Conversations Of Lord Byr...
The Times, 1824-10-19T00:00:00

The forthcoming number of the Attic Msfcllavy, a new perlo. dIcsl, contins some cxtracts from Capt;iln Medwin's " Converia. tions and Aneedotes of Lord Byron," now in thie Mees 41 the account of Lord Byron's addres-ses to Aliss lUilbanke, it is related that ssherejected themn; but his Lordship adds.- "' Her refusal was couched in terrns that could not oflf nd me. I was befsides pesuadled, that in doclining my tfier nhe was go. verned by the influence of her mother; and was thi more confirm- ed in this opinion, by het reviving the cerrespondince her$elf 12 months after. The tenour df the Ictter.was, that althotgh she eould notlove me, she desired iy friendshlii. Frien4thip is a dangerous wiord for young ladles. It is love full fledge4, And waiting for a fine day ? -fly. " it had been predicted by AIrs. WilIdms that 27 was to be 4 danprous age to me. The fortune-telling 'itch wvas right. It was destined to prove so. I shall never Sorget i L Lady Byrou (Burn he pronouuced it) was the only unconcerned petronpresent. lIady Noel, her mother, cried. I trembled lUke a leaf-made the wrong responses and after the ceremony called her Mlss Milbanke. There is a sinuar historg attached to the sing. rThe very day the match was concluded; a rng of my mother's that hatd been lost was dug up by the Bardener at Newstead. I thought it harl been sent on pur- pose forlI lie wedding; but my mother's marriage Ihad not been a for. tunate one, and this ring was doomed to be the seal of an unhappier vnion still. "After the ordeal was over, we set off for a country seat of Sir Ralph's, aid I was surprised at the arrangements for the journey; and somewhat out of humour to find a lady's maid stuck betveen me and my bride. It was rather too early to assumre the husband, and I was forced to submit, but with a very bad grace. Put your- self in my situation, and tell me whether I had not some reason to be in the sulks." Bt3 the details of his final sepe*ation are 5til mRore curiouSs "Ourlioney.moon was not all sunshine. It had Its clouds; and Hlobhouse has some letters which would serve to explain the rise and fall in the barometer; but it was never down at zero. Yout tell me the world says I mnarried .Miss Afilbanke for her fortune, because she was a great heiress. AlI I have ever received, or amn likely to receive, was 10,01101. Aly own income at this pe- riod was small, and sornewhat bespoke. Newstead was a very unprofitahle estate, and brought me In a bare 1,101. a.yesr. The Lancashire estate was hampered with a law.suit, which has cost me 14,0001., and Is not yet finished. We had a house in town, gave dinner parties, had separate carriages, and atinched into every sort of extravagance. This could not last longn. My wife's 10,0001. soon melted away. I was beset by duns, and at length an execution was levied, and the baUiffs put in possession of the very berls wa had to sleep upon. This was rio very agreeable state of afi'airs-no very pleasant rcene for Lady Byron to w. itness; and it was agreed that she should pay her father a visit till the storm had blown orer, and some arrangements been made writh my creditots. You may suppose on what terms we parted, trotmthe styleof aletter she wrote me on theroad. You will think it began ridiculouslyenough, 'Dear Duck,' i&c. Imragine my astonish. i-nent to receive immediatety vOn herarrival, a few lines frora herfather of a very nhlike and very uaffectionate nature, beginning ' Sir, and ending with saying that his daughter should never see me again. In my reply, I disclaimed lis authority as a parent over my wife ; and told h wm I was convinced the sentiments expressed were his, not hers. Another post, however, brought me a confirmation, under her own htand and seal, of her father's sentence. " There can be no doubt that the influence of her enemies pre- vailed over her affection for me. You ask me if no cause was as- signed for this sudden resolution-if I formed no conjecture about the cause. I will tell you I have prejudices about women: I do not like to see them eat. Rousseau makes Julie an Peu gourmiande, but that is not all according to my taste. I do not like to be interrapted wthen I am writing. Lady Byron did not attend to these whims of mine. The only harsh thing I ever remember saying to her, was one evening shortly before our parting. I was standing before the fire, ruminating upon the embarra.1issments of rny affairs and other annoyances, wnen Lady Byron came up to mc and said, ' Byron, am I in your way ?' to which I replied, ' Damnably ' I was afterwardts sorry, and reproached mnyself for the expression, but It escaped me unconslouslv...involunrarily; 1 hardly kRew what I said,"' CONVERSATIONY OP LORD BAROAV.