VI

7HEN Donne was released from prison and, the Commissioners refusing to pro

W

nounce the marriage illegal, his wife came to him, he found himself out of employment and almost without resources. We have seen from a letter to his mother that the family fortune was much reduced in value; his own portion was still further wasted by travel and extravagance. Probably it was only his salary from Egerton which had for some time kept him out of difficulties. In this extremity there came to his aid Sir Francis Woolley, who had for long been his close friend. He had just inherited an estate at Pyrford, and promptly offered the newly married people house-room. That Donne accepted the offer is significant of the state of his affairs. To Pyrford, then, he went in 1602, and remained there in close seclusion until the end of 1604. What little is known of his pursuits during this time is gathered from his correspondence. A letter to his father-inlaw, who was a near neighbour, shows that a reconciliation was effected. In point of fact Sir George More gave the erring pair his blessing, but made no more substantial contribution to their happiness. During this period Donne was possibly presented to King James in the course of the monarch's visit to Sir George More. There is also extant a letter to Ben Jonson in which Donne speaks of an impending lawsuit.

He probably spent most of his time in a severe course of reading, principally in theology. A letter to Robert (afterward Sir Robert) Cotton deals at length with a semi-ecclesiastical matter, and the following verses addressed to Mr Rowland Woodward show the increasingly serious bent of his mind:

Like one who in her third widdowhood doth

professe

Her selfe a Nunne, tyed to retirednesse,

So affects my muse now, a chast fallownesse ;

Since shee to few, yet to too many hath showne How love-song weeds, and Satyrique thornes are

growne

Where seeds of better Arts, were early sown.

Though to use, and love Poëtrie, to mee,
Betroth'd to no one Art, be no adulterie;
Omissions of good, ill, as ill deeds bee.

For though to us it seeme, and be light and thinne,
Yet in those faithfull scales, where God throwes in
Mens workes, vanity weighs as much as sinne.

If our Soules have stain'd their first white, yet wee May cloth them with faith, and deare honestie, Which God imputes, as native puritie.

There is no Vertue, but Religion:

Wise, valiant, sober, just, are names, which none Want, which want not Vice-covering discretion.

Wee are but farmers of our selves, yet may,
If we can stocke our selves, and thrive, uplay
Much, much deare treasure for the great rent day.

Manure thy selfe then, to thy selfe be approv'd, And with vaine outward things be no more mov'd, But to know, that I love thee and would be lov'd.

A secluded mode of life must have been very irksome to Donne. He was well known both for learning and ability in Court circles. The former is made clear by the letter to Wotton, who, being about to proceed abroad on a diplomatic mission, evidently had asked Donne, as one who could judge, the rights of the dispute about precedence between a former English ambassador and the Papal legate. The opinion held of Donne's ability is shown by Egerton's remark, which has been already quoted. In addition, the name of Jack Donne was one to conjure with as that of a wit, which was at that date the most highly esteemed qualification of all.

It seems strange at first sight that he obtained no employment, but a little thought shows two probable reasons. His family was notoriously Catholic, a fatal bar to promotion in those days, and he himself was not a member of the Church of England. A letter to Donne, the writer of which is not certainly known, but who was a close friend, contains the following sentence: "Your friends [in London] are sorry that you make yourself so great a stranger, but you best know your own occasions. Howbeit, if you have any design towards the Court, it was good you did prevent the loss of more time. The King's hand is neither so full nor so open

as it hath been." Almost certainly Donne's reason for not pushing his fortunes at Court was lack of money. In those days class distinctions were defended by expense in the mode of life, especially in the matter of dress, which in the upper circles was very costly. Probably, too, Donne, as the verses quoted suggest, was wrestling earnestly with the problem of his personal religion. It was his reputation as a theologian which at last obtained for him some employment.

Early in 1604 King James noted that the persecution of Puritan Nonconformists had allowed the Roman Catholics to gain much ground. He therefore requested Parliament to pass an Act tightening up the regulations regarding recusants. This they did with a will, and produced a measure so harsh that James did not wish to apply it. Instead, he issued a decree enjoining moderation, in order that "that uniformity which we desire may be wrought by clemency and by weight of reason, and not by rigour of law."

One Thomas Morton, chaplain to the Earl of Rutland, had distinguished himself by conducting controversy without the aid of invective, and he was chosen to carry out the King's campaign of persuasion. The idea was to distinguish between the different kinds of dissenters and apply suitable arguments to each. Morton's previous controversial work had been principally oral, and perhaps at first he found himself

unable to write effectively and quickly, perhaps he had no time to make references and read proofs-at any rate he needed a helper. Morton had been intermittently connected for years, as chaplain, with the Hastings family, the Earls of Huntingdon, and at this time the reigning Countess was the third daughter of the Countess of Derby, Egerton's latest wife. We have seen that the ladies were good friends to Donne, and probably they recommended him to Morton. From 1605, then, to 1607 the poet was busily employed in helping to produce controversial works which were written with the object of persuading Roman Catholics that they could honestly conform to the Church of England. This work could not be done from a place so remote as Pyrford, and early in 1605 Donne and his growing family settled into a manor-house at Mitcham. The house seems to have been a poor affair-small, and with very thin walls, a terrible defect at a time when methods of heating were so imperfect. In addition, Donne had, for the purposes of his work, an apartment in the Strand. This also was a cheerless place, built over a vault, and damp. Between these two residences Donne seems from his letters to have divided his time fairly evenly, frequently riding from one to the other.

In these circumstances Donne passed two very unhappy years. He had a steadily increasing number of children, and constantly diminishing means. For some reason, either the unhealthy