nk now that I must have
thought; for in writing of his youth it is hard for a man to be sure
that he does not transfer to that golden page some of the paler
characters which later years print on his mind. Perhaps I thought of
nothing at all, save that this man here was a fine fellow, that girl
there a pretty wench, that my coat became me well, and my wounded arm
gave me an interesting air. Be my meditations what they might, they were
suddenly interrupted by the sight of a crowd in the Lane near to the
Cock and Pie tavern. Here fifty or sixty men and women, decent folk
some, others porters, flower-girls, and such like, were gathered in a
circle round a man who was pouring out an oration or sermon with great
zeal and vehemence. Having drawn nearer, I paused out of a curiosity
which turned to amusement when I discovered in the preacher my good
friend Phineas Tate, with whom I had talked the evening before. It
seemed that he had set about his task without delay, and if London were
still unmindful of its sins, the fault was not to lie at Mr Tate's door.
On he plunged, sparing neither great nor small; if the Court were
sinful, so was Drury Lane; if Castlemaine (he dealt freely in names, and
most sparingly in titles of courtesy) were what he roundly said she was,
which of the women about him was not the same? How did they differ from
their betters, unless it were that their price was not so high, and in
what, save audacity, were they behind Eleanor Gwyn? He hurled this last
name forth as though it marked a climax of iniquity, and a start ran
through me as I heard it thus treated. Strange to say, something of the
same effect seemed to be produced on his other hearers. Hitherto they
had listened with good-natured tolerance, winking at one another,
laughing when the preacher's finger pointed at a neighbour, shrugging
comfortable shoulders when it turned against themselves. They are
long-suffering under abuse, the folk of London; you may say much what
you will, provided you allow them to do what they will, and they support
the imputation of unrighteousness with marvellous composure, as long as
no man takes it in hand to force them to righteousness. As they are now,
they were then, though many changes have passed over the country and
the times; so will they be, although more transformations come.

But, as I say, this last name stirred the group to a new mood. Friend
Phineas perceived the effect that he had made, but set a wrong mean