Question

It is a circumstance worth mentioning that each of these three old gentlemen, Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, and Mr. Gascoigne, were early lovers of the Widow Wycherly, and had once been on the point of cutting each other's throats for her sake. What is the author's purpose in writing that each of the three men had once been on the verge of ‘cutting each other’s throats’?

Answer 1

"It is a circumstance worth mentioning, that each of these three old gentlemen, Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, and Mr. Gascoigne, were early lovers of the Widow Wycherly, and had once been on the point of cutting each other's throats for her sake."

This quote has the purpose of supporting the theme of his story - that old age brings wisdom and reflection, whereas if they were to have their youth returned to them, they would probably fall into the same dispute and conflict as before.