The Adventure of the Black Lady 1 The Court of the King of Bantam 11 The Unfortunate Happy Lady: A True History 35 The Fair Jilt 67 Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave 125 Agnes De Castro 209 The History of the Nun; or, The Fair Vow-Breaker 257 The Nun; or, The Perjur’d Beauty 325 The Lucky Mistake 349 The Unfortunate Bride; or, The Blind Lady a Beauty 399 The Dumb Virgin; or, The Force of Imagination 415 The Wandering Beauty 445 The Unhappy Mistake; or, The Impious Vow Punish’d 469 Appendix 507 Notes 513 * * * * * * * * * THE ADVENTURE OF THE _BLACK LADY_. About the Beginning of last _June_ (as near as I can remember) _Bellamora_ came to Town from _Hampshire_, and was obliged to lodge the first Night at the same Inn where the Stage-Coach set up. The next Day she took Coach for _Covent-Garden_, where she thought to find Madam _Brightly_, a Relation of hers, with whom she design’d to continue for about half a Year undiscover’d, if possible, by her Friends in the Country: and order’d therefore her Trunk, with her Clothes, and most of her Money and Jewels, to be brought after her to Madame _Brightly’s_ by a strange Porter, whom she spoke to in the Street as she was taking Coach; being utterly unacquainted with the neat Practices of this fine City. When she came to _Bridges-Street_, where indeed her Cousin had lodged near three or four Years since, she was strangely surprized that she could not learn anything of her; no, nor so much as meet with anyone that had ever heard of her Cousin’s Name: Till, at last, describing Madam _Brightly_ to one of the House-keepers in that Place, he told her, that there was such a kind of Lady, whom he had sometimes seen there about a Year and a half ago; but that he believed she was married and remov’d towards _Soho_. In this Perplexity she quite forgot her Trunk and Money, _&c_, and wander’d in her Hackney-Coach all over St. _Anne’s_ Parish; inquiring for Madam _Brightly_, still describing her Person, but in vain; for no Soul could give her any Tale or Tidings of such a Lady. After she had thus fruitlessly rambled, till she, the Coachman, and the very Horses were even tired, by good Fortune for her, she happen’d on a private House, where lived a good, discreet, ancient Gentlewoman, who was fallen to Decay, and forc’d to let Lodgings for the best Part of her Livelihood: From whom she understood, that there was such a kind of Lady, who had lain there somewhat more than a Twelvemonth, being near