The Beaux-Stratagem: A comedy in five actsFarquhar, George
General
The Beaux-Stratagem: A comedy in five acts
Farquhar, George
Comedy plays; English drama (Comedy)
_Aim._ Well, well, any thing to deliver us from sauntering away our idle
evenings at White's, Tom's, or Will's--But now----
_Arch._ Ay, now is the time to prevent all this--Strike while the iron
is hot--The priest is the luckiest part of our adventure; he shall marry
you, and pimp for me. But here comes the doctor; I shall be ready.
[_Exit._
_Enter_ FOIGARD.
_Foig._ Shave you, noble friend.
_Aim._ O sir, your servant; Pray, doctor, may I crave your name?
_Foig._ Fat naam is upon me? My naam is Foigard, joy.
_Aim._ Foigard! a very good name for a clergyman; Pray, Doctor Foigard,
were you ever in Ireland?
_Foig._ Ireland! No, joy:--Fat sort of plaace is dat shame Ireland? Dey
say de people are catched dere when dey are young.
_Aim._ And some of them here, when they are old;--as for example--[_Takes_
FOIGARD _by the Shoulder_.] Sir, I arrest you as a traitor against the
government; you are a subject of England, and this morning showed me a
commission, by which you served as chaplain in the French army: This is
death by our law, and your reverence must hang for't.
_Foig._ Upon my shoul, noble friend, dis is strange news you tell me,
Fader Foigard a subject of England--de son of a Burgomaster of Brussels
a subject of England, Ubooboo--
_Aim._ The son of a bog trotter in Ireland: sir, your tongue will
condemn you before any bench in the kingdom.
_Foig._ And is my tongue all your evidensh, joy?
_Aim._ That's enough.
_Foig._ No, no, joy, for I will never spaake de English no more.
_Aim._ Sir, I have other evidence.--Here, Martin, you know this fellow.
_Enter_ ARCHER.
_Aim._ [_In a Brogue._] Shave you, my dear cussen, how does your health?
_Foig._ Ah! upon my shoul dere is my countryman and his brogue will hang
mine. [_Aside._] _Mynhere, ick wet neat wat hey zacht, ick univirston
ewe, neat, sacrament._
_Aim._ Altering your language won't do, sir, this fellow knows your
person, and will swear to your face.
_Foig._ Faash! fey, is dere brogue upon my faash too?
_Arch._ Upon my shalvation dere ish, joy,----But, Cussen Mackshane, vill
you not put a remembrance upon me?
_Foig._ Mackshane! by St. Patrick, dat is my naam shure enough. [_Aside._
_Aim._ I fancy, Archer, you have it.
_Foig._ The devil hang you, joy----By fat acquaintance are you my
cussen?
_Arch._ O, de devil hang your shelf, joy; you know we were little boys
togeder upon de school, and your foster moder's son was married upon my
nurse's chister, joy, and so we are Irish cussens.
_Foig._ De devil taake de relation! Vel, joy, and fat school was it?
_Arch._ I think it vas--aay--'Twas Tipperary.
_Foig._ Now, upon my shoul, joy, it was Kilkenny.
_Aim._ That's enough for us--self confession--Come, sir, we must deliver
you into the hands of the next magistrate.
_Arch._ He sends you to gaol, you are tried next assizes, and away you
go swing into purgatory.
_Foig._ And is it sho wid you cussen?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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