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Affray between one of Lord Byron’s guard and a citizen of Missolonghi—Lord Byron’s letter on that occasion—Conspiracy of Cariascachi—His troops enter Missolonghi—A body of Suliotes seize upon Basiladi—Lord Byron’s journey to Salona prevented—A spy arrested in Lord Byron’s house—Measures taken by Prince Mavrocordato—His proclamation at Anatolico—His letter to Lord Byron—Lord Byron’s last illness—His death—The funeral service over his remains— Disastrous consequences of the death of Lord Byron—The transfer of the remains to Zante, and thence to England.
The weather continued to be more rainy than ever. Lord Byron could not take his usual rides, and his health was affected by want of air and exercise. He was at this time exposed to another annoyance.
234 | LORD BYRON’S |
On the night of the 31st of March, nearly at twelve o’clock, a Greek
came to him, with tears in his eyes, complaining of one of his German guards, who, he said,
had returned to his quarters intoxicated; had broken open the door, had drawn his sword,
and had alarmed his whole family so much, as to make it necessary for him to have recourse
to Lord Byron for immediate protection. Lord
Byron, persuaded how necessary it was to show the Greeks that their foreign
auxiliaries would be guilty of no outrage towards them, instantly despatched one of his
officers, with a file of soldiers, to arrest the delinquent, and carry him to the artillery
barracks. He was a Russian, who had arrived only lately, and had been very urgent to
procure his admission into our brigade. When arrested and taken to the barracks, he
asserted that the Greek had told what was untrue. He said that he had broken open the door
because he had
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“I have the honour to reply to your letter of this day.
In consequence of an urgent, and, to all appearance, a well-founded complaint,
made to me yesterday evening, I gave orders to Mr.
Hesketh to proceed to your quarters with the soldiers of his
guard, and to remove you from your house to the Seraglio; because the owner of
your house declared himself and his family to be in immediate danger from your
conduct; and added, that that was not the first time that you had placed them
in similar circumstances. Neither Mr. Hesketh nor myself
could imagine that you were in bed, as we had been assured of the contrary; and
certainly such a situation was not contemplated. But Mr.
Hesketh had positive orders to conduct you from your quarters to
those of the artillery brigade; at the same time being desired to use no
violence; nor does
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April 1 and 2.—There was a rumour that a body of troops had sailed
from the castle, and had disembarked at Chioneri, a village on the southern shore of
Missolonghi. At first there was some alarm in the town; but it was soon known that, in
fact, a launch, belonging to one of the brigs that was returning into the Gulf, had
attempted to
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Mavrocordato presented to Lord Byron Signor Tricupi, arrived the day before from Zante. He was the son of one of the primates of Missolonghi, who had been educated by the means furnished by Lord Guildford, and was acquainted with the French, English, and Italian languages. He was a young man not only well-informed, but of a sound good sense, and a right judging patriotism; and had been selected as deputy to the general government to represent western Greece. This was the young man who afterwards pronounced the funeral oration of Lord Byron.
At two o’clock in the afternoon of the third of April, many canoes
arrived, containing about 150 soldiers belonging to
238 | LORD BYRON’S |
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As yet it appeared that this was only a private quarrel, which had originated in a blow that a nephew of Cariascachi had received the day before in a fray with a citizen of Missolonghi. But late in the evening, Praidi came to my Lord with a letter which Mavrocordato had received from Cranidi, and which instructed him respecting the intrigues of the late executive to destroy the present rulers, and particularly ruin Mavrocordato. This intelligence made us suspect that Cariascachi had been induced to undertake his present enterprise to favour the views of the factious in the Morea.
April 4.—This morning we received the news that a party of Suliotes
had made
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April 5.—At the early part of the day, the soldiers of Cariascachi were still in Missolonghi; but about noon, the two primates, who had been carried off to Anatolico, returned home, and the mutineers evacuated both Missolonghi and Basiladi.
It was nine in the evening when Lord
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“Constantine Volpiotti, who is now a guest in the house of your landlord, is strongly suspected of high treason. Not being willing to permit any of the town guard to enter a house inhabited by you, I pray you to order him under charge of your own guards to the outward gate, where the police will be in readiness to receive him. The Signor Praidi will inform you more minutely of the business.
