There's Byron too, who once did better, Has sent me, folded in a letter, A sort of—it's no more a drama Than Darnley, Ivan, or Kehama; So altered since last year his pen is, I think he's lost his wits at Venice.

* * * * *

* * * * *

In short, Sir, what with one and t' other, I dare not venture on another. 40 I write in haste; excuse each blunder; The Coaches through the street so thunder! My room's so full—we've Gifford here Reading MS., with Hookham Frere, Pronouncing on the nouns and particles, Of some of our forthcoming Articles.

The Quarterly—Ah, Sir, if you Had but the Genius to review!— A smart Critique upon St. Helena, Or if you only would but tell in a 50 Short compass what—but to resume; As I was saying, Sir, the Room— The Room's so full of wits and bards, Crabbes, Campbells, Crokers, Freres, and Wards And others, neither bards nor wits: My humble tenement admits All persons in the dress of Gent., From Mr. Hammond to Dog Dent.[79]

A party dines with me to-day, All clever men, who make their way: 60 Crabbe, Malcolm,[80] Hamilton,[81] and Chantrey, Are all partakers of my pantry. They're at this moment in discussion On poor De Stal's late dissolution. Her book,[82] they say, was in advance— Pray Heaven, she tell the truth of France! 'T is said she certainly was married To Rocca, and had twice miscarried, No—not miscarried, I opine,— But brought to bed at forty-nine. 70 Some say she died a Papist; some Are of opinion that's a Hum; I don't know that—the fellows Schlegel,[83] Are very likely to inveigle A dying person in compunction To try th' extremity of Unction. But peace be with her! for a woman Her talents surely were uncommon, Her Publisher (and Public too) The hour of her demise may rue— 80 For never more within his shop he— Pray—was not she interred at Coppet? Thus run our time and tongues away;— But, to return, Sir, to your play: Sorry, Sir, but I cannot deal, Unless 't were acted by O'Neill. My hands are full—my head so busy, I'm almost dead—and always dizzy; And so, with endless truth and hurry, Dear Doctor, I am yours, 90 JOHN MURRAY.

August 21, 1817. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 139-141. Lines 67-82 first published, Letters, 1900, iv. 161.]

FOOTNOTES:

[75] ["By the way," writes Murray, Aug. 5, 1817 (Memoir, etc., i. 386), "Polidori has sent me his tragedy! Do me the kindness to send by return of post a delicate declension of it, which I engage faithfully to copy."

"I never," said Byron, "was much more disgusted with any human production than with the eternal nonsense, and tracasseries, and emptiness, and ill-humour, and vanity of this young person; but he has some talent, and is a man of honour, and has dispositions of amendment. Therefore use your interest for him, for he is improved and improvable;" and, in a letter to Murray, Aug. 21, 1817, "You want a 'civil and delicate declension' for the medical tragedy? Take it."—For J.W. Polidori (1795-1821), see Letters, 1899, iii, 284 note I.]

[76] [Maturin's second tragedy, Manuel, produced at Drury Lane, March 8, 1817, with Kean as "Manuel Count Valdis, failed, and after five nights was withdrawn." It was published in 1817. "It is," says Byron (letter to Murray, June 14, 1817), "the absurd work of a clever man."—Letters, 1900, iv. 134, and note I.]

[77] [Sotheby published, in 1814, Five Tragedies, viz. "The Confession," "Orestes," "Ivan," "The Death of Darnley," and "Zamorin and Zama."]

[78] [Ina, A Tragedy, by Mrs. Wilmot [Barberina Ogle (1768-1854), daughter of Sir Chaloner Ogle], afterwards Lady Dacre, was produced at Drury Lane, April 22, 1815. Her "tragedy," writes Byron to Moore, April 23, 1815, "was last night damned." See Letters, 1898, ii. 332, note 3, etc.; ibid., 1899, iii. 195, note I.]

[79] [George Hammond (1763-1853) was a distinguished diplomatist, who twice (1795-1806 and 1807-1809) held the office of Under-secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He is associated with the foundation of the Anti-Jacobin and the Quarterly Review. In the drawing-room of Albemarle Street, he was Murray's "chief 4-o'clock man," until his official duties compelled him to settle at Paris.—Letters, 1900, iv. 160, note 1.

John Dent, M.P., a banker, was nicknamed "Dog Dent" because he was concerned in the introduction of the Dog-tax Bill in 1796. In 1802 he introduced a Bill to abolish bull-baiting.—Ibid]

[80] [Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833), soldier, administrator, and diplomatist, published (January, 1815) his History of Persia.—Letters, 1899, iii. 113, note 1.]

[81] [For "Dark Hamilton," W.R. Hamilton (1777-1859), see Childe Harold, Canto II. stanza xiii. var. I, Poetical Works, 1899, ii. 108, note 1. Lines 61, 62 were added October 12, 1817.]

[82] [Madame de Stal's Considrations sur la Rvolution Franaise was offered to Murray in June, 1816 (Memoir, etc., 1891, i. 316), and the sum of 4000 asked for the work. During the negotiations, Madame de Stal died (July 14, 1817), and the book was eventually published by Messrs. Baldwin and Cradock.—Letters, 1900, iv. 94, note.]

[83] [Byron and the elder Schlegel met at Copet, in 1816, but they did not take to each other. Byron "would not flatter him," perhaps because he did not appreciate or flatter Byron.]



EPISTLE TO MR. MURRAY.

1.

MY dear Mr. Murray, You're in a damned hurry To set up this ultimate Canto;[84] But (if they don't rob us) You'll see Mr. Hobhouse Will bring it safe in his portmanteau.

2.

For the Journal you hint of,[85] As ready to print off, No doubt you do right to commend it; But as yet I have writ off The devil a bit of Our "Beppo:"—when copied, I'll send it.

3.

In the mean time you've "Galley"[86] Whose verses all tally, Perhaps you may say he's a Ninny, But if you abashed are Because of Alashtar, He'll piddle another Phrosine.[87]

4.

Then you've Sotheby's Tour,—[88] No great things, to be sure,— You could hardly begin with a less work; For the pompous rascallion, Who don't speak Italian Nor French, must have scribbled by guess-work.

5.

No doubt he's a rare man Without knowing German Translating his way up Parnassus, And now still absurder He meditates Murder As you'll see in the trash he calls Tasso's.

6.

But you've others his betters The real men of letters Your Orators—Critics—and Wits— And I'll bet that your Journal (Pray is it diurnal?) Will pay with your luckiest hits.

7.

You can make any loss up With "Spence"[89] and his gossip, A work which must surely succeed; Then Queen Mary's Epistle-craft,[90] With the new "Fytte" of "Whistlecraft," Must make people purchase and read.

8.

Then you've General Gordon,[91] Who girded his sword on, To serve with a Muscovite Master, And help him to polish A nation so owlish, They thought shaving their beards a disaster.

9.

For the man, "poor and shrewd,"[92] With whom you'd conclude A compact without more delay, Perhaps some such pen is Still extant in Venice; But please, Sir, to mention your pay.

10.

Now tell me some news Of your friends and the Muse, Of the Bar, or the Gown, or the House, From Canning, the tall wit, To Wilmot,[93] the small wit, Ward's creeping Companion and Louse,

11.

Who's so damnably bit With fashion and Wit, That he crawls on the surface like Vermin, But an Insect in both,— By his Intellect's growth, Of what size you may quickly determine.[94]

Venice, January 8, 1818. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 156, 157; stanzas 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, first published, Letters, 1900, iv. 191-193.]

FOOTNOTES:

[84] [The Fourth Canto of Childe Harold.]

[85] [Murray bought a half-share in Blackwood's Edinburgh Monthly Magazine in August, 1818, and remained its joint proprietor till December, 1819, when it became the property of William Blackwood. But perhaps the reference is to Byron's Swiss Journal of September, 1816.]

[86] [Henry Gaily Knight (1786-1846), who was a contemporary of Byron at Trinity College, Cambridge, was a poetaster, and, afterwards, a writer of works on architecture. His Oriental verses supplied Byron with a subject for more than one indifferent jeu d'esprit.]

[87] [Phrosyne, a Grecian tale, and Alashtar, an Arabian tale, were published in 1817. In a letter to Murray, September 4, 1817, Byron writes, "I have received safely, though tardily, the magnesia and tooth-powder, Phrosine and Alashtar. I shall clean my teeth with one, and wipe my shoes with the other."—Letters, 1901, iv.]

[88] [Sotheby's Farewell to Italy and Occasional Poems were published in 1818, as the record of a tour which he had taken in 1816-17 with his family, Professor Elmsley, and Dr. Playfair. For Byron's unfinished skit on Sotheby's Tour, see Letters, 1900, iv. Appendix V. pp. 452, 453.]

[89] [Observations, Anecdotes, and Characters of Books and Men, by the Rev. Joseph Spence, arranged, with notes, by the late Edmund Malone, Esq., 1 vol. 8vo, 1820.]

[90] [The Life of Mary Queen of Scots, by George Chalmers, 2 vols. 4to, 1819.]

[91] [Thomas Gordon (1788-1841) entered the Scots Greys in 1808. Two years later he visited Ali Pasha (see Letters, 1898, i. 246, note 1) in Albania, and travelled in Persia and Turkey in the East. From 1813 to 1815 he served in the Russian Army. He wrote a History of the Greek Revolution, 1832, 2 vols., but it does not appear that he was negotiating with Murray for the publication of any work at this period.]

[92] Vide your letter.

[93] [Probably Sir Robert John Wilmot (1784-1841) (afterwards Wilmot Horton), Byron's first cousin, who took a prominent part in the destruction of the "Memoirs," May 17, 1824. (For Lady Wilmot Horton, the original of "She walks in beauty," see Poetical Works, 1900, iii. 381, note I.)]

[94] [Stanzas 12, 13, 14 cannot be published.]



ON THE BIRTH OF JOHN WILLIAM RIZZO HOPPNER.[95]

HIS father's sense, his mother's grace, In him, I hope, will always fit so; With—still to keep him in good case— The health and appetite of Rizzo.

February 20, 1818. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 134.]

FOOTNOTES:

[95] [Richard Belgrave Hoppner (1786-1872), second son of John Hoppner, R.A., was appointed English Consul at Venice, October, 1814. (See Letters, 1900, iv. 83, note I.) The quatrain was translated (see the following poem) into eleven different languages—Greek, Latin, Italian (also the Venetian dialect), German, French, Spanish, Illyrian, Hebrew, Armenian, and Samaritan, and printed "in a small neat volume in the seminary of Padua." For nine of these translations see Works, 1832, xi. pp. 324-326, and 1891, p. 571. Rizzo was a Venetian surname. See W. Stewart Rose's verses to Byron, "Grinanis, Mocenijas, Baltis, Rizzi, Compassionate our cruel case," etc., Letters, iv. 212.]



[E NIHILO NIHIL; OR AN EPIGRAM BEWITCHED.]

