The Self-Tormentor | ||
SCENE VIII.
CHREMESalone.
My daughter now has had Ten Minæ of me,
Which I account laid out upon her board:
Ten more her cloaths will come to: and moreover
Two Talents for her portion.—How unjust,
And absolute is custom! I must now
Leave every thing, and find a stranger out,
On whom I may bestow the sum of wealth,
Which I have so much labour'd to acquire.
I am charmed with this sentiment, and still more with the good man's application of it. For in fact nothing can be more ridiculous, than that when a father bestows his daughter upon a man, he must also bestow part of his fortune with her. And as a proof, that custom only authorizes such a practice, in antient times the very contrary was the case, money and presents being given to the fathers by those who demanded their daughters in marriage. MADAM DACIER.
The Self-Tormentor | ||