teſtations; ſo he barbarouſly ſtripped the ſtocking from the maiden’s taper leg, and treated her with as much care and ſkill as her betters.
Scarce was this chirurgical operation performed, when ſupper was announced; a ſumptuous feaſt was ſerved up. The ſide-tables were decorated with plate up to the very cornice: a noble concert, from the neighbouring apartment, helped the gueſts down with the exquiſite ragouts and generous wines. After the diſhes were removed, the major-domo arranged the party-coloured deſſert, conſiſting of rocks and mountains of ſweetmeats, and gum tragacanth. The puerile wit of the confectioner, which can much more readily ſatisfy the palate or the eye than the underſtanding, had repreſented the Counteſs’s adventure in little wax figures, ſuch as are often ſeen to parade on the tables of the great. The Counteſs did not fail to obſerve the coſtly entertainment in ſilent admiration. She turned to
the
