The insolence of the creature!--

And

so she walked about the room, talking to herself, to her woman, and

now and then to me; but seeing I could not please her, I thought I

had better be silent. And then it was, Am I not worthy an answer? If

I speak, said I, your ladyship is angry at me, though ever so

respectfully; if I do not, I cannot please: Would your ladyship tell me

but how I shall oblige you, and I would do it with all my heart.

Confess the truth, said she, that thou art an undone creature; hast been

in bed with thy master; and art sorry for it, and for the mischief

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thou hast occasioned between him and me; and then I'll pity thee, and

persuade him to pack thee off, with a hundred or two of guineas; and

some honest farmer may take pity of thee, and patch up thy shame, for

the sake of the money; and if nobody will have thee, thou must vow

penitence, and be as humble as I once thought thee.

I was quite sick at heart, at all this passionate extravagance, and to

be hindered from being where was the desire of my soul, and afraid too

of incurring my dear master's displeasure; and, as I sat, I saw it was

no hard matter to get out of the window into the front yard, the parlour

being even with the yard, and so have a fair run for it; and after I had

seen my lady at the other end of the room again, in her walks, having

not pulled down the sash, when I spoke to Mrs. Jewkes, I got upon the

seat, and whipped out in a minute, and ran away as hard as I could

drive, my lady calling after me to return, and her woman at the other

window: But two of her servants appearing at her crying out, and she

bidding them to stop me, I said, Touch me at your peril, fellows!

But their lady's commands would have prevailed on them, had not Mr.

Colbrand, who, it seems, had been kindly ordered, by Mrs. Jewkes, to be

within call, when she saw how I was treated, come up, and put on one of

his deadly fierce looks, the only time, I thought, it ever became him,

and said, He would chine the man, that was his word, who offered to

touch his lady; and so he ran alongside of me; and I heard my lady say,

The creature flies like a bird! And, indeed, Mr. Colbrand, with his huge

strides, could hardly keep pace with me; and I never stopped, till I

got to the chariot; and Robert had got down, seeing me running at a

distance, and held the door in his hand, with the step ready down; and

in I jumped, without touching the step, saying, Drive me, drive me, as

fast as you can, out of my lady's reach! And he mounted; and Colbrand

said, Don't be frightened, madam; nobody shall hurt you.--And shut the

door, and away Robert drove; but I was quite out of breath, and did not

recover it, and my fright, all the way.




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