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

XXIX.

MADAM,

I Heard by your last, that the Lady S. P. was to visit you, where, amongst her other Discour∣ses, she spoke of me, and was pleased to Cen∣sure and Condemn, as to Censure the Cause, and Condemn the Manner of my Life, saying, that I did either Retire out of a Fantastick Hu∣mour,

or otherwise I was Constraind, in not ha∣ving the Liberty, that usually other VVives have, to go Abroad, and receive what Visitors they please: But if she did but know the sweet Pleasures, and harmless Delights I have by this Retirement, she would not have said what she did; and to answer to what she said, This course of Life is by my own voluntary Choice, for I have liberty to do any Thing, or to go any VVhere, or to keep any Company that Discretion doth Allow, and Honour Approve of; and though I may err in my Dis∣cretion, yet not in cases of Honour, for had I not onely Liberty, but were Perswaded or In∣ticed by all the World's Allurements, or were Threatned with Death, to Do, or Act any thing against Honour, or to do any Thing or Act, Ho∣nour did not Approve of, I would not Do it, nay, I would Die first: But in that which is cal∣led Honour, are many Ingrediencies, as Justice, Chastity, Truth, Trust, Gratitude, Constancy, and many the like. Next I answer, That it is not out of a Fantastick Humour, that I live so much Retired, which is to keep my House more than go Abroad, but out of Self-love, and not out of Self-opinion, and it is Just and Natural for any one to Love himself: Wherefore, for my Pleasure and Delight, my Ease and Peace, I live a Retired Life, a Home Life, free from the In∣tanglements, confused Clamours, and rumbling Noise of the World, for I by this Retirement live in a calm Silence, wherein I have my Con∣templations

free from Disturbance, and my Mind lives in Peace, and my Thoughts in Pleasure, they Sport and Play, they are not Vext with Cares nor worldly Desires, they are not Covetous of worldly VVealth, nor Ambitious of empty Titles; they are not to be catch'd with the Baits of Sensual Pleasures, or rather I may say, Sensual Follies, for they Draw my Senses to them, and run not out to the Sen∣ses; they have no quarrelling Disputes amongst them; they live Friendly and Sociably together; their onely Delight is in their own Pastimes and harmless Recreations; and though I do not go Personally to Masks, Balls, and Playes, yet my Thoughts entertain my Mind with such Plea∣sures, for some of my Thoughts make Playes, and others Act those Playes on the Stage of I∣magination, where my Mind sits as a Spectator, Thus my Mind is entertain'd both with Poets and Players, and takes as much Delight as Augu∣stus Caesar did to have his Mecaenas, the Patron of Poets, sit and hear Virgil and Horace read their Works unto them; so my Mind takes Delight in its dear Mecaenas, which is Contemplation, and to have its Poetical Thoughts, although not like Virgil or Horace, yet such as they are, it is pleased to have them Repeat their Poems, and other VVorks which they make; and those my Mind likes best, it sends them forth to the Sen∣ses to write them down, and then to send them out to the publick view of the VVorld; and ma∣ny times the Senses send in Objects to the Mind,

who straight commands his Poetical Thoughts to take them for Plots of Playes, or causes the Grave Philosophical Thoughts to Dis∣course of them, or his Oratorical Thoughts to practice their Eloquence on them, or his Critical Thoughts to Dispute and Ar∣gue with them, which done, all their se∣veral Discourses, Disputes, Arguments, Po∣ems, Playes, and the like, made on those Objects, are sent back to the Senses to write them down, so that the Mind and the Thoughts imploy the Senses, and the Senses imploy the Mind and Thoughts, and thus I take as much Pleasure within my self, if not more, as the Lady S. P. doth without her self; indeed none enjoyes truly himself, but those that live to themselves, as I do, and it is better to be a Self-lover in a Retired Life, than a Self-seeker in a Wandring Humour, like a Vagabond, for they go from Place to Place, from one Company to another, and never are at rest in their Minds nor Bodies; and how should it be otherwise? for they lose themselves in Company, and keeping much Company, they know not where to find themselves, for as for their Dwelling-place, they are sure to miss of themselves there; but indeed they have no constant Dwelling, for going much Abroad, they dwell Every where, and yet to speak Metaphorically, No where. But every ones Delights are different, for the Lady S. P. delights her self with Others, and I delight my self with my Self; Some delight in Troubles,

