Smyrna times., 1858-05-06
MIS- SCELANLEOUS
How Byron kept his Fat down.

Byron had not damaged his body by strong
drinks, but his terror OF getting fat was so great
that he reduced his diet to the point of absolute
starvation. lie was Of that soft, ymshatic
temperament, which it is almost impossible to
keep wlthln moderate compass, particularly
as, In his case, his lameness prevented his taxi
ing exercise. When he added 10 this weight,
even standing was painful; SO he resolved to
keep down 10 eleven stone, or shoot himself
He SAID everything he swallowed was instantly
converted into talGw, and deposied on his ribs
He was the only human being | ever met with
who had sufficient self-restraint and resolution
to resist this prOneness 10 tatten. lie did so ;
aud at Genoa, where he last weighed, he was
ten stone and nine pounds, and looked much
less. This was not from vanity about his per-
sonal appearance, but from better motive and.
as, like Justice Greedy, he was always hungry,
his merit was the greater. Occasionally lie re-
laXed his vigilance, when he swelled apace.
remember one Of his old friends ayng, {" Byron,
how we'll You are looking!" II he had stopped
there it had been well bnt when he added,
= You are getting fat" ByrOu's brow redeemed,
ana his eyes flashed, " DO you call getting fat
ionkrng well, as if | were a hog Z" and, turn
ing 10 me, he multered, The beast can
hardly keep my hands off him" The man who
Aus offended him was the husband of the lady
addressed as Geneva" and the original of his
" "ZulcIEa," in the Bride Of Ajydos
don't think ne had much appetite for his
dianer that day, or for many days, and never
tOrgave the man who, so tar from wishing to
offend, intended 10 pay him a compliment
Byron SAID he tried all sorts Of experiments to
Stay his hunger, without adding to his bulk. IL
sHelIed," he said, "at one time, to fourteen
stone; so | clipped the muzze on my Jaws,
and, like The hibernatlng animals, consumed my
own fat" He would exist on biscuits and soda
water for days together; then, to allay the
eternal hunger gnawlng at his vltals he would
make up a horrld mess of cold potatoes, rice,
fish or green's, deluged in vinegar, and gobble
1t up like furnished dog. On either of those
uhsaTory dishes, with biscuit and glass or
two OF Rhine wine, he cared not how sour, he
called teastlng sumptuously. Upon my observ-
ing he might well have fresh fish or vegeta-
bes, instead Of stale, he laughed and answered,
81 have an advantage over you have no pal
ate; one thing is as good as anether to me-
" Nothing, l said, " dlsagrePs with the natu-
raj man. lie fasts and gorges {: his brains don I
bother him; but If you wish to live '-"Who
wants to lIve!" he replied. "Not |. The
Byrons are a short lived race on both sides,
father and mother. Longevity is hereditary ::
| am nearly at the end of my tether. don't
care for death d: it is her sting | can't
bear pain" By starving his body Byron kept
his brains clear. No man had brighter eyes or
clearer voice; and his resolute bearing and
prompt replies, when excited, gave to his body
a muscular power that imposed on strangers.-
| never doubted, for he was Indifferent 10 life,
aud prouder than Lucifer, that, if he had drawn
his sword in Greece, or elsewhere, he would
have thrown away the scabbard. 1reIawnev's S
RecotIectiOns Of The Last Days of Shelley and
Byron, published by Ticknor d Fields, Bos-
tom.