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Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 6 (of 6) by Thomas Moore

T >> Thomas Moore >> Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 6 (of 6)




"To the above citations, I will add the opinion of Tournefort, who,
in his description of the strait, expresses with ridicule his
disbelief of the truth of Leander's exploit; and to show that the
latest travellers agree with the earlier, I will conclude my
quotation with a statement of Mr. Madden, who is just returned from
the spot. 'It was from the European side Lord Byron swam _with_ the
current, which runs about four miles an hour. But I believe he would
have found it totally impracticable to have crossed from Abydos to
Europe.'--MADDEN'S _Travels_, vol. i.

"There are two other observations in Lord Byron's letter on which I
feel it necessary to remark.

"'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 from the Asiatic[1] side
might have such an effect occasionally.'

[Footnote 1: "This is evidently a mistake of the writer or printer.
His Lordship must here have meant a strong wind from the European
side, as no wind from the Asiatic side could have the effect of
driving an object to the Asiatic shore."

I think it right to remark, that it is Mr. Turner himself who has
here originated the inaccuracy of which he accuses others; the words
used by Lord Byron being, _not_, as Mr. Turner says, "from the
Asiatic side," but "in the Asiatic direction."--T. M.]

"Here Lord Byron is right, and I have no hesitation in confessing
that I was wrong. But I was wrong only in the letter of my remark,
not in the spirit of it. Any _thing_ thrown into the stream on the
European bank would be swept into the Archipelago, because, after
arriving so near the Asiatic-shore as to be almost, if not quite,
within a man's depth, it would be again floated off from the coast by
the current that is dashed from the Asiatic promontory. But this
would not affect a swimmer, who, being so near the land, would of
course, if he could not actually walk to it, reach it by a slight
effort.

"Lord Byron adds, in his P.S. 'The strait is, however, not
extraordinarily wide, even where it broadens above and below the
forts.' From this statement I must venture to express my dissent,
with diffidence indeed, but with diffidence diminished by the ease
with which the fact may be established. The strait is widened so
considerably above the forts by the Bay of Maytos, and the bay
opposite to it on the Asiatic coast, that the distance to be passed
by a swimmer in crossing higher up would be, in my poor judgment, too
great for any one to accomplish from Asia to Europe, having such a
current to stem.

"I conclude by expressing it as my humble opinion that no one is
bound to believe in the possibility of Leander's exploit, till the
passage has been performed by a swimmer, at least from Asia to
Europe. The sceptic is even entitled to exact, as the condition of
his belief, that the strait be crossed, as Leander crossed it, both
ways within at most fourteen hours.

"W. TURNER."



MR. MILLINGEN'S ACCOUNT OF THE CONSULTATION.

_Referred to in_ vol. vi. p. 209.

As the account given by Mr. Millingen of this consultation differs
totally from that of Dr. Bruno, it is fit that the reader should have
it in Mr. Millingen's own words:--

"In the morning (18th) a consultation was proposed, to which Dr.
Lucca Vega and Dr. Freiber, my assistants, were invited. Dr. Bruno
and Lucca proposed having recourse to antispasmodics and other
remedies employed in the last stage of typhus. Freiber and I
maintained that they could only hasten the fatal termination, that
nothing could be more empirical than flying from one extreme to the
other; that if, as we all thought, the complaint was owing to the
metastasis of rheumatic inflammation, the existing symptoms only
depended on the rapid and extensive progress it had made in an organ
previously so weakened and irritable. Antiphlogistic means could
never prove hurtful in this case; they would become useless only if
disorganisation were already operated; but then, since all hopes were
gone, what means would not prove superfluous? We recommended the
application of numerous leeches to the temples, behind the ears, and
along the course of the jugular vein; a large blister between the
shoulders, and sinapisms to the feet, as affording, though feeble,
yet the last hopes of success. Dr. B., being the patient's physician,
had the casting vote, and prepared the antispasmodic potion which Dr.
Lucca and he had agreed upon; it was a strong infusion of valerian
and ether, &c. After its administration, the convulsive movement, the
delirium increased; but, notwithstanding my representations, a second
dose was given half an hour after. After articulating confusedly a
few broken phrases, the patient sunk shortly after into a comatose
sleep, which the next day terminated in death. He expired on the 19th
of April, at six o'clock in the afternoon."


THE WILL OF LORD BYRON.

