But come, Crony, you must give us the _nom de
guerre_ of the last-mentioned belles: you have hitherto distinguished
all the Cythereans by some eccentric appellation; let us therefore have
the list complete." "By all means, gentlemen," replied the old beau: "if
I must stand godfather to the whole fraternity of Cyprians, I think I
ought, at least, to have free access to every convent in Christendom;
but I must refer to my tablets, for I keep a regular entry of all the
new appearances, or I should never remember half their designations.
Mrs. N------has the harmonious appellation of the _mocking bird_,
from her silly habit of repeating every word you address to her. Mrs.
B------is called the _New Perdita_, from a royal conquest she once made,
but which we have only her own authority for believing; at any rate, she
is known to be fond of a _New-gent_, and the title may on that
account be fairly her own. Mrs. C-----H------ has the honour of being
distinguished by the appropriate name of the _Napoleon Venus_, from the
similarity of her contour with the countenance of that great man.
The two sisters, Mesdames G------and P------, are well known by the
flattering distinctions of the red and the black Swan, from the colour
of their hair and the stateliness of their carriage; and Kitty Stock
has the poetical cognomen of _blue-eyed Lima_.
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