My Lord immediately consigned Volpiotti to the town guard. He was the father of our host’s wife. As
he came from Ioannina he had passed by Anatolico, and had had several conferences with
Cariascachi: he had long been suspected of being
a spy. The letters which were found upon him confirmed this suspicion. The same day the
police arrested a secret agent
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April 7.—The next day, the chieftains Longa, Stornari, Bozzari, and Macri,
having heard of these traitorous designs, came in all haste to Anatolico, to which place
also more than 2000 men had already marched, to uphold the regular government. But the
arrival of these troops, however opportune, was the cause of fresh embarrassments; for
there was a total want of provisions for their daily maintenance. In this emergency,
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“Patriots!
“All of you feel that the safety of your country is the
first wish of every true Greek. The events of the last few days have given rise
to many suspicions against the chieftain George
Cariascachi. The political and military chiefs have invited him
to exculpate himself, and
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April 8.—The Prince transmitted this proclamation to Lord Byron with the following letter.
“I set out yesterday, in spite of the bad weather, to
obviate the disagreeable consequences which might ensue from the affair of
Cariascachi; and I had the
satisfaction of arriving in time. The accompanying proclamation will inform you
of the turn which this treason has taken. The examination will commence at
three o’clock this evening. I shall do every thing that
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Judging it proper that the people should be fully informed of every occurrence, I drew up an account of the whole transaction, and published it in the Greek Telegraph*.
April 9.—Lord Byron had suffered visibly in his health during the last day or two: the events just mentioned, and the weather, had made him more than usually nervous and irritable: but he this morning received letters from Zante and from England which raised his spirits exceedingly. They brought news of the probable conclusion of the loan, which was a great consolation indeed to us, in the midst of our
* This affair ended by the exposure of Cariascachi, and by his flight into the mountains of Agrafa. |
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He had not been on horseback for three or four days; and though the weather
was threatening, he resolved to ride. Three miles from the town we were overtaken by a
heavy rain, and we returned to the town walls wet through, and in a violent perspiration. I
have before mentioned that it was our practice to dismount at the walls, and return to our
house in a boat. This
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Two hours after his return home, he was seized with a shuddering: he
complained of fever and rheumatic pains. At eight in the evening I entered his room; he was
lying on a sofa, restless and melancholy. He said to me, “I suffer a great deal of
pain; I do not care for death; but these agonies I cannot bear.” The medical
men proposed bleeding, but he refused, observing,“Have you no other remedy than
bleeding?—there are many more die of the lancet than the lance.” Some
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April 10.—The next day he felt himself perpetually shuddering; but he got up at his usual hour, and transacted business; but he did not go from home.
April 11.—He resolved to ride out this day an hour before his usual time, fearing that, if he waited later, the rain would prevent him altogether. We rode for a long time in the olive woods, and Lambro, a Suliote officer attached to our brigade, accompanied by a numerous suite, attended him. Byron spoke much, and appeared in good spirits.
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April 12.—The next day he kept his bed with an attack of rheumatic fever. It was thought that his saddle had been wet; but it is more probable that he was only suffering from the previous exposure to the rain, which perhaps affected him the more readily on account of his over-abstemious mode of life.
April 13.—He rose from his bed the next day, but did not go out of the house. The fever appeared to be diminished; but the pains in his bones and head still continued: he was melancholy and very irritable. He had not been able to sleep since his attack, and he could take no other nourishment than a little broth, and a spoonful or two of arrow-root.
April 14.—The following day he got out of bed at twelve: he was
calmer; the fever was less, apparently, but he was very weak,
252 | LORD BYRON’S |
April 15.—The fever was still upon him; but the pains in his head and his bones
* I think it was on this day that, as I was sitting near him on his sofa, he said to me, “I was afraid I was losing my memory, and, in order to try, I attempted to repeat some Latin verses with the English translation, which I have not endeavoured to recollect since I was at school. I remembered them all except the last word of one of the hexameters.” |
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April 16.—It happened unfortunately that I was myself confined to my
bed this day by a sprained ankle, and could not see my Lord; but they told me that he was
better; that his complaint was follow-
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April 17.—The next day I contrived to get to his room. His countenance at once awakened the most dreadful suspicions: he was very calm; he talked to me in the kindest manner about my accident, but in a hollow, sepulchral tone. “Take care of your foot, ” said he; “I know by experience how painful it must be.” I could not stay near his bed: a flood of tears rushed into my eyes, and I was obliged to withdraw.
