re
arguments, only told me he had pointed me out for some of the best
merchants in London, but since I forbade him he would give me no
disturbance of that kind. He applauded my way of managing my money, and
told me I should soon be monstrous rich; but he neither knew or
mistrusted that, with all this wealth, I was yet a whore, and was not
averse to adding to my estate at the farther expense of my virtue.

But to go on with my story as to my way of living. I found, as above,
that my living as I did would not answer; that it only brought the
fortune-hunters and bites about me, as I have said before, to make a
prey of me and my money; and, in short, I was harassed with lovers,
beaux, and fops of quality, in abundance, but it would not do. I aimed
at other things, and was possessed with so vain an opinion of my own
beauty, that nothing less than the king himself was in my eye. And this
vanity was raised by some words let fall by a person I conversed with,
who was, perhaps, likely enough to have brought such a thing to pass,
had it been sooner; but that game began to be pretty well over at
court. However, the having mentioned such a thing, it seems a little
too publicly, it brought abundance of people about me, upon a wicked
account too.

And now I began to act in a new sphere. The court was exceedingly gay
and fine, though fuller of men than of women, the queen not affecting to
be very much in public. On the other hand, it is no slander upon the
courtiers to say, they were as wicked as anybody in reason could desire
them. The king had several mistresses, who were prodigious fine, and
there was a glorious show on that side indeed. If the sovereign gave
himself a loose, it could not be expected the rest of the court should
be all saints; so far was it from that, though I would not make it worse
than it was, that a woman that had anything agreeable in her appearance
could never want followers.

I soon found myself thronged with admirers, and I received visits from
some persons of very great figure, who always introduced themselves by
the help of an old lady or two who were now become my intimates; and one
of them, I understood afterwards, was set to work on purpose to get into
my favour, in order to introduce what followed.

The conversation we had was generally courtly, but civil. At length some
gentlemen proposed to play, and made what they called a party. This, it
seems, was a contrivance of one of my female hangers-on,