CHAPTER II.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 29, 22 December 1883, Page 5

CHAPTER 11.

Focr turbulent years passed, and when, in 1003, King James of Scotland succeeded to tiie throne of England, Sir Thomas Egerton was mailu Lord Chancellor and eieatod Karl of Ellesmere ; and, to his credit be it said, he did not, in His exalted position, foraet the efficient and faithful s-urvico of John Donne, but retained him in hi.s ship. Sir Thomas anti his secretary had embraced Prote&taiitoMn, and turned from the ceremonial leligion of his youth to tho moditied faith ot tho English Church. Donne's official duties as secretary were comparatively light, and ailorded him opportunities iur self-culture and intellectual improvement. In his lonely hours he often thought of tho Christmas- box at Loseley, and of the little lady who administered it on that cold Christmas night under the mistletoe. In the effulgent month of June, 1003, Margaret More was a visitor at Hatchlands, the seat of her illustrous relatives. The beauty and warmth of the summer season, the fragrance of luxuriant flowers and herbs, were delightful to the senses and invigorating to the spirit. Donne had repented of his youthful follies, which many persons deemed harmless, and felt happy in the peaceful seclusion of llatehlands. Margaret More, the Earl's niece, regarded the the Secretary in the light of a preceptor rather than in the character of a lover, and was charmed wi tli his general observations on naturalobjectsand the order and economy of natnre. Hatchlands -was situated on the side of a gentle declivity, at the foot of which a winding river flowed noiselessly between banks which occasionally rose to considerable heights and again undulated into flowery valleys of purest green. Half way up the southern slope of ono of these valleys was the Earl's home, embosomed in trees and surrounded by gardens. Donne had stndied at Oxford, and he possessed, we are told, "an active and piercing intellect, an imagination subtle and far-seemg t a fancy rich, vivid, and picturesque, and wit noticeable for its caustic severity and quiet playfulness." He was regarded by the Earl at? a youttg man of extremely virtuous habit 3, and as a generous instructor to his interesting niece. The Earl entertained the highest opinion of his secretary, and said " he is fitter to serve a king than a subject." The honest secretary and the young lady were daily companions, and their walks wore ever among the most, romantic scenery of this part of Surrey. Margaret looked to Donne as a guide and dear friend, but their continued companionship, aa might have been suspected, ripened into affectionate regard for each other. "Your life at Hatchlands, must be monotonous and lonely, ' ' said Margaret, "almost companionless, with no happy prospects in. the future." "Our lives are what we make them" replied John Donne; " sweet thoughts are pleasant companions, happiness and misery is of the mind." " But your prospects are not flattering, John } no fortune possibly in the distance," aaid the lady. " By doing my duty in the station of life in which Providence has placed me, I may possess riches which the world cannot give, the serenities of a quiet conscience," replied the scholar. Margaret was silent and thoughtful while Donne briefly gave an account of his youthful follies, with satirical comments and flashes of forced merriment to hide the pangs which the recollections of years gone by frequently caused. He thought, with a sad smile, of the bright and sanguine anticipations with which he had entered life, and of his subsequent disappointments. Margaret observed a .mournful 'expression upon his face as he recounted lost opportunities and wasted means. At such moments she slightly upbraided him for indulging in desponding thoughts, and reminded him of his saying, •'Our lives are what we make them," adding, "you will yet be ; able to rise, superior to present circumstances by the force of your poetic genius, your integrity of conduct, and energy of will You have all the qualities for success, and have been brought up with the tastes and education of a gentleman,"

" You aro tho bettor angel whioh I Jiavo longed to meot, Margaret," said the secretary. "In my early days I lived with woalthy men, and. at collego I associated with students recklessly diisposod, and, believing that I was heir to a large ostate, I never learned to value money, nor felt that there was any necessity for tho practice of eoonomy. Youv reference to the poetic faculty rather pains than ploases me ; poetry is not a marketable commodity, but in the eyes of money-grubbing and prosy people it is rather a misfortune than otherwise." u Still, pootry is beautiful. Theprotty verses you wrote on tho * Earl's Grotto/ and tho 'Gentlo Mole' are among my choioost treasures, and will lone: remain so." "Ah, but you are an exception to the rule of young ladies, Margaret, in this unpoetic age, and I thank you for your words of encouragement." Art, poetry, and literature, and all that was likely to interest or amuso a thoughtful and well-read young lady, Donne spoke of with feeling and a wise discrimination. In their frequent walks by tho vivev and in tho cultivated desmeno of the Earl, they discovered that their sympathies wei'o identical and their opinions very similar on most of the subjects upon which they conversed, and which were mostly disquisitions on human life — its dutios and its aims.