The National Register. — London, England, 1816-04-22 00:00:00

LORD AND LADY BYR GY. We noticed in our las: Paper the unhappy separation of Lord Byron and his Ludy.—The two following poems by his I.ordship on this subject, although not written thr the public eye, have since found their way into the newspawrs, and have attracted great public notice. The Sketch jilkla Lifi. , has been strongly condemned by the Editor of the Titus, as "an attack by a man of rank, talents, and literary reputation. on an unprote.:ted, a defencel ns. and a dependant female, to gruify insatiable revenge ;" whilst on the other hand, the Editor of the Mord- C'hrotriele vindicates his Lonlship; and asserts, that if " the publi cation of all the circumstances of the unhappy dispute should become necessary, every impartial reader will agree with hitn, that nothing but the must gross misrepresentation, and malignant influence un a delietdc wind, could have operated the separation that has taken plats. FARE TULE WELL. Fare thee well! and if for ever— Still fur ever, fare thee well— Ev'n though unforgiving, never 'Gainst thee shall illy heart rebel. Would that breast were bared beftwe thee Where thy head so of hath lain W bile that placid sleep Lame o'er thee Which thou never can'st know again; Would that breast, by thee ginned over, Every inmost thought could chew! Then, thou would'st at last discover 'Twits not well to spurn it so. Though the world for this commend thee— Though it smile upon the blow,— kw:it its praises must offend thee, Founded on another's woe. Though my many faults Mac ti me; Could no other arm he found Than the um which once cmbraNd me To inflict a cureless wound? . Yet—oh, yet—thyself deceive not— Love may sink by low decay, But by sudden wrench, believe not, Hearts can thus be torn away Still thine own its life retaineth— Still must mine—though bleeding—beat, And the undying thought which paineth , Is—that we no more' may meet. Thesic are words of deeper sorrow Than the wail above the dead, Both shall live—but every morrow Wake us from a widowed bed. And when thou would'st solace gather— When our child's first accents flow— Wilt thou teach her to say—" Father!" Though his care she must forego? When her little hands shall press theo— When her lip to thine is pess'd— Think of him whose prayer shall bkss thee— Think of him thy love had bless; d. Should her lineammts resemble There thou never more may'st sec— Then thy heart will softly tremble With a pulse yet trite to me. All my faults—perchance thou knowest— All my madness—noneran know; All tng liop.m—where'cr thou goevtL. Whither—yet with thee they go. Every fading bath been shaken, pride—which not a world can bow— Bows to thee—by thee forsakm Even my soul forsakes me now. But 'tie done—all words are idle— Words from me are vainer But the thoughts we cannot bridle Fore their way without the will. Far: thee well!—thus disunited— Tore from every nearer tic—. Sear'd in heartand love—and blighted— More than this I scarce can die. MARCH 30, 1616. A SKETCH FROM PRIVATE LIFE. •• I onest—lionest lago! " If that thou be'st a devil, I cannot kill thee." Born in the garret, in the kitchen bred, Promoted thence to deck her mistress head; ext—for some gracious service tinexprest, And from its wages only to be guess'd— Raised from the toikt to the table,—where Iler wondering betters wait behind her cludr; With eye unmoved, and forehead unabasli'd, She dines from off the plate she lately wailed. Quick with die tale, and ready with the lit The genial confidante, and g,nral spy— Who could. ye gods! la i r next employment guess— An only infant's earliest governess. She taught the child to read, and taught co well, That she herself, by teaching, learn'd to spell. An adept next in penmanship she grows, As many a nameless slander deftly shows: What she had made the pupil of her art, Nene know—hut that high Soul secured the heart, And panted for the truth it could net hear, With longing breast and und eluded ear. F'oil'd was perversion by that youthful mind, Which Flattery fooled not—Baseness could not blind, Deceit infect not—nor Contagion soil— Indulgence weaken —ner`Peample spoil-- Nor master'd Science tens/001er to look down On humbler talents with 4 pitying frown— Nor Genius ewell—nor Reality rendor vain— Igor Envy ruffle to retaliate pain— Nor Fortune change--Pride