for myself, but commit myself wholly to Him to dispose of my future estate which He hath hitherto so graciously provided for me. And for the things of this life my greatest desire is, that I may desire nothing but to rest content and fully satisfied with what estate soever He shall place me in, and with all thankful acknowledgement of His unspeakable mercy towards me to endeavour the performance of those duties which He requires of me, both to Himself and to all those to whom I have special reference of duty or love, and that I may be the more strongly confirmed in this purpose, by framing my actions as is most befitting my present condition, I not only beseech your prayers but your counsels and directions. And for my daughter Betty, my desire is that she may be trained up in the true fear of God and exercise of humility and obedience, and set in a course whereby she may attain such wisdom for the right ordering of her mind, that howsoever it shall please God to settle her, she may by a right use make either a prosperous estate happy, or a mean contented. And if you shall please to assist me with your counsel for the effecting of this both in myself and her, I shall ever acknowledge it amongst the greatest of those many benefits, which it has pleased God to make you the instrument of to me and all mine, who shall ever rest in all due acknowledgement. Your most bounden and much obliged sister "To my dear brother Nicholas. From Margetting. Aug. 1629. Your letters were by us received on Saturday, and, as we guess, about the same time that ours were delivered unto you; and assuring ourselves that there is such a sympathy in our affections, we are as confident they did both at the same time work the like effects in all and every one of us, interchanging each with other mutual comfort, by the good tidings in both, yours of the health of all our dearest friends, ours of such joy as made us even forget the past sorrows, and hath given us cause to say, Great is the Lord and great is His power, yea His mercies are infinite. Now whereas you are pleased not only to acquaint me how you have proceeded in the motion made by Mr Sa, but also to require my approbation, and, not resting there, desire also my opinion of it: For the first, I shall not only give it to the one part of your answer, but applaud it as most judiciously resolved on, neither to send for Hester, nor offer two to the choice for the other part of your letter, I can say little to it, only I will persuade myself, since you have done it, (and with such consent) that you are able to shew better reasons for it, than my present apprehensions are capable of; and as my continual prayers shall be that all may prove for the best, so shall my hopes be that it will. Let this, I beseech you satisfy for answer to that which is past, and for the future I would have said nothing, had not you likewise desired my opinion, but left it to yourself and my dearest friends with you both to consider and determine of, as those whose judgements are not by me to be questioned, and whose love to me and mine I am most confident cannot be paralleled by any in the like kind. Give me leave only to say thus much, that such is my affection to my dear Anna, that it would be most heavy to me to see her bestowed on any man that did not willingly, nay most desirously, make choice of her. But doubting neither of your love nor wisdom, I dare leave it to God and yourselves to proceed in or to suppress the motion as you shall think fittest, and God, I trust, shall direct you. For our health here, blessed be God, it is good, only Su. doth not recover her strength so much as is usual in her estate; but I trust she shall in good time, and the longer it is in growing, the better I hope it will continue with her. We all beseech you to remember our most humble and bounden duties to my most dear mother, and in our names to crave her blessing upon us all. My good son desires his love and respect may be remembered to all in particular, and with the like desire from myself and my humblest prayers to God for the continuance of His mercies towards us I leave and rest." "To my dear brother Nicholas. From Margetting. September 1629. I see now that all common sayings do not always hold good, for you have disproved that, Out of sight out of mind, for though we here have some a longer, some a shorter time been debarred from that comfort which the presence of our friends did always afford us, yet, even in this absence, your love to us hath been confirmed under many seals. For your agreement upon Hester's stay here for a while longer, as also myself in especial give you many thanks, for as it will be a great comfort to my dear Su., so I hope by God's mercy, He giving her health, it will be no less content to Hester to shew kindness than to receive it. For our resolutions what time to take our journey, we never concluded upon it, but desired that you would not only advise but determine of it. Only by the way, at my husband's last being here he spake of setting forth from hence as on Monday next, because