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diff --git a/16609.txt b/16609.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bc4c598 --- /dev/null +++ b/16609.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11606 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of Lord Byron, With His Letters And +Journals, Vol. 5 (of 6), by (Lord Byron) George Gordon Byron + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Life of Lord Byron, With His Letters And Journals, Vol. 5 (of 6) + +Author: (Lord Byron) George Gordon Byron + +Editor: Thomas Moore + +Release Date: August 27, 2005 [EBook #16609] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WRITINGS OF LORD BYRON *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Taavi Kalju and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +LIFE + +OF + +LORD BYRON: + +WITH HIS LETTERS AND JOURNALS. + +BY THOMAS MOORE, ESQ. + +IN SIX VOLUMES.--VOL. V. + +NEW EDITION. + + +LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1854. + + + + +CONTENTS OF VOL. V. + +LETTERS AND JOURNALS OF LORD BYRON, WITH NOTICES OF HIS LIFE, from +October, 1820, to November, 1822. + + + + +NOTICES + +OF THE + +LIFE OF LORD BYRON. + + + + +LETTER 394. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, October 17. 1820. + + "You owe me two letters--pay them. I want to know what you are + about. The summer is over, and you will be back to Paris. Apropos + of Paris, it was not Sophia _Gail_, but Sophia _Gay_--the English + word _Gay_--who was my correspondent.[1] Can you tell who she is, + as you did of the defunct * *? + + "Have you gone on with your Poem? I have received the French of + mine. Only think of being _traduced_ into a foreign language in + such an abominable travesty! It is useless to rail, but one can't + help it. + + "Have you got my Memoir copied? I have begun a continuation. Shall + I send it you, as far as it is gone? + + "I can't say any thing to you about Italy, for the Government here + look upon me with a suspicious eye, as I am well informed. Pretty + fellows!--as if I, a solitary stranger, could do any mischief. It + is because I am fond of rifle and pistol shooting, I believe; for + they took the alarm at the quantity of cartridges I consumed,--the + wiseacres! + + "You don't deserve a long letter--nor a letter at all--for your + silence. You have got a new Bourbon, it seems, whom they have + christened 'Dieu-donne;'--perhaps the honour of the present may be + disputed. Did you write the good lines on ----, the Laker? * * + + "The Queen has made a pretty theme for the journals. Was there ever + such evidence published? Why, it is worse than 'Little's Poems' or + 'Don Juan.' If you don't write soon, I will 'make you a speech.' + Yours," &c. + +[Footnote 1: I had mistaken the name of the lady he enquired after, and +reported her to him as dead. But, on the receipt of the above letter, I +discovered that his correspondent was Madame Sophie Gay, mother of the +celebrated poetess and beauty, Mademoiselle Delphine Gay.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 395. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, 8bre 25 deg., 1820. + + "Pray forward the enclosed to Lady Byron. It is on business. + + "In thanking you for the Abbot, I made four grand mistakes, Sir + John Gordon was not of Gight, but of Bogagicht, and a son of + Huntley's. He suffered _not_ for his loyalty, but in an + insurrection. He had _nothing_ to do with Loch Leven, having been + dead some time at the period of the Queen's confinement: and, + fourthly, I am not sure that he was the Queen's paramour or no, for + Robertson does not allude to this, though _Walter Scott does_, in + the list he gives of her admirers (as unfortunate) at the close of + 'The Abbot.' + + "I must have made all these mistakes in recollecting my mother's + account of the matter, although she was more accurate than I am, + being precise upon points of genealogy, like all the aristocratical + Scotch. She had a long list of ancestors, like Sir Lucius + O'Trigger's, most of whom are to be found in the old Scotch + Chronicles, Spalding, &c. in arms and doing mischief. I remember + well passing Loch Leven, as well as the Queen's Ferry: we were on + our way to England in 1798. + + "Yours. + + "You had better not publish Blackwood and the Roberts' prose, + except what regards Pope;--you have let the time slip by." + + * * * * * + +The Pamphlet in answer to Blackwood's Magazine, here mentioned, was +occasioned by an article in that work, entitled "Remarks on Don Juan," +and though put to press by Mr. Murray, was never published. The writer +in the Magazine having, in reference to certain passages in Don Juan, +taken occasion to pass some severe strictures on the author's +matrimonial conduct, Lord Byron, in his reply, enters at some length +into that painful subject; and the following extracts from his +defence,--if defence it can be called, where there has never yet been +any definite charge,--will be perused with strong interest:-- + + "My learned brother proceeds to observe, that 'it is in vain for + Lord B. to attempt in any way to justify his own behaviour in that + affair: and now that he has so _openly_ and _audaciously_ invited + enquiry and reproach, we do not see any good reason why he should + not be plainly told so by the voice of his countrymen.' How far the + 'openness' of an anonymous poem, and the 'audacity' of an imaginary + character, which the writer supposes to be meant for Lady B. may be + deemed to merit this formidable denunciation from their 'most sweet + voices,' I neither know nor care; but when he tells me that I + cannot 'in any way _justify_ my own behaviour in that affair,' I + acquiesce, because no man can '_justify_' himself until he knows of + what he is accused; and I have never had--and, God knows, my whole + desire has ever been to obtain it--any specific charge, in a + tangible shape, submitted to me by the adversary, nor by others, + unless the atrocities of public rumour and the mysterious silence + of the lady's legal advisers may be deemed such.[2] But is not the + writer content with what has been already said and done? Has not + 'the general voice of his countrymen' long ago pronounced upon the + subject--sentence without trial, and condemnation without a + charge? Have I not been exiled by ostracism, except that the shells + which proscribed me were anonymous? Is the writer ignorant of the + public opinion and the public conduct upon that occasion? If he is, + I am not: the public will forget both long before I shall cease to + remember either. + + "The man who is exiled by a faction has the consolation of thinking + that he is a martyr; he is upheld by hope and the dignity of his + cause, real or imaginary: he who withdraws from the pressure of + debt may indulge in the thought that time and prudence will + retrieve his circumstances: he who is condemned by the law has a + term to his banishment, or a dream of its abbreviation; or, it may + be, the knowledge or the belief of some injustice of the law or of + its administration in his own particular: but he who is outlawed by + general opinion, without the intervention of hostile politics, + illegal judgment, or embarrassed circumstances, whether he be + innocent or guilty, must undergo all the bitterness of exile, + without hope, without pride, without alleviation. This case was + mine. Upon what grounds the public founded their opinion, I am not + aware; but it was general, and it was decisive. Of me or of mine + they knew little, except that I had written what is called poetry, + was a nobleman, had married, became a father, and was involved in + differences with my wife and her relatives, no one knew why, + because the persons complaining refused to state their grievances. + The fashionable world was divided into parties, mine consisting of + a very small minority; the reasonable world was naturally on the + stronger side, which happened to be the lady's, as was most proper + and polite. The press was active and scurrilous; and such was the + rage of the day, that the unfortunate publication of two copies of + verses rather complimentary than otherwise to the subjects, of + both, was tortured into a species of crime, or constructive petty + treason. I was accused of every monstrous vice by public rumour and + private rancour: my name, which had been a knightly or a noble one + since my fathers helped to conquer the kingdom for William the + Norman, was tainted. I felt that, if what was whispered, and + muttered, and murmured, was true, I was unfit for England; if + false, England was unfit for me. I withdrew: but this was not + enough. In other countries, in Switzerland, in the shadow of the + Alps, and by the blue depth of the lakes, I was pursued and + breathed upon by the same blight. I crossed the mountains, but it + was the same; so I went a little farther, and settled myself by the + waves of the Adriatic, like the stag at bay, who betakes him to the + waters. + + "If I may judge by the statements of the few friends who gathered + round me, the outcry of the period to which I allude was beyond all + precedent, all parallel, even in those cases where political + motives have sharpened slander and doubled enmity. I was advised + not to go to the theatres, lest I should be hissed, nor to my duty + in parliament, lest I should be insulted by the way; even on the + day of my departure, my most intimate friend told me afterwards + that he was under apprehensions of violence from the people who + might be assembled at the door of the carriage. However, I was not + deterred by these counsels from seeing Kean in his best characters, + nor from voting according to my principles; and, with regard to the + third and last apprehensions of my friends, I could not share in + them, not being made acquainted with their extent till some time + after I had crossed the Channel. Even if I had been so, I am not of + a nature to be much affected by men's anger, though I may feel hurt + by their aversion. Against all individual outrage, I could protect + or redress myself; and against that of a crowd, I should probably + have been enabled to defend myself, with the assistance of others, + as has been done on similar occasions. + + "I retired from the country, perceiving that I was the object of + general obloquy; I did not indeed imagine, like Jean Jacques + Rousseau, that all mankind was in a conspiracy against me, though I + had perhaps as good grounds for such a chimera as ever he had; but + I perceived that I had to a great extent become personally + obnoxious in England, perhaps through my own fault, but the fact + was indisputable; the public in general would hardly have been so + much excited against a more popular character, without at least an + accusation or a charge of some kind actually expressed or + substantiated; for I can hardly conceive that the common and + every-day occurrence of a separation between man and wife could in + itself produce so great a ferment. I shall say nothing of the usual + complaints of 'being prejudged,' 'condemned unheard,' 'unfairness,' + 'partiality,' and so forth, the usual changes rung by parties who + have had, or are to have, a trial; but I was a little surprised to + find myself condemned without being favoured with the act of + accusation, and to perceive in the absence of this portentous + charge or charges, whatever it or they were to be, that every + possible or impossible crime was rumoured to supply its place, and + taken for granted. This could only occur in the case of a person + very much disliked, and I knew no remedy, having already used to + their extent whatever little powers I might possess of pleasing in + society. I had no party in fashion, though I was afterwards told + that there was one--but it was not of my formation, nor did I then + know of its existence--none in literature; and in politics I had + voted with the Whigs, with precisely that importance which a Whig + vote possesses in these Tory days, and with such personal + acquaintance with the leaders in both houses as the society in + which I lived sanctioned, but without claim or expectation of + anything like friendship from any one, except a few young men of my + own age and standing, and a few others more advanced in life, which + last it had been my fortune to serve in circumstances of + difficulty. This was, in fact, to stand alone: and I recollect, + some time after, Madame de Stael said to me in Switzerland, 'You + should not have warred with the world--it will not do--it is too + strong always for any individual: I myself once tried it in early + life, but it will not do.' I perfectly acquiesce in the truth of + this remark; but the world had done me the honour to begin the war; + and, assuredly, if peace is only to be obtained by courting and + paying tribute to it, I am not qualified to obtain its countenance. + I thought, in the words of Campbell, + + "'Then wed thee to an exil'd lot, + And if the world hath loved thee not, + Its absence may be borne.' + + "I have heard of, and believe, that there are human beings so + constituted as to be insensible to injuries; but I believe that the + best mode to avoid taking vengeance is to get out of the way of + temptation. I hope that I may never have the opportunity, for I am + not quite sure that I could resist it, having derived from my + mother something of the '_perfervidum ingenium Scotorum_.' I have + not sought, and shall not seek it, and perhaps it may never come in + my path. I do not in this allude to the party, who might be right + or wrong; but to many who made her cause the pretext of their own + bitterness. She, indeed, must have long avenged me in her own + feelings, for whatever her reasons may have been (and she never + adduced them to me at least), she probably neither contemplated nor + conceived to what she became the means of conducting the father of + her child, and the husband of her choice. + + "So much for 'the general voice of his countrymen:' I will now + speak of some in particular. + + "In the beginning of the year 1817, an article appeared in the + Quarterly Review, written, I believe, by Walter Scott, doing great + honour to him, and no disgrace to me, though both poetically and + personally more than sufficiently favourable to the work and the + author of whom it treated. It was written at a time when a selfish + man would not, and a timid one dared not, have said a word in + favour of either; it was written by one to whom temporary public + opinion had elevated me to the rank of a rival--a proud + distinction, and unmerited; but which has not prevented me from + feeling as a friend, nor him from more than corresponding to that + sentiment. The article in question was written upon the third Canto + of Childe Harold, and after many observations, which it would as + ill become me to repeat as to forget, concluded with 'a hope that I + might yet return to England.' How this expression was received in + England itself I am not acquainted, but it gave great offence at + Rome to the respectable ten or twenty thousand English travellers + then and there assembled. I did not visit Rome till some time + after, so that I had no opportunity of knowing the fact; but I was + informed, long afterwards, that the greatest indignation had been + manifested in the enlightened Anglo-circle of that year, which + happened to comprise within it--amidst a considerable leaven of + Welbeck Street and Devonshire Place, broken loose upon their + travels--several really well-born and well-bred families, who did + not the less participate in the feeling of the hour. 'Why should he + return to England?' was the general exclamation--I answer _why_? It + is a question I have occasionally asked myself, and I never yet + could give it a satisfactory reply. I had then no thoughts of + returning, and if I have any now, they are of business, and not of + pleasure. Amidst the ties that have been dashed to pieces, there + are links yet entire, though the chain itself be broken. There are + duties, and connections, which may one day require my presence--and + I am a father. I have still some friends whom I wish to meet again, + and, it may be, an enemy. These things, and those minuter details + of business, which time accumulates during absence, in every man's + affairs and property, may, and probably will, recall me to England; + but I shall return with the same feelings with which I left it, in + respect to itself, though altered with regard to individuals, as I + have been more or less informed of their conduct since my + departure; for it was only a considerable time after it that I was + made acquainted with the real facts and full extent of some of + their proceedings and language. My friends, like other friends, + from conciliatory motives, withheld from me much that they could, + and some things which they _should_ have unfolded; however, that + which is deferred is not lost--but it has been no fault of mine + that it has been deferred at all. + + "I have alluded to what is said to have passed at Rome merely to + show that the sentiment which I have described was not confined to + the English in England, and as forming part of my answer to the + reproach cast upon what has been called my 'selfish exile,' and my + 'voluntary exile.' 'Voluntary' it has been; for who would dwell + among a people entertaining strong hostility against him? How far + it has been 'selfish' has been already explained." + +[Footnote 2: While these sheets are passing through the press, a printed +statement has been transmitted to me by Lady Noel Byron, which the +reader will find inserted in the Appendix to this volume. (_First +Edition_.)] + + * * * * * + +The following passages from the same unpublished pamphlet will be found, +in a literary point of view, not less curious. + + "And here I wish to say a few words on the present state of English + poetry. That this is the age of the decline of English poetry will + be doubted by few who have calmly considered the subject. That + there are men of genius among the present poets makes little + against the fact, because it has been well said, that 'next to him + who forms the taste of his country, the greatest genius is he who + corrupts it.' No one has ever denied genius to Marino, who + corrupted not merely the taste of Italy, but that of all Europe for + nearly a century. The great cause of the present deplorable state + of English poetry is to be attributed to that absurd and systematic + depreciation of Pope, in which, for the last few years, there has + been a kind of epidemical concurrence. Men of the most opposite + opinions have united upon this topic. Warton and Churchill began + it, having borrowed the hint probably from the heroes of the + Dunciad, and their own internal conviction that their proper + reputation can be as nothing till the most perfect and harmonious + of poets--he who, having no fault, has had REASON made his + reproach--was reduced to what they conceived to be his level; but + even they dared not degrade him below Dryden. Goldsmith, and + Rogers, and Campbell, his most successful disciples; and Hayley, + who, however feeble, has left one poem 'that will not be willingly + let die' (the Triumphs of Temper), kept up the reputation of that + pure and perfect style; and Crabbe, the first of living poets, has + almost equalled the master. Then came Darwin, who was put down by a + single poem in the Antijacobin; and the Cruscans, from Merry to + Jerningham, who were annihilated (if _Nothing_ can be said to be + annihilated) by Gifford, the last of the wholesome English + satirists. * * * + + "These three personages, S * *, W * *, and C * *, had all of them a + very natural antipathy to Pope, and I respect them for it, as the + only original feeling or principle which they have contrived to + preserve. But they have been joined in it by those who have joined + them in nothing else: by the Edinburgh Reviewers, by the whole + heterogeneous mass of living English poets, excepting Crabbe, + Rogers, Gifford, and Campbell, who, both by precept and practice, + have proved their adherence; and by me, who have shamefully + deviated in practice, but have ever loved and honoured Pope's + poetry with my whole soul, and hope to do so till my dying day. I + would rather see all I have ever written lining the same trunk in + which I actually read the eleventh book of a modern Epic poem at + Malta in 1811, (I opened it to take out a change after the paroxysm + of a tertian, in the absence of my servant, and found it lined with + the name of the maker, Eyre, Cockspur-street, and with the Epic + poetry alluded to,) than sacrifice what I firmly believe in as the + Christianity of English poetry, the poetry of Pope. + + "Nevertheless, I will not go so far as * * in his postscript, who + pretends that no great poet ever had immediate fame, which, being + interpreted, means that * * is not quite so much read by his + contemporaries as might be desirable. This assertion is as false + as it is foolish. Homer's glory depended upon his present + popularity: he recited,--and without the strongest impression of + the moment, who would have gotten the Iliad by heart, and given it + to tradition? Ennius, Terence, Plautus, Lucretius, Horace, Virgil, + Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Sappho, Anacreon, Theocritus, all + the great poets of antiquity, were the delight of their + contemporaries.[3] The very existence of a poet, previous to the + invention of printing, depended upon his present popularity; and + how often has it impaired his future fame? Hardly ever. History + informs us, that the best have come down to us. The reason is + evident: the most popular found the greatest number of transcribers + for their MSS.; and that the taste of their contemporaries was + corrupt can hardly be avouched by the moderns, the mightiest of + whom have but barely approached them. Dante, Petrarch, Ariosto, and + Tasso, were all the darlings of the contemporary reader. Dante's + poem was celebrated long before his death; and, not long after it, + States negotiated for his ashes, and disputed for the sites of the + composition of the Divina Commedia. Petrarch was crowned in the + Capitol. Ariosto was permitted to pass free by the public robber + who had read the Orlando Furioso. I would not recommend Mr. * * to + try the same experiment with his Smugglers. Tasso, notwithstanding + the criticisms of the Cruscanti, would have been crowned in the + Capitol, but for his death. + + "It is easy to prove the immediate popularity of the chief poets of + the only modern nation in Europe that has a poetical language, the + Italian. In our own, Shakspeare, Spenser, Jonson, Waller, Dryden, + Congreve, Pope, Young, Shenstone, Thomson, Johnson, Goldsmith, + Gray, were all as popular in their lives as since. Gray's Elegy + pleased instantly, and eternally. His Odes did not, nor yet do they + please like his Elegy. Milton's politics kept him down; but the + Epigram of Dryden, and the very sale of his work, in proportion to + the less reading time of its publication, prove him to have been + honoured by his contemporaries. I will venture to assert, that the + sale of the Paradise Lost was greater in the first four years after + its publication than that of 'The Excursion,' in the same number, + with the difference of nearly a century and a half between them of + time, and of thousands in point of general readers. + + "It may be asked, why, having this opinion of the present state of + poetry in England, and having had it long, as my friends and others + well know--possessing, or having possessed too, as a writer, the + ear of the public for the time being--I have not adopted a + different plan in my own compositions, and endeavoured to correct + rather than encourage the taste of the day. To this I would answer, + that it is easier to perceive the wrong than to pursue the right, + and that I have never contemplated the prospect 'of filling (with + Peter Bell, see its Preface,) permanently a station in the + literature of the country.' Those who know me best, know this, and + that I have been considerably astonished at the temporary success + of my works, having flattered no person and no party, and expressed + opinions which are not those of the general reader. Could I have + anticipated the degree of attention which has been accorded, + assuredly I would have studied more to deserve it. But I have lived + in far countries abroad, or in the agitating world at home, which + was not favourable to study or reflection; so that almost all I + have written has been mere passion,--passion, it is true, of + different kinds, but always passion: for in me (if it be not an + Irishism to say so) my _indifference_ was a kind of passion, the + result of experience, and not the philosophy of nature. Writing + grows a habit, like a woman's gallantry: there are women who have + had no intrigue, but few who have had but one only; so there are + millions of men who have never written a book, but few who have + written only one. And thus, having written once, I wrote on; + encouraged no doubt by the success of the moment, yet by no means + anticipating its duration, and I will venture to say, scarcely even + wishing it. But then I did other things besides write, which by no + means contributed either to improve my writings or my prosperity. + + "I have thus expressed publicly upon the poetry of the day the + opinion I have long entertained and expressed of it to all who have + asked it, and to some who would rather not have heard it; as I told + Moore not very long ago, 'we are all wrong except Rogers, Crabbe, + and Campbell.'[4] Without being old in years, I am in days, and do + not feel the adequate spirit within me to attempt a work which + should show what I think right in poetry, and must content myself + with having denounced what is wrong. There are, I trust, younger + spirits rising up in England, who, escaping the contagion which has + swept away poetry from our literature, will recall it to their + country, such as it once was and may still be. + + "In the mean time, the best sign of amendment will be repentance, + and new and frequent editions of Pope and Dryden. + + "There will be found as comfortable metaphysics and ten times more + poetry in the 'Essay on Man,' than in the 'Excursion.' If you + search for passion, where is it to be found stronger than in the + epistle from Eloisa to Abelard, or in Palamon and Arcite? Do you + wish for invention, imagination, sublimity, character? seek them in + the Rape of the Lock, the Fables of Dryden, the Ode on Saint + Cecilia's Day, and Absalom and Achitophel: you will discover in + these two poets only, _all_ for which you must ransack innumerable + metres, and God only knows how many _writers_ of the day, without + finding a tittle of the same qualities,--with the addition, too, of + wit, of which the latter have none. I have not, however, forgotten + Thomas Brown the Younger, nor the Fudge Family, nor Whistlecraft; + but that is not wit--it is humour. I will say nothing of the + harmony of Pope and Dryden in comparison, for there is not a living + poet (except Rogers, Gifford, Campbell, and Crabbe) who can write + an heroic couplet. The fact is, that the exquisite beauty of their + versification has withdrawn the public attention from their other + excellences, as the vulgar eye will rest more upon the splendour of + the uniform than the quality of the troops. It is this very + harmony, particularly in Pope, which has raised the vulgar and + atrocious cant against him:--because his versification is perfect, + it is assumed that it is his only perfection; because his truths + are so clear, it is asserted that he has no invention; and because + he is always intelligible, it is taken for granted that he has no + genius. We are sneeringly told that he is the 'Poet of Reason,' as + if this was a reason for his being no poet. Taking passage for + passage, I will undertake to cite more lines teeming with + _imagination_ from Pope than from any two living poets, be they who + they may. To take an instance at random from a species of + composition not very favourable to imagination--Satire: set down + the character of Sporus, with all the wonderful play of fancy which + is scattered over it, and place by its side an equal number of + verses, from any two existing poets, of the same power and the same + variety--where will you find them? + + "I merely mention one instance of many in reply to the injustice + done to the memory of him who harmonised our poetical language. The + attorneys clerks, and other self-educated genii, found it easier to + distort themselves to the new models than to toil after the + symmetry of him who had enchanted their fathers. They were besides + smitten by being told that the new school were to revive the + language of Queen Elizabeth, the true English; as every body in the + reign of Queen Anne wrote no better than French, by a species of + literary treason. + + "Blank verse, which, unless in the drama, no one except Milton ever + wrote who could rhyme, became the order of the day,--or else such + rhyme as looked still blanker than the verse without it. I am aware + that Johnson has said, after some hesitation, that he could not + 'prevail upon himself to wish that Milton had been a rhymer.' The + opinions of that truly great man, whom it is also the present + fashion to decry, will ever be received by me with that deference + which time will restore to him from all; but, with all humility, I + am not persuaded that the Paradise Lost would not have been more + nobly conveyed to posterity, not perhaps in heroic couplets, + although even _they_ could sustain the subject if well balanced, + but in the stanza of Spenser, or of Tasso, or in the terza rima of + Dante, which the powers of Milton could easily have grafted on our + language. The Seasons of Thomson would have been better in rhyme, + although still inferior to his Castle of Indolence; and Mr. + Southey's Joan of Arc no worse, although it might have taken up six + months instead of weeks in the composition. I recommend also to the + lovers of lyrics the perusal of the present laureate's odes by the + side of Dryden's on Saint Cecilia, but let him be sure to read + _first_ those of Mr. Southey. + + "To the heaven-born genii and inspired young scriveners of the day + much of this will appear paradox; it will appear so even to the + higher order of our critics; but it was a truism twenty years ago, + and it will be a re-acknowledged truth in ten more. In the mean + time, I will conclude with two quotations, both intended for some + of my old classical friends who have still enough of Cambridge + about them to think themselves honoured by having had John Dryden + as a predecessor in their college, and to recollect that their + earliest English poetical pleasures were drawn from the 'little + nightingale' of Twickenham. + + "The first is from the notes to a Poem of the 'Friends[5],' pages + 181, 182. + + "'It is only within the last twenty or thirty years that those + notable discoveries in criticism have been made which have taught + our recent versifiers to undervalue this energetic, melodious, and + moral poet. The consequences of this want of due esteem for a + writer whom the good sense of our predecessors had raised to his + proper station have been NUMEROUS AND DEGRADING ENOUGH. This is not + the place to enter into the subject, even as far as it _affects our + poetical numbers alone_, and there is matter of more importance + that requires present reflection.' + + "The second is from the volume of a young person learning to write + poetry, and beginning by teaching the art. Hear him[6]: + + "'But ye were dead + To things ye knew not of--were closely wed + To musty laws lined out with wretched rule + And compass vile; so that ye taught a school[7] + Of _dolts_ to _smooth_, _inlay_, and _chip_, and _fit_, + Till, like the certain wands of Jacob's wit, + _Their verses tallied. Easy was the task:_ + A thousand handicraftsmen wore the mask + Of poesy. Ill-fated, impious race, + That blasphemed the bright lyrist to his face, + And did not know it; no, they went about + Holding a poor _decrepit_ standard out + Mark'd with most flimsy mottos, and in large + The name of _one_ Boileau.' + + "A little before the manner of Pope is termed + + "'A _scism_[8], + Nurtured by _foppery_ and barbarism, + Made great Apollo blush for this his land.' + + "I thought '_foppery_' was a consequence of _refinement_; but + _n'importe_. + + "The above will suffice to show the notions entertained by the new + performers on the English lyre of him who made it most tunable, + and the great improvements of their own _variazioni_. + + "The writer of this is a tadpole of the Lakes, a young disciple of + the six or seven new schools, in which he has learnt to write such + lines and such sentiments as the above. He says, 'easy was the + task' of imitating Pope, or it may be of equalling him, I presume. + I recommend him to try before he is so positive on the subject, and + then compare what he will have _then_ written and what he has _now_ + written with the humblest and earliest compositions of Pope, + produced in years still more youthful than those of Mr. K. when he + invented his new 'Essay on Criticism,' entitled 'Sleep and Poetry' + (an ominous title), from whence the above canons are taken. Pope's + was written at nineteen, and published at twenty-two. + + "Such are the triumphs of the new schools, and such their scholars. + The disciples of Pope were Johnson, Goldsmith, Rogers, Campbell, + Crabbe, Gifford, Matthias, Hayley, and the author of the Paradise + of Coquettes; to whom may be added Richards, Heber, Wrangham, + Bland, Hodgson, Merivale, and others who have not had their full + fame, because 'the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle + to the strong,' and because there is a fortune in fame as in all + other things. Now of all the new schools--I say _all_, for, 'like + Legion, they are many'--has there appeared a single scholar who has + not made his master ashamed of him? unless it be * *, who has + imitated every body, and occasionally surpassed his models. Scott + found peculiar favour and imitation among the fair sex: there was + Miss Holford, and Miss Mitford, and Miss Francis; but with the + greatest respect be it spoken, none of his imitators did much + honour to the original except Hogg, the Ettrick shepherd, until the + appearance of 'The Bridal of Triermain,' and 'Harold the + Dauntless,' which in the opinion of some equalled if not surpassed + him; and lo! after three or four years they turned out to be the + Master's own compositions. Have Southey, or Coleridge, or + Wordsworth, made a follower of renown? Wilson never did well till + he set up for himself in the 'City of the Plague.' Has Moore, or + any other living writer of reputation, had a tolerable imitator, or + rather disciple? Now it is remarkable that almost all the followers + of Pope, whom I have named, have produced beautiful and standard + works, and it was not the number of his imitators who finally hurt + his fame, but the despair of imitation, and the _ease_ of _not_ + imitating him sufficiently. This, and the same reason which induced + the Athenian burgher to vote for the banishment of Aristides, + 'because he was tired of always hearing him called _the Just_,' + have produced the temporary exile of Pope from the State of + Literature. But the term of his ostracism will expire, and the + sooner the better; not for him, but for those who banished him, and + for the coming generation, who + + "Will blush to find their fathers were his foes." + +[Footnote 3: As far as regards the poets of ancient times, this +assertion is, perhaps, right; though, if there be any truth in what +AElian and Seneca have left on record, of the obscurity, during their +lifetime, of such men as Socrates and Epicurus, it would seem to prove +that, among the ancients, contemporary fame was a far more rare reward +of literary or philosophical eminence than among us moderns. When the +"Clouds" of Aristophanes was exhibited before the assembled deputies of +the towns of Attica, these personages, as AElian tells us, were +unanimously of opinion, that the character of an unknown person, called +Socrates, was uninteresting upon the stage; and Seneca has given the +substance of an authentic letter of Epicurus, in which that philosopher +declares that nothing hurt him so much, in the midst of all his +happiness, as to think that Greece,--"illa nobilis Graecia,"--so far +from knowing him, had scarcely even heard of his existence.--Epist. 79.] + +[Footnote 4: I certainly ventured to differ from the judgment of my +noble friend, no less in his attempts to depreciate that peculiar walk +of the art in which he himself so grandly trod, than in the +inconsistency of which I thought him guilty, in condemning all those who +stood up for particular "schools" of poetry, and yet, at the same time, +maintaining so exclusive a theory of the art himself. How little, +however, he attended to either the grounds or degrees of my dissent from +him, will appear by the following wholesale report of my opinion, in his +"Detached Thoughts:" + +"One of my notions different from those of my contemporaries, is, that +the present is not a high age of English poetry. There are _more_ poets +(soi-disant) than ever there were, and proportionally _less_ poetry. + +"This _thesis_ I have maintained for some years, but, strange to say, it +meeteth not with favour from my brethren of the shell. Even Moore shakes +his head, and firmly believes that it is the grand age of British +poesy."] + +[Footnote 5: Written by Lord Byron's early friend, the Rev. Francis +Hodgson.] + +[Footnote 6: The strange verses that follow are from a poem by +Keats.--In a manuscript note on this passage of the pamphlet, dated +November 12. 1821, Lord Byron says, "Mr. Keats died at Rome about a year +after this was written, of a decline produced by his having burst a +blood-vessel on reading the article on his 'Endymion' in the Quarterly +Review. I have read the article before and since; and, although it is +bitter, I do not think that a man should permit himself to be killed by +it. But a young man little dreams what he must inevitably encounter in +the course of a life ambitious of public notice. My indignation at Mr. +Keats's depreciation of Pope has hardly permitted me to do justice to +his own genius, which, malgre all the fantastic fopperies of his style, +was undoubtedly of great promise. His fragment of 'Hyperion' seems +actually inspired by the Titans, and is as sublime as AEschylus. He is a +loss to our literature; and the more so, as he himself, before his +death, is said to have been persuaded that he had not taken the right +line, and was reforming his style upon the more classical models of the +language."] + +[Footnote 7: "It was at least a _grammar_ 'school.'"] + +[Footnote 8: "So spelt by the author."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 396. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, 9bre 4. 1820. + + "I have received from Mr. Galignani the enclosed letters, + duplicates and receipts, which will explain themselves.[9] As the + poems are your property by purchase, right, and justice, _all + matters of publication, &c. &c. are for you to decide upon_. I know + not how far my compliance with Mr. Galignani's request might be + legal, and I doubt that it would not be honest. In case you choose + to arrange with him, I enclose the permits to you, and in so doing + I wash my hands of the business altogether. I sign them merely to + enable you to exert the power you justly possess more properly. I + will have nothing to do with it farther, except, in my answer to + Mr. Galignani, to state that the letters, &c. &c. are sent to you, + and the causes thereof. + + "If you can check these foreign pirates, do; if not, put the + permissive papers in the fire. I can have no view nor object + whatever, but to secure to you your property. + + "Yours, &c. + + "P.S. I have read part of the Quarterly just arrived: Mr. Bowles + shall be answered:--he is not quite correct in his statement about + English Bards and Scotch Reviewers. They support Pope, I see, in + the Quarterly; let them continue to do so: it is a sin, and a + shame, and a _damnation_ to think that _Pope!!_ should require + it--but he does. Those miserable mountebanks of the day, the poets, + disgrace themselves and deny God in running down Pope, the most + _faultless_ of poets, and almost of men." + +[Footnote 9: Mr. Galignani had applied to Lord Byron with the view of +procuring from him such legal right over those works of his Lordship of +which he had hitherto been the sole publisher in France, as would enable +him to prevent others, in future, from usurping the same privilege.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 397. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, November 5. 1820. + + "Thanks for your letter, which hath come somewhat costively; but + better late than never. Of it anon. Mr. Galignani, of the Press, + hath, it seems, been sup-planted and sub-pirated by another + Parisian publisher, who has audaciously printed an edition of + L.B.'s Works, at the ultra-liberal price of ten francs, and (as + Galignani piteously observes) eight francs only for booksellers! + 'horresco referens.' Think of a man's _whole_ works producing so + little! + + "Galignani sends me, post haste, a permission _for him, from me,_ + to publish, &c. &c. which _permit_ I have signed and sent to Mr. + Murray of Albemarle Street. Will you explain to G. _that I_ have no + right to dispose of Murray's works without his leave? and therefore + I must refer him to M. to get the permit out of his claws--no easy + matter, I suspect. I have written to G. to say as much; but a word + of mouth from a 'great brother author' would convince him that I + could not honestly have complied with his wish, though I might + legally. What I could do, I have done, viz. signed the warrant and + sent it to Murray. Let the dogs divide the carcass, if it is + killed to their liking. + + "I am glad of your epigram. It is odd that we should both let our + wits run away with our sentiments; for I am sure that we are both + Queen's men at bottom. But there is no resisting a clinch--it is so + clever! Apropos of that--we have a 'diphthong' also in this part of + the world--not a _Greek_, but a _Spanish_ one--do you understand + me?--which is about to blow up the whole alphabet. It was first + pronounced at Naples, and is spreading; but we are nearer the + Barbarians; who are in great force on the Po, and will pass it, + with the first legitimate pretext. + + "There will be the devil to pay, and there is no saying who will or + who will not be set down in his bill. If 'honour should come + unlooked for' to any of your acquaintance, make a Melody of it, + that his ghost, like poor Yorick's, may have the satisfaction of + being plaintively pitied--or still more nobly commemorated, like + 'Oh breathe not his name.' In case you should not think him worth + it, here is a Chant for you instead-- + + "When a man hath no freedom to fight for at home, + Let him combat for that of his neighbours; + Let him think of the glories of Greece and of Rome, + And get knock'd on the head for his labours. + + "To do good to mankind is the chivalrous plan, + And is always as nobly requited; + Then battle for freedom wherever you can, + And, if not shot or hang'd, you'll get knighted. + + "So you have gotten the letter of 'Epigrams'--I am glad of it. You + will not be so, for I shall send you more. Here is one I wrote for + the endorsement of 'the Deed of Separation' in 1816; but the + lawyers objected to it, as superfluous. It was written as we were + getting up the signing and sealing. * * has the original. + + "_Endorsement to the Deed of Separation, in the April of 1816._ + + "A year ago you swore, fond she! + 'To love, to honour, and so forth: + Such was the vow you pledged to me, + And here's exactly what 'tis worth. + + "For the anniversary of January 2. 1821, I have a small grateful + anticipation, which, in case of accident, I add-- + + "_To Penelope, January 2. 1821._ + + "This day, of all our days, has done + The worst for me and you:-- + 'Tis just _six_ years since we were _one_, + And _five_ since we were _two_. + + "Pray excuse all this nonsense; for I must talk nonsense just now, + for fear of wandering to more serious topics, which, in the present + state of things, is not safe by a foreign post. + + "I told you in my last, that I had been going on with the + 'Memoirs,' and have got as far as twelve more sheets. But I suspect + they will be interrupted. In that case I will send them on by post, + though I feel remorse at making a friend pay so much for postage, + for we can't frank here beyond the frontier. + + "I shall be glad to hear of the event of the Queen's concern. As + to the ultimate effect, the most inevitable one to you and me (if + they and we live so long) will be that the Miss Moores and Miss + Byrons will present us with a great variety of grandchildren by + different fathers. + + "Pray, where did you get hold of Goethe's Florentine + husband-killing story? Upon such matters, in general, I may say, + with Beau Clincher, in reply to Errand's wife-- + + "'Oh the villain, he hath murdered my poor Timothy!' + + "'_Clincher_. Damn your Timothy!--I tell you, woman, your husband + has _murdered me_--he has carried away my fine jubilee clothes.' + + "So Bowles has been telling a story, too ('tis in the Quarterly), + about the woods of 'Madeira,' and so forth. I shall be at Bowles + again, if he is not quiet. He mis-states, or mistakes, in a point + or two. The paper is finished, and so is the letter. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 393. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, 9bre 9 deg., 1820. + + "The talent you approve of is an amiable one, and might prove a + 'national service,' but unfortunately I must be angry with a man + before I draw his real portrait; and I can't deal in '_generals_,' + so that I trust never to have provocation enough to make a + _Gallery_. If '_the_ parson' had not by many little dirty sneaking + traits provoked it, I should have been silent, though I _had + observed_ him. Here follows an alteration: put-- + + Devil with _such_ delight in damning, + That if at the resurrection + Unto him the free election + Of his future could be given, + 'Twould be rather Hell than Heaven; + + that is to say, if these two new lines do not too much lengthen out + and weaken the amiability of the original thought and expression. + You have a discretionary power about showing. I should think that + Croker would not disrelish a sight of these light little humorous + things, and may be indulged now and then. + + "Why, I do like one or two vices, to be sure; but I can back a + horse and fire a pistol 'without thinking or blinking' like Major + Sturgeon; I have fed at times for two months together on sheer + biscuit and water (without metaphor); I can get over seventy or + eighty miles a day _riding_ post, and _swim five_ at a stretch, as + at Venice, in 1818, or at least I _could do_, and have done it + ONCE. + + "I know Henry Matthews: he is the image, to the very voice, of his + brother Charles, only darker--his laugh his in particular. The + first time I ever met him was in Scrope Davies's rooms after his + brother's death, and I nearly dropped, thinking that it was his + ghost. I have also dined with him in his rooms at King's College. + Hobhouse once purposed a similar Memoir; but I am afraid that the + letters of Charles's correspondence with me (which are at Whitton + with my other papers) would hardly do for the public: for our + lives were not over strict, and our letters somewhat lax upon most + subjects.[10] + + "Last week I sent you a correspondence with Galignani, and some + documents on your property. You have now, I think, an opportunity + of _checking_, or at least _limiting_, those _French + republications_. You may let all your authors publish what they + please _against me_ and _mine_. A publisher is not, and cannot be, + responsible for all the works that issue from his printer's. + + "The 'White Lady of Avenel' is not quite so good as a _real well + authenticated_ ('Donna Bianca') White Lady of Colalto, or spectre + in the Marca Trivigiana, who has been repeatedly seen. There is a + man (a huntsman) now alive who saw her also. Hoppner could tell you + all about her, and so can Rose, perhaps. I myself have _no doubt_ + of the fact, historical and spectral.[11] She always appeared on + particular occasions, before the deaths of the family, &c. &c. I + heard Madame Benzoni say, that she knew a gentleman who had seen + her cross his room at Colalto Castle. Hoppner saw and spoke with + the huntsman who met her at the chase, and never _hunted_ + afterwards. She was a girl attendant, who, one day dressing the + hair of a Countess Colalto, was seen by her mistress to smile upon + her husband in the glass. The Countess had her shut up in the wall + of the castle, like Constance de Beverley. Ever after, she haunted + them and all the Colaltos. She is described as very beautiful and + fair. It is well authenticated." + +[Footnote 10: Here follow some details respecting his friend Charles S. +Matthews, which have already been given in the first volume of this +work.] + +[Footnote 11: The ghost-story, in which he here professes such serious +belief, forms the subject of one of Mr. Rogers's beautiful Italian +sketches.--See "Italy," p. 43. edit. 1830.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 399. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, 9bre 18 deg., 1820. + + "The death of Waite is a shock to the--teeth, as well as to the + feelings of all who knew him. Good God, he and _Blake_[12] both + gone! I left them both in the most robust health, and little + thought of the national loss in so short a time as five years. They + were both as much superior to Wellington in rational greatness, as + he who preserves the hair and the teeth is preferable to 'the + bloody blustering warrior' who gains a name by breaking heads and + knocking out grinders. Who succeeds him? Where is tooth-powder + _mild_ and yet efficacious--where is _tincture_--where are clearing + _roots_ and _brushes_ now to be obtained? Pray obtain what + information you can upon these '_Tusc_ulan questions.' My jaws ache + to think on't. Poor fellows! I anticipated seeing both again; and + yet they are gone to that place where both teeth and hair last + longer than they do in this life. I have seen a thousand graves + opened, and always perceived, that whatever was gone, the _teeth_ + and _hair_ remained with those who had died with them. Is not this + odd? They go the very first things in _youth_, and yet last the + longest in the dust, if people will but _die_ to preserve them! It + is a queer life, and a queer death, that of mortals. + + "I knew that Waite had married, but little thought that the other + decease was so soon to overtake him. Then he was such a delight, + such a coxcomb, such a jewel of a man! There is a tailor at Bologna + so like him! and also at the top of his profession. Do not neglect + this commission. _Who_ or _what_ can replace him? What says the + public? + + "I remand you the Preface. _Don't forget_ that the Italian extract + from the Chronicle must _be translated_. With regard to what you + say of retouching the Juans and the Hints, it is all very well; but + I can't _furbish_. I am like the tiger (in poesy), if I miss the + first spring, I go growling back to my jungle. There is no second; + I can't correct; I can't, and I won't. Nobody ever succeeds in it, + great or small. Tasso remade the whole of his Jerusalem; but who + ever reads that version? all the world goes to the first. Pope + _added_ to 'The Rape of the Lock,' but did not reduce it. You must + take my things as they happen to be. If they are not likely to + suit, reduce their _estimate_ accordingly. I would rather give them + away than hack and hew them. I don't say that you are not right: I + merely repeat that I cannot better them. I must 'either make a + spoon, or spoil a horn;' and there's an end. + + "Yours. + + "P.S. Of the praises of that little * * * Keats. I shall observe as + Johnson did when Sheridan the actor got a _pension_: 'What! has + _he_ got a pension? Then it is time that I should give up _mine_!' + Nobody could be prouder of the praise of the Edinburgh than I was, + or more alive to their censure, as I showed in English Bards and + Scotch Reviewers. At present _all the men_ they have ever praised + are degraded by that insane article. Why don't they review and + praise 'Solomon's Guide to Health?' it is better sense and as much + poetry as Johnny Keats. + + "Bowles must be _bowled_ down. 'Tis a sad match at cricket if he + can get any notches at Pope's expense. If he once get into + '_Lord's_ ground,' (to continue the pun, because it is foolish,) I + think I could beat him in one innings. You did not know, perhaps, + that I was once (_not metaphorically_, but _really_,) a good + cricketer, particularly in _batting_, and I played in the Harrow + match against the Etonians in 1805, gaining more notches (as one of + our chosen eleven) than any, except Lord Ipswich and Brookman, on + our side." + +[Footnote 12: A celebrated hair-dresser.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 400. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, 9bre 23 deg., 1820. + + "The 'Hints,' Hobhouse says, will require a good deal of slashing + to suit the times, which will be a work of time, for I don't feel + at all laborious just now. Whatever effect they are to have would + perhaps be greater in a separate form, and they also must have my + name to them. Now, if you publish them in the same volume with Don + Juan, they identify Don Juan as mine, which I don't think worth a + Chancery suit about my daughter's guardianship, as in your present + code a facetious poem is sufficient to take away a man's rights + over his family. + + "Of the state of things here it would be difficult and not very + prudent to speak at large, the Huns opening all letters. I wonder + if they can read them when they have opened them; if so, they may + see, in my MOST LEGIBLE HAND, THAT I THINK THEM DAMNED SCOUNDRELS + AND BARBARIANS, and THEIR EMPEROR a FOOL, and themselves more fools + than he; all which they may send to Vienna for any thing I care. + They have got themselves masters of the Papal police, and are + bullying away; but some day or other they will pay for all: it may + not be very soon, because these unhappy Italians have no + consistency among themselves; but I suppose that Providence will + get tired of them at last, * * + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 401. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, Dec. 9. 1820. + + "Besides this letter, you will receive _three_ packets, containing, + in all, 18 more sheets of Memoranda, which, I fear, will cost you + more in postage than they will ever produce by being printed in the + next century. Instead of waiting so long, if you could make any + thing of them _now_ in the way of _reversion_, (that is, after _my_ + death,) I should be very glad,--as, with all due regard to your + progeny, I prefer you to your grandchildren. Would not Longman or + Murray advance you a certain sum _now_, pledging themselves _not_ + to have them published till after _my_ decease, think you?--and + what say you? + + "Over these latter sheets I would leave you a discretionary + power[13]; because they contain, perhaps, a thing or two which is + too sincere for the public. If I consent to your disposing of their + reversion _now_, where would be the harm? Tastes may change. I + would, in your case, make my essay to dispose of them, _not_ + publish, now; and if _you_ (as is most likely) survive me, add what + you please from your own knowledge; and, _above all, contradict_ + any thing, if I have _mis_-stated; for my first object is the + truth, even at my own expense. + + "I have some knowledge of your countryman Muley Moloch, the + lecturer. He wrote to me several letters upon Christianity, to + convert me: and, if I had not been a Christian already, I should + probably have been now, in consequence. I thought there was + something of wild talent in him, mixed with a due leaven of + absurdity,--as there must be in all talent, let loose upon the + world, without a martingale. + + "The ministers seem still to persecute the Queen * * * but they + _won't_ go out, the sons of b----es. Damn Reform--I want a + place--what say you? You must applaud the honesty of the + declaration, whatever you may think of the intention. + + "I have quantities of paper in England, original and + translated--tragedy, &c. &c. and am now copying out a fifth Canto + of Don Juan, 149 stanzas. So that there will be near _three thin_ + Albemarle, or _two thick_ volumes of all sorts of my Muses. I mean + to plunge thick, too, into the contest upon Pope, and to lay about + me like a dragon till I make manure of * * * for the top of + Parnassus. + + "These rogues are right--_we do_ laugh at _t'others_--eh?--don't + we?[14] You shall see--you shall see what things I'll say, an' it + pleases Providence to leave us leisure. But in these parts they are + all going to war; and there is to be liberty, and a row, and a + constitution--when they can get them. But I won't talk politics--it + is low. Let us talk of the Queen, and her bath, and her + bottle--that's the only _motley_ nowadays. + + "If there are any acquaintances of mine, salute them. The priests + here are trying to persecute me,--but no matter. Yours," &c. + +[Footnote 13: The power here meant is that of omitting passages that +might be thought objectionable. He afterwards gave me this, as well as +every other right, over the whole of the manuscript.] + +[Footnote 14: He here alludes to a humorous article, of which I had told +him, in Blackwood's Magazine, where the poets of the day were all +grouped together in a variety of fantastic shapes, with "Lord Byron and +little Moore laughing behind, as if they would split," at the rest of +the fraternity.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 402. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, Dec. 9. 1820. + + "I open my letter to tell you a fact, which will show the state of + this country better than I can. The commandant of the troops is + _now_ lying _dead_ in my house. He was shot at a little past eight + o'clock, about two hundred paces from my door. I was putting on my + great-coat to visit Madame la Contessa G. when I heard the shot. On + coming into the hall, I found all my servants on the balcony, + exclaiming that a man was murdered. I immediately ran down, calling + on Tita (the bravest of them) to follow me. The rest wanted to + hinder us from going, as it is the custom for every body here, it + seems, to run away from 'the stricken deer.' + + "However, down we ran, and found him lying on his back, almost, if + not quite, dead, with five wounds, one in the heart, two in the + stomach, one in the finger, and the other in the arm. Some soldiers + cocked their guns, and wanted to hinder me from passing. However, + we passed, and I found Diego, the adjutant, crying over him like a + child--a surgeon, who said nothing of his profession--a priest, + sobbing a frightened prayer--and the commandant, all this time, on + his back, on the hard, cold pavement, without light or assistance, + or any thing around him but confusion and dismay. + + "As nobody could, or would, do any thing but howl and pray, and as + no one would stir a finger to move him, for fear of consequences, I + lost my patience--made my servant and a couple of the mob take up + the body--sent off two soldiers to the guard--despatched Diego to + the Cardinal with the news, and had the commandant carried up + stairs into my own quarter. But it was too late, he was gone--not + at all disfigured--bled inwardly--not above an ounce or two came + out. + + "I had him partly stripped--made the surgeon examine him, and + examined him myself. He had been shot by cut balls, or slugs. I + felt one of the slugs, which had gone through him, all but the + skin. Every body conjectures why he was killed, but no one knows + how. The gun was found close by him--an old gun, half filed down. + + "He only said, 'O Dio!' and 'Gesu!' two or three times, and + appeared to have suffered little. Poor fellow! he was a brave + officer, but had made himself much disliked by the people. I knew + him personally, and had met him often at conversazioni and + elsewhere. My house is full of soldiers, dragoons, doctors, + priests, and all kinds of persons,--though I have now cleared it, + and clapt sentinels at the doors. To-morrow the body is to be + moved. The town is in the greatest confusion, as you may suppose. + + "You are to know that, if I had not had the body moved, they would + have left him there till morning in the street, for fear of + consequences. I would not choose to let even a dog die in such a + manner, without succour--and, as for consequences, I care for none + in a duty. Yours, &c. + + "P.S. The lieutenant on duty by the body is smoking his pipe with + great composure.--A queer people this." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 403. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, Dec. 25. 1820. + + "You will or ought to have received the packet and letters which I + remitted to your address a fortnight ago (or it may be more days), + and I shall be glad of an answer, as, in these times and places, + packets per post are in some risk of not reaching their + destination. + + "I have been thinking of a project for you and me, in case we both + get to London again, which (if a Neapolitan war don't suscitate) + may be calculated as possible for one of us about the spring of + 1821. I presume that you, too, will be back by that time, or never; + but on that you will give me some index. The project, then, is for + you and me to set up jointly a _newspaper_--nothing more nor + less--weekly, or so, with some improvement or modifications upon + the plan of the present scoundrels, who degrade that + department,--but a _newspaper_, which we will edite in due form, + and, nevertheless, with some attention. + + "There must always be in it a piece of poesy from one or other of + us _two_, leaving room, however, for such dilettanti rhymers as may + be deemed worthy of appearing in the same column; but _this_ must + be a _sine qua non_; and also as much prose as we can compass. We + will take an _office_--our names _not_ announced, but + suspected--and, by the blessing of Providence, give the age some + new lights upon policy, poesy, biography, criticism, morality, + theology, and all other _ism_, _ality_, and _ology_ whatsoever. + + "Why, man, if we were to take to this in good earnest, your debts + would be paid off in a twelvemonth, and by dint of a little + diligence and practice, I doubt not that we could distance the + common-place blackguards, who have so long disgraced common sense + and the common reader. They have no merit but practice and + impudence, both of which we may acquire; and, as for talent and + culture, the devil's in't if such proofs as we have given of both + can't furnish out something better than the 'funeral baked meats' + which have coldly set forth the breakfast table of all Great + Britain for so many years. Now, what think you? Let me know; and + recollect that, if we take to such an enterprise, we must do so in + good earnest. Here is a hint,--do you make it a plan. We will + modify it into as literary and classical a concern as you please, + only let us put out our powers upon it, and it will most likely + succeed. But you must _live_ in London, and I also, to bring it to + bear, and _we must keep it a secret_. + + "As for the living in London, I would make that not difficult to + you (if you would allow me), until we could see whether one means + or other (the success of the plan, for instance) would not make it + quite easy for you, as well as your family; and, in any case, we + should have some fun, composing, correcting, supposing, inspecting, + and supping together over our lucubrations. If you think this worth + a thought, let me know, and I will begin to lay in a small literary + capital of composition for the occasion. + + "Yours ever affectionately, + + "B. + + "P.S. If you thought of a middle plan between a _Spectator_ and a + newspaper, why not?--only not on a _Sunday_. Not that Sunday is not + an excellent day, but it is engaged already. We will call it the + 'Tenda Rossa,' the name Tassoni gave an answer of his in a + controversy, in allusion to the delicate hint of Timour the Lame, + to his enemies, by a 'Tenda' of that colour, before he gave battle. + Or we will call it 'Gli,' or 'I Carbonari,' if it so please you--or + any other name full of 'pastime and prodigality,' which you may + prefer. Let me have an answer. I conclude poetically, with the + bellman, 'A merry Christmas to you!'" + + * * * * * + +The year 1820 was an era signalised, as will be remembered, by the many +efforts of the revolutionary spirit which, at that time, broke forth, +like ill-suppressed fire, throughout the greater part of the South of +Europe. In Italy, Naples had already raised the Constitutional standard, +and her example was fast operating through the whole of that country. +Throughout Romagna, secret societies, under the name of Carbonari, had +been organised, which waited but the word of their chiefs to break out +into open insurrection. We have seen from Lord Byron's Journal in 1814, +what intense interest he took in the last struggles of Revolutionary +France under Napoleon; and his exclamations, "Oh for a +Republic!--'Brutus, thou sleepest!'" show the lengths to which, in +theory at least, his political zeal extended. Since then, he had but +rarely turned his thoughts to politics; the tame, ordinary vicissitude +of public affairs having but little in it to stimulate a mind like his, +whose sympathies nothing short of a crisis seemed worthy to interest. +This the present state of Italy gave every promise of affording him; +and, in addition to the great national cause itself, in which there was +every thing that a lover of liberty, warm from the pages of Petrarch and +Dante, could desire, he had also private ties and regards to enlist him +socially in the contest. The brother of Madame Guiccioli, Count Pietro +Gamba, who had been passing some time at Rome and Naples, was now +returned from his tour; and the friendly sentiments with which, +notwithstanding a natural bias previously in the contrary direction, he +at length learned to regard the noble lover of his sister, cannot better +be described than in the words of his fair relative herself. + +"At this time," says Madame Guiccioli, "my beloved brother, Pietro, +returned to Ravenna from Rome and Naples. He had been prejudiced by some +enemies of Lord Byron against his character, and my intimacy with him +afflicted him greatly; nor had my letters succeeded in entirely +destroying the evil impression which Lord Byron's detractors had +produced. No sooner, however, had he seen and known him, than he became +inspired with an interest in his favour, such as could not have been +produced by mere exterior qualities, but was the result only of that +union he saw in him of all that is most great and beautiful, as well in +the heart as mind of man. From that moment every former prejudice +vanished, and the conformity of their opinions and studies contributed +to unite them in a friendship, which only ended with their lives."[15] + +The young Gamba, who was, at this time, but twenty years of age, with a +heart full of all those dreams of the regeneration of Italy, which not +only the example of Naples, but the spirit working beneath the surface +all around him, inspired, had, together with his father, who was still +in the prime of life, become enrolled in the secret bands now organising +throughout Romagna, and Lord Byron was, by their intervention, admitted +also among the brotherhood. The following heroic Address to the +Neapolitan Government (written by the noble poet in Italian,[16] and +forwarded, it is thought, by himself to Naples, but intercepted on the +way,) will show how deep, how earnest, and expansive was his zeal in +that great, general cause of Political Freedom, for which he soon after +laid down his life among the marshes of Missolonghi. + +"An Englishman, a friend to liberty, having understood that the +Neapolitans permit even foreigners to contribute to the good cause, is +desirous that they should do him the honour of accepting a thousand +louis, which he takes the liberty of offering. Having already, not long +since, been an ocular witness of the despotism of the Barbarians in the +States occupied by them in Italy, he sees, with the enthusiasm natural +to a cultivated man, the generous determination of the Neapolitans to +assert their well-won independence. As a member of the English House of +Peers, he would be a traitor to the principles which placed the reigning +family of England on the throne, if he were not grateful for the noble +lesson so lately given both to people and to kings. The offer which he +desires to make is small in itself, as must always be that presented +from an individual to a nation; but he trusts that it will not be the +last they will receive from his countrymen. His distance from the +frontier, and the feeling of his personal incapacity to contribute +efficaciously to the service of the nation, prevents him from proposing +himself as worthy of the lowest commission, for which experience and +talent might be requisite. But if, as a mere volunteer, his presence +were not a burden to whomsoever he might serve under, he would repair to +whatever place the Neapolitan Government might point out, there to obey +the orders and participate in the dangers of his commanding officer, +without any other motive than that of sharing the destiny of a brave +nation, defending itself against the self-called Holy Alliance, which +but combines the vice of hypocrisy with despotism."