and my companion once brought away three pieces of Dutch
black silk that turned to good account, and I had my share of
it; but in all the journeys I made by myself, I could not get an
opportunity to do anything, so I laid it aside, for I had been so
often, that they began to suspect something, and were so shy,
that I saw nothing was to be done.
This baulked me a little, and I resolved to push at something
or other, for I was not used to come back so often without
purchase; so the next day I dressed myself up fine, and took
a walk to the other end of the town. I passed through the
Exchange in the Strand, but had no notion of finding anything
to do there, when on a sudden I saw a great cluttering in the
place, and all the people, shopkeepers as well as others,
standing up and staring; and what should it be but some great
duchess come into the Exchange, and they said the queen was
coming. I set myself close up to a shop-side with my back to
the counter, as if to let the crowd pass by, when keeping my
eye upon a parcel of lace which the shopkeeper was showing
to some ladies that stood by me, the shopkeeper and her maid
were so taken up with looking to see who was coming, and
what shop they would go to, that I found means to slip a paper
of lace into my pocket and come clear off with it; so the
lady-milliner paid dear enough for her gaping after the queen.
I went off from the shop, as if driven along by the throng, and
mingling myself with the crowd, went out at the other door
of the Exchange, and so got away before they missed their
lace; and because I would not be followed, I called a coach
and shut myself up in it. I had scarce shut the coach doors up,
but I saw the milliner’s maid and five or six more come
running out into the street, and crying out as if they were
frightened. They did not cry ‘Stop thief!’ because nobody ran
away, but I could hear the word ‘robbed,’ and ‘lace,’ two or
three times, and saw the wench wringing her hands, and run
staring to and again, like one scared. The coachman that had
taken me up was getting up into the box, but was not quite up,
so that the horse had not begun to move; so that I was terrible
uneasy, and I took the packet of lace and laid it ready to have
dropped it out at the flap of the coach, which opens before,
just behind the coachman; but to my great satisfaction, in less
than a minute the coach began to move, that is to say, as soon
as the coachman had got up and spoken to his horses; so he
drove away without any interruption, and I brought off my
purchase, which was work near #20.
The next day I dressed up again, but in quite different clothes,
and walked the same way again, but nothing offered till I
came into St. James’s Park, where I saw abundance of fine
ladies in the Park, walking in the Mall, and among the rest
there was a little miss, a young lady of about twelve or thirteen
years old, and she had a sister, as I suppose it was, with her,
that might be about nine years old. I observed the biggest
had a fine gold watch on, and a good necklace of pearl, and
they had a footman in livery with them; but as it is not usual
for the footman to go behind the ladies in the Mall, so I
observed the footman stopped at their going into the Mall,
and the biggest of the sisters spoke to him, which I perceived
was to bid him be just there when they came back.
When I heard her dismiss the footman, I stepped up to him
and asked him, what little lady that was? and held a little chat
with him about what a pretty child it was with her, and how