Letters and Journals of Lord Byron
Lord Byron to Thomas Moore, 17 September 1821
“Ravenna, September 17th, 1821.
“The enclosed lines as you will directly perceive, are written by the Rev. W. L. B * *. Of course it is for him to deny them if they are not.
“Believe me yours ever and most affectionately,
“B.
P.S. Can you forgive this? It is only a reply to your lines
against my Italians. Of course I will stand by my lines
against all men; but it is heart-breaking to see such things in a people as the
reception of that unredeemed * * * * * * in an oppressed
country. Your apotheosis is now reduced to a level with his
welcome, and their gratitude to Grattan is
cancelled by their atrocious adulation of this &c. &c. &c.
William Lisle Bowles (1762-1850)
English poet and critic; author of
Fourteen Sonnets, elegiac and
descriptive, written during a Tour (1789), editor of the
Works
of Alexander Pope, 10 vols (1806), and writer of pamphlets contributing to the
subsequent Pope controversy.
Henry Grattan (1746-1820)
Irish statesman and patriot; as MP for Dublin he supported Catholic emancipation and
opposed the Union.
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.
