Chapter 4
24
The comfortable State of a human Mind, whose tumultuous Passions are all alarmed by the Disappointment of Vanity.
LADY Dellwyn was now almost in as great a State of Mortification as at the Time that Lady Fanny, by becoming her Rival in her Lord's Fortune and Tide, first led her to discover, that such Advantages were worth the Price she afterwards paid for them, when an Accident happened, which was the highest Cordial to her almost fainting Spirits, and revived the pleasing Hope of obtaining a complete Triumph over Lady Fanny; for Lord Clermont returned to the Hot Wells, and she doubted, not but that it was in her Power easily to regain his Attention.
25
And now if any able Muse would kindly attend my Call, I would entreat the Favour of her to sing the Lady tossed about by adverse Fate through all the full blown Tempest of labouring and tumultuous Passions. If there were any reasonable Hopes of Success, I would make an Effort to allure such Assistance by melodious Verse; but as those Ladies have been long out of Fashion, and would be deaf to all my Supplications, I must proceed in humble Prose.
The First Evening Lord Clermont appeared in Public, each of the Rival Ladies was fully determined to boast such a noble Conquest.
Lady Fanny Chlegen, whose Countenance rather indicated Dignity than Gentleness, had that Day spent a longer Time than usual at her Toilette, practising every Art to adorn her Charms with an uncommon Softness, which was all played off at Lord Clermont. On the contrary, Lady Dell-
Vol II. C
26
wyn, whose Countenance denoted an inimitable Sweetness, endeavoured to heighten her Beauties by all the Vivacity she was Mistress of; and her Eyes darted all their Lustre at Lord Clermont. To every curious Observer of Nature, it was remarkable with what an Exactness each performed her Part, whilst she was animated with the Hopes of Success. But every Disappointment had a very different Effect; for on every Gallantry or peculiar Attention offered by Lord Clermont to Lady Fanny, Lady Dellwyn's Eyes lost their Fire, and a melancholy Languor overspread her whole Face. But when Lady Fanny perceived any Preference of her Rival in Lord Clermont's Behaviour, her native Dignity came to her Assistance; and a peculiar Drawing up of her Upper-lip, with a supercilious Contraction of her Eyebrow, indicated Scorn and Contempt. She reversed the Picture of the Ghost in Hamlet, of whom Horatio says, that he had
27
A Countenance more in Sorrow than in Anger;
for her Looks rather shewed her filled with Indignation than Grief. When their Fears were alarmed, Nature returned; and her buffoon Mimic, Art, was thrown out of her Play, and entirely baffled: But Words are not adequate to describe the tragic Scene that was passing within Lady Dellwyn's Bosom, when Lord Clermont, making her a formal Bow, presented his Hand with great Respect to lead Lady Fanny to her Chair; Her Ladyship failed not on this Occasion to put on the most triumphant Air; for she could very intelligibly, without the Utterance of one Word, express the Exultation of her Heart, and give an additional Pain to that of her already truly-mortified Rival. Lord Clermont himself returned no more that Evening into the Assembly. Lady Dellwyn stood for some Time as
C2
28
in a Dream, and was as motionless as a Statue, whilst Capt. Drumond eagerly embraced this Opportunity to enumerate a long Catalogue of his own Virtues: But as no one Word he uttered made any Impression on her Ladyship's Faculty of Hearing, she could not possibly shew her Contempt of this absurd Manner of recommending himself, by her common Practice of changing the Subject, and forcing him to break the Chain of his Discourse, like the Story in
Hudibras,
-----------of the Bear and Fiddle, Begun, but broke off in the Middle.
Lord and Lady Dellwyn had chosen separate Apartments for some time; for whatever Passion remained in his Lordship's Breast for his Lady, it bore no Resemblance to any thing that is called Love, even by the greatest Prostituters of that much vilified, innocent Word; and her Ladyship was always ready to embrace gladly every Proposal,
29
which had the least Tendency towards the obtaining an additional Opportunity of being absent from her Lord; so that, during the whole Night, she had such comfortable Reflections as the foregoing Evening could furnish, wholly to herself, and was in no Danger of being robbed of them by any human Being whatsoever. Persons who labour under the afflicting and severe Misfortunes of their own over-indulged Imaginations, are very often induced to adopt the tragic Lamentations of poetic Writers, sometimes properly uttered by the Personages they would represent, as struggling under some great Calamity; and sometimes the outrageous Rants, made use of by our tragic Authors, seem calculated to heighten the Passions, and, when they are put into the Mouth of the Poet's favourite Character, the Moral of the Play seems to be nothing more than that the most frantic
C3
30
Resverie is the highest Virtue.
In the Orphan,
Confusion and Disorder seize the World, To spoil all Trust and Converse amongst
Men;
'Twixt Families engender endless Feuds, In Countries needless Fears, in Cities Fac-
tions,
In States Rebellion, and in Churches Schism, Till all Things move against the Course of
Nature ;
Till Form's dissolv'd, the Chain of Causes
broken,
And the Originals of Being lost;
is a Speech that throws forth a noble Exemplar of valiant Heroism, from the Character the Author seems to endeavour to shew forth, as possessed of all that's amiable, in Opposition, and as a Contrast, to the abandonedly profligate Polydore.
