Page:Miscellaneous Plays 1.pdf/296

276

Never mind that, my good sir; we shall have her taught. You shall make my house your home till your cot is ready for you, where I soon hope to have a lady who will take some pains to form your charming Dorothea for her present situation.

So you are to have a lady then? If you had told me so before, I might have spared all my arguments upon this subject.

Indeed, madam, you might have spared them, tho' they were very good ones, I confess: the sight of this lady (taking Miss Martin's hand) made every other argument unnecessary. I hope you will give me your blessing with her. I want but this, and will not enquire of you how many brothers she has.

So my Mary has caught you after all. Thank God for it! She is good enough for any man, and I would rather give her to you than to any other man in the world. As for her brothers, she has but one, and he has increased instead of diminishing her fortune.

Talk no more of these things, I hate the very name of fortune at present.