no way
convenient for him or for me. He smiled, and took me in his arms, and
told me he was resolved, while I was his, I should never be able to ask
him for anything, but that he would be daily asking new favours of me.

After we were up (for this conference was in bed), he desired I would
dress me in the best suit of clothes I had. It was a day or two after
the three suits were made and brought home. I told him, if he pleased, I
would rather dress me in that suit which I knew he liked best. He asked
me how I could know which he would like best before he had seen them. I
told him I would presume for once to guess at his fancy by my own; so I
went away and dressed me in the second suit, brocaded with silver, and
returned in full dress, with a suit of lace upon my head, which would
have been worth in England two hundred pounds sterling; and I was every
way set out as well as Amy could dress me, who was a very genteel
dresser too. In this figure I came to him, out of my dressing-room,
which opened with folding-doors into his bedchamber.

He sat as one astonished a good while, looking at me, without speaking a
word, till I came quite up to him, kneeled on one knee to him, and
almost, whether he would or no, kissed his hand. He took me up, and
stood up himself, but was surprised when, taking me in his arms, he
perceived tears to run down my cheeks. "My dear," says he aloud, "what
mean these tears?" "My lord," said I, after some little check, for I
could not speak presently, "I beseech you to believe me, they are not
tears of sorrow, but tears of joy. It is impossible for me to see myself
snatched from the misery I was fallen into, and at once to be in the
arms of a prince of such goodness, such immense bounty, and be treated
in such a manner; it is not possible, my lord," said I, "to contain the
satisfaction of it; and it will break out in an excess in some measure
proportioned to your immense bounty, and to the affection which your
Highness treats me with, who am so infinitely below you."

It would look a little too much like a romance here to repeat all the
kind things he said to me on that occasion, but I can't omit one
passage. As he saw the tears drop down my cheek, he pulls out a fine
cambric handkerchief, and was going to wipe the tears off, but checked
his hand, as if he was afraid to deface something; I say, he checked his
hand, and tossed the handkerchief to me to do it myself. I took the hint
immediately, and wi