OF rhymes I printed seven volumes—[96] The list concludes John Murray's columns: Of these there have been few translations[97] For Gallic or Italian nations; And one or two perhaps in German— But in this last I can't determine. But then I only sung of passions That do not suit with modern fashions; Of Incest and such like diversions Permitted only to the Persians, Or Greeks to bring upon their stages— But that was in the earlier ages Besides my style is the romantic, Which some call fine, and some call frantic; While others are or would seem as sick Of repetitions nicknamed Classic. For my part all men must allow Whatever I was, I'm classic now. I saw and left my fault in time, And chose a topic all sublime— Wondrous as antient war or hero— Then played and sung away like Nero, Who sang of Rome, and I of Rizzo: The subject has improved my wit so, The first four lines the poet sees Start forth in fourteen languages! Though of seven volumes none before Could ever reach the fame of four, Henceforth I sacrifice all Glory To the Rinaldo of my Story: I've sung his health and appetite (The last word's not translated right— He's turned it, God knows how, to vigour)[98] I'll sing them in a book that's bigger. Oh! Muse prepare for thy Ascension! And generous Rizzo! thou my pension.

February, 1818. [From an autograph MS. in the possession of Mr. Murray, now for the first time printed.]

FOOTNOTES:

[96] [Byron must have added the Fourth Canto of Childe Harold to the complete edition of the Poetical Works in six volumes. See Murray's list, dated "Albemarle Street, London, January, 1818." The seventh volume of the Collected Works was not issued till 1819.]

[97] [A French translation of the Bride of Abydos appeared in 1816, an Italian translation of the Lament of Tasso in 1817. Goethe (see Letters, 1901, v. 503-521) translated fragments of Manfred in 1817, 1818, but the earliest German translation of the entire text of Manfred was issued in 1819.]

[98] [See the last line of the Italian translation of the quatrain.]



TO MR. MURRAY.

1.

Strahan, Tonson, Lintot of the times,[99] Patron and publisher of rhymes, For thee the bard up Pindus climbs, My Murray.

2.

To thee, with hope and terror dumb, The unfledged MS. authors come; Thou printest all—and sellest some— My Murray.

3.

Upon thy table's baize so green The last new Quarterly is seen,— But where is thy new Magazine,[100] My Murray?

4.

Along thy sprucest bookshelves shine The works thou deemest most divine— The Art of Cookery,[101] and mine, My Murray.

5.

Tours, Travels, Essays, too, I wist, And Sermons, to thy mill bring grist; And then thou hast the Navy List, My Murray.

6.

And Heaven forbid I should conclude, Without "the Board of Longitude,"[102] Although this narrow paper would, My Murray.

Venice, April 11, 1818. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 171.]

FOOTNOTES:

[99] [William Strahan (1715-1785) published Johnson's Dictionary, Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Cook's Voyages, etc. He was great-grandfather of the mathematician William Spottiswoode (1825-1883).

Jacob Tonson (1656?-1736) published for Otway, Dryden, Addison, etc. He was secretary of the Kit-Cat Club, 1700. He was the publisher (1712, etc.) of the Spectator.

Barnaby Bernard Lintot (1675-1736) was at one time (1718) in partnership with Tonson. He published Pope's Iliad in 1715, and the Odyssey, 1725-26.]

[100] [See note 2, p. 51.]

[101] [Mrs. Rundell's Domestic Cookery, published in 1806, was one of Murray's most successful books. In 1822 he purchased the copyright from Mrs. Rundell for 2000 (see Letters, 1898, ii. 375; and Memoir of John Murray, 1891, ii. 124).]

[102] [The sixth edition of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1813) was "printed by T. Davison, Whitefriars, for John Murray, Bookseller to the Admiralty, and the Board of Longitude." Medwin (Conversations, 1824, p. 259) attributes to Byron a statement that Murray had to choose between continuing to be his publisher and printing the "Navy Lists," and "that there was no hesitation which way he should decide: the Admiralty carried the day." In his "Notes" to the Conversations (November 2, 1824) Murray characterized "the passage about the Admiralty" as "unfounded in fact, and no otherwise deserving of notice than to mark its absurdity."]



BALLAD. TO THE TUNE OF "SALLEY IN OUR ALLEY."

1.

OF all the twice ten thousand bards That ever penned a canto, Whom Pudding or whom Praise rewards For lining a portmanteau; Of all the poets ever known, From Grub-street to Fop's Alley,[103] The Muse may boast—the World must own There's none like pretty Gally![104]

2.

He writes as well as any Miss, Has published many a poem; The shame is yours, the gain is his, In case you should not know 'em: He has ten thousand pounds a year— I do not mean to vally— His songs at sixpence would be dear, So give them gratis, Gaily!

3.

And if this statement should seem queer, Or set down in a hurry, Go, ask (if he will be sincere) His bookseller—John Murray. Come, say, how many have been sold, And don't stand shilly-shally, Of bound and lettered, red and gold, Well printed works of Gally.

4.

For Astley's circus Upton[105] writes, And also for the Surry; (sic) Fitzgerald weekly still recites, Though grinning Critics worry: Miss Holford's Peg, and Sotheby's Saul, In fame exactly tally; From Stationer's Hall to Grocer's Stall They go—and so does Gally.

5.

He rode upon a Camel's hump[106] Through Araby the sandy, Which surely must have hurt the rump Of this poetic dandy. His rhymes are of the costive kind, And barren as each valley In deserts which he left behind Has been the Muse of Gally.

6.

He has a Seat in Parliament, Is fat and passing wealthy; And surely he should be content With these and being healthy: But Great Ambition will misrule Men at all risks to sally,— Now makes a poet—now a fool, And we know which—of Gally.

7.

Some in the playhouse like to row, Some with the Watch to battle, Exchanging many a midnight blow To Music of the Rattle. Some folks like rowing on the Thames, Some rowing in an Alley, But all the Row my fancy claims Is rowing—of my Gally.

April 11, 1818.[107]

FOOTNOTES:

[103] [For Fop's Alley, see Poetical Works, 1898, i. 410, note 2.]

[104] [H. Gally Knight (1786-1846) was at Cambridge with Byron.]

[105] [William Upton was the author of Poems on Several Occasions, 1788, and of the Words of the most Favourite Songs, Duets, etc., sung at the Royal Amphitheatre, Westminster Bridge, etc. In the dedication to Mrs. Astley he speaks of himself as the author of the Black Cattle, Fair Rosamond, etc. He has also been credited with the words of James Hook's famous song, A Lass of Richmond Hill, but this has been disputed. (See Notes and Queries, 1878, Series V. vol. ix. p. 495.)]

[106] [Compare—

"Th' unloaded camel, pacing slow. Crops the rough herbage or the tamarisk spray."

Alashtar (by H.G. Knight), 1817, Canto I, stanza viii, lines 5, 6.]

[107] [From an autograph MS. in the possession of Mr. Murray, now for the first time printed. For stanzas 3, 4, 6, see Letters, 1900, iv. 219, 220. For stanzas 1, 2, 3 of "Another Simple Ballat. To the tune of Tally i.o. the Grinder" (probably a variant of Dibdin's song, "The Grinders, or more Grist to the Mill"), vide ibid., pp. 220, 221.]



ANOTHER SIMPLE BALLAT.

1.

MRS. WILMOT sate scribbling a play, Mr. Sotheby sate sweating behind her; But what are all these to the Lay Of Gally i.o. the Grinder? Gally i.o. i.o., etc.

2.

I bought me some books tother day, And sent them down stairs to the binder; But the Pastry Cook carried away My Gally i.o. the Grinder. Gally i.o. i.o., etc.

3.

I wanted to kindle my taper, And called to the Maid to remind her; And what should she bring me for paper But Gally i.o. the Grinder. Gally i.o. i.o., etc.

4.

Among my researches for EASE I went where one's certain to find her: The first thing by her throne that one sees Is Gally i.o. the Grinder. Gally i.o. i.o., etc.

5.

Away with old Homer the blind— I'll show you a poet that's blinder: You may see him whene'er you've a mind In Gally i.o. the Grinder. Gally i.o. i.o., etc.

6.

Blindfold he runs groping for fame, And hardly knows where he will find her: She don't seem to take to the name Of Gally i.o. the Grinder. Gally i.o. i.o., etc.

7.

Yet the Critics have been very kind, And Mamma and his friends have been kinder; But the greatest of Glory's behind For Gally i.o. the Grinder. Gally i.o. i.o., etc.

April 11, 1818. [From an autograph MS. in the possession of Mr. Murray, now for the first time printed.]



EPIGRAM.

FROM THE FRENCH OF RULHIRES.[108]

IF for silver, or for gold, You could melt ten thousand pimples Into half a dozen dimples, Then your face we might behold, Looking, doubtless, much more snugly, Yet even then 'twould be damned ugly.

August 12, 1819. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 235.]

FOOTNOTES:

[108] ["Would you like an epigram—a translation? It was written on some Frenchwoman, by Rulhires, I believe."—Letter to Murray, August 12, 1819, Letters, 1900, iv. 346.

Claude Carloman de Rulhire (1718-1791), historian, poet, and epigrammatist, was the author of Anecdotes sur la revolution de Russie en l'anne 1762, Histoire de l'anarchie de Pologne (1807), etc. His epigrams are included in "Posies Diverses," which are appended to Les jeux de Mains, a poem in three cantos, published in 1808, and were collected in his Oeuvres Posthumes, 1819; but there is no trace of the original of Byron's translation. Perhaps it is after de Rulhire, who more than once epigrammatizes "Une Vieille Femme."]



EPILOGUE.[109]

1.

THERE'S something in a stupid ass, And something in a heavy dunce; But never since I went to school I heard or saw so damned a fool As William Wordsworth is for once.

2.

And now I've seen so great a fool As William Wordsworth is for once; I really wish that Peter Bell And he who wrote it were in hell, For writing nonsense for the nonce.

3.

It saw the "light in ninety-eight," Sweet babe of one and twenty years![110] And then he gives it to the nation And deems himself of Shakespeare's peers!

4.

He gives the perfect work to light! Will Wordsworth, if I might advise, Content you with the praise you get From Sir George Beaumont, Baronet, And with your place in the Excise!

1819. [First published, Philadelphia Record, December 28, 1891.]

FOOTNOTES:

[109] [The MS. of the "Epilogue" is inscribed on the margin of a copy of Wordsworth's Peter Bell, inserted in a set of Byron's Works presented by George W. Childs to the Drexel Institute. (From information kindly supplied by Mr. John H. Bewley, of Buffalo, New York.)

The first edition of Peter Bell appeared early in 1819, and a second edition followed in May, 1819. In Byron's Dedication of Marino Faliero, "To Baron Goethe," dated October 20, 1820 (Poetical Works, 1891, iv. 341), the same allusions to Sir George Beaumont, to Wordsworth's "place in the Excise," and to his admission that Peter Bell had been withheld "for one and twenty years," occur in an omitted paragraph first published, Letters, 1891, v. 101. So close a correspondence of an unpublished fragment with a genuine document leaves little doubt as to the composition of the "Epilogue."]

[110] [The missing line may be, "To permanently fill a station," see Preface to Peter Bell.]



ON MY WEDDING-DAY.

HERE'S a happy New Year! but with reason I beg you'll permit me to say— Wish me many returns of the Season, But as few as you please of the Day.[111]

January 2, 1820. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 294.]

FOOTNOTES:

[111] [Medwin (Conversations, 1824, p. 156) prints an alternative—

"You may wish me returns of the season, Let us, prithee, have none of the day!"]



EPITAPH FOR WILLIAM PITT.

WITH Death doomed to grapple, Beneath this cold slab, he Who lied in the Chapel Now lies in the Abbey.

January 2, 1820. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 295.]



EPIGRAM.

IN digging up your bones, Tom Paine, Will. Cobbett[112] has done well: You visit him on Earth again, He'll visit you in Hell.

or—

You come to him on Earth again He'll go with you to Hell!

January 2, 1820. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 295.]

