by Lord Byron
They are Good ones, however, for although I am violent I am not capricious in my attachments. My mother disapproves of my quarrelling with him, but if she knew the cause (which she never will know,) She would reproach me no more. He Has forfeited all title to my esteem, but I hold him in too much contempt ever to hate him. My mother desires to be kindly remembered to you. I shall soon be in town to resume my studies at Harrow; I will certainly call upon you in my way up. Present my respects to Mrs. Harcourt; I am Glad to hear that I am in her Good Graces for I shall always esteem her on account of her behaviour to you, my Dear Girl. Pray tell me If you see Lord S. Osborne, and how he is; what little I know of him I like very much and If we were better acquainted I doubt not I should like him still better. Do not forget to tell me how Murray is. As to your Future prospects, my Dear Girl, may they be happy! I am sure you deserve Happiness and if you do not meet with it I shall begin to think it is “a bad world we live in.” Write to me soon. I am impatient to hear from you. God bless you, My amiable Augusta, I remain,
Your ever affectionate Brother and Friend,
BYRON.
[Footnote 1: Henry, third Earl of Sussex, died in 1799, when the earldom
lapsed. He was, however, succeeded in the ancient barony of Grey de
Ruthyn by his daughter’s son, Henry Edward, twentieth Baron Grey de
Ruthyn (1780-1810), to whom Newstead was let.
”I am glad,” writes Mrs. Byron to Hanson, March 10, 1803, “that
Newstead is well let. I cannot find Lord Grey de Ruthin’s Title in the
Peerage of England, Ireland, or Scotland. I suppose he is a new
Peer.”
Lord Grey de Ruthyn married, in 1809, Anna Maria, daughter of William
Kelham, of Ryton-upon-Dunsmore, Warwick. (See postscript to Byron’s
Letter to his mother, August 11, 1809.) The lease of Newstead terminated
in April, 1808.]
[Footnote 2: Probably the wife of General the Hon. William Harcourt (1742-1830), who distinguished himself in the War of American Independence, succeeded his only brother in 1809 as third (and last) Earl Harcourt, was created a field-marshal in 1821, and died in 1830. He married, in 1778, Mary, daughter of the Rev. William Danby, and widow of Thomas Lockhart. She died in 1833.]
9. — To the Hon. Augusta Byron.
[At General Harcourt’s, St. Leonard’s Hill, Windsor, Berkshire.]
Burgage Manor, April 2d, 1804.
I received your present, my beloved Augusta, which was very acceptable, not that it will be of any use as a token of remembrance, No, my affection for you will never permit me to forget you.
I am afraid, my Dear Girl, that you will be absent when I am in town. I cannot exactly say when I return to Harrow, but however it will be in a very short time. I hope you were entertained by Sir Wm. Fawcet’s funeral on Saturday. Though I should imagine such spectacles rather calculated to excite Gloomy ideas. But I believe your motive was not quite of so mournful a cast.
You tell me that you are tired of London. I am rather surprised to hear that, for I thought the Gaieties of the Metropolis were particularly pleasing to young ladies. For my part I detest it; the smoke and the noise feel particularly unpleasant; but however it is preferable to this horrid place, where I am oppressed with ennui, and have no amusement of any kind, except the conversation of my mother, which is sometimes very edifying, but not always very agreeable. There are very few books of any kind that are either instructive or amusing, no society but old parsons and old Maids; — I shoot a Good deal; but, thank God, I have not so far lost my reason as to make shooting my only amusement. There are indeed some of my neighbours whose only pleasures consist in field sports, but in other respects they are only one degree removed from the brute creation.
These however I endeavour not to imitate, but I sincerely wish for the company of a few friends about my own age to soften the austerity of the scene. I am an absolute Hermit; in a short time my Gravity which is increased by my solitude will qualify me for an Archbishoprick; I really begin to think that I should become a mitre amazingly well. You tell me to write to you when I have nothing better to do; I am sure writing to you, my Dear Sister, must ever form my Greatest pleasure, but especially so, at this time. Your letters and those of one of my Harrow friends form my only resources for driving away dull care. For Godsake write me a letter as long as may fill twenty sheets of paper, recollect it is my only pleasure, if you won’t Give me twenty sheets, at least send me as long an epistle as you can and as soon as possible; there will be time for me to receive one more Letter at Southwell, and as soon as I Get to Harrow I will write to you. Excuse my not writing more, my Dear Augusta, for I am sure you will be sufficiently tired of reading this complaining narrative. God bless you, my beloved Sister. Adieu.
