BYRON'S DEATH AND THE DESTRUCTION OF HIS MEMOIRS
No attempt has here been made to present a strictly chronological record
of Mr. Murray's life; we have sought only so to group his correspondence
as to lay before our readers the various episodes which go to form the
business life of a publisher. In pursuance of this plan we now proceed
to narrate the closing incidents of his friendship with Lord Byron,
reserving to subsequent chapters the various other transactions in which
he was engaged.
During the later months of Byron's residence in Italy this friendship
had suffered some interruption, due in part perhaps to questions which
had arisen out of the publication of "Don Juan," and in part to the
interference of the Hunts. With the activity aroused by his expedition
to Greece, Byron's better nature reasserted itself, and his last letter
to his publisher, though already printed in Moore's Life, cannot be
omitted from these pages:
_Lord Byron to John Murray_.
MISSOLONGHI, _February_ 25, 1824.
I have heard from Mr. Douglas Kinnaird that you state "a report of a
satire on Mr. Gifford having arrived from Italy, _said_ to be written by
_me_! but that _you_ do not believe it." I dare say you do not, nor any
body else, I should think. Whoever asserts that I am the author or
abettor of anything of the kind on Gifford lies in his throat. I always
regarded him as my literary father, and myself as his prodigal son; if
any such composition exists, it is none of mine. _You_ know as well as
anybody upon _whom_ I have or have not written; and _you_ also know
whether they do or did not deserve that same. And so much for such
matters. You will perhaps be anxious to hear some news from this part
of Greece (which is the most liable to invasion); but you will hear
enough through public and private channels. I will, however, give you
the events of a week, mingling my own private peculiar with the public;
for we are here jumbled a little together at present.
On Sunday (the 15th, I believe) I had a strong and sudden convulsive
attack, which left me speechless, though not motionless-for some strong
men could not hold me; but whether it was epilepsy, catalepsy, cachexy,
or apoplexy, or what other _exy_ or _epsy_ the doctors have not decided;
or whether it was spasmodic or nervous, etc.; but it was very
unpleasant, and nearly carried me off, and all that. On Monday, they put
leeches to my temples, no difficult matter, but the blood could not be
stopped till eleven at night (they had gone too near the temporal artery
for my temporal safety), and neither styptic nor caustic would cauterise
the orifice till after a hundred attempts.
On Tuesday a Turkish brig of war ran on shore. On Wednesday, great
preparations being made to attack her, though protected by her consorts,
the Turks burned her and retired to Patras. On Thursday a quarrel ensued
between the Suliotes and the Frank guard at the arsenal: a Swedish
officer was killed, and a Suliote severely wounded, and a general fight
expected, and with some difficulty prevented. On Friday, the officer was
buried; and Captain Parry's English artificers mutinied, under pretence
that their lives were in danger, and are for quitting the country:--they
may.
On Saturday we had the smartest shock of an earthquake which I remember
(and I have felt thirty, slight or smart, at different periods; they are
common in the Mediterranean), and the whole army discharged their arms,
upon the same principle that savages beat drums, or howl, during an
eclipse of the moon:--it was a rare scene altogether--if you had but
seen the English Johnnies, who had never been out of a cockney workshop
before!--or will again, if they can help it--and on Sunday, we heard
that the Vizier is come down to Larissa, with one hundred and odd
thousand men.
In coming here, I had two escapes; one from the Turks _(one_ of my
vessels was taken but afterwards released), and the other from
shipwreck. We drove twice on the rocks near the Scrofes (islands near
the coast).
I have obtained from the Greeks the release of eight-and-twenty Turkish
prisoners, men, women, and children, and sent them to Patras and Prevesa
at my own charges. One little girl of nine years old, who prefers
remaining with me, I shall (if I live) send, with her mother, probably,
to Italy, or to England, and adopt her. Her name is Hato, or Hatagée.
She is a very pretty lively child. All her brothers were killed by the
Greeks, and she herself and her mother merely spared by special favour
and owing to her extreme youth, she being then but five or six years
old.
My health is now better, and I ride about again. My office here is no
sinecure, so many parties and difficulties of every kind; but I will do
what I can. Prince Mavrocordato is an excellent person, and does all in
his power; but his situation is perplexing in the extreme. Still we have
great hopes of the success of the contest. You will hear, however, more
of public news from plenty of quarters: for I have little time to write.
