The Plastic Age by Percy Marks (best fiction books to read TXT) 📕

With Cynthia."

Hugh Paused In Taking Off His Socks. "Why Not?" He Demanded. "She'S

Wonderful."

"You'Re So Different."

"How Different? We Understand Each Other Perfectly. Of Course,  We Only

Saw Each Other For A Week When I Was Down At Your Place,  But We

Understood Each Other From The First. I Was Crazy About Her As Soon As I

Saw Her."

Norry Was Troubled. "I Don'T Think I Can Explain Exactly," He Said

Slowly. "Cynthia Runs With A Fast Crowd,  And She Smokes And Drinks--And

You'Re--Well,  You'Re Idealistic."

Hugh Pulled Off His Underclothes And Laughed As He Stuck His Feet Into

Sl

You Should Sue Charles For The Annuities,  And How That Advice Seemed

To Shock You. He Was Not Surprised At That,  Knowing Your Delicacy

And Friendship. But Sueing Charles,  You Will Find In a Short Time,

Has No Horror But In The Expression. If You Are Shocked,  You Will Be

Singly So; Charles Will Not Be So,  It Is My Firm Belief. As Soon As

Lavie Comes To You,  He Will Tell You How Far Mr. Crewe Has Embraced

That Idea,  And What Has Been The Consequence Of It. If You Will Sue

Lord H(Ollan)D And Mr. Powell,  Or (For?) Them,  In charles'S Name,

You Will Do Your Business. But I Do Not Say That It Is Time For

That.

What I Proposed To Lord Gower Was Only This,  And That Cannot Have

Nothing (Sic) Rebutant In It,  To Either Charles Or You. It Is This.

To Hear Charles'S Story Patiently,  But To Answer Or Reason With Him

As Little As Possible. To Desire That He Would Be So Good As To Meet

You At Your Own House,  With Mr. Wallis And Mr. Gregg; We Will Have

Nothing To Do With Lavie,  Pour Le Moment. Il Ne Respectera Pas

Celui-Ci Comme Les Deux Autres. Discuss With Them Before Charles The

Means Of Extricating Yourself From These Engagements. Let Him Hear

What They Say,  And What They Would Advise You To Do,  As Guardian To

Your Children; For There Is The Point De Vue,  In Which I Am Touched

The Most Sensibly; And Whatever Charles Has To Offer By Way Of

Expedient,  By Way Of Correcting Their Ideas,  Whatever Hopes He Can

Give,  Which Are Rationally Founded,  Let Him Lay Them Before These

People In Your Presence.

Why I Wish This Is,  The [That] He Must Then Have Something To Combat

With,  And That Is,  Truth And Reason. Without That,  And You Two

Together Only,  Or Hare,  What Will Follow? There Will Be Flux De

Bouche,  Which To Me Is Totally Incomprehensible,  As Sir G.

M('Cartney) Told Me That It Was To Him. Il Fondera En Larmes,  And

Then You Will Be Told Afterwards,  Whenever A Measure Of Any Vigour

Is Proposed,  That You Had Acquiesced,  Because You Had Been Disarmed,

Confounded. This Happened No Longer Ago Than Last Saturday,  With

Foley,(98) Who Related The Whole Conference To Me,  And The Manner In

Which It Was Carried On. "However," Says Foley,  "I Carried Two

Points Out Of Four,  But I Was Obliged To Leave Him,  Not Being Able

[To] Resist The Force Of Sensibility."

I Confess That,  Had It Been My Case,  I Should Have Been Tempted To

Have Made Use Of Me De Maintenon'S Words To The Princesse De Conti--

"Pleurez,  Pleurez,  Madame,  Car C'Est Un Grand Malheur Que De N'Avoir

Pas Le Coeur Bon." I Do Not Think That Of Charles So Much As The

Rest Of The World Does,  And To Which He Has Undoubtedly Given Some

Reason By His Behaviour To His Father,  And To His Friends. I

Attribute It All To A Vanity That Has,  By The Foolish Admiration Of

His Acquaintance,  Been Worked Up Into A Kind Of Phrensy,  I Shall Be

Very Unwilling To Believe That He Ever Intended To Distress A Friend

Whom He Loved As Much As I Believe That He Has Done You.

