Reminding him of the jovial purpose on which they were happily
met, he promoted such a quick circulation of the bottle, that their
mirth grew noisy and obstreperous; they broke forth into repeated
peals of laughter, without any previous incitement except that of
claret. These explosions were succeeded by Bacchanalian songs,
in which the old gentleman himself attempted to bear a share;
the sedate governor snapped time with his fingers, and the parish
priest assisted in the chorus with a most expressive nakedness of
countenance. Before midnight they were almost all pinned to their
chairs, as if they had been fixed by the power of enchantment;
and, what rendered the confinement still more unfortunate, every
servant in the house was in the same situation; so that they were
fain to take their repose as they sat, and nodded at each other
like a congregation of Anabaptists.
Next day Peregrine communed with his sister on the subject of her
match with Mr. Clover, who, she told him, had offered to settle a
jointure of four hundred pounds, and take her to wife without any
expectation of a dowry.
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