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[ [ "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Letit._ Nothing to complain of! Heav'ns! shall I marry the man I adore,\nwith such an expectation as that?", "_Har._ Zounds! what do you mean by that? I tell you that the Lady you\nadmire, is Letitia Hardy.", "_Letit._ I have the strongest confidence in it. I am inspired with\nunusual spirits, and on this hazard willingly stake my chance for\nhappiness. I am impatient to begin my measures. [_Exit_ Letitia.", "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Letit._ Certainly. I know the design is a rash one, and the event\nimportant;--it either makes Doricourt mine by all the tenderest ties of", "_Let._ Married in jest! 'Tis an odd idea! Well, I'll venture it.\n[_Exit_ Letitia _and Mrs._ Racket.", "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "_Mrs. Rack._ He's a charming Fellow!--I think Letitia sha'n't have him.\n(_Going._)\n\n _Enter_ Hardy.", "_Letit._ Surely, Sir, 'tis a very serious occasion.\n\n_Hardy._ Pho, pho! girls should never be grave before marriage. How did\nyou feel, Cousin, beforehand? Aye!", "_Mrs. Rack._ Fye, Letitia! Mr. Doricourt thinks you a woman of elegant\nmanners. Stand forward, and confirm his opinion.", "_Vill._ Then I leave you to your communications.\n\n _Enter_ Letitia, _followed by her Maid_.", "_Let._ Hold your tongue!--Sure I may say what I please before I am\nmarried, if I can't afterwards.--D'ye think a body does not know how to\ntalk to a Sweetheart. He is not the first I have had.", "_Har._ It cannot be----I foresee it will be impossible to bring it\nabout. You know the wedding wasn't to take place this week or more--and\nLetty will never be able to play the Fool so long.", "[_As he stands in a musing posture_, Letitia _enters, and\n sings_.]\n\n\nSONG.", "_Letit._ (_pausing._) Yet I have one hope. If there is any power whose\npeculiar care is faithful love, that power I invoke to aid me.\n\n _Enter Mr._ Hardy.", "_Let._ To-morrow you shall be satisfied.\n\n_Dor._ To-morrow! and not to-night?\n\n_Let._ No.", "_Hardy._ Well, 'tis an odd thing--I can't understand it--but I foresee\nLetty will have her way, and so I sha'n't give myself the trouble to\ndispute it. [_Exit_ Hardy.", "_Let._ Married! Impossible! 'Tis but a few hours since he swore to me\neternal Love: I believ'd him, gave him up my Virgin heart--and\nnow!--Ungrateful Sex!", "_Let._ I--a Companion! Ridiculous pretence! No, Sir, know, to your\nconfusion, that my heart, my honour, my name is unspotted as her's you" ], [ "_Sir Geo._ Tell him then, to add to the ridicule, that Touchwood glories\nin the name of Husband; that he has found in one Englishwoman more", "SCENE III.----_Sir_ George Touchwood'_s_.\n\n_Enter Sir_ George, _and Lady_ Frances.", "END OF THE FIRST ACT.\n\n\n\n\nACT II.\n\n\nSCENE I. _Sir George Touchwood_'s.", "SCENE IV.----_Sir_ George Touchwood_'s._\n\n_Enter_ Sir George _and_ Villers.", "_Miss Ogle._ 'Tis Lady Frances Touchwood, Mr. Courtall, to whom you are\nspeaking.", "Touchwood.--Who is the most gallant Man? Sir George Touchwood.--Who is\nthe most wedded to Amusement and Dissipation? Sir George Touchwood.--And", "_Dick._ Why then, Sir, I am going to call upon a Cousin of mine, that\nlives at Sir George Touchwood's.", "_Court._ Lady _Touchwood_! with a vengeance! But, 'tis always so;--your\nreserved Ladies are like ice, 'egad!--no sooner begin to soften, than\nthey melt. [_Following._", "_Court._ I should hate my own wife, that's certain; but I have a warm\nheart for those of other people; and so here's to the prettiest Wife in\nEngland--Lady Frances Touchwood.", "_Sav._ Such a woman as Lady Frances Touchwood, Sir.\n\n_Court._ Oh, you are grave, Sir; I remember you was an Adorer of\nher's--Why didn't you marry her?", "Mrs. _Rack._ Thank ye, Flutter--I'll owe ye a _bouquet_ for that. I am\ngoing to visit the new-married Lady Frances Touchwood.--Who knows her\nhusband?", "_Enter_ Dick.\n\nDick, do you know any of the servants at Sir George Touchwood's?", "Ogles, and then to Lady Frances Touchwood's, and then to an Auction,\nand then--I don't know where----but I shall be at home time enough to", "_Mrs. Rack._ Give you joy, Sir George.--We came to rob you of Lady\nFrances for a few hours.\n\n_Sir Geo._ A few hours!", "_Miss Ogle._ Come, Lady Frances, you see what a cruel creature your\nloving Husband can be; so let us leave him.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Madam, Lady Frances shall not go.", "_Doric._ Pho! never moralise without spectacles. But, as we are upon the\ntender subject, how did you bear Touchwood's carrying Lady Frances?", "_Sir Geo._ I am astonished!--Mrs. Racket, what does the dear creature\nmean?\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ Mean, Sir George!--what she says, I imagine.", "_Sir George._ Heaven and earth! with whom can a man trust his wife,\nin the present state of society? Formerly there were distinctions", "_Sav._ Lady Frances Touchwood! I rise to drink her. (_drinks_) How the\ndevil came Lady Frances in your head? I never knew you give a Woman of\nChastity before.", "_Sir Geo._ No; heaven forbid she should!--If she had, Madam, she would\nnever have been my Wife!\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ Are you serious?" ], [ "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Fye, Letitia! Mr. Doricourt thinks you a woman of elegant\nmanners. Stand forward, and confirm his opinion.", "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Letit._ I fear, Sir--if I must speak--I fear I was less agreeable in\nMr. Doricourt's eyes, than he appeared in mine.", "_Letit._ Certainly. I know the design is a rash one, and the event\nimportant;--it either makes Doricourt mine by all the tenderest ties of", "_Doric._ Oh, the hour of expectation is past. She is arrived, and I this\nmorning had the honour of an interview at Pleadwell's. The writings were", "SCENE III.----_An Apartment at_ Doricourt'_s_.\n\n_Enter_ Doricourt.", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!", "_Let._ This is the most awful moment of my life. Oh, Doricourt, the\nslight action of taking off my Mask, stamps me the most blest or\nmiserable of Women!", "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Sir Geo._ What! am I the Town-talk? [_Aside_]\n\n_Har._ I can neither see Doricourt nor Letty.--I must find them out.\n[_Exit_ Hardy.", "_Doric._ It must be so. There was a mystery in her manner, for which\nnothing else can account. [_A violent rap._] Who can this be? [Saville\n_looks out_.]", "_Lady Fran._ Not at all; for I never slept a moment. My escape, and the\nimportance of my obligations to you, employed my thoughts. But we have\njust had shocking intelligence--Is it true that Doricourt is mad?", "_Court._ Marriage! Doricourt on the point of marriage! 'Tis the happiest\ntidings you could have given, next to his being hanged--Who is the Bride\nelect?", "Doricourt; he be too happy _à vous voir_. [_Exeunt_ Frenchman _and_\nSaville.", "_Doric._ If she has, she was pleased to keep it to herself. I was in\nthe room half an hour before I could catch the colour of her eyes; and", "_Dor._ Oh! (_Starting_).\n\n_Let._ I told you last night, you shou'd see me at a time when you least\nexpected me--and I have kept my promise.", "_Vill._ Whoever you are, Madam, you could not have arrived at a happier\nmoment.--Mr. Doricourt is just married.", "_Doric._ Charming, charming creature!\n\n_Let._ Congratulate me, my dear friends! Can you conceive my happiness?", "SCENE II.----_Doricourt_'s.\n\nDoricourt _in his Robe-de-Chambre_.\n\n_Enter_ Saville." ], [ "nothing;--for Doricourt saw them unmov'd.--A husband of fifteen months\ncould not have examined me with more cutting indifference.", "Doricourt; he be too happy _à vous voir_. [_Exeunt_ Frenchman _and_\nSaville.", "SCENE II.----_Doricourt_'s.\n\nDoricourt _in his Robe-de-Chambre_.\n\n_Enter_ Saville.", "_Sav._ Come, come, Doricourt, you know very well that when the honour\nof a husband is _locum-tenens_ for his heart, his wife must be as\nindifferent as himself, if she is not unhappy.", "SCENE III.----_An Apartment at_ Doricourt'_s_.\n\n_Enter_ Doricourt.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Mr. Doricourt is not prepared, my dear, for these\nenquiries; he is reflecting on the importance of the question, and will\nanswer you----when he can.", "_Doric._ It must be so. There was a mystery in her manner, for which\nnothing else can account. [_A violent rap._] Who can this be? [Saville\n_looks out_.]", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!", "_Doric._ You are unjust. Though she has not inspir'd me with violent\npassion, my honour secures her felicity.", "_Vill._ Whoever you are, Madam, you could not have arrived at a happier\nmoment.--Mr. Doricourt is just married.", "_Sav._ No, no; Doricourt.\n\n_Flut._ Egad, I'll say you are both mad, and then I can't mistake.\n[_Exeunt severally._", "_Flut._ So it appeared to me.--But, thought I, Mr. Doricourt has\ntravelled--he knows best.", "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Ergo_, she is handsome, spirited, and clever. [Doricourt _walks about\ndisordered_.] In the name of Caprice, what ails you?", "_Doric._ Oh, Lord, that shall be no excuse in the world (_leaping\nfrom the sopha_). Lead the way, John.--I'll attend your Lady. [_Exit,\nfollowing the Servant._", "_Sav._ Flutter--Don't make a mistake, now;--remember 'tis Doricourt\nthat's mad. [_Exit._\n\n_Flut._ Yes--you mad.", "_Court._ Marriage! Doricourt on the point of marriage! 'Tis the happiest\ntidings you could have given, next to his being hanged--Who is the Bride\nelect?", "_Mrs. Rack._ Make haste, said Doricourt; if I have time to reflect, poor\nHardy will die unhappy.", "SCENE II.--_A Hall at_ Doricourt'_s_. (_A gentle knock at the door._)\n\n_Enter the Porter._", "_Doric._ (_speaking to a servant behind_) I shall be too late for St.\nJames's; bid him come immediately.\n\n _Enter_ Frenchman _and_ Saville." ], [ "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Har._ Zounds! what do you mean by that? I tell you that the Lady you\nadmire, is Letitia Hardy.", "_Letit._ Nothing to complain of! Heav'ns! shall I marry the man I adore,\nwith such an expectation as that?", "_Letit._ I have the strongest confidence in it. I am inspired with\nunusual spirits, and on this hazard willingly stake my chance for\nhappiness. I am impatient to begin my measures. [_Exit_ Letitia.", "_Letit._ (_pausing._) Yet I have one hope. If there is any power whose\npeculiar care is faithful love, that power I invoke to aid me.\n\n _Enter Mr._ Hardy.", "_Letit._ Laws! Papa, do come along. If you stand watching, how can my\nSweetheart break his mind, and tell me how he admires me?\n\n_Doric._ That would be difficult, indeed, Madam.", "[_As he stands in a musing posture_, Letitia _enters, and\n sings_.]\n\n\nSONG.", "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Enter_ Letitia _and Mrs._ Racket.\n\n\n_Mrs._ Racket.\n\nCome, prepare, prepare; your Lover is coming.", "_Dor._ To fall in love with it.\n\n_Let._ And what then?\n\n_Dor._ Why, then--Aye, curse it! there's the rub. [_Aside._]", "_Mrs. Rack._ Fye, Letitia! Mr. Doricourt thinks you a woman of elegant\nmanners. Stand forward, and confirm his opinion.", "_Letit._ Certainly. I know the design is a rash one, and the event\nimportant;--it either makes Doricourt mine by all the tenderest ties of", "_Letit._ Because 'tis much easier to convert a sentiment into its\nopposite, than to transform indifference into tender passion.", "_Letit._ If I comprehend him, aukwardness and bashfulness are the last\nfaults he can pardon in a woman; so expect to see me transform'd into\nthe veriest maukin.", "_Vill._ Then I leave you to your communications.\n\n _Enter_ Letitia, _followed by her Maid_.", "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "here he comes.--I'll disappear for a moment.--Don't spare me.\n[_Exit_ Letitia.", "_Hardy._ I tell you, Letty, I'll have no more of this.----I see well\nenough----", "_Let._ Hold your tongue!--Sure I may say what I please before I am\nmarried, if I can't afterwards.--D'ye think a body does not know how to\ntalk to a Sweetheart. He is not the first I have had.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Why really I think so, as I was not by.\n\n_Letit._ My dear Sir, I am convinced he has not; but if there is spirit\nor invention in woman, he shall." ], [ "_Har._ There's no depending on what _you_ see--the eyes of the jealous\nare not to be trusted.--Look to your Lady.\n\n_Flut._ He knows ye, Sir George.", "_Sir Geo._ I have a Sister, Saville, who is amiable; and you are worthy\nof her. I shail give her a commission to steal your heart, out of\nrevenge for what you have done.", "_Sav._ You know I never look'd up to her with hope, and Sir George is\nevery way worthy of her.\n\n_Doric._ _A la mode Angloise_, a philosopher even in love.", "_Sav._ No, Madam, you are deceiv'd: Sir George is this way.\n\n_Lady Fran._ This is astonishing!", "_Lady Fran._ 'Tis very odd; his manner has made me tremble. Let us seek\nSir George.\n\n_Flut._ He is coming towards us.", "can. As you observe, I am but young, and may have caught absurd\nopinions.--Here is Sir George!", "_Sir Geo._ 'Tis well, Madam;--your resentment of that circumstance\nproves to me, what I did not before suspect, that you are deficient both", "_Sir Geo._ Tell him then, to add to the ridicule, that Touchwood glories\nin the name of Husband; that he has found in one Englishwoman more", "_Sir George._ Heaven and earth! with whom can a man trust his wife,\nin the present state of society? Formerly there were distinctions", "now Sir George is metamorphosed into a sour Censor; and talks of\nFashionable Life with as much bitterness, as the old crabbed Fellow in\nRome.", "_Sir Geo._ I was going to follow her, and now I dare not. How can I be\nsuch a fool as to be govern'd by the _fear_ of that ridicule which I\ndespise! [_Exit Sir_ George.", "find a recompence for the lost affection of a doating Husband.\n[_Exit_ Sir George.", "_Lady Fran._ I wish Sir George was here.----This man follows me about,\nand stares at me in such a way, that I am quite uneasy.", "SCENE IV.----_Sir_ George Touchwood_'s._\n\n_Enter_ Sir George _and_ Villers.", "_Lady Fran._ I kill a Bird through jealousy!--Heavens! Mr. Flutter, how\ncan you impute such a cruelty to me?\n\n_Sir Geo._ I could have forgiven you, if you had.", "_Enter Sir_ George, _and Lady_ Frances.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Well, here we are.--But where's the Knight of the Woeful\nCountenance?", "_Sir Geo._ 'Tis I that am afflicted;--my dream of happiness is\nover.--Lady Frances and I are disunited.", "_Enter Sir_ George.\n\n_Sir Geo._ (_Aside._) 'Sdeath! another room full!\n\n_Lady Fran._ My love! Mrs. Racket, and Miss Ogle.", "_Sir Geo._ Was there ever such a provoking wretch! But, to be plain with\nyou, Doricourt, I and my house are at your service: but you are a damn'd", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!" ], [ "_Lady Fran._ Thank Heaven! he's gone!--But I have a story for you--The\nHardy family are forming a plot upon your Friend Doricourt, and we are\nexpected in the evening to assist.", "so you have found me out!--Well, I protest I meant no harm; 'twas only\nto increase the _éclat_ of her appearance, that I threw a veil over her", "_Mrs. Rack._ Oh! Heav'ns! do you know----\n\n_Flut._ Let me tell the story----As soon as Doricourt--", "_Mrs. Rack._ Stop his mouth, Sir George--he'll spoil the tale.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Never heed circumstances--the result--the result.", "_Lady Fran. Shall_ not, Sir George?--This is the first time such an\nexpression--(_weeping_)\n\n_Sir Geo._ My love! my life!", "_Mrs. Rack._ No, Sir--no. It was Miss Hardy who captivated him. She met\nhim last night at the Masquerade, and charmed him in disguise--He", "professed the most violent passion for her; and a plan was laid, this\nevening, to cheat him into happiness.", "_Sir Geo._ Tell him then, to add to the ridicule, that Touchwood glories\nin the name of Husband; that he has found in one Englishwoman more", "_Dor._ What can this mean? Reveal your face, I conjure you.\n\n_Let._ Behold it.\n\n_Dor._ Rapture! Transport! Heaven!", "_Crowq._ Oh, Sir, that was for a Lord's amours; a Commoner's are never\nbut half. Why, I have had a Baronet's for five shillings, though he was", "fashion than it is; and it is already so much so, that my doors are of\nno use to me. I married Lady Frances to engross her to myself; yet such", "_Court._ I should hate my own wife, that's certain; but I have a warm\nheart for those of other people; and so here's to the prettiest Wife in\nEngland--Lady Frances Touchwood.", "forsooth! the whole Female World is concerned for. I reported the state\nof your brain to five different women--The lip of the first trembled;", "_Mrs. Rack._ Why really I think so, as I was not by.\n\n_Letit._ My dear Sir, I am convinced he has not; but if there is spirit\nor invention in woman, he shall.", "_Dor._ Why all this mystery?\n\n_Let._ I like to be mysterious. At present be content to know that I am\na Woman of Family and Fortune. Adieu!", "_Mrs. Rack._ No, Sir; nothing less than your penetration can do that, I\nam sure; and I can't stay now to consider it. I am going to call on the", "_Lady Fran._ Indeed, Sir George, I was so hurried from place to place,\nthat I had not time to find out what my impressions were.\n\n_Sir Geo._ That's the very spirit of the life you have chosen.", "_Port._ Step below a bit;--we'll make it out some-how!--I suppose a\nslice of sirloin won't make the story go down the worse. [_Exeunt_\nPorter _and_ Crowquill.", "girl to personate her, whose reputation cannot be hurt.--You shall know\nthe result to-morrow. Adieu. [_Exit_ Saville.", "and all mankind;--her sentiments are for their hours of retirement. In a\nword, a Fine Lady is the life of conversation, the spirit of society," ], [ "_Vill._ There again! You forget this story is told by Flutter, who\nalways remembers every thing but the circumstances and the person he", "_Mrs. Rack._ Oh, there can be no doubt of it. Flutter told us the whole\nhistory. Some Italian Princess gave him a drug, in a box of sweetmeats,", "_Lady Fran._ Thank Heaven! he's gone!--But I have a story for you--The\nHardy family are forming a plot upon your Friend Doricourt, and we are\nexpected in the evening to assist.", "_FINIS._\n\n\n\n\nEPILOGUE.", "_Lady Fran._ Yes; within these twenty minutes.\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ Aye, 'tis of no consequence.----'Tis all over--Doricourt is\nmad.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Stop his mouth, Sir George--he'll spoil the tale.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Never heed circumstances--the result--the result.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Oh! Heav'ns! do you know----\n\n_Flut._ Let me tell the story----As soon as Doricourt--", "_Doric._ Oh, the hour of expectation is past. She is arrived, and I this\nmorning had the honour of an interview at Pleadwell's. The writings were", "'squired them to the gardens here, as the most private place in town;\nand then took a sorrowful leave, complaining of my hard, hard fortune,", "_Court._ Oh, pleaded a million engagements.----However, conscience\ntwitched me; so I breakfasted with them this morning, and afterwards", "_Court._ After waiting thirty minutes, during which there was a violent\nbustle, in bounced five fallow damsels, four of them maypoles;--the", "_Court._ Perhaps they have;--but I came on a different errand; and, had\nthy good fortune brought thee here half an hour sooner, I'd have given\nthee such a treat, ha! ha! ha!", "_Sir Geo._ I learnt it in the first Coffee-house I entered.--Every body\nis full of the story.", "_Court._ No, no;--there's no time for forms. I'll just give directions\nto the carriage, and be with you in a moment. (_Going, steps back._) Put", "_Har._ Now's the time, I see, to clear up the whole. Mr. Doricourt!--I\nsay--Flutter was mistaken; I know who you are in love with.", "_Flut._ Egad, I believe you are right.--Well, the story is as good one\nway as t'other, you know. Good morning. I am going to Mrs. Crotchet's", "_Silv._ Very well,--very well.--This morning will be devoted to\ncuriosity; my sale begins to-morrow at eleven. But, Mrs. Fagg, if you", "Heaven's sake take her home again, or some Enchanter on a flying Dragon\nwill descend and carry her off.--Oh, said another, I dare say Lady", "professed the most violent passion for her; and a plan was laid, this\nevening, to cheat him into happiness.", "_Sav._ Where can this fellow be!--Come, give me some news--I have been\nat war with woodcocks and partridges these two months, and am a stranger\nto all that has passed out of their region." ], [ "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Vill._ Then I leave you to your communications.\n\n _Enter_ Letitia, _followed by her Maid_.", "_Letit._ It is not my toilette that can serve me: but a plan has struck\nme, if you will not oppose it, which flatters me with brilliant success.", "_Letit._ I have the strongest confidence in it. I am inspired with\nunusual spirits, and on this hazard willingly stake my chance for\nhappiness. I am impatient to begin my measures. [_Exit_ Letitia.", "_Har._ Zounds! what do you mean by that? I tell you that the Lady you\nadmire, is Letitia Hardy.", "[_As he stands in a musing posture_, Letitia _enters, and\n sings_.]\n\n\nSONG.", "_Har._ It cannot be----I foresee it will be impossible to bring it\nabout. You know the wedding wasn't to take place this week or more--and\nLetty will never be able to play the Fool so long.", "here he comes.--I'll disappear for a moment.--Don't spare me.\n[_Exit_ Letitia.", "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "_Enter_ Letitia, _running_.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Fye, Letitia! Mr. Doricourt thinks you a woman of elegant\nmanners. Stand forward, and confirm his opinion.", "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Let._ Married in jest! 'Tis an odd idea! Well, I'll venture it.\n[_Exit_ Letitia _and Mrs._ Racket.", "_Letit._ Certainly. I know the design is a rash one, and the event\nimportant;--it either makes Doricourt mine by all the tenderest ties of", "professed the most violent passion for her; and a plan was laid, this\nevening, to cheat him into happiness.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Why really I think so, as I was not by.\n\n_Letit._ My dear Sir, I am convinced he has not; but if there is spirit\nor invention in woman, he shall.", "_Letit._ If I comprehend him, aukwardness and bashfulness are the last\nfaults he can pardon in a woman; so expect to see me transform'd into\nthe veriest maukin.", "_Letit._ Nothing to complain of! Heav'ns! shall I marry the man I adore,\nwith such an expectation as that?", "_Enter_ Letitia _and Mrs._ Racket.\n\n\n_Mrs._ Racket.\n\nCome, prepare, prepare; your Lover is coming.", "_Mrs. Rack._ If her Fate does not deceive her. You are apprised of the\nscheme, and we hope it will succeed." ], [ "_Har._ Zounds! what do you mean by that? I tell you that the Lady you\nadmire, is Letitia Hardy.", "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Letit._ (_pausing._) Yet I have one hope. If there is any power whose\npeculiar care is faithful love, that power I invoke to aid me.\n\n _Enter Mr._ Hardy.", "_Hardy._ I tell you, Letty, I'll have no more of this.----I see well\nenough----", "_Letit._ Surely, Sir, 'tis a very serious occasion.\n\n_Hardy._ Pho, pho! girls should never be grave before marriage. How did\nyou feel, Cousin, beforehand? Aye!", "_Hardy._ Well, 'tis an odd thing--I can't understand it--but I foresee\nLetty will have her way, and so I sha'n't give myself the trouble to\ndispute it. [_Exit_ Hardy.", "_Hardy._ Then what's all this melancholy about? A'n't you going to be\nmarried? and, what's more, to a sensible man? and, what's more to a", "_Letit._ Nothing to complain of! Heav'ns! shall I marry the man I adore,\nwith such an expectation as that?", "_Hardy._ Who the devil could have foreseen that?\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ Heaven and earth! Letitia, are you serious?", "_Hardy._ Well, now; wasn't I right? Aye, Letty! Aye, Cousin Racket!", "_Sav._ I never saw her; but 'tis Miss Hardy, the rich heiress--the match\nwas made by the parents, and the courtship begun on their nurses knees;", "_Enter Mrs._ Racket, _and Miss_ Ogle.\n\n_Miss Ogle._ And so Miss Hardy is actually to be married to-night?", "_Sav._ 'Tis rather a delicate subject--but he did not love Miss Hardy.\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ He did love Miss Hardy, Sir, and would have been the\nhappiest of men.", "_Mrs. Rack._ No, Sir--no. It was Miss Hardy who captivated him. She met\nhim last night at the Masquerade, and charmed him in disguise--He", "_Har._ It cannot be----I foresee it will be impossible to bring it\nabout. You know the wedding wasn't to take place this week or more--and\nLetty will never be able to play the Fool so long.", "_Sav._ Well, but I have news for you:--Poor Hardy is confined to his\nbed; they say he is going out of the world by the first post, and he\nwants to give you his blessing.", "_Let._ Married in jest! 'Tis an odd idea! Well, I'll venture it.\n[_Exit_ Letitia _and Mrs._ Racket.", "avoid marrying Miss Hardy, ha! ha! ha!--I'll carry him the intelligence\ndirectly. (_Going._)", "_Hardy._ Aye, may be so:--but I see into things; exactly as I foresaw,\nto-day he fell desperately in love with the wench, he! he! he!" ], [ "_Silv._ Oh, pardon me, Sir! a lively imagination would convert this\nwaxen City into an endless and interesting amusement. For instance--look", "'squired them to the gardens here, as the most private place in town;\nand then took a sorrowful leave, complaining of my hard, hard fortune,", "carriage, and carry her slaves from one city to another, whose real\nintrinsic beauty would have yielded to half the little _Grisettes_ that\npace your Mall on a Sunday.", "_Vill._ There again! You forget this story is told by Flutter, who\nalways remembers every thing but the circumstances and the person he", "_FINIS._\n\n\n\n\nEPILOGUE.", "town. In her mind, every sentiment gives place to the Lust of Conquest,\nand the vanity of being particular. The feelings of Wife, and Mother,", "_Lady Fran._ Thank Heaven! he's gone!--But I have a story for you--The\nHardy family are forming a plot upon your Friend Doricourt, and we are\nexpected in the evening to assist.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Oh, there can be no doubt of it. Flutter told us the whole\nhistory. Some Italian Princess gave him a drug, in a box of sweetmeats,", "Mrs. _Rack._ Had she not an expecting Lover in town all the time? She\nmeets him this morning at the Lawyer's.--I hope she'll charm him; she's\nthe sweetest girl in the world.", "asleep on a volume of Toland; whilst his Lady is putting on _rouge_ for\nthe Masquerade.--Oh! oh! this can be no English City; our Parsons are", "_Mrs. Rack._ Oh! Heav'ns! do you know----\n\n_Flut._ Let me tell the story----As soon as Doricourt--", "_Silv._ That I have not been able to discover; but call it Rome, Pekin,\nor London, 'tis still a City: you'll find in it the same jarring", "SCENE III.----_The Street._\n\n_Enter_ Saville.", "_Doric._ Oh, the hour of expectation is past. She is arrived, and I this\nmorning had the honour of an interview at Pleadwell's. The writings were", "_Sir Geo._ I learnt it in the first Coffee-house I entered.--Every body\nis full of the story.", "_Court._ After waiting thirty minutes, during which there was a violent\nbustle, in bounced five fallow damsels, four of them maypoles;--the", "_Court._ Oh, pleaded a million engagements.----However, conscience\ntwitched me; so I breakfasted with them this morning, and afterwards", "_Flut._ Oh, every creature.--A Mask is nothing at all to me.--I can give\nyou the history of half the people here. In the next apartment there's a", "SCENE III.----_An Apartment at_ Doricourt'_s_.\n\n_Enter_ Doricourt.", "Pest-house.--My Wife is already infected; she was set upon this morning\nby Maids, Widows, and Bachelors, who carried her off in triumph, in\nspite of my displeasure." ], [ "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Letit._ Certainly. I know the design is a rash one, and the event\nimportant;--it either makes Doricourt mine by all the tenderest ties of", "_Let._ This is the most awful moment of my life. Oh, Doricourt, the\nslight action of taking off my Mask, stamps me the most blest or\nmiserable of Women!", "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Fye, Letitia! Mr. Doricourt thinks you a woman of elegant\nmanners. Stand forward, and confirm his opinion.", "_Letit._ I fear, Sir--if I must speak--I fear I was less agreeable in\nMr. Doricourt's eyes, than he appeared in mine.", "_Doric._ Yes; since my designs have been so unaccountably discovered, I\nwill avow the whole. I cannot love Miss Hardy--and I will never----", "_Doric._ Charming, charming creature!\n\n_Let._ Congratulate me, my dear friends! Can you conceive my happiness?", "_Dor._ To fall in love with it.\n\n_Let._ And what then?\n\n_Dor._ Why, then--Aye, curse it! there's the rub. [_Aside._]", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!", "_Doric._ If she has, she was pleased to keep it to herself. I was in\nthe room half an hour before I could catch the colour of her eyes; and", "_Doric._ Oh, the hour of expectation is past. She is arrived, and I this\nmorning had the honour of an interview at Pleadwell's. The writings were", "_Doric._ Have her! The sentiment I have conceived for the Witch is so\nunaccountable, that, in that line, I cannot bear her idea. Was she a", "_Dor._ Your Virgin heart! No, Lady----my fate, thank Heaven! yet wants\nthat torture. Nothing but the conviction that you was another's, could", "_Doric._ It must be so. There was a mystery in her manner, for which\nnothing else can account. [_A violent rap._] Who can this be? [Saville\n_looks out_.]", "_Letit._ Laws! Papa, do come along. If you stand watching, how can my\nSweetheart break his mind, and tell me how he admires me?\n\n_Doric._ That would be difficult, indeed, Madam.", "_Sav._ Come, come, Doricourt, you know very well that when the honour\nof a husband is _locum-tenens_ for his heart, his wife must be as\nindifferent as himself, if she is not unhappy.", "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Dor._ Why all this mystery?\n\n_Let._ I like to be mysterious. At present be content to know that I am\na Woman of Family and Fortune. Adieu!", "_Dor._ My charming Bride! It was a strange perversion of Taste, that led\nme to consider the delicate timidity of your deportment, as the mark of" ], [ "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Fye, Letitia! Mr. Doricourt thinks you a woman of elegant\nmanners. Stand forward, and confirm his opinion.", "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "_Letit._ Certainly. I know the design is a rash one, and the event\nimportant;--it either makes Doricourt mine by all the tenderest ties of", "_Letit._ I fear, Sir--if I must speak--I fear I was less agreeable in\nMr. Doricourt's eyes, than he appeared in mine.", "_Doric._ Charming, charming creature!\n\n_Let._ Congratulate me, my dear friends! Can you conceive my happiness?", "_Doric._ Yes; since my designs have been so unaccountably discovered, I\nwill avow the whole. I cannot love Miss Hardy--and I will never----", "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Letit._ Laws! Papa, do come along. If you stand watching, how can my\nSweetheart break his mind, and tell me how he admires me?\n\n_Doric._ That would be difficult, indeed, Madam.", "_Let._ This is the most awful moment of my life. Oh, Doricourt, the\nslight action of taking off my Mask, stamps me the most blest or\nmiserable of Women!", "_Dor._ To fall in love with it.\n\n_Let._ And what then?\n\n_Dor._ Why, then--Aye, curse it! there's the rub. [_Aside._]", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!", "_Doric._ Oh, the hour of expectation is past. She is arrived, and I this\nmorning had the honour of an interview at Pleadwell's. The writings were", "_Doric._ It must be so. There was a mystery in her manner, for which\nnothing else can account. [_A violent rap._] Who can this be? [Saville\n_looks out_.]", "_Doric._ If she has, she was pleased to keep it to herself. I was in\nthe room half an hour before I could catch the colour of her eyes; and", "_Doric._ Have her! The sentiment I have conceived for the Witch is so\nunaccountable, that, in that line, I cannot bear her idea. Was she a", "_Dor._ Your Virgin heart! No, Lady----my fate, thank Heaven! yet wants\nthat torture. Nothing but the conviction that you was another's, could", "_Dor._ Why all this mystery?\n\n_Let._ I like to be mysterious. At present be content to know that I am\na Woman of Family and Fortune. Adieu!", "_Lady Fran._ Not at all; for I never slept a moment. My escape, and the\nimportance of my obligations to you, employed my thoughts. But we have\njust had shocking intelligence--Is it true that Doricourt is mad?", "_Court._ Marriage! Doricourt on the point of marriage! 'Tis the happiest\ntidings you could have given, next to his being hanged--Who is the Bride\nelect?" ], [ "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Fye, Letitia! Mr. Doricourt thinks you a woman of elegant\nmanners. Stand forward, and confirm his opinion.", "_Letit._ Certainly. I know the design is a rash one, and the event\nimportant;--it either makes Doricourt mine by all the tenderest ties of", "professed the most violent passion for her; and a plan was laid, this\nevening, to cheat him into happiness.", "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Let._ This is the most awful moment of my life. Oh, Doricourt, the\nslight action of taking off my Mask, stamps me the most blest or\nmiserable of Women!", "_Dor._ To fall in love with it.\n\n_Let._ And what then?\n\n_Dor._ Why, then--Aye, curse it! there's the rub. [_Aside._]", "_Sav._ Come, come, Doricourt, you know very well that when the honour\nof a husband is _locum-tenens_ for his heart, his wife must be as\nindifferent as himself, if she is not unhappy.", "_Letit._ I have the strongest confidence in it. I am inspired with\nunusual spirits, and on this hazard willingly stake my chance for\nhappiness. I am impatient to begin my measures. [_Exit_ Letitia.", "_Dor._ Why all this mystery?\n\n_Let._ I like to be mysterious. At present be content to know that I am\na Woman of Family and Fortune. Adieu!", "_Mrs. Rack._ Why really I think so, as I was not by.\n\n_Letit._ My dear Sir, I am convinced he has not; but if there is spirit\nor invention in woman, he shall.", "_Dor._ Your Virgin heart! No, Lady----my fate, thank Heaven! yet wants\nthat torture. Nothing but the conviction that you was another's, could", "_Let._ Your Mistress will be angry;--but, perhaps, you have no Mistress?\n\n_Dor._ Yes, yes; and a sweet one it is!\n\n_Let._ What! is she old?", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!", "_Letit._ I fear, Sir--if I must speak--I fear I was less agreeable in\nMr. Doricourt's eyes, than he appeared in mine.", "_Har._ This is too much. You are now the Husband of my Daughter; and how\ndare you shew all this passion about another Woman?\n\n_Dor._ Alive again!", "_Letit._ Laws! Papa, do come along. If you stand watching, how can my\nSweetheart break his mind, and tell me how he admires me?\n\n_Doric._ That would be difficult, indeed, Madam.", "_Doric._ Yes; since my designs have been so unaccountably discovered, I\nwill avow the whole. I cannot love Miss Hardy--and I will never----", "_Mrs. Rack._ Well, now 'tis over, I confess to you, Mr. Doricourt, I\nthink 'twas a most ridiculous piece of Quixotism, to give up the" ], [ "_Sir Geo._ The moment I became possessed of such a jewel as Lady\nFrances, every thing wore a different complexion: that Society in which", "SCENE III.----_Sir_ George Touchwood'_s_.\n\n_Enter Sir_ George, _and Lady_ Frances.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Give you joy, Sir George.--We came to rob you of Lady\nFrances for a few hours.\n\n_Sir Geo._ A few hours!", "_Lady Fran._ 'Tis very odd; his manner has made me tremble. Let us seek\nSir George.\n\n_Flut._ He is coming towards us.", "_Sir Geo._ Introduce!--oh, aye, to be sure--I believe Lady Frances is\nengaged just now--but another time. How handsome the dog looks to-day!\n_Aside._", "_Lady Fran._ A short one! Sir George talks with regret of the scenes we\nhave left; and as the ceremony of presentation is over, will, I believe,\nsoon return.", "_Sir Geo._ Common--common--(_contemptuously_). No, Sir, Lady Frances\ndespises high life so much from the ideas I have given her, that she'll\nlive in it like a salamander in fire.", "_Sir Geo._ Your having preserved Lady Frances, in so imminent a danger.\nStart not, Saville; to protect Lady Frances, was my right. You have\nwrested from me my dearest privilege.", "_Sav._ No, Madam, you are deceiv'd: Sir George is this way.\n\n_Lady Fran._ This is astonishing!", "_Lady Fran._ Is it possible! O, Sir George, could I have imagin'd it was\nyou who depriv'd me of a creature I was so fond of?", "_Lady Fran._ I wish Sir George was here.----This man follows me about,\nand stares at me in such a way, that I am quite uneasy.", "_Enter Sir_ George, _and Lady_ Frances.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Well, here we are.--But where's the Knight of the Woeful\nCountenance?", "_Lady Fran. Shall_ not, Sir George?--This is the first time such an\nexpression--(_weeping_)\n\n_Sir Geo._ My love! my life!", "_Sir Geo._ I allow the force of your argument. Now for intelligence!\n\n _Enter Mrs._ Racket, _Lady_ Frances, _and_ Flutter.", "_Miss Ogle._ Come, Lady Frances, you see what a cruel creature your\nloving Husband can be; so let us leave him.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Madam, Lady Frances shall not go.", "_Lady Fran._ O my dear Sir George! I rejoice to meet you--an old\nConjuror has been frightening me with his Prophecies.--Where's Mrs.\nRacket?", "_Sav._ I will attend you to Hampshire, with pleasure; but not on the\nplan of retirement. Society has claims on Lady Frances, that forbid it.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Claims, Saville!", "_Lady Fran._ Sir George, you don't know Mr. Saville. [_Exit Lady_\nFrances.", "_Enter Sir_ George.\n\n_Sir Geo._ (_Aside._) 'Sdeath! another room full!\n\n_Lady Fran._ My love! Mrs. Racket, and Miss Ogle.", "_Lady Fran._ I am sure 'tis a delightful one. How can you dislike it,\nSir George? You painted Fashionable Life in colours so disgusting, that" ], [ "_Sir Geo._ The moment I became possessed of such a jewel as Lady\nFrances, every thing wore a different complexion: that Society in which", "SCENE III.----_Sir_ George Touchwood'_s_.\n\n_Enter Sir_ George, _and Lady_ Frances.", "_Sir Geo._ Your having preserved Lady Frances, in so imminent a danger.\nStart not, Saville; to protect Lady Frances, was my right. You have\nwrested from me my dearest privilege.", "_Sir Geo._ Common--common--(_contemptuously_). No, Sir, Lady Frances\ndespises high life so much from the ideas I have given her, that she'll\nlive in it like a salamander in fire.", "_Miss Ogle._ Come, Lady Frances, you see what a cruel creature your\nloving Husband can be; so let us leave him.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Madam, Lady Frances shall not go.", "_Sav._ No, Madam, you are deceiv'd: Sir George is this way.\n\n_Lady Fran._ This is astonishing!", "_Sir Geo._ 'Tis I that am afflicted;--my dream of happiness is\nover.--Lady Frances and I are disunited.", "_Lady Fran._ Is it possible! O, Sir George, could I have imagin'd it was\nyou who depriv'd me of a creature I was so fond of?", "_Sir George._ Heaven and earth! with whom can a man trust his wife,\nin the present state of society? Formerly there were distinctions", "_Vill._ For shame, Sir George! you have left Lady Frances in tears.--How\ncan you afflict her?", "_Mrs. Rack._ Give you joy, Sir George.--We came to rob you of Lady\nFrances for a few hours.\n\n_Sir Geo._ A few hours!", "_Lady Fran. Shall_ not, Sir George?--This is the first time such an\nexpression--(_weeping_)\n\n_Sir Geo._ My love! my life!", "_Lady Fran._ I am sure 'tis a delightful one. How can you dislike it,\nSir George? You painted Fashionable Life in colours so disgusting, that", "_Lady Fran._ A short one! Sir George talks with regret of the scenes we\nhave left; and as the ceremony of presentation is over, will, I believe,\nsoon return.", "_Enter Sir_ George, _and Lady_ Frances.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Well, here we are.--But where's the Knight of the Woeful\nCountenance?", "_Lady Fran._ I wish Sir George was here.----This man follows me about,\nand stares at me in such a way, that I am quite uneasy.", "_Sir Geo._ I allow the force of your argument. Now for intelligence!\n\n _Enter Mrs._ Racket, _Lady_ Frances, _and_ Flutter.", "_Enter Lady_ Frances.\n\n_Sir Geo._ The sweet sorrow that glitters in these eyes, I cannot bear\n(_embracing her_). Look chearfully, you Rogue.", "_Lady Fran._ 'Tis very odd; his manner has made me tremble. Let us seek\nSir George.\n\n_Flut._ He is coming towards us.", "_Enter Sir_ George.\n\n_Sir Geo._ (_Aside._) 'Sdeath! another room full!\n\n_Lady Fran._ My love! Mrs. Racket, and Miss Ogle." ], [ "_Sav._ You know I never look'd up to her with hope, and Sir George is\nevery way worthy of her.\n\n_Doric._ _A la mode Angloise_, a philosopher even in love.", "_Sir Geo._ Tell him then, to add to the ridicule, that Touchwood glories\nin the name of Husband; that he has found in one Englishwoman more", "_Sir Geo._ How lively are first impressions on sensible minds! In four\nhours, vapidity and languor will take place of that exquisite sense of\njoy, which flutters your little heart.", "_Sir Geo._ No; heaven forbid she should!--If she had, Madam, she would\nnever have been my Wife!\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ Are you serious?", "_Sir George._ Heaven and earth! with whom can a man trust his wife,\nin the present state of society? Formerly there were distinctions", "_Sir Geo._ 'Tis well, Madam;--your resentment of that circumstance\nproves to me, what I did not before suspect, that you are deficient both", "_Miss Ogle._ Come, Lady Frances, you see what a cruel creature your\nloving Husband can be; so let us leave him.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Madam, Lady Frances shall not go.", "_Sir Geo._ A being easily described, Madam, as she is seen every where,\nbut in her own house. She sleeps at home, but she lives all over the", "_Sir Geo._ The moment I became possessed of such a jewel as Lady\nFrances, every thing wore a different complexion: that Society in which", "_Sir Geo._ Very true--You have acted according to their dictates, and I\nhope the utmost felicity of the Married State will reward you.", "_Sir Geo._ I am astonished!--Mrs. Racket, what does the dear creature\nmean?\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ Mean, Sir George!--what she says, I imagine.", "_Sir Geo._ I cannot listen to a sentence which begins with so\nunpromising a word. You must go with us into Hampshire; and, if you see", "_Miss Ogle._ Sir George, I see, languishes for the charming society of a\ncentury and a half ago; when a grave 'Squire, and a still graver Dame,", "_Sir Geo._ I have a Sister, Saville, who is amiable; and you are worthy\nof her. I shail give her a commission to steal your heart, out of\nrevenge for what you have done.", "_Sir Geo._ Perfectly so.--I should never have had the courage to have\nmarried a well-bred Fine Lady.", "_Sir Geo._ Pho! 'tis our minds that are disunited: she no longer places\nher whole delight in me; she has yielded herself up to the world!", "_Sir Geo._ But there _are_ Husbands, Sir, who would rather have\ncorrected than amended your comparison; I, for instance, should consider\na man's complimenting my Wife as an impertinence.", "_Sir Geo._ Then, by this time, they must have reached _Amazement_,\nwhich, every body knows, is the end of Matrimony.", "_Sir Geo._ Common--common--(_contemptuously_). No, Sir, Lady Frances\ndespises high life so much from the ideas I have given her, that she'll\nlive in it like a salamander in fire.", "_Sir Geo._ True; but she has a simplicity of heart and manners, that\nwould have become the fair Hebrew damsels toasted by the Patriarchs." ], [ "_Sir Geo._ The moment I became possessed of such a jewel as Lady\nFrances, every thing wore a different complexion: that Society in which", "_Sir Geo._ Common--common--(_contemptuously_). No, Sir, Lady Frances\ndespises high life so much from the ideas I have given her, that she'll\nlive in it like a salamander in fire.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Give you joy, Sir George.--We came to rob you of Lady\nFrances for a few hours.\n\n_Sir Geo._ A few hours!", "_Miss Ogle._ Why, you know, Sir, as Lady Frances had the misfortune to\nbe bred entirely in the Country, she cannot be supposed to be versed in\nFashionable Life.", "_Sir Geo._ Introduce!--oh, aye, to be sure--I believe Lady Frances is\nengaged just now--but another time. How handsome the dog looks to-day!\n_Aside._", "_Sir Geo._ Your having preserved Lady Frances, in so imminent a danger.\nStart not, Saville; to protect Lady Frances, was my right. You have\nwrested from me my dearest privilege.", "_Lady Fran._ I wish Sir George was here.----This man follows me about,\nand stares at me in such a way, that I am quite uneasy.", "_Lady Fran._ I am sure 'tis a delightful one. How can you dislike it,\nSir George? You painted Fashionable Life in colours so disgusting, that", "_Sav._ I will attend you to Hampshire, with pleasure; but not on the\nplan of retirement. Society has claims on Lady Frances, that forbid it.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Claims, Saville!", "_Lady Fran._ A short one! Sir George talks with regret of the scenes we\nhave left; and as the ceremony of presentation is over, will, I believe,\nsoon return.", "SCENE III.----_Sir_ George Touchwood'_s_.\n\n_Enter Sir_ George, _and Lady_ Frances.", "_Lady Fran._ Sir George, you don't know Mr. Saville. [_Exit Lady_\nFrances.", "_Lady Fran._ 'Tis very odd; his manner has made me tremble. Let us seek\nSir George.\n\n_Flut._ He is coming towards us.", "_Sir Geo._ I allow the force of your argument. Now for intelligence!\n\n _Enter Mrs._ Racket, _Lady_ Frances, _and_ Flutter.", "_Sav._ No, Madam, you are deceiv'd: Sir George is this way.\n\n_Lady Fran._ This is astonishing!", "_Enter Sir_ George, _and Lady_ Frances.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Well, here we are.--But where's the Knight of the Woeful\nCountenance?", "_Lady Fran. Shall_ not, Sir George?--This is the first time such an\nexpression--(_weeping_)\n\n_Sir Geo._ My love! my life!", "_Lady Fran._ Is it possible! O, Sir George, could I have imagin'd it was\nyou who depriv'd me of a creature I was so fond of?", "_Miss Ogle._ Come, Lady Frances, you see what a cruel creature your\nloving Husband can be; so let us leave him.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Madam, Lady Frances shall not go.", "_Lady Fran._ Indeed, Sir George, I was so hurried from place to place,\nthat I had not time to find out what my impressions were.\n\n_Sir Geo._ That's the very spirit of the life you have chosen." ], [ "SCENE III.----_Sir_ George Touchwood'_s_.\n\n_Enter Sir_ George, _and Lady_ Frances.", "_Sir Geo._ Your having preserved Lady Frances, in so imminent a danger.\nStart not, Saville; to protect Lady Frances, was my right. You have\nwrested from me my dearest privilege.", "_Sav._ No, Madam, you are deceiv'd: Sir George is this way.\n\n_Lady Fran._ This is astonishing!", "_Lady Fran._ Sir George, you don't know Mr. Saville. [_Exit Lady_\nFrances.", "_Lady Fran._ Is it possible! O, Sir George, could I have imagin'd it was\nyou who depriv'd me of a creature I was so fond of?", "_Enter Sir_ George, _and Lady_ Frances.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Well, here we are.--But where's the Knight of the Woeful\nCountenance?", "_Sir Geo._ The moment I became possessed of such a jewel as Lady\nFrances, every thing wore a different complexion: that Society in which", "_Lady Fran._ A short one! Sir George talks with regret of the scenes we\nhave left; and as the ceremony of presentation is over, will, I believe,\nsoon return.", "_Miss Ogle._ Come, Lady Frances, you see what a cruel creature your\nloving Husband can be; so let us leave him.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Madam, Lady Frances shall not go.", "_Lady Fran._ 'Tis very odd; his manner has made me tremble. Let us seek\nSir George.\n\n_Flut._ He is coming towards us.", "_Lady Fran. Shall_ not, Sir George?--This is the first time such an\nexpression--(_weeping_)\n\n_Sir Geo._ My love! my life!", "_Enter Lady_ Frances.\n\n_Sir Geo._ The sweet sorrow that glitters in these eyes, I cannot bear\n(_embracing her_). Look chearfully, you Rogue.", "_Lady Fran._ (_returning_) Sir George?\n\n_Sir Geo._ Will you go without me?", "_Lady Fran._ I wish Sir George was here.----This man follows me about,\nand stares at me in such a way, that I am quite uneasy.", "_Enter Sir_ George.\n\n_Sir Geo._ (_Aside._) 'Sdeath! another room full!\n\n_Lady Fran._ My love! Mrs. Racket, and Miss Ogle.", "_Sir Geo._ Common--common--(_contemptuously_). No, Sir, Lady Frances\ndespises high life so much from the ideas I have given her, that she'll\nlive in it like a salamander in fire.", "_Vill._ For shame, Sir George! you have left Lady Frances in tears.--How\ncan you afflict her?", "_Sir Geo._ Introduce!--oh, aye, to be sure--I believe Lady Frances is\nengaged just now--but another time. How handsome the dog looks to-day!\n_Aside._", "_Sir Geo._ 'Tis I that am afflicted;--my dream of happiness is\nover.--Lady Frances and I are disunited.", "_Sir Geo._ Seek him! Aye.\n\n_Lady Fran._ How did you get his name? I should never have told it you." ], [ "_Har._ Zounds! what do you mean by that? I tell you that the Lady you\nadmire, is Letitia Hardy.", "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Letit._ (_pausing._) Yet I have one hope. If there is any power whose\npeculiar care is faithful love, that power I invoke to aid me.\n\n _Enter Mr._ Hardy.", "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Hardy._ I tell you, Letty, I'll have no more of this.----I see well\nenough----", "_Hardy._ Well, 'tis an odd thing--I can't understand it--but I foresee\nLetty will have her way, and so I sha'n't give myself the trouble to\ndispute it. [_Exit_ Hardy.", "_Letit._ Surely, Sir, 'tis a very serious occasion.\n\n_Hardy._ Pho, pho! girls should never be grave before marriage. How did\nyou feel, Cousin, beforehand? Aye!", "_Hardy._ Who the devil could have foreseen that?\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ Heaven and earth! Letitia, are you serious?", "_Letit._ Nothing to complain of! Heav'ns! shall I marry the man I adore,\nwith such an expectation as that?", "_Sav._ Well, but I have news for you:--Poor Hardy is confined to his\nbed; they say he is going out of the world by the first post, and he\nwants to give you his blessing.", "_Sav._ I never saw her; but 'tis Miss Hardy, the rich heiress--the match\nwas made by the parents, and the courtship begun on their nurses knees;", "_Enter Mrs._ Racket, _and Miss_ Ogle.\n\n_Miss Ogle._ And so Miss Hardy is actually to be married to-night?", "_Mrs. Rack._ Gallantly turn'd! I perceive, however, Miss Hardy's charms\nhave made no violent impression on you.--And who can wonder?--the poor\ngirl's defects are so obvious.", "_Hardy._ Well, now; wasn't I right? Aye, Letty! Aye, Cousin Racket!", "_Mrs. Rack._ No, Sir--no. It was Miss Hardy who captivated him. She met\nhim last night at the Masquerade, and charmed him in disguise--He", "_Sav._ 'Tis rather a delicate subject--but he did not love Miss Hardy.\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ He did love Miss Hardy, Sir, and would have been the\nhappiest of men.", "_Lady Fran._ Thank Heaven! he's gone!--But I have a story for you--The\nHardy family are forming a plot upon your Friend Doricourt, and we are\nexpected in the evening to assist.", "_Letit._ I have the strongest confidence in it. I am inspired with\nunusual spirits, and on this hazard willingly stake my chance for\nhappiness. I am impatient to begin my measures. [_Exit_ Letitia.", "_Hardy._ Then what's all this melancholy about? A'n't you going to be\nmarried? and, what's more, to a sensible man? and, what's more to a", "_Har._ It cannot be----I foresee it will be impossible to bring it\nabout. You know the wedding wasn't to take place this week or more--and\nLetty will never be able to play the Fool so long." ], [ "_Mrs. Rack._ Fye, Letitia! Mr. Doricourt thinks you a woman of elegant\nmanners. Stand forward, and confirm his opinion.", "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Letit._ Certainly. I know the design is a rash one, and the event\nimportant;--it either makes Doricourt mine by all the tenderest ties of", "_Letit._ I fear, Sir--if I must speak--I fear I was less agreeable in\nMr. Doricourt's eyes, than he appeared in mine.", "_Doric._ Charming, charming creature!\n\n_Let._ Congratulate me, my dear friends! Can you conceive my happiness?", "SCENE III.----_An Apartment at_ Doricourt'_s_.\n\n_Enter_ Doricourt.", "_Doric._ Oh, the hour of expectation is past. She is arrived, and I this\nmorning had the honour of an interview at Pleadwell's. The writings were", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!", "SCENE II.----_Doricourt_'s.\n\nDoricourt _in his Robe-de-Chambre_.\n\n_Enter_ Saville.", "_Doric._ It must be so. There was a mystery in her manner, for which\nnothing else can account. [_A violent rap._] Who can this be? [Saville\n_looks out_.]", "_Letit._ Laws! Papa, do come along. If you stand watching, how can my\nSweetheart break his mind, and tell me how he admires me?\n\n_Doric._ That would be difficult, indeed, Madam.", "_Let._ This is the most awful moment of my life. Oh, Doricourt, the\nslight action of taking off my Mask, stamps me the most blest or\nmiserable of Women!", "_Enter_ Doricourt, _and_ Saville.\n\nAh! this is the spot!\n\n_Lady Fran._ How wild and fiery he looks!", "Doricourt; he be too happy _à vous voir_. [_Exeunt_ Frenchman _and_\nSaville.", "_Enter_ Doricourt, _meeting a Mask_.\n\n_Doric._ Ha! my Lord!--I thought you had been engaged at Westminster on\nthis important night.", "_Sav._ Come, come, Doricourt, you know very well that when the honour\nof a husband is _locum-tenens_ for his heart, his wife must be as\nindifferent as himself, if she is not unhappy.", "_Doric._ Pho! never moralise without spectacles. But, as we are upon the\ntender subject, how did you bear Touchwood's carrying Lady Frances?", "_Vill._ Whoever you are, Madam, you could not have arrived at a happier\nmoment.--Mr. Doricourt is just married.", "_Court._ Marriage! Doricourt on the point of marriage! 'Tis the happiest\ntidings you could have given, next to his being hanged--Who is the Bride\nelect?" ], [ "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Fye, Letitia! Mr. Doricourt thinks you a woman of elegant\nmanners. Stand forward, and confirm his opinion.", "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "_Letit._ Certainly. I know the design is a rash one, and the event\nimportant;--it either makes Doricourt mine by all the tenderest ties of", "_Letit._ I fear, Sir--if I must speak--I fear I was less agreeable in\nMr. Doricourt's eyes, than he appeared in mine.", "_Let._ This is the most awful moment of my life. Oh, Doricourt, the\nslight action of taking off my Mask, stamps me the most blest or\nmiserable of Women!", "_Doric._ Charming, charming creature!\n\n_Let._ Congratulate me, my dear friends! Can you conceive my happiness?", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!", "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Letit._ Laws! Papa, do come along. If you stand watching, how can my\nSweetheart break his mind, and tell me how he admires me?\n\n_Doric._ That would be difficult, indeed, Madam.", "_Sav._ Come, come, Doricourt, you know very well that when the honour\nof a husband is _locum-tenens_ for his heart, his wife must be as\nindifferent as himself, if she is not unhappy.", "_Court._ Marriage! Doricourt on the point of marriage! 'Tis the happiest\ntidings you could have given, next to his being hanged--Who is the Bride\nelect?", "_Doric._ Yes; since my designs have been so unaccountably discovered, I\nwill avow the whole. I cannot love Miss Hardy--and I will never----", "_Dor._ To fall in love with it.\n\n_Let._ And what then?\n\n_Dor._ Why, then--Aye, curse it! there's the rub. [_Aside._]", "_Doric._ It must be so. There was a mystery in her manner, for which\nnothing else can account. [_A violent rap._] Who can this be? [Saville\n_looks out_.]", "_Doric._ Oh, the hour of expectation is past. She is arrived, and I this\nmorning had the honour of an interview at Pleadwell's. The writings were", "_Dor._ Why all this mystery?\n\n_Let._ I like to be mysterious. At present be content to know that I am\na Woman of Family and Fortune. Adieu!", "_Doric._ If she has, she was pleased to keep it to herself. I was in\nthe room half an hour before I could catch the colour of her eyes; and", "_Dor._ Your Virgin heart! No, Lady----my fate, thank Heaven! yet wants\nthat torture. Nothing but the conviction that you was another's, could", "SCENE III.----_An Apartment at_ Doricourt'_s_.\n\n_Enter_ Doricourt." ], [ "_Har._ There's no depending on what _you_ see--the eyes of the jealous\nare not to be trusted.--Look to your Lady.\n\n_Flut._ He knows ye, Sir George.", "_Sir Geo._ 'Tis well, Madam;--your resentment of that circumstance\nproves to me, what I did not before suspect, that you are deficient both", "_Sav._ No, Madam, you are deceiv'd: Sir George is this way.\n\n_Lady Fran._ This is astonishing!", "_Sir Geo._ Tell him then, to add to the ridicule, that Touchwood glories\nin the name of Husband; that he has found in one Englishwoman more", "_Lady Fran._ 'Tis very odd; his manner has made me tremble. Let us seek\nSir George.\n\n_Flut._ He is coming towards us.", "_Lady Fran._ I kill a Bird through jealousy!--Heavens! Mr. Flutter, how\ncan you impute such a cruelty to me?\n\n_Sir Geo._ I could have forgiven you, if you had.", "_Miss Ogle._ Come, Lady Frances, you see what a cruel creature your\nloving Husband can be; so let us leave him.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Madam, Lady Frances shall not go.", "_Sir Geo._ I have a Sister, Saville, who is amiable; and you are worthy\nof her. I shail give her a commission to steal your heart, out of\nrevenge for what you have done.", "_Sav._ You know I never look'd up to her with hope, and Sir George is\nevery way worthy of her.\n\n_Doric._ _A la mode Angloise_, a philosopher even in love.", "_Sir Geo._ I was going to follow her, and now I dare not. How can I be\nsuch a fool as to be govern'd by the _fear_ of that ridicule which I\ndespise! [_Exit Sir_ George.", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!", "find a recompence for the lost affection of a doating Husband.\n[_Exit_ Sir George.", "_Sir George._ Heaven and earth! with whom can a man trust his wife,\nin the present state of society? Formerly there were distinctions", "_Sav._ Ridiculous!--But, how are you certain that the Woman who has so\nbewildered you, belongs to Lord George?\n\n_Doric._ Flutter told me so.", "now Sir George is metamorphosed into a sour Censor; and talks of\nFashionable Life with as much bitterness, as the old crabbed Fellow in\nRome.", "_Enter Sir_ George.\n\n_Sir Geo._ (_Aside._) 'Sdeath! another room full!\n\n_Lady Fran._ My love! Mrs. Racket, and Miss Ogle.", "can. As you observe, I am but young, and may have caught absurd\nopinions.--Here is Sir George!", "_Sir Geo._ 'Tis I that am afflicted;--my dream of happiness is\nover.--Lady Frances and I are disunited.", "_Lady Fran._ I wish Sir George was here.----This man follows me about,\nand stares at me in such a way, that I am quite uneasy.", "_Sir Geo._ Pho! 'tis our minds that are disunited: she no longer places\nher whole delight in me; she has yielded herself up to the world!" ], [ "_Miss Ogle._ Sir George, I see, languishes for the charming society of a\ncentury and a half ago; when a grave 'Squire, and a still graver Dame,", "_Mrs. Rack._ Stop his mouth, Sir George--he'll spoil the tale.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Never heed circumstances--the result--the result.", "_Vill._ There again! You forget this story is told by Flutter, who\nalways remembers every thing but the circumstances and the person he", "Heaven's sake take her home again, or some Enchanter on a flying Dragon\nwill descend and carry her off.--Oh, said another, I dare say Lady", "of the refinements of his passion, sent into the wide world to seek its\nfortune.--He took it for a Knight in disguise.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Oh, there can be no doubt of it. Flutter told us the whole\nhistory. Some Italian Princess gave him a drug, in a box of sweetmeats,", "_Doric._ Aye, such a character might have done some good two centuries\nback.----But who the devil can it frighten now? I believe it must be the\nmad scheme, at last.--There, will that do for the grin?", "_Court._ Perhaps they have;--but I came on a different errand; and, had\nthy good fortune brought thee here half an hour sooner, I'd have given\nthee such a treat, ha! ha! ha!", "There! This is he!--this is he who hath sent my poor soul, without coat\nor breeches, to be tossed about in ether like a duck-feather! Villain,\ngive me my soul again!", "_FINIS._\n\n\n\n\nEPILOGUE.", "incidents that happened to his Grandmother, or Great aunts--a couple\nwill do, by way of supporters--I'll weave a web of intrigues, losses,", "'squired them to the gardens here, as the most private place in town;\nand then took a sorrowful leave, complaining of my hard, hard fortune,", "_Lady Fran._ Yes; within these twenty minutes.\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ Aye, 'tis of no consequence.----'Tis all over--Doricourt is\nmad.", "_Vill._ My dear fellow, somebody has imposed upon you most\negregiously!--Half! Why, I never believe one tenth part of what you", "Gentleman whips round upon his heel, and snapt me as short as if I had\nbeen a beggar-woman with six children, and he Overseer of the Parish.", "_Crowq._ Oh, Sir, that was for a Lord's amours; a Commoner's are never\nbut half. Why, I have had a Baronet's for five shillings, though he was", "_Mrs. Rack._ Look at this dumpling Jew; he must be a Levïte by his\nfigure. You have surely practised the flesh-hook a long time, friend, to\nhave raised that goodly presence.", "_Doric._ Oh, the hour of expectation is past. She is arrived, and I this\nmorning had the honour of an interview at Pleadwell's. The writings were", "man set his hand to it whilst he was a dying.--\"Ah!\" said I, \"I foresee\nyou'll never live to see 'em come together; but their first son shall be", "travelled, man! My master has been in Italy, and over the whole island\nof Spain; talked to the Queen of France, and danced with her at a" ], [ "_Vill._ There again! You forget this story is told by Flutter, who\nalways remembers every thing but the circumstances and the person he", "_Silv._ Oh, pardon me, Sir! a lively imagination would convert this\nwaxen City into an endless and interesting amusement. For instance--look", "'squired them to the gardens here, as the most private place in town;\nand then took a sorrowful leave, complaining of my hard, hard fortune,", "_Mrs. Rack._ Stop his mouth, Sir George--he'll spoil the tale.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Never heed circumstances--the result--the result.", "carriage, and carry her slaves from one city to another, whose real\nintrinsic beauty would have yielded to half the little _Grisettes_ that\npace your Mall on a Sunday.", "asleep on a volume of Toland; whilst his Lady is putting on _rouge_ for\nthe Masquerade.--Oh! oh! this can be no English City; our Parsons are", "_Mrs. Rack._ Oh, there can be no doubt of it. Flutter told us the whole\nhistory. Some Italian Princess gave him a drug, in a box of sweetmeats,", "_Silv._ That I have not been able to discover; but call it Rome, Pekin,\nor London, 'tis still a City: you'll find in it the same jarring", "_Sir Geo._ I learnt it in the first Coffee-house I entered.--Every body\nis full of the story.", "_FINIS._\n\n\n\n\nEPILOGUE.", "Married, ha! ha! ha! you, whom I heard in Paris say such things of the\nsex, are in London a married man.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Oh! Heav'ns! do you know----\n\n_Flut._ Let me tell the story----As soon as Doricourt--", "Pest-house.--My Wife is already infected; she was set upon this morning\nby Maids, Widows, and Bachelors, who carried her off in triumph, in\nspite of my displeasure.", "town. In her mind, every sentiment gives place to the Lust of Conquest,\nand the vanity of being particular. The feelings of Wife, and Mother,", "_Lady Fran._ Thank Heaven! he's gone!--But I have a story for you--The\nHardy family are forming a plot upon your Friend Doricourt, and we are\nexpected in the evening to assist.", "_Court._ Perhaps they have;--but I came on a different errand; and, had\nthy good fortune brought thee here half an hour sooner, I'd have given\nthee such a treat, ha! ha! ha!", "Heaven's sake take her home again, or some Enchanter on a flying Dragon\nwill descend and carry her off.--Oh, said another, I dare say Lady", "There! This is he!--this is he who hath sent my poor soul, without coat\nor breeches, to be tossed about in ether like a duck-feather! Villain,\ngive me my soul again!", "of the refinements of his passion, sent into the wide world to seek its\nfortune.--He took it for a Knight in disguise.", "_Flut._ Egad, I believe you are right.--Well, the story is as good one\nway as t'other, you know. Good morning. I am going to Mrs. Crotchet's" ], [ "_Sir Geo._ Tell him then, to add to the ridicule, that Touchwood glories\nin the name of Husband; that he has found in one Englishwoman more", "_Sir George._ Heaven and earth! with whom can a man trust his wife,\nin the present state of society? Formerly there were distinctions", "grows a downright Wife, and then runs crying to her Mother, because she\nhas transform'd her _Lover_ into a downright Husband.", "_Sir Geo._ I was going to follow her, and now I dare not. How can I be\nsuch a fool as to be govern'd by the _fear_ of that ridicule which I\ndespise! [_Exit Sir_ George.", "_Lady Fran._ 'Tis very odd; his manner has made me tremble. Let us seek\nSir George.\n\n_Flut._ He is coming towards us.", "_Miss Ogle._ Come, Lady Frances, you see what a cruel creature your\nloving Husband can be; so let us leave him.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Madam, Lady Frances shall not go.", "_Sir Geo._ No; heaven forbid she should!--If she had, Madam, she would\nnever have been my Wife!\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ Are you serious?", "_Mrs. Rack._ That really she is frighten'd out of her wits--lest it\nshould be impossible to bring matters about. But _I_ have taken the", "_Mrs. Rack._ Here soon, I hope--for a woeful Night it will be without\nhim.\n\n_Sir Geo._ Oh, fie! do you condescend to pun?", "_Sir Geo._ And what said her Husband?\n\n_Flut._ Her Husband! Why, her Husband laugh'd, and said a Cucumber would\nhave been a happier simile.", "_Sav._ Ridiculous!--But, how are you certain that the Woman who has so\nbewildered you, belongs to Lord George?\n\n_Doric._ Flutter told me so.", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!", "now Sir George is metamorphosed into a sour Censor; and talks of\nFashionable Life with as much bitterness, as the old crabbed Fellow in\nRome.", "_Doric._ Why look ye, Sir George, 'tis very plain you have no\ninclination to let me see your wife at all; so here I sit (_throws", "find a recompence for the lost affection of a doating Husband.\n[_Exit_ Sir George.", "_Mrs. Rack._ What! Do you stand so low in your own opinion, that you\ndare not trust yourself without Sir George! If you chuse to play Darby", "_Lady Fran._ I wish Sir George was here.----This man follows me about,\nand stares at me in such a way, that I am quite uneasy.", "_Enter Sir_ George.\n\n_Sir Geo._ (_Aside._) 'Sdeath! another room full!\n\n_Lady Fran._ My love! Mrs. Racket, and Miss Ogle.", "_Sav._ No, Madam, you are deceiv'd: Sir George is this way.\n\n_Lady Fran._ This is astonishing!", "_Sir Geo._ A being easily described, Madam, as she is seen every where,\nbut in her own house. She sleeps at home, but she lives all over the" ], [ "_Flut._ Oh!--Now, he's melancholy mad, I suppose.\n\n_Lady Fran._ You do not consider the importance of the occasion.", "_Court._ No, no;--there's no time for forms. I'll just give directions\nto the carriage, and be with you in a moment. (_Going, steps back._) Put", "SCENE II.----_Courtall_'s.\n\n_Enter_ Courtall, Saville, _and three others, from an Apartment in the\nback Scene_. (_The last three tipsey._)", "END OF THE FIRST ACT.\n\n\n\n\nACT II.\n\n\nSCENE I. _Sir George Touchwood_'s.", "_Enter Sir_ George.\n\n_Sir Geo._ (_Aside._) 'Sdeath! another room full!\n\n_Lady Fran._ My love! Mrs. Racket, and Miss Ogle.", "society, in these sad times, I shall postpone it for a few years. This\nwill cost her a new lace--I heard it crack. (_Aside._)", "_Lady Fran._ Yes; within these twenty minutes.\n\n_Mrs. Rack._ Aye, 'tis of no consequence.----'Tis all over--Doricourt is\nmad.", "_Sav._ (_without_) Come, let me guide you!--This way, my poor Friend!\nWhy are you so furious?\n\n_Doric._ (_without_) The House of Death--to the House of Death!", "_Lady Fran._ No; depend on us. [_Exit._\n\n\nSCENE IV.----Doricourt'_s_.\n\nDoricourt _seated, reading_.", "door, whilst the rest hold_ Courtall.]----Beg your Ladyship's pardon,\nwhoever you are: [_Leads her out._] Emerge from darkness like the", "SCENE III.----_An Apartment at_ Doricourt'_s_.\n\n_Enter_ Doricourt.", "Saville _advances with_ Kitty.\n\n_Sav._ Now, Kitty, you know your lesson. Lady Frances, (_takes off his\nmask_) let me lead you to your Husband.", "_Enter_ Doricourt, _meeting a Mask_.\n\n_Doric._ Ha! my Lord!--I thought you had been engaged at Westminster on\nthis important night.", "_Flut._ Oh, every creature.--A Mask is nothing at all to me.--I can give\nyou the history of half the people here. In the next apartment there's a", "_Enter_ Saville, _followed by a Servant, at the top of the stage,\nlooking round, as if at a loss_.\n\n\n_Saville._", "_Court._ I shall meet her at Lady Brilliant's to-night, where I shall\nrepeat it; and I'll lay my life, under a mask, she'll hear it all\nwithout blush, or frown.", "_Lady Fran._ Pray do. I should like to see him shewing off, now I am in\nthe secret.\n\n_Sav._ You must be obeyed; though 'tis inhuman to conceal his happiness.", "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "_Crowq._ No, Sir; it is with you, if you please, that I want to speak.\n\n_Port._ Me! Well, what do you want with me?", "_Lady Fran._ Adieu! my Love!--We shall meet again at dinner. (_Going._)\n\n_Sir Geo._ Sure, I am in a dream!--Fanny!" ], [ "_Hardy._ And pray, of what sort may your cares be, Mrs. Letitia? I begin\nto foresee now that you have taken a dislike to Doricourt.\n\n_Letit._ Indeed, Sir, I have not.", "_Enter_ Letitia, _masked, led by_ Saville.\n\n_Sav._ Mr. Doricourt, this Lady was pressing to be introduced to you.", "_Mrs. Rack._ Fye, Letitia! Mr. Doricourt thinks you a woman of elegant\nmanners. Stand forward, and confirm his opinion.", "_Letit._ Certainly. I know the design is a rash one, and the event\nimportant;--it either makes Doricourt mine by all the tenderest ties of", "_Dor._ To fall in love with it.\n\n_Let._ And what then?\n\n_Dor._ Why, then--Aye, curse it! there's the rub. [_Aside._]", "_Let._ This is the most awful moment of my life. Oh, Doricourt, the\nslight action of taking off my Mask, stamps me the most blest or\nmiserable of Women!", "_Letit._ I fear, Sir--if I must speak--I fear I was less agreeable in\nMr. Doricourt's eyes, than he appeared in mine.", "_Letit._ Laws! Papa, do come along. If you stand watching, how can my\nSweetheart break his mind, and tell me how he admires me?\n\n_Doric._ That would be difficult, indeed, Madam.", "_Dor._ Why all this mystery?\n\n_Let._ I like to be mysterious. At present be content to know that I am\na Woman of Family and Fortune. Adieu!", "_Doric._ Charming, charming creature!\n\n_Let._ Congratulate me, my dear friends! Can you conceive my happiness?", "_Sav._ Come, come, Doricourt, you know very well that when the honour\nof a husband is _locum-tenens_ for his heart, his wife must be as\nindifferent as himself, if she is not unhappy.", "_Let._ Your Mistress will be angry;--but, perhaps, you have no Mistress?\n\n_Dor._ Yes, yes; and a sweet one it is!\n\n_Let._ What! is she old?", "_Sir Geo._ What devil possessed me to talk about her!--Here, Doricourt!\n(_Running after him._) Doricourt!", "_Doric._ Yes; since my designs have been so unaccountably discovered, I\nwill avow the whole. I cannot love Miss Hardy--and I will never----", "_Mrs. Rack._ My poor Letitia!--Just as we were enjoying ourselves with\nthe prospect of a scheme that was planned for their mutual happiness, in", "_Court._ Marriage! Doricourt on the point of marriage! 'Tis the happiest\ntidings you could have given, next to his being hanged--Who is the Bride\nelect?", "_Doric._ It must be so. There was a mystery in her manner, for which\nnothing else can account. [_A violent rap._] Who can this be? [Saville\n_looks out_.]", "_Dor._ Your Virgin heart! No, Lady----my fate, thank Heaven! yet wants\nthat torture. Nothing but the conviction that you was another's, could", "_Letit._ I have the strongest confidence in it. I am inspired with\nunusual spirits, and on this hazard willingly stake my chance for\nhappiness. I am impatient to begin my measures. [_Exit_ Letitia.", "SCENE III.----_An Apartment at_ Doricourt'_s_.\n\n_Enter_ Doricourt." ] ]

