obliged to depart; but not without a promise of spending five or
six months with us on their return. We of course mentioned you,
and I assure you that ample Justice was done to your Merits by
all. "Louisa Clarke (said I) is in general a very pleasant Girl,
yet sometimes her good humour is clouded by Peevishness, Envy and
Spite. She neither wants Understanding or is without some
pretensions to Beauty, but these are so very trifling, that the
value she sets on her personal charms, and the adoration she
expects them to be offered are at once a striking example of her
vanity, her pride, and her folly." So said I, and to my opinion
everyone added weight by the concurrence of their own.
Your affectionate
Arabella Smythe.



THE FIRST ACT OF A COMEDY

CHARACTERS
Popgun Maria
Charles Pistolletta
Postilion Hostess
Chorus of ploughboys Cook
and and
Strephon Chloe

SCENE--AN INN

ENTER Hostess, Charles, Maria, and Cook.