"Pretty times, forsooth, of which one of that breed could be the
mirror," whispered the little man at Ralph's elbow.
The play forthwith proceeded, and proved to be the attempt of a
gentleman of fashion to compromise the honor of a lady of the Court
whom he had mistaken for a courtesan. The audience laughed at every
indelicate artifice of the libertine, and screamed when the demure
maiden let fall certain remarks which bore a double significance.
Finally, when the lady declared her interest in a cage of birds, and
the gentleman drew from his pocket a purse of guineas, and, shaking
them before her face, asked if those were the dicky-birds she wished
for, the enjoyment of the audience passed all bounds of ordinary
expression. The men in lace and linen lay back in their seats to give
vent to loud guffaws, and the women flirted their fans coquettishly
before their eyes, or used them to tap the heads of their male
companions in mild and roguish remonstrance.
"Pity they didn't debauch the stage as well as the pulpit and bar, if
this is its condition inviolate," whispered the little man again.
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