study the law; where he gave great testimonies of his wit, his learning, and of his improvement in that profession; which never served him for other use than an ornament and self-satisfaction.

His father died before his admission into this society;* and,

The poet then describes the fearful minutiae of a siege by night :

Hark, how the loud gun shakes the trembling sky,
Whilst threat'ning balls in showers of murder fly.
Sicilian bull did not so loudly roar:

Nor was the sword more dreadful, which hung o'er
Damocles' neck.

Then away!

And to such dangers, Sleep, don't me betray.

An Epigram follows, "To his fellow Sentinels;" reminding them of their duties, their dangers, and the glory of honorable scars :—

Glory with dangers met,

Here doth attend us; toyls are paid with praise;
Let's weave us crowns, then, of immortal bayes!
To Heaven our souls, to earth let's flesh assign,
But in our minds let loyal honour shine.

In a letter of Sir Henry Wotton to the lord Zouch, dated from Vienna, the 20th November, 1590, style of Rome, the circumstance is mentioned of the Spanish General, the duke of Parma, "entrenching himself in a wood by Maeze;" and a letter of the 4th February, 1591, describes that he had been so closely invested, and reduced to an extremity for want of supplies, that on the entreaty of the Cardinal Gondii, "certain victuals were licensed into the town and wood, at twenty-five crowns the cartful, and a cow at eight."-Reliq. Wotton. pp. 592-614.

A portrait of Donne at this period of his life, more particularly described in a future page, inscribed "Anno D'ni, 1591, Etatis suæ 18," represents him in a dark coloured doublet, with a diamond cross pendant from the right ear; his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. In that year the earl of Essex was sent into Flanders with a small auxiliary force of 4,000 men, to assist Henry IV. and the protestant cause against the machinations of Spain and the Holy League.

* His father died, as stated in a previous page, some years earlier than might be supposed from the text, when the subject of this memoir was little more than two years of age. His will bears date the 16th January, 1575, when he was "sick in body," and it was proved the 8th February following. He directed his property to be divided into three portions, "according to the laudable custom of the city of London." One portion, according to the same custom, to go to Elizabeth, his wife. One other third portion he bequeathed "among all my children now living, as also the one whereof my wife now goeth,"-payable to them, sons at the age of twenty-one, and daughters at the same age, or at their marriage. The remaining third, by city custom at his own disposal, was appropriated to the payment of his debts, in charities to the extent of several hundred pounds; in legacies and remembrances to friends; and the residue to his wife and children; the former being appointed sole executrix.

In this state of things, by the custom of London, the orphans became wards of the High Court of Hustings; a civic jurisdiction of the lord mayor and aldermen, of original and simple action, of immense value, and highly appreciated during the

being a merchant, left him his portion in money. It was 3,000l. His mother, and those to whose care he was committed, were

existence of those personal feodal obligations attendant on the ancient tenures. In this Court, the executrix was bound to exhibit an inventory of the effects of the deceased, and to give security for the orphans' portion. The city records, very carefully preserved, shew that these requirements of the ancient custom, in this case, under the circumstances, extended from two to six months, were fulfilled in September, 1576, and supply all the family identity that could be desired; for the unquestionable signature of Dr. Donne, as one of the surviving orphans, occurs many times in the course of the cause. It may indeed be remarked, and is perhaps indicative of the early formation of character, how little variation is observable between these early signatures and the latest autograph of his name.

The family of orphans, whose guardianship thus devolved on the city court, were Elizabeth, Anne, John, Henry, Maria, and Katherine. With the exception of Anne and John, they all died under age and unmarried; augmenting by their shares the portions of the survivors. In 1586, Anne was wife of Avarey Copley, of Lincoln's Inn, second son of Avarey Copley, esq., of Copley Hall, in Batley, eo. York; and in 1594, she was the wife of William Lyly, of London, gentleman. The date of her death has not been exactly ascertained; but it was the subject of the following powerfully interesting letter from her brother John, to his mother, written during the anxious period of his struggles with an adverse world.

