Frances Sheridan, _nee_ Chamberlaine, 1724-1766), was played for the
first time at Drury Lane Theatre, November 25, 1813.
first time at Drury Lane Theatre, November 25, 1813.
Byron
"[39]
10.
But the Devil has reached our cliffs so white,
And what did he there, I pray?
If his eyes were good, he but saw by night
What we see every day;
But he made a tour and kept a journal
Of all the wondrous sights nocturnal,
And he sold it in shares to the _Men_ of the _Row_,
Who bid pretty well--but they _cheated_ him, though! 90
11.
The Devil first saw, as he thought, the _Mail_,
Its coachman and his coat;
So instead of a pistol he cocked his tail,
And seized him by the throat;
"Aha! " quoth he, "what have we here?
'T is a new barouche, and an ancient peer! "[40]
12.
So he sat him on his box again,
And bade him have no fear,
But be true to his club, and staunch to his rein,
His brothel and his beer; 100
"Next to seeing a Lord at the Council board,
I would rather see him here. "
13.
Satan hired a horse and gig
With promises to pay;
And he pawned his horns for a spruce new wig,
To redeem as he came away:
And he whistled some tune, a waltz or a jig,
And drove off at the close of day.
14.
The first place he stopped at--he heard the Psalm
That rung from a Methodist Chapel: 110
"'T is the best sound I've heard," quoth he, "since my palm
Presented Eve her apple!
When _Faith_ is all, 't is an excellent sign,
That the _Works_ and Workmen both are mine. "
15.
He passed Tommy Tyrwhitt,[41] that standing jest,
To princely wit a Martyr:
But the last joke of all was by far the best,
When he sailed away with "the Garter"!
"And"--quoth Satan--"this Embassy's worthy my sight,
Should I see nothing else to amuse me to night. 120
With no one to bear it, but Thomas a Tyrwhitt,
This ribband belongs to an 'Order of Merit'! "
16.
He stopped at an Inn and stepped within
The Bar and read the "Times;"
And never such a treat, as--the epistle of one "Vetus,"[42]
Had he found save in downright crimes:
"Though I doubt if this drivelling encomiast of War
Ever saw a field fought, or felt a scar,
Yet his fame shall go farther than he can guess,
For I'll keep him a place in my _hottest Press_; 130
And his works shall be bound in Morocco _d'Enfer_,
And lettered behind with his _Nom de Guerre_. "
17.
The Devil gat next to Westminster,
And he turned to "the room" of the Commons;
But he heard as he purposed to enter in there,
That "the Lords" had received a summons;
And he thought, as "a _quondam_ Aristocrat,"
He might peep at the Peers, though to _hear_ them were flat;
And he walked up the House so like one of his own,
That they say that he stood pretty near the throne. 140
18.
He saw the Lord Liverpool seemingly wise,
The Lord Westmoreland certainly silly,
And Jockey of Norfolk--a man of some size--
And Chatham, so like his friend Billy;[43]
And he saw the tears in Lord Eldon's eyes,
Because the Catholics would _not_ rise,
In spite of his prayers and his prophecies;
And he heard--which set Satan himself a staring--
A certain Chief Justice say something like _swearing_. [44]
And the Devil was shocked--and quoth he, "I must go, 150
For I find we have much better manners below.
If thus he harangues when he passes my border,
I shall hint to friend Moloch to call him to order. "
19.
Then the Devil went down to the humbler House,
Where he readily found his way
As natural to him as its hole to a Mouse,
He had been there many a day;
And many a vote and soul and job he
Had bid for and carried away from the Lobby:
But there now was a "call" and accomplished debaters 160
Appeared in the glory of hats, boots and gaiters--
_Some_ paid rather more--but _all_ worse dressed
than Waiters!
20.
There was Canning for War, and Whitbread for peace,
And others as suited their fancies;
But all were agreed that our debts should increase
Excepting the Demagogue Francis.
That rogue! how could Westminster chuse him again
To leaven the virtue of these honest men!
But the Devil remained till the Break of Day
Blushed upon Sleep and Lord Castlereagh:[45] 170
Then up half the house got, and Satan got up
With the drowsy to snore--or the hungry to sup:--
But so torpid the power of some speakers, 't is said,
That they sent even him to his brimstone bed.
21.
He had seen George Rose--but George was grown dumb,
And only lied in thought! [46]
And the Devil has all the pleasure to come
Of hearing him talk as he ought.
With the falsest of tongues, the sincerest of men--
His veracity were but deceit-- 180
And Nature must first have unmade him again,
Ere his breast or his face, or his tongue, or his pen,
Conceived--uttered--looked--or wrote down letters ten,
Which Truth would acknowledge complete.
22.
Satan next took the army list in hand,
Where he found a new "Field Marshal;"
And when he saw this high command
Conferred on his Highness of Cumberland,[47]
"Oh! were I prone to cavil--or were I not the Devil,
I should say this was somewhat partial; 190
Since the only wounds that this Warrior gat,
Were from God knows whom--and the Devil knows what! "
23.
He then popped his head in a royal Ball,
And saw all the Haram so hoary;
And who there besides but Corinna de Stael! [48]
Turned Methodist and Tory!
"Aye--Aye"--quoth he--"'t is the way with them all,
When Wits grow tired of Glory:
But thanks to the weakness, that thus could pervert her,
Since the dearest of prizes to me's a deserter: 200
_Mem_--whenever a sudden conversion I want,
To send to the school of Philosopher Kant;
And whenever I need a critic who can gloss over
All faults--to send for Mackintosh to write up the Philosopher. "[49]
24.
The Devil waxed faint at the sight of this Saint,
And he thought himself of eating;
And began to cram from a plate of ham
Wherewith a Page was retreating--
Having nothing else to do (for "the friends" each so near
Had sold all their souls long before), 210
As he swallowed down the bacon he wished himself a Jew
For the sake of another crime more:
For Sinning itself is but half a recreation,
Unless it ensures most infallible Damnation.
25.
But he turned him about, for he heard a sound
Which even his ear found faults in;
For whirling above--underneath--and around--
Were his fairest Disciples Waltzing! [50]
And quoth he--"though this be--the _premier pas_ to me,
Against it I would warn all-- 220
Should I introduce these revels among my younger devils,
They would all turn perfectly carnal:
And though fond of the flesh--yet I never could bear it
Should quite in my kingdom get the upper hand of Spirit. "
26.
The Devil (but 't was over) had been vastly glad
To see the new Drury Lane,
And yet he might have been rather mad
To see it rebuilt in vain;
And had he beheld their "Nourjahad,"[51]
Would never have gone again: 230
And Satan had taken it much amiss,
They should fasten such a piece on a friend of his--
Though he knew that his works were somewhat sad,
He never had found them _quite_ so bad:
For this was "the book" which, of yore, Job, sorely smitten,
Said, "Oh that _mine_ enemy, _mine_ enemy had written"!
27.
Then he found sixty scribblers in separate cells,[52]
And marvelled what they were doing,
For they looked like little fiends in their own little hells,
Damnation for others brewing-- 240
Though their paper seemed to shrink, from the heat of their ink,
They were only _coolly_ reviewing!
And as one of them wrote down the pronoun "_We_,"
"That Plural"--says Satan--"means _him_ and _me_,
With the Editor added to make up the three
Of an Athanasian Trinity,
And render the believers in our 'Articles' sensible,
How many must combine to form _one_ Incomprehensible"!
_December_ 9, 1813.
[Stanzas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, first published,
_Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 471-474: stanzas 6, 7,
9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19-27, now published for the first time from
an autograph MS. in the possession of the Earl of Ilchester. ]
FOOTNOTES:
[ii] The Devil's Drive. _A Sequel to Porson's_ Devil's Walk. --[MS. H. ]
[34] ["I have lately written a wild, rambling, unfinished rhapsody,
called 'The Devil's Drive,' the notion of which I took from Porson's
_Devil's Walk_. "--_Journal_, December 17, 18, 1813, _Letters_, 1898, ii.
