The Bird of Paradise, who, since the incident, had been several times in
hysterics, and had written various notes, of three or four lines each,
of enquiries and entreaties to join her noble friend, had been kept off
from Twickenham by the masterly tactics of Lord Squib. She, however,
would drive to the Duke's house the day after his arrival in town, and
was with him when sundry loud knocks, in quick succession, announced an
approaching levee. He locked her up in his private room, and hastened
to receive the compliments of his visitors. In the same apartment, among
many others, he had the pleasure of meeting, for the first time, Lady
Aphrodite Grafton, Lady Caroline St. Maurice, and Miss Dacre, all women
whom he had either promised, intended, or offered to marry. A curious
situation this! And really, when our hero looked upon them once
more, and viewed them, in delightful rivalry, advancing with their
congratulations, he was not surprised at the feelings with which they
had inspired him. Far, far exceeding the _bonhomie_ of Macheath, the
Duke could not resist remembering that, had it been his fortune to have
lived in the land in which his historiographer will soon be wandering;
in short, to have been a pacha instead of a peer, he might have married
all three.
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