Vide
Napoleon's last twelvemonth. It has completely
upset my system of fatalism. I
, if crushed, he would have
fallen, when
fractus illabitur orbis
, and not have been
pared away to gradual insignificance; that all this was not a mere
jeu
of the gods, but a prelude to greater changes and mightier
events. But men never advance beyond a certain point; and here we are,
retrograding, to the dull, stupid old system,—balance of
Europe—poising straws upon kings' noses, instead of wringing them off!
Give me a republic, or a despotism of one, rather than the mixed
government of one, two, three. A republic!—look in the history of the
Earth—Rome, Greece, Venice, France, Holland, America, our short
(
eheu!
) Commonwealth, and compare it with what they did under
masters. The Asiatics are not qualified to be republicans, but they have
the liberty of demolishing despots, which is the next thing to it. To be
the first man—not the Dictator—not the Sylla, but the Washington or
the Aristides—the leader in talent and truth—is next to the Divinity!
Franklin, Penn, and, next to these, either Brutus or Cassius—even
Mirabeau—or St. Just. I shall never be any thing, or rather always be
nothing. The most I can hope is, that some will say, "He might, perhaps,
if he would."
12, midnight.
Here are two confounded proofs from the printer. I have looked at the
one, but for the soul of me, I can't look over that
Giaour
again,—at least, just now, and at this hour—and yet there is no moon.
Ward talks of going to Holland, and we have partly discussed an
ensemble
expedition. It must be in ten days, if at all, if we
wish to be in at the Revolution. And why not? —— is distant, and will
be at ——, still more distant, till spring. No one else, except
Augusta, cares for me; no ties—no trammels—
andiamo dunque—se
torniamo, bene—se non, ch' importa?
Old William of Orange talked of
dying in "the last ditch" of his dingy country. It is lucky I can swim,
or I suppose I should not well weather the first. But let us see. I have
heard hyeenas and jackalls in the ruins of Asia; and bull-frogs in the
marshes; besides wolves and angry Mussulmans. Now, I should like to
listen to the shout of a free Dutchman.
Alla! Viva! For ever! Hourra! Huzza!—which is the most rational or
musical of these cries? "Orange Boven," according to the
Morning
Post
.
"By the apostle Paul, shadows to-night
Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard
Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers,
Armed in proof, and led by shallow Richmond."
Richard III
., act v. sc. 3.
"Lord Ogleby" is a character in
The Clandestine
Marriage
(by Colman and Garrick, first acted at Drury Lane, February
20, 1766). "Brush," his valet, says (act ii.) of his master,
"What with qualms, age, rheumatism, and a few surfeits in his youth,
he must have a great deal of brushing, oyling, screwing, and winding
up, to set him a-going for the day."
Viscount Valentia, created in 1793 Earl of Mountnorris, was
the father of Byron's friend, Viscount Valentia (afterwards second and
last Earl of Mountnorris, died in 1844); of Lady Frances Wedderburn
Webster; of Lady Catherine Annesley, who married Lord John Somerset, and
died in 1865; and of Lady Juliana Annesley, who married Robert Bayly, of
Ballyduff.
John Hookham Frere (1769-1846), educated at Eton, and
Caius College, Cambridge (Fellow, 1792), M.P. for West Loe (1796-1802),
was a clerk in the Foreign Office. A school-friend of Canning, he joined
with him in the
Anti-Jacobin
(November 20, 1797—July 9, 1798).
Among the pieces which he contributed, in whole or part, are "The Loves
of the Triangles," "The Friend of Humanity and the Knife-grinder,""The
Rovers, or the Double Arrangement," "
La Sainte Guillotine
" "New
Morality," and the "Meeting of the Friends of Freedom." He was British
Envoy at Lisbon (1800-1804) and to the Spanish Junta (October,
1808-April, 1809). From this post he was recalled, owing to the fatal
effects of his advice to Sir John Moore, and he never again held any
public appointment. From 1818 to 1846 he lived at Malta, where he died.
His translations of "The Frogs" of Aristophanes (1839), and of "The
Acharnians, the Knights, and the Birds" (1840), are masterpieces of
spirit and fidelity. His
Prospectus and Specimen of an intended
National Work, by William and Robert Whistlecraft
(cantos i., ii.,
1817; cantos iii., iv., 1818), inspired Byron with
Beppo
.
Ticknor describes him in 1819 (
Life
, vol. i. p. 267):
"Frere is a slovenly fellow. His remarks on Homer, in the Classical
Journal, prove how fine a Greek scholar he is; his Quarterly
Reviews, how well he writes; his 'Rovers, or the Double
Arrangement,' what humour he possesses; and the reputation he has left
in Spain and Portugal, how much better he understood their literatures
than they do themselves; while, at the same time, his books left in
France, in Gallicia, at Lisbon, and two or three places in England;
his manuscripts, neglected and lost to himself; his manners, lazy and
careless; and his conversation, equally rich and negligent, show how
little he cares about all that distinguishes him in the eyes of the
world. He studies as a luxury, he writes as an amusement, and
conversation is a kind of sensual enjoyment to him. If he had been
born in Asia, he would have been the laziest man that ever lived."
