451 



of St. John, beautifully seated on the banks of the Mulla, and at 

 a convenient distance for frequent visits from Kilcolman ; and 

 of this family Elizabeth was most probably a member, the 

 colour of her hair corresponding with their's, and resembling 

 *' a golden mantle." (See Son. Ixxxi. and Epithal. st. 9). The 

 family name is assumed by Heralds to be derived ab Angulo, 

 as Hugo ab Angulo, an ancestor of the Nagles or Nangles ; 

 but Spenser seems to have drawn it (according to a precedent 

 of his own in the Faerie Queen, see book iii. canto iii. stan. 

 54, 55), more poetically de Angelis, when he describes Eliza- 

 beth as " of the brood of Angels heavenly born." 



It is no objection to this view that Spenser's eldest son, 

 Sylvanus, was subsequently married to a Miss Ellen Nagle of 

 the same family; for the intermarriage of first cousins is no 

 unusual occurrence ; and Miss Ellen Nagle was the daughter 

 of David Nagle, who was, in all probability, the brother of the 

 Elizabeth Nagle whom we suppose to have been married to 

 Edmund Spenser. The circumstances of the country, too, at 

 the time of Sylvanus Spenser's marriage, were likely to cir- 

 cumscribe the choice of a young man, in the selection of a wife, 

 within very narrow limits. 



It only remains to be here remarked, that, after Edmund 

 Spenser's death, his widow was married again to a person 

 named Roger Seckerstone, or Seggerston. (See Appendix to 

 Craik's Spenser in iTwz'^'Ai's Weekly Volumes, vol. iii. p. 243). 

 The author of this essay, however, has been unable to trace 

 her out. He is informed that a family of that name still resides 

 in one of the southern counties, either Cork or Kerry. It is 

 not improbable that these pages may meet the eye of some 

 one able to trace out the history of the lady in question, and 

 thus either to confirm or to dissipate the conjecture in which 

 Mr. Halpin has indulged. The point is well worthy the anti- 

 quarian's research. 



