The friendly loadstone has not more combined,

Than Bishops cramp't the commerce of mankind.

Though thus severe on the Hierarchy, the poet had not yet lost all respect for the Monarch :

Charles, our great soul, this only understands,

He our affections both, and wills commands.

It must be remembered that Charles had hitherto shewn many good dispositions, and in particular had interfered to save some of the Scotch Nonconformists from the vengeance of Sharpe: notwithstanding the insolent tyranny with which he had himself been treated by the Kirk in its days of sovereignity. He had, on several occasions, exerted himself to procure liberty of conscience, both for catholic and protestant dissenters, to little effect indeed, during the influence of Clarendon; but the secret inclination towards his mother's religion, which probably prompted this insidious toleration, was not yet more than vaguely suspected.

The year 1667 is a great epoch in the history of the human mind, for then was Paradise Lost first given to the world. According to the custom of those times, Marvell accompanied the work of his illustrious friend with a copy of commendatory verses: but it is a truly absurd surmise, that either Marvell's English couplets, or Dr. Barrow's Latin Elegiacs, preserved the production of Milton from obscurity. This is about as probable, as that a sealed and unopened epistle should reach its destination, if directed only in the inside. More plausibly has it been asserted that Marvell united with Sir Thomas Clarges, Mr. Secretary Morrice, and Sir William Davenant to prevent the mighty poet's being excepted out of the act of indemnity; but is it likely that he, who had himself held office under Cromwell, would possess any influence at Court?

Though his Parliamentary correspondence continues with little or no interruption, between the years 1667 and 1670, and as a series of historical documents is of high value, yet it throws no light on his private transactions; nor does it elucidate his personal character, except by affording additional proof of his indefatigable industry; his unwearied spirits; his attention to the minutest, as well as to the weightiest matters that came before the House. Rarely does he utter an opinion on any subject, unless it bore expressly upon the interests of his constituents. We cannot find any clue to discover, for example, his sentiments on the prosecution of Clarendon, which later historians have represented as a conspiracy between an ungrateful King, and a misguided nation, to ruin the most loyal and immaculate of statesmen; but it is most probable that he concurred in it. As we are not writing the

history of Andrew Marvell's Times, we cannot be expected to dilate on all the public measures which he has noticed in his letters, but shall content ourselves with a few extracts which may serve to illustrate the Parliamentary life of the Patriot, or at least the manners, temper, and politics, of the Parliament in which he sat.

Jan. 22, 1666-7:-" Heard the report of the fire of London, full of manifest testimonies that it was by a wicked design, and ordered the report of the insolence of Papists to-morrow."

Dec. 22, 1666:-"To-day the Duke of Buckingham and Marquis of Dorchester were upon their petitions freed from the Tower, having been committed for quarrelling and scuffling the other day when we were at the Canary Conference."

Feb. 9, 1667 :-" I am sorry to hear of several fires of late in your town, but by God's mercy prevented from doing much harm. Though I know your vigilance, and have been informed of the occasions, I cannot but, out of the earnestness of mine own sense, advise you to have a careful eye against all such accidents. We have had so much of them here in the South, that it makes me almost superstitious. But indeed, as sometimes there arise new diseases, so there are seasons of more particular judgments, and such as that of fires seem of late to have been upon this nation: but God's providence in such cases is well pleased to be frustrated by human industry, but much more his mercies are always propitious to repentance."

July 25:"Yesternight, at one o'clock, a very dangerous fire happened in Southwark, but blowing up the next house in good time, there were but twelve consumed or ruined. I cannot but advise you to have especial care in your town of any such accident, or what will you call it; for I am sorry we can yet see no clearer by so many lights."

October 25th:-" This morning several members of our House did in their places move the House to proceed to an impeachment against the Earl of Clarendon, and laid very high crimes to his charge."

Nov. 14:-" Really the business of the House hath been of late so earnest daily, and so long, that I have not had the time, and scarce vigour left me by night to write to you; and to-day, because I would not omit any longer, I lose my dinner to make sure of this letter. The Earl of Clarendon had taken up much of our time till within this three days. But since his impeachment hath been carried up to the House of Lords, we have some leisure from that; and now this is the third day that they have, without intermission of any other business, continued upon the question, Whether, upon our desire, to commit him to custody before we sent up (which yet we have not done) the particular articles of our charge against him."-P.S. of the same date :

:

"I hear the Lords are at last come to a resolution to desire a conference to-morrow with our House, to show us reason why they should not commit the Earl of Clarendon before special articles."

“Nov. 23d :—“ The Lords and we cannot yet get off the difficulties risen betwixt us on occasion of our House's demanding the Earl of Clarendon's imprisonment upon a general charge of treason.”

Dec. 3d :-" Since my last to you we have had a free conference with the Lords, and so a mutual debate on the reasons for, and for not, committing the Earl of Clarendon on our general charge. The Lords yesterday sent a message by Judge Archer and Judge Morton, that, upon the whole matter, they were not satisfied to commit him, without particular cause specified or assigned; whereupon our House, after very long debate, voted, 'that the Lords not complying with the desires of the House of Commons in committing and sequestring from their House the Earl of Clarendon, upon the impeachment carried up against him, is an obstruction of the public justice in the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament, and is the precedent of evil and dangerous consequences.' To-day the Lords sent down another message to us, that they had to-day received a large petition from the Earl of Clarendon, intimating that he was withdrawn.* Hereupon our House forthwith

Clarendon withdrew at the King's express command, who probably knew no other safe and easy means to shield a man whom he could not help revering.

