MOORE'S "LIFE OF BYRON"
In 1827 or 1828 Mr. Hanson, the late Lord Byron's solicitor, wrote to
Murray, enquiring, on behalf of the executors, whether he would be
willing to dispose of his interest in the first five cantos of "Don
Juan." Mr. Murray, however, had long been desirous of publishing a
complete edition of the works of Lord Byron, "for the public," he wrote,
"are absolutely indignant at not being able to obtain a complete edition
of Lord Byron's works in this country; and at least 15,000 copies have
been brought here from France." Murray proposed that those copyrights of
Lord Byron, which were the property of his executors, should be valued
by three respectable publishers, and that he should purchase them at
their valuation. Mr. Hobhouse, to whom as one of the executors this
proposal was made, was anxious that the complete edition should be
published in England with as little delay as possible, but he stated
that "some obstacles have arisen in consequence of the Messrs. Hunt
having upon hand some hundred copies of their two volumes, which they
have asked a little time to get rid of, and for which they are now
accounting to the executors."
Murray requested Mr. Hanson to apply to the executors, and inform him
what sum they required for the works of Lord Byron, the copyrights of
which were in their possession. This they refused to state, but after
considerable delay, during which the Hunts were disposing of the two
volumes, the whole of the works of Lord Byron which were not in Mr.
Murray's possession were put up to auction, and bought by him for the
sum of £3,885. These included the "Hours of Idleness," eleven cantos of
"Don Juan," the "Age of Bronze," and other works--all of which had
already been published.
Notwithstanding the destruction of Lord Byron's Memoirs, described in a
previous chapter, Murray had never abandoned the intention of bringing
out a Biography of his old friend the poet, for which he possessed
plenteous materials in the mass of correspondence which had passed
between them. Although his arrangement with Thomas Moore had been
cancelled by that event, his eye rested on him as the fittest person,
from his long intimacy with the poet, to be entrusted with the task, for
which, indeed, Lord Byron had himself selected him.
Accordingly in 1826 author and publisher seem to have drawn together
again, and begun the collection of materials, which was carried on in a
leisurely way, until Leigh Hunt's scandalous attack on his old patron
and benefactor [Footnote: "Recollections of Lord Byron and some of his
Contemporaries," 1828. 4to.] roused Murray's ardour into immediate
action.
It was eventually resolved to publish the Life and Correspondence
together; and many letters passed between Murray and Moore on the
subject.
From the voluminous correspondence we retain the following extract from
a letter from Moore to Murray:
"One of my great objects, as you will see in reading me, is to keep my
style down to as much simplicity as I am capable of; for nothing could
be imagined more discordant than the mixture of any of our
Asiatico-Hibernian eloquence with the simple English diction of Byron's
letters."
Murray showed the early part of "Byron's Life" to Lockhart, who replied
to him at once:
_Mr. Lockhart to John Murray_.
_February_ 23, 1829.
"I can't wait till tomorrow to say that I think the beginning of 'Byron'
quite perfect in every way--the style simple, and unaffected, as the
materials are rich, and how sad. It will be Moore's greatest work--at
least, next to the 'Melodies,' and will be a fortune to you. My wife
says it is divine. By all means engrave the early miniature. Never was
anything so drearily satisfactory to the imagination as the whole
picture of the lame boy's start in life."
Moore was greatly touched by this letter. He wrote from Sloperton:
_Mr. Moore to John Murray_.
"Lockhart's praise has given me great pleasure, and his wife's even
still greater; but, after all, the merit is in my subject--in the man,
not in me. He must be a sad bungler who would spoil such a story."
As the work advanced, Sir Walter Scott's opinion also was asked.
_Mr. Lockhart to John Murray_.
_September_ 29, 1829.
"Sir Walter has read the first 120 pages of Moore's 'Life of Byron'; and
he says they are charming, and not a syllable _de trop_. He is now busy
at a grand rummage among his papers, and has already found one of Lord
Byron's letters which shall be at Mr. Moore's service forthwith. He
expects to find more of them. This is curious, as being the first of
'Byron' to Scott."
The first volume of "Lord Byron's Life and Letters," published on
January 1, 1830, was read with enthusiasm, and met with a very
favourable reception. Moore says in his Diary that "Lady Byron was
highly pleased with the 'Life,'" but among the letters received by Mr.
Murray, one of the most interesting was from Mrs. Shelley, to whom a
presentation copy had been sent.
_Mrs. Shelley to John Murray_.
_January_ 19, 1830.
Except the occupation of one or two annoyances, I have done nothing but
read, since I got "Lord Byron's Life." I have no pretensions to being a
critic, yet I know infinitely well what pleases me. Not to mention the
judicious arrangement and happy _tact_ displayed by Mr. Moore, which
distinguish the book, I must say a word concerning the style, which is
elegant and forcible. I was particularly struck by the observations on
Lord Byron's character before his departure to Greece, and on his
return. There is strength and richness, as well as sweetness.