Believe me, yours, etc., etc.,
N. BN.
The fierce lawlessness of the Suliotes had now risen to such a height
that it became necessary, for the safety of the European population, to
get rid of them altogether; and, by some sacrifices on the part of Lord
Byron, this object was at length effected. The advance of a month's pay
by him, and the discharge of their arrears by the Government (the
latter, too, with money lent for that purpose by the same universal
paymaster), at length induced these rude warriors to depart from the
town, and with them vanished all hopes of the expedition against
Lepanto.
Byron died at Missolonghi on April 19, 1824, and when the body arrived
in London, Murray, on behalf of Mr. Hobhouse, who was not personally
acquainted with Dr. Ireland, the Dean of Westminster, wrote to him,
conveying "the request of the executors and nearest relatives of the
deceased for permission that his Lordship's remains may be deposited in
Westminster Abbey, in the most private manner, at an early hour in the
morning."
Dr. _Ireland to John Murray_. ISLIP, OXFORD, _July_ 8, 1824.
Dear Sir,
No doubt the family vault is the most proper place for the remains of
Lord Byron. It is to be wished, however, that nothing had been said
_publicly_ about Westminster Abbey before it was known whether the
remains could be received there. In the newspapers, unfortunately, it
has been proclaimed by somebody that the Abbey was to be the spot, and,
on the appearance of this article, I have been questioned as to the
truth of it from Oxford. My answer has been that the proposal has been
made, but civilly declined. I had also informed the members of the
church at Westminster (after your first letter) that I could not grant
the favour asked. I cannot, therefore, answer now that the case will not
be mentioned (as it has happened) by some person or other who knows it.
The best thing to be done, however, by the executors and relatives, is
to carry away the body, and say as little about it as possible. Unless
the subject is provoked by some injudicious parade about the remains,
perhaps the matter will draw little or no notice.
Yours very truly,
J. IRELAND,
The death of Byron brought into immediate prominence the question of
his autobiographical memoirs, the MS. of which he had given to Moore,
who was at that time his guest at La Mira, near Venice, in 1819.
"A short time before dinner," wrote Moore, "he left the room, and in a
minute or two returned carrying in his hand a white-leather bag. 'Look
here,' he said, holding it up, 'this would be worth something to Murray,
though _you_, I daresay, would not give sixpence for it.' 'What is it?'
I asked. 'My Life and Adventures,' he answered. On hearing this I raised
my hands in a gesture of wonder. 'It is not a thing,' he continued,
'that can be published during my lifetime, but you may have it if you
like: there, do whatever you please with it.'"
Moore was greatly gratified by the gift, and said the Memoirs would make
a fine legacy for his little boy. Lord Byron informed Mr. Murray by
letter what he had done. "They are not," he said, "for publication
during my life, but when I am cold you may do what you please." In a
subsequent letter to Mr. Murray, Lord Byron said: "As you say my _prose_
is good, why don't you treat with Moore for the reversion of my
Memoirs?--conditionally recollect; not to be published before decease.
He has the permission to dispose of them, and I advised him to do so."
Moore thus mentions the subject in his Memoirs:
"_May_ 28, 1820.--Received a letter at last from Lord Byron, through
Murray, telling me he had informed Lady B. of his having given me his
Memoirs for the purpose of their being published after his death, and
offering her the perusal of them in case she might wish to confute any
of his statements. Her note in answer to this offer (the original of
which he enclosed me) is as follows":
KIRKBY MALLORY, _March_ 10, 1820.
I received your letter of January 1st, offering for my perusal a Memoir
of part of my life. I decline to inspect it. I consider the publication
or circulation of such a composition at any time is prejudicial to Ada's
future happiness. For my own sake I have no reason to shrink from
publication; but notwithstanding the injuries which I have suffered, I
should lament more of the _consequences._
A. BYRON.
To LORD BYRON. [Footnote: For Byron's reply to this letter, see Moore's
Memoirs, iii. 115.]
Moore received the continuation of Lord Byron's Memoirs on December 26,
1820, the postage amounting to forty-six francs and a half. "He advises
me," said Moore in his Diary, "to dispose of the reversion of the MS.
now." Accordingly, Moore, being then involved in pecuniary
responsibilities by the defalcations of his deputy in Bermuda,
endeavoured to dispose of the "Memoirs of Lord Byron." He first wrote to
the Messrs. Longman, who did not offer him enough; and then to Mr.
