Class J:iK4^ Hook ,DJ y RECOLLECTIONS OF THE LIFE OF LORD BYRON, FROM THE YEAR 1808 TO THE END OF 1814; EXHIBITIVa HIS EARLY CHARACTER AND OPINIONS, DETAILING THE PROGRESS OF HIS LITERARY CAREER, AND INCLUDING VARIOUS UNPUBLISHED PASSAGES OF HIS WORKS. Eaktn from Authentic Bocuments, IN THE POS8SS8ION OF TH£ AUTUOB. BT THE LATE B.'Cy DALLAS, Esq. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED a.K ACCOWKT OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES LEASIN& TO THE SVPPREBSION OF LORD BTBOn's CORRESFOSDENCE WITH THE AUTHOR, AND HIS LETTERS TO HIB KOTUER, LATELT ANKOVNCEB FOR SUBLIOATION. PHIliADELPHIA : A. SMALL AND H. C. CAREY & I. LEA. 1825. b3^A Gtft W. L. Bboemaker I t 'oe Printed by Wiimam Brows. CONTENTS. Preliminary Statement of the circumstances leading to the suppression of Lord Byron's Correspondence with the Author, and of his Letters to his Mother — p. ix to Ixxix. , Note as to the birth place of Lord Byron — Ixxxi, Chap. L p. 1 — 1 1. Family connexions of Lord Byron — Juvenile Poems—" Hours of Idleness" — Letter of Mr. Dallas — agreeable communication from his Lordship — second Letter of 21st July, 1808, and reply to it — first interview with Lord Byron — pleasing impressions ex- cited by the Poem strengthened by personal acquaintance—" en- grafted" religious opinions — visit on his 21st birth-day — 'his indignation at Lord Carlisle's behaviour estranges him from his family connexions — attack upon the Edinburgh Reviewers. Chap. IL p. 12—31. The Satire " British Bards and Scotch Reviewers"— originally printed in the country-^considerably altered in preparing for pub-^ lication — Letters of 24th Jan. 1809 — variation of the title sug- gested — notices of Southey — Little — Lord Carlisle — progress through the press — publication offered to Longman and Co. and declined— publiiihed by Cawthorn— ^ideas suggested on reading the Poem — extracts from the original manuscript, with the printed variations — Lord Byron's sensibility respecting his pe''- sonal defect — Jcffery — Letter of the 6th of February, lPv:)9««= jy CONTENTS. arrangement with the publisher of the Satire — Letter of the 7lh of February, 1809 — further alieraiions suggested — intercourse with Lord Byron during the publication — 'additions — argument originally intended to precede the Satire. Chap. IIL p, 32—45. The death of Lord Falkland suggests some new passages in the Satire — Lord Byron naturally benevolent — effect of his feel- ings upon his countenance — publication of the Satire — takes his seat in the House of Lords — neglect of his relative Lord Carlisle — reception by the Lord Chancellor — repulsive coolness of Lord Byron — his reasons — leaves town for Newstead Abbey — Mr. Dal- las's Letter of the 1 7th of April, 1 809 — public notices of the Satire — additions and alterations in the Second Edition — his m isanthropic feelings — he leaves England — presents Mr. Dallas with his Let- ters to his Mother. ^ Chap. IV. p. 46—58. Letters to his Mother — influence of his literary reputation upon his mind — original intention of travelling — arrangements in his first will — rejects a proposal for the sale of Newstead Ab- bey — state of his affairs on quitting England — his travelling suite — route — Library of the convent at Mafra — adventure at Seville — Mr. Hobhouse — his propensity to noting. Entertainment at Yanina — Ali Pacha — palaces at Telapeen — introduction to Ali — his attention to Lord Byron — voyage from Previsa to Patras — hospitality of a Suliote — return to Yanina — grand children of Ali Pacha— ^swims across the Hellespont — determines to pass the summer of 1810 in the Morea — return of Mr. Hobhouse to Eng- land—advantages derived by Lord Byron from his travels — satis- faction at being at home, his mind reverting to its natural activity — intentions to be put in practice on his return to England— deter- mina^on to appear no more as an author — the sale of Newstead CONTENTS. y again proposed to him — his objections— determination in the event of the sale being unavoidable — his return to England on the 2d of July, 1811. Chap. V. p. 59—82. Announcement to Mr. Dallas of his return — Blackett, a poetical shoemaker — his patrons — death — his vi^orks published by Mr. Pratt — general observations on genius — Lord Byron's remarks on Blackett and others— his arrival and interview with Mr. Dallas —intention respecting future publications — " Hints from Horace," an unpublished Poem, with extracts — the MS. of" Childe Harold" presented to Mr. Dallas — Letter of the 16th July— Lord Byron's unfavourable opinion of the Poem — is persuaded to allow the pub- lication of it, and consents to revise the manuscript — Cawthorn — Miller — arrangement with Murray— introductory Stanzas and improvements — illness of Lord Byron's mother — departure for Newstead — protest against sceptical stanzas in Childe Harold. Chap. VL p. 83—98. Lord Byron writes to Mr. Dallas from Newstead Abbey — death of his mother and his friends — despondency — Letter of condo- lence—he disclaims acuteness of feeling — estimate of his deceased friends — direct attack upon the Christian religion — declines meta- physical argument — outline of correspondence upon the subject^ the discussion discouraged by Lord Byron — probability of a change in his opinions — Kirke White, and Chatterton — Townsend — • Lord Byron's moral feelings— ideas relative to his peculiar situa- tion with society — his own opinion of impropriety — another death — Letter from Mr. Dallas, of the 27th of October. Chap. VIL p. 99— to 121. Reluctance of Lord Byron to attach his name to the publication of " Childe Harold" — intention to add to another edition — dis- VI CONTENTS. claims identity of" charactei- with the '' Childe"— anxiety for the appearance of" Hints from Horace" — Letter of Mr. Dullas, with the first proof — Mr. Giflbrd — encouragement to complete the Poem — subjects pointed out — sceptical stanzas — reasons for ab- staining from the avowal of improper sentiments and for attaching Lord Byron's name to the Poem — Waller Wright — Kirke White —reasons that Mr. Gifford should not see the MS. — passages expressive of a disbelief in futurity — alteration — note to stanzas of the second Canto — Convention at Cintra — Letter of 3d of October, 1811 — omissions — the objectionable stanzas — Letter relative to an objectionable note on Spain and Portugal — note- observations on detached passages of the Poem. Chap. VHL p. 122—142. Retrospect — progress of the publication— depression of Lord Byron — Newstead Abbey — notice of the family — Capt. George Anson Byron— ^involvement of Lord Byron's affairs — intention to reside in the Archipelago — abstemiousness — disturbances in Not- tinghamshire — frame-breaking bill — Lord Holland's debate on the bill— favourable impression of Lord Byron's first speech — the speech. Chap. IX. p. 143—156. Anxiety for the success of the Poem — a review of " Childe Harold" precedes the publication through delay of the printer of it — appearance of the Poem — terms suggested by the bookseller for the copyright — edition sold in three days — Newstead Abbey — Letter on Lord Byron's affairs — Letters to Mr. Dallas's family respecting Lord Byron and the Poem — Lord Byron universally complimented — arrangement for a second edition — reluctance of Mr. Dallas to accept the copyright — a copy sent by Lord Byron to Mrs. Dallas — another to his Lordship's sister — his note written in his sister's copy — literary reputation at this period, (March, CONTENTS. VH 1812)— introduction to the Prince Regent — his intention to at- tend a levee — disappointment — change in his feelings and opi- nions — copy of Childe Harold, ordered by the Princess Charlotte to be magnificently bound — Letter from Dr. Clarke, Chap. X. p. 157—171. Evil consequences of the adulation with which Lord Byron was assailed— mingles with society — consequent suppression of the 5th edition of the " Satire" and " Hints from Horace" — edition destroyed — dissatisfaction of the publisher — Lord Byron speaks on the Catholic Question — his fame — change in his manners and opinions in consequence — an equivocal Messenger — Newstead Abbey offered for sale by auction — sold by private contract for 140,000/. — contract voided, and ^0,000/. forfeited — Mr. Dallas's feeling respecting Newstead— -notices of the Abbey, by Hor. Walpole, and in the Edinburgh Review — Lord Byron's neglect of Mr. Dallas->-retires to the country — iwtercourse recommenced upon his return to town in the beginning of 1813— Lord Byron's proposition to write a novel jointly with Mr. Dallas — the com- mencement. Chap. XL 172—194. The Giaour — Lord Byron's wish that Mr. Dallas should print all his works after his death — Bride of Abydos— -offer of the pub- lisher — American Poem and the Edinburgh Review — Mr. Murray — the Corsair— copyright of the Poem presented to Mr. Dallas — dedicated to Mr. Moore — " Stanzas on a Lady Weeping" — virulence of the press — Lord Byron annoyed by the accusation of receiving money for his writings — Letter to the Morning Post- effect of the Lettei^^rapid sale of th^ Corsair — Lara — Newstead Abbey — observations on Lara — engraved portraits of Lord Byron — posthumous volume — Lord Byron's feelings toward Mr. Dal- las — resolution to leave England upon the separation from Lady Viii CONTENTS. Byron — his wish that Mr. Dallas's son should accompany him — final departure from England in 1816 — tendency of his subsequent writings — estimate of his poetical and personal character— con- cluding remarks. Chap. XII. p. 195—222. Death of Mr. Dallas — intrusts the conclusion of the Recollec- tions and its publication to his son — remarks on the general character of Lord Byron, as depicted in the preceding Chapters — publication of Medwin's " Conversations"— observations on the character and tendency of that work, and upon the conduct of Lord Byron as therein portrayed — Letter of Mr. Dallas to Lord Byron of the 10th November, 1819 — the original and acquired character of Lord Byron — his feelings upon religion — conse- quences of adulation upon his mind and conduct — regret of Mr. Dallas that from these consequences he had been instrumental in bringing Childe Harold's Pilgrimage before the public — 'con- cluding passage from the original MS. of Mr. Dallas. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Circumstances have rendered it necessary to account to the public for the appearance of the following Recol- lections in their present form. A work had been an- nounced as preparing for publication, entitled " Private Correspondence of Lord Byron, including his Letters to his Mother, written from Portugal, Spain, Greece, and other parts of the Mediterranean, in the years 1809, 1810, and 1811, connected by Memorandums and Ob- servations, forming a Memoir of his Life, from the year 1808 to 1814. By R. C. Dallas, Esq." Much expec- tation had been raised by this announcement, and con- siderable interest had been excited in the public mind. The Vice-Chancellor, however, was applied to by Messrs. Hobhouse and Hanson, for an injunction to re- strain the intended publication, which was summarily granted as a matter of form; since which the Lord-Chan- cellor has been pleased to confirm the Vice-Chancellor's injunction, but the public have never been furnished with any report of his decision, nor been further inform- ed upon the subject. B X PKELIMINARY STATEMENT.' Under these circumstances, the public expectation has been disappointed, and the interest which was cre- ated has been left unsatisfied; while, on the other hand, the intended publication has been exposed to the charge of raising an expectation, and exciting an interest, which it was improper and unlawful to gratify. The nature of the letters, and memoirs themselves, has thus been left to the vague surmises which might be formed by every thoughtless mind, pampered by the constant food of personality and scandal, which the press has lately afforded in such abundance, and excited by the deprav- ed character of many of those works which Lord Byron, in his fallen state, has himself administered to their mor- bid appetite. Thus situated, no one can deny that it became Mr. Dallas's bounden duty, both to defend himself from the charge which might thus be brought against him, and to lay before the public such an account of the work he had announced as might fairly explain its nature, and shelter it from tlie suspicious of impropriety, which the very name of Lord Byron seems so generally to excite. The latter of these objects has produced the publication of the present work; to which the reader is confidently referred, that he may form his opinion of the nature of that which has been sujjpre^sed. To obtain the foi iner object, it can only be necessary to publish a sinipie mr- rative of the facts connected with the ronuaupti of .*he ■wcrk, with its intended pubhcaiJo% and with its sup- PUELIMINAUY STATEMENT. XI pression. Such a narrative it was in the contemplation of the author of the following Recollections to have written, but it did not please G:)d to prolong his life for the execution of his purpose. He has been taken from this world, and the task he had proposed has devolved upon the Editor of the present volume; who, having been principally concerned, during his father's absence from England, in the transactions which will be record- ed, is enabled to state them from his own information. Mr. Dallas's knowledge of Lord Byron, and the cir- cumstances which gave rise to his intention of writing any thing concerning him, are fully detailed in the fol- lowing work. A few words, however, will convey such a recapitulation of them as will be necessary to enable the reader to understand this narrative. Having been in habits of intimacy, and in frequent correspondence with Lord Byron, from the year 1808 to the end of 1814, which correspondence about that period ceased, Mr. Dallas had many times heard him read portions of a book in which his Lordship inserted his opinion of the persons with whom he mixed. This book, Lord Byron said, he intended for publication after his death; and, from this idea, Mr. Dallas, at a subsequent period, adopt- ed that of writing a faithful delineation of Lord Byron's character, such as he had known him, and of leaving it for publication after the death of both;. and, calculating upon the human probability of Lord Byron's surviving himself, be meant the two posthumous works should j^l'l PRELIMINAUY STATEMJENT. thus appear simultaneously, Mr. Dallas's work was completed in the year 1819; and, in November of that year, he wrote to inform Lord Byron of his intended purpose.* The event proved the fallacy of human probability — Mr. Dallas lived, at seventy, to see the death of Lord Byron, at thirty-seven. The idea of digesting his work into a different form, and of publishing it with the greater part of the letters which it contained, came into his mind even before the report of Lord Byron's death was fully confirmed. This, together with a circumstance more important to the object of thi& narrative, may be gather- ed from the contents of a letter which he wrote to the present Lord Byron from France, on the 18lh of May, 1824. The following extract from which will show, that Mr. Dallas's first thought respecting these letters, was to consult with the most proper person, his nearest male relation and successor. " I hear that you have been presented with a frigate by Lord Melville — I congratulate you on this, too ; but I own I suspect my- self to be more sorry than pleased at it, particularly if you are lo- go on a station of three years abroad. There are reports respcct- * The body of the letter which he wrote upon this occasion, will be found in the last chapter of this work. Although Lord Byron never replied to this letter, its writer had assurance that he received it — for, some time afterwards, a mutual friend who had been with Lord Byron,' told him that his Lordship had men- tioned the receiving of it, and referred to part of its contents. PUELIMINARY STATEMENT. XIU ing your cousin, the truth of which would render your absence very awkward-— pray state this to Mr. Wilmot, and consult hinn upon it. I hope, if you do go abroad, that you will run over in one of the Havre packets, to spend a few days with me previously. I cannot look forward to seeing you again in this world, and I should like to have some conversation with you, not only respect- ing the situation in which you stand as to th6 title, but also re- specting Lord Byron himself. I have many letters from him, and from your fatl^er and mother, which are extremely interesting. Do not fail to see me, George, if but for a couple of days. The Southampton packets are passing Portsmouth three times a week, and if you could not stay longer, I would not press you to do other- wise than return by the packet you came in. The next packet, however, brought Mr. Dallas the confirmation of the report of Lord Byron's death, and he was not long in deciding upon the intention which'he afterwards put in execution. The work, as it existed at that time, had been written with a view to publication at a period when, after the common age of man, Lord Byron should have quitted this world — that is, thirty or forty years hence. The progress of the baneful in- fluence which certain persons, calling themselves his friends, obtained over Lord Byron's mind, when his genius first began to attract attention to him, was in that work, more distinctly traced. Many circumstances were mentioned in it which might give pain to some now liv- ing, who could not be expected to be living then, or who, if they were then alive, would probably experience dif- ferent feelings at that time to those with which they XIV PRELIMINAHV STATEMENT. would recall the circtimstanc.es now. In the form it then possessed, therefore, Mr. Dallas would not think of publishing it ; but he determined to arrange the corres- pondence in such a manner as should present an inter- esting picture of Lord Byron's mind, and connecting the letters by memorandums and observations of his own, render the whole a faithful ifiemoir of bis life during the period to which the correspondence referred. Having decided upon this, the materials were arranged accordingly ; and the Editor can, of his own knowledge, assert, that many parts of the original manuscript were omitted, in tenderness for the feelings of both the very persons composing the parti>erslrip which has since so violently opposed the publication of the Correspondence, arrtl that none of the parts then omitted have been al- lowed to appear in the present work. When this al- teration was completed he came to London, and entered into an agreement with Mr. Charles Knight, of Pall Mall East, for the disposal of the copyright.* The book was Immediately put to press, and the usual announce- ments of it were inserted in the newspapers. During the short stay which Mr. Dallas made in Lon- don, he endeavoured fruitlessly to see the present Lord * The introduction of Mr. Colburn's name, in the publication of the book, was in con^quencc of a subsequent arrangement be- tween Mr. Knight and that gentleman, in which the author was not concerned. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. j^y Byron, who arrived in town, and sought him at his hotel the very day that he had left it, and tlierefore no suffi- cient communication took place at that lime respecting the work which was about to appear. According to circumstances, which afterwards occurred, this was un- fortunate, for had Lord Byron then seen Mr. Dallas, he would have been able at once to give his opinion when applied to by the executors ; instead of which, when an application was made to him to join in opposing the intended publication, being ignorant of its nature, he was of course unable to express his approbation of the work so fully as he afterwards did. The necessary arrangements being made, Mr. Dallas returned to France, for the purpose of taking steps for the simultaneous publication of a French translation, in Paris. Of this,., further notice will be taken here- after, and it is not necessary, for the present, to refer to it. In passing through Southampton, Mr. Dallas paid a visit to his niece, the sister of the present Lord Bvron, who was .in correspondence with Mrs. Leigh, the half sister of the late Lord Byron. Through her he sent a message to Mrs. Leigh, informing her of the nature of the Correspondence then in the press. This is worthy of remark, as it is one of the many assurances that the nature of the intended pubiirali'Mi was such as could not but be saiisfactory to the real Iriends of Lord Byron, which have»been afforded to the paries who have pre- vented the Correspondence from bemg laid beibre the 3^yj FRELIMINARY STATEMENT. British public. This message was sent on the 20th ol June, 1824, and it was faithfully forwarded to Mrs. Leigh. On the 23d of June, however, Mr. Hobhouse ad- dressed the following letter to Mr Dallas : " 6, jilbani/f London^ June 23. « Dear Sir, " I see by the newspapers, and I have heard from other quarters, that it is your intention to publish a volume of memoirs, inter- spersed with letters and other documents relative to Lord Byron. I cannot believe this to be the case, as from what I had the plea- sure of knowing of you, I thought that you would never think of taking such a step without consulting, or at least giving warning to the family and more immediate friends of Lord Byron. As to the publication of Lord Byron's private letters, I am cfertain, that for the present, at least, and without a previous inspec^on by his family, no man of honour and feeling can for a moment entertain such an idea — and I take the liberty of letting you know, that Mrs. Leigh, his Lordship's sister, would consider such a measure as quite unpardonable. " An intimacy of twenty years with his Lordship, may perhaps justify me in saying, that 1 am sure he would deprecate, had he any means of interfering, the exposure of his private writings, un- less after very mature consultation with those who have the great- est interest in his fame and character, I mean his family and rela- tions. "I trust you will be so kind as to excuse me for my anxiety on this point, and for requesting you would have the goodness to Hiake an early reply to this communication. " Yours, very faith|'ully, "John C. Hobhouse.'' PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. xvu It is particularly to be remarked, that this letter is written without professing to be by any other authority whatever than that which the writer's "intimacy" with the hite Lord Byron might give him. He " takes the hberty of letting Mr. Dallas know that Mrs. Leigh, his Lordship's sister, would consider" the measure which he knew that gentleman had taken " to be quite unpar- donable;" he has the modesty to acknowledge that this is a liberty; but he takes a very much greater liberty without any similar acknowledgment; he asserts, that " no man of honour and feeling can for a moment enter- tain such an idea," as that which he writes to say he has seen by the newspapers, and has hoard from other quar- ters, Mr. Dallas has not only entertained but acted upon. But the principal point to be considered is, that Mr. Hobhouse writes, perhaps, in the character of Lord By- ron's "more immediate friend;" but that he does not hint at having-any authority, and least of all, the autho- rity of an Executor; and this for the strongest possible reason, that he was not then aware that he had been ap- pointed Lord Byron's executor, which fact he himself acknowledged upon a subsequent occasion. Certainly, on receiving this letter Mr. Dallas had no idea of its being written by nn executor, nor is it to be concealed, that its receipt excited feelings of considerable irritation in his mind. .Very shortly after writing this letter, Mr. Hobhouse found himself associated with Mr. John Hanson, as ex- c T^yJii PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. ecutor to Lord Byron's will; and not receiving any let- ter from Mr. Dallas, he, on the 30th June, called upon Mr. Knight, the publisher, taking with him a gentleman whom he introduced as Mr. Williams. This gentleman was to be witness to the conversation that might take place; though Mr. Hobhouse prefaced his object by ex- pressions of a friendly tendency. Mr. Knight not hav- ing any reason to expect a visit of the nature which this proved to be, was not prepared with any one to stand in a similar situation on his part; but the very moment that the conference was ended he took notes of what had passed. Mr. Hobhouse stated, that he had written to Mr. Dallas, to complain of the indelicacy of publishing Lord Byron's letters, before the interment of his re- mains; that Mrs. Leigh had not been consulted; and that Mr. Dallas had not the concurrence of Lord By- ron's family in the intended publication; — that he called on Mr. Knight officially, as Executor, to say this, though when he wrote to Mr. Dallas he did not know that Lord Byron had appointed him one of his executors. Mr. Hobhouse thought Mr. Dallas had a right to publish Lord Byron's letters to himself; but he doubted his right to publish those of Lord Byron to his mother. Mr. Knight said that he believed Mr. Dallas would be able to show that Lord Byron had given those letters to him. Mr. Hobhouse replied that if Mr. D.allas failed in that, he should move for an injunction. Mr. Knight said, that the question of delicacy, as to the time of pub- PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Xix lication, must be settled with Mr. Dallas;— that the pub- lisher could only look to that question in a commercial view; but that having read the work carefully, he could distinctly state, that the family and executors need feel no apprehensions as to its tendency, as the work was calculated to elevate Lord Byron's moral and intellectual character. Mr. Hobhouse observed, that if individuals were not spoken of with bitterness, and opinions very freely expressed in these letters, they were not like Lord Byron's letters in general. He himself had a heap of Lord Byron's letters, but he could never think of pub- lishing them. The conference ended by Mr. Knight stating, that a friend of Mr. Dallas, a gentleman of high respectability, superintended the work through the press; that Mr. Hobhouse's application should be mentioned to him;— but that he, Mr. Knight, was not then at li> berty to mention that gentleman's name. Mr. Knight lost no time in informing the present editor of the conversation he had had with Mr. Hob- house ; and as the publisher had referred to some one intrusted by Mr, Dallas with the charge of conducting the progress of the work through the press, but had hesitated mentioning his name, not having authority ta do so, the editor immediately addressed the following letter to Mr. Hobhouse, without however being aware of that which he had written to Mr. Dallas : — XX PRELIMINARY STATEMENT " JVooburn Vicurngt,, near liracoiifi/icld, liucks, 3d July ■> 1824, « Sru, "JVIk. Kniciit has informed me of the conversation he has had with you iipon the sul)jcci of Lord Byron's coiresponcicnce. " I might have expected lliat as you arc not unacquainted witii my father, lus character would have liecn a sufficient guarantee of the proper nature of any work wliich sho-uld appear before the public under his direction ; and I might naturally have hoped that it would have guarded him from the suspicion of impropriety or indelicacy. In the present case, both his general character as a christian and a gentleman, and liis particular connexion with the family of Lord Byron, should have prevented the alarm which appears to have been excited in your mind, for I will not suppose the relations of Lord Byron and my father to have participated in it; — an alarm which I must consider as unjustifiable as it is un- grounded. " Since these causes have not had their proper effect in your mind, it becomes necessary for me, as my father's representative and agent in the whole of this business, distinctly to state, that the forthcoming correspondence of the late Lord Byron contains nothing which one gentleman ought not to write, nor another gentleman to publish. The work will speedily speak for itself, and will show that my father's ol^ject has been to place the original character of Lord Byron's mind in its true light, to show the much of good that was in it ; and the work leaves him when the good became obscured in the much of evil that I fear afterwards predominated. There is no man on earth, Sir, who loved Lord Byron more truly, or was more jealous for his lair fame, than my father, as long as there was a possibility of his fame being fair ; and though that possibility ceased, the affection remained, and will be evinced by the forthcoming endeavour to show that there existed in Lord Byron that which good men might have loved. <* As to any fear for the character of others who may be men- PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Xxi tioned in the work, my father, Sir, is incapable of publishing personalities; and Lord Byron, at the time he corresponded with my iulherj was, I believe, incapable of writini; wliat ought not to be published If, at any subsequent period, in corresponding with others, he should have degraded himself to do so, I trust that his correspondents will be wise enough to abstain from- making ])ublic what ought never to have been written. " The letters which Lord Byron wrote to his mother were given by him unreservedly to niy father, in a manner which seemed to have reference to their future publication; but which certainly rendered them my father's property, to dispose of in what way he might think fit.* Should you think it necessary to resort to any measures to obtain further proof of this, it will only tend to the more public establishing of the- authenticity of these letters, and can only be considered as a matter of dispute of property, as Lord Byron's best friends cannot but wish them published. " Being charged by my father with the* entire arrangement of this publication, you may have occasion to write to me; it may therefore be right to inform you that I have long since left the profession in which I was engaged when we met at Cadiz ; and, having taken orders, 1 have the ministerial charge of this parish ; to which letters may be directed as thi» is dated, " I remain, " Your obedient Servant, " Alrx. R. C. Dallas." Although Mr. Dallas had not thought proper to reply to Mr. Hobhouse's unauthorised communication, he did not leave it altogether unregarded ; but immediately upon receiving it, he wrote to Mrs. Leigh the following letter : — \xn PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. " See. Jdrcsse, June 30^/;, ISJf " Madam, " I have just received a letter, of which I enclose you a copy. I see by the direction, through what channel it has been forwarded to me. As the letter is signed by the son of a gentleman, I would answer it, could. I do it in such a manner as to be of service to the mind of the writer, but having no hope of that, I shall con- tent myself with practising the humility of putting up with it for the present. And here I should conclude my letter to you, did I not, my dear madam, remember you not only as the sister of Lord Byron, but as the cousin of the present Lord Byron, and of Julia Heath. But in doing this, I cannot relinquish my feelings. I must profess that I do not believe that you authorised such a letter. That you should have felt an anxiety upon the occasion, I think very natural, and I should have been glad to have pre- vented it. It was not my fault that it was not prevented, for (premising, however, that I neither saw nor do see any obliga- tion to submit my conduct to the guidance of any relation of Lord B.'s) I took some pains to let my intention be known to his family, a\id even to communicate the nature of the publication I had in view. On the feport of Lord B.'s death, I wrote to George, and mentioned these papers ; before I despatched my letter, his death was confirmed. I urged my wish to see George — I had no answer — I arrived in London, wrote to him and re- quested to see him — I inquired also if you were in town — the servant brought me word that both you and Lord B. were out of town, but that any letter should be forwarded — I was two days at the New Hummums, and I received no answer. I do not state this as being hurt at it — George had much to occupy him — but I soon after saw Julia Heath, who mentioned your anxiety. This channel of such a communication was natural, and certainly the next best to a direct one from yourself, which I trust would have re- PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Xxiii fleeted no dishonour on you — but I met the communication by my niece kindly, and sent you a message through her which she thought would please you, and certainly I did not mean to dis- please you by it. By that communication I must still abide, re- peating only, that if, in the book I am about to publish, there is a sentence which should give you uneasiness, I should be totally at a loss to find it out myself. I will go further, my dear madam, and inform you, that Lord Byron was perfectly well acquainted with the existence of my MS., and with my intention of publish- ing it, or rather of having it published when it pleased God to call him from this life — but I little suspected that I should myself see the publication of it. I own, too, that the MS., as intended for posthumous publication, docs contain some things that would give you pain, and nuich that would make others blush — but, as I told Julia Heath, I wished as much as possible to avoid giving pain, even to those that deserved it, and I curtailed my MS. nearl)^^ half. If I restore any portion of'what I have crossed out, shall I not be justified by the insolence of the letter I have re- ceived from a pretended friend of Lord Byron, and who seems to be ignorant that a twenty years' companionship may exist with- out a spark of friendship ? I do not wonder at his agitation ; it is for himself that he is agitated, not for Lord Byron. But I will not waste your time on this subject. I will conclude, by assuring you, that I feel that Lord B. will stand in my volume in the amiable point of view that he ought and would have stood always but for his Jrienda . " It was my purpose to order a copy of the volume to be sent to you. As I trust you will do me the honour by a few lines, to let me know that it was not your intention to have me insulted, I will hope still to have that pleasure. " I am, dear madam, " Yours, faithfully, "R.C.Dallas." Xxiv PREUMINAUY STATEMENT. It has been attempted to throw all the blame, in the whole of the subsequent transactions, upon this letter. Perhaps it might have been more desirable that it should not have been written immediately upon the receipt of one which was felt as an insult, however it might have been intended; and Mr. Dallas did not scruple after- wards to express his regret, not only for any expression in this letter which might appear to be intemperate or hasty, but for the irritated impulse which could produce it, and he has authorised the editor to state this publicly; in doing which, however, he cannot refrain from pro- testing against the misrepresentation to which the whole letter has been subjected. It appears that it has been distorted into the conveyance of a threat that the.writer intended to insert in the proposed publication, what would give pain to Mrs. Leigh, and make Lord Byron's friends blush. No fair-judging person, after reading the whole of the letter, can conscientiously say that he rises from it with such an idea in his mind. In a subsequent letter to the editor, Mr. Dallas strongly points this out. He says, " It must be a resolution to misun- derstand the letter, to say that I intended to restore what I had erased. ' If (conditional) in the book I am about to publish, there is a sentence which can give you uneasiness, I should be totally at a loss to find it myself Can any doubt exist after reading this .'' 