"On the 29th of November, 1667, this illustrious exile embarked in a miserable boat in the middle of the night, at Erith, and after remaining at sea amidst the inconveniences and dangers of the worst weather for three days and nights, landed at Calais. He left behind him a representation at large to the House of Peers of his conduct since the Restoration, composed with all the simplicity and modest courage of conscious innocence and truth: such, however, was the rage of the prevailing party, that it was presently publicly burned, by order of both Houses."-Lodge.

He had built a splendid mansion, to which the populace affixed the nick-name of Dunkirk House. In the edition of 1776 are two poems ascribed (we hope erroneously) to Marvell, one called “Clarendon's House-warming," and the other “Upon his House." Among other topics of obloquy, they allude pointedly to the misappropriation of certain building materials, originally set apart for the repair of St. Paul's, but afterwards diverted to the erection of the Chancellor's palace. As the second is but short, and sums up the principal arguments of odium against a venerated name, we shall give it almost entire :

Here lie the sacred stones

Of Paul......

Here lie golden briberies,

The price of ruin'd families.

The Cavaliers' debenter wall,

Fix't on an eccentric basis;

Here Dunkirk Town and Tangier Hall,

The Queen's marriage, and all

The Dutchman's Templum pacis.

address his Majesty, that care might be taken for securing all the seaports, lest he should pass there. I suppose he will not trouble you at Hull."

March 7, 1668:-"On Wednesday last the House resumed the debate occasioned by the informations of several members concerning the insolencies of Nonconformists in some parts of the nation, disturbing ministers in their churches, and setting up their own preachers. The House hereupon came to a resolution, that they would in a body attend his Majesty, desiring him to reinforce by his proclamation the laws against conventicles, and that care might be taken to secure the peace of the nation against the unlawful meetings of Nonconformists and Papists." With this request Charles, who-half Catholic and half Infidel-hoped, under the mask of toleration, either to be rid of all religion, or to smuggle in that which he found most convenient, was obliged reluctantly to comply, though the petition was meant to imply a severe censure on himself and his favourite, Buckingham, who was now playing the same game with the Nonconformists as Leicester had played with the Puritans under Elizabeth.

Several letters after this are taken up almost entirely with the proceedings against the supposed authors of the miscarriages in the late Dutch war. The public vengeance had better been directed against the authors of the war itself. Of all wars, surely the least profitable have been those which grew out of commercial squabbles. The privileges and jurisdiction of the two Houses were as undefined as the prerogatives of the crown. We continually find the Peers at variance with the Commons, and their Lordships generally forced to submit at last with no very good grace. An attempt of the Lords to act as a criminal court directly, and not on appeal from the courts below, was strongly resented by the Lower House; and Marvell, though he expresses himself gravely and coolly, no doubt entered fully into the indignation of his fellow members.

May 25, he writes thus:-"I have no more time than to tell you that the Lords, having judged and fined the East India Company, as we think, illegally, upon the petition of one Skinner, a merchant; and they petitioning us for redress, we have imprisoned him that petitioned them, and they have imprisoned several of those that petitioned us; and we, on Monday, send to the Lords severe votes against their proceedings: it is a business of very high and dangerous consequence." On the 9th he informs the Mayor of Hull (then Mr. Anthony Lambert) that there had been a conference between the Houses,—the Commons having voted that the Lords' "taking cognizance and proceeding originally upon the petition of Skinner against the East India

Company, was contrary to law. It was Friday in the afternoon before the Lords desired a conference, wherein, with a preamble in writing of a very high and severe sense, they gave us two votes in exchange: that our entertaining a scandalous paper of the East India Company, and proceeding thereon, was a breach of the privilege of the House of Peers, and the good union that ought to be betwixt the two Houses: that what the Lords had done upon Skinner's petition was agreeable to law, and consonant to precedents both ancient and modern. We went from thence back to our House, where we sat without intermission till five o'clock this morning." The honest country gentlemen and burgesses had not yet generally fallen into the late hours of the courtiers, and seem to have grown passionate for want of sleep, for they voted, "that whosoever shall be aiding or assisting in the execution of the Lords' sentence or order against the East India Company, shall be deemed a betrayer of the liberties and rights of the Commons of England, and an infringer of the privileges of Parliament." The King adjourned the Houses in consequence, or under pretext, of these differences; but not till the Lords had taken severe measures against Sir Samuel Barnardiston (whom they sentenced to pay £300 on his knees) and other leading members of the East India Company. But it does not appear that Sir Samuel ever submitted to this degrading punishment. Parliament did not meet again for dispatch of business till the 19th of October, 1669. The dissention between the Houses still continued. Marvell records the several stages of the affair, which ended by the two Houses, at the King's desire, erasing "all records in their journals of that matter, that all memory thereof might be extinguished." Feb. 22, 1670.

Every session brought forth some new bill, some forced proclamation, against conventicles. The general disposition of that long-protracted Parliament (which obtained the name of the Pension Parliament) in all things, except its rigid and jealous economy, and severe prosecution of delinquents, coincided with the temper of the better sort of modern Tories. An evil eye on all sectaries, a perfect horror of the Church of Rome, a high devotion to abstract royalty, and to the Protestant Episcopal Church as a vital organ of the state, a vindictive sense of national honour, a restrictive and prohibitory system of commerce,* were, for many years, the leading features of their policy.

There is scarcely one of Marvell's letters which does not afford some proof that the House in which he sat was no friend to free trade, even between the several parts of the British Empire. We have already seen the bill against the importation of Irish cattle carried against the declared opinion of the King. There was a manifest inclination to exclude French commodities altogether. In enumerating the acts

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