so long stay, especially when they considered how much better their condition was now than it would have been had they been married at such time as they both at first desired; for although he concluded that his Predecessor had possest her, yet it had cost him dear, for his Estate was all given in Exchange, and now lawfully invested and settled on a Child, who although he and all the world believed to be his lawful Heir, yet they knew the contrary, and our Lover was Father of a Son and Heir the first day of his marriage, and which was the greatest Paradox, such a Child as he did conclude was of his own begetting; and now she did not (I suppose) repent of the counsel he had given her, and which they together had put in practice, to the great satisfaction of them both; These Considerations (said Mistress _Dorothy_) I think were very considerable, and conduced much to their satisfaction, and now, said she, I think you can expect no more relations of this nature, for in this condition I left our two Lovers, and here I shall put an end to all that I know of his Adventures. I seeing that Mistress _Dorothy_ had done, and finding that she had fully finished her discourse, told her that I wish’d all true Lovers, no worse a conclusion of their amours than these two had; but, continued I it was well that they managed their affairs so privately, that neither her Parents nor Friends had any suspition of him, for if they had, it might have fallen out worse with them, and this our recital puts me in mind of a small story that I have heard, which in regard it somewhat resembles yours I shall presently relate to you, and thus it was: