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Life of Lord Byron Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the Life of Lord Byron novel. A total of 208 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : Life of Lord Byron.Vol. I.by Thomas Moore.PREFACE TO THE FIRST VOLUME OF THE FIRST EDITI
Life of Lord Byron.Vol. I.by Thomas Moore.PREFACE TO THE FIRST VOLUME OF THE FIRST EDITION.[1]In presenting these Volumes to the public I should have felt, I own, considerable diffidence, from a sincere distrust in my own powers of doing justice to such a
- 1 Life of Lord Byron.Vol. I.by Thomas Moore.PREFACE TO THE FIRST VOLUME OF THE FIRST EDITION.[1]In presenting these Volumes to the public I should have felt, I own, considerable diffidence, from a sincere distrust in my own powers of doing justice to such a
- 2 He adds in a note, "The Brig of Don, near the 'auld town' of Aberdeen, with its one arch and its black deep salmon stream, is in my memory as yesterday. I still remember, though perhaps I may misquote the awful proverb which made me pause t
- 3 For a general notion of his dispositions and capacities at this period, we could not have recourse to a more trust-worthy or valuable authority than that of the Rev. Dr. Drury, who was at this time head master of the school, and to whom Lord Byron has lef
- 4 "Yet when confinement's lingering hour was done, Our sports, our studies, and our souls were one: Together we impell'd the flying ball, Together join'd in cricket's manly toil, Or shared the produce of the river's spoil; Or,
- 5 In the summer of this year (1806) he, as usual, joined his mother at Southwell,--among the small, but select, society of which place he had, during his visits, formed some intimacies and friends.h.i.+ps, the memory of which is still cherished there fondly
- 6 Yours truly."LETTER 5.TO MR. PIGOT."Piccadilly, August 16. 1806."I cannot exactly say with Caesar, 'Veni, vidi, vici:' however, the most important part of his laconic account of success applies to my present situation; for, though
- 7 To Mr. Becher, as I have said, the first copy of his little work was presented; and this gentleman, in looking over its pages, among many things to commend and admire, as well as some almost too boyish to criticise, found one poem in which, as it appeared
- 8 In one of the pieces, reprinted in the "Hours of Idleness," there are some alterations and additions, which, as far as they may be supposed to spring from the known feelings of the poet respecting birth, are curious. This poem, which is ent.i.tl
- 9 "Blackstone, Montesquieu."PHILOSOPHY."Paley, Locke, Bacon, Hume, Berkeley, Drummond, Beattie, and Bolingbroke. Hobbes I detest."GEOGRAPHY."Strabo, Cellarius, Adams, Pinkerton, and Guthrie."POETRY."All the British Cla.s.sics as before detailed, with
- 10 Whether the verses I am now about to give are, in any degree, founded on fact, I have no accurate means of determining. Fond as he was of recording every particular of his youth, such an event, or rather era, as is here commemorated, would have been, of a
- 11 TO MISS ----."June 11. 1807."Dear Queen Bess, "_Savage_ ought to be _immortal_:--though not a _thorough-bred bull-dog_, he is the finest puppy I ever _saw_, and will answer much better; in his great and manifold kindness he has already bitten my finger
- 12 "Last week I swam in the Thames from Lambeth through the two bridges, Westminster and Blackfriars, a distance, including the different turns and tacks made on the way, of three miles! You see I am in excellent training in case of a _squall_ at sea. I mea
- 13 "Sir, "Your letter was not received till this morning, I presume from being addressed to me in Notts., where I have not resided since last June, and as the date is the 6th, you will excuse the delay of my answer."If the little volume you mention has gi
- 14 I have already mentioned the early friends.h.i.+p that subsisted between this gentleman and Lord Byron, as well as the coolness that succeeded it. The following extract from a letter with which Mr. Harness favoured me, in placing at my disposal those of h
- 15 "N.A., Notts. October 4. 1808."You will make as good a bargain as possible with this Master Jekyll, if he is not a gentleman. If he is a _gentleman_, inform me, for I shall take very different steps. If he is not, you must get what you can of the money,
