d to be out of the way when he
came to my husband; so about five o'clock I proposed to the Quaker to
take a walk on the pier and see the shipping, while the tea-kettle was
boiling. We went, and took Isabel with us, and as we were going along I
saw my son Thomas (as I shall for the future call him) going to our inn;
so we stayed out about an hour, and when we returned my husband told me
he had hired the man, and that he was to come to him as a servant on the
morrow morning. "Pray, my dear," said I, "did you ask where he ever
lived, or what his name is?" "Yes," replied my husband, "he says his
name is Thomas ----; and as to places, he has mentioned several families
of note, and among others, he lived at my Lord ----'s, next door to the
great French lady's in Pall Mall, whose name he tells me was Roxana." I
was now in a sad dilemma, and was fearful I should be known by my own
son; and the Quaker took notice of it, and afterwards told me she
believed fortune had conspired that all the people I became acquainted
with, should have known the Lady Roxana. "I warrant," said she, "this
young fellow is somewhat acquainted with the impertinent wench that
calls herself thy daughter."

I was very uneasy in mind, but had one thing in my favour, which was
always to keep myself at a very great distance from my servants; and as
the Quaker was to part with us the next day or night, he would have
nobody to mention the name Roxana to, and so of course it would drop.

We supped pretty late at night, and were very merry, for my husband said
all the pleasant things he could think of, to divert me from the
supposed illness he thought I had been troubled with in the day. The
Quaker kept up the discourse with great spirit, and I was glad to
receive the impression, for I wanted the real illness to be drove out of
my head.

The next morning, after breakfast, Thomas came to his new place. He
appeared very clean, and brought with him a small bundle, which I
supposed to be linen tied up in a handkerchief. My husband sent him to
order some porters belonging to the quay to fetch our boxes to the
Custom-house, where they were searched, for which we paid one shilling;
and he had orders to give a crown for head money, as they called it;
their demand by custom is but sixpence a head, but we appeared to our
circumstances in everything. As soon as our baggage was searched, it was
carried from the Custom-house on board the packet-boat, and there
lodged in t