Greatly so? PENN. ABEL. : In thy house none hungereth painfully but verily at this hour my appetite waxeth sharp. PENN. Feed then first this poor good creature, the which is accustomed to eat oftener than thou art, and the which haply hath fasted longer. ABEL. Thou sayest well: it shall be done even as thou advisest. PETERBOROUGH. There are only three classes of men that we in general have no patience with; superiors, inferiors, and equals. You have given me abundant and perpetual proofs that you can bear the two latter; and I am persuaded that you would place any decent one of the former in the same easy posture, if God, decreeing his happiness or emendment, should ever direct him toward you. MIGUEL AND MOTHER. MOTHER. My dearest son Miguel! before I give you my benediction on your return, or receive a kiss from you, altho in my hurry and in the kindness of my heart I wiped away the snuff for the purpose, and you stand expecting it, I must be assured that you are deserving to bear the name of a glorious arcangel, and that what you propose to swear tomorrow you will unswear the day after. MIGUEL. Dearest mother! most unworthy should I hold myself to bear the name of our brave and gallant arcangel, if I hesitated to assert the dignity of the throne, by breaking that oath, or any other to which the people is a party. MOTHER. Now come to my arms, my dutiful child! Ha ha ha! so many blessings upon thee! These sneezes foretell much good; three, in honour of the Holy Trinity. . the very names you swear upon. A word in your ear! Do you know who got your sister with child? How! the devil! MIGUEL. MOTHER. Not he, not he. The devil had horns before marriage, the marquis shall have after, if friar or confessor can do any thing. I will spite him; I will break his heart. No wonder you muse and meditate. MIGUEL. Strange things have happened since I left Portugal. Before marriage! MOTHER. Yes, before marriage. MIGUEL. I never saw it in the papers, nor heard it from any among the company of Jesus. Before marriage? the devil married? MOTHER. No, faith! no! God forgot it, or he would have been: he may be at last, if he does not mend. God has not done with him yet. Donna Dolores da Cunha, whose father wished to render her an accomplished woman, and who has redd beside |