- 16 "To mark a friend's remains these stones arise; I never knew but one, and here he lies."[98]Melancholy, indeed, seems to have been gaining fast upon his mind at this period. In another letter to Mr. Hodgson, he says,--"You know laughing is the sign of
- 17 "I send down to you by this post a certain Satire lately published, and in return for the three and sixpence expenditure upon it, only beg that if you should guess the author, you will keep his name secret; at least for the present. London is full of the
- 18 But, however far short of himself his first writings must be considered, there is in his Satire a liveliness of thought, and still more a vigour and courage, which, concurring with the justice of his cause and the sympathies of the public on his side, cou
- 19 LETTER 34.TO MRS. BYRON."Falmouth, June 22. 1809."Dear Mother, "I am about to sail in a few days; probably before this reaches you.Fletcher begged so hard, that I have continued him in my service. If he does not behave well abroad, I will send him back
- 20 "BYRON."On the second of July the packet sailed from Falmouth, and, after a favourable pa.s.sage of four days and a half, the voyagers reached Lisbon, and took up their abode in that city.[118]The following letters, from Lord Byron to his friend Mr. Hod
- 21 In one so imaginative as Lord Byron, who, while he infused so much of his life into his poetry, mingled also not a little of poetry with his life, it is difficult, in unravelling the texture of his feelings, to distinguish at all times between the fancifu
- 22 "'This modest bard, like many a bard unknown, Rhymes on our names, but wisely hides his own; But yet whoe'er he be, to say no worse, His name would bring more credit than his verse.'"The mention of the three Athenian Graces will, I can foresee, rouse
- 23 "BYRON."LETTER 43.TO MR. HODGSON."Salsette frigate, in the Dardanelles, off Abydos, May 5. 1810."I am on my way to Constantinople, after a tour through Greece, Epirus, &c., and part of Asia Minor, some particulars of which I have just communicated to
- 24 The reader has not, I trust, pa.s.sed carelessly over the latter part of this letter. There is a healthfulness in the moral feeling so unaffectedly expressed in it, which seems to answer for a heart sound at the core, however pa.s.sion might have scorched
- 25 I remain," &c.He was a good deal weakened and thinned by his illness at Patras, and, on his return to Athens, standing one day before a looking-gla.s.s, he said to Lord Sligo--"How pale I look!--I should like, I think, to die of a consumption."--"Why
- 26 LETTER 53.TO MR. HENRY DRURY."Volage frigate, off Ushant, July 17. 1811."My dear Drury, "After two years' absence (on the 2d) and some odd days, I am approaching your country. The day of our arrival you will see by the outside date of my letter. At pr
- 27 [Footnote 28: His letters to Mr. Sinclair, in return, are unluckily lost,--one of them, as this gentleman tells me, having been highly characteristic of the jealous sensitiveness of his n.o.ble schoolfellow, being written under the impression of some idea
- 28 [Footnote 59: Though always fond of music, he had very little skill in the performance of it. "It is very odd," he said, one day, to this lady,--"I sing much better to your playing than to any one else's."--"That is," she answered, "because I play
- 29 [Footnote 87: See his Letter to Anthony Collins, 1703-4, where he speaks of "those sharp heads, which were for d.a.m.ning his book, because of its discouraging the staple commodity of the place, which in his time was called _hogs' shearing_."][Footnote
- 30 [Footnote 118: Lord Byron used sometimes to mention a strange story, which the commander of the packet, Captain Kidd, related to him on the pa.s.sage. This officer stated that, being asleep one night in his berth, he was awakened by the pressure of someth
- 31 Life of Lord Byron.Vol. II.by Thomas Moore.NOTICES OF THE LIFE OF LORD BYRON.Having landed the young pilgrim once more in England, it may be worth while, before we accompany him into the scenes that awaited him at home, to consider how far the general cha
- 32 [Footnote 10: "'h.e.l.l,' a gaming-house so called, where you risk little, and are cheated a good deal: 'Club,' a pleasant purgatory, where you lose more, and are not supposed to be cheated at all."][Footnote 11: "As Mr. Pope took the liberty of d.