378. "Though with a good deal of vigour and imagination, it is," says
Moore, "for the most part rather clumsily executed, wanting the point
and condensation of those clever verses of Coleridge and Southey, which
Lord Byron, adopting a notion long prevalent, has attributed to Porson. "
The _Devil's Walk_ was published in the _Morning Post_, September 6,
1799. It has been published under Porson's name (1830, ed. H. Montague,
illustrated by Cruikshank). (See _Poetical Works_, 1898, i. 30, _note_
1. )]
[35] [Lord Yarmouth, nicknamed "Red Herrings," the eldest son of the
Regent's elderly favourite, the Marchioness of Hertford (the "Marchesa"
of the _Twopenny Post-Bag_), lived at No. 7, Seamore Place, Mayfair.
Compare Moore's "Epigram:" "'I want the Court Guide,' said my lady, 'to
look If the House, Seymour Place, be at 30 or 20,'" etc. --_Poetical
Works_, 1850, p. 165. ]
[36] [The allusion may be to a case which was before the courts, the
Attorney-General _v_. William Carver and Brownlow Bishop of Winchester
(see _Morning Chronicle_, November 17, 1813). Carver held certain
premises under the Bishop of Winchester, at the entrance of Portsmouth
Harbour, which obstructed the efflux and reflux of the tide. "The fact,"
said Mr. Serjeant Lens, in opening the case for the Crown, "was of great
magnitude to the entire nation, since it effected the security, and even
the existence of one of the principal harbours of Great Britain. "]
[37] [The Russian and Austrian troops at the battle of Leipsic, October
16, 1813, were, for the most part, veterans, while the Prussian
contingent included a large body of militia. ]
[38] [For the incident of the "broken bridge" Byron was indebted to the
pages of the _Morning Chronicle_ of November 8, 1813, "Paris Papers,
October 30"--
"The Emperor had ordered the engineers to form fougades under the grand
bridge which is between Leipsic and Lindenau, in order to blow it up at
the latest moment, and thus to retard the march of the enemy and give
time to our baggage to file off. General Dulauloy had entrusted the
operation to Colonel Montford. The Colonel, instead of remaining on the
spot to direct it, and to give the signal, ordered a corporal and four
sappers to blow up the bridge the instant the enemy should appear. The
corporal, an ignorant fellow, and ill comprehending the nature of the
duty with which he was charged, upon hearing the first shot discharged
from the ramparts of the city, set fire to the fougades and blew up the
bridge. A part of the army was still on the other side, with a park of
80 pieces of artillery and some hundreds of waggons. The advance of this
part of the army, who were approaching the bridge, seeing it blow up,
conceived it was in the power of the enemy. A cry of dismay spread from
rank to rank. 'The enemy are close upon our rear, and the bridges are
destroyed! ' The unfortunate soldiers dispersed, and endeavoured to
effect their escape as well as they could. The Duke of Tarentum swam
across the river. Prince Poniatowsky, mounted on a spirited horse,
darted into the water and appeared no more. The Emperor was not informed
of this disaster until it was too late to remedy it. . . . Colonel Montfort
and the corporal of the sappers have been handed over to a
court-martial. "]
[39] [Compare _Don Juan_, Canto VIII. stanza cxxxii. line 4. Sir Walter
Scott (_Journal_, October 30, 1826 [1890, i. 288]), tells the same story
of "an old woman who, when Carlisle was taken by the Highlanders in
1745, chose to be particularly apprehensive of personal violence, and
shut herself up in a closet, in order that she might escape ravishment.
But no one came to disturb her solitude, and . . . by and by she popped
her head out of her place of refuge with the pretty question, 'Good
folks, can you tell me when the ravishing is going to begin? '" In 1813
Byron did not know Scott, and must have stolen the jest from some older
writer. It is, probably, of untold antiquity. ]
[40] [The "Four-Horse" Club, founded in 1808, was incorrectly styled the
Four-in-Hand Club, and the Barouche Club. According to the Club rules,
the barouches were "yellow-bodied, with 'dickies,' the horses bay, with
rosettes at their heads, and the harness silver-mounted. The members
wore a drab coat reaching to the ankles, with three tiers of pockets,
and mother-o'-pearl buttons as large as five-shilling pieces. The
waistcoat was blue, with yellow stripes an inch wide; breeches of plush,
with strings and rosettes to each knee; and it was _de rigueur_ that the
hat should be 3-1/2 inches deep in the crown. " (See _Driving_, by the
Duke of Beaufort, K. G. , 1894, pp. 251-258. )
The "ancient peer" may possibly be intended for the President of the
Club, Philip Henry, fifth Earl of Chesterfield (1755-1815), who was a
member of the Privy Council, and had been Postmaster-General and Master
of the Horse. ]
[41] [Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt (_circ_. 1762-1833) was the son of the Rev.
Edmund Tyrwhitt, Rector of Wickham Bishops, etc. , and nephew of Thomas
Tyrwhitt, the editor of the _Canterbury Tales_. He was Private Secretary
to the Prince of Wales, auditor of the Duchy of Cornwall (1796), and
Lord Warden of the Stannaries (1805). He was knighted May 8, 1812. He
was sent in the following year in charge of the Garter mission to the
Czar, and on that occasion was made a Knight of the Imperial Order of
St. Anne, First Class. He held the office of Gentleman Usher of the
Black Rod, 1812-1832. "Tommy Tyrwhitt" was an important personage at
Carlton House, and shared with Colonel McMahon the doubtful privilege of
being a confidential servant of the Prince Regent. Compare Letter III.
of Moore's _Twopenny Post-Bag_, 1813, p. 12. "From G. R. to the E. of
Y----th. "
"I write this in bed while my whiskers are airing,
And M--c has a sly dose of jalap preparing
For poor T--mm--y T--rr--t at breakfast to quaff--
As I feel I want something to give me a laugh,
And there's nothing so good as old T--mm--y kept close
To his Cornwall accounts, after taking a dose! "
See _Gentleman's Magazine_, March, 1833, vol. 103, pt. i. pp. 275, 276. ]
[42] ["Vetus" [Edward Sterling] contributed a series of letters to the
_Times_, 1812, 1813. They were afterwards republished. Vetus was not a
Little Englander, and his political sentiments recall the _obiter dicta_
of contemporary patriots; _e. g. _ "the only legitimate basis for a
treaty, if not on the part of the Continental Allies, at least for
England herself [is] that she should conquer all she can, and keep all
she conquers. This is not by way of retaliation, however just, upon so
obdurate and rapacious an enemy--but as an indispensable condition of
her own safety and existence. " The letters were reviewed under the
heading of "Illustrations of Vetus," in the _Morning Chronicle_,
December 2, 10, 16, 18; 1813. The reviewer and Byron did not take the
patriotic view of the situation. ]
[43] [Robert Banks Jenkinson (1770-1828), second Earl of Liverpool, on
the assassination of Perceval, became Prime Minister, June 7, 1812; John
Fane (1759-1841), tenth Earl of Westmoreland, was Lord Privy Seal,
1798-1827; Charles Howard (1746-1815), eleventh Duke of Norfolk, known
as "Jockey of Norfolk," was a Protestant and a Liberal, and at one time
a friend of the Prince of Wales. Wraxall, _Posthumous Memoirs_, 1836, i.
29, says that "he might have been mistaken for a grazier or a butcher by
his dress and appearance. " He figures _largely_ in Gillray, see _e. g. _
"Meeting of the Moneyed Interest," December, 1798. John Pitt
(1756-1835), second Earl of Chatham, the hero of the abortive Walcheren
expedition, had been made a general in the army January 1, 1812. He
"inherited," says Wraxall, _ibid. _, iii. 129, "his illustrious father's
form and figure; but not his mind. "]
[44] [Edward Law (1750-1818), first Baron Ellenborough, Lord Chief
Justice of the King's Bench, 1802-18, was given to the use of strong
language. His temper (see Moore's "Sale of the Tools") was "none of the
best. " On one occasion, speaking in the House of Lords (March 22, 1813)
with regard to the "delicate investigation," he asserted that the
accusation ["that the persons intrusted had thought fit to fabricate an
unauthorized document"] "was as false as hell;" and by way of protest
against the tedious harangues of old Lord Darnley, "I am answerable to
God for my time, and what account can I give at the day of judgment if I
stay here longer? "]
[45] [Compare Moore's "Insurrection of the Papers"--
"Last night I toss'd and turn'd in bed,
But could not sleep--at length I said,
'I'll think of Viscount C--stl--r--gh,
And of his speeches--that's the way. '"]
[46] [George Rose (1744-1818) was at this time Treasurer of the Navy.
