A sprightly one-act farce set on a festive holiday in a provincial town follows a rakish lieutenant scheming to win the magistrate's daughter despite the magistrate's obstinate opposition. Soldiers' comic grievances about quartering and taverns, a loquacious physician confidant, and a gullible justice generate rapid-fire exchanges, misunderstandings, and mock heroics. The play satirizes social pretensions and romantic affectations through brisk dialogue and well-timed entrances, building to an artful, theatrical contrivance that resolves the romantic complication.