hat this friend is no other than a rascal
who wants to palm his trull upon you for a wife, that he may at once
deliver himself from the importunities of the mother and the expense of
her bantling; for which reason I would not have you trust implicitly
to the report he makes of her wealth, which is inconsistent with his
behaviour, nor run your head precipitately into a noose, that you
may afterwards wish exchanged for the hangman's." He seemed very much
startled at my insinuation, and promised to look twice before he leaped;
saying, with some heat, "Odds, if I find his intention is to betray me,
we shall see which of us is the better man." My prediction was verified
in less than a fortnight, her great belly producing an infant, to the
unspeakable amazement of Strap, who was before this happened, inclinable
to believe I had refined a little too much in my penetration. His false
friend disappeared; and a few days after an execution was issued against
her goods and household furniture, which were seized by the creditors.

Meanwhile I met my friend Banter at the ordinary, and in the evening
went to the Opera with him and Mr Chatter, who pointed out Melinda in
one of the boxes, and offered to introduce me to her, observing at the
same time, that she was a reigning toast worth ten thousand pounds.
This piece of information made my heart bound with joy, and I discovered
great eagerness to accept the proposal; upon which he assured me I
should dance with her at the next assembly, if he had any influence in
that quarter: so saying, he went round, spoke to her some minutes,
and, as I imagined, pointed at me; then returning, told me, to my
inexpressible pleasure, that I might depend upon what he had promised,
for she was now engaged as my partner. Banter in a whisper, gave me to
understand that she was an incorrigible coquette, who would grant the
same favour to any young fellow in England of a tolerable appearance,
merely to engage him among the herd of her admirers, that she might
have the pleasure of seeing them daily increase; that she was of a cold
insensible disposition, dead to every passion but vanity, and so blind
to merit, that he would lay any wager the wealthiest fool would carry
her at last. I attributed a good deal of this intelligence to the
satirical turn of my friend, or resentment for having himself suffered
a rebuff from the lady in question, and, at any rate, trusted so much to
my own accomplishments as to believ