By Heaven it is a kind of
enchantment! If I do not speedily break the spell, and escape, I
may chance to give up the ghost in this nauseous stew of
corruption -- It was but two nights ago, that I had like to have
made my public exit, at a minute's warning. One of my greatest
weaknesses is that of suffering myself to be over-ruled by the
opinion of people, whose judgment I despise -- I own, with shame
and confusion of face, that importunity of any kind I cannot
resist. This want of courage and constancy is an original flaw in
my nature, which you must have often observed with compassion, if
not with contempt. I am afraid some of our boasted virtues maybe
traced up to this defect.
Without further preamble, I was persuaded to go to a ball, on
purpose to see Liddy dance a minuet with a young petulant
jackanapes, the only son of a wealthy undertaker from London,
whose mother lodges in our neighbourhood, and has contracted an
acquaintance with Tabby. I sat a couple of long hours, half
stifled, in the midst of a noisome crowd; and could not help
wondering that so many hundreds of those that rank as rational
creatures, could find entertainment in seeing a succession of
insipid animals, describing the same dull figure for a whole
evening, on an area, not much bigger than a taylor's shop-board.
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