Letters and Journals of Lord Byron
Lord Byron to Samuel Rogers, 16 February 1814
“If Lord Holland is
satisfied, as far as regards himself and Lady Hd.,
and as this letter expresses him to be, it is enough.
“As for any impression the public may receive from the
revival of the lines on Lord Carlisle, let them keep
it,—the more favourable for him, and the worse for me—better for all.
“All the sayings and doings in the world shall not make me
utter another word of conciliation to any thing that breathes. I shall bear what I can,
and what I cannot, I shall resist. The worst they could do would be to exclude me from
society. I have never courted it, nor, I may add, in the general sense of the word,
enjoyed it—and ‘there is a world elsewhere!’
“Any thing remarkably injurious, I have the same means of
repaying as other men, with such interest as circumstances may annex to it.
“Nothing but the necessity of adhering to regimen prevents
me from dining with you tomorrow.
“I am yours most truly,
“Bn.”
Elizabeth Fox, Lady Holland [née Vassall] (1771 c.-1845)
In 1797 married Henry Richard Fox, Lord Holland, following her divorce from Sir Godfrey
Webster; as mistress of Holland House she became a pillar of Whig society.
Henry Richard Fox, third baron Holland (1773-1840)
Whig politician and literary patron; Holland House was for many years the meeting place
for reform-minded politicians and writers. He also published translations from the Spanish
and Italian;
Memoirs of the Whig Party was published in 1852.
Frederick Howard, fifth earl of Carlisle (1748-1825)
The Earl of Carlisle was appointed Lord Byron's guardian in 1799; they did not get along.
He published a volume of
Poems (1773) that included a translation
from Dante.
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).
