Thomas Moore - Life of Lord Byron, Vol. II

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"Dublin, January 1. 1810.

"My Lord,

"Having just seen the name of 'Lord Byron' prefixed to a work
entitled 'English Bards and Scotch Reviewers,' in which, as it
appears to me, _the lie is given_ to a public statement of mine,
respecting an affair with Mr. Jeffrey some years since, I beg you
will have the goodness to inform me whether I may consider your
Lordship as the author of this publication.

"I shall not, I fear, be able to return to London for a week or
two; but, in the mean time, I trust your Lordship will not deny me
the satisfaction of knowing whether you avow the insult contained
in the passages alluded to.

"It is needless to suggest to your Lordship the propriety of
keeping our correspondence secret.

"I have the honour to be

"Your Lordship's very humble servant,

"THOMAS MOORE.

"22. Molesworth Street."

[Footnote 31: This is the only entire letter of my own that, in the
course of this work, I mean to obtrude upon my readers. Being short, and
in terms more explanatory of the feeling on which I acted than any
others that could be substituted, it might be suffered, I thought, to
form the single exception to my general rule. In all other cases, I
shall merely give such extracts from my own letters as may be necessary
to elucidate those of my correspondent.]

* * * * *

In the course of a week, the friend to whom I intrusted this letter
wrote to inform me that Lord Byron had, as he learned on enquiring of
his publisher, gone abroad immediately on the publication of his Second
Edition; but that my letter had been placed in the hands of a gentleman,
named Hodgson, who had undertaken to forward it carefully to his
Lordship. Though the latter step was not exactly what I could have
wished, I thought it as well, on the whole, to let my letter take its
chance, and again postponed all consideration of the matter.

During the interval of a year and a half which elapsed before Lord
Byron's return, I had taken upon myself obligations, both as husband and
father, which make most men,--and especially those who have nothing to
bequeath,--less willing to expose themselves unnecessarily to danger.
On hearing, therefore, of the arrival of the noble traveller from
Greece, though still thinking it due to myself to follow up my first
request of an explanation, I resolved, in prosecuting that object, to
adopt such a tone of conciliation as should not only prove my sincere
desire of a pacific result, but show the entire freedom from any angry
or resentful feeling with which I took the step. The death of Mrs.
Byron, for some time, delayed my purpose. But as soon after that event
as was consistent with decorum, I addressed a letter to Lord Byron, in
which, referring to my former communication, and expressing some doubts
as to its having ever reached him, I re-stated, in pretty nearly the
same words, the nature of the insult, which, as it appeared to me, the
passage in his note was calculated to convey. "It is now useless," I
continued, "to speak of the steps with which it was my intention to
follow up that letter. The time which has elapsed since then, though it
has done away neither the injury nor the feeling of it, has, in many
respects, materially altered my situation; and the only object which I
have now in writing to your Lordship is to preserve some consistency
with that former letter, and to prove to you that the injured feeling
still exists, however circumstances may compel me to be deaf to its
dictates, at present. When I say 'injured feeling,' let me assure your
Lordship, that there is not a single vindictive sentiment in my mind
towards you. I mean but to express that uneasiness, under (what I
consider to be) a charge of falsehood, which must haunt a man of any
feeling to his grave, unless the insult be retracted or atoned for; and
which, if I did _not_ feel, I should, indeed, deserve far worse than
your Lordship's satire could inflict upon me." In conclusion I added,
that so far from being influenced by any angry or resentful feeling
towards him, it would give me sincere pleasure if, by any satisfactory
explanation, he would enable me to seek the honour of being henceforward
ranked among his acquaintance.[32]

To this letter, Lord Byron returned the following answer:--

LETTER 73. TO MR. MOORE.

"Cambridge, October 27. 1811.

"Sir,

"Your letter followed me from Notts, to this place, which will
account for the delay of my reply. Your former letter I never had
the honour to receive;--be assured, in whatever part of the world
it had found me, I should have deemed it my duty to return and
answer it in person.