For "Conversation" Sharp, see p. 341,
2.
Thomas Cribb (1781-1848), born at Bitton, near Bristol,
began life as a bell-hanger, became first a coal-porter, then a sailor,
and finally found his vocation as a pugilist. In his profession he was
known, from one of his previous callings, as the "Black Diamond." His
first big fight was against George Maddox (January 7, 1805), whom he
defeated after seventy-six rounds. He twice beat the ex-champion, the
one-eyed Jem Belcher (April 8, 1807, and February 1, 1809), and with his
victory over Bob Gregson (October 25, 1808; see
Letters
, vol. i.
p. 207,
note
1 [Footnote 2 of Letter 108]) became champion of England. His two defeats of
Molineaux, the black pugilist (December 18, 1810, and September 28,
1811), established his title, which was never again seriously
challenged, and in 1821 it was conferred upon him for life. Cribb was
one of the prize-fighters, who, dressed as pages, kept order at the
Coronation of George IV. In 1813 he was landlord of the King's Arms,
Duke Street, St. James's, and universally respected as the honest head
of the pugilistic profession. He died in 1848 at Woolwich; three years
later a monument was erected to his memory by public subscription in
Woolwich Churchyard. It represents "a British lion grieving over the
ashes of a British hero," and on the plinth is the inscription, "Respect
the ashes of the brave."
Virgil,
Eclogues
, iii. 59.
Sir Samuel Egerton Brydges (1762-1837), poet, novelist,
genealogist, and bibliographer, published, in 1813,
The Ruminator:
containing a series of moral, critical, and sentimental Essays
. Of
the 104 Essays, 72 appeared in the
Censura Literaria
between
January, 1807, and June, 1809. The remainder were by Gillies, except two
by the Rev. Francis Wrangham and two by the Rev. Montagu Pennington. No.
50 is a review of some original poems by Capell Lofft, including a Greek
ode on Eton College.
Gillies, in his
Memoirs of a Literary Veteran
(vol. ii. p. 4),
says that in 1809 he addressed an anonymous letter to Brydges,
containing some thoughts on the advantages of retirement (the subject of
Childe Alarique
). The letter, printed in
The Ruminator
,
began his literary career and introduced him to Brydges.
The
Ruminator
, 2 vols. (1813), and
Childe Alarique
(1813), are
among the books included in the sale catalogue of Byron's books, April
5, 1816.
Robert Pearse Gillies (1788-1858) wrote
Wallace, a
Fragment
(1813);
Childe Alarique, a Poet's Reverie, with other
Poems
(1813);
Confessions of Sir Henry Longueville, a Novel
(1814); and numerous other works and translations. His
Memoirs of a
Literary Veteran
was published in 1851. He was the founder and first
editor of the
Foreign Quarterly Review
(1827).
The following additional notes on Byron's Parliamentary
career are taken from his
Detached Thoughts
:
"At the Opposition meeting of the peers, in 1812, at Lord Grenville's,
when Lord Grey and he read to us the correspondence upon Moira's
negociation, I sate next to the present Duke of Grafton. When it was
over, I turned to him and said, 'What is to be done next?' 'Wake the
Duke of Norfolk' (who was snoring away near us), replied he. 'I don't
think the Negociators have left anything else for us to do this
turn.'"
"In the debate, or rather discussion, afterwards, in the House of
Lords, upon that very question, I sate immediately behind Lord Moira,
who was extremely annoyed at G.'s speech upon the subject, and while
G. was speaking, turned round to me repeatedly and asked me whether I
agreed with him? It was an awkward question to me, who had not heard
both sides. Moira kept repeating to me, 'It was not so, it was
so and so,' etc. I did not know very well what to think, but I
sympathized with the acuteness of his feelings upon the subject."
"Lord Eldon affects an Imitation of two very different
Chancellors—Thurlow and Loughborough—and can indulge in an oath now
and then. On one of the debates on the Catholic question, when we were
either equal or within one (I forget which), I had been sent for in
great haste from a Ball, which I quitted, I confess somewhat
reluctantly, to emancipate five Millions of people. I came in late,
and did not go immediately into the body of the house, but stood just
behind the Woolsack. Eldon turned round, and, catching my eye,
immediately said to a peer (who had come to him for a few minutes on
the Woolsack, as is the custom of his friends), 'Damn them! they'll
have it now, by God!—the vote that is just come in will give it
them.'"
