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Show m 9 2 ^ R E L A P S E ; or, will be fatisfy'd with the Difcovery, without making any violent Inquiry after the W o m a n ; I'll direft her to a Place where fhe fhall fee them meet. N o w , Friend, this I fancy may help you to a critical Minute/ For home fhe muft go again to drefs. You (with your a0od Breeding) come to wait upon us to the Ball, find her all alone, he» Spirit enflam'd againft her Huf. band for his Treafon, and her Flefh in a Heat from fome Contemplations upon the Treachery, her Blood on a Fire, her Confcience in Ice ; a Lover to draw, and the Devil to drive -Ah poor Amanda. Wor. kneeling. Thou Angel of Light, let m e fall down and adore thee ! Ber. Thou Minifter of Darknefs, get up again, fori hate to fee the Devil at his Devotions. Wor. Well, m y incomparable Berinthia-..How I fhall requite y o u - - - Ber. O ne'er trouble your felf about that : Virtue it its own Reward: There's a Pleafure in doing good, which fufficiently pays it felf. Adieu. Wor. Farewell, thou beft of W o m e n, [Exeunt feveral ways* Enter Amanda^ meeting Berinthia. Amand. W h o was that went from you ? Ber. A Friend of yours. Amand. What does he want ? Ber. Something you might fpare him, and be ne'er the poorer. Amand. I can fpare him nothing but m y Friendfhip; m y Love already's all difpos'd of ; Tho, I confefs, to one ungrateful to m y Bounty. Ber. W h y there's the Myftery ! You have been fo bountiful, you have cloy'd him. Fond Wives do by their Husbands, as barren Wives do by their Lap-Dogs 5 cram them with Sweetmeats till they fpoil their Stomachs, Amand. Alas! Had you but feen how paflionately fond he has been fince our laft Reconciliation, you wou'd have thought it were impoflible he ever fhould have breath'd an hour without m e. Bttt Virtue in Danger. 95 Ber. Ay, but: therejyou thought wrong again, Aman. da; you fhould confider, that in Matters Gf Love Mens Eyes are always bigger than their Bellies. They have violent Appetites, 'tis true, but they have foondin'd. Amand. Well; there's nothing upon Earth aftonifhes me more than Mens Inconftancy. Ber. N o w there's nothing upon Earth aftonifhes me lefs, when I confider what they and we are compos'd of. For Nature has made them Children, and us Babies. Now, Amanda, how w e us'd our Babies, you may remember. W e were mad to have them, as foon as wo faw them ; kifs'd them to pieces as foon as w e got them • then pull'd ofF their Clothes, faw them naked, and fo threw them away* Amand. But do you think all M e n are of this Temper ? Ber. All but one. Amand. Who's that ? Ber. Worthy. Amand. Why, he's weary of his Wife too, you fee. Ber. Ay, that's no Proof. Amand. What can be a greater ? Ber. Being weary of his Miftrefs. ^ Amand. Don't you think 'twere poftible he might give you that too ? Ber. Perhaps he might, if he were m y Gallant; not if he were yours. Amand. Why do you think he fhou'd be more con-ftant to m e , than he wou'd to you? I'm fure I'm not fo handfome. Ber. Rifling goes by Favour; he likes you beft. Amand. Suppofe he does : That's no Demonftration he wou'd be conftant to me. Ber. N o , that I'll grant you : But there are other Reafons to expeft it; for you muft know after all, A-manda, the Inconftancy w e commonly fee in Men of Brains, does not fo much proceed from the Uncertainty of their Temper, as from the Misfortunes of their Love. A Man fees perhaps a hundred W o m e n he likes well e-nough for an IntriguT, and away 5 but poffibly, thro the whole |