[ "Who is Letitia promised to?", "Who is Sir George Touchwood's wife?", "When was the last time Letitia seen Doricourt?", "Who makes Doricourt unmoved?", "How does Letitia want love?", "Who is Sir George jealous of?", "What was this story for Ellen Terry?", "When does this story take place?", "What does Letitia plan?", "In the story, who is Letitia Hardy promised to marry?", "In what city does the story take place?", "To Letitia's surprise, what feelings does she discover she has for Doricourt?", "Letitia's plans to charm Doricourt are challenged when she discovers what about his feelings for her?", "Why does Letitia plan to trick Doricourt into passion?", "How does Sir George's aquaintance plan to change Lady Frances?", "Sir George believes that his wife Lady Frances is corrupted by what?", "What feeling does Sir George harbor toward his lovely country-bred wife?", "Why does Sir George's aquaintance plan to turn Lady Frances into a fine lady?", "What is Lady Francis' relationship to Sir George?", "To whom has Letitia Hardy been promised?", "Upon meeting how does Doricourt treat Letitia?", "How does Letitia feel about Doricourt?", "Of whom is Sir George madly jealous?", "What century is the tale set in?", "What city is the tale set in?", "What does George fear his country wife might become?", "In which social occasion does the drama unfold?", "What type of love relationship is Letitia seeking to elicit from Doricourt?" ]

