Life of the Duchess of Newcastle 169 



many times before it can be perceived ; and the more foolish 

 or unworthy I conceive the company to be, the worse I am, 

 and the best remedy I ever found was, is to persuade myself 

 that all those persons I meet are wise and virtuous. The 

 reason I take to be is, that the wise and virtuous censure least, 

 excuse most, praise best, esteem rightly, judge justly, behave 

 themselves civilly, demean themselves respectfully, and 

 speak modestly when fools or unworthy persons are apt 

 to commit absurdities, as to be bold, rude, uncivil both in 

 words and actions, forgetting or not well understanding them- 

 selves or the company they are with. And though I never 

 met such sorts of ill-bred creatures, yet naturally I have such 

 an aversion to such kind of people, as I am afraid to meet 

 them, as children are afraid of spirits, or those that are afraid 

 to see or meet devils ; which makes me think this natural 

 defect in me, if it be a defect, is rather a fear than a bashful- 

 ness, but whatsoever it is, I rind it troublesome, for it hath 

 many times obstructed the passage of my speech, and per- 

 turbed my natural actions, forcing a constrainedness or unusual 

 motions. However, since it is rather a fear of. others than a 

 bashful distrust of myself, I despair of a perfect cure, unless 

 nature as well as human governments could be civilized and 

 brought into a methodical order, ruling the words and actions 

 with a supreme power of reason, and the authority of discre- 

 tion : but a rude nature is worse than a brute nature by so 

 much more as man is better than beast, but those that are of 

 civil natures and gentle dispositions are as much nearer to 

 celestial creatures, as those that are of rude or cruel are to 

 devils. But in fine, after I had been in England a year and 

 a half 1 , in which time I gave some half a score visits, and went 

 with my Lord's brother to hear music in one Mr. Lawes his 

 house 2 , three or four times, as also some three or four times 



1 Supply, to complete the sense, ' I resolved, to return ', from p. 170. 



2 This was Henry Lawes, for his elder brother William was killed at the siege of Chester 

 in October 1645. He composed the music for ' Comns,' and acted in it the parts of Thyr- 

 sis and the Attendant Spirit. Milton addressed to him on 9th February 1646 the well- 

 known sonnet : 



To my Friend, Mr. Henry Lawes. 



Harry, whose tuneful and well-measured song 

 First taught our English music how to span 

 Words with just note and accent. 



— Masson, Life of Milton, iii, 464. 