This was the first day that the medical men seemed to entertain serious
apprehensions of the event. He was bled twice, first in the morning, and at two in the
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April 18.—During the night of the seventeenth he had some attacks of
delirium, in which he talked of fighting; but neither that night nor the next morning was
he aware of his peril. This morning his physicians were alarmed by appearances of
inflammation of the brain, and proposed another bleeding, to which Lord Byron consented, but soon ordered the vein to be closed. At twelve
o’clock I came to his bedside. He asked me if there were any letters come for him.
There was one from the Archbishop Ignatius to him,
which told him that the Sultan had proclaimed him, in full divan, an enemy of the Porte. I
thought it best not to let him know of the arrival of this letter. A few hours afterwards
other letters arrived from England, from his most intimate friends, full of good news, and
most consolatory in every way, particularly one from Mr.
Hobhouse, and
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There was another part of the letter which displeased him, and he said, “I wish Napier and Hobhouse were here—we would soon settle this business.” He could not at this moment (twelve o’clock of the 18th) have had the least presentiment of his danger.
It was Easter day; on which holiday, after twelve o’clock, the Greeks
are accustomed to discharge their fire-arms and artillery. Fearing that the noise might be
injurious to my Lord, we thought of marching our artillery brigade out of the city, and by
exercising our guns, to attract the crowd from the vicinity of his house. At the same time,
the town guard patroled the streets, and informing the people of the danger of their
benefactor, invited them to make as little noise as possible near the place where he lay.
Our scheme succeeded
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At half past three, Dr. Bruno and
Dr. Millingen, becoming more alarmed, wished
260 | LORD BYRON’S |
At four o’clock, after this consultation of his physicians, he seemed
to be aware of his approaching end. I think this was the exact time, and not before.
Dr. Millingen, Fletcher, and Tita were round his
bed. The two first could not contain their tears, and walked out of the room.
Tita
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When he came to himself, Fletcher
was with him: he had before desired him to send for Dr.
Thomas. He then knew he was dying, and seemed very earnest in making his
servant understand his wishes. He was anxious about his servants, and remarked that he was
afraid they would be ill from sitting up so long in attendance
262 | LORD BYRON’S |
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Since their last consultation, the majority of the medical men had thought
that the crisis of the disorder was now come; and that the principal danger now was the
extreme weakness of the patient; and that restoratives should be administered. Dr. Bruno thought otherwise; but it was resolved to give a
draught of claret and bark and opium, and to apply mustard blisters
264 | LORD BYRON’S |
He awoke in half an hour. I wished to go to him—but I had not the
heart. Mr. Parry went, and Byron knew him again, and squeezed his hand, and tried to express his last
wishes. He mentioned names, as before, and also sums of money: he spoke sometimes in
English, sometimes in Italian. From those about him, I collected that, either at this time,
or in his former interval of reason, he could be understood to say—“Poor
Greece!—poor town!—my poor
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It was about six o’clock in the evening when he said, “I
want to go to sleep now;” and immediately turning round, he fell into that
slumber, from which, alas! he never awoke. From that moment he seemed incapable of sense or
motion: but there were occasional symptoms of suffocation, and a rattling in the throat,
which induced his servants now and then to raise his head.
266 | LORD BYRON’S |
In vain should I attempt to describe the deep, the distressing sorrow that overwhelmed us all. I will not speak of myself, but of those who loved him less, because they had seen him less. Not only Mavrocordato and his immediate circle, but the whole city and all its inhabitants were, as it seemed, stunned by this blow—it had been so sudden, so unexpected. His illness, indeed, had been known; and for the three last days none of us could walk in the streets without anxious inquiries from every one
* A great many leeches were applied to his temples, and the blood flowed copiously all night. |
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The proclamation issued by Prince
Mavrocordato, on the day of Lord
Byron’s
268 | LORD BYRON’S |
* Provisional Government of Western Greece.
Art. 1185.
