That the perils of so living were not merely imaginary,
we shall presently see. He did not shed tears and
strike his bosom, like the miserable Ovid at Tomi; he
'wore rather in his bonds a cheerful brow, lived, and
took comfort,' finding his pleasure in that high
spiritual communion we have spoken of, playing
pleasantly, like some happy father, with the children
of his brain, joying in their caprices, their
noblenesses, their sweet adolescence; but still it was
exile, and this fact may explain that tone of
discontent which here and there is perceptible in his
writings.{2}
When in 1580 Arthur, Lord Grey of Wilton, was
appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland, he--perhaps through
Lord Leicester's influence, perhaps on account of
Spenser's already knowing something of the country--
made Spenser his Private Secretary. There can be no
doubt that Spenser proceeded with him to Dublin. It
was in Ireland, probably about this time, that he made
or renewed his acquaintance with Sir Walter Raleigh.
In 1581 he was appointed Clerk of Degrees and
Recognizances in the Irish Court of Chancery, a post
which he held for seven years, at the end of which time
he received the appointment of Clerk to the Council of
Munster. In the same year in which he was assigned the
former clerkship, he received also a lease of the lands
and Abbey of Enniscorthy in Wexford county.
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