[ [ "Doricourt", "Letitia is promised to a Doricourt who she knew during childhood." ], [ "Lady Francis Touchwood", "Lady Francis Touchwood" ], [ "Childhood", "Childhood" ], [ "Letitia", "Letitia Hardy" ], [ "Equally adored by man", "She wants to love someone who loves her back equally." ], [ "His wife", "Lady Frances" ], [ "His favorite role", "A favorite." ], [ "1780's", "1780s" ], [ "a bold deception ", "To trick Doricourt into passion." ], [ "Doricourt", "Doricourt" ], [ "London", "London" ], [ "That she is madly in love with him.", "She is head over heels in love with him." ], [ "That he is unmoved by her.", "He doesn't care for her." ], [ "Because she wishes to marry someone who adores her equally.", "She wants to marry someone that loves her equally." ], [ "By turning her into a fine lady.", "She wants to change Lady Frances into a fine young woman." ], [ "By a fashionable life.", "fashionable life" ], [ "Jealousy", "jealousy " ], [ "To spite the jealous Sir George.", "She is from the rural county" ], [ "Lady Francis is Sir George's wife.", "Wife" ], [ "Doricourt", "Doricourt" ], [ "With indifference.", "He is unmoved by her" ], [ "Letitia is hopelessly in love with Doricourt.", "She is charmed by him" ], [ "Lady Francis, his wife.", "Lady Frances" ], [ "The Eighteenth.", "18th century" ], [ "London", "London" ], [ "Dangerously sophisticated.", "George is afraid his wife may become a fashionable fine lady." ], [ "A Masquerade Ball.", "A masquerade ball" ], [ "One where he is equally in love with her.", "One where he loves her equal to how much she loves him" ] ]