The present day of festivity and rejoicing has become one of sorrow and of mourning. The Lord Noel Byron departed this life at six o’clock in the afternoon, after an illness of ten days; his death being caused by an inflammatory fever. Such was the effect of his Lordship’s illness on the public mind, that all classes had forgotten their usual recreations of Easter, even before the afflicting event was apprehended. The loss of this illustrious individual is undoubtedly to be deplored by all Greece; but it must be more especially a subject of lamentation at Missolonghi, where his generosity has been so conspicuously displayed, and of which he had even become a citizen, with the further determination of participating in all the dangers of the war. Every body is acquainted with the beneficent acts of his Lordship, and none can cease to hail his name as that of a real benefactor. Until, therefore, the final determination of the national government be known, and by virtue of the powers with which it has been pleased to invest me, I hereby decree, |
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As soon as we could recover sufficient spirits to do any thing, we sealed up the effects of the deceased with the government seal: a commission was appointed, at which the governor himself presided, to examine his papers, and to take the necessary measures. No will was found, and only a few
270 | LORD BYRON’S |
Accordingly the medical men opened the body and embalmed it; and having
enclosed the heart and brain and intestines in separate vessels, they placed it in a chest
lined with tin, as we had no means of procuring a leaden coffin capable of holding the
spirits necessary for its preservation on the voyage. Dr.
Bruno drew up an account of the ex-
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* I have before me Dr. Bruno’s report, of which I venture to give the following translation from the Westminster Review. 1. On opening the body of Lord Byron, the bones of the head were found extremely hard, exhibiting no appearance of suture, like the cranium of an octogenarian, so that the skull had the appearance of one uniform bone: there seemed to be no diploë, and the sinus frontalis was wanting, 2. The dura mater was so firmly attached to the internal parietes of the cranium, that the reiterated attempts of two strong men were insufficient to detach it, and the vessels of that membrane were completely injected with blood: it was united from point to point by membranous bridles to the pia mater. 3. Between the pia mater and the convolutions of the brain were found many globules of air, with exudation of lymph and numerous adhesions. |
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April 20.—At sunrise, on the morning after his death, seven-and-thirty minute
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10. The liver was much smaller than usual, as was also the gall-bladder, which contained air instead of bile. The intestines were of a deep bilious hue, and distended with air. 11. The kidneys were very large, but healthy, and the vesica relatively small. And to the truth of this statement the undersigned have affixed their signatures. Dr. Francesco
Bruno, Domestic Physician and Surgeon of the
Hon. Lord Byron. Julius Millingen,
Staff-Surgeon to his Lordship’s Corps. Henry Treiber, M.
D., and Surgeon-Major of Brigade in the Artillery Corps. Lucas Vaya,
Physician and Surgeon of the Suliote Corps. Given the 26-14 of April,
in Missolonghi, 1824. I acknowledge the truth and authenticity of the above signatures, and in confirmation thereof, &c. A. Mavrocordato.S. Praidi, Secretary. |
274 | LORD BYRON’S |
April 21.—For the remainder of this day and the next, a silence, like that of the grave, prevailed over the whole city. We intended to have performed the funeral ceremony on the twenty-first, but the continued rain prevented us. The next day (22d), however, we acquitted ourselves of that sad duty, as far as our humble means would permit*. In the midst of his own brigade,
* The following account of the funeral ceremony was inserted in the Greek Telegraph, No. 6. La sua spoglia mortale fu portata dalla casa dove |
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giaceva alla chiesa di S. Nicola presso alle mura. La processione fù condotta, così, due fila di soldati della Guarnigione forse in numero di 1200 erano schierati lungo la via dalla casa del defunto fino alla Chiesa, portando le bocche dei fucili a terra. Precedeva il Vescovo con molti altri sacerdoti portando la Croce e salmeggiando. Seguiva una compagnia d’Infanteria Regolare comandata dal Cap. Lypton appartenente alla brigata ausiliaria che il nobile Lord stava organizando, e di cui egli era Colonello comandante. Veniva apresso il Principe A. Mavrocordato, presidente del corpo legislativo, governatore generale della Grecia occidentale, &c. accompagnato del Conte Pietro Gamba luogotenente colonello nella brigata del nobile Lord. Seguiva il feretro portato da quattro ufficiali della stessa brigata, i Sig. Hesketh, cap. luog. ajutante di campo del nobile Lord, Winter luogotenente, Rosner, cap. luog., ajutante del corpo, Basili luogo Drogmano generale; Questi erano cambiati da quattro ufficiali generali Greci; i Sig. Alexaki Vlakkopulo, ministro della guerra, Nota Bozzari, Zonga, &c. Sul feretro erano dipinti gli stemmi del nobile Lord; le sue armi ed il suo elmo con una corona d’alloro giacevano sopra. Veniva dietro il suo Cavallo coperto a lutto, e apresso la sua ordinanza col resto della sua famiglia in lutto. Intorno al feretro e di dietro seguivano i medici con .tutti gli altri ufficiali civili e militari. Era chiuso il convoglio.funebre dalla compagnia irregolare del capitano Lambro Zerva, Suliotto, e degli altri capitani ag |