My most dear Mother," he writes, "when I consider so much of your life as can fall within my memorie and observation, I find it to have been a sea under a continuall tempest, where one wave hath ever overtaken another. Our most wise and blessed Saviour chuseth what way it pleaseth him, to conduct those which he loves to his haven and eternall rest. The way which he hath chosen for you, is straight, stormie, obscure, and full of sad apparitions of death, and wants, and sundry discomforts; and it hath pleased him, that one discomfort should still succeed and touch another, that he might leave you no leisure, by anie pleasure or abundance, to stay or step out of that way, or almost to take breath in that way, by which he hath determined to bring you home, which is his glorious kingdom. One of the most certain marks and assurances that all these are his works, and to that good end, is your inward feeling and apprehension of them, and patience in them. As long as the spirit of God distills and dews his cheerfulnesse upon your heart; as long as he instructs your understanding to interpret his mercies and his judgments aright; so long your comfort must needs be as much greater than others, as your afflictions are greater than theirs. The happinesse which God afforded to your first young time, which was the love and care of my most dear and provident father, (whose soul I hope hath long since enjoyed the sight of our blessed Saviour, and had compassion of all our miseries in this world!) God removed from you quickly. And hath since taken from you all the comfort that that marriage produced. All those children (for whose maintenance his industrie provided, and for whose education you were so carefullie and so chargeablie diligent) he hath now taken from you. All that wealth which he left, God hath suffered to be gone from us all. So that God hath seemed to repent that he allowed any part of your life any earthly happinesse, that he might keep your soul

watchful to improve his knowledge, and to that end appointed him tutors, both in the mathematics and in all the other liberal

in continuall exercise, and longing, and assurance of coming immediately to him. I hope therefore, my most dear mother, that your experience of the calamities of this life,--your continuall acquaintance with the visitations of the holy Ghost, which gives better inward comforts than the world can owtward discomforts,-your wisdom to distinguish the value of this world from the next,-and your religious fear of offending our mercifull God, by repining at any thing which he doth,-will preserve you from any inordinate and dangerous sorrow at this losse of my most beloved sister. For my part, which am onely left now to do the office of a child; though the poornesse of my fortune and the greatnesse of my charge hath not suffered me to expresse my duty towards you as became me; yet I protest to you before Allmighty God and his angells and saints in heaven, that I doe and ever shall esteem myselfe to be as stronglie bound to looke to you and provide for your relief, as for my own poore wife and children; for whatsoever I shall be able to do, I acknowledge to be a debt to you, from whom I had that education which must make my fortune."

It appears at this time that his mother had re-married; for he continues: "This I speake not, as though I feared my father Rainsford's care of you, or his means to provide for you; for he hath been with me, and, as I perceive in him a loving and industrious care to give you contentment, so I see in his businesse a happie and considerable forwardnesse. In the mean time, good mother, take heed that no sorrow nor dejection in your heart, interrupt or disappoint God's purpose in you. His purpose is, to remove out of your heart, all such love of this world's happinesse as might put Him out of possession of it. He will have you entirelie and as God is comfort enough, so he is inheritance enough. Joyne with God, and make his visitations and afflictions, as he intended them, mercies and comforts. And for God's sake, pardon those negligences which I have heretofore used towards you; and assist me with your blessing to me and all mine; and with your prayers to our blessed Saviour, that thereby, both my mind and fortune may be apt to do all my duties, especially those that belong to you.

God, whose omnipotent strength can change the nature of any thing, by his raising spirit of comfort make your povertie riches, your afflictions pleasure, and all the gall and wormwood of your life, honey and manna to your taste, which he hath wrought, whensoever you are willing to have it so. Which, because I cannot doubt in I will forbeare more lines at this time, and most humblie deliver myself over to your devotions, and good opinion of me, which I desire no longer to live than I may have."-Sir Tobie Mathews' Collection, p. 323.

you,

The parent thus addressed, (who survived her first husband the long period of fifty-five years,) became apparently, again a widow. She lived to see the "fortune" of her son, as dean of St. Paul's; and to receive of him the debt of obligation he had acknowledged. A conversation in his last sickness, reported by Izaak Walton, represents him thankfully to have felt the mercies of Providence that had enabled him to requite the favors of his friends; and to have said: "I have maintained my mother, whom it hath pleased God, after a plentiful fortune in her younger days, to bring to great decay in her very old age."

sciences, to attend him. But with these arts, they were advised to instil into him particular principles of the Romish church; of which those tutors professed, though secretly, themselves to be members.

