lent Charles, than ever he cared for his own! In
nature, in feeling, in all honors _save the one_, how superior was the
poor orange-girl to her rivals; they envied and slandered each other,
disdaining no article to fix the fancy of the king, who desired nothing
more than that they should all live peaceably together, and was not able
to comprehend why they did not agree when he endeavored to please them;
they copied each other--but Nell resembled only herself. Instead of
going like the generality of her sex from bad to worse, the more her
opportunities of evil increased, the better she became. The ladies of
the court swore, drank, and gambled; it was the fashion to be coarse and
vicious, and the more coarse they were, the better they pleased the
English Sultan; and if the poor orange-girl endeavored to keep her lover
by what bound him to others,--where's the wonder? Her manners had their
full taste of the time; but we look in vain elsewhere for the generous
bravery, the kind thoughts, the disinterested acts, which have retained
her in our memories. "Poor Nell!" we said aloud, "poor, poor Nell!"
"Please, if you will only go on, I will show you her bed-room and
dressing-room, them's little more than closets; but this was her
bed-room, and that, the madam's dressing-room," said the servant, a
little impatient of delay. Both rooms were furnished, but cold and
gloomy; the floor of what the girl called her dressing-room was chippy
and worm-eaten. "And there," persisted the servant, "in that corner just
by, if not in that little cupboard, the money was found." "What money?"
"The money the madam, or some one about her, forgot, fifteen thousand
good pounds, I am told; and a gentleman came here once, who told me he
had some of the coins that were discovered there." "That must be a
mistake," we said. "Oh, there's no knowing. Why should the gentleman
tell a story?" We saw the girl was determined we should believe her,
contrary both to our knowledge and reason, so we made no further
observation, while she muttered that she would "just go and put her own
room straight a bit." We were left alone in Nell's dressing-chamber! She
never bestowed much time upon her toilet; and Burnet, who was
particularly hard upon her at all times, says that, after her
"elevation," she continued "to _hang_ on her clothes with the same
slovenly negligence;" and, truly, Sir Peter Lely, would make it appear
that all the "ladies" of the court, however rich the m