I delight in Ease, and certainly much Company and Conversation cannot chuse but be Trouble∣some; for in much Company are many Excep∣tions, much Envy, much Suspicion, much De∣traction, much Faction, much Noise, and much Non-sense, and it is impossible, at least impro∣bable, for any particular Person to please all the several Companies they come into, or are visi∣ted by, if the Resort be many, by reason every one hath as different Humours as Faces, wherein some will be Displeased, if others should be Pleased, and most commonly they are so far from pleasing All, as None is Pleased; for if any particular Person should Praise Every one, it would be thought Flattery, if he should Praise None, it would be conceived to be Envy, if he should Praise but Some, it would be judged to be Partiality; the like for Discourse; if one should Address his Discourse to any One, or to Some more than to Others, it would be taken as a Disrespect, if Generally, to the whole Company, it would be accounted Pride, as ta∣king ones self to be the onely Singular Person that must have a General Audience; neither can any one Person fit his Discourse to every one's Humour, Fancy, Capacity, Understand∣ing, Knowledge or Delight, nay, most com∣monly, whatsoever is Spoken, is Interpreted to the worst Sense, at least, Contradicted, and when they are parted, their Words or Discourse is Repeated to their Disadvantage, and Com∣mented on, and Interpreted to an evil Sense;

and if they say Nothing, or but Little, they are accounted Ill-natured, or thought Fools, and yet they love not to hear any one speak but them∣selves, every one desires to be heard, yet takes it ill not to be spoken to; also if particular Per∣sons make an Entertainment, if they invite not those they have no acquaintance with, as well as those of their Acquaintance, if they are within the distance of coming to the Entertainment, they take it for an Affront, but if they should leave out any Acquaintance, it is a Breach for e∣ver, and they become their Enemies: also if particular Persons be accoustred Bravely, they are Envied, if they be attired in plain, mean Garments, they are Despised; and if any Wo∣man be more Beautiful than commonly the rest are, if she appears to the World, she shall be sure to have more Female Detractors and Slanderers, to ruin her Reputation, than any Monarch hath Souldiers to fight an Enemy, & if any Woman be Ill-favoured, it is mentioned as a Reproach, although it be Nature's fault, and not hers, and if she be indifferently Handsom, they speak of her as Regardless; if she be in Years, they will say, she is fitter for the Grave than Company, if Young, fitter for a School than Conversati∣on, if of middle Years, their Tongues are the Fore-runners of her Decay; if she have Wealth, and no Titles, she is like Meat, all Fat and no Blood, and if great Title with small Wealth, they say, she is like a Pudding without Fat, and if she hath both Wealth and Title, they Shun

her as the Plague, they Hate to see her, as Owls hate the Light, and if she hath neither Wealth nor Title, they Scorn her Company, and will not cast an eye towards her; and thus the Gene∣rality is to every Particular: wherefore it is impossible for any Particular either to Please the Humours, or Avoid the Slanders or Reproaches of the Generality, for every One is against Another; indeed, every One is against All, and All against every One, and yet through the itch of Talk, Luxury, Wantonness and Vani∣ty, they will Associate into Companies, or ra∣ther I may say, Gather into Companies, and Frequent each others Houses, whereas those that endeavour to be truly Happy, will not be Troubled with such Follies, nor Disturbed with such Toyes: But I am not so Retir'd, as to bar my self from the Company of my good Friends, or such as are free from Exception, as not to Translate harmless and simple Words, to an evil Sense or Meaning, or such as are so Noble, as not to Dispraise, or Detract from such Persons as they are pleas'd to take the pains to Visit, or from such as will not take it for a Neg∣lect, if I do not punctually return their Visit, or perhaps not Visit them at any time, but will Excuse or Pardon my Lazy Humour, and not account it a Disrespect, as truly it is none, for I do Honour and Admire all Civil, Worthy, and Honourable Persons, and would be ready at all times Honestly to Serve them. But this Re∣tired Life is so Pleasing to me, as I would not

change it for all the Pleasures of the Pub∣lick World, nay, not to be Mistress of the World, for I should not desire to be Mistress of that which is too Big to be Commanded, too Self-willed to be Ruled, too Factious to be Go∣vern'd, too Turbulent to live in Peace, and Wars would Fright, at least Grieve me, that mankind should be so Ill-natur'd and Cruel to Destroy each other. To conclude, I am more Happy in my Home-retirement, than I believe the Lady S. P. is in her Publick Frequent∣ments, having a Noble and Kind Husband, who is Witty and Wise Company, a Peace∣able and Quiet Mind, and Recreative Thoughts, that take harmless Liberty; and all this I have declar'd to you, that you may let the Lady S. P. know that my Retirement from the publick Concourse and Army of the World, and Regiments of Acquaintance, is neither through Constraint, nor Fantastick Hu∣mour, but through a Love to Peace, Ease, and Pleasure, all which you Enjoy; which is the fulfilling of your Ladiships faithful Friend and Servant's Happiness.