ready enough to part
with me, and demanded a thousand pieces of gold, which were ordered him
on the spot, each piece being about the bigness of eight hundred
moidores; but allowing for the proportion of all things between that
country and Europe, and the high price of gold among them, was hardly so
great a sum as a thousand guineas would be in England. I then said to
the queen, "since I was now her majesty's most humble creature and
vassal, I must beg the favour, that Glumdalclitch, who had always tended
me with so much care and kindness, and understood to do it so well, might
be admitted into her service, and continue to be my nurse and
instructor."

Her majesty agreed to my petition, and easily got the farmer's consent,
who was glad enough to have his daughter preferred at court, and the poor
girl herself was not able to hide her joy. My late master withdrew,
bidding me farewell, and saying he had left me in a good service; to
which I replied not a word, only making him a slight bow.

The queen observed my coldness; and, when the farmer was gone out of the
apartment, asked me the reason. I made bold to tell her majesty, "that I
owed no other obligation to my late master, than his not dashing out the
brains of a poor harmless creature, found by chance in his fields: which
obligation was amply recompensed, by the gain he had made in showing me
through half the kingdom, and the price he had now sold me for. That the
life I had since led was laborious enough to kill an animal of ten times
my strength. That my health was much impaired, by the continual drudgery
of entertaining the rabble every hour of the day; and that, if my master
had not thought my life in danger, her majesty would not have got so
cheap a bargain. But as I was out of all fear of being ill-treated under
the protection of so great and good an empress, the ornament of nature,
the darling of the world, the delight of her subjects, the phoenix of the
creation, so I hoped my late master's apprehensions would appear to be
groundless; for I already found my spirits revive, by the influence of
her most august presence."

This was the sum of my speech, delivered with great improprieties and
hesitation. The latter part was altogether framed in the style peculiar
to that people, whereof I learned some phrases from Glumdalclitch, while
she was carrying me to court.

The queen, giving great allowance for my defectiveness in speaking, was,
however, surpris