The Empire County argus. [volume] (Coloma, El Dorado County, Cal.) 1853-1857, 1854-01-07
LORD RYRON

tuef01 ana tHe1 0tu8; not only now ana what ne
wrote, but his private life, his habits, his servants,
his dog, his wife, how he swan and how he boxed,
have been made common topics. Strangers pur-
sued him, saints prayed for him, and sinners set
their caps at him. Even the poet Pollock took By
ron, as Byron took gin, for inspiration. | have
before me six portraits of Lord Byron one repre-
sents him at seven years Of agcand it brings tears
into the eyes to look at it. There are the well
cut, beautiful and delicate features of Byron, but
there are also innocence and peace. 1t might, so
temnnely lovely is its character be the likeness of
Mary Duff, Miss Chaworth, or any child who
awakened Byrons childish love. The next shows
him at nineteen in a sailors Dress with his hair and
handkerchief blown aside by the wind. Already
the boy was in the whirlwind. Of the rest only
one is endurable. 1t is the one commonly known
which represents him leaning on that beautiful
hand of which he was SO broud. His bust by
Thorwaldsen (Which is in Boston) is sngularly
soft and feminine 1t being remarked to Byron
that his portraits had feminine air, he allowed his
whskers to grow, and thus they are shown in his
portrait by Count DOrsay. Byrons position as
man and poet may be considered pretty well set
tied; so that there be nothing very new in the
views which ] shall express of his personal and
mental qualities, neither will it be we'll to take up
your time by quoting an author who is already
quoted to death you must not expect detailed
picture, nor yet piece of patchwork.
Reviewing the race from which Byron sprung, we
find him born heir to high passion and ungoverna-
BILE will. His earliest youth was not highly favored
by fortune; the death of an old and eccentric uncle
took him out of a poor boarding house, almost out
of destituton, and brought him to peerage, New
stead Abbey and competence. Very few tell the
early emotions of their hearts; Rousseau and Byron
have done so, and they have told much that has
been thought exceptionable. Chde Harold tells us
in its opening lines much as we want to know of
the Poets youth it is enough to know that he had
oil cf IOf,
turity. His Hours of Idleness, Byron's first publ
cation, was contemptuously treated by the review
ers; and how he revenged himself in his English
Bards and Scotch Reviewers" need not be told it
settled his account with the reviewers and left some
thing to his credit During the brief period of the
two subsequent years. his powers grew to maturity.
Childe HarQI rung in the worlds ears like the
shield of Paflas falling into the citadel of llium
The effect was electric his fame had not to wait for
ordinary gradations; it sprung up, like the palace
of fairy tale, in a night Lord Byron and Childe
Harold became the theme of every tongue. But |
am not following his trumphs from the opening line
of Childe Harold to the closing stanza of Don Juan
Byron's personal character is accurately projected
from his poetry. Safety had come with early man.
hood The love of truth and fame struggled with
the lower elements of his nature. The descent can
be traced from Childe Harold the sefabandonment
to his lower nature down to the groggy brilancy
of Don Juan.
However, let us not forget his better traits his
noble self-devotion to the cause of Greek liberty
may be allowed to qualify the judgment which [
have expressed, not from cant-not to secure the
favor of middle aged morality but from conviction.
Much insight into Byron's character may be gained
from his private letters they exhibit such amount
of nartness they indulge in the use of expressions
so suitable to Tom Crib and the ring that we are
compelled to accuse him who was more proud of
being gentleman, descendant of crusaders, than
of hninn nf nn, md of, ,,,t}oo ,I,,
may seem impossible to those who think that all
that is written by titled poet carries with it an
Immunity from its source; but so it is. All that
Byron writes letters or poems bears the impression
of the man. He reproduces himself in the most
striking manner. As Jeffrey said, his Gaour, Lu-
cifer, Cain, Childe Harold, Lara, are all one ind-
vidual He cannot diversity characters in pre-
senting his different heroes, he does little more than
repeat himself What was this man, whose charac
ter, thus reproduced, forms part of the worlds lit
erature! We think of him as he was at his prime;
if he inherited the richest gifts of fortune from
his birth; but his earl circumstances were poor
his beauty was marred by deformity; though dan
gerous to women in after life he was far from a
favoritc with the young girls among whom his youth
was passed.
He never learned self-discipline; he allowed the
Devil and the Angel to rule him alternately and
this none knew better than himself the abbots
portrait of Manfred is his own. He was tractable
to the fair sex woman could manage him--ex-
cept Lady Byron. His were tastes such rs would
have made glorious Bashaw, but England was too
cold for him. Yet he was generous; he used his
fatal power, not without some pity for innocence
he liked religion in others he ready to horse
whip troublesome churl, and shoot an offending
gentleman ; he was not to be buIied he was {" a
pretty mad" as the Scotch say and ever ready for
a stand-up fight. But he loves to tell his own ex-
PLOTS, as he does to tell his feelings. His Childe
Harold is full of langud orientalism His muse
swims through the Spenseran stanza as queen
through a royal chamber Still, he never fails to
make the reader feel there is strength amid all.
In his various loves -stories and especially in Don
Juan, we see with the change of meter, increase
of activity he moves more brisky through the
jaunty ottaUa rima. / was reading Don Juan lately
in public conveyance a fellow passenger in a
straight jacket of principle, with an oyercoat of
philosophy, gave me good advice when he saw me
reading the book and young man near me looked
anxiously after his carpet-bag. felt was reading
a prescribed book Yet its wonderful wit struck
me more than ever. But if wanted to sweat down
a boy jocky is sweated down for a race-if
wanted to teach him contempt for his heaven
born instincts--that book is the first class-book
would give him. Yet Byron is read. Why 81
Chiefly, think, for his intense power of expressing
passion He alone it is who can speak OF wreak-
ing his thoughts upon expression > he is also capa-
bic OF opening his heart to tenderness he can be
rs natural he ever was in the hours of his beau
tiful childhood.
And then his laugh how cant and cowardice
slink away before it, and his worldly wisdom gath
cred in that brilliant life whose panDels he had
broken through, without minding the bolts. But
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