Others would pity his hard fate. But none would censure his
wickedness for having resorted to such dreadful means for the
determination of his dispute. From this time the laws of honour would be
canvassed, and disquisitions about punctilio, and etiquette, and honour,
would arrest the attention of the company, and supply them with
materials for a time. These subjects would be followed by observations
on fashionable head-dresses, by the relation of elopements, by the
reports of affairs of gallantry. Each subject would occupy its own
portion of time. Thus each would help to swell up the measure of
conversation, and to make up the enjoyment of the visit.
If we were to go among persons of another class in the metropolis, we
should probably find them collecting their entertainment from other
topics. One would talk on the subject of some splendid route. He would
expatiate on the number of rooms that were opened, on the superb manner,
in which they were fitted up, and on the sum of money that was expended
in procuring every delicacy that was out of season. A second would
probably ask, if it were really known, how much one of their female
acquaintance had lost at faro. A third would make observations on the
dresses at the last drawing room.
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