I remain your sincere and affectionate
Friend and Brother,
BYRON.
Remember me kindly to Mrs. Harcourt.
[Footnote 1: General the Right Hon. Sir William Fawcett, K.B. (1728-1804), Colonel of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, Adjutant-General (1778-1797), and Governor of Chelsea Hospital (1796-1804), died at his house in Great George Street, Westminster, March 22, 1804. He had served during the rebellion of 1745, and distinguished himself during the Seven Years’ War, where he was aide-de-camp first to General Elliot, and afterwards to the Marquis of Granby. An excellent linguist, he translated from the French, ‘Reveries: or Memoirs upon the Art of War, by Field-Marshal Count Saxe’ (1757); and from the German, ‘Regulations for the Prussian Cavalry’ (1757), ‘Regulations for the Prussian Infantry’, and ‘The Prussian Tacticks’ (1759). His military and diplomatic services were commemorated by a magnificent funeral on Saturday, March 31, 1804. The body was carried through the streets from Westminster to the chapel of Chelsea Hospital, the Prince Regent, the Duke of Clarence, and the Duke of Kent following the hearse, and eight general officers acting as pall-bearers.]
10. — To the Hon. Augusta Byron.
[At General Harcourt’s, St. Leonard’s Hill, Windsor, Berkshire.]
Burgage Manor, April 9th, 1804.
A thousand thanks, my dear and Beloved Augusta, for your affectionate Letter, and so ready compliance with the request of a peevish and fretful Brother; it acted as a cordial on my drooping spirits and for a while dispelled the Gloom which envelopes me in this uncomfortable place. You see what power your letters have over me, so I hope you will be liberal in your epistolary consolation.
You will address your next letter to Harrow as I set out from Southwell on Wednesday, and am sorry that I cannot contrive to be with you, as I must resume my studies at Harrow directly. If I speak in public at all, it will not be till the latter end of June or the beginning of July. You are right in your conjecture for I feel not a little nervous in the anticipation of my Debut as an orator. By the bye, I do not dislike Harrow. I find ways and means to amuse myself very pleasantly there; the friend, whose correspondence I find so amusing, is an old sporting companion of mine, whose recitals of Shooting and Hunting expeditions are amusing to me as having often been his companion in them, and I hope to be so still oftener.
My mother Gives a party to night at which the principal Southwell Belles will be present, with one of which, although I don’t as yet know whom I shall so far honour, having never seen them, I intend to fall violently in love; it will serve as an amusement pour passer le temps and it will at least have the charm of novelty to recommend it, then you know in the course of a few weeks I shall be quite au désespoir, shoot myself and Go out of the world with éclat, and my History will furnish materials for a pretty little Romance which shall be entitled and denominated the loves of Lord B. and the cruel and Inconstant Sigismunda Cunegunda Bridgetina, etc., etc., Princess of Terra Incognita.
Don’t you think that I have a very good Knack for novel writing? I have Just this minute been called away from writing to you by two Gentlemen who have given me an invitation to go over to S
creveton, a village a few miles off, and spend a few days; but however I shall not accept it, so you will continue to address your letters to Harrow as usual. Write to me as soon as possible and give me a long letter. Remember me to Mrs. Harcourt and all who enquire after me. Continue to love me and believe me,
Your truly affectionate Brother and Friend,
BYRON.
P.S. — My Mother’s love to you, Adieu.
[Footnote 1: Mrs. Byron, writing to Hanson, July 24, 1804, says,
“I was informed by a Gentleman yesterday that he had been at Harrow and heard him speaking, and that he acquitted himself uncommonly well.”
Byron’s name occurs in three of the Harrow speech-bills — July 5, 1804;
June 6, 1805; and July 4, 1805. The three bills are printed below: —
HARROW SCHOOL PUBLIC SPEECHES.
1. JULY 5, 1804.
Erskine, Maj. Cæsar } Ex Sallustio.
Sinclair Cato }
Long C. Canuleius ad Pleb. Ex Livio.
Molloy, Sr. The Country Box Lloyd.
Lord Byron Latinus }
Leeke Drances } Ex Virgilio.
Peel, Sr. Turnus }
Chaplin Henry the Fifth to his Shakespear.
Soldiers
Clayton Micispa ad Jugurtham Ex Sallustio.
Rowley Germanicus moriens Ex Tacito.
