The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders

I cannot say, as some do, this devil is not so black as he is painted;

for indeed no colours can represent the place to the life, not any soul

conceive aright of it but those who have been suffers there. But how

hell should become by degree so natural, and not only tolerable, but

even agreeable, is a thing unintelligible but by those who have

experienced it, as I have.

The same night that I was sent to Newgate, I sent the news of it to my

old governess, who was surprised at it, you may be sure, and spent the

night almost as ill out of Newgate, as I did in it.

The next morning she came to see me; she did what she could to comfort

me, but she saw that was to no purpose; however, as she said, to sink

under the weight was but to increase the weight; she immediately

applied herself to all the proper methods to prevent the effects of it,

which we feared, and first she found out the two fiery jades that had

surprised me. She tampered with them, offered them money, and, in a

word, tried all imaginable ways to prevent a prosecution; she offered

one of the wenches #100 to go away from her mistress, and not to appear

against me, but she was so resolute, that though she was but a servant

maid at #3 a year wages or thereabouts, she refused it, and would have

refused it, as my governess said she believed, if she had offered her

#500. Then she attacked the other maid; she was not so hard-hearted in

appearance as the other, and sometimes seemed inclined to be merciful;

but the first wench kept her up, and changed her mind, and would not so

much as let my governess talk with her, but threatened to have her up

for tampering with the evidence.

Then she applied to the master, that is to say, the man whose goods had

been stolen, and particularly to his wife, who, as I told you, was

inclined at first to have some compassion for me; she found the woman

the same still, but the man alleged he was bound by the justice that

committed me, to prosecute, and that he should forfeit his recognisance.

My governess offered to find friends that should get his recognisances

off of the file, as they call it, and that he should not suffer; but it

was not possible to convince him that could be done, or that he could

be safe any way in the world but by appearing against me; so I was to

have three witnesses of fact against me, the master and his two maids;

that is to say, I was as certain to be cast for my life as I was

certain that I was alive, and I had nothing to do but to think of

dying, and prepare for it. I had but a sad foundation to build upon,

as I said before, for all my repentance appeared to me to be only the

effect of my fear of death, not a sincere regret for the wicked life

that I had lived, and which had brought this misery upon me, for the

offending my Creator, who was now suddenly to be my judge.