'As INTENDED for publication.' — If I restore any portion.' I have read the letter again, and do not think it affords PUELIMINARY STATEMENT. XXV the ground for blame thrown upon me, after having thoupjht well of it." But besides that no such intention can fairly be gathered from the letter, it must not be forf^jotten to be observed, that in stating that the manuscript, as intended for posthumous publication, does contain some things which would give Lord Byron's sister pain, the writer only meant to suppose that a sister must feel pain on being told of the errors of a brother. It was not in his mind to convey an idea that Mrs. Leigh would feel pain on her own account from any thing which was disclosed in the original manuscript. The Editor has read that manuscript, which is now in his possession, with great care, more than once, and has been unable to discover one word that could have that tendency. Ilow is it, then, that upon the ground which this letter is said to afford, that the correspondence "contained observations upon, or affecting persons now. living, and the publica- tion of which is likely to occasion considerable pain to such persons;"* such an alarm was excited in the mind of Mrs. Leigh. That a very great alarm was excited, which ultimately led to the legal proceedings, is most certain. The letter was sent to the present Lord Byron as proof of the offensiveness of the proposed publication, and an imrae- * Quoted from the Bill in Chancery, filed by Messrs. Hobhous» and Hanson. Xxviii PKELIMINARY STATEMENT. and that certainly he did not mean to displease her by it." He refers to that communication, and repeats (in writing what before had been only verbal) that "'if in the book he was about to publish, there was a sentence which should give her uneasiness, he should be totally at a loss to find it out himself." The object of the mes- sage was, to assure Mrs. Leigh of the harmless, not to say pleasing, nature of the intended publication; and yet, in rel'erring to the message, and acknowledging the re- ceipt of a letter which contained a repetition of it in writing, she only observes that it "confirmed the report of Mr. Dallas's intention to publish his manuscnptp and that, in consequence, she requested Mr. Hobhouse to let him know that she should think his conduct would be unpardonable. It is also somewhat strange, that having been so applied to by Lord Byron's sister, Mr. Hobhouse, who at that time had no title to authority for making such a communication in his own name, should not have stated the title which such an application from a near relation seemed to give him, and have written to Mr. Dallas as* by direction of Mrs. Leigh, instead of merely " taking the liberty of letting him know" what Mrs. Leigh thought about the matter. But there is a still more extraordinary circumstance in this letter. Mr. Hobhouse's conversation with Mr. Knight, which took place before Mr. Williams who came to act as witness, has been verified upon oath by Mr„ PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. XXix Knight, from whose affidavit, registered in the Court of Chancery, the following is an extract: — " On the 30th of June last, said plaintiff, John Cam Hobhouse, told defendant, Charles Knight, that he, said plaintiff, John Cam Hobhouse, had written such letter to said defendant, Robert Charles Dallas, and at the same time, told defendant, Charles Knight, that he, said plain- tiff, John Cam Hobhouse, did not, at the time when he wrote said letter, know that he, said last-named plaintiff, had been appointed an executor of the said Lord Byron." ft Thus it appears, that at the time of writing the letter in question, Mr. Hobhouse was ignorant that he was the le^al representative of Lord Byron; but, from Mrs. Leigh's letter, it also appears that she was not igiidrcmt of that circumstance, since it was the sptcial motive which induced her to " select Mr. Hobhouse," as the proper per- son to communicate with Mr. Dallas in prefeience to " the present Lord Byron, a mutual relative." As, there- fore, it is impossible to suppose that the lady in question could state what was not true; we can only wonder that, being privy to the contents of her brother's will, and know- ing whom he had chosen to be his executors, she should never have informed them of the selection he had made. The appearance of the Correspondence was promised to the public on the 12th of July, 1824; and it had XXX }'UELIM1NAUY STATEMENT. nearly gone through the press when, on the 7th of July, Messrs. Ilobhouse and Hanson, as tlie legal representa- tives of the late Lord Byron, filed a Bill in Chancery, and, in consequence, • obtained, on the same day, from the Vice-Chancellor, an injunction to restrain the pub- lication. This Bill was founded upon the joint affidavit of the executors, the matter of which, divested of its technicalities, was as follows. — The deponents swear, that in the years 1809, 1810, and part of 1811, Lord Byron was travelling in various countries, from whence he wrote letters to his. mother, Mrs. Catherine Gordon Byron, " that such letters were principally of a private and confidential nature, and none of them were intended to be published." That Mrs. C. G. Byron died in the year 181 1, intestate, and that Lord Byron being properly constituted her legal personal re-, presentative, possessed himself of these letters, and be- came absolutely and wholly entitled to them as his sole property. *rhe deponents then swear, " that they have been informed, and verily believe, that the said Lord Byron was in the habits of correspondence with Robert Charles Dallas," and that, in the course of such corres- pondence, Lord Byron wrote letters, " many of which were, as the said deponents believe, of a private and confidential nature" — '' and that the said Lord Byron being about again to leave this country, deposited in the hands of the said Robert Charles Dallas for safe cus- tody, all, and every, or a great many of the said letters. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. XXXi which he had written and sent to his mother/'* And .that, at the time of Lord Byron's death, such letters were in the custody of the said R. C. Dallas, together with those which his Lordship had written to him. Lord Byron's change of name to Noel Byron, and his death, are then sworn to; and also his will, and the prov- ing of it, by which the deponents became his Lordship's legal representatives. Messrs. Hobhouse and Hanson then swear, " that soon after the death of the said Lord Byron was known in England, the said R. C. Dallas, as the said deponents verily believe, formed a scheme, or plan, to print and publish the same, and with a view to such printing and publishing, pretended to be the absolute owner of all the said letters," and disposed of" such pretended copyright" for a considerable sum of money. Then the advertise- ment of the Correspondence is sworn to, and the belief of the deponents to the identity of the letters advertised for publication, with those before referred to in the affi- davit. The affidavit goes on to affirm, " that the said Robert Charles Dallas never apprised him the said de- ponent, John Cam Hobhouse, of his intention to print and publish the said letters, or any of them." And Mr. Hobhouse swears that he wrote the letter of the 23d of * The exact words of the affidavit are quoted when they relate 10 important points, which will be afterwards referred to in this narrative, that the reader may judge fairly for himself. XXxii PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. June to Mr. Dallas; and he swears too that he got no answer; but he swears that, on the 30th of June, he " called on the said Charles Knight, and warned him not to proceed with the printing and publication of the said letters, and informed him that if he persevered in his intention," the two deponents, Messrs. Hobhouse and Hanson, " would, most probably, take legal means to restrain him." ' The affidavit next states, that the deponents verily believe that Lord Byron's letters to his mother " were •wholly written and composed by him, and that he did not deliver the same to the said R. C. Dallas, for the purpose of publication, but to be disposed of as he, the said Lord Byron, might direct." And that he never meant nor intended that they should be published — that they were, as the deponents verily believe, at the time of Lord Byron's death, his own sole and absolute property; and that they now belong to the said deponents, as his legal personal representatives. The deponents go on to swear that the letters written by Lord Byron to Mr. Dallas were, as they verily believe, " also wholly written and composed by the said Lord Byron; and that such letters are not, and never were, the sole and absolute property of the said R. C. Dallas; but that the said Lord Byron, in his life time had, and the said deponents, as his legal representatives, now have, at least, a partial and qualified property in such letters," which has never been relinquished or abandoned; and that Lord Byron PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. XXXlH never intended or gave permission to Mr. Dallas to pub- lish them or any part of them. Then comes the following clause, " And the said de- ponents verily believe, that the said several letters were written in the course of private and confidential corresr pondence, and the said deponents believe that many of them contain observations upon, or affecting persons now living; and that the publication of them is likely to occasion considerable pain to such persons." The Affidavit closes with the affirmation that the publication in question was intended to be made for the profit and advantage of the defendants; and " that such publication was, as the deponents conceived and believ- ed, a breach of private confidence^ and a violation of the rights of property," which, as the representatives of Lord Byron, they had in the letters. Previous to stating the reply to this Affidavit, it may not be improper to make some observations upon the nature of its contents. It contains matter of opinion; but no matter of fact relating to the point in question. There is a great deal of belief expressed, but not one reasonable ground upon which the belief is founded. It is really a matter of surprise that any one should so implicitly believe that to be fact, which, upon the face of the business, he can only suppose to be so. Mr. Hob- house never saw or read the letters written by Lord Byron to his mother, yet he swears (and in this case without the mention, that he verily believes; but as of E Xxxiv PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. his own knowledge,) " that such letters were principally of a private and confidential nature." Any one might suppose that a man writing to his mother may write confidentially; but few men would allow that supposi- tion so much weight in their minds, as to enable them to swear that it was so. Mr. Hobhouse was travelling with Lord Byron during the time when many of these letters were written, and probably he supposes that his Lordship may have often mentioned him to his mother. This seems an equally natural supposition with the other; and if it should have entered into Mr. Hobhouse's head, he would, by analogy, be equally ready to swear, not that he supposed he was often mentioned, but that he really was so. . And yet, after reading Lord Byron's letters to his mother, it would never be gathered from them that his Lordship had any companion at all in his travels, as he always writes in the first per5>on singular; except, in- deed, that Mr. Hobhouse's nanie is mentioned in an enumeration of his suite; and, upon parting with him. Lord Byron expresses his satisfaction at being alone. To the assertion respecting these unseen letters, Mr. Hobhouse adds, that " none of them were intended to be published.^' If it is meant to say, that they were not written with the intention of being published, as the sentence may seem to imply, nobody will deny the fact. If they had been, they would not have contained the natural and unrestrained development of character which makes them valuable to the public now. But their not PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. XXXV having been written with the intention of publication, by no means precludes the possibihty of Lord Byron himself subsequently intending them to be published. Mr. Dallas has it in his Lordship's own hand-writing, that he did subsequently intend part of them, at least, to be published; because, having kept no other journal, he meant to cut up these letters into notes for the first and second Cantos of Cbikle Harold. This was, how- ever, previous to his having given them to Mr. Dallas. The same observation as that which has been made upon Mr. Hobhonse's swearing tbdit Lord Byron's letters to his mother were confidential, will equally apply to his swearing that he believes his Lordship's letters to Mr. Dallas were so also. But when ho swears " that Lord Byron, being about again to leave this country, deposited the letters to his mother in the hands of R. C. Dallas for safe custody," — when he states this upon oath, not as verily believing it — not as supposing it — but as know- ing that it was so— without stating any ground what- ever for his knowledge of a circumstance in which he had been in no way concerned, it is hardly possible to conjecture how extensive Mr Hobhouse's interpretation of an oath may become. Upon this subject I cannot .forbear inserting an extract of a letter written by Mr. Dallas to his publisher from Paris, immediately that he was informed of the issuing of the injunction, and be- fore he was fully made acquainted with the whole cir- cumstances. He says, " so far from thinking it wrong X&Xvi PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. to publish such a correspondence, I feel that it belongs in a manner to the public; and that I have no right to withhold it. If the Vice-Chancellor has been made acquainted with the spirit of the work, there is an end to the injunction; for as to the property in the letters from Lord Byron to his mother the affidavit sets that at rest;* and in the volume itself it may be seen that Mr Hobhouse made a false assertion (I hope it was not upon oath,) in his application for the injunction, when he says that Lord Byron deposited them with me for safe custody only, when his Lordship was going abroad. The text shows, that I have long considered them as mine, before Lord Byron thought of leaving England; and that he also considered them so. There was no memorandum made of the circumstance; it was a gift made personally, and as had happened in the case of Childe Harold and of the Corsair. What can be more conclusive than the words with which he accompanied the gift ? The ad- ditional words I allude to, conveyed an idea of some dissatisfaction with others, and a feeling that my attach- ment and judgment were more to be relied upon. I trust that the circumstances have been made clear to the Vice-Chancellor; and that all the disgraceful insinuation of the application, that I am capable of publishing let- * He alludes to an affidavit relating principally to this point, which he sent in this h;ticr the monnent he heard of the Injunc- tion ; but which, not being sufficieirtSy full upon other points, was not made use of in the legal proceedings. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. XXXVil ters which ought not to be made public, has been wiped away. I shall be glad to find this carried even so far as to show, that, although I did not strictly or morally hold myself bound to submit my intentions of publishing to the direction of Lord Byron's family, I was attentive to their feelings, and that it was not my fault that a communication did not take place upon the subject. As to any delicacy towards the executors, I declare to you, on my honour, that till I saw it afterwards in a public newspaper, I did not know that the executors of Lord Byron were those confidential friends, the Mr. H.'s, though one of them (Mr. Hobhouse) had thought proper to give me counsel in very improper language." " Again, why should Lord Byron deposit these letters with me for safe custody, when these two confidential friends were at hand, and other confidential friends, and his sister ? There is an absurdity on the face of the asser- tion." It is not intended here to answer Mr. Hobhouse's statements, which will be better met by the counter-affi- davits themselves, but merely to make some necessary observations; and, amongst them, it is impossible not to observe, with regret, that Messrs. Hobhouse and Han- son, in swearing that they proved Lord Byron's will in the proper Ecclesiastical Court, and became his Lord- ship's legal representatives, did not insert the date of the probate, or even the period when their appointment came XXXViii PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. to their knowledge.* Such an insertion might have pre- vented all obscurity in a subsequent part of the affidavit, where it is sworn, " that on the 23d June last, being soon after the deponents were informed of such inten- tion, (of publishing,) deponent, John Cam Hobhouse, wrote and sent a letter of that dale to R. C. Dallas, re- presenting to him the impropriety of publishing said let- ters." As the passage stands, it does not appear whether Mr. Hobhouse wrote as "the more immediate friend" of Lord Byron, or with the authority of an ex- ecutor. The difference is somewhat material; and as the affidavit mentions that the letter was written soon af- ter the deponents (in the plural number) were informed of Mr. Dallas's intention, it certainly wants the infor- mation which the reader now possesses, but which the affidavit does not supply, to make it clear that he wrote merely as "the more immediate friend." But the said deponents " verily believe'" that Mr. Dal- las formed a scheme to print and publish the letters " soon after the death of Lord Byron was knoitm in Eng- land.'" What could possibly have been the grounds of a belief so firm, thattJie persons believing come forward to attest it by affidavit in a Court of Justice.^ The * It was understood that Lord Byron's will was not to be open- ed till his remains arrived in England ;-'-the vessel which bore those remains reache,d ijip Nore on the 1st July, seven days after the date of Mr. Hobhoase's letter to Mr, Dallas. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. XXXix irravamen of the matter is, that the scheme was formed soon after Lord Byron's death was known, and not be- fore; and this Messrs. Hobhouse and Hanson swear they beUevc to be the case. A dozen persons of the highest respectabihty read the letters arranged for pubhcation, in the first intended memoir, years before Lord Byron's death; some of wliom state it upon oath, and all the others would have done so if it had been considered ne- cessary by the legal advisers. It is to be lamented that so much firm faith has been thrown away upon so slight a foundation; and it is to be hoped, that the persons who can believe so easily are not inconsistently difficult of belief, upon points which will hereafter more mate- rially concern themselves. When it was known that an injunction had been ob- tained, intelligence of it was forwarded to Mr. Dallas, at Paris, and his immediate presence was required in Lon- don. The following certificate, enclosed in a letter from a friend, was the reply received to this communi- cation: — " This is to certify that Robert Charles Dallas is now labouring under a very severe attack of inflammation of the chest, which was attended by fever and delirium; — that he is now under my professional care, and that his symptoms were of so dangerous a character as to render large bleeding necessary, even at his advanced age. He Xl PRELIMINARY STATEMENI is at present better, but certainly unable to undertake a journey. " Given under my hand at Paris, Rue du Mail, Hotel de Mars, this 11th day of July, 1824 " David Barry, M.D." In consequence of this unfortunate ilhiess it became necessary to send out a commission from^the Court of Chancery, to receive Mr. Dallas's answer at Paris. This occasioned considerable expense, and a delay which was regretted at the time; but it afterwards appeared that the decision in the cai»se could not have been hastened even had no obstacle of this nature intervened. The Answer was founded upon several affidavits, of which the first was that of Mr. Dallas himself, wherein he " denies it to be true, that the letters of Lord Byron to his mother were principally of a private and confiden- tial nature; but, on the contrary, affirms that such letters were principally of a general nature; and for the most part consisted of accounts and descriptions of various places which the said Lord Byron visited, and scenes which he witnessed, and adventures which he encoun- tered, and remarkable persons whom he met with in the course of his travels, and observations upon the manners, customs, and curiosities of foreign countries and people; and although he admitted that in some of such letters matters were mentioned, or alluded to, of a private na- ture, yet he swears that such matters of a private nature PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. 3j|J were only occasionally and incidentally mentioned or al- luded to, and did not form the principal contents or sub- jects of the letters/' And he further says, that " to the best of his judgment and belief none of these letters are of a confidential or secret nature," or contain any mat- ters of such a nature. Mr. Dallas goes on to swear, that " being in habits of friendship and correspondence with Lord Byron, as Mr. Hobhouse had staled, in the course of that friendship his Lordship gave him, as free and absolute gifts, the copyrights of the first and second Cantos of Childe Ha- rold's Pilgrimage, and of the Corsair," which gifts were respectively tnade by word of month and delivery of the original manuscripts to him; and that -a considerable por- tion of the letters from Lord Byron to himself were written "" at the times when the poems were preparing for or in the course of publication," and that they " con- tained or related to divers alteralions, addjtions, and amendments which were from time to time made, or pro- posed to be made in the poems, or otherwise related to them," — and thc»t "other parts of these letters related to matters of general literature, morals, and politics, and other subjects of a general nature, and the individual opinions and feelings of Lord Byron;" and that "some very few parts of such letters related to other private matters, which were only occasional I) and incidentally mentioned or alluded to therein^ and did not form the F Xlii PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. principal contents or subjects of such letters, and were not in any respect of a confidential or secret nature." Mr. Dallas then states, in his affidavit, that Lord By- ron thought of leaving England in 1816, but that " in or about the month of April, 1812, he being in conver- sation* with Lord Byron, his Lordship promised to bring and give to him a letter which he had written to his mother on the matter which formed the subject of such conversation, and that some time afterwards, that is to say, in the iiionth of June, 1814, Lord Byron, in per- forjnance of such promise, brought, and gave, and deli- vered to him not only the letter so promised, but also all the rest of the letters which he, Lord Byron, had written to his mother, and at the same time he addressed to Mr. Dallas the following words: — • " Take them. — They are yours to do what you please with. Some day or other they will be curiosities." From this Mr. Dallas swears that he " believes that Lord Byron in so delivering these letters to him, and addressing him in this manner, did fully intend to give the same letters and every of them, and the copyright thereof, and all his. Lord Byron's, property, right, title, and interest therein to him, Mr. Dallas, for his own use and benefit, as a free and absolute gift, in the same man- ner as he had given the copyrights of the poems;" and * The sale of Newstead Abbey was the subject of these conver- sations. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Xliil further, " that at the time of this gift Lord Byron con- templated the probabihty of the letters being afterwards published by Mr. Dallas." The deponent distinctly denies that the letters were left with him for safe custody; and alleges that Lord Byron did not leave England until 1816, that is, two years after the gift of the letters. The affidavit further states, that for several years pre- vious to the death of Lord Byron the deponent was en- gaged in compiling and writing memoirs of his life and writings, and that in these memoirs were inserted and embodied many of the letters both to Mrs. C. G. Byron and to himself; and that he did so for the purpose of il- lustrating and giving authority to the memoirs, and of placing in a just and favourable point of view the con-^ duct, character, and opinions of Lord Byron, their in- sertion being essential to the illustrating and giving au- thority to the memoirs; and that for many years previous to the death of Lord Byron, he had formed the inten- tion and plan to publish these letters in the before-men- tioned memoirs; and that Lord Byron, so long ago as the year 1819, was aware of his intention and plan so to publish them. The letter to Lord Byron, inserted in the last chapter of the following Recollections, is there sworn to; with the addition, that his Lordship never ap- plied to, or requested Mr. Dallas to desist or abstain from publishing the memoirs, nor from inserting in them any of the letters in his possession 3j|yj PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. The only other corroborative affidavit which the legal advisers thought necessary to make use of, was one made by Alexander Young Spearman, Esq., who states, that so long ago as the year 1822, he had read the man- uscript memoir in which was embodied the letters in question; and that, to the best of his judgment, there was nothing contained in the work or in the letters which could lower the character of Lord Byron, or which was of a confidential or secret nature; but, on the contrary, that from reading them, he had formed a higher and better opinion of the character and conduct of Lord Byron than he had previously entertained; and that the letters were, for the most part, upon subjects of general and public interest; and of such a nature, that their publication would be an advantage to the cause ot literature, and no breach of honour or confidence. From the substance of these affidavits, it may proba- bly strike the reader as singular, that Mr. Dallas himself should have said nothing concerning the approbation of the present Lord Byron; while the Editor swears direct- ly to his knowledge of, and concurrence in, the publi- cation. To account for this, and to prove how ready both the Author of the memoirs and the Editor were to make any reasonable arrangement by which the pledge to the public might be fulfilled, it will be necessary to state some circumstances which occurred previous to the filing of the Answer to the Bill in Chancery ; which, as has already been shown, was unavoidably delayed. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. ^Ivii The present Lord and Lady Byron happened to be on a visit to the Editor at his house at Wooburn, to- wards the end of" July; and there they had an opportu- nity of reading the whole of the work as intended for publication, and which had so nearly gone through the press, that they read three-fourths of it in print. What- ever pain Lord Byron might feel on account of the early development of the seeds of vice in his predecessor and near relation, he felt immediately that the work was highly calculated to raise his Lordship's character from the depth into which it had subsequently fallen; and he unreservedly expressed his wish that the publication should proceed. A single passage in the narrative part, whicli was observed upon by Lord Byron, was omitted according to his desire. With these feelings he endea- voured, in the kindest manner, to clear away the obsta- cles which impeded its progress; and fearing lest his former reply to the sudden demand for his opinion upon the subject, as it had been conditional, might be con- strued into direct disapprobation, he expressed himself ready to state his concurrence in the publication. The following affidavit was accordingly drawn up, with the approbation of his own legal adviser: — " George Anson, Lord Byron, maketh oath, and saith, that he well knows the defendent, R. C. Dallas, who is the uncle of this deponent, and that he well knows that tbssaid R. C. Dallas was formerly in the Xlviii PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. habit of corresponding with the late George Gordon^ Lord B) ion, to whom the deponent is the nearest male relation and successor. And this deponent further saith, that having been informed that a certain work proposed to be published by the said R. C. Dallas, and to include certain letters written by the said George Gordon, Lord Byron, to him, and to Mrs. Catharine Gordon Byron, the mother of the said George Gordon, Lord Byron, this deponent declared his reluctance to such publication taking place until the said work should have been ex- amined by the relatives and friends of the said George Gordon, Lord Byron ; and that the said deponent now maketh oath and saith, that he has since read the said work, entitled " Private Correspondence, &.c. ;" afid the letters from the said George Gordon, Lord Byron, to his mother, and to the defendant, R. C. Dallas, includ- ed therein ; and this deponent further saith, that he does not now entertain any objection to the publication of the said work." This affidavit received the sanction of Lord Byron ; but it having been ascertained that the executors did not intend to make any use of the conditional opinion that his Lordship had expressed, it was not thought necessary that he should swear it ; as from motives of delicacy it was wished if possible not to mix him up with a dispute in which he stood in close connexion with both sides. Nothing but the absolute necessity which PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. ^Jj^ now exists of making the public fully acquainted with all the circumstances connected with this strange pro- ceeding,. would induce the Editor to refer to him. As, however, his Lordship's conduct throughout the whole business has been not only manly and open, but also guided by an amiable desire of conciliation, the public . mention of these transactions can only be a testimony highly to his credit. In consequence of what had taken place, Lord Byron called on Mr. Hobhouse, and personally stated his own knowledge of tlie nature of the work, and his opinion respecting the propriety of its publication. He also stated, that he knew the editor was by no means averse to enter into any reasonable arrangement by which the difficulties in the minds of the executors might be over- come. It appears that the plea by which their opposi- . tion was defended, was, that other persons possessed let- ters of the late Lord Byron, which it would be highly improper to give to the public ; and that the executors felt it their duty to establish their right to prevent the publication of any letters. However, Mr. Hobhouse supposed that matters might be arranged if Mr. Dallas would consent to insert in the title-page of the work, " published by permission of the executors," of course submitting it first to the inspection of some person ap- proved of by them. Upon immediate consultation with the Editor, he de- 1 PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. clined giving a promise that such words should be used until he had seen his legal advisers ; but he authorised Lord Byron to state that he perfectly concurred in the spirit of this proposed arrangement, and offered at once to submit the work to the inspection of a friend of Lord Byron's, well known to the executors, but with whom the Editor himself was totally unacquainted, and to abide by his opinion. This was mentioned within the same hour to Mr. H<.bhouse, who was satisfied with the person named, and promised to consult his colleague, Mr. Han- son, upon the business. It may not be improper here to insert part of a letter, written by Mr. Dallas to the Editor, upon hearing of this proposal : " As to an executor's veto — shall an executor be al- lowed to decide on the publication of a work (letters) on general topics, when it may be enough that there is in it a difference of opinion on religion, morality, or politics.'^ This is an argument which should be strongly urged. I see neither law nor equity in such a veto, yet do not deny either, if the letters are libellous; but this is not to be vaguely supposed, and my letters to Mrs. Leigh, far from supporting such a suggestion, supports the contrary." " However, I do not wish to keep up contention, and have no objection {go which ivay the Chancellor's decision may) to say, printed with consent of the executors — and they will be foolish not to consent, for the circulation of the work would be but wider if PRELtMINARY STATEMENT. \[ they do not; so act in this as you judge best. But I do not think the sheets should be shown to him. * * I believe I cut out the Portsmouth anecdote. I know I did, and he is hardly even alluded to in any of the let- ters; but he ought not to see it.