raise—nor Passion bow, Nor Virtue teach austerity--till now. Serenely purest of her sex that live, But wanting one sweet we akma,s—to forgive; Too shock'd at faults her soul can never know, She deems that all could be like her below: Foe to all Vice, vet hardly Virtue's friend, For Virtue pardons those she would amend. SIIAKSFEARE. But to the theme:—now laid aside too long, The baleful burthen of this honest song— Tho' nll her former functions are no more, She riles the circle which she served before. If mut hers—none know why—before her quake; Id:slighter, dread her for the mothers' sake; f early habits--those false links, which bind At tinirs thr haled to the meanest mind— lave given her power too deeply to instil The emgry essence of her deadly will; if. like a snake, :lie steal within your walls, Till the Mark slime betray her as she crawls; If, like a viper, to the heart she wind, And leave clic venom there she did not find; What marvel that this hag of hatred works Eternal evil latent as she lurks, 'Po make a Pandemonium where she dwells, f,nil rrign Cie !lame of domestic hells? Vaill'd by a touch to deepen scandal's tints W:tb tII the kind alentlicny of THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Whlc mingling truth with falsehood—sneers with smiles— A thread of candour with a web of wiles: A plein blurt show of Briefly spoken sectino. To hide her bloodless heart's soul-ha:deed s:heming; A 1p of Hes—a fere formed to conceal; And, without feeling, mock at ail who feel : With a vile mask the Gorgon would disown; A cheek of parchment—and an eye of stone. Mirk, hue/ ti:e channels of her yellow blood Ooze to her s!.in, and stagnetc there to rind, Cased hire the v.:M.:vie in saferen mail, Or dialer greenness of the seorpion's s ale— (For drawn from reptiles only may we true Coneenial colours in that soul or face).- I.onis un her featured and bthold mind As is n mirror of itself defined : Look on the picture! deem it not o'erelterged— There is no trait which might not be enlat„md Yet true to 't Nature's itstri...ymen." who mode monster when their mistress left off trade,... — This female dog.star of her little sky. Viliere all beneath her influence droop or die. Oh! wretch without a tzar—without a !bought. Save joy above the ruin thou hest wrougl. it— The time shall come, nor long remote, wl:cn thou Shalt toe' far more than thou hiliietest now; Feel for th t t oc • vile self-lovieg self in vain, And turn howling in utipitied pain. May the strong curse of cruJ.,'d nude ior. light Satic on thy bosom with reflected blight! And make thee in thy leprosy of mind As loathsome to thyself as to mankind! Till all thy self-thoughts curdle inn" hate. Black—rts thy will for others wonld Cralt2: Till thy hard heart be calcined into And thy soul welter in its hideous MM. Oh, may thy grove be sleepless as the hed,— The widow d couch of fire, that thou hest spread! Then. when thou fain would's; weary Heaven with payer, Look on thine earthly victims—and tiesprir! Down to the dust!—and, as them sanest Lowey, Even worms shall perish on thy poisonous clay. But for the love I bore, and ;till must bear, To her thy malice from all ties would•tear— Thy name—thy human name—to every eye The climax of all scorn should hang on lugh, Exalted o'er thy less abliormel compeer— And festering in the inf:uny of pairs. The following letter has been addressed by Sir Ralph Noel (the father of Lady Byron), to the Editor of The Marainx nide, in consequence of some observations respecting Lord and Lady Byron, which have appeared in that pnper " slivart's Hotel, April 18, 18 16. " Sin,—l observe with the greatest dissatkfaction the men ace in which you have inserted in the .11(witing Croakle of to day the unqualified contradiction I gave you yesterday of the paragraph in your former paper, which stated the existence of a eon:piracy against Lord Byron's domestic peace. I did nut say that 1 knew of no conspiracy against lord Byron's do mestic peace; but I told yon iu the most decided manner, that I knew no conspiracy of the kind had ever existed, that the report was utterly Use, and I gave yon my word of honour that the step takcti by Lady Byron was the result of her own unbiassed judgment, and that her parent+ and friends inter fered only when called upon by her to afford her their support. In the necessity of the step, indeed,her