The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 393: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

308 REYNOLDS’ WORKS pears, and grapes, she placed it on the carpet at the duke’s feet. Then, likewise seating herself upon a footstool, she listened. while Marchmont and Lettice sang together a Bacchanalian English song. What ascene of luxurious enjoyment, blended with the ravishments of feminine beauty, was that for the pencil of an artist. It was past one in the morning when Marchmont thought of taking his departure. He placed under one of the fruit dishes a sum of money in bank-notes, as a mark of his liberality toward the charming companions of his revel, and then he drew Lettice aside into a window recess, where he conversed with her for a few minutes in a low tone of voice. The other three girls chatted together at the opposite ex- tremity of the room; they heard not what passed between Marchmont and Lettice Rodney, neither did they seek to catch a single word. They were all on the friendliest terms with one another; they had no jealousy. Their exquisite beauty ensured to them all an equal amount of favour on the part of their aristocratic patrons, and being girls of good education, feeling too at times their lost and degraded position, they knew how useless it was to aggravate it by petty contentions amongst themselves. The conversation between the duke and Lettice termi- nated; the nobleman embraced all four one after another, and then took his departure. comicbooks.com