istian; adding that so much
beauty could not be Mahometan. Immediately the folding-doors were flung
open, and he led me into the room. The company were under the greatest
surprise imaginable; the very music stopped awhile to gaze, for the
dress was indeed exceedingly surprising, perfectly new, very agreeable,
and wonderful rich.

The gentleman, whoever he was, for I never knew, led me only _a
courant_, and then asked me if I had a mind to dance an antic--that is
to say, whether I would dance the antic as they had danced in
masquerade, or anything by myself. I told him anything else rather, if
he pleased; so we danced only two French dances, and he led me to the
drawing-room door, when he retired to the rest of the masks. When he
left me at the drawing-room door I did not go in, as he thought I would
have done, but turned about and showed myself to the whole room, and
calling my woman to me, gave her some directions to the music, by which
the company presently understood that I would give them a dance by
myself. Immediately all the house rose up and paid me a kind of a
compliment by removing back every way to make me room, for the place was
exceedingly full. The music did not at first hit the tune that I
directed, which was a French tune, so I was forced to send my woman to
them again, standing all this while at my drawing-room door; but as soon
as my woman spoke to them again, they played it right, and I, to let
them see it was so, stepped forward to the middle of the room. Then they
began it again, and I danced by myself a figure which I learnt in
France, when the Prince de ---- desired I would dance for his diversion.
It was, indeed, a very fine figure, invented by a famous master at
Paris, for a lady or a gentleman to dance single; but being perfectly
new, it pleased the company exceedingly, and they all thought it had
been Turkish; nay, one gentleman had the folly to expose himself so
much as to say, and I think swore too, that he had seen it danced at
Constantinople, which was ridiculous enough.

At the finishing the dance the company clapped, and almost shouted; and
one of the gentlemen cried out "Roxana! Roxana! by ----," with an oath;
upon which foolish accident I had the name of Roxana presently fixed
upon me all over the court end of town as effectually as if I had been
christened Roxana. I had, it seems, the felicity of pleasing everybody
that night to an extreme; and my ball, but especially my dress, was th