my son desired to begin our journey on a Monday that he might reach Lincolnshire by the Friday after, but what Monday, he is very indifferent. It was only fear of foul weather and Essex bad ways made us think of going so soon, but we expect the resolution from you, for as yet we have made none. We all here beseech you to present our most humble and bounden duties to my most dear mother, our dearest love remembered to yourself, my good brother Ferrar and brother Richard (who I hope is yet with you), my sister and all other friends. I commit you to God's protection and rest ever." "To my dear brother Nicholas. Nov. 1629. My most dear brother, The carrier's long stay made us very solicitous, but blessed be God the news which he brought made amends for our expectations, namely of your good health, it being one of our great comforts; the continuance whereof and the good success in your troublesome and weighty affairs shall I trust be daily recommended unto God in our earnest and fervent prayers. And now, though the multitude and weightiness of those businesses which we cannot but fear do already overburthen you, may justly cause me to think it most unseasonable to trouble you with more, yet the experience of your former love (which by the effects hath ever shewed itself to take pleasure in overlading itself when it may tend to the easing of others) makes me bold to entreat your serious consideration of this letter inclosed, and if you shall approve of it, to send it, if not, yet to let him have notice by some means that the money is sent. We send not his letter, being not material, for you may by this answer see the effect thereof. It was my brother Ferrar's and all our opinions not to let this occasion slip, but to give notice how distasteful this title is but if you shall not think it done in right manner, my request is you will please to give a better direction against next week. I thank God for that we hear of their health at Margetting; Pegg's letter I hope will suffice for this week, and the next week I shall willingly return my son that thanks which not only his love deserves, but that my affection desires to give him." "To my dear brother Nicholas. March 1. 1629–30. Your letters were most gladly read, they confirming us in that hope of your health which by the carrier's negligence we could the last week receive no other testimony of than by his own report. And now I beseech you to accept of my most hearty and affectionate thanks for your so constant perseverance in the manifestation of your unparalleled love and care of me and mine, and in particular that you have been pleased not only to visit but to afford them your company so long at Margetting, where I doubt not but, by God's help, the joy to see you and the good counsel you have left with them, will be a means of my dearest Su.'s speedier recovery of health. For your letters also my husband and myself acknowledge ourselves bound and do still desire that you will be pleased to take the like course with any that shall come hereafter. And though time may perchance hardly permit it, yet the necessity of the occasion makes me bold to entreat from you a full and ample advice how to carry that business, which, as it seems, can now no ways be avoided. My dear brother Ferrar, who, as he best can, will sufficiently inform you of every particular of our estate here. Only I cannot pass over the acknowledgement of God's mercy to us all in that which is so main a pillar of our comforts, the health of our dearest mother, which I beseech Him long to continue and make us truly thankful for it. Let me entreat you to remember my most kind love to my good cousin Arthur and all other friends. With my prayers to God for your health and prosperous success in all your affairs I commit you to God's protection." From a letter to her eldest son, who had newly set up as housekeeper. Nov. 22. 1630. "The book which your sister sent you in the last week I doubt not but you have read before this (though in your letter to your grandmother you mention it not), which upon a diligent survey I am assured you cannot but read in it the character of a most unparalleled love and unwearied pains and carefulness in the contriving thereof for your benefit. God for His mercy's sake grant you may in some measure answer them all, the first in a return, the other in imitation; and that you may with all speed resolve and constantly put in execution the practice of that which is contained therein." Given my dear brother Nicholas. Feb. 12. 1630-1. "Good brother, Since you are pleased to desire that every one whom you have acquainted with my son Mapletoft's propositions should set down their opinions in writing, I cannot refuse to do it, though I should have been glad first to have had the advice of others, especially your own, that so I might the better be able to judge what course were likeliest to prove comfortable to them both: but since it chiefly and almost wholly concerns my daughter in that kind, that which must be considered of is, as I think, what is best for her to do, the |