The great charm of the work to me, and it will have the same to you, is
that the Lord Byron I find there is _our_ Lord Byron--the fascinating,
faulty, philosophical being--daring the world, docile to a private
circle, impetuous and indolent, gloomy, and yet more gay than any other.
I live with him again in these pages--getting reconciled (as I used in
his lifetime) to those waywardnesses which annoyed me when he was away,
through the delightful tone of his conversation and manners.
His own letters and journals mirror himself as he was, and are
invaluable. There is something cruelly kind in this single volume. When
will the next come? Impatient before, how tenfold more so am I now.
Among its many other virtues, this book is accurate to a miracle. I have
not stumbled on one mistake with regard either to time, place, or
feeling.
I am, dear Sir,
Your obedient and obliged Servant,
MARY SHELLEY.
The preparation of the second volume proceeded more rapidly than the
first, for Lord Byron's letters to Murray and Moore during the later
years of his life covered the whole period, and gave to the record an
almost autobiographical character. It appeared in January 1831, and
amongst many other readers of it Mrs. Somerville, to whom Mr. Murray
sent a present of the book, was full of unstinted praise.
_Mrs. Somerville to John Murray_.
_January_ 13, 1831.
You have kindly afforded me a source of very great interest and pleasure
in the perusal of the second volume of Moore's "Life of Byron." In my
opinion, it is very superior to the first; there is less repetition of
the letters; they are better written, abound more in criticism and
observation, and make the reader better acquainted with Lord Byron's
principles and character. His morality was certainly more suited to the
meridian of Italy than England; but with all his faults there is a charm
about him that excites the deepest interest and admiration. His letter
to Lady Byron is more affecting and beautiful than anything I have read;
it must ever be a subject of regret that it was not sent; it seems
impossible that it should not have made a lasting impression, and might
possibly have changed the destinies of both. With kind remembrances to
Mrs. Murray and the young people,
Believe me, truly yours,
MARY SOMERVILLE.
Mr. Croker's opinion was as follows:
"As to what you say of Byron's volume, no doubt there are _longueurs_,
but really not many. The most teasing part is the blanks, which perplex
without concealing. I also think that Moore went on a wrong principle,
when, publishing _any_ personality, he did not publish _all_. It is like
a suppression of evidence. When such horrors are published of Sir S.
Romilly, it would have been justice to his memory to show that, on the
_slightest_ provocation, Byron would treat his dearest friend in the
same style. When his sneers against Lady Byron and her mother are
recorded, it would lessen their effect if it were shown that he sneered
at all man and womankind in turn; and that the friend of his choicest
selection, or the mistress of his maddest love, were served no better,
when the maggot (selfishness) bit, than his wife or his mother-in-law."
The appearance of the Life induced Captain Medwin to publish his
"Conversations with Lord Byron," a work now chiefly remembered as having
called forth from Murray, who was attacked in it, a reply which, as a
crashing refutation of personal charges, has seldom been surpassed.
[Footnote: Mr. Murray's answer to Medwin's fabrications is published in
the Appendix to the 8vo edition of "Lord Byron's Poems."]
Amongst the reviews of the biography was one by Lockhart in the
_Quarterly_ (No. 87), which was very favourable; but an article, by Mr.
Croker in No. 91, on another of Moore's works--the "Life of Lord Edward
Fitzgerald"--was of a very different character. Murray told Moore of the
approaching appearance of the article in the next number, and Moore
enters in his Diary, "Saw my 'Lord Edward Fitzgerald' announced as one
of the articles in the _Quarterly_, to be abused of course; and this too
immediately after my dinings and junketings with both author and
publisher."
_Mr. Moore to John Murray_.
_October_ 25, 1831.
... I see that what I took for a joke of yours is true, and that you are
_at_ me in this number of the _Quarterly_. I have desired Power to send
you back my copy when it comes, not liking to read it just now for
reasons. In the meantime, here's some _good_-humoured doggerel for you:
THOUGHTS ON EDITORS.
_Editur et edit_.
No! Editors don't care a button,
What false and faithless things they do;
They'll let you come and cut their mutton,
And then, they'll have a cut at you.
With Barnes I oft my dinner took,
Nay, met e'en Horace Twiss to please him:
Yet Mister Barnes traduc'd my Book,
For which may his own devils seize him!
With Doctor Bowring I drank tea,
Nor of his cakes consumed a particle;
And yet th' ungrateful LL.D.
Let fly at me, next week, an article!
John Wilson gave me suppers hot,
With bards of fame, like Hogg and Packwood;
A dose of black-strap then I got,
And after a still worse of Blackwood.
Alas! and must I close the list
With thee, my Lockhart of the _Quarterly?_
So kind, with bumper in thy fist,--
With pen, so very gruff and tartarly.
Now in thy parlour feasting me,
Now scribbling at me from your garret,--
Till, 'twixt the two, in doubt I be,
Which sourest is, thy wit or claret?
Should you again see the Noble Scott before he goes, remember me most
affectionately to him. Ever yours,
Thomas Moore.
Mr. Murray now found himself at liberty to proceed with his cherished
scheme of a complete edition of Lord Byron's works.
_John Murray to Mr. Moore._
February 28, 1832.
