OR,

SOCIETY.

ATTICUS;

OR,

THE RETIRED STATESMAN;

AND

ST. LAWRENCE.

BY THE AUTHOR OF

"TREMAINE" AND "DE VERE.”

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

PHILADELPHIA:

E. L. CAREY & A. HART.

FIELDING;

OR,

SOCIETY.

SECTION XIII.

FIELDING GOES TO A COUNTY BALL.

"I delight in masque and revels sometimes altogether."

TWELFTH NIGHT.

"They bid us to the English dancing school,
And teach lavoltas, high and swift corantos."

HENRY V.

THE evening came; the ball opened, and every heart beat high. Yes! D House, or Carlton House, or Almacks may hold their heads up as high as they please! Neither grandeur, beauty, nobility, nor London elegance, can with all their charms equal the interest, and therefore the pleasure, kindled by a county ball. O! the dreams of partners; the bales of ribands and gauzes; the tailors and mantua makers; the sweetmeats and cold meats; the cooks and fiddlers; the purveyors and perfumers put in requisition! The innkeepers already counting their gains; the dancing-masters drilling their pupils; the universal agitation among the towns-people, particularly as to what set they may get into, and whether the country