The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders

The Bath is a place of gallantry enough; expensive, and full of snares.

I went thither, indeed, in the view of taking anything that might

offer, but I must do myself justice, as to protest I knew nothing

amiss; I meant nothing but in an honest way, nor had I any thoughts

about me at first that looked the way which afterwards I suffered them

to be guided.

Here I stayed the whole latter season, as it is called there, and

contracted some unhappy acquaintances, which rather prompted the

follies I fell afterwards into than fortified me against them. I lived

pleasantly enough, kept good company, that is to say, gay, fine

company; but had the discouragement to find this way of living sunk me

exceedingly, and that as I had no settled income, so spending upon the

main stock was but a certain kind of bleeding to death; and this gave

me many sad reflections in the interval of my other thoughts. However,

I shook them off, and still flattered myself that something or other

might offer for my advantage.

But I was in the wrong place for it. I was not now at Redriff, where,

if I had set myself tolerably up, some honest sea captain or other

might have talked with me upon the honourable terms of matrimony; but I

was at the Bath, where men find a mistress sometimes, but very rarely

look for a wife; and consequently all the particular acquaintances a

woman can expect to make there must have some tendency that way.

I had spent the first season well enough; for though I had contracted

some acquaintance with a gentleman who came to the Bath for his

diversion, yet I had entered into no felonious treaty, as it might be

called. I had resisted some casual offers of gallantry, and had

managed that way well enough. I was not wicked enough to come into the

crime for the mere vice of it, and I had no extraordinary offers made

me that tempted me with the main thing which I wanted.

However, I went this length the first season, viz. I contracted an

acquaintance with a woman in whose house I lodged, who, though she did

not keep an ill house, as we call it, yet had none of the best

principles in herself. I had on all occasions behaved myself so well

as not to get the least slur upon my reputation on any account

whatever, and all the men that I had conversed with were of so good

reputation that I had not given the least reflection by conversing with

them; nor did any of them seem to think there was room for a wicked

correspondence, if they had any of them offered it; yet there was one

gentleman, as above, who always singled me out for the diversion of my

company, as he called it, which, as he was pleased to say, was very

agreeable to him, but at that time there was no more in it.