Grenside, Sr. General Wolfe to his Enfield.
Soldiers
Morant, Sr. Dido Ex Virgilio.
Mr. Calthorpe, Sr. In Catilinam Ex Cicerone.
Lloyd, Sr. The Ghost Shakespear.
Mr. Powys Tiresias Ex Horatio.
Sir Thomas Acland The Boil’d Pig Wesley.
Leveson Gower Ad Antonium Ex Cicerone.
Drury, Max. Earl of Strafford Hume.
2. JUNE 6, 1805.
There were no Speeches for May, 1805. Dr. Butler came to Harrow this year, after the Easter Holiday. — G.B.
Doveton Canulcius Ex Livio.
Farrer, Sr. Medea Ex Ovidio.
Long Caractacus Mason.
Rogers Manlius Ex Sallustio.
Molloy Micipsa Ex Sallustio.
Lord Byron Zanga Young.
Drury, Sr. Memmius Ex Sallustio.
Hoare Ajax } Ex Ovidio.
East Ulysses }
Leeke The Passions: an Ode Collins.
Calvert, Sr. Galgacus Ex Tacito.
Bazett Catilina ad Consp. Ex Sallustio.
Franks, Sr. Antony Shakespeare.
Wildman, Majr. Sat. ix., Lib. i. Ex Horatio.
Lloyd, Sr. The Bard: an Ode Gray.
3. JULY 4, 1805.
Lyon Piso ad Milites Ex Tacito.
East Cato Addison.
Saumarez Drances } Ex Virgilio, Æn. xi
Annesley Turnus }
Calvert Lord Strafford’s Hume.
Defence
Erskine, Sr. Achilles Ex Homero, Il. xvi
Bazett York Shakespeare.
Harrington Camillus Ex Livio.
Leeke Ode to the Passions Collins.
Sneyd Electra Ex Sophocle.
Long Satan’s Soliloquy Milton, P.L., b. iv
Gibson Brutus } Ex Lucano.
Drury, Sr. Cato }
Lord Byron Lear Shakespeare.
Hoare Otho ad Milites Ex Livio.
Wildman Caractacus Mason.
Franks Wolsey Shakespeare.
Of Byron’s oratorical powers, Dr. Drury, Head-master of Harrow, formed a high opinion.
“The upper part of the school,” he writes (see ‘Life’, p. 20), composed declamations, which, after a revisal by the tutors, were submitted to the master. To him the authors repeated them, that they might be improved in manner and action, before their public delivery. I certainly was much pleased with Lord Byron’s attitude, gesture, and delivery, as well as with his composition. All who spoke on that day adhered, as usual, to the letter of their composition, as, in the earlier part of his delivery, did Lord Byron; but, to my surprise, he suddenly diverged from the written composition, with a boldness and rapidity sufficient to alarm me, lest he should fail in memory as to the conclusion. There was no failure; he came round to the close of his composition without discovering any impediment and irregularity on the whole. I questioned him why he had altered his declamation. He declared he had made no alteration, and did not know, in speaking, that he had deviated from it one letter. I believed him; and, from a knowledge of his temperament, am convinced that, fully impressed with the sense and substance of the subject, he was hurried on to expressions and colourings more striking than what his pen had expressed.”
“My qualities,” says Byron, in one of his note-books (quoted by Moore, ‘Life’, p. 20), “were much more oratorical and martial than poetical; and Dr. Drury, my grand patron (our head-master), had a great notion that I should turn out an orator, from my fluency, my turbulence, my voice, my copiousness of declamation, and my action. I remember that my first declamation astonished him into some unwonted (for he was economical of such) and sudden compliments before the declaimers at our first rehearsal.”
For his subjects Byron chose passages expressive of vehement passion, such as Lear’s address to the storm, or the speech of Zanga over the body of Alonzo, from Young’s tragedy ‘The Revenge’. Zanga’s character and speech are famous in history from their application to Benjamin Franklin, in Wedderburn’s speech before the Privy Council (January, 1774) on the Whately Letters (Stanhope’s ‘History of England’, vol. v. p. 327, ed. 1853): —
”I forg’d the letter, and dispos’d the picture,
I hated, I despis’d, and I destroy.”]
[Sub-Footnote A: Note, in Dr. G. Butler’s writing, in the bound volume of
Speech-Bills presented by him to the Harrow School Library.]
11. — To the Hon. Augusta Byron.