Wraxall, who quotes the "Probationary Odes" with regard to his alleged
duplicity, testifies that he "knew him well in his official capacity,
during at least twelve years, and never found him deficient in honour or
sincerity" (_Posthumous Memoirs_, 1836, i. 148). Moore ("Parody of a
Celebrated Letter") makes the Regent conceive how shocked the king would
be to wake up sane and find "that R--se was grown honest, or
W--stm--rel--nd wiser. "]
[47] [Ernest Augustus (1771-1851), Duke of Cumberland and King of
Hanover, fifth son of George III. , was gazetted as Field-Marshal
November 27, 1813. His "wounds," which, according to the Duke's sworn
testimony, were seventeen in number, were inflicted during an encounter
with his valet, Joseph Sellis (? Selis), a Piedmontese, who had
attempted to assassinate the Prince (June 1, 1810), and, shortly
afterwards, was found with his throat cut. A jury of Westminster
tradesmen brought in a verdict of _felo de se_ against Sellis. The event
itself and the trial before the coroner provoked controversy and the
grossest scandal. The question is discussed and the Duke exonerated of
the charges brought against him, by J. H. Jesse, _Memoirs, etc. , of
George III. _, 1864, iii. 545, 546, and by George Rose, _Diaries, etc. _,
1860, ii. 437-446. The scandal was revived in 1832 by the publication of
a work entitled _The Authentic Memoirs of the Court of England for the
last Seventy Years. _ The printer and publisher of the work was found
guilty. (See _The Trial of Josiah Phillips for a Libel on the Duke of
Cumberland_, 1833. )]
[48] ["At half-past nine [Wednesday, December 8, 1813] there was a grand
dress party at Carlton House, at which her Majesty and the Prince Regent
most graciously received the following distinguished characters from the
Russian Court, viz. the Count and Countess Leiven, Mad. La Barrone
(_sic_) de Stael, Monsieur de Stael," etc. --_Morning Chronicle_,
December 10, 1813. ]
[49] [In the review of Madame de Stael's _De L'Allemagne_ (_Edinburgh
Review_, October, 1813, vol. 22, pp. 198-238), Sir James Mackintosh
enlarged upon and upheld the "opinions of Kant" as creative and seminal
in the world of thought. In the same article he passes in review the
systems of Hobbes, Paley, Bentham, Reid, etc. , and finds words of praise
and admiration for each in turn. See, too, a passage (p. 226) in which
he alludes to Coleridge as a living writer, whose "singular character
and unintelligible style" might, in any other country but England, have
won for him attention if not approval. His own "conversion" from the
extreme liberalism of the _Vindiciae Gallicae_ of 1791 to the philosophic
conservatism of the _Introductory Discourse_ (1798) to his lecture on
_The Law of Nature and Nations_, was regarded with suspicion by
Wordsworth and Coleridge, who, afterwards, were still more effectually
"converted" themselves. ]
[50] [See Introduction to _The Waltz, Poetical Works_, 1898, i. 475. ]
[51] [_Illusion, or the Trances of Nourjahad_, a melodrama founded on
_The History of Nourjahad_, By the Editor of Sidney Bidulph (Mrs.
Frances Sheridan, _nee_ Chamberlaine, 1724-1766), was played for the
first time at Drury Lane Theatre, November 25, 1813. Byron was
exceedingly indignant at being credited with the authorship or
adaptation. (See Letter to Murray, November 27, 1813, _Letters_, 1898,
ii. 288, _note_ 1. ) Miss Sophia Lee, who wrote some of the _Canterbury
Tales_, "made a very elegant musical drama of it" (_Memoirs of Mrs. F.
Sheridan_, by Alicia Lefanu, 1824, p. 296); but this was not the
_Nourjahad_ of Drury Lane. ]
[52] [Millbank Penitentiary, which was built in the form of a pentagon,
was finally taken in hand in the spring of 1813. Solitary confinement in
the "cells" was, at first, reserved as a punishment for
misconduct. --_Memorials of Millbank_, by Arthur Griffiths, 1875, i. 57. ]
WINDSOR POETICS.
LINES COMPOSED ON THE OCCASION OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE PRINCE REGENT BEING SEEN STANDING BETWEEN
THE COFFINS OF HENRY VIII. AND CHARLES I. ,
IN THE ROYAL VAULT AT WINDSOR.
FAMED for contemptuous breach of sacred ties,
By headless Charles see heartless Henry lies;
Between them stands another sceptred thing--
It moves, it reigns--in all but name, a king:
Charles to his people, Henry to his wife,
--In him the double tyrant starts to life:
Justice and Death have mixed their dust in vain,
Each royal Vampire wakes to life again.
Ah, what can tombs avail! --since these disgorge
The blood and dust of both--to mould a George. [53]
[First published, _Poetical Works_, Paris, 1819, vi. 125. ]
[ANOTHER VERSION. ]
ON A ROYAL VISIT TO THE VAULTS. [54]
[OR CAESAR'S DISCOVERY OF C. I. AND H. 8. IN YE SAME VAULT. ]
FAMED for their civil and domestic quarrels
See heartless Henry lies by headless Charles;
Between them stands another sceptred thing,
It lives, it reigns--"aye, every inch a king. "
Charles to his people, Henry to his wife,
In him the double tyrant starts to life:
Justice and Death have mixed their dust in vain.
The royal Vampires join and rise again.
What now can tombs avail, since these disgorge
The blood and dirt[55] of both to mould a George!
FOOTNOTES:
[53] ["I cannot conceive how the _Vault_ has got about; but so it is. It
is too _farouche_; but truth to say, my satires are not very
playful. "--Letter to Moore, March 12, 1814, _Letters_, 1899, iii. 57-58.
Moore had written to him, "Your lines about the bodies of Charles and
Henry are, I find, circulated with wonderful avidity; even some clods in
this neighbourhood have had a copy sent to them by some 'young ladies in
town. '"--_Ibid_. , p. 57, _note_ 3.
The discovery "that King Charles I. was buried in the vault of King
Henry VIII. ," was made on completing the mausoleum which George III.
caused to be built in the tomb-house. The Prince Regent was informed of
the circumstance, and on April 1, 1813, the day after the funeral of his
mother-in-law, the Duchess of Brunswick, he superintended in person the
opening of the leaden coffin, which bore the inscription, "King Charles,
1648" (_sic_). See _An Account of what appeared on Opening the Coffin of
King Charles the First_, by Sir H. Halford, Bart. , 1813, pp. 6, 7.
Cornelia Knight, in her _Autobiography_ (1861, i. 227), notes that the
frolic prince, the "Adonis of fifty," who was in a good humour, and "had
given to Princess Charlotte the centre sapphire of Charles's crown,"
acted "the manner of decapitation on my shoulders. " He had "forgotten"
Cromwell, who, as Lord Auchinleck reminded Dr. Johnson, had "gart kings
ken that they had a _lith_ in their neck! "]
[54] [From an autograph MS. in the possession of the Hon. Mrs. Norbury.
The first wrapper has written upon it, "The original Impromptu within is
in the handwriting of the noble author Lord Byron, given to Mr. Norbury
[private secretary to Lord Granville] by Mr. Dallas, his Lordship's
valued relative. "
Second wrapper, "Autograph of Lord Byron--tres precieux. "
Third (outside) wrapper, "Autographe celebre de Lord Byron. "]
[55][
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? [Greek: Pel? n ai(/mati pephyramhenon]
"Clay kneaded with blood. "
Suetonius, in _Tiberium_, cap. 57. ]
ICH DIEN.
FROM this emblem what variance your motto evinces,
For the _Man_ is his country's--the Arms are the Prince's!
? 1814.
[From an autograph MS. in the possession of
Mr. A. H. Hallam Murray, now for the first time printed. ]
CONDOLATORY ADDRESS
TO SARAH COUNTESS OF JERSEY, ON THE PRINCE REGENT'S
RETURNING HER PICTURE TO MRS. MEE. [56]
WHEN the vain triumph of the imperial lord,
Whom servile Rome obeyed, and yet abhorred,
Gave to the vulgar gaze each glorious bust,
That left a likeness of the brave, or just;
What most admired each scrutinising eye
Of all that decked that passing pageantry?