Calista, in the midst of her Pentence, is for digging down deeply in
31
the Earth, to find a Grave to hide her from her Shame. To enumerate the various Instances which might be easily collected in the Tragedies that have appeared since the Restoration of these wild Rants, would be as endless, as to point out all the Indecencies of the Comedies.
Shakespeare, it must be confessed, had his Rants too. Hotspur was ready to bay the Moon; and, instead of being wonderful, it was perfectly natural and becoming in him; but Cordelia expressed her Grief by falling Tears; and Harry the Fifth was calm in the midst of the greatest Dangers. But to return to Lady Dellwyn: Her Memory supplied her with abundance of tragic Expressions, by which means she in some measure vented her Passions, otherwise she might have been in Danger of either being choked, or of bursting with inward Vexation. Instead of gaining any Repose, for a Refreshment to her fatigued and wearied Spirits,
C4
32
was raving about her Apartment, performing the Part of a tragic Queen, and heroically lamenting her own hard Fortune, as blank Verse or Rhyme occurred to her Remembrance, being perfectly convinced that her Fate was very peculiarly unhappy.
Thus was Lady Dellwyn actually miserable; and if she had been obliged truly to declare the Cause of all this mighty Tempest in her Bosom, she could not have discovered any other, than that Lord Clermont had led Lady Fanny Chlegen to her Chair; and, however inadequate to raise such a mental Tumult as this may seem, yet many State Revolutions have at first arisen from Causes as minute, and as apparently trifling. This Misfortune too seemed to be without any Remedy. To call back Yesterday was impossible; and to forget this shocking Circumstance was equally impracticable; yet sometimes a small Gleam of Hope almost imperceptibly stole upon her Thoughts,
33
and flattered her that her Day of Triumph might possibly be written in the Book of Fate, and Lady Fanny might in her Turn experience the piercing Affliction of being neglected; but then the mortifying Picture of Lady Fanny's triumphant Air, and Lord Clermont's distant Formality, was by her too-faithful Memory presented to her View, and baffled every peaceful Thought, or pleasing Hope. These Tumults in Lady Dellwyn's Bosom robbed her totally of all Power of even assuming any of her usual Vivacity in Conversation; and the spiritless Languor, which had overspread her Beauty, was too visible to the whole Company to be concealed; and this one Object so entirely engrossed her Attention, that she forgot her usual Diversion, the Pleasure of Coquetry slipt out of her Remembrance, and her Eyes were stedfastly fixed only on
C5
34
Lord Clermont's Motions and Behaviour.
Lady Dellwyn formed many Schemes, and revolved many Stratagems in her Mind, in order to gain the Admiration of Lord Clermont; every one of which pleased her at first View (it being the Privilege of new Fancies to present themselves in a pleasing Manner), and were then discarded, one after another, as useless and impracticable. At last, when she considered, that, at her own Lord's Request, she had before shunned Lord Clermont's offered Gallantry, she imagined that possibly his Lordship's present Behaviour might justly be imputed to his Resentment on that Account. Then she first inwardly called Lord Dellwyn very barbarous for such his unreasonable Desire, and then resolved to offend no more in that Manner; but, in order to prevent the dis- agreeable Consequences of this Indiscretion's (for such she now esteemed it) spreading any farther, she sought every
35
every Opportunity to make such Advances to Lord Clermont as she imagined might be conducive to remove his Anger, and heal the Breach between them.
C6 CHAP.
The comfortable State of a human Mind, whose tumultuous Passions are all alarmed by the Disappointment of Vanity.
LADY Dellwyn was now almost in as great a State of Mortification as at the Time that Lady Fanny, by becoming her Rival in her Lord's Fortune and Tide, first led her to discover, that such Advantages were worth the Price she afterwards paid for them, when an Accident happened, which was the highest Cordial to her almost fainting Spirits, and revived the pleasing Hope of obtaining a complete Triumph over Lady Fanny; for Lord Clermont returned to the Hot Wells, and she doubted, not but that it was in her Power easily to regain his Attention.
25
And now if any able Muse would kindly attend my Call, I would entreat the Favour of her to sing the Lady tossed about by adverse Fate through all the full blown Tempest of labouring and tumultuous Passions. If there were any reasonable Hopes of Success, I would make an Effort to allure such Assistance by melodious Verse; but as those Ladies have been long out of Fashion, and would be deaf to all my Supplications, I must proceed in humble Prose.
The First Evening Lord Clermont appeared in Public, each of the Rival Ladies was fully determined to boast such a noble Conquest.
