Star.
London, England, 1824-10-19 00:00:00

CONhkSATIOIVS OF Win) BYROA

The forthcoming number of the Attic Micellany, a new Pet;,;_
i dice!, contains some Musa frorw Captain Medwin's " co,
' rims and Anecdotes e Lord Byron," now in the press. ers4,
In the account of Lord Byron's addresses to Milli Milbank; it
is related that the rejected them ; but his Lordship adds_
was" hesidHer ref's' persuaded, that thehedat intildeclieettittg y offer, .!iiilit)esli3vgaresligdoetieeru...:l'
by the influence of her mother ; and the more confirmed i,
this opinion, by her reviving the czettespondence herself twelve
I
months gee: The tenour of theletter was, that although dle
could dot love me, she desired my' friendship. Frit.ndstup i, ,
dinned, Shoed for young Ledies. It la love full fledged,
waiting fdr a fine day to fly. . ..
'4 It had been piediCted Mrs. Williams that 27 was to ke ,
dangerous age to me. The fortuneeelllng witch was right. It w„
destined to prove so. I shall never forget it. Lady Byron (860,i
be pronounced it) was the only unconcerned person prestnt. Lad,.
Noel, het mother, cried. I trembled like a leaf--made tile wrong
responses, and after the ceremony called her Miss Milbanke. There
is a singular history attached to the ring. The very day the Muse
was concloded,a ring of sty Umber's that had been lost was dug up
by the gardener at Newstead. I thought it had been sent on put,
pose for the wedding ;,but nay mother's marriage had not been a
fortunate one, and thief ring vies doomed to be the seal of an unhap.
pier union still. ,
" After the ordeal was over, we sat off for a country seat of Si
Ralph's, and I was surprised at the arrangements for the journey.
and somewhat out of humour to find a lady's maid stuck between
me and my bride. It was rather too early to assume the husband,
and I was forced to sttbinit, but with a very bad grace. Put your
self in my situation, and telt me whether fitad not some reason to
be in the sulks."
But the details of his final separation are still mote culotte :-..
"Our honey-moon was not all sunshine. It bad its donde; aad
Hohhouse has some letters which would serve to explain the rite
and fall In the barometer; but it was never down *teem Yon
tell me the world says i married Miss Milbanke for her fortune,
because she was a great heiress. All I have ever received, or am
likely to receive, was velo,ooo. My own income at 004 period w.s
small, and somewhat bespoke. Newstead was a very unpmfitatle
esute, and brought me in a bare £1,500 kyear. The Lancashire
estate was hampered with a law-suit, which hu cost me £14,000,
and is not yet finished. .We had a house in town, gave dinner
parties, had separate carriages, and launched into every sort of extra.
vagance. This could not last long. My wife's £lO,OOO soon melted
away. I was beset by duns, and at length an execution was levied,
and the bailiffs put in possession of the very beds we had to sleep
upon. This was no very agreeable state of affairs--no very• pka-
sant scene for Lady Byroa to witness ; and it was agreed that :he
should pay her father a visit till the storm had blown over, and Some
arrangements been made with mycreditors. You may suppose on what
terms we parted, from the style of a letter she wrote me .3n the road.
—You will think it began ridiculously enough, ' Dear Duck,' etc.
Imagine my astonishment to receive, immediately on her arrival, a
few es from her father of a very unlike and very unaffectionate
natur , beginning ' Sir,' and ending. with saying that his daughter
me shout never see again. In my reply I disclaimed his authority
lipes
a went over my wife ; and told him I was convinced the senti-
ments kxpressed were his, not hers. Another post, however, brought
me a confirmation, under her own hand and seal, of her father's
sentence.
" There can be no doubt that the influence of her enemies pre-
vailed over her affection for me. 'You ask me if no cause was as.
signed for this sudden resolution—if I formed no conjecture about
the cause ? I will tell you I have prejudices about women ;! do
not like to see them eat. Rousseau makes Julie on pelt gourntonde.
but that is not all according to my taste. Ido not like to be inter-
rupted when lam writing. Lady Byron did not attend to these
whims of mine. The only harsh thing I ever remember saying to her
was one evening shortly before our parting. I was standing before
the fire, ruminating upon the embarrassments of my affairs and other
annoyances, when Lady Byron came up to me and said, ' Byron,
am lin your way ?to which I replied, • Damnably !' I• was after-
wards sorry, and reproached myself for the expression, but it es.
caped me unconsciously—involuntarily; I hardly knew wbat I said."