The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1873-01-30
LUSHINGTON AND BYRON.

The death OF the eminent lawyer and civil
| Ian, the Right Honorable Stephen Lushing.
ton, reported by cable telegram In The NEWS
| OF the 2ls!, once more recalls attention 10 tne
Byron controversy. The attack made upon
| the character of the poet by Mrs. 81. B. Stowe
three wears ago, will be fresh In the reeollec
| tlop of our readers. She therein endeavored
| to fix upon him the stigma of fearful crime,
and had he been guilty, his memory would
| be Justly eXecrated and his poetry consigned
| TO oblivion. But when she made this attacE
there were but two persons living who really
knew anything about the causes of the sepa.
ration between Lord and Lady Byron. and
these were Lord Broughton Uhe John
Cam Hobhousp, who was Byron's fellow.
traveller In Greece. and who wrote The volu.
miuous notes to Cnilde Harold,) since dead,
and DR.. Lushington. OF these two, Mr.. Hob.
house was the confdant of Lord Byron; DR..
Washington that of Lady Byron, as well az
her legal adviser, In conjunction with Slr
Samuel Romllly, in the matter of the separs.
ton. Mr.. Hobhonse acted as mediator be-
tween the poet and his wife, and, according
10 Byron's statement, made on his behalf The
proposition 10 20 before the Divorce Court and
| to publish all the previous correspondence; O
step rendered necessary because Lady Byron
refused 10 state the real reasons OF her wish
| ing to separate from him; and her legal adVts-
| ers, when applied to by Mr.. Hobhouse, de-
Lewis, another friend of Byron's, was equally
unsuccessful in obtaining the desired informa.
| ton. The only answer that could be obtain
| ed from Lady Byron was one made under the
| advice of her counsel, "that If he (Byron) In.
sisted on the specifications, he must receive
| them in open court 10 suit for divorce
Byron asserts that he was willing to do this,
and sent Mr.. Hobhouse to her 10 cay 20. The
| oase however, for some reason or other not
| Gno,up did nnt pnmp hp10ra the Oubllc. LADY
/ B. left her husband and went to her father,
| in January, 1916, and on the 25Lh April of the
same year Byron left England, never TO re-
turn. They never saw each other again. In
| 1880, nearly six years after Byron's death,
Lady B. wrote to DR.. LushlngtOn requesting
him 10 state, In writing, what ne recollected
on the snbject The reply was 10 the effect
that he (Dr. L.) had been retained by her
mother TO act as her legal adviser, and
cred a reconciliation with Lord B. pos.
sible, but that fortnight afterwards he
was Informed by Lady B. OF facs which
are utterly unknown the had no doubt
| to her father and mother, and these changed
his opinions entirely, so that he considered
reconciliation impossible; and he added that
if such ON idea should be entertained, he
could not, either professionally or otherwise
take any part towards effecting 1t. From that
time TO his death, DR.. LushingLon KEEP. invio
late the secrets or secret conf1ded to him by
Lady Byron. end unless he has left among his
| papers some record of it, the truth will now
never be known. AS for Mr.. HobhouSe, he
of course, knew only what Lord Byron chose
to tell him, and that has been repea edly pub.
lished, but throws no clear light on the sub
| ject. The poet protested 10 the last that be
was unable to imagine what Lady Byron;
real grievance was, of which she made &c
profound secret.