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Lord Byron and his Times: http://lordbyron.org
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“the charge of scattering dark and devilish insinuations,”
he says, “is one which, if
—and the observation made by his Lordship
respecting the Republican Trio (
In the course of his offensive and defensive letter, the
But the conclusion of the
“Here I dismiss the subject. It might have been thought that
Lord Byron had attained the last degree of disgrace when his head was set up for a sign at one of those preparatory schools for the brothel and the gallows; where obscenity, sedition, and blasphemy, are retailed in drams for the vulgar. There remained one further shame: there remained this exposure of his Private Conversations, which has compelled his Lordship’s friends, in their own defence, to compare his oral declarations with his written words, and thereby demonstrate that he was as regardless of truth as he was incapable of sustaining those feelings suited to his birth, station, and high endowments, which sometimes came across his better mind.“
Keswick, Dec.8, 1824.“ ” Robert Southey.
Upon this “meek and lowly” passage, the “What preparatory school this is, we have not knowledge enough of
such places to say; but we must remonstrate against a political injustice of a tendency so
injurious to the character of all illustrious personages. Somebody, it seems, has set up
Quoting the same rancorous sentence, the “Is this the language of a rational or a decent man? Surely
the author, however now inflamed by hatred, or raving with malignant jealousy,
must—if he shall ever hereafter come to have one calm moment, when the name or person
of
No; it is not the language of a rational, or decent man; but rather that of an
unfeeling, irascible and vindictive Apostate! The Laureate may be assured that these are not
the
for they disgust the ears of all benevolent hearers and inflict an irreparable wound on
the character of the degraded utterer.