- 33 There have seldom, perhaps, started together in life so many youths of high promise and hope as were to be found among the society of which Lord Byron formed a part at Cambridge. Of some of these, the names have since eminently distinguished themselves in
- 34 "Newstead Abbey, August 20. 1811."Sir, "The witnesses shall be provided from amongst my tenants, and I shall be happy to see you on any day most convenient to yourself. I forgot to mention, that it must be specified by codicil, or otherwise, that my bo
- 35 But I don't mean to cavil, only other folks will, and he may bring all the lambs of Jacob Behmen about his ears. However, I hope he will bring it to a conclusion, though Milton is in his way."Write to me--I dote on gossip--and make a bow to Ju--, and sh
- 36 "I have shown my respect for your suggestions by adopting them; but I have made many alterations in the first proof, over and above; as, for example: "Oh Thou, in _h.e.l.las_ deem'd of heavenly birth, &c. &c."Since _shamed full oft_ by _later lyres_ o
- 37 It was at this period that I first had the happiness of seeing and becoming acquainted with Lord Byron. The correspondence in which our acquaintance originated is, in a high degree, ill.u.s.trative of the frank manliness of his character; and as it was be
- 38 LETTER 76. TO MR. MOORE."8. St. James's Street, November 1, 1811."Sir, "As I should be very sorry to interrupt your Sunday's engagement, if Monday, or any other day of the ensuing week, would be equally convenient to yourself and friend, I will then
- 39 "To-day is the Sabbath,--a day I never pa.s.s pleasantly, but at Cambridge; and, even there, the organ is a sad remembrancer. Things are stagnant enough in town,--as long as they don't retrograde, 'tis all very well. H * * writes and writes and writes,
- 40 "Ye, who would more of Spain and Spaniards know, Sights, saints, antiques, arts, anecdotes, and war, Go, hie ye hence to Paternoster Row,-- Are they not written in the boke of Carr?Green Erin's Knight, and Europe's wandering star.Then listen, readers,
- 41 "8. St. James's Street, February 12. 1812."My dear John, "You have probably long ago forgotten the writer of these lines, who would, perhaps, be unable to recognise _yourself_, from the difference which must naturally have taken place in your stature
- 42 "Your Lords.h.i.+p's obliged and "Sincere servant, "BYRON."It was within two days after his speech in the House of Lords that Childe Harold appeared[44];--and the impression which it produced upon the public was as instantaneous as it has proved deep
- 43 "And now, my dear Bankes, do not distress me by supposing that I can think of you, or you of me, otherwise than I trust we have long thought. You told me not long ago that my temper was improved, and I should be sorry that opinion should be revoked. Beli
- 44 "Sir, "I have just been honoured with your letter.--I feel sorry that you should have thought it worth while to notice the 'evil works of my nonage,' as the thing is suppressed voluntarily, and your explanation is too kind not to give me pain. The Sat
- 45 "You will think there is no end to my villanous emendations. The fifth and sixth lines I think to alter thus:-- "Ye who beheld--oh sight admired and mourn'd, Whose radiance mock'd the ruin it adorn'd; because 'night' is repeated the next line but o
- 46 LETTER 108. TO MR. MURRAY."Cheltenham, Sept. 14. 1812."The parcels contained some letters and verses, all but one anonymous and complimentary, and very anxious for my conversion from certain infidelities into which my good-natured correspondents conceiv
- 47 Of course, the moment the _Satire_ begins, there you will stop, and the opening is the best part."[Footnote 58: Among the Addresses sent in to the Drury Lane Committee was one by Dr. Busby, ent.i.tled a Monologue, of which the Parody was enclosed in this
