nce to exhibit his
powers of satire in the person of an ecclesiastic of Paris, one Joseph
de Maniban, an abbot who pretended to understand the characters of those
he had never seen, and to prognosticate their good or bad fortune, from
an inspection of their handwriting. Marvel addressed a poem to him,
which, if it did not effectually silence his pretensions, at all events
exposed them fully to the thinking portions of the community.

[Illustration: CROMWELL HOUSE.]

Beneath Italian skies his immortal friendship with Milton seems to have
commenced; it was of rapid growth, but was soon firmly established. They
were, in many ways, kindred spirits, and their hopes for the after
destinies of England were alike. In 1653 Marvel returned to England, and
during the eventful years that followed, we can find no record of his
strong and earnest thoughts, as they worked upwards into the arena of
public life. One glorious fact we know, and all who honor virtue must
feel its force,--that in an age when wealth was never wanting to the
unscrupulous, Marvel, a member of the popular and successful party,
continued Poor. Many of those years he is certain to have passed--

"Under the destiny severe
Of Fairfax, and the starry Vere--"

in the humble capacity of tutor of languages to their daughters. It was
most likely, during this period, that he inhabited the cottage at
Highgate, opposite to the house in which lived part of the family of
Cromwell, a house upon which we shall remark presently. In 1657 he was
introduced by Milton to Bradshaw. The precise words of the introduction
ran thus: 'I present to you Mr. Marvel, laying aside those jealousies
and that emulation which mine own condition might suggest to me, by
bringing in such a coadjutor.' His connection with the State took place
in 1657, when he became assistant secretary with Milton in the service
of the Protector. 'I never had,' says Marvel, 'any, not the remotest
relation to public matters, nor correspondence with the persons then
predominant, until the year 1657.'

After he had been some time fellow-secretary with Milton, even the
thick-sighted burgesses of Hull perceived the merits of their townsman,
and sent him as their representative into the House of Commons. We can
imagine the delight he felt at escaping from the crowded and stormy
Commons to breathe the invigorating air of his favorite hill, to enjoy
the society of his former pupils, now his friends; and to gathe