Letters and Journals of Lord Byron
Lord Byron to Thomas Moore, 26 February 1814
“Dallas had, perhaps
have better kept silence;—but that was his concern, and, as his
facts are correct, and his motive not dishonourable to himself, I wished him well
through it. As for his interpretations of the lines, he and any one else may interpret
them as they please. I have and shall adhere to my taciturnity, unless something very
particular occurs to render this impossible. Do not you say a
word. If any one is to speak, it is the person principally concerned. The most amusing
thing is, that every one (to me) attributes the abuse to the man they
personally most dislike!—some say C * * * r, some C * *e, others F * * d, &c. &c. &c. I do not know, and have
no clue but conjecture. If discovered, and he turns out a hireling, he must be left to
his wages; if a cavalier, he must ‘wink, and hold out his iron.’
“I had some thoughts of putting the question to C * * r, but H., who, I am sure, would not dissuade me, if it were right, advised me
by all means not;—‘that I had no right to take it upon
suspicion,’ &c. &c. Whether H. is correct, I am not aware, but he
believes himself so, and says there can be but one opinion on that subject. This I am,
at least, sure of, that he would never prevent me from doing what he deemed the duty of
a preux chevalier. In such cases—at least, in
this country—we ![]()
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must act according to usages. In
considering this instance, I dismiss my own personal feelings. Any man will and must
fight, when necessary,—even without a motive. Here, I should take
it up really without much resentment; for, unless a woman one likes is in the way, it is
some years since I felt a long anger. But, undoubtedly, could I,
or may I, trace it to a man of station, I should and shall do what is proper.
“ * * was angerly, but tried to conceal it. You are not called upon to avow the ‘Twopenny,’ and would only gratify them by so
doing. Do you not see the great object of all these fooleries is to set him, and you,
and me, and all persons whatsoever, by the ears?—more especially those who are on good
terms,—and nearly succeeded. Lord H. wished me to
concede to Lord
Carlisle—concede to the devil!—to a man who used me ill? I told him, in
answer, that I would neither concede, nor recede on the subject, but be silent
altogether; unless any thing more could be said about Lady
H. and himself, who had been since my very good friends; and there it
ended. This was no time for concessions to Lord C.
“I have been interrupted, but shall write again soon.
Believe me ever, my dear Moore, &c.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
English poet and philosopher who projected
Lyrical Ballads (1798)
with William Wordsworth; author of
Biographia Literaria (1817),
On the Constitution of the Church and State (1829) and other
works.
John Wilson Croker (1780-1857)
Secretary of the Admiralty (1810) and writer for the
Quarterly
Review; he edited an elaborate edition of Boswell's
Life of
Johnson (1831).
Robert Charles Dallas (1754-1824)
English poet, novelist, and translator who corresponded with Byron. His sister Charlotte
Henrietta Dallas (d. 1793) married Captain George Anson Byron (1758-1793); their son George
Anson Byron (1789-1868) inherited Byron's title in 1824.
William Thomas Fitzgerald (1759-1829)
A clerk in the Navy Office who for three decades supplied the newspapers and magazines
with patriotic effusions, many first performed orally at Literary Fund banquets.
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.
John Cam Hobhouse, baron Broughton (1786-1869)
Founder of the Cambridge Whig Club; traveled with Byron in the orient, radical MP for
Westminster (1820); Byron's executor; after a long career in politics published
Some Account of a Long Life (1865) later augmented as
Recollections of a Long Life, 6 vols (1909-1911).
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.
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.
Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
Intercepted Letters: or, the Two Penny Post-bag. To which are added, Trifles
reprinted. (London: J. Carr, 1813). A collection of satirical epistles purportedly written by associates of the prince regent
and edited by “Thomas Brown the Younger.”