[ [ "As it happened, that was precisely what Mr Bickersdyke was doing. He\nwas feeling thoroughly pleased with life. For nearly nine months Psmith", "What had made Mr Bickersdyke change his mind so abruptly was the sudden\nrealization of the fact that he had no case against Psmith. In his", "'Well,' said Mike, with a grin, 'I know one person who'll jolly well\ndistort your motives, as you call it, and that's Bickersdyke.'\n\nPsmith looked thoughtful.", "Mr Bickersdyke sat up. The hands of the clock had moved again, and he\nwas back in what Psmith had called the live, vivid present.\n\n'What have you got there?' he demanded.", "'Has he--?' Mr Waller hesitated.\n\n'You were saying?' said Psmith.\n\n'Does Mr Bickersdyke intend to dismiss him?'", "hearing Mr Bickersdyke speak, without going out of his way to make\nmore. So Psmith had gone off to Kenningford alone, and Mike, feeling", "might have seized the first opportunity of engaging him in\nconversation. Not so Psmith. The first time he met Mr Bickersdyke in\nthe club was on the stairs after dinner one night. The great man,", "The paper rustled, but no reply came from behind it.\n\n'I heard from father this morning,' resumed Psmith.\n\nMr Bickersdyke lowered his paper and glared at him.", "'So that taking everything into consideration,' said Psmith, summing\nup, 'I fancy that Comrade Bickersdyke is home.'\n\nAnd the papers next day proved that he was right.", "'You know what I am alluding to. Your behaviour during my speech.'\n\n'An excellent speech,' murmured Psmith courteously.\n\n'Well?' said Mr Bickersdyke.", "Mr Bickersdyke received him with the ominous restraint of a tiger\ncrouching for its spring. Psmith stood beside the table with languid\ngrace, suggestive of some favoured confidential secretary waiting for\ninstructions.", "'Myself, nothing,' said Psmith. 'But I understand that Mr Gregory has\nsome communication to make.'\n\n'Tell Mr Bickersdyke that story of yours,' said Mr Gregory.", "'Oh, Mr Bickersdyke,' said Psmith.\n\nThe manager stopped.\n\n'Father sent his kind regards to you,' said Psmith benevolently.", "Mr Bickersdyke interrupted.\n\n'I do not wish for any more buffoonery, Mr Smith--'\n\nPsmith raised a pained pair of eyebrows.", "said yes, he thought so too. And it was at this moment that Mr\nBickersdyke sent for him to ask whether Psmith's work was satisfactory.", "'True,' said Psmith, 'to a certain extent. It is an undoubted fact that\nComrade Bickersdyke will have a jolly good try at making life a", "'Aha!' said Psmith.\n\n'Who's Bickersdyke? Anything to do with our Bickersdyke?'\n\n'No other than our genial friend himself.'", "Comrade Bickersdyke. Wrongly, perhaps,' added Psmith modestly, 'he\nthinks somewhat highly of my judgement. If he sees that I am opposed to", "Mr Bickersdyke shifted uneasily on his sofa. He glared at the floor.\nThen he eyed the ceiling as if it were a personal enemy of his. Finally\nhe looked at Psmith. Psmith's eyes were closed in peaceful meditation.", "understand the true inwardness of Psmith's stare. Theoretically, Mr\nBickersdyke had the power to dismiss any subordinate of his whom he did" ], [ "This was what happened in Mike's case. Day by day, through the summer,\nas the City grew hotter and stuffier, his hatred of the bank became", "Mike did not like being in the bank, considered in the light of a\ncareer. But he bore no grudge against the inmates of the bank, such as", "The other event which altered Mike's life in the bank was his removal\nfrom Mr Waller's department to the Fixed Deposits. The work in the", "that Mike was something out of the common run of bank clerks. The whole\nsystem of banking was a horrid mystery to him. He did not understand\nwhy things were done, or how the various departments depended on and", "In the dark days, when everything was fog and slush, Mike had been\ncontented enough to spend his mornings and afternoons in the bank, and", "During the following fortnight, two things happened which materially\naltered Mike's position in the bank.", "playing for the county, he was given to understand by his employer that\nthat was his chief duty. It never occurred to him that Mike might find\nhis bank less amenable in the matter of giving leave. His only fear,", "So that, altogether, Mike's life in the bank had become very fairly\npleasant.", "to Mike his intention of leaving the bank as soon as he had made a\nname, and taking seriously to the business. He told him that he had\nknocked them at the Bedford the week before, and in support of the", "'You haven't told me yet what on earth you're doing here,' said Mike.\n'I thought you were going to the 'Varsity. Why the dickens are you in a\nbank? Your pater hasn't lost his money, has he?'", "'Once and for all,' growled Mr Bickersdyke, 'the thing is ended. Mr\nJackson will leave the bank at the end of the month. We have no room\nfor fools in the office.'", "lose my place. I shall be dismissed.' He was talking more to himself\nthan to Mike. It was dreadful to see him sitting there, all limp and\nbroken.", "Till now Mike had been completely at a loss to understand why the\nmanager had sent for him on the morning following the scene about the", "Mike, as day succeeded day, began to grow accustomed to the life of the\nbank, and to find that it had its pleasant side after all. Whenever a", "'It seems to me,' said Mike gloomily, 'that we are in for a pretty\nrotten time of it in this bally bank. If Bickersdyke's got his knife", "On returning to the bank, Mike found Mr Waller in the grip of a\npeculiarly varied set of mixed feelings. Shortly after Mike's departure", "This state of things was too good to last. Towards the beginning of the\nNew Year a new man arrived, and Mike was moved on to another\ndepartment.", "that there would be trouble. But, then, trouble is such an elastic\nword. It embraces a hundred degrees of meaning. Mike had expected\nsentence of dismissal, and he had got it. So far he had nothing to", "His voice died away. There was a silence. Mike sat staring miserably in\nfront of him.", "cheque, and informed him that he had reconsidered his decision to\ndismiss him. Mike could not help feeling that there was more in the" ], [ "Mike's mind roamed into the future. Cambridge first, and then an\nopen-air life of the sort he had always dreamed of. The Problem of", "and but for the dreary outlook which the future held--for Mike, unlike\nmost of his follow workers, was not attracted by the idea of a life in\nthe East--he would have been very fairly content.", "which he bore in patient silence, hoping for better times. With Mike\nobviously discontented and out of tune with all the world, there was\nbut little amusement to be extracted from the evenings now. Mike did", "The prospect did not dazzle Mike, but any change, he thought, must be\nfor the better. He had sat staring at the ruin of the blancmange so", "His voice died away. There was a silence. Mike sat staring miserably in\nfront of him.", "lose my place. I shall be dismissed.' He was talking more to himself\nthan to Mike. It was dreadful to see him sitting there, all limp and\nbroken.", "naturally to a life of commerce. Mike was not of these. To him the\nrestraint of the business was irksome. He had been used to an open-air", "Mike made no answer. His eyes were fixed on his plate. A bead of\nperspiration began to roll down his forehead. If his feelings could", "Psmith's injunction to him not to talk much was unnecessary. Mike, as\nalways, was rendered utterly dumb by the sight of suffering. He sat at\nhis desk, occupying himself as best he could with the driblets of work\nwhich came to him.", "But now things had changed. The place had become a prison. With all the\nenergy of one who had been born and bred in the country, Mike hated", "afterwards he had skimmed away again. Mike, as he watched him, began to\nappreciate Psmith's reasons for feeling some doubt as to what would be\nhis future walk in life.", "to Mike his intention of leaving the bank as soon as he had made a\nname, and taking seriously to the business. He told him that he had\nknocked them at the Bedford the week before, and in support of the", "Mike did not like being in the bank, considered in the light of a\ncareer. But he bore no grudge against the inmates of the bank, such as", "All of which emotions, taken simultaneously, had the effect of\nrendering him completely dumb when he saw Mike. He felt that he did not", "'Oh, that's all right,' said Mike thickly. There seemed to be something\nsticking in his throat, preventing him from speaking.\n\n'If there was any possible way--'", "Mike said yes, he supposed so. After which, having put down seven and\nsixpence, one week's rent in advance, he was presented with a grubby", "'What Smith wants to know,' said Mike, 'is whether Rossiter has any\nhobby of any kind. He thinks, if he has, he might work it to keep in\nwith him.'", "go out of his way to do this. Mike, like most boys of his age, was\nnever really happy and at his ease except in the presence of those of", "He left the room, and walked dreamily back to the Postage Department,\nleaving the manager still staring glassily at nothing.\n\n\n\n\n13. Mike is Moved On", "In the dark days, when everything was fog and slush, Mike had been\ncontented enough to spend his mornings and afternoons in the bank, and" ], [ "Psmith slid from his stool, and made his way deferentially towards him.\n\n'Bannister's a fool,' snapped Mr Rossiter.\n\n'So I thought,' said Psmith.", "Psmith was the first to recover. Mr Rossiter was still too confused for\nspeech, but Psmith took the situation in hand.", "'That little more,' sighed Psmith, 'and how much is it!'\n\n'Who are you?' snapped Mr Rossiter, turning on him.\n\n'I shall be delighted, Comrade--'", "'By kindness,' said Psmith to Mike, after one of these expeditions. 'By\ntact and kindness. That is how it is done. I do not despair of training\nComrade Rossiter one of these days to jump through paper hoops.'", "'Perhaps, so,' said Psmith, 'perhaps so. On the other hand, however\nrestful it may be to myself, it does not enable me to secure Comrade\nRossiter's interest and win his esteem.'", "'Comrade Rossiter's manners are a little restive,' agreed Psmith. 'What\nused you to talk to him about?'\n\n'What used I to talk to him about?'", "Two minutes later, Mr Rossiter was sitting at his desk with a dazed\nexpression, while Psmith, perched gracefully on a stool, entered\nfigures in a ledger.", "Mike's first duty at the bank that morning was to check the stamps and\npetty cash. While he was engaged on this task, he heard Psmith\nconversing affably with Mr Rossiter.", "As it happened, that was precisely what Mr Bickersdyke was doing. He\nwas feeling thoroughly pleased with life. For nearly nine months Psmith", "'Precisely,' said Psmith. 'Every man has his hobby. The thing is to\nfind it out. In the case of comrade Rossiter, I should say that it", "might have seized the first opportunity of engaging him in\nconversation. Not so Psmith. The first time he met Mr Bickersdyke in\nthe club was on the stairs after dinner one night. The great man,", "panther. To report his subordinates to the manager seemed now to be a\nlost art with him. The sight of Psmith and Mr Rossiter proceeding high", "'Pardon my interrupting a conversation between old college chums,' said\nPsmith courteously, 'but I happened to overhear, as I toiled at my\ndesk, the name of Comrade Rossiter.'", "Psmith received the cashier with a dignified kindliness.\n\n'Oh, er, Smith,' said Mr Waller, 'I wanted just to ask you about\nJackson.'", "At lunch that day Mike sat next to Mr Smith, and improved his\nacquaintance with him; and by the end of the week they were on\nexcellent terms. Psmith's father had Psmith's gift of getting on well\nwith people.", "But Psmith was different. He could get on with anyone. He seemed to\nhave the gift of entering into their minds and seeing things from their\npoint of view.", "There was nothing crude or overdone about Psmith's methods. The\nordinary man, having conceived the idea of haunting a fellow clubman,", "The happy thought struck him of consulting Psmith. It was his hour for\npottering, so he pottered round to the Postage Department, where he", "They were to meet Mr Waller at the edge of the Common nearest the\nold town of Clapham. On the journey down Psmith was inclined to be", "'Work,' said Psmith, with simple dignity. 'I am now a member of the\nstaff of this bank. Its interests are my interests. Psmith, the" ], [ "'Hullo!' he said.\n\n'Who's that?' said an agitated voice. 'Is that you, Mike? I'm Joe.'", "The other man was talking into a telephone. Mike waited till he had\nfinished. Then he coughed. The man turned round. Mike had thought, as", "For the space of, perhaps, one minute, Mike thought.\n\n'Well?' said Joe's voice.", "'Rough luck,' said Mike. 'I wonder why it is. Jolly good about Joe,\nwasn't it? Let's have fifty up, shall we?'", "Reggie was another of Mike's brothers, not nearly so fine a player as\nJoe, but a sound bat, who generally made runs if allowed to stay in.", "He broke off. Mr Jackson did not seem to be attending. There was a\nsilence. Then Mr Jackson spoke with an obvious effort.\n\n'Look here, Mike, we've always understood one another, haven't we?'", "His voice died away. There was a silence. Mike sat staring miserably in\nfront of him.", "'It shall be done. Good-bye.'\n\n'Good-bye.'\n\nMike replaced the receiver, and went up to his balcony again.", "Mike corrected the rash guess, and gave his name. It struck him as a\ncurious coincidence that he should be asked if his name were Smith, of\nall others. Not that it is an uncommon name.", "He was conscious of Joe leaving the crease to meet him on his way. He\nsmiled feebly. 'Buck up,' said Joe in that robust way of his which was", "'Hullo, Joe,' said Mike. 'What's up? I'm coming to see you this\nevening. I'm going to try and get off early.'", "Psmith's injunction to him not to talk much was unnecessary. Mike, as\nalways, was rendered utterly dumb by the sight of suffering. He sat at\nhis desk, occupying himself as best he could with the driblets of work\nwhich came to him.", "'Not much,' grinned Mike. 'They were too busy with us. All right, I'll\ncome if you really want me to, but it's awful rot.'", "He listened gravely while Mike related the incidents which had led up\nto his confession and the results of the same. At the conclusion of the\nnarrative he sipped his coffee in silence for a moment.", "lose my place. I shall be dismissed.' He was talking more to himself\nthan to Mike. It was dreadful to see him sitting there, all limp and\nbroken.", "Mike got to Lord's just as the umpires moved out into the field. He\nraced round to the pavilion. Joe met him on the stairs.", "Mike flung himself down on the turf with mixed feelings. He was sorry\nJoe was out, but he was very glad indeed of the chance of a rest. He", "of making Mike's acquaintance. He merely stared at him as if he were a\nblot on the arrangement of the furniture, and said, 'Well?'", "All of which emotions, taken simultaneously, had the effect of\nrendering him completely dumb when he saw Mike. He felt that he did not", "shouted. He always spoke as if he were competing against a high wind.\nWith Mike he shouted more than usual. On his side, it must be admitted" ], [ "Mike drove across the Park to Victoria, feeling very empty and small.\nHe had settled on Dulwich as the spot to get lodgings, partly because,", "The cab arrived at Dulwich station, and Mike stood up to direct the\ndriver. They whirred down Acacia Road. Mike stopped the cab and got", "Mike said yes, he supposed so. After which, having put down seven and\nsixpence, one week's rent in advance, he was presented with a grubby", "It was a repulsive room. One of those characterless rooms which are\nonly found in furnished apartments. To Mike, used to the comforts of", "Mike made no further objections. The thought of that bed-sitting room\nin Acacia Road and the pantomime dame rose up and killed them. After", "Mike felt that he was in for it now. He had not sufficient ease of\nmanner to back gracefully away and disappear, so he said that there was\nsomething. In point of fact, he wanted a bed-sitting room.", "He left the room, and walked dreamily back to the Postage Department,\nleaving the manager still staring glassily at nothing.\n\n\n\n\n13. Mike is Moved On", "The clock on the tower over the senior block chimed quarter after\nquarter, but Mike sat on, thinking. It was quite late when he got up,\nand began to walk back to Acacia Road. He felt cold and stiff and very\nmiserable.", "This state of things was too good to last. Towards the beginning of the\nNew Year a new man arrived, and Mike was moved on to another\ndepartment.", "But now things had changed. The place had become a prison. With all the\nenergy of one who had been born and bred in the country, Mike hated", "They were talking in the flat at Clement's Inn. The night was hot.\nThrough the open windows the roar of the Strand sounded faintly. Mike\nwalked to the window and looked out.", "Mike's mind roamed into the future. Cambridge first, and then an\nopen-air life of the sort he had always dreamed of. The Problem of", "out. A brief and somewhat embarrassing interview with the pantomime\ndame, during which Mike was separated from a week's rent in lieu of", "Mike had left the scene of battle by the time Psmith reached the Cash\nDepartment, and was sitting at his desk in a somewhat dazed condition,", "lose my place. I shall be dismissed.' He was talking more to himself\nthan to Mike. It was dreadful to see him sitting there, all limp and\nbroken.", "Mike waited till the outcoming batsman had turned in at the\nprofessionals' gate. Then he walked down the steps and out into the", "to Mike his intention of leaving the bank as soon as he had made a\nname, and taking seriously to the business. He told him that he had\nknocked them at the Bedford the week before, and in support of the", "Psmith arrived at the flat to find Mike still out. Mike had repaired to\nthe Gaiety earlier in the evening to refresh his mind after the labours", "'I'm going to bed,' said Mike, rising.\n\nPsmith watched him lounge from the room, and shook his head sadly. All\nwas not well with his confidential secretary and adviser.", "Psmith's injunction to him not to talk much was unnecessary. Mike, as\nalways, was rendered utterly dumb by the sight of suffering. He sat at\nhis desk, occupying himself as best he could with the driblets of work\nwhich came to him." ], [ "Mr Waller looked with interest at Mike, who shuffled and felt awkward.\nHe was hoping that Psmith would say nothing about the reason of his", "When Mr Waller got up to speak on platform number three, his audience\nconsisted at first only of Psmith, Mike, and a fox-terrier. Gradually", "Mike, separated from Psmith by the movement of the crowd, listened with\na growing depression. That feeling which attacks a sensitive person\nsometimes at the theatre when somebody is making himself ridiculous on", "They were to meet Mr Waller at the edge of the Common nearest the\nold town of Clapham. On the journey down Psmith was inclined to be", "It was after one of these visits of Psmith's that Mr Waller displayed a\nnew and unsuspected side to his character. Psmith had come round in a", "There is one thing which will always distract the attention of a crowd\nfrom any speaker, and that is a dispute between two of its units. Mr\nWaller's views on temperance were forgotten in an instant. The audience\nsurged round Mike and his opponent.", "Psmith extended his hand gravely. Mr Waller shook it with enthusiasm.\n\n'I have never liked to speak of it to anybody in the office,' said Mr\nWaller, 'but I, too, am heart and soul in the movement.'", "While Mike was changing, Psmith sat on his bed, and continued to\ndiscourse.\n\n'I suppose you're going to the 'Varsity?' he said.", "Psmith's injunction to him not to talk much was unnecessary. Mike, as\nalways, was rendered utterly dumb by the sight of suffering. He sat at\nhis desk, occupying himself as best he could with the driblets of work\nwhich came to him.", "understood. Mr Waller looked, astonished, at Mr Richards. Mr Richards,\npink but dogged, loosened his collar, but said nothing. Psmith, leaning", "'I say, Smith,' he said, 'I want to speak to you for a second.'\n\nPsmith rose. Mike led the way to a quiet corner of the Telegrams\nDepartment.", "hearing Mr Bickersdyke speak, without going out of his way to make\nmore. So Psmith had gone off to Kenningford alone, and Mike, feeling", "with a yell, but Psmith was there before him. Mike saw his assailant\nlift the stick again, and then collapse as the old Etonian's right took\nhim under the chin.", "'What? Do you mean to say--?'\n\nPsmith related briefly the history of Mike's departure.\n\nMr Smith listened with interest.", "Comrade Prebble backed the reluctant Mike into a corner, and, like the\nAncient Mariner, held him with a glittering eye. Psmith and Mr Waller,", "The other two attacked Psmith simultaneously, one on each side. In\ndoing so, the one on the left tripped over Mike and Bill, who were", "entertainment from it. Psmith was not unacquainted with the West End,\nand he proved an excellent guide. At first Mike expostulated with", "was booming. Mike had written to him by return, telling him of the\ndisaster which had befallen the house of Jackson. Mike wished he could\nhave told him in person, for Psmith had a way of treating unpleasant", "Mike almost laughed. The situation was tickling him.\n\n'Mr Waller has told me--' he began.\n\n'I have already seen Mr Waller.'", "appearances engrossed in it. Psmith, however, not discouraged,\nproceeded to touch upon the matter of Mike." ], [ "Psmith called for the bill and paid it in the affable manner of a\nmonarch signing a charter. Mike sat silent, his mind in a whirl. He saw", "This episode may be said to have concluded the first act of the\ncommercial drama in which Mike and Psmith had been cast for leading", "was booming. Mike had written to him by return, telling him of the\ndisaster which had befallen the house of Jackson. Mike wished he could\nhave told him in person, for Psmith had a way of treating unpleasant", "Psmith's injunction to him not to talk much was unnecessary. Mike, as\nalways, was rendered utterly dumb by the sight of suffering. He sat at\nhis desk, occupying himself as best he could with the driblets of work\nwhich came to him.", "entertainment from it. Psmith was not unacquainted with the West End,\nand he proved an excellent guide. At first Mike expostulated with", "While Mike was changing, Psmith sat on his bed, and continued to\ndiscourse.\n\n'I suppose you're going to the 'Varsity?' he said.", "of stumps. Psmith waited for Mike while he changed, and carried him off\nin a cab to Simpson's, a restaurant which, as he justly observed,", "distinctly brusque. Mike was thoroughly puzzled. To Psmith's statement,\nthat he had talked the matter over quietly with the manager and brought\nthings to a satisfactory conclusion, he had paid little attention. But", "movement to stop them. Psmith and Mike charged through the gap, and\nraced for the road.", "itself. He habitually addressed Psmith as Smithy, a fact which\nentertained Mike greatly but did not seem to amuse Psmith to any", "Mike shut his ledger with a vicious bang, and went across to find\nPsmith. He was glad the day was over.\n\n\n\n\n20. Concerning a Cheque", "As it happened, that was precisely what Mr Bickersdyke was doing. He\nwas feeling thoroughly pleased with life. For nearly nine months Psmith", "'Good man,' said Mike. 'I'll wait here.'\n\nPsmith departed, and returned, ten minutes later, looking more serious\nthan when he had left.", "At lunch that day Mike sat next to Mr Smith, and improved his\nacquaintance with him; and by the end of the week they were on\nexcellent terms. Psmith's father had Psmith's gift of getting on well\nwith people.", "These reunions are very awkward. Mike was frankly unequal to the\nsituation. Psmith, in his place, would have opened the conversation,", "The other two attacked Psmith simultaneously, one on each side. In\ndoing so, the one on the left tripped over Mike and Bill, who were", "Mike had left the scene of battle by the time Psmith reached the Cash\nDepartment, and was sitting at his desk in a somewhat dazed condition,", "Mike re-read this letter in the train that took him to London. By this\ntime Psmith would know that his was not the only case in which Commerce", "off. Get on with that tram, conductor.' Psmith and Mike settled\nthemselves in a seat on the roof. When the conductor came along, Psmith", "'What? Do you mean to say--?'\n\nPsmith related briefly the history of Mike's departure.\n\nMr Smith listened with interest." ], [ "Mr Bickersdyke said nothing. Unless a snort of fury may be counted as\nanything.\n\n\n\n\n24. The Spirit of Unrest", "Mr Bickersdyke turned away. He was a conscientious bank manager, and\none can only suppose that Mr Rossiter's tribute to the earnestness of", "'Once and for all,' growled Mr Bickersdyke, 'the thing is ended. Mr\nJackson will leave the bank at the end of the month. We have no room\nfor fools in the office.'", "Mr Bickersdyke resumed his speech. But the fire had gone out of it. He\nhad lost his audience. A moment before, he had grasped them and played", "Mr Bickersdyke galloped unsteadily on. He condemned the Government. He\nsaid they had betrayed their trust.\n\nAnd then he told an anecdote.", "'Sir John is in there,' went on the cashier. 'He is furious. Mr\nBickersdyke, too. They are both furious. I shall be dismissed. I shall", "interest. Mr Bickersdyke, never a great performer at the best of times,\nwas so unsettled by the scrutiny that in the deciding game of the", "As it happened, that was precisely what Mr Bickersdyke was doing. He\nwas feeling thoroughly pleased with life. For nearly nine months Psmith", "like this. Mr Bickersdyke's partner did not bear his calamity with\nmanly resignation. He gave tongue on the instant. 'What on earth's',", "Mr Bickersdyke spoke.\n\n'Well, Mr Smith?' he said.\n\n'You wished to see me about something, sir?' inquired Psmith,\ningratiatingly.", "'Don't stand there gaping at me, man,' cried Mr Bickersdyke, 'Go away.'", "Mr Bickersdyke by mistake. Also it had been discovered, on the eve of\nthe poll, that the bank manager's opponent, in his youth, had been", "Mr Bickersdyke lowered the paper and glared bulbously at the old\nEtonian.\n\n'Mr Jackson is perfectly right,' he snapped. 'Of course I dismissed\nhim.'", "that they had been together in less prosperous days--or possibly\nbecause of it--were not on very good terms. Mr Bickersdyke was a man of", "Mr Bickersdyke spoke well. He had a penetrating, if harsh, voice, and\nhe said what he had to say forcibly. Little by little the audience came", "joke of Mr Bickersdyke's, and had been instantly presented with the\nsack for gross impertinence.", "Bickersdyke. He is about to sustain a nasty shock, and may need a\nrestorative at a moment's notice. For all we know, his heart may not be", "'I shall lose my place. Mr Bickersdyke has wanted to get rid of me for\na long time. He never liked me. I shall be dismissed. What can I do?", "The column was headed, 'Amusing Heckling'.\n\nMr Bickersdyke read a few lines, and crumpled the paper up with a\nsnort.", "Mr Bickersdyke shifted uneasily on his sofa. He glared at the floor.\nThen he eyed the ceiling as if it were a personal enemy of his. Finally\nhe looked at Psmith. Psmith's eyes were closed in peaceful meditation." ], [ "Comrade Jackson. I engaged him in conversation on the subject of the\nFootball League, and I was just trying to correct his view that\nNewcastle United were the best team playing, when you arrived.'", "beside me.\" His face brightened immediately. \"Comrade Jackson,\" he\nsaid, \"is a man in whom I have the supremest confidence. If he is with", "'There was some slight friction between him and the management. They\nwished him to be glued to his stool; he preferred to play for the\ncounty. I think we may say that Comrade Jackson has secured the Order\nof the Boot.'", "which keep me away--but Comrade Jackson is sure to be there, and will\nbe delighted to chat with him.'", "runs. Where others stroll, Comrade Jackson legs it like a highly-trained\nmustang of the prairie. He does not loiter. He gets back to his department", "signed it, and waved his hand at the door as a hint to hop it. Which I\njolly well did. He had started jawing Jackson again before I was out of\nthe room.'", "Mr Bickersdyke spoke.\n\n'Am I to understand,' he asked, with sinister calm, 'that Mr Jackson\nhas left his work and gone off to play in a cricket match?'", "A beautiful glide to leg by the greatest of the Jacksons had rolled up\nagainst the pavilion rails. The fieldsmen changed across for the next\nover.", "'You misunderstand me. Comrade Jackson has not gone to mix with any\nmember of our gay and thoughtless aristocracy. He has gone to Lord's\ncricket ground.'", "his lair, 'and centred, and Sandy Turnbull headed a beautiful goal. I\nwas just telling Jackson about the match against Blackburn Rovers,' he\nsaid to Mr Rossiter.", "Half-way through the game Mr Jackson entered the room, and stood\nwatching in silence.\n\n'Want a game, father?' asked Mike.", "aloft. We are dealing, Comrade Jackson, not with the live, vivid\npresent, but with the far-off, rusty past. And yet, in a way, there is", "'Comrade Jackson, I imagine, having heard a great deal about all men\nbeing equal, was anxious to test the theory, and see whether Comrade", "said that here was yet another Jackson, evidently well up to the family\nstandard, who was bound to do big things in the future.", "'Exactly,' he said. 'Comrade Jackson. I think I may say that you have\ncome to the right man. Comrade Jackson has placed himself in my hands,", "Jackson. You must check it. It is like dram-drinking. You begin in a\nsmall way by breaking school rules to extract Comrade Jellicoe (perhaps", "He broke off. Mr Jackson did not seem to be attending. There was a\nsilence. Then Mr Jackson spoke with an obvious effort.\n\n'Look here, Mike, we've always understood one another, haven't we?'", "'Oh, Jackson,' said Mr Waller, 'will you kindly take my place for a few\nminutes? I must go round and see the Inward Bills about something. I\nshall be back very soon.'", "way, but at that moment it stretched clear and broad before him. He\nfelt lighthearted and excited, as if he were watching the development\nof some interesting play at the theatre.", "football fields. It was all very pleasant and soothing after the\npantomime dame and her stuffy bed-sitting room. He sat down on a bench" ], [ "It was a repulsive room. One of those characterless rooms which are\nonly found in furnished apartments. To Mike, used to the comforts of", "Mike said yes, he supposed so. After which, having put down seven and\nsixpence, one week's rent in advance, he was presented with a grubby", "Mike felt that he was in for it now. He had not sufficient ease of\nmanner to back gracefully away and disappear, so he said that there was\nsomething. In point of fact, he wanted a bed-sitting room.", "Mike walked up the aisle to Mr Bickersdyke's room, and went in.", "Mike drove across the Park to Victoria, feeling very empty and small.\nHe had settled on Dulwich as the spot to get lodgings, partly because,", "They were talking in the flat at Clement's Inn. The night was hot.\nThrough the open windows the roar of the Strand sounded faintly. Mike\nwalked to the window and looked out.", "But now things had changed. The place had become a prison. With all the\nenergy of one who had been born and bred in the country, Mike hated", "of making Mike's acquaintance. He merely stared at him as if he were a\nblot on the arrangement of the furniture, and said, 'Well?'", "He left the room, and walked dreamily back to the Postage Department,\nleaving the manager still staring glassily at nothing.\n\n\n\n\n13. Mike is Moved On", "Mike knocked at the managerial door, and went in.", "and, at intervals, take them down to the post office at the end of the\nstreet. The nature of the work gave Mike plenty of time for reflection.", "Mike made no further objections. The thought of that bed-sitting room\nin Acacia Road and the pantomime dame rose up and killed them. After", "This state of things was too good to last. Towards the beginning of the\nNew Year a new man arrived, and Mike was moved on to another\ndepartment.", "He paid the waiter, and advanced across the room, followed by Mike. In\nhis hand, extended at arm's length, he bore the glass of brandy.", "Psmith arrived at the flat to find Mike still out. Mike had repaired to\nthe Gaiety earlier in the evening to refresh his mind after the labours", "out. A brief and somewhat embarrassing interview with the pantomime\ndame, during which Mike was separated from a week's rent in lieu of", "The clock on the tower over the senior block chimed quarter after\nquarter, but Mike sat on, thinking. It was quite late when he got up,\nand began to walk back to Acacia Road. He felt cold and stiff and very\nmiserable.", "Mike went. Mr Waller was still sitting staring out across the aisle.\nThere was something more than a little gruesome in the sight of him. He", "Out in the road, with the front door shut behind them, Mike spoke his\nmind.", "In the dark days, when everything was fog and slush, Mike had been\ncontented enough to spend his mornings and afternoons in the bank, and" ], [ "Mike said yes, he supposed so. After which, having put down seven and\nsixpence, one week's rent in advance, he was presented with a grubby", "Mike felt that he was in for it now. He had not sufficient ease of\nmanner to back gracefully away and disappear, so he said that there was\nsomething. In point of fact, he wanted a bed-sitting room.", "'It's awfully good of you,' said Mike. He felt very grateful. After his\nexperience of London, it was a pleasant change to find someone who\nreally seemed to care what happened to him. His heart warmed to the\nbenevolent man.", "of making Mike's acquaintance. He merely stared at him as if he were a\nblot on the arrangement of the furniture, and said, 'Well?'", "It was a repulsive room. One of those characterless rooms which are\nonly found in furnished apartments. To Mike, used to the comforts of", "He rose. Mike followed his example with alacrity. It occurred to Mr\nBickersdyke, as they turned to go, that he had not yet been able to get", "He broke off. Mr Jackson did not seem to be attending. There was a\nsilence. Then Mr Jackson spoke with an obvious effort.\n\n'Look here, Mike, we've always understood one another, haven't we?'", "'It isn't,' said Mike. 'I--'\n\n'You will enter upon your duties tonight. Where are you suspended at\npresent?'\n\n'Dulwich. But, look here--'", "bed. His last words were in the form of a question, addressed to Mike,\non the subject of the hypotenuse and the square upon the same.", "This state of things was too good to last. Towards the beginning of the\nNew Year a new man arrived, and Mike was moved on to another\ndepartment.", "lose my place. I shall be dismissed.' He was talking more to himself\nthan to Mike. It was dreadful to see him sitting there, all limp and\nbroken.", "go out of his way to do this. Mike, like most boys of his age, was\nnever really happy and at his ease except in the presence of those of", "Psmith's injunction to him not to talk much was unnecessary. Mike, as\nalways, was rendered utterly dumb by the sight of suffering. He sat at\nhis desk, occupying himself as best he could with the driblets of work\nwhich came to him.", "'Oh, that's all right,' said Mike thickly. There seemed to be something\nsticking in his throat, preventing him from speaking.\n\n'If there was any possible way--'", "'Not much,' grinned Mike. 'They were too busy with us. All right, I'll\ncome if you really want me to, but it's awful rot.'", "He paid the waiter, and advanced across the room, followed by Mike. In\nhis hand, extended at arm's length, he bore the glass of brandy.", "'It shall be done. Good-bye.'\n\n'Good-bye.'\n\nMike replaced the receiver, and went up to his balcony again.", "A short, stout man in a straw hat and a flannel suit was walking\ntowards them. As he came nearer Mike saw that he had a hard, thin-lipped", "some departments. The cashier seemed to have taken a fancy to Mike; and\nMike, as was usually the way with him when people went out of their way", "to Mike his intention of leaving the bank as soon as he had made a\nname, and taking seriously to the business. He told him that he had\nknocked them at the Bedford the week before, and in support of the" ], [ "Psmith's injunction to him not to talk much was unnecessary. Mike, as\nalways, was rendered utterly dumb by the sight of suffering. He sat at\nhis desk, occupying himself as best he could with the driblets of work\nwhich came to him.", "Psmith shot an inquiring glance at him, but said nothing. This\nrestlessness of Mike's was causing him a good deal of inconvenience,", "Dashing away from the call-box, Mike nearly cannoned into Psmith, who\nwas making his way pensively to the telephone with the object of\nringing up the box office of the Haymarket Theatre.", "distinctly brusque. Mike was thoroughly puzzled. To Psmith's statement,\nthat he had talked the matter over quietly with the manager and brought\nthings to a satisfactory conclusion, he had paid little attention. But", "Psmith called for the bill and paid it in the affable manner of a\nmonarch signing a charter. Mike sat silent, his mind in a whirl. He saw", "'Look here, Psmith--' began Mike agitatedly.\n\n'I don't know. I think your solid, incisive style would rather go down\nwith the masses. However, we shall see, we shall see.'", "The hostility of Mr Bickersdyke was a slight drawback. Psmith had\ndeveloped a habit of taking Mike with him to the club of an evening;", "The other two attacked Psmith simultaneously, one on each side. In\ndoing so, the one on the left tripped over Mike and Bill, who were", "itself. He habitually addressed Psmith as Smithy, a fact which\nentertained Mike greatly but did not seem to amuse Psmith to any", "movement to stop them. Psmith and Mike charged through the gap, and\nraced for the road.", "Mike got up. Psmith was the man, he felt, to advise him in this crisis.\nPsmith's was the mind to grapple with his Hard Case.", "'I say, Smith,' he said, 'I want to speak to you for a second.'\n\nPsmith rose. Mike led the way to a quiet corner of the Telegrams\nDepartment.", "appearances engrossed in it. Psmith, however, not discouraged,\nproceeded to touch upon the matter of Mike.", "'Am I mistaken,' said Psmith to Mike, 'or is there the merest suspicion\nof a worried look on our chief's face? It seems to me that there is the\nslightest soupcon of shadow about that broad, calm brow.'", "with a yell, but Psmith was there before him. Mike saw his assailant\nlift the stick again, and then collapse as the old Etonian's right took\nhim under the chin.", "These reunions are very awkward. Mike was frankly unequal to the\nsituation. Psmith, in his place, would have opened the conversation,", "'Good man,' said Mike. 'I'll wait here.'\n\nPsmith departed, and returned, ten minutes later, looking more serious\nthan when he had left.", "'Yes, what about him?' said Mike. 'You'll have a pretty tough job\nturning him into a friendly native, I should think. How do you mean to\nstart?'\n\nPsmith regarded him with a benevolent eye.", "_debonnaire_. Mike, on the other hand, was silent and apprehensive.\nHe knew enough of Psmith to know that, if half an opportunity were\noffered him, he would extract entertainment from this affair after", "of having lost his temper. Psmith could look on the situation as a\nwhole, and count the risks and possibilities. Mike could only see Bill\nshuffling towards him with his head down and shoulders bunched." ], [ "Mike almost laughed. The situation was tickling him.\n\n'Mr Waller has told me--' he began.\n\n'I have already seen Mr Waller.'", "As regarded Mr Waller, Mike liked him personally, and was prepared, as\nwe have seen, to undertake considerable risks in his defence; but he", "Mike went. Mr Waller was still sitting staring out across the aisle.\nThere was something more than a little gruesome in the sight of him. He", "On returning to the bank, Mike found Mr Waller in the grip of a\npeculiarly varied set of mixed feelings. Shortly after Mike's departure", "As Mr Waller came nearer, Mike saw that the cashier's face was deadly\npale.\n\nMr Waller caught sight of him and quickened his pace.\n\n'Jackson,' he said.", "Mike could not make it out. He did not like to ask if there was\nanything the matter. Mr Waller's face had the unreasonable effect on", "Mr Waller looked with interest at Mike, who shuffled and felt awkward.\nHe was hoping that Psmith would say nothing about the reason of his", "'He's a blighter,' was Mike's verdict. Mr Waller made no comment. Mike\nwas to learn later that the manager and the cashier, despite the fact", "'Comrade Waller means well,' said a voice in Mike's ear, 'but if he\nshoots it at them like this much more there'll be a bit of an\nimbroglio.'", "minutes' acquaintance with Edward, Mike felt strongly that Mrs Waller\nwas the lucky one. Edward sat next to Mike, and showed a tendency to", "There is one thing which will always distract the attention of a crowd\nfrom any speaker, and that is a dispute between two of its units. Mr\nWaller's views on temperance were forgotten in an instant. The audience\nsurged round Mike and his opponent.", "At intervals during the meal Mr Waller talked. Mike was content to\nlisten. There was something soothing about the grey-bearded one.\n\n'What sort of a man is Bickersdyke?' asked Mike.", "The time crept slowly on to one o'clock. At two minutes past Mike awoke\nfrom a day-dream to find Mr Waller standing by his side. The cashier\nhad his hat on.", "'Look here, Smith,' said Mike, 'I wish you'd go round to the Cash and\nfind out what's up with old Waller. He's got the hump about something.", "precincts of the Cash Department, talking to Mike and Mr Waller. The\nlatter did not seem to share the dislike common among the other heads\nof departments of seeing his subordinates receiving visitors. Unless", "substitute for him, and cash cheques; but Mr Waller always went out at\na slack time, when few customers came in, and Mike seldom had any very\nstartling sum to hand over.", "His voice died away. There was a silence. Mike sat staring miserably in\nfront of him.", "The other event which altered Mike's life in the bank was his removal\nfrom Mr Waller's department to the Fixed Deposits. The work in the", "and was performed with pen, ink, and ledgers in the background.\nOccasionally, when Mr Waller was out at lunch, Mike had to act as", "He listened gravely while Mike related the incidents which had led up\nto his confession and the results of the same. At the conclusion of the\nnarrative he sipped his coffee in silence for a moment." ], [ "Mr Bickersdyke, except for a slight deepening of the colour of his\ncomplexion, gave no sign of having seen them. He puffed away at his\ncigar, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.", "Mike went. Mr Waller was still sitting staring out across the aisle.\nThere was something more than a little gruesome in the sight of him. He", "Mr Waller looked with interest at Mike, who shuffled and felt awkward.\nHe was hoping that Psmith would say nothing about the reason of his", "No, that one's got some one in it. There's another. Hi! Here, lunatic!\nAre you blind? Good, he's seen us. That's right. Here he comes. Lord's", "As Mr Waller came nearer, Mike saw that the cashier's face was deadly\npale.\n\nMr Waller caught sight of him and quickened his pace.