e it
appear that he had bestowed on my son Thomas alone near L13,000 in
buying the plantation, shares in vessels, and merchandise, besides
several valuable presents sent to his wife, both by him and me; and as
for my daughter Susanna, she was very well married to a factor, with a
fortune of L2000 (which was a great sum of money for a woman to have who
was immediately to go to the East Indies), besides some handsome
presents given to her both by him and me. In fact, her fortune was, in
proportion, as large as her brother's, for there is but very few women
in England or Holland with L2000 fortune that would venture to the coast
of Malabar, even to have married an Indian king, much more to have gone
over with a person that no one could tell what reception he might meet
with, or might be recalled at the pleasure of the Company upon the least
distaste taken by the merchants against him. Neither would I, though her
own mother, hinder her voyage, for she had been the author of all the
misfortunes that happened to me; and if my speaking a word would have
saved her from the greatest torment, I believe I should have been quite
silent. And I had but one reason to allege for the girl's going so
hazardous a voyage, which is, she knew that the match was proposed by my
lord, and if he had not thought it would have been advantageous for her,
he would never have given L2000 to her husband as a fortune; and again,
as my lord was the only friend she had in our family, she was cunning
enough to know that the bare disobliging of him would have been her ruin
for ever after; to which I may add, that it is possible, as she had made
so much mischief about me, she was glad to get what she could and go out
of the way, for fear my lord and I should be friends; which, if that had
happened, she would have been told never to come to our house any more.

As my lord's death began to be daily the discourse of the family, I
thought that he might be more reconciled if I entered into the arguments
again, pro and con, which we had together before. I did so, but all I
could say was no satisfaction, till I importuned him on my knees, with a
flood of tears. "Madam," said he, "what would you have me do?" "Do, my
lord," said I, "only be so tender to my years and circumstances as to
alter your will, or, at least, add a codicil to it; I desire nothing
more, for I declare I had rather be a beggar, than live under my
child's jurisdiction." To this he agreed with some