_Extracted from the Registry of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury_.

This is the last will and testament of me, George Gordon, Lord Byron,
Baron Byron, of Rochdale, in the county of Lancaster, as follows:--I
give and devise all that my manor or lordship of Rochdale, in the
said county of Lancaster, with all its rights, royalties, members,
and appurtenances, and all my lands, tenements, hereditaments, and
premises situate, lying, and being within the parish, manor, or
lordship of Rochdale aforesaid, and all other my estates, lands,
hereditaments, and premises whatsoever and wheresoever, unto my
friends John Cam Hobhouse, late of Trinity College, Cambridge,
Esquire, and John Hanson, of Chancery-lane, London, Esquire, to the
use and behoof of them, their heirs and assigns, upon trust that they
the said John Cam Hobhouse and John Hanson, and the survivor of them,
and the heirs and assigns of such survivor, do and shall, as soon as
conveniently may be after my decease, sell and dispose of all my said
manor and estates for the most money that can or may be had or gotten
for the same, either by private contract or public sale by auction,
and either together or in lots, as my said trustees shall think
proper; and for the facilitating such sale and sales, I do direct
that the receipt and receipts of my said trustees, and the survivor
of them, and the heirs and assigns of such survivor, shall be a good
and sufficient discharge, and good and sufficient discharges to the
purchaser or purchasers of my said estates, or any part or parts
thereof, for so much money as in such receipt or receipts shall be
expressed or acknowledged to be received; and that such purchaser or
purchasers, his, her, or their heirs and assigns, shall not
afterwards be in any manner answerable or accountable for such
purchase-monies, or be obliged to see to the application thereof: And
I do will and direct that my said trustees shall stand possessed of
the monies to arise by the sale of my said estates upon such trusts
and for such intents and purposes as I have hereinafter directed of
and concerning the same: And whereas I have by certain deeds of
conveyance made on my marriage with my present wife conveyed all my
manor and estate of Newstead, in the parishes of Newstead and Limby,
in the county of Nottingham, unto trustees, upon trust to sell the
same, and apply the sum of sixty thousand pounds, part of the money
to arise by such sale; upon the trusts of my marriage settlement: Now
I do hereby give and bequeath all the remainder of the purchase-money
to arise by sale of my said estate at Newstead, and all the whole of
the said sixty thousand pounds, or such part thereof as shall not
become vested and payable under the trusts of my said marriage
settlement, unto the said John Cam Hobhouse and John Hanson, their
executors, administrators, and assigns, upon such trusts and for such
ends, intents, and purposes as hereinafter directed of and concerning
the residue of my personal estate. I give and bequeath unto the said
John Cam Hobhouse and John Hanson, the sum of one thousand pounds
each, I give and bequeath all the rest, residue, and remainder of my
personal estate whatsoever and wheresoever unto the said John Cam
Hobhouse and John Hanson, their executors, administrators, and
assigns, upon trust that they, my said trustees and the survivor of
them, and the executors and administrators of such survivor, do and
shall stand possessed of all such rest and residue of my said
personal estate and the money to arise by sale of my real estates
hereinbefore devised to them for sale, and such of the monies to
arise by sale of my said estate at Newstead as I have power to
dispose of, after payment of my debts and legacies hereby given, upon
the trusts and for the ends, intents, and purposes hereinafter
mentioned and directed of and concerning the same, that is to say,
upon trust, that they my said trustees and the survivor of them, and
the executors and administrators of such survivor, do and shall lay
out and invest the same in the public stocks or funds, or upon
government or real security at interest, with power from time to time
to change, vary, and transpose such securities, and from time to time
during the life of my sister Augusta Mary Leigh, the wife of George
Leigh, Esquire, pay, receive, apply, and dispose of the interest,
dividends, and annual produce thereof, when and as the same shall
become due and payable, into the proper hands of the said Augusta
Mary Leigh, to and for her sole and separate use and benefit, free
from the control, debts, or engagements of her present or any future
husband, or unto such person or persons as she my said sister shall
from time to time, by any writing under her hand, notwithstanding her
present or any future coverture, and whether covert or sole, direct
or appoint; and from and immediately after the decease of my said
sister, then upon trust, that they my said trustees and the survivor
of them, his executors or administrators, do and shall assign and
transfer all my said personal estate and other the trust property
hereinbefore mentioned, or the stocks, funds, or securities wherein
or upon which the same shall or may be placed out or invested, unto
and among all and every the child and children of my said sister, if
more than one, in such parts, shares, and proportions, and to become
a vested interest, and to be paid and transferred at such time and
times, and in such manner, and with, under, and subject to such
provisions, conditions, and restrictions, as my said sister, at any
time during her life, whether covert or sole, by any deed or deeds,
instrument or instruments, in writing, with or without power of
revocation, to be sealed and delivered in the presence of two or more
credible witnesses, or by her last will and testament in writing, or
any writing of appointment in the nature of a will, shall direct or
appoint; and in default of any such appointment, or in case of the
death of my said sister in my lifetime, then upon trust that they my
said trustees and the survivor of them, his executors,
administrators, and assigns, do and shall assign and transfer all the
trust, property, and funds unto and among the children of my said
sister, if more than one, equally to be divided between them, share
and share alike, and if only one such child, then to such only child
the share and shares of such of them as shall be a son or sons, to be
paid and transferred unto him and them when and as he or they shall
respectively attain his or their age or ages of twenty-one years; and
the share and shares of such of them as shall be a daughter or
daughters, to be paid and transferred unto her or them when and as
she or they shall respectively attain her or their age or ages of
twenty-one years, or be married, which shall first happen; and in
case any of such children shall happen to die, being a son or sons,
before he or they shall attain the age of twenty-one years, or being
a daughter or daughters, before she or they shall attain the said age
of twenty-one, or be married; then it is my will and I do direct that
the share and shares of such of the said children as shall so die
shall go to the survivor or survivors of such children, with the
benefit of further accruer in case of the death of any such surviving
children before their shares shall become vested. And I do direct
that my said trustees shall pay and apply the interest and dividends
of each of the said children's shares in the said trust funds for
his, her, or their maintenance and education during their minorities,
notwithstanding their shares may not become vested interests, but
that such interest and dividends as shall not have been so applied
shall accumulate, and follow, and go over with the principal. And I
do nominate, constitute, and appoint the said John Cam Hobhouse and
John Hanson executors of this my will. And I do will and direct that
my said trustees shall not be answerable the one of them for the
other of them, or for the acts, deeds, receipts, or defaults of the
other of them, but each of them for his own acts, deeds, receipts,
and wilful defaults only, and that they my said trustees shall be
entitled to retain and deduct out of the monies which shall come to
their hands under the trusts aforesaid all such costs, charges,
damages, and expenses which they or any of them shall bear, pay,
sustain, or be put unto, in the execution and performance of the
trusts herein reposed in them. I make the above provision for my
sister and her children, in consequence of my dear wife Lady Byron,
and any children I may have, being otherwise amply provided for; and,
lastly, I do revoke all former wills by me at any time heretofore
made, and do declare this only to be my last will and testament. In
witness whereof, I have to this my last will, contained in three
sheets of paper, set my hand to the first two sheets thereof, and to
this third and last sheet my hand and seal this 29th day of July, in
the year of our Lord 1815.

