Sociable Letters 283 



neighbours would find fault, where no fault was, and 

 my maids would complain more if they were kept to 

 work, than when they had liberty to play. Besides, 

 said she, none can want employment, as long as there 

 are books to be read, and they will never inrich your 

 fortunes by their working, nor their own, unless 

 they make a trade of working, and then perchance 

 they might get a poor living, but not grow rich by 

 what they can do ; whereas by reading they will inrich 

 their understandings, and increase their knowledges, 

 and quicken their wit, all which may make their 

 life happy, in being content with any fortune that 

 not in their power to better, or in that, as to manage 

 a plentiful fortune wisely, or to indure a low fortune 

 patiently; and therefore they cannot employ their 

 time better, than to read, nor your Ladiship better 

 than to write, for any other course of life would be 

 as unpleasing, and unnatural to you, as writing is 

 delightful to you ; besides, you are naturally addicted 

 to biisie your time with pen, ink, and paper. But, 

 said I, not with wit, for if Nature had given me as much 

 wit to write, as fortune hath given me leisure, my 

 writing might have been for some use, but now my 

 time and paper is unpro fit ably wasted in writing, 

 as my time and flax would be in spinning, but since 

 I am fit for no other employment but to scratch paper, 

 leave me to that employment, and let my attending 

 maids have books to read. Thus, Madam, for a time 

 did I trouble my mind, and busie my thoughts to 

 no purpose, but was forced to return to my writing- 

 work again, not knowing what else to do, and if I 

 had been as long absent from My Lord as Penelope 

 was from her husband Ulysses, I could have never 

 employed my time as she did; for her work only 

 employed her hands, and eyes, her ears were left 