- 48 "When I arrived at majority in 1809, I offered my own security on _legal_ interest, and it was refused. _Now_, I will not accede to this. This man I may have seen, but I have no recollection of the names of any parties but the _agents_ and the securities
- 49 "To me, divine Apollo, grant--O!Hermilda's first and second canto, I'm fitting up a new portmanteau; 6."And thus to furnish decent lining, My own and others' bays I'm twining-- So gentle T * *, throw me thine in."[Footnote 63: The following are the
- 50 "Dear M.--having got thus far, I am interrupted by * * * *. 10 o'clock."Half-past 11. * * * * is gone. I must dress for Lady Heathcote's.--Addio."Our day in the prison was, if not agreeable, at least novel and odd. I had, for Lord Byron's sake, stip
- 51 "I don't know what to say about 'friends.h.i.+p.' I never was in friends.h.i.+p but once, in my nineteenth year, and then it gave me as much trouble as love. I am afraid, as Whitbread's sire said to the king, when he wanted to knight him, that I am
- 52 So early as the autumn of this year, a fifth edition of The Giaour was required; and again his fancy teemed with fresh materials for its pages.The verses commencing "The browsing camels' bells are tinkling," and the four pages that follow the line, "Y
- 53 "In a 'mail-coach copy' of the Edinburgh, I perceive The Giaour is second article. The numbers are still in the Leith smack--_pray, which way is the wind?_ The said article is so very mild and sentimental, that it must be written by Jeffrey _in love_;-
- 54 LETTER 138. TO MR. MOORE."Sept. 9. 1813."I write to you from Mr. Murray's, and I may say, from Murray, who, if you are not predisposed in favour of any other publisher, would be happy to treat with you, at a fitting time, for your work. I can safely re
- 55 there are too many things I wish never to have remembered, as it is.Well,--have had my share of what are called the pleasures of this life, and have seen more of the European and Asiatic world than I have made a good use of. They say 'Virtue is its own r
- 56 "Rogers is silent,--and, it is said, severe. When he does talk, he talks well; and, on all subjects of taste, his delicacy of expression is pure as his poetry. If you enter his house--his drawing-room--his library--you of yourself say, this is not the dw
- 57 "Sat.u.r.day 27. (I believe--or rather am in _doubt_, which is the ne plus ultra of mortal faith.) "I have missed a day; and, as the Irishman said, or Joe Miller says for him, 'have gained a loss,' or _by_ the loss. Every thing is settled for Holland,
- 58 "Went to Lord H.'s--party numerous--_mi_lady in perfect good humour, and consequently _perfect_. No one more agreeable, or perhaps so much so, when she will. Asked for Wednesday to dine and meet the Stael--asked particularly, I believe, out of mischief,
- 59 Murray has had a letter from his brother bibliopole of Edinburgh, who says, 'he is lucky in having such a _poet_'--something as if one was a pack-horse, or 'a.s.s, or any thing that is his:' or, like Mrs. Packwood, who replied to some enquiry after th
- 60 She told Lewis wisely, he being my friend, that I was affected, in the first place; and that, in the next place, I committed the heinous offence of sitting at dinner with my _eyes_ shut, or half shut. I wonder if I really have this trick. I must cure myse
- 61 "My dear Sir, "I hope you will consider, when I venture on any request, that it is the reverse of a certain Dedication, and is addressed, _not_ to 'The Editor of the Quarterly Review,' but to Mr. Gifford. You will understand this, and on that point I
- 62 "Nov. 14. 1813."Let the revise which I sent just now (and _not_ the proof in Mr.Gifford's possession) be returned to the printer, as there are several additional corrections, and two new lines in it. Yours,"&c.LETTER 146. TO MR. MURRAY."November 15.