FOOTNOTES:

[112] [Cobbett, by way of atonement for youthful vituperation (he called him "a ragamuffin deist") of Tom Paine, exhumed his bones from their first resting-place at New Rochelle, and brought them to Liverpool on his return to England in 1819. They were preserved by Cobbett at Normanby, Farnham, till his death in 1835, but were sold in consequence of his son's bankruptcy in 1836, and passed into the keeping of a Mr. Tilly, who was known to be their fortunate possessor as late as 1844. (See Notes and Queries, 1868, Series IV. vol. i. pp. 201-203.)]



EPITAPH.

POSTERITY will ne'er survey A nobler grave than this; Here lie the bones of Castlereagh: Stop traveller, * *

January 2, 1820. [First published, Lord Byron's Works, 1833, xvii. 246.]



EPIGRAM.

The world is a bundle of hay, Mankind are the asses who pull; Each tugs it a different way,— And the greatest of all is John Bull!

[First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 494.]



MY BOY HOBBIE O.[113]

New Song to the tune of

"Whare hae ye been a' day, My boy Tammy O.! Courting o' a young thing Just come frae her Mammie O."

1.

HOW came you in Hob's pound to cool, My boy Hobbie O? Because I bade the people pull The House into the Lobby O.

2.

What did the House upon this call, My boy Hobbie O? They voted me to Newgate all, Which is an awkward Jobby O.

3.

Who are now the people's men, My boy Hobbie O? There's I and Burdett—Gentlemen And blackguard Hunt and Cobby O.

4.

You hate the house—why canvass, then? My boy Hobbie O? Because I would reform the den As member for the Mobby O.

5.

Wherefore do you hate the Whigs, My boy Hobbie O? Because they want to run their rigs, As under Walpole Bobby O.

6.

But when we at Cambridge were My boy Hobbie O, If my memory don't err You founded a Whig Clubbie O.

7.

When to the mob you make a speech, My boy Hobbie O, How do you keep without their reach The watch within your fobby O?

8.

But never mind such petty things, My boy Hobbie O; God save the people—damn all Kings, So let us Crown the Mobby O!

Yours truly,

(Signed) INFIDUS SCURRA.

March 23d, 1820. [First published Murray's Magazine, March, 1887, vol. i. pp. 292, 293.]

FOOTNOTES:

[113] [John Cam Hobhouse (1786-1869) (see Letters, 1898, i. 163, note 1) was committed to Newgate in December, 1819, for certain passages in a pamphlet entitled, A Trifling Mistake in Thomas Lord Erskine's recent Preface, which were voted (December 10) a breach of privilege. He remained in prison till the dissolution on the king's death, February 20, 1820, when he stood and was returned for Westminster. Byron's Liberalism was intermittent, and he felt, or, as Hobhouse thought, pretended to feel, as a Whig and an aristocrat with regard to the free lances of the Radical party. The sole charge in this "filthy ballad," which annoyed Hobhouse, was that he had founded a Whig Club when he was an undergraduate at Cambridge. He assured Murray (see his letter, November, 1820, Letters, vol. iv. Appendix XI. pp. 498-500) that he was not the founder of the club, and that Byron himself was a member. "As for his Lordship's vulgar notions about the mob" he adds, "they are very fit for the Poet of the Morning Post, and for nobody else." There is no reason to suppose that Byron was in any way responsible for the version as sent to the Morning Post.]

"MY BOY HOBBY O.

[ANOTHER VERSION.]

To the Editor of the Morning Post.

Sir,—A copy of verses, to the tune of 'My boy Tammy,' are repeated in literary circles, and said to be written by a Noble Lord of the highest poetical fame, upon his quondam friend and annotator. My memory does not enable me to repeat more than the first two verses quite accurately, but the humourous spirit of the Song may be gathered from these:—

1.

Why were you put in Lob's pond, My boy, HOBBY O? (bis) For telling folks to pull the House By the ears into the Lobby O!

2.

Who are your grand Reformers now, My boy, HOBBY O? (bis) There's me and BURDETT,—gentlemen, And Blackguards HUNT and COBBY O!

3.

Have you no other friends but these, My boy, HOBBY O? (bis) Yes, Southwark's Knight,[*] the County BYNG, And in the City, BOBBY O!

[*] "Southwark's Knight" was General Sir Robert Thomas Wilson (1777-1849), who was returned for Southwark in 1818, and again in 1820; "County Byng" was George Byng, M.P. for Middlesex; and "Bobby" was Sir Robert Waithman (1764-1833), who represented the City of London in 1818, but lost his seat to Sir William Curtis in 1820. All these were advanced Liberals, and, as such, Parliamentary friends of Hobhouse.

4.

How do you recreate yourselves, My boy, HOBBY O? (bis) We spout with tavern Radicals, And drink with them hob-nobby O!

5.

What purpose can such folly work, My boy, HOBBY O? (bis) It gives our partisans a chance Watches to twitch from fob-by O!

6.

Have they no higher game in view, My boy, HOBBY O? (bis) Oh yes; to stir the people up, And then to head the mob-by O.

7.

But sure they'll at their ruin pause, My boy, HOBBY O? (bis) No! they'd see King and Parliament Both d—d without a sob-by O!

8.

But, if they fail, they'll be hanged up, My boy, HOBBY O? (bis) Why, then, they'll swing, like better men, And that will end the job-by O!

PHILO-RADICLE. April 15, 1820."



LINES

ADDRESSED BY LORD BYRON TO MR. HOBHOUSE ON HIS ELECTION FOR WESTMINSTER.[114]

WOULD you go to the house by the true gate, Much faster than ever Whig Charley went; Let Parliament send you to Newgate, And Newgate will send you to Parliament.

April 9, 1820. [First published, Miscellaneous Poems, printed for J. Bumpus, 1824.]

FOOTNOTES:

[114] ["I send you 'a Song of Triumph,' by W. Botherby, Esq^re^ price sixpence, on the election of J.C.H., Esqre., for Westminster (not for publication)."—Letter to Murray, April 9, 1820, Letters, 1901, v. 6.]



A VOLUME OF NONSENSE.

DEAR MURRAY,— You ask for a "Volume of Nonsense," Have all of your authors exhausted their store? I thought you had published a good deal not long since. And doubtless the Squadron are ready with more. But on looking again, I perceive that the Species Of "Nonsense" you want must be purely "facetious;" And, as that is the case, you had best put to press Mr. Sotheby's tragedies now in M.S., Some Syrian Sally From common-place Gally, Or, if you prefer the bookmaking of women, Take a spick and span "Sketch" of your feminine He-Man.[115]

Sept. 28, 1820. [First published, Letters, 1900, v. 83.]

FOOTNOTES:

[115] [For Felicia Dorothea Browne (1793-1835), married in 1812 to Captain Hemans, see Letters, iii. 368, note 2. In the letter which contains these verses he writes, "I do not despise Mrs. Heman; but if she knit blue stockings instead of wearing them it would be better." Elsewhere he does despise her: "No more modern poesy, I pray, neither Mrs. Hewoman's nor any female or male Tadpole of poet Wordsworth's."—Ibid., v. 64.]



STANZAS.[116]

WHEN a man hath no freedom to fight for at home, Let him combat for that of his neighbours; Let him think of the glories of Greece and of Rome, And get knocked on the head for his labours.

To do good to Mankind is the chivalrous plan, And is always as nobly requited; Then battle for Freedom wherever you can, And, if not shot or hanged, you'll get knighted.

November 5, 1820. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 377.]

FOOTNOTES:

[116] [The lines were sent in a letter to Moore (November 5, 1820) by way of Autoepitaphium, "if 'honour should come unlooked for' to any of your acquaintance;" i.e. if Byron should fall in the cause of Italian revolution, and Moore should not think him worthy of commemoration, here was a threnody "ready at hand."]



TO PENELOPE.[117] JANUARY 2, 1821.

THIS day, of all our days, has done The worst for me and you:— 'T is just six years since we were one, And five since we were two.

November 5, 1820. [First published, Medwin's Conversations, 1824, p. 106.]

FOOTNOTES:

[117] ["For the anniversary of January 2, 1821, I have a small grateful anticipation, which, in case of accident, I add."—Letter to Moore, November 5, 1820, Letters, 1891, v. 112.]



THE CHARITY BALL.[118]

WHAT matter the pangs of a husband and father, If his sorrows in exile be great or be small, So the Pharisee's glories around her she gather, And the saint patronises her "Charity Ball!"

What matters—a heart which, though faulty, was feeling, Be driven to excesses which once could appal— That the Sinner should suffer is only fair dealing, As the Saint keeps her charity back for "the Ball!"

December 10, 1820. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 540.]

FOOTNOTES:

[118] [Written on seeing the following paragraph in a newspaper: "Lady Byron is this year the lady patroness at the annual Charity Ball, given at the Town Hall, at Hinckley, Leicestershire...."—Life, p. 535. Moore adds that "these verses [of which he only prints two stanzas] are full of strong and indignant feeling,—every stanza concluding pointedly with the words 'Charity Ball.'"]



EPIGRAM

ON THE BRAZIERS' ADDRESS TO BE PRESENTED IN ARMOUR BY THE COMPANY TO QUEEN CAROLINE.[119]

IT seems that the Braziers propose soon to pass An Address and to bear it themselves all in brass; A superfluous pageant, for by the Lord Harry! They'll find, where they're going, much more than they carry.

Or—

THE Braziers, it seems, are determined to pass An Address, and present it themselves all in brass:— A superfluous {pageant/trouble} for, by the Lord Harry! They'll find, where they're going, much more than they carry.

January 6, 1821. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 442.]

FOOTNOTES:

[119] [The allusion is explained in Rivington's Annual Register, October 30, 1820 (vol. lxii. pp. 114, 115)—

"ADDRESSES TO THE QUEEN.

" ... The most splendid exhibition of the day was that of the brass-founders and braziers. The procession was headed by a man dressed in a suit of burnished plate armour of brass, and mounted on a handsome black horse, the reins being held by pages ... wearing brass helmets.... A man in a complete suite of brass armour ... was followed by two persons, bearing on a cushion a most magnificent imitation of the imperial Crown of England. A small number of the deputation of brass-founders were admitted to the presence of her Majesty, and one of the persons in armour advanced to the throne, and bending on one knee, presented the address, which was enclosed in a brass case of excellent workmanship."—See Letters, 1901, v. 219, 220, note 2.

In a postscript to a letter to Murray, dated January 19, 1821, he writes, "I sent you a line or two on the Braziers' Company last week, not for publication. The lines were even worthy

'Of ——dsworth the great metaquizzical poet, A man of great merit amongst those who know it, Of whose works, as I told Moore last autumn at Mestri I owe all I know to my passion for Pastry.'"

He adds, in a footnote, "Mestri and Fusina are the ferry trajects to Venice: I believe, however, that it was at Fusina that Moore and I embarked in 1819, when Thomas came to Venice, like Coleridge's Spring, 'slowly up this way.'"

Again, in a letter to Moore, dated January 22, 1821, he encloses slightly different versions of both epigrams, and it is worth noting that the first line of the pendant epigram has been bowdlerized, and runs thus—

"Of Wordsworth the grand metaquizzical poet."

—Letters, 1901, v. 226, 230.]



ON MY THIRTY-THIRD BIRTHDAY.

JANUARY 22, 1821.[120]

THROUGH Life's dull road, so dim and dirty, I have dragged to three-and-thirty. What have these years left to me? Nothing—except thirty-three.

