1680.] ROCHESTER AND THE KING. 385 



she, having been previously instructed by Rochester, picked 

 his pocket of all his money and watch, which the King did not 

 immediately miss. Neither the people of the house nor the 

 girl herself knew or had the least suspicion of the quality of 

 the visitor. After some time he inquired for Rochester, but 

 was told that his companion had quitted the house without 

 taking leave ; but what was his embarrassment when, on 

 searching his pockets in order to discharge the reckoning, he 

 discovered that his money was gone. He was then reduced 

 to ask the favour of the mistress of the house to give him 

 credit till the next day, as the gentleman who had come in 

 with him and had not returned was to have paid for both. 

 The consequence of this request was that he was much abused 

 and laughed at ; the woman of the house plainly told him 

 that she had seldom been served such dirty tricks, and would 

 not permit him to stir till the reckoning was paid. She then 

 called one of her bullies to take care of him. In this ridiculous 

 dilemma stood the British monarch, the prisoner of a bawd ; 

 and the life on which were fixed a nation's hopes was thus 

 put in the power of a ruffian. After much altercation, the King 

 at length proposed that she should accept a ring which he 

 then took off his finger, in pledge for her money, which she 

 refused, telling him that she was no judge of the value of the 

 ring ; she did not choose to accept such pledges. 'The dis- 

 guised monarch then desired that a jeweller might be called 

 to give his opinion of the value of it ; but he was answered 

 that the expedient was impracticable, as no jeweller could 

 then be supposed to be out of bed. After much entreaty his 

 Majesty at last prevailed on the fellow to knock up the 

 jeweller and show him the ring. In this he acquiesced ; and 

 no sooner had the jeweller inspected it, than he inquired, with 

 eyes fixed on the man, whom he had got in his house ; on 

 which the other answered that it was a black-looking, ugly 

 rake, who had no money in his pocket, and was obliged to 

 pawn his ring. The jeweller found the ring so immensely 

 rich that he exclaimed, " But one man in the nation can 

 afford to wear it, and that one is the King." Astonished at 

 this circumstance, he went out with the messenger, in order to 

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