to Mr. Hutton to escort her in the Park,
adding--"This, I am sure, you will do, because I am a friend to the
tobacco-box, and such, I am sure, Mr. Hutton will have more respect for
than for any other account that could be pretended unto by

"Your humble servant."

This, with Dorothy's praise, gives us a cheerful opinion of Lady Diana,
of whom we must always wish to know more.

_January 22nd_ [1653].

Sir,--Not to confirm you in your belief in dreams, but to avoid your
reproaches, I will tell you a pleasant one of mine. The night before I
received your first letter, I dreamt one brought me a packet, and told
me it was from you. I, that remembered you were by your own appointment
to be in Italy at that time, asked the messenger where he had it, who
told me my lady, your mother, sent him with it to me; then my memory
failed me a little, for I forgot you had told me she was dead, and meant
to give her many humble thanks if ever I were so happy as to see her.
When I had opened the letter I found in it two rings; one was, as I
remember, an emerald doublet, but broken in the carriage, I suppose, as
it might well be, coming so far; t'other was plain gold, with the
longest and the strangest posy that ever was; half on't was Italian,
which for my life I could not guess at, though I spent much time about
it; the rest was "_there was a Marriage in Cana of Galilee_," which,
though it was Scripture, I had not that reverence for it in my sleep
that I should have had, I think, if I had been awake; for in earnest the
oddness on't put me into that violent laughing that I waked myself with
it; and as a just punishment upon me from that hour to this I could
never learn whom those rings were for, nor what was in the letter
besides. This is but as extravagant as yours, for it is as likely that
your mother should send me letters as that I should make a journey to
see poor people hanged, or that your teeth should drop out at this age.

And to remove the opinions you have of my niceness, or being hard to
please, let me assure you I am far from desiring my husband should be
fond of me at threescore, that I would not have him so at all. 'Tis true
I should be glad to have him always kind, and know no reason why he
should be wearier of being my master, than he was of being my servant.
But it is very possible I may talk ignorantly of marriage; when I come
to make sad experiments on it in my own person I shall know more, and
say less, for fea