[First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 414.]

FOOTNOTES:

[120] ["To-morrow is my birthday—that is to say, at twelve o' the clock, midnight; i.e. in twelve minutes I shall have completed thirty and three years of age!!! and I go to my bed with a heaviness of heart at having lived so long, and to so little purpose. * * * It is three minutes past twelve—''Tis the middle of night by the castle clock,' and I am now thirty-three!—

'Eheu, fugaces, Posthume, Posthume, Labuntur anni;'—

but I don't regret them so much for what I have done, as for what I might have done."—Extracts from a Diary, January 21, 1821, Letters, 1901, v. 182.

In a letter to Moore, dated January 22, 1821, he gives another version—

"Through Life's road, so dim and dirty, I have dragged to three-and-thirty. What have these years left to me? Nothing—except thirty-three."

Ibid., p. 229.]



MARTIAL, LIB. I. EPIG. I.

"Hic est, quem legis, ille, quem requiris, Toto notus in orbe Martialis," etc.

HE, unto whom thou art so partial, Oh, reader! is the well-known Martial, The Epigrammatist: while living, Give him the fame thou would'st be giving; So shall he hear, and feel, and know it— Post-obits rarely reach a poet.

[N.D. ?1821.] [First published, Lord Byron's Works, 1833, xvii. 245]



BOWLES AND CAMPBELL.

To the air of "How now, Madam Flirt," in the Beggar's Opera.[121]

BOWLES.

"WHY, how now, saucy Tom? If you thus must ramble, I will publish some Remarks on Mister Campbell. Saucy Tom!"

CAMPBELL.

"WHY, how now, Billy Bowles? Sure the priest is maudlin! (To the public) How can you, d—n your souls! Listen to his twaddling? Billy Bowles!"

February 22, 1821. [First published, The Liberal, 1823, No. II. p. 398.]

FOOTNOTES:

[121] [Compare the Beggar's Opera, act ii. sc. 2—

Air, "Good morrow, Gossip Joan." "Polly. Why, how now, Madam Flirt? If you thus must chatter, And are for flinging dirt, Let's try who best can spatter, Madam Flirt! "Lucy. Why, how now, saucy jade? Sure the wench is tipsy! How can you see me made The scoff of such a gipsy? [To him.] Saucy jade!" [To her.]

Bowles replied to Campbell's Introductory Essay to his Specimens of the English Poets, 7 vols., 1819, by The Invariable Principles of Poetry, in a letter addressed to Thomas Campbell. For Byron's two essays, the "Letter to.... [John Murray]" and "Observations upon Observations," see Letters, 1901, v. Appendix III. pp. 536-592.]



ELEGY.

BEHOLD the blessings of a lucky lot! My play is damned, and Lady Noel not.

May 25, 1821. [First published, Medwin's Conversations, 1824, p. 121.]



JOHN KEATS.[122]

WHO killed John Keats? "I," says the Quarterly, So savage and Tartarly; "'T was one of my feats."

Who shot the arrow? "The poet-priest Milman (So ready to kill man) "Or Southey, or Barrow."

July 30, 1821. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 506.]

FOOTNOTES:

[122] [For Croker's "article" on Keats's Endymion (Quarterly Review, April, 1818, vol. xix. pp. 204-208), see Don Juan, Canto XI. stanza lx. line 1, Poetical Works, 1902, vi. 445, note 4.]



FROM THE FRENCH.

GLE, beauty and poet, has two little crimes; She makes her own face, and does not make her rhymes.

Aug. 2, 1821. [First published, The Liberal, 1823, No. II. p. 396.]



TO MR. MURRAY.

1.

FOR Orford[123] and for Waldegrave[124] You give much more than me you gave; Which is not fairly to behave, My Murray!

2.

Because if a live dog, 't is said, Be worth a lion fairly sped, A live lord must be worth two dead, My Murray!

3.

And if, as the opinion goes, Verse hath a better sale than prose,— Certes, I should have more than those, My Murray!

4.

But now this sheet is nearly crammed, So, if you will, I shan't be shammed, And if you won't,—you may be damned, My Murray![125]

August 23, 1821. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 517.]

FOOTNOTES:

[123] [Horace Walpole's Memoirs of the Last Nine Years of the Reign of George II. ]

[124] [Memoirs by James Earl Waldegrave, Governor of George III. when Prince of Wales.]

[125] ["Can't accept your courteous offer [i.e. 2000 for three cantos of Don Juan, Sardanapalus, and The Two Foscari.] These matters must be arranged with Mr. Douglas Kinnaird. He is my trustee, and a man of honour. To him you can state all your mercantile reasons, which you might not like to state to me personally, such as 'heavy season'—'flat public'—'don't go off'—'lordship writes too much'—'won't take advice'—'declining popularity'—'deductions for the trade'—'make very little'—'generally lose by him'—'pirated edition'—'foreign edition'—'severe criticisms,' etc., with other hints and howls for an oration, which I leave Douglas, who is an orator, to answer."—Letter to Murray, August 23, 1821, Letters, 1901, v. 348.]



[NAPOLEON'S SNUFF-BOX.][126]

LADY, accept the box a hero wore, In spite of all this elegiac stuff: Let not seven stanzas written by a bore, Prevent your Ladyship from taking snuff!

1821. [First published, Conversations of Lord Byron, 1824, p. 235.]

FOOTNOTES:

[126] [Napoleon bequeathed to Lady Holland a snuff-box which had been given to him by the Pope for his clemency in sparing Rome. Lord Carlisle wrote eight (not seven) stanzas, urging her, as Byron told Medwin, to decline the gift, "for fear that horror and murder should jump out of the lid every time it is opened."—Conversations, 1824, p. 362. The first stanza of Lord Carlyle's verses, which teste Medwin, Byron parodied, runs thus—

"Lady, reject the gift! 'tis tinged with gore! Those crimson spots a dreadful tale relate; It has been grasp'd by an infernal Power; And by that hand which seal'd young Enghien's fate."

The snuff-box is now in the jewel-room in the British Museum.]



THE NEW VICAR OF BRAY.

1.

DO you know Doctor Nott?[127] With "a crook in his lot," Who seven years since tried to dish up A neat Codicil To the Princess's Will,[128] Which made Dr. Nott not a bishop.

2.

So the Doctor being found A little unsound In his doctrine, at least as a teacher, And kicked from one stool As a knave or a fool, He mounted another as preacher.

3.

In that Gown (like the Skin With no Lion within) He still for the Bench would be driving; And roareth away, A new Vicar of Bray, Except that his bray lost his living.

4.

"Gainst Freethinkers," he roars, "You should all block your doors Or be named in the Devil's indentures:" And here I agree, For who e'er would be A Guest where old Simony enters?

5.

Let the Priest, who beguiled His own Sovereign's child To his own dirty views of promotion, Wear his Sheep's cloathing still Among flocks to his will, And dishonour the Cause of devotion.

6.

The Altar and Throne Are in danger alone From such as himself, who would render The Altar itself But a step up to Pelf, And pray God to pay his defender.

7.

But, Doctor, one word Which perhaps you have heard "He should never throw stones who has windows Of Glass to be broken, And by this same token As a sinner, you can't care what Sin does.

8.

But perhaps you do well: Your own windows, they tell, Have long ago sufferd censure; Not a fragment remains Of your character's panes, Since the Regent refused you a glazier.

9.

Though your visions of lawn Have all been withdrawn, And you missed your bold stroke for a mitre; In a very snug way You may still preach and pray, And from bishop sink into backbiter!"

[First published, Works (Galignani), 1831, p. 116.]

FOOTNOTES:

[127] [George Frederick Nott (1767-1841), critic and divine, was Rector of Harrietsham and Woodchurch, a Prebendary of Winchester and of Salisbury. He was Bampton Lecturer in 1802, and, soon afterwards, was appointed sub-preceptor to the Princess Charlotte of Wales. He was a connoisseur of architecture and painting, and passed much of his time in Italy and at Rome. When he was at Pisa he preached in a private room in the basement story of the house in Pisa where Shelley was living, and fell under Byron's displeasure for attacking the Satanic school, and denouncing Cain as a blasphemous production. "The parsons," he told Moore (letter, February 20, 1820), "preached at it [Cain] from Kentish Town to Pisa." Hence the apostrophe to Dr. Nott. (See Records of Shelley, Byron, and the Author, by E.T. Trelawny, 1887, pp. 302, 303.)]

[128] [According to Lady Anne Hamilton (Secret History of the Court of England, 1832, i. 198-207), the Princess Charlotte incurred the suspicion and displeasure of her uncles and her grandmother, the Queen, by displaying an ardent and undue interest in her sub-preceptor. On being reproved by the Queen for "condescending to favour persons in low life with confidence or particular respect, persons likely to take advantage of your simplicity and innocence," and having learnt that "persons" meant Mr. Nott, she replied by threatening to sign a will in favour of her sub-preceptor, and by actually making over to him by a deed her library, jewels, and all other private property. Lady Anne Hamilton is not an accurate or trustworthy authority, but her extremely circumstantial narrative was, no doubt, an expansion of the contemporary scandal to which Byron's lampoon gave currency.]



LUCIETTA. A FRAGMENT.

LUCIETTA, my deary, That fairest of faces! Is made up of kisses; But, in love, oft the case is Even stranger than this is— There's another, that's slyer, Who touches me nigher,— A Witch, an intriguer, Whose manner and figure Now piques me, excites me, Torments and delights me— Ctera desunt.

[From an autograph MS. in the possession of Mr. Murray, now for the first time printed.]



EPIGRAMS.

OH, Castlereagh! thou art a patriot now; Cato died for his country, so did'st thou: He perished rather than see Rome enslaved, Thou cut'st thy throat that Britain may be saved!

* * * * *

So Castlereagh has cut his throat!—The worst Of this is,—that his own was not the first.

* * * * *

So He has cut his throat at last!—He! Who? The man who cut his country's long ago.

?August, 1822. [First published, The Liberal, No. I. October 18, 1822, p. 164.]



THE CONQUEST.[129]

THE Son of Love and Lord of War I sing; Him who bade England bow to Normandy, And left the name of Conqueror more than King To his unconquerable dynasty. Not fanned alone by Victory's fleeting wing, He reared his bold and brilliant throne on high; The Bastard kept, like lions, his prey fast, And Britain's bravest Victor was the last.

March 8-9, 1823. [First published, Lord Byron's Works, 1833, xvii. 246.]

FOOTNOTES:

[129] [This fragment was found amongst Lord Byron's papers, after his departure from Genoa for Greece.]



IMPROMPTU.[130]

BENEATH Blessington's eyes The reclaimed Paradise Should be free as the former from evil; But if the new Eve For an Apple should grieve, What mortal would not play the Devil?

April, 1823. [First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, ii. 635.]

FOOTNOTES:

[130] [With the view of inducing these friends [Lord and Lady Blessington] to prolong their stay at Genoa, he suggested their taking a pretty villa, called "Il Paradiso," in the neighbourhood of his own, and accompanied them to look at it. Upon that occasion it was that, on the lady expressing some intention of residing there, he produced the following impromptu.—Life, 577.]



JOURNAL IN CEPHALONIA.

THE dead have been awakened—shall I sleep? The World's at war with tyrants—shall I crouch? The harvest's ripe—and shall I pause to reap? I slumber not; the thorn is in my Couch; Each day a trumpet soundeth in mine ear, Its echo in my heart——

June 19, 1823. [First published, Letters, 1901, vi. 238.]