[17] + +It was during the agitation of this crisis, while surrounded by rumours +and alarms, and expecting, every moment, to be summoned into the field, +that Lord Byron commenced the Journal which I am now about to give; and +which it is impossible to peruse, with the recollection of his former +Diary of 1814 in our minds, without reflecting how wholly different, in +all the circumstances connected with them, were the two periods at which +these records of his passing thoughts were traced. The first he wrote at +a time which may be considered, to use his own words, as "the most +poetical part of his whole life,"--_not_ certainly, in what regarded the +powers of his genius, to which every succeeding year added new force and +range, but in all that may be said to constitute the poetry of +character,--those fresh, unworldly feelings of which, in spite of his +early plunge into experience, he still retained the gloss, and that +ennobling light of imagination, which, with all his professed scorn of +mankind, still followed in the track of his affections, giving a lustre +to every object on which they rested. There was, indeed, in his +misanthropy, as in his sorrows, at that period, to the full as much of +fancy as of reality; and even those gallantries and loves in which he at +the same time entangled himself partook equally, as I have endeavoured +to show, of the same imaginative character. Though brought early under +the dominion of the senses, he had been also early rescued from this +thraldom by, in the first place, the satiety such excesses never fail to +produce, and, at no long interval after, by this series of half-fanciful +attachments which, though in their moral consequences to society, +perhaps, still more mischievous, had the varnish at least of refinement +on the surface, and by the novelty and apparent difficulty that invested +them served to keep alive that illusion of imagination from which such +pursuits derive their sole redeeming charm. + +With such a mixture, or rather predominance, of the ideal in his loves, +his hates, and his sorrows, the state of his existence at that period, +animated as it was, and kept buoyant, by such a flow of success, must be +acknowledged, even with every deduction for the unpicturesque +associations of a London life, to have been, in a high degree, poetical, +and to have worn round it altogether a sort of halo of romance, which +the events that followed were but too much calculated to dissipate. By +his marriage, and its results, he was again brought back to some of +those bitter realities of which his youth had had a foretaste. Pecuniary +embarrassment--that ordeal, of all others, the most trying to delicacy +and high-mindedness--now beset him with all the indignities that usually +follow in its train; and he was thus rudely schooled into the advantages +of _possessing_ money, when he had hitherto thought but of the generous +pleasure of _dispensing_ it. No stronger proof, indeed, is wanting of +the effect of such difficulties in tempering down even the most +chivalrous pride, than the necessity to which he found himself reduced +in 1816, not only of departing from his resolution never to profit by +the sale of his works, but of accepting a sum of money, for copyright, +from his publisher, which he had for some time persisted in refusing +for himself, and, in the full sincerity of his generous heart, had +destined for others. + +The injustice and malice to which he soon after became a victim had an +equally fatal effect in disenchanting the dream of his existence. Those +imaginary, or, at least, retrospective sorrows, in which he had once +loved to indulge, and whose tendency it was, through the medium of his +fancy, to soften and refine his heart, were now exchanged for a host of +actual, ignoble vexations, which it was even more humiliating than +painful to encounter. His misanthropy, instead of being, as heretofore, +a vague and abstract feeling, without any object to light upon, and +losing therefore its acrimony in diffusion, was now, by the hostility he +came in contact with, condensed into individual enmities, and narrowed +into personal resentments; and from the lofty, and, as it appeared to +himself, philosophical luxury of hating mankind in the gross, he was now +brought down to the self-humbling necessity of despising them in detail. + +By all these influences, so fatal to enthusiasm of character, and +forming, most of them, indeed, a part of the ordinary process by which +hearts become chilled and hardened in the world, it was impossible but +that some material change must have been effected in a disposition at +once so susceptible and tenacious of impressions. By compelling him to +concentre himself in his own resources and energies, as the only stand +now left against the world's injustice, his enemies but succeeded in +giving to the principle of self-dependence within him a new force and +spring which, however it added to the vigour of his character, could not +fail, by bringing Self so much into action, to impair a little its +amiableness. Among the changes in his disposition, attributable mainly +to this source, may be mentioned that diminished deference to the +opinions and feelings of others which, after this compulsory rally of +all his powers of resistance, he exhibited. Some portion, no doubt, of +this refractoriness may be accounted for by his absence from all those +whose slightest word or look would have done more with him than whole +volumes of correspondence; but by no cause less powerful and revulsive +than the struggle in which he had been committed could a disposition +naturally diffident as his was, and diffident even through all this +excitement, have been driven into the assumption of a tone so +universally defying, and so full, if not of pride in his own pre-eminent +powers, of such a contempt for some of the ablest among his +contemporaries, as almost implied it. It was, in fact, as has been more +than once remarked in these pages, a similar stirring up of all the best +and worst elements of his nature, to that which a like rebound against +injustice had produced in his youth;--though with a difference in point +of force and grandeur, between the two explosions, almost as great as +between the outbreaks of a firework and a volcano. + +Another consequence of the spirit of defiance now roused in him, and one +that tended, perhaps, even more fatally than any yet mentioned, to sully +and, for a time, bring down to earth the romance of his character, was +the course of life to which, outrunning even the licence of his youth, +he abandoned himself at Venice. From this, as from his earlier excesses, +the timely warning of disgust soon rescued him; and the connection with +Madame Guiccioli which followed, and which, however much to be +reprehended, had in it all of marriage that his real marriage wanted, +seemed to place, at length, within reach of his affectionate spirit that +union and sympathy for which, through life, it had thirsted. But the +treasure came too late;--the pure poetry of the feeling had vanished; +and those tears he shed so passionately in the garden at Bologna flowed +less, perhaps, from the love which he felt at that moment, than from the +saddening consciousness how differently he could have felt formerly. It +was, indeed, wholly beyond the power, even of an imagination like his, +to go on investing with its own ideal glories a sentiment which,--more +from daring and vanity than from any other impulse,--he had taken such +pains to tarnish and debase in his own eyes. Accordingly, instead of +being able, as once, to elevate and embellish all that interested him, +to make an idol of every passing creature of his fancy, and mistake the +form of love, which he so often conjured up, for its substance, he now +degenerated into the wholly opposite and perverse error of depreciating +and making light of what, intrinsically, he valued, and, as the reader +has seen, throwing slight and mockery upon a tie in which it was evident +some of the best feelings of his nature were wrapped up. That foe to all +enthusiasm and romance, the habit of ridicule, had, in proportion as he +exchanged the illusions for the realities of life, gained further empire +over him; and how far it had, at this time, encroached upon the loftier +and fairer regions of his mind may be seen in the pages of Don +Juan,--that diversified arena, on which the two Genii, good and evil, +that governed his thoughts, hold, with alternate triumph, their +ever-powerful combat. + +Even this, too, this vein of mockery,--in the excess to which, at last, +he carried it,--was but another result of the shock his proud mind had +received from those events that had cast him off, branded and +heart-stricken, from country and from home. As he himself touchingly +says, + + "And if I laugh at any mortal thing, + 'Tis that I may not weep." + +This laughter,--which, in such temperaments, is the near neighbour of +tears,--served as a diversion to him from more painful vents of +bitterness; and the same philosophical calculation which made the poet +of melancholy, Young, declare that "he preferred laughing at the world +to being angry with it," led Lord Byron also to settle upon the same +conclusion; and to feel, in the misanthropic views he was inclined to +take of mankind, that mirth often saved him the pain of hate. + +That, with so many drawbacks upon all generous effusions of sentiment, +he should still have preserved so much of his native tenderness and +ardour as is conspicuous, through all disguises, in his unquestionable +love for Madame Guiccioli, and in the still more undoubted zeal with +which he now entered, heart and soul, into the great cause of human +freedom, wheresoever or by whomsoever asserted[18],--only shows how rich +must have been the original stores of sensibility and enthusiasm which +even a career such as his could so little chill or exhaust. Most +consoling, too, is it to reflect that the few latter years of his life +should have been thus visited with a return of that poetic lustre, +which, though it never had ceased to surround the bard, had but too much +faded away from the character of the man; and that while +Love,--reprehensible as it was, but still Love,--had the credit of +rescuing him from the only errors that disgraced his maturer years, for +Liberty was reserved the proud but mournful triumph of calling the last +stage of his glorious course her own, and lighting him, amidst the +sympathies of the world, to his grave. + +Having endeavoured, in this comparison between his present and former +self, to account, by what I consider to be their true causes, for the +new phenomena which his character, at this period, exhibited, I shall +now lay before the reader the Journal by which these remarks were more +immediately suggested, and from which I fear they will be thought to +have too long detained him. + +[Footnote 15: "In quest' epoca venne a Ravenna di ritorno da Roma e +Napoli il mio diletto fratello Pietro. Egli era stato prevenuto da dei +nemeci di Lord Byron contro il di lui carattere; molto lo affligeva la +mia intimita con lui, e le mie lettere non avevano riuscito a bene +distruggere la cattiva impressione ricevuta dei detrattori di Lord +Byron. Ma appena lo vidde e lo conobbe egli pure ricevesse quella +impressione che non puo essere prodotta da dei pregi esteriori, ma +solamente dall unione di tuttocio che vi e di piu bello e di piu grande +nel cuore e nella mente dell uomo. Svani ogni sua anteriore prevenzione +contro di Lord Byron, e la conformita della loro idee e dei studii loro +contribui a stringerli in quella amicizia che non doveva avere fine che +colla loro vita."] + +[Footnote 16: A draft of this Address, in his own handwriting, was found +among his papers. He is supposed to have intrusted it to a professed +agent of the Constitutional Government of Naples, who had waited upon +him secretly at Ravenna, and, under the pretence of having been waylaid +and robbed, induced his Lordship to supply him with money for his +return. This man turned out afterwards to have been a spy, and the above +paper, if confided to him, fell most probably into the hands of the +Pontifical Government.] + +[Footnote 17: "Un Inglese amico della liberta avendo sentito che i +Napolitani permettono anche agli stranieri di contribuire alia buona +causa, bramerebbe l'onore di vedere accettata la sua offerta di mille +luigi, la quale egli azzarda di fare. Gia testimonio oculare non molto +fa della tirannia dei Barbari negli stati da loro occupati nell' Italia, +egli vede con tutto l'entusiasmo di un uomo ben nato la generosa +determinazione dei Napolitani per confermare la loro bene acquistata +indipendenza. Membro della Camera dei Pari della nazione Inglese egli +sarebbe un traditore ai principii che hanno posto sul trono la famiglia +regnante d'Inghilterra se non riconoscesse la bella lezione di bel nuovo +data ai popoli ed ai Re. L'offerta che egli brama di presentare e poca +in se stessa, come bisogna che sia sempre quella di un individuo ad una +nazione, ma egli spera che non sara l'ultima dalla parte dei suoi +compatriotti. La sua lontananza dalle frontiere, e il sentimento della +sua poca capacita personale di contribuire efficacimente a servire la +nazione gl' impedisce di proporsi come degno della piu piccola +commissione che domanda dell' esperienza e del talento. Ma, se come +semplice volontario la sua presenza non fosse un incomodo a quello che +l'accetasse egli riparebbe a qualunque luogo indicato dal Governo +Napolitano, per ubbidire agli ordini e participare ai pericoli del suo +superiore, senza avere altri motivi che quello di dividere il destino di +una brava nazione resistendo alla se dicente Santa Allianza la quale +aggiunge l'ippocrisia al despotismo."] + +[Footnote 18: Among his "Detached Thoughts" I find this general passion +for liberty thus strikingly expressed. After saying, in reference to his +own choice of Venice as a place of residence, "I remembered General +Ludlow's domal inscription, 'Omne solum forti patria,' and sat down free +in a country which had been one of slavery for centuries," he adds, "But +there is _no_ freedom, even for _masters_, in the midst of slaves. It +makes my blood boil to see the thing. I sometimes wish that I was the +owner of Africa, to do at once what Wilberforce will do in time, viz. +sweep slavery from her deserts, and look on upon the first dance of +their freedom. + +"As to political slavery, so general, it is men's own fault: if they +_will_ be slaves, let them! Yet it is but 'a word and a blow.' See how +England formerly, France, Spain, Portugal, America, Switzerland, freed +themselves! There is no one instance of a long contest in which men did +not triumph over systems. If Tyranny misses her _first_ spring, she is +cowardly as the tiger, and retires to be hunted."] + + * * * * * + +EXTRACTS FROM A DIARY OF LORD BYRON. 1821. + +"Ravenna, January 4. 1821. + +"'A sudden thought strikes me.' Let me begin a Journal once more. The +last I kept was in Switzerland, in record of a tour made in the Bernese +Alps, which I made to send to my sister in 1816, and I suppose that she +has it still, for she wrote to me that she was pleased with it. Another, +and longer, I kept in 1813-1814, which I gave to Thomas Moore in the +same year. + +"This morning I gat me up late, as usual--weather bad--bad as +England--worse. The snow of last week melting to the sirocco of to-day, +so that there were two d----d things at once. Could not even get to ride +on horseback in the forest. Stayed at home all the morning--looked at +the fire--wondered when the post would come. Post came at the Ave Maria, +instead of half-past one o'clock, as it ought, Galignani's Messengers, +six in number--a letter from Faenza, but none from England. Very sulky +in consequence (for there ought to have been letters), and ate in +consequence a copious dinner; for when I am vexed, it makes me swallow +quicker--but drank very little. + +"I was out of spirits--read the papers--thought what _fame_ was, on +reading, in a case of murder, that 'Mr. Wych, grocer, at Tunbridge, sold +some bacon, flour, cheese, and, it is believed, some plums, to some +gipsy woman accused. He had on his counter (I quote faithfully) a +_book_, the Life of _Pamela_, which he was _tearing_ for _waste_ paper, +&c. &c. In the cheese was found, &c. and a _leaf_ of _Pamela wrapt round +the bacon._' What would Richardson, the vainest and luckiest of _living_ +authors (_i.e._ while alive)--he who, with Aaron Hill, used to prophesy +and chuckle over the presumed fall of Fielding (the prose Homer of human +nature) and of Pope (the most beautiful of poets)--what would he have +said, could he have traced his pages from their place on the French +prince's toilets (see Boswell's Johnson) to the grocer's counter and the +gipsy-murderess's bacon!!! + +"What would he have said? what can any body say, save what Solomon said +long before us? After all, it is but passing from one counter to +another, from the bookseller's to the other tradesman's--grocer or +pastry-cook. For my part, I have met with most poetry upon trunks; so +that I am apt to consider the trunk-maker as the sexton of authorship. + +"Wrote five letters in about half an hour, short and savage, to all my +rascally correspondents. Carriage came. Heard the news of three murders +at Faenza and Forli--a carabinier, a smuggler, and an attorney--all last +night. The two first in a quarrel, the latter by premeditation. + +"Three weeks ago--almost a month--the 7th it was--I picked up the +commandant, mortally wounded, out of the street; he died in my house; +assassins unknown, but presumed political. His brethren wrote from Rome +last night to thank me for having assisted him in his last moments. Poor +fellow! it was a pity; he was a good soldier, but imprudent. It was +eight in the evening when they killed him. We heard the shot; my +servants and I ran out, and found him expiring, with five wounds, two +whereof mortal--by slugs they seemed. I examined him, but did not go to +the dissection next morning. + +"Carriage at 8 or so--went to visit La Contessa G.--found her playing on +the piano-forte--talked till ten, when the Count, her father, and the no +less Count, her brother, came in from the theatre. Play, they said, +Alfieri's Filippo--well received. + +"Two days ago the King of Naples passed through Bologna on his way to +congress. My servant Luigi brought the news. I had sent him to Bologna +for a lamp. How will it end? Time will show. + +"Came home at eleven, or rather before. If the road and weather are +comfortable, mean to ride to-morrow. High time--almost a week at this +work--snow, sirocco, one day--frost and snow the other--sad climate for +Italy. But the two seasons, last and present, are extraordinary. Read a +Life of Leonardo da Vinci by Rossi--ruminated--wrote this much, and will +go to bed. + + +"January 5. 1821. + +"Rose late--dull and drooping--the weather dripping and dense. Snow on +the ground, and sirocco above in the sky, like yesterday. Roads up to +the horse's belly, so that riding (at least for pleasure) is not very +feasible. Added a postscript to my letter to Murray. Read the +conclusion, for the fiftieth time (I have read all W. Scott's novels at +least fifty times), of the third series of 'Tales of my +Landlord,'--grand work--Scotch Fielding, as well as great English +poet--wonderful man! I long to get drunk with him. + +"Dined versus six o' the clock. Forgot that there was a plum-pudding, (I +have added, lately, _eating_ to my 'family of vices,') and had dined +before I knew it. Drank half a bottle of some sort of spirits--probably +spirits of wine; for what they call brandy, rum, &c. &c. here is nothing +but spirits of wine, coloured accordingly. Did _not_ eat two apples, +which were placed by way of dessert. Fed the two cats, the hawk, and the +tame (but _not tamed_) _crow_. Read Mitford's History of +Greece--Xenophon's Retreat of the Ten Thousand. Up to this present +_moment writing, 6 minutes before eight o' the clock_--French hours, not +Italian. + +"Hear the carriage--order pistols and great coat, as usual--necessary +articles. Weather cold--carriage open, and inhabitants somewhat +savage--rather treacherous and highly inflamed by politics. Fine +fellows, though, good materials for a nation. Out of chaos God made a +world, and out of high passions comes a people. + +"Clock strikes--going out to make love. Somewhat perilous, but not +disagreeable. Memorandum--a new screen put up to-day. It is rather +antique, but will do with a little repair. + +"Thaw continues--hopeful that riding may be practicable to-morrow. Sent +the papers to Alli.--grand events coming. + +"11 o' the clock and nine minutes. Visited La Contessa G. Nata G.G. +Found her beginning my letter of answer to the thanks of Alessio del +Pinto of Rome for assisting his brother the late Commandant in his last +moments, as I had begged her to pen my reply for the purer Italian, I +being an ultra-montane, little skilled in the set phrase of Tuscany. Cut +short the letter--finish it another day. Talked of Italy, patriotism, +Alfieri, Madame Albany, and other branches of learning. Also Sallust's +Conspiracy of Catiline, and the War of Jugurtha. At 9 came in her +brother, Il Conte Pietro--at 10, her father, Conte Ruggiero. + +"Talked of various modes of warfare--of the Hungarian and Highland modes +of broad-sword exercise, in both whereof I was once a moderate 'master +of fence.' Settled that the R. will break out on the 7th or 8th of +March, in which appointment I should trust, had it not been settled that +it was to have broken out in October, 1820. But those Bolognese shirked +the Romagnuoles. + +"'It is all one to Ranger.' One must not be particular, but take +rebellion when it lies in the way. Come home--read the 'Ten Thousand' +again, and will go to bed. + +"Mem.--Ordered Fletcher (at four o'clock this afternoon) to copy out +seven or eight apophthegms of Bacon, in which I have detected such +blunders as a school-boy might detect rather than commit. Such are the +sages! What must they be, when such as I can stumble on their mistakes +or misstatements? I will go to bed, for I find that I grow cynical. + + +"January 6. 1821. + +"Mist--thaw--slop--rain. No stirring out on horseback. Read Spence's +Anecdotes. Pope a fine fellow--always thought him so. Corrected blunders +in _nine_ apophthegms of Bacon--all historical--and read Mitford's +Greece. Wrote an epigram. Turned to a passage in Guinguene--ditto in +Lord Holland's Lope de Vega. Wrote a note on Don Juan. + +"At eight went out to visit. Heard a little music--like music. Talked +with Count Pietro G. of the Italian comedian Vestris, who is now at +Rome--have seen him often act in Venice--a good actor--very. Somewhat of +a mannerist; but excellent in broad comedy, as well as in the +sentimental pathetic. He has made me frequently laugh and cry, neither +of which is now a very easy matter--at least, for a player to produce in +me. + +"Thought of the state of women under the ancient Greeks--convenient +enough. Present state a remnant of the barbarism of the chivalry and +feudal ages--artificial and unnatural. They ought to mind home--and be +well fed and clothed--but not mixed in society. Well educated, too, in +religion--but to read neither poetry nor politics--nothing but books of +piety and cookery. Music--drawing--dancing--also a little gardening and +ploughing now and then. I have seen them mending the roads in Epirus +with good success. Why not, as well as hay-making and milking? + +"Came home, and read Mitford again, and played with my mastiff--gave him +his supper. Made another reading to the epigram, but the turn the same. +To-night at the theatre, there being a prince on his throne in the last +scene of the comedy,--the audience laughed, and asked him for a +_Constitution_. This shows the state of the public mind here, as well as +the assassinations. It won't do. There must be an universal +republic,--and there ought to be. + +"The crow is lame of a leg--wonder how it happened--some fool trod upon +his toe, I suppose. The falcon pretty brisk--the cats large and +noisy--the monkeys I have not looked to since the cold weather, as they +suffer by being brought up. Horses must be gay--get a ride as soon as +weather serves. Deuced muggy still--an Italian winter is a sad thing, +but all the other seasons are charming. + +"What is the reason that I have been, all my lifetime, more or less +_ennuye?_ and that, if any thing, I am rather less so now than I was at +twenty, as far as my recollection serves? I do not know how to answer +this, but presume that it is constitutional,--as well as the waking in +low spirits, which I have invariably done for many years. Temperance and +exercise, which I have practised at times, and for a long time together +vigorously and violently, made little or no difference. Violent passions +did;--when under their immediate influence--it is odd, but--I was in +agitated, but _not_ in depressed, spirits. + +"A dose of salts has the effect of a temporary inebriation, like light +champagne, upon me. But wine and spirits make me sullen and savage to +ferocity--silent, however, and retiring, and not quarrelsome, if not +spoken to. Swimming also raises my spirits,--but in general they are +low, and get daily lower. That is _hopeless_; for I do not think I am so +much _ennuye_ as I was at nineteen. The proof is, that then I must game, +or drink, or be in motion of some kind, or I was miserable. At present, +I can mope in quietness; and like being alone better than any +company--except the lady's whom I serve. But I feel a something, which +makes me think that, if I ever reach near to old age, like Swift, 'I +shall die at top' first. Only I do not dread idiotism or madness so much +as he did. On the contrary, I think some quieter stages of both must be +preferable to much of what men think the possession of their senses. + + +"January 7. 1821, Sunday. + +"Still rain--mist--snow--drizzle--and all the incalculable combinations +of a climate where heat and cold struggle for mastery. Head Spence, and +turned over Roscoe, to find a passage I have not found. Read the fourth +vol. of W. Scott's second series of 'Tales of my Landlord.' Dined. Read +the Lugano Gazette. Read--I forget what. At eight went to conversazione. +Found there the Countess Geltrude, Betti V. and her husband, and others. +Pretty black-eyed woman that--_only_ nineteen--same age as Teresa, who +is prettier, though. + +"The Count Pietro G. took me aside to say that the Patriots have had +notice from Forli (twenty miles off) that to-night the government and +its party mean to strike a stroke--that the Cardinal here has had orders +to make several arrests immediately, and that, in consequence, the +Liberals are arming, and have posted patroles in the streets, to sound +the alarm and give notice to fight for it. + +"He asked me 'what should be done?' I answered, 'Fight for it, rather +than be taken in detail;' and offered, if any of them are in immediate +apprehension of arrest, to receive them in my house (which is +defensible), and to defend them, with my servants and themselves (we +have arms and ammunition), as long as we can,--or to try to get them +away under cloud of night. On going home, I offered him the pistols +which I had about me--but he refused, but said he would come off to me +in case of accidents. + +"It wants half an hour of midnight, and rains;--as Gibbet says, 'a fine +night for their enterprise--dark as hell, and blows like the devil.' If +the row don't happen _now_, it must soon. I thought that their system of +shooting people would soon produce a re-action--and now it seems coming. +I will do what I can in the way of combat, though a little out of +exercise. The cause is a good one. + +"Turned over and over half a score of books for the passage in question, +and can't find it. Expect to hear the drum and the musquetry momently +(for they swear to resist, and are right,)--but I hear nothing, as yet, +save the plash of the rain and the gusts of the wind at intervals. Don't +like to go to bed, because I hate to be waked, and would rather sit up +for the row, if there is to be one. + +"Mended the fire--have got the arms--and a book or two, which I shall +turn over. I know little of their numbers, but think the Carbonari +strong enough to beat the troops, even here. With twenty men this house +might be defended for twenty-four hours against any force to be brought +against it, now in this place, for the same time; and, in such a time, +the country would have notice, and would rise,--if ever they _will_ +rise, of which there is some doubt. In the mean time, I may as well read +as do any thing else, being alone. + + +"January 8. 1821, Monday. + +"Rose, and found Count P.G. in my apartments. Sent away the servant. +Told me that, according to the best information, the Government had not +issued orders for the arrests apprehended; that the attack in Forli had +not taken place (as expected) by the Sanfedisti--the opponents of the +Carbonari or Liberals--and that, as yet, they are still in apprehension +only. Asked me for some arms of a better sort, which I gave him. Settled +that, in case of a row, the Liberals were to assemble _here_ (with me), +and that he had given the word to Vincenzo G. and others of the _Chiefs_ +for that purpose. He himself and father are going to the chase in the +forest; but V.G. is to come to me, and an express to be sent off to him, +P.G., if any thing occurs. Concerted operations. They are to seize--but +no matter. + +"I advised them to attack in detail, and in different parties, in +different _places_ (though at the _same_ time), so as to divide the +attention of the troops, who, though few, yet being disciplined, would +beat any body of people (not trained) in a regular fight--unless +dispersed in small parties, and distracted with different assaults. +Offered to let them assemble here, if they choose. It is a strongish +post--narrow street, commanded from within--and tenable walls. + +"Dined. Tried on a new coat. Letter to Murray, with corrections of +Bacon's Apophthegms and an epigram--the _latter not_ for publication. At +eight went to Teresa, Countess G. At nine and a half came in Il Conte P. +and Count P.G. Talked of a certain proclamation lately issued. Count +R.G. had been with * * (the * *), to sound him about the arrests. He, +* *, is a _trimmer_, and deals, at present, his cards with both hands. +If he don't mind, they'll be full. * * pretends (_I_ doubt him--_they_ +don't,--we shall see) that there is no such order, and seems staggered +by the immense exertions of the Neapolitans, and the fierce spirit of +the Liberals here. The truth is, that * * cares for little but his place +(which is a good one), and wishes to play pretty with both parties. He +has changed his mind thirty times these last three moons, to my +knowledge, for he corresponds with me. But he is not a bloody +fellow--only an avaricious one. + +"It seems that, just at this moment (as Lydia Languish says), there will +be no elopement after all. I wish that I had known as much last +night--or, rather, this morning--I should have gone to bed two hours +earlier. And yet I ought not to complain; for, though it is a sirocco, +and heavy rain, I have not _yawned_ for these two days. + +"Came home--read History of Greece--before dinner had read Walter +Scott's Rob Roy. Wrote address to the letter in answer to Alessio del +Pinto, who has thanked me for helping his brother (the late Commandant, +murdered here last month) in his last moments. Have told him I only did +a duty of humanity--as is true. The brother lives at Rome. + +"Mended the fire with some 'sgobole' (a Romagnuole word), and gave the +falcon some water. Drank some Seltzer-water. Mem.--received to-day a +print, or etching, of the story of Ugolino, by an Italian +painter--different, of course, from Sir Joshua Reynolds's, and I think +(as far as recollection goes) _no worse_, for Reynolds's is not good in +history. Tore a button in my new coat. + +"I wonder what figure these Italians will make in a regular row. I +sometimes think that, like the Irishman's gun (somebody had sold him a +crooked one), they will only do for 'shooting round a corner;' at least, +this sort of shooting has been the late tenor of their exploits. And +yet, there are materials in this people, and a noble energy, if well +directed. But who is to direct them? No matter. Out of such times heroes +spring. Difficulties are the hotbeds of high spirits, and Freedom the +mother of the few virtues incident to human nature. + + +"Tuesday, January 9. 1821. + +"Rose--the day fine. Ordered the horses; but Lega (my _secretary_, an +Italianism for steward or chief servant) coming to tell me that the +painter had finished the work in fresco, for the room he has been +employed on lately, I went to see it before I set out. The painter has +not copied badly the prints from Titian, &c. considering all things. + +"Dined. Read Johnson's 'Vanity of Human Wishes,'--all the examples and +mode of giving them sublime, as well as the latter part, with the +exception of an occasional couplet. I do not so much admire the opening. +I remember an observation of Sharpe's, (the _Conversationist_, as he was +called in London, and a very clever man,) that the first line of this +poem was superfluous, and that Pope (the best of poets, _I_ think) would +have begun at once, only changing the punctuation-- + + "'Survey mankind from China to Peru.' + +The former line, 'Let observation,' &c. is certainly heavy and useless. +But 'tis a grand poem--and _so true!_--true as the 10th of Juvenal +himself. The lapse of ages _changes_ all things--time--language--the +earth--the bounds of the sea--the stars of the sky, and every thing +'about, around, and underneath' man, _except man himself_, who has +always been, and always will be, an unlucky rascal. The infinite variety +of lives conduct but to death, and the infinity of wishes lead but to +disappointment. All the discoveries which have yet been made have +multiplied little but existence. An extirpated disease is succeeded by +some new pestilence; and a discovered world has brought little to the +old one, except the p---- first and freedom afterwards--the _latter_ a +fine thing, particularly as they gave it to Europe in exchange for +slavery. But it is doubtful whether 'the Sovereigns' would not think the +_first_ the best present of the two to their subjects. + +"At eight went out--heard some news. They say the King of Naples has +declared, by couriers from Florence, to the _Powers_ (as they call now +those wretches with crowns) that his Constitution was compulsive, &c. +&c. and that the Austrian barbarians are placed again on _war_ pay, and +will march. Let them--'they come like sacrifices in their trim,' the +hounds of hell! Let it still be a hope to see their bones piled like +those of the human dogs at Morat, in Switzerland, which I have seen. + +"Heard some music. At nine the usual visiters--news, _war_, or rumours +of war. Consulted with P.G. &c. &c. They mean to _insurrect_ here, and +are to honour me with a call thereupon. I shall not fall back; though I +don't think them in force or heart sufficient to make much of it. But, +_onward!_--it is now the time to act, and what signifies _self_, if a +single spark of that which would be worthy of the past can be bequeathed +unquenchedly to the future? It is not one man, nor a million, but the +_spirit_ of liberty which must be spread. The waves which dash upon the +shore are, one by one, broken, but yet the _ocean_ conquers, +nevertheless. It overwhelms the Armada, it wears the rock, and, if the +_Neptunians_ are to be believed, it has not only destroyed, but made a +world. In like manner, whatever the sacrifice of individuals, the great +cause will gather strength, sweep down what is rugged, and fertilise +(for _sea-weed_ is _manure_) what is cultivable. And so, the mere +selfish calculation ought never to be made on such occasions; and, at +present, it shall not be computed by me. I was never a good +arithmetician of chances, and shall not commence now. + + +"January 10. 1821. + +"Day fine--rained only in the morning. Looked over accounts. Read +Campbell's Poets--marked errors of Tom (the author) for correction. +Dined--went out--music--Tyrolese air, with variations. Sustained the +cause of the original simple air against the variations of the Italian +school. + +"Politics somewhat tempestuous, and cloudier daily. To-morrow being +foreign post-day, probably something more will be known. + +"Came home--read. Corrected Tom Campbell's slips of the pen. A good +work, though--style affected--but his defence of Pope is glorious. To be +sure, it is his _own cause_ too,--but no matter, it is very good, and +does him great credit. + + +"Midnight. + +"I have been turning over different _Lives_ of the Poets. I rarely read +their works, unless an occasional flight over the classical ones, Pope, +Dryden, Johnson, Gray, and those who approach them nearest (I leave the +_rant_ of the rest to the _cant_ of the day), and--I had made several +reflections, but I feel sleepy, and may as well go to bed. + + +"January 11. 1821. + +"Read the letters. Corrected the tragedy and the 'Hints from Horace.' +Dined, and got into better spirits. Went out--returned--finished +letters, five in number. Read Poets, and an anecdote in Spence. + +"Alli. writes to me that the Pope, and Duke of Tuscany, and King of +Sardinia, have also been called to Congress; but the Pope will only deal +there by proxy. So the interests of millions are in the hands of about +twenty coxcombs, at a place called Leibach! + +"I should almost regret that my own affairs went well, when those of +nations are in peril. If the interests of mankind could be essentially +bettered (particularly of these oppressed Italians), I should not so +much mind my own 'suma peculiar.' God grant us all better times, or more +philosophy! + +"In reading, I have just chanced upon an expression of Tom +Campbell's;--speaking of Collins, he says that no reader cares any more +about the _characteristic manners_ of his Eclogues than about the +authenticity of the tale of Troy.' 'Tis false--we _do_ care about the +authenticity of the tale of Troy. I have stood upon that plain _daily_, +for more than a month in 1810; and if any thing diminished my pleasure, +it was that the blackguard Bryant had impugned its veracity. It is true +I read 'Homer Travestied' (the first twelve books), because Hobhouse and +others bored me with their learned localities, and I love quizzing. But +I still venerated the grand original as the truth of _history_ (in the +material _facts_) and of _place_. Otherwise, it would have given me no +delight. Who will persuade me, when I reclined upon a mighty tomb, that +it did not contain a hero?--its very magnitude proved this. Men do not +labour over the ignoble and petty dead--and why should not the _dead_ be +_Homer_'s dead? The secret of Tom Campbell's defence of _inaccuracy_ in +costume and description is, that his Gertrude, &c. has no more locality +in common with Pennsylvania than with Penmanmaur. It is notoriously full +of grossly false scenery, as all Americans declare, though they praise +parts of the poem. It is thus that self-love for ever creeps out, like a +snake, to sting any thing which happens, even accidentally, to stumble +upon it. + + +"January 12. 1821. + +"The weather still so humid and impracticable, that London, in its most +oppressive fogs, were a summer-bower to this mist and sirocco, which has +now lasted (but with one day's interval), chequered with snow or heavy +rain only, since the 30th of December, 1820. It is so far lucky that I +have a literary turn;--but it is very tiresome not to be able to stir +out, in comfort, on any horse but Pegasus, for so many days. The roads +are even worse than the weather, by the long splashing, and the heavy +soil, and the growth of the waters. + +"Read the Poets--English, that is to say--out of Campbell's edition. +There is a good deal of taffeta in some of Tom's prefatory phrases, but +his work is good as a whole. I like him best, though, in his own poetry. + +"Murray writes that they want to act the Tragedy of Marino Faliero--more +fools they, it was written for the closet. I have protested against this +piece of usurpation, (which, it seems, is legal for managers over any +printed work, against the author's will,) and I hope they will not +attempt it. Why don't they bring out some of the numberless aspirants +for theatrical celebrity, now encumbering their shelves, instead of +lugging me out of the library? I have written a fierce protest against +any such attempt, but I still would hope that it will not be necessary, +and that they will see, at once, that it is not intended for the stage. +It is too regular--the time, twenty-four hours--the change of place not +frequent--nothing _melo_dramatic--no surprises, no starts, nor +trap-doors, nor opportunities 'for tossing their heads and kicking their +heels'--and no _love_--the grand ingredient of a modern play. + +"I have found out the seal cut on Murray's letter. It is meant for +Walter Scott--or _Sir_ Walter--he is the first poet knighted since Sir +Richard Blackmore. But it does not do him justice. +Scott's--particularly when he recites--is a very intelligent +countenance, and this seal says nothing. + +"Scott is certainly the most wonderful writer of the day. His novels are +a new literature in themselves, and his poetry as good as any--if not +better (only on an erroneous system)--and only ceased to be so popular, +because the vulgar learned were tired of hearing 'Aristides called the +Just,' and Scott the Best, and ostracised him. + +"I like him, too, for his manliness of character, for the extreme +pleasantness of his conversation, and his good-nature towards myself, +personally. May he prosper!--for he deserves it. I know no reading to +which I fall with such alacrity as a work of W. Scott's. I shall give +the seal, with his bust on it, to Madame la Contesse G. this evening, +who will be curious to have the effigies of a man so celebrated. + +"How strange are our thoughts, &c. &c. &c.[19] + +[Footnote 19: Here follows a long passage, already extracted, relative +to his early friend, Edward Noel Long.] + + +"Midnight. + +"Read the Italian translation by Guido Sorelli of the German +Grillparzer--a devil of a name, to be sure, for posterity; but they +_must_ learn to pronounce it. With all the allowance for a +_translation_, and above all, an _Italian_ translation (they are the +very worst of translators, except from the Classics--Annibale Caro, for +instance--and _there_, the bastardy of their language helps them, as, by +way of _looking legitimate_, they ape their father's tongue);--but with +every allowance for such a disadvantage, the tragedy of Sappho is superb +and sublime! There is no denying it. The man has done a great thing in +writing that play. And _who is he?_ I know him not; but _ages will_. +'Tis a high intellect. + +"I must premise, however, that I have read _nothing_ of Adolph Muellner's +(the author of 'Guilt'), and much less of Goethe, and Schiller, and +Wieland, than I could wish. I only know them through the medium of +English, French, and Italian translations. Of the _real_ language I know +absolutely nothing,--except oaths learnt from postilions and officers in +a squabble. I can _swear_ in German potently, when I +like--'Sacrament--Verfluchter--Hundsfott'--and so forth; but I have +little of their less energetic conversation. + +"I like, however, their women, (I was once so _desperately_ in love with +a German woman, Constance,) and all that I have read, translated, of +their writings, and all that I have seen on the Rhine of their country +and people--all, except the Austrians, whom I abhor, loathe, and--I +cannot find words for my hate of them, and should be sorry to find deeds +correspondent to my hate; for I abhor cruelty more than I abhor the +Austrians--except on an impulse, and then I am savage--but not +deliberately so. + +"Grillparzer is grand--antique--_not so simple_ as the ancients, but +very simple for a modern--too Madame de Stael_ish_, now and then--but +altogether a great and goodly writer. + + +"January 13. 1821, Saturday. + +"Sketched the outline and Drams. Pers. of an intended tragedy of +Sardanapalus, which I have for some time meditated. Took the names from +Diodorus Siculus, (I know the history of Sardanapalus, and have known it +since I was twelve years old,) and read over a passage in the ninth vol. +octavo, of Mitford's Greece, where he rather vindicates the memory of +this last of the Assyrians. + +"Dined--news come--the _Powers_ mean to war with the peoples. The +intelligence seems positive--let it be so--they will be beaten in the +end. The king-times are fast finishing. There will be blood shed like +water, and tears like mist; but the peoples will conquer in the end. I +shall not live to see it, but I foresee it. + +"I carried Teresa the Italian translation of Grillparzer's Sappho, which +she promises to read. She quarrelled with me, because I said that love +was _not the loftiest_ theme for true tragedy; and, having the advantage +of her native language, and natural female eloquence, she overcame my +fewer arguments. I believe she was right. I must put more love into +'Sardanapalus' than I intended. I speak, of course, _if_ the times will +allow me leisure. That _if_ will hardly be a peace-maker. + + +"January 14. 1821. + +"Turned over Seneca's tragedies. Wrote the opening lines of the intended +tragedy of Sardanapalus. Rode out some miles into the forest. Misty and +rainy. Returned--dined--wrote some more of my tragedy. + +"Read Diodorus Siculus--turned over Seneca, and some other books. Wrote +some more of the tragedy. Took a glass of grog. After having ridden hard +in rainy weather, and scribbled, and scribbled again, the spirits (at +least mine) need a little exhilaration, and I don't like laudanum now as +I used to do. So I have mixed a glass of strong waters and single +waters, which I shall now proceed to empty. Therefore and thereunto I +conclude this day's diary. + +"The effect of all wines and spirits upon me is, however, strange. It +_settles_, but it makes me gloomy--gloomy at the very moment of their +effect, and not gay hardly ever. But it composes for a time, though +sullenly. + + +"January 15. 1821. + +"Weather fine. Received visit. Rode out into the forest--fired pistols. +Returned home--dined--dipped into a volume of Mitford's Greece--wrote +part of a scene of 'Sardanapalus.' Went out--heard some music--heard +some politics. More ministers from the other Italian powers gone to +Congress. War seems certain--in that case, it will be a savage one. +Talked over various important matters with one of the initiated. At ten +and half returned home. + +"I have just thought of something odd. In the year 1814, Moore ('the +poet,' _par excellence_, and he deserves it) and I were going together, +in the same carriage, to dine with Earl Grey, the Capo Politico of the +remaining Whigs. Murray, the magnificent (the illustrious publisher of +that name), had just sent me a Java gazette--I know not why, or +wherefore. Pulling it out, by way of curiosity, we found it to contain a +dispute (the said Java gazette) on Moore's merits and mine. I think, if +I had been there, that I could have saved them the trouble of disputing +on the subject. But, there is _fame_ for you at six and twenty! +Alexander had conquered India at the same age; but I doubt if he was +disputed about, or his conquests compared with those of Indian Bacchus, +at Java. + +"It was a great fame to be named with Moore; greater to be compared with +him; greatest--_pleasure_, at least--to be _with_ him; and, surely, an +odd coincidence, that we should be dining together while they were +quarrelling about us beyond the equinoctial line. + +"Well, the same evening, I met Lawrence the painter, and heard one of +Lord Grey's daughters (a fine, tall, spirit-looking girl, with much of +the _patrician, thorough-bred look_ of her father, which I dote upon) +play on the harp, so modestly and ingenuously, that she _looked music_. +Well, I would rather have had my talk with Lawrence (who talked +delightfully) and heard the girl, than have had all the fame of Moore +and me put together. + +"The only pleasure of fame is that it paves the way to pleasure; and the +more intellectual our pleasure, the better for the pleasure and for us +too. It was, however, agreeable to have heard our fame before dinner, +and a girl's harp after. + + +"January 16. 1821. + +"Read--rode--fired pistols--returned--dined--wrote--visited--heard +music--talked nonsense--and went home. + +"Wrote part of a Tragedy--advanced in Act 1st with 'all deliberate +speed.' Bought a blanket. The weather is still muggy as a London +May--mist, mizzle, the air replete with Scotticisms, which, though fine +in the descriptions of Ossian, are somewhat tiresome in real, prosaic +perspective. Politics still mysterious. + + +"January 17. 1821. + +"Rode i' the forest--fired pistols--dined. Arrived a packet of books +from England and Lombardy--English, Italian, French, and Latin. Read +till eight--went out. + + +"January 18. 1821. + +"To-day, the post arriving late, did not ride. Read letters--only two +gazettes instead of twelve now due. Made Lega write to that negligent +Galignani, and added a postscript. Dined. + +"At eight proposed to go out. Lega came in with a letter about a bill +_unpaid_ at Venice, which I thought paid months ago. I flew into a +paroxysm of rage, which almost made me faint. I have not been well ever +since. I deserve it for being such a fool--but it _was_ provoking--a set +of scoundrels! It is, however, but five and twenty pounds. + + +"January 19. 1821. + +"Rode. Winter's wind somewhat more unkind than ingratitude itself, +though Shakspeare says otherwise. At least, I am so much more accustomed +to meet with ingratitude than the north wind, that I thought the latter +the sharper of the two. I had met with both in the course of the +twenty-four hours, so could judge. + +"Thought of a plan of education for my daughter Allegra, who ought to +begin soon with her studies. Wrote a letter--afterwards a postscript. +Rather in low spirits--certainly hippish--liver touched--will take a +dose of salts. + +"I have been reading the Life, by himself and daughter, of Mr. R.L. +Edgeworth, the father of _the_ Miss Edgeworth. It is altogether a great +name. In 1813, I recollect to have met them in the fashionable world of +London (of which I then formed an item, a fraction, the segment of a +circle, the unit of a million, the nothing of something) in the +assemblies of the hour, and at a breakfast of Sir Humphry and Lady +Davy's, to which I was invited for the nonce. I had been the lion of +1812; Miss Edgeworth and Madame de Stael, with 'the Cossack,' towards +the end of 1813, were the exhibitions of the succeeding year. + +"I thought Edgeworth a fine old fellow, of a clarety, elderly, red +complexion, but active, brisk, and endless. He was seventy, but did not +look fifty--no, nor forty-eight even. I had seen poor Fitzpatrick not +very long before--a man of pleasure, wit, eloquence, all things. He +tottered--but still talked like a gentleman, though feebly. Edgeworth +bounced about, and talked loud and long; but he seemed neither weakly +nor decrepit, and hardly old. + +"He began by telling 'that he had given Dr. Parr a dressing, who had +taken him for an Irish bog-trotter,' &c. &c. Now I, who know Dr. Parr, +and who know (_not_ by experience--for I never should have presumed so +far as to contend with him--but by hearing him _with_ others, and _of_ +others) that it is not so easy a matter to 'dress him,' thought Mr. +Edgeworth an assertor of what was not true. He could not have stood +before Parr an instant. For the rest, he seemed intelligent, vehement, +vivacious, and full of life. He bids fair for a hundred years. + +"He was not much admired in London, and I remember a 'ryghte merrie' and +conceited jest which was rife among the gallants of the day,--viz. a +paper had been presented for the _recall of Mrs. Siddons to the stage_, +(she having lately taken leave, to the loss of ages,--for nothing ever +was, or can be, like her,) to which all men had been called to +subscribe. Whereupon, Thomas Moore, of profane and poetical memory, did +propose that a similar paper should be _sub_scribed and _circum_scribed +'for the recall of Mr. Edgeworth to Ireland.'[20] + +"The fact was--every body cared more about _her_. She was a nice little +unassuming 'Jeanie Deans'-looking body,' as we Scotch say--and, if not +handsome, certainly not ill-looking. Her conversation was as quiet as +herself. One would never have guessed she could write her name; whereas +her father talked, not as if he could write nothing else, but as if +nothing else was worth writing. + +"As for Mrs. Edgeworth, I forget--except that I think she was the +youngest of the party. Altogether, they were an excellent cage of the +kind; and succeeded for two months, till the landing of Madame de Stael. + +"To turn from them to their works, I admire them; but they excite no +feeling, and they leave no love--except for some Irish steward or +postilion. However, the impression of intellect and prudence is +profound--and may be useful. + +[Footnote 20: In this, I rather think he was misinformed; whatever merit +there may be in the jest, I have not, as far as I can recollect, the +slightest claim to it.] + + +"January 20. 1821. + +"Rode--fired pistols. Read from Grimm's Correspondence. Dined--went +out--heard music--returned--wrote a letter to the Lord Chamberlain to +request him to prevent the theatres from representing the Doge, which +the Italian papers say that they are going to act. This is pretty +work--what! without asking my consent, and even in opposition to it! + + +January 21. 1821. + +"Fine, clear frosty day--that is to say, an Italian frost, for their +winters hardly get beyond snow; for which reason nobody knows how to +skate (or skait)--a Dutch and English accomplishment. Rode out, as +usual, and fired pistols. Good shooting--broke four common, and rather +small, bottles, in four shots, at fourteen paces, with a common pair of +pistols and indifferent powder. Almost as good wafering or +shooting--considering the difference of powder and pistols--as when, in +1809, 1810, 1811, 1812, 1813, 1814, it was my luck to split +walking-sticks, wafers, half-crowns, shillings, and even the eye of a +walking-stick, at twelve paces, with a single bullet--and all by _eye_ +and calculation; for my hand is not steady, and apt to change with the +very weather. To the prowess which I here note, Joe Manton and others +can bear testimony! for the former taught, and the latter has seen me +do, these feats. + +"Dined--visited--came home--read. Remarked on an anecdote in Grimm's +Correspondence, which says that 'Regnard et la plupart des poetes +comiques etaient gens bilieux et melancoliques; et que M. de Voltaire, +qui est tres gai, n'a jamais fait que des tragedies--et que la comedie +gaie est le seul genre ou il n'ait point reussi. C'est que celui qui rit +et celui qui fait rire sont deux hommes fort differens.'--Vol. VI. + +"At this moment I feel as bilious as the best comic writer of them all, +(even as Regnard himself, the next to Moliere, who has written some of +the best comedies in any language, and who is supposed to have committed +suicide,) and am not in spirits to continue my proposed tragedy of +Sardanapalus, which I have, for some days, ceased to compose. + +"To-morrow is my birth-day--that is to say, at twelve o' the clock, +midnight, _i.e._ in twelve minutes, I shall have completed thirty and +three years of age!!!--and I go to my bed with a heaviness of heart at +having lived so long, and to so little purpose. + +"It is three minutes past twelve.--'Tis the middle of night by the +castle clock,' and I am now thirty-three! + + "Eheu, fugaces, Posthume, Posthume, + Labuntur anni;-- + +but I don't regret them so much for what I have done, as for what I +_might_ have done. + + "Through life's road, so dim and dirty, + I have dragged to three-and-thirty. + What have these years left to me? + Nothing--except thirty-three. + + +"January 22. 1821. + + 1821. + Here lies + interred in the Eternity + of the Past, + from whence there is no + Resurrection +for the Days--whatever there may be + for the Dust-- + the Thirty-Third Year + of an ill-spent Life, + Which, after +a lingering disease of many months, + sunk into a lethargy, + and expired, + January 22d, 1821, A.D. + Leaving a successor + Inconsolable + for the very loss which + occasioned its + Existence. + + +"January 23. 1821. + +"Fine day. Read--rode--fired pistols, and returned. Dined--read. Went +out at eight--made the usual visit. Heard of nothing but war,--'the cry +is still, They come.' The Cari. seem to have no plan--nothing fixed +among themselves, how, when, or what to do. In that case, they will make +nothing of this project, so often postponed, and never put in action. + +"Came home, and gave some necessary orders, in case of circumstances +requiring a change of place. I shall act according to what may seem +proper, when I hear decidedly what the Barbarians mean to do. At +present, they are building a bridge of boats over the Po, which looks +very warlike. A few days will probably show. I think of retiring towards +Ancona, nearer the northern frontier; that is to say, if Teresa and her +father are obliged to retire, which is most likely, as all the family +are Liberals. If not, I shall stay. But my movements will depend upon +the lady's wishes--for myself, it is much the same. + +"I am somewhat puzzled what to do with my little daughter, and my +effects, which are of some quantity and value,--and neither of them do +in the seat of war, where I think of going. But there is an elderly lady +who will take charge of _her_, and T. says that the Marchese C. will +undertake to hold the chattels in safe keeping. Half the city are +getting their affairs in marching trim. A pretty Carnival! The +blackguards might as well have waited till Lent. + + +"January 24. 1821. + +"Returned--met some masques in the Corso--'Vive la bagatelle!'--the +Germans are on the Po, the Barbarians at the gate, and their masters in +council at Leybach (or whatever the eructation of the sound may syllable +into a human pronunciation), and lo! they dance and sing and make merry, +'for to-morrow they may die.' Who can say that the Arlequins are not +right? Like the Lady Baussiere, and my old friend Burton--I 'rode on.' + +"Dined--(damn this pen!)--beef tough--there is no beef in Italy worth a +curse; unless a man could eat an old ox with the hide on, singed in the +sun. + +"The principal persons in the events which may occur in a few days are +gone out on a _shooting party_. If it were like a '_highland_ hunting,' +a pretext of the chase for a grand re-union of counsellors and chiefs, +it would be all very well. But it is nothing more or less than a real +snivelling, popping, small-shot, water-hen waste of powder, ammunition, +and shot, for their own special amusement: a rare set of fellows for 'a +man to risk his neck with,' as 'Marishall Wells' says in the Black +Dwarf. + +"If they gather,--'whilk is to be doubted,'--they will not muster a +thousand men. The reason of this is, that the populace are not +interested,--only the higher and middle orders. I wish that the +peasantry were: they are a fine savage race of two-legged leopards. But +the Bolognese won't--the Romagnuoles can't without them. Or, if they +try--what then? They will try, and man can do no more--and, if he +_would_ but try his utmost, much might be done. The Dutch, for instance, +against the Spaniards--_then_ the tyrants of Europe, since, the slaves, +and, lately, the freedmen. + +"The year 1820 was not a fortunate one for the individual me, whatever +it may be for the nations. I lost a lawsuit, after two decisions in my +favour. The project of lending money on an Irish mortgage was finally +rejected by my wife's trustee after a year's hope and trouble. The +Rochdale lawsuit had endured fifteen years, and always prospered till I +married; since which, every thing has gone wrong--with me at least. + +"In the same year, 1820, the Countess T.G. nata Ga. Gi. in despite of +all I said and did to prevent it, _would_ separate from her husband, Il +Cavalier Commendatore Gi. &c. &c. &c. and all on the account of 'P.P. +clerk of this parish.' The other little petty vexations of the +year--overturns in carriages--the murder of people before one's door, +and dying in one's beds--the cramp in swimming--colics--indigestions and +bilious attacks, &c. &c. &c.-- + + Many small articles make up a sum, + And hey ho for Caleb Quotem, oh!" + + +"January 25. 1821. + +"Received a letter from Lord S.O. state secretary of the Seven +Islands--a fine fellow--clever--dished in England five years ago, and +came abroad to retrench and to renew. He wrote from Ancona, in his way +back to Corfu, on some matters of our own. He is son of the late Duke of +L. by a second marriage. He wants me to go to Corfu. Why not?--perhaps I +may, next spring. + +"Answered Murray's letter--read--lounged. Scrawled this additional page +of life's log-book. One day more is over of it and of me:--but 'which is +best, life or death, the gods only know,' as Socrates said to his +judges, on the breaking up of the tribunal. Two thousand years since +that sage's declaration of ignorance have not enlightened us more upon +this important point; for, according to the Christian dispensation, no +one can know whether he is _sure_ of salvation--even the most +righteous--since a single slip of faith may throw him on his back, like +a skaiter, while gliding smoothly to his paradise. Now, therefore, +whatever the certainty of faith in the facts may be, the certainty of +the individual as to his happiness or misery is no greater than it was +under Jupiter. + +"It has been said that the immortality of the soul is a 'grand +peut-etre'--but still it is a _grand_ one. Every body clings to it--the +stupidest, and dullest, and wickedest of human bipeds is still persuaded +that he is immortal. + + +"January 26. 1821. + +"Fine day--a few mares' tails portending change, but the sky clear, upon +the whole. Rode--fired pistols--good shooting. Coming back, met an old +man. Charity--purchased a shilling's worth of salvation. If that was to +be bought, I have given more to my fellow-creatures in this +life--sometimes for _vice_, but, if not more _often_, at least more +_considerably_, for virtue--than I now possess. I never in my life gave +a mistress so much as I have sometimes given a poor man in honest +distress; but no matter. The scoundrels who have all along persecuted me +(with the help of * * who has crowned their efforts) will triumph;--and, +when justice is done to me, it will be when this hand that writes is as +cold as the hearts which have stung me. + +"Returning, on the bridge near the mill, met an old woman. I asked her +age--she said '_Trecroci_.' I asked my groom (though myself a decent +Italian) what the devil _her_ three crosses meant. He said, ninety +years, and that she had five years more to boot!! I repeated the same +three times, not to mistake--ninety-five years!!!--and she was yet +rather active--_heard_ my question, for she answered it--_saw_ me, for +she advanced towards me; and did not appear at all decrepit, though +certainly touched with years. Told her to come to-morrow, and will +examine her myself. I love phenomena. If she _is_ ninety-five years old, +she must recollect the Cardinal Alberoni, who was legate here. + +"On dismounting, found Lieutenant E. just arrived from Faenza. Invited +him to dine with me to-morrow. Did _not_ invite him for to-day, because +there was a small _turbot_, (Friday, fast regularly and religiously,) +which I wanted to eat all myself. Ate it. + +"Went out--found T. as usual--music. The gentlemen, who make revolutions +and are gone on a shooting, are not yet returned. They don't return +till Sunday--that is to say, they have been out for five days, +buffooning, while the interests of a whole country are at stake, and +even they themselves compromised. + +"It is a difficult part to play amongst such a set of assassins and +blockheads--but, when the scum is skimmed off, or has boiled over, good +may come of it. If this country could but be freed, what would be too +great for the accomplishment of that desire? for the extinction of that +Sigh of Ages? Let us hope. They have hoped these thousand years. The +very revolvement of the chances may bring it--it is upon the dice. + +"If the Neapolitans have but a single Massaniello amongst them, they +will beat the bloody butchers of the crown and sabre. Holland, in worse +circumstances, beat the Spains and Philips; America beat the English; +Greece beat Xerxes; and France beat Europe, till she took a tyrant; +South America beats her old vultures out of their nest; and, if these +men are but firm in themselves, there is nothing to shake them from +without. + + +"January 28. 1821. + +"Lugano Gazette did not come. Letters from Venice. It appears that the +Austrian brutes have seized my three or four pounds of English powder. +The scoundrels!--I hope to pay them in _ball_ for that powder. Rode out +till twilight. + +"Pondered the subjects of four tragedies to be written (life and +circumstances permitting), to wit, Sardanapalus, already begun; Cain, a +metaphysical subject, something in the style of Manfred, but in five +_acts_, perhaps, with the chorus; Francesca of Rimini, in five acts; and +I am not sure that I would not try Tiberius. I think that I could +extract a something, of _my_ tragic, at least, out of the gloomy +sequestration and old age of the tyrant--and even out of his sojourn at +Caprea--by softening the _details_, and exhibiting the despair which +must have led to those very vicious pleasures. For none but a powerful +and gloomy mind overthrown would have had recourse to such solitary +horrors,--being also, at the same time, _old_, and the master of the +world. + +"_Memoranda._ + +"What is Poetry?--The feeling of a Former world and Future. + +"_Thought Second._ + +"Why, at the very height of desire and human pleasure,--worldly, social, +amorous, ambitious, or even avaricious,--does there mingle a certain +sense of doubt and sorrow--a fear of what is to come--a doubt of what +_is_--a retrospect to the past, leading to a prognostication of the +future? (The best of Prophets of the future is the Past.) Why is this? +or these?--I know not, except that on a pinnacle we are most susceptible +of giddiness, and that we never fear falling except from a +precipice--the higher, the more awful, and the more sublime; and, +therefore, I am not sure that Fear is not a pleasurable sensation; at +least, _Hope_ is; and _what Hope_ is there without a deep leaven of +Fear? and what sensation is so delightful as Hope? and, if it were not +for Hope, where would the Future be?--in hell. It is useless to say +_where_ the Present is, for most of us know; and as for the Past, _what_ +predominates in memory?--_Hope baffled_. Ergo, in all human affairs, it +is Hope--Hope--Hope. I allow sixteen minutes, though I never counted +them, to any given or supposed possession. From whatever place we +commence, we know where it all must end. And yet, what good is there in +knowing it? It does not make men better or wiser. During the greatest +horrors of the greatest plagues, (Athens and Florence, for example--see +Thucydides and Machiavelli,) men were more cruel and profligate than +ever. It is all a mystery. I feel most things, but I know nothing, +except ------------------------------------------------------------- +-------------------------------------------------------------------- +--------------------------------------------------------------------[21] + +"_Thought for a speech of Lucifer, in the tragedy of Cain:_-- + + "Were _Death_ an _evil_, would _I_ let thee _live_? + Fool! live as I live--as thy father lives, + And thy son's sons shall live for evermore. + +[Footnote 21: Thus marked, with impatient strokes of the pen, by himself +in the original.] + + +"Past Midnight. One o' the clock. + +"I have been reading W.F.S * * (brother to the other of the name) till +now, and I can make out nothing. He evidently shows a great power of +words, but there is nothing to be taken hold of. He is like Hazlitt, in +English, who _talks pimples_--a red and white corruption rising up (in +little imitation of mountains upon maps), but containing nothing, and +discharging nothing, except their own humours. + +"I dislike him the worse, (that is, S * *,) because he always seems upon +the verge of meaning; and, lo, he goes down like sunset, or melts like a +rainbow, leaving a rather rich confusion,--to which, however, the above +comparisons do too much honour. + +"Continuing to read Mr. F. S * *. He is not such a fool as I took him +for, that is to say, when he speaks of the North. But still he speaks of +things _all over the world_ with a kind of authority that a philosopher +would disdain, and a man of common sense, feeling, and knowledge of his +own ignorance, would be ashamed of. The man is evidently wanting to make +an impression, like his brother,--or like George in the Vicar of +Wakefield, who found out that all the good things had been said already +on the right side, and therefore 'dressed up some paradoxes' upon the +wrong side--ingenious, but false, as he himself says--to which 'the +learned world said nothing, nothing at all, sir.' The 'learned world,' +however, _has_ said something to the brothers S * *. + +"It is high time to think of something else. What they say of the +antiquities of the North is best. + + +"January 29. 1821. + +"Yesterday, the woman of ninety-five years of age was with me. She said +her eldest son (if now alive) would have been seventy. She is +thin--short, but active--hears, and sees, and talks incessantly. Several +teeth left--all in the lower jaw, and single front teeth. She is very +deeply wrinkled, and has a sort of scattered grey beard over her chin, +at least as long as my mustachios. Her head, in fact, resembles the +drawing in crayons of Pope the poet's mother, which is in some editions +of his works. + +"I forgot to ask her if she remembered Alberoni (legate here), but will +ask her next time. Gave her a louis--ordered her a new suit of clothes, +and put her upon a weekly pension. Till now, she had worked at gathering +wood and pine-nuts in the forest,--pretty work at ninety-five years old! +She had a dozen children, of whom some are alive. Her name is Maria +Montanari. + +"Met a company of the sect (a kind of Liberal Club) called the +'Americani' in the forest, all armed, and singing, with all their might, +in Romagnuole--'_Sem_ tutti soldat' per la liberta' ('we are all +soldiers for liberty'). They cheered me as I passed--I returned their +salute, and rode on. This may show the spirit of Italy at present. + +"My to-day's journal consists of what I omitted yesterday. To-day was +much as usual. Have rather a better opinion of the writings of the +Schlegels than I had four-and-twenty hours ago; and will amend it still +further, if possible. + +"They say that the Piedmontese have at length risen--_ca ira!_ + +"Read S * *. Of Dante he says, 'that at no time has the greatest and +most national of all Italian poets ever been much the favourite of his +countrymen.' 'Tis false! There have been more editors and commentators +(and imitators, ultimately) of Dante than of all their poets put +together. _Not_ a favourite! Why, they talk Dante--write Dante--and +think and dream Dante at this moment (1821) to an excess, which would be +ridiculous, but that he deserves it. + +"In the same style this German talks of gondolas on the Arno--a precious +fellow to dare to speak of Italy! + +"He says also that Dante's chief defect is a want, in a word, of gentle +feelings. Of gentle feelings!--and Francesca of Rimini--and the father's +feelings in Ugolino--and Beatrice--and 'La Pia!' Why, there is +gentleness in Dante beyond all gentleness, when he is tender. It is true +that, treating of the Christian Hades, or Hell, there is not much scope +or site for gentleness--but who _but_ Dante could have introduced any +'gentleness' at all into _Hell_? Is there any in Milton's? No--and +Dante's Heaven is all love, and glory, and majesty. + + +"One o'clock. + +"I have found out, however, where the German is right--it is about the +Vicar of Wakefield. 'Of all romances in miniature (and, perhaps, this is +the best shape in which romance can appear) the Vicar of Wakefield is, I +think, the most exquisite.' He thinks!--he might be sure. But it is very +well for a S * *. I feel sleepy, and may as well get me to bed. +To-morrow there will be fine weather. + + "'Trust on, and think to-morrow will repay." + + +"January 30. 1821. + +"The Count P.G. this evening (by commission from the Ci.) transmitted to +me the new _words_ for the next six months. * * * and * * *. The new +sacred word is * * *--the reply * * *--the rejoinder * * *. The former +word (now changed) was * * *--there is also * * *--* * *.[22] Things +seem fast coming to a crisis--_ca ira!_ + +"We talked over various matters of moment and movement. These I +omit;--if they come to any thing, they will speak for themselves. After +these, we spoke of Kosciusko. Count R.G. told me that he has seen the +Polish officers in the Italian war burst into tears on hearing his name. + +"Something must be up in Piedmont--all the letters and papers are +stopped. Nobody knows any thing, and the Germans are concentrating near +Mantua. Of the decision of Leybach nothing is known. This state of +things cannot last long. The ferment in men's minds at present cannot be +conceived without seeing it. + +[Footnote 22: In the original MS. these watch-words are blotted over so +as to be illegible.] + + +"January, 31. 