neighbour when I had that title conferred on me). "Pray,
Thomas," said I, "did not you speak of a great person of quality, whose
name I have forgot, that lived next door to my Lord ----'s when you was
his valet? pray who was she? I suppose a foreigner, by the name you
called her." "Really, my lady," replied he, "I do not know who she was;
all I can say of her is, that she kept the greatest company, and was a
beautiful woman, by report, but I never saw her; she was called the Lady
Roxana, was a very good mistress, but her character was not so good as
to private life as it ought to be. Though I once had an opportunity,"
continued he, "of seeing a fine outlandish dress she danced in before
the king, which I took as a great favour, for the cook took me up when
the lady was out, and she desired my lady's woman to show it to me."

All this answered right, and I had nothing to do but to keep my Turkish
dress out of the way, to be myself unknown to my child, for as he had
never seen Roxana, so he knew nothing of me.

In the interval, my husband had hired a stage-coach to carry us to the
city of Menin, where he intended to go by water down the river Lys to
Ghent, and there take coach to Isabella fort, opposite the city of
Anvers, and cross the river to that place, and go from thence by land to
Breda; and as he had agreed and settled this patrol, I was satisfied,
and we set out next day. We went through several handsome towns and
villages before we took water, but by water we went round part of the
city of Courtrai, and several fortified towns. At Anvers we hired a
coach to Breda, where we stayed two days to refresh ourselves, for we
had been very much fatigued; as Willemstadt was situated so as to be
convenient for our taking water for Rotterdam, we went there, and being
shipped, had a safe and speedy voyage to that city.

As we had resolved in our journey to settle at the Hague, we did not
intend to stay any longer at Rotterdam, than while my husband had all
our wealth delivered to him from the several merchants he had consigned
it to. This business took up a month, during which time we lived in
ready-furnished lodgings on the Great Quay, where all the respect was
shown us as was due to our quality.

Here my husband hired two more men-servants, and I took two maids, and
turned Isabel, who was a well-bred, agreeable girl, into my companion;
but that I might not be too much fatigued, my husband went to the Hague
first, and lef