Lady Fanny Chlegen, whose Countenance rather indicated Dignity than Gentleness, had that Day spent a longer Time than usual at her Toilette, practising every Art to adorn her Charms with an uncommon Softness, which was all played off at Lord Clermont. On the contrary, Lady Dell-
Vol II. C
26
wyn, whose Countenance denoted an inimitable Sweetness, endeavoured to heighten her Beauties by all the Vivacity she was Mistress of; and her Eyes darted all their Lustre at Lord Clermont. To every curious Observer of Nature, it was remarkable with what an Exactness each performed her Part, whilst she was animated with the Hopes of Success. But every Disappointment had a very different Effect; for on every Gallantry or peculiar Attention offered by Lord Clermont to Lady Fanny, Lady Dellwyn's Eyes lost their Fire, and a melancholy Languor overspread her whole Face. But when Lady Fanny perceived any Preference of her Rival in Lord Clermont's Behaviour, her native Dignity came to her Assistance; and a peculiar Drawing up of her Upper-lip, with a supercilious Contraction of her Eyebrow, indicated Scorn and Contempt. She reversed the Picture of the Ghost in Hamlet, of whom Horatio says, that he had
27
A Countenance more in Sorrow than in Anger;
for her Looks rather shewed her filled with Indignation than Grief. When their Fears were alarmed, Nature returned; and her buffoon Mimic, Art, was thrown out of her Play, and entirely baffled: But Words are not adequate to describe the tragic Scene that was passing within Lady Dellwyn's Bosom, when Lord Clermont, making her a formal Bow, presented his Hand with great Respect to lead Lady Fanny to her Chair; Her Ladyship failed not on this Occasion to put on the most triumphant Air; for she could very intelligibly, without the Utterance of one Word, express the Exultation of her Heart, and give an additional Pain to that of her already truly-mortified Rival. Lord Clermont himself returned no more that Evening into the Assembly. Lady Dellwyn stood for some Time as
C2
28
in a Dream, and was as motionless as a Statue, whilst Capt. Drumond eagerly embraced this Opportunity to enumerate a long Catalogue of his own Virtues: But as no one Word he uttered made any Impression on her Ladyship's Faculty of Hearing, she could not possibly shew her Contempt of this absurd Manner of recommending himself, by her common Practice of changing the Subject, and forcing him to break the Chain of his Discourse, like the Story in
Hudibras,
-----------of the Bear and Fiddle, Begun, but broke off in the Middle.
Lord and Lady Dellwyn had chosen separate Apartments for some time; for whatever Passion remained in his Lordship's Breast for his Lady, it bore no Resemblance to any thing that is called Love, even by the greatest Prostituters of that much vilified, innocent Word; and her Ladyship was always ready to embrace gladly every Proposal,
29
which had the least Tendency towards the obtaining an additional Opportunity of being absent from her Lord; so that, during the whole Night, she had such comfortable Reflections as the foregoing Evening could furnish, wholly to herself, and was in no Danger of being robbed of them by any human Being whatsoever. Persons who labour under the afflicting and severe Misfortunes of their own over-indulged Imaginations, are very often induced to adopt the tragic Lamentations of poetic Writers, sometimes properly uttered by the Personages they would represent, as struggling under some great Calamity; and sometimes the outrageous Rants, made use of by our tragic Authors, seem calculated to heighten the Passions, and, when they are put into the Mouth of the Poet's favourite Character, the Moral of the Play seems to be nothing more than that the most frantic
C3
30
Resverie is the highest Virtue.
In the Orphan,
Confusion and Disorder seize the World, To spoil all Trust and Converse amongst
Men;
'Twixt Families engender endless Feuds, In Countries needless Fears, in Cities Fac-
tions,
In States Rebellion, and in Churches Schism, Till all Things move against the Course of
Nature ;
Till Form's dissolv'd, the Chain of Causes
broken,
And the Originals of Being lost;
is a Speech that throws forth a noble Exemplar of valiant Heroism, from the Character the Author seems to endeavour to shew forth, as possessed of all that's amiable, in Opposition, and as a Contrast, to the abandonedly profligate Polydore.
Calista, in the midst of her Pentence, is for digging down deeply in
31
the Earth, to find a Grave to hide her from her Shame. To enumerate the various Instances which might be easily collected in the Tragedies that have appeared since the Restoration of these wild Rants, would be as endless, as to point out all the Indecencies of the Comedies.
Shakespeare, it must be confessed, had his Rants too. Hotspur was ready to bay the Moon; and, instead of being wonderful, it was perfectly natural and becoming in him; but Cordelia expressed her Grief by falling Tears; and Harry the Fifth was calm in the midst of the greatest Dangers. But to return to Lady Dellwyn: Her Memory supplied her with abundance of tragic Expressions, by which means she in some measure vented her Passions, otherwise she might have been in Danger of either being choked, or of bursting with inward Vexation. Instead of gaining any Repose, for a Refreshment to her fatigued and wearied Spirits,
C4
32
was raving about her Apartment, performing the Part of a tragic Queen, and heroically lamenting her own hard Fortune, as blank Verse or Rhyme occurred to her Remembrance, being perfectly convinced that her Fate was very peculiarly unhappy.