"The advertisement you mention, I know nothing of.--At the time of
your meeting with Mr. Jeffrey, I had recently entered College, and
remember to have heard and read a number of squibs on the occasion;
and from the recollection of these I derived all my knowledge on
the subject, without the slightest idea of 'giving the lie' to an
address which I never beheld. When I put my name to the production,
which has occasioned this correspondence, I became responsible to
all whom it might concern,--to explain where it requires
explanation, and, where insufficiently, or too sufficiently
explicit, at all events to satisfy. My situation leaves me no
choice; it rests with the injured and the angry to obtain
reparation in their own way.

"With regard to the passage in question, _you_ were certainly _not_
the person towards whom I felt personally hostile. On the contrary,
my whole thoughts were engrossed by one, whom I had reason to
consider as my worst literary enemy, nor could I foresee that his
former antagonist was about to become his champion. You do not
specify what you would wish to have done: I can neither retract nor
apologise for a charge of falsehood which I never advanced.

"In the beginning of the week, I shall be at No. 8. St. James's
Street.--Neither the letter nor the friend to whom you stated your
intention ever made their appearance.

"Your friend, Mr. Rogers, or any other gentleman delegated by you,
will find me most ready to adopt any conciliatory proposition which
shall not compromise my own honour,--or, failing in that, to make
the atonement you deem it necessary to require.

"I have the honour to be, Sir,

"Your most obedient, humble servant,

"BYRON."

[Footnote 32: Finding two different draughts of this letter among my
papers, I cannot be quite certain as to some of the terms employed; but
have little doubt that they are here given correctly.]

* * * * *

In my reply to this, I commenced by saying that his Lordship's letter
was, upon the whole, as satisfactory as I could expect. It contained all
that, in the strict _diplomatique_ of explanation, could be required,
namely,--that he had never seen the statement which I supposed him
wilfully to have contradicted,--that he had no intention of bringing
against me any charge of falsehood, and that the objectionable passage
of his work was not levelled personally at _me_. This, I added, was all
the explanation I had a right to expect, and I was, of course, satisfied
with it.

I then entered into some detail relative to the transmission of my first
letter from Dublin,--giving, as my reason for descending to these minute
particulars, that I did not, I must confess, feel quite easy under the
manner in which his Lordship had noticed the miscarriage of that first
application to him.

My reply concluded thus:--"As your Lordship does not show any wish to
proceed beyond the rigid formulary of explanation, it is not for me to
make any further advances. We Irishmen, in businesses of this kind,
seldom know any medium between decided hostility and decided
friendship;--but, as any approaches towards the latter alternative must
now depend entirely on your Lordship, I have only to repeat that I am
satisfied with your letter, and that I have the honour to be," &c. &c.

On the following day I received the annexed rejoinder from Lord Byron:--

LETTER 74. TO MR. MOORE.

"8. St. James's Street, October 29. 1811.

"Sir,

"Soon after my return to England, my friend, Mr. Hodgson, apprised
me that a letter for me was in his possession; but a domestic event
hurrying me from London, immediately after, the letter (which may
most probably be your own) is still _unopened in his keeping_. If,
on examination of the address, the similarity of the handwriting
should lead to such a conclusion, it shall be opened in your
presence, for the satisfaction of all parties. Mr. H. is at present
out of town;--on Friday I shall see him, and request him to forward
it to my address.

"With regard to the latter part of both your letters, until the
principal point was discussed between us, I felt myself at a loss
in what manner to reply. Was I to anticipate friendship from one,
who conceived me to have charged him with falsehood? Were not
_advances_, under such circumstances, to be misconstrued,--not,
perhaps, by the person to whom they were addressed, but by others?
In _my_ case, such a step was impracticable. If you, who conceived
yourself to be the offended person, are satisfied that you had no
cause for offence, it will not be difficult to convince me of it.
My situation, as I have before stated, leaves me no choice. I
should have felt proud of your acquaintance, had it commenced under
other circumstances; but it must rest with you to determine how far
it may proceed after so _auspicious_ a beginning. I have the honour
to be," &c.

* * * * *

Somewhat piqued, I own, at the manner in which my efforts towards a more
friendly understanding,--ill-timed as I confess them to have been,--were
received, I hastened to close our correspondence by a short note,
saying, that his Lordship had made me feel the imprudence I was guilty
of, in wandering from the point immediately in discussion between us;
and I should now, therefore, only add, that if, in my last letter, I had
correctly stated the substance of his explanation, our correspondence
might, from this moment, cease for ever, as with that explanation I
declared myself satisfied.

