The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-29
WITH SHELLEY And BYRON.
WRITTEN FOR THE MORNING CALL.

| the Roman pllests, theS az hO1
| feet to trouble themselves about thelr
| bodies. There was no faculty TO
| apply for nor Bishops license to eXhume
the body. The custode or guardian. VINO
| dwelt within the Enclosure and had the key
of the gate seemed to have Uncontrolled
nowar Within his domain. Without more
| ado masons were hired and two tombS built
in the recess In one of these when CON-
pleted | deposited the box with Shelley's
ashes and covered il in with solid stone, in
scribed with Latin epltapn Niltten Uy
Leigh Hunt"
After this funeral by the sea. Byron be-
came still more restless, aud in little time
longer he and TTelaWny were sailing away
to take part In the glorious attempt 10 re-
store Greece 10 her splendor and glory. On
one sweet and restful occasion, as they
sailed up the Leyant, says IreiaWny. Il
put a pencil and paper in bis hand, saying:
'PerpetCate your curses on tyranny. Tor
poets, Ike ladies, generally side with the
deSpot<.
He readily took the paper and set TO work.
| walked the deck to prevent his being dis
tuIbed. He looked as cTestfalen rs Tiot-
Gus boy suddenly pOunced upon by master
and gwen an impossible task, Scra" ing ana
scratching out. sadly perpleXed. Alter
long spell he said:
10y on think II is as easy to write poetry
as smoke clgar-look, lis only doggerel.
FxtemporiZng verses is nonsense; poetry
Is 4 distinct faculty-it wont come when
! caIled-you may as We'll whistle 10r Ninu,
| n Pvthoness was primed when put upon her
tripod | must chew the cud before write
! / nave thought over most oil my subjects LOT
wears before writing line.
" de did not, however, give up the task
AMI sat bordering over the paper Ter nearly
an hour. Then. gnaShing his teeth, he tore
up hat be had written and threw the rag
ments overheard.
Seeing | looked disappointed, he said:
tXgu p1fult we'll & SE 70 describe an
earthquake while the ground is trembling
undeO my feet. Give me time = can I
! forget the theme but for this Greek bust
/ ness | should have been at Naples writlng
| fifth canto of Chllde Harold. expressly to
/ give vent to my deteStation OF The Austrian
! tyranny in Italy
( Some time after. l suggested he
should write war song for the Greeks; he
/ lid 50 afterward. | saw the original among
/ his papers at Missolonghi ana made copy
/ Of il, which have lost"
And here is a dialogue which TrelaWny
! saws he set down soon after it took place:
| Byron-If death comes in the shape OF a
cannOn-ball and takes of my head he Is well
] come Ihaye no wish to live, but / can't bear
pain. Don't repeat the ceremony YOU went
through with Shelley-no one wants my
/ ashes.
Minister Abbey.
Byron-No, they don't want me; nor
| would have my bones mingled with that
motley throng.
Ire.-I should prefer being launched into
/ the sea to the nonsense OF the land cere-
Byran-There is rocky islet of Mama
/ il is the Pirates Isle, IL suggested the
| "CoTsaiT." No ore knows t. I'll show II
/ you on the way TO the Morea. There is the
/ sport l should ike my bones to lie.
! 1re.-TBeY went let me do so without
] Ill II.
Byron-I will. If you ara with me when ]
/ die; remind me. and don't let the blunder-
/ ing blOckhPad doctors bleed me, or when |
| am dead maui my carcass.
And here the curtain falls on The last act
! of the great poet. 1Telawuy says he could
! not induce Byron TO drink brandy or any,
/ thing else while IN the mud and malaria Of
/ Western Greece. He SAYS he never smoked,
! but tried TO learn to chew tobacco. | here
quote q few paragraphs from Irelawny's
account Of his death observing that il he is
! not entirely truthful here he at least seems
entirely So, and prudent, too, and thought
/ fui Of Byrons friends al home and all the
/ world.