Thus was Lady Dellwyn actually miserable; and if she had been obliged truly to declare the Cause of all this mighty Tempest in her Bosom, she could not have discovered any other, than that Lord Clermont had led Lady Fanny Chlegen to her Chair; and, however inadequate to raise such a mental Tumult as this may seem, yet many State Revolutions have at first arisen from Causes as minute, and as apparently trifling. This Misfortune too seemed to be without any Remedy. To call back Yesterday was impossible; and to forget this shocking Circumstance was equally impracticable; yet sometimes a small Gleam of Hope almost imperceptibly stole upon her Thoughts,
33
and flattered her that her Day of Triumph might possibly be written in the Book of Fate, and Lady Fanny might in her Turn experience the piercing Affliction of being neglected; but then the mortifying Picture of Lady Fanny's triumphant Air, and Lord Clermont's distant Formality, was by her too-faithful Memory presented to her View, and baffled every peaceful Thought, or pleasing Hope. These Tumults in Lady Dellwyn's Bosom robbed her totally of all Power of even assuming any of her usual Vivacity in Conversation; and the spiritless Languor, which had overspread her Beauty, was too visible to the whole Company to be concealed; and this one Object so entirely engrossed her Attention, that she forgot her usual Diversion, the Pleasure of Coquetry slipt out of her Remembrance, and her Eyes were stedfastly fixed only on
C5
34
Lord Clermont's Motions and Behaviour.
Lady Dellwyn formed many Schemes, and revolved many Stratagems in her Mind, in order to gain the Admiration of Lord Clermont; every one of which pleased her at first View (it being the Privilege of new Fancies to present themselves in a pleasing Manner), and were then discarded, one after another, as useless and impracticable. At last, when she considered, that, at her own Lord's Request, she had before shunned Lord Clermont's offered Gallantry, she imagined that possibly his Lordship's present Behaviour might justly be imputed to his Resentment on that Account. Then she first inwardly called Lord Dellwyn very barbarous for such his unreasonable Desire, and then resolved to offend no more in that Manner; but, in order to prevent the dis- agreeable Consequences of this Indiscretion's (for such she now esteemed it) spreading any farther, she sought every
35
every Opportunity to make such Advances to Lord Clermont as she imagined might be conducive to remove his Anger, and heal the Breach between them.
C6 CHAP.
Chapter 5
36
The Naturalization of a foreign Custom,
or the Introduction of a Chichifbee.
LADY Fanny soon found good Reason to reflect on the swift Vicissitude of all sublunary Honours; for, without any Failure of proper Coquetry on her Part, the Scene was suddenly reversed; she lost the Attention and Gallantry of Lord Clermont, which was now liberally bestowed on Lady Dellwyn, to her inexpressible Joy and Triumph. He was now become as her Shadow, the constant Follower of her Footsteps, Such a Flush of Happiness soon put to Flight all her Languor, and threw her into such a violent Fit of Activity, that she seldom had
37
Patience sufficient to remain long in any one Situation, but was rapid in her Motion from Place to Place.
Children, when first they discover their own Shadow, vary their Postures as much as possible, in order to divert themselves with their new Plaything; and also to make others observe what a pretty Image attends their Motions; and perhaps Lady Dellwyn's restless and continual Movement might have more Respect to the shewing of her Shadow, than even herself.
Altho' Lady Fanny had exerted her utmost Endeavours to attach Lord Clermont, yet the Disappointment had not so visible an Effect on her. She was either endued with a much larger Share of Philosophy, or had acquired a superior Degree of Art to conceal her Mortification, than could be obtained by her Rival. Almost unconcernedly she could behold Lord Clermont's Assiduity to please Lady Dellwyn, and
38
smile with no other Emotion than a Gesture of Scorn; a Commodity which, instead of being wasted, encreases, by the using, and of which Lady Fanny was possessed of so large a Share, that there was no Reason to apprehend its being ever exhausted; whilst every Instant might have read Lady Dellwyn's Mortification in her Countenance, during the Time that she laboured under the fancied insupportable Affliction of Lord Clermont's Neglect.
Mr. Lucum, during the Time that he imposed on himself the Belief that he despised Ambition, whilst yet Lady Fanny was very young, had placed great Delight in his Daughter's Reading to him; and as he then fled for Refuge from worldly Disappointments to Philosophy, she was furnished with a great Variety of Ideas which led to an utter Contempt of all Falsehood. Her Manner of Life then never subjected her to the Necessity of making an Appearance which had no Foundation in
39
Truth; which, with the Addition of constantly suspecting all Persons with whom we converse of equal Dissimulation, seems to constitute the greatest Part of that Kind of Wisdom, which, with great Propriety, generally goeth under the Denomination of Art or Cunning, and requires some little Study, and subsequent Practice, to arrive at any considerable Perfection; altho' in this Acquisition, as well as in all others, uncommon Geniuses sometimes arise, who so immediately arrive at the utmost Knowlege of this Kind, that it might be almost conjectured it came by Intuition. But Lady Dellwyn was a very poor Proficient in this Art; insomuch that her very Looks would betray her most inward Thoughts, when she endeavoured to conceal them, by watching over her Words before she gave them Utterance.