When I commenced this complete edition of Byron's works I was so out of
heart by the loss upon the first edition of the "Life," and by the
simultaneous losses from the failure of three booksellers very largely
in my debt, that I had little if any hopes of its success, and I felt
myself under the necessity of declining your kind offer to edit it,
because I did not think that I should have had it in my power to offer
you an adequate remuneration. But now that the success of this
speculation is established, if you will do me the favour to do what you
propose, I shall have great satisfaction in giving you 500 guineas for
your labours.
Most sincerely yours,
John Murray.
In 1837, the year in which the work now in contemplation was published,
the Countess Guiccioli was in London, and received much kindness from
Mr. Murray. After her return to Rome, she wrote to him a long letter,
acknowledging the beautifully bound volume of the landscape and portrait
illustrations of Lord Byron's works. She complained, however, of
Brockedon's portrait of herself.
_Countess Guiccioli to John Murray_.
"It is not resembling, and to tell you the truth, my dear Mr. Murray, I
wish it was so; not on account of the ugliness of features (which is
also remarkable), but particularly for having this portrait an
expression of _stupidity_, and for its being _molto antipatico_, as we
say in our language. But perhaps it is not the fault of the painter, but
of the original, and I am sorry for that. What is certain is that
towards such a creature nobody may feel inclined to be indulgent; and if
she has faults and errors to be pardoned for, she will never be so on
account of her _antipatia_! But pray don't say that to Mr. Brockedon."
A copy was likewise sent to Sir R. Peel with the following letter:
ALBEMARLE STREET, _April_ 17, 1837.
DEAR SIR,
As the invaluable instructions which you addressed to the students of
the University of Glasgow have as completely associated your name with
the literature of this country, as your political conduct has with its
greatest statesmen, I trust that I shall be pardoned for having
inscribed to you (without soliciting permission) the present edition of
the works of one of our greatest poets, "your own school-and
form-fellow," _Byron_.
I have the honour to be, etc.,
JOHN MURRAY.
_The Right Hon. Sir R. Peel to John Murray_.
WHITEHALL, _April_ 18, 1837.
MY DEAR SIR,
I am much flattered by the compliment which you have paid to me in
dedicating to me a beautiful edition of the works of my distinguished
"school-and form-fellow."
I was the next boy to Lord Byron at Harrow for three or four years, and
was always on very friendly terms with him, though not living in
particular intimacy out of school.
I do not recollect ever having a single angry word with him, or that
there ever was any the slightest jealousy or coldness between us.
It is a gratification to me to have my name associated with his in the
manner in which you have placed it in friendly connection; and I do not
believe, if he could have foreseen, when we were boys together at
school, this continuance of a sort of amicable relation between us after
his death, the idea would have been otherwise than pleasing to him.
Believe me,
My dear Sir,
Very faithfully yours,
ROBERT PEEL.
A few words remain to be added respecting the statue of Lord Byron,
which had been so splendidly executed by Thorwaldsen at Rome. Mr.
Hobhouse wrote to Murray: "Thorwaldsen offers the completed work for
£1,000, together with a bas-relief for the pedestal, suitable for the
subject of the monument." The sculptor's offer was accepted, and the
statue was forwarded from Rome to London. Murray then applied to the
Dean of Westminster, on behalf of the subscribers, requesting to know
"upon what terms the statue now completed could be placed in some
suitable spot in Westminster Abbey." The Dean's answer was as follows:
_The Dean of Westminster to John Murray_.
DEANERY, WESTMINSTER, _December_ 17, 1834.
DEAR SIR,
I have not had the opportunity, till this morning, of consulting with
the Chapter on the subject of your note. When you formerly applied to me
for leave to inter the remains of Lord Byron within this Abbey, I stated
to you the principle on which, as Churchmen, we were compelled to
decline the proposal. The erection of a monument in honour of his memory
which you now desire is, in its proportion, subject to the same
objection. I do indeed greatly wish for a figure by Thorwaldsen here;
but no taste ought to be indulged to the prejudice of a duty.
With my respectful compliments to the Committee, I beg you to believe
me,
Yours truly,
JOHN IRELAND.
The statue was for some time laid up in a shed on a Thames wharf. An
attempt was made in the House of Commons to alter the decision of the
Dean and Chapter, but it proved of no avail. "I would do my best," said
Mr. Hobhouse, "to prevail upon Sir Robert Peel to use his influence with
the Dean. It is a national disgrace that the statue should lie neglected
in a carrier's ware-house, and it is so felt by men of all parties. I
have had a formal application from Trinity College, Cambridge, for leave
to place the monument in their great library, and it has been intimated
to me that the French Government desire to have it for the Louvre." The
result was that the subscribers, in order to retain the statue in
England, forwarded it to Trinity College, Cambridge, whose noble library
it now adorns.
The only memorial to Byron in London is the contemptible leaning bronze
statue in Apsley House Gardens, nearly opposite the statue of Achilles.
Its pedestal is a block of Parian marble, presented by the Greek
Government as a national tribute to the memory of Byron.