Murray, who offered him the sum of 2,000 guineas, on condition that he
should be the editor of the Memoirs, and write the Life of Lord Byron.
_John Murray to Lord Byron_. _July_ 24, 1821.
Dear Lord Byron,
I have just received a letter from Mr. Moore--the subject of it is every
way worthy of your usual liberality--and I had not a moment's hesitation
in acceding to a proposal which enabled me in any way to join in
assisting so excellent a fellow. I have told him--which I suppose you
will think fair--that he should give me all additions that you may from
time to time make--and in case of survivorship edit the whole--and I
will leave it as an heirloom to my son.
I have written to accede to Mr. Moore's proposal. I remain, dear Lord
Byron, Your grateful and faithful Servant, JOHN MURRAY.
Mr. Moore accepted the proposal, and then proceeded to draw upon Mr.
Murray for part of the money. It may be added that the agreement between
Murray and Moore gave the former the right of publishing the Memoirs
three months after his Lordship's death. When that event was
authenticated, the manuscript remained at Mr. Murray's absolute disposal
if Moore had not previously redeemed it by the repayment of the 2,000
guineas.
During the period that Mr. Moore had been in negotiation with the
Longmans and Murray respecting the purchase of the Memoirs, he had given
"Lady Holland the MS. to read." Lord John Russell also states, in his
"Memoirs of Moore," that he had read "the greater part, if not the
whole," and that he should say that some of it was too gross for
publication. When the Memoirs came into the hands of Mr. Murray, he
entrusted the manuscript to Mr. Gifford, whose opinion coincided with
that of Lord John Russell. A few others saw the Memoirs, amongst them
Washington Irving and Mr. Luttrell. Irving says, in his "Memoirs," that
Moore showed him the Byron recollections and that they were quite
unpublishable.
Mr. Moore himself seems to have been thrown into some doubt as to the
sale of the manuscript by the opinion of his friends. "Lord Holland," he
said, "expressed some scruples as to the sale of Lord Byron's Memoirs,
and he wished that I could have got the 2,000 guineas in any other way;
he seemed to think it was in cold blood, depositing a sort of quiver of
poisoned arrows for a future warfare upon private character." [Footnote:
Lord John Russell's "Memoirs, Journals, and Correspondence of Thomas
Moore," iii. p. 298.] Mr. Moore had a long conversation on the subject
with Mr. J.C. Hobhouse, "who," he says in his Journal, "is an upright
and honest man." When speaking of Lord Byron, Hobhouse said, "I know
more about Lord Byron than any one else, and much more than I should
wish any one else to know."
Lady Byron offered, through Mr. Kinnaird, to advance 2,000 guineas for
the redemption of the Memoirs from Mr. Murray, but the negotiation was
not brought to a definite issue. Moore, when informed of the offer,
objected to Lady Byron being consulted about the matter, "for this would
be treachery to Lord Byron's intentions and wishes," but he agreed to
place the Memoirs at the disposal of Lord Byron's sister, Mrs. Leigh,
"to be done with exactly as she thought proper." Moore was of opinion
that those parts of the manuscript should be destroyed which were found
objectionable; but that those parts should be retained which were not,
for his benefit and that of the public.
At the same time it must be remembered that Moore's interest in the
Memoirs had now entirely ceased, for in consequence of the death of Lord
Byron they had become Mr. Murray's absolute property, in accordance with
the terms of his purchase. But although Mr. Murray had paid so large a
sum for the manuscript, and would probably have made a considerable
profit by its publication, he was nevertheless willing to have it
destroyed, if it should be the deliberate opinion of his Lordship's
friends and relatives that such a step was desirable.
Mr. Murray therefore put himself into communication with Lord Byron's
nearest friends and relations with respect to the disposal of the
Memoirs. His suggestion was at first strongly opposed by some of them;
but he urged his objections to publication with increased zeal, even
renouncing every claim to indemnification for what he had paid to Mr.
Moore. A meeting of those who were entitled to act in the matter was at
length agreed upon, and took place in Murray's drawing-room, on May 17,
1824. There were present Mr. Murray, Mr. Moore, Mr. J.C. Hobhouse,
Colonel Doyle representing Lady Byron, Mr. Wilmot Horton representing
Mrs. Leigh, and Mr. Luttrell, a friend of Moore's. Young Mr.