SONG TO THE SULIOTES.

1.

UP to battle! Sons of Suli Up, and do your duty duly! There the wall—and there the Moat is: Bouwah![131] Bouwah! Suliotes! There is booty—there is Beauty, Up my boys and do your duty.

2.

By the sally and the rally Which defied the arms of Ali; By your own dear native Highlands, By your children in the islands, Up and charge, my Stratiotes, Bouwah!—Bouwah!—Suliotes!

3.

As our ploughshare is the Sabre: Here's the harvest of our labour; For behind those battered breaches Are our foes with all their riches: There is Glory—there is plunder— Then away despite of thunder!

[From an autograph MS. in the possession of Mr. Murray, now for the first time printed.]

FOOTNOTES:

[131] "Bouwah!" is their war-cry.



[LOVE AND DEATH.]

1.

I WATCHED thee when the foe was at our side, Ready to strike at him—or thee and me. Were safety hopeless—rather than divide Aught with one loved save love and liberty.

2.

I watched thee on the breakers, when the rock Received our prow and all was storm and fear, And bade thee cling to me through every shock; This arm would be thy bark, or breast thy bier.

3.

I watched thee when the fever glazed thine eyes, Yielding my couch and stretched me on the ground, When overworn with watching, ne'er to rise From thence if thou an early grave hadst found.

4.

The earthquake came, and rocked the quivering wall, And men and nature reeled as if with wine. Whom did I seek around the tottering hall? For thee. Whose safety first provide for? Thine.

5.

And when convulsive throes denied my breath The faintest utterance to my fading thought, To thee—to thee—e'en in the gasp of death My spirit turned, oh! oftener than it ought.

6.

Thus much and more; and yet thou lov'st me not, And never wilt! Love dwells not in our will. Nor can I blame thee, though it be my lot To strongly, wrongly, vainly love thee still.[132]

[First published, Murray's Magazine, February, 1887, vol. i. pp. 145, 146.]

FOOTNOTES:

[132] ["The last he ever wrote. From a rough copy found amongst his papers at the back of the 'Song of Suli.' Copied November, 1824.—John C. Hobhouse."

"A note, attached to the verses by Lord Byron, states they were addressed to no one in particular, and were a mere poetical Scherzo. —J.C.H."]



LAST WORDS ON GREECE.

WHAT are to me those honours or renown Past or to come, a new-born people's cry? Albeit for such I could despise a crown Of aught save laurel, or for such could die. I am a fool of passion, and a frown Of thine to me is as an adder's eye. To the poor bird whose pinion fluttering down Wafts unto death the breast it bore so high; Such is this maddening fascination grown, So strong thy magic or so weak am I.

[First published, Murray's Magazine, February, 1887, vol. i. p. 146.]



ON THIS DAY I COMPLETE MY THIRTY-SIXTH YEAR.[133]

1.

'T IS time this heart should be unmoved, Since others it hath ceased to move: Yet, though I cannot be beloved, Still let me love!

2.

My days are in the yellow leaf; The flowers and fruits of Love are gone; The worm, the canker, and the grief Are mine alone!

3.

The fire that on my bosom preys Is lone[iii] as some Volcanic isle; No torch is kindled at its blaze— A funeral pile.

4.

The hope, the fear, the jealous care, The exalted portion of the pain And power of love, I cannot share, But wear the chain.

5.

But 't is not thus—and 't is not here—[iv] Such thoughts should shake my soul, nor now Where Glory decks the hero's bier,[v] Or binds his brow.

6.

The Sword, the Banner, and the Field,ǐ Glory and Greece, around me see! The Spartan, borne upon his shield,[134] Was not more free.

7.

Awake! (not Greece—she is awake!) Awake, my spirit! Think through whom Thy life-blood tracks its parent lake,[vii] And then strike home!

8.

Tread those reviving passions down,[viii] Unworthy manhood!—unto thee Indifferent should the smile or frown Of Beauty be.

9.

If thou regret'st thy youth, why live? The land of honourable death Is here:—up to the Field, and give Away thy breath!

10.

Seek out—less often sought than found— A soldier's grave, for thee the best; Then look around, and choose thy ground, And take thy Rest.

Missolonghi, Jan. 22, 1824. [First published, Morning Chronicle, October 29, 1824.]

FOOTNOTES:

[133] ["This morning Lord Byron came from his bedroom into the apartment where Colonel Stanhope and some friends were assembled, and said with a smile—'You were complaining, the other day, that I never write any poetry now:—this is my birthday, and I have just finished something, which, I think, is better than what I usually write.' He then produced these noble and affecting verses, which were afterwards found written in his journals, with only the following introduction: 'Jan. 22; on this day I complete my 36^th^ year.'"—A Narrative of Lord Byron's Last Journey to Greece, 1825, p. 125, by Count Gamba. In the Morning Chronicle, October 29, 1824, the lines are headed, "Lord Byron's Latest Verses," and are prefaced by the following note: "We have been indebted to a friend for the following immortal verses, the last he ever composed. Four of the lines have already appeared in an article in the Westminster Review" ("Lord Byron in Greece," July, 1824, vol. ii. p. 227).]

[iii] Is like to——.—[M.C.]

[iv] —— it is not here.—[M.C.]

[v] —— seals the hero's bier.—[M.C.]

ǐ The steed—the Banner—and the Field.—[MS. B.M.]

[134] I. [The slain were borne on their shields. Witness the Spartan mother's speech to her son, delivered with his buckler: "either with this or on this" (B.M. Addit. MS. 31,038).]

[vii] My life-blood tastes——.—[M.C.]

[viii] I tread reviving——.—[M.C.]



A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE SUCCESSIVE EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS OF LORD BYRON'S POETICAL WORKS.

COLLECTED EDITIONS.

I.

The/ Poetical Works/ of/ Lord Byron./ In Two Volumes./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II.] From the last London Edition./ Philadelphia:/ Published by Moses Thomas,/ No. 52, Chesnut Street./ William Fry, Printer./ 1813./ [16.

[A bound copy: smooth blue calf, lettered "LORD BYRON."]

Collation—

Vol. I.—Title, one leaf; Cont.; Half-title; Dedication; and Text, pp. 1-203.

Vol. II—Title, one leaf; Cont.; Half-title; Preface, etc, pp. i.-xii.; Text, pp. 1-261.

Contents—

Vol. I.:—Poems, Original and Translated p. 1 English Bards, etc. p. 137 Vol. II.:—Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto I. p. 13 (xciii. stanzas) Canto II. (lxxxviii. stanzas) p. 9 Notes p. 99 Poems (xx.) p. 156 The Giaour (1215 lines) p. 205 Note p. 261



Note (Vol. I.).—On fly-leaf: "To the Rt. Honourable Lord Byron from his obt. servant Geo Ticknor, June 20. 1815."

"This book was given to me by Lord Byron, April 20, 1816, on his leaving England. Scrope Davies."

[Greek: APO: I:] [Greek: Keph. Th.]

[Greek: Kai e)n tai~s (me/rais e)kei/nais zt/sousin oi( a)/nthrpoi to
tha/naton kai ou)ch eu(r/sousin au)to
' kai e)pithym/sousin a)pothanei~n, kai pheu/xetai o( tha/natos a)p' au)t~n.]

On second fly-leaf: "Semper ego tui memoriam colam; semper tua imago ante oculos observabitur; semper idem mihi eras; qui idem semper eras bonis omnibus."

These volumes which were presented by George Ticknor to Lord Byron,[A] and, in turn, presented by him to Scrope Davies, passed into the hands of Sir Francis Burdett (1770-1844), and are now in the possession of his grandson, Mr. F.B. Money-Coutts.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] "He [Byron] spoke to me of a copy of the American edition of his poems, which I had sent him, and expressed his satisfaction at seeing it in a small form, because in that way, he said, nobody would be prevented from purchasing it" ("Journal," June 21, 1815).—Life, Letters, and Journals of George Ticknor, Boston, 1876, i. 62.

II.

The/ Poetical Works/ of/ Lord Byron./ From the last London Edition./ In Two Volumes./ Volume I./ [Vol. II.] Boston:/ Published by Cummings & Hilliard,/ No. I, Cornhill./ Joseph T. Buckingham, Printer,/ 1814./ [12.

Collation—

Vol. I.: pp. xi. + 308—Title, one leaf, pp. i., ii.; Cont., pp. iii., iv.; Lord Byron [excerpt from the Analectic Magazine], pp. v.-xi.; Text, pp. 1-308.

Vol. II.: pp. iv. + 251—Title, one leaf, pp. i, ii; Cont., pp. iii, iv; Text, pp. 1-251.

Contents—

Vol. I.:—Poems, Original and Translated p. 1

English Bards, etc. (Third Edition) (1050 lines), with p. 123 Postscript

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Cantos I., II. (First Edition), p. 179 with Notes, etc.

Vol. II.:—Poems [Twenty-six, i.e. poems issued with p. 1 Sec. Ed. of Childe Harold, and six (not tabulated) issued with the Corsair]

The Giaour (Fifth Edition) p. 47

The Bride of Abydos (Seventh Edition) p. 103

The Corsair (Sixth Edition) p. 159

Prize Prologue (Oct. 1812) (Second Edition) p. 241

Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte (Second Edition: sixteen stanzas) p. 245

III.

The/ Works/ of/ The Right Honorable/ Lord Byron./ In Four Volumes./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II., etc.] Childe Harold./ London:/ Printed for John Murray, Albemarle Street./ 1815./ [8.

Collation—

Vol. I.: pp. xviii. + 218—Gen. Half-title, one leaf, pp. i., ii.; Title (R.T. Davison, Lombard-Street,/ White-Friars, London.), pp. iii., iv.; General Contents to the Four Volumes, pp. v.-x.*; Half-title (R. Motto—Le Cosmopolite), n.p.; Prefaces, pp. xi.-xviii.; Cont. to Vol. I., one leaf, n.p.; Text, pp. 1-218. The Imprint is at the foot of p. 218.

Note.—In the earlier copies of Vol. I. of this edition, the misplaced "Advertisement" to The Giaour is on pp. i., ii., and pp. ix.*, x.*, giving Cont. of Hebrew Melodies, are not inserted.

Vol. II.: pp. 1-202—Gen. Half-title, one leaf; Title (R. Imprint); Cont. to Vol. II.; Half-title; Dedication; Text, pp. 1-202. The Imprint is in the centre of the last page, p. [204].

Vol. III.: pp. viii. + 9-228—Gen. Half-title, one leaf; Title (R. Imprint); Cont. to Vol. III.; Half-title, pp. i., ii.; Dedication to Thomas Moore, Esq., pp. iii.-viii.; Text, pp. 9-228. The Imprint is at the foot of p. 228.

Vol. IV.: pp. viii. [ix.*, x.*] + 203—Gen. Half-title, one leaf; Title (R. Imprint), pp. i.-iv.; Cont. to Vol. IV., pp. v.-x.*; Text, pp. 1-203.

Contents—

Vol. I.:—To Ianthe, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Cantos I., II., p. 3 (N. App.)

Romaic Books and Authors, etc. p. 188

Vol. II.:—The Giaour (N.) p. 1

The Bride of Abydos, Cantos I., II. (N.) p. 103

Vol. III.:—The Corsair, Cantos I.-III. (N.) p. i.

