put off her worldly dress, returns to the church, in the plain, coarse, and disfiguring habit, of the order, which is henceforward to be her only dress for the remainder of her days. If Aristotle's definition of woman be true, that she is Ζωον φιλοκοσμον, what a painful sacrifice must in this instance be endured! LETTER LXXIII. MY DEAR DEAR CHYLD, : I have received both yr father's dear letter, and yours, of the 12th of January: I confess, the best new years gift I ever had; for thay brought ioy, equall to my former greife and care. Yours a whole pack of comfort, pure wyne of gladnis but yr fathers had a mixture, a great deale of water with his wyne; and twas fitt it shuld be so, els between you both, I had been tipled quit. Sence yr letters came not tyme enouf for me to answer both this weeke, your father, I am sure, will pardon me, for making choyse of riting first to you whom I so lattly iniurd by loves impatiens; but I hope you received my mea Culpa, wch I presently dispatched to you. For when yr father, prophet lyke, admonished me of my sin, I presently cryed, peccavi. Your sister's patience in yr sylence to her, exacts the lyke in iustis from you; and, alas! she has too much reason on her syde, for her eyes are not yet well. Yet thinckes she sees to much in yr last to me. I cannot excuse her. She is indeed too covetos. She fynds no satiety in her owne hapines, because she lookes upon you as wanting itt: this she will have me say from her. Now take my owne sence. I car not wher thou liyest, so thou livest right. I make a shift to meete thee in a corner every night after mattins; wher, though I can not speake with thee, I am allowed to speake for thee, as much, and as longe as I will; and, if it prove not so pleasing, yet I know is more profitable: ther I negotiat all thy affayers: ther Ile present all thy concernes: ther Ile petition all thats good for thee. I cannot desemble, but I have somthing of Keats weaknis, in resentment of thy absence: but really I blame my weake hart for it; sence tis certayne, that itt imports not wher, but how wee live. We are too tender lovers. So we meet att our race's end, what matter though we see not one another runne. Dear chyld, take this truth from me: Thy settlement in the world will be no diminishion of my love, but onely augmentation of my car for thee, because there is more obiects to devide that love, wch in one flame ought to ascend to God. Live freely in the world, but garde thy hart from loving itt for thats forbid, because it passeth. Cast not therfor away a portion of thy immortall soule upon any thing transitory: fix all thy love on God, and then doe what thou wilt, sweet chyld, for I am unchangeably thyn for ever, W. T. LETTER LXXIV. Sep. 3. HOND, DEAR BROTHER, Is it not preposterous to com with complaynts, wher in justice I owe so many thancks? It wear so, if my complaynts wear not of that nature, that they may pass as part of payment; but they are of so good mettall, that, if tryd, thay will be found pure and weighty gould. I apeale to your judgement for best proufe; yet with this exception. Ile not alow you waye your self, for ther your ballence is not even with myne, but with all the rest of yr dear company, I will trust you. Waye then iustly, what I must suffer for every one, when I know not how any one has past so long, so dangerous a jornye. I, who have so much love for all, that it seemes an undivided flame; and yett agayne, so much perticuler love for every one, as if one onely person wear sole heir of it. Waye, I say, |