" said I, "that you were able to make me
countess, and maintain me as such." In short, he was immensely rich; for
besides all this, he showed me, which was the reason of his being so
busy among the books, I say, he showed me several adventures he had
abroad in the business of his merchandise; as particularly an eighth
share in an East India ship then abroad; an account-courant with a
merchant at Cadiz in Spain; about L3000 lent upon bottomry, upon ships
gone to the Indies; and a large cargo of goods in a merchant's hands,
for sale at Lisbon in Portugal; so that in his books there was about
L12,000 more; all which put together, made about L27,000 sterling, and
L1320 a year.

I stood amazed at this account, as well I might, and said nothing to him
for a good while, and the rather because I saw him still busy looking
over his books. After a while, as I was going to express my wonder,
"Hold, my dear," says he, "this is not all neither;" then he pulled me
out some old seals, and small parchment rolls, which I did not
understand; but he told me they were a right of reversion which he had
to a paternal estate in his family, and a mortgage of 14,000 rixdollars,
which he had upon it, in the hands of the present possessor; so that was
about L3000 more.

"But now hold again," says he, "for I must pay my debts out of all this,
and they are very great, I assure you;" and the first he said was a
black article of 8000 pistoles, which he had a lawsuit about at Paris,
but had it awarded against him, which was the loss he had told me of,
and which made him leave Paris in disgust; that in other accounts he
owed about L5300 sterling; but after all this, upon the whole, he had
still L17,000 clear stock in money, and L1320 a year in rent.

After some pause, it came to my turn to speak. "Well," says I, "'tis
very hard a gentleman with such a fortune as this should come over to
England, and marry a wife with nothing; it shall never," says I, "be
said, but what I have, I'll bring into the public stock;" so I began to
produce.

First, I pulled out the mortgage which good Sir Robert had procured for
me, the annual rent L700 per annum; the principal money L14,000.

Secondly, I pulled out another mortgage upon land, procured by the same
faithful friend, which at three times had advanced L12,000.

Thirdly, I pulled him out a parcel of little securities, procured by
several hands, by fee-farm rents, and such petty mortgages as those
times affo