\n\n'Jackson,' he said.", "himself with the utmost care. He shuddered slightly as his eye fell on\nthe finger-marks; and without a word he went into his bathroom again.", "Mr Waller's silence and absentness continued unchanged. The habit of\nyears had made his work mechanical. Probably few of the customers who", "The time crept slowly on to one o'clock. At two minutes past Mike awoke\nfrom a day-dream to find Mr Waller standing by his side. The cashier\nhad his hat on.", "It continued to spin; but he never lost sight of the fact round which\nit revolved, namely, that he had been dismissed from the service of the\nbank. And for the first time he began to wonder what they would say\nabout this at home.", "At first the murmurs conveyed nothing to him. Then suddenly a name\ncaught his ear. Strowther was the name, and somehow it suggested", "The first intimation Mike had of this was a violent blow across the\nshoulders with a walking-stick. Even if he had been wearing his", "in the opposite corner, were looking at something with their heads\nclose together. Mike definitely abandoned all hope of a rescue from\nPsmith, and tried to buoy himself up with the reflection that this", "It was noted by the observant at the bank next morning that Mr\nBickersdyke had something on his mind. William, the messenger, knew it,", "Focusing his attention with some reluctance upon this blot on the\nhorizon, he discovered that the exploiter of rainbow waistcoats and\nsatin ties was addressing him.", "'Why,' he said.\n\n'It was a forgery,' muttered Mr Waller, sitting down heavily.", "With this comforting thought, he started on his perilous journey to the\nopen air. As he walked delicately, not courting observation, he", "Psmith sadly directed Mr Waller's attention to the waistcoat, which was\ncertainly definite in its colouring.\n\n'Nothing,' said Psmith. 'I only wanted to look at you.'", "There was no one in the department at the moment of his arrival; but a\nfew minutes later he saw Mr Waller come out of the manager's room, and\nmake his way down the aisle.", "signs. It seemed that she had gone straight to bed. Young Mr Richards\nwas sitting on the sofa, moodily turning the leaves of a photograph\nalbum, which contained portraits of Master Edward Waller in", "the honour to report total failure. The man seems to have no pleasures.\nWhat does he do with himself when the day's toil is ended? That giant\nbrain must occupy itself somehow.'" ], [ "He rose. Mike followed his example with alacrity. It occurred to Mr\nBickersdyke, as they turned to go, that he had not yet been able to get", "1. Mr Bickersdyke Walks behind the Bowler's Arm", "Mr Bickersdyke picked up a paper, opened it, and began searching the\ncolumns. He had not far to look. It was a slack season for the", "interest. Mr Bickersdyke, never a great performer at the best of times,\nwas so unsettled by the scrutiny that in the deciding game of the", "Bickersdyke. He is about to sustain a nasty shock, and may need a\nrestorative at a moment's notice. For all we know, his heart may not be", "Mr Bickersdyke spoke.\n\n'Well, Mr Smith?' he said.\n\n'You wished to see me about something, sir?' inquired Psmith,\ningratiatingly.", "Mr Bickersdyke turned away. He was a conscientious bank manager, and\none can only suppose that Mr Rossiter's tribute to the earnestness of", "Mr Bickersdyke galloped unsteadily on. He condemned the Government. He\nsaid they had betrayed their trust.\n\nAnd then he told an anecdote.", "It was noted by the observant at the bank next morning that Mr\nBickersdyke had something on his mind. William, the messenger, knew it,", "acknowledged only by a 'Morn'' which was almost an oath. Mr Bickersdyke\npassed up the aisle and into his room like an east wind. He sat down at", "He paused. Mr Bickersdyke's eyes, which even in their normal state\nprotruded slightly, now looked as if they might fall out at any moment.", "Mr Bickersdyke by mistake. Also it had been discovered, on the eve of\nthe poll, that the bank manager's opponent, in his youth, had been", "Mr Bickersdyke resumed his speech. But the fire had gone out of it. He\nhad lost his audience. A moment before, he had grasped them and played", "As it happened, that was precisely what Mr Bickersdyke was doing. He\nwas feeling thoroughly pleased with life. For nearly nine months Psmith", "'Half a minute. You come with me and tell this yarn of yours to Mr\nBickersdyke.'", "He gave Mr Bickersdyke five minutes' start. Then, reckoning that by\nthat time he would probably have settled down, he pushed open the door", "When he did speak, he seemed to be speaking to himself. Every now and\nthen he would murmur a few words, sometimes a single name. In spite of\nhimself, Mr Bickersdyke found himself listening.", "'Hullo, Bickersdyke.' There was a slight internal struggle, and then Mr\nSmith ceased to be the cricketer and became the host. He chatted\namiably to the new-comer.", "such a man as Comrade Bickersdyke. In many ways a master-mind. But\nperhaps it is as well to close the chapter. How it happened it is hard", "Mr Bickersdyke spoke.\n\n'Am I to understand,' he asked, with sinister calm, 'that Mr Jackson\nhas left his work and gone off to play in a cricket match?'" ], [ "Reggie was another of Mike's brothers, not nearly so fine a player as\nJoe, but a sound bat, who generally made runs if allowed to stay in.", "His voice died away. There was a silence. Mike sat staring miserably in\nfront of him.", "All of which emotions, taken simultaneously, had the effect of\nrendering him completely dumb when he saw Mike. He felt that he did not", "Mike corrected the rash guess, and gave his name. It struck him as a\ncurious coincidence that he should be asked if his name were Smith, of\nall others. Not that it is an uncommon name.", "Mike, rightly holding that this was merely a rhetorical question and\nthat Bill had no real thirst for information as to his family history,", "So Mike stood by him.", "29. And Mike's", "'Not much,' grinned Mike. 'They were too busy with us. All right, I'll\ncome if you really want me to, but it's awful rot.'", "He broke off. Mr Jackson did not seem to be attending. There was a\nsilence. Then Mr Jackson spoke with an obvious effort.\n\n'Look here, Mike, we've always understood one another, haven't we?'", "Mike went. Mr Waller was still sitting staring out across the aisle.\nThere was something more than a little gruesome in the sight of him. He", "truculent. And when, as usually happened, it did trouble him, he was a\nperfect fountain of abuse. Mike and he hated each other from the first.", "The crowd was becoming more threatening every minute. A group of young\nmen of the loafer class who stood near Mike were especially fertile in", "A short, stout man in a straw hat and a flannel suit was walking\ntowards them. As he came nearer Mike saw that he had a hard, thin-lipped", "of making Mike's acquaintance. He merely stared at him as if he were a\nblot on the arrangement of the furniture, and said, 'Well?'", "Mike made no answer. His eyes were fixed on his plate. A bead of\nperspiration began to roll down his forehead. If his feelings could", "The first intimation Mike had of this was a violent blow across the\nshoulders with a walking-stick. Even if he had been wearing his", "Mike, on the other hand, stood upright and hit straight, with the\nresult that he hurt his knuckles very much on his opponent's skull,", "The other man was talking into a telephone. Mike waited till he had\nfinished. Then he coughed. The man turned round. Mike had thought, as", "go out of his way to do this. Mike, like most boys of his age, was\nnever really happy and at his ease except in the presence of those of", "Bannister looked somewhat startled. Mike introduced them.\n\n'This is Smith,' he said. 'Chap I was at school with. This is\nBannister, Smith, who used to be on here till I came.'" ], [ "Mr Bickersdyke spoke.\n\n'Am I to understand,' he asked, with sinister calm, 'that Mr Jackson\nhas left his work and gone off to play in a cricket match?'", "'You misunderstand me. Comrade Jackson has not gone to mix with any\nmember of our gay and thoughtless aristocracy. He has gone to Lord's\ncricket ground.'", "cricket. And just at the moment cricket happened to be the pivot of his\nlife.", "There seemed only one opening for him. What could he do, he asked\nhimself. Just one thing. He could play cricket. It was by his cricket", "Mr Gregory's beard bristled even more than was its wont.\n\n'What!' he roared. 'Gone to watch a cricket match! Gone--!'", "The days passed slowly, and the cricket season began. Instead of being\na relief, this made matters worse. The little cricket he could get only\nmade him want more. It was as if a starving man had been given a\nhandful of wafer biscuits.", "'It's a lie,' roared Mr Gregory. 'You told me yourself he'd gone to\nplay in a cricket match.'\n\n'True. As I said, he received an urgent summons from his brother.'", "At a quarter to six the professional left, caught at very silly point\nfor eight. The score was a hundred and fifteen, of which Mike had made\neighty-five.", "taken on somewhere as a cricket professional. Cricket was his line. He\ncould earn his pay at that. But it was very far from being summer.", "'Where have you been, Bannister, where have you been? You must not\nleave your work in this way. There are several letters waiting to be\nentered. Where have you been?'", "'Unless you and Joe do something. There's no earthly need to get out.\nThe wicket's as good as you want, and the bowling's nothing special.\nWell played, Joe!'", "He scudded out to avert the tragedy, leaving Mike to digest his expert\nadvice on the art of batting on bad wickets.", "'Not to watch. To play. An urgent summons I need not say. Nothing but\nan urgent summons could have wrenched him from your very delightful\nsociety, I am sure.'\n\nMr Gregory glared.", "remember it distinctly. He'll be playing for England in another year or\ntwo. Fancy putting a cricketer like that into the City! It's a crime.'", "A distant appeal and a sound of clapping from the crowd broke in on his\nthoughts. Mills was out, caught at the wicket. The telegraph-board gave", "Mike waited till the outcoming batsman had turned in at the\nprofessionals' gate. Then he walked down the steps and out into the", "playing croquet. He patted it gingerly back to the bowler when it was\nstraight, and left it icily alone when it was off the wicket. Mike,", "'It is perfectly absurd,' said Mr Rossiter, 'that you should waste the\nbank's time in this way. The bank pays you to work, not to talk about\nprofessional football.'", "meeting ball, 'cricket seems still to be topping the bill. Come along,\nand I'll show you your room. It's next to mine, so that, if brooding on", "'Well,' he said at last, 'hang me if I blame the boy. It's a sin\ncooping up a fellow who can bat like that in a bank. I should have done\nthe same myself in his place.'" ], [ "Psmith's injunction to him not to talk much was unnecessary. Mike, as\nalways, was rendered utterly dumb by the sight of suffering. He sat at\nhis desk, occupying himself as best he could with the driblets of work\nwhich came to him.", "was booming. Mike had written to him by return, telling him of the\ndisaster which had befallen the house of Jackson. Mike wished he could\nhave told him in person, for Psmith had a way of treating unpleasant", "Mike, separated from Psmith by the movement of the crowd, listened with\na growing depression. That feeling which attacks a sensitive person\nsometimes at the theatre when somebody is making himself ridiculous on", "Dashing away from the call-box, Mike nearly cannoned into Psmith, who\nwas making his way pensively to the telephone with the object of\nringing up the box office of the Haymarket Theatre.", "The hostility of Mr Bickersdyke was a slight drawback. Psmith had\ndeveloped a habit of taking Mike with him to the club of an evening;", "'I'm going to bed,' said Mike, rising.\n\nPsmith watched him lounge from the room, and shook his head sadly. All\nwas not well with his confidential secretary and adviser.", "Mike shut his ledger with a vicious bang, and went across to find\nPsmith. He was glad the day was over.\n\n\n\n\n20. Concerning a Cheque", "distinctly brusque. Mike was thoroughly puzzled. To Psmith's statement,\nthat he had talked the matter over quietly with the manager and brought\nthings to a satisfactory conclusion, he had paid little attention. But", "'What? Do you mean to say--?'\n\nPsmith related briefly the history of Mike's departure.\n\nMr Smith listened with interest.", "Psmith shot an inquiring glance at him, but said nothing. This\nrestlessness of Mike's was causing him a good deal of inconvenience,", "popping out of his lair at intervals of three minutes, to see whether\nthey had returned. Constant disappointment in this respect had rendered\nhim decidedly jumpy. When Psmith and Mike reached the desk, he was a", "with a yell, but Psmith was there before him. Mike saw his assailant\nlift the stick again, and then collapse as the old Etonian's right took\nhim under the chin.", "Mr Rossiter had discovered Psmith's and Mike's absence about five\nminutes after they had left the building. Ever since then, he had been", "The other two attacked Psmith simultaneously, one on each side. In\ndoing so, the one on the left tripped over Mike and Bill, who were", "Psmith handed him the volume, and, leaning back, sipped his coffee, and\nwatched him. At first Mike's face was bored and blank, but suddenly an\ninterested look came into it.", "Psmith screwed his eyeglass into his eye, and examined Mike carefully.\n\n'What exactly--?' be began.\n\n'Tell the old ass I've popped off.'", "Psmith called for the bill and paid it in the affable manner of a\nmonarch signing a charter. Mike sat silent, his mind in a whirl. He saw", "'I say,' interrupted Mike, eyeing Psmith's movements with apprehension,\n'you aren't going to drive, are you?'", "Psmith, meanwhile, was not enjoying himself. It was an unheard-of\nthing, he said, depriving a man of his confidential secretary without\nso much as asking his leave.", "'What the dickens have you been playing at?' demanded Mike.\n\nPsmith heaved a sigh." ], [ "'Manchester United.'\n\n'And Comrade Rossiter, I should say, was a Manchester man.'\n\n'I believe he is.'", "Mr Bickersdyke turned away. He was a conscientious bank manager, and\none can only suppose that Mr Rossiter's tribute to the earnestness of", "worlds. However, we shall soon know,' he added, as they passed into the\nbank and walked up the aisle, 'for there is Comrade Rossiter waiting to\nreceive us in person.'", "aisle. No movement came from Mr Rossiter's lair. Its energetic occupant\nwas hard at work. They could just see part of his hunched-up back.", "'This is unfortunate,' he said, smoothing his hair. 'You see, Comrade\nBannister, it is this way. In the course of my professional duties, I\nfind myself continually coming into contact with Comrade Rossiter.'", "opinion of Meredith, was England's leading politician. These facts,\nimparted to and discussed with Mr Rossiter, made the progress of the", "desk, Bannister especially, were amazed at the change that had come\nover Mr Rossiter. He no longer darted from his lair like a pouncing", "As he spoke, there was a whirring noise in the immediate neighbourhood,\nand Mr Rossiter buzzed out from his den with the _esprit_ and\nanimation of a clock-work toy.", "'Exactly. In those interviews to which you have alluded, how did you\namuse, entertain Comrade Rossiter?'\n\n'I didn't. He used to do all the talking there was.'", "'That's a sample of Rossiter,' he said. 'You'd think from the fuss he's\nmade that the business of the place was at a standstill till we got to", "Mr Rossiter turned in from the central aisle through the counter-door,\nand, observing the conversational group at the postage-desk, came\nbounding up. Bannister moved off.", "'It is perfectly absurd,' said Mr Rossiter, 'that you should waste the\nbank's time in this way. The bank pays you to work, not to talk about\nprofessional football.'", "Mr Rossiter stumped off to his desk, where he sat as one in thought.\n\n'Smith,' he said at the end of five minutes.", "'I--' began Mr Rossiter.", "'What Smith wants to know,' said Mike, 'is whether Rossiter has any\nhobby of any kind. He thinks, if he has, he might work it to keep in\nwith him.'", "He touched the bell again, and sent for Mr Rossiter.", "'H'm. I have only your word for it.' He turned to Mr Rossiter, who had\nnow recovered himself, and was as nearly calm as it was in his nature\nto be. 'Do you find Mr Smith's work satisfactory, Mr Rossiter?'", "Psmith slid from his stool, and made his way deferentially towards him.\n\n'Bannister's a fool,' snapped Mr Rossiter.\n\n'So I thought,' said Psmith.", "my exclusive attention. I give Comrade Bristow up. Made straight for\nthe corner flag, you understand,' he added, as Mr Rossiter emerged from", "'That little more,' sighed Psmith, 'and how much is it!'\n\n'Who are you?' snapped Mr Rossiter, turning on him.\n\n'I shall be delighted, Comrade--'" ], [ "made his gorge rise to see him exposing himself to the jeers of a\ncrowd. The fact that Mr Waller himself did not know that they were", "There is one thing which will always distract the attention of a crowd\nfrom any speaker, and that is a dispute between two of its units. Mr\nWaller's views on temperance were forgotten in an instant. The audience\nsurged round Mike and his opponent.", "had been to him a sort of spectre at the feast inspiring him with an\never-present feeling of discomfort which he had found impossible to\nshake off. And tonight he saw his way of getting rid of him.", "Mr Waller paused momentarily before renewing his harangue. The man in\nthe cloth cap raised his hand. There was a swirl in the crowd, and the", "engaging Bill in combat. He had an uneasy feeling that Mr Waller's\ngratitude would be effusive and overpowering, and he did not wish to", "Mike went. Mr Waller was still sitting staring out across the aisle.\nThere was something more than a little gruesome in the sight of him. He", "concerned, was at an end. On the other hand--! Here Mr Waller was\nhauled over the coals for Incredible Rashness in allowing a mere junior", "Mr Waller intervened at this point.\n\n'I think you must really let Jackson go on with his work, Smith,' he\nsaid. 'There seems to be too much talking.'", "Mr Waller looked with interest at Mike, who shuffled and felt awkward.\nHe was hoping that Psmith would say nothing about the reason of his", "to the speakers was one of Clapham's fashionable Sunday amusements. Mr\nWaller talked and gesticulated incessantly as he walked. Psmith's", "The first intimation Mike had of this was a violent blow across the\nshoulders with a walking-stick. Even if he had been wearing his", "'Why,' he said.\n\n'It was a forgery,' muttered Mr Waller, sitting down heavily.", "The latter had scrambled to his feet now, and was looking round for his\nassailant.\n\n'That's 'im, Bill!' cried eager voices, indicating Mike.", "Mr Waller was waiting for them by the railings near the pond. The\napostle of the Revolution was clad soberly in black, except for a tie", "like water rushing over a weir. Every now and then there was a word or\ntwo which was recognizable, but this happened so rarely that it\namounted to little. Sometimes Mr Waller would interject a remark, but", "As Mr Waller came nearer, Mike saw that the cashier's face was deadly\npale.\n\nMr Waller caught sight of him and quickened his pace.\n\n'Jackson,' he said.", "'Come, come,' said Mr Waller disturbed. 'What's all this? What's all\nthis?'\n\nHis niece burst into tears and left the room.", "the stage--the illogical feeling that it is he and not the actor who is\nfloundering--had come over him in a wave. He liked Mr Waller, and it", "Bickersdyke was as fruity a Socialist as Comrade Waller is now. Only,\napparently, as he began to get on a bit in the world, he altered his", "Comrade Prebble seemed slightly taken aback. There was an awkward\npause. Then Mr Waller, for whom his fellow Socialist's methods of\nconversation held no mysteries, interpreted." ], [ "'Just so, just so,' murmured Psmith, as one who assents to a thoroughly\nreasonable proposition. 'Tell him you have popped off. It shall be", "done. But it is within the bounds of possibility that Comrade Gregory\nmay inquire further. Could you give me some inkling as to why you are\npopping?'", "'You 'op it,' concluded the man in blue. 'That's what you do. You 'op\nit.'", "popping out of his lair at intervals of three minutes, to see whether\nthey had returned. Constant disappointment in this respect had rendered\nhim decidedly jumpy. When Psmith and Mike reached the desk, he was a", "This maddened Mike. He assumed the offensive. Bill, satisfied for the\nmoment with his success, had stepped back, and was indulging in some", "'I should jolly well think I had,' said Bannister with a laugh. 'He saw\nto that. He was always popping out and cursing me about something.'", "'How can we switch off the flow? I don't see. The man is wound up. He\nmeans to get it off his chest if it snows. I feel we are by way of", "enemy, he proceeded to smite him in the parts about the jaw. He had\njust upset him, when a stern official voice observed, ''Ere, now,\nwhat's all this?'", "'I went talking on, laughing and joking, when all of a sudden she flew\nout at me. How was I to know she was 'eart and soul in the movement?\nYou never told me,' he added accusingly to his host.", "Then, quite suddenly, an idea came to him. The whole pressure of the\natmosphere seemed to lift. He saw a way out. It was a curious crooked", "'Off his onion,' said William, soaring a trifle higher in poetic\nimagery.", "Mr Bickersdyke resumed his speech. But the fire had gone out of it. He\nhad lost his audience. A moment before, he had grasped them and played", "lose my place. I shall be dismissed.' He was talking more to himself\nthan to Mike. It was dreadful to see him sitting there, all limp and\nbroken.", "a verbal vent in catch phrases and expends itself physically in\nsmashing shop-windows and kicking policemen. He feared that the meeting\nat the Town Hall might possibly be a trifle rowdy.", "'Whew!' he said, mopping his brow. 'That's the sort of thing which\ngives me the pip. When William came and said old Bick wanted to see me,", "he flung down his pen, slid from his stool with a satisfied sigh, and\ndusted his waistcoat. 'A commercial crisis,' he said, 'has passed. The", "His mouth was full when Comrade Prebble asked him a question. Comrade\nPrebble, as has been pointed out in an earlier part of the narrative,\nwas a good chap, but had no roof to his mouth.", "In reality, however, the bonneting is due to weeks of daily encounters\nwith the constable, at each of which meetings the dislike for his\nhelmet and the idea of smashing it in grow a little larger, till", "been, compared with his present frame of mind, that of a rather\nexceptionally good-natured lamb. Within ten minutes of his arrival the\nentire office was on the jump. The messengers were collected in a", "me\" series. Because I fancy that, in an emergency, it may not be at all\na bad thing to have about me. And now,' he concluded, 'as the hour is" ], [ "enemy, he proceeded to smite him in the parts about the jaw. He had\njust upset him, when a stern official voice observed, ''Ere, now,\nwhat's all this?'", "had been to him a sort of spectre at the feast inspiring him with an\never-present feeling of discomfort which he had found impossible to\nshake off. And tonight he saw his way of getting rid of him.", "The sight acted on Mike like a spur. Vague rage against nobody in\nparticular had been simmering in him for half an hour. Now it\nconcentrated itself on the cloth-capped one.", "This maddened Mike. He assumed the offensive. Bill, satisfied for the\nmoment with his success, had stepped back, and was indulging in some", "There is one thing which will always distract the attention of a crowd\nfrom any speaker, and that is a dispute between two of its units. Mr\nWaller's views on temperance were forgotten in an instant. The audience\nsurged round Mike and his opponent.", "The first intimation Mike had of this was a violent blow across the\nshoulders with a walking-stick. Even if he had been wearing his", "But now things had changed. The place had become a prison. With all the\nenergy of one who had been born and bred in the country, Mike hated", "The latter had scrambled to his feet now, and was looking round for his\nassailant.\n\n'That's 'im, Bill!' cried eager voices, indicating Mike.", "A short, stout man in a straw hat and a flannel suit was walking\ntowards them. As he came nearer Mike saw that he had a hard, thin-lipped", "As he stood near the doorway, one or two panting figures rushed up the\nsteps, and flung themselves at a large book which stood on the counter", "truculent. And when, as usually happened, it did trouble him, he was a\nperfect fountain of abuse. Mike and he hated each other from the first.", "In reality, however, the bonneting is due to weeks of daily encounters\nwith the constable, at each of which meetings the dislike for his\nhelmet and the idea of smashing it in grow a little larger, till", "He was loathing the whole business with a heartiness worthy of a better\ncause. Somehow, he felt he was going to be made to look a fool before", "This was what happened in Mike's case. Day by day, through the summer,\nas the City grew hotter and stuffier, his hatred of the bank became", "Edward was Mr Waller's son. He was ten years old, wore a very tight\nEton suit, and had the peculiarly loathsome expression which a snub\nnose sometimes gives to the young.", "long that it had begun to hypnotize him. Also, the move had the\nexcellent result of eliminating the snub-nosed Edward, who was sent to", "Focusing his attention with some reluctance upon this blot on the\nhorizon, he discovered that the exploiter of rainbow waistcoats and\nsatin ties was addressing him.", "The days passed slowly, and the cricket season began. Instead of being\na relief, this made matters worse. The little cricket he could get only\nmade him want more. It was as if a starving man had been given a\nhandful of wafer biscuits.", "Then, quite suddenly, an idea came to him. The whole pressure of the\natmosphere seemed to lift. He saw a way out. It was a curious crooked", "patience had helped him through. But with Mr Gregory it was different.\nMike hated being shouted at. It confused him. And Mr Gregory invariably" ], [ "This state of things was too good to last. Towards the beginning of the\nNew Year a new man arrived, and Mike was moved on to another\ndepartment.", "He broke off. Mr Jackson did not seem to be attending. There was a\nsilence. Then Mr Jackson spoke with an obvious effort.\n\n'Look here, Mike, we've always understood one another, haven't we?'", "away from Wrykyn and sending him to Sedleigh. The resemblance was\nincreased by the fact that, as Mike entered, Mr Jackson was kicking at", "was booming. Mike had written to him by return, telling him of the\ndisaster which had befallen the house of Jackson. Mike wished he could\nhave told him in person, for Psmith had a way of treating unpleasant", "in inducing Mr Mike Jackson--(sensation)--to--er--in fact, to join the\nstaff!' (Frantic cheers, in which the chairman joined.)", "But now things had changed. The place had become a prison. With all the\nenergy of one who had been born and bred in the country, Mike hated", "'Jackson,' said Mike. It was irritating, this assumption on Mr\nBickersdyke's part that they had never met before.\n\n'Jackson? Ah, yes. You have joined the staff?'", "and, at intervals, take them down to the post office at the end of the\nstreet. The nature of the work gave Mike plenty of time for reflection.", "Mike said yes, he supposed so. After which, having put down seven and\nsixpence, one week's rent in advance, he was presented with a grubby", "lose my place. I shall be dismissed.' He was talking more to himself\nthan to Mike. It was dreadful to see him sitting there, all limp and\nbroken.", "His voice died away. There was a silence. Mike sat staring miserably in\nfront of him.", "This was what happened in Mike's case. Day by day, through the summer,\nas the City grew hotter and stuffier, his hatred of the bank became", "The movement broke the tension.\n\n'Thanks, Mike,' said Mr Jackson, as Mike started to leave the room,\n'you're a sportsman.'", "The department into which Mike was sent was the Cash, or, to be more\nexact, that section of it which was known as Paying Cashier. The", "'But I can't help it,' continued Mr Jackson.\n\n'Aren't I going up to Cambridge, father?' stammered Mike.", "Considering what a prominent figure Mr John Bickersdyke was to be in\nMike Jackson's life, it was only appropriate that he should make a", "The other event which altered Mike's life in the bank was his removal\nfrom Mr Waller's department to the Fixed Deposits. The work in the", "'I need you, Comrade Jackson,' he said, when Mike lodged a protest on\nfinding himself bound for the stalls for the second night in", "some departments. The cashier seemed to have taken a fancy to Mike; and\nMike, as was usually the way with him when people went out of their way", "'Sit down, Mike,' said Mr Jackson. 'How did you get on during the\nweek?'" ], [ "Mike rather liked this way of putting it. It lent a certain dignity to\nthe proceedings, making him feel like some important person for whose", "'It's awfully good of you,' said Mike. He felt very grateful. After his\nexperience of London, it was a pleasant change to find someone who\nreally seemed to care what happened to him. His heart warmed to the\nbenevolent man.", "He buzzed back to his lair. Bannister grinned at Mike. He was a\ncheerful youth. His normal expression was a grin.", "Mike flung himself down on the turf with mixed feelings. He was sorry\nJoe was out, but he was very glad indeed of the chance of a rest. He", "All of which emotions, taken simultaneously, had the effect of\nrendering him completely dumb when he saw Mike. He felt that he did not", "Mingled with the relief were sympathy for Mike, gratitude to him for\nhaving given himself up so promptly, and a curiously dazed sensation,\nas if somebody had been hitting him on the head with a bolster.", "For nearly two hours Mike had been experiencing the keenest pleasure\nthat it had ever fallen to his lot to feel. From the moment he took his", "So Mike stood by him.", "He rose. Mike followed his example with alacrity. It occurred to Mr\nBickersdyke, as they turned to go, that he had not yet been able to get", "It seemed to Mike, when he got home, that there was a touch of gloom in\nthe air. His sisters were as glad to see him as ever. There was a good", "having found an ally. The gnawing loneliness had gone. He did not look\nforward to a career of Commerce with any greater pleasure than before;", "minutes' acquaintance with Edward, Mike felt strongly that Mrs Waller\nwas the lucky one. Edward sat next to Mike, and showed a tendency to", "Mike turned the pages, reading a line or two on each.\n\n'Hullo!' he said, chuckling. 'He lets himself go a bit, doesn't he!'", "'Yes, what about him?' said Mike. 'You'll have a pretty tough job\nturning him into a friendly native, I should think. How do you mean to\nstart?'\n\nPsmith regarded him with a benevolent eye.", "Mike was not busy. He had worked off the last batch of letters, and\nthere was nothing to do but to wait for the next, or--happy thought--to", "Mike almost laughed. The situation was tickling him.\n\n'Mr Waller has told me--' he began.\n\n'I have already seen Mr Waller.'", "As far as Mike's personal comfort went, the presence of these two\nWrykinians was very much for the good. Both of them knew all about his", "This maddened Mike. He assumed the offensive. Bill, satisfied for the\nmoment with his success, had stepped back, and was indulging in some", "Possibly it was the excellence of this advice which induced Mike to\nplay what was, to date, the best innings of his life. There are moments", "'Well,' said Mike, with a grin, 'I know one person who'll jolly well\ndistort your motives, as you call it, and that's Bickersdyke.'\n\nPsmith looked thoughtful." ], [ "As it happened, that was precisely what Mr Bickersdyke was doing. He\nwas feeling thoroughly pleased with life. For nearly nine months Psmith", "Psmith nodded in silence, went to his bedroom, and returned with a\nlooking-glass. Propping this up on a table, he proceeded to examine", "A vendor of newspapers came to the cab thrusting an evening paper into\nthe interior. Psmith bought it.", "The happy thought struck him of consulting Psmith. It was his hour for\npottering, so he pottered round to the Postage Department, where he", "Psmith fumbled in his pocket and produced his eye-glass, through which\nhe examined the waiter, button by button.\n\n'I am Psmith,' he said simply.\n\n'A member, sir?'", "It was not till he was resting on his sofa, swathed from head to foot\nin a sheet and smoking a cigarette, that he realized that Psmith was\nsharing his compartment.", "Psmith, who had waited patiently with him, though his own work was\nfinished, accompanied him down to the post office and back again to the\nbank to return the letter basket; and they left the office together.", "Psmith was the first to recover. Mr Rossiter was still too confused for\nspeech, but Psmith took the situation in hand.", "Psmith called for the bill and paid it in the affable manner of a\nmonarch signing a charter. Mike sat silent, his mind in a whirl. He saw", "There was applause.\n\nWhen it had ceased, Psmith rose to his feet again.\n\n'Excuse me,' he said.", "But Mr Bickersdyke had gone. He had melted silently away like the\ndriven snow.\n\nPsmith took his place at the table.", "Psmith, who had been listening with an air of pleased interest, much as\na father would listen to his child prattling for the benefit of a\nvisitor, confirmed this statement.", "Two minutes later, Mr Rossiter was sitting at his desk with a dazed\nexpression, while Psmith, perched gracefully on a stool, entered\nfigures in a ledger.", "Out of office-hours he enjoyed himself hugely. London was strange to\nhim, and with Psmith as a companion, he extracted a vast deal of", "exactly what had happened. He could almost hear Psmith talking his\nfather into agreeing with his scheme. He could think of nothing to say.\nAs usually happened in any emotional crisis in his life, words", "Psmith, accompanied by an attendant, appeared in the doorway, and\nproceeded to occupy the next sofa to himself. All that feeling of\ndreamy peace, which is the reward one receives for allowing oneself to", "On the fourth day Psmith made his first remark. The manager was reading\nthe evening paper in a corner, when Psmith sinking gracefully into a\nchair beside him, caused him to look up.", "Psmith handed him the volume, and, leaning back, sipped his coffee, and\nwatched him. At first Mike's face was bored and blank, but suddenly an\ninterested look came into it.", "Psmith's first action was to summon a waiter, and order a glass of neat\nbrandy. 'Not for myself,' he explained to Mike. 'For Comrade", "Psmith found him a quarter of an hour later in the card-room. He sat\ndown beside his table, and began to observe the play with silent" ], [ "There is one thing which will always distract the attention of a crowd\nfrom any speaker, and that is a dispute between two of its units. Mr\nWaller's views on temperance were forgotten in an instant. The audience\nsurged round Mike and his opponent.", "As regarded Mr Waller, Mike liked him personally, and was prepared, as\nwe have seen, to undertake considerable risks in his defence; but he", "Mr Waller looked with interest at Mike, who shuffled and felt awkward.\nHe was hoping that Psmith would say nothing about the reason of his", "Mike went. Mr Waller was still sitting staring out across the aisle.\nThere was something more than a little gruesome in the sight of him. He", "Mike could not make it out. He did not like to ask if there was\nanything the matter. Mr Waller's face had the unreasonable effect on", "'Comrade Waller means well,' said a voice in Mike's ear, 'but if he\nshoots it at them like this much more there'll be a bit of an\nimbroglio.'", "As Mr Waller came nearer, Mike saw that the cashier's face was deadly\npale.\n\nMr Waller caught sight of him and quickened his pace.\n\n'Jackson,' he said.", "Mike almost laughed. The situation was tickling him.\n\n'Mr Waller has told me--' he began.\n\n'I have already seen Mr Waller.'", "On returning to the bank, Mike found Mr Waller in the grip of a\npeculiarly varied set of mixed feelings. Shortly after Mike's departure", "substitute for him, and cash cheques; but Mr Waller always went out at\na slack time, when few customers came in, and Mike seldom had any very\nstartling sum to hand over.", "minutes' acquaintance with Edward, Mike felt strongly that Mrs Waller\nwas the lucky one. Edward sat next to Mike, and showed a tendency to", "The time crept slowly on to one o'clock. At two minutes past Mike awoke\nfrom a day-dream to find Mr Waller standing by his side. The cashier\nhad his hat on.", "'He's a blighter,' was Mike's verdict. Mr Waller made no comment. Mike\nwas to learn later that the manager and the cashier, despite the fact", "Comrade Prebble seemed slightly taken aback. There was an awkward\npause. Then Mr Waller, for whom his fellow Socialist's methods of\nconversation held no mysteries, interpreted.", "important task of shooting doubloons across the counter did not belong\nto Mike himself, but to Mr Waller. Mike's work was less ostentatious,", "Mr Waller intervened at this point.\n\n'I think you must really let Jackson go on with his work, Smith,' he\nsaid. 'There seems to be too much talking.'", "and was performed with pen, ink, and ledgers in the background.\nOccasionally, when Mr Waller was out at lunch, Mike had to act as", "The other man was talking into a telephone. Mike waited till he had\nfinished. Then he coughed. The man turned round. Mike had thought, as", "'Not much,' grinned Mike. 'They were too busy with us. All right, I'll\ncome if you really want me to, but it's awful rot.'", "'Oh, that's all right,' said Mike thickly. There seemed to be something\nsticking in his throat, preventing him from speaking.\n\n'If there was any possible way--'" ], [ "The glass remaining Set Fair as far as Mr Rossiter's approval was\nconcerned, Mike was enabled to keep off the managerial carpet to a\ngreat extent; but twice, when he posted letters without going through", "Till now Mike had been completely at a loss to understand why the\nmanager had sent for him on the morning following the scene about the", "that there would be trouble. But, then, trouble is such an elastic\nword. It embraces a hundred degrees of meaning. Mike had expected\nsentence of dismissal, and he had got it. So far he had nothing to", "This state of things was too good to last. Towards the beginning of the\nNew Year a new man arrived, and Mike was moved on to another\ndepartment.", "lose my place. I shall be dismissed.' He was talking more to himself\nthan to Mike. It was dreadful to see him sitting there, all limp and\nbroken.", "Psmith's injunction to him not to talk much was unnecessary. Mike, as\nalways, was rendered utterly dumb by the sight of suffering. He sat at\nhis desk, occupying himself as best he could with the driblets of work\nwhich came to him.", "His voice died away. There was a silence. Mike sat staring miserably in\nfront of him.", "'Oh, that's all right,' said Mike thickly. There seemed to be something\nsticking in his throat, preventing him from speaking.\n\n'If there was any possible way--'", "cheque, and informed him that he had reconsidered his decision to\ndismiss him. Mike could not help feeling that there was more in the", "playing for the county, he was given to understand by his employer that\nthat was his chief duty. It never occurred to him that Mike might find\nhis bank less amenable in the matter of giving leave. His only fear,", "So Mike stood by him.", "By this time Mike had grown so used to his work that he could tell to\nwithin five minutes when a rush would come; and he was able to spend a", "He listened gravely while Mike related the incidents which had led up\nto his confession and the results of the same. At the conclusion of the\nnarrative he sipped his coffee in silence for a moment.", "interfere with his appreciation of the cashier's state of mind. Mike's\nwas essentially a sympathetic character. He had the gift of intuitive\nunderstanding, where people of whom he was fond were concerned. It was", "Mike did not like being in the bank, considered in the light of a\ncareer. But he bore no grudge against the inmates of the bank, such as", "During the following fortnight, two things happened which materially\naltered Mike's position in the bank.", "stood. He could not ask Mike point-blank whether he had been dismissed.\nBut there was the probability that Psmith had been informed and would\npass on the information.", "omitted to disgorge their letters till the last moment. Mike as he grew\nfamiliar with the work, and began to understand it, used to prowl round\nthe other departments during the afternoon and wrest letters from them,", "know what to say to him. And as Mike, for his part, simply wanted to be\nlet alone, and not compelled to talk, conversation was at something of\na standstill in the Cash Department.", "This was what happened in Mike's case. Day by day, through the summer,\nas the City grew hotter and stuffier, his hatred of the bank became" ], [ "Mike's mind roamed into the future. Cambridge first, and then an\nopen-air life of the sort he had always dreamed of. The Problem of", "'It shall be done. Good-bye.'\n\n'Good-bye.'\n\nMike replaced the receiver, and went up to his balcony again.", "naturally to a life of commerce. Mike was not of these. To him the\nrestraint of the business was irksome. He had been used to an open-air", "His voice died away. There was a silence. Mike sat staring miserably in\nfront of him.", "lose my place. I shall be dismissed.' He was talking more to himself\nthan to Mike. It was dreadful to see him sitting there, all limp and\nbroken.", "Mike looked at him blankly. This could only mean one thing. He was not\nto go to the 'Varsity. But why? What had happened? When he had left for", "and, at intervals, take them down to the post office at the end of the\nstreet. The nature of the work gave Mike plenty of time for reflection.", "Mike said yes, he supposed so. After which, having put down seven and\nsixpence, one week's rent in advance, he was presented with a grubby", "Psmith's injunction to him not to talk much was unnecessary. Mike, as\nalways, was rendered utterly dumb by the sight of suffering. He sat at\nhis desk, occupying himself as best he could with the driblets of work\nwhich came to him.", "Mike turned the pages, reading a line or two on each.\n\n'Hullo!' he said, chuckling. 'He lets himself go a bit, doesn't he!'", "afterwards he had skimmed away again. Mike, as he watched him, began to\nappreciate Psmith's reasons for feeling some doubt as to what would be\nhis future walk in life.", "to Mike his intention of leaving the bank as soon as he had made a\nname, and taking seriously to the business. He told him that he had\nknocked them at the Bedford the week before, and in support of the", "Mike was not busy. He had worked off the last batch of letters, and\nthere was nothing to do but to wait for the next, or--happy thought--to", "which he bore in patient silence, hoping for better times. With Mike\nobviously discontented and out of tune with all the world, there was\nbut little amusement to be extracted from the evenings now. Mike did", "'Not at all.' He ambled off on the quest which Mike had interrupted,\nturning, as he went, to bestow a mild smile of encouragement on the new", "Mike did not like being in the bank, considered in the light of a\ncareer. But he bore no grudge against the inmates of the bank, such as", "'I'm going to bed,' said Mike, rising.\n\nPsmith watched him lounge from the room, and shook his head sadly. All\nwas not well with his confidential secretary and adviser.", "'Oh, then you'll be finished in a moment. When you are, I wish you'd\njust look into the study for a moment, Mike. I want to have a talk with\nyou.'", "While Mike was changing, Psmith sat on his bed, and continued to\ndiscourse.\n\n'I suppose you're going to the 'Varsity?' he said.", "He listened gravely while Mike related the incidents which had led up\nto his confession and the results of the same. At the conclusion of the\nnarrative he sipped his coffee in silence for a moment." ] ]

