omen in such
circumstances seldom are chargeable with, namely, I craved nothing of
him, I never asked him for anything in my life, nor suffered myself to
be made use of, as is too much the custom of mistresses, to ask favours
for others. His bounty always prevented me in the first, and my strict
concealing myself in the last, which was no less to my convenience than
his.

The only favour I ever asked of him was for his gentleman, who he had
all along entrusted with the secret of our affair, and who had once so
much offended him by some omissions in his duty that he found it very
hard to make his peace. He came and laid his case before my woman Amy,
and begged her to speak to me to intercede for him, which I did, and on
my account he was received again and pardoned, for which the grateful
dog requited me by getting to bed to his benefactress, Amy, at which I
was very angry. But Amy generously acknowledged that it was her fault as
much as his; that she loved the fellow so much that she believed if he
had not asked her she should have asked him. I say, this pacified me,
and I only obtained of her that she should not let him know that I knew
it.

I might have interspersed this part of my story with a great many
pleasant parts and discourses which happened between my maid Amy and I,
but I omit them on account of my own story, which has been so
extraordinary. However, I must mention something as to Amy and her
gentleman.

I inquired of Amy upon what terms they came to be so intimate, but Amy
seemed backward to explain herself. I did not care to press her upon a
question of that nature, knowing that she might have answered my
question with a question, and have said, "Why, how did I and the prince
come to be so intimate?" So I left off farther inquiring into it, till,
after some time, she told it me all freely of her own accord, which, to
cut it short, amounted to no more than this, that, like mistress like
maid, as they had many leisure hours together below, while they waited
respectively when his lord and I were together above; I say, they could
hardly avoid the usual question one to another, namely, why might not
they do the same thing below that we did above?

On that account, indeed, as I said above, I could not find in my heart
to be angry with Amy. I was, indeed, afraid the girl would have been
with child too, but that did not happen, and so there was no hurt done;
for Amy had been hanselled before, as well as her m