The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders

But my new generous mistress, for she exceeded the good woman I was

with before, in everything, as well as in the matter of estate; I say,

in everything except honesty; and for that, though this was a lady most

exactly just, yet I must not forget to say on all occasions, that the

first, though poor, was as uprightly honest as it was possible for any

one to be.

I was no sooner carried away, as I have said, by this good gentlewoman,

but the first lady, that is to say, the Mayoress that was, sent her two

daughters to take care of me; and another family which had taken notice

of me when I was the little gentlewoman, and had given me work to do,

sent for me after her, so that I was mightily made of, as we say; nay,

and they were not a little angry, especially madam the Mayoress, that

her friend had taken me away from her, as she called it; for, as she

said, I was hers by right, she having been the first that took any

notice of me. But they that had me would not part with me; and as for

me, though I should have been very well treated with any of the others,

yet I could not be better than where I was.

Here I continued till I was between seventeen and eighteen years old,

and here I had all the advantages for my education that could be

imagined; the lady had masters home to the house to teach her daughters

to dance, and to speak French, and to write, and other to teach them

music; and I was always with them, I learned as fast as they; and

though the masters were not appointed to teach me, yet I learned by

imitation and inquiry all that they learned by instruction and

direction; so that, in short, I learned to dance and speak French as

well as any of them, and to sing much better, for I had a better voice

than any of them. I could not so readily come at playing on the

harpsichord or spinet, because I had no instrument of my own to

practice on, and could only come at theirs in the intervals when they

left it, which was uncertain; but yet I learned tolerably well too, and

the young ladies at length got two instruments, that is to say, a

harpsichord and a spinet too, and then they taught me themselves. But

as to dancing, they could hardly help my learning country-dances,

because they always wanted me to make up even number; and, on the other

hand, they were as heartily willing to learn me everything that they

had been taught themselves, as I could be to take the learning.