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)
_Sul._ Your prating is worse.
_Mrs. Sul._ Is there, on earth, a thing we can agree in?
_Sul._ Yes--to part.
_Mrs. Sul._ With all my heart.
_Sul._ Your hand.
_Mrs. Sul._ Here.
_Sul._ These hands joined us; these shall part us--Away!
_Mrs. Sul._ East.
_Sul._ West.
_Mrs. Sul._ North.
_Sul._ South: as far as the poles asunder.
_Foig._ Upon my shoul, a very pretty sheremony!
_Sir C._ Now, Mr. Sullen, there wants only my sister's fortune to make
us easy.
_Sul._ Sir Charles, you love your sister, and I love her fortune; every
one to his fancy.
_Arch._ Then you won't refund?
_Sul._ Not a stiver.
_Arch._ What is her portion?
_Sir C._ Ten thousand pounds, sir.
_Arch._ I'll pay it: my lord, I thank him, has enabled me; and, if the
lady pleases, she shall go home with me. This night's adventure has
proved strangely lucky to us all--For Captain Gibbet, in his walk, has
made bold, Mr. Sullen, with your study and scrutoire, and has taken out
all the writings of your estate, all the articles of marriage with your
lady, bills, bonds, leases, receipts, to an infinite value; I took them
from him, and will deliver them to Sir Charles.
_Sul._ How! my writings! my head aches consumedly.--Well, gentlemen,
you shall have her fortune, but I can't talk. If you have a mind, Sir
Charles, to be merry, and celebrate my sister's wedding and my divorce,
you may command my house. But my head aches consumedly;--Scrub, bring me
a dram.
_Foig._ And put a sup in the top for myself. [_Exeunt_ FOIGARD _and_
SULLEN.
_Arch._ 'Twould be hard to guess which of these parties is the better
pleased, the couple joined, or the couple parted; the one rejoicing in
hopes of an untasted happiness, and the other in their deliverance from
an experienced misery.
Both happy in their several states, we find:
Those parted by consent, and those conjoin'd.
Consent, if mutual, saves the lawyer's fee;
Consent is law enough to set you free.
[_Exeunt Omnes._
THE END.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Contemporary spellings have been retained. Hyphenation is inconsistent
throughout.
Two changes were made to the text.
Act 2: end of Scene 1, Mrs. Sullen's penultimate speech:
"her" was changed to "here" in the sentence:
The Count is to dine here tonight.
In Act 3, Scene 2:
The words "Yes, faith", spoken by a non-existent character called
"Alon", were assigned to Aimwell in keeping with the dialogue sequence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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