reak to me now to fall from
upwards of L3000 per annum to a poor L500 principal.

A few days after this I went to see my son, the Earl of Wintselsheim. He
received me in a very courteous (though far from a dutiful) manner. We
talked together near an hour upon general things, but had no particular
discourse about my late lord's effects, as I wanted to have. Among
other things he told me that his guardians had advised him to go to the
university for four years longer, when he would come of age, and his
estate would be somewhat repaired; to which he said he had agreed; and
for that purpose all the household goods and equipages were to be
disposed of the next week, and the servants dismissed. I immediately
asked if it would be looked upon as an encroachment upon his father's
will if I took Isabel (who had been my waiting-maid ever since I came
from England) to live with me. "No, my lady," very readily replied he;
"as she will be dismissed from me, she is certainly at liberty and full
freedom to do for herself as soon and in the best manner she possibly
can." After this I stayed about a quarter of an hour with him, and then
I sent for Isabel, to know if she would come and live with me on her
dismission from her lord's. The girl readily consented, for I had always
been a good mistress to her; and then I went to my own lodgings in my
son's coach, which he had ordered to be got ready to carry me home.

Isabel came, according to appointment, about ten days after, and told me
the house was quite cleared both of men and movables, but said her lord
(meaning my son) was not gone to the university as yet, but was at one
of his guardians' houses, where he would stay about a month, and that he
intended to make a visit before his departure, which he did, attended by
my late chaplain; and I, being in handsome lodgings, received them with
all the complaisance and love as was possible, telling them that time
and circumstances having greatly varied with me, whatever they saw amiss
I hoped they would be so good as to look over it at that time, by
considering the unhappy situation of my affairs.

After this visit was over, and I had myself and Isabel to provide for,
handsome lodgings to keep (which were as expensive as they were fine),
and nothing but my principal money to live on (I mean what I happened to
have in my pocket at my lord's death, for I had not been paid my L500 as
yet), I could not manage for a genteel maintenance as I had don