' I
bid him repeat the circumstance, that no mistake might be made: he
did so; but seeing me look shocked, or ashamed, or something he did
not like,--'Why, Madam,' said the fellow, 'it is a common thing
enough for ordinary men's wives to suckle the lap-dogs of ladies of
quality:' adding, that they were paid for their milk, and he saw no
harm in gratifying one's _superiors_. As I was disposed to see
nothing _but_ harm in disputing with such a competitor, our
conference finished soon; but the fact is certain."
On the margin she has written:
"Mrs. Greathead could scarcely be made to credit so hideous a fact,
till I showed her the portrait (at a broker's shop) of a woman
_suckling a cat_."
Cornelia Knight says: "Mr. and Mrs. Piozzi passed the winter at
Naples and gave little concerts. He played with great taste on the
pianoforte, and used to carry about a miniature one in his carriage."
Whilst discussing the propriety of complying with the customs of the
country, she relates:
"Poor Dr. Goldsmith said once--'I would advise every young fellow
setting out in life _to love gravy_:'--and added, that he had
formerly seen a glutton's eldest nephew disinherited, because his
uncle never could persuade him to say he liked gravy."
Mr. Forster thinks that the concluding anecdote conveys a false
impression of one
"Who wrote like an angel, but talked like poor Poll."
"Mrs. Piozzi, in her travels, quite solemnly sets forth that poor Dr.
Goldsmith said once, 'I would advise every young fellow setting forth
in life to love gravy,' alleging for it the serious reason that 'he
had formerly seen a glutton's eldest nephew disinherited because his
uncle never could persuade him to say he liked gravy.
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