The Fortunate Mistress (Parts 1 and 2)

a son born was giving the pledge foranother.

  But as I hinted, so it was; the next morning he laid me down on mytoilet a purse with three hundred pistoles. I saw him lay it down, andunderstood what he meant, but I took no notice of it till I came to it,as it were, casually; then I gave a great cry out, and fell a-scoldingin my way, for he gave me all possible freedom of speech on suchoccasions. I told him he was unkind, that he would never give me anopportunity to ask for anything, and that he forced me to blush by beingtoo much obliged, and the like; all which I knew was very agreeable tohim, for as he was bountiful beyond measure, so he was infinitelyobliged by my being so backward to ask any favours; and I was even withhim, for I never asked him for a farthing in my life.

  Upon this rallying him, he told me I had either perfectly studied theart of humour, or else what was the greatest difficulty to others wasnatural to me, adding that nothing could be more obliging to a man ofhonour than not to be soliciting and craving.

  I told him nothing could be craving upon him, that he left no room forit; that I hoped he did not give merely to avoid the trouble of beingimportuned. I told him he might depend upon it that I should be reducedvery low indeed before I offered to disturb him that way.

  He said a man of honour ought always to know what he ought to do; and ashe did nothing but what he knew was reasonable, he gave me leave to befree with him if I wanted anything; that he had too much value for me todeny me anything if I asked, but that it was infinitely agreeable tohim to hear me say that what he did was to my satisfaction.

  We strained compliments thus a great while, and as he had me in his armsmost part of the time, so upon all my expressions of his bounty to me heput a stop to me with his kisses, and would admit me to go on nofarther.

  I should in this place mention that this prince was not a subject ofFrance, though at that time he resided at Paris and was much at court,where, I suppose, he had or expected some considerable employment. But Imention it on this account, that a few days after this he came to me andtold me he was come to bring me not the most welcome news that ever Iheard from him in his life. I looked at him a little surprised; but hereturned, "Do not be uneasy; it is as unpleasant to me as to you, but Icome to consult with you about it and see if it cannot be made a littleeasy to us both."

  I seemed still more concerned and surprised. At last he said it was thathe believed he should be obliged to go into Italy, which, thoughotherwise it was very agreeable to him, yet his parting with me made ita very dull thing but to think of.

  I sat mute, as one thunderstruck, for a good while; and it presentlyoccurred to me that I was going to lose him, which, indeed, I could butill bear the thoughts of; and as he told me I turned pale. "What's thematter?" said he hastily. "I have surprised you indeed," and stepping tothe sideboard fills a dram of cordial water, which was of his ownbringing, and comes to me. "Be not surprised," said he; "I'll go nowherewithout you;" adding several other things so kind as nothing couldexceed it.

  I might indeed turn pale, for I was very much surprised at first,believing that this was, as it often happens in such cases, only aproject to drop me, and break off an amour which he had now carried onso long; and a thousand thoughts whirled about my head in the fewmoments while I was kept in suspense, for they were but a few. I say, Iwas indeed surprised, and might, perhaps, look pale, but I was not inany danger of fainting that I knew of.

  However, it not a little pleased me to see him so concerned and anxiousabout me, but I stopped a little when he put the cordial to my mouth,and taking the glass in my hand, I said, "My lord, your words areinfinitely more of a cordial to me than this citron; for as nothing canbe a greater affliction than to lose you, so nothing can be a greatersatisfaction than the assurance that I shall not have that misfortune."

  He made me sit down, and sat down by me, and after saying a thousandkind things to me, he turns upon me with a smile: "Why, will youventure yourself to Italy with me?" says he. I stopped a while, and thenanswered that I wondered he would ask me that question, for I would goanywhere in the world, or all over the world, wherever he should desireme, and give me the felicity of his company.

  Then he entered into a long account of the occasion of his journey, andhow the king had engaged him to go, and some other circumstances whichare not proper to enter into here; it being by no means proper to sayanything that might lead the reader into the least guess at the person.