What spread from face to face that wondering air?
The thought of Brutus[57]--for his was not there!
That absence proved his worth,--that absence fixed
His memory on the longing mind, unmixed; 10
And more decreed his glory to endure,
Than all a gold Colossus could secure.
If thus, fair Jersey, our desiring gaze
Search for thy form, in vain and mute amaze,
Amidst those pictured charms, whose loveliness,
Bright though they be, thine own had rendered less:
If he, that VAIN OLD MAN, whom truth admits
Heir of his father's crown, and of his wits,
If his corrupted eye, and withered heart,
Could with thy gentle image bear to part; 20
That tasteless shame be _his_, and ours the grief,
To gaze on Beauty's band without its chief:
Yet Comfort still one selfish thought imparts,
We lose the portrait, but preserve our hearts.
What can his vaulted gallery now disclose?
A _garden_ with all flowers--except the rose;--
A _fount_ that only wants its living stream;
A _night_, with every star, save Dian's beam.
Lost to our eyes the present forms shall be,
That turn from tracing them to dream of thee; 30
And more on that recalled resemblance pause,
Than all he _shall_ not force on our applause.
Long may thy yet meridian lustre shine,
With all that Virtue asks of Homage thine:
The symmetry of youth--the grace of mien--
The eye that gladdens--and the brow serene;
The glossy darkness of that clustering hair,[58]
Which shades, yet shows that forehead more than fair!
Each glance that wins us, and the life that throws
A spell which will not let our looks repose, 40
But turn to gaze again, and find anew
Some charm that well rewards another view.
These are not lessened, these are still as bright,
Albeit too dazzling _for a dotard's sight_;
And those must wait till ev'ry charm is gone,
To please the paltry heart that pleases none;--
That dull cold sensualist, whose sickly eye
In envious dimness passed thy portrait by;
Who racked his little spirit to combine
Its hate of _Freedom's_ loveliness, and _thine_. 50
_May_ 29, 1814.
[First published in _The Champion_, July 31, 1814. ]
FOOTNOTES:
[56] ["The gentlemen of the _Champion_, and Perry, have got hold (I know
not how) of the condolatory Address to Lady Jersey on the
picture-abduction by our Regent, and have published them--with my name,
too, smack--without even asking leave, or inquiring whether or no! Damn
their impudence, and damn every thing. It has put me out of patience,
and so, I shall say no more about it. "--Letter to Moore, August 3, 1814,
_Letters_, 1899, iii. 118. For Byron's letter to Lady Jersey, of May 29,
1814, and a note from her with reference to a lost(? ) copy of the
verses, _vide ibid_. , p. 85. Mrs. Anne Mee (1775? -1851) was a
miniature-painter, who was employed by the Prince Regent to take the
portraits of fashionable beauties. ]
[57] [Compare _Childe Harold_, Canto IV. stanza lix. line 3, _Poetical
Works_, 1899, ii. 374, _note_ 2. ]
[58] [See _Conversations . . . with the Countess of Blessington_, 1834,
p. 50. ]
[Illustration: ANNESLEY HALL. ]
FRAGMENT OF AN EPISTLE TO THOMAS MOORE.
"WHAT say _I_? "--not a syllable further in prose;
I'm your man "of all measures," dear Tom,--so here goes!
Here goes, for a swim on the stream of old Time,
On those buoyant supporters, the bladders of rhyme.
If our weight breaks them down, and we sink in the flood,
We are smothered, at least, in respectable mud,
Where the divers of Bathos lie drowned in a heap,
And Southey's last Paean has pillowed his sleep;
That _Felo de se_ who, half drunk with his Malmsey,
Walked out of his depth and was lost in a calm sea, 10
Singing "Glory to God" in a spick and span stanza,
The like (since Tom Sternhold was choked) never man saw. [59]
The papers have told you, no doubt, of the fusses,
The fetes, and the gapings to get at these Russes,[60]--
Of his Majesty's suite, up from coachman to Hetman,--
And what dignity decks the flat face of the great man.
I saw him, last week, at two balls and a party,--
For a Prince, his demeanour was rather too hearty.
You know, _we_ are used to quite different graces,
* * * * *
The Czar's look, I own, was much brighter and brisker, 20
But then he is sadly deficient in whisker;
And wore but a starless blue coat, and in kersey-
mere breeches whisked round, in a waltz with the Jersey,[61]
Who, lovely as ever, seemed just as delighted
With Majesty's presence as those she invited.
* * * * *
* * * * *
_June_, 1814.
[First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 561, 562 (note). ]
FOOTNOTES:
[59] [The two first stanzas of Southey's "_Carmen Triumphale_, for the
Commencement of the Year 1814," end with the line--
"Glory to God--Deliverance for Mankind! "]
[60] ["The newspapers will tell you all that is to be told of emperors,
etc. They have dined, and supped, and shown their flat faces in all
thoroughfares and several saloons. "--Letter to Moore, June 14, 1814,
_Letters_, 1899, iii. 93, 94.
From June 6 to June 27, 1814, the Emperor of Russia, and the King of
Prussia were in England. Huge crowds watched all day and night outside
the Pulteney Hotel (105, Piccadilly), where the Emperor of Russia
stayed. Among the foreigners in London were Nesselrode, Metternich,
Blucher, and Platoff, Hetman of the Cossacks. The two latter were the
heroes of the mob. _Ibid_. , p. 93, _note_ 1. ]
[61] ["The Emperor," says Lady Vernon (_Journal of Mary Frampton_, pp.
225, 226), "is fond of dancing. . . . He waltzed with Lady Jersey, whom he
admires, to the great discomposure of the Regent, who has quarrelled
with her. "]
ANSWER TO----'S PROFESSIONS OF AFFECTION.
IN hearts like thine ne'er may I hold a place
Till I renounce all sense, all shame, all grace--
That seat,--like seats, the bane of Freedom's realm,
But dear to those presiding at the helm--
Is basely purchased, not with gold alone;
Add Conscience, too, this bargain is your own--
'T is thine to offer with corrupting art
The _rotten borough_[62] of the human heart.
? 1814.
[From an autograph MS. , now for the first time printed. ]
FOOTNOTES:
[62] [The phrase, "rotten borough," was used by Sir F. Burdett,
_Examiner_, October 12, 1812. ]
ON NAPOLEON'S ESCAPE FROM ELBA. [63]
ONCE fairly set out on his party of pleasure,
Taking towns at his liking, and crowns at his leisure,
From Elba to Lyons and Paris he goes,
Making _balls for_ the ladies, and _bows to_ his foes.
_March 27, 1815. _
[First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 611. ]
FOOTNOTES:
[63] [It may be taken for granted that the "source" of this epigram was
a paragraph in the _Morning Chronicle_ of March 27, 1815: "In the
_Moniteur_ of Thursday we find the Emperor's own account of his _jaunt_
from the Island of Elba to the palace of the Thuilleries. It seems
certainly more like a jaunt of pleasure than the progress of an invader
through a country to be gained. "]
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 't is worth.
[First published, _Poetical Works_, 1831, vi. 454. ]
[TO GEORGE ANSON BYRON(? )[64]]
1.
AND, dost thou ask the reason of my sadness?
Well, I will tell it thee, unfeeling boy!
'Twas ill report that urged my brain to madness,
'Twas thy tongue's venom poisoned all my joy.
2.
The sadness which thou seest is not sorrow;
My wounds are far too deep for simple grief;
The heart thus withered, seeks in vain to borrow
From calm reflection, comfort or relief.
3.
The arrow's flown, and dearly shalt thou rue it;
No mortal hand can rid me of my pain:
My heart is pierced, but thou canst not subdue it--
Revenge is left, and is not left in vain.
? 1816.
[First published, _Nicnac_, March 25, 1823. ]
FOOTNOTES:
[64] ["A short time before Lord Byron quitted England, in 1816, he
addressed these lines to an individual by whom he deemed himself
injured; they are but little known. "--_Nicnac_, March 25, 1823. ]
SONG FOR THE LUDDITES. [65]
1.
