The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders

But as the devil is an unwearied tempter, so he never fails to find

opportunity for that wickedness he invites to. It was one evening that

I was in the garden, with his two younger sisters and himself, and all

very innocently merry, when he found means to convey a note into my

hand, by which he directed me to understand that he would to-morrow

desire me publicly to go of an errand for him into the town, and that I

should see him somewhere by the way.

Accordingly, after dinner, he very gravely says to me, his sisters

being all by, 'Mrs. Betty, I must ask a favour of you.' 'What's that?'

says his second sister. 'Nay, sister,' says he very gravely, 'if you

can't spare Mrs. Betty to-day, any other time will do.' Yes, they

said, they could spare her well enough, and the sister begged pardon

for asking, which they did but of mere course, without any meaning.

'Well, but, brother,' says the eldest sister, 'you must tell Mrs. Betty

what it is; if it be any private business that we must not hear, you

may call her out. There she is.' 'Why, sister,' says the gentleman

very gravely, 'what do you mean? I only desire her to go into the High

Street' (and then he pulls out a turnover), 'to such a shop'; and then

he tells them a long story of two fine neckcloths he had bid money for,

and he wanted to have me go and make an errand to buy a neck to the

turnover that he showed, to see if they would take my money for the

neckcloths; to bid a shilling more, and haggle with them; and then he

made more errands, and so continued to have such petty business to do,

that I should be sure to stay a good while.

When he had given me my errands, he told them a long story of a visit

he was going to make to a family they all knew, and where was to be

such-and-such gentlemen, and how merry they were to be, and very

formally asks his sisters to go with him, and they as formally excused

themselves, because of company that they had notice was to come and

visit them that afternoon; which, by the way, he had contrived on

purpose.

He had scarce done speaking to them, and giving me my errand, but his

man came up to tell him that Sir W---- H----'s coach stopped at the

door; so he runs down, and comes up again immediately. 'Alas!' says he

aloud, 'there's all my mirth spoiled at once; sir W---- has sent his

coach for me, and desires to speak with me upon some earnest business.'

It seems this Sir W---- was a gentleman who lived about three miles out

of town, to whom he had spoken on purpose the day before, to lend him

his chariot for a particular occasion, and had appointed it to call for

him, as it did, about three o'clock.