Down they sat, and he who I suppose was constituted their captain
_pro hac vice_, accosted me with great civility, and asked me if I
would honour them with my company to supper. I acknowledge I did not
yet guess the profession of my new acquaintances, but supposing my
landlord would be cautious of suffering either a robbery or a murder
in his own house, I know not how, but by degrees my mind grew
perfectly easy. About ten o'clock I heard a very great noise of
horses, and soon after men's feet tramping in a room over my head.
Then my landlord came down and informed us supper was just ready to
go upon the table.

Upon this we were all desired to walk up, and he whom I before
called the captain, presented me, with a humorous kind of ceremony,
to a man more dignified than the rest who sat at the end of the
table, telling me at the same time, he hoped I would not refuse to
pay my respects to Prince Oroonoko, King of the Blacks. It then
immediately struck into my head who those worthy persons were, into
whose company I was thus accidentally fallen. I called myself a
thousand blockheads for not finding out before, but the hurry of
things, or to speak the truth, the fear I was in, prevented my
judging even from the most evident signs.

As soon as our awkward ceremony was over, supper was brought in; it
consisted of eighteen dishes of venison in every shape, roasted,
boiled with broth, hashed collops, pasties, umble pies, and a large
haunch in the middle, larded. I easily saw that of three ordinary
rooms of which the first floor of the house consisted, ours (by
taking down the partitions) was very large, and the company in all
twenty-one persons. At each of our elbows there was set a bottle of
claret, and the man and woman of the house sat down at the lower
end. Two or three of the fellows had good natural voices, and so the
evening was spent as merrily as the rakes pass theirs in the King's
Arms, or the City apprentices with their master's maids at Sadler's
Wells. About two the company seemed inclined to break up, having
first assured me that they should take my company as a favour any
Thursday evening, if I came that way.

I confess I did not sleep all night with reflecting on what had
passed, and could not resolve with myself whether these humorous
gentlemen in masquerade wer