] whom God bless, may be carefully brought up in the fear of
God, not to delight in worldly vanities, which I too well know be but
baits to draw her out of the heavenly kingdom. And I pray thee thank thy
kind uncle and aunt for her (?) and their many kindnesses to me. Thus,
out of the bitter and greedy desire of a repentant heart, begging thy
pardon for any wrong that ever in my life I did thee, I commend these my
requests to thy wonted and undeserved kind wifely and lovely
consideration, my body to God's disposing and my love (soul?) to His
merciful commisseration.

Thine as wholly as man was ever woman's,

GEORGE CUMBERLAND.

To my dear wife, the Countess of Cumberland, give this, of whom, from
the bottom of my heart in the presence of God, I ask forgiveness for all
the wrongs I have done her.

FOOTNOTES:

[92] There is, as often, little or no punctuation in the original, of
which Dr. Williamson's beautiful book gives a facsimile. I have ventured
to adjust that of the printed text, here and there, to bring out the
meaning.

[93] Lady Anne was at this time only 15. She seems to have been fond of
her father and proud of him: nor is there any direct evidence that the
fear of God was not in her. But she had no fear of man: and no excessive
respect for her father's will. During the lives of her uncle Francis and
her cousin Henry, 4th and 5th Earls, she fought it hard at law: and at
last, Henry dying without issue, and the title lapsing, came into
possession of the great Clifford estates in the North. She lived to be
86, and was masterful all her days.

JOHN DONNE (1573-1631)

"The first poet in the world for some things,"--as Ben
Jonson, who nevertheless did not like his metric, thought he
would perish for not being understood, and perhaps did not
understand him--called Donne with justice, might not be
thought likely to be among the first letter-writers. The
marvellous lightning-flashes of genius in a dark night of
context which illuminate his poetry and his sermons, can
hardly be expected--would indeed be almost out of place--in
ordinary letter-writing. Moreover, Donne is, perhaps, with
Browne, the most characteristic exponent of that magnificent
seventeenth century style which accommodates itself ill to
merely commonplace matters.

Browne, a younger man by an entire generation who lived far
into the age of Dryden, could drop this s