Horace,
Odes
, III. iii. 7.
List of Journal Entries
Contents
24th November, 1813
No
last night of the dead, nor the living; so—I am "firm as the
marble, founded as the rock,"
till the next earthquake.
Ward's dinner went off well. There was not a disagreeable person
there—unless
I
offended any body, which I am sure I could not by
contradiction, for I said little, and opposed nothing. Sharpe
(a
of elegant mind, and who has lived much with the best—Fox, Horne Tooke,
Windham, Fitzpatrick, and all the agitators of other times and tongues,)
told us the particulars of his last interview with Windham
, a few
days before the fatal operation which sent "that gallant spirit to
aspire the skies."
Windham,—the first in one department of oratory
and talent, whose only fault was his refinement beyond the intellect of
half his hearers,—Windham, half his life an active participator in the
events of the earth, and one of those who governed nations,—
he
regretted,—and dwelt much on that regret, that "he had not entirely
devoted himself to literature and science!!!" His mind certainly would
have carried him to eminence there, as elsewhere;—but I cannot
comprehend what debility of that mind could suggest such a wish. I, who
have heard him, cannot regret any thing but that I shall never hear him
again. What! would he have been a plodder? a metaphysician?—perhaps a
rhymer? a scribbler? Such an exchange must have been suggested by
illness. But
is gone, and Time "shall not look upon his like again."
I am tremendously in arrear with my letters,—except to ——, and to her
my thoughts overpower me:—my words never compass them. To Lady
Melbourne I write with most pleasure—and her answers, so sensible, so
tactique
—I never met with half her talent. If she had been a few
years younger, what a fool she would have made of me, had she thought it
worth her while,—and I should have lost a valuable and most agreeable
friend
. Mem. a mistress never is nor can be a friend. While you
agree, you are lovers; and, when it is over, any thing but friends.
I have not answered W. Scott's last letter,—but I will. I regret to
hear from others, that he has lately been unfortunate in pecuniary
involvements. He is undoubtedly the Monarch of Parnassus, and the most
English
of bards. I should place Rogers next in the living list
(I value him more as the last of the best school) —Moore and Campbell
both
third
—Southey and Wordsworth and Coleridge—the rest,
Greek: hoi polloi
—thus:
pyramid of writers
There is a triangular
Gradus ad Parnassum
!—the names are too
numerous for the base of the triangle. Poor Thurlow has gone wild about
the poetry of Queen Bess's reign—
c'est dommage
. I have ranked
the names upon my triangle more upon what I believe popular opinion,
than any decided opinion of my own. For, to me, some of Moore's last
Erin
sparks—"As a beam o'er the face of the waters"—"When he
who adores thee"—"Oh blame not"—and "Oh breathe not his name"—are
worth all the Epics that ever were composed.
Rogers thinks the
Quarterly
will attack me next. Let them. I have
been "peppered so highly" in my time,
both
ways, that it must be
cayenne or aloes to make me taste. I can sincerely say, that I am not
very much alive
now
to criticism. But—in tracing this—I rather
believe that it proceeds from my not attaching that importance to
authorship which many do, and which, when young, I did also. "
gets
tired of every thing, my angel," says Valmont
.
The "angels" are the only things of which I am not a little sick—but I
do think the preference of
writers
to
agents
—the mighty
stir made about scribbling and scribes, by themselves and others—a sign
of effeminacy, degeneracy, and weakness. Who would write, who had any
thing better to do? "Action—action—action"—said Demosthenes:
"Actions—actions," I say, and not writing,—least of all, rhyme. Look at
the querulous and monotonous lives of the "genus;"—except Cervantes,
Tasso, Dante, Ariosto, Kleist (who were brave and active citizens),
Æschylus, Sophocles, and some other of the antiques also—what a
worthless, idle brood it is!
Macbeth, act iii. sc. 4—
"Whole as the marble, founded as the rock."
Richard Sharp (1759-1835), a wealthy hat-manufacturer, was
a prominent figure in political and literary life. A consistent Whig, he
was one of the "Friends of the People," and in the House of Commons
(1806-12) was a recognized authority on questions of finance.
Essentially a "club-able man," he was a member of many clubs, both
literary and political. In Park Lane and at Mickleham he gathered round
him many friends—Rogers, Moore, Mackintosh, Macaulay, Coleridge,
Horner, Grattan, Horne Tooke, and Sydney Smith, who was so frequently
his guest in the country that he was called the "Bishop of Mickleham."