1821. + +"For several days I have not written any thing except a few answers to +letters. In momentary expectation of an explosion of some kind, it is +not easy to settle down to the desk for the higher kinds of composition. +I could do it, to be sure, for, last summer, I wrote my drama in the +very bustle of Madame la Contesse G.'s divorce, and all its process of +accompaniments. At the same time, I also had the news of the loss of an +important lawsuit in England. But these were only private and personal +business; the present is of a different nature. + +"I suppose it is this, but have some suspicion that it may be laziness, +which prevents me from writing; especially as Rochefoucalt says that +'laziness often masters them all'--speaking of the _passions_. If this +were true, it could hardly be said that 'idleness is the root of all +evil,' since this is supposed to spring from the passions only: ergo, +that which masters all the passions (laziness, to wit) would in so much +be a good. Who knows? + + +"Midnight. + +"I have been reading Grimm's Correspondence. He repeats frequently, in +speaking of a poet, or a man of genius in any department, even in music, +(Gretry, for instance,) that he must have 'une ame qui se tourmente, un +esprit violent.' How far this may be true, I know not; but if it were, I +should be a poet 'per eccellenza;' for I have always had 'une ame,' +which not only tormented itself but every body else in contact with it; +and an 'esprit violent,' which has almost left me without any 'esprit' +at all. As to defining what a poet _should_ be, it is not worth while, +for what are _they_ worth? what have they done? + +"Grimm, however, is an excellent critic and literary historian. His +Correspondence form the annals of the literary part of that age of +France, with much of her politics; and, still more, of her 'way of +life.' He is as valuable, and far more entertaining than Muratori or +Tiraboschi--I had almost said, than Ginguene--but there we should pause. +However, 'tis a great man in its line. + +"Monsieur St. Lambert has + + "'Et lorsqu'a ses regards la lumiere est ravie, + Il n'a plus, en mourant, a perdre que la vie.' + +This is, word for word, Thomson's + + "'And dying, all we can resign is breath,' + +without the smallest acknowledgment from the Lorrainer of a poet. M. St. +Lambert is dead as a man, and (for any thing I know to the contrary) +damned, as a poet, by this time. However, his Seasons have good things, +and, it may be, some of his own. + + +"February 2. 1821 + +"I have been considering what can be the reason why I always wake, at a +certain hour in the morning, and always in very bad spirits--I may say, +in actual despair and despondency, in all respects--even of that which +pleased me over night. In about an hour or two, this goes off, and I +compose either to sleep again, or, at least, to quiet. In England, five +years ago, I had the same kind of hypochondria, but accompanied with so +violent a thirst that I have drank as many as fifteen bottles of +soda-water in one night, after going to bed, and been still +thirsty--calculating, however, some lost from the bursting out and +effervescence and over-flowing of the soda-water, in drawing the corks, +or striking off the necks of the bottles from mere thirsty impatience. +At present, I have _not_ the thirst; but the depression of spirits is no +less violent. + +"I read in Edgeworth's Memoirs of something similar (except that his +thirst expended itself on _small beer_) in the case of Sir F.B. +Delaval;--but then he was, at least, twenty years older. What is +it?--liver? In England, Le Man (the apothecary) cured me of the thirst +in three days, and it had lasted as many years. I suppose that it is all +hypochondria. + +"What I feel most growing upon me are laziness, and a disrelish more +powerful than indifference. It I rouse, it is into fury. I presume that +I shall end (if not earlier by accident, or some such termination) like +Swift--'dying at top.' I confess I do not contemplate this with so much +horror as he apparently did for some years before it happened. But Swift +had hardly _begun life_ at the very period (thirty-three) when I feel +quite an _old sort_ of feel. + +"Oh! there is an organ playing in the street--a waltz, too! I must leave +off to listen. They are playing a waltz which I have heard ten thousand +times at the balls in London, between 1812 and 1815. Music is a strange +thing[23]. + +[Footnote 23: In this little incident of the music in the streets thus +touching so suddenly upon the nerve of memory, and calling away his mind +from its dark bodings to a recollection of years and scenes the +happiest, perhaps, of his whole life, there is something that appears to +me peculiarly affecting.] + + +"February 5. 1821. + +"At last, 'the kiln's in a low.' The Germans are ordered to march, and +Italy is, for the ten thousandth time, to become a field of battle. Last +night the news came. + +"This afternoon--Count P.G. came to me to consult upon divers matters. +We rode out together. They have sent off to the C. for orders. To-morrow +the decision ought to arrive, and then something will be done. +Returned--dined--read--went out--talked over matters. Made a purchase of +some arms for the new enrolled Americani, who are all on tiptoe to +march. Gave order for some _harness_ and portmanteaus necessary for the +horses. + +"Read some of Bowles's dispute about Pope, with all the replies and +rejoinders. Perceive that my name has been lugged into the controversy, +but have not time to state what I know of the subject. On some 'piping +day of peace' it is probable that I may resume it. + + +"February 9. 1821. + +"Before dinner wrote a little; also, before I rode out, Count P.G. +called upon me, to let me know the result of the meeting of the Ci at +F. and at B. * * returned late last night. Every thing was combined +under the idea that the Barbarians would pass the Po on the 15th inst. +Instead of this, from some previous information or otherwise, they have +hastened their march and actually passed two days ago; so that all that +can be done at present in Romagna is, to stand on the alert and wait for +the advance of the Neapolitans. Every thing was ready, and the +Neapolitans had sent on their own instructions and intentions, all +calculated for the _tenth_ and _eleventh_, on which days a general +rising was to take place, under the supposition that the Barbarians +could not advance before the 15th. + +"As it is, they have but fifty or sixty thousand troops, a number with +which they might as well attempt to conquer the world as secure Italy in +its present state. The artillery marches _last_, and alone, and there is +an idea of an attempt to cut part of them off. All this will much depend +upon the first steps of the Neapolitans. _Here_, the public spirit is +excellent, provided it be kept up. This will be seen by the event. + +"It is probable that Italy will be delivered from the Barbarians if the +Neapolitans will but stand firm, and are united among themselves. _Here_ +they appear so. + + +"February 10. 1821. + +"Day passed as usual--nothing new. Barbarians still in march--not well +equipped, and, of course, not well received on their route. There is +some talk of a commotion at Paris. + +"Rode out between four and six--finished my letter to Murray on Bowles's +pamphlets--added postscript. Passed the evening as usual--out till +eleven--and subsequently at home. + + +"February 11. 1821. + +"Wrote--had a copy taken of an extract from Petrarch's Letters, with +reference to the conspiracy of the Doge, M. Faliero, containing the +poet's opinion of the matter. Heard a heavy firing of cannon towards +Comacchio--the Barbarians rejoicing for their principal pig's birthday, +which is to-morrow--or Saint day--I forget which. Received a ticket for +the first ball to-morrow. Shall not go to the first, but intend going to +the second, as also to the Veglioni. + + +"February 13. 1821. + +"To-day read a little in Louis B.'s Hollande, but have written nothing +since the completion of the letter on the Pope controversy. Politics are +quite misty for the present. The Barbarians still upon their march. It +is not easy to divine what the Italians will now do. + +"Was elected yesterday 'Socio' of the Carnival ball society. This is the +fifth carnival that I have passed. In the four former, I racketed a good +deal. In the present, I have been as sober as Lady Grace herself. + + +"February 14. 1821 + +"Much as usual. Wrote, before riding out, part of a scene of +'Sardanapalus.' The first act nearly finished. The rest of the day and +evening as before--partly without, in conversazione--partly at home. + +"Heard the particulars of the late fray at Russi, a town not far from +this. It is exactly the fact of Romeo and Giulietta--_not_ Romeo, +as the Barbarian writes it. Two families of Contadini (peasants) are at +feud. At a ball, the younger part of the families forget their quarrel, +and dance together. An old man of one of them enters, and reproves the +young men for dancing with the females of the opposite family. The male +relatives of the latter resent this. Both parties rush home and arm +themselves. They meet directly, by moonlight, in the public way, and +fight it out. Three are killed on the spot, and six wounded, most of +them dangerously,--pretty well for two families, methinks--and all +_fact_, of the last week. Another assassination has taken place at +Cesenna,--in all about _forty_ in Romagna within the last three months. +These people retain much of the middle ages. + + +"February 15. 1821. + +"Last night finished the first act of Sardanapalus. To-night, or +to-morrow, I ought to answer letters. + + +"February 16. 1821. + +"Last night Il Conte P.G. sent a man with a bag full of bayonets, some +muskets, and some hundreds of cartridges to my house, without apprizing +me, though I had seen him not half an hour before. About ten days ago, +when there was to be a rising here, the Liberals and my brethren Ci. +asked me to purchase some arms for a certain few of our ragamuffins. I +did so immediately, and ordered ammunition, &c. and they were armed +accordingly. Well--the rising is prevented by the Barbarians marching a +week sooner than appointed; and an _order_ is issued, and in force, by +the Government, 'that all persons having arms concealed, &c. &c. shall +be liable to,' &c. &c.--and what do my friends, the patriots, do two +days afterwards? Why, they throw back upon my hands, and into my house, +these very arms (without a word of warning previously) with which I had +furnished them at their own request, and at my own peril and expense. + +"It was lucky that Lega was at home to receive them. If any of the +servants had (except Tita and F. and Lega) they would have betrayed it +immediately. In the mean time, if they are denounced or discovered, I +shall be in a scrape. + +"At nine went out--at eleven returned. Beat the crow for stealing the +falcon's victuals. Read 'Tales of my Landlord'--wrote a letter--and +mixed a moderate beaker of water with other ingredients. + + +"February 18. 1821. + +"The news are that the Neapolitans have broken a bridge, and slain four +pontifical carabiniers, whilk carabiniers wished to oppose. Besides the +disrespect to neutrality, it is a pity that the first blood shed in this +German quarrel should be Italian. However, the war seems begun in good +earnest: for, if the Neapolitans kill the Pope's carabiniers, they will +not be more delicate towards the Barbarians. If it be even so, in a +short time 'there will be news o' thae craws,' as Mrs. Alison Wilson +says of Jenny Blane's 'unco cockernony' in the 'Tales of my Landlord.' + +"In turning over Grimm's Correspondence to-day, I found a thought of +Tom Moore's in a song of Maupertuis to a female Laplander. + + "'Et tous les lieux, + Ou sont ses yeux, + Font la Zone brulante.' + +This is Moore's, + + "'And those eyes make my climate, wherever I roam.' + +But I am sure that Moore never saw it; for this was published in Grimm's +Correspondence in 1813, and I knew Moore's by heart in 1812. There is +also another, but an antithetical coincidence-- + + "'Le soleil luit, + Des jours sans nuit + Bientot il nous destine; + Mais ces longs jours + Seront trop courts, + Passes pres des Christine.' + +This is the _thought reversed_, of the last stanza of the ballad on +Charlotte Lynes, given in Miss Seward's Memoirs of Darwin, which is +pretty--I quote from memory of these last fifteen years. + + "'For my first night I'll go + To those regions of snow + Where the sun for six months never shines; + And think, even then, + He too soon came again, + To disturb me with fair Charlotte Lynes.' + +"To-day I have had no communication with my Carbonari cronies; but, in +the mean time, my lower apartments are full of their bayonets, fusils, +cartridges, and what not. I suppose that they consider me as a depot, +to be sacrificed, in case of accidents. It is no great matter, supposing +that Italy could be liberated, who or what is sacrificed. It is a grand +object--the very _poetry_ of politics. Only think--a free Italy!!! Why, +there has been nothing like it since the days of Augustus. I reckon the +times of Caesar (Julius) free; because the commotions left every body a +side to take, and the parties were pretty equal at the set out. But, +afterwards, it was all praetorian and legionary business--and since!--we +shall see, or, at least, some will see, what card will turn up. It is +best to hope, even of the hopeless. The Dutch did more than these +fellows have to do, in the Seventy Years' War. + + +"February 19. 1821. + +"Came home solus--very high wind--lightning--moonshine--solitary +stragglers muffled in cloaks--women in mask--white houses--clouds +hurrying over the sky, like spilt milk blown out of the pail--altogether +very poetical. It is still blowing hard--the tiles flying, and the house +rocking--rain splashing--lightning flashing--quite a fine Swiss Alpine +evening, and the sea roaring in the distance. + +"Visited--conversazione. All the women frightened by the squall: they +_won't_ go to the masquerade because it lightens--the pious reason! + +"Still blowing away. A. has sent me some news to-day. The war approaches +nearer and nearer. Oh those scoundrel sovereigns! Let us but see them +beaten--let the Neapolitans but have the pluck of the Dutch of old, or +the Spaniards of now, or of the German Protestants, the Scotch +Presbyterians, the Swiss under Tell, or the Greeks under +Themistocles--_all_ small and solitary nations (except the Spaniards and +German Lutherans), and there is yet a resurrection for Italy, and a hope +for the world. + + +"February 20. 1821. + +"The news of the day are, that the Neapolitans are full of energy. The +public spirit here is certainly well kept up. The 'Americani' (a +patriotic society here, an under branch of the 'Carbonari') give a +dinner in _the Forest_ in a few days, and have invited me, as one of the +Ci. It is to be in _the Forest_ of Boccacio's and Dryden's 'Huntsman's +Ghost;' and, even if I had not the same political feelings, (to say +nothing of my old convivial turn, which every now and then revives,) I +would go as a poet, or, at least, as a lover of poetry. I shall expect +to see the spectre of 'Ostasio [24] degli Onesti' (Dryden has turned him +into Guido Cavalcanti--an essentially different person, as may be found +in Dante) come 'thundering for his prey' in the midst of the festival. +At any rate, whether he does or no. I will get as tipsy and patriotic as +possible. + +"Within these few days I have read, but not written. + +[Footnote 24: In Boccacio, the name is, I think, Nastagio.] + + +"February 21, 1821. + +"As usual, rode--visited, &c. Business begins to thicken. The Pope has +printed a declaration against the patriots, who, he says, meditate a +rising. The consequence of all this will be, that, in a fortnight, the +whole country will be up. The proclamation is not yet published, but +printed, ready for distribution. * * sent me a copy privately--a sign +that he does not know what to think. When he wants to be well with the +patriots, he sends to me some civil message or other. + +"For my own part, it seems to me, that nothing but the most decided +success of the Barbarians can prevent a general and immediate rise of +the whole nation. + + +"February 23, 1821. + +"Almost ditto with yesterday--rode, &c.--visited--wrote nothing--read +Roman History. + +"Had a curious letter from a fellow, who informs me that the Barbarians +are ill-disposed towards me. He is probably a spy, or an impostor. But +be it so, even as he says. They cannot bestow their hostility on one who +loathes and execrates them more than I do, or who will oppose their +views with more zeal, when the opportunity offers. + + +"February 24, 1821. + +"Rode, &c. as usual. The secret intelligence arrived this morning from +the frontier to the Ci. is as bad as possible. The _plan_ has +missed--the Chiefs are betrayed, military, as well as civil--and the +Neapolitans not only have _not_ moved, but have declared to the P. +government, and to the Barbarians, that they know nothing of the +matter!!! + +"Thus the world goes; and thus the Italians are always lost for lack of +union among themselves. What is to be done _here_, between the two +fires, and cut off from the Northern frontier, is not decided. My +opinion was,--better to rise than be taken in detail; but how it will be +settled now, I cannot tell. Messengers are despatched to the delegates +of the other cities to learn their resolutions. + +"I always had an idea that it would be _bungled_; but was willing to +hope, and am so still. Whatever I can do by money, means, or person, I +will venture freely for their freedom; and have so repeated to them +(some of the Chiefs here) half an hour ago. I have two thousand five +hundred scudi, better than five hundred pounds, in the house, which I +offered to begin with. + + +"February 25. 1821. + +"Came home--my head aches--plenty of news, but too tiresome to set down. +I have neither read nor written, nor thought, but led a purely animal +life all day. I mean to try to write a page or two before I go to bed. +But, as Squire Sullen says, 'My head aches consumedly: Scrub, bring me a +dram!' Drank some Imola wine, and some punch. + + +"_Log-book continued_[25]. + +[Footnote 25: In another paper-book.] + + +"February 27. 1821. + +"I have been a day without continuing the log, because I could not find +a blank book. At length I recollected this. + +"Rode, &c.--dined--wrote down an additional stanza for the 5th canto of +D.J. which I had composed in bed this morning. Visited _l'Amica_. We are +invited, on the night of the Veglione (next Domenica) with the Marchesa +Clelia Cavalli and the Countess Spinelli Rusponi. I promised to go. Last +night there was a row at the ball, of which I am a 'socio.' The +Vice-legate had the imprudent insolence to introduce _three_ of his +servants in masque--_without tickets,_ too! and in spite of +remonstrances. The consequence was, that the young men of the ball took +it up, and were near throwing the Vice-legate out of the window. His +servants, seeing the scene, withdrew, and he after them. His reverence +Monsignore ought to know, that these are not times for the predominance +of priests over decorum. Two minutes more, two steps farther, and the +whole city would have been in arms, and the government driven out of it. + +"Such is the spirit of the day, and these fellows appear not to perceive +it. As far as the simple fact went, the young men were right, servants +being prohibited always at these festivals. + +"Yesterday wrote two notes on the 'Bowles and Pope' controversy, and +sent them off to Murray by the post. The old woman whom I relieved in +the forest (she is ninety-four years of age) brought me two bunches of +violets. 'Nam vita gaudet mortua floribus,' I was much pleased with the +present. An English woman would have presented a pair of worsted +stockings, at least, in the month of February. Both excellent things; +but the former are more elegant. The present, at this season, reminds +one of Gray's stanza, omitted from his elegy:-- + + Here scatter'd oft, the _earliest_ of the year, + By hands unseen, are showers of violets found; + The red-breast loves to build and warble here, + And little footsteps lightly print the ground.' + +As fine a stanza as any in his elegy. I wonder that he could have the +heart to omit it. + +"Last night I suffered horribly--from an indigestion, I believe. I +_never_ sup--that is, never at home. But, last night, I was prevailed +upon by the Countess Gamba's persuasion, and the strenuous example of +her brother, to swallow, at supper, a quantity of boiled cockles, and to +dilute them, _not_ reluctantly, with some Imola wine. When I came home, +apprehensive of the consequences, I swallowed three or four glasses of +spirits, which men (the venders) call brandy, rum, or hollands, but +which Gods would entitle spirits of wine, coloured or sugared. All was +pretty well till I got to bed, when I became somewhat swollen, and +considerably vertiginous. I got out, and mixing some soda-powders, drank +them off. This brought on temporary relief. I returned to bed; but grew +sick and sorry once and again. Took more soda-water. At last I fell into +a dreary sleep. Woke, and was ill all day, till I had galloped a few +miles. Query--was it the cockles, or what I took to correct them, that +caused the commotion? I think both. I remarked in my illness the +complete inertion, inaction, and destruction of my chief mental +faculties. I tried to rouse them, and yet could not--and this is the +_Soul!!!_ I should believe that it was married to the body, if they did +not sympathise so much with each other. If the one rose, when the other +fell, it would be a sign that they longed for the natural state of +divorce. But as it is, they seem to draw together like post-horses. + +"Let us hope the best--it is the grand possession." + + * * * * * + +During the two months comprised in this Journal, some of the Letters of +the following series were written. The reader must, therefore, be +prepared to find in them occasional notices of the same train of events. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 404. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, January 2. 1821. + + "Your entering into my project for the Memoir is pleasant to me. + But I doubt (contrary to my dear Made Mac F * *, whom I always + loved, and always shall--not only because I really _did_ feel + attached to her _personally_, but because she and about a dozen + others of that sex were all who stuck by me in the grand conflict + of 1815)--but I doubt, I say, whether the Memoir could appear in my + lifetime;--and, indeed, I had rather it did not; for a man always + _looks dead_ after his Life has appeared, and I should certes not + survive the appearance of mine. The first part I cannot consent to + alter, even although Made. de S.'s opinion of B.C. and my remarks + upon Lady C.'s beauty (which is surely great, and I suppose that I + have said so--at least, I ought) should go down to our + grandchildren in unsophisticated nakedness. + + "As to Madame de S * *, I am by no means bound to be her + beadsman--she was always more civil to me in person than during my + absence. Our dear defunct friend, M * * L * *[26], who was too + great a bore ever to lie, assured me upon his tiresome word of + honour, that, at Florence, the said Madame de S * * was + open-_mouthed_ against me; and when asked, in _Switzerland_, _why_ + she had changed her opinion, replied, with laudable sincerity, that + I had named her in a sonnet with Voltaire, Rousseau, &c. &c. and + that she could not help it through decency. Now, I have not + forgotten this, but I have been generous,--as mine acquaintance, + the late Captain Whitby, of the navy, used to say to his seamen + (when 'married to the gunner's daughter')--'two dozen, and let you + off easy.' The 'two dozen' were with the cat-o'-nine tails;--the + 'let you off easy' was rather his own opinion than that of the + patient. + + "My acquaintance with these terms and practices arises from my + having been much conversant with ships of war and naval heroes in + the year of my voyages in the Mediterranean. Whitby was in the + gallant action off Lissa in 1811. He was brave, but a + disciplinarian. When he left his frigate, he left a _parrot_, which + was taught by the crew the following sounds--(it must be remarked + that Captain Whitby was the image of Fawcett the actor, in voice, + face, and figure, and that he squinted). + + "The Parrot _loquitur_. + + "'Whitby! Whitby! funny eye! funny eye! two dozen, and let you off + easy. Oh you ----!' + + "Now, if Madame de B. has a parrot, it had better be taught a + French parody of the same sounds. + + "With regard to our purposed Journal, I will call it what you + please, but it should be a newspaper, to make it _pay_. We can call + it 'The Harp,' if you like--or any thing. + + "I feel exactly as you do about our 'art[27],'but it comes over me + in a kind of rage every now and then, like * * * *, and then, if I + don't write to empty my mind, I go mad. As to that regular, + uninterrupted love of writing, which you describe in your friend, I + do not understand it. I feel it as a torture, which I must get rid + of, but never as a pleasure. On the contrary, I think composition a + great pain. + + "I wish you to think seriously of the Journal scheme--for I am as + serious as one can be, in this world, about any thing. As to + matters here, they are high and mighty--but not for paper. It is + much about the state of things betwixt Cain and Abel. There is, in + fact, no law or government at all; and it is wonderful how well + things go on without them. Excepting a few occasional murders, + (every body killing whomsoever he pleases, and being killed, in + turn, by a friend, or relative, of the defunct,) there is as quiet + a society and as merry a Carnival as can be met with in a tour + through Europe. There is nothing like habit in these things. + + "I shall remain here till May or June, and, unless 'honour comes + unlocked for,' we may perhaps meet, in France or England, within + the year. + + "Yours, &c. + + "Of course, I cannot explain to you existing circumstances, as they + open all letters. + + "Will you set me right about your curst 'Champs Elysees?'--are they + 'es' or 'ees' for the adjective? I know nothing of French, being + all Italian. Though I can read and understand French, I never + attempt to speak it; for I hate it. From the second part of the + Memoirs cut what you please." + +[Footnote 26: Of this gentleman, the following notice occurs in the +"Detached Thoughts:"--"L * * was a good man, a clever man, but a bore. +My only revenge or consolation used to be setting him by the ears with +some vivacious person who hated bores especially,--Madame de S---- or +H----, for example. But I liked L * *; he was a jewel of a man, had he +been better set;--I don't mean _personally_, but less _tiresome_, for he +was tedious, as well as contradictory to every thing and every body. +Being short-sighted, when we used to ride out together near the Brenta +in the twilight in summer, he made me go _before_, to pilot him; I am +absent at times, especially towards evening; and the consequence of this +pilotage was some narrow escapes to the M * * on horseback. Once I led +him into a ditch over which I had passed as usual, forgetting to warn my +convoy; once I led him nearly into the river, instead of on the +_moveable_ bridge which incommodes passengers; and twice did we both run +against the Diligence, which, being heavy and slow, did communicate less +damage than it received in its leaders, who were _terra_fied by the +charge; thrice did I lose him in the grey of the gloaming, and was +obliged to bring-to to his distant signals of distance and +distress;--all the time he went on talking without intermission, for he +was a man of many words. Poor fellow! he died a martyr to his new +riches--of a second visit to Jamaica. + + "'I'd give the lands of Deloraine + Dark Musgrave were alive again!' + +that is,-- + + "I would give many a sugar cane + M * * L * * were alive again!"] + +[Footnote 27: The following passage from the letter of mine, to which +the above was an answer, will best explain what follows:--With respect +to the newspaper, it is odd enough that Lord * * * * and myself had been +(about a week or two before I received your letter) speculating upon +your assistance in a plan somewhat similar, but more literary and less +regularly-periodical in its appearance. Lord * *, as you will see by his +volume of Essays, if it reaches you, has a very sly, dry, and pithy way +of putting sound truths, upon politics and manners, and whatever scheme +we adopt, he will be a very useful and active ally in it, as he has a +pleasure in writing quite inconceivable to a poor hack scribe like me, +who always feel, about my art, as the French husband did when he found a +man making love to his (the Frenchman's) wife:--' Comment, +Monsieur,--sans y etre _oblige_!' When I say this, however, I mean it +only of the executive part of writing; for the imagining, the shadowing +out of the future work is, I own, a delicious fool's paradise."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 405. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, January 4. 1821. + + "I just see, by the papers of Galignani, that there is a new + tragedy of great expectation, by Barry Cornwall. Of what I have + read of his works Hiked the _Dramatic_ Sketches, but thought his + Sicilian Story and Marcian Colonna, in rhyme, quite spoilt, by I + know not what affectation of Wordsworth, and Moore, and myself, all + mixed up into a kind of chaos. I think him very likely to produce a + good tragedy, if he keep to a natural style, and not play tricks to + form harlequinades for an audience. As he (Barry Cornwall is not + his _true_ name) was a schoolfellow of mine, I take more than + common interest in his success, and shall be glad to hear of it + speedily. If I had been aware that he was in that line, I should + have spoken of him in the preface to Marino Faliero. He will do a + world's wonder if he produce a great tragedy. I am, however, + persuaded, that this is not to be done by following the old + dramatists,--who are full of gross faults, pardoned only for the + beauty of their language,--but by writing naturally and + _regularly_, and producing _regular_ tragedies, like the _Greeks_; + but not in _imitation_,--merely the outline of their conduct, + adapted to our own times and circumstances, and of course _no_ + chorus. + + "You will laugh, and say, 'Why don't you do so?' I have, you see, + tried a sketch in Marino Faliero; but many people think my talent + '_essentially undramatic_,' and I am not at all clear that they are + not right. If Marino Faliero don't fall--in the perusal--I shall, + perhaps, try again (but not for the stage); and, as I think that + _love_ is not the principal passion for tragedy (and yet most of + ours turn upon it), you will not find me a popular writer. Unless + it is love, _furious, criminal_, and _hapless_, it ought not to + make a tragic subject. When it is melting and maudlin, it _does_, + but it ought not to do; it is then for the gallery and second-price + boxes. + + "If you want to have a notion of what I am trying, take up a + _translation_ of any of the _Greek_ tragedians. If I said the + original, it would be an impudent presumption of mine; but the + translations are so inferior to the originals, that I think I may + risk it Then judge of the 'simplicity of plot,' &c. and do not + judge me by your old mad dramatists, which is like drinking + usquebaugh and then proving a fountain. Yet after all, I suppose + that you do not mean that spirits is a nobler element than a clear + spring bubbling in the sun? and this I take to be the difference + between the Greeks and those turbid mountebanks--always excepting + Ben Jonson, who was a scholar and a classic. Or, take up a + translation of Alfieri, and try the interest, &c. of these my new + attempts in the old line, by _him_ in _English_; and then tell me + fairly your opinion. But don't measure me by YOUR OWN _old_ or + _new_ tailors' yards. Nothing so easy as intricate confusion of + plot and rant. Mrs. Centlivre, in comedy, has _ten times the bustle + of Congreve_; but are they to be compared? and yet she drove + Congreve from the theatre." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 406. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, January 19. 1821. + + "Yours of the 29th ultimo hath arrived. I must, really and + seriously request that you will beg of Messrs. Harris or Elliston + to let the Doge alone: it is _not_ an acting play; it will not + serve _their_ purpose; it will destroy _yours_ (the sale); and it + will distress me. It is not courteous, it is hardly even + gentlemanly, to persist in this appropriation of a man's writings + to their mountebanks. + + "I have already sent you by last post a short protest[28] to the + public (against this proceeding); in case that _they_ persist, + which I trust that they will not, you must then publish it in the + newspapers. I shall not let them off with that only, if they go on; + but make a longer appeal on that subject, and state what I think + the injustice of their mode of behaviour. It is hard that I should + have all the buffoons in Britain to deal with--_pirates_ who _will_ + publish, and _players_ who _will_ act--when there are thousands of + worthy men who can get neither bookseller nor manager for love nor + money. + + "You never answered me a word about _Galignani_. If you mean to use + the two _documents, do_; if not, _burn_ them. I do not choose to + leave them in any one's possession: suppose some one found them + without the letters, what would they _think_? why, that _I_ had + been doing the _opposite_ of what I _have_ _done_, to wit, referred + the whole thing to you--an act of civility at least, which required + saying, 'I have received your letter.' I thought that you might + have some hold upon those publications by this means; to _me_ it + can be no interest one way or the other.[29] + + "The _third_ canto of Don Juan is 'dull,' but you must really put + up with it: if the two first and the two following are tolerable, + what do you expect? particularly as I neither dispute with you on + it as a matter of criticism, nor as a matter of business. + + "Besides, what am I to understand? you and Douglas Kinnaird, and + others, write to me, that the two first published cantos are among + the best that I ever wrote, and are reckoned so; Augusta writes + that they are thought '_execrable_' (bitter word _that_ for an + author--eh, Murray?) as a _composition_ even, and that she had + heard so much against them that she would _never read them_, and + never has. Be that as it may, I can't alter; that is not my forte. + If you publish the three new ones without ostentation, they may + perhaps succeed. + + "Pray publish the Dante and the _Pulci_ (the _Prophecy of Dante_, I + mean). I look upon the Pulci as my grand performance.[30] The + remainder of the 'Hints,' where be they? Now, bring them all out + about the same time, otherwise 'the _variety_' you wot of will be + less obvious. + + "I am in bad humour: some obstructions in business with those + plaguy trustees, who object to an advantageous loan which I was to + furnish to a nobleman on mortgage, because his property is in + _Ireland_, have shown me how a man is treated in his absence. Oh, + if I _do_ come back, I will make some of those who little dream of + it _spin_--or they or I shall go down." + +[Footnote 28: To the letter which enclosed this protest, and which has +been omitted to avoid repetitions, he had subjoined a passage from +Spence's Anecdotes (p. 197. of Singer's edition), where Pope says, +speaking of himself, "I had taken such strong resolutions against any +thing of that kind, from seeing how much every body that _did_ write for +the stage was obliged to subject themselves to the players and the +town."--_Spence's Anecdotes_, p. 22. + +In the same paragraph, Pope is made to say, "After I had got acquainted +with the town, I resolved never to write any thing for the stage, though +solicited by many of my friends to do so, and particularly Betterton."] + +[Footnote 29: No further step was ever taken in this affair; and the +documents, which were of no use whatever, are, I believe, still in Mr. +Murray's possession.] + +[Footnote 30: The self-will of Lord Byron was in no point more +conspicuous than in the determination with which he thus persisted in +giving the preference to one or two works of his own which, in the eyes +of all other persons, were most decided failures. Of this class was the +translation from Pulci, so frequently mentioned by him, which appeared +afterwards in the Liberal, and which, though thus rescued from the fate +of remaining unpublished, roust for ever, I fear, submit to the doom of +being unread.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 407. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "January 20. 1821. + + "I did not think to have troubled you with the plague and postage + of a _double letter_ this time, but I have just read in an _Italian + paper_, 'That Lord Byron has a tragedy coming out,' &c. &c. &c. and + that the Courier and Morning Chronicle, &c. &c. are pulling one + another to pieces about it and him, &c. + + "Now I do reiterate and desire, that every thing may be done to + prevent it from coming out on _any theatre_, for which it never was + designed, and on which (in the present state of the stage of + London) it could never succeed. I have sent you my appeal by last + post, which you _must publish in case of need_; and I require you + even in _your own name_ (if my honour is dear to you) to declare + that such representation would be contrary to my _wish and to my + judgment_. If you do not wish to drive me mad altogether, you will + hit upon some way to prevent this. + + "Yours, &c. + + "P.S. I cannot conceive how Harris or Elliston should be so insane + as to think of acting Marino Faliero; they might as well act the + Prometheus of Aeschylus. I speak of course humbly, and with the + greatest sense of the distance of time and merit between the two + performances; but merely to show the absurdity of the attempt. + + "The Italian paper speaks of a 'party against it;' to be sure there + would be a party. Can you imagine, that after having never + flattered man, nor beast, nor opinion, nor politics, there would + _not_ be a party against a man, who is also a _popular_ writer--at + least a successful? Why, all parties would be a party against." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 408. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, January 20. 1821. + + "If Harris or Elliston persist, after the remonstrance which I + desired you and Mr. Kinnaird to make on my behalf, and which I + hope will be sufficient--but _if_, I say, they _do persist_, then I + pray you to _present in person_ the enclosed letter to the Lord + Chamberlain: I have said _in person_, because otherwise I shall + have neither answer nor knowledge that it has reached its address, + owing to 'the insolence of office.' + + "I wish you would speak to Lord Holland, and to all my friends and + yours, to interest themselves in preventing this cursed attempt at + representation. + + "God help me! at this distance, I am treated like a corpse or a + fool by the few people that I thought I could rely upon; and I + _was_ a fool to think any better of them than of the rest of + mankind. + + "Pray write. Yours, &c. + + "P.S. I have nothing more at heart (that is, in literature) than to + prevent this drama from going upon the stage: in short, rather than + permit it, it must be _suppressed altogether_, and only _forty + copies struck off privately_ for presents to my friends. What curst + fools those speculating buffoons must be _not_ to see that it is + unfit for their fair--or their booth!" + + * * * * * + +LETTER 409. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, January 22. 1821. + + "Pray get well. I do not like your complaint. So, let me have a + line to say you are up and doing again. To-day I am thirty-three + years of age. + + "Through life's road, &c. &c.[31] + + "Have you heard that the 'Braziers' Company have, or mean to + present an address at Brandenburgh House, 'in armour,' and with all + possible variety and splendour of brazen apparel? + + "The Braziers, it seems, are preparing to pass + An address, and present it themselves all in brass-- + A superfluous pageant--for, by the Lord Harry, + They'll find where they're going much more than they carry. + + There's an Ode for you, is it not?--worthy + + "Of * * * *, the grand metaquizzical poet, + A man of vast merit, though few people know it; + The perusal of whom (as I told _you_ at Mestri) + I owe, in great part, to my passion for pastry. + + "Mestri and Fusina are the 'trajects, or common ferries,' to + Venice; but it was from Fusina that you and I embarked, though 'the + wicked necessity of rhyming' has made me press Mestri into the + voyage. + + "So, you have had a book dedicated to you? I am glad of it, and + shall be very happy to see the volume. + + "I am in a peck of troubles about a tragedy of mine, which is fit + only for the (* * * * *) closet, and which it seems that the + managers, assuming a _right_ over published poetry, are determined + to enact, whether I will or no, with their own alterations by Mr. + Dibdin, I presume. I have written to Murray, to the Lord + Chamberlain, and to others, to interfere and preserve me from such + an exhibition. I want neither the impertinence of their hisses, nor + the insolence of their applause. I write only for the _reader_, and + care for nothing but the _silent_ approbation of those who close + one's book with good humour and quiet contentment. + + "Now, if you would also write to our friend Perry, to beg of him to + mediate with Harris and Elliston to _forbear_ this intent, you will + greatly oblige me. The play is quite unfit for the stage, as a + single glance will show them, and, I hope, _has_ shown them; and, + if it were ever so fit, I will never have any thing to do willingly + with the theatres. + + "Yours ever, in haste," &c. + +[Footnote 31: Already given in his Journal.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 410. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, January 27. 1821. + + "I differ from you about the _Dante_, which I think should be + published with the tragedy. But do as you please: you must be the + best judge of your own craft. I agree with you about the _title_. + The play may be good or bad, but I flatter myself that it is + original as a picture of _that_ kind of passion, which to my mind + is so natural, that I am convinced that I should have done + precisely what the Doge did on those provocations. + + "I am glad of Foscolo's approbation. + + "Excuse haste. I believe I mentioned to you that--I forget what it + was; but no matter. + + "Thanks for your compliments of the year. I hope that it will be + pleasanter than the last. I speak with reference to _England_ only, + as far as regards myself, _where_ I had every kind of + disappointment--lost an important law-suit--and the trustees of + Lady Byron refusing to allow of an advantageous loan to be made + from my property to Lord Blessington, &c. &c. by way of closing the + four seasons. These, and a hundred other such things, made a year + of bitter business for me in England. Luckily, things were a little + pleasanter for me _here_, else I should have taken the liberty of + Hannibal's ring. + + "Pray thank Gifford for all his goodnesses. The winter is as cold + here as Parry's polarities. I must now take a canter in the forest; + my horses are waiting. + + "Yours ever and truly." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 411. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, February 2. 1821. + + "Your letter of excuses has arrived. I receive the letter, but do + not admit the excuses, except in courtesy; as when a man treads on + your toes and begs your pardon, the pardon is granted, but the + joint aches, especially if there be a corn upon it. However, I + shall scold you presently. + + "In the last speech of the Doge, there occurs (I think, from + memory) the phrase + + "'And Thou who makest and unmakest suns:' + + change this to + + "'And Thou who kindlest and who quenchest suns; + + that is to say, if the verse runs equally well, and Mr. Gifford + thinks the expression improved. Pray have the bounty to attend to + this. You are grown quite a minister of state. Mind if some of + these days you are not thrown out. * * will not be always a Tory, + though Johnson says the first Whig was the devil. + + "You have learnt one secret from Mr. Galignani's (somewhat tardily + acknowledged) correspondence: this is, that an _English_ author may + dispose of his exclusive copyright in _France_--a fact of some + consequence (in _time of peace_), in the case of a popular writer. + Now I will tell you what _you_ shall do, and take no advantage of + you, though you were scurvy enough never to acknowledge my letter + for three months. Offer Galignani the refusal of the copyright in + France; if he refuses, appoint any bookseller in France you please, + and I will sign any assignment you please, and it shall never cost + you a _sou_ on _my_ account. + + "Recollect that I will have nothing to do with it, except as far as + it may secure the copyright to yourself. I will have no bargain but + with the English booksellers, and I desire no interest out of that + country. + + "Now, that's fair and open, and a little handsomer than your + _dodging_ silence, to see what would come of it. You are an + excellent fellow, mio caro Moray, but there is still a little + leaven of Fleet Street about you now and then--a crum of the old + loaf. You have no right to act suspiciously with me, for I have + given you no reason. I shall always be frank with you; as, for + instance, whenever you talk with the votaries of Apollo + arithmetically, it should be in guineas, not pounds--to poets, as + well as physicians, and bidders at auctions. + + "I shall say no more at this present, save that I am, + + "Yours, &c. + + "P.S. If you venture, as you say, to Ravenna this year, I will + exercise the rites of hospitality while you live, and bury you + handsomely (though not in holy ground), if you get 'shot or slashed + in a creagh or splore,' which are rather frequent here of late + among the native parties. But perhaps your visit may be + anticipated; I may probably come to your country; in which case + write to her Ladyship the duplicate of the epistle the King of + France wrote to Prince John." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 412. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, February 16, 1821. + + "In the month of March will arrive from Barcelona _Signor Curioni_, + engaged for the Opera. He is an acquaintance of mine, and a + gentlemanly young man, high in his profession. I must request your + personal kindness and patronage in his favour. Pray introduce him + to such of the theatrical people, editors of papers, and others, as + may be useful to him in his profession, publicly and privately. + + "The fifth is so far from being the last of Don Juan, that it is + hardly the beginning. I meant to take him the tour of Europe, with + a proper mixture of siege, battle, and adventure, and to make him + finish as _Anacharsis Cloots_, in the French Revolution. To how + many cantos this may extend, I know not, nor whether (even if I + live) I shall complete it: but this was my notion. I meant to have + made him a cavalier servente in Italy, and a cause for a divorce in + England, and a sentimental 'Werter-faced man' in Germany, so as to + show the different ridicules of the society in each of those + countries, and to have displayed him gradually _gate_ and _blase_ + as he grew older, as is natural. But I had not quite fixed whether + to make him end in hell, or in an unhappy marriage, not knowing + which would be the severest: the Spanish tradition says hell: but + it is probably only an allegory of the other state. You are now in + possession of my notions on the subject. + + "You say the Doge will not be popular: did I ever write for + _popularity_? I defy you to show a work of mine (except a tale or + two) of a popular style or complexion. It appears to me that there + is room for a different style of the drama; neither a servile + following of the old drama, which is a grossly erroneous one, nor + yet _too French_, like those who succeded the older writers. It + appears to me, that good English, and a severer approach to the + rules, might combine something not dishonourable to our literature. + I have also attempted to make a play without love; and there are + neither rings, nor mistakes, nor starts, nor outrageous ranting + villains, nor melodrame in it. All this will prevent its + popularity, but does not persuade me that it is _therefore_ faulty. + Whatever faults it has will arise from deficiency in the conduct, + rather than in the conception, which is simple and severe. + + "So _you epigrammatise_ upon _my epigram_? I will _pay_ you for + _that_, mind if I don't, some day. I never let any one off in the + long run (_who first begins_). Remember * * *, and see if I don't + do you as good a turn. You unnatural publisher! what! quiz your own + authors? you are a paper cannibal! + + "In the Letter on Bowles (which I sent by Tuesday's post) after the + words '_attempts had been made_' (alluding to the republication of + 'English Bards'), add the words, '_in Ireland_;' for I believe that + English pirates did not begin their attempts till after I had left + England the second time. Pray attend to this. Let me know what you + and your synod think on Bowles. + + "I did not think the second _seal_ so bad; surely it is far better + than the Saracen's head with which you have sealed your _last + letter_; the larger, in _profile_, was surely much better than + that. + + "So Foscolo says he will get you a _seal cut_ better in Italy? he + means a _throat_--that is the only thing they do dexterously. The + Arts--all but Canova's, and Morghen's, and _Ovid_'s (I don't _mean + poetry_),--are as low as need be: look at the seal which I gave to + William Bankes, and own it. How came George Bankes to quote + 'English Bards' in the House of Commons? All the world keep + flinging that poem in my face. + + "Belzoni _is_ a grand traveller, and his English is very prettily + broken. + + "As for news, the Barbarians are marching on Naples, and if they + lose a single battle, all Italy will be up. It will be like the + Spanish row, if they have any bottom. + + "'Letters opened?--to be sure they are, and that's the reason why I + always put in my opinion of the German Austrian scoundrels. There + is not an Italian who loathes them more than I do; and whatever I + could do to scour Italy and the earth of their infamous oppression + would be done _con amore_. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 413. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, February 21. 1821. + + "In the forty-fourth page, volume first, of Turner's Travels (which + you lately sent me), it is stated that 'Lord Byron, when he + expressed such confidence of its practicability, seems to have + forgotten that Leander swam both ways, with and against the tide; + whereas _he_ (Lord Byron) only performed the easiest part of the + task by swimming with it from Europe to Asia.' I certainly could + not have forgotten, what is known to every schoolboy, that Leander + crossed in the night and returned towards the morning. My object + was, to ascertain that the Hellespont could be crossed _at all_ by + swimming, and in this Mr. Ekenhead and myself both succeeded, the + one in an hour and ten minutes, and the other in one hour and five + minutes. The _tide_ was _not_ in our favour; on the contrary, the + great difficulty was to bear up against the current, which, so far + from helping us into the Asiatic side, set us down right towards + the Archipelago. Neither Mr. Ekenhead, myself, nor, I will venture + to add, any person on board the frigate, from Captain Bathurst + downwards, had any notion of a difference of the current on the + Asiatic side, of which Mr. Turner speaks. I never heard of it till + this moment, or I would have taken the other course. Lieutenant + Ekenhead's sole motive, and mine also, for setting out from the + European side was, that the little cape above Sestos was a more + prominent starting place, and the frigate, which lay below, close + under the Asiatic castle, formed a better point of view for us to + swim towards; and, in fact, we landed immediately below it. + + "Mr. Turner says, 'Whatever is thrown into the stream on this part + of the European bank must arrive at the Asiatic shore.' This is so + far from being the case, that it _must_ arrive in the Archipelago, + if left to the current, although a strong wind in the Asiatic + direction might have such an effect occasionally. + + "Mr. Turner attempted the passage from the Asiatic side, and + failed: 'After five-and-twenty minutes, in which he did not advance + a hundred yards, he gave it up from complete exhaustion.' This is + very possible, and might have occurred to him just as readily on + the European side. He should have set out a couple of miles higher, + and could then have come out below the European castle. I + particularly stated, and Mr. Hobhouse has done so also, that we + were obliged to make the real passage of one mile extend to between + _three_ and _four_, owing to the force of the stream. I can assure + Mr. Turner, that his success would have given me great pleasure, as + it would have added one more instance to the proofs of the + probability. It is not quite fair in him to infer, that because + _he_ failed, Leander could not succeed. There are still four + instances on record: a Neapolitan, a young Jew, Mr. Ekenhead, and + myself; the two last done in the presence of hundreds of _English_ + witnesses. + + "With regard to the difference of the _current,_ I perceived none; + it is favourable to the swimmer on neither side, but may be stemmed + by plunging into the sea, a considerable way above the opposite + point of the coast which the swimmer wishes to make, but still + bearing up against it; it is strong, but if you calculate well, you + may reach land. My own experience and that of others bids me + pronounce the passage of Leander perfectly practicable. Any young + man, in good and tolerable skill in swimming, might succeed in it + from _either_ side. I was three hours in swimming across the Tagus, + which is much more hazardous, being two hours longer than the + Hellespont. Of what may be done in swimming, I will mention one + more instance. In 1818, the Chevalier Mengaldo (a gentleman of + Bassano), a good swimmer, wished to swim with my friend Mr. + Alexander Scott and myself. As he seemed particularly anxious on + the subject, we indulged him. We all three started from the island + of the Lido and swam to Venice. At the entrance of the Grand Canal, + Scott and I were a good way ahead, and we saw no more of our + foreign friend, which, however, was of no consequence, as there was + a gondola to hold his clothes and pick him up. Scott swam on till + past the Rialto, where he got out, less from fatigue than from + _chill,_ having been four hours in the water, without rest or stay, + except what is to be obtained by floating on one's back--this being + the _condition_ of our performance. I continued my course on to + Santa Chiara, comprising the whole of the Grand Canal (besides the + distance from the Lido), and got out where the Laguna once more + opens to Fusina. I had been in the water, by my watch, without help + or rest, and never touching ground or boat, _four hours_ and + _twenty minutes_. To this match, and during the greater part of its + performance, Mr. Hoppner, the Consul-general, was witness, and it + is well known to many others. Mr. Turner can easily verify the + fact, if he thinks it worth while, by referring to Mr. Hoppner. The + distance we could not _accurately_ ascertain; it was of course + considerable. + + "I crossed the Hellespont in one hour and ten minutes only. I am + now ten years older in time, and twenty in constitution, than I was + when I passed the Dardanelles, and yet two years ago I was capable + of swimming four hours and twenty minutes; and I am sure that I + could have continued two hours longer, though I had on a pair of + trowsers, an accoutrement which by no means assists the + performance. My two companions were also _four_ hours in the water. + Mengaldo might be about thirty years of age; Scott about + six-and-twenty. + + "With this experience in swimming at different periods of life, not + only upon the SPOT, but elsewhere, of various persons, what is + there to make me doubt that Leander's exploit was perfectly + practicable? If three individuals did more than the passage of the + Hellespont, why should he have done less? But Mr. Turner failed, + and, naturally seeking a plausible reason for his failure, lays the + blame on the _Asiatic_ side of the strait. He tried to swim + directly across, instead of going higher up to take the vantage: he + might as well have tried to _fly_ over Mount Athos. + + "That a young Greek of the heroic times, in love, and with his + limbs in full vigour, might have succeeded in such an attempt is + neither wonderful nor doubtful. Whether he _attempted_ it or _not_ + is another question, because he might have had a small _boat_ to + save him the trouble. + + "I am yours very truly, + + "BYRON. + + "P.S. Mr. Turner says that the swimming from Europe to Asia was + 'the _easiest_ part of the task.' I doubt whether Leander found it + so, as it was the return; however, he had several hours between the + intervals. The argument of Mr. Turner, 'that higher up or lower + down, the strait widens so considerably that he would save little + labour by his starting,' is only good for indifferent swimmers; a + man of any practice or skill will always consider the distance less + than the strength of the stream. If Ekenhead and myself had thought + of crossing at the narrowest point, instead of going up to the Cape + above it, we should have been swept down to Tenedos. The strait, + however, is not so extremely wide, even where it broadens above and + below the forts. As the frigate was stationed some time in the + Dardanelles waiting for the firman, I bathed often in the strait + subsequently to our traject, and generally on the Asiatic side, + without perceiving the greater strength of the opposite stream by + which the diplomatic traveller palliates his own failure. Our + amusement in the small bay which opens immediately below the + Asiatic fort was to _dive_ for the LAND tortoises, which we flung + in on purpose, as they amphibiously crawled along the bottom. + _This_ does not argue any greater violence of current than on the + European shore. With regard to the _modest_ insinuation that we + chose the European side as 'easier,' I appeal to Mr. Hobhouse and + Captain Bathurst if it be true or no (poor Ekenhead being since + dead). Had we been aware of any such difference of current as is + asserted, we would at least have proved it, and were not likely to + have given it up in the twenty-five minutes of Mr. Turner's own + experiment. The secret of all this is, that Mr. Turner failed, and + that we succeeded; and he is consequently disappointed, and seems + not unwilling to overshadow whatever little merit there might be in + our success. Why did he not try the European side? If he had + succeeded there, after failing on the Asiatic, his plea would have + been more graceful and gracious. Mr. Turner may find what fault he + pleases with my poetry, or my politics; but I recommend him to + leave aquatic reflections till he is able to swim 'five-and-twenty + minutes' without being '_exhausted_,' though I believe he is the + first modern Tory who ever swam '_against_ the stream for half the + time."[32] + +[Footnote 32: To the above letter, which was published at the time, Mr. +Turner wrote a reply, but, for reasons stated by himself, did not print +it. At his request, I give insertion to his paper in the Appendix.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 414. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, February 22. 1821. + + "As I wish the soul of the late Antoine Galignani to rest in peace, + (you will have read his death, published by himself, in his own + newspaper,) you are requested particularly to inform his children + and heirs, that of their 'Literary Gazette,' to which I subscribed + more than _two_ months ago, I have only received one _number_, + notwithstanding I have written to them repeatedly. If they have no + regard for me, a subscriber, they ought to have some for their + deceased parent, who is undoubtedly no better off in his present + residence for this total want of attention. If not, let me have my + francs. They were paid by Missiaglia, the _W_enetian bookseller. You + may also hint to them that when a gentleman writes a letter, it is + usual to send an answer. If not, I shall make them 'a speech,' + which will comprise an eulogy on the deceased. + + "We are here full of war, and within two days of the seat of it, + expecting intelligence momently. We shall now see if our Italian + friends are good for any thing but 'shooting round a corner,' like + the Irishman's gun. Excuse haste,--I write with my spurs putting + on. My horses are at the door, and an Italian Count waiting to + accompany me in my ride. + + "Yours, &c. + + "P.S. Pray, amongst my letters, did you get one detailing the death + of the commandant here? He was killed near my door, and died in my + house. + + "BOWLES AND CAMPBELL. + + "To the air of '_How now, Madame Flirt_,' in the Beggars' Opera. + + BOWLES. "Why, how now, saucy Tom, + If you thus must ramble, + I will publish some + Remarks on Mr. Campbell. + + CAMPBELL. "Why, how now, Billy Bowles, + &c. &c. &c." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 415. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "March 2. 1821. + + "This was the beginning of a letter which I meant for Perry, but + stopped short, hoping you would be able to prevent the theatres. Of + course you need not send it; but it explains to you my feelings on + the subject. You say that 'there is nothing to fear, let them do + what they please;' that is to say, that you would see me damned + with great tranquillity. You are a fine fellow." + + * * * * * + +TO MR. PERRY. + + "Ravenna, January 22. 1821. + + "Dear Sir, + + "I have received a strange piece of news, which cannot be more + disagreeable to your public than it is to me. Letters and the + gazettes do me the honour to say that it is the intention of some + of the London managers to bring forward on their stage the poem of + 'Marino Faliero,' &c. which was never intended for such an + exhibition, and I trust will never undergo it. It is certainly + unfit for it. I have never written but for the solitary _reader_, + and require no experiments for applause beyond his silent + approbation. Since such an attempt to drag me forth as a gladiator + in the theatrical arena is a violation of all the courtesies of + literature, I trust that the impartial part of the press will step + between me and this pollution. I say pollution, because every + violation of a _right_ is such, and I claim my right as an author + to prevent what I have written from being turned into a stage-play. + I have too much respect for the public to permit this of my own + free will. Had I sought their favour, it would have been by a + pantomime. + + "I have said that I write only for the reader. Beyond this I cannot + consent to any publication, or to the abuse of any publication of + mine to the purposes of histrionism. The applauses of an audience + would give me no pleasure; their disapprobation might, however, + give me pain. The wager is therefore not equal. You may, perhaps, + say, 'How can this be? if their disapprobation gives pain, their + praise might afford pleasure?' By no means: the kick of an ass or + the sting of a wasp may be painful to those who would find nothing + agreeable in the braying of the one or the buzzing of the other. + + "This may not seem a courteous comparison, but I have no other + ready; and it occurs naturally." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 416. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, Marzo, 1821. + + "Dear Moray, + + "In my packet of the 12th instant, in the last sheet (_not_ the + _half_ sheet), last page, _omit_ the sentence which (defining, or + attempting to define, what and who are gentlemen) begins, 'I should + say at least in life that most military men have it, and few naval; + that several men of rank have it, and few lawyers,' &c. &c. I say, + omit the whole of that sentence, because, like the 'cosmogony, or + creation of the world,' in the 'Vicar of Wakefield,' it is not much + to the purpose. + + "In the sentence above, too, almost at the top of the same page, + after the words 'that there ever was, or can be, an aristocracy of + poets,' add and insert these words--'I do not mean that they should + write in the style of the song by a person of quality, or _parle + euphuism_; but there is a _nobility_ of thought and expression to + be found no less in Shakspeare, Pope, and Burns, than in Dante, + Alfieri,' &c. &c. and so on. Or, if you please, perhaps you had + better omit the whole of the latter digression on the _vulgar_ + poets, and insert only as far as the end of the sentence on Pope's + Homer, where I prefer it to Cowper's, and quote Dr. Clarke in + favour of its accuracy. + + "Upon all these points, take an opinion; take the sense (or + nonsense) of your learned visitants, and act thereby. I am very + tractable--in PROSE. + + "Whether I have made out the case for Pope, I know not; but I am + very sure that I have been zealous in the attempt. If it comes to + the proofs we shall beat the blackguards. I will show more + _imagery_ in twenty lines of Pope than in any equal length of + quotation in English poesy, and that in places where they least + expect it. For instance, in his lines on _Sporus_,--now, do just + _read_ them over--the subject is of no consequence (whether it be + _satire_ or epic)--we are talking of _poetry_ and _imagery_ from + _nature_ and _art_. Now, mark the images separately and + arithmetically:-- + + "'1. The thing of _silk_. + 2. _Curd_ of _ass_'s milk. + 3. The _butterfly_. + 4. The _wheel_. + 5. Bug with gilded wings. + 6. _Painted_ child of dirt. + 7. Whose _buzz_. + 8. Well-bred _spaniels_. + 9. _Shallow streams run dimpling._ + 10. Florid impotence. + 11. _Prompter. Puppet squeaks._ + 12. _The ear of Eve._ + 13. _Familiar toad._ + 14. _Half froth, half venom, splits_ himself abroad. + 15. _Fop_ at the _toilet_. + 16. _Flatterer_ at the _board_. + 17. _Amphibious thing_. + 18. Now _trips a lady_. + 19. Now _struts a lord_. + 20. A _cherub's face_. + 21. A _reptile_ all the rest. + 22. The _Rabbins_. + 23. Pride that _licks the dust_. + + "'Beauty that shocks you, parts that none will trust. + Wit that can creep, and _pride_ that _licks the dust_.' + + "Now, is there a line of all the passage without the most + _forcible_ imagery (for his purpose)? Look at the _variety_--at the + _poetry_ of the passage--at the _imagination_: there is hardly a + line from which a painting might not be made, and _is_. But this is + nothing in comparison with his higher passages in the Essay on Man, + and many of his other poems, serious and comic. There never was + such an unjust outcry in this world as that which these fellows are + trying against Pope. + + "Ask Mr. Gifford if, in the fifth act of 'The Doge,' you could not + contrive (where the sentence of the _Veil_ is passed) to insert the + following lines in Marino Faliero's answer? + + "But let it be so. It will be in vain: + The veil which blackens o'er this blighted name, + And hides, or seems to hide, these lineaments, + Shall draw more gazers than the thousand portraits + Which glitter round it in their painted trappings, + Your delegated slaves--the people's tyrants.[33] + + "Yours, truly, &c. + + "P.S. Upon _public_ matters here I say little: you will all hear + soon enough of a general row throughout Italy. There never was a + more foolish step than the expedition to Naples by these fellows. + + "I wish to propose to _Holmes_, the miniature painter, to come out + to me this spring. I will pay his expenses, and any sum in reason. + I wish him to take my daughter's picture (who is in a convent) and + the Countess G.'s, and the head of a peasant girl, which latter + would make a study for Raphael. It is a complete _peasant_ face, + but an _Italian_ peasant's, and quite in the Raphael Fornarina + style. Her figure is tall, but rather large, and not at all + comparable to her face, which is really superb. She is not + seventeen, and I am anxious to have her face while it lasts. Madame + G. is also very handsome, but it is quite in a different + style--completely blonde and fair--very uncommon in Italy; yet not + an _English_ fairness, but more like a Swede or a Norwegian. Her + figure, too, particularly the bust, is uncommonly good. It must be + _Holmes_; I like him because he takes such inveterate likenesses. + There is a war here; but a solitary traveller, with little baggage, + and nothing to do with politics, has nothing to fear. Pack him up + in the Diligence. Don't forget." + +[Footnote 33: These lines--perhaps from some difficulty in introducing +them--were never inserted in the Tragedy.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 417. TO MR. HOPPNER. + + "Ravenna, April 3. 1821; + + "Thanks for the translation. I have sent you some books, which I do + not know whether you have read or no--you need not return them, in + any case. I enclose you also a letter from Pisa. I have neither + spared trouble nor expense in the care of the child; and as she was + now four years old complete, and quite above the control of the + servants--and as a _man_ living without any woman at the head of + his house cannot much attend to a nursery--I had no resource but to + place her for a time (at a high pension too) in the convent of + Bagna-Cavalli (twelve miles off), where the air is good, and where + she will, at least, have her learning advanced, and her morals and + religion inculcated.[34] I had also another reason;--things were + and are in such a state here, that I had no reason to look upon my + own personal safety as particularly insurable; and I thought the + infant best out of harm's way, for the present. + + "It is also fit that I should add that I by no means intended, nor + intend, to give a _natural_ child an _English_ education, because + with the disadvantages of her birth, her after settlement would be + doubly difficult. Abroad, with a fair foreign education and a + portion of five or six thousand pounds, she might and may marry + very respectably. In England such a dowry would be a pittance, + while elsewhere it is a fortune. It is, besides, my wish that she + should be a Roman Catholic, which I look upon as the best religion, + as it is assuredly the oldest of the various branches of + Christianity. I have now explained my notions as to the _place_ + where she now is--it is the best I could find for the present; but + I have no prejudices in its favour. + + "I do not speak of politics, because it seems a hopeless subject, + as long as those scoundrels are to be permitted to bully states + out of their independence. Believe me, + + "Yours ever and truly. + + "P.S. There is a report here of a change in France; but with what + truth is not yet known. + + "P.S. My respects to Mrs. H. I _have_ the 'best opinion' of her + countrywomen; and at my time of life, (three and thirty, 22d + January, 1821,) that is to say, after the life I have led, a _good_ + opinion is the only rational one which a man should entertain of + the whole sex--up to _thirty_, the worst possible opinion a man can + have of them in _general_, the better for himself. Afterwards, it + is a matter of no importance to them, nor to him either, what + opinion he entertains--his day is over, or, at least, should be. + + "You see how sober I am become." + +[Footnote 34: With such anxiety did he look to this essential part of +his daughter's education, that notwithstanding the many advantages she +was sure to derive from the kind and feminine superintendence of Mrs. +Shelley, his apprehensions, lest her feeling upon religious subjects +might be disturbed by the conversation of Shelley himself, prevented him +from allowing her to remain under his friend's roof.