BYRON (L.S.)

Signed, sealed, published, and declared by the said Lord Byron, the
testator, as and for his last will and testament, in the presence of
us, who, at his request, in his presence, and in the presence of each
other, have hereto subscribed our names as witnesses.

THOMAS JONES MAWSE,
EDMUND GRIFFIN,
FREDERICK JERVIS,
Clerks to Mr. Hanson, Chancery-lane.

CODICIL.--This is a Codicil to the last will and testament of me, the
Right Honourable George Gordon, Lord Byron. I give and bequeath unto
Allegra Biron, an infant of about twenty months old, by me brought
up, and now residing at Venice, the sum of five thousand pounds,
which I direct the executors of my said will to pay to her on her
attaining the age of twenty-one years, or on the day of her marriage,
on condition that she does not marry with a native of Great Britain,
which shall first happen. And I direct my said executors, as soon as
conveniently may be after my decease, to invest the said sum of five
thousand pounds upon government or real security, and to pay and
apply the annual income thereof in or towards the maintenance and
education of the said Allegra Biron until she attains her said age of
twenty-one years, or shall be married as aforesaid; but in case she
shall die before attaining the said age and without having been
married, then I direct the said sum of five thousand pounds to become
part of the residue of my personal estate, and in all other respects
I do confirm my said will, and declare this to be a codicil thereto.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Venice,
this 17th day of November, in the year of our Lord 1818,

BYRON (L.S.)