Lord Clermont was not Dangler after the Ladies: He never joined himself to
40
any Woman's Train, either to gratify her Vanity or his own, but had always a farther View in every Application he undertook to make to any Lady; and his personal Attachment to Lady Dellwyn was really unfeigned. He frequented public Places in order to fix on proper Objects of his Gallantry; and never failed endeavouring to succeed with Ladies he liked, who had sacrificed willingly their Youth and Beauty to the Gratification of Vanity and Ambition; and very soon penetrated whether or no there was any Probability of succeeding in his Schemes. To those young Women, who, in marrying for interested Considerations, had Regard only to the obeying of Parents and Guardians, Lord Clermont seldom made any Addresses; apprehending that they might be actuated by Principles which could not possibly incline them to satisfy his Inclinations.
When Lady Dellwyn, in order to enjoy the Luxury of some Degree of
41
her own Approbation, had chearfully complied with her Lord's Desire, and avoided the Conversation of Lord Clermont, he plainly perceived by her Behaviour that all Attacks at that Time would be vain, and have no Tendency to answer his Purpose: He therefore resolved to leave Bristol; but yet he constantly corresponded with an intimate Acquaintance, who gave him a minute Account of all that passed there, and more particularly related every Transaction in which Lady Dellwyn was concerned.
The Situation in which Lady Dellwyn's Vanity had placed her, by raising a Contest between her and Lady Fanny Chlegen for Admiration, was exactly correspondent with Lord Clermont's Inclinations. He was perfectly acquainted with the Workings of the Passions on such Occasions, and well knew in what Manner he could best turn them to his own Advantage.
42
The Account of this visible Rivalship between these two Ladies brought Lord Clermont with a swift Progress back to the Hot Wells, where he resolved, instead of taking any particular Notice of Lady Dellwyn, to pay his first Address to Lady Fanny, which caused the apparent Preference given to her the first Evening after his Arrival; for Experience had informed him, that to pique a Lady's Vanity through one particular Rival, whom she most earnestly desires to surpass, is no small Step towards obtaining a great Degree of Power over her Mind. Lady Dellwyn was entangled in the Snare, and made Advances to Lord Clermont without the least Consideration of any Consequences, but the Hope of obtaining what her unbridled Imagination commanded her to believe was absolutely necessary to her Happiness, namely, a visible Triumph over Lady Fanny Chlegen in Lord Clermont's Admiration. When Vanity becomes thus predominant, it brings us into Subjection,
43
and makes us the most abject Slaves to every human Being with whom we converse, who have any Inclination to play the Tyrant.
A Contention was now raised between Lord Clermont and Lady Dellwyn; in which, if she was steadily resolved to continue the Combat, she might have been almost certain of being baffled, if all Reflexion had not been totally banished by the Perturbation of her Thoughts; and Lord Clermont by degrees gained such an Ascendency over her Passions, by the impending Danger of his publicly preferring Lady Fanny, that she dared not disoblige him. The Terror of more tragic Nights was formidable to her Imagination, and to be avoided at any Expence whatever.
Every Conversation that now passed between Lord Clermont and Lady Dellwyn, when they were remote enough from Company to have no Hearers but
44
each other, bore a much greater Resemblance to the Roughness of Contention, than to the Softness of Love. Within the small Space of a Quarter of an Hour, she often made a Resolution never to see him again; and, when he seemed ready to believe her Assertions, and to take a formal Leave of her, the Apprehension of Lady Fanny gave such a sudden Reflux to all her Passions, that she forced a Smile, and condescended to call him back again, and revoke all she had declared before. If, like Venus in Virgil's Aeneid, she had been possessed of the Power to conceal Lady Fanny in a Cloud from human Sight, she might have retained some Command over herself, and all Lord Clermont's Stratagems would have been rendered of no Effect. But the terrible Apprehension of Lady Fanny's Triumph, and the Insult she expected as the natural Consequence, was too heavy a Burden for a poor Lady in her Situation to support with human Patience.
45
There is no kind of feminine Character so absolutely destructive of the Contentment and Happiness of others, as that of a Lady who is ever ready prepared with all the necessary Arts and Allurements of Coquetry, to receive every disappointed Lover. It gives the Man, who knows where to be thus cordially welcomed (if his Mistress should happen to be possessed of any Share of Vanity, and he himself is in Esteem in the gallant World), an Opportunity to his Wish of alarming her Pride, and raising her Desire to allure him back again: Which one Circumstance ruins and destroys more Women, than if there were a hundred blind Cupids of poetical Creation, and every Cupid was armed with thousands of pointed Darts and Arrows.
