Do you remember how we met Mr. Rhodes, the bookseller, and friend of Mr. Baggs?—he to whom young Mr. Betterton was even then apprenticed. At the corner of Princes Street we came nose to nose with him, and but for great presence of mind on my part when, without an instant’s hesitation, I ran straight at him and butted him in the Stomach so that he lost his Balance for the moment and only recovered complete Consciousness after we had disappeared round the corner of the Street, he no doubt would have recognised us and betrayed our naughty Secret. Oh, what a fright we had! I can see You now, leaning, breathless and panting, against the street corner, your Hand pressed to your Bosom, your Eyes shining like Stars! As for the rest, it is all confusion in my mind. The Crowd, the Bustle, the Noise, this great Assembly, the like of which I had never seen before. I do not know how we came to our seats. All I know is that we were there, looking down upon the moving throng. I remember that some Worthy of obvious note was sitting next to me, and was perpetually treading upon my toes. But this I did not mind, for he was good enough to point out to me the various Notabilities amongst the Audience or upon the Stage; and I was greatly marvelled and awed by the wonderful familiarity with which he spoke of all these distinguished People. "There sits General Monk. Brave old George! By gad! ’twere interesting to know what goes on inside that square Head of his! King or Protector, which is it to be? Or Protector _and_ King! George knows; and you mark my words, young Sir, George will be the one to decide. Old Noll is sick; he can’t last long. And Master Richard hath not much affection for his Father’s Friends—calls them Reprobates and ungodly. Well! can you see George being rebuked by Master Richard for going to the Play?" And I, not being on such intimate terms with the Lord Protector’s Son or with General Monk, could offer no opinion on the subject. And after a while my Neighbour went on glibly: "Ah! here comes my Lady Viner, flaunting silks and satins. Aye, the fair Alice—his third Wife, mark you!—knows how to spend the money which her Lord hath been at such pains to scrape together. By gad! who’d have thought to see red-haired Polly Ann so soon after the demise of His Grace! See, not an inch of widows’ Weeds doth she wear in honour of the old Dotard who did her the infinite favour of dying just in the nick of time...." And so on, the Man would babble in a continuous stream of talk. You, Mistress, listened to him open-mouthed, your great brown Eyes aglow with curiosity and with excitement. You and I knew but little of those great Folk, and seeing them all around us, prepared for the same enjoyment which we had paid to obtain, made us quite intoxicated with eagerness.