Earl of Rochester, ii

Lass, to the old Misei's House. It was with much adohe found Means to get Sight or Speech of the old 'Wo-man ; but st last he obtained that Favour; when, pe-rEctin all the Cant of those People, he began to tell the Oc-casion of his coming, and bantering her, in Hopes sitewould invite him in ; but all in vain ; he was admittedno farther than the Porch, with the Housc-Do.r just a-jar: At last,, my Lord takes this Method ; rising up asgoing away, pretends himselfin a Fit, and falls against;the Door; The Noise brings the young Wife to them,who with much Intreaty, persuades her Keeper to helpthe poor Girl into the House, in respect to the Decorumof the Sex, and the unhappy Condition sire was in. TheDoor had not been long shut, but by Degrees my Lordcomes to himself, and being set on a Chair, cants a veryreligious Thanksgiving, thro’ the Nose, for the Huma-nity of the good old Gen lewoman ; and begins to tellhow deplorable her hardFortune was by such Fits, whichoften took her in the Street, and so made her liable tomany Accidents ; but every now and then, as a Relief,took a Sip of the Bottle, and recommended it to the oldWomen, who was sure to drink a hearty Dram ; andwhen offered the young Lass she would stop the Bottle,and fay, It ivas nought for young People, and the like,in order to save a larger Share for herself.

My Lord had another Bottle qualified with a littleOpium, which would sooner accomplish his Desires, andlay the Dragon asleep. His Lordlhip made an End of thefirst Bottle, and gave the old Beldam the somni erousLiquor, which drinking, with Greediness enough, (he fellfast asleep. My Lord, now fired with the Presence ofthe lovely Creature, to whom he had made such nearApproaches, was full of eager Desires, which caused himoften to change Colour, and made her imagine soi^e Re-turn