 turned of twelve, and the whole house was in commotion to
prepare a formal entertainment, I foresaw it would be late before we dined, and
proposed a walk to Mr. Baynard, that we might converse together freely. In the
course of this perambulation, when I expressed some surprise that he had
returned so soon from Italy, he gave me to understand, that his going abroad had
not at all answered the purpose, for which he left England; that although the
expence of living was not so great in Italy as at home, respect being had to the
same rank of life in both countries, it had been found necessary for him to lift
himself above his usual stile, that he might be on some footing with the counts,
marquises, and cavalieres, with whom he kept company - He was obliged to hire a
great number of servants, to take off a great variety of rich cloaths, and to
keep a sumptuous table for the fashionable scorocconi of the country; who,
without a consideration of this kind, would not have paid any attention to an
untitled foreigner, let his family or fortune be ever so respectable - Besides,
Mrs. Baynard was continually surrounded by a train of expensive loungers, under
the denominations of language-masters, musicians, painters, and ciceroni; and
had actually fallen into the disease of buying pictures and antiques upon her
own judgment, which was far from being infallible - At length she met with an
affront, which gave her a disgust to Italy, and drove her back to England with
some precipitation. By means of frequenting the dutchess of B--'s conversazione,
while her grace was at Rome, Mrs. Baynard became acquainted with all the
fashionable people of that city, and was admitted to their assemblies without
scruple - Thus favoured, she conceived too great an idea of her own importance,
and when the duchess left Rome, resolved to have a conversazione that should
leave the Romans no room to regret her grace's departure. She provided hands for
a musical entertainment, and sent biglietti of invitation to every person of
distinction; but not one Roman of the female sex appeared at her assembly - She
was that night seized with a violent fit, and kept her bed three days, at the
expiration of which she declared that the air of Italy would be the ruin of her
constitution. In order to prevent this catastrophe, she was speedily removed to
Geneva, from whence they returned to England by way of Lyons and Paris. By the
time they arrived at Calais, she had purchased such a quantity of silks, stuffs,
and
