The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders

I was very well dressed, and had my gold watch as well as she; so I

left the footman, and I puts myself in a rank with this young lady,

having stayed till she had taken one double turn in the Mall, and was

going forward again; by and by I saluted her by her name, with the

title of Lady Betty. I asked her when she heard from her father; when

my lady her mother would be in town, and how she did.

I talked so familiarly to her of her whole family that she could not

suspect but that I knew them all intimately. I asked her why she would

come abroad without Mrs. Chime with her (that was the name of her

woman) to take of Mrs. Judith, that was her sister. Then I entered

into a long chat with her about her sister, what a fine little lady she

was, and asked her if she had learned French, and a thousand such

little things to entertain her, when on a sudden we saw the guards

come, and the crowd ran to see the king go by to the Parliament House.

The ladies ran all to the side of the Mall, and I helped my lady to

stand upon the edge of the boards on the side of the Mall, that she

might be high enough to see; and took the little one and lifted her

quite up; during which, I took care to convey the gold watch so clean

away from the Lady Betty, that she never felt it, nor missed it, till

all the crowd was gone, and she was gotten into the middle of the Mall

among the other ladies.

I took my leave of her in the very crowd, and said to her, as if in

haste, 'Dear Lady Betty, take care of your little sister.' And so the

crowd did as it were thrust me away from her, and that I was obliged

unwillingly to take my leave.

The hurry in such cases is immediately over, and the place clear as

soon as the king is gone by; but as there is always a great running and

clutter just as the king passes, so having dropped the two little

ladies, and done my business with them without any miscarriage, I kept

hurrying on among the crowd, as if I ran to see the king, and so I got

before the crowd and kept so till I came to the end of the Mall, when

the king going on towards the Horse Guards, I went forward to the

passage, which went then through against the lower end of the

Haymarket, and there I bestowed a coach upon myself, and made off, and

I confess I have not yet been so good as my word, viz. to go and visit

my Lady Betty.