'* §
Marvell's correspondence extends through
nearly twenty years.
Marvell's correspondence extends through
nearly twenty years.
Marvell - Poems
a grave
one, for he says at the conclusion of the same
letter — " I would not tell you any tales, because
there are nakednesses which it becomes us to
cover, if it be possible ; as I shall, -unless I be
obliged to make some vfndications by any false
report or misinterpretations. In the mean time,
pity, I beseech you, my weakness ; for there are
same tJangs which men ought not, others that they
cannot patie^itly suffer *^'\
Of his integrity even in little things — of his
desire to keep his conscience pure and his repu-
tation untarnished — we have some staking proofs.
On one occasion he had been employed by his
constituents to wait on the Duke of Monmouth,
then governor of Hull, with a complimentary
letter, and to present him with a purse contain-
ing " six broad pieces " as an honorary fee. He
says — " He had before I came in, as I was told,
considered what to do with the gold ; and but
that I by all means prevented the offer, I had
* MarvelPs Letters, pp. 83, 34.
t Ibid. p. 36.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
NOTICE OP THE AUTHOR. XIX
been in danger of being reimbursed with it. "*
In the same letter he says — " I received the bill
which was sent me on Mr. Nelehorpe ; but the
surplus of it exceeding much the expense I have
been at on this occasion, I desire you to make
use of it, and of me, upon any other opportu-
nity. -t
In one of his letters he makes the following
declaration, which we have no doubt was per-
fectly sincere, and, what is still more strange,
imph'citly believed: — "I shall, God willing,
maintain the same incorrupt mind and clear con-
science, free from faction or any self-ends, which
I have, by his grace, hitherio preserved*' %
Not seldom, to the very moderate ** wages *' of
a legislator, was added some homely expression
of good-will on the part of the constituents. That
of the Hull people generally appeared in the
shape of a stout cask of ale, for which Mar-
veil repeatedly returns thanks. In one letter he
says — "We must first give you thanks for the
kind present you have pleased to send us, which
will give occasion to us to remember you often ;
but the quantity is so great that it might make
sober men forgetful.
'* §
Marvell's correspondence extends through
nearly twenty years. From June, 1661, there
is, however, a considerable break, owing to his
* MarvelPs Letters, p. 210. t Ibid. p. 210.
X Ibid. p. 276. § Ibid. pp. 14, 16.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
XX NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR.
absence for an unknown period — probably about
two years — ^in Holland. He showed little dis-
position to return till Lord Bellasis, then high
steward of Hull, proposed to that worthy cor-
poration to choose a substitute for their absent
member. They replied that he was not far off,
and would be ready at their summons.
one, for he says at the conclusion of the same
letter — " I would not tell you any tales, because
there are nakednesses which it becomes us to
cover, if it be possible ; as I shall, -unless I be
obliged to make some vfndications by any false
report or misinterpretations. In the mean time,
pity, I beseech you, my weakness ; for there are
same tJangs which men ought not, others that they
cannot patie^itly suffer *^'\
Of his integrity even in little things — of his
desire to keep his conscience pure and his repu-
tation untarnished — we have some staking proofs.
On one occasion he had been employed by his
constituents to wait on the Duke of Monmouth,
then governor of Hull, with a complimentary
letter, and to present him with a purse contain-
ing " six broad pieces " as an honorary fee. He
says — " He had before I came in, as I was told,
considered what to do with the gold ; and but
that I by all means prevented the offer, I had
* MarvelPs Letters, pp. 83, 34.
t Ibid. p. 36.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
NOTICE OP THE AUTHOR. XIX
been in danger of being reimbursed with it. "*
In the same letter he says — " I received the bill
which was sent me on Mr. Nelehorpe ; but the
surplus of it exceeding much the expense I have
been at on this occasion, I desire you to make
use of it, and of me, upon any other opportu-
nity. -t
In one of his letters he makes the following
declaration, which we have no doubt was per-
fectly sincere, and, what is still more strange,
imph'citly believed: — "I shall, God willing,
maintain the same incorrupt mind and clear con-
science, free from faction or any self-ends, which
I have, by his grace, hitherio preserved*' %
Not seldom, to the very moderate ** wages *' of
a legislator, was added some homely expression
of good-will on the part of the constituents. That
of the Hull people generally appeared in the
shape of a stout cask of ale, for which Mar-
veil repeatedly returns thanks. In one letter he
says — "We must first give you thanks for the
kind present you have pleased to send us, which
will give occasion to us to remember you often ;
but the quantity is so great that it might make
sober men forgetful.
'* §
Marvell's correspondence extends through
nearly twenty years. From June, 1661, there
is, however, a considerable break, owing to his
* MarvelPs Letters, p. 210. t Ibid. p. 210.
X Ibid. p. 276. § Ibid. pp. 14, 16.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
XX NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR.
absence for an unknown period — probably about
two years — ^in Holland. He showed little dis-
position to return till Lord Bellasis, then high
steward of Hull, proposed to that worthy cor-
poration to choose a substitute for their absent
member. They replied that he was not far off,
and would be ready at their summons.
