The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1858-05-14
a Day With Byron and Shelley.


the Palazzo Lanfranchi tho residence Of
Lord Byron. We entered large marble
hall, assembled giant staircase passed
through an equally large room over the hall,
aud were shown into q smaller apartment
which had books and biliard.table in it.
4 su'ly-looking bulldog (AIorc,to) auuou.
ced us, 10y growing, and the Pilgrim iu-
stan,v advanced from an inner chamber,
and stood before us. His halting gait was
apparent, but he moved with quckncss !;
and although pale, he look as fresh, vigo-
rous, and animated any man ever saw.
Ills pride, added to his having lived for
many years alone was the cause, l suppose.
that he was embarrassed at first meeting
with strangers. This he tried TO conceal hv
an atlecta;on ofc:>c. ANcr,h. interchange
Of commonplace questions and answers, he
regaIued his self possession, ana turning to
Shelley, said "As YOU are addicted to po-
cSy, go and read the vrrs;ccs was deliver
cd OF last nigh, or rather this morinr-
that Is, if You can. i am posed am
getting scuriuus. There is a letter from
Tom Moore; read. ycu are Lla,ucvcd in it
lronlcally.' Hc,'icu tool, cue, an.! asked
me to play billiards. lie struck the balls
aud moved about the table br>klv, l.u; nr;-
ther played the game nor cared a ,u>l,
about it, anl cha',el after this illo fashion ::
-"lhc p"rscr Of the 'riyate went t. Con-
s:antin"plc in, called an o!lic. :cuyrilo, s
for abiding to his wig. Now. the day be-
fore | monn+a w;.-anl I Shall soon wan,
one-l'll ride about with i: ON ,!,. nom.
rel Of my saddle, or stick it on my cane.
LII that same iIlga,r, near tho Darlancl!c>
we nearly ran down an American ,raI..r
with his cargo OF Bottoms Our CAPTAIN.
old Bathurst, hailed, and with The dignity
OF lord, asked linn where he came from.
and the name Of Ii, ship. The Yankee
captain beloved, ,-"Yuu copncr-bo;,oncd
sarpen,, guss you'll know when I've re-
ported you to Congress-" The surprise |
expressed by my looks was not ut wl,a, he
said, but that he could register such trifys
IN his memory. Of course, with other
such small anecdotes, his great triumph Il,
having swum from Scstos to Abydos was
not forgotten. had come prepared to sec
solemn mystery, AMI SO far as conll in,!r,.
from the first act, it seemed to me vcrv
Ike solemn farce. forgot tha, srea,
actors, when of t!A Stage, are dull io-s:
and that even the mighty Prosprro, with
out his book and magic III ,ntle, was bn, an
ordinary mortal. At this iunrturc Shelly
Joined us; he never laid aside Iii, boo!, and
magic mantle; he waved his hand, and By
ron, after faint show of defiance, stood
mute-hls quick perception Of the truth Of
Shelley's comments on his poem transfixr.l
him. and Sheley's carnestness and lust.
criticism held him, captive. was however
struck with Byron's mental vivac,v :,d
wonderful memory: he defended himself
with variety Of illustrations, preceden,s.
and apt quotations from modem authorities,
d'spn'Ing Shelley's propositions, not by de-
ny'ng their truth as Il whole, but in parts :;
and the subtle questions he but would hav.
puzzled less acute reason than the one
he had to contend with. During this dis.
cussion scanned the Pilgrim closely. In
external appearance Byron reaiizcd ,ha,
ideal standard with which imagination
"dorns genius. He was in the prin. Of
life, 'h'ry-five OF middle height, five fee,
eight and half inches regular features,
without stain or furrow on hispaI.iI skin
his shoulders broad, chest open. body and
limbs finely proportioned. His small, hirh-
Iy finished head and curly hair, had an airy
aud graceful! appearance from the massive.
ness and length Of his throa,: YOU saw his
genius III his eyes and lips. In short, Na
turc could do little more than she had dome
for him, both in outward form and in the
inward spirit she hal given to animate it
but all these rare gifts, to his jaundiccd
imagination, only served TO make l,,s one
pcrso"aI'dcsrct (amcnc2s) the more appa.
rent as a flaw is masn;lirl in Il diamond
when polished: and hc broodcd over tha,
"'eniSh as sensitive minds will brood until
they magnify wart into wen. His lame
ness certainly helped to make him sccp,-
cal, cynical, and savage. There was nncu.
l'ar''y in his drcss-it was adapted to the
climate; tartan jacket braided he said i,
was the Gordon pattern, and that his moth.
er was OF that ilk. A blue velvet cap viii,
gold band, and very loose nankccn ,rou,.
ers, strapped down so as TO cover his fec,
his throat %as not bare, as represented in
drawings. At three o'clock one Of his ser.
wants announced that hi, horses were at The
door, which broke off his discussion with
Shelley, and we all followed him to H.. III