friends fully concurred, but in the suggestion of It they had no concern. Having given you this assurance in the most solemn manner, I called upon you to contradict the paragraph on my authority. You have done so, but in a manner utterly nos atisfactory; and I have to request that you will insert this letter in your paper of to-mor row, in which I repeat that no conspiracy whatever existed against Lord Byron's domestic peace. Yon also in another part of the conversation whirl' ensued entirely mistoek me : I never stated that the publication in a Sunday Journal was ' much to my disquiet and condemnation but in reply to some observations of yours. it was asserted merely as a fact, that uo pa ragrophs hostile to Lord Byron had originated with Lady Byron or her immediate friends, or were published with their knowledge, and that I should lament very much the necessity of making this subject the theme of further discussion in the public papers, which I have always disapproved of in ques tions that concern the relations of private life. Such are my observations. In the present instance, I conceive these dis cussions have sprung from the publication of Lord Byron's verses, as I do nut remember that the subject was ever can vassed before; they have certainly not originated from Lady Byron " I am, Sir, your humble servant, " BALM NOEL. " To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle." P.S. My friend, Colonel Doyle, who was present with me, concurs in his recollection of the above having been the senti ments which I expressed.-1 am, Sir, your humble servant, " RALPH NOEL." To this letter the Editor has returned the following Answer: " Stn, Thursday Evening, I 1 o'clock. " On coming to my office, I find your letter, containing an anidmadversion on the paragraph inserted in my Paper, as the result of the conversation last night; and I should have no hesitation in publishing it according to your desire, if! were not morally certain that it would lead inevitably to the publication of the whole Correspondence, front Lady itvuores first letter, dated from Kirby, to the last document, prepared for legal pro eeedings, if necessary. I stop it, therefore, for one day, to en- able you to reflect on the propriety of pushing the matter to this extremity ;and, In the mean time, I beg leave to say, that I Fab lished the result of the long conversation that passed between us, and not the detail, from motives of the moat anxious concern tktr all parties. YOu certainly said, in the first instance, that ' no conspiracy had ever existed against the domestic peace of Lord Byrom' to which you will do me the justice to recollect I answered, ' that you could speak to this only from the best cl your own knowledge and belief,' and that I pet feetly acquitted you of all participation in it; but that I remained folly con vinced, from circumstances within my own knowledge, that nothing but gross misrepresentation and malignant influence could have pt evailt d on a wife, m hese duty It was to cleave to her husband, and particularly such a' wife as Lord Byron al- APRIL 242. ways described his Lady to be, to take the step which she did, and to remain apparently implacable to all the overtures of rt - conciliation that bate since beets made. Both you and Colont Doyle acknowledged that you could not expert me to give op the conviction of my mho! ; and you appeared to toe perfectly to acquiesce in the way that I put to it, which was that I had your authority to declare that no conspiracy, to your know ledge, existed against the Noble Lord. "I did not wish to aggravate the unhappy difference by go. tug into all the conversation which took place, nor state the impression which was made on my feelings by your declaration, that Lady B.'s separation from her husband was ' the result of her own unbiassed jsidgment,`a step nlsich I said, from respect to the lady, I could not have suppryed possible ; my own ideas of the conduct of a noble.minticd woman being ro contrary ; and such conduct being at the same time so inconsistent with the espre-stony usvil by herself to the last moment of their domestic intercourse. "If I had gong into the whole detail, I must have stated the question put to ) on. Why no reply was given to the applica tion made to your family to specify the charges against Lord IL that lie ini,eht have an opportunity to