thegoodnewsofhisbeingverywell，buthadthebadnews
thathisbusinesswouldnotpermithimtocomeawaysosoon
asheexpected，andsoIwasliketogobackagainwithouthim。
Mylandladycomplimentedmeuponthegoodnewshowever，
thatIhadheardhewaswell。
’ForIhaveobserved，madam，’
saysshe，’youhadn’tbeensopleasantasyouusedtobe；you
havebeenoverheadandearsincareforhim，Idaresay，’says
thegoodwoman；’’tiseasytobeseenthere’sanalterationin
youforthebetter，’saysshe。
’Well，Iamsorrytheesquire
can’tcomeyet，’saysmylandlord；’Ishouldhavebeenheartily
gladtohaveseenhim。
ButIhope，whenyouhavecertain
newsofhiscoming，you’lltakeastephitheragain，madam，’
sayshe；’youshallbeverywelcomewheneveryoupleaseto
come。；
Withallthesefinecomplimentsweparted，andIcamemerry
enoughtoLondon，andfoundmygovernessaswellpleased
asIwas。
Andnowshetoldmeshewouldneverrecommend
anypartnertomeagain，forshealwaysfound，shesaid，that
IhadthebestluckwhenIventuredbymyself。
Andsoindeed
Ihad，forIwasseldominanydangerwhenIwasbymyself，
orifIwas，IgotoutofitwithmoredexteritythanwhenIwas
entangledwiththedullmeasuresofotherpeople，whohad
perhapslessforecast，andweremorerashandimpatientthan
I；forthoughIhadasmuchcouragetoventureasanyofthem，
yetIusedmorecautionbeforeIundertookathing，andhad
morepresenceofmindwhenIwastobringmyselfoff。
Ihaveoftenwonderedevenatmyownhardinessanother
way，thatwhenallmycompanionsweresurprisedandfellso
suddenlyintothehandofjustice，andthatIsonarrowlyescaped，
yetIcouldnotallthiswhileenterintooneseriousresolution
toleaveoffthistrade，andespeciallyconsideringthatIwas
nowveryfarfrombeingpoor；thatthetemptationofnecessity，
whichisgenerallytheintroductionofallsuchwickedness，was
nowremoved；forIhadnear#500bymeinreadymoney，on
whichImighthavelivedverywell，ifIhadthoughtfittohave
retired；butIsay，Ihadnotsomuchastheleastinclinationto
leaveoff；no，notsomuchasIhadbeforewhenIhadbut#200
beforehand，andwhenIhadnosuchfrightfulexamplesbefore
myeyesasthesewere。
Fromhence’tisevidenttome，that
whenoncewearehardenedincrime，nofearcanaffectus，
noexamplegiveusanywarning。
Ihadindeedonecomradewhosefatewentverynearmefor
agoodwhile，thoughIworeitofftoointime。
Thatcasewas
indeedveryunhappy。
Ihadmadeaprizeofapieceofvery
gooddamaskinamercer’sshop，andwentclearoffmyself，
buthadconveyedthepiecetothiscompanionofminewhen
wewentoutoftheshop，andshewentonewayandIwent
another。
Wehadnotbeenlongoutoftheshopbutthemercer
missedhispieceofstuff，andsenthismessengers，oneone
wayandoneanother，andtheypresentlyseizedherthathad
thepiece，withthedamaskuponher。
Asforme，Ihadvery
luckilysteppedintoahousewheretherewasalacechamber，
uponepairofstairs，andhadthesatisfaction，ortheterror
indeed，oflookingoutofthewindowuponthenoisethey
made，andseeingthepoorcreaturedraggedawayintriumph
tothejustice，whoimmediatelycommittedhertoNewgate。
Iwascarefultoattemptnothinginthelacechamber，but
tumbledtheirgoodsprettymuchtospendtime；thenbought
afewyardsofedgingandpaidforit，andcameawayvery
sad-heartedindeedforthepoorwoman，whowasintribulation
forwhatIonlyhadstolen。
Hereagainmyoldcautionstoodmeingoodstead；namely，
thatthoughIoftenrobbedwiththesepeople，yetIneverlet
themknowwhoIwas，orwhereIlodged，norcouldtheyever
findoutmylodging，thoughtheyoftenendeavouredtowatch
metoit。
TheyallknewmebythenameofMollFlanders，
thoughevensomeofthemratherbelievedIwasshethanknew
metobeso。
Mynamewaspublicamongthemindeed，but
howtofindmeouttheyknewnot，norsomuchashowto
guessatmyquarters，whethertheywereattheeastendofthe
townorthewest；andthiswarinesswasmysafetyuponall
theseoccasions。
Ikeptcloseagreatwhileupontheoccasionofthiswoman’s
disaster。
IknewthatifIshoulddoanythingthatshould
miscarry，andshouldbecarriedtoprison，shewouldbethere
andreadytowitnessagainstme，andperhapssaveherlifeat
myexpense。
IconsideredthatIbegantobeverywellknown
bynameattheOldBailey，thoughtheydidnotknowmyface，
andthatifIshouldfallintotheirhands，Ishouldbetreatedas
anoldoffender；andforthisreasonIwasresolvedtoseewhat
thispoorcreature’sfateshouldbebeforeIstirredabroad，
thoughseveraltimesinherdistressIconveyedmoneytoher
forherrelief。
Atlengthshecametohertrial。
Shepleadedshedidnotsteal
thething，butthatoneMrs。Flanders，assheheardhercalled
