“I thought we had now seen enough, but my friend would needs have us go and visit one or two lions in the city.  We called at two or three dens where they happened not to shew, but we generally found half a score young girls, between eight and eleven years old, playing with each lion, sitting on his back, and putting their hands into his mouth; some of them would now and then get a scratch; but we always discovered, upon examining, that they had been hoydening with the young apprentices.  One of them was calling to a pretty girl of about twelve years, that stood by us in the gallery, to come down to the lion, and upon her refusal, said, ’Ah!  Miss Betty, we could never get you to come near the lion, since you played at hoop and hide with my brother in the garret.’

“We followed a couple, with the wedding-folks, going to the church of St. Mary-Axe.  The lady, though well stricken in years, extremely crooked and deformed, was dressed out beyond the gaiety of fifteen; having jumbled together, as I imagined, all the tawdry remains of aunts, godmothers, and grandmothers, for some generations past:  One of the neighbours whispered me, that she was an old maid, and had the clearest reputation of any in the parish.  There is nothing strange in that, thought I, but was much surprised, when I observed afterwards that she went towards the lion with distrust and concern.  The beast was lying down, but upon sight of her, snuffed up his nose two or three times, and then giving the sign of death, proceeded instantly to execution.  In the midst of her agonies, she was heard to name the words, ‘Italy’ and ‘artifices,’ with the utmost horror, and several repeated execrations:  and at last concluded, ’Fool that I was, to put so much confidence in the toughness of my skin.’

“The keeper immediately set all in order again for another customer, which happened to be a famous prude, whom her parents after long threatenings, and much persuasion, had with the extremest difficulty prevailed on to accept a young handsome goldsmith, that might have pretended to five times her fortune.  The fathers and mothers in the neighbourhood used to quote her for an example to their daughters.  Her elbows were rivetted to her sides, and her whole person so ordered as to inform everybody that she was afraid they should touch her.  She only dreaded to approach the lion, because it was a he one, and abhorred to think an animal of that sex should presume to breathe on her.  The sight of a man at twenty yards distance made her draw back her head.  She always sat upon the farther corner of the chair, though there were six chairs between her and her lover, and with the door wide open, and her little sister in the room.  She was never saluted but at the tip of her ear, and her father had much ado to make her dine without her gloves, when there was a man at table.  She entered the den with some fear, which we took to proceed from the height of her modesty, offended at the sight of so many men in the gallery.  The