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 418. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, April 21. 1821. + + "I enclose you another letter on Bowles. But I premise that it is + not like the former, and that I am not at all sure how _much_, if + _any_, of it should be published. Upon this point you can consult + with Mr. Gifford, and think twice before you publish it at all. + + Yours truly, + + B. + + "P.S. You may make my subscription for Mr. Scott's widow, &c. + _thirty_ instead of the proposed _ten_ pounds; but do not put down + _my name_; put down N.N. only. The reason is, that, as I have + mentioned him in the enclosed pamphlet, it would look indelicate. I + would give more, but my disappointments last year about Rochdale + and the transfer from the funds render me more economical for the + present." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 419. TO MR. SHELLEY. + + "Ravenna, April 26. 1821. + + "The child continues doing well, and the accounts are regular and + favourable. It is gratifying to me that you and Mrs. Shelley do not + disapprove of the step which I have taken, which is merely + temporary. + + "I am very sorry to hear what you say of Keats--is it actually + true? I did not think criticism had been so killing. Though I + differ from you essentially in your estimate of his performances, I + so much abhor all unnecessary pain, that I would rather he had been + seated on the highest peak of Parnassus than have perished in such + a manner. Poor fellow! though with such inordinate self-love he + would probably have not been very happy. I read the review of + 'Endymion' in the Quarterly. It was severe,--but surely not so + severe as many reviews in that and other journals upon others. + + "I recollect the effect on me of the Edinburgh on my first poem; it + was rage, and resistance, and redress--but not despondency nor + despair. I grant that those are not amiable feelings; but, in this + world of bustle and broil, and especially in the career of writing, + a man should calculate upon his powers of _resistance_ before he + goes into the arena. + + "'Expect not life from pain nor danger free, + Nor deem the doom of man reversed for thee.' + + "You know my opinion of that _second-hand_ school of poetry. You + also know my high opinion of your own poetry,--because it is of + _no_ school. I read Cenci--but, besides that I think the _subject_ + essentially _un_dramatic, I am not an admirer of our old + dramatists, _as models_. I deny that the English have hitherto had + a drama at all. Your Cenci, however, was a work of power, and + poetry. As to _my_ drama, pray revenge yourself upon it, by being + as free as I have been with yours. + + "I have not yet got your Prometheus, which I long to see. I have + heard nothing of mine, and do not know that it is yet published. I + have published a pamphlet on the Pope controversy, which you will + not like. Had I known that Keats was dead--or that he was alive and + so sensitive--I should have omitted some remarks upon his poetry, + to which I was provoked by his _attack_ upon _Pope_, and my + disapprobation of _his own_ style of writing. + + "You want me to undertake a great poem--I have not the inclination + nor the power. As I grow older, the indifference--_not_ to life, + for we love it by instinct--but to the stimuli of life, increases. + Besides, this late failure of the Italians has latterly + disappointed me for many reasons,--some public, some personal. My + respects to Mrs. S. + + "Yours ever. + + "P.S. Could not you and I contrive to meet this summer? Could not + you take a run here _alone_?" + + * * * * * + +LETTER 420. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, April 26. 1821. + + "I sent you by last _postis_ a large packet, which will _not_ do + for publication (I suspect), being, as the apprentices say, 'damned + low.' I put off also for a week or two sending the Italian scrawl + which will form a note to it. The reason is that, letters being + opened, I wish to 'bide a wee.' + + "Well, have you published the Tragedy? and does the Letter take? + + "Is it true, what Shelley writes me, that poor John Keats died at + Rome of the Quarterly Review? I am very sorry for it, though I + think he took the wrong line as a poet, and was spoilt by + Cockneyfying, and suburbing, and versifying Tooke's Pantheon and + Lempriere's Dictionary. I know, by experience, that a savage review + is hemlock to a sucking author; and the one on me (which produced + the English Bards, &c.) knocked me down--but I got up again. + Instead of bursting a blood-vessel, I drank three bottles of + claret, and began an answer, finding that there was nothing in the + article for which I could lawfully knock Jeffrey on the head, in an + honourable way. However, I would not be the person who wrote the + homicidal article for all the honour and glory in the world, though + I by no means approve of that school of scribbling which it treats + upon. + + "You see the Italians have made a sad business of it,--all owing to + treachery and disunion amongst themselves. It has given me great + vexation. The execrations heaped upon the Neapolitans by the other + Italians are quite in unison with those of the rest of Europe. + + "Yours, &c. + + "P.S. Your latest packet of books is on its way here, but not + arrived. Kenilworth excellent. Thanks for the pocket-books, of + which I have made presents to those ladies who like cuts, and + landscapes, and all that. I have got an Italian book or two which I + should like to send you if I had an opportunity. + + "I am not at present in the very highest health,--spring probably; + so I have lowered my diet and taken to Epsom salts. + + "As you say my _prose_ is good, why don't you treat with _Moore_ + for the reversion of the Memoirs?--_conditionally, recollect_; not + to be published before decease. _He_ has the permission to dispose + of them, and I advised him to do so." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 421. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, April 28. 1821. + + "You cannot have been more disappointed than myself, nor so much + deceived. I have been so at some personal risk also, which is not + yet done away with. However, no time nor circumstances shall alter + my tone nor my feelings of indignation against tyranny triumphant. + The present business has been as much a work of treachery as of + cowardice,--though both may have done their part. If ever you and I + meet again, I will have a talk with you upon the subject. At + present, for obvious reasons, I ran write but little, as all + letters are opened. In _mine_ they shall always find _my_ + sentiments, but nothing that can lead to the oppression of others. + + "You will please to recollect that the Neapolitans are nowhere now + more execrated than in Italy, and not blame a whole people for the + vices of a province. That would be like condemning Great Britain + because they plunder wrecks in Cornwall. + + "And now let us be literary;--a sad falling off, but it is always a + consolation. If 'Othello's occupation be gone,' let us take to the + next best; and, if we cannot contribute to make mankind more free + and wise, we may amuse ourselves and those who like it. What are + you writing? I have been scribbling at intervals, and Murray will + be publishing about now. + + "Lady Noel has, as you say, been dangerously ill; but it may + console you to learn that she is dangerously well again. + + "I have written a sheet or two more of Memoranda for you; and I + kept a little Journal for about a month or two, till I had filled + the paper-book. I then left it off, as things grew busy, and, + afterwards, too gloomy to set down without a painful feeling. This + I should be glad to send you, if I had an opportunity; but a + volume, however small, don't go well by such posts as exist in this + Inquisition of a country. + + "I have no news. As a very pretty woman said to me a few nights + ago, with the tears in her eyes, as she sat at the harpsichord, + 'Alas! the Italians must now return to making operas.' I fear + _that_ and maccaroni are their forte, and 'motley their only + wear.' However, there are some high spirits among them still. Pray + write. And believe me," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 422. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, May 3. 1821. + + "Though I wrote to you on the 28th ultimo, I must acknowledge yours + of this day, with the lines[35]. They are sublime, as well as + beautiful, and in your very best mood and manner. They are also but + too true. However, do not confound the scoundrels at the _heel_ of + the boot with their betters at the top of it. I assure you that + there are some loftier spirits. + + "Nothing, however, can be better than your poem, or more deserved + by the Lazzaroni. They are now abhorred and disclaimed nowhere more + than here. We will talk over these things (if we meet) some day, + and I will recount my own adventures, some of which have been a + little hazardous, perhaps. + + "So, you have got the Letter on Bowles[36]? I do not recollect to + have said any thing of _you_ that could offend,--certainly, nothing + intentionally. As for * *, I meant him a compliment. I wrote the + whole off-hand, without copy or correction, and expecting then + every day to be called into the field. What have I said of you? I + am sure I forget. It must be something of regret for your + approbation of Bowles. And did you _not_ approve, as he says? Would + I had known that before! I would have given him some more + gruel.[37] My intention was to make fun of all these fellows; but + how I succeeded, I don't know. + + "As to Pope, I have always regarded him as the greatest name in our + poetry. Depend upon it, the rest are barbarians. He is a Greek + Temple, with a Gothic Cathedral on one hand, and a Turkish Mosque + and all sorts of fantastic pagodas and conventicles about him. You + may call Shakspeare and Milton pyramids, if you please, but I + prefer the Temple of Theseus or the Parthenon to a mountain of + burnt brick-work. + + "The Murray has written to me but once, the day of its publication, + when it seemed prosperous. But I have heard of late from England + but rarely. Of Murray's other publications (of mine), I know + nothing,--nor whether he has published. He was to have done so a + month ago. I wish you would do something,--or that we were + together. + + "Ever yours and affectionately, + + "B." + +[Footnote 35: "Aye, down to the dust with them, slaves as they are," &c. +&c.] + +[Footnote 36: I had not, when I wrote, _seen_ this pamphlet, as he +supposes, but had merely heard from some friends, that his pen had "run +a-muck" in it, and that I myself had not escaped a slight graze in its +career.] + +[Footnote 37: It may be sufficient to say of the use to which both Lord +Byron and Mr. Bowles thought it worth their while to apply my name in +this controversy, that, as far as my own knowledge of the subject +extended, I was disposed to agree with _neither_ of the extreme opinions +into which, as it appeared to me, my distinguished friends had +diverged;--neither with Lord Byron in that spirit of partisanship which +led him to place Pope _above_ Shakspeare and Milton, nor with Mr. Bowles +in such an application of the "principles" of poetry as could tend to +sink Pope, on the scale of his art, to any rank below the very first. +Such being the middle state of my opinion on the question, it will not +be difficult to understand how one of my controversial friends should be +as mistaken in supposing me to differ altogether from his views, as the +other was in taking for granted that I had ranged myself wholly on his +side.] + + * * * * * + +It was at this time that he began, under the title of "Detached +Thoughts," that Book of Notices or Memorandums, from which, in the +course of these pages, I have extracted so many curious illustrations of +his life and opinions, and of which the opening article is as follows:-- + +"Amongst various Journals, Memoranda, Diaries, &c. which I have kept in +the course of my living, I began one about three months ago, and carried +it on till I had filled one paper-book (thinnish), and two sheets or so +of another. I then left off, partly because I thought we should have +some business here, and I had furbished up my arms and got my apparatus +ready for taking a turn with the patriots, having my drawers full of +their proclamations, oaths, and resolutions, and my lower rooms of their +hidden weapons, of most calibres,--and partly because I had filled my +paper-book. + +"But the Neapolitans have betrayed themselves and all the world; and +those who would have given their blood for Italy can now only give her +their tears. + +"Some day or other, if dust holds together, I have been enough in the +secret (at least in this part of the country) to cast perhaps some +little light upon the atrocious treachery which has replunged Italy +into barbarism: at present, I have neither the time nor the temper. +However the _real_ Italians are not to blame; merely the scoundrels at +the _heel of the boot_, which the _Hun_ now wears, and will trample them +to ashes with for their servility. I have risked myself with the others +_here_, and how far I may or may not be compromised is a problem at this +moment. Some of them, like Craigengelt, would 'tell all, and more than +all, to save themselves.' But, come what may, the cause was a glorious +one, though it reads at present as if the Greeks had run away from +Xerxes. Happy the few who have only to reproach themselves with +believing that these rascals were less 'rascaille' than they +proved!--_Here_ in Romagna, the efforts were necessarily limited to +preparations and good intentions, until the Germans were fairly engaged +in _equal_ warfare--as we are upon their very frontiers, without a +single fort or hill nearer than San Marino. Whether 'hell will be paved +with' those 'good intentions,' I know not; but there will probably be +good store of Neapolitans to walk upon the pavement, whatever may be its +composition. Slabs of lava from their mountain, with the bodies of their +own damned souls for cement, would be the fittest causeway for Satan's +'Corso.'" + + * * * * * + +LETTER 423. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, May 10. 1821. + + "I have just got your packet. I am obliged to Mr. Bowles, and Mr. + Bowles is obliged to me, for having restored him to good-humour. He + is to write, and you to publish, what you please,--_motto_ and + subject. I desire nothing but fair play for all parties. Of course, + after the new tone of Mr. Bowles, you will _not_ publish my + _defence of Gilchrist_: it would be brutal to do so after his + urbanity, for it is rather too rough, like his own attack upon + Gilchrist. You may tell him what I say there of _his Missionary_ + (it is praised, as it deserves). However, and if there are any + passages _not personal_ to Bowles, and yet bearing upon the + question, you may add them to the reprint (if it is reprinted) of + my first Letter to you. Upon this consult Gifford; and, above all, + don't let any thing be added which can _personally_ affect Mr. + Bowles. + + "In the enclosed notes, of course what I say of the _democracy_ of + poetry cannot apply to Mr. Bowles, but to the Cockney and water + washing-tub schools. + + "I hope and trust that Elliston _won't_ be permitted to act the + drama. Surely _he_ might have the grace to wait for Kean's return + before he attempted it; though, _even then_, _I_ should be as much + against the attempt as ever. + + "I have got a small packet of books, but neither Waldegrave, + Oxford, nor Scott's novels among them. Why don't you republish + Hodgson's Childe Harold's Monitor and Latino-mastix? They are + excellent. Think of this--they are all for _Pope_. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +The controversy, in which Lord Byron, with so much grace and +good-humour, thus allowed himself to be disarmed by the courtesy of his +antagonist, it is not my intention to run the risk of reviving by any +enquiry into its origin or merits. In all such discussions on matters of +mere taste and opinion, where, on one side, it is the aim of the +disputants to elevate the object of the contest, and on the other, to +depreciate it, Truth will usually be found, like Shakspeare's gatherer +of samphire on the cliff, "halfway down." Whatever judgment, however, +may be formed respecting the controversy itself, of the urbanity and +gentle feeling on both sides, which (notwithstanding some slight trials +of this good understanding afterwards) led ultimately to the result +anticipated in the foregoing letter, there can be but one opinion; and +it is only to be wished that such honourable forbearance were as sure of +imitators as it is, deservedly, of eulogists. In the lively pages thus +suppressed, when ready fledged for flight, with a power of self-command +rarely exercised by wit, there are some passages, of a general nature, +too curious to be lost, which I shall accordingly proceed to extract for +the reader. + + * * * * * + +"Pope himself 'sleeps well--nothing can touch him further;' but those +who love the honour of their country, the perfection of her literature, +the glory of her language, are not to be expected to permit an atom of +his dust to be stirred in his tomb, or a leaf to be stripped from the +laurel which grows over it. * * * + +"To me it appears of no very great consequence whether Martha Blount was +or was not Pope's mistress, though I could have wished him a better. +She appears to have been a cold-hearted, interested, ignorant, +disagreeable woman, upon whom the tenderness of Pope's heart in the +desolation of his latter days was cast away, not knowing whither to +turn, as he drew towards his premature old age, childless and +lonely,--like the needle which, approaching within a certain distance of +the pole, becomes helpless and useless, and ceasing to tremble, rusts. +She seems to have been so totally unworthy of tenderness, that it is an +additional proof of the kindness of Pope's heart to have been able to +love such a being. But we must love something. I agree with Mr. B. that +_she_ 'could at no time have regarded _Pope personally_ with +attachment,' because she was incapable of attachment; but I deny that +Pope could not be regarded with personal attachment by a worthier woman. +It is not probable, indeed, that a woman would have fallen in love with +him as he walked along the Mall, or in a box at the opera, nor from a +balcony, nor in a ball-room: but in society he seems to have been as +amiable as unassuming, and, with the greatest disadvantages of figure, +his head and face were remarkably handsome, especially his eyes. He was +adored by his friends--friends of the most opposite dispositions, ages, +and talents--by the old and wayward Wycherley, by the cynical Swift, the +rough Atterbury, the gentle Spence, the stern attorney-bishop Warburton, +the virtuous Berkeley, and the 'cankered Bolingbroke.' Bolingbroke wept +over him like a child; and Spence's description of his last moments is +at least as edifying as the more ostentatious account of the deathbed of +Addison. The soldier Peterborough and the poet Gay, the witty Congreve +and the laughing Rowe, the eccentric Cromwell and the steady Bathurst, +were all his intimates. The man who could conciliate so many men of the +most opposite description, not one of whom but was a remarkable or a +celebrated character, might well have pretended to all the attachment +which a reasonable man would desire of an amiable woman. + +"Pope, in fact, wherever he got it, appears to have understood the sex +well. Bolingbroke, 'a judge of the subject,' says Warton, thought his +'Epistle on the Characters of Women' his 'masterpiece.' And even with +respect to the grosser passion, which takes occasionally the name of +'_romantic_,' accordingly as the degree of sentiment elevates it above +the definition of love by Buffon, it may be remarked, that it does not +always depend upon personal appearance, even in a woman. Madame Cottin +was a plain woman, and might have been virtuous, it may be presumed, +without much interruption. Virtuous she was, and the consequences of +this inveterate virtue were that two different admirers (one an elderly +gentleman) killed themselves in despair (see Lady Morgan's 'France'). I +would not, however, recommend this rigour to plain women in general, in +the hope of securing the glory of two suicides apiece. I believe that +there are few men who, in the course of their observations on life, may +not have perceived that it is not the greatest female beauty who forms +the longest and the strongest passions. + +"But, apropos of Pope.--Voltaire tells us that the Marechal Luxembourg +(who had precisely Pope's figure) was not only somewhat too amatory for +a great man, but fortunate in his attachments. La Valiere, the passion +of Louis XIV. had an unsightly defect. The Princess of Eboli, the +mistress of Philip the Second of Spain, and Maugiron, the minion of +Henry the Third of France, had each of them lost an eye; and the famous +Latin epigram was written upon them, which has, I believe, been either +translated or imitated by Goldsmith: + + "'Lumine Acon dextro, capta est Leonilla sinistro, + Et potis est forma vincere uterque Deos: + Blande puer, lumen quod habes concede sorori, + Sic tu caecus Amor, sic erit illa Venus.' + +"Wilkes, with his ugliness, used to say that 'he was but a quarter of an +hour behind the handsomest man in England;' and this vaunt of his is +said not to have been disproved by circumstances. Swift, when neither +young, nor handsome, nor rich, nor even amiable, inspired the two most +extraordinary passions upon record, Vanessa's and Stella's. + + "'Vanessa, aged scarce a score. + Sighs for a gown of _forty-four_.' + +He requited them bitterly; for he seems to have broken the heart of the +one, and worn out that of the other; and he had his reward, for he died +a solitary idiot in the hands of servants. + +"For my own part, I am of the opinion of Pausanias, that success in love +depends upon Fortune. 'They particularly renounce Celestial Venus, into +whose temple, &c. &c. &c. I remember, too, to have seen a building in +AEgina in which there is a statue of Fortune, holding a horn of Amalthea; +and near here there is a winged Love. The meaning of this is, that the +success of men in love affairs depends more on the assistance of Fortune +than the charms of beauty. I am persuaded, too, with Pindar (to whose +opinion I submit in other particulars), that Fortune is one of the +Fates, and that in a certain respect she is more powerful than her +sisters.'--See Pausanias, Achaics, book vii. chap. 26 page 246. +'Taylor's Translation.' + +"Grimm has a remark of the same kind on the different destinies of the +younger Crebillon and Rousseau. The former writes a licentious novel, +and a young English girl of some fortune and family (a Miss Strafford) +runs away, and crosses the sea to marry him; while Rousseau, the most +tender and passionate of lovers, is obliged to espouse his chambermaid. +If I recollect rightly, this remark was also repeated in the Edinburgh +Review of Grimm's Correspondence, seven or eight years ago. + +"In regard 'to the strange mixture of indecent, and sometimes _profane_ +levity, which his conduct and language _often_ exhibited,' and which so +much shocks the tone of _Pope_, than the tone of the _time_. With the +exception of the correspondence of Pope and his friends, not many +private letters of the period have come down to us; but those, such as +they are--a few scattered scraps from Farquhar and others--are more +indecent and coarse than any thing in Pope's letters. The comedies of +Congreve, Vanbrugh, Farquhar, Gibber, &c. which naturally attempted to +represent the manners and conversation of private life, are decisive +upon this point; as are also some of Steele's papers, and even +Addison's. We all know what the conversation of Sir R. Walpole, for +seventeen years the prime-minister of the country, was at his own table, +and his excuse for his licentious language, viz. 'that every body +understood _that_, but few could talk rationally upon less common +topics.' The refinement of latter days,--which is perhaps the +consequence of vice, which wishes to mask and soften itself, as much as +of virtuous civilisation,--had not yet made sufficient progress. Even +Johnson, in his 'London,' has two or three passages which cannot be read +aloud, and Addison's 'Drummer' some indelicate allusions." + + * * * * * + +To the extract that follows I beg to call the particular attention of +the reader. Those who at all remember the peculiar bitterness and +violence with which the gentleman here commemorated assailed Lord Byron, +at a crisis when both his heart and fame were most vulnerable, will, if +I am not mistaken, feel a thrill of pleasurable admiration in reading +these sentences, such as alone can convey any adequate notion of the +proud, generous pleasure that must have been felt in writing them. + + * * * * * + +"Poor Scott is now no more. In the exercise of his vocation, he +contrived at last to make himself the subject of a coroner's inquest. +But he died like a brave man, and he lived an able one. I knew him +personally, though slightly. Although several years my senior, we had +been schoolfellows together at the 'grammar-schule' (or, as the +Aberdonians pronounce it, '_squeel_') of New Aberdeen. He did not behave +to me quite handsomely in his capacity of editor a few years ago, but he +was under no obligation to behave otherwise. The moment was too tempting +for many friends and for all enemies. At a time when all my relations +(save one) fell from me like leaves from the tree in autumn winds, and +my few friends became still fewer--when the whole periodical press (I +mean the daily and weekly, _not_ the _literary_ press) was let loose +against me in every shape of reproach, with the two strange exceptions +(from their usual opposition) of 'The Courier' and 'The Examiner,'--the +paper of which Scott had the direction, was neither the last, nor the +least vituperative. Two years ago I met him at Venice, when he was bowed +in griefs by the loss of his son, and had known, by experience, the +bitterness of domestic privation. He was then earnest with me to return +to England; and on my telling him, with a smile, that he was once of a +different opinion, he replied to me,'that he and others had been greatly +misled; and that some pains, and rather extraordinary means, had been +taken to excite them. Scott is no more, but there are more than one +living who were present at this dialogue. He was a man of very +considerable talents, and of great acquirements. He had made his way, as +a literary character, with high success, and in a few years. Poor +fellow! I recollect his joy at some appointment which he had obtained, +or was to obtain, through Sir James Mackintosh, and which prevented the +further extension (unless by a rapid run to Rome) of his travels in +Italy. I little thought to what it would conduct him. Peace be with him! +and may all such other faults as are inevitable to humanity be as +readily forgiven him, as the little injury which he had done to one who +respected his talents and regrets his loss." + + * * * * * + +In reference to some complaints made by Mr. Bowles, in his Pamphlet, of +a charge of "hypochondriacism" which he supposed to have been brought +against him by his assailant, Mr. Gilchrist, the noble writer thus +proceeds:-- + +"I cannot conceive a man in perfect health being much affected by such a +charge, because his complexion and conduct must amply refute it. But +were it true, to what does it amount?--to an impeachment of a liver +complaint. 'I will tell it to the world,' exclaimed the learned +Smelfungus: 'you had better (said I) tell it to your physician. 'There +is nothing dishonourable in such a disorder, which is more peculiarly +the malady of students. It has been the complaint of the good and the +wise and the witty, and even of the gay. Regnard, the author of the last +French comedy after Moliere, was atrabilarious, and Moliere himself +saturnine. Dr. Johnson, Gray, and Burns, were all more or less affected +by it occasionally. It was the prelude to the more awful malady of +Collins, Cowper, Swift, and Smart; but it by no means follows that a +partial affliction of this disorder is to terminate like theirs. But +even were it so, + + "'Nor best, nor wisest, are exempt from thee; + Folly--Folly's only free.' PENROSE. + +"Mendelsohn and Bayle were at times so overcome with this depression as +to be obliged to recur to seeing 'puppet-shows,' and 'counting tiles +upon the opposite houses,' to divert themselves. Dr. Johnson, at times, +'would have given a limb to recover his spirits.' + +"In page 14. we have a large assertion, that 'the Eloisa alone is +sufficient to convict him (Pope) of _gross licentiousness_.' Thus, out +it comes at last--Mr. B. does accuse Pope of 'gross licentiousness,' and +grounds the charge upon a poem. The _licentiousness_ is a 'grand +peut-etre,' according to the turn of the times being:--the _grossness_ I +deny. On the contrary, I do believe that such a subject never was, nor +ever could be, treated by any poet with so much delicacy mingled with, +at the same time, such true and intense passion. Is the 'Atys' of +Catullus _licentious_? No, nor even gross; and yet Catullus is often a +coarse writer. The subject is nearly the same, except that Atys was the +suicide of his manhood, and Abelard the victim. + +"The 'licentiousness' of the story was _not_ Pope's,--it was a fact. All +that it had of gross he has softened; all that it had of indelicate he +has purified; all that it had of passionate he has beautified; all that +it had of holy he has hallowed. Mr. Campbell has admirably marked this +in a few words (I quote from memory), in drawing the distinction between +Pope and Dryden, and pointing out where Dryden was wanting. 'I fear,' +says he, 'that had the subject of 'Eloisa' fallen into his (Dryden's) +hands, that he would have given us but a _coarse_ draft of her passion.' +Never was the delicacy of Pope so much shown as in this poem. With the +facts and the letters of 'Eloisa' he has done what no other mind but +that of the best and purest of poets could have accomplished with such +materials. Ovid, Sappho (in the Ode called hers)--all that we have of +ancient, all that we have of modern poetry, sinks into nothing compared +with him in this production. + +"Let us hear no more of this trash about 'licentiousness.' Is not +'Anacreon' taught in our schools?--translated, praised, and edited? and +are the English schools or the English women the more corrupt for all +this? When you have thrown the ancients into the fire, it will be time +to denounce the moderns. 'Licentiousness!'--there is more real mischief +and sapping licentiousness in a single French prose novel, in a Moravian +hymn, or a German comedy, than in all the actual poetry that ever was +penned or poured forth since the rhapsodies of Orpheus. The sentimental +anatomy of Rousseau and Mad. de S. are far more formidable than any +quantity of verse. They are so, because they sap the principles by +_reasoning_ upon the _passions_; whereas poetry is in itself passion, +and does not systematise. It assails, but does not argue; it may be +wrong, but it does not assume pretensions to optimism." + +Mr. Bowles having, in his pamphlet, complained of some anonymous +communication which he had received, Lord Byron thus comments on the +circumstance. + +"I agree with Mr. B. that the intention was to annoy him; but I fear +that this was answered by his notice of the reception of the criticism. +An anonymous writer has but one means of knowing the effect of his +attack. In this he has the superiority over the viper; he knows that his +poison has taken effect when he hears the victim cry;--the adder is +_deaf_. The best reply to an anonymous intimation is to take no notice +directly nor indirectly. I wish Mr. B. could see only one or two of the +thousand which I have received in the course of a literary life, which, +though begun early, has not yet extended to a third part of his +existence as an author. I speak of _literary_ life only;--were I to add +_personal_, I might double the amount of _anonymous_ letters. If he +could but see the violence, the threats, the absurdity of the whole +thing, he would laugh, and so should I, and thus be both gainers. + +"To keep up the farce, within the last month of this present writing +(1821), I have had my life threatened in the same way which menaced Mr. +B.'s fame, excepting that the anonymous denunciation was addressed to +the Cardinal Legate of Romagna, instead of to * * * *. I append the +menace in all its barbaric but literal Italian, that Mr. B. may be +convinced; and as this is the only 'promise to pay' which the Italians +ever keep, so my person has been at least as much exposed to 'a shot in +the gloaming' from 'John Heatherblutter' (see Waverley), as ever Mr. +B.'s glory was from an editor. I am, nevertheless, on horseback and +lonely for some hours (_one_ of them twilight) in the forest daily; and +this, because it was my 'custom in the afternoon,' and that I believe if +the tyrant cannot escape amidst his guards (should it be so written), so +the humbler individual would find precautions useless." + +The following just tribute to my Reverend Friend's merits as a poet I +have peculiar pleasure in extracting:-- + +"Mr. Bowles has no reason to 'succumb' but to Mr. Bowles. As a poet, the +author of 'The Missionary' may compete with the foremost of his +contemporaries. Let it be recollected, that all my previous opinions of +Mr. Bowles s poetry were _written_ long before the publication of his +_last_ and best poem; and that a poet's last poem should be his best, is +his highest praise. But, however, he may duly and honorably rank with +his living rivals," &c. &c. &c. + +Among various Addenda for this pamphlet, sent at different times to Mr. +Murray, I find the following curious passages:-- + +"It is worthy of remark that, after all this outcry about '_in-door_ +nature' and 'artificial images,' Pope was the principal inventor of that +boast of the English, _Modern Gardening_. He divides this honour with +Milton. Hear Warton:--'It hence appears that this _enchanting_ art of +modern gardening, in which this kingdom claims a preference over every +nation in Europe, chiefly owes _its origin_ and its improvements to two +great poets, Milton and _Pope_.' + +"Walpole (no friend to Pope) asserts that Pope formed _Kent's_ taste, +and that Kent was the artist to whom the English are chiefly indebted +for diffusing 'a taste in laying out grounds.' The design of the Prince +of Wales's garden was copied from _Pope's_ at Twickenham. Warton +applauds 'his singular effort of art and taste, in impressing so much +variety and scenery on a spot of five acres.' Pope was the _first_ who +ridiculed the 'formal, French, Dutch, false and unnatural taste in +gardening,' both in _prose_ and verse. (See, for the former, 'The +Guardian.') + +"'Pope has given not only some of our _first_ but _best_ rules and +observations on _Architecture_ and _Gardening_.' (See Warton's Essay, +vol. ii. p. 237, &c.&c.) + +"Now, is it not a shame, after this, to hear our Lakers in 'Kendal +green,' and our Bucolical Cockneys, crying out (the latter in a +wilderness of bricks and mortar) about 'Nature,' and Pope's 'artificial +in-door habits?' Pope had seen all of nature that _England_ alone can +supply. He was bred in Windsor Forest, and amidst the beautiful scenery +of Eton; he lived familiarly and frequently at the country seats of +Bathurst, Cobham, Burlington, Peterborough, Digby, and Bolingbroke; +amongst whose seats was to be numbered _Stowe_. He made his own little +five acres' a model to Princes, and to the first of our artists who +imitated nature. Warton thinks 'that the most engaging of _Kent's_ works +was also planned on the model of Pope's,--at least in the opening and +retiring shades of Venus's Vale.' + +"It is true that Pope was infirm and deformed; but he could walk, and he +could ride (he rode to Oxford from London at a stretch), and he was +famous for an exquisite eye. On a tree at Lord Bathurst's is carved, +'Here Pope sang,'--he composed beneath it. Bolingbroke, in one of his +letters, represents them both writing in a hayfield. No poet ever +admired Nature more, or used her better, than Pope has done, as I will +undertake to prove from his works, prose and verse, if not anticipated +in so easy and agreeable a labour. I remember a passage in Walpole, +somewhere, of a gentleman who wished to give directions about some +willows to a man who had long served Pope in his grounds: 'I understand, +sir,' he replied: 'you would have them hang down, sir, _somewhat +poetical_.' Now if nothing existed but this little anecdote, it would +suffice to prove Pope's taste for _Nature_, and the impression which he +had made on a common-minded man. But I have already quoted Warton and +Walpole (_both_ his enemies), and, were it necessary, I could amply +quote Pope himself for such tributes to _Nature_ as no poet of the +present day has even approached. + +"His various excellence is really wonderful: architecture, painting, +_gardening_, all are alike subject to his genius. Be it remembered, that +English _gardening_ is the purposed perfectioning of niggard _Nature_, +and that without it England is but a hedge-and-ditch, +double-post-and-rail, Hounslow-heath and Clapham-common sort of a +country, since the principal forests have been felled. It is, in +general, far from a picturesque country. The case is different with +Scotland, Wales, and Ireland; and I except also the lake counties and +Derbyshire, together with Eton, Windsor, and my own dear Harrow on the +Hill, and some spots near the coast. In the present rank fertility of +'great poets of the age,' and 'schools of poetry'--a word which, like +'schools of eloquence' and of 'philosophy,' is never introduced till the +decay of the art has increased with the number of its professors--in the +present day, then, there have sprung up two sorts of Naturals;--the +Lakers, who whine about Nature because they live in Cumberland; and +their _under-sect_ (which some one has maliciously called the 'Cockney +School'), who are enthusiastical for the country because they live in +London. It is to be observed, that the rustical founders are rather +anxious to disclaim any connection with their metropolitan followers, +whom they ungraciously review, and call cockneys, atheists, foolish +fellows, bad writers, and other hard names, not less ungrateful than +unjust. I can understand the pretensions of the aquatic gentlemen of +Windermere to what Mr. B * * terms '_entusumusy_' for lakes, and +mountains, and daffodils, and buttercups; but I should be glad to be +apprised of the foundation of the London propensities of their imitative +brethren to the same' high argument.' Southey, Wordsworth, and Coleridge +have rambled over half Europe, and seen Nature in most of her varieties +(although I think that they have occasionally not used her very well); +but what on earth--of earth, and sea, and Nature--have the others seen? +Not a half, nor a tenth part so much as Pope. While they sneer at his +Windsor Forest, have they ever seen any thing of Windsor except its +_brick_? + +"When they have really seen life--when they have felt it--when they have +travelled beyond the far distant boundaries of the wilds of +Middlesex--when they have overpassed the Alps of Highgate, and traced to +its sources the Nile of the New River--then, and not till then, can it +properly be permitted to them to despise Pope; who had, if not _in +Wales_, been _near_ it, when he described so beautifully the +'_artificial_' works of the Benefactor of Nature and mankind, the 'Man +of Ross,' whose picture, still suspended in the parlour of the inn, I +have so often contemplated with reverence for his memory, and admiration +of the poet, without whom even his own still existing good works could +hardly have preserved his honest renown. + +"If they had said nothing of _Pope_, they might have remained 'alone +with their glory' for aught I should have said or thought about them or +their nonsense. But if they interfere with the little 'Nightingale' of +Twickenham, they may find others who will bear it--_I_ won't. Neither +time, nor distance, nor grief, nor age, can ever diminish my veneration +for him, who is the great moral poet of all times, of all climes, of all +feelings, and of all stages of existence. The delight of my boyhood, the +study of my manhood, perhaps (if allowed to me to attain it) he may be +the consolation of my age. His poetry is the Book of Life. Without +canting, and yet without neglecting, religion, he has assembled all +that a good and great man can gather together of moral wisdom clothed in +consummate beauty. Sir William Temple observes, 'That of all the members +of mankind that live within the compass of a thousand years, for one man +that is born capable of making a _great poet_ there may be a _thousand_ +born capable of making as great generals and ministers of state as any +in story.' Here is a statesman's opinion of poetry: it is honourable to +him and to the art. Such a 'poet of a thousand years' was _Pope_. A +thousand years will roll away before such another can be hoped for in +our literature. But it can _want_ them--he himself is a literature. + +"One word upon his so brutally abused translation of Homer. 'Dr. Clarke, +whose critical exactness is well known, has _not been_ able to point out +above three or four mistakes _in the sense_ through the whole Iliad. The +real faults of the translation are of a different kind.' So says Warton, +himself a scholar. It appears by this, then, that he avoided the chief +fault of a translator. As to its other faults, they consist in his +having made a beautiful English poem of a sublime Greek one. It will +always hold. Cowper and all the rest of the blank pretenders may do +their best and their worst; they will never wrench Pope from the hands +of a single reader of sense and feeling. + +"The grand distinction of the under forms of the new school of poets is +their _vulgarity_. By this I do not mean that they are coarse, but +'shabby-genteel,' as it is termed. A man may be _coarse_ and yet not +_vulgar_, and the reverse. Burns is often coarse, but never _vulgar_. +Chatterton is never vulgar, nor Wordsworth, nor the higher of the Lake +school, though they treat of low life in all its branches. It is in +their _finery_ that the new under school are _most_ vulgar, and they may +be known by this at once; as what we called at Harrow 'a Sunday blood' +might be easily distinguished from a gentleman, although his clothes +might be better cut, and his boots the best blackened, of the +two;--probably because he made the one or cleaned the other with his own +hands. + +"In the present case, I speak of writing, not of persons. Of the latter, +I know nothing; of the former, I judge as it is found. * * They may be +honourable and _gentlemanly_ men, for what I know, but the latter +quality is studiously excluded from their publications. They remind me +of Mr. Smith and the Miss Broughtons at the Hampstead Assembly, in +'Evelina.' In these things (in private life, at least) I pretend to some +small experience: because, in the course of my youth, I have seen a +little of all sorts of society, from the Christian prince and the +Mussulman sultan and pacha, and the higher ranks of their countries, +down to the London boxer, the '_flash and the swell_,' the Spanish +muleteer, the wandering Turkish dervise, the Scotch Highlander, and the +Albanian robber;--to say nothing of the curious varieties of Italian +social life. Far be it from me to presume that there are now, or can be, +such a thing as an _aristocracy_ of _poets_; but there _is_ a nobility +of thought and of style, open to all stations, and derived partly from +talent, and partly from education,--which is to be found in Shakspeare, +and Pope, and Burns, no less than in Dante and Alfieri, but which is +nowhere to be perceived in the mock birds and bards of Mr. Hunt's little +chorus. If I were asked to define what this gentlemanliness is, I should +say that it is only to be defined by _examples_--of those who have it, +and those who have it not. In _life_, I should say that most _military_ +men have it, and few _naval_; that several men of rank have it, and few +lawyers; that it is more frequent among authors than divines (when they +are not pedants); that _fencing_-masters have more of it than +dancing-masters, and singers than players; and that (if it be not _an +Irishism_ to say so) it is far more generally diffused among women than +among men. In poetry, as well as writing in general, it will never +_make_ entirely a poet or a poem; but neither poet nor poem will ever be +good for any thing without it. It is the _salt_ of society, and the +seasoning of composition. _Vulgarity_ is far worse than downright +_black-guardism_; for the latter comprehends wit, humour, and strong +sense at times; while the former is a sad abortive attempt at all +things, 'signifying nothing.' It does not depend upon low themes, or +even low-language, for Fielding revels in both;--but is he ever +_vulgar_? No. You see the man of education, the gentleman, and the +scholar, sporting with his subject,--its master, not its slave. Your +vulgar writer is always most vulgar the higher his subject; as the man +who showed the menagerie at Pidcock's was wont to say, 'This, gentlemen, +is the _Eagle_ of the _Sun_, from Archangel in Russia: the _otterer_ it +is, the _igherer_ he flies.'" + + * * * * * + +In a note on a passage relative to Pope's lines upon Lady Mary W. +Montague, he says-- + +"I think that I could show, if necessary, that Lady Mary W. Montague was +also greatly to blame in that quarrel, _not_ for having rejected, but +for having encouraged him; but I would rather decline the task--though +she should have remembered her own line, '_He comes too near, that comes +to be denied._' I admire her so much--her beauty, her talents--that I +should do this reluctantly. I, besides, am so attached to the very name +of _Mary_, that as Johnson once said, 'If you called a dog _Harvey_, I +should love him;' so, if you were to call a female of the same species +'Mary,' I should love it better than others (biped or quadruped) of the +same sex with a different appellation. She was an extraordinary woman: +she could translate _Epictetus_, and yet write a song worthy of +Aristippus. The lines, + + "'And when the long hours of the public are past, + And we meet, with champaigne and a chicken, at last, + May every fond pleasure that moment endear.' + Be banish'd afar both discretion and fear! + Forgetting or scorning the airs of the crowd, + He may cease to be formal, and I to be proud, + Till,' &c. &c. + +There, Mr. Bowles!--what say you to such a supper with such a woman? and +her own description too? Is not her '_champaigne and chicken_' worth a +forest or two? Is it not poetry? It appears to me that this stanza +contains the '_puree_' of the whole philosophy of Epicurus:--I mean the +_practical_ philosophy of his school, not the precepts of the master; +for I have been too long at the university not to know that the +philosopher was himself a moderate man. But after all, would not some of +us have been as great fools as Pope? For my part, I wonder that, with +his quick feelings, her coquetry, and his disappointment, he did no +more,--instead of writing some lines, which are to be condemned if +false, and regretted if true." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 424. TO MR. HOPPNER. + + "Ravenna, May 11. 1821. + + "If I had but known your notion about Switzerland before, I should + have adopted it at once. As it is, I shall let the child remain in + her convent, where she seems healthy and happy, for the present; + but I shall feel much obliged if you will _enquire_, when you are + in the cantons, about the usual and better modes of education there + for females, and let me know the result of your opinions. It is + some consolation that both Mr. and Mrs. Shelley have written to + approve entirely my placing the child with the nuns for the + present. I can refer to my whole conduct, as having neither spared + care, kindness, nor expense, since the child was sent to me. The + people may say what they please, I must content myself with not + deserving (in this instance) that they should speak ill. + + "The place is a country town in a good air, where there is a large + establishment for education, and many children, some of + considerable rank, placed in it. As a _country_ town, it is less + liable to objections of every kind. It has always appeared to me, + that the moral defect in Italy does _not_ proceed from a + _conventual_ education,--because, to my certain knowledge, they + come out of their convents innocent even to _ignorance_ of moral + evil,--but to the state of society into which they are directly + plunged on coming out of it. It is like educating an infant on a + mountain-top, and then taking him to the sea and throwing him into + it and desiring him to swim. The evil, however, though still too + general, is partly wearing away, as the women are more permitted to + marry from attachment: this is, I believe, the case also in France. + And after all, what is the higher society of England? According to + my own experience, and to all that I have seen and heard (and I + have lived there in the very highest and what is called the + _best_), no way of life can be more corrupt. In Italy, however, it + is, or rather _was_, more _systematised_; but _now_, they + themselves are ashamed of _regular_ Serventism. In England, the + only homage which they pay to virtue is hypocrisy. I speak of + course of the _tone_ of high life,--the middle ranks may be very + virtuous. + + "I have not got any copy (nor have yet had) of the letter on + Bowles; of course I should be delighted to send it to you. How is + Mrs. H.? well again, I hope. Let me know when you set out. I regret + that I cannot meet you in the Bernese Alps this summer, as I once + hoped and intended. With my best respects to madam, I am ever, &c. + + "P.S. I gave to a musician_er_ a letter for you some time ago--has + he presented himself? Perhaps you could introduce him to the + Ingrains and other dilettanti. He is simple and unassuming--two + strange things in his profession--and he fiddles like Orpheus + himself or Amphion: 'tis a pity that he can't make Venice dance + away from the brutal tyrant who tramples upon it." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 425. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "May 14. 1821. + + "A Milan paper states that the play has been represented and + universally condemned. As remonstrance has been vain, complaint + would be useless. I presume, however, for your own sake (if not for + mine), that you and my other friends will have at least published + my different protests against its being brought upon the stage at + all; and have shown that Elliston (in spite of the writer) _forced_ + it upon the theatre. It would be nonsense to say that this has not + vexed me a good deal, but I am not dejected, and I shall not take + the usual resource of blaming the public (which was in the right), + or my friends for not preventing--what they could not help, nor I + neither--a _forced_ representation by a speculating manager. It is + a pity that you did not show them its _unfitness_ for the stage + before the play was _published_, and exact a promise from the + managers not to act it. In case of their refusal, we would not have + published it at all. But this is too late. + + "Yours. + + "P.S. I enclose Mr. Bowles's letters: thank him in my name for + their candour and kindness.--Also a letter for Hodgson, which pray + forward. The Milan paper states that I '_brought forward the + play!!!_' This is pleasanter still. But don't let yourself be + worried about it; and if (as is likely) the folly of Elliston + checks the sale, I am ready to make any deduction, or the entire + cancel of your agreement. + + "You will of course _not_ publish my defence of Gilchrist, as, + after Bowles's good humour upon the subject, it would be too + savage. + + "Let me hear from you the particulars; for, as yet, I have only the + simple fact. + + "If you knew what I have had to go through here, on account of the + failure of these rascally Neapolitans, you would be amused; but it + is now apparently over. They seemed disposed to throw the whole + project and plans of these parts upon me chiefly." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 426. TO MR. MOORE. + + "May 14. 1821. + + "If any part of the letter to Bowles has (unintentionally, as far + as I remember the contents) vexed you, you are fully avenged; for I + see by an Italian paper that, notwithstanding all my remonstrances + through all my friends (and yourself among the rest), the managers + persisted in attempting the tragedy, and that it has been + 'unanimously hissed!!' This is the consolatory phrase of the Milan + paper, (which detests me cordially, and abuses me, on all + occasions, as a Liberal,) with the addition that _I_ 'brought the + play out' of my own good will. + + "All this is vexatious enough, and seems a sort of dramatic + Calvinism--predestined damnation, without a sinner's own fault. I + took all the pains poor mortal could to prevent this inevitable + catastrophe--partly by appeals of all kinds up to the Lord + Chamberlain, and partly to the fellows themselves. But, as + remonstrance was vain, complaint is useless. I do not understand + it--for Murray's letter of the 24th, and all his preceding ones, + gave me the strongest hopes that there would be no representation. + As yet, I know nothing but the fact, which I presume to be true, as + the date is Paris, and the 30th. They must have been in a _hell_ of + a hurry for this damnation, since I did not even know that it was + published; and, without its being first published, the histrions + could not have got hold of it. Any one might have seen, at a + glance, that it was utterly impracticable for the stage; and this + little accident will by no means enhance its merit in the closet. + + "Well, patience is a virtue, and, I suppose, practice will make it + perfect. Since last year (spring, that is) I have lost a lawsuit, + of great importance, on Rochdale collieries--have occasioned a + divorce--have had my poesy disparaged by Murray and the critics--my + fortune refused to be placed on an advantageous settlement (in + Ireland) by the trustees--my life threatened last month (they put + about a paper here to excite an attempt at my assassination, on + account of politics, and a notion which the priests disseminated + that I was in a league against the Germans,)--and, finally, my + mother-in-law recovered last fortnight, and my play was damned last + week! These are like 'the eight-and-twenty misfortunes of + Harlequin.' But they must be borne. If I give in, it shall be after + keeping up a spirit at least. I should not have cared so much about + it, if our southern neighbours had not bungled us all out of + freedom for these five hundred years to come. + + "Did you know John Keats? They say that he was killed by a review + of him in the Quarterly--if he be dead, which I really don't know. + I don't understand that _yielding_ sensitiveness. What I feel (as + at this present) is an immense rage for eight-and-forty hours, and + then, as usual--unless this time it should last longer. I must get + on horseback to quiet me. Yours, &c. + + "Francis I. wrote, after the battle of Pavia, 'All is lost except + our honour.' A hissed author may reverse it--'_Nothing_ is lost, + except our honour.' But the horses are waiting, and the paper full. + I wrote last week to you." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 427. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, May 19. 1821. + + "By the papers of Thursday, and two letters of Mr. Kinnaird, I + perceive that the Italian gazette had lied most _Italically_, and + that the drama had _not_ been hissed, and that my friends _had_ + interfered to prevent the representation. So it seems they + continue to act it, in spite of us all: for this we must 'trouble + them at 'size.' Let it by all means be brought to a plea: I am + determined to try the right, and will meet the expenses. The reason + of the Lombard lie was that the Austrians--who keep up an + Inquisition throughout Italy, and a _list of names_ of all who + think or speak of any thing but in favour of their despotism--have + for five years past abused me in every form in the Gazette of + Milan, &c. I wrote to you a week ago on the subject. + + "Now I should be glad to know what compensation Mr. Elliston would + make me, not only for dragging my writings on the stage in _five_ + days, but for being the cause that I was kept for _four_ days (from + Sunday to Thursday morning, the only post-days) in the _belief_ + that the _tragedy_ had been acted and 'unanimously hissed;' and + this with the addition that _I_ 'had brought it upon the stage,' + and consequently that none of my friends had attended to my request + to the contrary. Suppose that I had burst a blood-vessel, like John + Keats, or blown my brains out in a fit of rage,--neither of which + would have been unlikely a few years ago. At present I am, luckily, + calmer than I used to be, and yet I would not pass those four days + over again for--I know not what[38]. + + "I wrote to you to keep up your spirits, for reproach is useless + always, and irritating--but my feelings were very much hurt, to be + dragged like a gladiator to the fate of a gladiator by that + '_retiarius_,' Mr. Elliston. As to his defence and offers of + compensation, what is all this to the purpose? It is like Louis the + Fourteenth, who insisted upon buying at any price Algernon Sydney's + horse, and, on his refusal, on taking it by force, Sydney shot his + horse. I could not shoot my tragedy, but I would have flung it into + the fire rather than have had it represented. + + "I have now written nearly three _acts_ of another (intending to + complete it in five), and am more anxious than ever to be preserved + from such a breach of all literary courtesy and gentlemanly + consideration. + + "If we succeed, well: if not, previous to any future publication, + we will request a _promise_ not to be acted, which I would even pay + for (as money is their object), or I will not publish--which, + however, you will probably not much regret. + + "The Chancellor has behaved nobly. You have also conducted yourself + in the most satisfactory manner; and I have no fault to find with + any body but the stage-players and their proprietor. I was always + so civil to Elliston personally, that he ought to have been the + last to attempt to injure me. + + "There is a most rattling thunder-storm pelting away at this + present writing; so that I write neither by day, nor by candle, nor + torchlight, but by _lightning_ light: the flashes are as brilliant + as the most gaseous glow of the gas-light company. My chimney-board + has just been thrown down by a gust of wind: I thought that it was + the 'Bold Thunder' and 'Brisk Lightning' in person.--_Three_ of us + would be too many. There it goes--_flash_ again! but + + "I tax not you, ye elements, with unkindness; + I never gave ye _franks_, nor _call'd_ upon you; + + as I have done by and upon Mr. Elliston. + + "Why do you not write? You should at least send me a line of + particulars: I know nothing yet but by Galignani and the Honourable + Douglas. + + "Well, and how does our Pope controversy go on? and the pamphlet? + It is impossible to write any news: the Austrian scoundrels rummage + all letters. + + "P.S. I could have sent you a good deal of gossip and some _real_ + information, were it not that all letters pass through the + Barbarians' inspection, and I have no wish to inform _them_ of any + thing but my utter abhorrence of them and theirs. They have only + conquered by treachery, however." + +[Footnote 38: The account given, by Madame Guiccioli, of his anxiety on +this occasion, fully corroborates his own:--"His quiet was, in spite of +himself, often disturbed by public events, and by the attacks which, +principally in his character of author, the journals levelled at him. In +vain did he protest that he was indifferent to those attacks. The +impression was, it is true, but momentary, and he, from a feeling of +noble pride, but too much disdained to reply to his detractors. But, +however brief his annoyance was, it was sufficiently acute to occasion +him much pain, and to afflict those who loved him. Every occurrence +relative to the bringing Marino Faliero on the stage caused him +excessive inquietude. On, the occasion of an article in the Milan +Gazette, in which mention was made of this affair, he wrote to me in the +following manner:--'You will see here confirmation of what I told you +the other day! I am sacrificed in every way, without knowing the _why_ +or the _wherefore_. The tragedy in question is not (nor ever was) +written for, or adapted to, the stage; nevertheless, the plan is not +romantic; it is rather regular than otherwise;--in point of unity of +time, indeed, perfectly regular, and failing but slightly in unity of +place. You well know whether it was ever my intention to have it acted, +since it was written at your side, and at a period assuredly rather more +_tragical_ to me as a _man_ than as an _author_; for _you_ were in +affliction and peril. In the mean time, I learn from your Gazette that a +cabal and party has been formed, while I myself have never taken the +slightest step in the business. It is said that the author read it +aloud!!!--here, probably, at Ravenna?--and to whom? perhaps to +Fletcher!!!--that illustrious literary character,'" &c. &c.--"Ma pero la +sua tranquillita era suo malgrado sovente alterata dalle publiche +vicende, e dagli attachi che spesso si direggevano a lui nei giornali +come ad autore principalmente. Era invano che egli protestava +indifferenza per codesti attachi. L'impressione non era e vero che +momentanea, e purtroppo per una nobile fierezza sdegnava sempre di +rispondere ai suoi dettratori. Ma per quanto fosse breve quella +impressione era pero assai forte per farlo molto soffrire e per +affliggere quelli che lo amavano. Tuttocio che ebbe luogo per la +rappresentazione del suo Marino Faliero lo inquicto pure moltissimo e +dietro ad un articolo di una Gazetta di Milano in cui si parlava di +quell' affare egli mi scrisse cosi--'Ecco la verita di cio che io vi +dissi pochi giorni fa, come vengo sacrificato in tutte le maniere seza +sapere il _perche_ e il _come_. La tragedia di cui si parla non e (e non +era mai) ne scritta ne adattata al teatro; ma non e pero romantico il +disegno, e piuttosto regolare--regolarissimo per l' unita del tempo, c +mancando poco a quella del sito. Voi sapete bene se io aveva intenzione +di farla rappresentare, poiche era scritta al vostro fianco e nei +momenti per certo piu _tragici_ per me come _uomo_ che come +_autore_,--perche _voi_ eravate in affanno ed in pericolo. Intanto sento +dalla vostra Gazetta che sia nata una cabala, un partito, e senza ch' io +vi abbia presa la minima parte. Si dice che _l'autore ne fece la +letlura!!!_--qui forse? a Ravenna?--ed a chi? forse a Fletcher!!!--quel +illustre litterato,'" &c. &c.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 428. TO ME. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, May 20. 1821. + + "Since I wrote to you last week I have received English letters and + papers, by which I perceive that what I took for an Italian _truth_ + is, after all, a French lie of the Gazette de France. It contains + two ultra-falsehoods in as many lines. In the first place, Lord B. + did _not_ bring forward his play, but opposed the same; and, + secondly, it was _not_ condemned, but is continued to be acted, in + despite of publisher, author, Lord Chancellor, and (for aught I + know to the contrary) of audience, up to the first of May, at + least--the latest date of my letters. You will oblige me, then, by + causing Mr. Gazette of France to contradict himself, which, I + suppose, he is used to. I never answer a foreign _criticism_; but + this is a mere matter of fact, and not of _opinions_. I presume + that you have English and French interest enough to do this for + me--though, to be sure, as it is nothing but the _truth_ which we + wish to state, the insertion may be more difficult. + + "As I have written to you often lately at some length, I won't bore + you further now, than by begging you to comply with my request; and + I presume the 'esprit du corps' (is it 'du' or 'de?' for this is + more than I know) will sufficiently urge you, as one of '_ours_,' + to set this affair in its real aspect. Believe me always yours ever + and most affectionately, + + "BYRON." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 429. TO MR. HOPPNER. + + "Ravenna, May 25. 1821. + + "I am very much pleased with what you say of Switzerland, and will + ponder upon it. I would rather she married there than here for that + matter. For fortune, I shall make all that I can spare (if I live + and she is correct in her conduct); and if I die before she is + settled, I have left her by will five thousand pounds, which is a + fair provision _out_ of England for a natural child. I shall + increase it all I can, if circumstances permit me; but, of course + (like all other human things), this is very uncertain. + + "You will oblige me very much by interfering to have the FACTS of + the play-acting stated, as these scoundrels appear to be organising + a system of abuse against me, because I am in their '_list_.' I + care nothing for _their criticism_, but the matter of fact. I have + written _four_ acts of another tragedy, so you see they _can't_ + bully me. + + "You know, I suppose, that they actually keep a _list_ of all + individuals in Italy who dislike them--it must be numerous. Their + suspicions and actual alarms, about my conduct and presumed + intentions in the late row, were truly ludicrous--though, not to + bore you, I touched upon them lightly. They believed, and still + believe here, or affect to believe it, that the whole plan and + project of rising was settled by me, and the _means_ furnished, &c. + &c. All this was more fomented by the barbarian agents, who are + numerous here (one of them was stabbed yesterday, by the way, but + not dangerously):--and although when the Commandant was shot here + before my door in December, I took him into my house, where he had + every assistance, till he died on Fletcher's bed; and although not + one of them dared to receive him into their houses but myself, they + leaving him to perish in the night in the streets, they put up a + paper about three months ago, denouncing me as the Chief of the + Liberals, and stirring up persons to assassinate me. But this shall + never silence nor bully my opinions. All this came from the German + Barbarians." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 430. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, May 25. 1821. + + "Mr. Moray, + + "Since I wrote the enclosed a week ago, and for some weeks before, + I have not had a line from you: now, I should be glad to know upon + what principle of common or _un_common feeling, you leave me + without any information but what I derive from garbled gazettes in + English, and abusive ones in Italian (the Germans hating me as a + _coal-heaver_), while all this kick-up has been going on about the + play? You SHABBY fellow!!! Were it not for two letters from Douglas + Kinnaird, I should have been as ignorant as you are negligent. + + "So, I hear Bowles has been abusing Hobhouse? If that's the case, + he has broken the truce, like Morillo's successor, and I will cut + him out, as Cochrane did the Esmeralda. + + "Since I wrote the enclosed packet, I have completed (but not + copied out) four acts of a new tragedy. When I have finished the + fifth, I will copy it out. It is on the subject of 'Sardanapalus,' + the last king of the Assyrians. The words _Queen_ and _Pavilion_ + occur, but it is not an allusion to his Britannic Majesty, as you + may tremulously imagine. This you will one day see (if I finish + it), as I have made Sardanapalus _brave_, (though voluptuous, as + history represents him,) and also as _amiable_ as my poor powers + could render him:--so that it could neither be truth nor satire on + any living monarch. I have strictly preserved all the unities + hitherto, and mean to continue them in the fifth, if possible; but + _not_ for _the stage_. Yours, in haste and hatred, you shabby + correspondent! N." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 431. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, May 28. 1821. + + "Since my last of the 26th or 25th, I have dashed off my fifth act + of the tragedy called 'Sardanapalus.' But now comes the copying + over, which may prove heavy work--heavy to the writer as to the + reader. I have written to you at least six times sans answer, which + proves you to be a--bookseller. I pray you to send me a copy of Mr. + _Wrangham_'s reformation of '_Langhorne_'s Plutarch.' I have the + Greek, which is somewhat small of print, and the Italian, which is + too heavy in style, and as false as a Neapolitan patriot + proclamation. I pray you also to send me a Life, published some + years ago, of the _Magician Apollonius_ of Tyana. It is in English, + and I think edited or written by what Martin Marprelate calls '_a + bouncing priest_.' I shall trouble you no farther with this sheet + than with the postage. Yours, &c. N. + + "P.S. Since I wrote this, I determined to enclose it (as a half + sheet) to Mr. Kinnaird, who will have the goodness to forward it. + Besides, it saves sealing-wax." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 432. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, May 30. 1821. + + "Dear Moray, + + "You say you have written often: I have only received yours of the + eleventh, which is very short. By this post, _five_ packets, I send + you the tragedy of Sardanapalus, which is written in a rough hand: + perhaps Mrs. Leigh can help you to decipher it. You will please to + acknowledge it by return of post. You will remark that the + _unities_ are all _strictly_ observed. The scene passes in the same + _hall_ always: the time, a _summer's night_, about nine hours, or + less, though it begins before sunset and ends after sun-rise. In + the third act, when Sardanapalus calls for a _mirror_ to look at + himself in his armour, recollect to quote the Latin passage from + _Juvenal_ upon _Otho_ (a similar character, who did the same + thing): Gifford will help you to it. The trait is perhaps too + familiar, but it is historical, (of _Otho_, at least,) and natural + in an effeminate character." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 433. TO MR. HOPPNER. + + "Ravenna, May 31. 