But Really This Is Being Very Candid To Him,  And Yet I Cannot Help

It. For I Have Passed Two Evenings With Him At Supper At Almack'S,

Ou Nous Avons Ete Lie En Conversation,  And Never Was Anybody More

Agreeable And The More So For His Having No Pretensions To It,  Which

Is What Has Offended More People Than Even What Lady H(Ollan)D Is So

Good As To Call His Misconduct. I Do Assure You,  My Dear Lord,  That

Notwithstanding All That I Have Been Obliged By My Friendship And

Confidence In You To Say,  I Very Sincerely Love Him,  Although I

Blame Him So Much,  That I Dare Not Own It; And It Will Give Me The

Greatest Pleasure In The World To See Him Take That Turn Which He

Professes To Take. But What Hopes Can We Have Of It?

Vernon Said Yesterday After Dinner,  That He And Some Others--Bully,

I Think,  Among The Rest--Had Been Driven By The Rain Up Into

Charles'S Room; And When They Had Lugged Him Out Of His Bed,  They

Attacked Him So Violently Upon What He Did At The Bath,  That He Was

Obliged To Have Recourse,  As He Did Last Year,  To An Absolute Denial

Of The Fact. The Imagination Of Tat Which Seems To Have Been My Vocation,  C'Est Fait De Moi; I

Must Declare Myself Good For Nothing. I Carried Yesterday The

Regalia. The Cup Has Been New Boiled,  And Looks Quite Royal.

Sir L. Pepys Was With Me In The Morning,  And Thought My Pulse Very

Quiet,  Which Could Only Have Been From The Fatigue Of The Day

Before--Juste Dieu! Fatigue,  Of Going 8 Or 9 Miles,  My Legs On The

Foreseat,  And Reposing My Head On Jones'S Shoulder. The Duke Would

Make Her Go,  And Everybody. He Thinks That I Am Now The Most

Helpless Creature In The World,  When,  From Infirmity,  I Want Ten

Times More Aid Than I Ever Did. Sir Lucas Pronounced No Immediate

End Of Myself,  But That I Should Continue To Bark,  With Hemlock.

I'Ll Do Anything For Some Time Longer,  But My Patience Will,  I See,

After A Certain Time,  Be Exhausted. As To Poor Pierre,  It Is Over

With Him. Sir Lucas Says The Disorder Is Past All Remedy. This Is A

Most Distressful Story To Me,  And How To Supply His Place I Do Not

Know.

With This Letter A Correspondence,  Unique And Delightful,  Extending

Over Many Years,  Ends. At Its Close We May Well Recall Lord

Carlisle'S Words Written Fourteen Years Before,  "I Shall Always Be

Grateful To Fortune," He Said,  ". . . For Having Linked Me In So

Close A Friendship With Yourself,  In Spite Of Disparity Of Years And

Pursuits." Selwyn Returned To London Shortly Before Christmas,  And

Died On The 25Th Of January,  1791. On This Very Day Walpole,  With A

Touching Simplicity And Truth,  Wrote To Miss Berry,  "I Am On The

Point Of Losing,  Or Have Lost,  My Oldest Acquaintance And Friend,

George Selwyn,  Who Was Yesterday At The Extremity. These

Misfortunes,  Tho' They Can Be So But For A Short Time,  Are Very

Sensible To The Old; But Him I Really Loved Not Only For His

Infinite Wit,  But For A Thousand Good Qualities."

