The Sun.
London, England, 1869-10-09 00:00:00

THE BYRON CON7ROVERSY.

(From the Academy)
The following document is printed as a contri-
bution to literary history. It was drawn up by
Lord Byron in August, 1817, while Mr. Hobhouse
was staying with him at La Mira, near Venice,
and given to Mr. Matthew Gregory Lewis for cir-
culation among friends in England. It was found
amongst Mr. Lewis's papers after his death, and is
now in the possession of Mr. Murray :

" It has been intimated to me that the persons
understood to be the legal advisers of Lady Byron
have declared their lips to be sealed up' on the
cause of the separation between her and myself.
If their lips are sealed up, they are not sealed
no by me, and the greatest favour they can
confer upon me will be to open them. From
the first hour in which I was apprised of the in-
tentions of the Noel family to the last commu-
nication between Lady Byron and myself in
the character of wife and husband (a period of
some months) I called repeatedly and in vain for
a statement of their or her charges, and it was
chiefly in consequence of Lady Byron's claiming (in
a letter still existing) a promise on my part to con-
sent to a separation, if such was really her wish,
that I consented at all ; this claim and the exaspe-
rating and inexpiable manner in which their object
was pursued, which rendered it next to an impos-
sibility that two persons so divided could ever be
reunited, induced me reluctantly then, and repen-
tantly still, to sign the deed, which I shall be happy
--most happy—to cancel, and go before any tri-
bunal which may discuss the business in the most
public manner.

" Mr. liobhouse made this proposition on my
part, viz., to abrogate all prior intentions—and go
into court—the very day before the separation was
signed, and it was declined by the other party, as
also the publication of the correspondence during
the previous discussion. Those propositions I beg
here to repeat, and to call upon her and hers to say
their worst, pledging myself to meet their allega-
tions—whatever they may be—and only too happy
to be informed at last of their real nature.
" Aug. 9, 1817. (Signed) " BYRON.
_ _

" P.S.—I have been, and am now, utterly igno-
rant of what description her allegations, charges,
or whatever name they may have assumed, are ;
and am as little aware for what purpose they have
been kept back, unless it was to sanction the most
infamous calumnies by silence.
"La Mira, near Venice." (Signed) " BYRON.

DESTRUCTION OF BYRON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE " ACADEMY."
Sir,—There are a few points connected with the
destruction of Byron's Autobiography upon which
a great deal of misconception exists, and upon
which I should therefore be glad to say a few words.
1. To those who doubt the entire destruction of
the MS., I may state that I was eye-witness to the
burning of it and of the only copy existing of it, in
the drawing-room of 50, Albemarle-street.
2. The proposal to destroy it originated, I believe,
with my father, the late Mr. John Murray ; and
his reason for making it (as he has stated in a letter
to Mr. R. W. Horton, printed in No. 185 of the
Quarterly Review), was his "regard for Lord Bryon's
memory, and respect for his surviving family." . . .
" since it was surmised that the publication might
be injurious to the former and painful to the latter."
The friends of Lord and Lady Byron " United in
wishing for its destruction." The following persons
were previously consulted, as a matter of courtesy,
and were present at the burning : Mr. Hobhouse, as
executorand friend of Lord Byron ; Colonel Doyle,
as a friend of Lady Byron (who had actually offered
£2,000 for the MSS., which she did not pay) ; Mr.
Wilmot Horton, as friend of the Hon. Mrs. Leigh ;
my father, and Mr. Moore, who alone for some
time opposed the destruction.
3. The MS. was, at the time of its destruction,
the absolute property of my father, having been
purchased by him in November, 1821, from Mr.
Moore (to whom Lord Byron had given it) for
£2,000, in consideration of which sum Moore cove-
nanted to edit the papers, and to supply an account
of the subsequent events of Lord Byron's life. On
May 6, 1822, however, a second deed was exe-
cuted, at Mr. Moore's request, giving to him the
power of redeeming the MS., " during the life of the
said Lord Byron," on the repayment by either of
them of the £2,000. This condition Moore did not
fulfil ; consequently his interest in the MS. entirely
ceased on Byron's death ; by which event the value
of the MS. was greatly enhanced, probably doubled.
'This fact, no doubt, rendered Mr. Moore more than
ever anxious to recover the autobiography, and he
had secured the advance of £2,000 on loan from
friends in the city to enable him to do this.
The MS., however, by general consent, was de-
stroyed, Mr. Moore, though reluctantly, concur-
ring. Moore then paid to Mr. Murray the £2,000,
for which payment Byron's friends offered to reim-
burse him ; but he refused. So matters rested until
1828, when the appearance of Leigh Hunt's "Byron
and his Contemporaries" convinced my father that
an authentic life of Byron was demanded, for which
only Moore and ho were possessed of the necessary
materials. He therefore arranged with Moore to
prepare the " Life, Letters, and Journals of Lord
Byron," published in 1830. For this Moore re-
ceived the sum of £1,600. But (and this is the point
which, in justice to my father's memory, I am
anxious to state) over and above the sum so paid,
Mr. Murray discharged Moore's bond with his cre-
ditors, upon which he had raised the £2,000 paid by
him immediately after i3yron's death ; together with
the interest thereon and other charges, amounting
to £1,020 more ; thus making a total sum of
£4,620.

(Signed) JOHN MURRAY.
Oct. 6, Albemarle-street.

THE NEW PRO-CATHEDRAL AT KENSINGTON.—A
very fine photograph of the interior of this splendid edi-
fice in Nowland-terrace, having been taken by Mr. D.
Rains, of Kensington, we have been favoured with a
brilliant copy of the same, and, without exception, it is
one of the finest specimens of this beautiful art that
has yet come under our notice. The photo is a per-
fect picture in every particular, the rich carving
and traceries of the grand cathedral come out with extra-
ordinary minuteness ; the half-tones are particularly deli-
cate, and the colour of the entire production is unexcep-
tionable. A photograph of such exquisite beauty cannot
but command great admiration, and a most extensive sale
will certainly be the artist's reward.

The very extensive Distillery now being erected
at Belfast, with all recent improvements for the manufacture of
Irish whisky, by Messrs. DUNVILLE & Co., who have gained
a world-wide celebrity for their fine old Irish whisky, is to be
called "The Royal Irish Distillery."

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
MORNING. EVENING.
SATURDAY, OCT. 9 20 min past 4 44 min past 4
SUNDAY 7 min past 5 25 min past 5
MONDAY 48 min past 5 10 min past 6
TUESDAY.. 38 min past 7mm oast 7
WEDNESDAY 37 min past 7 ...... 12 min past 8
THURSDAY 58 min past 8 ...... 40 min past 9
25 min past 10 3 min past 11