1821. + + "I enclose you another letter, which will only confirm what I have + said to you. + + "About Allegra'--I will take some decisive step in the course of + the year; at present, she is so happy where she is, that perhaps + she had better have her _alphabet_ imparted in her convent. + + "What you say of the _Dante_ is the first I have heard of it--all + seeming to be merged in the _row_ about the tragedy. Continue + it!--Alas! what could Dante himself _now_ prophesy about Italy? I + am glad you like it, however, but doubt that you will be singular + in your opinion. My _new_ tragedy is completed. + + "The B * * is _right_,--I ought to have mentioned her _humour_ and + _amiability_, but I thought at her _sixty_, beauty would be most + agreeable or least likely. However, it shall be rectified in a new + edition; and if any of the parties have either looks or qualities + which they wish to be noticed, let me have a minute of them. I have + no private nor personal dislike to _Venice_, rather the contrary, + but I merely speak of what is the subject of all remarks and all + writers upon her present state. Let me hear from you before you + start. + + "Believe me, ever, &c. + + "P.S. Did you receive two letters of Douglas Kinnaird's in an + endorse from me? Remember me to Mengaldo, Soranzo, and all who care + that I should remember them. The letter alluded to in the + enclosed, 'to the _Cardinal_,' was in answer to some queries of + the government, about a poor devil of a Neapolitan, arrested at + Sinigaglia on suspicion, who came to beg of me here; being without + breeches, and consequently without pockets for halfpence, I + relieved and forwarded him to his country, and they arrested him at + Pesaro on suspicion, and have since interrogated me (civilly and + politely, however,) about him. I sent them the poor man's petition, + and such information as I had about him, which I trust will get him + out again, that is to say, if they give him a fair hearing. + + "I _am_ content with the article. Pray, did you receive, some posts + ago, Moore's lines which I enclosed to you, written at Paris?" + + * * * * * + +LETTER 434. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, June 4. 1821. + + "You have not written lately, as is the usual custom with literary + gentlemen, to console their friends with their observations in + cases of magnitude. I do not know whether I sent you my 'Elegy on + the _recovery_ of Lady * *:'-- + + "Behold the blessings of a lucky lot-- + My play is damn'd, and Lady * * _not_. + + "The papers (and perhaps your letters) will have put you in + possession of Muster Elliston's dramatic behaviour. It is to be + presumed that the play was _fitted_ for the stage by Mr. Dibdin, + who is the tailor upon such occasions, and will have taken measure + with his usual accuracy. I hear that it is still continued to be + performed--a piece of obstinacy for which it is some consolation to + think that the discourteous histrio will be out of pocket. + + "You will be surprised to hear that I have finished another tragedy + in _five_ acts, observing all the unities strictly. It is called + 'Sardanapalus,' and was sent by last post to England. It is _not + for_ the stage, any more than the other was intended for it--and I + shall take better care _this_ time that they don't get hold on't. + + "I have also sent, two months ago, a further letter on Bowles, &c.; + but he seems to be so taken up with my 'respect' (as he calls it) + towards him in the former case, that I am not sure that it will be + published, being somewhat too full of' pastime and prodigality.' I + learn from some private letters of Bowles's, that _you_ were 'the + gentleman in asterisks.' Who would have dreamed it? you see what + mischief that clergyman has done by printing notes without names. + How the deuce was I to suppose that the first four asterisks meant + 'Campbell' and _not_ 'Pope,' and that the blank signature meant + Thomas Moore[39]? You see what comes of being familiar with + parsons. His answers have not yet reached me, but I understand from + Hobhouse, that _he_ (H.) is attacked in them. If that be the case, + Bowles has broken the truce, (which he himself proclaimed, by the + way,) and I must have at him again. + + "Did you receive my letters with the two or three concluding sheets + of Memoranda? + + "There are no news here to interest much. A German spy (_boasting_ + himself such) was stabbed last week, but _not_ mortally. The moment + I heard that he went about bullying and boasting, it was easy for + me, or any one else, to foretell what would occur to him, which I + did, and it came to pass in two days after. He has got off, + however, for a slight incision. + + "A row the other night, about a lady of the place, between her + various lovers, occasioned a midnight discharge of pistols, but + nobody wounded. Great scandal, however--planted by her lover--_to + be_ thrashed by her husband, for inconstancy to her regular + Servente, who is coming home post about it, and she herself retired + in confusion into the country, although it is the acme of the opera + season. All the women furious against her (she herself having been + censorious) for being _found out_. She is a pretty woman--a + Countess * * * *--a fine old Visigoth name, or Ostrogoth. + + "The Greeks! what think you? They are my old acquaintances--but + what to think I know not. Let us hope howsomever. + + "Yours, + + "B." + +[Footnote 39: In their eagerness, like true controversialists, to avail +themselves of every passing advantage, and convert even straws into +weapons on an emergency, my two friends, during their short warfare, +contrived to place me in that sort of embarrassing position, the most +provoking feature of which is, that it excites more amusement than +sympathy. On the one side, Mr. Bowles chose to cite, as a support to his +argument, a short fragment of a note, addressed to him, as be stated, by +"a gentleman of the highest literary," &c. &c., and saying, in reference +to Mr. Bowles's former pamphlet, "You have hit the right nail on the +head, and * * * * too." This short scrap was signed with four asterisks; +and when, on the appearance of Mr. Bowles's Letter, I met with it in his +pages, not the slightest suspicion ever crossed my mind that I had been +myself the writer of it;--my communications with my reverend friend and +neighbour having been (for years, I am proud to say) sufficiently +frequent to allow of such a hasty compliment to his disputative powers +passing from my memory. When Lord Byron took the field against Mr. +Bowles's Letter, this unlucky scrap, so authoritatively brought forward, +was, of course, too tempting a mark for his facetiousness to be +resisted; more especially as the person mentioned in it, as having +suffered from the reverend critic's vigour, appeared, from the number of +asterisks employed in designating him, to have been Pope himself, +though, in reality, the name was that of Mr. Bowles's former antagonist, +Mr. Campbell. The noble assailant, it is needless to say, made the most +of this vulnerable point; and few readers could have been more diverted +than I was with his happy ridicule of "the gentleman in asterisks," +little thinking that I was myself, all the while, this veiled +victim,--nor was it till about the time of the receipt of the above +letter, that, by some communication on the subject from a friend in +England, I was startled into the recollection of my own share in the +transaction. + +While by one friend I was thus unconsciously, if not innocently, drawn +into the scrape, the other was not slow in rendering me the same +friendly service;--for, on the appearance of Lord Byron's answer to Mr. +Bowles, I had the mortification of finding that, with a far less +pardonable want of reserve, he had all but named me as his authority for +an anecdote of his reverend opponent's early days, which I had, in the +course of an after-dinner conversation, told him at Venice, and +which,--pleasant in itself, and, whether true or false, +harmless,--derived its sole sting from the manner in which the noble +disputant triumphantly applied it. Such are the consequences of one's +near and dear friends taking to controversy.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 435. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, June 22. 1821. + + "Your dwarf of a letter came yesterday. That is right;--keep to + your 'magnum opus '--magnoperate away. Now, if we were but together + a little to combine our 'Journal of Trevoux!' But it is useless to + sigh, and yet very natural,--for I think you and I draw better + together, in the social line, than any two other living authors. + + "I forgot to ask you, if you had seen your own panegyric in the + correspondence of Mrs. Waterhouse and Colonel Berkeley? To be sure + _their_ moral is not quite exact; but _your passion_ is fully + effective; and all poetry of the Asiatic kind--I mean Asiatic, as + the Romans called _Asiatic_ oratory,' and not because the scenery + is Oriental--must be tried by that test only. I am not quite sure + that I shall allow the Miss Byrons (legitimate or illegitimate) to + read Lalla Rookh--in the first place, on account of this said + _passion_; and, in the second, that they mayn't discover that there + was a better poet than papa. + + "You say nothing of politics--but, alas! what can be said? + + "The world is a bundle of hay, + Mankind are the asses who pull, + Each tugs it a different way,-- + And the greatest of all is John Bull! + + "How do you call your new project? I have sent Murray a new + tragedy, ycleped 'Sardanapalus,' writ according to Aristotle--all, + save the chorus--could not reconcile me to that. I have begun + another, and am in the second act;--so you see I saunter on as + usual. + + "Bowles's answers have reached me; but I can't go on disputing for + ever,--particularly in a polite manner. I suppose he will take + being _silent_ for _silenced_. He has been so civil that I can't + find it in my liver to be facetious with him,--else I had a savage + joke or two at his service. * * * + + "I can't send you the little journal, because it is in boards, and + I can't trust it per post. Don't suppose it is any thing + particular; but it will show the _intentions_ of the natives at + that time--and one or two other things, chiefly personal, like the + former one. + + "So, Longman don't _bite_.--It was my wish to have made that work + of use. Could you not raise a sum upon it (however small), + reserving the power of redeeming it, on repayment? + + "Are you in Paris, or a villaging? If you are in the city, you will + never resist the Anglo-invasion you speak of. I do not see an + Englishman in half a year, and, when I do, I turn my horse's head + the other way. The fact, which you will find in the last note to + the Doge, has given me a good excuse for quite dropping the least + connection with travellers. + + "I do not recollect the speech you speak of, but suspect it is not + the Doge's, but one of Israel Bertuccio to Calendaro. I hope you + think that Elliston behaved shamefully--it is my only consolation. + I made the Milanese fellows contradict their lie, which they did + with the grace of people used to it. + + "Yours, &c. + + "B." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 436. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, July 5. 1821. + + "How could you suppose that I ever would allow any thing that + _could_ be said on your account to weigh with _me_? I only regret + that Bowles had not _said_ that you were the writer of that note, + until afterwards, when out he comes with it, in a private letter to + Murray, which Murray sends to me. D----n the controversy! + + "D----n Twizzle, + D----n the bell, + And d----n the fool who rung it--Well! + From all such plagues I'll quickly be deliver'd. + + "I have had a friend of your Mr. Irving's--a very pretty lad--a Mr. + Coolidge, of Boston--only somewhat too full of poesy and + 'entusymusy.' I was very civil to him during his few hours' stay, + and talked with him much of Irving, whose writings are my delight. + But I suspect that he did not take quite so much to me, from his + having expected to meet a misanthropical gentleman, in wolf-skin + breeches, and answering in fierce monosyllables, instead of a man + of this world. I can never get people to understand that poetry is + the expression of _excited passion_, and that there is no such + thing as a life of passion any more than a continuous earthquake, + or an eternal fever. Besides, who would ever _shave_ themselves in + such a state? + + "I have had a curious letter to-day from a girl in England (I never + saw her), who says she is given over of a decline, but could not go + out of the world without thanking me for the delight which my poesy + for several years, &c. &c. &c. It is signed simply N.N.A. and has + not a word of 'cant' or preachment in it upon _any_ opinions. She + merely says that she is dying, and that as I had contributed so + highly to her existing pleasure, she thought that she might say so, + begging me to _burn_ her _letter_--which, by the way, I can _not_ + do, as I look upon such a letter in such circumstances as better + than a diploma from Gottingen. I once had a letter from Drontheim, + in _Norway_ (but not from a dying woman), in verse, on the same + score of gratulation. These are the things which make one at times + believe one's self a poet. But if I must believe that * * * * * and + such fellows, are poets also, it is better to be out of the corps. + + "I am now in the fifth act of 'Foscari,' being the third tragedy in + twelve months, besides _proses_; so you perceive that I am not at + all idle. And are you, too, busy? I doubt that your life at Paris + draws too much upon your time, which is a pity. Can't you divide + your day, so as to combine both? I have had plenty of all sorts of + worldly business on my hands last year, and yet it is not so + difficult to give a few hours to the Muses. This sentence is so + like * * * * that ---- + + "Ever, &c. + + "If we were together, I should publish both my plays (periodically) + in our _joint_ journal. It should be our plan to publish all our + best things in that way." + + * * * * * + +In the Journal entitled "Detached Thoughts," I find the tribute to his +genius which he here mentions, as well as some others, thus +interestingly dwelt upon. + +"As far as fame goes (that is to say, _living_ fame) I have had my +share, perhaps--indeed, _certainly_--more than my deserts. + +"Some odd instances have occurred to my own experience, of the wild and +strange places to which a name may penetrate, and where it may impress. +Two years ago (almost three, being in August or July, 1819,) I received +at Ravenna a letter, in _English_ verse, from _Drontheim_ in Norway, +written by a Norwegian, and full of the usual compliments, &c. &c. It is +still somewhere amongst my papers. In the same month I received an +invitation into _Holstein_ from a Mr. Jacobsen (I think) of Hamburgh: +also, by the same medium, a translation of Medora's song in The Corsair +by a Westphalian baroness (_not_ 'Thunderton-Tronck'), with some +original verses of hers (very pretty and Klopstock-ish), and a prose +translation annexed to them, on the subject of my wife:--as they +concerned her more than me. I sent them to her, together with Mr. +Jacobsen's letter. It was odd enough to receive an invitation to pass +the _summer_ in _Holstein_ while in _Italy_, from people I never knew. +The letter was addressed to Venice. Mr. Jacobsen talked to me of the +'wild roses growing in the Holstein summer.' Why then did the Cimbri and +Teutones emigrate? + +"What a strange thing is life and man! Were I to present myself at the +door of the house where my daughter now is, the door would be shut in my +face--unless (as is not impossible) I knocked down the porter; and if I +had gone in that year (and perhaps now) to Drontheim (the furthest town +in Norway), or into Holstein, I should have been received with open arms +into the mansion of strangers and foreigners, attached to me by no tie +but that of mind and rumour. + +"As far as _fame_ goes, I have had my share: it has indeed been leavened +by other human contingencies, and this in a greater degree than has +occurred to most literary men of a _decent_ rank in life; but, on the +whole, I take it that such equipoise is the condition of humanity." + +Of the visit, too, of the American gentleman, he thus speaks in the same +Journal. + +"A young American, named Coolidge, called on me not many months ago. He +was intelligent, very handsome, and not more than twenty years old, +according to appearances; a little romantic, but that sits well upon +youth, and mighty fond of poesy, as may be suspected from his +approaching me in my cavern. He brought me a message from an old +servant of my family (Joe Murray), and told me that _he_ (Mr. Coolidge) +had obtained a copy of my bust from Thorwaldsen at Rome, to send to +America. I confess I was more flattered by this young enthusiasm of a +solitary trans-Atlantic traveller, than if they had decreed me a statue +in the Paris Pantheon (I have seen emperors and demagogues cast down +from their pedestals even in my own time, and Grattan's name rased from +the street called after him in Dublin); I say that I was more flattered +by it, because it was _single, unpolitical_, and was without motive or +ostentation,--the pure and warm feeling of a boy for the poet he +admired. It must have been expensive, though;--_I_ would not pay the +price of a Thorwaldsen bust for any human head and shoulders, except +Napoleon's, or my children's, or some '_absurd womankind's_,' as +Monkbarns calls them,--or my sister's. If asked _why_, then, I sat for +my own?--Answer, that it was at the particular request of J.C. Hobhouse, +Esq. and for no one else. A _picture_ is a different matter;--every body +sits for their picture;--but a bust looks like putting up pretensions to +permanency, and smacks something of a hankering for _public_ fame rather +than private remembrance. + +"Whenever an American requests to see me (which is not unfrequently), I +comply, firstly, because I respect a people who acquired their freedom +by their firmness without excess; and, secondly, because these +trans-Atlantic visits, 'few and far between,' make me feel as if talking +with posterity from the other side of the Styx. In a century or two the +new English and Spanish Atlantides will be masters of the old countries, +in all probability, as Greece and Europe overcame their mother Asia in +the older or earlier ages, as they are called." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 437. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, July 6. 1821. + + "In agreement with a wish expressed by Mr. Hobhouse, it is my + determination to omit the stanza upon the _horse of Semiramis_ in + the fifth Canto of Don Juan. I mention this in case you are, or + intend to be, the publisher of the remaining Cantos. + + "At the particular request of the Contessa G. I have promised _not_ + to continue Don Juan. You will therefore look upon these three + Cantos as the last of the poem. She had read the two first in the + French translation, and never ceased beseeching me to write no more + of it. The reason of this is not at first obvious to a superficial + observer of FOREIGN manners; but it arises from the wish of all + women to exalt the sentiment of the passions, and to keep up the + illusion which is their empire. Now Don Juan strips off this + illusion, and laughs at that and most other things. I never knew a + woman who did _not_ protect _Rousseau_, nor one who did not dislike + De Grammont, Gil Bias, and all the comedy of the passions, when + brought out naturally. But 'king's blood must keep word,' as + Serjeant Bothwell says." + + * * * * * + +LETTER, 438. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "July 14. 1821. + + "I trust that Sardanapalus will not be mistaken for a _political_ + play, which was so far from my intention, that I thought of nothing + but Asiatic history. The Venetian play, too, is rigidly historical. + My object has been to dramatise, like the Greeks (a _modest_ + phrase), striking passages of history, as they did of history and + mythology. You will find all this very _un_like Shakspeare; and so + much the better in one sense, for I look upon him to be the _worst_ + of models[40], though the most extraordinary of writers. It has + been my object to be as simple and severe as Alfieri, and I have + broken down the _poetry_ as nearly as I could to common language. + The hardship is, that in these times one can neither speak of kings + nor queens without suspicion of politics or personalities. I + intended neither. + + "I am not very well, and I write in the midst of unpleasant scenes + here: they have, without trial or process, banished several of the + first inhabitants of the cities--here and all around the Roman + states--amongst them many of my personal friends, so that every + thing is in confusion and grief: it is a kind of thing which cannot + be described without an equal pain as in beholding it. + + "You are very niggardly in your letters. + + "Yours truly, + + "B." + +[Footnote 40: In venturing this judgment upon Shakspeare, Lord Byron but +followed in the footsteps of his great idol Pope. "It was mighty simple +in Rowe," says this poet, "to write a play now professedly in +Shakspeare's style, that is, professedly in the style of a bad +age."--Spence, sect. 4. 1734-36. Of Milton, too, Pope seems to have held +pretty nearly the same opinion as that professed by Lord Byron in some +of these letters. See, in Spence, sect. 5 1737-39, a passage on which +his editor remarks--"Perhaps Pope did not relish Shakspeare more than he +seems to have done Milton."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 439. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, July 22. 1821. + + "The printer has done wonders;--he has read what I cannot--my own + handwriting. + + "I _oppose_ the 'delay till winter:' I am particularly anxious to + print while the _winter theatres_ are _closed_, to gain time, in + case they try their former piece of politeness. Any _loss_ shall be + considered in our contract, whether occasioned by the season or + other causes; but print away, and publish. + + "I think they must own that I have more _styles_ than one. + 'Sardanapalus' is, however, almost a comic character: but, for that + matter, so is Richard the Third. Mind the _unities_, which are my + great object of research. I am glad that Gifford likes it: as for + 'the million,' you see I have carefully consulted any thing but the + _taste_ of the day for extravagant 'coups de theatre.' Any probable + loss, as I said before, will be allowed for in our accompts. The + reviews (except one or two--Blackwood's, for instance) are cold + enough; but never mind those fellows: I shall send them to the + right about, if I take it into my head. I always found the English + _baser_ in some things than any other nation. You stare, but it's + true as to gratitude,--perhaps because they are prouder, and proud + people hate obligations. + + "The tyranny of the Government here is breaking out. They have + exiled about a thousand people of the best families all over the + Roman states. As many of my friends are amongst them, I think of + moving too, but not till I have had your answers. Continue _your + address_ to me _here_, as usual, and quickly. What you will _not_ + be sorry to hear is, that the _poor_ of the place, hearing that I + meant to go, got together a petition to the Cardinal to request + that _he_ would request me to _remain_. I only heard of it a day or + two ago, and it is no dishonour to them nor to me; but it will have + displeased the higher powers, who look upon me as a Chief of the + Coalheavers. They arrested a servant of mine for a street quarrel + with an officer (they drew upon one another knives and pistols), + but as _the officer_ was out of uniform, and in the _wrong_ + besides, on my protesting stoutly, he was released. I was not + present at the affray, which happened by night near my stables. My + man (an Italian), a very stout and not over-patient personage, + would have taken a fatal revenge afterwards, if I had not prevented + him. As it was, he drew his stiletto, and, but for passengers, + would have carbonadoed the captain, who, I understand, made but a + poor figure in the quarrel, except by beginning it. He applied to + me, and I offered him any satisfaction, either by turning away the + man, or otherwise, because he had drawn a knife. He answered that + a reproof would be sufficient. I reproved him; and yet, after + this, the shabby dog complained to the _Government_,--after being + quite satisfied, as he said. _This_ roused me, and I gave them a + remonstrance which had some effect. The captain has been + reprimanded, the servant released, and the business at present + rests there." + + * * * * * + +Among the victims of the "black sentence and proscription" by which the +rulers of Italy were now, as appears from the above letters, avenging +their late alarm upon all who had even in the remotest degree +contributed to it, the two Gambas were, of course, as suspected Chiefs +of the Carbonari of Romagna, included. About the middle of July, Madame +Guiccioli, in a state of despair, wrote to inform Lord Byron that her +father, in whose palazzo she was at that time residing, had just been +ordered to quit Ravenna within twenty-four hours, and that it was the +intention of her brother to depart the following morning. The young +Count, however, was not permitted to remain even so long, being arrested +that very night, and conveyed by soldiers to the frontier; and the +Contessa herself, in but a few days after, found that she also must join +the crowd of exiles. The prospect of being again separated from her +noble friend seems to have rendered banishment little less fearful, in +her eyes, than death. "This alone," she says in a letter to him, "was +wanting to fill up the measure of my despair. Help me, my dear Byron, +for I am in a situation most terrible; and without you, I can resolve +upon nothing. * * has just been with me, having been sent by * * to +tell me that I must depart from Ravenna before next Tuesday, as my +husband has had recourse to Rome, for the purpose of either forcing me +to return to him, or else putting me in a convent; and the answer from +thence is expected in a few days. I must not speak of this to any +one,--I roust escape by night; for, if my project should be discovered, +it will be impeded, and my passport (which the goodness of Heaven has +permitted me, I know not how, to obtain) will be taken from me. Byron! I +am in despair!--If I must leave you here without knowing when I shall +see you again, if it is your will that I should suffer so cruelly, I am +resolved to remain. They may put me in a convent; I shall die,--but--but +then you cannot aid me, and I cannot reproach you. I know not what they +tell me, for my agitation overwhelms me;--and why? Not because I fear my +present danger, but solely, I call Heaven to witness, solely because I +must leave you." + +Towards the latter end of July, the writer of this tender and truly +feminine letter found herself forced to leave Ravenna,--the home of her +youth, as it was, now, of her heart,--uncertain whither to go, or where +she should again meet Lord Byron. After lingering for a short time at +Bologna, under a faint expectation that the Court of Rome might yet, +through some friendly mediation [41], be induced to rescind its order +against her relatives, she at length gave up all hope, and joined her +father and brother at Florence. + +It has been already seen, from Lord Byron's letters, that he had himself +become an object of strong suspicion to the Government, and it was, +indeed, chiefly in their desire to rid themselves of his presence, that +the steps taken against the Gamba family had originated;--the constant +benevolence which he exercised towards the poor of Ravenna being likely, +it was feared, to render him dangerously popular among a people unused +to charity on so enlarged a scale. "One of the principal causes," says +Madame Guiccioli, "of the exile of my relatives, was in reality the idea +that Lord Byron would share the banishment of his friends. Already the +Government were averse to Lord Byron's residence at Ravenna; knowing his +opinions, fearing his influence, and also exaggerating the extent of his +means for giving effect to them. They fancied that he provided money for +the purchase of arms, &c. and that he contributed pecuniarily to the +wants of the Society. The truth is, that, when called upon to exercise +his beneficence, he made no enquiries as to the political and religious +opinions of those who required his aid. Every unhappy and needy object +had an equal share in his benevolence. The Anti-Liberals, however, +insisted upon believing that he was the principal support of Liberalism +in Romagna, and were desirous of his departure; but, not daring to exact +it by any direct measure, they were in hopes of being able indirectly to +force him into this step."[42] + +After stating the particulars of her own hasty departure, the lady +proceeds:--"Lord Byron, in the mean time, remained at Ravenna, in a town +convulsed by party spirit, where he had certainly, on account of his +opinions, many fanatical and perfidious enemies; and my imagination +always painted him surrounded by a thousand dangers. It may be +conceived, therefore, what that journey must have been to me, and what I +suffered at such a distance from him. His letters would have given me +comfort; but two days always elapsed between his writing and my +receiving them; and this idea embittered all the solace they would +otherwise have afforded me, so that my heart was torn by the most cruel +fears. Yet it was necessary for his own sake that he should remain some +time longer at Ravenna, in order that it might not be said that he also +was banished. Besides, he had conceived a very great affection for the +place itself; and was desirous, before he left it, of exhausting every +means and hope of procuring the recall of my relations from +banishment[43]." + +[Footnote 41: Among the persons applied to by Lord Byron for their +interest on this occasion was the late Duchess of Devonshire, whose +answer, dated from Spa, I found among his papers. With the utmost +readiness her Grace undertakes to write to Rome on the subject, and +adds, "Believe me also, my Lord, that there is a character of justice, +goodness, and benevolence, in the present Government of Rome, which, if +they are convinced of the just claims of the Conte de Gamba and his son, +will make them grant their request."] + +[Footnote 42: "Una delle principali ragioni per cui si erano esigliati i +miei parenti era la speranza che Lord Byron pure lascierebbe la Romagna +quando i suoi amici fossero partiti. Gia da qualche tempo la permanenza +di Lord Byron in Ravenna era mal gradita dal Governo conoscendosile sue +opinione e temendosila sua influenza, ed essaggiandosi anche i suoi +mezzi per esercitaria. Si credeva che egli somministrasse danaro per +provvedere armi, e che provvedesse ai bisogni della SocietA . La veritA +era che nello spargere le sue beneficenze egli non s'informava delle +opinioni politiche e religiose di quello che aveva bisogno del suo +soccorso; ogni misero ed ogni infelice aveva un eguale diviso alia sua +generosita. Ma in ogni modo gli Anti-Liberali lo credevano il principale +sostegno del Liberalismo della Romagna, e desideravano la sua partenza; +ma non osando provocarla in nessun modo diretto speravano di ottenerla +indirettamente."] + +[Footnote 43: "Lord Byron restava frattanto a Ravenna in un paese +sconvolso dai partiti, e dove aveva certamente dei nemici di opinioni +fanatici e perfidi, e la mia immaginazione me lo dipingeva circondato +sempre da mille pericoli. Si puo dunque pensare cosa dovesse essere qual +viaggio per me e cosa io dovessi soffrire nella sua lontananza. Le sue +lettere avrebbero potuto essermi di conforto; ma quando io le riceveva +era gia trascorso lo spazio di due giorni dal momenta in cui furono +scritte, e questo pensiero distruggeva tutto il bene che esse potevano +farmi, e la mia anima era lacerata dai piu crudeli timori. Frattanto era +necessario per la di lui convenienza che egli restasse ancora qualche +tempo in Ravenna affinche non avesse a dirsi che egli pure ne era +esigliato; ed oltrecio egli si era sominamente affezionato a quel +soggiorno e voleva innanzi di partire vedere esausiti tutti i tentativi +e tutte le speranze del ritorno dei miei parenti."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 440. TO MR. HOPPNER. + + "Ravenna, July 23. 1821. + + "This country being in a state of proscription, and all my friends + exiled or arrested--the whole family of Gamba obliged to go to + Florence for the present--the father and son for politics--(and the + Guiccioli, because menaced with a _convent_, as her father is _not_ + here,) I have determined to remove to Switzerland, and they also. + Indeed, my life here is not supposed to be particularly safe--but + that has been the case for this twelvemonth past, and is therefore + not the primary consideration. + + "I have written by this post to Mr. Hentsch, junior, the banker of + Geneva, to provide (if possible) a house for me, and another for + Gamba's family, (the father, son, and daughter,) on the _Jura_ side + of the lake of Geneva, furnished, and with stabling (for _me_ at + least) for eight horses. I shall bring Allegra with me. Could you + assist me or Hentsch in his researches? The Gambas are at Florence, + but have authorised me to treat for them. You know, or do not know, + that they are great patriots--and both--but the son in + particular--very fine fellows. _This_ I know, for I have seen them + lately in very awkward situations--_not_ pecuniary, but + personal--and they behaved like heroes, neither yielding nor + retracting. + + "You have no idea what a state of oppression this country is + in--they arrested above a thousand of high and low throughout + Romagna--banished some and confined others, without _trial_, + _process_, or even _accusation_!! Every body says they would have + done the same by me if they dared proceed openly. My motive, + however, for remaining, is because _every one_ of my acquaintance, + to the amount of hundreds almost, have been exiled. + + "Will you do what you can in looking out for a couple of houses + _furnished_, and conferring with Hentsch for us? We care nothing + about society, and are only anxious for a temporary and tranquil + asylum and individual freedom. + + "Believe me, &c. + + "P.S. Can you give me an idea of the comparative expenses of + Switzerland and Italy? which I have forgotten. I speak merely of + those of decent _living, horses_, &c. and not of luxuries or high + living. Do _not_, however, decide any thing positively till I have + your answer, as I can then know how to think upon these topics of + transmigration, &c. &c. &c." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 441. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, July 30. 1821. + + "Enclosed is the best account of the Doge Faliero, which was only + sent to me from an old MS. the other day. Get it translated, and + append it as a note to the next edition. You will perhaps be + pleased to see that my conceptions of his character were correct, + though I regret not having met with this extract before. You will + perceive that he himself said exactly what he is made to say about + the Bishop of Treviso. You will see also that' he spoke very + little, and those only words of rage and disdain,' _after_ his + arrest, which is the case in the play, except when he breaks out at + the close of Act Fifth. But his speech to the conspirators is + better in the MS. than in the play. I wish that I had met with it + in time. Do not forget this note, with a translation. + + "In a former note to the Juans, speaking of Voltaire, I have quoted + his famous 'Zaire, tu pleures,' which is an error; it should be + 'Zaire, _vous pleures_.' Recollect this. + + "I am so busy here about those poor proscribed exiles, who are + scattered about, and with trying to get some of them recalled, that + I have hardly time or patience to write a short preface, which will + be proper for the two plays. However, I will make it out on + receiving the next proofs. + + "Yours ever, &c. + + "P.S. Please to append the letter about _the Hellespont_ as a note + to your next opportunity of the verses on Leander, &c. &c. &c. in + Childe Harold. Don't forget it amidst your multitudinous + avocations, which I think of celebrating in a Dithyrambic Ode to + Albemarle Street. + + "Are you aware that Shelley has written an Elegy on Keats, and + accuses the Quarterly of killing him? + + "'Who kill'd John Keats?" + 'I,' says the Quarterly, + So savage and Tartarly; + 'Twas one of my feats.' + + "'Who shot the arrow?' + The poet-priest Milman + (So ready to kill man), + Or Southey or Barrow.' + + "You know very well that I did not approve of Keats's poetry, or + principles of poetry, or of his abuse of Pope; but, as he is dead, + omit _all_ that is said _about him_ in any MSS. of mine, or + publication. His Hyperion is a fine monument, and will keep his + name. I do not envy the man who wrote the article;--you Review + people have no more right to kill than any other footpads. However, + he who would die of an article in a Review would probably have died + of something else equally trivial. The same thing nearly happened + to Kirke White, who died afterwards of a consumption." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 442. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, August 2. 1821. + + "I had certainly answered your last letter, though but briefly, to + the part to which you refer, merely saying, 'damn the controversy;' + and quoting some verses of George Colman's, not as allusive to you, + but to the disputants. Did you receive this letter? It imports me + to know that our letters are not intercepted or mislaid. + + "Your Berlin drama [44] is an honour, unknown since the days of + Elkanah Settle, whose 'Emperor of Morocco' was represented by the + Court ladies, which was, as Johnson says, 'the last blast of + inflammation' to poor Dryden, who could not bear it, and fell foul + of Settle without mercy or moderation, on account of that and a + frontispiece, which he dared to put before his play. + + "Was not your showing the Memoranda to * * somewhat perilous? Is + there not a facetious allusion or two which might as well be + reserved for posterity? + + "I know S * * well--that is to say, I have met him occasionally at + Copet. Is he not also touched lightly in the Memoranda? In a review + of Childe Harold, Canto 4th, three years ago, in Blackwood's + Magazine, they quote some stanzas of an elegy of S * *'s on Rome, + from which they say that I _might_ have taken some ideas. I give + you my honour that I never saw it except in that criticism, which + gives, I think, three or four stanzas, sent them (they say) for the + nonce by a correspondent--perhaps himself. The fact is easily + proved; for I don't understand German, and there was, I believe, no + translation--at least, it was the first time that I ever heard of, + or saw, either translation or original. + + "I remember having some talk with S * * about Alfieri, whose merit + he denies. He was also wroth about the Edinburgh Review of Goethe, + which was sharp enough, to be sure. He went about saying, too, of + the French--'I meditate a terrible vengeance against the French--I + will prove that Moliere is no poet[45].' + + "I don't see why you should talk of 'declining.' When I saw you, + you looked thinner, and yet younger, than you did when we parted + several years before. You may rely upon this as fact. If it were + not, I should say _nothing_, for I would rather not say unpleasant + _personal_ things to anyone--but, as it was the pleasant _truth_, I + tell it you. If you had led my life, indeed, changing climates and + connections--_thinning_ yourself with fasting and + purgatives--besides the wear and tear of the vulture passions, and + a very bad temper besides, you might talk in this way--but _you_! I + know no man who looks so well for his years, or who deserves to + look better and to be better, in all respects. You are a * * *, + and, what is perhaps better for your friends, a good fellow. So, + don't talk of decay, but put in for eighty, as you well may. + + "I am, at present, occupied principally about these unhappy + proscriptions and exiles, which have taken place here on account of + politics. It has been a miserable sight to see the general + desolation in families. I am doing what I can for them, high and + low, by such interest and means as I possess or can bring to bear. + There have been thousands of these proscriptions within the last + month in the Exarchate, or (to speak modernly) the Legations. + Yesterday, too, a man got his back broken, in extricating a dog of + mine from under a mill-wheel. The dog was killed, and the man is in + the greatest danger. I was not present--it happened before I was + up, owing to a stupid boy taking the dog to bathe in a dangerous + spot. I must, of course, provide for the poor fellow while he + lives, and his family, if he dies. I would gladly have given a + much greater sum than that will come to that he had never been + hurt. Pray, let me hear from you, and excuse haste and hot weather. + + "Yours, &c. + + "You may have probably seen all sorts of attacks upon me in some + gazettes in England some months ago. I only saw them, by Murray's + bounty, the other day. They call me 'Plagiary,' and what not. I + think I now, in my time, have been accused of _every_ thing. + + "I have not given you details of little events here; but they have + been trying to make me out to be the chief of a conspiracy, and + nothing but their want of proofs for an _English_ investigation has + stopped them. Had it been a poor native, the suspicion were enough, + as it has been for hundreds. + + "Why don't you write on Napoleon? I have no spirits, nor 'estro' to + do so. His overthrow, from the beginning, was a blow on the head to + me. Since that period, we have been the slaves of fools. Excuse + this long letter. _Ecco_ a translation literal of a French epigram. + + "Egle, beauty and poet, has two little crimes, + She makes her own face, and does _not_ make her rhymes. + + "I am going to ride, having been warned not to ride in a particular + part of the forest, on account of the ultra-politicians. + + "Is there no chance of your return to England, and of _our_ + Journal? I would have published the two plays in it--two or three + scenes per number--and, indeed, _all_ of mine in it. If you went + to England, I would do so still." + +[Footnote 44: There had been, a short time before, performed at the +Court of Berlin a spectacle founded on the Poem of Lalla Rookh, in which +the present Emperor of Russia personated Feramorz, and the Empress, +Lalla Rookh.] + +[Footnote 45: This threat has been since acted upon;--the critic in +question having, to the great horror of the French literati, pronounced +Moliere to be a "farceur."] + + * * * * * + +About this time Mr. Shelley, who had now fixed his residence at Pisa, +received a letter from Lord Byron, earnestly requesting to see him, in +consequence of which he immediately set out for Ravenna; and the +following extracts from letters, written during his stay with his noble +friend, will be read with that double feeling of interest which is +always sure to be excited in hearing one man of genius express his +opinions of another. + + "Ravenna, August 7. 1821. + + "I arrived last night at ten o'clock, and sat up talking with Lord + Byron until five this morning: I then went to sleep, and now awake + at eleven; and having despatched my breakfast as quick as possible, + mean to devote the interval until twelve, when the post departs, to + you. + + "Lord Byron is very well, and was delighted, to see me. He has in + fact completely recovered his health, and lives a life totally the + reverse of that which he led at Venice. He has a permanent sort of + liaison with the Contessa Guiccioli, who is now at Florence, and + seems from her letters to be a very amiable woman. She is waiting + there until something shall be decided as to their emigration to + Switzerland or stay in Italy, which is yet undetermined on either + side. She was compelled to escape from the Papal territory in great + haste, as measures had already been taken to place her in a + convent, where she would have been unrelentingly confined for + life. The oppression of the marriage contract as existing in the + laws and opinions of Italy, though less frequently exercised, is + far severer than that of England. + + "Lord Byron had almost destroyed himself at Venice. His state of + debility was such that he was unable to digest any food: he was + consumed by hectic fever, and would speedily have perished but for + this attachment, which reclaimed him from the excesses into which + he threw himself, from carelessness and pride, rather than taste. + Poor fellow I he is now quite well, and immersed in politics and + literature. He has given me a number of the most interesting + details on the former subject; but we will not speak of them in a + letter. Fletcher is here, and--as if, like a shadow, he waxed and + waned with the substance of his master--has also revived his good + looks, and from amidst the unseasonable grey hairs, a fresh harvest + of flaxen locks has put forth. + + "We talked a great deal of poetry and such matters last night; and, + as usual, differed--and I think more than ever. He affects to + patronise a system of criticism fit only for the production of + mediocrity; and, although all his finer poems and passages have + been produced in defiance of this system, yet I recognise the + pernicious effects of it in the Doge of Venice; and it will cramp + and limit his future efforts, however great they may be, unless he + gets rid of it. I have read only parts of it, or rather he himself + read them to me, and gave me the plan of the whole. + + "Ravenna, August 15. 1821. + + "We ride out in the evening through the pine forests which divide + the city from the sea. Our way of life is this, and I have + accommodated myself to it without much difficulty:--Lord Byron gets + up at two--breakfasts--we talk, read, &c. until six--then we ride + at eight, and after dinner sit talking until four or five in the + morning. I get up at twelve, and am now devoting the interval + between my rising and his to you. + + "Lord Byron is greatly improved in every respect--in genius, in + temper, in moral views, in health and happiness. His connection + with La Guiccioli has been an inestimable benefit to him. He lives + in considerable splendour, but within his income, which is now + about four thousand a year, one thousand of which he devotes to + purposes of charity. He has had mischievous passions, but these he + seems to have subdued; and he is becoming, what he should be, a + virtuous man. The interest which he took in the politics of Italy, + and the actions he performed in consequence of it, are subjects not + fit to be written, but are such as will delight and surprise you. + + "He is not yet decided to go to Switzerland, a place, indeed, + little fitted for him: the gossip and the cabals of those + Anglicised coteries would torment him as they did before, and might + exasperate him into a relapse of libertinism, which, he says, he + plunged into not from taste, but from despair. La Guiccioli and her + brother (who is Lord Byron's friend and confidant, and acquiesces + perfectly in her connection with him) wish to go to Switzerland, + as Lord Byron says, merely from the novelty and pleasure of + travelling. Lord Byron prefers Tuscany or Lucca, and is trying to + persuade them to adopt his views. He has made _me_ write a long + letter to her to engage her to remain. An odd thing enough for an + utter stranger to write on subjects of the utmost delicacy to his + friend's mistress--but it seems destined that I am always to have + some active part in every body's affairs whom I approach. I have + set down, in tame Italian, the strongest reasons I can think of + against the Swiss emigration. To tell you the truth, I should be + very glad to accept as my fee his establishment in Tuscany. Ravenna + is a miserable place: the people are barbarous and wild, and their + language the most infernal _patois_ that you can imagine. He would + be in every respect better among the Tuscans. + + "He has read to me one of the unpublished cantos of Don Juan, which + is astonishingly fine. It sets him not only above, but far above + all the poets of the day. Every word has the stamp of immortality. + This canto is in a style (but totally free from indelicacy, and + sustained with incredible ease and power) like the end of the + second canto: there is not a word which the most rigid assertor of + the dignity of human nature could desire to be cancelled: it + fulfils, in a certain degree, what I have long preached,--of + producing something wholly new, and relative to the age, and yet + surpassingly beautiful. It may be vanity, but I think I see the + trace of my earnest exhortations to him, to create something wholly + new. * * * * + + "I am sure, if I asked, it would not be refused; yet there is + something in me that makes it impossible. Lord Byron and I are + excellent friends; and were I reduced to poverty, or were I a + writer who had no claim to a higher station than I possess, or did + I possess a higher than I deserve, we should appear in all things + as such, and I would freely ask him any favour. Such is not now the + case: the demon of mistrust and of pride lurks between two persons + in our situation, poisoning the freedom of our intercourse. This is + a tax, and a heavy one, which we must pay for being human. I think + the fault is not on my side; nor is it likely,--I being the weaker. + I hope that in the next world these things will be better managed. + What is passing in the heart of another rarely escapes the + observation of one who is a strict anatomist of his own. * * * + + "Lord Byron here has splendid apartments in the palace of Count + Guiccioli, who is one of the richest men in Italy. She is divorced, + with an allowance of twelve thousand crowns a year;--a miserable + pittance from a man who has a hundred and twenty thousand a year. + There are two monkeys, five cats, eight dogs, and ten horses, all + of whom (except the horses) walk about the house like the masters + of it. Tita, the Venetian, is here, and operates as my valet--a + fine fellow, with a prodigious black beard, who has stabbed two or + three people, and is the most good-natured-looking fellow I ever + saw. + + "Wednesday, Ravenna. + + "I told you I had written, by Lord Byron's desire, to La + Guiccioli, to dissuade her and her family from Switzerland. Her + answer is this moment arrived, and my representation seems to have + reconciled them to the unfitness of the step. At the conclusion of + a letter, full of all the fine things she says she has heard of me, + is this request, which I transcribe:--'Signore, la vostra bonta mi + fa ardita di chiedervi un favore, me lo accorderete voi? _Non + partite da Ravenna senza Milord._' Of course, being now, by all the + laws of knighthood, captive to a lady's request, I shall only be at + liberty on _my parole_ until Lord Byron is settled at Pisa. I shall + reply, of course, that the boon is granted, and that if Lord Byron + is reluctant to quit Ravenna after I have made arrangements for + receiving him at Pisa, I am bound to place myself in the same + situation as now, to assail him with importunities to rejoin her. + Of this there is fortunately no need; and I need not tell you that + there is no fear that this chivalric submission of mine to the + great general laws of antique courtesy, against which I never + rebel, and which is my religion, should interfere with my soon + returning, and long remaining with you, dear girl. * * + + "We ride out every evening as usual, and practise pistol-shooting + at a pumpkin, and I am not sorry to observe that I approach towards + my noble friend's exactness of aim. I have the greatest trouble to + get away, and Lord Byron, as a reason for my stay, has urged, that + without either me or the Guiccioli, he will certainly fall into his + old habits. I then talk, and he listens to reason; and I earnestly + hope that he is too well aware of the terrible and degrading + consequences of his former mode of life, to be in danger from the + short interval of temptation that will be left him." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 443. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, August 10. 1821. + + "Your conduct to Mr. Moore is certainly very handsome; and I would + not say so if I could help it, for you are not at present by any + means in my good graces. + + "With regard to additions, &c. there is a Journal which I kept in + 1814 which you may ask him for; also a Journal which you must get + from Mrs. Leigh, of my journey in the Alps, which contains all the + germs of Manfred. I have also kept a small Diary here for a few + months last winter, which I would send you, and any continuation. + You would find easy access to all my papers and letters, and do + _not neglect this_ (in case of accidents) on account of the mass of + confusion in which they are; for out of that chaos of papers you + will find some curious ones of mine and others, if not lost or + destroyed. If circumstances, however (which is almost impossible), + made me ever consent to a publication in my lifetime, you would in + that case, I suppose, make Moore some advance, in proportion to the + likelihood or non-likelihood of success. You are both sure to + survive me, however. + + "You must also have from Mr. Moore the correspondence between me + and Lady B. to whom I offered the sight of all which regards + herself in these papers. This is important. He has _her_ letter, + and a copy of my answer. I would rather Moore edited me than + another. + + "I sent you Valpy's letter to decide for yourself, and Stockdale's + to amuse you. _I_ am always loyal with you, as I was in Galignani's + affair, and _you_ with me--now and then. + + "I return you Moore's letter, which is very creditable to him, and + you, and me. + + "Yours ever." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 444. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, August 16. 1821. + + "I regret that Holmes can't or won't come: it is rather shabby, as + I was always very civil and punctual with him. But he is but one * + * more. One meets with none else among the English. + + "I wait the proofs of the MSS. with proper impatience. + + "So you have published, or mean to publish, the new Juans? Ar'n't + you afraid of the Constitutional Assassination of Bridge Street? + When first I saw the name of _Murray_, I thought it had been yours; + but was solaced by seeing that your synonyme is an attorneo, and + that you are not one of that atrocious crew. + + "I am in a great discomfort about the probable war, and with my + trustees not getting me out of the funds. If the funds break, it is + my intention to go upon the highway. All the other English + professions are at present so ungentlemanly by the conduct of those + who follow them, that open robbing is the only fair resource left + to a man of any principles; it is even honest, in comparison, by + being undisguised. + + "I wrote to you by last post, to say that you had done the handsome + thing by Moore and the Memoranda. You are very good as times go, + and would probably be still better but for the 'march of events' + (as Napoleon called it), which won't permit any body to be better + than they should be. + + "Love to Gifford. Believe me, &c. + + "P.S. I restore Smith's letter, whom thank for his good opinion. Is + the bust by Thorwaldsen arrived?" + + * * * * * + +LETTER 445. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, August 23. 1821. + + "Enclosed are the two acts corrected. With regard to the charges + about the shipwreck, I think that I told both you and Mr. Hobhouse, + years ago, that there was not a _single circumstance_ of it not + taken from _fact_; not, indeed, from any _single_ shipwreck, but + all from actual facts of different wrecks[46]. Almost all Don Juan + is _real_ life, either my own, or from people I knew. By the way, + much of the description of the _furniture_, in Canto third, is + taken from _Tully's Tripoli_ (pray _note this_), and the rest from + my own observation. Remember, I never meant to conceal this at all, + and have only not stated it, because Don Juan had no preface nor + name to it. If you think it worth while to make this statement, do + so in your own way. _I_ laugh at such charges, convinced that no + writer ever borrowed less, or made his materials more his own. Much + is coincidence: for instance, Lady Morgan (in a really _excellent_ + book, I assure you, on Italy) calls Venice an _ocean Rome_: I have + the very same expression in Foscari, and yet _you_ know that the + play was written months ago, and sent to England: the 'Italy' I + received only on the 16th instant. + + "Your friend, like the public, is not aware, that my dramatic + simplicity is _studiously_ Greek, and must continue so: _no_ reform + ever succeeded at first[47]. I admire the old English dramatists; + but this is quite another field, and has nothing to do with theirs. + I want to make a _regular_ English drama, no matter whether for the + stage or not, which is not my object,--but a _mental theatre_. + + "Yours. + + "P.S. Can't accept your courteous offer. + + "For Orford and for Waldegrave + You give much more than me you gave; + Which is not fairly to behave, + My Murray. + + "Because if a live dog, 'tis said, + Be worth a lion fairly sped, + A _live lord_ must be worth _two_ dead, + My Murray. + + "And if as the opinion goes, + Verse hath a better sale than prose-- + Certes, I should have more than those, + My Murray. + + "But now this sheet is nearly cramm'd, + So, if _you will_, _I_ sha'n't be shamm'd, + And if you _won't_, _you_ may be damn'd, + My Murray. + + "These matters must be arranged with Mr. Douglas Kinnaird. He is my + trustee, and a man of honour. To him you can state all your + mercantile reasons, which you might not like to state to me + personally, such as 'heavy season'--'flat public'--'don't go + off'--'Lordship writes too much'--won't take advice'--'declining + popularity'--deduction for the trade'--'make very + little'--'generally lose by him'--'pirated edition'--'foreign + edition'--'severe criticisms,' &c. with other hints and howls for + an oration, which I leave Douglas, who is an orator, to answer. + + "You can also state them more freely to a third person, as between + you and me they could only produce some smart postscripts, which + would not adorn our mutual archives. + + "I am sorry for the Queen, and that's more than you are." + +[Footnote 46: One of the charges of plagiarism brought against him by +some scribblers of the day was founded (as I have already observed in +the first volume of this work) on his having sought in the authentic +records of real shipwrecks those materials out of which he has worked +his own powerful description in the second Canto of Don Juan. With as +much justice might the Italian author, (Galeani, if I recollect right,) +who wrote a Discourse on the Military Science displayed by Tasso in his +battles, have reproached that poet with the sources from which he drew +his knowledge:--with as much justice might Puysegur and Segrais, who +have pointed out the same merit in Homer and Virgil, have withheld their +praise because the science on which this merit was founded must have +been derived by the skill and industry of these poets from others. + +So little was Tasso ashamed of those casual imitations of other poets +which are so often branded as plagiarisms, that, in his Commentary on +his Rime, he takes pains to point out and avow whatever coincidences of +this kind occur in his own verses. + +While on this subject, I may be allowed to mention one single instance, +where a thought that had lain perhaps indistinctly in Byron's memory +since his youth, comes out so improved and brightened as to be, by every +right of genius, his own. In the Two Noble Kinsmen of Beaumont and +Fletcher (a play to which the picture of passionate friendship, +delineated in the characters of Palamon and Arcite, would be sure to +draw the attention of Byron in his boyhood,) we find the following +passage:-- + + "Oh never + Shall we two exercise, like twins of Honour, + Our arms again, and _feel our fiery horses + Like proud seas under us_." + +Out of this somewhat forced simile, by a judicious transposition of the +comparison, and by the substitution of the more definite word "waves" +for "seas" the clear, noble thought in one of the Cantos of Childe +Harold has been produced:-- + + "Once more upon the waters! yet once more! + And the waves bound beneath me, as a steed + That knows his rider."] + +[Footnote 47: "No man ever rose (says Pope) to any degree of perfection +in writing but through obstinacy and an inveterate resolution against +the stream of mankind."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 446. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, August 24. 1821. + + "Yours of the 5th only yesterday, while I had letters of the 8th + from London. Doth the post dabble into our letters? Whatever + agreement you make with Murray, if satisfactory to _you_, must be + so to me. There need be no scruple, because, though I used + sometimes to buffoon to myself, loving a quibble as well as the + barbarian himself (Shakspeare, to wit)--'that, like a Spartan, I + would sell my _life_ as _dearly_ as possible'--it never was my + intention to turn it to personal, pecuniary account, but to + bequeath it to a friend--yourself--in the event of survivorship. I + anticipated that period, because we happened to meet, and I urged + you to make what was possible _now_ by it, for reasons which are + obvious. It has been no possible _privation_ to me, and therefore + does not require the acknowledgments you mention. So, for God's + sake, don't consider it like * * * + + "By the way, when you write to Lady Morgan, will you thank her for + her handsome speeches in her book about _my_ books? I do not know + her address. Her work is fearless and excellent on the subject of + Italy--pray tell her so--and I know the country. I wish she had + fallen in with _me_, I could have told her a thing or two that + would have confirmed her positions. + + "I am glad you are satisfied with Murray, who seems to value dead + lords more than live ones. I have just sent him the following answer + to a proposition of his, + + "For Orford and for Waldegrave, &c. + + "The argument of the above is, that he wanted to 'stint me of my + sizings,' as Lear says,--that is to say, _not_ to propose an + extravagant price for an extravagant poem, as is becoming. Pray + take his guineas, by all means--_I_ taught him that. He made me a + filthy offer of _pounds_ once, but I told him that, like + physicians, poets must be dealt with in guineas, as being the only + advantage poets could have in the association with _them_, as + votaries of Apollo. I write to you in hurry and bustle, which I + will expound in my next. + + "Yours ever, &c. + + "P.S. You mention something of an attorney on his way to me on + legal business. I have had no warning of such an apparition. What + can the fellow want? I have some lawsuits and business, but have + not heard of any thing to put me to the expense of a _travelling_ + lawyer. They do enough, in that way, at home. + + "Ah, poor Queen I but perhaps it is for the best, if Herodotus's + anecdote is to be believed. + + "Remember me to any friendly Angles of our mutual acquaintance. + What are you doing? Here I have had my hands full with tyrants and + their victims. There never _was_ such oppression, even in Ireland, + scarcely!" + + * * * * * + +LETTER 447. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, August 31. 1821. + + "I have received the Juans, which are printed so _carelessly_, + especially the fifth Canto, as to be disgraceful to me, and not + creditable to you. It really must be _gone over again_ with the + _manuscript_, the errors are so gross;--words added--changed--so as + to make cacophony and nonsense. You have been careless of this poem + because some of your squad don't approve of it; but I tell you that + it will be long before you see any thing half so good as poetry or + writing. Upon what principle have you omitted the note on Bacon and + Voltaire? and one of the concluding stanzas sent as an addition? + because it ended, I suppose, with-- + + "And do not link two virtuous souls for life + Into that _moral centaur_ man and wife? + + "Now, I must say, once for all, that I will not permit any human + being to take such liberties with my writings because I am absent. + I desire the omissions to be replaced (except the stanza on + Semiramis)--particularly the stanza upon the Turkish marriages; and + I request that the whole be carefully gone over with the MS. + + "I never saw such stuff as is printed:--Gu_ll_eyaz instead of + Gu_lb_eyaz, &c. Are you aware that Gulbeyaz is a real name, and the + other nonsense? I copied the _Cantos_ out carefully, so that there + is _no_ excuse, as the printer read, or at least _prints_, the MS. + of the plays without error. + + "If you have no feeling for your own reputation, pray have some + little for mine. I have read over the poem carefully, and I tell + you, _it is poetry_. Your little envious knot of parson-poets may + say what they please: time will show that I am not in this instance + mistaken. + + "Desire my friend Hobhouse to correct the press, especially of the + last Canto, from the manuscript as it is. It is enough to drive one + out of one's reason to see the infernal torture of words from the + original. For instance the line-- + + "And _pair_ their rhymes as Venus yokes her doves-- + + is printed + + "And _praise_ their rhymes, &c. + + Also '_precarious_' for '_precocious_;' and this line, stanza 133. + + "_And this strong extreme effect to tire no longer._ + + Now do turn to the manuscript and see if I ever wrote such a + _line_: it is _not verse_. + + "No wonder the poem should fail (which, however, it won't, you will + see) with such things allowed to creep about it. Replace what is + omitted, and correct what is so shamefully misprinted, and let the + poem have fair play; and I fear nothing. + + "I see in the last two numbers of the Quarterly a strong itching to + assail me (see the review of 'The Etonian'); let it, and see if + they sha'n't have enough of it. I do not allude to Gifford, who has + always been my friend, and whom I do not consider as responsible + for the articles written by others. + + "You will publish the plays when ready. I am in such a humour + about this printing of Don Juan so inaccurately, that I must close + this. + + "Yours. + + "P.S. I presume that you have _not_ lost the _stanza_ to which I + allude? It was sent afterwards: look over my letters and find it." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 448.[48] TO MR. MURRAY. + + "The enclosed letter is written in bad humour, but not without + provocation. However, let it (that is, the bad humour) go for + little; but I must request your serious attention to the abuses of + the printer, which ought never to have been permitted. You forget + that all the fools in London (the chief purchasers of your + publications) will condemn in me the stupidity of your printer. For + instance, in the notes to Canto fifth, 'the _Adriatic_ shore of the + Bosphorus' instead of the _Asiatic!!_ All this may seem little to + you, so fine a gentleman with your ministerial connections, but it + is serious to me, who am thousands of miles off, and have no + opportunity of not proving myself the fool your printer makes me, + except your pleasure and leisure, forsooth. + + "The gods prosper you, and forgive you, for I can't." + +[Footnote 48: Written in the envelope of the preceding Letter.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 449. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, September 3. 1821. + + "By Mr. Mawman (a paymaster in the corps, in which you and I are + privates) I yesterday expedited to your address, under cover one, + two paper books, containing the _Giaour_-nal, and a thing or two. + It won't _all_ do--even for the posthumous public--but extracts + from it may. It is a brief and faithful chronicle of a month or + so--parts of it not very discreet, but sufficiently sincere. Mr. + Mawman saith that he will, in person or per friend, have it + delivered to you in your Elysian fields. + + "If you have got the new Juans, recollect that there are some very + gross printer's blunders, particularly in the fifth Canto,--such as + 'praise' for 'pair'--'precarious' for 'precocious'--'Adriatic' for + 'Asiatic'--'case' for 'chase'--besides gifts of additional words + and syllables, which make but a cacophonous rhythmus. Put the pen + through the said, as I would mine through * *'s ears, if I were + alongside him. As it is, I have sent him a rattling letter, as + abusive as possible. Though he is publisher to the 'Board of + _Longitude_,' he is in no danger of discovering it. + + "I am packing for Pisa--but direct your letters _here_, till + further notice. Yours ever," &c. + + * * * * * + +One of the "paper-books" mentioned in this letter as intrusted to Mr. +Mawman for me, contained a portion, to the amount of nearly a hundred +pages, of a prose story, relating the adventures of a young Andalusian +nobleman, which had been begun by him, at Venice, in 1817. The following +passage is all I shall extract from this amusing Fragment:-- + + "A few hours afterwards we were very good friends, and a few days + after she set out for Arragon, with my son, on a visit to her + father and mother. I did not accompany her immediately, having been + in Arragon before, but was to join the family in their Moorish + chateau within a few weeks. + + "During her journey I received a very affectionate letter from + Donna Josepha, apprising me of the welfare of herself and my son. + On her arrival at the chateau, I received another still more + affectionate, pressing me, in very fond, and rather foolish, terms, + to join her immediately. As I was preparing to set out from + Seville, I received a third--this was from her father, Don Jose di + Cardozo, who requested me, in the politest manner, to dissolve my + marriage. I answered him with equal politeness, that I would do no + such thing. A fourth letter arrived--it was from Donna Josepha, in + which she informed me that her father's letter was written by her + particular desire. I requested the reason by return of post--she + replied, by express, that as reason had nothing to do with the + matter, it was unnecessary to give any--but that she was an injured + and excellent woman. I then enquired why she had written to me the + two preceding affectionate letters, requesting me to come to + Arragon. She answered, that was because she believed me out of my + senses--that, being unfit to take care of myself, I had only to set + out on this journey alone, and making my way without difficulty to + Don Jose di Cardozo's, I should there have found the tenderest of + wives and--a strait waistcoat. + + "I had nothing to reply to this piece of affection but a + reiteration of my request for some lights upon the subject. I was + answered that they would only be related to the Inquisition. In the + mean time, our domestic discrepancy had become a public topic of + discussion: and the world, which always decides justly, not only in + Arragon but in Andalusia, determined that I was not only to blame, + but that all Spain could produce nobody so blamable. My case was + supposed to comprise all the crimes which could, and several which + could not, be committed, and little less than an auto-da-fe was + anticipated as the result. But let no man say that we are abandoned + by our friends in adversity--it was just the reverse. Mine thronged + around me to condemn, advise, and console me with their + disapprobation.