- 63 "I have had--but this must be _entre nous_--a very kind note, on the subject of 'The Bride,' from Sir James Mackintosh, and an invitation to go there this evening, which it is now too late to accept."[Footnote 111: Penrose's Journal, a book published
- 64 "P.S. It is still _hath_ instead of _have_ in page 20.; never was any one so _misused_ as I am by your devils of printers."P.S. I hope and trust the '_not_' was inserted in the first edition. We must have something--any thing--to set it right. It is e
- 65 Life of Lord Byron.Vol. III.by Thomas Moore."JOURNAL, 1814."February 18."Better than a month since I last journalised:--most of it out of London and at Notts., but a busy one and a pleasant, at least three weeks of it. On my return, I find all the news
- 66 lines,--_only_ amplifying, in its re-statement, an epigram (by the by, no epigram except in the _Greek_ acceptation of the word) into a _roman_. I wonder the Couriers, &c. &c., have not translated that part of the Moniteur, with additional comments."The
- 67 "Pray write to me. I must send you a copy of the letter of dedication. When do you come out? I am sure we don't _clash_ this time, for I am all at sea, and in action,--and a wife, and a mistress, &c."Thomas, thou art a happy fellow; but if you wish us
- 68 LETTER 158. TO MR. MURRAY."Newstead Abbey, January 22. 1814."You will be glad to hear of my safe arrival here. The time of my return will depend upon the weather, which is so impracticable, that this letter has to advance through more snows than ever op
- 69 "February 28. 1814."There is a youngster, and a clever one, named Reynolds, who has just published a poem called 'Safie,' published by Cawthorne. He is in the most natural and fearful apprehension of the Reviewers; and as you and I both know by experi
- 70 LETTER 166. TO MR. MOORE."February 16. 1814."You may be a.s.sured that the only p.r.i.c.kles that sting from the Royal hedgehog are those which possess a torpedo property, and may benumb some of my friends. _I_ am quite silent, and 'hush'd in grim rep
- 71 "P.S. I never heard the 'report' you mention, nor, I dare say, many others. But, in course, you, as well as others, have 'd.a.m.ned good-natured friends,' who do their duty in the usual way. One thing will make you laugh. * * * *"[Footnote 20: In a.
- 72 TO MR. MURRAY."April 11. 1814."I enclose you a letter_et_ from Mrs. Leigh."It will be best _not_ to put my name to our _Ode_; but you may _say_ as openly as you like that it is mine, and I can inscribe it to Mr. Hobhouse, from the _author_, which will
- 73 I want my Moreri, and I want Athenaeus."P.S. I hope you sent back that poetical packet to the address which I forwarded to you on Sunday: if not, pray do; or I shall have the author screaming after his Epic."LETTER 179. TO MR. MURRAY."April 26. 1814."
- 74 TO MR. MOORE."May 4. 1814."Last night we supp'd at R----fe's board, &c.[30]"I wish people would not s.h.i.+rk their _dinners_--ought it not to have been a dinner?[31]--and that d----d anchovy sandwich!"That plaguy voice of yours made me sentimental,
- 75 "May 18. 1814."Thanks--and punctuality. _What_ has pa.s.sed at * * * *s House? I suppose that _I_ am to know, and 'pars fui' of the conference. I regret that your * * * *s will detain you so late, but I suppose you will be at Lady Jersey's. I am goin
- 76 LETTER 185. TO MR. ROGERS."June 19. 1814."I am always obliged to trouble you with my awkwardnesses, and now I have a fresh one. Mr. W.[36] called on me several times, and I have missed the honour of making his acquaintance, which I regret, but which _yo
- 77 "You shall have one of the pictures. I wish you to send the proof of 'Lara' to Mr. Moore, 33. Bury Street, _to-night_, as he leaves town to-morrow, and wishes to see it before he goes[40]; and I am also willing to have the benefit of his remarks. Yours
- 78 "Yours (or theirs), &c."B."LETTER 194. TO MR. MURRAY."August 5. 1814."The Edinburgh Review is arrived--thanks. I enclose Mr. Hobhouse's letter, from which you will perceive the work you have made.However, I have done: you must send my rhymes to the
- 79 "Newstead Abbey, September 7. 1814."I should think Mr. Hogg, for his own sake as well as yours, would be 'critical' as Iago himself in his editorial capacity; and that such a publication would answer his purpose, and yours too, with tolerable manageme
- 80 "I hope to get out of town and be married, but I shall take Newstead in my way; and you must meet me at Nottingham and accompany me to mine Abbey. I will tell you the day when I know it."Ever," &c."P.S. By the way my wife elect is perfection, and I he
- 81 The following note is the only one, of those I received from him at this time, worth transcribing:-- "December 14. 1814."My dearest Tom, "I will send the pattern to-morrow, and since you don't go to our friend ('of the _keeping_ part of the town') t