AS the Liberty lads o'er the sea
Bought their freedom, and cheaply, with blood,
So we, boys, we
Will _die_ fighting, or _live_ free,
And down with all kings but King Ludd!
2.
10.
But the Devil has reached our cliffs so white,
And what did he there, I pray?
If his eyes were good, he but saw by night
What we see every day;
But he made a tour and kept a journal
Of all the wondrous sights nocturnal,
And he sold it in shares to the _Men_ of the _Row_,
Who bid pretty well--but they _cheated_ him, though! 90
11.
The Devil first saw, as he thought, the _Mail_,
Its coachman and his coat;
So instead of a pistol he cocked his tail,
And seized him by the throat;
"Aha! " quoth he, "what have we here?
'T is a new barouche, and an ancient peer! "[40]
12.
So he sat him on his box again,
And bade him have no fear,
But be true to his club, and staunch to his rein,
His brothel and his beer; 100
"Next to seeing a Lord at the Council board,
I would rather see him here. "
13.
Satan hired a horse and gig
With promises to pay;
And he pawned his horns for a spruce new wig,
To redeem as he came away:
And he whistled some tune, a waltz or a jig,
And drove off at the close of day.
14.
The first place he stopped at--he heard the Psalm
That rung from a Methodist Chapel: 110
"'T is the best sound I've heard," quoth he, "since my palm
Presented Eve her apple!
When _Faith_ is all, 't is an excellent sign,
That the _Works_ and Workmen both are mine. "
15.
He passed Tommy Tyrwhitt,[41] that standing jest,
To princely wit a Martyr:
But the last joke of all was by far the best,
When he sailed away with "the Garter"!
"And"--quoth Satan--"this Embassy's worthy my sight,
Should I see nothing else to amuse me to night. 120
With no one to bear it, but Thomas a Tyrwhitt,
This ribband belongs to an 'Order of Merit'! "
16.
He stopped at an Inn and stepped within
The Bar and read the "Times;"
And never such a treat, as--the epistle of one "Vetus,"[42]
Had he found save in downright crimes:
"Though I doubt if this drivelling encomiast of War
Ever saw a field fought, or felt a scar,
Yet his fame shall go farther than he can guess,
For I'll keep him a place in my _hottest Press_; 130
And his works shall be bound in Morocco _d'Enfer_,
And lettered behind with his _Nom de Guerre_. "
17.
The Devil gat next to Westminster,
And he turned to "the room" of the Commons;
But he heard as he purposed to enter in there,
That "the Lords" had received a summons;
And he thought, as "a _quondam_ Aristocrat,"
He might peep at the Peers, though to _hear_ them were flat;
And he walked up the House so like one of his own,
That they say that he stood pretty near the throne. 140
18.
He saw the Lord Liverpool seemingly wise,
The Lord Westmoreland certainly silly,
And Jockey of Norfolk--a man of some size--
And Chatham, so like his friend Billy;[43]
And he saw the tears in Lord Eldon's eyes,
Because the Catholics would _not_ rise,
In spite of his prayers and his prophecies;
And he heard--which set Satan himself a staring--
A certain Chief Justice say something like _swearing_. [44]
And the Devil was shocked--and quoth he, "I must go, 150
For I find we have much better manners below.
If thus he harangues when he passes my border,
I shall hint to friend Moloch to call him to order. "
19.
Then the Devil went down to the humbler House,
Where he readily found his way
As natural to him as its hole to a Mouse,
He had been there many a day;
And many a vote and soul and job he
Had bid for and carried away from the Lobby:
But there now was a "call" and accomplished debaters 160
Appeared in the glory of hats, boots and gaiters--
_Some_ paid rather more--but _all_ worse dressed
than Waiters!
20.
There was Canning for War, and Whitbread for peace,
And others as suited their fancies;
But all were agreed that our debts should increase
Excepting the Demagogue Francis.
That rogue! how could Westminster chuse him again
To leaven the virtue of these honest men!
But the Devil remained till the Break of Day
Blushed upon Sleep and Lord Castlereagh:[45] 170
Then up half the house got, and Satan got up
With the drowsy to snore--or the hungry to sup:--
But so torpid the power of some speakers, 't is said,
That they sent even him to his brimstone bed.
21.
He had seen George Rose--but George was grown dumb,
And only lied in thought! [46]
And the Devil has all the pleasure to come
Of hearing him talk as he ought.
With the falsest of tongues, the sincerest of men--
His veracity were but deceit-- 180
And Nature must first have unmade him again,
Ere his breast or his face, or his tongue, or his pen,
Conceived--uttered--looked--or wrote down letters ten,
Which Truth would acknowledge complete.
22.
Satan next took the army list in hand,
Where he found a new "Field Marshal;"
And when he saw this high command
Conferred on his Highness of Cumberland,[47]
"Oh! were I prone to cavil--or were I not the Devil,
I should say this was somewhat partial; 190
Since the only wounds that this Warrior gat,
Were from God knows whom--and the Devil knows what! "
23.
He then popped his head in a royal Ball,
And saw all the Haram so hoary;
And who there besides but Corinna de Stael! [48]
Turned Methodist and Tory!
"Aye--Aye"--quoth he--"'t is the way with them all,
When Wits grow tired of Glory:
But thanks to the weakness, that thus could pervert her,
Since the dearest of prizes to me's a deserter: 200
_Mem_--whenever a sudden conversion I want,
To send to the school of Philosopher Kant;
And whenever I need a critic who can gloss over
All faults--to send for Mackintosh to write up the Philosopher. "[49]
24.
The Devil waxed faint at the sight of this Saint,
And he thought himself of eating;
And began to cram from a plate of ham
Wherewith a Page was retreating--
Having nothing else to do (for "the friends" each so near
Had sold all their souls long before), 210
As he swallowed down the bacon he wished himself a Jew
For the sake of another crime more:
For Sinning itself is but half a recreation,
Unless it ensures most infallible Damnation.
25.
But he turned him about, for he heard a sound
Which even his ear found faults in;
For whirling above--underneath--and around--
Were his fairest Disciples Waltzing! [50]
And quoth he--"though this be--the _premier pas_ to me,
Against it I would warn all-- 220
Should I introduce these revels among my younger devils,
They would all turn perfectly carnal:
And though fond of the flesh--yet I never could bear it
Should quite in my kingdom get the upper hand of Spirit. "
26.
The Devil (but 't was over) had been vastly glad
To see the new Drury Lane,
And yet he might have been rather mad
To see it rebuilt in vain;
And had he beheld their "Nourjahad,"[51]
Would never have gone again: 230
And Satan had taken it much amiss,
They should fasten such a piece on a friend of his--
Though he knew that his works were somewhat sad,
He never had found them _quite_ so bad:
For this was "the book" which, of yore, Job, sorely smitten,
Said, "Oh that _mine_ enemy, _mine_ enemy had written"!
27.
Then he found sixty scribblers in separate cells,[52]
And marvelled what they were doing,
For they looked like little fiends in their own little hells,
Damnation for others brewing-- 240
Though their paper seemed to shrink, from the heat of their ink,
They were only _coolly_ reviewing!
And as one of them wrote down the pronoun "_We_,"
"That Plural"--says Satan--"means _him_ and _me_,
With the Editor added to make up the three
Of an Athanasian Trinity,
And render the believers in our 'Articles' sensible,
How many must combine to form _one_ Incomprehensible"!
_December_ 9, 1813.
[Stanzas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, first published,
_Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 471-474: stanzas 6, 7,
9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19-27, now published for the first time from
an autograph MS. in the possession of the Earl of Ilchester. ]
FOOTNOTES:
[ii] The Devil's Drive. _A Sequel to Porson's_ Devil's Walk. --[MS. H. ]
[34] ["I have lately written a wild, rambling, unfinished rhapsody,
called 'The Devil's Drive,' the notion of which I took from Porson's
_Devil's Walk_. "--_Journal_, December 17, 18, 1813, _Letters_, 1898, ii.