FLETCHER gave me a sheet OF paper. and
/ from his dictatOn | wrote on Byr0n's coffin
! the following particulars of his last illness
/ and death:
Particulars of Lord Byron's death, as
! related by his servant, William Fletcher.
/ Written on his coffin, at he house of the
! Primate Of ArgostOli. by Edward Trelawny,
| April 10, 1924: Lord Byron. taking his
uSua ride and being warm, was caught in
! shower OF rain. lie had but very recently
/ recovered from a violent epieDtic TT, which
| had left him weak. In the course Of the
/ eve be complained Of being unWell, and
there were slight symptoms of fever. On
tie nth be got I'D As usual, hut complained
| OF his head. = lie was advised to be
J bled, but had a natural OF acquired autiD-
| alhy TO bleeding. On the night Of the l4th
! Fletcher advised 4 doctor being sent for
! from Zante Fletcher thought him at this
I time confused in his ideas. Byron said:
/ where are ny shoes? / can only see
/ three, and have been looking this hour"
, Fletcher said, There are four" Byron
| said I'm ia the hands Of assassins; they
/ viii murder me-" This evening at
/ about o'clock be consented to be bled.
aud a few minutes after he tainted.
/ They took about a pound. Very
| his head during the night and he spoke
| coniusedly of Fleming, Hobbouse and
! Douglas hinnard. This was on the 18Th.
! he had been again eopionsly bled. He took
/ bark at about TIVE, drank glass OF wine
and water. He was worse after this and
! became delirious and violent; began to talk
| and give directions; took hold OF one Of
| Fletcher's and one Of Tita's hands Fletcher
! said. shall l wriie?' Byron muttsred 10
! him for half an hour. his lips moving, but
/ llElSiluCL EletcHer Saiu again lie
did not understand. Good God" he said
! and tried TO repeat II. but his LIS only
| moved he understood Fletcher and seemed
| to strain hard 10 make himself understood
| and to feel bis inability. After O'Clock
! this evening he said. II want TO sleep"
| They had gwen him upiates. ard from that
! time he never spoke word ncr moved hand
/ or foot. nor showed the least appearance Of
| life. except by difficulty in swallowing aud
/ Stiffness
We need not follow Byron further And
/ u would seem that this remarkable old man,
| Irelawny, might we'll be left alone now.
! But no. the real event If his most wondr0us
! life IS yet 10 be told He says byron would
surely have been made King Of Greece had
| lie lived. Be now aspired 10 the throne
! himself. lie continued in the struggle for
/ Greek freedom; was fortified in Mount
/ Parnassus. as ii he had not yet been favored
! enough by the gods Of song-think of III
| de had nXed uD a cave in Mount Parnassus
/ with munitions Of war, and for nearly
| year held his fortress against lie Turk and
| al coming. II IS butchery TO take up only
| fragment Of what befell now. but space for
| buds more. Here Is his account of one in
| cdent. II appears that his mixed men
| were all more or less treacheTOus, his only
friend being his dog. His guards got b N
! to shoot at mark in order to empty his
| pistol; then one Of them shot him in the
| back. and then the dog leaned On the man
| who shot him and held him to the ground
| All this in Mount Parnasgus-thiuk of it,
But here is what the friend Of Byron and
| Shelley says:
When / was shot sat down on the rock
| had been standing on; bending down my
! head TO let the blood flow from my mouth
n musket ball and several broken teeth
| came with 1.-THE socket of the teeth was
! broken and my right arm paralyzed. |
| walked without assistance into tie small
| gTotto | had boarded uD and floored and
called my house; it was divided into two
| small roOms and there was a broad veranda
In front Squatting in corner my servant
| cut open ny dress behind and told me had
been shot with two balls between my shout
ders, near together. on tie right side OF my
| spine, and one OF them close to IL. One of
the balls, as have said, its force expended
on my bones, dropped from my mouth with