A magician with two enchanted knights addressed Lady Eliza, who (I
have already observed) was dressed as a slave attending Mrs Worthy. He
told her he would unfold her future fate, and, if she would retire to
a place of privacy, he would convince her, and the queen she attended,
that he was very well skilled in the science of astrology. Lord and
Lady Darnley; Lord Sombre, Lord Munster, and Mrs Lee begged leave to
accompany them. The two knights accompanied the magician, who he said
must remain enchanted until they were released by the hands of their
fair mistresses. After several magical incantations, he told Lady Eliza
many things concerning the Marquis de Villeroi, and Mrs Lee of Mr
Villars. But he astonished Lord Munster more particularly in telling
him he was a _perplexed lover_--but assured him that he would be soon
relieved from his anxiety; and that perhaps that very evening would
terminate his adventures, and render all the present company joyful!
Could you do this, replied Lord Munster, I would swear you had more wit
than Mercury, or his son Autolycus, who was able to change black into
white!
In the mean time two ladies appeared: They were majestic in their
persons, and very magnificent in their apparel. The magician, addressing
himself to the company, said, if it was agreeable, he would give
them ocular proofs of his art. They answered, By all means! He then
presented one of the enchanted knights to Lady Eliza, the other to
Mrs Lee, and Lord Munster to one of the ladies who had just appeared
(in the mean time Lord Darnley had prevented the admission of other
company.)--He then desired them all to unmask. The agreeable discovery
this produced is not easy to give an adequate idea of; as the magician
was no other than Mr Worthy; the enchanted knights, the Marquis de
Villeroi, and Mr Villars; and the Lady Mademoiselle de Querci.--Mr
Worthy then, addressing Lord Munster, said, Your perplexity, my Lord,
now ceases:--This Lady is the Countess de Sons (whose smiles confirmed
her previous conversation with him that evening.) He made his suitable
acknowledgments: whilst Lord Sombre was enchanted to discover, in the
Countess's companion, his lovely Diana, who had changed her dress,
and proved to be Julia, sister to the Marquis de Villeroi, and justly
admired by all who saw her: Her shape was as fine as the statue of the
Medician Venus, of as fine a complexion as the Leda of Corregio, with a
sweetness of expression that would have made Guido paint no other face,
if he had been alive.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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