378. "Though with a good deal of vigour and imagination, it is," says
Moore, "for the most part rather clumsily executed, wanting the point
and condensation of those clever verses of Coleridge and Southey, which
Lord Byron, adopting a notion long prevalent, has attributed to Porson. "
The _Devil's Walk_ was published in the _Morning Post_, September 6,
1799. It has been published under Porson's name (1830, ed. H. Montague,
illustrated by Cruikshank). (See _Poetical Works_, 1898, i. 30, _note_
1. )]
[35] [Lord Yarmouth, nicknamed "Red Herrings," the eldest son of the
Regent's elderly favourite, the Marchioness of Hertford (the "Marchesa"
of the _Twopenny Post-Bag_), lived at No. 7, Seamore Place, Mayfair.
Compare Moore's "Epigram:" "'I want the Court Guide,' said my lady, 'to
look If the House, Seymour Place, be at 30 or 20,'" etc. --_Poetical
Works_, 1850, p. 165. ]
[36] [The allusion may be to a case which was before the courts, the
Attorney-General _v_. William Carver and Brownlow Bishop of Winchester
(see _Morning Chronicle_, November 17, 1813). Carver held certain
premises under the Bishop of Winchester, at the entrance of Portsmouth
Harbour, which obstructed the efflux and reflux of the tide. "The fact,"
said Mr. Serjeant Lens, in opening the case for the Crown, "was of great
magnitude to the entire nation, since it effected the security, and even
the existence of one of the principal harbours of Great Britain. "]
[37] [The Russian and Austrian troops at the battle of Leipsic, October
16, 1813, were, for the most part, veterans, while the Prussian
contingent included a large body of militia. ]
[38] [For the incident of the "broken bridge" Byron was indebted to the
pages of the _Morning Chronicle_ of November 8, 1813, "Paris Papers,
October 30"--
"The Emperor had ordered the engineers to form fougades under the grand
bridge which is between Leipsic and Lindenau, in order to blow it up at
the latest moment, and thus to retard the march of the enemy and give
time to our baggage to file off. General Dulauloy had entrusted the
operation to Colonel Montford. The Colonel, instead of remaining on the
spot to direct it, and to give the signal, ordered a corporal and four
sappers to blow up the bridge the instant the enemy should appear. The
corporal, an ignorant fellow, and ill comprehending the nature of the
duty with which he was charged, upon hearing the first shot discharged
from the ramparts of the city, set fire to the fougades and blew up the
bridge. A part of the army was still on the other side, with a park of
80 pieces of artillery and some hundreds of waggons. The advance of this
part of the army, who were approaching the bridge, seeing it blow up,
conceived it was in the power of the enemy. A cry of dismay spread from
rank to rank. 'The enemy are close upon our rear, and the bridges are
destroyed! ' The unfortunate soldiers dispersed, and endeavoured to
effect their escape as well as they could. The Duke of Tarentum swam
across the river. Prince Poniatowsky, mounted on a spirited horse,
darted into the water and appeared no more. The Emperor was not informed
of this disaster until it was too late to remedy it. . . . Colonel Montfort
and the corporal of the sappers have been handed over to a
court-martial. "]
[39] [Compare _Don Juan_, Canto VIII. stanza cxxxii. line 4. Sir Walter
Scott (_Journal_, October 30, 1826 [1890, i. 288]), tells the same story
of "an old woman who, when Carlisle was taken by the Highlanders in
1745, chose to be particularly apprehensive of personal violence, and
shut herself up in a closet, in order that she might escape ravishment.
But no one came to disturb her solitude, and . . . by and by she popped
her head out of her place of refuge with the pretty question, 'Good
folks, can you tell me when the ravishing is going to begin? '" In 1813
Byron did not know Scott, and must have stolen the jest from some older
writer. It is, probably, of untold antiquity. ]
[40] [The "Four-Horse" Club, founded in 1808, was incorrectly styled the
Four-in-Hand Club, and the Barouche Club. According to the Club rules,
the barouches were "yellow-bodied, with 'dickies,' the horses bay, with
rosettes at their heads, and the harness silver-mounted. The members
wore a drab coat reaching to the ankles, with three tiers of pockets,
and mother-o'-pearl buttons as large as five-shilling pieces. The
waistcoat was blue, with yellow stripes an inch wide; breeches of plush,
with strings and rosettes to each knee; and it was _de rigueur_ that the
hat should be 3-1/2 inches deep in the crown. " (See _Driving_, by the
Duke of Beaufort, K. G. , 1894, pp. 251-258. )
The "ancient peer" may possibly be intended for the President of the
Club, Philip Henry, fifth Earl of Chesterfield (1755-1815), who was a
member of the Privy Council, and had been Postmaster-General and Master
of the Horse. ]
[41] [Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt (_circ_. 1762-1833) was the son of the Rev.
Edmund Tyrwhitt, Rector of Wickham Bishops, etc. , and nephew of Thomas
Tyrwhitt, the editor of the _Canterbury Tales_. He was Private Secretary
to the Prince of Wales, auditor of the Duchy of Cornwall (1796), and
Lord Warden of the Stannaries (1805). He was knighted May 8, 1812. He
was sent in the following year in charge of the Garter mission to the
Czar, and on that occasion was made a Knight of the Imperial Order of
St. Anne, First Class. He held the office of Gentleman Usher of the
Black Rod, 1812-1832. "Tommy Tyrwhitt" was an important personage at
Carlton House, and shared with Colonel McMahon the doubtful privilege of
being a confidential servant of the Prince Regent. Compare Letter III.
of Moore's _Twopenny Post-Bag_, 1813, p. 12. "From G. R. to the E. of
Y----th. "
"I write this in bed while my whiskers are airing,
And M--c has a sly dose of jalap preparing
For poor T--mm--y T--rr--t at breakfast to quaff--
As I feel I want something to give me a laugh,
And there's nothing so good as old T--mm--y kept close
To his Cornwall accounts, after taking a dose! "
See _Gentleman's Magazine_, March, 1833, vol. 103, pt. i. pp. 275, 276. ]
[42] ["Vetus" [Edward Sterling] contributed a series of letters to the
_Times_, 1812, 1813. They were afterwards republished. Vetus was not a
Little Englander, and his political sentiments recall the _obiter dicta_
of contemporary patriots; _e. g. _ "the only legitimate basis for a
treaty, if not on the part of the Continental Allies, at least for
England herself [is] that she should conquer all she can, and keep all
she conquers. This is not by way of retaliation, however just, upon so
obdurate and rapacious an enemy--but as an indispensable condition of
her own safety and existence. " The letters were reviewed under the
heading of "Illustrations of Vetus," in the _Morning Chronicle_,
December 2, 10, 16, 18; 1813. The reviewer and Byron did not take the
patriotic view of the situation. ]
[43] [Robert Banks Jenkinson (1770-1828), second Earl of Liverpool, on
the assassination of Perceval, became Prime Minister, June 7, 1812; John
Fane (1759-1841), tenth Earl of Westmoreland, was Lord Privy Seal,
1798-1827; Charles Howard (1746-1815), eleventh Duke of Norfolk, known
as "Jockey of Norfolk," was a Protestant and a Liberal, and at one time
a friend of the Prince of Wales. Wraxall, _Posthumous Memoirs_, 1836, i.
29, says that "he might have been mistaken for a grazier or a butcher by
his dress and appearance. " He figures _largely_ in Gillray, see _e. g. _
"Meeting of the Moneyed Interest," December, 1798. John Pitt
(1756-1835), second Earl of Chatham, the hero of the abortive Walcheren
expedition, had been made a general in the army January 1, 1812. He
"inherited," says Wraxall, _ibid. _, iii. 129, "his illustrious father's
form and figure; but not his mind. "]
[44] [Edward Law (1750-1818), first Baron Ellenborough, Lord Chief
Justice of the King's Bench, 1802-18, was given to the use of strong
language. His temper (see Moore's "Sale of the Tools") was "none of the
best. " On one occasion, speaking in the House of Lords (March 22, 1813)
with regard to the "delicate investigation," he asserted that the
accusation ["that the persons intrusted had thought fit to fabricate an
unauthorized document"] "was as false as hell;" and by way of protest
against the tedious harangues of old Lord Darnley, "I am answerable to
God for my time, and what account can I give at the day of judgment if I
stay here longer? "]
[45] [Compare Moore's "Insurrection of the Papers"--
"Last night I toss'd and turn'd in bed,
But could not sleep--at length I said,
'I'll think of Viscount C--stl--r--gh,
And of his speeches--that's the way. '"]
[46] [George Rose (1744-1818) was at this time Treasurer of the Navy.