Lady Fanny, from amongst her Train of Admirers, peculiarly distinguished a young Gentleman of the Army, whose Name was Farquhar, to whom she gave the Appellation of her Chichifbee.
5
46
He was genteel, and remarkably handsome; but was so far from being puffed up with Vanity on that Account, that he delighted mostly in manly Exercises, and neither avoided the burning Heat of the Sun, nor the rough Bleakness of Winter Winds, to preserve the Clearness of his Complexion. By virtue of the Office of Chichifbee, it was his Duty to be a constant Attendant on the Lady's Person; but this Italian Custom is not Sufficiently known and naturalized in England, to be practised without occasioning some Whispers, especially in Places whence Persons who have not wholly relinquished all the old vulgar Notions of their Forefathers cannot be totally excluded.
Mr. Farquhar was possessed of an uncommon Degree of Taciturnity in public Assemblies; but his intimate Acquaintance declared, that his Silence was not justly to be imputed to his Want of Ideas, but rather to his being
47
furnished with too great a Number to forget them readily, and become an Adept in what is called Small Talk. Nay, some Gentlemen, who were most accustomed to his Conversation, would not be persuaded that Mr. Farquhar would submit to waste his Time in such a trifling, dangling Manner, without he had sufficient Reason for the entertaining some Hopes, which were not greatly to Lady Fanny's Honour. But she baffled all Whispers, Sneers, and Rumours, by stretching up her Head the higher, and treating them with absolute Contempt. When Mr. Farquhar was present, she addressed him personally by the familiar Appellations of Chichifbee, Gallant, &c. and when absent, was peculiarly eloquent in his Praise; by which means it must be naturally concluded, that there could be no Consciousness in her Mind which might justly reproach her with any Cause for Shame on his Account. Her Ladyship was in full Possession of that Mark
48
of Innocence, of being as bold as a Lion; and surely it must be very unreasonable to be dissatisfied with such a Conduct.
When first Lady Dellwyn perceived her Rival's Attention to Mr. Farquhar, she began to lessen her Advances to Lord Clermont; but was soon convinced that Lady Fanny's Stock of Coquetry was full sufficient for every Man who was willing to accept it; nor was she in any Degree less earnest to obtain the Attention of Lord Clermont than she had been before the Arrival of Mr. Farquhar.
CHAP.
Chapter 6
49
A short Chapter, which makes a great
Revolution in Lady Dellwyn's Mind
and Behaviour.
Lord Clermont, now he was thoroughly engaged in a Pursuit, employed his whole Thoughts in various Contrivances, and left no Stratagem unattempted by which he imagined he could hope for any Prospect of Success in his Scheme, Lady Dellwyn had in her Youth read a great deal concerning the Excellence of Virtue; insomuch, that had Temptation attacked her with the soft Allurements of Inclination, she would have called up all her Forces to struggle against its Power, and overcome such a Passion; but, satisfied that her Affections were perfectly
VOL II. D
50
free from any strong Bias in favour of any particular Lover, she walked securely in her own Opinion, and never perceived the Necessity of raising Fortifications to defend the unsuspected an unthought-of Quarter.
Lord Clermont's Experience, in his Commerce with Women, gave him many Advantages; nor did he cease his Pursuit of Lady Dellwyn, till he had, by her Apprehension of losing his Admiration, prevailed upon her to pay his own Price for her temporary Triumph, playing his Part so artfully, as to keep her Passions in a continual Tumult, and gave her no Time for Reflexion, till it was too late to preserve her from his Snares.
Lady Dellwyn was no Proficient in the Art of imposing Falsehood on herself, by a Set of Names which seem calculated for no other Purpose but to lessen in the Mind the Abhorrence of a vicious Conduct. She could not film over
51
the Odium of' her own Actions, by applying to them. the Words Gallantry, Intriguing, Coquetting, with many other softening Terms, many of them of French Extraction, which have been imported to England, and naturalized into our Language, and which have: had an amazing Effect on our Manners, perhaps to as great a Degree as any foreign Luxuries whatever.
As soon as the Turbulency of Lady Dellwyn's Passions was a little subsided, and gave her Leave and Leisure to reflect, she considered herself as truly unhappy, by perceiving, that, instead of her, it was Lord Clermont who had triumphed, and that she only exemplified the Truth of the Observation in some old Play, that
When Women fall, not quite bereft of Grace,
Their very Servants read it in their Face.
Lady Dellwyn had indeed undertaken an arduous Task; she had entered Lists,
D2
52
and engaged in a Rivalship, with Lady Fanny Chlegen, in a Scene of Life which required a much greater Degree of skilful Management than she was Mistress of. She had not sufficiently acquired the Art of living continually in a Masquerade, to be always ready sagaciously to conceal her natural Countenance; and her Thoughts were too apt to break through all artificial Disguises, which gave Lord Clermont too great an Advantage over her Weakness; nor could she now adopt the Shadow for the Substance, or assume the free lively Air, which is the Result of conscious Innocence, when the had wandered from that pleasing Path.
