Sir LUCIUS Sure enough it must have been so—and I never dreamt it was so late, till I waked. Well, but my little girl, have you got nothing for me?
LUCY
Yes, but I have—I've got a letter for you in my pocket.
Sir LUCIUS O faith! I guessed you weren't come empty-handed—Well—let me see what the dear creature says.
LUCY
There, Sir Lucius. [Gives him a letter.]
Sir LUCIUS [Reads.] Sir—there is often a sudden incentive impulse in love, that has a greater induction than years of domestic combination: such was the commotion I felt at the first superfluous view of Sir Lucius O'Trigger.—Very pretty, upon my word.—Female punctuation forbids me to say more, yet let me add, that it will give me joy infallible to find Sir Lucius worthy the last criterion of my affections. Delia. Upon my conscience! Lucy, your lady is a great mistress of language. Faith, she's quite the queen of the dictionary!—for the devil a word dare refuse coming at her call—though one would think it was quite out of hearing.
LUCY
Ay, sir, a lady of her experience——
Sir LUCIUS
Experience! what, at seventeen?
LUCY O true, sir—but then she reads so—my stars! how she will read off hand!
Sir LUCIUS Faith, she must be very deep read to write this way—though she is rather an arbitrary writer too—for here are a great many poor words pressed into the service of this note, that would get their habeas corpus from any court in Christendom.
LUCY
Ah! Sir Lucius, if you were to hear how she talks of you!