s a goodly ship under sail for the Indies; her hair is
the pennants, her fore-head the prow, her eyes the guns, her nose the
rudder. He wishes he could once see her keel above water, and desires
to be her pilot, to steer thro' the Cape of Good-Hope, to the Indies of
love.
Our ingenious poetess sent him a suitable answer to this truly
ridiculous and Dutchman like epistle. She rallies him for setting out in
so unprofitable a voyage as love, and humorously reckons up the expences
of the voyage; as ribbons, and hoods for her pennants, diamond rings,
lockets, and pearl-necklaces for her guns of offence and defence, silks,
holland, lawn, cambric, &c. for her rigging.
Mrs. Behn tells us she diverted herself with Van Bruin in Albert's
absence, till he began to assume and grow troublesome to her by his
addresses, so that to rid himself of him, she was forced to disclose the
whole affair to Albert, who was so enraged that he threatened the death
of his rival, but he was pacified by his mistress, and content to
upbraid the other for his treachery, and forbid him the house, but this
says Mrs. Behn, 'produced a very ridiculous scene, for 'my Nestorian
lover would not give ground to Albert, but was as high as he, challenged
him to sniker-snee for me, and a thousand things as comical; in short
nothing but my positive command could satisfy him, and on that he
promised no more to trouble me. Sure as he thought himself of me, he
was thunder-struck, when he heard me not only forbid him the house, but
ridicule all his addresses to his rival Albert; with a countenance full
of despair, he went away not only from my lodgings, but the next day
from Antwerp, unable to stay in a place where he had met so dreadful a
defeat.'
The authoress of her life has given us a farther account of her affairs
with Vander Albert, in which she contrived to preserve her honour,
without injuring her gratitude. There was a woman at Antwerp, who had
often given Astraea warning of Albert's fickleness and inconstancy,
assuring her he never loved after enjoyment, and sometimes changed even
before he had that pretence; of which she herself was an instance;
Albert having married her, and deserted her on the wedding-night. Our
poetess took the opportunity of her acquaintance with this lady to put
an honest trick upon her lover, and at the same time do justice to an
injured woman. Accordingly she made an appointment with Albert, and
contrived that the lady whose name
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