Now that slow-paced, tardy Kind of Wisdom, which, like fainthearted Soldiers, offers its Assistance when the Combat is lost, and serves only to whew, that, had it come sooner, the Battle might have been gained; found its Way by Reflexion into Lady Dellwyn's Mind, and served sufficiently to enhance
53
the comfortless State of her. Thoughts. Such are thy Triumphs, thy Exploits, O Vanity ! How various are thy Whims ! and how great thy Tyranny! Shame and Confusion now attended on Lady Dellwyn's being seen with Lord Clermont, in' full as great Proportion as Glory and Triumph had done but a very small Space of, Time before; and Lady Fanny, who was perfectly Mistress of the Art of looking stedfastly at another with a significant Air, could now raise in Lady Dellwyn conscious Blushes, which were more mortifying than all she had suffered formerly from her triumphant Manner.
Lord Clermont was a great Follower of Pleasure: He had not Love enough for himself to restrain him from the Indulgence of vicious Habits, and consequently could not be expected to have sufficient Affection for another, to curb his Inclinations, in order to avoid any evil Consequences that might attend his
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own Gratification; but yet he was not otherwise ill-natured. He had no Taste for the Sport of ridiculing a bashful Person out of Countenance; he delighted not in giving Pain, either for its own Sake, or to please his own Vanity, by playing off those little Arts by which a Man may shew to any Company the Power he has over a Lady's Passions. If this had been his Pleasure, he might yet have given Lady Fanny the Preference in Public, and have caused a Tragedy, which would indeed have called for an able Pen to have reached but half its Height.
Lady Dellwyn now hung her Head, and drooped like a half-withered Flower. The whole Dignity of her Person was lost, and she would then gladly have exchanged her present Situation to have returned to her former Retirement, and with Joy have quitted all the Pomp of her State and Quality, to have re-assumed the innocent Amusements of Miss Lucum.
55
It is now Time to take a little Survey of Lord Dellwyn's Situation. His Manner of passing over one Day after another afforded very little Variety. That Fit of the Gout which having been the Means of prolonging Lady Dellwyn's Stay at Bristol, was then productive of inexpressible Pleasure to her Mind, had never totally left him, the whole Space not exceeding a Month. Much Coquetry may be practised, and many Changes and Revolutions may happen, in the Gallant World,
In the Space of one revolving Moon.
Pain and Peevishness filled up his Lordship's Days, and his Nights brought only constant Repetitions of the same melancholy Scene. His Lady, to avoid the Uneasiness Compassion for his Sufferings might give her, chose to be continually absent. His Servants indeed were weary; but as he was not ungenerous, they comforted themselves with the Hopes of future Profits,
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and therefore Submitted the more chearfully to bear all that Sort of Language which is the Result of Impatience, and would be thought very unpolite if used to any other than Inferiors.
A short Chapter, which makes a great
Revolution in Lady Dellwyn's Mind
and Behaviour.
Lord Clermont, now he was thoroughly engaged in a Pursuit, employed his whole Thoughts in various Contrivances, and left no Stratagem unattempted by which he imagined he could hope for any Prospect of Success in his Scheme, Lady Dellwyn had in her Youth read a great deal concerning the Excellence of Virtue; insomuch, that had Temptation attacked her with the soft Allurements of Inclination, she would have called up all her Forces to struggle against its Power, and overcome such a Passion; but, satisfied that her Affections were perfectly
VOL II. D
50
free from any strong Bias in favour of any particular Lover, she walked securely in her own Opinion, and never perceived the Necessity of raising Fortifications to defend the unsuspected an unthought-of Quarter.
Lord Clermont's Experience, in his Commerce with Women, gave him many Advantages; nor did he cease his Pursuit of Lady Dellwyn, till he had, by her Apprehension of losing his Admiration, prevailed upon her to pay his own Price for her temporary Triumph, playing his Part so artfully, as to keep her Passions in a continual Tumult, and gave her no Time for Reflexion, till it was too late to preserve her from his Snares.
Lady Dellwyn was no Proficient in the Art of imposing Falsehood on herself, by a Set of Names which seem calculated for no other Purpose but to lessen in the Mind the Abhorrence of a vicious Conduct. She could not film over
51
the Odium of' her own Actions, by applying to them. the Words Gallantry, Intriguing, Coquetting, with many other softening Terms, many of them of French Extraction, which have been imported to England, and naturalized into our Language, and which have: had an amazing Effect on our Manners, perhaps to as great a Degree as any foreign Luxuries whatever.
As soon as the Turbulency of Lady Dellwyn's Passions was a little subsided, and gave her Leave and Leisure to reflect, she considered herself as truly unhappy, by perceiving, that, instead of her, it was Lord Clermont who had triumphed, and that she only exemplified the Truth of the Observation in some old Play, that
When Women fall, not quite bereft of Grace,
Their very Servants read it in their Face.
