for her, and his marrying her against the consent of all his friends; but to that I answered, that though he pretended great kindness he had for her, I never heard of much she had for him, and knew she married him merely for advantage.  Nor is she a woman of that discretion as to do all that might become her, when she must do it rather as things fit to be done than as things she inclined to.  Besides that, what with a spleenatick side and a chemical head, he is but an odd body himself.

But is it possible what they say, that my Lord Leicester and my Lady are in great disorder, and that after forty years’ patience he has now taken up the cudgels and resolved to venture for the mastery?  Methinks he wakes out of his long sleep like a froward child, that wrangles and fights with all that comes near it.  They say he has turned away almost every servant in the house, and left her at Penshurst to digest it as she can.

What an age do we live in, where ’tis a miracle if in ten couples that are married, two of them live so as not to publish to the world that they cannot agree.  I begin to be of your opinion of him that (when the Roman Church first propounded whether it were not convenient for priests not to marry) said that it might be convenient enough, but sure it was not our Saviour’s intention, for He commanded that all should take up their cross and follow Him; and for his part, he was confident there was no such cross as a wife.  This is an ill doctrine for me to preach; but to my friends I cannot but confess that I am afraid much of the fault lies in us; for I have observed that formerly, in great families, the men seldom disagree, but the women are always scolding; and ’tis most certain, that let the husband be what he will, if the wife have but patience (which, sure, becomes her best), the disorder cannot be great enough to make a noise; his anger alone, when it meets with nothing that resists it, cannot be loud enough to disturb the neighbours.  And such a wife may be said to do as a kinswoman of ours that had a husband who was not always himself; and when he was otherwise, his humour was to rise in the night, and with two bedstaves labour on the table an hour together.  She took care every night to lay a great cushion upon the table for him to strike on, that nobody might hear him, and so discover his madness.  But ’tis a sad thing when all one’s happiness is only that the world does not know you are miserable.

For my part, I think it were very convenient that all such as intend to marry should live together in the same house some years of probation; and if, in all that time, they never disagreed, they should then be permitted to marry if they please; but how few would do it then!  I do not remember that I ever saw or heard of any couple that were bred up so together (as many you know are, that are designed for one another from children), but they always disliked one another extremely; parted, if it were left in their choice.  If people proceeded with this caution, the world would end sooner than is expected, I believe; and because, with all my wariness, ’tis not impossible but I may be caught, nor likely that I should be wiser than anybody else, ’twere best, I think, that I said no more on this point.