^" " The Chancellor's dissolving this injunction is no reason why he should not grant injunctions against the publications of Moore or * * * which, unsupported by such an answer and such testimonies as mine, might be confirmed. Our case does not decide the general question : our docu- ments take it out of the general case of publishing inju- rious letters." While Mr. Hobhouse went to co.nsult his colleague, the Editor applied to his legal advisers, by whom cer- tain legal difficulties, about the word " permission/' were stated to him. In consequence of what th«re took place, he drew out the following statement, which he gave to Lord Byron as the ground for the future con- ducting of the negotiation. " Mr. Dallas has no objection to insert the following advertisement after the title page of the work. " ADVERTISEMENT. " The publication of this work having been delayed in consequence of an injunction from the Court of Chancery, obtained on the application of the executors of Lord Byron, it is proper to state upon their authority Ill PRELIMINARY STATEMENT, that the work had not been submitted to their inspec- tion, when they entertained their objection to its publi- cation; but that, having since been made acquainted with its contents, they have withdrawn their objection, and consented to the dissolution of the injunction." " If the objection of the executors of the late Lord Byron be, that the publication of this work should not be drawn into a precedent by others, for giving to the world their improper and unauthorized compilations relative to Lord Byron, it is presumed that this adver- tisement will be considered sufficient for that purpose. " If the executors do not consider this to be sufficient for that purpose, Mr. Dallas would only object to the words ' published by permission of the executors of the late Lord Byron,^ being printed with the work, inasmuch as it may seem to acknowledge a 'property, as belonging to the executors, which he does not acknowledge to belong te them — but to meet the supposed object of the executors, as above stated, Mr. Dallas will consent to the insertion of those words, if the executors will sign a paper to the following effect : " ' We, the executors of the late Lord Byron, hereby assign and make over to R. C. Dallas, his heirs, execu- tors, or assigns, all and every interest, property, right, claim, or demand whatsoever, {if any such we have^) in such letters of the said Lord Byron as are inserted in a work, entitled ' Private Correspondence of Lord Byron, &c. &c.' whether such letters are addressed to the said PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. JJJJ. R. C. Dallas, or to Mrs. Catherine Gordon Byron, the mother of the said Lord Byron.' " In the mean time, however, the two executors had consulted together, and Lord Byron received the follow- ing communication from Mr. Hobhouse : — " I saw Mr. Hanson this evening, and have to inform you, that he objects to stopping the proceedings until the question can be laid before counsel, after your friend Mr. Dallas has filed his affidavits, or made his answer." This opening being thus closed up, the answer and affidavits were filed. Whether the question of negocia- tion was laid before counsel or not, Mr. Hanson best knows ; but all that the Editor can say is, that four affidavits were immediately filed, intended to oppose the dissolution of the injunction. The first was the affidavit of William Fletcher, in which he swears that he had lived with Lord Byron for the last eighteen years, as his lordship's valet and head servant, and accompanied him abroad in the month of April, 1816. He then declares, " that when he was with Lord Byron at Venice, in the latter end of the year 1816, or the beginning of 1817, in a conversation which he then and there had with his Lordship, touching his property and things which he had left behind him in England, the deponent represented to him, that some of his (Fletcher's) property had been seized by his Lord- ship's creditors, together with his own property, when Lord Byron stated to the deponent, that he would make good his (Fletcher's) loss. And he, the said liy PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Lord Byron, then told the deponent, that he was ex- tremely glad that he the said Lord Byron had taken care of most of the things that were of most consequence to him, such as letters and papers, which he thought of more consequence than all they had seized ; for that he the said Lord Byron had before left them with several of his friends to be taken care of for him ; some with Mr. Hobhouse, others with Mrs. Leigh, and others with Mr. Dallas, meaning the above-named defendant Robert Charles Dallas, at the same time saying to deponent, *you know Mr. Dallas, he who used so often to call on me,' or to that effect." To this assertion Fletcher adds his opinion and im- pression, that in speaking of the letters and papers so left in the care of Mr. Dallas, Lord Byron spoke of them as his own property, and did not convey to Fletcher's mind any notion that he had given them to Mr. Dallas. It was really necessary that Fletcher should have sworn to his impression and opinion, as to the proprie- tor of the papers so left, for, from the subject of the conversation, in the course of which they were casually mentioned, it seems doubtful whether Fletcher did not think Lord Byron meant that they were his (Fletcher's) property, to make up for the loss of the articles seized by his lordship's creditors. This interpretation however would militate against Mr, Hobhouse s affidavit, where he swears that Lord Byron never meant the letters to be PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. |y published, as the only value they could have beeri to Fletcher would be from the " valuable cousideralion" which he qjight obtain for their publication. But no ; this was not Fletcher's idea of the matter. He understood that whatever papers Lord Byron left with Mr, Dallas were left for safe custody, because, as Mr. Hobhouse says, he was going to leave England. It is somewhat singular that leaving papers and letters, several boxes containing great quantities of them, as is afterwards sworn, which he considered of more conse- quence than the goods and chattels of which his credit- ors had deprived him, with Mr. Hobhouse and Mrs. Leigh, Lord Byron should have selected a very small bundle of particular letters, and left them, and them only, in the charge of another person nearly two years before he went abroad. So small and particular a selection from the great mass of his papers seetns strange, unless, having high value for them, he did not consider that which was safe custody for his other papers was safe custody for these. But there is a stranger circumstance, too, which under the supposition that the letters were so left for special safe custody when he was going abroad, is not only strange but absolutely unaccountable In the autumn of the same year, 1814, on which this sacred deposit was supposed to be made, and only a few months after, the person to whom this precious charge was given, took the very step, the intention of doing which is said to have produced the deposit. He left the coun- Ivi PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. try and went abroad ; and on the day before he set ofi' from London, in conversation with Lord Byron, he lold him that his object in then going, was to seek the most eh'gible place for a future residence for himself and his family abroad. Yet did nothing pass upon the subject of such a deposit. A conmiunication took place be- tween them, when Mr. Dallas was at Bordeaux, in Dec. 1814, And when, in March, 1815, the return of Buonaparte to France brought him home again, he • visited Lord Byron as before ; yet did nothing pass upon the subject of such a deposit. At the end of the year 1815, Mr. Dallas took his family abroad and settled in Normandy, taking with him the letters which Lord Byron had made him a present of. Lord Byron knew of this second going abroad, and heard from Mr. Dallas when he had fixed upon his place of residence ; yet did nothing pass upon the subject of such a deposit. But to come nearer to the time mentioned in Fletcher's affidavit, that in which his conversation occurred with Lord Byron. In the beginning of the very same year, 1816, his lordship, being then about to leave England, himself proposed to Mr. Dallas's son, (the Editor who now writes this narrative,) to accompany him in his tra- vels. A long conversation took place upon the subject, in which Mr. Dallas was mentioned; and perhaps the Editor will be pardoned, under the present circum- stances, for adding that he was mentioned by Lord By- ron with a grateful feeling, as " one of his oldest and best PUELIMINARY STATEMENT. \y\\ friends." His place of residence was referred to; and yet not one word passed that had the least reference to any deposit of papers or letters as having been made to him. If Lord Byron had given valuable papers in charge ^ to Mr. Dallas for safe custody, when his lordship was going abroad, would it not have been natural that he should resume them vVhen he found that the person with whom he had deposited them was himself in tho situa- tion which had induced, him to put them out of his own custody.'' And when in fact he was leaving the coun- try, in conversing with Mr. DaHas's son would he not most probably have mentioned the circumstance, as a remembrance or as a renewal of the charge, if even he had not thought fit to resume it.'' If therefore Fletcher's remembrance of a very casual remark at the distance of eight years be correct, it is more reasonable to suppose that Lord Byron spoke loosely, recollecting merely the literary communication he had so long had with Mr. Dallas, than to place such an incidental remark against the body of circumstantial evidence which has been brought to prove the gift of these letters to Mr. Dallas. The next affidavit is really ludicrous; it is sworn by the Honourable Leicester Stanhope; and^ begins by stat- ing " that for several months prior, and down to the time of Lord Byron's death, which happened on the 19th of April last at Missolonghi, an intimacy subsisted between him, the deponent, and the said Lord Byron." It is Irilty.absurd to see how all Lord Byron's monthly friends H iyijj PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. prostitute the word intimacy. The reporter of his Lord- ship's Conversations, lately published, is a remarkable instance of this, and the present affidavit is no less so; it shall be given to the reader in Mr. Stanhope's own words. The honourable deponent goes on thus: — " Saith, that al^out three months before said Lord Byron's death, he, deponent, held a conversation with said Lord Byron, touching the events of his Lordship's life, and the publication thereof at a future period; and, upon that occasion, said Lord Byron, in talking to him, deponent, of certain persons who, he said, were in pos- session of the requisite information for writing a Me- moir, or History of his, said Lord Byron's, Life, he, said Lord Byron, made no allusion whatsoever to the de- fendant, Robert Charles Dallas, or to any Memoir, or History of his Lordship, or the events of his life, pre- paring, or prepared by him, said Robert Charles Dallas; but, on the contrary, said Lord Byron, in the course of the conversation above alluded to, named two indivi- duals by name, as being the most competent to write the History, or Memoir, of his life, neither of whom was said Robert Charles Dallas. " Saith, that said Lord Byron never, in conversation which deponent so had with him as aforesaid, or in any other conversation which he, deponent, had with said Lord Byron, ever mentioned, or alluded, to the name of said Robert Charles Dallas, or intimated, or convd)^d, PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Jjj. to deponent, that he, said Lord Byron, knew that said Robert Charles Dallas had any intention of publishing any Memoir, or History, or Life of his Lordship, or that he had given said Robert Charles Dallas any permission to write or publish any thing concerning said Lord By- ron, or any letters written by him, said Lord Byron, and which deponent thinks it extremely probable said Lord Byron would have done had he possessed any knowledge of said Robert Charles Dallas's intention to publish any thing concerning him, said Lord Byron, and more particularly if said Lord Byron had given said Robert Charles Dallas any consent or permission so to do." The Honourable Leicester Stanhope's idea of the ne- cessary communicativeness of a few months intimacy is somewhat new, and will, of course, have sufficient weight to prevent any but the two persons who are pro- perly qualified from writing any thing about Lord Byron. After this Mr. Hobhouse appears again to aver, in an affidavit, " that for the space of seventeen years pre- vious, and down to the time of the death of the above- named Lord Byron, which happened about the 19th of April last; he was upon terms of the closest intimacy and friendship with Lord Byron; and during the years 1814 and 1815, he associated much with Lord Byron, and was in the habit of corresponding with Lord Byron from the time he last left England, which was in the month of April, 1816; and the deponent declares that JX PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. upon Gord Byron's going abroad, his Gordship left in his hands, and under his care, several boxes, containing great quantities of private letters and papers, which he desired deponent to take care of for him during his ab- sence from England." He goes to swear, " That Lord Byron did also, previous to his going abraad, as depo- nent believes, leave quantities of letters and papers of a private nature, with others of his friends in England for safe custody, and to be taken care of for him. And, that Lord Byron, for many years previous to his going abroad, as aforesaid, was in the habit of imparting his private concerns and transactions to him, but that Lord Byron never told him, or gave him, in any manner, to understand, that he had presented, or given, any letters whatsoever to R. C. Dallas, for his own use, or benefit, or to be published." If this assertion is good for any thing, it is good to prove Lord Byron did not leave the letters with Mr. Dallas for safe custody; for, if in the course of such confidential communication, as is here described, his Lordship never mentioned to Mr. Hobhouse having done so, even while placing large quantities of papers in his own hands for safe custody, when it would have been so very natural to refer to the circumstance, the inference is strong that no such circumstance took place. If Lord Byron had mentioned to Mr. Hobhouse having so done, he certainly would have sworn to that fact, when, from the paucity of positive information, he FliELIMINARY STATEMENT. JxJ was reduced to the necessity of swearing to suppositions as has been shown. The case, therefore, stands thus: Mr. Hobhouse does swear that Lord Byron did not tell him that he had given the letters to Mr. Dallas; and Mr. Hobhouse does not swear that Lord Byron told him he had left them for safe custody with Mr. Dallas; the one proves one fact at least, as much as the other proves the other, and, therefore, in this debtor and creditor ac- count of the affidavit the balance is nothing. Mr. Hobhouse ends his affidavit by swearing " that Lord Byron had it in contemplation, to the knowledge of the deponent, to go abroad about June, 1814, and had actually made preparations for such his last men- tioned journey, and that the deponent had agreed to accompany him, but that Lord Byron afterwards altered his intention, and did not go.'' This point also forms the opening assertion of the next deponent, the Honourable Augusta Mary Leigh, the half sister of the late Lord Byron. She states that she well remembers that Lord Byron did, about June, 1814, make preparations, and then had it in contemplation to go abroad, but that he did not then go abroad as he had contemplated and intended. When a lady swears merely to her remembrance, she may very innocently make a mistake in a year, espe- cially after the lapse of ten years since the circumstance took place. But, in this case, Mr. Hobhouse swears ■' to the knowledge of the deponent^'' therefore we are jxii PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. bound, not only to believe what he asserts, but to under- stand, that previous to so positive an assertion upon a point where the difference of time makes all the differ- ence in the matter, he must have consulted any memo- randums he may have made, referred to pocket-books or letters, so as to convince himself from some more tangible data than that furnished by memory, that it really was " about June, 1814," and not " about June, 1813," that the intention of going abroad existed in Lord Byron's mind. These observations have arisen from a singular coin- cidence. Amongst the late Mr. Dallas's papers the Editor has found a printed catalogue of books belong- ing to Lord Byron, to be sold. The Editor has fre- quently before seen this catalogue, and been informed by Mr. Dallas that it referred to an intended sale of Lord Byron's library, which was to have taken place in consequence of his intention to go abroad ; but that he altered his intention before the day of sale, though after the announcement, and that consequently the books were saved from the hammer. The catalogue is curious, as many of the books were presentation copies, given to his Lordship by the authors, with their autographs in them; but its particular curiosity is from its containing the following description of two lots: Lot 151 A silver sepulchral urn, made with great taste. With- in it are contained human bones, taken from a tomb within the long wall of Athens, in the month of Febru- ary, 1811. The urn weighs 187 oz. 5. dwt. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. ]j5JjJ Lot 152 A silver cup, containing " Root of hemlock gathered in the dark," • according to the direction of the witches in Macbeth, The hemlock was plucked at Athens by the noble proprietor, in 1811. — The silver cup weighs 29oz. ,8dwts. The title-page of this catalogue is as follows: — " A catalogue of books, the property of a nobleman about to leave ffngland on a tour to the Morea. To which are adcfed a silver sepulchral urn, containing relics brought from Athens, in 1811; and a silver cup, the property of the same noble person ; which will be sold by auction by R. H. Evans, at his house, No, 26, Pall Mall, on Thursday, July 8th, and. the following day. Catalogues to be had, and the books viewed at the place of sale." ^ So far this all corroborates the statement made in the two affidavits under consideration, that Lord Byron in- tended to go abroad, and made preparations to that effect, about June — for it is to be supposed that the 8th of July may fairly come within the interpretation of that phrase.* There is, however, a generally neglected part of the title page, which happened to catch the Editor's eye on reading it over; it is the date following the printer's name, which runs thus, " Printed by W. Bul~ * The gift of the letters to Mr. Dallas was made by Lord Byron, on the loth of June, 1814, in performance of a promise made in April, 1812. ' Ixvi PRELIMINAKY STATEMENT. a considerable, tliongh tinavoidable delay, arising from the mass of business which peremplorily occupied the attention of the Court of Cliancery, on the very last day of the Lord Chancellor's public sittings, an attempt was made to bring on the consideration of the cause, Hobhouse v. Dallas, out of its proper rotation. This was resisted; but Lord Eldon being informed of the pressing nature of the business, kindly consented (o take the papers to his house, and without calling for the arguments of counsel, gave his decision at a private sit- ting.* Accordingly, on the 2M of August, 1824, the Lord Chancellor delivered the following judgment in his private room. It is copied literally irom the short-hand writer's notes. " Lord Chancellor. — In the case of Hobhouse and Dallas, 1 shall reserve my judgment on one point till Wednesday, because I think it an extreniely difficult point. But upon the poi«t, whether this gentleman can publish the letters that Lord Byron wrote to himself, I cannot say that it is possible for him to be allowed to do that. I apprehend the law, as it has been settled with Inspect to letters — the property in letters is, (and whether that was a decision that could very well have stood at first or not, I will not undertake to say, but it is so settled, there- fore I do not think I ought to trouble myself at all about * It is owing to this circumstance that no report of the cause has appeared in the public papers. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Jxvii it,) that if A. writes a letter to B., B. lias the property in that letter, for the purpose of reading and keeping it, but no property in it to publish it; and, therefore, the consequence of that is, that unless the point which re- lates to the letters that were written by Lord Byron to his mother is a point that can be extended to the letters written by Lord Byron to this gentleman himself, — un- less the point on the first case affect the point on the second, it appears to me that the letters written to him- self clearly fall within that rule which I am now alluding to. "The other is a thing which, after carefully reading the bill, and answers of these gentlemen who propose to be the publishers, 1 have formed an inclination of opi- nion about it, but which I will not at this moment ex- press, because I think that opinion must be wrong, un- less it is founded on every word that is to be found in all the answer relative to the transaction of Lord By- ron's putting these letters into the hands of Mr. Dallas. That is a point on which i would rather reserve my opi- nion till Wednesday morning, and then I will conclude it with respect to that question. With respect to the letters written to himself, I confess I entertain no doubt at all about it. And there is another circumstance too, I think, which is, that it is a very different thing with respect to letters written by Lord Byron to his mother — it is a very different thing, as it appears to me, pub- lishing as information what those letters may have com- Jxyiij PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. municated as matters of fact, and publishing the letters themselves. If you are here on Wednesday morning, I will give you my judgment on the point which I have reserved, and if you are not here, I will give it on Sa- turday." "Counsel. — Then of course the injunction conti- nues as to the letters written to Mr. Dallas himself.'"' "Lord Chancellor. — Yes; and with respect to the others that will stand over till Wednesday. I don't see if an action was brought against Mr. Dallas for publish- ing the other letters, I don't see how he could defend that action; for the question about the other letters de- pends entirely, I think, on what is supposed to have pass- ed between himself and Lord Byron alone; and, there- fore, if an action was brought against him, there could be no evidence at all that would take his case out of the reach of the law." These are the words of the Lord Chancellor's deci- sion as far as it goes. Nothing took place on the Wed- nesday with respect to the reserved point; but his Lord- ship left town on the following Monday, and previously to so doing, he desired the Registrar of the Court to in- form Mr. Dallas's solicitor, that " the injunction must remain in all its points." That no step might be omitted which could by possi- bility enable Mr. Dallas to redeem the pledge which he had given to the pubhc, the following letter was sent to PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. JxJx the executors by the parties restrained, by the injunc- tion of the Court of Chancery, from pubhshing the let- ters in question. " To the Executors of the late Right Honourable Lord Byron. " London, lAth of Sefitember, 1824. " Gentlemen, " As the Lord Chancellor has given his opinion that the Letters of the late Lord Byron, contained in the work which we intended to publish, cannot be made public without the permission of his Lordship's executors, we beg to state to you, that the work in question has been perused by the present Lord Byron, who has expressed his approbation of it, and his desire that it should ap- pear; and we now request the permission of the executors for its publication, declaring, at the same time,*our readiness to submit the work to the inspection of any person to be mutually approved of by both parties in this transaction; and if any omissions should be suggested to make all such as, upon a fair examination, may be considered proper. " The favour of an immediate answer is requested, addressed under cover to our solicitors, Messrs. S. Turner and Son, Red Lion-square. " We remain, gentlemen, " Your most obedient servants, " Alex. R. C. Dallas, for R. C. Dallas, " Charles Knight, for myself, and Henry Colburn." In consequence of this letter written by the parties to the executors themselves, Messrs. Turner and Son, the solicitors to those parties, received the following letter. Ixx PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. without a date, from Mr. Charles Hanson, the sohcitor to the executors: — " Gentlemen, " Hothouse and another v. Dallas and others. " I AM directed by the executors of the laie Lord Byron, in an- swer to a letter addressed to them by your clients, containing a proposal for the publication of the late Lord Byron's letters in the work in question, to inform you, that the executors do not deem it proper to sanction the publication of any of Lord Byron's letters; and that they are advised to pursue legal measures to compel the delivering up to them such of the letters as they are entitled as his representatives to possess. It has been represent- ed to the executors that a publication of the letters in question has been contemplated abroad. The executors do not vouch for the truth of this report; but I think it proper to mention, that if such a thing should be done, it will be deemed by the executors a contempt of the Injunction granted in this cause. " I am, &c. " Chas. Hanson." This letter having closed every possible avenue by which the correspondence could be jjjiven to the British public, as had been promised, Mr. Dallas was placed in the situation which was stated at the beginning of this narrative ; and there was no alternative left to him but the step which has now been taken. The following Recollections will, it is hoped, sufficiently establish the propriety of the intended publication as far as relates to the nature of its contents ; this statement is how given to the public with a view to prove the propriety of Mr. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Jxxi Dallas's intention and conduct in promising its publica- tion ; and the existence of the injunction relieves him from all blame in not performing his promise. After the full statement that has been made, it will not be necessary to detain the reader much longer from the perusal of the Recollections themselves. There are, however, three points to which the Editor begs to draw attention : — the first is the difference between the words ''' private''' and " confiderdiaU'^ The parties who oppose the publication of the correspondonce made use of them as synonymous ; against this use of them, the parties who intended the publication distinctly protest. The •private letters of a public man are thos^ in which, un- restrained by the present intention of publication to the world, he naturally and inartificially conveys his thoughts, sentiments, and opinions to a friend. Can it be said that when a man's celebrity has raised him from his peculiar circle to belong to the unlimited one of all man- kind, and when his death has made him the subject of history, and rendered the development of his character interesting to all the world, it is a breach of confidence to give to the world such private letters so written } Confidential letters are those in which any man intrusts that which at the time he would not make known, to the keeping and secrecy of one in whom he confides. Such letters, it is a breach of confidence, and highly dishon- ourable, to publish. The editor submits these defini- tions to the criticism of the public ; and by them he Ixxiv PRELIMINARY STATEMPiNT. afterwards come forth; for they have the power offered to them of sanctioning the work in the title-page by their " permission," which would leave them at liberty to resist any unsanctioned publication. They, therefore, are forced to acknowledge, as they do in the course of these proceedings, that their opposition is a matter of properly, — that is to say, that they want to make the most of these letters for the benefit of the late Lord Byron's legatee,* No one, under all the circumstances, can doubt, morally speaking, that Lord Byron made a free gift to Mr. Dallas of his mother's letters. Other proof than that which can now be given might, perhaps, be neces- sary to satisfy the requirements of law, but, certainly, the oaths that have been sworn are not calculated to remove the moral conviction from the mind, that the letters are the property of Mr. Dallas. As it is not according to the rules of law that matters of feeling are decided, there is a circumstance, of no slight importance, * It is hardly possible to be believed that all these oaths, as of knowledge upon surmisings, have for their object to add a few hundreds to the hundred thousand of pounds that Lord Byron has stripped from an ancient and honourable title which they were meant to support — not to give to his daughter, which would have put the silence of feeling upon the reproach of justice, but to en- rich his sister of the half blood, she being married, and of course naturally bound only to expect and to follow the fortunes of her husband. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. JxxV which should be taken into consideration in forming an opinion upon this transaction. For many years of his life Lord Byron never saw Mys. Leigh, and would have no communication with her; he was averse to the society of the sex, and thought lightly of family ties. This separation continued from his boyhood up to the year 1812; during the latter part of which period Mr. Dallas, continually, but fruitlessly, endeavoured to induce Lord Byron to take notice of Mrs. Leigh. However, after his return to England, when the publication of Childe Harold was approaching, his arguments were urged with more force, and Lord Byron, at length, yielded to them. The gift of an early copy of the Filgrimage was one of the first steps towards a renewal of intercourse; and the kind and affectionafre terms in which that gift was expressed, as mentioned in the following Recollec- tions, were the result of feelings which Mr. Dallas had endeavoured to excite. That gentleman, during his life time, never took merit to himself for promoting this union, though he has frequently mentioned the circum- stances to the Editor, who now makes use of them without having been entrusted to do so; but, impelled by the necessity of vindicating his father under the un- expected treatment he has experienced.* * The result of this union, so produced, has been, that Lord Byron, against all moral right, has applied the money procured by the. sale of Newstead Abbey, to enrich his half sister, and left the family title without the family estate which belonged to it. It IxXVi PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. The Lord Chancellor's decision sets the question of law at rest; and the Editor is anxious distinctly to state, that neither Mr. Dallas nor himself have ever presumed to- call in question the soundness of an opinion given by the venerable Lord Eldon. Neither of them, indeed, had taken the legal view of the subject, which his Lord- ship appears to have entertained; and they were war- ranted in bringing the matter to an issue, by the opinion of one of the most deservedly celebrated lawyers at the Chancery Bar. Without such an opinion, they certainly would not have added the heavy expenses of a Chancery may be said against all moral right, because the grant of New- stead was made by Henry VIII., to his ancestor, as the represen- tative, at that lime, of a very ancient and honourable family, which Avas afterwards ennobled by James I., having the estate, as well as that of Rochdale, in possession, to support the title so given. Lord Byron received this title and estate together in collateral descent, he being the grand nephew only of his predecessor. The law which destroyed the perpetuity of entails could not de- stroy the feelings which makes a man morally bound to transmit such honours and such an estate together to his successors ; and had Lord Byron's grand uncle sold Newstead and Rochdale, be- cause he had no son, nor even brother, nor nephew, nor cousin^ to succeed him, but only a grand nephew, his Lordship would have been the first to have felt the moral injustice done him. Lord Byron is succeeded in a nearer relationship than that in which he stood to his predecessor; yet he leaves a title and a name dis- tinguished in almost every generation, from the conquest, without any of the rewards which were given to the successive bearers of that name, to support its ancient honours. