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

New lork on Byron and Moore. MIR. ii. ls himself
poet. The following sketch of Byron we take
from a report of his lecture
Lord Byron has ever been well-used theme for
hterct' and Mte atuH, not only how and what he
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 an inspiration. have
before me six portraits of Lord Byron ; one repre-
sents him at years Of ageand 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
emnnely lovely is its character be the likeness of
Mary Duff, Miss Chaworth, or any child who
awakened Byron's childish love. The next shows
him at Nineteen in 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 singularly
soft and feminine. 1t being remarked to Byron
that his portraits had feminine air. he allowed his
whiskers to grow, and thus they are shown in his
portrait by Count DOrsay. Byron's position as a
man and poet may be considered pretty well set
tied so that there can be nothing very new in the
views which ] shall express of his personal and
mental qualities, neither will it be well 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 poor boarding house, almost out
of desttution and brought him to peerage, New
stead Abbey and a competence. Very few tell the
early emotions of their hearts; Rousseau and Byron
hn,-a Il @,l1 4l,ek
been thought cxceptionable Childe 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
swept all the chords of passion before reaching ma
turity. His Hours of Idleness Byrons first publ
cation, contemptuousy 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.
Chlde HarQk rung in the worlds ears like the
shield of Pa1as falling into the citadel of Ilium.
The effect electric his fame had not to wait for
ordinary gradations; it sprung up, like the palace
of fairy tale in night: Lord Byron and Chde
Harold became the theme of every tongue. But
am not following his triumphs from the opening line
of Chlde Harold to the closing stanza of Don Juan.
Byrons 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 sef-abandonment
to his lower nature down to the groggy brilliancy
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 1
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
so suitable to Tom Crib and the ring, that we are
compelled to accuse him who was more proud of
being gentleman, a descendant of crusaders than
of being a peer of Engand--of UMgarHy. This
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 reproduccs himself in the most
striking manner As Jeffrey said, his Giaour, Luz
offer, Cain, Chlde Harold, Lara, all indi-
vidual He cannot diversity characters; in pre-
senting his different heroes he does little 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;
as if he inherited the richest gifts of fortune from
his birth; but his early circumstances were poor !;
his beauty was marred by deformity; though dan
gerous to women in after life he was far from
favorite with the young girls among whom his youth
was passed.
He never learned self-disciplinc; he allowed the
Devil and the Angel to rule him alternately and
this none knew better than himself the abbot's
portrait of Manfred is his own. He was tractable
to the fair sex ; a woman could manage him--ex-
cept Lady Byron. His were tastes such as 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 was ready to horse
whip troublesome churl, and shoot an offending
gentleman he was not to be bullied; he was g.
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 languid orientalism. His muse
swims through the Spenserian stanza as a queen
through royal chamber. Still, he never fails to
make the reader feel there is strength amid all
In his various lovestories, and especially in Don
JUAN we see with the change of meter, an increase
of activity ; he moves more briskly through the
iaunty ottaua rina. | was reading Don Juan lately
in q public conveyance a fellow passenger in
straight jacket of principle with an overcoat 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, i'll wanted to sweat down
a boy as iocky is sweated down for race-if
wanted to teach him contempt for his heaven
bern instincts-that book is the first class-book
would give him. Yet Byron is read. Why =
Chiefly, think, for his intense power OF expressing
passion. He alone it is who can speak OF g reak-
ing his thoughts upon expression ) he is also capa-
bic of opening his heart to tenderness; he can be
as natural as he ever was in the hours of his beau
tfu childhood