Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-03-27
The Byron Controversy.

- @2AA
Exchange, on the abOve-aamed sub
jet.
Mr.. A. Forrest, who presideds mace
reference to the discussion which bad
arisen on what had been termed the
I" byron Mystery and remarked that-
If anyone was entitled to be heard~on
this question Of the relationship OF
Byron to those who lived eOnfefnpO-
rary with himself, was one OF err best
known poet critics, the Rev. George
Gillian. (Applause.)
The Rev. George GILLIAN, who was
received with loud cheers on rising,
observed that the title Of bis address
might be given with more exaetness
than ne had seen it stated II was,
1" Lord Byron; his genius and eharac-
ter, with q glance as the Byron mys-
terry" There was nothing more re-
markable about Byron than the fiac-
tuatiOus which had taken place IN his
fame. All writer's were subject to
such ups and dOwns-that was, all
who ever cOntrived TO get up at all;
but ByTOn's reputation had been a
balance in a tempest, veering to and
fro, now rising fast, and nov
sinking low, and even yet had not
found its exact level. The reverend
gentleman gave a rapid outline Of
ByrOn's literary career, briefly criti-
cising his chief compositions. Speak
ing Of the poets death, he said that
no similar event had so affected the
nation, unless il were the death Of the
Princess Charlotte, OF Of Prince Al
bert. 1t seemed TO stun the heart Of
the solid globe. On the publication Of
MOOre's Interesting Life Of Lady
Byron" stepped forth, no doubt un-
der considerable p~rOvOeatiOn, and ut
teFed-What2 Ahint, an insinuatiOn,
a whisper; bat a<hint Of the most
damning character, an insinuatiOn OF
the most deadly and damaging kind,
a whisper resembling that OF which
COleridge said
A wicked whisper came and made
Their hearts a. dry q dust.
(Applause.) No doubt that fnsinua-
ton was repealed, and By none more
nObly than by his own ~illustri-
Gus eOuntryman, Christopher North,
to whose magnificent ROctes for MAY.
1880, be would refer them for the pro-
fessor's Judgment 46h a subject on
which he verify believed, he knew
about as much as any OF Us knew in
the month of January, 1870. Gap
plause.) The scandal then died away,
and thus il cOntiHued until the por-
tenti0us first Of September, 1863, ar
rived, and Mrs. Stove came with her
True Story" and opened up all the
old slUiceS Ofsslander, and gave to
the iusinuatiOn Of Lady ByrOR-s doc
ument a local habitatien and a name
in a paper Whieh, for. mtstatemen ut,
covert malignity, pretended pietism,
Embellishments OF tone, and Want0n
outrage upon private life, had seldom
been equalled. (Applause.) The lee
turer afterwards observed that in
speaking Of the military services Of
the Duke of Wellington and Lord
Clyde, or Of the career of Lord
PalmerstOn, who dreamt Of dragging
in their imputed, he. might say we'll
known, weakness? And why should
that indulgence be denied to that il
fiammable and Inflated race Of poets
which was granted to the colder tenn
peTamentS Of our warriors and states
men? ByrOn's blood was a furnace
heated seven times; his brain. when
it worked, boiled; his lie was a long
fever; he was the child Of bitterness
and nurtured in CONFUSION. What
were we to do with such o man?
Condemn him? No. Take him for
what he was worth and what he was.
and make the best of him: cherish
the good, be thankful for the great
mess, and try to forget the unworthy.
and, while we blamed, pity and love
the unhappy compound Of light and
darkness. This he thought was the
humane and christian course. Zap
plause. Analysing the poets char
acteT, the lecturer remarked that
his chief defect was the want Of
all fixed religious belief, which
was like the want Of armOr to a war.
riOr in a bloody fray. InthiS be CIR.
Gilfllan) did not entirely blame Lord
Byron. Religion in his day was in a
most unhealthy state. There was no
alternative between low evangeIicism-
then of a very narrow and illib,arai
type, and high ehurchism of tie most
bi0ated and bigOted char2cter-be-
tween the religion Of the Egaqge1icaL
AGgGzjEe and that of the OuQTterElf
ReUieu. COleridge, indeed. was be-
ginning to lay the foundations Of that
noble broad church which has since
produced a DR.. Arnold, a Dean STAN
ley, q Frederick Robertson, a JOWctt,
and a DR.. Temple-1Oud APP
plause), now, by the grace Of
God and Mr.. Gladstone, Bishop Of
Exeter. daughter and renewed APP
plause}. Having thus, as heObserved.
not defended, but accounted for what
he knew of ByrOn's character. ne
a o=aTn rofarrnH 20 NJ -
story He had read all the litera-
ture Of the question, and had come to
two main conclusions. First, mega
lively, that no new light had been
east on the real cause or causes Of the
separation. IF there were those still
alive who knew them they had not
told them. They still slumE ered in
sealed papers, on dOubly sealed MEM
OrIeS, or in documents not TO be
opened till the twentieth CEN
tury. Second, and positively,
they had abundant evidence thai
Mrs. Stoves story was f1lse. That
Lady Byron belieyed Il, ard with a
strange industry circulated ft-told it
in confidence to all the world-seemed
certain. But as certainly it was an
afterthOught, and arose Ike q night
mare dream upon a brain that had
been bordering the theme Of the
Fatal Marriage" In the concluding
part of his lecture, Mr.. GilhlIan con-
tended that Mrs. Stoves reply did net
remove the question one step further
from dispute, and in eloquent terms
he pleaded that no injustice should be
done to the memory Of a great, though
man.
a cordial vote of thanks was passed
to MI. Gillian, whose address through
put met with warm applause HeA the
audience.