The Works of Lord Byron, Volume 6 by Lord Byron
page 88 of 1010 (08%)
page 88 of 1010 (08%)
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"Had it but been for a stout cavalier[79]
Of twenty-five or thirty--(come, make haste) But for a child, what piece of work is here! I really, madam, wonder at your taste-- (Come, sir, get in)--my master must be near: There, for the present, at the least, he's fast, And if we can but till the morning keep Our counsel--(Juan, mind, you must not sleep.)" CLXXIII. Now, Don Alfonso entering, but alone, Closed the oration of the trusty maid: She loitered, and he told her to be gone, An order somewhat sullenly obeyed; However, present remedy was none, And no great good seemed answered if she staid: Regarding both with slow and sidelong view, She snuffed the candle, curtsied, and withdrew. CLXXIV. Alfonso paused a minute--then begun Some strange excuses for his late proceeding; He would not justify what he had done, To say the best, it was extreme ill-breeding; But there were ample reasons for it, none Of which he specified in this his pleading: His speech was a fine sample, on the whole, Of rhetoric, which the learned call "_rigmarole._" |
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