  But to cut short this part of the story, and the history of our journeyand stay abroad, which would almost fill up a volume of itself, I say wespent all that evening in cheerful consultations about the manner of ourtravelling, the equipage and figure he should go in, and in what mannerI should go. Several ways were proposed, but none seemed feasible, tillat last I told him I thought it would be so troublesome, so expensive,and so public that it would be many ways inconvenient to him; and thoughit was a kind of death to me to lose him, yet that, rather than so verymuch perplex his affairs, I would submit to anything.

  At the next visit I filled his head with the same difficulties, and thenat last came over him with a proposal that I would stay in Paris, orwhere else he should direct; and when I heard of his safe arrival, wouldcome away by myself, and place myself as near him as I could.

  This gave him no satisfaction at all, nor would he hear any more of it;but if I durst venture myself, as he called it, such a journey, he wouldnot lose the satisfaction of my company; and as for the expense, thatwas not to be named; neither, indeed, was there room to name it, for Ifound that he travelled at the king's expense, as well for himself asfor all his equipage, being upon a piece of secret service of the lastimportance.

  But after several debates between ourselves, he came to this resolution,viz., that he would travel incognito, and so he should avoid all publicnotice either of himself or of who went with him; and that then heshould not only carry me with him, but have a perfect leisure ofenjoying my agreeable company (as he was pleased to call it) all theway.

  This was so obliging that nothing could be more so. Upon this foot heimmediately set to work to prepare things for his journey, and, by hisdirections, so did I too. But now I had a terrible difficulty upon me,and which way to get over it I knew not; and that was, in what manner totake care of what I had to leave behind me. I was rich, as I have said,very rich, and what to do with it I knew not; nor who to leave in trustI knew not. I had nobody but Amy in the world, and to travel without Amywas very uncomfortable, or to leave all I had in the world with her,and, if she miscarried, be ruined at once, was still a frightfulthought; for Amy might die, and whose hands things might fall into Iknew not. This gave me great uneasiness, and I knew not what to do; forI could not mention it to the prince, lest he should see that I wasricher than he thought I was.

  But the prince made all this easy to me; for in concerting measures forour journey he started the thing himself, and asked me merrily oneevening who I would trust with all my wealth in my absence.

  "My wealth, my lord," said I, "except what I owe to your goodness is butsmall, but yet that little I have, I confess, causes somethoughtfulness, because I have no acquaintance in Paris that I daretrust with it, nor anybody but my woman to leave in the house; and howto do without her upon the road I do not well know."

  "As to the road, be not concerned," says the prince; "I'll provide youservants to your mind; and as for your woman, if you can trust her,leave her here, and I'll put you in a way how to secure things as wellas if you were at home." I bowed, and told him I could not be put intobetter hands than his own, and that, therefore, I would govern all mymeasures by his directions; so we talked no more of it that night.

  The next day he sent me in a great iron chest, so large that it was asmuch as six lusty fellows could get up the steps into the house; and inthis I put, indeed, all my wealth; and for my safety he ordered a good,honest, ancient man and his wife to be in the house with her, to keepher company, and a maid-servant and boy; so that there was a goodfamily, and Amy was madam, the mistress of the house.

&nb
sp; Things being thus secured, we set out incog., as he called it; but wehad two coaches and six horses, two chaises, and about eightmen-servants on horseback, all very well armed.

  Never was woman better used in this world that went upon no otheraccount than I did. I had three women-servants to wait on me, onewhereof was an old Madame ----, who thoroughly understood her business,and managed everything as if she had been major-domo; so I had notrouble. They had one coach to themselves, and the prince and I in theother; only that sometimes, where he knew it necessary, I went intotheir coach, and one particular gentleman of the retinue rode with him.

  I shall say no more of the journey than that when we came to thosefrightful mountains, the Alps, there was no travelling in our coaches,so he ordered a horse-litter, but carried by mules, to be provided forme, and himself went on horseback. The coaches went some other way backto Lyons. Then we had coaches hired at