[ "What does Psmith use to blackmail Mr. Bickersdyke?", "Why is Mike fired from his job at the bank?", "What is Mike's dream for his future?", "What does Psmith use to befriend Mr. Rossiter?", "Why does Mike's brother Joe call him?", "Where does Mike go to live after leaving his Dulwich room?", "What happens when Mike and Psmith go to hear Mr. Waller speak?", "Why are Mike and Psmith able to quit their jobs at the end of the story?", "Why is Mr. Bickersdyke angry at the end of the story?", "Where does Jackson dream of playing at?", "Where does Mike rent a room?", "Who insists that mike move in with him?", "Who do Mike and Psmith seek a meens of pacifying?", "What does Waller reveal to Mike?", "What does Walter fail to spot?", "Who trails Bickersdyke?", "Who is Mike's brother?", "Who does not approve of people leaving to pay cricket?", "Who is enraged at Mike and Psmith's retirement?", "What association is Mr Rossiter devoted to?", "Why did the spectator try to throw a stone at Waller?", "In the story what is \"pop off\"mean?", "Who was the antagonist in this story?", "Where did Mike Jackson have to take a job at?", "Why does Mike feel happy having an ally?", "What was the item Psmith acquired?", "What distraction caused Mike to cover for Waller?", "What prevented Mike from losing his job?", "What is Mike going to study,as he quits his job?" ]

