Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-12-12

R. H stoddard in Scribner for December.
| If Byron's ancestry was dark one
on his fathers side, it was an evil one
en- his mothers, who was an incarna-
ton Of all unreason. She was ingno-
rant, she was silly, she was passionate;
IN her RACES she was uncomfortable.
She would indulge him to excess, one
day, and, the next, he was "a lame
brat" When they were ON good terms
he would call her kitty Gordon" and
when they were In their theatrical
RACES he would throw open the
door of the drawing-room, and say:
ENTER the Honorable Kitty" She
was fond of him, In her wild, foolish
way, and was generally at war with his
guardian and his teacher. He was al
lowed, while at school, to spend Sun
day with her but that did not satisfy
her, for she frequently kept him a week,
and would not send him back. When
his teacher refused to let him visit her
she went to the school and abused him
so loudly that the scholars and the
servants could not help hearing her.
byron, your mother is a fool, said
L
he answered gloomily.
Whether Byron loved his mother
may be doubted, but it is certain that
be treated her with respect and defer
ence. He repaired Newstead Abbey,
and placed her in it when he went
abroad, and he frequently wrote to her,
addressing her as the Honorable. Mrs.
Byron, title to which she had no
claim. She was proud of his genius,
and read with eagerness all that she
saw about him In print. When
be returned to England after his two
years travel, she was anxious to see
him. He wrote from his hotel In Lon
don that he would soon see her, and In
the postscript Of his note said: "You
will consider Newstead as your house,
and not mine, and me only as a WIS.,
itor." Superstitious at all times, she
remarked to her waiting-woman when
she read the note: eff / should be dead
before Byron comes down, what a
strangething it would be-" The strange
thing came to pass, and was brought
about by fit of rage intowhich she was
thrown by reading over her upholster.
er's bills. Byron received notice Of
her illness, and started instantly to her,
but arrived too late. She had breathed
her last. "My poor mother died yes
terdayi" he wrote to his friend Pigot,
land 1 am on my way from town to
attend her to the family vault. heard,
one day, of her illness, the next, of her
death. Thank God, her last moments
were most tranquil, / am told she was
In little pain, and not aware of her
situation. / now feel the truth of Mr.. |
Gra's observation, that we can only
have one mother"
Byron was deeply touched by his |
mothers death, and the night after he |
reached Newstead, was heard by her
waiting-woman signing heavily in the
room where her body lay. She entered
and found him sitting in the dark be-
side the bed. When she expostu-
lated with him on the weakness Of Civ
ing way to grief, he burst into tears
and exclaimed: "Ohl Mrs. BY, / /
had but one friend In the world, |
and she is gone!" On the morning
of the funeral he would not follow the
body to the grave, but stood looking
from the Abbey door until the process
sion had moved off. Then he turned
to his man, Rushton, who was the only
person remaining, and asking him to
fetch the sparring gloves, he proceeded
to take his usual exercise with him.
Silent and distracted, he threw more
into his blows than was his
habit, as if to get the better of his feel
ings. At last the struggle was too
much for him; he flung away the gloves,
and retired to his own room.