o hours every morning at his
toilette. His face was painted and patched, his whole person strongly
perfumed, and he had continually in his hand a gold snuff-box set with
diamonds. His voice was naturally hoarse and loud, but with infinite
industry he had brought himself to a pronunciation shrill, piping, and
effeminate. His conversion was larded with foreign phrases and foreign
oaths, and every thing he said was accompanied with a significant shrug.

The same period which had introduced this new pretender to the heart of
Delia, had been distinguished by the arrival of a Sir William Twyford, who
paid his addresses to Miss Fletcher. Sir William was exactly the reverse
of Mr. Prettyman. With a genteel person, and an open and agreable
phisiognomy, his manners were perfectly careless and unstudied. A
predominant feature in his character was good nature. But this was not his
ruling passion. He had an infinite fund of wit and humour, and he never
was so happy as when he was able to place the foibles of affectation in a
whimsical and ridiculous light.

As it was vanity alone, that had induced Mr. Prettyman to pay his
addresses to the lady, who was universally allowed to surpass in beauty
and every elegant accomplishment in the place in which he was, he would
have been less pleased that his amour should have terminated in a
marriage, than that by his affectation and coquetry he might break the
heart of the simple fair one. Accordingly, it was his business to make the
affair as public as possible.

Lord Martin, had been sufficiently irritated by the pretensions of Damon.
The new intruder had wrought up his passion to the highest pitch. In the
mean time he had renewed an acquaintance which he had formerly made with
sir William Twyford. Sir William, upon all occasions, cultivated the
intimacy of such, as, by any striking peculiarities, seemed to furnish a
proper subject for his humour. He now contributed every thing in his power
to inflame his lordship against Mr. Prettyman. He offered to become the
bearer of a challenge, and to be his lordship's second in any future
combat.

Lord Martin broke off the conversation somewhat abruptly, and began to
reflect with himself upon what had passed. He had hitherto contrived, by
some means or other, though he dealt very largely in challenges, never to
have come to actual battle. But he had too much reason to think, that if
he made sir William his messenger, he should not be able with any de