Lara, Cantos I., II. (N.) p. 133

Vol. IV.:—Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte (N.) p. 1

Poems (N.) [xxxvi., consisting of xxix. pub. in the Seventh Ed. p. 17 of Childe Harold, vi. pub. in the Second Ed. of the Corsair, and Verses on Sir P. Parker.]

Hebrew Melodies (24) p. 143

Note.—In later issues of Vol. III., 1815, the note on the "Pirates of Barrataria" is inserted and paginated 133*-137*.

IV.

The/ Works/ of The/ Right Hon. Lord Byron./ In Two Volumes./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II.] London:/ Printed for John Murray, Albemarle-Street./ 1815/ [8.

Contents—

Vol. I.: The Title, as above, is prefixed to Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Cantos I., II. (Fourth Ed.), 1812, and Hebrew Melodies (First Ed.), 1815, pp. 1-53.

Vol. II.: The Title, as above, is prefixed to Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto III.; Childe Harold, etc., Canto the Fourth; Romance Muy Doloroso, Translation, etc., pp. xiv. + 257; The Lament of Tasso (Sixth Ed.), 1818, pp. 1-18; Poems (N.) (Second Ed.), 1816; Monody, etc. (New Ed.), 1810; Ode to Napoleon (Second Ed.), 1814, pp 1-14.

Note.—These general titles were advertised, in July, 1815, for the purpose of binding, in two volumes, poems which were uniformly printed but had been separately issued. It is evident that they were still to be procured after the collected editions of 1815, 1817, 1818 had been published. In other copies the Contents are arranged in a different order.

V.

The Poetical Works, etc. From the last London Edition. In Three Volumes. New York: Published by David Huntington. 1815.

[E. Klbing, Prisoner of Chillon, 1896.]

VI.

The Works, etc. Including several poems now first collected. Together with an Original Biography. Embellished with a portrait, title-page, and six other engravings. In Three Vols. Philadelphia: Published by Moses Thomas, J. Maxwell, Printer. 1816. [12.

[Klbing.]

VII.

The/ Works/ of/ The Right Honourable/ Lord Byron./ In Five Volumes./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II., etc.] Childe Harold./ London:/ John Murray, Albemarle-Street./ 1817. [8.

Collation—

Vol. I.:—Title, one leaf, pp. iii., iv.; Half-title (R. Motto), pp. v., vi.; Pref., pp. vii.-xiv.; Cont., n.p.; Text, pp. 1-218. The Imprint (T. Davison, Lombard Street,/ Whitefriars, London/), is in the centre of the last page.

Vol. II.: pp. 1-202—Title, one leaf; Cont. to Vol. II.; Half-title; Dedication; Advertisement; Text, pp. 1-202. The Imprint is in the centre of the last page, p. [204].

Vol. III.: pp. viii. + 9-222: Title, one leaf; Cont. to Vol. III.; Half-title, pp. i. ii.; Dedication to Thomas Moore, Esq., pp. iii.-viii.; Text, pp. 9-222. The Imprint is in the centre of the last page, p. [224].

Vol. IV.: Title, one leaf; pp. iii., iv.; Cont. to Vol. IV., v.-viii.; Text. The Imprint is in the centre of the last page.

Vol. V.: pp. vi. + 184—Title, one leaf; Dedication, pp. i., ii.; Advertisement, pp. iii., iv.; Cont. to Vol. V., pp. v., vi.; Half-title; Text, pp. 1-184. The Imprint is at the foot of p. 184.

Note.—The Cont. of Vols. I.-IV., 1817, are identical with the Cont. of Vols. I.-IV., 1815.

Contents—

Vol. V.:-Siege of Corinth (N.) p. 1 Parisina (N.) p. 79 Poems (eleven, as pub. in Poems, 1816) p. 127 Monody, etc. (N.) p. 171

VIII.

Poems./ By Lord Byron./ New-York:/ Published by Thomas Kirk and Thomas R. Mercein,/ Moses Thomas, M. Carey and Son, Philadelphia;/ Wells and Lilly, Boston;/ and Coale and Maxwell, Baltimore./ T. and W. Mercein, Printers, 93, Gold Street./ 1817./ [12.

Collation—

Pp. 1-64 (title-page unnumbered).

IX.

The/ Works/ of/ The Right Honourable/ Lord Byron./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II., etc.] Childe Harold./ London:/ John Murray, Albemarle-Street./ 1818.

Collation—

Vol. I.: pp. xiv. + 218—Half-title (R.T. Davison, Lombard Street,/ Whitefriars, London./), etc. (Vide supra, Vol. I., 1817).

Vol. II.: pp. 1-202—Half-title (R. Imprint), etc. (Vide supra, Vol. II., 1817).

Vol. III.: pp. viii. + 9-222 (Vide supra, Vol. III., 1817).

Vol. IV.: pp. viii. + 203—Half-title (R. Imprint) (Vide supra, Vol. IV., 1817).

Vol. V.:/ pp. 1-184—Half-title, The Siege, etc., one leaf; Title [The/ Works/ etc./ The Siege of Corinth—Parisina—Poems./ London:/John Murray, Albemarle-Street,/ 1818./]; Cont. of Vol. V.; Advertisement; Dedication, "To John Hobhouse, Esq.;" Text, pp. 1-104; The Imprint, T. Davison, Lombard-street,/ Whitefriars, London,/ is at the foot of p. 184.

Vol. VI.: pp. 1-187—Gen. Half-title (R. T. Davison, Lombard Street, Whitefriars, London); Title, one leaf [The Works,/ etc. In Six Volumes (in some copies "In six," etc., does not appear)]; Cont. to Vol. VI.; Half-title; Text, pp. 1-187, + Publisher's List, pp. 189-192. The Imprint is at the foot of p. 192.

Vol. VII.: pp. 1-273—Title [The/ Works, etc./ 1819.] (R. London:/ Printed by T. Davison, Whitefriars/); Cont. to Vol. VII.; Text, pp. 1-273 + Publisher's Advertisement of Historical Illustrations (R. London:/ Printed by Thomas Davison, Whitefriars/).

Vol. VIII.: pp. 1-165—Gen. Half-title (R. Imprint); Title [The/ Works, etc./ 1820]; Cont. to Vol. VIII.; Text, pp. 1-165 + Publisher's List (ten pages, with Imprint at the foot of p. [10]).

Note.—For Contents for Vols. I.-V., vide supra, Ed. 1817.

Contents—

Vol. VI.: — Sonnet p. 1 The Prisoner of Chillon (N.) (and six poems, N.) p. 3 To Manfred (N.) p. 67 Lament of Tasso p. 169 Vol. VII.: — Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto III. (N.) p. 1 Canto IV. (N.) p. 81 Vol. VIII.: — Beppo (N.) p. 1 Mazeppa p. 57 Ode p. 113 A Fragment p. 127 Romance Muy Doloroso (Transl.) p. 145 Sonetto di Vittorelli (Transl.) p. 162

Note.—Vols. I.-IV. of the Edition of 1818 are illustrated by "Twelve Plates engraved by Charles Heath, and other Artists, from the original Designs of [Tho.] Stothard." The "original Designs," water-colour drawings, were presented by Lord Byron to the third Lord Holland, and are now in the possession of the Earl of Ilchester.

X.

The Works of the right honourable Lord Byron. Comprehending all his suppressed poems. Embellished with a portrait, and a Sketch of his Lordship's life. Vols. I.-VI. Paris: Published by Galignani, at the French, English, Italian, German and Spanish library, N 18, Rue Vivienne, 1818, in 12.

[Bibliographie de la France, June 13, 1818.]

XI.

The Works of Lord Byron. In Thirteen Volumes. Published by Gerard Fleischer. Leipzic. 1818-1822. [8.

[Kayser, Index Verborum. 1834. See, too, Jahrbcher der Literatur. Vienna, 1821. Vol. xv. pp. 105-145.]

XII.

The/ Works/ of/ Lord Byron./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II., etc.] London:/ John Murray, Albemarle-Street./ 1819./ [8.

Collation—

Vol. I.: pp. xv. + 479—Title, one leaf, pp. iii., iv.; Cont. to Vol. I., pp. v., vi.; Half-title, with Motto, pp. vii., viii.; Preface, etc., pp. ix.-xv.; Text, pp. 1-479. The Imprint (London:/ Printed by Thomas Davison, Whitefriars./) is in the centre of the last page, p. [480].

Vol. II.: pp. 1-491—Gen. Half-title (R. Imprint); Title, one leaf; Cont. to Vol. II.; Text, pp. 1-491; Notes to Beppo, p. [493], one leaf. Vol. III.: pp. viii. + 330—Gen. Half-title (R. Imprint), pp. i., ii.; Title, one leaf, pp. iii., iv.; Cont. to Vol. III., pp. v.-viii.; Text, pp. 1-330. The Imprint is at the foot of the last page, p. 330.

Note.—In Vol. I. the text and notes of Cantos I., II. of Childe Harold are identical with the Eleventh Edition of 1819, the text with the Tenth Edition of 1815. The text of Cantos III. and IV. is all but identical with the text of the editions of 1816, 1818, but the notes have been reset.

Contents—

Vol. I.: Childe Harold's, etc. Cantos I., II. (N.) p.1 Canto III. (N.). p. 195 Canto IV. (N.). p. 273 Vol. II.:—The Giaour (N.) p. 1 The Bride of Abydos (N.) p. 79 The Corsair (N.) p. 149 Lara (N.) p. 251 The Siege of Corinth (N.) p. 317 Parisina (N.) p. 373 The Prisoner of Chillon (N.) p. 411 Beppo (N.) p. 439 Vol. III.:—Manfred (N.) p. 1 Hebrew Melodies (23) p. 81 Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte (N.) p. 121 Monody, etc. (N.) p. 137 Lament of Tasso p. 147 Poems (N.) p. 163

Note.—The Poems include thirty pub. with Childe Harold, Ed. 10, 1815; six pub. with the Corsair, Ed. 2, 1814; eleven pub. in Poems, 1816; A Sketch, etc. (now first included); six pub. with The Prisoner of Chillon, 1816, and the translation from the Spanish Ballad (Romance, etc.) and the Italian Sonnet pub. with Childe Harold, Canto IV., 1818-fifty-six pieces in all.

XIII.

The/ Works/ of/ The Right Honourable/ Lord Byron./ Comprehending all his Suppressed Poems,/ Embellished with a Portrait and a Sketch of His/ Lordship's Life./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II., etc.] Childe Harold's Pilgrimage,/ Cantos I. and II.—The Giaour./ Second Edition./ Paris./ Published by Galignani,/ At the French, English, Italian, German and Spanish/ Library, No. 18, Rue Vivienne./ 1819 [12.

Collation—

Vol. I.: pp. viii. + viii. + 276—Title, one leaf; Advertisement, one leaf; Memoir of the R.H. Lord Byron, pp. i.-viii.; Text, pp. i.-viii., 9-284. Frontispiece: Portrait of Lord Byron by G. Harlow, Lith. de G. Engelmann.

Vol. II.: pp. 1-244—Gen. Half-title (R. Printed by A. Belin); Title, one leaf; Text, pp. 1-244.

Vol. III.: pp. 1-230—Gen. Half-title, etc., as above; Text, pp. 1-230.

Vol. IV.: pp. 1-211—Gen. Half-title, etc., as above; Text, pp. 1-211.

Vol. V.: pp. 1-225—Gen. Half-title, as above; Dedication, pp. iii.-x.; Text, pp. 11-235.

Vol. VI.: pp. 1-130—Gen. Half-title, etc., as above; Text, pp. 1-130 + six pages of General Index.