Murray--then sixteen; the only person of those assembled now living
[1891]--was also in the room. The discussion was long and stormy before
the meeting broke up, and nearly led to a challenge between Moore and
Hobhouse. A reference to the agreement between Moore and Murray became
necessary, but for a long time that document could not be found; it was
at length discovered, but only after the decision to commit the
manuscript to the flames had been made and carried out, and the party
remained until the last sheet of Lord Byron's Memoirs had vanished in
smoke up the Albemarle Street chimney.
Immediately after the burning, Mrs. Leigh wrote the following account to
her friend, the Rev. Mr. Hodgson, an old friend of Byron's:
_The Hon. Mrs. Leigh to the Rev. f. Hodgson_.
"The parties, Messrs. Moore, Murray, Hobhouse, Col. Doyle for Lady B.,
and Mr. Wilmot for me, and Mr. Luttrell, a friend of Mr. Moore's, met at
Mr. Murray's; and after a long dispute and nearly quarrelling, upon Mr.
Wilmot stating what was my wish and opinion, the MS. was burnt, and
Moore paid Murray the 2,000 guineas. Immediately almost _after_ this was
done, the legal agreement between Moore and Murray (which had been
mislaid), was found, and, strange to say, it appeared from it (what both
had forgotten), that the property of the MS. was Murray's _bond fide_.
Consequently _he_ had the right to dispose of it as he pleased; and as
he had behaved most handsomely upon the occasion ... it was desired by
our family that he should receive the 2,000 guineas back." [Footnote:
"Memoir of the Rev. F. Hodgson," ii. 139-40.]
But the Byrons did not repay the money. Mr. Moore would not permit it.
He had borrowed the 2,000 guineas from the Messrs. Longman, and before
he left the room, he repaid to Mr. Murray the sum he had received for
the Memoirs, together with the interest during the time that the
purchase-money had remained in his possession.
The statements made in the press, as to Lord Byron's Memoirs having been
burnt, occasioned much public excitement, and many applications were
made to Mr. Murray for information on the subject. Amongst those who
made particular inquiry was Mr. Jerdan, of the _Literary Gazette,_ who
inclosed to Mr. Murray the paragraph which he proposed to insert in his
journal. Mr. Murray informed him that the account was so very erroneous,
that he desired him either to condense it down to the smallest compass,
or to omit it altogether. Mr. Jerdan, however, replied that the subject
was of so much public interest, that he could not refuse to state the
particulars, and the following was sent to him, prepared by Mr. Murray:
"A general interest having been excited, touching the fate of Lord
Byron's Memoirs, written by himself, and reports, confused and
incorrect, having got into circulation upon the subject, it has been
deemed requisite to signify the real particulars. The manuscript of
these Memoirs was purchased by Mr. Murray in the year 1821 for the sum
of two thousand guineas, under certain stipulations which gave him the
right of publishing them three months after his Lordship's demise. When
that event was authenticated, the Manuscript consequently remained at
Mr. Murray's absolute disposal; and a day or two after the melancholy
intelligence reached London, Mr. Murray submitted to the near
connections of the family that the MSS. should be destroyed. In
consequence of this, five persons variously concerned in the matter were
convened for discussion upon it. As these Memoirs were not calculated to
augment the fame of the writer, and as some passages were penned in a
spirit which his better feelings since had virtually retracted, Mr.
Murray proposed that they should be destroyed, considering it a duty to
sacrifice every view of profit to the noble author, by whose confidence
and friendship he had been so long honoured. The result has been, that
notwithstanding some opposition, he obtained the desired decision, and
the Manuscript was forthwith committed to the flames. Mr. Murray was
immediately reimbursed in the purchase-money by Mr. Moore, although Mr.
Murray had previously renounced every claim to repayment."
The particulars of the transaction are more fully expressed in the
following letter written by Mr. Murray to Mr. (afterwards Sir) Robert
Wilmot Horton, two days after the destruction of the manuscript. It
seems that Mr. Moore had already made a representation to Mr. Horton
which was not quite correct. [Footnote: Lord J. Russell's " Memoirs,
etc., of Thomas Moore," iv. p. 188.]
