The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-08-22
WHAT THE AMERICAN PaESs SAYS.
From the New York Sun, August 81

Ths woman-Augusta Mary MRS. Leigh
the father Of the poet and was the child or an in
trigue between him and the MarchOness OF Caer.
marthea. The guilty pair el0Ded to the Continent.
and the Marquis having obtained divorce Byron
and the Warehouses were married. She died with
In a few years, leaving this daughter, Augusta the
date OF whose birth we find nowhere stated; but she
must have been several years, probably from 1--WE to
ten older than her half-brOther. She was brought
up by her maternal relatives, and there Is no inti-
nation that Byron ever saw her until after he en-
tered upon mans estate. In none OF the publica-
lions Of that day do we md any asperslon Of her
character, although we are told by persons now liv-
ing, who moved In London society at the time.
that among the charges against Byron-some
Of them very heinous-was this one here brought
forward
1t must unquestionaby be admitted that Lady
Byron believed that her husband had been guilty Of
an offence OF such kind as by all laws human and
divine should put perpetual bar to all intercourse
between them; and that when she made this charge
seney 70 er y ea ana 70 9
Court The died about year snce, they decided that
the oiience supposng II 70 nave been commitssd'
II Is not impossible that the crime alleged was the
one now SET forth by Mrs stowe; and II is probable
wfe's accusation against him, whatever II may have
been.
Byron's conduct Is equally consistent with the
ticular. He left his country, and thencefOrward
made no attempt to resume his marital relations
Had he done so HIS claim would doubtless have
been met by the open assertion OF the offence which
his wife had privately charged against him. Whe-
Their false, such assertion would have been
utter ruin; while he might rest assured that his wife,
for her own sake, would never during her life bring
the accusation before the public, unless somehow
forced to do 80 in sef,defence
We canuot comprehend now Mrs. stowe, having
decided to put forth this statement should have
failed to adduce the least proof in support OF It,
Some points are, II true susceptible of proof Thus
IL there was child as Mrs. Stowe aflrms born OF
this intercourse, and this child was watched over by
Lady Byron with "mOthcrs tenderness there
must be testimony to the fact: and there can be
ron
does not lie equally against making the unsupported
statement ~
The incidental evidence from several OF Byron's
poems, which Mrs. stowe parades at quite unneces.
sary length, Is utterly valueless. Donna lnez and
Aurora Raby. in "Don Juan" nave "a little likeness
each other or to Lady Byron any three charac-
ters in the whole compass OF fiction The arguments
Of Lucifer and Adab IN Cam" are equally far from
having any possible bearing Is 1t not absurd to urge
that because the Arch Ficnd argued In favor Of In.
cest, We must, therefore, accept II as Byrons own
argument' swell might We accuse Milton of I'M.
plety because he makes Satan exclaim, "Evil, be
thou my gOOd.r Neither VIII the mystery which
enshr0uds the vailed story OF Manfred and
Astarte bear the Interpretation put upon 1t by Mrs.
Stowe
1t would be easy to point out score of similar
instances in Byron's poems, but they all equally
incODclusive. For instance, few days after his
departure from England Byron wrote the four STAN
zas commencing "rhe castled crag OF Drachefelsn
afterwards Incorporated into the third canto OF
.'Childe Harold,n note written think by
Moore states:-'These verses were written on the
psks % e sa IN NAY 70 Is needless to cay
verses themselves there IL nothing which brother
might not have written 70 the purest sister. But IN
"Chlde Harold' they are preeiaced oy this strange
stanza:--
And there was one soft breast as hath been said.
han the Sn Shn is viz INKS ho
That love was pure and far above Disguise,
Had stood ID, the ties. Of mortal snmit,es
BY peril dreaded most female eyes;
Brt this Arm, and from foreign shore
Well to that heart might his these absent greetings pour
Cn'its Harold, IT., 3d.
to him by stronger ties than the Church inks and
should notice that they were unwed Is incompre-
hensble Our own belief IL that the note Of Moore
ia an error, and that the poem was never addressed
to his sister, Dut to other object OF his attach
ment. IL s the more probable that this is the truth
81 tr tne mat,er from lartner remsrk IN 1ae note
this original peneng, II addressed to Augusta
Leigh, have come into the hands OF Moores
Byron and his sister near the close Of his life In Lon
don ia certain. As mas been said there ls no reason
period. In Bryon's first will, dated about 1911, he
left all his estates, with the exception OF some
legacies, to his heiratlaw, a second cousin.
marriage, and when there was every
reason to expect the birth Of child by his wife, he
made new viii, by which he left all ms estates
cept the parts settled by marriage settlement upon
his wife, to his sister and her children. The reason
for TINS + NO part OF these estates
father Indeed they were Inherited from his grand
uncle In his very last letter. written in England. he
should not see her for long time, perhaps never.
Moreover IN the two or three poems inscribed to
Augusta he addresses her in words Of impassioned
fOndness; but there IS no word even limiting at any
unlawful relation between them. Indeed, the most
beautiful ana best known OF them all is OF such
nature that it contains strong intrinsic evidence
against Mrs. stoves revolving charge. II 10 as fol-
lows
Though the day OF my destiny q over,
And the star OF my fate hath declined,
Thy soft heart refused 10 discover
The fAulta which many could dud
Though thy soul with my grief acqusintsi
II shrunk not TO share with me,
And the love which my spirit hath painted
Il hath found but IN thee.
Then when nature around smiling,
The smile which answers 10 niue,
do mot believe II beguiling,
Because Il reminds me OF thine;
A. when winds are NJ WAT with the ocean,
A. the breasts believed in with me,
u their blows excite emotion,
II 10 that they bear me from thee.
Though the rock Of my ias. hops Ia shivsrsd
And its fragments are sunk In the wave,
Though feel that my soul 10 delivered
To paip--it shall not be Ns slave
There II many pang 10 pursue me-;
They may crush, but they shal not contemn-