This brief note drew immediately from Lord Byron the following frank and
open-hearted reply:--

LETTER 75. TO MR. MOORE.

"8. St. James's Street, October 30. 1811.

"Sir,

"You must excuse my troubling you once more upon this very
unpleasant subject. It would be a satisfaction to me, and I should
think, to yourself, that the unopened letter in Mr. Hodgson's
possession (supposing it to prove your own) should be returned 'in
statu quo' to the writer; particularly as you expressed yourself
'not quite easy under the manner in which I had dwelt on its
miscarriage.'

"A few words more, and I shall not trouble you further. I felt, and
still feel, very much flattered by those parts of your
correspondence, which held out the prospect of our becoming
acquainted. If I did not meet them in the first instance as perhaps
I ought, let the situation I was placed in be my defence. You have
_now_ declared yourself _satisfied_, and on that point we are no
longer at issue. If, therefore, you still retain any wish to do me
the honour you hinted at, I shall be most happy to meet you, when,
where, and how you please, and I presume you will not attribute my
saying thus much to any unworthy motive. I have the honour to
remain," &c.

* * * * *

On receiving this letter, I went instantly to my friend, Mr. Rogers, who
was, at that time, on a visit at Holland House, and, for the first time,
informed him of the correspondence in which I had been engaged. With his
usual readiness to oblige and serve, he proposed that the meeting
between Lord Byron and myself should take place at his table, and
requested of me to convey to the noble Lord his wish, that he would do
him the honour of naming some day for that purpose. The following is
Lord Byron's answer to the note which I then wrote:--

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 have the honour of
accepting his invitation. Of the professions of esteem with which
Mr. Rogers has honoured me, I cannot but feel proud, though
undeserving. I should be wanting to myself, if insensible to the
praise of such a man; and, should my approaching interview with him
and his friend lead to any degree of intimacy with both or either,
I shall regard our past correspondence as one of the happiest
events of my life. I have the honour to be,

"Your very sincere and obedient servant,

"BYRON."

* * * * *

It can hardly, I think, be necessary to call the reader's attention to
the good sense, self-possession, and frankness, of these letters of Lord
Byron. I had placed him,--by the somewhat national confusion which I had
made of the boundaries of peace and war, of hostility and
friendship,--in a position which, ignorant as he was of the character of
the person who addressed him, it required all the watchfulness of his
sense of honour to guard from surprise or snare. Hence, the judicious
reserve with which he abstained from noticing my advances towards
acquaintance, till he should have ascertained exactly whether the
explanation which he was willing to give would be such as his
correspondent would be satisfied to receive. The moment he was set at
rest on this point, the frankness of his nature displayed itself; and
the disregard of all further mediation or etiquette with which he at
once professed himself ready to meet me, "when, where, and how" I
pleased, showed that he could be as pliant and confiding _after_ such an
understanding, as he had been judiciously reserved and punctilious
_before_ it.

Such did I find Lord Byron, on my first experience of him; and such,--so
open and manly-minded,--did I find him to the last.

It was, at first, intended by Mr. Rogers that his company at dinner
should not extend beyond Lord Byron and myself; but Mr. Thomas Campbell,
having called upon our host that morning, was invited to join the party,
and consented. Such a meeting could not be otherwise than interesting to
us all. It was the first time that Lord Byron was ever seen by any of
his three companions; while he, on his side, for the first time, found
himself in the society of persons, whose names had been associated with
his first literary dreams, and to _two_[33] of whom he looked up with
that tributary admiration which youthful genius is ever ready to pay
its precursors.

Among the impressions which this meeting left upon me, what I chiefly
remember to have remarked was the nobleness of his air, his beauty, the
gentleness of his voice and manners, and--what was, naturally, not the
least attraction--his marked kindness to myself. Being in mourning for
his mother, the colour, as well of his dress, as of his glossy, curling,
and picturesque hair, gave more effect to the pure, spiritual paleness
of his features, in the expression of which, when he spoke, there was a
perpetual play of lively thought, though melancholy was their habitual
character when in repose.