--They told me all that was, would, or could be said + on the subject. They shook their heads--they exhorted me--deplored + me, with tears in their eyes, and--went to dinner." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 450. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, September 4. 1821. + + "By Saturday's post, I sent you a fierce and furibund letter upon + the subject of the printer's blunders in Don Juan. I must solicit + your attention to the topic, though my wrath hath subsided into + sullenness. + + "Yesterday I received Mr. ----, a friend of yours, and because he + is a friend of _yours_; and that's more than I would do in an + _English_ case, except for those whom I honour. I was as civil as I + could be among packages even to the very chairs and tables, for I + am going to _Pisa_ in a few weeks, and have sent and am sending + off my chattels. It regretted me[49] that, my books and every thing + being packed, I could not send you a few things I meant for you; + but they were all sealed and baggaged, so as to have made it a + month's work to get at them again. I gave him an envelope, with the + Italian scrap in it[50], alluded to in my Gilchrist defence. + Hobhouse will make it out for you, and it will make you laugh, and + him too, the _spelling_ particularly. The '_Mericani_,' of whom + they call me the 'Capo' (or Chief), mean 'Americans,' which is the + name given in _Romagna_ to a part of the Carbonari; that is to say, + to the _popular_ part, the _troops_ of the Carbonari. They are + originally a society of hunters in the forest, who took the name of + Americans, but at present comprise some thousands, &c.; but I + shan't let you further into the secret, which may be participated + with the postmasters. Why they thought me their Chief, I know not: + their Chiefs are like 'Legion, being many. However, it is a post of + more honour than profit, for, now that they are persecuted, it is + fit that I should aid them; and so I have done, as far as my means + would permit. They will rise again some day, for these fools of + the government are blundering: they actually seem to know + _nothing_; for they have arrested and banished many of their _own_ + party, and let others escape who are not their friends. + + "What think'st thou of Greece? + + "Address to me here as usual, till you hear further from me. + + "By Mawman I have sent a Journal to Moore; but it won't do for the + public,--at least a great deal of it won't;--_parts_ may. + + "I read over the Juans, which are excellent. Your squad are quite + wrong; and so you will find by and by. I regret that I do not go on + with it, for I had all the plan for several cantos, and different + countries and climes. You say nothing of the _note_ I enclosed to + you[51], which will explain why I agreed to discontinue it (at + Madame G----'s request); but you are so grand, and sublime, and + occupied, that one would think, instead of publishing for 'the + Board of _Longitude_,' that you were trying to discover it. + + "Let me hear that Gifford is _better_. He can't be spared either by + you or me." + +[Footnote 49: It will be observed, from this and a few other instances, +that notwithstanding the wonderful purity of English he was able to +preserve in his writings, while living constantly with persons speaking +a different language, he had already begun so far to feel the influence +of this habit as to fall occasionally into Italianisms in his familiar +letters.--"I am in the case to know"--"I have caused write"--"It regrets +me," &c.] + +[Footnote 50: An anonymous letter which he had received, threatening him +with assassination.] + +[Footnote 51: In this note, so highly honourable to the fair writer, she +says, "Remember, my Byron, the promise you have made me. Never shall I +be able to tell you the satisfaction I feel from it, so great are the +sentiments of pleasure and confidence with which the sacrifice you have +made has inspired me." In a postscript to the note she adds, "I am only +sorry that Don Juan was not left in the infernal regions."--"Ricordati, +mio Byron, della promessa che mi hai fatta. Non potrei mai dirti la +satisfazione ch' io ne provo!--sono tanti i sentimenti di piacere e di +confidenza che il tuo sacrificio m'inspira."--"Mi reveresce solo che Don +Giovanni non resti all' Inferno." + +In enclosing the lady's note to Mr. Murray, July 4th, Lord B. says, +"This is the note of acknowledgment for the promise not to continue Don +Juan. She says, in the postscript, that she is only sorry that D.J. does +not _remain_ in Hell (or go there)".] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 451. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, September 12. 1821. + + "By Tuesday's post, I forwarded, in three packets, the drama of + Cain in three acts, of which I request the acknowledgment when + arrived. To the last speech of _Eve_, in the last act (_i.e._ where + she curses Cain), add these three lines to the concluding one-- + + "May the grass wither from thy foot! the woods + Deny thee shelter! earth a home! the dust + A grave! the sun his light! and Heaven her God! + + "There's as pretty a piece of imprecation for you, when joined to + the lines already sent, as you may wish to meet with in the course + of your business. But don't forget the addition of the above three + lines, which are clinchers to Eve's speech. + + "Let me know what Gifford thinks (if the play arrives in safety); + for I have a good opinion of the piece, as poetry; it is in my gay + metaphysical style, and in the Manfred line. + + "You must at least commend my facility and variety, when you + consider what I have done within the last fifteen months, with my + head, too, full of other and of mundane matters. But no doubt you + will avoid saying any good of it, for fear I should raise the price + upon you: that's right: stick to business. Let me know what your + other ragamuffins are writing, for I suppose you don't like + starting too many of your vagabonds at once. You may give them the + start, for any thing I care. + + "Why don't you publish my _Pulci_--the best thing I ever + wrote,--with the Italian to it? I wish I was alongside of you; + nothing is ever done in a man's absence; every body runs counter, + because they _can_. If ever I _do_ return to England, (which I + sha'n't, though,) I will write a poem to which 'English Bards,' &c. + shall be new milk, in comparison. Your present literary world of + mountebanks stands in need of such an Avatar. But I am not yet + quite bilious enough: a season or two more, and a provocation or + two, will wind me up to the point, and then have at the whole set! + + "I have no patience with the sort of trash you send me out by way + of books; except Scott's novels, and three or four other things, I + never saw such work, or works. Campbell is lecturing--Moore + idling--S * * twaddling--W * * drivelling--C * * muddling--* * + piddling--B * * quibbling, squabbling, and snivelling. * * will + _do_, if he don't cant too much, nor imitate Southey; the fellow + has poesy in him; but he is envious, and unhappy, as all the + envious are. Still he is among the best of the day. B * * C * * + will do better by-and-by, I dare say, if he don't get spoiled by + green tea, and the praises of Pentonville and Paradise Row. The + pity of these men is, that they never lived in _high life_, nor in + _solitude_: there is no medium for the knowledge of the _busy_ or + the _still_ world. If admitted into high life for a season, it is + merely as spectators--they form no part of the mechanism thereof. + Now Moore and I, the one by circumstances, and the other by birth, + happened to be free of the corporation, and to have entered into + its pulses and passions, _quarum partes fuimus_. Both of us have + learnt by this much which nothing else could have taught us. + + "Yours. + + "P.S. I saw one of your brethren, another of the allied sovereigns + of Grub Street, the other day, Mawman the Great, by whom I sent due + homage to your imperial self. To-morrow's post may perhaps bring a + letter from you, but you are the most ungrateful and ungracious of + correspondents. But there is some excuse for you, with your + perpetual levee of politicians, parsons, scribblers, and loungers. + Some day I will give you a poetical catalogue of them." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 452. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, September 17. 1821. + + "The enclosed lines[52], as you will directly perceive, are written + by the Rev. W.L.B * *. Of course it is for _him_ to deny them if + they are not. + + "Believe me yours ever and most affectionately, + + "B. + + "P.S. Can you forgive this? It is only a reply to your lines + against my Italians. Of course I will _stand_ by my lines against + all men; but it is heart-breaking to see such things in a people as + the reception of that unredeemed * * * * * * in an oppressed + country. _Your_ apotheosis is now reduced to a level with his + welcome, and their gratitude to Grattan is cancelled by their + atrocious adulation of this, &c. &c. &c." + +[Footnote 52: "The Irish Avatar." In this copy the following sentence +(taken from a letter of Curran, in the able Life of that true Irishman, +by his son) is prefixed as a motto to the Poem,--"And Ireland, like a +bastinadoed elephant, kneeling to receive the paltry rider."--_Letter of +Curran, Life_, vol. ii. p. 336. At the end of the verses are these +words:--"(Signed) W.L. B * *, M.A., and written with a view to a +Bishoprick."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 453. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, September 19, 1821. + + "I am in all the sweat, dust, and blasphemy of an universal packing + of all my things, furniture, &c. for Pisa, whither I go for the + winter. The cause has been the exile of all my fellow Carbonics, + and, amongst them, of the whole family of Madame G.; who, you know, + was divorced from her husband last week, 'on account of P.P. clerk + of this parish,' and who is obliged to join her father and + relatives, now in exile there, to avoid being shut up in a + monastery, because the Pope's decree of separation required her to + reside in _casa paterna_, or else, for decorum's sake, in a + convent. As I could not say with Hamlet, 'Get thee to a nunnery,' I + am preparing to follow them. + + "It is awful work, this love, and prevents all a man's projects of + good or glory. I wanted to go to Greece lately (as every thing + seems up here) with her brother, who is a very fine, brave fellow + (I have seen him put to the proof), and wild about liberty. But + the tears of a woman who has left her husband for a man, and the + weakness of one's own heart, are paramount to these projects, and I + can hardly indulge them. + + "We were divided in choice between Switzerland and Tuscany, and I + gave my vote for Pisa, as nearer the Mediterranean, which I love + for the sake of the shores which it washes, and for my young + recollections of 1809. Switzerland is a curst selfish, swinish + country of brutes, placed in the most romantic region of the world. + I never could bear the inhabitants, and still less their English + visiters; for which reason, after writing for some information + about houses, upon hearing that there was a colony of English all + over the cantons of Geneva, &c. I immediately gave up the thought, + and persuaded the Gambas to do the same. + + "By the last post I sent you 'The Irish Avatar,'--what think you? + The last line--'a name never spoke but with curses or jeers'--must + run either 'a name only uttered with curses or jeers,' or, 'a + wretch never named but with curses or jeers.' Be_case_ as _how_, + 'spoke' is not grammar, except in the House of Commons; and I doubt + whether we can say 'a name _spoken_,' for _mentioned_. I have some + doubts, too, about 'repay,'--'and for murder repay with a shout and + a smile.' Should it not be, 'and for murder repay him with shouts + and a smile, 'or '_reward_ him with shouts and a smile?' + + "So, pray put your poetical pen through the MS. and take the least + bad of the emendations. Also, if there be any further breaking of + Priscian's head, will you apply a plaster? I wrote in the greatest + hurry and fury, and sent it to you the day after; so, doubtless, + there will be some awful constructions, and a rather lawless + conscription of rhythmus. + + "With respect to what Anna Seward calls 'the liberty of + transcript,'--when complaining of Miss Matilda Muggleton, the + accomplished daughter of a choral vicar of Worcester Cathedral, who + had abused the said 'liberty of transcript,' by inserting in the + Malvern Mercury Miss Seward's 'Elegy on the South Pole,' as her + _own_ production, with her _own_ signature, two years after having + taken a copy, by permission of the authoress--with regard, I say, + to the 'liberty of transcript,' I by no means oppose an occasional + copy to the benevolent few, provided it does not degenerate into + such licentiousness of Verb and Noun as may tend to 'disparage my + parts of speech' by the carelessness of the transcribblers. + + "I do not think that there is much danger of the 'King's Press + being abused' upon the occasion, if the publishers of journals have + any regard for their remaining liberty of person. It is as pretty a + piece of invective as ever put publisher in the way to 'Botany.' + Therefore, if _they_ meddle with it, it is at _their_ peril. As for + myself, I will answer any jontleman--though I by no means recognise + a 'right of search' into an unpublished production and unavowed + poem. The same applies to things published _sans_ consent. I hope + you like, at least, the concluding lines of the _Pome_? + + "What are you doing, and where are you? in England? Nail + Murray--nail him to his own counter, till he shells out the + thirteens. Since I wrote to you, I have sent him another + tragedy--'Cain' by name--making three in MS. now in his hands, or + in the printer's. It is in the Manfred, metaphysical style, and + full of some Titanic declamation;--Lucifer being one of the dram. + pers. who takes Cain a voyage among the stars, and afterwards to + 'Hades,' where he shows him the phantoms of a former world, and its + inhabitants. I have gone upon the notion of Cuvier, that the world + has been destroyed three or four times, and was inhabited by + mammoths, behemoths, and what not; but _not_ by man till the Mosaic + period, as, indeed, is proved by the strata of bones found;--those + of all unknown animals, and known, being dug out, but none of + mankind. I have, therefore, supposed Cain to be shown, in the + _rational_ Preadamites, beings endowed with a higher intelligence + than man, but totally unlike him in form, and with much greater + strength of mind and person. You may suppose the small talk which + takes place between him and Lucifer upon these matters is not quite + canonical. + + "The consequence is, that Cain comes back and kills Abel in a fit + of dissatisfaction, partly with the politics of Paradise, which had + driven them all out of it, and partly because (as it is written in + Genesis) Abel's sacrifice was the more acceptable to the Deity. I + trust that the Rhapsody has arrived--it is in three acts, and + entitled 'A Mystery,' according to the former Christian custom, and + in honour of what it probably will remain to the reader. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 454. TO MR. MOORE. + + "September 20. 1821. + + "After the stanza on Grattan, concluding with 'His soul o'er the + freedom implored and denied,' will it please you to cause insert + the following 'Addenda,' which I dreamed of during to-day's Siesta: + + "Ever glorious Grattan! &c. &c. &c. + + I will tell you what to do. Get me twenty copies of the whole + carefully and privately printed off, as _your_ lines were on the + Naples affair. Send me _six_, and distribute the rest according to + your own pleasure. + + "I am in a fine vein, 'so full of pastime and prodigality!'--So + here's to your health in a glass of grog. Pray write, that I may + know by return of post--address to me at Pisa. The gods give you + joy! + + "Where are you? in Paris? Let us hear. You will take care that + there be no printer's name, nor author's, as in the Naples stanza, + at least for the present." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 455 TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, September 20. 1821. + + "You need not send 'The Blues,' which is a mere buffoonery, never + meant for publication.[53] + + "The papers to which I allude, in case of survivorship, are + collections of letters, &c. since I was sixteen years old, + contained in the trunks in the care of Mr. Hobhouse. This + collection is at least doubled by those I have now here, all + received since my last ostracism. To these I should wish the editor + to have access, _not_ for the purpose of _abusing confidences_, nor + of _hurting_ the feelings of correspondents living, nor the + memories of the dead; but there are things which would do neither, + that I have left unnoticed or unexplained, and which (like all such + things) time only can permit to be noticed or explained, though + some are to my credit. The task will, of course, require delicacy; + but that will not be wanting, if Moore and Hobhouse survive me, + and, I may add, yourself; and that you may all three do so, is, I + assure you, my very sincere wish. I am not sure that long life is + desirable for one of my temper and constitutional depression of + spirits, which of course I suppress in society; but which breaks + out when alone, and in my writings, in spite of myself. It has been + deepened, perhaps, by some long-past events (I do not allude to my + marriage, &c.--on the contrary, that raised them by the persecution + giving a fillip to my spirits); but I call it constitutional, as I + have reason to think it. You know, or you do _not_ know, that my + maternal grandfather (a very clever man, and amiable, I am told) + was strongly suspected of suicide (he was found drowned in the Avon + at Bath), and that another very near relative of the same branch + took poison, and was merely saved by antidotes. For the first of + these events there was no apparent cause, as he was rich, + respected, and of considerable intellectual resources, hardly forty + years of age, and not at all addicted to any unhinging vice. It + was, however, but a strong suspicion, owing to the manner of his + death and his melancholy temper. The _second had_ a cause, but it + does not become me to touch upon it: it happened when I was far too + young to be aware of it, and I never heard of it till after the + death of that relative, many years afterwards. I think, then, that + I may call this dejection _constitutional_. I had always been told + that I resembled more my maternal grandfather than any of my + _father's_ family--that is, in the gloomier part of his temper, for + he was what you call a good-natured man, and I am not. + + "The Journal here I sent to Moore the other day; but as it is a + mere diary, only _parts_ of it would ever do for publication. The + other Journal, of the Tour in 1816, I should think Augusta might + let you have a copy of. + + "I am much mortified that Gifford don't take to my new dramas. To + be sure, they are as opposite to the English drama as one thing can + be to another; but I have a notion that, if understood, they will + in time find favour (though _not_ on the stage) with the reader. + The simplicity of plot is intentional, and the avoidance of _rant_ + also, as also the compression of the speeches in the more severe + situations. What I seek to show in 'The Foscaris' is the + _suppressed_ passions, rather than the rant of the present day. For + that matter-- + + "Nay, if thou'lt mouth, + I'll rant as well as thou-- + + would not be difficult, as I think I have shown in my younger + productions--_not dramatic_ ones, to be sure. But, as I said + before, I am mortified that Gifford don't like them; but I see no + remedy, our notions on that subject being so different. How is + he?--well, I hope? let me know. I regret his demur the more that he + has been always my grand patron, and I know no praise which would + compensate me in my own mind for his censure. I do not mind + _Reviews_, as I can work them at their own weapons. + + "Yours, &c. + + "Address to me at _Pisa_, whither I am going. The reason is, that + all my Italian friends here have been exiled, and are met there for + the present, and I go to join them, as agreed upon, for the + winter." + +[Footnote 53: This short satire, which is wholly unworthy of his pen, +appeared afterwards in the Liberal.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 456. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, September 24. 1821. + + "I have been thinking over our late correspondence, and wish to + propose to you the following articles for our future:-- + + "1stly. That you shall write to me of yourself, of the health, + wealth, and welfare of all friends; but of _me_ (_quoad me_) little + or nothing. + + "2dly. That you shall send me soda-powders, tooth-powder, + tooth-brushes, or any such anti-odontalgic or chemical articles, as + heretofore,'ad libitum,' upon being reimbursed for the same. + + "3dly. That you shall not send me any modern, or (as they are + called) _new_ publications, in _English whatsoever_, save and + excepting any writing, prose or verse, of (or reasonably presumed + to be of) Walter Scott, Crabbe, Moore, Campbell, Rogers, Gifford, + Joanna Baillie, _Irving_ (the American), Hogg, Wilson (Isle of + Palms man), or _any_ especial _single_ work of fancy which is + thought to be of considerable merit; _Voyages_ and _Travels_, + provided that they are _neither in Greece, Spain, Asia Minor, + Albania, nor Italy_, will be welcome. Having travelled the + countries mentioned, I know that what is said of them can convey + nothing farther which I desire to know about them.--No other + English works whatsoever. + + "4thly. That you send me no periodical works whatsoever--_no_ + Edinburgh, Quarterly, Monthly, nor any review, magazine, or + newspaper, English or foreign, of any description. + + "5thly. That you send me no opinions whatsoever, either _good_, + _bad_, or _indifferent_, of yourself, or your friends, or others, + concerning any work, or works, of mine, past, present, or to come. + + "6thly. That all negotiations in matters of business between you + and me pass through the medium of the Hon. Douglas Kinnaird, my + friend and trustee, or Mr. Hobhouse, as 'alter ego,' and tantamount + to myself during my absence--or presence. + + "Some of these propositions may at first seem strange, but they are + founded. The quantity of trash I have received as books is + incalculable, and neither amused nor instructed. Reviews and + magazines are at the best but ephemeral and superficial reading: + who thinks of the _grand article of last year_ in any _given + Review_? In the next place, if they regard myself, they tend to + increase _egotism_. If favourable, I do not deny that the praise + _elates_, and if unfavourable, that the abuse _irritates_. The + latter may conduct me to inflict a species of satire which would + neither do good to you nor to your friends: _they_ may smile _now_, + and so may _you_; but if I took you all in hand, it would not be + difficult to cut you up like gourds. I did as much by as powerful + people at nineteen years old, and I know little as yet, in + three-and-thirty, which should prevent me from making all your ribs + gridirons for your hearts, if such were my propensity: but it is + _not_; therefore let me hear none of your provocations. If any + thing occurs so very gross as to require my notice, I shall hear of + it from my legal friends. For the rest, I merely request to be left + in ignorance. + + "The same applies to opinions, _good_, _bad_, or _indifferent_, of + persons in conversation or correspondence. These do not + _interrupt_, but they _soil_ the _current_ of my _mind_. I am + sensitive enough, but _not_ till I am _troubled_; and here I am + beyond the touch of the short arms of literary England, except the + few feelers of the polypus that crawl over the channels in the way + of extract. + + "All these precautions _in_ England would be useless; the libeller + or the flatterer would there reach me in spite of all; but in Italy + we know little of literary England, and think less, except what + reaches us through some garbled and brief extract in some miserable + gazette. For _two years_ (excepting two or three articles cut out + and sent to _you_ by the post) I never read a newspaper which was + not forced upon me by some accident, and know, upon the whole, as + little of England as you do of Italy, and God knows _that_ is + little enough, with all your travels, &c. &c. &c. The English + travellers _know Italy as you_ know Guernsey: how much is _that_? + + "If any thing occurs so violently gross or personal as requires + notice, Mr. Douglas Kinnaird will let me _know_; but of _praise_ I + desire to hear _nothing_. + + "You will say, 'to what tends all this?' I will answer THAT;--to + keep my mind _free and unbiassed_ by all paltry and personal + irritabilities of praise or censure--to let my genius take its + natural direction, while my feelings are like the dead, who know + nothing and feel nothing of all or aught that is said or done in + their regard. + + "If you can observe these conditions, you will spare yourself and + others some pain: let me not be worked upon to rise up; for if I + do, it will not be for a little. If you _cannot_ observe these + conditions, we shall cease to be correspondents,--but not + _friends_, for I shall always be yours ever and truly, + + "BYRON. + + "P.S. I have taken these resolutions not from any irritation + against you or _yours_, but simply upon reflection that all + reading, either praise or censure, of myself has done me harm. When + I was in Switzerland and Greece, I was out of the way of hearing + either, and _how I wrote there!_--In Italy I am out of the way of + it too; but latterly, partly through my fault, and partly through + your kindness in wishing to send me the _newest_ and most + periodical publications, I have had a crowd of Reviews, &c. thrust + upon me, which have bored me with their jargon, of one kind or + another, and taken off my attention from greater objects. You have + also sent me a parcel of trash of poetry, for no reason that I can + conceive, unless to provoke me to write a new 'English Bards.' Now + _this_ I wish to avoid; for if ever I _do_, it will be a strong + production; and I desire peace as long as the fools will keep their + nonsense out of my way."[54] + +[Footnote 54: It would be difficult to describe more strongly or more +convincingly than Lord Byron has done in this letter the sort of petty, +but thwarting obstructions and distractions which are at present thrown +across the path of men of real talent by that swarm of minor critics and +pretenders with whom the want of a vent in other professions has crowded +all the walks of literature. Nor is it only the writers of the day that +suffer from this multifarious rush into the mart;--the readers also, +from having (as Lord Byron expresses it in another letter) "the +superficies of too many things presented to them at once," come to lose +by degrees their powers of discrimination; and, in the same manner as +the palate becomes confused in trying various wines, so the public taste +declines in proportion as the impressions to which it is exposed +multiply.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 457. TO MR. MOORE. + + "September 27. 1821. + + "It was not Murray's fault. I did not send the MS. _overture_, but + I send it now[55], and it may be restored;--or, at any rate, you + may keep the original, and give any copies you please. I send it, + as written, and as I _read_ it to you--I have no other copy. + + "By last week's _two_ posts, in two packets, I sent to your + address, at _Paris_, a longish poem upon the late Irishism of your + countrymen in their reception of * * *. Pray, have you received it? + It is in 'the high Roman fashion,' and full of ferocious phantasy. + As _you_ could not well take up the matter with Paddy (being of the + same nest), I have;--but I hope still that I have done justice to + his great men and his good heart. As for * * *, you will find it + laid on with a trowel. I delight in your 'fact historical'--is it a + fact? + + "Yours, &c. + + "P.S. You have not answered me about Schlegel--why not? Address to + me at Pisa, whither I am going, to join the exiles--a pretty + numerous body at present. Let me hear how you are, and what you + mean to do. Is there no chance of your recrossing the Alps? If the + G. Rex marries again, let him not want an Epithalamium--suppose a + joint concern of you and me, like Sternhold and Hopkins!" + +[Footnote 55: The lines "Oh Wellington," which I had missed in their +original place at the opening of the third Canto, and took for granted +that they had been suppressed by his publisher.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 458. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "September 28. 1821. + + "I add another cover to request you to ask Moore to obtain (if + possible) my letters to the late Lady Melbourne from Lady Cowper. + They are very numerous, and ought to have been restored long ago, + as I was ready to give back Lady Melbourne's in exchange. These + latter are in Mr. Hobhouse's custody with my other papers, and + shall be punctually restored if required. I did not choose before + to apply to Lady Cowper, as her mother's death naturally kept me + from intruding upon her feelings at the time of its occurrence. + Some years have now elapsed, and it is essential that I should have + my own epistles. They are essential as confirming that part of the + 'Memoranda' which refers to the two periods (1812 and 1814) when my + marriage with her niece was in contemplation, and will tend to show + what my real views and feelings were upon that subject. + + "You need not be alarmed; the 'fourteen years[56]' will hardly + elapse without some mortality amongst us; it is a long lease of + life to speculate upon. So your calculation will not be in so much + peril, as the 'argosie' will sink before that time, and 'the pound + of flesh' be withered previously to your being so long out of a + return. + + "I also wish to give you a hint or two (as you have really behaved + very handsomely to Moore in the business, and are a fine fellow in + your line) for your advantage. _If_ by your own management you can + extract any of my epistles from Lady ----, (* * * * * * *), they + might be of use in your collection (sinking of course the _names_ + and _all such circumstances_ as might hurt _living_ feelings, or + _those_ of _survivors_); they treat of more topics than love + occasionally. + + "I will tell you who may _happen_ to have some letters of mine in + their possession: Lord Powerscourt, some to his late brother; Mr. + Long of--(I forget his place)--but the father of Edward Long of the + Guards, who was drowned in going to Lisbon early in 1809; Miss + Elizabeth Pigot, of Southwell, Notts (she may be _Mistress_ by this + time, for she had a year or two more than I): _they_ were _not_ + love-letters, so that you might have them without scruple. There + are, or might be, some to the late Rev. J.C. Tattersall, in the + hands of his brother (half-brother) Mr. Wheatley, who resides near + Canterbury, I think. There are some of Charles Gordon, now of + Dulwich; and some few to Mrs. Chaworth; but these latter are + probably destroyed or inaccessible. + + "I mention these people and particulars merely as _chances_. Most + of them have probably destroyed the letters, which in fact are of + little import, many of them written when very young, and several at + school and college. + + "Peel (the _second_ brother of the Secretary) was a correspondent + of mine, and also Porter, the son of the Bishop of Clogher; Lord + Clare a very voluminous one; William Harness (a friend of Milman's) + another; Charles Drummond (son of the banker); William Bankes (the + voyager), your friend: R.C. Dallas, Esq.; Hodgson; Henry Drury; + Hobhouse you were already aware of. + + "I have gone through this long list[57] of + + "'The cold, the faithless, and the dead,' + + because I know that, like 'the curious in fish-sauce,' you are a + researcher of such things. + + "Besides these, there are other occasional ones to literary men and + so forth, complimentary, &c. &c. &c. not worth much more than the + rest. There are some hundreds, too, of Italian notes of mine, + scribbled with a noble contempt of the grammar and dictionary, in + very English Etruscan; for I _speak_ Italian very fluently, but + write it carelessly and incorrectly to a degree." + +[Footnote 56: He here adverts to a passing remark, in one of Mr. +Murray's letters, that, as his Lordship's "Memoranda" were not to be +published in his lifetime, the sum now paid for the work, 2100_l_. would +most probably, upon a reasonable calculation of survivorship, amount +ultimately to no less than 8000_l_.] + +[Footnote 57: To all the persons upon this list who were accessible, +application has, of course, been made,--with what success it is in the +reader's power to judge from the communications that have been laid +before him. Among the companions of the poet's boyhood there are (as I +have already had occasion to mention and regret) but few traces of his +youthful correspondence to be found; and of all those who knew him at +that period, his fair Southwell correspondent alone seems to have been +sufficiently endowed with the gift of second-sight to anticipate the +Byron of a future day, and foresee the compound interest that Time and +Fame would accumulate on every precious scrap of the young bard which +she hoarded. On the whole, however, it is not unsatisfactory to be able +to state that, with the exception of a very small minority (only one of +whom is possessed of any papers of much importance), every distinguished +associate and intimate of the noble poet, from the very outset to the +close of his extraordinary career, have come forward cordially to +communicate whatever memorials they possessed of him,--trusting, as I am +willing to flatter myself, that they confided these treasures to one, +who, if not able to do full justice to the memory of their common +friend, would, at least, not willingly suffer it to be dishonoured in +his hands.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 459. TO MR. MOORE. + + "September 29. 1821. + + "I send you two rough things, prose and verse, not much in + themselves, but which will show, one of them, the state of the + country, and the other, of your friend's mind, when they were + written. Neither of them were sent to the person concerned, but you + will see, by the style of them, that they were sincere, as I am in + signing myself + + "Yours ever and truly, + + "B." + + * * * * * + +Of the two enclosures, mentioned in the foregoing note, one was a letter +intended to be sent to Lady Byron relative to his money invested in the +funds, of which the following are extracts:-- + + "Ravenna, Marza 1mo, 1821. + + "I have received your message, through my sister's letter, about + English security, &c. &c. It is considerate, (and true, even,) that + such is to be found--but not that I shall find it. Mr. * *, for his + own views and purposes, will thwart all such attempts till he has + accomplished his own, viz. to make me lend my fortune to some + client of his choosing. + + "At this distance--after this absence, and with my utter ignorance + of affairs and business--with my temper and impatience, I have + neither the means nor the mind to resist. Thinking of the funds as + I do, and wishing to secure a reversion to my sister and her + children, I should jump at most expedients. + + "What I told you is come to pass--the Neapolitan war is declared. + Your funds will fall, and I shall be in consequence ruined. That's + nothing--but my blood relations will be so. You and your child are + provided for. Live and prosper--I wish so much to both. Live and + prosper--you have the means. I think but of my real kin and + kindred, who may be the victims of this accursed bubble. + + "You neither know nor dream of the consequences of this war. It is + a war of _men_ with monarchs, and will spread like a spark on the + dry, rank grass of the vegetable desert. What it is with you and + your English, you do not know, for ye sleep. What it is with us + here, I know, for it is before, and around, and within us. + + "Judge of my detestation of England and of all that it inherits, + when I avoid returning to your country at a time when not only my + pecuniary interests, but, it may be, even my personal security, + require it. I can say no more, for all letters are opened. A short + time will decide upon what is to be done here, and then you will + learn it without being more troubled with me or my correspondence. + Whatever happens, an individual is little, so the cause is + forwarded. + + "I have no more to say to you on the score of affairs, or on any + other subject." + + * * * * * + +The second enclosure in the note consisted of some verses, written by +him, December 10th, 1820, on seeing the following paragraph in a +newspaper:--"Lady Byron is this year the lady patroness at the annual +Charity Ball given at the Town Hall at Hinckley, Leicestershire, and Sir +G. Crewe, Bart, the principal steward." These verses are full of strong +and indignant feeling,--every stanza concluding pointedly with the words +"Charity Ball,"--and the thought that predominates through the whole may +be collected from a few of the opening lines:-- + + "What matter the pangs of a husband and father, + If his sorrows in exile be great or be small, + So the Pharisee's glories around her she gather, + And the Saint patronises her 'Charity Ball.' + + "What matters--a heart, which though faulty was feeling, + Be driven to excesses which once could appal-- + That the Sinner should suffer is only fair dealing, + As the Saint keeps her charity back for 'the Ball,'" &c. &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 460. TO MR. MOORE. + + "September--no--October 1. 1821. + + "I have written to you lately, both in prose and verse, at great + length, to Paris and London. I presume that Mrs. Moore, or whoever + is your Paris deputy, will forward my packets to you in London. + + "I am setting off for Pisa, if a slight incipient intermittent + fever do not prevent me. I fear it is not strong enough to give + Murray much chance of realising his thirteens again. I hardly + should regret it, I think, provided you raised your price upon + him--as what Lady Holderness (my sister's grandmother, a + Dutchwoman) used to call Augusta, her _Residee Legatoo_--so as to + provide for us all: _my_ bones with a splendid and larmoyante + edition, and you with double what is extractable during my + lifetime. + + "I have a strong presentiment that (bating some out of the way + accident) you will survive me. The difference of eight years, or + whatever it is, between our ages, is nothing. I do not feel (nor + am, indeed, anxious to feel) the principle of life in me tend to + longevity. My father and mother died, the one at thirty-five or + six, and the other at forty-five; and Dr. Rush, or somebody else, + says that nobody lives long, without having _one parent_, at least, + an old stager. + + "I _should_, to be sure, like to see out my eternal mother-in-law, + not so much for her heritage, but from my natural antipathy. But + the indulgence of this natural desire is too much to expect from + the Providence who presides over old women. I bore you with all + this about lives, because it has been put in my way by a + calculation of insurances which Murray has sent me. I _really + think_ you should have more, if I evaporate within a reasonable + time. + + "I wonder if my 'Cain' has got safe to England. I have written + since about sixty stanzas of a poem, in octave stanzas, (in the + Pulci style, which the fools in England think was invented by + Whistlecraft--it is as old as the hills in Italy,) called 'The + Vision of of Judgment, by Quevedo Redivivus,' with this motto-- + + "'A Daniel come to _judgment_, yea, a Daniel: + I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word.' + + "In this it is my intent to put the said George's Apotheosis in a + Whig point of view, not forgetting the Poet Laureate for his + preface and his other demerits. + + "I am just got to the pass where Saint Peter, hearing that the + royal defunct had opposed Catholic Emancipation, rises up, and, + interrupting Satan's oration, declares _he_ will change places with + Cerberus sooner than let him into heaven, while _he_ has the keys + thereof. + + "I must go and ride, though rather feverish and chilly. It is the + ague season; but the agues do me rather good than harm. The feel + after the _fit_ is as if one had got rid of one's body for good and + all. + + "The gods go with you!--Address to Pisa. + + "Ever yours. + + "P.S. Since I came back I feel better, though I stayed out too late + for this malaria season, under the thin crescent of a very young + moon, and got off my horse to walk in an avenue with a Signora for + an hour. I thought of you and + + 'When at eve thou rovest + By the star thou lovest.' + + But it was not in a romantic mood, as I should have been once; and + yet it was a _new_ woman, (that is, new to me,) and, of course, + expected to be made love to. But I merely made a few common-place + speeches. I feel, as your poor friend Curran said, before his + death, 'a mountain of lead upon my heart,' which I believe to be + constitutional, and that nothing will remove it but the same + remedy." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 461. TO MR. MOORE. + + "October 6. 1821. + + "By this post I have sent my nightmare to balance the incubus of * + * *'s impudent anticipation of the Apotheosis of George the Third. + I should like you to take a look over it, as I think there are two + or three things in it which might please 'our puir hill folk.' + + "By the last two or three posts I have written to you at length. My + _ague_ bows to me every two or three days, but we are not as yet + upon intimate speaking terms. I have an intermittent generally + every two years, when the climate is favourable (as it is here), + but it does me no harm. What I find worse, and cannot get rid of, + is the growing depression of my spirits, without sufficient cause. + I ride--I am not intemperate in eating or drinking--and my general + health is as usual, except a slight ague, which rather does good + than not. It must be constitutional; for I know nothing more than + usual to depress me to that degree. + + "How do _you_ manage? I think you told me, at Venice, that your + spirits did not keep up without a little claret. I _can_ drink, and + bear a good deal of wine (as you may recollect in England); but it + don't exhilarate--it makes me savage and suspicious, and even + quarrelsome. Laudanum has a similar effect; but I can take much of + _it_ without any effect at all. The thing that gives me the + highest spirits (it seems absurd, but true) is a close of + _salts_--I mean in the afternoon, after their effect.[58] But one + can't take _them_ like champagne. + + "Excuse this old woman's letter; but my _lemancholy_ don't depend + upon health, for it is just the same, well or ill, or here or + there. + + "Yours," &c. + +[Footnote 58: It was, no doubt, from a similar experience of its effects +that Dryden always took physic when about to write any thing of +importance. His caricature, Bayes, is accordingly made to say, "When I +have a grand design, I ever take physic and let blood; for, when you +would have pure swiftness of thought and fiery flights of fancy, you +must have a care of the pensive part;--in short," &c. &c. + +On this subject of the effects of medicine upon the mind and spirits, +some curious facts and illustrations have been, with his usual research, +collected by Mr. D'Israeli, in his amusing "Curiosities of Literature."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 462. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Ravenna, October 9. 1821. + + "You will please to present or convey the enclosed poem to Mr. + Moore. I sent him another copy to Paris, but he has probably left + that city. + + "Don't forget to send me my first act of 'Werner' (if Hobhouse can + find it amongst my papers)--send it by the post (to Pisa); and also + cut out Harriet Lee's 'German's Tale' from the 'Canterbury Tales,' + and send it in a letter also. I began that tragedy in 1815. + + "By the way, you have a good deal of my prose tracts in MS.? Let me + have proofs of them _all_ again--I mean the controversial ones, + including the last two or three years of time. Another + question!--The Epistle of St. Paul, which I translated from the + Armenian, for what reason have you kept it back, though you + published that stuff which gave rise to the 'Vampire?' Is it + because you are afraid to print any thing in opposition to the cant + of the Quarterly about Manicheism? Let me have a proof of that + Epistle directly. I am a better Christian than those parsons of + yours, though not paid for being so. + + "Send--Faber's Treatise on the Cabiri. + + "Sainte Croix's Mysteres du Paganisme (scarce, perhaps, but to be + found, as Mitford refers to his work frequently). + + "A common Bible, of a good legible print (bound in russia). I + _have_ one; but as it was the last gift of my sister (whom I shall + probably never see again), I can only use it carefully, and less + frequently, because I like to keep it in good order. Don't forget + this, for I am a great reader and admirer of those books, and had + read them through and through before I was eight years old,--that + is to say, the _Old_ Testament, for the New struck me as a task, + but the other as a pleasure. I speak as a _boy_, from the + recollected impression of that period at Aberdeen in 1796. + + "Any novels of Scott, or poetry of the same. Ditto of Crabbe, + Moore, and the Elect; but none of your curst common-place + trash,--unless something starts up of actual merit, which may very + well be, for 'tis time it should." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 463. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "October 20. 1821. + + "If the errors _are_ in the MS. write me down an ass: they are + _not_, and I am content to undergo any penalty if they be. Besides, + the _omitted_ stanza (last but one or two), sent _afterwards_, was + that in the MS. too? + + "As to 'honour,' I will trust no man's honour in affairs of barter. + I will tell you why: a state of bargain is Hobbes's 'state of + nature--a state of war.' It is so with all men. If I come to a + friend, and say, 'Friend, lend me five hundred pounds,'--he either + does it, or says that he can't or won't; but if I come to Ditto, + and say, 'Ditto, I have an excellent house, or horse, or carriage, + or MSS., or books, or pictures, or, &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. honestly + worth a thousand pounds, you shall have them for five hundred,' + what does Ditto say? why, he looks at them, he _hums_, he + _ha's_,--he _humbugs_, if he can, to get a bargain as cheaply as he + can, because _it is_ a bargain. This is in the blood and bone of + mankind; and the same man who would lend another a thousand pounds + without interest, would not buy a horse of him for half its value + if he could help it. It is so: there's no denying it; and therefore + I will have as much as I can, and you will give as little; and + there's an end. All men are intrinsical rascals, and I am only + sorry that, not being a dog, I can't bite them. + + "I am filling another book for you with little anecdotes, to my own + knowledge, or well authenticated, of Sheridan, Curran, &c. and such + other public men as I recollect to have been acquainted with, for I + knew most of them more or less. I will do what I can to prevent + your losing by my obsequies. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 464. TO MR. ROGERS. + + "Ravenna, October 21. 1821. + + "I shall be (the gods willing) in Bologna on Saturday next. This is + a curious answer to your letter; but I have taken a house in Pisa + for the winter, to which all my chattels, furniture, horses, + carriages, and live stock are already removed, and I am preparing + to follow. + + "The cause of this removal is, shortly, the exile or proscription + of all my friends' relations and connections here into Tuscany, on + account of our late politics; and where they go, I accompany them. + I merely remained till now to settle some arrangements about my + daughter, and to give time for my furniture, &c. to precede me. I + have not here a seat or a bed hardly, except some jury chairs, and + tables, and a mattress for the week to come. + + "If you will go on with me to Pisa, I can lodge you for as long as + you like; (they write that the house, the Palazzo Lanfranchi, is + spacious: it is on the Arno;) and I have four carriages, and as + many saddle-horses (such as they are in these parts), with all + other conveniences, at your command, as also their owner. If you + could do this, we may, at least, cross the Apennines together; or + if you are going by another road, we shall meet at Bologna, I hope. + I address this to the post-office (as you desire), and you will + probably find me at the Albergo di _San Marco_. If you arrive + first, wait till I come up, which will be (barring accidents) on + Saturday or Sunday at farthest. + + "I presume you are alone in your voyages. Moore is in London + _incog._ according to my latest advices from those climes. + + "It is better than a lustre (five years and six months and some + days, more or less) since we met; and, like the man from Tadcaster + in the farce ('Love laughs at Locksmiths'), whose acquaintances, + including the cat and the terrier, who 'caught a halfpenny in his + mouth,' were all 'gone dead,' but too many of our acquaintances + have taken the same path. Lady Melbourne, Grattan, Sheridan, + Curran, &c. &c. almost every body of much name of the old school. + But 'so am not I, said the foolish fat scullion,' therefore let us + make the most of our remainder. + + "Let me find two lines from you at 'the hostel or inn.' + + "Yours ever, &c. + + "B." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 465. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Ravenna, Oct. 28. 1821. + + "''Tis the middle of night by the castle clock,' and in three hours + more I have to set out on my way to Pisa--sitting up all night to + be sure of rising. I have just made them take off my + bed-clothes--blankets inclusive--in case of temptation from the + apparel of sheets to my eyelids. + + "Samuel Rogers is--or is to be--at Bologna, as he writes from + Venice. + + "I thought our Magnifico would 'pound you,' if possible. He is + trying to 'pound' me, too; but I'll specie the rogue--or, at least, + I'll have the odd shillings out of him in keen iambics. + + "Your approbation of 'Sardanapalus' is agreeable, for more reasons + than one. Hobhouse is pleased to think as you do of it, and so do + some others--but the 'Arimaspian,' whom, like 'a Gryphon in the + wilderness,' I will 'follow for his gold' (as I exhorted you to do + before), did or doth disparage it--'stinting me in my sizings.' His + notable opinions on the 'Foscari' and 'Cain' he hath not as yet + forwarded; or, at least, I have not yet received them, nor the + proofs thereof, though promised by last post. + + "I see the way that he and his Quarterly people are tending--they + want a _row_ with me, and they shall have it. I only regret that I + am not in England for the _nonce_; as, here, it is hardly fair + ground for me, isolated and out of the way of prompt rejoinder and + information as I am. But, though backed by all the corruption, and + infamy, and patronage of their master rogues and slave renegadoes, + if they do once rouse me up, + + "'They had better gall the devil, Salisbury.' + + "I have that for two or three of them, which they had better not + move me to put in motion;--and yet, after all, what a fool I am to + disquiet myself about such fellows! It was all very well ten or + twelve years ago, when I was a 'curled darling,' and _min_ded such + things. At present, I _rate_ them at their true value; but, from + natural temper and bile, am not able to keep quiet. + + "Let me hear from you on your return from Ireland, which ought to + be ashamed to see you, after her Brunswick blarney. I am of + Longman's opinion, that you should allow your friends to liquidate + the Bermuda claim. Why should you throw away the two thousand + _pounds_ (of the _non_-guinea Murray) upon that cursed piece of + treacherous inveiglement? I think you carry the matter a little too + far and scrupulously. When we see patriots begging publicly, and + know that Grattan received a fortune from his country, I really do + not see why a man, in no whit inferior to any or all of them, + should shrink from accepting that assistance from his private + friends which every tradesman receives from his connections upon + much less occasions. For, after all, it was not _your debt_--it was + a piece of swindling _against_ you. As to * * * *, and the 'what + noble creatures![59] &c. &c.' it is all very fine and very well, + but, till you can persuade me that there is _no credit_, and no + _self-applause_ to be obtained by being of use to a celebrated man, + I must retain the same opinion of the human _species_, which I do + of our friend Ms. Spe_cie_." + +[Footnote 59: I had mentioned to him, with all the praise and gratitude +such friendship deserved, some generous offers of aid which, from more +than one quarter, I had received at this period, and which, though +declined, have been not the less warmly treasured in my recollection.] + + * * * * * + +In the month of August, Madame Guiccioli had joined her father at Pisa, +and was now superintending the preparations at the Casa Lanfranchi,--one +of the most ancient and spacious palaces of that city,--for the +reception of her noble friend. "He left Ravenna," says this lady, "with +great regret, and with a presentiment that his departure would be the +forerunner of a thousand evils to us. In every letter he then wrote to +me, he expressed his displeasure at this step. 'If your father should be +recalled,' he said, '_I immediately return_ to Ravenna; and if he is +recalled _previous_ to my departure, _I remain_.' In this hope he +delayed his journey for several months; but, at last, no longer having +any expectation of our immediate return, he wrote to me, saying--'I set +out most unwillingly, foreseeing the most evil results for all of you, +and principally for yourself. I say no more, but you will see.' And in +another letter he says, 'I leave Ravenna so unwillingly, and with such a +persuasion on my mind that my departure will lead from one misery to +another, each greater than the former, that I have not the heart to +utter another word on the subject.' He always wrote to me at that time +in Italian, and I transcribe his exact words. How entirely were these +presentiments verified by the event!"[60] + +After describing his mode of life while at Ravenna, the lady thus +proceeds:-- + +"This sort of simple life he led until the fatal day of his departure +for Greece, and the few variations he made from it may be said to have +arisen solely from the greater or smaller number of occasions which were +offered him of doing good, and from the generous actions he was +continually performing. Many families (in Ravenna principally) owed to +him the few prosperous days they ever enjoyed. His arrival in that town +was spoken of as a piece of public good fortune, and his departure as a +public calamity; and this is the life which many attempted to asperse as +that of a libertine. But the world must at last learn how, with so good +and generous a heart, Lord Byron, susceptible, it is true, of the most +energetic passions, yet, at the same time, of the sublimest and most +pure, and rendering homage in his _acts_ to every virtue--how he, I say, +could afford such scope to malice and to calumny. Circumstances, and +also, probably, an eccentricity of disposition, (which, nevertheless, +had its origin in a virtuous feeling, an excessive abhorrence for +hypocrisy and affectation,) contributed, perhaps, to cloud the splendour +of his exalted nature in the opinion of many. But you will well know how +to analyse these contradictions in a manner worthy of your noble friend +and of yourself, and you will prove that the goodness of his heart was +not inferior to the grandeur of his genius."[61] + +At Bologna, according to the appointment made between them, Lord Byron +and Mr. Rogers met; and the record which this latter gentleman has, in +his Poem on Italy, preserved of their meeting, conveys so vivid a +picture of the poet at this period, with, at the same time, so just and +feeling a tribute to his memory, that, narrowed as my limits are now +becoming, I cannot refrain from giving the sketch entire. + +[Footnote 60: "Egli era partito con molto riverescimento da Ravenna, e +col pressentimento che la sua partenza da Ravenna ci sarebbe cagione di +molti mali. In ogni lettera che egli mi scriveva allora egli mi +esprimeva il suo dispiacere di lasciare Ravenna. 'Se papa e richiamato +(mi scriveva egli) io torno in quel istante a Ravenna, e se e richiamato +_prima_ della mia partenza, _io non parto_.' In questa speranza egli +differi varii mesi a partire. Ma, finalmente, non potendo piu sperare il +nostro ritorno prossimo, egli mi scriveva--'Io parto molto mal +volontieri prevedendo dei mali assai grandi per voi altri e massime per +voi; altro non dico,--lo vedrete.' E in un altra lettera, 'Io lascio +Ravenna cosi mal volontieri, e cosi persuaso che la mia partenza non puo +che condurre da un male ad un altro piu grande che non ho cuore di +scrivere altro in questo punto.' Egli mi scriveva allora sempre in +Italiano e trascrivo le sue precise parole--ma come quei suoi +pressentimenti si verificarono poi in appresso!] + +[Footnote 61: The leaf that contains the original of this extract I have +unluckily mislaid.] + + * * * * * + +"BOLOGNA. + + "'Twas night; the noise and bustle of the day + Were o'er. The mountebank no longer wrought + Miraculous cures--he and his stage were gone; + And he who, when the crisis of his tale + Came, and all stood breathless with hope and fear, + Sent round his cap; and he who thrumm'd his wire + And sang, with pleading look and plaintive strain + Melting the passenger. Thy thousand cries [62], + So well portray'd and by a son of thine, + Whose voice had swell'd the hubbub in his youth, + Were hush'd, BOLOGNA, silence in the streets, + The squares, when hark, the clattering of fleet hoofs; + And soon a courier, posting as from far, + Housing and holster, boot and belted coat + And doublet stain'd with many a various soil, + Stopt and alighted. 'Twas where hangs aloft + That ancient sign, the Pilgrim, welcoming + All who arrive there, all perhaps save those + Clad like himself, with staff and scallop-shell, + Those on a pilgrimage: and now approach'd + Wheels, through the lofty porticoes resounding, + Arch beyond arch, a shelter or a shade + As the sky changes. To the gate they came; + And, ere the man had half his story done, + Mine host received the Master--one long used + To sojourn among strangers, every where + (Go where he would, along the wildest track) + Flinging a charm that shall not soon be lost, + And leaving footsteps to be traced by those + Who love the haunts of Genius; one who saw, + Observed, nor shunn'd the busy scenes of life, + But mingled not; and mid the din, the stir, + Lived as a separate Spirit. + "Much had pass'd + Since last we parted; and those five short years-- + Much had they told! His clustering locks were turn'd + Grey; nor did aught recall the youth that swam + From Sestos to Abydos. Yet his voice, + Still it was sweet; still from his eye the thought + Flash'd lightning-like, nor lingered on the way, + Waiting for words. Far, far into the night + We sat, conversing--no unwelcome hour, + The hour we met; and, when Aurora rose, + Rising, we climb'd the rugged Apennine. + "Well I remember how the golden sun + Fill'd with its beams the unfathomable gulfs + As on we travell'd, and along the ridge, + 'Mid groves of cork, and cistus, and wild fig, + His motley household came.--Not last nor least, + Battista, who upon the moonlight-sea + Of Venice had so ably, zealously + Served, and at parting, thrown his oar away + To follow through the world; who without stain + Had worn so long that honourable badge[63], + The gondolier's, in a Patrician House + Arguing unlimited trust.--Not last nor least, + Thou, though declining in thy beauty and strength, + Faithful Moretto, to the latest hour + Guarding his chamber-door, and now along + The silent, sullen strand of MISSOLONGHI + Howling in grief. + "He had just left that Place + Of old renown, once in the ADRIAN sea[64], + RAVENNA; where from DANTE'S sacred tomb + He had so oft, as many a verse declares[65], + Drawn inspiration; where at twilight-time, + Through the pine-forest wandering with loose rein, + Wandering and lost, he had so oft beheld[66] + (What is not visible to a poet's eye?) + The spectre-knight, the hell-hounds, and their prey, + The chase, the slaughter, and the festal mirth + Suddenly blasted. 'Twas a theme he loved, + But others claim'd their turn; and many a tower, + Shatter'd uprooted from its native rock, + Its strength the pride of some heroic age, + Appear'd and vanish'd (many a sturdy steer[67] + Yoked and unyoked), while, as in happier days, + He pour'd his spirit forth. The past forgot, + All was enjoyment. Not a cloud obscured + Present or future. + "He is now at rest; + And praise and blame fall on his ear alike, + Now dull in death. Yes, BYRON, thou art gone, + Gone like a star that through the firmament + Shot and was lost, in its eccentric course + Dazzling, perplexing. Yet thy heart, methinks, + Was generous, noble--noble in its scorn + Of all things low or little; nothing there + Sordid or servile. If imagined wrongs + Pursued thee, urging thee sometimes to do + Things long regretted, oft, as many know, + None more than I, thy gratitude would build + On slight foundations: and, if in thy life + Not happy, in thy death thou surely wert, + Thy wish accomplish'd; dying in the land + Where thy young mind had caught ethereal fire, + Dying in GREECE, and in a cause so glorious! + "They in thy train--ah, little did they think, + As round we went, that they so soon should sit + Mourning beside thee, while a Nation mourn'd, + Changing her festal for her funeral song; + That they so soon should hear the minute-gun, + As morning gleam'd on what remain'd of thee, + Roll o'er the sea, the mountains, numbering + Thy years of joy and sorrow. + "Thou art gone; + And he who would assail thee in thy grave, + Oh, let him pause! For who among us all, + Tried as thou wert--even from thine earliest years, + When wandering, yet unspoilt, a highland boy--Tried + as thou wert, and with thy soul of flame; + Pleasure, while yet the down was on thy cheek, + Uplifting, pressing, and to lips like thine, + Her charmed cup--ah, who among us all + Could say he had not err'd as much, and more?" + +[Footnote 62: "See the Cries of Bologna, as drawn by Aunibal Caracci. He +was of very humble origin; and, to correct his brother's vanity, once +sent him a portrait of their father, the tailor, threading his needle."] + +[Footnote 63: "The principal gondolier, il fante di poppa, was almost +always in the confidence of his master, and employed on occasions that +required judgment and address."] + +[Footnote 64: "Adrianum mare.--CICERO."] + +[Footnote 65: "See the Prophecy of Dante."] + +[Footnote 66: "See the tale as told by Boccaccio and Dryden."] + +[Footnote 67: "They wait for the traveller's carriage at the foot of +every hill."] + + * * * * * + +On the road to Bologna he had met with his early and dearest friend, +Lord Clare, and the following description of their short interview is +given in his "Detached Thoughts." + +"Pisa, November 5. 1821. + +"'There is a strange coincidence sometimes in the little things of this +world, Sancho,' says Sterne in a letter (if I mistake not), and so I +have often found it. + +"Page 128. article 91. of this collection, I had alluded to my friend +Lord Clare in terms such as my feelings suggested. About a week or two +afterwards I met him on the road between Imola and Bologna, after not +having met for seven or eight years. He was abroad in 1814, and came +home just as I set out in 1816. + +"This meeting annihilated for a moment all the years between the present +time and the days of _Harrow_. It was a new and inexplicable feeling, +like rising from the grave, to me. Clare, too, was much agitated--more +in _appearance_ than was myself; for I could feel his heart beat to his +fingers' ends, unless, indeed, it was the pulse of my own which made me +think so. He told me that I should find a note from him left at Bologna. +I did. We were obliged to part for our different journeys, he for Rome, +I for Pisa, but with the promise to meet again in spring. We were but +five minutes together, and on the public road; but I hardly recollect an +hour of my existence which could be weighed against them. He had heard +that I was coming on, and had left his letter for me at Bologna, because +the people with whom he was travelling could not wait longer. + +"Of all I have ever known, he has always been the least altered in every +thing from the excellent qualities and kind affections which attached me +to him so strongly at school. I should hardly have thought it possible +for society (or the world, as it is called) to leave a being with so +little of the leaven of bad passions. + +"I do not speak from personal experience only, but from all I have ever +heard of him from others, during absence and distance." + + * * * * * + +After remaining a day at Bologna, Lord Byron crossed the Apennines with +Mr. Rogers; and I find the following note of their visit together to the +Gallery at Florence:-- + +"I revisited the Florence Gallery, &c. My former impressions were +confirmed; but there were too many visiters there to allow one to _feel_ +any thing properly. When we were (about thirty or forty) all stuffed +into the cabinet of gems and knick-knackeries, in a corner of one of the +galleries, I told Rogers that it 'felt like being in the watchhouse.' I +left him to make his obeisances to some of his acquaintances, and +strolled on alone--the only four minutes I could snatch of any feeling +for the works around me. I do not mean to apply this to a _tete-a-tete_ +scrutiny with Rogers, who has an excellent taste, and deep feeling for +the arts, (indeed much more of both than I can possess, for of the +FORMER I have not much,) but to the crowd of jostling starers and +travelling talkers around me. + +"I heard one bold Briton declare to the woman on his arm, looking at the +Venus of Titian, 'Well, now, this is really very fine indeed,'--an +observation which, like that of the landlord in Joseph Andrews on 'the +certainty of death,' was (as the landlord's wife observed) 'extremely +true.' + +"In the Pitti Palace, I did not omit Goldsmith's prescription for a +connoisseur, viz. 'that the pictures would have been better if the +painter had taken more pains, and to praise the works of Pietro +Perugino.'" + + * * * * * + +LETTER 466. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, November 3. 1821. + + "The two passages cannot be altered without making Lucifer talk + like the Bishop of Lincoln, which would not be in the character of + the former. The notion is from Cuvier (that of the _old worlds_), + as I have explained in an additional note to the preface. The other + passage is also in character: if _nonsense_, so much the better, + because then it can do no harm, and the sillier Satan is made, the + safer for every body. As to 'alarms,' &c. do you really think such + things ever led any body astray? Are these people more impious than + Milton's Satan? or the Prometheus of AEschylus? or even than the + Sadducees of * *, the 'Fall of Jerusalem' * *? Are not Adam, Eve, + Adah, and Abel, as pious as the catechism? + + "Gifford is too wise a man to think that such things can have any + _serious_ effect: _who_ was ever altered by a poem? I beg leave to + observe, that there is no creed nor personal hypothesis of mine in + all this; but I was obliged to make Cain and Lucifer talk + consistently, and surely this has always been permitted to poesy. + Cain is a proud man: if Lucifer promised him kingdom, &c. it would + _elate_ him: the object of the Demon is to _depress_ him still + further in his own estimation than he was before, by showing him + infinite things and his own abasement, till he falls into the frame + of mind that leads to the catastrophe, from mere _internal_ + irritation, _not_ premeditation, or envy of _Abel_ (which would + have made him contemptible), but from the rage and fury against + the inadequacy of his state to his conceptions, and which + discharges itself rather against life, and the Author of life, than + the mere living. + + "His subsequent remorse is the natural effect of looking on his + sudden deed. Had the _deed_ been _premeditated_, his repentance + would have been tardier. + + "Either dedicate it to Walter Scott, or, if you think he would like + the dedication of 'The Foscaris' better, put the dedication to 'The + Foscaris.' Ask him which. + + "Your first note was queer enough; but your two other letters, with + Moore's and Gifford's opinions, set all right again. I told you + before that I can never _recast_ any thing. I am like the tiger: if + I miss the first spring, I go grumbling back to my jungle again; + but if I do _hit_, it is crushing. * * * You disparaged the last + three cantos to me, and kept them back above a year; but I have + heard from England that (notwithstanding the errors of the press) + they are well thought of; for instance, by American Irving, which + last is a feather in my (fool's) cap. + + "You have received my letter (open) through Mr. Kinnaird, and so, + pray, send me no more reviews of any kind. I will read no more of + evil or good in that line. Walter Scott has not read a review of + _himself_ for _thirteen years_. + + "The bust is not _my_ property, but _Hobhouse_'s. I addressed it to + you as an Admiralty man, great at the Custom-house. Pray deduct the + expenses of the same, and all others. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 467. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, Nov. 9. 1821. + + "I _never read_ the Memoirs at all, not even since they were + written; and I never will: the pain of writing them was enough; you + may spare me that of a perusal. Mr. Moore has (or may have) a + discretionary power to omit any repetition, or expressions which do + not seem _good_ to _him_, who is a better judge than you or I. + + "Enclosed is a lyrical drama, (entitled 'A Mystery,' from its + subject,) which, perhaps may arrive in time for the volume. You + will find _it pious_ enough, I trust,--at least some of the Chorus + might have been written by Sternhold and Hopkins themselves for + that, and perhaps for melody. As it is longer, and more lyrical and + Greek, than I intended at first, I have not divided it into _acts_, + but called what I have sent _Part First_, as there is a suspension + of the action, which may either close there without impropriety, or + be continued in a way that I have in view. I wish the first part to + be published before the second, because, if it don't succeed, it is + better to stop there than to go on in a fruitless experiment. + + "I desire you to acknowledge the arrival of this packet by return + of post, if you can conveniently, with a proof. + + "Your obedient, &c. + + "P.S. My wish is to have it published at the same time, and, if + possible, in the same volume, with the others, because, whatever + the merits or demerits of these pieces may be, it will perhaps be + allowed that each is of a different kind, and in a different style; + so that, including the prose and the Don Juans, &c. I have at least + sent you _variety_ during the last year or two." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 468. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, November 16. 1821. + + "There is here Mr. * *, an Irish genius, with whom we are + acquainted. He hath written a really _excellent_ Commentary on + Dante, full of new and true information, and much ingenuity. But + his verse is such as it hath pleased God to endue him withal. + Nevertheless, he is so firmly persuaded of its equal excellence, + that he won't divorce the Commentary from the traduction, as I + ventured delicately to hint,--not having the fear of Ireland before + my eyes, and upon the presumption of having shotten very well in + his presence (with common pistols too, not with my Manton's) the + day before. + + "But he is eager to publish all, and must be gratified, though the + Reviewers will make him suffer more tortures than there are in his + original. Indeed, the _Notes_ are well worth publication; but he + insists upon the translation for company, so that they will come + out together, like Lady C * *t chaperoning Miss * *. I read a + letter of yours to him yesterday, and he begs me to write to you + about his Poeshie. He is really a good fellow, apparently, and I + dare say that his verse is very good Irish. + + "Now, what shall we do for him? He says that he will risk part of + the expense with the publisher. He will never rest till he is + published and abused--for he has a high opinion of himself--and I + see nothing left but to gratify him, so as to have him abused as + little as possible; for I think it would kill him. You must write, + then, to Jeffrey to beg him _not_ to review him, and I will do the + same to Gifford, through Murray. Perhaps they might notice the + Comment without touching the text. But I doubt the dogs--the text + is too tempting. * * + + "I have to thank you again, as I believe I did before, for your + opinion of 'Cain,' &c. + + "You are right to allow ---- to settle the claim; but I do not see + why you should repay him out of your _legacy_--at least, not + yet.[68] If you _feel_ about it (as you are ticklish on such + points) pay him the interest now, and the principal when you are + strong in cash; or pay him by instalments; or pay him as I do my + creditors--that is, not till they make me. + + "I address this to you at Paris, as you desire. Reply soon, and + believe me ever, &c. + + "P.S. What I wrote to you about low spirits is, however, very true. + At present, owing to the climate, &c. (I can walk down into my + garden, and pluck my own oranges,--and, by the way, have got a + diarrhoea in consequence of indulging in this meridian luxury of + proprietorship,) my spirits are much better. You seem to think that + I could not have written the 'Vision,' &c. under the influence of + low spirits; but I think there you err.[69] A man's poetry is a + distinct faculty, or Soul, and has no more to do with the every-day + individual than the Inspiration with the Pythoness when removed + from her tripod." + +[Footnote 68: Having discovered that, while I was abroad, a kind friend +had, without any communication with myself, placed at the disposal of +the person who acted for me a large sum for the discharge of this claim, +I thought it right to allow the money, thus generously destined, to be +employed as was intended, and then immediately repaid my friend out of +the sum given by Mr. Murray for the manuscript. + +It may seem obtrusive, I fear, to enter into this sort of personal +details; but, without some few words of explanation, such passages as +the above would be unintelligible.] + +[Footnote 69: My remark had been hasty and inconsiderate, and Lord +Byron's is the view borne out by all experience. Almost all the tragic +and gloomy writers have been, in social life, mirthful persons. The +author of the Night Thoughts was a "fellow of infinite jest;" and of the +pathetic Rowe, Pope says--"He would laugh all day long--he would do +nothing else but laugh."] + + * * * * * + +The correspondence which I am now about to insert, though long since +published by the gentleman with whom it originated[70], will, I have no +doubt, even by those already acquainted with all the circumstances, be +reperused with pleasure; as, among the many strange and affecting +incidents with which these pages abound, there is not one, perhaps, so +touching and singular as that to which the following letters refer. + +TO LORD BYRON. + + "Frome, Somerset, November 21. 1821. + + "My Lord, + + "More than two years since, a lovely and beloved wife was taken + from me, by lingering disease, after a very short union. She + possessed unvarying gentleness and fortitude, and a piety so + retiring as rarely to disclose itself in words, but so influential + as to produce uniform benevolence of conduct. In the last hour of + life, after a farewell look on a lately born and only infant, for + whom she had evinced inexpressible affection, her last whispers + were 'God's happiness! God's happiness!' Since the second + anniversary of her decease, I have read some papers which no one + had seen during her life, and which contain her most secret + thoughts. I am induced to communicate to your Lordship a passage + from these papers, which, there is no doubt, refers to yourself; as + I have more than once heard the writer mention your agility on the + rocks at Hastings. + + "'Oh, my God, I take encouragement from the assurance of thy word, + to pray to Thee in behalf of one for whom I have lately been much + interested. May the person to whom I allude (and who is now, we + fear, as much distinguished for his neglect of Thee as for the + transcendant talents thou hast bestowed on him) be awakened to a + sense of his own danger, and led to seek that peace of mind in a + proper sense of religion, which he has found this world's + enjoyments unable to procure! Do Thou grant that his future example + may be productive of far more extensive benefit than his past + conduct and writings have been of evil; and may the Sun of + righteousness, which, we trust, will, at some future period, arise + on him, be bright in proportion to the darkness of those clouds + which guilt has raised around him, and the balm which it bestows, + healing and soothing in proportion to the keenness of that agony + which the punishment of his vices has inflicted on him! May the + hope that the sincerity of my own efforts for the attainment of + holiness, and the approval of my own love to the great Author of + religion, will render this prayer, and every other for the welfare + of mankind, more efficacious!--Cheer me in the path of duty;--but, + let me not forget, that, while we are permitted to animate + ourselves to exertion by every innocent motive, these are but the + lesser streams which may serve to increase the current, but which, + deprived of the grand fountain of good, (a deep conviction of + inborn sin, and firm belief in the efficacy of Christ's death for + the salvation of those who trust in him, and really wish to serve + him,) would soon dry up, and leave us barren of every virtue as + before. + + "'July 31. 1814--Hastings.' + + "There is nothing, my Lord, in this extract which, in a literary + sense, can _at all_ interest you; but it may, perhaps, appear to + you worthy of reflection how deep and expansive a concern for the + happiness of others the Christian faith can awaken in the midst of + youth and prosperity. Here is nothing poetical and splendid, as in + the expostulatory homage of M. Delamartine; but here is the + _sublime_, my Lord; for this intercession was offered, on your + account, to the supreme _Source_ of happiness. It sprang from a + faith more confirmed than that of the French poet: and from a + charity which, in combination with faith, showed its power + unimpaired amidst the languors and pains of approaching + dissolution. I will hope that a prayer, which, I am sure, was + deeply sincere, may not be always unavailing. + + "It would add _nothing_, my Lord, to the fame with which your + genius has surrounded you, for an unknown and obscure individual to + express his admiration of it. I had rather be numbered with those + who wish and pray, that 'wisdom from above,' and 'peace,' and 'joy,' + may enter such a mind. + + "JOHN SHEPPARD." + +[Footnote 70: See "Thoughts on Private Devotion," by Mr. Sheppard.] + + * * * * * + +However romantic, in the eyes of the cold and worldly, the piety of this +young person may appear, it were to be wished that the truly Christian +feeling which dictated her prayer were more common among all who profess +the same creed; and that those indications of a better nature, so +visible even through the clouds of his character, which induced this +innocent young woman to pray for Byron, while living, could have the +effect of inspiring others with more charity towards his memory, now +that he is dead. + +The following is Lord Byron's answer to this affecting communication. + +LETTER 469. TO MR. SHEPPARD. + + "Pisa, December 8. 1821. + + "Sir, + + "I have received your letter. I need not say, that the extract + which it contains has affected me, because it would imply a want of + all feeling to have read it with indifference. Though I am not + quite _sure_ that it was intended by the writer for _me_, yet the + date, the place where it was written, with some other circumstances + that you mention, render the allusion probable. But for whomever it + was meant, I have read it with all the pleasure which can arise + from so melancholy a topic. I say _pleasure_--because your brief + and simple picture of the life and demeanour of the excellent + person whom I trust you will again meet, cannot be contemplated + without the admiration due to her virtues, and her pure and + unpretending piety. Her last moments were particularly striking; + and I do not know that, in the course of reading the story of + mankind, and still less in my observations upon the existing + portion, I ever met with any thing so unostentatiously beautiful. + Indisputably, the firm believers in the Gospel have a great + advantage over all others,--for this simple reason, that, if true, + they will have their reward hereafter; and if there be no + hereafter, they can be but with the infidel in his eternal sleep, + having had the assistance of an exalted hope, through life, without + subsequent disappointment, since (at the worst for them) 'out of + nothing, nothing can arise, not even sorrow. But a man's creed does + not depend upon _himself_: _who_ can say, I _will_ believe this, + that, or the other? and least of all, that which he least can + comprehend. I have, however, observed, that those who have begun + life with extreme faith, have in the end greatly narrowed it, as + Chillingworth, Clarke (who ended as an Arian), Bayle, and Gibbon + (once a Catholic), and some others; while, on the other hand, + nothing is more common than for the early sceptic to end in a firm + belief, like Maupertuis, and Henry Kirke White. + + "But my business is to acknowledge your letter, and not to make a + dissertation. I am obliged to you for your good wishes, and more + than obliged by the extract from the papers of the beloved object + whose qualities you have so well described in a few words. I can + assure you that all the fame which ever cheated humanity into + higher notions of its own importance would never weigh in my mind + against the pure and pious interest which a virtuous being may be + pleased to take in my welfare. In this point of view, I would not + exchange the prayer of the deceased in my behalf for the united + glory of Homer, Caesar, and Napoleon, could such be accumulated upon + a living head. Do me at least the justice to suppose, that + + "'Video meliora proboque,' + + however the 'deteriora sequor' may have been applied to my conduct. + + "I have the honour to be + + "Your obliged and obedient servant, + + "BYRON. + + "P.S. I do not know that I am addressing a clergyman; but I presume + that you will not be affronted by the mistake (if it is one) on the + address of this letter. One who has so well explained, and deeply + felt, the doctrines of religion, will excuse the error which led me + to believe him its minister." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 470. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, December 4. 1821. + + "By extracts in the English papers,--in your holy ally, Galignani's + 'Messenger,'--I perceive that 'the two greatest examples of human + vanity in the present age' are, firstly, 'the ex-Emperor Napoleon,' + and, secondly, 'his Lordship, &c. the noble poet,'meaning your + humble servant, 'poor guiltless I.' + + "Poor Napoleon! he little dreamed to what vile comparisons the turn + of the wheel would reduce him! + + "I have got here into a famous old feudal palazzo, on the Arno, + large enough for a garrison, with dungeons below and cells in the + walls, and so full of ghosts, that the learned Fletcher (my valet) + has begged leave to change his room, and then refused to occupy his + _new_ room, because there were more ghosts there than in the other. + It is quite true that there are most extraordinary noises (as in + all old buildings), which have terrified the servants so as to + incommode me extremely. There is one place where people were + evidently _walled up_; for there is but one possible passage, + broken through the wall, and then meant to be closed again upon + the inmate. The house belonged to the Lanfranchi family, (the same + mentioned by Ugolino in his dream, as his persecutor with + Sismondi,) and has had a fierce owner or two in its time. The + staircase, &c. is said to have been built by Michel Agnolo. It is + not yet cold enough for a fire. What a climate! + + "I am, however, bothered about these spectres, (as they say the + last occupants were, too,) of whom I have as yet seen nothing, nor, + indeed, heard (_myself_); but all the other ears have been regaled + by all kinds of supernatural sounds. The first night I thought I + heard an odd noise, but it has not been repeated. I have now been + here more than a month. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 471. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, December 10. 1821. + + "This day and this hour, (one, on the clock,) my daughter is six + years old. I wonder when I shall see her again, or if ever I shall + see her at all. + + "I have remarked a curious coincidence, which almost looks like a + fatality. + + "My _mother_, my _wife_, my _daughter_, my _half-sister_, my + _sisters mother_, my _natural daughter_ (as far at least as _I_ am + concerned), and _myself_, are all only children. + + "My father, by his first marriage with Lady Conyers (an only + child), had only my sister; and by his second marriage with an only + child, an only child again. Lady Byron, as you know, was one also, + and so is my daughter, &c. + + "Is not this rather odd--such a complication of only children? By + the way, send me my daughter Ada's miniature. I have only the + print, which gives little or no idea of her complexion. + + "Yours, &c. B." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 472. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, December 12. 1821. + + "What you say about Galignani's two biographies is very amusing; + and, if I were not lazy, I would certainly do what you desire. But + I doubt my present stock of facetiousness--that is, of good + _serious_ humour, so as not to let the cat out of the bag.[71] I + wish _you_ would undertake it. I will forgive and _indulge_ you + (like a Pope) beforehand, for any thing ludicrous, that might keep + those fools in their own dear belief that a man is a _loup garou_. + + "I suppose I told you that the Giaour story had actually some + foundation on facts; or, if I did not, you will one day find it in + a letter of Lord Sligo's, written to me _after_ the publication of + the poem. I should not like marvels to rest upon any account of my + own, and shall say nothing about it. However, the _real_ incident + is still remote enough from the poetical one, being just such as, + happening to a man of any imagination, might suggest such a + composition. The worst of any _real_ adventures is that they + involve living people--else Mrs. ----'s, ----'s, &c. are as 'german + to the matter' as Mr. Maturin could desire for his novels. * * * * + + "The consummation you mentioned for poor * * was near taking place + yesterday. Riding pretty sharply after Mr. Medwin and myself, in + turning the corner of a lane between Pisa and the hills, he was + spilt,--and, besides losing some claret on the spot, bruised + himself a good deal, but is in no danger. He was bled, and keeps + his room. As I was a-head of him some hundred yards, I did not see + the accident; but my servant, who was behind, did, and says the + horse did not fall--the usual excuse of floored equestrians. As * * + piques himself upon his horsemanship, and his horse is really a + pretty horse enough, I long for his personal narrative,--as I never + yet met the man who would _fairly claim a tumble_ as his own + property. + + "Could not you send me a printed copy of the 'Irish Avatar?'--I do + not know what has become of Rogers since we parted at Florence. + + "Don't let the Angles keep you from writing. Sam told me that you + were somewhat dissipated in Paris, which I can easily believe. Let + me hear from you at your best leisure. + + "Ever and truly, &c. + + "P.S. December 13. + + "I enclose you some lines written not long ago, which you may do + what you like with, as they are very harmless.[72] Only, if copied, + or printed, or set, I could wish it more correctly than in the + usual way, in which one's 'nothings are monstered,' as Coriolanus + says. + + "You must really get * * published--he never will rest till he is + so. He is just gone with his broken head to Lucca, at my desire, to + try to save a _man_ from being _burnt_. The Spanish * * *, that has + her petticoats over Lucca, had actually condemned a poor devil to + the stake, for stealing the wafer box out of a church. Shelley and + I, of course, were up in arms against this piece of piety, and have + been disturbing every body to get the sentence changed. * * is gone + to see what can be done. + + "B." + +[Footnote 71: Mr. Galignani having expressed a wish to be furnished with +a short Memoir of Lord Byron, for the purpose of prefixing it to the +French edition of his works, I had said jestingly in a preceding letter +to his Lordship, that it would he but a fair satire on the disposition +of the world to "bemonster his features," if he would write for the +public, English as well as French, a sort of mock-heroic account of +himself, outdoing, in horrors and wonders, all that had been yet related +or believed of him, and leaving even Goethe's story of the double murder +in Florence far behind.] + +[Footnote 72: The following are the lines enclosed in this letter. In +one of his Journals, where they are also given, he has subjoined to them +the following note:--"I composed these stanzas (except the fourth, added +now) a few days ago, on the road from Florence to Pisa. + + "Oh, talk not to me of a name great in story; + The days of our youth are the days of our glory; + And the myrtle and ivy of sweet two-and-twenty + Are worth all your laurels, though ever so plenty. + + "What are garlands and crowns to the brow that is wrinkled? + 'Tis but as a dead flower with May-dew besprinkled. + Then away with all such from the head that is hoary! + What care I for the wreaths that can _only_ give glory? + + "Oh Fame! if I e'er took delight in thy praises, + 'Twas less for the sake of thy high-sounding phrases, + Than to see the bright eyes of the dear One discover + She thought that I was not unworthy to love her. + + "_There_ chiefly I sought thee, _there_ only I found thee; + Her glance was the best of the rays that surround thee; + When it sparkled o'er aught that was bright in my story, + I knew it was love, and I felt it was glory."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 473. TO MR. SHELLEY. + + "December 12. 1821. + + "My dear Shelley, + + "Enclosed is a note for you from ----. His reasons are all very + true, I dare say, and it might and may be of personal inconvenience + to us. But that does not appear to me to be a reason to allow a + being to be burnt without trying to save him. To save him by any + means but _remonstrance_ is of course out of the question; but I do + not see why a _temperate_ remonstrance should hurt any one. Lord + Guilford is the man, if he would undertake it. He knows the Grand + Duke personally, and might, perhaps, prevail upon him to interfere. + But, as he goes to-morrow, you must be quick, or it will be + useless. Make any use of my name that you please. + + "Yours ever," &c + + * * * * * + +LETTER 474. TO MR. MOORE. + + "I send you the two notes, which will tell you the story I allude + to of the Auto da Fe. Shelley's allusion to his 'fellow-serpent' is + a buffoonery of mine. Goethe's Mephistofilus calls the serpent who + tempted Eve 'my aunt, the renowned snake;' and I always insist that + Shelley is nothing but one of her nephews, walking about on the tip + of his tail." + + * * * * * + +TO LORD BYRON. + + "Two o'clock, Tuesday Morning. + + "My dear Lord, + + "Although strongly persuaded that the story must be either an + entire fabrication, or so gross an exaggeration as to be nearly so; + yet, in order to be able to discover the truth beyond all doubt, + and to set your mind quite at rest, I have taken the determination + to go myself to Lucca this morning. Should it prove less false than + I am convinced it is, I shall not fail to exert myself in _every + way_ that I can imagine may have any success. Be assured of this. + + "Your Lordship's most truly, + + "* *. + + "P.S. To prevent _bavardage_, I prefer going in person to sending + my servant with a letter. It is better for you to mention nothing + (except, of course, to Shelley) of my excursion. The person I visit + there is one on whom I can have every dependence in every way, both + as to authority and truth." + + * * * * * + +TO LORD BYRON. + + "Thursday Morning. + + "My dear Lord Byron, + + "I hear this morning that the design, which certainly had been in + contemplation, of burning my fellow-serpent, has been abandoned, + and that he has been condemned to the galleys. Lord Guilford is at + Leghorn; and as your courier applied to me to know whether he ought + to leave your letter for him or not, I have thought it best since + this information to tell him to take it back. + + "Ever faithfully yours, + + "P.B. SHELLEY." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 475. TO SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. + + "Pisa, January 12. 1822. + + "My dear Sir Walter, + + "I need not say how grateful I am for your letter, but I must own + my ingratitude in not having written to you again long ago. Since I + left England (and it is not for all the usual term of + transportation) I have scribbled to five hundred blockheads on + business, &c. without difficulty, though with no great pleasure; + and yet, with the notion of addressing you a hundred times in my + head, and always in my heart, I have not done what I ought to have + done. I can only account for it on the same principle of tremulous + anxiety with which one sometimes makes love to a beautiful woman of + our own degree, with whom one is enamoured in good earnest; + whereas, we attack a fresh-coloured housemaid without (I speak, of + course, of earlier times) any sentimental remorse or mitigation of + our virtuous purpose. + + "I owe to you far more than the usual obligation for the courtesies + of literature and common friendship; for you went out of your way + in 1817 to do me a service, when it required not merely kindness, + but courage to do so: to have been recorded by you in such a + manner, would have been a proud memorial at any time, but at such a + time when 'all the world and his wife,' as the proverb goes, were + trying to trample upon me, was something still higher to my + self-esteem,--I allude to the Quarterly Review of the Third Canto + of Childe Harold, which Murray told me was written by you,--and, + indeed, I should have known it without his information, as there + could not be two who _could_ and _would_ have done this at the + time. Had it been a common criticism, however eloquent or + panegyrical, I should have felt pleased, undoubtedly, and grateful, + but not to the extent which the extraordinary good-heartedness of + the whole proceeding must induce in any mind capable of such + sensations. The very _tardiness_ of this acknowledgment will, at + least, show that I have not forgotten the obligation; and I can + assure you that my sense of it has been out at compound interest + during the delay. I shall only add one word upon the subject, which + is, that I think that you, and Jeffrey, and Leigh Hunt were the + only literary men, of numbers whom I know (and some of whom I had + served), who dared venture even an anonymous word in my favour just + then: and that, of those three, I had never seen _one_ at all--of + the second much less than I desired--and that the third was under + no kind of obligation to me, whatever; while the other _two_ had + been actually attacked by me on a former occasion; _one_, indeed, + with some provocation, but the other wantonly enough. So you see + you have been heaping 'coals of fire, &c.' in the true gospel + manner, and I can assure you that they have burnt down to my very + heart. + + "I am glad that you accepted the Inscription. I meant to have + inscribed 'The Foscarini' to you instead; but first, I heard that + 'Cain' was thought the least bad of the two as a composition; and, + 2dly, I have abused S * * like a pickpocket, in a note to the + Foscarini, and I recollected that he is a friend of yours (though + not of mine), and that it would not be the handsome thing to + dedicate to one friend any thing containing such matters about + another. However, I'll work the Laureate before I have done with + him, as soon as I can muster Billingsgate therefor. I like a row, + and always did from a boy, in the course of which propensity, I + must needs say, that I have found it the most easy of all to be + gratified, personally and poetically. You disclaim 'jealousies;' + but I would ask, as Boswell did of Johnson, 'of _whom could_ you be + _jealous_?'--of none of the living certainly, and (taking all and + all into consideration) of which of the dead? I don't like to bore + you about the Scotch novels, (as they call them, though two of them + are wholly English, and the rest half so,) but nothing can or could + ever persuade me, since I was the first ten minutes in your + company, that you are _not_ the man. To me those novels have so + much of 'Auld lang syne' (I was bred a canny Scot till ten years + old) that I never move without them; and when I removed from + Ravenna to Pisa the other day, and sent on my library before, they + were the only books that I kept by me, although I already have them + by heart. + + "January 27. 1822. + + "I delayed till now concluding, in the hope that I should have got + 'The Pirate,' who is under way for me, but has not yet hove in + sight. I hear that your daughter is married, and I suppose by this + time you are half a grandfather--a young one, by the way. I have + heard great things of Mrs. Lockhart's personal and mental charms, + and much good of her lord: that you may live to see as many novel + Scotts as there are Scots' novels, is the very bad pun, but sincere + wish of + + "Yours ever most affectionately, &c. + + "P.S. Why don't you take a turn in Italy? You would find yourself + as well known and as welcome as in the Highlands among the natives. + As for the English, you would be with them as in London; and I need + not add, that I should be delighted to see you again, which is far + more than I shall ever feel or say for England, or (with a few + exceptions 'of kith, kin, and allies') any thing that it contains. + But my 'heart warms to the tartan,' or to any thing of Scotland, + which reminds me of Aberdeen and other parts, not so far from the + Highlands as that town, about Invercauld and Braemar, where I was + sent to drink goat's _fey_ in 1795-6, in consequence of a + threatened decline after the scarlet fever. But I am gossiping, so, + good night--and the gods be with your dreams! + + "Pray, present my respects to Lady Scott, who may, perhaps, + recollect having seen me in town in 1815. + + "I see that one of your supporters (for like Sir Hildebrand, I am + fond of Guillin) is a _mermaid_; it is my _crest_ too, and with + precisely the same curl of tail. There's concatenation for you:--I + am building a little cutter at Genoa, to go a cruising in the + summer. I know _you_ like the sea too." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 476. TO ----.[73] + + "Pisa, February 6. 1822. + + "'Try back the deep lane,' till we find a publisher for the + 'Vision;' and if none such is to be found, print fifty copies at my + expense, distribute them amongst my acquaintance, and you will soon + see that the booksellers _will_ publish them, even if we opposed + them. That they are now afraid is natural, but I do not see that I + ought to give way on that account. I know nothing of Rivington's + 'Remonstrance' by the 'eminent Churchman;' but I suppose he wants a + living. I once heard of a preacher at Kentish Town against 'Cain.' + The same outcry was raised against Priestley, Hume, Gibbon, + Voltaire, and all the men who dared to put tithes to the question. + + "I have got S----'s pretended reply, to which I am surprised that + you do not allude. What remains to be done is to call him out. The + question is, would he come? for, if he would not, the whole thing + would appear ridiculous, if I were to take a long and expensive + journey to no purpose. + + "You must be my second, and, as such, I wish to consult you. + + "I apply to you, as one well versed in the duello, or monomachie. + Of course I shall come to England as privately as possible, and + leave it (supposing that I was the survivor) in the same manner; + having no other object which could bring me to that country except + to settle quarrels accumulated during my absence. + + "By the last post I transmitted to you a letter upon some Rochdale + toll business, from which there are moneys in prospect. My agent + says two thousand pounds, but supposing it to be only one, or even + one hundred, still they may be moneys; and I have lived long enough + to have an exceeding respect for the smallest current coin of any + realm, or the least sum, which, although I may not want it myself, + may do something for others who may need it more than I. + + "They say that 'Knowledge is Power:'--I used to think so; but I now + know that they meant '_money_:' and when Socrates declared, 'that + all he knew was, that he knew nothing,' he merely intended to + declare, that he had not a drachm in the Athenian world. + + "The _circulars_ are arrived, and circulating like the vortices (or + vortexes) of Descartes. Still I have a due care of the needful, and + keep a look out ahead, as my notions upon the score of moneys + coincide with yours, and with all men's who have lived to see that + every guinea is a philosopher's stone, or at least his + _touch_-stone. You will doubt me the less, when I pronounce my firm + belief, that _Cash_ is _Virtue_. + + "I cannot reproach myself with much expenditure: my only extra + expense (and it is more than I have spent upon myself) being a loan + of two hundred and fifty pounds to ----; and fifty pounds worth of + furniture, which I have bought for him; and a boat which I am + building for myself at Genoa, which will cost about a hundred + pounds more. + + "But to return. I am determined to have all the moneys I can, + whether by my own funds, or succession, or lawsuit, or MSS. or any + lawful means whatever. + + "I will pay (though with the sincerest reluctance) my remaining + creditors, and every man of law, by instalments from the award of + the arbitrators. + + "I recommend to you the notice in Mr. Hanson's letter, on the + demands of moneys for the Rochdale tolls. + + "Above all, I recommend my interests to your honourable worship. + + "Recollect, too, that I expect some moneys for the various MSS. (no + matter what); and, in short, 'Rem _quocunque modo_, Rem!'--the + noble feeling of cupidity grows upon us with our years. + + "Yours ever," &c. + +[Footnote 73: This letter has been already published, with a few others, +in a periodical work, and is known to have been addressed to the late +Mr. Douglas Kinnaird.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 477. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, February 8. 1822. + + "Attacks upon me were to be expected, but I perceive one upon _you_ + in the papers, which I confess that I did not expect. How, or in + what manner, _you_ can be considered responsible for what _I_ + publish, I am at a loss to conceive. + + "If 'Cain' be 'blasphemous,' Paradise Lost is blasphemous; and the + very words of the Oxford gentleman, 'Evil, be thou my good,' are + from that very poem, from the mouth of Satan, and is there any + thing more in that of Lucifer in the Mystery? Cain is nothing more + than a drama, not a piece of argument. If Lucifer and Cain speak as + the first murderer and the first rebel may be supposed to speak, + surely all the rest of the personages talk also according to their + characters--and the stronger passions have ever been permitted to + the drama. + + "I have even avoided introducing the Deity as in Scripture, (though + Milton does, and not very wisely either,) but have adopted his + angel as sent to Cain instead, on purpose to avoid shocking any + feelings on the subject by falling short of what all uninspired men + must fall short in, viz. giving an adequate notion of the effect of + the presence of Jehovah. The old Mysteries introduced him liberally + enough, and all this is avoided in the new one. + + "The attempt to _bully you_, because they think it won't succeed + with me, seems to me as atrocious an attempt as ever disgraced the + times. What! when Gibbon's, Hume's, Priestley's, and Drummond's + publishers have been allowed to rest in peace for seventy years, + are you to be singled out for a work of _fiction_, not of history + or argument? There must be something at the bottom of this--some + private enemy of your own: it is otherwise incredible. + + "I can only say, 'Me, me; en adsum qui feci;'--that any proceedings + directed against you, I beg, may be transferred to me, who am + willing, and _ought_, to endure them all;--that if you have lost + money by the publication, I will refund any or all of the + copyright;--that I desire you will say that both _you_ and _Mr. + Gifford_ remonstrated against the publication, as also Mr. + Hobhouse;--that _I_ alone occasioned it, and I alone am the person + who, either legally or otherwise, should bear the burden. If they + prosecute, I will come to England--that is, if, by meeting it in my + own person, I can save yours. Let me know. You sha'n't suffer for + me, if I can help it. Make any use of this letter you please. + + "Yours ever, &c. + + "P.S. I write to you about all this row of bad passions and + absurdities with the _summer_ moon (for here our winter is clearer + than your dog-days) lighting the winding Arno, with all her + buildings and bridges,--so quiet and still!--What nothings are we + before the least of these stars!" + + * * * * * + +LETTER 478. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, February 19. 1822. + + "I am rather surprised not to have had an answer to my letter and + packets. Lady Noel is dead, and it is not impossible that I may + have to go to England to settle the division of the Wentworth + property, and what portion Lady B. is to have out of it; all which + was left undecided by the articles of separation. But I hope not, + if it can be done without,--and I have written to Sir Francis + Burdett to be my referee, as he knows the property. + + "Continue to address here, as I shall not go if I can avoid it--at + least, not on that account. But I may on another; for I wrote to + Douglas Kinnaird to convey a message of invitation to Mr. Southey + to meet me, either in England, or (as less liable to interruption) + on the coast of France. This was about a fortnight ago, and I have + not yet had time to have the answer. However, you shall have due + notice; therefore continue to address to Pisa. + + "My agents and trustees have written to me to desire that I would + take the name directly, so that I am yours very truly and + affectionately, + + "NOEL BYRON. + + "P.S. I have had no news from England, except on business; and + merely know, from some abuse in that faithful _ex_ and _de_-tractor + Galignani, that the clergy are up against 'Cain.' There is (if I am + not mistaken) some good church preferment on the Wentworth estates; + and I will show them what a good Christian I am, by patronising and + preferring the most pious of their order, should opportunity occur. + + "M. and I are but little in correspondence, and I know nothing of + literary matters at present. I have been writing on business only + lately. What are _you_ about? Be assured that there is no such + coalition as you apprehend." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 479. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, February 20. 1822.[74] + + "Your letter arrived since I wrote the enclosed. It is not likely, + as I have appointed agents and arbitrators for the Noel estates, + that I should proceed to England on that account,--though I may + upon another, within stated. At any rate, _continue_ you to address + here till you hear further from me. I could wish _you_ still to + arrange for me, either with a London or Paris publisher, for the + things, &c. I shall not quarrel with any arrangement you may please + to make. + + "I have appointed Sir Francis Burdett my arbitrator to decide on + Lady Byron's allowance out of the Noel estates, which are estimated + at seven thousand a year, and _rents_ very well paid,--a rare thing + at this time. It is, however, owing to their _consisting_ chiefly + in pasture lands, and therefore less affected by corn bills, &c. + than properties in tillage. + + "Believe me yours ever most affectionately, + + "NOEL BYRON. + + "Between my own property in the funds, and my wife's in land, I do + not know which _side_ to cry out on in politics. + + "There is nothing against the immortality of the soul in 'Cain' + that I recollect. I hold no such opinions;--but, in a drama, the + first rebel and the first murderer must be made to talk according + to their characters. However, the parsons are all preaching at it, + from Kentish Town and Oxford to Pisa;--the scoundrels of priests, + who do more harm to religion than all the infidels that ever forgot + their catechisms! + + "I have not seen Lady Noel's death announced in Galignani.--How is + that?" + +[Footnote 74: The preceding letter came enclosed in this.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 480. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, February 28. 1822. + + "I begin to think that the packet (a heavy one) of five acts of + 'Werner,' &c. can hardly have reached you, for your letter of last + week (which I answered) did not allude to it, and yet I insured it + at the post-office here. + + "I have no direct news from England, except on the Noel business, + which is proceeding quietly, as I have appointed a gentleman (Sir + F. Burdett) for my arbitrator. They, too, have said that they will + recall the _lawyer_ whom _they_ had chosen, and will name a + gentleman too. This is better, as the arrangement of the estates + and of Lady B.'s allowance will thus be settled without quibbling. + My lawyers are taking out a licence for the name and arms, which it + seems I am to endue. + + "By another, and indirect, quarter, I hear that 'Cain' has been + pirated, and that the Chancellor has refused to give Murray any + redress. Also, that G.R. (_your_ friend 'Ben') has expressed great + personal indignation at the said poem. All this is curious enough, + I think,--after allowing Priestley, Hume, and Gibbon, and + Bolingbroke, and Voltaire to be published, without depriving the + booksellers of their rights. I heard from Rome a day or two ago, + and, with what truth I know not, that * * *. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 481. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, March 1. 1822. + + "As I still have no news of my 'Werner,' &c. packet, sent to you on + the 29th of January, I continue to bore you (for the fifth time, I + believe) to know whether it has not miscarried. As it was fairly + copied out, it will be vexatious if it be lost. Indeed, I insured + it at the post-office to make them take more care, and directed it + regularly to you at Paris. + + "In the impartial Galignani I perceive an extract from Blackwood's + Magazine, in which it is said that there are people who have + discovered that you and I are no poets. With regard to one of us, I + know that this north-west passage to _my_ magnetic pole had been + long discovered by some sages, and I leave them the full benefit of + their penetration. I think, as Gibbon says of his History, 'that, + perhaps, a hundred years hence it may still continue to be abused.' + However, I am far from pretending to compete or compare with that + illustrious literary character. + + "But, with regard to _you_, I thought that you had always been + allowed to be _a poet_, even by the stupid as well as the + envious--a bad one, to be sure--immoral, florid, Asiatic, and + diabolically popular,--but still always a poet, _nem. con._ This + discovery therefore, has to me all the grace of novelty, as well as + of consolation (according to Rochefoucault), to find myself + _no_-poetised in such good company. I am content to 'err with + Plato;' and can assure you very sincerely, that I would rather be + received a _non_-poet with you, than be crowned with all the bays + of (the _yet_-uncrowned) Lakers in their society. I believe you + think better of those worthies than I do. I know them * * * * * * + *. + + "As for Southey, the answer to my proposition of a meeting is not + yet come. I sent the message, with a short note, to him through + Douglas Kinnaird, and Douglas's response is not arrived. If he + accepts, I shall have to go to England; but if not, I do not think + the Noel affairs will take me there, as the arbitrators can settle + them without my presence, and there do not seem to be any + difficulties. The licence for the new name and armorial bearings + will be taken out by the regular application, in such cases, to the + Crown, and sent to me. + + "Is there a hope of seeing you in Italy again ever? What are you + doing?--_bored_ by me, I know; but I have explained _why_ before. I + have no correspondence now with London, except through relations + and lawyers and one or two friends. My greatest friend, Lord Clare, + is at Rome: we met on the road, and our meeting was quite + sentimental--_really_ pathetic on both sides. I have always loved + him better than any _male_ thing in the world." + + * * * * * + +The preceding was enclosed in that which follows. + +LETTER 482. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, March 4. 1822. + + "Since I wrote the enclosed, I have waited another post, and now + have your answer acknowledging the arrival of the packet--a + troublesome one, I fear, to you in more ways than one, both from + weight external and internal. + + "The unpublished things in your hands, in Douglas K.'s, and Mr. + John Murray's, are, 'Heaven and Earth, a lyrical kind of Drama upon + the Deluge, &c.;'--'Werner,' _now with you_;--a translation of the + First Canto of the Morgante Maggiore;--_ditto_ of an Episode in + Dante;--some stanzas to the Po, June 1st, 1819;--Hints from Horace, + written in 1811, but a good deal, _since_, to be omitted;--several + prose things, which may, perhaps, as well remain unpublished;--'The + Vision, &c. of Quevedo Redivivus' in verse. + + "Here you see is 'more matter for a May morning;' but how much of + this can be published is for consideration. The Quevedo (one of my + best in that line) has appalled the Row already, and must take its + chance at Paris, if at all. The new Mystery is less speculative + than 'Cain,' and very pious; besides, it is chiefly lyrical. The + Morgante is the _best_ translation that ever was or will be made; + and the rest are--whatever you please to think them. + + "I am sorry you think Werner even _approaching_ to any fitness for + the stage, which, with my notions upon it, is very far from my + present object. With regard to the publication, I have already + explained that I have no exorbitant expectations of either fame or + profit in the present instances; but wish them published because + they are written, which is the common feeling of all scribblers. + + "With respect to 'Religion,' can I never convince you that I have + no such opinions as the characters in that drama, which seems to + have frightened every body? Yet _they_ are nothing to the + expressions in Goethe's Faust (which are ten times hardier), and + not a whit more bold than those of Milton's Satan. My ideas of a + character may run away with me: like all imaginative men, I, of + course, embody myself with the character while I draw it, but not a + moment after the pen is from off the paper. + + "I am no enemy to religion, but the contrary. As a proof, I am + educating my natural daughter a strict Catholic in a convent of + Romagna; for I think people can never have _enough_ of religion, if + they are to have any. I incline, myself, very much to the Catholic + doctrines; but if I am to write a drama, I must make my characters + speak as I conceive them likely to argue. + + "As to poor Shelley, who is another bugbear to you and the world, + he is, to my knowledge, the _least_ selfish and the mildest of + men--a man who has made more sacrifices of his fortune and feelings + for others than any I ever heard of. With his speculative opinions + I have nothing in common, nor desire to have. + + "The truth is, my dear Moore, you live near the _stove_ of society, + where you are unavoidably influenced by its heat and its vapours. I + did so once--and too much--and enough to give a colour to my whole + future existence. As my success in society was _not_ + inconsiderable, I am surely not a prejudiced judge upon the + subject, unless in its favour; but I think it, as now constituted, + _fatal_ to all great original undertakings of every kind. I never + courted it _then_, when I was young and high in blood, and one of + its 'curled darlings;' and do you think I would do so _now_, when I + am living in a clearer atmosphere? One thing _only_ might lead me + back to it, and that is, to try once more if I could do any good in + _politics_; but _not_ in the petty politics I see now preying upon + our miserable country. + + "Do not let me be misunderstood, however. If you speak your _own_ + opinions, they ever had, and will have, the greatest weight with + _me_. But if you merely _echo_ the 'monde,' (and it is difficult + not to do so, being in its favour and its ferment,) I can only + regret that you should ever repeat any thing to which I cannot pay + attention. + + "But I am prosing. The gods go with you, and as much immortality of + all kinds as may suit your present and all other existence. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 483. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, March 6. 1822. + + "The enclosed letter from Murray hath melted me; though I think it + is against his own interest to wish that I should continue his + connection. You may, therefore, send him the packet of _Werner,_ + which will save you all further trouble. And pray, _can you_ + forgive me for the bore and expense I have already put upon you? At + least, _say_ so--for I feel ashamed of having given you so much for + such nonsense. + + "The fact is, I cannot _keep_ my _resentments,_ though violent + enough in their onset. Besides, now that all the world are at + Murray on my account, I neither can nor ought to leave him; unless, + as I really thought, it were better for _him_ that I should. + + "I have had no other news from England, except a letter from Barry + Cornwall, the bard, and my old school-fellow. Though I have + sickened you with letters lately, believe me + + "Yours, &c. + + "P.S. In your last letter you say, speaking of Shelley, that you + would almost prefer the 'damning bigot' to the 'annihilating + infidel.'[75] Shelley believes in immortality, however--but this by + the way. Do you remember Frederick the Great's answer to the + remonstrance of the villagers whose curate preached against the + eternity of hell's torments? It was thus:--'If my faithful subjects + of Schrausenhaussen prefer being eternally damned, let them.' + + "Of the two, I should think the long sleep better than the agonised + vigil. But men, miserable as they are, cling so to any thing like + life, that they probably would prefer damnation to quiet. Besides, + they think themselves so _important_ in the creation, that nothing + less can satisfy their pride--the insects!" + +[Footnote 75: It will be seen from the extract I shall give presently of +the passage to which he refers, that he wholly mistook my meaning.] + + * * * * * + +It is Dr. Clarke, I think, who gives, in his Travels, rather a striking +account of a Tartar whom he once saw exercising a young, fiery horse, +upon a spot of ground almost surrounded by a steep precipice, and +describes the wantonness of courage with which the rider, as if +delighting in his own peril, would, at times, dash, with loose rein, +towards the giddy verge. Something of the same breathless apprehension +with which the traveller viewed that scene, did the unchecked daring of +Byron's genius inspire in all who watched its course,--causing them, at +the same moment, to admire and tremble, and, in those more especially +who loved him, awakening a sort of instinctive impulse to rush forward +and save him from his own headlong strength. But, however natural it was +in friends to give way to this feeling, a little reflection upon his now +altered character might have forewarned them that such interference +would prove as little useful to him as safe for themselves; and it is +not without some surprise I look back upon my own temerity and +presumption in supposing that, let loose as he was now, in the full +pride and consciousness of strength, with the wide regions of thought +outstretching before him, any representations that even friendship could +make would have the power--or _ought_ to have--of checking him. As the +motives, however, by which I was actuated in my remonstrances to him may +be left to speak for themselves, I shall, without dwelling any further +upon the subject, content myself with laying before the reader a few +such extracts from my own letters at this period[76] as may serve to +explain some allusions in those just given. + +In writing to me under the date January 24th, it will be recollected +that he says--"be assured that there is no such coalition as you +apprehend." The following extracts from my previous communication to him +will explain what this means:--"I heard some days ago that Leigh Hunt +was on his way to you with all his family; and the idea seems to be, +that you and Shelley and he are to conspire together in the Examiner. I +cannot believe this,--and deprecate such a plan with all my might. Alone +you may do any thing; but partnerships in fame, like those in trade, +make the strongest party answerable for the deficiencies or +delinquencies of the rest, and I tremble even for you with such a +bankrupt >i>Co._--* * *. They are both clever fellows, and Shelley I +look upon as a man of real genius; but I must again say, that you could +not give your enemies (the * * *'s, 'et hoc genus omne') a greater +triumph than by forming such an unequal and unholy alliance. You are, +single-handed, a match for the world,--which is saying a good deal, the +world being, like Briareus, a very many-handed gentleman,--but, to be +so, you must stand alone. Recollect that the scurvy buildings about St. +Peter's almost seem to overtop itself." + +[Footnote 76: It should have been mentioned before, that to the courtesy +of Lord Byron's executor, Mr. Hobhouse, who had the kindness to restore +to me such letters of mine as came into his hands, I am indebted for the +power of producing these and other extracts.] + +The notices of Cain, in my letters to him, were, according to their +respective dates, as follow:-- + + +"September 30. 1821. + +"Since writing the above, I have read Foscari and Cain. The former does +not please me so highly as Sardanapalus. It has the fault of all those +violent Venetian stories, being unnatural and improbable, and therefore, +in spite of all your fine management of them, appealing but remotely to +one's sympathies. But Cain is wonderful--terrible--never to be +forgotten. If I am not mistaken, it will sink deep into the world's +heart; and while many will shudder at its blasphemy, all must fall +prostrate before its grandeur. Talk of AEschylus and his +Prometheus!--here is the true spirit both of the Poet--and the Devil." + + +"February 9. 1822. + +"Do not take it into your head, my dear B. that the tide is at all +turning against you in England. Till I see some symptoms of people +_forgetting_ you a little, I will not believe that you lose ground. As +it is, 'te veniente die, te, decedente,'--nothing is hardly talked of +but you; and though good people sometimes bless themselves when they +mention you, it is plain that even _they_ think much more about you +than, for the good of their souls, they ought. Cain, to be sure, _has_ +made a sensation; and, grand as it is, I regret, for many reasons, you +ever wrote it. * * For myself, I would not give up the _poetry_ of +religion for all the wisest results that _philosophy_ will ever arrive +at. Particular sects and creeds are fair game enough for those who are +anxious enough about their neighbours to meddle with them; but our faith +in the Future is a treasure not so lightly to be parted with; and the +dream of immortality (if philosophers will have it a dream) is one that, +let us hope, we shall carry into our last sleep with us."[77] + +[Footnote 77: It is to this sentence Lord Byron refers at the conclusion +of his letter, March 4.] + + +"February 19. 1822. + +"I have written to the Longmans to try the ground, for I do _not_ think +Galignani the man for you. The only thing he can do is what we can do, +ourselves, without him,--and that is, employ an English bookseller. +Paris, indeed, might be convenient for such refugee works as are set +down in the _Index Expurgatorius_ of London; and if you have any +political catamarans to explode, this is your place. But, _pray_, let +them be only political ones. Boldness, and even licence, in politics, +does good,--actual, present good; but, in religion, it profits neither +here nor hereafter; and, for myself, such a horror have I of both +extremes on this subject, that I know not _which_ I hate most, the bold, +damning bigot, or the bold, annihilating infidel. 'Furiosa res est in +tenebris impetus;'--and much as we are in the dark, even the wisest of +us, upon these matters, a little modesty, in unbelief as well as belief, +best becomes us. You will easily guess that, in all this, I am thinking +not so much of you, as of a friend and, at present, companion of yours, +whose influence over your mind (knowing you as I do, and knowing what +Lady B. _ought_ to have found out, that you are a person the most +tractable to those who live with you that, perhaps, ever existed) I own +I dread and deprecate most earnestly."[78] + +[Footnote 78: This passage having been shown by Lord Byron to Mr. +Shelley, the latter wrote, in consequence, a letter to a gentleman with +whom I was then in habits of intimacy, of which the following is an +extract. The zeal and openness with which Shelley always professed his +unbelief render any scruple that might otherwise be felt in giving +publicity to such avowals unnecessary; besides which, the testimony of +so near and clear an observer to the state of Lord Byron's mind upon +religious subjects is of far too much importance to my object to be, +from any over-fastidiousness, suppressed. We have here, too strikingly +exemplified,--and in strong contrast, I must say, to the line taken by +Mr. Hunt in similar circumstances,--the good breeding, gentle temper, +and modesty for which Shelley was so remarkable, and of the latter of +which Dualities in particular the undeserved compliment to myself +affords a strong illustration, as showing how little this true poet had +yet learned to know his own place. + +"Lord Byron has read me one or two letters of Moore to him, in which +Moore speaks with great kindness of me; and of course I cannot but feel +flattered by the approbation of a man, my inferiority to whom I am proud +to acknowledge. Amongst other things, however, Moore, after giving Lord +B, much good advice about public opinion, &c. seems to deprecate my +influence on his mind on the subject of religion, and to attribute the +tone assumed in Cain to my suggestions. Moore cautions him against any +influence on this particular with the most friendly zeal, and it is +plain that his motive springs from a desire of benefiting Lord B. +without degrading me. I think you know Moore. Pray assure him that I +have not the smallest influence over Lord Byron in this particular; if I +had, I certainly should employ it to eradicate from his great mind the +delusions of Christianity, which, in spite of his reason, seem +perpetually to recur, and to lay in ambush for the hours of sickness and +distress. Cain was _conceived_ many years ago, and begun before I saw +him last year at Ravenna. How happy should I not be to attribute to +myself, however indirectly, any participation in that immortal work!"] + + +"March 16. 1822. + +"With respect to our Religious Polemics, I must try to set you right +upon one or two points. In the first place, I do _not_ identify you with +the blasphemies of Cain no more than I do myself with the impieties of +my Mokanna,--all I wish and implore is that you, who are such a powerful +manufacturer of these thunderbolts, would not _choose_ subjects that +make it necessary to launch them. In the next place, were you even a +decided atheist, I could not (except, perhaps, for the _decision_ which +is always unwise) blame you. I could only pity,--knowing from experience +how dreary are the doubts with which even the bright, poetic view I am +myself inclined to take of mankind and their destiny is now and then +clouded. I look upon Cuvier's book to be a most desolating one in the +conclusions to which it may lead some minds. But the young, the +simple,--all those whose hearts one would like to keep unwithered, +trouble their heads but little about Cuvier. _You_, however, have +embodied him in poetry which every one reads; and, like the wind, +blowing 'where you list,' carry this deadly chill, mixed up with your +own fragrance, into hearts that should be visited only by the latter. +This is what I regret, and what with all my influence I would deprecate +a repetition of. _Now_, do you understand me? + +"As to your solemn peroration, 'the truth is, my dear Moore, &c. &c.' +meaning neither more nor less than that I give into the cant of the +world, it only proves, alas! the melancholy fact, that you and I are +hundreds of miles asunder. Could you hear me speak my opinions instead +of coldly reading them, I flatter myself there is still enough of +honesty and fun in this face to remind you that your friend Tom +Moore--whatever else he may be,--is no Canter." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 484. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, March 6. 1822. + + "You will long ago have received a letter from me (or should), + declaring my opinion of the treatment you have met with about the + recent publication. I think it disgraceful to those who have + persecuted _you_. I make peace with you, though our war was for + other reasons than this same controversy. I have written to Moore + by this post to forward to you the tragedy of' Werner.' I shall not + make or propose any present bargain about it or the new Mystery + till we see if they succeed. If they don't sell (which is not + unlikely), you sha'n't pay; and I suppose this is fair play, if you + choose to risk it. + + "Bartolini, the celebrated sculptor, wrote to me to desire to take + my bust: I consented, on condition that he also took that of the + Countess Guiccioli. He has taken both, and I think it will be + allowed that _hers_ is beautiful. I shall make you a present of + them both, to show that I don't bear malice, and as a compensation + for the trouble and squabble you had about Thorwaldsen's. Of my own + I can hardly speak, except that it is thought very like what I _now + am_, which is different from what I was, of course, since you saw + me. The sculptor is a famous one; and as it was done by _his own_ + particular request, will be done well, probably. + + "What is to be done about * * and his Commentary? He will die if he + is _not_ published; he will be damned, if he _is_; but that _he_ + don't mind. We must publish him. + + "All the _row_ about _me_ has no otherwise affected me than by the + attack upon yourself, which is ungenerous in Church and State: but + as all violence must in time have its proportionate re-action, you + will do better by and by. Yours very truly, + + "NOEL BYRON." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 485. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, March 8. 1822. + + "You will have had enough of my letters by this time--yet one word + in answer to your present missive. You are quite wrong in thinking + that your '_advice_' had offended me; but I have already replied + (if not answered) on that point. + + "With regard to Murray, as I really am the meekest and mildest of + men since Moses (though the public and mine 'excellent wife' cannot + find it out), I had already pacified myself and subsided back to + Albemarle Street, as my yesterday's _ye_pistle will have informed + you. But I thought that I had explained my causes of bile--at least + to you. Some instances of vacillation, occasional neglect, and + troublesome sincerity, real or imagined, are sufficient to put your + truly great author and man into a passion. But reflection, with + some aid from hellebore, hath already cured me 'pro tempore;' and, + if it had not, a request from you and Hobhouse would have come upon + me like two out of the 'tribus Anticyris,'--with which, however, + Horace despairs of purging a poet. I really feel ashamed of having + bored you so frequently and fully of late. But what could I do? You + are a friend--an absent one, alas!--and as I trust no one more, I + trouble you in proportion. + + "This war of 'Church and State' has astonished me more than it + disturbs; for I really thought 'Cain' a speculative and hardy, but + still a harmless, production. As I said before, I am really a great + admirer of tangible religion; and am breeding one of my daughters a + Catholic, that she may have her hands full. It is by far the most + elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with + incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real + presence, confession, absolution,--there is something sensible to + grasp at. Besides, it leaves no possibility of doubt; for those who + swallow their Deity, really and truly, in transubstantiation, can + hardly find any thing else otherwise than easy of digestion. + + "I am afraid that this sounds flippant, but I don't mean it to be + so; only my turn of mind is so given to taking things in the absurd + point of view, that it breaks out in spite of me every now and + then. Still, I do assure you that I am a very good Christian. + Whether you will believe me in this, I do not know; but I trust you + will take my word for being + + "Very truly and affectionately yours, &c. + + "P.S. Do tell Murray that one of the conditions of peace is, that + he publisheth (or obtaineth a publisher for) * * *'s Commentary on + Dante, against which there appears in the trade an unaccountable + repugnance. It will make the man so exuberantly happy. He dines + with me and half-a-dozen English to-day; and I have not the heart + to tell him how the bibliopolar world shrink from his + Commentary;--and yet it is full of the most orthodox religion and + morality. In short, I make it a point that he shall be in print. He + is such a good-natured, heavy-* * Christian, that we must give him + a shove through the press. He naturally thirsts to be an author, + and has been the happiest of men for these two months, printing, + correcting, collating, dating, anticipating, and adding to his + treasures of learning. Besides, he has had another fall from his + horse into a ditch the other day, while riding out with me into the + country." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 486. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, March 15. 1822. + + "I am glad that you and your friends approve of my letter of the + 8th ultimo. You may give it what publicity you think proper in the + circumstances. I have since written to you twice or thrice. + + "As to 'a Poem in the old way,' I shall attempt of that kind + nothing further. I follow the bias of my own mind, without + considering whether women or men are or are not to be pleased; but + this is nothing to my publisher, who must judge and act according + to popularity. + + "Therefore let the things take their chance: if _they pay,_ you + will pay me in proportion; and if they don't, I must. + + "The Noel affairs, I hope, will not take me to England. I have no + desire to revisit that country, unless it be to keep you out of a + prison (if this can be effected by my taking your place), or + perhaps to get myself into one, by exacting satisfaction from one + or two persons who take advantage of my absence to abuse me. + Further than this, I have no business nor connection with England, + nor desire to have, _out_ of my own family and friends, to whom I + wish all prosperity. Indeed, I have lived upon the whole so little + in England (about five years since I was one-and-twenty), that my + habits are too continental, and your climate would please me as + little as the society. + + "I saw the Chancellor's Report in a French paper. Pray, why don't + they prosecute the translation of _Lucretius_? or the original with + its + + "'Primus in orbe Deos fecit Timor,' + + or + + "'Tantum Religio potuit suadere malorum?' + + "You must really get something done for Mr. * *'s Commentary: what + can I say to him? + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 487. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, April 13. 1822. + + "Mr. Kinnaird writes that there has been an 'excellent Defence' of + 'Cain,' against 'Oxoniensis;' you have sent me nothing but a not + very excellent _of_-fence of the same poem. If there be such a + 'Defender of the Faith,' you may send me his thirty-nine articles, + as a counterbalance to some of your late communications. + + "Are you to publish, or not, what Moore and Mr. Kinnaird have in + hand, and the 'Vision of Judgment?' If you publish the latter in a + very cheap edition, so as to baffle the pirates by a low price, you + will find that it will do. The 'Mystery' I look upon as good, and + 'Werner' too, and I expect that you will publish them speedily. You + need not put your name to _Quevedo,_ but publish it as a foreign + edition, and let it make its way. Douglas Kinnaird has it still, + with the preface, I believe. + + "I refer you to him for documents on the late row here. I sent them + a week ago. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 488. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, April 18. 1822. + + "I have received the Defence of 'Cain.' Who is my Warburton?--for + he has done for me what the bishop did for the poet against + Crousaz. His reply seems to me conclusive; and if you understood + your own interest, you would print it together with the poem. + + "It is very odd that I do not hear from you. I have forwarded to + Mr. Douglas Kinnaird the documents on a squabble here, which + occurred about a month ago. The affair is still going on; but they + make nothing of it hitherto. I think, what with home and abroad, + there has been hot water enough for one while. Mr. Dawkins, the + English minister, has behaved in the handsomest and most + gentlemanly manner throughout the whole business. + + "Yours ever, &c. + + "P.S. I have got Lord Glenbervie's book, which is very amusing and + able upon the topics which he touches upon, and part of the preface + pathetic. Write soon." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 489. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, April 22. 1822. + + "You will regret to hear that I have received intelligence of the + death of my daughter Allegra of a fever in the convent of Bagna + Cavallo, where she was placed for the last year, to commence her + education. It is a heavy blow for many reasons, but must be borne, + with time. + + "It is my present intention to send her remains to England for + sepulture in Harrow church (where I once hoped to have laid my + own), and this is my reason for troubling you with this notice. I + wish the funeral to be very private. The body is embalmed, and in + lead. It will be embarked from Leghorn. Would you have any + objection to give the proper directions on its arrival? + + "I am yours, &c. N.B. + + "P.S. You are aware that Protestants are not allowed holy ground in + Catholic countries." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 490. TO MR. SHELLEY. + + "April 23. 1822. + + "The blow was stunning and unexpected; for I thought the danger + over, by the long interval between her stated amelioration and the + arrival of the express. But I have borne up against it as I best + can, and so far successfully, that I can go about the usual + business of life with the same appearance of composure, and even + greater. There is nothing to prevent your coming to-morrow; but, + perhaps, to-day, and yester-evening, it was better not to have met. + I do not know that I have any thing to reproach in my conduct, and + certainly nothing in my feelings and intentions towards the dead. + But it is a moment when we are apt to think that, if this or that + had been done, such event might have been prevented,--though every + day and hour shows us that they are the most natural and + inevitable. I suppose that Time will do his usual work--Death has + done his. + + "Yours ever, N.B." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 491. TO SIR WALTER SCOTT. + + "Pisa, May 4. 