Burgage Manor, August 18th, 1804.
MY DEAREST AUGUSTA, — I seize this interval of my amiable mother’s absence this afternoon, again to inform you, or rather to desire to be informed by you, of what is going on. For my own part I can send nothing to amuse you, excepting a repetition of my complaints against my tormentor, whose diabolical disposition (pardon me for staining my paper with so harsh a word) seems to increase with age, and to acquire new force with Time. The more I see of her the more my dislike augments; nor can I so entirely conquer the appearance of it, as to prevent her from perceiving my opinion; this, so far from calming the Gale, blows it into a hurricane, which threatens to destroy everything, till exhausted by its own violence, it is lulled into a sullen torpor, which, after a short period, is again roused into fresh and revived phrenzy, to me most terrible, and to every other Spectator astonishing. She then declares that she plainly sees I hate her, that I am leagued with her bitter enemies, viz. Yourself, L’d C[arlisle] and Mr. H[anson], and, as I never Dissemble or contradict her, we are all honoured with a multiplicity of epithets, too numerous, and some of them too gross, to be repeated. In this society, and in this amusing and instructive manner, have I dragged out a weary fortnight, and am condemned to pass another or three weeks as happily as the former. No captive Negro, or Prisoner of war, ever looked forward to their emancipation, and return to Liberty with more Joy, and with more lingering expectation, than I do to my escape from this maternal bondage, and this accursed place, which is the region of dullness itself, and more stupid than the banks of Lethe, though it possesses contrary qualities to the river of oblivion, as the detested scenes I now witness, make me regret the happier ones already passed, and wish their restoration.
Such Augusta is the happy life I now lead, such my amusements. I wander about hating everything I behold, and if I remained here a few months longer, I should become, what with envy, spleen and all uncharitableness, a complete misanthrope, but notwithstanding this,
Believe me, Dearest Augusta, ever yours, etc., etc.,
BYRON.
12. — To Elizabeth Bridget Pigot.
/> Burgage Manor, August 29, 1804.
I received the arms, my dear Miss Pigot, and am very much obliged to you for the trouble you have taken. It is impossible I should have any fault to find with them. The sight of the drawings gives me great pleasure for a double reason, — in the first place, they will ornament my books, in the next, they convince me that you have not entirely forgot me. I am, however, sorry you do not return sooner — you have already been gone an age. I perhaps may have taken my departure for London before you come back; but, however, I will hope not. Do not overlook my watch-riband and purse, as I wish to carry them with me. Your note was given me by Harry, at the play, whither I attended Miss Leacroft, and Dr. S — — ; and now I have sat down to answer it before I go to bed. If I am at Southwell when you return, — and I sincerely hope you will soon, for I very much regret your absence, — I shall be happy to hear you sing my favourite, “The Maid of Lodi.” My mother, together with myself, desires to be affectionately remembered to Mrs. Pigot, and, believe me, my dear Miss Pigot, I remain, your affectionate friend,
BYRON.
P.S. — If you think proper to send me any answer to this, I shall be extremely happy to receive it. Adieu.
P.S.2d. — As you say you are a novice in the art of knitting, I hope it don’t give you too much trouble. Go on slowly, but surely. Once more, adieu.
[Footnote 1: Elizabeth Bridget Pigot lived with her mother and two brothers on Southwell Green, in a house opposite Burgage Manor. Miss Pigot thus describes her first meeting with Byron (‘Life’, p. 32): —
“The first time I was introduced to him was at a party at his mother’s, when he was so shy that she was forced to send for him three times before she could persuade him to come into the drawing-room, to play with the young people at a round game. He was then a fat, bashful boy, with his hair combed straight over his forehead, and extremely like a miniature picture that his mother had painted by M. de Chambruland. The next morning Mrs. Byron brought him to call at our house, when he still continued shy and formal in his manner. The conversation turned upon Cheltenham, where we had been staying, the amusements there, the plays, etc.; and I mentioned that I had seen the character of Gabriel Lackbrain very well performed. His mother getting up to go, he accompanied her, making a formal bow, and I, in allusion to the play, said, ‘Good-by, Gaby.’ His countenance lighted up, his handsome mouth displayed a broad grin, all his shyness vanished, never to return, and, upon his mother’s saying, ‘Come, Byron, are you ready?’ — no, she might go by herself, he would stay and talk a little longer; and from that moment he used to come in and go out at all hours, as it pleased him, and in our house considered himself perfectly at home.”