No. 17,326. | LONDON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1824. | Price Sevenpence. |
A claim has already been put in for two individuals to the honour of having given birth to the ballad on Sir John Moore, in Captain Medwin's Book. The first of the following letters on the subject is addressed to ourselves. The second appeared yesterday in The Times:—
“Sir—In some extracts given yesterday in your Paper, from Captain Medwin's Journal, there is a Poem on the death of General Moore, of which Lord Byron is sated to have spoken, in terms of high, and, I think, deserved commendation—this Poem I find attributed by Captain Medwin to his Lordship, on apparently very rational grounds, but Lord Byron was not its author. It was written by Mr. Deacon, at the time a very young man, who has since published “The Dejuné” “The Inn-keeper's Album,” and some other Works. I trust, Sir, that you will, by publishing this, give to my friend the credit (whatever it may be) to which he certainly is alone entitled.
“I remain, Sir, your obedient Servant, “T. N.”
“I think the poem is given in one of the numbers of “The Dejuné;” it was originally published in a volume of poems by the same author, about six years ago.”
Sir—I beg leave to correct a mis-statement contained in Captain Medwin's late publication, and copied into your Journal of this day, respecting an ode written on the death of Sir John Moore, and attributed by Captain Medwin to Lord Byron. The author of that very beautiful lyrical poem is a Mr. Wolfe, who was, at the period of its composition, a scholar of Trinity College, Dublin. The lines first appeared anonymously in a Dublin newspaper, and have since been copied into several periodical publications; but, except to a few friends of Mr. Wolfe, their author was unknown. As they have been erroneously ascribed to Lord Byron, I think it right to correct the mistake.