forshedidnotknowher，gavethebundletoherafterthey
cameoutoftheshop，andbadehercarryithometoherlodging。
TheyaskedherwherethisMrs。Flanderswas，butshecould
notproduceher，neithercouldshegivetheleastaccountof
me；andthemercer’smenswearingpositivelythatshewasin
theshopwhenthegoodswerestolen，thattheyimmediately
missedthem，andpursuedher，andfoundthemuponher，
thereuponthejurybroughtheringuilty；buttheCourt，
consideringthatshewasreallynotthepersonthatstolethe
goods，aninferiorassistant，andthatitwasverypossibleshe
couldnotfindoutthisMrs。Flanders，meaningme，thoughit
wouldsaveherlife，whichindeedwastrue——Isay，considering
allthis，theyallowedhertobetransported，whichwasthe
utmostfavourshecouldobtain，onlythattheCourttoldher
thatifshecouldinthemeantimeproducethesaidMrs。Flanders，
theywouldintercedeforherpardon；thatistosay，ifshecould
findmeout，andhandme，sheshouldnotbetransported。
This
Itookcaretomakeimpossibletoher，andsoshewasshipped
offinpursuanceofhersentencealittlewhileafter。
Imustrepeatitagain，thatthefateofthispoorwomantroubled
meexceedingly，andIbegantobeverypensive，knowingthat
Iwasreallytheinstrumentofherdisaster；butthepreservation
ofmyownlife，whichwassoevidentlyindanger，tookoffall
mytenderness；andseeingthatshewasnotputtodeath，Iwas
veryeasyathertransportation，becauseshewasthenoutof
thewayofdoingmeanymischief，whatevershouldhappen。
Thedisasterofthiswomanwassomemonthsbeforethatof
thelast-recitedstory，andwasindeedpartlyoccasionofmy
governessproposingtodressmeupinmen’sclothes，thatI
mightgoaboutunobserved，asindeedIdid；butIwassoon
tiredofthatdisguise，asIhavesaid，forindeeditexposedme
totoomanydifficulties。
Iwasnoweasyastoallfearofwitnessesagainstme，forall
thosethathadeitherbeenconcernedwithme，orthatknew
mebythenameofMollFlanders，wereeitherhangedor
transported；andifIshouldhavehadthemisfortunetobe
taken，Imightcallmyselfanythingelse，aswellasMollFlanders，
andnooldsinscouldbeplacedintomyaccount；soIbegan
toruna-tickagainwiththemorefreedom，andseveral
successfuladventuresImade，thoughnotsuchasIhadmade
before。
Wehadatthattimeanotherfirehappenednotagreatwayoff
fromtheplacewheremygovernesslived，andImadeanattempt
there，asbefore，butasIwasnotsoonenoughbeforethecrowd
ofpeoplecamein，andcouldnotgettothehouseIaimedat，
insteadofaprize，Igotamischief，whichhadalmostputaperiod
tomylifeandallmywickeddoingstogether；forthefirebeing
veryfurious，andthepeopleinagreatfrightinremovingtheir
goods，andthrowingthemoutofwindow，awenchfromout
ofawindowthrewafeather-bedjustuponme。
Itistrue，the
bedbeingsoft，itbrokenobones；butastheweightwasgreat，
andmadegreaterbythefall，itbeatmedown，andlaidme
deadforawhile。
Nordidthepeopleconcernthemselvesmuch
todelivermefromit，ortorecovermeatall；butIlaylikeone
deadandneglectedagoodwhile，tillsomebodygoingto
removethebedoutoftheway，helpedmeup。
Itwasindeed
awonderthepeopleinthehousehadnotthrownothergoods
outafterit，andwhichmighthavefallenuponit，andthenI
hadbeeninevitablykilled；butIwasreservedforfurther
afflictions。
Thisaccident，however，spoiledmymarketforthattime，and
Icamehometomygovernessverymuchhurtandbruised，
andfrightedtothelastdegree，anditwasagoodwhilebefore
shecouldsetmeuponmyfeetagain。
Itwasnowamerrytimeoftheyear，andBartholomewFair
wasbegun。
Ihadnevermadeanywalksthatway，norwas
thecommonpartofthefairofmuchadvantagetome；butI
tookaturnthisyearintothecloisters，andamongtherestI
fellintooneoftherafflingshops。
Itwasathingofnogreat
consequencetome，nordidIexpecttomakemuchofit；but
therecameagentlemanextremelywelldressedandveryrich，
andas’tisfrequenttotalktoeverybodyinthoseshops，he
singledmeout，andwasveryparticularwithme。
Firsthetold
mehewouldputinformetoraffle，anddidso；andsome
smallmattercomingtohislot，hepresentedittomeIthink
itwasafeathermuff；thenhecontinuedtokeeptalkingto
mewithamorethancommonappearanceofrespect，butstill
verycivil，andmuchlikeagentleman。
Heheldmeintalksolong，tillatlasthedrewmeoutofthe
rafflingplacetotheshop-door，andthentoawalkinthecloister，
stilltalkingofathousandthingscursorilywithoutanythingto
thepurpose。
Atlasthetoldmethat，withoutcompliment，he
wascharmedwithmycompany，andaskedmeifIdursttrust