Wraxall, who quotes the "Probationary Odes" with regard to his alleged
duplicity, testifies that he "knew him well in his official capacity,
during at least twelve years, and never found him deficient in honour or
sincerity" (_Posthumous Memoirs_, 1836, i. 148). Moore ("Parody of a
Celebrated Letter") makes the Regent conceive how shocked the king would
be to wake up sane and find "that R--se was grown honest, or
W--stm--rel--nd wiser. "]
[47] [Ernest Augustus (1771-1851), Duke of Cumberland and King of
Hanover, fifth son of George III. , was gazetted as Field-Marshal
November 27, 1813. His "wounds," which, according to the Duke's sworn
testimony, were seventeen in number, were inflicted during an encounter
with his valet, Joseph Sellis (? Selis), a Piedmontese, who had
attempted to assassinate the Prince (June 1, 1810), and, shortly
afterwards, was found with his throat cut. A jury of Westminster
tradesmen brought in a verdict of _felo de se_ against Sellis. The event
itself and the trial before the coroner provoked controversy and the
grossest scandal. The question is discussed and the Duke exonerated of
the charges brought against him, by J. H. Jesse, _Memoirs, etc. , of
George III. _, 1864, iii. 545, 546, and by George Rose, _Diaries, etc. _,
1860, ii. 437-446. The scandal was revived in 1832 by the publication of
a work entitled _The Authentic Memoirs of the Court of England for the
last Seventy Years. _ The printer and publisher of the work was found
guilty. (See _The Trial of Josiah Phillips for a Libel on the Duke of
Cumberland_, 1833. )]
[48] ["At half-past nine [Wednesday, December 8, 1813] there was a grand
dress party at Carlton House, at which her Majesty and the Prince Regent
most graciously received the following distinguished characters from the
Russian Court, viz. the Count and Countess Leiven, Mad. La Barrone
(_sic_) de Stael, Monsieur de Stael," etc. --_Morning Chronicle_,
December 10, 1813. ]
[49] [In the review of Madame de Stael's _De L'Allemagne_ (_Edinburgh
Review_, October, 1813, vol. 22, pp. 198-238), Sir James Mackintosh
enlarged upon and upheld the "opinions of Kant" as creative and seminal
in the world of thought. In the same article he passes in review the
systems of Hobbes, Paley, Bentham, Reid, etc. , and finds words of praise
and admiration for each in turn. See, too, a passage (p. 226) in which
he alludes to Coleridge as a living writer, whose "singular character
and unintelligible style" might, in any other country but England, have
won for him attention if not approval. His own "conversion" from the
extreme liberalism of the _Vindiciae Gallicae_ of 1791 to the philosophic
conservatism of the _Introductory Discourse_ (1798) to his lecture on
_The Law of Nature and Nations_, was regarded with suspicion by
Wordsworth and Coleridge, who, afterwards, were still more effectually
"converted" themselves. ]
[50] [See Introduction to _The Waltz, Poetical Works_, 1898, i. 475. ]
[51] [_Illusion, or the Trances of Nourjahad_, a melodrama founded on
_The History of Nourjahad_, By the Editor of Sidney Bidulph (Mrs.
Frances Sheridan, _nee_ Chamberlaine, 1724-1766), was played for the
first time at Drury Lane Theatre, November 25, 1813. Byron was
exceedingly indignant at being credited with the authorship or
adaptation. (See Letter to Murray, November 27, 1813, _Letters_, 1898,
ii. 288, _note_ 1. ) Miss Sophia Lee, who wrote some of the _Canterbury
Tales_, "made a very elegant musical drama of it" (_Memoirs of Mrs. F.
Sheridan_, by Alicia Lefanu, 1824, p. 296); but this was not the
_Nourjahad_ of Drury Lane. ]
[52] [Millbank Penitentiary, which was built in the form of a pentagon,
was finally taken in hand in the spring of 1813. Solitary confinement in
the "cells" was, at first, reserved as a punishment for
misconduct. --_Memorials of Millbank_, by Arthur Griffiths, 1875, i. 57. ]
WINDSOR POETICS.
LINES COMPOSED ON THE OCCASION OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE PRINCE REGENT BEING SEEN STANDING BETWEEN
THE COFFINS OF HENRY VIII. AND CHARLES I. ,
IN THE ROYAL VAULT AT WINDSOR.
FAMED for contemptuous breach of sacred ties,
By headless Charles see heartless Henry lies;
Between them stands another sceptred thing--
It moves, it reigns--in all but name, a king:
Charles to his people, Henry to his wife,
--In him the double tyrant starts to life:
Justice and Death have mixed their dust in vain,
Each royal Vampire wakes to life again.
Ah, what can tombs avail! --since these disgorge
The blood and dust of both--to mould a George. [53]
[First published, _Poetical Works_, Paris, 1819, vi. 125. ]
[ANOTHER VERSION. ]
ON A ROYAL VISIT TO THE VAULTS. [54]
[OR CAESAR'S DISCOVERY OF C. I. AND H. 8. IN YE SAME VAULT. ]
FAMED for their civil and domestic quarrels
See heartless Henry lies by headless Charles;
Between them stands another sceptred thing,
It lives, it reigns--"aye, every inch a king. "
Charles to his people, Henry to his wife,
In him the double tyrant starts to life:
Justice and Death have mixed their dust in vain.
The royal Vampires join and rise again.
What now can tombs avail, since these disgorge
The blood and dirt[55] of both to mould a George!
FOOTNOTES:
[53] ["I cannot conceive how the _Vault_ has got about; but so it is. It
is too _farouche_; but truth to say, my satires are not very
playful. "--Letter to Moore, March 12, 1814, _Letters_, 1899, iii. 57-58.
Moore had written to him, "Your lines about the bodies of Charles and
Henry are, I find, circulated with wonderful avidity; even some clods in
this neighbourhood have had a copy sent to them by some 'young ladies in
town. '"--_Ibid_. , p. 57, _note_ 3.
The discovery "that King Charles I. was buried in the vault of King
Henry VIII. ," was made on completing the mausoleum which George III.
caused to be built in the tomb-house. The Prince Regent was informed of
the circumstance, and on April 1, 1813, the day after the funeral of his
mother-in-law, the Duchess of Brunswick, he superintended in person the
opening of the leaden coffin, which bore the inscription, "King Charles,
1648" (_sic_). See _An Account of what appeared on Opening the Coffin of
King Charles the First_, by Sir H. Halford, Bart. , 1813, pp. 6, 7.
Cornelia Knight, in her _Autobiography_ (1861, i. 227), notes that the
frolic prince, the "Adonis of fifty," who was in a good humour, and "had
given to Princess Charlotte the centre sapphire of Charles's crown,"
acted "the manner of decapitation on my shoulders. " He had "forgotten"
Cromwell, who, as Lord Auchinleck reminded Dr. Johnson, had "gart kings
ken that they had a _lith_ in their neck! "]
[54] [From an autograph MS. in the possession of the Hon. Mrs. Norbury.
The first wrapper has written upon it, "The original Impromptu within is
in the handwriting of the noble author Lord Byron, given to Mr. Norbury
[private secretary to Lord Granville] by Mr. Dallas, his Lordship's
valued relative. "
Second wrapper, "Autograph of Lord Byron--tres precieux. "
Third (outside) wrapper, "Autographe celebre de Lord Byron. "]
[55][
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? [Greek: Pel? n ai(/mati pephyramhenon]
"Clay kneaded with blood. "
Suetonius, in _Tiberium_, cap. 57. ]
ICH DIEN.
FROM this emblem what variance your motto evinces,
For the _Man_ is his country's--the Arms are the Prince's!
? 1814.
[From an autograph MS. in the possession of
Mr. A. H. Hallam Murray, now for the first time printed. ]
CONDOLATORY ADDRESS
TO SARAH COUNTESS OF JERSEY, ON THE PRINCE REGENT'S
RETURNING HER PICTURE TO MRS. MEE. [56]
WHEN the vain triumph of the imperial lord,
Whom servile Rome obeyed, and yet abhorred,
Gave to the vulgar gaze each glorious bust,
That left a likeness of the brave, or just;
What most admired each scrutinising eye
Of all that decked that passing pageantry?