As we had none of us been apprised of his peculiarities with respect to
food, the embarrassment of our host was not a little, on discovering
that there was nothing upon the table which his noble guest could eat or
drink. Neither meat, fish, nor wine, would Lord Byron touch; and of
biscuits and soda-water, which he asked for, there had been, unluckily,
no provision. He professed, however, to be equally well pleased with
potatoes and vinegar; and of these meagre materials contrived to make
rather a hearty dinner.

I shall now resume the series of his correspondence with other friends.

[Footnote 33: In speaking thus, I beg to disclaim all affected modesty,
Lord Byron had already made the same distinction himself in the opinions
which he expressed of the living poets; and I cannot but be aware that,
for the praises which he afterwards bestowed on my writings, I was, in a
great degree, indebted to his partiality to myself.]

* * * * *

LETTER 77. TO MR. HARNESS.

"8. St. James's Street, Dec. 6. 1811.

"My dear Harness,

"I write again, but don't suppose I mean to lay such a tax on your
pen and patience as to expect regular replies. When you are
inclined, write; when silent, I shall have the consolation of
knowing that you are much better employed. Yesterday, Bland and I
called on Mr. Miller, who, being then out, will call on Bland[34]
to-day or to-morrow. I shall certainly endeavour to bring them
together.--You are censorious, child; when you are a little older,
you will learn to dislike every body, but abuse nobody.

"With regard to the person of whom you speak, your own good sense
must direct you. I never pretend to advise, being an implicit
believer in the old proverb. This present frost is detestable. It
is the first I have felt for these three years, though I longed for
one in the oriental summer, when no such thing is to be had, unless
I had gone to the top of Hymettus for it.

"I thank you most truly for the concluding part of your letter. I
have been of late not much accustomed to kindness from any quarter,
and am not the less pleased to meet with it again from one where I
had known it earliest. I have not changed in all my
ramblings,--Harrow, and, of course, yourself never left me, and the

"'Dulces reminiscitur Argos'

attended me to the very spot to which that sentence alludes in the
mind of the fallen Argive--Our intimacy began before we began to
date at all, and it rests with you to continue it till the hour
which must number it and me with the things that _were_.

"Do read mathematics.--I should think _X plus Y_ at least as
amusing as the Curse of Kehama, and much more intelligible. Master
S.'s poems _are_, in fact, what parallel lines might be--viz.
prolonged _ad infinitum_ without meeting any thing half so absurd
as themselves.

"What news, what news? Queen Oreaca,
What news of scribblers five?
S----, W----, C----e, L----d, and L----e?--
All damn'd, though yet alive.

C----e is lecturing. 'Many an old fool,' said Hannibal to some such
lecturer, 'but such as this, never.'

"Ever yours, &c."

[Footnote 34: The Rev. Robert Bland, one of the authors of "Collections
from the Greek Anthology." Lord Byron was, at this time, endeavouring to
secure for Mr. Bland the task of translating Lucien Buonaparte's poem.]

* * * * *

LETTER 78. TO MR. HARNESS.

"St. James's Street, Dec. 8. 1811.

"Behold a most formidable sheet, without gilt or black edging, and
consequently very vulgar and indecorous, particularly to one of
your precision; but this being Sunday, I can procure no better,
and will atone for its length by not filling it. Bland I have not
seen since my last letter; but on Tuesday he dines with me, and
will meet M * * e, the epitome of all that is exquisite in poetical or
personal accomplishments. How Bland has settled with Miller, I know
not. I have very little interest with either, and they must arrange
their concerns according to their own gusto. I have done my
endeavours, _at your request_, to bring them together, and hope
they may agree to their mutual advantage.

"Coleridge has been lecturing against Campbell. Rogers was present,
and from him I derive the information. We are going to make a party
to hear this Manichean of poesy. Pole is to marry Miss Long, and
will be a very miserable dog for all that. The present ministers
are to continue, and his Majesty _does_ continue in the same state;
so there's folly and madness for you, both in a breath.

"I never heard but of one man truly fortunate, and he was
Beaumarchais, the author of Figaro, who buried two wives and gained
three law-suits before he was thirty.