Contents—

Vol. I.:—Childe Harold's, etc., Cantos I., II. (N.) p. 9 The Giaour (N.) p. 207 Vol. II.:—The Bride, etc. (N.) p. 1 The Corsair (N.) p. 71 Lara (N.) p. 179 Vol. III.:—Ode to N.B. (N.) p. 1 Poems (xxxvi.) (N.) p. 13 Hebrew Melodies p. 79 The Siege, etc. (N.) p. 107 Parisina (N.) p. 163 Poems, 1816 p. 195 Monody, etc. (N.) p. 222 Vol. IV.:—The Prisoner of Chillon, etc. (N.) p. 1 Manfred (N.) p. 51 The Lament of Tasso p. 125 Childe Harold's, etc., Canto IV. (N.) p. 139 Vol. V.:—Childe Harold's, etc., Canto IV. (N.) p. 1 Publisher's Advt. p. [220] Romance Muy Doloroso (Transl.) p. 221 Sonetto di Vittorelli (Transl.) p. 234 Vol. VI.:—Beppo p. 1 Suppressed Poems: English Bards, etc. p. 47 Ode ("Oh, shame to thee," etc.) p. 121 Windsor Poetics p. 125 A Sketch p. 126 Mazeppa p. 5 Ode (To Venice) p. 47 A Fragment p. 57

Note.—Bound up with, and, possibly, an integral part of Vol. VI., is Mazeppa. Collation: pp. 1-69. 12. Half-title (R. Printed by A. Belin); pp 1, 2; Title, one leaf (Mazeppa,/ A Poem.: By Lord Byron./ Second Edition./ Paris:/ Published by Galignani,/ At the French, English, Italian, German and Spanish/ Library, N 18, Rue Vivienne./ 1819./), pp. 3, 4; Second half-title; Advertisement, pp. 7, 8; and Text, pp. 9-69. (For Contents, vide supra.)

XIV.

The Works of the R.H. Lord Byron. In Six Volumes. Zwickau. Printed for Brothers Schumann, 1819.

[Jahrbcher der Lit.]

XV.

The Works, etc. In Seven Volumes. Brussels: published at the English Repository of Arts, 1819.

[Klbing.]

XVI.

Works of Lord Byron. New York. 1820. Four Volumes. [18.

[Cat. of Library of Boston Athenum.]

Contents—

Vol. I.:—Childe Harold's, etc.

Vol. II.:—Bride, etc.—Corsair—Lara—The Giaour.

Vol. III.:—Siege, etc.—Prisoner of Chillon—Parisina—Beppo—English Bards, etc.—Mazeppa—Ode—Fragment—Don Juan.

Vol. IV.:—Hebrew Melodies—Ode to N.B.—Monody, etc.—Lament of Tasso—Manfred—Poems.

XVII.

The/ Works/ of/ Lord Byron./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II., etc.] London:/ John Murray, Albemarle-Street./ 18217 [8.

Collation—

Vol. I.: pp. xvi. + 216—Gen. Half-title (R. (a) Thomas Davison, Whitefriars.) pp. i., ii.; Title, one leaf, pp. iii., iv.; Cont. to Vol. I., pp. v., vi.; Preface, etc., pp. vii.-xi.; Text, pp. 1-216. The Imprint (b) (London:/ Printed by Thomas Davison, Whitefriars.) is at the foot of p. 216.

Vol. II.: pp. 1-272—Gen. Half-title (R. Imprint (a)); Title, one leaf; Cont. to Vol. II.; Text, pp. 1-237. The Imprint (b) is at the foot of p. 272.

Vol. III.: pp. 1-237—Gen. Half-title (R. Imprint (a)); Title, one leaf; Cont. to Vol. III.; Text, pp. 1-237. The Imprint (b) is in the centre of p. [240].

Vol. IV.: pp. 1-274—Gen. Half-title (R. Imprint (a)); Title, one leaf; Cont. to Vol. IV.; Text, pp. 1-274. The Imprint (b) is in the centre of p. [276].

Vol. V.: pp. viii. + 284—Gen. Half-title (R. Imprint (a)), pp. i., ii.; Title, one leaf; Cont. to Vol. V., pp.ṿ-viii.; Text, pp. 1-284. The Imprint (b) is at the foot of p. 284.

Contents—

Vol. I.:—Childe Harold's, etc., Cantos I., II. (N. App.) p. i. Vol. II.:—Childe Harold's, etc., Canto III. (N.) p. 1 Canto IV. (N.) p. 77 Vol. III.:—The Giaour (N.) p. 1 The Bride, etc. (N.) p. 75 The Corsair (N.) p. 143 Vol. IV.:—Lara (N.) p. 1 The Siege (N.) p. 63 Parisina p. 117 The Prisoner (N.) p. 153 Beppo (N.) p. 179 Mazeppa p. 235 Vol. V.:—Manfred (N.) p. 1 Hebrew Melodies p. 73 Ode to N.B. (N.) p. 104 Monody, etc. p. 121 Lament of Tasso p. 127 Poems (N.) p. 141

Note.—The Poems (fifty-seven in all) include the Ode to Venice.

XVIII.

Lord Byron's/ Works./ Volume the First./ [Volume the Second, etc.] Containing:/ The Bride of Abydos—The Corsair—Lara—/Parisina, etc./ Paris/ Sold by Franois Louis,/ At his French and English Library,/ Rue Hautefeuille, N 10;/ And Baudry,/ At the Foreign Library,/ Rue du Coq Saint Honor, N 9./ 1821./ [12.

Collation—

Vol. I.: pp. xii. + 216—Title, one leaf, pp. iii., iv.; "Memoir of Lord Byron," pp. v.-xii.; Text, pp. 1-216.

Vol. II. pp. 1-240—Title, one leaf; Text, pp. 1-240.

Vol. III.: pp. 1-[224]—Title, one leaf; Text, pp. 1-224 + 4 n.p.

Vol. IV.: pp. 1-[228]—Title, one leaf; Text, pp. 1-224 + 4 n.p.

Vol. V.: pp. 1-244—Title, one leaf; Text, pp. 1-244.

Contents—

Vol. I.:—The Bride, etc., Cantos I., II. (N.) p. 1 The Corsair, Cantos I.-III. (N.) p. 55 Lara, Cantos I., II. (N.) p. 131 Parisina p. 179 Ode to N.B. p. 203 Ode to Venice p. 211 Vol. II.:—English Bards, etc. p. 1 Don Juan, Cantos I., II. (N.) p. 55 The Giaour (N.) p. 167 Vol. III.:—Childe Harold, Cantos I.-IV.(N.) p. 1 Beppo p. 187 Fare Thee Well p. 219 Darkness p. 221 Stanzas for Music ("There be none," etc.) p. [224] Vol. IV.:—Siege, etc. (N.) p. 1 Manfred (N.) p. 43 Mazeppa p. 107 Prisoner of Chillon, a Fable, Sonnet, etc. (N.) p. 139 Sonnet ("Rousseau," etc.) p. 160 Lament of Tasso p. 161 Various Poems:[B] A Sketch, etc. (and 34 others) p. 173 Vol. V.:—Hours of Idleness (i.e. Poems Original and p. 1 Translated), "The Second English Edition," On Leaving Newstead Abbey, etc. Critique, etc. p. 116 Fugitive Pieces (including Windsor Poetics, first pub. by p. 163 Murray, and the spurious Ode, "Oh, shame to thee," etc.) The Curse of Minerva (full text) p. 177 Avis ("Le Vampire, faussement attribu Lord Byron, est de p. 191 Polidori, jeune mdecin qui a vcu quelque temps Genve avec le pote anglais," etc.) The Vampyre, A Tale p. 192 Extract of a Letter from Geneva p. 194 Introduction p. 201 The Vampyre p. 207 A Fragment (June 17, 1816) p. 237

FOOTNOTES:

[B] [Six "Hebrew Melodies" are included in Various Poems.]

XIX.

The/ Works/ of/ Lord Byron,/ comprehending the/ Suppressed Poems./ Embellished with a Portrait, And a Sketch of His Life./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II., etc.] Paris:/ Published by A. and W. Galignani,/ At the French, English, Italian, German and Spanish Library,/ N 18, Rue Vivienne./ 1822.7 [8.

Collation—Vol. I.: pp. 106 + 265—Gen. Half-title (R. Printed by A. Belin); Title, one leaf, pp. 1, 2; Contents to Vol. I., pp. 3, 4; The Life of Lord Byron [By J.W. Lake], pp. 5-106; Text, pp. 1-264.

Vol. XVI: pp. 204—Gen. Half-title (R. Imprint); Title, one leaf; Text, pp. 1-204.

Contents—

Vol. I.:—Hours of Idleness p. 1 Translations and Imitations p. 63 Fugitive Pieces p. 97 Critique [E.R. Jan. 1808] p. 153 English Bards, etc. p. 161 Lines written by Mr. Fitzgerald in a copy of English p. 234 Bards, etc., with his Lordship's Reply The Curse of Minerva p. 235 An Ode ("Oh, shame to thee," etc.) p. 255 Windsor Poetics p. 259 A Sketch, etc. p. 260 Vol. XVI.:—The Deformed Transformed p. 1 Transl. of Morgante Maggiore p. 105 Lord Byron's Speeches p. 157

Note.—The frontispiece of Vol. I. is an engraving of the Portrait by G. Sanders.

Don Juan was included in successive volumes in accordance with the date of publication: Cantos I., II. in Vol. VII.; Cantos III., IV., V. in Vol. VIII.; Cantos VI.-XI. in Vol. XIV; and Cantos XII.-XVI. in Vol. XV.

Volumes XIII.-XV. of this Edition were issued in 1823, and Vol. XVI. in 1824.

XX.

The/ Works/ of/ Lord Byron./ In Four Volumes./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II., etc.] London:/ John Murray, Albemarle Street./ 1823 [8

Collation—

Vol. I.: pp. xi. + 303—Title, one leaf, pp. iii., iv.; Gen. Cont., pp. v., xi.; Cont. of Vol. I.; Text, pp. 1-303. The Imprint (London:/ Printed by Thomas Davison, Whitefriars/) is in the centre of the last page.

Vol. II.: pp. 1-359—Title, one leaf; Cont. of Vol. II.; Text, pp. 1-359. The Imprint is in the centre of the last page, p. [360].

Vol. III.: pp. 1-345—Title, one leaf; Cont. of Vol. III.; Text, pp. 1-345; Notes to Beppo, one leaf, p. [347]. The Imprint is in the centre of the last page, p. [348].

Vol. IV.: pp. viii. + 372—Title, one leaf, pp. iii., iv.; Cont. of Vol. IV., pp. v.-viii.; Text, pp. 1-372. The Imprint is at the foot of p. 372.

Contents—

Vol. I.:—Childe Harold's, etc., Cantos I., II. (N. App.) p. 1 Canto III. (N.) p. 223 Vol. II.:—Childe Harold's, etc., Canto IV. (N.) p. 1 The Giaour (N.) p. 207 The Bride, etc., Cantos I., II. (N.) p. 287 Vol. III.:—The Corsair, Cantos I.-III. (N.) p. 1 Lara, Cantos I., II. (N.) p. 105 The Siege, etc. (N.) p. 169 Parisina (N.) p. 225 The Prisoner of Chillon, Sonnet (N.) p. 265 Beppo (N.) p. 293 Vol. IV.:—Mazeppa (N.) p. 1 Manfred (N.) p. 43 Hebrew Melodics (N.) p. 121 Ode to N.B. (N.) p. 159 Monody, etc. (N.) p. 175 Lament of Tasso p. 185 Poems (57) (N.) p. 203

Note.—This edition of 1823, 4 vols. 8, differs from the 3 vols. 8 of 1819, by the addition of Mazeppa and the Ode to Venice. The Front, of Vol. I. is "Lord Byron," by T. Phillips, R.A., engr. by C. Warren.