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Ixxvii Suit, to the already considerable loss occasioned by the nearly completed preparations for publishing a large edition of the work in quarto. It is particularly neces- sary, thus publicly to declare an humble submission to the authority of the Court of Chancery, as the appear- ance of the work in France may induce a supposition that the Author and Editor could be guilty of an inten- tional contempt of that Court. To prevent such a sup- position, which would be very far from the truth, the Editor has only to declare, that the arrangements for publication with Messrs. A. and W. Galigntini, of Paris, were made by Mr. Dallas, not only before the matter was decided; but that the foundation of .those arrange- ments was laid before the work was offered to any book- seller in Londont To this fact the following letter will bear testimony: — " To Messrs. A. and W. Galignani, Paris. " Ste. AdressCf near Havre de Gracey May 31, 1824. " Gentlemen, " You may, perhaps^ remember my calling at your house when I was in Paris some time ago. I write at present to inform you, that I have some very interesting manuscripts of Lord By- ron's, which I am going to publish in London, where I purpose to send them as soon as they are copied. I am not decided as to disposing of the copyright; but whether I do or not, I mean to offer them to a Paris publisher for a translation, so that the French and English editions may appear at the same time. I offer you the preference ; but I beg an immediate answer, as I mean, if you IXXViii PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. decline the offer, to write to a friend in Paris to treat with another respectable bookseller. " With regard to the interest of the work, you cannot, it is true, judge of that without a raore particular communication; but all I wish at present to know is, whether you would enter into this spe- culation, if the manuscripts prove to possess great interest. I would give you a sight of them, if the distance between us did pot prevent it, but in the course of this week they go to London. " When I was in Paris, I gave you a print of Lord Byron. It was much soiled, but certainly the best likeness I have seen of him. You purposed having a reduced engraving made of it — did you get it done ? "I am, gentlemen, • "-Your humble servant, «R. C. ETallas," After arranging for the publication jn England, Mr. Dallas returned without loss of time to France. At Paris, he entered into a written agreement with Messrs. Galignani, according to the terms of which the sheets were transmitted to them, as they were struck off in London. Mr. Dallas himself remained in Paris to con- duct the work through the press; and it had nearly ad- vanced as far as the edition in England, when the pro- gress of both was arrested by the Injunction. Mr. Dallas has been under the necessity of abiding by the pecuniary loss to a large amount, which the advanced state of the work, when stopped, brings upon him in England; but this very fact is a reason why he should be unable to mee| a similar loss to nearly a similar PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. Ixxix amount in France. And not only were the actual ex- penses incurred to be considered, but, by suppressiiJg the work in Paris, he would have been liable to the con- sequences of a law-suit upon his formal contract there also. Mr. Dallas, therefore, was left without a reason- able alternative, and the arrangements with Messrs. Galignani have been allowed to proceed; and this the more necessarily, as from the number of hands through which the manuscript had passed, and the copies of it which had been dispersed for translation and other lite- rary purposes, it was impossible to guard against the almost certain appearance of the work in part, or in the whole, however unsanctioned by the approbation of the Editor. In these arrangements with Messrs. Galig- nani, Mr. Knight and Mr. Colburn were not, and are not, in any respect parties; — the right of such publica- tion having been reserved to Mr. Dallas in the original agreement. NOTE. As, in the first page of this work, it is asserted that Lord Byrotj was born at Dover, and as the public newspapers stated that, in the inscription on the urn which contained his Lordship's relics it was said that he was born in London, the Editor thinks it right to publish the extract of a letter to himself, from the Author of the following Recollectidns, in which his reasons for making the assertion are stated : — " I find in the newspapers that Lord Byron is stated on the urn to have been born in London. The year previous to the January when he was born, I was on a visit to Captain Byron and my sister at Chantilly. Lord Byron's father and mother, with Mrs. Leigh, then Augusta Byron, a child then about four years old, were in France. I returned to Boulogne, where I then had a house, where I was visited by Mrs. Byron, in her way to England ; she was pregnant, and stopped at Dover on crossing the Channel. That Lord Byron was born there I recollect being mentioned both by his uncle and my sister, and I am so fully persuaded of it (Capt. Byron and my sister soon followed, and staid some time at Folkstone), that I cannot even now give full credit to the contrary, and half suspect that his mother might have had him christened in London, and thus given ground for a mistake." RECOLLECTIONS LIFE OF LORD BYRON. CHAPTER L CONNEXION AND FIRST PERSONAL ACQUAINT- ANCE WITH LORD BYRON. Lord Byron was a nephew of the late Captain George Anson Byron, of the Royal Navy, who was married to my sister, Henrietta Charlotte. In consequence of this connexion I was well acquainted with Lord Byron^s father and mother. The former, whose name was John, died at Valenciennes not long after the birth of his son, which took place at Dover, 22d January, 1788; the latter went with her child into Scotland, and I lost sight of them for many years. I heard of him when a boy at De Loyaute's Academy, and afterwards, on the death of the old Lord, his grand uncle, when he was placed at Harrow. Captain Byron and my sister were then both dead, and I saw httle of the Byron family for several years. 2 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE Lord Byron was called George after his uncle, who was his godfather; the name of Gordon had been assumed by his father in compliance with a condition imposed by will on the husband of Miss Gordon, the maiden name of his mother, and on the representatives of her family. At the end of the year 1807, some of my family ob- served in the newspapers extracts from Lord Byron's Juvenile Poems, wliich he had published under the title of Hours of Idleness, 1 ordered the volume, which I received on the 27th of December, I read it with great pleasure; and, if it is not saying too much for my own judgment, discerned in it marks of the genius which has been since so universally acknowledged. Though sensible of some personal gratification from this proof of superior talents breaking forth in the nephew of my friend and brother, it did not enter my mind to make it the occasion of seeking the author, till I was urged to compliment him upon his publication, which I did in the following letter, dated January 6th, 1808: — " My Lord, " Your Poems were sent to me a few days ago. I have read them with more pleasure than I can express, and I feel myself irresistibly impelled to pay you a tribute on the effusions of a noble mind in strains so truly poetic. Lest, however, such a tribute from a stranger should ap- pear either romantic or indecorous, let me inform your UFE OF LORD BYRON. 3 Lordship that the name of Byron is extremely dear to me, and that for some portion of my life I was intimately connected with, and enjoyed the friendship of a near relation of yours, who had begun to reflect new lustre on it, and who, had he lived, would have added a large share of laurels to those which your Muse so sweetly commemorates ; I mean your father's brother, through whom I also knew your father and mother. Your Poems, my Lord, are not only beautiful as com- positions ; — they bespeak a heart glowing with honour, and attuned to virtue, which is infinitely the higher praise. Your addresses to Newslead Abbey, a phice about which I have often conversed with your uncle, are in the true spirit of chivalry ; and the following lines are in a spirit still more sublime : " I will not complain, and though chill'd is affection, With mc no corroding resentment shall live ; My bosom is calm'd by the simple reflection That both may be ^rong, and that both should forgive." A spirit that brings to my mind another noble author, who was not only a fine poet, orator, and historian, but one of the closest reasoners we have on the truth of that religion of which forgiveness is a prominent principle ; the great and the good Lord Lyttleton, whose fame will never die. His son, to whom he had transmitted genius but not virtue, sparkled for a moment, and went out like a falling star, and with him the title became extinct. |, KECOLLECTIONS OF THE He was the victim of inordinate passions, and he will be heard of in tills world oidy by those who read the Eng- lish Peerage. The lines which 1 have jnst cited, and the sentiments that pervade your vohnne, sufficiently in- dicate the affinity of your mind with the former ; and I have no doubt that like him you will reflect more hon- our on the Peerage than the Peerage on you. I wish, my Lord, that it had been within your plan, and that you had been pertnitted to insert an)ong your poems the verses from your friend complaining of the warmth of your descriptions. They must liave been much to his honour ; and, from the general sentiments of your reply, I think your Lordship will not long con- tinue of an opinion you express in it : I mean, tl^at you will not always consider the strength of virtue in some, and the downhill career of other young women, as ren- dering the perusal of very lively descriptions a matter of indilference. Those whom education and early habits have made strong, and those whom-^eglected nurseries or corrupt schools have rendered weak, are, perhaps, few compared to the number that are for a time unde- cided characters ; that is, who have not been advanced to the adamantine rock of purity by advice and by ex- ample ; nor, on the other hand, are yet arrived at the steep pitch of descent where their progress cannot be arrested, but are still within the intluencc of impressions. Rousseau acknowledges the danger of warm descrip- tions, in the front of a book in which that danger is LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 5 pushed to its utmost extent ; and, at the same time, with his usual paradoxical inconsistency, says it will not be his fault that certain ruin ensues, for good girls should not read novels. I have not the JVouvellc Heloisc by me, but I translate the passage from an Essay on Romances by Marmontel : " No chaste young woman,^' says Rous- seau, " ever reads novels, and I have given this a title sufficiently expressive to show, on opening it, what is to be expected. She who, in spite of that title, shall dare to read a single page of it is a lost young woman : but let her not impute her ruin to this book ; the mischief was done before, and as she has begun let her read to the end ; she has nothing more to risk."* On this Marmontel asks if the title. Letters of two Lovers, is a bug-bear, and adds : " shall he who puts sweet poi- son in the reach of children say, if they poison them- selves, that he is not to be blamed for it .'^" Having perhaps already trespassed too much on your time, I will not pursue this subject further, but content myself with referring your Lordship to the Essay which I have cited for an admirable critique on Rousseau's Novel. It is printed with Marmontel's other works. • • * " Jamais fille chaste n'a lu des romans, el j'ai mis a celle ci un litre assez decide, pour qu'en I'ouvrant on sdt a quoi s'en tenir. CeUe qui,"malgre ce titre, en osera lire une page est une ^lle perdue : mais qu'elle n'impute point sa perte "5 ce livre; Ic mal 6ioit fait d'avance. Puisqu'elle a commence, qu'elle ach^ve de lire : elle n'a plus rien a risquer." Q IlECOLLECTIONS OF THE And now, my Lord, shall I conclude with an apology for my letter? If I thought one necessary I would burn it: yet I should feel myself both delighted and honoured if I were sure your Lordship would be better pleased with its being put into the post than into the fire. Most sincerely do I wish you success in those pursuits to which I conceive you allude in your preface; and I congratu- late you that, at so early a period of your life, and in spite of being a favourite of the Muses, you feel yourself born for your country." Lord Byron conveyed to me in a flattering manner the pleasure which he had received from this letter, as far as it contained a tribute to his muse, but declared that he must in candour decline such-praise as he did not deserve, and that therefore, with respect to his virtue, he could not accept of my applause. He was forcibly struck with the manner in which I had alluded to the two Lords Lyttleton with reference to himself, as he had frequently been compared to the latter. The events of his short life had been singular, and had had the effect of causing him to be held up as the votary of licentious- ness, and th (_ nausea* J Yet at the-< judgment >- let his lordship laugh, (_ nausea* J And case his volumes in congenial ealf. Yes ! doff that covering where morocco shines, " And hang a calf skin on those recreant" lines. This passage, together with the two notes which accom- panied it in the pubhcation of the Poem, and in which Lord Byron endeavoured, as much as possible, to en- venom his ridicule, he sent to me, in the course of the printing, for insertion, as being necessary, according to him, to complete the poetical character of Lord Carlisle. Six lines upon the same subject, which he also sent me to be inserted, he afterwards consented to relinquish at my earnest entreaty, which, however, was unavailing to procure the sacrifice of any other lines relating to this point. Under present circumstances they are become • I have given the exact copy of the original manuscript which is before me. LIFE OF LORD BYRON. \ 9 curious, and there can hardly be any objection to my in- serting them here. They were intended to follow the first four lines upon the subject, and the whole passage would have stood thus — Lords too are bards, such things at times befall, And 'tis some praise in peers to write at all ; Yet did not taste or reason sway the times, Ah, who would lake iheir titles with their rhymes. In these, our limes, with daily wonders big, A l&ttered peer is like a lettered pig ; Both know their al^jhabetj but who, from thence, Infers that peers or pig^ have manly sense. Still less that such should woo the graceful nine ; Parnassus was not made for lords and swine. Roscommon ! Sheffield, Sec. 8cc. Besides the alteration of the panegyrical couplet upon Lord Carlisle, he readily acquiesced in my suggestions of placing Crabbe amongst the genuine sons of Apollo^, and sent me these lines : There be who say, in these enlightened days, That splendid lies are all the poet's praise, That strained invention ever on the wing Alone impels the modern bard to sing. 'Tis true that all who rhyme, nay all who write, Shrink from the fatal word to genius — irite : Yet Truth sometimes will lend her noblest fires And decorate the verse herself inspires : This fact in Virtue's name let Crabbe attest, Though Nature's sternest painter, yet the best. 20 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE As to the title of the Poem, Lord Byron agreed with me in rejecting his own, but also rejected that I had pro- posed, and substituted the one with which it was pub- lished, " English Bards and Scotch Reviewers.'* Upon taking the Satire to my publishers, Messrs. Longman and Co., they declined publishing it in conse- quence of its asperity, a circumstance to which he after- wards adverted in very strong language, making it the only condition with which he accompanied his gift to me of the copyright of Childe Harbld^s Pilgiimage, that it should not be published by that house. I then gave it to Mr. Cawthorn, who undertook the publication. In reading Lord Byron's Satire, and in tracing the progress of the alterations which he made in it as it pro- ceeded, it is impossible not to perceive that his feelings rather than his judgment guided his pen; and sometimes he seems indifferent whether it should convey praise or blame. The influence of his altered feelings towards his noble relation has been already shown; and an in- stance likewise occurred where he, on the contrary, substituted approbation for censure, though not of so strong a nature as in the former case. Towards the end of the Poem, where he, inconsiderately enough, compares the poetical talent of the two Universities, in the first printed copy that he brought from Newstead the passage stood thus: LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 2 J Shall hoary Granta call her sable sons, Expert in science, more expert in puns ? Shall these approach the Muse? ah, no ! she flies And even spurns the great Seatonian prize : Though printers condescend the press to soil, With odes by Smythe, and epic songs by Hoyle. Hoyle, whose learn'd page, if still upheld by whist, Required no sacred theme to bid us list. — Ye who in Granta's honours would surpass, Must mount her Pegasus, a full-grown ass ; A foal well worthy of her ancient dam. Whose Helicon is duller than her Cam. Yet hold — as when by Heaven's supreme behest. If found, ten righteous had preserved the rest In Sodom's fated town, for Granta's name Let Hodgson's genius plead, and save her fame. But where fair Isis rolls her purer wave, The partial muse delighted loves to lave; On her green banks a greener wreath is wove. To crown the bards that haunt her classic grove. Where Richards wakes a genuine poet's fires, And modern Britons justly praise their sires. Previously, however, to giving the copy to me, he had altered the fifth Hne with his pen, making the couplet to stand thus: Though printers condescend the press to soil. With ryhme by Hoare, and epic blank by Hoyle 1 and then he had drawn his pen through the four lines beginning :32 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE Yet hold, as when by Heaven's supreme behest, and had written the following in their place. Oh dark asylum of a Vandal race ! At once the boast of learning and disgrace, So sunk in dulness and so lost in shame, That Smythe an'd Hodgson scarce redeem thy fame. I confess I was surprised to find the name of Smythe uncoupled from its press-soiling companion, to be so suddenly ranked with that of Hodgson in such high praise. When, however, the fifth edition, which was suppressed, was afterwards preparing for publication, he again altered the two last lines to — So lost to Phoebus that not Hodgson's verse Can make thee better, or poor Hewson's worse. In another instance, his feeling towards me induced him carefully to cover over with a paper eight lines, in which he had severely satirized a gentleman with whom he knew that I was in habits of intimacy, and to erase a note which belonged to them. It is not difficult to observe the working of Lord By- ron's mind in another alteration which he made. In the part where he speaks of Bowles, he makes a refer- ence to Pope's deformity of person. The passage was originally printed in the country thus: — LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 2S Bowles ! in thy memory let this precept dwell, Stick to thy sonnets, man! at least they'll sell; Or take the only path that open lies For modern worthies who would hope to rise : — Fix on some well-known name, and bit by bit, Pare dff the merits of his worth and wit; On each alike employ the critic's knife. And where a comment fails prefix a life ; Hint certain failings, faults before unknown, Revive forgotten lies, and add your own-; Let no disease, let no misfortune 'scape, And print, if luckily deformed, his shape. • •^- Thus shall the world, quite undeceived^t last, Cleave to their present wits, and quit the past; Bards once revered no more with favour view. But give these modern sonnetteers their due : Thus w^ith the dead may living merit cope. Thus Bowles may triumph o'er the shade of Pope I He afterwards altered the whole of this passage except the two first lines, and in its place appeared the follow- ing:— Bowles ! in thy memory let this precept dwell) Stick to thy sonnets, man ! at least they sell. But if some new-born whim, or larger bribe. Prompt thy crude brain, and claim thee for a scribe ; If chance some bard, though once by dunces feared, Now prone in dust can only be revered ; If Pope, whose fame and genius from the first Have foiled the best of critics, needs the worst, Do thou essay, — each fault, each failing scan ; The first of poets was, alas ! but man, O 24, RECOLLECTIONS OF THE Rake from each ancient dunghill every pearl, Consult Lord Fanny, and confide in Curl! ; Let all the scandals of a fornier age Perch on thy pen and flutter o'er thy page ; Affect a candour which thou can'st not feel, Clothe envy in the garb of honest zeal, Write as if St. John's soul ceuld still inspire, And do from hate, what Mallet did for hire. Oh ! hadst thou lived in that congenial time. To rave with Dennis, and with Ralph to rhyme, Thronged with the rest around his living head, Not raised thy hoof against the lion dead, A meet reward had crowned thy glorious gains. And linked thee to the Dunciad for thy pains. I have very little doubt that the alteration of the whole of this passage was occasioned by a reference to Pope's personal deformity which Lord Byron had made in it. It is well known that he himself had an evident defect in one of his legs, which was shorter than the other, and ended in a club foot. On this subject he generally ap- peared very susceptible, and sometimes when he was first introduced to any one, he betrayed an uncomfort- able consciousness of his defect by an uneasy change of position; and yet at other times he seemed quite devoid of any feeling of the kind, and once I remember that, in conversation, he mentioned a similar lameness of an- other person of considerable talents, observing, that peo- ple born lame are generally clever. This temporary cessation of a very acute susceptibility, is a phenomenon LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 25 of the human mind for which it is difficult to account; unless perhaps it be that the thoughts are sometimes carried into a train, where, though they cross these ten- der cords, the mind is so occupied as not to leave room for the jealous feeling which they would otherwise ex- cite. Thus, Lord Byron, in the ardour of composition, had not time to admit the ideas, which, in a less excited moment, would rapidly ha(ve risen in connexion with the thought of Pope^s deformity of person; and the greater vanity of talent superseded the lesser vanity of person, and produced the same effect of deadening his suscep- tibility in the conversation to which I allude. In Lord Byron's original Satire, the first lines of his attack upon Jeffrey, were these — • Who has not heard in this enlightened page, When all can criticise th' historic age ; Who has not heard in James's bigot reign, Of Jefferies ! monarch of the scourge and chain ? These he erased and began. Health tb immortal Jeffrey I once, in name, England could boast a judge almost the same ! With this exception, and an omission about Mr. Lambe towards the end, the whole passage was published as it was first composed; indeed, as this seems to have been the inspiring object of the Satire, so these lines were 2Q RECOLLECTIONS OF THE - most fluently written, and required least correction af- terwards. Respecting the propriety of the note which is placed at the end of this passage, I had niuch discus- sion with Lord Byron. I vvas anxious that it should not be inserted, and I find the reason of my anxiety stat- ed in a letter written to him after our conversation on the subject. — I here insert the letter, dated February 6, 1809:— '' My dear Lord, " I have received your lines,* which shall be in- serted in the pioper place. May I say that I question whether own and disown be an allowable rhyme .^ Translation's servile work at length disown, And quit Achaia's muse to court your own. You see I cannot let any thing pass; but this only proves to you how much I feel interested. I have inserted the note on the kilted goddess; still I would fain have it omitted. My first objection was, that it was a fiction in prose, too wide of fact, and not reconcileable with your own praises of Caledonian genius. Another objection now occurs to me, of no little importance. There seems at present a disposition in Scotland to withdraw support from the Edinburgh Reviewers: that disposition will favour the circulation of your Satire in the north: this note of yours will damp all * Those complimenting the translators of the Anthology. LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 21 ardour for it beyond the Tweed. You have yet time; tell me to suppress it when I next have the pleasure of seeing you, which will be when I receive the first proof. I did hope to be able to bring the proof this morning, but the printer could not prepare the paper, &,c. for the press till to-day. I am promised one by the day after to-morrow. I trust you will approve of what I have done with the bookseller. He is to be at all the expense and risk, and to account for half the profits,* for which he is to have one edition of a thousand copies. It would not have answered him to have printed only five hundred on these terms. I have also promised him that he shall have the pubhshing of future editions, if the author chooses to continue it; but I told him that I could not dispose of the copyright. I have no doubt of the Poem being read in every quarter of the United Kingdom, provided, however, you do not affront Caledonia." Lord Byron, in accordance with this letter, sent me a choice of couplets to supersede the one to the rhyme of which I had objected, Though sweet the sound, disdain a borrow'd tone, Resign Achaia's lyre, and strike your own ; * The whole of the profits were left to the publisher without purchase. 28 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE or, Though soft the echo, scorn a borrowM tone, Resign Achaia's lyre, and strike your own. But he protested against giving up his note of notes, as he called it, his solitary pmi. I answered him as follows^ in a letter dated February 7, 1809: — " On another perusal of the objectionable note, I find that the omission of two lines only would render it inof- fensive — but, as you please. I observed to you that in the opening of the Poem there appears to be a sudden stop with Dryden. I still feel the gap there; and wish you would add a couple of lines for the purpose of connecting the sense, saying that Otway and Congreve had wove mimic scenes, and Waller tuned his lyre to love. If you do, " But why these names, &c." would follow well — and it is perhaps the more requisite as you lash our presfenf Dramatists.* Half Tweed combin'd his waves to form a tear, will perhaps strike you, on reconsidering the line, to want alteration. You may make the river-god act * He inserted the following couplet — Then Congreve's scenes could cheer, or Otway's melt. For nature th«n an English audience felt. LIFE OF LOHD BYRON. 29 without Witting him in two : you may make him ruffle half liis stream to yield a tear.* ' IIo} Je, whose learned page, &c/ The pronoun is an identification of the antecedent Hoyle, which is not your meaning — say, JSot he whose learned page, &c. Earth's chief dictatress, Ocean's lonely queen" — The primary and obvious sense of lonely is solitary, which does not preclude the idea of the ocean having other queens. You may have some authority for the use of the word in the acceptation you here give it, but, like the custom in Denmark, I should think it more honoured in the breach than the observance. Only offers its service; or why not change the epithet altogether.'*! I mention these little points to you now, because there is time to do as you please. I hope to call on you to-morrow; if I do not, it will be because I am disap- pointed of the proof." During the printing of the Satire, my intercourse with Lord Byron was not only carried on personally, but also by constant notes which he sent me, as differ- ent subjects arose in his mind, or different suggestions occurred. It was interesting to see how much his thoughts were bent upon his Poem, and how that one * The line was printed thus — Tweed ruffled half his waves to form a tear, t He changed it to " mighty." 30 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE object gave a colour to all others that passed before him at the time, from which in turn he drew forth subjects for his Satire. After having been at the Opera one night, he wrote those couplets, begmning, Then let Ausonia, skill'd in every art, To soften manners, but corrupt the heart, &c. and he sent them to me early on the following morn- ing, with a request to have them inserted after the lines concerning Naldi and Catalani: so also other parts of the Satire arose out of other circumstances as they passed, and were written upon the spur of the mo- ment. To the Poem, as I originally received it, he added a hundred and ten lines, including those to Mr. Gifford, on the Opera, Kirke White, Crabbe, the Translators of the Anthology, and Lord Carlisle; and most of the address to Mr. Scott towards the conclusion. He once intended to prefix an Argument to the Satire, and wrote one. I have it, among niany other manuscripts of hisj and, as it .becomes a curiosity, I insert it. ARGUMENT INTENDED FOR THE SATIRE. The poet considereth times past and their, poesy— -maketh a sudden transition to times present — is incensed against book- makers— revileth W. Scott for cupidity and ballad-mongering, •with notable remarks on Master Southey — complaineth that Master Southey hath inflicted three poems, epic and otherwise, on the public — inveigheth against Wm. Wordsworth, but laudeth LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 3j Mr. Coleridge and his elegy on a young ass — is disposed to vitu- perate Mr. Lewis — and greatly rebuketh Thomas Little (the late) and the Lord Strangford — recommendeth Mr. Hayley to turn his attention to prose — and exhorteth the Moravians to glorify Mr. Grahan»e — sympalhizeth with the Rev. Bowles — and de- ploreth the melancholy fate of Montgomery — breaketh out into invective against the Edinburgh Reviewers — cailelh them hard names, harpies, and the like — apostrophiseth Jeffrey and pro- phesieth — Episode of Jeffrey and Moore, their jeopardy and de- liverance ; portents on the morn of the combat ; the Tweed, Tolbooth, Frith of Forth severally shocked ; descent of a god- dess to save Jeffrey ; incorporation of the bullets with his sinci- put and occiput — Edinburgh Reviews en masse — Lord Aberdeen, Herbert, Scott, Hallam, PiUans, Lambe, Sydney Smith, Brougham, 8cc. — The Lord Holland applauded for dinners and translations — The Drama; Skeffington, Hook, Reynolds, Ken- ney. Cherry, &c. — Sheridan, Colman, and Cumberland called upon to write — Return to poesy — scribblers of all sorts — Lords sometimes rhyme ; much better not — Hafiz, Rosa Matilda, and X. Y. Z. — Rogers, Campbell, Glfford, &c., true poets — Trans- lators of the Greek Anthology — Crabbe — Darwin's style — Cam- bridge — Seatonian Prize — Smythe-rHodgson — Oxford — Rich- ards — Poeta loquitur— Conclusion. KECOLLECTIONS OF THE CHAPTER III. TAKING HIS SEAT IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS- SECOND EDITION OF THE SATIRE— DEPARTURE FROM ENGLAND. 1 NOW saw Lord Byron daily. It was about this time that Lord Falkland was killed in a duel, which suggested some lines as the Satire was going through the press. Nature had endowed Lord Byron with very benevolent feelings, which I have had opportunities of discerning, and I have seen them at times render his fine counte- nance most beautiful. His features seemed formed in a peculiar manner for emanatmg the high conceptions of genius, and the workings of the passions. 1 have often, and with no little admiration, witnessed these effects. I have seen them in the glow of poetical inspiration, and under the influence of strong emotion; on the one hand amounting to virulence, and on the other replete with all the expression and grace of the mild and amiable affections. When under the influence of resentment and anger, it was painful to observe the powerful sway of those passions over his features: when he was im- pressed with kindness, which was the natural state of his heart, it was a high treat to contemplate his coun- LIFE OF LORD BYRON. gg tenance. I saw him the morning after Lord Falkland's death. He had just come from seeinoj the lifeless body of the man with whom he had a very short time before spent a social day: he now and then said, as if it were to himself, but aloud, "Poor Falkland!" He looked more than he spoke — " But his wife, it is she who is to be pitied." I saw his mind teeming with benevolent in- tentions — and they were not abortive. If ever an ac- tion was pure, that which he then meditated was so; and the spirit that conceived, the man that performed it, was at that time making his way through briers and brambles to that clear but narrow path which leads to heaven. Those, who have taken pains to guide him from it, must answer for it! The remembrance of the impression produced on Lord Byron by Lord Falkland's death, at the period I am retracing, has excited this slight, but sincere and just, effusion; and 1 am sensible that the indulgence of it needs no apology. The Satire was published about the middle of March, previous to which he took his seat in the House of Lords, on the l.Sth of the same month. On that day, passing down St. James's-street, but with no intention of calling, I saw his chariot at his door, and went in. His countenance, paler than usual, showed that his mind was agitated, and that he was thinking of the nobleman to whom he had once looked for a hand and counte- nance in his introduction to the House. He said to me — " I am glad you happened to come in ; I am going to 34 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE take my seat, perhaps you will go with me." I expres- sed my readiness to attend him; while, at the same time, I concealed the shock 1 felt on thinking that this yonng man, who, by birth, fortune, and talent, stood high in life, should have lived so unconnected and neglected by persons of his own rank, that there w^as not a single member of the senate to which he belonged, to whom he could or would apply to introduce him in a. manner becoming his birth. I saw that he felt the situation, and I fully partook his indignation. If the neglect he had met with be imputed to an untoward or vicious disposi- tion, a character which he gave himself, and which I understood was also given to him by others, it is natural to ask, how he came by that disposition, for he got it not from Nature.-^ Had he not been left early to himself, or rather to dangerous guides and companions, would he have contracted that disposition.^ Or even, had na- ture been cross, might it not have been rectified? Dur- ing his long minority, ought not his heart and his intel- lect to have been trained to the situation he was to fill.