Signed, sealed, published, and declared by the said Lord Byron, as
and for a codicil to his will, in the presence of us, who, in his
presence, at his request, and in the presence of each other, have
subscribed our names as witnesses.

NEWTON HANSON,
WILLIAM FLETCHER.

Proved at London (with a Codicil), 6th of July, 1824, before the
Worshipful Stephen Lushington, Doctor of Laws, and surrogate, by the
oaths of John Cam Hobhouse and John Hanson, Esquires, the executors,
to whom administration was granted, having been first sworn duly to
administer.

NATHANIEL GOSTLING,
GEORGE JENNER,
CHARLES DYNELEY,
Deputy Registrars.

* * * * *




MISCELLANEOUS PIECES

IN PROSE.

REVIEW OF WORDSWORTH'S POEMS,

2 Vols. 1807.[1]

[Footnote 1: I have been a reviewer. In 1807, in a Magazine called
"Monthly Literary Recreations," I reviewed Wordsworth's trash of that
time. In the Monthly Review I wrote some articles which were
inserted. This was in the latter part of 1811.--BYRON.]

(From "Monthly Literary Recreations," for August, 1807.)

The volumes before us are by the author of Lyrical Ballads, a
collection which has not undeservedly met with a considerable share
of public applause. The characteristics of Mr. W.'s muse are simple
and flowing, though occasionally inharmonious verse, strong, and
sometimes irresistible appeals to the feelings, with unexceptionable
sentiments. Though the present work may not equal his former efforts,
many of the poems possess a native elegance, natural and unaffected,
totally devoid of the tinsel embellishments and abstract hyperboles
of several contemporary sonneteers. The last sonnet in the first
volume, p. 152., is perhaps the best, without any novelty in the
sentiments, which we hope are common to every Briton at the present
crisis; the force and expression is that of a genuine poet, feeling
as he writes:--

"Another year! another deadly blow!
Another mighty empire overthrown!
And we are left, or shall be left, alone--
The last that dares to struggle with the foe.
'Tis well!--from this day forward we shall know
That in ourselves our safety must be sought,
That by our own right-hands it must be wrought;
That we must stand unprop'd, or be laid low.
O dastard! whom such foretaste doth not cheer!
We shall exult, if they who rule the land
Be men who hold its many blessings dear,
Wise, upright, valiant, not a venal band,
Who are to judge of danger which they fear,
And honour which they do not understand."

The song at the Feast of Brougham Castle, the Seven Sisters, the
Affliction of Margaret ---- of ----, possess all the beauties, and
few of the defects, of this writer: the following lines from the last
are in his first style:--

"Ah! little doth the young one dream
When full of play and childish cares,
What power hath e'en his wildest scream,
Heard by his mother unawares:
He knows it not, he cannot guess:
Years to a mother bring distress,
But do not make her love the less."

The pieces least worthy of the author are those entitled "Moods of my
own Mind." We certainly wish these "Moods" had been less frequent, or
not permitted to occupy a place near works which only make their
deformity more obvious; when Mr. W. ceases to please, it is by
"abandoning" his mind to the most commonplace ideas, at the same time
clothing them in language not simple, but puerile. What will any
reader or auditor, out of the nursery, say to such namby-pamby as
"Lines written at the Foot of Brother's Bridge?"

"The cock is crowing,
The stream is flowing,
The small birds twitter,
The lake doth glitter.
The green field sleeps in the sun;
The oldest and youngest,
Are at work with the strongest;
The cattle are grazing,
Their heads never raising,
There are forty feeding like one.
Like an army defeated,
The snow hath retreated,
And now doth fare ill,
On the top of the bare hill."

"The plough-boy is whooping anon, anon," &c. &c. is in the same
exquisite measure. This appears to us neither more nor less than an
imitation of such minstrelsy as soothed our cries in the cradle, with
the shrill ditty of

"Hey de diddle,
The cat and the fiddle:
The cow jump'd over the moon,
The little dog laugh'd to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon."

