I ... felt my selfe then Becoming Traytor, and mee thought I saw One of our Giant Statutes ope his jaw To sucke me in. The manner in which the stranger accosts him suggests the 'intelligencer': 'Two hungry turns had I scarce fetcht in this wast gallery when I was encountered by a neat pedantical fellow, in the forme of a Cittizen, who thrusting himself abruptly into my companie, like an Intelligencer, began very earnestly to question me.' Nash, _Pierce Penniless_. In the _Satyres_ Donne is always, though he does not state his position too clearly, one with links attaching him to the persecuted Catholic minority. He hates informers and pursuivants. ll. 1-4. These lines resemble the opening of Régnier's imitation of Horace's satire: Charles, de mes peches j'ay bien fait penitence; Or, toy qui te cognois aux cas de conscience, Juge si j'ay raison de penser estre absous. I can trace no further resemblance. l. 4. _A recreation to, and scarse map of this._ I have ventured here to restore, from _Q_ and its duplicate among the Dyce MSS., what I think must have been the original form of this line. The adjective 'scarse' or 'scarce' used in this way ('a scarce poet', 'a scarce brook') is characteristic of Donne, and it always puzzled his copyists, who tried to correct it in one way or another, e.g. 'scarce a poet', II. 44; 'a scant brooke', IV. 240. It is inconceivable that they would have introduced it. The preposition 'to' governing 'such as' regularizes the construction, but would very easily be omitted by a copyist who wished to smooth the metre or did not at once catch its reference. Donne's use of 'scarse', like his use of 'Macaron' in this poem, is probably an Italianism; in Italian 'scarso' means 'wanting, scanty, poor'--'stretta e scarsa fortuna', 'E si riduce talvolta nell' Estate con si scarsa acqua', 'Veniva bellissima tanto quanto ogni comparazione ci saria scarsa', 'Ma l'ingegno e le rime erano scarse' (Petrarch). PAGE =159=, l. 21. _seaven Antiquaries studies._ Donne has more than one hit at Antiquaries. See the _Epigrams_ and _Satyre V_. The reign of Elizabeth witnessed a great revival of antiquarian studies and the first formation of an Antiquarian society: 'There was a time, most excellent king,' says a later writer addressing King James, 'when as well under Queen Elizabeth, as under your majesty, certain choice gentlemen, men of known proof, were knit together, _statis temporibus_, by the love of these studies, upon contribution among themselves: which company consisted of an elective president and of clarissimi, of other antiquaries and a register.' Oldys, _Life of Raleigh_, p. 317. He goes on to describe how the society was dissolved by death. In the list of names he gives there are more than seven, but it is just possible that Donne refers to some such society in its early stages.