^ Ought he not to have been saved from money-lenders, and men of business? And ought not a shield to have been placed over a mind so open to impressions, to pro- tect it from self-sufficient free-thinkers, and witty sophs? The wonder is, not that he should have erred, but that he should have broken through the cloud that enveloped him, which was dispersed solely by the rays of his own genius. LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 35 After some talk about the Satire, the last sheets of which were in the press, I accompanied Lord Byron to the House. He was received in one of the antecham- bers by some of the officers in attendance, with whom he settled respecting the fees he had to pay. One of them went to apprize the Lord Chancellor of his being there, and soon returned for him. There were very few persons in the House. Lord Eldon was going through some ordinary business. When Lord Byron enter- ed, I thought he looked still paler than before ; and he certainly wore a countenance in which mortification was mingled with, but subdued by, indignation. He passed the woolsack without looking round, and advanced to the table where the proper officer was attending to ad- minister the oaths. When he had gone through them, the Chancellor quitted his seat, and went towards him with a smile, putting out his hand warmly to welcome him ; and, though I did not catch his words, I saw that he paid him some .compliment. This was all thrown away upon Lord Byron, who made a stiff bow, and put the tips of his fingers into a hand, the amiable offer of which demanded the whole of his. I was sorry to see this, for Lord Eldon's character is great for virtue, as well as talent ; and, even in a political point of view, it would have given me inexpressible pleasure to have seen him uniting heartily with him. The Chancellor did not press a welcome so received, but resumed his seat ; while Lord Byron carelessly seated himself for a few 36 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE minutes on one of the empty benches to the left of the throne, usually occupied by the Lords in opposition. When, on his joining me, I expressed what I had felt, he said : " If 1 had shaken hands heartily, he would have set me down for one of his party — but I will have nothing to do with any of them, on either side ; I have taken my seat, and now 1 will go abroad." We return- ed to St. James's-street, but he did not recover his spirits. The going abroad was a plan on which his thoughts had turned for some time ; I did not, however, consider it as determined, or so near at hand as it proved. In a few days he left town for Newstead Abbey, after seeing the last proof of the Satire, and writing a short preface to the Poem. In a few weeks I had the pleasure of send- ing him an account of its success, in the following letter, dated April 17, 1809: " The essence of what I have to say was comprised in the few lines I wrote to you in the cover of my letter to Mr. H*^. Your Satire has had a rapid sale, and the publisher thinks the edition will soon be out. However, what I have to repeat to you is a legitimate source of pleasure, and I request you will receive it as the tribute of genuine praise. In the first place, notwithstanding our precautions, you are already pretty generally known to be the author. Sq Cawthorn tells me ; and a proof occurred to, myself at Hatchard's, the Queen^s Bookseller. On inquiring for LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 37 the Satire, he told me that he had sold a great many, and had none left, and was going to send lor more, which I afterwards found he did ? I asked who was the author ? He said it was believed to be Lord Byron's. Did he beheve it .'' Yes, he did. On asking the ground of his belief, he told me that a lady of distinction had, without hesitation, asked for it as Lord Byron's Satire. He likewise informed me that he had inquired of Mr. Gifford, who frequents his shop, whether it was yours. Mr. Gifford denied any knowledge of the author, but spoke very highly of it, and said a copy had been sent to him. Hatchard assured me that all who came to his reading-room admired it. Cawthorn tells me it is uni- versally well-spoken of, not only among his own cus- tomers, but generally at all the booksellers'. I heard it highly praised at my own publishers', where I have lately called several times. At Phillips's it was read aloud by Pratt to a circle of literary guests, who were unanimous in their applause : — The Antijacobin^ as well as the Gentleman's Magazine, has already blown the trump of fame for you. We shall see it in the other Reviews next naonth, and probably in some severely handled, according to the Connexions of the proprietors and editors with those whom it lashes. I shall not re- peat my own opinion to you ; but I will repeat the re- quest I once made to you, never to consider me as a flat- terer. Were you a monarch, and had conferred on me the most munificent favours, ^uch an opinion of me would 38 RECOLLECTIONS OF THK be a signal of retreat, if not of ingratitude : but if you think me sincere, and like me to be candid, I shall de- light in your fame, and be happy in your friendship." The success of the Satire brought him quickly to town. He found the edition almost exhausted, and be- gan the preparations for another, to which he deter- mined to prefix his name. I saw him constantly; and in about a fortnight found the Poem completely meta- morphosed, and augmented nearly four hundred lines, but retaining the whole of the first impression. He happily seized on some of the vices which at that junc- ture obtruded themselves on the public notice, and add- ed some new characters to the list of authors with cen- sure or applause. Among those who received the meed of praise, it gave nie great pleasure to find my excellent friend Waller Rodvvell Wright, whose poem "Hora? lonicc'B," was just published.* He allowed me to take home with me his manuscripts as he wrote them; and so soon as the 10th of May I had a note from him, urging that they should be sent to the press. He was desirous of hastening the new edition in order that he might see the last proofs before he left England; for, during his stay at Newstead Abbey, he had arranged with Mr, Hobhouse his plan of going abroad early in June, but whither, I believe, was not exactly settled; * Mr. Wright was, at that time, Recorder of Bury St. Ed- munds; and is now in a high judicial situation at Malta. LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 39 for lie sometimes talked to me of crossing the line, sometimes of Persia and India. As 1 perceived the new edition not only concluded in a most bitter strain, and contained besides a prose postscript in which I thought he allowed his feelings to carry him to an ex- cess of abuse and defiance that looked more like the vaunting ebullition of " Some fiery youth of new commission vain Who sleeps on brambles till he kills his man," than the dignified revenge of genius, I endeavoured to prevail upon him to suppress or alter it, as the proofs which I corj^^ted passed my hands, but was only able to obtain some modification of his. expressions. The following letter, which was the last that I wrote to him respecting the Satire before he left England, will show how strenuous I was on this point, and also the liberty which he allowed me to take: " Not being certain that I shall see you to-day, I write to tell you that I am angry with myself on finding that I have more deference for form, than friendship for the author of ' English Bards and Scotch Reviewers.' The latter prompted me to tear the concluding pages, left at Cawthorn's; the former withheld me, and I was weak enough to leave the lines to go to the printer. You have been so kind as to sacrifice some lines to me be- fore. I beseech you to sacrifice these, for in every re- Q 40 KECOLI.ECTIONS OP THE spect they injure the Poem, they injure you, and are pregnant with what you do not mean. I will not let YOU print them. I am going to dine in St. James's- place to-day at five o'clock, and in the hope of having a battle with you, I will be in St. James's-street about four.'' Very soon after this the Satire appeared in its new form, but too late for its author to enjoy his additional laurels before he left England. I was with him almost every day while he remained in London. Misanthropy, disgust of life leading to scepticism and impiety, pre- vailed in his heart and embittered his existence. He had for some time past been grossly attacked in several low publications, which he bore however with more temper than he did the blind headlong assault on his genius by the Edinburgh Review. 'Unaccustomed to female society, he at once dreaded and abhorred it; and spoke of women, such I mean as he neither dread- ed nor abhorred, more as playthings than companions. As for domestic happiness he had no idea of it. " A large family," he said, " appeared like opposite ingre- dients mixed perforce in the same salad, and he never relished the composition." Unfortunately, having never mingled in family circles, he knew nothing of them; and, from being at first left out of them by his relations, he was so completely disgusted that he avoided them, especially the female part. " I consider," said he. LIFE OP LORD BYRON. 41 "collateral ties as the work of prejudice, and not the bond of the heart, which must choose for itself un- shackled." It was in vain for me to argue that the nursery, and a similarity of pursuits and enjoyments in early life, are the best foundations of friendship and of love ; and that to choose freely, the knowledge of home was as requisite as that of wider circles. In those wider circles he had found no friend, and but few com- panions, whom he used to receive with an assumed gaiety, but real indifference at his heart, and spoke of with little regard, sometimes with sarcasm. He used to talk of one young man, who had been his school- fellow, with an affection which he flattered himself was returned. I occasionally met this friend at his apart- ments, before his last excursion to Newstead. Their portraits, by capital painters, were elegantly framed, and surmounted with their respective coronets, to be exchanged. However, whether taught by ladies in re- venge to neglect Lord Byron, or actuated by a frivo- lous inconstancy, he gradually lessened the number of his calls and their duration. Of this, however, Lord Byron made no complaint, till the very day I went to take my leave of him, which was the one previous to his departure. I found him bursting with indignation. "Will you believe it," said he, " I have just met *** and asked him to come and sit an hour with me; he excused himself; and what do you think was his ex- cuse.^ He was engaged with his mother and some ladies ^2 KECOLLECTIONS OF TttE lo go shopping! And he knows I set out to-morrow, to be absent for years, perhaps never to returni Friend- ship! — I do not believe I shall leave behind me, yourself and family excepted, and perhaps my mother, a single being who will care .what becomes of me/' At this period of his life his mind was full of bitter discontent Already satiated with pleasure, and dis- gusted with those companions who have no other re- source, he had resolved on mastering his appetites; he broke up his harams; and he reduced his palate to a diet the most simple and abstemious; but the passions of the heart were too mighty, nor did it ever enter his mind to overcome them,: resentment, anger, and hatred held full sway over him, and his greatest gratification at that time was in overcharging his pen with gall, which flowed in every direction against individuals, his coun- try, the world, the universe, creation, and the Creator. He might have become, he ought to have been, a different creature; and he but too well accounts for the unfortunate bias of his disposition in the following lines: — E'en I — -least thinking of a thoughtless throng, Just skilled to know the right and choose the wrong, Freed at that age when Reason's shield is lost, To fight my course through Passion's countless host; Whom every path of Pleasure's flowery way Has lured in turn, and all have led astray. I took leave of him on the 10th of June, 1809, and he LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 43 left London the next morning: his objects were still un- settled; but he wished to hear from me particularly on the subject of the Satire, and promised to inform me how to direct to him when he could so with certainty; — it was, however, long before I heard from him. After some time [ wrote to him; directing, at a chance, to Malta, informing him of the success of his Poem. Leaving England wiih a soured mind, disclaiming all attachments, and even belief in the existence of friend- ship, it will be no wonder if it shall be found that Lord Byron, during the period of his absence, kept up little correspondence with any persons in England. A letter, dated at Constantinople, is the only one 1 received from him, till he was approaching the shores of England in the Volage frigate. To his mother he wrote by every op- portunity. Upon her death, which happened very soon after his arrival, and before he saw her, I was conversing with him about Newstead, and expressing my hope that he would never be persuaded to part with it; he assured me he would not, and promised to give me a letter which he had written to his mother to that effect, as a pledge that he never would. His letters to her being at New- stead, it was some time before he performed his promise; but in doing it he made me a present of all his letters to her on his leaving England and during his absence; say- ing, as he put them into my hands, " Some day or other they will be curiosities." They are written in an easy 44 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE style, and if they do not contain all that is to be expected from a traveller, what they do contain of that nature is pleasant; and they strongly mark the character of the writer. UFE OF LORD BYRON, 45 CHAPTER IV. LORD BYRON'S TRAVELS IN 1809, 1810, and 1811. The Letters which Lord Byron had thus given to me were twenty in namber. They consisted of two short ones written from Newstead, at the end of 1808; one written from London, in March, 1809; fifteen written during his travels from Fahnouth, Gibraltar, Malta, Pre- visa, Smyrna, Constantinople, Athens, and Patras, in 1810 and 1811; one written on boai'd the Volage frigate, on his approach to England when returning; and a short note from London, to announce his intention of going down to Newstead. These letters were the only ones Lord Byron wrote during his travels, with the single exception of letters of business to his agent. Letter-writing was a matter of irksome duty to him, but one which he felt himself bound to perform to his mother. The letters are sometimes long and full of detail, and sometimes short, and mere intimations of his good health and progress, according as the humour of the moment overcame or not his habi- tual reluctance to the task. I cannot but lament that any circumstances should deprive the British public of 46 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE such lively and faithful delineations of the mind and character of Lord Byron as are to be found in these letters. They do not, it is true, contain the informa- tion which is usually expected from a talented traveller through an interesting country; but they do contain the index and guide which enables the reader to travel into that more interesting region — the mind and heart of such a man as Lord Byron; and though it might be desirable that he should have given a fuller description of his travels, it is highly satisfactory that he should uncon- sciously have left the means of penetrating into the natu- ral character- of so singular a being. Lord Byron's letters to his mother are more likely to furnish these means than any thing else that he has left us; because they contain the only natural expression of his feelings, freely poured forth in the very circumstances that excited them, with no view at the time to obtain or keep up a particular character, and therefore with no restraint upon his own character. This was never af- terwards the case. From the moment that the publication of Childe Ha- rold's Pilgiimage placed him, as it were, by the wand of an enchanter, upon an elevated pedestal in the Tem- ple of Fame, he could not write any thing even in fa- miliar correspondence, which was not in some degree influenced by the idea of supporting a character; espe- cially as, after the death of his mother, he had no cor- LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 4 'J' respondent to whom he made it a duty, at certain inter- vals, to communicate his thoughts. It is, therefore, in the natural turn of thought, not shown forth by any expression of decided opinions, but rather permitted to be seen in the hght touches and un- premeditated indications of feehng, with which these letters abound, that the original character of Lord By- ron is more surely to be traced. I say his original cha- racter, because so great an alteration took place at least in the degree, if not in the nature of it, after the publi- cation of his first great poem, that the traits which might give us an insight into his mind at the one period, will scarcely afford us ground to form any judgment of it at the other. I deeply regret that being prevented from making any thing like quotations from these letters, it is impossible for me to convey in any adequate degree the spirit of the character which they display. At Newstead, just before hjs coming of age, he plan- ned his future travels; and his original intention included a much larger portion of the vv;orld than that which he afterwards visited. He first thought of Persia, to which idea indeed he for a long time adhered. He afterwards meant to sail for India; and had so far contemplated this project as to write for information from the Arabic Pro- fessor at Cambridge, and to ask his mother to inquire of a friend who had lived in India, what things would be necessary for his voyage. He formed his plan of tra- velHng upon very different grounds from those which he R 48 RECOLLEC'I'IONS OF THE afterwards advanced. All men should travel at one time or another, he thought, and he had then no con- nexions to prevent him; when he returned he might en- ter into political life, for which travelling would not in- capacitate him, and be wished to judge of men by ex- perience. He had been compared by some one to Rousseau, but he. disclaimed any desire to resemble so illustrious a lunatic; though he wished to live as much by himself and in his own way as possible. While at Newstead at this time, and in contemplation of his intended departure, he made a will which he meant to have formally executed as soon as he came of age. In it he made a proper provision for his mother, bequeathing her the manor of Newstead for her life. How different a will from that which, with so different a mind and heart, he really executed seven years after- wards! A short time after this a proposal was made to him by his man of business to sell Newstead Abbey, which made his mother uneasy upon the subject. To set her mind at ease he declared, in the strongest terms, that his own fate and Newstead were inseparable; stating, at the same time, the fittest and noblest reasons why he should never part with Newstead, and affirming that the finest fortune in the country should not purchase it from him. The letter in which he had written his sentiments on this subject, was that which he gave to me to keep as a pledge that he never would dispose of Newstead. LIFE OP LORD BYRON. 49 Nor was it, indeed, until he had abandoned himself to the evil influence which afterwards beset him, that he forgot his solemn promise to his mother, and the pledge of honour which he voluntarily put into my hands, and then bartered the last vestige of the inheritance of his family. He left London in June, 1809; and his acute sensi- bility being deeply wounded at his relation's conduct when taking liis seat in the House of Lords, and by the disappointment he had experienced on parting with the friend whom he had believed to be so affectionately attached to him, he talked of a regretless departure from the shores of EngFand, and said he had no wish to revisit any thing in it, except his mother* and Newstead Ab- bey. The state of his affairs annoyed him also much. He had consented to the sale of his estate in Lanca- shire, and if it did not produce what he expected, or what would be sufficient for his emergencies, he thought of entering into some foreign service; the Austrian, the Russian, or even the Turkish, if he liked their manners. Among his suite was a German servant, who had been already in Persia with Mr. Wilbraham, and a lad whom he took with him, because he thought him, like himself, a friendless creature; and to the few regrets that he had felt on leaving his native country, his heart made him add that of parting with an old servant, whose age pre- vented his master from hoping to see him again. The objects that he met with in his journey as far as Gibraltar, seemed to have occupied his mind, to the ex 50 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE elusion of his gloomy and misanthropic thoughts; for the letter which he wrote to his mother from thence con- tains no indication of them, but, on the contrary, much playful description of the scenes through which he had passed. The beautiful Stanzas, from the 16th to the 30th of the fust Canto of Childe Harold's Pilgriutage, are the exact echoes of the thoughts which occurred to his mind at the time, as he went over the spot described. In going into the library of the convent of Mafra the monks conversed with him in Latin, and asked him whether the English had any books in their country. From Mafra he went to Seville, and was not a little sur- prised at the excellence of the horses and roads in Spain, by which he was enabled to travel nearly four hundred miles in four days, without fatigue or annoy- ance. At Seville Lord Byron lodged in the house of two unmarried ladies, one of whom, however, was going to be married soon; and though he remained there only three days she did not scruple to pay him the most par- ticular attentions, which, as they were women of cha- racter, and mixing in society, rather astonished him. His Sevillean hostess embraced him at parting with great tenderness, cutting of a lock of his hair and presenting him with a very long one of her own, which he for- warded to his mother in his next letter. With this spe- cimen of Spanish female manners, he proceeded to Ca- diz, where various incidents occurred to hjm calculated LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 51 to confirm the opinion he had formed at Seville of the Andalusian belles, and which made him leave Cadiz with regret, and determine to return to it. Lord Byron kept no journal; while his conipanion, Mr. Hobhouse, was occupied without ceasing in making notes. His aversion to letter-writing also occasions great chasms in the only account that can be obtained of his movements from himself He wrote, however, to his mother from Malta, merely to announce his safety; and forwarded the letter by Mrs. Spencer Smith, whose eccentric character and extraordinary situation very much attracted his attention. He did not write again until November, 1809, from Previsa. Upon arriving at Yanina, Lord Byron found that All Pacha was with his troops in Illyricnm besiegino; Ibra- him Pacha in Berat; but the Vizier, having heard that an English nobleman was in his country, had given or- ders at Yanina to supply him with every kind of accom- modation free of all expense. Thus he was not allowed to pay for any thing whatever, and was forced to con- tent himself with making presents to the slaves. F.om Yanina he went to Tepaleen, a journey of nine days, owing to the autumnal torrents which retarded his pro- gress. The scene which struck him upon entering Te- paleen, at the time of the sun's setting, recalled to his mind the description of Branksome Castle, in S( oti's Lay of the Last Minstrel. The different objects which presented themselves to his view when arriving at the 52 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE Pacha's palace, — the Albanians in their superb costume — the Tartars and the Turks with their separate pecu- liarities of dress — the row of two hundred horses, ready caparisoned, waiting in a large open gallery — the cou- riers which the stirring interest of the neighbouring siege made to pass in and out constantly — the military music — the boys repeating the hour from the Minaret of the Mosque, — are all faithfully and exactly described as he saw them, in the 55th and following stanzas, to the 60th of the second Canto of Cliilde Harold's Pil- grimage. He was lodged in the palace, and the next day intro- duced to Ali Pacha. — Ali said, that the English minister had told him that Lord Byron's family was a great one: and he desired him to give his respects to his mother, which his Lordship faithfully delivered immediately. The Pacha declared that he knew him to be a man of rank from the smallness of his ears, his curling hair, and his little white hands; and told him to consider himself under his protection as that of a father while he remain- ed in Turkey, as he looked on him as his son; and, in- deed, he showed how much he considered him as a child, by sending him sweetmeats, and fruit, and nice things repeatedly during the day. In going in a Turkish ship of war, provided for him by Ali Pacha, from Previsa, intending to sail for Patras, Lord Byron was very nearly lost in but a moderate gale of wind, from the ignorance of the Turkish officers and LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 53 sailors — the wind, however, abated, and they were driven on the coast of SuH. . The confusion appears to have been very great on board the galliot, and somewhat add- ed to by the distress of Lord Byron's valet, Fletcher, whose natural alarms upon this, and other occasions; and his untravelled requirements of English comforts, such as tea, &c., not a little amused his master, and were frequently the subject of good-humoured jokes with him. An instance of disinterested hospitality, in the chief of a Suliote village, occurred to Lord Byron in consequence of his disasters in the Turkish galliot. The honest Albanian, after assisting him in the distress in which he found himself, supplying his wants, and lodging him and his suite, consisting of Fletcher, a Greek, two Athenians, a Greek priest, and his companion, Mr. Hobhouse, refused to receive any remuneration; and only asked him for a written acknowledgment that he had been well-treated. When Lord Byron pressed him to take money, he said, " I wish you to love me, not to pay me." At Yanina, on his»rleturn, he was introduced to Rus- sian Bey and Mahmoul Pacha, two young grandchildren of Ali Pacha, very unlike lads, having painted faces, large black eyes, and regular features. They were nevertheless very pretty, and already instructed in all the court ceremonies. Mahmout, the younger, and he were friends without understanding each other, like a great many* other people, though for a different reason. 54 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE Lord Byron wrote several times to his mother from Smyrna, from whence he went in the Salsette frigate to Constantinople. It was while this frigate was lying at anchor in the Dardanelles, that he swam from Sestos to Abydos, — an exploit which he seemed to have remem- bered ever after with very great pleasure, repeating it and referring to it in no Icvss than live of his letters to his mother, and in the only two letters he wrote to me while he was away. It was not until after Lord Byron arrived at Constan- tinople that he decided not to go on to Persia, but to pass the following summer in the Morea. At Constan- tinople, Mr. Hobhouse left him to return to England, and by him he wrote to me and to his mother. He meant also to have sent back his man, Fletcher, with Mr. Hobhouse ; as, however good a servant in England, he found him an incumbrance in his progress. Lord B>ron had now tasted the delights of travelling ; he had seen much both of country and of mankind ; he had neither been disappointed nor disgusted with what he had met with ; and though he had passed many a fa- tiguing, he had never spent a tedious hour. This led him to fear that these feelings might excite in him a gipsy- like wandering disposition, which woidd make him un- comfortable at home, knowing such to be frequently the case with men in the habit of travelling. He had mixed with persons in all stations in life, had lived amongst the most splendid, and sojourned with the poorest, and found LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 55 the people harmless and hospitable. He had passed some time with the principal Greeks in the Morea and Livadia, and he classed them as inferior to the Turks, but superior to the Spaniards, whom he placed before the Portuguese. At Constantinople, his judgment of Lady Mary Wortley was, that she had not overstepped the truth near so much as would have been done by any other woman under similar circumstances ; but he dif- fered from her when she said " St. Paul's would cut a strange figure by St. Sophia's." He felt the great in- terest which St. Sophia's possesses from various consi- derations, but he thought it by no means equal to some of the Mosques, and-not to be written on the same leaf with St. Paul's. According to his idea, the Cathedral at Seville was superior to both, or to any religious edifice he knew. He was enchanted with the magnificence of the walls of the city, and the beauty of the Turkish bury- ing grounds ; and he looked with enthusiasm at the pros- pept on each side from the Seven Towers, to the end of the Golden Horn. When Lord Byron had lost his companion at Con- stantinople, he felt great satisfaction at being once more alone; for his nature led him to solitude, and his dispo- sition towards it increased daily. There were many men there and in the Morea who wished to join him; one to go to Asia, another to Egypt. But he preferred going alone over his old track, and to look upon his old objects, the seas and the mountains, the only acquaint" 56 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE ances that improved upon him. He was a good deal annoyed at this juncture by the persevering silence of his man of business, from whom he had never once heard since his departure from England, in spite of the critical situation of hi« atfairs; and yet, it is remarkable with how much patience he bore with circumstances, which certainly were calculated to excite the anger of one of less irritable disposition than his own. Whether it were owing to his having been left alone to his own reflections, or whether it be merely attribut- able to the uneven fluctuations of an unsettled mind, it appears that Lord Byron's thoughts at this time had some tendency towards a recovery from the morbid state of moral apathy which upon some important points he had evinced. He felt the advantage of looking at man- kind in the original, and not in the picture — of reading themselves, instead of the account of them in books; he saw the disadvantageous results of remaining at home with the narrow prejudices of an islander, and wished that the youth of our country were forced by law to visit our allied neighbours. He had conversed with French, Italians, Germans, Danes, Greeks, Turks, Armenians, &c. &c., and without losing sight of his ow n nation, could form an estimate of the countries and manners of others; but, at the same time, he felt gratified when he found that England was superior in any thing. This shows the latent spark of patriotism in his heart. He wished when he returned to England to lead a LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 57 quiet and retired life; in thinking of which, his mind involuntarily acknowledged that God knew, but arranged the best for us all. This acknowledgment seemed to call forth the remembrance of his acquired infidelity; znd, for the sake of consistency, he qualified it by giving it as the general belief, and he had nothing to oppose to such a doctrine, as upon the whole he could not com- plain of bis own lot. He was convinced that njankind did more harm to themselves than Satan could do to them. These are singular assertions for Lord Byron, and show that, at that time at least, his mind was in a state which might have admitted of a ditferent result than that which unhappily followed. 1 have already said, that Lord Byron took no notes of his travels, and he did not intend to publish any thing concerning them; but it is curious that, while he was in Greece, he made a determination that he would pub- lish no more on any subject — he would appear no more as an author — he was quite satisfied, if by his Satire he had shown to the critics and the world that he was something above what they supposed him to be, nor would he hazard the reputation that work might have procured him by publishing again. He had, indeed, otlfer things by him, as the event proved ; but he re- solved, that if they were worth giving to the public, it should be posthumously, that the reniembrance of him might be continued when he could no longer remember. Previous to his return to England, the proposal to 58 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE sell Newstead was renewed. His mother again showed her feeling upon the subject. His own feelings and determinations were unchanged. If it was necessary that money should be procured by the sale of land, he was willing to part with Rochdale. He sent Fletcher to England with papers to that effect. He, besides, had no reliance on the funds; but the main point of his objection to the proposal was, that tlie only thing that bound him to England was Newstead — if by any extra- ordinary event he should be induced to part with it, he was resolved to pags his life abroad. The expenses of living in the East, with all the advantages of climate and abundance of luxury, were trifling in comparison with what was necessary for competence in England. He was resolved that Newstead should not be sold: he had fixed upon the alternative — If Newstead remained with him, he would come back — if not, he never would. Lord Byron returned to England in the Volage fri- gate, on the 2d July, 1811, after having been absent two years exactly to a day. He experienced very simi- lar feelings of indifference in approaching its shores, to those with which he had left them. 'His health had not suffered, though it had been interrupted by two sh^rp fevers; he had, however, put himself entirely upon a vegetable diet, never taking either fish or flesh, and drinking no wine. LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 59 CHAPTER V. RETURN TO ENGLAND— HINTS FROM HORACE- HIS OPINION OF CHILDE HAROLD'S PILGRIMAGE. Early in July, 1811, I received a letter from Lord Byron, written on board the Volage frigate, at sea, on the 28th of June, in which, after informing me of his approaching return, he shortly recapitulates the princi- pal countries he has travelled through, and does not for- get to mention his swimming from Sestos to Abydos. He expected little pleasure in coming home, though he brought a spirit still unbroken. He dreaded the trou- ble he should have to encounter in the arrangement of his affairs. His Satire wag at that time in the fourth edition; and at that period, being able to think and act more coolly, he affected to feel sorry that he had written it. This was, however, an inmiense sacrifice to a vague sense of propriety, as is clear from his having even then in his possession an imitation of Horace's go RECOLLECTIONS OF THE Art of Poetry, ready for the press, which was nothing but a continuation of the Satire; and also from the sub- sequent preparation of a fifth edition of the very work which he professed to regret having written. Lord Byron frequently exercised his wit upon the subject of a young man of the name of Blackett — so poor that he worked in a garret, as a shoemaker, and did not procure sutficient employment to make hfe tole- rably comfortable; in spite of which be married, and had children. In his unoccupied hours he made verses as well as shoes. Some of these found their way into the hands of Mr. Pratt, himself a successful writer, whose benevolence and enthusiasm always equalled, and sometimes outstripped, his judgment. He immediately saw latent genius in those essays of an uneducated man, sought him, became confirmed in the opinion he had formed, and, doubly excited by the miserable state in which he found him, resolved to do him all the service that his pen and influence could eflfect publicly and pri- vately. He collected a volume of his writings sufficient to form the foundation of a subscription, which soon became so ample as to lower him from his attics. Pratt then persuaded Mr. Elliston, the actor, to be among his applauders and protectors. I remember hearing Mr. Elliston speak of a dramatic production of Black- ett's with infinite ardour, and of the author as a won- derful genius. I do not, however, think that he ever produced the piece. Other patrons and patronesses LIFE OF LORD BYRON. Q j appeared; and it is a curious incident that one of the latter, then a perfect stranger to Lord Byron, should afterwards become his wife. That lady and her parents were very kind to Blackett; invited him, as I was in- formed, to the country where their estates lie, and ac- commodated him witli a cottage to reside in. The pour fellow's constitution, either originally weak, or under- mined by the hardships of poverty, failed him at a very early period of life. After some stay at the cottage, he was advised to go and breathe the air of his native place, though situated more to the north. There, for a short time, he comforted his mother, and was comforted by her, and by the benevolent attentions Of several kind physicians. Upon his death, Mr' Pratt collected all his additional compositions; and, adopting the title which Mr. Southey had given to the works of Kirk White, published the whole of his writings together as " The Remains of Joseph Blackett,'' by which another considerable collection was made, and formed into a fund for the support of Blackett's surviving daughter. Genius, we well know, is not the exclusive inheri- tance of the affluent, but without a considerable degree of education it has not the means of displaying itself, especially in poetry, where the flowers of language are almost as essential as the visions of fancy. Rhetoric and grammar are not necessary in mechanics and ma- thematics, but they must be possessed by the Poet, whose title to genius may be overturned by the confusion of 62 RECOLLECTIONS OF TUE metaphors and the incongruities of tropes. I believe all the Poets of low origin partook, more or less, of the advantages of education. The last of these was Kirke White, whose learning and piety, however, I al- ways thought far superior to his poetical nerve. Biackett was deficient in common learning. I had more pleasure in observing the improvement of his condition than in the perusal of his writings; though, in spite of the ridi- cule of Lord Byron, and my Ionian friend, as Lord By- ron called Waller Wright, I saw, or was persuaded by Mr. Pratt's warmth to see, some sparkling of genius in the effusions of this young man. It was upon this that Lord Byron and a young friend of his were sometimes playful in conversation; and, in writing to me, "I see,^' says the latter " that Biackett the Son of Crispin and Apollo is dead. Looking into Boswell's Life of John- son the other day, I saw, ' We were talking about the famous Mr. Wordsworth, the poetical Shoemaker;' — Now, I never before heard that there had been a Mr. Wordsworth a Poet, a Shoemaker, or a famous man; and I dare say you have never heard of him. Thus it will be with Bloomfield and Biackett — their names two years after their death will be found neither on the rolls of Curriers' Hall nor of Parnassus. Who would think that any body would be such a blockhead as to sin against an express proverb, 'Ne sutor ultra crepidam!