[ [ "He uses a book of proceedings of the \"Tulse Hill Parlaiment\".", "the anti-royalty speeches" ], [ "He takes the blame for Waller's mistake.", "Because he took the blame for Waller's mistake." ], [ "He wants to go to Cambridge and play cricket.", "Studying and playing cricket at Cambridge. " ], [ "Mr. Rossiter's love of association football.", "learns that he is a football fan" ], [ "Joe's cricket team is a man short and he needs Mike to play.", "To play with them for their county at Lord's." ], [ "He moves in with Psmith at Clement's Inn.", "To live with Psmith at Clement's Inn" ], [ "A spectator throws a rock at Mr. Waller and a fight breaks out.", "Someone throws a stone at Mr. Waller and a fight erupts" ], [ "Psmith's father agrees to send Psmith and Mike to school.", "Psmith plans to study law at Cambridge and Mike is able to work for Psmith's father as a real estate agent" ], [ "Mike and Psmith quit their jobs before he can fire them.", "Because Psmith announces their retirement." ], [ "Cambridge", "Cambridge." ], [ "Dulwich", "Dulwich" ], [ "Psmith", "Psmith" ], [ "Manager Rossiter", "Mr. Rossiter" ], [ "He is an ardent socialist", "He is an ardent Socialist." ], [ "A forged Check", "A forged check." ], [ "Psmith", "Psmith" ], [ "Joe", "Joe" ], [ "The Bank", "The bank." ], [ "Bickersdyke", "Mr. Bickersdyke" ], [ "To football and Manchester United.", "Association Football" ], [ "Waller was an ardent socialist.", "Because Waller reveals he is an ardent socialist." ], [ "It means it was time for them to leave.", "leave work early" ], [ "Mr Bickersdyke.", "Psmith" ], [ "The New Asiatic Bank.", "New Asiatic Bank" ], [ "Psmith announces his plan to toy with Bickersdyke outside of work,where Mike feels the same.", "He was worried their employer had it in for the both of them" ], [ "Waller's book Tulse Hill Parliament.", "Walter's book of proceedings of the Tulse Hill Parliament." ], [ "Waller found out his son was ill and missed a forged cheque, Mike covered for him and was fired and roasted by Bickersdyke.", "Waller's son being ill." ], [ "Psmith threatened Bickersdyke that he would leak anti-royal speches form Tulse Hill Parliament book,so furious Bickersdyke keeps Mike on.", "Psmith threatens to tell about the the speeches" ], [ "To study law at Cambridge.", "Business" ] ]