- 82 LETTER 210. TO MR. MOORE."January 19. 1815."Egad! I don't think he is 'down;' and my prophecy--like most auguries, sacred and profane--is not annulled, but inverted."To your question about the 'dog'[64]--Umph!--my 'mother,' I won't say any thin
- 83 "February 22. 1815."Yesterday I sent off the packet and letter to Edinburgh. It consisted of forty-one pages, so that I have not added a line; but in my letter, I mentioned what pa.s.sed between you and me in autumn, as my inducement for presuming to tr
- 84 "You never told me about 'Longman' and 'next winter,' and I am _not_ a 'mile-stone.'"[77][Footnote 76: The death of his infant G.o.d-daughter, Olivia Byron Moore.][Footnote 77: I had accused him of having entirely forgot that, in a preceding lette
- 85 LETTER 221. TO MR. MURRAY."May 21. 1815."You must have thought it very odd, not to say ungrateful, that I made no mention of the drawings[80], &c. when I had the pleasure of seeing you this morning. The fact is, that till this moment I had not seen them
- 86 TO MR. SOTHEBY."September 25. 1815."Dear Sir, "I think it would be advisable for you to see the acting managers when convenient, as there must be points on which you will want to confer; the objection I stated was merely on the part of the performers,
- 87 "I tried Coleridge too; but he had nothing feasible in hand at the time.Mr. Sotheby obligingly offered _all_ his tragedies, and I pledged myself, and notwithstanding many squabbles with my Committed Brethren, did get 'Ivan' accepted, read, and the part
- 88 The following are the lines alluded to in this note. They are written in the loosest form of that rambling style of metre which his admiration of Mr. Coleridge's "Christabel" led him, at this time, to adopt; and he judged rightly, perhaps, in omitting
- 89 The return of post brought me the following answer, which, while it raises our admiration of the generous candour of the writer, but adds to the sadness and strangeness of the whole transaction.LETTER 234. TO MR. MOORE."March 8. 1816."I rejoice in your
- 90 "B."In those Memoirs (or, more properly, Memoranda,) of the n.o.ble poet, which it was thought expedient, for various reasons, to sacrifice, he gave a detailed account of all the circ.u.mstances connected with his marriage, from the first proposal to th
- 91 LETTER 241. TO MR. MURRAY."February 20. 1816."To return to our business--your epistles are vastly agreeable.With regard to the observations on carelessness, &c. I think, with all humility, that the gentle reader has considered a rather uncommon, and des
- 92 The circ.u.mstances under which Lord Byron now took leave of England were such as, in the case of any ordinary person, could not be considered otherwise than disastrous and humiliating. He had, in the course of one short year, gone through every variety o
- 93 "Neatly printed and hot-pressed, 2s. 6d."Lord Byron's Farewell to England, with Three other Poems--Ode to St. Helena, to My Daughter on her Birthday, and To the Lily of France."Printed by J. Johnston, Cheapside, 335.; Oxford, 9."The above beautiful P
- 94 "After a slight and short dinner we visited the Chateau de Clarens; an English woman has rented it recently (it was not let when I saw it first); the roses are gone with their summer; the family out, but the servants desired us to walk over the interior
- 95 "In the weather for this tour (of 13 days), I have been very fortunate--fortunate in a companion (Mr. H.)--fortunate in our prospects, and exempt from even the little petty accidents and delays which often render journeys in a less wild country disappoin
- 96 Sh.e.l.ley), a mixture of sensations, among which terror entered, though but subordinately. My feelings would have been less painful had I been alone; but I knew that my companion would have attempted to save me, and I was overcome with humiliation, when
- 97 "Be careful in the printing the stanzas beginning, "'Though the day of my destiny,' &c.which I think well of as a composition."'The Antiquary' is not the best of the three, but much above all the last twenty years, saving its elder brothers. Holcro
- 98 "B."P.S. November 7. 1816."I have been over Verona. The amphitheatre is wonderful--beats even Greece. Of the truth of Juliet's story they seem tenacious to a degree, insisting on the fact--giving a date (1303), and showing a tomb. It is a plain, open,
- 99 "St. Mark's, and indeed Venice, is most alive at night. The theatres are not open till _nine_, and the society is proportionably late. All this is to my taste, but most of your countrymen miss and regret the rattle of hackney coaches, without which they
- 100 time; a woman is virtuous (according to the code) who limits herself to her husband and one lover; those who have two, three, or more, are a little _wild_; but it is only those who are indiscriminately diffuse, and form a low connection, such as the Princ