Playes written by the thrice noble, illustrious and excellent princess, the Lady Marchioness of Newcastle.

Scene 14.

Enter Sir Peaceable Studious solus.

Sir Peaceable Studious.

HOw happy is a private life to me; Wherein my thoughts ran easily and free; And not disturb'd with vanities and ioyes, On which the senses gazes, as young boys On watery bubbles in the aire blown, Which when they break, doth vanish and are gone.

Enter the Lady Ignorance.

Lady Ignorance.

I doubt I disturb your Poetry?

Sir P. Studious.

No wife, you rather give life and fire to my muse, being chaste, fair and vertuous, which are the chief theams for Poets fancies to work on.

Lady Ignorance.

But that wife that is despised by her Husband, and not lo∣ved, is dejected in her own thoughts, and her mind is so disquietted, as it masks her beauty, and vails, and obscures her vertues.

Sir P. Studious.

The truth is, wife, that if my affections to you, had not been firmly setled; your indiscretion and effeminate follies had ruined it, but my love is so true, as you have no cause to be jealouse; but I confess you made me sad, to think that your humour could not sympathize with mine, as to walk in the same course of life as I did, but you were ignorant and would not believe me, untill you had found experience by practice, by which pra∣ctice you have found my words to be true, do you not?

Lady Ignorance.

Yes, so true, as I shall never doubt them more; But pray Husband, tell me what discourse you had with the Ladies, when you went abroad with them?

Sir P. Studious.

Why, they railed against good Husbands, called them Uxorious Fools, Clowns, Blocks, Stocks, and that they were only fit to be made Cuckolds through their confident fondness, and that kind Husbands ap∣peared like simple Asses; I answered, that those Husbands that were Cuc∣kolds, appeared not only like silly Asses, but base Cowards, that would suffer their wives to be courted, and themselves dishonoured when they ought to destroy their wives Gallants, if visibly known, and to part from their wives, at least to mancor them, and not only for being falfe, but for the suspition caused by their indiscretions; otherwise said I, a kind Husband shews himself a Gal∣lant, Noble, Generous, Just, Wise man, and contrary, he is a base man, that will strive to disgrace himself, by disgracing his wife with neglects and disre∣spects; and a coward, to tyranize only over the weak, tender, and helpless Sex; for women being tender, shiftless, and timorous creatures by nature, is the cause they joyn themselves by chaste Wedlock to us men for their safety, protection, honour and livelyhood, and when a man takes a woman to his wife, he is an unworthy and treacherous person, if he betrays her to scorns, or yields her to scoffs, or leaves her to poverty; and he is a base man that makes

his wife sigh and weep with unkindness either by words or actions, where∣fore said I, it is wisdom for men to respect their wives with a civil behaviour, and sober regard, and it is heroick to defend, protect and guard their lives and vertues, to be constant to their vows, promises and protestations, and it is ge∣nerous to cherish their health, to attend them in their sickness, to comply with their harmless humours, to entertain their discourses, to accompany their persons, to yield to their lawfull desires, and to commend their good graces, and that man which is a Husband, and doth not do thus, is worthy to be shamed, and not to be kept company with, which is not called an Uxorious Husband; for said I, an Uxorious Husband I understand to be, a honest, care∣full and wise Husband.

Lady Ignorance.

And what said they, after you said this?

Sir P. Studious.

They laugh'd and said, my flowery Rhetorick was strewed upon a dirty ground; I answered, it was not dirty where I lived, for my wife was beautifull, chaste and cleanly, and I wished every man the like, and after they perceived that neither the railing, nor laughing at good Husbands could not temper me for their palats, they began to play and sport with one another, and sung wanton songs, and when all their baits failed, they quarreled with me, and said I was uncivil, and that I did not entertain them well, and that I was not good Company, having not aconversable wit, nor a gentle beha∣viour, and that I was not a gallant Cavalier, and a world of those reproches and idle discourses, as it would tire me to repeat it, and you to hear it.

Lady Ignorance.

Pray resolve me one question more, what was it you said to the Lady Amorous, when she threatned to tell me?

Sir P. Studious.

I only said nature was unkind to our Sex, in making the beautifull females cruel.

Lady Ignorance.

Was that all, I thought you had pleaded as a courtly Su∣tor for loves favours.

Sir P. Studious.

No indeed, but let me tell you, and so inform you, wife, that those humour'd women, take as great a pleasure to make wives jealouse of their Husbands, and Husbands jealouse of their wives, and to seperate their affections, and to make a disorder in their Families, as to plot and de∣sign to intice men to court them, & Cuckold their Husband, also let me tell you, that much company, and continual resort, brings great inconveniences for its apt to corrupt the mind, and make the thoughts wild, the behaviour bold, the words vain, the discourse either flattering, rude or tedious, their actions extra∣vagant, their persons cheap, being commonly occompanyed, or their compa∣ny common. Besides, much variety of Company, creates amorous luxu∣rie, vanity, prodigality, jealousie, envie, malice, slander, envie, treachery, quar∣tels, revenge and many other evils, as laying plots to insnare the Honourable, to accuse the Innocent, to deceive the Honest, to corrupt the Chaste, to deboyst the Temperate, to pick the purse of the Rich, to inslave the poor, to pull down lawfull Authority, and to break just Laws; but when a man lives to himself within his own Familie, and without recourse, after a solitary manner, he lives free, without controul, not troubled with company, but entertains himself with himself, which makes the soul wise, the mind sober, the thoughts indu∣strious, the understanding learned, the heart honest, the senses quiet, the appe∣tites temperate, the body healthfull, the actions just and prudent, the behavi∣our civil and sober; He governs orderly, eats peaceably, sleeps quietly, lives contentedly, and most commonly, plentifully and pleasantly, ruling and go∣verning

his little Family to his own humour, wherein he commands with love, and is obeyed with duty, and who that is wise, and is not mad; would quit this heavenly life to live in hellish Societies, and what can an honest Husband and wife desire more, than love, peace and plenty, and when they have this, and is not content, 'tis a sign they stand upon a Quagmire, or rotten Founda∣tion, that will never hold or indure, that is, they are neither grounded on ho∣nesty, nor supported with honour.

Lady Ignorance.

Well Husband, I will not interupt your studies any lon∣ger, but as you study Phylosophie, Wisdom and Invention, so I will study obe∣dience, discretion and Houswifery.

Omnes Exeunt.