Rehearten'd at which, and piqu'd in honour,
as I thought, not to flinch so near the trial, especially as
I well knew Mrs. Cole was an eye-witness, from her stand of
espial, to the whole of our transactions, I was now less
afraid of my skin than of his not furnishing me with an oppor-
tunity of signalizing my resolution.
Consonant to this disposition was my answer, but my
courage was still more in my head, than in my heart; and as
cowards rush into the danger they fear, in order to be the
sooner rid of the pain of that sensation, I was entirely
pleas'd with his hastening matters into execution.
He had then little to do, but to unloose the strings of
my petticoats, and lift them, together with my shift, navel-
high, where he just tuck'd them up loosely girt, and might be
slipt up higher at pleasure. Then viewing me round with
great seeming delight, he laid me at length on my face upon
the bench, and when I expected he would tie me, as I had done
him, and held out my hands, not without fear and a little
trembling, he told me he would by no means terrify me un-
necessarily with such a confinement; for that though he meant
to put my constancy to some trial, the standing it was to be
completely voluntary on my side, and therefore I might be at
full liberty to get up whenever I found the pain too much for
me. You cannot imagine how much I thought myself bound, by
being thus allow'd to remain loose, and how much spirit this
confidence in me gave me, so that I was even from my heart
careless how much my flesh might suffer in honour of it.
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