276 | LORD BYRON’S |
giunti alia brigata. Arrivato alia Chiesa fù ricevuto solennemente dall’ Archivescovo d’Arta, Sig. Porfirio Furono cantate le sacre preci. Ad intervalli furono sparate salve d’artiglieria e di moschettaria—sei cannoni della brigata erano schierati nella piazza vicina sotto il comando del capitano Steltzberg, che salutarono il convoglio con 25 colpi di cannone. La sacra funzione fu chiusa da un elogio funebre pronunziato del Signior Tricupi, che trasse abbondante la grime di roconocenza e di dolore di tutta l’udienza |
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When the funeral service was over, we left the bier in the middle of the
church, where it remained until the evening of the next day, and was guarded by a
detachment of his own brigade. The church was crowded without cessation by those who came
to honour and to regret the benefactor of Greece. In the evening of the 23d, the bier was
privately carried back by his officers to his own house. The coffin was not closed till the
29th of the month. Immediately after his death, his countenance had an air of calmness,
mingled
278 | LORD BYRON’S |
April 24.—On this day answers arrived from Zante, and we learnt that
just as our messenger reached that place with the fatal news, Dr. Thomas, and another of the first physicians of the island, were
embarking for Missolonghi. Sir Frederick Stovin, the
resident, had attended to all our wishes: he had forwarded the despatches for Corfu and
England; and was providing several Ionian boats for the transport of the remains, and of
Lord Byron’s household and effects, to Zante.
The same or the next day also arrived Mr. Trelawny,
the friend of Byron, and who had accompanied him from Genoa to Greece.
He was at Salona when my first message respecting his Lord-
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May 2.—We were some days occupied in the necessary preparations, and in waiting for the boats from the islands: at last they came; and on the morning of the 2d of May we embarked with the remains of our lamented friend, under a mournful salute from the guns of the fortress. How different from that which had welcomed the arrival of Byron only four months ago!
We were nearly three days on our passage, and it so happened that we were obliged, by contrary winds, to take that very course in our return in which we had risked such dangers on our voyage to Missolonghi; and we anchored one night near the same rocks where Lord Byron had sought shelter from the Turkish frigate.
280 | LORD BYRON’S |
May 4.—On the evening of the 4th of May we made the port of Zante, and heard that Lord Sidney Osborne had arrived, and not finding us in that island, had sailed for Missolonghi.
May 5.—On the next day we took up our quarters in the Lazaretto, and we found that, two days after the death of our friend, the brig Florida had arrived, having on board the first instalment of the loan, under charge of Captain Blaquiere, who was also the bearer of a commission from the Greek deputies in London and the contractors and managers of the loan, by which Lord Byron was appointed principal commissioner for the transfer and disposal of the monies so obtained.
Had Mr. Blaquiere found Lord Byron in life and health, what innumerable benefits would
immediately have accrued to
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282 | LORD BYRON’S |
As it was, the death of Lord Byron was the signal of general alarm*, and of no less
* Those who wish to form some conception of the effect produced on the foreign auxiliaries by the death of Lord Byron may consult the admirable and touching letters of Mr. Trelawny, published in Colonel Stanhope’s Account of Greece in 1823 and 1824. The details there given of Lord Byron’s last illness and death are not quite correct; but where Mr. Trelawny comes to speak of the general impression produced by that lamentable event, he describes, and pathetically describes, what is recognised for truth by all those who were witnesses of the melancholy scene. “I think,” says Mr. Trelawny, “Byron’s name was the great means of getting the loan. A Mr. Marshall, with £8000 per annum, was as far as Corfu, and turned back on hearing of Lord Byron’s death.” In another place he says, “His name was the means, chiefly, of raising the loan in England. Thou sands of people were flocking here: some had arrived as far as Corfu, and hearing of his death, confessed they came out to devote their fortunes not to the Greeks, or from interest in the cause, but to the noble poet; and the pilgrim of eternity having departed, they turned back.” |
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A few days after our arrival at Zante Colonel
Stanhope came from the Morea: he had already written to inform us that the
Greek chieftains of Athens had expressed their desire that Lord
Byron should be buried in the Temple of Theseus. The citizens of Missolonghi
had made a similar request for their town; and we thought it advisable to accede to their
wishes so far as to leave with them, for interment, one of the vessels containing a portion
of the ho-
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