[["BARRY\n Please don't tell my sisters.\n\n C(...TRUNCATED)

["How many sisters does Barry have?","Dean is the supervisor of the phone-sex business and what else(...TRUNCATED)

[["7","7"],["the owner of a matteress company","Owner of a mattress store."],["a tire iron","A tire (...TRUNCATED)

[["VIOLET\n Yes, I'm in pain. I have got...\n gotten cancer. In my(...TRUNCATED)

["What disease is Violet suffering from? ","What is Violet addicted to? ","Who does Beverly hire to (...TRUNCATED)

[["Oral Cancer","Cancer"],["Narcotics","Pills"],["Johnna","Johnna"],["She is Native American","nativ(...TRUNCATED)

[["The first two were stabbed without\n thought. The sorority girl was\n gut(...TRUNCATED)

["What murders are depicted in Stab?","What year of college were Maureen and Phil in?","What state w(...TRUNCATED)

[["Woodsboro murders","The Woodsboro murders"],["senior","Seniors"],["Ohio","ohio"],["Ghostface","Gh(...TRUNCATED)

[["HOLMES\n Dr. Watson is the handsome one.\n\nWatson, pleased, twirls the end of his musta(...TRUNCATED)

["Who does Sherlock Holmes single out as his lover?","Where is Gabrielle from? ","What river is Gabr(...TRUNCATED)

[["Watson","Watson"],["Belgium","Belgium"],["Thames River","River Thames "],["Mycroft","Mycroft"],["(...TRUNCATED)

[["DAVE\n Who?\n\n MARK\n What?","MARK\n Yeah, he(...TRUNCATED)

["What do Mark and Dave do for a living?","Why does Andrew's father get Andrew a doctor's appointmen(...TRUNCATED)

[["They dig graves.","dig graves"],["Because Andrew has been having headaches.","He gets him an appo(...TRUNCATED)

[["Jennie, and George were at work. Two of the younger children went to\nthe train to meet him. When(...TRUNCATED)

["Where did Jennie meet George?","How many years pass by before Jennie tells Kane about her daughter(...TRUNCATED)

[["In a hotel.","In a hotel in Columbus, Ohio."],["Three years.","Three years."],["U.S. State Senato(...TRUNCATED)

[["SUPER: TWO WEEKS LATER\n He pauses in front of Bright Eyes, huddled at the back of her\n(...TRUNCATED)

["What does ALZ-112 do to Bright Eyes?","Who is Caesar?","Why is Caesar placed in a primate shelter?(...TRUNCATED)

[["Increases her intelligence.","Increases her intelligence "],["He is Bright Eyes' baby.","Bright e(...TRUNCATED)

[["and ask him to be thy protector.”--But Roland obeyed not, and, keeping\nhis station, continu(...TRUNCATED)

["Who is Roland supposed to be guarding? ","Who is Roland's love interest? ","Who owned the dog that(...TRUNCATED)

[["Mary Stuart","Mary Stuart"],["Catherine Seyton","Catherine Seyton"],["Lady Avenel","Lady Avenel"](...TRUNCATED)