1822. + + "My dear Sir Walter, + + "Your account of your family is very pleasing: would that I 'could + answer this comfort with the like!' but I have just lost my natural + daughter, Allegra, by a fever. The only consolation, save time, is + the reflection, that she is either at rest or happy; for her few + years (only five) prevented her from having incurred any sin, + except what we inherit from Adam. + + "'Whom the gods love, die young.'" + + "I need not say that your letters are particularly welcome, when + they do not tax your time and patience; and now that our + correspondence is resumed, I trust it will continue. + + "I have lately had some anxiety, rather than trouble, about an + awkward affair here, which you may perhaps have heard of; but our + minister has behaved very handsomely, and the Tuscan Government as + well as it is possible for such a government to behave, which is + not saying much for the latter. Some other English, and Scots, and + myself, had a brawl with a dragoon, who insulted one of the party, + and whom we mistook for an officer, as he was medalled and well + mounted, &c. but he turned out to be a sergeant-major. He called + out the guard at the gates to arrest us (we being unarmed); upon + which I and another (an Italian) rode through the said guard; but + they succeeded in detaining others of the party. I rode to my + house and sent my secretary to give an account of the attempted and + illegal arrest to the authorities, and then, without dismounting, + rode back towards the gates, which are near my present mansion. + Half-way I met my man vapouring away and threatening to draw upon + me (who had a cane in my hand, and no other arms). I, still + believing him an officer, demanded his name and address, and gave + him my hand and glove thereupon. A servant of mine thrust in + between us (totally without orders), but let him go on my command. + He then rode off at full speed; but about forty paces further was + stabbed, and very dangerously (so as to be in peril), by some + _Callum Beg_ or other of my people (for I have some rough-handed + folks about me), I need hardly say without my direction or + approval. The said dragoon had been sabring our unarmed countrymen, + however, at the _gate, after they were in arrest,_ and held by the + guards, and wounded one, Captain Hay, very severely. However, he + got his paiks--having acted like an assassin, and being treated + like one. _Who_ wounded him, though it was done before thousands of + people, they have never been able to ascertain, or prove, nor even + the _weapon_; some said a _pistol_, an _air-gun_, a stiletto, a + sword, a lance, a pitchfork, and what not. They have arrested and + examined servants and people of all descriptions, but can make out + nothing. Mr. Dawkins, our minister, assures me, that no suspicion + is entertained of the man who wounded him having been instigated by + me, or any of the party. I enclose you copies of the depositions of + those with us, and Dr. Craufurd, a canny Scot (_not_ an + acquaintance), who saw the latter part of the affair. They are in + Italian. + + "These are the only literary matters in which I have been engaged + since the publication and row about 'Cain;'--but Mr. Murray has + several things of mine in his obstetrical hands. Another Mystery--a + Vision--a Drama--and the like. But _you won't_ tell me what _you_ + are doing--however, I shall find you out, write what you will. You + say that I should like your son-in-law--it would be very difficult + for me to dislike any one connected with you; but I have no doubt + that his own qualities are all that you describe. + + "I am sorry you don't like Lord Orford's new work. My aristocracy, + which is very fierce, makes him a favourite of mine. Recollect that + those 'little factions' comprised Lord Chatham and Fox, the father, + and that _we_ live in gigantic and exaggerated times, which make + all under Gog and Magog appear pigmean. After having seen Napoleon + begin like Tamerlane and end like Bajazet in our own time, we have + not the same interest in what would otherwise have appeared + important history. But I must conclude. + + "Believe me ever and most truly yours, + + "NOEL BYRON." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 492. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, May 17. 1822. + + "I hear that the Edinburgh has attacked the three dramas, which is + a bad business for _you_; and I don't wonder that it discourages + you. However, _that_ volume may be trusted to _time_,--depend upon + it. I read it over with some attention since it was published, and + I think the time will come when it will be preferred to my other + writings, though not immediately. I say this without irritation + against the critics or criticism, whatever they may be (for I have + not seen them); and nothing that has or may appear in Jeffrey's + Review can make me forget that he stood by me for ten good years + without any motive to do so but his own good-will. + + "I hear Moore is in town; remember me to him, and believe me + + "Yours truly, N.B. + + "P.S. If you think it necessary, you may send me the Edinburgh. + Should there be any thing that requires an answer, I will reply, + but _temperately_ and _technically_; that is to say, merely with + respect to the _principles_ of the criticism, and not personally or + offensively as to its literary merits." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 493. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, May 17. 1822. + + "I hear you are in London. You will have heard from Douglas + Kinnaird (who tells me you have dined with him) as much as you + desire to know of my affairs at home and abroad. I have lately lost + my little girl Allegra by a fever, which has been a serious blow to + me. + + "I did not write to you lately (except one letter to Murray's), not + knowing exactly your 'where-abouts.' Douglas K. refused to forward + my message to Mr. Southey--_why_, he himself can explain. + + "You will have seen the statement of a squabble, &c.&c.[79] What + are you about? Let me hear from you at your leisure, and believe me + ever yours, + + "N.B." + +[Footnote 79: Here follows a repetition of the details given on this +subject to Sir Walter Scott and others.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 494. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Montenero[80], May 26. 1822. + + "Near Leghorn. + + "The body is embarked, in what ship I know not, neither could I + enter into the details; but the Countess G.G. has had the goodness + to give the necessary orders to Mr. Dunn, who superintends the + embarkation, and will write to you. I wish it to be buried in + Harrow church. + + "There is a spot in the church_yard_, near the footpath, on the + brow of the hill looking towards Windsor, and a tomb under a large + tree, (bearing the name of Peachie, or Peachey,) where I used to + sit for hours and hours when a boy. This was my favourite spot; + but, as I wish to erect a tablet to her memory, the body had better + be deposited in the church. Near the door, on the left hand as you + enter, there is a monument with a tablet containing these words:-- + + "'When Sorrow weeps o'er Virtue's sacred dust, + Our tears become us, and our grief is just: + Such were the tears she shed, who grateful pays + This last sad tribute of her love and praise.' + + I recollect them (after seventeen years), not from any thing + remarkable in them, but because from my seat in the gallery I had + generally my eyes turned towards that monument. As near it as + convenient I could wish Allegra to be buried, and on the wall a + marble tablet placed, with these words:-- + + In Memory of + Allegra, + Daughter of G.G. Lord Byron, + who died at Bagna Cavallo, + in Italy, April 20th, 1822, + aged five years and three months. + + 'I shall go to her, but she shall not return to me.' + 2d Samuel, xii. 23. + + "The funeral I wish to be as private as is consistent with decency; + and I could hope that Henry Drury will, perhaps, read the service + over her. If he should decline it, it can be done by the usual + minister for the time being. I do not know that I need add more + just now. + + "Since I came here, I have been invited by the Americans on board + their squadron, where I was received with all the kindness which I + could wish, and with _more ceremony_ than I am fond of. I found + them finer ships than your own of the same class, well manned and + officered. A number of American gentlemen also were on board at the + time, and some ladies. As I was taking leave, an American lady + asked me for a _rose_ which I wore, for the purpose, she said, of + sending to America something which I had about me, as a memorial. I + need not add that I felt the compliment properly. Captain Chauncey + showed me an American and very pretty edition of my poems, and + offered me a passage to the United States, if I would go there. + Commodore Jones was also not less kind and attentive. I have since + received the enclosed letter, desiring me to sit for my picture for + some Americans. It is singular that, in the same year that Lady + Noel leaves by will an interdiction for my daughter to see her + father's portrait for many years, the individuals of a nation, not + remarkable for their liking to the English in particular, nor for + flattering men in general, request me to sit for my + 'pourtraicture,' as Baron Bradwardine calls it. I am also told of + considerable literary honours in Germany. Goethe, I am told, is my + professed patron and protector. At Leipsic, this year, the highest + prize was proposed for a translation of two cantos of Childe + Harold. I am not sure that this was at _Leipsic_, but Mr. Rowcroft + was my authority--a good German scholar (a young American), and an + acquaintance of Goethe's. + + "Goethe and the Germans are particularly fond of Don Juan, which + they judge of as a work of art. I had heard something of this + before through Baron Lutzerode. The translations have been very + frequent of several of the works, and Goethe made a comparison + between Faust and Manfred. + + "All this is some compensation for your English native brutality, + so fully displayed this year to its highest extent. + + "I forgot to mention a little anecdote of a different kind. I went + over the Constitution (the Commodore's flag-ship), and saw, among + other things worthy of remark, a little boy _born_ on board of her + by a sailor's wife. They had christened him 'Constitution Jones.' + I, of course, approved the name; and the woman added, 'Ah, sir, if + he turns out but half as good as his name!' + + "Yours ever," &c. + +[Footnote 80: A hill, three or four miles from Leghorn, much resorted +to, as a place of residence during the summer months.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER. 495. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Montenero, near Leghorn, May 29. 1822. + + "I return you the proofs revised. Your printer has made one odd + mistake:--'poor as a _mouse_,' instead of 'poor as a _miser_.' The + expression may seem strange, but it is only a translation of + 'semper avarus eget.' You will add the Mystery, and publish as soon + as you can. I care nothing for your 'season,' nor the _blue_ + approbations or disapprobations. All that is to be considered by + you on the subject is as a matter of _business_; and if I square + that to your notions (even to the running the risk entirely + myself), you may permit me to choose my own time and mode of + publication. With regard to the late volume, the present run + against _it_ or _me_ may impede it for a time, but it has the vital + principle of permanency within it, as you may perhaps one day + discover. I wrote to you on another subject a few days ago. + + Yours, N.B. + + "P.S. Please to send me the Dedication of Sardanapalus to Goethe. I + shall prefix it to Werner, unless you prefer my putting another, + stating that the former had been omitted by the publisher. + + "On the title-page of the present volume, put 'Published for the + Author by J.M.'" + + * * * * * + +LETTER 496. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Montenero, Leghorn, June 6. 1822. + + "I return you the revise of Werner, and expect the rest. With + regard to the Lines to the Po, perhaps you had better put them + quietly in a second edition (if you reach one, that is to say) than + in the first; because, though they have been reckoned fine, and I + wish them to be preserved, I do not wish them to attract IMMEDIATE + observation, on account of the relationship of the lady to whom + they are addressed with the first families in Romagna and the + Marches. + + "The defender of 'Cain' may or may not be, as you term him, 'a tyro + in literature:' however I think both you and I are under great + obligation to him. I have read the Edinburgh review in Galignani's + Magazine, and have not yet decided whether to answer them or not; + for, if I do, it will be difficult for me not 'to make sport for + the Philistines' by pulling down a house or two; since, when I once + take pen in hand, I _must_ say what comes uppermost, or fling it + away. I have not the hypocrisy to pretend impartiality, nor the + temper (as it is called) to keep always from saying what may not be + pleasing to the hearer or reader. What do they mean by + '_elaborate_?' Why, _you_ know that they were written as fast as I + could put pen to paper, and printed from the _original_ MSS., and + never revised but in the proofs: _look_ at the _dates_ and the MSS. + themselves. Whatever faults they have must spring from + carelessness, and not from labour. They said the same of 'Lara,' + which I wrote while undressing after coming home from balls and + masquerades, in the year of revelry 1814. Yours." + + "June 8. 1822. + + "You give me no explanation of your intention as to the 'Vision of + Quevedo Redivivus,' one of my best things: indeed, you are + altogether so abstruse and undecided lately, that I suppose you + mean me to write 'John Murray, Esq., a Mystery,'--a composition + which would not displease the clergy nor the trade. I by no means + wish you to do what you don't like, but merely to say what you will + do. The Vision _must_ be published by some one. As to 'clamours,' + the die is cast: and 'come one, come all,' we will fight it out--at + least one of us." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 497. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Montenero, Villa Dupoy, near Leghorn, June 8. 1822. + + "I have written to you twice through the medium of Murray, and on + one subject, _trite_ enough,--the loss of poor little Allegra by a + fever; on which topic I shall say no more--there is nothing but + time. + + "A few days ago, my earliest and dearest friend, Lord Clare, came + over from Geneva on purpose to see me before he returned to + England. As I have always loved him (since I was thirteen, at + Harrow,) better than any (_male_) thing in the world, I need hardly + say what a melancholy pleasure it was to see him for a _day_ only; + for he was obliged to resume his journey immediately. * * * Do you + recollect, in the year of revelry 1814, the pleasantest parties and + balls all over London? and not the least so at * *'s. Do you + recollect your singing duets with Lady * *, and my flirtation with + Lady * *, and all the other fooleries of the time? while * * was + sighing, and Lady * * ogling him with her clear hazel eyes. _But_ + eight years have passed, and, since that time, * * has * * * * * + *;--has run away with * * * * *; and _mysen_ (as my Nottinghamshire + friends call themselves) might as well have thrown myself out of + the window while you were singing, as intermarried where I did. You + and * * * * have come off the best of us. I speak merely of my + marriage, and its consequences, distresses, and calumnies; for I + have been much more happy, on the whole, _since_, than I ever could + have been with * *. + + "I have read the recent article of Jeffrey in a faithful + transcription of the impartial Galignani. I suppose the long and + short of it is, that he wishes to provoke me to reply. But I won't, + for I owe him a good turn still for his kindness by-gone. Indeed, I + presume that the present opportunity of attacking me again was + irresistible; and I can't blame him, knowing what human nature is. + I shall make but one remark:--what does he mean by elaborate? The + whole volume was written with the greatest rapidity, in the midst + of evolutions, and revolutions, and persecutions, and proscriptions + of all who interested me in Italy. They said the same of 'Lara,' + which, _you_ know, was written amidst balls and fooleries, and + after coming home from masquerades and routs, in the summer of the + sovereigns. Of all I have ever written, they are perhaps the most + carelessly composed; and their faults, whatever they may be, are + those of negligence, and not of labour. I do not think this a + merit, but it is a fact. + + "Yours ever and truly, N.B. + + "P.S. You see the great advantage of my new signature;--it may + either stand for 'Nota Bene' or 'Noel Byron,' and, as such, will + save much repetition, in writing either books or letters. Since I + came here, I have been invited on board of the American squadron, + and treated with all possible honour and ceremony. They have asked + me to sit for my picture; and, as I was going away, an American + lady took a rose from me (which had been given to me by a very + pretty Italian lady that very morning), because, she said, 'She was + determined to send or take something which I had about me to + America.' _There_ is a kind of Lalla Rookh incident for you! + However, all these American honours arise, perhaps, not so much + from their enthusiasm for my 'Poeshie,' as their belief in my + dislike to the English,--in which I have the satisfaction to + coincide with them. I would rather, however, have a nod from an + American, than a snuff-box from an emperor." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 498. TO MR. ELLICE. + + "Montenero, Leghorn, June 12. 1822. + + "My dear Ellice, + + "It is a long time since I have written to you, but I have not + forgotten your kindness, and I am now going to tax it--I hope not + too highly--but _don't_ be alarmed, it is _not_ a loan, but + _information_ which I am about to solicit. By your extensive + connections, no one can have better opportunities of hearing the + real state of _South_ America--I mean Bolivar's country. I have + many years had transatlantic projects of settlement, and what I + could wish from you would be some information of the best course to + pursue, and some letters of recommendation in case I should sail + for Angostura. I am told that land is very cheap there; but though + I have no great disposable funds to vest in such purchases, yet my + income, such as it is, would be sufficient in any country (except + England) for all the comforts of life, and for most of its + luxuries. The war there is now over, and as I do not go there to + _speculate_, but to settle, without any views but those of + independence and the enjoyment of the common civil rights, I should + presume such an arrival would not be unwelcome. + + "All I request of you is, not to _dis_courage nor _en_courage, but + to give me such a statement as you think prudent and proper. I do + not address my other friends upon this subject, who would only + throw obstacles in my way, and bore me to return to England; which + I never will do, unless compelled by some insuperable cause. I have + a quantity of furniture, books, &c. &c. &c. which I could easily + ship from Leghorn; but I wish to 'look before I leap' over the + Atlantic. Is it true that for a few thousand dollars a large tract + of land may be obtained? I speak of _South_ America, recollect. I + have read some publications on the subject, but they seemed violent + and vulgar party productions. Please to address your answer[81] to + me at this place, and believe me ever and truly yours," &c. + +[Footnote 81: The answer which Mr. Ellice returned was, as might be +expected, strongly dissuasive of this design. The wholly disorganised +state of the country and its institutions, which it would take ages, +perhaps, to restore even to the degree of industry and prosperity which +it had enjoyed under the Spaniards, rendered Columbia, in his opinion, +one of the last places in the world to which a man desirous of peace and +quiet, or of security for his person and property, should resort to as +an asylum. As long as Bolivar lived and maintained his authority, every +reliance, Mr. Ellice added, might be placed on his integrity and +firmness; but with his death a new aera of struggle and confusion would +be sure to arise.] + + * * * * * + +About this time he sat for his picture to Mr. West, an American artist, +who has himself given, in one of our periodical publications, the +following account of his noble sitter:-- + +"On the day appointed, I arrived at two o'clock, and began the picture. +I found him a bad sitter. He talked all the time, and asked a multitude +of questions about America--how I liked Italy, what I thought of the +Italians, &c. When he was silent, he was a better sitter than before; +for he assumed a countenance that did not belong to him, as though he +were thinking of a frontispiece for Childe Harold. In about an hour our +first sitting terminated, and I returned to Leghorn, scarcely able to +persuade myself that this was the haughty misanthrope whose character +had always appeared so enveloped in gloom and mystery; for I do not +remember ever to have met with manners more gentle and attractive. + +"The next day I returned and had another sitting of an hour, during +which he seemed anxious to know what I should make of my undertaking. +Whilst I was painting, the window from which I received my light became +suddenly darkened, and I heard a voice exclaim 'e troppo bello!' I +turned, and discovered a beautiful female stooping down to look in, the +ground on the outside being on a level with the bottom of the window. +Her long golden hair hung down about her face and shoulders, her +complexion was exquisite, and her smile completed one of the most +romantic-looking heads, set off as it was by the bright sun behind it, +which I had ever beheld. Lord Byron invited her to come in, and +introduced her to me as the Countess Guiccioli. He seemed very fond of +her, and I was glad of her presence, for the playful manner which he +assumed towards her made him a much better sitter. + +"The next day, I was pleased to find that the progress which I had made +in his likeness had given satisfaction, for, when we were alone, he +said that he had a particular favour to request of me--would I grant it? +I said I should be happy to oblige him; and he enjoined me to the +flattering task of painting the Countess Guiccioli's portrait for him. +On the following morning I began it, and, after, they sat alternately. +He gave me the whole history of his connection with her, and said that +he hoped it would last for ever; at any rate, it should not be his fault +if it did not. His other attachments had been broken off by no fault of +his. + +"I was by this time sufficiently intimate with him to answer his +question as to what I thought of him before I had seen him. He laughed +much at the idea which I had formed of him, and said, 'Well, you find me +like other people, do you not?' He often afterwards repeated, 'And so +you thought me a finer fellow, did you?' I remember once telling him, +that notwithstanding his vivacity, I thought myself correct in at least +one estimate which I had made of him, for I still conceived that he was +not a happy man. He enquired earnestly what reason I had for thinking +so, and I asked him if he had never observed in little children, after a +paroxysm of grief, that they had at intervals a convulsive or tremulous +manner of drawing in a long breath. Wherever I had observed this, in +persons of whatever age, I had always found that it came from sorrow. He +said the thought was new to him, and that he would make use of it. + +"Lord Byron, and all the party, left Villa Rossa (the name of their +house) in a few days, to pack up their things in their house at Pisa. +He told me that he should remain a few days there, and desired me, if I +could do any thing more to the pictures, to come and stay with him. He +seemed at a loss where to go, and was, I thought, on the point of +embarking for America. I was with him at Pisa for a few days; but he was +so annoyed by the police, and the weather was so hot, that I thought it +doubtful whether I could improve the pictures, and, taking my departure +one morning before he was up, I wrote him an excuse from Leghorn. Upon +the whole, I left him with an impression that he possessed an excellent +heart, which had been misconstrued on all hands from little else than a +reckless levity of manners, which he took a whimsical pride in opposing +to those of other people." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 499. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, July 6. 1822. + + "I return you the revise. I have softened the part to which Gifford + objected, and changed the name of Michael to Raphael, who was an + angel of gentler sympathies. By the way, recollect to alter Michael + to _Raphael_ in the _scene_ itself throughout, for I have only had + time to do so in the list of the dramatis personae, and _scratch out + all the pencil-marks_, to avoid puzzling the printers. I have given + the '_Vision of Quevedo Redivivus_' to John Hunt, which will + relieve you from a dilemma. He must publish it at his _own_ risk, + as it is at his own desire. Give him the _corrected_ copy which + Mr. Kinnaird had, as it is mitigated partly, and also the preface. + + "Yours," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 500. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Pisa, July 8. 1822. + + "Last week I returned you the packet of proofs. You had, perhaps, + better not publish in the same volume the _Po_ and _Rimini_ + translation. + + "I have consigned a letter to Mr. John Hunt for the 'Vision of + Judgment,' which you will hand over to him. Also the 'Pulci,' + original and Italian, and any _prose_ tracts of mine; for Mr. Leigh + Hunt is arrived here, and thinks of commencing a periodical work, + to which I shall contribute. I do not propose to you to be the + publisher, because I know that you are unfriends; but all things in + your care, except the volume now in the press, and the manuscript + purchased of Mr. Moore, can be given for this purpose, according as + they are wanted. + + "With regard to what you say about your 'want of memory,' I can + only remark, that you inserted the note to Marino Faliero against + my positive revocation, and that you omitted the Dedication of + Sardanapalus to Goethe (place it before the volume now in the + press), both of which were things not very agreeable to me, and + which I could wish to be avoided in future, as they might be with a + very little care, or a simple memorandum in your pocket-book. + + "It is not impossible that I may have three or four cantos of Don + Juan ready by autumn, or a little later, as I obtained a permission + from my dictatress to continue it,--_provided always_ it was to be + more guarded and decorous and sentimental in the continuation than + in the commencement. How far these conditions have been fulfilled + may be seen, perhaps, by-and-by; but the embargo was only taken off + upon these stipulations. You can answer at your leisure. Yours," + &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 501. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, July 12. 1822. + + "I have written to you lately, but not in answer to your last + letter of about a fortnight ago. I wish to know (and request an + answer to _that_ point) what became of the stanzas to Wellington + (intended to open a canto of Don Juan with), which I sent you + several months ago. If they have fallen into Murray's hands, he and + the Tories will suppress them, as those lines rate that hero at his + real value. Pray be explicit on this, as I have no other copy, + having sent you the original; and if you have them, let me have + _that_ again, or a _copy_ correct. + + "I subscribed at Leghorn two hundred Tuscan crowns to your Irishism + committee; it is about a thousand francs, more or less. As Sir + C.S., who receives thirteen thousand a year of the public money, + could not afford more than a thousand livres out of his enormous + salary, it would have appeared ostentatious in a private individual + to pretend to surpass him; and therefore I have sent but the above + sum, as you will see by the enclosed receipt.[82] + + "Leigh Hunt is here, after a voyage of eight months, during which + he has, I presume, made the Periplus of Hanno the Carthaginian, and + with much the same speed. He is setting up a Journal, to which I + have promised to contribute; and in the first number the 'Vision of + Judgment, by Quevedo Redivivus,' will probably appear, with other + articles. + + "Can you give us any thing? He seems sanguine about the matter, but + (entre nous) I am not. I do not, however, like to put him out of + spirits by saying so; for he is bilious and unwell. Do, pray, + answer _this_ letter immediately. + + "Do send Hunt any thing in prose or verse, of yours, to start him + handsomely--any lyrical, _irical_, or what you please. + + "Has not your Potatoe Committee been blundering? Your advertisement + says, that Mr. L. Callaghan (a queer name for a banker) hath been + disposing of money in Ireland 'sans authority of the Committee.' I + suppose it will end in Callaghan's calling out the Committee, the + chairman of which carries pistols in his pocket, of course. + + "When you can spare time from _duetting, coquetting_, and + claretting with your Hibernians of both sexes, let me have a line + from you. I doubt whether Paris is a good place for the composition + of your new poesy." + +[Footnote 82: "Received from Mr. Henry Dunn the sum of two hundred +Tuscan crowns (for account of the Right Honourable Lord Noel Byron), for +the purpose of assisting the Irish poor. + +"Thomas Hall. + +"Leghorn, 9th July, 1822. Tuscan crowns, 200."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 502. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, August 8. 1822. + + "You will have heard by this time that Shelley and another + gentleman (Captain Williams) were drowned about a month ago (a + _month_ yesterday), in a squall off the Gulf of Spezia. There is + thus another man gone, about whom the world was ill-naturedly, and + ignorantly, and brutally mistaken. It will, perhaps, do him justice + _now_, when he can be no better for it.[83] + + "I have not seen the thing you mention[84], and only heard of it + casually, nor have I any desire. The price is, as I saw in some + advertisements, fourteen shillings, which is too much to pay for a + libel on oneself. Some one said in a letter, that it was a Doctor + Watkins, who deals in the life and libel line. It must have + diminished your natural pleasure, as a friend (vide + Rochefoucault), to see yourself in it. + + "With regard to the Blackwood fellows, I never published any thing + against them; nor, indeed, have seen their magazine (except in + Galignani's extracts) for these three years past. I once wrote, a + good while ago, some remarks [85] on their review of Don Juan, but + saying very little about themselves, and these were _not_ + published. If you think that I ought to follow your example[86](and + I like to be in your company when I can) in contradicting their + impudence, you may shape this declaration of mine into a similar + paragraph for me. It is possible that you may have seen the little + I _did_ write (and never published) at Murray's;--it contained much + more about Southey than about the Blacks. + + "If you think that I ought to do any thing about Watkins's book, I + should not care much about publishing _my Memoir now_, should it be + necessary to counteract the fellow. But, in _that_ case, I should + like to look over the _press_ myself. Let me know what you think, + or whether I had better _not_;--at least, not the second part, + which touches on the actual confines of still existing matters. + + "I have written three more Cantos of Don Juan, and am hovering on + the brink of another (the ninth). The reason I want the stanzas + again which I sent you is, that as these cantos contain a full + detail (like the storm in Canto Second) of the siege and assault of + Ismael, with much of sarcasm on those butchers in large business, + your mercenary soldiery, it is a good opportunity of gracing the + poem with * * *. With these things and these fellows, it is + necessary, in the present clash of philosophy and tyranny, to throw + away the scabbard. I know it is against fearful odds; but the + battle must be fought; and it will be eventually for the good of + mankind, whatever it may be for the individual who risks himself. + + "What do you think of your Irish bishop? Do you remember Swift's + line, 'Let me have a _barrack_--a fig for the _clergy_?' This seems + to have been his reverence's motto. * * * + + "Yours," &c. + +[Footnote 83: In a letter to Mr. Murray, of an earlier date, which has +been omitted to avoid repetitions, he says on the same subject, "You +were all mistaken about Shelley, who was, without exception, the _best_ +and least selfish man I ever knew." There is also another passage in the +same letter which, for its perfect truth, I must quote:--"I have +received your scrap, with Henry Drury's letter enclosed. It is just like +him--always kind and ready to oblige his old friends."] + +[Footnote 84: A book which had just appeared, entitled "Memoirs of the +Right Hon. Lord Byron."] + +[Footnote 85: The remarkable pamphlet from which extracts have been +already given in this work.] + +[Footnote 86: It had been asserted in a late Number of Blackwood, that +both Lord Byron and myself were employed in writing satires against that +Magazine.] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 503. TO MR. MOORE. + + "Pisa, August 27. 1822. + + "It is boring to trouble you with 'such small gear;' but it must be + owned that I should be glad if you would enquire whether my Irish + subscription ever reached the committee in Paris from Leghorn. My + reasons, like Vellum's, 'are threefold:'--First, I doubt the + accuracy of all almoners, or remitters of benevolent cash; second, + I do suspect that the said Committee, having in part served its + time to time-serving, may have kept back the acknowledgment of an + obnoxious politician's name in their lists; and third, I feel + pretty sure that I shall one day be twitted by the government + scribes for having been a professor of love for Ireland, and not + coming forward with the others in her distresses. + + "It is not, as you may opine, that I am ambitious of having my name + in the papers, as I can have that any day in the week gratis. All I + want is to know if the Reverend Thomas Hall did or did not remit + my subscription (200 scudi of Tuscany, or about a thousand francs, + more or less,) to the Committee at Paris. + + "The other day at Viareggio, I thought proper to swim off to my + schooner (the Bolivar) in the offing, and thence to shore + again--about three miles, or better, in all. As it was at mid-day, + under a broiling sun, the consequence has been a feverish attack, + and my whole skin's coming off, after going through the process of + one large continuous blister, raised by the sun and sea together. I + have suffered much pain; not being able to lie on my back, or even + side; for my shoulders and arms were equally St. Bartholomewed. But + it is over,--and I have got a new skin, and am as glossy as a snake + in its new suit. + + "We have been burning the bodies of Shelley and Williams on the + sea-shore, to render them fit for removal and regular interment. + You can have no idea what an extraordinary effect such a funeral + pile has, on a desolate shore, with mountains in the background and + the sea before, and the singular appearance the salt and + frankincense gave to the flame. All of Shelley was consumed, except + his _heart_, which would not take the flame, and is now preserved + in spirits of wine. + + "Your old acquaintance Londonderry has quietly died at North Cray! + and the virtuous De Witt was torn in pieces by the populace! What a + lucky * * the Irishman has been in his life and end.[87] In him + your Irish Franklin est mort! + + "Leigh Hunt is sweating articles for his new Journal; and both he + and I think it somewhat shabby in _you_ not to contribute. Will you + become one of the _properrioters_? 'Do, and we go snacks.' I + recommend you to think twice before you respond in the negative. + + "I have nearly (_quite three_) four new cantos of Don Juan ready. I + obtained permission from the female Censor Morum of _my_ morals to + continue it, provided it were immaculate; so I have been as decent + as need be. There is a deal of war--a siege, and all that, in the + style, graphical and technical, of the shipwreck in Canto Second, + which 'took,' as they say, in the Row. + + Yours, &c. + + "P.S. That * * * Galignani has about ten lies in one paragraph. It + was not a Bible that was found in Shelley's pocket, but John + Keats's poems. However, it would not have been strange, for he was + a great admirer of Scripture as a composition. _I_ did not send my + bust to the academy of New York; but I sat for my picture to young + West, an American artist, at the request of some members of that + Academy to _him_ that he would take my portrait,--for the Academy, + I believe.[88] + + "I had, and still have, thoughts of South America, but am + fluctuating between it and Greece. I should have gone, long ago, to + one of them, but for my liaison with the Countess Gi.; for love, in + these days, is little compatible with glory. _She_ would be + delighted to go too; but I do not choose to expose her to a long + voyage, and a residence in an unsettled country, where I shall + probably take a part of some sort." + +[Footnote 87: The particulars of this event had, it is evident, not yet +readied him.] + +[Footnote 88: This portrait, though destined for America, was, it +appears, never sent thither. A few copies of it have since been painted +by Mr. West, but the original picture was purchased by Mr. Joy, of +Hartham Park, Wilts; who is also the possessor of the original portrait +of Madame Guiccioli, by the same artist.] + + * * * * * + +Soon after the above letters were written, Lord Byron removed to Genoa, +having taken a house, called the Villa Saluzzo, at Albaro, one of the +suburbs of that city. From the time of the unlucky squabble with the +serjeant-major at Pisa, his tranquillity had been considerably broken in +upon, as well by the judicial enquiries consequent upon that event, as +by the many sinister rumours and suspicions to which it gave rise. +Though the wounded man had recovered, his friends all vowed vengeance +with the dagger: and the sensation which the affair and its various +consequences had produced was,--to Madame Guiccioli more particularly, +from the situation in which her family stood, in regard to +politics,--distressing and alarming. While the impression, too, of this +event was still recent, another circumstance occurred which, though +comparatively unimportant, had the unlucky effect of again drawing the +attention of the Tuscans to their new visitors. During Lord Byron's +short visit to Leghorn, a Swiss servant in his employ having quarrelled, +on some occasion, with the brother of Madame Guiccioli, drew his knife +upon the young Count, and wounded him slightly on the cheek. This +affray, happening so soon after the other, was productive also of so +much notice and conversation, that the Tuscan government, in its horror +of every thing like disturbance, thought itself called upon to +interfere; and orders were accordingly issued, that, within four days, +the two Counts Gamba, father and son, should depart from Tuscany. To +Lord Byron this decision was, in the highest degree, provoking and +disconcerting; it being one of the conditions of the Guiccioli's +separation from her husband, that she should thenceforward reside under +the same roof with her father. After balancing in his mind between +various projects,--sometimes thinking of Geneva, and sometimes, as we +have seen, of South America,--he at length decided, for the present, to +transfer his residence to Genoa. + +His habits of life, while at Pisa, had but very little differed, except +in the new line of society into which his introduction to Shelley's +friends led him,--from the usual monotonous routine in which, so +singularly for one of his desultory disposition, the daily course of +his existence had now, for some years, flowed. At two he usually +breakfasted, and at three, or, as the year advanced, four o'clock, those +persons who were in the habit of accompanying him in his rides, called +upon him. After, occasionally, a game of billiards, he proceeded,--and, +in order to avoid starers, in his carriage,--as far as the gates of the +town, where his horses met him. At first the route he chose for these +rides was in the direction of the Cascine and of the pine-forest that +reaches towards the sea; but having found a spot more convenient for his +pistol exercise on the road leading from the Porta alla Spiaggia to the +east of the city, he took daily this course during the remainder of his +stay. When arrived at the Podere or farm, in the garden of which they +were allowed to erect their target, his friends and he dismounted, and, +after devoting about half an hour to a trial of skill at the pistol, +returned, a little before sunset, into the city. + +"Lord Byron," says a friend who was sometimes present at their +practising, "was the best marksman. Shelley, and Williams, and +Trelawney, often made as good shots as he--but they were not so certain; +and he, though his hand trembled violently, never missed, for he +calculated on this vibration, and depended entirely on his eye. Once +after demolishing his mark, he set up a slender cane, whose colour, +nearly the same as the gravel in which it was fixed, might well have +deceived him, and at twenty paces he divided it with his bullet. His joy +at a good shot, and his vexation at a failure, was great--and when we +met him on his return, his cold salutation, or joyous laugh, told the +tale of the day's success." + +For the first time since his arrival in Italy, he now found himself +tempted to give dinner parties; his guests being, besides Count Gamba +and Shelley, Mr. Williams, Captain Medwin, Mr. Taafe, and Mr. +Trelawney;--and "never," as his friend Shelley used to say, "did he +display himself to more advantage than on these occasions; being at once +polite and cordial, full of social hilarity and the most perfect good +humour; never diverging into ungraceful merriment, and yet keeping up +the spirit of liveliness throughout the evening." About midnight his +guests generally left him, with the exception of Captain Medwin, who +used to remain, as I understand, talking and drinking with his noble +host till far into the morning; and to the careless, half mystifying +confidences of these nocturnal sittings, implicitly listened to and +confusedly recollected, we owe the volume with which Captain Medwin, +soon after the death of the noble poet, favoured the world. + +On the subject of this and other such intimacies formed by Lord Byron, +not only at the period of which we are speaking, but throughout his +whole life, it would be difficult to advance any thing more judicious, +or more demonstrative of a true knowledge of his character, than is to +be found in the following remarks of one who had studied him with her +whole heart,--who had learned to regard him with the eyes of good sense, +as well as of affection, and whose strong love, in short, was founded +upon a basis the most creditable both to him and herself,--the being +able to understand him.[89] + +"We continued in Pisa even more rigorously to absent ourselves from +society. However, as there were a good many English in Pisa, he could +not avoid becoming acquainted with various friends of Shelley, among +which number was Mr. Medwin. They followed him in his rides, dined with +him, and felt themselves happy, of course, in the apparent intimacy in +which they lived with so renowned a man; but not one of them was +admitted to any part of his friendship, which, indeed, he did not easily +accord. He had a great affection for Shelley, and a great esteem for his +character and talents; but he was not his friend in the most extensive +sense of that word. Sometimes, when speaking of his friends and of +friendship, as also of love, and of every other noble emotion of the +soul, his expressions might inspire doubts concerning his sentiments and +the goodness of his heart. The feeling of the moment regulated his +speech, and, besides, he liked to play the part of singularity,--and +sometimes worse,--more especially with those whom he suspected of +endeavouring to make discoveries as to his real character; but it was +only mean minds and superficial observers that could be deceived in him. +It was necessary to consider his actions to perceive the contradiction +they bore to his words: it was necessary to be witness of certain +moments, during which unforeseen and involuntary emotion forced him to +give himself entirely up to his feelings; and whoever beheld him then, +became aware of the stores of sensibility and goodness of which his +noble heart was full. + +"Among the many occasions _I_ had of seeing him thus overpowered, I +shall mention one relative to his feelings of friendship. A few days +before leaving Pisa, we were one evening seated in the garden of the +Palazzo Lanfranchi. A soft melancholy was spread over his countenance; +he recalled to mind the events of his life; compared them with his +present situation, and with that which it might have been if his +affection for me had not caused him to remain in Italy, saying things +which would have made earth a paradise for me, but that even then a +presentiment that I should lose all this happiness tormented me. At this +moment a servant announced Mr. Hobhouse. The slight shade of melancholy +diffused over Lord Byron's face gave instant place to the liveliest joy; +but it was so great, that it almost deprived him of strength. A fearful +paleness came over his cheeks, and his eyes were filled with tears as he +embraced his friend. His emotion was so great that he was forced to sit +down. + +"Lord Clare's visit also occasioned him extreme delight. He had a great +affection for Lord Clare, and was very happy during the short visit that +he paid him at Leghorn. The day on which they separated was a melancholy +one for Lord Byron. 'I have a presentiment that I shall never see him +more,' he said, and his eyes filled with tears. The same melancholy came +over him during the first weeks that succeeded to Lord Clare's +departure, whenever his conversation happened to fall upon this +friend."[90] + +Of his feelings on the death of his daughter Allegra, this lady gives +the following account:--"On the occasion also of the death of his +natural daughter, I saw in his grief the excess of paternal kindness. +His conduct towards this child was always that of a fond father; but no +one would have guessed from his expressions that he felt this affection +for her. He was dreadfully agitated by the first intelligence of her +illness; and when afterwards that of her death arrived, I was obliged to +fulfil the melancholy task of communicating it to him. The memory of +that frightful moment is stamped indelibly on my mind. For several +evenings he had not left his house, I therefore went to him. His first +question was relative to the courier he had despatched for tidings of +his daughter, and whose delay disquieted him. After a short interval of +suspense, with every caution which my own sorrow suggested, I deprived +him of all hope of the child's recovery. 'I understand,' said he,--'it +is enough, say no more.' A mortal paleness spread itself over his face, +his strength failed him, and he sunk into a seat. His look was fixed, +and the expression such that I began to fear for his reason; he did not +shed a tear, and his countenance manifested so hopeless, so profound, so +sublime a sorrow, that at the moment he appeared a being of a nature +superior to humanity. He remained immovable in the same attitude for an +hour, and no consolation which I endeavoured to afford him seemed to +reach his ears, far less his heart. But enough of this sad episode, on +which I cannot linger, even after the lapse of so many years, without +renewing in my own heart the awful wretchedness of that day. He desired +to be left alone, and I was obliged to leave him. I found him on the +following morning tranquillised, and with an expression of religious +resignation on his features. 'She is more fortunate than we are,' he +said; 'besides, her position in the world would scarcely have allowed +her to be happy. It is God's will--let us mention it no more.' And from +that day he would never pronounce her name; but became more anxious +when he spoke of Ada,--so much so as to disquiet himself when the usual +accounts sent him were for a post or two delayed."[91] + +The melancholy death of poor Shelley, which happened, as we have seen, +also during this period, seems to have affected Lord Byron's mind, less +with grief for the actual loss of his friend, than with bitter +indignation against those who had, through life, so grossly +misrepresented him; and never certainly was there an instance where the +supposed absence of all religion in an individual was assumed so eagerly +as an excuse for the absence of all charity in judging him. Though never +personally acquainted with Mr. Shelley, I can join freely with those who +most loved him in admiring the various excellences of his heart and +genius, and lamenting the too early doom that robbed us of the mature +fruits of both. His short life had been, like his poetry, a sort of +bright erroneous dream,--false in the general principles on which it +proceeded, though beautiful and attaching in most of the details. Had +full time been allowed for the "over-light" of his imagination to have +been tempered down by the judgment which, in him, was still in reserve, +the world at large would have been taught to pay that high homage to his +genius which those only who saw what he was capable of can now be +expected to accord to it. + +It was about this time that Mr. Cowell, paying a visit to Lord Byron at +Genoa, was told by him that some friends of Mr. Shelley, sitting +together one evening, had seen that gentleman, distinctly, as they +thought, walk into a little wood at Lerici, when at the same moment, as +they afterwards discovered, he was far away in quite a different +direction. "This," added Lord Byron, in a low, awe-struck tone of +voice, "was but ten days before poor Shelley died." + +[Footnote 89: My poor Zimmerman, who now will understand thee?"--such +was the touching speech addressed to Zimmerman by his wife, on her +death-bed; and there is implied in these few words all that a man of +morbid sensibility must be dependant for upon the tender and +self-forgetting tolerance of the woman with whom he is united.] + +[Footnote 90: "In Pisa abbiamo continuato anche piu rigorosaraente a +vivere lontano dalla societa. Essendosi pero in Pisa molti Inglesi egli +non pote escusarsi dal fare la conoscenza di varii amici di Shelley, fra +i quali uno fu Mr. Medwin. Essi lo seguitavano al passeggio, pranzavono +con lui e certamente si tenevano felici della apparente intimita che +loro accordava un uomo cosi superiore. Ma nessuno di loro fu ammesso mai +a porta della sua amicizia, che egli non era facile a accordare. Per +Shelley egli aveva dell' affezione, e molta stima pel suo carattere e +pel suo talento, ma non era suo amico nel estensione del senso che si +deva dare alla parola amicizia. Talvolta parlando egli de' suoi amici, e +dell' amicizia, come pure dell' amore, e di ogni altro nobile sentimento +dell' anima, potevano i suoi discorsi far nascere dei dubbii sui veri +suoi sentimenti, e sulla bonta del suo core. Una impressione momentanea +regolava i suoi discorsi; e di piu egli amava anche a rappresentare un +personaggio bizzarro, e qualche volta anche peggio,--specialmente con +quelli che egli pensava volessero studiare e fare delle scoperte sul suo +carattere. Ma nell' inganno non poteva cadere che una piccola mente, e +un osservatore superficiale. Bisognava esaminare le sue azioni per +sentire tutta le contraddizione che era fra di esse e i suoi discorsi; +bisognava vederlo in certi momenti in cui per una emozione improvisa e +piu forte della sua volonta la sua anima si abbandonava interamente a se +stessa;--bisognava vederlo allora per scoprire i tesori di sensibilita e +di bonta che erano in quella nobile anima. + +"Fra le tante volte che io l'ho veduto in simili circostanze ne +ricordero una che risguarda i suoi sentimenti di amicizia. Pochi giorni +prima di lasciare Pisa eravamo verso sera insieme seduti nel giardino +del Palazzo Lanfranchi. Una dolce malinconia era sparsa sul suo viso. +Egli riandava col pensiero gli avvenimenti della sua vita e faceva il +confronto colle attuale sue situazione e quella che avrebbe potuta +essere se la sua affezione per me non lo avesse fatto restare in Italia; +e diceva cose che avrebbero resa per me la terra un paradiso, se giA +sino d'allora il pressentimento di perdere tanta felicita non mi avesse +tormentata. In questo mentre un domestico annuncio Mr. Hobhouse. La +leggiera tinta di malinconia sparsa sul viso di Byron fece, luogo +subitamente alia piu viva gioia; ma essa fu cosi forte che gli tolse +quasi le forze. Un pallore commovente ricoperse il suo volto, e nell' +abbracciare il suo amico i suoi occhi erano pieni di lacrime di +contento. E l'emozione fu cosi forte che egli fu obbligato di sedersi, +sentendosi mancare le forze. + +"La venuta pure di Lord Clare fu per lui un epoca di grande felicita. +Egli amava sommamente Lord Clare--egli era cosi felice in quel breve +tempo che passo presso di lui a Livorno, e il giorno in cui si +separarono fu un giorno di grande tristezza per Lord Byron. 'Io ho il +pressentimento che non lo vedro piu,' diceva egli; e i suoi occhi si +riempirano di lacrime; e in questo stato l'ho veduto per varii +settimanie dopo la partenza di Lord Clare, ogni qual volta il discorso +cadeva sopra di codesto il suo amico."] + +[Footnote 91: "Nell' occasione pure della morire della sua figlia +naturale io ho veduto nel suo dolore tuttocio che vi e di piu profondo +nella tenerezza paterna. La sua condotta verso di codesta fanciulla era +stata sempre quella del padre il piu amoroso; ma dalle di lui parole non +si sarebbe giudicato che avesse tanta affezione per lei. Alia prima +notizia della di lei malattia egli fu sommamente agitato; giunse poi la +notizia della morte, ed io dovessi esercitare il tristo uficio di +participarla a Lord Byron. Quel sensibile momenta sara indelebile nella +mia memoria. Egli non usciva da varii giorni la sera: io andai dunque da +lui. La prima domauda che egli mi fece fu relativa al Corriere che egli +aveva spedito per avere notizie della sua figlia, e di cui il retardo lo +inquietava. Dopo qualche momento di sospensione con tutta l'arte che +sapeva suggerirmi il mio proprio dotore gli tolsi ogni speranza della +guarizione della fanciulla. 'Ho inteso,' disse egli--'basta cosi--non +dite di piu'--e un pallore mortale si sparse sul suo volto; le forze gli +mancarono, e cadde sopra una sedia d'appoggio. Il suo sguardo era fisso +e tale che mi fece temere per la sua ragione. Egli rimase in quello +stato d'immobilita un' ora; e nessuna parola di consolazione che io +potessi indirezzargli pareva penetrare le sue orecchie non che il suo +core. Ma basta cosi di questa trista detenzione nella quale non posso +fermarmi dopo tanti anni senza risvegliare di nuovo nel mio animo le +terribile sofferenze di quel giorno. La mattina lo trovai tranquillo, e +con una espressione di religiosa rassegnazione nel suo volto. 'Ella e +piu felice di noi,' diss' egli--'d'altronde la sua situazione nel mondo +non le avrebbe data forse felicita. Dio ha voluto cosi--non ne parliamo +piu.' E da quel giorno in poi non ha piu voluto proferire il nome di +quella fanciulla. Ma e divenuto piu pensieroso parlando di Adda, al +punto di tormentarsi quando gli ritardavano di qualche ordinario le di +lei notizie."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 504. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Genoa, October 9. 1822. + + "I have received your letter, and as you explain it, I have no + objection, on _your_ account, to omit those passages in the new + Mystery (which were marked in the half-sheet sent the other day to + Pisa), or the passage in _Cain_;--but why not be open and say so at + _first_? You should be more straight-forward on every account. + + "I have been very unwell--four days confined to my bed in 'the + worst inn's worst room,' at Lerici, with a violent rheumatic and + bilious attack, constipation, and the devil knows what: no + physician, except a young fellow, who, however, was kind and + cautious, and that's enough. + + "At last I seized Thompson's book of prescriptions (a donation of + yours), and physicked myself with the first dose I found in it; and + after undergoing the ravages of all kinds of decoctions, sallied + from bed on the fifth day to cross the Gulf to Sestri. The sea + revived me instantly; and I ate the sailor's cold fish, and drank a + gallon of country wine, and got to Genoa the same night after + landing at Sestri, and have ever since been keeping well, but + thinner, and with an occasional cough towards evening. + + "I am afraid the Journal _is a bad_ business, and won't do; but in + it I am sacrificing _myself_ for others--_I_ can have no advantage + in it. I believe the _brothers Hunts_ to be honest men; I am sure + that they are poor ones; they have not a nap. They pressed me to + engage in this work, and in an evil hour I consented. Still I shall + not repent, if I can do them the least service. I have done all I + can for Leigh Hunt since he came here; but it is almost + useless:--his wife is ill, his six children not very tractable, and + in the affairs of this world he himself is a child. The death of + Shelley left them totally aground; and I could not see them in such + a state without using the common feelings of humanity, and what + means were in my power, to set them afloat again. + + "So Douglas Kinnaird is out of the way? He was so the last time I + sent him a parcel, and he gives no previous notice. When is he + expected again? + + "Yours, &c. + + "P.S. Will you say at once--do you publish Werner and the Mystery + or not? You never once allude to them. + + "That curst advertisement of Mr. J. Hunt is out of the limits. I + did not lend him my name to be hawked about in this way. + + "However, I believe--at least, hope--that after all you may be a + good fellow at bottom, and it is on this presumption that I now + write to you on the subject of a poor woman of the name of _Yossy_, + who is, or was, an author of yours, as she says, and published a + book on Switzerland in 1816, patronised by the 'Court and Colonel + M'Mahon.' But it seems that neither the Court nor the Colonel could + get over the portentous price of three pounds, thirteen, and + sixpence,' which alarmed the too susceptible public; and, in short, + 'the book died away,' and, what is worse, the poor soul's husband + died too, and she writes with the man a corpse before her; but + instead of addressing the bishop or Mr. Wilberforce, she hath + recourse to that proscribed, atheistical, syllogistical, + phlogistical person, _mysen_, as they say in Notts. It is strange + enough, but the rascaille English who calumniate me in every + direction and on every score, whenever they are in great distress + recur to me for assistance. If I have had one example of this, I + have had letters from a thousand, and as far as is in my power have + tried to repay good for evil, and purchase a shilling's worth of + salvation as long as my pocket can hold out. + + "Now, I am willing to do what I can for this unfortunate person; + but her situation and her wishes (not unreasonable, however,) + require more than can be advanced by one individual like myself; + for I have many claims of the same kind just at present, and also + some remnants of _debt_ to pay in England--God, he knows, the + _latter_ how reluctantly! Can the Literary Fund do nothing for her? + By your interest, which is great among the pious, I dare say that + something might be collected. Can you get any of her books + published? Suppose you took her as author in my place, now vacant + among your ragamuffins; she is a moral and pious person, and will + shine upon your shelves. But seriously, do what you can for her." + + * * * * * + +LETTER 505. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Genoa, 9bre 23. 1822. + + "I have to thank you for a parcel of books, which are very welcome, + especially Sir Walter's gift of 'Halidon Hill.' You have sent me a + copy of 'Werner,' but _without_ the preface. If you have published + it _without_, you will have plunged me into a very disagreeable + dilemma, because I shall be accused of plagiarism from Miss Lee's + German's Tale, whereas I have fully and freely acknowledged that + the drama is entirely taken from the story. + + "I return you the Quarterly Review, uncut and unopened, not from + disrespect or disregard or pique, but it is a kind of reading which + I have some time disused, as I think the periodical style of + writing hurtful to the habits of the mind, by presenting the + superfices of too many things at once. I do not know that it + contains any thing disagreeable to me--it may or it may not; nor do + I return it on account that there _may_ be an article which you + hinted at in one of your late letters, but because I have left off + reading these kind of works, and should equally have returned you + any other number. + + "I am obliged to take in one or two abroad, because solicited to do + so. The Edinburgh came before me by mere chance in Galignani's + picnic sort of gazette, where he had inserted a part of it. + + "You will have received various letters from me lately, in a style + which I used with reluctance; but you left me no other choice by + your absolute refusal to communicate with a man you did not like + upon the mere simple matter of transfer of a few papers of little + consequence (except to their author), and which could be of no + moment to yourself. + + "I hope that Mr. Kinnaird is better. It is strange that you never + alluded to his accident, if it be true, as stated in the papers. I + am yours, &c. &c. + + "I hope that you have a milder winter than we have had here. We + have had inundations worthy of the Trent or Po, and the conductor + (Franklin's) of my house was struck (or supposed to be stricken) by + a thunderbolt. I was so near the window that I was dazzled and my + eyes hurt for several minutes, and everybody in the house felt an + electric shock at the moment. Madame Guiccioli was frightened, as + you may suppose. + + "I have thought since that your bigots would have 'saddled me with + a judgment' (as Thwackum did Square when he bit his tongue in + talking metaphysics), if any thing had happened of consequence. + These fellows always forget Christ in their Christianity, and what + he said when 'the tower of Siloam fell.' + + "To-day is the 9th, and the 10th is my surviving daughter's + birth-day. I have ordered, as a regale, a mutton chop and a bottle + of ale. She is seven years old, I believe. Did I ever tell you that + the day I came of age I dined on eggs and bacon and a bottle of + ale? For once in a way they are my favourite dish and drinkable, + but as neither of them agree with me, I never use them but on great + jubilees--once in four or five years or so. + + "I see somebody represents the Hunts and Mrs. Shelley as living in + my house: it is a falsehood. They reside at some distance, and I do + not see them twice in a month. I have not met Mr. Hunt a dozen + times since I came to Genoa, or near it. + + "Yours ever," &c. + + * * * * * + +LETTER 506. TO MR. MURRAY. + + "Genoa, 10bre 25 deg.. 1822. + + "I had sent you back the Quarterly, without perusal, having + resolved to read no more reviews, good, bad, or indifferent; but + 'who can control his fate?' Galignani, to whom my English studies + are confined, has forwarded a copy of at least one half of it in + his indefatigable catch-penny weekly compilation; and as, 'like + honour, it came unlooked for,' I have looked through it. I must say + that, upon the _whole_, that is, the whole of the _half_ which I + have read (for the other half is to be the segment of Galignani's + next week's circular), it is extremely handsome, and any thing but + unkind or unfair. As I take the good in good part, I must not, nor + will not, quarrel with the bad. What the writer says of Don Juan is + harsh, but it is inevitable. He must follow, or at least not + directly oppose, the opinion of a prevailing, and yet not very + firmly seated, party. A Review may and will direct and 'turn awry' + the currents of opinion, but it must not directly oppose them. Don + Juan will be known by and by, for what it is intended,--a _Satire_ + on _abuses_ of the present states of society, and not an eulogy of + vice. It may be now and then voluptuous: I can't help that. + Ariosto is worse; Smollett (see Lord Strutwell in vol. 2d of + Roderick Random) ten times worse; and Fielding no better. No girl + will ever be seduced by reading Don Juan:--no, no; she will go to + Little's poems and Rousseau's _romans_ for that, or even to the + immaculate De Stael. They will encourage her, and not the Don, who + laughs at that, and--and--most other things. But never mind--_ca + ira!_ + + "Now, do you see what you and your friends do by your injudicious + rudeness?--actually cement a sort of connection which you strove to + prevent, and which, had the Hunts _prospered_, would not in all + probability have continued. As it is, I will not quit them in their + adversity, though it should cost me character, fame, money, and the + usual _et cetera_. + + "My original motives I already explained (in the letter which you + thought proper to show): they are the _true_ ones, and I abide by + them, as I tell you, and I told Leigh Hunt when he questioned me on + the subject of that letter. He was violently hurt, and never will + forgive me at bottom; but I can't help that. I never meant to make + a parade of it; but if he chose to question me, I could only answer + the plain truth: and I confess I did not see any thing in the + letter to hurt him, unless I said he was 'a bore,' which I don't + remember. Had their Journal gone on well, and I could have aided to + make it better for them, I should then have left them, after my + safe pilotage off a lee shore, to make a prosperous voyage by + themselves. As it is, I can't, and would not, if I could, leave + them among the breakers. + + "As to any community of feeling, thought, or opinion, between + Leigh Hunt and me, there is little or none. We meet rarely, hardly + ever; but I think him a good-principled and able man, and must do + as I would be done by. I do not know what world he has lived in, + but I have lived in three or four; but none of them like his Keats + and kangaroo terra incognita. Alas! poor Shelley! how we would have + laughed had he lived, and how we used to laugh now and then, at + various things which are grave in the suburbs! + + "You are all mistaken about Shelley. You do not know how mild, how + tolerant, how good he was in society; and as perfect a gentleman as + ever crossed a drawing-room, when he liked, and where liked. + + "I have some thoughts of taking a run down to Naples (_solus_, or, + at most, _cum sola_) this spring, and writing, when I have studied + the country, a Fifth and Sixth Canto of Childe Harold: but this is + merely an idea for the present, and I have other excursions and + voyages in my mind. The busts[92] are finished: are you worthy of + them? + + "Yours, &c. N.B. + + "P.S. Mrs. Shelley is residing with the Hunts at some distance from + me. I see them very seldom, and generally on account of their + business. Mrs. Shelley, I believe, will go to England in the + spring. + + "Count Gamba's family, the father and mother and daughter, are + residing with me by Mr. Hill (the minister's) recommendation, as a + safer asylum from the political persecutions than they could have + in another residence; but they occupy one part of a large house, + and I the other, and our establishments are quite separate. + + "Since I have read the Quarterly, I shall erase two or three + passages in the latter six or seven cantos, in which I had lightly + stroked over two or three of your authors; but I will not return + evil for good. I liked what I read of the article much. + + "Mr. J. Hunt is most likely the publisher of the new Cantos; with + what prospects of success I know not, nor does it very much matter, + as far as I am concerned; but I hope that it may be of use to him; + he is a stiff, sturdy, conscientious man, and I like him; he is + such a one as Prynne or Pym might be. I bear you no ill-will for + declining the Don Juans. + + "Have you aided Madame de Yossy, as I requested? I sent her three + hundred francs. Recommend her, will you, to the Literary Fund, or + to some benevolence within your circles." + +[Footnote 92: Of the bust of himself by Bartollini he says, in one of +the omitted letters to Mr. Murray:--"The bust does not turn out a good +one,--though it may be like for aught I know, as it exactly resembles a +superannuated Jesuit." Again: "I assure you Bartollini's is dreadful, +though my mind misgives me that it is hideously like. If it is, I cannot +be long for this world, for it overlooks seventy."] + + * * * * * + +LETTER 507. TO LADY ----. + + "Albaro, November 10. 1822. + + "The Chevalier persisted in declaring himself an ill-used + gentleman, and describing you as a kind of cold Calypso, who lead + astray people of an amatory disposition without giving them any + sort of compensation, contenting yourself, it seems, with only + making _one_ fool instead of two, which is the more approved method + of proceeding on such occasions. For my part, I think you are quite + right; and be assured from me that a woman (as society is + constituted in England) who gives any advantage to a man may expect + a lover, but will sooner or later find a tyrant; and this is not + the man's fault either, perhaps, but is the necessary and natural + result of the circumstances of society, which, in fact, tyrannise + over the man equally with the woman; that is to say, if either of + them have any feeling or honour. + + "You can write to me at your leisure and inclination. I have always + laid it down as a maxim, and found it justified by experience, that + a man and a woman make far better friendships than can exist + between two of the same sex; but _these_ with this condition, that + they never have made, or are to make, love with each other. Lovers + may, and, indeed, generally _are_ enemies, but they never can be + friends; because there must always be a spice of jealousy and a + something of self in all their speculations. + + "Indeed, I rather look upon love altogether as a sort of hostile + transaction, very necessary to make or to break matches, and keep + the world going, but by no means a sinecure to the parties + concerned. + + "Now, as my love perils are, I believe, pretty well over, and + yours, by all accounts, are never to begin, we shall be the best + friends imaginable, as far as both are concerned, and with this + advantage, that we may both fall to loving right and left through + all our acquaintance, without either sullenness or sorrow from that + amiable passion which are its inseparable attendants. + + "Believe me," &c. + + +END OF THE FIFTH VOLUME. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of Lord Byron, With His Letters +And Journals, Vol. 5 (of 6), by (Lord Byron) George Gordon Byron + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WRITINGS OF LORD BYRON *** + +***** This file should be named 16609.txt or 16609.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/6/0/16609/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Taavi Kalju and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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