_John Murray to Mr. R. Wilmot Horton_. ALBEMARLE STREET, _May_ 19, 1824.
Dear Sir,
On my return home last night I found your letter, dated the 17th,
calling on me for a specific answer whether I acknowledged the accuracy
of the statement of Mr. Moore, communicated in it. However unpleasant it
is to me, your requisition of a specific answer obliges me to say that I
cannot, by any means, admit the accuracy of that statement; and in order
to explain to you how Mr. Moore's misapprehension may have arisen, and
the ground upon which my assertion rests, I feel it necessary to trouble
you with a statement of all the circumstances of the case, which will
enable you to judge for yourself.
Lord Byron having made Mr. Moore a present of his Memoirs, Mr. Moore
offered them for sale to Messrs. Longman & Co., who however declined to
purchase them; Mr. Moore then made me a similar offer, which I accepted;
and in November 1821, a joint assignment of the Memoirs was made to me
by Lord Byron and Mr. Moore, with all legal technicalities, in
consideration of a sum of 2,000 guineas, which, on the execution of the
agreement by Mr. Moore, I paid to him. Mr. Moore also covenanted, in
consideration of the said sum, to act as Editor of the Memoirs, and to
supply an account of the subsequent events of Lord Byron's life, etc.
Some months after the execution of this assignment, Mr. Moore requested
me, as a great personal favour to himself and to Lord Byron, to enter
into a second agreement, by which I should resign the absolute property
which I had in the Memoirs, and give Mr. Moore and Lord Byron, or any of
their friends, a power of redemption _during the life of Lord Byron_. As
the reason pressed upon me for this change was that their friends
thought there were some things in the Memoirs that might be injurious to
both, I did not hesitate to make this alteration at Mr. Moore's request;
and, accordingly, on the 6th day of May, 1822, a second deed was
executed, stating that, "Whereas Lord Byron and Mr. Moore are now
inclined to wish the said work not to be published, it is agreed that,
if either of them shall, _during the life of the said Lord Byron_, repay
the 2,000 guineas to Mr. Murray, the latter shall redeliver the Memoirs;
but that, if the sum be not repaid _during the lifetime of Lord Byron_,
Mr. Murray shall be at full liberty to print and publish the said
Memoirs within Three Months [Footnote: The words "within Three Months "
were substituted for "immediately," at Mr. Moore's request--and they
appear in pencil, in his own handwriting, upon the original draft of the
deed, which is still in existence.] after the death of the said Lord
Byron." I need hardly call your particular attention to the words,
carefully inserted twice over in this agreement, which limited its
existence to the _lifetime of Lord Byron_; the reason of such limitation
was obvious and natural--namely that, although I consented to restore
the work, _while Lord Byron should be alive_ to direct the ulterior
disposal of it, I would by no means consent to place it _after his
death_ at the disposal of any other person.
I must now observe that I had never been able to obtain possession of
the original assignment, which was my sole lien on this property,
although I had made repeated applications to Mr. Moore to put me into
possession of the deed, which was stated to be in the hands of Lord
Byron's banker. Feeling, I confess, in some degree alarmed at the
withholding the deed, and dissatisfied at Mr. Moore's inattention to my
interests in this particular, I wrote urgently to him in March 1823, to
procure me the deed, and at the same time expressed my wish that the
second agreement should either be cancelled or _at once executed_.
Finding this application unavailing, and becoming, by the greater lapse
of time, still more doubtful as to what the intentions of the parties
might be, I, in March 1824, repeated my demand to Mr. Moore in a more
peremptory manner, and was in consequence at length put into possession
of the original deed. But, not being at all satisfied with the course
that had been pursued towards me, I repeated to Mr. Moore my uneasiness
at the terms on which I stood under the second agreement, and renewed my
request to him that he would either cancel it, or execute its provisions
by the immediate redemption of the work, in order that I might exactly
know what my rights in the property were. He requested time to consider
this proposition. In a day or two he called, and told me that he would
adopt the latter alternative--namely, the redemption of the Memoirs--as
he had found persons who were ready to advance the money on _his
injuring his life_; and he promised to conclude the business on the
first day of his return to town, by paying the money and giving up the
agreement. Mr. Moore did return to town, but did not, that I have heard
of, take any proceedings for insuring his life; he positively neither
wrote nor called upon me as he had promised to do (though he was
generally accustomed to make mine one of his first houses of call);--nor
did he take any other step, that I am aware of, to show that he had any
recollection of the conversation which had passed between us previous to
his leaving town, until _the death of Lord Byron_ had, _ipso facto_,
cancelled the agreement in question, and completely restored my absolute
rights over the property of the Memoirs.