vindicate himself front the calumnies so industriously propagated against him F--To this you answer, that Lady Byron acted in this by the advice of Dr. Lushlngtou! What—a wiie tear• herself Item the bosom of her husbaud, and acts by the cold caution of a Lawyer ra, ther than by the dictates of her own heart ! " As t 3 the expression of the disquiet at and condemnation of the Infamous aspersions which provoked inc to vindicate the Noble Lord,l certainly conceived you to declare that they not only were not authorized by Lady Byron's friends, but that you regretted and condemned them. I trust you do not mean to withdraw this declaration, or to diminish the itupeft of these word.. " If in the course of to-morrow I shall receive your instruc tions to print the letter, you may depend on the pnblication cir Saturday, together with my own recollection of all that passed between us yesterday; and which, that you may be satisfied of its fairness, I shall be ready to submit before hand to your perusal. 31y anxiety is, to prevent the breach from being widen ed, and to avoid the consequences to which the publication olyour, letter, and the continuance ofsuch slanders as daily ap pear in some of the Papers, must lead. " 1 have the honour to be, with perfect revert for yourself, " Sir, your faithful Servant, J N. PERRY. "Sir Ralph Noel, Bart. ac. Ac. Strand, April la, lc ln." REPL ► . " llivart's Hotel, April 19,1810. cannot withdraw my request, that you will inset t the letter of explanation which I yester;lay sent you. You must take the responsibility upon yourseil of whatever you may chuse to publish, and I must decline any previous eons muulastion on the subject.—l am, Sir, your humble servant, " RALPH NOEL." Lady Byron, whose domestic relations are now become the general subject of conversation, is the only child of Sir Ralph Milbanke, a representative of the County of Durham in several successive Parliaments, tvho married with the the Hon. Judith Nod, sister to the late Viscount Wentworth ; upon whose demisv the Viseountry became extinct, but the Barony desolved upon Lady Milbanke, who became Baroness Wentworth ;in consequence of which Sir Ralph Milbanke assumed the name of NoeL One of thj murderers of the late Mr. Baker, of the county of Tipperary, has suffered. It appears not to have been the act of a solitary assassin, nor of a banditti. According to the testimony of a Mr. %11, it was the re stilt of u conspiracy of the whole district. The popula tion of the country were looking on—they were aiding and abetting in the. murder. Their victim, too, was u gentleman of family and fortune, born and bred among them, resident upon his paternal estate, and giving them all the benefit of his presence and protection. And what was his offence? He was an active Magistrate, and for this the population of the neighbourhood compassed his death.—Surely there must be some great defect in the Government of a country, in which civilization is thus utterly destroyed. In carrying on the works for the improvement of the river Witham, many sub-marine articles have been thrown up. Lately, near Washingborough, about four miles from Lincoln, a complete canoe was found, of the length of feet 8 inches, 2 feet high at the sides, and about 2 feet 6 inch; s wide, made out df a single tree. After being ex posed to the air, it was found imerac6cahle to remove this curiosity, the least movement causing it to break. A , ereat number of trees several yards under ground, time.; horns, seine of them very large, and human skulls, &c. have been found; but the object of greatest valve is a beautiful silver cup or basin, richly ornamented with wild animals, ere. and having in the centre a small rtutue. This is now in the possession of a gentleman in the neighbourhood. ThesMonacur of Monday last contains en oi-do:mance of the King fur breaking up for the present the eetublish ment of the Polytechnic school a •favourite institetion of Bonaparte, in consequence of the insuLordinatiou of tl e pupils. The scholars are dismissed and seat home, mai the school is to be newly oreemized. Seme notion of the extensive transactions carrying on between this country rod America nuky he fbnacil from the knowledge of a circtanstAorp mentions ia the New York,Papers of the Bth of March, that si7(i letters had been received there on that :?ay fivut this country. .