 name of Tobit's dog. - I was so much incensed at his
insolence, that I should certainly have kicked him where he stood, without
ceremony, had not the young lady prevented the effects of my indignation, by
replying with the utmost vivacity, »His name was N-sh, and an impudent dog he
was.« This repartee, so unexpected and just, raised such an universal laugh at
the aggressor, that all his assurance was insufficient to support him under
their derision; so that after he had endeavoured to compose himself, by taking
snuff, and forcing a smile, he was obliged to sneak off in a very ludicrous
attitude; while my Dulcinea was applauded to the skies, for the brilliancy of
her wit, and her acquaintance immediately courted by the best people of both
sexes in the room. - This event, with which I was infinitely pleased at first,
did not fail of alarming me, upon further reflection, when I considered that the
more she was caressed by persons of distinction, the more her pride would be
inflamed, and consequently, the obstacles to my success multiplied and enlarged.
- Nor were my presaging fears untrue. - That very night I perceived her a little
intoxicated with the incense she had received, and though she still behaved with
a particular civility to me, I foresaw that as soon as her fortune should be
known, she would be surrounded with a swarm of admirers, some one of whom might
possibly, by excelling me in point of wealth, or in the arts of flattery and
scandal, supplant me in her esteem, and find means to make the mother of his
party. - I resolved therefore to lose no time, and being invited to spend the
evening with them, found an opportunity, in spite of the old gentlewoman's
vigilance, to explain the meaning of my glances in the coach, by paying homage
to her wit, and professing myself enamoured of her person. - She blushed at my
declaration, and in a favourable manner disapproved of the liberty I had taken,
putting me in mind of our being strangers to one another, and desiring I would
not be the means of interrupting our acquaintance, by any such unseasonable
strokes of gallantry for the future. - My ardour was effectually checked by this
reprimand, which was, however, delivered in such a gentle manner, that I had no
cause to be disobliged; and the arrival of her mother relieved me from a dilemma
in which I should not have known how to demean myself a minute longer. - Neither
could I resume the easiness of carriage with which