What spread from face to face that wondering air?
The thought of Brutus[57]--for his was not there!
That absence proved his worth,--that absence fixed
His memory on the longing mind, unmixed; 10
And more decreed his glory to endure,
Than all a gold Colossus could secure.
If thus, fair Jersey, our desiring gaze
Search for thy form, in vain and mute amaze,
Amidst those pictured charms, whose loveliness,
Bright though they be, thine own had rendered less:
If he, that VAIN OLD MAN, whom truth admits
Heir of his father's crown, and of his wits,
If his corrupted eye, and withered heart,
Could with thy gentle image bear to part; 20
That tasteless shame be _his_, and ours the grief,
To gaze on Beauty's band without its chief:
Yet Comfort still one selfish thought imparts,
We lose the portrait, but preserve our hearts.
What can his vaulted gallery now disclose?
A _garden_ with all flowers--except the rose;--
A _fount_ that only wants its living stream;
A _night_, with every star, save Dian's beam.
Lost to our eyes the present forms shall be,
That turn from tracing them to dream of thee; 30
And more on that recalled resemblance pause,
Than all he _shall_ not force on our applause.
Long may thy yet meridian lustre shine,
With all that Virtue asks of Homage thine:
The symmetry of youth--the grace of mien--
The eye that gladdens--and the brow serene;
The glossy darkness of that clustering hair,[58]
Which shades, yet shows that forehead more than fair!
Each glance that wins us, and the life that throws
A spell which will not let our looks repose, 40
But turn to gaze again, and find anew
Some charm that well rewards another view.
These are not lessened, these are still as bright,
Albeit too dazzling _for a dotard's sight_;
And those must wait till ev'ry charm is gone,
To please the paltry heart that pleases none;--
That dull cold sensualist, whose sickly eye
In envious dimness passed thy portrait by;
Who racked his little spirit to combine
Its hate of _Freedom's_ loveliness, and _thine_. 50
_May_ 29, 1814.
[First published in _The Champion_, July 31, 1814. ]
FOOTNOTES:
[56] ["The gentlemen of the _Champion_, and Perry, have got hold (I know
not how) of the condolatory Address to Lady Jersey on the
picture-abduction by our Regent, and have published them--with my name,
too, smack--without even asking leave, or inquiring whether or no! Damn
their impudence, and damn every thing. It has put me out of patience,
and so, I shall say no more about it. "--Letter to Moore, August 3, 1814,
_Letters_, 1899, iii. 118. For Byron's letter to Lady Jersey, of May 29,
1814, and a note from her with reference to a lost(? ) copy of the
verses, _vide ibid_. , p. 85. Mrs. Anne Mee (1775? -1851) was a
miniature-painter, who was employed by the Prince Regent to take the
portraits of fashionable beauties. ]
[57] [Compare _Childe Harold_, Canto IV. stanza lix. line 3, _Poetical
Works_, 1899, ii. 374, _note_ 2. ]
[58] [See _Conversations . . . with the Countess of Blessington_, 1834,
p. 50. ]
[Illustration: ANNESLEY HALL. ]
FRAGMENT OF AN EPISTLE TO THOMAS MOORE.
"WHAT say _I_? "--not a syllable further in prose;
I'm your man "of all measures," dear Tom,--so here goes!
Here goes, for a swim on the stream of old Time,
On those buoyant supporters, the bladders of rhyme.
If our weight breaks them down, and we sink in the flood,
We are smothered, at least, in respectable mud,
Where the divers of Bathos lie drowned in a heap,
And Southey's last Paean has pillowed his sleep;
That _Felo de se_ who, half drunk with his Malmsey,
Walked out of his depth and was lost in a calm sea, 10
Singing "Glory to God" in a spick and span stanza,
The like (since Tom Sternhold was choked) never man saw. [59]
The papers have told you, no doubt, of the fusses,
The fetes, and the gapings to get at these Russes,[60]--
Of his Majesty's suite, up from coachman to Hetman,--
And what dignity decks the flat face of the great man.
I saw him, last week, at two balls and a party,--
For a Prince, his demeanour was rather too hearty.
You know, _we_ are used to quite different graces,
* * * * *
The Czar's look, I own, was much brighter and brisker, 20
But then he is sadly deficient in whisker;
And wore but a starless blue coat, and in kersey-
mere breeches whisked round, in a waltz with the Jersey,[61]
Who, lovely as ever, seemed just as delighted
With Majesty's presence as those she invited.
* * * * *
* * * * *
_June_, 1814.
[First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 561, 562 (note). ]
FOOTNOTES:
[59] [The two first stanzas of Southey's "_Carmen Triumphale_, for the
Commencement of the Year 1814," end with the line--
"Glory to God--Deliverance for Mankind! "]
[60] ["The newspapers will tell you all that is to be told of emperors,
etc. They have dined, and supped, and shown their flat faces in all
thoroughfares and several saloons. "--Letter to Moore, June 14, 1814,
_Letters_, 1899, iii. 93, 94.
From June 6 to June 27, 1814, the Emperor of Russia, and the King of
Prussia were in England. Huge crowds watched all day and night outside
the Pulteney Hotel (105, Piccadilly), where the Emperor of Russia
stayed. Among the foreigners in London were Nesselrode, Metternich,
Blucher, and Platoff, Hetman of the Cossacks. The two latter were the
heroes of the mob. _Ibid_. , p. 93, _note_ 1. ]
[61] ["The Emperor," says Lady Vernon (_Journal of Mary Frampton_, pp.
225, 226), "is fond of dancing. . . . He waltzed with Lady Jersey, whom he
admires, to the great discomposure of the Regent, who has quarrelled
with her. "]
ANSWER TO----'S PROFESSIONS OF AFFECTION.
IN hearts like thine ne'er may I hold a place
Till I renounce all sense, all shame, all grace--
That seat,--like seats, the bane of Freedom's realm,
But dear to those presiding at the helm--
Is basely purchased, not with gold alone;
Add Conscience, too, this bargain is your own--
'T is thine to offer with corrupting art
The _rotten borough_[62] of the human heart.
? 1814.
[From an autograph MS. , now for the first time printed. ]
FOOTNOTES:
[62] [The phrase, "rotten borough," was used by Sir F. Burdett,
_Examiner_, October 12, 1812. ]
ON NAPOLEON'S ESCAPE FROM ELBA. [63]
ONCE fairly set out on his party of pleasure,
Taking towns at his liking, and crowns at his leisure,
From Elba to Lyons and Paris he goes,
Making _balls for_ the ladies, and _bows to_ his foes.
_March 27, 1815. _
[First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 611. ]
FOOTNOTES:
[63] [It may be taken for granted that the "source" of this epigram was
a paragraph in the _Morning Chronicle_ of March 27, 1815: "In the
_Moniteur_ of Thursday we find the Emperor's own account of his _jaunt_
from the Island of Elba to the palace of the Thuilleries. It seems
certainly more like a jaunt of pleasure than the progress of an invader
through a country to be gained. "]
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 't is worth.
[First published, _Poetical Works_, 1831, vi. 454. ]
[TO GEORGE ANSON BYRON(? )[64]]
1.
AND, dost thou ask the reason of my sadness?
Well, I will tell it thee, unfeeling boy!
'Twas ill report that urged my brain to madness,
'Twas thy tongue's venom poisoned all my joy.
2.
The sadness which thou seest is not sorrow;
My wounds are far too deep for simple grief;
The heart thus withered, seeks in vain to borrow
From calm reflection, comfort or relief.
3.
The arrow's flown, and dearly shalt thou rue it;
No mortal hand can rid me of my pain:
My heart is pierced, but thou canst not subdue it--
Revenge is left, and is not left in vain.
? 1816.
[First published, _Nicnac_, March 25, 1823. ]
FOOTNOTES:
[64] ["A short time before Lord Byron quitted England, in 1816, he
addressed these lines to an individual by whom he deemed himself
injured; they are but little known. "--_Nicnac_, March 25, 1823. ]
SONG FOR THE LUDDITES. [65]
1.
AS the Liberty lads o'er the sea
Bought their freedom, and cheaply, with blood,
So we, boys, we
Will _die_ fighting, or _live_ free,
And down with all kings but King Ludd!
2.