Lady Dellwyn had indeed undertaken an arduous Task; she had entered Lists,
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and engaged in a Rivalship, with Lady Fanny Chlegen, in a Scene of Life which required a much greater Degree of skilful Management than she was Mistress of. She had not sufficiently acquired the Art of living continually in a Masquerade, to be always ready sagaciously to conceal her natural Countenance; and her Thoughts were too apt to break through all artificial Disguises, which gave Lord Clermont too great an Advantage over her Weakness; nor could she now adopt the Shadow for the Substance, or assume the free lively Air, which is the Result of conscious Innocence, when the had wandered from that pleasing Path.
Now that slow-paced, tardy Kind of Wisdom, which, like fainthearted Soldiers, offers its Assistance when the Combat is lost, and serves only to whew, that, had it come sooner, the Battle might have been gained; found its Way by Reflexion into Lady Dellwyn's Mind, and served sufficiently to enhance
53
the comfortless State of her. Thoughts. Such are thy Triumphs, thy Exploits, O Vanity ! How various are thy Whims ! and how great thy Tyranny! Shame and Confusion now attended on Lady Dellwyn's being seen with Lord Clermont, in' full as great Proportion as Glory and Triumph had done but a very small Space of, Time before; and Lady Fanny, who was perfectly Mistress of the Art of looking stedfastly at another with a significant Air, could now raise in Lady Dellwyn conscious Blushes, which were more mortifying than all she had suffered formerly from her triumphant Manner.
Lord Clermont was a great Follower of Pleasure: He had not Love enough for himself to restrain him from the Indulgence of vicious Habits, and consequently could not be expected to have sufficient Affection for another, to curb his Inclinations, in order to avoid any evil Consequences that might attend his
D3
54
own Gratification; but yet he was not otherwise ill-natured. He had no Taste for the Sport of ridiculing a bashful Person out of Countenance; he delighted not in giving Pain, either for its own Sake, or to please his own Vanity, by playing off those little Arts by which a Man may shew to any Company the Power he has over a Lady's Passions. If this had been his Pleasure, he might yet have given Lady Fanny the Preference in Public, and have caused a Tragedy, which would indeed have called for an able Pen to have reached but half its Height.
Lady Dellwyn now hung her Head, and drooped like a half-withered Flower. The whole Dignity of her Person was lost, and she would then gladly have exchanged her present Situation to have returned to her former Retirement, and with Joy have quitted all the Pomp of her State and Quality, to have re-assumed the innocent Amusements of Miss Lucum.
55
It is now Time to take a little Survey of Lord Dellwyn's Situation. His Manner of passing over one Day after another afforded very little Variety. That Fit of the Gout which having been the Means of prolonging Lady Dellwyn's Stay at Bristol, was then productive of inexpressible Pleasure to her Mind, had never totally left him, the whole Space not exceeding a Month. Much Coquetry may be practised, and many Changes and Revolutions may happen, in the Gallant World,
In the Space of one revolving Moon.
Pain and Peevishness filled up his Lordship's Days, and his Nights brought only constant Repetitions of the same melancholy Scene. His Lady, to avoid the Uneasiness Compassion for his Sufferings might give her, chose to be continually absent. His Servants indeed were weary; but as he was not ungenerous, they comforted themselves with the Hopes of future Profits,
D4
56
and therefore Submitted the more chearfully to bear all that Sort of Language which is the Result of Impatience, and would be thought very unpolite if used to any other than Inferiors.
Notes to Vol. 2, Book 3, Chapters 4-6
Muse- Fielding is alluding to the common literary tradition of poets to invoke the ancient Greek Muses for inspiration in their writing.
Toilette- "The action or process of washing, dressing, or arranging the hair... The reception of visitors by a lady during the concluding stages of her toilet, esp. fashionable in the 18th cent." (OED)
Hamlet- one of several of Fielding's references to William Shakespeare's plays.
Hudibras- Cf. Samuel Butler's satirical, epic poem Hudibras, illustrated by William Hogarth.
Resverie- "Wild or uncontrolled behaviour; wantonness, revelry; an instance of this." (OED)
Orphan- Cf. Act 5, Scene 2 of Thomas Otway's tragic play: The Orphan or the Unhappy Marriage (1680).
Hotspur- Cf. Henry Percy or "Hotspur" is a famous character from Shakespeare's History play: Henry IV. Cordelia is a character from King Lear and Harry the Fifth alludes to the King's childhood name in Henry V.
Chichifbee- In ancient Italian custom, approximately a week before marriage, a woman chooses a Chichifbee to be her male companion and guardian up until she marries her husband.
Vicissitude: "The fact of change or mutation taking place in a particular thing or within a certain sphere; the uncertain changing or mutability of something." (OED)
sublunary- "Existing or situated beneath the moon; lying between the orbit of the moon and the earth. Now chiefly hist." (OED)
some old Play- Cf. Act 2, Scene 3 of Thomas Heywood's: A Woman Killed with Kindness (1607).
