My Recollections of Lord Byron

The Publisher of this Translation feels authorized to state, that it is the production of the celebrated Countess Guiccioli . RICHARD BENTLEY. TO THE AUTHOR OF THIS WORK, THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION IS Respectfully Dedicated BY HUBERT E.H. JERNINGHAM. CONTENTS. Introductory Sketch of Lord Byron Page 9 Lord Byron and M. de Lamartine 43 Portrait of Lord Byron 58 French Portrait of Lord Byron 70 His Religious Opinions 106 His Childhood and His Youth 174 His Friendships 201 Lord Byron considered as a Father, as a Brother, and as a Son—His Goodness shown by the Strength of his instinctive Affections 232 Qualities of Lord Byron's Heart 245 His Benevolence and Kindness 284 Lord Byron's Qualities and Virtues of Soul 305 Lord Byron's Constancy 347 His Courage and Fortitude 361 His Modesty 372 Virtues of his Soul 381 His Generosity elevated into Heroism 396 His Faults 414 His Irritability 427 His Mobility 450 His Misanthropy and Sociability 457 His Pride 484 His Vanity 488 Lord Byron's Marriage and its Consequences 504 His Gayety and Melancholy 545 His Melancholy 563 Attraction of Truth for; or, Conscience the chief Quality of his Soul 631 Semi-Biography of Byron in Mr. Disraeli's "Venetia" 656 MY RECOLLECTIONS, ETC. INTRODUCTION. "To know another man well, especially if he be a noted and illustrious character, is a great thing not to be despised."— Sainte-Beuve . Many years ago a celebrated writer, in speaking of Lord Byron, who had then been dead some years, said that so much had already been written upon him that the subject had almost become commonplace, but was far from being exhausted. This truth, indisputable when applied to Byron's genius, his works, and to his intellect, was then and still is equally positive when referring to his moral qualities. A subject as well as an object may become commonplace by the quantity, but nevertheless remain new and rare, owing to its quality. A subject can not be exhausted before it has been seen under every one of its various aspects, and appreciated in all its points. If much has been said of Lord Byron, has his truly noble character been fairly brought to light? Has he not, on the contrary, been judged rather as the author than the man, and have not the imaginary creations of his powerful mind been too much identified with reality? In the best biographies of his life do we not…