"And now, child, what art thou doing? _Reading, I trust._ I want to
see you take a degree. Remember, this is the most important period
of your life; and don't disappoint your papa and your aunt, and all
your kin--besides myself. Don't you know that all male children are
begotten for the express purpose of being graduates? and that even
I am an A.M., though how I became so, the Public Orator only can
resolve. Besides, you are to be a priest: and to confute Sir
William Drummond's late book about the Bible, (printed, but not
published,) and all other infidels whatever. Now leave Master H.'s
gig, and Master S.'s Sapphics, and become as immortal as Cambridge
can make you.

"You see, Mio Carissimo, what a pestilent correspondent I am likely
to become; but then you shall be as quiet at Newstead as you
please, and I won't disturb your studies as I do now. When do you
fix the day, that I may take you up according to contract? Hodgson
talks of making a third in our journey; but we can't stow him,
inside at least. Positively you shall go with me as was agreed, and
don't let me have any of your _politesse_ to H. on the occasion. I
shall manage to arrange for both with a little contrivance. I wish
H. was not quite so fat, and we should pack better. You will want
to know what I am doing--chewing tobacco.

"You see nothing of my allies, Scrope Davies and Matthews[35]--they
don't suit you; and how does it happen that I--who am a pipkin of
the same pottery--continue in your good graces? Good night,--I will
go on in the morning.

"Dec. 9th. In a morning, I'm always sullen, and to-day is as sombre
as myself. Rain and mist are worse than a sirocco, particularly in
a beef-eating and beer-drinking country. My bookseller, Cawthorne,
has just left me, and tells me, with a most important face, that he
is in treaty for a novel of Madame D'Arblay's, for which 1000
guineas are asked! He wants me to read the MS. (if he obtains it),
which I shall do with pleasure; but I should be very cautious in
venturing an opinion on her whose Cecilia Dr. Johnson
superintended.[36] If he lends it to me, I shall put it into the
hands of Rogers and M * * e, who are truly men of taste. I have filled
the sheet, and beg your pardon; I will not do it again. I shall,
perhaps, write again, but if not, believe, silent or scribbling,
that I am, my dearest William, ever," &c.

[Footnote 35: The brother of his late friend, Charles Skinner Matthews.]

[Footnote 36: Lord Byron is here mistaken. Dr. Johnson never saw Cecilia
till it was in print. A day or two before publication, the young
authoress, as I understand, sent three copies to the three persons who
had the best claim to them,--her father, Mrs. Thrale, and Dr.
Johnson.--_Second edition_.]

* * * * *

LETTER 79. TO MR. HODGSON.

"London, Dec. 8. 1811.

"I sent you a sad Tale of Three Friars the other day, and now take
a dose in another style. I wrote it a day or two ago, on hearing a
song of former days.

"Away, away, ye notes of woe[37], &c. &c.

"I have gotten a book by Sir W. Drummond, (printed, but not
published,) entitled Oedipus Judaicus, in which he attempts to
prove the greater part of the Old Testament an allegory,
particularly Genesis and Joshua. He professes himself a theist in
the preface, and handles the literal interpretation very roughly. I
wish you could see it. Mr. W * * has lent it me, and I confess, to
me it is worth fifty Watsons.

"You and Harness must fix on the time for your visit to Newstead; I
can command mine at your wish, unless any thing particular occurs
in the interim. Bland dines with me on Tuesday to meet Moore.
Coleridge has attacked the 'Pleasures of Hope,' and all other
pleasures whatsoever. Mr. Rogers was present, and heard himself
indirectly _rowed_ by the lecturer. We are going in a party to hear
the new Art of Poetry by this reformed schismatic; and were I one
of these poetical luminaries, or of sufficient consequence to be
noticed by the man of lectures, I should not hear him without an
answer. For you know, 'an' a man will be beaten with brains, he
shall never keep a clean doublet.' C * * will be desperately
annoyed. I never saw a man (and of him I have seen very little) so
sensitive;--what a happy temperament! I am sorry for it; what can
_he_ fear from criticism? I don't know if Bland has seen Miller,
who was to call on him yesterday.

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