Letters and Journals of Lord Byron
Lord Byron to John Murray, 18 June 1817
“La Mira, near Venice, June 18th, 1817.
“Inclosed is a letter to Dr. Holland from Pindemonte. Not knowing the doctor’s address, I am desired to
inquire, and perhaps, being a literary man, you will know or discover his haunt near
some populous churchyard. I have written to you a scolding letter—I believe, upon a
misapprehended passage in your letter—but never mind: it will do for next time, and you
will surely deserve it. Talking of doctors reminds me once more to recommend to you one
who will not recommend himself,—the Doctor Polidori. If you can
help him to a publisher, do; or, if you have any sick relation, I would advise his
advice: all the patients he had in Italy are dead—Mr.
* *’s son, Mr. Horner,
and Lord G * *, whom he embowelled with
great success at Pisa. * * * *
“Remember me to Moore, whom I congratulate. How is Rogers? and what is become of Campbell and all t’other fellows of the Druid order? I got
Maturin’s
Bedlam at last, but no other parcel;
I am in fits for the tooth-powder, and the magnesia. I want some of Burkitt’s ![]()
| 128 | NOTICES OF THE | A. D. 1817. |
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Soda-powders. Will you tell Mr.
Kinnaird that I have written him two letters on pressing business (about
Newstead, &c.), to which I humbly solicit his attendance. I am just returned from a
gallop along the banks of the Brenta—time, sunset.
“Yours,
“B.”
Thomas Campbell (1777-1844)
Scottish poet and man of letters; author of
The Pleasures of Hope
(1799),
Gertrude of Wyoming (1808) and lyric odes. He edited the
New Monthly Magazine (1821-30).
Sir Henry Holland, first baronet (1788-1873)
English physician and frequenter of Holland House, the author of
Travels in the Ionian Isles, Albania, Thessaly, Macedonia etc. during 1812 and
1813 (1814) and
Recollections of Past Life (1872). His
second wife, Saba, was the daughter of Sydney Smith.
Thomas Hope (1769-1831)
Art collector and connoisseur, the son of a wealthy Amsterdam merchant and author of the
novel
Anastasius (1819) which some thought to be a work by Byron.
His literary executor was William Harness.
Francis Horner (1778-1817)
Scottish barrister and frequent contributor to the
Edinburgh
Review; he was a Whig MP and member of the Holland House circle.
Charles Robert Maturin (1780-1824)
Anglo-Irish clergyman, novelist, and playwright patronized by Walter Scott; author of the
tragedy
Betram (1816) and the novel
Melmoth the
Wanderer (1820).
Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
Irish poet and biographer, author of the
Irish Melodies (1807-34),
The Fudge Family in Paris (1818), and
Lalla
Rookh (1817); he was Byron's close friend and designated biographer.
John Murray II (1778-1843)
The second John Murray began the
Quarterly Review in 1809 and
published works by Scott, Byron, Austen, Crabbe, and other literary notables.
Francis North, fourth earl of Guilford (1761-1817)
The son of Sir Frederick North, second Earl of Guilford and author of a play,
The Kentish Barons (1791); he succeeded to the title in 1802.
Ippolito Pindemonte (1753-1828)
Italian early romantic poet and translator of Homer, author of the rustic
Saggio di poesie campestri (1788); Ugo Foscolo dedicated a volume to
him.
Samuel Rogers (1763-1855)
English poet, banker, and aesthete, author of the ever-popular
Pleasures of Memory (1792),
Columbus (1810),
Jaqueline (1814), and
Italy (1822-28).
