look into your room.'

I had a little girl with me, which was my governess's grandchild, as
she called her; and I bade her open the door, and there sat I at work
with a great litter of things about me, as if I had been at work all
day, being myself quite undressed, with only night-clothes on my head,
and a loose morning-gown wrapped about me. My governess made a kind of
excuse for their disturbing me, telling me partly the occasion of it,
and that she had no remedy but to open the doors to them, and let them
satisfy themselves, for all she could say to them would not satisfy
them. I sat still, and bid them search the room if they pleased, for
if there was anybody in the house, I was sure they were not in my room;
and as for the rest of the house, I had nothing to say to that, I did
not understand what they looked for.

Everything looked so innocent and to honest about me, that they treated
me civiller than I expected, but it was not till they had searched the
room to a nicety, even under the bed, in the bed, and everywhere else
where it was possible anything could be hid. When they had done this,
and could find nothing, they asked my pardon for troubling me, and went
down.

When they had thus searched the house from bottom to top, and then top
to bottom, and could find nothing, they appeased the mob pretty well;
but they carried my governess before the justice. Two men swore that
they saw the man whom they pursued go into her house. My governess
rattled and made a great noise that her house should be insulted, and
that she should be used thus for nothing; that if a man did come in, he
might go out again presently for aught she knew, for she was ready to
make oath that no man had been within her doors all that day as she
knew of (and that was very true indeed); that is might be indeed that
as she was abovestairs, any fellow in a fright might find the door open
and run in for shelter when he was pursued, but that she knew nothing
of it; and if it had been so, he certainly went out again, perhaps at
the other door, for she had another door into an alley, and so had made
his escape and cheated them all.

This was indeed probable enough, and the justice satisfied himself with
giving her an oath that she had not received or admitted any man into
her house to conceal him, or protect or hide him from justice. This
oath she might justly take, and did so, and so she was dismissed.

It is easy to judge what a fright I w