The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1869-09-29
Lady Byron's Lawyers on Mrs.
Stoves Byron Article

tmosr 1srEREsr1Na CARD.
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To the Editor of the London Times:
S1R-As the solicitors OF the de-
scendants and representatives OF the
late Lady Noel Byron, for whose
family we have acted for upwards OF
half century, we request your per.
mission to publish in the columns OF
the Times the following observations
relative to an article which has just
appeared in Macmillan s Magazine.
The article in question is entitled:
.'The True Story of Lady Byron's
Life" and Mrs. H. B. Stowe is an
nounced to be the writer OF It,.
OF the paper itself we should prob
ably have abstained from taking any
public notice if it had appeared in a
less respectable journal than Mac
milan, lor II even in this periodical
the authoress had been allowed to
tell her story without editorial pre-
face or comment. The editor of
Macmillan, however, has not only
admitted Mrs. Stoves article, but he
has prefxed to it note in which he
authoritatively. proclaims to the
world that ssthe paper on Lady By
tron's life and relations to Lord By
ron is the complete and authentic
statement of the whole circumstances
of that disastrous affair" Nay,
more, gthat this paper is, in fact. La
dyByron s own statement Of the rea-
sons which forced her to the separa7
ton which she SO long resisted. -
Again, the editor states that the con-
tribution of Mrs. Stowe supplies "ev-
idence at once new and direct" on
Lady Byron's history!
We, as the family solicitors, beg
most distinctly to state that the article
is not ia complete" or authentic state
Inent, of the facts connected, with the
separation, that it cannot be regarded
rs Lady Byron's own statement and
that it does not involve any direct evi.
dence on Lady Byron's history.
Instead. Of, direct evidence, Mrs
Stowe has nDthing TO Communicate but
her rec0llections of q. con ersation
thirteen years ago, and her Impressions
of a manuscript which she states thai
Lady Byron at that time gave her To
pursue, and which, according to hel
own showing, she.read under very
great EXCITEMENT These circumstan
ces probably account for several OBJ
vious errors into which Mrs. Stowe hal
fallen, such as assigning two years in
stead of thirteen mouths as the periOt
during which Lady BYRON resided un
der the same roof with her husband
and similar inaccuracies, to which, 70
the present purpose, it is unnecessar
to allude- az q ggNaII.
without for a mameht Jconeedh
that Mrs. Stoves narrative contains
complete account of Lady Byron's re
lations with her husband, we must pro
test againss' its~as being sprofsssedly
first, most gross breach of the trns
and confidence stated to have been re
posed in her; second, as Inconsistent
with her own recommendation to Lad
Byran; and third as an ignorant viola
ton lat least we shall, in charity sup
pose Mrs. Stowe to be ignorant) of th
express terms of Lady ByrOn's last vii
and testament - - ~ -
First, as relates to breach of trust
Mrs. Steve states that she was consul
ted in an interview which, to use he
own words, chad almost the solemnit.
of a death-bed," not as to whether slI
would undertake a reduction of Lad,
Byron's married history, but only as
the policy of publishing such a histor.
at ali; secondly, Mrs. Stowe, on he
owl admission; returned to Lad
Byron the BRIEF naeInoranilnm spaspe
which had been entrusted to. her, Wit
the statement of her opinion tina
"Lady Byron would be entirely iustifi
able in leaving the truth to be disclos
ed after her death, and recommends,
that all facts necessary should be pu
in the hands of some persons to be 8
published thirdly Lady Byron did, b
s.er last will and testament executed
few days only before her decease, be
queath to three persons, as trustee:
MI her manuscript, to be by them frs
sealed up atterward deposited in a ban
10 the names of such trustees, and sh
directed that. no one else, ,loweye
nearly connected with her, should, upo
any plea whatever, be allowed to il
spsct such documents, which the trus
tees were alone TO make uge Of as The
might judge to be best for the interest,"
{ OF her grandchildren Mrs. Stowe
not one of these three, Her paper
entirely gratuitous and unauthorize,
1t Is, as MeshaSe said, not consiste1
with her own counsel; it is an offend
against Lady Byron's dyipgwishes, an
the authoress has written in NH.
disregard Of the feelings Of thos
grandchildren of whom she speaks in
yagne, tnlsome way, as ..ssema Of Il
best and noblest of mankind
The appearance of the'volumes abor
Lord Byron, by the Countess Guieeiol
u alleged by, Mrs. Stowe as the mai
reason which induced her to publis
asr story; but if Lady Byron's deseent
ants and her personal and trnste
friends in this country suffer the slaI
ders OF the Countess Guiecioli To s mo-,
hneontradieted--for, to use MIS- fs s
own expression, of what value was Il