_Stu._ From poverty and prisons--No matter whither. If fortune changes you may hear from me. _Bev._ May these be prosperous then. (_Offering the notes, which he refuses_) Nay, they are yours; I have sworn it, and will have nothing. Take them and use them. _Stu._ Singly I will not. My cares are for my friend; for his lost fortune, and ruined family. All separate interests I disclaim. Together we have fallen; together we must rise. My heart, my honour, both will have it so. _Bev._ I am weary of being fooled. _Stu._ And so am I. Here let us part then. These bodings of good-fortune shall be stifled; I'll call them folly, and forget them. This one embrace, and then farewel. [_Offering to embrace._ _Bev._ No; stay a moment--How my poor heart's distracted! I have these bodings too; but whether caught from You, or prompted by my good or evil genius, I know not--The trial shall determine--And yet, my wife-- _Stu._ Ay, ay, she'll chide. _Bev._ No; My chidings are all here. [_Pointing to his heart._ _Stu._ I'll not persuade you. _Bev._ I _am_ persuaded; by reason too; the strongest reason--necessity. Oh! could I once regain the height I have fallen from, heaven should forsake me in my latest hour, if I again mixed in these scenes, or sacrificed the husband's peace, his joy and best affections to avarice and infamy! _Stu._ I have resolved like You; and since our motives are so honest, why should we fear success? _Bev._ Come on then. Where shall we meet? _Stu_, At Wilson's--Yet if it hurts you, leave me: I have misled you often. _Bev._ We have misled each other--But come! Fortune is fickle, and may be tired with plaguing us. There let us rest our hopes. _Stu._ Yet think a little. _Bev._ I cannot--Thinking but distracts me. _When desperation leads, all thoughts are vain;_ _Reason would lose, what rashness may obtain._ [_Exeunt._ SCENE III. __BEVERLEY'S_ lodgings. Enter Mrs. BEVERLEY, and CHARLOTTE._ _Char._ 'Twas all a scheme, a mean one; unworthy of my brother. _Mrs. Bev._ No, I am sure it was not. Stukely is honest too; I know he is. This madness has undone them both. _Char._ My brother irrecoverably. You are too spiritless a wife--A mournful tale, mixt with a few kind words, will steal away your soul. The world's too subtle for such goodness. Had I been by, he should have asked your life sooner than those jewels. _Mrs. Bev._ He should have had it then. (_Warmly_) I live but to oblige him. She who can love, and is beloved like Me, will do as much. Men have done more for mistresses, and women for a base deluder. And shall a wife do less? Your chidings hurt me, Charlotte. _Char._ And come too late; they might have saved you else. How could he use you so? _Mrs. Bev._ 'Twas friendship did it. His heart was breaking for a friend. _Char._ The friend that has betrayed him. _Mrs. Bev._ Prithee don't think so. _Char._ To-morrow he accounts with Me. _Mrs. Bev._ And fairly: I will not doubt it.