CCXI sociable letters written by the thrice noble, illustrious, and excellent princess, the Lady Marchioness of Newcastle.

CII.

MADAM,

I VVas to Visit the Lady C. H. at her Coun∣try-House, but the House is too Good and Fine an House for the Situation, for the Air all about is Thick and Foggy, the Ground Deep and Miry in some places, and Mountainous and Rocky in others, also it is so Cold, as no Fruits will Ripen or Increase there; The truth is, she lives as if it were at the Poles, yet she is Merry and Gay, which shews that a Sun-shining Mind is not Dull'd with Cloudy Dayes, no more than a Cloudy Mind, or Sad and Melan∣choly

Humour is pleased with Sun-shining dayes, but that every Place is Pleasant to a Chearful Mind and Lively Thoughts, which makes the Life Happy, for True Happiness Lives Within the Mind or Soul, not Without it, and whosoever build their Happiness VVith∣out it, shall Miss it when they Seek it, nay, those Buildings are like Airy Castles, which Vanish to nothing, or rather like Unwholsom, or Ill Va∣por; or as a Snuff of a Candle, that goes out, and leaves an Ill Savour behind it; so those that place their Happiness VVithout them, as on the Opinion of Men, or the Vanities of the VVorld, shall have nothing but Loss, Trouble, and Vex∣ation, instead of Peace, Rest, and Content; And the Difference betwixt a VVise man and a Fool is, that a VVise man carries his Happiness still VVithin him, and a Fool is alwayes Seeking it VVithout him, & seldom or never Meets it, the other never Seeks it, for he alwayes hath it; a VVise man doth like an Expert Chymist, that can Extract Cordials out of Poison, but a Fool Converts Cordials into Poison by wrong Appli∣cation; But leaving the Fool to his Sick Mind, and Erroneous Practice, and the VVise man to his Healthful Mind and Experienced Prudence, I rest,

Madam,

Your faithful Fr. and S.