Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1910-11-30
REID on LORD BYRON
American Ambassador Discuss
es Poet at Nottingham.
NEW CHAIR IN UNIVERSITY
Speaker Says syron's Literature Of
Revolt" Played important Part in
Widening Of Bounds Of Ordered
Liberty.


Whiteiaw Reid, the American ambas-
sador to Great Britain, delivered the
chief address here today on the in.
auguration at Nottingham University
College of new chair of English lit.
erature. to be known as the Byron
Chair His critical estimate of By.
ron's place in English letters and his
tory was In part as follows:
Il must begin with the reluctant
admission that no good instructor OF
youth will put before them the char
acter of Lord Byron to be emulated
or the general tendency of much OF
his poetry 10 be admired On the cther
hand. no competent instructor OF
youth can put before them any esti
mate of the English literature of the
Nineteenth century in which Byron
does not bulk \ large figure, If not the
largest.
There was a time when no other
poet was SO popular and so universal.
ly admired, either in this country or
on the Continent. To borrow his own
graphic phrase. he awoke one morn
ing and found himself famous. Then
there came a time when no English
poet was 80 odious. The disapproval
reused by his acts. bis utterances and
what men knew of his character. en-
tended to his work. Men still read
it. but often only to dwell ON the bale
full brilliancy of the light that had
gone astray. Other ard nobler work
appeared which compelled the world
10 readjust its estimate. At last. too
soon. too sadly. in exile. came Misso-
1onghi. and the end. Once more the
pendulum of public approval swung
~ and fro. When it finally settled
not very far from just medium
the century had passed It's meridian,
new tastes had developed. new men
had arisen and Byron was already
relegated TO the shelf of authors who
had been favcrites-men to be still
read on occasion. but no longer an
essential part Of the literary life. OF
the time.
I'VE need not shut our eyes to the
fact that these changes were partly
due TO frequent instinct of the pub
Tic to weigh the worth of Lord Byron's
verses by the worthlessness of his
life We may as well admit that
there was no long period in his life
when any decent society could have
regarded him as q desirable member
But he was never as bad as he paint.
ed himself. The food of biographical
speculation as to just how bad he
really was is not profitable 1t puts a
pleasantcr taste in thesmouth TO be
reminded. as you may be by your own
Professor Granger. that he Is affec.
tionately remembered here in his own
country among the descendants of his
.boyish love. Mary Chaworth. even to
the third and fourth generation
IAN American. too, may be permit
ted a tenderer feeling toward the de-
throned literary monarch than Is
nuite customary now in the land OF
his birth. We do not forget his sym
oathysswich oar struggles ifUr, the
rights Of Engiishpep- cf3 his quick
recognition of cur forensUsf man-
need hardly remind yomF OF Chnde
Haro.d's despairing question: i
Can Freedom lind no cksnpIon and
/ no. chxh4 >. b. II
Such as sGfEmSsss n al I Eaes rs
Sprung foryhxx PS6 sssis NJ
defled? -
Or rust such minds be .ourished in
the Wild.
Deep in the unpruned- forest midst
the roar
or catsrscts. where nursing Nature
smiled
On infant Warrington, Has Earth no
more
Such seeds within Der breast. or Eu-
rope no such shore?
perpetusiiy IN Revolt
When you consider the nature ri
England. and indeed when you consid.