Sir William Petty to Sir Robert Southwell on the death of Lady Southwell.
'Dublin: 31 Jan. 1681.
'Dear Cousin,—I recd last night the Ill News of a separation between those who had been happily united. And I doe now endeavour to answer the devout custom of condoling with you; and I do it by imagining & figuring to myself what condicion I myself should be in upon the like occasion.
'I am persuaded we are both Unison harp-strings as to the Love of our Wives; wherefore, you being struck, you may easily believe that I also tremble, and really so I doe.
'When your good father dyed, I told you that he was full of years and ripe fruit, & that you had no reasons to wish him longer in the pains of this world; but I cannot use the same argument in this case, for your Lady is taken away somewhat within half the ordinary years of Man, & soon after you have been perfectly married to her: ffor I cannot believe your perfect Union & assimulacion was made till many years after the Ceremonies at Kingsington.
'What I have hitherto said tends to aggravate rather than mitigate your sorrow. But as the sun shining strongly upon burning Coles doth quench them, so perhaps the sadder sentiments that I beget in you may extinguish those which now afflict you. The next thing I shall say is, that when I myself married, I was scarce a year younger than you are now; & consequently do apprehend that you have a second crop of contentment & as much yet to come as ever I have had. In the next last place I beg you to divert yourself, by entertaining some powerfull thoughts of other kinds. I had yesterday a hopefull day in the Exchequer. I have the vanity to think that to tell you so would a little refresh you: I wish you could hear a thousand of such news from a thousand as sincere friends as is
'Yours,
' W.P.'[1]
- ↑ Petty MSS.
