was the only support of his courtship; and I mention
it the rather to intimate again to the ladies that nothing but want of
courage for such an indifferency makes our sex so cheap, and prepares
them to be ill-used as they are; would they venture the loss of a
pretending fop now and then, who carries it high upon the point of his
own merit, they would certainly be less slighted, and courted more.
Had I discovered really and truly what my great fortune was, and that
in all I had not full #500 when he expected #1500, yet I had hooked him
so fast, and played him so long, that I was satisfied he would have had
me in my worst circumstances; and indeed it was less a surprise to him
when he learned the truth than it would have been, because having not
the least blame to lay on me, who had carried it with an air of
indifference to the last, he would not say one word, except that indeed
he thought it had been more, but that if it had been less he did not
repent his bargain; only that he should not be able to maintain me so
well as he intended.

In short, we were married, and very happily married on my side, I
assure you, as to the man; for he was the best-humoured man that every
woman had, but his circumstances were not so good as I imagined, as, on
the other hand, he had not bettered himself by marrying so much as he
expected.

When we were married, I was shrewdly put to it to bring him that little
stock I had, and to let him see it was no more; but there was a
necessity for it, so I took my opportunity one day when we were alone,
to enter into a short dialogue with him about it. 'My dear,' said I,
'we have been married a fortnight; is it not time to let you know
whether you have got a wife with something or with nothing?' 'Your own
time for that, my dear,' says he; 'I am satisfied that I have got the
wife I love; I have not troubled you much,' says he, 'with my inquiry
after it.'

'That's true,' says I, 'but I have a great difficulty upon me about it,
which I scarce know how to manage.'

'What's that, m' dear?' says he.

'Why,' says I, ''tis a little hard upon me, and 'tis harder upon you.
I am told that Captain ----' (meaning my friend's husband) 'has told
you I had a great deal more money than I ever pretended to have, and I
am sure I never employed him to do so.'

'Well,' says he, 'Captain ---- may have told me so, but what then? If
you have not so much, that may lie at his door, but you never told me
what you had