
customer; but Mrs. Cole, as soon as we were conveniently alone, insur'd me, in
virtue of her long experience in these matters, that for this bout my charms had
not miss'd fire; for that by his eagerness, his manner and looks, she was sure
he had it: the only point now in doubt was his character and circumstances,
which her knowledge of the town would soon gain her sufficient acquaintance
with, to take her measures upon.
    And effectively, in a few hours, her intelligence serv'd her so well that
she learn'd that this conquest of mine was no other than Mr. Norbert, a
gentleman originally of great fortune, which, with a constitution naturally not
the best, he had vastly impaired by his over-violent pursuit of the vices of the
town; in the course of which, having worn out and stal'd all the more common
modes of debauchery, he had fallen into a taste of maiden-hunting; in which
chase he had ruin'd a number of girls, sparing no expence to compass his ends,
and generally using them well till tired, or cool'd by enjoyment, or springing a
new face, he could with more ease disembarrass himself of the old ones, and
resign them to their fate, as his sphere of achievements of that sort lay only
amongst such as he could proceed with by way of bargain and sale.
    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