* But spare him, ye Critics, his follies are past, For the Cobler is come, as he ought, to his lasi. LIFE OF LORD BYRON. gg Which two lines, with a scratch under last, to shew where the joke lies, I beg that you will prevail on Miss Milbank to have inserted on the tomb of her departed Blackett." In my reply, I said, "With respect to Blackett, whatever you may think of his presumption in attempting to ascend Parnassus, you cannot blame him for descending from a garret to a drawing-room; for changing starvation and misery for good food and flat- tering attention; an unwilling apothecary, for physicians rivalling one another in solicitude and disinterested at- tendance; which change, I can assure you, is nothing more than literal truth." This produced the following rejoinder: " You seem to me to put Blackett's^ase quite in the right light: — to be sure any one would rise if he could, and any one has a right to make the effort; but then any one, on the other hand, has a right to keep the aspirant down if he thinks the man's pretensions ill-founded. I do not laugh at Blackett, but at those who flattered him. He, poor fellow, was perfectly right, if he could find protectors, to gain them, either by verse- making or shoe-making. Indeed, he was right in trying the former, as by far the most easy and expeditious of the two. Were a regular bred author, a gentleman of education, to write like them, their verses would not be tolerated. But every one is in a stare of admiration that a cobler or a tinker should be able to rhyme at all We gaze at them, not at their poetry, which is like the crabs found in the heart of a rock: (J4 KKCOLI-ECTIONS OF THE ' The tliiiip; wc know is ncillK-r r'u h nor rave, Hut wonder how the ilcvil it got there' Some applaud liie prodigy out of sheer bad taste; tliey do not know tliat his nonsense is nonsense; others out of pure hiunanity and goodness of heart. The first are such people as Prait and Capel LolFl: the second, such critics as yourself, my dear Sir. IJut this is, as I said before, a piece of injustice to men of education, who may sweat, strain, and labour, and, when they have done their best, hear their own qualitUations quoted against them: — The world says, 'Mr. ought to have known better — J wonder a man of his education should i^u\ so wretchedly.' You must not bring G * * against me, nor a much greater man, Burns, because the one was a cobler, and the other a ploughman: for, reading their verses, we never think of the poet; no, we oidy are intent upon and admire the poetry; which would have delighted us had it been written by Dryden, or Gay, or any other great name. In the other case, we ought to content ourselves with saying, ' There goes a wonderful cobler.' It is folly and falsehood to say, ' Look at that poet, he was a cobler once.' It is very true that he was a cobler once; but it is not true that he is a poet now. Shall I tell you, however, to what the reputation of this sort of men is owing.* Doubtless it is to the vanity of those who choose to set up for pa- trons, and who, because men of sense and character LIFE OP LORD BYRON. g5 would scorn their protection, look out for little spark- lings of talent in the depth and darkness of cellars and stalls, and having popped upon something to their mind, stamp it with their own seal of merit to pass current with the world. You know a man of true genius will not suffer himself to«be patronized; but a patron is the life and soul and existence of your surprising fellows. The only legitimate patroji is the respectable bookseller, and he will not take a cobler's verses, unless they are brought to him by some Maecenas who will promise to run all risks." Upon receiving Lord Byron's letter from on-board the Volage, I wrote him the following: — • "1 called this morning at Reddish's Hotel, with the hope of hearing something of you, since which your let- ter, written at sea, has been delivered to me. On Mon- day I trust I shall have the pleasure of welcoming you in person back to England. I hope you will find more pleasure in it than you seem to promise yourself. I pity you indeed for the bustle that awaits you in the arrange- ment of your affairs. I wish you would allow me to re- conmiend to you a gentleman whom I have long known; a man of the strictest honour; a man of business; and one of the best accountants in the kingdom. He would, I am confident, save you a world of trouble and. a world of money. I know how much he has done for others, (J(j RECOLLECTIONS OF THE who, biit for him, would have been destroyed by the harpies of extortion. I will tell you more of him when ue meet, unless you should think I have already taken sufficient liberty, in which case 1 should only beg you to forget it for the sake of my intention. I rejoice to hear that you are prepared for the press. I hope to have you in pro's^ as well as verse by and by. You will find your Satire not forgotten by the public: it is going fast through its fourth edition, and I cannot call that a middling run. Some letters have passed between Hob- house and me. His account of my son was truly gra- tifying to me. He is a fortunate lad. I wish you had touched at Cadiz, in your way home. George Byron and he I find are in correspondence." On the 15th of July I had the pleasure of shaking hands with him at Rcddish's Hotel, in St. James's-street. I thought his looks belied the report he had given me of his bodily health, and his countenance did not beto- ken melancholy, or displeasure at his return. He was very animated in the account of his travels, but assured me he had never had the least idea of writing- them. He said he believed satire to be his forte, and to that he had adhered, having written, during his stay at different places abroad, a paraphrase of Horace's Art of Poetry, which would be a good finish to English Bards and Scotch Reviewers; forgetting the regret which, in his last letter, he had expressed to me for having written it. LIFE OF LORD BYRON. g7 He seemed to promise himself additional fame from it, and I undertook to superintend its publication, as I had done that of the Satire. I had chosen the hour ill for my visit, and we had hardly any time to converse unin- terrupted!} ; he therefore engaged me to breakfast with him the next morning. In the mean time I looked over the Paraphrase, which I had taken home with me, and I must say I was grievously disappointed. Not that the verse was bad, or the images of the Roman poet badly adapted to the limes; but a muse much inferior to his might have produced them in the smoky atmosphere of London, whereas he had been roaming under the cloud- less skies of Greece, on sites where every step he took might have set such a fancy as hi^ " in fine phrenzies rolling." But the poem was his, and the affection he had acquired in my heart was undiminished. The following lines are inserted as a fair specimen of it. It began thus: — " Who would not laugh, if Lawrence, hir'd to grace His costly canvass with each flatter'd face, Abus'd his art, till Nature with a blush Saw Cits grow Centaurs underneath his brush ? Or should some limner join, for show or sale, A maid of honour to a mermaid's tail ; Or low D*** (as once the world has seen) Degrade God's creature's in his graphic spleen — Not all that forced politeness which defends Fools in their faults, could gag his grinning friends. 65 KECOI.LECTIONS OF THE Believe me, Mosohus, like that picture seem* The book which, sillier than a sick man's dreams, Displays a crowd of figures incomplete, Poetic night-mares without head or feet. Poets and painters, as all artists know, May shoot a little with a lengthen'd bow ; We claim this mutual mercy for our task, ^nd grant in turn the pardon which we ask ; But make l}^^ monsters spring from gentle dams — Birds breed not vipers, tigers nurse not lambs. A laboured long exordium sometimes tends (Like patriot speeches) but to paltry ends ; And nonsense in a lofty note goes down^ As pertness passes with a legal gown : Thus many a bard describes in pompous strain The clear brook babbling through the goodly plain; The groves of Granta, and her Gothic halls. King's Coll. — Cam's stream— stain'd windows, and old walls ; Or in advent'rous numbers neatly aims To paint a rainbow, or — the river Thames.* You sketch a tree, and so perhaps may shine; But daub a shipwreck like an alehouse sign : Why place a Vase, which dwindling to a Pot, You glide down Grub-street, fasting and forgot ? Laughed into Lethe by some quaint review, Whose wit is never troublesome — till true. » " Where pure description holds the place of sense." — Pom LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 69 In fine, to whatsoever you aspire, Let it at least be simple and entire. The greater portion of the rhyming tribe (Give ear, my friend, for thou hast been a scribe) Are led astray by some peculiar lure ; I labour to be brief — become obscure : One feeds while following elegance too fast ; Another soars — inflated with bombast : Too low a third crawls on — afraid to fly, He spins his subject to satiety; Absurdly varying, he at last engraves Fish in the woods, and boars beneath the waves I Unless your care's exact, your judgment nice. The flight from folly leads but into vice: None are complete, all wanting in some part, Like certain tailors, limited in art — For coat and waistcoat Slowshears is your man ; But breeches claim another artisan.* — Now this to me, I own, seems much the same As Vulcan's feet to bear Apollo's frame ; Or, with a fair complexion, to expose Black eyes, black ringlets, and a bottle nose I Dear authors ! suit your topics to your strength. And ponder well your subject and its length ; Nor lift your load until you're quite aware What weight your shoulders will or will not bear ; • Mere common mortals were commonly content with one tailor and one bill ; but the more finished gentlemen found it impossible to confide their lower garments to the makers of their body-clothes. I speak of the be- ginning of 1809 ; what reform may have since taken place I neither know nor desire to know. 70 KECOLLECTIONS OF THE But lucid Order and Wit's siren voice Await the poet skilful in his choice ; With native eloquence he soars along, Grace in his thoughts and music in his song. — Let judgment teach him wisely to combine With future parts the now omitted line : This shall the author choose, or that reject Precise in style, and cautious to select. Nor slight applause will candid pens afford The dex'trous coiner of a wanting word. Then fear not, if 'tis needful, to produce Some term unknown, or obsolete in use : As Pitt* has furnished us a word or two. Which Lexicographers declined to do ; So you, indeed, with care (but be content To take this license rarely) may invent. New words find credit in these latter days, Adroitly grafted on a Gallic phrase ; What Chaucer, Spenser did, we scarce refuse To Dryden's or to Pope's maturer muse. If you can add a little, say, why not. As well as William Pitt, and Walter Scott ? Since they by force of rhyme and force of lungs, Enriched our island's ill-united tongues ; 'Tis then — and shall be — lawful to present Reforms in writing as in Parliament. As forests shed their foilage by degrees, So fade expressions, which in season please ; * Mr. Pitt was liberal in his additions to our Parliamentary Tongue, as may be seen in many publications, particularly the Edinburgh Review. LIFE OF LORD BYRON. ^l And we and ours, alas, are due to fate, And \yorks and words but dwindle to a date. Though as a monarch nods, and commerce calls. Impetuous' rivers stagnate in canals; Though swamps subdued, and marshes dried, sustain The heavy ploughshare, and the yellow grain ; And rising ports, along the busy shore, Protect the vessel from old Ocean's roar; All, all must perish — but, surviving last, The love of letters half preserves the past : — Thus future years dead volumes shall revive, And those shall sink which now appear to thrive,* As custom arbitrates, whose shifting sway Our life and language must alike obey. The immortal wars which Gods and angels wage, Are they not shown in Milton's sacred page ? His strain will teach what numbers best belong To them€s celestial told in Epic song. The slow sad stanza will correctly j)aint The lover's anguish, or the friend's complaint; But which deserves the laurel— rliyme — or blank ? Which holds on Helicon the higher rank ? Let squabbling critics by themselves dispute This point, as puzzling as a chancery suit. Satiric rhyme first sprang from selfish spleen; You doubt — see Dryden, Pope, St. Patrick's DEAN.f • Old ballads, old.plays, and old women's stories, are at present in as much request as old wine or newspapers : in fact, this is the millennium of )lack-Ietter ; thanks to our Wemeus and Scotts! t M'Flecknoe, much of the Dunciad, and all Swift's lampooning ballads. U •72 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE Blank verse is now with one consent allied To tragedy, and rarely quits her side : Though mad Almanzor rhym'd in Dryden's daysj No sing-song hero rants in mqdern plays; • * While modest comedy her verse foregoes, To jest and/iuji* in very middling prose : Not that our Bens o.r Beaumonts show the worse. Or lose one poitit because they wrote in verse : But so Thalia ventures to appear — Poor Virgin ! damned some twenty times a-year. 'Tis hard to venture where our betters fail, Or lend fresh interest to a twice-told tale. And yet, perchance, 'tis wiser to prefer A hackneyed plot, than choose a new, and err. Yet copy not too closely, but record More justly thought for thought, than word for word Nor trace your prototype through narrow ways, But only follow where he merits praise. For you, young bard, whom luckless fate may lead To tremble on the nod of all who read, Ere your first score of Cantos tome unrolls. Beware — for God's sake don't begin like Bowles If * With all the vulgar applause and critical abhorrence o{ puns, they have Aristotle on their side, who permits them to orators, and gives them conse- quence by a grave disquisition. f About two years ago, a young man, named Townsend, was announced by Mr. CtrMBEiiLANu (in a Review since deceased) as being engaged in an epic poem, to be entitled "Armageddon." The plan and specimen promise much ; but I hope neither to offend Mr. T. or his friends, by recommend- ing to his attention the lines of Horace to which these rhymes allude. If Mr, T. succeeds in his undertaking, as there is reason to hope, how much LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 73 "Awake a louder and a loftier strain*' — And pray — what follows from his boiling brain ? He sinks to Southey's level in a trice, Whose Epic mountains never fail in mice. Not so of yore awoke your mighty sire The tempered warblings of his master lyre. Soft as the gentler breathing of the lute, *' Of man's first disobedience and the fruit" He speaks, but as his subject swells along, Earth, heaven, and Hades echo with the song. Still to the midst of things he hastens on, As if we witnessed all already done ; will the world be indebted to Mr. Cumberland for bringing him before the public. But till the eventful day arrives, it may be doubted whether the premature display of his plan (sublime as the ideas confessedly are) has not, by raising expectation too high, or diminishing curiosity by developing his argument, rather incurred the hazard of injuring Mr. T.'s future prospects. Mr. Cumberland (whose talants I shall not depreciate by the humble tribute of my praise) and Mr. T. must not suppose me actuated by unworthy motives in this suggestion. I wish the author all the success he can wish himself, and shall be truly happy to see epic poetry weighed up from the bathos where it lies sunken with Southey, Cottle, Cowley, (Mrs. or Abra- ham) Ogllvie, Wilkie, Page, and all the " dull of past and present days." Even if he is not a Milton, he may be better than a Blackmore ; if not a Homer, an Antimachus. I should deem myself presumptuous, as a youn^ man, in offering advice, were it not addressed to one still younger. Mr. T. has the greatest difficulties to encounter ; but in conquering them he will find employment — in having conquered them — his reward. I know too well the " scribbler's scoff, the critic's contumely," and I am afraid time will t^ach Mr. T. to know them better. Those who succeed and those who do not must bear this alike, and it is hard to say which have most of it. I trust that Mr. Townsend's share will be from envy ,- he will soon know mankind well enough not to attribute this expression to malice. The above note wias written before the author was apprised of Mr, Cum- BEBiiANs's death. 74 liECOLLECTIONS OF THE Leaves on his path whatever seems too mean. To raise the subject or adorn the scene ; Gives, as each page improves upon the sight, Not smoke from brightness, but from darkness lighty And truth from fiction with such art compounds, We know not where to fix their several bounds. In not disparaging this poem, however, next day, I could not refrain from expressing some surprise that he had written nothing else: upon which he told me that he had occasionally written short poems, besides a great many stanzas in Spenser's measure, relative to the countries he had visited. "They are not worth troubling you with, but you shall have them all with you if you like/^ So came I by Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. He took it from a small trunk, with a number of verses. He said they had, been read but by one person, who had found very little to commend, and much to condemn: that he himself was of that opinion, and he was sure I should be so too. Such as it v,'as, however, it was at my service; but he was urgent that "The Hints from Horace" should be immediately put in train, which I promised to have done. How much he was mistaken as to my opi- nion, the following letter shows. He was going next morning to Harrow for a few days, but I was so delighted with his poem that I could not refrain from writing to him that very evening, the 16th of July. " You have written one of the most delightful poems LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 75 I ever read. If I wrote this in flattery, I should deserve your contempt rather than your friendship. Remember, I depend upon your considering me superior to it. I have been so fascinated wi h Childe Harold, that I have not been able to lay it down. I would almost pledge my life on its advancing the reputation of your poetical powers, and of its gaining you great honour and regard, if you will do me the credit and favour of attending to my suggestions respecting some alterations and omis- sions which I think indispensable. Not a line do I mean to offer. I already know your sentiment on that point — all shall be your own; but in having the magnanimity to sacrifice some favourite stanzas, you will perhaps have a little trouble, though indeed but a little, in con- necting the parts. I shall instantly put the poem into my nephew's hands to copy it precisely; and I hope, on Friday or Saturday morning, to take my breakfast with you, as I did this morning. It is long since I spent two hours so agreeably — not only your kind expressions as to myself, but the marked temperance of your mind, gave me extreme pleasure." Attentive as he had hitherto been to my opinions and suggestions, and natural as it was that he should be swayed by such decided praise, I was surprised to find that I could not at first obtain credit with Lord Byron for my judgment on Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. " It was any thing but poetry — it had been condemned by 76 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE. a good critic — had I not myself seen the sentences on the margins of the manuscript?" He dwelt upon the paraphrase of the Art of Poetry with pleasure; and the manuscript of that was given to Cawthorn, the publisher of the Satire, to be brought forth without delay. I did not, however, leave him so: before I quitted hiui I re- turned to the charge, and told him that I was so con- vinced of the merit of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, that as he had given it to me, I should certainly publish it, if he would have the kindness to attend to some corrections and alterations. He at length seemed impressed by my perseverance, and took the poem into consideration. He was at first unwilling to alter or omit any of the stanzas, but they could not be published as they stood. Besides several weak and ludicrous passages, unworthy of the poem, there were some of an offensive nature, which, on re- « flection, his own feeHngs convinced him could not with propriety be allowed to go into the world. These he undertook to curtail and soften; but he persisted in pre- serving his philosophical, free thinking stanzas, relative to death. I had much friendly, but unsuccessful con- test with him on that point, and I was obliged to be satisfied with the hypothetical but most beautiful stanza — Yet if, as holiest men have deem'd, there be A land of souls beyond that sable shore, &c. LIFE' OF LORD BYRON. 77 which, in the course of our contention, he sent me, to be inserted after the sceptical stanzas in the beginning of the Second Canto. He also sacrificed to me some harsh political reflections on the Government, and a lu- dicrous stanza or two which I thought injured the poem. I did all I could to raise his opinion of this composition, and I succeeded; but he varied much in his feelings about it, nor was he, as will appear, at his ease, until the world decided on its merit. He said again and again, that I was going to get him into a scrape with his old enemies, and that none of them would rejoice more than the Edinburgh Reviewers at an opportunity to humble him. He said I must not put his name to it. I entreat- ed him to leave it to me, and that I would answer for this poem silencing all his enemies. The publication of it being determined upon, my first thought respecting a publisher was to give it to Caw- thorn, as it appeared to me right that he should have it who had done so well with the Poet's former work; but Cawthorn did not then rank high among the brethren of the trade. I found that this had been instilled into Lord Byron's ear since his return to England, probably at Harrow. I was sorry for it; for instead of looking for fashionable booksellers, he should, as Pope did, have made his bookseller the most fashionable one, and this he could easily have done. He thought more modestly of himself, and said he wished I would offer it to Miller, of Albemarle-street. " Cawthorn had The Hints from 78 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE Horace — he always meant them for him, and the Poems had better be piibhshed by different booksellers." I could not accord in the opinion, but l yielded of course to his wish. It was but a step; I carried it up to Miller, and left it with him, enjoinino: him the strictest secrecy as to the author. In a few days, by appointment, I call- ed again to knovvhis decision. He declined publishing' it. He noticed all my objections; his critic had pointed them out; but his chief objeciion he stated to be the manner in which Lord Elgin was treated in the poem. He was his bookseller and publisher. When I reported this to Lord Byron, his scruples and apprehensions of injuring his fame returned; but I overcame them, and he gave me leave to publish with whom I pleased, re- questing me only to keep in mind what he had said as to Cawthorn, and also the refusal of Longman's house to publish his Satire. Next to these I wished to oblige Mr. Murray, who had then a shop opposite St. Dunstan's church, in Fleet-street. Both he and his father before him had published for myself He had expressed to me his regret that I did not carry him the English Bards and Scotch Reviewers. But this was after its success — I think he would have refused it in its embryo state. After Lord Byron's arrival, I had met him, and he said he wished I would obtain some work of Ihis Lordship's for him. I now had it in my ppwer, and I put Childe Harold's Pilgrimage into his bands, telling him that Lord Byron had made me a present of it, and that I expected LIFE OF LORD BYltON. 79 that he would make a very hberal agreement with me for it. He look some days to consider, during which time he consulted his literary advisers, among whom, no doubt, was Mr. Gifl'ord, who was the Editor of the Quarterly Review. That Mr. Gifford gave a favourable opinion I afterwards learned from Mr. Murray himself; but the objections I have stated stared him in the face, and he was kept in suspense between the desire of pos- sessing a work of Lord Byron's, and the fear of an un- successful speculation. We came to this conclusion; that he should print, at his expense, a handsome quarto edition, the profits of which I should share equally with him, and that the agreement for the copyright should depend upon the success of this edition. When I told this to Lord Byron he was highly pleased, but still doubt- ed the copyright being worth my acceptance; promising, however, if the poem went through the edition to give me other poems to annex to Chiide Harold. These preliminaries being settled, I persisted in my attacks on the objectionable parts of this delightful work, now for- mally become mine. He wrote an introductory stanza, for the second originally stood first, polished some lines, and became in general far more condescending and com- pliant than I ever flattered myself I should find him; which I attributed to his clearly perceiving how sincerely I loved him. Finding that I could gain nothing in re- spect to the sceptical stanzas, the conciliatory one I have already mentioned not having been written at that time. 30 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE I drew up a regular protest against them, and inclosed it to him in a short letter just before he left town, which departure, though always intended to be soon, was at last, very sudden, in consequence of an express from Newstead Abbey, by which he was informed that his mother's life was despaired of, and urged to lose no time in coming lo the Abbey. He instantly set off post with four horses, but, alas! she did not live to embrace him. " Within is my formal protest against the sceptical stanzas of your poem. You have seen no symptoms of a Puritan in me; I have seen none of a Scoffer in you. — You, [ know, can endure my sincerity; l should be sorry if I could not appreciate yours. You have the uncom- mon virtue of not being anxious to make others think as you do on religious topics; I, less disinterested, have the greatest desire, not without great hope, that you may one day think as I do/' ENCLOSURE. 7%t* /iroiest of R. C, Dallas agaifisf certain See/ideal Stanzas in the Foem entitled C/iilde Harold's Pilgrimage. Dissentient — Because — Although among feeble and corrupt men religions may take their turn; although Jupiter and Mahomet, and error after error, may enter the brain ol* misguided mortals, it does not follow that there is not a LIFE OF LORD BYRON. gj true religion, or that the incense of the heart ascends in vain, or that the faith of a Christian is buih on reeds. Because — Ahhough bound for a ternri to the earth, it is natural to hope, and rational to expect, existence io another world ; since, if it be not so, the noblest attributes of God, justice and goodness, must be subtracted from our ideas of the great Creator; and although our senses make us acquainted with the chemical decomposition of our bodies, it does not follow that he who has power to create has not power to raise; or that he who had the will to give life and hope of imujortality, has not the will to fultil his virtual, not to say actual, promise. Because — Although a skull well affords a subject for moralizing; although in its worm-eaten, worm-disdained state, it is so far from being a temple worthy of a God, that it is unworthy of the creature whom it once served as the recess of wisdom and of wit; and although no saint, sage, or sophist can refit it,— rit does not follow that God's power is limited, or that what is sown in corrup- tion may not be raised in incorrnption, that what is sown a natural body may not be raised a spiritual body. Because — The same authority, Socrates, cited to prove how unequal the human intellect is to fathom the designs of Omniscience and Omnipotence, is one of the strongest in favour of the immortality of the soul. Because — Although there is good sense and a kind intention expressed in these words ; — " I am no sneerer at thy phantasy," "Thou pitiest me, alas! I envy thee/' Q2 UECOLLECTIONS OP THE — and "I ask thee not to prove a Saducee;" yet the in- tention is counteracted by the sentiments avowed, and the example pubhshed, by wliich the young and the wavering may be detained in the wretchedness of doubt, or confirmed in the despair of unbelief. Because — I think of the author of the poem as Pope did of Garth, of whom he said, " Garth is a christian and does not know it." Consequently, I think that he will, one day, be sorry for publishing such opinions. LIl-E OF LOUD BYRON. 83 CHAPTER VI. OPINIONS AND FEELINGS OF LORD RYRON AFTER • THE DEATH OF HIS MOTHER. At every step which I take in my task of submitting to the pubHc my Recollections of Lord Byron, 1 feel a deeper regret at the unfortunate necessity which de- prives them of his Correspondence. The letters, which I received from him while he was at Newstead, give a complete picture of his mind, under circumstances pe- culiarly calculated to call forth its most interesting fea- tures. Our correspondence was kept up without in- terruption. Upon arriving at Newstead he found that his mother had breathed her last. He suffered much from this loss, and the disappointment of not seeing her before her death; and while his feelings were still very acute, within a few days of his arrival at the Abbey, he received the intelligence that Mr. M***, a very inti- mate friend of his friend Mr. Hobhouse, and one whom he highly estimated himself, had been drowned in the S4, llECOLLECTIONS OF THE Cam. He had not long before heard of the deatli ol' his schoolfellow, Wiugfield, at Coimbra, to whoiii he was much attached. He wrote ine an account of these events in a short but atfecling letter. They had all died within a month, he having Just heard from all three, but seen none. The letter Irom Mr. M*** had been written the day previous to his death. He could not restore them by regret, and theielbre, with a sigh to the departed, he struggled to return to' the heavy routine of life, in the sure expectation that all would one day have their repose. He felt that his grief was selfish. He wished to think upon any subject except death — he was satiated with that. Having always four skulls in his library, he could look on them without emotion; but he could not allow his imagination to take off the fleshy covering from those of his friends, with- out a horrible sensation ; and he thought that the Ro- mans were right in burning their deceased friends. I wrote to him, and said: " On my return home last night, I received your let- ter, which renewed in my mind some of the most pain- ful ideas which for many years accompanied me, or took place of all others; which, in spite of Philosophy, and, yes, my lord, in spite of Religion, rendered my life wretched; and which time, in bringing me nearer to eternity, has softened to such a degree, that uey are now far from being painful. Rut you deprecate the LIFE OF I.ORD BYRON. §5 subject, and I will not enlarge upon it, though one I take some delight in. You have, indeed, had enough within a very short time, to make you prefer any other: yet I must not lose the opportunity of saying once more, what I imagine may have been said a thousand times before, that is, how cruel a present is a reflecting mind, if all existence terminates with life! I feel much for your friend Hobhouse. I supposed him embarked for Ireland, en mililaire, at the time that I saw the ac- count of Mr. M***'s fate in the papers. Resignation, I must own, is a difficult virtue when the heart is deeply affected — at the same time, it is the part of every man of sense to cultivate it, and to be indebted for it rather to his reason, or his religion, than to the influence of lime. I condemn myself, perhaps; but. the argument may be of service to strong and active minds. With respect to your friend Wingfield, it must be some con- solation to you to have consecrated his memory in the stanzas you have since inserted in your Poem; and if there should be a meeting hereafter, as alluded to by the half-hoping stanza which you have added, let me flatter myself to please me, the pleasure with him will not be a little heightened by that memorial. The funeral pile, tl^e ashes preserved by the asbestos, and inurned, are circumstances more pleasing to the imagination than a box, a hole, and worms ; but when the vivifying principle has ceased to act, let me say, when the soul is separated from the chemical elements gg ItECOLLECTIONS OP THE which constitute body, Reason says it is of little import- ance what becomes of them. Even in burning, we cannot save all the body from mixing with other natures : by the flames much is carried off into the atmosphere, and falls again to the earth to fertilize it, and sustain worms. Nay, in the entombed box, perhaps, the dust is at last more purely preserved; for though, in the course of decomposition, it gives a temporary existence to a loathsome creature, yet, in time, the rioted worm dies too, and gives back to the mass of dust the share of substance which it borrowed for its own form. I am afraid this language borders on the subject I meant to avoid.