XXI.

The Works of Lord Byron. In Twelve Vols. Paris: Printed for Baudry, etc. 1822-1824. [12.

Note.—The Life and Genius of Lord Byron, by Sir Cosmo Gordon, is affixed to the twelfth volume. See La France Littraire, by J.M. Qurard. 1827.

XXII.

The Works of Lord Byron, comprehending the suppressed Poems. Embellished with a portrait, and a sketch of his life. In Twelve Volumes. Printed by A. Belin. Published by Galignani. 1823. [12.

[B. de la F., May 24, 1823.]

XXIII.

The/ Works/ of/ Lord Byron./ Vol. V./ Containing/ Hours of Idleness—Fugitive Pieces—English/ Bards and Scotch Reviewers—Waltz—/Miscellaneous Poems, etc./ London:/ Knight and Lacey, Paternoster-Row./ 1824./ [8.

Collation—

Vol. V.: pp. xiii. + 154 + 9 + vi. + 57 + vii. + 61—Gen. Half-title; Title (R. T.C. Hansard, Paternoster-Row Press); Preface; Cont., pp. ị-xiii.; Second Half-title; Text, pp. 2-154, etc.

Note.—The Imprint (T.C. Hansard/ Paternoster-Row/) is at the foot of the last page (p. 62). Four pages (n.p.) of publishers' list of Sherwood, Jones & Co., etc., dated London, June, 1824, are bound up with Vol. V.

Vol. VI.: pp. vi. + 308 + 2 pages (n.p.)—Gen. Half-title; Title [The/ etc. In Seven Volumes./ Vol. VI./ London:/ Printed for John and Henry L. Hunt,/ Tavistock Street./ 1824./] (R. London:/ Printed By C.H. Reynell, Broad-Street, Golden-Square/); Second Half-title; Dedication; Preface, pp. i.-vi.; Dramatis Person, p. [viii.] (B.A.); Text, pp. 9-308; Note to the Translation of the Morgante Maggiore, one leaf, pp. [309, 310].

Vol. VII.: pp. 1-286—Gen. Half-title; Title [The, etc./ Tavistock-Street./ 1825./], (R. Imprint as above); Text, pp. 1-286.

Contents—

Vol. V.:—Hours of Idleness p. 1 Review, etc. p. 1 English Bards, etc. p. i. Waltz [N] p. i. Ode ("Oh, shame to thee," etc.) p. 19 Adieu to Malta p. 23 Madame Lavalette p. 26 The Curse of Minerva (111 lines) p. 28 Farewell to England p. 35 To my Daughter, etc. p. 46 Ode to ... St. Helena p. 50 To the Lily of France p. 53 To Jessy p. 56 To T. Moore, Esq. ("My Boat," etc.) p. 58 Lines to Mr. Hobhouse p. 60 Enigma Ḥ p. 61 Vol. VI.:—Werner p. i. Heaven and Earth p. 197 Transl. of Morgante Maggiore (Advt.) p. 259 Vol. VII.:—The Age of Bronze p. 1 The Island p. 37 Appendix (Extract from the Voyage of Capt. Bligh) p. 109 The Vision of Judgment p. 125 Appendix (Court of King's Bench, Thursday, January 15, 1824. p. 187 The King v. John Hunt) The Deformed Transformed p. 191

Note (1).—In Vol. V. the pagination of the "Postscript" of English Bards, etc., pp. 45-47, is incorrect.

Note (2).—In Vol. VII. (pp. 125, sq.) in the edition of the Vision of Judgment, issued after the verdict in the case of the King v. John Hunt, January 15, 1824, stanzas viii., ix. (lines 1, 2), xliii. (lines 1-6), xliv., xlv. (lines 1-6), xlvii. (lines 4, 8), are omitted in the text, but are quoted in the report of the trial.

Note (3).—The following slip, headed "Notice to the Binder," is inserted between a fly-leaf and the general half-title of Vols. VI., VII.: "In order that each purchaser of the two concluding volumes of Lord Byron's Works may be enabled with them to complete his particular set,—whatever edition he possesses, an extra Title-page is given with each—there being several editions in print, comprising the same marks in different numbers of volumes. In binding these two last volumes, therefore, the binder should be instructed which of the Title-pages to retain." Four pages (n.p.) consisting of General Half-title (B.R.) and Title-page as above [In Eight volumes./ Vol. VII., Vol. VIII./] with Imprint as above, at foot of Reverse, are bound up with Vols. VI., VII. Volume VIII. was not issued.

XXIV.

The Works, etc. In Eight Volumes. London: John Murray, etc., 1825. [Small] 8.

XXV.

The/ Works /of/ Lord Byron./ In Six Volumes./ Vol. V./ London:/ John Murray, Albemarle Street./ 1825./ [8.

Collation—

Vol. V.: pp. 1-404—Title, one leaf; Cont. of Vol. V.; Text, pp. 1-404. The Imprint (London:/ Printed by Thomas Davison, Whitefriars/) is at the foot of p. 404.

Vol. VI.: pp. viii. + 319—Title, one leaf; Cont. of Vol. VI.; Text, pp 1-319. The Imprint is in the centre of the last page, p. [320].

Contents—

Vol. V.:—Marino Faliero (N. App.) p. 1 Prophecy of Dante, Cantos I.-IV. (N.) p. 243 Cain p. 291 Vol. VI.:—Sardanapalus (N) p. 1 The Two Foscari (App.) p. 171

XXVI.

The/ Complete Works/ of/ Lord Byron/ With/ A Biographical and Critical notice/ By J.W. Lake, Esq./ Vol. I. [Vol. II., etc.] Childe Harold's Pilgrimage./ [Monogram.] Paris/ From the Press of Jules Didot senior,/ vi, Rue Du Pont-de-Lodi./ Published by Baudry, Rue du Coq-Saint-Honor,/ And Amyot, Rue De La Paix./ 1825./ [8.

Collation—

Vol. I.: pp. c. + 353—Title, one leaf; Cont. of the First Vol.; A Biographical, etc., pp. i.-c.; Text, pp. 1-353.

Vol. II.: pp. 1-432—Title, one leaf; Cont. of the Second Vol.; Text, pp. 1-432.

Vol. III.: pp. 1-466—Title, one leaf; Cont. of the Third Vol.; Text, pp. 1-466.

Vol. IV.: pp. 1-426—Title, one leaf; Cont. of the Fourth Vol.; Text, pp. 1-426.

Vol. V.: pp. 1-435—Title, one leaf; Cont. of the Fifth Vol.; Text, pp. 1-435; Note to Cain, one leaf, p. [437].

Vol. VI.: pp. vii. + 529—Title, one leaf, pp. iii., iv.; Cont. of the Sixth Vol., pp. v.-viii.; Text, pp. 1-529.

Vol. VII.: pp. viii. + 528—Title, one leaf, pp. iii., iv.; Cont. of the Seventh Vol., pp. v.-viii.; Text, pp. 1-528.

Note.—The Frontispiece of Vol. I. is an engraving of the Portrait of Lord Byron by G. Sanders.

Contents—

Vol. I.:—A Biographical, etc. p. i Childe Harold's, etc., Cantos I.-III (N.) p. 1 Dedication p. 205 Canto IV. (N.) p. 213 Vol. II.:—Don Juan, Cantos I.-V. (N.) p. 1 Preface to Cantos VI., VII., VIII. p. 301 Cantos VI.-VIII. (N.) p. 307 Vol. III.:—Don Juan, etc., etc. Canto IX. (N.) p. 1 Canto XVI. (N.) p. 247 Beppo (N.) p. 295 The Vision of Judgment (N.) p. 333 The Giaour (N.) p. 373 Parisina p. 435 Vol. IV.:—Manfred (N.) p. 1 Marino Faliero (N.), Preface, etc. p. 267 Vol. V.:—The Two Foscari (N.) p. 1 Appendix p. 123 Werner (N.) p. 143 Cain (N.) p. 331 Vol. VI.:—Heaven and Earth (N.) p. i The Deformed, etc. (N.) p. 53 The Bride, etc. (N.) p. 133 The Corsair (N.) p. 193 Lara (N.) p. 279 The Siege, etc. (N.) p. 331 The Prisoner of Chillon (N.), Sonnet, etc. p. 377 Mazeppa (N.), Advt., etc. p. 399 The Island (N.), Advt., etc. p. 435 The Lament of Tasso, Advt. p. 517 Vol. VII.:—The Prophecy of Dante (N.), Dedication, etc. p. 1 The Age of Bronze (N.) p. 45 The Curse of Minerva (N.) p. 77 Hours of Idleness p. 95 Critique, etc. p. 211 English Bards, etc., Preface p. 221 Hebrew Melodies p. 277 Miscellaneous Poems, and The Dream, etc. p. 301 Morgante Maggiore (N.), Advt. p. 439 Letter to * * * p. 475 Parliamentary Speeches, Debate on the Framework Bill p. 505

Note.—The Miscellaneous Poems (67) include the following forgeries: Ode ("Oh, shame to thee," etc.), p. 345; Madame Lavalette, p. 349; Farewell to England, p. 356; To my Daughter, P. 366.

XXVII.

Works of Lord Byron. Philadelphia. 1825. Eight Vols. [8.

Contents—

Vol. I.:—Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.

Vol. II.:—Giaour—Two Foscari—Werner.

Vol. III.:—Bride, etc.—Corsair—Cain, a Mystery—Sardanapalus.

Vol. IV.:—Lara—English Bards, and Scotch Reviewers—Marino Faliero-Siege, etc.—Prisoner of Chillon—Song.

Vol. V.:—Manfred—Parisina—Deformed Transformed—Vision of Judgment—Beppo—Age of Bronze—Heaven and Earth—Curse of Minerva, etc.

Vol. VI.:—Mazeppa—The Dream—The Island—Prophecy of Dante—Lament of Tasso—Ode to Buonaparte—Monody, etc.—Hebrew Melodies—Miscellaneous Poems.

Vols. VII., VIII.:—Don Juan.

[Catalogue of the Boston Athenum Library, 1874.]

XXVIII.

The Works of the R.H. Lord Byron. In Eight Vols. New York: published by Wm. Borrodaile, at his wholesale Book Store, 114, Fulton Street. 1825.

[Klbing.]

XXIX.

The Works of Lord Byron. Complete in Thirty-two Volumes. Published by the Brothers Schumann, Zwickau. 1825-1827. [16.

Note.—Vol. XXXIII. was issued in 1838. [Kayser, 1841.]

XXX.

The Works of Lord Byron, comprising the suppressed poems. In Thirteen Volumes. Paris. Printed by Didot an. Published by A. and W. Galignani, No. 18, Rue Vivienne. 1826. [32.

[B. de la F., June 3, 1826.]

XXXI.

The/ Works/ of/ Lord Byron/ Including/ The Suppressed Poems./ Complete in one volume/. Paris:/ Published by A. and W. Galignani,/ No. 18, Rue Vivienne./ 1826./ [8.