Arabella, who had from youth adopted the resentments of her father, refused to make her appearance at court, which Sir Charles gently intimated to her; yet being not wholly divested of the curiosity natural to her sex, she condescended to go incog. to the gallery on a ball night, accompanied by Mr. Glanville and his sister, in order to behold the splendour of the British Court.
As her romances had long familiarised her thoughts to objects of grandeur and magnificence, she was not so much struck as might have been expected with those that now presented themselves to her view. Nor was she a little disappointed to find that among the men she saw none whose appearance came up to her ideas of the air and port of an Artaban, Oroondates, or Juba; or any of the ladies, who did not in her opinion, fall short of the perfections of Elisa, Mandana, Statira, &c. It was remarkable too, that she never enquired how often the princesses had been carried away by love-captivated monarchs, or how many victories the king's sons had gained; but seemed the whole time she was there to have suspended all her romantic ideas of glory, beauty, gallantry, and love.
Mr. Glanville was highly pleased with her composed behaviour, and a day or two after entreated her to allow him the honour of showing her what was remarkable and worthy of her observation in this great metropolis. To this she also consented, and for the greater privacy began their travels in a hired coach.
Part of several days were taken up in this employment; but Mr. Glanville had the mortification to find she was full of allusions to her romances upon every occasion; such as her asking the person who shows the armoury at the Tower, the names of the knights to whom each suit belonged, and wondering there were no devices on the shields or plumes of feathers in the helmets. She observed that the lion Lysimachus killed, was, according to the history of that prince, much larger than any of those she was showed in the Tower, and also much fiercer; took notice that St. Paul's was less magnificent in the inside, than the temple in which Cyrus, when he went to Mandana, heard her return thanks for his supposed death; enquired if it was not customary for the king and his whole court to sail in barges upon the Thames, as Augustus used to do upon the Tyber; whether they had not music and collations in the Park; and where they celebrated the justs and tournaments.
The season for Vauxhall being not yet over, she was desirous of once seeing a place, which by the description she had heard of it, greatly resembled the gardens of Lucullus at Rome, in which the emperor, with all the princes and princesses of his court were so nobly entertained, and where so many gallant conversations had passed among those admirable persons.
The singularity of her dress, for she was covered with her veil, drew a number of gazers after her, who pressed round her with so little respect, that she was greatly embarrassed, and had thoughts of quitting the place, delightful as she owned it, immediately, when her attention was wholly engrossed by an adventure in which she soon interested herself very deeply.
An officer of rank in the sea service had brought his mistress, disguised in a suit of man's or rather boy's clothes, and a hat and feather, into the gardens. The young creature being a little intoxicated with the wine she had taken too freely, was thrown so much off her guard as to give occasion to some of the company to suspect her sex; and a gay fellow, in order to give them some diversion at her expense, pretending to be affronted at something she said, drew his sword upon the disguised fair-one, which so alarmed her, that she shrieked out she was a woman, and ran for protection to her lover; who was so disordered with liquor, that he was not able to defend her.
Miss Glanville, ever curious and inquisitive, demanded the cause why the company ran in crowds to that particular spot; and received for answer, that a gentleman had drawn his sword upon a lady disguised in a man's habit.
Oh Heavens! cried Arabella, this must certainly be a very notable adventure. The lady has doubtless some extraordinary circumstances in her story, and haply, upon enquiry, her misfortunes will be found to resemble those which obliged the beautiful Aspasia to put on the same disguise, who was by that means murdered by the cruel Zenodorus in a fit of jealousy at the amity his wife expressed for her. But can I not see this unfortunate fair-one? added she, pressing in spite of Mr. Glanville's entreaties through the crowd: I may haply be able to afford her some consolation.
Mr. Glanville, finding his persuasions were not regarded, followed her with very little difficulty: for her veil falling back in her hurry, she did not mind to replace it; and the charms of her face, joined to the majesty of her person, and singularity of her dress, attracting every person's attention and respect, they made way for her to pass, not a little surprised at the extreme earnestness and solemnity that appeared in her countenance upon an event so diverting to every one else.