of
trying my fortune with them, rather, with pleasure and gaiety, than with
the least idea of despondency.
In the mean time, several of my acquaintances among the sisterhood,
who had soon got wind of my misfortune, flocked to insult me with their
malicious consolations. Most of them had long envied me the affluence
and splendour I had been maintained in; and though there was scarce
one of them that did not at least deserve to be in my case, and would
probably, sooner or later, come to it, it was equally easy to remark,
even in their affected pity, their secret pleasure at seeing me
thus discarded, and their secret grief that it was no worse with me.
Unaccountable malice of the human heart! and which is not confined to
the class of life they were of.
But as the time approached for me to come to some resolution how to
dispose of myself, and I was considering, round where to shift my
quarters to, Mrs. Cole, a middle aged discreet sort of woman, who had
been brought into my acquaintance by one of the misses that visited me,
upon learning my situation, came to offer her cordial advice and service
to me; and as I had always taken to her more than to any of my female
acquaintances, I listened the easier to her proposals. And, as it
happened, I could not have put myself into worse, or into better hands
in all London: into worse, because keeping a house of conveniency, there
were no lengths in lewdness she would not advise me to go, in compliance
with her customers; no schemes, or pleasure, or even unbounded
debauchery, she did not take even a delight in promoting: into a better,
because nobody having had more experience of the wicked part of the
town than she had, was fitter to advise and guard one against the worst
dangers of our profession; and what was rare to be met with in those
of her's, she contented herself with a moderate living profit upon her
industry and good offices, and had nothing of their greedy rapacious
turn. She was really too a gentlewoman born and bred, but through a
train of accidents reduced to this course, which she pursued, partly
through necessity, partly through choice, as never woman delighted more
in encouraging a brisk circulation of the trade, for the sake of the
trade itself, or better understood all the mysteries and refinements
of it, than she did; so that she was consummately at the top of her
profession, and dealt only with customers of distinction: to answer the
demands of whom she kept
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