^' Lord Byron disclaimed the acuteness of feeling I at- tributed to him, because, though he certainly felt un- happy, he was nevertheless attacked by a kind of hys- terical merriment, or rather a laughing without merri- ment, which he could neither understand nor overcome, and which gave him no relief while the spectator would think him in good spirits. He frequently talked of M*** as of a person of gigantic intellect — he could by n^ language do justice to his abilities — all other men were pigmies to him. He loved Wingfield indeed more — he was an earlier and a dearer friend, and one whom he could never regret loving — but in talent he knew no equal to M***. In him he had to mourn the loss of a guide, philosopher ; and friend, while in Wingfield he LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 87 lost a friend only, though one before whom he could have wished to have gone his long journey. Lord Byron's language concerning Mr. M*** was equally strong and remarkable. He affirmed that it was not in the mind of those who did not know him, to conceive such a man; that his superiority was too great to excite envy — that he was awed by hinl — that there was the mark of an immortal creature in tvhatever he did, and yet he was gone — that such a man should have been given over to death, so early in life, bewildered him. In re- ferring to the honours M*** acquired at the University, he declared that nevertheless he was a most confirmed atheist, indeed offensively so, for he. did not scruple to avow his opinions in all companies. Once only did Lord Byron ever express, in distinct terms to me, a direct attack upon the tenets of the Christian Religion; I postponed my answer, saying upon this I had much to write to him. He afterwards re- minded me of my having said so, but at the same time, begged me not to enter upon metaphysics, upon which he nevier could agree with me. In answering him, I said, " If I have not written the much with which I have threatened you, it has been owing, not solely to my avocations, but partly to a consciousness of my sub- ject being too weighty for me, and not adapted to a hasty discussion. A passage in your letter of the 7th of this month, beginning : ' Are you aware that your re- ligion is impious ?' &c., incited me to a determination, Y gg UECOLLrECTIONS OF THE in spite of the indolence I begin to feel on argumentative topics, to call you a purblind philosopher, and to break a lance with you in defence of a cause on which I rest so much hope. I still dread that my feebleness may be laid to the account, and esteemed the feebleness of the cause itself. " By proposing to drop metaphysics you cut down the much I meditated. I will not pursue them at present, though 1 think them the prime subjects of intellectual enjoyment. But, though I drop my point, instead of couching my lance, I do not mean to say that I will not yet try my strength. Meanwhile, though neither Mr. jj # * 'g glow, nor my fervour, has wrought conviction hitherto; this I am sure of, that you will not shut your mind against it, whenever your understanding begins to feel ground to rest upon. I compare such philosophers as you, and Hume, and Gibbon, ( — I have put you into company that you are not ashamed of — ) to mariners wrecked at sea, buffeting the waves for life, and at last carried by a current towards land, where, meeting with rugged and perpendicular rocks, they decide that it is impossible to land, and, though some of their compan- ions point out a firm beach, exclaim — ' Deluded things? there can be no beach, unless you melt down these tre- mendous rocks — no, our ship is wrecked, and to the bottom we must go — all we have to do is to swim on, till Fate overwhelms us.^ — You do not deny the depra- vity of the human race — well, that is one step gained — it is allowing that we are cast away— it is, figuratively. LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 89 our shipwreck. Behold us, then, all scattered upon the ocean, and all anxious to be saved — all, at least, willing to be on terra jirma; the Humes, the Gibbons, the Vol- taires, as well as the Newtons, the Lockes, the John- sons, &c. The latter make for the beach; the former exhaust their strength about the rocks, and sink, declar- ing Ihem insurmountable. The incarnation of a Deity! vicarious atonement! the innocent sutfering for the guilty! the seeming inconsistencies of the Old Testa- ment, and the discrepancies of the new! &c. &c.! are rocks which I am free to own are not easily melted down; but I am certain that they may be viewed from a point on the beach in less deterring forms, lifting their heads into the clouds indeed, yet adding sublimity to the prospect of the shores on which we have landed, and by no means impeding our progress upon it. In less metaphorical language, my lord, it appears to me, that freethinkers are generally more eager to strengthen their objections than solicitous for conviction; and prefer wandering into proud inferences, to pursuing the evi- dences of facts; so contrary to the example given to us in all judicial investigations, where testimony precedes reasoning and is the ground of it. The corruption of human nature being self-evident, it is very natural to in- quire the cause of that corruption, and as natural to hope that there may be a remedy for it. The cause and the remedy have been stated- JQ{) KECOLLECTiONS OF THE " How are we to ascertain the truth of them ? Not by arguing mathematically, but by first examining the proofs adduced; and if they are satisfactory, to use our reasoning powers, as far as they will go, to clear away the difficulties which may attend them. This is the only mode of investigating with any hope of conviction. It is, to return to my metaphor, the beach on which, we may find a footing, and be able to look around us; on which beach, I trust, I shall one day or other see you tak- ing your stand. I have done — and pray observe, that I have kept my word — I have not entered on metaphysics on the subject of Revelation. I have merely stated the erroneous proceeding of freethinking Philosophy; and, on the other hand, the natural and rational proceeding of the mind in the inquiry after truth: — the conviction must, and I am confident will, be the operation of your own mind." Lord Byron noticed, indeed, what I had written, but in a very discouraging manner. He would have nothing to do with the subject — we should all go down together he said, " So," quoting St. Paul, " let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die;" — he felt satisfied in his creed, for it was better to sleep than to wake. Such were the opinions which occasionally manifested themselves in this unhappy young man, and which gave me a degree of pain proportioned to the affection I could not but feel for him; while my hopes of his ultimately breaking from the trammels of infidelity, which were LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 91 never relinquished, received from time to time fresh ex- citement from some expressions that appeared to me to have an opposite tendency. He frequently recurred to his playful raillery upon the subject of my co-operation in the murder, as he called it, of poor Blackett. Upon one occasion, he mentioned him in opposition to Kirke White, whom, setting aside what he called his bigotry, he classed with Chatterton. He expressed wonder that White was so little known at Cambridge, where he said nobody knew any thing about him until his death. He added, that for himself, he should have taken pride in making his acquaintance, and that his very prejudices were calculated to render him respectable. Such occa- sional expressions as these, in spite of the inconsistency which they displayed, furnished food for my hope that I should one day see him sincerely embracing Christianity, and escaping from the vortex of the Atheistical society, in which, having entered at all, it was only wonderful to me that he was so moderate in his expressions as in general he had hitherto been. He told me that both his friend, Juvenal Hodgson, and myself, had beset him up- on the subject of religion, and that my warmth was no- thing, compared to his fire — his reward would surely be great in heaven, he said, if he were half as careful in the matter of his own salvation, as he was voluntarily anxious concerning his friends. Lord Byron added, that he gave honour to us both, but conviction to neither. The mention of Kirke White brought to his mind an 9^ RECOLLECTIONS OF THE embryo epic poet who was at Cambridge, Mr. Townsend, who had pubhshed the plan and specimen of a work, to be called "Armageddon." Lord Byron's opinion of this is already given in his own note, to a line in his Hints from Horace (see page 72); but in referring to him, he thought that perhaps his anticipating the Day of Judg- ment was too presumptuous — it seemed something like instructing the Lord what he should do, and might put a captious person in mind of the hne, " And fools rush in where angels fear to tread." This he said, without wishing to cavil himself, but other people would; he nevertheless hoped, that Mr. Townsend would complete his work, in spite of Milton. Lord Byron's moral feelings were sometimes evinced in a manner which the writings and opinions of his later life render remarkable. When he was abroad, he was informed that the son of one of his tenants had seduced a respectable young person in his own station in life. On this he expressed his opinion very strongly. Although he felt it impossible strictly to perform what he con- ceived our first duty, to abstain from doing harm, yet he thought our second duty was to exert all our power to repair the harm we may have done. In the particular case in question, the parties ought forthwith to marry, as they were in equal circumstances — if the girl had been the inferior of the seducer, money would be even then an insufficient compensation. He would not sane- LIFE OP LORD BYRON. 93 tion in his tenants what he would not do himself. He had, indeed, as God knew, committed many excesses, but as he had determined to amend, and latterly kept to his determination, this young man must follow his ex- ample. He insisted that the seducer should restore the unfortunate girl to society. The manner in which Lord Byron expressed his par- ticular feelings respecting his own life, was melancholy to a painful degree. At one time, he said, that he was about to visit Cambridge, but that M * * * was gone, and Hobhouse was also absent; and except the person who had invited him, there was scarcely any to welcome him. From this his thoughts fell into a gloomy channel -^he was alone in the world, and only three-and-twenty; he could be no more than alone, when he should have nearly finished his course; he had, it was true, youth to begin again with, but he had no one with whom to call back the laughing period of his existence. He was struck with the singular circumstance that few of his friends had had a quiet death; but a quiet life, he said, was more important. He afterwards acknowledged that he felt his life had been altogether opposed to propriety, and even decency; and that it was now become a dreary blank, with his friends gone, either by death or es- trangement. While he was still continuing at Newstead, he wrote me a letter, which affected me deeply, upon fiie occa- sion of another death with which he was shocked — he 94 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE lost one whom he had dearly loved in the more smiling season of his earlier youth; but he quoted — "I have almost forgot the taste of grief, and supped full of horrors/^ He could not then weep for an event which a few years before would have overwhelmed him. He appeared to be afflicted in youth, he thought, with the greatest unhappiness of old age, to see those he loved fall about him, and stand solitary before he was wither- ed. He had not, like others, domestic resources; and his internal anticipations gave him no prospect in time or in eternity, except the selfish gratification of living longer than those who were better. At this period he expressed great wretchedness; but he turned from him- self, and knowing that I was contemplating a retire- ment into the country, he proposed a plan for me, dic- tated by great kindness of heart, by which I was the more sensibly touched, as it occupied his time at such a moment. He wished me to settle in the little town of Southwell, the particulars of which he explained to me. Upon these subjects I wrote to him as follows, on the 27th of October. *'Your letter of the 11th made such an impression upon me, that I felt as if I had a volume to say upon it; yet, it is but too trjie, that the sensibility which vents itself in many words carries with it the appearance of aftectation, and hardly ever pleases in real life. The few sentences of your letter relative to the death of LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 95 friends, and to your feelings, excited in my mind no common degree of sympathy; but I must be content to express it in a common way, and briefly. Death has, indeed, begun to draw your attention very early. I hardly knew what it was, or thought of it till I went at the age of five-and-tweniy to reside in the West Indies, and there he began to show himself to me frequently. My friends, young and old, were carried to the grave with a rapidity that astonish- ed me, and I was myself in a manner snatched out of his grasp. This, and the other sad concomitants of a West Indian existence, determined me to adopt, at whatever loss, any alternative by which I might plant my family in England. Here I have grown old with- out seeing much of him near me, though when he has approached me it has been in his most dreadful form. I am led to these recollections from comparing your ex- perience at three-and-twenty with mine long after that age. Your losses, and in a country where health and life have more stable foundations than in torrid climates, have been extraordinary; and that too within the limit, I believe, of one or two years. I thank you for your confidential communication at the bottom of the stanza which so much delighted me. How truly do I wish that the being to whom that verse now belongs had lived, and lived yours! What your obligations to her would have been in that case is inconceivable; and, as it is, what a gratification would it be to me to believe, that 96 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE in her death she has left you indebted to her; to believe that these lines V ' Well — I will dream that we may meet ag;ain, And woo the vision to my vacant breast' — are not merely the glow of a poetic imagination, nor the fleeting inspiration of sorrow; but a well-founded hope, leading to the persuasion that there is another and a bet- ter world. Your reflections on the forlorn state of your existence are very painful, and very strongly expressed I con- fess I am at a loss how to preach comfort. It would be very easy for me to resort to common-places, and refer you to study and the enjoyment of the intellect; but I know too well that happiness must find its abode in the heart, and not in the head. Voltaire, who you know is no apostle with me, expresses this pleasingly: ' Est-il done vrai, grands Dieux ! il ne faut plus que j'aime I La foule des beaux arts, dont je veux tour a tour Remplir le vuide de moi-meme, N'est point encore assez pour remplaoer Tamour.' He evidently means love^ emphatically so called; but kind affections of every nature are sources of happiness, and more lasting ones than that violent flame, which, like the pure air of the chemist, when separated from common air, intoxicates, and accelerates the term of its LIRE OF LORD BYRON. 97 existence. Those affections are the only remedy I see for you. The more you lose, the more should you strive to repair your losses. At your age the door of friend- ship cannot be shut; but man, and woman too, is imper- fect: you must make allowances, and though human na- ture is in a sad state, there are many worthy of your regard. I am certain you may yet go through life sur- rounded by friends, — real friends, not — ' Flatterers of the festal hour, The heartless parasites of present cheer.' I am truly sorry for the wretchedness you are suffering, and the more, because I am certain of your not having any pathetic cant in your character. But while I think you have reason to be unhappy, I confide in the strength of your understanding, to get the better of the evils of life, and to enter upon a new pursuit of happiness. You see the volume will come, but believe me it comes from the heart. I thank you most kindly for that part of your letter which relates to my purposed retirement into the coun- try. You judge rightly that I should not wish to be en- tirely out of society, but my bent on this head is more on account of my family than myself; for I could live alone, that is alone with them. I often avoid company; but it has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life to §ee them coveted in society. Your account of South- 98 KECOLLECTIONS OP flTHE well delights nie; and the being within reach of the me^ tropolis would of itself outweigh the charm of the pic- turesque, though a charm, and a great one, it has. The being within a ride of you, however, is the decisive at- traction. I will, then, from this time keep Southwell in view for my retreat, and at a future day we will take our flight. I am going to dine with the Ionian to-day. He and Mrs. Wright carried me oif suddenly last night to the Haymarket to see Mathews, who performs no more in London this winter, for which I am sorry, as I am meditating another ordeal at the Lyceum, in which he might have been of use to me. Mr. Wright feels himself honoured in your desire of being personally ac- quainted with him, and I shall be proud of being the introducer of such friends. You think, no doubt, that I have communicated your poem to him, and you would not do me justice if you thought otherwise. He is the most intimate friend I have, though many years younger than njyself. We accord very generally in our opinions, and we do not differ as to Childe Harold. I meant to say something about the progress of the Poem, but I must postpone it. May peace and happiness await you.'' LIFE OP LORD BYRON. §0 CHAPTER VII. CHILDE HAROLD'S PILGRIMAGE, WHILE IN THE PRESS. It was not without great difficulty that I could induce Lord Byron to allow his new poem to be published with his name. He dreaded that the old enmity of the cri- tics in the north which had been envenomed by his Satire, as well as the Southern scribblers, whom he had equally enraged, would overwhelm his " Pilgrim- age." This was his first objection — his second was, that he was anxious the world should not fix upon him- self the character of Childe Harold. Nevertheless he said, if Mr. Murray positively required his name, and I agreed with him in opinion, he would venture; and therefore he wished it to be given as " By the Author of English Bards and Scotch Reviewers." He pro- mised to give me some smaller poems to put at the end; and though he originally intended his Remarks on the Romaic to be printed with the Hints from Horace, he lore. J 00 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE felt they would more aptly accompany the Pilgrimage. He had kept no journals while abroad, but he meant to manufacture some notes from his letters to his mother. The advertisement which he originally intemled to be prefixed to the poem was something diiltrent from the preface that appeared. The paragraph beginning " A Fictitious Character is introduced, for the sake of giv- ing some connexion to the piece, which, however, makes no pretensions to regularity," — was continued thus at first, but was afterwards altered. " It has been suggested to me by friends, on whose opinions I set a high value, that in the fictitious cha- racter of ' Childe Harold,' I may incur the suspicion of having drawn ' from myself This I beg leave once for all to disclaim. I wanted a character to give some connexion to the poem, and the one adopted suited my purpose as well as any other. In some very trivial par- ticulars, and those merely local, there might be grounds for such an idea; but in the main points, I should hope none whatever. My reader will observe, that when the author speaks in his own person, he assumes a very different tone from that of * The cheerless thing, the man without a friend.' I crave pardon for this egotism, which proceeds from my wish to discard aiiy probable iujputation of it to the text." LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 10| This it appears had been written before the death of his mother, and his mournful sojourn at Newstead after- wards. It was during that period that he sent me the advertisement, upon which he had interHned after his quotation of " The cheerless thing, the man without a friend," " at least till death had deprived him of his nearest connexions." While Childe Harold was preparing to be put into the printer's hands, Lord Byron was very anxious for the speedy appearance of the Imitation of Horace, with which Cawthorn was desirous of proceeding with all despatch, but which I was nevertheless most desirous of retarding at least, if not of suppressing altogether. Lord Byron wrote to me from Newstead several times upon the subject. I forbore to reply until I could send him the first proof of the Pilgrimage, when I wrote the following. " I saw Murray yesterday — if he has adhered to his intention, you will receive a proof of ' Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' before this letter. 'I am delighted with its appearance. Allowing you to be susceptible of the pleasure of genuine praise, you would have had a fine treat could you have been in the room with the ring of Gyges on your linger, while we were discussing the publication of the Poem ; not, perhaps, from what I or 102 BECOLLECTIONS OP THE Mr. Murray said, but from what he reported to have been said by Aristarchus, into whose hands the ' Childe' had somehow fallen between the time of Murray's ab- sence and return; at least, so sayeth the latter. This happening unknown to you, and, indeed, contrary to your intention, removes every idea of courting ap- plause; but, it is not a little gratifying to me to know that what struck me on the first perusal to be admira- ble, has also forcibly struck Mr. Gifford. Of your Satire he spoke highly; but this Poem he pronounces, not only the best you have written, but equal to any of the present age, allowing, however, for its being, unfi- nished, which he regrets. Murray assured me, that he expressed himself very warmly. With the fiat of such a judge, will not your muse be kindled to the comple- tion of a work, that would, if completed, irrevocably fix your fame? In your short preface you talk of add- ing concluding Cantos, if encouraged by public appro- bation: that is no longer necessary, for if Gifford approve who shall disapprove? In my last I begged you to devote some of your time to finishing this Poem, which I am proud of having instigated you to give pre- cedence before your ' Horatian Hints.' I may now re- peat my request with tenfold weight. You have ample time, for this is not the season for publishing, and it will be all the better for proceeding slowly through the press. How pleasantly then njay you overtake yourself; and, with some little sacrifices of opinion. LIFE OF LORD BYRON. JQ3 give the world a work that shall delight it, and at once set at defiance the pack of waspish curs that take plea- sure in barking at you. As for the subject it will grow under your hands — your letters to your mother wil[ bring recollections not only for notes but for the verse. — Greece is a never-failing stream — then the voyage home, the approach to England, the death (for the not identifying yourself with the travelling Childe is a wish not possible to realize) of friends, and particularly of your mother before you saw her; lastly, the scenes on your return to the ' vast and venerable pile,' with the Childe's resolution of taking his part earnestly in that assembly where his birth, by giving him a place, calls upon him to devote his time and 'talents to the good of his country. My eagerness carries me, perhaps, too far — I would give any thing to see you shining at once as a poet and a legislator. With respect to the sacrifice of opinion, I must explain myself: I am neither so absurd nor 90 indelicate as to express a wish that a man of under- standing should profess ought that is not supported by his own convictions. But, not to proclaim loudly opinions by which general feelings are harrowed, and which can- not possibly be attended with any good to the pro- claimer, — on the contrary, most likely with much injury, — is not only compatible with the best understanding, but is in some measure the result of it. Mr. Murray thinks that your sceptical stanzas will injure the circula- tion of your work. I will not dissemble that I am not \ a JQ4, RECOLLECTIONS OF THE of his opinion — I suspect it will rather sell the better for them : but I am of opinion, my dear Lord Byron, that they will hurt you ; that they will prove new stumbling- blocks in your road of life. At three and twenty, oh ! deign to court, what you may most honourably court, the general suffrage of your country. It is a pleasure that will travel with you through the long portion of life you have now before you. It is not subject to that satiety which so frequently attends most other pleasures. Live you must, and many, many years; and that suffrage would be nectar and ambrosia to your mind for all the time you live. To gain it, you have little more to do than to show that you wish it; and to abstain from out- raging the sentiments, prepossessions, or, if you will, pre- judices of those who form the generally estimable part of the community. Your boyhood has been marked with some eccentricities, but at three and twenty what may you not do ? Your Poem, when I first read it, and it is the same now, appeared to me an inspiration to draw forth a glorious finish. Yield a little to gain a great deal: what a foundation may you now lay for lasting fame, and love, and honour ! What jewels to have in your grasp ! I beseech you, seize the opportunity. I am glad you have agreed to appear in the title-page. It is impossible to remain an instant unknown as the author, or to separate the Pilgrim from the Traveller. This being the case, I am convinced that your name alone is far preferable to giving it under your descrip- LIFE OF LORD BYRON. IQ5 tion as " the author of English Bards and Scotch Re- viewers;" because, in the first place, your rank dignifies the page, whilst the execution of the work reflects no common lustre on your rank; and, in the next place, you avoid appearing to challenge your old foes, which you would be considered as doing by announcing the author as their Satirist; and certainly your best defiance of them in future will be never to notice either their censure or their praise. You will observe that the in- troductory stanza which you sent me is not printed : Mr. Murray had not received it when this sheet was printed as a specimen : it will be easily put into its place. As you read the proofs you will, perhaps, find a line here and there which wants polishing,* and a word which may be advantageously changed. If ^ny strike me I shall, without hesitation, point them out for your consi' deration. In page 7, four lines from the bottom, ' Yet deem him not from this with breast of steely' js not only rough to the ear, but the phrase appears to me inaccurate: the change of him to ye, and ivith to his might set it right. In the last line of the following stanza, page 8, you use the word central: I doubt whe- ther even poetical license will authorize your extending the idea of your proposed voyage to seas beyond the equator, when the Poem no where shows that you had it in contemplation to cross, or even approach, within 106 KECOLLECTIONS OF THE many degrees, the Summer tropic line. I am not sure, however, that this is not hypercriticism, and it is ahiiost a pity to alter so beautiful a line.* I believe I told you that my friend Waller Wright wrote an Ode for the Duke of Gloucester's Installation as Chancellor of the University at Cambridge. Some of the leading men of Granta have had it printed at the University Press. He has given me two copies, and begs I will malie one of them acceptable to you, only observing that the motto was not of his chusing. I believe the sheet may be overweight for one frank, I shall therefore unsew it, and put it under two covers, not doubting that you will think it worthy of re-stitching when you receive it. I gave Murray your note on M ^ ^, to be placed in the page with Wingfield. He must have been a very extraordi- nary young man, and I am sincerely sorry for H**, for whom I have felt an increased regard ever since I heard of his intimacy with my son at Cadiz, and that they were mutually pleased. I lent his miscellany the other day to Wright, who speaks highly of the poetical talent dis- played in it. I will search again for the lofty genius you ascribe to Kirke White: I cannot help thinking I have allowed him all his merit. I agree that there was much cant in his religion, sincere as he was. This is a pity, for religion has no greater enemy than cant. As to genius, surely he and Chatterton ought not to be named * It is true the travellers did not cross the line, but before Lord Byron left England, India had been thought of. LIFE OF LOUD BYRON. JQ^ in the same day; but, as I said, I will look again. I do not know how Blackett's posthumous stock goes off; I have not seen or heard from Pratt since you left town. Be that, however, as it may, I still boldly deny being in any degree accessary to his murder. — George Byron left us in the beginning of the week." *' P. S. Casting my eyes again over the printed stanzas, something struck me to be amiss in the last line but one of page C — ' Nor sought a friend to counsel or condole.' From the context I think you must have written, or meant, — I have not the MS. — Nor sought he friend," 8cc. otherwise grammar requires—' Or seeks a friend,' &c. These are straws on the surface, easily skimmed off." Previous to receiving this letter, Lord Byron had written to Mr. Murray, forbidding him to show the manuscript of Childe Harold to Mr. Gifford, though he had no objection to letting it be seen by any one else; and he was exceedingly angry when he found that his instructions had come too late. He was afraid that Mr. Gifford would think it a trap lo extort his applause, or a hint to get a favourable review of it in the Quarterly. He was very anxious to remove any impression of this J 03 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE kind that might have remained on his mind. His praise, he said, meant nothing, for he could do no other than be civil to a man who had extolled him in every possible manner. His expressions about Mr. Murray's deserts for such an obsequious squeezing out of approbation, and deprecation of censure, were quaint, and though strong, were amusing enough. Still, however, the praise, all unmeaning as he seemed to consider it, had the effect of strengthening my arguments concerning the delay of the "Hints from Horace;" and when, in a letter soon afterwards, I said, " Cawthorn's business detains him in the North, and I will manage to detain the ' Hints,' first from, and then in, the press — ' the Romaunt' shall come forth first," I found, so far from opposing my intention, he concurred with and forwarded it. He acknowledged that I was right, and begged me to manage, so that Cawthorn should not get the start of Murray in the pub- lication of the two works. I cannot express the great anxiety I felt to prevent Lord Byron from publicly committing himself, as hold- ing decidedly sceptical opinions. There were several stanzas which showed the leaning of his mind; but, in one, he openly acknowledged his disbelief of a future state; and against this 1 made my stand. I urged him by every argument I could devise, not to allow it to ap- pear in print; and I had the great gratification of find- ing him yield to my entreaties, if not to my arguments. It has, alas! become of no importance, that these lines LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 109 should be published to the world — they are exceedingly moderate compared to the blasphemy with which his suicidal pen has since blackened the fame that I was so desirous of keeping fair, till the time came when he should love to have it fair — a period to which I fondly looked forward, as not only possible, bot near. The original stanza ran thus — "Frown not uptjn me, churlish Priest ! that I Look not for life, where never life may be; I am no sneerer at thy Phantasy ; Thou pitiest me, — alas! I envy thee, Thou bold discoverer in an unknown sea, Of happy isles and happier tenants there ; I ask thee not to prove a Sadducee. Still dream of Paradise, thou know'st not where. But lov'st too well to bid thine erring brother share. The stanza that he at length sent me to substitute for this, was that beautiful one — " Yet if, as holiest men have deemed, there be A land of souls beyond that sable shore, To shame the doctrine of the Sadducee, And sophists, madly vain of dubious lore. How sweet it were in concert to adore, With those who made our mortal labours light I To hear each voice we feared to hear no more ! Behold each mighty shade revealed to sight. The Bactrian, Samian Sage, and all who taught the right! IIQ RECOLLECTIONS OF THE The stanza which follows this, (the 9th of the 2d Can- to), and which applies the subject of it to the death of a person for whom he felt affection, was written subse- quently, when the event to which he alludes took place; and was sent to me only just in time to have it inserted. He made a Slight alteration in it, and enclosed me another copy, from which the fac-simile is taken that accompanies this volume. As a note to the stanzas upon this»subject, beginning with the 3d, and continuing to the 9th, Lord Byron had originally written a sort of prose apology for his opin- ions; which he sent to me for consideration, whether it did not appear more like an attack than a defence of religion, and had therefore better be left out. I had no hesitation in advising its omission, though for the rea- sons above stated, I now insert it here. " In this age of bigotry, when the puritan and priest have changed places, and the wretched catholic is visited with the ' sins of his fathers,' even unto generations far beyond the pale of the commandment, the cast of opinion in these stanzas will doubtless meet with many a contemptuous anathema. Rut let it be remembered, that the spirit they breathe is desponding, not sneering, scepticism ; that he who has see,n the Greek and Mos- lem superstitions contending for mastery oyer the former shrines of Polytheism, — who has left in his own country ' Pharisees, thank- ing God that they are not like Publicans and Sinners,' and Spa- niards in theirs, abhorring the Heretics, who have holpen them in their need,—- will be not a little bewildered, and begin to think, that as only one of them can be right, they may most of them be LIFE OF LORD BYRON. m wrong. With regard to morals, and the effect of religion on mankind, it appears, from all historical testimony, to have had less effect in making them love their neighbours, than inducing that cordial christian abhorrence.belween sectaries and schisma- tics. The Turks and Quakers are the most tolerant; if an Infi- del pays his heratch to the former; he may pray how, when, and where he pleases ; and the mild tenets, and devout demeanour of the latter, make their lives the truest commentary on the Sermon of the Mount." This is a remarkable instance of false and weak rea- soning, and affords a key to Lord Byron's mind, which I shall take occasion to notice more particularly in my concluding chapter. Lord Byron made a journey into Lancashire, and some little time elajHed before I took advantage of his disposition to oblige me relative to the stanzas on the Convention at Cintra. He had always talked of war en Philosophe, and took pleasure in observing the faults of military leaders; nor was he inclined to allow them even their merit, Bonaparte excepted. In these stanzas he had not only satirized the Convention, but intro- duced the names of the generals ludicrously. I there- fore urged him warmly to omit them, and the more as the Duke of Wellington was then acquiring fresh laurels in the Peninsula. I began to make a copy of the letter which I wrote to him on the subject, but something Bb 112 KECOLLECTIONS OF THE happened to prevent my finishing it. I insert what I kept; it is dated October 3, 1811. " The alteration of some bitter stings shall be made previous to the Stanza going to press. You say if I will point out the Stanzas on Cintra I wish re-cast, you will send me an answer. We are now come to them, and I fear your answer. What language shall I adopt to persuade your Muse not to commit self-murder, or at least slash herself unnecessarily.'