Horner (May 20, 1816) speaks of a visit paid to Sharp in Surrey, in
company with Grattan (
Memoirs
, vol. ii. p. 355). Ticknor, who, in
1815, breakfasted with Sharp in Park Lane (
Life
, vol. i. pp. 55,
56), says of a party of "men of letters:"
"I saw little of them, excepting Mr. Sharp, formerly a Member of
Parliament, and who, from his talents in society, has been called
'Conversation Sharp.' He has been made an associate of most of the
literary clubs in London, from the days of Burke down to the present
time. He told me a great many amusing anecdotes of them, and
particularly of Burke, Porson, and Grattan, with whom he had been
intimate; and occupied the dinner-time as pleasantly as the same
number of hours have passed with me in England....
June
7.—This morning I breakfasted with Mr. Sharp, and had a
continuation of yesterday,—more pleasant accounts of the great men of
the present day, and more amusing anecdotes of the generation that has
passed away."
Miss Berry, who met Sharp often, writes, in her Journal for March 26,
1808 (
Journal
, vol. ii. p. 344),
"He is clever, but I should suspect of little real depth of intellect."
Sharp published anonymously a volume of
Epistles in Verse
(1828).
These were reproduced, with additions, in his
Letters and Essays
,
published with his name in 1834. His "Epistle to an Eminent Poet" is
evidently addressed to his lifelong friend, Samuel Rogers:
"Yes! thou hast chosen well 'the better part,'
And, for the triumphs of the noblest art,
Hast wisely scorn'd the sordid cares of life."
William Windham, of Felbrigg Hall (1750-1810), educated at
Eton, Glasgow, and University College, Oxford, became M.P. for Norwich
in 1784. In the following year he was made chief secretary to Lord
Northington, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Expressing some doubts to Dr.
Johnson whether he possessed the arts necessary for Parliamentary
success, the Doctor said, "You will become an able negotiator; a very
pretty rascal." He resigned the secretaryship within the year, according
to Gibbon, on the plea of ill health. He was one of the managers of the
impeachment of Warren Hastings in 1788, Secretary at War from 1794 to
1801, and War and Colonial Secretary, 1806-7.
Windham, a shrewd critic of other speakers, called Pitt's style a
"State-paper style," because of its combined dignity and poverty, and
"verily believed Mr. Pitt could speak a king's speech off-hand." As a
speaker he was himself remarkably effective, a master of illustration
and allusion, delighting in "homely Saxon," and affecting provincial
words and pronunciation. Lord Sheffield, writing to Gibbon, February 5,
1793, says, "As to Windham, I should think he is become the best, at
least the most sensible, speaker of the whole." His love of paradox,
combined with his political independence and irresolution, gained him
the name of "Weathercock Windham;" but he was respected by both sides as
an honest politician. Outside the house it was his ambition to be known
as a thorough Englishman—a patron of horse-racing, cock-fighting,
bull-baiting, pugilism, and football. He was also a scholar, a man of
wide reading, an admirable talker, and a friend of Miss Berry and of
Madame d'Arblay, in whose Diaries he is a prominent figure. His own
Diary
(1784-1810) was published in 1866.
On the 8th of July, 1809, he saw a fire in Conduit Street, which threatened to spread to the house of his friend North, who possessed a
valuable library. In his efforts to save the books, he fell and bruised
his hip. A tumour formed, which was removed; but he sank under the
operation, and died June 4, 1810.
"O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio's dead;
That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds."
Romeo and Juliet
, act iii. sc. 1.
"He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again."
Hamlet
, act i. sc. 2.
The allusion probably is to
The Foundling of the
Forest
(1809), by William Dimond the Younger. But no passage exactly
corresponds to the quotation.
List of Journal Entries
Contents
12, Mezza Notte
Just returned from dinner with Jackson (the Emperor of Pugilism) and
another of the select, at Crib's, the champion's. I drank more than I
like, and have brought away some three bottles of very fair claret—for
I have no headach. We had Tom Crib up after dinner;—very facetious,
though somewhat prolix. He don't like his situation—wants to fight
again—pray Pollux (or Castor, if he was the
miller
) he may! Tom
has been a sailor—a coal-heaver—and some other genteel profession,
before he took to the cestus. Tom has been in action at sea, and is now
only three-and-thirty. A great man! has a wife and a mistress, and
conversations well—bating some sad omissions and misapplications of the
aspirate. Tom is an old friend of mine; I have seen some of his best
battles in my nonage. He is now a publican, and, I fear, a sinner;—for
Mrs. Crib is on alimony, and Tom's daughter lives with the champion.
This
Tom told me,—Tom, having an opinion of my morals, passed
her off as a legal spouse. Talking of her, he said, "she was the truest
of women"—from which I immediately inferred she could
not
be his
wife, and so it turned out.
These panegyrics don't belong to matrimony;—for, if "true," a man don't
think it necessary to say so; and if not, the less he says the better.
Crib is the only man except ——, I ever heard harangue upon his wife's
virtue; and I listened to both with great credence and patience, and
stuffed my handkerchief into my mouth, when I found yawning
irresistible—