"*
In the same letter he says — " I received the bill
which was sent me on Mr.
In the same letter he says — " I received the bill
which was sent me on Mr.
Marvell - Poems
He is eager to do his
opponent the amplest justice, and to put the
fairest construction on his conduct He is fearful
only lest their private quarrel should be of the
slighest detriment to the public service. He
says — " The bonds of civility betwixt Colonel
Gilby and myself being unliappily snapped in
pieces, and in such a manner that I cannot see
how it is possible ever to knit them again : the
only trouble that I have is, lest by our mis-intel-
ligence your business should receive any disad-
vantage Truly, I believe, that as
to your public trust and the discharge thereof,.
h
Digitized by
Google
XVlll NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR.
we do each of us still retain the same princi-
ples upon which we first undertook it ; and that,
though perhaps we may sometimes differ in our
advice concerning the way of proceeding, yet we
have the same good ends in the general ; and by
this unlucky falling out, we shall be provoked to
a greater emulation of serving you. " * Yet the
offence, whatever it was, must have been. 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.
opponent the amplest justice, and to put the
fairest construction on his conduct He is fearful
only lest their private quarrel should be of the
slighest detriment to the public service. He
says — " The bonds of civility betwixt Colonel
Gilby and myself being unliappily snapped in
pieces, and in such a manner that I cannot see
how it is possible ever to knit them again : the
only trouble that I have is, lest by our mis-intel-
ligence your business should receive any disad-
vantage Truly, I believe, that as
to your public trust and the discharge thereof,.
h
Digitized by
XVlll NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR.
we do each of us still retain the same princi-
ples upon which we first undertook it ; and that,
though perhaps we may sometimes differ in our
advice concerning the way of proceeding, yet we
have the same good ends in the general ; and by
this unlucky falling out, we shall be provoked to
a greater emulation of serving you. " * Yet the
offence, whatever it was, must have been. 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.