Concluding from these premises, Mrs. Cole observ'd that
a character of this sort was ever a lawful prize; that the
sin would be, not to make the best of our market of him; and
that she thought such a girl as I only too good for him at
any rate, and on any terms.
She went then, at the hour appointed, to his lodgings in
one of our inns of court, which were furnished in a taste of
grandeur that had a special eye to all the conveniences of
luxury and pleasure. Here she found him in ready waiting;
and after finishing her pretence of business, and a long
circuit of discussions concerning her trade, which she said
was very bad, the qualities of her servants, 'prentices,
journey-women, the discourse naturally landed at length on
me, when Mrs. Cole, acting admirably the good old prating
gossip, who lets every thing escape her when her tongue is
set in motion, cooked him up a story so plausible of me,
throwing in every now and then such strokes of art, with all
the simplest air of nature, in praise of my person and tem-
per, as finished him finely for her purpose, whilst nothing
could be better counterfeited than her innocence of his. But
when now fired and on edge, he proceeded to drop hints of his
design and views upon me, after he had with much confusion
and pains brought her to the point (she kept as long aloof
from as she thought proper) of understanding him, without now
affecting to pass for a dragoness of virtue, by flying out
into those violent and ever suspicious passions, she stuck
with the better grace and effect to the character of a plain,
good sort of a woman, that knew no harm, and that getting her
bread in an honest way, was made of stuff easy and flexible
enough to be wrought upon to his ends, by his superior skill
and address; but, however, she managed so artfully that three
or four meetings took place before he could obtain the least
favourable hope of her assistance; without which, he had, by
a number of fruitless messages, letters, and other direct
trials of my disposition, convinced himself there was no
coming at me, all which too rais'd at once my character and
price with him.
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