They had almost obliged him to their faith, having for their advantage, besides many opportunities, the example of his dear and pious parents, which was a most powerful persuasion, and did work much upon him, as he professeth in his Preface to his Pseudo-Martyr,* a book of which the reader shall have some account in what follows.

He was now entered into the eighteenth year of his age; and at that time had betrothed himself to no religion that might give him any other denomination than a Christian. And reason and piety had both persuaded him that there could be no such sin as schism, if an adherence to some visible church were not necessary.

About the nineteenth year of his age, he, being then unresolved what religion to adhere to, and considering how much it concerned his soul to choose the most orthodox, did therefore, though his youth and health promised him a long life, to rectify all scruples that might concern that, presently lay aside all study

In his will, he had provided for a continuance of that obligation beyond the term of his own life, by a bequest to her of the interest of five-hundred pounds for her life (forty-pounds per annum, according to the legal value of money at that time), with twenty-pounds ready cash, to meet her wants until the proceeds of her legacy should accrue; but it is learned from his biographer that she preceded him, by a very short period, to the grave. "He was," writes Izaak Walton, "even to her death, a most dutiful son to his mother, careful to provide for her supportation, of which she had been destitute, but that God raised him up to prevent her necessities; who, having sucked in the religion of the Romish church with the mother's milk, spent her estate in foreign countries, to enjoy a liberty in it; and died in his house but three months before him."

* The most valuable of Dr. Donne's prose writings.--Granger. In the passage referred to, he writes :--" I had a longer work to do than many other men : for I was first to blot out certaine impressions of the Romane religion, and to wrestle both against the examples and against the reasons, by which some hold was taken, and some anticipations early layde upon my conscience, both by persons who by nature had a power and superiority over my will, and others who by their learning and good life, seemed to me justly to claime an interest for the guiding and rectifying of mine understanding in these matters."

of the law, and of all other sciences that might give him a denomination; and began seriously to survey and consider the body of divinity, as it was then controverted betwixt the Reformed and the Roman church. And as God's blessed Spirit did then awaken him to the search, and in that industry did never forsake him (they be his own words),† so he calls the same Holy Spirit to witness this protestation; that in that disquisition and search, he proceeded with humility and diffidence in himself; and by that which he took to be the safest way, namely frequent prayers, and an indifferent affection to both parties; and, indeed, truth had too much light about her to be hid from so sharp an inquirer; and he had too much ingenuity, not to acknowledge he had found her.

Being to undertake this search, he believed the Cardinal Bellarmine to be the best defender of the Roman cause, and therefore betook himself to the examination of his reasons. cause was weighty; and wilful delays had been inexcusable both

The

The principal heads of this controversy have been discussed with great ability and candour by the most eminent divines of our church, and particularly by those of them who lived in the reign of James II. Mr. Pope, in a letter to bishop Atterbury, tells his lordship, that when he was fourteen years old, he read the controversies between the two churches; "and the consequence was," he adds, "I found myself a Papist and Protestant by turns, according to the last book I read." "This," observes the writer of his life, "is an admirable description of every reader busied in religious controversy, without professing the principles on which a right judgment on the points in question is to be regulated. If Mr. Pope had pursued the enquiry with the same preparatory knowledge, with the same humble diffidence that attended Dr. Donne, it is reasonable to think that the result of his researches would have been different from what he has represented it."-Z. + In his Preface to Pseudo-Martyr.-Walton.

One of the most celebrated controversial writers of his time, and a distinguished member of the Society of Jesus. He was born in Tuscany in 1542, and became a jesuit in 1560. Until 1576 he was a teacher of Divinity in the Low Countries; and then commenced reading controversial lectures at Rome with such success, that Sixtus V. sent him into France to assist his Legate in matters of religious dispute. In 1599 he was created Cardinal by Clement VIII., and resided in the Vatican from 1605 till 1621, when declining health induced him to retire to the House of his Order, where he died the same year, at the age of 69. The work alluded to in the text is entitled, "Disputationes de Controversiis Christianæ Fidei, adversus sui temporis Hereticos." Cologne, 1610, 4 vols. folio,-Chalmers.