In this comedy, Goldsmith ridicules the sentimental comedy in vogue at the time.Marlow and Hastings arrive there and confusion arises over mistaken identities: they take Mr. Hardscastle as the landlord of the inn and Miss Hardcastle as one of the servants to whom Marlow makes violent love.There they meet Miss Hardcastle's half-brother, Tony Lumpkin, a mischievous, cunning and ignorant man who directs them to an inn where they can spend the night which is in reality the house of the Hardcastles.The characters are without depth but imbued with a humor of their own