vii
PART SECOND
SPIRIT IRONIC
dames of strange repute, who bear a ticket for screened admission by the private wicket.
CHORUS OF IRONIC SPIRITS (aerial music)
*4 wife of the body, a wife of the mind, A wife somewhat frowsy, a wife too refined : Could the twain but grow one, and no other dames be, JVo husband in Europe more steadfast than he /
SPIRIT OF THE YEARS
Cease fooling on weak waifs who love and wed J3ut*as the unweeting Urger may bestead ! — See them withinside, douce and diamonded.
The walls of Carlton House open, and the spectator finds himself confronting the revel.
SCENE VII
THE SAME. THE INTERIOR OF CARLTON HOUSE
A central hall is disclosed, radiant with constellations of candles, lamps, and lanterns, and decorated with flowering shrubs. An opening on the left reveals the Grand Council-chamber prepared for dancing, tl^e floor being chalked with arabesques having in the centre " G. III. B..," with a crown, arms, and supporters. Orange-trees and rose-bushes in bloom stand against the walls. On the right hand extends a glittering vista of the supper-rooms and tables, now crowded with guests. This display reaches as far as the conservatory westward, and branches into long tents on the lawn.
On a dais at the chief table, laid with gold and silver plate, the Prince Regent sits like a lay figure, in a state chair of crimson and gold, with six servants at his back. He swelters in a gorgeous uniform of scarlet and gold lace which represents him as a Field Marshal, and he is surrounded by a hundred-and-forty of his particular friends.
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