Riperdá, Juan Guillermo, Duke of, 1680-1737 -- Fiction; Wharton, Philip Wharton, Duke of, 1698-1731 -- Fiction
The Pastor shook his head with another smile; and Louis ran on,
talking of the Duke's lofty demeanor at one season; of its playful
condescension at another: and in the guileless exhilaration of his own
heart, described the air with which Wharton drank his Burgundy; how
he graced each draught with a brilliant song, adapted by himself to
words of Horace or Anacreon, in their original language. Then he spoke
of the Duke's eloquent criticisms on the classics; of his wit in apt
references to them, and to the best writers of France and Italy; and
of the sportive manner with which he trifled, with the foibles of the
company around him;--"seeming," continued Louis, "to stoop from his
native height, merely' to skim the grosser element, in condescending
fellowship with those heavy sons of earth. And the Duke tells me the
change is pleasant; for it is only burrowing a little amongst the
gnomes, to enjoy with keener relish the etherial joys of the upper
regions!"
"Here, my Lord," continued the Pastor, in his narrative to the Marquis,
"was the snare I had dreaded. When we were alone, I declared my
apprehensions to my nephew; but he combated my suspicions with all
the pleadings of ingenuous enthusiasm. Louis had never felt more than
general kindliness for any of the young men of his acquaintance. For, I
am sorry to say that education is not a principle of these times: and
my boy found few to understand any part of his intellectual pursuits,
till he met this highly-gifted nobleman. Wharton is also master of
every avenue to an unsuspecting heart. This, too, was the first time
that any thing like his own ideas of friendship had come before my
nephew; and when they were proffered by so specious a character, it
was hardly surprising that even the short intimacy of a fortnight
should bewilder his imagination and captivate his heart. When I became
aware of the depth of the impression, I took up the subject in the
serious light it demanded. I narrated several instances of the Duke's
ill-conduct in various relations of life; and shewed at once to Louis
the deleterious cup he was so tenaciously holding, since it had already
induced him to confound right and wrong, by denominating the ruffian
violence he had received in his helpless childhood, _mere folly and
frolic_! His countenance betrayed there was a powerful contention in
his mind. I conjured him to reflect on what I had said; to hearken to
my warning voice, as he would to that of his distant father, or to the
last admonitions of his departed mother. Tears burst from his eyes;
and kissing my hands, he solemnly pledged himself never again to be a
willing resident in the same house with the Duke of Wharton. His Grace
had separated from the travelling party, and was gone to Ireland. But
that did not prevent me calling on Sir Anthony; and though he did not
see the reasonableness of my alarm, he was prevailed on to make me a
promise that he would not again be instrumental in bringing his nephew
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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