On the whole, however, with the exception of the above, and other
INNOCENT odes of the same cast, we think these volumes display a
genius worthy of higher pursuits, and regret that Mr. W. confines his
muse to such trifling subjects. We trust his motto will be in future,
"Paulo majora canamus." Many, with inferior abilities, have acquired
a loftier seat on Parnassus, merely by attempting strains in which
Mr. Wordsworth is more qualified to excel.[1]

[Footnote 1: This first attempt of Lord Byron at reviewing is
remarkable only as showing how plausibly he could assume the
established tone and phraseology of these minor judgment-seats of
criticism. If Mr. Wordsworth ever chanced to cast his eye over this
article, how little could he have expected that under that dull
prosaic mask lurked one who, in five short years from thence, would
rival even _him_ in poetry!--MOORE.]


REVIEW OF GELL'S GEOGRAPHY OF ITHACA, AND ITINERARY OF GREECE.

(From the "Monthly Review" for August, 1811.)

That laudable curiosity concerning the remains of classical
antiquity, which has of late years increased among our countrymen, is
in no traveller or author more conspicuous than in Mr. Gell. Whatever
difference of opinion may yet exist with regard to the success of the
several disputants in the famous Trojan controversy[1], or, indeed,
relating to the present author's merits as an inspector of the Troad,
it must universally be acknowledged that any work, which more
forcibly impresses on our imaginations the scenes of heroic action,
and the subjects of immortal song, possesses claims on the attention
of every scholar.

[Footnote 1: We have it from the best authority that the venerable
leader of the Anti-Homeric sect, Jacob Bryant, several years before
his death, expressed regret for his ungrateful attempt to destroy
some of the most pleasing associations of our youthful studies. One
of his last wishes was--"_Trojaque nunc stares," &c._]

Of the two works which now demand our report, we conceive the former
to be by far the most interesting to the reader, as the latter is
indisputably the most serviceable to the traveller. Excepting,
indeed, the running commentary which it contains on a number of
extracts from Pausanias and Strabo, it is, as the title imports, a
mere itinerary of Greece, or rather of Argolis only, in its present
circumstances. This being the case, surely it would have answered
every purpose of utility much better by being printed as a pocket
road-book of that part of the Morea; for a quarto is a very
unmanageable travelling companion. The maps[1] and drawings, we shall
be told, would not permit such an arrangement: but as to the
drawings, they are not in general to be admired as specimens of the
art; and several of them, as we have been assured by eye-witnesses of
the scenes which they describe, do not compensate for their
mediocrity in point of execution, by any extraordinary fidelity of
representation. Others, indeed, are more faithful, according to our
informants. The true reason, however, for this costly mode of
publication is in course to be found in a desire of gratifying the
public passion for large margins, and all the luxury of typography;
and we have before expressed our dissatisfaction with Mr. Gell's
aristocratical mode of communicating a species of knowledge, which
ought to be accessible to a much greater portion of classical
students than can at present acquire it by his means:--but, as such
expostulations are generally useless, we shall be thankful for what
we can obtain, and that in the manner in which Mr. Gell has chosen to
present it.

[Footnote 1: Or, rather, _Map_; for we have only one in the volume,
and that is on too small a scale to give more than a general idea of
the relative position of places. The excuse about a larger map not
folding well is trifling; see, for instance, the author's own map of
Ithaca.]

The former of these volumes, we have observed, is the most attractive
in the closet. It comprehends a very full survey of the far-famed
island which the hero of the Odyssey has immortalized; for we really
are inclined to think that the author has established the identity of
the modern _Theaki_ with the _Ithaca_ of Homer. At all events, if it
be an illusion, it is a very agreeable deception, and is effected by
an ingenious interpretation of the passages in Homer that are
supposed to be descriptive of the scenes which our traveller has
visited. We shall extract some of these adaptations of the ancient
picture to the modern scene, marking the points of resemblance which
appear to be strained and forced, as well as those which are more
easy and natural: but we must first insert some preliminary matter
from the opening chapter.

The following passage conveys a sort of general sketch of the book,
which may give our readers a tolerably adequate notion of its
contents:--

"The present work may adduce, by a simple and correct survey
of the island, coincidences in its geography, in its natural
productions, and moral state, before unnoticed. Some will be
directly pointed out; the fancy or ingenuity of the reader may
be employed in tracing others; the mind familiar with the
imagery of the Odyssey will recognise with satisfaction the
scenes themselves; and this volume is offered to the public,
not entirely without hopes of vindicating the poem of Homer
from the scepticism of those critics who imagine that the
Odyssey is a mere poetical composition, unsupported by
history, and unconnected with the localities of any particular
situation.

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