my eyes, to flirt with all these puppies—I gan bear it no longer. ’Tis evident I am the laughing-stock of my own guests. Oh! why was I fool enough to marry a woman so many years my junior—and that I so dearly love her but aggravates the cruel pangs of jealousy, and I dare not remonstrate, for I should but add to the ridicule with which I ‘am overwhelmed by these coxcombs, who surround and pour into her willing ear the poison of insidious flattery. She comes. Betray me not, my goaded feelings; I must affect composure, must wear a smiling face, to hide the torture at my heart. Music.—Enter LADY HARLESDON, R., arm-in-arm with LORD CLAVERING, and followed by LIEUTENANT AUBREY. Lorp C. (u. c.) Ha, ha, ha! good—capital, ’pon my honour. Your ladyship, I protest, is quite a wit, pointed and _ brilliant, you both cut and shine. Lapy H. (c.) Flattery—rank flattery, my lord. What say -you, Lieutenant Aubrey. Lieut. A. (r.) That words from lips so beautiful, can never tail to charm the listening ear. ~Lapy H. Such gallantry I little expected from a gentleman 30 seriously inclined as Lieutenant Aubrey ’ Lorn C. Serious! Ha, ha. ha! Your Ladyship may well say serious. My worthy friend the Lieutenant, is a young ohilosopher, a youthful sage—in fact, a military moralist ; so ‘igid, that I verily believe he’d as soon hang himself as carry ff a pretty girl, though she requested him to do her the iavour. Ha, ha, ha! ‘© Lorp H. (L., asede) The incorrigible coxcomb. Lizcur. A. It appears, my lord, you have a desire to be ~vitty, and /tis a pity your ability should be so far behind your iclination. E’en have your jest, but not at my expense. I aution you. I serve the Queen, and have the honour to wear » sword. You understand ? ~ Lorp C. Well, sir Lavy H. No angry feelings—all here are friends. Lorp C. Your ladyship’s behest commands implicit obedi- nce. (aside to her) But really we are very negligent to your venerable grandpa—I mean your ladyship’s most patriarchal B cCOnmiclboooks C©