^ She has not even the excuse of Honorius for the pennace she imposes on herself, and must suffer. Politically speaking, indeed in every sense, great deeds should be allowed to efface slight errors. The Cintra Convention will no doubt be recorded; but shall a Byron^s Mjpe spirt ink upon a hero? You admit that Wellesley has effaced his share in it; yet you will not let it be effaced. Were you to visit Tusculum, would it be a subject for a Stanza, that Cicero or some one of his family was marked with a vetch? But you may think that Sir Harry and Sir Hevr have done nothing to efface the Cintra folly; still the subject is beneath your pen. It had its run among newspaper epigrammatists, and your pen cannot raise it to the dignity of the Poem into which you introduce it. Let any judge read the 25th stanza, and say if it be worthy of the pen that wrote the Poem; — the same of the 26th. 27lh, and 28th. The name of Byng, too. is grown sadly stale in allusion, LIFE OF LORD BYRON. I J lc. &.c.' You went on no larther, but the smile with which you shut your book gave me to understand that the colours you had used for my [)or- trait were not of a dismal hue, and I was inclined enough at the time 16 digest the llattery, as 1 was con- scious that 1 deserved your kindness, and believed that you felt so too. But, however that may be, whether the words were a ujere Haltering imj)romplu or not, whatever character you may have doomed me to figure in, a hundred years hence, you certainly have not done me justice in this age: it will not, therefore, appear ex- traordinary il I should not have depended altogether for 202 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE my character on the smile with which you put your vo- lume down. " Lest you should suspect some inconsistency in this, and that although I began by assuring you that I did not mean to complain, my letter has been imagined for no other purpose; I will pause here, to declare to you solemnly that the affection I have felt for you, that the affection I do feel for you,, is the motive by which I am at present actuated; and that but for the desire I feel to be of some service to you, yo«i never would have heard from me again while I remained in this life. Were not this the case, this letter would deserve to be considered as an impertinence, and I would scorn to write it. I would give the world to retrieve you; to place you again upon that summit which you reached, I may say on which you alighted, in the spring of 181:2. It may be a more arduous attempt, but I see no impossibility; nay, to place you much higher than ever. You are yet but little beyond the dawn of life — it is downright affectation; it is, I was going to say, folly, to talk of grey hairs and age at twenty-nine. This is free language, my Lord, but not more than you formerly allowed me, and my increas- ed age, and nearer view of eternity confirm the privilege. As a Poet you have indeed wonderfully filled up the years you have attained — as a man you are in your in- fancy. Like a child you fall and dirt yourself, and your last fall has soiled you more than all the rest. I would to heaven you had not written your last unaccountable LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 203 work,* and which, did it not here and there bear inter- nal incontestible evidence, I would suflfer no man to call yours. Forgive my warmth — I would rather consider you as. a child slipping into mire, that may be washed away, than as a man Stept in so far, that should he wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er. Your absence, and the distance of your abode, leave your name at the mercy of every tatler and scribbler, who, even without being personal enemies, attack cha- racter for the mere pleasure of defamation, or for gain; and the life you are said to lead, and I grieve to say the work you have published, leave you no defenders. However you may stand with the world, I cannot but believe that at your age you may shake off all that clogs you in the career for which you were born. The very determination to resume it would be an irresistible claim to n^w attention from the world; and unshaken perse- verance would effect all that you could wish. Imagina- tion has had an ample range. No genius ever attained its meed so rapidly, or more completely; but manhood is the period for reality and action. Will you be content to throw it away for Italian skies and the reputation of eccentricity? May God grant me power to stir up in your mind the resolution of living the next twenty years * The first Cantos of Don Joan. 204; RECOLLECTIONS OF THE in England, engaged in those pursuits to whicii Provi- dence seems more directly to call every man who by birth is entitled to take a share in the legislation of his country. But what do I say? I believe that I ought first to wish you to take a serious view of the subjects on which legislation turns. Much has been argued in favour of adopting and adhering to a party — I have never been convinced of this — but I am digressing. At all events, I beseech you to think of reinstating yourself in your own country. Preparatory to this, an idea has come into my mind, which it is time for me to state to you; to do which I must return to the seemingly queru- lous style from which I have digressed. Well then, my Lord, I did some time ago think of your treatment of me with pain; and reflection, without lessening my at- tachujent, showed me that you had acted towards me very ungenerously, and, indeed, very mijustly — you ought to have made more of me. I say this the more freely now because I have lived till it is become indifferent to me. It is true that I benefited not inconsiderably by some of your works; but it was not in the nature of mo- ney to satisfy or repay me. I felt the pecuniary benefit as I ought, and was not slow in acknowledging it as I ought. The six or seven hundred pounds paid by the purchaser of Childe Harold for the copyright was, in my mind, nothing in comparison with the honour that was due to me for discerning the genius that lay buried in the Pilgrimage, and ibr exciting you to the publica- LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 205 tion of it, in spite of the damp which had been thrown upon it in the course of its composition, and in spite of your own reluctance and almost determination to sup- press it; nothing in comparison with the kindness that was due to me for the part I took in keeping back your Hints from Horace^ and the new edition of the Satire, till the moment I impressed conviction on your mind that your fame and the choice of your future career in life depended upon the suppression of these, and on the pub- lication of ChUde Harold. I made an effort to render you sensible that I was not dead to that better claim^ but it was unsuccessful; and though you continued your personal kindness whenever we met, you raised in my mind a jealousy which I was perhaps too proud, if not too mean-spirited, to betray. The result of the feeling, however, was, that I borrowed from you the hint of a posthumous volume, for after awhile I did not much care for the present, and I have indulged meditations on you and on myself for the amusement and judgment of future generations, but with this advantage over you, that I am convinced that I shall participate in whatever etfect they produce; and without this conviction I cannot conceive how the slightest value can be attached to posthumous fame. This is a topic on which I feel an inclination to dwell, but I will conquer the impulse, for my letter is already advanced beyond the limits I proposed. My Lord, my posthumous volume is made up — I look into it occasionally with much pleasure, and I enjoy the 206 KECOLI^CTIONS OF THE thought of being, when it is opened, in the year 1900, in company with your spirit, and of finding you pleased, even in the high sphere you may, if you will, then oc- cupy, which it is possible you would not be, were you to see it now opened to the public in your present sphere. I do not know, my I^ord, whether you are able to say as much for your book, for if you do live hereafter, and I have not the slightest doubt but you will, I suspect that you will have company about you at the opening of it, which may rather afford occasion of remorse than of pleasure, however gracious and forgiving you may find immortal spirits. Of you I have written precisely as I think, and as I have found you; and though I have in- serted some things which I would not give to the present generation, the whole, as it stands, is a just portrait of you during the time I knew you; for I drop the pencil where you dropped the curtain between us, and the pic- ture is to me an engaging one. I contemplate it together with some parts of your works, and I cannot help break- ing forth into the exclamation of ' And is this man to be lost!' You, perhaps, echo, in a tone of displeasure, ' Lost!' — Yes, lost. — Nay, unclench your hand — ^re- member it. is my ghost that is addressing you; not the being of flesh and blood whom you may dash from you at your will, as you have done. The man whose place is in the highest council of the first nation in the world, who possesses powers to delight and to serve his country, if he dissipates years between an Italian coun- LIFE OF LORD BYRON. giQ^y try-house and opera-box, and murders his genius in attempts to rival a Rochester or a Cleiand, — for I will not, to flatter you, say a Boccacio or a La Fontaine, who wrote at periods when, and in countries where, indecency was wit — that man is lost. Gracious Hea- ven! on what lofty groimd you stood in the month of March, 1812! The world was before you, not as it was to Adam, driven in tears from Paradise to seek a place of rest, but presenting an elysium, to every part of which its crowded and various inhabitants vied in their welcome of you. ' Crowds of eminent persons,' says my posthumtms volume, 'courted an introduction, and some volunteered their cards. This was the trying mo- ment of virtue, and no wonder if that were shaken, for never was there so sudden a transition from neglect to courtship. Glory darted thick upon him from all sides; from the Prince Regent, and his admirable daughter, to the bookseller and his shopman ; from Walter Scott to ; from Jeffrey to the nameless critics of the Satinst and Scourge; he was the wonder of wits, and the show of fashion.' I will not pursue the reverse; but I must repeat, ' And is this man to be lost!' My head is full of you, and whether you allow me the me- rit or not, my heart tells me that I was chiefly instru- mental, by my conduct, in 1812, in saving you from perpetuating the enmity of the world, or rather in forcing you, against your will, into its admiration and love; and that I once afterwards considerably retarded e 20S RECOLLECTIONS OF THE your rapid retrograde motion from the envied station which genius merits, but which even genius cannot preserve without prudence. These recollections have actuated me, it may be imprudently, to write you this letter, to endeavour to impel you to reflect seriously upon what you ought to be, and to beseech you to take steps to render your manhood solidly and lastingly glo- rious. Will you once more make use of me? I cannot beheve that there is an insurmountable bar to your re- turn to your proper station in life, — a station, which let me be bold enough to say, you have no right to quit. All that I have heard concerning you is but vague talk. The breach with Lady Byron was evidently the ground of your leaving England; and I presume the causes of that breach are what operate upon yo«ir spirit in keep- ing you abroad. In recollecting my principles, you will naturally imagine that the first thing that would oc- cur to my mind in preparing the way for your return, is an endeavour to close that breach — but 1 am not suffi- ciently acquainted with her to judge of the force of her opposition. At any rate, I would make the blame rest at her door, if reconciliation is not obtainable; I would be morally right; and this it is in your power to be, on whichever side the wrong at first lay, by a manly seve- rity to yourself, and by declaring your resolution to for- give, and to banish from your thought for ever all that could interrupt a cordial reconciliation. This step, should it not produce a desirable effect on the mind of LltE OF LORD BYRON. 209 Lady Byron, would infallibly lead to the esteem of the world. Is it too much for me to hope that I might, by a letter to her, and by a public account of you, and of your intended pursuits in England, make such a gene- ral impression, as once more to fix the eyes of your country upon you with sentiments of new admiration and regard, and usher you again to a glory of a nature superior to all you ever enjoyed. It has, I own, again and again come into my mind, to model my intended posthiimous work for present publication, so as to have that effect; could I but prevail upon you to follow it up by a return to England, with a resolution to lead a phi- losophical life, and to turn the great powers of your mind to pursuits worthy of them; and, among those, to a candid search after that religious Truth which often, as imagination sobers, becomes more obvious to the or- dinary vision of Reason. Once more, my dear Lord Byron, forgive, or, rather, let me say, reward, my warmth, by listening again to the affection which prompts me to express my desire of serving you. I do not expect the glory of making a religious convert of you. I have still a hope that you will yourself have that glory if your life be spared to the usual length — but my present anxiety is to see you restored to you^ station in this world, after trials that should induce you to look seriously into futurity. ^^ Such was the affectionate interest with which the 21Q RECOLLECTIONS OF TUE author of this letter continued to regard Lord Byron! Beit it was too late; he had hardened his heart, and bhmted his perception of the real vahie of such a friend. This was the last communication that ever took place between them, although an acccidental circumstance afforded the assurance that this letter had reached its destination. To return to the original character of Lord Byron, Whoever has read these pages attentively, or has seen the original documents from whence they are drawn, cannot fail to have perceived, that in his Lordship's early character there were the seeds of all the evil which has blossomed and borne fruit with such luxuriance in his later years. Nor will it be attempted here, to shew that in any part of J}is life he was without those seeds; but I think that a candid observer will also be ready to ac- knowledge, after reading this work, that there was an opposing principle of good acting in his mind, with a strength which produced opinions that were afterwards entirely altered. The coterie into which he unfortu- nately fell at Cambridge familiarized him with all the sceptical arguments of human pride. And his acquaint- ance with an unhappy atlieist — who was suddenly sum- moned before his outraged Maker, while bathing in the streams of the Cam, was rendered a severe trial by the brilliancy of the talent which he possessed, and which imparted a false splendour to the principles which he did not scruple to avow. Yet, when Lord Byron speaks LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 211 of this man, as being an atheist, he considers it offensive; — when lie remarks on the work of Mr. Townsend, who had attempted in the sketch of an intended poem to give an idea of the hist judgment, he considered his idea as too daring; — in opening his heart to his mother, he shows that he believed that God knew, and did all things for the best; — after having seen mankind in many nations and characters, he unrestrainedly conveys his opinion, that human nature is every where corrupt and despicable. These points are the more valuable, be- cause they flowed naturally and undesignedly from the heart; while, on the contrary, his sceptical opinions were expressed only when the subject was before him, and as it were by way of apology. When, in this period of his life, there is any thing like argument on this subject, advanced by him in his correspondence, it is miserably weak and confused. The death of his atheistical friend bewildered him: he thought there was the stamp of imiiiortality in all this person said and did — that he seemed a man created to display what the Creator could make — and yet, such as he was, he had been gathered into corruption, before the maturity of a mind that might have been the pride of posterity. And this bewildered him! If his opinion of his friend were a just one, ought not this rea- soning rather to have produced the conviction, that such a mind could not be gathered into the corruption which awaited the perishable body.'^ Accordingly Lord Byron's 212 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE inference did not lead him to produce this death as a support to the doctrine of annihilation; but his mind being tinctured previously with that doctrine, he con- fesses that it bewildered him. When about to publish Cliilde Harold's Pilgrimage, containing sceptical opinions, the decided expression of which he was then induced to withdraw, he wrote a note to accompany them, which has been inserted in this work. Its main object is to declare, that his was not sneering, but desponding scepticism — and he grounds his opinions upon the most unlogical deduction that could be formed: that, because he had found many peo- ple abuse and disgrace the religion they professed, that therefore religion was not true. This is like saying, that because a gamester squanders his guineas for his own destruction, they are therefore not gold, nor appli- cable for good purposes. Weak as this was, he called it an apology for his scepticism. It cannot be said, that up to this period, Lord Byron was decidedly an unbeliever; but, on the contrary, I think it may be said, that there was a capability in his mind for the reception of Divine Truth, — that he had not closed his eyes to the light which therefore forced its way in with sufficient power to maintain some con- test with the darkness of intellectual pride; and this opi- nion is strengthened, by observing the effects of that hn- gering light, in the colouring which it gave to vice and virtue in his mind. His conduct had been immoral and LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 213 dissipated; but he knew it to be sucli, and acknowledged it in its true colours. He regretted the indulgence of his passions as producing criminal acts, and bringing him under their government. He expressed these feel- ings: — he did more, he strove against them. He scru^ pled not publicly to declare his detestation of the immo- rality which renders the pages of Mr. Moore inadmissible into decent society; and he severely satirizes the luxu- rious excitements to vice which abound in our theatrical importation of Italian manners.* When a circumstance occured in which one of his tenants had given way to his passions, Lord Byron's opinion and decision upon the subject were strongly expressed, and his remarks upon that occasion are particularly worthy of notice. He thought our first duty was not to do evil, though he felt that was impossible. The next duty was to repair the evil we have done, if in our power. He would not afford his tenants a privilege he did not allow himself — He knew he had been guilty of many excesses, but had laid down a resolution to reform, and latterly kept it. I mention these circumstances to call to the reader's mind the general tenor of Lord Byron's estimate of mo- ral conduct, as it appears in the present work; because * Then let Ausonia, skilled in every art To soften manners, but corrupt the heart. Pour her exotic follies o'er the town, To sanction vice, and hunt decorum down. English Bards. 214. • RECOLLECTIONS OF THE I think it may be said that he had a lively perception of what was right, and a strong desire to follow it; but he wanted the regulating influence of an acknowledged' standard of sufficient purity, and, at the same time, es- tablished by sufficient authority in his mind. The pa- tience of God not only otfered him such a standard in religion, but kept his heart in a state of capability for re- ceiving it. In spite of his many grievings of God's spi- rit, still, it would not absolutely desert him as long as he allowed a struggle to continue in his heart. But the publication of Childe Harold was followed by consequences which seemed to have closed his heart against the long-tarrying spirit of God, and at once to have ended all struggle. Never was there a more sud- den transition from the doubtings of a mind to which Divine light was yet accessible, to the unhesitating abandonment to the blindness of vice. Lord Byron's vanity became the ruling passion of his mind. He made himself his own god; and no eastern idol ever received more abject or degrading worship from a bigotted votary. The circumstances which have been detailed in this work respecting the pilblication of Childe Harold, prove sufficiently how decided and how lamentable a turn they gave to a character, which, though wavering and incon- sistent for want of the guide I have referred to, had not yet passed all the avenues which might take him from the broad way that leadeth to destruction, into the nar- row path of life. But Lord Byron's unresisting surren- LIFE OF LORD BYRON. 215 der to the first temptation of intrigue, from which all its accompanying horrors could not affright him, seems to have banished for ever from his heart the Divine in- fluence which could alone defend him against the strength of his passions and the weakness of his nature to resist them; and it is truly astonishing to find the very great rapidity with which he was involved in all the trammels of fashionable vice. With proportionable celerity his opinions of moral conduct were changed; his power of estimating virtue at any thing like its true value ceased; and his mind became spiritually darkened to a degree as great perhaps as has ever been known to take place from the results of one step. Witness the course of his life at this time, as de- tailed in the Conversations lately published, to which I have before alluded. Witness the fact of his being capable ofdetaihng such a course of life in familiar con- versation to one almost a stranger. What must have been the change in that man who could at one time write these lines, — Grieved to condemn, the muse must still be just, Nor spare melodious advocates of lust; Pure is the flame that o'er her altar burns, From grosser incense with disgust she turns ; Yet kind to youth, this expiation o'er. She bids thee mend thy line, and sin no more— and at another become the author of Don Juan, where pp 2 1 (5 lUiCOLLECTIONS OF THE grosser, more licentious, more degrading images are pro- duced, than could have been expected to have found their way into any mind desirous merely of preserving a decent character in society, — than could have been look- ed for from any tongue not habituated to the conversa- tion of the most abandoned of the lowest order of society? What must have 'been the change in him who, from animadverting severely upon the licentiousness of a vil- lage intrigue, could glory in the complication of crimes which give zest to fashionable adultery, and even in the excess of his glorying could forego his title to be called a man of honour or a gentlanan, for which the merest coxcomb of the world will commonly restrain himself within some bounds after he has overstepped the nar- rower limits of religious restraint ! For who can venture to call Lord Byron either one or the other after reading the unrestrained disclosures he is said, in his published Conversations, to have made, " without any injunctions to secrecy." Who cou'd have imagined that the same man who had observed upon the otfensiveness of the expression of another's irreligious principles, should ever be capable of otiendingthc world with such awfully tear- less impiety as is contained in the latter Cantos of Don Jiian, and boldly advanced in Cain? Who can read, in his own hand writing, the opinion that a sublime and well intentioned anticipation of the Last Judgment is too daring, and puts him in mind of the line — LIFE OF LOUD BYllON. 217 ••* And fools rush in where Angels fear to tread." and conceive that the same hand wrote his Vision of Judgment? Yet such a change did take place, as any one may be convinced of, who will take the trouble to read the present work, and the Conversations to which I have alluded, and compare them together. For, let it be ob- served, that the few pages in the latter publication which refer to Lord 15yron's religious opinions, state only his old weak reasoning, founded upon the disunion of pro- fessing christians, some faint, and, I may say, childish wishes; and a disowning of the principles of Mr. Shel- ley's school. So also that solitary'reference to a pre- paration for death, when death stood visibly by his bed- side ready to receive 'hinr, which is related by his servant,* and upon, which I have known a charitable hope to be hung, amounts to just as much — an assertion. It can only be the most puerile ignorance of the nature of religion, which can receive assertion for proof in such a matter. The very essence of real religion is to let itself be seen in the life, when it is really sown in the heart ; and a man who appeals to his assertions to estab- hsh his religious character, may be his own dupe, but can never dupe any but such as are like him — just as the lunatic in Bedlam may call himself a king, and be- * Lord Byron is staled to have said to his servant—" I am not afraid of dying — I am more fit to die than people think." 2\S KECOLLECTIONS OF THE lieve it: but it is only those who are mad as himself who will think themselves his subjects. There is no possibility of hermetically sealing up religion in the heart; if it be there it cannot be contined, — it must ex- tend its inllucncc over (he principle of thought, of word, and of action. When we see wonderful and rapid changes take place in the pliysical world, wc naturally seek for the cause; and it cannot but be useful to trace the cause of so visi- ble a change in the moral world, as that which appears upon the comparison l have pointed out. It will not, I tliink, be too much to say, tiiat it took place im?iiediately that the resistance against evil ceased in Lord Byron's mind. Temptation certainly came upon him in an over- powering manner; and the very first ten)ptation was per- haps the worst, yet he yielded to it almost immediately. I refer to the circumstance recorded in these pages, which took place little more than a week after the first appearance of Childo Harold's Pilgrimage, when he re- ceived an extraordinary anonymous letter, which led im- mediately to the most disgraceful liaison of which he has not scrupled to boast. There was something so disgusting in the forwardness of the person who wrote, as well as deterring in the enormity of the criminal ex- cesses of which this letter was the beginning, that he should have been roused against such a temptation at the (irst glance. But the sudden gust of public ap- plause had just blown upon bin), and having raised him LIFE OF LORD BYRON. gjg in its whirlwind above the earth, he had already began to deify himself in his own imagination; and this in- cense came to him as the first oliered upon his altar. He was intoxicated with its fumes; and closing his mind against the light that had so long crept in at crevices, and endeavoured to shine through every transparent part, he called darkness light, and the bitter sweet, and said Peace when there was no Peace. As long as Lord Byron continued to resist his temp- tations to evil, and to refrain from exposing publicly his tendency to infidelity, so long he valued the friendship of the author of the foregoing chapters, who failed not to seize every opportunity of supporting the struggle within him, in the earnest hope that the good might ultimately be successful. The contents of this book may give some idea of the nature and constancy of that friendship, and cannot fail of being highly honourable to its author, as well as of reflecting credit on Lord Byron, who, on so many occasions, gave way to its influence. But it is a strong proof of the short-sightedness of man's judg- ment, that upon the most remarkable occasion on which this influence was excited, by inducing him to publish Chiide Harold instead of the Hints from Horace, though the best intentions guided the opinion, it was made the step by which Lord Byron was lost; and he who, in a literary point of view, had justly prided himself upon having withheld so extraordinary a mind from encum- bering its future efforts with the dead weight of a work 220 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE which might have ahogether prevented its subsequent buoyancy, and who was ahve to the glory of having discerned the neglected merit of the real poem, and of" having spread out the wings which took such an eagle flight — having lived to see the rebellious presumption which that towering flight occasioned, and to anticipate the destruction that must follow the audacity, died deeply regretting that he had, even though unconsciously, ever borne such a part in producing so lamentable a loss. One of the last charges which he gave me upon his death-bed, but a few days before he died, and with the full anticipation of his end, was, not to let this work go forth into the world without stating his sincere feeling of sorrow that ever he had been instrumental in bringing forward Cliilde Harold'^s Pilgrimage io the \mb\'\c, since the publication of it had produced such disastrous effects to one whom he had loved so affectionately, and from whom he had hoped so much good — effects which the literary satisfaction the poem may afford to all the men of taste in the present and future generations, can never, in the slightest degree, compensate. In obeying this solemn charge I should have conclud- ed these remarks, had I not found, in looking over the manuscript of the work upon this subject, which was first intended to have been left to posterity as a posthu- mous offering, and which was written about the year 1819, a passage which appears to me to form a fitter LIFE OF LOUD BYRON. 22\ conclusion to this Chapter, and which, therefore, I copy from the author's writing: — " I have suffered Time to make a progress unfriendly to the subject to which I had attached so great an inter- est. Had Providence vouchsafed me the happiness of recording of Lord Byron, from my own knowledge, the renovation of his mind and character, which was the object of my last letter to him, my delight would have supplied me with energy and spirits to continue my nar- rative, and my observations. Of his course of life sub- sequent I will not write upon hearsay; but I cannot re- frain from expressing my grief, disappointment, and wonder, at the direction which was given to it by the impulse of his brilliant success as a Poet. It seemed not only to confirm him in his infidelity, but to set him loose from social ties, and render him indifferent to every other praise than that of poetical genius. I am not singular in the cooling of his friendship, if it be not derogatory to call by that name any transient feeling he may have expressed; and his intended posthumous volume will, probably, shew this, if he has not, in con- sequence of what I said to him in my last letter, altered or abandoned it. In the dedications of his poems there is no sincerity; he had neither respect nor regard for the persons to whom they are addressed; and Lord Holland, Rogers, Davies, and Hobhouse, if earthly knowledge becomes intuitive on retrospection, will see 222 RECOLLECTIONS, &c. C'f on what grounds I say this, and nod the recognitioDj and I trust forgiveness of heavenly spirits, if heavenly their's become, to the wondering Poet with whose works their names are swimming down the stream of Time, He and they shall have my nod too on the occasion, if, let me humbly add, my prayers shall have availed me beyond the grave." THE END. I Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: March 2009 1 PreservationTechnologies I A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION V 111 Thomsnn Park nriup lU