A

Abergavenny,  Lord

 Abingdon,  Lord

 Adams,  John

 Ailesbury,  Lady

 Albemarle,  Lady

 Almack'S Assembly Rooms,  King Street,  St. James'; Masquerade

     At; Masquerade Stopped By Bishops; Extinct.

 Almack'S Club,  Pall Mall; Events At; Thriving; Selwyn And Fox At

      Supper At; Selwyn'S "Bureau;" Selwyn Avoids; House Occupied

     By.

 Alston,  Tommy

 Althorp,  Lord

 Amelia,  Princess

 America--Lord Carlisle,  Peace Commissioner To; Gower,  Lord,  On

      Independence Of; Fitzpatrick In; Colonies,  Bad News From;

 Question Of; Storer,  With Carlisle In; News From; Colonies In; His

 Majesty'S Subjects In; Prohibitory Bill; Selwyn On The War In;

 Letter-Writing Between England And; Selwyn Regarding Politics In;

 Want Of Interest In Society Concerning; Fox'S Motion To Conclude

 Peace With; Public Interest In; Motion As To; President Of

 Congress.

 Amhurst,  Lord

 Andre,  Major

 Androche,  Marshal

 Argyle,  Fifth Duke Of

 Arnold,  Benedict

 Ascough,  Mr.

 Ashburnham,  Second Earl Of

 Ashburton,  Lord,  See Dunning

 Ashton,  Thomas

  Ashton,  Mr.

 Assembly Of Notables,  National

 Astley,  Mr.

 Aston,  Sir W.

 Auckland,  First Lord,  See Eden

 Aylesford (Ailsford) Lord;  Lord Of      The Bedchamber

B

Baker,  Dr.

 Balbi,  Comtesse De

 Balliol College

 Baltimore,  Lord

 Bampton Lectures (Dr. White'S)

 "Baptist," The,  See Henry St. John

 Barbot'S Lottery

 Barker,  Mr.

 Barrington,  Lord

 Barry,  Mme. Du "Anecdotes Of"

 Barry,  Richard,  Sixth Earl Of Barrymore,

Barry,  Richard,  Seventh Earl Of Barrymore

 Barry,  Mr.

 Barrymore,  Lady

 Barrymore,  Lord,  See Barry

 Barth,  Mrs.

 Basilico

 Bath

 Beauchamp,  Lord

 Beauclerk,  Topham; Married To Lady Bolingbroke

 Beaufort,  Duke Of

 Beckford,  Alderman

 Beckford,  William,  Son Of Alderman Beckford,  Author And Collector

 Bedford,  Fourth Duke Of

 Bedford,  Fifth Duke Of

 Bedford,  Duchess Of

 Bedford Faction

 Bedford House; Parties At

Belgiojoso

 Berkeley,  Lord

 Berry,  Agnes

 Berry,  Mary

 Bertie,  Lord

 Besbborough,  Lord

 "Betty,  Lady," See Howard,  Lady Elizabeth

 Biron,  Duchesse De

 Biron,  Admiral,  See Byron

 Biron,  Mrs.

 Biron,  Duc De

 Blake,  Miss

 Blake,  Mr.

 Blake,  Mrs.

 Blandford,  Lord

 Blaquiere,  Sir John

 Blenheim

gh And Cynthia Were Drinking,  And By Midnight Both Of Them Were

Drunk,  Too Drunk Any Longer To Think Clearly. As They Danced,  Hugh Was

Aware Of Nothing But Cynthia'S Body,  Her Firm Young Body Close To His.

His Blood Beat With The Pounding Of The Drums. He Held Her Tighter And

Tighter--The Gymnasium,  The Other Couples,  A Swaying Mist Before His

Eyes.

When The Dance Ended,  Cynthia Whispered Huskily,  "Ta-Take Me Somewhere,

Hugh."

Strangely Enough,  He Got The Significance Of Her Words At Once. His

Blood Raced,  And He Staggered So Crazily That Cynthia Had To Hold Him By

The Arm.