I was indeed sensibly affected with his condition, and with the

apprehension of losing such a friend as he was, and was like to be to

me, and I used to sit and cry by him many hours together. However, at

last he grew better, and gave hopes that he would recover, as indeed he

did, though very slowly.

Were it otherwise than what I am going to say, I should not be backward

to disclose it, as it is apparent I have done in other cases in this

account; but I affirm, that through all this conversation, abating the

freedom of coming into the chamber when I or he was in bed, and abating

the necessary offices of attending him night and day when he was sick,

there had not passed the least immodest word or action between us. Oh

that it had been so to the last!

After some time he gathered strength and grew well apace, and I would

have removed my pallet-bed, but he would not let me, till he was able

to venture himself without anybody to sit up with him, and then I

removed to my own chamber.

He took many occasions to express his sense of my tenderness and

concern for him; and when he grew quite well, he made me a present of

fifty guineas for my care and, as he called it, for hazarding my life

to save his.

And now he made deep protestations of a sincere inviolable affection

for me, but all along attested it to be with the utmost reserve for my

virtue and his own. I told him I was fully satisfied of it. He

carried it that length that he protested to me, that if he was naked in

bed with me, he would as sacredly preserve my virtue as he would defend

it if I was assaulted by a ravisher. I believed him, and told him I

did so; but this did not satisfy him, he would, he said, wait for some

opportunity to give me an undoubted testimony of it.

It was a great while after this that I had occasion, on my own

business, to go to Bristol, upon which he hired me a coach, and would

go with me, and did so; and now indeed our intimacy increased. From

Bristol he carried me to Gloucester, which was merely a journey of

pleasure, to take the air; and here it was our hap to have no lodging

in the inn but in one large chamber with two beds in it. The master of

the house going up with us to show his rooms, and coming into that

room, said very frankly to him, 'Sir, it is none of my business to

inquire whether the lady be your spouse or no, but if not, you may lie

as honestly in these two beds as if you were in two chambers,' and with

that he pulls a great curtain which drew quite across the room and

effectually divided the beds. 'Well,' says my friend, very readily,

'these beds will do, and as for the rest, we are too near akin to lie

together, though we may lodge near one another'; and this put an honest

face on the thing too. When we came to go to bed, he decently went out

of the room till I was in bed, and then went to bed in the bed on his

own side of the room, but lay there talking to me a great while.




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