As for Oldfield, she might have been cautious, too, and with reason, for she had received letters threatening her with dire pains and penalties if she spoke the offending words, but Anne stood ready to deliver them at whatsoever time the patentees might name.

So when the second night of "The Perplexed Lovers" arrived, and a special licence from the Lord Chamberlain had been secured, the actress came valiantly forward and spoke the epilogue with success.

Perhaps Eugene of Savoy thanked Mrs.
Oldfield--let us hope that he did--and it is at least certain that after the withdrawal of the play his Highness sent Mrs.Centlivre an elaborate gold snuff-box.[A] [Footnote A: Speaking of the beau's outfit in the reign of Queen Anne, Ashton says: "His snuff-box, too, was an object of his solicitude, though, as the habit of taking snuff had but just come into vogue, there were no collections of them, and no beau had ever dreamed of criticizing a box, as did Lord Petersham, as, 'a nice Summer box.' ...
Those of the middle classes were chiefly of silver, or tortoise-shell, or mother-of-pearl; sometimes of 'aggat' or with a 'Moco Stone' in the lid.

A beau would sometimes either have a looking-glass, or the portrait of a lady inside the lid."] And who was the gratified Centlivre?
A masculine looking female with a talent for play-writing, a tendency to appear in men's parts, and last, but far from least, a nice little wen adorning her left eyelid.
She possessed other characteristics too, but those herein mentioned are the only ones which stand out clearly after the lapse of nearly two centuries.

This doughty woman had been married twice before she went to Windsor, where she once more entered into the matrimonial noose, or rather, again inveigled an unfortunate into that treacherous device.