You will therefore perceive that there was no verbal agreement in
existence between Mr. Moore and me, at the time I made a verbal
agreement with you to deliver the Memoirs to be destroyed. Mr. Moore
might undoubtedly, _during Lord Byron's life_, have obtained possession
of the Memoirs, if he had pleased to do so; he however neglected or
delayed to give effect to our verbal agreement, which, as well as the
written instrument to which it related, being cancelled by the death of
Lord Byron, there was no reason whatsoever why I was not at that instant
perfectly at liberty to dispose of the MS. as I thought proper. Had I
considered only my own interest as a tradesman, I would have announced
the work for immediate publication, and I cannot doubt that, under all
the circumstances, the public curiosity about these Memoirs would have
given me a very considerable profit beyond the large sum I originally
paid for them; but you yourself are, I think, able to do me the justice
of bearing witness that I looked at the case with no such feelings, and
that my regard for Lord Byron's memory, and my respect for his surviving
family, made me more anxious that the Memoirs should be immediately
destroyed, since it was surmised that the publication might be injurious
to the former and painful to the latter.
As I myself scrupulously refrained from looking into the Memoirs, I
cannot, from my own knowledge, say whether such an opinion of the
contents was correct or not; it was enough for me that the friends of
Lord and Lady Byron united in wishing for their destruction. Why Mr.
Moore should have wished to preserve them I did not nor will I inquire;
but, having satisfied myself that he had no right whatever in them, I
was happy in having an opportunity of making, by a pecuniary sacrifice
on my part, some return for the honour, and I must add, the profit,
which I had derived from Lord Byron's patronage and friendship. You will
also be able to bear witness that--although I could not presume to
impose an obligation on the friends of Lord Byron or Mr. Moore, by
refusing to receive the repayment of the 2,000 guineas advanced by
me--yet I had determined on the destruction of the Memoirs without any
previous agreement for such repayment:--and you know the Memoirs were
actually destroyed without any stipulation on my part, but even with a
declaration that I had destroyed my own private property--and I
therefore had no claim upon any party for remuneration.
I remain, dear Sir,
Your faithful servant,
JOHN MURRAY.
After the burning of the manuscript Sir Walter Scott wrote in his diary:
"It was a pity that nothing save the total destruction of Byron's
Memoirs would satisfy his executors; but there was a reason--_premat nox
alta."_
Shortly after the burning of the Memoirs, Mr. Moore began to meditate
writing a Life of Lord Byron; "the Longmans looking earnestly and
anxiously to it as the great source of my means of repaying them their
money." [Footnote: Moore's Memoirs, iv. 253.] Mr. Moore could not as
yet, however, proceed with the Life, as the most important letters of
Lord Byron were those written to Mr. Murray, which were in his exclusive
possession. Lord John Russell also was against his writing the Life of
Byron.
"If you write," he wrote to Moore, "write poetry, or, if you can find a
good subject, write prose; but do not undertake to write the life of
another reprobate [referring to Moore's "Life of Sheridan"]. In short,
do anything but write the life of Lord Byron." [Footnote: Moore's
Memoirs, v. 51.]
Yet Moore grievously wanted money, and this opportunity presented itself
to him with irresistible force as a means of adding to his resources. At
length he became reconciled to Mr. Murray through the intercession of
Mr. Hobhouse. Moore informed the Longmans of the reconciliation, and, in
a liberal and considerate manner, they said to him, "Do not let us stand
in the way of any arrangements you may make; it is our wish to see you
free from debt; and it would be only in this one work that we should be
separated." It was in this way that Mr. Moore undertook to write for Mr.
Murray the Life of Lord Byron. Mr. Murray agreed to repay Moore the
2,000 guineas he had given for the burned Memoirs and £2,000 extra for
editing the letters and writing the Life, and Moore in his diary says
that he considered this offer perfectly liberal. Nothing, he adds, could
be more frank, gentleman-like, and satisfactory than the manner in which
this affair had been settled on all sides.