385

Lett. xcvi. Letters Historical and Galant. 385

of this Picture determined the Lady to break off a Match that seemed so much to her Advantage, and this for fear that the Cavalier's Star would not prevail over the Longing she had to be a woman of Quality. Mind what I said last, and you may guess the Lady. This was what broke the Gordian Knot, and thanks to his [poctick??] vein, the once forsaken is now the happy Lover, and his Verse has triumph'd over the Notary's Prose.

The Lady was afraid it would come to pass, and perhaps her future Spouse was so too; Be that as it will, it was this that broke off the Match. There lately happened another Adventure here, in which is no Enchantment nor Gyant, nor has it the Air of Amadis or the Arabian Nights Entertainment, and yet I'll hold you a Wager you'll think it fabulous. However I must beg you'll not take it to be romance, because, I can assure you I was a Kind of Eyewitness to it my self.

The Marchioness of ** that fair Indolent, who because she never had any publick Engagement sat up for a Prude, nourished in her breast the most violent and ridiculous Passion in the world; tho' in the main twas nothing but what was very Natural, since the Object of this noble Passion was no body but her own dear Self Charmed with her Face, her neck, and her arms, she spent whole Days in Contemplation, and viewing her self from Head to foot in a large Glass. When she lost sight of her self but for a Moment, she lost all her Enjoyment: The Idea she had of her Merit and Charms, made her receive the Hommage of a Crowd of Adorers with Pain. The Duke of **, one of the most violent of them had almost a mind to destroy himself, when Madamoiselle R** a friend of the Marchioness, officiously promised him to do all she could to discover her real Sentiments, "Leave it to me, said this Obliging Young Lady. If you have a Rivals I'll engage he shall not escape my Penetration and Vigilance; and when I find him out, we will endeavour to destroy him. If after this, you find you Cannot be happy, nor Cure your Passion, 'twill then be time enough to hang your self." The Duke Liked this Solid way of Reasoning and begg'd her to put her hand to the Work; she did so, and all her Enquiries ended in a discovery that the Lady was of the Late Narcissus's Taste: To Convince herself fully of it, she proposed to go out hunting on one of the Marchionesses Lands. The Marchioness dress'd herslef like an Amazon; Her flaxen her, powdered & buckled floated on a Jacket of Scarlet embroidered with Gold. She had a little hat, adorned with a white feather and from her waste upwards was the prettiest man in the World. I say from her Waste upwards, for at Court You know our Amazons wear long Petticoats, to shew their Sex. As Soon as the Marchioness was thus Ecquipp'd her friend came in a hurry and told her, that a Gentleman below wanted to see her: and taking her by the hand led her down to an Appartment, where she told her the Gentleman was, and where the Cunning Baggage had fixed a Looking Glass over against the door, and of such a size, that no more Could be seen but the Bust; The Marchioness not dreaming of her Masculine dress, and, thanks to the smallness of the Looking Glass, not discovering her Petticoats, struck with the Genteelness of the pretended Cavalier, stood immoveable. The Cavalier, you may be sure, did the same: "What's here? cry'd Madamoiselle de R**, two persons in the same Posture! charmed with the first Glance of each other! What a Surprising Sympathy!" The Marchioness who was in confusion was going to reply; when the Lady by a loud laugh discovered the