I heard all this, much to my satisfaction, for I found plainly that the
tankard was not missed, and yet they concluded it was fetched away; so
I drank my ale, called to pay, and as I went away I said, 'Take care of
your plate, child,' meaning a silver pint mug, which he brought me
drink in. The boy said, 'Yes, madam, very welcome,' and away I came.
I came home to my governess, and now I thought it was a time to try
her, that if I might be put to the necessity of being exposed, she
might offer me some assistance. When I had been at home some time, and
had an opportunity of talking to her, I told her I had a secret of the
greatest consequence in the world to commit to her, if she had respect
enough for me to keep it a secret. She told me she had kept one of my
secrets faithfully; why should I doubt her keeping another? I told her
the strangest thing in the world had befallen me, and that it had made
a thief of me, even without any design, and so told her the whole story
of the tankard. 'And have you brought it away with you, my dear?' says
she. 'To be sure I have,' says I, and showed it her. 'But what shall
I do now,' says I; 'must not carry it again?' 'Carry it again!' says she. 'Ay, if you are minded to be sent to
Newgate for stealing it.' 'Why,' says I, 'they can't be so base to
stop me, when I carry it to them again?' 'You don't know those sort of
people, child,' says she; 'they'll not only carry you to Newgate, but
hang you too, without any regard to the honesty of returning it; or
bring in an account of all the other tankards they have lost, for you
to pay for.' 'What must I do, then?' says I. 'Nay,' says she, 'as you
have played the cunning part and stole it, you must e'en keep it;
there's no going back now. Besides, child,' says she, 'don't you want
it more than they do? I wish you could light of such a bargain once a
week.' This gave me a new notion of my governess, and that since she was
turned pawnbroker, she had a sort of people about her that were none of
the honest ones that I had met with there before.
I had not been long there but I discovered it more plainly than before,
for every now and then I saw hilts of swords, spoons, forks, tankards,
and all such kind of ware brought in, not to be pawned, but to be sold
downright; and she bought everything that came without asking any
questions, but had very good bargains, as I found by her discourse.